the symbolon deck--OVERVIEW

truthsayer

i got this deck yesterday and am having a little difficulty w/ it. i had an unsettling experience while i was just shuffling and looking thru it while talking on the phone to my mother. i decided to draw 3 cards for a past, present, future spread. i drew:
1. the garden of spirits
2. deliverance
3. the queen

i mentally came up w/ my own meanings which ended up feeling more positive than what i read in the book. after i read the book i felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. my mother was telling me some distressing things. i think the deck tapped into my distress and told me what i was feeling. i tried to get off the phone shortly after that happened.

i have felt uncomfortable w/ looking at the deck since that happened. kind of like touching a hot stove. i think symbolon told me exactly what i needed to hear but i wasn't mentally prepared for it to be so da** direct!

if y'all can help me make sense of this, i would definitely appreciate it. i am familiar w/ astrology and the symbols so that does help w/ the deck.

1. i saw the garden of spirits as enjoying living in my own little world as i carry out the tasks of life.
2. deliverance i saw as being like rebirthing myself from the cosmic egg and approaching a new lifestyle.
3.the queen i wasn't entirely sure of. i read it as a selfcentered, organized person who wants to be in control of things. i don't really see myself like that. my mother is somewhat like that.

the way i read the cards:
1. garden of spirits:i am hiding from reality and have become a passive rather than active force in my life.
2.deliverance-it's time to finish pecking away the shell. i know an old way of life can no longer be. i can't turned back now.
3. the queen:i realize i'm not in charge anymore but dependent on others. i behave in a friendly humble manner.

it doesn't bother me as much now but at the moment it sure hit my achilles tendon. do you see anything else here? thanks!!
 

merri

Kaz ..I'm so jealous you got a BIG book! ..I wonder why it wasn't published in English too!? :confused:

You say.. 12 spreads? ..Wow! ..and yes, the lwb only mentions 2 arcana's ..now I'm intrigued as to why this 3rd division?! (edited to add; I now understand the 3rd division ..after reading Steve's post beneath this one ..I probably just hadn't read the book well enough ..too eager to get to the cards I guess! :D).

English card titles;

1.The Warrior
2.The Lover
3.The Mediator
4.The Mother
5. The Ego
6. The Servitor
7. The Partner
8. The Seducer
9. The Preacher
10. The Master
11. The Jester
12. The Angel

13. Defiance
14. The Two Faces Of Eve
15. Articulation
16. Incompatibility
17. Caring
18. The Family
19. Abortion
20. Mnemosyne
21. The Ice Queen
22. Deliverance
23. Sleeping Beauty-Slumber
24. The Battle
25. The Queen
26. The Actor
27. The Ailing King
28. The Wedding
29. The Magician
30. Fortuna
31. The Burden
32. The Fall
33. Retreat
34. Eros
35. The Stocks
36. Guilt
37. Disagreement
38. The Vampire
39. The Crusader
40. Prevention
41. The Spiteful Troublemaker
42. The Absolute Fool
43. The Golden Girl
44. Clinging
45. The Gilded Cage
46. The Marionette
47. Matter And Spirit
48. Responsibility For Creation
49. The Farewell
50. The Garden of Spirits
51. The Strategist
52. Vanity Fair
53. The Pied Piper
54. Master And Disciple
55. Affliction
56. Dreaming Johnny
57. Silence
58. Everyday Life In The Relationship
59. Castigation
60. The Inquisition
61. Fear
62. The Furies
63. Deception
64. Disaster
65.The Symbolon
66. Sadness
67. Separation
68. The Kings Two Children
69. Black Mass
70. Depression
71.The Phoenix
72. The False Halo
73. Confession
74. The Quantum Leap
75. Pythia
76. Captivity
77. Moira
78. The Question Of The Grail

...Now it's your turn to type your WHOLE big book! :D

I wonder if you have a more indepth interpretation of the cards ..can you check it out compared to the lwb text attachment that Steve put in one of his early posts in this thread?

Ps. So what do you think of the deck?
 

