Much is made of how tarot cards can be interpreted through their images or symbols—especially modern decks that feature pictorial scenes with lots of images on all the cards. This post is about how to combine and translate the language of imagery into statements, such that these statements can be more easily interpreted than the images by themselves.
Many of us have spent fruitful hours pouring over symbol dictionaries in order to better understand each detail in the tarot. For instance, we might research and discover that a key, in addition to simply opening or locking a contained space, is seen as the means to unlock hidden meanings in symbols or doctrine. More specifically, in the Hierophant/Pope card, keys have a special meaning regarding the priesthood: the gold key represents mercy and absolution, and the silver key stands for judgment and penance. Furthermore, these keys refer back to the gospel of Matthew (16:19) in which Jesus tells Peter, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Going further, you will discover that Mercy and Judgment (the gold and silver keys) are the two columns on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
How many times have you mentioned any of the above references in an actual tarot reading?
Alternatively, a reader might try to discover the querent’s own, in-the-moment, personal associations with this image: “Oh, my gosh. Those are my car keys that I lost yesterday at church!” Or a reader will offer up his or her own projections and intuitions, as in, “As I’m seeing it right now, the keys are saying that your spiritual leader or tradition “holds the keys” to whether you should get a divorce.” These can certainly be rich ways to read the tarot, but they can sometimes get you sidetracked from the essential message of the card. Even the artist’s stated intention for a symbol can be so personal and idiosyncratic that it, too, misses the mark. I’m not saying that the following technique is the “best” method for interpreting images, but rather that it can be helpful and serve as a checkpoint to make sure you’ve touched on its roots.
What I offer here is a method that involves translations of the essential, objective meaning of an image—its denotative and connotative definitions and its core characteristics or functions (how the thing is used).
At the denotative level, a key is a small piece of metal shaped with parts that fit with parts in another mechanism (usually a lock) so that manipulation (turning) changes the latter mechanism’s function—usually to open or close things. The connotative meaning is that it binds or loosens, and a key often suggests gaining access to something. If we abstract it one more level, then it suggests obtaining the answer, solution or means to something crucial or important. Connotative meanings are more subjective and often convey pleasing or displeasing feelings about the word. [Note: I use ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ here, not as absolutes, but as relative points along a continuum.]
Step 1
To try out this technique, you need to start with the most “objective” meanings and functions—what I often call the “literal” level of a symbol—rather than personal projections or mythic, occult, alchemical, astrological or psychological significances. In other words, try to use as little abstraction, impressionism or subjectivity as possible.
To try another example, the denotative level of the RWS dog in the Fool card is “a domesticated, four-legged, carnivorous mammal with an acute sense of smell.” The functional aspect is that it is tamed by humans to function as a companion, protector or hunter. A further, connotative abstraction includes ideas such as loyalty, instincts or, sometimes, a scoundrel or wretch. (In this process, we won’t consider the mythic associations of dogs with death, like Cerberus at the gates of Hell, nor the Egyptian dog-headed Anubis, nor the association of dogs with the Moon and Artemis, nor the dog of Odysseus, or that in alchemy a dog represents sulfur or primitive, material gold. Nor will we consider that god is dog spelled backwards.) When in doubt, think of a dictionary rather than a book of religion, mythology or literature. In fact, a dictionary is often a good place to start when translating images.
Step 2
Step 2 involves linking together the most essential definitions, functions and connotations of three to five core images from one card into a “literal translation” of these images.
With the RWS Six of Cups as our example, let’s go through Steps 1 and 2. (We should also be aware that traditional meanings for this card often include gifts, pleasurable memories and emotions, nostalgia and old things.) Here are three dominant images from the picture created by Pamela Colman Smith:
• Children – more than one pre-pubescent human being. Their key characteristics are small size, immaturity, innocence, vulnerability, playfulness, learning and development, and being a descendant or establishing a lineage.
• Flowers – the reproductive organs of a plant, usually with characteristics (scent, shape and color) that attract fertilizing mechanisms. Flowers are cultivated to function as decorations or gifts. Blooms suggest the flourishing peak of beauty, health and vigor.
