Llewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot

by Sasha Graham

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: End, mortality, destruction, corruption; also, for a man, the loss of a benefactor; for a woman, many contrarieties; for a maid, failure of marriage projects.

  Reversed: Inertia, sleep, lethargy, petrifaction, somnambulism; hope destroyed.

  Asana

  The Death card aligns with yoga’s corpse pose, or savasana. The yogi literally assumes the posture of Death’s deep sleep. The yogi lies like a corpse on the yoga mat at the end of her practice. Rest and stillness is as important as effort and output. Corpse pose invites you to move deeper into the interior of the Death tarot card because it aligns precisely with Death’s valuable lessons.

  Transformation lies at the heart of the Death card. Yoga’s purpose is to transform the body, mind, and soul. True bodily death allows the soul to slip free of physical constraints, to move into invisible realms, to mingle with angels, entities, and archetypes. Many yogis describe a similar out-of-body experience during corpse pose.

  Unilaterally, the yogi is transformed by the end of the practice, never departing the mat in the same mind-state as was entered. The yogi embraces the journey of the occult initiate with every yogic experience. Asana practices are akin to initiations where the practitioner partakes in a journey ending in symbolic death. Corpse pose ends once the practitioner opens her eyes. She finds herself altered, changed, and marked through her interior experience. She is reborn, ready to rise and remake the world as she sees fit. Take death into your own hands. Respect, encourage, and engage in death’s transformational process to support your wild, unique, unfolding soul.

  Temperance

  Hear all the music you can, good music, for sound and form are more closely connected than we know.

  Pamela Colman Smith47

  Sacred

  The Death card marks the ascent of the Hanged Man’s vision up the Tree of Life. Death lays this vision at the foot of Temperance as if bestowing a gift. Temperance picks it up and merges the energy like a cat’s cradle. Temperance is the winged creature of balance and integration. It reflects the activation of energies, merging and flowing. Above all, it is fusion. It moves from the right cup to the left cup, from the foot on water to a foot on land. Its path carries us from sea level to high mountain peaks.

  The base level of Temperance reminds us of the ability to cope with any situation. The angel is interchangeable with an individual’s autonomy and balance. The juggler on the Two of Pentacles is elevated to divine status inside the Temperance card. Balance is cultivated and maintained on the material level. Temperance grasps this energy and transforms it in the fusion of every level of consciousness.

  Temperance is the gift of complexity in personal evolution via differentiation. Differentiation accounts for gray areas of the world that lie beyond comprehension. Things are not right or wrong, simply different. Differentiation is understanding and respecting other people and foreign points of view. Others intuit the world differently than we do. Complexity is the art of holding two oppositional ideas together and feeling comfortable while maintaining opposition and duality. Complexity is the act of holding both anger and compassion toward one who has wounded you. Complexity is holding fast to personal beliefs while respecting the differing opinions of others. Complexity is recognizing multiple sides of an argument. Complexity fosters new forms of communication and understanding. Integration is the gift of owning who you are as an individual with the differentiation of others. It bears the mark of human interpersonal, political, and cultural significance. Complexity is essential because once we are capable of holding two opposing thoughts, we are free in how we respond to them. Rather than caving to an emotion or reaction, we foster a creative response to any situation.

  Just as we navigate familial and personal relationships, we must also navigate the landscape of who we are as spiritual beings. We experience complexity as the spiritual self inhabits the container of our body, which navigates the physical landscape of the material world and the earth. We blend and balance our emotional and physical needs along with our romantic, financial, and practical needs. Each of us is a mystery inside our very own body. Temperance fuses the complexity of physicality, relationships, and spirituality. This leads each of us up Temperance’s path to the golden crown. The crown contains the intriguing and curious, rich, and satisfying experience of an examined life.

  Waite describes archangel Gabriel, who is “pouring the essences of life from chalice to chalice.” His placement is of “one foot upon the earth and one upon waters, thus illustrating the nature of the essences.” The essences of life are the energies of life and death, the movement of yin and yang, the space between silence and fluidity. It is the interchange of the spiritual self and earthly self. To flow in step with these energies without pressing one’s agenda and needs, but rather of aligning oneself in tandem with such energies, is a delicate dance rooted in the power of mindfulness.

