The 78-Faceted Gem
This is a quick comment on the Tarot that came to me in a flash of inspiration today, so I thought I’d share it here with all of you. Comments on this, anyone?
The Tarot is a 78-faceted gem. Every one of the cards can, in some way, reflect upon every situation in our lives. The message we need most, however, is the one that comes with the card (or cards) that turn up in a reading. This is, perhaps, why it is that when we ask the Tarot the same question twice (or more times) we can get different cards. It’s like the Universe says, “Okay, I already gave you an answer, but I guess you didn’t want to hear that, so here’s another bit of wisdom about your situation. Maybe you can deal with it better.”
Yes, this gem metaphor is interesting….Somewhere I read that if you ask the same question over as though the first answer didn’t satisfy, you insult the Tarot. I’m not sure about that, but one thing I do notice is that accepting the first set of cards can have a big payoff later. The payoff comes when you stick with the cards and allow them to “steep” like a good cup of tea. If you savor the cards by studying them over again every few hours, they can take on deeper and more penetrating meaning. After a couple days, the same cards that once repelled can feel like a perfect bulls-eye. It’s as though our first impression was superficial and stayed only on the surface level of consciousness. By savoring the cards over time, new subconscious meanings float to the surface and the real message begins to take shape and color. Later, the same cards that seemed “wrong” can look inevitable and “right on.” At least that’s been my experience, so I like to say with the same cards for a couple days for important readings. The “steeping” process has never failed me.
Yes, I feel that solutions are also essentially dynamic and the other cards that come out for the same question adds new perspectives, depth and compliments the initial solutions.
The multifaceted gem is a common mystical image, archetype for the unititive Self. It occurs frequently in Buddhism and Hindu stories. It also recurs many times in the mystics of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
I point to the back of the card as a reminder that all the cards are ultimately one message of a whole that shows its self in parts which are facets of that unity.
It makes sense that this image of the jewel comes as a flash. In Buddhism the Varja means both lightning bolt (the sudden flash) and sparkling jewel (steady, hard diamond, clear light, multi-faceted) is seems paradoxically fleeting and rock solid permanent in the same enduring instant.
It is a perfect symbol for our pristine consciousness as always present and ever fleeting.
Of course the tarot deck is a symbolic mandala, a moveable mandala that is sensitive to the flections in our flickering ever-present Self as awareness.
Nicely said Paul. I completely agree.
I think seeing the tarot as a 78-faceted gem is a very useful metaphor. How often do we use similar images when describing issues we are working through? Quite commonly seeing “multiple facets” are another way of recognizing the muti-dimensional nature of what is at hand. And it seems to me this is quite accurate. It is certainly a good description of the nature of the tarot.
For my part, I would add tarot images point toward underlying archetypes. We find that which we seek in the inner reflection of how these may inform our choices, attitudes, actions, thoughts, relationships, etc. There is so much under the surface of ourselves that if we are willing to sit with the images we will find ourselves “activating” internally.
Much the same can be said of fine art. We lose ourselves in the art, not because of what it objectively is, but what we find in ourselves as a result of confronting it.
As to cards that seem “wrong” I certainly have found they often hold a very deep value. We just may not be willing to look at that issue yet, so we see it as “off” or “wrong” so we can dismiss it. I find it is always worth trying to find value in “difficult” cards. Even if we don’t “find the answer” today, at least we have begun the process of self-examination.
Of course, it may also relate to our state of mind when interacting with the cards: “garbage in; garbage out” as the modern saying goes. If one is approaching the question dismissively, one may find a dismissive answer
Thanks for the comments so far!
Mike, Oh yes, absolutely. When I read for myself (which is the hardest reading to do) it generally helps to let the cards “steep like a cup of tea.”
Paul P, Yes, it’s like the Tarot is saying, “Okay, let me put this another way …”
Paul N, Thank you for these very interesting comments / insights.
Erik, Underlying archetypes can be considered a multi faceted gem as well, right? Truths like archetypes and the Tarot are examples of multiplicity within unity, and a multi faceted gem is a wonderful metaphor for that. Also, regarding cards that seem “wrong” … I find that they generally hold the most profound insights if we look long and hard enough. Cards that seem “right” often tell us what we already know (nice to get confirmation, but does that add much more?) or they seem right because we’re seeing what we want to see in them. “Wrong” cards make us think, ponder, and discover more.
James
Hi James… A big Yes! on all points!
I find that beauty is in the eye of be beholder….and each person who looks at the Tarot will look at the gem differently. But still see beauty!
Wow, that is wonderful, and it is how the cards occur for me. They are constantly amazing, and just when I think they have said everything they can say, they surprise me! Facets of a jewel, exactly.