  The Thoth Tarot-TEN OF CUPS-SATIETY & The Barbara Walker Tarot-10 of Cups-SALVATION:Astrologically this card is Mars in Pisces, therefore, we have a oddity.  Normally
you would think that Mars combined with a water sign would signify a
dispersal of energy and some frustration. But in this case, the fire of
Mars causes a kind of steamy evaporation of the Watery sign of Pisces to
expand into the world of Briah, (the unconscious Mental World of Creativity) bringing
great success in the Material World where dreams have enough "Steam" to
materialize.  The Thoth-10 of Cups, illustrates that happiness is "inspired from above" and in ordinary divination means that matters definitely arranged and settled as wished, permanent and lasting success of one issue.Knowing
that Traditional Tarot is best applied to mundane matters, any explanation of this
card should stop here; However, the work proper to water (unconscious)
is complete, and disturbance is due. This Satiety, will last about 10
weeks or at the most 10 months, and then it will be time to move on
before the watery realm of emotion becomes stagnant forming into a
static kind of sophistry. The Thoth Ten of Cups, Satiety, although in the
seemingly stable form of the Tree of Life, has a conflicting element
that causes a tilting of the Cups, spilling water from the Great Lotus
that overhangs the whole system. As stated:This conflict is from Mars in
Pisces. Mars is a noted gross, violent force, depicted in Myth as the
God of War who attacks any noted imperfection. Pisces, is notably
peaceful, spiritual, sensitive, psychic, and receptive and not inspired by Mars is brutality,
fiery passions and domineering tenancies.This combination means that the proper work of Water
is done, and a substantial disturbance is on the horizon. In fact, Mars in Pisces,
is considered by many astrologers to be the worst position of the 12
signs. Yet, through all this supposed astrological doom and gloom, when this card is thrown during a reading,
it means that emotional matters on one issue, are definitely arranged and
settled...for the moment. Pleasure proceeds, to dissipation and putrefaction, as energy-in-motion follows the second law of thermodynamics
[..All things proceed from order to disorder]. The message here is ,"
Enjoy the moment of completion, all is done; sit back, have a dram",
but laurels soon wilt, and next you'll be called on to preform at your best,
as the gematria of 1+0=1, which means an event needing Willful intent (Magus)
will soon apply.  Therefore, Ten is a number
that when added together [1+0 =1), you end up at the beginning. It is
the "up the down staircase" number that places us on top of one flight
of stairs, only to find out that we are at the bottom of another flight.In Tarot it is common to call the Ten of Cups, permanent success,
but Qabalists know it is only on one issue and that the only
permanency in this One Energy in Motion-Universe, is change/transformation. Yet
here dances the "Lord of Material Happiness", the tenth Sephiroth,
Malkuth and all seems well...but then we all know how long happiness in
material things lasts!  Both The Thoth-Ten of Cups-Satiety & The Barbara Walker 10 of Cups: Salvation, highlight the issue of attaining an earthly paradise, of harmonious love, security, peace, and union. As Barbara Walker States: " A true salvation from men's greatest fears: loneliness or abandonment."Suggesting a very deep Satiety. Hence, both cards represents deep
emotional contentment that radiates outwardly from the inner self. Throughout the underground history and tradition of pagan religions, this paradise of internal harmony, was known as the external Fairyland, or Joyous Gard, Venus's Mount (mons veneris), Torelore, The Castle of the Holy Grail on Montsalvatch, and/or the Mount of Salvation. The Arthurian Grail legend, although partially Christianized, identified the mistress of the divine castle as Elaine or Elen, an ancient Celtic name for the Moon Goddess. Therefore, both the castle, Elaine and the hero "care taker of the Grail" are shown on B.W.'s Card. Here is represented a literal and immediate and human reading of salvation through love. The Thoth Tarot 10 of Cups, has a
back ground pattern that the radiant cups rest on, representing the Qabalistic Tree
of Life which is the symbol of the "Supreme Being" and/or Adam
Khadmond, showing that this card symbolizes complete emotional, mental,
and physical contentment. However, complete as it is, the Astrological aspect of this
card is the Red- Warrior, Mars in Pisces. Therefore, it also states that due to the dynamic vitality
and sometimes violent motion of Mars, the peaceful waters (emotions)
of Pisces are soon to be disturbed. This should not surprise any of us
since change is the only constant in life. Hence, it is suggested that for now, enjoy the deep
satisfaction of a job well done that comes from an alignment of all the
states of energy consciousness that we are composed of. This is an
experience of a deep spiritual nature of satisfaction that knows soon it
will be time to move on. To further promote understanding of the importance of the number 10 in Tarot, here are some interesting facts about the number 10 in both numerology and Qabalistic Gematria: Gematria:
 To reiterate: MALKUTH, Earth, is the 10th Serphiroth on the Tree of Life, and is the placement of the 4 Tarot- Tens.What is exceptional about this card, is that the general astrological meaning of Mars in Pisces doesn't apply. Pisces is a watery sign, and Mars would signify a dispersal of energy to a point of frustration.However, the meaning here is that fiery Mars causes the Waters of Pisces to rush furiously into Briah-The Creative World. bringing great success on the Material plane of Malkuth. The imagery of this card expresses the opinion that all happiness is inspired from above, i.e. comes from the Divine. One could say that Happiness, is a higher-inner state of energy consciousness, where Spirit-Body and Mind bask in equalized Love.To be sure, when Tarot is used for Divination, it is best applied to Mundane matters, where as the meaning may be different if applied to a more spiritual plane. The Placement of the cards, in the reading will clarify this statement. In ordinary matters, the divined meaning is ,
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 10 of Cups: Satiety & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 10 of Cups: Salvation
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- Ace of Disks & The Barbara Walker Tarot-Ace of Pentacles-Reward
  Thoth Tarot of the Hermetic Qabalah. The Thoth Ace of Disks & The Barbara Walker- Ace of Pentacles: Reward.In
the knowledge of Qabalistic Tarot of the Hermetic Qabalah, the four aces represent the "essence"
of the Force or Form, not the Forces or Forms themselves. This makes
them more esoteric than most other tarot cards, as they are not a
concept of vision, but rather intuition. Therefore they're quite above and distinct from the
other cards in the deck. The word Hermetic, comes form the Greek God Hermes, who was Mercury in Roman myth, and Thoth in Egyptian mythology. He was considered the messenger of the gods. The Word Qabalah, means "receiving", as in receiving the Higher Knowledge from the "Above Higher Self", as brought by Hermes/Magus, to the "below" self-conscious of mankind.  In the Tarot, the Four Aces form a link between the "Small cards" and/or the Minor Arcana
and the Princesses who rule Heavens around the quadrants of the North
Pole. This seems reasonable, since Female force called, Magnetic, and Male
Force is called, Electric/lightning. As an objective example, in the sky above the North
Pole, one will often see the visual aspect of the Magnetic feminine,
turning the solar-male electric into a form of colored light curtains in
the night sky; the Aurora Boralis of the northern hemisphere. Using the Great Pyramid
as a meridian, the Princesses ( Elohim of the Elements) Rule outward in an Eastward
flow, in the order of Tetragrammaton (The Whole God...you may want to
look this word up.), Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.This roughly places the
Aces-Princesses Wands over Asia, Cups over the Pacific Ocean, Swords the
Americas, Disks Europe and Africa. To carry this concept a little
deeper one may use the symbol of the Pentagram which represents Spirit
ruling over the four Elements and is the symbol for the Ascended and/or Triumphant Man.  Now I know the idea of Spirit as an element is very difficult to grasp. The Hebrew letter Shin
has to do double duty as both the letter of Fire and of Spirit as well.
Spirit is not as clear and concise in explanation like the other
Elements because it is the Movement within the Motion of everything else (Ace of Wands). It is the source of "microwaves", in our universe of electromagnetic Spectrum. What
may cause some confusion to the scholar of Gnosticism, is that In the
Enochian system, the Tablet of Spirit, is the key to all mischief and in
the Hindu system it is Akasha, the Egg of Darkness. To aid in dispelling obfuscation, it helps one to remember that Limitless light is Darkness, because it has no limits to view and also that being without limits means no ability to discern, therefore spirit can cause mischief in a material world of limits and rules. The point here,
is that the Aces are the seeds of the Elements and not the Elements
themselves. So when an ace shows up in a reading, "it is the seed" not
the event itself! How one cares for this seed, dictates what one harvests. The reader must also remember that an Ace represents a One Year period for that event seed to become a "Tree".  As
you continue your studies, the Seed of Gnosis (Knowledge) is planted, and in time
the Tree of Life and Death Grows As YOU, not from you, i.e., The Supreme Being that is the Qabalistic, Adam Khadmon. Hence, we belong to
Knowledge----it is not an "ego trip"or possession, as the phrase, "My
knowledge" would suggest but rather, "The Knowledge that owns me". I
would recommend that the Student of Gnosis use the second phrase when
expressing knowledge. What also can be confusing to the budding Qabalist, is that, Knowledge is the Invisible Sephiroth, called DAÄTH, that resides
on the Middle Path, just below Chokma and Binah (forming an equal armed
cross and/or Tau cross shown as the shoulders of the Adam Khadmon) and it is The Womb of the True YOU who is the Psyche; which
happens to be invisible because the True You is all about
Potential-Action-subjective intelligent energy and not the reactive-objective-condensed energy- you that
needs to own things to feel valuable. That is why it is called "The Gnosis" (The Knowledge) rather than "My Knowledge" which are two
very different perspectives from different sides of The Mirror. When I look from above to the below,
I am Knowledge who actively builds its person. When I look at my
reflection in a mirror, I call it Mine and react to it. Like I said,
difficult to grasp....but that just makes it more fun to discover!  The Qabalistic Thoth Ace of Disks represents the seed of the
Entity called Earth. The Quanta, may be called the seeds of Atoms and
atoms are unions of quanta, and considered living things.The Ace of Disks, as represented in the Thoth Deck, is layered idea, upon idea and requires a great study of Crowley's Liber Al, and 777 along with the Equinox to
understand the Magick involved.  The Ace of Disks, shows a spinning Mandala,
for that is what the Earth, Luna, and Sun union is. It is the Mandala
of Sacred Life on Earth/Malkuth, the Kingdom of Living Light. This
combination of Atoms, photons, electrons, neutrons etc spinning together
to form an Entity, is a great sacred act of Divine Phallus
(Solar-electric forces) and Divine womb (magnetic forces) that have been
represented in Mythology as long as it has been recorded. We have a
modern study of this Myth (theory) and call it Theoretical Quantum
Physics . The Quanta are sub-atomic particles and can be called the "Seeds of Atoms". Study Quantum physics if you want a more detailed explanation of
this perspective.The Thoth Ace of Disks is also considered a Mandala for the New Aeon of Horus.
This card is layered depths of Gnosis (Knowledge) that can never be
seen by first glance and requires in-depth study of the Tree of Life and skrying of the Ace.
The "Will to Be", required Non-Being to weave patterns of fantasy of "I Will Be", so that it could be Itself. The Universe is the Fantasy of The Universal Collective Unconscious, where The Divine Creative becomes you in order to become intimate with its creations! To
even get a glimmer of understanding of this is to revise your
perspectives on Fantasy. Every thought you think is a Fantasy, until the sensual magick- physical body makes fantasy into "reality" by sensitizing it and enacting it. Therefore, we
are the Playwright, the Play, the Actor and the Stage of our Fantasies, i.e. Psychosomatic...something that Shakespeare alluded to.
As I said, reality is a weaving of layers upon layers of Dream-Fantasy forming a Fractal we call reality.
All the Universe is in the Mind of One Conscious Energy that Carl Jung
called The Universal Collective Unconscious. All the Dreams of this Mind, are animated by the Union of Goddess (magnetic womb of Imagination) and God (electric Phallus-Solar Conscious). The Thoth Ace of Disks is a glyph of Earth
in the new Aeon of Horus. In this new age we realized that we Fantasize
our world, so why not make a Great Fantasy of Union and Love, rather
than the brutal Fantasy of divisionism and war? That is why Crowley calls the element of Earth cards, Disks instead of Pentacles, as most other decks do. It is Alive, spinning, Layer upon layer of the Greater Self-Awareness and Love-of-being; a realization that builds the All.For the Card Reader,
the Ace of Disks mundanely means the seeds of Material gain are sown,
labor, power, wealth and all things of earthly material are in the
works for the Querent. It represents materialism, in all sense of the
word, be that good or evil. So in a sense, it is illusion. Our Fantasy,
our Dreams, shape the reality of our world; all phenomena is imagined.
There is the process of Neti-Neti (Hindu for "Not this-Not that") that may
come with this card and is the motivating power of consumerism. This is a
process where the querent is gathering stuff to make them happy and
finding out that "He who dies with the most stuff" is not happy, nor can "happiness be pursued".  Happiness is a state of gratitude, that brings on an equilibrium of the Whole Being, not a state of consumerism. Seeking validation through possessions, produces a turmoil of not this-not that. "...To
know thyself" is to know that Validation made you manifest, to seek
validation is to deny yourself as valid! To the Divine Self, creation is a
validation of I Am Me. " I am, therefore I am valid", is a proper
knowing of happiness. To Reiterate: The Thoth Tarot- Ace of Disks, represents the seed of the
Energy Transformation that we call Earth. The knowledge of the new Aeon
of Horus, dispels the archaic concept of Earth as a evil, passive,
immobile, even dead element . Rather, Earth is a transformation of
Intelligent Energy Conscious that many moderns call Gaea.  The Barbara Walker Tarot-Ace of Pentacles, not only uses the traditional naming of the Ace of Earth, she shows the Pentagram, which came from the natural model of the five pointed star one gets from slicing an apple in half-transversely. This was the Star of Knowledge, to the Gypsies, to the ancient Greeks it was the revelation of the Goddess, Kore, the Virgin Goddess in the center of the Earth. Therefore, her Hermetic art, shows The Virgin Kore, intertwine with the "World Serpent" (Sata to the Egyptians), positioned to form the "symbol of Mankind", the Pentagram. In Egypt, the pentagram, was a hieroglyph that represented the female regenerative spirit in the womb of the Earth.[Budge, E.L.,75]Later on, the Egyptian pentagram became the symbol of St. Anne, whom the Christians considered the mother of the Virgin Mary, formerly the pagan's Grandmother Goddess, Anna, mother of the Virgin Mari.[Brewster, 343]. But, this is not the only revisionism of the Christians, for the Christian mystics claimed that the Virgin Mary, was a reincarnation of the Apple-goddess Eve, who was once worshiped as the soul of the Earth. This Psyche of Earth had many names in the ancient world, she was Hvov in Persia, Hebe or Hebat in Anatolia, Eveh in Assyria, Hawwa, or "life" in Haiti; Babylonians called her, "Goddess of the Tree of Life" and/or "The Divine Lady of Eden". Many myths implied that Eve's apple, with its inner pentacle core, represented the original gift of life, rather than the Christian "original sin". For example, the Norse Goddess, Idun, kept the god's alive with apples from her western garden. Morgan le Fay gave Celtic heroes eternal life with her magic apples from Avalon. Also, Mother Hera preserved the lives of the Olympian gods with fruit from her Hesperian apple tree, which was guarded by a great serpent. Therefore the myths and the art work also places the Tarot-Princess-Virgin with the Ace of Pentacles.  Now these traditional names may
all be new to us of the "Divide and Conquer" military industrial
complex, whose soul/psyche was meticulously divided from the body by Patricia religions, but as I tour my Soul, I find a Perspective-Personality, of
Native American manifestation who named this Intelligent Force of Earth,Grandmother River. This "primitive" personality, as did the
Alchemists, seemed to understand that the intertwining of " Water and Sun",
transformed the energy of soil into living forms, long before our
scientist "discovered" this very concept called "Thermodynamics" and/or Physics. The
Thoth Deck Ace of Disks, is an Avaunt Gard styled rendition of a Molecule, (the
union of atoms) shown over a back ground of the Emerald Green of the Aeon
of Isis (Grandmother River/Venus ). This Emerald Green is of the King-Scale
color decided upon by the Egyptian Hierophants. However, this green is
not the original vegetable green of Isis but that of the "
emerald-spring green" of the new Aeon following the resurrection of
Osiris as Horus. Therefore, the disks are not considered to be the dead chemistry
of coins; rather they are the whirling emblems of Star, Planets, atoms
etc, all of which are whirling spheres. There is depicted in the Thoth Card, the new doctrine of Tetragrammaton where Heh' --the
final earthly component of Yod Heh Vau Heh, the Daughter, is set upon the Throne of the
Mother, to awaken the Eld of the All-Father. In the words of Zoroaster, Tetragrammaton is a " rebounding, whirling forth, crying aloud." The
Name is not a dead symbol, but a whirling Sphere of Divine Action that we call Spirit. The
center of the Thoth Deck Ace of Disks, is a complicate Hieroglyph
representing the "the chosen priest- and apostle of infinite space"
and/or the "prince-priest the Beast." (Liber AL. I.15.). In the center
of all is yet another form of Tetragrammaton, the Phallus, showing Sol
and Luna, with the number 666 inscribed, as to equilibrating the seven-sevens adding to 156 (Babalon-The Scarlett woman.) For further explanation, and references, I recommend that
you get the Book of Thoth, and scroll to pages 210-212. To continue, this central cipher is enclosed in a
Heptagram that is interlaced with Pentagons whose sides are extended
forming a wheel of 10 spokes, bounded by a Decagon encompassed in a
circular band with the inscribed name of TO META 0HPION-- (basically meaning,"Before or Above, 0hpion" )'. About
this whirling Disk are its six wings (6 is the number of the Sun) The
Thoth Deck Ace of Disks is the glyph of Earth as understood in the new
Aeon of Horus. Sol and Terra are known as living beings, one's constant
companions in a Universe of Pure Joy.  As
mentioned, Kether, The Sephiroth that rules the Aces, is symbolized as
the Point, The Crown and the Swastika. If you have been following the
blogs, you know the point to imply completeness unto itself,
without dimension or external definition. The Point is also attributed
to the number 1 which mathematically has the potential for all other
numbers.The Crown symbolizes the Holy Guiding Spirit to which we may aspire. The Swastika, is actually a Buddhist symbol for the"First Swirlings" of manifestation and represents the swirling motion around the Point/Kether that emphasizes self contained energy-in-motion (emotion), this makes sense when one understands that Kether is described as "I Will BE"; the first emotion. To reiterate, the Four Aces are
the Root Force of the Alchemical Four elements. The Ace of Disks is the
Root Force behind physical manifestation, that governs the motion
within the movement of Matter.  The Greek words for " to the mark the beast"
appear in the center of the Thoth card. The number 666 also shows in this
card. This all shows the Earth to be the world of the Animal, as its
highest form. The God-Mind (Human) has changed this by expanding the
mammalian predator by Genetic Manipulation, combining the Animal DNA
with that of "the angels that fell to Earth",i.e., the Sumerian, Annanaki, thus proclaiming the human body is a
G.M.O, for the purpose of advanced evolutionary work; The Great Work,
which is to bring the Universal Divine Collective Unconscious, "the
above", Galactic Mind and "the below", individual consciousness, into perfect union.
Because it is an Animal mind, the Beast is seen by some as a lowly
thing, whereas The Divine Creative has seen the Beast to be worthy of
Daemon/Angelic status. I don't presume to question the Divine Creative
in this, I just exalt in my inheritance. Doing my best to Be the "As
above,so below".  According to Crowley, the central Hieroglyph is
that of "the chosen priest and apostle of infinite space," (The
Husband) ,"The prince-priest the Beast"< [Liber Al. I.15.]. Thus, the
Phallus is shown as the central symbol of this card, as that is the
symbol of Tetragrammaton ("rebounding, whirling forth, crying aloud,")
again showing the Sol (Phallus) Luna (Yoni) union of reflected light.
Crowley took this card as his personal Hieroglyph, so deep study is
required to understand his deep and subtle meanings implied by this
card. Purchasing his books and reading them over and over is this
authors suggestion. A.Crowley, was a practicing Tantric, so his symbols
of the Lingam/Phallus, is much like those lingams at the Shiva Temples
in India. To Reiterate: The Thoth Tarot- Ace of Disks, represents the seed of the
Energy Transformation that we call Earth. The knowledge of the new Aeon
of Horus, dispels the archaic concept of Earth as a evil, passive,
immobile, even dead element . Rather, Earth is a transformation of
Intelligent Energy Conscious Womb that many moderns call Gaea and the ancients called Eveh. Again, The
Thoth Deck Ace of Disks, is a styled rendition of not only Hermetic mysteries but also a Molecule form Mater (Mother), (the
union of atoms) show in the back ground of the Emerald Green of the Aeon
of Isis (The Matriarch ). This Emerald Green is of the King-Scale
color decided upon by the Egyptian Hierophants. However, this green is
not the original vegetable green of Isis but that of the "
emerald-spring green" of the new Aeon following the resurrection of
Osiris as Horus. Therefore, the disks are not considered to be the dead chemistry
of coins; rather they are the whirling emblems of Star, Planets, atoms
etc, all of which are whirling spheres. There is also, presented the new doctrine of Tetragrammaton where Heh' --the
final earthly component, the Daughter, is set upon the Throne of the
Mother (Mater), to awaken the Eld of the All-Father. In the words of Zoroaster,
Tetragrammaton is a "rebounding, whirling forth, crying aloud." Therefore the Thoth image is not a dead symbol, but a whirling Sphere of Divine Action. The
center of the Thoth Deck Ace of Disks, is a complicate Hieroglyph
representing the "the chosen priest- and apostle of infinite space"
and/or the "prince-priest the Beast." (Liber AL. I.15.). In the center
of all is yet another form of Tetragrammaton, the Phallus, showing Sol
and Luna, with the number 666 inscribed, as to equilibrating the seven
sevens adding to 156 (Babalon-The Scarlett woman.) This central cipher is enclosed in a
Heptagram that is interlaced with Pentagons whose sides are extended
forming a wheel of 10 spokes, bounded by a Decagon encompassed in a
circular band with the inscribed name of TO META 0HPION. About
this whirling Disk are its six wings (6 is the number of the Sun) The
Thoth Deck Ace of Disks is the glyph of Earth as understood in the new
Aeon of Horus. Sol and Terra are known as living beings, one's constant
companions in a Universe of Pure Joy. Hence to understand the Ace, one must have an understanding of the Princess of that Ace's suit.  THE Thoth PRINCESS OF DISKS, rules the Ace of Disks;
Represents the earthly part of Earth. This Princess is strong and
beautiful and impregnated with a secret wonder (Sata). Crested with the head of
a ram (another symbol for Aries, Mars, The Lightning Lord, and/or the
male electric force, the Sun) signifying a head full of fertile ideas,
She holds a diamond (precious stone of Kether) tipped sceptre, into the
earth, which symbolizes the birth of the Highest- Purest light in the
deepest darkest elements. What the Ace of Disks professes, she makes
manifest.As would a priestess of Eveh,Mari, Freya or Demeter, she stands in a
grove of sacred trees, before an altar suggesting a wheat-sheaf, which
is the sigil of the Priestess of Demeter. She is pregnant with the
secret of the future. ...The bearer of Spring; a Spring that frees us
from the "dark horrors of winters past". The fertile Consciousness of
Horus rather than the dead militaristic and slavery- obsessed
consciousness of Osiris.  The disk she bears, is a Chinese idiom
denoting the twin spiral force of the universe in equilibrium giving
birth to the Rose of Isis, the Great Fertile Mother.The characteristics
of this card are too numerous for this blog enumerations, and will be examined more thoroughly in the blog of the Princess; suffice it to
say, that the Princess of Disks is Womb-hood (Womanhood) in its
ultimate material projection. By careful comparison, the student can see how the Princess of a Suit, is Married to the Ace-Seed of an Elemental force. The Barbara Walker Tarot- Ace of Pentacles, is subtitled Reward, as this implies the metaphor of the Apple-Pentagram. In early Tarot, the Ace of Pentagrams meant creation and giving, i.e., the birth of material wealth fro the mater, Earth or Eve. The Pythagorean word Pentalpha, is the word from which the English Pentagram is derived. The Pythagorean Pentalpha/Pentagram was the emblem of creation for it is a prime symbol of beginning because its endless angles repeated the birth-letter Alpha. Later on the patriarchal writer's of Jewish and Christian fame, use the apple as a symbol of Eve's "sinful gift to man", for it hinted at what to them was a deplorable knowledge; sexual knowledge. WHEN THE ACE OF DISKS IS THROWN DURING A DIVINATION: It implies:
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 2 of Disks: Change & The Barbara Walker Tarot-2 of Pentacles: Change
  The Thoth 2 of Disks-Change, is representative of the dual
change of inner and outer self and/or cause and effect. Uroboros
(Oriental symbol of infinity), the snake that eats its own tail,
symbolizes the consistency of cyclic change. Change is the positive
Universal constant that keeps energy moving.  On both The Thoth and Barbara Walker Tarot, is shown, The Serpent twisted into a figure eight
(Mobius Loop), which represents balance and adjustment within Organic mater (mother). It is a balance of
two united circles which attempt to show in 2 dimensions the spiral
cycle of multidimensional energy; a type of cell or egg, that is an equilibrium of "Male and Female", before they become individual sexes. Here on both Cards, we have the Chinese yin (masculine)/yang (feminine) symbols: However the Thoth 2 of Disks represents them both in the horizontal and the vertical.
  The astrological aspect of
this card is Jupiter in Capricorn symbolizing the expansive, positive,
opportunistic manipulation of external changes (Jupiter) that are also
stable, solid, and secure in your life (Capricorn).  In past blogs, I have presented the Ace of Disks and its Divine Being; Of that Seed, we are, for The Human Being, is a state of Divine Immortal Creative Conscious
on the Physical Plane. However, this requires a Mental Self Identity Transition from the Imagination to self-conscious, and this is not easy to do. As an immortal Self, that must become a "mortal", we must at
first adopt the Animal Mind of Earth, and weave a harmony of 9 other
States of Entity Conscious (The Divine Beings of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life) into a One Identity of Supreme Being, i.e., Adam Khadmon. Once "sensually bound" in flesh, it is often difficult for our Psyche, to realize that our original Identity is that of Immortal Being. However, you may know that in the teachings of the Qabalah, a Being, is a Divine Immortal presence.
Hence, The Human Being is supposed to be just that....many of us have yet to
accomplish that; However, the Dali Lamas, who are of the Six states of
Bardo, are said to have. The concepts of the Tibetan Bardo, are in agreement with
the "above all things, know thyself" but will have to be looked up by
the interested reader, as this blog is a limited expression, at best.
However, I will list the Six states of Bardo to stimulate investigation: 1) the bardo of birth. 2) the dream bardo. 3) the bardo resulting from meditations. 4) the bardo of the moment of death. 5) the bardo of supreme reality. 6) the bardo of becoming. When the bardos are
mastered, the Real Being is born, and walks this Earth with immortal memory,
...thus never experiencing death, as they are always fearlessly aware
of the trans-formative process of the One Energy that is the Original
Identity of Mind. The Two of Disks represents this eternal-process of
Change in organic material.  The Tarot 2 of Disks represents the rule of the 2nd Sephriotic Being, Chokma (wisdom) in the suit of Earth. The familiar figures of yin yang,
and the figure eight (infinity) created out of the Oroboros,"the Serpent
that Eats its own tail" (Organic/Alive matter eats itself to stay alive),
all showing the energy appropriate to the Two. Here the Doctrine that "Change is the support of stability" is well represented. Yet, the celestial rule of this card is Jupiter in Capricorn, which many astrologers call"most inharmonious",
limiting the Jupitarian good fortune in practical matters; However,
Jupiter is also the Ruler of the Wheel of Fortune, thus emphasizing the
idea of good fortune and therefore, producing a balance.The Thoth Deck Two of
Disks-Change, represents two Pentacles and/or Disks, one above the
other, each symbolizing the balanced union of the Female -Magnetic (Yin)
and the Male-Electric (Yang) aspects of the One Energy. They are also both Life and Death respectively. The One Energy
is also represented by the Serpentine Figure Eight, which is the One - a
circle- twisted into a figure eight, therefore producing One who is Two.
