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ELEMENTAL TRIANGLES:
THE CHOICE
In your journey through the Tarot, you will encounter cosmic forces manifesting in many different circumstances. The basic, subtle forces of the Universal Mind have often been represented throughout the ages as Gods and Goddesses, but in the Tarot, the forces are often represented as people in common situations, which makes it easier for you to think of these forces as your allies. The more you resonate with your allies in the Tarot, the more you stimulate the archetypal forces within yourself, for your individual energy field contains the energies of the Universal Energy Field (which is how you are made in God's image). In other words, we each contain the energies of the Tree of Life, the basic energies of the Universal Mind, within us. Stated another way: the microcosm (the individual), embodies the energies of the macrocosm (the cosmos). These energies often remain latent in the subconscious mind, however; through social conditioning, we are forced to suppress the powerful forces within us, partially because we might end up using the forces for destructive or harmful purposes. You now have the opportunity to experience all of the energies of the Tree of Life as you work with the Tarot. One systematic way to experience the energies is by building elemental triangles.
Working with elemental triangles helps you learn much about the symbolism of the Tarot and the Tree of Life. Let's take a look at an example, The Seven of Cups. The alternate title of the Seven of Cups is “Lord of Illusionary Success.” The card reveals a shadowy figure that is reaching out toward seven golden cups, each of which symbolizes some potential goal in life. We each have a shadow self that might desire to achieve a goal that will not be in our best interests or the highest good of others. However, we also inevitably reach a point in life where we have to make a critical choice, so we cannot simply ignore or banish this potential situation.
Elemental Triangle with the Seven of Cups
A simple solution would be to create a downward-pointing triangle with the appropriate cards since the suit of Cups represents Water, with The Empress across from Death at the top, and the Seven of Cups in the middle. The influence of Venus is strong in the Seven of Cups since Venus appears in both the decan and Tree of Life associations. Venus, the Goddess of Love, can be a destabilizing force in our world, but she represents all aspects of love, from high spiritual love to the act of love itself. Since Venus is also the Goddess of Beauty, the arts, abundance, harmony, and the natural world, you have a number of qualities to choose from when setting your intention. A way of showing that you intend to make a mature choice would be to include the King of Cups, who is extremely wise in spiritual matters and the ways of love, at the bottom of the triangle.
The Sevens are challenging to work with, mainly because they are associated with Venus, an influence that can lead to impulsive or unwise choices because the energy emanates from one of our most primal and powerful instincts. Many of our choices, of course, are related to love in one way or another. Therefore if you need to make a choice, particularly one associated with love, it would be wise to state your intention of working for the highest good as you place the King of Cups at the bottom of the triangle.
We make important choices all the time, one of which might be whether or not to work with the Tarot.
Symbolic Correspondences of the Elemental Triangles
For you to understand how all this works, we need to do a little review.
As you can see in the diagram above, the two "active," or masculine elements are Air and Fire, and the two "passive," or feminine elements are Water and Earth. For those of you who don't know a lot about astrology, the zodiac contains four triplicities, each one of which is associated with an element. The triplicity associated with the element of Air is comprised of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. The triplicity associated with the element of Fire contains Ares, Leo, and Sagittarius. (Since these are "active" elements, you need to use an upward pointing triangle in any elemental ritual based on the elements of Air and Fire.) The triplicity associated with the element of Water contains Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The triplicity associated with the element of Earth contains Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. (Since these are "passive" elements, you need to use a downward pointing triangle in any ritual based on the elements of Water or Earth.)
The other thing to remember is that each Number Card in the Tarot contains a decan correspondence and a Tree of Life association. A decan represents ten degrees of the zodiac, which contains both a planet and a zodiac sign. As I mentioned above, the decan for the Seven of Cups is Venus in Scorpio. Since the card in question is a Seven, the card is also associated with the seventh Emanation on the Tree of Life, which is known as Victory (Netzach). Venus rules the seventh Emanation, so the Seven of Cups brims over with the energies of Venus.
In order to perform a simple Tarot Ritual, you need to remove the four cards mentioned above from the deck, the Seven of Cups, The Empress, Death, and the King of Cups. Remember that The Empress is symbolically associated with Venus, a Goddess who commonly represents love; this love can be for a person or a thing, such as music or art or a career. Death is associated with Scorpio, a zodiac sign that suggests radical transformation or a significant change of some kind. The King of Cups is our symbol of wisdom. Imagine a downward-facing triangle in front of you, and place the Seven of Cups in the middle of the imaginary triangle as you state out loud (or in your head if necessary) what choice you are facing. Then place The Empress in the upper left-hand corner of the triangle and state out loud (or in your head), "The Empress, Venus." Then place the card called Death in the upper right-hand corner of the triangle and state "Death, Scorpio." (If the word death freaks you out, you can add or substitute, "transformation, change.") Then place the King of Cups at the bottom of the triangle and state, "King of Cups, wisdom, my highest good." Then close your eyes and clear your mind and meditate for at least fifteen minutes to see if you receive an answer of some kind.
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