By Christine Payne-Towler
ArkLetter 63, June 12, 2010
This month we will be looking into our new Tarotlogy spread using the fascinating three-level analysis that comes forward from at least the time of Ficino (the early Italian Renaissance), and quite likely much earlier (Pseudo-Dionysius, c. AD 500; Meister Eckhart, AD 1260-1328). By this I mean the analysis of reality in three scales; the personal, the collective, and the cosmic.
When we started our World Server’s series, we suggested a number of threesomes that are classic to the Tarot. For the sake of our new Tarotlogy approach, our focus is now bending towards a triplicity of socio- economic considerations, giving us a glimpse into our own private lives, the business/investment world, and the Archetype level from which all these developments emanate.
Traditional ‘Three Worlds’ Paradigms
This idea of multiple nested and interpenetrating worlds -- with the Divine Origin envisioned as prior-and-higher, and the earthy realm of consequences seen as a residual aftereffect -- has been both embellished and pruned multiple times, depending upon the hands it was passing through.
The ancient Gnostics projected multiple Aeons filled with divine operatives who, level by level, “fall” into the shadowy ignorance that characterizes our inferior creation. Pseudo–Dionysius projected a multi-layered cosmos for the early Christians, studded with choirs of angels, stars, planets, elements, even demons at the bottom end, (yes, God uses the demons too, after all). This is the original meaning of the phrase ‘Stairway to Heaven’.
The Hebrews modeled their version of reality on a basic ten-stage molecule that can be expanded, fractal-style, to account for multiple worlds when necessary. These are just a few of the great number of models that we could use for this process, depending on what our esoteric interest might be.
By making this choice they cleverly encompassed the whole cosmic scheme, since those seven planets are enmeshed in an ancient rulership system spanning the Solar System as they knew it -- the 12 signs and four elements of the Zodiac plus all of their subdivisions and ruling intelligences.
This astronomical model, ancient beyond cultural memory, easily interlocks with the Three Worlds approach while also completing the model with a full matrix of Earthy values as well. All that is required is to envision the uppermost “world” as the Divine Realm of Archetypes, the meso-middle “world” as the Astral Realm, and the micro-mundane “world” as the Sphere of Individual Experience. The intersection of these three “worlds” gives the final manifestation of the materialized Malkuth of this Earth, including these bodies and this time/space intersection where we are living out our daily lot.
Our Basic Method
Readers will be choosing their own cards for the Sun, Moon and Ascendant positions, then interpreting them in light of their own birth chart values, as discussed last month. You can experiment with whether these 3-worlds keywords I’m proposing give you any assistance with your translations. Your cards can then be integrated with the five cards I have drawn for the visible planets. Our planetary cards will also be examined in the light of their positions and aspects in the NewMoon chart. It is this cross-referencing of chart and cards that creates the mutually enhancing synthesis that we are calling Tarotlogy.
Here is a sample collection of values that we can attach to our 5 planetary positions and the Ascendant card, to help us view them via the Three Worlds philosophy. Lets view the Macro scale as referring to the archetypal and eternal dimension, the Meso scale as referring to current human collective developments, and the Micro scale as referring to personal issues:
| MACRO | MESO | MICRO | |
| Divine | Astral | Mundane | |
| I. ASCENDANT | Aura | Avatar | Persona |
| II. MOON | Eclipse/Syzygy | Imagination | Intuition |
| III. MERCURY | Consciousness | Multitasking | Creativity |
| IV. VENUS | Harmony | Rhythm | Attunement |
| V. SUN | Realization | Commitment | Confidence |
| VI. MARS | Energy | Leadership | Motivation |
| VII. JUPITER | Expansion | Increase | Worth |
| VIII. SATURN | Time | Structure | Discipline |
A Nuance Worth Noting
Before we proceed, it’s time to highlight the bias built into the model we are using for our spread, a bias that I have been pondering with great interest of late. In the source image, the Lights (Sun and Moon) are presented oversized, which immediately draws our attention, as if they were the most important forces in the diagram. But when one looks beyond that detail it become obvious that this septenary of Planetary Governors is arranged in a telling order. Mercury is actually the overlooked center of this constellation, sitting in the keystone position of this arch. His companions are paired off to either side of him, left and right: Jupiter/Saturn, Venus/Mars, and Sun/Moon.
