TAROT PRACTICIONER AND CRYSTAL HEALER ANNA MACQUEEN
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift
and the rational mind is a faithful servant.
We have created a society that honours
the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
Albert Einstein

Welcome to goldenfishtarot.com


What are Tarot cards?

The beginnings of the use of Tarot as a means of divination is said to have begun around 1781. A Frenchman designed a tarot deck based on the images of the ‘tarocchi’- an Italian deck of cards developed in the 15th century for a game similar to bridge. The deck had the suits of cups, swords, coins and polo sticks.

In 1909 the most commonly recognised Tarot deck came into print and has been in continual print since. Known as the Rider-Waite Tarot, this deck wasillustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith, (British artist, illustrator, writer, publisher and occultist). Pamela based her illustrations on the instructions of academic and mystic A.E.Waite, both of whom were members of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.The Golden Dawn Order taught esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and the basics of astrology, tarot and geomancy. These influences were drawn on heavily by Pamela when she designed the imagery for the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Imagery references in this deck also take symbology from worldwide mythology, such as Egyptian, Hindi and Buddhism. Founder of analytical psychology Carl Jung said this of the Tarot: “The Tarot is a tool for personal growth, the development of the Self, “ a process referred to as ‘Individualisation’.

A Tarot deck has 78 cards, with 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana, (suit cards divided into 4 sub-categories/elements).

Major Arcana (22 cards), archetypal images or events of significance, major energies.
The tarot begins with the image of The Fool, at number ‘0’, about to begin his journey through life as an innocent soul, leaping into the unknown with courage and faith in what the future holds. The easiest way to interpret the purpose of the first 22 cards is to think of the Major Arcana as series of cycles within the one life cycle of The Fool. He travels through life’s experiences, rewards, and challenges, ending at the card of culmination, The World, at 21. The Fool has been known to have also been considered as master number 22, as there is no beginning and no end to The Fool’s cycle of life, or to The Fool’s journey. The Major Arcana can further be classified into 3 stages of the development stages of the soul, or personal stages of growth:
    •   Major Arcana I – VII stage represents soul’s desire
    •   Major Arcana VIII – XIV stage represents soul’s will
    •   Major Arcana XV – XXI represents soul’s reason

Minor Arcana (56 cards, or 4 sets of 14 cards).
Whilst the events portrayed in the Major Arcana are events of great significance, the influences of Minor Arcana are either complimentary to the Major, or they are events of a ‘gentler’ or more transitory nature. The minor arcana cards help you focus on the current challenges and opportunities you face on a daily basis.


Wands correspond to the element fire, the zodiac signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius;
Cups correspond to the element water, the zodiac signs Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces;
Swords correspond to the element air, the zodiac signs Gemini, Libra and Aquarius;
Pentacles correspond to the element earth, andthe zodiac signs Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.

The elements refer to the basic nature of each suit.
Wands – Spark of life, career, beliefs, passion and energy, motivation, drive and creativity;
Cups – Emotions and relationships, creativity, healing, psychic ability;
Swords – The mental realm and communication, ideas, conflicts, truth, logic;
Pentacles – The material world – money, work, home and security, physical health, the senses, what is tangiable.

Within each suit there are ten pip cards, (Ace through 10), and four court cards Page, Knight, Queen, and King.

PIP CARDS
The Aces and The Pages are main cards which herald major change. The Acesalso represent a ‘gift’ of the suit, the seeds of something coming in (change) which is related to the suit it appears in. The ‘root essence’ of the suit if you will. Astrology and Numerology are integral in traditional interpretation of Tarot also, as laid out below. Aces assume the position of ‘1’s’.

Ones–KETHER(pure spirit),beginnings, pure essence of but about to manifest in the 2’s;
Twos– WISDOM,first reflection back to the source (Ace), purest form after Aces, first manifestation of the gift;
Threes–UNDERSTANDING, all 3’s are about fulfilment and giving birth to, or creating, something;
Fours–MERCY, have a certain stability which cannot be upset, stable aspect of the suit, kindness;
Fives–SEVERITY, the 5’s are testing cards, stability disturbed, and 5’s will test your limits;
Sixes – BEAUTY, with the 6’s the suits are at their most beautiful form, an idealised form of each suit;
Sevens – VICTORY, the 7’s will show us many things about desire and about things that we want;
Eights – SPLENDOUR, intellect, 8’s will have some mental attributesand show us something about how the mind works;
Nines –FOUNDATION, sometimes beautiful, sometimes difficult, in the 9’s we will see extremes of the suit. All the 9’s are going to take the suit to the enth degree;
Tens – KINGDOM, all 10’s are a form of completion, the resting place, the fruit of the 9’s as well as the possibility of new beginnings and what comes next. 10’s alternate between positive and negative as this is the reflection of life.

COURT CARDS Each suit has 4 court cards which can refer to aspects of your personality, or that of other people. They can also refer to the general energy of a situation. The court cards can also help to distinguish stages of life, time, or psychological development. They are not gender-specific, as we all have male and female energies within us, and they are not generally age-specific, referring more to a psychological level of maturity,or a stage of maturity in an area of life, such as Kings for well established careers where security has been long and hard-earned. Indeed, we may even be a combination of all court cards to varying degrees. There are 16 court cards, and these have also been assigned to the Myers-Briggs personalities. You can learn more about the Myers-Briggs personalities here.

Kings – Fully developed personality of the suit, adults, maturity, active male energy, leadership, vision, strength, control, authority, achievement, accomplishment, manifesting, providing;
Queens – Maturity, wisdom, feminine, nurturing energy, slightly more passive or internal than the Kings, sensual, well-respected, passionate, creative, practical, fertile, care-giver of the court, sensitivity, courage;
Knights – Action, movement, matter of consequence about to happen, change, new people and experiences, restless energy, constructive force, courage, adventure, seekers, quest for knowledge, more life experience than the Page, focus is on the journey, not yet reached full maturity, energy and ideas, socialising;
Pages – Major cards of change, communication heralding change, new beginnings, young energy, beginnings, green light, hope, children, youthful passion, friends, something in the process of formation that requires nurturing and development, internal realisations, invitations, socialising, excitement, passion.

ZODIAC CORRESPONDENCES Aries – The Emperor IV,
Taurus – The Heirophant V,
Gemini – The Lovers VI,
Cancer – The Chariot VII,
Leo – Strength VIII,
Virgo – The Hermit IX,
Libra – Justice XI,
Scorpio – Death Xlll,
Sagittarius – Temperence XlV,
Capricorn – The Devil XV,
Aquarius –The Star XVll,
Pisces – The Moon XVlll.

Just as the Major Arcana is cyclical in it’s progression through the ups and downs of life, so too does the Minor Arcana play out a cyclical journey within each suit.

My first deck was the traditional Rider-Waite. I use this deck as complimentary guidance to another deck if needed, and l am usually drawn to decks which retain much of the traditional imagery of the Rider-Waite. This imagery offers so much to the original interpretation of the cards, and l combine this with my intuitive interpretation for my own unique reading of the cards. Depending upon the nature of the reading l will feel drawn to a particular deck.

I would say that if you are considering learning Tarot, that the traditional imagery on the Rider-Waite is a brilliant way to lay a foundation of relevant knowledge and there is so much online information about the images in the Rider-Waite that will assist you in Tarot reading.