One Page Guide – Page 2

The Eight of Pentacles – A One Page Guide

February 14, 2020February 15, 2020 John Iacovelli Earth, Eights, Hod, One Page Guide, Pentacles, Virgo

A.E. Waite expends a lot of effort to make sure we see the laborer of the Eight of Pentacles as one who is learning his craft. In the Pictorial Key, he not only mentions this fact in his divinatory meanings for the Eight, he also points it out in his description of the Three of Pentacles. Why does he draw our attention to this? I suggest that Waite’s message is that tarot, and indeed, magic, can be learned by us in the same way that the apprentice learns: by starting out with the simple tasks; then through long experience at those tasks, over time, he becomes the skilled artisan. Our laborer wields his hammer like Mercury’s caduceus (which is basically a wand). He imbues magical energy into the symbol of the classical element of Earth, the coin. The result is the trophy, a symbol of something that he has won through his effort.

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The Seven of Cups – A One Page Guide

January 24, 2020February 7, 2020 John Iacovelli Cups, Netzach, One Page Guide, Scorpio, Sevens, Water

The Seven of Cups is a much more negative card than one might guess from a cursory glance. After all, Scorpio is one of the most serious signs of the Zodiac, if not the most deadly serious of them all. So why does Waite prattle on about “fairy favors?” In fact, the modern day perception of fairies is very different than the “sinister” aspect they held in Britain in times past. The Seven of Cups is the abundance of Venus poisoned by Scorpio. Venus was caught in flagrante with Mars by Vulcan, Venus’ husband. Vulcan had been told about their affair, and so he made a net of bronze chains to catch them. The chains were so fine that they could not be seen, not even by the gods. He caught them and exposed them to all the other gods, who laughed heartily at Venus and Mars. There we have the illusion, the invisible chains, and the empty attainment, the act of adultery interrupted. As to interpreting this card as “self-delusion?” Well, Vulcan may have deluded himself, but the adultery was not an illusion. There may be a bigger picture to consider, i.e., the externalities, when we look at the Seven of Cups.

Tarot

The Four of Wands – A One Page Guide

January 13, 2020February 7, 2020 John Iacovelli Aries, Chesed, Fire, Fours, One Page Guide, Wands

The Four of Wands is pleasant but unfocused and visually empty. What is its most important part? This unusual lack of focus renders the festival distant and joyless. Fortunately, by studying Waite’s divinatory meanings (and a couple of online encyclopedias), we can discover the joy. This festival has an open bar. And what a bar! This is not just any country fête—it is one sacred to Venus. Using an odd device, Waite throws in a reference to “harvest-home,” a very English harvest festival, and by doing so, refers back to Venus. It is a festival of wine and fertility. The Romans called it “Vinalia urbana,” but we can simply enjoy it (accompanied by a glass of “sacramental” wine) as a celebration of sacred and profane love, and the fertility of the earth. It is the Primavera of Botticelli, as rendered by Colman Smith, and bottled by A.E. Waite.

Tarot

The Three of Swords – A One Page Guide

December 29, 2019February 7, 2020 John Iacovelli Air, Binah, Libra, One Page Guide, Swords, Threes

Of the Three of Swords, Waite says the divinatory meanings include “all that the design signifies naturally, being too simple and obvious to call for specific enumeration.” While that may be true, like all things tarot, there are layers beneath the surface awaiting discovery. The first thing we note about the illustration is that there is no human figure. Of the minor arcana corresponding to the 36 decans, it is one of only two such cards. What we will find beneath the thrice pierced heart is a balance, as of the scale of Libra, between the masculine Saturn, ruler of the decan, and the feminine Venus, the planetary ruler of Libra. And though Saturn and Venus may be evenly matched, Binah, the very feminine qabalistic influence, tips the scales to the feminine. We’ll also find a very interesting male/female, lover/beloved dynamic in the upright and reversed divinatory meanings. Is the illustration a representation of a detached and removed love? Yes, I think so, and in fact, I think we can even say that Waite implies a direction in that separation: the beloved left the lover. In this series on the minor arcana I have many times applauded the genius of Colman Smith and far less so Waite. In this case, though, Colman Smith has copied another design, and Waite has done something particularly original with the divinatory meanings.

