Wisdom of the Tarot

I have been studying Tarot for over twenty-five years and I am always amazed at its wisdom. Not only the wisdom gained by offering readings, but also the wisdom gained by studying the twenty-two major arcana. Arcana means secrets and thank goodness, the secrets are available to those willing to explore the Tarot.

Most recently, I have been investigating the Powers, Laws, and Results as suggested by Paul Foster Case in his book, The Tarot. He only gives a glimpse of the wisdom and leaves it to the student to figure out the rest. He recommends laying out the Tarot in three rows of seven cards with the Fool on top of the three rows. The first row of seven represent the Powers of consciousness we take on when we manifest on earth, the second row are the Laws that govern the Powers and the third row of seven cards represent the Results when the laws are followed or not.

A few things stand out when you lay out the cards in these three rows. First, the Justice Card (#11) is in the center, which speaks to Justice’s symbolism with the figure of Justice sitting between two columns representing Mercy and Severity. It makes sense that all of the wisdom of Tarot, which is also knows as “the Wheel that Speaks the Laws of Nature,” centers on Justice. There are also neat numerological things to observe, but I will leave that to you to discover.

So why is the Fool sitting on top and not part of the Powers, Laws, and Results. The Fool, representing our Soul energy before coming down to earth, has not come into manifestation and so has not taken on the Powers.

To explore the wisdom that can be learned by studying these Powers, Laws, and Results, you need to connect the correct Power to its corresponding Law and Result. The correlation is as such: The Magician (1), Strength (8) and The Devil (15) are connected. The Magician is the Power, Strength the Law and The Devil the result. Take note that these cards are aligned in the first column, so that it follows that in the second column, The High Priestess, The Hermit and The Tower are similarly connected. This gives 7 triads each containing a Power (#1-7,) a Law (#8-14) and a connected Result (#15-21.)

Let’s take an example: The Magician’s Power is Will and Focus. Will and Focus are the powerful tools we use, consciously or unconsciously, to create our reality. Spiritual teachings tell us that what we focus our will on becomes manifest in our world. This explains the power of affirmations and why people who often focus on negative things in their life end up creating more negative events. The Law that governs the Power of The Magician is Strength, which teaches the importance of balancing physical needs with spiritual needs. We all have a body and it has needs, yet its needs should never outweigh our spiritual sensibilities. The Result, the Tarot teaches us, is The Devil. In this case, this is the result if we do not use Strength to oversee our inner Magician’s will and focus. The Result is living a life of materialism, delusion, obsession, and lack of connection to our spiritual guidance, all meanings of The Devil. This is just one of seven triads of spiritual wisdom available to you through this process.

We can use this valuable information in many ways. One way is to determine what result we have, or are lacking in our life. Then match it to one of the seven Results in the last row. You can then determine what Power you require or what Law you may be misusing. In the same vein, if you are unsure how to use a Power, look to the Law and Result for guidance and foreknowledge of the outcome.

You don’t need to know how to read Tarot to use this. Many books can offer you insight into each of these Major Arcana. Yet this is extremely powerful knowledge if you are doing a Tarot reading and you find two out of three of the corresponding Power, Law, and Result in your spread. You look to see what card of the triad is missing and offer that insight to your client. For example, if you have The Magician and The Devil, you may find you have a conversation with your client about the wisdom in the Strength card, namely the need to balance a good healthy physical life with an equally healthy spiritual life.

I hope you find this as exciting as I do! You can go further on your own or join me during the Signs, Symbols, Stars, and Stones conference at Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. in-person and online, on August 12-14. I will be doing a program on Esoteric Wisdom of the Tarot and Soul-Centered Tarot Numerology. For more information and to register visit: EdgarCayce.org/EsotericTools