This Twisted Circle, is how there seems to be Two Separate Energies,
out of One Energy, which all happens when the One "Looks upon
Itself"....the concept being that you first must twist about, to see your self as "Other". A Tibetan state known as Yab Yum (Father Mother). In
other words, you must form two faces, one male, one female, both from
the Same One Energy Mind and/or One face as Life and One Face as Death. Again, more research is required to really
understand this Principle of One becoming Two, but let me explain this;
One can only be one, unless it Imagines itself as "other" than "I" This
forms the " I AM", and creation begins. Hence, Life can't imagine itself as "Alive", unless it also imagines itself as Death.  The Two Pentacles on the Thoth Card carry
forward this thinking, with one going around in dextro- and the other in
laevo-rotary. (Clockwise and counter-clockwise). Thus, the harmonious
interplay of the Four Alchemical Elements in constant movement is
illustrated. Hence, this card of the Hermetic Qabalah, represents the
dynamics of the complete manifested Universe and its equation, 0=2.  The Barbara Walker 2 of Pentacles, also shows this dichotomy of stability, as 2 pentacles, one black in a white sphere and the other white in a black sphere. Both representing Life and Death, respectively, and both are encircled by Organic Matter, as Oroboros the Serpent of Earth that eats its own tail. She also displays the traditional 2 yin-yang symbols, that if joined, form a perfect "lazy 8" (figure eight laying on its side) symbol of infinity as 0=2. The Qabalistic Sephira-Chokmah- Wisdom is the governing factor of the four Twos and the Four Kings of Tarot. Again: Chokmah represents:
Chokmah's symbols are:  The Line;   the Hebrew letter- Yod and the Phallus. Chokmah is also called the Sphere of the Zodiac
and the color is a blueish-grey made of a swirling of all colors that
have not yet been organized. Here the Mystery of Sex, is apply termed
and begun. The Mystery of Positive and Negative polarities, of Electric
and Magnetic Force. The Universal union of opposites that makes motion
possible, that is why Chokmah is known as the Great Stimulation . There is a Great Mystery presented in the Qabalah as the Trinity of The One Divine Creative, which is represented on the Top of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, as the Supernal Triangle; the Trinity of Life. The paramount Sephiroth is Kether, surrounded by the Ain (no-thing) the Ain Soph (without limit) and the Ain Soph Aur (limitless light). The
Qabalah is a language of numbers and Metaphysics the combination of
which are Aramaic and/or Hebrew letters. The letters are also numbers
on the mathematical system of 10, which is both mathematical and
philosophical. #3-Binah
is black, as She is of the "Womb of Limitless light" which can't be seen; Chokmah is shown as swirling grayness. Chokmah is the Hebrew letter for Wisdom (The Blue Sophia of the Greeks) and is
said to be a "cloud like gray which contains various colors and is mixed
with them" (Golden Dawn Text) making it hard to read the letters.  The
fact being, is that the Supernal Triangle is most difficult to
understand, as no-thing exists there. To even begin to understand the
Supernal Triangle, one must understand Absolute Zero as a mathematician would; a
no-thing as in the "absence of anything". Thus we have nothing, without
limit and limitless light, which describes the "Space -Time continuum".
Very abstract and subjective without positive ideas, all a formless
Void. Some how we must formulate position.  If anything is to exist in
No-thing, then two imaginary opposites must come together in mutual
annihilation and thus form a point. We could say this is where matter
and anti-matter meet in mutual annihilation, causing the formation of
the singularity. Or Negative No-thing unites with Positive No-thing
becoming an annihilation of nothing forming a position and/or point;
but as a Point, there are no parts only position.   In Quantum Physics an Entity, is called a point n time and in Qabalah that Point, is called Kether, the 1st Sephirotic Being. With Kether
we have established "neither parts nor magnitude, but only position".
However, Position means nothing without a way to describe it, so another
point must be established, such as I AM (Male-Female) . Thus we have
the invention of the number two which makes possible the Line. At this stage The Line,
doesn't mean very much as we have no measurement. So one can say that
the Two Points are distant, for as of yet, there is no near or far from
one another. We need a third thing to be able to discriminate these
points from one another. Thus the Child is born of the Two parent
points, The "I AM ME", a ternary being of three points joined by a line. Or Qabalistically put, "I Will Be", sees within itself "Other", "Will to Force" (#2-Chokmah) and then by Understanding the differences of the 2, became "Will To Form" (#3-Binah).The Triangle is invented, with this third Point, and now we have Surface.
Appearing before us is the whole plane of Geometry. It can now be said
that Point A is nearer to Point B , than A is to C. However, with only Surface, there is no substance and we are left with only theory, which is both inchoate and incoherent. This is where we have Abyss, as one cannot go any further with the idea in this purely imaginary world. We need the invention of the Actual, the Objective, or at the very least, an approach to the actual. So we need a fourth Point which is the foundation of Matter, the manifestation; the "proof in the pudding".  Let's reiterate: we now have the Point, the Line and the Plane for the Fourth point to exist, as matter or the Solid,
it must lie inside the plane so we now have to define it by using three
coordinated axis. Thus we say, "it is so many feet from the North wall
and so many feet from the East wall and so many feet from the floor."
Using imagination, we now have produced from No-thing a Some-thing and
also understand that Imagination is the Creator of "Me". Hence, we can say that "I" (all seeing) made itself as other-"Am" and by understanding the difference between them, created existence as Knowledge and or "Me". Thus matter
being a Dream of Brahman, as the Hindus may state it, seems to bear out.But we aren't done yet, for nothing can change when the only property of any given point is its relationship to certain other points. So a fifth point is necessary for transformation. Remember physics 101 and the First Law of Thermodynamics? If not, let
me paraphrase, there is only one Energy that cannot be created nor
destroyed only transformed. What transforms it is transition from one
point to another, annihilating the points and becoming something else.
That fifth point is Motion. Thus the implication of Time/Space, for only through motion in time/space can an event happen. Granted, this
is a long story but it should be noted that Time is the Letter
5-Geburah, in the Hebrew Alphabet and is the number of the letter Heh, meaning sight or window.
Thus we have the womb of the Great Mother, in which the Great Father,
known as the phallic letter Yod and the ultimate pictorial Point, moves
and begets active existence. Making it possible to have a concrete idea
of a Point in time, an Objective Self, and that is called the "son of God and
Goddess" and is known as the number 6th and the sixth Sephira,
Tiphareth; the self-conscious center of the system (Tree of Life) that
is capable of experience. Therefore, Tiphareth, 6 rules over the lower
Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, In Qabalah, the word Sephiroth means, "numbers" thus we have 10, in the number mathematical system of 10. The
above is a fast and hopefully illuminating explanation of the Supernal
Triangle which is not objective but is the establishment of the numbers 1
thru 3. Chokmah is number Two, thus the idea of Male and
female, positive and negative have become invented. It should be noted,
that sexual repressive thought, a Victorian or puritanical idea of
sexuality, will greatly retard or impede the ability to understand the
inner worlds. The male phallus or Lingam , is the key symbol of
Chokmah and the first differentiation of the One. Granted, it is at the
least, the most abstract level of primary male qualities but it is
just beginning, as it represents the Supernal Father, emanating from the
God Head, Kether. From Chokmah emerges the Supernal Mother,
Binah for as to have male, one must have female. The parallels to the
Book of Genesis and the Garden of Eden are obvious here, if one takes
the Supernal Triangle to be the Garden of Eden itself. THE TWO OF DISKS-CHANGE: Also known also as the Two of Pentacles,
this card is the Lord of Harmonious Change.. Astrologically, The Two of
Disks is Jupiter in Capricorn The Angels of the Decan are Lekabel and
Yeshiriah. Here, Chokmah is influencing the Material World known as Assiah to Qabalists. Traditionally,
Jupiter is known as a benevolent planet but is not well placed in
Capricorn where it's only positive influence can be exercised in
organization. Thus the harmonies of dual interactions which are
inherent in Chokmah are assured in earthly application. As One Energy in Atziluth
(Supernal Triangle) , the Duality that creates Manifested Energy
(He-She) is now completely expressed in duality and/or polarity making a
circle into a Figure Eight; a symbol that also represents infinity. This figure eight is shown as A Large Serpent both the Thoth and Barbara Walker card, the Uroboros. The Thoth Card shows the Serpent wearing the Crown that represents Kether.  As a student of metaphysics, one knows Serpentine Force, (The Egyptian Serpent Sata)
is represented as waves or frequencies of the One Energy. Uroboros is
also a very ancient symbol for Wisdom, the English translation of the
Hebrew word- Chokmah. Thus the Two of Disks also suggests the underlying
patterns of alternation in all matter and the profoundly powerful
relationship between opposites as shown in the use of the yin yang
symbol on this card. However, in divination, it is competent enough to say
this card represents the harmony of change. The Barbara Walker Tarot- 2 of Pentacles: Change, illustrates some very interesting points on traditional tarot art. Traditionally, early Tarot Card artists, chose the 2 of pentacles to carry their trademarks, with ornate or oversized pips. This "Deuce" card, may have come from the revisionism of the word deus, a Latin wordmeaning "god", via the Gaulish deity Dusius, whom St. Augustine called a lascivious incubus. [Hazlitt, 176]  Among the Christian societies, up until the sixteenth century, demons that seduce women were still called Dusii or "deuces". Some think this also had some connection to the Hermetic "Ca-Duceus" who appeared on the two of pentacles swallowing each other's tail while their bodies formed the "lazy eight" and/or lemniscate (Greek for: Ribbon), an infinity sign that the Major Arcana featured twice.   Today, modern physics calls this the "mobius loop" of inter-dimensional fame. The mysterious alchemical symbol of the"Sun and the Moon linked by the Dragon", was often shown as by a serpentine figure eight of light and dark contrasts, much like the yin-yang symbol of the Chinese.  All of this art work of tail eating serpents, dark and light yin/yang symbols, and pentacles are used to show that "each" has sprung from one thing. In Pentacles, one line is used to twist it self into the five star symbol of Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. We know this "twisted Being" of One, as a Human Being. Interestingly, the Earth also forms a figure eight, in her magnetic Fields.It seems that we moderns, are just catching up to the knowledge of our ancient forefathers.WHEN THE TWO OF DISKS or 2 OF PENTACLES, IS THROWN DURING A READING, THE QUERENT IS EXPERIENCING:
For
more information about the Tarot, or for a personal live reading,
either on-line or in person, email <info@eli-lsmerchantile.com>. Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you
live long and prosper! |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 3 of Disks-Work & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 3 of Pentacles: Work
  The Thoth Tarot- 3 of Disks & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 3 of Pentacles: Work, is also called the Three of Pentacles in Golden Dawn and Ryder -Waite Tarot decks.The Qabalistic Thoth 3 of Disks and Barbara Walker' 3 of Pentacles, are both named Works, and also the Lord of Material Works in the Hermetic Qabalah. Attributed to this Hermetic card, is Mars in Capricorn. For those interested in in-tonal vibration the Angels of the Decan are Yechevah and Lehachiah.   The Qabalistic Thoth, and Barbara Walker- 3 of Disks/Pentacles-Works, is the influence of Binah in the Material world that Qabalists call Assiah-The Active World.  Capricorn is an Earth sign
and the effect of Mars on Capricorn is to bring great discipline and
control in material things, such as, employment, business, and building
construction. Crowley had Lady Frieda Harris illustrate this card on
the basis of 3, Binah's number, showing 3 wheels at 3 points in the
pyramid. This grouping of 3, is shown in Alchemy as Mercury, Sulfur,
and Salt; or in Qabalah as the maternal letters Shin (Fire) Mem (Water) and Aleph (Air). If you are interested in Hindu system of Guna, the three are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.  Guna: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the Indian philosophical concept "Guna". For other uses, see Guna (disambiguation). Guṇa (Sanskrit: गुण)
depending on the context means 'string, thread or strand', or 'virtue,
merit, excellence', or 'quality, peculiarity, attribute, property'. The
concept originated in Samkhya philosophy, but now a key concept in various schools of Hindu philosophy. There
are three guṇas, according to this worldview, that have always been and
continue to be present in all things and beings in the world. These
three gunas are called: sattva (goodness, constructive, harmonious), rajas (passion, active, confused), and tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic). All of these three gunas are
present in everyone and everything, it is the proportion that is
different, according to Hindu worldview. The interplay of these gunas defines
the character of someone or something, of nature and determines the
progress of life. In some contexts, it may mean 'a subdivision, species,
kind, quality', or an operational principle or tendency of something or
someone. In human behavior studies, Guna means personality,
innate nature and psychological attributes of an individual.There is no
single word English language translation for the concept guna. The usual, but approximate translation is "quality". On the Thoth Tarot- 3 of Disks, the Pyramid seems
to be arising out of a Great Sea, that represents The Divine Feminine, Binah the Third
Sephira on the Tree of Life. This card also represents the Material
establishment of the Universe as determined by its basic form of 3. The
influence of Mars is in the Red- tint. The Thoth Tarot- 3 of Disks- Works, represents the
determination of the established Universe in basic form. This is
called,"The influence of Binah in the Sphere of Earth." In
the zodiac, the 3 of Disks/Pentacles is ruled by Mars in Capricorn, which
exalts the Force of Mars and puts him at his best. Rather than martian
destructive energy, it is now constructive, like a builder or engineer. The
Thoth 3 of Disks is illustrated as a pyramid viewed from its apex with a
base formed by three wheels. As stated: In the Hindu system these wheels represent
the Sattvas, Rajas and Tamas; in the Hebrew the three are Aleph(Air),
Shin (Fire) and Mem (Water) which are the three Mother letters of the
alphabet; Alchemically they are Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt. This Pyramid is situated on the great
sea of Binah in the Night of Time. The sea is shown as a solid
(solidified light) thus the background of this card is mottled in gray,
indigo and green. The Reddish tint on the pyramid edges symbolizes Mars. The 3 of Disks is also called the 3 of Pentacles, in the Barbara Walker, Golden Dawn, B.O.T.A. and Rider-Waite decks. The Thoth Tarot- Four 3's are associated with Binah who is the Great
Mother that is called UNDERSTANDING. In Understanding, the I-dea becomes fertilized and a child can be born.   The formulation of the First Supernal Triangle, (Kether-Crown, Chokma-Wisdom& Binah-Understanding)
is a stability that cannot be made unstable. We know the Triangle-fractal, that is the Universe of Form and that
begins all birth, as many combinations of 3. For instance, Maid-Mother-and Crone, each a special perspective on the Female triangle
of Womb-rite, or Father-Son- and Holy Ghost, each a active part of the
stable foundation of "the Spirit Fire" or rite of Phallus. Then there
is Ocean-Rain-and River, each a process of Life or Ocean-Sun-and
Earth. While the mind is made up of the Spirit Mind of the Universal
Collective Unconscious, self-conscious (body) and conscious. We can go
on and on with comparisons, but in all cases a fertilization is achieved and a child can
be born.[Dea:Translation-goddess] Main Forms : Dea, Deae Gender : Feminine Declension : First} Idea translates to I-goddess.  Therefore the 3 of Disks
(Pentacles) exhibits the crystallization of forces, which is the I-dea
of Earth. There is an obvious manifestation of Work having been done.
This is also often called the Great Work, "As above, so Below" and/or Life creating theAlive. This may make more sense to you if you remember that
the"other-side of the Mirror", is the Dark Place where Life forms as the
Supernal Triangle of the Tree of Life, and the Alive are "the
Child made manifest" from this Union of Conscious Triangular Entity (All Worlds of the Tree of Life, are formed of 3 in a Triangle), that
combine to make the Crystallization of Light; the Reflective side of
the Mirror! This conceptualization of a Three sided mirror goes far in
explaining why "Mirror Magic' is so often used to insure manifestation
of idea into a "living expression". Or you can say "from the warm,
watery Darkness of the nurturing womb, Light is born from the I-dea (Dea is Latin for Goddess). In the Arcane of the Hermetic Qabalah, I-Goddess, I-dea, is another way of saying, Supernal Triangle and/or I AM. A
lot has been said about the mystery of Form, but not many understand that the body is merely a
Reflection, of your Dark side; the invisible you who is the energetic
majority of You (you are 99.6% invisible). It is in the Dark, warmth, of
your "infinite light", i.e., Serpent force, Spirit, that all Life comes from. The body is
Alive, but in itself, it is not Life! As stated, the body
is a Reflection of Life. Think well from your inner-deep dark places, to be
Alive and Well! It pays to remember this axiom,"Do unto another as you
would have done to you."...for that is in itself a Triangle of
three---Idea, Cause and effect. It is unbreakable in its stability. So
it pays to know what your thoughts create, as they impregnate the I-Dea, known to us moderns as Imagination, who then goes about manifesting it as your "I AM ME". If you identify "others" instead
of "Another", as in, "everyone I see is another way to be me", you will keep lessening yourself until your life force can no longer sustain the body health and balance. To think less of others, is to lessen yourself and this generates a deep sorrow, a discord, in your body-collective. Your
thoughts, ideas, and opinions only Effect the Cause that is Yourself image.  Hence, our
Reflection, enacts our Deep thoughts, into "aliveness", just as the Supernal Triangle is reflected as the Ethical Triangle on the Tree of Life . Your body, the " Me", who is the
youngest part of the Spiral Energy Self-Reflecting Entity that is I AM ME, is the only one who
feels your thoughts and then must enact them as an "living" experiment/the Alive. Therefore, each of us are not
responsible for how "others" react to us. We are, however, the alive response
of reaction to our own thought about "others"! I Am Love, as an identity, is smart, it is both wise
and understanding; not the act of a simpleton but of a Powerful Threesome:
Spirit-Soul-Body union. To Love Being-is to Be love. It behooves us all to remember that, "Others" are just Another
way to be the Divine Children of the Divine Creative; Children who have the Goddess (I-dea) given Freedom
of Choice; gifted Divine Children, who have a right to their identities,
be they ill or well thought out. "Everyone I see, is another way to be Me". The Magus knows,
that to be able to "think" means you are not the effect called Thought,
but the Cause of it. So my thoughts aren't "my precious", they are the
effect that causes the Alive motion of Identity as "Self", making the body a sacred place of
discernment; therefore, as a Spirit- Soul, the body is "my precious". I then have the Knowledge to make,
and remake thought to improve the function of my "reflected-light body" which improves the function of the Universal Collective Unconscious. However, to believe that every thought I
think is "myself" or that I am the thought I think, puts thought into fear based survival thinking. Survival thinking means I must defend those thoughts to
the death of my thought proving device, i.e. My Body! An act which elevates unproven idea above the proof of Alive. By elevating thought above the "living", we force what is already a Manifested and therefore, proven idea, to worship unproven-theoretical-ideas,
therefore eliminating the "Truth of the Alive" or at least enslaving the Alive to
unproven "visions". This is the reverse of reason, which is symbolized as an upside down pentagram.  Hence, being Alive is
how Life expands and liberates the manifested consciousness from
self-imposed limits and how the Soul learns discernment! This is the Above pyramid, mated to the below pyramid, base to base, to establish a "Point in Time" (an entity)To make thought sensually alive, is a to form a screening process of scientific experimentation by a process of building an "artificial intelligence" of Self Image. Because of this
Life/Alive process each of us is now a creative Spirit-an I-dea (Spirit is Anima in Latin), who can devote our thought controlled "time/space" to "expanding and liberating" the Body from the mortal-survival thinking of the
animal domain, freeing its self- image-making-ability to that of the Immortals. This in turn expands and liberates self awareness by
intimate experience! By the feelings of Love, or Fear generated by the
Communion of idea with a sensual- living laboratory "artificial intelligence", idea becomes
experimentation where we can find the ideas that either free the experiment of self
from the past (love) or bind it to the past (fear). Thoughts are not enough
to properly operate the Alive! Life depends on the Threesome of the
Divine Wedding which is the triangle made of "I-dea", the Union of Kether- Crown- "I will be", Chokmah-Wisdom- "Will to Force, and Binah- Understanding-Will to Form, to create the Beautiful Bright Child called "the I AM ME"! When you understand the Threes, you begin to understand your Godhood.  The Barbara Walker Tarot- 3 of Pentacles: Work, hints at the connection between Freemasonry and Tarot. In Freemasonry, works, craft, and skilled labor were also common reference points for the Tarot, 3 of Pentacles. In both Tarot and Freemasonry, progress towards commercial success was presaged through effort and training. Here, B.W. portrays masons at work on a Gothic cathedral, one of the Arcane medieval "Palaces of the Queen of Heaven", whose masonry was decorated with an abundance of pagan figures and symbols. The pagan origin of these mystic symbols, is implied by the central runic shrine, dedicated to Cernunnos-The Horned God, in a design taken from the Gundestrup Cauldron, showing him sitting in a modified lotus position with both torc and serpent in hand. On the Cauldron, he was always accompanied by a "Moon dog", possibly the one named "Managram". This Lunar wolf or Moon dog, images is thought to resemble that of the Sabine wolf-mother Lupa, said to have nurtured the Roman Twins, Romulus and Remus. The three pentacles, on her card design, suggest the number 15, long associated with the three Matronae (Mothers) of the Celts. This Triple Goddess was worshiped in conjunction with Cernunnos. The Celts calculated the ages of Maid, Mother and Crone in multiples of 15, making 15 a feminine magical number, which could be why it was assigned to the Devil as key 15 of Tarot (Devi-Lingam), and when added together, as in gematria, 1+5=6; 6 being the number of the Son/Sun. The Soul/Solar number 6 established Life as Live:forward thought, while the Devil, is lived, a backward motion of life, backward thinking. It seems the mirror of self reflection is still working here. According to the oldest European myths, it was said that the Triple Goddess gave humanity the knowledge of the sacred runes. This is the same goddess who kept and gave out the divine apples of regeneration, with their inner pentacles. She made her consort, Bragi, a master of magical poetry by engraving her runes on his tongue. The Norse mythologies, were like all the rest, when it called the alphabet a female invention. Therefore, you'll see that Barbara Walker assigned the writing of the sacred runes to the female image on her card, while the male is preforming less scholarly labors. Among the sacred symbols on the B.W. 3 of Pentacles card are: the moon, the swastika, triangle, Cross of Wotan, lemniscate, Nordic Triceps, Greek cross, alchemical sign for wood, and sigils of Mercury, Athene, and Vesta. One must not forget the symbols of the mystic past: monsters, warriors, gods, sailors of the Dragon ship, and magic working mothers; all of which she scatters about the cards art work. Power is known as the ability to do work, and the 3 of Disks/Pentacle card is all about that ability on both the Occult and Material levels of the Universe. . When the Three of Disks is thrown during a reading: When this card is thrown during a reading it represent:
Depending on dignity, it can also come to mean: Narrow and prejudiced, sometimes seeking after the impossible. Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 4 of Disks: Power & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 4 of Pentacles: Avarice
  The Thoth Tarot- 4 of Disks: Power, & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 4 of Pentacles: Avarice, are both Hermetic and therefore, represent Chesed (Mercy) establishing the Universe in three dimensions (4th dimension is Time), that is below the Abyss. Here,
the Sun is in Capricorn, the sign in which the Sun is reborn. Basically
this means that the generating idea is established in its full material
sense.  Illustrated on the Thoth Tarot,the Disks are shown as large, square and solid,
representing a fortress comprised of the Four Elements. We know from
history, that Fortresses are to keep Law and order by constant authority
and a vigilant defense. Though seemingly stationary, the Disks revolve
due to the fact that the Sun is the "dead center" of the engineer; and
Capricorn is the point where the "Sun turns Northward". Now
the word, engineer, may have left you confused, but Chesed, the 4th
Sephiroth-Mercy, is also known as the "engineer or architect" who enforces the designs of the Supernal Triangle Triad; also what may
confuse one, is that the Fortress with a moat is considered a Womb. To bring some order to this confusion, one must remember that I-dea(Idea) means,"I Goddess",and ideas are what architects impart and engineers build.  The Greatest Engineer is I-dea ("I-goddess"),"The
Womb with a View", or The Divine Feminine Principle. In Yi King, the
Sun in Capricorn is represented as the Second hexagram (2- 坤 (kūn), Khwan/Kun, of the King Wen order, which is
the Female Principle. The student may wish to compare Khwan/Kun, to the
English word Queen, Anglo-Saxon Cwen, Old Mercian Kwoen, all of which
are The Female Principle. As in most of the Tarot, there are layers of
understanding, that require diligent pursuit.  Both Qabalists and my faithful blog followers know by now, that Chesed is the architect who gets its orders from the
Supernal (upper triangle on the Tree of Life) and whose intelligence
externalizes the combined potent forces of the upper Trinity. Chesed is the administrator of manifestation and the laws there of.  The Thoth 4 of Disks (Pentacles in traditional decks) is the most complete expression of the grounded Chesed forces. This card shows the influence of Chesed in the material world, or the World of Assiah, as our material world is called in the Qabalah. To Reiterate: The Thoth Four of Disks -Power, is also called: the Lord of Earthly Power, by A. Crowley. The Angels of the Decan are Keveqiah and Mendial. The planet is the Sun and here it is in Capricorn.  Both The illustration of the Thoth 4 of Disks and the Barbara Walker 4 of Pentacles, suggests a fortress, implying law and order maintained by undaunted vigilance.  The Thoth
Disks themselves, are square implying that revolving or motion, is
opposite to this card. However, another form of Chesed is in the Key 13
card of the Major Arcana, and it is the Death of stability, so that
revolution can continue. In gematria, 13 is , 1+3=4, so the number of Chesed lays hidden in
death according to gematria/numerology. Barbara Walker shows this active motion as four yellow/sun pendants, complete with pentacle insignias, waving in the wind. The Engineer of manifestation, has the power to reorganize it through a process we call Death/Transformation. The Thoth-Four square disks
each contain one of the symbols for the four elements and the walls, on both the Thoth and Barbara Walker Tarot,
are depicted as strong and seemingly immobile. Yet we have the Sun reborn in
Capricorn so new powerful activity is present, and this activity is best
shown as the Dancing Skeleton of key 13. What hints
at underlying power in the 4 of disks Tarot Card is the orange-yellow
color of the Thoth card or the Yellow-waving Pendants of the Barbara Walker Tarot, both representing the Sun/Son reborn. Like the eye of a hurricane,
The Four of Disks is the "Dead Center" of the Engineer of all
manifestation Here at the center, everything looks quite and stable,
but violent activity is in the making, so soon that stability will "fly
to the winds". Capricorn is the center "where the Sun turns Northward."
So the turning is happening in what looks to be stable. The Thoth 4 of Disks, and the Barbara Walker 4 of Pentacles illustrates the establishment of the
Universe in three visible dimensions (the 4th is Time). Therefore, the
generating idea is displayed in its full material sense. Whereas, the 3 of Disks/Pentacles implied material gain as a result of creative skills. The 4 of Pentacles or Disks, has a traditional warning against working for material gain alone. Excessive desire for wealth, may destroy the joy of craftsmanship. This lack of joyful craftsmanship is seen today in the manufactured goods of the assembly line.Being a 4,
in suit of Earth, the heaviness of this card out-ways any consideration
of weakness, rather it is implying the Power which dominates and stabilizes everything,
such as, centrifugal force. It is the fortifying of energy in one
place, enabling the ability to do work. If there is a weakness, it is
the fact that as Four, the element is solidified to its absolute degree,
and in order for change to occur, the fortress must be remodeled. As
it is solid, the power of the Four of Disks, suggest that aggressive
behavior is contain, so the Power of the Four, manages its affairs more
by negotiation and pacific methods. Being a 4,
in suit of Earth, the heaviness of this card out-ways any consideration
of weakness and is the Power which dominates and stabilizes everything,
such as, centrifugal force. It is the fortifying of energy in one
place, enabling the ability to do work. If there is a weakness, it is
the fact that as Four, the element is solidified to its absolute degree, generating Avarice, and the ability to do work becomes greed. Therefore, in order for change to occur, the fortress must be remodeled. As
it is solid, the power of the Four of Disks/Pentacles, suggest that aggressive
behavior is contain, locked in a prison, so the Power of the Four, manages its affairs more
by negotiation and pacific methods, as would a miser manage his gold. ...condition of assured material gain, and earthly power completed but nothing beyond. (Waite). On the Thoth Tarot 4 of Disks, Air (mind), Water (emotions), Fire (Spirit) and Earth,
are all centered around material security and in doing so "nothing
ventured, nothing gained", becomes a problem of stasis. However, in the
future, stasis will be removed by the Greater Spiritual Self ( the 5 of Disks-Worry), stopping past behavior, to keep things moving. But for now things look under control
and sitting back and enjoying material security seems justified. Here
we also have gift, legacy and inheritance. Again: Astrologically we have the Sun in Capricorn which assures the light and warmth of success but nothing beyond the moment. The Thoth 4 of Disks and the Barbara Walker-4 of Pentacles, represent the, Rational
Mind in total control of creative energy for material wealth;
boundaries against change are erected and the illusion of security is
enjoyed. Remember, what locks out others, locks you in! Now this feeling of benevolent strength,
is indeed wonderful but we must also invest in the motion of wealth to avoid avarice. Therefore one must
send wealth into prosperity, as prosperity is spreading your wealth around
by spending it. Hence, being flexible with your wealth, well or ill gotten, is recommended.
