In synthesis, we have:
Observation Card = he who thinks, the subject
Observed Card = content of the thought, the object.
The reason for the name given to this Law should be clear: according to the dictionary, “to contemplate”, means at the same time, to observe, to think, to fix one’s attention on an object perceived principally by the intellect, to concentrate on something. However, if the personage of the Observed Card itself gazes in a certain direction, this also must be considered. In order to understand this concept, let us reconsider the example proposed in the preceding chapter: the Hierophant observes in the direction of the Priestess, that is, he thinks of the Priestess (his wife). At the same time, the Priestess also looks in the Hierophant’s direction, she thinks of him. Both cards gaze and, at the same time, are the content of thought. Therefore, the Observed Card and the Observation Card may coincide, simultaneously conserving various functions according to the plane of interpretation.
Fig. 20
The two cards gaze at each other
This is the dynamic of the Law of Contemplation: The gaze is focused on another card, which represents the content of its thought. It is an easy and intuitive dynamic, even if it may not seem to be. Thus, when during a reading another card is extracted, with a personage whose gaze is directed externally, in order to determine the content of this thought we must always place another Arcanum by its side, on the right or left. In the example of the preceding chapter, as the Hierophant was reversed, (a condition which implicates in any case the presence of the gaze, which simply changes direction), it was necessary to place a card beside it, the Star, which represented the content of the Hierophant’s thought.
Fig. 21
The Hierophant gazes at the Star
However, this Arcanum as well possessed a gaze...First, for simplicity’s sake, we decided not to proceed. Now, in order to follow the rules correctly, as in a true consultation, we must place another card in order to individuate the object or the person of interest. Let us hypothesize that we extract the Lover; and let us evaluate the presentation of this new situation.
Fig. 22
The Star gazes at the Lover
In this case we find the woman who gazes in the direction of love, the Lover, in which is illustrated a man disputed between two women...We will avoid elaborating on the meaning, as without a precise question it would not be possible.
In any case, we must declare the sequence closed, as no personage has a gaze turned outward. Consequently, this example also gives us the manner to sum up what we have already mentioned: in the Law of Contemplation, in order to place a card beside another Arcanum, another condition is obligatory: not only must the gaze of the personage be directed towards right or left, but must also exit the card, direct itself externally. In fact, as in Arcanum VI all eyes are oriented internally and the subjects look at each other, it is as if the card “does not look.”
Fig. 23
The gazes are “inside” the card
This Law makes a conspicuous contribution to the interpretation of the Tarot. It is to all effects, as it is with the Law of Duplicity, one of the simplest and most potent rules. To understand the reason, suffice it to reflect on the fact that, in this way, it is possible to know the thoughts of the illustrated personages, which are in effect the interests of the “flesh-and-bone” protagonists (men and women) and also if they represent Archetypes. It is a further evolution to which we refer for the sake of completeness but that, owing to its particular complexity, we will discuss separately in a different context.
7.2 The Law of Opportunity
A second and fundamental rule which disciplines the disposition of the cards, the Syntax, during a practical reading, is the Law of Opportunity (or of Resolution). In this case, as well we find an objective rule. In order to understand its mechanism, it is necessary first to consider one point: if we hypothesize the existence of a solution-principle, this must necessarily be tied to a problem-principle. To verify this idea, let us observe again the 3x7 Diagram:
Fig. 24
The 3x7 Diagram
Among all the cards, there is one whose position is completely different compared to the others: the Hanged Man. It is the only Arcanum in which the figure is physiologically reversed, that is, when the card is placed correctly as are the others, with the number above, the personage is actually upside down.
We have already mentioned this; but simple observation of the iconography is enough to see that the man, bound to a sort of gallows (which brings to mind hanging, as is suggested by the many Tarot decks that copy this idea), is in a condition of immobility and impotence, a problematic state. This allows us to suppose that, as in the Tarot all is codified, a card “normally” reversed, which symbolizes a problem, suggests that this position has a special significance related to the concept of difficulty. Therefore, in the course of the reading we must consider that a card extracted in a reverse position indicates a problem, an obstacle for that personage or that Archetype:
Reversed Position -- Problem Card
This position is objectively disciplined and reminds us that we must interpret the cards in both positions. To develop a reading with only right side up cards would be legitimate but incomplete, as extraction may occur in either direction. What, then, should be our action in the case of a reversed card? The answer, according to the Law of Contemplation, is simple and powerful. As in everyday life, in order to solve a problem, we must find a solution, thus in the Tarot we need to extract another card and place it above, “in the sky of”, the reversed one, to be able to resolve the problem. In the example, to allow the Hierophant to be right side up, restoring him to his natural condition, we must place a card above him, the Opportunity (or Resolution) Card:
The Opportunity Card is placed above the Problem Card.
Fig. 25
Opportunity Card
As the subject is of extreme interest, we will open a brief parenthesis.
