These symbols are depicted in both the Major Arcana cards, which speak to greater secrets, and the Minor Arcana cards, which speak to lesser secrets. Accordingly, the entire universe exists within a tarot deck, with each card representing a person, place, or event.
Any magical practice - tarot, astrology, or spell work - is based on the Hermetic axiom 'as above, so below.' In other words, the macrocosm of the cosmos is reflected in the microcosm of individual experience. Let's talk about the structure of the deck and the meanings of its cards. What's the difference between the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana cards? Their Thoth deck, named after the Egyptian god of alphabets, incorporates specific astrological symbolism into each card, linking the divination practice to the cosmos. In 1943, occultist Aleister Crowley (the self-declared nemesis of Arthur Edward Waite) and Lady Frieda Harris published their own interpretation of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's tarot. This timeless deck is commonly known as the Rider-Waite deck and is still the most popular tarot variant for both beginner and professional card readers. In 1909, Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith designed and published a tarot deck loosely based on the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
