Okay, before you think what a joke – let me tell you the joke is on me.  I read at various online and on site venues including spirit fairs and recently a good friend of mine dared to use her Gummy Bear Tarot deck at a prestigious local spirit fair.  She also purchased a bag of Gummy Bears and put them out for people to enjoy.  What I noticed was how people were lining up at her booth for tarot readings and many had children.

This intrigued me so I asked to borrow her deck to take a look at it and here’s what I found:

The Gummy Bear Tarot by Dietmar Bittrich, is published by U.S. Games and is based on the popular  Rider Wait Tarot  that has simple cartoon-like coloration’s, using prime colors, of the different card depictions.  For instance, the “II – The High Priestess”  is depicted by a yellow colored bear who is cloaked in royal blue, wearing an even-armed cross and a tri-moon styled crown while she holds a sheath of paper.  There is a crescent moon at her feet and as with the Rider Wait style a black and a light gray (which I found interesting) column with the letter “B” and the Hebrew “J”.  She has a pleasant and knowing expression on her face.

The “XV-THE DEVIL” is depicted with a solid black background and an large orange gummy bear with two horns and a mean look on his face as he holds a flaming torch where he has just lit the tail of the white colored gummy bear chained to his throne.  In other decks it is clearly shown that the two so-called “captives” are able to get away.  But in this depiction they appear to be solidly chained to the Devil.  The red gummy bear is shown to have breasts and the white none but is the chosen one to have his tail put on fire.  This would not be my favorite card and I do think the designer missed it on this one card.

The “XVIII-THE MOON” is on track however and of course I expected there to be a gummy bear wolf and a gummy bear dog and lobster, but the gummy bear is depicted in the moon as a profile.  Cute idea and the colors on this card are in keeping with the meanings as we know them in the Rider decks.

The colors used in the cards of the Gummy Bear Tarot are not garish as one might expect using only the basic prime colors to include orange, black, red, lime green, hooker’s green, periwinkle blue, yellow of course, gray, purple, light blue, brown and pink.

Gummy Bears originated in Germany and are known there as Gummi Bears and have been around for three decades.  I don’t believe there is a German version of this Tarot, yet.

This unique deck is all in all very delightful and inspiring.  Life’s joys and challenges take on new meanings when interpreted through this charming portal.  Using whimsical imagery, the designer of this deck has captured the essence of Tarot and gives us a means by which we can work with children without confusing them or scaring them with some of the more modern versions on the market today.

This lovable deck is one I highly recommend as an addition to any Tarot reader’s collection.  And don’t forget to set out a bowl of the sweet-gum candies while you are at it.  And a special thanks to my friend Carol, who never lets anything stop her from experiencing something new and sharing it with me and others.

Kristin Lee-Gray,  CTI

Kristin reads under the name of Windstar on www.spiritualguidedpsychics.com

Almost as fascinating and mysterious as the Tarot cards themselves is the mystery surrounding their historical origins and purpose.

The origin of the Tarot is uncertain.  Evidence shows that the first mention of it occurred in 1392.  The court records of King Charles IV of France (his reign was from 1322 to his death in 1328), say Jacquemin Gringoneur was paid money to produce three decks.  No one suspects though that Gringoneur was the sole creator of Tarot cards.  They were probably well known by the time the court requested their own copies.

How do we know that, you may ask?  First, it seems unlikely that one person could have created such an elaborate card system on a King’s whim.  It is so involved that there must have been a predecessor.  Second, the Marseilles deck, another famous set of Tarot cards that didn’t appear until the 17th century, is generally believed: by examining colours, design and costumes, to depict characters from the early 14th century.  These images predate Gringoneur’s cards.  So historians theorize that the Marseilles deck was copied from a much earlier one that has since disappeared.

So, the question remains; where did these tarot cards, and their design originate?

One of the most popular theories is that the Gypsies brought them to Western Europe.  This nomadic group is thought to have journeyed from ancient Egypt (thus the name “Gypsy” as it is considered to be a corrupt form of the word “Egyptian”) carrying the cards containing the wisdom of Egyptian mystics.  The trouble with this idea is that the Gypsies actually came from India and didn’t arrive in Western Europe until the 15th Century.  In other words, the cards got there first.

Some historians believe that the Tarot was a way for a persecuted people to record their beliefs without fear of discovery. It would  have been much easier to transport a deck of cards than a book.  It contained no words, only picutres, and was, therefore, able to pass on information in a society where few people could read.

“Ars memorativa” (the art of memory) is a philosophy stating that pictures arranged in a specific order can be used as memory devices (known as the study of mnemonics).  Break a story into sections; stanzas, verses, beads, or cards; with every fifth or tenth one containing a special image or marking, and it opens up entire avenues of hidden thought and memory.  The images would speak for themselves, so members of the persecuted group could maintain their cover.  The threat of punishment, imprisonment, or death was very real, and in the years before the cards first appeared, several groups; the Gnostics, Cathars and others, were considered heretics and executed for their beliefs, which ran contrary to the church’s doctrines.

Other students of the Tarot claim that a strong connection exists between the Tarot deck and the mystical Jewish book, the Kabbalah.  There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet (like the 22 cards of the Major Arcana in the Tarot), and each letter has its own special significance and position on the Tree of Life.   This Tree does not contain words but graphics; ten points that lead from new beginnings to the final Kingdom (much like the ten cards in each suit in the Minor Arcana).  The Kabbalah is undoubtedly an attempt to preserve knowledge, so many believe that the Tarot might have originated in the same way.

