94stranger
[This re-post is due to an extensive revision and extension of the original set 3 expanded directory meanings, this time including separate divination summaries]
Directory of Meanings
Set 3: Balance
NOTES
1) Sets 1 and 2 were concerned with the psychological situation at the two poles of extroversion and introversion. Whether or not imbalance was involved, these cards dealt with the ends of the spectrum of behaviour, not the middle. Set 3 deals with the centre, with the balance position. No unbalanced mentions apply here.
2) Each card of set 3 must therefore be considered in relation to the two polar cards of the same group: In Spirit, Clarity is the balance between Deflation and Inflation; in Will, Passion is the balance between Control and Abandon, and so on for all the set 3 cards.
19. Clarity: Group – Spirit (1 violet/purple)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Clarity/19.aspx
The image
We have a jungle scene predominantly in deep blue and pink – the colours on each side of violet. The scene is dominated by a blue tiger, seen from below, silhouetted in profile against the skyline. The blurred or indistinct vision typical of the depths of the jungle is superceded, thanks to an instance of the play of light, by a magical moment of clarity.
The meaning
Clarity: quality of spirit which apprehends without partiality or bias; seeing situations, relationships, others and oneself without the distortion of deflation or inflation
A General
Clarity is a quality of spirit, and represents the mid-point between inflation and deflation. In relation to yourself, it means having an accurate self-image, exaggerating neither your strengths nor weaknesses. Nevertheless, Clarity is affected by the imbalances involved in Spirit, so that it has a shadow side. It can be both a friend and an enemy. Just as the tiger is full of power and majesty, so Clarity - with its beautiful and authoritative force – can become a predator.
B Specific
At this time, you have a realistic view of who you are. You have been able to step back from the hurly-burly of daily life to take a dispassionate look at your situation. Clarity comes out of deflation, for you cannot avoid the hubris of over-estimating yourself unless you have first been humbled and brought low. After struggling up from that deep valley, you are now like someone surveying a landscape from a high place, benefiting from a panoramic perspective. Thus you demonstrate one of the attributes of wisdom, for how can one act wisely without ever being able to achieve a clear view of what is needed? With Clarity, you are in a position to make sound judgements of the appropriate action to take. You have the desire to use clarity to support beneficial communication.
But there is a price to pay. In Deflation, you had a somewhat hysterical, self-absorbed feeling of the enormity of your worthlessness. In Clarity, this gives way to the sober realisation of how small you are in the vast perspective of existence – and therein lies a danger, for this can all too easily incapacitate you in the struggle to complete your own fragment of the great mosaic of destiny. Clarity, amid the fog of illusion on every side, can make it difficult for you to communicate with others with the normal give and take of Interchange. Clarity includes an awareness which comes from your contact with the Unconscious, and your relationships will inevitably reflect that. There is something metallic about Clarity – it is hard and bright: you will not, for example, be able to get it to function alongside the warm, nurturing, and forgiving quality of the Matriarch. Clarity has the invasiveness of a knife, which means that, in your communication with others, you can use it both to heal and to hurt.
Divination summary
Accurate assessment of your own capabilities and performance; clear, unbiased view of situations and events; acute awareness often used invasively; difficulties in relationships with others less insightful; sense of deflation caused by sober evaluation of insignificance of single individual on global scale; clear seeing in relationship due to contact with Unconscious; sense of power and intensity; using insight for beneficial communication.
20. Passion: Group – Will (2 red)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Passion/20.aspx
The image
The scene is the interior of an old-fashioned gypsy caravan, where we see a young man and woman engaging in good-natured horse-play. He is chasing his sweetheart across the bed, while she defends herself with a pillow. They are both laughing and happy. The predominant red tones of the image, together with the behaviour and demeanour of the participants, make clear that their intensions are sexual.
The meaning
Passion: emotional vitality in pursuit of what one wants; gusto; balance between control and abandon
A General
Passion is a quality of will, representing the mid-point between control and abandon, and its central component is emotional intensity. In control, the emotion is inhibited; in abandon, it has become ungovernable. In Passion, it flows freely, yet does not become a flood that overwhelms you.
