Everyone has a bias. Maybe a nicer way to put that would be to say that everyone has strong preferences. Even if they don't go so far as to label things good and bad... most people have preferences. In the world of tarot, some like to focus on the known history of Tarot, and stick to evidence and established facts. Others like to speculate wildly about tarot's origins and purpose. In readings, some prefer to use what this site is calling Flexible Association techniques, where we let our mind wander away from the context and content of a symbol, looking outwards to who knows where, until we feel as though we have arrived at a significant conclusion. Other prefer to use what this site is calling Focused Imagination techniques, where we acknowledge a chosen or unchosen context and seek to understand the meaning of a symbol by looking inward, to determine its archetypal roots relative to that content and context.

I have preferences too. If this is not the first page of this site being read, then my bias, or preferences, might already be evident. If the tools of personality analysis being offered on this site have been utilized, the motivations behind my preferences might be well understood already. Bias, or preferences, are inevitable, as we all tend to express ourselves in ways that reveal which numbers of numerology influence us the most. This is true today, and has been throughout all of human existence - that is... if we believe the fundamental, archetypal patterns being explained on this site are indeed representative of a transcendental, Universal Blueprint. I tend to believe that they are.

Within the pages of this site that are devoted to applying the Universal Blueprint of primordial patterns to personality analysis, it is suggested that the influence of certain parts of this blueprint are more commonly seen than others, among the personality traits of humans. The theoretical model of existence being put forth on this site is created by a process of coagulation. Universally - it is suggested - existence coagulates. Similarly - it is suggested - people coagulate too, to form social realities of existence. As social realities emerge, cities evolve. Like galaxies in space, cities are clusters of people, coagulating. Like galaxies in space, cities have limits to their size. No matter how large, they eventually taper off to rural pastures of much less populated or even empty areas. All of the models on this site describe this tapering effect of manifestation. This tapering effect is what makes certain parts of our theoretical model more common than others.

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Majority Rule

Most of us are familiar with the concept of Majority Rule. Important decisions, within groups, are often made using Majority Rule. What that means is that ideas that the majority find agreeable are adopted, endorsed and promoted, and those with less support are either ignored, banned, or left to seek more popularity amid a sea of expressed opposition... or bias... or preference. Throughout history, there are stories of ideas that have been rejected by the majority, because of how they do not express a certain preference. Through persistence and perseverance, some of these ideas prevail, and find popularity. Others, if not explicitly banned, or burned at the stake, find a home in the periphery of history as eccentric alternatives to consider.

As the majority rules, their ideas coagulate into a social reality. As time goes by, the history of the majority is the one that gets written, and their ideas are the ideas that are best preserved. As their ideas survive the natural selection process, people who do not share the bias, or preference, of the majority are forced to adapt their life around that of the majority and the social reality that is established by their beliefs. But... a preferred reality is not necessarily the only description of reality possible. In the essay The Totality of Reality, it is suggested that the nine numbers of our number line are like nine different windows of partial perception upon a gradually objective reality. Unfortunately... many, many, many people simply follow the leader when it comes to ideas, beliefs, and social reality, causing a limited number of these partial windows of perception to be utilized. People most likely to take on a roll of leader know this, and often use it to recruit the masses and build the cluster that will become the majority... and thereby rule.

So who rules?

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It's a 4/6 World Out There!

In the essays on Personality Type Analysis (seen elsewhere on this site) a theory is put forth to suggest that, indeed, there is an uneven distribution in the number of people who represent each numerical type. For various reasons, including the tapering effect just mentioned above, it will be found that in most random samplings of populations, a disproportionately high number of people will be seen to be expressing the 4/6 Visceral personality type (that's my unproven theory anyway, based largely on personal observation).

In the essay discussing virtues and vices, we observed how some of the more popular, or commonly known virtues, sacred to society at large, could be seen as multiple expressions of a single number on our number line model. Quite a few of these virtues and vices fit rather well with the number 6, a few more seemed to fit well with the number 4, and a couple with the number 5. It was thus reasoned that the popularity of certain virtues - the ones that express the sensibilities of the 4/6 type - would logically arise, given that the 4/6 types are so typically oriented toward social interaction and the politics of human behavior - more so than the other numbers of our number line system.

Thus it becomes my theory that within any random sampling of any typical population we will more than likely see the sensibilities of the 4/6 Visceral personality type dominating the landscape. In other words: it's a 4/6 world out there! There are, obviously many things that do not fit the sensibilities of the 4/6 type. And those ideas do get expressed and preserved in many ways. But, like all our models, these other views tend to decrease in number and popularity as we move to the periphery of sensibilities and personality types. The 4/6 types are definitely the movers and shakers and trend setters of any society, having the most power and influence. They are the participators - whether they be leaders or followers. And because there is indeed strength in numbers, their sensibilities will not be denied. If they are, there is more than likely to be a fight... or a war.

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Consider the Source

When I wrote the book All Things Are Numbers (seen elsewhere on this site) I was very young. I started with nothing but a High School education and some common sense. I was an average to below average student with very little proclivity toward reading - especially difficult subjects like philosophy and religion, or even the more in-depth books on tarot. Mostly I just tried to figure things out for myself, my own way, using my own common sense, and my own mixture of logic and intuition. It is only recently - decades later - that I am beginning to read about other approaches to these ideas of wisdom and systems. In some instances I am being pleasantly surprised to find ideas that match my own, giving me some encouragement that I might be on to something. But, alas, there are many areas of wisdom out there that I do not agree with. In these areas, I have found quite often that when I am in disagreement with another wisdom system, the ideas being proposed seem to express the sensibilities of the 4/6 type. As I talk to others (another activity that has only occurred recently) I hear people expressing these beliefs with great conviction. So much so, that when I ask them to consider alternatives, they resist, often to a point of hostility.

