The Celestial, the Terrestrial, and the Memetic: A Contemplative Resource for Where the Saints Meet the Arcana
The Celestial, the Terrestrial, and the Memetic
A Contemplative Resource for Where the Saints Meet the Arcana
[Book IV of The Compendium of Contemplative Temporal Engagement]
General Introduction: Skills and Definitions
Simple Canon of Arcana and Litanies
Introduction & Commentaries: Litanies of the Major Arcana
Introduction: Litanies of the Minor Arcana
Commentary: Litanies for the Pips
Commentary: Litanies for the Royals
Transversal Theology: Technical Glossary
General Introduction: Skills and Definitions
Instead of attaching the common conception to images, we should look upon what they symbolize, and not despise the divine mark and character which they portray, as sensible images of mysterious and heavenly visions.
-Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Letter to Titus the Hierarch
Inspiration
It is a daily habit of mine to read the hagiographies of every canonized saint celebrated on a given day from the Catholic Saints Info page through the Laudate App. This is usually somewhere between thirty to sixty saints. Some hagiographies are longer and some are shorter. Over the years my attention began to stray away from the most popular saints to random facts or turns of phrase (usually revealing a hagiographical bias) that caught my eye. As my interests change over the years, where I focus my attention seems to change as well.
I also began to notice repetitive narrative arcs, themes, and archetypes as well as micro themes and type scenes. Having studied Tarot for decades, I also quickly noticed how some of these repetitions associate with the arcana. For example, Blessed John Buoni’s life follows a common pattern that can be easily presented as a particular sub-narrative of the Tarot. He spent his youth as a jester in Italian courts with his spare time mis-spent in wild living. After a severe illness in 1208, he reformed completely, converted, and became a hermit at Cesena, Italy. His reputation for piety attracted disciples. To escape them, he left one night and walked continuously and aimlessly till dawn. At sunrise he found himself at the front door of his hermitage; he took this as a sign and turned his energy to organizing his would-be followers. Blessed John Buoni demonstrates a journey where the self reorients social engagement. Buoni signifies an example of the proper mode of Christian detachment, detachment from an unhealthy attachment in order to reattach appropriately according to loving relationships. His life reflects the pattern: Arcana 0: Fool = Arcana IX: Hermit + (3 of Coins + 3 of Cups).
As Arcana 0: The Fool his social interaction was reckless and destructive for who he was. In order to reorient he had to sacrifice every aspect of what it means to be social. It was only after completely giving up his attachment to social interaction as Arcana IX: The Hermit he successfully recalibrated and truly appreciated how society should work for his life. Once he had mastered his new role he was able to build a community around a new engagement with life, one less casual and flippant, one more productive and appreciative of true joy, as shown by the third pips of Coins and Cups which display community ordering toward both goals and celebration.
As I read the hagiographies each morning eventually, as an act of piety and devotion, I began to sculpt little thematic litanies. Each time I notice a theme that intrigued me I would start a list. Every day, if the theme or detail showed up in a hagiography I add the saint to the list. To sculpt a litany of an odd theme takes me a year of devotional practice and probably another year or two of noticing stragglers.
As I sculpted litany after litany I began to connect some of them to the arcana of the Tarot. When I authored A User Guide to R.M. Place’s Tarot of the Saints I lamented more than once that there were, in my opinion, many saints that better represent this or that arcana. Also, as one who uses saint decks in general, there are certain cards that are always matched with certain saints, though there are alternatives. As one deeply invested in the lesser known saints this is irksome.
One day I took a survey of the litanies I had already sculpted and surmised that I had enough at the time to thematically match over half the major arcana of the Tarot. At that point, I began organizing this document and started the year-long process of litanies that would fill in the gaps. The result is a series of thirty-five litanies, one for each of the Major Arcana, one for each number of the pip cards 1-10, and one for each royal, page, knight, queen, and king. Upon sculpting and shaping these litanies, I developed a methodology I call Tri-Phenomenal Carto-Contempaltion. This resource seeks to explain both the utility of the litanies as they relate to the tarot and the methodologies of tri-phenomenal carto-contemplation.