Could any of these groups have been responsible for creating the Tarot cards?  Whoever was, they did a fine job of hiding their tracks and throwing pursuers off their trail.

The earliest known “book” of Tarot cards still in existence dates back to the early 1840’s; seventeen of these antique cards still remain.  The first entire deck still in existence was painted by the Italian artist Bonifacio Bembo for the Duke of Milan.

The three decks that Gringoneur painted for the King of France, as well as the Visconti deck created thirty years later by Bonifacio Bembo, were used for entertainment purposes.  It is said that they were called the Tarot because there was a card game popular in Italy in the early 15th century (the time of Bembo’s design) called the Tarocchi.

Playing cards – roots in the Tarot

Take a look at the playing cards of today.  Do you see any similarities to the Tarot deck?  The 22 cards of the Major Arcana have disappeared, but the four suits of the Minor Arcana are still in use; Wands became clubs, Pentacles became diamonds, Swords became spades, and Cups became hearts.  The fool has been transformed into the Joker and the Page and Knight have combined to form the Jack.  If you’ve ever seen Italian playing cards you will have noticed an even stronger resemblance.  The deck is much smaller, but the original suit of Wands, Cups, Swords and Discks (Pentacles) remain.

As early as 1420, card games, gambling, and fortune-telling started to be denounced as “tools of Satan” by the Church. It was about this time that the Tarot came to be associated with Gypsies, and fortune-telling.  Fear of persecuton had people begin to distance themselves from this unrespectable pastime, and thus during the Middle Ages the Tarot went underground.   Yet despite this, the knowledge contained in the Tarot continued to be passed down in secret, until interest in the cards surfaced again during the Renaissance.

It wasn’t until the 18th century, when mystical groups such as the Masons and the Rosicrucians began to study the Tarot in earnest, that there was little public mention of the cards except in connection with Gypsies.  However, even though it was considered immoral or indecent, people still sought out fortune-tellers, sometimes calling them to their homes for readings.  It was as irresistible then, as it is now.

The study of Tarot reached a new level in the 19th century when a French Rosicrucian named Eliphas Levi discovered the connection between the Tarot and the Kabbalah.  Interest in the Tarot continued to grow and reached a new peak in 1888 when The Order of the Golden Dawn was founded in England.  This group formed to study occult (“occult” simply means hidden) and mystical arts. Its existence was short; only fifteen years, but its impact was impressive.  A.E. Waite (who devised the Waite deck drawn by Pamela Colman-Smith, which is still one of the most popular decks around today), was a member, as were many important Tarot scholars that we know today, such as:  Paul Foster Case and Aleister Crowley to name a couple.  The Order claimed to have access to secret oral traditions and the keys to understanding the Tarot.  New decks using ancient symbols and designs were created and made accessible to the public.  It was largely through the effort and education of these men and women that the Tarot moved into public consciousness.

As the years passed, more people picked up the Tarot for divination, self-illumination and exploration.  Although the language may have been altered somewhat, and numerous designs and specialized decks have appeared, the message has remained the same, and the mysterious appeal has not been lost.

Are you picturing an old gypsy woman – scarf on her head, large gold hoops hanging from her ears – sitting with a crystal ball and a deck of cards?  This is how most of us first hear about this ancient art.  And as is often the case with stereotypes and information handed down through television and comic strips, it is misguided.  It makes for a great story, but that doesn’t mean it’s the whole truth.

Most of us have not encountered Tarot firsthand.  It’s something in books or movies or that other people do.  The assumption is that you have to go to an expert – someone at a psychic fair or a woman named “Isadora” who reads palms, tea leaves, and Tarot in her front parlour.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  You can consult the Tarot yourself – with nothing in hand except a deck of Tarot cards and one of the many Tarot teaching books on the market today.  Of course, having another perspective is important and sometimes the advice of others is just what we need, but it’s a mistake to think that someone else has all the answers.  The ability to use your intuition and to effect change is within you.  The Tarot will help light your path.

Tarot readings.

Despite what you may have heard, a Tarot reading isn’t about one thing that you should become, or one path that is available, or only one choice that is right for you.  The difficulty is in seeing all the options.  The Tarot helps you cut through the excess to find what is important.  Ask a question, focus on the cards, and the answer will arrive in the spread.  This isn’t just magic though, learning to read the Tarot requires work and dedication to understand the cards.  The Tarot is a guide to finding answers that are already inside you.  It provides insight into the world around you so things will seem clearer.

Hopefully this post will inspire you to embark on a journey with the Tarot, but remember this is a journey that never ends.  You will never reach a point where you know everything there is to know about the Tarot and the 78 cards that make up a deck.  Eventually you will know your favourite tarot spreads by heart and you won’t have to look up card meanings every time, but the Tarot will never stop showing you something new – often a new way of looking at things.  How could there be an end point?  Insight and focus will lead to discovery.

You need to make the Tarot your own.  If it makes you feel better dressing up in long flowing scarves while reading, then by all means do it.  The important thing is that you involve yourself with the Tarot and learn from experience.

Enjoy the Journey … Blessings to All, Francesca