A Neurotarot
By Borsky
Contents:
Introduction
The Angel Tech class on the Maybe Logic Academy dealt with the 8 Circuit Model of the Mind. This model was first started by Timothy Leary, got expanded theoretically by Robert Anton Wilson. But it was Antero Alli who first elaborated practical exercizes to experience the different levels of awareness firsthand in his book "Angel Tech: A Modern Shaman's Guide to Reality Selection"(New Falcon Publications). One of my favourite exercizes in this class dealt with creating a tarot based on the emic perception of the 8 Circuits model of the mind (8CM), because it stressed my personal enthousiasm for this very handy meta-system; that is, a theoretical frame supported by practical experience, upon which other systems can be build and expanded, such as kabbalah, tarot, Yi King, chakras, and advanced quantum physics…
Stated briefly, the 8CM discerns two times four levels of intelligence or awareness, or 'gears'. No gear has more or less value than another, all seem equally important for growth to different systems of awareness (individual cells, human beings, species, thoughts…), and virtually every system involving intelligence can be analyzed in these terms. The four 'lower' levels are those levels everyone in our society has to deal with with different success: physical, emotional, conceptual and social intelligence. The four 'higher' levels seem only in the graps of those who can see the fnords; those who open up for more spiritual states of the mind where the individual seem to dissolve. Those four levels are triggered by their counterpart in the 'lower' levels, and serve as an useful starting point to consolidate those 'lower' ones: physical - sensorial, emotional - psychical, conceptual - mythical and social - spiritual. Robert Anton Wilson in some models switched the psychical and the mythical levels, and to me too sometimes this order seems easier to relate to, yet I chose to keep the classical order.
An important factor to master any gear is to experience its three different components: input, integration and output. For example, for the consensus meaning of 'intelligence', the conceptual one, we should differentiate the ways by which we receive our information - the perception or input; the mechanisms involving our mental mutterings, deductions, suppositions, etc. - the digestion or integration; and our ways to transmit our concepts to the outer world - the expression or output. As every gear can be divided in these three substeps, a tarot consisting of 24 cards can be invented. I cannot stress enough that this exercize is a highly personal one. By sharing I merely try to convince others to try the exercize for themselves. In september Antero should start his Angel Tech class again on the Maybe Logic Academy with new material, so maybe these pages will start up new motivations. For sombunall words and reference frames here may seem confusing. As much as I do hate elitism, I always found an explanatory word list a bit insulting, so may I suggest googling and discovering for yourself what might seem obtuse at first sight.
I have some issues concerning the new age-trend to associate all kinds of traditions, to search for connections and to shake it all up in a formless, tasteless mix. Usually this stream of thought tends to produce either literary inbred in the likes of the Da Vinci code, kooky boredom à la David Icke or just plain self-delusion, loosing connection with the essence of those traditions to keep only the few connections. Either way a waste of time and devaluation of some very fine reality tunnels. Yet here, being a self-contradictory 'pataphysician I chose to elaborate connections with two traditions. On the one hand because I consider myself a kabbalist so I think I know what I'm talking about without depreciating the subject. On the other because the 8CM at first striked me as quite alien, so I needed a porte-manteau to relate to and try to get into it (which is not the same as 'to get it'). Kaballah, the core of western tradition, was an obvious choice to me. Then in a post Mindy send my thoughts to the other big tradition, the eastern one by relating to the Yi King, to which I relate through tai chi and kung fu. I found quite different connections than Mindy did, but then again, there can be as many correspondance charts as there are possibilities (16 777 216 to be precise). Other frames could be the chakras, the 24 Celtic runes, ayurvedic trinary systems… Here I merely point out that it may prove rewarding, individually, to start from familiar connections to 'get into' the 8CM.
8CM and Kaballah
(yet another kabbalistic rambling by borsky Dept.)
Searching a first way to relate the 8 CM to something I master a bit, I kept feeling uneasy to translate one system into the other. The numbers just didn't add up. Kaballah distinguishes four sefirotic trees or worlds, each consisting of ten sefirot or emanations, each a level of consciousness influencing the others.
Somehow I remembered one lesson of my kabbalah teacher dealing with the tree of life, the world of divine emanations, the highest realm or Atzilut. The teacher showed how the other three worlds of emanation were already expressed in this most abstract sefirotic tree. By drawing the word ‘YHVH’ (fig. 1, 1) in hebrew from top to bottom the persona of Adam Kadmon can be drawn, where its head (Yod) stands for Atzilut itself, torso and arms (Hé) for Beriah, stomach and hip (Vav) for Yetzirah and the legs (Hé) for Assiyah. The sefirotic tree of life can be drawn over this figure, showing clearly from bottom to top Assiyah (the material world) in Malkuth (the most grounded sefirah) ; Yetzirah (the world of souls) in the six next sefiroth: Yesod, Hod, Netzach, Tiferet, Geburah, Chesed ; Beriah (the world of spirit) in the dual sefiroth Binach and Chochmach (or abba and anna, the divine father- and mother archetypes); and finally Atzilut (the world of divine names) in the sefirah Keter (the starting point of all being).