To Offer a Solution
As is known to the many lovers of the Tarot, the cards are principally used today for divination, predicting the future. Passing over the great general problems regarding this utilization, of which we will speak later, we wish to concentrate on one of the more evident difficulties relevant to this practice. To exemplify it, we will use an anecdote.
One day, during a course, one of the participants told of a consultation with a cartomancer of his city. The man narrated that, at the end of the reading, the woman, somewhat troubled, wrote a brief message on a scrap of paper and gave it to him sealed, telling him to read it only after he had arrived home. Taking his leave of the fortune-teller, the man departed, respecting her instructions. On his way home, however, he was involved in a traffic accident in which, although the drivers were not injured, the vehicles were badly damaged. Some days later, having gotten over the residual shock, he remembered the small note, which he found and read, finding, amazed, the following words: “Imminent danger with the auto”. What had happened? The woman had foreseen the event without being able to intervene in order to avoid it. What does this teach us?
The tale emphasizes one of the greatest limits that have always characterized cartomancy: the impossibility to offer solutions to problems that may arise during a reading. It is not unusual to hear stories of individuals who, approaching a study of the Tarot, have become quite frightened. Why? Usually the triggering factor consists in having found themselves facing a negative situation before which they feel such a sense of impotence and inevitability, to find themselves at the point at which they decide never again to use the Arcana. This behaviour is not to be blamed, on the contrary. How may we use an instrument which leaves us so passive and incapable of answering in the face of certain events? What sense is there in being able to predict them? Fortunately, it is not thus; as, knowing the true essence of the Tarot, we discover that it offers solutions that the con
sultant may apply (in accordance with his own free will), avoiding that attitude of inevitability and resignation typical of a fatalistic point of view. In the case of our tale, if the cartomancer had known the Law of Opportunity, facing the danger of an accident she would have been able to suggest the manner, indicated by the Tarot, to avoid the danger.
This circumstance would have given inestimable value to the consultation. We wish to emphasize our own point of view with this last, obvious, reflection, hoping that no extremistic thinker will raise his voice, opposing divination in all its forms, preferring bad luck to good. In another chapter we will examine this subject again more vastly and in detail. In any case, we wish to emphasize up front that the Tarot, as much as any other instrument of aid and support, is able to give precious help, equal to that offered by modern Science. The great difference is that, in the case of the Icons, the counsel received originates from a marvellous extra-ordinary Intelligence of infinite capacities! In our opinion, then, one of the enormous advantages deriving from the discovery of the Coded Structure is precisely the individuation of this Law of Opportunity whose application RADICALLY changes the approach to the reading, even to the “forecasted” one.
7.3 Example of a Reading
At this point, it seems indispensable to describe the dynamic of an actual proper reading, in order to allow the reader a more realistic and detailed comprehension than is possible during practice. In order for our exposition to be clear, we must be allowed some preliminary considerations. Usually, at least in popular iconography, a Tarot consultation occurs thus: a woman (or less frequently a man, but it makes no difference), dressed as a gypsy, with a turban and a crystal ball, cards on the table, declaims the future to the interlocutor... In fact, according to the collective imagination, to read the Tarot means to go to someone who tells us something about ourselves or about our future. We do not imagine at all that we will need to answer questions, but only that we will receive answers...
This is a great error: in the Science of the Tarot, the fundamental requisite is that the tarologist will know the correct questions to ask the consultant. Actually, the reading is a series of targeted questions which allows the interpreter of the Tarot to individuate the problem (or problems) and the relative solutions or answers. In this discipline, to ask does not mean to not know; it does not mean to wish to understand, or worse, to wheedle out, facts, in order to avoid an embarrassing silence or because we find nothing to say. To ask questions has quite another significance as it allows us to exclude certain possibilities not pertinent to the context. In fact, every Tarot reading offers as many combinations as possible for the extracted cards, which derive from the precise “linguistic” rules of which we have often spoken. The tarologist’s task, possible only thanks to the interview, is to discard from the limited range of hypotheses, those which are not appropriate.
Acting in this manner, with certain questions, whose number also depends on the degree of experience of the professional, the consultant will be asked well-aimed and completely relevant questions with respect to his own query. This will be, for him, a subject of deep reflection. Let us attempt to describe the development of a reading held by a competent tarologist, requested by a consultant in true and deep need of help.
He must confide nothing more than the initial question (and possible denials to certain questions for greater clarity), and immediately the queries of the tarologist will be seen to be quite pertinent with respect to the problem to which they seek a solution. Led by observation of the symbols, Codes and Laws of the Tarot, the tarologist will begin to ask questions which, thanks to the consultant’s replies, will rapidly become ever more relevant and specific to that situation.
