Self-knowledge

Beautiful stories may differ widely in subject matter but they all share one thing in common: they impress the reader with a sense of having come full circle, a feeling of completion and contentment--in a word, a sense of beauty.

The proportion of a beautiful story can be depicted using a specific sequence of pictorial symbols generally recognized as the Tarot Trumps.

When the Tarot Trumps are understood individually and in the proper sequence, they illustrate the very blueprint of consciousness itself.

The genius of pictorial symbols is their capacity to convey an extraordinary amount of information in a concentrated form.

The twenty-two Tarot Trumps illustrate archetypes of consciousness. Archetypes are universal. They are relatively simple and straightforward. Archetypes possess innate meaning. They do not require external references to comprehend. Because of this the cards should remain simple and straightforward, not crowded or complicated. It is within the mind of the viewer of an archetypal symbol that complexities of associations spring. External references should only be permitted on the cards if they constitute a part of the cards' stylistic expression. The style of the cards must not obscure or obliterate their meanings but rather enhance their meanings by framing them in a coherent context.

Art is the expression and appreciation of Beauty. Beauty is a perfectly proportioned totality. Beauty is the experience of totality. That experience occurs in us spiritually, in the soul. The soul is a totality. Beauty is a spiritual experience. In the absence of a soul there is no experience of Beauty, only pleasure (and pain). People generally confuse pleasure with Beauty. Pleasure is an experience of partiality, not totality. The experience of pleasure occurs in us either physically or psychologically. Pleasure is not a spiritual experience.

Beauty can be expressed or communicated only after it is experienced. Therefore a great work of art does not embody the experience of Beauty but only the memory of it. In other words, a great work of art communicates the loss of Beauty. Poor works of art are disappointing on account of their imperfect conception or the incompetence of their execution, whereas great works of art are disappointing by nature, at least to the artist in retrospect.