An Ancient Art in Modern Times

The word Tarot is said to be derived from two Egyptian words, Tar, meaning ‘road,’ or ‘path’ and Ro, meaning ‘royal’.  Thus… The Royal Path.  

One popular legend claims that before the Great Library of Alexandria, dedicated to the nine goddesses of the arts, was sacked and burnt down, scholars and Egyptian tribesmen had rescued some of the most precious papyrus scrolls and ancient texts – including the Book of Enoch, or Thoth. 

With the demise of Alexandria, the City of Fez in Morocco, the only North-African state to evade Ottoman occupation, became the focal point for mystics, philosophers and wise men.  It was there that a special pictorial language was devised, portraying the esoteric teachings and wisdoms of the ancients, saved from the fires.  These images, and their associated symbology were claimed to have been the foundation and essence of what became the Tarot.

These Egyptian nomads, then called Gypsies, became wanderers upon the face of the earth.  They remained a people apart with an ancient language and a birth right of magic and mystery. The ancient wisdom, now in the form of the Tarot, was carried with them, firstly to India and from there, on their travels, to Europe and eventually to all continents of the world.

However there are also influences in the Tarot from the Hebrew Kabbalah, Numerology, Gnosticism and Celtic religion.  Whatever its origin, the universal significance of the Tarot’s symbology was said by alchemists and mystics to spring from the ‘Soul of the World’ (anima mundi.)  Ancients called this concept ‘The Sympathy of all things’.  Carl Gustav Jung later named it the ‘Collective Unconscious’. 

Others claim the word Tarot means ‘above and below together’ – what we now call the Macrocosm and the Microcosm, because in it are summed up every agency contributing to life at all levels.

These descriptions are not dissimilar from the idea of the Akashic Records. This is the compendium, believed by theosophists to be encoded in a vibrational, non-physical plane of existence known as the ‘Etheric Plane’ or ‘Field’.  The Akashic Records are believed to hold the energetic imprint of all events, human deeds, thoughts, words and emotions ever to have occurred in the past, present or future on this planet. Not a small record! 

Notwithstanding all the above claims, my Tarot teacher claimed that the ‘arrival’ of the Tarot cannot be easily ‘seen’ in the Akashic Records in the way other events are 'recorded', making the Tarot’s origin, like the Cards themselves, an enduring, intriguing  mystery. 

The Tarot Cards are divided into two ‘Arcana’s – the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.  Together they comprise 78 Cards.  22 Cards belong to the Major Arcana also known as the ‘Greater Secrets’ and 56 Cards form the Minor Arcana or ‘Lesser Secrets’.    

‘Arcana’ is a derivative of the Latin word ‘Arcanus’ – meaning secret, hidden, concealed, mysterious, obscure, esoteric.  The adjective ‘Arcane’, means ‘requiring secret knowledge to be understood’.  The Major Arcana is considered by many to be the original, complete and most authentic representation of the wisdom of the Ancients and beyond.  These 22 Cards (including the Fool Card) hold the core essences and influences of what the Tarot portrays.  

The later development of the Minor Arcana has been seen by some as an attempt to cast further light on the core influences of the Major Arcana. They become the parent of today’s 52 playing card pack – (in which the Page Card or Valet Card, which came between the ten and the Jack in each suit, were removed, reducing the deck from 56 to 52 cards.

I know many accomplished Tarot Readers would disagree, however I believe the Minor Arcana cards do not reflect the same pure essence of the Tarot as portrayed in the Major Arcana.  While they can add more colour and detail to a Reading, they are not required to capture the core essential influences contained in the Reading.  Man has a tendency to complicate matters, however the core truths are essentially simple and do not need embellishment.  The 'truth' of anything exists at its core state and is observed by uncovering and revealing it, rather than adding more to it.

Having held the above beliefs myself since 1975, when the Tarot of Frownstrong was first designed, I am now persuaded to take a new view of the Minor Arcana.  Orman, together with his father Leo, founder of the Emin, were the principle initiators of the Tarot of Frownstrong.  In 2022 Orman started work on a new pack of 54 Divining cards, called the Minor Arcana of the Tarot of Frownstrong.  I have begun my journey with this new pack, and intend to be able to integrate it into my readings in due course.