Planets and Celestial Spheres [Class A: Cards 41-50]

Class A: Introduction

Class A of the Mantenga Deck is The Planets and Spheres. The silver background of each card in this class is accented by an intricate lattice of gold. Gold is the heavenly color of the sun. It indicates transcendence, royalty, and divine light.

Class A cards represent the ascent to absolute transcendent cosmic control in the life of the querent. They are the cosmic determinants and thus they “work” regardless of the querent’s disposition toward them. The first three lean imminent and portray cosmic femininity, the second three lean detached/objective and portray cosmic masculine, the next two portray cosmic transcendent determinism that can be observed and adapted to. The last two portray absolute mystery, culminating with the last card of the deck. A.50. (the first and the last) is Divine light, which is a profoundly intimate and imminent card that is simultaneously absolute transcendence and mystery.

Being the “Planets and Spheres” they represent the determinative forces of astrology in the ancient world that even Saint Thomas Aquinas took effort to make peace with. Today, the stars are at least used to predict seasons. They measure “the year” and therefore the ancients quickly realized how they can be used to infer when the weather would generally change when animal migrations would happen, and when the Earth would grow or lay fallow. The moon definitely determined the tides and is linked to feminine fertility. It is not insane to move beyond that and seek further knowledge, though any sought knowledge may or may not be reliable. So as a basic observation of Class A cards, the heavens determine the conditions of the Earth and our job is to react and adapt.

Another medieval meditation concerning Planets and Spheres one may want to be aware of is “the music of the spheres''. The medievals followed a cosmology that believed that all the stars were fixed on a crystalline sphere and as this sphere moved the stars moved. The planets and other heavenly bodies worked their way in toward the Earth in proper order, each on their own sphere which turned at its due speed. This is why the planets, Sun, and Moon move at different speeds than the stars or each other. The Primo Mobile is the axis on which all these spheres moved and gave animation to the heavens. God dwelled above in the highest heavens. The spheres are crystalline and when they move, they emit a subtle sound, like running one’s damp finger around a fine crystal glass. This sound is “the music of the spheres''. However it is constant and we are so attuned to it, we never hear it, it is the background of all other sounds. The meditation of “the music of the spheres” is to still one’s mind and seek to perceive the background sound or ultimate sound. This practice is not unlike the Om meditation in Hinduism and resonates very well with John’s portrayal of the Logos in the prologue to his gospel. The stillness in this meditation is an acceptance of ultimate divine permeance. But, the auditory perception is an experience of three tiered integration of the self. The permeance is in one’s self and thus “is one”, which offers kinship between one and the rest of creation even up to the highest sphere.

Class A forms a chiastic balance with Class E which is its terrestrial and mundane mirror, so in as much as these two types of cards interplay in a pattern, their relationship is a meditation on the interplay of determinism and fate in the querents life. Classes A and E are opposed by Classes B and D, which are interfaces of effect of the cosmos on the subject and the ability to manipulate that effect by use of will and knowledge that can be grown through discipline. In as much as Class A cards interplay with Class B and D cards, one may want to be conscious of the boundaries of one’s ability to control one’s situation. Class C cards are the fulcrum of personal investment in the cosmos that balanced the deterministic chiastic parallels of AE, BD. In as much as Class A cards interface with Class C cards one may want to notice where one can expand and grow knowledge in a field and/or exert will using the knowledge one has.

When presented with a Class A card in a meditation the querent will certainly want to relate to how what is symbolized by the card rules or determines one’s life, either by the exterior or the interior. These determinations are the result of the transcendent exterior, thus they will be invisible realities angelic/spiritual forces. They represent the macrocosmic cosmic order’s good design towards one’s well being. As interior realities (determined psycho-spiritual personality factors) they represent what is symbolized as the best attributes of one’s character apart from one’s will. Their presence is a meditation on acceptance and adaptation. In reverse one may look to the earthy counter balance of Class E to seek a terrestrial controlling factor. More likely one may look for negative forces in the cosmos that are hindering one’s peace and beatitude or one’s poor adaptation and lack of acceptance of these factors.

A.41. Luna (Moon)

Significance

The Moon is a common card in decks geared toward contemplative prediction. Paired with the Sun, the Moon signifies cosmic femininity. It is indicative of the cyclical nature of reality and thus queues into the rhythmic nature of time discussed in the treatise Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction. The Moon is easily relatable to the tides, and (very importantly) to female menstruation; giving the Moon a deep connection to mystery and feminine intuition. It is the first card of Class A in that it is closest to the terrestrial realm, in the same way that maternity is imminent while paternity is transcendent. Yet it is a transcendent determination. The tides and menstruation are examples of an external and internal (to the self) inevitability that are in no way influenced by the will. They are only manipulable by how we react to them as a reality.

The Moon signifies immediate and obvious controlling transcendent factors beyond the influence of one’s will. Just as a parental influence is, so the Moon is resonant with the maternal influence on one. As a psychological symbol, the Moon signifies the unconscious life, which also has, sometimes dominating, sway over how we interact with the world.

Visual Symbology

The Moon is seen taking her journey across the sky born in the hand of a goddess riding an ornate chariot drawn by two horses. The moon is close to the end of waning. In the Rider Waite deck XVIII demonstrates the navigation between the conscious and unconscious by the cancerous crawfish emerging from the water and navigating a path of choices that seem to indicate good and evil, civilization and chaos. In the Mantegna deck, this effect is given by the landscape below the chariot. It is starkly divided between land and water, conscious life and unconscious life.

