Michael Sternbach

Yes, right. However, bear in mind that the RWS was not only influenced by the GD descriptions of the cards, but that Waite and Colman Smith also drew heavily from the Sola Busca Tarot. It's clearly a hybrid deck.

I was referring to a summary of the topic that I happened to read today in the chapter "Indexing the Golden Dawn" added to the 6th Llewellyn edition (the "black brick"), p. xxviii. The conclusion also of aforesaid summary exactly. Agreed on the discussion as is lacking depth. Agreed on the RWS deck containing esoteric information in an encoded way.

Let's not forget your annual card, Sonnyboy: Trump VII, The Chariot: The time until your next birthday should have an atmosphere of departure to it. There is something new that you set out for. The card also often speaks of physical travelling.

Brian, We already knew it, but now it's official: You are a Sonnyboy! Since your birth card (besides the two already discussed above) reveals you as a type belonging to Trump XIX - The Sun: Individuals symbolized by this card indeed have a "sunny" radiation that attracts others to them. They are seen as cheerful and uplifting, positive and optimistic. High energy and creativity are theirs. On the card's difficult side, they tend to look down at others sometimes. The Sun is illuminating the personality. It is noteworthy that only the XIX/X/I combination doesn't imply a "shadow card" (see above).

Energy as understood in physics still belongs to the physical level. Metaphysical systems often refer to more subtle types of "energy" (and "matter", for that matter). All puns intended.

It's not a broken telephone... You can use it for making calls out of the Matrix! And of course Waite did his own thing! So did Crowley and others. But I am not aware that Waite ever claimed his deck to be an exact depiction (or encoding) of the GD Tarot system.

As you must know, there is no consensus about how the traditional Court Cards relate to the GD scheme. One way of looking at this in fact considers that: Knight (T) = King (GD) King (T) = Prince (GD) It's even in the introduction of one of Regardie's GD editions (I will look the exact reference up, if you like). See also Crowley's edition of the Book T, "Knight of Wands": "Note that the Kings are now called Knights, and the Princes are now called Kings. This is unfortunate, and leads to confusion ... "

No, the telephone is not broken; however, arguably it has a rotary dial. Gotta know how to use it, dude.

It is a "Golden Dawn deck" only to a limited degree. It's true that it was the first published deck to introduce GD peculiarities like the switch between Trumps VIII and XI, but it doesn't follow the GD scheme i.e. for the Court Cards - to make just two of the more obvious comparisons. The fairly new Golden Dawn Magical Tarot adheres to the GD system closely, however. It was designed especially for use in Golden Dawn type Ceremonial Magick. It even has a second Temperance cards as required for the Portal ritual. https://www.llewellyn.com/product_excerpt.php?ean=9780738723396&excerpt_id=39489 The more abstract a card's symbolism, the wider its possible meanings. What an advanced reader may appreciate seems to be overwhelming for some beginners, however. On another forum, I once talked with a Tarot reading lady who pulled all the cards showing nudity out of the Waite deck before her boy (an elementary school kid) was going too look at it. We all told her not to be so prudish and to stick them back in. Nice gloomy deck. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, space can be seen as some kind of "plasma" since it's seething with virtual particles popping in and out of the "vacuum". Nothing is nowhere to be found! However, there are degrees of manifestation, and there are degrees of space. Relative space can be bent whereas the absolute space that it is embedded in cannot. The concept of absolute space is correlated with Infinity. Infinity is as intangible as Nothing. Actually, they are both Infinities, as Nothing or Zero is the infinitely small.

Voilà! https://blisswriter.wordpress.com/ Also on the bottom of DB's posts. Highly recommended reading.

Which brings me to yet another kind of card based on the date of birth: The Shadow Card. For people like you who get only one card by the calculation mentioned above, the other card among the Trumps of the same value is nevertheless also significant. However, it is a shadow theme that the individual generally needs to work on to come to terms with. The Hermit's shadow is Trump XVIII, The Moon. It most typically means fear. That certainly sounds a lot like the Adjustment card. For achieving the perfect sense of balance it shows (the woman on the picture is balancing on the tips of her toes!), Crowley suggested (in a lecture on Yoga) to meditate in the lotus posture with a brimmed cup of sulfuric acid on the top of your head. Not unconditionally recommended...

