I don’t buy this theory at all, as it’s possible to read anything you like into a sound, if you assume beforehand that the sounds mean something. What you actually get in reverse is a jumbled mess, as you would get with any song played backwards. (Apart, of course, from those by bands like the Beatles, who deliberately used reverse masking in the recording process, but you can hear what they did, because the reverse bits actually sound like something being played backwards, which means something when the record is reversed.) Despite all this, Stairway To Heaven has remained an enigma, much like Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and others like it, simply because the lyrics are evocative and open to any one of a number of interpretations.

My personal theory is that the imagery in this song is actually based around Tarot cards. I think this is the most likely theory, as the guitarist Jimmy Page had recently bought Aleister Crowley’s home Boleskine House at the time this song was written, and had often expressed an interest in Crowley and his works- even going so far as purchasing some of Frieda Harris’s original artworks for Crowley’s Thoth Tarot deck. Many of Led Zeppelins’ songs were based around mythical and fantasy themes, and Tarot cards would fit this overall theme nicely. I decided to look at the verses of the song to see if there were any frames of reference I could see, and I found that each verse (With a bit of poetic license and imagination) seemed to describe a Tarot card. The following is my interpretation of the song, based on what I think each card is from the descriptions in the verses. The card meanings I’m using come mainly from the Blue Cats’ den website, with a few observations of my own.

All tarot image descriptions are based on the Rider-Waite Smith (RWS) Tarot. I used this deck because the song Stairway To Heaven features on the album Led Zeppelin 4, and the album sleeve shows  a picture of a man carrying a heavy bundle of sticks on his back on the front cover, which looks like the Ten Of Wands. While the RWS card shows the man picking up the bundle of sticks, many RWS-themed decks actually portray this man carrying the sticks on his back, and the meaning of the card, that the querent will be carrying some kind of burden, infers the same message that the man in the album sleeve picture is- that he is carrying a great burden.(See below)

The cover of Led Zeppelin 4, showing a man with a bundle of sticks on his back.

The Ten of Wands, from the RWS deck, showing a man carrying a bundle of sticks.

The most obvious reference to the RWS in this album can be found in the inner gatefold sleeve, where a robed man stands atop a mountain (Probably Gandalf walking over the Misty Mountains, as hinted at in the songs ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ and ‘The Battle Of Evermore’ on the same album) and looking at this figure, he is clearly modelled on the Hermit card from the RWS deck. (see below)

The inner gatefold sleeve of Led Zeppelin 4, showing the robed wizard. The Hermit will appear further down the article.

I based the interpretations around the RWS deck, because the descriptions didn’t fit Crowley’s Thoth, and also because the RWS would probably be the Tarot deck most familiar to those ‘in the know’ at that time, so if my theory is correct, it would have made the song more accessible to casual Tarot buffs by using the RWS deck. So, without further ado, I shall now give my interpretation of the song, with the song lyrics in quote boxes, and the card interpretations in bold dark red type, with my theories on how this affects the possible song meaning in plain dark red.

 There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
And when she gets there she knows if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

This seems to describe the Queen of Pentacles, who holds a golden coin and can request anything she desires by Royal decree.

The RWS Queen of Pentacles.

Divinatory Meanings: Opulence, generosity, security, liberty. She represents the person who has everything, yet still seems unfulfilled. She possibly yearns for spiritual meaning in her life, hence the title of the song- she wants to ‘buy a stairway to heaven’, or seek sone kind of reward or redemption, as such.

Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven

There’s a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
And you know sometimes words have two meanings
In the tree by the brook there’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven

The Star shows a bird in a tree, by the river- with a woman (The same lady referred to in the Queen Of Pentacles card?) holding two golden cups. Words having two meanings may hint at this card being reversed. The bird can be seen in the tree behind the woman’s shoulder in the card.

The RWS Star, which would be reversed (Upside down) for the purposes of this reading.

 Reverse Meanings: Loss of perception, doubt, pessimism, stubborn. Loss of love or friendship. She is experiencing doubt about the course her life is taking. She wants to be sure of the spiritual path she wishes to take, and whether she can still seek enlightenment at this time in her life. There is also a passage in the Bible- Daniel Chapter 5, which refers to writing on the wall, indicating the end of king Belshazzars’ reign. This indicates that the Lady’s time is coming soon, and all material things will come to an end. She must prepare herself for the next world when the time comes. She must therefore be seeking redemption before claiming her spiritual reward.

 Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven

There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking

Possible Lord Of The Rings reference? This line may hint at Gandalf, who looks like The Hermit. The Hermit is also illustrated on the inside album cover, (Mentioned and illustrated above) and many fans unaware of Tarot imagery often mistake him for Gandalf. There were many Lord Of The Rings influences in Led Zeppelin songs, and looking to the West seems to be one of these, as do the rings of smoke. (Gandalf was rather fond of blowing smoke rings with his pipe. There are also another two LOTR references on the album; the song ‘Misty Mountain Hop’, and the song ‘Battle Of Evermore’, which refers to the battle of the Pelennor Fields, and thr Ringwraiths riding in black.)

The RWS Hermit. Compare this image to the gatefold sleeve shown at the top of the article.

Divinatory Meanings: A meeting with someone who will help the querent find the goal; silent counsel. The courage to do what is right. Having an open mind and being willing to accept the help that is offered. She now seeks out a wise man, one who will guide her on the path to spirituality.

Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven

And it’s whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter

Possibly The Fool- he looks a little like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who played his pipes to lead first rats, then children, from the town. The laughter would also indicate The Fool, as the Jester was a medieval figure of fun. (Some people have suggested that the pipes refer to the Judgement card, but this is also referred to later on in the song, so it’s possible that the figure of the Piper is, for the sake of the lyrics, the same person in the Judgement card, as the Queen was the same woman in the Star.)

The RWS Fool, looking rather like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Divinatory Meanings: The beginning of creativity, the joy of adventure. The many faces of life. There is a choice before the seeker and they must choose wisely. Our lady now realizes that there are many spiritual paths open to her, and she must now choose which path to take. Choosing the correct path will lead to enlightenment, redemption and joy.

And it makes me wonder

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow
Don’t be alarmed now
It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen

Yes there are two paths you can go by
 but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on

Bustle in the hedgerow refers to Spring, and spring-clean for the May Queen is an old English reference to a woman’s menstrual cycle.  (The May Queen could also refer back to the Queen of Pentacles, as she is the heroine in our story.) Seasons and cycles are influenced by The Moon. The two paths and the road refer to the two towers, (Another LOTR reference, possibly meaning the choice between good and evil,) and the road between. (The middle path)

The RWS Moon, showing a road between two towers.

Divinatory Meanings: Intuition, dreams, latent powers. As she approaches enlightenment, she becomes aware of the hidden powers in the universe, and within herself. She now knows that the middle way of moderation is the right path to take. Choosing the two paths- the way of selfishness, evil and overindulgence; and the way of over-zealous piety and self-denial, will only lead to ruin; the middle road (Notice the switch between paths and road in the song lyrics) will lead to enlightenment and the redemption she seeks.

Your head is humming and it won’t go because you don’t know
The piper’s calling you to join him
Dear lady can’t you hear the wind blow and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind

The piper calling refers to Judgement blowing his trumpet, and the lady hearing the wind blow is on the right of the card. The whispering wind is emanating from the trumpet of the Archangel Gabriel, who, for the purposes of the song lyric, is the same character as the ‘pied piper’ on the Fool card.

The RWS Judgement card, showing Gabriel blowing his trumpet.

Divinatory Meanings: Spiritual renewal or awakening. Work done well or a life lived well. Better health and quicker mind. Our lady’s time has come, and Gabriel calls her to the hereafter. She knows that she has lived her life well, and the gift of enlightenment is hers. She has been redeemed, and now claims her spiritual reward.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our souls
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven

Our lady, in the hereafter, has now become the Angel of Temperance, who is mixing the alchemical cups to make gold. He (She, for the purposes of the song) is also one of the four Archangels- one of which is, of course, Gabriel, calling the tune on his pipes. (Trumpet.)

Divinatory Meanings: Adaptation, control, change through modification. Working in Harmony. Successful combination. Artistic creation. Good balance and management. This verse is clearly referring to the rest of us. The lady is now an Angel herself, and she is now showing us that it is never too late to change our path and achieve balance, harmony and enlightenment in our lives. The song, an artistic creation, is showing us how, by listening to our own Judgement trumpet, and when the time comes, to stay firm on the middle path and not deviate from it.

…and so concludes my interpretation of the song lyrics. I may be way off base, but for me, this is a more believable interpretation than the usual ones that claim Jimmy Page was worshipping the devil, based on the flimsy premise that parts of the song played backwards sound like Robert Plant singing about Satan’s toolshed. And besides, this was a fun exercise for me in working this all out. I hope it’s been as much fun for you to read as it was for me to work out.

