This chapter is a guide to draw the reader’s attention to the detail in the illustrations with suggested commentary and interpretations of the symbolism. These suggestions, which are based on the actual information expressed in each pictograph and sequence of numbering, are not intended to be the one and only definitive set of interpretations: it is up to the individual to study and read into the cards whatever may be meaningful for them. Inevitably, there will be personal preferences and diverse variations that will arise when deciphering or ‘reading’ the cards in a spread.
The cards of the Major Arcana represent the 21 steps we can take on the path to self-knowledge and spiritual transformation – from The Magician (I) to The World (XXI) – plus a twenty-second, unnumbered card: The Fool. (The designers of some modern Tarot decks have rearranged the Major Arcana cards in a different sequence, while others have omitted numbering them altogether to suit their own interpretation of the Tarot.)
In the previous chapter we explored a broad interpretation of the symbolism attributed to the numbers 1 to 22. At this stage it is only natural to ask whether this symbolism also applies to the Roman numerals on each of the 21 cards of the Major Arcana, or do their numerals simply indicate the sequence of the 21 milestones or steps that mark the path to self-knowledge? The answer to this question will become apparent in later chapters when we explore the cards of the Minor Arcana. In the present chapter, the description of each of the 22 pictographs of the Major Arcana includes an explanation of the symbolic significance of the actual number of each card based on the symbolism set out in the previous chapter. The cards of the Major Arcana are illustrated in full colour in the plate section.
The 22nd card The Fool, sometimes known as The Joker, is unnumbered. It can either be thought of as zero – meaning ‘unmanifested’ – or interpreted as number 22, meaning ‘entry into eternal life’ or as pi (π) representing infinity. (See plate 1.)
The Fool is ‘within’ each one of the other 21 Major Arcana cards and inevitably will appear and influence our progress at any point along the path.
The Fool is a male figure personifying both the Masculine and the Feminine Principles in both men and women. His face could be that of a mature man, or perhaps the semblance of a ‘designer-style’ beard suggests a more youthful character. Maybe the protruding jaw represents his manner of ‘sticking his chin out’ – one of the traits of a naïve person. The elaborate headgear with its red bauble expresses an eccentricity, or it may conceal an abundance of hair to suggest that – like other pilgrims – his hair is left uncut until he returns home. He is on a journey, travelling to his left.
The neckpiece of bells, his tunic, girdle and a pair of blue hose or cloth leggings, usually worn by working people, are similar to those worn by late-14th-century court jesters. A dog bites the back of his leg, ripping his hose and exposing his right upper thigh. In his left hand, but over his right shoulder, he is carrying a bag of his worldly possessions and sustenance. The white stick suggests he may be searching for transformation from the burden of carrying his material goods and the golden staff in his right hand is intended to protect and help him on his way along the fertile but difficult and uneven terrain.
His gaze skyward suggests he may be day-dreaming. Certainly he is unaware of the dog (instinctual protection) attacking him from behind (his unconsciousness) trying to draw his attention from where he is heading.
The Fool is unnumbered: it can be zero, which ineffably encompasses everything; it can be the 22nd card (22 is the ancient number for a circle – the circle of life) or it can be neither or both. He is in no one place but is present in each of the 21 numbered cards like anti-matter in quantum physics. We are like The Fool: pathetic in our struggle to reach a higher level of consciousness. He personifies every phase of our life from being naïve and arrogant, carrying the heavy baggage of our worldly goods and psychological conditioning, to becoming an evolved, transformed person of wisdom who lives by grace and one who has learned to be a ‘man/woman of knowledge’.
The Fool may be a precocious, foolish, immature character who, like Peter Pan – the Puer Aeternus – is full of youthful vigour and only wants to play games. In this mode he is mischievous, capricious, idealistic, lacking discipline and is often an unreliable lover. These negative aspects may be summed up by Robert Bly’s definition of a naïve person:
• Believes everyone is honest, sincere, straightforward and speaks from the heart
• Will lose what is most precious because he or she knows no boundaries
• Will confide last night’s special dream to a stranger
• Has special relationships but never examines or recognizes their shadow
• Picks up the pain of others and is attracted to other people who share their pain (Listening to people’s pain is compassionate, but sharing pain is a negative indulgence because there is no need or benefit to carry other people’s pain.)
• Lacks a natural compassionate ruthlessness (won’t kick children out of the nest)
• Will not agree to follow instructions but also won’t admit that he or she is ignoring the instructions – whatever they may be
• The timing is always off
• Acts out self-enforced periods of isolation
• Sinks into moods of deep depression
• Wants to remain sick
• Feels pride in being attacked and ‘bares his chest’ (or sticks out his chin) for more1.
As we saw in the three-act play (see page 21), naivety invites betrayal – this is the psyche at work, setting up attractive people and situations until the relevant lessons are learned.
However, The Fool can represent perception, developed intuition, versatility and wisdom – one who can act the fool light-heartedly without being foolish or foolhardy. The Fool can have all the attributes of Castaneda’s ‘Man of Knowledge’ as well as being able to turn the conventional world upside down as we do on April Fool’s Day. In medieval courts the fool, jester or clown was the king’s alter ego and the only person the king or queen could turn to for an honest opinion without taking offence. His youthful, child-like ‘clowning about’ could hide from others a deeper understanding of whatever issues were at hand.
