Tarot and the “Lust of Result”*
*”For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.” — Aleister Crowley in The Book of the Law
AUTHOR’S NOTE: In my study of Taoism I came across two concepts that have a bearing on the ethics of divination: the “conceit of silver” and the “conceit of iron,” respectively symbolizing the pursuit of extravagant wealth (chiefly in the form of manipulative knowledge) and extreme power (typically as an outgrowth of unbridled authority) to the potential detriment of moral integrity and the sovereignty of others. In The Tao of Thot h, Ethan Indigo Smith calls them “faulty pits on the path of refinement.”
It’s not uncommon for those who seek a tarot reading to have the “lust of result” firing on all cylinders as they yearn for a fortunate conclusion to the subject of the divination. They are most likely hoping to impose their mundane (lower-case “w”) will on the matter and don’t have a thought for whether it is aligned with their best interests from a more abstract and exalted “True Will” perspective. They probably don’t even know there is such a thing unless it was instilled in them through the exploration of metaphysics or psychology.
Aleister Crowley made it clear (although in a rather abstruse manner) that exercising one’s True Will doesn’t mean coveting anything we want, but rather only that which is consistent with our higher purpose. For instance, if we desire love we must demonstrate that we’re worthy of love before it will manifest as more than lopsided infatuation (the stimulus of lust is an entirely different matter that largely dispenses with the cumbersome code of honor).
Taoism proposes that banishing these conceits and achieving poised self-assurance is a matter of balancing our feminine (“silver”) and masculine (“iron”) natures as we grapple with our weaknesses. In tarot reading, dialing in the required level of attention as a function of the details we choose to analyze is one way to identify opportunities that will serve to integrate gender disparities in this polarized state of fragmentation. Smith writes:
“The power of gaze is an important consideration for many reasons in Taiji, but usually as a manner to direct energy and attention so that movement is more fluid and more unified.”
I would argue that effectively directing energy and attention is also a vital aspect of tarot reading, particularly if it can enlist the masculine and feminine principles of persistence and patience in the scope. The gaze (aka facing or regard) and posture of the figures on the cards have a long history of use for this type of mission within traditional cartomancy, although they aren’t commonly seen in modern tarot practice because it tends to shy away from anything deterministic. In general, a figure looking to the left was said to be fixated on the past, while when peering to the right it was more future-oriented; facing straight out meant squarely grounded in the present.
Probably because most of the people in the world are right-handed, the I Ching considers the right hand to be yang in in its function — active, generative and forthright (the strong sword-arm and the hand that is extended in greeting with an eye toward deflecting untoward aggression); the left hand is characterized as yin — passive, receptive and circumspect (sometimes to the point of artifice — sinister means “to the left;” also, the protective shield-arm and the sneaky hand that is “held behind the back”).
The correlation of these attributes to masculine and feminine traits is a product of entrenched stereotyping based on the traditional roles of men and women in archaic society. The male paragon was expected to be energetic and noble, while the perfect female was supposed to be placid and virtuous (even though we’ve all seen contrary examples of both). Hence, the archetypal gender conventions that have endured in the esoteric branches of both Eastern and Western metaphysics, abstract qualities that invest their narrow philosophical purview of positive/negative, active/passive and masculine/feminine.
For the purpose of this essay, I’m assuming that a tarot figure looking to the left is in a defensive posture, “watching its back” so to speak; it is anticipating a deceptively indirect (shrewdly passive) thrust that may be (but is not always) an influence arising from the past that could set the character back on its heels. A figure gazing to the right is projecting its steadfast (singularly active) intent into upcoming circumstances and preparing to “seize the moment.” A more self-absorbed emphasis is signified by a figure staring straight out of the scene; it is entirely “in the moment” with no thought for past or future exigencies.
Obviously, when all that is on our mind is the “lust of result,” we will be training all of our faculties doggedly toward the right, looking for hints of what may be coming our way regardless of whether the gaze of a “character” card (usually a court card) is disposed in that direction (although if there is one it may augment our surveillance by sharpening our focus). But we shouldn’t be dismissive of a less-apparent condition that may be looming on our “blind side;” in this scenario a “character” card that is aimed to the left can expose the potential threat by demanding accountability from the preceding card before it can waylay us. It is reminiscent of the “Go to Jail” card in Monopoly because it can impose an interdiction on devious intentions through its unblinking scrutiny.
An interesting difficulty is presented by a “character” card that has no adjacent card in the direction it is facing, which leaves the potential impact of its gaze unresolved. The solution proposed by Caitlin Matthews in Untold Tarot is to draw another card and place it next to the “character” card in the path of its regard to show what it is looking at; we can then form an opinion addressing what this interaction means to the narrative. (Note that this can happen when the “character” card is at the beginning or end of a horizontal row, or anywhere in a vertical column.)
This was a long-winded way of saying that masculine prerogatives actively embrace the “lust of result” while the feminine agenda insinuates its way into prominence. One may take us far but the other will get us there in one piece, while “gaze” can set us off in the right direction.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on November 4, 2024.
