Tarot Keywords

The Biddy Tarot website suggests that having a keyword for each tarot card is a sign of proficiency, implying that those without them are mere beginners. I felt both insulted and challenged by that assertion.

I am not a mere beginner even though I don't read with keywords. In my experience, interpreting tarot cards is a dynamic process shaped by many factors: the specific question being asked, the surrounding cards in the spread, and the unique energy and concerns of the person receiving the reading.

However, I wanted to respond, “Yes, of course I know what each card means.” I noticed that many of Biddy’s keywords contradicted my own experience of the imagery, and others fell short of capturing the full range of meanings I’ve encountered over decades. I decided to make my own list of keywords, one that acknowledges the full spectrum of each card, including both its more constructive and more cautionary expressions.

To my surprise, it didn’t take long to identify a set of words I consider a reasonable starting point for interpreting the cards of the Minor Arcana. While not exhaustive, these keywords may serve as a scaffold for deeper reflection and a way to begin exploring the many layers of meaning each card can reveal.

I should clarify that I almost always lay the cards out upright during a reading. I don’t rely on reversed cards to indicate meaning; instead, I listen for the card’s tone intuitively. Each card holds a range of possibilities, and what we often label as “positive” or “negative” depends on context. For the sake of organization, I’ve divided the keywords into “upright” and “reversed” columns, but this is simply a way of offering both ends of the spectrum. In truth, some cards, like the Two of Pentacles, tend to express what I’ve listed under “reversed” more often than what appears in the “upright” column.

 Swords

Card	Upright / Light Side	Reversed / Shadow Side
A	Gift of mind, mental clarity, new idea, breakthrough, truth revealed, victory, decisiveness	Confusion, mental fog, denial of truth, not acting to solve problems
2	Unwilling to acknowledge change, confusion, indecision, head in the sand, stalemate, defensiveness, lashing out	Painful choice, growing clarity, inner resolution, meditation, weighing options, releasing the past, lowering defenses
3	Mentally obsessed with old pain, recognizing the power of emotions, heartbreak, sorrow acknowledged	Insights through words, forgiveness, emotional clarity, catharsis, healing
4	Rest after conflict, solitude and safety, meditation and quiet reflection, responding to suffering, a pause to prepare, rising renewed, peace of mind	Restlessness and isolation, sense of defeat, unspoken feelings, unresolved grief, tension beneath the stillness
5	Sore winner, not resolving problems, slander, shame, bitterness	Support of friends, releasing shame, humility, internal healing, making amends
6	Rite of passage, escaping danger, resolving problems, mental transition	Difficult journey, speaking up, disrupting a long-standing situation, fear of change, carrying baggage
7	Disarming the enemy, stealth, clever plan, reclaiming what was stolen, strategy, hidden motives	Betrayal of self, self-deception, isolation, avoiding confrontation, impulsiveness, overconfidence
8	Self-imprisonment, limiting beliefs, fear of judgment, interior struggle, mental trap	Empowerment, gaining clarity, mental release, awakening
9	Torment, nightmares, mental overload, anxiety, despair	Tackling problems, facing fears, healing, gradual recovery
10	Defeat, collapse, betrayal, painful ending, rock bottom	Relief, letting go, new beginning, change through surrender
P	Curiosity, eager to learn, bringing ideas into manifestation, caution, defensiveness	A poseur, immaturity, careless speech, gossip, learning to trust
Kt	Impulsive, brave, loyal, pursuing ideals, problem-solving through intellect	Rushing in, recklessness, chaos, pugilism, tactlessness, haste makes waste
Q	A survivor, life wisdom, insightful, candid speaker, clear judgment, honest guidance	Sorrow, defensiveness, coldness, repressed grief, overcritical nature
K	Fair judge, clarity of thought, authority, boundaries, strong communicator, strategic	Stubbornness, tyranny, manipulation, misuse of power, rigidity

