rebecca-smiles
OK here is where my confusion lies, i have looked around at various tarot as paths between sefirot systems and have felt overloaded by the information and can't seem to find a satisfactory understanding of the differences, like why? (i wont even pretend to have remembered the names of said systems).
For each of the paths there seems to be an abundance of info as to why that trump for that path; the names of the sefirot, alphabets, planets, zodiac signs, more alphabets...
OK i get the fool; i quote one such example from the forum:
"The initial impulse becoming conscious in order for the map of creation to occur. In order for the sphere of the zodiac to become manifest, thought has to take place (Air), and that which allows thought to occur is the first impulse. On a human level, the Fool allows his movements to be guided by his primal spiritual instincts, the primal spiritual energy within him and each of us. Allowing himself such movement, through reflection he becomes conscious of the same"
from 'Reflection on the golden dawn's path allocation' thread. in studying the kabbalah, top of this forum.
Well, i sort of get it. Why he is first and we start at the top of the tree. Here is where it all goes wrong for me:
I have grown up with RJ Stuarts stuff, my mum is an ardent follower of his work, so naturally the first 'tree' i come across is his 'the miracle tree' book.
Here is how i understand the tarot this way around on the tree;
(i shall just put the sefirot by the names given).
Kether: origin
Chokma: wisdom
Binah:understanding
Chesed: mercy
Geburah: severity
Tifret: beauty
Netsach: exaltation
Hod: brilliance
Yesod: foundation
Malkut: kingdom
Starting at the Bottom of the tree, we ascend it (pilar of severity) and return to our origin as the ego is broken down and decend the tree (pilar of grace) as the elements of our actual/true selves are harmonised; we return to the world. (central pilar is experienced both ways).
Fool: kingdom-brilliance
Magician: brilliance-foundation
Chariot: brilliance- beauty
Devil: brilliant -severity
Tower: severe-beauty
Death: severe-understanding
Hanged man: understanding-beauty
Hermit: understanding-origin
Hierophant: origins-wisdom
Temperance: wisdom-beauty
Emperor: wise- mercy
Strength: mercy-beauty
Empress: mercy- exaltation
The lovers: beauty-exaltation
High priestess: exaltation-foundation
World: exalted- kingdom
Moon: kingdom-foundation
Sun: foundation-beauty
Star: beauty-origin
Wheel of fortune: brillance-exaltation
Justice: severity-mercy
Judgment: understanding-wisdom
The way i undrestand these alocations is that each card reflects the nature of the sefirot. Taking the pillar of severity as the first leg of the journey, for example:
Devil: brilliant severity: Something brilliant; bright light, fire, diamond, clarity. Severity: scathing, intense, catabolic, without reserve.
Together the idea of being faced with ourselves as a warning before the journey: what we cling to, what we desire, what repulses us we shall meet on the tree and be asked to abondon it (the tower, the hanged man and death). The devil serves as mirror to ourselves, and warning about ourselves- brilliant severity.
Tower: severe-beauty: that beautiful stripping away to reveal what trully lies beneath, what is trully essential, a purging fire, being placed in a curcible to extract the metal from the ore; again a severe expereince to reveal beauty and a step towards restoring harmony.
Death: severe-understanding: what quicker or more intense way to again understanding than being faced with one's own mortality? to be reduced from something to nothing? the understanding brought by realising mortality is a sever way of gaining perspective.
I wanted to post these insights, accurate or not, for comment/feedback. Because this seems to make more sense to me than having, say;the hanged man, strength, justic and the lovers on that side of the tree. All of the above palcements make a certain amount of sense to me, and i'm left wondering why other systems do not?
especially because other systems look like the fools journey- top to bottom; from origin into the world; although that makes sense as archetypes outside of the sphere of human experience, as adult humans looking at the tree we aren't making that journey: we start from where we are; in the world.
Please, please can anybody enlighten me on this?! andy feedback on why you think this system works/sucks, HOW others make sense (i don't count something as being the oldest, most original as explanation of making sense. i want to know how it works) but without blinding me with lots of hebrew or arcane words and correlations?
