Barbarians at the Gate: The Rejection of Traditional Tarot Wisdom
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’m currently re-rereading The Discarded Image, a fascinating treatise on Medieval society in Great Britain and elsewhere by C.S. Lewis. He talks a good deal about that culture having been strongly influenced by barbarian incursions, in particular mentioning that the vestigial English language owed far more (but in a hidden and now forgotten manner) to the Norse and Germanic barbarians of Northern Europe than it did to their more civilized Latin (i.e. French and Roman) counterparts. He also notes that the bardic traditions of that period were intent on reviving mythic ways of story-telling (dragons, castles, knights, damsels, etc.) that had never quite died out, the roots of which can be traced back to Plato’s philosophical ancestors.
Just such a revival is constantly on my mind as I contemplate the path modern tarot practice seems to be taking. I see far more repudiation by tarot authors and teachers of what might be called the “core knowledge” than seems to be prudent. Tarot is a symbolic language that has benefited greatly from two centuries of wise commentary by inspired thinkers. But the very fact that it is symbolic makes it a tempting target for maverick revisionists who want to inject their own imaginative brand of symbolism (beginning with wildly divergent tarot decks). The message is loud and clear that “old and established” content is somehow disreputable and inadmissible in light of more freewheeling current opinion. Part of this is due to the fact that much of what has come down to us is couched in archaic Victorian notions of gender and race that are viewed as evidence of “colonialism,” and there is little incentive to look beneath the surface for more universal implications. (I would also venture to say that reading books for enlightenment has gone out of fashion among less-scholarly practitioners of the mystical arts who rely more on psychic impressions than on literal interpretation.)
I think that’s the crux of it right there. Some people like to read widely in the esoteric canon and “ponder the imponderable,” while many more can’t be bothered with anything so prosaic as cracking open a book. Even if the information that can be obtained by watching a video presentation is only second-hand and in diluted form, that alternative aligns perfectly with the drastically reduced span of attention that is exhibited across a wide swath of the population. I see it as the “instant gratification” syndrome but I also believe that the “dumbing-down” of public education is equally to blame. Some time ago I discovered that in one of the major cities in Connecticut the threshold for academic sufficiency was set at 40% in order to graduate from high school, which previously would have been a failing grade but now just pushes ill-prepared students out the door. These are people who are (hopefully) entering the workforce, and some may even find their way into tarot reading. I agree that advanced age isn’t a sure sign of mature judgment when it comes to divination, but mental acuity of the kind needed to understand complex allusions encoded in arcane imagery would certainly be crucial if we intend to do anything more than scratch an emotional itch with our efforts (although I’m aware that’s all some seekers want and all that some diviners propose to give them).
To be fair, there are a few modern tarot authors who are trying to close this gap by writing intelligently for the more casual enthusiast (Anthony Louis comes to mind), but many more are just interested in selling books. ( Full Disclosure: I’ve published five e-books of my own on Lulu but they are compilations of my previous essays that can be read for free on this blog with a little digging, and I’ve made only a pittance from them.) My personal goal has always been to share my experience and knowledge without making a lot of money at it, which is why I’ve never monetized this blog for my own gain (the ads you see are placed by WordPress specifically for their commercial purposes). I plan to continue as long as the writing experience is rewarding, and will summarize my reading of various types of metaphysical literature as the vehicle for presenting my opinions. Ideally, this will inspire my readers to seek out the material on their own.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on November 24, 2024.
