V

A Spectrum of Possibilities

The Numerical Tarot is different from more traditional forms of tarot in many ways. One of the most important differences to be found within The Numerical Tarot is its devotion to consistency in design. In The Numerical Tarot, this consistency of design is organically achieved with the use of clearly defined opposites, working together, to produce another very important difference of this deck - contrast! Lack of contrast and lack of consistency are two very important things that are, for the most part, missing from traditional tarot decks and, as a result, often confuse and frustrate people who are just beginning their journey into the realm of traditional tarot. This problem can be found easily, by anyone examining decks like the Rider/Waite/Smith. To see how this is so, and how confusion can result from a lack of consistency in design, we can look at a survey of interpretations, to see how mixed up something like the Minor Arcana of a typical tarot deck can get after consulting four different authors!

In this informal, unscientific survey, a white square means that my own personal sensibilities reacted to that author's interpretation with good or improved feelings. A grey square means my own personal sensibilities reacted to that author's interpretation with bad or worsened feelings. Of course this chart only shows where authors agreed or disagreed on the general good or bad feel of a card. It doesn't begin to show the agreement or disagreement on what a card actually means!

Actually, if we look at the survey of interpretations just mentioned, things don't look that bad... at least... at first glance. Most authors seem to give their cards a somewhat subjectively "good" interpretation when upright and subjectively "bad" when reversed. But every now and then we encounter a card that seems to violate this pattern. Every now and then we encounter a card that seems somewhat bad when upright and either worse when reversed, or maybe better when reversed - we never really know. While at the same time, the cards immediately before and after it seem good. Sometimes the good cards get better when reversed, sometimes they seem worse when reversed - we never really know. Sometimes the next card in the suit seems better, sometimes worse - we never really know. And while many reject the very idea of examining cards for meanings that are intrinsiclly "good" or "bad" (see the essay Good and Bad, Right and Wrong, Smile and Frown elsewhere on this site) much can be said by the subjective reactions that can be collected by any such survey of authors.

Obviously, traditional tarot is not without its theoretical philosophies of underlying structure - with Qabalah and Astrology being major contributors. What the study of tarot being presented on this site objects to is the end result that any of those philosophies creates. To The Numerical Tarot, the idea of cards that seem subjectively "good" and "bad" being mixed together in a row, some getting better when reversed and some getting worse... and none of them relating to each other in any coherent way as a progression of ideas along a number line is a less than satisfactory design. Worse yet, is the idea of cards relating to each other through an underlying structure that actually creates a convoluted, asymmetrical chaos of crisscrossing confusion (see the essay Back to Basics elsewhere on this site). A design consisting of forty individual ideas without much unity is an option that many have lived with for years. And while some authors will attempt to discuss all the cards of any one number as a group, or any one suit as a group, no one ever discusses cards of the Minor Arcana together as a SET of ideas that span A Spectrum of Possibilities! The Numerical Tarot does

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Organization is the Key to Success!

The diagram below reveals a completely new way of looking at the tarot! Perhaps even the world!! By employing things like balance, symmetry, contrast and consistency, The Numerical Tarot creates a structured environment that is easy to navigate, and even more importantly, easy to learn. By utilizing balance, symmetry, contrast and consistency, the design of The Numerical Tarot leads to a deck where NO CARD STANDS ALONE... an environment where common sense design takes precedence over convoluted mystical rhetoric, religious bias, mythological romance, malicious blinds, unsatisfactory syncretism and other occult biases handed down over the years, through the auspices of tradition. In this way, The Numerical Tarot stands as a true alternative to tradition. As an alternative, this system is definitely NOT occult, it is not a misguided amalgam of disparate systems of thought shoehorned together in a chaos of conflicting perspecives... it is, in fact, a plain, simple and straightforward design that uses a common sense approach to sort through everyday forms of life experience.