B Specific
At present, you have Passion in your life. Passion is like a vehicle driven by the most powerful engine in existence – desire. With it you can move mountains i.e. have a huge impact on people and situations. Because you are experiencing a free flow of emotion, this is not in danger of backing up and then needing a sudden uncontrollable release, as with abandon. With Passion you have energy, drive, enthusiasm and enjoyment – for love, sex, friendship, work, play, studies… Passion can take you in any direction you desire.
With Passion, you are able to draw on the resources of the unconscious, and your qualities of soul flow out into action. You have an inner intensity, for Passion acts on the spirit, driving you forward to explore and invent, out of sheer zest for life. Passion gives you a good relationship with the physical – your body and the world. In relationship, you are well centred, and this creates the essential pre-condition for excellent communication with others: you are forceful, exuberant, full of enthusiasm and optimism. You have the capacity to throw yourself into situations and relationships with gusto, free of undue hesitations and anxieties.
Passion also has limitations. First, you will find it difficult to sustain that intensity over a long period; second, you may have difficulty choosing a worthwhile focus. Just as Passion can add warmth and colour to Clarity, so Clarity can underpin Passion with a focussed and sustained purpose. Finally, Passion is the quality of the lover in that old antipathy of wife versus mistress. The Matriarch represents responsibility, duty, the sustained nurture of others, whereas the Wanton, the woman of Passion, just wants to enjoy! This dichotomy exists also in the male psyche, with the dangerous and exciting sexual predator on one side and the good, solid and dependable but dull husband and father on the other.
Divination summary
balance between control & abandon; energy, zest for life, gusto, intensity; gaiety, fun, enjoyment; invention, enthusiasm, dynamism; openness, self-integration, beauty in communication; ease with own body and world, physical well-being; tendency to burn out, problem sustaining momentum and focus; irresponsibility, lack of mothering qualities.
21. Relation: Group – Heart (3 green)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Relation/21.aspx
The Image
A heavy-set man sits on some steps outside an old-fashioned gypsy caravan, with green hills in the background. Beside him, linking arms, is a small boy. The man rests his left hand on the shoulder of a male companion, who stands next to, and partly turned towards him. This companion has his hands in his pockets, and wears the type of headscarf, knotted at the nape of the neck, commonly associated with gypsies. The relaxed body language of both men, together with the presence of the small boy, suggests friendship.
The meaning
Relation: right relation with others, with no compulsion either to withdraw or invade; ability in the art of friendship; soundness of heart
A General
The balancer for Withdrawal and Invasion is Relation. Relation belongs to the Heart group, so is concerned with warmth, affection and friendship. It can be thought of as a way of being with others which avoids the extremes of both withdrawal and invasion. It is the art of being close to people, but in a way whose expression is not sexual.
B Specific
With the card Relation, you demonstrate an ability to show warmth and affection in a way which springs from a sensitive attunement to the feelings of another and does not involve any unwanted and excessive incursion into their space. Equally, Relation has no element of retreat – it implies that you are there for the other person; that they can count on you when they need you, as you can upon them.
Relation involves you in warmth, tenderness and closeness without any sexual content. Your communication here is more based on resonance, which we could think of as a non-sexual chemistry. This absence of any sexual element in your closeness will be due to one of three possibilities: 1) between you and the other there is no sexual chemistry; 2) no sexual energy is present, for example because you or the other are ill; 3) repression. Relation involves you in some kind of joyful inner awakening, but one in which control plays a major role. You find both play of love (conjugation) and pain present, with sensuality in moderation describing their combined effect on you. In other words, the cards strongly indicate that you have elements of repression[1] present in the psychific state we call Relation.