The Fool represents aspects of each one of us as the Hero or Heroine on our journey through life. The card is the ‘joker’ in the pack and, as we shall see later, its significance is dependent upon where it appears in a spread and the other cards around it, which will indicate either naivety or maturity. This card flags up a warning that something is not exactly as it may appear to be – i.e. we need to pause before taking action – or it may herald a quirk of fate with unexpected twists and turns that may inspire us to change our way of thinking or even enjoy the unexpected outcome! When we dwell in darkness and confusion, it is through The Fool that we can emerge from the shadow and progress from illusion to self-realization.
The 21 cards from The Magician to The World can best be read as three segments of seven cards each (see plate 2).
The first group of seven cards on our journey of initiation begins with The Magician and ends with The Chariot. They represent the process of learning and overcoming the fear of stepping into unknown territory.
The second group begins with Justice and ends with Temperance. These are the steps that lead to clarity of mind.
The third group, from The Devil to The World, is the final and the most demanding sector of the journey. Here we encounter The Devil and The Tower of Destruction to warn of the dangers of believing that our newly acquired clarity of mind and sense of feeling invincible may induce a temptation to misuse the power. If we do not succumb to these fateful hazards, we can proceed to complete the heroic journey to freedom and self-knowledge.
The Magician is a beardless youth with white hair and golden ringlets. The dominant, overlarge hat, similar to the Italian style of the period, is in the shape of the lemniscate or curve of ribbons and is reminiscent of the figure of eight on its side, the mathematical sign for infinity or completeness.
According to Barbara Walker, the lemniscate is composed of a clockwise (male, solar) circle and an anti-clockwise (female, lunar) circle and represents the two becoming one – a universal theme that is also expressed through the Taoist symbol for Yin and Yang.2
The choice of an eccentric, motley, multi-coloured tunic and hose – even his shoes don’t match – expresses his uniqueness that marks him out from the crowd. It also suggests opposing energies. There is a resemblance to The Fool’s tunic and gold belt. The Magician’s downward gaze to his right suggests that he is less concerned with the worldly accoutrements laid out on the table than with his inner world. His left hand tentatively holds a wand (a magic rod of power and intuition) and in his right hand, held by his fingertips, he has a gold coin representing the material world. Although his feet are planted firmly on the fertile ground, they are pointing in different directions.
The three-legged table looks decidedly too unstable to support the objects of gold coins, a cup, a knife, a blue feather, some dice and a bag (of tricks?) which may represent the five elements and ‘the luck of the dice’. All these, including his magic wand of creative intelligence, inspiration and imagination, are the essential ‘tools’ he will need on life’s journey. He is still an uninitiated neophyte but has the infinite potential to use the gifts at his disposal to integrate his innate spirituality with his material earthiness. Used wisely, these gifts will enable him to discover and develop the necessary self-awareness to become a complete and fully realized person: otherwise the naïve Fool will prevail and he will remain the little boy – the Puer Aeternus.
In our daily lives we can meet real magicians in their many guises: they might be a sorcerer, a confidence trickster, a manipulator, a ‘creative accountant’, a seducer and juggler of money and emotions. In their positive mode, he or she could be an analyst, a researcher, creative inventor, a writer, thinker and planner, ‘Q’ in the James Bond films, the Enigma code-breakers. These people are the ‘back-room boys and girls’ who prefer to work behind the scenes rather than be in the limelight.
The Magician is the trickster who needs to understand and come to terms with his shadow to control the temptation to misuse his innate talents and power. His story (our story) begins with a departure from a familiar and comfortable way of life in order to meet strangers and travel along unfamiliar pathways.
Although he is a young person, he has infinite potential. As card number I, he embodies the Divine Spirit present within us all.
Her hair, the symbol of female psychic and sexual power, is concealed under a white wimple headdress. The jewelled ecclesiastical triple crown signifies her spiritual status and intellectual prowess. She is gazing straight ahead to her right because she knows by heart the contents of the book of spiritual laws that hold the keys to secret doctrines.
Her voluminous, flowing blue mantle (healing and emotional strength), with its gold collar and neckpiece and the gold fastening across her breast, are in the traditional Norman fashion of the 13th century. The mantle covers her red cotte (spiritual fire energy) and flesh-coloured kirtle.
Figure 3: II The High Priestess
Partly hidden under the mantle is a gold wand, indicating her magical rod of occult power. With the exception of her hands and gently smiling face, her body is completely concealed under the costume and, as we cannot detect her feet, we can only surmise that she is not earth-bound. She sits comfortably on her throne and behind her head is a veil or curtain that protects the secrets of divine wisdom from the uninitiated. Here, the neophyte is committed to follow a path that leads to the first encounter with spiritual discipline and feminine wisdom.
This card number II symbolizes the Feminine Principle and duality. The High Priestess personifies both virginity (innocence) and the wise old crone (spirituality), but it also implies the separation and isolation of the independent woman who, like Persephone, dwells in the underworld but re-emerges with the coming of Spring and then descends again in the Winter.