I sensed the above could very well be used to express the four lower circuits by showing a similar fractalization from our most personal starting point, the individual-subjective psyche (or soul in KBL), located in the world of Yetzirah. I would call the four lower circuits the ‘inner’ world, that which most people feel confident to dwell in, not really accepting fully impulses from the higher circuits which I’d call the ‘outer’ world or larger picture of the four sefirotic trees. I do not mean to give any value to any circuit, nor do I mean that there is an etic as opposed to an emic reality. To me all circuits have their purpose and need, and all are part of our perceived reality.
A map of the four lower circuits through the lens of kaballah could be read as follows:
1. In Malkut, the physical intelligence or Circuit 1. Since this sefirah usually stands for ‘kingdom’, I see a good expression of the temple that is our body. (fig. 1, 2)
2. The six sefirot Yesod, Hod, Netzach, Tiferet, Geburah, Chesed represent the emotional intelligence or Circuit 2. With its base on the individual ego (Yesod) and its top in justice (Geburah), this expresses power structures in the individual mental growth. (fig. 1, 3)
3. The dual sefirot Binach and Chochmach represent the conceptual inteligence or Circuit 3: they stand for science and wisdom (and between them the invisible sphere Daath, which is not a sefirah but expresses the non-local ever-moving knowledge); they also express duality, which forms the basis of any conceptual thought (which of course can maybe later on give room to non-euclidian quantum logics). (fig. 1, 4)
4. The top sefirah Keter could represent the transition to the next level, standing for social intelligence or Circuit 4. In kaballah, Keter in Yetzirah is considered the highest realm consciousness can reach when still in a dependency relationship to the material world. (fig. 1, 5)
Above this is the cloud. You need to get through it in order to realize what’s above it. In the Old Book, described as the passage of the Red Sea by Moses and the ‘children’ of Israel, and the passion of christ with the ultimate ‘death on the cross’ in the New Book. Both mean an intense and difficult transition to higher realities, in 8CM sometimes expressed as "Chapel Perilous", although as Antero Alli I feel one can get lost anywhere along the path of consciousness. Maybe it's more likely to happen when transgressing this level.
The outer world (the four higher circuits) could similarly to the kabbalistic fractalization be expressed by the four worlds of kabbalah themselves:
5. In Assiyah, the sensorial intelligence or Circuit 5. (fig. 2, 1) Assiyah stands for the most material part of creation, that which for those dwelling in the 4 lower circuits exclusively possess no consciousness. For a kabbalist even the simplest of the stones, the tiniest dust particle, the smallest molecule by its vibrations partake in the global consciousness and as such is capable of evolving along the Jacob’s ladder (which stands for the upward evolution of consciousness towards its origin, whatever that may be). The extended awareness of the potential of this world could maybe stand for the feeling of rapture (Alli) or hedonic turn-on (RAW), starting from Circuit 1, Malkuth of Yetzirah in touch with Tifereth (the centre) in Assiyah. (fig. 3, 1)
6. In Yetzirah, the psychic intelligence or Circuit 6. (fig. 2, 2) Starting from Circuit 2 in the middle sefiroth in the same Yetzirah… (fig. 3, 2) Maybe expressing the need for self-reflection, transcending the ego and all its feelings.
7. In Beriah, the mythic intelligence or Circuit 7. (fig. 2, 3) In Kaballah the sphere of Daath is considered a back door to higher consciousness. Daath in Yetzirah (knowledge of the soul) stands on the same level as and is connected with Yesod in Beriah, the foundation of ‘heavens’ or mythical world of heroes transcending the simple duality of conceptual intelligence. (fig. 3, 3)
8. Finally in Atziluth, the spiritual intelligence or Circuit 8. (fig. 2, 4) Seems ok to link the highest circuit with the highest world. Keter in Yetzirah (often represented by christ), expressing Circuit 4, is the only sefirah linking the three worlds of Yetzirah, Beriah and Atzilut. On the drawing, linked first to Tifereth in Beriah, or the centre of the soul world, often represented by archangel Michael; and further to Malkut in Yetzirah, the lowest of the divine names or Adonai, codename ‘the Lord’ in the OT (fig. 3, 4).
sources
My three years of kabbalah classes under Joris De Brandt
8CM and Yi Ching
circuit 1 - physical intelligence
52 Kên Mountain over mountain
The youngest son: immobility
Impassive, do not allow your thoughts to stray away.
The spine carries the body. There is nothing but self-awareness, free of persona.
circuit 2 - emotional intelligence
29 Khan Water over water
The second son: turbulence
Eternal cycles of earthly and spiritual life. Roam along ancient paths without attachments. Barriers protect the territory. Steadfast yet always on the move.
circuit 3 - conceptual intelligence
57 Sun Wind over wind
The eldest daughter: thought
Only speak if you're sure you can transform words into action.
