Atheist Tarot Explanation

The Atheist’s Tarot

Like the Octagod, the Atheist’s Tarot tries to give meaning to the Big Bang and the expanding universe. So with the Universe as its model it’s laid out in the form of an expanding pyramid, with card 1 in the first row, cards 2 and 3 in the second row, cards 4, 5 and 6 in the third and so on, up to 8 cards in row eight. There are 36 cards in all. (See the illustration)

The Atheist Tarot is a transitional art form that exists between the Octagod and science cartooning. Like the Octagod they depend on the Big Bang for their form. And like science cartooning they depend on a developed sense of “the anthropomorphic”. In order to read the cards you have to experience the scientific phenomena as if they were an extension of the human body. Some cards are more amenable to this than others. But as with anything else practice makes perfect.

When reading the cards it’s important to recognize which one represents “you”. That is which card in particular best absorbs a “projection of your body”. That’s your starting point. Then you have to see how the other cards modify this key card, and give it context. Feel free to compare these cards to a traditional set of Tarot and see how others read them.

Each of the cards is a philosophical interpretation of science. And that’s the most interesting part. So these are the cards. Most of them have two complementary meanings depending on weather they are right side up (up) or up side down (down).

ROW ONE: THE BIG BANG

1. The Big Bang

The card pyramid, like the universe, begins with the Big Bang. The Big Bang marks the beginning of the universe and everything we know. So this card, more than anything else is linked to fertility. It could indicate the birth of a baby, or something else momentous. Or if as some people think, our universe came from another universe that it could also represent a dramatic transition from one world to another. Reversed it reminds us that we don’t really know where the universe came from, and that great things can seemingly come out of nowhere.

(Up) birth of a baby, a major transition, new beginnings

(Down) something major seemingly coming out of nowhere

ROW TWO: MATTER, ENERGY, SPACE AND TIME

2. Matter, Anti-matter and Energy

The Big Bang created space and time as well as matter and energy. When the Big Bang created matter it created two forms, regular matter and anti-matter. When these two forms touch they explode. Indeed much of the bang in the Big Bang comes from the mutual annihilation of matter and anti-matter. But fortunately for us the two forms of were not exactly symmetrical. The symmetry was broken and there was a little more matter than anti-matter. The symmetry breaking evolution of the universe had begun. Because matter won, this card also stands for winning.

(Up) Conflict between opposites, annihilation and winning

(Down) Conflict, Kinetic energy coming out of potential energy

3. Space and Time

There is always more to the situation than meets the eye. According to present theory we live in a universe of eleven dimensions. But out of these eleven, we only experience four. And like many things that are “four”, they’re grouped as three plus one. So we experience three dimensions of space and one dimension of time.

Some dimensions give us more freedom than others. The dimensions of space allow us to move from left to right, forward to back, and up and down. But time for us only moves in one direction. The hidden dimensions are even more restrictive. The meaning of this card is about the freedom, the ability to move, and the ability to find direction.

(Up) Finding a direction, things can go both ways

(Down) You have to wait, time is irreversible

4. Electrons and Photons ROW THREE: THE ATOM

This row deals with an atom’s parts. Your body is made of trillions of atoms. Atoms are small organized bits of matter that emerged shortly after the Big Bang. Simple atoms came first with more complex atoms and molecules coming later.

The atomic parts we know best are called photons and electrons. Photons are little bits of light. When you see an image you’re seeing billions of photons. Radio-waves and X-rays are also photons. Photons are absorbed and emitted by electrons. They have no mass and move very fast. They jump from atom to atom. So they symbolize communication. They’re the mail men. The interactions between electrons and photons are responsible for color. So another meaning for this card is visual beauty.

Electrons, which have mass and charge, orbit the Protons in the atom’s nucleus. They’re smaller than the protons they orbit. So in the nuclear family they represent the smaller partner, i.e. a child or female. Also an atom’s outer electrons are generally free to move around, for example electricity in a wire. This means the ability to leave home. It could mean a child leaving home, or a “lose woman”. Or even the protons mistress, where the protons real wife is the neutron.

