Directory: set 2, cards 10-18
10. Inflation: Group – Spirit (1 violet/purple):
The image
A statuesque man is shown in close-up with a woman leaning against his shoulder. He holds a snake-like lock of her dark hair between his fingers. The man’s caricature-similarity to a Greek god conveys the idea of something over the top. The woman’s position, closed eyes and air of abandon all suggest complete confidence in the man, thus contrasting with the scene in Deflation.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Inflation: ‘puffed up with self-importance; the exaggerated pride which ‘comes before a fall’
Life has been playing to your strengths, and this has given you a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. Or you may be in the early stages of a love relationship, where you and your partner make each other feel on top of the world. Inflation is an over-valuation of yourself, and it will typically come as a compensation for a period when you have been in withdrawal. Now, suddenly, all those difficulties are a thing of the past (or so it feels). You have found an unconscious balance of male and female elements, so your ‘project’s can go forward. Beware! Balance involves walking the tightrope, and you will not be able to stay up there indefinitely. Inflation implies getting above yourself, and ‘pride comes before a fall’. We all need to feel good about ourselves, and proper pride is fine, but like all of us, you also need to find and keep solid ground under your feet.
B Balanced:
This is a time of outflow on the spirit side – you are influencing others with your thoughts or ideas. It could be the time after working on a book, when it is published and you explain what you have written, or develop the themes further in dialogue. At all events, there is a release or externalising of spirit energy here. You might be collaborating with others on a project which involves sharing your analytical skills, logical thinking or powers of discrimination. What needs to be present here is resonance: as long as you can tune in, find the appropriate wavelength to maintain genuine contact with others, all is well. Flow Spirit is a close companion of charisma, and charisma tends to be a heady but volatile and unstable cocktail. With this proviso, if you are currently getting a lot of positive feedback which reflects genuine achievements, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
INFLATION: Having an exaggerated opinion of one’s worth; unfounded feelings of superiority, the euphoria of being in love; feelings of empowerment after being stuck and withdrawn; being ‘on cloud nine’ and out of tune with others; FLOW SPIRIT: appropriate spirit side output: demonstrating intellectual, logical, analytical or similar skills and achievements; teaching, sharing knowledge and understanding; resonating with others; charismatic activity.
11. Abandon: Group – Will (2 red)
The image
A very young woman has her legs wrapped around the hips of a standing man. He faces away from viewer, whilst she is towards us. The woman wears a blue dress which has ridden up, whilst the man is naked to the waist. Although the man’s body hides the genitals of both, we may surmise that they are having sex. This impression seems to be confirmed by the woman’s expression and implied by the red sky which forms the background.
A Unbalanced:
Abandon: ‘1) action or expression without restraint, uncontrolled letting go 2) giving up, deserting’
You are out of control at the moment. Your emotions have taken over, and they are causing you to behave in ways which are not in alignment with your overall good. Abandon means giving in to the impulse of the moment; there is then a danger that you may have cause to regret the longer-term consequences. The problem is not your behaviour, but its context. You need to regain control,
lest others take advantage of you, or you give a bad impression which will be to the detriment of your real interests. There is such a sense of freedom and relief in letting go that it can be hard to resist, but right now you do need to resist.
B Balanced:
Control and Abandon each have their own virtue and bring their own satisfaction. To live without being able to let go is intolerable. Whether you throw yourself around the dance floor, give your all in a sporting event, let out every kind of noise, give way to the depths of your feelings of rage, grief, joy or whatever, or lose yourself in passionate sex, the prescription is the same – letting go is a physical and emotional necessity. Abandon has a social facet: it is a form of behaviour where you really engage with people, and leave your mark on them. Your present situation is appropriate for this outflow of Will and provided it is not being driven by wilful denial of the inevitable evolution of circumstances into those which will require control, no blame attaches.
Divinatory summary
ABANDON: Being out of control; giving in, abandoning oneself to one’s feelings, desires impulses, whims; throwing caution to the winds; inappropriate and excessive throwing off of restraint; FLOW WILL: exuberant and passionate action or interaction with others; behaviour embodying exhilaration, vitality, gusto; when an uninhibited surrender to the flow of emotion enriches and heals self and others, no blame attaches.
12. Invasion: Group – Heart (3 green)
The image
A man wearing a heavy cloak lies asleep in a clearing in the forest, observed by a fox. Several other men, one holding a coil of rope, are seen approaching stealthily through the trees. They are all eyeing the sleeping man, as though intent on invading his space and capturing him.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Invasion: ‘being “all over” people; encroaching upon others’ personal space in a compulsive and insensitive manner.’