• Glove/mitten – a garment covering the hand. It protects or safeguards the hand to avoid discomfort, damage, disease or contamination of self, others or environment. It may also serve as a fashion ornament.
First we combine these individual images into a simple statement: “A larger child hands a flower to a smaller child wearing a mitten.”
To translate this, we substitute a key word or phrase for each image:
“A larger, innocent offers a gift of beauty and reproductive vigor to a smaller, innocent whose vulnerability has some safeguards.”
Let’s add two more images to see if this changes anything:
• Courtyard – a private space surrounded by walls or buildings. It functions as a place of air, light, privacy, security and tranquility.
• Guard – a person who keeps watch. He functions in a defensive manner to watch or protect what is vulnerable or to control access.
A very literal description might be: “In a private, guarded space, a child offers a gift of flowers to a another child.”
The next level of abstraction looks something like this:
“In a private, secure and guarded place, but with inattentive watchfulness, youthful innocence and vulnerability handle, with some safeguards, a gift of beauty and reproductive vigor.”
Step 3
Relate this translation back to the querent’s question or situation (via the spread position, if applicable). Now you interpret what the translated images in the cards add to the situation. Generating questions based on the translation is a good way to start.
Let’s add a keyword from the basic card meaning so that we have the following translation:
“A memory in which youthful innocence and vulnerability, in a private, secure and guarded place, but with inattentive protection, handle, with some safeguards, a gift of beauty and reproductive vigor.”
The following are example questions that emerged from the image translation:
Can you remember moments of former pleasure in which a mature, adult significance was not apparent at the time but may now be? Perhaps you were attracted to or given something that continues to reproduce emotional (Cups) reverberations in you? Have you been too guarded and naive to fully appreciate a gift given or received?
Alternatively, could a larger or more dominant self/person have offered something to a smaller self/person who covered up (gloved) her response as she wasn’t completely open to the experience?
Are some of your memories guarded? How do you protect yourself from what happened in the past? A worst case scenario suggests some kind of childhood abuse from which memory you’ve tried to protect yourself. There may be an element of seeing a difficult past through rose-colored glasses (and this card has had those difficult meanings on more than one occasion)—although, generally, it is a very good card.
In the Comments to this post you might want to try combining the image definitions into other translations, because even the most literal translations will vary. See where different translations take you. Feel free to explore this technique in your own way on your own blog or with others—just include a link back here.
Comparison with Cartomancy
It’s worth noting that readings with decks such as the Lenormand, Sybilla or Old Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards use a process similar to that above, in which each card represents a single image. The meanings of these cards have even more restricted parameters, but can be creatively combined. For instance, the card depicting a dog means loyalty and friendship. The child card can mean one or more children or anything small, young or innocent. A set of these cards are linked together in a fashion similar to what we’ve already done, although the result tends to be more mundane and may yield a single new image. For instance, Dog + Child can indicate a puppy, playmate, or childhood friend.
I’ve selected four cards from the Mlle. Lenormand deck (from Piatnik publishing) that are most similar to images in the Six of Cups just to see what happens if we use their meanings:
Child – Lily – Garden – Crossroads
• Child: Child or children. Play. Anything small, immature. Naïve, innocent, trusting, sincere. Sometimes, gifts.
• Lily: Mature, old, the elderly. Commitment. Peace, satisfaction, contentment. Wisdom, soul development. Social welfare.
• Garden: Meetings, gatherings, parties, events, conferences. Social encounters and places for this. An audience. Outdoors.
• Crossroads: Options, choices, alternatives. Decisions. Separation. Many of something.
The most simple statement we could make about these cards is: “Many wise children (or immature elders) gather together.” (The order of the cards in an actual reading would affect the interpretation.)
To expand on this idea, we could say:
It is about a social interaction involving young and old, innocent and wise (to play old-fashioned games?), and that a choice may be involved. Peace or wisdom could be gained from childhood choices or from an older sibling. An older person could be reconnecting with past friends or relatives (or grandchildren) or, simply, remembering them.
[Notes: Traditional playing card meanings are usually not part of the standard interpretations for these cards (although it is interesting that three Court Cards appear. Regarding modern interpretations: Garden+Crossroads is a perfect description of social networking, ala facebook and twitter.]