 Cups

Card	Upright / Light Side	Reversed / Shadow Side
A	Gift of emotions, compassion, creativity, joy, emotional renewal, overflowing feelings	Repressed emotions, distrusting your intuition
2	Formal partnership agreement, trust, fondness, mutual attraction, harmony	Imbalance, disharmony, inequality, breaking of contract, unreciprocated feelings, emotional imbalance
3	Friendship, sense of belonging, community, collaboration, success	Stifled creativity, indecision, overindulgence, loneliness, isolation, creative blockage, ungrounded, unclear goals
4	Apathy, discontent, failure to see an opportunity, resenting or neglecting commitments	Meditation, receiving spiritual nourishment, listening to your feelings and values, re-evaluation of meaning, discovering your true self
5	Loss, bereavement, regret, mourning, hanging on to the past	Acceptance, forgiveness, emotional recovery
6	Nostalgia, reunion, innocence, naivete, profound interaction, childhood memories, acts of kindness, laying the past to rest, emotional healing	Gift of memory, realistic view of family, clinging to old patterns, unhealthy attachments, unwilling to change, emotional regression
7	Discernment, looking ahead, knowing what you want, creative visualization, choosing wisely from many options	Fantasy, wishful thinking, delusion, being carried away by emotions and daydreams
8	Courage to step into the unknown, searching for deeper meaning, emotional detachment as growth, releasing the past	Withdrawal, giving up on something you've invested in, abandoning hope, aimless drifting
9	Feeling of plenty, hospitality, wishes granted,  emotional fulfillment, gratitude, generosity, sensual pleasure, water breaking before labor	Indulgence, greed, hidden emptiness, over-sated, opulence, moral decay, de Medici levels of corruption, or giving up material things in favor of a spiritual quest
10	Alignment, marriage, happiness, contentment, completeness, shared joy, generational blessings	Straying from values, broken home, estrangement, denial of conflict, performative harmony
P	Open-minded and emotionally open, lacking preconceptions and expectations, dreamer, sensitive to signs, divination, message from the subconscious, synchronicity, new emotional experience, pregnancy	Insecurity, emotional immaturity, withdrawal, sulking, blocked intuition, rejecting the signs, fantasizing and unable to accept what is real, romantic fixation, clinging to a dream, misreading the signs
Kt	Romantic figure, idealistic, charming, slow yet certain, pursuing a heartfelt goal, poetic dreamer	Unreliable, faithless, deceptive, mood-driven, overly sensitive, unrealistic, manipulative charm, seductive lies
Q	Intuitive, spiritually attuned, compassionate and empathic, receptive to sacred visions, maintains holy secrets, knower of sorrow, sings beside the sea — but knows the cost of freedom	Escaping into fantasy, refusing to see visions granted her, daydreaming instead of acting, emotionally overwhelmed, withdrawn or self-absorbed,  emotionally manipulative, clinging to idealized connection, tends towards bitterness
K	Emotionally stable, flexible, calm leadership, generous	Manipulative, volatile, jealous, emotionally cold, passive-aggressive

Pentacles

Card	Upright / Light Side	Reversed / Shadow Side
A	Gift of material world, an opportunity, possibility of wealth if you work for it, new venture, grounded potential, abundance beginning	Ingratitude, lack of planning, fear of moving forward, wasted opportunity, instability, hesitation, fear of commitment
2	Adaptability, grace under pressure, flexibility in fluctuating circumstances, multitasking, managing demands, finding harmony or your divine path, dreams coming true	Disorganization, unclear goals, trying to balance too many things, refusing to choose, chaos, poor time management, over-committed
3	Creativity, collaboration and planning, teamwork, artistry, skill in service of an ideal, so focused on a task that you lose track of time, plenty of work left to do	Rushing, carelessness, unskilled work, or perfectionism obstructing progress, ego or lack of shared vision interfering with teamwork
4	Defensiveness, isolation, control, selfishness, fear of loss	Prudence, prosperity, caution, reevaluating values, releasing attachments
5	Loss, financial worries, out in the cold, ostracism, loneliness	Renewed hope, survival, spiritual comfort, pulling up by bootstraps, recovery, belonging, community support
6	A helping hand, maintaining balance, prosperity, generosity	Imbalance of power and resources, strings attached, conditional giving, dependency
7	Assessment, patience, standstill, long-term vision, commitment to steady growth, rebuilding will succeed	Fatigue, discouragement, doubt, lack of reward, frustration, questioning investment, giving up
8	Learning new skills or changing direction entirely to find fulfillment; apprenticeship, repetition, and learning; diligence and attention to your craft, concentrated effort; focused on and absorbed in a task, working diligently; practice makes perfect, quality through repetition; having the right tools for the job; keeping your ultimate goal in mind; accepting unexpected detours and continuing toward your ultimate goal; finding joy in creativity or meaningful work	Perfectionism preventing progress, fear of making mistakes; repetitive work with no end in sight, burnout through monotony; working hard at a low-paying job; feeling undervalued; nose to the grindstone, disconnected from creativity or joy; cut off from your inspiration or your ultimate goal; not taking your work seriously, careless or distracted effort; cutting corners, sacrificing quality for speed or convenience; ambition without effort, unrealistic expectations of success
9	Self-sufficiency, gratitude, enjoying fruits of labor, luxury, independence	Overwork, imprisonment, loneliness, superficial success, isolation despite abundance
10	Legacy, grounded belonging, generational blessing, security, tradition, home as sanctuary	Family estrangement, loneliness within abundance, clinging to wealth, broken inheritance, communication breakdown
P	A messenger, student mindset, opportunity for growth, recognizing spirit in material, focus, scholarship, a trustworthy advisor	Lack of planning, missed opportunity, no sense of what is valuable
Kt	Methodical, diligent, conservative, grateful, reverent	Laziness, boredom, lack of planning, neglect, stagnation, rigid routine
Q	Practical, nurturing, down to earth, fortunate, resourceful	Accepting limitations, imbalance in service, overgiving, self-neglect, insecurity around worth
K	A helpful and beneficent ruler, security, abundance, wealth	Stifled spirituality, iron fist in velvet glove, material obsession, controlling behavior, rigidity