Therefore, this card reminds us that damming a river can secure water,
but if we don't leave room for flow, we stifle the prosperity all around
us for a false sense of security. This false sense of security is shown by the open draw bridge
gate on the Thoth card and the barren landscape of the Barbara Walker Tarot card. The Warning is implied that if your mind is not open to change, this easily
becomes Avarice and blockages of thought, entropy and in-action shall
naturally follow from excessive devotion to materialistic rewards. However, if the drawbridge of our mind,
(seen on Thoth card) is open for "outside" traffic we can make something
tangible and take concrete steps towards creating security in the
physical world that actually enhances that security for others as well.
So when all is examined, this card represents a positive with a caveat
of caution ; a kind of " good for you", that can only keep being good
if you expand it to "good for others" as well. The draw bridge is down
and the gate open on this illustration of the Thoth 4-of Disks, for we must
allow flowing change in order to really stay Secure in our power. However,
by just remembering the important characteristic that the Fours are "below the Abyss", meaning they are responsible for solidification and
materialization of the element they represent, one can supply the motion necessary to keep stagnation at bay. Thus the Fours explain
that things/ideas have become manifest and expressed as the Rule of Law, but that imagination (I-dea) is still, as yet, unaffected. The 4's represent a promise fulfilled; as Crowley states, " The manifestation
promised by Binah (Great Mother) has now taken place." This number is
very solid and is the dominating influence on all the following cards.  Chesed- is
Jupiter-Ammon, whose sign looks to be a 4, and is known as the Father as he is the First Male Force below the
Abyss but this is not a "lower status", as he is the highest I-dea
which can be understood in an intellectual way. This is why the
Sephira-Chesed, is attributed to Jupiter, ( who is the Demiurge (The Three
Demiurges, are The All Father, The Ruler, and the Son....all after the
Abyss/Great Mother). Hence, we have established that The Four of Disks-Power, or the Barbara Walker 4 of Pentacles: Avarice, represent a Tarot card of heavy Stable fortifications. We know power to be the ability
to do work, and the 4 of Disks represents this ability and a caveat pointing to the danger of Avarice. However, the
Power here is not a brutal violence but rather, a power that dominates
everything by negotiation, by pacific methods. It is like the
Constitution, a Law without aggressive element. The
Element Earth is such a non- aggressive element and even though it
is constantly assaulted by Fire, Air and Water, it is the foundation of
all material forms on Earth. Hence, the 4 of Disks/Pentacles basically
represents stability. When the Thoth 4 of Disks or the Barbara Walker-4 of Pentacles, is thrown during a reading, the querent (the one who asks
the question) will experience or has experienced:
Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! When the Thoth
Four of Disks is thrown during a reading, the querent (the one who asks
the question) will experience or has experienced:
As altered by ill dignity, this card can also mean, prejudice, covetous, avarice and suspicious behavior. Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: Thoth Tarot- 3 of Swords: Sorrow & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 3 of Swords:Sorrow
  Thoth Tarot-3 of Swords: Sorrow & The Barbara Walker Tarot-3 of Swords: Sorrow.The four 3's of the Hermetic-Qabalistic Tarot: Since the Thoth Tarot
of the Hermetic Qabalah is inseparable from the Tree of Life, and the
minor arcana (small cards) are numbered according to the Serphiroth that
rules their action, the 3s are all associated with the third Sephira-
Binah: Understanding. Thus, in each of the 3s the idea has become fertilized, i.e. Understood and
because of this fertilization, the triangle has become formulated. In
Qabalah we know that the Triangle is the Strongest structure (Trinity),
an empirically stable plane and therefore, the idea of the card is now
a strong union and able to give birth to children, and thus evolve. The 3 of Swords-Sorrow:  The Lady of Sorrow, is a often misinterpreted card, due to the mutable nature of mind, which is why it is compared to the element Air.The idea of division, separation, and mutability, the airy quality of things, is understood and manifest in the 3 of Swords. In
the darkness of Binah, the Third Sephiroth, is the mourning of Isis for her lost love, the
dismembered Osiris...a "Dying God". This is not the common sorrow,
dependent on any given discontent or individual disappointment. Rather,
the German word, Weltschertz, meaning The Universal Sorrow,
best expresses this Conscious Energy state of Melancholy. For to give birth to your bright and beautiful forms, and then having to kill them in time, can only bring sorrow to the mother, who is "the will to form", and Time herself. In Physics,
(Thermodynamics) this is the realization of the 2nd law of Entropy,
where everything proceeds from order to disorder or as an ancient has
stated," The Mother watches her bright and loved children become
deformed monsters......" This sorrow is best known by Mothers who love
their children with all that they are, while watching their lovely
child's self identity degrade into becoming an addict, criminal or worse, a mass
murderer and then death. Such sorrow is visceral and often beyond the understanding of
those who don't conceive; However, this Sorrow of Separation is even
darker for the Great Mother that has conceived us all, and watches us
destroy one another in the name of "ideas", without "understanding" that
ideas, are just servants of Creators. No life is to become a servant of
an idea. Separation, also brings great Grief to Lovers, who
long only for Union. In each of us, deep down in the inner depths of
ourselves, is that great hollowness, that great lonesomeness, we've
inherited from the Universal Sorrow....that's also what drives us to "fill the whole", with stuff (greed), religious seeking (spirituality),
and "finding that soul mate". When we understand that this Universal Sorrow,
is part of us, we'll stop trying to flee from it in our "pursuit of
happiness", because, to have Sorrow, is to already know happiness. The I AM must conceive of and destroy the
ME! For the I AM is the alpha and omega of the Me. Truly, what is even more sorrowful and therefore represented by the 3 of Swords, and only if we understood the
difference between "man-made" self and God Made Self, we would
understand the deep sorrow of the "childhood self" locked away in a
dungeon of contradictory Ruler made-definitions that shaped us
into the adults who destroy higher consciousness, in their pursuit of
happiness; a pursuit which is just trying to find the "lost
original bright-self". The hole we feel is the "lost Joy" that is the "Child within", the Original Identity-definition- that made us manifest.
We dug a hole in our heart for to bury our- bright and beautiful selves, so we could please others, hoping they wouldn't reject us. The Fool Card attempts to inform us of this. Lost
innocence, is a hole in our self image...holes don't allow completeness
and result in sorrow; holes are graves. We have become divided against ourselves, burying our divine beauty out of fear of rejection and
thus are will is conquered.  To Reiterate: The Thoth 3 of Swords-Sorrow, of the Hermetic Qabalah, represents the state of universal sorrow.
It is a prevalent state of melancholy that we find when it deep
meditation. It is based on both the lurking passion to create but its
children have become monsters in their own minds and also the fact that the
beauty created must be necessarily destroyed in order for energy to Transform. Transformation is the Universal mechanism for movement. In an individual context,
this card can represent thoughts of sorrow, where brooding over the
loss of the past is currently producing sorrow. Much like the universal
sorrow, we created something we thought would be joyful but it ended up
as a heartbreak for it ends, often before expected, making us release the "dream" we so long
mentally supported. The Thoth 3 of Swords/Sorrow card also represents triangular relationships such
as, Father, Mother and Child, and could represent our first sorrow
experienced in this family context. Therefore it may imply brooding over
the past of 3wks, 3months or even when we were 3 years old. This sorrow
is a piercing of our core identity, as shown by the swords piercing the
lotus. How we handle the first triangle relationship is how we will
handle the next ones; be they friend-sibling-mate or
friend-co-worker-friend. No matter the relationship triangle
we may experience, the tendency for the mind to hold grudges or
network the parts of past pain into present circumstances, leaves us in
the past as a "wanna-be" personality of stasis rather than a I AM Me
personality of action and change. Of course,there are many fruitful and
constructive triangle relationships; However, the two swords at the top
being bent by the entry of the third sword, can show us that something
must be resolved between three people before the stress of the situation destroys the relationship. Also the central sword can
be an event that bent the receptive and dynamic sides of our nature
which can confuse our relationships with male, female and ourselves.   Astrologically, the three of swords is Saturn in Libra.
The Great Mother Binah, rules the suit of Air in the Thoth card's 3 of Swords imagery; Binah, is a "dark Womb" which the Unconscious emulates. Hence, Binah, the 3rd Sephiroth, named Understanding, and
is shown in state of rippled "darkness", much like the Fallopian tubes of a female [...either of a pair of tubes along which eggs travel from the ovaries to the uterus]. Here she is not the beneficent Great Mother Empress of
the Trinity of Kether, Chokmah and Binah, but rather is seen here as the Dark
Deep Sea of the Abysmal Womb; the Womb of Chaos which is The Impersonal All-Mother, A No-Thing. This is a very
difficult doctrine for the average student to grasp. Much study and
skrying is recommended for those who wish to be "rebooted" as the
original "seed atom" of Psyche. But this requires one to become Universal Sorrow, which destroys all desire power, leaving only sorrow as the identity of I AM. Further
understanding of Universal Sorrow, may come from analyzing the second law of thermodynamics
which states"...Everything proceeds from order to disorder".
Therefore, in this card, the Great Dark Sea of Mother is a brooding
sorrow, for all Her bright beautiful children must end, as they are
built of time, or have become monsters and prematurely ended themselves. This deep, heartfelt
universal sorrow is not necessarily human even though it can be
felt by humans. We must remember, that contrary to our religious or
cultural teachings, darkness is not a negative for Unlimited Light is
darkness to us, because it has no end or beginning to observe, therefore
our True Core Identity is the Dark-Light/Energy that has emerged from the Universal Womb of Chaos.  Our world of Light in reflection, is visible to us
as the reflection gives us a beginning and end to see; a self-reflection
that Self-thought must have "to know itself" which is to Understand itself. Hence,The
Great Dark Womb, is a birth giver of limited light, the stuff that all
form is made of and therefore the Dark Sea (See) of Unlimited
Imagination which can only be called Chaos. To truly understand the Joy of the Greater Self, is to also
know the Great Sorrow that limit imposes on us. To create is to
destroy. To create what one loves, and watch it die, is one way to
experience sorrow of the Divine. In the realm of the physical world,
life must eat itself to stay alive, which is another form of sorrow, often symbolized by a Serpent eating its own Tail. In the Thoth Deck Three of Swords,
the sword of the Magus with point uppermost, cuts the junction of the
two curved swords. The Impact destroys the Rose, causing disorder which
implies the supreme transcendence of natural order (...all things proceed from order to disorder). The back ground
of the Thoth Tarot card is a brewing storm of implacable light. A very
deep and visceral understanding of this card's symbolism is necessary, as the foundation of this universe comes
from the energy-in-motion generated by sorrow. For in the beginning,
there was only I and I realized it was the only One. It
realized, "I Am and no-other". Therefore "I Am" (God's name) was first
existence conceived from the idea of loneliness/sorrow. "I AM Other", is the
first expression of Creation and Understanding the difference that exists between I and Other, creates Imagination/ The Great Mother of All forms. In a more mundane concept, the 3 of Swords represents thoughts of sorrow, which come from events and/or past patterns that have not been released and dealt with. This card also represents a triangular relationship that generates sorrowful feelings or thought. As stated, astrologically,
this card is Saturn in Libra and is not a vulgar sorrow, but a sorrow
of universal consciousness; a quality of melancholy that radiates from
the Great Mother. This deep sorrow comes from the fact that She gave
Life to Her Beautiful children, who have become monsters in their own "I's". Also all that is created, must die. This
causes a sorrow in any Mother's heart. Let me ask you this: is the lower statement logical? " If I wish a great artist
to warm up to me, I should of course insult their work." If you have
answered," That's ridiculous, the artist will be upset with me and stop
listening to anything I say", or some such, then you can understand that
to call ourselves, sinners, inferiors, weakness, cowards, sluggards,
evil, bad etc. we are insulting the Greatest Artist ever ....Our
Creator! To get The Divine Creative to listen to you you don't
beg and plead because you are a miserable wretch; If you do you'll not
be heard or seen- Because the Divine Creative can't hear you nor see you as such!
To the Divine Creative you are all Beautiful Children who are made in
Its own Image! Approaching The Divine as a grateful, loving child who is
proud to be the Divine's offspring and who knows, that we can never be "god", but that "god can be us" by Divine inheritance. To me this is just common sense! On earth, children who demean themselves cause great sorrow in their parents hearts! I AM Me--- Not--I wish I ain't Me, will get you a personal audience with your Divine Parents!  Once, it becomes
known to the " Child" in us, that humankind's persistent
self-destructive behavior, as a choice over Love, greatly Saddens the
Great Mother. Because of this behavior, She cannot see us in our disillusioned identities, as Her
perspective is Love of Being the Child, not fear of her own creations. Hence, we who fear our own presence (fear of rejection), become lost children to
Her, and she grieves the loss deeply. Only through the perspective of Love of
Self and Those Selves around us, can we approach Her...but then the
celebration of being"Seen" by Her, dissipates any sorrow! When the
prodigal comes home, She will indeed "kill the fatted calf".You
want to be less sorrowful in your life? Try this. Say , "Thank you Divine Creative
for making me ---me!" Don't beg for what you don't have, thank the
Divine Creative for what you do have and the coffers of your Divine
inheritance are open to you! Remember the biblical parable of the Prodigal son?
The son, who wasted his inheritance on useless pursuits, until he was destitute and near death. Well he didn't
receive a return of his wealth by begging his father for more, all he
had to do is return to the "original home" of his birth rite and upon
approaching that home he was seen and given back all the wealth he never
knew he had! To return to the Original Idea, that created us is to know
thyself! I Am The Rich Child of Divinely Rich Parents----who would
never allow me to lack---anything! But by believing in " I lack", I have
chosen it as a reality for myself! Freedom of Choice,
can be a great generator of happiness and wealth or a great generator
of sorrow and lack! We have Freedom of choice, because the Divine
Creative sees us as self-images! To not see yourself as a Ruler of your own definition---is
to be handicapped and divided emotionally and mentally against
yourself! "I was defined into being by my Creator....no further
definition do I need from anyone---including myself. I am good enough
for Divinity, I am good enough for Me! Thank you Great Self for declaring me as your
child! " Therefore, Sorrow is a process of thought that allows one to create,
see error, and correct it ( Wisdom). The reason I trust myself---because The
Divine Creative Trusts Me! I am Evolutionary Self Awareness! Now sorrow for us,
is but a fleeting thing, rather than a permanent suffering, for my
moments of expectation are short. I now know not to assume or expect,
rather create , observe and correct error.The second law of
Thermodynamics is in all creation.[...all things proceed from order to
disorder] and I am unashamed of error as I know that it is 50% of
wisdom. It is known to me, that I err
and that proves to me I am a creator as well. In the Thoth 3 of Swords, we see
the Sword of the Magician, cutting the junction of two short swords,
destroying the Rose/Lotus with its impact. In the background, storms are
brewing in the implacable night. The Sword of the Magician is "Will"; A will direct form the Kether who is " I Will Be"! Therefore represent
here is the Will-to-be that has been perverted by multiple thoughts of Will-not-to be...the perverted will of a "wanna-be". The Three of Swords, is also Binah in Yetzirah, placing the influence of Binah in the Astral World.The Chaotic World of dreams.Astrologers
know that Saturn is a very influential planet, sometimes called "The
Great Destroyer" and sometimes the "Great Initiator" and represents
Time. However, though the presence of Saturn usually means pain and hardship, it isn't evil, as through suffering we may encounter the Dark Sterile Mother (Crone). From her we learn life's most important lessons.  The Barbara Walker Tarot- 3 of Swords also uses the title of Sorrow. Here one is shown having difficulty accepting the dictates of natural law. Specifically the 2nd law of thermodynamics. The Suit of Swords, in Tarot, is traditionally known as the "death suit". In Buddhism there is an allegory of the opposite principles of attraction and repulsion, love and death, known as Kama-Mara, personified as a demon who tempted the Buddha during his meditation on the Middle Way. This tempting demon, almost cause a disastrous interruption of the Buddha's meditation. From Wikipedia-the free encyclopedia: [In the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism, the expression MiddleWay is used by the Buddha in his first discourse (the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta) to describe the Noble Eight-fold Path as the noble path to achieve Nirvana, instead of taking extremes of austerities and sensual indulgence.]  In the Hermetic Qabalah, the Middle Path or Pillar, represents the Middle Way that the Buddha speaks of. It is the Pillar of Mildness.To make a long history short: Mara, as the spirit of death and sorrow, had many manifestations in Middle Eastern religious imagery. She was portrayed as the Syrian-Mari, Hebrew-Marah, Greek-Moera, Celtic-Maura, and so many more. She also became the mater dolorosa (the wailing mother in the temple), whose function was to preform the funeral hymns that the Greeks called- Moirologhia (Word of the Fates). The death priestesses used dirges called houloi, "howlings", that Herodotus said, originated in the Libyan temples of Athene.There once was a traditional belief that dead men had to be sung into the after-world by feminine charms (carmen), expressing formal by not necessarily sincere grief. The traditional belief that is the 3 of Swords Tarot Card, was based on "tears of woe", connected with a holy woman or with singing. The keening lament, was a warning, as though a balance of dangerous powers, shown in the Two card, or the Two side Pillars of the Three Pillars of the Tree of Life, might tip over, one way or the other, resulting in tragedy. When the 3 of Swords is thrown, the querent is experiencing or will be experiencing:
Now
if the card is accompanied by the more Spiritually inclined Major
Arcana, the Three of Swords, empathizes the deep Spiritual Melancholy of
the Crone, that the querent is experiencing as they approach "the dark night of the soul". Thank you for your interest, comments and
supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 4 of Swords: Truce & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 4 of Swords: Seclusion.
  The Thoth Tarot-4 of Swords : Truce & The Barbara Walker Tarot-4 of Swords: Seclusion.Rest from strife,
is the general meaning of this Tarot card in the suit of death. Issues, relationships or something
in one's life has come to full resolution on all four levels of
awareness--mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical.   Astrologically this is Jupiter in Libra which is a compassionate and sensitive position. The 4 of Swords
card, as illustrated by Barbara Walker, is also representative of a healthy seclusion, where one is
voluntarily taking time-off from adversarial situations as they rest and
recuperate. Therefore, the intellect is relinquishing control and
allowing peace from the stress generated by juggling the contrary. Sometimes this card
also signifies convalescence and recuperation from a illness
specifically generated by the psychosomatic union of body and
subconscious mind to establish a involuntary rest period.  To a Qabalist, the 4 of Swords card represents Chesed in Yetzirah; the influence of Mercy in the Astral word. The Thoth Four of Swords--Truce, card represents the equal focus of the four states of conscious;
The Thoth 4 of Swords, represents the meditative, negotiating, and conflict resolving mind. With the flexibility of
Jupiter (sign on top of card) and the balancing and non-positional
influence of Libra (sign at bottom of the card) this suggests a truce making mind
that is a four fold process of the four states of consciousness. This four fold process
is shown by the four swords (swords represents Air/ Mind) all meeting at the
points in the Lotus of four tiers of the lotus (symbol of enlightened
mind). Therefore, Truce is an opportunity to
move through the issues of conflict which tend to stall our mental
processes; represented by the web-like back ground of this card. The Thoth Truce card is often called the four fold way; First: One must be present; Second: Pay attention. Third: Tell the truth. Fourth: Not be attached to the outcome. The color green on the Thoth Tarot Card represents regeneration and yellow represents the deeply spiritual mind, that may be known to some as the Solar Logos.  Again, The Thoth Tarot 4 of Swords, represents Chesed (mercy) manifesting in the realm of Intellect. Jupiter rules in Libra in this decannate. There
is no opposition in any of these symbols so The Four of Swords
proclaims the idea of authority in the intellectual world and is the
dogma and the law concerning it. In an arbitrary manner, the Four of
Swords represents a refuge from chaos and argues for convention.  On The Thoth Tarot, the 4 Swords have their hilts placed in the 4 corners of a St.
Andrews cross suggesting rigidity. The Sword points are sheathed in a
large white forty-nine petaled rose, representing social harmony. Hence
this card is mental compromise. Thus,
fixed rigidity is suggested.  The number 4 is the position of Chesed (mercy) on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. In this decanate, Chesed refers to Jupiter who rules in Libra. Thus we have, intellectual balance and/or the idea of authority in the intellectual world. However,
when mercy is applied to intellectual thought, we have compromise,
which in itself, dulls the sharpness of wit. Therefore, the 4 of swords
can represent the turning of a clear and concise thought into a rather
murky, self-deprecating thought. Such as the political thought of today. When thought is compromised
to please the "many" very little intelligence is presented. Such
thought represents a refuge from the mental chaos of free thinking, arrived at
in an arbitrary manner. While arguing for convention, one loses the
invention of the individual perspective. From such conventional thinking, we get society and indoctrination.  The large 49 petal rose in the center of the Thoth Card, represents
social harmony, which has fixed the 4 swords of "pointed thought",
into pointlessness, supporting the theme of this Crowley- card of compromise. First and foremost,
there is no Truce without conflict but conflict is not over because of
Truce. Rather, it is a temporary fix at best, and will soon shake apart
from the strain of holding the tension in compromise. We have a perfect
example of this in our Korean Truce between North and South Korea, the
war isn't over due to compromise...it's just waiting to ignite again. As
Aleister Crowley so eloquently put it, "Minds too indolent or too cowardly to think out their own problems hail joyfully this policy of appeasement." [Book of Thoth] . Because the number 4 represents the manifestation of things, the Four of Swords-Truce, also represents ,"the strong man or woman, armed, keeping their house in peace." The
very nature of Air (combination of Fire-Will and Water-emotions)
makes the action of Truce dominate. Thus we have Truce, held by threat
of violence, rather than an intelligent conclusion to a problem. That is
why the back ground of the Thoth 4 of Swords is a chaotic mix of fractures,
rather than an established geometric formula. Truce may sound like a
good idea, but it is only a temporary avoidance of a problem rather
than a fix. The term for this in our modern society would be, "Truce is just a band-aid, not a cure."  The Barbara Walker Tarot- 4 of Swords: Seclusion, depicts a Sybil, therefore illustrating the old traditional meaning of the 4 of Swords. Tarot 4s invoked the earth-sign of the square. Within a cavern and within a square, was seated the Sybil, establishing her magical connection between herself and the Mother of Fate. Fatal women and dire events, generally were associated with the name seeresses, pythonesses, mantes, valas, magia, stregae or sybils. The moniker, sybil, was a derivative of the Goddess, Cybele, whose name meant "cavern- dweller". The Sybil of Cumae (Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonianoracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy) and the Pythoness (Pythia) of Delphi, (The Pythia (/ˈpɪθiə/, Greek: Πυθία [pyːˈtʰi.a]), commonly known as the Oracle of Delphi, was the name given to the priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi who served as the oracle). Wikipedia.  Just as Kali's Yogis, oracular women often sat cross legged on the ground, establishing her "earth seat". Later on, Christian authorities, keeping with their tradition of misogyny, claimed that sitting cross legged was a form of witchcraft.Sitting on the ground or touching Mother Earth, is a time honored way of invoking her power. This was not only shown in the Greek myths of the son of Mother Earth, the giant Antaeus, but also by the Buddha. In his prolonged isolation, the Buddha called on Mother Earth's power, by touching her, so that she would protect him from demon's. Without the intervention of the Mother Goddess, it was believed that no one could withstand the evil forces, not even the Enlightened One. Therefore, the Tarot Tradition for the 4 of Swords, was that it represented foresight or insight generated by seclusion.Sometimes, the 4 of Swords represented prophetic powers invoked in secret. There was also implied by the 4 of Swords, that consulting a person of true insight and/or prophetic ability, would reveal a rather dire outlook. When the 4 of Swords is thrown during a reading:
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 5 of Swords: Defeat & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 5 of Swords: Defeat
  The Thoth Tarot & Barbara Walker Tarot- 5 of Swords-Defeat:The Four 5s of the Tarot: GEBURAH, Severity, is the fifth Sephiroth on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Across from Geburah is Chesed, the 4th Sephiroth on the Tree. He is Her
perfect balanced mate, he builds up and she tears down. As Chesed is
loving and merciful, Geburah is terrible in her demanding of due. Yet,
she is also active Mars, the Warrior King. Thus this red Intelligent
Energy, is female in receptive behavior and Masculine in expressive
behavior. Geburah is the Destroyer, The Warrior King, The Power of
Judgment, the Clarifier and the Eliminator of the Useless. Those familiar with the Hindu mysteries, would call her Kali Ma.  Geburah's symbols are: The Pentagon, the Five Pedaled Rose of the Tudors. The Sword and the Spear, the Scourge and chain. Her planet is Mars and the color is red. Geburah may
be the most difficult Sephiroth ( State of Intelligent Energy) to
approach because of her difficult and often overwhelming lessons. Yet,
Geburah, is a necessary corrective in our lives, as she tears away all that is useless, outdated or undesirable. There is a tendency to think of Geburah/Mars/Saturn
as evil, as do some of Kali Ma's worshipers; However, her Severe lessons are such
that they are akin to burning down a diseased forest, so that new health
trees may emerge. Sure, the balances that She instigates, are painful,
even devastating, but again, necessary to keep balance in the Universe
of, the Spirit, the Mind, the Emotions and the Body.  The Four Fives
in the Tarot, are all in someway, connected to Severity and Strife, the
degree of this severity depends on the suit the Card is in. Yet, no
matter how squeamish we are, many of us realize that it is the truly
difficult situations that teach us the most. I for one, have not failed
to learn from such.So here we can say that Geburah
supports our strength, for when we weaken and succumb to "comfort zones"
(fear of vulnerability), She tears them away, exposing them for the
fraudulent behavior they are (I think some, call this "Tough Love"). The
strict discipline of Geburah is a corrective process that is
both necessary and positive. Therefore, this aspect of the All Mother, conveys the ability to judge clearly
and the willingness to be judged, as described in the Qabalistic
Hermetic axiom," Watch the Watcher, Examine the Examiner, Judge the
Judge." Chesed, the 4th Sephiroth, is called Mercy, his qualities of mercy must be controlled by the Sentinel qualities of Geburah,
or they will overflow into an evil imbalance of force. Sometimes Mercy
must be checked, such as one must learn from their own mistakes, rather
than have someone always correcting their mistakes for them as a form of
pain avoidance. In the Psyche of "freedom of choice", everyone has the right to learn from their disease! Discernment demands it, and the Tree of Wisdom sprouts from correcting our own error. It is the
continual flowing cycles, because of the constant interaction of
Geburah and Chesed, that keeps the rhythm of life moving forward;
Inhale-exhale.  The adept must be first
initiated in Geburah, before Chesed. For one must have perfect control
before being immersed in the abundance of Chesed, the Architect. Thus,
the attribute of Great Power, is derived from Geburah. The Power
is Great, because Geburah is related to both Kether and Binah. That
Unity, is the source of this outward flowing power. Binah, who is "will to form", gives form
birth potential and Geburah gives it death potential so that beginnings
have ends. One can say that Geburah is the Force of Time, i.e
Cronus/Saturn, who is often shown as one who "eats its young".In sacred texts,
Geburah is also shown as a Masculine bearded Warrior in his/her
chariot, relating to Mars, therefore both Martial and Saturnine force
are his/her attributes.  Yet the primary qualities of Geburah are feminine, these feminine qualities are suggested by the rose of Venus, the five
pedaled rose of the Tudors. Venus is also the Planet closely related to
Mars, as the forces of Mars are transmitted from Geburah, through
Tiphareth ( Beauty) and into Netzach (Victory) of which Venus
is assigned. In Myth, Venus and Mars are married to one another. Five sided symbols
are related to Geburah, such as the invoking and banishing pentagram
and the pentagon. The five elemental points of the pentagram are only
brought into balanced power in the individual who is relentless in their
self-discipline. As any Power line electrician knows, intense focus,
and unwavering handling of immense power, is essential for job
longevity. Therefore the true forces of the individual must be
under the control of the Spirit (symbolized by the highest point on the
Pentagram) for the individual to truly experience the mutable nature of
the personality in the Higher Self of Tiphareth. The resulting immersion
into the Fires of Truth, burn away all that is unworthy of Higher Self
in the personality. The Burning Truth is often initiated in a brutal silence of self
assessment.  The other symbols of Geburah, such as the Spear represents a swift and complete destruction while the Scourge and the Chain symbolize a continual application of Force.  The
Sword of Geburah, represents the sharp edged power of the individual
under impeccable self control. The strength of severity is the
individuals greatest weapon for cleaving away the delusion of man-made
definitions and/or all that is unworthy of them. To
understand this "defeat" of our old personal identity patterns (Upside
down Pentagram) we must understand what happens to unattended fire
(Spirit); it can either go out or become a conflagration. What happens
to non-moving water/ consciousness? It either turns into a mire and
goes putrid or evaporates away. To keep this from happening to the
Divine Creative's Force and Form Children, Geburah (The Divine
Feminine) has invented the Conscious Energy State of Severity-where
strife and defeat supply the "jolt of movement" necessary to get the
stagnant personality moving again. Therefore, this severity is "Tough Love".  Geburah(Severity
on the Tree of Life) always supply disruption. In this case, Venus
rules Aquarius which implies weakness rather than excess of strength that is
the cause of the disaster. In the Thoth 5 of Swords-Defeat, the intellect has been enfeeble by sentiment and has become overly passive. Treachery may also be implied. The Five of Swords is shown in a
sinister state of the inverted pentagram which is a sign of
matter/personality dominating the will of Spirit. In this case even more
sinister as none of the swords have hilts that resemble any of the
others, and their blades are bent or broken and give the impression of
drooping. As virtue declines (virtue is always being true to your inner
self) corruption takes over until all is in disorder. There is no Rose
of enlightenment in this card, since it is all destroyed now. The Tarot 5 of Swords is Defeat, because of the
influence of the 5th Sephiroth-Geburah, whose meaning is Severity. Thus,
Geburah,#5, always produces disruption to any suit. In the 5
of Swords there is also the fact that Venus is now ruling Aquarius, such
a ruling produces a passive weakness rather than an excess of strength.