Uses of the Litanies
There are two major possible uses for the litanies contained here. One is artistic inspiration and the other is tri-phenomenal carto-contemplation. Each use assumes a familiarity with the saints in a given litany. As I said above, I use Catholic Saints Info for the vast majority of my hagiographical research. There are many other good sources that have expansive information, but I came to my themes and made my choices mostly based on this source. If one is unfamiliar with a saint in any of my litanies, it would make the most sense to start research there, because the reason for them being on the litany is almost certainly represented. It is only occasionally that I draw on separate sources for sculpting a litany. That said, the reader may do well to branch out, either by saint or by theme to other sources which doubtless have new connections awaiting discovery.
Artistic Inspiration
The first and most obvious use of these litanies is to offer inspiration for artists who wish to sculpt Christian tarot decks made from the lives and hagiographies of the saints. Over the past several decades there has been an artistic explosion in the genre of “tarot deck”. This work is meant to be a guide for those who wish to enter that genre with the possibility of a deck completely built by representations of the lives of the saints. The litany topics give a framework of interpretation, but the artist must pick the saints and the scenes and circumstances of their lives to portray. Each litany will afford many possibilities for any given card. For the Pips and Royal, each litany will be used for four cards, one for each suit. The following pages will offer insight as to why the theme of the litany was chosen for the cards, but, especially for the pips, it will take research, creativity, and imagination to apply.
Tri-Phenomenal Carto-Contemplation
To meditate with the litanies requires some basic knowledge of both saints on the litany and the Tarot. I call the method of contemplation developed here “tri-phenomenal carto-contempaltion”. It is like a typical Tarot “spread”, but the determining factors don’t take place by position in the spread. Rather they play out according to three realms of existence (“tri-phenomenal”). First is the Celestial, the persons who abide in the heavens, that is, the saints and their hagiographies. The second is the terrestrial, particularly as we experience the flow of time here by the liturgical clock (calendar). Lastly, there is the memetic, the cards themselves that present the arcana, pips, and royals. The tri-phenomenal engagements entail synchronizing the narrative of the connected saint, the symbolic elements of the tarot, and the motion of the liturgical calendar. The symbolic elements include the archetypes of the Major Arcana, any system of numerology one may apply, the suites and how they resonate concerning elements, social structure, psychological facets, and if one is so inclined, one can utilize applicable astrological resonance. How these are present in the Tarot cards is available in the introduction to any decent book or website on Tarot. One can even get the basic gist in the commentary I wrote on the Tarot of the Saints, A User Guide to R.M. Place’s Tarot of the Saints. To exercise contemplation using the Tarot is much more an art than a science. It involves taking available knowledge, making connections (usually intuitively), and then applying those connections to one’s own life experience. The skills presented in the article Pulp Spiritual Direction would be helpful in engaging with the litanies in this work. If one has a grasp of how to use the cards, one can then begin to practice synchronizing narratives of saints with the various levels of symbology present on the deck.
Tri-phenomenal carto-contemplation can then lead to a more profound encounter with the saints themselves. It extends the ideas of the cards into narratives of celestial personhood according to the liturgical clock. It is my belief that the saints pray for and with us, even if we don’t know them. The litanies in this work will doubtless bring up a large number of saints the reader has never heard of. I, who sculpted the litanies, certainly cannot keep the vastness of the canon in my memory. Thematic contemplation of the hagiographies is a base level of engagement. Next is engagement with the history and facts of each saint. Then the meaning and application of each saint’s life to one’s own life. These contemplations may be solitary in nature, but far superior is engagement with the people themselves. In as much as one can learn their stories and feel their impact, there is a possibility of opening a relationship with these saints and accepting their help in the quest to glorify God. In this case, one truly bridges the celestial, the terrestrial, and the memetic to find a new unity in life.
There are three possible approaches to contemplation when seeking to engage in tri-phenomenal carto-contemplation. Each approach is like a “spread”, but as mentioned above, the “positions'' are realms of reality, the card, the persona, and the clock. Hence the varieties of contemplation are carto-centric, hagio-centric, and chrono-centric. To make it more simple, one can take either the cards or the saints as the starting point for contemplation.