In Invasion, you are feeling driven to make contact, probably because an intensity of feeling is involved. However, you need to realise that the circumstances could be inappropriate and the other person may not welcome your efforts. Or alternatively, they do not feel comfortable with the manner in which you have approached them. Your difficulty is that you are being driven by some kind of inner pressure, a compulsion which may be making you a bit desperate to make contact.
Sometimes, Invasion can represent the outflow of an active and passionate nature. Your strong emotional drive which is involved here may be private in origin, or it may be powered by intense conviction on matters of public importance, but the result will often be the same: the other person senses that you are relating to them essentially as an obstacle whose resistance must be broken down. This ‘evangelical’ approach to people tends to be a source of major communication blocks.
B Balanced:
You are a person who does not sit around but acts, aiming to get results. Your warmth and affection are being felt by others and genuinely appreciated. They sense that you have a good heart, and they are ready to respond to your warmth. Of course, your outgoing nature will be appreciated to the extent that it leaves each person free to reciprocate more or less strongly, according to their nature. Provided this warmth of yours does not come with strings attached, no blame arises.
Also, you will need to remember that such an outgoing impulse does not last indefinitely. There will come a moment when you cannot sustain it without hurting yourself. This energy, drive and optimism will produce results only as long as they are genuine, not forced. You need to accept that you can’t always be the life and soul of every party!
Divination summary
INVASION: Compulsion to boss others around, deprive them of personal space, invade them; superfluous energy channeled into demanding response from others; inability to let others be; anxiety about being rejected, compensated by trying to force others to accept one; FLOW HEART: warmth and energy in relationship; enthusiasm, open-heartedness, extraversion; ‘life and soul of the party’. If initiative, dynamism and outgoing friendliness in relationship are not accompanied by any sense of forcing the reluctant, no blame attaches.
13. Hyper-activity: Group – Form (4 orange)
The Image:
Some travelling players are making a journey by covered ox-cart to give a show. The oxen drawing the cart are rearing to a halt, frightened by the sudden appearance of a snake crossing the road in front of them. The occupants of the cart are thrown into disarray.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Hyper-activity: ‘compulsive metabolic over-activation – driven, ‘workaholic’ behaviour; inability to rest.’
Hyperactivity is like a condition of euphoria translated into a person’s metabolism. You are in a state of compulsive over-activation, caught in a cycle of speediness. The longer it goes on, the more potential harm it can do to your health. Is your work the chief culprit? Is the pressure to produce results stressing you too much, or are you creating this busyness to avoid facing inner demons? The most severe form of hyperactivity, where it is chronic and long-term, is the ‘workaholic’ condition: an addiction which in extreme cases can lead to a fatal heart attack.
Hyperactivity prevents you truly touching the world – you are never really there in the present, always somewhere else. It is a disconnection, insidious because integral to modern life. We are an entire society of exiles from nature and its rhythms. In 1807, Wordsworth was already aware of it:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours….
The disconnection is also from your own body, sensations and pleasure. It is also an estrangement from feeling and one’s heart – which is why it can lead to a heart attack. This card will appear both where the excess is in physical activity, and in its counterpart, hyper-activity in the mind. Both denote high underlying anxiety.
B. Balanced:
Life – modern or otherwise – does not always conveniently arrange that the demands on our physical and nervous energy should remain at a constant, moderate level. When being chased by a tiger or a deadline, hyperactivity is an essential strategy! The same tiger – like all cats – is a past-master at the art of relaxing and lazing around until a supreme burst of energy is required, and forthcoming! Among many animals, we see high levels of activity during the mating season. In humans, equally, the procreative urge can produce intense physical activation. Hyper-activation for a limited period, is a capability built into our bodies. Not only is it benign to use that capacity, but almost certainly harmful not to use it. The couch potato is not a model for healthy living! If you experience periods of intense activity, after which you are able to rest and recuperate effectively, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
HYPER-ACTIVITY: compulsive over-activation, whether mental or physical; overwork; running around like a headless chicken; racing mind driven by anxiety; stress, being constantly busy, losing touch with nature and one’s own body; being cut off from sensation and pleasure and heart; FLOW BODY: the high activation level appropriate in moments of danger; outpouring of energy in sex, work, sport or any suitable activity. When the hyper-activity is followed by no inhibition about, or difficulty in reversing into torpor, no blame attaches
14. Possession: Group – Unconscious (5, indigo)
The image
A hooded figure cowers beside a rounded boulder in the depths of the forest. His head is in his hands and he hides his face. We surmise that he feels, or even imagines, rather than sees the presence of the many creatures which crowd in on him from every angle. The scene is a representation of what is taking place in his mind, rather than in the outer world.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Possession: ‘weakness of psychic boundaries; being easily taken over by outside influences; invasion of self by unconscious contents.’
