WTF Is Tarot

by Bakara Wintner

  I don’t believe it matters what deck you use. There are innumerable ways to effectively illustrate the tarot’s archetypes. If using a more modern deck, I would make sure that the artist has experience with the tarot and did not create it solely out of aesthetic enthusiasm. More importantly, make sure it’s actually a tarot deck. There is a set structure to the tarot—seventy-eight cards, twenty-two Major Arcana, etc. There are oracle decks that put tarot in their title and decks that follow the seventy-eight card model but bastardize the archetypes into oblivion. If it has four suits and doesn’t re-name the Major Arcanas something unrecognizable from their original title, you’re in the right place.

  I also recommend choosing one deck and committing to it. You will be cultivating a relationship with these cards throughout the course of your experience. Like any relationship, intimacy and trust grow with time.

  There is a superstition around buying your own tarot deck. Story goes that the deck intended for you will find you somehow in the form of a gift or inheritance. In my experience, this is not required for a deck to be yours and work for you. What matters is that you really, really like your cards, that you feel drawn to and curious about them. If, for whatever reason, you feel strongly about not buying your own deck, find another friend who also wants one and gift them to each other.

  A Note on Fucking Gender

  There are so many times, especially in the arena of magic, where language fails us. We tinker with it, bend it, expand it the best we can to capture the substance of what we’re talking about. However, at the end of the day, we are attempting to fit the ethereal, spiritual, elusive and esoteric within the confines of words. It can be said that this is the struggle that all writers face, that we wrestle with language to generate something beautiful and truer and greater than the sum of its parts, but it feels especially pertinent to mention it here. As we begin the journey into the tarot’s arcana, we will find that nearly all cards are gendered — gender, another construct that fails us. And yet …

  We cannot fully understand the cards if we remove these associations. They are not in place to be divisive, or exclusive. It has nothing to do with gender identity or sexuality or genitals or politics. Rather, the gender of the cards speaks to their quintessential energies.

  I will ask that, for the sake of honoring the integrity of the tarot’s structure and archetypes, that you look at the concepts of feminine and masculine energy outside of the confines of physical gender and not disregard them altogether. Each person has within them a combination of masculine and feminine energy, and the tarot speaks to the reconciliation of these dualities to achieve balance and harmony within ourselves. There are cards that speak to the attainment of this balance—The Lovers, Justice, Temperance, Judgment—and then there are cards that are pure expressions of a singular energy. Most masculine energies have feminine counterparts, speaking to the incomplete nature of possessing just one of these traits. The Magician and The High Priestess, The Empress and The Emperor, The Moon and The Sun are all examples of the masculine and feminine completing each other.

  So, with that said, let’s get clear on what characterizes these energies.

  High Masculine Energy

  • Assertive

  • Active

  • Rational

  • Protective

  • Decisive

  • Confident

  • Practical

  • Strong

  Low Masculine Energy

  • Aggressive

  • Violent

  • Corrupt

  • Controlling

  • Unavailable

  High Feminine Energy

  • Receptive

  • Intuitive

  • Compassionate

  • Passive/inactive

  • Nurturing

  • Emotional

  • Wise

  • Vulnerable

  Low Feminine Energy

  • Backstabbing

  • Passive/aggressive

  • Manipulative

  • Victim

  • Co-dependent

  While the words fall short, I hope you can experience the soul of the sentiment beyond the language. I feel the same way when I work with words like love or god. You can call it yin and yang, light and dark, active and passive—what is important is that we do not ignore the truth of duality, as it is at the core of what makes the tarot such a powerful tool for self-study and reconciliation.

  THE MAJOR ARCANA

  0—THE FOOL

  The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.

  —Carl Jung

  freedom / risk / impulse / trust / naïve / inner child / ignorance / adventure / joyful / child / journeyer / precipice / unhurt / ready / new soul / beginning / bursting / enthusiasm / unprepared / blind faith / ignition

  Card Meaning

  The Fool symbolizes the leap into incarnation. As card zero, he is an outlier of the Major Arcana, the beginning before the beginning. A sponge, a blank slate for the experiences laid out for him in the following cards. Possessing the energy of the newborn, The Fool is both cosmically connected—new enough to hold on to the memory of the divine oneness from which he came—and fearless—possessing no knowledge of the world he is about to step into and therefore too uninformed to be afraid.

  Traditionally, The Fool is about to take a leap off a cliff. Most depictions include a warning symbol cautioning him against the leap, commonly in the form of a dog nipping at his feet. This warning does not come from us. It is not our intuition or inner voice. It is the collective warning of societal programming, learned fear and deeply ingrained self-doubt. Embodying the energy of The Fool is an act of self-trust so radical that it allows us to take risks that may seem crazy to others. When we align with The Fool, we do not doubt ourselves, even if it feels like we should. He invites us to set aside our pride and everything we think we know in exchange for the possibility of a new beginning. However, this is not always appropriate action. The question we must consider upon meeting The Fool is when does it serve us to go into a situation unbiased and when is it wiser to make decisions based on our experience. While The Fool has many merits, he is entirely devoid of wisdom, and therefore his fearlessness can put him in danger if employed in the wrong circumstances.

