May 8, 2005
Hello fellow Tarot lovers! Welcome again to my domain, and I hope you will find plenty of inspiration in this Arkletter to fuel your ongoing education.
The big treat for this issue is my in-depth article on the Major Arcana, first published in my book The Underground Stream. Many of my students have told me it really helped them to take note of how the Trump cards originally appeared in the oldest decks of Tarot, so perhaps you will get some value from exposure to this material as well. The modern Tarot packs, especially those from the last century, have abounded in creativity, but this trend has in the process thrown some ambiguity over the simpler, more traditional images that were first employed on the faces of the cards. With this review you will be able to more fully appreciate the older images, titles and symbols, and improve your sense of the historical sweep of Tarot.
There's also a fascinating overview of the New Moon in Taurus in this issue, making some timely reminders about the issues of the day. I'd like to remark that according to the Continental Tarot tradition, which is my realm of study, Taurus corresponds to the Lovers card, giving us the suggestion that Taurus is the proper time for embracing those situations, things and people that can help us discover our our joy in this life. The Lovers card is one of the most complicated and multivalent cards among the Trumps (as you will read in my essay), but this is because of the extreme importance of right relationship to human happiness. Suffice it to say that this month is a great time to differentiate between those relationships that you unambiguously want to foster and improve in your life, versus those relationships which should be forgone in the interest of focus, clarity, and reduced stress. I hope my remarks will help along those lines.
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