An Introduction to the Tarot as taught by Ra

[abstrktion]

  ASIPotentiator of the Spirit.jpg (Size: 42.37 KB / Downloads: 25)
  ASIMatrix of the Spirit.jpg (Size: 56.32 KB / Downloads: 25)
  ASIMatrix of the Body.jpg (Size: 50.4 KB / Downloads: 17)
  ASIMatrix of the Mind.jpg (Size: 34.65 KB / Downloads: 22) It was great to find this link. I've been making my own journey through the archetypes, nice to know I've got company!

Here's the rest of the quote with which Plenum started the posting:
In the beginning of The Law of One, Book IV, RA makes the following assertion: “It is appropriate to study one form of constructed and organized distortion of the archetypical mind in depth in order to arrive at the position of being able to become and to experience archetypes at will. You have three basic choices. You may choose astrology, the twelve signs, as you call these portions of your planet’s energy web, and what has been called the ten planets. You may choose the tarot with its twenty-two so-called Major Arcana. You may choose the so-called Tree of Life with its ten Sephiroth and the twenty-two relationships between the stations. It is well to investigate each discipline, but not as a dilettante, but as one who seeks the touchstone, one who wishes to feel the pull of the magnet. One of these studies will be more attractive to the seeker. Let the seeker, then, investigate the archetypical mind using, basically, one of these three disciplines. After a period of study, the discipline mastered sufficiently, the seeker may then complete the more important step: that is, the moving beyond the written in order to express in a unique fashion its understanding…of the archetypal mind.” (underline added)

I especially like the end: It would appear that the end result of study is creation (similar to Bloom’s Taxonomy ). We can study all we want, but at some point, we can jump off into our own intuition and understanding to bring forth our own interpretation/portrayal of the archetypal mind. In fact, RA “request that it be constantly kept before the mind…that each mind/body/spirit complex shall and should and, indeed must perceive each archetype, if you use this convenient term, in its own way. Therefore, you may see that precision is not the goal; rather the quality of general concept complex perception is the goal.”

My own view: Perceiving the archetypes may be like traveling to a city and trying to experience all of its attractions. Each traveler would perhaps go to some of the same places, but each would experience them differently, finding different parts of the experience more important, interesting, or memorable than others. Further, each tourist would take similar pictures to represent their experiences, but ultimately, none of the images would be exactly the same. In fact, most of the time, tourists take pictures of themselves near the landmarks—everyone places their own experience as central within the greater picture of human activity as perceived by the roots of mind.

Lastly, RA tells the questioner: “It is expected that each student shall naturally have a unique experience of perception dealing with each image. Therefore, it is not expected that the questioner ask comprehensively for all students. It is, rather, expected and accepted that the questioner will ask a moiety of questions which build up a series of concepts concerning each archetype which then offer to each succeeding student the opportunity for more informed study of the archetypal mind.”

Personally, I thought this sounded like great fun and I've started doing some paintings (which led me to doing some writing that no one but my family may ever read! Nevertheless, I can give page numbers for the quotes I use in this if anyone would like).

Here's a challenge: Make your own images using photographs, drawings, etc. I even thought it would be fun to dress my family up and put them in tarot poses and take pictures. (I know there are places on the internet where you can have cards made.) I haven't done this yet, preferring to focus on my paintings, but if I start taking myself too seriously, I think I may! My daughter will soon be working on her own anime version!

If that seems sort of "irreverent" to you, I offer these thoughts:

Why Not Just Paint the Images Given in the Ra Material?

Since Ra states, “we may suggest a conscientious review of that which we have already given concerning this subject as opposed to the major reliance being either upon any rendition of the archetype pictures or any system which has been arranged as a means of studying these pictures,” I felt that going off on my own iconography with regard to the images was justified.

Further, RA advises that “when viewing the…Egyptian costumes and systems of mythology used in the images it is far better to penetrate to the heart of the costumes’ significance or the creatures’ significance rather than clinging to a culture which is not your own.” This concept was so important that Ra mentions it again: “the distortions remaining after the removal of the astrological material are those having to do with the mythos of the culture to which Ra offered this teach/learning tool. This is why we have suggested approaching the images looking for the heart of the image rather than being involved overmuch by the costumes and creatures of a culture not familiar to your present incarnation.” Because of this, I felt that working to find “the heart” of the image, the basic concept, and then relating that to even more imagery meaningful to me would better facilitate my study. I would imagine that anyone could do the same—we’d even be able to use images of modern life. The Voyager Tarot does a beautiful job of this; the images are collages of ancient and modern photos. The deck is not only interesting and stimulating; it is truly a work of art.

It seemed as though much of what Ra said with regard to learning about the archetypes advised against the memorization of a particular tradition; they seem to reject the notion of a “correct” or “original” version of the tarot as being required for study. In fact, when the Questioner asks if Ra could describe the archetypes as they were originally used on Venus, RA says, “as we have stated previously, each archetype is a concept complex and may be viewed not only by individuals but by those of the same racial and planetary influences in unique ways. Therefore, it is not informative to reconstruct the rather minor differences in descriptive terms between the tarot used by us and that used by those of Egypt and the spiritual descendants of those first students of this system of study.”

Anyways, I've attached a couple paintings--they just represent my views--I don't present any of my ideas as an authority on this! If the images don't post correctly and you're interested in seeing them, just PM me and I'll send you the link to my art site.

Blessings and Joy to you all. This is the first time I've really been on the forum and I'm so impressed by the dedication and love evident in the postings!