Revisiting Tarot Card Meanings

Justice

  • Yang, Air, Venus, Libra
  • Curtains in background symbolize separation in states of consciousness
  • Third law of motion: for every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction
  • September 23 - October 23

Justice Reversed

  • Malfeasance

The Hanged Man

  • Yin, Water, Neptune
  • Red pants of fearlessness, blue shirt of intuition
  • “Hang in there”
  • Approval of the mob is not needed
  • Balance between dominion and slavery
  • Wounded healer
  • Gift of prophecy
  • Sacrifice for the greater good

The Hanged Man Reversed

  • Too self-righteous
  • False spirituality
  • Lack of wisdom and grace

Death

  • Yin, Water, Mars, Scorpio
  • Overthrow of an authoritarian regime
  • Natural cycle of revolution
  • 13 October 1307: sentencing of the Templars
  • Darker aspects of the WoF
  • White horse of death that the Knight of Cups rides
  • Resisting difficult and painful change
  • October 23 - November 21

Death Reversed

  • Need to be fluid like water

Temperance

  • Yang, Fire, Jupiter, Sagittarius
  • Reconciling existing skills with the task at hand
  • Tempering the conscious with the unconscious resolves anxiety & depression
  • Sun as superego, rough terrian as id, pool as unconscious, angel as conscious
  • Angel of time; past and present flow both ways

Temperance Reversed

  • Excess
  • Physical cravings
  • Need to devote greater attention to physical health
  • Mental / emotional / spiritual imbalances manifesting in the physical

I would have assumed this card was associated with Aquarius, and Yin. It feels much cooler than hot, to me. But I do note the red wings of the angel, the sun on their forehead, and the upwards triangle on their chest.

The Devil

  • Yin, Earth, Saturn, Capricorn
  • Female tail bears fruit, male tail bears flames (abandoning virtue to indulge in desire)
  • Worship of false idols
  • Being led astray
  • Black magick
  • Hatred & resentment
  • Mara
  • December 22 - January 19
  • Baphomet

The Devil Reversed

  • Divorce

A good tip from Wen; when reversed and surrounded by positive cards, it indicates victory in the final battle over negative forces. When reversed and surrounded by negative cards, it indicates feelings of defeat after defeat.

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The Tower

  • Yang, Fire, Mars
  • False sense of ego ; hubris
  • The aftermath is truth
  • Bankruptcy
  • Be conservative and cautious

The Tower Reversed

  • Cataclysm
  • Reliance on false impression made by others
  • Being falsely accused
  • Reduced damage

Surrounding cards can help identify what it will take to overcome the cataclysm.

I realized yesterday, I do in fact have a Marseilles deck. I didn’t even realize. Time to learn :slight_smile:

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The Star

  • Yang, Air, Saturn (?!?) & Uranus, Aquarius
  • Ibis of Thoth
  • Budding red rose bushes; birth and receipt of esoteric knowledge
  • Mastery of the balance between intelligence & love
  • The superego is the dominant level of awareness
  • Releasing energies from the superego to the ego
  • Giving more than you receive
  • Empathy (versus the psychic awareness of the High Priestess)
  • Relief from pain
  • Rekindling of personal motivation through intellectual awakening
  • January 20 . February 18

The Star Reversed

  • Pessimism (mental and intellectual versus emotional)
  • Illness
  • Need for inspiration & to be more confident about the future
  • Tendency towards depression
  • Deep pain

I was not aware of the connection between the eight-pointed star here and the star seen in the crown of the driver in the Chariot card, suggesting the Star as the source of divine empowerment. Success from action and control.

…where on earth is the Saturn correspondence coming from?? Wen lists but does not reference or explore it at all. @Dankquanicus , may I ask for your wizard brains insight here?

