A Self Among, Not a Self Apart

A Self Among, Not a Self Apart

Full Moons give us the opportunity to ponder the reconciliation of opposites, which is a concept important in the Jungian world.

The opposites of Death and the High Priest are in the air right now, thanks to the Full Moon in Scorpio.

The Death card in tarot is associated with Scorpio. Per Jungian analyst Ken James, who is also a tarot teacher:

We struggle with the idea that we are contingent life forms undergoing constant transformation. And the most important lesson that we can learn here on the Earth plane is to release things that no longer serve us with the confidence that there will always be something more, something new, something that will emerge that we may not understand, but that is promised to us by virtue of our day-to-day experience.

The Hierophant (often returned to as High Priest or Pope) card in tarot is associated with Taurus.

This card, like Taurus, is grounded and indicates a preference for stability and external structures.

Per Rachel Pollack, “The name ‘Hierophant’ belonged to the high priest of the Greek Elusinian mysteries.”

It “indicates the intellectual tradition of the person’s particular society, and his or her education in that tradition.”

“In its best aspect the Hierophant (as outer doctrine) can give us a place to start in creating a personal awareness of God.” And “indicates our own inner sense of obedience.”

The penetrating intensity of Scorpio, like Death, challenges established structures and would prefer to encourage necessary dismantling rather than stability.

In the Death card, look at how there is a High Priest figure about to be taken out by Death.

How will these two ever reconcile?

I posed that question to the I Ching and received Hexagram 13: Fellowship.

It is fellowship and community that will bring about the reconciliation of these two opposites.

The additional figures on the Death and Hierophant cards aren’t exactly fellowship together. They are in submission to either Death or the High Priest/Hierophant.

James Hillman describes community as “not individuals coming together and connecting, and it’s not a crowd. ” So what is it?

Community to me means simply the actual little system in which you are situated, sometimes in your office, sometimes at home with your furniture and your food and your cat, sometimes talking in the hall with the people in 14-B. In each case your self is a little different, and your true self is your actual self, just as it is in each situation, a self among, not a self apart (Hillman, We’ve Had A Hundred Years of Psychotherapy-And the World’s Getting Worse, p. 43).

In the Death card there is a sun in the background, above the High Priest’s head and in between the two towers.

As selves among, maybe we can make that sun a little brighter.

_____________________

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Make haste slowly — together

Make haste slowly — together

I recently came across a video of people in Sweden lining up to watch cows go outside for the first time since winter.

It’s called the “kosläpp” (cow release).

It seems an apt image for today’s theme of making haste slowly.

The Cultivate Gently hexagram 9 in the I Ching is what I received when asking for wisdom to share about today’s New Moon in Taurus.

For now, only small gains can be made. Which is how the fixed earth sign of Taurus likes it anyway, with its resistance to change.

Success in minor goals: you are a shepherd keeping your sheep calm with the calmness of your mind. Let the flock find their own shrubs and grass. The shepherd’s only role is to see that they are safe. —Benebell Wen, I Ching: The Book of Changes, p. 434).

While we are in the stage of making small gains, a good next step for us to contribute to the collective in a healthier way is to determine what is really your task and what is the task of others. Just like the shepherd’s task is to see to the safety of the sheep and the sheeps’ task is to feed themselves.

I’m reading the book The Courage to be Disliked, which is based on Alderian psychology. It emphasizes how interpersonal relationships are dramatically changed simply by not intruding on others’ tasks or having your own tasks intruded on.

How do you tell whose task it is? Decide who will ultimately receive the result of the choice that is made.

It is like the 2 of Swords image in tarot.

Figuratively put on a blindfold to close out distractions and go within.

There are choppy waters behind you, indicating people’s feelings might get ruffled by your decision. This can be difficult for those of us with a strong extraverted feeling function or lots of Libra energy.

The swords are heavy and are covering up the person’s chest, which in this case can be a way of protecting your own energy as you determine which tasks are no longer yours.

If you are leading a life of worry and suffering—which stems from interpersonal relationships—learn the boundary of “From here on, that is not my task.” And discard other people’s tasks. That is the first step toward lightening the load and making life simpler (p. 128).

Thus unencumbered, we can all make haste slowly—together.

_____________________

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Tarot cards for the eight personality archetypes

Tarot cards for the eight personality archetypes

For fun I decided to find a tarot card that matches up with each of the eight John Beebe personality archetypes. This can be an aid to journaling about your personality and also gives you a visual to draw upon when you consciously use a function in a situation.

