Numbers or suits? which is more important?
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| mario |
24 Feb 2003 |
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I' d like to know if for you is more important the number or the suit when a minor arcana is connected with a major arcana.
I ask for this because my readings very often repeat some connection ( for example Justice + 8, death + 3, lovers + ace) but without respecting the same suits. I' m thinking that a major arcana connected with a number has already a complete meaning, while the suits are more in connection with psychological attitudes of the querer.
Example: The fool +3. I read this card like "Ideal that takes form". With Wands= The perfect work With Pentacles= To earn what you have struggled for (also to buy the car or the house you have dreamed of) With Swords= The ideal solution of a problem With Cups = Magic moment ( ex. the perfect holiday).
Howewer this is true only if I get real satisfaction from my work. If I work only for money, my perfect work will be Fool + 3Pentacles. And if I' m not very confident with my work, the perfect work could mean for me the ideal solution of a problem Fool + 3Swords.
If I love very much my work this could be my magic moment Fool + 3Cups ( this make a little less sense to me, instead you are an artist, or something near). To buy the house of your dreams could be Fool + 3Cups. Maybe it depends on your psychological attitude.
I hope I' ve been clear and expecially that my english is not so terrible.
I' d like veri mukh to know what yu think about.
Mario
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| jamesriouxctm |
24 Feb 2003 |
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Mario,
Let me start by saying that this looks like an excellent way to combine Major and Minor Arcana together, either in a reading or just to explore their interrelationships.
What you've described is a situation where you keep the number of your Minor Arcanum constant, change the suit, and see what happens. You're right that this is generally quite easy to do, and the suit helps refine the meaning and make it more specific.
But have you considered doing the opposite, i.e. keep the suit constant and change the number? I suspect that you could get some interesting answers this way as well.
Think about making a table, or chart, with one column for each number and one row for each suit. What you've described is a process to fill up the table one column at a time - pick a number and then do each suit in turn, for a given Major Arcanum.
I think you should try picking a row (i.e. a suit) and then do each number in turn. Then - and here's the kicker - see if you get the same answers as you did with your first method. I suspect that the tables will be nearly identical, or can be made nearly identical with a little bit of tweaking in critical areas.
In fact I might try this out and post my results if I have time, and I invite anyone else reading this thread to try it also. If you get really hardcore with this, you'll end up doing it for each of the Major Arcana, and end up with a 4x10x22 data cube, which has a total of 880 entries. And that's before court cards...
Anyway, in response to the original question (whether the suit or the number is more important), as you can probably tell, I am of the opinion that both are equally important, and what matters is the situation in which the combined meaning has to be used. It's all a matter of perspective.
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| jeank74 |
24 Feb 2003 |
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I am a beginner and I do it step by step. My book, by Susan Levitt, told me that when Major presents, think about the Fool's journey. When Courts presents, think about the "personalities" of the figures. When Minors presents, think about the meaning of the suite as well as the meaning of the number of that card.
If you can master those, then you can mix each element together and find their connection.
This is only my way of approaching major, minor and court. Of course, find a way that you feel the most comfortable with. :)
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| mario |
25 Feb 2003 |
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Ok, it's a long, long way.
JamesR I begin something like this, putting in connection every Major card with a number, but I have no much time, so at the moment I' ve stopped to "Chariot". I' m really interested in comparison and I would like if some day we could do something like that. I' m really interested also in comparing the meaning with real experience. I' ve choosen the fool with 3 also because I' ve more than one experience of what happened when I get these cards.
I' ve posted a long, long message to HOLMES. I hope I' ve not bored him, but I was touched because i already use the same connection between I to XVIII Major Arcana. Thank you for giving me this trip.
Mario
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The Numbers or suits? which is more important? thread was originally posted on 24 Feb 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.
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