The Merlin and Dreampower Tarots of R.J. Stewart: Harmonics and Qabalistic Basis - Part 2

Preview of Dreampower

To begin with, let's just take a look at the Dreampower trumps, as they are all quite different in appearance from most Tarots.

"The differences are deeper than simply suggesting new or alternative tarot images, however, as this deck begins in the inner worlds... The Dreampower major cards are not variants of traditional tarot Trumps, but a new set of potent images drawn from inspiration and visualization." (p. 5 The Dreampower Tarot)

The organization of the following table will be discussed in detail below, but briefly, the columns show trumps in the same world or realm, and the rows show trumps in the same position on the tree within their realm or world. The Lunar World of the standard Tarot is akin to the Dreampower Stone Realm, the Solar to the Pearl, and the Stellar to the Whirlpool. Dreampower trumps are correlated with ordinary Tarot trumps according the "basic direct cross-reference" as listed in Appendix 3 of The Dreampower Tarot. There are also additional subtle connections to other standard trumps for most of the Dreampower major cards which are not shown here. (Ordinary trumps are illustrated with images from the Alleged Tarot.)

Location	Standard Lunar	Dreampower Stone	Standard Solar	Dreampower Pearl	Standard Stellar	Dreampower Whirlpool
Upper Lefts	Universe	The Teller	Guardian (Devil)	The Tangler	Strength	The Maker
Upper Rights	Fool	The Gate	Death	The Opener	Tower	The Maze
Lower Lefts	Magician	The Choir	Empress	The Maiden	Innocent (Hierophant)	The Void
Lower Rights	Priestess	The Sleeper	Emperor	The Raptor	Hanged Man	The Knower
Horizontals	Fortune	The Table	Justice	The Stairway	Judgment	The Observatory
Middle Pillar Verticals	Moon	The Stone	Sun	The Seed Pearl	Star	The Whirlpool
Left (Pillar of Mercy) Bridge	Lovers	Division			Temperance	Conjunction
Right (Pillar of Severity) Bridge	Chariot	Arousal			Hermit	Becoming

Dreampower and the Inverted Tree

"The Dreampower cards are uttered or generated out of a different tree pattern. This one grows in reverse, with its roots in our outer world, reaching through the Underworld, with its crown in the mysterious Realm of universal being deep below or within all forms...By the time we reach the deepest Realm within ourselves, the Whirlpool, we have come to the stars within the earth, the universal being and power inherent within matter." (p. 11 The Dreampower Tarot)

Although Stewart doesn't use this terminology, you could think of the Underworld Tree (Gra shape) as attatched to the Overworld Tree (Kircher shape) through Malkuth. Malkuth is the 10th sphere on both trees. On the Underworld Tree, as you descend you progress, eventually experiencing the universal nature of consciousness. The Gra-shape is the perfected tree, the balanced tree, the tree before the Fall.

Similar to the struggle Stewart describes about "trying to force a pattern intellectually" and pushing "the true insights away", for a long time, I kept trying to understand the Underworld Tree as simply an upside down version of the tree underlying Merlin, with two paths moved. But the relationship is actually more complex. The Underworld tree is not merely upside down, it is in some ways inside out, as I'll show below.

Transformation Process - Getting to Dreampower's Realms from the Inverted Tree

"The Three Realms of Stone, Pearl and Whirlpool are the Underworld or primal reality out of which our surface world is reflected.
The overall idea is that our world or collective awareness is on the surface of existence, and that the primal reality is in the depths, not only of ourselves, but of the land and planet, which are of the universal Being." (p. 17, 22 The Dreampower Tarot)

The Stone Realm Reflection of Lunar World

"The Stone Realm ... holds and receives the power of the hidden Moon, power within the land, and some aspects of the power of the hidden Sun, the Sun at Midnight which is experienced more directly within ourselves in the Pearl Realm." (p. 18 The Dreampower Tarot)

Simply by inverting the lunar world portion of the (Gray) tree, the Gate and Teller are in position. If you can imagine pulling Yesod in the yellow diagram down below the horizontal path between Hod and Netzach, so that you have a diamond shape, all you need to do to complete the transformation is have Sleeper and Choir swap sides. (Note that because this is a tarot of the Underworld, all the planetary and Hebrew sephirotic correspondences are not part of this model.)

Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower	Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower
Upper Left	Universe	The Teller
Upper Right	Fool	The Gate	Horizontal	Fortune	The Table
Lower Left	Magician	The Choir	Vertical	Moon	The Stone
Lower Right	Priestess	The Sleeper

Bridging the Stone and Pearl Realms

Paths that were inside become outside.

Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower
Left Side	Lovers	Division
Right Side	Chariot	Arousal

The Pearl Realm Reflection of Solar World

"The Pearl Realm is the luminous light within the Underworld. It is also our consciousness deep within, where light arises spontaneously, often when we least expect it." (p. 19 The Dreampower Tarot)

Paths that were outside become inside, and rotate one position.

Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower	Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower
Upper Left	Guardian (Devil)	The Tangler
Upper Right	Death	The Opener	Horizontal	Justice	The Stairway
Lower Left	Empress	The Maiden	Vertical	Sun	The Seed Pearl
Lower Right	Emperor	The Raptor

Bridging the Pearl and Whirlpool Realms

What was the upper "V" goes to the outside. Again, inside swaps to outside.

Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower
Left Side	Temperance	Conjunction
Right Side	Hermit	Becoming

The Whirlpool Realm Reflection of Stellar World

"In the Whirlpool Realm we find the deepest intimations of our inherent universal Being." (p. 20 The Dreampower Tarot)

Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower	Location	Standard Tarot Equivalent	Dreampower
Upper Left	Strength	The Maker
Upper Right	Tower	The Maze	Horizontal	Judgment	The Observatory
Lower Left	Innocent (Hierophant)	The Void	Vertical	Star	The Whirlpool
Lower Right	Hanged Man	The Knower

This new tree, and the harmonics it highlights between cards is extremely interesting when applied back to traditional Tarot as well. May this bear fruit in your own meditations.

Illustration credits: Alleged Tarot by Damian Cugley
The Merlin Tarot: designed by R J Stewart, illustrated by Miranda Gray. first published 1983, most recent edition 2004, Harper/Element, UK
The Dreampower Tarot: designed by R J Stewart, illustrated by Stuart Littlejohn. Published 1993, Harper/Aquarian, UK. currently out of print. All rights reserved worldwide.
R J Stewart's Dreampower website