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PSYCHICBABBLE(sm)

By Marcy J. Gordon

Tarot Archetypes and the Twelve Chakras

Greetings USED KARMA readers! Last month this column (Interstellar Chakra Meditation) started with a chart summarizing information digested from the first column (Astrology and the Chakras). This month I will endeavor, using astrological symbolism, to elucidate the synergies between the twelve chakras and traditional tarot archetypes.

A tarot deck consists of 78 cards. These cards are divided into two decks, the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana, whose cards are typically (though not always) depicted with Roman numerals, consist of 22 cards, one for each letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The Minor Arcana consist of 56 cards divided into four suits, just like ordinary playing cards. In fact, playing cards are derived from the Minor Arcana. The four suits are wands, cups, swords and pentacles (also referred to as “discs”). These suits correspond to clubs, hearts, spades and diamonds. Instead of three court cards (King, Queen and Jack), the Minor Arcana have four court cards: King, Queen, Knight and Page (also known as Knight, Queen, Prince and Princess or Shama, Queen, Son and Daughter).

Each tarot card has one or more astrological associations. For example, the aces in the Minor Arcana are only associated with an astrological element: wands are fire, cups are water, swords are air and pentacles are earth (though some Celtic schools associate wands with air and swords with fire). The rest of the numbered Minor Arcana are associated with planets in signs. For example, the six of wands is associated with Jupiter in Leo. The court cards are associated with two elements as follows. Kings are associated with fire, queens with water, knights with air and pages with earth. These associations are in addition to the element indicated by the suit. Thus the King of Swords is the fiery aspect of air.

In the Major Arcana some cards are associated with only a sign (the DEATH card is associated with Scorpio) or only a planet (THE TOWER card is associated with Mars), while still others are associated with both a sign and a planet (THE FOOL is associated with Uranus in Taurus). This system provides some interesting material to work with in terms of the astrological associations with the twelve chakras. Here's a quick recap of those astrological associations:

First Chakra: Scorpio Mars, Pluto

Second Chakra: Libra Venus

Third Chakra: Leo Sun

Fourth Chakra: Leo Sun

Fifth Chakra: Taurus Venus

Sixth Chakra: Aries Mars

Seventh Chakra: Aries Mars

Eighth Chakra: Virgo Chiron

Ninth Chakra: Cancer Moon

Tenth Chakra: Capricorn Saturn

Eleventh Chakra: Aquarius Uranus

Twelfth Chakra: Pisces Neptune

Here are the Major Arcana associations with these chakras, based on the Signs and their rulers.

First Chakra: DEATH (Scorpio) and THE TOWER (Mars). The DEATH card does not, as is commonly misbelieved, symbolize or prognosticate physical death. Rather, this card is about transformation, heralding a spiritual/symbolic death and rebirth into a new awareness, a new level of self-understanding. THE TOWER is about destruction as the first step in the process of creation, portending great struggle and difficulty which inevitably results in a much better life situation. These ideas, of periodic transformation and of difficulty giving rise to a better life, are related to the first chakra functions of physical survival and species preservation.

Second Chakra: JUSTICE (Libra), THE EMPRESS (Venus) and THE LOVERS (Venus). The JUSTICE card is about balance, alignment and equilibrium. THE EMPRESS is about motherhood, beauty, giving and receiving love, and uniting love with wisdom. THE LOVERS is about love, attraction, and union of opposites. Since the second chakra is the root of female sexuality and male sensuality, as well as creativity and the performing arts, it makes sense that this chakra holds the energy of giving and receiving love in a beautiful way to bring about justice through balance and alignment.

Third Chakra: STRENGTH (Leo) and THE SUN (Sun). The STRENGTH card is about the strength, vitality and passion one achieves once the spirit has conquered the ego. THE SUN is about highly creative energy, fulfilled love relationships, happiness and the joy of partnership and collaboration. Since the third chakra is the center of the will and all our primal energy, it makes sense that this chakra holds the energy of passion, power, strength and happiness that are expressed through STRENGTH and THE SUN.

Fourth Chakra: STRENGTH (Leo) and THE SUN (Sun). (See the card meanings in the previous paragraph.) Since the fourth chakra is the center of the heart and the emotional body, it makes sense that this chakra also holds the STRENGTH card's energies of vitality, passion and spiritual mastery along with THE SUN's ever-present life-force and happy relationships.