Including between Trumps 20 and 21. Right. And 22. 22 = 4 = 0 unfolded to the original quaternity (the Quintessence plus the Four Elements). That's certainly another valid perspective. Right. The two card are denoting beginning and end - followed by new beginning. Thus, there is a "wormhole" connecting the two cards to each other. From the Tabula Mundi deck. Yes, I know exactly what you mean!

Do you mean in the appendix of the BoT: "Attributions of the Court Cards"? The Prince of Cups ruling from 20° Libra to 20° Scorpio - that looks about right. <shrug>

Well, Tropical Astrology is not exactly a modern invention, however. It is actually the only kind of Astrology used in Western tradition, although, arguably, in the first centuries CE the shift between the two Zodiacs was rather neglectable. It's true that some Theosophists influenced by Indian astrology advocated a Sidereal Zodiac, and it seems quite likely to me that they inspired the GD to employ a Sidereal Zodiac. As you certainly know, the GD interpretation of the numbered Minor Arcana is strongly based on the decan system of the Picatrix, and that is meant as a Tropical system. (It could be interesting to compare this with the descriptions of the decans in the Sidereal Vedic system though.) But if we assume that both kinds of Zodiac are valid, then it is a logical assumption that an identical system of decans/pip cards could be applied to either. Ime, the GD attributions work just fine in a Tropical framework. However, I agree that in light of the hints in the GD literature, the topic warrants further exploration. I certainly agree that i.e. the Two of Cups card - despite the astrological symbols it carries - does not represent the planet Venus in Cancer. Rather, it denotes the Venusian 10° segment of that sign, according to the "Chaldean system" of Teucer the Babylonian. Knowledge of this system is required for understanding the astrological attributions of the pips. I find this thread somewhat unsuitable for an in-depth discussion of such technical details but would welcome it elsewhere.

An individual's archetypal nature will always seek to and, to one degree or another degree, manages to find expression in a their life. But it is true that individuation goes hand in hand with a purer and more conscious form of manifesting those generic energies. The return to one's roots is symbolized in Tarot by The Fool. This is also a fundamental theme in Daoism and Buddhism. The deepest self (or "nameless witness") would be analogous to the Source of the Archetypes, the Zero in their middle, the void that Buddhism and Daoism describe. It may be seen as represented by The Fool. That's where my interest in Tarot, Astrology, the I Ching, and other methods of divination has its root. Seeing and understanding to whatever degree the patterns that create our life, both internally and externally.

Sorry, Brian, I was somewhat overwhelmed with all the interest and feedback, that's why I didn't manage to progress to your cards as quickly as I wished. In order to catch up, I was pleased to be able to address two of your birth cards in the post you quoted, as they happen to coincide with another querent's cards. I only give general characteristics which are supposed to apply to one degree or another to anybody who has these as Personality and Soul card. Beyond that, in your case, we need to look at Trump XIX or The Sun. I will get back to it shortly.

Where are you, Songtsan? I hope that you are no longer suffering from your birthday party's aftermath.

A wonderful description of The Empress on an advanced level. But you also aptly addressed the lower forms of this Archetype's expression: I had plenty of them in my therapy room at the time I was collaborating with a psychiatrist. Many counsellors will suggest exactly that, not seeing the trap here.

The energy that the different versions of the card are speaking of may be the same. How it is dealt with depends on the outlook of the author, however. It is not surprising that Crowley would advocate a wild ride on the "Lion" of one's animalistic instincts. Whereas a medieval/'Germanistic' deck like the Swiss 1JJ Tarot seems to emphasize dominating and taming the Lion by "manly virtue". A Zen approach in contrast with a Tantric approach, you might say. But yes, this Trump can be seen as representing vital force in general. It doesn't always mean sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. However, it does talk of enjoying one's strength one way or another.

