The Heart of the Tarot: Part One

In the Language of Tarot...

I am the body of knowledge, 

     of long ago. 

Tales of worlds, I tell, 

     from far and wide. 

Listen carefully, 

     delicately I speak. 

I talk in symbols, 

     with much to say. 

I am witness to time, 

     ideas, objects and values. 

Of five worlds, I belong, 

     five cohorts keep me strong. 

Bound, I impart, 

     stories plentiful. 

Be patient, endure, 

     wisdom, shall be.

                                                                        

So it is

Upon writing this article and experiencing some difficulty, due to its vastness of origin, as to how I would introduce the make-up of tarot the above poem came to me. Not only do I feel it reveals the ‘Heart of Tarot’ and reflects my affection for the cards but also it provided me with the ideal way to get straight to the point without ‘going around the mulberry bush’.

So let's jump right in!

Essentially, the Tarot is a book of Symbols, its core, composition, is founded upon the existence of Five Archetypal Worlds. These worlds are supported, brought to life through the encouragement of Five Cohorts - their purpose being to fortify, add value, through grabbing and marrying our senses. To embellish, describe, add and underpin meaning, connect our subconscious with the conscious, engage emotion and so forth (the full role they play will become more apparent as we move on).

The Five Archetypal Worlds are:

The Animal World
Human Creation World
The Garden World
The Landscape World
The Spiritual World

The Five Cohorts are:

Colour
Numbers
People (images) 
Words
Signs

Because of the diverse cultures and religions in society today, many Symbols exist making it virtually impossible to cover them all.

Below I give particular attention only to the more significant Symbols that are primarily found within most Tarot Decks. Also because of the breadth of the arena, to keep it short, only a simple snapshot (a few words) is given for their symbolic meaning.

THE FIVE ARCHETYPAL WORLDS

The Animal World

Asp: Energy and force
Bird/s: Truth, art and the higher consciousness
Butterfly: Transformation (Resting on Jewels: The soul)
Bull: Earth, feeling and physical senses
Crayfish, Lobster or Crab: The deepest level of instinct
Dog, Cat or Wolf: The animal side of nature
Dragon: Aggression and combat
Eagle: Immortality, superior forces of nature and infinite space
(On a shield: A resplendent soul enfolded in spirituality)
Feather or red plume: Faith
Fish: Soul, water, emotions, psychic ability, and motion
Goat: Lust and sensual appetites
Horse/s: Life-force and the cosmos
Lion: Noble character, passion, strength, fire, and intuition
Owl: Wisdom and the quest for knowledge
Peacock: Success and material comforts
Salamander: Fire and impervious to fire
Snake: Primal unconscious energy, rebirth or immortality and eternity

The Human Creation World

Banners: Victory and self-assertion Castle: Something of value is within, spiritual power and watchfulness, security and wealth
Chariot: The personality which carries one through life, celestial bodies and of the human journey through life, the human body’s transitory nature as it is affected by mundane life forces
Cape Red: Desire and discretion
Cloak: Alienation and withdrawal from society and the world to an advanced state of mind
Crown: Highest faculty in the human and highest attainment of man in the spiritual evolution
Cup: Water, emotion, love, abundance, and enjoyment
Gown White/Flowing: Purity of motivation
Head Piece (Helmet): Elevated - thought and high level, or Elaborate - boldness, imagination, vitality and aggression (Hat large): Meditation; and Cap - meditative personality
Hood: Personal thoughts which are unknown to others
Mask: The concealed self
Pillars/Columns: Black - Negative life force (pictured on the left side). White - Positive life force (pictured on the right side)
Pentacle (coin): Earth, material aspect/s and money
Robe White: Pure ideas and motives
Scales: Balance and equilibrium
Sceptre: Authority, triumph, and success
Ship: Vehicle - as is the body a vehicle of the soul
Shoes Yellow: Dependency on the physical earth
Sphinx: Life’s riddles and dangers
Square: Exact measurement, ideal base or foundation, and severity of the law
Sword: Air, intellect, mind, energy, psychic decisiveness, the divine law of the universe and that which is true and just
Tower: Human aspiration. Closed tower: A prison of pride and illusion
Veil: Something hidden from view
Wand: Direction, intensity, and purification
Wheel/s: Energy of circular motion in the cosmos, rotation, movement, revolution, cycle/s of existence, cause and effect of continual rhythm
Wreath: Connection with nature. Made with flowers: Fullest most beautiful expression of nature and transient life

The Garden World

Fruit/grapes: Abundance
Lily: Purity of motivation
Lotus Flower: Macrocosm, the centre of the life force of the divine and perfection
Plants: Fertile
Palm: Fecundity and victory
Pinecone: Fertility
Pine tree: Immortality
Pomegranate: Unity of the complex forces, fertility, and reproduction
Rose: That which has been cultivated to grow to its most perfect state and desire. White: Purity, innocence, immortality, and freedom of the soul. Red: Passion
Sunflower: Solar energy and a love of life and its energy
Tree/s: Life itself, the evolution of experience and awareness. Bound to a tree: Dependency on the physical earth
Wheat: Brief life span

The Landscape World

Lake: Unknown forces
Mountain/s: The quest for truth and ascent to a higher sphere of existence. High or steep: Elevated intellect
Rainbow/s: Beauty, mercy and the joining of the earthly world with the spiritual world
Water: Formless experience-emotion, dissolution of the ego, release, and cleansing. Red - Struggles ahead that must be overcome
Waterfall/deep pool: Subconscious and psychic activity

The Spiritual World (includes religious and cultural symbols)

Angel: Intellect, mental faculties
Circle: Haven, eternity and state of oneness
Cloud: Universal mind
Earth: Female as it gives birth to life
Hair: White: Wisdom of the ages
Head Band: Gold: Divine spark
Heart (red): Warmth and love, the centre of harmony between mind and sex organs
Holy Cross: The spirit of the higher plane
Horizontal 8 - eight: Cosmic symbol of eternal life
Key/s: Ready to unlock something. Crossed: Keys of the conscious and subconscious mind, and unlocking of the gates of heaven and hell
Lightning: The flash (spark) of truth
Lit/ Lantern: Light of perfect knowledge from intuition, spiritual light, and knowledge
Moon: Mother, feelings, instinct, feminine principle, fertility, guards the gateways to the deepest recesses of the mind and water. Crescent moon: Cyclic phases, divine light, mediation, reflection, imagination, instinctive contact with higher beings. Moon (Silver) - Subconscious mind 
Scroll: Secret knowledge
Skeleton: That which survives death
Skull: Human immortality
Solar Cross: Union of positive and negative
Star: State of perfection
Stick or Rod: Spiritual unity, fire, energy, creativity, talent, work (career) and nature of all things
Sun: Spiritual guidance, happiness, and blessing. Sun (Gold) -  Conscious mind 

Keep a watch out and don’t miss the final part of The Heart of Tarot when I discuss the Cohorts of the Five Archetypal Worlds…you won't; be disappointed.

I look forward to our next meet up, until then – stay safe and well.