A MAGA Difference of Opinion...

... two Taroistas seeking mutual understanding through Tarot

Reader warning… please read this first…

OK… so… controversial subject, the current state of American politics, and I truly am struggling to remember (maybe it’s my age! 😀) a time of such anger and vitriol online… this post is NOT about further fuelling the online conflagration. In fact, it is very determinedly meant to go in the opposite direction by looking at how two people with totally different opinions can read Tarot in a search for mutual understanding, agree to differ, but still walk away as friends, hopefully, enriched by the experience… SO…

• … if you feel immediately triggered by the political context that inspired this post, please click away now, there are millions of brilliant reads on Substack, and I’d truly prefer you to enjoy one of those instead;

• … if you do decide to read this post, in the spirit in which it is intended, i.e. using Tarot to give us insight into why we feel so differently about things, in order to develop deeper understanding and mutual respect, even in disagreement. Great! Welcome!

• … if, having read the post, you decide to comment, that would be great, too, I love a good, challenging (but respectful!) dialogue… HOWEVER… if your comment is disrespectful to either of us (more on this in a moment!) or aimed at making aggressive/abusive political points (from either side of the political divide) I will remove it, as soon as I am at a keyboard. There really is more than enough anger and abuse out there on this topic already!

OK… now’s the time to click away, if you are unable to agree to any of the above. Thanks for reading this far 🙏🏼

If you have decided (having read my school-marmy opening above) to stay, thank you… kick back, boil the kettle, be welcome, , and enjoy what follows… 👍🏼

This post was born out of a social media exchange between myself and my online friend Donny Riley. The original inspiration for it came from Donny, who recommended we look at our differences using Tarot to understand more about each other.

Background: I had re-posted a long post about the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany accompanying side-by-side pictures of Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump. It was/is my view that there are a lot of similarities, as the original poster highlights, between Hitler’s journey to ultimate power and Donald Trump’s ascendency in the USA. I am not going to expand any further on this here, this is simply to explain my position, and how it applied the match to Donny’s blue touch paper.

Donny called me out on this post and replied, in a nutshell, that he felt I was ill-informed (very possibly, I do not live in the USA and, as a life-long socialist, am regularly enraged by what I read in the anti-right-wing press and social media). He challenged me to enquire more deeply into what is really happening, rather than simply accepting at face value the “BS” propaganda I am currently being fed.

He generously added that if our differences of opinion meant the end of our friendship, he understood, and sent me love. I told him that I respected his right to his own views, and was happy to continue our friendship on the basis that we agreed to disagree… which we did 👍🏼

Following a few more exchanges, Donny pointed out that as we are both Tarot Readers, we could ask the cards about our situation, and proposed the following reading…

• Picture the bridge between us.

• Choose the deck that you use for shadow work.

• Focus on me — our connection. I am holding that energy for you.

• Shuffle until you are comfortable.

• Put the top card above, the bottom card below.

• Cut the deck and place that top card between.

• … tell me what you see.

• This is the pattern that connects us.

So I did. What follows is that reading, and Donny generously agreed to add his interpretation to mine (below) to make this post¹.

Let’s Tarot…

---

Phil writes:

I was startled by this card, and then worried that if I shared this with Donny that he might have felt, given our disagreement, that I had chosen, rather than pulled it, so… I anxiously overthought for several days before sharing this spread with him. I needn’t have worried, he (of course) took it in his stride; even sharing that he had been fully prepared for this card to make an appearance.

My first thought was the traditional meaning, an over emphasis on the desire for material wealth, which often carries negative associations. Whilst I can’t comment on the extent to which this is true for Donny (we are online friends living on different continents, so I am not around him day-to-day) it felt like only a part of this story 🤔

My second thought went to how the man he supports is famously wealthy and focussed on money, and I glimpsed an alignment. My understanding of the new administration is that it is making significant savings in public departments to redirect funds to others. The recent meeting between the US and Ukrainian leader suggests a very high focus on reducing external costs to the USA, too… the manner of that meeting is not relevant here, so I will leave it there.

Capricorn is the corresponding astrological sign for XV·The Devil, and as a cardinal Earth energy it represents leadership and is also often associated with a need for prestige, worldly and business success; consistent with the vision promoted by MAGA.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, the planet of boundaries and limitations and this led my thinking back to Donny (a proud patriot), who I feel sees the current administration as being capable of delivering both improved financial well-being (in an uncertain world for us all) and the necessary checks and balances that will ensure America, and Americans, are always put first. To a patriotic American, why wouldn’t such a strong commitment to Make(ing) America Great Again be attractive?

