This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, published by Kunati in September 2008.

A Theory of Everything (TOE for short) is a single, coherent theory that explains all the phenomena in the universe. Many physicists, including Einstein, have tried and failed to find a TOE – it remains the scientific equivalent of the Holy Grail. Any TOE must reconcile quantum theory and relativity and also explain the many different types of elementary particles. A current contender for the title may be M-Theory (see the Sun card).

We are limited beings, but our imaginations encompass the infinite. The Judgement card shows the process of waking up to a world beyond limits, and the World shows the next step – accepting the paradox of limited existence in an infinite universe. Traditionally the World shows a dancer, a naked, androgynous figure floating in space, bounded by a circular wreath. The World dancer demonstrates the ability to live happily in material reality while still being aware of the unseen and unbounded levels of being. The World brings us back full circle to the innocence of the Fool, but now the innocence is consciously chosen and embraced.

World Questions: In what area of life have you come full circle? What have you completed? Are you ready to dance?

World Things to Do: Celebrate the completion of a project. Share your wisdom. Start a new cycle.

World Quotes: We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, published by Kunati in September 2008.

The multiverse is where new physics starts to sound like something out of Star Trek. This highly speculative theory suggests that instead of one universe – our universe – there may be many, or infinite, universes all going on at the same time. These universes may be connected to each other or totally independent. They may all have the same laws as our own universe – or not! One version of the theory claims that universes are seeded by black holes, and in fact own universe may have started off as a black hole in another universe.

The idea of a multiverse is pretty challenging to contemplate. Even one infinite universe is hard for us to imagine, let alone an infinite number! We feel the stretch of our limitations when confronted with such ideas. The Judgement card throws down this same kind of mind-expanding challenge. It represents a time when we must grow in awareness, awaken to a new level of reality. Sometimes this may feel like a rude and difficult awakening, as the light of understanding may be blinding. We may be pushed way outside our comfort zone, but Judgement represents a great opportunity, a time of potential where we can awaken to the beauty and wholeness of our true selves.

Judgement Questions: What lost part of you has been reborn? What wake-up call have you received? How are you being challenged to grow?

Judgement Things to Do: Start believing again in your lost dreams. Take a step outside your comfort zone. Become aware of what you have previously resisted or ignored. Do something you believe you cannot do.

Judgement Quotes: The awakening is
to transformation,
word after word. Denise Levertov

And you shall wake, from country sleep, this dawn and each first dawn,
Your faith as deathless as the outcry of the ruled sun. Dylan Thomas

He hath awakened from the dream of life. Percy Bysshe Shelley

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.

String theory (see the Star card), suggests that fundamental particles are tiny vibrating strings. Superstring theory extended this vibration into ten dimensions (see the Moon card). But then physicists hit a problem; there are actually five different versions on superstring theory and no-one could work out which was the “right” one. M-theory offered a way out by suggesting that each of the five theories are in fact different aspects of the same theory. It added yet another spatial dimension to make this work, so the current thinking is that strings vibrate in eleven dimensions – the three normal spatial dimensions plus time, and seven tiny, curled-up dimensions.

M-theory represents a powerful shift in awareness in the field of theoretical physics, bringing us one step nearer to understanding the nature of the universe. The unification of five disparate elements into one over-arching theory parallels the Sun card’s function in unifying the different aspects of our personalities. When the Sun appears in a reading it shows that we have reached a level of awareness when all of our different inner voices are singing in harmony. We are one step closer to expressing our true selves, and our inner light is beginning to shine. People are drawn to us because we radiate a quiet warmth and power, a strength that is drawn from our increased connection to our inner wisdom.

Sun Questions:  What are you becoming conscious of? What areas of your life are coming together? How is your awareness expanding? Who is being drawn to your inner radiance?

Sun Things to Do:  Express your ideas to others. Sing. Look at yourself naked in the mirror (you can sing at the same time too!). Be true to yourself.

Sun Quotes:  There are moments of existence when time and space are more profound, and the awareness of existence is immensely heightened. Charles Baudelaire

Man’s task is to become conscious of the contents that press upward from the unconscious. C.G. Jung

The man who is aware of himself is henceforward independent; and he is never bored, and life is only too short, and he is steeped through and through with a profound yet temperate happiness. He alone lives, while other people, slaves of ceremony, let life slip past them in a kind of dream. Virginia Woolf

Shine out, my sudden angel,
Break fear with breast and brow,
I take you now and for always,
For always is always now. Philip Larkin

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.

