Aquarian Tarot

Though many know the Tarot as a divination tool or fortuneteller's prop, the deck was originally created to preserve and reference the principles and gathered wisdom of an esoteric sect in 15th Century Spain at a time when card games were immensely popular throughout Western Europe.  Medieval mystics were forced to study and teach their forbidden doctrines in absolute secrecy, lest they be tried for heresy and burned at the stake by Church authorities. Eventually the cloud of mystery shrouding the practice led to myths about supernatural origins and divinatory powers. The myriad versions of Tarot that exist today still strike an uncanny resemblance to the four-suit Spanish playing deck, which consisted of swords, batons, cups, and coins.

In Aquarius Now, the long-awaited sequel to the 1987 watershed, The Aquarian Conspiracy, Marilyn Ferguson synthesizes perennial philosophies with a collective wisdom gathered from hundreds of pioneering scientists, researchers, artists, musicians, writers, corporate CEOs and business entrepreneurs who took part in a 5-year study that included lengthy questionnaires and extensive, in-depth personal essays.

A visonary model surfaced from a meta-analysis of data, as remarkable similarities emerged between a vast array of participants. For example, a significant majority of subjects displayed a highly inordinate leadership style. Many relied on intuitive aspects of their creative process as much or more than acquired knowledge. And most revealed a set of habits and coping strategies that evoke a unique symbiosis of logical, rational, and analytical cognitive processes. The study revealed a radical common sense between a divers body of individuals who learned to manifest their vision in the world with uncommon success.

Ferguson explores revolutionary ideals and breakthrough scientific discoveries, weaving principles employed by visionaries throughout the ages with the best information from the frontlines of research. The author draws from emerging paradigms in physics, neuroscience, and psychology to explain how multiplex systems within the structure of the brain, vast matrices of cognitive and subliminal processes, shifting states of awareness, and fluctuating biochemical moods yield an integral multiplicity of consciousness. Much of the discord and contention in society, explains Ferguson, rises from our own psyches, deep within which a hierarchy of incongruous sub-selves fight for input, dominance, authority, independence, and control of the will. Recognizing our innate multiplicity is half the battle, she suggests. We can harness this untapped resource of our multifaceted consciousness by aligning with a vital task and taking on a cause larger than our own.

A repertoire company of inner selves – embodied aspects of human potential – rise to the occasion and align in purpose when we begin to meet the extraordinary challenges we face individually and collectively. Aquarius Now exchanges Old World archetypes of monarchies and priesthoods for symbols more relevant and potent in this age.

The “Aquarian Tarot” draws on this work and its cast of characters – the warrior, the shaman, gardener, athlete, serious player, servant-leader, navigator, hunter-gatherer, scout, etc. – comprising a schematic system for shifting perspectives, evolving visionary habits, and exercising pragmatic and intuitive problem-solving skills.

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