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Astrology is a large part of esoteric knowledge.

The best scientists of all epochs studied and practiced astrology: Copernicus, Avicenna, Paracelsus, Kepler, Newton and others. Albert Einstein wrote:

“Astrology is a self-sustained science. It explains very much to us. Becoming familiar with it taught me to do many things”.

Astrology has its roots in the very remote past of the human civilization. For example, the Christian apocripha“Book of Enoch” refers to the secretastrological knowledge possessed by Nephilims, the ancient giants born from marriages between Earth women and Celestial Elohims.

For better understanding our spiritual connection with the Universe, one has to dive into the history of Zodiac signs. The Zodiac signs came to us from very old time, and they underwent almost no change until our days. We find the information about them in ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, India, China, Persia, Egypt and America, and in the ancient Slavic Vedas.

The origins of the ancient Slavic, Indian, Avestan, European and even Chinese astrology should be searched for in the same location, where the origins of the Vedic faith are, i.e. in civilizations that existed at the very beginning of the human history. Certainly, Atlantis and Hyperborea are meant.

The word “Zodiac” literally means the “circle of animals”, but there is a more accurate, and symbolically more correct interpretation of this word as “the circle (or the belt) of life”. This term has the deepest meaning, because Zodiac is nothing else but the path of the Sun, the Moon and the planets, with which the whole life on Earth, and the life of each individual, is closely connected.

For several thousand years, the Zodiac constellations include: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Lion, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.

The ancient Spiritual Teachings state the Zodiac signs form a single system of “power” interaction. The Zodiac “power field” is influenced by planets and stars, which, and the influence, in turn, depends on their localizations on the Dome of Heaven. According to astrology, the sky with stars is a uniform astrological source that significantly affects our Earth as the whole, and every particular individual, too.

This astrological influence may be favorable, unfavorable or mixed, whereas the Zodiac signs may be tentatively divided into four Trigons: Fire, Air, Water and Earth, according to those corresponding primary elements that control each of them. In addition, astrology subdivides the set of the twelve Zodiac signs in multiple subsets, for example, North and South, humid and dry, cold an hot, male and female, ascending and descending. Within the set, the Zodiac signs are additionally divided in a few more groups, which are also known as animal and human, fertile and infertile, bitter and sweet, aureate and speechless, melancholic and furious, and other sign characteristics.

“The ancient symbolism of Zodiac resonates with cultural traditions, religions, philosophies, esoteric sciences and occult knowledge of various nations; therefore, it might be called the Cosmic Mirror, which reflects everything on itself” – those are the words by N.V.Mamuna (“Zodiac of Mysteries”, published by Aleteya, M., 1998). He also wrote: “The grand circle of life – Zodiac – is the same ancient, as the World, which lies beneath its diamond Star belt. Its symbolism reflects the entire ancient Cosmogony, with its interpretation of the beginning and of the end of the Universe, changes of ages, Manvantaras, Brahma’s days and nights, and the infinite array of Universes”.

Ancient Teachings postulated there is no phenomenon either in the material or in the Spiritual world, which would not be associable with Zodiac. Although astrological theories of the history of the world were for the first time formulated by Plato back in IV century B.C., Plato himself referred to the works by previous philosophers, including Empedocles and Pythagoras, as well as to the Cosmologic conceptualization by Sumerians and people of Assyria and Babylon in III millennium B.C. In his works, Plato referred to ancient knowledge, according to which, every 36000 years all the Solar system planets arrange in one line, thus opposing each other, and creating a weak link in the same position as the one that existed, when the World was destroyed by a cosmic-scale catastrophe, which started a new 36000 year period countdown.

According to ancient Spiritual Teachings of India, the planet Earth passes twelve cycles of transformation: during the first six cycles, the Earth, and everything on Earth, becomes tougher and more material, while during the next six cycles the opposite takes place, as the Earth and humans on Earth become more and more subtle and Spiritual.

E.P.Blavatskaya wrote: “To teach ordinary people, ancient teachers synthesized this amazing concept into a uniform and vivid image —Zodiac or Celestial belt. Therefore, the twelve Zodiac signs were divided into two groups. The first six were named the ascending line, or Macrocosm, symbolizing the great Spiritual World; the remaining six were named the descending line, or Microcosm, symbolizing the minor material world, a reflection of the first one. The division of this kind is also known as Ezekiel’s wheel”.

In the ancient China, there were several Lunisolar calendar systems. A calendar cycle comprises the five periods of life, twelve years each, and the duration of a single calendar cycle is 60 years. Each of the five periods is devoted to one of the five environments: wood, fire, earth, metal and water, which, in turn, are further subdivided into twelve-year cycles, each corresponding a Celestial branch having the name of an animal: a Rat, anOx, a Tiger, a Rabbit, a Dragon, a Snake, a Horse, a Sheep, a Monkey, a Rooster, a Dog, a Pig, which are also signs of the Chinese Zodiac.

Ancient nations of the American continent had different calendar systems and distinctive astronomy and astrology. For example, Maya people had the Solar calendar “Haab’” consisting of 365 days and 12 Zodiac signs, but they also had the calendar “Tzolk’in” with 260 days, which they used for ritual purposes. The shorter calendar consisted of 13 months, 20 days each, and it was devoted to Quetzalcoatl, the Supreme God of many Central America’s nations.

Arab scientists made a great contribution into astrology development. Arabic Zodiac signs are shown below.

