Sacred Geometry Part II

Aspects: The Will to Power

Uranus (Fool) Square Pluto (Judgment)

     Let your imagination run away on this blog. Have an “imaginary moment” – a “what if” time. It seems we are overlooking the obvious when talking about both Tarot and Astrology in relation to Sacred Geometry.  What connection do they have and how does this relate to our lives? We’ll discuss an example of the correlation of all three in the context of current events and circumstances.

     To get started, in Astrology with relation to Tarot, let’s take a look at the transiting square that has been going on since 2007 - on through 2020, between Uranus (The Fool) in Aries and Pluto (Judgment) in Capricorn. We will not be looking at this square from a mechanistic point of view as the cause of certain events, but rather as an archetypal pattern of human behavior during these events.

Foolish Plutocrats

     Richard Tarnas in his book Cosmos and Psyche, 2007, discusses “the will to power” during a Pluto-Uranus square. (This same square between planets was present from 1928 to 1937.)

“The eruption of a collective will to power during Uranus-Pluto eras can also become concentrated and embodied in a single powerful figure, a world historic military conqueror or tyrant driven as if by a force of nature…Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and Mao [were all prominent leaders] during the square of the 1930’s.”  

 

Dorflinger: Judgment
German-Swiss Border

So when we really look at this aspect we see The Fool in conflict with good Judgment.

Tarot and planetary interpretation

     The Fool is perceived as a vagabond, beggar, an adventurer who sets off for anywhere, “riding the rails,” lacking judgment. This is one who exemplifies guilelessness, lack of tact and naiveté. The Fool lives only in the now. There is no introspection, no looking ahead. We can see fools all over engulfed in silliness, folly, and even stupid behavior (especially in TV ads). On the other hand, a court-type fool can be the wise coyote poking fun at the “king’s” foibles.

     Uranus - signifies rebellion, unpredictability, defiance, the break up of old structures and the establishment. It’s full of  surprises, and unexpected change. In Aries, it could well mean doing battle and more war. (Haven’t we had enough already?) It means a willingness to sacrifice for a cause, martyrdom. The main theme is change and more change whatever form it may take.!

     Judgment - Here we are examining everything and everyone in depth, even criticizing and judging others. (What happened to “throw the first stone”?) In criminal justice, the judge determines who is guilty or not, and assigns punishment. It also means self-evaluation in examining your own life critically and trying to resurrect yourself and take responsibility for your actions through self-knowledge and introspection.  Of course good judgment is the hoped for aim.

     Pluto – We can see underworld characters out in the open. For some it’s a trip to the underworld. For others it’s a release from the underworld. It means the breakdown and destruction of outmoded ways of doing things; uncovering hidden truths and lies; deep secrets are revealed; there could be mass violence, power struggles and predictions of world war; more earthquakes and exploding volcanoes. In Capricorn, this affects governments in crisis and all structures and institutions of power. (Sound familiar?)

  

 The aspects of the planets and Tarot

     Why are the planets named after old gods and goddesses in mythology of long ago? For some, we are examining qualities and attributes of human behavior signified by the archetypal myths of the ancient gods and applying their meaning to our own lives.

    Astronomy/Astrology and the earliest calculations of an ephemerides originated in Babylon at least from the 6^th to the 8^th century B.C.E. The Greeks then piled on their own names based on their gods and mythology and imbued them with many layers of meaning. (See Ptolemy)  One of the main components of Astrology in connection with Sacred Geometry is the symbolic action of the aspects between planets and their positions as they move around the Zodiac. These aspects are angles known as square, trine, sextile, semi-sextile, quintile, quincunx, opposition and conjunction, as measured within a Zodiac circle of 360°.

