Astrology cont.
It will be easily seen that the outermost ring on The Map consists of the twelve Major Arcana cards which together represent the Zodiac.
This use of such a Map can be traced back to ancient Egypt. We know these ancient scholars were well-versed in matters of Astrology and used Astronomical applications to draw up a horoscope for the year to come by means of which they predicted events likely to occur, determined from the positions of the ‘Wanderers’ (the planets of the solar system as opposed to the ‘Fixed Stars’ of the Zodiac) during the course of the following twelve months. It is likely the auspices for all major events were determined in the same way.
It is therefore a very ancient Art, predating the use of Tarot cards and the randomly selected spreads of Cartomancy. This, however, in no way denigrates any other means of foretelling the future using the Tarot, nor is it necessarily any more accurate, since there is in any method employed an element which depends on the knowledge, understanding and intuition of the operator.
Again, the serious student will surely understand the sketchy nature of the information given on The Map. The symbols etc. are intended as an aide-memoir only, not to replace the detailed study required to fully grasp the finer points of the subject.
It is hardly necessary to examine every cobblestone in order to recognise a roadway nor is it essential to include every stone to paint a perfectly adequate picture of that road.
