The Tao in the Tarot

by Sarita Armstrong

  If we include the Fool there are 22 cards in the Major Arcana, which can be divided into three Octaves, giving us the formula for pi, (22 divided by 7, the result of which has an infinite number of decimal places). Taking three octaves together, we arrive at the interesting format shown in figure 8. The three groups of 8 cards make 22 instead of 24 because in the musical scale, the second and third 'do' notes are both the end of one octave and the beginning of the next. Each ‘do’ is not only the final note but the start of a higher level of scale or vibration. In the cards of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, the eighth card named Strength is not only the final note of the Physical Sequence but also the first note of the Psychological Sequence. Similarly, card number 14 named Temperance is the final note of the Psychological Sequence and the first of the Spiritual Sequence, providing we include the Fool in that section.

  One cannot help wondering how much of this Bembo or the Visconti family who commissioned him to paint the pictures of the Tarot cards in the 15th century knew - or did it just fall into place intuitively as he looked at some ancient, tattered foreign cards? The knowledge was there all the time, brought through from ancient times in an oral tradition, but certainly in Bembo's time to admit openly to such heretical ideas would have been enough to lay one's claim to a fate worse than death: a slow, tortuous death at the hands of the Inquisitors. But how clever to transfer the knowledge in the form of simple playing cards, the most important of which appeared to be the most absurd; cards available to everyone, regarded with contempt by many, yet containing a secret knowledge for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. This is very much in the mould of the oral tradition of story-telling – the tradition of telling a simple story that everyone could enjoy, but which contained a hidden meaning if you knew what to look for.

  Numbers and geometry are no less a part of the I Ching, with its 64 hexagrams, each made up of two connecting trigrams. If we put together three lots of 22 (i.e. three combined octaves as in the Tarot x 3) we have a similar situation, arriving at not 66 but 64 hexagrams with the two 'jumping off' notes, the two middle 'do's combined. Over the centuries there have been a great many different ways of ordering the hexagrams and I cannot find one that co-ordinates with the Tarot sequence. Nevertheless, the overall number of cards and hexagrams is hardly co-incidental. I do not know if it is just co-incidental that the 22nd hexagram is named with the Chinese ideogram P’i.

  Our own DNA and the I Ching

  The I Ching’s sixty-four hexagrams cover the whole gamut of life. Our own DNA contains sixty-four components, the fundamental building blocks of life. In human beings, these 64 DNA components are contained within 22 pairs of chromosomes known as autosomes, which regulate all the basic characteristics of a person. In his book The Infinite Harmony, Michael Hayes explains:

  “According to the biochemist, the four nitrogenous bases [of DNA] can combine into precisely sixty-four possible nonoverlapping triplet-units, or biochemical codons, which correspond to the twenty amino acids necessary for the synthesis of protein, and also the two coded instructions for 'start' and 'stop' (production, that is).” 1 [The emphasis is my own].

  The twenty amino acids plus the two start and stop coded instructions equate with the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana. We have the same number of sixty-four in the hexagrams of the I Ching; the hexagrams being made up of triplet lines.

  When one asks a question of the I Ching by the throwing of sticks or coins, one trigram (made up of three lines) joins together with a second trigram to form a hexagram. Each line of the trigram is fundamentally positive or negative (Yang or Yin) and is either static or moving towards its opposite. This way of working is also reflected in our own genetic make-up. Michael Hayes again tells us:

  “RNA (ribonucleic acid) ... structurally identical to DNA ... consists of triplet-codons of unpaired nucleotide bases and is the substance utilized in the process of formation of proteins ... These are the templates, or blueprints, utilized in the manufacture of what is, in effect, intelligent energy – protein.”2

  The numbers twenty-two, sixty-four and triplets (3 together as in the trigrams) are the basic numbers and proportions within the structure of the genetic code of human beings. It is even more interesting that the RNA triplet-codons are not just roaming around mindlessly, but each is looking for a similar triplet to pair up with, just as each trigram of the I Ching needs to pair up with another one! Michael Hayes expands further:

  “Numerically we can say that RNA triplet-codons are empirical manifestations of the developmental pattern described by the formula pi, with an evolutionary biochemical value of (number of bases) three. Each RNA codon has the potential, through one of sixty-four possible combinations, to produce one of twenty-two sets of instructions in the assembly of amino-acid-based proteins. Sixty-four, as we know, is the square of eight, of an octave, or the square of the constant.” 3 [Emphasis is my own].

  Even if the details of the bio-chemical system are beyond the lay-person's understanding, it is an incredible fact that these ancient sources of wisdom – the Tarot and the I Ching - work with the same numbers as do the most basic parts of our physical and genetic make-up. It would appear that the chemistry of our make-up was known to some people in ancient times but the knowledge has since been lost, though still lies buried in these traditions of divination. The I Ching is said to be nearly 5000 years old. This goes back to a time before our written history and is just another of those mysteries that make me think we have to take a new look at the beginnings of civilization as we know it. Perhaps we have overlooked our ancient heritage because we only look back to primitive beginnings without wondering why such peoples as the Egyptians and Chaldeans, the Mayans and the Minoans, for example, appeared ‘out of nowhere' (as the academics would have us believe) with sophisticated numerical abilities, astronomical knowledge and a fully-fledged belief system and culture, all of which subsequently declined and were forgotten.