Like The High Priestess, The Empress also wears an elaborate, temporal jewelled crown that sits easily on her head, but her white hair expresses her overt sexuality and flowing transformation. She too is gazing ahead, but half towards her left. The blue cotte is pulled up to show her red kirtle and, like women of high rank of the period, the waist is ungirdled to leave the dress long and flowing.
The heavily ornamented gold collar and girdle beneath her breast mark her as a royal person possessing material wealth. This is reinforced by the shield emblazoned with an eagle (spirit within matter, and the protective, all-seeing eye) facing in the same direction and held in her right hand. In her left hand she lightly carries a golden orb (Mother Earth) and sceptre (phallic rod of power). The cross and band on the sceptre link Heaven with Earth and the marriage of masculine and feminine – the king and queen.
Although her concealed feet may not be completely on the ground, the outline of her open thighs suggest the full range of Aphrodite’s attributes: sensuality, erotic love, compassion, harmony, beauty, fertility and abundance. Her comfortable and open posture on the well-upholstered throne might imply that she is receptive to sexual advances.
The Empress personifies the tangible World; the collective consciousness; our relationship of body and spirit and the creative feminine forces. In her negative mode she can become over-emotional, possessive, overbearingly dominant and stifle the creativity in others. If she is ‘a little girl’ she will want to keep her sons as little boys and not allow their independence. When she is a benevolent Mother Goddess she can stimulate, heal, encourage versatility and vitality and, as with all fertile women, she experiences cyclical changes and variable seasons.
Here the neophyte experiences the full-blooded range of The Empress’s anima principle (intuition) and the world of the senses and the tangible universe. Number III is about creating resolutions through mediation and compassion.
The ornate, almost too-heavy-to-wear crown suggests he carries weighty responsibilities and has supreme authority. His full white beard and tresses are the mark of a mature man who is not necessarily wise but one who rules by reason and intellect. He is fully turned to his right, looking ahead. The white shoes, his crossed leg and his stance, balanced only on one foot, could indicate that although he has great wealth and power, he treads lightly on the earth. He is perched rather than sitting firmly on an elaborately carved throne, which is fitted with well-padded upholstery and devoid of concealing drapery. Although relaxed, he is poised ready to take action. His crossed legs form the shape of a letter ‘S’ – the symbol for sulphur (see Yellow, page 40, and Sulphur, page 45).
The elaborate gold chain and jewel pendant (the burden of responsibility) also marks his royal status. The blue tunic and hose with a red cope (a hooded cloak) indicate that his principal mode of thinking and action is controlled by a passionate rationality rather than emotional considerations, while the golden girdle grasped in his left hand suggests that he trusts his earthy ‘gut’ feelings.
In contrast to The Empress, his right hand carries a heavier weight of orb and sceptre held in an upright position; his shield is also more elaborately decorated and the eagle faces the same direction as him. Again, unlike The Empress, he has no need to hold on to or carry the shield’s symbol of power: he knows he can use it whenever he chooses. The eagle’s claws span over the golden fertile earth.
The Emperor is the father figure – the animus – and both he and The Empress rule over the same realm. He exudes the virility and self-assertion of a powerful king and lawmaker who relies on rationality and strength of intellect. Number IIII personifies materiality and the material world.
A king can be a benevolent leader who blesses and encourages rather than offering nothing but criticism; he will be a protector who understands limitations and acts wisely. Alternatively, he can rule like a tyrant or weakling, with no sense of boundaries or justice, whose unrealistic ambitions can lead to failure or loss.
When the neophyte meets The Emperor, he or she confronts authority, order, the rules of self-discipline and behaviour, which will threaten any childish behaviour. Any traces of pride, frustration, rebelliousness and selfishness would hinder or even completely block further progress along the path.
The bejewelled triple crown expresses power over the three worlds – the exoteric, mesoteric and esoteric realms – and a rich knowledge and mastery of the mysteries of life. His white flowing hair and full beard signify maturity and wisdom, which are similar to The Emperor’s but reflect a spiritual rather than a temporal or Earthly plane of existence. (An abundance of hair and beard marked out a person who had been on a pilgrimage.) The red cope edged in gold, fastened with a mors – an ecclesiastical jewelled fastening – covers the voluminous blue robe that envelops the whole of his body. The sleeves of his undergarment are white: his right hand is blessing his congregation, and in his gloved left hand (concealing an iron fist?) he holds a triple cross to reinforce the threefold symbolism of the crown.
The throne raises him above the exoteric, material plane. It has two blue phallic symbols that may refer to the two pillars representing firmness and strength in the Temple of Solomon, the wise ruler.
Kneeling at his feet are four students or disciples (are they the four elements?) wearing copes and rolled cloth hats suggesting their humble status, but the hole in the centre of the headpiece – similar to the shaved tonsure of monks – indicates they are receptive to The Pope’s wisdom and enlightenment which penetrates the skull to the pineal gland. The Pope is a ‘king’ of orthodox spiritual doctrine; a teacher, and one who can reveal to us the unknown that bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth. He offers the opportunity to transform purely material desires into loving generosity; to overcome physical needs and thus avoid compulsive attachments, and how to set aside an extravagant, obsessive lifestyle in exchange for balanced simplicity.
