The Body as the Means of Action

[JustLikeYou]

JustLikeYou mentioned that the Significators offer a clue as the primary function of what that Significator is referring to.

I suspect you meant to say "primary function of what the entire cycle is referring to."

I also think you've hit the nail on the head with this one. The orbs-in-hand in the mind cycle suggest action from afar, but the active hands in the body cycle suggest direct contact.

it also seems that none of the Body Archetypes encode any of the principles of polarity (unlike the Mind cards or the Spirit cards).

I'm not sure I'm on board with this one. Even the three you've depicted here have polarity indicated: #10 has, as you noted, the two figures; #11 has the two birds atop the woman's head (which are very difficult to make out in this photo), and #12 has the two pillars (mirroring those of #2 and #5). Extending the observation, you'll notice the scales in the hand of #8, the two snakes that lead the way for the man in #9, and the two cups in #14. I can't find a clear suggestion of polarity in #13.

There is also this Ra quotation to consider:

86.29

In the use of the system known to you as the tarot for advancing the spiritual evolution of the self a proper understanding, if we may use this misnomer, of Archetype Twenty-Two is greatly helpful in sharpening the basic view of the Significator of Mind, Body, and Spirit and, further, throws into starker relief the Transformation and Great Way of Mind, Body, and Spirit complexes.

The body complex gives expression (or actuality) to the possibilities in mind, but these expressions are themselves unpredictable. We all have ideas about what an experience will be like (such as when we want to experience farming, marriage, a silent retreat, an abusive relationship, etc.), but the ideas are a vague and often inaccurate picture of the reality that manifests. As the mind comes to know its own inclinations, moving further into a harmonic set of beliefs, emotions, and desires, the body responds by manifesting experiences that assist in drawing the mind closer to this Alchemical Marriage.

The body, however, offers a form of growth in its own right, without direct reference to the mind. The body can be trained. We often call it "muscle memory." It learns and records the subtle nuances necessary to live and move in harmony with your environment. It gives you signals that you might miss if you relied exclusively on mental resources, and these signals often come more rapidly and suddenly than realizations of mind. The body gives us the opportunity to refine ourselves further, attending to the details, and ultimately achieving the Light Touch (as Ra calls it).

Because of this refining nature that the body has which adds to the mind's capacity for offering the Self growth, rather than leaching off the mind, the body has its own unique relationship with moral polarity. Consider Death, for example. Death is a matter of sloughing off what is not needed, but there are, as always, two ways of doing it: you can cut off the offending part (a tumor, a parasitic relationship, a toxic environment) and toss it into the trash, or you can simply stop feeding it and let it wither in its own time. The first method is closely aligned with negative morality (STS), and the second method is closely aligned with positive morality (STO).