You must be logged in to post a comment.
class 5 (set 7)
Directory of Meanings Set 7: Art and Life
NOTES
1. The blue group 7 is concerned with communication, and set 7 takes up this theme again. We consider that the ultimate form of throat chakra communication between human beings is art, so Rainring explores the issues involving communication by referring to the artist and his/her work.2. Within the meaning section of each entry, we begin by quoting the definition given on the web, follow this with one or two general comments about the card, then move to specific indications about the querant drawing the card. 55. Impression: group – spirit (1 violet/purple)
The Image
Two figures are seen in silhouette against what could be a night sky lit up by fireworks. To the left, a man is raising himself from a reclining position. He is looking at a woman, apparently considerably younger than himself, who stands amid a great tangle of hair, looking back and holding her arms out towards him.
The meaning
Impression: the mark left on our being by the experiences of life; the process or result of imprinting the psyche
A: General
The sequence of cards which make up this set begins with the spirit group card Impression. This is a complex card with several layers of meaning. It can refer to the totality of the impressions imprinted in the psyche, which altogether form our conditioning. Or its reference can be simply to whatever we take in as we walk around etc – the myriad of sense impressions. Finally, when it is linked to words such as impressive and impressed, there is a feeling of being overawed by someone or something – this person or thing is great and I feel small by comparison.
B Specific
Someone or something makes an impression on you. You have an ambivalent reaction to this. One aspect of this is that you feel small, even possibly worthless by comparison – your ego is diminished. In some cases, you may resent and resist the impression, because it has the ability to destabilise you, to force you to question yourself, your views, attitudes, beliefs, behaviour, lifestyle and self-image. In fact, polemic forms of expression (card 56) aim quite specifically at this effect. With Impression, you are under a degree of threat, yet you cannot simply close yourself off from impressions, because they can also nurture, enrich and teach you. This is the origin of your dilemma – you want to open yourself to impressions that enhance your world, whilst avoiding those that detract from it.
Impressions, equally, can have emotional consequences. If you have been moved, it means that strong emotions were triggered in you, as a result of which you are no longer ‘in the same place’ as you were. It is also characteristic of impressions that they can cause a delayed reaction. You may have resistances at this particular moment, or your psyche may be like cold earth in which a seed cannot germinate yet. But that same seed can lie dormant, sometimes for years, and suddenly one day, at the appropriate season, it will burst into life. In relationship something similar happens: today you are impressed by so-and-so, feel insignificant in comparison to them – later, inspired by their life and / or work, having learned the lessons that their example had for you, you may find that you have risen to their level and now stand alongside them.
The card summarising the nature of Impression is Legacy, umpire Form. This elegantly summarises your situation. Whether or not you are aware of it at this moment, Impression means that a permanent and tangible impact has occurred: someone or something has had an effect upon you which will not fade away.
Despite this focus, we should also bear in mind, as mentioned, that the card may refer in a less dramatic way to a situation in which you have absorbed one or more impressions, without them having triggered such a strong response or been particularly ‘impressive’; equally, the card can occur in a context in which it refers to the effects of childhood conditioning – the imprint of early-life situations and events on your psyche.
Divination summary:
Being impressed, overawed, inspired; a genuine learning situation; feeling threatened or humbled by the size, power, capacities etc of a person or thing; envy, resistance; nurtured, touched, moved; seeds of future growth of self; sense impressions; issues of conditioning.
56. Expression: group – will (2 red)
The Image
The image is a close-up of a man of middle years with a moustache and goatee beard. He wears a red woollen cap decorated with white designs and a green tunic with a white band at the neck. He is holding up his left hand, the fingers of which are in very expressive positions, perhaps because he is responding to music. The trunk of a tree can just be seen to his left, and its bare branches overhead seem almost to mimic the movement of his fingers. He wears an expression of calm concentration.
The meaning
Expression: The urge to make our mark upon life, just as it makes its own upon us; the impulse to press out upon the world by creative acts
A General
Creative expression has come to seem like the preserve of a select few. Yet impression and expression are as central to human existence as inspiration and expiration – and one without the other is unthinkable. Just as impression belongs at the spirit pole, so expression is at the other pole, the Will, making emotion an integral part of expression. The literal meaning is to press out, and expression seems to be the product of what feels like an imperative inner need to externalise something of oneself.