Significantly, the water portion of the landscape is significantly more than half. The moon aligns with the intuitive unconscious. Also important in the image is the small fleet of boats drifting atop the water. These represent the multiple ways of “navigating” of the unconscious in conscious life. Methods and skills concerning this navigation are discussed in the former treatise Somnium Spirituality.

Application

To meet the Moon in meditation draws the querent to an awareness of the intuitive and the unconscious life. It definitely invites the querent to consider their dream life. It could also beckon one to consider maternal influence in one’s life. Lastly, the card could be an urge to consider the rhythmic/cyclical nature of time and how it relates to the situation.

In Reverse the Moon implies the feminine gone awry, a passive aggressive controlling nature that operates via emotional manipulation. Is this type of personality a factor in the situation? Oppositional Moon could also imply the over wrought nature of femininity just before menstruation. It implies a person unknowingly ruled by the unconscious in ways that negatively effect their lives. The querent would be wise to probe their past and the dream life in order to seek out the sources of negative compulsions and habituations that influence the situation.

A.42. Mercurio (Mercury)

Significance

Mercury is best known as the messenger of the gods, the connector between the celestial realm and the terrestrial one. This positions him to also be the god of communication (including divination), eloquence, messages, travelers, boundaries. He also has a role as the god of financial gain, commerce, luck, trickery, and thieves; and he serves as the guide of souls to the underworld.

Mercury’s position in the hierarchy puts him squarely in the feminine rank of Class A cards. He is the communicator and this perhaps suits the communal nature of femininity; focused on family, society, and the peace and stability that comes with it. With Mercury, conflict is resolved through open dialogue as opposed to Mars’ domineering violence.

Mercury signifies communication and connection. Almost all of his functions can be summed up as “translator”, he communicates, shifts, moves, and changes with rapidity. Thus this card is a card of motion and transition. As a psychological symbol, Mercury is one’s language set, which connects one to the outside world through both interpretation and dialogue. One can adapt this set, but generally speaking, it is “given”.

Visual Symbology

Mercury is imaged wearing a winged helm and boots to signify his speed and communication. He holds his caduceus, a symbol of balance, exchange, and reciprocity. At his feet is a rooster, who at the break of day is associated with the first sound. This signifies primal communication (for example, Om, the music of the spheres, or the Logos) and the fundamental ability to communicate.

Also, between his feet is a stone head. Once Mercury was caught in thievery and bribed the herder who saw him to keep quiet. Later when Mercury tested the herder by donning a disguise and using a larger bribe to get him to talk, the herder accepted the bribe and failed the test. As punishment Mercury turned the man into stone. This head represents communication in all its worst and most malicious manifestations as well as the rigid, slow, rigid, stagnating result of such poor use.

Application

To meet Mercury in meditation is an invitation to contemplate how to combine elements of the situation. As the translator and communicator, Mercury seeks to cross borders and meld realities that seem hermetically sealed. Notice the position of the card and how it could possibly integrate the field of other cards. Mercury could also be an indicator of the presence of or need for fast action.

In Reverse Mercury is the thief and trickster who abuses communication, traverses borders illicitly and stifles relationships to stone. What external factors of the situation present this dynamic? What character attributes of the querent play these qualities out? Oppositional Mercury could imply that silence is a good policy in the situation. Or it could indicate some other types of stagnation in the situation.

A.43. Venus (Venus)

Significance

Venus is the goddess of love, as it is properly experienced via alluring beauty which inspires eros. When these unfold appropriately they are expressed physically through Venus’ domains of sex and fertility. The fulfillment of these is a well established family, hence Venus’ association with victory and prosperity.

Venus is easily associated with active seeking that is driven by desire previous to being controlled by Prudence. At the same time, she evokes an ability to enjoy the passive contemplation of beauty and the experience of sensual physical pleasure. As an A class card, it is easy to see how Venus is positioned low on the hierarchy. Though she is high in the celestial realm her domain is intimately connected to fundamental terrestrial experiences. As the hierarchy moves to the more abstract, the cards will present more “masculine” and therefore more analytical and detached for the mundane. That said, hierarchically, she leads into the next set in that she is the wife of Mars. Their complementary nature illustrates her deep association with those cards directly above her in the hierarchy, as well as femininity’s deep connection to masculinity.

Visual Symbology

Venus is imaged as “Venus Acidalia”. In this image, Venus bathes in the Fountain of Acidalia where the Graces, Venus' daughters, were said to bathe. The terrain is land that is cut down the middle by a stream. Venus is seen emerging from the water with her wet hair draping low into the water. She is holding a shell for ladling water upon herself. She stares at her daughters who form a unit and seem to be departing.

Venus’ daughters are Aglaea ("Shining"), Euphrosyne ("Joy"), and Thalia ("Blooming"). Their collective domain is charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility. Their departure seems to indicate some sort of mission of engagement in the terrestrial realm. Venus appears to be given last minute instructions to one of her daughters while the other two are walking away in deep conversations. Behind Venus, on the other side of the stream, her Son Cupid stands at the ready to strike someone at random with longing and love. He is armed with his bow and blindfolded.

The entire scene can easily be interpreted as a psycho-spiritual analogy. Venus sits in the deep unconscious. She represents the ticking of consciousness, by deep unconscious longings for love and stability. Her children represent the conscious psycho-spiritual forces that drive one to seek a loving partner. Flying above their heads are three birds that represent the visual, auditory, and olfactory senses that direct one toward objects of erotic love.

Application

To meet Venus in meditation directs the querent to the best experiences of interpersonal romantic love. She invites one to take erotic love into account regarding the situation. Is one using their innate urges in the situation appropriately? Venus invites the querent to assess their romantic landscape and take action. The appearance of Venus could also be an opportunity to probe one’s emotive landscape and discern how it directs one toward their deep human life goals. How can one best be directed toward and express deep personal human connection? How does that Eros develop and synchronize with filial and agape life?

In Reverse Venus represents the negative attributes of stereotypical traditional femininity. She directs the querent to how they exhibit laziness, laxity, and dependence on others. These are qualities the inverse seeks to bring to mind in meditation. In the realm of interpersonal relationships, polar Venus evokes feelings of lack of confidence, in pursuit of one’s object of desire. These weaknesses may be hindering a good outcome in the situation. Regarding physical relationships, oppositional Venus signifies objectification, sexual domination. The querent may want to investigate the possibility of these betrayals as hindrances in their contemplation.

A.44. Sol (Sun)

Significance

The Sun is the masculine cosmic balance to the Moon’s feminine cosmic significance. The sun is linear in its progress through the sky. Though over the year its duration varies, it’s lumination by its own power and its quality does not change. The sun sheds its life giving warmth to all beings equally from its high place in the celestial spheres. Its domain is transcendence and all effecting, unlike the moon, which effects particular domains.

The Sun signifies life giving abundance offered from a transcendent source. Its illuminating quality signifies the conscious life which sets reality bare for observation and analysis. As a celestial body, the Sun conveys every aspect of benevolent patriarchy. As a psychological reference it is one’s personality in its most broad sense.

Visual Symbology

Like the Moon, the Sun is being carried across the sky by an angel riding a chariot. The angel is dressed in a sky blue rob. This chariot is pulled by four horses and seems to be veering away from the observer toward a lobster floating in the sky. Below the chariot is a very definite line arcing across the heavens separating them from the Earth. The lobster is presumably the house of the constellation Cancer. As the Sun’s chariot veers there, it indicates that the Sun is in the house of Cancer.

Astrologically, one of the main characteristic traits of the Cancerian is a personality demonstrating a homebody. With this card we have moved now from a situation which is feminine transcendent, that is still intimately connected, to masculine transcendent, thus more aloof, objective and detached. The Sun seeks its own home, not to be immersed with the terrestrial plain. This is indicated by the spherical arc in the sky separating the heavens from the Earth. This same line is dimly present in the Moon card, yet it is starkly prominent in the Sun card, making a firm line between the two realms.

To drive the point home dramatically, just below the line, one sees a human figure tumbling to the Earth. This can be none other than Icarus, who in his vanity donned wax wings and sought to fly to the Sun. Shining in its transcendent glory, the sun melted the wings Icarus fell to the Earth. He is a stark warning against hubris, humans seeking to enter a realm where they do not belong. With The Sun card, we have moved now to a situation of strict transcendence, the human can only approach by mediation. Our experience of The Sun is the first mediation, but even that experience is at a distance.

The terrain that Icarus falls toward is land, cut in two by a river that branches around mountainous islands, each of which is crowned by a city. The dominating land is the domination of the conscious life over the unconscious. Though the unconscious (the rivers) is there, it is channeled and used for the benefit of the conscious (land). The cities on the hill are the height of safe aspiration toward the transcendent glory of the Sun.

Application

To meet the Sun in meditation is to meet the transcendent source of life and vitality. The querent will do well to channel gratitude for this mysterious power in the universe. One will want to notice how the cosmic masculine signifier accents other cards in the pattern in order to guide one’s meditation. The Sun could also be an invitation to bring conscious analytical skills to the situation, even if they do bear down on evidence from the intuitive unconscious. One may bring these skills themself or seek someone with such skills. Lastly, the Sun may be drawing attention to an unattainable glory, that must be appreciated as such.

In Reverse the Sun demonstrates stagnant lifelessness. It could also direct one to dull inadequate analysis, or to analysis which is malfunctioning because it is too particular or focuses on the wrong facts. Oppositional cosmic masculinity could indicate fiery wrath bearing down on the situation and bringing negative consequences. Reverse Sun could also imply the setting sun. The querent may want to ask, are there aspects of the situation that are coming to an end that need to be considered? Lastly, polar Sun may be trying to emphasize the peril of Icarus’ position. Is pride, somewhere, a detrimental factor in this situation?

A.45. Marte (Mars)

Significance

Mars is the God of War and Agriculture, thus he easily signifies chaos and civilization / life and death. Mars was identified with the Greek god Ares. But the character and dignity of Mars differed in fundamental ways from that of his Greek counterpart. Although Ares was viewed primarily as a destructive and destabilizing force, Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace. Thus his connotation is more suited to Christian cosmology and theodicy, where good comes out of evil; plowed fields yield crops (life), the chaos of war (death) brings order.

With that theodicy in mind, Mars as the partner of Venus begins to make sense given the overall positive nature of creation in Christian Cosmology. Venus is the feminine/imminent life force. Mars is a detached plan that brings order out of chaos. Through that chaos union and stability is achieved. Mars indicates the nature of postlapsarian reality, a reality that is transitioning between two perfections (Eden and the Eschaton) as we noted in the former treatise Paradoxes and Disorders. He is symbolic of process and development, but these as struggle toward a goal. His two domains, war, and agriculture, take strategy with a goal in mind, planning, discipline, and will are all involved. From these two domains, civilization is born. This is opposed to a simple gathering of the fruit of the land and random reactive violence. Thus overall Mars seems to signify the struggle toward a good end in both positive and negative manifestations.