The overall impression is that of Relation in part at least as a half-way house: a form of relationship which has not yet become sexual, or which would be sexual if control of emotions was not involved. The illustration on the card seems to suggest friendship between two heterosexual men, pointing out that the obvious major category of non-sexual relationships is that where, for reasons of gender orientation, the two individuals concerned are not sexually attracted to each other. However, a second explanation is logically possible: that we are all bisexual, but nearly all of us repress elements of our sexuality.
This card also means that you express honestly, both about yourself and about your friend. You would find genuine closeness impossible if you or your friend were practicing self-concealment, or were able only to be ‘nice’ to each other.
On the other hand, a judgemental attitude also undermines friendship. Tolerance, even active enjoyment of difference is a necessary part of your ability to make friends. The card Relationship will also be present when you and one or more friends pursue a common hobby or interest.
Presumably, you can’t sleep with everyone! So Relation will occur in every circumstance in which, for whatever one of many reasons, there is closeness between you and another, but sexual expression is not included.
Divination summary
non-sexual closeness in relationship; friendship, warmth, good-heartedness; relationship based on shared interests or activities; possible repression of sexual feelings towards another, or by another; non-judgemental attitude, tolerance; honesty and straightforwardness in relationship; joyful and affectionate contact
22. Action: Group – Form (4 orange)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Action/22.aspx
The image
The image is of a semi-desert scene at sunrise. In the foreground, a Tuareg nomad is attacking a shrub with an axe, whilst in the background we see a goat-hair tent in front of which a small fire burns. Although we do not see the man’s expression clearly, his body language clearly suggests that he is very much focussed on the task in hand.
The meaning
Action: physical vitality; energy balance: both activation and rest as and when appropriate
A General
Action belongs to the Form group, which is that of closeness to, and harmony with the physical world. It is the balancer for torpor and hyper-activity, so it refers to a right relation to one’s body, in the sense of correct handling of one’s physical energy. This also implies freedom from whatever forms of neurosis produce either excessive sluggishness on one side or metabolic over-activation on the other. In a wider sense, action is good use of the intelligence of the body.
B Specific
As with Oeuvre, in dealing with Action, the emphasis must be on its practical nature: your preliminaries – ideas, emotions, plans, discussions… - are over; now is the time when things happen. No matter how thorough your preparation, there is can always be doubt as to whether you are ready. At this point, you put doubt aside and you trust that things will turn out satisfactorily. In any case, the unexpected is part of life – between you and the completion of your course of action, things can always happen which you have not predicted; problems may arise which require a spontaneous, unprepared response. Action liberates you, because once you have thrown yourself into it, you are carried along by the momentum of it, putting aside the cares and worries which you may have in other areas of your life.
You are in a position of good balance with regard to your use of physical energy. Whether this involves a rather slow, sedate form of action, or one of high energy and vigour, what you are doing is appropriate to the circumstances. Equally, in balanced action, you are aware – you know what you are doing and why. Your actions are not being driven by unconscious impulses. You do not wash your hands again for the twentieth time, even though they are not dirty: you are not ‘acting out’, but acting. Action implies an unrestricted flow of energy: if you keep putting off making that appointment with the dentist, there is no Action. Finally, Action in the best sense is well-directed and effective – after you repair the car, it runs again; the map you buy is the one you need for your journey.
Action exposes you: you come out of yourself and you make your presence felt in the world – in other words, action is a form of communication, a way in which you tell others about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. To watch someone at work is to learn who they are. Action involves a special form of relationship – the shared activity creates a bond between you and your colleagues which has its own particular character and strength. Your work colleagues are probably a major factor in your life. Action brings its own particular challenges, opportunities for you to grow as a person. It demands a certain kind of focus and discipline, requires virtues of application and steadiness; it cannot function effectively in an atmosphere of drama and panic. Finally, it offers you upon completion of the task a type of satisfaction, a reward which merely thinking about something could never do
Divination meanings
good relationship with your body; appropriate activity; end of plans, preparations etc; throwing yourself in at the deep end; readiness to face the unexpected; relationships based on shared doing; communicating who you are through what you do and how you do it; steady focus, absence of atmosphere of drama or panic; effective and well-directed activity; using the intelligence of the body.