Despite resistance, I pursue alternative views that don't necessarily jibe with the dominant 4/6 Visceral perspective that seems to dominate the landscape of wisdom and wisdom systems. Thus it could be said that - in spite of many similarities - I have a bias that moves me away from the traditional views of the 4/6 majority... if only because I see more out there than the 4/6 majority is showing me. But whether I choose to accept or reject the 4/6 perspective, I always try to take a step back, and consider the source of any wisdom, and acknowledge whatever bias or preference it might bring to the table. In discussing ideas pertaining to wisdom and systems, I also try to encourage others to do the same, and consider the source and its bias... and in the case of the dominant 4/6 perspective, consider what a dominant 4/6 point of view does, for or against the quality of wisdom a system has.

Everyone is free to believe what they want. In the olden days, that was not necessarily true. In the olden days, people were put to death to silence their alternative views. Some of these alternative views have survived anyway. Some of these ideas represent the sensibilities of other number types outlined elsewhere on this site. But my observations have revealed to me an abundance of views, coming down to me from history, that look as though the were invented by, or crafted to cater to the sensibilities of the 4/6 Visceral type. The problem I have with this is that I, myself, am not much of a 4/6 type! So whereas the majority of people might easily buy into these 4/6 ideas as resonating perfectly with their soul, and thereby accept them as Divine Truth revealed, I do not necessarily agree. And whereas the somewhat predictable abundance of agreement found for the value of these 4/6 ideas might also lead some to suspect that they are indeed Universal Truths that apply to everyone, I don't think they necessarily do.

To me, many of the 4/6 ideas I encounter grate on my sensibilities, as they attempt to inform and instruct me, with wisdom, on how to perceive the world and live within it in very "4/6" ways. Even some of the 4/6 ideas that I agree with and use, are often put forth with such conviction as to suffer from zealous fervor and blind faith, as people are characteristically quick to embrace anything that seems universal and true... if it appeals to their 4/6 sensibilities. To many, these words of wisdom are sacred utterances, from sacred figures, speaking to us from a theoretically more enlightened past of long ago and far away. To me they are just ideas to accept or reject. But, to some, rejecting them may seem misguided or even blasphemous. I, however, will refuse to be pressured into accepting ideas that I don't like, simply because the majority thinks they resonate. I insist on considering the source, when contemplating the nature and ultimate value of ideas.

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The Wisdom of Wisdom

Because so many people have cultivated, and historically recorded the 4/6 Visceral personality type for so many years, this number has a multitude of characteristics associated to it. But when reduced to basic abstract ideas, extracted from a theoretical model of existence, what appears to be many characteristics can be seen to have a single motivating factor.

Being influenced by the coagulated cluster, the 4/6 type is very social. The cluster is where opposites come together and marry, mix, and blend. They trade sides. They share parts of each other with each other. They give and take. The cluster is comparable to the fiery core of a planet. It is a region of high pressure and unharnessed power. The 4/6 types are largely about the harnessing of that power - getting it, and using it. The fiery core of a planet, and our theoretical model, represents the substantive body of existence. The 4/6 types are typically concerned with substance, the substance of things, and the relative value or worth of things based on the quality of their substance, as well as the ownership of those things of value. Passing through an existing model of existence was seen as easy at the 2/8 stage, but difficult through the coagulated mass at the 4/6 stage. Thus, the 4/6 type acknowledges the concept of work and labor, especially as it pertains to serving the welfare of the coagulated mass, i.e. society.

The connection of some 4/6 generated ideas to abstract patterns from a theoretical model might be harder to explain than others. And by the time this essay is through one might question "What's left for the other numbers to contribute?" But whether the connection to the 4/6 stage of our theoretical model of existence is definable or not, the following are a few of the philosophical, metaphysical, and spiritual ideas I've been encountering that give me reason to pause and want to consider the source...

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In one essay, I have already pointed out my objections to a few things, like the idea of rejecting material existence as an obstacle to enlightenment. The idea that our manifest form is a mistake, or a Fall from grace that must be redeemed by rejecting it, stripping it away, alchemistically burning, boiling and distilling it to escape a finite prison, is a point of view that sounds very 4/6-like to me. Being heavily influenced by the mass or cluster of substance that is contained by the 3/7 skin of our theoretical model of existence, the concept of being trapped within that theoretical skin, or our literal skin, is not uncommon... for a 4/6 type. Our model of existence does emerge and coagulate from the unity of nothingness. And releasing the grip of manifestation would be required if one were to return along that path back to the nothingness from which we came. But I object to the notion that our existence is a mistake to be corrected, or filth to be cleansed, or a disease to be cured. To some - like, maybe an optimist for example - manifest existence is an opportunity, not a burden. To some, being given a unique form with which to sense is special, not an obstacle. To some, life is a gift, not a punishment. Thus, I see equal value in both gripped and released forms of existence. But then, I am not a 4/6 type, so the feelings of being trapped in my own skin, and wanting to escape at any cost do not plague my mind as much as others. Am I misguided?

