Archetypes of Body

[Quan]

Sorry if I'm pushing this too far, but I would like to read your thoughts on this.  What motivates you to know more clearly why you are here?  Why do you seek wisdom and understanding?  Is there an inner reason for this which you can express?  What signals to you that this is a vital pursuit?

I've said this before, and possibly even to you, peregrine. But I see the archetypes as a way to learn how to communicate with ourselves and our higher selves on a deeper level. We don't have many words for metaphysical concepts, so to communicate with the deep mind, we must train ourselves to communicate in a different way. The tarot uses images. As we coordinate symbolism to language, and experiences/energy transfers, the richness of the archetypes begins to unfold and the "threnodies and joyful ditties" reveal themselves. The more you learn to discern each instrument in the orchestra, the level with which you appreciate the symphony deepen. Anyway, sorry to use metaphor and flowery language, but what one receives that is tangible is not much - it's more like what we receive from a good song that touches us on a deeply emotional level and resonates through our experience. A song can transport us through space and time to a location of ourselves in the past - basically, you know, causing a change in consciousness. Which is what magic is - the ability to change one's consciousness. The archetypes create a map of emotional resonance and experiential viewpoints so that the higher self can communicate with the conscious mind through symbolism to facilitate/encourage the appropriate change of consciousness.

Such beautiful words and eloquence rich in depth and meaning.. takes repeated readings and more meanings emerge.. thank you for the gift in words

[ricdaw]

The catayst of the body is the wheel, because there are many cycles that we experience in physical reality. Diurnal cycles, moon cycles, other planetary cycles. Hormonal cycles, eating cycles, some of us poop at the same time every day. Some of us need a cup of coffee every morning. Some of these cycles are immutable, and most of them affect us on an instinctual, animal level. For instance, ERs being more busy during a full moon, or when we feel sexually aroused by simple stimulus, or when we smell delicious food and it makes us hungry. Our bodies were designed to keep us alive and viable without conscious awareness (the sphinx). So many things we do in a day are unconscious, routine, and solidified by habit.

Riffing on the cycle motif, I see the greatest cycle of them all as the incarnation itself. And the 25,000 year reincarnation cycle we are all on together.  Each lifetime we have experiences, and this Wheel with its figures, represent to me these events that happen to you.  Good and bad.  To those without Eyes That See, these events are Fate.  To the others, these events are Destiny (the Sphinx).  This Wheel is ABOVE the Wings of Spirit.  Every one of its Trials and Tribulations is sent by Spirit.  Things that happen to us here, all the experiences of the Physical are intentional, from the First Intention to Incarnate and Forget (The Fool) to all our "life lessons."

The experience of the body is a woman holding closed the jaws of a dangerous animal. To me, I see the left hand on the throat as "choking" the animal, and I see the right hand on the top of the nose as more like "stroking" the animal. We have two choices when it comes to "taming" the cycles of our instinctual body - we can force it into submission with fear and abuse, or we can accept and love and work in cooperation with the "dangerous animal". Both choices have the effect of keeping the jaws of the lion closed. The birds on her head symbolize that she has already cooperated with the body in a successful fashion in one way or another.

This card is so strongly paired with the Wheel of Fate to me, I can no longer separate them.  The Lion is one of those Events spun off from the Wheel.  We have two choices, too, when being confronted by one or many of life's horrors here in the physical.  Do you Break Bad?  Or do you Accept?  This STO figure, female, all white, accepts and embraces those jaws of death and by Acceptance discharges the seemingly negative polarity inherent in any life threatening occurrence.  This card is strongly polarized STO.  

So, for instance, you get a new puppy. The puppy's main instincts are to play, they also go through a teething process where they chew. They also have to be taught where to go to the bathroom, what they are and aren't allowed to eat - etc. The two options are often referred to as "negative reinforcement" or "positive reinforcement" - you can beat your dog every time he goes to the bathroom in the house to get him to stop, or you can reward him every time he performs the behavior that you want to encourage. We have the same choices about how we treat our own bodies, and also, the planetary body at large. Am I going to punish myself when I eat sugar, or am I going to reward myself with praise when I choose to eat fruit instead? Am I going to spray my garden with pesticides so that no bugs exist to eat my plants, or am I going to learn to understand and cultivate a microecosystem where all the parts contribute to create a greater whole? Do I want to subjugate the body to my will, or do I want to learn to understand and cooperate with it through patience and perseverance?

Yes.  All that.  Beautiful.