Visual Symbology

Mars is seen sitting in a dark wooden chariot. The chariot is an obvious symbol of war. But any novice student of the esoteric knows that the chariot is a pancultural symbol of balance and control. Mars’ chariot is noticeably without horses. This may be in reference to the “October Horse”, a ritual sacrifice of a horse during rites directed towards Mars. This rite is a harvest festival, but the sacrificial horse is dressed in armor. Romans used neither horses nor chariots in their warfare, thus perhaps the horse signifies their conquered enemies. With enemies conquered and the harvest complete, order and peace are maintained.

Mars himself sits on the chariot in full armor with a sword drawn at the ready. He looks directly at the querent with an expression of confidence. At his foot is a dog at rest which is obviously domesticated and well trained. The dog seems to signify the peaceful result of the process of struggle (training).

Application

To meet Mars in meditation is to meet the masculine balance of Venus. The querent will want to particularly notice the struggles involved in the situation, perceive their end and devise a strategy for reaching desired goals. Mars could indicate a person in the situation who appears to be bringing chaos, but the querent is asked to look to the order that could result from such chaos. Lastly, Mars may invite the querent to “break eggs” and risk bringing chaos to the situation, by moral and fitting means, in order to produce good results. Without the absolute destruction of the peaceful ground through tilling, there cannot be an abundant harvest.

In Reverse Mars connotes fruitless chaos, laiziness, or dormancy regarding a goal. In this situation the querent may look to the pattern for an indication of mayhem and destruction with no good end. Also, the querent could seek aspects of the situation where someone is not putting in the effort necessary to complete what is needed for a good resolution. Oppositional Mars can also indicate wrath unchecked setting the situation ablaze, random destruction or inefficient harvesting.

A.46. Iupiter (Jupiter)

Significance

Jupiter is the king of the gods (in Christian cosmology, the orderer of the celestial court of God almighty). He is the highest rank of the three masculine class A cards. He is most easily associated with the heavens, his weapon of conquest is the lightning bolt. He presents the archetypal father figure in Class A. This fatherhood can be played out by a series of relationships. First, he is the literal father of masculinity and femininity in their individual methods in that he is the father of both Mars and Mercury. He is also the father of masculinity and femininity in their compatibility in that he is the paterfamilias over the marriage of Mars and Venus. In presenting the archetypal father figure Jupiter is detached but caring. He is a macro-organizer, a protector, and a provider. As a psychological symbol, Jupiter is the best cooperation of the ego and the superego.

As the presenter of archetypal masculinity, Jupiter forms an uncomfortable relationship with the next card, Saturn. Jupiter is well known for overthrowing his father Saturn and defeating and imprisoning the Titans. Saturn had in turn defeated and subjugated his father. Given that this is the drama of the gods, this cyclical repetition hints at a deep mystery of profound time that shocks the mortal into a painful sense of finitude. Jupiters’ relationship with Saturn signifies this expansive and mysterious unfolding of created time and marks it as unfathomable to the human mind. As the usurper of the usurer, Jupiter signifies the visible manifestation of the profound expanse of time. As we shall see Saturn will signify the profound depths and mystery of time. As much as this is true for the spans of time, it is more so true for the infinite and almighty God. For most people, Jupiter is the “face” of God. Some image of Jupiter is how people picture or conceive of the infinite almighty God, who is fundamentally “inconceivable” and in every way ineffable.

Visual Symbology

Jupiter is pictured crowned in glory, seated in a mandorla. This type of halo signifies an explosion of life giving power. It makes the subject appear to be in the process of birth. Atop the mandorla is perched an eagle, Jupiter’s signet bird known as the master of the sky, as he is the master of the heavens. The landscape behind is a green field that opens to far off white mountains, which could just as easily be clouds symbolizing Jupiter’s heavenly abode.

The mandorla has two tiers within it. Jupiter sits on the upper tier and his feet rest at the lower tier. Thus, the mandorla seems to also serve as his throne. Much like Rider Waite I, in his right hand he holds a rod (in this case an arrow) aloft while his left hand points downward, communicating the well known Jungian synchronicity “as above so below”. He is the demiurgic orderer of heaven and earth and is able to perceive how each reflects the other.

In the bottom of the mandorla sits a young girl in a short sleeve dress, perched almost as if she is swinging in a swing. Jupiter seems as if he is contemplating her joy, his left hand points to her in a profound statement of inversal unity. Inside the mandorla is a scene that indicates what is to follow. As the next few cards progress Jupiter, in his posture and in his relationship with the girl, foreshadows the connecting point of the cycle, the mystery of the incarnation, Divine Light (A.50.) is the Wretch (E.1).

The girl’s innocent joy seems juxtaposed to the carnage that lays just outside the mandorla. Five dead bodies are strewn about the land around Jupiter’s throne. Each is clad in armor. The scene is somewhat reminiscent of Rider Waite XIII. The entire scene seems to indicate the fundamental nature of Christian Power dynamics as a life giving beatitude. Everything within the aura of Jupiter reflects this power dynamic and is in a situation of ever giving life. Everything outside this aura of Christian power dynamics is involved in pointless violent struggle and ultimately death.

Application

To meet Jupiter in meditation is certainly to offer a chance to ponder how paternity and masculinity well applied effect the situation. His presence as the archetypal father figure draws the querent to contemplate such guidance in the situation as hand rather than try to probe a murky past which forms an endless succession of causality, each effect usurping the last. Jupiter could also be drawing the querent to contemplate good use of Christian power dynamics on the situation. Is one displaying these dynamics, is it possible someone else, even unexpectedly, is displaying them. If the querent’s focus is drawn to the dead bodies, is someone in peril of ignoring proper beatitude?