Looking through my magical books and esoteric art resources, I see variations of this pattern repeated fairly often. What is the significance of this particular arrangement? My cumulative impression, after a wide-scale review of the places where this arrangement appears, is that this is the alchemical recipe for the alchemical Azoth, which has some of the significance of a ‘fifth element’ and the Universal Medicine. This exalted form of Mercury is also known as Quicksilver, mercury fine or the materia prima.
In fact, this is not really a material element at all, properly speaking, but a state of consciousness that is attained when the earthly four elements (variously governed by the Planets and Lights) are in perfect balance and arrangement.
Focus on Mercury
In ArkLetter 27, from June of 2007, called Body As Cosmos, the second half of the essay delved into the mysteries of Mercury, including the way his Caduceus maps the occult implications of the human nervous system. Since Mercury has been assigned rulership of the body’s internal communications via the nervous system, it provides a perfect symbol of the inner life, the hologram of consciousness that we inhabit for as long as we remain in human form.
As you peruse this article and ArkLetter 27 for insights about Mercury, try to remember that all of this symbolism, these descriptive efforts and the whole array of meaningful associations that have been drawn to Mercury have come into being because human consciousness is such a multidimensional and catalytic force, working both within us and all around us to impregnate our world with our personal vision.
Somehow we do this even when we aren’t completely conscious of how it comes to pass. That unknown magic that we work on the world, our unique and peculiar combination of projections and responses, is exactly what the myth and magic of Mercury boils down to.
This Mercury Transcends Astrology
Although Mercury is centrally located in the image we are using, this isn’t really the situation of Mercury in the actual the Solar System. Historically, going back to the oldest conventions of astrology East and West, Mercury is paired with Jupiter in the ancient Ladder of Lights/ Essential Dignities scheme. In western astral mythology, Jupiter is Mercury’s father and Maia is his mother. (She’s the Roman goddess of spring, warmth and increase.) So even though the Jupiter/Mercury pair are not to be viewed as astrological mates like a husband/wife team, we see them matched together as the rulers of the Mutable signs and the archetype of the student/teacher pair.
For reasons unique to this application, Mercury stands out as un-mated, not balanced out or neutralized by having an equal-and-opposite partner. This tells us that it’s Mercury’s hermaphroditic transcendence of gender (yin/yang) that is the salient detail here. The quality of mind that Mercury represents for this diagram is androgynous and self-inseminating, complete within itself. This self-determining quality allows Mercury to serve as the “middle term” and fulcrum between the planetary opposites Sun/Moon, Venus/Mars and Saturn/Jupiter.
In contrast, we can easily find other occult arrangements in esoteric art, in which the “elevated” or highlighted planet, the mediator between the other six, will be Saturn, the Sun, or the Moon. Those arrangements represent different magical purposes being addressed in the larger astro/alchemical work.
Because of these conditions, I’m inclined to surmise that this arrangement of planetary symbols isn’t being used in a strictly astrological way. Putting Mercury at the center drops us off the Ladder of Lights diagram with its formal structure of exaltations, falls, sympathies and antipathies. Therefore we don’t need to limit ourselves to a specifically astronomical approach while unpacking the cards that are chosen for this reading.
June’s Tarotlogy Analysis
Now we are ready to put some cards into these theoretical positions and ask ourselves how we should read them. We already know that we want to focus on the personal, social and global economic climate and any possible advice we might be able to glean for navigating these challenging times. We will each have a few cards of our own to investigate, plus our personal birth chart to bring under consideration. We will examine these five cards through our Three Worlds lens, so we can have a scale of sorts to help us keep our responses in proper proportion. That seems like plenty of information to juggle for this month!
