Enhance Tarot visions through shamanic techniques
Shamans use techniques to access other worlds via a door, a crack, or a cave etc. Similar methods are employed to enter the world of the 22 Major Tarot. One method is to view the back of the card and project oneself through it.
The Universe
In the Universe the wreath of wheat defines the outer limits of a tunnel or vortex through which the shaman will enter. The dance of the maiden as symbolic of the interplay of the creative energies of creation.
Crowley’s description of the Universe contains the sum-total of his doctrines. Framed by a Vesica Piscis, symbol of the birth canal. Within is an ellipse that contains the Shemhamphorash, the 72-lettered name, and below it, the Periodic Table. The Universe is precisely aligned with the Daughter, the final letter of the Tetragrammaton, and thus with the Princess of Disks, and with the Fool.
Judgement or Aeon
Rise up on the waves of sound, identifying with the vigour of rebirth which the trumpet proclaims.
Crowley, redesigned Judgement to conform with the New Aeon. The Dancing Maiden and the Snake of the Universe are the double god Horus under his special name Heru-Ra-Ha, as Ra-hoor-khuit and Hoor-pa-kraat. ‘He is solar in nature’ removes any doubt that we are talking about the same God. The parents are Nuit and Hadith.
The Sun
With The Sun enjoy the recovered sense of innocence with your young partner of the opposite sex. Waves of sunlight reaching down, playing on the skin, yet drawing you into the energy vortex which is the Sun. Respect the sanctity of the domain beyond the wall for it is a sacred place.
The synthesis of opposites (Sperm and egg) in the womb of potentialities. The Aeon tells us not only the parents, but details of the Divine Twins. In the Sun Heru-Ra-Ha is Lord of the New Aeon, the time of ‘complete emancipation of the human race’. Beyond the wall are the twin children, ‘eternally young, shameless and innocent’.
The Moon
For the Moon reflect on the evolutionary processes that you see before you – the struggle of the lobster to evolve into a land-form shape, the metamorphosis of the wild, brutish dog into a more refined domestic creature, the place of man. See the silvery moon-pellets as dew, an essence which fertilizes and makes more complex the dominating energy of the sun.
The Moon is the polar opposite of the Sun, and there is compelling evidence within the text and imagery: The Sun has one hill, while the Moon has many. The Sun is ‘the Lord of Light, Life, Liberty and Love’ while the Moon has ‘horror and fear… All prejudice, all superstition, dead tradition and ancestral loathing…’. While they are opposites, nevertheless the Moon equates with Pisces.
The Star
For the Star enjoy the sensation of entering into the transmission of spirit from one vessel to the other. Re-live the process of subtle essence manifesting in an earthen context.
The Tower
For The Tower feel the electric discharge in the air and endeavour to identify with the ruined tower while imagining that at the same time it enlarges into a more strongly fortified dwelling, capable of withstanding the wrath of the lightning bolt. Visualise your body as a tower built on sound foundations with no inner conflicts of intent. The tower is now raised anew with humility and respect for the energy sources which sustain the universe.
The Devil
Dwell upon the imagery of the Devil’s face and, realizing that it is a mask which conceals a greater inner reality beyond its outward pretences, feel yourself passing through the hollow cavities of the eyes.
Death
The shamanic vision relating to Death; your body is hewn to pieces, identifying with the greater, spiritual personality released from bondage, and which will now flow with the tides of the spirit. Regard ‘death’, at this stage, as refinement.
Art
For the Art card visualise the angel as a spiritual being who provides a profound sense of balance. He represents the fusion of the elements into a state of harmony and the stability he offers is a requirement of entry into Tiphareth, the sphere of the Sun which lies just beyond the mountain peaks.
The Hanged Man
Draw near to the beacon which is the hanged man’s head, and then merge with it so that you begin to reflect the light which he is transmitting from above. Meditate on the sacrifice which the light has to make in penetrating, dense matter and inwardly thank the figure of the hanged man for acting as an intermediary between matter and spirit.
Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune is a mandala, a symbol of infinity. Concentrate on the centre-point, the focus of the eternal unfoldment: and pass through it regarding it once again as transformation.
Lust
Lust shows the forces of intuition and patience inherent in controlling the animal instincts which are at the core of all human activity.
The Hermit
The Hermit teaches us to trust the guiding inspiration of the Holy Guardian Angel. Consider the anonymous quality of the sage’s appearance, the absence of outwardly expressed individuality. Identify the lantern as an image of the self and become more firmly resolute in the upward climb to the peak of creation, where individuality will become increasingly less important.
Justice or Adjustment
Following the process of refinement and self-transformation that we found in Death, allow yourself to be judged impartially by Justice and submit to her trials. Realize that it is in fact the loving side of the higher side of the higher self that sits in judgment and that only illusions and inconsistencies will be ruthlessly disbanded.
The Chariot
Be the warrior and imagine the mirror reflecting inwardly on yourself, in an act of rigid scrutiny. Regard the warrior not so much as a wanton destroyer but as a scourge of non-constructive and conflicting elements which stand in the way of unity.
The Lovers
The Lovers is the union of sexual polarities, a further metamorphosis towards beyond duality. This symbolism is recognizing and fusing lovingly with the complementary sexual polarity, embracing the other aspect of one’s masculine or feminine constitution.
The Hierophant
The Hierophant embodies spiritual authority but simultaneously bestows grace on those who have ears to hear. Again he is the gradual fusion of solar and lunar principles.
The Emperor
The Emperor, although a merciful aspect of the Great Father archetype, approached with deference. He should nevertheless be viewed as in some ways unfulfilled – his kingdom is barren without the Empress, and he owes as much to her as the Hanged Man, who similarly had his legs crossed in the sign of four, and reflected the Great Ocean.
The Empress
She is the supreme representation of the womb of all manifestations, and to encounter her is to return to the very source of created being. It is a reaffirmation of lfulfilment, the home of the River of Life. The shaman surrenders himself to his source.
The High Priestess
The shaman here enters sublime, virginal ground: the very quintessence of the Universe before its fall into form. This region is the first symbolic domain which will take him undifferentiated into the Void of Space.
The Magus
The Magus is the male virgin who has not had contact with the female polarity in order to reproduce and bring about shape. He is pure energy and like the High Priestess remains transcendental and essentially unknowable.
The Fool
Within the shaman’s journey, this is the supreme path, in which the magician dissolves his very being in the void of the final mystery.
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