Square 90° - interpreted as conflict, difference of opinion, argument, scuffle, strength to endure

Trine 120° - synthesis, coming together, resolution, problem solving, agreement

Sextile 60° -  making adjustments, coordination, harmony, common ground 

Quintile 72° - attraction, repulsion, caution, a new direction

Opposition 180°- opposing forces, duality, pulling apart, obstructions, non-agreement

Conjunction 0-10° - moving in tandem, mutual agreement, close association

The Fool Niki St Phalle Tarot Garden

     What are the planets and their association with the Major Arcana of Tarot?  Mary Greer, in her workbook, Tarot for yourself, Birth chart Mandala, gives a list of correspondences between the planets, the Zodiac, and Major Arcana as follows:

Mercury  - Magician

Venus – The Empress                    

Mars – The Tower

Jupiter – Wheel of Fortune

Saturn – The Universe

Uranus – The Fool

Neptune – The Hanged man

Pluto – Judgment

Sun – Sun

Moon – High priestess

“If at one time the Major Arcana represented actual set figures in society, in the 20^th Century, they have come to represent the inner processes of the self, though the Tarot has been cheapened as a fortune telling device – a quick fix to supposed knowledge of impending events or the scary thrill of mysterious messages—it has at the same time grown in stature as a coded body of wisdom…The images present stages of psychic transformation.”

Jill Johnston, frontispiece of the book Niki Saint Phalle and the Tarot Garden (Bentelli, Zurich,  2010).

Sacred Geometry and Tarot

Part I

What is meant by Sacred Geometry?

Adherents of Sacred Geometry say it was a practice considered by the ancients to be an exploration of the secret and mysterious processes of nature. Early civilizations set aside sacred places in natural rock temples, springs and caves, and constructed stone circles to remember and venerate those spaces. Sacred areas were used to come in contact with energies of a higher power or spirits of nature. Many early man-made structures were laid out according to sacred geometric designs and proportions including the Great Pyramid in Egypt and the Parthenon in Athens.

“In sacred places, the spiritual and the physical are experienced together. Sacred places are openings between the heavens and the earth or between the surface of the earth and the underworld…” Rupert Sheldrake, The Rebirth of Nature (Park Street Press, 1994, p. 23)

Avebury England

To early peoples, geometry was a form of symbolism that gave them a sense of spiritual value and association with those sacred spaces. There was a certain divinity and magicalness of meaning about using a secret form of geometry to describe and enact the principles of growth and beauty. Some sacred areas were laid out according to a geometrical plan. Early philosophers such as Pythagoras thought they could experience the metaphysical meaning of geometry while actually drawing interlocking circles with a compass. Several plane figures can be drawn this way: circle, square, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon and octagon. It sounds simple enough, but we know today that even the great medieval cathedrals were built using these geometrical methods.

“Geometry deals with pure form and philosophical [metaphysical] geometry re-enacts the unfolding of each form out of a preceding one.” Robert Lawlor, Sacred Geometry, (Thames and Hudson, 1982, p. 10)

Drawing a pentagon

Circle: (Dot in center) A beginning, Oneness (1)

Vesica Piscis: reflection of the One (2)

Triangle: Multiplication (3)

Square: Order, stability (4)

Pentagon: Processes of life (5)

Hexagon: Perfection, balance, harmony (6)

Heptagon: Eternality (7)

Octagon: Expansion and contraction (8)

Nonagon: Completion (9)

Decagon: Wholeness (10)

Growth of forms in nature: logarithmical spiral and PHI ratio

We see the creative properties of patterning and exponential spiral growth approximated in marine life such as the chambered nautilus; in sea shells, in the horns of certain sheep, pine cones, and on the head of a sunflower, for example. This logarithmical spiral expresses PHI or the ratio of 1:1.618033988… (on and on) as a numeral of infinity. When a nautilus is cut in half, we see how each chamber has become larger and larger as the creature has outgrown the previous part. When measured and compared, the growth of one chamber to the next is often approximately 1.618 times larger than the former chamber.