Directory of Meanings
Set 3: Balance
NOTES
1) Sets 1 and 2 were concerned with the psychological situation at the two poles of extroversion and introversion. Whether or not imbalance was involved, these cards dealt with the ends of the spectrum of behaviour, not the middle. Set 3 deals with the centre, with the balance position. No unbalanced mentions apply here.
2) Each card of set 3 must therefore be considered in relation to the two polar cards of the same group: In Spirit, Clarity is the balance between Deflation and Inflation; in Will, Passion is the balance between Control and Abandon, and so on for all the set 3 cards.
19. Clarity: Group – Spirit (1 violet/purple)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Clarity/19.aspx
The image
We have a jungle scene predominantly in deep blue and pink – the colours on each side of violet. The scene is dominated by a blue tiger, seen from below, silhouetted in profile against the skyline. The blurred or indistinct vision typical of the depths of the jungle is superceded, thanks to an instance of the play of light, by a magical moment of clarity.
The meaning
Clarity: quality of spirit which apprehends without partiality or bias; seeing situations, relationships, others and oneself without the distortion of deflation or inflation
A General
Clarity is a quality of spirit, and represents the mid-point between inflation and deflation. In relation to yourself, it means having an accurate self-image, exaggerating neither your strengths nor weaknesses. Nevertheless, Clarity is affected by the imbalances involved in Spirit, so that it has a shadow side. It can be both a friend and an enemy. Just as the tiger is full of power and majesty, so Clarity - with its beautiful and authoritative force – can become a predator.
B Specific
At this time, you have a realistic view of who you are. You have been able to step back from the hurly-burly of daily life to take a dispassionate look at your situation. Clarity comes out of deflation, for you cannot avoid the hubris of over-estimating yourself unless you have first been humbled and brought low. After struggling up from that deep valley, you are now like someone surveying a landscape from a high place, benefiting from a panoramic perspective. Thus you demonstrate one of the attributes of wisdom, for how can one act wisely without ever being able to achieve a clear view of what is needed? With Clarity, you are in a position to make sound judgements of the appropriate action to take. You have the desire to use clarity to support beneficial communication.
But there is a price to pay. In Deflation, you had a somewhat hysterical, self-absorbed feeling of the enormity of your worthlessness. In Clarity, this gives way to the sober realisation of how small you are in the vast perspective of existence – and therein lies a danger, for this can all too easily incapacitate you in the struggle to complete your own fragment of the great mosaic of destiny. Clarity, amid the fog of illusion on every side, can make it difficult for you to communicate with others with the normal give and take of Interchange. Clarity includes an awareness which comes from your contact with the Unconscious, and your relationships will inevitably reflect that. There is something metallic about Clarity – it is hard and bright: you will not, for example, be able to get it to function alongside the warm, nurturing, and forgiving quality of the Matriarch. Clarity has the invasiveness of a knife, which means that, in your communication with others, you can use it both to heal and to hurt.
Divination summary
Accurate assessment of your own capabilities and performance; clear, unbiased view of situations and events; acute awareness often used invasively; difficulties in relationships with others less insightful; sense of deflation caused by sober evaluation of insignificance of single individual on global scale; clear seeing in relationship due to contact with Unconscious; sense of power and intensity; using insight for beneficial communication.
20. Passion: Group – Will (2 red)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Passion/20.aspx
The image
The scene is the interior of an old-fashioned gypsy caravan, where we see a young man and woman engaging in good-natured horse-play. He is chasing his sweetheart across the bed, while she defends herself with a pillow. They are both laughing and happy. The predominant red tones of the image, together with the behaviour and demeanour of the participants, make clear that their intensions are sexual.
The meaning
Passion: emotional vitality in pursuit of what one wants; gusto; balance between control and abandon
A General
Passion is a quality of will, representing the mid-point between control and abandon, and its central component is emotional intensity. In control, the emotion is inhibited; in abandon, it has become ungovernable. In Passion, it flows freely, yet does not become a flood that overwhelms you.