Carto-centric contemplation
Carto-centric contemplation starts with the cards. One may take a very basic, unadorned deck (like the Marseilles deck) and draw a card, two or three. Then the contemplative can look at the applicable litanies for saints or even just names that stand out. Once one has familiarized oneself with the hagiographies, one can synchronize those narratives with the resonance of the card and use these connections to draw a lesson or inspiration for the day or connect with celestial friends to pray with. In this methodology, one may employ basic tarot spreads and patterns to good effect, a simple three-card spread can be greatly enhanced by the employment of litanies and hagiographies. The carto-centric method starts with cards and works to hagiographies. One weakness is that chronology, the liturgical calendar, is not intrinsically employed in carto-centric contemplation. But it can be very effective as a daily meditation.
So for example, I may engage in a simple three card spread to contemplate the past, present, and future. I draw P1: Arcana XIX the Sun, P2: Pip 3 Swords, and P3: The Knight of Staffs. For P1: I take as my expansion of the Sun, Dionysius the Areopagite from the Litany of the Solar Sphere and concentrate on his illuminative description of the Divine Names. For P2: I take Raymond Nonnatus out of the Litany of the Temporal Liberators and focus on the suffering of his life and how even in that suffering he was willing to live for the liberation of others. And finally, for the Knight of Staffs, I take Ignatius of Loyola out of the Litany of Regimentation Sanctified. This pattern most generally implies a strong sense of divine presence that carries one through a present hardship and allows one to willfully reorganize their life appropriately.
Having worked from Tarot deck to saint, one can also consider carto-contemplation in the reverse direction. If one were to acquire a cash of holy cards with adequate representatives of each arcana, (even multiple representatives) one could deal out the cards and use their narratives and litanies to draw one to consider the arcana. Each direction brings the mind to the same middle ground, which is the convergence of the patterns of life and sanctity, the celestial, to the terrestrial, to the memetic.
Hagio-centric contemplation
Hagio-centric contemplation begins with the saint and works its way to the cards. One can feel inspired by a particular saint or litany, but if one wants to employ all three tiers of phenomenon, they may involve the liturgical calendar. This works by using the Saints of the Day. If saints of Major Arcana are present, how do they specifically best present the arcana in the contemplative’s mind? The contemplative would then meditate on the general symbology of the arcana, and how they add depth or meaning to the narrative of the saint. For example, how does Bartholomew Longo manifest Arcana X: The Devil? His life is a perfect trajectory from wealthy and privileged, to ennui, to entrapment with the glamor of the scandalous. At the depth of his endeavor, he had become a Satanist priest serving the power that entrapped him.
Bartholomew's presence in the Litany of the Demonically Attuned appears under the category, “All Saints who were Converted Satanists”. Slowly and patiently his family and peers drew him out of this fixation and he spent his life organizing service to the poor. For the rest of his life he never really escaped scandal, but typical of those present in the litany, his encounter with Arcana XV made him a better servant of Christ.
If Minor Arcana show up, contemplation would include which suit seems most applicable and why. For example, Saint Urbicius of Clermont appears on the Litany of the Vocational Turnabouts which represents the Second Pip. If one were to focus on this saint, the struggles of his life would present a variety of possible reasons for choosing any of the four manifestations of the second Pip.
Urbicius was chosen as the second bishop of the Diocese of Clermont, yet he was married. His wife entered a convent and he went to his diocese. However, his wife was unsatisfied with her new life, left the convent, returned to Urbicius, and said she did not wish to give up married life. Seeing her, Urbicius realized how much he had missed her, and let her move in with him; they told people she was his sister who was there to keep house for him. The bishop’s conscience soon got the best of him, and he left both his wife and his diocese to live in penance in a monastery. One sees love through struggle (2 of Cups), new endeavors (2 of Staffs), difficult balancing (2 of Coins), and hard choices (2 of Swords). The contemplative application is a choice of which suit is present in one’s experience now or a deep meditation on how one pip leads to the next in Urbicius’ life as a moral lesson.
