Mar 31 2009
Tarot Tuesday - The Emperor
Today our tarot journey continues with The Emperor. My first image is from the unusual photographic Burning Tarot. This is a fun project inspired, of course by the Burning Man Festival. You can read more about the deck and release info at Magdalene.com
Despite the many books, articles and sources by which you may study tarot, learn to read tarot, or memorize tarot, and despite the fact that I have a freaking ridiculous number of tarot books on my Occult shelves, I believe that the very best way to learn Tarot and to learn to open oneself to the creative process necessary to read Tarot, is to develop a personal relationship with the cards.
Every single one of them.
The way to do this is to spend time with them. To consider and meditate on them. To listen to the story they have to tell you, and then to tell a story about them. If you’d care to join me in this journey through the Tarot, pick up a deck that you absolutely love. A deck that sings to you, shouts to you in it’s rich beauty and symbolism, or one that sits peacefully and gently on your eyes.
For now, put the book away. Look at The Emperor. What color jumps out at you first? What is the first image or symbol or detail of the card that speaks to you? Do you get an overall impression from the image as a whole? Do you get random (seeming) flashes and thoughts? Does your mind or vision keep returning to a certain area or thought pattern?
Write these things down. Any and all thoughts that come to you, regardless of what you think The Emperor should mean, or what you have learned or studied of it.
Beginners will most likely have an easier time of this than those who consider themselves well versed in Tarot. If you have memorized someone’s book interpretations, you are going to have to reach outside of your logical mind a bit to find the card’s personal message for you, but keep trying. It will come.
Keep the card and a small notebook either with you, or in a conspicuous place where you will see and consider it often for the next week. If you have very busy days, place it next to your bed and consider it a bit before sleep and upon waking. Jot down notes. Think on what the image is telling you. What relevance does it have in your life today?
The second image is from the Mystereum Tarot , by architect Jordan Hoggard.
If the meaning seems to shift and change from day to day, go with it. Are you getting a repeat message from the card? Something important that you need to hear? Or is there a new message every day as your world shifts around you?
Resist the temptation to turn to the book for your answers. Write your own stories.
On Monday evening, or before you return for the next edition of Tarot Tuesday, see if you can put the week’s meditation on The Emperor into a story; a story of your life for the last week. After you have done this, go ahead and crack the book.
Hello Kitty Tarot. Okay, this one is just for fun because it is too cute! You can download these cards at Pop Art Machine.
Now, after you’ve pulled every bit from the card that it has to offer you directly, now is the time to turn to definitions of symbolism, Qabbalistic correspondences, and traditional interpretations. See what this adds to your understanding of the card and your story. Edit and add to it as appropriate. Follow your heart-
* Ol’ Auntie is playing along for Tarot Tuesday , a new meme. Join us in posting your tarot thoughts, images and ideas on your own blog or in comments here or there for this weekly meme hosted by chameloeon’s dream at Tarot Tuesday Home . Check back and see who is playing and visit others posting for Tarot Tuesday!
Don’t forget to visit the Tarot Tuesday Archive here at The Eclectic Witch each week for my interpretations for the cards from the previous weeks. Come back to either this post or to the Tarot page and share your thoughts with Ol’ Auntie. Remember:
