THE SINISTER TAROT
 

Taken from Naos

 
 

III - TAROT

Every initiate should draw and paint (or at least commission such from a good artist) their own Tarot pack, using the guidelines given later in this chapter.

To read the cards for an individual, the individual cards are seen and interpreted in relation to the others around them. This is done because the cards are symbols of how certain energies have, are and maybe influencing the person for whom the reading is being done – and these energies are never static, or in isolation.

The essence of initiated readings is empathy: an awareness of the energies within, around and external to the individual, and the cards are used to ‘focus" these energies in consciousness. To aid this, the setting of the reading should be imbued with magickal anticipation. This is easily achieved – for example by using one candle – having no other persons present than the individual foe whom the reading is being done, laying the cards out on a black cloth kept for this purpose, burning one particular incense whenever you do a reading (and never using that incense for any other purpose). Ideally, the room/area where the reading is undertaken should be quiet and calm.

Two types of card layout may be used. These follow you shuffling the cards in a mindful, calm way after which the client cuts the pack three times, laying each cut beside the other. Choose which cut you feel is appropriate and use the cards in that pile, starting with the top card.

The first layout is the ‘Celtic’, the second the ‘Septenary’.

Celtic

In this, the second card is placed across the first.

1. Represents the client.
2. The predominant influence which is acting against them, ‘crossing’ etc.
3. Is what is in the distant past (which may be an unconscious influence over the present).
4. The recent past (and also the subconscious energies).
5. The present.
6. The immediate future.

7, 8, and 9 the future at intervals, and 10 the outcome.

There are also other influences which must be considered. 4, 6, 9 and 10 are how positive energies flow (via 2) – 3, 6, 8, and 7 the negative ones. 3-2-10 are how the unconscious influences can be made conscious (i.e. controlled or circumstances altered) in a positive way. 5-2-7 is how the present will evolve to enable 10 to arise – or conversely, how to prevent 10 arising.

In undertaking a reading two important principles should be understood. First, the interpretation of each card is not rigid – the meanings suggested by each card should arise in your mind naturally, that is, they should be intuitive and spontaneous. For this reason, ‘book’ interpretations and of particular cards must be avoided. This intuitive approach enables the cards to be used correctly – as mediums to awaken he psychic faculties.

The second principle, is to have all the cards upwards: there is no meaning in ‘reversed’ cards – because what is ‘reversed’ is covered by the ‘unconscious’ patterns/flow considered in each reading.
 
 

7

5            6

4

2            3

1

Septenary

Here the cards are related to the planetary/sphere aspects – e.g. 5 is the sphere associated with Mars.

These relations (in terms of energies) should be consider as well as the following:

1 Are unconscious factors,
2 and 3 the past (and the unconscious becoming more conscious);

4. The present,

5 and 6 the immediate future and beyond, and 7 the outcome.

In addition, 1 – 2 – 5 are negative elements/energies; 1 – 3 – 6 positive. 1 – 4 – 7 what needs to be done to bring 7 (or, again, prevent it from arising).

In both this and the Celtic pattern all combinations should be seen as how energies flow and change, or become altered through the other influences present. Intuition should enable the practical manifestation of these energies to be understood – e.g. a particular influence might represent an actual person or event in the client’s life.
 
 

THE SINISTER TAROT

[More observant initiates/adherents might take notice of some differences between the descriptions of the tarot in herein and the images as drawn by C. Beest. The tarot here is described in terms perhaps somewhat impertinent to the realm of internal magick, but nevertheless practical for various applications. -- V. Thornian]

The Major Arcana has twenty-one cards, and there are eleven cards in each suit – the four ‘Court’ cards (High Priest, High Priestess, Warrior and Maiden), the ace and six others numbered two to seven.

There are four suits: Wands, Pentacles, Swords and Chalices, each having many attributions, some of which are listed below.
 

High Priest	High Priestess	Warrior	Maiden
Sylphs	Gnomes	Salamanders	Undines
West	South	East	North
Air	Earth	Fire	Water
Capricorn	Cancer	Libra	Aries
Wands	Pentacles	Swords	Chalices

These four are symbolized, in each suit, in the same general way (see table below) – the variants depending on the suit. For instance, the card the High Priest of Wands would depict the Priest holding a wand, while the card the High Priest of Swords he would bear a sword. The predominant color of the card would depend on the planetary attribution –

Wands is Mercury,

Pentacles is Moon,

Swords is Sun

And Chalices is Venus.
 
 

This means that for Wands the color is Yellow (the Unconscious aspect),

Merging to Black (the Ego aspect)

And Blue (the Self aspect).

For Pentacles the colors are Blue, Silver and Green;
For Swords, Orange, Gold and Red;
For Chalices, Green, White and Silver.

 

Priest	Priestess	Warrior	Maiden
Bearded man	Beautiful woman	Young man	Young woman
Barefoot	Throne on Earth	Horse	Near water
Cloak	Robe	Naked	Naked
Wolf	Leopard	Eagle	Owl
Mountains	Glade	Desert	Altar
Staff	fruit	Sword	Crescent moon

Thus the High Priest for all suits is depicted as a bearded man, standing/walking barefoot wearing a cloak. He carries a staff, a wolf is near or beside him and he is set in or against a background of mountains.

The impression given by the cards of the High priest should be of wisdom, that of the High Priest fecundity (and veiled sexuality – i.e. sexuality suggested rather than obvious); that of the Warrior, strength and courage; and of the Maiden, overt youthful sexuality.
 

The Four Aces:
These represent the base of the elements
 

Wands	White brilliance combining through indigo and black into the shape of a wooden wand.
Pentacles	Green molded into a tetrahedron enclosed by a pentacle (a circle inscribed with an inverted seven pointed star). Around the pentacle – swirling violet and blue.
Swords	A red/orange sword plunging into a golden chalice. Around – yellow stars on background of purple. The stars include the constellation of Orion.
Chalices	A blue/green chalice overflowing with blue/red/green liquid. Around – blue and white mist-suggesting trees.

Two-Seven:

These are increasing emanations of the element containing the number of symbols appropriate – e.g. the seven of wands, seven wands.

The number of the card gives the appropriate colors – 2 is Jupiter, 3 Mars, 4 Sun, 5 Venus, 6 Mercury and 7 Moon. Thus the colors for 7 are Silver, Blue and Green.
 

The Major Arcana:

0 – The Fool

Brightly clad young man stand on the edge of a cliff, looking upwards. He is holding a flute as if ready to play and a dog is biting at his heel. Above his head a beautiful butterfly hovers. A crescent moon is in the twilight sky.

1 – The Magickian

A young man wearing a black cloak stands beside an altar from which incense is rising. On the altar are a golden chalice and a tetrahedron. Around him are flowers (some of which are trampled) and in the background, stars – the constellations of Leo and Virgo. His left hand is held down, pointing to Earth while his right is raised and holds a wooden wand, carved (in runes) with the word ‘Desire’. Around his neck is an inverted pentagram.

2 - The High Priestess

A beautiful young woman who is naked stands beside a tetrahedron on a mountain ledge. Behind her is a small entrance to a cave which is suffused with a violet light. She wears a crescent moon headdress. Small flowers cling to the bare rock. In the valley below the ledge is a river, while cirrus clouds fleck the blue sky.

3 – Mistress of Earth

A mature woman of beauty, naked from the waist up. She is seated on a rock and in one hand holds a hazel wand whose upper end grows a flower. On her right side sits a swan which is piercing its own breast from which blood drips to feed its three young who gather round. On the other side sits an eagle, while around, human skulls lie with flowers growing through them. To the left are trees, their limbs like arms, and in the distance, a valley and mountains.

4 – Lord of the Earth

A man in crimson robes lined with purple stands overlooking a forest and the distant sea over which the sun rises. He rests his left foot on the body of a man in a white, bloodstained cloak from whose chest a sword is protruding. The dead man has the same face as the standing figure. A wolf is sitting beside the dead man, looking up at the standing figure above whose head flies an eagle. In his right hand the standing figure holds a tetrahedron which is glowing indigo and red.

5 – The Master

A man dressed in black wearing a scarlet cloak fastened by a silver chain stands beside a large tetrahedron. Inside the tetrahedron a young man and a young woman, both naked, are kneeling and embracing. The background is dark, except for a high archway through which a dim light enters the chamber – the tetrahedron being in the center of the chamber. The man is bearded and smiling slightly.

6 – The Lovers

A young man and a young woman, both naked, stand facing each other holding hands. They stand in a glade of trees within a circle of stones. The woman wears on her head a garland of flowers. Outside the circle of stones, a sword, dagger, robes and chalice lie as if discarded – while in the center a small wood fire burns. In the sky is a full moon. Around one of the stones, a snake lies coiled.

7 – Azoth

A strong man dressed in animal skins stands grimly beside a plinth on which is a large, glowing sphere. In the center of the sphere is a blackness where stars shine. The man is guarding the plinth, and carries an axe and a club. He holds a wolf on a chain which is snarling at the white-robed woman walking toward the plinth bearing an offering of incense in a thurifer. In the distance, the sun is setting and a crescent moon hangs in the sky. The ground is like red, stony desert and behind the woman is the faint outline of a green dragon.

