The Number Three in Tarot

Major Arcana, Numerology, Tarot

What do English poet (and author of Wuthering Heights) Emily Brontë and American actor (and Hollywood star) Will Smith have in common? They are both Threes.

In my mind, I’ve always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y’all just didn’t know yet.  (Will Smith)

Three is the number of the Trinity. It is the first number that produces a plane figure (as opposed to a dot (1) or a line (2)). Three is the number of creativity, of the creative imagination and artistic expression; of accessing the unconscious mind, and of the shamanic journey.

In this post we are dealing with the Three of each suite and the Knight (12) (1+2=3) of each suite. We must also consider the Empress (Number 3), The Hanged Man (Number 12) (1+1=2), and The World (Number 21) (2+1=3).

As we saw above, all 1s are also 10s, and virtually all 2s are also 11s, at least potentially. But while all 12s are 3s, by definition, not all 3s are 12s – many are 21s or 30s. What the 3 / 12 contrast means is not as clear as it is with 1s and 10s, and with 2s and Pages (11s); but we can certainly say that the 3s are more in the thick of it (Will Smilth, above, is a 30 = 3), while the Knights (12s) more abstract, more mental, more hypothetical (Emily Brontë, above, is a 12 = 3).

But let’s look at the cards:

WANDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three – putting theory, dreams, plans into practice
Knight (12) – controlling the conscious mind

CUPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three – the Triple Goddess, dancing and music
Knight (12) – Hermes, source of the creative imagination

SWORDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three – tragic drama
Knight – the Hero

PENTACLES

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three – visual art; realising the image
Knight (12) – having realised the dream

Now the cards of the Major Arcana that have the numerical value of Three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Empress (3) – The Muse, inspiring the creative imagination

The Hanged Man (12) – In the throes of creation; but a connection with the number 6 here (12 = 6 x 2), so two ways of looking at things!

The World (21) – Out of this world; the fruits of creative imagination; an obvious connection with the number 7 (21 = 7 x 3), the number of dreams, mystery and mysticism, here.


The Number Two in Tarot

Major Arcana, Numerology, Reading and Readings, Reincarnation, Tarot

Two very typical Twos are Marilyn Monroe and Kate Moss. Another is British Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

I’m at my best in a messy, middle-of-the-road muddle. (Harold Wilson)

I was definitely living fast. I was working, traveling a lot, playing. I didn’t stop. It all became unbalanced. So one day I just said, “I can’t do this anymore. I’ve had enough.  (Kate Moss)

It’s often just enough to be with someone. I don’t need to touch them. Not even talk. A feeling passes between you both. You’re not alone. (Marilyn Monroe)

As we saw, the number 1 stands for perfection. The number 2, destroys that unity, that perfection. It is (or at least was, in classical and medieval times!) considered a bad and female number. It is still considered the number of ill omen, but we shall have more to say about that.

It would probably be helpful at this point to refer back to my earlier post  on the Name Numbers Two and Eleven.

In this post we are dealing with the 2s of each suit, the Pages of each suit – 11: 1+1=2 , the High Priestess (Number 2), Justice (Number 11) (1+1=2), and Judgement (Number 20) (2+0=2).

Having looked at the way Aces relate to 10s (HERE), we must now consider how 2s relate to Pages (11s). In all the cards with the value of 2, there is a sense of being in the hands of Fate, but whereas in the 2s themselves there is an element of passivity, of helplessness, the Pages (11s) are not passive; though they know they are in the hands of Fate, they are asserting themselves.

WANDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 – Dreaming, or planning?
Page (11) – Setting out on new spiritual paths

CUPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 – Who knows what marriage will bring?
Page (11) – New emotional paths, a new relationship

SWORDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 – Sitting blindfolded awaiting – what? One’s fate?
Page (11) – (S)he needs two hands to hold up that one sword, but that’s not stopping her/him.

PENTACLES

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 – Like the sea, they will go on for ever, he cannot stop them
Page (11) – a new way of earning money, of living

The 2s are PUT-UP-WITH-IT cards

The Pages (11s) are GET-UP-AND-GO cards

As I remarked above when discussing name-numbers, all the 2s (with one or two possible and unfortunate exceptions) are also 11s; it is by virtue of being 11s that they are classified as 2s. So whether you are are a 2 or an 11, whether your future is that of a 2 or an 11, is entirely up to you. (And the rest of the spread with give some indication of the likely outcome.)

Now let’s have a look at the cards of the Major Arcana that have the numerical value of 2.

