Symbolon Deck

Alta

Hi kaz, my deck, from AGMüller, has 121 page book, in English. Everything from page 24 on explains the cards. There are really only a few pages on the astrological connections and giving two ways of laying the cards, with and without the astrology. I find it puzzling because the astrology part seems related to your birth chart, and once you have done that, I do not see where to go with it. I read the booklet very carefully when I first got the cards, and seriously the only part that I could understand was one short section which suggested that you can draw three cards, lay them in a row,
Card A. The Problem
Card B. The Way through the Problem
Card C. The Outcome.

I will just type a short part of it:
"This card (the last card) is always the last card chosen within a series. You have to be quite clear about this in your own mind before any interpretation can become valid. Although the temptation is always there, never read read the last card as a single card. This card illustrates a final outcome to the theme of your question.
The dialectic between cards A,B,C looks something like this: card A depicts the 'mountain of remembrance' which needs to be climbed. It gives a name to the monolithic peak: "GauriShankar in Himalaya" (Marion: I think he just means that this card makes the problem specific). But, rather than having already set out, you are still home in your armchair in the suburbs. Card B tells you what needs to be done: equipment to be purchased, the train taken to JFK or Heathrow; a flight to New Delhi, on to Katmanthu; hire a guide. Then to base camp in Range Rover, fill oxygen bottles, and now you can get going. There is also a lot to be done on the mountain itself. Card C describes what is ultimately in store for you at your destination. You might have to turn back mid-journey in a snow storm. Not reaching the summit could be a part of the outcome.
You have read card C at the outset. It says 'you won't reach the goal', and it is clear that the journey will be in vain, you could save yourself the trouble. But that's the error! The journey itself is part of remembering, and without it you would never arrive anywhere. In this case the failed attempt is the only way of remembering. By sparing yourself the journey you deny yourself the chance to remember: you become one of those people who prefers to read a book on swimming rather than dip your sensitive toes into the water yourself. This makes you even less of a swimmer"

As commented elsewhere, lots of past life stuff there.

My general weakness in astrology is a hindrance, and though I do have a copy of my birth chart, getting the various relations from it is a struggle.

If anyone uses these cards on an even semi-regular basis, how are they doing it?
Marion
 

Kaz

marion, guessing from your english book, you have the "exact" translation of my german one. its a german deck so if you get it here language is german.
the 3 card thing i understand as well, and i can work with that no problem.
now, i have some ideas what they are after with your birthchart and i would like to try this out, there is another booklet about exactly this, i have it, its german ofcourse. but i need someone to help me tell me what is what on my birthchart.
still that does not explain those texts with the cards like +20 etc.
 

Astraea

Symbolon and astrology

Hi, all. I've just spent some time with the booklet that came with this deck, examining the directions for using it with the cards' astrological significations. Basically, one can either examine individual aspects (Sun Square Uranus is the example given), or a complex of associations (e.g., Venus in Cancer in the fourth house); the cards yield information concerning one's "personae," or subpersonalities, which are based on karmic situations and relationships. I think it is an ingenious system, but (for me, anyway) too cumbersome to use with regularity.

Theoretically, you could examine each sign/planet/house/aspect combination of your chart separately, by looking up the associations of each card and examining the relevant cards together. The method seems to be based on (or at least similar to) astrologer Zipporah Dobyns' "astrological alphabet" system, in which each sign/planet/house are seen as representations of a 12-"letter" zodiacal alphabet. For example, the Sun, Leo and fifth house would all be seen as versions of Letter 5, because Leo is the fifth sign in the natural zodiac, the ruler of the natural fifth house, and the Sun rules Leo. Sagittarius is an exemplar of letter 9, as are the 9th house and Jupiter, because Jupiter rules Sagittarius, which is the 9th house and sign of the natural zodiac, and so on (Dobyns uses the modern planetary rulerships, but there is no reason not to use classical assignments). Each "letter" of the astrological alphabet represents the collection of archetypes associated with each related planet/sign/house.

