dangerdork
Seven Stations
Awww man...
I really enjoy designing spreads and have even posted a few here - but this one would definitely be my Magnum Opus. Too bad it can't bear my moniker.
My immediate thought was the "Three Paths" spread; but after some consideration I started leaning toward The "Seven Stations" instead. I've learned from a prominent tarot authority that these three groups have been described before, in fact as early as Papus, but she also strongly encouraged me to continue pursuing my own line of thinking and to tap it out before "coloring my thinking" by reading those other authors' thoughts.
So, in looking at my perspective, it seems that arranging the Trumps (minus the Fool) into a 7x3 grid is a fairly obvious way to begin, and categorizing these three rows as themes or spheres can become obvious upon contemplation of the groups of cards as they have fallen.
But perhaps I may still be able to offer a unique contribution with my labeling of the columns as the "Stations" of: Your Origin, Your Inspiration, Your Power, The Turning Point, Your Transformation, Your Epiphany, Your Goal.
Now, "Seven Stations" sounded vaguely familiar, (stations of the cross or something?) so I Googled that. There were 14 Stations of the Cross in Christianity - cross that off (lol no pun intended). Seven Stations has some significance with the Moon in Chinese and Japanese astrology - I'll look into that later I suppose. But, what's this? Buddha, in the seven weeks after his Enlightenment, taught of the Seven Stations of Consciousness. Sounds promising. I tracked down a text called: Mahanidana Sutta (The Great Causes Discourse) Digha Nikáya 15.
Here's an excerpt, annotated with my seven stations to see what happens:
"There are beings with diversity of body and diversity of perception, such as human beings, some devas, and some beings in the lower realms. This is the first station of consciousness. (YOUR ORIGIN)
"There are beings with diversity of body and singularity of perception, such as the devas of the Brahma hosts generated by the first [jhana]. This is the second station of consciousness. (YOUR INSPIRATION)
"There are beings with singularity of body and diversity of perception, such as the Radiant Devas. This is the third station of consciousness. (YOUR POWER)
"There are beings with singularity of body and singularity of perception, such as the Beautifully Lustrous Devas. This is the fourth station of consciousness. (THE TURNING POINT)
"There are beings who, with the complete transcending of perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, 'Infinite space,' arrive at the sphere of the infinitude of space. This is the fifth station of consciousness. (YOUR TRANSFORMATION)
"There are beings who, with the complete transcending of the sphere of the infinitude of space, thinking, 'Infinite consciousness,' arrive at the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness. This is the sixth station of consciousness. (YOUR EPIPHANY)
"There are beings who, with the complete transcending of the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, thinking, 'There is nothing,' arrive at the sphere of nothingness. This is the seventh station of consciousness. (YOUR GOAL)"
***
Cool! This seems to be working out, especially the last four. I guess I need to do further reading on this "singularity" and "diversity" of body and perception to get a firmer grasp on the first four.
Tarot as an excuse to study Buddhism, gotta love it. (ETA: I see that Robert Place has Been There, Done That. Added to my reading list
)
To be continued...
Awww man...
I really enjoy designing spreads and have even posted a few here - but this one would definitely be my Magnum Opus. Too bad it can't bear my moniker.
My immediate thought was the "Three Paths" spread; but after some consideration I started leaning toward The "Seven Stations" instead. I've learned from a prominent tarot authority that these three groups have been described before, in fact as early as Papus, but she also strongly encouraged me to continue pursuing my own line of thinking and to tap it out before "coloring my thinking" by reading those other authors' thoughts.
So, in looking at my perspective, it seems that arranging the Trumps (minus the Fool) into a 7x3 grid is a fairly obvious way to begin, and categorizing these three rows as themes or spheres can become obvious upon contemplation of the groups of cards as they have fallen.
But perhaps I may still be able to offer a unique contribution with my labeling of the columns as the "Stations" of: Your Origin, Your Inspiration, Your Power, The Turning Point, Your Transformation, Your Epiphany, Your Goal.
Now, "Seven Stations" sounded vaguely familiar, (stations of the cross or something?) so I Googled that. There were 14 Stations of the Cross in Christianity - cross that off (lol no pun intended). Seven Stations has some significance with the Moon in Chinese and Japanese astrology - I'll look into that later I suppose. But, what's this? Buddha, in the seven weeks after his Enlightenment, taught of the Seven Stations of Consciousness. Sounds promising. I tracked down a text called: Mahanidana Sutta (The Great Causes Discourse) Digha Nikáya 15.
Here's an excerpt, annotated with my seven stations to see what happens:
"There are beings with diversity of body and diversity of perception, such as human beings, some devas, and some beings in the lower realms. This is the first station of consciousness. (YOUR ORIGIN)
"There are beings with diversity of body and singularity of perception, such as the devas of the Brahma hosts generated by the first [jhana]. This is the second station of consciousness. (YOUR INSPIRATION)
"There are beings with singularity of body and diversity of perception, such as the Radiant Devas. This is the third station of consciousness. (YOUR POWER)
"There are beings with singularity of body and singularity of perception, such as the Beautifully Lustrous Devas. This is the fourth station of consciousness. (THE TURNING POINT)
"There are beings who, with the complete transcending of perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, 'Infinite space,' arrive at the sphere of the infinitude of space. This is the fifth station of consciousness. (YOUR TRANSFORMATION)
"There are beings who, with the complete transcending of the sphere of the infinitude of space, thinking, 'Infinite consciousness,' arrive at the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness. This is the sixth station of consciousness. (YOUR EPIPHANY)
"There are beings who, with the complete transcending of the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness, thinking, 'There is nothing,' arrive at the sphere of nothingness. This is the seventh station of consciousness. (YOUR GOAL)"
***
Cool! This seems to be working out, especially the last four. I guess I need to do further reading on this "singularity" and "diversity" of body and perception to get a firmer grasp on the first four.
Tarot as an excuse to study Buddhism, gotta love it. (ETA: I see that Robert Place has Been There, Done That. Added to my reading list
To be continued...