Fours Everyday

by Yvonne Rathbone
©1997

Tarot Home

Everyday Tarot
Everday Tarot Intro
Getting Started
Entering A Card
Recall An Experience
Keywords & Affirmations

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Aces
Twos
Threes
Fours
Fives
Sixes
Sevens
Eights
Nines
Tens

Reading Tarot

Deck Reviews

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Further Study

Introduction
Four is a number of stability. It's not coincidence we have this as the number of family. It is the four elements, the four sides of a square and the number of table legs. In Mathematics, Four is the minimum number of points needed to define a space. Four is the number of space. It defines space and therefore limits and bounds it so Four is a number of limits and boundaries, like a fence around a yard. It is the addition of the final element needed to make physical reality. This is represented by the cube. It is the number of stability and so represents law and order and security.

The Number Of Order
One of the best metaphors I've ever heard for the Emperor was "the Choreographer". Without a choreographer, all we have are people moving around in front of us for no reason. Whatever beauty we may glimpse is without meaning and therefore hard to grasp and understand. The choreographer shapes the creative movements of the dancers, limiting here, channeling there, so that in the end we have not just a jumble of motion, but dance. To me, this represents so well the proper role of order and reason to art and life. This attribution of the Emperor can be extended to all the Four's in the Tarot.

Order Out Of Chaos Exercise

For this exercise, you need to randomly select a bunch (10-15) cards. You may do this in any way that appeals to you. On a large surface (like a floor) toss each card so that all the cards fall in a random and chaotic pattern. Turn over any cards that fall face down, but you may notice how many do so. Look at the cards laying on the ground every which way and look for any patterns. Try to sense the order behind this random assortment. Move the cards around to accentuate any patterns you see. You may move cards to completely new places if it seems that's where they belong. Read the cards as you would a standard layout, but in this case, you must determine what the positions mean from the way you've arranged the cards. Perhaps one area really seems related to the past and another to the future. Perhaps a couple of cards seem related to the subconscious while others represent more conscious processes. As you determine what the various positions mean, feel free to maneuver the cards even more to accentuate these meanings. This exercise is a great way to experience the process of creating meaning by creating order.

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Completion
In the number Four we have the final number that gives rise to the process of the magical triangle. The magical triangle is a geometric form that symbolizes the process of experience. In the 1 we have an initial action, idea or feeling. The number 2 represents a response to this initial action and creates a duality. 3 is the integration of the duality. This forms a triangle. The Four is the product of this first triangular process and it is also the next new thing. It goes on to form its own triangular process of thesis, antithesis, synthesis, but with the difference of having the experience of the first go round.

Stories Of Completion Exercise

Think about things you've finished. These may be projects you've completed, things you've made, or even relationships, ideas, or habits. Draw a big square on a sheet of unlined paper. Give yourself plenty of room to write. Label one corner "Wands", the next "Cups", then "Swords" and "Pentacles". In each corner, write down the finished things you've listed, putting each one in the corner that best suits that item. When you're done, look at which corners have the most things inside. Were any corners left empty? Next to each corner, lay the corresponding 4 from the deck(s) you mainly read with. How do the things you've listed connect with the cards? You may take one (or more) of the things you've listed and write about how your perception of the process changed as you finished it. Can you remember any thoughts or feelings you had at the start of the process? How did your perceptions change as the process progressed and was completed? Can you see the stages represented by the first four numbers (initial idea/action, response, integration, completion)?

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