Slavic Vedas (Slavic Vedas, translated by A.I.Asov, M.: Fair-Press, 2003) pay special attention to astrology. For example, according to Slavic legends, Koliada gave the great teaching to people, and the teaching was about Svarog’s day and night, when the Sun goes across the entire Zodiac circle, through all Celestial constellations to return to the initial sign. This teaching is known as The Great Circle, or Kolovrat, and it is the basis of the Slavic calendar.

Koliada’s Book of Stars gives Slavic names of Zodiac signs. For example, Aries of Zodiac corresponds to Slavic Beloyar; Taurus corresponds to Lada; Gemini corresponds to Kupala; Cancer corresponds to Koliada; Lion corresponds to Dazhbog; Virgo corresponds to Maia; Libra corresponds to Veles; Scorpio corresponds to Perun; Sagittarius corresponds to Kitovras; Capricorn corresponds to Indra; Aquarius corresponds to Kryshen; Pisces corresponds to Rod.

A day of Svarog is divided into 72 ordinary years, which, in turn, are subdivided into six cycles, 12 years each; the cycles have their own names, associable with the 12-year Chinese calendar, where the Chinese year of Rat corresponds to the Slavic year of Hors; the Ox corresponds to Veles; the Tiger corresponds to Stribog; the Cat corresponds to Vyshen; the Dragon corresponds to Lel; the Snake corresponds to Letenitsa; the Horse corresponds to Radogosch; the Goat corresponds to Koliada; the Monkey corresponds to Kryshen; the Rooster corresponds to Yar; the Dog corresponds to Siva; the Pig corresponds to Dazhbog. It is worth noticing here, that the Russian folk tradition became one of the most important origins that saved the fragments of the Slavic astrology.

Here is what A. Goloushkin and A.Gromov (Astrology: the treacherous path // Drugoy Petersburg, No.2, 2005) wrote about the matter:

“Astrology does not oppose religion; rather it confirms the reason for the mindset and the divine disposal in the fate of each human. It allows studying personalities, destinies, fate in time, talents – that all fills life with understanding and meaning, allowing seeing the majesty and the beauty of the Universe.

From the beginning of times, Christian monasteries practiced astrology. The Magi, which were the first to worship Jesus Christ, were in fact astrologists. Astrology is an integral part of Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism”.

Since the oldest times, Zodiac signs were in ancient temples of various religions. The tradition remains until now. For example, there is a church in a small German town Linden, the church with unique glass painting, where Jesus Christ is in the center of the large round window, and the Sun is to the left from him, while the Moon is to the right. That is not a surprise. Jesus Christ is surrounded by 12 smaller glass paintings, each presenting a separate Zodiac sign. Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc. – there are all 12 signs with no exception.

The magazine “PALAVER” wrote: “Zodiac signs are very rare in German churches. There is hardly another such glass painting in Germany”.

The information on astronomy and astrology is found in Anthologies of Sviatoslav (1073). During the years that followed, many educated and famous people of the ancient Russia, including the members of the royal families, practiced, or demonstratedtheir interest to, both astronomy and astrology.

A.Y. Saplin wrote on the matter in his book (The Encyclopedic dictionary in Astrology, Vneshsigma, M., 1994):

“According to the order of the Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Andreas Engelhardt, a German doctor, working for the Tsar, taught him to the basics of astrology. The reason for the interest of Alexei Mikhailovich to astrology was a comet in the sky in 1664, followed by the plague epidemic outbreak in England.

There is an interesting story about Symeon of Polotsk, a homeroom teacher for the Tsar’s children, predicted the birth of Peter the Great by stars. On August 11^th, Symeon saw by stars the birth of Peter the Great by Natalia Kirillovna, his mother. Having seen the sky sign, he congratulated the Tsar the next morning with the upcoming birth of his son, who was to be born on May 30^th, 1672; the astrologist presented the Tsar a baby-boy horoscope, which predicted the great future of the Russian Tsar for the baby, who had to be born yet. The parents were happy about the prediction, but Symeon was guarded by four guards after that, until the pregnancy of the Tsar’s wife was not revealed clearly. After thatSymeonwas in great favor by the Tsar, he was ordered to share meal with the Tsar. After the Tsarina gave birth to a son, Symeon was generously rewarded with gold, velvet, and zibeline fur coats. The story was real, it is cited by the archive records, which also mention the horoscope of Peter the Great”.

In his book “Astrology for Initiates and Tarot of the Bohemians”, Papus mentioned there are multiple types of Tarot card decks, consisting of different amounts of sheets. Let us list some of them. For example, the Italian Tarot, or Mantegna Tarot card deck, consists of 50 sheets, Bologna Tarot card deck has 63 sheets, Venice Tarot card deck has 78 sheets, Florentine and Munich Tarot card decks have 97 sheets each, Hindi Tarot has 96 sheets, Chinese Tarot has 77 sheets, and the modern European Tarot card deck has 78 sheets.

The abovementioned examples demonstrate, that the amount of Tarot card sheets was not the same at all times and among different nations. Out of the abovementioned decks, Hindi Tarot deserves special attention, with its 96 sheets – the amount, which, apparently, reflects one of the main laws of the Universe. The Florentine and the Munich Tarot card decks comprise the amount of sheets, which is close to 96. The universal Tarot card deck that we propose is based on the 22 sheets of the Major Arcanum, and the 64 sheets of the Minor Arcanum, based on the classical Chinese Book of Changes, and in total it comprises 86 sheets.

Please, find some time to read more about it in my other books: “Universal Tarot card Deck”, “Runic Tarot”, “Buddhist Tarot” and “Yi Ching Tarot”, which, together with the book “Astrological Tarot”, represent the complete cycle of publications on the matter.

Presented below is the detailed description of Astrological Tarot Minor Arcanum Cards meanings.