In another essay, I object to the idea that the embrace of opposites, or dualities, and the likes and dislikes of life affirming vs. life detracting things must always lead to addictive attachments that bind us to the material existence that imprisons us in the material Hell on Earth that some view our manifest life to be. The idea of renouncing all attachment to material things, and rejecting opposites and dualities because of how they lead to likes and dislikes that will inevitably lead to addictions and aversions is very 4/6-like (with maybe a pinch of 2/8). Again, being intimately related to the idea of a coagulated mass, the idea of coagulation, i.e. collecting together of parts into a whole, makes the 4/6 type naturally acquisitive and possessive. To maintain the coagulated mass, all the parts need to hold on to each other for dear life, and never let go. Thus the idea of never letting go, leads to the idea of possessiveness and addiction with codependence. Taken to extremes, this could indeed make someone feel like they are being held in the grip of a prison, or hunkered down in a fortress they can't escape. The problem I have is how certain philosophies address this dilemma by advocating a complete pendulum swing to the other extreme of letting go of everything. Again, releasing the grip of manifestation will lead us out to another realm. But the idea put forth by some philosophies that we can't be happy in our own skin, and that our ultimate goal in life should be to get the hell out of our manifest state and back to unity... I find objectionable.

In perpetuating philosophies that see our manifest Earthly existence as a Hell to rise above, many place the goal of spirituality, and the idea of Heaven that embodies it, above us. In this way, the path of this ultimate goal of getting the hell out of here and reuniting with Unity and "God" is seen as hierarchical. Building a ladder out, from the core, to the unity of nothingness, reflects the extroverted perspective of a 4/6 type. Thus, the 4/6 type tends to view the world in terms of hierarchies, and rankings of things and people (again, assessing the value of substance). Occasionally, though, they corrupt this simple organizational technique into hierarchies of obligatory respect for those above in rank... leading to things like "hazing" that we often see in corrupted social structures, where someone is taught to kneel down and respect (a.k.a. fear) those above them in rank and are made to feel that their lower rank makes them a piece of shit by comparison. Some hierarchical respect is worthy, when earned. But all too often it is demanded and imposed. Demanded and imposed by people with a 4/6 personality type. And subsequently followed by those whose 4/6 personality recognizes the need for such structures in society, and so obediently follow and, maybe... if ambitious, attempt to climb the ladder, so as to not be in fear of so many above them etc, etc. It is an incentive technique. It can work well, if done right. But too many social structures abuse it. And, because so many people suffer from low self esteem to begin with, it works well - people almost expect it or feel uncomfortable without it. It would be my personal preference to object to the "fear of God" ideas put into our minds by hierarchical 4/6 types.

Another idea that sort of follows from the "fear of God" idea of hierarchies that rank people and their worthiness, is the idea of "Service to the Lord." Because of the mechanical nature of multiple parts working together to perpetuate the substance of a mass, the idea of work and duty is keen in the mind of the 4/6 type. If convinced that all attachments to material existence are an obstacle to enlightenment that should be abandoned, the only work left for people to engage in is service to the Lord. The problem is, the way many of these philosophies present this opportunity to serve the Lord in ways that are not too dissimilar to that of the "likes" that we have just been instructed to renounce and relinquish. Thus we find that... because of their intimate connection to putting value on things, the 4/6 mentality invents philosophies of relinquishing ambition that entice us to do so with incentives of even higher reward. Thus we see incentives asking us to renounce and relinquish accompanied with explanations of what we will get, if we let go. This same idea carries right over to the idea of charity, and statements that promise that everything given will return tenfold! Thus it is that the 4/6 type has to be persuaded to give by being promised to get. Just look at the tactics employed by your local PBS television station. They promise to give you a gift, if you give them money. Why are they enticing me to give money, by giving me money... or the gift equivalent of money? It makes no sense to a 1/9 type, but it makes perfect sense to the 4/6 type... and PBS stations know that the 4/6 types - because of their naturally acquisitive nature - are the ones most likely to have money. So they play the "give and get" game with them.

Along the same lines as providing incentive to renounce and relinquish by promising a reward of what will be gotten... the idea of reincarnation of an immortal soul is a perfectly crafted concept for those who would otherwise feel a loss upon death. Some philosophies put forth an idea that each life is an individual drop of water that eventually returns to the sea... back to a blended whole, no longer distinguishable as an individual soul. In one essay I propose the idea that each life is like a snowflake that crystallizes into a uniquely beautiful display of underlying archetypal patterns, and then melts away... never to see another one exactly like it ever again. To me, that is an equally compelling notion of an afterlife state of death. But the idea of permanent loss of life upon death does not sit comfortably with those who have an inborn tendency to cling. Thus, it does not surprise me at all to find a need for eternal life with no loss coming from a mentality intimately associated with the abstract concept of a mass of parts holding on for dear life. So... we are persuaded to let go, by being told that there will be no loss, because... if we were told that there is loss, we would hold on too tight and develop those dreaded attachments and addictions. Is this really the only way of looking at life and death? Why can't there be loss upon death, such that we value and cherish the gift of life given to us, and embrace life affirming things as "Good?" Is addictive attachment really so inevitable... for everyone... or just the coagulating, clustering, gripping, clinging, acquisitive 4/6 types? Because of their addictive tendencies, the rest of us have to accept beliefs we don't believe? What these 4/6 philosophies are overlooking is that there is a natural born tendency toward detachment with each of our other personality types, as illustrated elsewhere on this site, with the Apart-Together model!

Many, many, many... TOO MANY philosophies tend to ignore, or not fairly represent, the sensibilities of ALL types. Detachment is natural for a 1/9 type. But because the 4/6 types are the majority, their needs to acquire this level of detachment become the guiding force behind spiritual beliefs. In the Tarot, The Hermit already has this detachment. There is no need to lecture him about letting go, and moving toward the oneness of unity. We have such types in real life too. But because they live in isolation, out beyond the scope of most 4/6 types, they, and their state of mind, are not acknowledged within philosophies designed to address the concerns of a 4/6 majority. This is clearly a bias, that anyone studying any kind of philosophy - spiritual or otherwise - should always be aware of and look for.

