Tarot: Science Tarot

6 of Beakers

For those concentrating in divination, “Science Tarot” (various, 2010) best exemplifies the process and magic of divination.  I view divination as science yet to be explained.  Science offers the foundation for the diviner, allowing them to see patterns of the future.  “Science Tarot” combines both worlds of science and speculation.

In the “Science Tarot”, The Fool (0) is presented as a young person stepping off of a pile of books.  She is moving into the world of experimentation.  As diviners, we leave our dictionaries of meanings behind to explore our own systems of divination.  Through our own experiments, we master our craft of divination.

The Court Cards of this deck are the Explorer (Page), Innovator (Knight), Storyteller (Queen), and Visionary (King).  From the seeker who explores to the diviner who innovates by creating their own system, so the Explorer becomes the Innovator.  As Storytellers, we inform others of our findings in memorable ways.  Finally at the pinnacle of our craft, we are Visionaries peering into the future, leading the way for others to come.

Starting with the Major Arcana, the diviner follows each story to delve deeper into their craft.  For example: The Hermit (IX) is Fermat’s Last Theorem.  Fermat, a mathematician, left a proof for others to discover.  In isolation, he focused on his proofs, while the diviner focuses on why their divination works.  Like Fermat, the diviner leaves it for others to figure out on their own, the proof of divination.

The Minor Arcana of the deck begins with Bunsen Burner (Wands) as the fire of creation.  Exploring the beginning of life in the stars, “Science Tarot” gives the diviner the basics of astronomy and cosmology.  Astrology of divination gave birth to astronomy of science.  Under the Magnifying Glass (Pentacles), the elements of life come together.  (Geology and chemistry are the sciences explored.)  Geology and geomancy are two sides of the same coin, with both using the land to divine in one case ores, in the other energy. 

Once matter is formed, the world is divided by the Scalpels (Swords) into the observed and the observed.  (Physics and mathematics are the sciences covered.)  Diviners learn their craft through observing what patterns develop to form their rules of divination.  Finally in Beakers (Cups), the world is integrated into a whole.  (Sciences presented are biology and ecology.)  The diviner integrates their practice of observations and divining the future. 

The different scientific disciplines root the diviner in the real world.  Then “Science Tarot” provides the structure to fly into the world of the imagination.  “Science Tarot” mirrors the world and craft of the diviner.

---------

Website of “Science Tarot” : http://www.sciencetarot.com/

VINE SNAKE FAMILIES: Detection

Oxybelis fulgidus

Because of convergent evolution, there are two families of Vine Snakes.  Each fills the same ecological niche in different parts of the world.  The Oxybelis Family lives in Central and South America.  Meanwhile the Ahaetulla Family can be found in Asia and Pacific Islands.

            Resembling tree vines, Vine Snakes are well-suited for life amongst the trees.  With their pointed heads and extremely thin bodies, these Snakes are well-camouflaged in the forest canopy.  Staying on a high branch, They look down for unwary lizards.  Spying one, a Vine Snake will “yo-yo” down and stab their prey with venom.  Then half-way in mid-air, They raise their victim off the ground back to their tree branch.  As slow moving Snakes, Vines Snakes prefer camouflage and ambush hunting.

            Unlike other Snakes, Vine Snakes do not rely on movement to detect prey.  Instead They use their binocular vision to know the animal’s size and shape.  Like humans, Vine Snakes have eyes that function independently of each other.  Of the world’s snakes, They have the sharpest eyesight.

            Detection is what Vine Snakes do best.  With their eyes acting as binoculars, They can see anything that looks faint in the forest.  Vine Snakes rarely leave their trees to hunt on the ground, but instead They act as yo-yos, gliding up and down to their victims.  Learn from Vine Snakes how to use your senses to be a detective like Sherlock Holmes.  Develop you own powers of reasoning and keen eyesight.

Being a Singularity

In pondering the concept of “singularity”, it is hard for me to imagine “All is One and One is All.”  My primary experiences are of the Self and the Other.  To be a “Monad” means there is only the Self, the point of Non Dimensions.  However, reading Edwin Abbott’s “Flatland” helped me to conceive of a singularity.

Abbott writes in the following passage about the Universe of the “Point in Pointland, the Abyss of No Dimensions”.  “It fills all Space,” continued the little soliloquizing Creature, “and what It fills, It is.  What It thinks, that It utters; and what It utters, that It hears; and It itself is Thinker, Utterer, Hearer, Thought, Word, Audition; it is the One, and yet the All in All.  Ah, the happiness, the happiness of Being!”  He continues, “Ah, the joy, ah, the joy of Thought! What can It not achieve by thinking!  Its own Thought coming to Itself, suggestive of Its disparagement, thereby to enhance Its happiness!”(1)

With Mr. Abbott’s prose, I could enter Pointland and ponder “singularity”.  Because there is no Other, you have everything you want and need.  You have no desires that you cannot fulfill.  Because there is nothing to disturb you, you are happy and content.  What you create comes true.  With your will, you can create anything for your well-being and happiness.  Singularity is satisfying.