The four archetypes – teachers if you will – The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor and The Pope express the values of tradition and self-discipline to initiate us into the realms of the material, psychological and spiritual worlds. The experiences, rules, routine and order can be demanding and even claustrophobic but without our acceptance, we cannot progress.
Number V represents the four elements plus the spiritual realm of ether.
The central figure is The Lover. He is youthful with a head of abundant golden hair and wears no hat (has he lost The Magician’s sense of the infinite?). His multi-coloured tunic implies he is uncertain about his mode of thinking, feeling and attitude towards life but he is grasping a golden girdle (his gut feelings) with his right hand. His nakedness from the waist down accentuates a youthful vulnerability and lack of wealth. Here is a confused person: should he go with the younger woman who may promise him a temporal life of sensual bodily comforts or follow the older, wiser woman on his right whose restraining hand gently rests on his shoulder. The young woman’s gestures appear to be demanding him to make a choice. His feet are pointing in opposite directions telling us he is racked with indecision as to which path to follow. He is at a crossroads: which path will he take – virtue or vice, temporal or eternal, love or fear? If he chooses fear, his path will be negative, implosive and remain in the dark. If he chooses love (meaning that aspect of Divine Love which manifests itself as ‘love of the Self within the self’, or respect for the body as the ‘temple of spirit’ – not to be confused with ‘narcissism’), his path will be positive, expansive and in the light. The dilemma is that the price of free will is responsibility and the fear of knowing that every choice we make inevitably has consequences.
Above him a cherub is about to fire an arrow of love (or lust) and yet the white shaft suggests it will bring about his transformation. Is this cherub the mischievous and wilful Amor-like god who creates confusion and never grows up, or could it be The Lover’s guardian angel (his higher self)? Either way, the creature is obscuring the light of the Sun (consciousness and clarity of mind). The Lover’s face, although full of longing, is looking to the older woman: will she prevent him from taking any rash decision, and will he commit himself to a path of freedom through maturity and wisdom?
If the negative path of self-indulgence is followed, it will lead to disruption, frustrating inertia and fatigue in forever searching for the mythical tall, dark stranger who will resolve all our difficulties.
An old Roman myth tells us about the god who became enraged by some misdemeanour of the first human mortal who, at that time, was a creature who possessed one body with two heads and two sets of arms and legs. In his rage the god took a cleaver and chopped the mortal in two. Both halves ran off in opposite directions and, ever since, each half has been searching the world to find the other half he or she belongs to.
There is no loss of ‘masculinity’ in a man who seeks or has found and expresses the Feminine Principle of intuition, Yin, the Moon and right-brain modes. The ‘macho’ man will always be ‘one-sided’, unless all the masculine symbols of Logos, Apollo, Yang, the Sun and left-brain modes become balanced with the feminine. The same applies equally to women, who need to bring into balance the traits of the Masculine Principle. When these two principles are integrated, the person becomes androgynous; it ends the striving to seek ‘out there’ his perfect woman or her perfect man, because the missing ‘she’ or ‘he’ is discovered to already exist within ourself. Once this dynamic balance has been attained, the ‘perfect other half’ will appear.
The number VI symbolizes a marriage and creativity. Here, The Lover has the opportunity to integrate the Masculine and Feminine Principles by drawing to himself the intuition of the anima and consummate the sacred marriage. This is the time for him to accept and value the process rather than having pre-conceived expectations and hoped-for-outcomes.
To progress on the path we need tenacity, commitment and courage.
The neophyte Lover has become a Charioteer. He is still a beardless, youthful person with flowing golden hair but has earned the right to be a young pretender to the throne and wear a coronet. In his right hand he carries the semblance of an orb and sceptre (minus the cross of spirituality); his left hand holds his golden girdle and he wears the costume and breastplate of a warrior. The red-faced epaulettes on his shoulders represent the family armorial bearings intended to vigilantly guard and protect his flanks. These faces are gazing upward but the draped canopy obscures the limitless sky or upper realms. The four columns may represent the four rivers of paradise or, in this case, the four elements supporting the fifth element of ether.
The Chariot is a vehicle to take him on a journey into unfamiliar territory. He has reached the point where he has the courage to release the reins to allow the pair of horses (instinctive life force) to take him to an unknown destination. He is looking to his right and although both animals are heading in the same direction as the Charioteer, the hooves of the blue horse are veering the other way and about to explore the fertile land beneath them.
The wheel in the background indicates the cyclical rhythms of Nature – and Fate? (The significance of the emblem on the chariot has yet to be revealed but, generally, shields symbolize the protection of the ego.)
Having relinquished all resistance he embarks on a journey, conveyed by his basic instincts. Inevitably he will experience the conflict between a desire for security and control and a deep-seated need (or compulsion) to discard caution and fear by following the path that will/might lead him to his higher self-understanding and freedom. Although he is still a young, relatively immature man and knows he has a long way to go on this lonely journey, he has learned from the earlier teachings and training from the archetypes of the preceding cards and has now resolved to ‘flee the nest’. If he lacks the self-confidence to travel alone, then he will not progress and all that he has been through and achieved so far will be wasted or misused for negative purposes. The neophyte must forego acting the naïve, eternal youth.
