Tarot for Spiritual Alchemy: Introduction

A Tarot deck contains 78 cards divided into two unequal parts, the Major and Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana represents the archetypal energies that mark significant phases and experiences in our human journey, while the Minor Arcana adds detail and clarity to those themes. Understanding the archetypes and how they connect to your lived experiences will allow you to use Tarot as a storytelling device. The type of story you tell with Tarot cards depends on the lens you choose to examine your life through.

Many readers use the symbolism and archetypes embedded within Tarot to craft a story related to daily life (eye-level view). Although I learned to read Tarot in this way, this is not how I currently utilize my decks. Several years ago, I discovered a form of Tarot reading which calls you to examine your life from a bird’s eye view. This type of storytelling helps you critically reflect on your lived experiences using a wider lens. It assists you in connecting the dots of your life to discover themes, patterns, and soft spots. This is the form of Tarot reading that has been life-changing for me and instrumental in my soul growth and development journey.

The Major Arcana

The Major Arcana is referred to as the Fool’s Journey. The Fool’s Journey has many similarities to Joseph Campbell’s description of the Hero’s Journey. Joseph Campbell was a mythologist who studied story structures common in today’s most popular films and novels. Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Last Dragon, The Wiz, and Lord of the Rings all follow the same structure, which Campbell refers to as the monomyth. Though there is great flexibility within this structure, it’s always cyclical. The hero embarks on an adventure/quest, is tested, and returns home. However, the hero does not return as the same person who left. Instead, they return with new skills or lessons learned. (If you haven’t seen the film “Finding Joe,” I highly recommend it. It’s on Amazon Prime.)

We can view the Major Arcana (Fool’s Journey) through a cyclical lens like the Hero’s Journey. We will be tested, initiated, wounded, loved, deceived, and more during our lifetime before returning home. Learning Tarot through this lens helped me further connect the concepts and archetypes to my life and identify their role in my overall life story.

Over the years, the archetypes represented in Tarot have taught me valuable lessons. The Magician archetype taught me how my thoughts are causative. The Lovers archetype taught me that my relationships are mirrors. The Tower archetype taught me to surrender fully. The swords read me to filth (and became my favorite suit). This suit cut deep and helped me understand the wounds I buried.

As a weekly practice, I reflect on the archetypal energies in my spreads. Then, I examine how these energies manifest in my life. I ask myself many of the following questions. First, how do I feel when the archetypal energy emerges in my life? How do I make others feel when I express this energy? I ask myself if this feeling/experience is one I want to replicate? And, what lesson has this energy come to show me? 

Through these blogs, I will introduce you to each Tarot archetype and reveal the life lessons they shared with me.