Fibonacci series of numbers:

Let’s go straight to the Fibonacci series of numbers, which can reveal the PHI ratio. (Leonardo of Pisa discovered this in 1202). It goes like this: 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, 5+8=13, 8+13=21, 13+21=34, 21+34=55, 34+55=89.  For example: divide 89 by 55 and see what you get! 1.6181818181811818… etc.  This ratio can be seen in botanical growth patterns such as five-petaled flowers, the bean and tobacco plants, and the spira mirabilis in the head of a large sunflower, some with 55 lines of force crossing 89 alternating lines. 

How does Sacred Geometry relate to the Tarot?

The Hierophant

In earlier decks, such as the Rider-Waite and B.O.T.A. decks, we see The Emperor sitting on a cube (hexahedron with 6 faces). This is interpreted as a showing a sense of stability, equality and reliability. The High Priestess sits on a cube. She is grounded “fair and square.” A star hexagon of integrated triangles is seen in the lamp carried by The Hermit in some decks: meaning a blending of qualities of heaven and earth; equilibrium of active and passive action. The Vesica Piscis is seen in the mandorla of The World card in several decks. In The Hierophant card of Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness, a chambered nautilus is drawn over a background of “whirling squares.” A Golden Mean rectangle is drawn first and divided into squares. Then an arc is drawn in each square diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner. When they circulate around a central area, a logarithmic spiral is produced. The ratio of one square to another is 1:1.618 as they become larger.

Squaring the Circle

4 of Wands 

In Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness, the 4 of Wands represents the “Squaring of the Circle. This is considered sacred because it contains both the earthly and the divine as cosmic symbols of heaven and earth. The perimeter of the square approximates the circumference of the circle. Robert Lawlor Sacred Geometry (Thames and Hudson, 1982, p. 74)   “…the circle represents pure, unmanifest spirit-space, while the square represents the manifest and comprehensible world.”
says in his book,

When contemplating Sacred Geometry polygons depicted in Tarot cards, especially in Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness and in the Sacred Geometry Oracle Deck by Francene Hart, this gives another dimension to the meaning of each card—expanding, enhancing and deepening our understanding of ourselves.

Knights and War

 Knights in Tarot

     

     To understand the symbolism of the Knight cards in Tarot, we need to take a quick look at who the knights were in history. Let’s start with the knights on horseback during the Middle Ages in Europe. Who were they? What did they do and why are they still included in most Tarot decks? During Medieval times, in the Feudal hierarchy, knights pledged fealty to a lord, a prince, or a king (1200–1700). There were Green, White, Red and Black knights, trained in chivalry and warfare. They defended their Lord’s kingdoms, lands, and villages, often engaging the enemy. They were skilled in horsemanship (jousting) and the use of weaponry of the time (swords, spears, lances, clubs, catapults and armor). Sometimes they were rewarded for their bravery and courage with parcels of land or useful goods, and/or money.

     We know about them mostly from stories of the Christian Crusades, which began around 1096. The Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar and similar orders were sent by various Popes to liberate the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular, from the grip of Seljuk Turks who took over that land in 1055. Some knights were offered rewards in the form of “indulgences,” by having all their sins automatically forgiven because of their service to the church.

     In literature, we hear about King Arthur and the mythical “Knights of the Round Table,” with Galahad and Perceval seeking the Holy Grail, Christ’s cup. (And that’s a whole other story). Joseph Campbell delineates a reality check of Cervantes novel about the imagination of the errant knight, “Don Quixote,” as a satire on chivalry: “Reality carried Quixote, that is to say, who carried the adventure in his head. Adventures are impossible and yet Don Quixote brings them to pass.” (The Masks of God, Creative Mythology, p. 294). Because of an inflated ego and wild imagination, including encroaching madness, Quixote couldn’t see the unreality of his beliefs, especially about the windmills he was speeding his horse to take down. He thought they were giants that he must vanquish. As Sancho says, “What giants?” Campbell quotes Ortega, “…there are men who decide not to be satisfied with reality.” (p. 605)

Prince of Cups TOCC

     What is it that lures young men (occasionally, a woman) to go off to war? Some say it is the sense of adventure, risk-taking; the urge to become a hero; to defend a country or kingdom, or to conquer new lands. What are the stakes for going to war? Land grabs, defense of territory, settling angry disputes in an attempt to establish power and control over others property, to defend religious beliefs, and to set up new states or kingdoms. Maybe it was like that during the crusades.

