Moving on...


Dear friends,

Our blog has migrated again...



Please visit our aging blog on Temple Illuminatus,

or visit our blog on our new website: Gharveyn.com

This is our new site for Happy Face Coins :)

love, the Grigs,

aka Grigori Rho Gharveyn, Greg Gourdian, etc, et al...



Please read and share our story:

Our Future History, How the Earth Made Peace



Enjoy!

namaste




Please Note:

NEW ! ! !
Hear us sing!
Get a Spiritual Reading!
Participate in our charitable project!


Please visit
Gharveyn's Google Pages!

New blogs and selected articles appear below the heading info at the top of our blog so if you clicked on a link to a specific blog on our site and you came here, you should find the blog you selected by paging down once or twice, or CLICK HERE for your selection or for our most recent blog...

Please also note, our index is broken. When you get the error message after selecting an article please backspace the last 9 characters from the URL in the address bar to carry on to the article requested. Thank you!




Questions, comments, looking for help?

You are welcome to comment, ask questions or request help directly by email. Our email is: greg.gourdian@gmail.com

We have been neglecting our blog and we apologise if you tried to leave a comment that we failed to respond to. Comments are now turned off because there is no way to respond to those deserving a response if you have not included your contact info in your comment, and because the spider-bots keep dropping unwanted ads in the comment areas.

Our Articles and Blogs

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Exploring Tarot

An Alternative Approach to Tarot

The following summarizes my personal approach to Tarot. Tarot is like a hologram, where the entire whole is inherent in every part (card). One can also liken Tarot to a crystal of Divine Knowledge, where we peer through the facets and perceive the whole differently with every tiny glimpse we take. A good deal has been written on Tarot, but I got tired of all that and set out to make Tarot a more personal experience. I strongly suggest you do the same. No authority on Tarot is truly authoritative; each is an individual point of view. Some build on the work of others while others attempt to strike out toward new horizons and explore Tarot for themselves. This explorative approach is the one I recommend to anyone seeking to learn more about Tarot.

Tarot appears to be a means to perform Magick as well as Divination. My exploration intimately linked the images of Tarots to the processes of Creation. The cards appear to reflect Creation and Our place within It. They may be used to glimpse the situations in Creation of any subject and the processes by which those situations were inspired to be made manifest.

Here are a few fragments of my own thoughts as I have explored Tarot, beginning with my preferred layouts and brief descriptions of the aspects of each position in the layouts.

Layouts for readings with either a minor or major cycle begin as follows:

Place the first card in the center.
This represents the subject in the present moment in its entirety.
Read this card in the context of trumps 0 and 1.
Place the second card above the first card.
This represents the conscious desire of the subject.
Read this card in the context of trumps 1 and 2.
Place the third card below the center.
This represents the unconscious desire of the subject.
Read this card in the context of trumps 2 and 3.
Place the fourth card at the top.
This represents the challenges presented by the subject’s soul.
Read this card in the context of trumps 3 and 4.
Place the fifth card at the bottom.
This represents the challenges presented by the world.
Read this card in the context of trumps 4 and 5.
Place the sixth card to the left of the center card.
This represents the immediate past.
Read this card in the context of trumps 5 and 6.
Place the seventh card to the right of the center card.
This represents the immediate future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 6 and 7.
Place the eighth card above the sixth card.
This represents what the subject consciously contributed to the immediate past.
Read this card in the context of trumps 7 and 8.
Place the ninth card below the sixth card.
This represents what the subject unconsciously contributed to the immediate past.
Read this card in the context of trumps 8 and 9.
Place the tenth card above the seventh card.
This represents what the subject consciously contributed to the immediate future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 9 and 10.
Place the eleventh card below the seventh card.
This represents what the subject unconsciously contributed to the immediate future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 10 and 11.
Place the twelfth card to the left of the sixth card.
This represents the distant past.
Read this card in the context of trumps 11 and 12.
Place the thirteenth card to the right of the seventh card.
This represents the far future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 12 and 13.

Note: To complete a major cycle layout you skip the next step and continue in the next section.

Place the fourteenth card upon the first card.
This is how the present moment has changed incorporating the reading and understanding and growth in the present moment
Read this card in the context of trumps 14 and 0.

This completes a minor cycle

To complete a reading of the major cycle the fourteenth card is placed and read differently than in a minor cycle layout, as follows.

