Can we discuss the symbolism found in the tarot? You always hear about the connection to Ancient Egypt but what are the specific examples of said symbolism? Also its obvious that the Rider Waite deck inserted way more esoteric symbols from all sorts of spiritual traditions from around the world. would like to understand the deeper meanings of the cards beyond "this card represents good fortune" type of stuff. Those explanations that Arthur Waite wrote about were just the surface level of interpretation that he was willing to reveal to the normies. The true meaning of the cards was always kept as a close secret. I really want to know because I think that the Tarot is legit the best way of communicating with the supernatural. Anyone here able to point out any of the more notable pieces of iconography? Also what are the connections that you have found that everyone else has missed? Would love to hear whatever theories people have on this topic.
I know The Tower represents the Tarot Major Arcana. If you count the petals it equals 22 which is all the Major Arcana.
>>38455660Read “the mystic test book”
>>38455660In waites book he suggests the idea that they are like a secret code among secret(duh) orders. Though he specifically mentions the albigensiansIn Fulcanelli's second book it says the tarot is a graphic representation of the great work, couple times mentions philosophical mercury being the fool(sometimes the first card being called the alchemist) the royal buffoons also being mercury (king being the sun, queen the moon, general mars, etc)Actually even reading the cathedrals, one of the images (the alchemy holding the schala philosophorum) sounds kinda like the high priestess, because both figures hold a sealed text, the priestess holding a half visible scroll, and the alchemy holding two books, one closed and the other open. Though they have nothing else in commonBut in the demeures this theme of tarot and alchemy is expanded. There shows the tomb of francisco ii surrounded by four statues: justice, strenght, temperance, and prudence, which is not on the tarots i know, or at least in a form i can recognizeAlso says the fool is sometimes put at the beginning, others at the end of the arcana because mercury is what you start and end with. Also that the world is the last card because the alchemist is trying to replicate God's creation on his flask
I suggest you read on Camoin-Jodorowsky's deck, it is based on the Marsaille tarot which is not only older than the Rider Waite but it's not bloated by superficial symbolism, if they are to be believed, this Camoin-Jodorowsky deck comes from an effort of many years from Camoin (oldest deck manufacturers in the world) and Jodorowsky (creator of psychomagic) of compiling the oldest found decks and matching them to make a fair assumption of what the oldest, purest decks would've looked like from centuries ago.He has a pretty good book that goes into detail on the deeper sense that you're displaying interest in, i.e. the specific symbology of the unique designs, by memory I can attest to, for example, a green little droplet on the center of the carriage in le chariot, in the book going into detail on how it represents alchemical mercury and these sorts of in-depth analyses of each card. I believe you would be interested in it, of course Jodorowsky has his detractors but I believe his methodology of study of analyzing the visuals of the cards is underrated for it gives you more than just a superficial meaning of a card, it expands into its world and has you point to the smallest details to gather information from. Hope this helps you
I think that the ancient Egypt thing is just a continuation of the Europe's obsession with ancient Egypt. Greek mystery cults often claimed to come from Egyptian thought to gove themselves more legitimacy. The connections are often very thin, possibly imaginary.I will admit that Tarot has connections to alchemy, and that alchemy had a direct lineage back to Egypt. I just don't think that there is a lure lineage of the alchemical tradition. I'm not disparaging its value, just questioning how ancient some of its ideas really are.The other anon is right that if you're interested in the true original symbolism, thrn you must go back to the oldest versions. Pay attention to soem of the patterns in the minor arcana, and how some of the major arcana look when placed next to each other.
>>38456821>>38456910OP here. The pre rider stuff has its own lineage that probably reaches far back into the past and is very interesting in itself. I'm also a big fan of Jodorowsky and his study of the cards. But I am also interested in the possible secret knowledge that Waite possessed and infused into his own tarot deck. The rider deck is obviously a more modern invention but I genuinely believe it has encoded into it secret knowledge which is very ancient. Waite in his books often alludes to the fact that the true meaning of the cards is something that they are keeping secret from the general public. So naturally I am just interested in what secret meaning this is.
If you're into psychedelics. Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson wrote a book called The Game of Life which claims that the Tarot is an ancient map of the chakras (they call them circuits)
>>38457047Many of the cards reference correspondences that are only understood when one knows the mysteries. For example, look at the Devil card then look at the Lovers card. The being in between the two humans is the same in each card, the difference being their perspective and outlook on each other, and by extension, life and the cosmos.