Here is a diagram that shows how The Numerical Tarot organizes ideas across more than one card, to create a complete spectrum of ideas. We COULD do this with a traditional deck, like Rider/Waite/Smith, but... because decks like that are so inconsistent in their design, organization and distribution of positive and negative or so called "good" and "bad" looking cards, the results would be incomplete and thereby not satisfactory. However... with The Numerical Tarot, this system of organization works very well. I don't know of any other deck in the world that does this. In The Numerical Tarot deck, NO card stand alone. Each card is part of a spectrum of possibilities. Don't EVER examine a card with such a limited focus as to completely ignore its relatives on this spectrum. It's one of the many important ways to observe and utilize the balance, symmetry, contrast and consistency of The Numerical Tarot.

By sidestepping the pitfalls of syncretism, The Numerical Tarot is able to invent a completely new system for the sorting of human thought - a clear and evident purpose of most forms of tarot that attempt to attribute meanings to the cards of a dedk. Along with the acknowledgement of relativity in all matters concerning the ultimate "good" or "bad" that one might take away from any given situation, The Numerical Tarot attempts to convey this relativity of meaning by placing any and all concepts of thought onto spectrums of possibilities that run from one extreme to another. The diagram above is an attempt to illustrate the idea of tarot cards working together as a SET, to describe just such a spectrum of possibilities. The All Things Are Numbers approach is very reductionist, it likes to distill things to a fundamental essence, and then contemplate all the possible expressions of that core, archetypal concept within humanity. To organize that thought, each core concept is mapped upon a spectrum that attempts to unite, with language, the extremes and inbetweens of possibilities.

Elsewhere on this site (see The Semantics of Tarot Interpretation), there is an essay that gives some examples of core concepts that have been mapped onto a spectrum of possibilities. In another location (see The Importance of Words), there is an essay that proposes new terminology for describing the relationship of words upon this spectrum - varonyms! Varonyms are meant to relate words of similar meaning that have varying degrees of intensity, especially where that intensity is seen by a majority of people to have crossed a threshold of subjective "good" and "bad" in its popular meaning.

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Lead by Example

One of the examples used to explain how a core concept could be mapped across a spectrum of relative intensity was related to the number 4 of our number line:

Pugilistic = bad positive (a bully) (Lex Luthor)
Strong = good positive (a hero) (Superman)
Passive = good negative (a gentleman) (Clark Kent)
Weak = bad negative (a victim) (Lois Lane and/or Jimmy Olson or Superman on Kryptonite)

In this example, The Emperor of traditional tarot would equate with the Strong (Superman) character, while the victims found hacked to pieces in the card of Death, seen in a deck like Rider/Waite/Smith, would equate with the Weak (victim) part of the same spectrum of possibilities. The Emperor would be considered a "Positive" manifestation of this core concept, while the victims of Death would be considered a "Negative" manifestation of the SAME core concept. Within this system, the reversed interpretation of a positive card indicates the same positive trait, only exaggerated to an undesirable, or unhealthy extreme. So... within this system, The Emperor becomes a pugilistic bully when reversed. On the negative side, the extreme weakness of a victim is mitigated to that of a passive gentleman character (Clark Kent) when reversed. All these archetypes have one core concept in common - FORCE either applied (strong), applied too much (pugilistic), not applied (passive), or not applied enough (weak).

And therein lies the strength of this approach. With the recognition of a single core concept, an archetype is conceived (a hero). And with the use of varonyms, three other ideas immediately follow - i.e. the opposite of a hero, a victim... the extreme of a hero, a bully... and the inbetween of a hero and victim, a mild mannered gentleman. In traditional decks you might find these four ideas scattered here there and everywhere among Majors, Minors and Court Cards. But in The Numerical Tarot, these four ideas are sensibly organized under one number and illustrated with two opposing cards that lie along a number line, that acts like the spine of an animal... symmetrical and balanced (see The Spine of Tarot elsewhere on this site).

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Here is another example of how matrix organization and the idea of spectrums of possibilities can help to organize the semantics of tarot interpretation: To many the Devil card symbolizes temptation (sexual and otherwise). To some the Devil card symbolizes perversion (sexual and otherwise). In a lot of traditional tarot books we might see both of these ideas lumped together within one mass assemblage of words devoted to explaining what the Devil card means. In The Numerical Tarot, however, these two ideas are very different. And while they both have evil connotations, The Numerical Tarot sees them as opposite in their fundamental essence. To this deck, temptation leads to something. While perversion leads away from something. If we consider them both to be subjectively "bad" then that would put them at opposite ends of a spectrum of possibilities. If that spectrum is being illustrated by two opposing cards, then only one of these ideas is going to be applicable to the actual Devil card.

