The Major Arcana,
by Roger Fritz,
last edited: 5-23-06
0: The Fool: The Fool is an ancient and profound symbol, and one of my favorites. On the surface, it's a symbol for innocence and lack of artifice, lack of self consciousness, as one sets out into the world for experience and adventure. The world is dangerous, and perhaps the Fool is not well prepared, but perhaps fools pass safely where angels fear to tread.
At a deeper level, the Fool is the humble warrior, the grizzled veteran who seems only artless and playfull and innocent. She is those things, but she's also wise with experience. She's child-like rather than childish. She's a Fool who laughs at herself, who's spontaneous and undefensive, who likes everyone and gets along with everyone. She poses no threat, and if you attack her, she defends himself without hurting you. She lives without an agenda beyond helping others when she can. She is effortless effort.
1: The Magician: The Magician is a symbol as old as magicians. On the surface, he's a symbol for competence and power, the ability to take charge of events and bring them to a surpising and creative resolution. He manipulates the forces of life in such an effortless way it seems magical.
Deeper down, the Magician is the primal male, the urge to act, to throw bolts of lightening. He's the cunning warrior, the tricky sorcerer, the man you never saw coming. He's the creative urge, and the protective. He can be seen dressed to the nines in public, and squatting in rags among the poor. He's humble and cheerful and ruthless and mysterious.
2: The High Priestess: The Priestess is a symbol as old as priestesses, which is to say, as old as the Goddess. The Priestess is the keeper of the Womens' Mysteries: healing and beer and fire and birth and keeping the Clan together. She's the ability to endure through the daily grind, as fluid and strong as water. She's the receptacle that holds life's forces, a practical and beautiful vessel.
At a deeper level, the Priestess is the primal female, duality, holding and healing without words. She's the ebb and flow of the tide, and the gateway to deeper mysteries than men will ever know. Mysteries of the dream world, imagination, timelessness, spirit. She's as cheerful and ruthless as the Magician, but far more mysterious.
3: The Empress: The Goddess is another of my favorites. She's a symbol older than fire. She stands for nourishment, healing, health, the hearth, the home, safety and security, giving, creativity, care for the young and old, the gathering and effective energy of the female, especially in groups.
On the surface, she's a symbol for pleasure in all its positive and sunny aspects. Sensual and alive and thrilling with life energy, sensitive to the beauty of nature around her, she's commanding without doing more than wishing. She's the joy of life, desire in all its forms, the inner child who knows what she wants. She's the passion that everyone has, the bright dream, the one thing which is more fun than anything else. She's hunger in all it's richness, hunger for life.
On a deeper level, she is nature herself, the original mother from which we and all other life come. She's the urge for life that exists inherent in the universe. She's Brigitte. She's Maya, the great mother who was first seen as a fine mist that was the predecessor of the dancing atoms which compose us. To be in harmony with life at the root is to be in touch with the great flow, the pulse of the universe.
4: The Emperor: The Emperor is stability and security. He's competence and authority in the world, a practical man, balanced and inspiring. On the surface, he's a man who's responsible and successful in the world, a leader of others. He's happy and calm, and able to protect his loved ones. He enjoys the world, and others around him enjoy it with him. When necessary, he's decisive and ruthless and able to take tremendous risks with exuberance. He lives life to the full, embracing involvement and failure and success.
Deeper down, the Emperor is the cosmic mind from whom we all take our minds. He's the urge to think and understand, and use that understanding in taking action. He's Kal. He's Vishnu, the protector and maintainer. To understand is to nourish and enrich and enliven all of life around you, with vigor and charm.
5: The Heirophant: The Heirophant is a symbol for freedom and change.
The Priest is the keeper of the Mens' Mysteries: chanting and hallucinogens and caves and death and protecting the Clan. He's the ability to deal with crisis and emergencies, as solid and dependable as dirt. He's the muddy embodiment of life's male forces, a slouching and necessary beast.
On the surface, the Heirophant is an image for the spiritual search. He doesn't care about wordly success, and is off to find something more meaningful and lasting. He's interested in what he can take with him when he dies. So he leaves the mundane things behind.
At a deeper level, the Priest is the primal male, freedom in the middle of change, present and comforting. He's the mountain that doesn't change, useless as an empty cup till he's needed. His are the mysteries of the waking world, invention, time, and the body. He's the fluid warrior, the fearless explorer, the seeker.
6: The Lovers: The Lovers is another of my favorite cards. The symbol is of romantic and sexual attraction, and the tremendous burst of pink blossoms that one feels when falling in love. It's the male-female dance, the sexual and mating and magically mysterious two-step that most people dance to all their lives. It's the way a love-affair can open the door to new worlds, and to inner worlds. It's spontaneous joy and play and laughing together a lot.
On the surface, the symbol is of all the sweetness of a new love affair. The Honeymoon phase. The sweet discovery of a new person and new pleasures, new intimacies.
Deeper down, the Lovers is about the hunger of the universe. It's the relationship between Kal and Maya, the cosmic dance between the hunger to FEEL life and the hunger to BE life. It's the urge for union, for ecstacy, for completeness and completion at the deepest possible levels. Love fills and drives the universe, and to experience spirit as Lover is one of the sweetest of spirit's manifestations.
