Wandering in the alleyways of one’s imagination, transmuting the old to create space for the new, using one’s emotions and intuition as guides, playing with the different dimensions of our existence and aligning with one’s purpose, this is what Arcanous stands for and wishes to provide within the etheric realm of cartomancy.
WHAT IS TAROT?
The Tarot was an Italian game card used in noble families in the late 15th century. Painters were often ordered to paint illustrations for Tarot game cards which would then be offered in the context of weddings or such important celebrations. It is only during the 17th century that the Tarot makes its presence in Marseille and starts to be popularised as a divination tool.
Contrary to popular belief, the tarot was not created by Egyptians although some of its philosophical ideas and symbolism has been expressed through the imagery of the Tarot. Court de Gebelin, a French protestant writer from the 18th century, was the first man to write about the tarot in its divinatory sense. He was heavily influenced by Hermeticism, an ancient philosophical and occult system which finds its roots in the hellenistic period from 323 to 31 BC. It was a time where the Greek Empire contained Egypt, Persia and Pun-jab India. Hermeticism provided the foundation for the alchemist movement, and both became sources of knowledge for the numerous occultists who institutionalised the practice of Tarot. There is a myriad of methodologies and systems that have been created to pierce through the mystery of interpretation of the Tarot cards, meaning that there isn’t one unique fixed system, leaving space for each Tarot reader to create his or her own approach.
"AS ABOVE, SO BELOW"
Hermetic axiom
In brief, the Tarot is a tool which helps bridge the duality of the conscious and the unconscious mind. It is a doorway to self-awareness and self expansion. It accompanies one through the individuation process, a central theme to Jungian psychology, where one gives birth to himself again, rising above such duality, and recovers one’s wholeness. Assimilating and integrating the conflicting nature of this duality was termed as shadow work. The ways of the Tarot reveal one’s capacity for self-reflection and empowerment. Its philosophy invites one to reconnect to the power of intuition using a form of soliloquies which strengthens the connection to one’s inner voice, thus permitting one to realign with his or her own truth.