The Fool’s Journey as 3 x 7 Theory – Plato’s Three Levels of Soul retold through Rachel Pollack’s 78 Degrees of Wisdom and Jungian Psychology
The ordering of the tarot trumps, or Major Arcana has long been pondered by scholars. The triumph of the Visconti-Sforza Tarocchi is well known and universally accepted but it’s not the only explanation offered for why this arcana is ordered the way it is.
Plato’s Three Levels of Soul offers us insight into the nature of the human soul. Divided into three parts, they are: the Rational Soul (thinking), the Spirited Soul (will) and the Appetitive Soul (feeling). Readers and students of Carl Jung will recognise his ideas in this ancient theory.
In perhaps one of the most influential tarot books written, 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack, she takes Plato’s theory and marries Jung’s ideas to presents the Major Arcana in a modern way.
In the tutorial series that follows, Bonnie Cehovet expertly guides us through this modernised version. Touching on Plato, explaining Pollack and introducing us to the ideas of Lee Bursten and 3 x 7 Theory, Bonnie explores the three groups of seven cards collectively and individually. This is a journey through the Major Arcana that puts you at its center and while remaining spiritual, explores and explains the levels of consciousness through the language of tarot.
Tutorial Index
- Part 1 – Cards 1-7 – Consciousness
- Part 2 – Cards 8-14 – The Subconscious
- Part 3 – Cards 15-21 – The Superconscious
The Sacred Isle Tarot by David Higgins is self-published and available through the Fool’s Dog’s excellent series of tarot apps for Android and IOS.