I agree with you, Nikolai. Actually, mental illnesses are often the travesty of states that a psychic or magician can control and consciously work with. Mainstream psychologists and psychiatrists are not aware of that upside, therefore they: misdiagnose and turn into illnesses even unusual mental states of a spiritually advanced nature; are not able to give guidance to genuine sufferers as to transforming their difficult conditions into their higher forms of expression Most of them will (wittingly or unwittingly) try to make the patient conform to mainstream ways of thinking and living as much as possible. Or, as an increasing trend, simply drug them. Do you seriously want an ordinary therapist to intelligently advise you regarding a psychic's death prediction? Get out of here!

I am not quite sure what you mean by "just counting them on". There will be a break in the cards' numerical prgression every once in so many years. Surely, your decision to get divorced would seem to better match Trump XII, The Hanged Man, than it's numerical equivalent Trump III - with the actual divorce conceivably following in the next year of your life, symbolized by Trump XIII or Death. Well, just to make sure that we are on the same page, my method for calculating annual cards is: Month of birth + day of birth + year of last birthday Add up the four digits of the result If the new result is larger than 22, proceed by adding up its two digits Unlike two-digit cards derived from dates of birth, this card (if larger than 9) is usually not further reduced to an additional one-digit card. However, I have experimented with this approach, and I conclude that the theme of the lower numerical equivalent tends to manifest itself too during the year, as the cards are some kind of harmonics to each other. Thus, a year that is "ruled" by Trump XIV ("Art" or "Temperance", depending on the deck) will at once manifest traits of Trump V or The Hierophant, in my observation. I speculate that the reverse may hold true as well. I would agree to this. There are different views among Tarot readers regarding the numerical value of The Fool here, but imo, this view is consistent with him standing at both the beginning and end of the Major Arcana, for after all, the Tarot is circular ("Rota"). A conclusion in keeping also with my personal experience.

Yes, IMO and IME, every individual born on a certain day belongs to a very broad class who share certain archetypal traits. Archetypes according to Jung have a wide scope of expression. So they will manifest somewhat differently in every individual. It is also likely that they will be seen actualized to different degrees in different people. Despite all that, a skilled reader should be able to recognize the common Archetype connecting all those individuals. Let's try to use your wife's chart as a practical example. Two of her cards are the same like two of Brian's, so their underlying concepts will supposedly be rather central for both of them. I will again describe them in general terms, and we will see how your wife and Brian hopefully can relate to them, each in their own way. In both cases, the Soul Card is Trump I, The Magus. (He is called The Juggler in many old decks.) This signifies a multi-faceted individual with several talents easily put to use. The card shows the God Mercury, meaning that these talents will especially pertain to communication in some form. Thus, they also tend to be rather adept at deception. In his very essence, The Magus is about the power to create one's own world in accordance with one's will. Further. the Personality Card is Trump X, Fortune (or The Wheel of Fortune, in other decks). These individuals will see life as a constantly changing game. They will take shifting circumstances for granted and even use them to their advantage. Especially if they manage to stand in the middle of the wheel as per The Magus. They may even be "soldiers of fortune", to one degree or another. As it happens, your wife also has Trump VIII as her annual card!!! So the same question goes to her as to all the others so far: Does the current year (since her birthday) seem to be in some way a time for contemplation and reflection, or rather a time for fun and enjoyment of sorts? Edit: Brian, as I mentioned, The Magus and Fortune both apply to you just like they do to Nikolai's wife. By the way, isn't it curious that your birthdays are only one day apart from each other? However, your kind of case is the only one that includes three cards! I will come back to you, the third card and, of course, your annual card shortly.

Regarding the idea of you seeing a psychologist, you reflected my thoughts exactly. With the reservation that sometimes, a sensitive, spiritually oriented one can in fact be of great assistance, but unfortunately, they are few and far between. To find one, you may have to go to California in the first place.

Or in the Abbey of Thelema.