As a companion piece to my article on Witchvox this week,* I thought I'd give my readers a glimpse at the Andanti tarot, since it's very different in some respects from most other tarot decks. For this post, when I say something about "normal" or "average" tarot decks, I'm talking mainly about the Rider-Waite tarot, since this is the deck on which the most popular tarot decks today are based.
The differences between the Andanti tarot and other tarot decks are primarily in the Major Arcana. Andanti symbolism differs, and in fact the order of the cards is drastically changed. Adding to this, the names of some cards vary from other tarot decks. I won't be telling all the details here (some things have to be kept a mystery!) but I'll take a few minutes to discuss a few cards from the Andanti Major Arcana.
THE FOOL: One thing that even most beginners know about the tarot is that the Major Arcana contains 22 cards.** Unfortunately, this isn't true. In fact, there are 21 trumps in a tarot deck. Most users make the mistake of including The Fool in the Major Arcana. But in the earliest tarot decks, The Fool was seen as a wild card, existing outside both the Major and Minor Arcana. This is why he was given the number 0 rather than 1. And in fact, the image on the card represents a vagabond rather than a fool. He is a rootless, wandering person, existing outside of all categories, orders, and class structures. He is treated as such in the Andanti tarot. Among other things he represents both beginnings and endings, the uninitiated and the wise, and the idea of defying classification. He is the beginning and the end of all spiritual journeys.
THE HIGH PRIEST: In most decks, this card is called The Hierophant. Andanti tarot deems him The High Priest, simply because "Hierophant" tends to give the card an automatically negative connotation. In Andanti, The High Priest's number is 4 rather than five. His symbol, appropriately, is the Celtic Cross--a cross inscribed in a circle. The oldest Celtic Crosses are actually not uniquely Celtic. They have been found in cultures ranging from Greece to the British Isles to North America. Generally, they have been used to represent two things: the Earth (the arms of the cross being the four directions) and the Sun (the arms being rays of light). In Andanti, both the Sun and the number 4 are linked to the God, and hence the High Priest in his capacity as a representative of the God and as part of the social order.
THE HIGH PRIESTESS: Normally, she would be #2 in a tarot deck, but in the Andanti tarot, The High Priestess is #5. Naturally, her symbol is the pentagram. This connects her to the heavens, as the pentagram appears to have originally been a symbol connected to the planet Venus, known in ancient times as the Morning and Evening Star. Doubtless, some people reading this will protest. Isn't the masculine connected to the sky and the feminine to the Earth? If The High Priest corresponds to the God and The High Priestess to the Goddess, isn't this backwards? Well, in the Greek sense, you're right. To the ancient Greeks, Gaia (the Earth) was female, while Uranos (the heavens) was male. However, to the Egyptians the opposite was true. Everyone in ancient Egypt knew that Geb (Earth) was a god, whereas Nut (the sky) was a goddess. I'm not arguing that one interpretation is correct and the other erroneous. But Andanti revels in such paradoxical reversals, especially with regards to gender.
Another reason for this reversal is to balance the other "couple" of the Major Arcana--the Empress and Emperor. In Andanti, they are cards 2 and 3, respectively. To many, this will be another reversal. Witches often say that 2 is a masculine number and 3 is feminine. Traditionally, though, it's the other way around.***
THE WHEEL: Called The Wheel of Fortune in most decks, this card is #8 in the Andanti tarot, and it should be easy for most Pagans to understand why. For most Pagans, the word "wheel" connotes the Wheel of the Year, and hence the 8 Sabbats. In fact, wheels are connected to the number 8 in other systems as well, such as Buddhism (though for different reasons). This card, then, is connected not just to fortune but also to fate and the passage of time.
THE MOON: Normally card 19, The Moon in Andanti tarot is 15. 5, as I discussed earlier, is a goddess number. Andanti, like most systems of Witchcraft, recognizes the concept of the Triple Goddess (though with less focus than other systems) and the Triple Goddess generally corresponds to the moon, hence the number 15 (15=3x5).
THE SUN: Card 16 instead of eighteen. 16=4x4. 16=2x8. The correspondence here should be clear. This card is connected to the God, especially in his aspect as lord of time.
THE STAR: This is one case in which Andanti agrees with other tarot systems about the number. The Star is 17. In Andanti, The Star connotes the Star Goddess, hence it is only fitting that it should carry a prime number.
This has been just a brief look at a few elements of the Andanti tarot. I hope you enjoyed it. You may have noticed the absence of any Qabalistic interpretation here. As I point out in my article,* tarot was not connected to Qabalism until fairly late in history, and Andanti does not incorporate the Qabala (or even monism, but that's a larger discussion). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and/or found something useful.
**Sometimes with 2 different versions of the Temperance card, to be alternated depending on situation.
***See The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols by Adele Nozedar
