Home › Glossary › Letter T

Tarot

Witchcraft
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A deck of illustrated cards used for divination, reflection, and symbolic storytelling. Its archetypal images offer a rich poetic vocabulary.

Detailed Definition
Tarot is a system of illustrated cards used for divination, meditation, and narrative reflection. The major and minor arcana contain recurring figures and emblems, including the Fool, the Tower, the Moon, swords, cups, wands, and pentacles. In poetry, tarot offers ready-made archetypes while still allowing personal interpretation. A poem can borrow a card’s dramatic scene to frame a relationship, crisis, journey, or revelation. Tarot imagery often creates an atmosphere of chance, fate, and unfolding inner knowledge.
Example
Example in poetry:
A tarot poem can use a card draw as an organizing device, with each section responding to a different card; “The Tower appeared between us, all lightning and necessary ruin” uses tarot symbolism to frame a breakup; A poet can contrast the hopeful image of the Star with the uncertainty of the Moon to dramatize conflicting feelings; “I carry the Fool in my coat pocket, one foot above the cliff” adapts a tarot figure into a character for a lyric poem.
Additional Notes
Tarot combines visual symbolism, narrative sequence, and personal interpretation. Major Arcana cards such as the Fool, Death, or the Moon can serve as archetypal poetic figures, while a card reading may structure a poem around uncertainty, change, and reflection.
Also Known As
Tarot Cards Tarot Deck
Skip to main content