Breaking Boundaries in Tarot

[Kobarot]

Breaking the System Boundaries in Tarot

I just bought the Feng Shui Tarot (and accompanying book) with some gift cards I got for Christmas. After an initial rifle through the deck and a perusal of the book, I had some thoughts and so I'm dumping them here.

I can't decide if the Feng Shui (and also, by association, the I-Ching) and the Tarot ideas are incorporated well with each other or not, basically. Has it been culturally hijacked and grossly misapplied? Or have they been thoughtfully and meaningfully incorporated? I have no idea, and I'm not looking for one "right" answer. Personally, I need to read some more on Feng Shui and the I-Ching before I come to my own conclusion about the deck.

And on a larger note--applying other divination/etc systems to the Tarot? Besides Feng Shui--runes and astrology are two good examples, though I'm sure there are more. How do you feel about it?

 

[thinbuddha]

Just my opinion.....

But I think that it is a major stretch to integrate other systems into tarot.

Feng Shui is largely based on Chinese astrology, and how it relates to buildings- How one can transfer this sort of system into tarot isn't something that I've looked into very much, but I just can't wrap my head around the idea that it's even possible to do this. Maybe if you were doing a reading for a building..... naw.

I liked the art in this deck, but decided not to buy it because of the above.

-tb

 

[Kenny]

MST3Kakalina maybe you need to study the deck and the subjects yourself and then come back and tell us what you think.

You had the answer once, then were born. All learning is a process of remembering...

 

[Kobarot]

Oh, I definitely do, Kenny. I'm glad I got this deck, because even if it is initially hard for me to "learn," it's kicking me down a path I've always been interested in (Feng Shui and Chinese astrology, etc).

One of the Conollys (either Eileen or Peter Paul) says in the accompanying book that they feel all esoteric systems stem from the same "source," which I suppose is their justification for the combination. That's a statement I don't necessarily agree with. After all, cultures can have such vastly different paradigms from each other, and those paradigms certainly have a significant influence on the esoteric systems they create. And at some point, those paradigms just don't mix, and combining systems can result in an integrity loss in one or both of the systems, so to speak. Like instead of a Tarot "Feng Shui" deck, just a simple oracle deck with a Feng Shui basis.

 

[Tara2007]

Well, if we're talking about boundaries in tarot, I have often wondered if there are any really. There are decks using themes such as rock and roll that I don't think I'll ever use, but others do apparently find them very appealing.

I guess it comes to the question of "do you need to relate what the card images are about to the individual readings?" Maybe in some cases you do, but I think in many other cases it's just that the reader feels good about the deck and that's all there is to it.

 

[Papageno]

I would have to agree with most of the above sentiments.

The Robert Place Buddhist tarot, for instance, is lovely and fine and very well thought out.......but it's not Tarot in my mind. It's a form of exquisitely crafted cartomantic art but it's not Tarot......and the same goes for some of the I-Ching decks.

 

[Alta]

I personally think that tarot and I Ching do not mesh, or at least not well. I have never seen a version that did not seem forced to me.

Feng Shui, I don't know well enough but suspect it is also a self-contained system that cannot be stretched into another system.

To me tarot is tarot and pasting other divination methods to it does make a happy marriage.

 

[Skysteel]

(Ancient) Chinese philosophy is based around five elements, which can be aligned thus:

Wood - Wands
Fire - Pentacles
Earth - Majors
Metal - Swords
Water - Cups

The I-Ching and Feng-Shui are also based around eight 'elements' (trigrams) - one could probably divvy them up two to a suit, although I don't really care for them. The moral of the story being, if you love anything enough, it will speak to you.
-

 

[Tara2007]

(Ancient) Chinese philosophy is based around five elements, which can be aligned thus:

Wood - Wands
Fire - Pentacles
Earth - Majors
Metal - Swords
Water - Cups

The I-Ching and Feng-Shui are also based around eight 'elements' (trigrams) - one could probably divvy them up two to a suit, although I don't really care for them. The moral of the story being, if you love anything enough, it will speak to you.
-

Interesting info here. It's fascinating that the Chinese use what I presume anyway is metal instead of air, and make wood a separate category from earth. And fire is pentacles as well. I'm so used to associating pentacles with earth that it is a different slant I must say.

But...that is the beauty of tarot. Always something new to add.

Thank you.

 

[Skysteel]

It's fascinating that the Chinese use what I presume anyway is metal instead of air, and make wood a separate category from earth.

Air seems to be linked to Wood, actually - both are associated with flexibility and penetration (the Chinese Elements in general tend to be based on function rather than form). On the other hand, Metal is seen as a cool and detached, which also seems linked to Air.

And fire is pentacles as well. I'm so used to associating pentacles with earth that it is a different slant I must say.

Fire's qualities are abundance and jpy, but also materialism and superficiality; one of my favourite decks departs from the 'Pentacles/Earth' correlation:

http://www.tarot.com/about-tarot/decks/browsedecks.php?newdeck=17

Thank you.

You're welcome.
-