There is a theory that the major arcana of the Tarot tell the story of Percival.
#-Fool
##Innocence
##Beginning
##Simplicity
##Fresh Start
##Blind Faith
#-Magician “Simply put, the Magician is in control of his own thoughts, and therefore the ruler of reality.”
##Power
##Action
##Awareness
##Application
##Resourcefulness
#-Priestess
#-Empress
#-Emperor
#-Hierophant
#-Lovers
#-Chariot
#-Strength
#-Hermit
#-Wheel
#-Justice
#-Hanged Man
##Yield
##Suspend
##Surrender
##Sacrifice
##Non-Action
##Submission
##In-Between
#-Death
#-Temperance
#-Devil
##Ego
##Loss
##Error
##Addiction
##Illusion
##Disruption
##Enslavement
#-Tower
#-Star
#-Moon
#-Sun
#-Judgment
#-World
Keywords from Tarot teachings
the SVG Tarot
by Zarf
The 4 minor suits represent the four elements:
* Swords / Air, ancestor of the suit of Spade. The suit often has a sinister or violent bend to it as well as relating to the intellectual and to cleverness.
* Cups / Water, ancestor of the suit of Hearts. It deals with matters emotional, relationships and romance.
* Coins / Pentacles / Disks / Earth, ancestor of the suit of Diamonds. It deals with the physical, with wealth, health and growth
* Staves / Wands / Fire, ancestor of the suit of Clubs. It deals with will, passion, and power.
The 22 Major Arcana are numbered from 1 to 21, usually in Roman numerical, with the last card The Fool being unnumbered (it’s sometimes referred as the 0 or as Infinity) :
* I – The Magician (Le Bateleur) : shows a young man with the symbol for infinity as his hat. He holds tools of his trades, which are small symbols of the four suits and of luck in his hands. The Tarot de Marseille traditions tends to view him more as a Trickster Archetype and sometimes a bumbling one, whereas for the Rider Waite version he’s more of a powerful and assertive magician. In divination it’s often attributed to the consultant, so it can more often represent the protagonist. Key words are action, initiative, self-confidence, manipulation and power.
* II – The High Priestess (La Papesse) : an old woman with a closed book, a symbol of hidden knowledge, wisdom, female mystery and magic. The card may often double up with Triptic Goddess imagery. She often is a Threshold Guardian.
* III – The Empress (L’Impératrice) : a young and fair woman, sometimes pregnant, with symbols of power. She represents prosperity, creativity, sexuality, abundance, fertility and comfort. It can hold symbolism related to The Three Faces Of Eve, and represent the main female love interest.
* IV – The Emperor (L’Empereur) : a crowned man, sat on a throne his crossed legs shaping a 4 holding a scepter. This card is a symbol of power, action, leadership, stability and decisiveness. Can be associated with The Government.
* V – The Hierophant (Le Pape) : an old man with a tiara, blessing two monks. A symbol of education, authority, conservatism, obedience to rules and relationship with the divine. This card is most often associated with The Church, which could mean the Corrupt Church as well as Crystal Dragon Jesus depending of the setting.
* VI – The Lovers (L’Amoureux) : In the Tarot de Marseille imagery, it’s a man having to chose between two women, who represent two paths his life could lead to, and thus a symbol of standing at a crossroad and needing to make a decision. In the Rider Waite version, it’s a couple, and a more traditional symbol of love and romantic relationships.
* VII – The Chariot (Le Chariot) : A king leading a chariot made up of two differently colored horses (in some cases mythical creatures). A symbol of victory, conquest, self-assertion, control, war and command. The image of mastering, controlling and leading two opposite forces to run the same carriage is a strong image of this one.
* VIII – Justice (La Justice) : A woman holding a sword and balance, a very traditional allegory of justice, objectivity, rationality and analysis, expect references to the Judgment Of Solomon, the Balance Between Good And Evil and other Secret Test Of Character.
* IX – The Hermit (L’Ermite) : An old man in a dark place or cave, holding up a lantern. It’s associated with wisdom, introspection, solitude, retreat and philosophical searches. Often a symbol for the Mentor, but could also indicate the hero suffering from a BSOD and undergoing an introspective quest full of deep meanings before returning to kick ass. Could also be a Seeker Archetype.
* X – The Wheel of Fortune (La Roue de la Fortune) : A wheel with different animals wearing wealthy and beggarly clothes up and down the wheel. A symbol of fate and varying luck, fortunes and opportunities. What goes up will go down, what goes down will go up. Easy Come Easy Go.