     But what is it they don’t tell you about going off to war today?

There has been over 250 major wars since Biblical times, each one more perilous and deadly than the one before, and hundreds of lesser wars over the centuries. In the aftermath of WWI and WWII, the threat of war has become a horrific nightmare, and in some war rooms, leaders contemplate the possibility of the end of the world (via Atom Bomb/ Hydrogen Bomb). The Second World War reached an appalling new dimension. Over 60,000,000 people were killed, including civilians and soldiers, with over 6,000,000 Jews, and others, murdered outright in Germany’s gory gas chambers.

     What glory and honor was there in dropping one bomb on a city from one plane and obliterating everything and everyone in it in 1945 in a few seconds (killing over 200,000 people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan). Miles of land and air were poisoned with nuclear radiation. Warfare on this scale has changed our attitude about war. Some of us remember the Cuban Missile Crisis scare when people were building bomb shelters in their basements and stocking them with food supplies. More of us remember the huge “Peace Marches” and “Flower Power” during the Viet Nam War, demanding the end to drafting more men to fight. Today, more than ever, we need a reality check!

   

 What do knights signify when they come up in a reading?

The reason Knights, or Princes are included in the Tarot is obvious. War is not over. Knights symbolize the brave charge to action: the courage to take risks, to sacrifice one’s life for a “cause;” to fight for what you believe; to train in tactics of warfare and focus on defeating the enemy, real or imagined.

Here are some thoughts based on Gail Fairfield’s “Choice Centered Tarot,” (Red Wheel-Reiser)

Knight of Wands: maintaining your identity, knowing who you are and how to present yourself dynamically to the world

Knight of Cups: Paying attention to your feelings and intuition and acting on them, while expressing how you feel to other

Knight of Swords: taking action on well thought-out strategies and plans, while separating the real from the unreal; truth from the lies.

Knight of Coins/Pentacles: focusing on hard work; establishing security; concentrating on solving the everyday difficulties of living this life and taking the appropriate steps to achieve your goals.

Court Cards: Kings and Queens

Aquarian Tarot,
 Palladini

In order to understand the Court Cards of Tarot, here is a brief historical perspective on the rulers of monarchy of the past. To see where we are today, Tarot Court Cards can help us do that. Why are Kings and Queens included in the Tarot? What role do they play in relation to a reading or the game of Tarots? Most Tarot buffs interpret them now as symbolic archetypes and talk about someone having reached maturity in judgement, wisdom, and actions, and who can express Fatherhood and Motherhood qualities seen in the best light. 

Playing with Tarot cards was a very popular pastime in the courts of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, enjoyed by real kings and queens. In history, at least since the Egyptian pharaohs in 4,000 B.C., the King’s will was law and he owned all the land where masses of people were mostly laborers and slaves.There have been queens also. Around 1490 B.C. Queen Hatshepsut took the throne upon the death of her husband, the pharaoh Thut-moses II. She became a pharaoh herself. In the biblical stories of Samuel, the Israelites wanted a king like the other countries around-Palestine, Syria, Lebanon. (1Sam. 8:1-22) They thought the king would take care of them, fight their battles and run the country. Instead, the kings took their sons for soldiers, a 10th of their grain; took their servants, cattle and donkeys, and their land. In Medieval Europe, kings and princes controlled the land, including the peasant farmers, and vassals/knights. Farmers paid tribute to the lords in goods and foodstuffs in exchange for use of the land. From the 9th to the 15th century, feudalism was predominant in Europe where lords owned most of the land. An aristocratic hierarchy of kings, princes, lords, presided over vassals, knights, fiefs, farmer tenants and wage-laborers.

