Directory: set 1, cards 1-9
Set 1: Introvert imbalance
NOTES:
1) Set 1 and 2 cards all have a balanced meaning (accessed separately on the four-mention version of the cards). They should NOT be read as in the 4-mention cards. On the web, these cards are unbalanced if drawn upright and balanced if drawn reversed.
2) The images of these set 1 cards contrast with those of their set 2 counterparts: Deflation with Inflation, Control with Abandon and so on. It is therefore advised also to look at these images in the same pairs.
3) For the balanced mention, I have lifted the expression ‘no blame attaches’ from the I Ching to describe a situation where the querant’s attitude is not neurotic.
4) Each divination summary is divided into the unbalanced and balanced meanings, the latter being headed by EBB SPIRIT etc as used on the four-mention cards.
1. Deflation: Group – Spirit (1 violet/purple):
The image
The image of deflation is dominated by a furiously angry woman holding a big snake which threatens a naked man cowering near and trying to protect himself. Above him, a single eye looks out – at those in the image, or perhaps even at us, the viewers. In Deflation the Spirit – the male side – is made to feel small.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Deflation: a pin-prick to the balloon of the ego! self-image collapses
Deflation results from rigidity: you have had a definite idea of yourself, that idea has been proved false, and you are upset, wounded by the mismatch between the big idea and the smaller reality. You’re brought back down to earth with a bump. Or again, you may have encountered novel circumstances – in your work, or in relation to another person, found that you couldn’t handle them, and had your self-confidence dented. This is hard to face, but learn what it has to teach you and you’ll emerge all the stronger for the experience.
B Balanced:
In your life, there are forces greater than yourself. When you are shown to be limited, the healthy attitude is to accept, learn and move on. Why this setback? This is the moment to look within. You’re taking some time out wisely to reflect, think things through.
One vital ingredient of effective action is to know when not to act. The hero or man of action is not an adrenalin junkie: he knows when to stop and walk away. This is such a time: perhaps you’re questioning long-held beliefs or assumptions; or struggling to digest a new book. At any rate, you’re making needed space to ingest and digest thoughts, ideas and perceptions; to work through your questions. Provided you’re not sulking with a bruised ego, but are ready to re-engage with the world when appropriate, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
DEFLATION: Your inflated view of yourself is now being cut down to size. This is a challenge. How do you respond? Are you thrown into depression? Will you go to the other extreme and make a great song and dance about how worthless you are? EBB SPIRIT: Now, the limitations of the male half of the psyche are exposed – so make way for feeling, intuition, spontaneity, and play: the female side. If you accept defeat and even humiliation; walk away, re-evaluate, integrate what is needed from the Will and return all the stronger, no blame attaches.
2. Control: Group – Will (2 red)
The Image
A woman stands looking down at a seated man, who avoids her gaze. The woman’s dress and manner are provocative, but her expression suggests predation rather than tenderness. One of her hands encircles a red rose on a nearby climber, whilst he holds a book in his lap. In fact, the man is a slave in this household; displeasing either his master or mistress (the woman in the picture) could cost him his life.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Control: attempt to impose a rigid and restricted framework of behaviour on situations, others or oneself
Just as Deflation involves a contraction in Spirit energy, so Control refers to a contraction in the Will. Ideally, Will should have the confidence to meet Spirit half way. However, all too often it takes fright, fearing condemnation and punishment by the male side if it does not restrain its impulses. Here, you are feeling threatened, so trying to keep control – inside you, outside you, or both. This creates stress, and the anxiety of not being able to maintain that control. In fact, you’re not under threat – your imaginings, not other people or circumstances, are the cause of your fear. The motto ‘live and let live’ is a reminder that everyone needs breathing space. Or is it yourself, your inner thoughts and feelings that frighten you? Letting things out can be such a relief; keeping everything bottled up is too painful.
We have all learnt to deny ourselves what we desire, forcing us to seek substitute gratification in food, drink, shopping and so on.
Behind your control are your desires: either you must free them, or you must spend your life policing both yourself and others.