The cards I’ve drawn for daily readings have corresponded with the day’s events, but only in the most general way, and I haven’t forged any kind of intuitive bond with this deck as I thought I would. If anything, the kind of readings I’m getting hark back to my post in 2008, when I was speculating on how certain decks put a ‘spin’ on daily events. It seems, for me, that the Llewellyn, like the Gilded, is a deck with beautiful illustrations, but offers little to me in the way of insight and ability to form an intuitive bond with the deck.

Despite this, I’m still glad I have it, as I have many other decks in my collection that I haven’t done daily readings with, and there are a few that I haven’t read with at all; they were mainly purchased either for the historical significance of the deck, such as the Tarot de Marseilles, or because I’m a fan of the deck artist and their work, and the deck is too lavish to risk damaging by daily wear and tear. As such, during the course of this year, I’ve also been doing a few readings with my old  beloved Cosmic deck, and as I suspected, the readings were deeper and more insightful, and the bond was still there. Going back to this deck was like checking in with an old friend, and realising that nothing much has changed, and that we can pick up virtually from where we left off. (I’ve also begun doing a few Runecasts, but that’s for another post altogether!) I’ve decided that next year, I’ll be returning to my Cosmic Tarot, in order to re-establish my intuitive abilities with the cards, and it looks as if this will be ‘my’ deck, the one I will come back to time and again in the future. At least the last five years of different decks has taught me that!

As such, to be brutally honest, I’m only really inspired to write about Tarot when something especially unusual happens or when I purchase a new deck; and so far this year, things have been (touch wood!) fairly consistent, and no new purchases have been made, so Tarot content has been exceedingly thin on the ground. (It’s probably testimony to the reliability of the Llewellyn deck I’m using at the moment, as it’s been fairly steady in its’ readings and hasn’t thrown me any curveballs worthy of note, like the ’literal’ readings I’ve sometimes had with other decks and spoken about on here earlier on.) 

There’s also the confession to make that because I wanted originally to concentrate on the Tarot side of my interests, I neglected to make posts on the other subjects that interest me, which made this blog somewhat one-dimensional in nature, and further complicated by the increasing dominance of my interest in Doctor Who taking over when my posts in Tarot had been lacking. I guess you could say that my blog page was one-dimensional, yet schizophrenic!

Since the current series of Doctor Who has finished until the Christmas episode, that would mean this blog page would practically dry up, so I decided that ‘things will have to be done’. Essentially, the Doctor Who stuff really deserved its’ own page, having taken on a life of its’ own, and to make things tidier, I decided to move all those posts to the new site, to allow my other interests room to breathe, and also permit me to write about whatever interests me as I see fit.

Greywoolfe’s Den will now be my online repository for all my other interests, and the Doctor Who content has now been moved to my other, newer blog, The Console Room.  That way, I get to continue writing about stuff that interests me, and the respective blogs get to appear more consistent. Those of you who don’t share my love for Gallifrey’s finest can now read about my other favourite subjects here, and  the series 5 reviews for Doctor Who will now be typed over on The Console Room.

There’s another new blog, too, called Book Of Daze. This is now the place where any of my posts concerning music, movies or anything else not related to Doctor Who or Tarot will be found, as well as a place where I can let off steam with a few grumpy rants about the absurdities of life. Enjoy!

The first deck is entitled ‘The Grail Tarot’, and features some breathtaking medieval imagery, painted in a renaissance style on each card. This one shows the Major arcana as a procession of pictures following the quest of the Holy Grail, along with four suits, Lances (Wands), Vessels (Cups), Swords, and Stones (Pentacles). The unique thing about each suit and the Majors is that each card in the suit, when arranged in order, joins together to form a frieze telling a story. In the case of the Major Arcana, this is, as mentioned, the quest for the Holy Grail, and each suit depicts various activities within different chapters and orders of knights. The whole theme of the deck centres around the concept of knighthood and chivalry, and the Major Arcana have been renamed to fit the Grail story accordingly, with cards like The Gnostic Christ instead of The Magician.

Major Arcanum I- The Gnostic Christ (The Magician), The Grail Tarot.

The main drawback with this deck would be that I would have to relearn everything from scratch, from the new names of the Major Arcana and the suits, to the fact that the imagery on each card bears no relation to standard RWS or other kinds of tarot imagery, so the various card meanings will have additional values and layers of subtlety. Nevertheless, this is a stunning piece of work, and well worth looking into for study or meditation, which will have benefits for when I read with other decks.

