Tarot Alchemy in Seven Stages: Dissolution
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the second in my series of tarot spreads based on the principles of alchemy, this time addressing the process of dissolution. Once again I used a “prepared” deck with the pip and court cards separated into sub-packs and the rest of the trump cards set aside.
The purpose of this alchemical step is to dilute and disseminate the fine ash of the calcination process by liquefying it, thereby creating a uniform consistency in the solution that brings the suspended particles into harmonious accord. In that way, any irregular concentrations will be integrated and homogenized into the whole; in spiritual alchemy this is achieved through meditation. For the subject of the reading, this suggests recharging, recovering equilibrium and “chilling out” after the overheated intensity of calcination; I’m symbolizing it with Water cards.
For the archetypal principles of this tripartite spread I chose the three purest of the quintessential Water trump cards, the High Priestess (Moon); the Chariot (Cancer, ruled by the Moon) and the Hanged Man (Primal Water), deciding to leave the Moon card (representing Pisces) until the first part of the Fermentation stage (“Putrefaction”) due to its somewhat impure, phlegmatic character. (The Scorpio trump card, Death, is dissociative rather than inclusive by nature and is therefore summarily dismissed at this point.) I placed these exemplars of Water in the triangular pattern shown below and selected to same Significator card as before (Knight of Cups) to represent the querent. (Similarly, the face-down cards are only placeholders showing the architecture of the final layout.)
First, I shuffled the pip cards and dealt three of them on top of the trump cards, allowing for reversal (although there are no reversed cards in this random example). The pip cards signify the mundane “processes” that implement the overarching “principles” shown in the trump cards, the means by which the seeker hopes to restore his equanimity, although at a much lower amplitude befitting his diminished state. Next, I shuffled the court cards and placed one on top of the Significator to convey the “personification” or embodiment of the unifying effects of synthesis.
Here the individual received the 9 of Swords (Cruelty); the 8 of Swords (Interference); and the 6 of Swords (Science) as his active profile. In light of the previous “calcination” reading, this guy may be developing a persecution complex; it reminds me of the proverb “There is no rest for the wicked,” although these cards are only disheartening and not entirely evil. The best that can be said about them is that the Air of the pip cards and the Water of the trumps are elementally cooperative, implying that he will be able to take the intellectual “long view” of his circumstances and not become too emotionally distraught about his dim prospects for improvement even if it seems like he is drowning in vicissitude. The 6 of Swords is the most encouraging of the three because it describes a “method to the madness” by which he might leverage himself out of futility.
The soothing Princess of Cups as the “personification” of his efforts to calm his jittery nerves epitomizes “pouring oil on troubled waters.” While she is not as single-minded or purposeful as the Knight, she is much more accommodating of setbacks and delays, allowing the querent to ride over any such inconveniences. She brings the placidity of Water full circle after fending off the restive Swords. The advice for the seeker is to “just go with the flow” without becoming too complacent.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on February 20, 2024.
