The Gothic Tarot by Vargo Study Group

Sulis

Hi Folks,

If you look at the date of the first post in this thread you will see it's from 2003. This study group has been up and running since then and is now one of the most complete study groups on the Aeclectic Forums, that's why it has it's own sub-forum.

An index of threads covered so far in this group can be found at the top of the forum: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=21021
Feel free to add to these and please let me know by PM if you begin a new thread so that I can add it to the index for you.

Sulis - Tarot Study Groups moderator
 

rwcarter

Sulis said:
Hi Folks,

An index of threads covered so far in this group can be found at the top of the forum: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=21021
Feel free to add to these and please let me know by PM if you begin a new thread so that I can add it to the index for you.

Sulis - Tarot Study Groups moderator
Sulis,

Thanks for the link to the thread index for the study group. So far I have read through the first six threads for the Majors (Fool through High Priest). I've gotten a few additional insights from what I've read so far, but most, if not all, of what was written was posted before the companion book came out.

Now that we know what the "official" take is on the cards, I think it would be worthwhile for those of us who have read the companion book to update (for lack of a better word) the old threads with new information. It would also be useful for those who have the deck but not the book to see how their take on the cards compares with the artist's intentions. And it would be exceptionally great if the people who participated in the original study group chimed back in to speak to how they've gotten along with various cards and whether their take on the cards have changed.

So I'm still game to have a go at the study group if other people are.

Rodney
 

kmartin60

Im definetly willing to have a go~ I dont have the companion book and have just started going over the old threads but definetly interested! This deck seems to have such deep meanings, just layer upon layer.......Kim
 

stevie.endricks

yeas -study group

This deck is amazing...yes I am interested in a study group.
 

LeoBe

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. :D
 

EmpyreanKnight

I have fallen so hard for this deck ever since I first saw it about a decade ago. Just recently acquired a copy, and this is the first deck aside from the Rider Waite Smith and the Thoth that I will be studying in depth. This study group is just so helpful I'm at a loss for words. I guess I have a new place to hang out now. :)
 

EmpyreanKnight

Well, now that I have some free time, methinks it is high time that I perform an IDS of this baby. I've always admired it for years and years, and now it is in my hands. It's like coming back home.

This is gonna be delicious. :)