Antiscia and the Shadow in Tarot

Antiscia and the Shadow in Tarot

By

Roland Matthews (2019)

            The astrological concept of Antiscia has been around at least since the days of Ptolemy.  In short, they represent the “shadow” or reflection of a planet in relation to the Solstices, and are mathematical points in space symbolizing our animal instincts in our natal horoscopic charts.  We will not be discussing how they are calculated here, but rather their meaning and importance. 

            If one uses the antiscia for: the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, it doubles the amount of points to consider in a chart from 10 to 20.  In my earlier blog about the elements and the Platonic solids, I was at a loss for a significant connection with the icosahedron which has 20 sides or faces, but after considering the antiscia points, something caught my attention.  In Kabbalah, we learn that there are 10 sephiroth on the Tree of Life and that these spheres also have a negative reflection known as the Qlippoth resulting in 20 spheres.  As it turns out, these spheres also have correlations with the planets (at least up to Saturn, because Chokmah and Kether are not traditionally associated with planets).  Some modern practitioners may think of adding Uranus to Chokmah, but whether Neptune or Pluto go with Da’ath or Kether will need to be discussed separately. 

            In Jungian psychology, there is a part of ourselves known as the “shadow” which represents the things about ourselves that we are ashamed of or are unwilling to acknowledge and is somewhat similar to the Freudian Id.  Jung gave us four main Archetypes, which in turn each have a feminine or opposite gender version, giving us eight.  All of which also have shadow versions resulting in sixteen foundational recurring symbols.  These nicely fit in with the sixteen court cards of the lesser arcana of the Tarot. These sixteen characters are divided according to which elemental suit they belong and if one includes the four elemental Aces as Archetypes, this results in a total of 20. 

            Many ancient myths, including those of the Sumerians, indicate that the planets have a negative influence over our lives, and that in order for us to become spiritually realized beings we need to overcome the bonds they have placed upon us.  We find similar concepts in the more modern idea of seven deadly sins.  For example, it could be said that the Moon is associated with envy, Mercury with greed, Venus with lust, the Sun with pride, Mars with anger, Jupiter with gluttony, and Saturn with sloth.  I feel that the antiscia are showing us the points which may trigger times when these faults are activated either by transit or secondary progression.  When these points are triggered, it has an influence on our psychological Archetypes and even in our chakras, which in turn affects our bodies. 

            In my previous paper on Decans I presented the idea that each 10° section of the sky was thought by the Egyptians to be governed by a daemon that in turn could affect our health.  If we calculate the location of our antiscia, we can then see in which decans they reside and what minor arcana pip card is associated with them.  These in turn can give us clues as to which court card, which psychological Archetypes are involved, which sephiroth on the Tree of Life, and therefore which divine names and angels to use for the appropriate remedial measures.  In short, using these in conjunction with timing techniques and knowledge of the Master of the horoscope, antiscia could potentially guide us on the path to spiritual freedom and greater self-actualization.