Options can dissipate the energies, but once a decision has been made it immediately concentrates the energy and focuses on the desired outcome.
The Chariot brings to an end the first of the three phases of the path of transformation – i.e. the process of learning and confronting the fear of stepping into unknown territory. This also marks the end of childhood and childishness.
Justice is balanced, unbiased and fair, favouring neither left nor right but looking at us straight in the eye. The flesh-coloured hair gives the impression that she is asexual except, like The Empress, she sits poised on the throne with open thighs. The heavy crown denotes her high-ranking status but the soft, cushion-like lower part separates her head and heart from the upper crown design which is more akin to a traditional insignia of royalty. In other words, her function is not influenced by the temporal, political affairs of state. Held upright in her right hand is the Sword of Truth and in her left hand she carries the scales that weigh the balance of law, order, compassion and forgiveness.
Her blue mantle and red cotte are similar to those worn by The High Priestess except that her kirtle undergarment is gold and it seems her feet are firmly grounded on the soil. The gold neckband and decorated collar signify her position of authority and her golden seat repeats the curved-back form of the thrones of the High Priestess and The Empress – a form of throne that appears in late-13th/early-14th-century paintings of the Madonna and Child by Cimabue and Duccio.
Justice is the balance of forces that create harmony, forthrightness and fairness, and forge an enduring link between the temporal realm of The Empress and The Emperor and the spiritual realm of The High Priestess and The Pope.
Number VIII marks the beginning of a new octave and the beginning of the second stage of the path – i.e. the steps that lead to ‘clarity of mind’. Here the neophyte must learn to take responsibility for his/her every thought, deed and contractual agreement or promise – whether implied, oral or written – and to accept there will always be consequences.
Without Justice there can only be chaos, dishonour and untruths – a situation in which we become the cause of our own undoing. In other words, our lives must be governed by order and by respect for certain limitations and restraints, and for family obligations and relationships.
The Hermit is an old man of wisdom and knowledge. His flesh-coloured face, flowing hair and full beard are similar to the colourings of Justice and, like The Pope, suggest he has been – and still is – on a long pilgrimage. He wears no crown or headpiece to display a temporal office or status. In his left hand he holds a crooked staff to signify that the route he must take to reach his goal is not a straightforward path. In his white-sleeved right hand, partly concealed by the blue mantle, he holds a lighted lamp that will illuminate the right-handed path he must follow. The mantle also serves to conceal the ancient wisdom from the uninitiated and the profane.
The red habit and hood, typically worn by 14th-century hermits and monks, distinguish him as a man of contemplation and meditation who seeks a silent, quiet solitude to discover personal insights to throw light on his shadow and to discover the eternal core of his being.
If we are afraid of solitude we call it loneliness and become prone to dissipate energies on empty chatter, superficiality and self-deception.
Number VIIII indicates a time to pause, reflect and withdraw to appraise our inner strengths, our innate inner wisdom; to become self-reliant and to review where we now stand.
The six-spoked wheel represents the endless cycles of life and the Cosmos. No-one is turning the white handle – it is in the hands of Fate to determine and control our colour, creed, parents, status and so on. Perched on top of the wheel is a strange creature – a combination of a winged, animalistic body and a near-human, monkey-like face looking straight ahead. It is wearing a golden miniature coronet (we are ruled by Fate) and holds a white sword of transformation. Balanced on a golden shelf there appears to be a brake where the crowned animal arbitrarily acts as the controller.
On each side of the wheel are two more fabulous creatures representing the principles of good and evil (Anubis and Typhon), who manipulate the changes of fortune, but the white background suggests that anything and everything has endless possibilities.
In 1505, Machiavelli wrote, ‘I think it may be the case that Fortune is the mistress of one half of our actions, and yet leaves control of the other half, or less, to ourselves.’3 This suggests that a person’s personality traits can influence how they respond to what fate has bestowed upon them. There are those who analyse, act and learn from experience, and believe there is a connection between their attitudes and what happens to them; yet there are others who believe they have no control over whatever happens to them, passively accept their fate and search for someone or something to blame instead of learning from the outcome. In other words, ‘Luck’ can be a triumph of Nurture over Nature. The question is: do we suffer as a victim or do we treat fatalistic disappointments, betrayals and illnesses as our teachers of important lessons to guide us further in our quest? Right attitude avoids suffering. Fortune will not desert the person whose inner resolve and self-awareness are stronger than all the challenges fate has to offer.
Figure 11: X The Wheel of Fortune
Number X is about Karma, the Law of Compensation. Detachment from the exoteric world leads to a deepened understanding of what is going on around us and the ability to respond appropriately to events.
