The Unevolved Fire Signs: A Study in Vanity
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I struggled to find a polite way to say “arrogance” without actually saying it, but that would be an extreme example of my point. Also, there is an idea here regarding the reversed court cards and their Golden Dawn assignment to the Chaldean zodiac that warrants further exploration in another essay.
In astrology it is generally understood that every sign has its noble side, but also its “unevolved” (or unrefined) state in which the potential has yet to be realized (recognizing and seizing the opportunity for self-improvement is the true purpose of the birth chart). When it comes to the Fire signs, the coarser types can seem dismissive at best and arrogant at worst. The unevolved Sagittarian (it’s typically a male) thinks he knows it all and isn’t shy about letting you in on the secret; the Leo doesn’t just think it, he knows it and acts with aloof majesty, expecting you figure it out for yourself; and the bluff Aries doesn’t care at all about such posturing; take him as he is or let him be. When applying these principles to the Major Arcana of the tarot, independent of any divinatory context, some interesting insights arise regarding their upright and reversed meanings.
The Temperance card is related to Sagittarius in the Golden Dawn system of correspondences. When upright it implies well-honed finesse and consummate poise, an exquisite sense of even-handedness in action with neither too much nor too little force in evidence; when reversed it can degenerate into an abiding (even blind) faith in its own opinions and indifference to those of others. Tactlessness is one possible manifestation, usually with actions to suit (think of indiscriminately “riding roughshod” over the social landscape, but more with detached negligence than malicious intent; after all, can’t everyone see how fair-minded the Sagittarian is?).
The Strength card corresponds to Leo. When upright it suggests (in the words of Aleister Crowley) “courage, strength, energy and action;” when reversed it can wallow in its own self-love — it’s “my way or the highway.” There is a good reason why many dominant Leo types become successful actors; they can convert this private adulation into public acclaim and get more mileage out of it. The unevolved Leo does so love a mirror!
The Emperor is the Aries card. When upright it shows a dignified “father-figure,” typically an authoritarian one; when reversed it can degenerate into an autocratic, high-handed tyrant, the “father from Hell.” Many unevolved Aries types in government positions exhibit this trait. Aries isn’t too choosy about how it exercises its personal power; simply to act can be its own justification, without thought for the consequences.
The court cards in the suit of Fire echo this presumptuous attitude; even when upright they can be prickly to deal with due to their prideful self-assurance; when reversed they can become intolerable. Only the Princess (Page in the RWS deck) escapes from this “superiority complex” since it also partakes of Water and Earth through its rulership (along with the Ace of Wands) of the northwestern quadrant of the heavens.
The Knight (RWS King) of Wands is primarily Sagittarian in nature (one-third resides in Scorpio). It might be said that when this Knight is reversed the Scorpio side can emerge from the wings and grab the spotlight. Scorpio can be subtle and devious; it can insinuate its influence into the affairs of the Knight and nobody will be the wiser until it’s too late. The extravagant Sagittarian tendency to over-inflate can be given a sinister twist by this reversal, and when in a position of power the potential for Machiavellian excess can be breathtaking.
The Queen of Wands is the Aries court card (with one foot in Pisces). Combining the unalloyed assertiveness of Aries with the patient resolve of the Queen, she is known as imperious, implacable and intolerant of opposition, but reversal could be said to bring the gentler Pisces side to the forefront as the innate arrogance takes a step back. I see a moderating potential in this assumption.
The Prince (RWS Knight) of Wands is associated mainly with Leo (one-third is in Cancer). He is convinced that he deserves the best of everything and doesn’t mind taking it if it isn’t immediately forthcoming. His “hidden” nature in Cancer, when surfaced through the accident of reversal, is OK with this hubris since it is comfortably settled in its own sense of manifest destiny as Cardinal Water.
The “small” cards (or Minor Arcana) in Fire are equally divided across three signs, with the Ace lying outside the model along with the Princess. The Two, Three and Four of Wands relate to Aries; the Five, Six and Seven to Leo; and the Eight, Nine and Ten to Sagittarius. As an expression of Cardinality, the first set is more briskly decisive in its operation; the second set corresponds to Fixity and is therefore more steady-going and deliberate; and the third set is associated with Mutability, making it more casually (and therefore often superficially) changeable. (Note that this model doesn’t square with the Qabalistic premise that the Twos are more energetic and volatile than the inflexible Tens; it’s a different system of classification.) These cards don’t necessarily represent aspects of the human personality, so the idea of “arrogance” can’t really be applied to the forces they embody. However, they can certainly be used either prudently or immoderately; in that sense, reversal could shift their mode toward the latter, making them seem insensitive. In fact, lack of empathy may be the ideal all-purpose “key-phrase” for the reversed Wands.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on March 22, 2022.
