The Numerical Tarot is based on a simple model that attempts to distill the essence of being into basic fundamental parameters of existence. In another essay, a diagram of this theoretical model is offered that looks like this:

You should definitely read that essay before continuing into this one.

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Why Abstract Patterns?

Answer: Universality!

One of the first things I do in my book is to point out the futility of trying to define the indefinable.

"The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao" - Lao Tzu.

But we try anyway. Stupid humans! I liken the task of describing the indescribable to pouring paint over the invisible man to see where he is. The paint you use will always carry a bias. I choose the relatively trans-cultural paint of logic and universal, primordial patterns. With a few embellishments, a model of existence takes shape. I then label the parts of this model with numbers along a line.

I then attach that line of numbers to the tarot and observe where the influence of abstract primordial patterns might help explain the essence of tarot symbols or icons.

A model with four circles and a point says it all. Or... if imagined three dimensionally, four spheres and a center can say it all. Or... if imagined as a number line, 9 numbers say it all. But while four circles and a point can say a lot, the extremely abstract nature of four circles and a point might leave some with more questions than answers. For that reason, this site offers numerous additional examples of other models that all say THE SAME THING in different and varietal ways.

I remember in grade school science class being asked to 'observe' a candle flame and write down as many observations as we could think of... shape, color, behavior, heat, light etc. It was just a simple flame, but most of us observed many things about it. My
"wisdom system" evolves from four concentric spheres and a center. That's all. But, like that simple candle flame, there are lots and lots of things to observe about those four concentric spheres and center. Lots. The additional models being offered on this site are an attempt to observe, like that candle flame, the many ways in which these simple parameters of existence can be found.

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The Apart Together model

One model that I use is called "The Apart - Together Model." Visually it isn't much to look at. In form, it kind of reminds me of cell division. It just shows pairs of circles converging and diverging from each other Like so:

Besides the cell division analogy, another analogy for this path might be a Jacobs Ladder of electricity. As electricity arcs across two conductive rails that are bent further and further apart, the separation eventually becomes too much and the arc breaks apart and disappears. In a Jacobs Ladder the arc moves up. In the Apart-Together model this conductivity moves both ways - inward and outward. And whereas the fabric of spacetime that unites us all remains intact no matter what, allowing for the perpetual conductivity of consciousness throughout, even at the most extreme separation where there is no visible arc, the extreme 1/9 end of this spectrum is where things take on the appearance of being separate, or where the concept of anything being separate from anything else is archetypally located.

The idea of intersecting and crossing over to share parts is not as evident in this Jacobs Ladder analogy, but the idea of increased or diminished conductivity does come across.

If one is keen on alchemistic associations, one could liken this progression of fusion to the idea of Spirit entering Matter, and the reverse process to Spirit being liberated from Matter - i.e. alchemistic fusing, (together/Coagual) and alchemistic stripping away (apart/Solve). Alchemy aside though, the fundamental aspects of existence that can be derived from this one simple model are amazing. Verbally the model goes like this:

To look at this model, you might say "So what... how does that totally abstract progression of ideas relate to tarot, it just describes your little circles converging and diverging, it doesn't relate to anything in particular, let alone tarot" - and amazingly enough, that is exactly the point! It is a pure and simple diagram of a fundamental act of nature - things converging and diverging. It has no ethnic, cultural, religious or linguistic bias (other than the fact that we are all using English to talk about it). The extremely abstract nature of the Apart/Together model is exactly what makes it archetypal. And in being archetypal, many tarot icons can be seen in this one simple diagram.

Position 1/9: Apart and Separate describes entities that stand apart from the rest of the activity around them. They are completely isolated and alone - like The Hermit. They are independent - like The Magician.

Position 2/8: Separate but Together describes entities that are still apart but are now relating in some way. They are responding to each other. They now have a relationship of balanced opposition. Is that balance static or dynamic, the card of Justice will tell... whether you assign the card of Justice to the Eighth (8) position or the Eleventh (11 = 1+1 = 2) position.

Position 3/7: Together and Connecting means not apart, and not yet sharing parts of each other - just touching (or as a billiards player might say "kissing"). Touching leads to the concept of sensitivity. Which leads to the concept of love and caring (and kissing). Which leads to the archetype upon which The Empress is drawn.

Position 4/6: Connecting and Intersecting means that the two are now sharing parts of each other - they are married - like the lovers in The Lovers card.

Position 5: Intersecting and Exchanging or Alternating, And Commingling describes the activity of the Temperance card pouring liquid back and forth between her two cups. It also relates to the two monks in the Heirophant card, as they vie for the attention of that "in between" figure.

But why, you are saying, should we care about these abstract associations? What do we gain by theorizing that The Hermit is derived from a primordial, archetypal pattern of "Apart and Separate?"