B specific
Your journey of expression begins with gifts from the Unconscious. You may even have times of feeling absolutely compelled to bring out something that is running through your inner being like molten lava. Rather as the mother must push the baby into the world, so as the artist you must sometimes push your inner vision into the light of day. This intense process may cause you to have a domineering attitude – it sweeps all before it. Also, it means connecting to physical elements – whether the materials you use, the information obtained from your senses, the contact with objects, events and people which may be part of this process of birthing your vision. Indeed, this card signifies passion in relationship – that place where you are neither in control nor abandon, because it is the fine balance between the two which fits your purposes as an artist.
Perhaps you cannot avoid a sense of inflation, for it is a fact that you are a conduit from the immensity beyond to the level of the everyday world. Your art, if it truly has this beyond in it, causes you to shine. In fact, more than that, it represents a rite of passage from which you will emerge spiritually enriched. For this reason, what will oppose Expression is any anxiety felt about such movement, personal growth.
To sum up, Expression, or art as we tend to call its production, has some of the qualities of youth: exuberance, enthusiasm and usually, on some level, optimism. It belongs to the new: challenging the established order, too captivated by the intoxication which accompanies it to worry overmuch about what consequences it may have, what reactions it may set off, in the wider society.Note that a further meaning of Expression is also possible, namely that of saying what you feel, in the sense of not repressing it. No artistic reference need be involved in this case.
Divinatory meanings
creative work, self-expression, saying what you feel, passion, dedication, intoxication, radiance, inflated feelings of self-worth, journey of the soul, exuberance, naivety, infectious enthusiasm, challenge to established values.
57. Rapport: group – heart (3 green)
The Image
In the upper part of the picture, two young men sit on a raised platform. Each leans against a pillar, they face each other with their legs intertwined, the one on the left is playing a flute, the one on the right a guitar. Below them, in the lower part of the picture, two young couples are dancing. In fact, the artist has amused herself by arranging for each girl to have given one hand to each of the two young men, so that if they attempt to turn, as they appear to be doing, they will end up in a complete tangle. The dominant colour of the image is various tones of green.
The meaning
Rapport: the essence of the artist as communicator – heart to heart connection with the other
A General
Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines rapport as ‘relation marked by harmony, conformity, accord, or affinity’. Rapport is the art and life card for the heart chakra. It describes a particular relationship, the passionate connection between artist and public – one which is full of intensity, yet at the same time has a distance, an objectivity about it. By extension, it expands to include relationships of a similar kind in any other context.
B Specific
This card means that you feel a close connection, affinity or harmony with one or more others. Rapport signifies that you feel a lot of emotion, yet part of this you will keep inside, rather than exteriorising it as you would do in a relationship of an intimate character. In rapport, you feel your inner barriers and defences dissolve, and you experience great warmth towards another or others. At the same time, this sense of closeness is tempered by the knowledge that this is not a relationship that will have the continuity of an intimate one: this person, these people will move on and you sense already the need to try and protect yourself from the worst effects of the shock which this separation will produce. There is a tendency to fantasize about how life would be with this person, ignoring the fact that the special connection being felt comes not from the mundane repetitions of daily life, but from an exceptional moment outside it. Ultimately, you are involved in a tug-of-war inside yourself, for the only way to balance the strong emotional urge towards this other is to use your spirit side to pull away.
The classic instance of rapport, that is, is the case where two people have had an intense experience together, such as a shared experience of an artistic kind: through music, film, theatre and so on. This has precipitated a deep feeling of affinity, but the emotional rush which results is counterbalanced by the knowledge that they live on different continents, both have a spouse and children…In fact, the feelings associated with rapport do not have to be of a potentially sexual nature: they may be of great warmth and affection for someone of the same sex, where no homosexual feelings are involved. The opposition to rapport comes, not surprisingly, from sexual intimacy, since once the feelings contained in rapport tip over into sexual expression, the nature of the relationship has altered.
To sum up, Rapport is marked by a quality of discontinuity: the power of it is likely to be successfully contained only where there is a lot of space between those involved. If we think of the ‘serious’ artist as a passionate, dedicated individual with special qualities of heart and soul, we can see how rapport will be a frequent, almost characteristic form of connection with others.
Divination summary
mutual warmth, affection, admiration and respect; affinity & harmony in relationship; repressed passion, emotional resonance; longing, feeling uplifted and ennobled, fantasies of exceptional intimate relations; using the spirit to distance oneself from strong attraction
58. Oeuvre: group – form (4 orange)
The Image
A wood sculptor is chiselling away at the image of a large, unidentifiable animal. Only the upper part of his body is visible, and here he is wearing blue and white. Although we would expect him to be working with dead, seasoned wood, the artist has shown green shoots on the remains of the trunk which appears to form the basis of the sculpture. We can surmise that, whether intentional or not, some kind of symbolism is involved.
The meaning
Oeuvre: expression actualised through creative work – the vision of the artist materialised; directed, productive efforts
A General
Oeuvre marks a watershed, for it is the moment at which the unconscious of the artist moves from the passive absorption of impressions to the active production of work. If expression can be thought of as preliminary drawings, rough drafts of text, rehearsals and so on, oeuvre is the real thing: the creative work of the artist. In Rainring, the card Oeuvre can mean any form of activity – almost all practical activity allows opportunities for the worker to stamp her or his personal mark upon the task. Oeuvre can also refer to inner ‘work’ taking place: for example, a patient working with a therapist to resolve childhood trauma, or a special needs teacher studying and trying to understand the behaviour of an autistic child.
B Specific
This card means that you are actually doing something: you have gone through the preliminaries – getting an idea, working out the details, getting the tools and equipment together… now you are engaged in the actual task. This is the communication set, and what you strive for in this communication we call art is the development and balancing of spirit and will – inspiration and emotion. Great art speaks to the whole range of our human psyche. The same tension which you experienced in Rapport exists also here: intense emotion can be generated in the course of your creative process, but you must balance this by your ability to step back and find an objective viewpoint. The most successful art is that in which the emotion is powerful and authentic, but contained. The vitality which drives your art may well also drive you towards sexual passion, for the two are very close. If relationship features in your oeuvre – as with a painter and his or her model - then you will be possessed by the human object of the creation.
To sum up, with Oeuvre you are handling an explosive force, yet you are doing so in a balanced manner, for you cannot produce finished work without an ability to hold in check the various forces of disintegration which threaten that work. Yet despite, or even because of this character of living dangerously, on the edge, Oeuvre holds a seductive quality which means that you may well have to fight to finish the piece of work. If it comes to an end naturally, like a theatre performance, then you have to fight to come down from that explosive place into the humdrum reality of the daily round. The world is full of artists, writers and so on who have nothing more to say, but are trapped in a compulsion to produce. Equally, on the level of the bloke next door who is always fiddling with his car, this difficulty in completing what we find creatively rewarding is just as apparent.
Divination summary
practical activity, creating, inventing, applying one’s personal touch; expressing oneself in actual work, passionate involvement in activity, trying to balance passion and objectivity; reluctance to let go of activities we enjoy working at; inner states which correspond to the above.
59. Vision: group – Unconscious (5 indigo)
The Image
The scene is of a river with trees on the far bank and stepping stones in the water. On the nearest of these stands a woman wearing a blue top and deep blue skirt and looking towards us. She is barefoot, has her left hand behind her back and her right arm at her side. We see her over the shoulder of a man who stands on the near bank apparently staring at her. A faint white line around the contour of her body suggests that she may be an immaterial vision, rather than a creature of flesh and blood.
The meaning
Vision: what is perceived by the inner eye of the artist and expressed through his oeuvre; to conceive mental images, or have them revealed to one
A General
Vision is defined by Merriam-Webster as: ‘the act or power of imagination… unusual discernment or foresight… direct mystical awareness of the supernatural usually in visible form.’ It is the set 7 card that deals with the influence of the Unconscious on the communication process of art. Vision is seeing, but we often use it in the sense of ‘second sight’ – clairvoyant seeing - or of seeing from an exceptional perspective: both widely and far ahead. This language is a reminder that consciousness is only the tip of the psychific iceberg: overwhelmingly the larger portion of the contents of the psyche lies in the area not immedieately available to consciousness. Vision is part of the process of accessing that area.
