Tired of the Mundane

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

closrapexa	17 Feb 2005
I have noticed that many sites on Tarot refere to the Minor Arcana as the "mundane" aspects of life. Now, while they do not have the same "weight" as the Mojors, I feel that reducing them to the mundane is both unspecific and, may i say it, unrespectful. Now, as I write this I realize that I honestly don't know how to refere to them. To me, they deal with more specific issues and the details of life, rather than the "high" subjects that the Majors do. Still, they are hardly "mundane" Any thoughts?

temperlyne	17 Feb 2005
To me the minors refer to the daily struggles, the actual situations in our daily lives. The majors refer more to stages/phases in life. The majors influence the way we act and think in a perticular moment in life, but the minors are what we daily encounter. Maybe its a bit like months and days, every month (major) comes with its own chartacteristics like weather, holidays. But every month has the same days (minors) which are influenced by the month they are in. Or on a larger scale the majors might be years that differ from eachother because we age and learn, the minors might be holidaus, working days etc. All of which we've seen before but experience in a new light everytime we age and learn. I hope this makes any sense...

Fulgour	17 Feb 2005
In the words of The World's youngest ever Certified Tarot Master (and ATF Member): While the Major Arcana are the more powerful of the two groups, since they deal with major life changes and philosophies, the Minor Arcana are often the most common in readings because they refer to the mundane events most questioners ask about. (Mundane does not mean "boring" - it means "of the world", as in "of everyday existence".) ~ James Rioux

firemaiden	17 Feb 2005
Someone decided to make that distinction because it was convenient for them. It doesn't mean the rest of us have to follow. I like how jmd's "how may it be read threads" for the Marseille minors relate every minor card to something spiritual.

shandar	17 Feb 2005
Got it: Just went to Merrian Webster and got this: Mundane Pronunciation: "m&n-'dAn, 'm&n-" Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English mondeyne, from Middle French mondain, from Late Latin mundanus, from Latin mundus world 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the world 2 : characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary : COMMONPLACE And here are the Thesaurus meanings: Entry Word: mundane Function: adjective Text: 1 Synonyms EARTHLY 1, earthy, sublunary, tellurian, telluric, terrene, terrestrial, uncelestial, worldly Related Word profane, secular, temporal Antonyms eternal 2 Synonyms MATERIALISTIC, banausic, earthy, sensual, temporal, worldly Related Word animal, carnal, fleshly 3 Synonyms PROSAIC 3, commonplace, everyday, lowly, workaday, workday I agree, mundane doesn't make it.... let's use banausic instead! Shandar

Rosanne	17 Feb 2005
If you don't like the name Majors and Minors/ or mundane, make one up that indicates to you what you mean. To myself, I call the Majors 'Generators' and I call the minors 'Turbines'. The respect for tarot comes from within yourself, flowing outward and thus becomes an attitude towards Tarot. Regards Rosanne

Diana	17 Feb 2005
Do you play the piano? Do you consider the black keys to be mundane? You know, the B-flat, or the C-flat for instance? The Minor Arcana provide nuances which strike different chords in our heart and reach to different parts of our being. Some people call these Minor Arcana "Lesser Arcana". I cringe at their ignorance. It's okay if a newcomer makes this mistake - I will pardon a newcomer all the mistakes in the world. But when more experienced Tarot readers view these as "mundane" or "Lesser" or "just everyday experiences compared to the BIG things in life", it's really sad. :( Nuances are not mundane. Nuances are not transitory. They are more common in readings because there are more of them. Not because they refer to mundane events. As to the reason why there are many web-sites that refer to these cards as "mundane". Well, most tarot authors just copy each other. The number of Tarot readers who do not think for themselves, but just accept what other people say as the gospel truth is mind-boggling. (It's like that with all things in life though, not just Tarot.) Because something is published in a book, it must be true. Or because so-and-so said something, it has to be true. As to the rubbish that one can pick-up on the internet, let's not even go into that. There are so many untruths going around about Tarot due to people copying other people's words without thinking. But then... a lie told often enough will become the truth, won't it?

Phoenix Rising	17 Feb 2005
I was just thinking about this topic today. Why the minors are called mundane, when they certainly are not as I've discovered. Some may have read my thread on "A stabbing in the cards" and the 3 swords indicated this. Now I certainly wouldn't say that was mundane! Where was the major? And the Knight of Wands, that came to assist the poor woman? No major. So maybe the majors represent internal influences and Minors external influences.