In discussing the Court Cards of Tarot, two main points come up immediately: power and leadership. Who is going to lead and what will they do with power? (Sounds like our situation in USA today.) Contemporary interpretations of the Court Cards in Tarot no longer have a medieval or feudal sense, and now, a King’s card represents anyone who is a mature leader; one who takes charge of government and leads the community or a family. In centuries past, kings and queens were the ruling power in most countries in the world. We still have a few monarchies left, but they have little power- Queen of the United Kingdom and the King of Norway, for example. Kingdoms in Europe from the 15th through the 17th century were in a constant state of upheaval resulting in disastrous wars such as the “Thirty years War” on German soil where great numbers of people were killed in the 16th century. We can hardly fathom the enormity of that except perhaps in the current struggles of the Middle East today.  In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Hapsburg dynasty and the French Kings were bent on destroying each other. Renaissance humanism and the protestant reformation brought an end to the medieval world after many devastating upheavals.  Authority was questioned in government, religion, and in laws of rulership. Rebellion and revolution was rampant, including our American revolt from British King George in 1776.

Queen of Pentacles
Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness

In today’s American democratic society, power is supposed to be in the hands of the people and the elected officials.The people choose who is going to lead by election. With kings and queens, rulership was hereditary. If you’ve been watching Downton Abbey, we see the rigid hierarchical order that dominated England for centuries collapsing - a monumental collapse, including loss of land and leadership of  communities. The collapse occurred sooner in France and, about the same time in Russia through a revolution of the people. The King of France and Tsar of Russia were overthrown.

The authors of a book about the Visconti Tarot have this to say about the court cards, the Queen of Pentacles in particular: 

“The affirmation of one’s own individuality is not the final goal but actually the departure point for a new internal transformation that brings one to more profound knowledge about oneself"             

                                                           (Giordano Berti, Tiberio Gonard, Visconti Tarots,

                                                            Lo Scarabeo, 2002, P.157)

Here is a rough sketch and summary of meanings for the Queens and Kings in a Tarot deck. These traits can apply to either men or women in a reading.

Queens

Queens represent the principle of formation, of creativity. They generally symbolize an older mature, mothering nature, or grandmotherly person.

The Queen of Pentacles (earth element, coins) relates to all living things in nature on a material plane. She is usually wealthy, generous, organized, gardens, cooks, gives alms to the poor, cares for the needy. When badly aspected, one can be cantankerous, stingy, and crave power. 

The Queen of Swords main emphasis is on justice. (Air element, sword) She has a strong personality and keen intellect; is able to distinguish between right action and wrong doing. She has high moral values. When reversed, one should watch being too judgmental and work to avoid scandal.

The Queen of Cups is usually a sweetheart. (water element, vessel) She is sensitive with innate wisdom and is helpful and uplifting to others. She is sensitive to what her intuition is telling her. When reversed or badly aspected, watch being bigoted and pecuniary, selfish and isolated.

The Queen of Wands (fire element, energy) She is usually known for her new ideas and inspiration. She is a source of knowledge and a good spiritual guide. When badly aspected she can be suspicious and mistrustful, stuck in a rut.

Kings

Kings represent power and leadership and the ability to provide inspiration to his followers. He sparks new ideas and inventions as a influential motivator. 

The King of Pentacles (earth element, coins) represents resourcefulness. He is a strong influence and demonstrates steadfast use of power and leadership. He can be wealthy, influential and successful, yet shares his abundance with others. When badly aspected he can be miserly and and corrupt. 

The King of Swords (air element, sword) can be a strong forceful leader; a warrior king exercising his worldly power. He can detect truthfulness from lies. 

When reversed, he has to watch being over-bearing, demanding, bullying, and having a malign influence over others.

The King of Cups (water element, vessel) is warm-hearted, a generous Father-figure. He is sympathetic to others needs and difficulties.

When reversed, he has to watch being antagonistic, grumpy, moody, and selfish. 