B Specific
At present, you have Passion in your life. Passion is like a vehicle driven by the most powerful engine in existence – desire. With it you can move mountains i.e. have a huge impact on people and situations. Because you are experiencing a free flow of emotion, this is not in danger of backing up and then needing a sudden uncontrollable release, as with abandon. With Passion you have energy, drive, enthusiasm and enjoyment – for love, sex, friendship, work, play, studies… Passion can take you in any direction you desire.
With Passion, you are able to draw on the resources of the unconscious, and your qualities of soul flow out into action. You have an inner intensity, for Passion acts on the spirit, driving you forward to explore and invent, out of sheer zest for life. Passion gives you a good relationship with the physical – your body and the world. In relationship, you are well centred, and this creates the essential pre-condition for excellent communication with others: you are forceful, exuberant, full of enthusiasm and optimism. You have the capacity to throw yourself into situations and relationships with gusto, free of undue hesitations and anxieties.
Passion also has limitations. First, you will find it difficult to sustain that intensity over a long period; second, you may have difficulty choosing a worthwhile focus. Just as Passion can add warmth and colour to Clarity, so Clarity can underpin Passion with a focussed and sustained purpose. Finally, Passion is the quality of the lover in that old antipathy of wife versus mistress. The Matriarch represents responsibility, duty, the sustained nurture of others, whereas the Wanton, the woman of Passion, just wants to enjoy! This dichotomy exists also in the male psyche, with the dangerous and exciting sexual predator on one side and the good, solid and dependable but dull husband and father on the other.
Divination summary
balance between control & abandon; energy, zest for life, gusto, intensity; gaiety, fun, enjoyment; invention, enthusiasm, dynamism; openness, self-integration, beauty in communication; ease with own body and world, physical well-being; tendency to burn out, problem sustaining momentum and focus; irresponsibility, lack of mothering qualities.
21. Relation: Group – Heart (3 green)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Relation/21.aspx
The Image
A heavy-set man sits on some steps outside an old-fashioned gypsy caravan, with green hills in the background. Beside him, linking arms, is a small boy. The man rests his left hand on the shoulder of a male companion, who stands next to, and partly turned towards him. This companion has his hands in his pockets, and wears the type of headscarf, knotted at the nape of the neck, commonly associated with gypsies. The relaxed body language of both men, together with the presence of the small boy, suggests friendship.
The meaning
Relation: right relation with others, with no compulsion either to withdraw or invade; ability in the art of friendship; soundness of heart
A General
The balancer for Withdrawal and Invasion is Relation. Relation belongs to the Heart group, so is concerned with warmth, affection and friendship. It can be thought of as a way of being with others which avoids the extremes of both withdrawal and invasion. It is the art of being close to people, but in a way whose expression is not sexual.
B Specific
With the card Relation, you demonstrate an ability to show warmth and affection in a way which springs from a sensitive attunement to the feelings of another and does not involve any unwanted and excessive incursion into their space. Equally, Relation has no element of retreat – it implies that you are there for the other person; that they can count on you when they need you, as you can upon them.
Relation involves you in warmth, tenderness and closeness without any sexual content. Your communication here is more based on resonance, which we could think of as a non-sexual chemistry. This absence of any sexual element in your closeness will be due to one of three possibilities: 1) between you and the other there is no sexual chemistry; 2) no sexual energy is present, for example because you or the other are ill; 3) repression. Relation involves you in some kind of joyful inner awakening, but one in which control plays a major role. You find both play of love (conjugation) and pain present, with sensuality in moderation describing their combined effect on you. In other words, the cards strongly indicate that you have elements of repression[1] present in the psychific state we call Relation.
The overall impression is that of Relation in part at least as a half-way house: a form of relationship which has not yet become sexual, or which would be sexual if control of emotions was not involved. The illustration on the card seems to suggest friendship between two heterosexual men, pointing out that the obvious major category of non-sexual relationships is that where, for reasons of gender orientation, the two individuals concerned are not sexually attracted to each other. However, a second explanation is logically possible: that we are all bisexual, but nearly all of us repress elements of our sexuality.
