Monthly Archives: March 2011

Thoth – Rider-Waite

The Origin: Passion, Action, and Creativity

The Ace of Wands. It corresponds to the element of fire, and the Sefirot Kether. Kether is the eternal spirit, perfection, unity, purity, force, emanation, and the seed. In terms of the Naples Arrangement, Kether is the point; the first manifestation of the idea of position in nothing. As the first emanation and appearance of the suit of Wands – and the element of Fire – the Ace of Wands represents the unified ideal of the suit of Wands in its most spiritual, pure, and abstract form.

So then, the Aces of Wands can be said to represent the pure idea of the suit of Wands. What, then, is this pure idea?

Wands represent fire. Fire, in turn, represents passion, action, and aggression. It is in many ways the opposite of Cups (Water), representing one half of one of the two dualities that define the four suits (Action/Passivity, Abstraction/Practicality). The Ace of Wands is the beginning of the path that the suit of Wands will take down the Sefirot, and is untainted by the influences of the Sefirot below Kether.

The Rider-Waite illustration shows a hand coming forth from a cloud – emerging from the realm of the eternal spirit (Kether) to give the bearer the Wand – this symbolizes the pure, untamed nature of the Ace, and its origins as outside of the world (not to mention the idea of the ace as the origin of the suit). The Thoth illustration of the card shows a very red, yellow, and orange (the colors of fire) wand, with zig-zagging, lightning-like emanations coming from it, representing the force, power, and otherworldly origins of this card. The presence only of these fiery hues also represents the card’s purity.

Now, the abstract is all well and good, but practically, what words best represent this card? If it comes up in a reading, what does it mean to me? Of course its meaning depends on its position in the spread, but generally, this card to me means Passion, Action, and Creativity. It represents the most powerful and pure form of extreme passion, the active manipulation of one’s surroundings, and the burst of energy associated with the first forays into the act of creation (Creative Force). There is nothing negative about this (or indeed, any of the aces), as they represent perfection. To a lesser extent, this card also symbolizes courage, confidence, and enthusiasm, though these qualities appear at the “lower” end of the card, nearer to the influence of the other Sefirot.

When used as practical advice, the Ace of Wands office is encouraging the querent to exemplify the qualities of the suit of Wands – encouraging them to be active, creative, and passionate – or to look at how these qualities are affecting their life, and possible acknowledge their presence if they are there already.

A reversed Ace of Wands (I read reversed cards as “blocking” the flow of energy of the card, so that the energy may be there, but will be lessened, hidden, or distorted somehow) could indicate a need to scale back the qualities of the suit of Wands, or that the energy of this suit is struggling to express itself but somehow finds itself blocked – or that the pure energy of the Ace of Wands has become twisted somehow, and that one should see if they can correct the twist.

The Sefirot of Kether also has an elemental association with fire, which makes the Ace of Wands the origin of fire of fire, which earns it a special place in the Tree of Life and the Tarot. To me, the Ace of Wands is also the ultimate origin; it most purely represents the Sefirot of Kether, the divine spirit and perfect emanation. The card itself represents the divine spirit and energy, and can be said to be behind Afflatus Divine, the passion of the act of sex, and the dominating will of God. The Ace of Wands, then, is truly the start of the Tarot, and the origin of the rest of the cards, containing more energy than the others, that allow it to give birth to the Tree of Life.

The Tarot are representatives of our life-course and the world around us. In the Tarot Challenge, I will be going through each of the seventy-eight cards and explaining to my fullest ability what each card means to me. As the cards are largely subjective, they mean different things to different people. My thoughts on the cards come from two major sources: the first is my interpretations of the deck I learned to read Tarot with, the Rider-Waite deck, and the second is my interpretation of the Thoth deck and the cards’ relation to the tree of life. For the more practical interpretation of each card, I lean more on the meanings of the simplistic artwork of the Rider-Waite deck, but for the more abstract and deeper voices of the cards, I lean more on Crowley’s Thoth deck and his (and my own) interpretations of the Tarot with regards to the Sefirot and the Tree of Life.