* XI – Strength (La Force) : a young girl holding up a terrifying beast (often a lion). Beyond the Beast And Beauty imagery, there’s a morality about the stronger power of self-control, gentleness, courage and virtue over brute force. On the other hand, you may as well call it the card of Waif Fu. (Also, certain decks will list Strength as card VIII and Justice as card XI)
* XII – The Hanged Man (Le Pendu) : A man up-side-down, hanging from one leg. His other leg crosses it forming a 4. You may as well call this the Crucified Hero Shot card. It’s associated with self-sacrifice for the sake of enlightenment, bindings that make you free, paradoxes and hanging between heaven and earth. Apart from Jesus, it can be associated with such gods as Odin (hanging from a Yggdrasil to learn the runes), Osiris (getting killed and resurrected since way before the C.E.), Prometheus (forever stuck on a mountain getting his liver devoured by an eagle for giving fire to men) or Dionysus (not called “the twice-born” for nothing). If a character is associated to is, it’s a good bet he’s a Messianic Archetype. On the other hand, the card is not always positive, it can also be associated with traps, self-entrapment, passivity and giving up.
* XIII – Death (L’Arcane Sans Nom) : The Grim Reaper, not even named in the Tarot de Marseille version (where its title is “arcana without a name”), the card is often used for a cheap effect of doomy foreshadowing, and even more frequently parodied as such. More accurately in Tarot, a symbolism of metamorphosis and deep change, regeneration and cycles. Often times, a show will do just enough research to know that the Death card isn’t a portent of doom, but a symbol of change, but their research tends to stop there.
* XIV – Temperance (La Temperance) : A woman with angel wings mixing up the water of two cups, one blue, the other red. A symbol of synthesis, prudence, harmony, and the merging of opposites.
* XV – The Devil (Le Diable) : A hermaphrodite Satan over two naked and chained figures. Aka The Dark Side, the urge to do selfish, impulsive, violent things and be slave to ones’ own impulse. Remember that Evil Is Cool, Evil Feels Good, Evil Tastes Good and Evil Is Sexy. May be the time for a Deal With The Devil and other temptations. Occasionally subverted as a more positive figure of power, sexuality, and knowledge because God Is Evil.
* XVI – The Tower (La Maison-Dieu) : A tower stricken by lightning, from which two small figures fall down. A straight Tower of Babel allegory about pride preceding the fall. Often associated to overly arrogant, prejudiced and authoritarian organization (including The Government) which walk to their own ironic demise. Also more generically used as an omen of doom and disaster, at least by those who know better than to use Death for that or who think Death alone isn’t ominous enough.
* XVII – The Star (L’Etoile) : A young girl pouring water in a river and on land, under a star-lit sky. Associated with hope, faith, altruism, luck, generosity, peace and joy. Very much a messianic card as well, as an omen of the coming of The Chosen One.
* XVIII – The Moon (La Lune) : Two dogs howling at the moon, around a pool with a crab in it, with two towers in the background. Associated with creativity, inspiration, dreams, madness, illusions, fear, fantasy, the subconscious and trickery. Master Of Illusions and Lotus Eater Machines can be associated with it, as can be Shapeshifters and Wolf Men. Also a good spot for a Mind Screw or a Dream Sequence.
* XIX – The Sun (Le Soleil) : two children holding hands under a blazing sun. A symbol of happiness, joy, energy, optimism, and accomplishment. Can be associated with the hero’s reward, or to an initial state of happiness. Sometimes associated with the myth of the Androgynes and Soul Mates (although in Rider Waite influenced tarots it’s more likely to find the latter in the Lovers card).
* XX – The Judgement (Le Jugement) : A young man raising up from his grave, reunited with his parents, as an angel blows the trumpet of the Last Judgement. It’s The End Of The World As We Know It, the time for the Last Battle. The Horsemen Of The Apocalypse are probably not very far off. Actions are weighted, plots reach their achievement, secrets are revealed, and it’s time to see if it will all end up for the best or not. Beware of death by redemptions and resurrected messiah.
* XXI – The World (Le Monde) : A naked young woman (or hermaphrodite, depending on deck), dancing, surrounded by figures of an angel, a bull, an eagle, and a lion (which represent the four elements in transcended forms). A representation of the world, the totality of it, symbol of fulfillment, wholeness, harmony. Often what the hero fights for and tries to save. Sometimes his reward.
* The Fool (Le Mat) : A jester laughing very close to a cliff, a dog at his heels. A trickster as often as an innocent protected by his own luck, a madman who speaks with the voice of gods, an idiot who hides strange powers. The Fool is a symbol of the in-between, of The Grotesque, innocence, divine inspiration, madness, freedom, spontaneity, inexperience, chaos, and creativity.