When you breathe in, you don't speak. When you breath out, thoughts emerge as words.
Only speak after having weighed your words with clear insight.
circuit 4 - social intelligence
58 Marsh over marsh
The youngest daughter: reflection
Satisfaction. Conversation. Stimulation. Encouragement. Acceptance.
If you really feel placid you can easily accept the inevitable end with equanimity.
Feedback.
circuit 5 - sensorial intelligence
51 Chen Thunder over thunder
The eldest son: expansion
Confirmation and confrontation.
Refine your virtues in fear and examine your faults.
The thunderclap is felt in all the organs. The shock disturbs the equilibrium: the body could dissolve at any moment.
circuit 6 - psychical intelligence
30 Li Fire over fire
The second daughter: intuition
Transformation.
Clear insight radiates in all directions.
The right course becomes apparent.
circuit 7 - mythical intelligence
2 K'un Earth over earth
The mother: nourishment
Quiet determination.
Awareness of beauty.
All forms of life derive their appearance from this hexagram.
The womb. Docility and courage.
circuit 8 - spiritual intelligence
1 Khien Heaven over heaven
The father: endless potential
Creative energy.
Darkness brings to light the origin of all form.
Natural harmony perpetuates itself.
sources
Frits Blok: I Ching, a spiritual guide. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, NY 1997
My Kung Fu classes
The eight diagonal hexagrams double the eight basic trigrams which are present in one of the Tai chi exercizes I learned in which they appear in the following order: yang - yin - water - fire - marsh - mountain - thunder - wind - yin - yang.
Mindy's post in the Angel Tech class was very inspiring, though the only hexagram her system and mine have in common is Khien in circuit 8.
The Neurotarot
I first drew the cards on little cardboards during the class. For this version I remade four cards: the Grid, the Wheel of Fortune, the Architect and Eris using only digital techniques (Illustrator, Silhouette and Photoshop). I renamed the card formerly titled 'Mater Fortuna' as 'Wheel of Fortune' and switched two cards: Bat Kol and the Bride. All drawings were scanned at high resolution, cleaned up in Photoshop, revamped in Illustrator and finally vectorised using Silhouette. Three cards appear also on the regular Tarot: the Wheel of Fortune, the World and the Fool.
As this is a work in progress, I'll probably continue working on both drawings and legends until I'm bored. Which strangely doesn't seem to have happened yet. Years from now maybe I'll imagine a totally different version.
For every card I tried to provide a legend, obviously this partakes exclusively of circuit 3 and deals with symbols, metaphors and explanatory stuff. For every gear I drew a chart with elements by Alli, Wilson and my own modest findings:
Input: passivity
In Angel Tech, Antero Alli stresses the peculiar timestate of the body as the only level of consciousness that lives exclusively in the present. Even memories or expectations of bodily experiences receive their value of duration from other levels, usually the emotional one; physical awareness as such seems devoid of pride or regret as well as of hope or fear. Seen from this angle, I consider the main input for physical intelligence as the very moment as it happens, and the avatar I chose represents the very zen-like state of immediate mastership. In the 8 circuits of the mind, no level has lesser value than any other, and the ability to concentrate on the moment without duration can fulfill a purpose as important as the highest level of spirituality. Since every level of consciousness rests upon the body, all exploration of awareness should start right here. Maybe the wordplay adding ‘now’ to ‘here’ stresses the alienation of a state paradoxically associated with the everyday reality...
Aphorism: “Now Thyself” - Antero Alli - “I even do not wish to know if there were men before me” - Descartes - “The madness of the moment” - Tristan Tzara
Catchwords: Grounding - Tree - The Original Atom - Alpha and Omega - Focus - A frog born out of stone - The very instant of death - Eternity - Freedom
Possible resources:
‘Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam’ (movie, Paul Wegener, 1920)
‘Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’ (book, Robert M. Pirsig, 1974)
Integration: Safety
How does the physical self organise the perceived information? For many an effective way to represent the material level goes by the name ‘Venus of Willendorf’. This paleolithic limestone statuette got unearthed in 1908 during railway works at the Donau in Germany. An obese representation of fertility, with particular attention for the vulva, absence of face and zigzag patterns in the head in spiral-form.
Catchwords: Clinamen - The Black Venus - The White Goddess - The Fairy Godmother - Abundance - Warmth - Nourishing - Nuit - Chthonic - Hecate
Possible Resources:
'The White Goddess' (book, Robert Graves, 1948-66)
'La Guerre du Feu' (movie, JJ Annaud, 1981)
'Maman' (sculpture, Louise Bourgeois, 1999)
Output: Nourishment
The best expression of physical intelligence may be health. Therefore I chose those five exercizes of Tibetan yoga, claiming to provide a long and healthy life, as a metaphor for health itself. They also offer a link to the Discordian Law of Fives. These exercizes mainly stress the need for grounding, giving most attention to stretching the spine. In many eastern philosophies the spine acts a a direct link with the earth. I kabbalah, the physical body is considered part of a larger psychical body or soul.
