The tarot originated at a time when literacy was rare and pictures were an aid to oral traditions that allowed messages to pass from generation to generation. Some say it may have come to us from as long ago as the ancient Egyptian empire. I believe, because of the symbols the oldest decks use, it originated with the nomad Romany folk in the Middle-Ages, in Europe.

I find little in them that conflicts with Christian beliefs; its symbols and concepts appear frequently in the cards, so it would seem they began with people who were familiar with that theology. It does not contain conventional Christian dogma though. That religion's beliefs are mixed with old pagan symbols, numerology, and a host of other elements. No one can really say for sure when the cards were first used and it doesn't matter. The test of the story they tell is whether it is relevant today. I find that, for me, it is.

The main character of the Major Arcana is The Fool. His card is numbered zero, and among scholars of the tarot there is constant debate whether he is the beginning of the story, or should appear in the middle, or at the end. This is because the fool is eternal. He is the spirit in us that questions, he is the adventure in us that leaves safe places to find new things, he is the part of us that is hungry enough to want more and silly enough to take the risks to find what we need.

In each card, The Fool has come to a new resting place on his journey. He meets lots of different people on his travels through the Tarot: kings, queens, priests, merchants, warriors and scholars all have something to tell him about the benefits of their place in the universe. Each has wisdom and blindspots - some recognize that the Fool's Walk will go on, some believe there is nothing beyond the place they have reached, or at least not anything worthwhile.

Taken at face value, it's a classic story. In fact, in many ways The Classic Story. Joseph Campbell's "A Hero With A Thousand Faces" outlines the archetypal steps that every culture's myths say a person will take while on a God-quest. The Fool of the Tarot follows those steps. He starts by foolishly leaving convention and home behind. Sometimes his path is easy and welcoming. Sometimes it is a hard road, and the people he meets make demands of him. Sometimes there are gatekeepers who tell him not to go on. He can only pass their trials if he trusts his heart and follows the drive of his spirit.

There are even deeper messages in the Tarot, if you know its codes. All those characters represent something - the human mind. The Tarot is about stages of psychological development. Every time a male is speaking, it is not really a separate person the fool is meeting, but the viewpoint of his active, analytical brain that is being expressed. When a woman speaks, it is imagination and the subconscious that voices its outlook, from its current state of being.

So, when a man and woman are married in the story, it speaks of the conscious and subconscious mind joining to work together. For instance, alone, the intellect is the magician - all power but no idea what to do with it. By herself, imagination is the high priestess - all veiled mysteries and half-understood secrets. But when married in harmony, they become the empress and emperor - creativity wed with sense, that brings peace and prosperity.

Animals usually represent the body and the voice of the flesh. The tarot considers this an important element of a person and takes it into account as a character itself. When strength controls the lion's mouth, she is talking about the mind being in control of the body without hating it. When the snake weaves tales for the lovers, it is really the possibility of new physical sensations teasing the mind into wondering if peace is boring.

Plants are the same, laden with double-meanings. Roses are desire. If a woman is holding a single rose, it is the cravings of imagination that are being referenced; if a man, the card is about desires of intellect. One rose held would be desire controlled. Being surrounded by an abundant field of roses would mean the fool is in a place where desire grows naturally and unchecked. A garden of roses would be desire cultivated to a pleasing and tame thing for the mind to enjoy.

Trees speak of growth and earthly strengths. Almost every man the fool will meet has a wooden staff of some sort. It may be carved, gilded, or actually growing leaves as a living branch would do, and each tells the traveler something about the thinking part of the brain by showing what it leans on in its current state of development, as shown in that card.

The belief systems of astrology and the Kabbalah make appearances. The numbers involved in the cards are important. The repeating message throughout the cards is wisdom through balance, so two and four will show up frequently. The elements are broken into four parts, earth, air, fire and water, as was believed to be scientifically correct during The Middle Ages. Twelve of something is a reference to the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the passing of time and seasons. What at first may appear to be random decoration is always a word in the story.

You could spend a lifetime reading papers about all of the symbolism. Every nook and cranny of every scene is packed with them. But the real purpose of the tarot is for seekers to meditate on the cards alone and ask themselves what those symbols mean to them, and why they are all together in that picture, and what the person in the card has to tell. Taking the journey with the fool is the heart of the tarot. We do it in life. Pondering it in the cards can give us some useful tools as we do so.

These notes and poems are my own thoughts on the cards. I'm only half-way through, so there are more to come. I hope you enjoy them.

Good Journey To You,
A Fool

- Fool's Walk ©  2000-05 cyndi kirkpatrick
work in progress

The Hanged Man
Death
Temperance

The Devil
The Tower
The Star

The Moon
The Sun
Judgement

The World