In daily life perception, there appears to be one physical reality only. Our senses are in fact programmed to perceive only that which we can touch, see,hear, smell and taste.
Yet there is more to existence than what we can weigh and measure, elements as important as our physical presence .
Even more so, it is in these other layers of reality the sources of personal development are located through which we can communicate with our selves.
This module explains how this is expressed in the Trump cards.
All Trump cards, meaning the cards the Major Arcana consists of, the numbers I to XXI , with the Nil card, The Storyteller, leading the way, reflect a human life starting at birth all the way to the day to pass over to the spiritual world. These segments or phases are personified by ‘Archetypes’ mirroring their characteristics.
The ascending numbers (O tot XXI) do not imply an ascending value of the cards in the sense of XVII The Star being ‘worthier’ than VII The Chariot. Similar to events happening in daily life, the moments in which we manifest certain behavior do not necessarily occur in chronological order. At one time we are card number III The Empress, while in another moment we’ll be card number XII The Hanged Man.
The deeper meaning of each individual card/archetype will be explained further on.
Each card is responsible for a characteristic of who we can be in its own way and just as important as any other card. Sometimes it are the small gestures that make the day. It is not always necessary for something to be ‘big’ or ‘bigger than’ to be effective.
Every human being carries all archetypes within. At the same time every human being is unique or as I read somewhere once: ‘as unique as everybody else’.
This is why each archetype of each trump card will reflect differently with each personality. In this context The Storyteller is again best capable of telling its own life-story. Of course one connects during life, with other people and opportunities, being part of the bigger picture after all (XXI The World), yet ultimately you unlike any other, know exactly what an archetype reflects for you.
The number 3 in the layers of Trump cards.
The meaning of 3 emerges in many different esoteric settings. In the numerology interpretation of the Nan Yar – Who Am I Tarot the 3 is seen as the number of creation, which can be described as follows in the order of things: :
- While the 1 still carries all potential within,
- and the 2 is the number of polarity within which life-force can begin to flow,
- the 3 is about what is created as a consequence of the 2, the duality of things.
In the capacity of the number of creation the 3 also appears in the Nan Yar – Who Am I interpretation of the Tarot. Divided into 3 layers of 7 cards,(I to VII, VIII to XIV, & XV tot XXI) the groups of trump cards mirror 3 different segments of being that c0-evolve in the life of The Storyteller. These layers comprise groups of archetypes carrying their own unique qualities (in addition to their unique individual qualities) as part of their role in a certain layers of life.
These layers are:
- The Temporal Body (Trump cards I, The Magician – VII The Chariot.)
- The Evolving Soul (Trump cards VIII: Justice- XIV Temperance)
- Eternal Spirit (Trump cards XV: The Antiforce -XXI The World)
The Nil card, The Storyteller, precedes the 3 layers and is, as always, impartial to the characteristics of any other card, thus treading the world with an open mind, getting to choose from all aspects of life, thus creating the opportunity to get the most of it.
The following overview of the 3 realities, begins with the gatekeeper of each reality. The picture heading this module gives a full overview of all cards and the reality they are united in.
1.The Temporal Body. I The Magician – VII The Chariot.
Briefly summarized, the first 7 archetypes of the Trump-cards mirror the conditions needed to function in the physical world.
- I The Magician is capable of handling gravity and knows the true story behind the illusion. As such, the magician is also the Gatekeeper of physical reality. When one can observe what takes place behind the veil, one is also capable of seeing the true nature of the other facets of the Temporal Body.
- II The Popess: recognizes her inner wisdom/intuition.
- III The Empress rules over the Yin Energies of Life
- IV The Emperor rules over the Yang Energies of Life.
- V The Pope mirrors the divine consciousness which lives within all human beings, no matter the origin of their religion or personal convictions.
- VI The Lovers mirror how all individuals live in relationship to each other, no matter the sort of relationship, lovers, friends, business partners, parent-child, teacher-student etc. A person develops and functions in relation to other people and blossoms when this is done with love.
- VII The Chariot: Living in the Now, realizing it is about how you manifest yourself now. Everything is adjustable at all times. No saint without a past, no sinner without a future.
2. The Evolving Soul, trump cards VIII (Justice) – XIV (Temperance)
The second layer of seven trump cards concerns the conditions enabling the soul to travel and co-experience along on the physical plane.
- VIII Justice. Honesty towards the self as well as the outside world is a first condition to have the soul co-develop. It should ‘be feeling right’. In that context the Archetype of Lady Justice is also Gatekeeper of the evolving soul. No true development can grow from dishonest soil.
- VIIII The Hermit. Thus the Hermit goes on its quest for its true self in all honesty.
- X The Wheel of Fortune. In the Nan Yar interpretation of the Tarot, the number X card refers to Freedom of Choice. It is not fate that will determine the outcome but the rightful owner of the life in question that holds the cards at play. It is for The Storyteller which glass is half full, half empty or refillable.
- XI Force. When the 3 horizontal rows of 7 cards are laid out on the table (as in the poster in the right upper corner) card number XI is seen lying exactly in the center of it all. In that context each Storyteller is the center of its own world and lies its power in totally remaining itself.
- XII Only then can the archetype of The Hanged Man emerge itself into the experiences life has to offer, without loosing itself in what is happening, while looking at life from its very own angle.
- XIII Transformation. Memento Mori, ‘Think to die’ this card says, do what you wish to experience with your heart and soul and do it now.
- XIV Temperance, Using only that which you need and avoid creating waste on any level, lifts the spirit.
3. Eternal Spirit. Trump cards XIV(The Antiforce) – XXI (The World)
The third layer of seven trump-cards involves eternal spirit. All things created by mankind on earth, mirror themselves in eternal spirit, causing the individual human being to be responsible for his or her own actions and subsequent creation of Karma as a result of those actions. As a ball rolls away when you kick against it, every action taken in life has a consequence.
- XV The Antiforce. In the context of the above, the antiforce serves as a reminder to live up to moral standards, also turning him into the Gatekeeper of eternal spirit; for the way a life is lived on earth, directly determines its spiritual outcome.
- XVI The Tower. To proceed on the spiritual path one needs to let go of attachment, not just of material possessions, but also of certain patterns or beliefs that can keep a person prisoner in his or her earthly life.
- XVII The Star personifies setting an example by sharing its true and precious gift with the world and doing so offering a first glimpse of an enlightened being.
- XVIII The Moon reflects the light of the sun and passes on spiritual knowledge through dreams and intuition.
- XIX De Sun is what life gifts humanity in all her appearances and manifests in the heart of those who are open to it.
- XX Judgment is the responsibility one takes over ones own life; knowing that each and every gesture and action contributes to ones own Karma and subsequently to the Karma of human evolution.
- XXI. De World is the All Encompassing, in which all layers of development are united and all human dimensions are being made visible.
As such all trump cards reflect their own particle of the total of things and guide us through our own interpretation of it.
When drawing a card, it is important to remember the cards are not there to tell you what is right and what is wrong, yet merely to make you aware of your possibilities in their context.
Further explanation of the meaning of the cards can be found on the energycounseling website under: Nan Yar: all nan yar cards.
Next module: The 4 Colors…