Fifth Chakra: THE FOOL (Taurus), THE EMPRESS (Venus) and THE LOVERS (Venus). THE FOOL is about universal consciousness, the spirit's attempts to transcend the form, openness, trust and a willingness to take risks in order to demonstrate the power of one's faith. (Refer to the paragraph on the second chakra above to refresh yourself on the meanings of THE EMPRESS and THE LOVERS.) Since the fifth chakra is about communication of one's thoughts and feelings, along with expression of inner guidance, it makes sense that this chakra contains the energies of trust, beauty and love expressed by THE FOOL, THE EMPRESS and THE LOVERS.

Sixth Chakra: THE EMPEROR (Aries) and THE TOWER (Mars). THE EMPEROR is about fatherhood, leadership, innovation, wisdom, the spirit of pioneering, and power. THE TOWER was explained in the paragraph describing the first chakra. Since the sixth chakra is the psychic center and the site of cosmic memory, it makes sense that this chakra contains the energies of leadership, wisdom, power, and transformation through disruption.

Seventh Chakra: THE EMPEROR (Aries) and THE TOWER (Mars). (See the card meanings in the previous paragraph.) Since the seventh chakra is the center of the higher self and cosmic and spiritual knowledge, it makes sense that this chakra also holds the Arian and Martian energies of wisdom, innovation and trailblazing, along with destruction and difficulty as part of creation.

Eighth Chakra: THE HERMIT (Virgo) and JUDGEMENT (Chiron). THE HERMIT is about introspection, illumination from within, finding one's own light, contemplation and completion. JUDGEMENT is about discrimination and discernment, being open to criticism and self-analysis in order to make a final decision concerning the past. JUDGEMENT is often about the taking of a definite and necessary step. Since the eighth chakra synthesizes the bodily consciousness of the first seven chakras, it makes sense that this chakra holds the energies of contemplation, illumination and inspiration that stems from looking within.

Ninth Chakra: THE CHARIOT (Cancer) and THE HIGH PRIESTESS (Moon). THE CHARIOT is about healing, change, introspection, meditation and moving forward on one's spiritual path. THE HIGH PRIESTESS is about intuition, independence, healing, inner equilibrium, self-trust and self-confidence. Since the ninth chakra connects us to our entire planet's energy and consciousness, it makes sense that this chakra holds the energies of healing, change, intuition, independence and self-confidence.

Tenth Chakra: THE DEVIL (Capricorn) and THE WORLD (Saturn). THE DEVIL is about humor, sexuality, sensuality, creative energy, procreation and individuality. THE DEVIL shows us how to have material stability through mirth and humor. THE WORLD is about the principles of individuation and wholeness, freedom from bondage, cosmic union and burning off karma. Since the tenth chakra connects us to the energy and consciousness of all the planets in our solar system, it makes sense that this chakra holds the energies of creation, sex, individuality, freedom, wholeness and burned karma.

Eleventh Chakra: THE STAR (Aquarius). THE STAR is about inspiration, crystallization, self-esteem, self-confidence, self-trust, clear vision and connection to universal intelligence. It is through THE STAR that we come to self-recognition through understanding our own hopes and fears. Since the eleventh chakra connects us to the energy and consciousness of our entire galaxy, it makes sense that this chakra holds the energies of inspiration and understanding through trusting ourselves and our connection to the universe.

Twelfth Chakra: THE MOON (Pisces) and THE HANGED MAN (Neptune). THE MOON is about karma in the sense of work that needs doing, final testing, illusion, struggle with the subconscious, burning off karma and connecting to new levels of consciousness. THE HANGED MAN is about recognizing and breaking dysfunctional patterns, giving up and surrendering to a new way of seeing. Since the twelfth chakra connects us to universal energy and consciousness, it makes sense that this chakra holds the energies of our final karmic testing, our final confrontation with the illusions of our own limited belief systems, along with the courage to recognize limiting habits so we can break them.

Bibliography

The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:

Arrien, Angeles, THE TAROT HANDBOOK: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols, 1987, Arcus Publishing Company, Sonoma, CA.

Moore, Daphna, THE RABBI'S TAROT: Spiritual Secrets of the Tarot, 1989, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN.

Ziegler, Gerd, TAROT: MIRROR OF THE SOUL, 1988, Samuel Weiser, York Beach, Maine.

Permission to copy and distribute this article is freely granted, provided the article is faithfully and accurately reproduced in its entirety. For permission to quote portions of this work, please contact the author at mgordon@pipeline.com.