Tarot Card Flags merge the beautiful and ancient tradition of Tibetan Prayer Flags that are still hung throughout the mountains of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and northern India, with the mystery and symbolism of the classic Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck major arcana.
My flags are handmade in Kathmandu, Nepal by a company owned by third generation traditional Buddhist Prayer Flag makers. I value the traditions of the peoples of the Himalayas and am proud to help contribute to the economy of the region. Prayer Flags celebrate new beginnings and insure luck and success. They are hung with respect and the intention for peace and compassion.
Around 1040 c.e. the Tibetan people ceased making war banners and began making Prayer Flags. It quickly became a tradition for the peoples of the Himalaya to hang the flags. The flags were printed with words and images that were filled with the intentions for peace, compassion, health, and good wishes for all. Prayer Flags have been carrying blessings on the wind for a thousand years!
The Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck was originally published in 1909. The cards were drawn by illustrator Pamela Colman Smith from the instructions of academic and mystic A.E. Waite and were published by the Rider Company.
Each septenary is a smaller path in the Fool’s larger journey of the 21 Majors.
There are many ideas as to the meanings of these paths of 7. One is to think of them as progressively expanding spheres of understanding. The first seven are about individual understanding and the personal psyche. The second seven, full of virtues like Strength, Justice, and Temperance, are about social and moral understanding. And the third seven, with cosmic forces like the Sun, Moon, Star, and World, are about transcendence and religious/spiritual/mystical understanding.
I invite you to hang these with intention. I trust that these flags will inspire peace and well-being in your life and the lives of many.
Should they become completely tattered and worn out, it is customary to burn them.