Questions for Letter VII

1. On page 149 the author poetically describes how angels came to minister to Jesus in the desert, after he resisted the temptations from the spirit of evil. Do you have a sense of angels present in your life in this way? If you don’t have a sense of angels in your life, are you open to at least imagining them? Imagine what freedom and possibilities become available to you if you could rely on the support of the angels. What do you think contemplatives could do to foster a greater capacity for trusting in the presence of angels?


2. On page 160 the author makes a bold statement: that politicians who promote hatred and hostility are worse than any so-called “black magician.” He was writing at a time when the horrors of fascism and Nazism were still far too fresh in peoples’ minds. But even today it seems like we have too many politicians who are willing to scapegoat or even demonize their opponents. How can we fight the tendency in politics to indulge in hatred? What can we do, as individual citizens, to begin to heal the suspicions and divisions that infect our shared public life
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3. The Chariot marks the completion of almost one-third of the way through our journey with the Major Arcana, and almost to summarize the journey this far, the author gives us a summary of the first seven arcana on page 164. Review this overview of both the “ideals” and the “warnings” of the first seven arcanum. What common themes seem to emerge? What insights are you gleaning from this summary, not only about Tarot, but about your spiritual journey? Does this summary change your perception of the material we’ve covered thus far?