Tarot Thoughts: The Power of Number

The Interesting Number Theorem

Many years ago I had to try to explain “proof by induction “ to a mathematics class. I announced that I was going to prove to them that every number was interesting. Naturally this was greeted with groans of bored disbelief, nevertheless I persevered. 

I divided the black board in two with a thick chalk line. (If you don’t know what a blackboard was, think of it as a whiteboard only black). On the left I wrote a heading, “All numbers” On the right, another heading, “Interesting umbers“. I wrote a few numbers in the left hand side to give an idea, while reminding my class that actually there were an infinite number of numbers in this section.

Is number 1 interesting?” I asked. Of course number 1 is interesting. It is the first number.  I rub number 1 from the left hand side and write in the right hand box. “What about 2?” Well that turned out to be interesting because it was the first even number.  That went in the right hand box also. We pretty quickly decided that all the first ten numbers were interesting for one reason or another (the Ancient Greeks thought so too - that is why they are the blueprint of the Tarot). We moved up the numbers until we reached the high 20s. The class nominated 29 as a number that had nothing interesting about it. They decided my proof had failed and not all numbers were interesting.

Then I sprang the trap. I pointed out that 29 was the first uninteresting number. This actually made it an interesting  number, so it belonged in the right hand box. There was silence. The class could see where this was going and it wasn’t pretty. Obviously the same strategy would be applied to the next number deemed ‘uninteresting’ and it too would move to the ‘interesting’ box, and so it would go until every single number was classified as ‘interesting’. Therefore, “All numbers are interesting” !

According to Aristotle Pythagoras said the universe is built out of number. Aristotle thought this was stupid. How could ‘things’ like rocks and plants and buildings and human beings be built out of number? Paradoxically, modern scientific theories do indeed begin with number, but I suspect that by ‘universe’ Pythagoras meant ‘consciousness’ and human consciousness indeed is built out of number.

Take the Tarot. It is a One. When we buy or receive our first Tarot pack, it is a whole. We hold the whole pack in our hands and somehow we are aware of infinite possibilities within this one pack.

Then consider all the millions of packs of Tarot cards in existence, all the thousands of designs, the myriad interpretations - these too are a One, the Tarot. This One is also a consciousness. The Tarot consciousness. Learning the Tarot is not learning a set of rules or memorising interpretations, it is a process of gradually communicating with the Tarot consciousness. As we enter into this process it seems more and more as though we are communicating with a being. One of my friends, Martin, an expert Tarot reader, calls this being, the ‘Tarot Lady’. The Tarot being can have quite a quirky personality. Even a sense of humour.

I once did a layout for a particular question. I didn’t like the answer, so I did a second layout, then a third. Same answer each time. I tried once more … only to discover all the cards in the first layout reappeared again. I got the message:  “Don’t fool with me, or I’ll fool with you” 😀

All the One cards in the Tarot introduce us to a different consciousness.

The Ace of Pentacles ushers us into a consciousness which deals with the practicalities of life. How we shape our finances, our home, career, our strength, determination and stubbornness. 

With the Ace of Swords we enter into a mental realm of strategy, decisions, calculation, analysis and planning. The Ace of Wands introduces us to a realm which puts fire in the belly, inspiration and hope in the soul. Finally the Ace of Cups challenges our emotional consciousness. It is the realm of sensuality, subtle deception and self-deception, emotional highs and lows, happiness and remorse, loss and love.

The Tarot is divided into Two, the Major trumps and the Minor trumps. Freud did this too, dividing human consciousness into the Conscious and the Unconscious.

The numbers from 1 to 10 define the suits of the minor arcana. In fact, the Tarot puts great emphasis on the number four - four suits, four court cards; and the number ten.

It took a couple of centuries, but Realm-2 managed to mould the major trumps into a numbered sequence of exactly twenty two different cards. What is the significance of the twenty-two archetype? This particular energy manifested in the early part of the Christian era, for example in the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the division of the Book of Revelation into twenty two chapters, so we can say that ‘twenty two’ relates to the ‘revelation’ of that which has been hidden.

A final thought on the number One. One represents a new initiative, a new energy entering the life. Another word is “opportunity”. The Ace of Pentacles represents an opportunity to break away from old habits and environments. The Ace of Swords an opportunity to change our thinking and reactions. There is an old astrological saying which I would apply to the Tarot:

The cards incline, they do not impel.

So often I have seen people look at cards and think, “How wonderful! It’s going to happen!” But all the Tarot is saying is, “You have an opportunity to make it happen -but you have to do the work!”

That new enterprise promised by the Ace of Wands needs you to take the initiative. The new Ace of Cups love interest will only enter our life, if we open our eyes … and our heart … and say, “Yes!”

Next time: The Magician and the Magic of One