9. Contemplative Tarot

TeenyTinyTarot.Com is dedicated to giving broader exposure to the Christian Hermeticism articulated by our anonymous author and addressed to the Unknown Friend in the form of 22 Letters which, together, constitute  Meditations on the Tarot.   The purpose of these meditations are not to divine the future– nor to treat the Major Arcana of the Tarot as a framework for self-help; nor as mere philosophical or theological allegories (i.e. “figurative representations of abstract notions”) –but to approach each Tarot Trump as an authentic symbol:

“…the Major Arcana of the Tarot are authentic symbols, i.e. they are “magic, mental, psychic and moral operations” awakening new notions, ideas, sentiments and aspirations, which means to say that they require an activity more profound than that of study and intellectual explanation. It is therefore in a state of deep contemplation— and always ever deeper—that they should be approached.  And it is the deep and intimate layers of the soul which become active and bear fruit when one meditates on the Arcana of the Tarot.  Therefore this “night”, of which St. John of the Cross speaks, is necessary, where one withdraws oneself “in secret” and into which one has to immerse oneself each time that one meditates on the Arcana of the Tarot. It is a work to be accomplished in solitude, and is all the more suitable for recluses.

Having said that, MOTT is a work which (admittedly) is not readily accessible to the average student of the Tarot–and, at any rate, the line between allegorical and symbolic expression is often less than crystal clear.  As such– if our meditations on The Soul’s Choice or our presentation of The Hymn of the Pearl seem too allegorical –think of them as training wheels for nascent contemplatives and remember, as has been stressed elsewhere, that  “concepts and abstract ideas can become icons or ‘sacred images’ when one considers them not as the end, but rather as the beginning of the way of knowledge of spiritual reality” (Letter VIII, “Justice”, page 175).  See also Why Meditate on the Tarot?

[ The Soul’s Choice | The Hymn of the Pearl ]

[ Why Meditate on the Tarot? ]

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