 Wands

Card	Upright / Light Side	Reversed / Shadow Side
A	Inspiration, gift of life, beginning a project, ignition, spiritual renewal, energy, enthusiasm, creativity	Undirected energy, scattered will, hesitation, burnout, false starts
2	Contemplating a change of direction, planning, vision, weighing options, making a choice	Fear of the unknown, restlessness, dissatisfaction, lacking direction, waiting too long
3	Enterprise, putting past behind, committed to new goal, progress, seeing results	Lack of foresight, not seeing big picture, shortsightedness, delays, disappointment
4	Celebration, thanksgiving, milestones, harmony, community, belonging	Temporary shelter, instability at home, communication breakdown, tension beneath the surface
5	Strife, confusion, indecision, obstacles	Increased focus on one goal, resolution of conflict, setting priorities
6	Path to victory, support of others, momentum, public recognition	Disrepute, trophy moment, hollow victory, seeking validation, losing reputation
7	Taking a stand, self-defense, courage, resilience, allies, standing firm in the face of physical danger	Difficulties, defensive, being overwhelmed, enemies, fighting a losing battle, inner conflict
8	Opportunity, swift change, communication, travel, acceleration	Frustration, delays, sense of urgency
9	Stamina, prepared, firmly established, knowing whom to trust	Defensiveness, habitual mistrust, paranoia, rigid boundaries, exhaustion
10	Overburdened, overwhelmed with responsibility, pressure, worried, not recognizing your limitations, wands weighing you down rather than lighting your way	Not recognizing your limitations, lack of vision, putting down the load, coming to life again, release, new energy emerging
P	A scout, enthusiasm, curiosity, learning, spark of adventure	Pessimism, immaturity, lack of follow-through, inner doubt
Kt	Passionate, determined, energetic, travel, putting ideas into action, need to conserve energy	Restless, scattered or misdirected energy, a temper, volatility, emotional outbursts, overconfident, insanity
Q	A strong woman, vibrant, vital, warm and confident presence, success, power, inspirational leader	Inhibited, withdrawn, fear of exposure, jealousy, hidden insecurity
K	Insightful, courageous, a charismatic leader, visionary, leading by example	Ruthless, arrogant, domineering, impulsive, egotistical, a tyrannical leader

Sometimes, a card will stun you with a meaning you’ve never considered before—either through its unexpected role in a particular spread, or because something in its image suddenly shifts. Once, the Nine of Pentacles struck me as a woman whose waters had just broken; it looked like spilled water, like the moment before birth. That’s the kind of moment no keyword list can prepare you for.

Pamela Colman Smith did not allow her tarot imagery to be constrained by the numerical meanings of the Marseilles pip cards. Still, those traditional associations can be useful to recall when your keywords don’t seem to fit:

1 Initiation 2 Growth 3 Creativity 4 Stability 5 Change
6 Perseverance 7 Confidence 8 Advancement 9 Attainment 10 Completion

Below is a list of keywords for the Major Arcana. Condensing these archetypal cards into brief descriptions was much more challenging for me than it had been with the Minors!

The Major Arcana point to major life themes and spiritual patterns. Their meanings are deep, layered, and often change over time. Since I first began working with the tarot in 1983, my understanding of these cards has continued to evolve, almost as though the cards themselves are alive. I invite you to approach these keywords with openness and curiosity. Let your intuition guide you, and trust that your interpretations will change as you do.

