The Tarot and Angels

TAROT ARTICLES

The Tarot and Angels : Summary by Serena Brink

There are a number of ways in which the connection between angels and the tarot can be made. Certain cards have traditionally depicted angels e.g. the Lovers, Temperance, Judgment. Angels were attributed to the minor arcana as a result of the synthesis created by the Golden Dawn between the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and the Tarot. Another way of linking the Tarot with Angels was developed by John Randolph Price in his book 'The Angels within us'. The following edited quote from the book explains his rationale:

'The universe is a macrocosm of creative energy and power.....Within your individualized energy field, the microcosm called you, are twenty-two Causal Powers, or angels, that control your conscious behavior and govern the manifestation of all forms and experiences in your personal life.' p. 9.

He goes on to link these twenty-two Causal Powers or angels with the twenty-two Tarot trumps - the major arcana.

Whether these forces of energy and formation are referred to as angels, archetypes, symbols, creative energies, daimons, or thought forms, they are essentially patterns of energy that influence our lives.

If we work at a variety of different levels to integrate the unconscious energy / archetype, then we achieve a greater sense of wholeness. An inner change often leads to an outer change in our lives, even if it is just a change of perception. So in this sense the tarot is a key to the universe.

There are different ways of integrating energy constellations (as expressed by concepts such as archetypes, the natal chart, tarot cards etc) that are manifesting negatively. The way we choose depends on our way of seeing the world. The method discussed here will appeal to those who are attracted to tarot cards and angels.

To put it simplistically, the tarot angel is a manifestation of a higher vibration on the positive polarity of the tarot archetype/symbol/pattern. For an explanation, read the long version. The basic method used is to take our problem (the energy manifesting negatively) to a higher dimension that has a higher vibration i.e. an angel, and through interaction with a higher vibration, the problem is altered. Remember when you bring a lower vibration into contact with a higher vibration, the lower vibration is changed.

The vehicle for the journey into another dimension (place) at a higher octave (vibration) is the imagination. Directed imagination or visualization enables you to attune to particular energy patterns. When visualization techniques are combined with Kabbalistic knowledge and applied to the tarot, the process is called pathworking or Rising on the Planes.

'One begins by imagining an inner scene, a tightly created and directed daydream. Soon, however, one discovers that what is happening is not his own invention.' Robert Wang, The Qabalistic Tarot, p. 8

This process is a little like the one described in Alice in Wonderland. Alice falls asleep, sees a white rabbit, follows it, falls down a hole and ends up in a world in which cards are real.

A brief description of how to contact the Temperance angel