Returning to the image on the card, this downwards-focussed figure is securely rooted in its material element Earth, with further self-bindings preventing it from taking flight. This image shows restriction, discomfort, and unhappiness. To me, this indicates that an unyielding focus on the material world, despite its accompanying pain and imposed restrictions, is seen as a necessary evil moving forwards.

Looking at the book notes for this card, the following jumped out at me as especially relevant here…

Remember that the Devil card is not about subjugation without end. It is a card that calls you to be active in achieving your freedom; to take action and free yourself from burdensome attachments. You only need to do so.

This card indicates to me that Donny’s support for MAGA reflects his strong commitment to see America great again as a result of tightly focussing on the material welfare of his country… a patriot, wanting to see action that will free his country from burdensome attachments, which will ultimately benefit him, his family, and his country… accepting that inevitable hardships will surely accompany it one way, or another (see 5 of Pentacles below).

Donny writes:

[…heavily edited for length, with Donny’s approval. Donny’s full version following my sign-off below, is a MUST READ!]

“…and lead us not into Temptation…” (Matthew 6:13)

“He represents the finding of ecstasy in every phenomenon, however naturally repugnant, he transcends limitations; he is Pan; he is All. (Aleister Crowley, from The Book of Thoth (1944))

Are we bound, weak in our Nature, or is the dissonant thought our reluctance to realize its greatest strength—that the Heart, not the Mind, recognizes Truth. What binds us to “truths”? What narrows our Vision rendering us incapable of seeing peripherally? The more encompassing question—How do we recognize Distortion, our Vision obscured by those who benefit from our ignorance and near-sightedness? How do we “know” that what is presented is real or that our bindings are illusions?

And the Greatest Question: What does it take to Open Our Mind?

“To move past [XV·The Devil], one must go deep, face faults, and find forgiveness. He welcomes indulgence, gluttony, and temptation. And yet, the Devil can be embraced as well. He offers fertile soil for creativity, igniting passion, fuelling the glowing pyre of ideas and imagination. In the dark spaces, there emerges the poetry of shadows. We place the chains around our own neck. To be freed of the Devil's shackles, we must remove our own masks and face our own demons.” (Jessica Hundley from TAROT: The Library of Esoterica, 2020)

XV : The Devil asks us to examine our Truths, our Desires, our Wants and Needs. The chains we bind ourselves with are easily thrown off but first we must recognize what binds us, confronting our own Weaknesses. This is how we begin the Journey back to our Divinity… [before] we find ourselves “Called to Rise”, at XX : The Final Judgment, transcending, Whole once more, into XXI : The World.

But The Devil is our First Step on that Journey back to the expanding Light within us (the lightning strike of The Tower, then The Star, The Moon, and finally the Pure Innocence of the Child in The Sun).

I believe there are those who complete certain tasks, operate machinery, negotiate great deals far better than that of which I am capable or focused upon. I rely on them do so, be it surgery, skyscraper building, painting masterpieces, or international affairs. I allow them the work they have aspired to—and when something is amiss, I have my voice. (To be frank, when the sympathy of the country is used to manipulate “feeling” toward manufactured outcomes, money changes hands, and that investment provides neither change nor resolution [then money goes mysteriously “missing”] this is when my Voice is used.)

What we are experiencing in the United States is not an overthrow of Civilized Government. What we are experiencing (no matter the screaming from the opposition) is a transparency and accountability. The proof will be in the experience as it proceeds. Those trying to block its forward movement have the most to lose because their lies are the ones being exposed. We have only to look a little closer, just beneath the dirt used to cover the tracks, to see this clearly. This, we are doing. No wonder they are screaming…

Proceeding from the Heart is tremendously important to me. Appearances, the Surface of what is Shown not so much. I am a firm advocate of questioning what I see, and especially questioning being “told” what I see.

It should be noted when in the Presence of XV : The Devil, XVI : The Tower is the Inevitable Action that follows—Physically, Mentally, Spiritually… a lightning strike, Blinding and usually catastrophically destructive internally and externally. But the Freedom as the rubble settles and the smoke clears is an exhilarating propulsion into a great stage of growth. And to see The World whole again, we must make our Journey toward the Light.

I Am XV : The Devil. I Am Temptation. I Am the Forbidden Thought. I Am the Lure of the Uncomfortable Whisper. I Am the Risk to your Beliefs.