I can apply this concept to my current life.  Because of my brain injury, I prefer my own company.  Like the Point, I think happy and creative thoughts.  Since I constantly find things to delight me, my level of contentment is great.  I find joy in being.

Reading “Flatland” further, I discover that Mr. Abbott also details the disadvantages of being a Monad.  He writes from the viewpoint of a Sphere lecturing to a Square about the Point.  “He is himself his own World, his own Universe: of any other than himself can form no conception; he knows not Length, nor Breadth, nor Height, for he has had no experience of them; … for he is himself his One and All, being really Nothing.  Yet mark his perfect self-contentment, and hence learn this lesson, that to be self-contented is to be vile and ignorant.” (2)  To know the disadvantages of being a singularity, the Other must be introduced.  Being a singularity means you cannot conceive of anything outside of yourself.

Because a singularity has no other knowledge outside of itself, you cannot expand but instead start to shrink.  You become stale and ignorant.  You do not know what you need to know to survive or to thrive.  You do not know what you do not know.  Being self-contained can become boring.  You eventually cease to create and then entropy sets in. In “Flatland”, the Point is stale and ignorant.

As a recluse, I do become discontented in my life.  I need outside stimulation to grow and change.  The Second Law of Thermodynamics, which is about entropy, applies to all things.  To continue to exist, new material needs to be continually introduced.  New energy is constantly needed to achieve the status quo or decay happens.

The singularity of oneness is a two-edged sword.  On one hand, you are complete and need nothing else.  On the other hand, without newness, entropy sets in.  Then the singularity ceases to exist.  In my life, the Other creates tension for me to change and develop.  I do not think that I could live as a monad, and simply be self-contained.

--------------

Work Cited:

1. P.94 – 95, Abbott, Edwin, “Flatland”
2. Ibid.

Work Used:

Abbott, Edwin, “Flatland”, Dover, New York, 1884, (1953, ed.).

------------------

SHIELD-TAILED SNAKES: Determination

Copyright: Saleem Hameed

Found only in Southern India and Sri Lanka, Shield-tailed Snakes (Uropeltidae) are proof to some that these two regions were once joined together.  Relatively primitive, these Snakes are built for life underground.  Possessing pointed heads and heavy skulls, They ram their heads through the earth.  Their bodies bounce off the walls of their burrow, thereby enlarging their homes.  Adding to their ability to dig are their special muscles. Unlike other Snakes, the muscles of Shield-tailed Snakes can sustain the long term stress of digging.

            Their distinctive tails give the Shield-tailed Snakes their name.  A large scale at the end of their tail resembles a shield.  When a Shield-tailed Snake is threatened, She buries her head into the coils of her body.  Then She raises her tail to deflect an attack.

            By ramming their heavy skulls through the earth, Shield-tailed Snakes build their homes.  In conducting their lives, determination is what They best exemplify.  To make their homes wider, Shield-tail Snakes jerk their bodies about, bashing against the walls.  Harness the energy of these Snakes to finish what you started.  Learn determination from Shield-tail Snakes.

----------------------- 

Tarot: My choice of decks

Style and Theme

When choosing a Tarot deck, I consider the theme to be of primary importance.  Themes that I am drawn to are nature and world myths.  Because I relate well to nature, I often see more meaning in the cards beyond the usual Tarot ones.  For example, in “The Tarot of the Animal Lords” (Angelo Giannini, 1999), The Empress (III) is a she-wolf and The Hierophant (V) is a reindeer.  If these two cards show up in spread, this adds to the basic meaning of the Tarot cards since the wolf/deer pairing is the dynamic predator and prey balance.

I enjoy the literary overlay of the Tarot and a particular myth because both enhance the other.  Choosing cards based on myths leads into choosing the culture depicted in a Tarot deck. The cultures I gravitate towards are Egyptian and Middle Eastern, since I find them fascinating.  Because I do no resonate with the Celtic culture, I usually do not buy decks about this popular culture.  

An example of what I see in the cultural decks that I do enjoy is “The Jane Austen Tarot” (Diane Wilkes, 2006) which presents the “myths” of the English Regency period. This Tarot deck features Jane Austen’s perceptions of English life at the time, supplementing the Tarot card’s meaning. For example, Elizabeth Bennet as The Fool (0) goes off unaccompanied, which was frowned upon for young women of the time.  This gives The Fool (0) the added dimension of great daring.

Another major criterion of mine is the art style.  Because I express myself in color, it is important to me to have decks with bold colors and striking lines.  I also see time and words in color (synesthesia).  For these reasons, I do not seek out decks that employ muted colors.  Since color is important, I have made exceptions to owning certain decks such as “The Celtic Wisdom Tarot” by Caitlin Matthews (1999).  The Mingler (Temperance, XIV) of this deck positively glows with greens and blues to soothe you.  The Remember (Hierophant, V) uses oranges, reds, yellows offset by greens to startle you beyond The Hierophant’s (V) staid role.