Treachery may also be implied, the normally cutting edge wit is also
enfeebled by sentiment, making treachery even more disastrous to the
person.  Inverting the pentagram, is a sinister
sign of "things being turned upside-down", where thoughts of success
have been defeated by unseen severity. The Thoth Deck 5 of Swords, also
represents "self-defeating" thoughts, as the hilts of the 5 swords are
individually different, implying confused thinking, making matters even
worse. The Swords are 'drooping" and chipped,
representing old thoughts being kept long after their usefulness;
thoughts, that never worked in the first place, the combination of which
can only bring defeat.The Great Balancing Blue Rose of the Mother
(Wisdom), is totally missing from this card, and only the 'blood" of
Geburah forms the pentagram outline. This is the Cleansing Blood, that
destroys the old, putrid and useless "software" of the personality,
in-order to build anew. As you can see, this is a severe action to a
personality whose denial is its sole support. This is all very sinister, but as luck would have it, it is the
beginning of an understanding that past "self thoughts" are either too
dependent on the reactions of others, and/or by seeking
self-value through others, we are unable to be ourselves. By serving
two masters, we've divided our power, therefore, we can only arrive defeated in purpose. The lesson here,
that I often tell my clients, is that you've been created because you are good enough for The Divine Creative! By seeking approval from those who cannot build you nor have control over their own identities, you can never be the you
that was created in the first place! I AM Me, is our Trinity of
Self....Not I Am "wana-be" somebody! Me, is the invention of I AM's
self-awareness and is a understanding full of probability, so it is okay
to experiment with self-identity. Just remember the axiom, 'think ill
be ill, think well be well" ...You've already been well thought
of----that is why you exist! It really is okay to love being you! Therefore, one can say that the Tarot-5 of Swords-Defeat, is also about reacting to past history and therefore supplying no future action for fear of it repeating itself. All
the twisted lines in the back ground of the Thoth Tarot Card are representative of the
distortion that fear induces into our emotional/ mental state.The five bent swords represent
fear distorted thoughts and feelings, while the twisted red
handkerchief on the top sword, to the viewers right, symbolizes an
opening of an old wound. Old wounds tend to constrict us with fear when
they are opened by thoughts of "oh dear, not again!" Fear of being hurt again
is prominent in this card, basically, astrologically Venus in Aquarius,
represents a fear that a new relationship will not work out,and
symbolizes fear of moving in new directions that are emotionally
important to you.  The upside down crown (the crown is a symbol of expanded awareness) tells us that our awareness is expanding in a fear filled direction.  The sword handle of Pisces
the fish along with the red handkerchief, represents the past (age of
Pisces); old memories rising up to cloud your new awareness.  When we move in states of fear, nothing is regenerated or renewed which is represented by the sleeping snake on the sword handle. Aries, (the ram headed sword)
is about new directions, of which we are unable to move in as a state
of fear. We are discombobulated by fear and risk a repeat of a past
defeat.Yet, the Star (white background outline)represents our Greater Self that is trying to break
through and get us back on to living the present rather than being dead
in the past. The Thoth card seems negative, with its fear of the
unknown or of repetitive past mistakes; However, it tells us that we
are being philosophically challenged and must adapt our belief system or
lifestyle to the present unhindered by past presumptions. Life
demands transformation and transformation demands courage, which is
simply grabbing fear by the hand and saying," Come along with me little
one, we have work to do!" This card reminds us to let go and let out inner divinity propel us forward into the now. One may ask, why is there a need for
such a nasty- Intelligent-judgmental- corrective force if we are the
Child of God? This Severity is easily explained as cutting away the
unworthy bits, so that you are the original you. But what many fail to
understand, is that if all the definitions given one, by their society,
belief systems and cultures are not one's identity, THEN we CAME IN
ALREADY KNOWING ourselves! By surrendering our "trying to be", to the Great Being we already are, we have accepted that our indoctrinated thought has defeated our ability to be present. ` Yes it is true, dear
ones, truth is made manifest. Therefore, your psyche never came seeking
your truth, nor to find out who you are, the Soul/Psyche already Knows
that! By putting knowledge into form is how you became manifest! You are
Defined into being, not a being who seeks definition! You are a Divine
Creative/Psyche who proves definition by making it manifest in a soma! Therefore, the severity of Geburah, helps us remember who we really are, and not what we pretend to be. To reiterate: The Five of Swords, is known as Defeat,
or Lord of Defeat. Being that Venus is in Aquarius here, the normal
disruption of Geburah's strength, is not the cause of disaster! This is because weakness is the cause of the Five of Swords disaster! A weakness brought on by pacifism, and enfeebling sentiment; maybe even treachery. This treachery could be both from the past dogma, or indoctrinated programing in your own brain, or from some outside source.  Barbara Walker Tarot- 5 of Swords: Defeat, chooses the traditional definitions of self-abasement, passive endurance, and forcibly swallowing one's pride.Self-sacrifice was a mandatory process for enlightenment in the God-King myths. For one to gain or retain such feminine powers as insight, wisdom, verbal facility, or life giving magic, a god-king had to forcibly swallow his pride and surrender himself to the goddess.  The Old Nordic story of Odin, explains this inner process. Wounded in the side by the typical spear thrust (Christian story teller's adapted this to the Christ myth), Odin was crucified on the World Ash tree, while the trinity of Norns (3 fates) sat at the tree's roots spinning his fate. There is obvious comparison to the Qabalistic Tree of Life, for Adam Khadmon is crucified on the Tree of Life, in his side, is the 5th Sephiroth-Geburah, one of whose symbols is a spear, and the Earth, the place where time brings fate, Maid, Mother and Crone, the Trinity at the root of the Tree.Interestingly, Odin hung on the World Ash Tree for 9 nights, because as Barbara Walker Stated,"...nine nights, the traditional period of lying-in for parturient women, because the skills and insights he craved were formerly the exclusive property of mother's". Odin then, descended into Hel's uterine pit, traversing " all seven nether worlds". Upon arriving in Hel's domain, he received a drink of red mead from the feminine fount of Wisdom, that is to say, he drank the "wise blood" from the Cauldron in the earth's womb. He reincarnated/resurrected as the savior-son Balder, just as Osiris rose from the dead as the savior-son Horus. Sun/dying gods and sacred kings, were often identified with the Sun, whose Passion took place in the midwinter solstice, the darkest day of the year, when the solar deity must die to be resurrected into a new solar expression toward the life-giving spring and summer seasons. Hence, the traditional 5 of Swords Tarot Card, represented the voluntary surrender or self-sacrifice of one's ego to gain subsequent glory. This is much like the Hanged Man card, therefore, Crowley decided more on the knowledge of self-defeating thought being surrendered to the Severity of Geburah's tough love Sword, thereby being pruned of unworthy thought and resurrected as the True Self. Also the 5 of Swords reminds us, to accept defeat and build from the experience a successful way of growth. Winter may defeat the apple tree...so it "rests and
reconsiders its options" and awaits the Spring with renewed energy. If
the apple tree just kept reliving the browning of its leaves and the
decay and fall of its apple, it would waste its energy in "painful
production" and die. However, inaction due to fear is
a common disease and easily overcome by "springing" into action----just begin! One step begins any
journey! When the Thoth 5 of Swords card is thrown during a reading,
Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! |
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Meeker Mansion Psychic Fair
 Today, is the day of the Psychic Fair @ The Meeker Mansion, 312 Spring St. , Puyallup WA.; From: 10AM to 5PM. Yours truly will be there along with many world class readers and psychics. There will be a door fee of $5.00, which is used to restore the beautiful old Mansion. So come, tour, and support the restoration.  The added bonus, is that the place is full of interesting Psychics, card readers, and entrepreneurs.I Will be reading Auras and Chakras, hand drawn and colored, as well as doing expert Thoth Tarot Readings. Love to see you. Thank you for your interest and may you live long and prosper. |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 6 of Swords: Science & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 6 of Swords: Passage.-
  The Thoth Tarot 6 of Swords-Science & The Barbara Walker Tarot-6 of Swords- Passage, refers not only to
Tiphareth (Beauty), the sixth Sephira on the Tree of Life, but also to
the intellect itself. Tiphareth/Beauty, is a harmony of love, involving the intellect of
Spirit, mind and body as a harmony and is often called the "Christ or Buddha
Consciousness". It is the highest state of Consciousness the human brain
can receive and therefore express. Thus, the Six of Swords is the fully
established and balanced expression of the Suit of Air/Swords. 
On the Thoth card, this synchronicity is also shown by placing the Planet Mercury in the
sign of Aquarius which represents the flow of celestial Energy that
operates the Idea of Humankind, i.e. the concept of humankind as the
I-mage of God, i.e., The God Mind, manifest in the Microcosm. If you remember past blogs, the word Human is a composite of Mandarin-Hu, meaning-god, and a derivative of the Hindu word Manas, meaning-mind. God Mind is our collective identity...how we doing so far?To some, the word Science implies,
plodding mathematics, mind numbing repetition and burrowing into dusty
old books, complete with stogy academics scratching chalk across a green slate board; However, there is much more implied in the 6 of Swords. This is
the ultimate declarative Science ( I AM) of balancing the moral and
mental faculties, that is difficult to achieve, and almost impossible to
hold, in an ever-changing world of identity and definition manipulation.  In
The Thoth Deck 6 of Swords, the hilts of the swords are not only
ornamental but they also form the Hexagram that is the combined Triangles of
the "As above, so below" doctrine of Qabalah. There is much to this
science, so much so, that in this blog it can only be explained in
Understanding the Collective Consciousness represented as the entire 78
cards of Tarot. However, it can be said that the 6 of Swords represents"Mind over Matter", the perfected psychosomatic relationship of
consciousness and body. As quote from the Qabalistic Tarot, by Robert Wang,"To
deal with the mysteries of Tiphareth, one must first have undergone the
initiations of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire (Malkuth, Yesod, Hod and
Netzach, respectively). No matter how a religious or esoteric cult,
whether Christianity, Buddhism or Qabalah, may describe the various
component parts of the Personality, or the initiation of the four lower
Sephiroth, an integration must be undergone before the descent of the
Light which is God the Son. This integration is a personal atonement for
the Fall. In Tiphareth is the Redemption." The Fall, which is often misunderstood, simply
means the progressive sojourn down the Tree of Life, necessary to
establish a "point in time"; a "down sizing" called the human body. We are Spirit, who
is "everywhere and nowhere at the same time", (infinite - I AM )
so in order to become "Self Aware" we need a place in time; a moment of
sensuality, for the purpose of Self examination. There is no "Me"
without sensation! This is called the "fall", when we build a "Me" we "fall" from the impersonal immortality of the I AM and become a personal
mortal/sensual experience of the microcosm as a "Self", i.e. I Am Me. This is most necessary for intellectual discernment!   To know that human kind is the initiator of the Elementals is
a Magi's knowledge and requires the "Science of Tiphareth", who is King
over the four Elemental aspects that are the Personality (thus the
cross symbol on the Thoth Card) and the Palace of the rulers of the actual Elemental
Kingdoms of Earth, Air, Water and Fire. These Rulers are called the Malachim
elementals who are kings over other elementals because they have gained
immortality which occurs only from the intervention of human beings.
When we realize ourselves as Tiphareth, we become the Elohim Malachim "Gods of the gods"(shown as a light holding Sorcerer on the shore of the B.W. Tarot Card) . As you may note, there is much to this Science of Tiphareth. To continue with the Thoth Card description, the 6 Swords have their points joined in the Rose upon the six squares of the Rosy Cross. Thus, the Rosy cross is the central point of this Science. The
number 6 is the number of the Sun/Son and the Rose is the Womb of the Great
Mother. The Son (Sun) of the Father joined in the womb of the Mother,
is an intelligent state of Energy that requires diligent study and
vigilant self awareness. Have fun deciphering this Sephira, for it is the Science of
Magic ! To reiterate: The complete interpretation of this card is: the perfect balance of all mental and moral facilities, hardly won and almost impossible to hold in an ever-changing world. Therefore, the 6 of Swords is the science of the psyche and soma, that is both objective and
fair-witnessing; "Mind over Matter". The Six swords, also suggesting the form
of the unicursal hexagram, all join in the center of the Rosy cross; a Rosicrucian Cross, which is the universal symbol of integration, synthesis and blessing.This
indicates that the 6 of Swords also represents the integrative mind that
recognizes sources of inspiration that are sometimes inexpiable.  The Thoth Tarot-6 of Swords represents The holistic mind which
is symbolized by the circle while the crystalline diamond represents
the crystal clear creative mind. This mind can consider many thoughts at
once (the many pin wheels in the background) and succeeds in integrating them into
a collective-clarity that is objectively communicated in such away as to
present a new perspective that would have been otherwise unseen.  The sign of Mercury is seen at the top of the card
and the sign of Aquarius at the bottom, symbolizing Mercury in Aquarius. Mercury is
the winged messenger (clear communication) and Aquarius is the New Age (new perspectives) symbolizing the ability to communicate new ideas in
such an objective way that they are easily understood and heard. Hence, The Thoth 6 of Swords-Science
illustrates the Balance of the idea of the Suit. Tiphareth, the Middle
6th Sephiroth on the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life, is the Sun/son
of God- Sephiroth, known as Beauty; Beauty being the perfect balance of opposites, or as psychologist/philosopher-Carl Jung would say, "...a Synchronicity".  The Higher Intellect of the Soul itself is also referred to in the number 6 , as it is the number of the Sun, which represents the Bright-Warm Intelligence. In the zodiac,
this card is influenced by Mercury in Aquarius, which represents the
celestial Spiral (Spirit) Energy Intelligence influencing the Soul of Man. Thus, the Six
of Swords-Science, shows both Divine intelligence and humanity.  Illustrated
on the Thoth card, the Points of the Six Swords touch each other in
the Center of a red rose on a golden cross of six squares. The red is
hard to see on the card illustration as it has faded due to processing. The Golden cross, the Red Rose and the six squares, of which the cross is composed, show the Rosy Cross as the central secret of scientific truth. The
Student of Gnosis ( Greek for Knowledge, but not the knowledge we make
but rather the Knowledge that makes us) might find it interesting to study the Rosy
Cross and/or Rosicrucian philosophy.  The Barbara Walker Tarot-6 of Swords: Passage. Here Barbara Walker chooses to use an older traditional meaning of the Tarot 6 of Swords; a journey by water. In medieval times, a journey over the sea was an anxious time, a passage toward a dark and unknown future. The Greeks knew such a passage into the unknowable Abyss, as the river Styx, older than the gods and the ultimate journey and last rite of passage guided by the faceless ferryman, Charon, as he transported the souls of the dead into the nether world.  Some say the waters of Styx are black, others said they were blood, for these waters bore the same curse as menstrual blood, once represented by the Gorgon Face; it was said that the fluid of the river Styx could turn men to stone. Truth being, the word Styx, means petrifying, in reference to its terrible taboo. [From Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia] In Greek mythology, Styx (/stɪks/; Ancient Greek: Στύξ [stýkʰs]) is a deity and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (the domain often called Hades, which also is the name of its ruler). The rivers Styx, Phlegethon, Acheron, Lethe, and Cocytus all converge at the center of the underworld on a great marsh, which sometimes is also called the Styx. According to Herodotus, the river Styx originates near Feneos. Styx is also a goddess with prehistoric roots in Greek mythology as a daughter of Tethys, after whom the river is named and because of whom it had miraculous powers...Styx was the name of the daughter of Tethys and Oceanus, the goddess of the River Styx. In classical myths, her husband was Pallas and she gave birth to Zelus, Nike, Kratos, and Bia (and sometimes Eos). In those myths, Styx supported Zeus in the Titanomachy, where she was said to be the first to rush to his aid and for this reason her name was given the honor of being a binding oath for the deities. Knowledge of whether this was the original reason for the tradition did not survive into historical records following the religious transition that led to the pantheon of the classical era. Since, the Divine Feminine, is traditionally the Mother of Life and Death, the river was also called Alpha, the river of birth since the river was also birthplace of the various Greek gods. The River Alpha was said to flow from Mother Earth's vagina, past the holy shrine of Clitor, as shown on the Barbara Walker Card.As a deity, Styx was the Daughter of Oceanus (the Ocean). The name, The Daughter of the Ocean is possibly derived from the more primitive, Kali-the-Creatress, known as the Daughter of the Ocean of Blood. As state by Wikipedia, Styx married Pallas, a mysterious phallic deity, who impregnated her. Styx gave birth to a holy trinity known as, Power, Force, and Dominance.[Harrison, 72-73] Styx, was also known in Egypt as a form of Hathor, who was associated with a holy river of blood (the red Nile in flood time), said to issue from a vast cavern under the Mountains of the Moon. The ancient Egyptians believed that Hathor-the-Sphinx, carried the dead through 6 windings in the uterine underworld and gave them rebirth. Therefore, some artist somewhere interpreted the six "windings" as a "serpent haired" goddess. The Sphinx guarded the dark entrance to Gehenna's headwaters; Gehenna, was a biblical name for a river sacred to Ge, another name for Mother Earth. [Hallet, 401] The fearsome riddles of the Sphinx seem to be representative of man's fears of the veiled, unforeseen future. The 6 Swordsman of the Traditional Tarot, were supposed to be moving away from danger, thus the passage was not as perilous as first thought. In Barbara Walker's illustration, Hope is seen as a lone figure on the riverbank holding up a light. Though not immediate, this card was deemed a prelude to success. Difficulties must be faced during the voyage before the passage could proceed. When the Tarot-6 of Swords is thrown during a reading it indicates:
Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 7 of Swords:Futility & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 7 of Swords:Opposition.
  The Thoth Tarot- 7 of Swords-Futility, & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 7 of Swords: Opposition.In the tarot of the Hermetic Qabalah the 7's are Netzach (the Sephira
of Venus). Netzach in the Suit of Swords and means- Victory, but not victory over opposition, rather the brain's victory of association over the Truth of Higher Intelligence.  Netzach places a
modifying influence on The 7 of Swords that is accentuated by the
zodiacal rule of Moon in Aquarius. This means that the mental wreckage
illustrated in the Thoth card, is not as much of a disaster as it is in the 5
of Swords, under the rule of Geburah-Severity. Therefore, the 7 of Swords-Futility, represents a wish to compromise; a
certain vacillation is present; One might say, that a certain toleration
is present. Of course, the success of this policy for compromise
determines the nature of the mental wreckage, so when compromise is
unsuccessful, then a disaster is presented. Hence, if the surrounding cards show strong violent forces, then Great Futility is expressed and compromise won't work. The
Thoth Tarot-7 of Swords, shows a Strong central sword being chipped
away by six weaker swords, suggesting that the Central Strong Character
struggles in vain against the many feeble thoughts that assault it.The Qabalistic Thoth -7 of Swords follows the Axiom, "Above all things, know thyself". However there is also an old but well established doctrine of the Gnosis, and Qabalah, "...that it is futile trying to understand the "I AM", by using words as thought". In the Gnostic Gospels of Didymos Judas Thomas, Jesus is quoted as saying: "If
those who lead say to you,'see, the kingdom is in the sky.' then the
birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the
sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of
you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves,
you will then become known, and you will realize that it is you who are
the sons [suns] of the living father. But if you will not know
yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who is that poverty." (The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas---The Nag Hammadi Library--) The
word Suns in brackets is of my own insertion, because the original
word is interpretation as Son (Prince) and/or Sun (Solar logos), both having similar meanings
in Qabalah. The fact that many Monks who interpreted the Gospels from
the original Greek, were misogynistic, required them to use the word "Son", establishing the concept that woman was of a lesser intelligence. Qabalah and Science both know that we are all androgyny; each of
us, both male and female, are to be Tiphareth (beauty) which is "the
Son/Sun" and/or Enlightened Mind- number 6 on the Tree of Life. In
Hermetic Qabalah, Six is the number of the Sun, and is the
Christ/Buddha state of conscious energy that both male and female human bodies are hard wired to receive. The fact is, the word Qabalah, means-receiving. The "Son of God", is the highest state of mind that any of us can reach and understand in a physical body- personal consciousness. [ More research into the old papyri that
was dug up in Nag Hammadi Egypt, will reveal even more Gnostic gems for
the inquiring mind].  Each of us are in the process of "Remembering
ourselves", the 7 of Swords is an especial understanding of our intelligence. Considered one of the
mystical feminine numbers, 7 is not only the number of the "goddess", it is
also the Sephira- Netzack (meaning Victory) on the Tree of Life.
Netzach- Victory, (a Victory of the Group Soul over the individual) in the suit of Swords is not as catastrophic as 7 in
the other suits, as Netzach is the Sephira of Venus. This modifying
influence is accentuated by the celestial fact of the Moon being in
Aquarius, as the planetary rule of this card. To speak of this modifying
influence simply, is that the intellectual wreckage of this card is not
so vehement as is the Five of Swords-Defeat. For there is vacillation,
and a certain tolerance brought on by the need to compromise. However,
in certain circumstances, the need to compromise, can bring even greater
disaster than defeat, depending on the success of the policy of
compromise. Here in Netzach, is the Cultural Group Soul/psyche, in victory over the Soul's Psyche; not by destruction, but by the appeasement of rational. Here, the Soul is told to be less aggressive in it's policies of "I AM", and allow the body , "Me", to decide the identity, as that will cause "less pain". Therefore their is compromise of intelligence for an identity-of-indoctrination supplied by the Group Soul (State), enforced by "pleasure-pain training".  The policy of appeasement that is suggested
by this card, is always in doubt, as there exists
uncompromising-violent forces which prey on vacillation. The Soul will begin to shrug off the "mind numbing caul" of enforced identity. This "shrugging off" of the man-made self by the Greater Self, is often called the "dark night of the Soul", a phrase coined by St. John of the Cross, and it is not "less painful". It is in fact a extreme pruning of the "man made brush" of identity until the Real Seed of The Solar Psyche is the only Presence. Therefore, the 7 of Swords reminds us that it is futile to let our-self identity be built by indoctrinated thoughts based on fear. Fearing death, is fearing the flesh. This causes one's soul to be blocked by a "greater master", for fear of death has a name of legion, as it is also fear of pain, fear of loss, fear of discomfort, fear of rejection, fear of vulnerability, fear of .... It is unnecessary to go on, for Fear, contrary to Fundamental religions, is not your God. Your Solar Logos, Soul/Psyche is the Real Person (persona) of the Divine Creative and it is immortal and therefore, continually experimenting with Self Awareness as the "I AM" creator of "ME". There is no god other than your own Imagination! For to imagine, is to "image make",i.e., Create Self Identity! In Qabalah 7 is a Divine Feminine number, She is Imagination, the Womb of Form! Hence, the 7 of Swords suggests it is futile to allow your imagination to be ruled by others, for your "freedom of choice" allows you to choose your very own identity: I AM ME. Preferably, one not subservient to society, for that is not of the Soul. To reiterate: What the Tarot 7 of Swords represents, is the futility of using this doctrine of appeasement to approach God-Self Knowledge, i.e. The Higher Self.
The brain is indoctrinated by those who ruler- identity by enforcement, so the definition that has
been pounded into your head, as "pleasure/pain training", (brain
washing) will not let you stand in your Power of "I AM ME". On the contrary, you must
kneel and bow your head to weakness and fear as your "mental master" is a software program of servitude to some "outside" master.
This need to appease those who you think can hurt you, or seek what you think will give you "happiness", is a violation of
your Soul's "state of Mind", as you must compromise action with
reaction; For happiness is inside of you. Throughout my Tantric, Gnostic and Qabalistic/Tantric training/learning, I (Original Self) have always told my reactive based brain (personal consciousness), "If you wish to speak to me, you must stand, for I'll not kneel to your weakness", for this
is not a thought processed policy of appeasement. It is,however, the
Policy of the "Will to be", that is our Soul/Psyche-Son of The Divine Creative and is the necessary mental
state needed to "above all things, know thyself". Also, it is necessary for the one who seeks Self, to keep the brain's need to seek survival at bay. The brain's need to survive is futile, it is an artificial intelligence that is necessary for the Soul's Self Awareness experiment, we call "Alive" processing. Life is the Soul's purpose, being alive, is a moment in time. Time is both alpha and omega, beginning and end of a thing, therefore it is futile to think a body can out run time.  It is also futile,
to use the brain's cultural software, when seeking your memory as a "Higher Self", you must use Declaration, I AM.....rather than "I wish".
To Say, "I AM the Divine's Body." rather than " I seek God's mercy and freedom
from suffering", will help get you out of your miserable state of mental
slavery, imposed on you by "those who control definition"; those who
call themselves, your masters. In fact, just by repeating the Pattern on the Trestleboard, written by the Hermetic Qabalist- Dr.Paul Foster Case, one begins freeing their brain from useless reactive data. Each numbered Sephiroth of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, is reduced to one sentence, which opens the indoctrination-blocked- gate of receiving in the brain/self-consciousness. Freeing our "I"s", to see the Kingdom of the Divine Creative Inside, and Outside of us. The Thoth 7 of Swords-Futility, accentuates the axiom, "above all things,
know thyself", by showing the Singular Sword of Self awareness, shown
being chipped away by the contest of the "many feeble" thoughts against
the Strong central "Will to be". The hilts of the six,
more feeble swords, display the crescent Moon, Moonlight in its weaken
state, suggesting illusion, and denial as the attaching "feeble
thoughts". This causes the "appeasement" of self-doubt, a philosophy
that will strive in vain. As we can see, "Above all things, know
thyself", carries no such burden as self doubt, rather it is the freedom
of self-trust, as the Divine builds what it wants; being you is an obvious Creative want. The Traditional meaning of the Tarot 7 of Swords, is illustrated by the Barbara Walker Tarot card. Traditionally, the 7 of Swords meant opposition from relentlessly hostile forces. These oppositions are mental in the suit of Swords, so the Thoth concept of indoctrinate thoughts, implanted in your brain by a hostile society (all societies are hostile to individuality), which relentlessly runs as software in your brain, shutting down individual creativity and therefore the ability to receive Higher Thought is made futile. The implications here are that the source of this opposition is hard to identify or to confront. Which is true, since this indoctrination of thought that opposes your individual action, has been unknowingly implanted by your fear of rejection, as you reacted to displeasure, real or imagined, of your elders, your peers and/or society. Therefore, traps of "knee jerk" thought are implanted by, parents, media, religion and public school or state sponsored indoctrination. With the child's natural fear of rejection, elevated to a social fear, one fears slander's might be spoken behind their backs; a type of paranoia becomes the operational basis of life as one fears unknown impersonal powers of the natural or the social environment that might be aligned against their well-being. A common modern example of this fear, manifests as the mental fears of a "conspiracy theorist".  In the Medieval mind, difficulties that are associated with the 7 of Swords-Tarot, were attributed to a Witch's curse. The prevail thought was that these curses worked harm in secret, hence, they were more dangerous than the seen. Just as depict in this painting that the artist Falero did in 1878, witches were seen as evil consorts of the Devil (a revision of the Hindu-Devi-Lingam). Therefore, Barbara Walker illustrates a Crone-Witch, and all her paraphernalia, including the common black cat familiar. These "cursing witches" were usually suspected to be crones, women whose "wise blood" was retained to build up irresistibly powerful death-dealing magic within her. These crones were often labeled Hags, a word that used to mean "holy woman", as well as a synonym for "fairy". In the matriarchal traditions of pagan Europe, Hags were once tribal rulers or "princesses" who refused to accept the indoctrination of Christianity. They kept worshiping their Goddess in defiance of the Roman Church, so their identity was revised by the Church to that of "witches".  Since cats were sacred to the goddess, from Scandinavia to Egypt (such as the Egyptian goddess Bast), the black cat was revised to represent the "demon-familiar" that helped the Witch to cast her evil spells.The Thoth Tarot 7 of Swords: In the Tarot of the
Hermetic Qabalah, the 7's are ruled by Netzach is the Seventh Sephiroth,
Victory, which governs love, feelings and instincts. It is the Group Mind Sephira, of the Natural Animal Survival Mind, influencing nature and the arts. As quoted from the Qabalistic Tarot Text book of Robert Wang: "The
beams of Chesed and Geburah meet in Netzach and thence in Netzach
arises a green, pure, brilliant, liquid, and gleaming like an emerald.
