Quote:99.8 Questioner: Thank you. Card Number Six I see as the Transformation of the Mind, the male’s crossed arms representing transformation, transformation being possible either toward the left- or the right-hand path, the right-hand path being beckoned or led by the female, the Potentiator. The one on the right having the serpent of wisdom at the brow and being fully clothed, the one on the left having less clothing and indicating that the Matrix or Potentiator would be more concerned and attracted to the physical illusion as the left-hand path is chosen and more concerned and attracted to the mental as the right-hand path is chosen.

The creature above points an arrow at the left-hand path indicating that if this path is chosen the chips, shall we say, will fall where they may, the path being unprotected as far as the random activity of catalyst. And the intellectual abilities of the chooser of that path would be the main guardian rather than a designed or built-in protection by the Logos for the right-hand path. The entity firing the arrow being what seems to be a second density entity would indicate that this catalyst could be produced by a lesser-evolved source, you might say. Would Ra comment on these observations of Card Six, the Transformation of the Mind?

Ra: I am Ra. We shall speak upon several aspects seriatim. Firstly, let us examine the crossed arms of the male who is to be transformed. What, O student, do you make of the crossing? What see you in this tangle? There is a creative point to be found in this element which was not discussed overmuch by the questioner.

Let us now observe the evaluation of the two females. The observation that to the left-hand path moves the roughly physical and to the right-hand path the mental has a shallow correctness. There are deeper observations to be made concerning the relationship of the great sea of the unconscious mind to the conscious mind which may fruitfully be pursued. Remember, O student, that these images are not literal. They haunt rather than explicate.

Many use the trunk and roots of mind as if that portion of mind were a badly used, prostituted entity. Then this entity gains from this great storehouse that which is rough, prostituted, and without great virtue. Those who turn to the deep mind, seeing it in the guise of the maiden, go forth to court it. The courtship has nothing of plunder in its semblance and may be protracted, yet the treasure gained by such careful courtship is great. The right-hand and left-hand transformations of the mind may be seen to differ by the attitude of the conscious mind towards its own resources as well as the resources of other-selves.

We now speak of that genie, or elemental, or mythic figure, culturally determined, which sends the arrow to the left-hand transformation. This arrow is not the arrow which kills but rather that which, in its own way, protects. Those who choose separation, that being the quality most indicative of the left-hand path, are protected from other-selves by a strength and sharpness equivalent to the degree of transformation which the mind has experienced in the negative sense. Those upon the right-hand path have no such protection against other-selves for upon that path the doughty seeker shall find many mirrors for reflection in each other-self it encounters.

(04-25-2018, 10:13 PM)unity100 Wrote: In this card, does the female on the right turn the mind towards the right by pulling the left hand of the mind towards the right with her left hand, and the female on the left do the opposite?

(04-25-2018, 10:54 PM)Louisabell Wrote:

(04-25-2018, 10:13 PM)unity100 Wrote: In this card, does the female on the right turn the mind towards the right by pulling the left hand of the mind towards the right with her left hand, and the female on the left do the opposite?

It would appear so. What do you think the significance of this is?

Quote:100.6 Questioner: Thank you. To continue with the tarot, I would like to make the additional observation with respect to Card Six that the male’s arms being crossed, if the female to his right pulls on his left hand it would cant*, in effect turn him, his entire body, toward the right and the same is true for the female on the left: pulling on his right hand she will turn his entire body to her side. Which is my interpretation of what’s meant by the tangle of the arms. That the transformation occurs by pull which attempts to turn the entity toward the left or the right-hand path. Would Ra comment on that observation?

Ra: I am Ra. We shall. The concept of the pull towards mental polarity may well be examined in the light of what the student has already accreted concerning the nature of the conscious, exemplified by the male, and the unconscious, exemplified by the female. Indeed, both the prostituted and the virginal of deep mind invite and await the reaching.

In this image of Transformation of Mind, then, each of the females points the way it would go, but is not able to move, nor are the two female entities striving to do so. They are at rest. The conscious entity holds both and will turn itself one way or the other or, potentially, backwards and forwards, rocking first one way then the other and not achieving the transformation. In order for the Transformation of Mind to occur, one principle governing the use of the deep mind must be abandoned.