The King of Wands (fire element, energy) is full of energy and new ideas of how things should be. He leads others on new adventures and tries out new things. 

When reversed, this means he might be weak and lack-luster. He could do nothing and just be a lie-about and cheater. 

Number 10

Number 10 - moving on

The general meaning of number 10 in Tarot is an expression of the need to release the old and move on to the new. We can think about the meaning of number 10 in the Minor Arcana cards as “mission accomplished;” the fulfillment of a job well done, everything is finished, now what? It’s time to plan the next steps to take. We are warned not to get too complacent about our accomplishments or accumulation of wealth.  We may be too satisfied with what we have achieved. 1 + 0 is like playing an octave on the piano. It’s the ending of a cycle and the beginning of a new cycle. When you get this card in a reading, now is the time to move on to the next higher octave of events in your life.

     Since we are in the season of Halloween (All Hallows Day - Celtic Samhain) I would like to take up various myths and stories related to number 10. This is a time for ghosts, goblins, and other assorted monsters, knocking at our doors, and watching old horror movies on TV. So let’s consider some of the earliest “horror” stories in literature, including some early biblical stories with the number 10, such as Moses arguing with the Pharaoh in Egypt and demanding to “Let my people go!” Moses and Aaron and their Hebrew followers were ready to break their bondage to the Pharaoh and move on to the “Promised Land.” But Pharaoh wasn’t interested in releasing them.  So Moses  brought forth (with the powers of the one God of the Hebrews) 10 plagues over Egypt to convince the Pharaoh that they needed to live their own life in freedom in their own land.  These horrible events brought great shock and fear to Pharaoh and his servants.

    

 Barbara Walker in The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, talks about Halloween being a time that:  

“…opened cracks in the fabric of space-time allowing contact between the ghost world and the mortal one.” 

So let’s look at the story of the 10 Plagues upon the Pharaoh of Egypt. (Exodus 7-12) I tend to see this story as a symbolic attack on Pharaonoic mythology, rather than history. It deals with magic and attacks against strange hybrid creatures in the form of the Egyptian gods. The story sounds like the destruction of ancient magical practices in order to bring about the new - through drastic change.  At first, it was a contest between Moses and the Pharaoh’s Magicians. Moses turned his “Rod” into a snake. The magicians were also able to perform some similar tricks for awhile and turn things into frogs, and the Nile into blood, but could go no further than that. It took 10 awful plagues before the Pharaoh finally stopped resisting and said "Be gone!"

The 10 plagues that Moses and Aaron imposed on the Pharaoh and his servants were as follows:

Heket with frog's head

1.  Turning the Nile into blood which seemed like a counterpoint to the Nile god, Hapi.

2.  Bringing on a plague of frogs that filled everyone’s houses - a counterpoint to the goddess of birth, Heket symbolized with a frog’s head on a human.

3.  Inducing a plague of gnats (or lice) a counterpoint to underworld god, Set, who murdered the god Osiris 

4.  Sending in a plague of flies that covered everything and everyone - counterpoint to Uachit, Baal (Beelzabub, Lord of the flies)

5.  Causing death to Egyptian’s cattle, which they worshipped - counterpoint to cow-headed Hathor, goddess of mothering

(Isis)

Hathor with cow ears

6.  A scourge of boils on everyone - counterpoint to Sekhmet, lion-headed goddess of healing 

7.  Thunder and lightning and tremendous hailstorms - counterpoint to Nut, sky goddess, and Baal, god of thunder, lightning

8.  A plague of locust hoards that ate up all their crops - counterpoint to Nephra, (Osiris)

Sekhmet with Lion's head

9.  A blanket of darkness and devastation - counterpoint to the sun-god Ra

10. Death to the firstborn including the Pharoah’s prince - counterpoint to Anubis, god of reproduction, death and mummification

Anubis, card XIII Death 

from The Tarots of the Sphynx 

by Silvana Alasia

Lo Scarabeo

NINE

On the Nines  9

Moving on to number 9: Where do we find number 9 cards in the Tarot? We see it in ninth card, “The Hermit,” of the Major Arcana and in the 4 suits of numbered cards in the Minor Arcana: 9 of Wands, 9 of Cups, 9 of Swords and 9 of Coins or Pentacles.