Some Final Thoughts
I use the “Image Translation Technique” as a checkpoint to keep me on track and to compare with other card possibilities including projections and intuitions. Studies of intuition show that intuitions are just as likely to be wrong as right, but you can often get to a right understanding faster and more accurately than through any other known means. What works best is to check your intuitions against ‘rules of thumb,’ or what I call ‘checkpoints.’ The true issue is sometimes precisely what is shown by juxtapositions among traditional meanings, literal translations and the reader’s and querent’s projections and intuitions, revealing the tension or conflict causing the unease at the core of a reading.
I want to reiterate that translations of tarot card images are only one level of working with images (and some people prefer not to work with the pictorial images at all). But, even card keywords are images, and I believe that keeping in touch with the essential meaning of any image provides an important checkpoint for one’s intuition. I’d love to hear about how you work with these ideas and whether they are helpful to you or not.
23 comments
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March 17, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Chea
Mary, this is a wonderful break down of symbol interpretation. Very useful, especially for those moments when one is uncertain how to enter the card and there’s a “blank”. It also is a good reminder to re-freshen our assumptions and not grow complacent with interpretation. Thank you for presenting it so clearly.
The 6 of Cups is very interesting to me because so often it’s seen as two children. Often the assumption is that the larger one, possibly male, is giving the flowers to the smaller female child. However, as an artist, this has always bothered me because the female is not rendered in child-like proportions. Pamela Coleman Smith was a very good drafts-person. Why wasn’t the small female drawn with a child’s proportions? Could it be that the female is a midget, and it is she, wearing the utilitarian gloves of a gardener or florist, who has given the flowers to the other?
It also strikes me that the other figure is dressed like someone who may be part of the court, so it feels more like they are both in the employ of the castle, the guard unconcerned with their business.
So how would the card interpretation change if the female is a midget? It seems to me that you could come to a similar conclusion about childish naivete (in appearance), hiding an adult experience, reality or agenda. One way to look at that would be as the midget as a stunted adult. Obviously, there are other definitions of a midget. But going with that idea in a reading, perhaps one would ask, “How was your childhood stunted? Were you put in a position to act as an adult at an early age? Do you act naive when you know what is really going on as a form of protection? The possibilities are intriguing.
March 18, 2011 at 12:15 am
mkg
Chea –
Thanks for responding with such interesting ideas. I’ve heard the girl called a midget and the boy called a giant. Before the late 19th century century children were usually dressed like little adults—and the art is quasi-medieval—so the intent seems more to show a child. To me, it seems that going deeply into such specifics as a midget gardener borders on our own projections (the next level of image-work). Rather, I attempted to keep the descriptions as simple as possible. Of course, in actual practice, there’s no hard-and-fast line. When in doubt, go for simplicity in image translation. I probably crossed the line of absolute simplicity, myself, when I noted that the guard was ‘inattentive.’
If I was to go deeper into the images I might consider “why one mitten?” (It is a mitten rather than a gardener’s glove.) Likewise, all our projections about who these people are, require a more in-depth level of interpretative work. Your ideas are an excellent example of material that can be crossed-checked with a basic, root translation.
March 18, 2011 at 1:09 am
Chea
Thanks, Mary. Yes, it will be very interesting to cross-check the idea with basic definitions of the symbols. WHY one mitten? Hmmmm…
It’s true that children were dressed as adults, but the thing that has always bothered me about this card is that unlike other renditions of children in adult clothing of the era (and before), with the larger proportioned heads and shorter, chubbier limbs of children usually depicted, is that in this card Pamela Coleman Smith didn’t render the female in child-like proportions (especially the head and face). Why didn’t she? It seems very odd to me and as I said, as an artist, this really jumps out. Her other images of children have the correct proportions, such as in Judgment, 10 of Pentacles, 10 of Cups, Death, The Sun… What to make of this? Am I being too nit-picky? Is this possible in tarot? 😉
March 18, 2011 at 11:14 am
mkg
Trying to second-guess Pixie’s intention is a futile effort. That’s precisely why translating (rather than interpreting) the images and keeping to core definitions can be so important as a counter-check to all the stories we create about the card. The approach in the “Image Translation Technique” is to keep it simple. Beyond that, you are free to go wherever your ideas take you.