It is to be noted that the triangular shape formed by the shoulders and crossed elbows of consciousness is a shape to be associated with transformation. Indeed, you may see this shape echoed twice more in the image, each echo having its own riches to add to the impact of this complex of concepts.

Quote:97.16 Questioner: I was wondering why the dark entity was on the right side of the card as far as the male figure, which is the Significator, is concerned, and the light white entity is on the left. If you could comment on that after making the instrument cough, please?


Ra: [Cough.] The nature of… We pause.

[Ten second pause.]

I am Ra. There was a serious pain flare. We may now continue.

The nature of polarity is interesting in that those experiences offered to the Significator as positive frequently become recorded as productive of biases which may be seen to be negative, whereas the fruit of those experiences apparently negative is frequently found to be helpful in the development of the service-to-others bias. As this is perhaps the guiding characteristic of that which the mind processes and records, these symbols of polarity have thusly been placed.

You may note that the hands of the central image indicate the appropriate bias for right- and left-hand working; that is, the right hand gestures in service to others, offering its light outward. The left hand attempts to absorb the power of the spirit and point it for its use alone.

Quote:In fact, I think that rocking back and forth -- the flirtation with one polarity, then the other, then back -- is actually the essence of transformation; it pinpoints the exact feeling of being swept along into a new self, one where choice is something that feels like it's happening to you as much as giving you a choice.

Quote:Many use the trunk and roots of mind as if that portion of mind were a badly used, prostituted entity. Then this entity gains from this great storehouse that which is rough, prostituted, and without great virtue. Those who turn to the deep mind, seeing it in the guise of the maiden, go forth to court it. The courtship has nothing of plunder in its semblance and may be protracted, yet the treasure gained by such careful courtship is great. The right-hand and left-hand transformations of the mind may be seen to differ by the attitude of the conscious mind towards its own resources as well as the resources of other-selves.

(04-26-2018, 12:28 PM)Bring4th_Jade Wrote: The idea that we polarize positively through left-hand catalyst and vice versa is shown in the Significator of Mind, the little imps being of opposite polarity for the side upon which they sit.

(04-26-2018, 12:28 PM)Bring4th_Jade Wrote: I think the "tangle" in the arms of this card has to do with how "Both the prostituted and the virginal of deep mind invite and await the reaching." I think this is a good point to ponder, because this is what "discernment" is based upon - the deep mind, the subconscious, is infinite, and veiled - and there are two paths. Both paths can make themselves appear to be "the correct one". This is why you cannot achieve the transformation until you ABANDON one of the uses of the deep mind - otherwise you will "wobble", out of confusion, because you're not sure which version of the deep mind that you are courting from moment to moment.

(04-26-2018, 12:28 PM)Bring4th_Jade Wrote: Not to quibble with semantics but the rocking back in forth is actually indicative of a lack of Transformation. I think the uncertainty and wishy-washiness that you describe is actually more in line with Catalyst of the Spirit. I believe at a certain point, for the adept, the Transformation of Mind must become a conscious choice and not be something that feels inevitable. I think the lack of choice in Transformation is represented in the Transformation of the Spirit - where the entity feels the higher calling, and is summoned, although bound.

Quote:In this image of Transformation of Mind, then, each of the females points the way it would go, but is not able to move, nor are the two female entities striving to do so. They are at rest. The conscious entity holds both and will turn itself one way or the other or, potentially, backwards and forwards, rocking first one way then the other and not achieving the transformation. [b]In order for the Transformation of Mind to occur, one principle governing the use of the deep mind must be abandoned.[b]

Bring4th_Jade Wrote:The bias is built up in the dynamic of Catalyst/Experience.

Quote:93.11 Questioner: I would like, if possible, an example of the activity we call Catalyst of the Mind in a particular individual undergoing this process. Could Ra give an example of that?

Ra: I am Ra. All that assaults your senses is catalyst. We, in speaking to this support group through this instrument, offer catalyst. The configurations of each in the group of body offer catalyst through comfort/discomfort. In fact all that is unprocessed that has come before the notice of a mind/body/spirit complex is catalyst.