B Balanced:
This is neither the time nor the place to indulge in letting rip your emotions. Here, you need to keep them in check in order to function effectively and to obtain the response you need from others. This is a situation where self control, not emotional expression, is required of you. In an emergency, for instance, the first requirement is for effective action; emotional reactions need to be put on hold. Again, if another person is in great emotional distress, you need to be there for them; you can let your own feelings out afterwards. Control often involves repressing sexual desire. This may happen, for example, because you are in a position of responsibility vis-à-vis another: doctor, teacher etc. Balanced control happens where you do not refuse to acknowledge sexual desire, but where you judge that to go along with it is inappropriate. Control, then involves holding in; provided you can let go when circumstances are right for that, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
CONTROL: You are controlling your emotions, blocking self-expression, not doing what you desire. What are your motives? You are afraid, but are you under threat from outside or from inside? EBB WILL: Is this an objective situation where head must rule heart? Do you have others in your care? Are you experiencing an emotional hunger which should not be targeted at those present? When Control is a tactic, not a compulsion, no blame attaches.
3. Withdrawal: Group – Heart (3 green)
The image
The image is dominated by a man’s face in the foreground. His expression is one of alarm and suspicion. Over his shoulder, in the background, we see a woman at a garden gate, holding up a jug and looking surprised and annoyed. The man a vagabond – who wears a hooded cloak, has just refused a drink, and the woman’s expression implies that this is strange, because they are acquainted and he has never before refused in this way.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Withdrawal: ‘backing off from friendly contact with others; retreating “into one’s shell”.’
At this time, you feel disturbed and vulnerable, your self-confidence is at a low ebb. Communication becomes problematic, you are unsure of yourself, so you have the impulse to retreat from human contact. You don’t answer the phone, refuse invitations to go out, rebuff advances by concerned friends. In unbalanced withdrawal, neurotic fears block your natural impulse towards friendly contact with your fellow-beings. A stranger offers you a kindness and you refuse suspiciously. You reject your neighbour’s offer to lend you his new lawn mower – what will he want in return? Justifiable caution or reticence has given way to excessive avoidance.
B Balanced:
You don’t feel able to go out to people at this time and place. Perhaps a recent encounter has left you badly hurt and you need time to recover. Or you are unwilling to respond, because you really have nothing at all in common with this person/these people, or know that you can feel no genuine warmth towards them. Again, you may be preoccupied with inner issues, work on yourself. When you are in thrall to inner forces, you cannot be heartfelt in your dealings with others. Provided any avoidance of contact is neither long-term nor generalised, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
WITHDRAWAL: Emotional insecurity; vulnerability, lack of self-confidence; communication difficulties, suspicion, avoidance, self-isolation, shrinking back, going into ones shell; possible paranoia; EBB HEART: justifiable caution, discretion, reticence, preoccupation with inner forces, working on oneself, inward focus, for example in creative work; recuperation after painful encounter or relationship. In strategic retreat, no blame attaches.
4. Torpor: Group – Form (4 orange)
The image
A desert scene late in the day comprises two seated camels and two Tuareg tribesmen enveloped in long blue robes, their faces almost hidden, resting in the shade of a rock. A fox is seen trotting in the background, and the distinctive tracks of a sidewinder snake can also be observed. The camel facing the viewer has a sarcastic, even supercilious expression on its face – implying that, although it may be a beast of burden used by man, it has reasons for feeling superior to us humans.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Torpor: 1) sluggishness, sloth, exhaustion – physical / psycho-somatic; [ 2) the still centre]
you are feeling tired – physically, morally, emotionally. You’re exhausted, fed up, and have no enthusiasm for anything. Is there too much energy in your head – too many thoughts whirring about, and the attendant emotions are tiring you out? Actually, there’s nothing wrong with you physically. What are you trying to avoid? What is it you can’t face? Sometimes, there is something we long for, that longing is a motivator, and if we lose it or give up on it, torpor ensues. Maybe, you just need to connect to something you really WANT to do –then you’ll get all your energy back.