I might mention, by the way, that the Gemini NewMoon is the traditional time to embark upon the Great Work of the Alchemical Transformation, through which the magus hopes to be transformed in tandem with the changes his materials undergo in the alchemical vessel. Look at the chart and you can see that at this time, Mercury is fulfilling the role of the High Priest, presiding over the Sacred Marriage of Sun and Moon (i.e. the Eclipse/Syzygy I was referring to in the Lunar 3-worlds graph, when the Sun pours himself into the Moon and fills her up.) This is considered THE perfectly auspicious time to examine one’s unique personal relationship with manifestation.
I’m using Paul Huson’ Tarot, Dame Fortune’s Wheel, and looking at the chart as I shuffle.
I. Venus at 27+ Cancer: Knight of Swords reversed
Venus is very busy in this chart, since she’s not only providing a fulcrum for the Uranus/Jupiter opposition with Saturn, but is also holding down one foot of a Finger of God with Neptune (Saturn being the other foot, as it happens.) This gives her a lot of leverage, whether for good or ill.
Regarding her trine/sextile relationship with the early-Aries/late-Virgo planets in opposition, Venus seems to be suggesting a positive identity crisis of sorts. By that I mean that the Jupiter/Uranus entry into Aries offers everybody a chance to wake up out of our past trances and get really current with the rapid pace of change sweeping over the globe.
This intense blast from Aries also evokes a ‘fearless moral inventory’ on the part of Saturn in Virgo, arousing the desire to leave behind any and all attachments to substances, behaviors and people that increase our dependencies and obligations to others. This Saturn will pull us up short by any leashes or harnesses that we are using as crutches, to insulate us from direct experience of our situation.
The result is a stern re-evaluation of our lifestyle and consumption patterns, designed to wean us of our overindulgences and set us on more sustainable footing going forward. If we are lucky and prove to be good cooperators, the maternal attentions of Venus in Cancer will offer us supportive encouragement to make the correct changes in our lives. If we are not so lucky, momma Venus might choose to abstain from rescuing us from our carelessness and lack of appreciation for her gifts. (All accompanied by great love and compassion, and done for our own edification, one can be sure!)
Regarding the Finger of God that Venus presses to Neptune (with Saturn making the other inconjunct and Mars in the middle at Neptune’s opposition-point): These kinds of figures are scary to endure either as a participant or as a witness, because they always produce victims who are ceremonially tortured for the expiation of collective sins. You can see the whole syndrome at work in this chart because has Mars stepped into the noose, and he’s now swinging from Neptune’s gibbet like a bag of rocks.
It’s of no help at all that Mars has just rolled into Virgo, and is therefore earnestly striving to clean up his act for a change – while he was crossing Leo he was radiant with self-pride! (Echoes of BP?) Mars’ image is now being held out as an example by the vast semi-awakened collective unconscious of humanity (Neptune), a token of the mass mind’s power to make or break any who would disturb its meditations. Helpless outrage demands someone or something to blame for the shocks that are awakening the collective mind from its media trance, so apparently all things Martian need to be hung out to dry! (More on this below)
Huson’s sparse comment on the Knight of Swords reversed is telling: The keyword is Warrior, and the reversed meaning is “Incompetence, imprudence.” To me, this doesn’t bode well for Venus’ desire to bring grace and mutual admiration to the current situation! But let’s filter those ideas through the keywords we established for our 3 Worlds approach, and see what positive energies we can salvage from this card.
Harmony: At the macro or cosmic level, showing a Cancer Venus as the reversed Knight of Swords emphasizes the vast differences in outlook that exist between different civilizations right now. For example, whereas the so-called ‘1st world’ is rightfully aggrieved and horrified by the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the Nigerian population is wondering where the international outcry was while their entire country has been utterly trashed by the oil extraction industry over the last 20 years. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-shell) It seems as if the very Archetype of Venus is rising up in protest against the double standards and poisonous pretenses of a global economy that rains devastation down on the many for the sake of the few.
Rhythm: at the meso- or middle level, where the pulse of Nature’s
Seasons carries all of us along through the yearly cycle, the threat of global climate change (from whatever source) is looming. Since Venus rules Taurus, the sign most often corresponded to the natural abundance of this planet, I’m thinking this Knight is trying to arouse us to fight back against the mishandling and interference that is humanity’s primary signature on the face of our planet. The more we learn about ways to restore Nature to a facsimile of her original state, the more we can blunt the blade and calm the temper of this fearsome cruel and heedless Knight. We should be harnessing all this ferocious, furious energy to beat our weapons into plowshares, making tools for cultivating the earth again.