Stregaverde	17 Feb 2005
On first glance as I scrolled through this forum, I thought that this thread was entitled "Tarot of the Mundane", and thought, "Well, that's...interesting." :D One of my favorite ways of looking at the deck comes from Greer's book, "Understanding the Tarot Court". In it, she talks about the Four Modes of Tarot. She says that the court cards answer the question, "Who?", by either showing a person or a role, or a manner of being. The Minor Arcana (except Aces) answer the "What?", describing the situation that the "Who" is in--what is going on, what is to be dealt with, etc. The Majors are the "Why?", and talk about archetypal energies that need to be dealt with, while the Aces often answer "Where?", showing the elemental realm in which the situation or solution exists.

Kissa	17 Feb 2005
So the Majors deal with majors changes in life while the Minors deal with the normal world around... ... and you still call them the minors? Well, at over 30 yo, if there's something i have learned it is that everything around me has an effect on me and i have an effect on the world around. to me majors and minors are connected, there are all about the same mystery: Life, only they empathize different sides of the same issue. There is always more than just one point of view and something I might not get from a major card, i get a firmer grab on with a minor. I am still very young at tarot and got all brainwashed by the big "majors are for important issues in life" message so i must admit i feel shy with majors, they sometimes intimate me... especially when i do a reading about something mundane... mwahhh I think the real deal is that Waite and Pixie re-invented the minors and illustrated them with scenes (some inspired by the Sola Busca, some purely invented) and the progression is harder to see than with a non.scenic pips deck. It was Waite or Pixie's choice to bring the mundane into the pips, there was Tarot before Waite and Pixie. Kissa *La Maison Dieu* (as Tarotbear refers to the Tower to define those who always bring back any thread to the same issue)

RedMaple	17 Feb 2005
I think that part of the problem is the way words change over time. "Mundane" doesn't mean less, it just refers to everyday, earthly, events, as opposed to archetypal forces. But in common speech, "mundane" has come to mean "dull" or "banal". As a poet, finding the extraordianry in the ordinary is key. And the suit of pentacles reminds us that spirit, or the Shekhina, is in the material world, immanent. Thus the star in the coin. As I study Tarot, I find that each "minor" is related somehow to archetypal forces --one or more of the Majors -- as it plays out in our everyday lives. I don't have a problem with the word "mundane," but then I don't have a problem with everyday life -- I find it mysterious and sacred, more transitory, perhaps, than the effects of some of the archetypal forces, and so, in some ways, more precious.

MeeWah	17 Feb 2005
The mundane aspects are all of the earthly aspects of existance & interaction--namely, those related to the Wands/Rods, Cups/Chalices, Swords, Pentacles/Coins. That they are referred to as "minor" or "mundane" does not diminish their intrinsic importance nor capacity for significance in the realm of human endeavours & experiences. As the material representatives of the earthly experiences, they figuratively & literally provide the flesh/meat of same, the tangible objects by which we can be inspired; feel; think; do. As RedMaple expressed it aptly, "the extraordinary in the ordinary is key".

NightWing	24 Feb 2005
Hmmmn. I rather liked the synonym "carnal" for "mundane". Reading the "Carnal Arcana" lends a bit of zip to it, don't you think? :-) Cheers.

Imagemaker	24 Feb 2005
I've always liked the word "embodiment" as a way to express how an idea or spirit is "incarnated" -- a person can embody an idea, an event can embody a concept. And the minors (to use that term, not to imply they are lesser) embody the major archetypes. As above, so below; as expressed in the major, embodied in the minor.

Keslynn	24 Feb 2005
NightWing wrote: Hmmmn. I rather liked the synonym "carnal" for "mundane". Reading the "Carnal Arcana" lends a bit of zip to it, don't you think? :-) That's great, NightWing! I think I'll use that term instead. :) Kes

Fudugazi	27 Feb 2005
As well as Diana's wonderful Major/Minor keys in music, which struck me so forcibly when she first explained it to me that I have adopted it in my own understanding of the Tarot, I like to think of the alchemical Macrocosm and Microcosm for the "Major and Minor" cards - which rejoins the Hermetic "As above, so below; as below, so above - in all unity" which Imagemaker referred to. The Macrocosm is a cosmology. The Microcosm, a biology.

The Tired of the Mundane thread was originally posted on 17 Feb 2005 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.