The way that I envision the Tarot is as a divided representative of the Tree of Life; the Kabbalistic idea of how the divine energy of EinSof flows from heaven to earth, manifesting itself. Each numbered card in the suit, 1-10, represents one of the ten Sefirot; Kether, Chokmah, Binah, Chesed, Geburah, Tiphareth, Netzach, Hog, Yesod, and Malkuth. The meaning of each of these Sefirot and how they apply to the cards, as well as words on the organization and nature of them, will be delved into in more detail after I finish discussing each card. The suits of each card shape the way that each numbered card manifests the Sefirot they represent. Additionally, each Sefirot represents a number in the Naples arrangement: Position, Line, Plane, Matter, Motion, Experience, Bliss, Knowledge, Being, and Reality. Essentially, each Sefirot represents one level of the world’s – and life’s – basic construction.

The four court cards in each suit correspond to a particular Sefirot as well: Kings are Chokmah (the active male), Queens are Binah (the passive female), Princes are Tiphareth (Experience), and Princesses are Malkuth (Reality). Again, the suit of the court cards also reflects how they express each Sefirot; each court card also represents distinctive personalities we may see in ourselves and those around us, and between them all cover most aspects of personality that we see.

The Major Arcana, on the Tree of Life, are placed between each of the Sefirot. As such, they represent the paths the energy from EinSof must take to reach the Earth. In this sense, they also reflect the natures of the Sefirot that they connect. Additionally, when number 0-XXI, they tell the story of one’s life from a baby to their integration with the world.

Keep in mind that throughout this whole challenge I will be referring to “male” and “female” dualities and characteristics. Due to my sociological training, this is hard for me in many respects, so here I would like to emphasize that I acknowledge that gender is not binary but rather is a spectrum, nor is there any “right” way to do gender. I am merely using the antiquated terms philosophically.

Right, so I got some time to do a Tarot reading. Earlier, I made a post in which I analyzed the uprising in Egypt using the Celtic Cross Tarot Spread. Now, I aim to analyze the Middle Eastern situation as it currently is – using Joan Bumming’s Yin Yang Spread. Educate yourselves. The question: what are the opposing perspectives in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East between governments and the people? using the Thoth Deck:

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Central Matter One: The Empress – Unity. Caring. Motherly. Nurturing. Sensual. Sexual. Nature. Passion. Interesting, as I don’t see this card represented at all really in the situation except for the last. The card isn’t reversed, either, so this card is not representing a lack of something – but the presence of it. I think, in this case, we should be looking at passion, then – which certainly can be seen, especially in Libya, with civil war, a leader desperately clinging on to power, and the people trying to take it from him. The card could also represent the people’s desire to be a nurturing figure to country as an abstract principle; by overthrowing the Western-backed dictators, they are doing a good deed for the country, and allowing themselves to nurture it back to its full potential.

Central Matter Two: Queen of Cups. A personality, most likely, as this is a court card. Cups – emotion figures into it. Queen – the “feminine.” The water of water. Reflectivity, passivity, dreaminess, fantasy. But… this could also indicate distortion of reality – on the parts of the dictators? Qaddafi certainly is guilty of this, with his ideological trickery, and his denial of the unrest – and Ahmadinejad is as well, with his denial of the Holocaust. They project peace to hide the turmoil that lurks within; and indeed, the figure on the card is obscured partly by smoke. Truth being hidden by powerful personalities strikes me here, as tranquility is transmitted – but in the end, the true nature of the country will be reflected when the ripples on the surface of the water cease.

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Government Official Stance/Desired Impression: Five of Disks – Worry. Instability. Strain. Helplessness? Could this indicate that the stance the governments are taking is that the people are bringing instability to the previously stable countries? This could be argued to be true; maybe the situation was terrible before, but it was stable. The governments might also be arguing that the country has hit upon hard times, which triggered this unnecessary revolution; but whatever it is, unrest and worry is part of the government’s stance. Likely, squelching this worry is also part of it. Alternatively, the government could be expressing worry and concern about this unrest, taking the card’s name literally, and trying to come off as putting the interests of the people at heart, though this may be false; a distortion, perchance?

Government Conscious Thoughts/Ideal Goal: Knight of Swords – Fitting that a court card be here, as the governments are typically strong individuals (dictators). This card, the fire of air, indicates ferocity, managed violence, clever subtlety, and an ideological drive. The dictators in charge certainly are ferocious and violent, but manage these parts of themselves in such a way that they appear only to be acting in the best interests of the people – certainly a manifestation of ideology, yes? And subtle and clever their propaganda and manipulations have been as well, to remain in power for so long. In this position, the government is conscious of these actions, and might even embrace them. However, this card can also represent fragility – the government, having seen others topple, knows that its rule is not unshakable. They can be toppled. As an ideal, the government will take on these characteristics even more so to increase its power.

