- Major Arcana – III

Typically, the journey of the Major Arcana has always been viewed from The Fool card to The World card. To study that journey, one must put aside The Fool card, and then arrange all the other cards in 3 rows of 7 cards each. The first row, beginning with The Magician card and ending with The Chariot card is then considered the Practical Plane. The next row, beginning with the Strength card and ending with the Temperance card is considered the Mental Plane. And the last row, beginning with The Devil card and ending with The World card is considered the Spiritual Plane.

 [Click to enlarge the picture]

So, as I started to play with the images of the cards in my mind, I began to see another pattern. I opened up my Photoshop program and began to arrange the cards in this format, but in reverse. So the first row now begins with The World card and ends with The Devil card and forms the Spiritual Plane. The second row now begins with the Temperance card and ends with the Strength card, forming the Mental Plane. And the last row now begins with The Chariot card and ends with The Magician card forming the Practical Plane. The Fool card is again left aside.

So let us look at the story of the journey that has begun to play in my mind.

In the Spiritual Plane, the story begins with The World card, where a soul or an energy force realizes that it exists in the Universe. It begins to contemplate its existence and begins to look around and sees that it is comprised of 4 basic elements – Fire, Air, Water and Earth. So the energy force then decides that if it exists, it must have a purpose. When this thought process begins, it becomes a part of the karmic forces of the Universe, desire having prompted this movement. And it becomes a part of the ebb and flow of the life-forces in the Universe, and comes in contact with similar souls or soul groups who feel the same way. This scenario is represented by the Judgement card. Soon enough the energy force acquires an enthusiasm and a certain joie de vivre that comes from being a part of something which seemingly has a purpose, and is represented by The Sun card. Of course, just having an idea of having a purpose is not really having a purpose. This begins a tug of war between the natural instinct of the soul to withdraw into itself and the opposing natural instinct to go out there and explore and search for the purpose, which is effectively depicted in The Moon card. The Star card is therefore the logical depiction of the soul’s eventual efforts to let go of this internal tug of war and to look forward to something which is seemingly on the horizon. When the soul begins to lets go of this inner struggle with its dual nature, the bolt of realization shocks him into realization that this duality is the one thing that has kept him sane for so long, while keeping him insane as well. The Tower is the perfect picture of the soul losing its duality and realizing the folly of it. And thus, the soul finds itself in the darkness of its own conflicts and chained to its own desires in The Devil card.

Now, begins the soul’s journey on the Mental Plane. The soul learns to find serenity and peace by embracing its duality, represented by the two cups in the Temperance card, and to alternate between these seemingly opposite forces in a calm and balanced fashion. This brings about a very vast change in the thinking process of the soul. Old ideas and concepts are discarded and a fresh perspective begins to emerge. The Death card is a perfect picture of this scenario. Soon enough, the desire of the soul propels it forward to look at the whole journey so far, and in retrospect. This is The Hanged Man. Now the soul understands the value of every step in the journey so far. This creates the beginning of inner balance for the soul and also the beginning of the Karmic balance as well. From here onwards, every step of the journey will create consequences which the soul must face on his own and the responsibilities are all his. The Justice card is thus the picture of this new beginning. Once the Karmic balances have begun to be maintained, the soul has now become a part of the Karmic wheel, represented by The Wheel of Fortune card. The soul is now a part of the Karmic Cycle and his first steps towards the journey into the physical world have been taken. So the soul spends time contemplating and charting the course, deciding what he wants to learn and how he wants to learn it. Thus The Hermit card shows him deciding the lessons and the course ahead of him. For that he must gather his inner strength and will power. He must gain control over his desires, and learn that he has a long journey ahead, and he may reach his goal or not. He must be prepared for all eventualities. The picture is depicted in the Strength card.

So now, the journey of the soul takes him into the Physical Plane. He takes birth in the form of a human being. He feels his power, the power of his senses and recognizes his own presence. He realizes that he has a goal, and a journey ahead of him, which can be seen easily in The Chariot card. Of course, he also chooses to be with other souls like him to accompany him in this search for purpose and meaning of his existence. We can see this in The Lovers card. Soon enough, they encounter other persons / souls like them who have been in these cycles before them, and they seek guidance and learn from them. Apart from knowledge to guide them on the journey ahead, they also learn about the rules of the journey from The Hierophant. This creates a realization that the journey is arduous and the way is barren. Yet the soul / human being struggles on, works hard and plods on in a disciplined manner. The Emperor card is a depiction of the harsh nature of this thought process. Soon enough, the soul/ human being, tired of the barren nature of the journey begins to seek for some pleasures along the way and for the scenery to be a little nicer. It wants the journey to be enjoyable and wants comfort. This is seen in The Empress card. All this while, the soul / human being has started to have this realization, that he has missed out on something essential along the way. He seeks inner wisdom and knowledge and plunges the depths of his sub-conscious to find out the hidden knowledge which he senses is within him. This is the picture of The High Priestess card. Soon enough, he realizes that he has the four elements in his control and he can be a creative force by himself. He assumes his true form in The Magician card.

With all the tools of his consciousness in his backpack, the soul / human being now takes on the journey of his life, not knowing what lies ahead. He now becomes The Divine Fool. He plunges into his life with a reckless abandon which is a sign of an aware individual who has realized that sometimes the journey itself can become the purpose!

Well, this is a different take on the scenario. But it’s a story that began to form inside my head and found its way here.

Would really appreciate any and all thoughts on this from members of the Tarot Community!