In another essay I object to another popular idea... this one concerning the nature of reality, and the acknowledgement of our inability to know whether the reality we think we know might in fact be a grand deception perpetuated upon us by an undisclosed source with malicious intent to deceive. Deception, and the ideas of doubt that this perspective puts into our minds, is also typically 4/6 in character. Because a 4/6 type is so intimately connected to the idea of substance and the power of a core of existence, the idea of whether any particular core of existence actually has the power and substance it pretends to have is something a 4/6 type would be both adept at assessing, and concerned with knowing. After encountering a few examples of existence that don't have much substance or power, and perhaps being deceived a few times along the way, a 4/6 type could easily develop a certain lack of trust in things that lack proven substance. As this general lack of trust in things grows, theories about reality that attempt to reveal reality as a grand deception are embraced by those with a keen interest in exposing lies, and alerting others to how easily we can all be deceived. But, as I point out, this theory itself carries a bit of deception, as the existence, or at the very least the sinister motives, of a source perpetuating a deception upon us is as unprovable as the idea itself.

The idea of reincarnation, and whether someone "believes" in it or not, also ties into this idea of trust and the testing of faith in things that can't be proven. This is a very important concept for a 4/6 type. People who live on the 1/9 periphery of our theoretical model of existence are typically loners and hermits... or at least independent minded individualists. People who live in the thick of things, at the core, where parts hold on for dear life to perpetuate a manifest entity, know the importance of trust in others. Unfortunately this has a tendency to lead to groups or clusters of people who only trust each other, and eventually develop suspicions about anyone not willing to join their group and think like them. Known as the "Us and Them" mentality, it promotes a culture of groupthink, where people who naturally follow will not allow themselves to think on their own, but will only think in terms of the collective mentality of the group. This is why many of the people who are not of a 4/6 mindset often object to the idea of belonging to, and attending, a "church" where religion, in their view, is often more about the social atmosphere than the advertised spirituality of enlightenment and union with "God." To a highly social 4/6 type this is kind of hypocrisy not a problem. To a 1/9 individualist type, it is. Who is wrong? Is the 1/9 individualist going to go to Hell if he doesn't join a church and become part of the collective? Will the 1/9 individualist be swept away by the coming flood, if he doesn't get on board? This idea of deadly consequence to those who don't accept the views and rules of a particular "church" and join up, is how groups recruit and hold members. Fear is a prime motivator... especially among the 4/6 type. Thus, it works well for a lot of 4/6 types. But, it tends to fall on deaf ears with 1/9 individualists. I don't want to choose God out of fear of consequences, no matter how clear the wager!

This idea of joining a group and "belonging" is a very, very, VERY.... EXTREMElY!!! important concept to the 4/6 type. Because of this, another dilemma, or hypocrisy of philosophy appears, as relinquishing attachments to achieve enlightenment should, and in some cases does, include detaching from the emotional attachment people have to the people and groups they belong to... the groups that in turn "own" and in many cases define them as people. Some philosophies point out that the path away from Earthly manifestation toward Heavenly enlightenment results in a solitary existence, as the concept of oneness that we are pursuing is itself not a group of things that we join, but is in fact one thing... the self. Thus it would not surprise me to learn that giving up others, to find the self, to be one of the hardest parts of the enlightenment recipe for 4/6 types to accept, follow and accomplish. A spiritual philosophy might get a 4/6 type to relinquish all their physical attachments to things, but NOT the people at the other end of their cell phone!! Some philosophies try to skirt this dilemma by promising that enlightenment leads to a Kingdom in Heaven filled with people living perfect lives. All our dead friends will be there to greet us, and all our living friends will be joining us, so don't worry, we're not really giving up anything! Is this a kluge?

The idea of letting go reveals how insecure the 4/6 types are. This is why they want to help others find their way into their church, so that those people they are trying to save don't have to be insecure, like they are... they can have something to hang on to. Thus, as the aforementioned service to the Lord becomes their only work, saving souls becomes their only focus. Unfortunately, much of this work is not done for the benefit of those being saved, but instead is often done only to give the insecure 4/6 person more to hold on to them self. Thus the acquisitive nature of the 4/6 type turns an altruistic notion of saving others into a selfish need to have more and more souls to surround and protect them, and increase the power of numbers that goes with them. The more people on board, the easier it is to hold on to faith. One doubter, can unravel the whole thing. Thus, many insist that all should join... or else... suffer deadly consequences.

This idea of insecurity, and the idea of finding the self, versus having a group define who we are, is also related to the idea of whether the mass of substance at the core of our theoretical model of existence actually has any substance at all. This, then becomes another obstacle to enlightenment, as the 4/6 types that have such an acute sense of substance will wince at the idea of looking for their own substance, out of a fear that they will find nothing of value. Thus it is that so many people (4/6 types being the majority) have such low self esteem. They seek friends, because they are incapable of being their own friend... because, when they look at their self they see a big blob of worthless shit. Which, of course, leads us back to the first idea in this essay, of seeing our manifest state as a worthless piece of shit that needs to be cleansed and purified in order to be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven.