(Up) Electrons, feeling free to leave home

(Down) Photons, sending a message

5. Protons and Quarks

The third rows center card is the proton. Protons form the atom’s nucleus. They’re the center of the nuclear family. They will pull in electrons which orbit around them. And pull in neutrons that stand beside them. The proton is the main parent. It could be a father or a mother.

The proton is the heaviest of the stable particles. The neutron is a bit heavier but not stable. And unlike the electron or the photon it has an inside that’s made up of still smaller particles called quarks. There are many kinds of quarks. The proton is made up of three, two of one kind and one of another. Quarks are all held together by the Strong Nuclear Force. But unlike the force of gravity or the electrical force this force, this force gets stronger with distance. So as a consequence the quarks can never be free.

(Up) Proton, the center of the nuclear family a father or mother

(Down) Quarks, the subjective side of an individual, two of one kind plus one of another, prison, a situation you can never escape from

6. Neutrons and Neutrinos

In this card the theme of “two of one kind plus one that’s different” is repeated once again. First it’s repeated in the neutron’s inner quarks, which are equal but opposite to that of the proton. Then it’s repeated in the atom itself.

Here the electron and the proton both respond to the force of electromagnetism. But the neutron does not. Electrically she’s a silent partner. Likewise the proton and the neutron both respond to the strong nuclear force, while the electron does not. Someone’s always left out.

On her own the neutron’s unstable. She needs the proton and makes her dependent. But because she has no charge the neutron is the only one who can readily enter an atom’s nucleus. This is why neutrons are so important to nuclear chain reactions.

Like neutrons neutrinos have no charge. But unlike neutrons they’re stable and have very little mass. They travel about and are very abundant, which means that the space around you is filled with neutrinos, mostly from the sun. But you’d never know it because neutrinos only interact through the Weak Nuclear Force. Neutrinos are like ghosts. And like neutrons they represent secrets. But in this case its secrets that don’t matter.

(Up) Secrets that count, the infiltrator that gets to the heart of things and starts chain reactions, the silent partner, but on its own the neutron is unstable

(Down) Ghosts, secrets that have no weight, they can penetrate anything but so what

7. Gravity FORTH ROW; THE FOUR FORCES

Everything’s behavior can be reduced to a few simple particles and four basic forces. Gravity is the weakest and yet the greatest of these four forces. It’s the weakest because it takes a lot of matter before its effects even begin to be felt. But it’s the greatest because the structures it helps to produce are the most spectacular.

Gravity is at the heart of moons, planets, stars and galaxies. Unlike the other forces which are relatively short range, gravity works on a grand scale. Gravity is the great lord or lady of love. She doesn’t bother with the little things but instead keeps an eye on the big picture. She brings all things together, no matter what they are.

The reversal of this card is the excessiveness of love. Gravity can bend space, which means it bends your perception of things. It can blind you and trap you. This is what it means to be caught in a black hole.

(Up) Big picture, universal love and the desire to bring things together no matter what they are.

(Down) Oppressive weight, a black hole, time seems to last forever

8. Electromagnetism

Electromagnetism is really the combined force of electricity and magnetism. Light photons are pure electromagnetism. But chemistry is mostly based on the force of electricity. Magnets are mostly based on magnetism. Unlike the endless pull of gravity, both electricity and magnetism have the ability to push, as well as pull. That’s why our bodies can push as well as pull.

Electricity can be converted into magnetism and visa versa. But the symmetry of the two is broken. The electrical force is carried by actual particles, mostly electrons and protons, whereas magnetism is created only when these particles move or spin. The meaning of this card is the push and pull of life.

(Up) Electricity, the push and pull of life, exists independently

(Down) Magnetism, the pull and push of life, dependent on something else

9. The Weak Nuclear Force

The Weak force is responsible for certain aspects of radioactivity. Sometimes an unstable nucleus will spit out and electron, or its antimatter opposite, a positron. It does this because it’s trying to achieve balance. Atoms want balance. They want to have an equal number of electrons, protons and neutrons.