  In my experience, The Fool represents a risk worth taking. Symbolizing pre-creation and cosmic consciousness, he awakens our spiritual memory and prepares us for new opportunity. We are likely to surprise ourselves here. So used to using our ego as a compass, The Fool activates a completely different navigation system. Every cell in our body longs for this unexpected journey for which we have no road map and no destination. Our bones are buzzing with purpose that we cannot fathom with our mind or articulate with our ego. And yet, we must jump. To defy this instinct is to deny life itself.

  There are hints, feelings and inclinations this next step is right, but nothing quantifiable. This is why The Fool has historically represented madness and insanity, because his choice defies logic and reason. He is total impulse, pure spontaneity, eternally leaping into the present moment.

  Anecdote

  Quitting my job wasn’t what grown-ups would call a “good idea.” I’d been working for a little over a year and got a promotion a few months before I received my tarot deck. I had a sure thing, a steady paycheck, coworkers I loved, a boss I respected, health insurance and the emotional security essential to an early-twenties recent-grad who was totally freaked out about whether or not I could ever successfully adult.

  When I gave my two weeks’ notice, I had two hundred dollars in my bank account and absolutely zero idea of what came next. But I had to jump. It wasn’t an option. In all honesty, it took about an hour of owning a tarot deck to know that this would take me in new and unexpected directions, that the job I worked so hard to get instantly became a dream belonging to some former version of me. It wa
s the craziest thing I’ve ever done, and the best decision I’ve ever made.

  In a Reading

  The Fool often shows up as an opportunity for a major new beginning that requires taking a leap, or a risk. An upcoming birth or fertile ground for new creative endeavors. It could symbolize a move, a career change or unexpectedly falling in love. An urging to stop taking yourself so seriously, to avoid getting bogged down by details, preconceived notions or fear. Look at a situation with fresh eyes. Listen to your gut. Be open to a new experience, or to being surprised. Consider always the positioning of The Fool—what direction is he facing? What card is he leaping into? What position is he in in the greater context of the spread? If surrounded by ominous cards, it may be a warning that now is not the best time to take a leap, or imply naivety or ignorance to the pitfalls of a situation. The Fool encourages spontaneous and impulsive action over rational planning.

  1—THE MAGICIAN

  It’s handled.

  —Olivia Pope

  power / manifestation / genius / willpower / mapmaker / creation / master / resources / god-force / action / boss / poised / prepared / expert / self-reliance / elemental / leader / self-assured / fast

  Card Meaning

  In high school, my creative writing teacher took a small group of students to hear one of my favorite poets give a lecture. I was an angsty teenager and indifferent to pretty much everything, with writing being one of the few exceptions. I listened, enthralled, to this man compare the experience of reading a good poem to that of standing inside a grand cathedral. With every aspect of the architecture meant to inspire awe in its occupants, it is a testament to structure allowing the understanding of space. We are always surrounded by infinite space, but inside this expansive cathedral, looking up at the high, vaulted ceilings, we can actually feel it. An ethereal concept becomes, in that moment, a tangible presence.

  This is the energy of The Magician. He is the creative force, the manifestation current, the god energy, the resources that facilitate an experience. He is always present, but this card speaks to an acute awareness of this powerful archetype.

  The Magician asks us to contemplate the value of using tricks in service of the Higher Self. A Shaman does a healing on a person, detects a blockage somewhere in their body and energetically removes it. At the same time, they use a sleight of hand to make it appear to the person that a small rock or pebble has been physically pulled from that area of their body. The Magician toes the line between the true miracle-worker and the trickster, just as the cathedral manipulates our senses into being aware of a grandness that is ever-present but often overlooked. With this in mind, when getting to know this card we must also contemplate the difference between experiencing The Magician (standing inside the architecture) and being The Magician (being the architect).

  When this energy is embodied in an individual, please call me because you found my future husband. He exudes confidence and skillfulness in all he does, with complete control over his many faculties. With the entire Minor Arcana at his disposal, it seems like he is capable of anything. He can build a cabin in the woods or manage a hedge fund, be a stay-at-home-dad or CEO. With full access to his masculinity and femininity, emotionality and practicality, command and surrender, wisdom and wonder, he’s taken the best qualities of the Minor cards and distilled them into a cogent singularity. Because of his vast resources, he possesses a distinct ability to make things possible for other people. Whatever problem you bring to him, he always seems to know a guy or have the specific wrench you need to fix that leaky faucet. His capacity for empathy is great and his ability to identify a person’s needs is effortless. You’re all invited to the wedding.

  When we experience The Magician, the risk of The Fool has paid off. We took the leap and landed on solid ground, and now it is time to take action. The Magician is traditionally depicted with all of the symbols of the Minor Arcana because in many ways he is the dispenser of them. The tools are on the table for you, you will be given what you need when you need it, but the action is yours to take. People who are in the energy of The Magician are hustling, maybe stressed, very busy and making shit happen. It’s a period of rapid-fire, nearly hysterical receiving. Doors are opening all around you, opportunities are presenting themselves, your goals are being activated and made possible. In The Fool, we say yes to the universe and in The Magician the universe says yes back to us.

