This course explores the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot through a psychologically coherent and mythically grounded lens. We work with two complementary decks. One is the Sharman-Caselli deck, a more traditional deck designed by Juliet Sharman-Burke and illustrated by Giovanni Caselli. The other is The New Mythic Tarot, co-designed and co-written by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene.
The New Mythic Tarot broke with tradition by using Greek myth to illuminate the psychological patterns and conflicts of everyday human life. The unnumbered cards allow the narrative to flow according to the reader’s preferred system, encouraging symbolic flexibility rather than fixed interpretation. The Fool’s journey through the Major Arcana mirrors the stages of a human life, a pattern found across myths, legends, and fairy tales. Seen as a living story, the Tarot becomes easier to learn and more precise to read, because each card is understood as part of a larger process rather than as an isolated meaning.
The Tarot story begins with the Fool and follows childhood, education, parental influence, and the early trials of life. As the Fool reaches adulthood, attention turns to engagement with the outer world and the moral lessons that shape character. This structure offers readers a clear inner map, helping them recognize where a question or situation belongs within a developmental arc.
Midway through the journey, the Fool encounters a crisis that draws attention inward. This descent into the underworld, understood in Jungian terms as the unconscious, reflects Jung’s view of life as divided between an outward-focused first half and an inward-oriented second half. Learning to read this descent trains Tarot readers to recognize moments when meaning must be sought within, rather than resolved too quickly.
The Fool’s journey concludes with transformation. Seen alchemically, the base matter present at the beginning of the path is refined into symbolic gold in the final card, the World. This perspective supports readings that follow psychological change over time, rather than focusing on prediction alone.
Throughout the course, both decks are examined closely, with attention to imagery, myth, and traditional divinatory meaning. Working between a traditional and a mythically informed deck develops symbolic fluency, narrative coherence, and psychological depth.
Juliet Sharman-Burke brings a rare authority to this work. As a co-creator of two influential Tarot decks and a long-standing teacher of Tarot and mythology, she combines deep respect for traditional meanings with a clear psychological sensibility. Her approach helps readers move beyond memorization into a lived understanding of the cards, allowing the Tarot to speak with clarity, nuance, and human relevance.
