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Elemental Affinity Of Tarot
Today tarot cards bear a heavy association with all things occult and mystical. Tarot Elemental Affinity is used by many groups who wish to practice divination or get in touch with the divine mysteries of the universe.
Tarot reading is often condemned as sinful behavior in Christian circles and can be associated with the fall of Babylon. Still, in reality, Tarot card reading is only a few centuries old.
Tarot cards were first invented as a new type of playing card. These new cards were used to play many games on the court and were not associated with divination or practices of the occult.
Tarot Cards and Fortune-telling
Tarot card reading did not become popular until the rise of divining the future with everyday playing cards had become quite common. This is because fortune-telling was illegal in medieval Europe, so practitioners of the occult arts needed to hide what they were doing from the authorities.
Regular playing cards were ideal because reading a fortune could be done in plain sight without arousing suspicion. In addition, Tarot cards were distinctive. If they had been marked as tools for divination, it would have been quite difficult for practitioners and fortune tellers to continue peddling their trade without ending on the wrong end of a sword.
Tarot Elemental Affinity And Divination
Tarot cards first became linked with the act of divination when a Dominican preacher gave an emphatic sermon condemning them as playthings of the devil. He tied the cards with Cartomancy, and by doing so, he helped to spread their popularity as tools of the very thing he condemned them for.
Before this point, soothsayers had used a regular deck of playing cards to divine the future. However, another cleric, in this case, court de Gebelin, noted that after seeing women playing a game with tarot cards these cards must be an instrument of Isis and a way to see the future at this point in history, clerics were speculating that tarot cards were being used for divinatory purposes.
It wasn’t until the cartomancer Jean the Baptiste assigned a standard set of meanings to the cards that they became essential tools for the occult.
Tarot Decks and Tarrot Elemental Affinity
So you may be asking how the elements influence the tarot decks. Each suit of cards has a specific elemental energy that invokes these energies, can contribute to the card’s meaning, and helps the client and the reader understand why certain cards come up and what events these cards pertain to.
It is essential to understand these elements to read the cards correctly. Otherwise, tarot cards are left open to interpretation, which cannot be very clear for both parties involved in the reading. Understanding the elements of tarot reading for the card reader or fortune teller will lead to a smoother reading with less dependence on the instructional manual. It will also allow the reader to provide valuable insight for the client.
It is also essential for the client to understand the elements of the cards as well because these elements can speak directly to some aspects of the client’s life. So let’s begin by explaining the details.
Four main elements are traditionally used in any occult or magical practice. They are the four elements found in nature that symbolize different things. These elements are earth, air, fire, and water. Each piece represents another kind of energy. In the case of the tarot deck, the manifestations of these energies are called dignities. The elements or dignities are as follows.
Earth, air, fire, and water.
Air
The first element is air, traditionally associated with a north-facing direction. As air is the lightest element, it is associated with joy, lightness, change, dreams, liberty, and movement. It is also associated with logical thought or Ethos.
In the tarot, deck swords are associated with the element of air. This suit is also associated with courage, battle, intellect, and power. Since swords are double-edged, they can represent the balance between two opposing things. Swords represent masculine energy and can represent a struggle.
Swords also represent the stages of thought, so an ace of swords might represent the fact that you are struggling. But, on the other hand, the king of swords might mean that you are right in your decisions, whatever they may be.
Water
The second element we will discuss is water. Water is thought of as a feminine element, and water reflects romantic feelings. Connectivity. Change emotions in romantic relationships. Water can appear when thinking with the head instead of the heart.
Water can also be related to creativity, creative thought, or passion. A good question to ask with wands is what excites me? What am I passionate about? Water or wands can represent a sexual relationship involving romantic feelings. This element also means the elemental direction of the west.
Cards deviatory in this suit or facing upside down can represent a disconnection from emotions, an over-emotional response, and a lack of logical thinking. On the other hand, people are represented by creative, humanistic, passionate, and emotional cups.
A card showing cups in one’s reading could mean that change is coming, especially in relationships and romantic attachments.
Earth
The next element is the earth. Earth faces the east and has to do with very material things or earthly material goods. Earth can symbolize finance, money, jobs, or possessions. So an earth card in a reading could mean that the client will gain or lose something.
Earth also deals with the so-called base desires like sex and sexuality. Earth is a passive element, and this card points to your environment. In the tarot, deck earth is represented by pentacles, meaning, in turn, the tactile and touchable aspects of the world around us.
Fire
The next element is fire. Fire is a potent element that usually symbolizes passion. In the tarot deck, fire is represented by wands or staves. Staves can mean battle, conflict, courage, creative drive, and energy.
As it links to wands, fire is a potent and intuitive suit fire has the power to destroy or create and is a life-changing force. Like the phoenix symbolizes rebirth, the suit of wands can also signify a spiritual renewal or spiritual life. It is traditionally a male-leaning suit and embodies all of the physicality of the yang energies.
The negative learning or deviatory side of the fire is the capacity to be overly passionate overprotective, and highly aggressive. Thus, this is genuinely dual nature and embodies both the creative and destructive sides of the fire.
Major Arcana
Finally, the major arcana can not be defined as belonging to one of the elements. Instead, the major arcana or trump cards were classically known to hold a multi-faceted meaning. The major arcana are like the deck rulers, symbolizing the self and everyday life.
The meaning of high arcana cards is wide and varied, and the reader should have a basic knowledge of their positive intentions and shadow selves. This will ensure both parties a smoother reading. It is crucial to pick your deck wisely.
Some decks lean to the neutral side, while others can be benevolent or malevolent. Choosing a deck that appeals to the reader’s personality and regularly cleans them is essential.