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Archetypes of Tarot

Urchin

New member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
139
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
I am fascinated with archetypical systems. It's why I'm so drawn to the MBTI. I recreationally study some occult systems and mythologies simply out of a desire to collate all the systems I can.

I was researching Tarot and found someone's attempt to attach MBTI types to the court cards in a standard Tarot deck. They clearly had a strong understanding of Tarot, but a poor understanding of MBTI. This is my attempt to rectify that:

Swords
King - ENTJ
Queen - INTJ
Knight - ENTP
Page - INTP

Cups
King - ENFJ
Queen - INFJ
Knight - ENFP
Page - INFP

Wands
King - ESTP
Queen - ISTP
Knight - ESFP
Page - ISFP

Pentacles
King - ESTJ
Queen - ISTJ
Knight - ESFJ
Page - ISFJ

I decided first that the suits correlated well to temperments. Swords are the suit of intellect and rationality (NT). Cups are the suit of emotion and intuition (NF). Wands are spiritual, passionate, and creative (SP). Pentacles are down-to-earth, calm, and traditional (SJ).

Queens are, by definition, inward-focused. Kings are their complement. Knights are the "teenagers" of the court cards, and tend to engage in conflict, and Pages are the children and the messengers. For these reasons, I made Kings and Knights Extroverts and Queens and Pages Introverts.

The last distinction was the J/P for the iNtuiting suits and the T/F for the Sensing suits. I went with the iNtuitive Kings and Queens being Judgers because I feel that they are more definite and authoritative than the younger court cards. The Knights and Pages are less developed and definite, more flexible. For the Sensing suits, I used similar logic to make the Kings and Queens Ts while the younger cards are Fs. Kings and Queens are less rash than Knights and Pages.

Comments? Critiques?
 

heart

heart on fire
Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
8,456
On page 38 of The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious. Jung, C. G., (1934–1954), Jung affirms the link between archetypes and the tarot: "If one wants to form a picture of the symbolic process, the series of pictures found in alchemy are good examples, though the symbols they contain are for the most part traditional despite their often obscure origin and signifigance. An excellent Eastern example is the Tantric chakra system, or the mystical nerve system of Chinese yoga.

It also seems as if the set of pictures in the Tarot cards were distantly descended from the archetypes of transformation, a view that has been confirmed for me in a very enlightening lecture by Prof. Bernoulli...the symbolic process is an experience in images and of images. Its development usually shows an enantiodromian structure like the text of the I Ching, and so presents a rhythm of negative and positive, loss and gain, dark and light..."
 

Gabe

New member
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
590
MBTI Type
ENTP
Ok. As I understand it (fairly uninformed opinion now)
Pentacles=sensing
swords=thinking
cups=feeling
wands=intuition
 

wedekit

New member
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Messages
694
MBTI Type
INFJ
Honestly, I'm glad someone else found this interesting. I've come across quite a few websites that have took a shot at matching up types to the tarot. I have always been very, very interested in correspondences between the MBTI and other systems. Elemental, astrological, tarot, chakras, enneagram, abstract ideas, etc. You name it. It's all fascinating.

Tarot Personalities: MBTI & Astrological Correspondences of the Tarot
Tarot, Enneagram and MBTI Correlations
Understanding the Tarot Court - Google Book Search
tarot
http://finegamedesign.com/personality.html
 

Urchin

New member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
139
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Ok. As I understand it (fairly uninformed opinion now)
Pentacles=sensing
swords=thinking
cups=feeling
wands=intuition

If you do it that way, and make the dominant process the definer of the suit you get (and I'm putting them in a poorly-thought-out King, Queen, Knight, Page order):

Swords - ENTJ, INTP, ESTJ, ISTP.
Cups - ENFJ, INFP, ESFJ, ISFP.
Wands - ENTP, INTJ, ENFP, INFJ.
Pentacles - ESTP, ISTJ, ESFP, ISFJ.

I like this less because it removes temperment theory from the system. Cups are really NF, not SF, and certainly not SJ. It is an interesting thought, though.
 

The Grey Badger

New member
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
98
MBTI Type
INTP
There is another system in which the court cards are King, Queen, Prince, and Princess, in which case (frex) INTP would be the Princess of Swords.
 

zarc

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
2,629
MBTI Type
Zzzz
I am fascinated with archetypical systems. It's why I'm so drawn to the MBTI. I recreationally study some occult systems and mythologies simply out of a desire to collate all the systems I can.

Comments? Critiques?

I absolutely love this O_O So far I'll say I agree with most of:
Swords
Queen - INTJ
Cups
Queen - INFJ
Wands
Queen - ISTP

I say most because I've forgotten each particular meaning and from what I've skimmed they largely match but I'll reserve judgement until I've re/learned more.

I'll say, however, I've read spiritual aplied to the other suites as well, except for Swords but I'll search for it to get'em in with the rest of us (even if they refuse...:yes: ). Aside from feelings and intuition, I'd say Cups relate desire spiritual experiences. I've read that Pentacles are out for spiritual prosperity in congruent with material prosperity and I can't recall where I found it but Wands are hunting ala spiritual pursuit.

You did all that on your own, huh? People like you make me happy cause I'd be too lazy to do all that work unless I was in some mad mystical grip and I felt I had to relate it to all! O_____O

Thank you for your hard work.*claps Urchin's back*
 

Urchin

New member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
139
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
You did all that on your own, huh? People like you make me happy cause I'd be too lazy to do all that work unless I was in some mad mystical grip and I felt I had to relate it to all! O_____O

Thank you for your hard work.*claps Urchin's back*

It wasn't that hard. I systemized it by distributing by temperment, then Introversion/Extraversion, then by the remaining attribute. It took a few minutes, no more. I have no mystical grip. I don't believe in mysticism, I'm just entertained by archetypical systems.
 

zarc

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
2,629
MBTI Type
Zzzz
It wasn't that hard. I systemized it by distributing by temperment, then Introversion/Extraversion, then by the remaining attribute. It took a few minutes, no more. I have no mystical grip. I don't believe in mysticism, I'm just entertained by archetypical systems.

I find that oxy-moronish in a funny way. The Tarot is steeped in mysticsm. And you study occult systems and mythologies ;) . But I get that you only play with the archetype.

Maybe it was easy to you. Wouldn't be for me because I don't have much knowledge about the other types yet so it seemed so grand/hard, I suppose.

As for the mystical grip, I was merely joking. But I could do it if I wanted to! :devil:
 

marm

New member
Joined
Apr 27, 2007
Messages
134
MBTI Type
INFP
It was when I was looking at Tarot information that I came across correlations with MBTI. I'd seen MBTI before and had even taken a test, but for some reason I hadn't been interested until seeing the correlations. That was what got me to look further into typology.

I'd go with Gabe's version. I'm loyal to the Jungian functions.
 
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