  Waite describes the distant path moving up the mountain and how “above there is a great light, through which a crown is seen vaguely. Hereof is some part of the Secret of Eternal Life, as it is possible to man in his incarnation.” This heavy sentence is laden with Christian overtones. Eternal life is a Christian idea that promises a reward after death for adhering to its religious dogma. Waite’s idea of Eternal Life contains the ideal of being “spiritually” reborn. In Waite’s case it is the “individual awareness” of man’s temporality. It is the ideal of “initiation,” Waite’s personal relationship to the Divine, which guarantees Eternal Life. This idea reverberates through Temperance and the entire RWS deck. Tarot offers a way to invoke our divine nature.

  Waite offers additional interpretations of Temperance while moving away from spiritual aspects. He says Temperance is “changes in the seasons, perpetual movement of life and even the combination of ideas.” The sacred is infused even in a mundane description. Nothing expresses the idea of evolution and adaptation as well as changing seasons. The human capacity for understanding and accepting life’s perpetual movement provides meaning, wisdom, and richness. It echoes the yogi on her mat. Just as she moves from one pose to another using breath to connect her asanas, so does the earth revolve in a state of permanent change. Life is different one day to the next. If we are not brave enough to flow with the ever-changing nature of life’s cycles, we are at risk for becoming stuck. We can align ourselves to this intelligence and hold various thoughts and realities while accepting change as the only thing we can count on. It is complexity in action.

  Ultimately, Waite states, “It is called Temperance fantastically, because, when the rule of it obtains in our consciousness, it tempers, combines and harmonizes the psychic and material natures. Under that rule we know in our rational part something of whence we came and whither we are going.” Waite speaks of Temperance as a verb, fusing understanding between the psychic and material. We realize we ourselves are like angels on earth, here for a short time. The dance of our imagination and intuition is unseen, yet it is keenly felt. It fuses logic with the illogical. Waite implies if we maintain both, if we observe deeply, we will understand our relation to our spiritual self. His use of the word temper suggests a learned skill of repetition, again and again, like a blacksmith who tempers his sword in fire. With each pass, the blade is forged sharper, our understanding deeper. Doing so, we recognize ourselves as eternal divine sparks residing on earth to become the fullest incarnation of ourselves. This idea is expressed by a pond, which is a rich biosphere of manifestation, depth, and life. The path leads from manifestation up to the mountains to the sacred place where the godhead resides.

  Symbolic

  Esoteric Function: Anger

  Hebrew Letter: Samekh

  Astrological Association: Sagittarius

  Archangel Gabriel is the messenger angel and the intermediary between the sacred and profane. Waite describes him as “a winged angel, with the sign of the sun upon his forehead.” The circle upon the ang
el’s head reflects the sun’s solar power. The sun is the source of all life and energy in our solar system. The circle with center dot is the alchemist’s symbol for gold. The angel’s head glows with a halo, a symbol of divinity that can be traced to ancient sun gods. “On his breast the square and triangle of the septenary.” Septenary relates to the number seven. Temperance is number fourteen, twice seven. Waite tells us “the figure is neither male or female.” This is a reminder of the occult aim to merge and balance the masculine and feminine energies of the self. Pamela’s artistic androgyny allows the viewer to easily project gender fluidity onto Temperance.

  Temperance is one of the four cardinal virtues identified by Plato and Aristotle. Temperance is a cross-cultural concept. Temperance is part of Buddhism’s eightfold path. The Hindu word for temperance is dama. Dama evolved in Sanskrit literature and yogic texts as part of an ever-evolving list of essential virtues. Temperance, cross-culturally, is the ability to exercise self-control and self-restraint.

  The traditional figure of Temperance as a female pouring sacred fluid predates the RWS deck. It is a common theme of Renaissance art. Symbolically, a woman controls the changing nature of emotion, thus echoing fluidity. It directly relates to the suit of cups and the emotive element of water. The temperance movement, an effort to criminalize alcohol consumption and eradicate drunkenness, found a perfect symbol in Temperance.