In Reverse Jupiter is the pinnacle of a tyrant and the brutal usurper, rather than the just unfolding of the cosmos. One should contemplate aspects of tyranny in the situation and look for ways to restore a proper balance of power. Inversal Jupiter could also imply a maternal or feminine aspect in the situation that is unexpected or unlooked for. Lastly, oppositional Jupiter displays the death that lays outside of his mandorla. Such chaos and decay await despots who usurp, oppress, and persecute those under their authority. In accordance with Christian hope, this could be a reason to focus on cosmic justice in the situation, where tyranny is concerned.

A.47. Saturno (Saturn)

Significance

Saturn is best conceived of as the god of time. This domain unfolds naturally into most of his other subdomains; generation, dissolution, and periodic renewal. These domains indicate the cyclical and linear nature of time. Saturn is also the God of agriculture, which would have been the first major reason to track and measure long periods of time. As a celestial being subjugated to Christ, Saturn as the god of liberation hints at the fulfillment of postlapsarian time. This long term goal points to the fundamentally good nature of the cosmos which in turn points to why one could conceive of Saturn as having dominion over “plenty and wealth”. He is also, much like his son Jupiter, the liberator of the world from his father, Uranus. But, compared to the liberation of Christ, this liberation is fleeting, as is Jupiter’s.

The cycle of liberation presented across Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter portrays the cycle of liberation similar to the one in the book of judges and has a similar transient message. This cycle allows for hope, yet its cyclical nature awakens a desire for a true liberator. Thus Saturn (as the middle of the cycle) signifies deep investment in this cycle, and its extended and protracted nature.

Saturn also represents the lingering legacy of the ancestors' long forgotten. As a historical indicator, Saturn can signify either long lost glory and long forgotten sin. As an internal indicator, Saturn represents memory, especially as it unfolds in a chain of causal connections.

Visual Symbology

Saturn is presented standing on a blue sphere that seems to represent the outer limits of creation as far as the finite mind can conceive of them. There is no other “environment” so to speak, on the card. This image begets dramatic transcendence and we shall see this image played out for the rest of the cards. Jupiter is the last being in the deck to abide in a “place” as we know it. From this point on all realities, we encounter will be “elsewhere”. That “elsewhere” is something beyond our comprehension.

The image of Saturn is grey bearded in contrast to Jupiter’s brown beard (in the same way the Father and Son are presented in trinitarian iconography). When one sees his extra-cosmic stance and his ancient stature, it calls to mind those brief moments when one is struck by how much the almighty God is beyond our finite constructions; though, as the picture conveys, we still mostly cling to our constructions. Only one well trained in the via negative can properly deconstruct these tools in a healthy way, thus Saturn is a useful philosophical and aesthetic tool to remember how God transcends our constructs of divinity.

As the god of time, Saturn holds the harvesting sickle, recalling his position as an agricultural deity, but also, having shown the connection between agriculture and time, as “father time”. Lastly, there is the intricate connection between time and its ultimate destination for mortals, death. The sickle also resonates with Rider Waite XIII. But this image contrasts to both XIII and Jupiter in that the bodies scattered about on the ground before Saturn are living children rather than corpses. But, lest one get comfortable with the image, the sickle is ready to harvest the children (with one even riding the sicky like a swing resonant of Jupiter’s youthful girl). The children are Saturn's Children and the myth relates how (much like Uranus before him and time itself) Saturn eats his children before they can conquer him. In his left hand Saturn is raising a child to his mouth to consume and perched on the sickle is what appears to be a swan singing its song.

Application

To meet Saturn in meditation is to encounter the deep past. This card definitely calls one to probe their relationship with time using the concepts and skills we discussed in both Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction and Toward Appropriate Thanatosian Piety. Saturn especially invites one to delve into the past beyond current reckoning and seek a causal or cyclical connection to the situation. Special attention might be paid to a cycle of usurpation developing into the situation. Since the card signifies the furthest reaches of transcendence “conceivable”, one may want to take the highest most objective view of the situation one can construct. Lastly, Saturn may be indicating an aspect of the situation that is ending, beginning, or renewing, each of these being under his domain.

In Reverse Saturn can represent an unknown causal legacy. One may want to consider that not only does their situation contain relevant things that are beyond their control, but those things may even be long forgotten by everyone in the situation. The card may be used to allow the querent to let go of the past and focus on the present. Reverse Saturn may also imply “saturnalia” where chaos, as opposed to causality, reigns and roles are reversed. This chaos is not permanent, but keeping with Saturn’s nature is an occasion for some aspect of renewal in the situation. Lastly, oppositional Saturn may be calling the querent to focus on fine details rather than the maximal transcendent view.

A.48. Octava Spera (Upper Heavens)

Significance

If Saturn represents the last conceptual transcendence, then The Upper heavens represents the last observable transcendence. The Upper heavens is the vault of the stars. She is the object of inspiration by Urania and the object of study for Astrology. In Medieval cosmology, it was believed that each of the planets rotated in the heavens on its own crystalline sphere, as did the Sun and Moon. Thus each had its own speed and course. But the stars all moved in unison. They were all thought to abide on their own singular sphere. Again, in both medieval cosmology and in ours the more macrocosmic the point of view the more ordered the reality and the more microcosmic the point of view the more it tends to chaos. The upper heavens is the highest observable macrocosmic view. Thus it is completely ordered. In the ancient world, it is one of the few precision predictable realities and its regularity is stunning to the ancient observer. It is closest to the throne of God one can see and therefore it is the most beautifully reflective of divine order.

