Tarot

ON THE SPECIFICS OF THE METHOD

Tarot is a visual archetypal system of 78 cards forming a closed symbolic map of human experience. Unlike characterological methods, Tarot does not describe personality — it describes the situation, its hidden forces, and the field of choice. The question is posed in the moment; the cards that fall in the spread are accepted as a mirror of the querent's state and the "field" of the situation. Randomness is not an obstacle but a working principle: synchronicity connects the inner inquiry and the outer configuration of cards.

The cards are divided into two bodies. 22 Major Arcana (from 0 The Fool to XXI The World) describe archetypal stages of the life path and major forces. 56 Minor Arcana (four suits of 14 cards each) describe everyday situations, actions, emotions. Together they form a language capable of addressing any level: from mundane questions to existential crises.

The distinctive feature of Tarot among Errarium methods lies in the combination of generativity (cards "fall" — the practitioner does not consciously choose them) and interpretive depth (each card is a multilayered image whose meaning unfolds only in the context of the question and spread position). This makes Tarot simultaneously the most accessible and the most complex of symbolic instruments: entry is easy, mastery is a long path.

PART A: WORKING ALGORITHM

Input Data

Primary:

• Question (query) — the only mandatory input parameter. The question must be: specific, sincere, connected to the querent's real situation
• Tarot deck — 78 cards of the chosen tradition (Rider-Waite, Tarot de Marseille, Thoth Tarot, or other). The choice of deck is a substantive decision: different decks accent different aspects of the archetypes

Additionally (by school / format):

• Significator — a card chosen to represent the querent or the subject of the query (not used in all schools)
• Querent context — age, sex, life situation; not required but can refine interpretation
• Spread journal — in long-term work with a tarot reader; enables tracking of recurring cards and themes

Question specifics:

• Open questions ("What is important for me to see in this situation?") are preferred over closed ones ("Yes or no?")
• Questions about third parties without their knowledge are an ethically controversial zone; many schools recommend reformulating to focus on oneself
• One question — one spread; a repeat spread on the same question in a single session reduces the quality of the work

Application Algorithm

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  QUESTION → ATTUNEMENT → SHUFFLING → SPREAD     │
│                                                  │
│  ┌──────────┐   ┌───────────┐   ┌────────┐      │
│  │ Formula- │──→│ Spread    │──→│ Shuf-  │      │
│  │ ting the │   │ selection │   │ fling  │      │
│  │ question │   │           │   │        │      │
│  └──────────┘   └───────────┘   └───┬────┘      │
│                                     │            │
│  ┌──────────┐   ┌───────────┐   ┌───▼────┐      │
│  │ DIALOGUE │←──│ Reading   │←──│ Laying │      │
│  │ with the │   │ cards by  │   │ out    │      │
│  │ querent  │   │ positions │   │ cards  │      │
│  └──────────┘   └───────────┘   │ in po- │      │
│                                 │ sitions│      │
│                                 └────────┘      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 1. Formulating the question. The querent voices the query. The tarot reader helps refine it if needed: removing abstraction, shifting the question from "what will happen?" to "what is important for me to see?" or "what forces are at play?"

Step 2. Selecting the spread. The practitioner determines the spread format depending on the type and depth of the question (one card, three cards, Celtic Cross, etc.).

Step 3. Shuffling and attunement. The querent (or the tarot reader — depending on the school) shuffles the deck while holding the intention of the question. Some schools include ritual elements: breathing, voicing the question aloud, touching the deck.

Step 4. Laying out the cards. Cards are placed in spread positions face down, then turned over one at a time. The order of turning may be sequential or holistic (all at once).

Step 5. Reading cards by positions. Each card is read in the context of:

• Its own archetypal meaning
• The spread position (past, present, obstacle, advice, etc.)
• Orientation (upright / reversed — if the school works with reversals)
• Connections with neighboring cards

Step 6. Synthesis. The tarot reader assembles individual readings into a coherent narrative connected to the question. Highlights the dominant theme, contradictions, resources, areas of attention.

Step 7. Dialogue. The querent responds to the interpretation. Feedback refines the reading. A good reading is not a monologue by the tarot reader but a collaborative exploration.

Output Formats

• Oral reading (primary): narrative interpretation in dialogue; 30–90 minutes
• Written reading: structured text — card, position, meaning, overall narrative
• Photo documentation of the spread: photo of the laid-out cards + brief explanations; used in remote work and journal-keeping
• Meditative format: the querent draws one card and works with the image independently; the tarot reader does not participate

PART B: ANALYSIS VARIANTS

Minimal Reading

Content: one card for one question. The archetypal image as a mirror-response.