In order to get an equal number of protons and electrons an atom will want to engage in chemical activity of many sorts. But the nucleus is more isolated, and for balance to be achieved a different activity is involved. So if an atom has extra neutrons the weak force will cause some of them to be turned into protons. And likewise if it has extra protons it will cause some of them to be turned into neutrons. It will do this by causing the nucleus to emit electrons, positrons and neutrinos. On it’s own an isolated neutron will also decay because of the Weak nuclear Force. Unlike the other three forces, gravity, electro-magnetism and the Strong Nuclear Force which generally hold things together. The weak force mostly causes things to decay.

(Up) destructiveness leading to balance

(Down) destructiveness that hurts others

10. The Strong Nuclear Force

The Strong Nuclear Force holds things together better than any other force. It holds together the quarks inside protons and neutrons. It has three poles, and it holds protons and neutrons together as they develop into nuclei. This force acts over very short distances so we don’t experience it directly. But without the strong force, which contributes to nuclear power, the sun wouldn’t shine.

(Up) The number 3, Inner strength and power

(Down) Keeping everything to yourself

11. Subatomic Strings FIFTH ROW: THE MICROCOSM

It has long been thought that the basic particles and forces were all manifestations of a single underlying reality. The theory of Subatomic Strings may indeed be an understanding of that one underlying reality. In this theory all the particles (and all the particles that can be thought of as forces) are really extremely tiny vibrating strings.

These are very strange strings that vibrate in eleven dimensions. We experience four of these dimensions, one of which is time, but not the other seven. In our own experience we can get a glimpse of how different dimension express them selves. We experience left and right with the greatest freedom. Front and back with less freedom. And up and down with the least freedom of all. And time for example only moves in one direction. In string theory many of these dimensions are very small. And one of them seems to be conned to another universe.

(Up) Inner worlds that lead to another universe

(Down) Inner worlds

12. Quantum Mechanics

Quantum mechanics is a general theory for the way things behave when they’re really small. In an atom we speak of “quantum jumps” this refers to the jumps an electron makes toward or away from the nucleus, as it takes in, or gives up a photon. We frequently experience the results of these jumps as color. But in quantum mechanics we say that the electron makes these jumps without following any discernable path.

Indeed at these sizes, the very notion of an electron’s location or path is problematic. Subatomic things don’t have definite locations. Indeed subatomic things aren’t really “things” at all. Indeed a discreet “thing”, like temperature, and the forward direction of time, is something that emerges only at larger sizes.

So at small sizes an electron has no definite location, only different probabilities of having a location. Then something happens to bring that electron into contact with the larger world. And then as this happens, a position emerges. In quantum mechanics this is called the “collapse of the wave function” and it turns the probability of being somewhere into being somewhere.

(Up) Quantum jumps, turning probability into actuality, the collapse of the wave function

(Down) Quantum jumps, remaining in a probabilistic undefined state

13. Radioactive Atoms

Radioactive atoms have unbalanced nuclei. Their nuclei have an unequal number of protons and neutrons. They could have gotten that way by being exposed to neutrons or other particles. Or maybe they were born that way when they first emerged as elements from dieing or exploding stars. But whatever the cause these atoms are going to emit high speed particles.

Chemically these atoms are indistinguishable from normal atoms. But the particles they emit can affect the surrounding atoms. They can make heat, make other atoms radioactive and break up molecules. And if there enough unstable nuclei are nearby they can also set off a chain reaction.

(Up) Dangerous infiltrator, suicide bomber

(Down) Beware of chain reactions and contamination

14. The Elements:

Over the course of time the nuclear activity of stars created a wide variety of nuclei. When the stars died these nuclei were thrown out into space. There they cooled, acquired the right amount of electrons, and became all the elements of the periodic table.

When the electrons gathered around the nuclei they did so in a very specific way. They followed a rule called “The Pauli Exclusion Principle”, which says that if they’re too similar they can’t be too close. From this, and the number of protons in the nucleus, a variety of orbital arrangements emerged which gave the elements their various chemical properties.

