Plotting the Path of the Fool in A King's Journey Tarot

When the Fool steps out into the world for the first time, there is not some random order that he travels. There is a distinct path that he follows. Through my years of study, I have seen this path plotted in many different ways. Some I agree with and some I would not, but like any other tarot deck, there is a specific flow of energy that the Fool walks along in A King's Journey. 

Traditionally, you'll see the Fool's path starting with the Majors ( Magician to World), followed by the Minor Arcana, Ace through ten. The Minor Arcana may start with the suit of pentacles or the suit of swords, with no reasoning behind the flow.  

When I began to develop my model for A King's Journey, the flow became very defined, and as I plotted out every aspect, I noticed a mathematical pattern that stuck out. This, of course, leads to some unusual associations on the Fool's journey, but to me.. this only translated to interesting insights, not to mention that the correspondences now gave me a little more understanding into the energy behind the Fool's path.

In A King's Journey,the Fool starts out his journey stepping into the Celtic Cross Model at the upper right quadrant that makes up the space for the earth element. He then circles around the outer rim in a clockwise fashion. This outer rim is comprised of the Majors, Magician through Hanged Man, and the Ace through Fives, which are dispersed throughout their elements. 

The outer rim path, which represents the external influences that shape the Fool's belief about his world and what he knows about himself, ends with the Hanged Man in the tippy top location where it beings to flow into the inner rim.   I used to see Justice as a pivotal point in the Fool's life, like a doorway he must pass through, and in many ways I still do. But, the Hanged Man speaks out.. ' I'm not sure if I'm ready to move forward'. This translated perfectly as the pivotal point just before the Fool begins to travel the inner rim, which will start at Death. 

The Inner Circle begins (in the dark pink) with Death moving clockwise and ending with Judgment at the top of the inner circle, just as it flows into the Inner Chamber. The Inner Circle represents how the Fool's inner influences shape and form his beliefs about himself and his world. The Minors start the inner circle at the six of coins, flow through the ten of coins, and flowing into the six of swords, following that pattern through each element (with the exception of the spirit suit.) 

When he has finally returned home, during Judgment / ten of cups, the Fool enters his Father's threshold and into the Inner Chamber he goes. The Flow of energy within the inner chamber encompasses the Spirit Suit, World, Daath and Soul cards. 

Mathematically, this works out as follows :

Outer Circle = 3 Major Arcana and Minors Ace - 10 per each Suit (excluding the Spirit Suit)

Inner Circle = 2 Major Arcana and Minors 6- 10 per each Suit (excluding Spirit Suit)

Inner Chamber = World, Daath, Soul and Spirit Suit (10 - Ace) 

Does it seem that I have changed the way we look at the Fool's Journey? Indeed, I believe so. When I did this, I really had to look at how it mirrors life, and it really opened my eyes, at least to the experiences that my clients and I have had in our lives. Regardless if it is business, relationships or just my life journey, I've seen these patterns played out time and time again.

First, we  have to learn the social behaviors and learn to play with other 'children', learn the rules, form opinions and try to fit in. 

Next, we begin to struggle with how it affects us on an internal level. What are our beliefs, our personal boundaries, our comfort zones, our insecurities, and then we reflect on what where we've been and where we are now.  

Then, if we reach a place of contentment in our families, professions, etc.. we begin to climb into the spirit suit. Being accepted into the small group of people that are chosen to be the authority in the place that we are. That place where it is less about our own pleasures and becomes more about what we can give to the world to make it a better place. We redefine our core beliefs and live out our life's purpose.  

In a nutshell........   there's the path the Fool travels in A King's Journey.. taking him from being a Fool to living as the King in his Kingdom. 

For more information on A King's Journey, please visit http://www.akingsjourneytarot.com 

First Step into the Spirit Suit... Ten of Spirit

If you are familiar with tarot, you would know the minor pip's card order would go from Ace to 10, right?  What would you say that it goes from 10 to Ace ?

Umhm.. I suspected so!   But seriously, I think the Spirit Suit does go from 10 to Ace.   Let me explain further before you have me hung and dried!

As I explained in my last post, I view the spirit suit as ascending from the center of the other four elements.

Now, let's flip this picture for a moment so that we are looking at it from the side and not looking down on it.

Now, what you see is a pyramid looking model.  (Please forgive my photoshop abilities.)

But let me explain the idea behind the Spirit Suit. Since the Virtues and Vices are taken from the tree of life, the assumption is that Malkuth is nearest the 'earth' plane, and therefore the place where someone would enter first. The Fool climbs up each Sephira, one by one, until he reaches the Ace (Unity)  which is associated with Kether.

The virtues are located beneath the "balance of elements" and threaten to tug at one's core beliefs, creating an imbalance within the four elements. (I didn't add it in, but you can imagine the Qlippoth located in the empty area below.