The High Priestess (2)

Before her, we are indeed helpless. We are laypeople, petitioners, while she has the Fates in her pocket. There is nothing we can do. This is a real TWO card, with no hint of the Eleven about it.

Justice (11)

This is different. Justice does not have her eyes covered (like the 2 of Swords) but intends that justice shall be done and be seen to be done. Now we will get a level playing field and a chance to win. This is the authentic 11 = 2.

Judgement (20)

If we look on Judgement as a 2 pure and simple – for there is nothing of the 11 in 2+0=2 – then this is not so much “Wake up now! Do something!” as “You have given up in this life – died, metaphorically – so rise from the dead and try again!” Yes, you are still in the hands of Fate, but for once Fate is doing something to encourage you to be more assertive. But as we have seen, the number 20 may have features in common with the 5s – something lacking in your life, but now for a change Lady Luck is smiling on you!

Or, of course, in a Past Life (Karmic) Tarot Reading, this will represent rebirth, coming back, as such.

 

The Number One in Tarot

Major Arcana, Numerology, Tarot

Here again are three well-known and very typical Ones I drew attention to in my post on Ones in general, Albert Einstein, Whitney Houston and Julia Roberts:

Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature. Albert Einstein

I finally faced the fact that it isn’t a crime not having friends. Being alone means you have fewer problems. Whitney Houston

I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadow; if I fail, or if I succeed at least I did as I believe. Whitney Houston

Everything I’ve done has had purpose and has been passionate and has been executed in the best way that I knew how. Maybe that’s not the perfect way. Maybe that’s not the easiest way. But it’s the best way I knew how to do it. Julia Roberts

In the Jewish, Greek and Christian traditions, goodness and maleness are associated with the odd numbers – starting with One, which stands for perfection and unity: God.

Specifically, the Number One refers to Above then (as opposed to Below). But not “As Above, So Below”; more From Above, To Below – if we are fortunate!

In this post we are dealing with the Aces, the 10s (1 + 0 = 1), the Magician (Number 1), the Wheel of Fortune (Number 10), and The Sun (Number 19: 1 + 9 = 10 = 1).

The Aces and 10s go together in the following manner. The 10s represent the end of the cycle begun with the Aces but of course they also always signify “new beginnings”.

WANDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ace – Plant this wand
10 – Carry home the fruits; but also carry the karma you have accumulated in this life on into your next life

CUPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ace – Fertilise this womb
10 – Have a family; the next generation, the future

SWORDS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ace – Take up arms
10 – Die by the sword; but across the sea the sun is rising on a new day

PENTACLES

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ace – Go and labour
10 – come home rich; but this card depicts the Tree of Life, with three generations of a family portrayed

Now in light of all that, let’s look at the Major Arcana.

The Magician, bringing down (from Above) the power and energy needed for each of the four pursuits depicted by the four Aces of the four suits represented on his table.

The Wheel of Fortune – as we go round on the Wheel we get our inspiration from one of the elemental forces represented by the icons in the four corners of the card: the four Fixed Signs, Leo (Fire), Scorpio (Water), Aquarius (Air), and Taurus (Earth) – exactly as we do from the four Aces, Leo representing the Ace of Wands, Scorpio the Ace of Cups, Aquarius the Ace of Swords, and Taurus the Ace of Pentacles.

The Sun – blessings from above on our lives and our pursuits and projects.

Applying Numerology to the Tarot

Major Arcana, Numerology, Tarot

There are various ways of doing this. The system I like best – the one which seems to work best for me when giving readings – is simply to apply basic numerology to the numbers on the cards. Like this.

First the Minor Arcana:
Aces to Nines – obviously no problem: 1 – 9
Then, 10 = 1
Pages (11) = 2
Knights (12) = 3
Queens (13) = 4
Kings (14) = 5

Now the Major Arcana:
The Magician to the Hermit, 1 – 9; again obviously no problem.
Then the rest as follows:
Wheel of Fortune (10) = 1
Justice (11) = 2
The Hanged Man (12) = 3
Death (13) = 4
Temperance (14) = 5
The Devil (15) = 6
The Tower (16) = 7
The Star (17) = 8
The Moon (18) = 9
The Sun (19) = 10 = 1
Judgement (20) = 2
The World (21) = 3

Which divides the cards up nicely into groups 1 – 9, which I shall deal with in future posts, group by group, number by number.