Answer: You don't really need this knowledge at all to appreciate tarot icons, or to use them in a reading. But, I suggest, that you can benefit greatly from this kind of knowledge if you really want to understand the essence of the archetypal personifications that you see everywhere in the world, across all cultures and ages - whether they be illustrated on little pieces of paper as a tarot deck or not.

It's all a matter of how deep you want to go in your study of tarot. I chose to go way back to what I could perceive as fundamental, elemental, universal, primordial, and most importantly TRANS-cultural roots. I believe that the primordial patterns being brought out on this site are relatively objective, compared to the subjective nature of the iconic personifications that result from humans anthropomorphizing these patterns for the sake of human expression, human perceptions and communications. There is a threshold to be crossed, that I believe is not crossed enough in most studies of tarot. My goal is to traverse that threshold with a kind of "etymology" of form, showing how iconic personifications can be traced back to primordial patterns, or, how primordial patterns can be developed, by a human, into iconic personifications.

These are the stages of development that I attempt to traverse and unite with the use of what I call Numerical Etymology. This is how I suggest intended meaning, and thereby anchor symbolic imagery and subsequent interpretations so that they do not drift.

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The Geometric Progression

Here is another pattern I use. I call it "The Geometric Progression" and it goes like this:

Here is a big diagram.

Again, just a simple diagram of geometric shapes leading one into the other. There are all kinds of things I could tell you about how this model influences the essence of each number along a line, but what about tarot icons, are there any here?

9: All Dimensions. Again the Hermit is easy to find in the concept of "all dimensions." All dimensions implies a culminating of everything at the number 9 (NOT 10). The Hermit represents a person of vast experience and knowledge - a consummate being who knows "all." Equidistant from him on this number line is the Magician. By viewing the Magician and Hermit as equidistant partners we see how the Magician is in fact the Hermit at a young age. The Magician is clever, the Hermit is wise. Together they both represent activities of the mind. As opposite ends of a number line they represent a process of education from clever-dom to wisdom - a concept that really shows up well, when you view the Major Trumps as two sets of 1 thru 9 instead of an unbroken path of 22 (see The Spine of Tarot and A Significant Signature of Nature elsewhere on this site).

2: One Direction. Perhaps a bit more obscure an association would be the idea of vision coming from the concept of a ray and one direction. But unobstructed direction is important to the concept of vision. Much as we might like to, we don't see around corners, we see in straight lines. After establishing vision as a characteristic of a 2, it is not hard to see how the concept of mystery (obscured or occulted vision) lands in the lap of The High Priestess. Some might say The High Priestess CAN see around corners (clairvoyant) thus conjuring up the idea of "special vision." Also, the idea of motion is evident in this number, helping to explain the RWS* 2 of Coins.

3: One Dimension. A point is a pretty intangible concept. A ray is also not exactly a "thing." The first actual "thing" or "form" to emerge in this progression of ideas is the line, and the first dimension of creation. By associating this number with the idea of form and creation we again make easy associations to the beautiful and perfect form of The Empress. We also help explain the concept of creativity found in the RWS 3 of Coins.

8: All Directions. A ball is the inflated sphere, before it is filled with its culminating essence. By associating an inflated state with the number 8 we help explain the enthusiasm of the RWS 8 of Coins. This inflated state may also be seen as enthusiasm, rather than "strength" when associated with the card of Strength in the Majors. To me, Strength implies either muscle power or strength of courage, both concepts better associated with The Emperor. To me, the card of Strength represents enthusiasm, adrenaline and explosive energy. Moving from a cube to a ball requires that all the points on the inside of the cube catch up to all the points on the outside of the cube, so that they can all become the surface of the ball together. This is an explosive process. This represents ENERGY, not strength.

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Icons of Tarot

Suggesting that archetypal influences may come from such simple, abstract patterns, might be hard for some to swallow. Traditional sources are very popular, and embedded into the history of tarot. But that is exactly the point I am making... that traditional sources that are inexorably linked to the history of various cultures, impose an unecessary bias, and that by using these abstract patterns, we have shown how we in fact did not need any of those other sources to see the makings of a good Tarot icon in these simple abstract patterns. They are all right there in the patterns of nature that are owned and invented by NO ONE (see essay called cross-cultural vs. TRANS-cultural elsewhere on this site).

When contemplating the nature of reality, many point out the fact that all we can ever hope to know of anything is ultimately translated into electrical impulses, distributed throughout the brain in different ways. This being true, the importance of studying patterns should become glaringly obvious. All Things Are Patterns. Everything we know of the world can be, should be, and is reduced to thought patterns in the brain. A geometry teacher I had in high school once quoted someone who described the patterns of geometry as being "infinitely drawn nowhere." These are the primordial patterns that I look for to describe the archetypes of humanity, whether seen within a tarot deck or not. Making the "etymological traverse" from abstract patterns to anthropomorphized icons can be tricky. But with a full and complete knowledge of the various models put forth on this site, and in the book "All Things Are Numbers" I believe a more full and complete understanding of tarot icons can be found.

*RWS = Rider/Waite/Smith