And the Sphere of its operations is that of Nogah or External Splendour,
producing zeal, love, harmony, and it ruleth the Sphere of Action of
the Planet Venus and the nature of the Vegetable World. And Jehovah
Tzabaoth is a God of Hosts and of Armies, of Triumph and of Victory,
ruling the universe in Justice and Eternity. And its Archangel Hanial,
is the Prince of Love and Harmony, and the Name of the Order of Angels
is Elohim, or Gods who are also called the Order of Principalities."  Netzach being in Yetzirah, influences the
Astral World; a world of deception and fantasy where victory is more
deception than fact. To
a Qabalist, this is Netzach (Victory) in Yetzirah (Astral World). The
Astral world is fluid and deceptive, while Netzach is success after
battle. Which indicates that much struggle is wrought before achieving what you envision, although the envision success is a futile effort towards happiness. You may note, dear reader, that
Netzach in the suit of Swords, does not represent as much catastrophe
as in other suits, as this Sephira of Venus means Victory. There is,
however, a wish to compromise. a halting tolerance and a certain vacillation.
When over done, this need for compromise can bring disaster; not always
does a policy of appeasement produce peace as any student of WWII
knows. Hence, the 6 Swords chipping away at the One Strong Sword,
suggests a contest between the many feeble and the one strong. The
Strong One strives in vain against the pusillanimity of the many. The mundane divination meaning of this card is unstable effort, vacillation and untrustworthy character. More
over, the Thoth 7 of Swords Tarot card also represents wanting something but believing you can't
have it. You are resigned to giving up. However, there is the desire
and possibility of victory over this feeling of futility within the nest
7 weeks or 7 months. The feeling of futility is really just creating
problems for yourself by not believing in your creative potential. The
mind has become inflexible and focused on fear of lack. Mental
flexibility is the up side of this card. It reminds us to experiment in
all areas of our life; lifestyle, daily routine, beliefs and
communications, To settle for is to practice futility----because life is
a constant transformation of Force and Form...Form and Force. We
En-Force our will upon the Motion of our Form by creating Beliefs,
dogma, ideas and emotion, this is the paradigm of Psychosomatic function. To know that Energy-in-Motion, is the Will
that is you and not the follower that is body---is to avoid futility. I
Am the E-Motion that operates this body, rather than, I am emotional
which implies that the bodies natural survival mind (self-conscious) is moved by environment rather than the greater intellect of the Soul/Psyche. When Emotions are just let loose with out Willful focus on oneness,
they are a unstable effort, vacillation, and untrustworthy character.
Like all Motion, Energy-in-motion (emotions) requires guidance systems
in order to "hit their target". "Above all things know thyself", also
describes a vital character who knows what it wants and is able to line
up its sights and get it without harming others in the process. "To know
thyself", means that every thing you see is another way to be you
[Energy-Force and Form] so you knowingly treat them well, but here is the
caveat; to treat others as yourself is a law which you never have broken!
If you think ill of yourself, you treat others ill! If you think Well of
yourself, you treat others well! That is how the One Conscious operates,
since all that is, is another way to be the One Energy that can't be
destroyed or created, only transformed and transmitted! It
is indeed FUTILE to seek happiness when you are unhappy with you! Victory over
chaos, comes from an Ordered Mind/Emotion union; Love being the
Greatest Balance of Order! Love thyself, makes all things possible.
Dislike yourself, makes everything a horrendous effort of futility! This
card says," Wake-up to a new perspective about you or all your actions
are futile; you're good enough to inherit the All!" Remember,
inheritance is not earned, it is accepted. Accept that you are Divine Self Awareness. Mental Justice states, that
what you think you are worth, is what you get! We are all the Children
of the Divine Creative (Divine Parents)---our presence is enough to
inherit the Universe but we decide our identity by our perspective of
ourselves! Why limit your presence? As a Spiritual Will and consciousness, Rock On with your body-dance partner! You are the Force of your Forms, so dance! Therefore The Thoth 7 of Swords-Futility, represents the
sabotaging mind where you know what you want symbolized by the central
sword and then go about defining the reasons why you can't obtain it, as
shown by the six swords surrounding the central one. This is the yes-but mindthat often keeps us from making our dreams work. Again, astrologically the 7 of Swords is Moon and Sun in Aquarius, the
circle with a dot in the center is a symbol of the Sun, the Crescent is
the Moon and the wavy lines at the bottom are Aquarius. Each of the six swords of procrastination bear a planetary sign for the six ways we sabotage our selves.
Instead of the Power of I AM, we are caught in the self-denial of I Ain't...
Often we run "mind loops" that constantly repeat our past as today's
reason for not progressing or going forward with our life. These mind
loops are the "nag within" syndrome that fear of discomfort/fear of
vulnerability, often generates in our subconscious to avoid presumed
pain. When the 7 of Swords Tarot Card is thrown during a divination:
Now there seems to be a large amount of interpretation here, but
as always, the dignity of the accompanying cards will decide if the
influence of the Seven of Swords is more annoying rather than
destructive. Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper. |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 8 of Swords-Interference & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 8 of Swords-Disillusion
  The Thoth-THE EIGHT OF SWORDS-Interference & The Barbara Walker Tarot- Disillusion: In the Hermetic Tarot this card is also called The Lord of Shortened Force. The 8 of Swords is attributed to Jupiter in Gemini, and Jupiter's natural expansiveness is in detriment in Gemini, as the duality of Gemini affects Jupiter's positive energy scattering half one way and half the other. Here, Hod is in Yetzirah, the Astral World. The angels of the Decan are, Vemibael and Yehohel. Because of the desire to go first one way than the other, the shortened forces of Jupiter are scattered, erratic and unstable. This is indeed an interference when trying to focus one's consciousness on a goal. Yes it can be an intense and positive beginning, but it soon loses momentum in misdirection.  Crowley illustrates this in his 8 of Swords, as two strong and long main swords, being crossed ( as in Crossed-up) by six short swords of different designs representing scattered thoughts). The shorter swords also imply: shortened force, narrowness and restriction. There is a definite lack of persistence in intellectual matters and of contest. Jupiter's natural good fortune still attends even the weakest of efforts, yet the will is constantly thwarted by accidental interference. Swords are the Suit of Air which is the suit of Mind, intellect, and conscious and traditionally the suit of death. The 8 of Swords, is of the 8th Sephira-Hod, which means splendor which is all about pretense. This signifies a genuine lack of persistence in matters of intellect and contest. Yet the 8 of Swords is also attributed to Jupiter in Gemini, so good fortune attends even the weakest effort; However, the Will is being constantly thwarted by accidental interference. The Center of the Thoth Card is dominated by two downward pointing long swords. They are being crossed by six small swords , implying many small thoughts interfering with the larger issues. It is interesting to note that these small swords are peculiar to countries or cults, such as the Kris, the Kukri, the Scramasax, the Dagger, the Machete and the Yataghan; implying that outside interference, such as indoctrination, theology, and mental abuse, could be the cause of difficulties.   Since astrologically this card is Jupiter in Gemini, the expansiveness of Jupiter here is in a detrimental phase that shortens its nature. The dual nature of Gemini, goes first one way and then another, shortening the expansiveness of Jupiter's normally positive influence. To a Hermetic Qabalist, 8 of Swords is Hod-Splendor in Yetzirah, the formative Astral World . Splendor, which is seen as a "egoistic showing off", a kind of ,"look how beautiful am I" . Splendor is the state of energy conscious that decorates creation with all it's beautiful colors and plumage. But in this case, the normal brief intense and positive influence of Jupiter is driven to chaotic twists and turns by the dual directions of Gemini. This Interferes with a type of order established by Jupiter, the resulting misdirection makes nothing complete. The divinity meaning of this card is; shortened force, narrowness, restriction as in a prison bound by rules of "good and bad". There is a desire here to expand any duality but all indications are over-analysis, doubt or confusion, interfering with a choice being made. Because of Jupiter, good fortune attends even these weakened efforts; However, the Will is thwarted by accidental interference proposed by Gemini. Crowley knew this to be so, and made sure that each sword in this card was of a different appearance, signifying "many choices with out decision".  Mental interference is signified here. This is a sign of an active mind, that dashes about between thoughts of right and wrong. Hence this person is unable to complete anything of significance. Projects lie about half done, confusion is rampant about what is most important and what is not. When the Thoth card is thrown it points to the astrological aspect of Jupiter in Gemini; Jupiter being the planet of growth and expansion and when linked with Gemini this union requires us to weight different possibilities (Gemini is the sign of the "twins") but without certainty. In Eastern philosophy this is called the Neti-Neti mind (translates to ; Not this-Not that). This card represents the over analytical, non-trusting mind where survival thinking has become the foundation of creative thought brought on by self-doubt. This card says, "Stop! Now is the time to wait rather than act." Yet, the 8 of Swords is not all negative, for it also signifies that the desire and possibility for resolution with in the next eight weeks or 8 months, does exist. As one knows, running from thought to thought not trusting your opinion of which is best or more certain of creating your survival dreams, accomplishes only creative mental interference and nothing cam be completed. Mental confidence is a state of happiness that comes from a state of I AM----not from a state of "I Am not". Therefore the 8 of Swords suggest that it is time to stop seeking and focus on your inner bliss. Declaring," I Am the happiness I am seeking". This forms a state of confidence and stops the seeking of happiness that often interferes with our focused creative motion. " The happiness of the Divine Creative built me so it could be me." is a realization that has personally changed my life---it's time to focus on this fact as God doesn't build what God doesn't want! The Thoth card helps us see that it is not what we do that makes us happy----it is the knowing of our inner-self that is important. Again the Tarot aids us in the spiritual axiom," Above all things, know thyself."  To reiterate: The Qabalistic Thoth- Eight of Swords: Interference and The Barbara Walker Tarot-8 of Swords-Disillusion, are both ruled by the 8th Sephiroth -Hod on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, which is called Splendor. Splendor signifies: lack of persistence in intellectual and matters of contest. Hence, Splendor, is cosmetic and has little depth of character. However, ruling this astrological Decan, is Jupiter in Gemini, thus good fortune may attended even weakened efforts. However, Gemini has its own contest, which is constantly interfering with the Will. This constant distraction of the intellect is implied on the Thoth Tarot Card, by the Six crossing Swords between two major Swords, signifying too many different thoughts to consider at the same moment.  The Tarot 8 of Swords, being in the Suit of Air, depicts a mind that blows "wherever it may". All of this contradiction displays the mental conflict that comes form splendorous displays of intellectual thought. As is often the case, in such a shallow display, the faux intellectual must constantly babble on with gaudy words and hollow concepts that have very little mental "nutrition".  This lack of mental "nutrition" is not unusual for it is a common disease of the human brain, that prods our personalities on with a shot gun blast of thoughts of both culturally installed "good or bad", scattering our intellectual strength so that our will is too weak to go the distance. Many of us are taught, that to be ignorant or incorrect, is bad and the brain wishes to be good and well liked, so it does everything it can to impress other brains; hoping for a "pat on the back". This tends to "narrow and restrict" the mind, so that all we hear are the echoes of many thoughts rattling around in our tinny head. It is not that such a person is"closed minded" it's just that they are "fear minded" and there is such a cacophony of rapid fire thoughts that the person's brain is closeted in mental noise. Such mental interference often assaults the individual's moments of mental repose; Hence, sleeping and meditation becomes a contest between will (Spirit)l and brain (self-conscious) making both sleep and meditation weak attempts.  This lack of focus, requires us to add correctional software to our brain's programming; one such correctional software package, is the study of the Gnostic Qabalah where "above all things, know thyself" is the foundation focus of the I AM. Rather than a cultural "thyself which is made by the acquiring of more things/degrees" which only produces impoverished thoughts based on " I believe my every thought to be true" . There is an axiom for this card, and it is ," A jack of all trades, and a master of none"... which is the modern, concept of "Multitasking". Focusing on one thing at a time will cure this dysfunction which may sound easy, but requires intense fearless-sensual intimacy with what you are doing.The Barbara Walker Tarot-8 of Swords: Disillusion, implies a crisis in which conviction might suddenly show its twin face and be recognized as a destructive fanaticism based on the splendor of righteousness. Faith is lost, and replaced by despair, inner turmoil and depression. Therefore, Barbara Walker depicts the Knight Finisterre who in his search for the passage to the sunset paradise found nothing but a lonely waste land and a cold, impassable sea. A perfect metaphor for righteous conviction showing its shallow and horrible face. "Fighting for what you believe", is just an act of superficial splendor, for what we are is each other. Everyone is yet another way to be an expression of One Mind. Many call this the seeking of the Oneness with the One Mind, seeking the Truth. Yet, Truth made us, for Truth of the One, is made Manifest as a self-image. I'll never be the "whole truth, nothing but the Truth" for I already am. Whatever, I passionately think, I become manifest as, so as the Individual Mind, a copy of the One Mind, I also can only create self-image. I AM, manifest, so being Truth, seeking Truth, is a fish in the ocean seeking water. To Know Thyself is to know Truth. When the Eight of Swords is thrown during a reading, the querent will or has:
When ill-dignified by the accompanying cards, the above qualities produce malice, pettiness, and domineering qualities. This card also represents:
Thank you for your interest, comments, and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper. . |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 9 of Swords-Cruelty & The Barbara Walker Tarot- 9 of Swords- Cruelty.
  In the Qabalistic Thoth Tarot-The four 9s are attributed to Yesod (Foundation) and after the double incursion into misfortune of the 7s and 8s, the energy current has returned to the middle pillar. Balance is restored and energy has crystallized to form the foundation of all things. Yesod is in direct line with Tiphareth (Beauty-the Christ/Sun Sephiroth) so it has a direct line of succession and manifests the full force of the element. Zoroaster said," The number nine is sacred, and attains the summit of perfection". The Qabalistic Thoth-9 OF SWORDS-CRUELTY: Astrologically this card is Mars in Gemini, the fiery Mars energy can do no good in the sign of dualities. To a Qabalist, this is Yesod (Foundation) in Yetzirah (Astral World). The Astral world itself is often deceptive, but with the Foundation energy of manifestation influenced by Mars and the dualities of Gemini unbalance it, deceptions now become cruel realities.  The divination meaning of this Sword card is despair, illness, suffering and cruelty.In the Thoth Deck, the 9 of Swords is shown as eight beaten and battered rusty swords dripping poison and blood; needless to say this card shows no boon. Here the realm of Dreams (Astral) is influenced by mental self-cruelty, negative thinking, and mental degradation. There is a deep depression here but surcease may become apparent in the next 9 weeks or 9 months. This powerful card reminds us that often one is hurt by the expectations that are destroyed by chaos of daily life but instead of doing something about it, being overly self-absorbed, one is suffering over it. Often I hear suffering people say," Why did God take my loved one away from me," or what kind of God would allow a baby to be shot and killed or starved." etc. , or "why do I always fail"? The answer "that we have choices", aren't easy nor pleasant for such devastating events but they have nothing to do with the Divine Creative's desire to "call us back to its bosom". Souls are us, and the Divine Desire is all about Freedom to be us! These are choices of identity that define action or inaction. Besides, the Divine Creative is all around us, in us and as us! Therefore, there is no where to go to be "nearer to god", then by being yourself!  The Divine Creative gave us the inheritance of Divinity as The Wholly Child of many faces (all peoples); for when Imagination is infinite, there are infinity possible self images. We, who are but imagined self-images/identities of the Divine Creative, i.e. Souls, have absolute command over our inherited imagination that creates reality both individually and as a group. If we create a world where value isn't our bodies or their life (living bodies are the Purpose of Souls), but artificial ideas, titles, money, and things, our world will be fueled by greed, ambition, theft, murder; a cruel and devastating world of poisoned survival thinking where vulnerability is denied by preying on everyone else. Truth is Life, and/or the manifested presence of a thought-form, not the thoughts, fears or emotions that we think and feel; for those are the hot bed of the Trickster ( Devil, i.e., lived spelled backwards) that is our self absorbed fear based survival thinking. All is the Universal Divine Collective Unconscious, no divisions no separates for that is the One Mind. Therefore, Truth is thought made manifest! So if we allow, because of fear of vulnerability, a world of hate, of destructive slave-religions, of megalomaniac politics, of ENEMY, our own brain/body becomes that enemy.  *This is the power we wield as "Imagination's Self Image" (Imagination is the Divine Feminine part of the One Divine Creative Unconscious), we freely become our dreams just as the Divine Creative does! Too believe in "good or bad", is to divide the Imagination, and divide the power to be...cruelly cutting the Psyche in half and placing the halves in opposition! I Am neither good nor bad, I AM ME!  Imagination is all around us, in us and as us! Imagination is the "Womb with a view", the Creator of Form. Therefore, when Dreams are driven by fears, they become nightmares and then we fear the nightmares giving them the emotional power to become our energy-in-motion reality; a reality of enemy. Living a nightmare is cruel as our Unconscious becomes the enemy of our consciousness; a grand and terrifying paradox for we are the Psyche/Soul that is the Unconscious who invents consciousness as "ourselves"! Therefore, a "house divided", that cruelly falls. Spirit is psycho-dynamic flow (psychosomatic) of Divine Will who is the Mind that is "over matter" and often shown in Hermetic tradition, as a Serpentine or Spiral flow! Passion or the combination of Will to Force (Masculine) and Will to Form (Feminine), is the foundation of all creation! Therefore when your passion to be is "trying not to be", being becomes what you don't want;as there is no "trying" when the item is thought of and supplied with the emotion to move it.I AM is the Universal declaration of Self and the beginning of all of us as "ME" and/or Self identity. "I Ain't", is man-made fantasy of "good and bad"; a place of denial of identity (which can't be denied since you thought it), that allows us to "not treat another self, as we wish to be treated"! Denial is a fantasy, because whatever is thought and emotionally fueled, will become. Since there is no "Ain't", nor a "I am not", to think a thought places it in a Universe of Infinite Possibilities/The Imagination; Hence, what you fervently declare you are not, is what your energy-in-motion becomes. Like attracts like, as the law of attraction implies which is also the Law of action-reaction. It's best to treat others as you wish to be treated. I call this the Hi-me principle, a principle based on the truth that everyone I see is another way to be Me/Life/Energy. Becoming what you fear, is also why the Fundamental Theologian, is often driven to enact "sins of the flesh", as sensual flesh is their hated enemy and the "sins" are their own imagined invention of "I AM ME"! Yet Spirit, who has evolved into a more condensed thought-form of Self, over time has become the "Flesh". Therefore, Flesh in not a place of "sin", but rather a sacred place of Spiritual Self Awareness! I ask you this, "How can a mind that makes the body alive, and lives as an sensual- identity of Spirit, possibly hate/fear, its very own creation and have a "good life"? Here's a paradox: Most religions claim we have divinely granted freedom of choice, and yet instead of using that god given gift of Imagination freely to expand and liberate Self Identity from fear, we are to become "enslaved thinkers of a doctrine of self rejection" and fear our own flesh. A sensual Spirit body, that has taken over 14 billion years of self-awareness to realize! Think about it; light has began evolution as the Electromagnetic Spectrum, only 1% of that light spectrum is visible and therefore "self aware". That leaves 99% of the Light of Creation, invisible and as yet not aware of itself. As Spirit (invisible light) I can't "see myself", for I have no limits to see! The fact that I can now "see myself" as a reflection of light, is a massive, powerful Spiritual achievement that produces discerning thought! Theological obfuscation, is a perfect example of the cruelty of martial energy in the paradoxical twins of Gemini. Where one thing is "thought/said" and the opposite is done. It is all about applied emotion (energy-in-motion), acting as form/Me. This is known to the Hermetic Qabalist as Force and Form. The Force is "Will-to-force" (emotion) and the Form is thought/idea/visions/ all which are identifying self. When we are utilizing our Force and Form without Self-Knowledge, allowing the ambitious (leaders) to direct our emotional identities, we become thoughtless to the devastation we cause to be of ourselves, as ourselves and by ourselves. We then build Enemies, to blame for our own lack of self -knowledge that inflicts great pain within our bodies who are only reaction to being rejected by the Life within them! Hence, it's best to examine Theologies, Cultures, and any pretense of academia, which leaves us ignorant of how to operate the Psyche run Power Tool we call "our bodies".  There can be nothing crueler than a world built by the Power of the Divine Creative's imagination when the inheritors of that power utilize it by the enslaving individual minds, through "Pleasure-Pain" of enforced identity- training and thereby, teaching them to hate and fear their vulnerability; a Vulnerability that is a great power and/or ability to do work! "A great power" because vulnerability is the cause of all our great character traits; empathy, generosity, caring, loving, union, compassion, love, devotion, discretion, integrity, courage, individuality, and so many more! Immortals, the infinite, have none of these character traits, for they are invulnerable to "Beginning and End"/ no time and no space, no up and no down. Since we have been given Mastery over all Living Things (even over Mortality by reincarnating), by our Divine Creative Parent's Imagination, we as infinite Psyche, need to "understand the living, who know both beginning and end"!   To not understand that all is One Mind, and that this Universe is a Collective of Divine Self Identity, is to not become a master of anything, let alone the living thought that you call your "self". We are the connection of Spirit Intellect Above (higher dimensional frequency than this conscious level of One Energy) and the Earth Intellect Below (Material frequency). Masters of "Beginning and End" and "End and Beginning". We are the Hermetic Qabalistic Axiom of , "As above so below, so below as above." For without an active, sensual mind among the Microcosm, the Macrocosm can't "expand material light (Matter) and liberate it beyond its self proclaimed limits!". Therefore, within us, we all need to set up "me" as the arbitrator that brings peace to the Gemini Twins of self-conscious and subconscious by bring Mind and Body into the Oneness of Love.From the Tao: "What is there is here, what is not here, is not there." Hence, I am here, so I am there. One must manifest an error, to see it, and therefore be able to correct it! This ability to "create, see error and correct it" is called Wisdom; a wisdom that only a sensual body that acts-out our Psyche's thought as "alive" can give the Psyche. Therefore, Wisdom comes from freely doing what one thinks, experiencing the pleasure or the pain of it, and therefore able to correct it's operation as liberating and expanding conscious body software. The Divine Creative obviously knows this, for It, the I AM became, "ME"! But the "Me" can never be it, as to be a Me requires "time/space" and self limiting images/identity. The Power to Create anything is an amazing gift, but the power to create yourself, is magnificent gift ! Freedom of Choice allows us to create our own self-identity; but be clear here, only gods can make themselves less than what they really are! Dogs can never be less than dogs, lizards are always lizards and birds will be birds but, the Children of the Divine Creative can be anything they "Believe themselves to be" including less than they were created to be! Fear is belief, and lives only in our brain! Knowledge is preformed as deed! Declarations make our reality! "I Am Love", builds a world of loving beings. "I Am looking for love", builds a world of denial, and self cruelty, and devaluation of the living, where babies are shot in the name of a religion's god and/or our pursuit of happiness, i.e. "our vision". The name of existence and therefore, creation, is I AM! It is OUR surname! Realities are "Me", our invention of self definition. "Me's" are made from energy-motive-definition (emotional intelligence). When mental self cruelty defines us... Well, welcome to a living hell! To reiterate:The Thoth Tarot- 9 of Swords, is called THE LORD OF DESPAIR AND CRUELTY, or Cruelty in short. This is Mars in Gemini; here Yesod, the 9th Sephira/Foundation is influencing Yetzirah in the Astral World. With a smattering of astrological data, one knows that the fiery energy of Mars, the god of war, does little good in a sign of dualities. This "little good" is shown by the nine rusty swords, dripping blood and poison on Crowley's card. One may shudder at the despair, meanings of illness, suffering and cruelty this card represents but each of us, who are paying attention to our brain, know this to be a "inner self cruelty" of our consciousness that cuts us with the emotionally poisoned blades of embarrassment, low-self esteem, humiliation, self-condemnation, and/or inner disgust. It is the internal Slave Master software, that is installed in our personality by our culture.  The Few Who wish to Rule the Many, our enslaving rulers of law, media and debt, who by controlling definition( law enforcement and peer pressure), make sure this internal-mental slaver virus is installed in your wetware before you even reach seven years old. Like rusty hooks of poisonous self futility, this is a hard one to remove! Peer pressure, just drives this poison deeper into self identity. The media, keeps slashing at your self value...."you need this....you need that....to lack them is poverty. "You are nothing unless you are loved by me " is at the very least implied, or blatantly rubbed in your face, daily, if not hour by hour. "Resistance is futile", blare the horns of the pusillanimous invertebrates who enforce "their masters will" on others. Life is indeed a psychosomatic thing, hence when ignorant, we can be our own worst enemies, just by doubting our own value in the World created by man. Funny thing, according to religious belief, we were given the World of God, as Divinity's inheritors. A world created by "The few who wish to rule the many", is a world of wishes and has no bearing on your self-value. Yet, to see yourself as lack (lackey), is the necessary software to continue the panicked consumerism that multinational mind programmers and/or definition peddlers, want! However, before any human judgement, you were already approved into being by your Higher Self. So once again, the Qabalistic axiom reads true, " Above all things, know thyself"! Avoiding the programing of "self-cruelty" is simple, really! Just know that you had to be approved by all that is Holy, to be made alive! You presence is your Judgment....and obviously you are good enough for Divinity! What pusillanimous- invertebrate or witless sycophant can usurp that declaration of Divine Trust? You are an Divine answer, to a Divine question; in-fact, that is what Creation is ! For one can only make manifest an answer; questions are empty of conclusion! Stop questioning yourself, and become answers instead! Action is the Fiery Spirit that moves you; reaction is usually run by the uncertain mortal-animal who thinks the whole universe is out to eat it! "I Am" dares ask, "What am I"? and you are the answer to that question, "I AM ME"! Therefore, The 9 of Swords, cruelty, is about you being your own worst enemy, divided against yourself, mentally and emotionally. Always nay-saying before you can ever start a motion. This is a moment of doubt drawn out as a life-time of reaction. Sure we doubt our selves! After all every new motion is a risk to our mortal being! But if the infinite Child of Wonder, that innocent curiosity, still has "I's" in you, you're are going to "do it" anyway. We are always striving forward, we are being Pushed along by the Inner Spiritual Self, just like Dark Energy pushes the Universe of Matter forever outwards. Life also has a Driving/Pushing Force...and the Body is the vehicle driven...by death! So what this Cruel 9 of Swords implies, is that "a house divide must fall", we are not a division of Life who fears the onslaught of Death. We are the Spiritual Soul who owns the body and therefore, the life and death of the Body! Even our own Anglo-Saxon based language knows this to be true, for the word Freedom comes from the Anglo-Saxon- Free Doom: meaning "I Choose my own Death"! So, get together with your-Soul-self and over throw the slaver program that is in your brain, for it is based on the false assumption that Death is something other than creation. Software can be erased even when its garbage. (G.I.G.O). All software programmers know of G.I.G.O., for when software is garbage and programed in the hardware or wetware, all is operational garbage. Garbage in, Garbage out! The 9 of Swords implies that you must get off your suffering ass of miserable fear based perspective and rethink the programing! It's easy to fail, all you have to do is stop doing. Success, requires a stubborn optimist; your Soul is such and optimist. For even if it kills "itself" (destroys the hardware) trying to accomplish a goal, it just reincarnates and keeps at it! Hence, the Soul may make many lifetimes of form, to accomplish one purpose. As Children of the Divine Creative, we all will pound out the bugs of our software (definitions), some sooner than others; but we all will do it eventually; that is the purpose of sensuality after all! The human power-tool, is also a learning tool that teaches us to discriminate and/or discern, by experiencing success and failure! Your soul, will just "reabsorb" the software garbage, and try another revision of it in "Hardware" performance that we know as "alive". So, "get over yourself and get on with you! Impeccability is what we do''! Is a correctional software loop, that I,as its self confident Psyche twin, run in my self doubting brain. Remember, the Psyche is the Soul, and the brain is a copy of a soul, we are therefore twins. The Will of the Soul just overrides the "pity pot" of self defeating thought every time it comes on line. But installing that software loop, took determination, and plane old fashion "jack Ass " stubbornness and constant repetition of a meditation of seconds, done most minutes, until it becomes automatic. Don't you think its time, we programed our own Hard Ware/Wet ware! That is the real message of the Nine of Swords. ABOVE ALL THINGS, KNOW THYSELF! To reiterate: The Qabalistic Thoth 9 of Swords-Cruelty: As stated before, the number 9 brings back the energy of a Suit to the middle pillar in the area of Yesod-The Foundation.So the balance to the Suit of Air/Swords would seem to be restored and the previous disorder rectified. However, the Suit of Swords itself has been following the 2nd law of Thermodynamics [...All things proceed from order to disorder.] and the general idea of the suit has constantly degenerated. Instead of Pure Intellect, the Nine of Swords represents the automatic stirring of heartless passions that belong to the Survival Mind of the Lizard brain. This is the world of the unconscious primitive instincts, of the psychopath, of the fanatic and zealotry. Mars rules Gemini celestially here, producing a crude raging hunger that has no restraint; a greed of the eternally fearful This seems odd, since the temperament of Swords is intellectual but as A. Crowley states in his Book of Thoth...." it is the temper of the inquisitor.". Deeply buried in our subconscious is the Tyrant Virus and/or slave program who degrades us, criticizes our Personality's actions if we dare leave the boundaries of our "Slave training" , i.e. indoctrination of identity.  This Tyrant is a wet-ware virus that lies awake awaiting our very attempt at expanding our perspective with whips of "emotional" fear unfolded and ready to strike! This Inquisitor is the result of "pleasure-Pain training" which is commonly called Pavlovian conditioning. Named after a Dr. Pavlov who electrically tortured dogs into compliance. Needless to say this is not a healthy mental state for the individual--- but to those in Authority ( Ruler --Means, "Those who control definition") having you whip yourself into compliance whenever you are tempted to defy your definition of "Self"... is most economical.The Thoth Deck 9 of Swords shows nine swords of varying lengths, all jagged and rusty and all striking downwards with points dripping poisoned blood. The very imagery of this card causes one to shudder in resignation. However, there is a way of dealing with this card: the way of passive resistance is most positive; least positive ways to resist are resignation, and martyrdom. Some may even seek implacable revenge by causing great pain to "others"; "Others" being the enemy's common name, but this is self destructive, as The Survival Mind must always have an enemy to keep its false authority of fear over the Personality. This is a silly delusion, because the Soul/Psyche is both Life and Death of the body and the body will never survive the Will of the Soul! To say, " I AM the Soul who is the Life and Death of this body and I Am the Creator of Free-doom [Anglo Saxon word from which freedom was derived and means" I choose my own death"] , I Am the Alpha and the Omega of my own Life Form"; is stating the original Divinely Given authority you as a soul have over the body. This is a statement of an inner knowledge that comes from knowing Thyself. This Knowledge of Free-doom, lays the Pavlovian-Tyrant to rest, and reestablishes the Soul's Authority over the brain/ body. The Fear of Pain, fades away and the Joy of the Moment is firmly established as a life journey. Swords, usually depict the pure intellect, that acts like air as its energy in motion continually heats up with passion and cools down with rationale. In the case of the Nine of Swords, consciousness has fallen into an unenlightened void of rational thought, stirring heartless animal passions; passions that are of the psychopath and the fanatic. Hence this is the character of the inquisitor; it seems intellectual but is operating in a rage that is without restraint. All this sounds just awful and terribly gloomy, yet, it is the cultural foundation of "Divide and Conquer" indoctrination technique. Our consumerism society is based on "fanning the flames" of that primitive raging hunger of survival thinking in order to produce the "fanatical shopper"whose world is always lacking self-fulfillment. It is the realm of the Neti-Neti (Sanskrit for,"Not this-Not that") consciousness, that consumes unrelentingly, hoping for and in the pursuit of happiness; a futile seeking of happiness because happiness isn't in accumulation nor resides in glutinous bellies nor can it be caught by pursuit. There is only one result in the completion of such thought and that is insanity. This is a modern form of the inquisition, the torture being less bloody, but still internally painful just the same. Thankfully, many of us have enough strength in our character to know that happiness, is not a thing, but rather a "state of Mind" and have found out that by treating other people with respect, ("...do unto another as you would have done to you") we have a happier presence on this earth. Therefore, the 9 of Swords is the state of consciousness that is called "wanna-be", were one is not alive/happy until they achieve some future possession or goal. This person is a corpse; a zombie, who lives only in yesterdays emotions and uncertain futures, leaving the moment of Now vacant of their presence. This phenomena of "walking corpse" is not a new thing that some Hollywood director dreamt- up as the latest horror thriller. Rather, you'll find this "living dead" concept in the two thousand year old Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, that is part of the Nag Hammadi Library. In paragraph 56, of the Gospel of Thomas, it is written: "Whoever has come to understand the World has found only a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world. " If you can understand this Gnostic statement, you can understand the Nine of Swords-Cruelty. Because the practice of "Self inflicted cruelty" is going on in most human brains right now, most of us constantly belittle ourselves, in order to appease our dogma; i.e. our inner-slaver. In her Tarot Card, Barbara Walker also titles the 9 of Swords, Cruelty. However, she depicts her Cruelty as a medieval Inquisition. Here, nine dark robed and hooded male figures, holding forth both cross and sword have entrapped a Holy woman at her tree. During the period of Tarot's emergence into popular medieval society, and for 5 centuries after, the Inquisition was created to trap, torture, and destroy those who still held to the Old Faith. These were mostly women who were often called Druidesses, or as the Greeks named them, Dryads. In ancient Greece, Dryads, were known as priestesses of tree worship. As a residence of her Oracular spirit, each Dryad had her own tree. In the bible, the woman tribal ruler named Deborah, lived under her own sacred tree, that bore her name. [Judges 45:5]. It was believed that a Dryad lived as long as her tree did. Therefore, she could grow old and wise in time. The Greek author/philosopher Homer may have been the one who made this belief popular. The belief in Dryads, was known as far as India, believing that they were responsible for the flowering and fruiting of trees; were "women are vessels of fertility, life in full sap, potential forces for new offspring".[Zimmer, 69]. Michael Psellus, a 11th century scholar, stated that Dryads/Druidesses, were eternal minds that dwelled in earthly bodies, capable of knowing men's thoughts, and foretelling the future. The patriarchal Roman Church, whose who system of "politics" is based on deception, and superstition, could not tolerate such thought exposing capabilities of women, so destroying the Druidesses and cutting down their sacred trees, that the people worshipped became the Inquisitions quest. When the Nine of Swords is thrown during a reading, the Querent will be or has been experiencing:
Mental cruelty.