Something or someone has gained a powerful emotional hold over you. We assume that we own our ‘possessions’, though in some cases it seems rather as if they own us; have taken us over. Your problem here is that you are being dominated by an outside influence – an individual, an artefact, an idea, an emotion. We absorb influences or impressions every day of our lives, they may be as necessary as food and water. However, your self must protect you from being overwhelmed by those influences, help you integrate or reject them. If we say that someone is ‘impressionable’, we imply that it is possible to believe, or be influenced too easily for one’s own good. Here, you have lost your balance and fallen off the tightrope.
Normal psychic evolution leads to us develop a sense of self, with a resistance against whatever might invade and be harmful to the integrity of our identity. Two malfunctions are possible in this process: either making the self a fortress which no outside influence can penetrate, or conversely, leaving it so open to invasion that its very independence and identity are compromised or even entirely lost. Possession is the second case, and the remedy for it must lie in strengthening the sense of self.
B Balanced:
You have opened yourself to the Unconscious in a deliberate and controlled manner. You may be a writer or artist bathing in a stream of material from the Unconscious. Perhaps you are in therapy, unearthing a cache of painful buried memories or you are exposed to unconscious material through vivid dreams. You might be a clairvoyant receiving support from outside the Earth plane – from spirit guides, for example. In balanced obsession (Ebb World), you were driven by an inner urge to contact the Unconscious; now, you are experiencing the fruits of that search, bringing new material into the light of day. Here, you are achieving the difficult feat of opening your self to the Unconscious while maintaining the necessary balance both between inner and outer (self and beyond) and between male and female energies. If you have strong anchors, are well-grounded and can call on support as needed, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
POSSESSION: being overcome by unconscious contents; feeling ‘taken over’ from outside; succumbing to outside influences; losing healthy resistance to not-self elements; being too impressionable; hearing voices, excessive isolation and human contact problems; FLOW WORLD: openness to, and integration of unconscious contents; artistic inspiration, shamanic or mediumistic activity; resolving blocks in psychotherapy, new insights about and access to one’s psyche; pushing back limits previously imposed by unresolved trauma – new personal freedoms.
15. Domination: Group – Self (6 yellow)
The image
An imperious-looking woman sits astride a bronze horse-fountain in the middle of a pool. Water gushes from the horse’s mouth. Both the rearing posture and the expression of the animal suggest fear, whilst the woman holds something resembling a riding crop. The woman’s body language confirms her expression – that of the will to dominate.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Domination: ‘expanding one’s own space by overriding the will of others; compulsive drive for power.’
Domination is exceptional among the imbalance cards because for the author of the domination at least, it works very well. It represents effective use of the Self vibration: you get what you want, and you feel good about it. Here, you demonstrate the virtues of extraversion in terms of your personal strength of character. Others admire and make room for you. You are not going to agonise about your situation or person, to search your soul or indeed anything else, because you are doing very nicely, thank you. The problem lies precisely in this success – you cannot come down from it. A place in the sun is all very well, but there comes a moment when this kind of prominence, popularity, charisma begins to generate envy. Others, too, are waiting for their chance to shine – you are felt to be taking up too much space, and to have been at the centre of things for too long. It is more than time to step down!
B. Balanced:
The best leader is the reluctant one, because the best able to withstand the temptation to become (in their own estimation) indispensable. Balance can be achieved here only when this position of preponderance is treated the same by the person occupying it as every other life situation – something to learn from and then move on.
You are taking a leading role in interaction between people – whether in your family, at work, in your community or elsewhere. If you have particular gifts – special training or experience, a particular character or temperament, you may be required to play an important role within a group. There is no harm in putting your talents at the disposal of others, of playing a more than equal part, if others recognise the need for it, and consent fully to it. This is your opportunity to shine, to spread warmth and strength all around you. If your preponderance is limited to a particular context, is later voluntarily ceded, and does not result in you acquiring generalised feelings of superiority, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
DOMINATION: A place in the sun; predominance; getting your own way; having things as you wish, being the centre of attention, a leader; overstaying your welcome at the top; becoming addicted to authority and power; feeling convinced of your superiority; FLOW SONG: a preponderant position merited, timely and appropriate; playing a leading role for the benefit of others, reluctant acceptance of power and authority. If you lead because you are the best person to do so, and only so long as required by circumstances, no blame attaches.
16. Exhibition: Group – Communication (7 blue)
The image
The couple whom we saw stage-struck in Inhibition are now seen in the opposite light – performing with abandon, the young man lustily singing and playing a stringed instrument, the young woman exposing herself with abandon in a vigorous dance. No sign is given of reaction on the part of the spectators: the spotlight is on the performers and their mood.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Exhibition: ‘compulsive showing-off; need to be constantly at the centre of attention.’