Sevens, Eights and Nines

Numerology

SEVEN: Seven is the Number of Mystery and Mysticism. The Number Seven is a  dreamer. He or she may be a deep thinker, spiritually inclined, but unfortunately may equally well be materialistic and acquisitive, the dreams being of fame, glory and wealth.

Some Number Sevens:
Abraham Lincoln – 43 = 7
Rudyard Kipling – 43 = 7
Adolf Hitler – 43 = 7
Desmond Tutu – 52 = 7
David Cameron – 43 = 7
Bob Dylan – 25 = 7
Bill Gates – 25 = 7

EIGHT: This number has affinities with the Number Two and the Number Four. Number Fours are decisive, possess political skills and are skilled at handling authority. They are capable of long efforts, but tend to be stubborn and may be callous towards those who stand in their way. The Number Eight, then, may signify drive and success, but may also signify (all along, or in the end) a feeling of not being in control of one’s life, of being controlled by Fate. It may also, in the case of certain women, and submissive and/or effeminate men, signify a need to be considered and seen as sexy that can easily render them subject to abuse.

Some Number Eights:
Robert Browning – 53 = 8
Oscar Wilde – 35 = 8
Rowena Farre – 44 = 8
Richard Burton – 44 = 8
Diane Cilento – 44 = 8
Peter Postlethwaite – 80 = 8
Tony Blair – 26 = 8
Barack Obama – 26 = 8
Mariah Carey – 26 = 8
Jennifer Lopez – 62 = 8
Tina Turner – 35 = 8 – and, for a change, from Tina we’ll have a song:

NINE: Nine is the Royal Number. Number Nines are often visionaries and poets, inspired, intuitive, creative, romantic. However, they may be wildly volatile, have some bad habits, and will usually be impatient with details.

Some typical Number Nines:
James Barrie – 27 = 9
Bernard Shaw – 36 = 9
Charles Dickens – 45 = 9
Emily Dickinson – 45 = 9
T. S. Eliot – 27 = 9
W. Somerset Maugham – 63 = 9
William Golding – 45 = 9
Percy Bysshe Shelley – 63 = 9
While yet a boy I sought for ghosts, and sped
Through many a listening chamber, cave and ruin,
And starlight wood, with fearful steps pursuing
Hopes of high talk with the departed dead.
I call’d on poisonous names with which our youth is fed;
I was not heard; I saw them not;
When musing deeply on the lot
Of life, at that sweet time when winds are wooing
All vital things that wake to bring
News of birds and blossoming,
Sudden, thy shadow fell on me;
I shriek’d, and clasp’d my hands in ecstasy!

We have now seen examples of all the numbers (1 – 9) as applied to peoples’ names. Obviously this result has to be combined with other results from astrology, palmistry and so on, but it does give us a start, and at the beginning of every Tarot Reading, I always check the querent’s Name Number as well as his/her date and time of birth – and, if I am doing the reading in person, a quick reading of the hand. Then I am ready for the cards.

THE REAL MIDDLE EARTH by Brian Bates

Book Reviews, Mysticism

Sub-titled Magic and Mystery in the Dark Ages, this is a non-fiction follow-up to the classic The Way of Wyrd (see my review of that in my previous post) which describes the culture of the Anglo-Saxon and Norse peoples during the first millennium AD, and even on into the second. Not the whole of their culture, but that part of it which was governed by their belief-system. And it is aptly titled, for this was the world where:-

The gods and goddesses lived in the bright spaces of the Upperworld, along with the light elves. Far beneath, in the cavernous shadows of the Lowerworld, lurked the spirits of the dead; they were accompanied by dark elves and the dragon called Nidhog. And in between, reached by a bridge formed of a rainbow called Bifrost (Trembling Pathway), lay the enchanted landscape of Middle-earth.

Middle-earth was a world of forests and seas, which had to be traversed, opposed, lived with, known. In the sea, we learn, were great serpents, and also “the people of the sea” – mermaids, seals that were shapeshifters; and in the forest were dragons and elves and spider-monsters. Those who understood and foresaw events on the web of wyrd were the seers and seeresses; those who could cast binding spells and control events were the wizards and witches.

We meet the ents, ‘which ranged from the immense ice-giants, the first beings after the formation of the cosmos, down to smaller ents which stood like mighty oaks, rooted to the ground but with their heads in the clouds, like Tolkein’s Treebeard. […] The old English word “ent” carries the connotation of a fallen race of wise and faithful giants, whose passing was spoken of regretfully in the later Norse Prose Edda at the end of the age of Middle-earth.

