This article is primarily based on the subconscious – which is represented in Tarot by Women – and the use of imagery in the subconscious aspect of mind. When I talk about Subconscious I am talking about the psychology of the human mind and from a subjective point of view, and while the concept of subconscious is generally not accepted in the academic and scientific settings, because it there is no evidence or proof to suggest it’s existence, I will endeavour to explain it using abstract truth and of course the Tarot!

What is Truth?

The definition of truth I will be using for the purpose of this article is this: Truth is an generally accepted premise, formulated from observation and supported by evidence and experience. Truth may also be called inductive reasoning.

Here’s an example of truth, or inductive reasoning:

1. All of the ice we have examined so far is cold
2. Therefore, all ice is cold

An abstract truth is a truth that has been formulated through deduction of first premises. Abstract truth is also called deductive reasoning.

Here is an example of deductive reasoning:

1. All men are mortal
2. Socrates is a man
3. Therefore, Socrates is mortal

The statement that “All men are mortal” is a first premise, the third statement is an abstract truth or a product of deductive reasoning.

The Male and Female Mind

The human mind is believed to be dual natured, that is, the mind is possessed of self-conscious and subconscious aspects because of a first premise that reproduction requires the joining of masculine and feminine properties. As the human mind is capable of producing, or reproducing thought or mental images then through deductive reasoning or abstract truth we can say that the mind must therefore be be possessed of masculine and feminine qualities.

The Self Conscious ‘Magician’

Self-conscious is defined as awareness and is represented in the imagery of ‘The Magician’.  Awareness is to be aware of the surrounding environment through the senses of the body. We use our self-conscious mind to read a book, because we are using our senses, in this case our eyes, to see the book. (note that in the Tarot’s Magician, we can see the magician looking at his table of tools ). But, it is one thing to see a book and another to understand what we are reading…..enter the High Priestess!

The Subconscious ‘High Priestess’

The High Priestess represents the subconscious aspect of mind, that is the anything below the level of self-conscious awareness. She primarily represents memory, for memory is to store the information reported by the self-conscious by means of the senses. Her partly hidden scroll symbolises that she records everything reported by our senses as memories but what she remembers is hidden from view. Her secondary aspect is to use that information for deductive reasoning. For example, the self-conscious reports to the subconscious that we are holding a book. The subconscious contains the premise that all books are to be read and the memories we acquired when we learnt to read. The subconscious works out by deductive reasoning that to understand the book those memories should be used to understand the input from the self-conscious. The self conscious reports the words of the book to the subconscious and the subconscious provides the means to understand the words.

Subconscious Response – The ‘Empress’ Images

Now I can bring in The Empress! If self-conscious is the input and subconscious is the response then ‘The Empress’ represents the result as understanding and the images that are made when self-conscious and subconscious aspects of mind are united. I said before that what is written in our subconscious is hidden from view. The only way we can view what is written in our subconscious is by viewing the images that result from the self conscious and subconscious mind. The reader may also note the moon underneath the Empress’ feet, symbolising her dependence on the High Priestess whose symbol is the moon. She is in fact the virgin High Priestess made pregnant with images.

This understanding, these images represented by The Empress then provide the subconscious with new premises to use in deduction. For example, the words we read in the book ‘empress’ a story in our mind about a boy and girl who fall in love. The subconscious stores this story in memory and uses it to deduce that all girls and boys fall will fall in love, and here we introduce The Emperor!

Self Conscious Refinement – Orderly Imagination

The Emperor also represents the same self-conscious aspect of mind as The Magician, except the Emperor uses the understanding and the images of The Empress (our imagination) to navigate his environment.

For example, we encounter a boy and a girl and self-conscious awareness reports this to our subconscious but, because our subconscious has recorded the understanding from our book that all boys and girls fall in love, and because it’s the only memory or understanding we have, a new understanding, a new image is created that the boy and the girl standing before us will fall in love and we treat them as such!  But, as we continue to navigate our environment we meet many boys and girls and through self-conscious awareness and observation we report to our subconscious that not all boys and girls fall in love, creating a new understanding and images that will help us to make more accurate deductions that will better aid us in navigating our environment.

The Emperor, or rather the self-conscious mind uses the understanding (Empress) created by the self conscious and subconscious aspects of mind to create a new and better understanding, thus helping him to navigate or better still, to command his environment.