Majors

Card	Upright / Light Side	Reversed / Shadow Side
א Fool (Element of Air)	A beginning, the journey of life, inexperience, the soul’s call, faith, trust in the unknown	Foolishness, need for caution, instability, homelessness, recklessness, insanity
ב Priestess (the Moon)	Choosing a path, hidden wisdom, considering but not yet acting, intuitive knowing, waiting in stillness, spiritual insight	Disconnected from intuition, withdrawal, confusion, refusing to listen to inner truth
ג Magician (Mercury)	Channel between above and below, alignment of mind and action, focused intent, willpower, empowerment, all the tools you need, resourcefulness, skill, inspired action, manifestation	Scattered energy, unfocused intention, disconnection between thought and action, insecurity, shallow performance, illusion, manipulation, trickery, misuse of power
ד Empress (Venus)	Abundance, creative growth, gestation and nurturing, connection to body and nature, love through presence	Creative block, emotional burnout, over-controlling or smothering, disconnection from body or nature, insecurity around feminine expression
ה Emperor ♈︎ Aries	Structure, stability, authority, law, leadership, strategy, builder of legacy, life experience, fatherly guidance, protection, disciplined love, wisdom and integrity	Tyranny, authoritarianism, domination, rigidity, emotional coldness, controlling father, neglectful patriarch, stuck in old patterns, impenetrable motives, insecurity masked by rage, fear of vulnerability
ו Hierophant ♉︎ Taurus	Guidance, spiritual teaching, passing of wisdom and authority across generations, shared beliefs, ritual, tradition, cultural inheritance and identity, moral framework	Resistance to inner truth, spiritual alienation, blind obedience and conformity, dogma, hypocrisy, oppressive authority, rigid societal roles
ז Lovers ♊︎ Gemini	Choice, union of opposites, love, passion, alignment of values, meaningful connection	Indecision, temptation, conflict of values, disharmony
ח Temperance ♋︎ Cancer	Balance between body and spirit, moderation, harmony, healing, integrity	Imbalance, inner conflict, overindulgence, impatience, spiritual fatigue, miles to go
ט Strength ♌︎ Leo	Inner courage, self-control, gentle discipline, grace under pressure	Acting from instinct alone, lack of self-awareness, fear, forcefulness, base instincts
י Hermit ♍︎ Virgo	Reflection, introspection, solitude, discretion, wisdom gained through experience, patience, inner light, an example to others	Isolation, avoidance, burnout, resistance to connection, fear of being seen
כ Wheel (the Sun)	Change, opportunity, turning point, destiny, putting experience to use	Powerlessness, resisting change, repeating old cycles, unpredictability
ל Justice ♎︎ Libra	Karmic choice, fairness, accepting responsibility, moral clarity, order, virtue, self-awareness	Lack of accountability, imbalance, denial, failure to weigh consequences of choices
מ Hanged Man (Element of Water)	Acceptance, surrender, patience, endurance, a shift in perspective, spiritual pause, sacrifice, a pivotal moment, in which the future hangs in the balance	Stagnation, self-sabotage, martyrdom, self-aggrandizement, inflated ego, lack of impact, limbo
נ Death ♏︎ Scorpio	Metaphorical death and rebirth, deep transformation, surrender, letting go, harvest	Resistance to change, fear of loss, clinging to the past, delayed endings
ס Chariot ♐︎ Sagittarius	Confidence, progress, mastery of will, focused on path, ready to go, wholeness of character	Lack of direction, self-doubt, internal division, loss of control
ע Devil ♑︎ Capricorn	Driven by unconscious instincts, in bondage to emotion, obsession, addiction, dependency, shame, false beliefs, self-doubt, lack of self-awareness	Liberation, breaking chains, overcoming temptation, seeing through illusions, reclaiming power, taking responsibility for choices, awakening from unconscious patterns
פ Tower (Mars)	Sudden change, upheaval, liberation, insight, foundations revealed to be unstable, the collapse of illusion, necessary challenge	Denial, holding onto what is crumbling, internal collapse, negative thinking
צ Star ♒︎ Aquarius	Hope, gratitude, clarity, grace, finding joy in the present, healing, inspiration, guiding others	Self-doubt, disconnection from purpose, failing to recognize your gifts
ק Moon ♓︎ Pisces	Intuitive path, openness to mystery, enchantment, primal instincts, a test of trust	Doubt, depression, self-deception, illusion, fear of the future
ר Sun (Jupiter)	Ecstasy, personal empowerment, joy, new life, radiant success, reward	Burnout, inflated ego, difficulty accepting joy
ש Judgment (Element of Fire)	Awakening, resurrection, truth revealed, revitalization, forgiveness, inner calling	Paying the piper, inability to move on, guilt, avoiding truth, missed awakening
ת World (Saturn)	Wholeness, understanding, fulfillment, attainment, freedom, mastery	Unfinished business, limitation, avoidance of closure, stagnation at the threshold

Tarot is an evolving conversation between intuition, symbolism, and experience. No set of keywords can fully capture the richness of its symbolism or the nuances of each reading. Still, having a flexible and personal vocabulary may help ground your intuitive process and open the way to explore, question, and discover how the cards reflect your life and your wisdom. I hope this list of upright and reversed keywords offers you a useful starting point and inspires you to create your own.

If this post resonated with you, feel free to share it or leave a comment with your own insights into the cards. May your readings grow ever deeper and more meaningful.

Tarot is not Kabbalah (and a brief review of The Raziel Tarot)

Many tarot decks show Hebrew letters on the Major Arcana cards. This supposedly indicates a long-standing connection between Tarot and the Jewish mystical traditions of Kabbalah. In fact, however, the tarot cards were created in Renaissance Europe, a Christian culture. It was only their continued development in the European cultural milieu that eventually led to the grafting of a faux Jewish mysticism onto the tarot.

