The Basics of the Camoin Method
Text by Philippe Camoin © copyright 1999
Note: many of the interpretations below differ fundamentally from the interpretations which have been taught before by readers and teachers of tarot. It is thanks to the Secret Codes of Tarot that Philippe Camoin was able to discover the first meanings of the Major Arcana of the Tarot de Marseille.
This is how he was able to demonstrate that the balls in The House of God are in fact coins falling from the sky, and that this card is not at all negative as was believed by tarotists as a whole. Quite the contrary: "La Maison Dieu" is a card full of rewarding opportunities for those who know to say "yes" to God.
Similarly, Le Mat is not at all a "fool", but a spiritual pilgrim…
Pilgrim on a spiritual quest, in movement. Represents the Tarot itself, as well as the human soul, the search for self. for something, change of residence, freedom, movement, quest, voyage.
REVERSED : Folly, regression, refusal to move forward, the person wants to turn back or is afraid to go toward the future, is going back on a decision.
Represents work, hyperactivity. New project, start of a new cycle. Beginning of a never-ending task without knowing where it will lead. Magician, illusionist working with raw materials, wants to accomplish his mission. Manual labor. Employee.
REVERSED : a trick, clever manipulation, using one’s power to mislead others.
Receptivity and passivity, she symbolises accumulation of knowledge from other places : learning things that others have done. The book is wisdom, connection to the world of the soul. Her veil suggests secrets. The white face relates to the moon, to purity. Evokes the mother. Training, studies. Writing.
REVERSED : Refusal to learn or to receive.
Represents the world of ideas before they are actualized. Activity in the abstract. She awakens the eagle, symbol of the mental which is put into activity with her own ideas. The font shows that she is one who purifies, from "limpératrice" (limpid, pure). Creativity, artist who sees the fruits of her imagination.
REVERSED : At a loss for ideas, lack of creativity.
Representes one who makes projects a reality. A builder who puts the ideas of the Empress into action. He is jovial (his legs crossed in the shape of a 4 are a Jupiterian symbol), courageous. He commands : He is the ideal enlightened leader, makes potential actual.
REVERSED : Tyrannical person, obstacles to realization or action, fear of taking action.
Represents one who transmits, who teaches. He is a visionary, looking toward the future. A benefactor who will help. The scepter he holds is an antenna for receiving signals from the "beyond". He must transmit in order to be able to receive. Possesses learning. Suggests the father. The theatre.
REVERSED : Blockage or refusal to transmit, thus also to receive.
Inspiration, choice, communication between human beings. Sacred union between man and woman. Love is the fundamental experience for mastery of the earth plane. Suggests a love dilemma, also speaks of a good choice, guided by Heaven which whispers its thoughts. Magnetism.
REVERSED : Problem with adultery, with a choice or with communication.
Victory in the material plane, success in the human world. At the end of a "battlefield", he is crowned and stripped of doubts and chance : He has finished his initiation as a human being. A winner who knows what will happen. Someone with power, who can help others. Symbol of a voyage. Suggests the son.
REVERSED : Refusal of or obstacle to success.
Financial, emotional, mental, or physical equilibrium. Represents the tightrope walker who walks on the wire of his existence, weighing whether he does good or evil. Karmic balance, the person is learning to master their karma. Justice has a third eye. The rope of detachment around her neck, the sword of divine justice in hand.
REVERSED : Loss of balance, karmic problem.
A shift in consciousness, an initiation: inner conflict, solitude, emotional or economic crisis well handled. Represents someone who is a beacon for others and for himself: produces his own light. Holds the staff of power, a very patient magician. Symbol of immortality.
REVERSED : Inner conflict, badly handled crisis.
Master of one’s destiny, one who listens to the inner voice to escape the wheel, like the crowned sphinx, who has integrated the 4 elements/planes of existence. Implies a transformation due to the immense energies released by this work on oneself. Destiny will act favorably. Creating one’s own reality. Change.
REVERSED: Refusal to take charge of life, misfortune resulting.
A miracle which will bring salvation, removing a problem that seemed unsolvable. The need to control one’s energies, and an unexpected solution appears. The concept of infinity (hat in shape of an 8, like the Juggler). Can suggest the mother-in-law. Mastery of the personality by one’s higher self. Health and vigor.
REVERSED : Not open to a miracle. The personality gets the upper hand. Weakness.
Immobility well handled, a waiting period, stop, internalisation, meditation to master the strength that has just appeared. Cut off from the energies of the zodiac (the 12 cut branches). Illusion of attachment, but can free himself. Sees the world upside down. Trapped in matter. Laziness. Masochism. Unemployment.
REVERSED : Blockage badly handled, powerlessness, depression.
Transformation handled well. Symbol of fear, of oneself and of life, represents also negative energies, someone who is very nervous, a castrator. The lesser guardian of the heavenly world, d’où nécessité de se parfaire pour pouvoir l’affronter. Destructive power. The unconscious at work.
REVERSED : Illness, transformation handled poorly, obscurantism.
The beyond, the world of angels, the unknown. Healing (2 serpents: caduceus), economy, avoiding waste, patience of an angel. It is the card of travel through space-time. Someone who wants to help those who suffer. Invisible support. Caractère modéré, calme. Concentration. Attention to detail. Doctor.
REVERSED : Problem of impatience, economy, refusing help.
Represents mental illusion, lies. Wants to sell us what we already possess. Concept of attachment, animal nature. The greater guardian of the heavenly world, just before entering the House of God. A tyrant. Sadist. Self-assertion.
REVERSED : Temptation, bad intentions, excessive manipulation.
The word God appears. If one obeys God, then: Abundance (money falls from the sky). Unbelievable opportunities, joy, the house of the father. Illumination, using one’s gifts. Through ordeals, life makes us accept its gifts. Monastery. House.
REVERSED : Pride (Tower of Babel), unwilling to accept abundance and God, problem with the father’s household
Represents humility, the naked truth, from which fertility and prosperity result. The landscape suggests harmony, the Garden of Eden. It is necessary to become nothing and to kneel in order to receive the energies of the stars: The gift of water, the gift of life. Generosity. Pregnancy.
REVERSED : Refusal to be humble, to kneel. Problem with pride, with fertility
Symbol of brotherhood : Two people who represent the personality and the higher self reunited. Communication among human beings, friends, happiness, construction : Idea of joining in a ? dans un projet chaleureux. Mutual cooperation. The sun shines. A favorable card.
REVERSED : Problem of communication with others, refusal to build, of fraternity.
Refers to the world of the emotions, its mirages and animal nature. Here, it is necessary to control emotions and their attraction for material things, so that a superior state linked to intuition can appear. This card is linked to the imagination, the past. The mother. House of the mother. Clairvoyance.
REVERSED : Disputes. Problems with emotions, the mother, the past…
Revelation of something hidden. New life, good news, healing, resurrection, birth. Represents the family. Refers to prayer, to communication with the celestial world. A transcendental, omniscient state of consciousness. Very favorable card.
REVERSED : Refusal to heal, to hear what one is being told, of a new life
Total fulfillment and success, on all levels. Quintessence. Others put themselves at our service to help. The entire universe conspires to help. A portal to an infinity of possibilities. Cosmic consciousness. Vision. The 4 directions. Travel. This symbolism is found in the cathedrals.
REVERSED : Refusal to be fulfilled, to travel
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