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- 10 of Swords: Ruin & The Barbara Walker Tarot-10 of Swords: Ruin.
  The Thoth Tarot- 10 OF SWORDS & The Barbara Walker Tarot-10 of Swords: are both called RUIN, or Lord of Ruin as Crowley names it. Here, the Sun is in Gemini, greatly diminishing the stability of the Sun. This makes it hard for the individual of this Sun sign, to concentrate upon any given subject as their tendencies are vagueness and irresponsible, and such is the disaster of the 10 of Swords. The Angels of the Decan, are Dambayah and Menqal. The Ten of Swords is Malkuth in Yetzirah, the Astral World.[for more information on angels, see Crowley's books:777 and Book of Thoth] For Material things, this is the most destructive card in the deck and most people dislike seeing it in a spread; However, those who know and use the Tarot as a instrument of Divination, understand that as in Astrology, "the stars impel, they do not compel". . Since, by focusing our thoughts, we have the capacity to improve our life-motion, we should do just that. Ethically this is no less moral than resigning a position when one sees that there is a work related disaster on the horizon. What moral is broken, when one is told by the cards," That if you walk in the street you will be struck by a motor vehicle", and that person now chooses to walk on the sidewalk instead? Divination helps us make focused choices. We should use the capacities we are given, as we are not Slaves of any destiny outside of our own making.  However, this destiny control, requires us to "Above all things, Know thyself", and to be an Active Personality, Rather than a personality of reaction, made by our environment; a reactionary presence that is controlled by peers, or cultural definitions makes our destiny that of Ruin, as our performance is always "after the fact".  The Ten of Swords Ruin, also implies, "the Horse is already out of the barn", and closing the door is a band-aid, not a solution. The 10 of Swords is traditionally viewed as the most dire card in the Tarot deck. Which is why the 10 of spades, in playing cards, is often viewed as a death card. Besides being the harbinger of the most dire illness, worst of afflictions, ruin, desolation and pain, this card also represents the nadir of fortune, and/or some kind of martyrdom. Such martyrdom is displayed on the Barbara Walker Tarot 10 of Swords. Depicted on her card, is the Celtic Story of the virgin-born savior-hero Cu Chulainn, who died bound to a sacred phallic pillar while being pierced by many blades. Sounds much like the later Christian Christ version of martyrdom. Yet even before the revisionism of Christianity, Cu Chulainn, appeared in a stone temple in Knockmay, Galway, as a young god bound to a tree and pierced by arrow. This image also appeared throughout Gaul, giving rise to the legend of St. Sebastian (picture on right), as is often the case, he was no real saint but a new name for the old statues of the dying god.[Spence,85] Since this is mental ruin in the physical plane, it's best to focus on what you are thinking; pay attention! For your thoughts create no others, nor their definition! Your thoughts create only your interaction of the I AM (will) and the body-Me which we call life! Remember, your thoughts, once given emotion, are the operating fulcrum of your Life-Motion, they create your destiny!  For a fulcrum to operate efficiently, a rigid base is a necessity. Thus, as in a "personality, which is a mechanism of the Mind, if the mechanical (personality) Fulcrum (thinking) must devote most of its energy trying to hammer out a permanent way of movement (overcome negative thought), while trying to overcome the counter motion of a "wobbling base", i.e. an uncertainty of Self, the outcome for proper performance is bleak indeed. This is the message of the 10 of Swords.Again, I cannot over state the necessity for "Above all things, know thyself"! Each of us must understand, that by thinking ill of ourselves or of another, we only supply our body with ill thoughts that confuse our performance and ruin our destiny! There is only one energy, that cannot be destroyed or created, only transformed and transmitted. It is transmitted through the body as a psychosomatic force. Therefore, your thoughts, emotions, and reactions, are all you!  Again, The Divinatory meaning of the TEN OF SWORDS is ruin, death, failure, and disaster. Since this card is Swords in the 10th Sephiroth- MALKUTH (Earth) it is more of an objective death card than Key 13-DEATH, of the Major Arcana. DEATH, key 13, is more of a situational death, a transformation, whereas, #10 Ruin, is a "personal disaster" waiting to happen or the beginning of recovery from one that already has. When and if this card shows up in the "house and Home" or "Beneath you" position in a Celtic Cross reading, go get a thorough physical check up from your doctor and focus on your physical and mental health; mental health because you may need a "personality tune-up" and this is a warning that its time to pay attention to how you perceive the world. However, in this case, thankfully, 10's are notoriously short lived, as they are an end of a cycle, and soon a new cycle begins, So a 10, can also mean, the pain you are going through now is on the mend, especially if you are recovering from a physical or mental injury, where your movement has suffered a "ruin", but by focused perspective, you are aiding your recovery. A ten is 1+ 0=1, which is the number of Kether, on the Tree of Life, thus a cycle of the Tree ends, and a new one "down the Tree" begins. The Thoth-Ten of Swords-Ruin: is the picture of a divided mind, so is the paradox of double edged swords! The 10 of Swords indicates not only a disaster but also a new hope, a new direction born out of ruin and despair. Thus, the necessary ruin to start something new. Therefore the 10 of Swords card represents a mental conclusion, long sought, with much ruinous thinking becoming a mental struggle which has rent asunder our plans and left us in an insomniacs mental paradigm. The 10 of Swords implies that one may have reached a conclusion that things are just not going to work out in two areas of one's life.
There is a caution here, for realization of ruin, may cause you to feel a deep fear of "things not Working out" which only insures that they don't. So begin anew in another direction. Much like the driver of a car, that see's a flaming wreck up ahead, and a police blockade, its time to take a side road.  The Astrological sign of this card is Sun in Gemini. Individuals who have their Sun in Gemini, are very gifted at synchronizing paradoxes, polarities, and/or oppositions thus they are able to look at all aspects of a situation, balancing the positive and negative aspects. This need to balance everything, can also produce a deep heart-felt fear about the issues of finance, relationships, and creative initiative. With powerful facilities of any kind, we have the Great Creative Pendulum of the Imaginative Mind that can swing from positive motion to negative motion right at the apogee of creative endeavors. When we are powerfully imaginative, we must also exercise powerful discernment, concentrating our emotionally thoughts on what we are doing rather than what we fear. By thinking joyfully of the journey towards our goal, rather then concentrating stress to achieve it, one is avoiding the negative swing right when we can see successful endeavor looming past the hills of labor and fear loosing it before we get there. The Hermetic Tarot- Ten's, in every suit, represent Malkuth-Kingdom- which is the lowest Sephira on the Tree of Life; lowest as in position, not in value. Malkuth is the Earth, the sacred physical/objective world, and the 10 of Swords, represents the unadulterated energy of mind, confined to the lowest microwave frequency- the most condensed -sensory based consciousness on earth. The animal survival brain, is indeed the Ruin of all Hu-man thought. Hu-is Mandarin for "god" and Man, comes from the Hindu-Manas, meaning "Mind", hence the survival mind interferes with Image-making, and/or Imagination, the creative god-mind. Therefore, represents the survival ego has taken over the "mind" and is ruining all mental progress with ruinous fear based thought.  The Ten of Swords, represents reason gone mad, the logic of lunatics, or for the most part, the reasoning of philosophers who divorce their reason from reality.To further illustrate this scattering of reason, this card is ruled by the Sun in Gemini. Gemini's mercurial-airy quality disperses the rays of the Sun and disrupts the harmonious and stable energy, as does the atmosphere of Earth. The position of the Sword Hilts on the Thoth card, are as the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life. However, the central Sword, which represents the Sun ("Heart", Soul/Christ-Buddha intelligence), is shattered by Swords 1 through 5, as well as, by swords 7-9 . The Tenth sword represents the intellect with it's moral qualities shattered as well. Thus, we know the 10 of Swords is depicting Intellectual Ruin, by baser and/or lower thought. The heart, which also represents the Higher Thought of the Psyche (Soul) is pierced and in ruins as well, dampening down, weakening, and corrupting the creative impulse. The 10 of Swords, therefore, consuls the personality to purge the brain of unworthy thoughts and ideas that corral the creative impulse so that it putrefies into malice. As you may have gleaned from this and previous blogs, the number 10 is the culmination of the unmitigated energy of the idea. In this case its "all Mental" and shows reason run mad; as Crowley put it in his Book Of Thoth, the 10 of Swords represents:"a ramshackle riot of soulless mechanism". It represents the logic of philosophers and lunatics and for the most part, it is reason divorced from reality". For instance, the philosopher says,"Thou shalt not kill." which is divorced from reality. Reality states that we must kill (even vegetation) to eat and a Mother and Father must sometimes kill to protect the family, for without family---there is no future! So the statement "thou shalt not kill", should say, "Thou should not murder for the visions of ambition, ( of Politicians and theologians etc.) be they personal or governmental". For any man and woman worth their salt, will kill to protect their family and to eat! That is expected in this Natural Universe where "life eats itself to stay alive"! Therefore there is a fine line between philosopher and lunatic; between genus and insanity. The Barbara Walker Tarot-10 of Swords- Ruin, besides depicting the martyrdom of Cu Chulainn , also illustrates the image of the Celtic Crone Goddess. Just like the modern understanding of the Feminine Trinity of Maid, Mother and Crone, the Irish had a trinity goddess. This Irish "Queen of Phantoms", was the third feminine manifestation of, Ana, Babd, and Macha; Maid, Mother and Crone. These three also appeared in legend as the triple Morriagan or the Three Sorceresses of Mab (Mabd), who were the ones who sentenced Cu Chulainn to death. The Crone was also the Bean-Sidhe (Banshee), know as "woman of the barrow-graves". Emerging from a barrow-mound, she called men to their deaths. Although feared, when she loved whom she called, her call was said to be"...low, soft chant giving notice indeed, of the proximity of death but with a tenderness that reassures the one destined to die".[Pepper & Wilcock, 275]. Since the dying god, was as the sun, dying in the dark of night, reincarnating in the morning, the 10 of swords also suggests a new birth of hope out of despair. That is the reasoning behind the Dark Crone, Macha, being depicted as pregnant. When the Ten of Swords is thrown, the querent is experiencing or will be experiencing:
However, if the accompanying cards are well dignified, the Ten of Swords implies:
This card alone, is ill-dignified; However, if the accompanying cards are all well dignified, this is a 1 week or 1 month card of indignity, and the personality is well aware of the need for a change in perspective.
Therefore the positive of this 10 card reminds us:
For more information about the Qabalistic Thoth Tarot Deck, online classes, or for a personal insight filled reading, either on line or in person, email Eli < info@eli-lsmerchantile.com>. Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! |
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Tarot Card Comparisons:The Thoth Tarot- Knight of Swords & The Barbara Walker Tarot- King of Swords:Yama
  The Thoth Tarot-Knight of Swords & The Barbara Walker Tarot- King of Swords: Yama: Mastery of Passionate Thinking and Intentionality.By now many of us know that the Court Cards represent personality Archetypes. In her book: TAROT-Dictionary and Compendium, Jana Riley describes Archetypes as ;"The original Archetype was a thought in the Mind of God-male and female. The Supreme Mind became enamored with this thought and created life in Its image by the friction of Its Word-or by the motion of Its sound. This caused the Universe to divide into ordered strata, and because creation is within the Mind of God, everything is a model or a copy of the original pattern, which is God."  The court cards of Tarot are pictures of 16 different personality types. Eight proven by Carl Jung, and later 8 more by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers who devised the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ( MBTI) which is the most accurate tool, for now, used by counseling centers around the world. MBTI is a modern attempt at astrology's already proven personality descriptions. Proving once again the Ancient Wisdom of the Tarot and astrology, as well as, how "backward thinking" is our misunderstanding of ourselves. The Hermetic ( Meaning-Sealed Message) Qabalah(meaning-receiving) is all about "above all things, know thyself" and therefore, goes about giving a format to the Psyche that takes us to our Original Action, before memory was needed, called the Tree of Life. This Original Action of Self, is I AM. From I AM, the Original Identity, becomes many as the "child"- Me, was formed from understanding the difference between the I and the AM. Me, is a collective of possible Identities, that if communicative with one another, form a collective image of Self, that we call Souls. Souls, who are the Self Reflections of the Universal Divine Collective Unconscious, are the Original Conscious-Creator of your personal identity. To make a long creation short, you are the "point in time", and or the Active World of Creation, where Self can be intimate with it's self-potentialities. In other words, the Life, creates the Alive, to experience itself. In Qabalah's Tree of Life format, the Active World is called Malkuth-The Kingdom.  The Thoth Tarot Knight of Swords is seen to be flying over water. In alchemy, elemental air is associated with the Mind and elemental Water is emotionality. This combination of air and water represents passionate thinking. Three swallows represent the union of mind and heart with all action proceeding in united direction. This serves to remind us that focus, will, and intention must be aligned to achieve any goal.The dagger in the left hand and the sword in the right hand, represent yin/yang, (feminine/masculine) forces of One energy. Female is magnetic force and male is electric force, both must be combined to create a balanced unity called life. When separate, there becomes a certain mental vacillation, where thoughts are often destroyed before they can become form. Four wings, are four directions, north, south, east and west; each represent four levels of conscious: mental, emotional, spiritual and physical. The six pointed star at the center of the wings, symbolizes illumined clarity and spiritual guidance. Golden armor represents powerful fluid thinking. In the Thoth Deck, the Kings are Knights. The Knight of Swords is called "the fiery part of Air" which may confuse you, but really He represents the violent power of motion applied to air. He rules from the 21st degree of Taurus to the 20th degree of Gemini. He is a armored warrior whose helmet bares a rotating wing and is mounted on a rampaging steed. With both sword and poniard in hand, he is the very idea of Attack. He is the Spirit of the Tempest. The Knight of Swords can be compared to the Lightning bolt of an idea absorbing the entire life in concentrated aspiration. There will be Live and Evil here. The Will of Taurus and the Inspiration of Gemini are also applied here. The Knight of Swords represents the True Will (Spirit) exploding the mind spontaneously. What many of us forget or have been indoctrinated to forget is that True Will is not empathetic---Spirit has no need for empathy, as it never Dies and the Love of Idea is its motion. Those of us Spirit-personalities, who are fortunate enough to inherit a human body, have inherited discernment, and now should know how to empathize with the "living". Thereby, adjusting our ideas to accommodate the expansion and liberation of the living from their poverty of self imposed- definitions rather than just erase them with visions of Tempestuous velocity; of immense violence. Love of idea without empathy is a Terrible Tempest of Self-Absorbed Desire, where the Vision is more important than the living. Hence, this Card reminds us to take time to love being, for the body human is a Vision of Divine Will-To-Be and must be our Vision Center, so that we can "feel" the violence of our own Ideas, and restructure them to care for the living rather than sacrifice the "alive" to our "fantasy of living ideas".  The Knight's or King's of Tarot are representative of Chokmah, the 2nd Sephiroth that is known as Wisdom, rules the Knight /King of Swords. Chokmah also represents the beginning state of conscious energy that is masculine in action. Therefore, Chokmah is the "idea of male" and it's mate, Binah (3's and Queens), is the "idea of Female". Not a linear one after the other, she after he, for when one exists, so does the other. Now we have the concepts of Father-Mother God and/or the Divine Creative. Chokmah being the 2nd Sephira, called---Wisdom, who is also the Will to Force behind the four twos and the four Knights, that launches ideas towards Binah, "the womb of Mind", Will to Form, who receives and Understands, therefore, beginning formation. The twos symbolize the objective Forces of the King, who are shown in the Thoth Tarot as Knights/Battle Kings and/or Active Knighted Kings. The four Queens unite and initialize the "will to Force" of the Knights into forms. Hence, the Knight-Kings are the Fathers of and initiators of Material Forces. THE KNIGHT/King OF SWORDS:Is also known in Qaballah as Lord of Winds and Breezes. King of the Elemental Spirits of the Air; the Sylphs and Sylphides. This is a very Strong masculine mental force whose zodiacal attributes are the last Decan of Taurus and the first two Decans of Gemini. Here we have Specific Fire in Primal Air that is the personification of a Force behind the World of Astral Images and ideas. This Power is violent, aggressive, and a cutting edged force that is much like a overheated wind. He is storm and violent emotion applied to an apparently manageable mind. The symbols of this Mad Movement, is depicted in the art of the Knight of Swords, as his maddened steed is charging down from the heavens, with Tempest about, and armed with both sword and poniard, he is the very personification of the idea of attack. The Bull like power of Taurus is represented in his steed and the Twins of Gemini are shown in his armament The crest on his Helm (his personality) is a revolving wing, showing violent motion in air, much like a helicopter beats the air into submission. Such a character, if personal, would be that of a person who is clever, skillful, active and subtle. Being that he is fierce, delicate of ego, and courageous, much like a Dragon Fly, does not keep him from being prey to his ideas which come as inspiration without consideration.Often we find, that inadequate violent action is merely futile effort at best. However we choose to dignify this Knight, he is the "Extended Flame of mind" as Zoroaster calls it. Here the True Will To Force, as Chokmah is exploding the Mind. The Taurian influence, makes it steadfast and the first Decanate of Gemini makes it inspirational; thus an Idea tends to absorb the entire life of the individual in the blinding light of concentrated aspiration. Thus is shown the danger to this state of mind, for the first Decan is also known as "shortened force" and that shortened force is symbolized by the poniard. Shortened force often comes off as defensive and stubborn behavior. All of this changes when this card is ill dignified. If such occurs, he is incapable of decisions or purpose, and any action he takes is so weakened by his mental indecision that it is easily brushed aside by opposition.  The Barbara Walker Tarot- King of Swords: Yama, the bull god, is simply a reverse of Kali's virginal-maid -life giving fertility aspect known as Maya. Yama, is really a Shiva Lord of Death incarnation and/or the "other-side of the Mirror reflection of Life", which is Death. Yama is often shown as a bull-god, wearing a bull mask, dancing on a dead bull that represented his own "fleshy manifestation". Here he has the Sword of Kali Ma (The Destroyer Goddess) and the Lotus, that represents the sacred yoni of the Mother of Life Goddess. To further clarify his union without separation with the Goddess principle, he is enwrapped by a figure eight, and or the lemnistrate, a Greek word for "ribbon". Just as in Qabalah, when the "I Will Be" the I became creator of "other", I AM, it became a duality, a She/He, inseparable and forever in union, which is often shown as a figure eight. For a figure eight is one line, a circle twisted upon itself. This Self "twisting", is a good explanation for the creation of the sexes. As the legend goes, Yama the "bull god", gave up his immortal life to become King of the Underworld," Yama chose death, and found out the path for many, and he gives the souls of the dead a resting place." [Rees,108. ]This legend also can also be a metaphor for Chokmah, Wisdom's way of choosing death, and ruling the Underworld that is Malkuth/Earth. Yama, a Vedic god, was the receptionist of all the dead. Sometimes he was as benevolent Jupiter, other times he was a stern judge, just as Jehovah, assigning postmortem punishments. In fact, he is a prototype of Jehovah, for early Canaanites, Phoenicians and Israelites, worshipped him as Yamm, the consort to the Sea Goddess Mari. Instead of the modern Qabalistic combination of Chokmah/ Binah, the Canaanite combination became Mari-Yam/Meri-Yam. Jehovah, was also the Gnostic Demi-urge, who had a "dark blue complexion", just as does the more ancient Yama. The comparisons go on and on, so I would advise that one get Barbara Walker's book: The Secrets of The Tarot, origins, history, and symbolism, to enhance the enjoyment of her Tarot work. WHEN THE KNIGHT/King OF SWORDS IS THROWN DURING A READING: The querent is or may be experiencing:
This Archetypal personality is a person:
If ill dignified:
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot-Queen of Swords & The Barbara Walker Tarot-Queen of Swords: Kali
