>I’ve defined some words you are likely to see here on my site, or in other sites and books dealing with Tarot. I’ve provided short definitions, just enough to get the idea across. If you don’t see a word you are looking for, please email me.

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Air – one of the four magical elements

Akasha – fifth element, spirit

altar – table or flat surface used during rituals to hold ritual tools, books, etc.

Aquarius – the eleventh sign of the zodiac, ruling from January 21 – February 19; and Air sign ruled by the planet Uranus

Arcana/Arcanum – meaning “Mysteries”, refers to the two parts of a Tarot deck, Major and Minor

Aries – the first sign of the zodiac, ruling from March 21 – April 20; a Fire sign ruled by the planet Mars

Baton – another name for the Tarot suit of Wands

B.O.T.A – The Builders of the Adytum, a school for the study of Tarot and Kabbalah created by Golden Dawn member Paul Foster Case

Cancer – fourth sign of the zodiac, ruling from June 22 – July 22; a Water sign ruled by the Moon

Capricorn – tenth sign of the zodiac, ruling from December 23 – January 20; an Earth sign ruled by the planet Saturn

Cartomancy – the art of using cards (Tarot, playing, or other) to predict the future

cartonomancie – early French term for divination with cards, later became cartomancy

chalice – special glass/goblet used in rituals

Chalice – another name for the Tarot suit of Cups

Clubs – another name for the Tarot suit of Wands

Clubs – playing card suit that corresponds to the Tarot suit of Wands

Coins – another name for the Tarot suit of Pentacles

Consultant – another name for Tarot Reader, one who reads the Tarot cards

Court Cards – four “person” cards of each Minor Aracana suit, named for members of a royal court; usually King, Queen, Knight and Page but can vary

Crowley, Aleister – creator of the Thoth Tarot deck, well known magician, and member of the Golden Dawn

Cups – one of the four suits of the Minor Arcana, associated with the element of water and with emotions (more details)

Devil’s Picture Book – an early name given to the Tarot deck by people uneducated in its use

dignified – an upright card

Disks – another name for the Tarot suit of Cups

divination – art of foretelling future events or revealing knowledge through the use of tools (eg. Tarot, runes, etc.)

Earth – on of the four magical elements

Fire – one of the four magical elements

Fool’s Journey – an allegorical story concerning the lessons learned as one travels through the Major Arcana cards in numerical order

Gebelin, Antoine Court de – published Le Monde Primitif in 1773, mentioning Tarot cards; also suggested link between Tarot and the Kabbalah in the 1770s

Gemantria – Hebrew numerical science which consists of adding up the numerical value of a word and comparing it to other words with the same value

Golden Dawn – a society dedicated to the study of the Western Mystery Tradition with members such as A. Crowley and A.E. Waite. The original is defunct, but it has been recreated in a new form.

Hearts – another name for the Minor Arcana suit of Cups

Hearts – the playing card suit corresponding to the Tarot suit of Cups

Harris, Lady Frieda – artist who created the Thoth Tarot pack in 1937, commissioned by A Crowley.

Ill dignified – a term occasionally used to refer to a Tarot card that is reversed

Intuitive Reading – a reading done where the meanings of the cards come intuitively to the reader, rather then reading the provided meanings

Kabbalah – occult theosophy of rabbinical origin; magical system including the Tree of Life and gemetria; also Cabala, Cabbala, Kabala or Qabbalah)

Kabbalist – one who practices Kabbalah

Leo – the fifth sign of the zodiac ruling from July 23 -August 21; a Fire sign ruled by the Sun

Levi, Eliphas – pseudonym of French occultist Alphonse Louis Constant (1810-1875), study of the Tarot who match the Major Arcana to the Hebrew alphabet

Libra – the seventh sign of the zodiac ruling from September 24 – October 23; an Air sign ruled by the planet Venus

LWB – an acronym for Little White Book, the small book of instructions that comes packaged with a deck of Tarot cards

Major Arcana – “Greater Secrets”, twenty-two trump cards of the Tarot deck illustrated with allegorical figures, and who’s meanings deal with life changing events

Minor Arcana – “Lesser Secrets”, fifty-six suit cards of the Tarot deck, dealing with day-to-day events

numerology – a method of divination that analyzes the symbolism of numbers

Oracle deck – a deck of cards use for fortune telling, usually based on a new system created by the deck’s author

Papus – magickal name of French doctor Gerard Encausse (1865-1916), who is best known for his book Les Tarot des Bohémiens

Path – usually refers to the twenty-two paths of the Tree of Life, to which one each of the Major Arcana is assigned

Pentacles – one of the four suits of the Minor Arcana, associated with Earth and material goods

Pip – the number cards in a deck, eg. Three of Swords, Ace of Cups; sometimes illustrated, sometimes not

Pisces – the twelfth sign of the zodiac ruling from February 20- March 20; a Water sign ruled by the planets Jupiter and Neptune

Querent – in divination, the person who ask questions of the reader

Reader – person performing the Tarot reading

Reversed card – a Tarot card which appears upside down during a reading, general has a different meaning then an upright card; also “ill dignified”

Rods – another name for the Tarot suit of Wands

runes – divination tool using symbols carved into wood or stone

RWS – an acronym for Rider-Waite-Smith, refering to the Tarot pack published by Rider, created by A.E. Waite, and painted by P. Coleman Smith

Sagittarius – the ninth sign of the zodiac ruling from November 23 – December 22; a Fire sign ruled by the planet Jupiter

Scepters – another name for the Tarot suit of Wands

sephiroth – “spheres”, refering to the ten spheres found on the Tree of Life

Significator – a card chosen to represent the Querent

Smith, Pamela Coleman – artist who created the Rider-Waite Tarot pack in 1909, commissioned by A.E. Waite. Nicknamed “Pixie”

Smith, Pixie – See Smith, Pamela Coleman

Spades – another name for the Tarot suit of Swords

Spades – the playing card suit which corresponds to the Tarot suit of Swords

Spirit – the fifth (yes, fifth) of the four magical elements

Spread – a pattern in which Tarot cards are laid out for a reading, each position having significance

Staves – another name for the Tarot suit of Wands

Swords – one of the four suits of the Minor Arcana, associated with Air or Fire and mental processes

Tarot cards – set of 78 cards, 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana, used for self-discovery or divination

Taurus – the second sign of the zodiac ruling from April 21 – May 21; an Earth sign ruled by the planet Venus

Tetragrammaton – the four Hebrew letters making up the name of their god, usually YHVH, JHVH, or IHVH

Tree of Life – a diagram consisting of ten sephiroth and twenty-two paths, connected to the Hebrew Kabbalah

Uncle Al – refers to Aleister Crowley, who is believe to have influenced Gerald Gardner, the Father of Wicca

Virgo – the sixth sign of the zodiac ruling from August 22 – September 23; an Earth sign ruled by the planet Mercury

Waite, A.E. – a member of the Golden Dawn and creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot pack

Wands – one of the four suits of the Minor Arcana, associated with Fire or Air and creativity

Water – one of the four magical elements

Wicca – Earth-Based religion

Wiccan – follower of Wicca

Wirth, Oswald – 19th century occults who wrote several books on the Tarot and created a Tarot pack still in use

yoni – a stylized representation of the female genitalia symbolizing the feminine principle