B Balanced:
You’re tired and only want to laze around. You know why – it’s because you’ve been through a very demanding time, expended a huge amount of energy – physical or emotional. Now your system is telling you: give me a break! You’re not feeling blue, just tired. Enjoy your rest with a clear conscience; recharge your batteries: your energy will return in due course and with it renewed activity. It is also possible that a matter of timing is involved: you have been trying to let go into creative expression, for example, but not getting the response you need. So you decide to play possum. In either case, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
TORPOR: Exhaustion, weariness, lack of enthusiasm, loss of motivation, boredom, overload of thoughts and or feelings, avoidance of personal issues; EBB BODY: rest and recuperation in aftermath of demanding circumstances; situation not propitious for activity. In genuine convalescence, no blame attaches.
C The Big Meaning.
Torpor has an altogether more mysterious meaning: the still centre, the place which is the source of all movement and activation; where all the opposing forces are in balance, and there is calm. It means this both for the soul of the universe and for the individual soul. The camel’s expression is telling us that we are on the outside, not privy to the secret shared by the rest of creation.
[Rainring interprets Torpor (big meaning)
It’s not because I am now doing everything I can to make the cards simple that they cannot also be expanded in the direction of complexity. For those of you who are working with the four-mention cards, here is the amplification for Torpor (big meaning). This could not be done satisfactorily with the simplified web version of Rainring. Centre: TORPOR; North: Play, U/λ (reversed) loss; South: Resonance λ, U λ loss (supplementary: Self λ, U / Not Out) West: <Obsession>, U / L.B.W. East: Flow Self, U / Simplicity]
5. Obsession: Group – Unconscious (5 indigo)
The image
The scene seems to be at night, perhaps by moonlight. A young woman sits cross-legged on the rim of a fountain. Behind her there is a tangle of roses and thorns, with a nightingale singing. The woman has just forced open a large gourd, from which a butterfly shoots upwards and outwards. In contrast to her apparent physical frailty, her face reveals great strength of purpose, though her eyes are abstracted and give the impression of madness.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Obsession: ‘compulsive and unhealthy preoccupation, driven by unconscious psychic contents, with oneself, another, or a particular object or goal.’
You’re in the grip of something you can’t shake off – your thoughts and feelings keep returning there over and over, like to the partner who left you, the boss who sacked you. For whatever reason – whether inner or outer – you are inhibited from doing what you desire. This creates a high level of disturbance, of tension. Or perhaps something makes you constantly anxious – dirt maybe, or your weight, or whether the new person in your life really wants you. You have a fierce singleness of purpose, but there is some kind of deep emotional disturbance here. If obsessive thoughts and feelings persist unchanged over an extended period, you will need help in letting go. Will you try expressing all this – in words, paint or music for example; or consider seeing a therapist?
The root of obsession is excessive self-isolation, making the self into a fortress. The mind takes control and the Unconscious is banished. Without the freedom of movement which it needs, the Unconscious builds up an intense pressure which then forces the self into a fierce but narrow focus, typically on a single repressed target: this is the anatomy of obsession. Note that one form of obsession is widely accepted in society: that ruthless, single-minded ambition which makes someone willing to sacrifice everyone and everything to achieve their goal. It is not less pathological for being respectable. This person’s activity masquerades as being outer-directed – in reality, it is powered by their battle with inner forces. In all Obsession, the power source is in the Unconscious – we are being pushed by some force which escapes our conscious control.
B Balanced: A strong focus on your inner world is taking place. The cards describe this as the quest for Attraction. The implication is that the deepest underlying driver is the magnetism of the male-female polarisation, the urge to unite sexually. On the other hand, this may be sublimated in many ways: the scientist, artist, philosopher or clairvoyant all focus on the world within, not to mention the medium or shaman. Here, you have withdrawn much of your energy from the outer world to focus on inner exploration. But do remember the fate of Nietzsche, the genius who succumbed to madness. Keep your mooring lines to the outer world firmly hooked up, be prudent and no blame will attach.
Divination summary
OBSESSION: Obsessional focus; not being able to get someone or something out of your mind; frustrated desire; being driven, for example by pathological ambition; EBB WORLD: repression of sexual desire, the energy of which is channelled into creative work; engaging with the inner world – the activity of the clairvoyant, medium, seer or shaman. On the true journey of the soul, no blame attaches.