The elements with symmetrical orbital arrangements are called the noble gases. And they’re noble because chemically they don’t want to do anything. They don’t need to get or get rid of electrons. However most other elements need to interact. They need to get rid of, or get electrons in order to find symmetry, and feel complete.

This card represents many different kinds of people. But we are all children of the stars. And we can all live together, even if, like the electrons, we have to give each other some space. It’s a day at the United Nations. But some of these people are more content than other. The noble Gases are not very reactive. But most of the atoms want something.

(Up) Different kinds of people, people who are content

(Down) Different kinds of people, people who want or have some thing to give

15. Phase Change

Matter can take on many forms, some of them quite exotic. Three of the most common forms are solids, liquids and gases. When a batch of matter goes from a solid to a liquid to a gas it goes through what’s called a “phase change”. Card 15 graphs the phase changes of water. The vertical axis is pressure. The horizontal axis is temperature. So at low pressures, near the bottom of the card, water will always be a gas. So for example if you opened a jar of water in space it would immediately vaporize. While at the top of the card, under high pressure, it’s more inclined to be a solid or a liquid.

In the middle, where we generally live our lives, you can draw a horizontal line that will easily cross through the areas of solid, liquid and gas, which corresponds to the normal experience of melting ice and boiling water.

In its reversed position the card represents the anarchy of gas. There are no associations, no bonds and no place to call home. The molecules do a random walk through empty space. You could bump into anyone.

But in its upright position it refers to solid, liquid and gas. As a solid (crystal) it could mean imprisonment or being locked into position. Or maybe it could mean the looser associations of being a liquid. Going from one phase (i.e. solid to liquid) to another could also mean great societal changes. It could mean going from one culture to another. Or in the extreme it could mean being caught up in a riot or some other form of collective behavior.

(Up) Temperature, imprisonment and ridged order

(Down) Temperature, homeless freedom, anarchy

16. Molecules SIXTH ROW: LIFE

In addition to the relatively simple forms of a solid liquid and a gas, matter can form itself into very complicated forms indeed. This card represents the evolution of molecules from simple to complex.

The top of the card represents molecules made from a small number of atoms. While the bottom represents molecules made from a large number of atoms. Some of these are crystals like diamonds, which are single molecules made from carbon atoms. Other large molecules frequently form themselves into strings. Sometimes these strings fold up and stick to them selves. This is how proteins are formed.

Molecules whether large or small are bound by charges that involve electrons, this symbolizes the exchange or sharing of money and services.

(Up) Small groups of people

(Down) Large groups of people

17. The Beginning of Life

There are many theories about how life began. Some speak of shallow pools on the early earth some speak of sea floor vents. There are theories that life came to earth from mars or from comets. But one thing’s for sure, life emerged from simpler molecules. Some of these molecules developed the ability to replicate them selves, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Probably RNA developed first. But now DNA is life’s central memory molecule. DNA is life’s blueprint. But its control isn’t that tight. Think of an ant colony. It’s not controlled by a dictator and yet it runs pretty smoothly. The same is true for the body and life in general. Order emerges by itself. It doesn’t need central control. But that doesn’t mean central control doesn’t have its place.

Upright the card refers to DNA. Here the analogy is made to memes, the cultural equivalent to DNA. So it refers to a person having an opinion, a strong belief, or some formula on how to do things. It could indicate leadership. But it could also indicate a deep memory.

Reversed the card refers to how these memories or instructions came to be formed in the first place. It could refer to children, or learning how to do something. It could refer to the development of a new system or plan.

(Up) Having an opinion

(Down) Forming an opinion

18. The Tree of Evolution

On earth, life began about four billion years ago. It started with a system of molecules that could replicate, mutate and were subject to selection. These are the three things that are necessary if evolution is going to take place. Replication allows forms to persist through time. It means making copies or having babies. Mutation allows forms to change. These changes could be good or bad. But we won’t know which, until we come to the third criterion which is the process of selection. And depending on the circumstances selection can mean almost anything.