Tarot

The Seven of Pentacles – A One Page Guide

December 25, 2019February 7, 2020 John Iacovelli Earth, Netzach, One Page Guide, Pentacles, Sevens, Taurus

The Seven of Pentacles is one of those minor arcana in which Waite adheres fairly closely to the Golden Dawn point of view, yet adds his own spin. The Golden Dawn associated the card with ”promises of success unfulfilled.” That may have much to do with the location of the associated decan at the end of Taurus. Waite’s “spin” is quite interesting; it may describe the end of the agricultural age, replaced by the industrial age. In this respect, the Seven of Pentacles is not so much a transformation card as a “marker” for an ending. We should be careful not to underestimate the power of this card.

Tarot

The Nine of Cups – A One Page Guide

December 10, 2019February 7, 2020 John Iacovelli Cups, Nines, One Page Guide, Pisces, Water, Yesod

A well-fed gent in front of a dais laden with wine but not food, awaits his drinking companions. As W.C. Fields once said, “I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.” Colman Smith is cooking with Yesod and a double helping of Jupiter in the Nine of Cups. It’s a surface filled with sexual shapes and below it, sexual meanings. Does this mean that when we see the Nine of Cups we should assume it means the height of sexual pleasure? Such an interpretation might make a new friend or two for the modern reader! But I don’t think so. Rather, in the same way we need to recognize the pattern of clues in the surface of the card, it could be taken as advice to then look for clues on the surface of the situation the querent describes which might then be ascribed to sexual urges when analyzed less superficially.

Tarot

The Five of Wands – A One Page Guide

November 28, 2019February 7, 2020 John Iacovelli Fire, Fives, Geburah, Leo, One Page Guide, Wands

The Five of Wands is a depiction of youthful competition and the battle of life. Waite’s divinatory meanings have a major difference in tone, though not of substance, versus the Golden Dawn’s; imitation fighting and strife vs. real. Saturn and the Sun in combination are the explanation for the difference in tone. There was a belief dating back to Mesopotamia that the planet Saturn was pre-cursor of the Sun. Saturn the “Sun-Star” may be a fragment of the story of the Golden Age. Saturn was the grandfather god who may have required child sacrifice; he presided over a (literally) darker planet, though the Earth provided such abundance that work was unnecessary. It is Saturn vs. the Sun, a past “imitation,” lesser Sun vs. today’s real, greater Sun. We have hopefully thrown light upon the RWS Five of Wands, but found nothing that challenges its accepted meanings in any way.

Tarot Fundamentals, though more expensive than most alternatives, is my recommendation as the single best book for beginners. It has the grounding you need in tarot history; it lists the astrological, elemental and qabalistic influences for every card; it provides excellent "how-to" essays on approaches such as intuition and the journey of the fool; and it provides illustrations of the renderings of eight decks for every card. The primary authors have continuing relationships with the Tarosophy Tarot Association, and this book is meant to be an encyclopedic volume of a good portion of their teachings.

Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination is the best history of the origin of tarot, bar none. The first two thirds of the book should be required reading for anyone who wishes to even begin to truly understand the major arcana. Robert M. Place does have his "hobby-horse"—alchemy—and he gives far too little emphasis to the Golden Dawn. But his explanation of how the symbols in the majors got there and what they mean is unparalleled. The last third of the book is a description of the RWS deck.

The Lo Scarabeo Tarot is the "go-to" deck I use when I have my own questions. (I use RWS for other people). It's an attempt to reconcile the Golden Dawn, Waite/Colman Smith and Thoth. It doesn't do it perfectly. It's gorgeous. It's not for everybody. But if Tarot "theory" is your cup of tea, it may be a good choice for you, too.

To be honest, Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot is more "cute" and "fun" than insightful, in my opinion. But it is great fun. It visually relates Pamela Coleman Smith's theatre work to the deck she drew.