The order of the Upper Heavens gives ancient humanity some of the few sureties it has. It is what allows for prediction of planting and harvest, thus as an indicator of the future its existence as natural divine revelation is indispensable. The constellations of the Upper Heavens Divide into the houses of Astrology and are set as important and significant realities in each hemisphere. For the Northern hemisphere, the constellations most certainly provide the mythic backdrop for the drama of the planetary dance. These motions give rise to constant family resemblant stories across cultures and again form a narrative stability that all humanity can share in voice and in invested life.

In short, the Upper Heavens signifies the standard for observable cosmic stability and order. That stability and order can be used to deduce other instances such as agriculture and myth (life and meaning). As a meditation, it reflects the beginning of being able to see outside of our own anthropomorphic view and look at the entire cosmos, but still, at the sophomoric level of “If God is all powerful, can he create an object so heavy he can’t lift it?” Both Saturn and the Upper Heavens still conceive to God’s relationship to the cosmos as somehow “on par”.

Visual Symbology

The Upper Heavens is presented in spherical form as crystalline and adorned with stars. It is held by a giant celestial being who gazes at it with interest. This being stands upon the surface of what appears to be another plain light blue sphere. The same sphere that Saturn stands upon and the Celestial Power is holding. Saturn and the Upper Heavens form the framework of perceivable reality. Whatever this blue sphere could be is beyond human perception and knowledge. All else in the card is void.

Application

To meet the Upper Heavens in meditation is to be drawn to contemplate fundamental stability. It is definitely an invitation to consider the largest possible framework for the situation, trying to fit it in the greatest possible context. Given the observable cyclical nature of the Upper heavens, it could signify a chance to consider how the situation plays upon the rhythmic patterns of one’s life. Lastly, since observation of the Upper Heavens, is the birth of modern science, The card may be an invitation to view the situation objectively and apply metric and rigor to one’s judgments concerning it.

In Reverse The Upper Heavens could signify quantum chaos. This could draw the querent to notice elements of chaos in the situation that seem impossible to fit into any order, though as we have discussed, it does via the middle ground of scope (humanity). It could also be an invitation to parse and observe the smaller elements of the situation in isolation as opposed to grasping the larger picture. Lastly, oppositional upper heavens could also imply the oppositional hemisphere. This represents a needed change to realize that there are accessible ways of understanding macrocosmic order that are true, yet completely different than one has ever experienced. It is an invitation to explore new ways of looking at the situation from a completely different perspective.

A.49. Primo Mobile (Celestial Power)

Significance

Celestial Power can be compared and contrasted to Vital Functions (V.33.). Vital Functions generate and control sentient life, which has self perception, knowledge and will. Celestial Power animates all reality according to the broadest divine plan. Celestial Power is originally titled Primo Mobile. There are two ways that this title can help us understand the significance of Celestial Power. The first way is cosmological and the second way is conceptual/philosophical.

As we have reviewed up to this card, Medieval cosmology is conceived of the heavens as spheres, most visible to the naked eye, such as the Sun, Moon, Planets and lastly the Upper Heavens containing the fixed stars. Outside of this is an invisible sphere, the Primo Mobile. It is the fastest moving of all the spheres, and by its motion, it provides motion to the whole system. The Primo Mobile, itself is set within the Empyrean, a realm of Divine Light (A.50.) and the habitation of God and all the elect. Thus, Celestial Power is the sphere of divine being that generates the motion of the heavens in the largest sense of the term.

This leads to our second meditation on the significance of the Celestial Power as the Primo Mobile. One can use this title outside of the cosmological context and in the philosophical context to consider Aquinas’ first argument for the existence of God, the argument from motion.

It is certain, and evident to our senses, that in the world some things are in motion. Now whatever is in motion is put in motion by another, for nothing can be in motion except it is in potentiality to that towards which it is in motion; whereas a thing moves inasmuch as it is in act. For motion is nothing else than the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality. But nothing can be reduced from potentiality to actuality, except by something in a state of actuality. … But this cannot go on to infinity, because then there would be no first mover, and, consequently, no other mover; seeing that subsequent movers move only inasmuch as they are put in motion by the first mover; as the staff moves only because it is put in motion by the hand. Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other; and this everyone understands to be God.

In the foundational treatise Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction, we analyzed this passage in ways that would be helpful here to understand what could be meant by “motion,

The five arguments each point to aporia and end with an agnostic, “whatever the solution is, that’s what we call ‘God”. The mystery here is a little deeper than just physics and physical motion. It has everything to do with flux and change as a principle of the cosmos. Aquinas’ categories for “motion” (imitating Aristotle) aren’t limited to physical motion measured in defined relation to increments graded by an agreed upon standardized rhythmic motion, for the purpose of seeking something “objective”. His categories for motion are “act” and “potential”. These categories could apply to physical motion, but can just as easily apply to spiritual (psychological?) motion, they could be applied teleologically on an individual or cosmic scale. Aquinas applies them to a completely different tactile sensation, temperature. The concept of potentiality refers to any "possibility" that a thing could conceivably have. Actuality, in contrast to potentiality, is the motion, change or activity that represents an exercise or fulfillment of a possibility, when a possibility becomes real in the fullest sense. If one thinks of or pictures “the moment”, “now”, and pictures the future, whatever mysterious interface between the two that must happen for time to move and develop is “act”, and whatever possibility it is (or could) developing into is “potentiality”.