2 - Phil - III · The Empress

Phil writes:

For me, seeing this card representing my position in our disagreement didn’t surprise me. In fact, I saw it as suggesting a little more idealism in my views than I thought I felt… aligning with the current wave of vitriolic media opposition to what MAGA is currently standing, and pushing, for during their ‘shock and awe’ initial months. So… idealistic… 🤔

… Yes!… In a perfect world there will be opportunities for everyone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or creed. Yes!… those needing support will receive it, because those elected to govern them will strive to deliver that protection and encouragement equitably. Yes!… the ‘Mother Nature’ in me wants to see everyone thrive, and wake up every day enjoying their equal opportunity to create a better world for the well-being of themselves, their families, their communities and the world in general… ok… let’s take a breath here and get real! 🤣

This is utterly unrealistic 😔. There are too many agendas, too much focus in this world on personal power and money, in particular, to empower these ideals. Also… and let’s be totally honest here, how many of us idealists donate significant quantities of our time and money to our communities in order to support that perfect-world ideal? I will be perfectly honest here and admit that I don’t. I can’t. I have very little money, and it is always swallowed up by increasingly expensive household provisions, and in paying bills. I manage my outgoings very carefully in light of this, and am no longer able to distribute funds elsewhere… hmmm… could there be some sort of parallel here? 🤔

Maybe Donny and I both have similar priorities here, and this is a meeting point for us? III ·The Empress corresponds astrologically to Venus, and the energy underlying this card is love, creativity and generosity, but, like XV·The Devil, elementally it also corresponds to earth when in Taurus², and… my Sun is in Taurus, so I strongly resonate with the recognition that we both share material concerns for our futures.

The accompanying text for III·The Empress offers the following…

When she appears in your spread, she brings with her the active forces of progression, whether in love, business, creation… There is also a sense of hope that comes with this card, the idea that all the work that was put in in the beginning was not in vain.

I can relate to the idea that she indicates hope, and progression; certainly for MAGA supporters; but my view, and this card represents my view, is that this group represents radical, and positive change for only part of the USA, whilst promising despair, and societal regression for the remainder. III.The Empress’ love is non-discriminatory, and the MAGA dynamic sits really unhappily with that.

Donny writes:

Creative and abundant divine love is what is represented in the Empress. The Empress shows us the infinitely nurturing Creator. She brings forth the world for us, labors over it, births it through patient endurance, and offers it as a gift to us. Through the archetype of the Empress, we glimpse an energy that is constructive rather than destructive, whose aim is to show us how much pleasure exists to partake in. Crowned with stars and surrounded by the glory of a creation made for us to enjoy, the Empress shows us her greatest wish is that we delight in all she has made for us.

The Empress (in the RWS system) sits in the very middle of her creation. She is not at all removed from it. In positioning herself in this way, she reminds us that when the world was created she did not abandon us. Like a good mother, she broods over the world, always close to her children. Having given us our very being, she is bound to us, to care for us. We can rest like children in the gentle fact of her eternal presence.

Beside the Empress sits a stone engraved with the symbol of Venus, goddess of love and beauty. She is surrounded by a lush landscape: cypress trees to sit under, a flowing river to splash in, an abundant wheat harvest to keep our bellies full. We are allowed this abundance. We are allowed this beauty. We are allowed to enjoy this life. There is beauty here, and it is made for us. And most importantly, we have been given Dominion over all of it.

The Empress is a mother who loves her children and wishes joy for them. The perfect maternal love demands nothing but that we accept it. All we have to do is open our hands to it. There is a reason that it feels good to climb a tree, to swim in a river, to eat an abundant meal. It’s because it connects us with our Nature, our God Mother, always wanting a loving connection with us, always wanting to hold us to her cheek, always wanting to bend down and feed us.

It is no wonder turmoil unsettles The Empress. Everything about this card speaks of Harmony and Harmonics. Nature and Nurture are the signposts of The Empress. It does not seem possible that “conflict” could ever occur in the garden of Delights. And so, when it does, it creates a momentary schism.

But I would appeal to you to listen to what seems like dis-chord in the Universal Song. This is the part of the Garden unexplored, presenting itself for your affirmation that its unfamiliarity doesn’t mean it is incapable of flowering.

And I would also tell you, should it seem, at some future point, to be overtaking the Garden, I will also help you to weed.

Note: Throughout Donny’s posts the bold text has been added by me for points that especially resonate for me at the time of this reading.

Phil writes:

There are two figures in this card. One shadows the other. Both are focussed on controlling their pentacle pendulums; managing the to-and-fro, and finding the best way to balance them. The book notes for this card add…

… you will have to remain focused to balance and attend to all of your responsibilities.

Balance is the word that jumps out at me here. Finding the balance that ensures the pendulum can successfully accommodate and achieve either extreme. The foreground figure must acknowledge that there is a shadow figure behind them, also working to keep a pendulum on course, amidst perpetual motion and ceaseless change. They face in different directions, suggesting different views and perspectives, but ultimately, they share the same dilemmas.

