Opposite energies in the Majors

[changa]

A discussion I had in my readings exchange thread with another member prompted me to develop a new layer of understanding to the Majors. I'm sure this has been written about in many books already and it's nothing new to you seasoned readers, I would like to get additional insights to this from others though and see what your take might be on this.

 

So my cascade of insights started with the other member noting that Death is in a sense the opposite of the Emperor. After mulling that over for a while and trying to understand this from an energetic point of view (how I tend to categorize my way of "getting" stuff), I applied this template of thinking to all Majors and was quite pleased with what I came across. Here is a rough preliminary dive into exploring this idea of the Majors being in pairs (or triads) representative of the same energy, but with a different "angle of attack" as another member whose blog I like to read would put it.

 

Again, imagine the essence of the energy being the same in each group, just the way in which it's delivered/perceived shifts.

 

1 - Energy of new beginnings and decisiveness (maybe "choice" is implied?)

The Magician - Has the tools to take on whatever he chooses to take on

Wheel of Fortune - A decisive step is taken, the chooser could be you OR the Universe (circumstance)

The Sun - Will face whatever happens with a smile on his/her face

 

2. Duality

High Priestess - Everything that is hidden but can still be studied/understood

Judgement - Everything that was hidden is coming out, and maybe we can't understand exactly why.

Justice - A combination of the above when seen as the law of cause and effect; an invisible force that visibly restores harmony and balance. We can know why, but not how.

 

3. Growth

The Empress - The starting point of something new (the womb, a nurturing environment)

The Hanged Man - The halfway point where new realizations are revealed on what will come next

The World - The ending, the "looking back at what you learned" phase. (Why are her legs in the same position as The Hanged Man's??)

 

4. Stability

The Emperor - Gives structure and stability, represents life force. Is an authority figure (who you can challenge).

Death - Takes away structure, puts you back to "square one". Takes away life force. Is an authority figure you can't rise up against.

 

5. Learning, expanding

The Hierophant - Having somebody to learn from who has "been there before"

Temperance - Teaching yourself through trial and error.

 

6. Choices

The Lovers - Making choices with integrity that solidify a brighter future for you

The Devil - Making "comfortable" choices (repeating the past) 

 

7. Power

The Chariot - The energy of being prepared for anything

The Tower - That same energy but coming at you instead of from you

 

8. Trust

Strength - Ultimate trust in ones inner resources

The Star - Ultimate trust in outer circumstances (everything will be okay no matter what)

 

9. Knowledge

The Hermit - An ability to comprehend complicated energies and to share so others may understand

The Moon - The same energies, but nobody understands them, except the energies themselves (metaphysical/spiritual laws governing reality)

 

Like stated this is a rough draft of what I got from going through the cards once, there's probably deeper diving to be made, but I think maybe for fellow beginners (especially whoever happens to have a similar mental disposition as myself, seeing the duality in all things) this could be helpful in developing a base of understanding for the Majors.

[BrightEye]

You could also read

 

Lovers = choice

Devil = lack of choice

 

Chariot = control

Tower = loss of control.

[TheLoracular]

I think the principle of dualism and the divine trinity is so thick in the Major Arcana that there is literally no wrong away to pair them up and not find something insightful in what that pairing is.  There are ways to do it that are more traditional but that only means someone else did it, wrote about it, taught it to others and they taught it to others.

The most fundamental way to chose a pair to contemplate and gain insight about is to draw on Yin-Yang (which expresses itself in a myriad of ways- I personally look beyond gender to other symbolic polarities) and then start comparing the symbols and conventional meanings and see what comes up.

I can't comment on what is "right" or "wrong" about specific insights gained doing this with specific pairings (or trinaries if one is looking for the thesis-antithesis-synthesis instead) because I think that kind of work is 100% personal in its relevancy and meaning and truth.  

[changa]

1 hour ago, TheLoracular said:

I think the principle of dualism and the divine trinity is so thick in the Major Arcana that there is literally no wrong away to pair them up and not find something insightful in what that pairing is.  There are ways to do it that are more traditional but that only means someone else did it, wrote about it, taught it to others and they taught it to others.

