The Transformation and Great Way of the Mind as a Mated Pair

[JustLikeYou]

Ra suggests consideration of the Transformation and Great Way cards in tandem. Because Ra says that only the Significator cards (and presumably also the Choice card) do not have a male or female alignment, it seems likely that all the other named pairs do. Thus, we are left with the somewhat difficult task of determining the male/female alignments of the very mixed Transformation and Great Way cards. I have two possible interpretations of the male/female alignments of Archetypes 6 and 7 (contradictory, of course):

1. The Transformation is female and the Great Way is male. This is supported by the two females in the Transformation card, and the obviously masculine context of the Great Way card (the chariot). The two females each point in a direction, suggesting that the conscious mind will be led by the unconscious mind, which gives prominence to the female in the Transformation. The Great Way card, on the other hand, depicts a chariot driven by a male figure.

2. The Transformation is male and the Great Way is female. This is somewhat less obvious, but it can make sense with consideration. The Transformation card is about the conscious mind’s decision to approach the unconscious mind in a certain way. The Transformation has nothing to do with what is actually presented to the conscious mind; rather, it is about the conscious mind’s projection upon the unconscious mind: is she royalty to court or a prostitute to plunder? The prominence of the role of the conscious mind in this card makes it seem very masculine. On the other side of the equation, the Great Way card may carry a masculine figure, but Ra comments that it is the same figure that is in the Significator card, and L/L Research then redraws the card to show this. This suggests that the figure in the chariot does not signify the sexual alignment. So what does? My thought is that the chariot itself signifies the sexual alignment. The chariot is drawn by the moment-to-moment choice of the conscious mind (on the STO path, this is called “living from the heart”) which is made in the Transformation card. Thus, the Great Way can be seen as the chariot which moves forward, changing its scenery, changing its creation, in response to the seed planted by the conscious mind in the Transformation.

I am inclined to adopt the second interpretation, because it provides a vision of the interplay of the two cards; whereas, the sexual union of Archetypes 6 and 7 is difficult for me to see in the first interpretation.