March 18, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Jordan Hoggard
Mary, I really love the way you build off of keys utilizing image-concepts, or as I like to say ‘visually reading the story’, to cascade across the images to catalyze and build a reading perspective that utilizes the images themselves! Great blog, and on so many levels great! Thank You, Jordan
March 19, 2011 at 7:47 am
The Four Queens
I couldn’t agree more with the notion that Tarot offers an education in liberal arts. I got hold of the Mythic deck at around the age of 17 and it sent me off onto the kind of intricate journey through Greek mythology that never could have been the case at school where the lessons couldn’t generate the levels of curiosity and inspiration needed. This is only one example, of course. Just reading through interpretations of cards for each pack in instruction books can take me down avenues into areas of ancient history, culture and politics and I absorb everything because Tarot keeps me so alert and interested in its origins and its future.
March 19, 2011 at 5:32 pm
John Ballantrae
I read with interest your article on translating images and I have a question, if I may.
Let’s say someone agrees with one of the questions:
>attracted to or given something that continues to reproduce emotional (Cups) reverberations in you?
Then what?
Do you do more with the card, or refer to others in the spread?
I’m wondering if this take on cards really needs some kind of degree or training in counseling and psychology if it is to be useful. It seems like it’s not a technique that stands on its own, but that is part of a more specialized approach to reading as counseling – which is ok, but problematic if you’re not a qualified counselor.
Yours,
John Ballantrae
March 19, 2011 at 7:11 pm
mkg
John,
Good question. With some people I might ask the questions directly, while with others I’m more likely to consider them silently. Definitely, I look to see if any of these are supported by other cards (unless it is a one-card spread for myself).
Personally, I can’t separate the psychological from the mundane because that is what is important to me in relating to others and in considering any question.
I suppose we could simply say the person is going to receive a gift, but that’s not really using the symbols. It’s using standard meanings that may be supported by the picture or not. We could say that the querent has just heard or received something from an old friend, but that’s not working with the symbols, either–just the picture as a whole.
Do you have any suggestions for working with the symbols on a card that does not become at least somewhat psychological? Personally, I find it very annoying that psychology has co-opted an entire range of human experience that we are no longer allowed to talk about except in therapy. As an English major in college it would never have occurred to me that such symbolic possibilities were not “allowed.” That’s the essence of what we are doing when we look at a book’s symbolism and themes. And, what is an Introvert Intuitive supposed to do if they aren’t allowed to talk about interior states? Personally, I find telling people what is going to happen to them and what they should do about it to be far more dangerous.
I’d love to hear your perspective.
Mary
March 19, 2011 at 7:41 pm
mkg
John –
I should add that another way to work with the symbols in a reading is simply to go into teaching mode and list a variety of things that the symbol can mean (from definition to myth to occult philosophy) and let the the querent make their own associations to the material we present, without any guidance from us.
And, of course, another way, is for the reader to simply use the associations that he or she is aware of to discern connections among the cards, without ever needing to mention how we are weaving together the story we tell.
Both of these techniques and others are regularly used. I simply wanted to offer another one.
Mary
March 20, 2011 at 8:39 am
Robert Graham
Just a thought on the six of cups. My mother told me that young children both girls and boys wore a garment called an apron I’ve seen pictures of this garment in my mother’s pictures from her childhood in the rural South. I don’t know it this was prevalent in England but may have been in the Islands where Pixie lived.
Robert E. Graham
March 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm
mkg
Robert –
Yes, the girl seems to be wearing a smock (a fuller apron) that was worn by children, but also by gardeners, cooks and artists, as in the “artist’s smock”. Still, all of this gets us away from the most essential level of the core symbols, which is what this post is all about.
March 20, 2011 at 12:05 pm
John Ballantrae
>With some people I might ask the questions directly, while with others
I’ve never heard you speak, so I don’t know how you do readings, or what sort of questions you answer or prefer not to answer maybe. Do you have a sample somewhere on-line?
Regarding the article itself, I’d like to have read more about the keys and the dog. The text seems to stop suddenly, and I’d have liked some follow-up or conclusion about keys and the dog and how they may be read in an actual reading. I’d think of keys for unlocking rather than binding and loosening; I’m not sure if the dog is supporting and protecting the Fool, and being loyal, of if it is encouraging him to jump.
