Autumnal Equinox and The Emperor: Balance and Inner Power

Happy Monday and welcome back to The Alchemy of Tarot. As this evening (in the Northern Hemisphere) is the fall equinox, we celebrate Mabon/ Wheel of the Year. Here we have the Harvest, and the descent of the Goddess Persephone into the underworld. The path that flows through the Wheel of the Year is also reflected in other archetypal journeys.  In the past few weeks, we have explored the path of the Fool throughout the Tarot. As the card of beginnings, the Fool first encountered the Magician and then the High Priestess. In these archetypes, we explored the conscious and unconscious acts of intuition and ritual. Last week the Fool discovered the Empress, the Mother, symbolizing abundance and nurturing. Today the Fool encounters the Emperor,  representing the wisdom of the Father, structure, and authority. This is the first card to offer rules to the childlike innocence of the Fool. Through this structure, he can better prepare for his journey through the more challenging cards of the Tarot.

Rider-Waite Tarot

This fourth card of the Major Arcana, corresponding to the planet Aries, also allows us to explore concepts of balance and inner power. The Emperor, husband to the Empress, is a noble, confident, and reserved leader seated on a large throne, a scepter in his right hand (representing the masculine) and an orb in his left hand (feminine). This balance of polarities, a visual representation of Jung's anima and animus archetypes, is also symbolic of the Great Rite. This amalgam of balancing elements; the polarity of masculine and feminine, religious wisdom and political authority, nurturing and discipline helps us (and the Fool) to find better balance within ourselves. We may feel liberated and carefree as the Fool, and empowered to rely on our intuition and magick as The Magician, High Priestess, and Empress, however unless we have the appropriate skill, discipline, structure, and training, we cannot progress much farther on our journey. As much as our inner children might not like authority figures and the structure they represent, these archetypes help to better define us contextually, and in turn allow us to plan, learn, and develop the tools we need along our individual paths. The Emperor reminds us to eat our metaphysical vegetables, take good physical care of ourselves and keep our focus strong and healthy. We can not hope to lead others, until we ourselves are empowered through discipline and hard work.

We may also see the Emperor as the Green Man, an anthropomorphized figure that connects us to the wild energies of nature. Here we find a 

Tarot of Transformation
Willow Arlenea & Jasmin Lee Cori

figure yielding a scepter with a crystal illuminating his power and alliance with nature. The viewpoint of the audience for this card is ground level, so the figure of the Green Man appears imposing and authoritarian (much as a father figure might appear to a young child). There is a dynamism to this image, and the world appears concave, enveloping him in a shroud of galaxies and starlight, as if all of the natural world was responding to his charismatic power. If we meditate on this image, or come across it in a reading, we find ourselves diving deep into our own divinity, and that which allows us to prosper. Through the individuation process we enter a balanced space of confidence and nurturing wisdom. 

If you would like to book a Tarot reading, Reiki or intuitive session, please email me: abraxasintuitivearts@icloud.com and make sure to visit me on FB and Twitter!

The Empress: Venus and Transcendentalism

Welcome back to The Alchemy of Tarot and thank you for the positive feedback and support of this blog! This week we continue in our journey through the Major Arcana and explore The Empress.

Rider-Waite

This third card, ruled by Venus is the archetype of the Earth Mother, whose magick and spirituality are reflected through qualities which are very grounded and sensual. As can be seen in the 19 century social movement of Transcendentalism, divinity is present in all of nature, and there is significant power in its physical manifestations. Here is the power of the Harvest and the feminine mysteries.

The mother archetype is significant in Jungian theory, and the Empress is often depicted in the Tarot as visibly pregnant. The figure sits in a throne with a crown of 12 stars connecting her to the upper world. This crown may represent the 12 constellations of the zodiac which guide us through the Wheel of the Year. Beside her is a heart shaped shield with a symbol of the ruling planet Venus boldly engraved on its front. 

Again we are reminded of the power of earthy sensuality, and the Divine Feminine. 

The Tarot of Transformation
(Willow Arlenea & Jasmin Lee Cori)

In the previous card of the High Priestess we were connected to the sixth chakra, the third eye, intuition. Here we are grounded in the Root Chakra which is the basis of connection, safety, and family, and symbolized by the primordial color of the feminine, (and her throne) red.

When this card appears in a reading, we may find that we have more energy to place into creative projects, or being more involved in social gatherings. The Empress archetype reminds us that divinity can manifest in nature, and blossom in familial settings. In the Earth Mother card shown on the right we see, and feel energy, motion, the power of creativity, and the immanence of the physical. As we explore the archetype of the Empress, the Earth Mother, we can better appreciate our own divinity, and the spiritual power that exists all around us.

ABRAXAS Intuitive Arts can be be found on FB and Twitter! If you wish to schedule a reading, Reiki session, or intuitive session, you can email me at abraxasintuitivearts@icloud.com. To celebrate the Fall Harvest, I am offering one time (one per client) discounted 20 minute Tarot readings now through September 30! Contact me for details...

The High Priestess: The Moon and Intuition (Super Moon in Harvest)

“Intuition is seeing with the soul.”  ~ Dean Koontz

Thank you for following me through the archetypal journey of the Tarot. We have now entered the liminal space of The High Priestess. This card represents intuition, the Feminine, the power of the Moon. As today is also the Harvest Moon, and the last Super Moon of 2014, it's a perfect time to reflect on the power of the intuitive.

