June 22, 2012

• Oswald Wirth Tarot

  Oswald Wirth Tarot

  #Tarot

  Yesterday, I went to down to the buzzing streets of Green market square, Cape Town. A friend of mine made an impromptu phone call asking me if I would like to eat out with him. We agreed to meet at this plaza. Here, between the stores you will find locals mingling with tourist from all over the world. Green market square is one of those destinations all foreigners end up visiting. The various store owners try to sell merchandise that looks authentic African…little statues, masks, clothes etc. As a native of the land I seldom take the time to look at these stores…to me they look the same as the year before that and the year before that. I am heading to a specific little store that sells second hand books. The store is managed by two old men with years carved deep into their facial features. They seem unsophisticated but if you talk to them you will soon realise they know their books. I found on a few occasions a rare mystical or occult book there. As my eye scanned across the various titles, my eyes got caught by a Tarot deck right in the center of the display of books. It is called the Oswald Wirth Tarot deck with the words on top of it saying: “The Original and Only Authorised”. The pictures did not impress me but I felt an urge to buy the deck which normally is sold for R350. This one is only R150 which means a good 50% plus discount.  Unfortunately I had only R135 in my purse…and after a bit of bartering money exchanged hands and I was the owner of a brand new Oswald Wirth Tarot deck.

  

  This is an example of the Chariot as per the Oswald Wirth tarot. See the Jewish letter on the right bottom which links the card to the kabbalah and to Jewish mythology.

  I met up with my friend and we ate a tasty lasagna dish, while watching how a group of musicians was trying to make a buck with dancing, chanting and strumming of an old guitar. All contributing to the open atmosphere of the square. I enjoyed my visit with a friend for we share many interests…following similar spiritual paths, both doing a PhD, both involved in the IT world etc. When we departed I could not wait to open the deck and see what the cards look like. The wrapping came undone easily. The cards lit up with bright colours and all the cards have a copper metallic colour in the background which gives the images more depth. The major arcana cards are beautifully, yet simple, drawings and the minor arcana is just symbolic without much interpretation.

  At home I made a study of the deck of cards. I was a bit disappointed to here that Oswald Wirth only designed the 22 major arcana cards and not the rest. So only 22 of the 78 cards are indeed “Original” as stated on the packaging. However the deck is based on the deck of Marseilles of which I have a book. So I am looking forward to experiment with the deck despite its “unoriginal” status. Every tarot deck teaches something about the tarot for it represents somebody’s interpretation of the same archetypal concept. I was delighted to read that Oswald Wirth wrote an accompanying book and that that book is downloadable from the internet without cost. The book is called: “The tarot of the magicians” and also look at the use of the tarot as a magical tool. So with this deck finding me it means the cycle has returned my interest back to Tarot. The time has come to pick up the cards again and learn more of the meaning behind the tarot symbols. Apparently Oswald Wirth was a free mason and influenced by Rosicrucian thinking. Whether it is true I do not know but it is true that he was a kabbalist and that study of the deck can not be done with some knowledge about the kabbalah.Apparently this is a picture of Oswald Wirth.

  So I am off to play with my new tarot deck.

   

  • 10:43 am
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