The second deck, and my favourite of the two, is called The Enchanted Tarot. This deck comes with a lavishly illustrated hardback book, and a set of beautiful cards that just took my breath away. The imagery for the deck is traditional RWS themed, and coloured in subtle pastel shades of blue, purple and pink which remind me very much of the colurs and tones used in my beloved Cosmic Tarot. Each card’s image looks as if it were made of a photo-montage of differing fabrics and embroidery, which makes for some vividly textured and evocative artwork. Major Arcanum XIV- The Devil, for example, looks like a Balinese god, and hints at the spicy temptation of forbidden desires, which makes a great change from the traditional horned beast. Major Arcanum XIII- Death, looks like an embroidery depicting the Mexican Day Of The Dead, and conveys the joy of new beginnings rather than lingering on the sadness of the endings that preceded them.

Minor Arcana card 2 of Hearts (2 of Cups), The Enchanted Tarot.

The only major difference between this deck’s suits and traditional RWS-themed decks is the renaming of the suit of Cups into Hearts. Since the suit of Cups deals with emotions, relationships and the subconscious, (As well as becoming Hearts when the Tarot deck was reduced down to the standard 52-card deck of ‘normal’ cards) this is no biggie. The only drawback I have with this deck is that the cards are a fair bit larger than those of most other decks, which makes them difficult to shuffle, especially with my arthritic hands! I have no doubt that this will become easier with time, and experimental readings with this deck have shown much promise. I’m getting similar ‘vibes’ off this deck that I first had when I started off with my Cosmic, so this is most encouraging indeed. I’m confident that you haven’t heard the last of this deck on my blog, and I’m already considering using this for daily readings in the future.

Going on this theory, the book shows that our Daemons sometimes give us clues as to how our life path will unfold as mentioned above, which sometimes take the form of precognitions, Déja-vú experiences and so on. Given that many famous seers from history, as Peake noted in his book, were able to accurately predict future events, (Although the accuracy of predictions tails off when future events fall outside the timeline of the person making the prediction, as Peake notes.) it would be logical to conclude that communication with the Daemon is possible, and beings such as spirit guides that give these insights to the seers must therefore be a form the Daemon assumes to make its’ manifestations less traumatic to them.

With all this in mind, I pondered over the implications of how this could tie in with Tarot, whether divination methods like this would enable us to directly contact our Daemon, and how does the Cheating The Ferryman theory tie in with other occult practises. My first thoughts were directed toward the notorious occultist and creator of one of the most popular Tarot decks, Aleister Crowley.

Aleister Crowley, creator of the Book Of Thoth Tarot deck.

Crowley’s main claim to fame, apart from his notoriety as ‘the wickedest man alive’ and his contributions to the field of Tarot, was in the founding of an occult system known as Thelema. This began in 1904 while on holiday in Egypt with his then wife. She had begun to behave strangely, which made Crowley believe that she was being contacted by some kind of entity, and on her instruction, he attempted to invoke the god Horus. This led to his contact with a strange being that called itself Aiwass, which claimed it was the minister of Hoor-Paar-Kraat; one of the many names Horus was known by to the ancients. Over a period of three days, Aiwass dictated The Book Of The Law to Crowley, and this became the lynchpin of  Thelema. The object of Thelema, which Crowley called the Great Work, or goal of each adherent, was to obtain ‘the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel’, and through this to ‘manifest their true will’. It is from here that his famous epithet ‘Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.. Love is the law, love under Will’ comes from. Crowley believed that everyone has a personal guardian angel, and through communication with it, we could realise our divine potential and manifest our true, or divine will.

The above paragraph, when analysed through the Cheating The Ferryman theory, gave me much to ponder on. Firstly, there is the case of Aleister’s wife, Rose. During her marriage to Crowley, she had often experienced trance states that had led to visions; one of which, coupled with odd behaviour, led to the invocation of Aiwass in 1904. Although I can find no evidence that Rose or members of her family ever suffered from epilepsy, and it is evident that some of her experiences may have been hypnotically induced through rituals performed by Crowley, these behavioural patterns are redolent of classic Temporal Lobe epileptic seizures, as described in Peake’s book. This, along with many coincidential events (Described by Crowley as synchronicity) that helped to direct Rose and her husband towards that fateful contact with Aiwass, could all be ascribed to her Daemon; events like these, that seemingly by chance coincide and direct a person’s actions can, according to Peake, be triggered by the Daemon, and are referred to as ‘synchrondipity’- a combination of synchronicity and serendipity, or meaningful coincidence. It could be that Roses’ Daemon knew of her eventual marriage to Crowley and his founding of Thelema, and directed her towards that goal.

