Rebel Heart: The Tanya Montana Coe Interview

Tanya Montana Coe is my little sister. We have the same parents, initials and matching wrist tattoos. It's adorable. Tanya has recently completed her debut album (produced by Shane Tutmarc) and, no surprises, it's amazing. Titled Silver Bullet, it is easily the best collection of songs released by someone named Coe since the mid-'80s. Knowing first-hand the property tax on that name, I couldn't be more proud of her for making this album.

*UPDATE: June 29, 2015*

I'm incredibly happy to announce that Silver Bullet will be released on my label, Thee Medea Complex, on August 30, 2015. When conducting the below interview with Tanya, I had no intentions of forming a label or working with her in any professional capacity.

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Hierophant: A Secret Shared, or, The Labyrinth

The word "mystery" has been used heavily in my Tarot articles, often in reference to concepts supposed to exist beyond the scope of human understanding, like with The High Priestess. The Hierophant brings with him an experiential knowledge, theoretically attainable by all humanity, which is known as "Enlightenment" in many circles. (Ta hiera, "the holy" + phainein, "to show.") The Hierophant lives inside us, allowing occasional glimpses or, sometimes, powerful revelations of a Reality beneath, or imbued within, that which we see in our daily existence. 

Tarot is generally of interest to those persons attracted to the fringe. "Occult" means hidden, of course. These cards were created to hide in plain sight the secrets of practices (like, say, Christianity) which were punishable by death at certain times in history. The Hierophant card, previously "Le Pape," or The Pope, most explicitly reveals this side of Tarot. Very clearly, the main figure of the image is in possession of some power, ability, or wisdom sought by the characters kneeling in front of him. But what?

The Emperor's Power

The Emperor introduces a masculine conflict to the story of Tarot. The card is attributed to the astrological sign of Aries, ruled by the Roman war god, Mars; also, the alchemical concept of Sulphur, the masculine/activating principle of existence, motivated by the fire of Tetragrammaton, the four-fold name of God. [Though this significance is most explicitly assigned to The Hermit.]

The Emperor is Major Arcanum IV. The fourth Sephirah is Chesed, which is the sphere of Construction and Order. Its symbols are four-sided: the square, pyramid and equal-armed cross; symbols of physical manifestation. The attributions of Chesed and philosophy of Four are, therefore, attributed here, despite the fact that The Emperor does not come into contact with Chesed upon The Tree.

While energies of Force and Form are seen here, there is an implied threat of disharmony. Without regulation, the intensity of force would destroy and render all form into chaos. Too much emphasis placed on enforcing Law and Order in the realm is indicative of a cruel dictator, stifling of all growth. Consciously received, with full understanding of its role, the Power of The Emperor brings great satisfaction and productivity to one's life.

The Empress Fulfilled

Here we have The Empress. The High Priestess has matured. It is no accident that the first clearly gendered forms of the Major Arcana are Female. The pansexual Fool and Magus energies must either manifest in Form or dissipate into Abyss. A vessel is required for Life to occur.

I am extremely busy this week. As you've probably noticed, my opinion is that the Thoth Tarot is the only deck that matters. As my time is scarce and The Empress card is a representation of balance between ideas we've already discussed, a cursory examination of Aleister Crowley's design will suffice.

The High Priestess' Secret

In examining The Fool and The Magus, we've introduced the concept of three Paths simultaneously emanating from Kether's appearance. One of these is The High Priestess, which is the first Path on the Tree of Life to connect the Supernal Triad (Kether, Chockmah, Binah) to the Sephiroth below and the only direct Path between Kether and the lower Tree. This journey traverses The Abyss that separates Modes of Consciousness accessible to humans from those purely theoretical; the Veil of Maya.

The High Priestess is also the first Trump to depict a gendered form. Here is Divine Feminine Intuition. The Hebrew letter assigned to the card, Gimel, translates to "Camel," the pack animal capable of traveling the desert with cargo intact. Here, more than anywhere on The Tree, lie The Great Mysteries of Life and Death; here is where The Seeker of Knowledge meets She Who Knows That Which Never Is Known.