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History and Symbols

Where tarot really comes from, and the symbol systems that run through the Waite–Smith deck: landscape and weather, body language, and the Hermetic emblems.

By the end you will be able to

Tell tarot's documented history apart from its myths.
Read landscape, gesture and gaze as part of a card's meaning.
Recognize the Hermetic emblems of the deck and what they stand for.

4 lessons · about 57 min

Start the course

1History and mythsWhere tarot really comes from: an Italian card game, the Marseille pattern, the occult revival and the Golden Dawn, and a simple way to tell the record from the myths.14 min · Free preview
2Landscape, weather and waterRead the setting of a card as part of its meaning: heights and distance, water crossed or ruled or left behind, sky and weather, and the tended ground of gardens and homes.14 minPlus
3Gesture, gaze, clothing and animalsRead the body language of the Waite–Smith figures: what the hands do, where the eyes look, what the clothes say and how the animals move, with color only as Smith's 1909 coloring.14 minPlus
4The Hermetic layerThe emblems Waite and Smith drew from the Hermetic tradition: the pillars B and J, roses and lilies, the sideways eight of life and the letters on the Wheel, read as one named system.15 minPlus

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