6. Submission: Group – Self (6 yellow)
The image
A scarecrow with hollow eyes and mouth stands in the middle of a field of corn stubble after harvest. From one of his arms hangs a medallion with a wolf’s head carved on it. Half a dozen black crows fly near or perch on him, apparently quite aggressive in their intentions.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Submission: ‘giving in to another’s will, or sometimes to fate; inability to assert one’s legitimate need for personal space.’
Submission begins in a place of refusal which eventually weakens and gives way to acceptance. You feel powerless to stop another or others invading your personal space. You feel too weak to stand up for yourself. Do you find it impossible to say no? Are you overcome by guilt at putting your needs and desires before those of others? Are you too frightened to displease someone else? Underneath your fear or guilt there is anger that wants to say: ‘Leave me alone! I’ll do what I like!’ Most people, if you behave like a doormat, will stamp all over you. So why can Submission be attractive? It is because of the element of allowing something beyond yourself (such as the will of another person) to take over. We all knew this state as infants – hence the seductiveness, on occasion, of returning there. Unbalanced Submission is infantile.
B Balanced:
In balanced Submission, there is an openness which derives from that true inner strength which makes it possible to defer to another, even if to an observer this might seem to be merely weakness of character. Submission creates a situation in which whatever is taking place, even though it involves you in the eyes of others, does not visibly have the stamp of your personality upon it. To be able to allow this, it is necessary to be able to relinquish your self-image. The ‘gentle giant’, confident of his physical prowess, feels no need to throw his weight about. In a furious row between spouses, the strong one is the one capable of backing down. It has been said that the worst leader is the one the people hate, better is the one they love, but the best is the one they do not notice[1]. The great matriarch is not the one who governs by the overbearing and relentless weight of her own charisma, but who nurtures all by allowing each the room for personal expression and empowerment. If you concede from strength, not from weakness, no blame attaches.
There is also a big version of Submission: when you give in to the overwhelming power of fate. There are greater forces in the cosmos than the will of man. The wise man learns when to fight to the last ounce of his strength to accomplish his stated purpose, and when to bow, gracefully, to those greater forces. Then, honour attaches.
Divination summary
SUBMISSION: Giving in to the will of another; loss of own personal centre, following, abdicating responsibility, infantile reliance on another’s knowledge, skill or charisma; fear of self-assertion; anger blocked by guilt; EBB SELF: concession from strength, ability to allow others space to shine, lack of concern with self-image; inner resilience and self-confidence; nurturing qualities. When inviting others to take centre stage, honour attaches.
7. Inhibition: Group – Communication (7 blue)
The image
The image is dominated by a young man and woman, seen at a country fair. In the complementary card Exhibition, the youth is singing and playing his guitar with gusto and the young woman is dancing with abandon. In this card however, they stand still, their body language suggesting self-protection. The spotlight is on them, the spectators have gathered, but they appear overcome with shyness and unable to perform.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Inhibition: ‘emotional block to action or expression; compulsive timidity; lack of self-confidence in communication.’
At the moment when it is appropriate, you find it difficult to communicate, to express yourself in word or action. With those close to you, or when you feel safe, it is easier. But in a room full of strangers, or where you have to demonstrate expertise, or where you feel potential hostility…you become tongue-tied. Inhibition is characterised by an inner quest for clarity – you feel that you must get everything perfect in your head before you dare utter a word or move a muscle. In Inhibition, you want to be able to speak, to act and it is appropriate, even necessary to do so, but there is an emotional block. The battle which should take place in the outer world in order for you to cross from the isolation of Self to the contact of Swayesse remains, instead, a struggle within you. If you are young, experience of life may develop your self-confidence and resolve the problem; otherwise, you may need help with this.