In The Numerical Tarot, the fact that temptation leads to something makes it a positive concept. While the leading away from something makes perversion a negative concept. If we align a traditional set of Majors as two sets of 9, as The Numerical Tarot does, then the Lovers card becomes the companion to the Devil, when expressing the spectrum in question. The Lovers card accurately describes temptation in its best possible light. Sometimes as a man choosing a wife, sometimes with the persuasive influence of Cupid causing desires to be elevated, and allure accentuated. Sometimes the man has two women that he must choose between. In those cases temptation is pulling him in two directions, each one trying to persuade him to go with them. With this in mind, one can see that it does not take a great leap of faith to consider the possibility that the reverse of the Lovers could mean temptation in its worst light, leaving the Devil as the propriator of perversion... not temptation:

Temptation - Bad Positive 6 - Lovers Reversed
Persuasion - Good Positive 6 - Lovers
Abnegation - Good Negative 6 - Devil Reversed
Perversion - Bad Negative 6 - Devil

In The Numerical Tarot, concepts put forth within the Majors are repeated within the Minors. Within the Minors, two suits correlate to the positive half of the Majors and two with the negative half of the Majors (when the Majors are thought of as a positive and negative expression of a number line). When these same ideas are repeated in the Minors, contrast and consistency reign supreme within the design of the underlying structure of the deck. Whereas decks like the RWS might have "good" sounding cards sitting right next to "bad" sounding cards, The Numerical Tarot is much more consistent. In The Numerical Tarot, ALL the cards of any suit are oriented the same, so that the reverse of any card always means the same thing - either something getting better or something getting worse... relative to a life preserving bias (see The Pentacle Person and Stop Being So Human elsewhere on this site). In the suit of Addition (Coins) and Multiplication (Cups) ALL illustrations show the "good" of the positive side of each number. A reverse of any of these cards will reveal the same concept exaggerated to an undesirable or unhealthy extreme. In contrasting opposition, the suit of Subtraction (Staves) and Division (Swords) show the "bad" of the negative side of each number. So a reverse of any of these cards will reveal the same concept mitigated to a desirable inbetween state.

Seduction - Bad Positive 6 - 6 of Cups Reversed
Invitation - Good Positive 6 - 6 of Cups (an inviting environment) (kids outside a home)
Retreat - Good Negative 6 - 6 of Swords Reversed
Exile - Bad Negative 6 - 6 of Swords (a uninviting environment) (family with no home)

There are a lot of people out there who are confused about the meaning of each card of tarot. And while they may do alright at interpreting visually from the actual illustrations provided by each deck, they remain confused about the meaning of cards that are reversed and have no illustrations. In fact, entire books have been published for the expressed purpose of suggesting to people what the reverse of each tarot card might mean. Lots of people are afraid to even consider reversed meanings and don't use them... unless they happen to purchase one of these books devoted to telling them what they are. The Numerical Tarot is different. The Numerical Tarot is actually devoted to providing a simple, common sense device that will reveal, with balance, symmetry, contrast and consistency what each card means in both upright and reversed orientation.

I was just reading a very popular book on tarot that reminded me of why I prefer the common sense approach being offered here. In it, the author explains her take on the various aspects she associates with the Magician. She mentions things like awareness, beginnings, will power etc. All good stuff. But then, when informing us of the reversed interpretation she splits like a fork in the road and offers two opposing possibilities. On the one hand, she says that The Magician reversed can mean a blockage of this energy flow, leading to things like apathy, loss of will, confusion of purpose. Then, she also says that The Magician reversed can indicate an abuse of the aforementioned powers of will and purpose. But she offers no sensible system for differentiation between the excess of abuse and the deficiency of apathy. She just leaves us wondering how she determined it to mean such widely opposite and varied things. With The Numerical Tarot, this doesn't happen. With The Numerical Tarot, cards are used together, as a set to convey a spectrum of possibilities for any core, archetypal concept, thus... causing ideas with a positive quality to gravitate to one end of that spectrum, and ideas with a negative quality to gravitate to the other end of the spectrum.