I'm struggling and agonising over this!
For each of the paths there seems to be an abundance of info as to why that trump for that path; the names of the sefirot, alphabets, planets, zodiac signs, more alphabets...
OK i get the fool; i quote one such example from the forum:
"The initial impulse becoming conscious in order for the map of creation to occur. In order for the sphere of the zodiac to become manifest, thought has to take place (Air), and that which allows thought to occur is the first impulse. On a human level, the Fool allows his movements to be guided by his primal spiritual instincts, the primal spiritual energy within him and each of us. Allowing himself such movement, through reflection he becomes conscious of the same"
from 'Reflection on the golden dawn's path allocation' thread. in studying the kabbalah, top of this forum.
Well, i sort of get it. Why he is first and we start at the top of the tree. Here is where it all goes wrong for me:
I have grown up with RJ Stuarts stuff, my mum is an ardent follower of his work, so naturally the first 'tree' i come across is his 'the miracle tree' book.
Here is how i understand the tarot this way around on the tree;
(i shall just put the sefirot by the names given).
Kether: origin
Chokma: wisdom
Binah:understanding
Chesed: mercy
Geburah: severity
Tifret: beauty
Netsach: exaltation
Hod: brilliance
Yesod: foundation
Malkut: kingdom
Starting at the Bottom of the tree, we ascend it (pilar of severity) and return to our origin as the ego is broken down and decend the tree (pilar of grace) as the elements of our actual/true selves are harmonised; we return to the world. (central pilar is experienced both ways).
Fool: kingdom-brilliance
Magician: brilliance-foundation
Chariot: brilliance- beauty
Devil: brilliant -severity
Tower: severe-beauty
Death: severe-understanding
Hanged man: understanding-beauty
Hermit: understanding-origin
Hierophant: origins-wisdom
Temperance: wisdom-beauty
Emperor: wise- mercy
Strength: mercy-beauty
Empress: mercy- exaltation
The lovers: beauty-exaltation
High priestess: exaltation-foundation
World: exalted- kingdom
Moon: kingdom-foundation
Sun: foundation-beauty
Star: beauty-origin
Wheel of fortune: brillance-exaltation
Justice: severity-mercy
Judgment: understanding-wisdom
The way i undrestand these alocations is that each card reflects the nature of the sefirot. Taking the pillar of severity as the first leg of the journey, for example:
Devil: brilliant severity: Something brilliant; bright light, fire, diamond, clarity. Severity: scathing, intense, catabolic, without reserve.
Together the idea of being faced with ourselves as a warning before the journey: what we cling to, what we desire, what repulses us we shall meet on the tree and be asked to abondon it (the tower, the hanged man and death). The devil serves as mirror to ourselves, and warning about ourselves- brilliant severity.
Tower: severe-beauty: that beautiful stripping away to reveal what trully lies beneath, what is trully essential, a purging fire, being placed in a curcible to extract the metal from the ore; again a severe expereince to reveal beauty and a step towards restoring harmony.
Death: severe-understanding: what quicker or more intense way to again understanding than being faced with one's own mortality? to be reduced from something to nothing? the understanding brought by realising mortality is a sever way of gaining perspective.
I wanted to post these insights, accurate or not, for comment/feedback. Because this seems to make more sense to me than having, say;the hanged man, strength, justic and the lovers on that side of the tree. All of the above palcements make a certain amount of sense to me, and i'm left wondering why other systems do not?
especially because other systems look like the fools journey- top to bottom; from origin into the world; although that makes sense as archetypes outside of the sphere of human experience, as adult humans looking at the tree we aren't making that journey: we start from where we are; in the world.
Please, please can anybody enlighten me on this?! andy feedback on why you think this system works/sucks, HOW others make sense (i don't count something as being the oldest, most original as explanation of making sense. i want to know how it works) but without blinding me with lots of hebrew or arcane words and correlations?
I'm struggling and agonising over this!