This is our Bridge card in this reading. The 2 of Pentacles also corresponds to material, Earth energy, providing a sympathetic resonance to the Earth element cards that represent each of us above. We have this energy in common. This card tells us that we both share similar concerns, offering insight into how we can meet each other in a spirit of understanding.

Acknowledging that we aren’t as different as our views would suggest is the key to unlocking the door to amiably agreeing to disagree.

Donny writes:

[…edited for length, please see Donny’s excellent full version following my sign-off below]

Of the numbered cards it should be noted the Two’s are our reminders of Balance. Love and Love’s Reciprocate, The ability of the Mind to know Light and Shadow, Up and Down, In and Out—and Experience, Benefit and Detriment.

PENTACLES are how we Value ourselves, and display it to the World.

It is a delicate balance to be comfortable Within and comfortable Without. The rolling sea tells us our Thoughts are always being tossed about and only the sturdiness of our Ship will see us to port. Our earthly lives are marked by nothing so much as constant shifting movement. We cannot smooth the waves by our hands, but we can choose how we ride them, and the Two of Pentacles shows us the most faithful way.

The Two of Pentacles (in the Rider-Waite-Smith illustration) shows us what it looks like to honor the Rhythm of Life instead of struggle against it. He holds two coins, but he grasps them both lightly, and it almost looks as if he is juggling them. His posture, mistakenly seen as unsteady, is actually a movement with such ease that he seems to be dancing gracefully in life’s instability. We can do this, too. We can take each day as it comes, with its joys and sorrows, its ups and downs. There is no need to fight, neither resistance nor force.

So, The Bridge (as I see it) that joins us is the simple nature of Comfort in who we are, dancing in our own rhythm, accepting each other in the Dance. You and I may hold tightly to the course we have set for our lives, but we hold loosely the idea that the Seas I travel may not be yours and vice versa. And should our ships pass, we recognize, in honor and reverence, the flags of both masts.

Jumper - 10 of Swords

Phil writes:

This card jumped from the shuffle, along with the next one, and I felt they were both trying to highlight important factors for consideration in this reading. This beautiful deck offers two versions of 10 of Swords (3 of Swords, too!) and I chose this one to include in the shuffle by following my intuition as to where this reading might lead. The accompanying notes offer…

… it represents the realisation and completion of mental progression, going full circle… and learning from all that you’ve experienced.

An old man smiles knowingly at an owl, the traditional representative of wisdom and, it seems to me, sees a new, youthful, and vigorous, approach on the horizon. They both gaze steadily into each others eyes in recognition… this is a time for acceptance without flinching. Elementally, this card represents Air, so the inevitable change coming will relate to intellect and communication.

This card suggests to me that for Donny, and many other MAGA supporters, there is a hunger for burying current, exhausted thinking regarding the management of their country… a hunger for a fresh approach from a fearless leader, committed to delivering radical change paving the way for new beginnings (in line with the Capricorn cardinal Earth energy corresponding to XV·The Devil above).

For me, it begs the question as to whether the aging MAGA leader, has the youthful vigour to create something positive, new, and sustainable for his country. Whether his promise to Make America Great Again will ultimately return his nation to a regressive set of values, that were outgrown during the late 20th Century, and which are designed to disadvantage many both domestically and internationally.

Donny writes:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10)

The Ten of Swords, like the faith of the martyrs, asks us if we are willing to suffer, even to die for that in which we Believe? How much are we willing to give? How far are we willing to go?

The Ten of Swords (RWS) shows us an image of a brutal martyrdom, but there is a noticeable lack of despair. There is death here, but there is no fear. In fact, the image is infused with a distinctive sense of hope, as if the darkness of this image were wrapped in light. In the background of the image is a new dawn breaking, a golden sky behind the black clouds. While the Ten of Swords shows us the violence of martyrdom, it also shows us the strange and paradoxical blessedness of it. To live with the spirit of the martyrs is to live entirely without fear. Here is the place where there are no fears of suffering, of loss, or about the future. Everything is abandoned to God, and so nothing holds us back from God.

I will tell you this plainly. I have no need to “fight” to be right. My convictions are what guides me. And the long journey I have travelled to be certain of my direction, the purity of my compass does not require exposition or explanation. It is Quiet Resolution around which I build my World. [my bolding of Donny’s text]

There are those who would say only insanity would lead someone travel this road with “that” person. And I will tell you, with conviction, that when perception clears, when the distortions are finally removed, I am that certain, absolutely, resolutely certain, that what will be revealed will be beyond most people’s comprehension.

This is me, at Peace, at the end of All Thought, knowing the Storm is almost over and the Sun is coming fast.

• Note the fingers of the Right Hand in the symbol of Divine Blessing. Even so, this is for You.

