This question can be difficult to say definitely because Tarot means so many different things to so many different people today. 

To some, it is experienced as a tool for divination and fortune-telling. To others, it is a collection of archetypes that help us in meditation and spiritual discovery. 

I like to see it a few different things. An oracle… a book of wisdom in a deck of cards… and a pictographic diagram of our inner consciousness. Thus, this was the intention that went into creating Patch Tarot.

Tarot is what you make it to be. If you open yourself up to discovering new aspects, you might even find yourself changing your perspective quite often, the more you familiarize yourself with the cards. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the different aspects of the cards and how it all works, I recommend clicking here *LINK* to see our “Learn Tarot” sections, where you’ll find the essential breakdown of what the cards are, and how they work.

Further, we’ve also put together a 3 Day masterclass workshop on learning Tarot, which is available for you by clicking right here.

For those who are passionate about spirituality, archetypes, and exploring ancient wisdom teachings, Tarot is a powerful tool for self-discovery, exploring the subconscious mind, and navigating the challenges that we face in life.

Though, it must be said that the biggest key to making it work in your life will be you and your intention. In the writings of Hermes, “The lips of wisdom are closed to all but the ears of understanding.” This means that for us to receive higher wisdom, we must come with an empty cup, and acknowledge that there is an endless supply of knowledge and information for us to learn and comprehend about the nature of who we are, and where we come from.

In a way, Tarot combines many universal archetypes, symbols, and ideas from world mythologies throughout history. It is by studying and learning these symbols as presented within the cards, that assists us in seeing the interconnection between the world mythologies, and discover how they are meaningful and useful for us in our lives today.

When Tarot was first invented, it was a card game, or at least, this is the evidence that we have today about Tarot’s origin. There are still some curious speculations that suggest that Tarot goes back much, much before than the middle ages.

That said, when I was producing Patch Tarot, “card game” was not on my mind. I wanted to create a tool for the evolution of consciousness. However, since publishing the deck, it has crossed my mind to try traditionally playing Patch Tarot that it was first used for back in the 14th century.

Today, you can find instructions on how to play the Tarot game, often called “Tarocchi” on the internet. I intend that in a future edition of The Book of Patch, we will include instructions on how to play Tarocchi in addition to all of its other spiritual uses.

Every Tarot deck will come with the intention and awareness of the one who produced it in the first place. In the case of Patch Tarot, I intended to create a Spirit Science Tarot to support and uplift the evolution of consciousness.

What makes Patch Tarot unique is that it was not modeled after a single previous Tarot deck, but observed many of the most prominent Tarot decks available, such as the Rider Waite Smith, Thoth Tarot, and even the classic Tarot de Marseilles, and unified many of the meanings of the cards together into a Tarot that could stand to become “the Evolution of Tarot.”

I found that many of the symbols and ideas in the previous generations of Tarot, especially that of the Rider Waite Smith and Marseille Tarot’s, were created in an era of extreme Christian dominance. Therefore, many of the symbols and ideas found within these cards bore a great deal of Christian ideology and symbology.

My intention then was to take the core ideas of these cards and symbols and to open them up to be more universal. Not removing the Christian symbols, but incorporating other spiritual traditions and practices to create a balance and reverence for all of the spiritualities of the world.

Ultimately though, to honestly answer the question of “How is Patch Tarot different,” it must be experienced for you to know truly. I recommend doing a Tarot reading with Patch Tarot, and another deck of your choosing, and compare how the reading and the experience is for yourself.

This is an excellent question and one which has mystified historians for hundreds of years. The oldest cards we know of today emerge from the 14th century, which leads many to suggest that Tarot was invented as a card game for the wealthy nobles of that era. 

However, many parallels were observed in the last several hundred years that seem to link Tarot cards to Ancient Egyptian and Jewish spirituality, from Hermeticism to Kabbalah, and this opened up the doors of discussion that Tarot may have origins much older than what is conventionally known.

To learn more, click here to watch a special episode of Spirit Science that we’ve made about the History of Tarot.

When we begin to learn about ancient spirituality, we find that many of their traditions and beliefs were established to support their conscious evolution. The intention, it seemed, was to create secure connections with what they described as Spirit, to evolve their consciousness and be in service to humanity. This is primarily what we find when we study the ancient Mystery Schools from Egypt, Greece, and other areas several thousand years ago.

Whether the Tarot indeed descended from this time period or not, the correlations that exist there now help to create a bridge to that period of time within our own minds, and help us connect with our true natures.

What’s more, when we truly go back far enough, we begin to discover several clues to a long lost ancient civilization. Sites like Gobekli Tepe, or even the Great Pyramids and Sphinx of Egypt point to evidence that suggest long ago, a more advanced civilization of humanity rose and fell, leaving behind scarce traces of its existence. 

If these discoveries indeed do point to a long lost civilization revealing a long-forgotten truth of our species, then it is up to each of us to explore these mysteries to the fullest, and Tarot is one such way that we can do so. 

To learn more about our ancient history, you can watch our videos about it by clicking here.

The beautiful thing about Tarot is that you can take so many different approaches to exploring it. It’s not so dogmatic in that it requires you to think or believe a certain way. It, like water, will adapt and support you in whatever frame of mind that you are in as you approach them.

