Everyday Tarot

When we left our young Fool the other day, he was standing at a crossroads represented by the Lovers - it was time for him to make a commitment. The more I study the Tarot the more convinced I am that the Lovers has nothing to do with a choice between Good and Evil, or between pursuits of the Spirit and pursuits of the Flesh - it is simply the decision to make a commitment - and all that entails. That commitment is the beginning of the second leg of the Tarot path - training.

The Chariot is the stage of learning concerned with conscious mastery. The Fool may be good at something - may even be considered a master at his craft - but he is still at the stage where doing requires conscious thought. If you’ve practiced meditation, you’ll recognize this stage - it’s the point where you consciously have to pull your thoughts back again and again, almost exerting physical will to keep your mind empty.

Strength, with her lion, has reached the stage of learning where the doing no longer requires conscious thought. It has become a part of her, become instinct, become, as I wrote in a poem:

the lessons that have
so long been instinct you thought
they were woven into your sinews
along with the muscle, braided into
your nerves, intertwined in your DNA
so that your marrow bled them into
your blood and every beat of your
heart ingrained them deeper.

The next natural step in the path of progression is to become the Teacher, the Hermit, who has immersed himself in learning and become a guide for others.

The Wheel of Fortune represents the turning of the Wheel, the cycle that brings the Hermit again to the start of the path, only this time the path is a spiritual one. The next series of cards takes the Fool along the path to spiritual enlightenment and eventual integration into the World Soul.

Comments? Criticisms? Do you think I’m all wet? I’d really love to hear other viewpoints and ideas on the progression of the Tarot path as I work it through in my head. Thanks for being here!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS