Jung's concept of Individuation derived from the Tarot
Jung's concept of individuation is expressed/revealed completely through the Major Arcana of the Tarot.
Excluding the "Ein Soph" or "0"of the Fool, the Major Arcana or Trumps of the tarot are divided into 3 cycles.
The first cycle, 1-7, is devoted to the establishment of the ego or outer persona.
The second cycle, 8-14, is where the individual turns inward and begins to breakdown the ego as they develop spiritually in a effort to discover their true will and purpose or individuation.
The third cycle, 15-21, deals with archetypal forces beyond the understanding of ourselves as individuals which brings us full circle to the awareness of and immersion with our own divinity or same ethereal substance from whence we sprang...resulting in the absorption of the individual's knowledge and experience back into the All of limitless potentiality.
Here's how it lays out:
0) The Fool=the clean slate, the un-carved block of the Tao, limitless potentiality
1st Cycle-the process of establishing the outer persona- (Father)
1) The Magician=the theoretical acknowledgment of masculine potential- intelligence(?)
2) The High Priestess=the theoretical acknowledgment of feminine potential- intuition(?)
3) The Empress=the physical application of feminine traits- feeling(?)
4) The Emperor=the physical application of masculine traits- sensing(?)
5) The Heirophant=the establishment of dogmas and societal traditions and the role they play in the individual's growth
6) The Lovers=choices, mainly the choice between what is expected of us and what we truly want for ourselves
7) The Chariot=the motivating factor of drive for change or personal conquest and accomplishment
2nd Cycle-turning inward and the search for self-knowledge begins- (Son)
8) Strength=(traditionally justice holds this spot but those initiated through mystical orders such as the Golden Dawn maintain that switching the placement of these two cards is required in order for the true pattern to emerge and the reason they were not given these placements from the beginning is because this was something the initiated must discover and understand for themselves in order to proceed further on the path.) represents the inner courage of the individual to confront oneself without fear.
9) The Hermit=the willingness to withdraw from the outer world for the purpose of activating the unconscious mind.
10) The Wheel of Fortune=the halfway point, random events of life and the laws of the physical universe give the illusion of fate, destiny and luck but this card represents the revelation that all things are connected in the wheel even though we, as individuals, are only able to perceive our part of it.
11) Justice=finding an equilibrium between understanding and action
12) The Hanged Man=the willingness to sacrifice the personal comfort and habitual patterns that inhibit spiritual growth
13) Death=the actual point of transformation and initiation
14) Temperance=the ability to properly combine acquired knowledge with the spontaneity of all new circumstances...this would represent the pinnacle of the individuation process.
The last cycle goes beyond individuation. These definitions will seem far more abstract as their concepts are not simply defined and require much contemplation and meditation to grasp them in their entirety.
3rd Cycle-realization of divinity- (Holy Ghost)
15) The Devil-the established illusion and oppression of material reality
16) The Tower-the catalyst that destroys our perception of that reality
17) The Star-peace, calm acceptance that creative energy is limitless, free flowing, and a vehicle for the manifestation of truth...darkness transformed into light.
18) The Moon-the imagination as it begins the process of molding the energy of the Star into something the consciousness can comprehend, often obscuring that energy through unconscious fears and superstitions because the moon contains no light of its own and is only capable of reflection/speculation
19)The Sun-enlightenment as an experience, the super-consciousness feeling a part of the whole world rather than an isolated individual
20) Judgement-the true mind awakened by the call
21) The World-completion, unconscious known consciously, the center exists everywhere, nothing and everything all at once.
I'm sure it's no accident that the Tarot contains this trilateral construct. It's fascinating to see how it aligns with the alchemical process as well.
Please don't hold my misuse of psychological terms against the Tarot. I used the terms ego and persona synonymously and though I'm wrong in doing so, my intended definition for the purpose of the subject at hand was as follows:
ego*-The individual's perception as an entity of separate consciousness.
1-7 are associated with the formation of that ego* in a centripetal mode while...
8-14 are when the ego*, thusly formed, begins the process of individuation and enters into a centrifugal mode.
14-21 reach beyond the establishment of individuation, and express archetypal aspects of the self/god/universe in microcosm/macrocosm...possibly referring to things which could only be processed by someone having reached the level of individuation...or the process by which the individual discovers a balance between the perception of themselves as an individual and the acceptance of themselves as a transmitter of the divine All.
Painting by Carl Jung from The Red Book.
Excluding the "Ein Soph" or "0"of the Fool, the Major Arcana or Trumps of the tarot are divided into 3 cycles.
The first cycle, 1-7, is devoted to the establishment of the ego or outer persona.
The second cycle, 8-14, is where the individual turns inward and begins to breakdown the ego as they develop spiritually in a effort to discover their true will and purpose or individuation.
The third cycle, 15-21, deals with archetypal forces beyond the understanding of ourselves as individuals which brings us full circle to the awareness of and immersion with our own divinity or same ethereal substance from whence we sprang...resulting in the absorption of the individual's knowledge and experience back into the All of limitless potentiality.
Here's how it lays out:
0) The Fool=the clean slate, the un-carved block of the Tao, limitless potentiality
1st Cycle-the process of establishing the outer persona- (Father)
1) The Magician=the theoretical acknowledgment of masculine potential- intelligence(?)
2) The High Priestess=the theoretical acknowledgment of feminine potential- intuition(?)
3) The Empress=the physical application of feminine traits- feeling(?)
4) The Emperor=the physical application of masculine traits- sensing(?)
5) The Heirophant=the establishment of dogmas and societal traditions and the role they play in the individual's growth
6) The Lovers=choices, mainly the choice between what is expected of us and what we truly want for ourselves
7) The Chariot=the motivating factor of drive for change or personal conquest and accomplishment
2nd Cycle-turning inward and the search for self-knowledge begins- (Son)
8) Strength=(traditionally justice holds this spot but those initiated through mystical orders such as the Golden Dawn maintain that switching the placement of these two cards is required in order for the true pattern to emerge and the reason they were not given these placements from the beginning is because this was something the initiated must discover and understand for themselves in order to proceed further on the path.) represents the inner courage of the individual to confront oneself without fear.
9) The Hermit=the willingness to withdraw from the outer world for the purpose of activating the unconscious mind.
10) The Wheel of Fortune=the halfway point, random events of life and the laws of the physical universe give the illusion of fate, destiny and luck but this card represents the revelation that all things are connected in the wheel even though we, as individuals, are only able to perceive our part of it.
11) Justice=finding an equilibrium between understanding and action
12) The Hanged Man=the willingness to sacrifice the personal comfort and habitual patterns that inhibit spiritual growth
13) Death=the actual point of transformation and initiation
14) Temperance=the ability to properly combine acquired knowledge with the spontaneity of all new circumstances...this would represent the pinnacle of the individuation process.
The last cycle goes beyond individuation. These definitions will seem far more abstract as their concepts are not simply defined and require much contemplation and meditation to grasp them in their entirety.
3rd Cycle-realization of divinity- (Holy Ghost)
15) The Devil-the established illusion and oppression of material reality
16) The Tower-the catalyst that destroys our perception of that reality
17) The Star-peace, calm acceptance that creative energy is limitless, free flowing, and a vehicle for the manifestation of truth...darkness transformed into light.
18) The Moon-the imagination as it begins the process of molding the energy of the Star into something the consciousness can comprehend, often obscuring that energy through unconscious fears and superstitions because the moon contains no light of its own and is only capable of reflection/speculation
19)The Sun-enlightenment as an experience, the super-consciousness feeling a part of the whole world rather than an isolated individual
20) Judgement-the true mind awakened by the call
21) The World-completion, unconscious known consciously, the center exists everywhere, nothing and everything all at once.
I'm sure it's no accident that the Tarot contains this trilateral construct. It's fascinating to see how it aligns with the alchemical process as well.
Please don't hold my misuse of psychological terms against the Tarot. I used the terms ego and persona synonymously and though I'm wrong in doing so, my intended definition for the purpose of the subject at hand was as follows:
ego*-The individual's perception as an entity of separate consciousness.
1-7 are associated with the formation of that ego* in a centripetal mode while...
8-14 are when the ego*, thusly formed, begins the process of individuation and enters into a centrifugal mode.
14-21 reach beyond the establishment of individuation, and express archetypal aspects of the self/god/universe in microcosm/macrocosm...possibly referring to things which could only be processed by someone having reached the level of individuation...or the process by which the individual discovers a balance between the perception of themselves as an individual and the acceptance of themselves as a transmitter of the divine All.
Painting by Carl Jung from The Red Book.
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