The Tarot Tree by Alexandra Genetti

The Tarot Tree by Alexandra Genetti

Alexandra Genetti, artist\author of the Wheel of Change Tarot, began her presentation by asking the audience to recite the invocation used by the Waldorf School to begin each day. It helped put the audience in a receptive frame of mind. Once we completed the recitation, Alexandra began by discussing her affinity for patterns and how she enjoys looking for underlying patterns in various systems. She discussed the concepts of the "Mystic Square" and the "Magical Triangle." This led into a discussion of Ouspensky's pattern for the Tarot with the Fool in the center, the 21 other Major Arcana in a triangle around it, and the four suits of the Minor Arcana in a square around the triangle. Genetti says she had an "aha" experiencewhen she was looking at this pattern. She envisioned a new sequence for the Major Arcana as laid out in the triangle, which she calls the "Tarot Tree." Using a large triangular board, and oversized cards from her deck, she explained the new sequence, step-by-step. Genetti's sequence incorporates the Goddess, duality, the stages of a woman's life and other concepts into a cohesive system.

While she designed her deck specifically around this arrangement, it should also work well with any traditional Tarot deck. However, the numbers will not fall into any discernible pattern when using a traditional deck.

Genetti also described a game one can play based on her Tarot Tree, which she said had been put through rigorous testing by her three children. You can find the rules for play in the book that comes with her deck. She ended the presentation by passing out small symbolic images from her deck. Rather than a complete card, the 1 1/2 inch square images were a key symbol from each Major Arcana card. Alexandra had written a small affirmation on the back of each card. It was a nice way to end a fascinating presentation.

You can see Alexandra's deck and read more about her system here.

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