The Qabala & Tarot
The Qabala, (or Qbl, or Cabala or numerous other spellings), is an very old system of Jewish mysticism. I am not a good source for knowledge on the subject, and I only mention it here since I have found study of the Qabala to be useful in further understanding of the relationships of the Tarot cards. There are many good books on the subject - I recommend those by Dion Fortune and Ellen Cannon Reed. For study of the Qabala itself, I recommend you contact a Qabbalist.
Disclaimers aside, here is my rendition of one of the most important symbols in the Qabala, the Tree of Life. This has relationships on many levels: philosophical, geometrical, and numerological. It is composed of ten spheres, or Sepiroth. Each sphere has a color, a name, and many other attributes not mentioned here. The spheres are connected by paths. These paths can be used to relate to the Major Arcana, while the Sepiroth themselves relate to the numbers for each Minor Arcana.
Thus for example, Aces are related to Kaether, the source. Kaether can be seen to represent the creator, or the source of creation, while Maleuth represents our material existence. Between are different manifestions of divine energy. The source is split in two, positive/negative, light/dark, male/female, north/south, wisdom/intelligence. From here, the energies flow down, reaching us in our material plane. The highest we are said to be able to acheive as mortals is Tipereth, Grace. Only the most enlightened, such as Buddha or Jesus are said to have reached this point. They act as bridges between the rest of us and the higher levels of divinity.
You can click on any number on the image, and it will take you to the corresponding Tarot card. If you consider that the Tarot may mean "wheel", and that the cards represent different paths we walk on as we develop in life, then you can begin to find interesting correlations between the cards and the tree. Happy meditating.
All material, images and words, Copyright © 1995-2000, Robin L. Duckett unless otherwise specified.