The Tarot Journey of Enlightenment, an Introduction

Through the articles in this series, I’d like to take you on a journey. Well—this is actually going to be a story about a journey, a description of a journey, rather than the journey itself. This is the story of a journey that will take you through your own formation, back through the core of yourself, and, if you choose, out past the bounds of reality.

Our guide on this journey will be the twenty-one cards (plus the Fool) that comprise the Tarot’s Major Arcana.

The Major Arcana can be seen as a map of the archetypical mind, that is, a map of the full potential of our development. Every card can be seen to represent a step in that development. And every step represents a complex of meaning, an archetype, a state of being or understanding, that we integrate in order to continue the journey.

The Tarot, whether used in divination or as guide for study and meditation, has a mythological function. For one, it brings us in touch with the mystical, with an energy, and a knowledge beyond ourselves. It also gives us a sense of how the world works, how we work, and how we can relate to the world and each other. And it shows us how to live in a heart-centered way. These definitions about what makes something mythological come from my “What is a Myth?” video.

In this series I’ll cover one card per post, and we’ll go step-by-step along the path. As I mentioned, this is a description of a journey not the journey itself. So you may or may not be enlightened by the end of it but you will at least have a sense of where the journey will take you. Think of it as consulting a map to get a sense of the lay of the land before actually driving or hiking the route.

One note: this journey is intended for a mature audience. If you go through the posts searching for “mature” content, you’re going to be disappointed. But generally the journey to enlightenment and discussions thereof, I feel, are part of the realm of adulthood.

I’m looking forward to telling you the story of this journey. See you in the next post.