The most fundamental way to chose a pair to contemplate and gain insight about is to draw on Yin-Yang (which expresses itself in a myriad of ways- I personally look beyond gender to other symbolic polarities) and then start comparing the symbols and conventional meanings and see what comes up.

I can't comment on what is "right" or "wrong" about specific insights gained doing this with specific pairings (or trinaries if one is looking for the thesis-antithesis-synthesis instead) because I think that kind of work is 100% personal in its relevancy and meaning and truth.  

This is why I'm so attracted to the Tarot, the way there's no "right or wrong", but there still being certain guidelines and ways of doing that seem to make the most sense. It's a lot like music to me, some people do spreads, some don't. Some like reggae, some metal. You can read the Tower to be something finally coming to pass releasing you from chains. You can play a happy song in a minor key to make it sound sad. So many musical analogies to be made.

 

What other kind of symbolic polarities are you talking about?

[TheLoracular]

22 hours ago, changa said:

This is why I'm so attracted to the Tarot, the way there's no "right or wrong", but there still being certain guidelines and ways of doing that seem to make the most sense. It's a lot like music to me, some people do spreads, some don't. Some like reggae, some metal. You can read the Tower to be something finally coming to pass releasing you from chains. You can play a happy song in a minor key to make it sound sad. So many musical analogies to be made.

 

What other kind of symbolic polarities are you talking about?

So in a lot of esoteric belief systems everything is binary ;  you can break everything down to two fundamental principles that oppose yet complete each other. 

Yin -- Yang  
Zero -- One
Nothing -- Something
Moon -- Sun 
Dark -- Light
Negative -- Positive
Form -- Forced
Ground --Sky
Below-- Above
Saturn -- Jupiter 
Black -- White 
Left -- Right 
Venus -- Mars
Lead -- Gold

 These are symbolic polarities and are not intended to have value judgements of one side being better than the other  (even though we are so often taught otherwise growing up).    

 So when you look at a card like the RWS  Chariot and see the Sphinx or the High Priestess and see the pillars?  Those are symbols on those cards to represent of the Yin-Yang or binary principle by intent.   And the list goes on and on.   

Edited December 5, 2020 by TheLoracular

[katrinka]

On 12/4/2020 at 9:27 AM, TheLoracular said:

I think the principle of dualism and the divine trinity is so thick in the Major Arcana that there is literally no wrong away to pair them up and not find something insightful in what that pairing is.

 

I agree. They can be paired or grouped in all kinds of interesting ways. Opposites, different "octaves" of the same concept, stages of life, etc. None of this is THE way, but a lot of ways work.
 

On 12/4/2020 at 9:27 AM, TheLoracular said:

There are ways to do it that are more traditional but that only means someone else did it, wrote about it, taught it to others and they taught it to others.

 

True. But the fact that generations of people bothered learning something and passing it on often indicates value. Not always - for years people believed that plague came from "bad air".  But traditions are generally much more trustworthy than trends.

 

6 hours ago, TheLoracular said:

 These are symbolic polarities and are not intended to have value judgements of one side being better than the other  (even though we are so often taught otherwise growing up).    

 

On the "higher" levels, like deep meditative states, they don't. But for us here "below", in day to day life, they do. That's what fortunetelling concerns itself with: good and bad fortune. And that's as it should be. As Campbell once said, "You can't have a tennis game without somebody on the other side of the net."

 

[TheLoracular]

17 hours ago, katrinka said:

 

True. But the fact that generations of people bothered learning something and passing it on often indicates value. Not always - for years people believed that plague came from "bad air".  But traditions are generally much more trustworthy than trends.

Oh gosh, yes!  There is so much truth to this. 

 

17 hours ago, katrinka said:

 

On the "higher" levels, like deep meditative states, they don't. But for us here "below", in day to day life, they do. That's what fortunetelling concerns itself with: good and bad fortune. And that's as it should be. As Campbell once said, "You can't have a tennis game without somebody on the other side of the net."

 

Again I agree.  I should have said something more about not making sweeping value judgements so that because "negatitive" is a trait associated with Yin, and "positive" is a trait associated with Yang, not to fall into the trap of then associating everything else associated with Yin as negative.  

I don't want to get political but I think I can say this without getting partisan at least? 