This celestial being is the demiurge of that first motion that allows for flux and therefore is expansive in the same way the domain of Saturn (time) is. It is an all encompassing power.

The significance of Celestial Power is tied to macro motion flux and change. The Card implies the grandest motions and organizations of the cosmos, but in ways that are beyond perception, thus Celestial Power indicates the mystery of God as completely other, but, as it effects and animates our day to day life. As a psycho-spiritual signifier, Celestial Power could signify “radical other” in that by its essence it does not have one. Or it could signify your “self” in such a profound way that it is your self as incomprehensible.

Visual Symbology

The image of Celestial Power is one of dynamic motion. The celestial being’s left foot is raised in a high stepping motion while its right foot is on the ball of its foot for maximal reach. The garments of the being seem to flap in a strong wind. Everything about the being speaks of actualization and flux.

Celestial power is holding a blue sphere. This is presumably the blue sphere that both Saturn and The Upper heavens are standing on, signifying a radical transcendence that is even beyond time and space. Yet Celestial Power is standing on another blue sphere, whilst it holds all of space and time in its hands. This image begins a powerful meditation on transcendence that continues in the final card of the deck which follows.

The meditation uses Anselm’s definition of God from his famous Ontological Argument. Anselm defines God as “That reality, than which no greater can be conceived”. The definition begins a mind wracking mental exercise where once conceived all of created reality and pictures some being in it that is the most powerful being. But as we have already said, that being “in created reality” is signified by Jupiter in this cosmology. So next we had some sort of picture of overarching beings signifying space and time “at once” (Saturn and the Upper Heavens), which is not just “in reality” but seems to comprise it. This leads to a pantheistic view but to conceive of this reality as “something separate, or to dynamically “add” to this reality by birth or generation seems to make it greater, thus we can conceive of greater. Now we have the Primo Mobile who seems to sustain that very pantheistic reality. The concept is a mediator to “something” mysterious, which the foundation is founded upon. This image seizes the brain with the mystery of the infinite because at this point one can always conceive of another foundation to a foundation, another angelic being holding on to another sphere over and over. With each larger more powerful celestial being, Christian ontology will apply, you can always take that being and add it to the set “reality” and (taken all together) have something greater than what you had before. This infinite compound of power is designed to boggle the mind as to what “God” could mean and to help the practitioner achieve some level of apophatic peace. Understanding this meditation will also help us understand why the next card A.50. is imaged the way that it is.

Application

To meet Celestial Power in meditation it to meet ultimate transcendent mystery, as opposed to conceptual transcendent mystery, such as Saturn or the Upper Heavens. The card begs trust of the querent, but not trust in a particular outcome. That is to say, if it signifies hope, it is not directing the querent to hope “particularly”, just hope and trust that the cosmos are ordered and sustained and one has one’s place in it. Celestial Power is obviously a card or great dynamism, thus one may interpret it as a call to action or to notice rapid action developing in the situation. Lastly, since, as was noted here and in Mythic History and Contemplative Prediction, medieval cosmology conceives of flux and time in the categories of act and potential, Celestial power may be a call to notice either action or potential action. What possibilities could develop from the situation as things stand now.

In Reverse Celestial Power indicates some manner of stagnation or dormant potentiality. Since Celestial power is powerfully determinant, the reversal requires the use of the skills of class C cards. The querent may want to look into not simply what could develop from this potentiality, but in the reverse position, what must they do themselves to activate it. Oppositional could also present an opportunity to contemplate subsystems and secondary causation. These microsystems and causal chains could be aspects of a situation that are within the querent’s control and therefore malleable to their knowledge and skill. Lastly, Celestial Power could point to an element in the situation that seems random or chaotic from the finite point of view. This element could have a positive or negative bearing on the situation.

A.50. Prima Causa (Divine Light)

Significance

The last card in the Mantegna deck is Divine light. It is called prima causa, the first cause, in the original Italian. This is doubtless in reference to Aquinas’ second argument for the existence of God,

The second way is from the nature of the efficient cause. In the world of sense we find there is an order of efficient causes. There is no case known (neither is it, indeed, possible) in which a thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself; for so it would be prior to itself, which is impossible. Now in efficient causes it is not possible to go on to infinity, because in all efficient causes following in order, the first is the cause of the intermediate cause, and the intermediate is the cause of the ultimate cause, whether the intermediate cause be several, or only one. Now to take away the cause is to take away the effect. Therefore, if there be no first cause among efficient causes, there will be no ultimate, nor any intermediate cause. But if in efficient causes it is possible to go on to infinity, there will be no first efficient cause, neither will there be an ultimate effect, nor any intermediate efficient causes; all of which is plainly false. Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.

Thus this card can signify God in God’s self. In a deck that focuses so much on various mediations between the condition of man and God, this card, interpreted this way, would prove to be a very powerful and special card in contemplation.

Another possible interpretation of this card is to see it as the Empyrean. In ancient cosmologies, the Empyrean Heaven, or simply the Empyrean, was the place in the highest heaven, which consists of elemental fire. The Empyrean is the firmament, the dwelling-place of God, the blessed, celestial beings so divine they are made of pure light, and the source of light and creation. Thus the card can signify heaven or divine bliss as opposed to God in God’s self.

Visual Symbology

Divine light is the only card in the deck that does not present an anthropic figure. Rather it displays a basic design of medieval cosmology mapped on the card. At the center of the card is the Earth and working out in concentric circles are the heavenly bodies bordered by the Upper Heavens. After that is the blue sphere of Celestial Power, and then a thin fiery realm which purports to be the Empyrean. But after that, in a visual that recalls our meditation on Anselm's, there are three more mysterious realms of blue spheres beyond. At the very edge is a ring of fiery light which is presumably “Divine Light” or the Empyrean. This last realm has no border but extends into the card.

