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 | "Way Stations of the Tarot" | |
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| At one time, I made it a rule that I would read the cards for people three separate times, or not at all. With some people, each reading was virtually a repeat of the previous ones. Observation and questioning revealed that those people were not involved in any changes. Same character, same story. With other people the second and third readings flowed out of the first as a story of continuing advancement. The cards draw our attention to what is, thereby predicting the outcome of present behaviour. Often they reveal opportunities present but unrecognised by consciousness. They are far and away more effective than the Rorschach tests devised by psychologists in order to distance themselves from mysticism and gain recognition as one of the 'hard' sciences. As a reader of Tarot cards, one must spend time getting to know them, to associate them with their underlying meanings. It can take a lot of readings before everything starts to flow. One is always at the edge of two worlds, with the cards being the bridge between. It is an art form in that there are no hard and fast rules. The meaning of each card can be modified or amplified by adjacent cards. Sometimes the intellect can take too dominant a role and the reading becomes stilted and wooden. On a number of occasions I have lost myself in them, carrying on to complete the reading yet having not the slightest inkling of what I have said. It is only by the impact on the questor that I know that I have not just woken up from a sound sleep. |
| One is not practising magic, but atmosphere plays an important part in success. The unconscious comes to the fore much more readily when the ambience feels right than it would do if one was to try reading the cards in the rush-hour crush of a city station or a loud party. Timing and placement. Set and setting. It is not by coincidence that, around the world and throughout history, people have been initiated into the mysteries in surroundings that approach those extant during mankind's early days. Everything is done to produce a state of heightened awareness. Even today's cathedrals, with their vaulted roof and stained glass window between the congregation and the rising sun, are nothing but a 'civilised' reproduction of the fire-lit cave. In trying to deny our primitive beginnings, the churches have stripped away the mysteries that are not an act of denial but an affirmation of the wonder of life itself and the power within. |
 The reader is not the central figure of the process, the questor is. The reader is neither more nor less than a guide or interpreter, introducing a tyro to a process with which the reader has greater familiarity. Everybody comes to different stages in their lives at different times and it is the current stage and its consequences and options, of which the cards inform.It is an aid to learning their individual translations if one sees them as chapters in a loose-bound book. For some people the order will be re-arranged. The illustration places them in a linear fashion solely for the purpose of getting a handle on them. The central character is The Fool. His name does not imply silliness, only that his actions are those of a person starting something new, and like all beginners he/she will do things that time and experience will prove to have been foolish. His stylised picture is that of a young man - the archetypal fool - although fools come at all ages to both sexes. He is usually pictured as stepping off a precipice - the first step into the unknown. He often wears a blindfold, again symbolising the inability to see that which lies ahead. We learn life in going forward, and understand it in looking backward. About his head are the cards of the Magician and the Priestess. These personify the potential of the archetypes within us. The male figure presents the Logos of the Intellect with its knowledge of the workings of the physical world. He is surrounded by the symbols of the alchemist, of transformation. The female figure rises from the intuitive nature of the Pattern Weaver of Intuition. In earlier decks she is pictured in the midst of natural symbols such as a crescent moon and animals such as the cat, the hare, raven, etc. On later cards she is frequently seen in more formalised garb, to do with temples and organised rituals. These two can be seen reflected in the animus and anima of Jungian psychology. |
| Flanking the questor are the authoritative figures of the Emperor and the Empress. These symbolise the external forces that work upon us in our daily lives. They also include the potentially tyrannical aspects of our own nature as displayed by habitual thinking. Their Jungian counterparts are the ego and the shadow. Beneath this first group of five stands the Hierophant, the Keeper of the Keys. He is the person of experience entrusted to introduce the Questor to a broadening of his life. His is the task of mentor, guide, companion and friend. His modern counterpart is the christian godfather. It is ironic that Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, wished that role in the life of his young son, Charles, to be taken on by the actor, James Robertson Justice; but was obliged to change his choice because of the strong opposition of the church to the role being given to a man who had been divorced. So does ritual become suborned by politics. |
| The next area is that of The Lovers and of The Chariot. These are the first lessons on the Fool's journey; managing the emotional relationships within himself and in dealings with those with whom he comes into contact. The Lovers symbolise the coming to terms with the emotional upheaval of their own sexuality and of the necessity of seeing the other as an equal partner. The black and white horses of The Chariot are the symbols of the inner conflicts that have to be managed unless they overturn the chariot of the mind. So the Questor grows towards the next series of learning, of how to function within the society that they inhabit. He learns to transcend brute Strength, channelling it, forging it into the stamina that will serve better in the long haul. Temperance presents the act or necessity of learning balance and moderation in thoughts and actions; while Justice reveals that the needs for legislation must be tempered with compassion and tolerance; for all that is legal is not inherently just. When one claims that their actions are just, they need to mentally change places with the person they are dealing with, to see if it feels just from there. With these lessons learned, The Fool is no longer. |
| At this stage we approach The Hermit, he who signifies the end of the journey for the majority, and is pictured with his face turned back along the path. Sated with experience, he begins the withdrawal from life and growth. Increasingly he becomes more detached from external and internal life, harbouring memories of the past, with future days accepted as being less of the same. This is the call to awareness. Awake! Accept the challenge, or go down to the grave without completing the quest. So begin the rites of the inner journey. For those who have wandered from the path they saw for themselves, who became distracted by the wants and demands of the immediate; this is the time to set oneself free from The Wheel. The wheel of routine and habit. The Hanging Man illustrates the sacrifices involved in bringing the body under the disciplines of the mind. The Devil speaks of our own, inner-demon of self-doubt and unworthy attitudes, symbolising our lack of faith in ourselves, a period of turmoil. Everything costs. Death, is the death of illusion that comes before rebirth. The Lightning-struck Tower carries the memories of the times when human-folk emerged from the underworld of the barrows in which they had spent the dark of winter, into the Spring and the rebirth of life. It symbolises the breaking down of those defences that became a prison, a shattering of previously held beliefs, releasing one into a new existence. The Royal Road represents the last cycle of the Tarot. The Star is the eternal guiding star of hope. The Moon is another symbol for the unconscious itself; its waxing and waning. It is a mistake to think that one works towards a state of constant awareness. All of us have varying periods of awareness interspersed by the 'normal' state of lack of awareness. It comes and goes. The aim is to spend longer and longer periods in being fully aware. The Sun is the card of reward and fulfilment of an aim. Judgement is the declaration that one is able to accept the true picture of oneself and the judgement of one's peers. The World signifies the attainment of the goal that one set for themselves when they first began the quest. |