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The Tip of the Iceberg

Those are just a few of the philosophical and spiritual ideas that I, as a not-so-4/6 type, have a problem accepting. There are others that I could go into, like; How they turn everything into a matter of power or empowerment, and how their insecurities lead them to preemptive strikes of fighting. Or how, if not power, they turn everything into a matter of sex. Or how their acquisitive nature causes them to covet whatever they don't have, making the grass always greener somewhere else. Or... how their acquisitve, side-swapping nature causes them to add an obligatory gift giving ritual to every holiday they possibly can. Or how they typically quantify the value of their affections with expensive gifts like jewelry. And, with jewelry, also flaunt their wealth to others. Or how the highly social nature of a 4/6 type will typically anthropomorphize spiritual ideas like "God" into a "Him" or "He," whereas other types are comfortable with notions of "God" being an "it." And... how anthropomorphizing "God" leads to things like "Hero worship" or for that matter the very idea of worship itself at any level, as God, or other entities, are compulsively placed at the top of a hierarchical ladder of worthiness (remember Elvis, and Beatlemania? Remember Wayne and Garth excaiming that "we're not worthy" every time they met a hero?). The hierarchical view reinforces the worthiness problem which leads to notions of our manifest form being something that holds us back.

Some philosophies warn people to not confuse the anthropomorphized icon of "God" with the actual transcendent notions of "God." I say... why not make notions of "God" as abstract as possible, to avoid this confusion in the first place? Why present a deception, only to reveal that this "person" isn't really a person after all, but a concept? The answer is... because it WORKS in the minds of the highly social 4/6 "people-person" types who are best engaged on a human level. Thus, the human form is bait, to lure us into a greater understanding of "Him." And it works... at least for the 4/6 masses. Whereas other numerological personality types might find it to be either deceptive or superfluous.

This is indeed the tip of the iceberg. The sensibilities of the 4/6 majority are so firmly woven into the fabric of belief throughout history, that many will surely reject this whole essay as stupidity, bigotry or heresy from a wholly unenlightened person who just doesn't "get it." They may be saying "Oh come on... everyone thinks like this" and... they would be very nearly correct, because indeed - as theorized - the majority of people do. But the purpose of this essay is to point out that the majority is not everyone, it is just the majority. And the majority is not always correct in what they choose to believe, or in what they ask the rest of us to believe. The idea that the "4/6" way is not necessarily the only way will undoubtedly be rejected by those emotionally invested in these traditional views, especially those handed down from revered sources in history.

The ideas on this site - while occasionally exhibiting some similarities to, or even utilizing some 4/6 traditions - is mostly an alternative... for people with numbers other than 4 or 6 as their dominant influence. No one way is the truest. So we should always consider the source, when examining ideas as important as enlightenment, the self, and life.

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What's Left?

As mentioned at the beginning of this essay, some might be asking what is left for the other numbers to contribute? How are the other personality types seen, within systems of wisdom handed down to us from the past? Well... as we have just described, the 4/6 Visceral personality provides the bulk of what we have today - the overriding substance. In the tarot, this idea of substance is symbolized by The Emperor (a 4). The ideas of a mass holding on for dear life are symbolized by The Lovers (a 6). Also, the ideas about doubt and deception are symbolized by The Devil (another 6). As we move outward from the 4/6 core, we see how other number types contribute to the world of ideas.

As we move out from our 4/6 core, we see how the 3/7 Sensorial personality provides for us, the love and compassion that most religions are known for. In many traditional wisdom systems, "God" ... as a 3/7 entity, instructs us to love "Him" and to love each other, and that "He" will in turn love us. In the tarot, this idea of love, as well as the beauty of "the hand of God" is accurately symbolized with The Empress (a 3). The idea of spiritual transport, and the bliss of connecting to spiritual forces, is adequately symbolized by The Chariot (a 7). The 3/7 type is probably the second most prevalent type out there. Thus, the sensibilities of the sensitive Sensorial type are typically mixed together with the sensibilities of the 4/6, to produce a hybrid result. Thus, as the 4/6 sensibilities anthropomorphize spirituality, the "person" that results is typically one devoted to the expression of love and beauty, solace and comfort - a human sanctuary. Likewise, when the love of a 3/7 is combined with the wealth of a 4/6, the idea of charity is born.

Unfortunately, the sensibilities of any type can be reversed, causing a hybrid result that is unpleasant... like that of a "God" who, as a 3/7 entity, can also be about violent wrath (like the Tower card of tarot.. another 7), and the pain and suffering of life (like the Hanged Man... a 3). This idea of an adverse hybrid can then lead to situations like... devotees attempting to recruit (4/6) with love (3/7)... and... when rejected, declaring that if someone doesn't get on board (4/6), they will suffer (3/7). This is how the "Us and Them" mentality, fostered by the 4/6 types, gets turned into wars with killing... by the 3/7 types. The 4/6 types provide the desire to fight, and the 3/7 types provide the willingness to kill. The 4/6 types provide the anger, the 3/7 types provide the hate. Thus, it seems that the love of "God" is not exactly universal... and is easily bruised! According to these hybrid philosophies, it's often a matter of: Love God... or go to Hell! Love God, the way we do, or... be strung up to die, like The Hanged Man. Love God, the way we do, or... suffer the violence upon sinners of lightning bolts from above, like The Tower. With the "love God or go to Hell" philosophy it seems that Hell hath no fury like a religion scorned. Personally, I reject the "Love God, or go to Hell" philosophy.