Quote:Indeed you may, rather, find polarity expressed, firstly, by the many opportunities offered in the material illusion which is imaged by the not-white and not-dark square upon which the entity of the image is seated, secondly, upon the position of that seated entity. It does not meet opportunity straight on but glances off to one side or another. In the image you will note a suggestion that the offering of the illusion will often seem to suggest the opportunities lying upon the left-hand path or, as you might refer to it more simply, the service-to-self path. This is a portion of the nature of the Catalyst of the Mind.

Quote:94.12 Questioner: It seems to me that the Experience of the Mind would act in such a way as to change the nature of the veil so that catalyst would be filtered so as to be more acceptable in the bias that is increasingly chosen by the entity. For instance, if the entity had chosen the right-hand path the Experience of the Mind would change the permeability of the veil to accept more and more positive catalyst, and also the other would be true for accepting more negative if the left-hand path were the one that was repeatedly chosen. Is this correct?

Ra: I am Ra. This is not only correct but there is a further ramification. As the entity increases in experience it shall, more and more, choose positive interpretations of catalyst if it is upon the service-to-others path and negative interpretations of catalyst if its experience has been along the service-to-self path.

Quote:94.23 Questioner: Thank you. Then we’re expecting, in Card Number Four, to see the result of catalytic action and, therefore, a greater definition between the dark and the light areas. In this card we notice that it is more definitely darkly colored in some areas and more white in others in a general sense than Card Number Three, indicating to me that the separation along the two biases has occurred, and should occur, to follow the blueprint for experience. Could Ra comment on that?

Ra: I am Ra. You are perceptive, O student.

Quote:95.24 Questioner: From that statement I interpret the following meaning: That if the Experience of the Mind has sufficiently chosen the right-hand path, as total purity is approached in choosing of the right-hand path, then total imperviousness from the effect of the left-hand catalyst is also approached. Is this correct?

Ra: I am Ra. This is exquisitely perceptive. The seeker which has purely chosen the service-to-others path shall certainly not have a variant apparent incarnational experience. There is no outward shelter in your illusion from the gusts, flurries, and blizzards of quick and cruel catalyst.

However, to the pure, all that is encountered speaks of the love and the light of the One Infinite Creator. The cruelest blow is seen with an ambiance of challenges offered and opportunities to come. Thusly, the great pitch of light is held high above such an one so that all interpretation may be seen to be protected by light.

Quote:16.59 Questioner: The many Wanderers coming to this planet now and in the recent past— are they subject to Orion thoughts?

Ra: I am Ra. As we have said before, Wanderers become completely the creature of third density in mind/body complex. There is just as much chance of such influence to a Wanderer entity as to a mind/body/spirit complex of this planetary sphere. The only difference occurs in the spirit complex which, if it wishes, has an armor of light, if you will, which enables it to recognize more clearly that which is not as it would appropriately be desired by the mind/body/spirit complex. This is not more than a bias and cannot be called an understanding.

Quote:9.17 Questioner: Can you tell me what bias creates their momentum toward the chosen path of service to self?


Ra: I am Ra. We can speak only in metaphor. Some love the light. Some love the darkness. It is a matter of the unique and infinitely various Creator choosing and playing among its experiences as a child upon a picnic. Some enjoy the picnic and find the sun beautiful, the food delicious, the games refreshing, and glow with the joy of creation. Some find the night delicious, their picnic being pain, difficulty, sufferings of others, and the examination of the perversities of nature. These enjoy a different picnic.

All these experiences are available. It is free will of each entity which chooses the form of play, the form of pleasure.

Quote:100.6 Questioner: Thank you. To continue with the tarot, I would like to make the additional observation with respect to Card Six that the male’s arms being crossed, if the female to his right pulls on his left hand it would cant, in effect turn him, his entire body, toward the right and the same is true for the female on the left: pulling on his right hand she will turn his entire body to her side. Which is my interpretation of what’s meant by the tangle of the arms. That the transformation occurs by pull which attempts to turn the entity toward the left or the right-hand path. Would Ra comment on that observation?
Ra: I am Ra. We shall. The concept of the pull towards mental polarity may well be examined in the light of what the student has already accreted concerning the nature of the conscious, exemplified by the male, and the unconscious, exemplified by the female. Indeed, both the prostituted and the virginal of deep mind invite and await the reaching.