Aleister Crowley's wife, Rose Edith Kelly.

This brings us to Crowley himself. His encounter with Aiwass could very easily be a meeting with his own Daemon; a meeting that, as mentioned above, may have been arranged and set up by Rose’s Daemon. Crowley, in his writings, was ever one to put subtle clues to hidden meanings in the texts, and if this being was indeed Crowley’s Daemon, we must also assume that it, too, would have a predilection for giving subtle clues as to it’s true identity. The name, I think, is a fairly big clue in itself; Aiwass. It looks strange, but say it out loud- I Was. This being also claimed to be the minister for Hoor-Paar-Krrat, or Horus, and when later Crowley founded Thelema, it could be argued that he, also, was a minister for this god. Is this Crowley’s Daemon telling him, and therefore us, that it was Crowley in a previous life? When it dictated The Book Of The Law to Crowley, it could have been a memory from Crowley’s previous life of having written the book before, however, it told Crowley (And this is noted in the book itself) that this work should never be passed on to anyone, yet Crowley published it anyway. Why? Possibly, as Crowley claimed, he didn’t want this work to be embedded in dogma like so many other religious works. Maybe, in his previous life, Crowley was unable to get the book published. Maybe, this time around, Crowley’s life path may have been nudged into a different timeline due to his choice to publish the book. I suspect that Crowley eventually knew the true nature of this being, as the basis of Thelema hinged around the communication with one’s Holy Guardian Angel, in order to manifest their true divine will. Crowley, I think, suspected the true nature of this angel and of Aiwass, and believed it was possible to use the foreknowledge of one’s own future life, gained through contact with one’s Daemon, to turn events to one’s own advantage.

Crowley knew a great deal about Tarot, having learned the craft while a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck, arguably the only deck more famous and widely used than Crowley’s, was made by Golden Dawn luminary Arthur Edward Waite, in co-operation with fellow member Pamela Coleman Smith. Many practitioners of Tarot believe that this, like other methods of divination, can be used to communicate with an aspect of ourselves that exists on a higher plane of reality. Others say that it enables us to contact our spirit guides. Since our Daemon often chooses a different form in order to communicate to us, maybe the spirit guide is one of those forms. It is certainly very telling that some practitioners believe that we contact a higher aspect of ourselves on another plane!

There is the distinct possibility that the act of divination enables our conscious mind to escape the fetters of mundane reality by using a random element of selection, such as shuffling a deck of cards, and establish contact with our Daemon through use of symbolism, such as the images on Tarot cards, or the inscriptions on Runestones or Ogham sticks. Many of the great seers gained their future visions through lucid dreams, and according to Peake, this is the most common way in which our Daemon can communicate with us; due to the disjointed nature of the dreams that many of us have, it is also evident that this communication method is rich in symbology, hence the ready market in dream interpretation books.

According to Peake’s book, the Daemon tends to reside in the right hemisphere of the brain, which dominates the left side of the body. I also began wondering about whether this may have had an influence in occult matters, especially since, in olden times, left-handed people were often branded as witches, and witchcraft was often referred to as the left-hand path. As the majority of people are right-handed, I wonder what the proportion of right-hander to left-hander is, and also how many of these have Daemons in the right brain hemisphere or the left, taking ‘virgin lifers’ into account, which won’t have Daemons yet, and account for around 30% of the population. I would be very interested to know if there is a correlation in these figures.

I say this, as in many conversations with the good folks at Aeclectic Tarot, I have found that most people tend to shuffle and cut their cards predominantly with the left hand. Could this be a way for our Daemon to influence the outcome of the reading by directly selecting the cards? There is much to think long and hard about here, and I hope to return to this aspect of Tarot as I find out more. At the moment, I am experimenting with my own daily readings by using my left hand to cut the deck and draw the daily card, and I’m noting the accuracy of each day. At the end of the year, I’ll look back and compare with my readings before this experiment began.

In the meantime, I shall conclude this marathon-length article by returning to Crowley, and some other clues I think I have picked up through his work on Tarot. Tarot is traditionally very heavy in Gnostic and Quabbalistic symbolism, and the Gnostics believed in the dual aspect (Daemon-Eidolon) of man. Crowley used all this in the symbolism of his cards, together with Thelema and scientific principles, when he created the Book Of Thoth Tarot deck with Frieda Harris in the late 1930s. Looking at one card in particular, I think I can see some Daemonic influence in the imagery. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you exhibit 1, Major Arcanum (Crowley called these Trumps) XIII, Death.