Place the fourteenth card above the eighth card.
This is the influence of the subject’s soul on their past.
Read this card in the context of trumps 14 and 15.
Place the fifteenth card below the eighth card.
This is the influence of the world on the subject’s past
Read this card in the context of trumps 15 and 16.
Place the sixteenth card above the tenth card.
This is the influence of the subject’s soul on their future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 16 and 17.
Place the seventeenth card above the eighth card.
This is the influence of the world on the subject’s future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 17 and 18.
Place the eighteenth card above the twelfth card.
This is the influence of the subject’s soul on their past.
Read this card in the context of trumps 18 and 19.
Place the nineteenth card below the twelfth card.
This is the influence of the world on the subject’s past
Read this card in the context of trumps 19 and 20.
Place the twentieth card above the thirteenth card.
This is the influence of the subject’s soul on their future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 20 and 21.
Place the twenty-first card above the thirteenth card.
This is the influence of the world on the subject’s future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 21 and 22.
Place the twenty-second card upon the first card.
This is the influence of the world on the subject’s future.
Read this card in the context of trumps 22 and 0.


The Influences of the Trumps

Each position in the layouts is influenced by two trumps. This is because every moment is not only the present in its complete state, but is also a transitional state. The transitional state is defined by the contrast of the two trumps. The moment being scrutinized is defined by the card placed in each position of the layout.

The Major and Minor Cycles

The minor cycle is the depth of the Minor Arcana which is comprised of four five sets of fourteen cards, where each set is characterized by one of five elements, spirit, water, fire, air, and earth. The elements follow this order because all things come from spirit which has a creative or inspirational quality. Our first awareness of spirit and the world it creates is represented by water which has a receptive, perceptive or feeling quality. Our feelings or perceptions fuel our thoughts which have an illuminating, burning or energizing quality. Our thoughts lead to speaking, and our speech has the qualities of wind, air and vibrations carried upon the air. The world receives these vibrations and is transformed by them bringing the qualities of fruition, completion and satiation. All of which is the result of Spirit and returns to Spirit in the creation of the next moment. Within Spirit the past moment has initialized the present moment and created the seed of the future moment, so the cycle repeats.

But There Are Twenty-Two Trumps!

The first fourteen trumps are both a fifth suit of the Minor Arcana, as well as the initial cards of the Major Arcana. These cards are the epitome of the powers of Spirit in the Natural World. The remaining eight Trumps represent the powers of Spirit in the Spiritual World. These eight powers are concerned solely with Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Knowledge, and Spiritual Life.


Fourteen cards, Nine Vibrations, the Power of Five

In the fourteen cards of each suit the nine primary vibrations described in Numerology apply to the first nine cards; the five remaining cards form a special case of the first five vibrations. The power of five repeats in several ways: five suits, five elements, five limbs, five fingers, and so forth. Five is the vibration of change and balance; it liberates us from the past. The first nine vibrations form a complete cycle of experience. This cycle repeats endlessly, the five remaining cards are associated with the Trumps in the sense that they represent a transcendental leap beyond the nine vibrations to a state where the nine are taken as a whole and incorporated within the next five cards in its entirety. These five cards represent a degree of mastery of the nine vibrations and incorporate the lessons from the nine to the specific vibrations of the five that are numbered ten through fourteen.