As a meditation, the outer several realms remind us of the unlimited nature and unfathomable character of the heavenly abode. Whatever it is that we think pleasure, bliss, joy, and love are, it is not the same as what is present there. This card speaks powerfully to the mystery and hope we should feel when contemplating the order of the cosmos, theodicy, hope and eternal salvation.

A second interpretation of the card is that the card represents God in God’s self. In this case, the image on the card is not an image of God, rather it is an image of the Divine View. One looking at this card sees the cosmos from God’s point of view. This interpretation allows for an extremely powerful meditation on one of the fundamental meanings of the deck, here at the end. Staring at the card, one takes God’s point of view, which makes the pious realize they are the wretch (E.1.) unworthy of seeing the glory of the cosmos as God does. In this realization and the humility it fosters, they possess beatitude and reach a better stance as bearers of the image and likeness of God. Thus through this meditation “God becomes the wretch who becomes God” and the cycle begins again and again.

In all this, one may wonder, in a deck portraying Christian cosmology, why not a triangle for the trinity? Most likely the creator of the images was well aware of the many points in the scriptures where it is pointed out that to see the face of God brings instant death for a mortal. This apophatic tradition keeps one in tune with God as transcendent and mysterious. Even the triangle is a human construction, thus belonging below the realm of Saturn and the Upper Heavens, well established under the control of Geometry.

Again, here at the last card, one may ponder; this is a Christian deck containing a host of principalities and powers anathematized by the modern Christian. If the deck presents Jupiter, Saturn, Upper Heavens, Celestial Power, all presented as demiurges, (interpretable as typologies of Christ) then where is Jesus? The meditation answers the question. God is an apophatic mystery beyond human cognition and presentation. All these images that we could have used to fulfill perceived “functions” of the Trinity are simplistic and childish constructs formed to help us grasp the ungraspable. Now looking at this card we realize where Christ is in the deck, he abides in us, in as much as we project the image and likeness of God we can become an Alter Chrsitus, the wretch can presence divinity. But it takes the entire journey of our lives, traversing the entire scope of the cosmos to find what we always had, the love of God. Thus, if the paper deck is as a cosmology is “a world” then God is as transcendent in quality to this world as the observer (as the image and likeness of God) is to the paper deck. This is why God is not portrayed as an image.

Application

To meet Divine Light in meditation should draw the attention of the querent to blessedness. The bliss of the eternal realm should awake in the querent a desire to seek the kingdom of God now. Regarding the situation, it is a call to put it into perspective. Is the situation helping to foster the Kingdom? Is it working against it? Is it a frivolous distraction? Secondly, the appearance of Divine Light seeks a meditation on how well those in the situation are projecting the image and likeness of God. Perhaps the querent is being called to look past one viewed as a Wretch and see before them the Imago Dei. Lastly, the appearance of Divine Light could simply be an invitation to remember God, that despite all the mediations, principalities and powers, in this cosmology one can have an immediate intimate relationship with almighty divinity

In Reverse Divine Light presents the cosmos in the chaotic disorder of postlapsarian reality. As we noted in Calculated Demonic Attunement this reordering of the cosmos from Edan to the Eschaton presents a void of growth that allows for development. But this void is exactly the “lack of good” that Saint Augustine defines as “evil”. Polar Divine Light draws one’s attention to the darker aspects of the cosmos, the demonic and the ill intentioned, as celestial beings and within human beings. The querent may want to face this as a reality as it may regard the situation and invest in some techniques of calculated demonic attunement as they apply to the situation.

Oppositional Divine light could also specifically regard the querent’s spiritual disposition. Most of us are generally self interested and see “the image of God as something to be grasped at”. We set ourselves up as the authority and then lord our authority over subjects like the Gentiles. This is not an analysis that one should often point at others without surety. Thus if taking this interpretation, one should consider one’s own spiritual disposition first and contemplate methods of spiritual improvement.

Conclusion

As a brief conclusion, it may bear pointing out that if this work is read straight through, one follows a journey from the lowest position in the cosmos to the greatest position of the cosmos. That journey could be conceived of as a physical Journey from the Earth to the highest heavens, and from the least to the greatest sentience. But it is also a spiritual journey that the individual can take to aid them in awareness and wisdom concerning the universe. That journey is not only up, but it is within. It is not only extensive motion, it is also ontological binding, the collapsing of reality by the three tiered integration of the self and phenomenological exercise of Christian ontology.

In this journey, there are a series of paths that criss cross and connect to throughout the hierarchy. To follow a straight path one traverses each class by a series of mediators. The Pope (E.10.) takes one from the physical to the spiritual, and there we meet the terrestrial spirits, the Muses. Apollo (D.20.) takes us from inspiration to intelligence and crosses us over to the Arts and Sciences. The practice of Theology (C.30.) awakens us to all that is beyond our knowledge and skill and helps us appreciate and show gratitude for the Geniuses and Virtues. The gift of Faith (B.40.) allows us to let go completely of this Earth, and our very self, and embrace the transcendence determination of the Planets and Spheres. Divine Light (A.50.) allows us, through meditation to understand our own standing as the image and likeness of God, yet at the same time, humbles us into realizing we are the Wretch, which completes the circle of the incarnation, the God man who is the suffering servant. The circle is complete and the journey starts again, because this is not a journey one “completes” only one that one experiences, lives, loves, and prays.

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