Aphorism: "Corpore Sana in Mens Sana"
Catchwords: Spine - Kung Fu - Dancing - Juggling - Equilibrium - Attention - Pain (reigns in the Brain)
Possible Resources:
Kung Fu (TV series, D. Carradine, 1970)
Input: self-expression
I searched for an anchor for the ontology of emotions. For me it seems to start from the idea of time, with both memories and expectations. From Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's adventures in Wonderland' (1865) I picked the white rabbit. A helpless creature as a rabbit seems to express some basic emotional patterns (and its 'cuteness' brings forth emotions for sombunall). At the same time(!) I wanted to show the more creational aspect of time, hence the painting by Goya of 'Kronos devouring one of his children' (1888), a metaphor IMHO for the one-way direction of time, by taking decisions in the past some possibilities in the future get annihiliated.
In some versions of kaballah, Saturnus (Kronos) is compared to the tempter, archangel Samael or Satan; hence the pointed ears reminiscent of horns. He' s also the trickster, the pwetty little wabbit appearing from nowhere gnawing on your nerves and asking 'what's up, doc?' pulling you off your emotional balance. After all, the cave of 'Aaaaaargh' was guarded by a bloodthirsty rabbit in the quest 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'…
Aphorism: "Anything done for the first time unleashes a demon" - Dave Sim
Integration: Status
For me the pilot of the emotional gear is based on the awareness of duality. Edible-poisonous, hunter-hunted, safety-danger: those are the survival rules of every critter on the planet. Good-bad, hope-fear, pride-regret: those are the first life-teachings a toddler gets when growing up. The evolution made mankind grow from a matriarchal hedonisitic cattle-culture to a harsher patriarchal horse-culture. In Genesis, the male singleton Ish needs its opposite Ishah to become whole and finally enter the material world… This dual approach seems necessary to start deciphering the world but can be a source of emotional turmoil when tuning blind to the shades of gray between the extremes. The aristotelian approach may have had its uses these are quantum times. For a good functioning of emotional bias it is imperative to both accept and relativise the duality: every extreme bears its opposite, as it is in the symbol of the Tao.
Aphorism: "As above, so below"
Catchwords: Hodge-Podge - The tree of knowledge of good and evil -
Possible resources:
'Food of the gods. The search for the original tree of knowledge' (book, Terence McKenna, 1992)
'Rork' (comic books, Andreas, 1978-93)
Output: Personal Power
A curse is a reduction of choices. Swearing or committing to something binds us to its object: we remove from our sentient horizon that which we destroy with our words.
Aphorism: "You have drunk three cups of the best wine and still you say that your lips are not yet moistened" - Sozan
"Love is the law, love under will" - Alceister Crowley
Catchwords: Ubu -
Possible resources:
'Cerebus' (books, Dave Sim 1977-2004)
'Liber AL vel Legis' (book, Alceister Crowley, 1904)
Input: Attention
The geographer or mathematician maps the consensus reality using symbols. In Genesis Adam chose the safe option and gave a name to every creature. This is a way to explain how man masters his surroundings: by connecting the perceived dots, by interpreting events in terms of causality and relationships, by choosing what seems important and discarding most of the information as noise, by making assumptions (another term for lucky guess), by organizing theories (originally, a theory meant a collection of data). Most of all, by accepting the leading paradigm of the moment as the definitive truth. Reality extraction: from Aristotle's empiricism to Bacon's and Descartes's inductive-deductive methods to David Hume's positivism to the falsifiability of Popper, the history of science is the story of abstraction.
Aphorisms: "The understanding must not therefore be supplied with wings, but rather hung with weights, to keep it from leaping and flying" - Francis Bacon - 'The original is unfaithful to the translation' - Jorge Luis Borges
Catchwords: Bell curve - Scientific method - induction - deduction - empiricism - experimental - epistemology - Jeremy Bentham - cipher
Possible resources:
'Novum Organum' (book, Francis Bacon, 1620)
'Discours de la méthode' (book, René Descartes, 1637)
'The Logic of scientific discovery' (book, Carl Popper, 1959)
Integration: Map-making
Again a kabbalistic reference, this time from the biblical Exodus, where the expanding consciousness Mozes wanted to take his people and all their cattle (all the characteristics of their persona) towards a higher level of consciousness but had to abandon the latter under the reign of reason, the Pharaoh. When Mozes wanted to grow without abandoning his qualities they were hunted up to the barrier of the Red Sea, where reason cannot rule. For many ratio is the highest level they'll ever get: the Age of Reason enlightened the so-called medieval dark times, as does the self-conscious adult push aside the child in everyone of us and considers himself the crown of creation… A good Pharaoh should provide the reason in situations where needed, as log as needed, but should restrain from muting the physical and emotional awareness, and should step aside when higher levels can be reached. For the drawing I choose the almost alien self-assured arrogance of a Fang statue.
