A Foolish Little Chat on Tarot Key 0

I made these brief remarks as an officer in my local BOTA group some few years ago. -- jsw
 
In common with many other spiritual traditions, the ritual work of the Builders of the Adytum includes three main components. In Buddhist Vipassana meditation, these three elements are known as mantra (i.e., the chanting of a sound, word or phrase), mudra (a word meaning form, and referring to certain ritual acts or gestures), and mandala (the visual object upon which one focuses the attention during meditation). Today I would like to briefly discuss Tarot as a form of mandala meditation.

Human beings largely think in images or pictures. Consequently, the ancients believed that paintings or other such images had the power to heal a myriad of human woes, by the simple act of our gazing upon them. Many great masterworks of art were created with this purpose in mind. Art was intended to heal, to correct some fundamental imbalance within us, by revealing the fundamental but perhaps unseen truth about the world. This visual presentation was intended not only to appeal to the intellect as an object of contemplation, but also to stir the emotions – to strike some sympathetic chord, which would resonate within us on a very deep level.

Traditional Tarot Keys follow this pattern. While they have been used for many things over the years, they are intended to serve as a meditative device. Like the great masterworks of the past, they are images to heal the soul, tools to help “set things right inside us” by reminding us of who we really are, as opposed to who we might think we are. They stimulate a process where disparate aspects of our personalities are brought together in a harmonious whole. Self-perception can be a bit like viewing yourself through a fun-house mirror. By contrast, Tarot images give us a clear, undistorted view of the fundamental reality lying deep within us. They gently and patiently remind us of the persistent gap between appearance and reality, and help us to correct our misperception of the nature of the world.

For many people, the Tarot Key that most strongly reflects this gap between appearance and reality is Key 15, The Devil. But today, I’d like to briefly discuss this idea in light of Key 0, The Fool.

I recall myself as a very young boy, terribly afraid of heights. No matter how un-high the actual distance, in my mind I called up images of destruction, failure, broken bones, ambulances, doctors, and like-such. Even during elevator rides, I would often be found on my hands and knees on the floor, and my dreams were often of the elevator box crashing down to the ground. I don’t need to tell you that my fear of heights was irrational, and largely unfounded.

I remember vividly the day I was at a park with my father, on a platform some feet over his head. I recall him standing at the edge below me, and encouraging me to jump down. I was completely gripped with fear. In actuality the distance was not great, but for a young boy, it might as well have been a million miles. I remember my father’s voice clearly, even now. “Trust me! There is nothing to be afraid of. Go ahead and jump! I’ll be right here to catch you.” And so I did. And he was. 

Tarot Key 0 reminds me of that experience. Each one of us is perpetually perched upon the heights, about jump into some new unknown thing. And, sometimes, our minds reflexively call up images of destruction, failure, and pain. But, love engenders trust, and thus casts out irrational fears; and teaches despite all appearances, we are and only have been ever situated in the perfect love of the One. That is why, when we are prepared and finally make the jump, we are often delighted to find that the universe has been conspiring for our good all along. We may be surprised to find that in reality, we cannot fall, and ultimately, we cannot fail. The appearance can be deceptive, but our glimpse of the reality is liberating. The sustaining power catches us, and it upholds us, moment by moment:

All thy sense of conflict
Is but the shadow-play of ignorance.
Wait with patience upon me, thy Lord,
And in my appointed time
Will I make clear to thee what now is dark,
And show before thee, straight and true,
A path of safety
In the very place where now an abyss of terror
Seems to open at thy feet. 
-- “Meditation on Aleph,” Book of Tokens
 
I thank each of you for your attendance today, and for your support of our Pronaos and its healing work.