We might also think of this card as representing our 3rd eye chakra. Located between the throat chakra (communication) and the crown (cosmic consciousness), our 3rd eye, directed by the pineal gland, is the seat of our intuition and sixth sense. Through the magick of the 3rd eye we are able to "see" the unseen. We can intuitively know, through our inner wisdom that which our physical sight can often miss. Last week we explored the first card of the Major Arcana, the Magician archetype, which allowed us to manifest our creativity into the material realm. The second Major Arcana card of the High Priestess encourages us to turn inward, and find our own truths, our own paths. Ways of honoring this card might include holistic modalities such as meditation, yoga, and counseling.

Rider-Waite Tarot

This card also symbolizes wisdom and balance. We see the figure of the High Priestess sitting on a throne between two pillars drawn from the Kabbalah.  She is adorned with an equal armed cross, the headdress of a priestess, and holds the Torah in her lap. These elements showcase the balance of the elements, the balance of emotion and reason, gentleness and severity, and the accumulation of knowledge. At the bottom of the card is a crescent moon possibly symbolizing the first aspect of the  Maiden, Mother, Crone triune. We also see on the screen behind her, 7 pomegranates which  emphasize her association with the maiden aspect (if we consider the mythology of Persephone). The number 7 is a magickal one and represents the esoteric.

The Tarot of Transformation
(Willow Arlenea & Jasmin Lee Cori)

Other ways of symbolizing her spirituality and intuition showcase her lifting the veil between worlds. As a keeper of arcane (or occult) knowledge, she has access to other dimensions, other galaxies. If viewing this through a lens of Jungian psychology or transpersonal psychology we might consider this a representation of accessing the unconscious, and connecting to our own personal stories and symbols. The High Priestess understands the power of dreams, and the importance of listening to our inner wisdom.  She is the witch, the shaman, the prophetess, the healer. By meditating on this archetype, we can better appreciate our awakening of consciousness.

ABRAXAS Intuitive Arts can be found on FB and Twitter! If you wish to schedule a reading, Reiki session, or intuitive session, you can email me at abraxasintuitivearts@icloud.com.

The Hermetic Principle: The Magician, Manifestation, and Creativity

Greetings from ABRAXAS Intuitive Arts and The Alchemy of Tarot! Thank you for your support of this new endeavor!

Last week we began our journey with the New Moon and The Fool. We discovered how The Fool symbolizes the Initiate and begins the process of individuation. For this week, we move to the next card in the Major Arcana, The Magician.

Rider-Waite Tarot

The Magician card brings us to the act of conscious manifestation, and is associated with the planet Mercury, and the element of air. The Fool carries the number 0, The Magician is 1. The figure of The Magician stands tall, his/her right arm reaching towards the upper realms,  while the left arm points to the lower world. Above his head is a sign of infinity, the lemniscate symbolizing his connection to divinity. This posture observes the Hermetic Principle of As Above, So Below, As Within, So Without, reminding us of the nature of creation and manifestation. Creativity begins in the imagination, and through our conscious Will eventually manifests into physical reality. This reminds me of the teaching in some Wiccan traditions, "To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Keep Silent." Here we see The Will (capital W) as it accepts the challenges and struggles that are an integral part of any creative endeavor. In front of The Magician are some tools of creativity and represent the 4 suits of the tarot:  the chalice, pentacle, sword, and wand. Around The Magician's waist is an ouroborus possibly symbolizing re-creation, or cycles of return.

If the Fool represented the Initiate, The Magician represents the Initiated, as he is a skilled practitioner in the magickal arts. His simple but effective altar is outside, surrounded by colorful blooms of roses and lilies. He/she gazes confidently towards the viewer, aware of his power and intention. Some Tarot readers feel that this card represents the artist, the performer, the musician, the dancer. All actively mining through psychic reservoirs and manifesting their creation into reality.

Tarot of Transformation
(Willow Arlenea & Jasmin Lee Cori)

Through a lens of Psychosynthesis, or Transpersonal Psychology, we may view this card as a way of discovering who we are through active participation in our personal development. We are just beginning the process of creation, and feel confident that our journey of self discovery will be a fruitful one. We have come prepared for this journey, and have our tools laid in front of us. These tools are conduits between our consciousness and the physical realm which surrounds us. As Above, So Below, As Within, So Without, our thoughts, hopes, dreams manifest through our Will. This is a very active card and allows us to feel a sense of hope and forward movement in our evolution. If we look at the card on the right, we can get a sense of this propulsion of energy. The figure of The Magician stands as a dancer in the center of a vortex spiraling around, creating an outward manifestation of the Will. As the spiral is arguably, one of the building blocks of creation, it is another sign of the power of manifestation.

To me when this card shows up in a reading, it symbolizes hope and progress in a new endeavor. As active participants traveling down our individual paths, The Magician serves as a portal for us, a conduit of Will, Intention, and energetic evolution.

If you would like to book a Tarot reading, Reiki or Intuitive session, please email me at abraxasintuitivearts@icloud.com.