Episode 14: Duality and Polarity in Astrology and Tarot
Polarity is the possession or manifestation of two opposing attributes, tendencies, or principles. Duality is the premise that everything has an opposing force that must be, or will be in balance.
These two concepts have an important place in Astrology, Tarot and countless other applications. Dena DeCastro joins me to talk about these ideas relate to the Zodiac and Tarot. We compare and contrast cards based on attributions and intuitive relationships.
Portland Astrologer Dena DeCastro was intrigued by the planets and their surrounding mythologies from an early age. One of her first memories of really reading was of a book on astrology (Derek and Julia Parker’s famous volume). Dena also participates in continuing education in the astrology field through attending conferences and lectures, and most notably is a participant in Steven Forrest’s Apprenticeship Program. Dena publishes monthly articles at denadecastro.com, and also provides individual tutoring in astrology.
Music Credits
- Opening Music: time release by the Droney Tones.
- Closing Music: Peaceful Planet by Kourosh Zolani
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October 17th, 2006 at 11:36 am
Leisa:
What a wonderful topic! I think that it helps a great deal to show “how” different energies work with in the Tarot - such as Numerology. Qabala, and Astrology.
I appreciated Dena’a comment on the card of the World - and that the symbols were indeed placed in a specific order to maintain their integrity as far as position and nature. Here we very much see the esoteric nature of the Tarot at work.
There is a flow to the cards, and by looking at them in relation to which card follows which other card we can begin to see the “why”. It is also an interesting exercise, and certainly one that works well with journaling, to look at the cards in pairs.
I look forward to more Pod Casts with Dena!
Blessings,
Bonnie
December 23rd, 2006 at 1:05 am
What an awesome podcast! I love the dynamics between Leisa and Dena. They are a great duo and seem to feed off each other…their mutual excitement in linking tarot and astrology is so evident and tangible.
I found Leisa’s use of court reversals and astrological oppositions particularly interesting and insightful.
One question for any taroters who weigh heavily the astrological associations when interpreting court cards. What’s the go with the King and Queen of Wands? In the RWS the Queen of Wands is holding a sunflower and sitting on a throne of 2 outward-facing lion heads, with a black cat in the foreground. Obviously Leo, yeah? Yet Leisa referred to the Queen in the episode as Aries.
If we take a look at astrological modalities, the Knights are all Mutable, the Queens are Cardinal with the exception of Fire (Leo), while the Kings are all Fixed with the exception of Fire (Aries) in many common interpretations. That’s such a glaring inconsistency!
If anyone out calls Queen of Wands Aries and King of Wands Leo, I would love to hear your rationale. I really like when things fit into neat boxes, but at this point I’m having difficulty seeing the Queen as Aries.
Keep up the great work, Leisa!
Brad
April 18th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Hi!
I’ve been listening to the show for the last few days, chugging through from the first episode to the end. I think the show is absolutely fabulous!
I just have a correction regarding the astrological age. For the past 2000 years or so, we have been in the age of Pisces, not Aries. One way to remember this is that the early Christians used the symbol of the fish to mark meeting places. The age of Aries was approx. 2000 BCE to 1BCE. Prior to that was the age of Taurus, when the cult of the bull was predominant. Like the song says, “This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius”; Aquarius is the one that is coming up/starting.
I like the discussion of astrological polarities in the cards.
Regarding matching cards, I would pair the High Pristess with the Heirophant, rather than with the Magician. One reason for this is the magician embodies all four suits/elements/tools, whereas the following four cards can each relate to a single element. The HP and the Heirophant both relate to knowledge, she’s the guardian, he’s the revealer. The Hermit is all about learning on your own.
Anyways, just some thoughts. Keep up the good work.
Joël
August 19th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Thank you so much, Leisa and Dena. I enjoyed every minute of this podcast.
In answer to Brad’s question above, I go along with Leisa in that all the Queens correspond to the cardinal signs - otherwise there’s no symmetry with the court cards on zodiac wheel, but then I’m a Capricorn sun sign with Mercury in Capricorn, so I like to compartmentalize things neatly
In my mind, after reading “The Tarot Decoded” by Elizabeth Hazel, all Kings are mutable and all Knights are fixed.
Then again, my Piscean moon couldn’t care less… I just go with the flow and with whatever correspondence or system fits best in a reading. The moon tends to take over when I read the cards…
It’s good to have a little database of systems available in the back of my mind though - I find myself in agreement with Leisa once again.
Love & Light, Lisa