This card also means that you express honestly, both about yourself and about your friend. You would find genuine closeness impossible if you or your friend were practicing self-concealment, or were able only to be ‘nice’ to each other.
On the other hand, a judgemental attitude also undermines friendship. Tolerance, even active enjoyment of difference is a necessary part of your ability to make friends. The card Relationship will also be present when you and one or more friends pursue a common hobby or interest.
Presumably, you can’t sleep with everyone! So Relation will occur in every circumstance in which, for whatever one of many reasons, there is closeness between you and another, but sexual expression is not included.
Divination summary
non-sexual closeness in relationship; friendship, warmth, good-heartedness; relationship based on shared interests or activities; possible repression of sexual feelings towards another, or by another; non-judgemental attitude, tolerance; honesty and straightforwardness in relationship; joyful and affectionate contact
22. Action: Group – Form (4 orange)
http://www.rainringcards.com/Cards/Action/22.aspx
The image
The image is of a semi-desert scene at sunrise. In the foreground, a Tuareg nomad is attacking a shrub with an axe, whilst in the background we see a goat-hair tent in front of which a small fire burns. Although we do not see the man’s expression clearly, his body language clearly suggests that he is very much focussed on the task in hand.
The meaning
Action: physical vitality; energy balance: both activation and rest as and when appropriate
A General
Action belongs to the Form group, which is that of closeness to, and harmony with the physical world. It is the balancer for torpor and hyper-activity, so it refers to a right relation to one’s body, in the sense of correct handling of one’s physical energy. This also implies freedom from whatever forms of neurosis produce either excessive sluggishness on one side or metabolic over-activation on the other. In a wider sense, action is good use of the intelligence of the body.
B Specific
As with Oeuvre, in dealing with Action, the emphasis must be on its practical nature: your preliminaries – ideas, emotions, plans, discussions… - are over; now is the time when things happen. No matter how thorough your preparation, there is can always be doubt as to whether you are ready. At this point, you put doubt aside and you trust that things will turn out satisfactorily. In any case, the unexpected is part of life – between you and the completion of your course of action, things can always happen which you have not predicted; problems may arise which require a spontaneous, unprepared response. Action liberates you, because once you have thrown yourself into it, you are carried along by the momentum of it, putting aside the cares and worries which you may have in other areas of your life.
You are in a position of good balance with regard to your use of physical energy. Whether this involves a rather slow, sedate form of action, or one of high energy and vigour, what you are doing is appropriate to the circumstances. Equally, in balanced action, you are aware – you know what you are doing and why. Your actions are not being driven by unconscious impulses. You do not wash your hands again for the twentieth time, even though they are not dirty: you are not ‘acting out’, but acting. Action implies an unrestricted flow of energy: if you keep putting off making that appointment with the dentist, there is no Action. Finally, Action in the best sense is well-directed and effective – after you repair the car, it runs again; the map you buy is the one you need for your journey.
Action exposes you: you come out of yourself and you make your presence felt in the world – in other words, action is a form of communication, a way in which you tell others about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. To watch someone at work is to learn who they are. Action involves a special form of relationship – the shared activity creates a bond between you and your colleagues which has its own particular character and strength. Your work colleagues are probably a major factor in your life. Action brings its own particular challenges, opportunities for you to grow as a person. It demands a certain kind of focus and discipline, requires virtues of application and steadiness; it cannot function effectively in an atmosphere of drama and panic. Finally, it offers you upon completion of the task a type of satisfaction, a reward which merely thinking about something could never do
Divination meanings
good relationship with your body; appropriate activity; end of plans, preparations etc; throwing yourself in at the deep end; readiness to face the unexpected; relationships based on shared doing; communicating who you are through what you do and how you do it; steady focus, absence of atmosphere of drama or panic; effective and well-directed activity; using the intelligence of the body.
