In the essays Numbers in Space and Shake the Trees, a chart was introduced that we were meant to use in calculating the cumulative influence of progressive subdividing opposites upon any single number, or card, within the Numerical Tarot system of logical analysis. In making these calculations it was considered preferable to be as spontaneous as possible, when trying to determine which binary opposite best describes the essence of the thing being influenced. When using the chart presented on the Shake the Trees page, we were meant to jot down a solid or open line, much like we would when determining which I_Ching hexagram we are getting from multiple coin tosses, but... getting a Quintagram instead. The gadget below can be used to kill two birds with one stone! By printing out the calculator below, and folding, or cutting, along the various lines that correspond to the same opposites as those found within The Numbers in Space chart, we can proceed through the Numbers in Space chart... and, draw a Quintagram at the same time!
Obviously, there are not as many words for each category as there are in the Numbers in Space chart. This calculator is meant to be used by those who have studied the rest of the Numerical Tarot system of thought, and are intimately familiar with the meaning behind each subdivision of opposites and how other patterns and ideas around this site explain them in detail... above and beyond these few words. Once familiar with the true essence of each subdivision, this calculator can be used as an abbreviated version... something that can be printed out whenever needed.
This device can be used to calculate which number or card best relates to any particular idea that anyone might have about anything. However there is one drawback to using this device over that of the Numbers in Space chart. The one drawback from using this device, instead of writing down solid and open lines on a piece of paper, is that we are able to see what Quintagram we are heading for, as we make our decisions about which opposites best describe the thing being influenced. The problem being that this could easily cause unspontaneous decisions that reflect a bias toward a desired result, or away from an undesired result. But... if being used with another person, to determine the numerical essence of something of their choosing, where they don't do the folding, such bias will not occur, and the device can be used as a convenient alternative to that of writing down solid and open lines.
Accuracy is of course limited by the honesty of the person attempting to make critical decisions about the influence of abstract binary opposites, as presented in this calculator and the corresponding Numbers in Space chart. But... for those able to make such distinctions, results are often amazingly accurate. Amaze your friends! Amaze yourself!. It's like a mind-reading "this is your card" magic trick! Except your subject doesn't pick a card, they pick a thing, or an idea... and by their responses, they are magically directed to the one card in the deck that speaks to that thing or idea better than any other.
At the very least, folding this calculator down to a single Quintagram demonstrates, in a very real, tangible, visual way, the balance, symmetry, contrast and consistency of design used by The Numerical Tarot deck. I don't know of any other deck in the world that is laid out in such a way as to allow this type of analysis.
I have used this several times with some interesting success. But dreams are subjective. Am I fudging the results to suit my subjective desires? Can anyone else make this thing work?
Pick one from each pair. Note the solid or open line above the option selected. Put the resulting solid and open lines together to create a Quintagram. Use the Binary Influence Calculator above to help guide the way to the Quintagram that results. Use the Quintagram chart found below to read about that Quintagram. Use this chart with dream analysis. Use the first two lines of text to identify the nature of the overall dream. Use the second two lines of text to identify the nature of any specific elements within a dream. Or use all the words and pictures together to identify the nature of either. It's only five questions... was the dream light and engaging or dark and daunting? Was it a palpable reality or an morphic fantasy? If the depths of the psyche can be fathomed, and these five questions answered, they will lead to a part of the archetypal armature being presented on this site that is appropriate to the dream or part thereof - guaranteed!
As the essay Dreams and Dreaming, found elsewhere on this site, will attest - I don't know very much about dream analysis. It has not been the main focus of the ideas being presented on this site. But it is important to many, and I think this Dream Analysis Calculator, along with the essay Dreams and Dreaming, might shed some interesting light on the subject.
I call this gadget the Dream Analysis Calculator because I tried using the Number in Space chart to decode some dreams, and it seemed to work rather well. But, the Numbers in Space chart is huge and complex. When I tried asking someone with no knowledge whatsoever of the underlying patterns found within the system being presented on this site, they had difficulty sifting through all the possibilities. So I invented this greatly simplified version for people who just want to jump in and get some results. Technically, the five step decision process presented in the Dream Analysis Calculator could be applied to ANYTHING in life! It is a filter... run any thought or idea that comes to mind through it to see where it leads. I suggest using this chart with dream analysis because it is a subject of much mystery in need of clarification (see Dreams and Dreaming elsewhere on this site).