We meet the dwarves, who lived in the lower world, working as “magical smiths”. They made knives, swords and beautiful jewellery, and “magical objects for the gods and goddesses”, including of course Freya’s famous girdle or necklace, “the necklace of the Brisings”. (The Brisings were the four dwarves Freya had to sleep with in order to pay for the necklace!)

A fascinating book, and great background reading for those who feel at home in the world of the so-called Dark Ages (and for tjhose who would like to feel more at home there) as well as for those addicted to Tolkein!

THE WAY OF WYRD by Brian Bates

Book Reviews, Mysticism

A book full of medieval magic and mysticism: Anglo-Saxon sorcery, shamanism and shamanic healings; the loss of the soul, encounters with spirits, including the three Wyrd Sisters, and finding one’s guardian spirit (totem animal).

Back in the 80s, The Way of Wyrd opened a whole new world to me and many others: the shamanistic world of pre-Christian (Saxon) England, the world that was in some respects the original of Tolkein’s Middle-Earth.

I have classified it here as Fiction, though (like much of the best HF) in many ways it is not. It is, to quote the Preface, “a report of a major research project into Anglo-Saxon sorcery […] in the form of a documentary novel in which each event and detail of the teachings is reconstructed from the Anglo-Saxon evidence.”

The book is divided into two parts, the first tells how a young Christian scribe, Brand (our narrator), meets Wulf, the wolfman, the sorcerer, and is eventually obliged to acknowledge the reality of Wulf’s powers; the second is the story of Brand’s own encounters with “wyrd” and the World of Spirits.

And as Brand comes to understand what “wyrd” means and is, so do we, at least to some extent.

After what is in effect a classical healing narrative (it is a shamanic healing and Wulf the sorcerer is clearly what we now think of as a shaman), we go back to Brand’s arrival on the south coast  where he is part of a mission imposed on the pagan king of what is presumably Sussex (the realm of the South Saxons) by the Christian king of Mercia, Wulfhere, son of Penda, the “most powerful warlord in the land”.

Wulf later explains that and another healing, this time of a horse, in terms of “life force”, and goes on to introduce Brand to runes, carved on a stick as a protective amulet. He explains why people fear him – and why warriors do not fear death. He speaks of the Wyrd Sisters – then suddenly announces that “they have come to loosen your fibres”. Brand is terrified.

In the second part of the book, the point comes where the natural and the supernatural intersect – which is of course what sorcery and witchcraft are all about, as is made abundantly clear in this book, but misunderstood (or totally ignored) in most orthodox religion and science (though the greatest scientists – men such as Newton and Einstein – like the great trailblazers of religion – do not make that mistake): things go together, happen together (co-incidence) but it is not a matter of one causing the other.

‘By sorcery [Wulf explains], I mean the forces that rule Middle-Earth. I have told you that, for the sorcerer, everything vibrates the web of wyrd, whether it is an act of the gods or the movement of the tiniest insect. Your arrival trembled the web. The flight of the ravens trembled the web. My presence vibrates the web. All our lives are locked together in the shimmering world of wyrd in which all things are enmeshed, and connected to one another by the threads of wyrd.’
I had been impressed by Wulf’s explanation of a web which contained all things, but now that I was supposedly caught within it, the idea seemed sinister and I could not accept it …

Finally, Brand loses his soul, and has to travel to the Underworld to beg the assistance of “the mighty smiths” before he makes the leap into the World of Spirits in a desperate attempt to retrieve it.

Of particular interest to me now (on rereading the book) were Wulf’s explanations of such common symptoms as fever and sweating: so different, yet quite as likely and as reasonable as our explanations, and his remedies at least as effective.

And this: ‘You must draw your spirit to you along your fibres by singing your own song. That way the guardian spirit will find you […] Do not worry about the words, just make the sounds that come to you. The spirits will understand.’ He gripped my arm. ‘You must do it, Brand. You must! If you do not sing, you will see only visions of death. […] I cannot tell you what to sing, or how to sing. It is your guardian spirit we are seeking. It must be your song. […] Float your word-hoard on the waves of wyrd; the power to release your guardian spirit lies within you alone.’ These might be words for any poet – indeed any writer!

Essential reading for anyone interested in the culture and beliefs of the early Middle Ages – Middle-Earth – for here we have the real Middle-earth, set between the Underworld and the Spirit World.

And tomorrow I will post a review of The Real Middle Earth, the non-fiction book Brian Bates wrote as a follow-up to The Way of Wyrd

Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes

Numerology

THREE:  Three is the Lucky Number, and the Number of Creation and the Arts. Threes are usually outgoing and full of the joys of life; they are inspired and imaginative, but fear routine, may lack self-discipline and tend to leave projects unfinished. They may be moody and/or too concerned with what other people think.