Approach: intuitive, imagistic. The practitioner helps the querent "hear" the card — does not translate it into a concrete instruction.

Format: oral; 10–20 minutes.

Standard Reading

Content:

• Spread of 3–10 cards (three cards or Celtic Cross)
• Reading each card by position
• Working with reversals (if the school applies them)
• Identifying the dominant suit, recurring numbers, presence/absence of Major Arcana
• Synthesis: narrative response to the question

Format: oral or written; 45–75 minutes.

Extended Reading

Additional content:

• High-complexity spreads (12+ cards, custom spreads)
• Clarifier cards on key positions
• Numerological analysis of the numbers drawn
• Elemental balance of the spread (suit ratio = balance of fire, water, air, earth)
• Working with "shadow": which Major Arcana did not appear — what is "not in the field"
• Comparison with previous spreads (if a journal exists)

Format: 90–120 minutes; may be divided across multiple sessions.

Specialized Branches

1. Predictive / Event-based Tarot Focus on the question "what will happen?" and "when?" Employs temporal spreads (card = week/month), timing techniques. The most risky branch: requires high practitioner qualification and honesty about the probabilistic nature of the reading.

2. Psychological Tarot Cards as a projective tool: the image on the card is a screen for the querent's projections. Applied in coaching, self-exploration, sometimes in psychotherapeutic accompaniment (not as a substitute for therapy). Influence of Jung (#11).

3. Meditative Tarot Working with a single card as an object of contemplation. Visualization, entering into the image, dialogue with the figure on the card. Close to active imagination practices (#11) and attention practices (#12).

4. Therapeutic Tarot Systematic work with recurring themes and "difficult" cards (The Tower, Death, The Devil). Integration of shadow aspects through symbolic dialogue. Requires additional training in psychological counseling.

PART C: INTERPRETATION SYSTEM

Dictionary of Key Elements

22 Major Arcana

Numbering VIII/XI: in the Rider-Waite system Strength = VIII, Justice = XI; in Marseille and Thoth Tarot — reversed.

Four Suits of the Minor Arcana

Court Cards

Common Spreads

Logic and Interpretation Rules

Position determines context. The same card in the "past" position and in the "advice" position is read differently. The card's archetypal meaning is the base layer; position is the filter.

Upright and reversed card. Schools diverge: some work with reversals (reversed card = blockage, weakening, or shadow aspect of the meaning), some do not. In the Thoth Tarot system, reversals are not used. The decision about working with reversals is made before the spread.

Major Arcana — major forces. If a spread contains many Major Arcana (3+ out of 10), the situation carries archetypal weight; forces exceeding the everyday level are at play. If there are no Majors, the situation operates through ordinary mechanisms.

Dominant suit. Predominance of one suit indicates the dominant sphere: Cups — emotions in the foreground; Swords — mental tension; Wands — energy and action; Pentacles — practical and material matters.

Numerical progression. Numbers from Ace (1) to Ten describe development within the element: Ace = seed; 2–3 = formation; 4–5 = crisis and trial; 6–7 = movement and choice; 8–9 = maturity and proximity to completion; 10 = limit of the cycle.

Connections between cards. Adjacent cards are read in combination: direction of figures' gazes, color echoes, recurring numbers. The narrative is built not from isolated meanings but from relationships between cards.

Question — the frame of interpretation. Cards do not have "absolute" meaning; interpretation is always anchored in the specific question. Without a question, the spread is a set of symbols without an address.

Typical Patterns

1. "Tower moment" The XVI Tower appears in the central position of the spread. Signal: the structure of the situation will not hold — destruction is inevitable but liberating. The practitioner helps the querent see what exactly is "collapsing" — and why it may be necessary.

2. Dominance of Cups 3–4+ cards of the Cups suit in a 10-card spread. The situation is saturated with emotions, relationships, inner experiences. A rational solution may not exist — one must work with feelings.

3. Absence of Major Arcana In a large spread, not a single Major Arcana. The situation has no "fateful" character; it is resolved at the level of concrete actions. The querent possesses full agency.

4. Recurring card in a series of spreads The same card appears in several consecutive consultations. In journal practice — a signal of a persistent theme: something demands attention and does not "let go" until it is processed.

