Rainring Masterclass 5 set 7 part 2

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59. Vision: group – Unconscious (5 indigo)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Vision/59.aspx
The Image

The scene is of a river with trees on the far bank and stepping stones in the water. On the nearest of these stands a woman wearing a blue top and deep blue skirt and looking towards us. She is barefoot, has her left hand behind her back and her right arm at her side. We see her over the shoulder of a man who stands on the near bank apparently staring at her. A faint white line around the contour of her body suggests that she may be an immaterial vision, rather than a creature of flesh and blood.

The meaning

Vision: what is perceived by the inner eye of the artist and expressed through his oeuvre; to conceive mental images, or have them revealed to one

A General

Vision is defined by Merriam-Webster as: ‘the act or power of imagination… unusual discernment or foresight… direct mystical awareness of the supernatural usually in visible form.’ It is the set 7 card that deals with the influence of the Unconscious on the communication process of art. Vision is seeing, but we often use it in the sense of ‘second sight’ – clairvoyant seeing - or of seeing from an exceptional perspective: both widely and far ahead. This language is a reminder that consciousness is only the tip of the psychific iceberg: overwhelmingly the larger portion of the contents of the psyche lies in the area not immedieately available to consciousness. Vision is part of the process of accessing that area.

B Specific

When you meet the numinous experience of Vision – in dreams, or quiet, meditative states - it is something profoundly joyful yet, paradoxically, will cause you pain. This is because it forces you to confront the fact that, on the scale of the cosmos, you are profoundly insignificant. In Vision, with its powerful emotional content, you experience moments of transcendance – a sense of something vaster and more inclusive than the shallow, petty preoccupations, the restricted horizons of your everyday existence. It is because great art comes from there that it has the power to transport us to other dimensions of ourselves. If the Vision involves relationship, this will take place in an atmosphere of serenity, in such contrast to ordinary life that you will find it upsetting and challenging – and come out of it into pain.

Vision is primarily an emotional experience, though your spirit will later be drawn in to evaluate what has occurred, analyse the insights gained. Where this evaluation does not occur satisfactorily, there is a danger of you ending up pedalling some crackpot, even dangerous message to the world. The rational element of yourself, your spirit side, may well not want to relinquish control to this passionate experience. Many scientists, similarly, have a very unobjective resistance to visionary experience. The role of your spirit must not be to try to block vision, dismissing it as simple imagination, but to be vigilant about where it wants to take you. The thrust of this powerful emotional experience of Vision should normally be towards your producing creative work. The Vision demands that you express, give it material form, communicate. This, too, is the antidote to the pain.

To sum up, Vision is part of your process of intuition: a direct knowing whose source is not reason. The Unconscious can certainly have this card refer also to foresight, to someone or something that looks charming, and to seeing in general, according to the possibilities in the dictionary. But the central thrust is about your being inspired, moved and uplifted by something beyond your normal frame of reference. And beware, the power that lies here can always be abused.

Divination summary

Inspiration, revelation, feelings of transcendence, clairvoyance, direct contact with the non-material world, dream, meditation or trance-induced images; foresight, prophecy, seeing the bigger picture, imagination; the use of sight; charming appearance.

60. Charisma: group – self (6 yellow)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Charisma/60.aspx
The Image
This is an indoor scene, with the light from a lamp playing on the figures of three men. On the left, wearing a green tunic and a red woolen cap, is the mature man featured on Expression. He is holding a pewter tankard and appears to be singing. In the centre and to the rear another young man, playing an instrument resembling a cello, is dressed all in green and has his eyes closed, concentrating on the music which they are making. The third figure, a second young man, is at right front, wears yellow and orange, and is playing a simple flute.

The meaning

Charisma: that which makes a person’s life an art form in itself; the blessing of personal power; a light that draws others to itself, whether for good or ill

A General

Merriam-Webster defines Charisma as: ‘a personal magic of leadership… a special magnetic charm or appeal.’ Charisma is the card from the communication set 7 which belongs to the Self group. It refers to a quality present in an individual, yet that quality is defined only by the effect that the charismatic person has on others. Charisma, in other words, is a matter of personal dynamics, and not merely between one individual and another, but concerning the effect of one person on a group of others. Charismatic people, being larger than life, are wonderful to be around: people are drawn to them because, in their company one lives with a vividness, an intensity, an excitement and exhilaration not possible in other circumstances. But, this relationship also has its drawbacks.

