Hello
Well, I'm kind of new here. I first discovered this site about a year ago when I was looking for my first Tarot desk, and this is where I found the Gothic Tarot by Joseph Vargo. A few weeks later and the deck was fated to me when I checked out a local Wiccan coven meeting and one of the members had a few decks on him. I immediately recognized the deck and he told me I could have it as a gift. Since I've had the deck, I've been wondering the meaning behind the cards, as I still am not too well versed in Tarot. So far I've read most of the threads about the Major Arcana and feel I have a great understanding of the cards so far. I really appreciate all of the different interpretations and help with the symbolism, and I feel like I can give my own perspective a little.
I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I personally identify as a night-kin and servant of the dark. Most people think of the dark as foreboding, dangerous and scary. However, I don't. I love the darkness, and see it as tranquility and peace. The darkness protects secrets and hides our fears from us. Long ago people cast out all of the things the feared and put it in the darkness, the unknown, the mystery. We don't wish to see them, or even know of them, thus we banished them, and ever since the darkness has become synonymous with fear. But it's not fear, merely its captor, its holder. Darkness has a few manifestations, that of the darkness we see, the absence of light; of silence, the absence of sound, and cold, the absence of heat.
With this perspective on darkness, I feel I can share a different perspective on these cards. Now I know the cards take on the "traditional" sense of darkness, but I feel there's more to them than that. I've done a little research on Joseph Vargo, and he's a Gothic artist. This man has spent much time time sharing the beauty of the dark, and most likely shares a view of darkness closer to mine than most. Although, I also sense he's taken a more indulgent view of darkness, as a place to let your fantasies run free, a place where the desires you dare not speak aloud can take form and manifest. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I give my interpretation of these cards. But first, to finish reading the Major Arcana.