Attunement: At the micro-level of the private individual, Venus endows
us with innate sensitivities we can extend as cords of empathy and comfort to our fellows. Many are getting increasingly upset from feeling blocked, helpless and useless in the face of our collective challenges (feelings which might be mirrored in Huson’s comments above). A more evolutionary and pro-active stance would be to use our sensitivities to align with and assist those who are currently on the front lines of these tragic imbalances. Rather than flailing around destructively but helplessly with swords of anger and judgment, let’s seek out ways to protect and help each other, creating community solidarity and resulting in bonds that might strengthen us as a collective. We may individually feel too small to make a difference alone, but together we can become unstoppable.
II. Jupiter at 0+ Aries, conjunct Uranus: Three of Cups
Wow, is this conjunction a stunner! A mere 26 minutes of arc (not quite half of one degree) separates Jupiter from Uranus in the sky right now, and they are both hovering in the first degree of Aries, symbolic of the 1st day of spring. If things have been feeling rather hair-trigger and electrical lately, if unexpected and unpredictable events have become the norm, if you’re only a few minutes from the next breakdown, then you know what I’m talking about.
Even with Saturn over in Virgo doing his level best to cover this Aries explosion with flame retardant to bring circumstances under control again, there’s still more fireworks blowing up right now than the Fourth of July. Something has turned up the astral heat, and people are popping off right and left. They just can’t hold it in any longer!
The trine from Venus goes some distance towards mollifying the explosiveness of the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction, but nothing beats the symbolism of these two merging in the first degree of Aries. This is the first day of the rest of your lives, people! We have to look around us with newborn eyes, shed of the acculturation and hypnosis that keeps us in our traces, try to see the world as if for the first time.
Never mind what you used to see when your old self was taking stock. This is different, and things won’t ever go back where they were before again! You can either surround yourself with opportune and optimistic ideas during this time of upheaval and uncertainty, or you can continue to take refuge in outworn hopes that “big daddy” will fix it all while you mind your own business. (The problem is, nobody can tell a Jupiter/Uranus conjunction to mind it’s own business, so there’s no guarantee that you can keep it out of your living room…)
Huson’s comment on the Three of Cups is short and sweet. The Key word is Success, and its meaning is “Happy ending, accomplishment”. We certainly see this idea on the card; here the Queen honors her Knight after he has earned her esteem in the joust.
Expansion: At the macro-level, where we encounter the immortal and divine Archetypes, Jupiter symbolizes the concept of the Expanding Universe. Because every atom is gradually getting farther apart from every other atom throughout the infinite Creation, every bit of reality is constantly refreshed by a ceaseless influx of new potentials that can be followed up on and cultivated by whoever is so moved. Certainly the presence of Uranus adds a near-emergency-level boost of unpredictability to the situation, but since Jupiter has been deemed a benefic (bringer of good fortune) since antiquity, I’m going to gamble and say that the speed and intensity of incoming events only increases the degree of opportunity available to every person who is poised and ready.
Increase: On the meso-level, this concept suggests the quality of Jupiter that one needs to beware of. Being the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter multiplies whatever he touches, a trend that can quickly morph into analogues to cancer and metabolic syndrome despite our unthinking fantasies that “more is better”. Anybody who has watched Disney’s rendition of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice in the movie Fantasia knows what I’m talking about.
Also, our nation has been financially wounded by an unchecked epidemic of greed and narcissism at every level, and this conjunction of Jupiter with Uranus shows no signs of putting a brake on that. Better for individuals to detox some more and keep lightening our load, so we quit feeding the beast to whatever degree is possible. Maybe the feeling of shock from Uranus will help us voluntarily scale down our perceived needs and sense of entitlement, and our expectations by a few orders of magnitude, if only to diminish the rate at which we are outgrowing our ecological niche.
