Tarot Major Arcana: A story of spiritual growth – Part 2

This story began with “the Fool/the Magician” in their safe world, where each actor had their usual role and place in society. This first stage represented the body and its outward movement.
With the decision made to dig deeper into one’s soul, we enter this second part of the story.

Stage II: Mind – Inwards

The second line of cards or the second stage represents the road of “insight”, our relationship with ourselves and our lives. It’s the inner world in each of us and our inner battles with life’s many tasks; but also the battles to try and let go.

The inner urge for fairness, the need to differentiate and judge, to choose to do “the right thing” (the “Justice” card) implies insight and enlightment (“The Hermit”). This discovery of the “right course of action” is felt at heart and is intellectually logical, it’s like a “click”, the pieces fall into place.

When you’re in the dark, troubled or standing before an obstacle or an event placed by fate – “The Wheel of Fortune”– and you find “insight”, you convert yourself from the enlightened “Hermit” into the card of “Strength”:

You come to believe that it’s natural to find things or situations which you cannot really influence; one can learn to live this reality and still go our way perseveringly until we master the task at hand.

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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.

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