Tarot simply invites you (should you choose to use it this way), to embody the highest version of yourself that you can, and to continually strive to go deeper. It does this by being a reflection of a myriad of ideas and archetypes that stimulate and illuminate the hidden depths of your subconscious and unconscious mind and bring them to the surface to analyze and explore.

Your belief is what is going to steer your experience with the Tarot, so come at it with whatever frame you like.

The most common use for Patch Tarot cards is to do a reading, which involves asking a heartfelt question, shuffling the cards (or placing your finger upon the vortex in the app), and drawing a card. 

You then take some time to observe and analyze the card, think about it, and read the descriptions available to you (whether in the mini-booklet, on the website, in the app, or in the Book of Patch). 

Ideally, you want to approach this in the sense of using it for self-reflection and personal exploration, because this is the highest form of use of the Tarot. 

But ultimately, the choice is yours in how you use it. 

When I was creating Patch Tarot, I set the intention that these cards would be created with love and benevolent purposes and carry no ill intentions or harmful energies within it. This is reinforced by the sacred “Holy Arcana,” which serve as protective guardians for the higher resonance of the deck.

What we must come to learn and understand, and which Patch Tarot itself teaches, is that everything is connected. We must realize that often, when we believe we are conjuring spirits, we are merely calling forth another aspect of ourselves that has yet to be integrated into our whole selves. 

We learn this by the ancient spiritual teaching that there is only ONE Spirit that moves through all things, which we may refer to as “ALL.” 

That said, I would say just as a hammer was designed to build, doesn’t mean that it cannot also be used to smash and break things. Understand that if you use Patch Tarot with the intent to summon spirits and entities, what you will receive in response will not be what you thought. In the end, you will receive a lesson, for learning is in the heart of these cards. 

Reverse cards have long since been a point of discussion and often disagreement among Tarot readers. It can mean everything from “the opposite” of its upright meaning, to “the extreme” version of its upright meaning. Some people make up meaning on the spot if they don’t know what it means, and others suggest it’s an “internal” version of the card, where the upright meaning is the “external.”

While producing Patch Tarot, I wanted to find a standard meaning of reversals that could be applied to all of the cards, and not be confusing. While studying Qabalah, I came across the Qliphoth, which are described sometimes as the “negative” states of the spheres on the Tree of Life. 

Diving into the Qliphoth taught me a lot about the nature of evil, where evil comes from, and how to transmute it into its benevolent forces, and thus, this became the essential nature of the reversals. It’s not that they are describing evil, but rather that the energy is moving in the wrong direction (or has the potential to at least), and it’s up to us to learn how to correct the flow and harmonize with nature in a benevolent way. 

To learn more about the Qliphoth, you can read about them on the Esoteric section of our “Learn Tarot” pages found here, or you can read more about it in significant depth in The Book of Patch.

Arcana is a latin word that translates to “secrets” and essentially describes that within the Tarot are many secrets for us to learn and discover, related to the different aspects of our being, and the universe around us.

Why, it’s elemental, my dear! 

It IS elemental! The Minor Arcana is a description of the four elements. Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. These stand for our Spiritual Will, our Emotions, our Mind, and our Body. They are considered “minor” because, in contrast, the Major Arcana is “the Path of the Soul”, the fifth element. This is, in a sense, the pathway that our soul takes on the journey through life. 

This is explained more in detail in the Learn Tarot section, found here.

Normally, a Tarot deck has 78 cards. However, during the creation of Patch Tarot, originally there were 4 additional cards created as a result of completing the Major Arcana, and expanding the final card into a sequence. Following “The Crown”, we have a sequence progressively zooming out, showing the ascension process for our us, our planet, and harmonizing with the entire universe. 

Originally, this was done as a slight nod to Thoth Tarot, which originally came out with 3 Magician cards, which each wove together in a bit of a riddle for those who sought to make sense of them. 

In Patch Tarot, these four additional cards were going to be 5 “universe/world” cards; however, as the deck progressed, my insights told me these needed to become something new, related to the four hidden places on the Tree of Life. 

Currently, each Patch Tarot deck is sold for $50 USD, and you can find it on the store right here.

However, the best way to invest in Patch Tarot is to enroll in Spirit Mysteries. There are currently several offers available to get not just Patch Tarot, but the Book of Patch, the Book of Spirit, Tapestries and Yoga Mats all bundled together with online courses for a great price.

You can learn more and enroll at SpiritMysteries.com, or by completing the 10 Secrets of Tarot workshop found here.

Yes! Currently, I offer a 3 Day free training which you can enroll in right here. And I just launched Spirit Mysteries, which makes available a massive depth of spiritual education not just pertaining to Tarot, but Qabalah, Hermeticism, Tree of Life, Numerology, Astrology, and more. 

The best part is, Spirit Mysteries comes with a community environment so that you can connect with other students on the path of spiritual learning, and grow together as a family. 

You can enroll and sign up here.

A part of Spirit Mysteries is called Spirit Family, the community center that connects spiritual seekers from around the world to share and learn and grow together. 

Here there is a place not just to discuss Tarot, but all forms of spirituality, science, and life experiences. It is the best way to connect with others on this path, and make the most of your spiritual education! 

You can join the community at spiritmysteries.com