Some typical examples are:
Emily Bronte – 57 = 12 = 3
Walter de la Mare – 57 = 12 = 3
Greta Garbo – 30 = 3
Graham Greene – 66 = 12 = 3
John Lennon – 48 = 12 = 3
Will Smith – 30 = 3
Kate Winslet – 39 = 12 = 3

(For  a brief discussion of the differences between a pure Three (30 = 3) and a Twelve/Three (12 = 3) see this earlier post.)

FOUR: Four is the Square Number, the Number of Stability – but Unstable Stability! Fours work hard and get things done but they often feel they are in the hands of Fate despite everything; they need routine and fears changes. They also tend to be stubborn and have fixed opinions. Many Number Fours conceal hidden underground fires.

Some typical examples are:
Robert Burns – 40 = 4
Thomas Edison – 49 = 13 = 4
Albert Schweitzer – 58 = 13 = 4
James Joyce – 31 = 4
Christopher Lee – 58 = 13 = 4
Kate Middleton – 49 = 13 = 4
Keira Knightley – 40 = 4
Robert Louis Stevenson – 85 = 13 = 4

FIVE:  Five is the Magic Number. Fives are lovers of adventure, daring and persuasive. They are innovative, full of visionary ideas, and often writers; however, they tend to be restless and are easily bored. And while it is true that they seem to be naturally lucky, there is usually something lacking in their lives.

William Shakespeare – 59 = 14 = 5
Gustave Flaubert – 59 = 14 = 5
William Blake – 32 = 5
Charles Darwin – 41 = 5
David Livingstone – 59 = 14 = 5
Jules Verne – 41 = 5
Marlene Dietrich – 50 = 5
Vivien Leigh – 41 = 5
Isaac Newton – 41 = 5

SIX: This number, as we have seen, has affinities with both 2s and 3s. The Number Six’s love of celebrity, for instance, of being in the public eye, contrasting with their need for peace and privacy. They are normally warm, caring, domesticated and reliable, lovers of home and family, and community oriented. However, they may end up feeling – and being! – used and taken for granted. Number Sixes can also be opinionated and self-righteous, and tend to become obsessed with trivial details. They should always be very careful to maintain their independence.

Some typical examples are:
Alexander Fleming – 60 = 6
Sigmund Freud – 51 = 6
Rudolf Nureyev – 60 = 6
Walt Disney – 33 = 6
Margaret Thatcher – 51 = 6
Elizabeth Taylor – 51 = 6
Brigitte Bardot – 42 = 6
Coco Chanel – 42 =  6
Sean Connery – 42 = 6
Kate Beckinsale – 42 = 6
Louis Armstrong – 51 = 6
George Harrison – 51 = 6

Tarot and the Gemini Moon

Good and Evil, Major Arcana, Moon Signs, Numerology, Reincarnation, Tarot

Gemini is a Mutable Air Sign, its number is 6, its planetary ruler is Mercury, and its opposite Sign is Sagittarius: wherever it is a factor in the horoscope it will always involve curiosity, talkativeness and indecisiveness. 

The main distinguishing characteristic of people born when the Moon is in Gemini (whether they are male or female) is a childlike inability to be serious, to be grown-up; they remain children at heart, fickle, charming and flirty but (probably due to traumatic experiences in previous lives) profoundly unwilling – indeed unable – to trust their emotions and make a commitment.

The key phrases here are: Peter Pan; Can’t sit still; and Let’s discuss it and analyse it.

No, they can’t sit still for two minutes. They are hyperactive, rushing around, worrying and chattering – though probably not actually doing anything at all. What they really want to do is talk about doing it.

Which brings us to their desperate need to verbalise their thoughts and feelings and then, if the listener agrees and after talking it to death, to present the opposite point of view at even greater length and with apparently equal sincerity. So no one knows what they really think. They probably don’t themselves, but they will certainly believe it is what they are thinking and saying at that moment.

So, the partner must be super-attentive and above all a good listener!

The archetype for Gemini Moons is the young, quick-witted person who enjoys life but will not, cannot, tolerate any restrictions on his/her freedom – and will not, cannot, commit himself/herself fully to anything or anyone – which is what they should be doing. But I’ll come back to that.