In the example given in the Symbolon booklet, the combination under examination is Venus in Aquarius in the fourth house. Venus rules two signs (Taurus and Libra), so one must find the cards associated with Taurus/Venus -- The Lover -- and Libra/Venus -- The Partner. The fourth house is the position of Cancer in the natural zodiac, and Cancer is ruled by the Moon (all examples of Letter 4); so one looks for the Moon card (The Mother) and places it with the two Venus cards. Now we look for the cards associating Venus' two rulerships -- Taurus and Libra -- with Cancer (Letter 4, the house position of Venus); this yields Taurus/Cancer (The Two Faces of Eve) and Libra/Cancer (The Family). Next, we want to examine Venus in Aquarius, so we look for the card associated with Aquarius (and its ruler, Uranus), the Jester, and place it with the card of the Moon (representing the fourth house/Letter 4). One examines these cards in relation to each other and the positions of the three-card spread given in the booklet, looking for insights into oneself through the astrological/archetypal associations. Weeks could probably be spent on an examination of one's natal chart. And complications would arise, in that there are a few typos which erroneously link the planet Pluto with the sign Cancer (David Roell's review -- see link above -- discusses this issue).

In my opinion, the method described would work well for meditative purposes and as a way to train the mind in certain kinds of thinking, but it is simply too cumbersome to use with regularity; I believe that I, for one, would end up dreading the process. It seems to me that if you want to examine your horoscope (or parts of it), it would make more sense to buy a good book on astrology -- and I'm not being flippant. If you are well-versed in astrology and wish to make a significant time commitment to exploring your chart through this deck, at the very least it would make for an interesting exercise; but I do not think that this is a deck that even seasoned astrologers would use in that way on a consistent basis. There might not be enough hours left in the day to even look at a tarot deck!

Reading the booklet at some length has pretty much convinced me that I just don't want to "go there." There are more efficient ways to approach astrological information. But it's a gorgeous, seductive deck, and I sense that it's a rich source of intuitive insights.
 

Kaz

astraea, your explanation confirmed my suspicions about what they are about, thanks. i wish i had an englsih translation of that booklet, englsih is easier for me than german.
i dont know much astrology, so i try to do a house or two with this system. see what comes out......
 

Astraea

English Booklet

Kaz, perhaps you can e-mail AGMeuller, explain that you have an earlier deck with a book you can't read (and with missing and duplicated pages), and ask them to send you a replacement booklet -- I can't imagine them having a problem with that.

One thing's for sure -- this is not a deck intended to teach astrology; it could turn someone off who has an interest in the subject, but feels flummoxed by the complex system presented in the booklet.
 

Alta

Thank you for that explanation Astrea. You more or less confirmed my suspicions but the explanation was better than could have managed. These are very evocative cards and there must be a way of using them that is not co convoluted.
 

Cerulean

Some ideas...

Kaz, if you want to use that explanation that Astrea mentioned, I do have a misprinted booklet in English...I'm waiting on a new deck and booklet that I ordered through another vendor, so I don't want to give it up right now. But if you need an outer box lot number and problem booklet to be replaced, I can send you mine. Over six pages are missing...I'd rather get a new set with good instructions and have an extra set of cards.

I did a RWS clone card by card comparison with the pictures in Symbolon---if it is helpful for others, I can post my list.

Take care,

Mari
 

Kaz

thanks mari, but with astraea's posting the problem has been solved. sometimes german is hard to understand, harder than english :)

curious about your comparision with RWS deck, i would love to see it!!!

and i visited the symbolon site, not much info there that is useful.
 

HOLMES

ah i got that deck finally

i love the imagery , could of been a bit more vibrant but that is me eheh .

so if i am understanding it correctly each of these cards are a double sign , and double planet that makes an astrological square ?
example
aries/pisces mars/neptune the absolute fool?
yet the jester has aquarias and uranus.hard to figure out .
which is

so venus is taurus and libra
and mercury is gemini and virgo .
is that common in the astrology world ?

using this example from the booklet (lots of information for a booklet i dare say YES I SAID IT :eek:)

i find it strange the first 12 in the booklet are one sign and one planet and all the 60 other cards are double signs and double planets.
is the 12 one signs and 12 planets the whole basis for the other 60 cards ?

here is real question when he says it is our inner persona and we each have a "mediator" is he using the card itself to describe the mediator position to mean that we each have a mediator in us ?
and the planets mean the manager, which is the more dominate the mediator and the manager ?

near as i can figure like mari suggest that once you use them in your constellation to make a card constellation..
you can alwasy use them in relation to how your constellation changes with time and the stars right ?

ps. just so i am sure, these cards deal directly with the signs and planets ? no houses, no ascending, no descending, or other advanced astrology ?