LOVE AND THE DEVIL

LOVE THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE 

LOVE NOT THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE

TWO OF CUPS
MINOR ARCANA LOVE CARD

As a professional Tarot card reader, I get asked quite often about The Devil card. The question usually comes from someone unfamiliar with the real purpose of Tarot and perhaps tainted by the stereotypes the cards have been given by movies and television. You know- the gypsy women sits there with the scarf around her head, the scary music plays in the background and turns over the Devil card or the Death card. I always tell people that way too much attention is given to this freak known as The Devil. We always have free will and choice to overcome the temptation that comes from this shyster who likes to pervert or twist things for his own wrong agenda. Nothing can illustrate this more than by lining up the Devil card next to The Lovers card as shown above. 

The Lovers card depicts love as it should be, in it's ultimate expression. The angel appears divinely in a cloud above the mountains and blesses the union of the man and woman. There are comparisons in the artwork to Adam & Eve as we see the woman standing in front of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the serpent appears in a branch in the tree. The man stands in front of the Tree of Life. Everything about this card is beautiful as the couple comes together in love. 

In The Devil card, we see the same two figures, but what's this? Now they're chained and shackled in a state of bondage. The card is all black and they have horns on their heads now and fiery tales. The devil has corrupted them for his own use but if you look closely you'll notice they are not completely bound as all they have to do is slip the chains off their necks. The devil can never completely bind anyone, it's always a personal choice whether to dance at his party.

This card has a minor arcana "kissing cousin," which is the Eight Of Swords and the lady shown on that card has the same easy choice to slip off the knots and walk away from the bondage she is in. When the Devil card shows up in a reading, it quite simply means TEMPTATION is being manifested according to the position in the spread and the subject of the question being asked. Temptation comes in as many flavors as Baskin-Robbins ice cream but it's still ice cream. 

The LOVERS also has a minor arcana representation and that card is shown above, the Two of Cups. In fact, the Golden Dawn named this card LOVE. This card shows the cosmic astral energy of the Lovers card as it is manifested in the physical realm here on earth. The two lovers come together now as they face each other. They hold their cups (which always represent emotions) up to each other as if to say, here are my emotions (or HEART) and by coming together in perfect love, I exchange my cup for yours. The caduceus which clearly forms as a result of these two cups joining is a symbol of negotiation in where balanced exchange and reciprocity are recognized as supreme ideals. 

TWO OF WANDS

DOMINION

Ok, so we have a man standing on a roof looking out over the sea and shore. He stands on a battlement area as he holds a globe (signifying the World) and holds one of the two wands in his left hand resting on the battlement and the other wand is being held in a ring on his right. The Rosy Cross emblem is on the inside of the lower left indentation of the battlement area. And as usual, there is a reason for every little thing on this cool card and if we were somehow able to pull out the frame we would see out on the sea all this man's ships and empire. 

First off, the Rosy Cross is placed there as a subtle reminder of the Tarot's relationship to the Golden Dawn, as it was the symbol for the Golden Dawn's Second Order and they named the card DOMINION. More importantly, it signifies the importance of spiritual matters, the cross representing the human body and the rose signifying an individual's unfolding consciousness. It's meaning is simple- this man cannot have his dominion and all the great things he has without a spiritual component. 

The astrological correspondence for this card is Mars in Aries, and adding the fact that two is a number of balance, this association is perfect as the energy of Mars is in absolute agreement with Aries, the sign it rules. The name of the card (Dominion) also refers to the sovereignty of this sheer force at it's inception which can be described as PURE HARMONIOUS STRENGTH. 

I'm going to talk more about ASSOCIATIONS in a future post, but briefly on this card, it's important to note that because of the globe the man is holding, we automatically have an association of this card with The World card. And because of it's number, two, we also have an association with the High Preistess, and with also with the Hanged Man because of the spiritual connections. This cards meaning and interpretation in a spread is to always imply success and especially in financial matters, job matters, and projects. It may indicate a seeking of wisdom and a choice between security and adventure. 

ASTROLOGY & THE CARDS

Using The Cards To Enhance An ASTROLOGICAL CHART-

Since we know that Tarot cards have astrological correspondences, we can use the cards to enhance an astrological chart and by their visuals provide further insight into the chart. Just for fun's sake, we'll use Mick Jagger's chart as an example. Mick is born on on July 26th, 1943 and is a Leo.