Ravenswing

Re: toc

[QUOTE- the cards (persons)
- the major arcana 1-12
- the middle arcana 13-33
- the minor arcana 34-78
- spreads (12 of them)

i notice in this book they divide the deck in 3 arcana's, and steve you mentioned 2, how is this in your lwb?

can one of you please provide me with a list of the names of the english cards? yep, that's typing up 78 titles of cards :D

kaz [/B][/QUOTE]

the major arcana are the 12 archetypes.

the middle arcana are cards with The Mother and/or The Ego as one of their generating archetypes (sun and moon cards--yin/yang##more on this later##)12

the minor arcana are the others

i'll work on the titles shortly. ###merry already typed these###

can you give a quick run down on the speads?

LVX
steve
 

Ravenswing

numbers, numbers...

just a few posts ago merri listed the symbolon deck in numerical order, right?


*********** WRONG ************

THERE IS NO INHERENT NUMERICAL ORDERING TO THE SYMBOLON CARDS

the use of numbers is just a convience because we tend to order things time-wise. this is before that, that comes next...

we are trying to get out of this mind-set for symbolon--i think the 'elimination' of time will be a key factor in alternate lives exploration. (though i've no idea how to do this... help someone?)

LVX
stev
 

merri

Hi Truthsayer :)

I really hope that you can bond with your deck and become comfortable using it, and that you'll participate in the study. I also found the directness and accuracy of a couple of my readings with this deck to be a little disconcerting at first, (it felt like it was telling me MORE than I wanted or was asking to know!) ..mostly though I just feel a little over elated. :D The cards are so evocative ..and the accuracy constantly has me saying big WOW!!!'S ..I just can't help but get excited when they speak my truth to me so clearly!

Maybe you have just found your namesake deck! ;)

Steve; I made pretty much the same associations you did on the visual basis with the addition of seeing a possible chariot/warrior and servitor/strength connection.

I've been trying to avoid thinking about making any direct correspondences with tarot though. In time I think that could add depth to the interpretative value of the cards ..but first I want to try and build a rapport with this deck on a more intuitive level ..without being biased by the tarot meanings. I think I'd find that harder to do if I were to make that link.

I am so in love with your star layout Steve ..I think it will become my favorite all time layout ..I love to bring my readings full circle in one way or another ..and this layout does that exquisitely! I couldn't bear for it to just be wasted on a once in a lifetime birth chart spread ..so have also adapted it for general readings ..and I have to say another big WOW! at the accuracy factor here.

I just lay it out numbered in the same way as before ..except this time, taking the cards from the shuffled deck. I've found it excellent to highlight what the issue or influence is; (cards 1 + 2) ..the solution; (card 3 @ the apex) ..the path to the solution; (cards 4 + 5) and the outcome; (card 6 @ the lower apex) I then place the deck face down in the middle of the star ..and will later draw an added insight card ..if I feel the need.
 

merri

*Standing at the front of the class* :|
 

Kaz

thanks for listing the titles of the cards, now i know what cards you talk about, lol.
i will do the translation of text of the warrior, this takes some time as it is 2 pages in the book here, and i have to do german-english (from 3rd to 2nd language for me), so bare with maybe bad translations as well.
i looked at the spreads in this book, have quite some explanation with them as well, so i will translate and post them all, but this takes time also.
i like your star merri, printed it and put it i the book :)

kaz
 

Ravenswing

a little energy

*****************************************************************

Before we move on and play around with the ‘minor’ cards, there’s one thing I’d like to point out about the archetypes. Separate out the archetypes from the rest of the cards. Make two columns from these. The left-hand column will be The Lover, The Mother, The Servitor, The Seducer, The Master, The Angel; the right-hand column will be The Warrior, The Mediator, The Ego, The Partner, The Preacher, and The Jester.

If we look at the cards in the left-hand column, all have their zodiacal glyph at the left top. Likewise, the right-hand column has theirs on the right. I am paralleling this to the left/right hand pillars of the kabalistic tree of life. So we will call the energy of the left-hand column ‘female’ and that of the right-hand column ‘male’.