8 – Change

A masked woman dressed in green (flecked with blue) stands beside a large Septenary Star Game. She is holding one of the pieces in her hand as if to place it on a higher board. To the left is a verdant garden; to the right, a desolate plain baked dry by the yellow sun – the Star game lies on the boundary. The woman is smiling. One of the pieces of the game has fallen onto the plain and from it a butterfly is emerging.

9 – The Hermit

A bearded man dressed in brown with a leather belt from which hangs a purse, stands on a ledge among snowy mountains. He looks into the distance. In one hand he holds a staff, and in the other a crystal which is glowing. At his feet a wolf lies asleep.

10 - Wyrd

A large ash tree whose branches make a canopy. Three women in long green dresses stand around a small pool of bubbling liquid. One of the women is smiling and throwing small glowing spheres into the liquid. Another holds a snake which is coiled around her hand, while the third looks intently into the crystal tetrahedron she holds in her hands. Behind the tree a hooded figure stands, shielding his face with his sleeve and hand.

11 - Desire

A naked woman stands beside a lion. Her hand rests on its head; her other hand holds a golden chalice from which drops of white liquid fall to the ground. Where they touch the earth, flowers grow, while around is a red-orange rocky desert. The sky above is a deep blue, except for the distant horizon, which is red-yellow, as before sunrise. Near this horizon, a brilliant star is visible.

12 – The Hanged Man

A young man lies upside down, hanging from the branch of an oak tree by one foot. His clothes are green, and from a leather purse which is attached to his belt small spheres are falling to the ground. One of his eyes is closed, and from it a few drops of blood fall. A serpent lies near the base of the tree, and a raven flies nearby. The earth around is flat and barren – orange-brown in color.

13 - Death

A pile of human skulls, forming a pyramid, lie near the edge of a cliff. Below, is a valley with a river and beyond, a forest burning, darkening the sky with smoke. The sky near the cliff is bright blue. Near the skulls, a torn black flag bearing an inverted pentagram flutters in the breeze. Beside the banner, a tall beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair stands with her arms folded looking toward the burning forest. She wears light Greek armor and a bow is slung across her back, while a quiver of arrows is attached to her belt. Beside her squats a dwarf dressed in bright clothes. He is grinning and wiping his blood-stained knife on his sleeves.

14 - Hel

A stern faced woman, pretty except that one of her eyes is shriveled, stands beside a dark lake enclosed by trees. She wears an almost transparent white robe which emphasizes her beauty of body. She is throwing small multi-colored crystal spheres into the lake at whose far end is a man’s head, just visible above the surface. An expression of horror is on the face. In the sky is a rainbow and a hovering bird of prey.

15 - Lucifer

A handsome man is standing naked on a dais below which stand a young man and a young woman embracing. They are both naked. The handsome man holds a broken chain in on hand, and flames of fire in the other. Beside him is a snarling wolf, and on the other side an older bearded man holding an animal horn. An inverted pentagram is inscribed on the dais, while beside it lies a broken human skull out of which a beautiful flower is growing. Above the flower is a butterfly.

16 – The Tower

A castle rears up among rocks. One of the higher towers is struck by lightning and from it falls a man. The lightening has shattered some of the stone of the tower which falls toward the ground. The sky is dark. A young woman, dressed in white, stands near the gate to the castle, looking toward the tower and smiling.

17 – The Star

A beautiful naked woman with long flowing hair is crouched beside a stream, pouring liquid from the chalice in her hand. The stream is in a valley, surrounded by mountains. Downstream, it is fertile with trees, flowers and shrubs. Upstream, all is rocky and barren. The sky is bright blue containing a pattern of seven stars which form an inverted septagon.

18 – The Moon

A yellowish desert path leads toward two crumbling, ornate towers. Desolate mountains are in the distance. Inside the towers, are two indistinct hunched shapes with glowing eyes. Between the towers, and on the path, a large book lies half-buried in sand. Several scorpions are on and around it. In the foreground is a dried-up water hole beside which is a camel’s skull, and from one of the cracks a snake is slithering.

19 – The Sun

A brilliant, golden sun is rising behind snow-capped mountains around which an eagle swoops. In the foreground is a plain containing a circle of nine stones in which black robed figures dance around a fire. Near the circle is a hole in the ground from which the head of an imp is visible, watching the dancers and smiling. Beyond the stones is a path toward the mountains on which a bearded man is walking, holding a staff. His back is almost to the dancers.

20 – The Aeon

A bearded man sits at a table opposite a woman in a semi-transparent red robe. The man is dressed in black. On the table is the Septenary Star Game. To the left are the crumbling remains of a stone building, some areas of which are covered by ivy and grass. To the right is a tall, jagged stone. The man and the woman are looking toward the distance where a full moon and some stars are visible above the horizon. A burning city is indistinct on the horizon. A rent has appeared in part of the night sky and through it Dagon-like shapes are emerging.