  The Thoth Tarot: Queen of Swords,& The Barbara Walker Tarot-Queen of Swords-Kali: represents Mastery of Objective Thinking and Clarity of Intellectual Thinking. The lavishly illustrated Queen Tarot card represents The Greek Goddess Athena or if Hindu, The Goddess Kali.  In the Thoth Tarot, She is sitting on a cloud, with sword and mask or head of the patriarch in hand, as she is the mask-cutter; the fair witnessing mind who removes all illusion and sees the Real that is masked by indoctrinated reality. The Queen of Swords persona (see birth chart) has cut through her own masks, roles, and defenses in order to retain her clarity and objectivity (The crystal crown). The child's head above the crown of clarity, symbolizes her child-like innocence and curiosity.  This Queen is the counselor or consultant for others and also has the courage to seek counsel and consulting for herself when necessary. Therefore this card represents the mastery of objective which is the deepening of a centered rational mind; the quality of mind that demands objectivity, authenticity, and abandonment of pretense. The Observer within our consciousness which is detached from roles and assists us in reconnecting with our child like truth. The Hermetic Tarot-QUEEN OF SWORDS: In the zodiac, the Queen of Swords rules from 21 degrees Virgo to 20 degrees Libra. This is Water-emotions of Air-Mind, which is not only power of transmission but elastic as well.  In the Thoth card we see the Queen of Swords as a kind of Golden Kali, with Her sharp sword of wit in one hand and the severed head/ or Mask of a adult male in the other. Yet the innocence of a child is shown on top of her stellar-crystal clear mind, where ideas are clear and concise. The Queen of Swords represents the Liberated Mind with clear perception of idea.The Barbara Walker Tarot- Queen of Swords, choose to depict her queen as the Earliest Traditional form of Kali-The Destroyer Goddess of India. Here she is shown standing on her lover, Shiva, who represented the Universe, eating his entrails, while newer versions often shown her holding his dismembered head, and wearing a skull girdle. Sometimes she was depicted with 4 arms, sometimes more; however she always held the symbols of the elements, Sword, cup, earth, and fire which is shown on B.W.'s card as her hair. No matter how terrible or artistic the representation of The Divine Creative, it is the Mother of all Form, and the Destroyer of All Form. This is simply because the medium of form is time/space, and has a beginning and an end.  Esoterically, The Queen of Swords, is another form of Mother Binah (3rd Sephiroth/Understanding) if awakened within the consciousness, assists the self-conscious when it enters the Astral realm (Yetzirah, the Formative World of Deception) trims the self-conscious of all deception by the sharp sword of concise perception and protects our identity from the fantasy and illusion . It is the very head of mankind, the thinking center of words, definitions, and all concepts of division-ism made by mankind's identities of separation, that deceive us, removing us from What is Real. Rather than the Personality of the Soul with perspectives of Spirit, that is born as a "golden child", we have a personality that perceives a "reality" born of indoctrination and survival thinking of the animal. When this "man-made mind" is removed, so is the "Tower of Babel" that are words. Removing the mask of words, the True Conscious Psyche that resides on the "other side of the Mirror", transmits knowledge not made by words, nor clouded by fear, but transmitted via intuition and imagination. Imagination, is the "Womb-with-a view", she uses Image (Mandalas/pictures/forms) as her expression of idea.  Words, no mater how artfully presented, are controlled definition supplied to us by our "Rulers" who control definition by enforcement---and their only power is our reaction to this enforcement, which later becomes our reaction to words. Powerful Idea, is made manifest and is all Action and cares little for reaction. Therefore, on the Thoth Card we have the head of the innocent child, who is not concerned with reaction, but clear and concise in idea. Spirit is Will and therefore, Action. While the body is run by a survival mind, and therefore, reaction.   As you can see, this Queen Card, be it Thoth or Barbara Walker's, may seem a complicated card, not because of obfuscation but rather because of our inability to disconnect our identity from the trickster in our pleasure/pain indoctrinated brain; we are bedeviled by thoughts of predation. Many of us fear the action of confrontation, and use words as reactive survival weapons. Most of us honestly believe that words are knowledge and condemn or praise each other with definitions! However, everyone or everything had to be "Defined into Definition" by Creation, before we have ever seen it! Therefore, you already are Known into being, not a being who must be identified by those you meet. This may shock you, but the earth is not a court room, where you are judged by your "peers". Knowledge built you so it could work the material of the Universe and earth into what is a hands-on living expression of Imagination! Those who believe that words create reality, fail to understand that if they yell with all their force the word Grass, that man- made identity of plant fails to grow on the floor; both the floor and the realm of Plants fail to see any power in a word; the unmitigated gal! But if one visualizes, plants the seeds, and fertilizes, all of which are actions of power and/or the ableness of imagination at work, grass will grow whether one gives it definition or not; for grass by any other name is still a green leafy plant, that existed long before words.  Power is described, in English dictionaries, as the "ability to do work", therefore it is not a belief system, based on fear, but rather an Active Dynamic of Creation. Contrary to those who think a "sacred place" is outside the body, the body that we call human, is a Power Tool of Spirit, that enables Our Psyche and the inherited Mother Conscious-Imagination, to work ideas into manifestation (Transformations of the One Energy) in all aspects of the Tree of Life, including the Realm of Malkuth/Earth. To the Soul, personalities are known by deeds/action, not by words and reaction. In the Real Identity of the Divine Creative, we have been praised into manifestation as a clear concise idea of the Divine Creative's Self Image! The principles of the Queen of Swords brings us to an understanding of how we are deceived by thoughts while showing us how to transcend deception byKnowing Ourselves as we are Known to Her/the Divine Feminine.Truth is perceived in the manifestation of idea and not a reaction to it. The Reaction of emotional "out-burst", is fear of idea which really translates to "fear of vulnerability". The Queen of Swords is attributed with the elasticity of this combination of Imagination and consciousness and the power of transmission that this current provides.   To reiterate: She rules the zodiac from the 21st degree of Virgo to the 20th degree of Libra. In the Thoth Deck Tarot, she is enthroned upon clouds (Watery-Air), topless and wearing a gleaming belt and sarong, symbolizing the Great Mother of Consciousness. Upon her helmet is the child head crest from which the sharp rays of light are emitted, illuminating her empire of celestial dew.[Celestial dew is the substance that radiates from the pineal gland when it is stimulated in a higher vibration by the Kundalini, that baptizes the brain, resurrecting the 2/3ds of "sleeping brain" that is not used in the mundane, human-being. This dew awakens Divya-Sidhis and/or "magic abilities"] . The Child crest symbolizes the Golden-Divine Child within us all---the Innocent One of Enlightenment before we are "dumbed down" by condensing our Inherited Energy into form and man-made indoctrination.   In her right hand, on both cards, the Queen of Swords holds a sword (the Sword of Geburah-Severity) and in her left hand the head of a bearded man, or the bowl of blood. As stated, the bearded man represents the Mask of Patriarchal Culture that we use to define ourselves----when in Truth, We have already been Defined by the Divine as It's Child---enlightenment comes from realizing that no-further self definition is needed as we've been Defined into Being already! All other definition is just masking our Truth. So here we can see that the Queen of Swords is the clear conscious perception of Idea, the Liberator and expander of the Mind (The Tantra of Mind). The Bowl of Blood, represents the "Life blood of the Mother" and the Womb. Hence, The Queen of Swords represents the True Will (Will-To-Form) and has the power to cleave away the unnecessary gross to build the Pure idea. To some this can be disastrous, for "the Gross" is all they believe in, knowing not their own Pure Self they see Kali-Ma as a Fanged Hag with Severed Heads (symbolizing personality death) and sometimes standing on the backs of copulating Lovers who die in her Sword thrust. Traditionally, the "little death" of orgasm is resplendent in this image, causing even greater fear of "male-female" union amongst the literal- ignorant. However, to the knowledgeable, the union of male-female is the sacred act of communion that builds All. [Tantric studies are recommended for those who wish to Know and expand beyond and be liberated from fear of sensuality].....the flesh-o-phobes may just shiver in the joy of the nightmare of sensuality that comes with having a form build out of Divine Sensual Passion. The Lust To Be, is knowledge of the "Big Bang"---the Great Orgasm that has activated us all. To know the Dancing/Destroying Goddess-God, is to Know Thyself! Now, I don't want to cause anyone to overly scourge their poor innocent body for the "wrong-doing" of the Survival mind when it receives impassioned thought; thought that seems out of control, only because the "man-made ego" is too weak to suppress Divine power which is to be directed by True Ego willful action! When that fear based weakness masking us is removed, we find that we are the Divine Power that has clear purpose and Great Will to Be! The Archetypical personality of the Queen of Swords card represents, would describe a person as:
If ill dignified She will be:
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Prince of Swords & The Barbara Walker Tarot-Prince of Swords: Tyr
  The Thoth-The Prince of Swords & The Barbara Walker Tarot-Prince of Swords-Tyr,represents the airy part of Air. As air/Mind the Prince of Swords is directed by "outside influences" such as the heat of passion and the coolness of pure coldness; hence, this card represents the same mental activity.Therefore, this is the Archetypal personality of the intellectual, pure rational mind.  The Prince of Swords rules the zodiac from the 21st degree of Capricorn to the 20th degree of Aquarius. The Thoth Prince of Swords is dressed in woven-full armor of definite device. His chariot is composed of geometric ideas. This chariot is drawn by unharnessed wing children "who are flights of fancy" and may go any-which way they like, as the reins are attached to passing geometric ideas. The Prince of Swords can be compared to the knowledge of Euclid expounded upon by an idiot and/or zealot, whose argument takes any twist and turn it wants to, and yet be totally "rational". Thus the chariot is easily moved but unable to go into any definite direction---except by accident. Here is pure intellect without direction supplied by the uncontrolled Will. Never the less, the Prince of Swords is crown by a Child's Head, for there is a secret Divinity here (Spirit is Will) that is linked up to Tiphareth (the Son of God), but usually if this personality thinks in terms of the divine, it believes it is above all others and suffers from the righteousness of an fanatic.  The Thoth Prince of Swords, represents the logical process that has reduced the Air/Mind to many diverse geometric patterns, they reduce the power of creative mind, as they have no definite purpose. This is symbolized by the Sword in his right hand (willingness to create) and in his left hand a sickle, which destroys what he immediately creates. Being that his thoughts require no practical effort, he is purely intellectual, full of ideas that tumble over one-another in a mass of ideas unrelated to each other. He is not simple minded as he has all the apparatus of the Mind, intensely clever, admirably rational, thought in its highest degree, but unstable of purpose as even his own ideas are approached with his indifference. He knows that any idea is as good as another and can rationally persuade an Eskimo into buying a deep-freeze even though nature has already provided! By removing the substance of an idea, he can place every idea into an ideal world of ratiocination. Therefore it always looks good on paper no matter how impractical it is to build! Being that ratiocination is purely formal, even the very facts that promote his ideas are ignored so that his ideas become baseless and unreal. This person is immensely powerful because of their unsettled principles which enable them to put forth any argument without regret or remorse...kind of like a insane-used-car salesmen from hell, who postulates the value of saw dust in the automatic transmission of the car he's selling. This is a personality that hasn't yet learned mental discernment.  The Prince of Swords personality is glib to quote scripture, cunningly supporting any thesis without considering the fact that he supported an opposite thesis earlier in his bombast. Therefore, he is impossible to defeat because any position is as good as another and ready to enter into combination with the nearest element available. He really doesn't care if his or her ideas are detrimental to life, the idea is its own purpose! His/her momentary Vision is above all else! The discovery of facts, takes too long for this "Mental Charge" of mind. These elusive and elastic personalities may seem confused, but they are of evolutionary use to the Psyche, if mastered by the Greater Will and Intellect of Spirit. A person who entertains such a personality type, is best advised to mentally travel up the Tree of Life to the 6th Sephiroth on the Qabalistic Tree known as Tiphareth-Beauty which is the Divine Child in manifestation. This is usually done by skrying the Sun card which shows the "Dancing Twins"/the Anima and Animus.The Chaotic nature of Pure Masculine- Mindmust be controlled by the Understanding Mother of All form Binah/Divine Anima, who is connected to the 6th Sephira, as Force for its own sake, rather than in the support of Form, is utter destruction of all life. Without the Understanding of Mother Binah and her purpose for life, these personalities become faddists, fundamentalists, fanatics, devotees of drink and drugs, humanists (those who believe that mankind is the center of the universe----all else can cease to exist.) and bible thumping theologians. But even in such directions there is not stability, and they wander from cult to cult, vice to vice, supporting fanatical convictions for the sake of whim. It is easy to be deceived by such people as they manifest great potency of thought and therefore, are often errantly describe as having great depth and breadth of mind. As in all readings, the surrounding cards will show the dignity of this card.  There is however, a bright light here when Pure Mind aligned with Pure Spirit, ideas can become living image. Pure Spirit does not reside in religion...that chaos of ideas belongs to the idiots that praise a man-made god for creating life while their fanatical ideas destroy it all around them. Rather the Purity of Spirit that is the Life itself, that resides as the Great Ocean of Mother/Universal Collective Unconscious that is all around, in and through us.....AS US! So once again, "Above all things know thyself", is necessary here. As Spirit, I Am Love of Being (Life) and all around me Love of Being is expressing itself as another way of being "Me". As Life, we belong to each other, and not to ideas that separate us from each other and the Universal Collective. Ideas, have no purpose unless applied to the unification of Life---for that is the Great Work of the Divine Collective (The Universal Collective Unconscious> Carl Jung). Ideas make The Divine Creative in their own image, while The Divine Creative/The Great Self,-makes us into It's image! Thus it is obvious, that to know Self is to Know thyself!   To reiterate:In the zodiac, the Prince of Swords rules from 21 degrees Capricorn to 20 degrees Aquarius. This card represents Air of Air, Specific Air of Primal Air, (personal consciousness, linked with Primal conscious) which shows an active mind that swirls all over the place. The three fairy like beings pulling the Thoth Prince's chariot are symbols of the capricious nature of the mind which can be pulled into any direction.  The Prince of Swords has both the long sharp sword of masculine- rational that invokes and creates, while in the left hand he carries the feminine- sickle of destruction that immediately destroys what is created; this is because he lacks the feminine understanding which turns ideas into form.Hence this is a card of the Masculine Force of Mind, yet there is significant Moon (Yesod) symbolism, the sickle sword of Isis, and phantom shapes, which brings its own illusion.  In Mythology, the Prince of Swordsrepresents Tyr, the Norse god of battle, as depicted in the Barbara Walker Tarot and also Mars, the Roman god of war. Both of these personifications of force, represent destruction, pestilence, daring and death. Hence, The Prince of Swords is representative of the Archetypal Tyrant- Personality who is charismatic, dominating and so impersonal that they have a great power to harm; Sharp wit but assertive to a fault. This card cautions the Querent about over -rationalization. To reiterate: The 4-Princes of Tarot are the personified elemental forces, of those 4 elements that are brought into balance in Tiphareth. As one of the four, THE PRINCE OF SWORDS, is the masculine mental element of ideas that can be constructive or destructive. The Prince of Swords is also called, in the Hermetic Qabalah, the Chariot of the Winds, Prince and emperor of the Sylphs and Sylphides. Zodiacally, he is the last Decan of Capricorn and the first two Decans of Aquarius. He is Specific Air of Primal Air. The Element Air, is Mind, so this one is like the Purely rational- mind itself, which can love thought alone, and not care what it effects. The Golden dawn card, had two fairies pulling the chariot but in the, Thoth Tarot card of the Prince of Swords, these fairies are shown as spheres of light in front of the Chariot, accompanied by three winged children who are pulling it. Implying that, this chariot may be pulled capriciously and/or mischievously in any direction, imitating the Mind itself. The Fey children are traditionally of the moon, and therefore, supporting the Yesodic-Moon influence of illusion, along with the sickle of Isis.  The Thoth Tarot-Prince of Swords, represents The Creative Intuitive Thinker that is in all of us. In fact, each of us has inherited the 16 Archetype personalities of the Greater Self and are a fractal of all of them. Since we are individual fractals of archetypical persona, the ones we choose to focus on the most, are defined by our birthday, as our action on the material plane, can be a daily, monthly, yearly or lifetime choice. Each of us is a multidimensional state of conscious energy; our names are legion!When we entertain the personality archetype known in tarot as The Prince of Swords, we have use of the personality that has newly mastered creative-intuitive thinking. We become inspired and wish not to be limited, restricted or restrained in any way. This desire to be unrestricted is shown by the two swords that the Prince of Swords has in his hands. With the sickle and the broad sword, the determined Prince cuts through any thoughts, beliefs or attitudes that might reign in the movement (chariot) and/or the expression of creative-intuition thinking.The Prince of Swords is associated with the zodiac sign of Aquarius, which is the symbol for the new age, creative, innovative, and original mind. The inspired ideas of Aquarius are shown as the three human bodies who want to be released and expressed, each in their own direction.. The Diamond Chariot, represents The Great Work, which is the expansion and liberation of the living from self-imposed limits by combining the Greater Self, with the individual self-conscious. It is the "as above, so below" of inspired motion. It is creative energy that wants to be actively expressed and sensed. This expressive sensation, will be in a power positive way or a negative "fantasy" way; where the individual is so full of ideas, that they reduce all ideas to unreality by removing them to an ideal world of ratiocination and formality, which as such, is out of relation to any facts. Fantasized Utopian concepts come from this state of thought. The Barbara Walker Tarot, Prince of Swords: Tyr.Represents this war-like personality archetype as the Norse god of war. The word Tyr, meant war and was one of the ways the warrior achieved the Norse heaven of Valhalla, via the feminine psychopomps, the Valkyrie. As I stated previously, the Roman's had a derivative of Tyr- god of war, called Mars. The week day sacred to Mars was Tuesday, in Latin, dies Martis; in French-Mardi. The English called Tyr, the old English- Tiw. Hence the later Tuesday was at first- Tiw's day. Since both Tyr and Mars were once "all-father" sky-god archetypes who were eventually kicked off the heavenly throne by Odin and Jupiter, respectively, they became personifications of the syncretic Father's violent, vengeful and capricious cruel side. These dislodged war god's, went on to represent the storm, the indiscriminant- killer lightning strike, the legion-cult of berserkers and even the pestilence that followed battle. The Storm king that was clothed in black, Sama, was of early Aryan creation. This personification of storm and thunder, became Samana,"the leveler" , who like the figure of death, reaped all with his scythe.[Frazer, 78: Larousse, 293] This black cloaked leveler, was worshiped in the Celtic feast of the dead called Samhain, which we know as Halloween. Hence, it is easy to see that the Tarot Prince of Swords, represents a person of domineering tendencies, that swept others along with his ideas, as a storming wind that blows hither and yon. When this card is thrown, the querent is either experiencing:
If the querent is able or has achieved the ability to focus their thought:
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot-Princess of Swords & The Barbara Walker Tarot-Princess of Swords-Skuld
  The Thoth Tarot- Princess of Swords & The Barbara Walker Tarot-Princess of Swords: Skuld, represents the earthly part of Air. She is the function of the volatile, thus she is shown as a Valkyrie. With Her Sword of "volatile Mind" she cleaves away the dross, so the pure essence is seen as a materialization of Idea; Much like Michelangelo who was known for his perceptive chisel, that cleaved away the dross;what was not the image he saw in the marble.  The Princess of Swords and the Valkyrie, represent the influence of Heaven on Earth. There is a representation of the "Anger of the Gods" here, for she wears a helm reminiscent of a Medusa headdress. She stands in front of a barren altar, as if to avenge its profanation (The Human Soul is the altar; the profanation is "indoctrination of the slave-culture"), as shown by her sword stabbing downward. All around her angry storms rage in the sky.THE THOTH TAROT- PRINCESS OF SWORDS.  To the Qabalist, The Princess of Swords represents Earth of Air which is the fixation of the volatile. Thus, idea is materialized by this Personification of Force and Form which is intended to be a combination of Minerva (Goddess of Wisdom) and Diana (Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt). This combination showing that she is both beautiful, intelligent but not entirely pleasant. There is a similarity between the Princess of Swords and the Valkyrie of Norse mythology as well. The silver altar shows only fire-less smoke, depicting the thoughts that are blown around by Air of Yetzirah; the currents and eddies in the Astral-Air/mind.  The Norse would call The Princess of Swords Skuld who was the leader of the Valkyries. Here, the Barbara Walker Tarot uses an artistic representation of Skuld as the Princess of Swords. Skuld was a battle-maid who in myth, judged and received the souls of the dead. She was considered a sharp minded female deity of keen judgment and high spirit but stern, and powerful. Symbolically she was seen to be trouble and possible danger.The Tarot Princess of Swords represents a Archetypal personality that is the Earthly/material part of Air/Imagination. She is the fixation of the volatile. She is the visitation of Heaven on Earth and brings about the materialization of idea. Again: The archetypal character of the Princessof Swords is stern and revengeful not unlike the Valkyrie of the Norse, or Minerva (goddess of wisdom) and Artemis ( goddess of the moon) of the Greek and Romans. She is striking out with her sharp sword and represents the anger of the gods. Her logic is destructive and she is firm and aggressive shewing clever wit, practical wisdom, and subtlety in material matters. The empty altar on the Thoth Tarot Card, symbolizes profanity of the sacred, of which she cannot abide. The heavens and the clouds seem angry. Barbara Walker does well in showing the marshal nature of Skuld, riding a black charger, with a bloody sky as back ground. Her sharp sword, is also pointed downward, showing the cleaving away of the dross of materiality, to purify the imagination.  Therefore The Princess of swords represents a very adroit in the settlement of controversies, exercising her sharp wit. She is the mood fighter. Hence, she represents the need to act upon ideas rather than just talk about them. To her practical thinking requires that there be no difference between verbal commitment and external action. Her helmet crest is the serpent haired Medusa (Gorgon), which suggests that the personality of the Princess of Swords is not entirely pleasant towards those who try to dominate her.  However, she is constantly regenerating her thinking (On the Thoth card: green spring colors and the butterfly wing shape light) to she how cost effective her ideas are (coins on pedestal) but all is not selfish here, for she also considers the nourishing of others with her ideas (the mushroom shape of the pedestal) . With this martial personality word and deed are aligned and woe to those who say one thing and do another! The Barbara Walker Tarot-Princess of Swords: Skuld, uses the mythology of the Norse to represent her Princess of Death. Skuld is the 3rd Norn, who represents the future. Norns
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Norse mythology, Sjódreygil and the Norns Faroese stamps 2006
The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. Beneath them is the well Urðarbrunnr with the two swans that have engendered all the swans in the world. The Norns (1889) by Johannes Gehrts. The Norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men. They roughly correspond to other controllers of humans' destiny, the Fates, elsewhere in European mythology. According to Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the Völuspá, the three most important norns, Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi and Skuld, come out from a hall standing at the Well of Urðr (well of fate). They draw water from the well and take sand that lies around it, which they pour over Yggdrasill so that its branches will not rot. These three norns are described as powerful maiden giantesses (Jotuns) whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods. They may be the same as the maidens of Mögþrasir who are described in Vafþrúðnismál. Beside these three, there are many other norns who arrive when a person is born in order to determine his or her future. In the pre-Christian Norse societies, norns were thought to have visited newborn children.