On earth, in society and in a computer these three processes will lead to the process of evolution. The replicating entities, whether they’re genes, memes or computer programs will branch out into a variety forms as they explore the possibilities of survival. On earth we call the results of this exploration the tree of evolution. Due to constantly changing circumstances most of these survival strategies are no longer with us. That is most of the species that ever were, are now extinct. But it also means that new ones, like ours are constantly coming into existence.

Our lives are also examples of evolution. We repeat things. We try new things. And we see what works. Some things used to work. Some things still do work. And some things have yet to be tried.

(Up) Alive, personal growth in ways that still work today

(Down) Extinct, personal behaviors, attitudes and thought that are no longer adaptive

19. Types of Cells

There are a few basic types of cells. The types we know best are called Eukaryotic cells and Prokaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells store there DNA in a specialized internal sack called a nucleus, and make up large plants and animals, like us. Prokaryotic cells don’t form large organisms and don’t have a separate sack for their DNA. Bacteria are Prokaryotic cells.

One of the things that biology has learned how to do is to cooperate. Prokaryotic cells don’t cooperate as much as Eukaryotic cells do. But they do cooperate. They’re inside our intestines. And the mitochondria that are found inside animal cells are the descendents of a prokaryotic ancestor.

In large single organisms eukaryotic cells are very good at cooperating. That’s why, in your own body, cells with so many different functions have learned to work together.

(Up) Eukaryotic cells, cooperation, urban environments, an inner nucleus means an ability to keep secrets and be privet.

(Down) Bacteria, less cooperative, no nucleus and a poor sense of boundaries, disease, living in the country, hearty, able to reproduce quickly

20. The Brain

The brain is the home for our sense of self. But the most amazing thing about the brain it’s almost completely incapable of feeling itself. And yet everything we experience is derived, to some extent, from the functioning of the brain.

Behaviors that individuals and societies share probability emerge due to the common genetic heritage of all our brains. Although the ways these common traits are elaborated upon can be quite surprising.

The card refers to the brain’s most obvious anatomical feature. But subtler features can also be inferred. The brain has two hemispheres pieced together like a walnut. There’s a mechanical reason for this. It helps stabilize tissue, which on its own is rather mushy. But evolution has taken advantage of this division and in a fashion so typical of the universe it has broken the symmetry.

As a result the two sides of the brain have generally been given different functions. The left brain, which controls the right side of the body, specializes in spoken language, or linear sequences, which is why most people use their right hands to write with. On the other hand the right brain specializes in understanding things in there totality, for instance recognizing a face. The outgrowth of this, or so the story goes, is that the right brain is better at intuition, while the left brain is better at logic.

(Up) An unseen world within, intuition

(Down) An unseen world within, logic

21. The Book and the Computer

With this card we complete our journey from biology to the brain to culture. Things represented by the three rings of the Octagod. Culture is composed of memes. Memes are like genes in that they follow the rules of evolution. They replicate, they mutate and they compete for survival. However defining the size of a meme can prove difficult. Words are memes. Once they’re created they replicate and mutate. They also compete for survival. You can see this in the evolution of language. Gods are memes. The Octagod is a meme. A sense of righteous holiness gives memes a secure home. Generally memes live in our brains. But in the case of technology it could be argued that they’re partially embodied in the machines or artifacts themselves.

(Up) Traditional culture, religions of the book

(Down) Modern technological culture and emerging secular and collective realities

22. Continental Drift and Geology SEVENTH ROW: THE MACROCOSM

This card deals with the surface and the deep geology of the earth. On the surface we have erosion and the three basic rock types, sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous. Sedimentary rocks are created when the results of erosion pile up and symbolize the recorded effects of history, metamorphic rocks have been changed by heat and symbolize the rewriting of history, igneous rocks, like lava, symbolize what’s new.

Deeper meanings come from below. The earth is a ball of liquid rock made hot by bombardment during the formation of the early solar system. The round earth is good at retaining heat. And it is further heated by the decay of radioactive material from exploded stars. The meaning is that the earth is heated by the smoldering heat of unfinished business.