Worth: On the micro level, Jupiter is the planet that symbolizes our sense of self-esteem and rightness-of-being. When you accept who you are and feel good about yourself, everything in the world looks more positive. Such a person more easily says YES to life, and is less easily depressed by circumstances beyond their control. In a positive Jupiter climate, one feels that there are enough of the right resources around to result in a good life and personal happiness. Seeing the 3 of Cups in this position assures us that personal happiness is still possible, even in the context of unexpected developments and blows from our blind side. It really would behoove us all to interpret this Jupiter/Uranus conjunction as a sign of liberation and rebirth, wherever it falls in our charts.
III. Mercury at 3+ Gemini: Knight of Cups
Our keystone Mercury is ensconced at the doorway to his home in Gemini, providing commodious accommodations for the NewMoon encounter that’s happening in his sign. Mercury is playing the role of decoy right now, drawing heat from the powerful three-sided figure with power-planets Mars and Pluto. Mercury’s dynamic engagement almost completely camouflages the NewMoon nuptials happening in the later degrees of Gemini, leaving the SoLunar p air almost entirely free of heavy, entangling energies with other moving bodies in the chart. So this is the first thing we see about our Mercury – he’s doing Knightly work by guarding and defending a safe space for the Sacred Marriage to be consummated, no matter what external time/spaces conditions might offer in the moment.
Mercury is cleverly managing his relations with Mars in Virgo (by square) and Pluto in Capricorn (by inconjunct) in such a way that the alienating potentials are neutralized while the bonding and healing elements are increased. He does this by encouraging both sides of the earth trine between Mars and Pluto, without making a big deal about the changes their partnership puts him through. Mercury’s open-mindedness is really getting a test here! Together these three – Mercury, Mars and Pluto -- are enacting a Harmonic Grand Trine (consisting of a square, a trine and an inconjunct), which is one of the more tricky configurations in the whole astrological aspect canon.
I have described the feeling of this Harmonic Grand Trine figure as the equivalent of shedding a skin or giving birth to oneself. The trine side assumes that everything “should” work out fine with no glitches, while the square side feels scraped and sandblasted down to the quick. Meanwhile, the inconjunct side is so disoriented and upended that it can’t remember why this experience even has to be endured in the first place. It’s a stressful maneuver that is difficult to get right even after long experience. For Mercury, who is the recipient of both the square and the inconjunct, this little episode is something of an initiation.
Huson tells us that the name of this card is “Arrival”, and its meaning is approach, access, advent. (Traditionally this card includes the idea of homecoming, as in a return after long absence).
Consciousness: At the macro level, Mercury represents the Mind of God. Envision the Divine Imagination inventing a new myth for humans to work through. Like a fiction writer at his word processor, the One Over All is hatching new twists and turns of the plot, drawing the characters (that’s you and me!) in new directions, teaching us to dance to new beats. Literally, the Horseman of Cups is a troubadour-priest, who travels on a circuit through the countryside bringing music and light to the people who gather wherever he stops. As the underground emissary of a clandestine faith, he couches his teachings in love songs and dance numbers, trusting that those who have ears will hear. The suggestion is to be ready for the advent of a new agenda. Look closely at seemingly random turns of events, watching for a sign from Higher Power that a new dispensation is at hand.
Multitasking: At the meso level, Mercury represents the Mind of Nature.
Without changing the meaning of the card, this change in altitude brings up a different set of considerations. My very first thought in this regard was “It’s time to return home to Nature – to arrive again at the homeland we left so long ago”. This Knight is the emissary of Mother Earth. He is speaking up for the non-human aspect of the Creation and asking us to open our awareness to those lives and souls as well. He is also giving voice (through music) to the non-verbal, non-acculturated aspect of ourselves – that part which we encounter in deep reverie, in our dreams, and during the so-called Dark Night of the Soul (note the indigo sky behind him). Through his music, this Knight reaches past our egos, stirring our ancestral Well of Souls in the dreamtime and putting us in touch with our own most heartfelt loyalties again. He challenges us to become conscious of what matters most to us in this creation, so we can increase our sensitivity to that reality and thereby activate our sense of responsibility as well.