A small note on the Tarot of the Abyss illustration—Who then is Wiser or more Content, The Owl or The Man—or is it the wisdom of the owl (now attained by the man) that has brought contentment?³ Also know, the Owl, along with the Bear are my Spirit Guidance Animals.

Jumper - 5 of Pentacles

Phil writes:

The first two things that drew my attention in this image were the distress of the people expelled from their lodging, and the stars on the five lodging house Pentacles, which whispered Stars and Stripes to me.

I read this card (another Pentacle card relating to the material world) as the key to much of the ill-feeling around the world (and for many in the USA, too) for what MAGA is doing as I write… demonising immigrants (legal, and otherwise); expelling people from their homes and the USA, with very little notice, and … as I understand it, rapidly dismantling the hard-won rights of minority groups, leading to wider survival issues for those so disenfranchised.

From the deck notes…

Just as you take care of the house that shelters you, your body also needs to be maintained and cared for.

As a foreigner, this card conjures an immediate image of the richest nation on Earth denying succour and support to many who so desperately need it, whilst the owners of the lodging house enjoy, and expand, their billionaire status, untrammelled control of their property, and limitless legal immunity from criminal prosecution.

I am not an American, and live in Europe, so I don’t have first-hand experience of the immigration problem, but… as a Brit brought up in the UK’s West Midlands alongside the first immigrants from the Windrush generation⁴, and the huge Asian influx during the 60’s and 70’s, I have seen, first-hand, the anger and division that immigration generates in others… “xxx’s GO HOME!!!”.

It is my conclusion after working with this spread that this card probably highlights the key point of difference between Donny (who, unlike me, experiences America on a daily basis) and I; as he has already expressed in our correspondence very different, and extremely valid, opinions on this issue.

Donny writes:

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2)

Our soul-infused selves are lovingly brought into this world, but it is a material world limited by so many little slings and arrows of misfortune. To be openly Hu-man is to accept the Challenge of Life. The Five of Pentacles offers us an honest image of all the sorry sufferings we bear in this life, the suffering we cannot escape. Even so, it also offers a lesson in how to live faithfully in the midst of it.

The Five of Pentacles asks us if it might be easier to live “into” our weakness, and find the indomitable strength from which we are Created rather than “try” to hold it all together.

The beggars of the Five of Pentacles are walking in the snow, and above them is a stained-glass window (RWS). An image of pure abundance, five coins form the shape of a tree around which wind fertile grapevines. It is a golden light standing out in the darkness, inviting the beggars into the warmth of sanctuary.

The Five of Pentacles is an image of suffering, but it is also an image of safety. The promise of Living is not that we will never suffer, but that no injury or illness or distress will have complete power over us. The Light tells us Sanctuary is a matter only of walking to the Door and Knocking.

The Five of Pentacles is an astonishingly apt illustration telling us we are Worthy, no matter our station, no matter our appearance, no matter our understanding, no matter our Beliefs, or lack thereof. We are standing at the Entrance of Acceptance or Denial of that Worth. And someone awaits us at the Door, beckoning, Welcoming us.

Numerology

15 (1+5=6) + 2 + 3 + 10 (1+0=1) + 5 = 17 = 1+7=8

VIII · Strength as the summary for the experience of this reading reflects our patient search for mutual understanding without losing our commitment to our different points of view. We were both open to hearing each others views, and sometimes that hearing is hard, especially when surprised.

That moment of surprise is crucial. A knee-jerk reaction can end a friendship, whilst patient curiosity offers the opportunity for each party to not only learn something, but also to grow, and strengthen, their friendship as a result. The opening of the lion’s mouth (in the RWS image) is gentle, as is the lion’s response, and it is clear that there is no reason to bite however easy it would be to do exactly that!

Arriving at 8, we pass through XVII · The Star… and this is the key to the early management of the disagreement. If both parties approach a conversation with hope for a resolution, rather than an intention to attack, despite their feelings of vulnerability or anger, the outcome is much more likely to be a positive one.

This is the position that follows that first lightning flash of disagreement, the XVI·Tower moment; it flows naturally from this point if we are seeking understanding and personal growth, rather than revenge.

These cards sum up the process behind this post for me, and I am hugely indebted to Donny for his inspiration, and willingness to 8 with me.

Conclusions, or… what have we learned from this reading?

Donny writes:

IN SUMMARY:

Honestly, it appears to me we accept each other where we are though we maintain vastly different perspectives on the current situations.

I see no indications of rancor between us, no judgment, and that while steadfast, we remain open to the future.

Thank you, Phil, once again, for trusting me publicly, to open your heart and have a deep, honest, respectful, exchange—though I expect no less of any genuine Tarot Reading.