5. Three Knights in one spread Much movement; several forces are simultaneously striving toward action. The situation is dynamic, possibly chaotic. The question: which direction is the priority?

6. Swords in the "advice" position The Swords suit in the advice position = intellectual honesty is required, a difficult decision must be accepted, readiness for pain in exchange for clarity. Not a "pleasant" piece of advice, but a precise one.

7. The Fool + The World in one spread Beginning and end of the path are present simultaneously. The situation contains both the completion of an old cycle and the opening of a new one. A time of transition.

PART D: QUALITY STANDARDS

Signs of Correct Application

• The question is formulated before shuffling begins; the spread is not done "into the void"
• Each card is read in the context of the spread position — not in isolation
• The interpretation is connected to the querent's specific question, not a general description of the cards
• The tarot reader does not impose a single meaning — offers a reading and checks resonance with the querent
• A single chosen system (Rider-Waite, Thoth, Marseille) is used without mixing iconographic traditions in one spread
• Ethical boundaries are observed: no diagnoses, predictions of death, manipulation through fear

Typical Practitioner Errors

1. Mechanical recitation of meanings. The tarot reader lists "textbook" card meanings without connecting them to the question and without synthesis. The spread becomes a list rather than a narrative.

2. Reading for oneself on every occasion. Dependence on cards for everyday decisions. Loss of the ability to act without "confirmation" from the deck.

3. Re-spreading when getting an "inconvenient" answer. Reshuffling and re-laying until the desired configuration appears. Violation of the principle: one question — one spread.

4. Mixing decks and schools. Using Rider-Waite system meanings when working with a Thoth deck (or vice versa). Different decks are different symbolic systems; their interpretive dictionaries are not interchangeable.

5. Projecting one's own themes onto the client's spread. The tarot reader "sees" in the cards their own experiences rather than the querent's situation. Especially risky with emotionally charged questions.

Typical Interpretation Errors

1. Catastrophizing "heavy" cards. "You have The Tower — everything will collapse" or "Death — someone will die." All cards describe archetypal processes, not specific events. The Tower — transformation through the destruction of illusions; Death — completion of a cycle.

2. Ignoring position. The Ten of Swords in the "past" position and the Ten of Swords in the "outcome" position are fundamentally different readings. Without considering position, the card loses context.

3. Suit literalism. "Pentacles — so it's about money." Pentacles describe the sphere of earth: body, health, practical life, material reality. Money is only one aspect.

4. Linear reading of time. "The card in the future position is what will happen." Tarot indicates a probable vector given the current configuration of forces, not a predetermined outcome. The querent's agency is preserved.

5. Neglecting the Minor Arcana. Focusing only on Major Arcana; Minor cards perceived as "less important." In reality, Minor Arcana describe the concrete mechanisms of the situation and often contain the most practical information.

Competence Boundaries

• Does not replace medical diagnostics. Cards do not make diagnoses or prescribe treatment
• Does not replace psychotherapy. In acute psychological states (depression, suicidal thoughts, PTSD) the practitioner is obligated to refer to a professional
• Is not legal or financial advice. A spread may help clarify an internal attitude toward a decision but does not replace expert assessment
• Does not predict specific events with certainty. Cards describe forces, tendencies, archetypal patterns — not dates, sums, and names
• Does not work without a question. A spread "about one's entire life" or "about everything at once" is beyond correct application
• When dependency forms in the client — the practitioner is obligated to name it and, if necessary, pause the work

PART E: THEORETICAL BASE

Primary Sources

• Visconti-Sforza Tarot (ca. 1450) — one of the oldest surviving decks; Milan, aristocratic card game; 78 cards
• Tarot de Marseille (17th–18th centuries) — codification of iconography that became the foundation for occult interpretations; engraving standard
• Etteilla (Jean-Baptiste Alliette), "Maniere de se recreer avec le jeu de cartes nommees Tarots" (1783) — the first systematic guide to Tarot divination; reconceptualization of the deck as a mantic instrument
• Eliphas Levi, "Dogme et rituel de la haute magie" (1856) — connection of Tarot with Kabbalah and the Hebrew alphabet; influence on all subsequent esoteric tradition
• Arthur Edward Waite, Pamela Colman Smith, "The Pictorial Key to the Tarot" (1911) — description of the Rider-Waite deck (1909); the most widely used deck in the world
• Aleister Crowley, Frieda Harris, "The Book of Thoth" (1944) — Thoth Tarot; radical reimagining of symbolism through the lens of Thelema

Schools and Authorities

Marseille School Working with the historical Tarot de Marseille. Key figures: Alejandro Jodorowsky (together with Marianne Costa — "La Voie du Tarot," 2004), Philippe Camoin. Emphasis on visual card reading without "textbook" meanings; direction of gaze, colors, gestures of figures.