To sum up, the Magician and the High Priestess represent the formation of first premises, and the Empress and the Emperor represent the refinement of first premises. It may also be noted that the watery robe of the High Priestess can be seen flowing out of her picture, and flowing behind the Empress and the Emperor indicating that subconscious aspect of mind is a prerequisite in the activities of the Empress and the Emperor.

Clearing out The Imaginarium…..

Our thought patterns are derived from hundreds and thousands of images placed into our subconscious, but very few of these are placed there by deliberate means. A mind dominated by race thought means that the observations and deductions of others are ‘empressed’ into our own minds without proper discrimination.

The work of the adept is to rid the mind of these unscrutinised observations and deductions and to replace them with correct premises instead. Each card of the Tarot contains imagery that will provide the subconscious with correct premises so that the subconscious may generate positive mental imagery and perform correct deductions allowing the individual to command his environment positively.

When the Tarot is laid out into three rows of seven, with The Fool at the top, each row is distinguished thus. The first row represents Principles, the second row represents Agencies and the third represents Stages of Unfoldment. It will be noticed that the Empress is a Principle, the Wheel of Fortune directly below her is an Agency and the Star underneath her is a Stage of Unfoldment.

To explain this column of cards I shall use the Cube of Space. The Empress takes up the Eastern Face, the face of beginnings. The Wheel of Fortune takes up the opposite Western Face, the face of endings. The generation of mental imagery (Empress) is the beginning of creation because thought precedes all action. The physical result is conclusion of the mental imagery. As an example I imagine making a new picture, I paint the picture, The picture is finished (the physical result).

The Star represents a stage of unfoldment whereby the self-conscious is used to observe the process of the subconscious from beginning (Empress) to end (The Wheel of Fortune). We must remember that the end of every process or event is the start of a new one and that the deductions of the subconscious are responsible for both the creation of a new process or event and the activities necessary to carry out that process. We must remember too that the subconscious records the last event and uses that record to determine the next event. To observe the events in our lives is to observe the workings of the subconscious mind.

To be able to control the mental imagery we use our self-conscious mind to monitor the processes of our mental imagery and the events in our lives, from beginning to end, process to process. This is meditation. When we use the self-conscious to monitor the flow of mental imagery in the mind and the events happening in our lives, we are turning our attention inward to watch the deductive process of our subconscious and the outer physical manifestation of those processes in physical events. This enables us to see the premises that our subconscious minds are using to create the course of our lives. The reader may note that the Star appears to be observing the water as she pours and that by her pose, she is also providing stability to her activity. The water is symbolic of the flowing processes of the subconscious.

Most of us will understand the subconscious processes as habits and behaviour patterning. For example, people who have had a bad experience with dogs might have developed a fear of dogs because they have been bitten in a past event. The subconscious has recorded this as negative event and by deductive reasoning has come to the conclusion that all dogs will bite in the future. Yet the deductive reasoning is flawed because further observation by self-conscious means (The Emperor) would prove that while a particular dog might bite, all dogs do not. By concentrating on the event of the dog bite and the subsequent fear of dogs, it can been seen how the subconscious has recorded the incident and a new premise can then be applied – the premise that while a particular dog may bite, all dogs do not and the fear of dogs is relieved.

As I mentioned before, the subconscious is also the part of mind that controls the activities of the body and the emotional reactions, in response to the mental imagery, (shown in the symbolism of both ‘Strength’ and the ‘Star’). By examining the way we feel about situations will also help us to observe the workings of the subconscious mind.

As a personal example, I used to get up in the morning dreading the chaos of getting three children to school on time. The dread I was feeling was because my subconscious was reminding me of past ‘school morning‘ events. I now get up in the morning and picture me gliding around the house like the fairy godmother, efficiently getting the children ready for school and the house picture perfect. The dread is gone, my spirits are lifted by the new imagery and my subconscious is guiding me towards a much nicer way of dealing with the early morning school run.

Going back the Strength and the Star, the white robe of Strength and the nakedness of The Star indicate a subconscious mind that is pure, or to put it another way, that is free from erroneous and negative thought and ill defined observations, like school morning chaos.