Trump XIII- Death, The Book Of Thoth, by Aleister Crowley and Frieda Harris.

As well as looking at the illustration, it is interesting to read Crowley’s notes on the card from the companion book to the deck. My emphasis in bold:

“This card means redemption through putrefaction, the seed in the ground decays, but rises again to new life.  Death, crowned with the headdress of Osiris, is raising from his scythe the reincarnation bubbles of life.  Behind him is the eagle, symbol of immortality, and below him are the embryonic amoeba.”

From this, it could be inferred that as the present life approaches the death point, we rise again to new life, making new choices that will give us a chance for redemption of our actions as our new timeline unfolds. Since our new life begins before we reach actual death, we are, effectively, immortal. Each ‘reincarnation bubble’ that appears from Death’s scythe indicates a new cycle of life each time the point of death is approached. Some more interesting points come from the notes Crowley made on the meaning of the card, again, my emphasis in bold:

“Transformation.  Change voluntary or involuntary, perhaps sudden and unexpected.  Apparent death or destruction that is illusory when viewed from a higher perspective.“

Again, this could infer that at the death point, we transform back into our newborn selves, and death comes when we least expect it. When looked at from the viewpoint of the Daemon, death is but an illusion, as we never reach that point; returning, instead, to the moment of birth. Traditionally, the Death card in most Tarot decks very rarely means literal death, and usually means the end of a current situation, or the beginning of a new one. Given Crowley’s experiences with Aiwass and Thelema, however, and especially looking at these from the perspective of Peake’s theory, the notes and meanings of  this card in Crowley’s deck are suddenly thrown into a new light, and I, for one, am left wondering if the great beast new more about the Daemon and the Eidolon than he openly admitted.

I will add more posts on the subject of Cheating The Ferryman as time goes by, and as more thoughts and ideas surface with my growing understanding of the subject. For now, at least, I hope I have given you some interesting points to ponder over.

The cover for Anthony Peake's book, Is There Life After Death.

This is the book I’m talking about- it’s called ‘Is There Life After Death? The Extraordinary Science Of What Happens When We Die’ by Anthony Peake. It’s a very interesting read, and delves into quantum physics, psychology, near-death experiences and other such things, and uses scientific data to propose an amazing theory of what happens to us at the point of death, which Peake refers to as the ‘Cheating The Ferryman’ hypothesis. (I bet you thought the title was a Chris DeBurgh reference, didn’t you? Well, shame on you!)  

The book builds, chapter by chapter, explaining such diverse subjects as Quantum physics, Near Death Experiences, Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and other things, which then pieces all these things together to propose the Cheating The Ferryman hypothesis in the final chapter. What is proposed is an incredible thing to grasp, but I’ll attempt to explain what little of it I understand for you here.

The universe, at the quantum level, is made of sub-sub atomic particles which are essentially vibrations of energy. Quantum physics has determined that particles of matter can exist in more than one place at the same time in potential until they are observed, which is when they become fixed points in space. You’ve heard of Schroedinger’s Cat? This is a demonstration of that conundrum. Time, as such, is an illusion created by our conscious mind as a way to make sense of the universe in a linear fashion, as time is simply our movement through the universe in a probability curve, and we exist at every point in our timeline simultaneously. Time essentially tidies things up into a sequence of events that we can make sense of.

During our lifetime, one half of our brain records everything that has ever happened to us, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, thoughts- every little detail. There have been cases where people have been regressed via hypnosis or various traumatic events, to previous times in their lives, where the memory is so vivid that, for all intents and purposes, they were actually back at that point in time. It could be argued that since they were re-observing that particular event, and since matter only becomes fixed when observed, they were recreating their own personal universe at that point in time. There have been many incidences, some of which are documented within the book, where patients that have undergone hypnotherapy, have experienced many hours or even years in their previously remembered events, yet have only been unconscious for mere minutes in the laboratory. From the patient’s perspective, they were actually at these previous events, and reliving them. Where is all this leading to? I’m getting there!

Most people who have had near-death experiences have told of how they meet a white, glowing figure- some call it God, some say it’s a guardian angel- which then takes them back to a review of their life, at which point they are then told ‘it’s not your time yet’, and come back to tell the tale. By examining these experiences, Peake discovered that what happens to the brain in these instances is very similar to phenomena like Temporal Lobe Epileptic seizures, Schizophrenia and migraines, but to varying degrees. (This does make sense in the book, honest.)

