Tarot: The Journey Cards

The Rider-Waite deck is, in my opinion, the best Tarot deck around. This is because of the richness of the symbolism you can find in it. Other decks seem stripped down, sparse, next to it.

I’ve been working with the R-W deck for about six years now and I’m still finding new correspondences. Recently, I came across yet another: the Journey cards.

It’s so obvious that I’m a little disappointed in myself that I didn’t see it earlier. The VI of Swords, the X of Wands/Staves, the V of Pentacles, and the VIII of Cups all depict their characters as engaging in a journey. The VI of Swords is the journey of the intellect/will; the X of Wands/Staves is a journey of one’s inner fires/life-force/hearth and home; the V of Pentacles is the journey of one’s social relationships; and finally the VIII of Cups is the journey of one’s creative/loving forces.

Notice that all of the cards present the characters with their backs turned to the Querent except the V of Pentacles. I read this as highlighting that while the Wands, Swords, and Cups are journey that can be taken entirely by oneself, the Pentacles represent a journey that necessarily involves others. The Pentacle is the symbol of Earth, the socio-political realm. Here you cannot help but face and interface with others.

One final question that I have to work out: Why is there more than one character on the VI of Swords? It makes sense for the V of Pentacles, as I explained above. Perhaps this is a correspondence that I should simply ignore. But I don’t like that answer: I need to meditate on it and see if I can find a solid reason why there is a social aspect to the VI of Swords, the intellect, and not the Staves and Cups. Those two certainly have a social aspect; what makes the Swords special in that regard?

Update: I think I have it. The VI of Swords has additional characters, and one’s that look despondent, because it is the will that has the greatest ability to harm others. An unchecked intellect can do the greatest harm of any of the attributes mentioned.

Thanks for reading!