B Specific

There is both an obsessive and invasive quality about you when you display charisma. Part of the power of your charisma derives from your single-mindedness; you have a highly focussed agenda - a purpose, even a mission. Your invasiveness comes from that same drive – you feel that you must communicate your message. Yet Charisma need not necessarily hinge upon a specific call to action. There are individuals who inspire confidence, even devotion, by their simple presence. Charisma, unfortunately, is typically a device used for self–protection: it represents an unusually solid mask, behind which your insecurities are well hidden. This is a strange reversal: that insecurity, which might typically lead to withdrawal due to shyness, can also take you in the opposite direction. After all, once you are the acknowledged leader, you are in a very safe place – for who will challenge you now?

The lynch-pin of charisma is self-belief: if you are convinced that you are an exceptional indiviidual, with a special mission that cannot be carried out by anyone else, this gives you authority – and you may in fact have such special gifts. This sense of destiny that you carry with you is the source of an inner joy which is part of the magnetic effect you have upon others. Most of us - confused, uncertain, divided within ourselves - cannot fail to be impressed by, drawn to your singleness of purpose, focussed attitude and (apparent) complete lack of self-doubt. So the problematic area in Charisma is that of personal relationship, the gulf between you as leader and I as follower.[1] For you, there is a danger of being alone, substituting endless superficial contact for one true intimacy – for in intimacy, you will be challenged.
Freud, Hitler, Marilyn Monroe and Edith Piaf were all charismatic figures. Charisma comes in every possibly variation. It is a complex, flawed condition: irresistible, magical but also potentially disastrous, both for the charismatic one and for those over whom they hold sway.

Finally, note that the card Charisma will occur typically under more banal circumstances: at any time when you have taken an initiative, shown vision, purpose and courage; taken on a leadership role or just raised your head above the parapet; acted with verve, style and distinctiveness.

Divination summary

personal magnetism; acting with leadership and authority; being single-minded in pursuit of a vision; belief in your own mission and destiny; drawing others to you; showing verve, style and distinctiveness in action; using force of personality to invade others; problems of relating to those who admire and respect you; letting yourself be put on a pedestal.

61. Resonance: group – communication (7 blue)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Resonance/61.aspx
The Image

The image is of a large expanse of water and sky in fair weather. We can just see a water plant at bottom left, otherwise the expanse of blue is unbroken except by a flight of assorted ducks which dominates the scene. One of these is just taking off, those that are already airbourne form a trail, which leads up as far as the eye can see. There is a sense of rhythm in this file of ascending birds.

The meaning

Resonance: striking a chord in the other, who feels themself on the same wavelength; even a small output, if at the appropriate frequency, has a big effect on the recipient.

A General

Resonance is the double seven, belonging to both set 7 and group 7. On the one hand, it is the supreme exemplar of the communication vibration, on the other, it has no second element to help balance it and mitigate the effects of the blue (throat) chakra. Like all the doubles, it is an extreme case. Chambers[2] defines resonance, technically, as ‘the state of a system in which a large vibration is produced by a small stimulus of approximately the same frequency as that of the system’; also as ‘sympathetic vibration.’ The Merriam-Webster definition of sympathy refers to being ‘capable of communicating… vibrational energy’. Resonance is a quality of communication whose sympathetic nature means that the original output is magnified in transmission. We are borrowing from this physical property to suggest that something similar happens in the psychific area.B Specific

To obtain Resonance, you will have produced an original stimulus. To do this, you must first be in the inner position of pioneer or educator. From your spirit, you must ‘write your message’. Second, paradoxically, what you say must be ‘sympathetic’ i.e. accessible to others. So, you put the message in the bottle, cork it up, walk to the end of the pier and toss it into the waves. If you are in sympathy with the tides, your message will be carried out to sea and away to distant shores. For your message to resonate, it will have to touch a chord in others, and this means that you have to be in contact with the Unconscious. The expression ‘an idea whose time has come’ expresses this: there is a matter of timing involved in resonance. You may be a great visionary like Van Gogh and not resonate with your contemporaries.

This spirit input into Resonance is very different from that of Conception. The latter is a destabiliser, throwing everyone onto the wrong foot. Resonance, by contrast, begins with an input which will find an echo around the psyche at the stage of development which it has already reached – as if what you say was ‘on the tip of the (collective) tongue’. Expressed another way, resonance is going to bring healing – to allow the light of spirit, of insight, to penetrate into places where the Will is ready to receive it. In doing so, there will be perturbations – if we receive something new, it means that previously we were resisting it; now the desire to open to it is greater than the resistance, but that does not prevent the new from disturbing and unsettling us to a degree.