From these observations, Peake has formulated his ‘Cheating The Ferryman’ hypothesis: At the point of death, as also happens during migraines and epileptic seizures, the brain is flooded with a chemical called Glutamate. This effectively breaks down the conscious mind’s perception of time, to the point that time slows down infinitessimally for the observer- to the point where the moment of death is never reached, from the point of view of the person dying. During this time, the ‘glowing being’ detaches from the conscious mind- it is actually the collected sum total of that person’s entire life experience, which they see as an angel, or God, during an NDE. (NDE’s are essentially occasions when the ‘glowing being’ gets it wrong, and mistakes a near-terminal experience for actual death.) This then rewinds and plays back the total life experience of the person from the beginning, in real time relative to the viewer, and they begin to relive their lives from the beginning. Since matter exists only when it is observed, they have effectively recreated their own personal universe from scratch, and are reliving their lives all over again- but with a difference. The sum total of their life experience is still there, but the knowledge of what happened before is kept away from the new conscious mind, which is effectively as blank as it was when they were first born.

Taking his cue from Greek mythology and Gnosticism, Peake refers to the conscious part of the mind as the Eidolon, (Pronounced Eedolon) and the subconscious part that has lived before as the Daemon (pronounced Day-mon). Sometimes, the Daemon’s knowledge of events ‘leaks through’ to the Eidolon, which is where we get ‘Deja-Vu’ and precognition experiences from. Sometimes, these events prompt us to make slightly different decisions this time around than we did previously, which changes the course of the probability curve and creates an alternative timeline, which we then travel down until we reach the death point again- and again, and again. Events that usually trigger the intervention by the Daemon are life-changing ones, such as fatal accidents the person gets a warning of- usually by a ‘bad gut feeling’, ‘strange twists of fate’ that trigger the person into responding differently, or even hearing a voice in their head warning them to avoid something or do something.

The book obviously goes into much more detail, and is well worth a read. The book really blew my mind when I first read it; it sounds fantastic and hard to believe, but Peake has collated a lot of scientific data that builds a compelling case for his theory. I’d recommend any of my blog readership to read it- it’s one of those rare things that is pure science, embraces science yet also offers scientific theory for the basis of any religious experience. So much so that it’s compelled me to re-think a lot of stuff from my perspective, and I have already worked out how it could explain things like my Tarot card readings, for example. I’ll go into that bit in more detail when I do some more Tarot posts; I’ve already begun discussing this with other members of the forum at Anthony Peake’s site. If this idea fascinates you as much as it does me, go read the book, and have a look at Anthony’s site.

The Tarot Man (With profuse apologies to Billy Joel).

It’s three o’clock at the psychic fair,
The usual types passing through
And an old man walks in to the tarot booth
And asks ‘what the hell can I do?’

He says, ‘son, can you lay down your tarot cards,
And help me to deal with my woes.
Please help me to work out where I went wrong
Since I wore a younger man’s clothes’.

La la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

Chorus:
Lay down a spread, you’re the tarot man
Tell me, what things do you see?
Well, I need your insight to make my life right
And the cards hold the secrets for me..

Now the tarot man sets out to lay the cards,
Now the reading’s about to begin,
He don’t need no rehearsals to deal with reversals
As the cards show their secrets to him.
He says, ‘sir, I don’t think you should worry much’,
As the smile spread all over his face,
‘For the majors and minors show life will be finer
And things will fall back into place’.

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

It’s late afternoon at the psychic fair
And the tarot man has some more guests
And the incense adds spice as he gives his advice
To help them all with their life quests.

Now the querents are coming to see him
As the tarot man builds up his trade
Yes, they’ve come for a cure for their loneliness,
And it’s better than being afraid.

Chorus:
Lay down a spread, you’re the tarot man
Tell me, what things do you see?
Well, I need your insight to make my life right
And the cards hold the secrets for me..

It’s a pretty good day for a Saturday
And the tarot man gives me a smile
’cause he’s never so glad than when helping the sad
To forget all their woes for a while
And the tarot, it gives out it’s wisdom
For any who seek its’ advice,
And they’ll pay and they’ll ask for some help in their tasks
While the room smells of incense and spice.

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

One such opportunity struck me when I was out doing one of my favourite activities, namely looking for new Tarot decks to add to my collection. I was looking for a deck that had a ‘pagan’ feel to it, a timeless imagery that combined all the elements that I identify with my personal pagan path- harmony with nature, without too much emphasis on fluffy bunny rabbits or any of the usual imagery that glosses over the ‘nature, red in tooth and claw’ that we all secretly know the world is really like. I came to Paganism via Buddhism, so I am already well-versed in being able to view things objectively as they really are. Nature can be bleak and it can be cruel sometimes, but it is always beautiful- because that’s the way the universe works.

