Four Pillars Society Tarot by Gary Rosenberg (GAR) and Nyxsaurius Fallsong
Legend: Through the Tiger’s Maw and Cracking Egg, a new existence has begun
Artist’s Notes:
A black translucent egg is seen hovering over the mostly formless ground. Within the egg can be seen what appears to be a brain and a heart. The egg is cracking and there seems to be some kind of energy radiating through, enveloping the egg as if it were about to crack open. On top of the egg is a cream-coloured top hat with a pink band. At a strange angle, a tiger can be seen. Hanging from the tiger’s maw is the bindlestiff that is normally carried by either vagabonds or the Fool in many tarot decks. The Tiger is walking away from the egg. Around the card can be seen various barely formed sigils that seem to be almost shifting in a manner as if they were constantly reforming in synch with the egg.
Potential and Possibility have amazing potency. The only limits come from the imagination or lack of it. If you combine the Fool’s (0) Possibility with the Focused intent of the Magus (1) then manifestation will occur. Nothing and Everything in a constant dance. Yet no matter how much becomes manifest, potential never becomes diminished. Each time the egg opens, an existence runs its course, the fool’s quest begins and ends again and it all returns and begins again. The realized heart of the Fool from earlier existences finds its way by chance into a new cycle of becoming.
About the Archetype:
Many people see the sequence of the Major Arcana as representing a journey towards self-actualization. This journey may be a physical one, a psychological one, or a spiritual one. Following the Golden Dawn teachings, this journey starts with The Fool. The Fool’s number is 0 and as such he or she holds the potential for all things. The Fool is beyond duality and indeed one way of looking at the Major Arcana is as the journey back after the fall into duality (represented by the Magician and the High Priestess) and the reconciliation thereafter. The Fool is both seed and egg, representing the potential to be all. He / She is the hero of Joseph Campbell’s Hero cycle. We represent the Fool anytime we embark on a new phase of life, especially ones where we leave our safety zones and enter the unknown. Consider Alice jumping down the rabbit hole or Jack about to climb the beanstalk. It is not accidental that so many of these metaphors seem somewhat Freudian. In adolescence, we individuate from our families and awake to our own sexual identities, almost a literal fall to adulthood.
Above everything else this breaking away and embarking on our own adventure is exhilarating as it is frightening. Jack joyfully climbs the beanstalk as Alice slides down the rabbit hole as Dorothy travels to Oz. They maintain their curiosity, their nerve, their instincts, and their intelligence.
In typical depictions of the Fool, he has his belongings tied onto a staff he carries representing the qualities he brings into the adventure. In my version, the guitar symbolizes exactly that. The dog barking at his feet represents the Fool’s instincts and intuition which help guide him or her along their way
Astrological Correspondence
Planet: Uranus (Element of Air) When the tarot was first popularized, the only planetary attributes that were used were the Sun, Moon, and the five classical planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). Uranus was not discovered until 1781. This was followed by the discovery of Neptune in 1846 and Pluto in 1930. Originally The Fool, The Hanged Man, and Judgement were said to be ruled by the elements of Air, Water, and Fire respectively while the World had both the planet Saturn and the element of Earth attributed to it.
Air is the element of thought and any undertaking begins with an idea. We wish to learn something or find out what will happen when trying something and we do it. Often this requires a leap of the imagination if not faith. Air is the element of Spring and of all new beginnings and starts.
Uranus is often called the ‘awakener’ astrologically there can be many startling changes in whatever area of our chart Uranus is travelling through at the time. The influence of Uranus is innovative, intuitive, and inventive and encourages us to use the talents we have in ways we had never thought of before.
In a Reading:
When the Fool turns up in a reading it is often an indication that we cannot reason ourselves out of our current state. Instead, we need to trust the adventure and our instincts and jump. It may indicate that we have embarked on a new stage of life and we need to go with it in a spirit of openness and joy. The Fool tells us to trust our hearts and let go of fear-based thinking. It is possible that the Fool is cautioning us against reckless behaviour and telling us that we are close to ‘falling off a cliff’. Usually, we seldom come that close to disaster without feeling it on some level so once again the Fool is telling us to trust those instincts.
The reversed or badly aspected Fool quite often tells us we need to reason things out more than we have and that our actions of late may have been a bit foolhardy. It may indicate that in pursuing our own path we may have been inconsiderate and neglectful of those around us. It may also be an indication that we need to connect more with our inner selves.