  There have been many different ways of arranging the trigrams of the I Ching in order, one of which is King Wên's Circular Arrangement, (Wilhelm’s: Sequence of Earlier Heaven or Primal Arrangement).4 John Blofeld writes:

  “It is difficult to see the logic of this arrangement; but, since it is found in all Chinese editions of the I Ching, I have included it here. It is said in China that beings above the level of humans are able to discover the meaning of this order, whereas humans are no longer able to do so.”5

  The ancient Chinese students of the I Ching and King Wên in particular, knew there was more to it than even they could understand. I suspect that Wên's circular arrangement, if us lesser humans could work it out, would be to do with the connection between the hexagrams and the way in which our very make-up is co-ordinated, and to do with the harmony that is required of us for the benefit of each individual and of mankind as a whole, as well as for the world we live in. Pythagoras was searching for this connection and believed we only had to learn to make the Music of the Spheres. In other words, to understand the harmony of the octaves, and the numerical or vibratory significance behind or beyond them, and within ourselves, and most important of all – to apply the knowledge to the way we live our lives.

  The arithmetic system we have used over the centuries before the invention of computers is in the base ten. It was the mathematician Leibniz who in 1679 discovered – or re-discovered – the possibilities of the binary system of numbers we currently use in computers. At that time he corresponded with Père Bouvet, a Jesuit missionary in China, who immediately connected Leibniz’s discovery with the hexagrams in the I Ching, the form of which can be worked out by using the binary system very simply since it is just a case of a positive or a negative switch – a Yang or a Yin line. This had already been done by the Sung Confucian, Shao Yun, which begs the question as to who initially used the binary system - and did King Wên know about it, or was he copying even earlier information – or is it mere co-incidence? If so, is it also mere co-incidence that the central nervous system of huma
n beings and higher vertebrates works in the same way?

  This information was not to find its way to the west for, as Richard Wilhelm’s son Hellmut told his audience in a lecture given in Beijing in 1943:

  “It is no accident that, of the early Jesuit scholars who were pioneers in making China’s culture known in Europe, those who concerned themselves with the Book of Changes were all later declared to be insane or heretic.”6

  The Weaving of the Threads

  Knowing that the connection between our genetic make-up and the numerical background to the Tarot and I Ching does exist, gives us an insight into why divinatory books work. We may often have found them to give us an answer but how does it happen if it is not mere chance or a biased interpretation of the reading?

  During a request for an answer from either the I Ching or the Tarot, one's own mind needs to be clear, uncluttered, and concentrated on the question in hand. One's attitude needs to contain some sense of reverence and humility. In these circumstances one's own conscious mind taps into one's larger mind, or into a life-force that is around if we can only let it in. Perhaps it is as simple as allowing our right-brain to communicate with our left-brain, and it can only do that when there is not a lot of background chatter going on. In very basic terms, our own DNA is telling us what we need to know, in fact it is telling us precisely what is out of harmony in our own being. In this way we are responding to our own question with the answer we actually know but cannot bring into our conscious mind without the aid of these extra-ordinary assets. One knows if it is working when the coins jump out of one’s hands of their own accord or the cards seem to have a life of their own. The answer is already there, it is just a case of opening up to it or expanding into it. In a way one is tapping into the source of one's own genetic make-up: getting the numbers right, harmonising the chords, being in tune. Divination will indicate where you are out of tune with your own inner workings and with your outer world.

  Figure 9: The I-Ching Hexagrams relating to the Major Arcana Tarot Cards

  It is also important to believe in the answer, whether you like it or not. The I Ching has an excellent answer for those who treat it lightly, as I have seen happen at first hand. A friend, refusing to accept the veracity of the book, asked the same question three times assuming he should receive the same answer three times. Logically, only then would he accept it. In the event, the first two answers were similar but not exactly the same, and slightly ambiguous (though I seem to remember he refused to reveal his question). On his third request he got a straightforward answer: Hexagram 4 entitled Immaturity, Uncultivated Growth. It reads:

  “I am not one to seek out uncultivated youths, but if such a youth seeks me out, I shall at first read and explain to him the omens. Yet should he ask me many times, just because of his importunity, I shall not explain anything more.”

  I think it was more than the answer he expected, but I doubt if it changed his attitude. Incidentally, the very asking of the question and receiving an answer will change one - even if infinitesimally - so that the next time one asks the question it is essentially different, as is the time. Time, that hypotenuse on the triangle and every nuance it brings with it, has intervened.

  Chess masters speak of the state of mind necessary for the acquisition of the vision required by accomplished players. Only when he has this vision of his strategy can he acquire his technique and plan the details of his tactics. Life is much the same, for without some kind of vision of what it is all about, one goes from this to that, perhaps with some technique and tactics, but without spiritual success and without an overview as a guide. Our traveller along the Silk Road, or indeed the road of life, needs some idea of where he is heading and why. Only then can he decide on his route, his stopping places, what baggage he needs – or needs to discard – which companions will help or hinder him along the way; what sustenance is required to keep him going.

