by Marcus Katz
I avoid making decisions by putting them off until another day. I am able to escape into a dreamy world where unpleasant things do not occur.
Knight of Cups/Prince of Cups
I make decisions based upon insider knowledge. It will have to be of foremost benefit to me. I am very self motivated and my actions reflect this.
I will not act and make a decision if I feel that the action will result in me being compromised and end up owing a favor.
Queen of Cups/Queen of Cups
I make decisions by becoming a channel and being receptive to the needs of others. I am emotionally motivated.
I avoid making decisions by going with the crowd and ‘toeing the party the line’. The line of least resistance can be the easiest route.
King of Cups/Knight of Cups
I make decisions by what seems to be the most attractive option. I can be easily swayed to the opinions of others, and this is a strong factor in my decision making.
I avoid making decisions by not committing to anything too concrete. I make excuses that I have to consult with others before I can commit and it is not unknown that I will scuttle off and wallow in my indecisions and thereby not stand by anything of any substance. I will avoid signing a contract.
Page of Wands/Princess of Wands
I make decisions based upon retaining my individuality. I thrive on excitement and experiencing a thrill, so if the result of my decision yields a bit of a ‘thrill’, then it is likely I will embark on this particular path. This energy is one of a lust for freedom and liberation; I must not be inhibited in anyway.
I avoid making decisions by filling my life with superficial distractions. I will create drama to off-load any real issues that need confronting. I believe my myth so much that it overshadows reality itself, leaving me unable to see any other way of being.
Knight of Wands/Prince of Wands
I make decisions based upon the mood I am in at the moment; I can be volatile, open to the influence of the mood of the crowd. I can decide on something and not really care for the outcome; it may be that I am just putting on a show for the crowds. You tell me not do something and I will want to go ahead and do that very thing!
I do not make decisions because I cannot be bothered to do so. I am lazy and indifferent. Let someone else make the decision is what I am often heard to say.
Queen of Wands/Queen of Wands
I will make a decision based upon what I feel rather than what others think. I use my all my skills of seeing the best in a situation and how it can be turned round. I show great initiative in decision making, if there is best to be seen in any situation than I will see it and will see to it!
I do not make a decision well if I am in a depressed state, this state leaves me incapacitated and unable to decide, if I do make a decision while I am in this state of mind, it may be one that I later regret.
King of Wands/Knight of Wands
I make decisions based upon wanting to get a situation sorted out quickly; I do not like to hang around. I can be quite reckless in my decision making.
I do not make a decision if the outcome restricts my lust for life in anyway. It is either all or nothing for me!
These decider/unlocking cards, showing how you make decisions, are deeper indicators of your values and belief systems, your history, ethics, family background and much more. We have evoked them by use of a simple observation during gate 3 and can now use them to unlock unity in combination with the other steps.
STEP 4: ENTERING INTO UNITY
1. Arrange the cards now selected out from the previous steps as follows, in a place where they cannot be disturbed. You can alternatively lay them out, take a photo, and then place the image somewhere (a screensaver, wallpaper background, etc.) where it can be readily accessed.
Place your Destiny card in the centre.
Place your 2 Escape Cards either side of the Destiny Card.
Place your 2 Calling Cards above and below the Destiny Card.
Note: You can use your intuition to select which card of those pairs goes where, i.e. left/right, top/bottom.
Any Removal (formerly block) Cards not included in the five cards now out can be placed in a triangle, square, circle or simply around the cross made by the previous five cards.
Finally place any Unlocking Cards like the spokes of a wheel inbetween the central cross and the outer Removal Cards.
Note: You can arrange this Tarot Mandala in a manner that seems most suitable for the number of cards present, so long as it follows the basic pattern given here, moving out from the Destiny Card in the centre.
2. You will now have a Mandala which should be viewed every day, and contemplated upon. The unique arrangement of these cards carries high significance to the fundamental patterns and drives of your spiritual life – and its mundane equivalent.
3. For the month, shuffle the remaining cards every morning or evening, contemplating your Mandala. Place the shuffled deck into two piles, left and right.
Now visualise the Temperance card, and shuffle the right deck into the left deck, as if you were pouring water into wine. Contemplate your Mandala and then select out the top and bottom cards from your deck, face-down.
Consider that you are slowly entering into the flow of being (as we did in Gate 4) and to some extent, removing various possibilities (as we did in Gate 8).
Repeat this for 7 days until you have 14 cards (the number of Temperance) selected out. Discard the remaining cards and take the 14 cards now selected.
Next, for 14 more days, shuffle that stack of 14 cards whilst continuing to contemplate your Mandala and each day select out one card face-down and discard it.
Repeat this until on the 28th day (a lunar month) since starting this method, you have one remaining card.
This is your UNITY CARD.
You can now contemplate this card, look up our brief sentence starter given here for its spiritual lesson, and place it – if you wish – in the centre of your Mandala on top of your destiny card.
In the following month, we will see how using these two cards together can help us unlock our experience of reality. You will notice how this practice for the month is now moving us towards contemplative practice rather than external observation and experiment.
In Practice
You may wish to add this small elemental prayer to your practice as you engage with the Mandala contemplation and shuffling throughout the twenty-eight days. It is from the rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and calls us to unify the four elements of our nature.
LET US BE AS PATIENT AND LABORIOUS AS THE GNOMES OF EARTH, AVOIDING GROSSNESS AND AVARICE.