The origins of tarot are distinct from those of Kabbalah. However, from its beginnings, Christian culture has appropriated and altered some aspects of Judaism. For more information about the reasons for Renaissance Europe's interest in Kabbalah, read The Rape of Jewish Mysticism by Christian Theologians by Robert Wang.

By the the mid-19th century,  faux Kabbalah had become a part of Western occultism. Éliphas Lévi posited a link between the Major Arcana cards and paths on the Tree of Life. According to Donald Tyson, it was Golden Dawn founder, William Wynn Westcott, who attributed specific Hebrew letters to each of the Major Arcana cards of the tarot deck.

Earlier occultists had created a list of astrological correspondences to the cards. Relying on those correspondences and his own quirky translation of a 4th century, Jewish text, the Sefer Yetzirah, another Golden Dawn member, MacGregor Mathers determined additional correspondences between those astronomical symbols and the Hebrew letters. For example, earlier tarot occultists had associated The Empress card of the Major Arcana with planet Venus, so in Mathers's "translation" of Sefer Yetzirah, Venus is associated with the letter dalet; so he concluded that The Empress was also connected with the letter dalet.

Jewish Kabbalah is not an intrinsic part of tarot, but today, Jewish tarot writers such as Isabel Radow-Kleigman and Rachel Pollack, are bringing authentic Jewish ideas and Jewish spirituality to the tarot. I appreciate that, and I want to explore the possibilities that connecting the two traditions might offer. So, although I am doubtful that including Hebrew letters on the cards is a meaningful exercise, I am willing to explore the idea.

The first Hebrew letter, alef (א), is often ascribed to The Fool, the first card of the Major Arcana. The last Hebrew letter, tav (ת), is ascribed to The World, the last card of the Major Arcana.

However, for nearly 100 years before Westcott compiled his Hebrew letter correspondences, tarot cards had been printed with numbers on the Major Arcana cards. (French occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette, aka Etteilla, numbered the Major Arcana cards in his 1789 occult deck.)

To maintain the practice of numbering the cards, The World would be ḳhaf-alef (כא), 21, not tav (ת), which is the number 400. As there is no zero in the Hebrew numbering system, The Fool would be left without a Hebrew letter. However, Wescott was probably unaware of the numerical values of the Hebrew letters.

The correspondences between astrological symbols and the Major Arcana cards does seem reasonable, since astrology was a significant part of the Renaissance culture in which tarot began. However, dragging Hebrew letters into that mix is problematic. It may be a step away from the intentions of earlier tarot designers. It is certainly leagues away from the intentions of the meditation teachers who composed the Sefer Yetzirah.

Although the Sefer Yetzirah was composed during a period of intense syncretism between various Mediterranean cultures, religions, and philosophies, there is no link between that text and the much later Renaissance European culture which produced the tarot.

Furthermore, it seems unlikely that teachers of the meditation techniques presented in the Sefer Yetzirah intended a literal connection between the letters, days, organs, planets, or other items mentioned in the text.

If literal correlation had been intended, each version of the text would link the same planets to the "double letters" (the BeGeD KeFeT letters), but in fact, different texts present different correspondences. For example, the letter dalet (ד) is linked to the Sun in one version of the text, to Mars in another, and to Venus in yet another version of the text.

Rabbi Jill Hammer teaches that the Sefer Yetzirah was intended to offer meditative practices, "not to inform." According to Rabbi Hammer, the focus of the Sefer Yetzirah is the creative power of the Hebrew language, and the goal of its meditative practices is contact with the Source of Creation.

The Sefer Yetzirah is a meditation manual. It does not teach anything about tarot cards, which were created ten centuries after the Sefer Yetzirah was composed.

There is no authentic connection between the Sefer Yetzirah, or other Jewish Kabbalistic traditions, and the tarot. So, if we do wish to place Hebrew letters on the Major Arcana, we might first consider the attributions already given the cards by European occultists.

Four versions of the Sefer Yetzirah, as well as the Christian influenced Golden Dawn, agree as to the association of the simple letters to the constellations, and to the association of the mother letters to the three celestial elements of air, water, and fire. (See chart below.) So, for now, let's accept Westcott's further association of the Hebrew simple letters and mother letters with the tarot cards he attributed to those letters.

However, a difficulty arises connecting the double letters with celestial bodies. There are several different sets of correspondences between the Hebrew double letters and the seven planets. Section 4.8 in the chart shows correspondences in the Gra-Ari Version of the Sefer Yetzirah, in the Short and Long Versions of the Sefer Yetzirah, and in Donald Tyson's work.

Summary of attributions for Mother Letters, Double Letters, and Simple Letters

In the next few paragraphs, I'll show you how correspondences based on different versions of Sefer Yetzirah radically alter the traditional progression of the tarot Majors. Then I'll show you how the amended Golden Dawn more closely maintains the traditional progression of the cards as well as the order of the Hebrew letters.

