Is gaming a form of happiness? Well, according to Aristotel, it is not but since human beings can not suffer all the time at least they can do is to have some fun…

And they do have fun for a long, long time now…

Few days ago, I came across a story from ancient Egypt about a Queen and a King, brother and sister, so great that they were governing above time and space. He was Geb and dominated the Earth, she was Nut and dominated the sky. Their incestuous love upset Ra, the greatest Sun God of all, and he, consequently, prohibited Nut to shine in a certain month, in a certain year. But Nut had also a secret lover, Toth, a divine writer, scholar and master of the games. In order to lift the curse, he proposed Nut to play a “table game” which, of course, he would win. The Moon was obliged to give him the 7th part of each night she was allowed to shine. Toth had formed with these fractions 5 days that he added up to the existing 360 ones. And since these days were not part of year months, Nut could give birth to 5 children: Osiris, Haroeris, Seth, Isis and Nefitis.

Oamenii au jucat jocuri încă din antichitate: Mehen (unul dintre cele mai vechi jocuri care arăta ca un șarpe răsucit în jurul propriei cozi), Senet (cu zaruri și pioni), Tabas (un fel de zaruri din oase de animale) etc. Deși interzise secole de-a rândul, jocurile de hazard (din spaniolă – azar = zaruri) au fascinat și încă fascinează oamenii din toată lumea fie ca modalități de distracție, de divinație sau de a evada dintr-o realitate plină de suferință, fie, pentru unii, pentru oportunitatea unui câștig.

According to Marie von Franz*, Jung’s most acclaimed disciple, there is much to be said about gaming, gambling, chance and synchronicity.

Synchronicityis centered on time concept. The real question is not Why has this happened? but rather What is most probable to significantly happen in the same time? Systemic coaching and therapies are highly using this framework so they should have much to talk about the subject. According to von Franz the cause-effect mental pattern is highly dividing the physical and psychological events. We tend with this pattern to follow only the effects of physical happenings but are there any psychological causes for physical events? Or vice-versa?

The basis for the synchronistic mental system is formed by the natural numbers, which are also the basis for divination. Head or Tail?, what say you? I Ching was a primitive oracle that King Wen and Chou Duke have transformed into a philosophical system. The Chinese never thought in terms of quantity but rather in qualitative labels. According to their beliefs the Universe has a basic rhythm and all the relationships between things, inward or outward, reflect this numerical pattern. For them everything is an energy flow.

4	9	2
3	5	7
8	1	6

Lo Shu (Basic Rhythm)

		7
		2
8	3	5	4	9
		1
		6

Ho-Tou (eternity rhythm).

According to Jung the most primitive form of the spirit is the number. And according to primitive beliefs only Gods can count. At Yoruba tribe when someone pass away it is said “His number was up” meaning that he died in harmony.

Probabilities are the basis for gamblers and gambling and these, too, are connect with chance, synchronicity and archetypes.

So, to close up this time travel, we come back to the present days and we present you, on short, the Gambler Archetype.

Superstitious much? Like cards, craps, and guessing games? Do you play the odds even when you know they are not in your favor because the jackpot is winking to you? Do you think when Lady Luck brushes against you you’ll have the magic touch on slot machines, lottery tickets, street games, horse races, and any game at all? Then, hello, Gambler!

Gambler Superpowers