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The Moon

  • Yin, Water, Jupiter & Neptune, Pisces
  • One dog, one wolf
  • Leaves from the Tree of Life
  • Constant change, duality, dichotomy
  • Direct progression (personal metamorphosis) from Death to Moon
  • First light of the divine comes from reflection instead of the sun itself
  • Future: unforeseen perils ahead (look to neighboring cards)
  • Presence of invisible forces & deceptive people
  • The beginning of manifestation into consciousness of the High Priestess*s esoteric knowledge
  • Seeker’s soul purpose
  • Mysticism & mythos of civilization
  • February 19 - March 20

The Moon Reversed

  • Misunderstandings
  • Great fluctuations & high risk of harm
  • “Everything that rises must converge”
  • Surfacing of repressed latent

I also associate upright (nor just reversed) moon with illusions and confusion magick.

So…the Sun card is associated by the Sun, but the Moon card is associated with Pisces and Jupiter/Neptune? Not the Moon and Cancer? The High Priestess is associated with the Moon and the Chariot with Cancer and the Moon? Confusing. At least I understand the Jupiter association with Pisces after reading Geosophia by Jake Stratton-Kent (RIP).

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The Sun

  • liberation from a former state of toil
  • mastery over the ego
  • stone wall represents strong, lasting defense

The Sun Reversed

  • loss of something valuable
  • marriage troubles
  • disorientation
  • untapped potential
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Judgement

  • Yin, Water (Pluto) or Fire (Vulcan), Pluto
  • Reception of the conscious of what is contained in the collective unconscious
  • Divine Knowledge
  • Aftermath of prayer

Judgement Reversed

  • Disinterest in a spiritual life
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The World

  • Yin, Earth, Saturn
  • Synthesis
  • Gaia Hypothesis
  • Florence Farr

The World Reversed

  • Willful ignorance
  • Conscious denial
  • Resisting beneficial change
  • Skepticism

I had thought that this would be the World, but Wen has only listed Saturn.

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:sun_with_face: The Sun
:full_moon: The High Priestess
:money_with_wings: The Magician
:cherry_blossom: The Empress
:crossed_swords: The Tower
:crown: Wheel of Fortune
:hourglass_flowing_sand: The World?


:fire: Judgement?
:leaves: The World?
:wind_face: The Fool?
:droplet: The Hanged Man


:aries: The Emperor
:taurus: The Hierophant
:gemini: The Lovers
:cancer: The Chariot
:leo: Strength
:virgo: The Hermit
:libra: Justice
:scorpius: Death
:sagittarius: Temperance
:capricorn: The Devil
:aquarius: The Star
:pisces: The Moon

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Ace of Wands

  • New venture or enterprise
  • Sourced from the Tree of Life archetype
  • Science, religion, philosophy, arts, humanities
  • Creative energy that has just been put into action

Ace of Wands Reversed

  • Setbacks in accomplishing goals and starting new projects
  • Loosing focus & procrastinating
  • Need for greater willpower
  • Unclear outcome

I focus more on personal and spiritual empowerment (or disempowerment) when reading this card. But also definitely new ideas, especially divinely inspired ones.

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Two of Wands

  • Alexander the Great
  • Being successful but wanting more
  • Innovative, artistic, and scientific success (as opposed to business)
  • Preparing to venture beyond the comfort zone
  • Work-life balance

Two of Wands Reversed

  • Trying to surpass another (especially a predecessor) but falling short
  • Tension between Seeker’s aspirations and the aspirations imposed upon the Seeker
  • Differences of opinion
  • Need to be patient and double-check details
  • Others seek to claim the fruits of the Seeker’s labor
  • Falling short of expectations
  • Sudden distress
  • Early efforts were in vein

The red cap symbolizes both prosperity & ambition. The red roses represent beauty, secrecy, and religious passion, crossed over white lilies of wisdom and peace.

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The Star is the Zodiacal Trump of Aquarius, which is the Day House (Sign) of Saturn in traditional astrology.

Only Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, The Sun, Venus, Mercury, and The Moon are visible to the naked eye so they are the only planets considered in traditional astrology and the outer planets were only discovered much later on. But light is also important to traditional astrology to begin with. So all the Planets, except for the Sun and the Moon, have both a “Day House” and a “Night House” (“House” in this meaning “Sign”, not one of the 12 Houses of Heaven). For Saturn, Aquarius is his Day House, and Capricorn is his Night House. They are his two signs, and they are opposite the signs of the Sun and the Moon.