Gra-Ari Version: If we relied on the correspondences from the Gra-Ari version (influenced by the later Zohar) of the Sefer Yetzirah, the result would be the following series of cards:

1 Priestess (Moon - Bet)
2 Tower (Mars - Gimmel)
3 Wheel (Sun - Dalet)
10 Empress (Venus - Kaf)
16 Magician (Mercury - Peh)
19 World (Saturn - Reish)
21 Sun (Jupiter - Tav)

In 19th Century occult thought, the High Priestess card was connected with the moon. In the Gra-Ari version of the Sefer Yetzirah, the moon is mentioned in connection to the letter bet. Thus, according to Wescott's rationale, the Hebrew letter bet should be associated with the High Priestess card of the tarot deck.

It muddies the waters further to point out that Tav is really the 23rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet, since Šin and Śin are different letters that form different Hebrew root words. In other words, is the Judgment card Šin or Śin, and why aren't there 23 Major Arcana cards? (And what about ghayin, the lost letter, that fell out of use?)

Short and Long Versions: If we used the correspondences of the Short Version or the Long Version of the Sefer Yetzirah, the result order of the first few Major Arcana cards would be as follows:

1 World (Saturn - Bet)
2 Sun (Jupiter - Gimmel)
3 Tower (Mars - Dalet)
10 Wheel (Sun - Kaf)
16 Empress (Venus - Peh)
19 Magician (Mercury - Reish)
21 Priestess (Moon - Tav)

In these versions of the Sefer Yetzirah, Saturn is mentioned in connection to the letter bet. In 19th Century occult thought, Saturn is connected to the World card. Thus, according to Wescott's rationale, the Hebrew letter bet should be associated with the World card of the tarot deck.

However, if we rely on Donald Tyson's amended Golden Dawn attributions, which he carefully considered, we would maintain the order of the double letters and something close to the order of the tarot majors, switching only the traditional positions of The Priestess and The Magician (and, among the simple letters, the positions of The Chariot and Temperance).

1 Priestess (Moon - Bet)
2 Magician (Mercury - Gimmel)
3 Empress (Venus - Dalet)
10 Wheel (Sun - Kaf)
16 Tower (Mars - Peh)
19 Sun (Jupiter - Reish)
21 World (Saturn - Tav)

The Fool as the
Biblical Yosef,
a fool and a visionary.

Any connection between the Hebrew letters and the cards is tenuous, so I see no compelling reason to make any changes to the correspondences presented by Donald Tyson. The appendix of his book, Portable Magic: Tarot is the Only Tool You Need, contains his rationale for the changes he made to the Golden Dawn system.

Since astrology is not part of my practice, I am not at all concerned with the astrological correspondences of the cards. It would be more interesting to consider other associations from Sefer Yetzirah, such the pairs of qualities associated with Double Letters, the months and tribes associated with Simple Letters, the elements associated with the Mother Letters, as well as the meanings of the letters' names.

For example, these are meanings of the Double Letters:

• Bet - house
• Gimmel - camel
• Dalet - door
• Kaf - palm or sole
• Peh - mouth
• Reish - poverty
• Tav - sign

These are pairs of qualities associated with the Double Letters:

• Bet - Wisdom and Folly
• Gimmel - Wealth and Poverty
• Dalet - Seed and Desolation
• Kaf - Life and Death
• Peh - Dominance and Subjugation
• Reish - Peace and War
• Tav - Grace and Ugliness

The Raziel Tarot: If you are interested in obtaining a tarot deck created specifically with Jewish ideas in mind, consider obtaining the majors-only deck, The Raziel Tarot, by tarot greats, Robert Place and Rachel Pollack. (Sefer Raziel is a Jewish Kabbalistic text; some portions of it are of slightly greater antiquity than the Sefer Yetzirah.)

In the Raziel deck, Hebrew letters appear on the following Marjor Arcana cards:

• א appears on The Fool
• מ appears on The Empress (the Golden Dawn placed it on The Hanged Man)
• The mother letters, אמש, appear on The Lovers and on Temperance
• the root צדק appears on Justice
• a portion of the word שָׁלוֹם appears on Strength
• the letters י and ב appear on the pillars Boaz and Yachin of The High Priestess, and the garment worn by her contains numerous letters, including some final forms

The Raziel Tarot shows only two of the mother letters: Alef (א) for air and Mem (מ) for water. Pollack and Place did not chose to include the penultimate letter, Šin/Śin (ש), which is associated with creative fire. I wonder which Major Arcana card could be linked reasonably with the third mother letter ש. What do you think?

The Empress as Miriam the Prophet, whose life
included many events associated with water.

