The Elements in Tarot

[kittiann]

Recently I've become interested in filling out yet another sub-collection: decks with weird elemental associations. Etteilla has Wands as Earth and Coins as Fire, Picard puts Cups with Air and Swords with Water, and the Prager Tarot (although technically a Tarock deck) features Swords as Earth and Coins as Air. But I'm wondering - how do I interpret these decks?

We all know that Cups are our feelings and emotions; but is that still true when Cups are associated with Air? How would you reconcile the two of those? And I can see Swords as Earth, since they're made from metal which obviously comes from the earth, but how do you interpret intellect and mental activity through the element of Earth?

I guess I'm just wondering - if the Ace of Swords with Earthy vines and plants twined around it came up in a reading, would you interpret it the same as an RWS AoS, an RWS Ace of Coins, would you mix and match the meanings, or just make up something completely different? I'd like to try and read with these decks, but I'm having a hard time separating the suits from their traditional associations. What do you guys think?

 

[ANA]

in my opinion what i would do is not think about any of the traditional interpretations, but just use the interpretations that come with the deck, Etteila and Picard to my knowledge use mostly a numeroligical and elemental aproach
might be wrong - but stiil if i got an Ace of earth i would interpret it just based on that - beging of something in the material world there are some good websites that use elemental aporach to interpretations, i know of one from UK but cant remember the name
not sure if this helps, i have tried to learn elemental and numerological aproach and still dont have down pat sorry i cant help more than this
ana

 

[KafkasGhost]

Mary K. Greer's "21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card", Appendix C illustrates the differences in elemental associations across various "schools" of decks.

I found it very interesting and helpful with regards to each kind of deck. And, as alluded to by ANA, each type of deck has its own elemental correspondences.

2 excellent websites that cover elemental dignities (besides, I'm sure, numerous threads here on AT) include:

http://www.corax.com/tarot/
http://supertarot.co.uk/lessons/elemental-dignity-rules.htm

 

[kittiann]

I love 21 Ways, but I've never read the appendices.. time to check that out! Thanks

 

[KafkasGhost]

I love 21 Ways, but I've never read the appendices.. time to check that out! Thanks

They could seriously comprise their own book, there is so much info there!