Major Arcana, 0 - XXI
The Major Arcana conveys a higher purpose. The Minor Arcana relates to everyday matters. Historically, the Major Arcana is also known as trumps. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard 78-card pack. They are typically numbered from 0 to 21. The trumps originally had little mystical or magical import. The terms "Major" and "Minor Arcana" are used in the occult, and divinatory applications of the deck as in practicing Esoteric Tarot. The Major Arcana originally had simple allegorical or esoteric meaning, mostly originating in elite ideology in the Italian courts of the 15th century when it was invented. By the 19th century, the tarot came to be regarded as a "bible of bibles," an esoteric repository of all the significant truths of creation. The trend was started by prominent Freemason and Protestant cleric Antoine Court de Gébelin who suggested that the tarot had an ancient Egyptian origin, and mystic divine and Kabbalistic significance. The Major Arcana are considered the most important group of cards in the tarot. To some, they represent universal archetypes. To others, they represent the spiritual quest of enlightenment. They are magickal and special and yet they also represent our everyday lives and experiences. There are many aspects to the Major Arcana and it would be wrong to classify them from just one perspective. Like the rest of the tarot, the Major Arcana are multi-faceted and multi-talented and should be allowed to express themselves in many different ways, from predictive tarot reading, to psychological explorations; from tarot spells and magick to its original purpose – as a game.
Kismet, Way Of The Sword Inspired by Bass Legend Pete Way & Supreme Poet Dante Alighieri. ©2019 Londa R. Marks Published by Alchemist Publishing LLC