The woman’s serene face is looking down and to her left. Her hair, hands, lower sleeves and shoe are a natural flesh colour. The decorative, swirling, ribboned figure-of-eight hat, similar to The Magician’s, symbolizes infinite potential, and the semblance of a crown suggests her high ranking status in the order of the cards. She wears a red over-mantle that is reminiscent of the copes worn by the male figures of The Emperor and The Pope, but the simple blue cotte, gold kirtle undergarment and lace-up bodice also portray the feminine attributes of The Empress. She stands firm, exuding a power of courage and strength. With her bare hands she is taming a ferocious golden lion to overcome the brute force of the beast for the same reason that Theseus had to enter the labyrinth to slay the Minotaur (see page 11). Mastering the inner animal instincts is a prerequisite to becoming a ‘man/woman of knowledge’ (see page 20). If we don’t have the courage and endurance to overcome our fears and be prepared to uncover whatever lurks in the shadow, we cannot reach the goal of freedom and wisdom.
Number XI, known as the Mandorla is the gateway to heaven, symbolizing God (destiny) plus unity. It is the critical turning point in our journey at which we must look within to confront the shadow. Force is the card in the pivotal, mid-point position at the centre of a spread of 21 cards: it is a metaphor for the mid-life crisis when we ask: ‘Who am I?’, ‘Where am I going?’ and ‘What is my destiny?’
The man is a relatively youthful, beardless person with a full, halo-like head of blue hair (intuition?). He is staring straight ahead but passively suspended upside down in time and space. His hands are held or tied behind his back; he is hanging by his left ankle, while his right leg dangles in an ‘S’ pattern similar to that of The Emperor, except that the latter’s right leg is in front of his left. The short hooppelande tunic and hose (fashionable in the late 14th century), the white collar, the band of buttons on the blouse and the white belt suggest that the symbols of transformation run from his throat to his groin and around his solar plexus. The knotted rope is like an umbilical cord that ties him to his conditioning and previous experiences of life. His head is in a trough at ground level yet the green soil and the bar from which he is suspended are producing fertile trees. Although the trunks have sharp thorns, they are shoots of new growth.
Since passing through the stage represented by Force and experiencing all the trauma and revelation that mark the beginning of the process of self-discovery, The Hanged Man’s world has been completely turned around: all that he stood for, his opinions, ideas and values are no longer valid. He is now transfixed, trapped and in danger of being wounded on the thorns. Nothing is familiar to him any longer; but, in fact, nothing has actually changed except his point of view! His obvious inertia gives him time to carefully contemplate and reassess his life thus far as a prelude to escaping his present paralysis and acquiring the ability to overturn his predicament. The hands concealed behind his back suggest that he has lost his sense of personal, material possessions because he is about to renounce the rule of gold in favour of the golden rule.
Number XII is about time, space and cosmic order; it is about constant change and transition. If The Hanged Man sacrifices his ego-self, reviews any outmoded behaviour and looks at life from a different viewpoint, his ‘world’ will change too. When the card is turned upside down he becomes a happy dancer who is about to resume his journey into the unknown and bring order out of chaos.
Death is an inevitable transformation from one realm to another. Skeletons lose the clothing of concealment because death cannot be dressed up!
This card does not herald a physical death. Rather, in psychological terms, it is the symbolic death of the ego-centred ‘I’ and the world of self-illusions – we need to ‘die’ before we can be reborn.
The skeleton moves to its left, slicing up body parts, including its own foot. It crushes the head of a young woman and decapitates a crowned male (we need to look where we are going, review what we cling on to and reassess our thought processes before we can move on). The scythe’s handle reminds us of The Fool’s staff and the red crescent-shaped blade may be the crystallizing power of Moon. The black soil represents both the darkness of our own shadow and the fear of loss of the ‘I’ identity.
Number XIII symbolizes God (eternity) plus resolution. Death is the passing through a closing door that ends one era or way of life to enter a new, transformed existence of regeneration that will overcome fears and inner dread.
This angelic female character is looking down and to her right. She has the same blue-coloured hair as the older woman on The Lover’s right and The Hanged Man. The red rose in her hair and the display of flesh between her breasts suggest menstrual blood and fertile creativity, sexual mysteries and the flower of a goddess. Whilst she appears to be standing firmly on the ground amongst lush green plantings, she also has wings to transport her above the material plane. Her red kirtle undergarment and sleeveless blue cotte are similar to those of the older woman in The Lover, but here Temperance is swathed in a gold, wimple-like neckpiece of intuition around her throat and an elaborate gold girdle of logic or gut feelings around her solar plexus. These and the red and blue chalices flowing with the white elixir of transformation symbolize the dynamic blending of life-giving alchemical substances that can be created by the blending of the Masculine and Feminine Principles. Through her feminine healing energies and heaven-sent moments of magic a new realm can be experienced.
Like number VII The Chariot, number XIIII marks the end of another octave. It is the end of old ways of thinking and behaviour and the beginning of a new octave in which we are able to exercise a clarity of mind.