Early Ideas for A Tarot Deck

Over the years, several people have encouraged me to create my own tarot deck, but I always felt it was too big a task (too much to design, draw, and decide) not to mention unnecessary (there are already thousands of decks available). I’m no artist, and the idea of tackling seventy-eight cards felt impossible.

Recently, I started to reconsider the idea of creating a specifically Jewish tarot. I've experimented with a few designs using found photographs (not my own) and started to imagine how Jewish history, mysticism, and symbolism might reshape the traditional structure of the deck.

So far, I’ve created five Major Arcana cards and one Minor. Here are two of them:

The first is The Emperor, reimagined as Titus Flavius, the Roman emperor whom some see as the “inventor” of Christianity, a syncretistic theology designed to control the Jewish people. The second is The Hierophant, depicted as the Masculine Face of Shekhinah, inspired by my beloved Rabbi Berg, a figure of spiritual transmission and profound compassion.

Certain tarot writers raise more questions than answers, especially around sex and gender. One of my ongoing struggles with tarot thought is its use of the vague and puzzling language of “the Masculine” and “the Feminine.” What do those terms mean? Is there such a thing as a fixed, universal idea of maleness? I’ve never identified as particularly feminine—nor, for that matter, as a tomboy. If I were to generalize at all, it wouldn’t be toward some Platonic ideal of gender—it would be toward the messy, human truths: women have babies, men are slutty. But that's not archetypal. I’ve never viewed The Emperor and The Empress as male and female opposites. Energetically, The Emperor has always felt more aligned with The High Priestess as both are self-contained, inward, and silently commanding. The Empress seems to pair more naturally with The Hierophant, each of those figures offering forms of nourishment, guidance, and tradition.

The court cards complicate this, too. In my readings, Kings and Queens don’t always pair neatly within their suits. I often find deeper harmony across suits: the King of Cups with the Queen of Pentacles, or the Queen of Swords with the Knight of Wands. While I’ve never loved renamed court cards (they are disorienting and seem gimmicky), but the Kabbalistic Tetrad of Father, Mother, Son, and Daughter, might provide a familiar structure with a meaningful Jewish note. The divine family could emphasize spiritual lineage rather than hierarchy.

I don’t know where this project is going, but I’m letting myself play with the idea. Even if it doesn’t become a full deck, perhaps it will be worthwhile simply to reimagine a few cards through a Jewish lens.

Clarity of Vision and Purpose

Fountain Tarot

Today's card is The Magician. Rather than discuss the imagery of the card, I am going to explore its occult significance. I will be relying on attributions put forward by Donald Tyson. This topic is new to me so I'd appreciate comments.

Most often, The Magician is associated with the Hebrew letter bet. Bet, which also means house and begins the word for blessing, would seem to belong to The High Priestess, the temple keeper. Tyson links The Magician to the letter gimel.

Tyson's attribution immediately poses a problem. In the Zohar, the letter gimel is paired with the letter dalet. So you would conclude that The Magician (associated with gimel) and The Empress (associated with dalet) must also be a pair.

This connection is unexpected since The Magician, usually described in terms of the conscious mind, is often contrasted with the unconscious represented by The Priestess. The association of The Empress with dalet is more unexpected. Gimel is called a benefactor and dalet is called poverty. This seems counter intuitive because The Empress is the card of abundance and creativity; she is the one who nurtures all life.

When the Holy One desired to create the world, each of the letters came before Him and said, may it please You to create the world with me... The letters Dalet and Gimel entered [together]... He told them also be satisfied with being with each other, because there will always be poor men on Earth, and they should be given a benefactor. The letter Dalet is poor because it is called Dalet, from poverty (Heb. dalut), and the Gimel reciprocates as a benefactor (Heb. gomelet) to Dalet. Therefore do not leave each other, and it should suffice you that you sustain one another.

Universal Waite Tarot

(Gomelet, benefactor, is feminine here. We are used to the phrase gomel chasadim tovim-- who bestows kindly goodness-- being directed to a male divinity in the first blessing of the Amidah.)

So, the Empress has no wealth of her own and requires a benefactor. If The Magician is her benefactor, from where does he acquire the abundance that he shares with her?

Perhaps he receives it from The Priestess, the card immediately preceding him. That card's letter is bet, which means house or temple. The Empress's letter, dalet, means door. The Priestess tends the supernal temple, dwelling place of the Divine, and the Empress is the door of this world. The Magician stands between them, channeling blessings from the heavens to the Earth. The Supernal Mother, not Mother Earth, is the ultimate source "from whom all blessings flow."

The lesson of The Empress may be that we possess nothing, but what is the lesson of The Magician? Does he point to the the ultimate source of all abundance? Is he a reminder that to do our best work in the world, we must allow ourselves to be channels of a higher power?