If string theory (see the Star card) is correct, all the fundamental particles in the universe comprise of tiny loops, or strings, that vibrate at different frequencies. The early versions of string theory suggested that strings have only one dimension, but then superstring theory proposed that strings might vibrate in ten dimensions! How is this possible? Well, apart from the three dimensions of ordinary space, and one of time, the theory claims that the other six dimensions are curled up, or compressed into a very tiny space. The strings wind themselves around these "curled up" dimensions like a kind of cosmic cat's cradle.
Because these other dimensions occupy such an unimaginably small space, we may move through them all the time without realising it. The Moon represents this idea that there is much more to the world than we are usually aware of. These inaccessible extra dimensions are like the extra dimensions of our lives; hints, hunches, movements out of the corners of our eye. The Moon represents a fearful mystery to those who like everything to be explained. To the more intuitively or psychically-minded, this sense of something extra, something more than we can detect with our everyday, physical senses, is no surprise. The Moon shows up when the indefinable starts demanding attention in our consciousness - and to the conscious mind this can seem like a threat.

Moon Questions:  What are you struggling to explain? What makes you irrationally afraid? What intuition is rising into your conscious mind? What strange thing are you desperately trying to ignore?

Moon Things to Do:  Get a tarot reading. Make a note of your dreams. Take notice of your "hunches." Go with your gut, even if it seems completely illogical.

Moon Quotes:  There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Shakespeare, Hamlet

Strange to say, the luminous world is the invisible world; the luminous world is that which we do not see. Our eyes of flesh see only night. Victor Hugo

The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable. Italo Calvino

Our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different. William James

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.

Quantum theory and general relativity - the two landmark discoveries of 20th century physics - have revolutionised the way we understand the world. There's one problem; they don't work together. Quantum theory is excellent at explaining the microscopic world of the atom, whereas general relativity is very good at describing the universe on a grand scale. But for more than fifty years, physicists have struggled unsuccessfully to combine these two ideas into one grand, unified theory that describes the entire universe.

At last, string theory offers the real possibility of unification. In the standard model of physics, subatomic particles are seen as tiny, single points. String theory replaces these points with a vibrating loop, or string. The string may be an open length, like a real piece of string, or a closed loop like an elastic band. The size and frequency of the string's vibration determine what kind of particle it is. The only problem is that strings are unbelievably, unimaginably small and there is as yet no way of observing or measuring them directly. Until a method can be found, there's no way of conclusively proving the theory.

However, string theory offers real hope for a more integrated understanding of our universe. In the same way, the Star card represents hope and possibility. Traditionally, the Star card depicts a naked woman pouring water from a jug, surrounded by stars. This is a card of spiritual awakening, of expanded consciousness, of vision. We become aware of the boundless energy of the universe; how it flows through everything, including us. The Star takes us to a place of no limits, where anything and everything is possible. This is a time to allow every possibility to flow through us without censorship or judgement.

Star Questions: What new possibilities are on the horizon? Are you allowing yourself to feel hope? Do you need to let go of limited thinking? What would you do if anything was possible?

Star Things to Do: Create a Mindmap. Daydream. Do something you've never done before. Make a list of all the impossible things you'd like to do.

Star Quotes: "Hope" is the thing with feathers-
That perches in the soul-
And sings the tunes without the words-
And never stops-at all- Emily Dickinson

Where there is no vision, the people perish. The Bible, Proverbs 29:18

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.... Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. CG Jung

Hope is the cordial that keeps life from stagnating. Samuel Richardson

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.

The concept of quantum foam evolved out of an attempt to reconcile Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics. The idea was to treat gravity as a field, linking space and time – the arena of general relativity – to quantum theory’s uncertainty principle. The result predicted was that at sub-microscopic levels (and we’re talking unbelievably tiny here) space-time would become unpredictable and chaotic. Hence quantum foam; a kind of cosmic bubble bath with black holes and wormholes forming and dissolving at alarming rates, a strange and frightening world strikingly at odds with the apparent stability of the material world.

Quantum foam gives us the perfect image for the Tower. In traditional tarot decks, a tower is shown struck by lightning and two figures fall, perhaps to their deaths. The Tower symbolises disruption and shock, a break in the continuity of life. The tower looks so safe and solid, but those falling people have been forcibly ejected from all that seems to promise security.

The Tower is a challenging card, but it is not negative and not to be feared. After the shock of being thrown out of our comfort zone we often realise how our old ways of thinking and being are restricting us, and we wake up to the positive side of the Tower’s message – freedom. The lightning strike is also the flash of illumination or inspiration, where we are filled with a sudden and unexpected understanding, an experience of total insight or even enlightenment.

Tower Questions: What comfort zone do you need to escape from? What shock have you suffered? What illumination have you gained? What “eureka moment” have you experienced?

Tower Things to Do: Brainstorm. Break a habit. Challenge your thinking (or get someone to do it for you!). Do something you’ve never done before, even (in fact especially) if you think you’ll hate it.

