The Journey The Alchemical Visions Tarot and this accompanying book present the cards as a journey— or rather, as a process known in alchemy as the Great Work (Magnum Opus). The ancient alchemists used this term to describe working with the prima materia to create the Philosopher’s Stone. But here we are not concerned with the transmutation of matter perse, but how the Great Work is a metaphor for the process of unlocking the deep secrets of the subconscious mind, the “alchemical” process of integrating darkness and light, the above and the below, the “yes” and “no,” the Anima and Animus, what is known and unknown—the process of individuation, self-consciousness, and becoming whole. The Empress The Empress sits enthroned in the midst of an ancient forest. She is the first figure of the Tarot who faces us directly and makes strong eye contact with the Traveler. Whereas the High Priestess represents the spiritual feminine, the Empress rules closer to our mundane world. While the world of the High Priestess is occupied by monsters, gargoyles, and invisible people, the world of the Empress has no such creatures. She rules a kingdom of human beings, male and female, old and young, happy and sad. She is the fruitful mother of multitudes. Flowers flow from her genitals indicating abundance. She is above all things universal fecundity. The Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune is a cosmic wheel, the Ouroboros, the cyclic ever-repeating infinity of the universe. This is the ultimate Wheel of Fortune, the cyclic nature of the universe itself: creation out of destruction, life out of death, and the idea that the ultimate source of psychic nourishment is within one’s self— the serpent sustains itself by consuming its own tail. The Ouroboros is the serpent that devours, fertilizes, begets, slays, and brings itself to life again. It implies infinity and wholeness at the same time. It speaks of the perpetual motion of a fluidic universe and for the flux of human life. Death In the traditional Tarot deck, Death is represented as an emaciated, partly skeletal figure walking across a field of severed body parts. Death, either in the real world or as a symbol of psychic states, is more complex than this. Many Tarot decks of the past have demonstrated a fear of death by not naming the card, it was simply known as the Card with No Name (Voldemort?). As with many cards in this deck, the subject matter is so complex that it needs to be parsed. The various aspects of Death are here represented by four figures in addition to the traditional figure who drags people unwillingly into the underworld, the Danse Macabre. Page of Cups The Page of Cups confidently strides hip deep in the ocean directly toward us, holding a large chalice. The major question the Page of Cups presents to us is: What is in the chalice being offered to us? This man is dressed to indicate he is on a cusp. He wears Western clothes: jacket, vest, trousers, and even a watch and a fob. In contrast, he also wears a necklace of tribal design and a distinctly African hairstyle. He is a combination of European and African, which geographically is the conjoining of the “above” and “below” the equator. Ace of Swords To understand the Ace of Swords—and indeed, the whole suit of Swords—one must accept that a sword is not only a weapon, but also a device for cutting, cleaving, and refining. In alchemy, the sword represents purification, The Swords are the suit of distillation and refinement. In Buddhism, the sword represents the discrimination of thought, a means of cutting away ignorance. The symbolic sword can be used to release the Traveler from the physical world in which the Traveler is bound and transport them into the spiritual world. Alchemically, the solid must be dissolved and rendered volatile so that its essence may be liberated; psychologically this means that barriers must be made permeable so that the psychic contents are accessible. The sword is the instrument of choice for this process.
✔ Author(s): Arthur Taussig
✔ Title: The Alchemical Visions Tarot: 78 Keys to Unlock Your Subconscious Mind (Book & Cards)
✔ Rating : 4.7 out of 5 base on (232 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1578636418
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
Readers' opinions about The Alchemical Visions Tarot by Arthur Taussig
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