Fate’s Whisper:
At first glance, the most relatable part of the card is the Fool’s bindlestiff. Traditionally it was held by the Fool however he is nowhere to be seen. The Tiger of Chance, which holds the Spark of Life in the Four Pillars Legend, could be easily blamed for eating him. That isn’t the case though, the mind and heart of the fool seem to be in this egg of sorts. Knowing the Fool it could be another leap he is about to take.
It is also worth noting that the top hat seems to be a part of the egg as if they are both a part of the same being. Could this be another trick of the Tiger? It would seem that until the egg hatches anything is possible.
The Welcome unto the Goddess
Honour I give to the Hecate, Blessed am I in your presence.
Thaks I give unto thee Mighty Queen of Hell;
I Call forth thy Power and thy Guidance;
The Teachings of Goddess and Horned GOd;
Light the Torch of Gnosis Dark Lady;
The Path of Hecate Illumined;
Through Elven Blood and Dark Wich Night. –Mark Alan Smith
“The goddess is red with the fire of life; the earth, the solar system, the galaxies of far-extending space all swell within her womb. For she is the world creatrix, ever mother, ever virgin. She encompasses the encompassing, nourishes the nourishing, and and is the life of everything that lives.
“She is also the death of everything that dies. The whole round of existence is accomplished within her sway, from birth, through adolescence, maturity, and senescence, to the grave. She is the womb and the tomb: the sow that eats her farrow. Thus she unites the ‘good’ and the ‘bad,’ exhibiting the two modes of the remembered mother. The devotee is expected to contemplate the two with equal equanimity.” –Joseph Campbell
She whispers in my ear and speaks in my dreams. I have awareness of her even when I don’t directly feel her presence. She is there in my choices and in my understanding and now I will seek her more often
The process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination. — Howard Phillips Lovecraft.
I seek not to comfort
but to be a gardener
planting dark seeds
awakening the shadow within
inspiring deeper understanding
of our inner world
and what dwells there in the depths
I awaken hunger
I feed the occulted beast
I rip off this civilized façade
and feel the raw power surge
from the seeds of the self
too long repressed.
I offer myself
with no hesitation
I receive all that is due
I will journey through
shadowed tunnels and vaults
and the light shall shadow become
I was wondering why my blog posts have gotten so few comments. It turns out that I had, sometime in the past, turned off commenting. Feel free, if you will, to leave comments, start interesting discussions etc.
“There is no escape. You can’t be a vagabond and an artist and still be a solid citizen, a wholesome, upstanding man. You want to get drunk, so you have to accept the hangover. You say yes to the sunlight and pure fantasies, so you have to say yes to the filth and the nausea. Everything is within you, gold and mud, happiness and pain, the laughter of childhood and the apprehension of death. Say yes to everything, shirk nothing. Don’t try to lie to yourself. You are not a solid citizen. You are not a Greek. You are not harmonious, or the master of yourself. You are a bird in the storm. Let it storm! Let it drive you!” — Herman Hesse
Do not be content
Learn your innermost secrets and fears
Reveal the delusions that hide within you
Throw yourself into the abyss
and let the flames burn you
How can you transcend
if you blind yourself
to your depths
fall into those depths
writhe and rise
No liberation comes without owning your chains
“Here is the Path written in blood, blood fresh fallen from the Stars in their seasons, fallen to the opened hearts of Those who look beyond both themselves and the Stars in heaven. That which is seen is not that which should be sought. Seek it in the Pearl that is set upon the Dragon’s brow.” –Andrew Chumbley
“I have seen beyond the bounds of infinity and drawn down demons from the stars…” — H.P. Lovecraft
Sanatas
Feel the flow of power
flood into you
connected and apart
you are the darkness within
the black sun at the centre
projected outwards
Feed from the universe
and project your will.
Transform with dark alchemy
finding liberation in immolation
and ascend amidst the desolation
Carry forth your messages
Invoke those who will help
Reach within without
Feel passion at the deepest levels
using your love, your hate your desire
and most of all your will
Cut the knots within
and tear your veil asunder
Reach outward and draw the energy to you
and become that which isn’t yet
“We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are symbols of something, not of nothing.” –Arthur Machen