In this image of Transformation of Mind, then, each of the females points the way it would go, but is not able to move, nor are the two female entities striving to do so. They are at rest. The conscious entity holds both and will turn itself one way or the other or, potentially, backwards and forwards, rocking first one way then the other and not achieving the transformation. In order for the Transformation of Mind to occur, one principle governing the use of the deep mind must be abandoned.

It is to be noted that the triangular shape formed by the shoulders and crossed elbows of consciousness is a shape to be associated with transformation. Indeed, you may see this shape echoed twice more in the image, each echo having its own riches to add to the impact of this complex of concepts.

(04-26-2018, 04:22 PM)rva_jeremy Wrote: While it may be true that there is a deep-down, innate, axiomatic bias that effects the choice of polarity ("some love the light…"), that is not the same kind of bias as what you're talking about being created by the process of catalyst/experience/signification.

Quote:The Law of Confusion or Free Will is utterly paramount in the workings of the infinite creation. That which is intended has as much intensity of attraction to the polar opposite as the intensity of the intention or desire.

Thus those whose desires are shallow or transitory experience only ephemeral configurations of what might be called the magical circumstance. There is a turning point, a fulcrum which swings as a mind/body/spirit complex tunes its will to service. If this will and desire is for service to others the corresponding polarity will be activated.

/.../

We may note that such a configuration of free will, one-pointed in service to others, also has the potential for the alerting of a great mass of light strength. This positive light strength, however, operates also under free will and must be invoked. We could not speak to this and shall not guide you, for the nature of this contact is such that the purity of your free will must, above all things, be preserved. Thus you wend your way through experiences discovering those biases which may be helpful. (72.7)

Quote:19.14 Questioner: Then we have second-density beings who have primarily motivation towards service to self and possibly a little bit of service to others with respect to their immediate families going into third density and carrying this bias with them but being in a position now where this bias will slowly be modified to one which is aimed toward a social complex and then ultimately toward union with the all. Am I correct?

Ra: I am Ra. You are correct.

Quote:Firstly, let us examine the crossed arms of the male who is to be transformed. What, O student, do you make of the crossing? What see you in this tangle? (Ra)

unity100 Wrote:In this card, does the female on the right turn the mind towards the right by pulling the left hand of the mind towards the right with her left hand, and the female on the left do the opposite?

...This may not be only symbolic, but may have a relation to the daily ordinary energy balance of right/left. In he material, there are references to toppling/falling towards a direction in other points not relevant to tarot or this card.


It may be so that the feeling/orientation one have in his/her body and the balance of energy in left and right hand side may relate to polarities.

rva_jeremy Wrote:the image to me doesn't show any abandonment at all. I think that's why I saw the archetype itself as prior to the choice, not the act of choosing to abandon

Quote:is choice something that we create, or is choice an expression of deeper bias that we channel?

Quote:While it may be true that there is a deep-down, innate, axiomatic bias that effects the choice of polarity

unity100 Wrote:It is the entity which is going to turn himself around.


And for that to happen, he will let go of one hand - aka one principle that governs the use of deep mind.

This would mean clenching and pulling with his left hand, whereas opening and letting go with his right hand.

(05-15-2018, 01:23 PM)JustLikeYou Wrote: Hi all,

I'll start with a reply to the original question.

unity100 Wrote:In this card, does the female on the right turn the mind towards the right by pulling the left hand of the mind towards the right with her left hand, and the female on the left do the opposite?

...This may not be only symbolic, but may have a relation to the daily ordinary energy balance of right/left. In he material, there are references to toppling/falling towards a direction in other points not relevant to tarot or this card.


It may be so that the feeling/orientation one have in his/her body and the balance of energy in left and right hand side may relate to polarities.

I don't think the images for the archetypes of mind should be understood as indicating sensations in the body. Rather, I think that would be the domain of the archetypes of body.

I do, however, have an interpretation of the crossed arms.

In the first place, it may well be that the intention is just to create the pretzel shape. If you imagine that the male's arms are not crossed, and that he holds a hand of each woman, he has much more range of motion.