>could simply say the person is going to receive a gift, but that’s not really using the symbols.
I think I’m getting stuck with the ‘symbol’ idea. Children are people; for many they are a complete pain and they are glad they don’t have any. Immature can mean ‘not yet grown’, but also childish and an older person acting like a baby. The children may represent some other type of human, or show certain behaviour, but it’s not really symbolism, and it’s a bit of a stretch to see children as symbols, the way we might see a sword as a symbol of attack or defence. Is an object easier to see as a symbol when it’s inanimate?
>Do you have any suggestions for working with the symbols on a card that does not become at least somewhat psychological?
3 of Cups reversed – don’t drink too much? Don’t drink and drive?
>Personally, I find telling people what is going to happen to them and what they should do about it to be far more dangerous.
If the question should be: How will I do in the interview for a job I really want? and the answer is the 6 of Cups reversed, and we start with a sense of what is going on in the picture:
Then it looks like the interview will not go well or will have down periods. You and the interviewer may not like the look of each other; one or both of you may be expecting special treatment that isn’t forthcoming; you may be sweating profusely.
Wipe you clammy hands before you shake; wear an anti-perspirant; remember that it’s a two-way street and thqt you are interviewing the company to see if you want to work for them and it’s not just the company dominating you; make sure you dress appropriately; the interview is an exchange – make sure you have thought about the questions they will probably ask and that you know the type of answers you will give; when they ask you if you have any questions, have a list you can refer to.
That is telling someone what is going to happen and what they should do about it. Is it dangerous? I don’t think so, so that would be my perspective.
Yours,
John Ballantrae
March 20, 2011 at 3:35 pm
mkg
John –
You’ve given some excellent examples of reading the cards. This post, as I tried to emphasize, was not to negate any other approach to card interpretation. It’s an *additional* technique that may or may not be helpful to some readers. Being a particular technique, it has very specific parameters and is not meant to be the be-all, end-all of a reading or even of symbol-work.
>You wrote: “I’m not sure if the dog is supporting and protecting the Fool, and being loyal, or if it is encouraging him to jump.”
Answering this would be based on my personal projections, or intuitions or on a particular system, and on the specific reading. It goes beyond the purpose of the technique in my post.
The technique I’m describing requires that you stick to the most simple, objective definitions of dog (if need be, look it up in a dictionary). This becomes a check-point for comparison with information gathered from other reading methods. It would require a different method to determine if the dog is protecting the Fool from the edge or urging him to jump. This post is not about those other methods!
> You wrote: “it’s a bit of a stretch to see children as symbols.”
You can look them up in any symbol dictionary. They are seen as symbols by those who study symbols—whether in myth, literature or psychology. Even actions (to run, to sit) are symbols. This is about getting to the root or essence of a symbol before we jump too quickly into all of its myriad possibilities—partly because we sometimes ignore or loose track of that essence to the detriment of the reading. Jumping into how children can be a pain (perhaps a reversed card), without acknowledging the essence of what a child symbolizes at root, can occasionally lead us astray in a reading and cause us to miss the mark.
From your example of readings that are not psychological, it seems the focus is on descriptions: “drinking too much”; predictions: “the interview will not go well”; and prescriptions: “don’t drink” or “wear an “anti-perspirant.” In some readings, that’s exactly what is needed.
I’ve had members of my classes do detailed readings like that for the coming week and then report back with what occurs. Sometimes the information is right on, but, almost as often, the specific details are wrong. Plus, some people are better at this than others. I’m writing for the ‘others,’ where a different kind of reading is what they are good at or want to develop skills in.
For instance, I look to the cards for guidance towards helping me meet “whatever comes” in the best possible way, rather than focusing on prediction. The ability to meet unpredictable situations well usually results from people knowing what their real goals and desires are in the situation and what they most value and want to develop in or for themselves. I find that a tarot reading is extremely helpful for clarifying such things. Helping someone else come to a realization about key symbols in their reading is a a good way to do this.
