A Short ABC of Tarot
The seventy-eight cards of a Tarot deck are divided as follows: twenty-two stations (or cards) represent the Major Arcana and the fourteen stations (fifty-six cards) for each of the four suits (including the Court Cards) represent the Minor Arcana.
Arcana: Plural of Arkanum
Arkanum: Latin for secret
Divinatory: Discovering hidden knowlege, fortune-telling (literally: "proclaiming something godly," "sacred")
Cartomancy: Fortune-telling with the use of cards
Court Cards: Queen, King, Knight, or Page (also called Princess). In Crowley Tarot deck: Queen, Prince, Knight, Princess.
Estoteric: The many different definitions of esoteric include: hidden secret, not easily accessible (literally: "from within").
Mystic: The "direct connection to ultimate wisdom" ; immediate and absolute experience of God and the world
Mythology: The teaching of myth; also, specifically, ancient teaching of the gods.
Mythos: Fable, legend, archetype, (collective) ancient or early history.
Pagat: Early term for the card "I-The Magician."
Pentacles: Indicating talisman/mascot. Another name used for "Disks" in Tarot
Pentagram: Five-pointed star on the "Pentacles" cards. It has many meanings: it is the "Quintessence" of the four elements and also is a cipher (a short-term sign for humans) where the five points of the star represent the head, hands, and feet.
Qabalah: "The Tradition"; ancient Jewish mysticism where the symbol of the "Tree of Life" as well as the mystical meaning of numbers and letters have great meaning. It exists in several variations and in several different traditions and branches.
Tartock, Tarok: Terms also used for tarot.
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Posted on Thu 7th Jul 2011 20:17:17