This heat forms convection currents inside the molten earth. These currents push around the continents that literally float on top. These currents push some continents into one another and cause others to be pushed apart. When the continents spread apart material wells up from inside and new land is created. But when continents run into each other land is destroyed. The first is called spreading the second is called subduction.

(Up) Spreading, the smoldering heat of unfinished business, slowly inevitably spreading apart, creation

(Down) Subduction, the smoldering heat of unfinished business, slowly and inevitably colliding with one thing being pushed under by another, destruction

23. Asteroids, Comets and Planets

The solar system is filled with asteroids and comets. The asteroids are closer in. The comets are farther out. Generally speaking asteroids are pieces of rock from planets that broke up long ago. While comets are mostly water and never were planets in the fist place. Because they roam free asteroids and comets are symbolizes as rogues and roughens. Asteroids are part of street gangs, and they’re dangerous. Comets are visitors from afar. And they too are dangerous. However both of these characters could potentially be bringing gifts.

(Up) Comet, visitor from afar, never been part of a home, comes and goes

(Down) Asteroid, a roughen, coming from a broken home

24. Solar Systems

Asteroids, comets, the moon, the earth, the other planets and the sun are all part of our solar system. The universe is filled with solar systems. And each one of them is different. Many of them have two or more stars. And in many of these multiple systems one of the stars is a black hole or a white dwarf. A dead star that sucks the life out of its partner.

(Up) Your marriage and family

(Down) The marriages and families of others

25. The Life of Stars

Like people stars have lives. They’re born is dust nurseries as matter is gathered together. They get compressed and ignite. Then they burn up their fuel, swell up into red giants and die. If they’re small like our sun they’ll gently spin off old material as they go, leaving a white dwarf as a remnant. But if they’re bigger they’ll blow up leaving a neutron star or something more extraordinary, like a black hole. This card relates to your life, how you were born, how you’ll live and how you’ll die.

(Up) A life span, with an emphasis on birth

(Down) A life span, with an emphasis on death

26. The Quasar

Quasars are found in the centers of galaxies. They emerge as stars are sucked into gigantic black holes. As these stars and other matter go in they form a flat rotating disk called an “accretion disk”. And just as this material reaches the center some of it is squirted out in the form of two slim jets. These jets squirt out in opposite directions. The inflowing accretion disk and the two out flowing jets give this card meanings associated with contraction and expansion.

Active quasars aren’t around now. Mostly they’re found in young galaxies with lots of stars for the black hole to eat. The gigantic black hole eats all the nearby stars. But after it’s consumed everything that’s nearby the black hole is left by its self and the explosions stop. That’s when the quasars’ power is effectively shut off. So the second meaning for this card is a warning not to get sucked in.

(Up) Don’t get sucked in, expansion

(Down) Don’t get sucked in, contraction

27. Galaxies

A galaxy is a city made up of billions of stars. It’s surrounded by smaller groups of stars call globular clusters. These represent smaller towns. A galaxy has a dense brightly lit center where active quasars and hungry black holes are sure to be found. It also has outer suburbs, which is where we live. The universe if filled with billions of galaxies and these represent other cities.

(Up) Your own city or town

(Down) Other cities and towns of the world

28. The Whole Universe

The whole universe represents to totality of everything, all the galaxies, all the particles, all the planets and everything else. Because of this it represents our connection to everything, God, eternity and our spiritual longing for wholeness. But ironically the card has another meaning as well. Because it also represents the expanding voids that exist between the galaxies it also represents loneliness. In this sense it represents God and the walk in the desert.

(Up) God and our sense of wholeness

(Down) God cosmic voids and our sense of loneliness

EIGHTH ROW: MATHMATICS AND THE END OF THE UNIVERSE

29. The Fundamental Constants

Activities in the universe are described by mathematical formulas. These formulas contain certain specific fixed numbers called constants. The constants shown here relate to a different physical phenomenon. “G” is the gravitational constant and describes the strength of gravity. “h” is called the planck constant and relates energy to frequency in quantum mechanics. And “c” is the speed of light in a vacuum. And so on.

