A Soloist of Voices

The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me,
he complains of my gab and my loitering. 

I too am not a bit tamed,I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.
–Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

What is it to be a soloist? It is a time when the attention of others turns to us – it is our moment to shine. It is a call to be articulate and sincere. It is a time when success or failure can over-inflate or crush our notions of self-worth; and it is a time to set such notions aside.

The suit of Voices embodies attributes of all the other suits. The push of the diaphragm, the contours of the mouth recall Brass and it’s creative fire. The vocal cords vibrate like the watery, emotional Strings; split down the middle like a double reed, they sing with air like the pensive Woodwinds. The voice as a whole gains its character, indeed can only manifest, in the vessel, the drum, of the body. 

The voice is a bridge between the inner and outer worlds: it communicates, expresses, prays. For all this, the suit of Voices is greater still than the sum of its parts: it speaks of who we are beyond thought, feeling, body, and movement; it sings the song of the Self.

What is it to be a Soloist of Voices? It is a time to express our innermost knowing, our most sacred desires, no holds barred; it is a time to be. It can be a lonely time, not everyone will encourage, support, allow... but oh sweet Lord, the ones who will, the ones who will.

Dependence as a Force of Nature

The scalepoint of re or le descending in a casting indicates a point in process where Dependence is in play. This sometimes implies a kind of negative influence, as in something or someone glomming on and drawing away vital energy; but it needn’t always.

In Gurdjieff’s Ray of Creation as well in the cosmology of the Muzoracle, the last note in a descending scale represents the Moon. In the series of decreasing vibrations and increasing densities that is demarcated by the notes of the diatonic scale – cascading inward and downward from Unfathomable Source through universes, galaxies, stars and their systems – the particular line of which we are a part ends with our Moon: it is the force at the edge of darkness into which light can penetrate; it draws and absorbs that which is compostable. In a descending process, that is a process of Nature unfolding, this infinite darkness is sacred. The Moon is like a child at Earth’s breast: yes, it is hungry, and yes, it is the future.

In a casting, then, re or le descending, in addition to suggesting something or someone drawing energy, might also imply a force of nature at work. Case in point: in a casting involving relationships, a Unison of Brass was drawn crossing a Unison of Voices under the point of le. Unisons, of course, imply two (or more): a single sound source can not play two instances of the same pitch simultaneously. So we see here a unity of action (brass) coupled with an essential, karmic, soulmate kind of unity (voices) operating together as a force of nature: the querent, in this case, is a part of that unstoppable, sacred flow.

Musically, the point of le descending implies the interval of the Minor Sixth in relation to the casting’s key center; this could clearly be heard when the casting was played back, especially since both of the cards hitting on that point were Unisons. This brought a palpable feeling of longing to the position.

As is often my practice these days, I drew traditional Tarot into each position of this casting after the initial interpretation was well underway. The card drawn under this position – also moving downward – was the Eight of Wands, which implied immediacy and reiterated a unity of direction and purpose.