Moving out further, we encounter the 2/8 Perceptual types. In our theoretical model of existence, there is a dividing line between the positive insides and the negative outsides of any entity. The 4/6 and 3/7 are on the inside, and the 2/8 and 1/9 are represent the outsides (see The Cosmic Engine elsewhere on this site). Thus it is that the 2/8 types represent a level of detachment not known by the previous inner types. In philosophies that advocate a path toward enlightenment that includes renouncing and relinquishing material existence, it is the 2/8 stage where all that letting go begins to pay off, as the sensation of detachment is felt upon liberation out of the 4/6 core, through the 3/7 skin, and into the wide open 2/8 space that surrounds any entity. As a proportionally small part of the total hybrid package, the 2/8 stage contributes the optimism of liberation, while at the same time, the pessimism that attempts to present reincarnation as a kind of punishment for not "getting it" (enlightenment) right, and having to try again. Pessimism has its place in life, but, personally, I reject the idea that reincarnation (if believed at all) is something that depresses the soul (see Reincarnation elsewhere on this site). In a philosophy that - in defiance to all the wisdom of 4/6 philosophies handed down to us throughout history that warn against it - dares to put value on life, I see the Star card as symbolic of the depression of dying, not the depression of "getting it" (enlightenment) wrong, and having to be sent back to some kind of Hell on Earth we call life to try again.

In our system, 2's and 8's represent balance and fairness (see Sins and Virtues elsewhere on this site). Thus, in a hybrid system, written by a 4/6 mentality devoted to the idea of worth and value being assigned to things, the 2/8 stage represents a point were souls, departing their 4/6 ego-bound state, are put on a scale of justice to determine the weight of their worth. Heaven is like a nightclub, with a 2/8 bouncer outside looking us over, weighing the deeds of our life and dividing us into optimistic and pessimistic paths that either continue into the oneness, nothingness and singularity of unity, or get sent back to try again (see The Three Unities elsewhere on this site). In the tarot, this idea of weighing things on a scale of justice is seen in the card of Justice, which interestingly enough has historically occupied both positions of 8 and 2 (or 11, which equals a 2). While the idea of judgement is clearly present in the card entitled Judgement... which... in The Numerical Tarot is equivalent to the 2/8 card of The Quaternary, where, in the near death progression, souls come out of bodies and float up... or out... to enlightenment... without judgement of any kind. The idea of weighing souls also appears in the Star card (an 8), if the ibis in the background is meant to represent Thoth, the Egyptian god who in fact weighs souls on their way to death.

But, while there is no judgement of value and worth of souls in The Numerical Tarot, it does include the idea of following more than one path. Thus, a life-affirmed life floats up, at the 2/8 stage, to a bright light, while a life-detracting life sinks down, at the 2/8 stage, into a dark abyss. But, in The Numerical Tarot, we are not directed on to these paths by a judgmental entity weighing our worth, we end up on one of these paths as a natural continuation of the complexion of our lived life... thus becoming part of, or a contributor to the light or dark sides, and adding to the benefit or detriment of those left behind. This is one way in which this system accepts a particular notion from wisdom systems of the past, but with a slight modification that eliminates or lessens the 4/6 influence, thus creating a systems that gives more of an equal voice to each stage of development - a voice that is more pure to the archetypal essence of each stage of development, and not so tinged or tainted by the biased perspective of the 4/6 majority.

Moving out further, we encounter a stage of development where detachment is effectively realized... already! - a stage of development that does not need to be lectured about the dangers of attachment and addiction. In the tarot, this idea of detachment is clearly symbolized by The Hermit (a 9), standing alone at the top of a mountain - a place typically removed from society and all of its attachments and addictions. Likewise, in the Moon card (another 9), the idea of dark, empty isolation is evident. In a hybrid wisdom system with a 4/6 bias, this is the goal we are meant to seek. Well... the pinnacle, within our manifest state. The idea being that once we achieve this level of detachment and oneness, we are ready to move into the nothingness of Zero, and beyond. In the system being offered on this site, the "beyond" that is beyond Zero is the Godforce paradox of The Absentia. The Hermit, and his equidistant self The Magician represent a level of detachment that leaves us with nothing but the self. It is this individuation, or discovery of the self, that - in 4/6 terminology - makes us "worthy" of advancing beyond. But, whereas a 4/6 type might see this as a goal to achieve, they often do not acknowledge that there are personality types already out there living this way every day of their life... living detached, and looking inward at the self, and the metaphorical self of society at large... contemplating the totality of it all... and, in some cases, making an inverse journey, with an inverse goal of understanding that reality, building it up as a mass of existence to be realized as a tangible expression of the same force - The Absentia.

The 4/6 majority has a bias of extroversion or extrospection, looking out at a goal of individuation and unity with nothingness. They don't acknowledge the possibility that nothingness might have similar desires in an inverse direction. Like the wooden puppet Pinnochio, who desires to be a "real" boy, it is possible that non-manifestation has a similar desire to be "real" or manifest. Unfortunately, the desire expressed by the majority is what gets written into spiritual philosophies. A 4/6 type, being somewhat materialistic, will typically want whatever they don't have. So they see this state of unity as superior - a place where the grass is greener. They build it up as a paradise. But what if it isn't? What if unity with nothingness is like a busy urbanite moving to the country and being bored silly by the nothingness? And what if they trade places with the country bumpkin who moves to the city and is overwhelmed. Both find that the grass is not always greener, and can't wait to get back to where they belong. Or... they find that they do belong, and stay... with learned knowledge that where they came from is no more Divine than where they are.

The Absentia is a singularity... in TWO places. It is paradoxically beyond the outer reaches of infinity, and at the same time, beyond the depths of existence - it is within and without... with our manifest form sitting between. It is my theory that we are not meant to ever "get there" and so we never really do get there, but we can try, and we do, by following either of two paths. We can strip away to nothing, or we can build to everything (see Verse 82 elsewhere on this site). Solemn activities like meditation strip away. Rigorous activities like rhythmic dancing build up. This is why the Major Trumps of The Numerical Tarot are divided into two rows of nine. Both paths have the potential to get us close to the very special brand of unity know in this study as The Absentia. Stripping away might appeal to those 4/6 people who feel owned by their possessions and imprisoned by their egos, but their way is not the only way. The idea of rhythmic dancing might very well appeal to the 2/8 types, who are intimately associated to the ideas of motion and energy found within our theoretical model of existence. There is more than one way to skin the cat of enlightenment!