We're a society that has started a long, slow struggle to overcome traditions (and these ones I think do need to go) that associates wrongness with being dark, black lunar, female, feminine,  directionally left (as examples) and correctness with being light, white, solar, male, masculine, directionally right.   So value judgements need to be for very specific contexts and otherwise, we celebrate the equality and value neutrality of Yin flavored symbols and Yang flavored symbols. 

Personally, I'm a huge fan of synthesis and the color grey  🙂

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, TheLoracular said:

Again I agree.  I should have said something more about not making sweeping value judgements so that because "negatitive" is a trait associated with Yin, and "positive" is a trait associated with Yang, not to fall into the trap of then associating everything else associated with Yin as negative.  

 

Yes, exactly!  Especially since the people who actually came up with the concept of yin and yang believed that ideally, they should be balanced. 
Too much yin can be stagnant and clammy, but too much yang is like a blazing hot desert. 🥵 

Imagine being stretched out in bed, all cool and comfortable and relaxed. That's adequate yin. I LIKE yin. 😁

 

1 hour ago, TheLoracular said:

I don't want to get political but I think I can say this without getting partisan at least? 

We're a society that has started a long, slow struggle to overcome traditions (and these ones I think do need to go) that associates wrongness with being dark, black lunar, female, feminine,  directionally left (as examples) and correctness with being light, white, solar, male, masculine, directionally right.   So value judgements need to be for very specific contexts and otherwise, we celebrate the equality and value neutrality of Yin flavored symbols and Yang flavored symbols.

 

That's an interesting thought, because the generations here in the West that decided women and POC were incompetent and potentially evil and needed to be controlled 🤬  didn't even have the yin/yang concept. But they still split things up that way. They just didn't consider the fact that balance is key - they were too busy trying to make money and be Grand High Poobah, I guess.

I never considered all that in terms of yin and yang, but the "ideal" of the alpha male industrious white property owner is a very yang concept. I don't think the subject is political or partisan (though it has certainly bled into government and politics!) The more a person deviates from this "ideal", the more they are disenfranchised. 

None of this is intended to say that there is no racism or sexism in the East. All of us humans are primates, and monkeys fling poop. 

I don't think the Tarot can be split into yin and yang, at least in any meaningful way. We do experience things as good or bad, and the cards reflect this. But good and bad are not a yin and yang thing.

Thanks. You've given me something to ponder. 

 

1 hour ago, TheLoracular said:

 Personally, I'm a huge fan of synthesis and the color grey  🙂

 

I prefer a mosaic. You can make a nice picture with black, white, and grey. 😉

[changa]

20 minutes ago, katrinka said:

But good and bad are not a yin and yang thing.

Can you elaborate? Peel off the next layer.

[katrinka]

2 minutes ago, changa said:

Can you elaborate? Peel off the next layer.

 

It's nothing deep or complex. 

Things like hot and cool are only experienced as unpleasant when they're in excess or lacking. You can't say that warmness, for instance, is inherently bad.

[changa]

Is this moral objectivism?

[katrinka]

57 minutes ago, changa said:

Is this moral objectivism?

 

No. Morality doesn't enter into it at all. 

Not sure where you're getting that? Things like temperature are neither moral nor immoral in themselves, obviously.

[changa]

I actually meant moral relativism but my brain farted.

No they don't, that's the point I guess I was getting at and wanted you to elaborate. You said good and bad are not a yin and yang thing.. So if we assume that yin and yang is the underlying principle of duality in our reality, then you mean that there are no inherently good or bad things, period? That would be moral relativism.

[katrinka]

23 minutes ago, changa said:

I actually meant moral relativism but my brain farted.

No they don't, that's the point I guess I was getting at and wanted you to elaborate. You said good and bad are not a yin and yang thing.. So if we assume that yin and yang is the underlying principle of duality in our reality, then you mean that there are no inherently good or bad things, period? That would be moral relativism.

No, that's neither what I said nor implied. In Taoist cosmology, disharmony (apparent evil, illness, etc.) arises from imbalance. It exists. 
Moral relativism is the idea that slavery, for instance, is OK in a slave owning society because it's the norm for them. It's BS. 