7: The Chariot: The Chariot is a symbol for one's life, for living in the material world.
On the surface, the symbol is of material life, and the struggle to master the physical plane we're manifesting in. The horses of the passions and emotions pull us and propel us. They need to be steered by reins from the mind, or the chariot's in trouble. The mind needs to stay balanced and flexible, or it's in trouble.
Deeper down, the Chariot is about the mystery of the physical plane. How strange that the conscious self has a body to live in, and often nearly out of control emotions pulling one this way and that, and a difficult discipline to master just to stay on your feet. How strange that the world is one of duality: day and night, pain and pleasure, success and failure, love and hate, joy and loss, despair and triumph.... To learn to keep one's balance in such a universe is a marvelous challenge, and a talent once developed that will stand one in good stead.
8: Strength: Strength is another of my favorites. On the surface, it's an image for robust and powerful vigor. It's the careless strength of youth, the mature strength of the seasoned warrior princess, the weathered oaken strength of the old veteran. It's internal and inherent, and flows out spontaneously. Strength might be used to succeed in life or love, or in the Search.
The deeper level is suggested by the image in the Edgar Arthur Waite deck: a woman is closing the mouth of a lion with her hands. The best strength is soft and unnoticed. It has the power to heal, to take away anger, to make people feel heard and understood and soothed. The best warriors don't seem like warriors, but innocent and inoffensive. And yet with the soft hand the worst hurt and anger are soothed away. The most powerful strength isn't noticed, and it leaves people feeling better.
9: The Hermit: The Hermit is a symbol for the Searcher. She's not content with life in the valley, and she's off into the wilderness to find something more, something higher. She hears a calling, "like distant horns, muted and a little out of tune." And she'll do whatever it takes to find what she seeks, without even noticing her boldness. She's found her passion, and she's following it, even during the times when the guide star is out of sight.
On the surface, the Hermit is withdrawal from daily life and focusing that energy into a pursuit. It could be a search for love, or success, or self worth, or a sense of adventure in life. There are so many fascinating searches one can go on.
Deeper down, the Hermit is an inner search, for peace of mind, for understanding and perspective on life, for wildness and resilience and "the eye of the tiger." It's a search for the self, the unshakeable core of self acceptance. And it's a search for bliss, for the ecstasy of union directly with spirit, for the strength and rejuvenation and inspiration that come from an encounter with bliss. It's a search for a feeling of harmony with what is.
10: The Wheel of Fortune: The Wheel of Fortune is the gryphon dancing on top of the spinning wheel, staying in one place by running.
On the surface, the Wheel of Fortune is an image for the dynamic quality of life. Everyone leaves busy lives, and must in order to maintain. To do nothing is to be quickly swept beneath the wheel. Like Alice in Through the Looking Glass, we have to run to stay in the same place.
At a deeper level, the Wheel of Fortune is about being in the world but not of it. We can dance on top of life like the gryphon, if we're light on our feet, light of heart, clear and detached and loving. To float above, and yet to be living in the world, that's a supreme goal. At peace amidst constant change....
11: Justice: Justice is unemotional balance and clear-eyed perspective and consequences and karma.
On the surface, it's righteousness and vindication and punishment for crimes. It's getting what you deserve. It's blaming people for mistakes and accidents. It's the whole blame economy.
At a deeper level, Justice is balance and perspective and consequences and karma. Having good judgement is different than being judgemental. Actions always have consequences, and should, but to punish is to kill the spirit. Karma doesn't mean eye for an eye, it means getting the experiences you need to understand your strategic errors and correct them. Justice isn't blind, it's how we raise our children.
12: The Hanged Man: The Hanged Man is one of my favorite cards. It's so evocative.
On the surface, it's a symbol for waiting, and patience, and life in suspension. For that feeling of not knowing which way to go, and feeling anxious. For those times when your needs aren't getting met, and there's nothing you can do about it. Even for those times when you dread what's approaching, and feel helpless.
Deeper down, the Hanged Man is a symbol for one of the highest of life's attainments: acceptance. To accept what can't be changed leads to peace of mind, even in the middle of loss and chaos. Acceptance isn't passive, and it isn't weakness. It's an active choice made by a strong person. You don't have to like or approve of something to accept it. Those who've learned the higher lesson of the Hanged Man can accept even helpless indignity and humiliation and loss of power, with a smile.
13: Death: Death is a symbol for death and change. On the surface it's a picture of endings and loss, of bodily death, of giving up the first companion we had on coming into this life. At death we lose everything we're attached to, and the pain of losing what we're attached to can be extraordinary. That's why it's a good idea to start giving up clinging, before the moment you have to let go of everything.
At a deeper level, death is the gateway to the afterlife. The loss of everything we have known is the Open Sesame to a new and much wider and happier existence. Siva the Destroyer makes way for his brother Brahma the Creator to make something new and beautiful. Death is part of life, and a good friend. Who would want to live here forever?
14: Temperance: Temperence is a magical card. It speaks of balance and detachment and the way to transcendence.