The Moon Signs and compatibility: Gemini is an Air Sign and while it would be compatible with one of the other Air Signs (a Libra or Aquarius), it would not be a good match with another Gemini. Gemini Suns are best with people born when the Sun was in one of the Fire Signs (Aries, Leo, or Gemini’s opposite, Sagittarius), but this does not apply to Gemini Moons, who need the balancing (and dancing-together) effect of one of the Water Signs – someone born when the Moon was in Cancer or Scorpio or Pisces.

Health and diet for different Moon Signs. Understanding the peculiarities of your particular Moon Sign can help you decide on what constitutes a good diet for you. Remember, ONE MAN’S MEAT IS ANOTHER MAN’S POISON, and generalisations about what constitutes “healthy food” for everyone are not only unhelpful but downright dangerous.

For those born when the Moon was in Gemini, diet is not usually a problem, but they should drink plenty of water – and I mean a lot, not just a sip when they feel thirsty! And they should make a point of stopping, stopping moving, stopping talking, and simply doing nothing, sometimes; meditation would be a very good idea!

What to avoid? They should avoid bottling up their emotions – let it out, talk about it. Yes, I know I seem to be contradicting myself here, but a talkative Gemini Moon (and most of them are!) must stop sometimes, while a Gemini who doesn’t talk about it, who bottles it up, is doing something far more harmful to his/her health.

The Tarot Trump which represents and symbolises this Moon sign is The Devil:

.
In numerology, 15 is seen as 1+5, which of course equals 6 – the number of Gemini. The Trump Card for The Sun in Gemini is number 6:The Lovers. Compare the two cards:

This poem, from The Complete Tarot Poems, sums it up:

XV – The Devil

Are these two slaves The Lovers?
Did they believe the lies,
and eat of the Tree of Knowledge
and grow out of Paradise?

Are these two slaves the know-it-alls
who lay beneath the Tree
and laughed at the Fool who knew nothing?
The Fool who knows nothing is free.

Better a Fool who knows nothing
and is happy with what he has got,
than be chained like a slave to the things of this world
and think you know the lot.

The Six (VI = 6) has a strong affinity with Threes and Twos. Indeed, 6 is the only number from 1 to 9 which is divisible by both 2 (2, 4, 6 and 8) and 3 (3, 6 and 9), which explains its main significance when it comes to Tarot: There are two ways of looking at everything.

Just look at the Sixes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wands – Victory is someone else’s defeat; also winning a battle is not winning a war; also the war between Good and Evil is never over: that’s what Good and Evil are, the opposite sides in a never-ending conflict.

Cups – the magic of the past. It did not, could not, last

Swords – Now marks the end of the Past; it also marks the beginning of the Future

Pentacles – Is it more blessed to be poor than to be rich? And how do you rate what he is doing?

Now look back at The Lovers. Is what is happening there Good or Bad? It all depends, doesn’t it? Let’s do a Gemini, and talk about it – without, of course, ever coming to any conclusion. Though we might extend the discussion and ask whether the Biblical “Fall” – which this certainly seems to represent – was a Fall down (the loss of Innocence) or a Fall up (the leaving behind of Childhood)? – again without coming to any conclusion!

However, we are not concerned with Gemini Suns here, but with Gemini Moons, and The Devil. In the Tarot card image, we see two people who were perhaps Geminis in a previous incarnation, but now night has fallen and the sunlit garden of their childhood is a distant memory. Yet they are not grown up. They are caught in a kind of Goth teenage limbo. The bondage is voluntary (they can throw off those collars and chains any time), as is the worship of Mammon, the god of this world.

But let’s be quite clear about this. It is not just a matter of making (or not making) money the be-all and end-all of your life – your god, in effect. Look at this next picture. Would you believe me if I told you I know these two, and the one on the right, the one who looks as if she just stepped out of Trump Card 15 -The Devil, is actually a much kinder person, a much more human person, than the the rather sanctimonious one on the left; and that if I ever needed a helping hand, it would be her I turned to. Yes, you know that might well be true.

As I said before, the number six (and remember, in numerology 15 reduces to 6)  always signifies the universal truth that There are two ways of looking at everything.

BUT ONE OF THEM IS ALWAYS THE BETTER WAY 

Don’t forget that Jesus was accused by his detractors of finding tax-collectors and sinners more congenial company than the priests and pharisees of his day, whom he dismissed as white-washed sepulchres, beautiful on the outside but full of filth on the inside. Prostitutes, he said, would get into the Kingdom of God before them.

Growing up, and recognising real goodness when you see it, and making a choice, a commitment, is what the Gemini Moon is all about.