Med. on the Tarot - Letter 1

jmd

Following some comments made in the thread on Meditations on the Tarot, I thought that it may be easier to discuss certain aspects of this book through other threads, hence this one.

In his first letter, regarding the Magician, the essence of the card appears to be encapsulated for the author by this sentence:
The first Arcanum - the principle underlying all the other twenty-one Major Arcana of the Tarot - is that of the rapport of personal effort and of spiritual reality.
This indicates, in some ways, the complementarity between the gnosis achieved through one's own efforts, and the grace received from the spiritual dimensions.
 

aeonx

Oh, I would have loved to join in for the discussion, but I don't have the book! :( It sounds really interesting, and I've put it in my basket at amazon. It's currently on order, but hopefully they'll have it when I return from my holiday.

~aeonx~
 

Kaz

Meditations on the Tarot - website

there is some of the book here, i believe it's not all, i just discovered this and i haven't looked at it in depth.
maybe jmd or someone who has the book can take a look and tell us if it's good enough to use for participation in these discussions?

http://www.medtarot.freeserve.co.uk/

kaz
 

jmd

Thank you Kaz. The site you give is the one I also mentioned in my review, which contains some extracts from the book.

As with any extracts of a book such as this, the selection will be a reflection, to some extant, of the person so choosing. In this instance, the extracts I have checked on the site are certainly sufficient for participation and discussion.

On page four of the 1993 edition, the UA ('unknown author') mentions that the Major Arcana of the Tarot are authentic symbols, and that as such, they should be approached in a state of deep contemplation.

Mentioning that they are 'authentic symbols' implies that some symbols cannot be so-called. Being authentic, then, implies that they have certain characteristics which go beyond what semiologists or semioticians would be happy with. The 'authenticity' label is applicable to Tarot precisely because its images have the ability to effect magical, moral, mental and spiritual operations upon the contemplator.

Each card is able to both 'conceal and reveal their sense at one and the same time according to the depth of meditation' (p4).

I should also note that the translator has, of necessity, translated the French Jeux de Tarot, the normal French appelation for the deck, as game of Tarot. It is worth pointing our that this ambiguity and word play in the French has been lost through the selection of one of its three possible forms in the English: Tarot Deck vs Game of Tarot vs Game from (location=) Tarot.
 

Jeannette

jmd:

I have finally finished my review of Chapter 1. Thanks for finally getting me off my rear end, and back into studies so sadly neglected for so long.

To me, the central concept of this chapter is, not surprisingly, that of "As above, so below." In-and-of-itself, this could hardly be considered a grand revelation to a semi-schooled student of Hermeticism or metaphysics. What I find interesting, however, is the author's in-depth examination of this concept -- its implications and applications, and in particular, how it should be considered within the framework of Christian theology.

In the Christian teachings that I received in my youth, there was a strong tendency to portray the story of Adam and Eve -- i.e., "The Fall" -- as representing a clear point of separation between man and God. The message I get from reading this chapter, however, is a reaffirmation of the belief that our perception of separation is, in large part, a fallacy. "The Fall" may represent a transmutation of the Divine, but the result is not separate from it. The author cites the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventura as supporting the position that "the visible world [is a] symbol of the invisible world." Therefore, the argument goes, if the Church accepts such writings as representing a sound, valid theology, then such conclusions regarding the connection between the mundane and the Divine cannot be considered heretical.

Furthermore, the author seems to be arguing that the "effortless understanding" of this principle -- that is, the ability to naturally discern the Divine within the ordinary -- is both the lesson and goal of the Magician.

The recap I've presented here is my personal interpretation of the author's comments. It's admittedly a highly simplified summary of what I see to be some of the "core" concepts presented, and perhaps I'm way off base here. But I'll start with the generalities as I see them, and perhaps we can move to some specifics as others join the discussion and add their views.

-- Jeannette
http://www.tarotgarden.com
 

jmd

Jeanette, thank you for your excellent contribution.

There are two concepts which you mention which I think are so important in this great Letter. The first is the Hermetic maxim from the Emerald Tablet (or the Tabula Smaragdina):
That which is above is like that which is below and that which is below is like that which is above, to accomplish the miracles of the one thing.
This is also reflected, again as mentioned by the author, in the Zohar:
For as it is above so it is below [...]
The other concept of clear importance in the Letter of this card is, as you mention, that of discernment, and your comment of the effortless ability, which is, of course, progressively achieved, of discerning the Divine within the ordinary, beautifully captures an aspect of the higher forms of the Magician.

This 'effortlessness' is mentioned a number of times by the author, in which he specifically talks of 'concentration without effort' finding 'expression in the whole picture of the Card'. Analogy, then, (again paraphrasing the author) can lead, in some aspects effortlessly, to the uncovering of deep and essential spiritual truths - but, to be sure, one must also keep in mind that analogies can also lead to illusions.

The Magician, then, is very much 'at play', for the work is playful.
 

jmd

Given that others are reading this book, I thought I would add from my re-reading of it (though this time in the French).

Analogical thinking has a long and important tradition in not only Hermeticism, but the esoteric arts generally. In this letter, the UA also makes much of two categories of analogical thinking. On the one hand, the vertical typological - which links that which is above and that which is below; and on the other hand the horizontal mythological, which connects in time - or rather, out of timelessness - Ürphanomen - stories of the eternal present.

Given our current world situation, it is also quite worth reflecting on his comment that the Biblical story of Cain and Abel reflects, mythologically, the human condition of all warfare - by, though worshipping the same God, nonetheless rejecting what the UA views as highly important (as does, for that matter, Western esoteric tradition): hierarchy.
 

TemperanceAngel

*Aaaahhhh I see*

Worthwhile book?

XTAX
 

jmd

I personally think it is an astounding book...

Another person we both know (S.K.) has also recently (last year) read it... and I believe his view is quite similar to mine.

My review from a couple of years ago is also here on Aeclectic... in case you wish to read it.
 

TemperanceAngel

Maybe I will borrow off S if he has it....

$500- of College books to buy for my next semester, and here I am looking at all these other books??

That's why I don't come in this forum very often.......

XTAX