Tarot Post – The High Priestess

 

II – The High Priestess (Moon ☾)

 

High PriestessThe High Priestess by G A Rosenberg

 

Holding her secrets
All that anyone may seek
she carries within.

 

She holds mysterious beauty
Standing silent
bathed in moonlight
I long to know
what lies beneath her veil.
I have lost my way
and need to continue
tho I know not where
I have so many questions
she takes them all
without reply
Will she ever speak?
Are answers to be found
in her book
and will she share them
with this bedraggled fool?
Yet we remain
and she remains
untouched and untouching
contained and content
Without her I cannot go on
yet within, within I find my way
across the void desert.
— G A Rosenberg

 

The High Priestess is feminine to the Magician’s masculine. Where the Magician is active will, she is passive intuition. The Magician gives forth and the High Priestess takes in. She represents the lunar current which ties into the subconscious. When our mind is silent and still any and all answers can arise from us from the abyss which links us to the all.We may not be able to consciously carry the answers back yet the knowledge remains.
Tho the High Priestess represents the feminine, the card also represents the balance between all dualities. After all, everything is contained within the temple of the subconscious. She is at the entrance to the temple between the two pillars, the dark and the light (each which like the yin-yang sign contains a bit of its counterpart). From the interplay of duality almost anything can come forth. She is a figure of devotion, receptive to all. The number 2 (represented by the pillars among other things can be seen as symbolic of the vagina. In silence she accepts all and in silence she answers. Because we can’t hear them spoken, we often believe these answers to come from our own minds.

 

Astrological Attribution – The Moon (☾) – The astrological moon relates to the unconscious and the messages that come from there. It casts no light of its own but reflects whatever light strikes it (and in turn reflects that light onto whatever it touches). The Moon lights our dark night and shows us what we need to protect ourselves. It goes through cycles of casting greater and lesser amounts of light and influences tides (both in the water and our bodies which are mostly water) and emotions. It is the part of us that knows on a deep intuitive level whether or not we can communicate our knowledge.

 

Runic Attribution – Pertho PerthoThe appearance of this card suggests a dice cup (notice the receptive feminine appearance of it) and represents both psychic information, intuition and secrets. The goddess attribution is Freya (the all-mother). As a talisman, it heals mental dis-ease and disquiet among other ailments.It is both a revealer and concealer of secrets. It also represents initiation.
Other Runes connected with the High Priestess are Uruz and Orthilla.

 

Path on the tree of life: Path 13-Gimel: Gimel means Camel and just as a camel conveys one across the desert, Path 13 is the first path that crosses the abyss linking the spheres of Kether and Tiphareth on the center pillar of the tree. It has been called the Path of highest initiation and is the gate between the soul and the spirit. If Tiphareth is the light of the soul then it can be said that Gimel unites that light with the darkness of all-being. It is also referred to as “the unity directing consciousness”

 

When the High Priestess turns up in a reading it indicates that this is a time to be silent and tune into our own unconscious and listen to what it is trying to tell us. It tells us to pay attention to dreams and other symbols that may be appearing to us. This may be a time of incredible spiritual growth happening beneath the surface, not yet ready to manifest in the physical. Changes are coming if we but open ourselves to them. In a reading, it may also represent the need for us to turn to our feminine side and the understanding that that gives us. We may have grown inattentive to the Goddess force that lies within all of us (men included). The card may also represent a romance that we may wish for but will not manifest in a sexual way at least. At its most essential tho, the card means to be open to whatever intuitive messages are coming through in whatever area is being asked about.

 

When the High Priestess is reversed or badly aspected it can mean that we have not been listening to the guidance we have been given and are suffering because of it. It may mean that we are blocking our subconscious and need to find ways to open ourselves up to it. It is a good time to meditate and clear and try to reestablish connections with our inner self. It may be that while the querent is usually well tuned to their inner nature, events of late have felt too rushed or too chaotic and so they have been blocking that voice. Nothing is ever so busy that a time out to reflect and meditate is not a good idea.

 

Tarot Post – Magician

 

I – The Magician (Mercury ☿)

 

G`The Magician by G A Rosenberg

 

He wills to create

The magician lifts his wand

Energy flows through

 

Receiving the fire
and letting it flow through
using all the tools at hand
to create
on screen and off
according to my will
Soon something will exist
that wasn’t before
except in imagination
Letting manifestation happen
the more i open to it
the more if flows through
not so much a part of me
as coloured by my being
and by the power
that inspires.
–G A Rosenberg

 

The Fool falls and lands. Where before the Fool was whole with the potential to become everything, now polarization has happened. The Magician is male to the Priestess’ female and active to the Priestess’ passivity. One way of looking at the Major Arcana is the quest to reunify these two into a realized World / Universe at the end.
The Magician utilizes his will and channels spiritual energy into accomplishment. He uses all four elemental tools (The Wand, The Chalice, The Sword and The Disk) to aid in this.
Another way of saying this is that through his will uses the power of his spirt (wand, fire, spirit) his emotions (cup) and intellect and knowledge (Sword, remember that the Magician’s astrological attribute is Mercury which is connected to the mind) and his sexuality (pentacle) to effect changes in his environment.
Regarding the last, given that we manifest in the physical it could be said that the Magician’s most powerful tool is his staff (between his legs). This is also true of the Priestess also but until the Magician opens the way with his staff, it remains secret, then she becomes the Empress as her Nature becomes manifest.
For those who may be inclined to take the above statement too literally, remember that we each contain all the archetypes within us. Which means that we all have our own Magician, Priestess and Empress and all the others as well.
The Magician also represents the trickster archetype and teaches usually by tricking the student into learning what he or she needs to know. (Consider Merlin, Carlos Castaneda’s Don Juan or Socrates in the Peaceful Warrior Books by Dan Millman.) In tricking others, tho it is quite possible that he will surprise himself with a lesson or two as well. One of his lessons is learning to discern whether his results are objective and tangible as opposed to subjective. Another is to use his powers in a way that is true to his authentic self as opposed to wasting his energies on whim.

 

Astrological Attribution: Mercury(☿) – Mercury’s energy is all about fast transmission and communication. It also relates to intellect and logic. In Greek mythology Mercury was the messenger of the gods, always in motion. Thus those who have a strong Mercury are likely to move swiftly from thing to thing to thing, going in, doing what they can and then move on to the next thing. Mercury also is related to the sensory impressions and the moment to moment intake of information.
 

Runic Correspondences – Mannaz(‘Mankind’)
mannaz-100x100
Mannaz is the rune of thought and intellect. It has to do with using our energy for self-actualization through study and personal commitment. It encourages personal responsibility and that towards the rest of humankind and how we interact with the world.
Other Runes that have been connected with the Magician are Pa and Ansuz.

 

Path on the Tree of Life: Path 12 – Beth (‘House’) which links Kether (Crown) to Binah (Understanding) – If Path 11 involves manifestation than Path 12 involves the transmission of knowledge underlying manifestation. It is referred to as the intelligence of transparency.

 

When the Magician turns up in a reading it can mean that a time of great creativity and communication is at hand. We feel energized and can accomplish anything and that the things and people we need to help us will show up. Indeed quite often they will be caught up in our enthusiasm and be swept along. It is a time of inspiration and manifestation where we are able to impose our will on the world around us. The Magician tends to utilize and channel all in this process so when the reading refers to a relationship, it may be one where manipulation is present. A question that may come up when the Magician shows up in a reading is, “Who’s agenda is being followed? Who does the Magician represent in this situation?”
The Magician can also refer to a situation where we need greater focus and concentration. </h4?
 