I’d seen quite a few decks online which just didn’t appeal to me; while the skills of the artists and authors concerned could not be denied, they just didn’t speak to me in the way I wanted a deck to. The Robin Wood’s artwork was too sketchy and comic-book style for me, and the Druidcraft lost me in a sea of green leaves and fluffy bunny rabbits. I wondered if there would ever be a deck that would capture what I saw in Paganism, which didn’t project images of Druidic or Wiccan overtones- I’m none of those, as my path is one I have found for myself- so the prospect of a special deck like that seemed to forever elude me, until I discovered this beauty on a shelf in my local book store.

The deck I’m talking about is the Llewellyn Tarot. The Llewellyn company, based in the USA, is well known in Tarot circles as they publish a wealth of excellent and informative books on the subject (I have quite a few of those!) as well as many different decks, such as the Gilded, which I also own. What I didn’t know until now was that the founder of the company, one Llewellyn George, emigrated to the US from Wales over 100 years ago, and that this deck was made as a tribute to him.

The artwork is truly breathtaking, being brightly coloured, although not overly-bright, and consisting of watercolour or acrylic painted images that come from Welsh mythology. The imagery spoke to me straight away; here are the bleak, rain-soaked hillsides, the beautiful sunlit meadows, the wonder and wildness of nature in all its’ terrible beauty. This was pagan imagery I could relate to, and what’s more, it reminded me of my visits to my ancestral and spiritual homeland all those years ago. looking at the images, I could smell the heather, and feel the damp chill of the morning mist on my face.  Anna-Marie Ferguson is to be credited for capturing the essence of Wales in a way it’s impossible to relate adequately unless you’ve actually been there.

Major Arcanum 10- Arianrhod, The Wheel Of Fortune; The Llewellyn Tarot, by Anna-Marie Ferguson.

The deck is a RWS-themed one, with the minor arcana all depicting traditional enough scenes in misty watercolours, but it’s in the major arcana where the deck truly shines. Each major arcanum is represented by a character from Welsh mythology, with the character name indicated at the top of the card, and the arcanum name at the bottom. Some cards have been subtly renamed to fit better with Welsh mythology such as XV- The Devil, which has been renamed The Horned One as this gives the indication of how this character relates to the mythos. Here, the Devil is not the tempter or the evil seducer- the Horned One is the primal nature spirit- natural instinct in the flesh. The card backs are also beautiful- simple, yet effective, and look like wooden panels such as you’d find on church pews or medieval wainscotting, with a red dragon sitting proudly in the centre. I’ve already done a few readings with the deck, and it’s proving to have a personality all of its’ own, which merits more posts at a later date. I love this deck, and I’m already considering making this my deck of choice for daily readings next year. Watch this space.

There are times, however, which I have encountered when using other card decks- when a card will sometimes give what I call a ‘literal’ reading, rather than the one traditionally or specifically ascribed for that card or deck. What do I mean? Well, for example, three years ago, when Mrs. Woolfe and I first moved into our new house and began buying and assembling furniture, I was using my beloved Cosmic deck to do daily readings, and one of my readings pulled out Major Arcanum 16- ‘The Tower’. As many of you are aware, the traditional meaning for the card is of tragedy, or at the very least, sudden unavoidable change- the deck-specific meaning for this card said as much. Braced for ‘impact’, I wondered what curveballs the universe would throw in our direction, but by the end of the day I realised that the card was referring to a literal tower- the huge wardrobe unit I was busy building in one of the bedrooms. Nothing tragic or sudden, but there was a tower involved, nevertheless. There were other occasions too- when Temperance indicated a day when I was literally mixing liquids to stabilise the conditions in one of my aquariums. That’s what I’m on about- literal indications by cards.

Up until yesterday, literal indications only ever occurred for me with two decks; the Rider Waite Smith, and the Cosmic. Yesterday, I got my first literal indication with the Revelations deck in quite an amusing way. My card for yesterday was Major Arcanum 20, ‘Judgement’, as shown below.

Major Arcanum 20, Judgement- Zach Wong's Revelations Tarot.

To reflect this change, I’ve fiddled with the site theme, to show both my main interests from the off, and thusly avoid any confusion for any of my friends from either site clicking the link and exclaiming: “Wot- no Tarot?” or “Wot- no Dr Who?”. I like this layout, as it presents things a bit more tidily, so it should be easier to find the subjects you want to read about. Enjoy!