  Anecdote

  The week I quit my job I basically walked around in a state of sheer terror. The first day, I walked into a shop wearing a shirt with a tarot symbol on it and the woman working there asked me about it. When I told her I read tarot, she immediately invited me to work at an event there that weekend. Those first few days, I made twice as much giving readings as I would have working my old job. Every week I expected to fall on my face, and every week my schedule filled. By word of mouth (and magic) my practice grew in ways I never could have fathomed or planned for. Within the first few months, the tarot took me to Brooklyn basement parties, Upper East Side penthouse baby showers, upstate wedding receptions, non-profit galas and, once, to a very open-minded church. I worked with clients in Australia, Kenya, London, Chile, Iceland and Vietnam. I was contacted for interviews, documentaries, podcasts and—at the risk of sounding too meta—book deals.

  Most of the time it felt like I was running alongside something growing beyond my control. I was exhausted, exhilarated, overwhelmed and very, very busy. My social life also disappeared, I repeatedly crossed my own boundaries, my self-care was garbage and both my boyfriend and my dog experienced unprecedented neglect. But there wasn’t time to appreciate the success, let alone consider the consequences. My dream was coming true, and I was being invited deeper and deeper into its manifestation. It was all I could do to pick my jaw up off the floor and continue saying yes to the opportunities coming my way. And yet, through the surprise and delight and gratitude, there was something else. A knowing. A bone-level understanding that I had clicked into something that was right beyond what I could comprehend at the time. I felt more competent, more capable of embracing this expansion than I had ever felt of anything else in my life. I felt myself working with The Magician as much as he was working for me. All my energy, every resource I had, went to keeping up with this wild ride.

  In a Reading

  It is time for action, most likely of the rapid-fire, borderline-batshit variety. Buckle up and get ready to work. The Magician engulfs us in an intense creative energy, everything we want is available to us in this space. Utilize both your skills and the resources at your disposal to achieve success. He points to the efficacy of intention-setting and shows us our ability to manifest. The Magician lends itself to feeling competent and capable. When considering if something is a good idea, or has the fruitful potential, The Magician answers “fuck yes.” This highly charged energy tells us it’s time to fully focus and commit to whatever it is we’re trying to get done. Act now, breathe later. It’s worth it to hustle during this time. The Magician is also a very magical man, and can present itself as a powerful romantic equal to The High Priestess.

  2—THE HIGH PRIESTESS

  The only real valuable thing is intuition.

  —Albert Einstein

  depth / mystery / receptive / ethereal / top bitch / self-trust / devotion / watchful / pure / still / goddess / arcana / ancient / intuitive / divine feminine

  Card Meaning

  The High Priestess is the ultimate initiator into the mysteries, embodying the ancient knowing that lives within us all. She comprises the feminine side of the tarot’s astral power couple. If The Magician is the god, she is the goddess. If he is religion, she is mysticism. Where he is active and vocal, she is passive and silent. And yet, they are entirely equal in their power. She is devoted to aligning herself with the divine, plumbing its mysteries and knowing it personally. Beyond passion, emotion, sexuality and humanity, The High Priestess represents total purity of spiritual intention.

  Because The High Prieste
ss is a disembodied energy, she takes us outside of the baser desires that accompany being human. In a life that is constantly buzzing, that interrupts stillness at every turn, that is full of toxins and indulgences, we commune with The High Priestess when we are longing to detox and know ourselves. In a society that doesn’t acknowledge the legitimacy of feminine power, here we are reminded. She is accessed through meditation, in quiet moments. We cannot be fully informed human beings in the world without knowing ourselves in this way first. Without the depth of The High Priestess, the message of The Magician is vapid, and he is more trickster than truth. We can receive the tools and act upon them, but until we internalize that action and make our own meaning out of it, we are not woke. Any kind of spiritual, channeling or creative work requires that we have access to this consciousness. It could be said that The Magician facilitates the recognition of divine energy, whereas The High Priestess allows for the experience of it and entrance into it.

  When you know something is true, on a gut level, beyond a shadow of a doubt, but don’t know how you know it, you are tuning in to the wisdom of The High Priestess. We develop a relationship with her by trusting ourselves. It’s the feeling we get when we know someone is lying, or sense familiarity in a stranger. When we doubt our intuition, when we dismiss a feeling as crazy, when we invalidate our instincts, we sever ourselves from the power she offers us.

  The High Priestess doesn’t give a fuck that she values intuition over intellect because she knows her intuition will never lead her astray. She speaks slowly and quietly, chews her food before swallowing it and radiates certainty even in her stillness. She’s besties with the divine and relies on that unfailing connection for her power, which makes her unwaveringly powerful.

  Anecdote

  I met Milos a few months after I got sober. I was eighteen years old, college-bound and happy to be alive for the first time in my life. I was going to twelve-step meetings every night, having found a community there that felt like family and a program that freed me from the chains of addiction. Milos walked into the meeting, and I fell in love with him on sight. He was sporting a Jim Morrison shirt and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. When he shared his story, I heard my own truth in his words.