Golden Dawn School / Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Mathers, Westcott) developed the Kabbalistic system of correspondences. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created the deck that became the world standard. Illustrated Minor Arcana (unlike the Marseille) enabled mass interpretation. Key contemporary continuators: Mary K. Greer, Rachel Pollack, Robert M. Place.

Thoth School (Crowley — Harris) Thoth Tarot — alternative iconography and system of meanings. Renaming of cards (Strength to Lust, Judgement to The Aeon, etc.). Integration of astrological and Kabbalistic correspondences. Contemporary continuators: Lon Milo DuQuette, James Wasserman.

Psychological Direction Application of Tarot as a projective and archetypal instrument. Connection with Jungian psychology (#11). Key authors: Sallie Nichols ("Jung and Tarot," 1980), Benebell Wen.

Contemporary Independent Direction Creation of author decks with expanded inclusivity, decolonial optics, integration with other traditions. Thousands of decks; no single center of authority.

Current State

• Tarot is one of the most widely practiced symbolic systems in the world; millions of practitioners
• Deck market: thousands of titles; new decks are released monthly
• Online platforms: virtual spreads, applications, streaming consultations
• Academic interest: art history, religious studies, cultural studies; but not clinical research
• Certification: there is no single international standard; a number of professional organizations exist (Tarot Professionals, American Tarot Association)
• Active community: conferences, podcasts, book publications, online schools

PART F: PRACTICAL FORMATS

Session / Consultation Formats

In-person individual consultation:

• Duration: 45–90 minutes
• The client formulates the question; the tarot reader selects the spread
• Work with a physical deck; the client may shuffle themselves
• Dialogical format: tarot reader reads — client responds — reading is refined

Remote consultation (video/audio):

• Duration: 45–75 minutes
• The tarot reader lays out cards on camera or provides photo documentation
• Some schools permit the client to do the spread themselves via an application

Asynchronous written format:

• The client sends the question; the tarot reader does the spread and sends a detailed written reading
• Suitable for an introductory level; limited by the absence of live dialogue

Journal practice (independent):

• One card per day / morning address to the deck
• Keeping a journal: date — question — card — impression — day's outcome
• Periodic meetings with a tarot reader for pattern analysis

Frequent User Questions

1. Is it true that cards can predict the future?
2. What does it mean if I keep drawing the same card?
3. Are The Tower / Death / The Devil bad cards?
4. Can I do spreads for myself?
5. Which deck should I choose to start?
6. How often can I consult the cards?
7. Does it matter who shuffles the deck?
8. Why do different tarot readers read the same cards differently?
9. Are reversed cards always bad?
10. Can I ask a question about a relationship with a specific person?

Descriptive Fragment Examples

Fragment 1 — one card:

"You drew The Hermit. His image: a figure stands alone with a lantern — the light is directed not outward but underfoot, onto the next single step. Applied to your question about a change of direction: the card does not say 'leave' or 'stay.' It says: now is a time not for active action but for inner clarification. The answer will come not through the advice of others but through your own solitary reflection. What question would you ask yourself if you were left alone with it?"

Fragment 2 — three-card spread:

"Past — Seven of Cups: a period of illusions, many attractive images, none of which were tested by reality. Present — Two of Swords: a moment of stillness, eyes closed, two swords crossed — the decision is blocked by an equilibrium of arguments. Future — Six of Wands: triumph, recognition, overcoming. The holistic picture: beyond the fog of choice in which you currently find yourself lies a concrete result — but for this you must remove the blindfold and make a choice. The cards do not say which choice — they show that the decision itself is already movement."

Fragment 3 — working with a "heavy" card:

"The Tower appeared in the 'situation' position. I see your reaction — and that is normal: the Tower image is frightening. But look at the card carefully: the tower itself is being destroyed, not the people. The figures are falling — but they are alive; the lightning strikes the crown — a symbol of a false summit, not the foundation. For your question about a work situation, this may mean: the structure that seemed reliable can no longer hold. This is not a catastrophe — it is the moment when the illusion of control yields to reality. The question is not how to hold on — but what you will discover when the walls fall."