Here is a Jungian take on exploring the archetypal characters within us:

Jung believed that our disposition to experience the heroes, villains, lovers, and despots in ourselves derives from archetypal, which is to say, ancient, universal character formations that are the root structures of our psyches…in our deeper or fuller consciousness we are multiple beings…we have many personalities within us. Some of these other selves are surprisngly close to consciousness and can be awakened quite easily by the use of theater games and guided imagery exercises.

Other Lives, Other Selves by Roger Woogler, p. 34

In astrology, there is a tarot card for each 10 degree slice of a zodiac sign (three cards per sign). These 10 degree slices are called decans. Decans were the earliest form of astrology beginning in the third millennium BCE. In the early 1900’s the Golden Dawn assigned a tarot card to each decan and the decans influenced the symbolism in the Rider Waite Smith deck.

I really enjoy the blending of tarot with astrology in that way and want to give a try at doing that with the personality types. I’ve seen tarot cards used to represent a single personality type, but let’s take a look at tarot cards for each of the 8 functions.

Here goes:

Hero function: The Sun. The Sun represents being seen for who you truly are. There is clarity, success, enthusiasm, feeling safe to be yourself. Wholeness and health. I find that this card resonates most with me for the hero archetype. There are other candidates too, like The Magician, Six of Wands, and Strength, so use whichever one resonates. The Sun’s opposite is the Moon, which I chose for the anima/animus (inferior) function, so that’s also why I settled on the Sun.

Parent function: The Empress/Emperor. The Empress is associated with the archetype of the mother. She is an emotional leader and represents unconditional love, nature, creativity. The Emperor is associated with the archetype of the traditional father. He represents stability, authority, and masculinity.

Eternal Child (Puer) function: The Fool. The Fool is innocent and unaware and at the beginning of the journey. This correlates well to the Eternal Child, which is a weaker function and where we remain child-like.

Anima/Animus function. The Moon. The Moon represents are deepest fears and being carried along by forces we pretend to understand. It represents being in the dark about something and acting instinctively. On the positive end, The Moon reminds us that the anima/animus (inferior) function is the gateway to the unconscious and the importance of dream work and shadow work.

Opposing Personality – The Hanged Man. The Hanged Man represents looking at things from a different perspective. Letting go, martyrdom, self-sacrifice, facing doubts. To me this matches up well with what is is like to use the function that is opposite our hero function.

Critical Parent/Senex/Witch – 10 of Swords. 10 of Swords represents feeling hurt, criticized, stabbed in the back. It is opposite the Parenting function, and in the absence of proper parenting, the card represents feeling like you have to take care of everyone and the exhaustion that entails.

The Trickster – 7 of Swords. This card is the sneak. It represents lying or using manipulation to get out of or control a situation.

Demon – The Devil. Beebe says that the demon function is the part of us that is both devil and angel, so I chose the Devil card to represent this function. The Tower would work too. The Devil represents being chained to a person or situation. Darkness, chaos, destructive behavior, wanting what is forbidden are all part of The Devil.

I’d love to hear what you think about these tarot card associations and if you came up with any different ones. If you get this blog post by email, just click reply to email me. Otherwise click here for my contact page.

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The role of animals in your personality type part 2: an inner animal totem (or, Tarot and Turtles in the Heartland

The role of animals in your personality type part 2: an inner animal totem (or, Tarot and Turtles in the Heartland

Animal energies are an important element of our personality, as the Objective Personality system acknowledges.

An “animal stack” for a personality type is great, But how about we also add to the mix an inner animal totem for each person that is unique to them? The more archetypes … and the more personal they are … the better.

Due to some synchronicity, I discovered Stargazers metaphysical store in Door County, Wisconsin during a getaway this past weekend. I knew immediately I wanted to get a deck of tarot cards.

The Animal Totem Tarot book and deck by Leeza Robertson practically jumped out at me. I was also eyeing another deck, but my daughter said that of course I had to get the animal one, because I’m into birds.

The book has illustrations and a three page description of each card, with pointers on how to apply the animal archetype into your career, relationships, and health.

That evening I did the Inner Animal Totem spread, whereby you place the 22 major arcana cards face down and, through a certain process, choose eight cards for your totem.

Here are my eight cards from bottom to top:

Card 1 – The Earth from which You Grow

This card represents the fertile ground, where everything you create is rooted and grows from.