The need for this manner of proceeding is not only esoterical. The symbols in the Tarot are universal, macrocosmic, and adaptable to any context. For this reason it is necessary insert them into the microcosm of a question, so that they may manifest with a perfectly appropriate sense. This process of approach, comparable to a sort of “anchoring” to the consultant’s world, hinges on the questions, which guide the tarologist along the route to follow.
In any case, there is also a psychological aspect. Owing to the extreme profundity reached by a Tarot reading, it is easy to find ourselves facing themes of particular delicacy. Thus, asking questions of the consultant, rather than making affirmations, means to leave him completely free to choose whether to answer or not. At the same time, it allows the tarologist to gradually understand what sort of awareness his consultant has developed regarding that particular subject. The consultation, in fact, has the objective to bring to the light of consciousness, aspects that are not yet very clear or completely unresolved. This is an evolution which must not unfold in a traumatic manner, but must occur slowly, allowing this same tarologist to regulate its progression in order to arrive trustingly at a new level of comprehension. In substance, it is he who establishes the rhythm and timing of the dialogue.
Otherwise, there would be an effect somewhat like a tooth extraction without anesthesia, risking causing great pain rather than relief. In this way, instead, we learn gradually to always express ourselves through words, learning also that that there is no difference between asking something that is revealed to be of an amazing and millimetrical precision, and affirming it.
Furthermore, to state without asking is a sign of great presumption, a defect that is the worst enemy of a tarologist. His task is not to place himself as protagonist of the reading, but to come in aid to the consultant that he may, almost automatically, guided by the Tarot, resolve his own doubts and interior blocks.
In light of what we have said, it should not surprise us that the following consultation follows the scheme which we have described. With the premise that it is an actual reading, here is the question of the consultant, a woman of about forty:
“Is my current sentimental relationship positive for me?”
Fig. 26
The first 3 Cards
After shuffling the cards, being sure to rotate them clockwise and anticlockwise as well, in order to offer all possible positionings of the cards, we extract three. These represent Past-Present-Future, the base from which we begin the reading.
To gain a certain orientation, let us consider the primary reflections that come to the tarologist’s mind.
First, all three cards are right side up, which would seem to indicate that there are no particular problems. As there are two personages who form a man-woman couple, the Priestess and the Hierophant, and the question being on a sentimental subject, this is a relevant fact. Furthermore, the central Lover card, which obviously indicates love, should be considered the card that describes the situation of this couple, its environment. And what might it suggest? Quite probably that this is a matter of two persons in love. It is thus that, having formulated his first hypotheses, the tarologist may begin asking the first questions of the consultant. These queries are not casual or arbitrary, but closely tied to what he has observed or decoded from the Arcana through his theoretical knowledge.
Tarologist: is the person of whom we are speaking, your partner, a man?
This might seem a superfluous question at first. We might be wrong! In fact, at this stage, we are not even sure that the Hierophant represents the companion of the consultant; we might face a relationship different from the traditional man-woman sort. Therefore, it is better to ask.
Consultant: yes.
Tarologist: Are you in love? Have you known each other long?
Consultant: Yes, we are in love, and we have not known each other long. We are still in the falling-in-love phase...
It is certainly not possible not to note the precision of the card which we have called environmental in describing the current situation of the couple.
Tarologist: Is he married, or a father?
These last two questions arise from the keyword present in the Hierophant’s card, “paternity” (which w
e have already seen before) and matrimony (which we deduce from the decryption and iconography of the Priest-Hierophant card, inside a temple, facing a couple). Why ask ourselves these questions? Would it not be enough to have individuated his companion in the Hierophant card? No, because as the man has been illustrated as Hierophant, and not, for example, as Emperor (who is a male personage as well), it signifies that the Tarot is fixing its attention on still other aspects regarding the personage. Each card, in fact, contains stratified information, which explains why it is “preferred” above others.
Consultant: He’s not married but he was before; he’s not a father. His profession is that of maître.
Tarologist: the Hierophant is the archetype of the Professor, as esoterically he transmits his knowledge to the two acolytes present in the card. He finds himself in a more elevated position because his knowledge is superior. This function corresponds perfectly to the qualification which you describe, the maître (in this case, maitre d’), which translates literally to master, who “knows more” as well.
We should note that in this case, it is the consultant who furnishes information to the tarologist. In any case, the information received becomes increasingly a bridge of union between the two participants in the consultation. Before proceeding, we must also note the manner in which the original question of the woman is fully described in the keywords of the first three cards extracted in reply, which describe the relationship of a man-woman couple (cards III and V), who find themselves in the so-called falling-in-love phase (card VI which, being in effect is, precisely, current...) This is a fact to emphasize as, usually, in the first cards of a reading, we find the precise Arcana containing the keywords concerning the question: a decidedly improbable frequency, this, which goes totally against the habitual laws of statistics. At this point, as the Hierophant has an outwardly directed gaze, turned towards the future, we must place another card beside him: and here is the Star.
The Tarot Code Page 18