Virtues, by definition, are a trait or quality that promotes an individual towards their excellence. A Vice is a quality that pulls you into morally degrading behavior. In my view, and understanding of how these play a role in our lives, are to equate them with our core beliefs.  What we hold as true, in these areas, can certainly affect the decisions we make when we tackle obstacles in our lives.  I do believe that while our experiences in the four elements shape our core beliefs, they are outwardly expressed and manifested by what we DO believe within fifth element of Spirit.

10 of Spirit (Malkuth) is depicted as a man passing through a dark gateway that leads to a very mysterious inner chamber. He is being led by a Lady in white. This is associated with the Virtue Discrimination. A Keyword that I use to represent this card is 'Elitist'.

This association suggests that only the chosen ones will pass through this point. The ones that are ready to take this path. The ones that have worked so hard to achieve balance on the mundane level, can then take this path to learn the wisdom of the inner sanctum. This is a prestigious honor, BUT, the Fool will not look at this part of his journey in a prideful way, but more of something to live up to.

The Vice for this card is Avarice, or the insatiable desire to amass wealth. The Vice for this card can also be enjoyed by an elite group, but it holds a person to the Physical plane, rather than allowing the climb towards unity in the spiritual plane.

What an honor to receive this card. This is the doorway to the inner sanctum, that only those honorable enough will be called to pass through.  One of my favorite cards. I have to make it clear, that I am not an adept in Kabbalah, but, I am broadening my knowledge as I step into the Spirit Suit.

If' you'd like to see the Spirit Suit (which also works as a pull out oracle) please visit our website, http://www.akingsjourneytarot.com.

Spirit Suit.. Motivating Our Path

As a tarot reader, I look at the how the four suits act out in my daily life. When I see a lot of coins, I think business, thoughts, responsibility,  education or just plain money!  It feels like grounded energy to me, as if I'm building a foundation.. and rightly so! After all, it IS the Element of Earth.

I work my way around the elements...

Air = Communication, speaking, writing, trust, loans, inspiration, etc.
Fire = Passion, lust, anger, jealousy, motivation, activities...
Water = relationships, dreams, love, hate, emotions, generosity..

All of these things are swirling and moving in my life.. but what is directing it?  Why must they exist in my life?  What's the purpose of it all?   What is motivating the decisions and choices that I make ?

For me, the answer comes from the Suit of Spirit.

When I started this journey of creating the King's Journey, it was heavily influenced by the Celtic Cross. (not the spread, but the religious symbol). The equal armed Celtic Cross registers most with me. I was so obsessed with this, you just wouldn't believe! James had to deal with me dragging him in and out of shops looking for just the right one! .

Anyways..I could see the four elements so clearly mapped out within the Celtic Cross.

You can think of each quadrant as a particular area of our life. But the middle.. that's what circulates the arms. There is the source, you know that point where the energy flows.  If you think of this as the human body, that is the core of our being. That is where our inner child lives, that is where our spark comes from. Our center, Our Core..Our essence...   That is where our Spirit Suit resides.

The Spirit Suit holds our core beliefs, represented in A King's Journey as  virtues and vices, that guide our life. It is what we try to live up to, and what we may not have a handle on. This energy flows through all the elements of our life as they branch out from the center. 

It is said we are to ascend the tree of life. I believe it is through the virtues (or vices) manifesting through the 'elements' that we have the ability to express our core beliefs, and our essence, in our daily lives. Core beliefs can change through the experiences we have, as it makes it's way back into our center. They aren't set in stone, but they are a force that lives within us that really can't be ignored. 

This is the foundation of our Spirit Suit. 

Here are the Virtues as defined in the Spirit Suit :

Discrimination

Independence

Honesty

Unselfishness

Integrity / Beauty

Courage

Humility / Obedience

Silence

Purpose

Unity

Think on how these interact and motivate your choices as you go throughout your every day activities. You might be surprised at how they  influence your decisions and choices of what you desire, lust after, get angry over, want to write out, how it inspires you, etc.. Take notice of how your spirit motivates every aspect of your life. 

When I was learning tarot, I learned that the wands represented passion, lust, sex, and anger. But sometimes, it can represent spirituality. Spirituality in the wands? I have to admit, this has never sat right with me.

You see, the reason it hasn't 'felt' right with me, is because the type of energy that moves us to lust, passion, anger, etc. , is not the same type of energy that moves us to be selfless, respect, or to be humbled. The latter are typically associated with a more spiritual state of awareness.

Let's analyze this for a moment. Ego- based energies (passion, lust, anger, etc) originate in our lower chakras. They are earth-based energies that do not reside in the upper chakras. As our energy ascends, and we open up to the upper level energies, we'll feel love and compassion. If we ascend further, our energy moves into the upper regions where we find we are more connected with the Universe and open ourselves up to the spiritually-based energies.

Following this line of thought, I KNEW I had to create a deck that incorporated a spiritual suit. Just like every other element of creation, the Spirit Suit needs to be anchored in its own element to express itself properly. So, I did just that, incorporated a Spirit Suit in my deck, A King's Journey Tarot. I think it makes for a natural flow of energy through suits.

Love to hear your thoughts !