On the surface, it's an image of self control and self discipline in order to reach a goal. Temperence is taking only what one needs, touching life and the world lightly, keeping a perspective on life, remembering during the bad times that the good times are coming, and duing the good times that the bad times are coming. It's living as though laying up treasure in heaven made sense, living for the long haul, following the sufi way of refining.
At a deeper level, it's an image of flexibility and the flow of feelings and the way to reach spiritual heights. The angel standing with one foot on land and one on water is a creature of two realms: the mundane and the utterly mysterious. And we ourselves are such creatures. We can take a step into the unknown. The angel is pouring water from one cup to another. When we can spill out our feelings vulnerably, and then contain them again, we have the balance and control to attain the crown of light.
15: The Devil: The Devil is woefully misunderstood. He's not evil. Or at least not any more than you and me.
On the surface, the Devil is descent into the material world, manifestation into the physical. So he's bold and creative and wild as a mountain man. He's the creative urge, and the lust for life. He's the love of intense experience, of exuberance. He's Zorba the Greek, and Faust, and the Coyote. He's tricky and unpredictable and savage, and the next moment weeping with love. He's a hero without noticing it, and a man who's comfortable in his own skin.
At a deeper level, the Devil is separation from spirit. He's the descent of the soul cast out of the First Creation into the Outer Creation, hungry for the physical, for experience, and beginning the refining process that leads eventually to the return home. He's the soul who's climbed from the Dreamtime into this world, and is quite happy here, thank you very much.
16: The Tower: The Tower is a wonderful card. On the surface, it's an image of strength and independence and watchfulness, and of farsightedness. From a tower one can see a great distance in every direction.
At a deeper level, the image is of the human condition and the climb to enlightenment. One goes around and around what seems to be the same lesson, but each time at a higher level. And as you approach the top, you begin to see the light. Once you have reached the top, the only way higher is to fly away.
17: The Star: The Star is a beautiful card. It's the beauty of the nature's dark side, and imagination, and inspiration and direction. I could go on and on....
On the surface, the Star is distant fire, the charm and beauty of the night, clear skies and good sailing, intuition and imagination and harmony with your purpose and goals.
At a deeper level, the Star is guidance and inspiration and hope. It's deep intuition, and clarity of purpose, single pointedness. It's remembering who you are. As Robert Frost said, "Choose something like a star to stay your mind on, and be stayed."
18: The Moon: The Moon is female and mysterious and a traveler through the darkness, intuition and blood and the sacredness of mundane life. The Moon deals with death unfazed, nourishing everyone in their sleep, pouring liquid light into the earth.
On the surface, the Moon is coolness and silver and the cycles of appearing and disappearing, manifesting and hiding. The tides not only in the earth and ocean, but in us as well. We have our own cycles of darkness and light, of going into the cave and coming out again. The moon is rhythm of refreshment and rejuvenation.
At a deeper level, the Moon is intuition and psychic powers and all things female, the explorer of the outer dark. She's bliss and deep nourishment, and sleep and reincarnation. She's slippery and undefinable and the mystery of life.
19: The Sun: The Sun is happiness and exuberance, the cheerful child loving life, spontaneous joy and play, the warmth of the light that nourishes us all. The Sun is naked and shining and on parade, the source of growth and giving and love, the source of the light we all have to have to live.
On the surface, the Sun is expansion and joy and celebration over success. Let the good times roll. The Sun isn't self conscious or calculating. He's happy and generous and wants everyone to play.
At a deeper level, the Sun is the source of life and nourishment and growth, the great glowing center. The Sun freely sustains everything. As the source of light, the Sun is the ultimate source of everything else. Giving without stint or thought, selflessly pouring out life for everyone to bathe in, the good, the bad and the ugly alike. The Sun doesn't distinguish, only gives. I saw a bumper sticker once that said, "Isis, Isis, Ra, Ra, Ra...."
20: Resurrection: Resurrection is a symbol for rebirth. Of hope, of yourself, of the soul from the body, of happiness after depression. On the surface it's personal rebirth. Perhaps after death into the afterlife. Or the attainment of personal freedom after a time of slavery. The flame of the spirit is relighted, and hope and strength return.
At a deeper level, Resurrection is much bigger. It's the great Pheonix Cycle: becoming old and tired, and entering the cinammon fire. To emerge young again and shiny and hungry for life. It's the Green God pushing the new shoots up from the earth every spring. It's nature's great cycles of destruction and renewal, Siva and Brahma, the passing away of the old and the creation of new marvels. The Earth and even the universe follow the Pheonix Cycle.
21: The World: The World is one of my favorite cards. She's the Queen Maya, clad in shimmering gowns, and dancing to the tune of Krishna's flute....
On the surface, the World is an image of the reality we inhabit. Our world is what we see, from the beauty of nature, to the cities we live in, to our work and loved ones. From the time we're born till the time we die we see one person's view of the world.
Deeper, the World is the dancing goddess who spins this reality out of her own hair. She is our original and most beloved lover, and we dance with her whether the music is joyful or sad or angry or frightening. We're part of her, and she's our home, and we can be content in this World.
Here's a version you can download:
|