Robin Wood Tarot

Those possibilities seem to be reflected in stance of figure in the Waite deck, his arms directing energy from the heavens to Earth. In the Fountain Tarot (top of post), the infinity symbol above the suit symbols could also be interpreted in those ways, but I am captivated by the eyes of that magician. They remind me of a recent parasha in which an older Joseph's clarity of vision helped him understand dreams, recognize his brothers, and act with the knowledge that god was guiding events.

It seems that contemplating the Kabbalistic associations to interpret the cards can be fruitful, too. My limited knowledge of Kabbalah, Hebrew, and astrology will prevent me from delving deeply into this side of tarot. So relying on the imagery of the cards to stimulate my intuition will probably remain my preferred method of reading the cards, but it is fun and interesting to pull some Judaism from the depths of my memory while playing with tarot cards. 

Esoteric Tarot

I've begun studying the occult aspects of tarot. In anticipation upcoming posts, I will try to explain the tarot attributions I'll be relying on.

The association of Hebrew letters with Tarot's Major Arcana cards was made explicit by members of the Golden Dawn in the 19th century who relied on a Jewish Kabbalistic text, the Sefer Yetzirah.

In the Sefer Yetzirah the letters alef, mem, and shin are associated with celestial air, celestial water, and celestial fire. Seven of the Hebrew letters (the six begedkefet and one guttural) are associated with seven celestial bodies. The remaining letters are associated with twelve regions of the zodiac.

The Golden Dawn applied the zodiac signs (and thus, the single letters), in their natural order, to the Major Arcana cards in their numeric order. They did not do the same with the celestial bodies (and double letters) because the symbolism of the Majors in their traditional numeric order and the symbolism of the celestial bodies (in order of their apparent speed) do not align.

To place the first astrological planet, the Moon, on the first Double letter would result in the planet the Moon being linked with the Magician. The Moon is a feminine planet, whereas the Magician is a strongly masculine trump. Similarly, the second planet... Mercury, would fall on the trump the High Priestess. This also seems incorrect. Mercury is a masculine planet, and is associated with magic, but the High Priestess is a feminine trump and is associated with mystery.

So they put Mercury first and the Moon second. (He also inverted Strength and Justice to make the numeric order of the cards match the order of the zodiac signs.)

Donald Tyson found that this wasn't ideal and changed the sequence of the Major Arcana so that the celestial bodies assigned to them would be in order from fastest to slowest: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. In his system, The High Priestess is the first card after The Fool, The Magician is the second card, Temperance is the seventh card, and the Chariot is the fourteenth.

To my mind, the warlike Archer is a much more appropriate zodiac sign for a trump of war than the Crab, particularly since chariots were used as mobile platforms for archers during war. On the other hand, feminine and nurturing Cancer seems well suited to Temperance. There is a natural yin-yang balance in the glyph of Cancer itself, which resembles the symbolism on the traditional version of the trump Temperance of two vessels linked by a stream of liquid.

In the Golden Dawn system, the Wheel of Fortune is linked to Jupiter and The Sun to the sun. Tyson disagrees with those associations.

If the natural order of the planets is to be preserved, we must assign the astrological Sun to the trump the Wheel. And what could be a more perfect fit? The Sun is the great wheel of the heavens. It has been depicted in this way in the mythology of countless cultures. It is a good deal more appropriate, symbolically, than Jupiter.

When we come to the trump the Sun, which receives the astrological planet the Sun in the Golden Dawn correspondences, we must use another planet since the Sun has been linked to the Wheel of Fortune. The obvious choice is Jupiter, termed in astrology the Greater Fortune and renowned for its beneficence, and Jupiter falls here naturally in the order of planets.

Some critics may object that the most natural planet for the trump the Sun is surely the planet the Sun. Yet, if this is so, why is it that the planet the Moon is never assigned to the trump the Moon? It seems to me that either both Sun and Moon should be linked to the trumps that bear their names, or neither should be so linked. Since the astrological Moon has never been placed on the trump the Moon, I have no reluctance to associate the trump the Sun with the planet Jupiter.

Lacking any background in esoteric studies, I can only say that Tyson's system feels right.

Tyson's re-sequencing of the Majors slightly alters the "Tarot Tableau." The Tableau is an arrangement of the Majors in three rows of seven, with The Fool above. It is purported to illustrate different levels of consciousness. At one level of consciousness, you may be experiencing Temperance, but at a higher level of consciousness, you learn the lessons of The Chariot, and at a still higher level, the lessons of The World.

My meditations on the traditional Tarot Tableau have seldom yielded significant insights. Arranging the Tableau in Tyson's sequence was immediately illuminating. The Priestess, Strength, and The Devil each address the powers of the unconscious. The Magician, Hermit, and The Tower are about our world view.

The attributions in the table above are the ones I will rely on when studying the Major Arcana. Since the concepts connecting the letters and the cards are primarily astrological, I will have to learn a little about astrology at some point. Initially, however, I will focus on the meanings of the Hebrew letters.