Tarot of Marseilles This card shows a central figure that we might describe as Mother Nature, surrounded by symbols for the Cardinal Directions. These four quarters also represent the four suits of the Minor Arcana which are to follow. The World card is a reflection upon the third card, The Empress. This is the final card in the Major Arcana, and therefore represents the "big picture" of the cosmos as a unified being. "The number 21 is the number of destruction or rather of universal termination, because, as 2 is separated from 1, it is necessary that it has a means of to unite there if it wants it. This number shows at the same time the command of the production of things and their end, as well in the spiritual one as in the corporal one." Claude of Saint-Martin The destruction here is of illusion, of egocentricism. When the illusion is shattered, we wake up to the stunning reality of the universe.  "21, the highest possible number of 3 in the cor...

Sun, glorious sun! It is that magnetic force which our whole world revolves around. In this card, the idea of magnetism is illustrated by two people drawn toward each other. The sun is our source of heat and light, it radiates energy toward us. Within the human body, the centre of gravity is somewhere near the navel, or in the diaphragm if we lift our arms. This is where a collection of nerves called the Solar Plexus is located. This nerve plexus is often associated with the Manipura chakra, seated below the diaphragm, behind the navel. Manipura is thought to radiate energy, or vital power, throughout the body. The Solar Plexus, also known as the Surya chakra, is thought to absorb and assimilate energy from Manipura. In the Tarot card you can see one person is gesturing toward the centre of the other person, indicating the "place of resplendence." Surya Namaskar, or "Sun Salutation" is a well known Hindu mode of worship. A sequence of yogic postures are assum...

The Tarot of Marseilles Historically, the eleventh Tarot card was called "force" or "fortitude". Fortitude meant moderation in attitudes toward pain and danger, with neither being avoided at all costs, nor actively wanted. The image shows a woman holding open the mouth of a beast. Clearly there is danger here, but she straddles the beast and appears to take great care in what she needs to do. This means having the courage to do what needs to be done, without acting recklessly. We might also call this card "prudence", stressing self-discipline and careful consideration of one's actions. The number eleven is associated with the zodiac, because out of the twelve zodiac"signs" there is always one hidden behind the sun, leaving eleven visible. The eleventh sign of the zodiac is Aquarius, which the ancient Babylonians associated with the god Ea, also known as Enki. He is the master craftsman of the universe who bestows the " Arts of ...

Tarot of Marseilles The number nine is revered in Hinduism and considered a complete, perfected and divine number because it represents the end of a cycle in the decimal system, which originated from the Indian subcontinent as early as 3000 BCE. In Buddhism, Gautama Buddha was believed to have nine virtues, 1. Accomplished Buddhahood, 2. Perfectly Self-Awakened, 3. Wise Conduct, 4. Well-spoken, 5. Understanding the Universe, 6. Skilled Trainer of the Untrained, 7. Universal Teacher, 8. Blessed with Enlightenment, 9. Fully Liberated. In Christianity, a Hermit is a type of monk who lives in solitude, to achieve something like Buddahood. According to the Eleusinian Mysteries, nine is the number of spheres through whish consciousness passes on its way to rebirth. In Islamic cosmology the Universe is made from nine spheres—the traditional eight of Ptolemy , plus a ninth added by the Arab astronomer Thābit ibn Qurrah to explain the precession of the equinoxes . In Norse mythology, ...

Tarot of Marseilles Four represents the dimension of time. One of the first major expositors of the fourth dimension was Charles Howard Hinton, starting in 1880 with his essay What is the Fourth Dimension? He introduced a method for visualising the fourth dimension using cubes in the book Fourth Dimension . In the fourth dimension, time is like an object which appears bigger or smaller depending on its duration. Past, present and future all exist simultaneously. Every moment of time is equally real. This philosophical approach to the nature of time is called eternalism . On the other hand, presentism asserts that only the present exists. Additionally there is the "growing block theory" which views the present and past as real but the future as non-existent. In buddhism there are four noble truths. Dukkha is the struggle of trying to hold on to things which are ever changing and transient. Samudaya is the conditioned arising of the present, the principle of cause and...

Hello there, so zero seems like a good place to start. Since moving into the new house and trying to get things organised, it does feel like a fresh start at life. I am a little bit further East down the coast, and am familiarising myself with a whole new beach. It does feel like I'm starting from scratch. This is what prompted my to change things up online, make changes to my blog, youtube channel, instagram, etsy, all of it really. It's just where I'm at right now. I am still organising my bedroom and art studio, which is full of boxes waiting to be unpacked. The living room is just an empty room waiting for furniture. The kitchen is a bit of a mess, with floor boards that need varnishing. It's all a bit of a construction site, and that's ok. I was given the mantra "my life is a work in progress" at Yoga last week. It's a good one to repeat and remember, it's ok to be a work in progress. While I am organising my art studio, I am thinking abou...

Hello everybody I suppose I better start blogging again! I was blogging over at wordpress for a little while but I just couldn't get to grips with the format. I like that this blog is easily linked to my other accounts, it gets automatically shared with my twitter and facebook, so that makes life easier. So what is this blog all about? Basically, this is my online diary where I can write about the stuff I'm doing. I often share pictures and things on my facebook page, but my blog enables me to go into more detail and write several paragraphs, if you're interested in reading more about what I do. What is the purpose of my art? When I was a little kid, I wanted to become an artist so that I could communicate the lovely things in my imagination with the rest of the world. I wanted to bring the imaginary to life. This is why I do what I do, because I believe in the importance of imagination. What you have in your head is not insignificant. The thoughts and images that po...