Mercury and Venus both rule two signs. Venus rule Taurus and Libra, while Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo. The Lover and The Partner are the archetypes associated with Venus; The Mediator and The Servitor are those under Mercury. Notice that these pairs have one male and one female card. This balances out the effects of these two.

Let’s consider the creation of the ‘minor’ cards. Since they are the synthesis of two archetypes, the energy orientation of these cards depends on the type of energy of the two archetypes from which it is created.



There are three different possible energy equations:.

1. male + male = male
2. female + female = female
3. male + female = balanced

I use the term ‘balanced’ rather than something like ‘neutral’. In this way, Symbolon mirrors the tree of life which has three pillars: the male to the right; the female to the left; and the pillar of balance in the center.

So, for a while consider the ‘addition’ of two archetypes and the energy of the resulting card. Are there any that don’t make sense to you?

LVX
steve
 

Ravenswing

seeing stars

We can use the Symbolon deck to create a natal ‘chart’ of sorts. Each planetary positioning can be represented by a combination of two archetypes, as follows:

Sun card = sun sign card + the Ego

Moon card = moon sign card + the Mother

Mercury card = mercury sign card + the Mediator

Venus card = venus sign card + the Lover

Mars card = mars sign card + the Warrior

Jupiter card = Jupiter sign card + the Preacher

Saturn card = Saturn sign card + the Master

Neptune card = Neptune sign card + the Angel

Uranus card = Uranus sign card + the Jester

Pluto card = Pluto sign + the Seducer


For example, if you had your moon in Virgo, you would combine the Servitor with the Mother. The resulting card would be entitled ‘CARING’

You may have noticed that there are two archetypes designated to venus and two designated to mercury. Of the two for Venus, I feel the Lover to be a better card than the Partner to represent the planet. Likewise, I feel the Mediator to better symbolize Mercury than the Servitor. What then do the Partner and the Servitor represent?

I feel the Partner to represent the ascendent (it is in a way, the partner to the sun sign) and the Servitor to represent the moon’s node (the north one I think. Anyone with a good working knowledge of astrology out there? Does this seem right?)

So to complete the aspects that Symbolon can depict, we have:

Ascendent card = ascendent sign + the Partner

Moon’s node = moon’s node sign + the Servitor


If a planet happens to be in it’s own sign, the archetype itself is the planet’s card. For example: if Saturn fell in Capricorn, the card for Saturn would be the Master.

For the moment, ‘chart’ out your cards. Examine the images one by one. Read the theme summary about each one Lay them all out and look at them as a visual group. What are your impressions? Write them down.

Is there any particular way of examining them that you have discovered? If so, what does it mean to you?

Play around with them for a while


LVX
steve
 

merri

Steve; I'm gonna have a go at these exercises over the weekend. I like the idea of the energies being able to be distinguished in this way into 3 distinct categories ...it's an interesting concept to play about with. Would you then apply this way of thinking to the interpretative value you'd place on the cards? e.g. as to whether a more passive or active role/influence was being called for? ..also, what significance would you attach to a reading which was dominated by one particular energy? (ok, not sure how to articulate exactly what I'm trying to ask here ..but basically ...how would you apply the principle?).

I've been using the 'Rising Star' spread for my brother and my friend. I found it a little unsettling to see just how close to the mark it can actually be at touching on a major life issue. I was also amazed to find that my son, who is a Gemini the same as me, in fact had all 3 major cards, ( moon, sun, ascendant,) the same as mine ..and in the same order. I wonder what are the chances of that happening?!

I guess when I do the birth chart exercise, I'll apply the particular card meaning to the context of the house it relates to ..so if I have moon in virgo.. 'caring' ..I'd then apply that to a social interaction/relationship context if virgo is in my 7th house.

The last couple of days I've just been enjoying playing with the cards and getting to know them (..and myself ;)) a lot better. I am soooo bonded with my deck, ...after all these years of searching for the elusive perfect working deck, I think I've finally found it! ..I can picture us growing old together! :)