24 Major Arcana

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 29 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

tigerlily	29 Jul 2002
I'm bored, ok? So, I came across this website with this article about 24 Major Arcana (http://www.accessnewage.com/articles/astro/MZHAWK1.HTM) and while I think that 24 is a really neat number to have, I wasn't too happy with this New Age slang she used (I mean, Barbara Hand Clow? I have her book about Chiron - it's hardly readable; much like Chris Griscom's books... of which I had the pleasure to read one; the only book that I've thrown away in my life... but I digress). I simply don't know what to make of a card named "starmaker". Sooo.... which two "new" archetypes would you include? My take is that I see the Fool as "wildcard", not a part of the Majors. It stands for the querent, for myself on this journey of life (YMMV, of course). Then I split the Devil into the "Temptation" part and a "Lord of the Underworld/Judge of the Dead" part. Finally, I included a "Herald/Messenger" and a "Guardian at the Threshold". I'm not sure of their placement, though. Any ideas?

Laurel	29 Jul 2002
To me, Chiron would be the "Wounded Healer" archetype. Persephone is harder to typify with a title- Starmaker sure wouldn't be it though. LOL. I'm of the mind that both already exist in the tarot, as part of more traditional archetypal amalgamations. I wouldn't personally introduce two more cards and disagree with the interpretations of the extra two "Magus" cards in the Thoth deck that was offered in the article above. For me, all three combined represent Hermes Trimestigus, the "Thrice-Great" Hermes, the "founder" of Hermetic magic. :) Laurel

squigglywiggly	29 Jul 2002
I think there should be a card that says "your husband is cheating on you" because it happens all the time. Also there should be a card that says "you're going to get lots of expensive gifts" because I like getting expensive gifts.

Umbrae	29 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by squigglywiggly I think there should be a card that says "your husband is cheating on you" because it happens all the time. Also there should be a card that says "you're going to get lots of expensive gifts" because I like getting expensive gifts. Wives cheat too. Usually because we spend too much time working so we can afford expensive gifts. However husbands do of course cheat, especially when all the shallow wife wants are expensive gifts. Nevertheless, I suppose conceivably it is all the guy's fault. Always lead down the path by cheap tawdry women wearing nothing except a promise and a smile...

lili	29 Jul 2002
I agree with you Umbrae

catboxer	29 Jul 2002
Umbrae: You really write well. You also seem to be quite cheerful for a guy who lives in a place where it rains all the time. Tigerlilly: I read some of Ms. Hawkins's essay about Chiron, the tarot, and other stuff, and found it pretty typical. Whether we like it or not, the cards are a great tool for air castle architects. Since the trump images are somewhat cryptic (some of them anyway), they lend themselves to speculation. A person can lay a speculative foundation and then lay an infinite number of speculative bricks on top of it, and make any kind of towering, bizzarre-shaped structure he or she wishes. It's easy, because speculation is weightless. Some of these are fun to read, some are consistent enough to be credible, and a few are even helpful, as they might help an open-minded person to achieve new insights. But some are authored by people who will tell you that they have the only correct interpretation of the cards, and all other interpretations are wrong. Fortunately, Mary Hawkins doesn't do that.

tigerlily	30 Jul 2002
Erm, catboxer, I wasn't saying (or implying) that Mary Hawkins claims to have found the one and only "true" Tarot. I just thought it would be fun to play around with the idea of 24 instead of 22 Major Arcana. That I'm no friend of New Age mumbo jumbo just crept into my post accidentally })

northsea	09 Aug 2004
I like the idea of 24 major arcana since it connects with other systems like chess, zodiac, i ching.

Luminessence	09 Aug 2004
If I were to add two extra cards... hmm. I've thought for awhile that there should be a "Divine Plan" card, probably going in between Judgment and the World, but I'm not sure what the second extra card would be. I'd have to get back to you on that :)

northsea	10 Aug 2004
24 Anglo-Saxon runes, too. (8 x the trinity)

Ravenswing	10 Aug 2004
I've considered an additional three cards representing the three negative veils. This would create more of a direct relationship between the tree of life and the tarot-- something that I see anyway. One interesting thing is that we would now have 81 tarot cards... 2 x 2 = 4 elements or suit 3 x 3 = 9 number of cards in a suit that are associated with astrological decans 4 x 4 = 16 Number of court cards 5 x 5 = 25 number of runes when including the blank 6 x 6 = 36 number of astrological decans 7 x 7... I have to find one here-- though 7 is different from the other basic numbers. You can't divide a circle evenly by 7... 8 x 8 =64 the chess board, members of the I Ching 9 x 9 = 81 number of tarot card if the three negative veils are added. fly well Raven

The 24 Major Arcana thread was originally posted on 29 Jul 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.