A last possibility is to focus on a particular saint as a manifestation of multiple litanies and therefore multiple arcana. This is easiest with a Minor Arcana. As just noted, the Minor Arcana allow contemplation where one may “choose” which card seems to best suit the saint. However one could also use this opportunity of diversification to contemplate how the one saint relates to each of the suits for the card. This can be applied to a saint whose narrative presents multiple examples of litanies, and therefore multiple Arcana, both major and minor. Contemplation of this diversity can lead to fruitful interrelations and differing ways of seeing the spirituality of the saint, their story, and the suits of the arcana.
For example, Hubert of Liege is present in The Litany of the Visionaries [Arcana II: The High Priestess], The Litany of the Transcendent Bio-Generators [Arcana IV: The Emperor], Litany of the Episcopal Generators [Pip One], Litany of the Vocational Turnabouts [Pip Two], and The Litany of the Thanosyncs [Pip 9].
When considering Hubert, the complexity is immediately perceptible. First, there is the complexity of his life. A worldly nobleman, Hubert converted after a mystical experience involving a vision of a crucifix between the antlers of a deer during a hunting expedition. The Deer offered him stern chastisement concerning his wasted life. A widower he became a disciple of the bishop and became a hermit (since he is not one of the nonymous hermits he does not make the litany for Arcanan IX: The Hermit, but in contemplation, the arcana could easily fit in). He became the first bishop of Liege with a focus on evangelization. After predicting the date of his own death, he passed away peacefully reciting the Our Father.
These facts play out into the various arcana present and then one must begin to make choices, what aspects of both High Priestess and Emperor are relevant to Hubert and to the querent’s life? How do Hubert’s visionary experience and his fatherhood present aspects of these arcana? Then one turns to the pips. Again, reflection on both Hubert’s life and one’s own, one has choices to make, does one select a single suit for each litany, multiple, or both depending on the intuitions present?
One can use the calendar to present choices and one can expand engagement by applying tarot, but the trajectory flows from the hagiography and the person themself. It is important to remember with Hagiocentric contemplation that the method is expansive. Here we have used CatholicSaintsInfo.com as our primary source for hagiography. But there are many sources and many tales that are far beyond this site. Also, the litanies themselves are by no means exhaustive of the Arcana. There are far more hermits than nonymous hermits on the calendar. And far more martyrs than nonymous martyrs. If one wishes to use the supplied narrative of a complex hagiography of a martyr or hermit, this makes sense in contemplation. There are far more almners and far more pilgrims than there are “pilgrim almners”. There are far more missionaries than those who transpose continents. One can begin to see that the nature of this work is to instill an intuition of a methodology rather than a systematic and exhaustive account.
Chrono-centric contemplation
Whereas hagio-centric contemplation takes as its starting point the narrative of the saint. Chron-centric contemplation starts with the day on the calendar, chrono-centric contemplation takes the day as a whole and looks for thematic patterns. First, perhaps a day is “heavy” on a particular card/litany. For example, perhaps there are many nonymous hermits or an unusual number of pilgrim almners. In this case, the calendar leads to a card or cards to consider and the contemplative works from calendar to cards to saints in contemplation.
Alternatively, if many saints of the day present among the various litanies, one may consider how multiple arcana present interrelate. This gives a multi faceted set of data for intuitive application of how the arcana are presented through the lives of the saints of the day. After individually meditating on each saint and any arcana they present, one can then relate them to each other. How do their narratives synchronize with the tarot and what meaning or inspiration can the contemplative draw from them?
For example, on November 11th, the Solemnity of All Saints auspiciously presents a selection arcana to contemplate through the lives of various saints. One possible focus would be a combination of the following arcana: Arcana 0: the Fool, Arcana VII: The Chariot, XVII: the Star, and Arcana XIX: the Sun.