B Balanced:
Like control, of which it is a form, there are occasions where Inhibition is appropriate. You would want to bite back the insult to a boy soldier armed to the teeth at a roadblock when he demands a few banknotes to help him ‘feed his old mother’. Benefits will be derived in certain cases from keeping one’s own counsel. An interviewer, actor, very junior member of staff would all experience situations where Inhibition was the suitable form of behaviour. In the psyche, there is a continual process of ebb and flow, like the tide. There are circumstances where words or actions do not flow out smoothly and spontaneously. The wise person learns to respect these times. It will sometimes take courage, in the case of a public figure for example, to remain silent. Similarly, there are times when one is not in the appropriate inner state for going towards the other polarity, in an emotional or sexual sense. You need to respect yourself in this regard, recognising your inner variations: you are not a machine. If Inhibition is a choice to remain quiet at suitable moments, rather than a compulsion to do so at unsuitable ones, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
INHIBITION: A feeling of restraint being imposed; restriction, emotional block to speech or action; obsessive search for inner precision; lack of self-confidence inhibiting expression; fear of being exposed; acute lack of self-confidence; EBB SONG: circumstances demand appropriate self-restraint, acceptance of natural inner fluctuation, unsuitable moment for contact with the outside, or with opposite polarity individuals. When inner orientation is required, no blame attaches.
8. Will Denial – Group: Conjugation (8 magenta)
The image
In the foreground we see a young girl, very pale and as though stunned with grief. In the background, a teenage boy is being led away by an older man. The boy turns his head to look back at the girl, whilst the man, who has his arm across the boy’s shoulders, indicates by his body language that he means business. On the branch of a tree, pink flowers appear.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Will Denial: ‘denying / suppressing feelings; refusal to follow one’s desires; denigration of the qualities and attributes of Will, the psychic feminine.’
The cards chose Submission, umpire Quest-ion? to represent the inner aspect of Will Denial. In Will Denial, that is, you want to give in to another’s will, or to let things happen to you. For example, it could be argued that we die when we no longer have the will to go on living. Or, as with the man in the image, you are denying the feelings of another or others. Feelings can be inconvenient, perhaps threatening to disrupt a task or plan you are engaged with. Will denial is often an issue of control – emotion all too easily reduces order to anarchy.
Will denial is very widespread in every contemporary society. We have created a world where only children, to some extent, do what they feel like doing. The rest of us, who work, have become so cut off from ourselves that we hardly even know that we would rather play – if indeed we still would. Instead we get our children to learn, and this prepares them – us - for work. This learning, as practised in almost every school in the world, destroys spontaneity and fosters will denial.
B Balanced:
The Will end of the spectrum is concerned with recognising, valuing and expressing emotion. Sometimes however, there are sound reasons not to give free rein to feelings. You are dealing with your present situation from a spirit-sided perspective – emphasising reason, reflection, use of the mind. You have judged that these circumstances require this type of approach, rather than a more intense, emotionally-responsive form of behaviour. Sound judgement requires a group of people, for example, to appraise a situation objectively, not to get lost in emotional ego-battles. Again, having created a society where the feeling-side values are heavily judged against, it is inevitable that in many situations, certainly in public, you cannot allow the full force of your feelings free rein. Emotion which is both alive but held in, then transmuted so that a journey of the soul is instigated, forms a vital ingredient of painting, poetry and the arts in general. If you restrain your emotions only because circumstances require, and not because you are denying the feeling side, no blame attaches.
Divinatory summary
WILL DENIAL: Suppression, refusal to recognise the validity of emotion; spirit-biased judgements against feeling; unacknowledged fear of losing control; hatred of vulnerability, tenderness and love; SPIRIT POLE: appropriate and well-judged emphasis on reason and reflection; use of effective and dispassionate analysis, planning, etc in suitable contexts; wise and appropriate self-restraint. If resisting influence of inappropriate emotion, no blame attaches
9. Ebb – Group: Quest-ion? (9 grey/brown)
Until a publisher is found for a book introducing Rainring cards, we are withholding the publication of the text of the group 9 cards. This is to avoid the risk of piracy if a complete set were available on the web. However, the divination summaries of all 81 web cards are available as a double-sided 2 x A4 laminate, available from http://www.rainschool.com/shop/rainring/rainring-cards–accessories/
[1] Carl Rogers