A Meditation on the Major Arcana

contributed anonymously

This idea was developed from an idea put forth by P.D. Ouspensky, in his book The Symbolism of the Tarot. It is one which I have thought on quite a few times and has always helped me with finding interesting ideas and has been a great help to me in learning the Tarot.

Using the major arcana of the Tarot, place the Fool, 0, on the left side of the table. On the right side place the Universe, 21.

Between the two cards lay in a row cards 1 through 10. In a row below it place cards 11 through 20.

Consider the card pairs displayed here. What do you see?

Lets look at a couple examples, and I will share some brief interpretations of my own.

0-Fool and 21-Universe

The microcosm and macrocosm. The above and below. Man as a reflection of the One as Universe.

10-Wheel of Fortune and 20-Judgement

As the great wheel turns, everything eventually comes to Judgement and that transformation is inevitable.

Also you can arrange the cards slightly different. Still the first row has cards 1 through 10. In the row beneath it place the cards 11 through 20 in reverse order.

A new set of relations are presented to us and offer further insight into the Tarot. A couple more brief examples with my interpretations:

6-The Lovers and 15-The Devil

This is a pretty obvious warning of the dangers of lust and false desires.

7-The Chariot and 14-Temperance

Even in victory we must maintain a sense of humility, success is not an end but a beggining to a new challenge.

4-The Emperor and 17-The Star

The Emperor is the transitory agent of the Tetragrammaton, the 2nd He. It is with the application of the Law, that the Emperor is seeking the Star within himself (a passive quality symbolized by the man in a seated position), and reaching for the stars in the heavens. The divine source of light and life.

We can also reverse the pairs and get yet another interpretation from the cards.

17-The Star and 4-The Emperor

The divine light of the Star travels down to Man and is reflected from within him. The qualities of the individual and their understanding of the application of the Law within nature, results in the clarity of the light reflected from the Star.

These meditations are not very complex and may be a good tool for learning with the Tarot.