It is this disturbing effect which makes vital the element of sympathy in the sender. The moment there is any hint of domination, of forcing the recipient to accept the message, resonance goes out of the window. Resonance, to sum up in a phrase, is Beauty in communication – and Beauty is a balance of male and female energies.The card Resonance does not distinguish between sender or recipient – when it appears, you may be in either position. At all events, it will always indicate that you are involved in a process of sympathetic communication.

Divination summary

being on the same wavelength; sympathetic connection; striking a chord with others / having a chord struck in oneself; communication in a timely, appropriate and sensitive manner; not bossing or being bossed around; openness to a message being delivered; having something to say which others are ready to hear.

62. Beauty: group – conjugation (8 magenta)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Beauty/62.aspx
The image

The scene is of a big, old cherry tree in full bloom. It leans over water, upon which rests a small, open wooden boat. A cascade of pink blossom from the tree is falling into the water and the boat

The meaning

Beauty: male and female energies expressed in mutual harmony; a balance of this kind in communication between people.

A General

The magenta vibration, as we said, does not yet exist in the manifest universe. This means that Beauty is one of those cards whose energies or vibrations exist still only in a latent state. When it occurs in readings, it refers to a very ‘diluted’ form of Beauty as it will one day be. Beauty represents communication between male and female poles. This can refer to an inner process or an outer reality. Overall, the two will always develop in parallel, even if the emphasis is sometimes more on one or the other. It is important to be aware that in Rainring our principal use of the word Beauty is thus this special one, rather than the habitual, aesthetic one.

B Specific

One characteristic feature of Beauty is your inevitable tendency to look over your shoulder at the available escape routes from relationship. You miss the autonomy and freedom characteristic of being single. So you are pursuing this goal of communication beyond denial despite your frequent desire to run away fom it. There is a paradox here: any hope of achieving a relationship in which there is no denial (Beauty) rests on your ability to deny, or more accurately, not to give in to your desire to run away from that relationship![3] To make it still harder, your spirit will tend to despair of ever achieving this goal, the difficulties appearing insurmountable. This is because there is an immense weight of accumulated trauma in the psyche which is saying: this cannot be done. For example, too often there has been a promotion of the ideal of love which has completely failed to recognise the accumulation of rage, hate, terror, grief and despair in the space between the male and female poles of the psyche. For ‘love’ (Swayesse) to be possible for you in any meaningful degree, these emotions will have to be felt - not hidden, denied and run away from.

Small wonder that your principal opposition to Beauty is from Fear: fear has created the problem you face, and fear wants to keep the lid on your emotions, your female side. But it is precisely this which is damaging you. You can only feel the welcome emotions of love, joy, delight… to the extent that you are prepared to feel the unwelcome ones: emotional openness is not selective. This process therefore involves connection with the Unconscious: you and your partner will have to be able and willing to follow your neurotic behaviours back towards their source in the remote past. Indeed, where the deeper, heavier levels of trauma are involved, this enterprise will imperatively need support from outside your couple.

The card Beauty, as we said early on, does not always involve an external process – it can also reflect the ‘work’ that we do on our inner male and female. Nor will Beauty invariably be a reference to the process outlined above. In general, Beauty refers to action in which there is an acknowledgement of both male and female elements, and a balanced approach to them. It refers to any specific male-female energy communication situation in which denial is not a characteristic feature.Divination summary:successful communication between male and female; balance in relationship; willingness to face denial; commitment to resolving relationship conflicts; facing past trauma; healing inner wounds; not running away from relationship difficulties; refusing to retreat into being / remaining single.

63. Legacy: group – quest-ion? (9 grey/brown)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Legacy/63.aspx

[We have decided to withhold the detailed meanings for all the cards of group 9 until we can publish all this material commercially. We are really sorry for the inconvenience this may cause. See 9 Ebb (set 1) for details]





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[1] The psychologist Carl Rogers once said that there are three types of leader. The worst is the one the people hate; less bad is the one they adore; but the good leader is the one of whom they are unaware.

[2] Chambers Maxi Paperback Dictionary ISBN 0-550-10575-1

[3] In the psyche, things are seldom simple. Of course there are many, many relationships where the course of action needed for psychic wholeness is to GET OUT. So often we choose a partner in order to harm ourselves. Such relationships cannot (and will never) meet the criteria of Beauty.