About the Blog (Part Two): Two Beautiful Tarot Traditions

This blog explores Nature connections through two classic – but very different – Tarot traditions: the ancient Tarot de Marseille, and the more modern Waite-Smith cards. These traditions – which have spawned many modern decks inspired by their basic patterns – are laden with Nature symbolism, as we will see.

The Waite-Smith Tarot – also know as the Rider-Waite and the RWS – was created in England in 1909 by Pamela Colman Smith and Arthur Waite; it is by far the most popular Tarot deck in the world. It also happens to feature Nature symbolism in 74 of its 78 cards.

It is harder to be precise about the Nature symbolism in the older Tarot de Marseille decks, the tradition which I adore most of all. Several variants sprung up across France throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, sometimes without credited designers. Due to their simple woodblock-printed images, details are not always clear and they can be interpreted in different ways. For many Marseille readers, this is part of its appeal, although it does make it tricky to pin down exactly how many cards feature symbols of Nature. If, however, we use the 1997 restored version created by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Philippe Camoin as an example, we could say that the Tarot de Marseille also features Nature symbolism in 74 of its 78 cards. (Although three of these 74 cards are debatable, as weird Marseille symbolism often is!)

This is pretty amazing considering that the symbolism is so radically different in the minor cards of these two traditions. I am 100% sure that this is synchronistic, rather than deliberate. 

It appears that the number 74 has something to tell us about Nature, then. In Tarot numerology, 74 = 7 + 4 = 11, and depending on the system of Tarot that you prefer, this number brings us to either Strength (card 11 in the Major Arcana of the Waite-Smith) or Justice (11 in the Tarot de Marseille). What is Nature asking us to pay attention to with these themes of Strength and/or Justice? Interestingly, these are also the only cards in the Major Arcana that are regularly swapped over in the numerical sequences of the Marseille and the Waite-Smith. Is that process relevant to Nature or Nature-connection somehow, too? I’ll leave it with you.

Marseille vs Waite-Smith

This image shows four cards from the Tarot de Marseille on the top row. Below them are the equivalent cards from the Waite-Smith Tarot.

I flit from one tradition of Tarot to another throughout the blog, from Marseille to Waite-Smith (and sometimes decks inspired by them). Readers of the popular Waite-Smith and the newer decks inspired by it (which is most of them) may find my associations with the pip card imagery to be unfamiliar. My approach to Marseille symbolism and the more familiar Waite-Smith images reflects my reading style: it is flexible, and often pays little regard to what the creators of the decks may (or may not) have ‘intended’ when they were created. I read the cards in the same way that one might read tea-leaves: what appears to me when I turn the card over has a unique reflection for me to consider about that question in that moment. I could write another, entirely different blog on these 78 cards that say another 78 things about their relation to Nature, perhaps even contradicting these chapters. That’s not confusing, that’s exactly why the Tarot is so complete and profound!

I will resist a temptation to shoehorn the structure of the Tarot into new theories about how to interpret the suits and numbers with Nature in mind. It is all there already, in the elements. It needs no tinkering. I like my Tarot to be wild and free like a healthy, soaring eagle, not trapped into rigid theories like a pet canary just so I can show off a fancy idea. I hope that my approach to this blog encourages you to think flexibly about the cards and to consider their other associations with Nature, rather than getting too hung up on my examples.

There are so many Tarot decks out there now, on almost every theme imaginable. There are decks with explicit Nature themes which could arguably take the theme even further. Personally, however, I am fascinated by traditional Tarot decks – or at least decks with traditional symbolism – as they feel closer to the source of the mysteries. (Although you can explore this blog with any Tarot deck that you own – it will translate regardless.)

Three cards from the gorgeous nature photography deck, Walking Meditation Tarot.

In the upcoming year and beyond, I will share the Nature connection tips that I have learned through my years of supporting people with ecotherapy and Tarot, as well as seeing where each cards leads me into my own Nature-connection, crazy or otherwise!

Look out your window. It’s a miracle! There could so easily be nothing; you could very feasibly not exist at all. What caused the Big Bang? What if something hadn’t have caused it? The Tarot tells your story, but not as an isolated human-robot who is separated from other life-forms. That is a nasty story, retold by Western culture daily. No; this blog will speak about our whole experience, our miraculous lives on this impossibly beautiful planet. Let the cards point you back to your true nature, to your home, back to Earth. You need Mother Nature, and she needs you.

That’s me near Peebles, Scotland, with the River Tweed flowing in the distance.

Are you ready? Good. But be warned from the outset that what unfolds now are the ramblings of a strange man who spends too much time hugging trees in a Scottish forest and staring at ancient Tarot decks. If you’re not careful, it might rub off on you.

That’s all for now, friends. Thank you for being here – and be sure to check out my Tarot Therapy Sessions if you’d like us to work together. You can also sign up for the Tarot Blog newsletter (different to my main newsletter) below to receive email updates on every new post.

Smiles from Scotland,

Stephen