In pure mathematics similar numbers also appear. One of them is called “e” the other is called “pi”. “e” relates the infinite to the infinitesimal. And “Pi” relates a circles circumference to its diameter. These numbers represent the unchanging relationships that help make our world predictable. They also represent constants which probably do not change. These are things that define us. And things we can not change, either inside ourselves or outside of ourselves.

(Up) Constants emerging from math, inner limitations

(Down) Constants emerging from physics, outer limitations

30. Probability

The picture on the card is called the graph of “normal distribution”. It’s a graph made from statistics that shows what’s most or least likely. For instance if this were a graph of height, people of average height would be represented by the center while midgets and giants, being rarer, would be represented on the graph’s edges. The card asks, what does it means to be normal. And what does it mean to conform.

(Up) Being normal

(Down) Being abnormal

31. Chaos and Fractals

Chaos is a particular form of randomness. Rising smoke is chaotic. So is the turbulence of water. Despite the fact that phenomena like these are strictly defined by physical laws, their behavior is still unpredictable. This unpredictability is caused by certain points of extreme sensitivity. It’s the so called “butterfly effect”, where a butterfly flapping its wings in India will, a week later, affect the weather in the American Midwest.

But even though these systems are unpredictable and sensitive to the point of chaos, they still follow a hidden order. We have discovered that these systems are defined by “strange attractors” called fractals. Fractals are shapes that have the interesting property of looking the same no matter how closely they are examined.

Fractals are the hidden order behind chaos. And the meaning of this card is that small things can make a big difference.

(Up) Chaos

(Down) Fractals, the hidden order behind chaos, small things can make a big difference

32. Numbers, the Number line and Infinity

This card represents numbers and the number line. So naturally one of its meanings pertains to measurement and the acquisition of knowledge. But it also represents infinity and the different kinds of numbers that are found on the number line. And ultimately it represent a progression from separateness to continuity.

The first kind of numbers are called whole numbers. For example one person, two people and so on, separate units. Next are the fractions, like those found on a ruler. Fractions begin to connect whole numbers. For instance 1½ comes between one and two. But there are still gaps.

Next are the irrational and transcendental numbers. These numbers are either difficult or impossible to express, and they fill in the remaining gaps between the fractions and make the number line complete. An infinite number of points, defined in different ways, makes the line continuous. So the meaning of this card is how infinity bridges the gap between separateness and continuity.

(Up) Infinity, measurement and connectedness

(Down) Infinity, measurement and separateness

33. Mathematical Operations

The numbers are acted on by various mathematical operations the way matter is acted on by the four forces. The most basic operation is addition. It’s like gravity, it only pulls things together. To opposite of addition became subtraction. Together they go forward and backward, like the push and pull of electricity and magnetism. The strong force would remind you of the potency of multiplication and powers, while the destructiveness of the weak force reminds one of division and roots. At any rate, in general, addition, multiplication and powers make numbers bigger, while subtraction, division and roots do the opposite. So the meaning of this card is creation and destruction.

(Up) Creation

(Down) Destruction

34. Logic and Sets

Mathematics, measurement and logic are powerful ways of learning, so one of the meanings for logic and sets is obviously logic itself. In computers, the logical statements of true and false are represented by the electrical signals of “ones and zeros”. Logical relations between these signals is then processed through electrical circuits called “and gates” and “or gates”.

Set theory is a branch of mathematics that’s similar to logic. It compares collections of objects and describes what they do, and do not have in common. To do this they use Venn diagrams. Here we see A union B, and A intersection B.

(Up) Reason, finding agreement

(Down) Reason, finding disagreement

35. Symmetry and Broken Symmetry

Symmetry breaking is one of ways new things emerge. The four forces were created by breaking symmetry. The triumph of matter over anti-matter is an example of breaking symmetry. Deciding which side of the bed you’re going to get out of in the morning is an example of breaking symmetry. When an embryo develops organs from stem cells it breaks symmetry. When you’re courting and you choose one from a number of equally qualified candidates your breaking symmetry.

From the big bang to love the universe goes from the symmetry of many equal possibilities to the broken symmetry of what actually happens. To move from the potential to the actual is the breaking of symmetry. So the meaning of this card is that you have to make a decision.

(Up) Make a decision

(Down) Refrain from making a decision

36. Entropy and the Heat Death of the Universe

This last card represents entropy and the heat death of the universe. Entropy is a complicated measure of disorder. It’s complicated because different things experience disorder in different ways. But the general tendency is always for things to go from an ordered state, which is low entropy, to a more disordered state, of greater entropy. One example of low entropy is the sun’s concentration of energy. As the sun burns it uses up this concentration and disperses it into space. Life creates order by using a small amount of this energy as it moves through the earth.

Life makes order out of disorder. But ultimately disorder will win. So inevitably the sun will burn out. And all the energy in the universe will no longer exist in concentrated lumps, like suns. But until that finial time life will always have a chance. So the meaning of this card is to enjoy life, while you have the chance.

(Up) Appreciate life by remembering death, order

(Down) Appreciate death by remembering life, disorder

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Reading the Cards

Reading these cards isn’t easy. It requires finding human meaning is scientific phenomena, the central issue in science and religion. The way this is done is to insert your own body into the reading. You put down three cards in a row. Three is quite enough. Then you see which of the three is “most excepting of you body”. That forms the core of the meaning. Then you see how the other two cards either add to or modify that meaning. Here are some examples.

1. The book and the computer, computer up

2. Radioactive atom, single atom up

3. The elements, noble gases up

The card you most identify with is the radioactive atom. So you start with that. The radioactive atom is an infiltrator. So that’s you, or your client, entering into a situation with something “explosive” to do. It could be a radial idea. So what is that place? For this we turn to the other cards. The computer would indicate some kind of a modern, new or technical setting. The elements would further elaborate this by saying that there are going to be a variety of different people there. The noble atoms are up and that means that they are going to be satisfied or complacent, in contrast to your own radioactivity.

So one interpretation would be:

You are going to do something dangerous at an otherwise boring conference on technology.

Again three cards,

1. Molecules, small molecules up

2. The beginning of life, DNA up

3. The Quasar, contraction up

The identity card is DNA in the beginning of life, which means holy memories. You have something you have to remember. Now look for the context. That would be the small molecules, which means a small group of people. Here the Quasar dictates the action. Which is negative and a warning, i.e. don’t get sucked in.

So a likely interpretation would be:

A small click of people is going to suck you into a situation where you are going to have to remember or stand up for something.

Again,

1. Subatomic Strings

2. The fundamental Constants, math up

3. The Tree of Evolution, extinction up

This one is tricky because it has two identity cards, Subatomic Strings and the Tree of Evolution. The stronger one however is subatomic strings. Because of the rolled up dimensions it’s about your subjective life. In this subjective life grows the tree of evolution, which symbolizes your own dreams and hopes of growth. But extinction is up so that puts an end to that. Why because of unchanging constants within ourselves. So one interpretation would be:

Your own limitations are hurting your dreams.

And again,

1. Protons and Quarks, protons up

2. Chaos and fractals, fractals up

3. Numbers and the number line, separate numbers up

The identity card is the proton, with the quarks inside. You stand alone with something going on inside. You have inner strength. That isolation is expanded upon by the numbers card. But it also indicates a reaching out for connection. It also indicates infinity which is a sign of greatness. The context for all this is the chaos and fractals card. We also have the uncertainty of subatomic particles. The fractal is the order behind the chaos so that’s a good sign. Here small things, even as small as a single proton, or individual, can make a big difference. So one interpretation would be:

Even though your just one person, you have inner strength and if you reach out, even in an uncertain world, you could make a big difference.

So these are the cards and this is how you interpret them. Start from the most subjective place and work your way out to the surrounding situation. If you think about it the cards will always give you specific meanings. So be truthful to the cards, and if they don’t seem to fit what’s actually happening to you our your client. Remember the spirits may not be listening. Indeed there may not even be any spirits. In other words, if these cards don’t work the atheists may be right. And that’s why they’re called The Atheists Tarot.