MAGICKAL TOOLS

LaForza reviews the Tarot of the Sephiroth

I have been studying Tarot for more than a dozen years and am always astonished when I discover a single card or deck that peels back the veil to reveal another level of knowing the cards. Some quality of that card or deck solidifies a host of inarticulate and vague ideas. For me, Tarot of the Sephiroth, created by Dan Staroff, has become a powerful tool for mapping out the relationships between Tarot and The Tree of Life.

This is not a deck I use for reading. Instead the cards are laid out to form the Sephiroth and Paths of the Tree. The 10 cards of the Minor Arcana form the Sephiroth of the Tree. The Major Arcana are the 22 paths. The Court cards correspond to another layer of the tree and join the Pillar of Strength with the Pillar of Mercy in Tiphareth which then travels down to Malkuth, expressing the flow and union of the divine energies of Chokmah and Binah coalescing in the heart (Tiphareth) and made manifest on Earth (Malkuth).

As Above So Below.

An image of the paths is watermarked on each major Arcana card so it can be used as a key to assembling the map which can be laid out in layers. First the 10 Sephiroth which have a card for each element in each sphere.

 So you can lay out the Tree as Earth, Air, Fire or Water.

A beautiful feature of the court cards is that each card has ¼ of the Sephiroth as its background. As you lay them out in a square the background forms the Sephiroths of Chokma, Binah, Tiphareth and Malkuth.

 When it is all laid out the symbols on each card take on a new significance. For example Strength is the path between Geburah and Chesed. It lies above Tipareth. In this deck the lion sits below the woman and is the golden color of Tipharteh. The lion is in Tiphareth and the woman channels the energies of the path perfectly balancing severity and mercy.

Of course, each card can be used in meditation. The symbols and imagery are powerful on their own. But the greatest mysteries are revealed when it is laid out in its entirety. I strongly recommend this deck to anyone who is studying the Tree of Life

and its relationship to Tarot.