Arcana 0: The fool is presented by Saint Salaun of Leseven who appears in the Litany of Sacred Madness. Salaun was a poor man who lived in Leseven. For many years was considered the village idiot. His simplicity, poverty, and unworldliness were due to his concentration on spiritual development. Arcana VII: The chariot is represented by Saint Marcel of Paris who is present in the Litany of the Dragons as a dragon slayer. He was the ninth bishop of Paris. During his time, there was a dragon in Paris that was devouring women of "ill repute"; Marcel defeated it by striking it with his bishop's crozier. One would need to interpret how his position of the spectrum of Dragon Slayer to Dragon Tamer applies. Arcana XVII: The Star is shown in Deborah the Judge. She is the Powerful military strategist who is present in the Litany of the Astro-Contemplatives because the scripture notes that after her defeat of Sisera and his 900 iron Chariots, Deborah sings a song where she asserts, “From the heavens the stars fought from their courses they fought against Sisera. The Wadi Kishon swept them away.” Her ability to intuit the position of the stars, the coming of rain, and the portents of the battle show her skill to consider all aspects of the world in unison, as well as her ability to offer hope against oppression. Lastly Arcana XIX: The Sun is manifest in Saint Julian of Africa. He appears in the Litany of the Solar Sphere as one of the martyrs who refused to worship the Sun. He was a priest of an African church when, during a visit to Italy, he witnessed a pagan celebration of Apollo. Julian objected to the human sacrifice it involved. The Sun is an arcana of life, not death and to worship it as supremative reality puts under its domain aspects of reality that do not belong there. Julian was imprisoned and martyred.
As a contemplation, one would take these saints and synchronize the tropes and the significance of the Arcana, then cohere the resonances into a holistic pattern of meaning. This would include how the cards order or interrelate. I ordered them by the number of the arcana for simplicity, but the narrative and symbolic resonances and what the contemplative is experiencing in their life would have a severe impact on both interpretation and order or pattern.
What order or pattern does one palace the cards so as to play off each other's relevance? Placing them in numerical order was in no way necessary. Depending on the number of cards present there are a host of patterns that can help one interrelate the cards through meditation. One could go chronologically according to the saint’s life if that is possible. OR one could determine the number of cards present, then choose or devise an appropriate spread and deal the cards out randomly according to the spread. This last method adds a pattern symbolic structure to the already present tri-phenomenal foundation.
Process and Organization
As I said, my first inkling that a work like this may be useful was as I studied and began using R. M. Places Tarot of the Saints. It was particularly his use of Saint Valentine as the saint for Arcana V: The Lovers. I hinted at my disappointment with this in A User Guide to R.M. Place’s Tarot of the Saints. There are a host of saints who are married, have children, and even a host of saints who are married to each other. Already when I started using that deck I had sculpted a litany of Holy Dyads: saints who were married to each other. Any of these would have been much better as a portrayal of lovers than a celibate man, even if the image he uses does portray two nondescript lovers being blessed by Saint Valentine. Having a few Christian-based decks I also noticed that everyone uses an image of Michael the Archangel for Judgment. I find this absolutely appropriate, but not exclusively so. The image of Michael leans heavily on the Fool's Journey as an experience of the external, which is sound. However, there are other ways to view it and other decks may want to take this into account.
When I originally considered the possibility of connecting litanies to Tarot, I was only going to do the Major Arcana. But I am a person who gets annoyed when the pips are overlooked for artwork in a deck and so I figured it would be hypocritical if I didn’t seek litanies for them as well. It was much easier to conceive of Major Arcana over Minor. The Royals were also easy enough, but once one gets to the pips it was difficult to connect some themes. Generally, I started with the images of the four cards as portrayed in the Rider-Waite deck and looked for thematic connections. I also leaned on the most widely accepted, pan-human numerological associations. These two together yielded the litanies below. Some of them make immediate perfect sense, some will take explaining on my part, and some, I’ll admit, I forced a little. I added a little respect for what I already had concerning R.M. Place’s achievement. It is not always easy to find exactly the right fit. A little arrogance tempered by a little humility is not the worst life process, so I am happy to report it.
This work in no way asserts definitive status. It is a simple work of devotion and attention. A different mind, taking the same methodology could easily find other themes and sculpt new litanies to present the arcana. The aforementioned meditation on Blessed John Buoni and Saint Hubert of Liege both operate outside of the scope of the lineages. The arcana as they manifest in reality are not so easily systematically tamed. One who meditates on the lives of the saints and prays with them cannot limit themselves to these litanies as the sole interface of our celestial companions and the arcana. These mysteries also present and represent in our lives for a reason and I for one cannot presume to lock down the way things are to be regarding both the existing communion of saints and the historic collective art of hagiography.
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