Thus it is that I state again... always consider the source. Always beware of bias. Watch for the 4/6 bias in particular. Or... any other bias for that matter. People who go on and on about a philosophy, and then sum up with an implied profundity that nothing else matters except Love or Beauty, are probably expressing a bias that is born from their attachment to the 3/7 stage of our theoretical model. Their philosophy might be a hybrid of many numerical influences, but when they sum it all up by saying "All You Need is Love" they are probably expressing a 3/7 bias. People who sum it all up with an implied profundity that nothing matters except Truth, Belief and Faith, are probably expressing a 4/6 bias. People who sum it all up with an implied profundity that nothing matters except the Balance and the Flow of our Chi are probably expressing a 2/8 bias. People who sum it all up with an implied profundity that nothing matters except Awareness of the Self, Individuation, Oneness and Unity are probably expressing a 1/9 bias. What is your bias? To figure this out, try consulting The Amazing Name Numerology Calculator, or any number of other devices and explanations for determining personality types found elsewhere on this site.

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My Philosophy

My philosophy boils down to paradox. "All You Need is Paradox" would be my chorus of alleged profundity! Lots of spiritual philosophies stop short of embracing paradox. People with 4/6 mentality prefer to imagine God with greater and greater size, scope, and power. Bigger and bigger. Mightier and mightier. Until God is so big and so mighty they can't imagine anything bigger or mightier. Which of course leads some to pick at the Achilles Heel of this approach by asking the question of whether God is so strong "He" can make a stone so heavy that "He" "Himsef" can not lift it! Leading us to my prefered destination of paradox! However, because of the innate ability and prevalent tendency of the 4/6 majority to sweep problems under the carpet and pretend they don't exist, denying paradox and chasing their tail is often preferred to the actual acknowledgment of paradox itself as something superior to all - including their 4/6 anthropomorphized "God." Some, however, present descriptions that do seem to embrace and employ the idea of paradox as a ruling force in the universe. Are they a minority, or a majority? What is the worldwide bias or preference concerning the unanthropomorphised, abstract notion of paradox as our best description of "God" or God-like forces? (see The Absentia elsewhere on this site)

In a world of harsh realities, people need help to cope, especially the 4/6 type who - because of connections to the idea of theoretical substance or the lack thereof, and how the lack thereof would lead to a weak entity - tend to be very insecure with feelings of vulnerability and prevailing fear. They need a shoulder to cry on... they need something they can lean on... they need someone to carry them when they are tired - just like that "Footprints in the Sand" poem suggests. THAT is why so many insist on making God not only human-like, but also insist that "He" exist among us in our world... to help us, and carry us when we are weak... and... to help us accept the things we cannot change; and to have the courage to change the things we can; and to have the wisdom to know the difference... just like the "AA Pledge" of addicted alcoholics... who give up drinking only to take up smoking instead... suggests.

People who neeeeeed a group environment to stay on the straight and narrow (4/6) will invent a God who can participate in that group and help guide and protect them like an Emperor (a 4). People who don't neeeeeeed a group environment (1/9), will be more likely to invent a God that does not participate, but instead leaves them alone like a Hermit (a 9). So... not having much 4/6 influence upon me, but having a fair amount of 1/9 influencing me, I lean toward a concept of God that leaves me alone. A God with no church or altar. A God with no collection plate. A God that does not judge my worth. A God that does not claim to be All-Good, loving and compassionate, while holding me over a fiery pit of Hell. Instead, I prefer a God that put into motion a universe of miracles for each of us to experience with our physical bodies and intellectual minds. A universe that is not a mistake or Fall from grace that needs to be redeemed. A universe that is not a prison from which to escape. A universe that is not a disease in need of a cure. A universe that is not a wheel of reincarnating misery for the unenlightened. I prefer a universe that is a miracle to experience at every level of experience possible - a fragrant rose with prickly thorns... with a "God" who sits off to the side in absentia, like a parent watching their children in a playground... like a parent watching their children grow up and make their own mistakes. A concept that, once again, might not sit well with the 4/6 types, who... because of associations to the abstract idea of a coagulating mass of parts interacting, can at times have a tendency to be quite meddlesome in each others lives. Thus they invent a meddlesome God who insists on guiding us in every step we take, and punishing us for every wrong move we make. Not the way I'd go with a concept of "God."

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Cut the Cake

Here is a fun analogy that we can use to conclude. If the spiritual philosophy of most religions is compared to a birthday cake, then it would be the 4/6 types who bake the "coagulated mass" of nourishing cake. The 3/7 Sensorial types would then add the "theoretical skin" of sweet frosting The 2/8 Perceptual types would then add the exciting "energy radiating" candles. The 1/9 Cerebral types would then conclude by thinking of some clever "all encompasing" thought to write on top. This is a good analogy, because it demonstrates the relative proportions of each stage within most philosophies - spiritual and otherwise. In most philosophies, the 4/6 get the lions share of attention, the 3/7s add a veneer of beauty, the 2/8s add some inspiration and illumination, while the 1/9s add some thought of purpose. This analogy is also good because it symbolizes how the 4/6 and 3/7 qualities represent aspects of philosophy people can really sink their teeth into (the cake), while the candles that get removed and the clever thought written on top that gets destroyed and forgotten represent the aspects of philosophy that often get overlooked or completely ignored.