B Specific
When you meet the numinous experience of Vision – in dreams, or quiet, meditative states - it is something profoundly joyful yet, paradoxically, will cause you pain. This is because it forces you to confront the fact that, on the scale of the cosmos, you are profoundly insignificant. In Vision, with its powerful emotional content, you experience moments of transcendance – a sense of something vaster and more inclusive than the shallow, petty preoccupations, the restricted horizons of your everyday existence. It is because great art comes from there that it has the power to transport us to other dimensions of ourselves. If the Vision involves relationship, this will take place in an atmosphere of serenity, in such contrast to ordinary life that you will find it upsetting and challenging – and come out of it into pain.
Vision is primarily an emotional experience, though your spirit will later be drawn in to evaluate what has occurred, analyse the insights gained. Where this evaluation does not occur satisfactorily, there is a danger of you ending up pedalling some crackpot, even dangerous message to the world. The rational element of yourself, your spirit side, may well not want to relinquish control to this passionate experience. Many scientists, similarly, have a very unobjective resistance to visionary experience. The role of your spirit must not be to try to block vision, dismissing it as simple imagination, but to be vigilant about where it wants to take you. The thrust of this powerful emotional experience of Vision should normally be towards your producing creative work. The Vision demands that you express, give it material form, communicate. This, too, is the antidote to the pain.
To sum up, Vision is part of your process of intuition: a direct knowing whose source is not reason. The Unconscious can certainly have this card refer also to foresight, to someone or something that looks charming, and to seeing in general, according to the possibilities in the dictionary. But the central thrust is about your being inspired, moved and uplifted by something beyond your normal frame of reference. And beware, the power that lies here can always be abused.
Divination summary
Inspiration, revelation, feelings of transcendence, clairvoyance, direct contact with the non-material world, dream, meditation or trance-induced images; foresight, prophecy, seeing the bigger picture, imagination; the use of sight; charming appearance.
60. Charisma: group – self (6 yellow)
The Image This is an indoor scene, with the light from a lamp playing on the figures of three men. On the left, wearing a green tunic and a red woolen cap, is the mature man featured on Expression. He is holding a pewter tankard and appears to be singing. In the centre and to the rear another young man, playing an instrument resembling a cello, is dressed all in green and has his eyes closed, concentrating on the music which they are making. The third figure, a second young man, is at right front, wears yellow and orange, and is playing a simple flute.
The meaning
Charisma: that which makes a person’s life an art form in itself; the blessing of personal power; a light that draws others to itself, whether for good or ill
A General
Merriam-Webster defines Charisma as: ‘a personal magic of leadership… a special magnetic charm or appeal.’ Charisma is the card from the communication set 7 which belongs to the Self group. It refers to a quality present in an individual, yet that quality is defined only by the effect that the charismatic person has on others. Charisma, in other words, is a matter of personal dynamics, and not merely between one individual and another, but concerning the effect of one person on a group of others. Charismatic people, being larger than life, are wonderful to be around: people are drawn to them because, in their company one lives with a vividness, an intensity, an excitement and exhilaration not possible in other circumstances. But, this relationship also has its drawbacks.
B Specific
There is both an obsessive and invasive quality about you when you display charisma. Part of the power of your charisma derives from your single-mindedness; you have a highly focussed agenda - a purpose, even a mission. Your invasiveness comes from that same drive – you feel that you must communicate your message. Yet Charisma need not necessarily hinge upon a specific call to action. There are individuals who inspire confidence, even devotion, by their simple presence. Charisma, unfortunately, is typically a device used for self–protection: it represents an unusually solid mask, behind which your insecurities are well hidden. This is a strange reversal: that insecurity, which might typically lead to withdrawal due to shyness, can also take you in the opposite direction. After all, once you are the acknowledged leader, you are in a very safe place – for who will challenge you now?