Aphorism: "I think, therefore I am" - Pascal
Output: Articulation
Once the world is measured and tamed into a reasonable being, excluding systems of thought can be elaborated by philosophers. Ignoring the semantic noise, slowly building a reality tunnel brick by brick, using self-referenced reality checks, those are the conditions to create a belief system.
In this drawing I used the philosopher's stone drawn in Albrecht Dürer's mysterious etching 'Melancholia'. All kinds of symbols link to another piece of rock, the Rosetta stone. A heavy lump filled with signs: it seems hard to bear the burden of symbolatry.
Aphorisms: "This book is a mirror: when a monkey looks in, no philosopher looks out" - Lichtenberg - "Using symbols to expose my reality tunnel". See also XVIII. The Architect.
Catchwords: sailing a sea of words
Input: Adolescence
I consider the main input of social intelligence as the network of social events and my interaction with it. Feedback provides the necessary criticism to adapt (or not) to the matrix. René Magritte's painting 'Golconde' (1953) gave me a visual impression of a social grid, where individuality prevails in every node but fades when considering the whole. To keep the maybe logic going I drew 23 guys with a bowl hat… also thinking of the "23 manifests of the dada movement" by Picabia, Tzara, Aragon, Arp, Eluard, Serner…
Aphorism: "Go with the flow"
Catchwords: Body field - Belonging - Synergy - Contrasts
Possible resources:
'Koyaanisqatsi' (movie, Godfrey Reggio, 1983)
'Knock' (short SF story, Fredric Brown, 1948)
Integration: Adulthood
The depiction of life and the world as a cycle with Mater Fortuna - the blind Judgment or Fate at the center seems to fit the digesting mechanism of social intelligence. Here opposites can become each other in due time, transcending gear 2 duality, and the inevitability of the ways of the world are exposed, transcending gear 3 control frenzy. We digest the elements of the social gear by confronting our experience of the world which seems cyclic by nature. The recurring inevitability of cause and effect should boost up the ability to accept. This humility for me is essential to transcend this level and reach the four higher gears which seem free'd of causality.
Aphorism: "My log does not judge" - David Lynch - "Life is a sandwich I didn't order" - Bill Griffith
Catchwords: Ourobouros - as above so below
Possible resources:
'Der Lauf der Dinge' (movie, Peter Fischli & David Weiss, 1987)
'Carmina Burana' (music, Carl Orff, 1937)
'L'Eternel retour' (movie, Jean Cocteau, 1943)
Output: Collectivization
An obvious bit of darwinism to me, seems the assertion that the most adapted ('the fittest') has more chance to survive. Populations and species statistically seem to have more opportunities to breed if they have more opportunities to survive and have sex with each other. So we adapt. At an individual level social level, relationships demand a certain flexibility in our behaviour and in our thought. The Danish bloke who drew the Mohammed cartoon maybe used his utmost democratic right, at a social inteligence level, insulting his neighbours, he just acted plain silly. It seems darwinian adaptation also happens at a cellular level, where entire groups of unicellullar critters will probably grow if they're in their preferred environment.
Catchwords: NLP (association, rapport) - Survivalism - Acceptance - Evolution to the next level
Input: Rapture
Henry Fuseli's second 'Nightmare' painting (1802), showing a mentally ill girl laying on bed with a grinning demon on her belly, and in the air behind them probably the most angst-ridden imagery I ever saw, the head of a horse with revulsing eyes expressing the epithome of fear - quite literally, a night-mare. I used to watch a copy as a child just to scare myself. I couldn't possibly render the horrifying beauty of this gothic masterpiece. The phrase is from the book of revelations revealing the third horseman of the Apocalyps: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name was Death, and Hell followed with him". It also refers to William Cooper's cooky book 'Behold a pale horse' (1991), an expression of total paranoïa IMHO. Antero Alli used the word 'Rapture' for this level.
It all sounds quite negative and yet to me it rather stands for facing ones internal enemies, accepting the confrontation with the deepest fears, transcending madness to accept the physical decline and reaching a new level of sensorial bliss. Entering fifth gear I think is something that mosbunall fear to do (and choose to stay on the safer ground of the four first circuits), and maybe the most difficult step in the 8 circuit evolution.
Aphorism: "What does not kill me makes me stronger" (unknown to me) - "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself " - Th. Roosevelt
Cathwords: Passing the Red Sea - Passing the salt
Integration: Ritual
An obvious choice maybe to symbolize the integration of rituals, at all times the shaman had an essential social role. This master of conscience provided a spiritual path to the tribe, sometimes using trance-inducing plants, drills or ceremonies. Later on priests took over this function, and nowadays psychotherapists. This spiritual warrior is the first guide of the higher levels. Kabbalah speaks of a magit, a master giving useful directions for a part of the way and who then steps aside when the novice become apprentice and finds its inner master. A shamanic figure or consciousness level should restrain from becoming a guru and blocking further evolution. Although I consider his writings of superior importance, I can't help to see Alceister Crowley in the role of a so-called 'dark magit', shadowing the beam of inspiration to his pupils.