My animal for this is Honey Pot Ant (XII Hanged Man card)

Honey Pot Ants are force-fed food and go to the top of the nest and “spend the rest of their lives hanging up side down, regurgitating nectar for the rest of the colony. Talk about a life of sacrifice, service, and surrender.” To top it off, they aren’t supposed to complain.

Sounds awfully confining and exhausting. Ah, too bad I didn’t get the Great Grey Owl card for this.

Card 2 – The Roots

This card represents the root system, which brings the much-needed nutrients to the rest of your totem pole, so you can grow and expand.

My animal for this is Lemur (XIX The Sun card)

The lemur isn’t nocturnal and would die without the sun’s energy. The card “has the ability to heal the cards around it. […] He heals because he knows how to and … just intuitively does what he needs to to do to be complete and whole. No fuss, no worries, and no drama.”

The no fuss and no drama part I have down pat anyway.

Card 3 – Create, Regenerate, and Give Birth

This card draws life energy from the roots and brings it into physical form.

My animal for this is Bobcat (XV Devil card)

“It is in the Devil that one tends to be who they truly are and not who others wish they would be.”

But there’s a catch, of course: “In the presence of the devil you are one hundred percent responsible and accountable for your thoughts, feelings, and actions.”

Card 4 – Action, Inspiration, and Reaction

This is where you find the energy of your inner child. “This is the energy you bring outward into the world around you.

My animal for this is Mantis (IX Hermit card)

“Surrender to the darkness, relax into it, and allow what you need to find you. Then follow Mantis as he brings you out of the darkness and delivers you back to the light.”

How oxymoronic that my action card is a hermit. This is shaping up to be an introverted totem. Lemurs don’t do darkness, so I’d better keep lemur away from mantis. Where’s that great grey owl?

Card 5 – The Heart of the Mediator

This card represents the mediator energy within your totem pole. “It brings the energies from both above and below and merges them into one.”

My animal for this is Swans (VI The Lovers).

Birdies! Not a great grey owl, but I’ll take it.

The element of “inner beauty and inner wholeness is crucial to the power of the Lovers card. […] Learn how to stand in your own power while reveling in the power of those around you.

Card 6 – Communication

This card shows you how you listen and communicate with the world around you.

My animal for this is Gorilla (IV Emperor card)

“It is his responsibility to make sure his band is kept healthy and strong. But this is only one of the Emperor’s daily concerns. … Being on top of the mountain, so to speak, isn’t as easy as it looks. [,..] The key to leadership is showing strength in all its forms.”

So much work. At least he looks like a badass. Where’s that Great Grey Owl card?

Card 7 – The Eyes Have It (Vision)

It is here that the bigger picture comes into focus. It is about seeing the map, journey, and destination all at once.

My animal for this is Ox (VIII Strength card)

“Look at the path the ox must walk with his load. […] It takes time to build muscles, will, and resolve. […] your strength will come one step at a time.”

I’m tired just reading about these last two cards.

Great grey owl, where are you? This would have been the perfect place for the owl to appear, because owls have a cool way of using their ears to see. Oh well. At least it wasn’t the dung beetle!

Card 8 – Top of the Totem Pole: Awareness

This animal works hand in hand with the animal at the bottom of your totem pole. The card at the top “shows you how to control your mind and how to bring it to a state of awareness, so that you can send your requests out to the universe and then get out of the way.”

My animal for this is Flamingo (XIV Temperance).

A birdie!

In regards to the flamingo’s pink feathers: “The skin is an amazing organ and just like Temperance, it is a master at mixing disparate elements so that it can find balance and harmony.”

But wait, there’s more!

That would normally be where the totem ends, but synchronicity struck while I was out and about in the hot weather taking these silly photos,

I heard a loud splash in the lagoon. It took a while to figure out what it was, but eventually I noticed a large turtle. I was a little spooked by it, as I’ve never seen one in the lagoon before. And I worried, because it looked as if it may have been struggling.

I decided to check the Animal Totem book when I got home to see if there is a turtle entry. There is:

“You already have all that you need, right where you are. So take it easy, slow down, and just this once allow yourself to stop and smell the roses. It is okay to relax for a moment, because where you are is safe and protected. Here in this garden no one needs or wants anything from you. Relax, take a deep breath, and count your blessings. – Message from the Tortoise”

Well then. This turtle just made its way onto my animal totem. Who needs a great grey owl anyway.

Continue ReadingThe role of animals in your personality type part 2: an inner animal totem (or, Tarot and Turtles in the Heartland