Tower Quotes: The lightning flashes through my skull; mine eyeballs ache and ache; my whole beaten brain seems as beheaded, and rolling on some stunning ground. Herman Melville, Moby Dick

This is a catastrophic universe, always; and subject to sudden reversals, upheavals, changes, cataclysms, with joy never anything but the song of substance under pressure forced into new forms and shapes. Doris Lessing

Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds. George Santayana

When reason and unreason come into contact, an electrical shock occurs. This is called polemics. Friedrich Von Schlegel

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.
The Devil represents this kind of powerful, irresistible force that sucks us in. We may be seduced by the power of an individual or an idea, such as fame or wealth. Once trapped, we realise we have paid for our gains with our freedom – but then of course it is too late. The Devil symbolises relationships of all kinds that involve subjugation. The key to this card is imbalance of power; wherever we believe we are in someone else’s power, the Devil is present. Underneath the imbalance, the Devil indicates an immense reservoir of energy that has got stuck. Our challenge is to set it free.

Devil Questions: Who or what are you in thrall to? What is sucking away your energy? Where are you not free? Where do you feel powerless?

Devil Things to Do: Examine your addictions (however trivial they seem). Consider what you irrationally desire. Look at the things (or people) that repeatedly drain your energy.

Devil Quotes: Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. Bible, Luke 4:5

The Goddess Fortune is the devil’s servant, ready to kiss any one’s arse. William Blake

Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight path. Dante, Inferno

The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. Milton, Paradise Lost

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.

As an unintentional side-effect of one of many attempts to incorporate gravity and quantum theory, an unusual theory was developed. It suggested that each matter and force carrier particle in the universe ought to have a shadow, or supersymmetric, particle, far more massive than the original. For example, a quark should have a massive shadow particle called a squark. This is a very persuasive and interesting theory – the trouble is, none of these shadow particles has ever been found. However, the shadow particles might be too massive for current particle accelerators to find, and so as technology improves supersymmetric particles may yet be discovered. Let’s hope so, because supersymmetry is a necessary part of superstring theory and if these particles were found it would be an important first step towards proving string theory.

Supersymmetry was first developed as a way of blending two incompatible theories; Einstein’s relativistic description of gravity and quantum mechanics. The Temperance card represents this symbolically as the idea of blending different, often contradictory, elements. Traditional Temperance cards depict an angel pouring liquid from one cup to another, representing the refining process crucial to our growth. We continually mix, blend, separate and re-blend the different parts of ourselves, and when Temperance appears, it reminds us that we are in a particularly fluid stage of our personal evolution.

Temperance Questions: Are you happy with the balance of your life? What is the quality of your current “blend”? What new element needs to be included? What needs to be drained away?

Temperance Things to Do: Make bread. Make a cocktail. Read a self-help book. Reassess your priorities.

Temperance Quotes: Only after much tempering is steel produced. Chinese proverb.

So divinely is the world organized that every one of us, in our place and time, is in balance with everything else. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Sex is the balance of male and female in the universe. DH Lawrence.

Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense of truthfulness. Willa Cather

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.

Every particle has a corresponding antimatter particle. Antimatter has an opposite charge to ordinary matter, like the negatively-charged electron which has a positive antiparticle known as a positron (familiar to all viewers of Star Trek!). When a particle meets its antiparticle partner they annihilate each other in pure energy, which then goes on to form other particles.

This card from my deck, the Quantum Tarot, illustrated by Chris Butler, to be published by Kunati in September 2008.

The development of the uncertainty principle in the late 1920’s was a key moment in the evolution of quantum theory. German physicist Werner Heisenberg realised that it was impossible to know the exact position of a subatomic particle and its momentum at the same time with total accuracy. This is because subatomic particles exhibit both wave- and particle-like behaviour, and so cannot be completely defined as either. Heisenberg found a way of stating the problem mathematically, combining Planck’s constant (see the Justice card) and the inexact science of probability.

The uncertainty principle, like the Hanged Man, turns everything upside-down. Physicists in the early 20th century, trained to think in terms of precision and exactitude, were understandably resistant to the idea that the stuff of our universe is, at a fundamental level, imprecise and inexact. The Hanged Man card represents a state of existential confusion, where our old ways of thinking and being don’t work anymore. The image of a man dangling (apparently willingly) from his ankle is a resonant and complex one; the essential message is that something must be willingly relinquished in order to gain something greater. It symbolises the difficult moment when the old has been sacrificed but the new has yet to be born.

Hanged Man Questions: What has been turned upside-down? What strategy has stopped working? What habit or way of thinking do you need to let go of? What are you uncertain of? What are you getting hung up on?

Hanged Man Things to Do: Absolutely nothing. Meditate. Get a tarot reading. Give something away.

Hanged Man Quotes: Sacrifice is nothing other than the production of sacred things. Georges Batailles

There’s only one effectively redemptive sacrifice, the sacrifice of self-will to make room for the knowledge of God. Aldous Huxley

In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. TS Eliot, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock

When a contradiction is impossible to resolve except by a lie, then we know that it is really a door. Simone Weil