This drawing is inspired by a famous painting in the cave of Trois Frères in France.
Catchwords: healing - dancing - soma
Possible resources:
El Topo (movie, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970)
Anything written by Carlos Castaneda
Output: Charisma
To me cats appear as the most charismatic creatures. They seem to emanate their presence in a much larger space than bestowed upon their little bodies. They become the little gods of the house, the genus loci. The stare of a cat passes straight through me. Cats are also very sensual, in need of physical contact to feel comfortable. Sometimes it feels like cats are the mere manifestation of our repressed needs. Sometimes it feels quite the reverse. The cat goddess Bastet was an ancient lower Egypt deity, whose cult was centerd around the city of Bubastis. One of her titles was 'the Eye of Ra' and was sometimes shown with a lionness mask, not to be confused with lion goddess Sekhmet. Her association with perfumes brings us back to sensoriality: a more spiritual version of sensuality. Finally, sombunall ancient Egyptian scultures seem to irradiate mystery.
Catchwords: Tantra - Raspoutin - Gurdjieff - Salomon - Artemis - Dr. Mabuse
Resources:
'Citizen Kane' (movie, Orson Welles, 1941)
'Battleship Potemkine' (movie, Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
Any painting by Giorgio de Chirico
What better avatar for the input of psychical creativity than a reference to the father of modern art? Marcel Duchamps 'The Bride stripped bare by her Bachelors, even' (1915-1923), also called 'the Large Glass' stands for me as the most mindfucking work of art ever made. Contemplating a work of Duchamp to me brings forth a psychical orgasm, a mystical atheistic state of mind beyond the concepts of knowing or feeling. The work itself IMHO cannot be reproduced (only Duchamp did). For this card I chose a detail, the Chocolate Grinder also used in another of his works (1914). The twisted perspective also links to the new dimensions of non-euclidean thought beyond our imprinted reality checks. I like the idea of a tarot card labelled 'The Bride'. This also strangely links in a masonic way to card 18, The Architect.
Aphorism: "We are dead, but we do not start to rot, because we never have the same heart in our chest, nor the same brains in our head" - Paul Eluard
Catchwords: Odradek
Possible resources:
Anything by Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Max Ernst, Tristan Tzara, Raoul Hausmann, Hugo Ball, Kurt Schwitters…
'The cares of a family man' (short story, Franz Kafka, 1919)
Anything written by Daniil Charms
The Anthropometer by Korzybski, also called the 'structural differential' provided me with one of the strongest epiphanies of the past years. In his matter-of-factly words Korzybski explains its function in his first paper on time-binding, probably one of the most ground-breaking texts to open up one's mind. Should be obligatory lecture for anyone claiming to become an adult.
To most of mankind, the words are confused with the worlds they express. The anthropometer is supposed to explain visually the phenomenon of abstraction. the upper element, part of a paraboloid stands for the event, with an infinite number of characteristics drawn as holes. Some of these are observed and receive a corresponding hole in the sphere underneath, the first level of abstraction in the mind. This stands for the perceived object, with a huge yet finite number of characteristics: by eliminating the largest part of the characteristics of the event, a first integration as the result of this choice. At the bottom is a further abstraction: the symbol, word, label, metaphor used to articulate the object. The connecting lines stand for the process of further abstracting itself; we can imagine further levels of abstraction downwards (religion and science seem obvious examples). At the side stands the idea of the world where abstraction is not perceived: in such a worldview the label, the object and the event are not structurally differentiated. For Korzybski, the main cause for any disagreement (fight, murder, war) lies in this objectification of higher abstractions
First-level abstraction seems a common characteristic for all sentient organisms. The ability to construct higher and higher levels of abstraction however seems unique to mankind. The awareness of this process should provide us with the ability to program our own reality. In the drawing to the right is the world according to 'Fido', a theoretical dog. Or anyone not aware of the mechanisms of perception…
Aphorism: "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" - René Magritte
Catchwords: Eschaton (the end of the world as we know it)
Possible Resources
'The Structural Differential ', 'The first paper on time-binding', 'The second paper on time-binding' , all seminal texts by Korzybski that can be found online;
'Reality is what you can get away with' (book, Robert Anton Wilson, 1996)
Output: designing a tarot
Beyond the ability of map-making lies the ability of reality selection. For the ability to choose and elaborate ones own reality I chose the metaphor of an architect, with its masonic connotations, combined with the idea of the artist. And for this I chose one of The Residents, probably the world's most bizarre band. Following the maybe fictitious N.Senada they chose to conceal their individuality to maximize the circumstances to produce an excellent work of art. Which they have been doing anonymously since 1970. And I'll never refrain myself from throwing in a wordplay (residence - architecture). I also think of the architect Hiram Abiff in the essential movie cycle Cremaster, played by extraordinary artist Richard Serra. Art as the most individual expression of the most individual emotion.