Let’s do the math of 9 first. In mathematics, number 9 stitches together all the primary numbers in the base 10 digit system. We see 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8 = 36, 3+6 = 9. Strange things happen when 9 is multiplied by any other number because, no matter what the resulting number, the total still adds up to 9. 
For example: 9 x 25 = 2+2+5 = 9; 9 x 72 = 648 = 6+4+8 = 18; 1+8 = 9.

Gail Fairfield, in her book, Choice Centered Tarot, refers to number 9 as “Integrating.” She says that nines “…show a situation in which little needs to be done in order to keep things working and moving.” She concludes that there is a natural flow, a sense of purpose and fulfillment. 

In the Tarot Major Arcana, The Hermit is the ninth card and, in the highest sense, can refer to a person who is seeking
enlightenment and spiritual knowledge by retreating from the world in meditation in order to activate spiritual (or cosmic) consciousness. So what is the point of such meditation? It is a search for inner peace, hopefully accomplished by sitting very still and quieting the wandering “monkey mind” roaming with random thoughts and self-chatter. In Zen meditation, “mindfulness” means to take time to watch and examine one’s thoughts objectively. The aim is to gain new insights about your life when contemplating your own particular sense of reality. For instance, let’s look at an ordinary table. Simply put, the table is real but our concepts and thoughts about the table are not the reality of the table. Our perception of the table consists mainly of images in the mind’s eye. The table is the table so to speak.The usual attribute for The Hermit is that he/she is lighting the way for others who are still on an ascending path toward the spiritual self based upon what was discovered in the retreat. 

Let’s explore some loose associations with number 9. Some of these may relate to Tarot, some may not. We hear old familiar sayings like, “A stitch in time saves 9,” which obviously,  refers to procrastination, meaning don’t put it off or there will be more to do. Then somebody says she is “dressed to the nines,” meaning she has attained the utmost in perfection and elegance in her appearance. What about being “on cloud 9?” Where did that come from? Literally, in atmospheric science, it’s the highest cloud: a number 9 cloud is a cumulonimbus cloud that extends 6.2 miles high. In colloquial terms, it means you have reached the highest ecstasy, or are floating above it all in “la la land.”

Here are some other oldies about 9 to think about: The Norse god Odin hung upside down for 9 days in order to reach enlightenment. In Greek mythology, there were 9 muses, the goddesses of poetic inspiration; goddesses of song. They were Clio, history; Euterpe, music; Thalia, comedy; Melpomene, Tragedy; Terpsichore, dance; Erato, love poetry; Polyhymnia, heroic hymns; Urania, astronomy; and Calliope, epic poetry. We can still see the realistic sculptures of The Muses on a second century Roman Sarcophagus in the Louvre. What about going “the whole 9 yards?” It could mean something is complete, finished. There are 9 yards in an Indian Sari. On a three-masted sailing ship all 9 yard arms could be at full sail in a light wind.

What about games we’ve seen or heard about, or even played? There are 9 holes in golf; nine-pin bowling; the 9 squares of “Tic Tac Toe” or, in England, “Nought's and Crosses.” Then there is an ancient game - Nine Men’s Morris played all over Europe. “Each player has 9 pieces, or men…” They may hop, jump  or fly. The game board has been discovered as far back as 2,000 years ago in Roman times. It has been said that the word “morse” means walrus in Norse and the “men” for the game were carved from walrus tusks.  And then there is “Morris Dancing” from Britain where players dance and hop and crack sticks together to music.  It’s fun to see so here you can play a Youtube video of the Blackmore Morris Men.