It is necessary to say here the subconscious works by suggestion only. Telling ourselves a new premise does not necessarily mean that our subconscious will accept it because all things are written by her – The High Priestess – subconsciously, that is without us being directly aware of it. As an example, how many times do you find yourself singing a song, jingle or theme tune that you weren’t directly aware of listening to? Your subconscious heard it, recorded it and sent it to yourself self conscious awareness when you weren’t using your self -conscious for anything in particular. The best way to make suggestions is to make images….

The Mental Camera…..

The self-conscious mind is really a mental camera, the subconscious is the film and the Empress the photo of physical circumstance. The only thing we can really do is change or improve the photo. Observation is directly related to ‘The Magician‘ and the title of the card is a direct reference to the fact that observation is the key to all magic and those who know of Derren Brown, the ‘psychological illusionist’, will know that he uses observation and suggestion in his magical work.

The Tarot, as a set of images itself, is specifically designed to effect positive change in the subconscious mind. Spending five minutes a day quietly observing the Major Arcana will make positive suggestions to your subconscious – that powerful lady that guides your life.  ‘Justice’ is a great card to help cut away or replace unnecessary or negative mental imagery and of course the Empress will help to create positive mental imagery. The Magician and the Emperor will help us to remember to be more observant, attentive and aware and to formulate positive suggestions to our subconscious High Priestess.

Spells and rituals are also a great way of ‘empressing’ the subconscious with suggestions you’d like to happen or manifest. The best way to make suggestions to your subconscious is to form a mental image, a clearly defined, single photo of the condition you’d like to manifest.

There are of course many other aspects of the High Priestess, another aspect is her association with the Alchemical Water – the substance of the universe (think in terms of atoms). The Thoth version of the High Priestess shows her as the all-pervading substance of the material universe by her net that originates from her, while the Rider Waite Smith and BOTA decks shows this by her flowing, watery robe. It’s exciting to think then, that not only is the High Priestess symbolic of our subconscious, but that our subconscious is part of the substance of the universe and is therefore in touch with, and able to control every aspect of it.

Dea Animi

by Craig Conley

In her blog posting entitled Using Ritual to Centre and Empower Your Tarot Readings, Catherine alludes to such concepts as sequencing, directing the flow, calling together, and allowing time.

Interestingly, all of these concepts are inextricably tied to punctuation. For example, commas and bullets delineate sequences, long dashes and colons direct the flow, semicolons and ampersands call ideas together, and ellipses and periods allow time. As Kevin Schilbrack notes in Thinking Through Rituals (2004), the elements of ritual are glorified punctuation marks that invest the arbitrary flow of our life stories with structure and thereby meaning. “Without punctuation,” Schilbrack explains, “there is no meaning. Rituals allow us to overcome thus. They allow us to mark time, to punctuate our lives, affording them a temporal shape and thus meaning. The moment or event is constituted by the ritual.” Catherine notes that the ritual of Tarot must be approached and conducted respectfully but at the same time in a relaxed manner, and Schilbrack concurs, saying that rituals work “to the extent that we can believe in them, that is to say, that we can abandon ourselves to them” (p. 45).

As we’ve noted on the Punctuated Tarot website, just as traditional Tarot imagery distills the archetypes of our quest for wholeness, the standard marks and signs of punctuation clarify meaning as our story unfolds. The Latin root of “punctuation” means to “point out” and to “bring to a point.” Punctuation marks help us to pinpoint the precise organization of the themes that constitute our personal sagas. Punctuation assists us to comprehend the relationships that exist between nouns (the people, places, and things in our lives) and verbs (actions and occurrences). Punctuation can connect, isolate, confirm, limit, regulate, contrast, motivate and animate the flow of information—our intelligence. In other words, punctuation offers cues on how to understand the course of our experiences. Ultimately, punctuation is emphatic about pauses, whether brief or prolonged. Pauses invite us to linger on meaning, to reflect, to re-evaluate. A pause gifts us with time to take a deep breath and to think twice. As Catherine says, “Taking the time to form your own ritual can have quite an impact on your tarot readings.”

Here’s a three-card reading from the Punctuated Tarot website. The intention was to receive a message for readers of Tarot Elements in general and Catherine in particular.