Creativity: At the micro level, Mercury represents the Individual Mind.
When I think of this Knight finally returning home after a long sojourn to the East (the Troubadours were one response to the Crusader culture of the 10-1100’s AD) there’s no doubt that he’s an utterly transformed creature compared to himself at the start of his journey. This Knight started on his sojourn full of pride and hubris, armed to the teeth and justifying his bloodlust with spiritual excuses. But the person who returns has outgrown all of that; he understands the value of life, the tenderness with which we should hold it, the dearness of every being to its Creator. Now he strives to attract the heart of creation and make a path back to Eden for those whose sensibilities desire such a thing. He’s a Pied Piper of Souls, a seeking to mend and heal what has been torn asunder by the hubris of civilization. So when you think about how to apply this card to yourself, realize how far you have come since your youth, how much wisdom you have been granted by the grace of God and your own willingness to learn. Survey the evolutionary path you have been traveling and realize who you are.
IV. Saturn at 27+ Virgo: Five of Batons reversed
Remembering what has been said above, Saturn is certainly a key player in this month’s chart. Right now there’s still a thin veil of incompleteness to the opposition between Jupiter/Uranus and Saturn, because Saturn has yet to cross out of Virgo and into Libra. The degrees to exactitude are already so close, however, that one can already feel its sneaky riptide tugging at our ankles. A confrontation is brewing between the person one wishes to be seen as, versus the person one actually is. Saturn’s participation in the Finger of God also drills home that we are all due to be “hoist on our own petard” (meaning, examined under the same microscope we apply to others).
Wonderfully, this is the card from my Illuminist Tarot that our current Tarotlogy spread is built upon. How great is that? Huson calls it Gold, giving it this meaning: “Wealth, opulence, magnificence, luxury, fortune. Enlightenment.” This helps explain the plethora of crowns we are looking at on a card that modern decks often attribute to a chaotic and confused state of missed connections and clashing agendas. (Can you tell which interpretation I prefer?)
Time: At the macro level, the archetypal level, Saturn is actually Chronos, the Lord of Time and dispenser of our karma. It is Saturn who (mythically) monitors the number of days each soul is allotted for any given lifetime. Saturn is also the one who tabulates our merits and demerits, demanding that they be balanced out before the soul is allowed to exit the Wheel of Incarnations. Being the polar opposite of a free-will indicator in this schema, Saturn metes out our Fate or Doom, those tests and challenges we cannot escape or ignore, because they are scripted into our soul’s eternal education.
Seen in this light, the 5 of Batons in this position demands that we acknowledge our most scarce resource, our most important asset, our most pivotal consideration, which is Time. There is a right time for everything, but when things are done in an incorrect order or at the wrong season, the results can run completely counter to our original intentions. It is as possible to be either too early for one’s opportunity, or too late (as agriculturalists and investors learn very quickly!) Therefore, the most precious insight prized by all successful people is to “watch your timing”. There is no substitute for close observation of the cycles affecting your endeavors. The wisdom to discriminate the moment to get in and the moment to get out is literally priceless. (This is the root of the famous financial-astrology quote, “Millionaires don’t bother with looking at charts, but billionaires do!”)
Structure: Saturn on the meso-level relates to the particularities that separate one entity from another. Cell walls, shells, teeth and skeletal systems are granted by nature to protect and support their organism, as well as enforce the difference between “me” and “not me”. Settling on a particular form and design grants an organism certain advantages, though it also imposes corresponding limits. This is true for business entities as well as living creatures. To thrive, any ongoing enterprise needs to respect it’s limits just as avidly as it pursues its opportunities. Our most sustainable successes come when we accept the design specifications that are built into our body/mind matrix and our species predilections. By working with the givens instead of against them, we are less likely to waste energy, time, and self-esteem in fruitless struggle.
Discipline: It seems utterly fitting that here at the micro-level, the acquisition of discipline is the necessary pre-condition for being blessed with metaphorical or literal Gold. For too long the consumer economy has been selling us the idea that the path to Gold is “credit”. Now that this false front has collapsed and taken our illusions of grandeur with it, we can turn our attention back to the character-building work that is the real value of this symbol.