Getting back to Tarot: What does it mean when you get a 9 card in a reading? You are feeling balanced. Complicated situations and difficult issues have been resolved. There is a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. Things are flowing again and you can move on. Barbara Walker in her book The Secrets of the Tarot, says “…the sequence of cards from ace to ten was usually envisioned as three triads or triangles of increasing complexity summed up by the tenth card which encompassed the whole” (p. 138). I have incorporated this concept in the 9 of Wands in Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness. 

 Ask yourself these questions:
9 of Coins or Pentacles - How am I blessed in having everything I need? Am I truly grateful?

9 of Swords - How am I dealing with troubling memories and distressing thoughts? Have I dismissed my bad dreams by seeing the truth and reality of things?

9 of Cups - Are my wishes coming true?  Am I feeling good about everything and everyone?

9 of Wands - Have I realized how much have I have grown and matured? Am I satisfied with my new maturity; do I feel fulfilled? (add link)

Figure 8, The Magician and the Lemniscate

The Magician and a Lemniscate

Why does “The Magician” in some Tarot cards wear a hat that resembles a lemniscate? It even hovers overhead in the Magician and Strength card in the Waite deck and some other decks. What is a lemniscate? In mathematics it looks like a figure 8 on its side and represents infinity - meaning a numerical calculation that that seems to go on forever and ever. For example, in the Fibonacci number series, when you divide 89 by 55 it equals 1.6181818181818…. And these numbers go on and on ⎯ and are called “numerals of infinity.” In another sense, a lemniscate, the “lazy eight,” is an oscillating figure representing the back and forth movement of thought and imagination; pairs of opposites: good and evil, night and day, dark and light, order and chaos.  For those interested in math, brainwave studies associate the lemniscate with epsilon waves (0.5) and meditative states, ecstatic states and “cosmic consciousness.” (For further info see this blogspot commentary on the Lemniscate)

Lemniscate and Infinity 

So what does The Magician have to do with infinity? This is represents a person who is playing Tarot, in other words, the game of this life, as one who deals with illusory experiences by channeling the infinite radiant energy of Cosmic Consciousness. This person seeks the truth behind appearances and transcends illusions. What does this mean to us when this card comes up in a reading? By focusing our attention on mastering ourselves and managing our passions, we are exploring all that it means to be conscious; to be alive; to contemplate our mortality, or immortality, and our inner spiritual selves.

The spiritual life…proceeds directly by a change of consciousness…to a greater consciousness in which one finds one’s own true being. Sri Aurobindo, from Letters on Yoga, Vol. 1

Lemniscate and Chaos

The Magician in Tarot is symbolic of the person who works on managing apparent chaos in one’s life. The image of a lemniscate in action reminds me of a film of the chaotic motion and self-destruction of the Tacoma Narrows Suspension Bridge in 1940 in Washington State (Galloping Gertie). It began twisting like a lemniscate, swinging up and down and from side to side, swinging farther and farther in wider arcs until, finally, the cables broke and it fell into Puget sound. (See YouTube video of the movie below)

“Our very life and health depend upon living within layers of order and disorder…almost everything is vulnerable to chaos and face an indeterminate (unpredictable) fate if pushed beyond critical boundaries.” Turbulent Mirror, Order to Chaos, Briggs & Peat 

How can we know the outcome of our past and see into the future? We remember our past in receding memories, fading photographs, notes, letters and pictures. We try to think ahead by building on past experiences and learning from our mistakes. With the Magician card it's time to realize that we can expand our minds into infinity in seeking what we imagine as a never-ending spiritual universe. By concentrating on using the four elements of Tarot: the fire of Wands, water of Cups, air of Swords, and earth of Coins or Pentacles, we are working on transforming ourselves into a state of higher being; higher consciousness. When you get The Magician or Strength card in a reading, or an 8 card, think about how you are accepting the challenging tasks of your life and then work to organize your time by shining the light of Truth upon the deceptions and falsehoods you've experienced. Plan ahead. Help yourself rise above the mundane and strive to do your best with what you have and what you know.