  Both the Temperance and Moon card’s landscapes mirror one another, each containing a pool and a path. The former card reflects expansive solar energy while the latter card reflects introspective lunar energy. The pool of water is a symbol of new life and the subconscious. The yellow irises growing amidst the pond reeds are significant. Greek goddess Iris was the intermediary between gods and humans (playing the same role as archangels) and is often portrayed in ancient art as a winged goddess with a jug. As a link between heaven and earth, gods and humans, Iris’s symbol was the rainbow. The fully bloomed iris flower reflects manifestation in the material world as a result of Temperance’s activity. The glowing yellow crown above the path is a reference to the divine spark at the top of the Tree of Life, the first Sephira. It reflects humanity’s connection to its original source. Waite calls it “part of the Secret to Eternal Life.” Waite’s metaphor of death and resurrection are adapted by the occultist. The secret is that eternal life exists here and now on earth. There is no need to wait for physical death. Waite’s tarot does not presume to tell afterlife stories. His ideas, based on ancient medieval texts, lead the occultist to an inspired, enlightened, and powerful life of their own making.

  Profane

  Balancing fun and responsibility. Going with the flow. Rolling with the punches. A natural state of harmony. Practice makes perfect. Honing personal talents. Finding unique and winning combinations. If a yes-no question, the answer is yes, based on your ability to maintain control of the situation.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Economy, moderation, frugality, management, accommodation.

  Reversed: Things connected with churches, religions, sects, the priesthood, sometimes even the priest who will marry the Querent; also disunion, unfortunate combinations, competing interests.

  Asana

  The Temperance card aligns with yoga’s seated spinal twist, or ardha matsyendrasana. The Temperance card’s fluids are fused in front of the angel’s sacral chakra, located three inches below the navel. Like the Temperance card, the sacral chakra is associated with water, emotions, and creativity. Seated spinal twists work the sacral chakra to encourage the body to become flexible and fluid. Flexibility encourages complexity, which heals and expands the world, benefiting all creatures. It is the ability to hold two opposing thoughts at the same time and to make room for other’s points of view without demonization and scapegoating. The inner flexibility of the sacral chakra moves outward as space is fostered and created for yourself and others. The yogi’s body becomes the physical metaphor of the Temperance card.

  The Devil

  Surely it is through evil

  that we realize good.

  Pamela Colman Smith48

  Sacred

  Satan is an enduring archetype of literature, religion, and cultural life. The Devil is the world’s most famous scapegoat, having been blamed for wrongdoings, mistakes, and faults for centuries. Why look within yourself when you can blame someone else? Is it any coincidence the Devil is called “the Horned Goat” by Waite? He is a convenient symbol who holds the projections of humanity when they can’t bear to take responsibility for their own actions. The Devil reflects a base level of a disorder of the mind or psychic entropy. The Devil may represent anger, rage, jealousy, and a powerful wellspring of pain, negativity, and seething anger. His presence sucks attention away from meaningful experiences. He burns precious time and life energy as fuel for his appetite raging out of control like a wildfire.

  The Devil stands as the absolute projection of human evil. History is rife with entire societies and individuals who are demonized, used as scapegoats and punished, reaping disastrous consequences. The Jews were blamed for economic depression and approximately six million were killed during the Holocaust. Tens of thousands (if not more) women were executed under the charge of medieval witchcraft. Anything and anyone classified as “other”—immigrants, women, the poverty stricken, people of color—have been demonized and punished for it by those who seek power and control. Who and what are you demonizing in the present moment? Do you take personal responsibility for your life or do you blame circumstances and other people? Can you see as history repeats itself over and over again ad infinitum?

  The Magician and Devil share the exact same posture. The Magician channels a pure state of energy while the Devil seeks to control it. He is intoxicated by a false sense of power. The Magician’s precise wand becomes the Devil’s flaming torch that sets the human on fire. Energy must flow. It cannot be controlled. Energy can be nudged and encouraged. It can be nurtured and cared for. Like the flowing rivers moving through multiple tarot cards, both water and energy will always find their own ways regardless of human interference. Don’t try to contain them. The dam will eventually crack; the river will flood. This is why emotions, feelings, and

  urges should be acknowledged, confronted, and sifted through. Repression yields disastrous consequence. There is no need to act out every urge or desire but repression makes it stronger. Acknowledging truth fosters healing because secrets develop a unique consciousness of their own when stashed in the dark.