The lynch-pin of charisma is self-belief: if you are convinced that you are an exceptional indiviidual, with a special mission that cannot be carried out by anyone else, this gives you authority – and you may in fact have such special gifts. This sense of destiny that you carry with you is the source of an inner joy which is part of the magnetic effect you have upon others. Most of us - confused, uncertain, divided within ourselves - cannot fail to be impressed by, drawn to your singleness of purpose, focussed attitude and (apparent) complete lack of self-doubt. So the problematic area in Charisma is that of personal relationship, the gulf between you as leader and I as follower.[1] For you, there is a danger of being alone, substituting endless superficial contact for one true intimacy – for in intimacy, you will be challenged.
Freud, Hitler, Marilyn Monroe and Edith Piaf were all charismatic figures. Charisma comes in every possibly variation. It is a complex, flawed condition: irresistible, magical but also potentially disastrous, both for the charismatic one and for those over whom they hold sway.
Finally, note that the card Charisma will occur typically under more banal circumstances: at any time when you have taken an initiative, shown vision, purpose and courage; taken on a leadership role or just raised your head above the parapet; acted with verve, style and distinctiveness.
Divination summary
personal magnetism; acting with leadership and authority; being single-minded in pursuit of a vision; belief in your own mission and destiny; drawing others to you; showing verve, style and distinctiveness in action; using force of personality to invade others; problems of relating to those who admire and respect you; letting yourself be put on a pedestal. 61. Resonance: group – communication (7 blue)
The Image
The image is of a large expanse of water and sky in fair weather. We can just see a water plant at bottom left, otherwise the expanse of blue is unbroken except by a flight of assorted ducks which dominates the scene. One of these is just taking off, those that are already airbourne form a trail, which leads up as far as the eye can see. There is a sense of rhythm in this file of ascending birds.
The meaning
Resonance: striking a chord in the other, who feels themself on the same wavelength; even a small output, if at the appropriate frequency, has a big effect on the recipient.A General
Resonance is the double seven, belonging to both set 7 and group 7. On the one hand, it is the supreme exemplar of the communication vibration, on the other, it has no second element to help balance it and mitigate the effects of the blue (throat) chakra. Like all the doubles, it is an extreme case. Chambers[2] defines resonance, technically, as ‘the state of a system in which a large vibration is produced by a small stimulus of approximately the same frequency as that of the system’; also as ‘sympathetic vibration.’ The Merriam-Webster definition of sympathy refers to being ‘capable of communicating… vibrational energy’. Resonance is a quality of communication whose sympathetic nature means that the original output is magnified in transmission. We are borrowing from this physical property to suggest that something similar happens in the psychific area.B Specific
To obtain Resonance, you will have produced an original stimulus. To do this, you must first be in the inner position of pioneer or educator. From your spirit, you must ‘write your message’. Second, paradoxically, what you say must be ‘sympathetic’ i.e. accessible to others. So, you put the message in the bottle, cork it up, walk to the end of the pier and toss it into the waves. If you are in sympathy with the tides, your message will be carried out to sea and away to distant shores. For your message to resonate, it will have to touch a chord in others, and this means that you have to be in contact with the Unconscious. The expression ‘an idea whose time has come’ expresses this: there is a matter of timing involved in resonance. You may be a great visionary like Van Gogh and not resonate with your contemporaries.
This spirit input into Resonance is very different from that of Conception. The latter is a destabiliser, throwing everyone onto the wrong foot. Resonance, by contrast, begins with an input which will find an echo around the psyche at the stage of development which it has already reached – as if what you say was ‘on the tip of the (collective) tongue’. Expressed another way, resonance is going to bring healing – to allow the light of spirit, of insight, to penetrate into places where the Will is ready to receive it. In doing so, there will be perturbations – if we receive something new, it means that previously we were resisting it; now the desire to open to it is greater than the resistance, but that does not prevent the new from disturbing and unsettling us to a degree.