The Devil has the smiling, cross-eyed face of a maniac who taunts the captives under his control. This androgynous figure with female breasts and male genitals has the blue wings of a monster (or is this a being from the higher worlds?). The golden headpiece of animalistic horns or some form of chaotic organic growth implies mental confusion. His hands and feet are non-human and the red girdle around his lower abdomen and the blue leggings suggest a strong sexual energy and hedonistic tendencies. He is standing on a mound of flesh-coloured substance held in a red cauldron (an emotional melting pot?). However, despite this card’s apparent negativity, the white wand in his left hand repeats the symbolism of the stick held by The Fool, Amor’s arrow aimed at The Lover, and the wand held by the creature on top of The Wheel of Fortune which suggests that The Devil holds the promise of transformation.
The naked male and female figures have animalistic ears, tails and feet; their red and black headgear with its horns or foliage signals potential growth. They are standing on black soil which, as in the pictograph of Death, promises the possibility of rebirth indicated by the fertile golden landscape in the distance. Both characters are tethered to the cauldron with flesh-coloured rope. (Is this also the cauldron of regeneration?) Like The Hanged Man, they too have their hands tied or held behind their backs, unable to grasp the opportunities offered by their innate gifts and talents. They are capable of untying the ropes that bind them but, as they now stand, they appear to be in thrall and admiration of the manipulative entity above that overpowers them.
This card marks the beginning of the most testing part of the journey. We have overcome our fears, acquired a clarity of mind and now we have power: will we be tempted to misuse it to manipulate and control others, or will our clarity of mind and power be used for higher attainment?
When we are under the influence of The Devil, it can feel as though we are carrying a depressive, ever-present burden or are being strangled by the millstones of self-doubt. This creates a personal hell in which we are in bondage to our own shadow and trapped by materialistic pursuits and motives. The Devil within must be confronted, otherwise our negative doubts and corruption of power will block any further progress along these final stages on the path. Regression is caused by human frailty.
Number XV represents unity plus the five elements, therefore we must aspire to a positive, inner resolve.
Shaped like the battlements of a fortress to defend our proud ego, the over-large crown – a symbol of status, pomp, self-aggrandizement and our ‘crowning achievements’ – is toppled by a lightning strike from above. Whilst all the self-illusions that exist in our head are being toppled to bring us ‘down-to-earth’ the core of our being, the eternal core of our being – our divine essence, represented here by the main body of the tower – remains steadfast, upright and indestructible. When the ego-self is discarded the divine nature of Man stands firm.
The three windows – a pair of eyes and a larger ‘third eye’ – allow light to penetrate into the inner darkness, and through them we can perceive both the outer and inner worlds. The two figures crashing head-first to the ground have the blue hair, tunics, hose and footwear reminiscent of The Hanged Man, but as they fall on to undulating, rich, golden and fertile land they are being showered with raindrops from above. The pair of white stones at the base of the tower is also a portentous sign that the chaotic destruction will have a positive outcome.
Figure 17: XVI The Tower of Destruction
In the mythical story of Psyche and Amor, a Tower was Psyche’s final saviour (see page 13). On the other hand, hubris, over-confidence, pride and a false sense of invulnerability brought about the downfall of the Tower of Babel.
Number XVI (unity plus marriage) is about achieving a Heaven on Earth. If we are to sustain a defence against all the negative aspects represented by The Devil and proceed forward, there must be a breakdown of the old order of egocentricity in order to understand our limitations and seek Truth through humility. We can then move on.
This naked, voluptuous female figure embracing the essence of Nature is a combination of Mother Earth and Aphrodite. She has an abundance of the long, flowing blue hair that can be seen in The Lover, The Hanged Man, Temperance, The Tower and Judgement. The blue echoes the waters of the lake and the water pouring from the red containers. The containers also reflect the pattern of the red and blue chalices in Temperance, but here The Star is bringing the mysterious, alchemical, white elixir down to an Earthly plane.
Through her humanness, her intuition and love of Nature, she feeds the river of Life and thus both replenishes and sustains the land in the distance to produce fertile and fruitful growth. Perched on a tree, a bird of peace and heavenly flight brings a message that spirit flows through all things.
This scene of self-nurturing and infinite care of the natural world is illuminated by a brightly shining star, surrounded by seven smaller stars to remind us that the rhythms of life are fundamental to our relationship with the Cosmos – we all come from stardust.
Number XVII is about immortality. We can no longer be solely concerned with our own life; we must become involved with our local and global environment. Our ambitions must extend beyond our self so that we will tread lightly on the planet to protect our heritage and our own human existence.
The human face of the ‘Man in the Moon’ seems bemused with emotional uncertainty. The Moon’s light is a reflection of the rays of the Sun, but in this card the Sun is eclipsed so we must beware of illusion, loss of clarity, deviation and being ‘left in the dark’. The angelic beings in The Lover and Judgement also obscure the Sun to guard us against being overwhelmed by its rays. The howling dogs are a warning to beware of self-deception and becoming ‘moonstruck’. Below them, lurking in the pool of emotion, is a lobster-like prehistoric creature with a hard outer shell to protect us from our deep-set fear of vulnerability.
The twin towers signal the need for balance in all our dealings, as already expressed by similar pairs in The Pope, Justice and The Hanged Man. Our steadfastness and core of being are also depicted in The Tower of Destruction.
The raindrops flowing upward from the Earth suggest that we should pay attention to being in touch with nature and the natural elements of our instincts and psyche. Ocean tides, menstrual flow, animal instinctiveness and human ‘lunacy’ are governed by the phases of the Moon.
