Major Arcana as Overarching Themes
AUTHOR’S NOTE: While they may imply the potential for “fireworks,” I’m long past the point of treating trump cards in a reading as a guarantee that big things are afoot since that hasn’t been my experience with them in over fifty years of practice. I now view them as showing the overarching theme or environmental backdrop for the more mundane events and circumstances depicted by the other cards. (In short, they set the stage but the court and pip cards normally deliver the drama). Their guidance in most cases is “Keep your eyes open but don’t overreact.”
In thinking about it, I’ve never formalized my assumptions into direct advice that I can offer a client, so here I’m attempting to rectify that shortcoming with brief remarks on each one. Consider this to be a “cheat sheet” to discuss with your sitters when questions come up, and feel free to tinker with it to your liking. If any of these cards appear reversed in the draw, the advice does not change significantly but the ability to apply it without reservation may be hampered, requiring an adjustment in approach or a shift in expectations. (Except for Uranus, Neptune and Pluto [which are a subject of some debate*], the Esoteric Correspondences are based on the Golden Dawn system and are included for those who employ astrological insights in their divination.)
The Fool: A card of limitless potential. A good time to loosen up, avoid being pigeon-holed, and go with the flow. (Esoteric Correspondence: Primal Air/Modern Uranus or Pluto)
The Magician: A card of great opportunity if handled with precision. A good time to remain sharply focused but also to cultivate flexibility and boundless creativity. (Esoteric Correspondence: Mercury)
The High Priestess: A card of contemplation and introspection. A good time to privately rethink your priorities and reposition yourself accordingly. (Esoteric Correspondence: Moon)
The Empress: A card of harmony and pleasure. A good time to enjoy the best in life. (Esoteric Correspondence: Venus)
The Emperor: A card of command-and-control. A good time to exercise authority and uphold the rules, but it could degenerate into an autocratic “Father knows best” or “might-makes-right” scenario. (Esoteric Correspondence: Aries)
The Hierophant: A card of conventional values. A good time to observe decorum and stay “inside the lines.” (Esoteric Correspondence: Taurus)
The Lovers: A card of “leaving the crossroads.” A good time to make an important decision and then follow through with it. (Esoteric Correspondence: Gemini)
The Chariot: A card of holding the reins firmly in hand. A good time to move resolutely toward any goal you have in mind. (Esoteric Correspondence: Cancer)
Strength: A card of leveraging your desires, impulses and appetites. A good time to honor your “enlightened self-interest” rather than futilely trying to tame or suppress it. (Esoteric Correspondence: Leo)
The Hermit: A card of self-mastery through quiet reflection, perfected wisdom, and non-involvement or disengagement. A good time to “go it alone,” keeping your own council and exercising prudent judgment. (Esoteric Correspondence: Virgo)
The Wheel of Fortune: A card of generally positive change. A good time to “roll the dice” since there is little to lose and much to gain. (Esoteric Correspondence: Jupiter)
Justice: A card of receiving one’s just desserts, whether favorable or unfavorable. A good time to call in any debts you’re owed since the scales of Justice may shift without warning. (Esoteric Correspondence: Libra)
The Hanged Man: A card of patience and forbearance. A good time to take a step back and reappraise your options, but not an occasion to assume that you won’t have your nose rubbed in the dirt if you act prematurely or without due diligence. (Esoteric Correspondence: Primal Water/Modern Neptune)
Death: A card of “no turning back.” A good time to take inventory, tie up any loose ends, batten down the hatches and prepare for a major make-over in your situation, an event that might well be psychological rather than physical. (Esoteric Correspondence: Scorpio)
Temperance: A card of consummate discernment and discretion, usually manifesting as exquisite finesse. A good time to mediate between competing interests, whether internally or externally. (Esoteric Correspondence: Sagittarius)
The Devil: A card of enormous physical prowess that doesn’t have much of a conscience or sense of proportion and propriety. A good time to indulge your fantasies or completely let go of your inhibitions depending on the occasion, but in either case it’s a treacherous proposition and you may be disillusioned by the outcome. (Esoteric Correspondence: Capricorn)
The Tower: A card of sudden epiphany or revelation, like a “bolt from the blue.” A good time to hope for the best (a “soft landing”) but prepare for the worst (a “crash-and-burn”); in “real” terms the outcome may be more trivial than traumatic. (Esoteric Correspondence: Mars)
The Star: A card of inspiration and aspiration, but also of wishful thinking due to its remoteness. A good time to position yourself for a windfall of serendipity but also to curb your enthusiasm in the event Dame Fortune decides to retreat further into the ozone. (Esoteric Correspondence: Aquarius)
The Moon: A card of uncertain augury, with ambiguous prospects on all sides. A good time to stand pat and, if possible, avoid committing to anything until the fog lifts; but if you must act, be wary of the shadows. (Esoteric Correspondence: Pisces)
The Sun: A card of excellent omen in almost all cases. A good time to “make hay while the Sun shines” by adopting a “Can do!” attitude. (Esoteric Correspondence: Sun)
Judgement: A card of tremendous incentive and motivation. A good time to “pull out all the stops” and answer the call should a sufficiently tempting occasion present itself (but circumstance may in fact conspire to force your hand even if it doesn’t). (Esoteric Correspondence: Primal Fire/Modern Pluto or Uranus)
The World: A card of completion, sometimes delayed or diminished, and not one for “resting on your laurels” and expecting the rewards to roll in. A good time to “cash in your chips” if you’ve been thinking about getting out of the game since the rate-of-return may be volatile and the window of opportunity small, perhaps ultimately requiring that you accept less than they’re worth. (Esoteric Correspondence: Saturn/Earth)
*Although I normally use the Primal Element model in my own work, my personal opinion is that watery Neptune clearly belongs with the Hanged Man; Uranus — the mythological father of Saturn — should precede the World as Judgement; and Pluto — the “cosmic messenger to Mercury’s “solar messenger” — as the unworldly Fool should usher in the mercurial Magician for a kind of metaphysical “one-two punch.” (It also presents an argument for renumbering the Fool as “22” as was done in the 18th Century, but that’s another essay).
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on May 12, 2024.
