The next step on our journey to awakening is The Hierophant, or The Pope. He sits between two pillars holding a triple-tiered cross and blesses two kneeling priests before him. This is card number 5 which stands for creative thought, moral law and intellectual synthesis. It represents life being made whole as the four cardinal points of manifestation are united in a common centre.
The Hierophant holds the symbols of Papal office and at his feet are the crossed keys. As God’s representative on earth, he provides the keys to the kingdom and acts as a bridge between the world of the senses and the inner world of the spirit. The pillars represent the structure of the established church through which he upholds orthodox religion and accepted codes of behaviour.
The next step on our journey to awakening is The Emperor. He is the Father and embodies the principles of authority, power, order and reason. This is card number 4 which stands for organisation, order and laws. The Emperor is the consort of The Empress and also represents creation, but his is the creation of the will, not feelings. He signifies the use of power rather than love.
The Emperor represents the Father archetype and is related to the distant sky gods of the patriarchy. He holds a sceptre (which looks suspiciously like an ankh), the symbol of his masculine potency and the energy he uses to build his empire. In his other hand is a golden orb which represents his rational understanding of the laws of the physical world. It is his rationality which allows him to organise the world and make the laws and rules by which others must live.
The next step on our journey to awakening is The Empress. She is the Mother, an embodiment of nurturing, abundance and fertility. This is card number 3 which stands for synthesis and harmony. It resolves the tension created by the preceding duality by adding a third unifying principle. This is the number of childbirth, new life, and productivity.
The Empress represents the Mother Goddess, the source of all living things. She gives birth to the creative forces of nature and is rooted in the earth and material reality. For the first time on this journey, the hero encounters the emotional world of feeling. He must accept the physical laws working through his body and emotions, and learn to see the divine as a presence in all material things.
The next step on our journey to awakening is The High Priestess, sometimes called the Female Pope or Papess. She is the Lunar Goddess and sits between the pillars of her temple, the book of wisdom in her hands. Like the sun and moon, the Magician and High Priestess complement each other – she represents the soul, while he is the spirit.
This is card number 2, which stands for duality and the relativity of pairs of opposites. For the first time on our journey, we encounter the ‘other.’ This card signifies our experience as a separate ego living in time in the manifest world. The soul embodied and living by the reflected light of the moon, rather than the unmanifest and timeless spirit bathed in the direct light of the sun.
The next step on our journey to awakening is The Magician. He stands alone and confident, his magic wand held aloft, the symbols of the Tarot arrayed before him. This is card number 1, which stands for positive action, individuality and creativity. The Magician represents the archetype of the Trickster, one of the earliest figures in mythology – a divine messenger and provocateur. He is Prometheus, stealing fire from the gods and gifting it to mankind.
That fire is the first spark of consciousness and this is the power the Magician seeks to wield. The Tarot symbols on the table represent how he tries to manifest his divine consciousness in the physical world, directed by his will (the wand in his hand). The symbols are the Four Elements: fire (baton), earth (pentacle or coin), air (sword), and water (cup). The figure of eight above the Magician’s head represents the inspiration to act coming from his True Self – the spark of divinity within. The white of his clothes shows the purity of his intention, while the red shows his purposive will. He is ready to teach the Fool the hidden ways of the spirit.
The Hero’s Journey begins with The Fool. He walks blithely along, not looking where he’s going and completely unaware he’s about to step over the edge of a precipice. He carries his past in a bag on a stick. In his other hand is a small white flower, and a dog follows at his heels.
This is the archetype of the Wise Fool whose lack of worldly experience appears to put him at a disadvantage, but it means his mind is open to another level of consciousness – whether he realises it or not. He lives on the edges of life and society, and goes his own way regardless of what others think. An example would be Peter Sellers’ character in the film Being There. He plays Chance, a gardener whose simplistic statements are taken as profound by everyone around him. The wise fool is the Holy Fool or Divine Child – a lunatic who hides genius within his madness.
Right Concentration is the final practice of Mental Discipline on the Eightfold Path and is about disciplining the mind to see reality as it is. It’s also known as Right Meditation or Samadhi, and is the practice of focusing your mind on one thing until you’ve reached meditative absorption or jhana.
Samadhi means concentration, and it’s called absorption because when the mind is intensely focused like this you become one with the present moment. It’s a non-dual state of oneness with reality where the self is gone, or absorbed in unity consciousness. When you meditate in samadhi there’s no effort involved – the meditation does itself. There’s no one breathing – the universe breathes.
Right Mindfulness is the second practice in Mental Discipline on the Eightfold Path and involves being aware of the present moment with a clear focus. Right Mindfulness is the heart of Buddhist practice and applies across the whole Eightfold Path. When you’re mindful, your thinking is Right Thought, your speech is Right Speech, your actions are Right Action, and so on.
The principle of mindfulness is very simple but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. All you have to do is pay attention to whatever you’re doing or experiencing without judging or interpreting, and without any unnecessary thought chatter. But it’s only when you try to stay present in the here and now that you realise what a challenge that can be.
Right Effort is the first practice in Mental Discipline on the Eightfold Path and is also known as Right Diligence. This practice supports all the others because it gives you the energy to keep practising, even through difficulties. It involves cultivating a positive attitude and cheerful determination on your quest for freedom from suffering.
Right Effort is about making a persistent effort to do the right thing from day to day, and follow all the various rules and precepts. In other words, you give it your best shot. But it also means doing so without complaining when things get difficult.
And things always get difficult.
Right Livelihood is the final practice in Ethical Conduct on the Eightfold Path and is about how you earn a living and take responsibility for your choices. The ideal is to earn a living without going against the principles of love and compassion, and to do work that expresses the truth of your deepest Self. That means you’re not just working for yourself, but working to benefit others too.
To practice Right Livelihood you should avoid work that involves receiving money for something that directly or indirectly harms either yourself or others. You should aim to work in a way that promotes respect, equality and fairness. This means being honest and ethical in all your business dealings, and doing your best to find work that is meaningful and life enhancing.