I tried to give special attention to this one, this is for me one of the three masters of the deck, with the Master of Now and the Taoncing Fool. After all, this whole exercize of creating a personal tarot comes from this level.
Aphorisms: "Using reality tunnels to expose myself" - Antero Alli. See also IX. The Philosopher. "Who is the master that makes the grass green?" - Robert Anton Wilson
Catchwords: Realization - Reality Choice
Possible Resources:
Everything by Robert Anton Wilson
On Having No Head: Zen and the Re-Discovery of the Obvious (Douglas E. Harding, 1961)
'Logic, labels and flesh' (book, Stefan Themerson, Gaberbocchus 1974)
Cremaster 3 (movie, Matthew Barney, 2002)
Input: Synchronicity
As much as I seem to enjoy the mythical gear, at first I found no valid metaphors for the mythical input, the way in which I seem to enter this level of awareness. Then I got inspired by one of my favourite exercizes in the Angel Tech class, involving a meditation around the mysterious Phaistos Disk of Crete. The peculiar labyrinthic form seems to turn back halfway and is also used in Reiki. I elaborated this form further on with a maze based on the eight trigrams of the Yi King. My first idea for this input level was 'the Book of Sand' (1975) by Jorge Luis Borges, but I couldn't find a way to draw it; so naturally thought of 'the book of changes', which brings us back to Jung and synchronicity. The meditative aspect of the eye loosing itself on its way to enlightment reminds of the working of a mandala, meaning 'circle' in sanskrit: a graphic depiction of the spiritual universe and its myriad of realms. Would make a nice crop circle…
In its corner the minotaurus waits to offer the new alphabet to those who solve the easy puzzle. Semper as oxhousehumper.
Catchwords: Bombay!
Possible resources:
Yi Ching (any of the zillion versions)
'Synchronicity: an acausal connecting principle' (book, CG Jung)
'A Throw of Dice Will Never Abolish Chance' (poem, Stéphane Mallarmé, 1897)
Integration: Alchemy
To reconcile Hubble's observation of an expanding universe with the prevailing paradigm of eternity, in the 1930s a theory was developped. What's now called the Big Bang at first was named the 'Cosmic Egg'. As a symbol for a certain story of ontology, this one has its place as the core of mythical intelligence. The image of a serpent winded around an egg is a strong alchemical symbol. But in many mythologies worldwide, the creation story involves two twin serpents, hence the caduceus as well as the yin-yang symbol. These also appear in many shamanic traditions, which claim to have the ability to contact the spirits of nature through drug-induced trance. In this search for what may be considered DNA-intelligence, the intertwined form of the two serpents strangely recalls the form of DNA, out of the range of visible light.
Possible Resources
'The Cosmic Serpent' (book, 1999, Jeremy Narby)
Output: Astrology
Expression of the mythical awareness, similar to the Architect in gear 6 who provides a new personal reality-tunnel, this level provides a new cultural paradigm. For this a severe shock is needed, so I chose the epithome of confusion: the Discordian Greek goddess Eris, who wasn't invited to the god's banket and decided to break in and throw an apple ion the floor bearing the words 'for the prettiest one'. A Götterdämerung followed, shaking the clay giants off their sockets: a paradigm shift.
In the drawing she has five wings, with features of Quetzalcoatl - the mesoamerican feathered snake, who transported the gods, was the god of arts, poetry and knowledge for the Nauhas and the god of the morning star (similar to Gucumatz for the Apaches) - and the Vouivre - in France, a female winged dragon with a third eye, a telluric creature, the origin and source of all life on earth.
Aphorism: "I can see the fnords" - Kerry Thornley
Catchwords: L'Age d'Or - Kalisti - Babalon - Prometheus - Chrysalis - Caterpillar - Sacred Chao - Forbidden fruit
Possible resources:
'The Principia discordia' (book, Malaclypse the Younger)
'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' (book, Joseph Campbell, 1972)
'Malpertuis' (book, Jean Ray, 1955 - movie, Harry Kümel, 1971)
Input: Paradox
My kabbalah teacher once taught a lesson concerning some origins of the catholic mass. In the old days, the priest used to climb a wooden pulpit and gave the sermon of the day to his parishioners. He was reading from a piece of paper the text he had written the previous evening, but a symbol on top of the lattice rooftop hints to a different intention. Indeed a depiction of a dove is supposed to remind of the gnostic origins of this ritual: the preacher used to address his community when reaching a state of trance, when the divine inspiration striked him to give an improvised sermon using metaphors to explain the unexplainable. The dove in kabbalah is a symbol for Bat Kol, a part of the highest sefirotic tree which is not a sefirot by itself; meaning, it is not considered a level of consciousness, but a part calling to consciousness from outside the divine world itself. Situated in Daath of Atziluth, it stands for the highest point in which the Kav or 'divine light' can shine into the four realms, and the inspiration for all kabbalists. The only message it sends is 'come back' hinting to the origin of all things, which is beyond all emanations. The churchfathers misunderstood this concept entirely and thought it a good idea to invent a bizarre holy trinity, with a dove as 'holy spirit'. This also connects to the islamic 'minbar', the pulpit onto which the imam climbs to deliver sermons. Alli summarizes this level with the idea of paradoxes, which can provide a sudden burst of epiphanies. So did to me the idea that our awareness finds its origin in the very mortality of brain cells: if we were able to make cells immortal, our awareness would disappear. Another enlightning paradox for me was the idea that the dark areas in the night sky represent the nothingness that existed before the Big Bang.