Was the dream light or dark in mood? Was it about the persona or the shadow side? Did it facilitate or challenge? Was it one of those dreams that leaves you wanting more because of what it gave to you, or is it one of those dreams that you are kinda glad is over because of what it took from you? Was it ordinary and nice or strange and spooky? Was the dream describing literal experiences, or things never imagined? Was it one of those dreams that seems all too real, where people and things behave much as they would in waking life, or was is one of those dreams where everything and everyone is an ever-shifting morphic hybrid of influences? Was the dream, in general, more masculine or more feminine? Was there an abundance of phallic or vulvic imagery? Were there any figures that represent the animus or anima? Was the dream provocative or evocative? Was the dreamer the seducer or was the dreamer seduced? Was the dream presenting the agent of a cause or the result of an effect? Did the dream include involved participation or remote observation? Was it more about being an extrospective participator, or an introspective observer? Did the dream take place inside or outside? Was the dream busy or calm? Was something happening, or was it more about the space between happenings? Was the dreamer moving within the dream, or was the dream moving around the dreamer? If these questions can be honestly and accurately answered, this Dream Analysis Calculator will lead to a Quintagram with important information about the archetypal influences that are shaping the dream in question.
Print out the Dream Analysis Calculator. Put a circle around each solid or open line that goes with each answer chosen. Put those lines together, from left to right, to create a Quintagram. Use the Binary Influence Calculator above to help guide the way to the Quintagram that results. If the Quintagram that results doesn't sound like it is describing the dream in question, try re-thinking one or two of the stages so that a new Quintagram results. If that Quintagram sounds more accurate, take note of how this process improved self awareness of perceptive abilities. Like the I_Ching that this system resembles, it is all about changes. I guarantee that one combination or another will result in a Quintagram that points to information that is relevant to the dream in question, it is all a matter of how perceptive we are about our own feelings regarding the nature of our dreams or parts thereof. People who never think of these things might have a hard time deciding. It is difficult, even with this simplified chart, to connect events in a dream to abstract concepts like these. But there are only five choices to make. People who are in touch with their Self will probably use this device with much success, first time every time.
I don't know much about dream analysis, but I recall a particular method of dream analysis, wherein we are supposed to identify with various parts of our dream, and in doing so repeatedly ask ourselves the question "I am such-n-such, I feel..." and then fill in the blank with our most honest felt feelings. I think what I'm recalling is a method invented by psychiatrist Fritz Perls. I would suggest doing the same with this device, except... instead of searching for words to describe a feeling, use the words on the Dream Analysis Calculator... or the Binary Influence Calculator, or those on the corresponding Numbers in Space chart seen elsewhere on this site, and see what you get. Was the person, place or thing in the dream ordered or chaotic? Was it tangible or intangible? Was it phallic or vulvic? Was it integral or incidental? Was it excited or calm? If these questions can be honestly and accurately answered, the Dream Analysis Calculator will help put a finger on the archetypal meaning of any part of any dream. At the very least, I think it would be interesting to consider where words devoted to expressing feelings would fit within these binary categories. Then... see which Quintagram that leads to!
Use Freudian methods, use Jungian methods, use Perlsian methods, use whatever methods work to understand a dream. Then... run the results through this filter to see if the information the resulting Quintagram leads to has anything additional to offer.
Disclaimer: I've used several words in the above descriptions that are common to modern psychology, particularly Jungian. But please keep in mind that I am not a psychiatrist, psychologist or psychotherapist. I think I am using these terms correctly, but in reality I only have a slight acquaintance with these terms and the methods they point to. The Dream Analysis Calculator, and the information associated with each resulting Quintagram, is not based on modern methods of psychology or psychoanalysis, it is based only and completely on the theoretical model of existence that is being presented on this site, and the resulting archetypal armature that this study theorizes to be a ruling force in all of human behavior.
I don't know much about psychology or psychoanalysis - especially the Jungian brand that seems to be so popular among tarot enthusiasts - but I have kept my eyes and ears open, and over the years I have heard some of the terminology used by psychology defined in various ways. If the Dream Analysis Calculator works (and I think it has the potential to) it might be because it asks the user to identify several key components of psychoanalysis. For example: If we have a shadow side, it is possible that dark and shadowy dreams are telling us something about our dark and shadowy side. If we have an anima or animus, it is possible that feminine or masculine dreams are telling us something about that. If we are introspective or extrospective, it is possible that dreams involving remote observation or involved participation are telling us something about that. If we are passive/aggressive, or passive or aggressive, it is possible that excited dreams or calm dreams are telling us something about that. And to some extent, the differences between left-brained functioning people and right-brained functioning people tell us something about how balanced we are in our thinking as it pertains to the reconciliation of conscious and unconscious toward individuation. These questions are all part of this gadget.
The Dream Analysis Calculator mimics the various ways that we think. But these stages of perception were not invented by studying the methods of Carl Jung, or Sigmund Freud or anyone else in the world of psychology. They were not in any way designed to duplicate these key components of psychoanalysis at all. They were in fact invented by slicing up the theoretical model of existence being offered on this site into subdivisions of opposites... that's it. These categories are in fact based on fundamental directions of orientation to an abstract entity: Up vs. Down, Left vs. Right, Front vs. Back, Out vs. In and On vs. Off... that's it! Pretty amazing, I'd say. In fact... one of the few things I have heard about Carl Jung is how he compared the concept of archetypes to the axial system of crystallography, where an underlying structure, involving invisible lines of force, pre-determine the direction, and therefore shape, of evolving crystals. The system being presented everywhere on this site is just such a system itself - axial: Up/Down, Left/Right etc. are axial directions of orientation that exist before any manifest entity or notion of consciousness evolves to express them.
The Dream Analysis Calculator addresses several key components of psychoanalysis. But these key components were not incorporated into the calculator by studying psychoanalysis, they were invented by observing the very natural and organic form of the theoretical model of existence being offered everywhere on this site. Simplicity equals truth!
Give this idea a try by using The Numerical Tarot with the Orphalese tarot software program.
Here a couple of mandalas you can use in addition to the Binary Influence Calculator and Dream Analysis Calculator to help determine the overall situation, mood or state of a tarot reading or a dream. They go by the name of The Mood Ring/Dream-Life Catcher Mandalas! They use the same language as the Dream Analysis Calculator, but with words that are maybe just a bit more specific to the overall mood or situation of someone or something. At the center of the mood mandala is a smiling face with an upright pentacle behind it. But... if you print out this mandala and rotate it around, you will see a frowning face with an upside down pentacle behind it. This is the most appropriate image for illustrating the optional sixth line of any Quintagram. Good and bad are very subjective and usually only applicable to a small, small moment in time. Thus, the reversible nature of the central face speaks to the changeableness of good and bad concerning any Quintagram that results from traveling around the perimeter of this mandala. In the situational mandala there is a "Palm's Cube" to signify the same sort of ambiguity.
While traversing around these mandalas to create a Quintagram, choose only ONE word from each of the five categories (the lighter faced words, not the bold face words). When you've picked out a word that describes your mood or state of mind, take any word with a solid line running behind it and draw a solid line in your Quintagram, and any word that has a dotted line running behind it, draw an open line in your Quintagram. No matter what way you may have the mandala rotated, or whether you jump around this way and that to pick out words, always transcribe your Quintagram results using the line you got from the category numbered 1 first. That is always the first line of any Quintagram, then work around from there, noting the other words you picked, and then... ending with the mandala showing either a happy smiling face or a sad frowning face. None of the other five categories have any good or bad bias to them. Deciding if a moment in time is good or bad is a subjective determination that tells you whether to read from the Moderate or the Extreme of the interpretation pages that are connected to each of the Quintagrams located below. If you don't believe there is any such thing as good and bad, or even moderate and extreme, you will have to read from both.
I can hear them already. Those who prefer to interpret tarot subjectively without regard for intended meanings given by authors... they will claim that calculating influence is absurd and psychically impoverished. They will balk at the obvious degree of structure being presented and claim it to be stifling to their spontaneous, visual, Rorschachian methods of moment to moment interpretation of images on cards by way of techniques like Free Association. To those of that prejudice, I would point out that choice is still open. This system, with all its structure, does NOT dictate exactly what a dream means - it is not a "dictionary of dreams" - the dreamer is still in control of what any dream means. There is no loss whatsoever in symbolic malleability. An image in a dream, or an image on a tarot card, can still mean whatever anyone wants it to mean whenever they want it to mean that, without regard for authored intent. All this gadget does is ask to have the resulting "meaning" of something... anything... whatever it might be... run through this filter to determine the ultimate archetypal essence.
In defense of structure, I would remind those opposed to it just how much structure there is to the fine art of Astrology. The mathematical calculations of Astrology represent a very precisely structured way of arriving at a pattern or constellation of influence that can be subsequently interpreted into the life of an individual. Quintagrams are also constellations of influence, but with much less math involved. In further defending structure, I would also point out that this system is not too dissimilar from that of the ancient structured system of I_Ching... which has been around for a long time, and used with much success for many years by many people... including tarot interpreters. Like the I_Ching, the methods being suggested here are open to changes. If a Quintagram doesn't fit... change it. On the pages that describe the intended meanings of each Quintagram, there are links that allow any line to be changed into its opposite and automatically jump the reader to that new Quintagram! Pretty cool. I don't know of any other tarot deck in the world with enough balance, symmetry, contrast and consistency to do that!
If it does not fit, you must not commit.
In theory, what changing Quintagrams does is give the reader feedback about how knowledgeable they really are concerning the nature of what they think they know. That theory is of course based upon the theory that the theoretical model of existence being presented on this site is in fact a good and accurate representation of the transcendental, primordial patterns that make up the Universal Blueprint of the Archetypal Armature from which our Universal Consciousness draws images in our minds. I think it is. And I have done my best, and will continue to do my best, to describe this Archetypal Armature (or what I think I "know" it to be) as best as I can with the most accurate words and pictures I can possibly muster. That is the purpose of structure.
If I am wrong about my feelings that this structure reveals an Archetypal Armature, then every idea on this site is as random as anyone else's random, Rorschachian interpreting. But... if I am correct about my feelings that this structure reveals an Archetypal Armature, and that the influence of that armature can be calculated, then I would think that what we have between us is a valuable tool of symbolic, psychic decipherment - and NOT psychic impoverishment. In defending this point, I would suggest looking at the ideas concerning opposites, as described in the book The Kybalion. A significant work of ideas that emphasizes the many ways in which opposition influences the design of our universe and everything in it. Vibration, polarity, rhythm, cause and effect, gender. These are all notions independently re-invented in my mind as part of the design of The Dream Analysis Calculator. Are they legitimate?
If I am correct about my assertions concerning the legitimacy of using opposites in this calculating way, then this calculator is not an abomination, but a valuable tool for symbolic, psychic decipherment. But for those who are still concerned about the stifling effects of structure, be reminded; that this calculator is not designed to replace spontaneous, visual, Rorschachain methods of interpretation and Free Association that ignore intended, authored meanings. What this calculator is mean to do is supplement those techniques by amplifying the user's awareness of archetypal essence. I believe amplification is a Jungian term. I have no idea if I am using it correctly or not, I'm not an expert in psychological terminology. My use of the word would be to suggest that by running something (like a dream, reading, image, person, place etc.) through this filter, our focus of attention is directed to an amplified awareness of the archetypal essence that is relevant to the dream, reading, image or whatever it is in question, whether we have first used techniques of Free Association or not.
Because I am not an expert in psychological terminology, and don't want to be accused of using terms incorrectly, I have made up my own terms to describe the approach I am suggesting (see the essay A Daisy Chain of Meaning elsewhere on this site). The first term is similar to the idea of Free Association, except I call mine Flexible Association, because of how flexible the mind becomes when making what at times appear to be extremely tenuous connections between what often appear to be questionable associations of questionable relevance (see the essay Imagine a Reason to Believe elsewhere on this site). The other term is similar to Active Imagination, except that I call mine Focused Imagination, because of how it attempts to focus our attention on a particular stage of the theorized armature of archetypal essence from which all our imagery - including our very existence - evolves. Like Free Association, Flexible Association leads away from a particular symbol to follow imagined connections of relevance and arrive at a supposed meaning. Like Active Imagination, Focused Imagination asks us to venture toward the symbol and explore the symbol for what it is; to dig deeper into the symbol to determine the archetypal essence from which it draws its character. It is suggested that these two techniques be used in tandem as often as possible, in order to acquire as much information as possible. People who prefer Active Imagination might find this gadget useful without Free Association. Those who prefer Free Association might find it useless and move on. I say use them both, i.e. spontaneously interpret, let the mind wander, exercise the imagination... then... take what results and determine what part of the archetypal armature the resulting content is expressing. Best of both worlds!
In the essay Shake the Trees, I compare the array of Quintagrams shown below to a forest of trees seen from above. Thus, through Free Association, or what I'm calling Flexible Association, we effectively "bounce around" from treetop to treetop as our mind wanders away from the original image or symbol... seeking meaning. Once we have stopped our wandering, it is being suggested that we use The Dream Analysis Calculator to determine onto which treetop we have landed. Thus, through Active Imagination, or what I'm calling Focused Imagination, it is suggested that we "shake the trees" in order to determine to which archetypal roots our treetop is connected. In normal psychoanalysis a therapist might ask hours and hours of questions to assist us in focusing toward the archetypal essence of a symbol (either before, during or after the utilization of Free Association). This system only asks us to answer five critical questions. Those five questions could be phrased 100 more ways than I've put them here, and presented over the course of hours and hours of therapy (if I was a therapist). I've done my best to sum them up within a single chart. For those who need psychotherapeutic help in understanding the nature of each pair of opposites being presented, I wish I could offer hours of therapy - but I can't. For those who don't need this kind of help, I think this gadget might just work. Please let me know.
I have been experimenting with this Dream Analysis Calculator for a while. I have found that I can apply it to a LOT more than just dreams, or even tarot! It can literally be applied to ANYTHING! For example: I can just think about the conditions of my day at any moment in the day, and, like a one card reading, be lead to a Quintagram that is relevant. Except... unlike tarot or I_Ching, I am not being random, I'm actually asking my subconscious or unconscious to tell me how existing conditions are affecting me right now. The theory being that the five stages of the Dream Analysis Calculator (actually six when we include the additional decision of Moderate vs. Extreme mentioned below) represent five "avenues of perception" that are at work in our minds 24/7/365 - while awake and living, or asleep and dreaming.
The Quintagrams below lead to pages full of possible meanings. Right now they are only organized according to Adjectives, Nouns and Verbs. I will be adding additional analysis specific to each line of each Quintagram as time permits. But even with the less than perfect organization of these pages, I believe that interesting results will be found by reading through these words... as well as the other words found within pages and charts that are included at the bottom of each interpretation page. In other words, don't be literal, and give up if you don't immediately see words that are relevant. Like tarot, or I_Ching, there is still plenty of interpretation left to do, even with this technique of calculation. Keep an open mind.
Use this mandala-like table to figure out which Quintagram has been acquired when using random methods to generate results. For those who are not adverse to including the idea of some concepts being good and others bad, an optional line can be added to the beginning of any Quintagram to make a Hexagram. But remember... the Hexagrams that result from this table are not intended to correlate to the Hexagrams of I Ching! This is a completely different system of analysis. Bigram to Trigram, or Trigram to Trigram, take your pick!
Click the Quintagram to read the Essential Nature of each number.
Click the Title of each number to go to the Tarot Card for that number.