Tarot and the Psyche Tarot has bee a tool for gathering information about the Self for centuries. The deck contains 72 cards, 21 of them called the Major Arcana, archetypal images similar to those that Carl Jung described as primal and universal. He discussed these as being part of our collective psyche and as Joseph Campbell showed in the Power of Myth, versions of these archetypes are present in stories and mythologies across the globe, in all cultures as stories, cautionary tales, fairy tales and myths. This is because these figures and roles resonate with us all and we each envision ourselves as these characters at various times in our lives. In the Major Arcana, these primal archetypes, roles, and life stages and changes represent, when taken as a whole, an entire journey of one's life path--birth to death to rebirth. When the Major Arcana cards show up, or when we use them alone in a reading, they indicate major shifts and themes happening in your life or deeper psychological and subconscious material that may be impacting you at this time in your life.
The other cards are divided into 4 suits, from which our regular decks of playing cards were born. These cards generally represent things happening in our day to day lives, issues we are struggling with, usually in our conscious awareness, but not always. These cards might be insights into what is happening in our work or home life, in relationships, with money and other concerns that all humans deal with. |