The Moon personifies intuition, creative thought-patterns and the collective unconscious of human society, thus symbolizing the integration of the Masculine and Feminine Principles while suggesting that feminine intuition should predominate over rationality.
Number XVIII symbolizes the concept of Unity plus Heaven and Earth and the reflection of divine wisdom. The symbolism of the number XVIII is reinforced by the 19 ‘raindrops’ – eight blue, six red and five yellow/gold. Nineteen has always been considered by the sages to be a mystical number, being the number of years it takes for the Moon to orbit around the Sun and return to its original position.
In all its glory, The Sun smiles, showering the World with light and nature’s blessings and vitality. Life’s energies ‘rain’ down from the Heavens above along alternating straight and curved rays that reflect the principal colours of the other cards: gold, blue, red, green and white.
Two naked innocents (Anima and Animus; heart and mind), wearing blue loincloths for modesty, are tenderly touching each other in close affection, their feet firmly on the ground. They may represent the child within us emerging out of the shadow and into the light, exposing our inner self with nothing to hide. Behind is a golden brick wall with a red coping to protect the children. (The myth of Prometheus, who was burned when he flew too close to the Sun, tells us that worldly success is but short-lived.) The 13 raindrops remind us that the 13th card, Death, is also an illusion that is negated by the eternal power and blessing of the Sun which transforms and illuminates the Moon – the unconscious self.
Number XVIIII is a mystical, enigmatic number that figures in many spiritual texts and signals the emergence of self from the shadow to become that which we already are.
Like the winged angelic figure in The Lover, here is another partly human, partly divine creature with a saintly halo above its head, obscuring the full orb of the Sun. It has flesh-coloured wings, rather than the blue of the cherub’s wings, and bursts out of blue clouds.
The ‘Angel’ is sounding a horn to celebrate success and the triumphant awakening and rebirth of the person rising from the ground. The gold cross on a white banner represents the cross of redemption and destiny. The banner can also represent the active/passive principles and the ‘World Axis’ as a bridge for the soul to discover its Self. The golden hair is a reminder of the earlier incarnations of The Magician, The Chariot and The Lover.
The Sun is obscured by the blue cloud from out of which the ‘Angel’ emerges, reminding us that the power and light of the Sun (ego) can consume itself unless it is moderated by the angelic heavenly realms of our higher Self. The three earthly figures form a trinity of mind, body and spirit – an awakening and liberation from terrestrial limitations.
Below the ‘Angel’ are naked figures: one is female with the blue hair of Temperance and The Star and the other, an older, wiser man has the long blue hair of The Hanged Man. They are in prayerful pose of thanksgiving and blessings, facing a third person emerging from the depths of the green, fertile soil. This androgynous figure wears a blue hat that is similar to those worn by The Pope’s disciples.
These naked figures personify The Fool, The Magician and The Lover. They emerge from a rectangular tomb to become reborn as mature, evolved, fully-realized beings.
The imagery on this card, similar to The Resurrection of the Dead seen on the south porch at Chartres Cathedral in France, can also be found in many other medieval paintings and sculptured reliefs of the Last Judgement. This is the Day of Judgement when we come to terms with having learned the Truth about who we are without fear or remorse. Part of our quest is to live by grace.
Number XX concerns separation plus zero or eternity and the mysteries of the unknown: we are separated from the unknowable.
The naked, now fully expressed female, is completely open and transparent to the world. She dances on her right leg with the left leg tucked behind, forming the figure ‘S’ (the divine fire of the heart) but in an opposite stance to those of The Emperor and The Hanged Man. Like The Magician, she holds a wand in her left hand. The flesh-coloured ribbons remind us of the drapery on the thrones of The High Priestess and The Empress and the hats worn by The Magician and Force, which are shaped to form a lemniscate, the symbol of eternity. She is inside the Vesica Piscis-shaped laurel wreath of success and victory which is also known as the ‘gateway to Heaven’. The wreath forms a boundary or limitation on matter and represents the journey coming ‘full circle’, uniting the colours red, blue and gold.
On the four corners are the bull, the lion, the eagle and an angelic being representing the four elements of earth, fire, water and air and our modes of sensing, intuiting, thinking and feeling – all symbolizing the dancer’s integration of the four aspects of Cosmic order. She personifies the archetypal world through her self-discipline and self-knowledge by acting out her personal myth to achieve joy and fulfilment – ‘The days of thy mourning shall be ended’. The figures on the four corners often appear in the sculpture and decoration of medieval cathedrals, and can be seen on the West Front at Chartres where they are placed in the identical positions to this card around the figure of Christ in a mandorla. In the Christian tradition they are said to represent the four evangelists: bull = Luke; lion = Mark; eagle = John; man/angel = Matthew.
Number XXI is separation plus unity, therefore the outer world (our ‘personal world’) is reunited with our inner world and we have become aware of and understood the realities of time, the spiritual and material realms, and Cosmic laws.
The World is but a short-lived culmination of our quest because the upward spiral of the journey begins all over again to take us to another, yet higher level.