SUN IN LEO (STRENGTH) - MAIN TRAIT IS EXUBERANCE 

DOMINANT KEYWORD - "I WILL"

PUBLIC IMAGE IS IMPORTANT TO THEM 

THEY ALWAYS POSSESS A KINGDOM

MOON IN TAURUS (THE HEIROPHANT) - DETERMINED AND ARTISTIC

GREAT POWERS OF CONCENTRATION

PRACTICAL AND POSITIVE IN OUTLOOK

MERCURY IN LEO (STRENGTH) - ELOQUENCE AND SKILL IN LEADING OTHERS

MAGNETIC FLAIR WITH PEOPLE

LIKES TO DIRECT, MANAGE, AND CONTROL

VENUS IN VIRGO (THE HERMIT) - CAUTIOUS ABOUT FALLING IN LOVE

AVOIDS INVOLVEMENT BY BLOWING UP SMALL DEFECTS

OFTEN IMAGINATIVE WRITERS WITH EXCELLENT BUSINESS SENSE

MARS IN TAURUS (THE HEIROPHANT) - TRIUMPHS THRU DETERMINED EFFORT

SPENDS LOTS OF ENERGY IN SEXUAL PURSUITS

POWER TO CREATE ANYTHING THEY ENVISION 

JUPITER IN LEO (STRENGTH) - EXTRAORDINARY PUBLIC APPEAL

PENCHANT FOR GRANDEUR AND EXTRAVAGANT DISPLAY

SUCCESS COMES ALMOST TOO EASILY 

SATURN IN GEMINI (THE LOVERS) - INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES

CYNICAL, SKEPTICAL, COLD-HEARTED 

GGOD HEAD FOR FINANCES AND POSSESSES MUSICAL ABILITY

RISING SIGN IS LIBRA (JUSTICE) - ATTRACTIVE AND POPULAR 

LIKES TO DRESS ELEGANTLY AND A LITTLE FLASHY

SOCIAL BUTTERFLY , AT TIMES VAIN

Not surprisingly, Jagger's chart and qualities are spot-on, with a preponderance of Leo and Taurus. Now you can do this with anyone's chart of course, and here's the basic method. First, we obtain a chart by whichever your preferred method is. If you want a good free online service, then I recommend this one. Second you lay out and view the cards associated with the outcome of the chart. If you're not already familiar with all the astrological correspondences, then they can be found in the "Book T" by Golden Dawn or many other places. Note that because the Tarot deck only deals with the seven visible planets, we do our comparison with just those planets (as above) and don't use Neptune, Uranus, or Pluto. Obtain at least one if not several astrological delineators (books or websites that list each planet in each sign with characteristics for every possible combination.) Using the cards in combination with astrological tools or insight always enhances readings and makes them more enjoyable for your clients.

Date of original article - June 4, 2012. Reprinted by permission.
Also appears in the e-book Tarot Essentials - Vol I - purchase at 50% off here. 

JUDGEMENT

This unique card has been making an unusually regular appearance in a lot of readings recently for my clients and so I thought I'd write a little on it. The unique artwork depicts a scene strongly reminiscent of the Second Coming or Judgement Day. A great angel surrounded by clouds blows his bannered trumpet and the bodies of the dead rise in their tombs in a response of restoration. Restoration being one of several heavy themes with this card.

Now while this clearly depicts a Second Coming scenario and the scene takes place in the astral realm, it is not a message or meaning of Christianity or a godly action. This card refers to the person drawing it. It speaks to an internal restoration and RE-BALANCING. Something has happened within, the trumpet has sounded, and facets or pieces of the inner soul are starting to respond. A serious and very meaningful change is occurring within. It is aimed at producing a balance within the individual necessary for a total understanding of the personality structure and it's relationship to the greater universe.

When this card appears in a spread, it almost always indicates a recent psychic change within the person. It will probably not be a surprise to them, and often the card is what I call a "confirmation" placement in the reading. But it is also an "encouragement" placing with it's chief reason for making an appearance being to spark the individual to keep going in their inner process. They know the trumpet has already sounded, the card fully confirms that, now they must continue that process unique to them, to fully manifest the special change happening within. And that is a beautiful thing!

ROCK N ROLL TAROT

original art - The ROCK N ROLL Tarot Deck I Started To Design

JIMMY PAGE AS THE MAGICIAN

About two and a half years ago I started actively working on an original deck of Tarot cards that would be themed on rock n roll. Using a graphics art program, I designed the first 11 cards in the Major Arcana portion  of the deck and posted them on a popular Tarot blog for feedback which was very positive. While I would still be interested in picking this major project where I left off, it has always faced a few major challenges, mostly being issue of copyright licensing on the images. It would be awesome if a major card company picked this up and ran with it, but it is unknown to me just how much all that image licensing would cost. It may prohibit the project from even being feasible. Nonetheless, the 11 cards I designed are now here for your enjoyment, and unfortunately it looks like I lost my copy of The Fool which I had as Jim Morrison. Here are the rest of the cards though-

LENE LOVICH AS THE HIGH PRIESTESS

YOKO ONO AS THE EMPRESS

JOHN LENNON AS THE EMPEROR 

JOE STRUMMER AS THE HIEROPHANT

JACK & DIANE AS THE LOVERS

THE CARS GIRL AS THE CHARIOT 

MARTHA DAVIS AS STRENGTH

JIMMY PAGE AS THE HERMIT

VINYL RECORD ON THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

PATTI SMITH AS JUSTICE