Tarot is a Profound Source of Insight - Page 20
Tarot Articles and Blogs
Learn how Tarot cards and their meanings influence your life here and now
Dr. Robert V. O'Neill
Dr. O'Neill recently retired as Senior Research Scientist and Corporate Fellow, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has more than 240 publications including several books on Ecological Theory. He has served on the National Science Foundation Panel on Ecological Sciences and the Editorial Boards of Ecology, Columbia University Press, Ecosystem Journal, and Conservation Ecology. Read More »
Fool Cards
Figure 1 shows the four intact cards from the 15/16th century decks. The fool appears in a variety of guises from the goitered idiot with feathers in his hair to the homeless man with bells to warn of his approach. In two cases, he is being played with or tormented by children. In all cases he is carrying an object: a staff, a branch, or a belt of bells. In two cases he has a foolscap with the ears of a jackass. In all cases his clothing is inadequate. Read More »
Virtue Cards
The three Tarot trumps that represent cardinal or moral virtues (Temperance, Fortitude, Justice) will be covered in separate chapters. However, the virtues form an integral subset of the symbolic system and some general observations are in order. Read More »
Pope Cards
Figure 1 shows the 6 extant Pope cards from the 15th and 16th centuries. As with the Emperor, all of the figures are enthroned. The keys of St. Peter are shown on three of the cards, Read More »
Papess Cards
The five surviving Papess images (card #4) are shown in Figure 1. All of the images show a seated woman wearing the triple papal tiara. Two have a staff topped with a cross, two have a bishop's crozier and the last holds a key, the key of Peter as a symbol of the papacy. Three have a closed book in their laps and one is reading from a book open on a reading stand. Two show a tonsured assistant as found on some Pope cards. Read More »
The Continental Tarots
In the essay entitled "The Major Arcana" I emphasize that "something happened" to the Tarot in the late 1600s, when a new trend emerged in the images of the Major Arcana. I point to the Marseilles family of decks and the Etteilla Tarots to illustrate my point. Read More »
History of Tarot
This work began in 1970 when I purchased a used deck of the 20th Century Tarot in a book shop in Salem, Oregon. I was a freshman in college. With parents who were both therapists, I instantly recognized that Tarot was a tool with Read More »
The Underground Streams: Esoteric Tarot Revealed
Welcome to the Christine Payne-Towler Tarot Library. Included here are excerpts from her book, The Underground Streams: Esoteric Tarot Revealed. Read More »
Religious Art and Magic
The occultist community is accustomed to thinking of the Roman Church as the enemy of Magic. We have already seen that the Church was the primary means for the preservation and dissemination of magical texts and that many forms of magic, such as astrological imagery in medical practice, were applauded. Read More »
Criteria for Esoteric Tarot
The term "esoteric Tarot" defines our approach to the unfolding history of Tarot. Throughout this program, it is the key concept and watchword. So the reader can follow the discussion, I have listed the following characteristics that must be met to qualify a deck as an esoteric Tarot: Read More »