I love you, brother. Continually, Unconditionally.

Phil writes:

What Donny said! 👍🏼

This was a fascinating experience, to be sure, and my key learning has been that sharing it with Donny has not only expanded my understanding of the underlying reasons behind our original disagreement, but has also re-emphasised my long-held belief that dialogue is the key. Too often, in our rushed worlds, we jump to unhelpful conclusions in the interest of saving time seeking meeting points.

Specifically…

• I have learned from card 1 that Donny’s heart feels a bigger, longer-term picture than I do, and is ready for a massive XVI·Tower-like change in the future catalysed by what is happening now; whereas, I had taken a head-processed, narrower view focussing on the financial benefits that could accrue for Donny, his family and his countrymen (countrypeople?… erm…? 🧐) with a successful MAGA government;

• From card 2 I have taken away Donny’s words, ‘momentary schism’ because… everything changes! Also, powerfully resonating for me is, “its unfamiliarity doesn’t mean it is incapable of flowering”… the XVI·Tower destruction of the Empress’s beautiful garden, presents an opportunity to experience, sometimes unwelcome, weeds in the garden necessary to fertilise the future… and yes, it will be deeply uncomfortable!

• Card 3, highlights the fact that we cannot, in the spirit of disagreement, “… smooth the waves by our hands, but we can choose how we ride them” and I share this view that it is how we respond that is the key when the situation is immovable. Donny sums it up beautifully like this… “…but we hold loosely the idea that the Seas I travel may not be yours and vice versa. And should our ships pass, we recognize, in honor and reverence, the flags of both masts.” I truly can’t think of a better outcome, or expression of the intention behind making this reading, than this… thanks Donny, and YES!

• In card 4, Donny reminded me of something very important, “I will tell you this plainly. I have no need to “fight” to be right. My convictions are what guides me.” The confidence in one’s beliefs, and the bravery to express them authentically, will always challenge others in a world where, so often, compliance is the only expectation. Also, yes, why do we need to fight? What is that about? I can feel a future post coming on… 😀

• Finally, with card 5, I feel that this is still our major point of difference, as I really don’t share Donny’s optimism, or stoicism in light of what I am reading about current events in the USA… my idealist is still screaming, ‘this is wrong’… but, it will certainly not prevent my saluting the flag of that other ship as it passes!

Donny, thanks… thanks so much for sharing your feelings on our differences, and for suggesting we use Tarot to articulate them. I feel much closer to understanding and respecting your views than I did, despite my firmly held convictions on the topic that led to this, on which, respectfully brother, and with all love… I agree to disagree 🤍

To close, I want to add this simple, beautiful thought from a great writer I recently discovered on social media …

But I will say this: not every discussion needs to end with one side winning. Sometimes, the best outcome is that both sides spoke, both were heard, and in the end, they simply walked away, still standing. Sumiko Nakano.

Thank you for reading this longer post (if you made it this far!). I welcome your thoughts on the above, and how this reading resonates (or not!) for you... please feel free to comment below (I am very open to respectful disagreement and discussion!) and share this free post if you feel it might interest others, thanks... 😊

Love, light, and laughter... always,

tarotbyphil 🕯️

Donny’s complete (and unedited) readings fo XV·The Devil and the 2 of Pentacles

1 · DONNY - XV·THE DEVIL

“…and lead us not into Temptation…” (Matthew 6:13)

“He represents the finding of ecstasy in every phenomenon, however naturally repugnant, he transcends limitations; he is Pan; he is All.” (Aleister Crowley, from The Book of Thoth (1944))

Are we bound, weak in our Nature, or is the dissonant thought our reluctance to realize its greatest strength—that the Heart, not the Mind, recognizes Truth. What binds us to “truths”? What narrows our Vision rendering us incapable of seeing peripherally? The more encompassing question—How do we recognize Distortion, our Vision obscured by those who benefit from our ignorance and near-sightedness? How do we “know” that what is presented is real or that our bindings are illusions?

And the Greatest Question: What does it take to Open Our Mind?

How does all this abstraction relate to Key XV? Who is the Master of Illusion? The Greatest Deceiver? The Bender of Truth?: an egregore we call The Devil.

But who is our Devil really?

The Devil holds up a mirror to our Insecurities, reflecting back to our lowered countenance the material World, its limited presentation as “Reality”. The Devil is not so much about the metaphysics of evil as it is about the ways in which we voluntarily forfeit our freedom, our Open Mind, our Pure Innocence to bind ourselves in selfish desire—what we “want” to be true at the expense of the heart connection. It introduces a certain claustrophobic hollowness into our existence, chaining us to our own wants at the expense of anything else. In this way, the inner heart of sin is not so much the presence of evil as it is the absence of love. It is an empty, negative force in our lives. To live with tarot’s Devil is to be trapped by a thing visible only by the suffering it causes. The Indulgence is intoxicating. Superiority becomes our Truth. To Be Right is our banner. We are Bound by Appearance—even knowing only The Truth sets us Free.

