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The Merlin and Dreampower Tarots of R.J. Stewart: Harmonics and Qabalistic Basis - Part 2

Preview of Dreampower

To begin with, let's just take a look at the Dreampower trumps, as they are all quite different in appearance from most Tarots.

"The differences are deeper than simply suggesting new or alternative tarot images, however, as this deck begins in the inner worlds... The Dreampower major cards are not variants of traditional tarot Trumps, but a new set of potent images drawn from inspiration and visualization." (p. 5 The Dreampower Tarot)

The organization of the following table will be discussed in detail below, but briefly, the columns show trumps in the same world or realm, and the rows show trumps in the same position on the tree within their realm or world. The Lunar World of the standard Tarot is akin to the Dreampower Stone Realm, the Solar to the Pearl, and the Stellar to the Whirlpool. Dreampower trumps are correlated with ordinary Tarot trumps according the "basic direct cross-reference" as listed in Appendix 3 of The Dreampower Tarot. There are also additional subtle connections to other standard trumps for most of the Dreampower major cards which are not shown here. (Ordinary trumps are illustrated with images from the Alleged Tarot.)

Location Standard Lunar Dreampower Stone Standard Solar Dreampower Pearl Standard Stellar Dreampower Whirlpool
Upper Lefts
Universe

The Teller

Guardian
(Devil)

The Tangler

Strength

The Maker
Upper Rights
Fool

The Gate

Death

The Opener

Tower

The Maze
Lower Lefts
Magician

The Choir

Empress

The Maiden

Innocent
(Hierophant)

The Void
Lower Rights
Priestess

The Sleeper

Emperor

The Raptor

Hanged Man

The Knower
Horizontals
Fortune

The Table

Justice

The Stairway

Judgment

The Observatory
Middle Pillar Verticals
Moon

The Stone

Sun

The Seed Pearl

Star

The Whirlpool
Left (Pillar of Mercy) Bridge
Lovers

Division

Temperance

Conjunction
Right (Pillar of Severity) Bridge
Chariot

Arousal

Hermit

Becoming

Dreampower and the Inverted Tree

Dreampower Card Back

"The Dreampower cards are uttered or generated out of a different tree pattern. This one grows in reverse, with its roots in our outer world, reaching through the Underworld, with its crown in the mysterious Realm of universal being deep below or within all forms...By the time we reach the deepest Realm within ourselves, the Whirlpool, we have come to the stars within the earth, the universal being and power inherent within matter." (p. 11 The Dreampower Tarot)

Although Stewart doesn't use this terminology, you could think of the Underworld Tree (Gra shape) as attatched to the Overworld Tree (Kircher shape) through Malkuth. Malkuth is the 10th sphere on both trees. On the Underworld Tree, as you descend you progress, eventually experiencing the universal nature of consciousness. The Gra-shape is the perfected tree, the balanced tree, the tree before the Fall.

Merlin Tree 2Dreampower Tree

Similar to the struggle Stewart describes about "trying to force a pattern intellectually" and pushing "the true insights away", for a long time, I kept trying to understand the Underworld Tree as simply an upside down version of the tree underlying Merlin, with two paths moved. But the relationship is actually more complex. The Underworld tree is not merely upside down, it is in some ways inside out, as I'll show below.

Transformation Process - Getting to Dreampower's Realms from the Inverted Tree

"The Three Realms of Stone, Pearl and Whirlpool are the Underworld or primal reality out of which our surface world is reflected.
The overall idea is that our world or collective awareness is on the surface of existence, and that the primal reality is in the depths, not only of ourselves, but of the land and planet, which are of the universal Being." (p. 17, 22 The Dreampower Tarot)

The Stone Realm Reflection of Lunar World

"The Stone Realm ... holds and receives the power of the hidden Moon, power within the land, and some aspects of the power of the hidden Sun, the Sun at Midnight which is experienced more directly within ourselves in the Pearl Realm." (p. 18 The Dreampower Tarot)
lunar invertround lunarstone realm

Simply by inverting the lunar world portion of the (Gray) tree, the Gate and Teller are in position. If you can imagine pulling Yesod in the yellow diagram down below the horizontal path between Hod and Netzach, so that you have a diamond shape, all you need to do to complete the transformation is have Sleeper and Choir swap sides. (Note that because this is a tarot of the Underworld, all the planetary and Hebrew sephirotic correspondences are not part of this model.)

Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower
Upper Left
Universe

The Teller
Upper Right
Fool

The Gate
Horizontal
Fortune

The Table
Lower Left
Magician

The Choir
Vertical
Moon

The Stone
Lower Right
Priestess

The Sleeper

Bridging the Stone and Pearl Realms

crisscrossStone Pearl Bridge

Paths that were inside become outside.
Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower
Left Side
Lovers

Division
Right Side
Chariot

Arousal

The Pearl Realm Reflection of Solar World

"The Pearl Realm is the luminous light within the Underworld. It is also our consciousness deep within, where light arises spontaneously, often when we least expect it." (p. 19 The Dreampower Tarot)
solar invertround solarpearl realm

Paths that were outside become inside, and rotate one position.

Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower
Upper Left
Guardian
(Devil)

The Tangler
Upper Right
Death

The Opener
Horizontal
Justice

The Stairway
Lower Left
Empress

The Maiden
Vertical
Sun

The Seed Pearl
Lower Right
Emperor

The Raptor

Bridging the Pearl and Whirlpool Realms

top vPearl Whirlpool Bridge

What was the upper "V" goes to the outside. Again, inside swaps to outside.

Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower
Left Side
Temperance

Conjunction
Right Side
Hermit

Becoming

The Whirlpool Realm Reflection of Stellar World

"In the Whirlpool Realm we find the deepest intimations of our inherent universal Being." (p. 20 The Dreampower Tarot)
stellar invertround stellarwhirlpool realm
Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower Location Standard Tarot Equivalent Dreampower
Upper Left
Strength

The Maker
Upper Right
Tower

The Maze
Horizontal
Judgment

The Observatory
Lower Left
Innocent
(Hierophant)

The Void
Vertical
Star

The Whirlpool
Lower Right
Hanged Man

The Knower

This new tree, and the harmonics it highlights between cards is extremely interesting when applied back to traditional Tarot as well. May this bear fruit in your own meditations.

 

This page is a continuation. Part 1: The Merlin Tarot and the Qabalah of W.G. Gray

 

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Copyright © 2005 Joan Schraith Cole. All Rights Reserved
Updated March 5, 2005

Illustration credits: Alleged Tarot by Damian Cugley
The Merlin Tarot: designed by R J Stewart, illustrated by Miranda Gray. first published 1983, most recent edition 2004, Harper/Element, UK
The Dreampower Tarot: designed by R J Stewart, illustrated by Stuart Littlejohn. Published 1993, Harper/Aquarian, UK. currently out of print. All rights reserved worldwide.
R J Stewart's Dreampower website