  Excerpts from the I Ching

  Except where I have stated them to be from Richard Wilhelm’s translation, the extracts from the I Ching used here are all from the translation by John Blofeld,1 whose understanding of the eastern mind came from a lifetime of study and living in the East. I met him many years ago – a softly spoken, contemplative man sitting cross-legged on his cushion on the floor. In the introduction to his translation he points out that the word Tao actually means ‘The Way’. It is the way the Cosmos works and it is the way to lead one’s life, the way in which one can be true to one’s own integrity, the way to travel life’s crooked paths with a fluid ease. Life really is a journey and to follow the Tao is indeed the most auspicious way to travel! Where there is a way there is movement along it, like the travellers on the Silk Road, like the travellers along the Tar Ro of the Egyptians. The Superior Man walks through every translation of the I Ching to show us lesser men how one should act in any given situation if one is to truly follow the Way of Tao. In my own work I equate this with my ‘Elite Traveller’, a name that suits our times and does not smack quite so much of the Confucian morality of the 5th century.

  The titles of the hexagrams and their descriptions are mainly from John Blofeld’s translation, but where Richard Wilhelm has something extra to offer I have incorporated his ideas too. For a complete explanation the reader can refer to the diagram in Appendix 3. Quotations from the I Ching (of whichever translation) are in italics.

  So now it is time for the Elite Traveller to step out of the caravanserai and make his way along the Tar Ro where he will encounter many interesting companions amongst the deck of the Tarot cards.

  Part 2

  In which we reunite the Major Arcana archetypes with their long lost cousins from the East, the hexagrams of

  the I Ching.

  Card 0: The Fool

  (The Innocent/The Unexpected/The Integrated)

  As a first step to understanding the Tarot in the form of a circle of life, we must have some intimation of the concept behind the card of the Fool. We must appreciate that we do not start here at the beginning of the circle, but at the tail end of our spiral where it disappears into thin air, pointing again towards a new beginning (see Figure 6: ). Before we set out on the journey we need to have some idea of our final destination, which is much the same destination as the Fool may have in mind!

  The Fool is our companion along the way. He is the Elite Traveller who - like the joker in a pack of cards - has the ability to slip in anywhere and add to the value of its companions. With numerous changes of clothes he can appear in a new guise at every caravanserai. When we first encounter him he seems innocent enough, but by the end of the journey we realise he is the wisest man around in a clever disguise. When he disappears over the horizon we see how insignificant we are in comparison, as we stand waiting on the deserted roadside, wondering if we should not have been brave enough to continue the journey at his side.

  The Fool is only foolish when viewed from the standpoint of the worldly man. His designated number is 0 – naught, a hole, whole, holy. Nothing and everything. Empty yet complete.

  Quite apart from its role within a hand of cards, by having been designated as zero we can see that the Fool is not part of the system. It stands outside the world and its conventions, therefore – like a joker - it refuses to obey the rules laid down by the rest of the pack. It is neither male nor female for it has no truck with the guilt associated with sex. Full of joy and freedom, it cares nothing for society and the confines of regulations or expectations. In worldly terms it represents the person who has no care or thought for tomorrow, who would happily give his last penny to a beggar then step onto a bus without the fare. A fool indeed!

  In my image of the Fool his purse is open and coins fall to the ground. He has no use for possessions so his simple bag too is open and out of it fall the magic symbols that he leaves behind for us: tarot cards, a key, a grail cup, a sacred triangle, and yarrow stalks. The stick with which he carries his bag over his shoulder is an ordinary tree branch, but it glows with light and floweri
ng shoots sprout from it. His clothes are in tatters but they are golden with light. Light also shines through his hair like a halo.

  For many years I have seen the Fool as ‘the Innocent’, a term used for those with the light in them. The Innocent is the aegis of the Boundless Light: not only the shield of the Light from the world but also the portal through which the Light beyond the visible light can enter the world, or be perceived by those in the world. This can only happen through a mind unsullied by the confines of worldliness, like an image shining out of a clear mirror or through a clear pane of glass. The Innocent is innocent of its involvement in the process; it simply exists in that condition of being. If the mirror or glass is cloudy the light cannot shine through, or it becomes distorted or faint. Hence, the Innocent is the unsullied child who, because of the involvement of Time, sadly has to follow the path to maturity and through to old age. By then - will he have become the Integrated Fool, or will he simply be a foolish old man or woman clutching at the straws of life in the face of the darkness of an impending death?

  The idea of this card also relates to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were the Innocents before they ate from the Tree of Knowledge and were expelled into our real world of sorrows and hardships.

  At the start of the Tarot the Fool is the Innocent, but when the card enters the pack (as the Fool enters the world) it becomes the Joker, the Unexpected, and by its position inside the circle it expands our circle into a spiral by which we can glimpse beyond our own small worldly circle into a greater Beyond. In the guise of the Joker the card is ideally placed between Death and the Hanged Man for this makes the correct number of cards in the Psychological Octave between Strength and Temperance. At the end of the Tarot, the Fool steps out of the circle as the Integrated.