Hemera
I love the threads Pipistrelle has started about the Couples Cards and Inside Cards. I think grouping cards in different ways is a useful approach to any deck one wants to study in depth.
I always try to find Gate Cards in my decks after I read about the concept in Rachel Pollack´s book 78 Degrees of Wisdom. Entering the cards and walking through those gates is a great way to meditate with tarot and to find deeper meaning in those cards. In Rachel´s words, they open an inner path to the inner level of archetypal experience.
Sometimes the gates are more apparent and sometimes it takes a bit longer to see a gate in a card. Someone said that all tarot cards are gates and especially all Major Arcana cards are gates to the archetypes and I think they are right. However, I thought that for our purposes in a Study Group I´d check the more apparent gates in Morgan Greer.
Many are the “inside cards” that Pipistrelle has mentioned in that thread but there are gates that are outdoors as well.
I came up with the following:
1. Actual gates or gate looking structures:
The Hierophant
Ace of Pentacles
10 Pentacles
4 Swords
2. Buildings or walls that must have gates/doors, though not necessarily visible in the card:
The Magician
The Emperor
The Tower
The Sun
3 Pentacles
4 Pentacles
5 Pentacles
8 Pentacles
5 Cups
3. Structures that form a gate that can walk through:
The High Priestess (columns)
The Empress (trees)
The Chariot (the chariot)
Justice (columns)
The Hanged Man (tree trunks)
The Star (trees)
The Moon (towers)
The World (wreath)
3 Wands (the wands)
4 Wands (the wands)
8 Cups (mountains)
8 Swords (the Swords)
I always try to find Gate Cards in my decks after I read about the concept in Rachel Pollack´s book 78 Degrees of Wisdom. Entering the cards and walking through those gates is a great way to meditate with tarot and to find deeper meaning in those cards. In Rachel´s words, they open an inner path to the inner level of archetypal experience.
Bill Vincent said:Gate cards are a source of deep, rich inner dialogue, which lead to inner visualization scenarios in which you are part of the card. With all of the Tarot cards you can become part of the story, but gate cards make it even easier than most.
Sometimes the gates are more apparent and sometimes it takes a bit longer to see a gate in a card. Someone said that all tarot cards are gates and especially all Major Arcana cards are gates to the archetypes and I think they are right. However, I thought that for our purposes in a Study Group I´d check the more apparent gates in Morgan Greer.
Many are the “inside cards” that Pipistrelle has mentioned in that thread but there are gates that are outdoors as well.
I came up with the following:
1. Actual gates or gate looking structures:
The Hierophant
Ace of Pentacles
10 Pentacles
4 Swords
2. Buildings or walls that must have gates/doors, though not necessarily visible in the card:
The Magician
The Emperor
The Tower
The Sun
3 Pentacles
4 Pentacles
5 Pentacles
8 Pentacles
5 Cups
3. Structures that form a gate that can walk through:
The High Priestess (columns)
The Empress (trees)
The Chariot (the chariot)
Justice (columns)
The Hanged Man (tree trunks)
The Star (trees)
The Moon (towers)
The World (wreath)
3 Wands (the wands)
4 Wands (the wands)
8 Cups (mountains)
8 Swords (the Swords)