It is this disturbing effect which makes vital the element of sympathy in the sender. The moment there is any hint of domination, of forcing the recipient to accept the message, resonance goes out of the window. Resonance, to sum up in a phrase, is Beauty in communication – and Beauty is a balance of male and female energies.The card Resonance does not distinguish between sender or recipient – when it appears, you may be in either position. At all events, it will always indicate that you are involved in a process of sympathetic communication.
Divination summary
being on the same wavelength; sympathetic connection; striking a chord with others / having a chord struck in oneself; communication in a timely, appropriate and sensitive manner; not bossing or being bossed around; openness to a message being delivered; having something to say which others are ready to hear.
62. Beauty: group – conjugation (8 magenta)
The image
The scene is of a big, old cherry tree in full bloom. It leans over water, upon which rests a small, open wooden boat. A cascade of pink blossom from the tree is falling into the water and the boat
The meaning
Beauty: male and female energies expressed in mutual harmony; a balance of this kind in communication between people.
A General
The magenta vibration, as we said, does not yet exist in the manifest universe. This means that Beauty is one of those cards whose energies or vibrations exist still only in a latent state. When it occurs in readings, it refers to a very ‘diluted’ form of Beauty as it will one day be. Beauty represents communication between male and female poles. This can refer to an inner process or an outer reality. Overall, the two will always develop in parallel, even if the emphasis is sometimes more on one or the other. It is important to be aware that in Rainring our principal use of the word Beauty is thus this special one, rather than the habitual, aesthetic one.
B Specific
One characteristic feature of Beauty is your inevitable tendency to look over your shoulder at the available escape routes from relationship. You miss the autonomy and freedom characteristic of being single. So you are pursuing this goal of communication beyond denial despite your frequent desire to run away fom it. There is a paradox here: any hope of achieving a relationship in which there is no denial (Beauty) rests on your ability to deny, or more accurately, not to give in to your desire to run away from that relationship![3] To make it still harder, your spirit will tend to despair of ever achieving this goal, the difficulties appearing insurmountable. This is because there is an immense weight of accumulated trauma in the psyche which is saying: this cannot be done. For example, too often there has been a promotion of the ideal of love which has completely failed to recognise the accumulation of rage, hate, terror, grief and despair in the space between the male and female poles of the psyche. For ‘love’ (Swayesse) to be possible for you in any meaningful degree, these emotions will have to be felt - not hidden, denied and run away from.
Small wonder that your principal opposition to Beauty is from Fear: fear has created the problem you face, and fear wants to keep the lid on your emotions, your female side. But it is precisely this which is damaging you. You can only feel the welcome emotions of love, joy, delight… to the extent that you are prepared to feel the unwelcome ones: emotional openness is not selective. This process therefore involves connection with the Unconscious: you and your partner will have to be able and willing to follow your neurotic behaviours back towards their source in the remote past. Indeed, where the deeper, heavier levels of trauma are involved, this enterprise will imperatively need support from outside your couple.
The card Beauty, as we said early on, does not always involve an external process – it can also reflect the ‘work’ that we do on our inner male and female. Nor will Beauty invariably be a reference to the process outlined above. In general, Beauty refers to action in which there is an acknowledgement of both male and female elements, and a balanced approach to them. It refers to any specific male-female energy communication situation in which denial is not a characteristic feature.Divination summary:successful communication between male and female; balance in relationship; willingness to face denial; commitment to resolving relationship conflicts; facing past trauma; healing inner wounds; not running away from relationship difficulties; refusing to retreat into being / remaining single.63. Legacy: group – quest-ion? (9 grey/brown)
[We have decided to withhold the detailed meanings for all the cards of group 9 until we can publish all this material commercially. We are really sorry for the inconvenience this may cause. See 9 Ebb (set 1) for details]
[1] The psychologist Carl Rogers once said that there are three types of leader. The worst is the one the people hate; less bad is the one they adore; but the good leader is the one of whom they are unaware.
[2] Chambers Maxi Paperback Dictionary ISBN 0-550-10575-1
[3] In the psyche, things are seldom simple. Of course there are many, many relationships where the course of action needed for psychic wholeness is to GET OUT. So often we choose a partner in order to harm ourselves. Such relationships cannot (and will never) meet the criteria of Beauty.
