I’ve been offering card readings online recently. Using my Symbol cards, I’ve found great “ideograms” arise in the spread, which are essential to the readings. I thought it worthwhile to share them!
Interpretations
Pluto
My friend Matt Pegas gave me a brilliant interpretation of this card, not simply as moving beyond man (the head away from the body), but as the Nietzschean Overman or Superman, the one who goes beyond man, and not simply the movement.
This corresponds perfectly with Richard Tarnas’ view of Pluto as a distinctly “Nietzschean” planet.
From Cosmos and Psyche:
Zero
My friend Samantha read this card as "the Blank Slate”, the Tabula Rasa. Which I found very insightful, and very right.
Consider Crowley’s magickal formula 0=2, (which I write about here) and the Tao as the “Creative Nothing”, so Taoists desire to return to Simplicity, “Tao Mind”, to the blank slate.
That ideogram is 樸
Tree+Thicket
Which I read as “untouched tree”
Consider it as a sort of Inversion of New 新. Which you can read about here.
Ideograms
The Seal of Satan
The image of a Pentagram crossing Fire brought to mind King Solomon’s Seal and Seals, namely for bottling up and mastering Devils/Djinn, which is symbolized by an upright Star. The image of the inverted star sealing up the good was brought to mind by this layout, a demonic seal (Pentagram) preventing the good energies (Fire) from being expressed.
The Exploding Seed Pod
A bit more of a complex set of symbols, but I will illustrate.
Pluto, which you’ve just read about can here be interpreted as a profound moving beyond, but it’s crossed by Virgo, which here I read as a “seed” laying in dirt, weighed down and kept underground by Saturn, and currently being thrust up, out of the Earth and far beyond by the explosive energy of Saltpeter.
The natural image is that of exploding seed pods. A vegetative growth full of tension waiting to explode.
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If you dig this piece, let me know! I am thinking about renewing the substack with weekly writing on the symbolic ideograms that come up in my readings.
More writings on the symbols! Enjoyed getting to learn more about how you're using the deck.
I enjoyed this. Definitely would like to read another