PART G: PLATFORM COMPATIBILITY

Recommended Combinations

Jungian Archetypes (#11) Tarot cards are visual carriers of archetypes. Jung personally used Tarot imagery in working with the collective unconscious. The combination is possible as a parallel language: Tarot provides the image, the Jungian framework — interpretive depth. Condition: the tarot reader understands Jungian terminology or works collaboratively with an analyst.

Enneagram (#9) The Enneagram typology can clarify how exactly the querent perceives the archetypal image of a card. Type 4 and Type 7 will see different aspects in the same card. Applicable in psychological Tarot. Condition: types are not "confirmed" by cards, and vice versa.

Attention Practices (#12) Meditative Tarot and mindfulness practices work in the same field: the present moment, observation without judgment. The card as an object of meditative contemplation — a format close to vipassana with a visual anchor.

Runes (#21) Two parallel generative symbolic systems from different cultural traditions (European esoteric vs. Scandinavian). Comparative investigation of one situation in two languages is possible. Condition: the systems are not mixed in a single spread; results are compared, not summed.

I Ching (#6) Another generative system (East Asia). Common principle: random generation of a symbol as a mirror of the moment. Difference: I Ching works with abstract hexagrams, Tarot — with visual images. A parallel consultation can provide a stereoscopic reading.

Incompatible Combinations

• Big Five (#3), MBTI (#4), and other psychometric systems. Psychometrics describes stable traits; Tarot describes the moment and situation. Attempting to "confirm" a test by a spread (or vice versa) is mixing incompatible ontologies. A card does not measure extraversion; a test does not confirm an archetypal image.
• Natal Astrology (#1) as "verification" of a spread. Cards and planetary positions describe different levels of reality through different causal mechanisms (C3 vs. C2). One cannot explain a drawn Tower by a Uranus transit unless this is a conscious synthetic approach of a specific school.
• Numerical numerological systems (#5, #17, #29, #30, #31) in the role of a key to card meaning. Numbers on Tarot cards are part of the internal system; they cannot be interpreted through Pythagorean or Chaldean numerology without marking this as an author's device.

What the Method Does Not Replace

• Psychotherapy and psychiatric care — in clinical states the practitioner is obligated to refer to a specialist
• Medical diagnostics — cards do not make diagnoses
• Legal and financial consultations — a spread is not an expert opinion
• Rational analysis of a situation — Tarot supplements reflection but does not replace fact-gathering and logical analysis
• Psychological testing — Tarot does not measure personality traits and is not a diagnostic instrument

PART H: SOURCES

Canonical Texts of the Tradition

1. Levi, Eliphas (1856): Dogme et rituel de la haute magie. Germer Bailliere, Paris.
2. Waite, Arthur Edward (1911): The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. William Rider & Son, London.
3. Crowley, Aleister (1944): The Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians. O.T.O., London.
4. Mathers, S.L. MacGregor (1888): The Tarot: Its Occult Signification, Use in Fortune-Telling, and Method of Play. George Redway, London.
5. Papus (Gerard Encausse) (1889): Le Tarot des Bohemiens. Georges Carre, Paris.

Research and Critical Works

1. Dummett, Michael (1980): The Game of Tarot: From Ferrara to Salt Lake City. Duckworth, London.
2. Decker, Ronald, Depaulis, Thierry, Dummett, Michael (1996): A Wicked Pack of Cards: The Origins of the Occult Tarot. St. Martin's Press, New York.
3. Decker, Ronald, Depaulis, Thierry, Dummett, Michael (2002): A History of the Occult Tarot, 1870–1970. Duckworth, London.
4. Farley, Helen (2009): A Cultural History of Tarot: From Entertainment to Esotericism. I.B. Tauris, London.
5. Nichols, Sallie (1980): Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey. Samuel Weiser, York Beach.

Reference and Educational Publications

1. Pollack, Rachel (1980): Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot. Aquarian Press, London.
2. Greer, Mary K. (1984): Tarot for Your Self: A Workbook for Personal Transformation. Newcastle Publishing, North Hollywood.
3. Jodorowsky, Alejandro, Costa, Marianne (2004): La Voie du Tarot. Albin Michel, Paris.
4. Place, Robert M. (2005): The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, New York.
5. DuQuette, Lon Milo (2003): Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot. Weiser Books, San Francisco.

Deep Method #20 — Tarot v1.0 Errarium Project — Atlas of Human Models Status: Working draft. Requires verification by a practicing tarot reader.