Government Unconscious Thoughts: The Hanged Man. Things not being as they seem. Suspension. Letting things happen. Perhaps, somewhere deep down inside, the governments have resigned themselves to their fate, and though trying to put off their loss of power, know that it is inevitable, and that things will be turned upside down; and perhaps they also realize that the only way for them to win is to step down peacefully and let the country grow again, though their conscious thoughts prevent this from manifesting.

Government Guidance: The Eight of Cups – Indolence. In order to “fix” the situation, the most relevant meanings of the cards here seem to be surrender and moving on – the government has lost, or will lose. Tying in with the Hanged Man, they should just accept this and move on.

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The People’s Official Stance/Desired Impression:  The Princess of Disks. A persona – the Earth of Earth. Potential, beauty, the ability to create and give birth. That is exactly the image the people want to have – they want to remake their country, to give birth to and create something beautiful;to make it sublime. They see themselves as holding the future, and will make the world a better place.

The People’s Conscious Thoughts/Ideal Goal: Three of Wands – Virtue. Blossoming. Conception. Morality. Leading by example. Foresight. At the forefront of the peoples’ thoughts is the fiery passion if new birth and growth – the development of a new nation, ruled not by the whims of petty dictators, but ruled with the long-term goals of the people in mind; ruled with foresight. This card could also represent that the people are concerned with the morality of the constant situation, and seek to bring an element of humanitarianism in with them. Achieving this state of virtue is their ideal goal.

The People’s Unconscious Thoughts: Princess of Cups [Reversed]. Interesting; to me, a reversed card in an unconscious position reinforces the fact that the thought is unconscious – and perhaps even being suppressed. Another court card, the personality this represents is one of perpetual rapture, romance, inner exploration, and gentleness. These qualities certainly aren’t being expressed; perhaps they indicate suppressed desires? Perhaps the people aren’t looking into their own motives for overthrowing the dictators? Is it that the people want to be able to be happy and live in the wild and joyous abandon of the Princess of Cups, but can’t, which is why they are attempting their revolt? This card is probably the least clear to me – but I am not good with court cards.

The People’s Guidance: Five of Cups – Disappointment. Unexpected disturbance. Triumph of matter over spirit. The latter seems most relevant to me; in the end, though their cries and chants are often ideologically defined, what drives the revolutionaries and will lead to their success is the admittance that what they want is material; they want material, tangible benefits denied to them by the dictator. The question is; will they get these benefits, or will the be disappointed; like they have been Egypt so far with the military? They should be wary of disappointment; they might not get what they expected or wanted.

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Guidance for Both: Ace of Cups. Emotional force; the birth of emotion. Intimacy. Love. Intuition. Seems simple(ish) to me, and very generic and kind of cheesy; they need to understand and respect each other (intimacy, love). The government should acknowledge the peoples’ wishes, and the people should acknowledge the government’s stake in the matter, and what will be lost. Will this happen? Likely not. Should it? I myself am divided on this. Emotion will play a key role in resolving this conflict; people’s ways of life will change, and with it, emotions will run high. Acknowledging and using these emotions will benefit both sides.

Outcome if Nothing Changes: Three of Disks – Works. Teamwork. Planning. Construction. Competence. A pretty good card, if I might say so myself. If the situation doesn’t change, construction will begin – but construction of what? I took this to mean of new nations, as “construction” does not imply “renovation,” which would have indicated the regime holding on to power. The people will cooperate and work together to build a nation that will function and work well (competence). Maybe, then, the situation should carry on as it is. The government will suffer, but the people will not in the end.

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So there you have it. Lots of court cards; personalities and strong characteristics of populations will play large roles. They could be indicating the roles of dictators. Lots of cups as well, indicating the charged emotions involved. Also note that the cups that appear (other than the Queen) are in the positions for “guidance” – all sides should, then, perhaps, let their intuition guide them to reach the best possible outcome. Disks are present in both sides’ public images, interestingly; both sides want to be seen as offering the practical solution, and to be seen also as being grounded in reality. When thinking about this reading, I was drawing mostly in Libya – were my thoughts guiding me to the next major site of change in the Middle East?

Well, there are my thoughts on the matter reflected in the cards. Think about it while I get some sleep.