Besides colors, I do enjoy decks in water colors or in the style of the Impressionists.  I enjoy these styles of painting and look for them in Tarot decks.  Again, “The Celtic Wisdom Tarot” won me over with its expressive artwork.  Meanwhile, “The Tarot of the Animal Lords” by Angelo Giannini (1999) shows art with a sense of joy and humor.  I appreciate a well-realized picture gracefully drawn.

When choosing a deck, I rarely think about the time period.  Most of the decks I own (outside of the Rider-Waite ones for Tarot class) have no particular period.  As nature-themed decks, they exist in the now.  The decks focused on Egyptian myths of course are in ancient historical periods.  However, I do find it jarring to see modern things in Tarot decks.  I tend to avoid such decks as “The Housewives Tarot” by Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum (2004) or “Baseball Tarot” by Mark Lerner and Dan Gardiner (1999).  However, I do enjoy “Science Tarot” (various, 2010) because of the topic and execution of style. The telescopes, Bunsen burners, and microscopes seem to be soft and fitting in this particular deck.

In choosing a Tarot deck, I prefer lively art work with a mythic or natural theme.  There are exceptions because of the theme or well-designed cards.  However, time periods are rarely a factor for my choices.

Mapping of the Universe

To explore and navigate a territory, we need a map.  Most maps have correspondences, of which the most notable are the cardinal directions.  Going north may take us by a school and later a group of stores.  Afterwards, in our minds, “North” corresponds to the high school and the local strip mall.  If we go east, we will not encounter those particular landmarks but instead other ones.  A map preserves these landmarks for us and sets the correspondences for us to follow.

In magick, correspondences act as a map to the Cosmos.  By aligning a direction with an element, color, animal, et al., we can move from place to place in the Universe.  With each correspondence, we can come closer to the particular place where we want to be.  

It is similar to taking a bus to a destination.  Each stop along the way informs us of where we are.  Sometimes, we have to change buses at transfer stations to reach our destinations. Like certain correspondences which serve more than one direction or purpose, we can move through the Cosmos changing at their point of nexus.  At other times, we end at the terminus, which can be the major correspondences of the Upper or Lower Worlds.

Metaphors that I often use in magick are Roman or at least Indo-European in nature.  The most important is the Pomerium (the boundary between sacred space (the Templum) and profane space.  Like most Roman sacred space, this boundary is usually a square.

Within the Pomerium is the Focus (the Fire), which crosses all the worlds.  Supported and fed by the Earth, the Focus reaches up to the Celestial Realm and down to the Celestial Waters.  Fire exists in all the Worlds from the magma of the Earth to the stars of the Sky. The Focus sets the Cosmic Center of the Universe for us.  

The Hearth Fire of the Middle World welcomes the Gods and other Kindreds to rest and partake of our hospitality.  The Hearth Fire offers our sacrifices to the Gods, and carries our words to Them as well.  The Focus as the Hearth Fire becomes the center that we can orient ourselves in the Cosmos, when doing our rituals.

The Mundus (the Pit) opens to the Lower World of the Chthonic Gods and Lemurs (chaotic spirits).  The Mundus also connects us to the Well of Wisdom, from where the waters flow.  In the Mundus are the treasures of the Earth as well as the dwelling places of the Dead and Other Kindreds.  Removing the lid of Mundus is fraught with danger, and care must be taken lest an unfriendly spirit or entity comes into the Middle World.  Offerings are made to the Mundus to keep the entities from leaving.

The Portus (Door) creates the portal between all the Worlds.  Because of the Portus, within the Templum, all the worlds at once come together at one place.  Unlike the Circle which for many Neopagans moves through space and time, the Portus opens the Gate to all the Worlds.  Guarding the Portus is the Gatekeeper, Janus of the Two Faces.  Like the Janitor of old at the door, Janus watches the comings and goings of the beings, protecting Middle World from harm.

The Mundus (Pit), Portus (Door) , and Focus (Fire) are the triple axis of the Sacred Center.  At the Center burns the Focus (which is for Romans is the living flame of Vesta).  The Door is the sacred portal, and the Mundus the eye and mouth of the earth.  These are the magickal metaphors that work for me.

Works Used.

Dangler, Michael (Rev.), “Nine Central Tenets of Druidic Ritual”, Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF), http://www.adf.org/articles/cosmology/nine-tenets.html .

-------, “The Druid’s Cosmos”, ADF Dedicant Path Manual, http://www.adf.org/members/training/dp/dp-manual-web/01-druids-cosmos.htm, 2008 .

Newberg, Brandon, “Ancient Symbols, Modern Rites”, PDF, ADF Publications, 2007.

Scheid, John, “An Introduction to Roman Religion”, Indiana University Press, Indiana, 2003.

-----------------