tarot

The tarot suits and their correspondences can vary to quite a degree between decks and the associated systems.  Here's several different visions. 

Here is a list of the resources I used:

The Universal Waite Tarot Deck & Book Set - The Pictorial Key to the Tarot - Arthur Edward Waite - U.S. Games Systems, Inc. ISBN 0-913866-08-3

The Original Rider Waite Tarot Pack - The Key To The Tarot - A.E. Waite - U.S. Games Systems, Inc ISBN 0-88079-686-3

The Complete Dragon Tarot Deck & Book Set - The Dragon Tarot - Terry Donaldson - U.S. Games Systems, Inc. ISBN 0-88079-181-0

Renaissance Tarot Deck and Book Set - A Renaissance Tarot - Brian Williams - U.S. Games Systems, Inc ISBN 0-88079-545-X

Shapeshifter Tarot (Includes Book and Deck) - Shapeshifter Tarot - D.J. Conway and Sirona Knight - Llewellyn Publications ISBN 1-56718-384-0

Tarot For Yourself - Mary K. Greer - Newcastle Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 0-87877-077-1

The Celtic Dragon Tarot (Includes Book and Deck) - A Guide to the Celtic Dragon Tarot - D.J. Conway & Lisa Hunt - Llewellyn Publications ISBN 1-56718-182-1

The Robin Wood Tarot - Robin Wood - Llewellyn Publications ISBN 0-87542-874-0

The Robin Wood Tarot The Book - Robin Wood - A Livingtree Book ISBN 0-9652984-1-8

Art Nouveau Tarot - Matt Meyers - U.S. Games Systems, Inc. ISBN 0-88079-375-9

Legend: The Arthurian Tarot - A Keeper of Words - Anna-Marie Ferguson - Llewellyn Publications ISBN 1-56718-266-6

The Goddess Tarot - Kris Waldherr - U.S. Games Systems, Inc. ISBN 1-57281-129-3

Tarot Of The Old Path - Howard Rodway - Urania Verlags AG ISBN 3-908647-17-7

The Witches Tarot - Ellen Cannon Reed - Llewellyn Publications ISBN 1-56718-558-4

Llewellyn's Tarot Calendar for the year 2001 - K.M. Brielmaier, Editor - Llewellyn Publications ISBN 1-56718-967-9

Sorry if the format for citing references is wrong, but it's been ... err ... ummmm ... 20 years since I've done any kind of research paper, and they didn't have the web back then in the old days - sheesh, has it really been that long since college?  Now where did I put my glasses?  Hey, turn down that music!  And get a real haircut, will ya?  And let go of my ponytail!  Did someone turn down the heat?  I'm freezing!  and I don't want hotdogs for dinner, don't you remember they upset my tummy?  hmmmm, is this thing still on?  Now what was it I was doing before all these interruptions...

I've really developed a love for the tarot. I've always been an admirer of art, and some of the most creative artists do tarot cards, and I have a history of enjoying cards, especially trading cards. When I was very young, I collected baseball cards - though I would use them for sticking into my bicycle wheels mostly (can ya believe that people actually did this?) or for playing trading games (sheesh, I'll bet I'd be rich if I had held on to these...). Later on, I collected Beatle cards (yeah, ya know, Paul McCartney's first band...), and after that, Science Fiction cards (BattleStar Gallactica primarily). When my son started to develop a love for Marvel's X-men, we both started collecting Marvel cards. I especially liked the character "Rogue", a woman who's mutant power was the ability to absorb the power from others, simply by a touch. For some reason, I found this fascinating. I also collected other comic type cards, not for their value, but rather for the artistic attributes. The Gen13 cards were another one of my favorites. So, after I developed an interest in Wicca, it was only a matter of time that I would discover the tarot, and begin collecting and using them too. By the way, I had to get the "Tarocchi Marvel" deck, distributed by Lo Scarabeo, since it's a tarot deck using the Marvel characters - though it's just the major acrana. See Wicce's Tarot Collection for more info on this deck.

I've been putting a lot of thought into correspondences as they relate to the tarot, which I delved into in the chart above. I use the tarot mostly for self discovery. I find that by picking a card at random, and studying it (some would call this meditation), aspects of my life and thoughts are brought to light. Doing this helps me to focus on those areas, and besides, I love the artwork. There's a lot of discussion about the origin of the tarot, but I'm really not too concerned about their age, or who originally developed them, or even where they were developed. What's important to me is that they are available now, and I find them very helpful as a tool for gaining insight into myself. When I first looked into divination tools, I had thought that perhaps runes would work well for me, since some systems relate closely to trees and wood, but instead, the tarot seemed to call out to me. I tried scrying as well, but I never was able to make any progress. I think it has to do with the fact that the tarot offers images, which allow one to slowly follow a pathway to within themselves, without losing focus. Perhaps scrying or runes, with the lack of colorful images, do not hold my interest long enough, and therefore I lose my focus.

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