The Keystone:
“Tarot is the primeval book and the keystone of the occult sciences: it must be Hermetic, because it is Kabbalistic, magical and theosophical. Of all oracles, the Tarot is the most astounding in its answers, because all possible combinations of this universal key of the Kabbalah give oracles of science and of truth their solutions. The Tarot was the sole book of the ancient Magi: it is the primitive Bible…”
-Eliphas Levi, The Doctrine And Ritual Of Transcendental Magic
To What End?
Arthur Edward Waite wrote in is book, The Pictorial Key To The Tarot, that:
“The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs.”
I hope, through The Keystone, to bring Light upon this symbolism. To illustrate my own ways of working with the cards and explanations of how I interpret the symbols presented to us when we work with the Tarot.
Why Me?
Or why am I qualified to write about the symbolism that makes up the Tarot?
There is of course no formal educational system for Tarot readers. No set standards that must be met. Tarot is a spiritual practice, and it is in many ways different for every Tarot practitioner.
I do not remember the exact age of my first Tarot experience, but I do know that it took place sometime between my 18th and 21st birthdays. I visited a newly opened shop in Marysville, Washington, paid for a general Tarot reading, and left the shop with three different Tarot Decks. A Rider-Waite, A Thoth, and an RWS Clone. I also left with a couple of books so that I could learn to read the cards for myself.
That was over 30 years ago. Since that time I’ve been quietly reading the cards, and just as importantly, reading everything I can get my hands on about the cards. Everything from the earliest occult Tarot texts to the books of today. Despite all of my reading, I’m not sure that I can explain my interest in Tarot beyond saying that it speaks to me. I don’t know how exactly, or why, but Tarot’s ability to speak to me has held my interest for decades now.
I must say however that my interest has been reluctant in nature. I prize myself as holding a rational and logical nature. Tarot is integrated into my life, because it works, because it works for me. But I’ve remained largely quiet about it, for I’ve not sought to be known as a ‘Tarot Person.’ Perhaps it is time to change that a little bit, to share my own insights. Hence The Keystone.
Outside of the Tarot I am, and have been for a very long time now, a Freemason. In fact, I have held that rarest of Masonic titles, Grand Master. Like the Tarot, Freemasonry is also a system of symbols. In fact, it is defined as: A peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory, and illustrated by symbols. To be clear, Tarot is not a part of Freemasonry, but it is fair to say that Freemasonry and Tarot are intertwined. Both are inspired by the same sources, the Ancient Mysteries, Alchemy, the Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and so on. Additionally, it is fair to say that the Tarot, as we know it today, was created largely by Freemasons. My studies of Freemasonry and Tarot inform each other in unique and important ways.
These are then, I suppose, my qualifications for writing about the Tarot here.
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