 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
The Major Arcana Of the seventy-eight cards in the Tarot de Paris, the twenty-two major arcana cards are truly mysterious by nature. Not only were these the images that I witnessed during the visionary event that inspired the creation of this deck, they also inspired the creation of the Infinite Arcana – the unique system I now use for teaching the major cards and reading the Tarot Year. The word ‘arcana’ implies something of mystery. In ancient Latin and Greek the root words refer to secrets, keys, a locked chest or box, or hidden things. Older decks often called these cards trumps: a shortened term for triumphs coming from the 15th to 18th centuries when tarot was played as a competitive card game. Many of the first esoteric decks speak of the major arcana as Atouts (meaning stars - from French). Simply put, the Major Arcanum are images that portray what words cannot otherwise explain. Try to visualize them as causative fields of energy much like the movements of high and low pressure zones in a weather forecast. The causal influences of the Major Arcanum are far reaching and often beyond the scope of the logical mind. Thus, it by interaction with the Minor Arcana cards that their effects in everyday matters life are made known. To unlock the mysteries of this card group we must look closely at the dynamic interplay of the imagery and symbolism with the numbers 21 and 22. The cards of the Major Arcana are numbered from 1 – 21 cards + 0 card = 22.The number 21 is freely associated with the workings of fortune and maximum possibility. Dynamically, 21represents a peak point or climax at which circumstances coalesce and transformations occur. The best example of the 21 in action is the rolling of dice. Over three thousand years before tarot appeared, dice were the most common device used for divination in many ancient cultures. At some point in their later development, the total number of dots per die were standardized as 21 (1+6-2+5-3+4). It is interesting to note that the ‘roll of the dice’ was not attributed to luck or fortune, rather the outcome was believed to be controlled by the gods! The Roman goddess Fortuna, daughter of Zeus (later known as Lady Luck), was believed to determine the outcome of a throw. In modern times 21 plays as a winning hand in the game of Black Jack and, of course, we are now living in the 21st century. Lastly, the Tarot de Paris was only published 2002—21 years after it began in 1981. In numerology, 22 is considered a master number. It is the progenitor of many alphabets such as the Chaldean, Sabean, Roman, Copt and Hebraic. In genetics, chromosome 22 was the first to be deciphered because it contained similarities to all other human chromosomes. In theology, we find there are 22 chapters in the Book of Revelations, and 22 pathways on the tree of Kabalah. But more to the point, the city Paris has an overabundance of correlations with both 21 and 22 as discussed in previous chapters. From the above, we can conclude that 22 is an integrative number – a common denominator – that mirrors the complexities of existence. In conclusion, the Major Arcana are perhaps best described as the 22 facets of a crystalline prism through which clear light is refracted as the spectrum of colors of a lifetime. © 2009 J.Philip Thomas. |