LET US BE AS FLEXIBLE AND ATTENTIVE TO IMAGES AS THE UNDINES OF WATER, AVOIDING IDLENESS AND CHANGEABILITY.
LET US BE AS ENERGETIC AND STRONG AS THE SALAMANDERS OF FIRE, AVOIDING IRRITABILITY AND FEROCITY.
LET US BE AS PROMPT AND ACTIVE AS THE SYLPHS OF AIR, AVOIDING FRIVOLITY AND CAPRICE.
The Unity Cards
Page of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape obsession and to engage in true acceptance.
Page of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape debating and to engage creating.
Page of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape endless questing and to engage in emotional testing.
Page of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape bearing the beliefs of others and to engage with bringing forth your own message.
10 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape the binds of security and to engage with securing your boundaries.
10 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape a fixed state of thinking and to engage fluidity.
10 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape resentment and to engage contentment.
10 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape carrying the burdens of others and to engage in caring for yourself.
WORLD XXI
Your path of unity is to escape responsibility and to engage in being frivolous.
JUDGEMENT XX
Your path of unity is to escape accountability and to engage indifference.
MOON XVIII
Your path of unity is to escape over-sensitive responses and to engage with rational thinking.
9 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape the need for security via money and to engage in a simpler way of living.
9 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape resolution and to engage dissolution.
9 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape pomposity and to engage in modesty.
9 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape defensiveness and to engage in trust.
SUN XIX
Your path of unity is to escape naivety and to engage reality.
STAR XVII
Your path of unity is to escape the darkness and to engage the path of vision.
TEMPERANCE XIV
Your path of unity is to escape moderation and to engage in innovation.
8 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape perfectionism and to engage in recuperation.
8 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape self-hate and to engage in self-care.
8 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape disengagement and to engage in engagement!
8 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape rashness and to engage in steadfastness.
HANGED MAN XII
Your path of unity is to stop hanging and to engage in standing.
DEVIL XV
Your path of unity is to escape pride and to engage your true state.
BLASTED TOWER XVI
Your path of unity is to escape the unpredictable and to engage the obvious.
7 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape perfectionism and to engage the joy of creating.
7 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape insecurity and to engage in ensuring your support.
7 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape the illusion and to engage in the reality.
7 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape those who stand against you and to engage with those who do.
DEATH XIII
Your path of unity is to escape fear and to engage life.
WHEEL X
Your path of unity is to escape the rotation and to engage in the revolution.
6 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape being drawn out and to engage in drawing yourself in.
6 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape relocation and to engage in being here now.
6 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape memory and to engage in creating legacy.
6 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape pride and to engage in leadership.
JUSTICE XI
Your path of unity is to escape the straightjacket and to engage in what is out the box.
LOVERS VI
Your path of unity is to escape choice and to engage consequence.
EMPEROR IV
Your path of unity is to escape every impulse and to engage in cultivation.
HERMIT IX
Your path of unity is to escape being an example and to engage in climbing higher yourself.
Knight of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape predictability and to engage in caprice.
Knight of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape rushing into the world and to engage in holding back.
Knight of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape your own quest and to engage in assisting others.
Knight of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape your own surety and to engage in open learning.
5 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape poverty of spirit and to engage the richness of experience.
5 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape holding your thoughts and to engage your thoughts into action.
5 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape the waste of the past and to engage in the potential of the future.
5 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape conflict and to engage construction.
CHARIOT VII
Your path of unity is to escape the rush and to engage the ride.
STRENGTH VIII
Your path of unity is to escape the struggle and to engage the right relationships.
4 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape withholding and to engage in treasuring.
4 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape withdrawal and to engage with challenges.
4 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape boredom and to engage opportunity.
4 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape distraction and to engage by following up invitation.
HEIROPHANT V
Your path of unity is to escape the rules and to engage your own faith.
3 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape proving yourself and to engage in your own construction.
3 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape the pain of loss and to engage in the joy of connection.
3 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape abandon and to engage with others.
3 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape risk and to engage patient investment.
EMPRESS III
Your path of unity is to escape waiting and to engage all that is naturally yours.
Queen of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape smothering and to engage mothering.
Queen of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape the battle and to engage the goal.
Queen of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape the dream and to engage the vision.
Queen of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape being forceful and to engage being fearless.
2 of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape trying to do everything and to engage in simplicity.
2 of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape deliberation and to engage activation.
2 of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape separation and to engage mutuality.
2 of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape procrastination and to engage activity.
King of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape complacency and to engage gratuity.
King of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape ruthless and casual disregard and to engage your intelligence.
King of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape half-measures and to engage your heart-depths in totality.
King of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape abusing power and to engage the power of wisdom.
HIGH PRIESTESS II
Your path of unity is to escape concealing and to engage revealing.
MAGICIAN I
Your path of unity is to escape deception and to engage perception.
Ace of Pentacles
Your path of unity is to escape attachment and to engage in the simple pleasure of creation.
Ace of Swords
Your path of unity is to escape your own mind and to engage in simple clarity.
Ace of Cups
Your path of unity is to escape endless giving and to engage in endless flowing.
Ace of Wands
Your path of unity is to escape holding fast to outworn beliefs and to engage a new future.