The question, as I understand it, is this: why does the prostitute hold his right hand and the virgin his left? Is there meaning in this configuration beyond the fact that it makes binds the male in a pretzel?

If so, here is my interpretation: it is easy to feel drawn toward one polarity when you experience the pleasures belonging to that polarity. The feeling of power and control brings pleasure, as does the feeling of connection and unconditional support. The hard part is to accept that the pleasures of one polarity become the pains of another. The virgin wants us recognize that our attempts to control her are cruel. Likewise, the prostitute wants us to acknowledge that she is contemptuous of our propensity for compassion. Abandoning one of the paths requires that we accept and face the pain of doing so.


Here are some other comments.

rva_jeremy Wrote:the image to me doesn't show any abandonment at all. I think that's why I saw the archetype itself as prior to the choice, not the act of choosing to abandon

I think this image shows the necessity of abandonment, rather than the event itself. I think you probably appreciate the difficulty of showing a dynamic event with a static image. If the image showed the actual event of abandonment, then the male would have to have chosen one of the females, but that would send the wrong message to the student: that one of the paths is right and one wrong.

Quote:is choice something that we create, or is choice an expression of deeper bias that we channel?

In this archetype, I think the choice has to happen consciously. The unconscious offers itself in two forms and the conscious mind enjoys the privilege of choice. I also think this matches our experience. I think throughout our lives we feel a pull both toward a part of ourselves that wants to be used for gratification and another part of ourselves that wants to be cherished and appreciated. This often comes up for me in my writing and other creative work: sometimes I ruthlessly demand production from myself, and other times I want to follow the urge of the muse without forcing anything. What makes the difference is whether, in becoming aware of these opposing pulls, I consistently decide to let go of one approach in favor of the other. This can also be applied to relationships with others, of course.

I think frustration is the characteristic emotion of this archetype. We get frustrated when we feel that we are stagnating in manifesting the reality we want. But we typically fail to grasp that inconsistency in our choices with regard to this archetype is what causes the stagnation. It's not at all intuitively obvious that abandoning all effort to force myself to create something will open the way forward into greater realms of creativity. I think it is very tempting to judge that both of these approaches to the unconscious mind are useful and neither should be abandoned.

Quote:While it may be true that there is a deep-down, innate, axiomatic bias that effects the choice of polarity

I don't think there is such an innate, axiomatic bias. If there were, then it does not seem that we can be called free. Rather, I think what you are describing is the development of bias over many lifetimes that is then carried into the current incarnation.

unity100 Wrote:It is the entity which is going to turn himself around.


And for that to happen, he will let go of one hand - aka one principle that governs the use of deep mind.

This would mean clenching and pulling with his left hand, whereas opening and letting go with his right hand.

This strikes me as a near contradiction. I think that to abandon one path requires the letting go, regardless of the chosen path. Or, to put it another way, to clench and pull with the left hand is just to choose the left hand path and abandon the right. If you attempt to drag the virgin along with you, you will look back to discover she was actually a prostitute all along. I'm not so much disagreeing as pointing out an oddity of self-reference (which usually causes problems for logic).

Quote:What see you in this tangle? (Ra)

Quote:94.26 Questioner: I’ll have to work on that.

Then I am guessing that the crossed legs of the entity in Card Four have a meaning similar to the cross of the crux ansata. Is this correct?

Ra: I am Ra. This is correct. The cross formed by the living limbs of the image signifies that which is the nature of mind/body/spirit complexes in manifestation within your illusion. There is no experience which is not purchased by effort of some kind, no act of service to self or others which does not bear a price, to the entity manifesting, commensurate with its purity. All things in manifestation may be seen in one way or another to be offering themselves in order that transformations may take place upon the level appropriate to the action.

JustLikeYou Wrote:If so, here is my interpretation: it is easy to feel drawn toward one polarity when you experience the pleasures belonging to that polarity. The feeling of power and control brings pleasure, as does the feeling of connection and unconditional support. The hard part is to accept that the pleasures of one polarity become the pains of another. The virgin wants us recognize that our attempts to control her are cruel. Likewise, the prostitute wants us to acknowledge that she is contemptuous of our propensity for compassion. Abandoning one of the paths requires that we accept and face the pain of doing so.

