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The journey of The Fool in the Major Arcana is full of meanings, on the practical, mental and, most importantly on the spiritual level of life. One of the main concepts that the Major Arcana tries to convey is the concept of Cycles.

Cycles are a very important part of life itself. And what better tools to show us how, and on what levels these cycles come into play in our lives!

I have chosen 3 pairs of cards that talk of different kinds of cycles. I shall be looking at the first pair today, and the second and third pair in the following two weeks.

So, lets begin with our first pair of cards that talk about cycles.

The MagicianStrength

The cycle that has been shown in both these cards is the cycle of energy that is always in force throughout the Universe. Looking at both these cards, one would easily see the similarities and the differences between these two cards.

Similarities

If you notice, both the cards have a yellow background. The characters in both these cards wear white clothes. Flowers and leaves surround both of them. Both of them have the symbol of the Lemniscate (the symbol which looks like the number 8, or the infinity sign) on the top of their heads.

Differences

The main difference: the Magician is a man, and the Strength card features a woman. While the Magician has the symbols of the four suits (a wand, a sword, a cup and a pentacle) on his table, the lady in the Strength card does not have any such tools. Instead, she has a lion in front of her.

The Cycle: The Lemniscate

lemniscateThe Lemniscate is a very interesting symbol that depicts the way energy flows – in a cycle. If you follow the way the figure curves and forms an eight, you will easily see how the symbol has depicted the fact that energy doesn’t ever go away – in fact, it only changes its form and thus becomes something else.

The simple way in which the Lemniscate depicts the flow of energy in Nature itself is very amazing. Energy, by changing its form from one to the other, is moving around in cycles. And eventually, it will re-appear in the same form that it had started out with! Which is why the Lemniscate does not have an ending – this cycle is constant and continuous.

This non stop cycle is the depiction of life itself – where we are merely beings that are in this particular form at this time, and at another time, we shall assume another form – and eventually we shall return back to the form we started in.

The Lemniscate: The Magician

The MagicianThe Lemniscate shows us its power of manifestation in the Magician card. Here, the Magician, fully aware of this power, uses the tools in front of him to manifest and create. Each of these tools represents the four different elements of Nature – the Wand represents Fire, the Sword represents Air, the Cup represents Water and the Pentacle represents Earth.

The Magician is fully aware of the powers represented by each of these tools. In turn, he is also the possessor of the knowledge of the Lemniscate – which he uses to fire up the creative juices of the Universe itself.

In the card we see that he has manifested flowers – these again being the symbols of creation, purity and desire. Nature itself is a product of these creative forces, and Nature itself is the controller of these forces!

This is why, this card also carries the key tenet of “As Above, So Below” attached to it.

The Lemniscate: Strength

StrengthThe lady in the Strength card manifests the powers of the Lemniscate in another way. She uses these powers to control the lion. She doesn’t have any tools or weapons with which to subdue the King of Beasts. Rather, she only uses her will power and her inner strength to make a pet of the lion. (Notice how he is licking her hands just like a pet!)

The lion is a symbol of pride and ego. And by bringing this lion to his knees, the card depicts how the power of the Lemniscate has been used to subjugate one’s ego and pride.

The lady in the Strength card has used her knowledge to convert the ego and pride within her into her inner strength – she has changed the form of the energies within her to conquer her own self. She has truly overcome self-limiting bounds of her ego to realize that everything is in fact the same – and therefore there is no need for anyone to feel superior or inferior to others.

Other Lemniscate Symbols in the Tarot Deck

2 of PentaclesThe Lemniscate symbol has not been restricted just to the Major Arcana. This symbol reappears on the 2 of Pentacles card as well – showing how the man dressed up like a clown is caught up in the vicious cycle of the 2 pentacles. He keeps juggling them around in a cycle that never stops – and boy! Does he look unhappy about it! The dance of the pentacle doesn’t stop for him, and he is caught in the seeming endlessness of it.

Unless he realizes that the energy merely has to change form in order to give him the avenue of transformation, he will not find a way out of this cycle.

The Lemniscate and Life Lessons

LemniscateThe Lemniscate offers us an interesting take on the cyclical nature of all things in the Universe. Where the transformation can be external (as in the case of the Magician), this transformation can also be internalized (as in the case of Strength).

Alternatively, we will simply get tangled up in the endless juggling of the energies on the practical plane (like the clown in the 2 of Pentacles).

Understanding of the nature of energy itself is a great key to understanding its powers. However, where to direct these energies is left to us, and thus we manifest or internalize, or even get caught up in its tangled traps!

Your Turn

What are your thoughts about the Lemniscate? How would you prefer to direct these energies within your life, and what would you choose to manifest? Why?

Lets talk about it in the comments section below.