V. Mars at 2+ Virgo: King of Wands reversed
This month’s Mars feels trapped in a damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don’t scenario, as he’s playing the Hanged Man to Neptune’s Finger of God formation. Pluto in the early degrees of Capricorn is in the right position to assist Mars with this constrained state, except that Pluto’s retrograde aspect makes him seem ‘grouchy’ and unresponsive. Also, as I mentioned before, there’s the issue of whether Mercury has the stamina to support the Mars /Pluto trine without adding disharmony to either side, since Mercury stands in a square relationship with Mars and an inconjunct with Pluto. It’s a diplomatic sticky wicket!
One fascinating nuance is that, despite the tiny little interval between Jupiter and Uranus, both in the first degree of Aries, it seems that Saturn has a wide inconjunct with Jupiter, but a triseptile with Uranus. Which influence will win out? Each one of us will have to watch and see for ourselves.
The entry of Mars into Virgo is probably somewhat of a challenge for the Martian energies (think ‘the military’), especially after his enjoyable transit through Leo, the fixed Fire sign. Think of the lusty warrior, who is schooled in the finer arts (primarily murder and the joy of rape and pillage), now trussed up in civilized clothing, necktie/noose around his neck, stuck behind a desk pushing paper. That’s Mars in Virgo, suffering from claustrophobia and sweating bullets because he’s being shown up intellectually by pencil-necked geeks. Not a comfortable situation, my friends!
I can’t really believe that this will be a calm or easy period until Mars gets out of this detail-oriented and un-spontaneous sign into Libra, the sign of Mars’ partner and spouse. Remember that, by then, Mars will be pressed up against Saturn and participating in the giant cardinal-sign T-square of later this summer. At that point he’ll be fully primed and ready to express himself freely, I’ll wager!
Huson’s keywords for this card are Country Squire, Julius Caesar. He gives the reversed meaning as, “Severe, maybe intolerant”. Upright, this fellow is seen as skilled and practical, but it seems from the contrast that, in reversal, this King is a harsh taskmaster.
Energy: At the macro level, Mars signifies the Engine of Creation, in the sense of “that force which through the green fuse drives the flower” (Dylan Thomas). In general we tend to think of Mars as armed and dangerous. This is a sign that we have forgotten the original doctrine of the early Cabbalists, wherein Mars is the stern right hand of the Mother Pillar. Also, in the Spanish Tarot tradition, Mars corresponds with the Empress card (instead of with Strength). So there is no contradiction in envisioning this reversed King of Wands with a feminine slant! (Matter of fact, there is an argument to be made for routinely switching the gender of a card when it shows up reversed.)
As a rule, Nature will try to grow something in absolutely every crack and cranny of the creation. Her Viriditas is unstoppable. Never bet against the sheer balls-to-the-wall determination of Life to carry on against all odds!
Leadership: At the meso level, Mars signifies the individual who is a figurehead for the collective enterprise. Like the Emperor of the Tarot, the fate of this individual is the fate of the city/state. Perhaps this card is suggesting that our heads of state and collective leaders are getting ready to enact some strictures upon us? Not such a far-fetched idea, I would think.
We “small fry” should still be exploring available avenues to preserve our individual powers of choice despite the constraints that appear to be looming. Self-sovereignty is one of the highest values of Mars on any scale. Most likely our current choices will center on adaptive strategies, reassessing the ways, and the degree to which, we wish to interact with the new norms. We might not be given the opportunity to opt out entirely, but we should still enshrine the right to know our own will and strive to fulfill it.
Motivation: At the micro level, Mars signifies drive and ambition, the willpower and assertiveness of the self-aware individual. He’s no doubt bossy sometimes; in fact he’s a regular dominator virus who is not afraid to break some things in the course of building others. He loves the act and fact of worthy labor – the challenge, the sweat, and the sense of accomplishment when a difficult task has been completed.