“The Devil demands honesty in all self-assessment and requires a confrontation and acceptance of one’s raw desires. He forces admission of addiction, impulse, and manipulation. He is a signifier of entrapment, lack of fulfillment, reliance on the material rather than the spiritual.

To move past him, one must go deep, face faults, and find forgiveness. He welcomes indulgence, gluttony, and temptation. And yet, the Devil can be embraced as well. He offers fertile soil for creativity, igniting passion, fueling the glowing pyre of ideas and imagination. In the dark spaces, there emerges the poetry of shadows. We place the chains around our own neck. To be freed of the Devil's shackles, we must remove our own masks and face our own demons.” (Jessica Hundley from TAROT: The Library of Esoterica, 2020)

Our connections with other people draw us closer to God, and so wherever there is alienation from other people, there is inevitably alienation from God. When we make a habit of centering our own selves in our lives, we eventually lose the ability to be in vulnerable connection with other people. When we treat other people as objects, dismissively, marginally, we sever our connection with them. We cannot see them as fellow children of God.

“Sin is, at its root, a failure to love anything outside of oneself, defined not so much by turning toward something but by turning away from each other. It is virtue twisted monstrously in on itself for its own gain. Because of this, the Devil is tarot’s Lovers in reverse. It is an ultimately isolating figure, tearing us away from the ability to truly love each other.” (Brittany Muller from The Contemplative Tarot, 2024)

The Devil can be a difficult image for some. That being said, if we believe in God’s love, then we must also recognize the forces that work against that love. Ultimately, this is all the tarot’s Devil asks us to do. There is good in confronting our own weaknesses, in looking for the fault lines in our souls, in taking an honest look at ourselves, and tarot’s Devil encourages us to do just that. But our weaknesses never prevent the source of all goodness from working, so we can hold the Devil lightly. The Devil is a reminder that to live “blindly” is to see hell, but our True Compass is always looking to connect with us in gentleness and love, to free us from these bonds we make for ourselves.

A long time ago (as Mythology tells us) there was a Wo-man in a Garden. A creature we have come to call a Snake convinced her to indulge in a fruit she had never considered eating as it was Forbidden by Law. The Heart never countered Law of Mind. But when Attention of the Wo-man was drawn to a false understanding she was “beguiled” and abandoned the Law of the Heart—the Path of Inner Peace. Eating of the Fruit is not what caused her Death—she did not “surely die.” The Revelations borne by Tree of Good and Evil opened her to Identifying with Perspective—and suddenly Existence she knew as Oneness fractured into not just duality, not just Good and Evil but an infinite variations of possibilities impossible to reconcile. What was simple was now complex. Once the World consisted of Be-ing, Wholeness—now, Duality is realized with the Heartbeat. And the offspring of Duality is Separation. This condition for the Heart is a fatal, incomprehensible Dis-Ease.

But, as with all Tarot cards, as with all of Life, there are Lessons. Every teaching is Beneficial.

XV : The Devil asks us to examine our Truths, our Desires, our Wants and Needs. The chains we bind ourselves with are easily thrown off but first we must recognize what binds us, confronting our own Weaknesses. This is how we begin the Journey back to our Divinity.

In this card we begin the ascent to where Separation dissolves and we find ourselves “Called to Rise”, at XX : The Final Judgment, transcending, Whole once more, into XXI : The World. But The Devil is our First Step on that Journey back to the expanding Light within us (the lightning strike of The Tower, then The Star, The Moon, and finally the Pure Innocence of the Child in The Sun). The Devil is the Realization that Separation exists—and it is because we have created the illusion ourselves, and donning the chains, embraced it.

It should be noted that this card infers an idolization (all un-healthy) which does not exist. I do believe there are those who complete certain tasks, operate machinery, negotiate great deals far better than that of which I am capable or focused upon. I rely on them do so, be it surgery, skyscraper building, painting masterpieces, or international affairs. I allow them the work they have aspired to—and when something is amiss, I have my voice. (To be frank, when the sympathy of the country is used to manipulate “feeling” toward manufactured outcomes, money changes hands, and that investment provides neither change nor resolution [then money goes mysteriously “missing”] this is when my Voice is used.)