So... in The Numerical Tarot, these concepts would be sorted out in a more clear, concise and predictable manner - making them much easier to learn. In sorting out these ideas with The Numerical Tarot, the idea of Will would be considered positive, while Loss of Will would be considered negative. When sorted across cards that are assembled as two rows of 9, as The Numerical Tarot does, the Magician (a 1) would be considered positive, and The Wheel of Fortune (also a 1, i.e. 10 = 1 + 0 = 1) would be considerted negative. In such an arrangement, Will would be associated with The Magician when upright, while Abuse of Will would be considered "too much" of the same thing and be associated with The Magician in its reversed position. Loss of Will, on the other hand, being negative or "not enough," would be associated with the fatalism and fateful nature of The Wheel of Fortune, while a reverse of that card would lead to a mitigated state of the same concept, leading to ideas like acceptance of the random nature of life at times... i.e. putting oneself in the hands of fate, as opposed to exerting will power.

Of course, those who interpret tarot intuitively, or visually... without any acknowledgement of unerlying structure at all, don't mind being left to their own devices on matters of card meaning. People who interpret intuitively, or visually, hardly even need a book of any kind at all, they usually decide on their own what each card means... based on intuition about each given situation at the time of a reading. In short, they relish the inherent malleability that such lack of precision provides, and utilize it effectively. This works well for those USING tarot. It doesn't always work as well for those STUDYING tarot. Personally, when STUDYING tarot, or... when attempting to explain what it is that lead to the CREATION of each unique image of a deck, I prefer a system that arranges disparate opposing concepts into a sensible array of related ideas.

As an even further attempt to arrange ideas into a sensible array of ides, we are reminded of how The Numerical Tarot, sees the Major Trump cards as "Parents" to the Minor Suit cards, which are considered to be "Children" to those "Parents." Thus... the core concepts just covered are repeated from Major Trumps to Minor Suits:

One of Cups and Swords
Cups - State - mindful - extreme - obstinate = Magician Reversed
Cups - State - mindful - inbetween - willful = Magician
Swords - State - mindless - inbetween - artless = Wheel Reversed
Swords - State - mindless - extreme - fatalistic = Wheel

One of Cups and Swords
Cups - Presence - aware - extreme - conceit = Magician Reversed
Cups - Presence - aware - inbetween - volition = Magician
Swords - Presence - unaware - inbetween - naivete = Wheel Reversed
Swords - Presence - unaware - extreme - obliviousness = Wheel

OK, that's not the best example I could have provided, because it involves a few cards whose meaning and position do not agree with the tradition that most hold in their mind right now. Most people see the Ace of Swords as a card of empowerment and not oblivious fatalism or naive artlessness. But... for those who can get past these kinds of changes to tradition, and choose to look further, there are several other examples where amazing coincidences occur between this system and traditional meanings for cards derived from traditional sources (see The Semantics of Tarot Interpretation elsewhere on this site). I encourage further exploration. Also... for those who are uncomfortable with the use of the words "good" and "bad" within this essay, I would encourage reading the essay entitled Good and Bad, Right and Wrong, Smile and Frown.

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EXTRA CREDIT

The Spectrum of Possibilities being described in this essay is infinitely smooth. But for any one number of numerology, only two cards are used (for example: card 6 and card 15 = 1 + 5 = 6). Two cards with upright and reversed meanings = four steps... to describe a continuous spectrum of possibilities. That's a pretty chunky resolution. Which means that the relative intensity of each of these four steps is open to interpretation.

If you are the type who choses to mitigate the bad out of every card you see, then you might appreciate this fact, because it means that even though you might get a so-called "bad" card in a reading, it doesn't necessarily have to be interpreted as such. You are allowed to conclude, by way of your own intuition, that the intensity of the so-called "bad" card in question is such that its closest "good" varonym can be used instead. You can declare that the underlying concept is the same, but that the card in question was just on the cusp between "good" and "bad" and that even though it fell to the "bad" side in orientation, it's so close to the "good" that you are going to utilize the "good" interpretation instead. So even thought we are talking about a very organized system, free interpretation is still possible - best of both worlds! :-)