Minors as a Progression

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Macavity	20 May 2003
Many are familiar with progressions in the major arcana e.g. "The fool's journey". But, until recently, it had not struck me quite as forcibly, that progressions existed in the Minors. Some (better) authors highlight this more than others e.g. Mary K Greer... Clearly much of this has numerology at the root? Some "qualities" of Swords and Wands increase with number but correspondingly, with Cups and Disks, decrease? Maybe the (archetypal) Masculine/Feminine ones? Some things are said to "peak" at the (around) the Sixes? Hmmm - What trends do you see? Maybe the "ends" (Tens) are anomalous? (Our old friend the RWS ten swords illustrates?) Perhaps the Crowley-Thoth keywords cope better? Maybe Pamela C-S (A.E. Waite) was influenced by the same source as Crowley? You don't get more "Ruin"-ed than THAT guy! :laugh: And, (interestingly) where the ten of wands cannot "expand enough", you do indeed get... "Oppression". Quite a system, Mr. C! A (too?) big subject - And I'm being very non specific! Random musings welcome. :D Macavity

Keslynn	20 May 2003
Hey Macavity, I had looked at Thirteen's Basics when I started and I noticed that she used a common theme for each minor card before breaking it down into suits. That imspired me to lay out all the minors, 1 to 10, in rows based on suit. I had Wands above Swords above Cups above Pentacles, but that's just the order I liked. Then I sat and looked at them really hard for a while. I did find that the minors have a progression. Overall, the same number tends to have a common theme, but it changes slightly with the suit. So yeah, basically that was a long way of saying that I think the minors do have a story to them. I also think that the courts are the people who emerge from the experiences presented in the numbered minors. However, I don't know whether you're suggesting that you can construct a progression from ALL the minors together, regardless of suit. I think that there are progressions within suits. I hope that made sense. :) rambly-Kes

WolfSpirit	20 May 2003
Pamela Eakins, who wrote the book for the Tarot of the Spirit, talks about the sacred geometry of tarot, meaning all suits go through the same progression from 1-10. She has even drawn a chart of this, with progression from 1-4, then a downfall at 5, a recovery at 6 when all problems seem to be overcome, but this is only temporary, because there are even more problems at the 7, then another recovery and progress from 8 to 10. If you keep this in mind when interpreting a minor it can help (well I think so anyway). About the tens: the ten in wands makes sense to me, wands are so much energy, and at the 10 you are burdening yourself with all your projects - so it is time to drop the burden, move on to another cycle. I think you can say something similar for the 10 of swords. I don't like the rws 10 of swords at all, it doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe the 10 of swords means you have outsmarted yourself (suit of intellect !), there is no turning back so you just have to go on, to another level.

Macavity	20 May 2003
Great Points. Vague question! ;) I think though, raising the point has focussed the (my!) mind. I found a useful solution to the tens - again from Mary Greer, in that these apply the essence of the nines to the "collective", as compared to the "individual"? She recalls Crowley describing the Ten of swords as "mass insanity", rather than individual torment. A.k.a. "Et Tu Brute"? :D Macavity

HudsonGray	20 May 2003
So the guy on the ground is a mere victim of unfortunate circumstances he may have only had a little connection with? Hmm. But still--it can't get any worse....

WolfSpirit	20 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Macavity I found a useful solution to the tens - again from Mary Greer, in that these apply the essence of the nines to the "collective", as compared to the "individual"? She recalls Crowley describing the Ten of swords as "mass insanity", rather than individual torment. A.k.a. "Et Tu Brute"? :D Macavity In the rws the 10 of pentacles and 10 of cups show happy (or materialistic for the pentacles ? ;) ) families, so yes I see why collective. The people who stuck all the swords in that poor guy's back made sure they got away quickly ;) I'll give the idea of the collective some more thougt.

The Minors as a Progression thread was originally posted on 20 May 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.