The cards are:

1. Death (an ellipsis, signifying a trailing off)
2. The Moon (a degree sign, signifying an extent)
3. The World (the copyright symbol, also a proofreading sign for self-correction)

If we read these cards as a sort of rebus puzzle of punctuation marks, we can construct a hidden
message:

Even more remarkable is the genius of Craig Conley – and I can’t say that enough. He is a true visionary in many areas of life, from his books, to Tarot decks and even the Tamagotchi. I urge each and everyone one of you to check out his work, his websites and various blogs. Find out more about him here – and prepare to be literally amazed.

The Punctuated Tarot is the creation of Craig Conley and has been featured in a post that Craig wrote for Bonnie Cehovet on her blog. To give you a better understanding of how the idea for the Punctuated Tarot came about, read Craig’s very revealing interview that he did with Bonnie, which can also be found on her blog. Also visit the Punctuated Tarot at Craig’s website where you can learn more about his method, his new deck and even get to try it out with an online three card reading.

There is no set process for doing a review. This blog will talk about what I consider to be important, and what I would like to see in a review. Each reviewer will develop their own style, and their own voice. I am going to divide this blog into two parts – one for reviewing Tarot decks, and one for reviewing Tarot books. Tarot software (including iPhone apps) – that is for another day.

Always remember that this is your review

The only person whose standards need to be lived up to is you. If it passes your muster – then it passes! Start at the beginning – how did you feel when you opened the package? (Presuming you ordered it online – if you bought it in a brick and mortar store, talk about that experience.) Was the box or wrapping unusual in any way? Was it sturdy? Was it falling apart? What attracted your eye? Putting in a plug for the Indies (independent publishers) – they do some of the best, most creative packaging that I have ever seen!

Is there a book with the deck (aside from the LWB)? How is it organized? How are the cards presented? Are the scans (if there are scans) full color, or black and white? Is the author presenting new thoughts, new material? Are there new spreads, or spreads specific to this deck? What makes this book usable? Is the deck following traditional lines? Are traditional card/suit titles used? In what order are Strength and Justice? If the deck is a theme deck – is the theme well presented, and reasonably related to traditional Tarot?

On to the cards!

The first thing that I mention is card size and quality. Small hands have a harder time using larger decks. It also helps a prospective buyer to know if the cards are flimsy, or if they will hold up to heavy usage. Are they coated or not? Do they have gilt edges? Describe the back of the card, and whether it is reversible or not.

Does the front of the card have a border, or do the images go out to the edge? What colors are predominate? What symbology is used? How are the numbers, card and suit titles placed on the card? What cards stand out? What is the artistic style? Is it modern? Is it fantasy? Is it primitive? Is it consistent throughout the deck? Do the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana fit together? Has the artist coded the suits by color?

Go on to describe your favorite cards, and what drew you to them. Is there imagery that runs through the deck that you appreciate – such as owls, or snakes, or even rainbows?

Give your opinion on the plus’s and minus’s for this deck from your own point of view. Indicate whether or not it could be used by a beginner, and whether it would have wide audience appeal. Also indicate whether it could be used with children or not. Overall, while presenting the deck and companion book (if there is a companion book) try and be as positive as you can. My personal thought is that if you are trying too hard to find something positive to say, then the deck should not be reviewed. I can hear the screams already, but that is how I feel.

Tarot book reviews

When reviewing a Tarot related book, give a short synopsis about what the book covers. Talk about your first impression – did you feel that it covered the topic in a worthwhile manner? Was it rehashing already released material? In what manner was the material presented? Was the author talking down to the reader? Was the language too general (or too esoteric)? Was there a synopsis at the end of each chapter? Were there exercises to do, or some suggestions as to how the reader could implement the information presented into their life?

How were the chapters structured? Did they seem to follow each other, or did they seem to not follow any particular order? Were examples given? At the end of the book, was there a bibliography? Was there a list of resources? Were there appendices for any tables used in the book? Was there an index?

Were you happy with the book? What audience do you feel that this book would appeal to (beginner, intermediate, or advanced)? Did you find the book informative?

For both deck and book reviews, I include basic ordering information: the deck/book title, the author’s name, the artist’s name, the publisher, the year published and the ISBN number.

Remember – this is your review. The information above sets the guidelines for how I do my reviews. You may choose to do yours differently. There is no right or wrong way to do a review. What you want to do is find your own style, and your own voice. Know that your opinion, your thoughts, are just as important as anyone else’s!

Bonnie

Bonnie Cehovet
Bonnie’s WordPress tarot blog
Bonnie’s books online