There were both malevolent and benevolent norns: the former caused all
the malevolent and tragic events in the world while the latter were kind
and protective goddesses.  Skuld, was one of the "tragic events" Norns, for she was the leader of the Valkyries, meaning, "Choosers of the Dead". To the Saxon's, these Norns were the Walcyries, to the Slavs, they were Valas, Vilas or Wilis, names representing death-priestesses who could make dying pleasant.[Woods, 156; Larousse, 293]. Like the Dakini of the Hindu or the Kha-dro-Ma of the Tibetan Tantra, the Valkyries, had the power to bestow Vilasa-"heavenly bliss", on the dying. To the Norse, only heroic death in battle, got this blessing from the Valkyrie. Like the Houries of Islam, these psychopomps sometimes became the "celestial wives" of heroes.The Princess of Swords Tarot card is associated with the air sign months of Aquarius (January 21 to February 21 ) , Gemini (May21-June 21) and Libra (September 21 to October 21) or those persons the querent knows who are born during those periods. Since these are the months of gestation;
If the reading is about the Querent, this card may show that:
The Archetype personality of the Princes of Swords:
If ill dignified her qualities:
Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper! |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot-Key-0-THE FOOL & The Night Sun Tarot- Key 0-THE FOOL
  The Thoth Tarot- 0 - The Fool card and The Night Sun Tarot-0-The Fool.Fear not. What is not real, never was and never will be. What is real always was and cannot be destroyed. -Bhagavad Gita  The fool is the universal principle that is associated with the state of conscious energy, that is us before and after death. In other-words, the conscious state that is Soul/Psyche/Spirit. Many of us know that we " have a spirit" but few of us know that we are Spirit and have a body and seek not spirituality but rather are Spirituality bringing whole-conscious, Psyche- liberation and expansion to Earth anima and animus! Rather than just being assumed as being mystical, trans-personal , transcendent, ecstatic in its nature, the Fool represents the power of wonder and ecstasy that is so apparent in the very young; before they succumb to indoctrination and form a "cultural identity". The cultural identity is not real so Qabalists call it "reality" which we all know as relative.The Real is the infinite part of ourselves; The Real Person and/or The Higher Self!The Night Side Tarot of Fabio Listrani with the Art Tarot collection edited by Pietro Alligo, is focused on the Jungian concept of the Shadow side of our personality. The dark side of our personality is "seen" by the use of a "transversal light"; as stated by Jung, " of a transversal light that travels along a different spectrum". We may know this dark spectrum of light, as dark energy and its twin, dark matter. Here in our Dark Psyche, is it possible to bring a special illumination, using a language all its own, accessing an area or areas of the Psyche, that compliment the self-conscious. As many of us know, behind the "scenes" of our self-conscious, operates the sub or Unconscious, "emitted by a anomalous sun, nocturnal and dark", (Binah-the Dark Sephiroth on the Qabalistic Tree of Life) that if viewed love and using our True Will, facilitates the right balance of Self, so that it may fulfill its own identity. Hence, Crowley's statement,"Do what thou Wilt, is the whole of the Law; the Law is Love", rings true.  The Oriental symbol for fear is the tiger. In the Thoth card, fear is seen as attempting to gnaw on the leg of the fool who isn't giving any attention and/or power to fear. The dark dog seems to be taking the place of the Tiger on the Night Sun Tarot. On both cards, the Fool looks forward, and the tiger or dog can't even make a dent in his attention. Therefore, The fool is the energetic essence of who we are; an unflappable immortal spiritual flow of energy consciousness that flows from the Infinite Source of the Ain and or "No-Thing". To the Fool, dark and light are merely materials to play with. This card symbolizes the creative expression that is needed to give birth to new parts of our lives (light) and to boldly take risks (dark) that are so necessary to evolutionary development! When this card falls in a reading it shows us that this is the moment to do what you fear and trust the spirit within!  The Thoth Tarot- 0-The Fool and Key 1 The Magus are inseparable:Kether, the Source of All, is connected to Chokma, the first activity towards creation, via the 11th Path of the Fool. The Hebrew letter Aleph-meaning OX, is assigned to this Path. In the Zohar, the letter Aleph is considered representative of absolute unity. This supports the Qabalistic interpretation of , Aleph-Ox, as the symbol of the Life-Power, and/or creative energy. As I have stated before, the Fool Card, demands multi-faceted and fluid interpretation. The Path of Aleph, is called, by Dr. Paul Foster Case, the Fiery or Scintillating Intelligence which proceeds from the Limitless Light of Kether, that is darkness to us (Dark Energy) . This Fiery Darkness is the possibility of motion or vibration and the First Perception or Will of the One that is the potential for activity. This is the area of examination that the Night Sun Tarot represents. Qabalists know this One as the Primal Creative Energy of the Universe that acts upon Itself to emanate the Cosmos. To a physicist this is the, "One energy that cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed" ; just as the reflected light of our light spectrum is a transformation of the "non-reflected-light" of the Dark Energy spectrum. Therefore, before reflected light made seeing Self possible, we existed as a Dark Psyche, that could only dream of itself. Hence, we now can both "imagine ourselves" and experience that imagined self as "reality". Indeed, we as Souls/Psyche are "so cool"!  There are many attempts to explain the "First Thought", that created Mind, such as, The Word of God, The Logos, The first vibration, etc.; However, all we can say is that from the Triple- invisible- no-thing (Ain, Ain Soph, and Ain Soph Aur) comes the potential for thought, thus thought appears and emanates Mind which is the vessel that contains thought...this makes the Mind the First Vessel of Magnetic form or Womb and yet, A. Crowley called the letter Aleph, a plough share in shape and thus a Phallic symbol of "Expression". Thus the Potential Androgyny is conceived of, as the potential for Sexuality, male-electric and female-magnetic which then unlocks the potential for light's creative-diversity. When considering all of this, it helps to stay fluid in your thinking, for there are no "separates" in the Supernal Triangle (Upper Triangle); there are no "forms", only a No-Thing, that is the I Am (existence), that is made out of a Trinity of Kether-Chokmah-Binah and forms the first "Plane" of existence. Also availing yourself of a diagram of the Tree of Life and its connecting paths will help in the enabling visuals.  The Magus-Key 1, is attributed to the Hebrew letter-Beth, meaning House, and connects Kether (Dark Energy) to Binah, the Great Organizer. Binah, known as the Sephiroth- Understanding, is the Potential for Womb, becoming the House or "dwelling place" for Spirit (spiral energy) descending towards the density of manifestation. The Magus represents that which builds the house, i.e. Will. Will or the Magus, directs and encloses the One Spirit which is represented as THE FOOL. The Actions of directing energy is Phallic and the action of enclosing energy is that of the Womb. Thus, I call the Sephira Binah---"The Womb with a View" and/or Imagination. The word Imagination if examined as I- Magi- Nation....will not only titillate our brain, it may also shed some light on this potential of Understanding the Will and its nation of force and form.  One may note, that the higher one works up the Tree of Life, the differences between the cards is much more subtle and fluid than the lover levels. This subtlety is even more pronounce in The Fool and The Magus (Magician) that are only separated by a slight degree, as is electric and magnetic force, a fact that is not seen in the anthropomorphized symbolism of the cards or of the Spirit as human male and female forms! Suffice it to say, the letter, Beth (or Bet) represents the First in Principle, the first in creation, the beginning of the beginning, i.e. the Will-To- Be! To the Alchemist, Beth, is the Philosophic Mercury or First Matter. The Alpha, which is never without the Omega! To create beginning is to create end, thus the opposites of life and death which are the key polarities to creation ("The dancing Twins"), are attributed to the letter Beth. Specifically, without the energies of the Magus, life and death would not exist, nor would beginning and end; all would be formless.  The infinity symbol (lemniscus), seen as a figure 8 laying on its side, initiates and represents this cyclic process of life and death, as well as, the symbol of the Serpent that eats its own tail, Oroboros. Both represent the closed circle of energy in the Universe, the inhale and exhale of energy, begun by number one Beth, acting upon the zero, Aleph. What may also aid in the thought of Male-eclectic and Female-magnetic force being separated by a slight degree, is that infinity symbol is merely a circle twisting to looking upon itself, an action that creates a female circle of force and male circle of force where One equals Two. The same can be said for the electromagnetic spectrum of light. Electric-Male and Female magnetic, combine to form One Electromagnetic spectrum of great diversity! In the Zohar, the relationship of Aleph-The Fool and Beth- The Magus to creation, are discussed in a most charming matter, which is unusual for esoteric literature. I would recommend that the discerning student of the Tarot read this Qabalistic book. The relationship between The Fool and The Magus (magician) is so subtle that our best hope of even approaching an understanding, resides in meditation on spiritual text, like the Zohar, combine with the images of the Tarot cards.  To speak directly of the Invisible, is impossible, so a circle of ideas must be formed, each giving a suggestion about the nature of the inner Truth. Each Sephiroth on the Tree of Life is each a Circle of ideas, and each Form is an understanding of these circles while each Force is a potential to Form. I may have lost you with that one, so let me say, that The Magus is a channel through which the Energy of The Fool is organized and passes downward. The Magus is both active and passive, as the Magus is both the transmitter and the transmitted, i.e. the Life Force which becomes the primal material in the act of transmission. I know this as the"I Will Be" that is Logos. The Magus being the first step in evolutionary Universal energy towards matter. Thus, in the Thirty Two Paths of Wisdom, by Paul Foster Case, the Magus is called the Transparent Intelligence, as light passes through a window from above, so dose the Magus pass The Primal Will of Kether.To reiterate: THE TAROT- FOOL- 0, is the initial potential for thought, transcending all reason. Hence, objectifying the Upper Regions of the Supernal Triangle is a futile endeavor. However, once we recognize the impossibility of consciously approaching the Highest Levels of the Tree of Life, i.e. The Universal Collective Unconscious, in a direct manner, we are forcibly driven into the key Principles of the Mysteries/Metaphysics and the necessity of creating "The Above, in The Below". We begin seeing that the Below is a mirror reflection of the Above. The Divine Spirit is all we know, we breathe it, we live within it, it is ourselves. Because we know this Divinity to be "the One Energy that cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed", we know that everything is of this One who is Two, as symbolized by THE FOOL that is the Path of Aleph. In this context, Aleph is attributed to Air and means Life-Breath. Just as Spirit is from the Greek root word Spiro, which means Breath. The One Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is then the Life-Breath of the Universe. This is well known in Eastern cultures, and Prana Yamas (Breath yoga meaning, "life/death") are a major if not primary part of all Spiritual development, of bringing the "above subjective into the objective below". The Word Prana, is the Life-Breath energy. Now I have described the Magus in past blogs, as relating to "Words" (vibration), the underlying sonic of patterned manifestation. However, it is the power of breath that expels the sound. Thus THE FOOL activates THE MAGUS.  Crowley, considered Air to be a vacuum, as related to THE FOOL who is the fertile Nothingness and egg of Spirit, so too speak. The universal Egg of Spirit is known, by Gnostic and Qabalisits, to be the EGG OF AKASHA, the zero of THE FOOL which also represents this egg of spirit, and is the mathematical formula of us one male, minus one female= 0 . Therefore, the understanding is that the Egg of Akasha, is a fertilized ovum of undefined sexuality, but having the potential for Both! One who is Two. The Night Sun Tarot, shows this Egg of Akasha as hovering above the right hand of the veiled Fool and horned Fool. While in the background is shown the Oval Womb image of the Vesical Pisces, The Universal Womb. Within the Womb, and behind the Fool, is the Supernal Triangle. The arrows pointing downward, are showing the Energetic Will of the One flowing downward from the Fool. Therefore, THE FOOL, represents the very expression of the god name of Kether, Eheieh, which means I will be. This is the Divine Child as yet unborn, who is all potential and who is our very beginning! Therefore the Night Sun Tarot shows the Fool's face veiled, as it is only potentially an identity. Therefore the Tiger or Dog, "fawning about" THE FOOL'S leg, is also an archetype representing the Animal Nature (survival mind) as related to the Higher Spiritual process. The Horns on the figure on both the Thoth and Night Sun Tarot card, represent those of Dionysus Zagreus ( in ancient Greek religion and myth, Zagreus (Greek: Ζαγρεύς) was a god, usually but not always identified with Dionysus. He was especially worshipped by followers of Orphism, whose late Orphic hymns invoke his name), the green clothing on the Thoth card, is that of the Green Man of Spring, the grapes at his feet are a tribute to Bacchus, the Greek God of Ecstasy, and the Crocodile (great creative energy) a swimming at his feet in "the Nile" (Crowley quote). Also are images referring to the Godhead, such as the dove of Venus and the vulture of Maat. Then there is the triple egg shape created by the caduceus in motion, symbolizing the Ain Soph Aur (The three states of No-thing). The clothing on both cards is "foolish" and representative of that of traditional medival tarot. As you may realize, the imagery is so subjective that I haven't the space to detail it all for you. If you need more detail, and you do, I would recommend reading Crowley's BOOK OF THOTH, Robert Wang's Book: THE QABALISTIC TAROT and investigating the Mythology of the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians. the Fool is the most esoteric of all the Arcane. Every card in the Tarot Deck is an aspect of THE FOOL-0, and therefore, 78 different aspects of your Psyche. As a psychic path, THE FOOL connects Kether -1-(Crown) with Chokmah-2- (Wisdom). To the Qabalist, Kether is known as the Source of All, and Chokmah is known as Father God or God of the Covenant.  The Path of Aleph, meaning OX, is about the "flowing of Life Force and creative power", showing the "SPIRIT'S aim to be that of Earth and/or Sensual Being. Crowley symbolizes this "Holy Spirit" ( The Spirit on every level of the Tree of Life) as a dove in the Thoth Deck Card. Crowley also called The Letter Aleph, a phallic symbol.....but then so is the Projected Will that is THE MAGUS, and one wonders if Crowley was so besotted with the Phallus, that he was unable to see anything else; However, truth be told, by reference to Sexes and sexuality do we come to the minutest glimmering of understanding about the Universe.To even begin understanding THE FOOL, we must entertain a multifaceted and fluid interpretation of Force and Form. Paul Foster Case calls this Eleventh Path, in his book THE THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM, the fiery or Scintillating Intelligence. which makes sense as The Path of Aleph boarders on the Limitless Light (Ain Soph), which is "not" or "naught", that is, Light without limit which is darkness to us who need a beginning and a end to see. So here we try to explain what can't be seen as The Fiery Darkness which is the possibility of vibration or motion and the First Perception of the One having potential for activity. In the context of Masculine sexuality, the Fool is the Testes, and the Magus is the Phallus,(represented by the three flowers beneath the spread legs of Thoth Tarot- THE FOOL) as He directs active first flow from the Fool rather than potentiality doing so. However, I fear that is a rather limiting concept of the ONE-----as the Ain Soph is "No-Thing", but then, all concepts are less than the potential for conception. We may reason that the potential for thought, comes from the Dark Energy as Dark Matter (The First Material). The appearance of Thought emanates Mind, which is the vessel for Thoughtful ideas and/or Womb of Thought Forms, i.e. The I-magi-nation, potential images transcending all reason. Thus, our reason, leaves us with more questions than answers but necessarily so because we then must build (create) the answers!  Limitlessness is a very difficult concept! To say that THE FOOL represents the initial potential for thought which transcends reason, is about the best I can do with words. However, the special reality we may touch in sleep, often gives us images that do not correlate to our mundane understanding of reality, so our dreams seem to be so much abstraction and are considered as nonsense to our waking condition. However, the Great Work (As above so below) involves the assimilation of The Real, not a reality conceived of mundane ideas base on self-absorbed survival thinking. And the Real Concepts are from "what is Not" making "What it thinks it is" from Dreams of Potential- Self!  To think of the Universe as "God Dreaming" (Darkness Dreaming it is Light) is very difficult to grasp, and the fact that you are a "Lucid" Dreamer (Image of God), who has been given the "Power of Observation", meaning you can change the Perspective of "Things" and Self, is just about as mind boggling as it gets....and just such a glimmer of insight requires a "beyond the Mundane" understanding of Self! Thus, your Divinity is not often acknowledge by the mundane; However, your Psyche's Womb, The Divine Feminine, that is the conception of "the image of God", is the invisible Sephiroth, Daath (knowledge), which is the Path Where Goddess (Understanding)/God (Wisdom) meet face to face ( Tibetan, Yab Yum) and is known as the Path of Daleth-THE EMPRESS, your Spiritual Birth Mother/ Feminine Principle of the Divine Creative!I'll end this" brief" dissertation on the Fool, with this: All the Paths leading upward to Kether,THE FOOL, THE MAGUS, AND THE HIGH PRIESTESS, must be approached with a certain understanding of whimsy, as we realize that by crossing the Abyss and approaching Kether (The Crown) means the total annihilation of Self as we perceive it, thus presenting us with the irony of our attempt to grasp such esoteric and refined principles from an earthly-mundane perspective. Often, when teaching the Major Arcana and knowing what I speak, cannot truly convey what I am saying, brings a smile, if not outright laughter to my face. To me, The I AM potential is ironically displayed as a limited conception--a Me. Being a "Me" must never be taken to seriously, for that concept will change daily, when one enters the Higher Self. In Kether is the point of Tetragrammaton. Crowley summed this up as:"The Union (Communion) of the Father and Mother produces Twins, the son going forward to the daughter and the daughter returning the energy to the Father; by this cycle of change the stability and eternity of the Universe is assured." Too understand this, it may be necessary to go back through history to the Matriarchal age. It was a time where succession was not through the first born son but through the daughter. The King was not ruler by inheritance but rather by the right of conquest. In the stable societies of the time, the king was a stranger; a foreigner. He then had to kill the old king and marry the daughter. The Anglo-Saxon word husband meant ,"Keeper of her property". So the King was a care-taker. Respect for the wandering mad-man or lunatic runs high throughout history. As it still does in India and other Asian nations. In fact a common quote in medieval times is, "This queer stranger? Let us entreat him kindly. it may be that we entertain an angel unawares." Study into Percival, Mako-the son of Set,or Sebek (crocodile god), or even Hoor-Pa-Kraat will help explain the Fool cosmogony. This traditional wandering fool, is well depicted in the Night Sun Tarot, showing road signs pointing various directions behind him, as he obliviously strides forward with veiled eyes.On the Tree of Life, the first is Kether-0-, who represents the Pure Being, which is an aspect of pure No-thing; Force and Form hasn't been invented yet. In Kether's subjective manifestation of the Pure Being, he is not one but two; His divine name is Eheieh, which means "I Will Be" and/or I AM (I plus Am =2) but he is only One because he is zero. One leads to nowhere, which is where it came from. So the only possible beginning is in Two, Kether (crown) and Chokma (Wisdom)/Force and that manifestation must be silence, because the number 3, Binah's number (understanding-Form) has not yet been formulated. In other words, there is no Mother, Binah is the Virgin Mother, because Male is a Form of Force, and no Form has yet been invented, so When Binah is impregnated by silent Wisdom, She has not known a male! Male and Female where both invented at the same moment when the Twins were born from silent Wisdom and Understanding impregnation of the I (Identity) Am (Idea), therefore giving birth to the Me (Self consciousness). Therefore with Kether and Chokma, there is impulse but nothing else, until Binah is formed out of Understanding. Only when impulse is interpreted, can it become Form, or the Logos is merely sound unheard until sound was contained into Form! I could go on and on confusing you into abject despondency, but I think this is enough to stimulate a different perspective about the Universe. The Fool -0, is not a key card, for key cards are about doors or gateways of knowledge being opened. Nothing has nowhere to go---so it 0. It is all the Power that ever was or will be. However, Crowley also called the Fool, Atu 22, giving it the Key 22 designation. Because in the end, all things return to the NO-Thing. Therefore, in most understandings of Tarot, there are 21 key cards, however, with a greater insight, one can see that there are "22" key cards.  The design of the Thoth Fool card represents many mythological explanations of this Principle:
The whole Fool card is a glyph of the Creative Light which is Dark Energy and/or "The Fiery Darkness, that is too bright for human eyes" and/or unseen by the naked eye. Unless there are many surrounding cards of a very spiritual nature or the position of the Fool card is thrown into a highly spiritual position in the reading, a more mundane reading of the Fool card is often warranted. Such as, acting foolish, dementia, delirium, and/or incoherency. When thrown during a Divination, the Fool represents;
If ill defined by accompanying cards, The Fool, is then the harbinger of folly, mania, extravagance and even negligence. Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper. |
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Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot-Key 1- The Magus & The Night Sun Tarot-Key 1- The Magician
  The Thoth Tarot-Key 1- THE MAGUS & The Night Sun Tarot-THE MAGICIAN: In Hermetic Qaballah, The Magus, The Hermit and the Hierophant, are called the 3 Magi. The Magi or Magician, as individual, "Stand for Mankind" as a full Tree of Life, that is both Force and Form of all the Planes of Conscious Energy; The Adam Khadmon. For those who think that reading a book will qualify you as a Magus, I am sorry to say, it is a union of Kether's name of Eheieh- "I will be", with the very molecules of your body where the Above flows through the Below in a figure eight spiral which is called the lemnistrate (Greek for Ribbon). A great many trials and tribulations are required in order to awaken this "sleeping giant" that resides in your individual DNA. Oh by the way, this is the Will that started the Great Work of "As above and so below".  As shown on the Tree of Life, the Soul had to build many"Houses" (Hebrew-Beth)before it can ever achieve the manifestation of a Temple of Mercury, a condensed body that is able to flow the Above (Kether) Energy-Intelligence without vibrating beyond vision on the Below (Malkuth). Often, it takes the Soul's diligence and determination of many "life times" (persona manifestations) to accomplish this Magus/Magician as a living persona.  The Magus or the more traditional Magician, is referred to the letter Beth, a Hebrew letter which means House or Temple, and is attributed to the planet Mercury. Thus, the depiction of winged feet on the Thoth Magus illustration and the wing formed lemnistrate on the Night Sun-Magician.The ideas attached to this Tarot card are often very difficult to understand and one of the most difficult for modern man is that words are not action. Therefore this card is all about the Action of Eheieh, the"I Will-Be", that began the first motion in this Universe, woven of motion; the Moving- Universe of Vibrational Weaving (The Electromagnetic Spectrum), which in itself is a Beth and/or The Great Temple of the Macrocosm! The Magus is the Son, the manifestation in act of the idea of the Father. He is the male correlative of the High Priestess.  Mercury is preeminently the bearer of the Wand (Phallus) which represents Energy Sent Forth and/or communication. The wand is shown in the left hand of the Night Sun Magician while the Thoth Magus is the wand itself. The Creative nature of Mercury is the Sun but the path leading from Kether (Crown) to Binah (Understanding) is ruled by Mercury as well. Thus, he is the Lingam that is the Silent Word of Creation. This is not Male as in Sex, it is Male as in "expression", electricity. The ideas illustrated by the Thoth-Magus and Night Sun Magician card are complex and so multifarious that many documents, meditations, and study are usually required to grasp this cards multidimensional message. When skrying the Magus or Magician card, it suggested that one should ask," Where should I direct my potential?"  In the Hermetic Qabalah, Mercury/Magus/Magician is representative of action in all its forms and phases. He is the fluid basis for all transmission of activity. He is the substance of the Dynamic Universe. Modern physics has given him language as that electric charge which is the first vibratory-manifestation of the ring of Ten indefinable ideas; he is thus continual creation. He is a duality; he is both wisdom and folly; he is the law of reason or of necessity and chance. Being that the "Magus within" is unexpected, he unsettles any established idea and therefore appears tricky. The Magus is the very idea of a Sorcerer, which comes from the Latin, Solitaris, which means "to cast lots" and some have interpret it to mean "from the Source"; both are appropriate.  From the Above the Magus may appear as the second emanation of the Crown (Kether) and thus can be interpreted as the Adult expression of the Fool who is "like the children"; the Magus being the Will of the Fool. The ideas are so subtle and tenuous, that any given description and/or Hieroglyph represents a subtle insistence, however slight, upon some form of pantomorphous idea. The symbols on both the Magus/Magician card emphasize the creative and dual character of Beth (the honey moon suit of Goddess/god). As Crowley stated in Liber Magi vv, 7-10 : "With the Wand createth He, With the Cup preserveth He,With the Dagger destroyeth He, With the Coin redeemeth He." On the Thoth card, these implements of the Magus/Magician are seen floating around the hovering Magus. On the Night Sun Magician card, these implements are shown, wand in left hand, coin in right hand, the cup underneath the levitating Magician, along with the Sword or Dagger. The number 777 which is on the altar cloth of the Night Sun Magician, signifies his indivisible union with the Goddess and/or Feminine Principle.   The Whole of the Tarot itself, has been called since the time of Levi, the Book of Thoth. To reiterate: In the Thoth Tarot , The first Key, The traditional Tarot-Magician, is called the Magus. In most decks the Magician sports the wand of Mercury, the Caduceus, which encompasses the whole of the Sephiroth, except Kether, who forms the top sphere, on the Tree of Life. In the Thoth Tarot, the Magus is the Caduceus; However, in the Night Sun Tarot, Fabio Listrani, choose to make a caduceus staff, lying beneath the hovering Magician. The Magician/Magus is the Qabalistic Path of Beth, on the Tree. Beth, meaning "house", and the Magician represents the original house/dwelling place of the Supreme One Spirit Identity, which is represented by the O-Fool card. Hence, The Magus is the Fool descending towards dense manifestation.   The first matter of the Alchemists was called the Philosophic Mercury, the first in creation, the beginning of the beginning, the stuff of thought. This card also represents the opposites of life and death, because to create the beginning, an end must also be created. So without the energy of the Magician/Magus, there would be no life or death, beginning or end. The Figure eight (lemniscus; Greek for "ribbon") of the Serpent crowning the Thoth Magus's head, represents this unbroken cycle of form and energy in this universe. This lemnistrate of infinity, is shown as a ribbon like garment, decorated with the "triangle within the circle" symbol of the Alchemical- Philosopher's stone/Philosophic Mercury, draping above, wing like, and down over the shoulders of the Magician of the Night Sun Tarot. The Life energy of the Universe is directed by the Magus/ Magician as step 1 in the evolution of Matter. He is called the Transparent Intelligence which is both the Transmitter and the Transmitted, i.e. The Mirror of which He is both sides; the Message and the Messenger.  The Magus/Magician tells us that when the One Energy is transmitted and/or first moved, it became primal matter, which is the interaction of Kether, Chokma, Binah transmitted through Daath (invisible Sephiroth,i.e. Transparent Intelligence) who is not the Creator itself but the bearer of the Creators Will as Knowledge. The Thoth Tarot- Magus and Night Sun Tarot-Magician both are a representative of Hermes (Greek), Mercury (Roman) and Thoth (Egyptian) who all are the same deity. This Deity was associated with words, because a messenger must clearly state the cause of the one who sent him. However, these Words are vibration/ sound and not necessarily any spoken language. Therefore, the Magician/Magus transmits the Idea of Self Creation ("I will Be") from the One from above. Hence, the Words (Vibrations of Will) of the magician/Magus are how the Intelligence of the Sephirotic will is transmitted. A word is an intelligence-laden vibration and the idea of the Magician/Magus is the first vibration through which the One Spirit begins manifestation. This vibration encloses the Spirit and the All of Creation. As shown by the two different symbols on the Robert Wang (from his book: Qabalistic Tarot) illustration, The Caduceus, encompassing the Four Worlds of Qaballah and the Sephiroth on the Planetary symbol of Mercury. The encompassing "Will of the Logos", is shown on the Night Sun Tarot, as a large circular golden disc (also reflected on the floor beneath his altar cloth), inscribed with "magic words and symbols", with large ring of Macrocosmic proportions and a smaller inner ring of Microcosmic proportions. The serpent-like woven cords coming from his mouth, represent the woven vibrations- "words"- of the Solar Logos, which is Kether/Eheieh, whose Qabalistic symbols are the Swirling image of the Swastika, The Crown, and the Point.All created wills are but reflections of the Will that is the Magician/Magus.   A true Qabalistic Magus must allow the Primal "I will Be" to operate through him or her, utilizing all senses. By doing so the control of the senses by the survival mind of good/and bad is overcome with the Greater Will of the One.In the Thoth Tarot Card, the Magic Mercurial Wand of the Magician---is the Magus himself. Giving us insight into a unseen Truth. The wand has no power, it just focuses the Will-Power of the One who wields it, at a point in time! The Transmitter and the Transmitted become One Point In Time; a magic moment. As stated The Thoth Tarot-Key 1: THE MAGUS, is often called THE MAGICIAN in other decks. No matter what this first Motion is called, it is Key-One, The Path of Beth. Beth is a Hebrew letter, that is shown on both cards, meaning House or Temple and is shown on the bottom left of The Magus card and the upper right on the Night Sun Tarot Card. The Planetary symbol for mercury, is shown on the Thoth-Magus, lower right of the card, and on the Night Sun Tarot, upper left of the Magician card.  The Planet attributed to the Magus/ Magician is Mercury-"The Messenger" of the"Kether".Dr. Paul Foster Case, in his text, THE THIRTY TWO PATHS OF WISDOM, calls the Path of Beth, the Twelfth Path that is the Intelligence of Transparency. The Path of Beth (The Magus) is between Kether (Crown) and Binah (Understanding) on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, making it the transition (Phallus) path of the One undefined Energy, and the Great Organizer, Binah. Thus, the relationship that establishes the meaning of House, that is the "dwelling place" (Womb) where Spirit resides before "falling" into manifestation.  In this case, it is appropriate to call the Magus/Magician "that which builds the House", in other words, the Magus directs and encloses the One Spirit (Spiral energy-Vital Life Force)) which is symbolized by THE FOOL tarot card. Hence we can see that, the Will of the Supernal Triangle, is represented by the Major Tarot Cards whose activities are only separated by a degree or less. Thus, the Aspects of the Magus and the Fool are closely linked.Scholars of the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch), point out that the letter Beth is the First letter, as the book of Genesis begins with "Bereshith", commonly translated as "in the beginning". Interestingly, Fabre d'Olivet translated Bereshith as meaning "At First, in principle", knowing that Beth symbolizes the "Beginning of the Beginning"; The Will of the One. Thus, it is the First Matter of the Alchemist, the Philosophic Mercury and or "First Principle". Because to create a beginning one must create an end, the Magus also represents the key polarities of creation, Life and Death. This process is indicated by the figure eight that is lying on its side (lemniscus: Greek word meaning, ribbon) and or Uroboros, the serpent that eats its own tail, as both represent the closed circle of One Energy, begun by the number One -Beth, acting on the Zero-Aleph, THE FOOL (The Lemniscus symbolizes the Act of Turning upon oneself as a Twisting or Spiraling-Thus creating Male and Female infinite circles of Force in the Circle of ONE Energy). Remember, because there is no Action in the Mind/Head), until "Will" disturbs it! Thus the Magus chant of ," I am the will . I am the way. I am the wealth, I own the Day ", is most appropriate to this card's power and effective as a skrying chant.  [For an entertaining story of the first relationship between the letters Aleph and Beth, i would suggest one reads the Zohar, a Qabalistic text.]However, even though the Magus is associated with Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods, it is not all active. In fact, it is both active and passive, as it is both that which Transmits and that which is Transmitted ! The Magus represents both the One Life Energy which when transmitted becomes the Prima Materia (First Matter). Here an understanding of the fact that the Magus (Mercury) is the "message bearer" of the Gods, meaning he is not Himself the Creator, only the bearer of his Will. The ejaculator, if you will. (The whole Supernal Triangle is the action of the Divine Phallus and Womb.). The Wand in The Magician's hand ( The Night Sun Tarot, Rider-Waite, Golden Dawn Tarot and Barbara Walker-Tarot) symbolizes this "phallic action", showing that the Magick is merely the Transmitted will of the Greater Being that is the Supernal Triangle or Trinity.  As Stated: The Roman, Mercury, is the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian- Thoth, all represent the same deity, the amalgamation of their qualities having become inseparable in modern esoteric literature.Hermes, was always associated with words, this makes sense as a messenger must simply state the cause of the one who has sent him. Then there is the Egyptian- Thoth, who reportedly created the Hieroglyphs, developing the necessary means by which a message could be transmitted and recorded. The companion of Thoth/Hermes, was shown as a dog-headed Ape (Cynocephalus), representing words themselves. and their potential for deception and misunderstanding. Thus, we have Cynocephalus, included in the Thoth Deck card, laying at the feet of the Magus.  Not only do words affect the Will, as cause and effect, but they also transmit ideas from person to person in the same way that the Magus/Magician transmits the idea of Self-Creation of the One -Kether. The Transmitted idea, from The Magus , fertilizes the ONE Womb,(Understanding) Great Mother Binah. Just as words fertilize Consciousness! Thus the power of Words, is about stimulating the birthing of unconscious ideas into conscious images of understanding, by the Power of Expression, but not necessarily the Truth of Creation, for that Must Be Made Manifest (THE HIGH PRIESTESS)!Both The Thoth Tarot Magus and Night Sun-Magician are designed on the Greco-Egyptian Gnostic and shamanic tradition. When these philosophies modified each other, they advance the idea further than any other traditions. The Egyptian Mercury was called Tahuti or Thoth and in that tradition he was Ibis headed. To the Egyptians, the Ibis was the symbol of concentration (meditation) because the bird stands motionless on one leg. In the Crowley form of Thoth, he is seen bearing the phoenix wand that symbolizes resurrection through the generative process.   Shown in the depiction of the Thoth Magus, his left hand holds an Phoenix wand and around his left ankle is a serpent like cord of a stylize Crux Asana which not only represents a sandal strap [the means to travel through worlds] which is a distinguishing mark of the god-head, but also the Ankh (crux ansata) represents the Rosy-Cross; symbolizing the Phallus-Yoni union that is the God-head and/or The Divine Creative. The woven cord, below the levitating Magician, on the Night Sun Tarot, seems to represent this "sandal strap".However, this Hermetic symbology represents a deeper mystery than most fear based and/or superstitious self-conscious thought is prepared to go. Therefore, only determined open minded scholar's will need apply their brain to such studies that will lead them to the central mysteries of the Aeon of Osiris whose great secret so diligently guarded from the profane by the "flesh-o-phobes", was thatintervention of the Male is necessary for the production of children, both of Mind and Form. In other words: The "I " ( will to force) intervened with "Am" (Will to Form) to produce the offspring of Force and Form, called a "Me" (Will to be). Since the Christian Father's, profaned their own statement," that Man is Made in God's own Image", the well studied student of the mind knows that words, the instruments of Thoth and communication, are illusions, fantasy, mere theories and even trickery and the symbol of this card can be studied and seen as : Manifestation implies illusion. A Magi knows that thought is what we manipulate by will, into forms and/or the foundation of ideas that become form and since thought is a tool we the Willful Spirit, that makes our body live, are not thought! You cannot identify yourself by words, only your actions will sound out your name! Again, above all things know thyself! Upon so doing, you'll easily see that everyone you meet is another way of being you. Another Way, is the operative term here. So let them alone! Let them be "another way"....that's why The Greater Self built and builds so many of us. Creation loves "another way", because then the journey of Self-Awareness has infinite possibilities! Each of us is "The Will and the Way": the Spirit is Will and the Body is the Way of Spirit. We are also the wealth of idea and because our bodies are magically made out of time-space formed by Understanding; we are the "Will and the Way, the wealth and We own the Day". For only bodies give us the, Endless Will, a Day. Day's are built of time space and each day gives us the illusion of Time and the resulting Power of Limitation. To study Thoth-----is to know the deepest secrets of Self! When this card is thrown it implies the querent has:
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