‘’There is no such thing as MY consciousness; there is just consciousness acting as a continuity that is moving across all forms of evolution.’’
Pir Vilayat Khan.
I often think that the word journey is an understatement to describe the way of Tarot. It has become for me a lifestyle, no wait, a life path. Tarot embodies a philosophy, an understanding of the nature of life, a portrait of the soul and I never stop learning. However, the word journey gives a sense of movement and travelling.
Through the cards we are given keys to understand how we move from one state of being to another.
We can perceive the expansion of consciousness and how it reflects the world we have created for ourselves. I resonate with the schemata in the cards as a form of progression which we can translate into our view of our own personal development. It is the journey of the individual on the road to self-realization.
Each of the cards contain a book of knowledge, an encyclopaedia of spiritual truths.
These truths are within us and when the time is right we can unlock the treasure chest and draw forth the gold that is personal wisdom.
CG Jung tells us that “in addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature, there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This collective consciousness does not develop individually but is inherited. It consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes which can become conscious secondarily and give definite forms to certain psychic contents.’’
Not only then is it the progress of the spirit in human form, but the integration of soul, a dualistic dynamic which in turn becomes unified as we realise we are totally interdependent on each other; we are the World. We are one, yet we are all.
There are no shortcuts to understanding the Tarot in all its aspects.
Steady progress is the best way forward. Creating a relationship to the cards or rather, creating a relationship to yourself through the cards is not for the fainthearted. One step at a time, and as you grow, so will your awareness of the significance of the archetype.
Our lives are often limited and two dimensional. We think too much and become obsessive and narrow minded. We procrastinate and disconnect from our source of power. When we work with Tarot, we are immediately realigned to a broader perspective to the influences and undercurrents that shoot like rapids through our lives.
Possibility and potential.
I think we are born to discover our potential and by doing so we pay the planet the compliment of our energy; our purpose is revealed and our destiny is less illusory. Will power manifests that which is in our capability to attain.
The 22 Major Arcana cards can be placed into three lines.
* The Fool representative of the spirit, freewheels amongst the lines of development.
The first line is one of interdependence.
- From Magician through to The Lovers we can see the cards as stages of development in the very young, be it physical or spiritual. We can see the formation of a sentient being, yet can’t quite do it alone and there is still a strong attachment to the world of spirit from where it just came. Our parents, carers and guardians, are there to guide and inspire as we become.
- From Chariot through to Temperance we can see the sentient being spread their wings, they move forward unaided, yet they gather life experiences that are as unique as themselves.
- From the Devil to the World we can see the sentient being is fully operative on the planet and is responsible for their own cause and effect. They begin to understand the drive to push back the limitations of time and space as they mature into the consciousness that will carry them back to the beloved.
The second line is one of independence.
The third line is one of autonomy.
I got the inspiration of these lines from the work of Donald Winnicott, a paediatrician and child psychiatrist. His work has intrigued me and I see Tarot has enormous potential for espousing some of his ideas. We are all children, even the oldest and wisest of souls still has to be connected to the process that is life, with each new birth, be it physical or internal, the stages of growth are a formula for existence.
Our sojourn with Tarot allows us to celebrate the life force that flows through us and eventually we can make sense of the chaos we are born into.