When the Magician comes out reversed in a reading, it often means that we are blocked in some way. It is possible that we either don’t believe in what we are doing or that we don’t feel like we deserve the outcome that we are trying to manifest. The other cards in the reading may give an idea on what is blocking us. It may mean that we are repressing something that we need to take into account. This blockage may come from external sources as well. It may also mean that we are misusing our energies and imposing our will on others irrespective of what they may wish.

Tarot Post – The Fool

 

0 – The Fool (Air ⨺) (Uranus ♅)

 

The FoolThe Fool by G A Rosenberg

 

One small step…and off

Fall into a new cycle

Journey commences

 

I contain all, unexplored
everything shown and hidden
comes to zero
I fall and show myself
yet still my shadow falls with me
bringing me naught
The wind carries me
to new adventure
new traits and reactions manifest
yet others are left hidden
to emerge through testing
or saved till the next time
You may laugh at my motley
yet isn’t it my perogative
to make you smile at shadows
I make you uneasy
with my songs
but easily dismissed you go on
as I do,
just wait until you see what happens now…
— G A Rosenberg

 

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 Attribution : 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 try 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.

 

 

Astrological Attribution : 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 try 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.

 

Runic Correspondence: Note on correspondences : These are given more as a matter of contemplation. When comparing two very different systems of divination and classification such as the tarot and either the I Ching or the Runes we can see definite resonances but seldom is there a one to one correspondence. I believe that as long As long as you realize that two things are not necessarily equal than only benefit can come from examining one in the light of the other and thus I include them. I strongly recommend that those who have an interest meditate and form their own correspondence before using two different systems in alignment with each other.

 

Of the Runes that various people associate with the Fool, the one that I believe matches closest is Wunjo (also called Wynn). The meaning of this is ‘harmonizing joy’, which is definitely that elation the Fool feels at the start of his journey. The implications of Wunjo are those of success and even when the grand undertaking of the Fool does not meet with the expected outcome, success accrues in the experiences of the adventure. Wunjo or wynn also has associations of wind and air and its ability to get inside and through all things.

Path on the Tree of Life – Path 11 – Aleph (‘Ox’) linking Kether and Chokmah. If the first path on the tree of life Kether is the point that contains all within itself, and Chokmah is the first manifestation of that point then the path that links them is the very act of manifesting. It is a joyful awareness of everything that may flow through without any value judgements ascribed.

 

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 heart 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 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 self.

Tarot Card of the Day – December 23 2009 – XVI – The Devil

XVI – The Devil

Glory glimpsed then returned
to chains of mortal flesh
Can I escape and see again
what lies beyond?
If not, can I learn to love my chains
the sensation of sensation
each breath, each sight, each sound delighting me
and you, beauty and heat
besides me in the dark
also chained yet not caring,
Food we have, drink, sustenance
that we give and take from each other
the circle closes but not of our chains
of our freedom
and it all feels so good
No! Come with me and we shall escape…
only to be thrown back.
Stay with me instead
and let us indulge
and transcend…

The Devil From the Rohrig Tarot

Astrological: Capricorn
Hebrew Letter: Ayin “Eye”

ע

Path on tree: 26th – Connecting Tiphareth to Hod

Rune: Elhaz or “Elk”
(To be Cont’d)

Tarot Card of the Day – December 23 2009 – XVI – The Devil

XVI – The Devil

Glory glimpsed then returned
to chains of mortal flesh
Can I escape and see again
what lies beyond?
If not, can I learn to love my chains
the sensation of sensation
each breath, each sight, each sound delighting me
and you, beauty and heat
besides me in the dark
also chained yet not caring,
Food we have, drink, sustenance
that we give and take from each other
the circle closes but not of our chains
of our freedom
and it all feels so good
No! Come with me and we shall escape…
only to be thrown back.
Stay with me instead
and let us indulge
and transcend…

The Devil From the Rohrig Tarot

Astrological: Capricorn
Hebrew Letter: Ayin “Eye”

ע

Path on tree: 26th – Connecting Tiphareth to Hod

Rune: Elhaz or “Elk”
(To be Cont’d)