It’s the difference between feeding somebody versus teaching them how to fish. Sometimes you just have to feed the person, but in other cases you can help them get to the place where they can feed themselves. The point is that a reading doesn’t always have to always be one or the other. And so, as readers, we need a variety of techniques that will serve the different needs of our querents. Or, we need to find only the clientele who need our particular kind of services (through clear advertising, promotional statements and choice of reading location).
I tried to emphasize in the post that this method is not meant to replace other reading methods or to become the only way to read. In moments of confusion, or if you feel you’ve missed something, you can pull it out of your “bag of tricks” (it’s what’s in the Fool’s bag, of course).
Yes, prediction & giving advice can become dangerous – when 1) it is merely the reader’s projections and not the reality of the situation, 2) if the querent comes to rely so heavily on getting such information to the detriment of other things in his or her life, or 3) it becomes a lead-in to manipulating the client for other purposes. This does not apply to most readers I’ve come across, but I know that such things have happened. I’m just saying that all readings have their blessings and abuses and benefit from a high degree of skill and ethics.
Mary
March 23, 2011 at 11:36 pm
sharuo
Hi, Mary. This is a very wonderful post. I find myself using the keywords and intuition more when doing readings, and your post shows me a good way to relate the images of the cards to the querent and his/her situation. I’m also impressed by the way you interpret the keys and the dog. The six of cups example is also very impressive. Also , I am from China and I want to share this post with other readers in China. So may I translate your post into Chinese and post it on my blog and some forums? Thanks again for this post.
yours,
sharuo
March 24, 2011 at 2:42 am
mkg
Sharuo,
Please do translate this article into Chinese and post it. I feel honored. I’m glad you found this technique and the examples helpful.
Mary
March 29, 2011 at 4:08 am
sharuo
Hi Mary. I’ve finished the translation and posted it here:[http://sharuo.com/?p=496] I feel very glad that I can translate your post. You are one of my most honoured authors. And I hope that one day I can translate your books and make it available in China, although it seems unrealistic now.
Regards,
sharuo
March 30, 2011 at 2:54 pm
mkg
Sharuo –
It’s great to see the article in Chinese! How exciting for me. Thank you!
March 31, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Gaylle
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis and tips. I do love to look for the symbols to add depth and texture to the readings I give.
Blessings
April 6, 2011 at 5:55 am
St. John's, Newfoundland
Wow, you certainly have a wide understanding of the Tarot. I look forward to visiting your site.
Jason
April 6, 2011 at 6:15 am
St. John's, Newfoundland
PS: I like your take on drawing upon symbols and linking them together in view to the querent’s question.
June 15, 2011 at 10:53 pm
Arjun
Hi Mary,
Lovely article. I liked the way you interpreted the 6 of Cups (incl. the crossroads bit). I am still learning how to interpret my new Universal Waite deck, and I simply cannot retain the online meanings of abstract symbols, some of which are too complex to remember. (unlike Children = innocence and crossroad = dilemma, which is pretty intuitive). Is it about cramming up all symbolic meanings or ‘feeling’ your way through the cards (even if my interpretation might not, sometimes, tally with the generally accepted keywords) ? (Honestly, I prefer the latter 🙂 )
Thanks and Regards.
June 16, 2011 at 11:21 am
mkg
Arjun,
The beauty of the approach in this post is that all the cards’ symbols can be looked at from this rather simple and straightforward point of view – at least as a checkpoint for whether our intuitions are on track. A pomegranate can be looked at as simply a fruit, or look it up in a dictionary to get an idea that might be a bit more specific- like the fact that it is red, juicy and full of seeds. If that isn’t enough to get you going . . .
Of course, I think it is worth learning everything you can about symbols. And, certainly Waite intended a weath of biblical and esoteric meaning that is associated with the pomegranate, but underneath it all, the allusion is to female sexuality as sacred – the primordial hidden sanctuary. And I think anyone can get those allusions without knowing anything about the Temple of Solomon with its pillars, etc.
Remember this approach is only one layer of a card’s meaning. Keywords and esoteric correspondences, mythic references, etc. are others.
Mary
June 16, 2011 at 11:23 am
mkg
Arjun – and anyone else – if there is a symbol that doesn’ t seem to work in the way I’ve described, post it here and I and others will try to do something with it.