Data Filter

This week I'll be using the Tarot in de Herstelde Orde (Tarot in Restored Order), created by Rob Docters van Leeuwen and Onno Docters van Leeuwen; it was published by Servire. The second deck I'll be drawing from is the Oracle of Kabbalah, a deck and book set created by Richard Seidman and published by Thomas Dunne Books. Since the Kabbalah cards are of the letter only and rather plain, I'll be using the illuminated paintings of Victor Brindatch. Today's draws are Juno and Alef:

Intuition becomes increasingly valuable in the new information society precisely because there is so much data. 

―John Naisbitt

The Tarot of Restored Order adds two cards to its deck: Juno (Intuition) and Jupiter (Truth). A temple to Juno Moneta (meaning “Juno Who Warns”) was built on Rome's Capitoline Hill in 344 BCE. According to Plutarch, the cackling of her sacred geese were said to have warned the Romans of an invasion of Gauls, allowing them to save the summit. Juno's card represents that spiritual nudge, bad feeling or intuitive flash that advises us to pay attention and take action. It helps us filter out the overwhelming amount of stimuli and focus on what's important in the moment. Symbolizing oneness or unity, Alef (Aleph) is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and means 'master' or 'leader.' When it appears, it suggests we recall what is primary; we need to strip away the superfluous and get back to basics. Both of these cards encourage staying grounded and not getting distracted by meaningless fluff. 

Keep Your Eye on the Leg...

From the Restored Order Tarot, Intuition/Juno; from the Oracle of Kabbalah, 'Tet:'

Tet artwork by Allison Carter

          In this tarot deck, two major arcana cards have been added: Intuition/Juno and Truth/Jupiter. The companion book states, "In this stage Intuition seduces the ego to follow her - this seduction is the reason why traditionally Intuition is portrayed with one leg uncovered. The traveler must overcome vain personal insights." Intuition attempts to trick the ego so she can become the primary guide. Why? Because if the ego is doing the looking, it will interpret every symbol and bit of information it finds in a self-centered way. Juno was said to have given the peacock its 'eyes' to be all-seeing, giving her access to the past, present, and future. This card represents an understanding that is beyond the personal and the linear. Tet (which happens to be the first letter for 'peacock' in Hebrew), is shaped like an open container. It signifies a space for potential. Yet there is duality in this letter; it is the beginning letter for both 'purity' and 'impurity.' These cards combined offer a caution about being aware of what we put in our inner containers. It won't just affect us but will carry outward like ripples from a stone tossed into a lake. 

Unwrapped Gifts

From the Tarot in de Herstelde Orde (Restored Order Tarot), Juno:

This particular deck has two extra cards: Jupiter (as Truth) and Juno (as Intuition). I've never drawn either one in all the times I've used the deck until today. At first I wondered what was so different between the High Priestess and this card. But it immediately became obvious that Juno was about taking action. How many times have you had an intuitive flash or spiritual nudge and ignored it? It's easy to discount what wells up from within as just another crazy thought, but Juno advises me to do something with the wisdom I receive. Otherwise, it's like a gift I leave all wrapped up and never open.

From the Oracle of the Kabbalah comes "Aleph:"

artwork by Michoel Muchnik

Aleph is a bit of a paradox; it represents both unity and separateness, nothingness and form. Seidman suggests looking at this letter as a Hebrew form of the yin-yang. Rather than opposites, these two sides are complementary aspects. Jewish sages teach the shape of Aleph represents the yoke of an ox. The center line symbolizes the plowed field when these opposites are carried on our shoulders without clinging to one side or the other. I need to be able to move back and forth on the continuum to birth something new, just as Juno blends intuition and action.