Aphorism: The best things in life are not things. - C. & J. Woods
Catchwords: Avalon - Graal - Kav
Possible resources
'Mystical Qabalah' (book, Dion Fortune)
'Sefer Yetzirah'
Integration: Dreaming
In the way I understood it during the Angel Tech class, the dreaming state can provide throughput to 8th circuit bliss. The matter of dreams can be seen as the 'working self' in the spiritual realm, or as the surface where the cosmic curvature, bearing an supplementary dimension, contacts our individual waking life. A window through which our self as the added value of seven intelligences can contact quantum awareness. The Aboriginal culture, the oldest tradition in the world, call this state 'dreamtime', stressing the difference with the waking spatiality. For some philosophers even, this state constitutes the only reality. The paradox expressed in card 22 is stressed here, as dreamtime can provoke epiphanies impossible in a Wake. I found the image of Salvador Dali's recurring image of a burning giraffe an useful anchor for dreamtime. Actually the elephant with striderlike legs a much better metaphor, but much harder to draw! the giraffe also reminds me of a french book collection led by Jorge Luis Borges called 'La Bibliothèque de Babel' using a burning tower as logo. Beyond the verbality lies the realm of dreams. Now to master the dreamworld, one must first accept the confusion provided by dreamwords.
Aphorisms: "Three-dimensional word-games" - Marcel Duchamp
Catchwords: Vibration - Morpheus - Awakening - Guruwari - Narcolepsy
Possible Resources:
'Finnegans Wake' (book, 1939, James Joyce)
'L'Age d'Or' (movie, Dali & Bunuel, 1930)
'Frank' (comic book,1995, Jim woodring)
Output: Factor X
I thought it a good idea to keep the fool on top of the hill. This card, top of the higher arcana, was the only that made it into the classic card game. Somehow the detachment of the clown is needed to master all levels of awareness, in the za-zen emptyness where only the madcap's bells resonate. The title reminds of the unity of the Tao-Tarot, making all individuality disappear in the leaping laughing of the void. I shamelessly stole most of this drawing from Hunt Emerson, one of my favourite humor artists - and a master of forteana. He has eight hands, one for each gear (and ten bells, one for each sefirah). The comparison with the Vitruvius man by Vinci ends here.
Aphorisms: "Immanentize the Eschaton" - Robert Anton Wilson - "Anyway, it's always the others who die" - Marcel Duchamp -
"I seem to be a verb" - Buckminster Fuller
Catchwords: Ethernity - Tom Bombadil - No thyself - The abyss - Tijl Uylenspiegel - Doctor Faustroll - Eyeh Asher Eyeh
Possible resources:
"Le Concombre Masqué" (comic books, Nikita Mandryka)
"Zippy the Pinhead" (comics, Bill Griffith)
"The Flaming Carrot" (comics, Bob Burden)
Essential resources:
Angel Tech (book, Antero Alli, 1988)
Info-Psychology (book, Timothy Leary, 1987)
Prometheus Rising (book, robert Anton Wilson, 1992)
How to play - uses and abuses
The 'One Hand Clapping":
When flabbergasted, lost, in confusion, pick up a card at random. Chances are it may give a few ideas as to how to get out of the loop. It may confirm the obvious, show where the focus should be, show what's in the way, or offer a new level of confusion. At least you tried.
The im 'Po' sible Duo:
Pick two cards at random and use the 'Po' relationship developped by Edward de Bono. Example: 'Wheel of Fortune' PO 'Mandalabyrinth'. Both seem to show a cyclic revolution. Realization of the first could bring a sense of vertigo, while the second seems to make the mind accept a maze that was always there. The 'Mandala Fortune' could bring about a sense of getting lost in a maelstrom of repetitions, finally bringing them to a stop when getting the bigger picture. Or maybe you'll finally understand the importance of 'Bicycles'. Or Maybe I'm Full Of Shit.
The Discordian Spread:
An adaptation of the 'Star spread'. Take five cards and display them like the five of a dice.
The central card is right where you are sitting now, the heart of the present situation: Confusion.
The lower left card shows the way the world influences you: Chaos.
The upper left card shows the obstacles ahead: Discord.
The lower right card shows how you affect the world: Bureaucracy.
the upper right card shows maybe the temporary outcome: Aftermath.
Etc, etc.
Whatever you do, never, never, never
shit where you eat.
borsky (2006)
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