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Tarot

David612

Registered User
Out of curiosity do any of you read tarot?
It’s an area i personally have a lot of interest in and the Masonic conections are there but I’m interested if anyone here is into it?
 

CLewey44

Registered User
Out of curiosity do any of you read tarot?
It’s an area i personally have a lot of interest in and the Masonic conections are there but I’m interested if anyone here is into it?
I'm aware of it and how it relates to some different orders (Masonically affiliated and unaffiliated) but I by no means can read tarot cards.
 

Winter

Premium Member
Many Brothers are members of the Builders of the Adytum, also known as BOTA. Maybe check them out if you are interested in learning about esoteric tarot subjects. I'm not promoting them, mind you, merely pointing them out. I was turned on to them by the Brothers that run the WCY podcast. FWIW, the tarot in that school of thought has nothing to do with divination, rather personal spiritual growth through esoteric study. Very interesting stuff.

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CLewey44

Registered User
Many Brothers are members of the Builders of the Adytum, also known as BOTA. Maybe check them out if you are interested in learning about esoteric tarot subjects. I'm not promoting them, mind you, merely pointing them out. I was turned on to them by the Brothers that run the WCY podcast. FWIW, the tarot in that school of thought has nothing to do with divination, rather personal spiritual growth through esoteric study. Very interesting stuff.

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Funny you mention BOTA, I am a member of the lodge BOTA founder/co-founder Bro. Paul Foster Case was raised in Fairport NY. Ironically anyone I've mentioned that to in lodge have never even heard of him.
 

Winter

Premium Member
Funny you mention BOTA, I am a member of the lodge BOTA founder/co-founder Bro. Paul Foster Case was raised in Fairport NY. Ironically anyone I've mentioned that to in lodge have never even heard of him.
That is pretty neat that you belong to Brother Case's lodge. I've always been interested in the deeper esoteric aspects of study and havent limited myself to just Masonic authors. Not saying everything has merit! There are some real kooks out there with access to a word processor. And a lot of the new age stuff just really comes across as weird. LoL. But I find the hermetic kabbalah and tarot stuff very interesting study.

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CLewey44

Registered User
That is pretty neat that you belong to Brother Case's lodge. I've always been interested in the deeper esoteric aspects of study and havent limited myself to just Masonic authors. Not saying everything has merit! There are some real kooks out there with access to a word processor. And a lot of the new age stuff just really comes across as weird. LoL. But I find the hermetic kabbalah and tarot stuff very interesting study.

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I'm sure you're familiar with this and may already be a member of it but if a man wanted to explore that subject and stay within the Masonic family, the SRICF or SRIA(nglia) would be a good path to venture down. Seems SRICF is invite only but if a Brother wanted to get noticed the Rosicrucians tend to hang around the YR and SR alot.
 

Winter

Premium Member
Divination brings one closer to the esoteric goal of evolution, thereby any who sees tarot as apart from its source will employ this discipline in vain for not realizing this Principle of Correspondence.

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I dont believe you have to attempt divination to study tarot effectively and gain benefit from it. Personal growth and development can be it's own goal by using the tarot to develop insights and understanding.

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David612

Registered User
Many Brothers are members of the Builders of the Adytum, also known as BOTA. Maybe check them out if you are interested in learning about esoteric tarot subjects. I'm not promoting them, mind you, merely pointing them out. I was turned on to them by the Brothers that run the WCY podcast. FWIW, the tarot in that school of thought has nothing to do with divination, rather personal spiritual growth through esoteric study. Very interesting stuff.

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I have actually tried contacting them but without success-
I personally take that sort of approach to the cards- it’s a tool to force you to consider other ideas outside of your current line of thought.
 

David612

Registered User
I actually ended up at the tarot by accident by reading a little on the golden dawn which leads me to A.E Waite and his writing, learnt he was a mason and ended up here-could have just floated through but after seeing the high priestess card my interest is quite piqued.
7529CA63-F4C6-482C-A4A6-A961A5531961.jpeg
 

Winter

Premium Member
The Ancients didn't call what we know now as freemasonry, it was called Hermeticism, and the further that this knowledge got examined by "Masons" the more it became known as Freemasonry or in other words, the Measurement of Man's Spirituality through deeds and knowledge.

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You're making a large leap that one lead to the other. I know it is a popular assumption, but I dont think the evidence quite supports the theory as much as we would like. Influenced by? Sure. That I'll buy.

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dfreybur

Premium Member
I haven't worked Tarot in so many years it may have been before I petitioned. It's nice material but I lost interest after a while. Working the Tarot helps tune the mind to emotional input and to intuition, but having worked through those issues for me it got onto my been-there-done-that list.
 

David612

Registered User
I haven't worked Tarot in so many years it may have been before I petitioned. It's nice material but I lost interest after a while. Working the Tarot helps tune the mind to emotional input and to intuition, but having worked through those issues for me it got onto my been-there-done-that list.
To be blunt I had always written it off as airy fairy nonsense as the only way I had experienced it was through that lens, however like most things in this arena there is very much a duality to it.
 

Lightlife

Site Benefactor
Premium Member
I have studied with BOTA for years and found the teachings worth while. However, I'm also a 35 year member of A.M.O.R.C. so that may have predisposed me to BOTA teachings.
 

613

Premium Member
I never gave the tarot any thought until some years ago when I sat down with a total stranger who laid out cards and told me things about my past and my present that were spot-on--even what she claimed about my future somewhat came to pass. (I went back to the same lady a year later, though, and nothing she said made sense. So.)
Since then, I've become more of a collector than a reader. And, in my collection, I've got two masonic-themed decks. One is The Masonic Tarot Deck (or, Tarot Maconnique) by Jean Beauchard, and the other is The Square & Compasses Tarot Deck by W. Bro P.C. Browne PZ. [There is also a Masonic Tarot out there by Patricio Diaz Silva that was released last year, for anyone interested.]
While the art for The Masonic Tarot Deck (from France?) is stunning--for the Majors, especially--I find The Square & Compasses Tarot Deck (from South Africa?) just fascinating and much easier to understand, even with my limited knowledge of all things both tarot and masonic. I wonder if anyone here familiar with the tarot has come across these particular decks. How do you like them?
 
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