Mars has the force of character to sublimate his sentiments and sensibilities for the sake of his cause, focusing his entire being like a pinpoint laser. Certain kinds of projects can’t be accomplished unless somebody takes on this role of the icebreaker and opens the way.
I can’t imagine that Julius Caesar was content to constrict his vision for the sake of conformity, and so I’m guessing that this card nudges us to leave behind the fear of other people’s resistance and negativity, and just do what is in us to do. Nothing need stop our Martian attributes from being careful and sensitive in keeping with the needs of the situation, but abstaining from being an active force in our own story is simply not one of the options.
Now here’s my suggestion about what to do with this mass of information. Figure out in the case of each Planet, which of the three levels of interpretation will apply most fittingly to your situation. You can just take the suggestions as you find them here, or you can go to the next level and refer back to your birth chart to hone in on the significance of the cards and astro-alignments we have been examining here.
Take under consideration that these proposed Three Worlds keywords are just provisional. You can make up your own once the principle is understood. A simple summation of these categories for a single individual could be “Life in general; my immediate world; my inner life”. I didn’t focus much on unpacking the concepts attached to the Sun, Moon and Ascendant; perhaps we’ll have a chance to review those categories more thoroughly next NewMoon.
An Intrusion From Post-Modernity
All my writings about the Renaissance magi are for naught unless the individual reader actually gets hold of their own faculties, qualities and powers, being referred to above by the titles of the Planets. The vocabulary that was left to us from earlier eras is precious, because it gives us ‘handles’ by which we can get a grip on parts of ourselves that are invisible but extremely powerful in our practical lives nonetheless. We might call these energies by different names nowadays, names that are more psychological and/or scientific than the older terms. But whatever the terms, there are still REALITIES of a very substantial kind that anchor the vocabulary of esotericism.
Our focus the last few years has leaned a lot on this concept of “Mercurial” intelligence, inventiveness, individuation and transformative potential. Mercury’s mastery of The Word means he can spin myriad veils of interpretation over the plain facts of life, sometimes well enough to change the direction of events as they unfold. This mass of words that I’m always extruding does exactly the same thing. In the act of pointing at something I want you to think about, I weave a spell of ideas around you, replacing your own self-talk with the images and themes I’m asserting.
Even as far back as ArkLetter 9 in 2005, I have been self-consciously ambivalent about the ironical position that we all find ourselves entrapped in because of our collective addiction to materializing everything, even our finest and most subtle ideals. The friend whose quote heads up the article quite likely calls this existential state “the epistemology of the landfill”. (See ‘Can Esotericism Rescue Mankind?’)
Our dilemma is that we are the language animal, yet the results of our endless naming and rationalizing of every aspect of our lives has managed to separate us from the quick of our own lived experience. That’s why I used the word “spin” above, even in relation to my own earnest efforts to educate. The bulk of contemporary culture is equivalent to puffed-up cornstarch, offering endless mind filling but content-lacking distractions. Even good information thrown in with the bad adds to the general corruption, since few people possess a standard by which to distinguish one from the other.
The vast and sticky mass of mass culture is gossamer in its insubstantiality but stronger than steel in its power to enchain us. So I want to point my readers to a very useful sand-blaster of an article that can help cut through our culture’s miles-deep layer of bullshit and deliver your “mercury” back to you, extracted from it’s comfortable illusions and ready to be re-deployed towards new purposes. Here’s the link, give it a go: http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjun10/effort-shock06-10.html
ArkLetter 63
June 12, 2010
copyright christine payne-towler 2005-2010, all rights reserved
Subscribe to the TAROT ARKLETTERS
Classes, Readings, and Private Sessions on personal and business matters
1-800-981-3582
TAROT ARKLETTERS are published by:
Christine Payne-Towler and Noreah Press
Tarot Interpretation & Charts
Tarot Reading text creation at Tarot.com
Bishop, Gnostic Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Founder: Tarot University Online
Author: The Underground Stream
Since the copyright information for images is radically inconsistent across the web (and even this site), we attempt (!) to attribute images where appropriate by placing a relevant link connecting the originating site when possible. Anyone objecting to the use of their image in this free publication can have it removed immediately - Ed.
Comments