Here also is an excerpt from William Ramesey’s Astrologia Restaurata:
“Here I may also give you some other reasons why one aspect is better then another (which I had almost forgot) which is in respect of the Luminaries; for as the Sun is Fons vitae, the fountain of life; so is the Moon of main power and efficacy by her forcible influence on inferiour bodies, bringing the light and influence of all the other Planets to us. I say in respect of them are the aspects termed good or evil: for Saturns houses behold the houses of the Luminaries with an opposition, which is the worst of Aspects by reason he is the worst of Planets” (Page 93)

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Oh, fascinating. Thank you!

harsh :sweat_smile:

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Saturn gets such a bad rep. But where would we be, with unchecked expansion? Contraction and restriction are essential. As are time and death, for this expression of “reality”.

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Since it is Air, Mercury, and Gemini, I would hazard that there could be even more meanings with more dichotomous or completely opposite meanings. It’s funny that it’s a card of “love”, but really it seems to be a card of twins, of agreement, or of agreement even in disagreement, of entwined souls or ideas or goals, who may oppose each other occasionally, but always come back to accord.

This is a fascinating card for me because it does represent the inseparability of two people, or of the conscious and subconscious self, or two conflicting viewpoints of a single person… but alongside that steadfast inseparability it also represents two forces. Not opposing forces but forces who make a whole when they meet and reconcile.

The idea of the Lovers, if seen through the lens of Gemini, is not of two people or personalities or ideals or wants who are in disagreement, but of a single soul which is divided in choice but still willingly cleave to one another. It is push-and-pull, but it ultimately ends in agreement; even if the understanding is that the agreement is a concession that will be repaid in the future — not in a demanding way, but because the Lovers is about undemanding balance and willing give-and-take.

I know the Lovers is often seen as that, the cards of two separate people coming together, but to me I see it entirely differently. It is the Love of self, the Anima and Animus, the conscious and unconscious, the two things that make a whole.

— Sincerely, a Sun in Gemini, Mercury in Gemini, Lover :stuck_out_tongue:

(Love this thread btw, it is really helping me expand my view of the Tarot)

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The wording seems harsh but it is speaking of the general signification of Saturn as the Greater Malefic, since he rules over various unpleasant things in life and is rather destructive to life because of his cold nature (But allows plants to grow wonderfully, and rules those great untamed wilds). Similarly, Mars rules over other various other unpleasant things, such as war, killing, all bloodshed, and so is called the Lesser Malefic (But also grants courage and strength and destroys what ought to be destroyed in the world), and both are traditionally called Infortunes.

However, William Ramesey also says this: “Jupiter and Venus may sometimes be malevolent Planets and not fortunes. Saturn and Mars may also sometimes be fortunes & not infortunes” (Astrologia Restaurata, Page 124) speaking of accidental rulership and in some things.

“But note (as aforesayd) that if a malevolent Planet be significator in any thing in the Radix, you must fortify it, and not think the making a fortune: viz. Iupiter or Venus (which are but generally so) signifcators, will be beneficial : for it will often prove contrary : for all men are not ruled by Jupiter and Venus; neither (as I say) are they always fortunes : for accidentally they may be infortunes : and when they are Lords of the eight, twelfth and sixth, they are occasions of sickness, poverty, imprisonment, mischief and death as effectually as Saturn or Mars : for every Planet must doe the office whereunto it is ordained : and so by the same rule may Saturn and Mars be fortunes, and so they are to those they chiefly rule, and to such things as are properly under their dominion either naturally or accidentally; wherefore the true knowledge of your significator (in Elections_ of the business intended is of great value, and worthy serious consideration.” (Astrologia Restaurata, Page 123-124)

I agree. It seems the Gods have modeled the world in this way that allows for constant creation and changing images (and, a practically infinite amount of them). I agree that with how things are it is necessary to keep everything functioning. At least, it seems to be necessary in a world where things spring into existence.

But great praise ought to be given to all the Planets, and all the Celestial Bodies and Spirits above them.

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