10-18-2011, 08:14 PM
"The box she sits upon has open eyes within it, indicating the awareness of the conscious mind within the physical illusion (i.e. space/time). The key here is that the conscious mind must have the eyes to see the catalyst when she presents herself. She has a Sun shining behind her which should make her fairly easy to spot, but we are so good at fooling ourselves that we often miss her. "
I agree, if we interpret the idea of missing catalyst in the following way. It seems to me like it would be a contradiction in terms not to experience catalyst. Catalyst, by definition, is something that has come to light. What is possible, it seems to me, is to experience catalyst without learning from it -- without transmuting it into Experience.
"The cat is white, suggesting purity. If we consider what it is that the Emperor does, we may infer that the role of purity in the act of accepting what lies within you, knowing that the mind contains all, and balancing every concept with its opposite, is in “knowing that the mind contains all”. There is a constant temptation, when you are examining that which is within you but hidden from your conscious mind, a constant temptation to feel guilty. Guilt hides the unconscious mind from the conscious mind, guilt is often what causes the eyes of the conscious mind to be blinded by the protective sun in the Empress card. But for the informed conscious mind, there is a growing awareness that one can learn to be innocent again. This feeling of innocence is highly protective for those on the STO path because it teaches you that you can trust yourself, that whatever the unconscious mind wants you to see, it is good and it is worth loving."
I like this paragraph. In general, I'm finding that I agree with most of your comments in this thread. The general focus, in the previous threads as well as this one, seems to be the process by which existence presents lessons to us through our experience. It's interesting because I've had a lot of these thoughts before, but hadn't considered connecting them to the archetypes. So thanks for making that connection.