You are over-exposing yourself in some way. This is the outward sign of an inner discontent, restlessness. Are you one of those people who have a compulsive need to be the centre of attention all the time? This card may be saying that your constant talk, jokes or fooling about are not being well-received. Or you may be a professional performer or a teacher, jaded by overwork yet hooked on being the centre of attention. If you did not, as a small child, get the attention, encouragement, praise and love of your parents which you needed, no amount of admiring audiences as an adult will be enough to take away your empty feeling. To find a degree of inner peace, you may need to work through those old feelings of emptiness.
The card Exhibition can also refer to situations of over-exposure which you may not have actively sought. You may be thrust into the spotlight and obliged to ‘perform’ in circumstances where you are reluctant and feel ill at ease. Exhibition typically arises from being required to complete an unfamiliar task in view of others – you feel embarrassed and uncomfortable because you do not have sufficient confidence, or perhaps competence. Exhibition involves an imbalance in communication, and this can be corrected only when the focus shifts away from you, to include others in the picture.
B Balanced:
You are in the public eye at the moment, whether it is a small or a large public. You may have to give a talk to colleagues, teach some students, perform on stage. You may be in the paper, on radio or TV. There are many occasions in life where exhibition is needed, and entire professions in which it is an integral part. It is also possible for Exhibition to be the result of a period in which someone has not been able to express themselves freely – because of emotional blocks, repressive political regimes, lack of people able to appreciate their art and so on. But care is needed – public recognition and acclaim, such as is accorded to rock stars and politicians, all too easily becomes addictive. If your exposing of yourself is not compulsive, but a skin which you can put on and take off at will, or a valid response to a specific time and place, no blame attaches.
Divination summary
EXHIBITION: compulsive showing off, insisting on being the centre of attention; addiction to the spotlight; search for recognition and praise lacking in childhood; reluctant exposure to the eyes of others, discomfort at feeling over-exposed; FLOW SONG: exercising one’s professional responsibilities e.g. actor, TV or radio presenter, teacher; circumstances creating objective need for exhibition, e.g. protesting against an injustice; freedom to speak out after previous inhibition, whether inner or outer. In non-compulsive exhibition, no blame attaches.
17. Spirit Denial: Group – Conjugation (8 magenta)
The image
A woman stands naked in front of a mirror, in which we see the reflection of a man throwing some coins on the bed. At the edge of the picture a little girl appears, clutching a soft toy, having been disturbed in her sleep. The sight of the man leaving money, under the mistaken impression that she is – as her reputation has suggested to him – a prostitute, produces such an effect on her that she rips off her necklace in fury.
The meaning
A Unbalanced:
Spirit Denial: ‘rejection of values not based on immediate feelings; denigration of the qualities and attributes of Spirit, the psychic masculine.’
You are behaving in some way that means a denial of your spirit side. Are you someone who has very strong feelings, and can have great difficulty in accepting that what you feel like doing is not always the best course of action for your whole person? Do you feel let down, not adequately supported by Spirit? There may be a disconnect from the Unconscious which you are blaming on Spirit. Emotional sensitivity is a vital part of psychological balance, but here your emotions are tending to get out of hand. Connection with the Unconscious can be disturbed just as much by excessive emotional agitation as it can by insensitivity and repression of emotion. Ultimately, the Will side needs the complementary vibrations of Spirit, and refusal to recognise the need for Spirit in your life is going to make you lost, disoriented and impoverished. You may have had a painful experience with your father, but there is more to the Spirit side than just one individual.
B Balanced:
You are centred in the emotional aspect of a relationship, situation or event, and appropriately so. You could be an actress calling on great emotional resources to do justice to a character you are portraying. You might be using your feeling side to relate to children, or experiencing a time of intense emotion with a new partner. Major events in your life, such as the death of someone close to you, may be exerting a powerful emotional influence on you. Provided this intense emotional activity is a suitable response to your situation, and no self-indulgence is involved, no blame attaches.
Furthermore, there is an element in the Will beyond the reach of Spirit – beyond the mind with its linear processes of reasoning, analysis and so on. If you have access to that still centre, it is a source of renewal, strength and re-affirmation which is indispensable to your total well-being. This contact makes clear the limitations of Spirit, but in no way creates antagonism towards it, at least where it does not claim to possess, via reason, a monopoly of understanding or knowledge.
Divination summary
SPIRIT DENIAL: rejection of value of reason, analysis etc; denigration of values not based on feeling; anger, bitterness and resentment towards the male pole; refusal to recognise that Spirit is complementary to the Will, and that the latter needs the former; WILL POLE: situations rightly requiring emotion-based response; being confident and at ease in feeling-oriented interactions; being at the still centre of being, knowing the limitations of reason. When incarnating female-side virtues with no denigration of the male side, no blame attaches.
18. Flow: 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