Tarot Major Arcana: A story of spiritual growth – Part I

This story begins with “The Fool” and ends with him.

There are three states described in this story which are analogue to the “road of enlightment” led by Siddhartha; but these three stages are also pretty much like the process everybody goes through in life, personally or in relation to the always evolving paths of human civilization, it’s called “Spiritual Growth”. These states are patterns or archetypes which repeat themselves throughout all great quests.

I have prepared this image in order to follow each card as if it were a spiritual diary with three chapters. You can click on it for a bigger view.

Stage I: Body – Outwards

The first line of cards represents the state of “worldly life” or “material life”, the place where one influences others and is influenced by society. This is your everyday life. Material values are at display in the form of ignorance (not seen as negative), manipulation, the quest for power, concentration on acquiring material fortunes. Spirituality or spiritual purposes are not really present. This is Plato’s “soul of desire”.

Although today “The Fool” and “The Magician” cards have different meanings for us today – as you will see in my further descriptions- these represented archetypes, as original concepts, are rather negative.

• The unwanted, the renegade, he who doesn’t fit in and gives his back to society and its mores represented by “The Fool”.
• “The Magician” is the greedy street performer who will trick you out of your money without blinking, the con artist.

These starting cards in Tarot represent two archetypes which are looked down to. “The Magician” is considered to be the worse of both because “The Fool” cannot help himself. “The Magician” is deceiving with complete intention and purpose, he makes his living out of his well mastered con abilities.

These two cards represent the lowest standards in society. But they also represent:

• “The Fool”: freedom of choice, the search for truth even if it goes against tradition or the establishment. Prejudices, beliefs and assumptions are discarded and “one’s own new path” is followed with courage.
• “The Magician”: things are not always what they seem and not all that shines is gold. He dares us to look at our life critically, to discover what is real and what only appearance is.

So you see, the beginning of this first stage is the absolute start point of every evolution-stage as a spiritual and intelligent human being. Each card has two sides or meanings (symbology). You can stay in your secure world or you can start asking questions and living out of the mould, it’s the border between the material world and spiritual consciousness. “The Fool” asks for courage to go your own way and not necessarily that which you’ve been told to. “The Magician” in you can intelligently differentiate what is real and where you fool yourself in life. What is superficial and what hides behind it. Whether you consider doing something about it is not stated in this first stage, action will come in the next two stages. This first stage is always starting to be aware of your own place in life and taking an honest look at yourself. It represents the new task to assume or not.

The book called The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination from Robert Place names this first stage, according to Plato, “the Soul of Desire”, in which the material and our ego are honoured.

After these two cards, comes a sequence of personalities displayed according to their social hierarchy. “The Pope” as a spiritual leader has a higher social pedestal as the material powers represented by the royals; and it is he who signals that “the spiritual” and “the heavenly” rule over material power, sensual desires and social mores.

This last affirmation is confirmed and supported by the “Love” or “Lovers card”.

“The Fool”/“The Magician” in his path through materiality and sensuality has to decide between what his body or ego commands or what he strives for: virtue.

Cupid’s arrow is pointed at him while he looks at the woman with virtues, therefore his higher values will win over his ego. Here are material and sensual influences which are “worldly” but the higher or “heavenly” influences and inspirations are stronger.
Man decides to follow the way of higher values.

And just as this decision for spiritual growth is being made, will this stage be ended by the “The Chariot”. It’s time to act consequently with your decisions in order to reach your goals. The need for horses signals a long way to go.

This is the letting go of the “superficial” to start riding the path of “Insight”, Plato’s “Soul of Will” according to The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination from Robert Place. This point of view is also supported in Lee Bursten’s book “Universal Tarot of Marseille. A true guide to the Marseille Tarot.”

I see in the cards and agree on what these great books say; but there are other ways to see it:

These first seven cards or trumps, taking “The Fool” out, show the world in its established order which, good or bad, is a world of security where everybody knows which role to play and where they belong. The old and young, the weak and powerful, the wise and foolish, all find their representation in this first set of cards. And then with the “Love” card appears what in my opinion moves the world and society. And no, although it sounds beautiful, there’s more to this card than “all you need is love”.

The material/sensual in our human nature is such a strong force as our inner love for the beauty of truth.

Our culture or social customs, this we’re used to see and do have a strong saying in how we deal with these two poles of attraction, both fascinating in their own way. The third force comes from heaven, the universe, God, nirvana or inspiration (holy) which guides us even if we don’t see it or are aware of it:

It’s the urge of the heart and the urge of the soul: wanting to do the right thing, to be good, true and beautiful, which is inspired and motivated by elevated or holy energies.

In that moment where you decide yourself for truth, starts a whole new movement, like a rolling of events (The Chariot) that results in a not so orderly world anymore (that would be the second sequence of cards), and this bumpy road ahead intrinsically comes with growth and evolution.

Read “Part 2” of this story of spiritual growth in the Tarot Major Arcana here!

Filed under Tarot | Tags: god, spiritual-growth | Comments (2)