In the cultural traditions generally understood as "western", it is an underappreciated fact that the circus arts can frequently play the role of yogas (gymnosophistry), which bring mind body and spirit together in the form of deeply engrained muscle memories.
This is strategy of proprioceptive contemplation which can furnish us with a profound and physical understanding of the driving logic behind certain complex and seemingly abstract domains.
Circus is an under-recognized spiritual path in its own right.
Circus tricks are performed for money, and sometimes for a livng, but often in truth they are practiced and learned in a way that is similar to a quest. This is the secret circus, and it is linked thematically to the Tarot.
Clowning, magic, sleight of hand, juggling, acrobatics, aerial acts, strong man acts - it's all in the Tarot. The Tarot encodes the carnivalesque sacred that has survived hidden in plain sight. Salute to Rabelais.
Unicycle is a discipline that teaches us to find our center of balance and stay atop a turning wheel. For this reason, if a practitioner wished to unlock a powerful intrinsic understanding of the Wheel of Fortune, they might choose to learn unicycle.
I made special decals for my unicycle that converts it into a working wheel of fortune. Spin the wheel, get a card.
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