JustLikeYou Wrote:

Jeremy Wrote:the image to me doesn't show any abandonment at all. I think that's why I saw the archetype itself as prior to the choice, not the act of choosing to abandon

I think this image shows the necessity of abandonment, rather than the event itself. I think you probably appreciate the difficulty of showing a dynamic event with a static image. If the image showed the actual event of abandonment, then the male would have to have chosen one of the females, but that would send the wrong message to the student: that one of the paths is right and one wrong.

JustLikeYou Wrote:In this archetype, I think the choice has to happen consciously. The unconscious offers itself in two forms and the conscious mind enjoys the privilege of choice. I also think this matches our experience. I think throughout our lives we feel a pull both toward a part of ourselves that wants to be used for gratification and another part of ourselves that wants to be cherished and appreciated. This often comes up for me in my writing and other creative work: sometimes I ruthlessly demand production from myself, and other times I want to follow the urge of the muse without forcing anything. What makes the difference is whether, in becoming aware of these opposing pulls, I consistently decide to let go of one approach in favor of the other. This can also be applied to relationships with others, of course.

JustLikeYou Wrote:I don't think there is such an innate, axiomatic bias. If there were, then it does not seem that we can be called free. Rather, I think what you are describing is the development of bias over many lifetimes that is then carried into the current incarnation.

(05-18-2018, 12:17 PM)rva_jeremy Wrote:

JustLikeYou Wrote:I don't think there is such an innate, axiomatic bias. If there were, then it does not seem that we can be called free. Rather, I think what you are describing is the development of bias over many lifetimes that is then carried into the current incarnation.

Well, I appreciate the pushback, because I should question this assumption. For some reason, I've always thought Ra described the reason we gravitate towards one polarity or another as stemming from bias, a bias that they cannot explain and that is a mystery, one of the central mysteries that evolution explores. This is the relevant passage, but it's definitely not convincing, I acknowledge. I'm starting to think I ought to adjust the rough ontology involved here, something I've crystalized over nearly two decades. Oof.

I'm probably just running into the problems of True Simultaneity, trying to delve too deeply into cause and effect here. Thanks for guiding me through!

rva_jeremy Wrote:Conveying necessity gets to the heart of what transformation feels like, that sense of being swept along and trying to figure out what aspects of the experience are yours (sorry, I'm not communicating this very well).

rva_jeremy Wrote:So if it is the conscious mind that is privileged to choose, do you see "the big choice" (Archetype 22) as a sort of summing of all these individual choices? In other words, do you not see The Choice as a discrete event? I've always interpreted it as a discrete event, mostly because (A) a choice usually is a discrete event, and (B) Ra describes it as happening far before it's nature is recognized, and it's weird to interpret that in anything but concrete terms. But the idea that The Choice is more the product of a trillion tiny "blind taste tests"--that it's not necessarily a tidy phenomenon but something accruing at a more subtle level--opens me up to some different possibilities for conceptualizing all this.

rva_jeremy Wrote:Well, I appreciate the pushback, because I should question this assumption. For some reason, I've always thought Ra described the reason we gravitate towards one polarity or another as stemming from bias, a bias that they cannot explain and that is a mystery, one of the central mysteries that evolution explores. This is the relevant passage, but it's definitely not convincing, I acknowledge. I'm starting to think I ought to adjust the rough ontology involved here, something I've crystalized over nearly two decades. Oof.


I'm probably just running into the problems of True Simultaneity, trying to delve too deeply into cause and effect here. Thanks for guiding me through!

Quote:The concept of the pull towards mental polarity may well be examined in the light of what the student has already accreted concerning the nature of the conscious, exemplified by the male, and the unconscious, exemplified by the female. Indeed, both the prostituted and the virginal of deep mind invite and await the reaching. (100.6)

(07-29-2018, 04:59 PM)loostudent Wrote:

Quote:The concept of the pull towards mental polarity may well be examined in the light of what the student has already accreted concerning the nature of the conscious, exemplified by the male, and the unconscious, exemplified by the female. Indeed, both the prostituted and the virginal of deep mind invite and await the reaching. (100.6)

What do you think is the prostituted and the virginal deep mind or the two principles governing the use of the deep mind?