If I may exercise a little alchemical "creative license" here, in the last half of the Fool's Journey, it is the Hanged Man's mission to submit to sacrifice on the altar of Justice, then undergo  radical reduction (Death), transmutation (Temperance), testing (Devil), purification (Tower), sublimation (Star), infusion (Moon), revitalization, (Sun) retrial (Judgement) and restoration (World). … Continue reading Of Ants and Grasshoppers

“Hey, Rock, watch me pull a rabbit out of a hat!” The modern tarot Magician began life as “le Bateleur,” a clever, street-wise conjurer skilled at juggling and ingenious sleight-of-hand diversions or, alternatively, a cunning mountebank, charlatan or trickster. The only thing “occult” about him was what he chose to keep hidden from the gaze … Continue reading Jiggery-Pokery

When is a Fool not an utter fool? When he's given a mission, obviously, regardless of his readiness to undertake it. In the annals of tarot's "creation myth," the Fool was a stereotype of the medieval court jester, a madman in motley and bells. I sometimes wonder how many of those historical fools had a … Continue reading The Fool Abides

I've always thought that hermits and remote caves go together like bread-and-butter, pretzels-and-beer or salt-and-pepper; the sequestered hermit covets outer solitude to stimulate his inner vision. So what's this guy doing out of his hole and on a mountain-top in the middle of the night? The answer would seem to be "aspiring;" he stands at … Continue reading A Candle in the Darkness