Or... in cases like societies being taken over by a dictator who wants to suppress dissent, these discarded types represent the free-thinking poets (2/8) and intellectuals (1/9) and for that matter, the artists (3/7) who get rounded up and "discarded" ... leaving only the 4/6 hierarchical groupthink populace to rule and be ruled. The 1/9 and 2/8, being characteristically external, are characteristically introverted, and thus tend to view society with an objective and often critical eye... as any outsider would. This would definitely be unwelcome in a dictatorship - hence poets and intellectuals get discarded. The 3/7 artists are in a strange in between state. They can apply their talents in either direction - as artists who help illustrate the propaganda machine, or artists who help illustrate the dissent. Thus we see how the 2/8 types see too much and show too much. The 1/9 types think too much and know too much. And artistic 3/7 types with 2/8 and 1/9 tendencies will probably be the type of artist who gets rounded up and discarded. While an artistic 3/7 type with 4/6 tendencies might have more of a tendencey to fit in and be spared.

But whether all the types are contributing or not, the level of attachment or detachment remains in direct proportion to how close to the center, or cluster, of our theoretical model of existence we are. Thus, as the 4/6 personality types are instructed to renounce and relinquish attachments, they encounter people who have never had to address such concerns because of how detached their dominant number already makes them. An alcoholic would call this person a "normie" meaning someone who is "normal" and doesn't suffer from the "disease" of addiction, because they don't drink at all... not even a little. Do such people exist? Yes they do. And they are often misunderstood by the 4/6 majority.

For example: The detachment of a 1/9 type is often taken by the 4/6 groupthink majority as anti-social behavior. Their lack of interest in joining groups is met with suspicion, and seen as misguided... and in the case of religious groups... in need of being saved. Because they are often very quiet in their solitary state, they are assumed to be shy and lonely and in need of a group to bring them out of their shell. That is... if the 4/6 type feels like making that effort. Many times, the indifference to 4/6 ways exhibited by a 1/9 type is seen as cold and aloof or even frigid, causing a 4/6 type to not even want to try reaching out. A 1/9 is often too brainy for the 4/6 types as well. In the world of sterotypes, a 4/6 is typically the popular "Jock," while the 1/9 type is typically the loner "Nerd." Jocks and Nerds typically do not understand each other (see Archetype or Stereotype? elsewhere on this site). As for a 2/8, they are sometimes a bit too direct and straightforward for the 4/6 type, who, because of previously mentioned associations to ideas like deception can at times be the type who lie to themself, and live in denial, where being straightforward and having a mirror held up to the self is unwelcome (remember... the deceptive and self-deceptive ways of The Devil is a 6). A 2/8 can also be too critical in their perception than a lot of 4/6 types living a lie in denial would like. The fabric of belief is very thin and fragile, and when a 2/8 type starts pulling at threads, the 4/6 types get angry.

Thus it is that it has come to be my belief that the majority of 4/6 addictive types are unable to conceive of the idea that there could be people out there in the world that aren't as addictive and ego-bound as they are and don't need the same instruction to renounce and relinquish as they do. Philosophy - especially religious philosophy - should not be a one size fits all affair. If someone needs to swear off of attachments and ego to balance their life - do it. If they don't, it doesn't mean they are doomed to Hell. This idea of doing what is right for the stage of our theoretical model that influences us most is why this site is devoted to describing ALL the ways in which ALL personality types contribute to knowledge and understanding.

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EXTRA CREDIT

For extra credit, try also considering the Left Brained bias of all these types, in particular the combination of Left Brainedness within the 4/6 majority, and the differences that such a bias brings to the texture and quality of the wisdom they are handing down to us. In other words, differences in philosophy are not just differences of opinion... and not always a matter of differences in truth. Many differences in philosophy can easily be traced to L-Brained vs. R-Brained biases. If viewed that way, there may even be a few instances where philosophies that appear incompatible might actually be seen as completely compatible, the only difference being the unique preferences put upon them by these differing perspectives.

One bias that Left Brained people bring to the world of tarot is to over-exalt the benefits of symbols and symbolism, and to vilify signs as inferior. People who are severly Left Brained are often the type who think it a miracle when they see the image of Jesus or The Virgin Mary in the radom stains on a wall, or a burt piece of toast. Right Brained people, especially those who have cultivated their Right Brainedness to a point of artistic skill, take such shape recognition as commonplace, or at least recognize it as the result of their inborn visual bias. But Left Brained people, with a more verbal, literal bias, see adventures into this other world as miraculous. To build a philosophy or religion upon such beliefs of miraculous revelation might seem silly to the artistic mind used to such "miracles." But if the world is dominantly Left Brained, these things will be written about, by the 4/6 Majority, as miracles for all to either believe or not.

After considering the Left Brained and/or 4/6 Majority bias of people, try also to consider the male dominated partriarchal bias! Where do you fit in? Some try to compensate by inventing tarot decks that are devoted to the female/matriarchal/goddess side of things. But often that is just a pendulum swing to the other extreme. How many decks are devoted to addressing the male and female of things with balance, symmetry, contrast and consistency?

It's a Left-Brained, Patriarchal, 4/6 world out there. Everything else is an alternative. Beware the bias.

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Because of the influence of the 1/9 sphere of our model of existence upon my personality, I do not offer any church to join. But... if someone really neeeeeeeds that kind of thing, be my guest! Build one. The best I can offer is a Yahoo Group... which I only started after the hostilities of several close-minded people from another group lead to a recommendation that I take my unwanted ideas elsewhere...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TarotAlternative/