Summary of “Tarot Is Not What You Think”:
In the video “Tarot Is Not What You Think,” the host aims to dispel common misconceptions about tarot cards. While many people believe tarot is primarily used for predicting the future, the host emphasizes that its true purpose is as a tool for self-development and gaining deeper insights into one’s life and consciousness.
History and Symbolism: - Origins: Tarot cards date back to the 1400s and were initially used as playing cards for the elite, not for divination. - Symbolic Design: Despite being playing cards, their designs were deeply symbolic and told a grand story of human experience and the Mysteries, which encompasses themes like self-discovery, challenges, conflict, and victory.
Structure of the Tarot Deck: - Major Arcana (Major Secrets): Consists of 22 cards representing significant stages in the soul’s journey or the alchemical process of transformation. Each card symbolizes a different phase of personal and spiritual development, starting with: - The Fool (0): Represents the beginning of the journey, innocence, and potential. - The Magician to The World (1-21): Each subsequent card represents progressions in understanding, challenges, and enlightenment, culminating in The World, symbolizing completion and integration. - Minor Arcana (Minor Secrets): Comprises four suits, each corresponding to an element and aspect of life: - Swords (Air): Thoughts, communication, and intellectual challenges. - Wands (Fire): Creativity, passion, and drive. - Cups (Water): Emotions, relationships, and intuition. - Pentacles (Earth): Physical reality, finances, and material aspects. - Court Cards: Includes Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings, which can represent people in one’s life or different aspects of oneself at various stages of maturity and development.
Numerology and Deeper Meanings: - Numbers: Each card’s number adds a layer of meaning, relating to universal principles and stages of development. - Kabbalistic Connections: The host highlights the importance of the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life in deepening one’s understanding of tarot. By overlaying tarot cards onto the Tree of Life, one can explore the profound connections between the cards and spiritual pathways.
Key Takeaways: - Self-Reflection Tool: Tarot is best used for introspection and gaining insight into one’s personal journey rather than forecasting the future. - Interpreting Readings: When a drawn card seems unrelated to a question, it’s an opportunity to delve deeper into
its symbolism and discover new insights. - Continuous Journey:
Conclusion and Resources:
The host expresses plans to create a comprehensive tarot course to help others unlock the wisdom of the cards. He encourages viewers to explore tarot for personal growth and offers additional resources, including personalized tarot readings and guidance on magical practices.
The video "Tarot Is Not What You Think" from the Esoteric Cross YouTube channel delves into the deeper, lesser-understood nature of tarot and divination. The host begins by addressing the common misconception that tarot is solely about predicting the future. While it can be used for that, tarot’s true purpose is more about self-development and gaining insight into life's questions and challenges. Divination, as explained, is not simply foretelling events, but a practice of engaging the subconscious mind to provide wisdom about a situation or person.
The video provides an in-depth exploration of tarot's origins, which date back to the 1400s when the cards were first used as playing cards for the elite. Despite their initial use, the cards’ designs were rich in symbolism, deeply tied to ancient mysteries and occult practices, suggesting that they were created by those well-versed in esoteric knowledge. Tarot is explained as a tool that helps individuals on their personal journeys by providing symbolic narratives that reflect the challenges, transformations, and victories we face throughout life.
The structure of the tarot deck, consisting of the major and minor Arcana and court cards, is highlighted as a reflection of the human soul and its journey. The major Arcana, or "major secrets," represents the larger, transformative moments in life, with each of the 22 cards telling a piece of the soul’s journey. The minor Arcana, or "minor secrets," depicts smaller, everyday influences, and its suits—swords, wands, cups, and pentacles—represent the four elements: air, fire, water, and earth, each correlating with different aspects of life such as intellect, creativity, emotion, and the material world.
The host emphasizes the value of studying tarot cards in-depth, noting that each card holds layers of meaning that can unlock new insights. Tarot is portrayed as a mirror to the subconscious, helping individuals understand their inner world and how it relates to the outer world.
Furthermore, the video draws connections between tarot and the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah, specifically the Tree of Life, a diagram representing the structure of reality and the process through which divine energy flows into the physical world. The cards of the tarot, particularly the major Arcana, can be mapped onto the Tree of Life’s 10 spheres (called Sephiroth) and the 22 paths connecting them. By overlaying tarot onto Kabbalah, one can gain a deeper understanding of how each card relates to different stages of spiritual development.
The narrator also explains the importance of numerology in tarot, where numbers convey symbolic meaning. Each numbered card in the deck—from one to ten—represents different stages of a cycle, with one signifying beginnings, two relationships, three creativity, and so on, until ten, which marks completion and renewal.
In addition to the tarot-Kabbalah connection, the video suggests that the tarot’s court cards represent personality traits or external and internal qualities in oneself and others. These qualities can guide readers in understanding relationships or self-improvement. Pages, knights, queens, and kings each embody different stages of maturity and activity, ranging from internal development (pages) to external mastery (kings).
The host plans to offer a full course on tarot to help interested individuals dive even deeper into these relationships, showing how understanding tarot can enhance one’s self-awareness and personal gro.wth
