Alchemical Study Group - Ten of Vessels

sapienza

I'm starting this thread at the request of taniatingel...

taniatingel said:
OK - I'm going to suggest we look at this card because it bothers me. I'm not sure how to post a new discussion thread to make sure it gets added to the study group.

I actually don't have much to say about it other than, compared to all the other Place artwork, I find this card quite plain - in terms of colours and imagery. I like the interconnectedness of the vessels, but it doesn't fill me with the excitement I get from other decks. The ten of cups is usually one of my favourite cards in a deck.

Anyone interested in looking at this card - and helping me change my mind about it?
 

sapienza

The Ten of Vessels shows an image of an Alchemical still. There are ten parts to the still but they all come back to the one vessel in the centre at the base.

Place explains that this card shows how we are all connected and that harmony comes from recognising our connections to others. He also talks about how on a spiritual level we are all part of a greater cosmos and that each individual has their own function in the harmony of the whole.

I just paraphrased because I didn't want to copy the text due to copyright issues. I'll leave it up to Leisa to post the text from the book if and when she feels it is appropriate.

I can understand what you are saying about this card taniatingel. I find that with quite a few of the minors in this deck they seem a little empty to me. I'm not used to the lack of humans in the cards :) However, the more I work with the imagery on the cards and begin to appreciate the richness of the symbolism, the less of an issue this is for me.

I haven't spent a lot of time with this card yet but I'll note my first impressions. It's interesting that when you look at the different vessels, each obviously has it's own purpose, they are all quite different, and yet they are working for the same end. I guess in a way they are working as a team. If one part were missing, or not functioning, then the result would be different. I like the idea of this card as representing cosmic connectedness. Some are higher, some a lower, some work more than others, some are big, some are small. It's quite a clever representation of humanity and the connections between us. I think it's starting to grow on me actually :)

I hope this helps a bit.
 

mac22

sapienza said:
The Ten of Vessels shows an image of an Alchemical still. There are ten parts to the still but they all come back to the one vessel in the centre at the base.

Place explains that this card shows how we are all connected and that harmony comes from recognising our connections to others. He also talks about how on a spiritual level we are all part of a greater cosmos and that each individual has their own function in the harmony of the whole.

I just paraphrased because I didn't want to copy the text due to copyright issues. I'll leave it up to Leisa to post the text from the book if and when she feels it is appropriate.

I can understand what you are saying about this card taniatingel. I find that with quite a few of the minors in this deck they seem a little empty to me. I'm not used to the lack of humans in the cards :) However, the more I work with the imagery on the cards and begin to appreciate the richness of the symbolism, the less of an issue this is for me.

I haven't spent a lot of time with this card yet but I'll note my first impressions. It's interesting that when you look at the different vessels, each obviously has it's own purpose, they are all quite different, and yet they are working for the same end. I guess in a way they are working as a team. If one part were missing, or not functioning, then the result would be different. I like the idea of this card as representing cosmic connectedness. Some are higher, some a lower, some work more than others, some are big, some are small. It's quite a clever representation of humanity and the connections between us. I think it's starting to grow on me actually :)

I hope this helps a bit.

Distillation/digestion is part of the process....:)

mac22
 

Kenny

I do agree this card is strange. From what I gather the idea of the card is purification though repeated distillation.

Basically the vessel pictured is a bastardised purification vessel--cannot remember the name right now--in reality there were just two chambers, and two pipes. There was an upper chamber, a lower chamber, and the two pipes.

What happened was the liquid in the lower chamber was boiled, the steam then went up one of the pipes to the cold top chamber. In the top chamber the steam condensed and the purified liquid then flowed back into the lower chamber. This process could be repeated many times.

The image on the card could show this process being completed many times, each time the liquid becoming purer and purer.

Though I could be way off with this...
 

taniatingel

That curious ten of vessels

Thanks for starting this thread Sapienza... and thank you for your responses Mac and Kenny... I'm going to have to ponder it some more... but you have definitely set me on a path.

I'm now imagining the card is ACTIVELY bubbling away and distilling and the symbolism is working for me now! (Perhaps the contraption is making the rainbow found in other decks!)

So... i guess the card could represent the end of a distillation cycle (being a ten). Perhaps it represents recognition of interconnectedness and therefore success in the realm of love/union with others?
 

mac22

taniatingel said:
Thanks for starting this thread Sapienza... and thank you for your responses Mac and Kenny... I'm going to have to ponder it some more... but you have definitely set me on a path.

I'm now imagining the card is ACTIVELY bubbling away and distilling and the symbolism is working for me now! (Perhaps the contraption is making the rainbow found in other decks!)

So... i guess the card could represent the end of a distillation cycle (being a ten). Perhaps it represents recognition of interconnectedness and therefore success in the realm of love/union with others?


Alchemy Is a process of connections, combinations & then distillation. The sign over your distillation pot should be "patience!"

Mac22
 

Kenny

taniatingel said:
I'm now imagining the card is ACTIVELY bubbling away and distilling and the symbolism is working for me now! (Perhaps the contraption is making the rainbow found in other decks!)
The card is working! Just look at the two outside vessels, they're directly in the flames. :)

Alchemists sometimes believed that the hotter the fire the more likely Gold would be made.

taniatingel said:
So... i guess the card could represent the end of a distillation cycle (being a ten). Perhaps it represents recognition of interconnectedness and therefore success in the realm of love/union with others?
I don't think so much of an ending rather a new start.

In numerology 9 is the end of the cycle. 10 is a 1 (1+0 = 1), a new cycle.

This fits in with alchemy because unless you have found the Philosophers Stone
you need to restart your work, make it purer and purer until you can turn Lead into Gold. (Lead is the basic base metal, or soul (as its capitalised) while Gold is the most perfect metal/soul.)
 

Leisa

From the Book

Ten of Vessels

An alchemical still is composed of ten vessels united into one still. In ten, the many come back to the one.

Tarot wisdom: No one is emotionally separate and alone. Harmony comes from recognizing your connections to others. Don't isolate yourself--you need others to make your way in life. On a spiritual level, recognize your part in the greater whole of the divine cosmos, and know that the function of each individual is essential to the harmony of the whole.