The Proper Role of Traditions and Keywords

Recently, on one of the Tarot-themed internet bulletin boards, a concerned Tarot student asked about the correctness of ignoring keywords associated with cards from the Gilded Tarot. "The keyword is choice, but the people on the card just look like they're having fun. Is it possible to ignore the idea of choice, and just go with the ideas the card inspires?"

Several folks weighed in with opinions, and a surprising number of people expressed concerns over abandoning "traditional meanings" and ignoring "original intentions" associated with the meaning of a card.

Should you ignore keywords, traditional meanings, and the opinions of others when interpreting cards? My answer may surprise you ... so read on!

About Traditional Meanings

When people refer to traditional meanings, I always ask, "To which traditions are we referring?"

Here's a quick example, drawn from Jana Riley's excellent Tarot Dictionary and Compendium. For this one card -- the Lovers -- the following sources and meanings are listed:

- Arrien. Journey of the twins, synthezier of dualities, polarities and oppositions.

- Cowie. Being confused or uncertain.

- Eakins. A sense of lonliness and a desire to merge.

- Fairfield. The process of cooperation.

- Greer. The urge to unite, the choice to love. Communication.

- Waite. Human love, as part of the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

See the pattern? While some themes emerge in many different traditions, almost all traditions assign different meanings to the cards!

So what to do? I recommend you explore as many possible associations as come to mind ... regardless of the keywords that may be assigned to a card by one tradition or the other. The most important meaning for any card is what that card means to you.

About Original Intentions

If you think traditions are contradictory, wait until you start playing around with "original intentions!" It's very, very difficult to ascertain what the "original intentions attributed to a card" were.

The Gilded Tarot -- the deck in question -- was created by Ciro Marchetti, who certainly had his reasons for illustrating the card in a certain way. The book, written by Barbara Moore, assigns meanings according to traditions and logic that make sense to Barbara. (I don't know how closely she worked with on him this book, so I'm uncertain the extent to which Ciro's intentions influenced Barbara's depictions, and vice-versa.)

But the card itself, of course, is just one version of the Lovers card, from a long line of Lovers cards, which stretch back to the original Lovers card in a long-lost "original Tarot" -- and who knows what the creator of *that* deck intended? :)

So What to Do?

All of this to say: traditional meanings, original meanings, and assigned keywords may appear to carry more weight, at first glance, than they really should.

Here's one last note, from a deck designer's viewpoint. When I created the Bright Idea Deck:

- I was certainly aware of meanings assigned to various cards by various other authorities.

- I was very much aware of meanings I had in mind for each card, based on my own experiences and insights.

- I created each card with all this in mind, wrote about meanings in the companion book, and created keywords I hoped would help people recall the broadest range of possible meanings, including my own.

That done, I also encourage people to ignore my assigned meanings, toss out my keywords, and synthesize interpretations of the cards that make sense to them!

So: for what it's worth, this salty old sea dog of a Tarot reader says, "Have at it, honey!" Study the book, know the keywords ... but let these be, at most, hooks you use to catch ideas and associations of your very own.