The Gnostics were a sect of spiritual seekers who relied on a first-hand experience of the Divine rather than the orthodox pontifications of a self-appointed clergy. As a result, they were branded heretics by the Catholic Church. Their pursuit of inner experience continued in secret, appearing through the ages in such groups as the Cathars, the Alchemists, the Theosophists, and mystics the world over. Jung viewed Gnosticism as a map to the development of the human psyche based on an experiential awareness of the Self. The Gnostic Tarot is an expansion of this idea of psychological Individuation and spiritual awareness drawing on the traditional understanding of Tarot meaning as refined by the Golden Dawn.
Each suit of the Minor Arcana is represented by its corresponding element: Fire [Wands], Water [Cups], Air [Swords], and Earth [Pentacles]. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana echo the traditional Marseille and Rider-Waite-Smith Tarots, while adding unique meanings and allusions of their own from psychology and esoteric teaching. Each Court card is represented by an Archetype. In place of out-dated royalty, these Archetypes are represented by a Boy and Girl and a Man and Woman. The Male suits of Fire and Air are headed by patriarchs while the Female suits of Water and Earth are led by Matriarchs. Aside from the Court Archetypes, many of the characters in The Gnostic Tarot exhibit an unspecified gender, leaving the question of gender open for the Querent.
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