12 QiGuanChangHong 气貫長虹

Qi Transforms into a Rainbow

XIV: Art

Drawing the bow

The obvious link is the Big Rainbow, but there is also for me an archer feeling. There is something about this movement that is reminiscent of drawing a bow. Something about the arch of gravity's rainbow.

"Sagittarius means “the archer”; the traditional image of this card is that of Diana the Huntress. We see echoes of this original theme in the two bows near the top of the card and the tiny upward-pointing arrow rising in the rainbow fumes of the cauldron."

-- Lon Milo Duquette, "Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot"

Here also we see Lion and Phoenix, cognate maybe to Tiger and Dragon. The figures from the Alchemical Marriage from The Lovers (which I link to the next movement), united here, opposites blending harmoniously.

"This movement symbolizes strong Qi that is capable of creating a union between the human being and nature. The symbolic meaning of this movement is the tiger transforming into the dragon – a marked change in form and function. It also represents the communication between east and west and the harmony of Yin and Yang." -- Master Wu

Master Wu says this movement is associated with the Governing Channel, so it's interesting to see the Ascent of the arrow so clearly shooting up the dyadic figure's Conception Vessel from the cauldron of the Lower DanTian.

It splits at the heart and the wraps the figures shoulders like a shawl, crossing the back at looks like GV 9 to me. The shape of this shawl strongly reminds me of the thoracic diaphragm.

There is often a feeling of symmetry or mirroring between the Tarot and LaohuGong. Of transposition.