The Special Case of Zero and All Which is Hidden Within It

Zero is the beginning and end of all cycles. Cycles may vary in length and elements, but all of Creation sprang forth from nothing, the Zero represents Nothing which has the magickal property of infinite potential. Only Nothing can have an infinite potential because anything else already has a manifest being and by existing it creates a self-limiting context for everything else. It is the dual nature of Nothing, both void and potential that is the wellspring of Creation.
This potential is depicted by the Pillars of the High Priestess. The infinite potential is directed by the Magick User whose power is mediated by The High Priestess who represents all that is other than the Magick User and ensures that the power granted to the Magick User will result in a Transformation that is in balance with Creation.
This process of the three powers, Zero, One and Two, taken together is the fundamental nature of The Empress. The Empress is Completion of the World in its primal Divine state, sustaining all created beings in their Natural order.
Taken together, One through Three represent a fourth process which is governed by The Emperor. The Emperor represents the Order sustained by the Empress. Only in the context of established order can any change be defined. So the Emperor precedes Change which is the fundamental aspect of the Hierophant.
The Hierophant introduces new Knowledge which in the hands of the magician becomes the power to create Change. Change takes place in response to Duality and this duality is expressed in the Lovers, where the void calls forth the desired.
The lovers represent two complete and complementary beings who each share the mastered knowledge, but who remain vulnerable to the unknown Mystery delivered by the Chariot.
The Chariot is the harbinger of the outside world, that which is beyond the known world. It brings opportunity for growth and renewal which become the foundation for Strength
Strength is needed to contend with that which external or unknown. But to apply strength one must know oneself first, and that self-knowledge is epitomized by the Hermit.
The Hermit is our link to Spirit and the knowledge that we have mastered the primary cycle of vibrations that make up the Wheel of Fortune.
Upon The Wheel of Fortune the events of our lives take on greater context and we must learn a degree of consideration that requires the Contemplation and Balance of the Hanged Man.
The Hanged Man knows that for every change something is taken in trade for that which is given. So he contemplates how best to manifest desire and what must come to end in the process. Thus The Hanged Man contemplates the End of all things, represented by Death.
Death is part of the transformative process in the first and final stage of the cycle, returning something to nothing so that the potential for something new may be realized. That which is Created by the initialization of its potential in Death has been Tempered because it emerges from the fires of creation and plunges in to the bath of Creation becoming a Gift to the World. The Tempered state of the new creation assures it is balanced and proportional to the need it has been Created to Fulfill, in balance with The World and the whole of Creation. However, our development in the world requires us to adopt a dual state of being and awareness. We internalize the key elements of creation and their expressions within ourselves which results in an internal state of duality which we employ as a means of contrasting our experiences in order to examine them and learn from them; Duality within us is represented by The Devil.
The Devil is a voice of Spirit that speaks for that which unknown to us. The Devil is also an advocate for all that we choose hold outside of ourselves. It If we hate or love, the Devil is the advocate for the hated or the beloved. The voices of Spirit which are most removed from our conscious awareness are represented by the Devil. The Devil is the instigator who stirs the cauldron of our unconscious mind so that we can create for ourselves things we have never been able to conceive of in our conscious minds. The Devil assails the Tower of our Self Knowledge and brings it tumbling down in order for us to continue to grow and learn.
The Tower represents all we have learned and used to support our ego. The Tower must be toppled if we are to engage The World beyond ourselves. So long as The Tower stands we remain contained within ourselves and can admit nothing new into our lives. But without new things in our lives we stagnate. Thus we always dream and aspire for new things to renew ourselves. Those dreams and aspirations are represented by The Star.
The Star is distant, yet compelling; we seek its mystery and rejoice in its light. The Star represents the aspirations of our Spirit in our lives and our first conscious glimpses of our hidden desires. The processes represented by the Devil, The Tower, and The Star liberate us from our past and renew us from our future. These processes are collectively summarized in by the symbol of The Moon.
The Moon summarizes the conscious and unconscious activity of our minds that continually destroys and recreates the edifice of our knowledge and takes us to new heights. The Moon becomes a resting place where the fertile grounds for our continued growth become renewed in an endless cycle. With The Moon consciousness one can step outside of oneself and see the World through the eyes of other beings. This further liberates us, for from the perspective of other beings lives our perception of our own life is revitalized and we become more resplendent, so that our Spirit shines forth with the power and the glory of The Sun.
The Sun represents the epitome of our Spirit and the Beauty of our Lives. It is all that is Joyous and Grateful and Generous within ourselves. That Generosity is our Gift to The World and exemplifies the best of our Will and intentions. But, as always, that which we Give to The World also Takes Away, and in the end the balance which must be maintained must arise from our own Judgement.
Judgement calls to us from our soul and pronounces that which is good and allows it to pass from our hearts and prayers into manifest The World. That which is within us that is old and decayed is transformed into that which we will become through the process of Judgment which winnows the wheat from our shafts to provide sustenance for that which is good so that the good in our lives is nourished and all else is returned to Creation and recycled. Thus are we reborn into The World where our primary Gift to Creation is Ourselves.
The World represents the ultimate state of Creation and our place within Creation and our ultimate state of Being Ourselves. The World becomes our playground. It is the epitome of what we seek at the end of every cycle, so the World represents the culmination of cycles and the fruition of our highest aspirations. The World, completed must pass away into Nothing so that The World may be remade again and again in the Natural cycle of Creation. So the World in its Completed State lacks Nothing, and it brings Nothing into Creation, because the world, to be complete must embrace Nothing and be consumed by it.

And of course, from Nothing it All begins again.



The Elemental Influences

The Elemental influences are Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Spirit.

Air is our first action in life, we breathe.
Air is represented by the suit of Swords and the color yellow. Air may also be represented by an upright Isosceles triangle with a bar drawn horizontally through the center, and the color Yellow. Air is a communicative process that expresses our desires to spirit, creation and the world around us.

Water is our second action in life, we experience.
Water is represented by the suit of Cups and the color Blue. Water may also be represented by an inverted Isosceles triangle. Water is a receptive process through by which our awareness of spirit, creation and our world grows.

Fire is our third action in life, we think.
Fire is represented by the suit of Wands and the color Red. Fire may also be represented by an upright Isosceles triangle. Fire is thoughtful process whereby we refine our minds by our consideration our experiences of spirit, creation and the world we live in.

Earth is our fourth action in life, we create.
Earth is represented by the suit of Pentacles and the color Green. Earth may also be represented by an inverted Isosceles triangle with a bar drawn horizontally through the center. Earth is a transformational process that manifests our thoughts in spirit, creation and the world we share with one another.

Spirit is our fifth action in life, we learn.
Spirit is represented by the Trumps or Major Arcana and the color Purple. Spirit may also be represented by such symbols as a circle, a star, or a Star of David. Spirit is a process that encompasses all of our powers whereby we continually rediscover ourselves in order to explore all of our potentials in spirit, creation and the worlds we create.