  The Devil knocks when extreme control is exercised over any situation. This includes all forms of control: seeking intellectual or physical power over another, obsessive behavior, compulsive cleaning, manipulating people and situations. Which end of the spectrum are you on? Do you attempt to control others or do you let others control you? Perhaps a little of both? Ultimately, the only thing we can control is ourselves. We command our response to the external world by controlling our interior life. Once you step back and observe your thoughts, desires, and emotions without acting or reacting to them, you begin to assert control and responsibility over yourself.

  Waite explains the Devil “is the Dweller on the Threshold.” The Dweller on the Threshold carries a significant role in magical rituals of enlightenment. Just as Death reflects the metaphorical ascent of the spirit, the journey of return up the Tree of Life, the Dweller on the Threshold appears when the initiate breaks into the subconscious. The dweller, or Devil, is the changeable part of human consciousness, protecting the ego. Acts of domination and control over others feed the ego. The shadow figure is created by all things dwelling in the subconscious. He appears like a monstrous video game boss who must be defeated in order to win the game. The dweller looks different to each of us depending on what we store inside our subconscious.

  Both the Devil and the dweller are overcome by looking it straight in the eye. Shine your light on the Devil. He will no longer exist in shadow. His power lies
in the ability to hide through secrets, repression, and our darkest emotions. Once brought into the light, the Devil is like the vampire who is vaporized by sunlight. The conscious self can communicate directly with the higher self once the Devil is met, confronted, and integrated. Nothing need be filtered through the subconscious. Consciousness is free to interact with the higher self without interference. This is why a sense of relief prevails in telling the truth. It is usually with ourselves, not other people, that we need to become honest with.

  Waite points out the graphic similarity between the Devil and the Lovers, saying the Devil card reflects how “the Mystical Garden” has been left behind. The Mystical Garden is the material world left behind as the initiate moves higher to meet the Dweller on the Threshold or the Devil. Waite confirms Éliphas Lévi’s theory that “the Baphomeeic figure is occult science and magic.” The Devil holds the key to occult science and magic because he is the Dweller on the Threshold. Once greeted and slayed, the gates of possibility are thrown open to infinite potential unfolding before you.

  Symbolic

  Esoteric Function: Laughter

  Hebrew Letter: Ayin

  Astrological Association: Capricorn

  The karmic power of three operates within the trio of figures of this card. The figures reflect sadness. The powerful Devil does not revel in his demonic activity; rather, he holds an expression of cowering fear. He looks like a dog caught and ashamed of stealing the family’s steak off the dinner table. The witch’s rule of three states that which you do unto others will revisit you with three times as much power. Karma’s energetic effects mark the inside of a human as much as it does the outside.

  The Devil infects the figures below with his power. The male and female sprout small goat horns as the Devil’s venomous power surges through them. The subtle horn symbols are a stark reminder of familial cycles of abuse. Children often revisit parent and caregiver abuse on others or themselves. Cycles of violence, oppression, and sexual dysfunction often repeat as child victims become adult perpetrators. The cycle can only be broken when light illuminates the situation. Just as the Dweller on the Threshold evaporates when he is exposed to the light of acknowledgment, so are generations of addiction and abuse broken when actions are acknowledged and responsibility is assumed. The victim is often the one to break the cycle. The victim is taxed with the dual responsibility of healing their internal wounds of abuse but also speaking out and calling light to the situation. They often suffer the consequences of extreme anger of those who want to keep secrets, often the people they love most. The victim engages in a vicious two-front battle. They are taxed with healing the most sensitive and deeply wounded parts of themselves while acknowledging the light of truth surrounding the acts that caused it. Ultimately, the victim should be named warrior. These brave souls step forward to end cycles of destruction, violence, and sexual deviancy. They are warriors of the soul who transcend the flesh and blood shed on battlefields. Their brave actions and willingness to speak the truth clear a path of possibility for future generations. Like Katniss Everdeen or Luke Skywalker, challenges are the process through which we discover who we are and what strength resides within. This is why every obstacle, from a pedophile in the family to the bully of the playground, becomes the wound that lets in the light. These demons show us what we are truly made of.