The Tarot of today is based on The Tree of Life, which in turn is from the Qabalah. The Tree of Life represents the structure of the Universe. Hence, The Tree guides human consciousness towards the mythic essence of God. Climbing The Tree of Life returns people to the Source of Creation, which is God. Therefore the Major Arcana of the Tarot can be used as the pictorial version of the mystic’s journey to reunify with God.
I see the Qabalah and The Tree of Life as based on the cultural norms that are reflected in the Western (Roman) alphabet. Laurence de Looze, a Professor of Modern Languages at the University of Toronto explores this in his book, “The Letter and the Cosmos: How the Alphabet Has Shaped the Western View of the World.” He writes that letters in the Judeo-Christian tradition are regarded as an active way to bring down God’s power to the earth. The letters become words which then weave power. The view of Medieval Christians that letters bring people to God became secularized and later embedded in Western occult studies. This belief is that by using the letters of the alphabet, a person can ascend “Jacob’s Ladder” and seek salvation. This is because all of the letters are imbued with a moral dimension.
In Medieval thought, if the alphabet is closer to God’s speech, then it will become the alphabet of God. Hebrew, which is already regarded as God’s speech, is considered to be this alphabet. In the Qabalah, the cosmology of the Universe is based on the Hebrew alphabet, which has 22 letters. Therefore, The Tree of Life, which is expressed in the 22 paths of Hebrew letters, is climbing “Jacob’s Ladder” to God.
For me, the Tarot translates the sacred Hebrew alphabet of The Tree of Life into pictorial form. The underlying assumption of the Hero’s Journey is then that the person would progress through the Major Arcana until they reached The World, and became united with God. The Christian imagery of the Major Arcana highlights this path to salvation. It also reflects the goal of ascending The Tree of Life to God.
As a Roman Polytheist, I do not subscribe to the Hero’s Journey nor to a person ascending The Tree of Life to unite with God. To me, these are aspects of Judeo-Christian theology. It may seem subtle to the Tarot reader, but the progress to salvation is embedded in this divination system. As a Roman Polytheist, I see divination as a communication between humans and the Gods. They speak to us in auguries and signs. Divination, to me, is not a journey back to God or the source of Creation as presented in The Tree of Life.
Instead of connecting me to the Tarot, The Tree of Life reminds me of why I dislike the Tarot. I study the Tarot because many modern oracle systems have elements of it in them. The Tarot for me is Judeo-Christian theology in divination form. I regard the Western alphabet and the world as the ancient Greeks did. The alphabet as a whole corresponds to the cosmos, and with letters it can be recreated in this world.
De Looze, Laurence, “The Letter and the Cosmos: How the Alphabet Has Shaped the Western View of the World.” University of Toronto Press: Toronto. 2016.
Drury, Neville, “The Tarot Workbook.” Thunder Bay Press: San Diego. 2004
Markham, Iris, “The Tree of Life.” Kabbalah and Healing. Web. http://www.kabbalahandhealing.com/tree-of-life.html, <accessed 8 Dec. 2016>
Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon, “Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.” New Page Books: Franklin Lakes (NJ). 2004.