[changa]

So when apparent evil (let's say a child being murdered) manifests in this extreme way, then where is the source of imbalance? Is it the perpetrator who is imbalanced? Is the child paying a karmic debt from another life? Or is it our collective imbalance reflected on the individual level in whoever happens to be in "the right place at the right time" to restore balance to the whole? Any ideas?

We ARE indeed normalizing slavery, we are numbers in the system, make no mistake about it. If you have a birth-certificate, you are owned by the state. 

Edited December 7, 2020 by stephanelli
Edited to remove extremely violent content.

[stephanelli]

1 hour ago, changa said:

So when apparent evil (let's say a child being murdered) manifests in this extreme way, then where is the source of imbalance? Is it the perpetrator who is imbalanced? Is the child paying a karmic debt from another life? Or is it our collective imbalance reflected on the individual level in whoever happens to be in "the right place at the right time" to restore balance to the whole? Any ideas?

We ARE indeed normalizing slavery, we are numbers in the system, make no mistake about it. If you have a birth-certificate, you are owned by the state. 

 

I have edited this post to remove the violent content.  This forum is not the place for it.  What I've edited it to is horrible enough.

 

1 hour ago, changa said:

 

 

As per the forum rules, politics is not discussed on this forum and as such I have hidden a post as it was straying too close to politics and was very much off topic for this thread.

 

Now, let's get back on the topic of opposite energies.

[TheLoracular]

@changa

As @katrinka said, the principle of Yin-Yang (which is entrenched in alchemy and the Western Qabalah in different language-- and esoteric tarot is Qabalistic Tarot) is all about imbalance.     In most esoteric philosophies, suffering is caused by imbalance.  So the solution to suffering is to redress the imbalance.

That redress of the imbalance brings in the third principle.  Synthesis.    Thesis and Antithesis require Synthesis for balance to be possible.  Fire (Wands) is considered the most Yang of all the suits.  In astrological terms, it is the most Cardinal.  Water (Cups) is considered the most Yin of all suits.  In astrological terms, it is the most Fixed.  Air (Swords) is the most Mutable because it can be both the synthesizing principle or it is the synthesized product but  Fire-Water, Yang-Yin?  They really, really don't like to stay synthesized or in harmony with each other long.   So there's no permanency to a synthesis and what's more?  

As soon as that third principle appears?  So does its own polarity and there you have the four suits, the four court cards:  (Yang of Yang, Yin of Yin, Yin of Yang and Yang of Yin)  The Chinese metaphysical system has five elements not four but this concept still plays out there as The Four Symbols

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn birthed so many amazing things such as four still in print tarot decks including the two most popular tarot decks period (RWS, Thoth) but its magicians did not apply these philosophic principles rooted so deep in their tarot and mystical/magical workings with how they interacted as people with each other.  They were one big soap opera, which is itself a lesson in how you can learn all kinds of things about esoteric concepts but until you actually apply Synthesis (think the Temperance Card) into how you act in your day to day life and let the change apply to your actions and reactions, you aren't getting far.

So to pull all of this back to your "what about this child murderer?" example and bring it to the polarity principle?   Human behavior is a complicated script.  Think about binary code.  Binary code is just 1 and O.  Its very Yin & Yang, but when you look at all the strings of numbers in even the simplest of programs you get 0000010000001100000000000100000001111110111101110000000001000000000001010101011 about a hundred times and for something as complicated as the yin-yang script for human behavior?  It would be like trying to read the binary code of Windows 10.   Its there, but its too big for human kenning.  

But if I was going to attribute a tarot card to a child murderer?  It would be The Devil.  The Devil card represents being trapped by ones own excesses.  A person who wantonly kills someone is trapped in their own excesses when they kill.  They are both the demonic creature on the card and the victims of that demonic creature-- the monster than became a monster because of its inner monsters.

Acquiring Temperance (see Temperance card) XD, the ability to create our own harmony through weaving the elements into harmony with each other inside of us and then manifesting that harmony into our thoughts, words, and deeds?  That is how each of us fixes our own personal demons (elemental excesses).  And that is the secret of the Magician card  🙂

Edited December 7, 2020 by TheLoracular