What we are experiencing in the United States is not an overthrow of Civilized Government. What we are experiencing (no matter the screaming from the opposition) is a transparency and accountability. The proof will be in the experience as it proceeds. Those trying to block its forward movement have the most to lose because their lies are the ones being exposed. We have only to look a little closer, just beneath the dirt used to cover the tracks, to see this clearly. This, we are doing. No wonder they are screaming…

Proceeding from the Heart is tremendously important to me. Appearances, the Surface of what is Shown not so much. I am a firm advocate of questioning what I see, and especially questioning being “told” what I see. (Not that it matters so much in this conversation but it is also how I left Organized Religion, and found God.)

It is important to remember XV : The Devil is the Auger, the Moment of Realization of what binds us, and that we are free to reach for the chains or remain bound. The Devil can be a card of Action, but it is more a card of Introspection—a card that teaches us the tools and materials we’ve used to bind ourselves are the same tools used to free ourselves.

XV : The Devil is a card of Choice—just as VI : The Lovers is.

It should be noted when in the Presence of XV : The Devil, XVI : The Tower is the Inevitable Action that follows—Physically, Mentally, Spiritually. When we discard the heavy chains that have obscured our True Vision, the Light is like a lightning strike, Blinding and usually catastrophically destructive internally and externally. But the Freedom as the rubble settles and the smoke clears is an exhilarating propulsion into a great stage of growth. And to see The World whole again, we must make our Journey toward the Light.

I Am XV : The Devil. I Am Temptation. I Am the Forbidden Thought. I Am the Lure of the Uncomfortable Whisper. I Am the Risk to your Beliefs.

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3 · BRIDGE - 2 of PENTACLES

Of the numbered cards it should be noted the Two’s are our reminders of Balance. Love and Love’s Reciprocate, The ability of the Mind to know Light and Shadow, Up and Down, In and Out—and Experience, Benefit and Detriment, and how to realize Vision from Ambitions, Action from Complacency, Adventure fromStagnation.

PENTACLES, for me, have always been about Worth—primarily about Self-Worth.How we consider ourselves in the World is how we create, and also what we project outward into the Identity Experience to those with whom we interact.

PENTACLES are how we Value ourselves, and display it to the World.

It is a delicate balance to be comfortable Within and comfortable Without. It is not possible for the Mind to precisely focus Perception. The rolling sea tells us our Thoughts are always being tossed about and only the sturdiness of our Ship will see us to port. Our earthly lives are marked by nothing so much as constant shifting movement. What do we do when we just want stability but situations and circumstances are always in flux? The changes and chances of this life happen to us whether we would like them to or not. We cannot smooth the waves by our hands, but we can choose how we ride them, and the Two of Pentacles shows us the most faithful way.

The Two of Pentacles (in the Rider-Waite-Smith illustration) shows us what it looks like to honor the Rhythm of Life instead of struggle against it. He holds two coins, but he grasps them both lightly, and it almost looks as if he is juggling them. His posture, mistakenly seen as unsteady, is actually a movement with such ease that he seems to be dancing gracefully in life’s instability. We can do this, too. We can take each day as it comes, with its joys and sorrows, its ups and downs. There is no need to fight, neither resistance nor force.

Between the two coins in this image winds a lemniscate, a symbol of eternity. This is the secret of the simple ease we see in the Two of Pentacles. These rhythms of life—rest and work, joy and sorrow, planting and uprooting—they do not stand alone. Every twist and turn is contained within the eternal changelessness. This is the lesson of the Two of Pentacles: it is only when we are humble enough to recognize our own creatureliness—our own lack of control—that we are able to move freely.

So, The Bridge (as I see it) that joins us is the simple nature of Comfort in who we are, dancing in our own rhythm, accepting each other in the Dance. You and I may hold tightly to the course we have set for our lives, but we hold loosely the idea that the Seas I travel may not be yours and vice versa. And should our ships pass, we recognize, in honor and reverence, the flags of both masts.

1. To avoid influencing each other’s readings before they were completed (especially given the high regard I have for Donny, and his Tarot gift, which I believed would certainly have caused me loads of rewrites and second guessing!) we both wrote in isolation and presented our completed readings to each other shortly before posting. Without wishing to impose limitations on Donny’s artistry I didn’t discuss word limitations with him. This means that I have edited Donny’s post (cards 1 & 3) to balance the main reading (he saw those edits before publication and approved of them). But… I strongly recommend reading the full extraordinary entries for cards 1 & 3, which are brilliant, and appear beneath the sign off… keep scrolling people! 😀

2. Venus also corresponds to Libra, during daylight hours.

3. This is a great question! I see the man as content having completed a journey inspired by the owl, but oh, there’s so much more to it than that! 😊

4. “Windrush became a symbol of a wider mass-migration movement. People in the Caribbean were invited to the UK to help rebuild post-war Britain.”