Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot-Key 4- The Emperor & The Wild Wood Tarot-The Green Man.

The Thoth Emperor is both  attributed to Mars and the letter- Tzaddi-meaning Hook. The Hebrew letter, Tzaddi (shown on bottom left of card), according to Crowley,  refers to the sign of Aries in the Zodiac and the ruler of Aries which is Mars. The resulting combination exalts the Sun. All of which implies that Aries and Mars  is a combination of energy in its most material form with the idea of Authority.

However, most of the Qabalistic Scholars believe that assigning the Hebrew letter Tzaddi to the Emperor card, that is normally assigned the letter Heh, is Crowley's mistake. For the Emperor is described as the "fiery aspect of the Garden of Eden", to which the "Higher Self" relates. While The Star-key-17, to which Crowley, assigned the Hebrew letter Heh, is traditionally assigned the letter Tzaddi, and is considered to be the Eden of the Personality.

In both cases, the general has become a specific, pristine point where the consciousness can look both forward and back. Hence, sight-the meaning of the Hebrew letter Heh is attributed to the Emperor as this is the self-observation of the One-the Great "I". It is the first path, in the Sepher Yetzira, that has a sense attribution; the I Am. This first sense, linked with Aries which is the first sign makes sense. The Emperor  is also often depicted as the "All Seeing Eye (I)"; the Great I AM, therefore, Heh, is better suited to the Emperor. Tzaddi, the Fish Hook or Hook, is better assassinated in the Star Tarot Card, which is imagination. Imagination is linked with meditation, which is implied in the description of the fish hook and the natural intelligence of the Star Card's 28th Path. Here, consciousness can look back and forth from Imagination to ratiocination. The Star connects the 7th Sephiroth-Netzach with the 9th Sephiroth-Yesod (Victory with Foundation); a very powerful path that points out the way in which the Divine Energy inherent in each of us is best approached.

THE HEBREW LETTER--HEH.

symbolic meaning: Window or Sight

 

There is much about the "I Am" to explain but words are not the true explanation of  "I Am" which is the English translation of the Hebrew letter-Heh. In fact the story of Heh ( Hebrew word:Hinenni which is a composite of Heh means "Here I Am")  Moses and the burning bush (Exodus:3:1-4) tells us of a great miracle of enlightenment, where Moses mentally and physically climbs to new heights and witness a miracle beyond his normal perceptions of sight. At first he can't believe his eyes, but after God spoke from the burning bush, and called Mose's name twice---Moses responded with "Here I Am". Thus showing that he has heard and is ready to do as bid by God.

The Emperor Thoth Tarot card-Key 4, in Qabalistic circles, is known as the first Conscious sense----the first enactment of energy on form. it is the eye (I) sight of conscious energy. It is the Fire that is seen---Light from Darkness. It is the Window/sight that looks out onto form; But this is not easily understood in worded definitions. Moses had to go through many actions before he could "See the Light":

(A). He had to go out into the wilderness;  seek solitariness of self contemplation leaving behind the definitions of society.

(B) He sees an angel; through  meditation or skrying processes, that take us out into the unexplored areas of our consciousness(wilderness), we find our inner "Guardian Angel").

( C). He notices that a bush is burning but is not consumed; our perspectives of sight, change through greater awareness and we see the spiritual fire---or as I see, the Human Aura which is a "solar Fire" around the human body that doesn't consume.

(E). And after all this, is when he hears the Voice of God but he must hear it twice to be sure its real.

This is obviously a story about the inner journey we all must take to be able to claim our inheritance as "Children of the Divine Creative:" and our purpose is then made clear. We now have a Window and insight, in which to see through illusion and view the Real.

In order to get a glimpse of understanding about the Emperor Card, we have to Know the Empress. I know this sounds odd, but realize for a moment that Binah (The Great Mother) is a Yod unconscious energy that crosses over to the Heh conscious energy, thought the Path of the Empress-Daleth; the Empress being the balance between Chokmah and Binah.  The Empress is the growth process that comes from the union and/or the interaction of male and female as the fertilized cell. She is fruition, The Emperor, although he is a potent masculine energy, is Heh on the Paths, meaning that He sees but sight's function is determined by Binah who is the "Will to Form". In fact, Chokmah (Wisdom); the primary quality of maleness (electric force) is a Hebrew female noun. Therefore Chokmah is both feminine and masculine, because we have taken the point of view that whatever gives birth is exercising a primary female quality at the moment of birth.  To make a long story short, the male is inherent in the female and the female is inherent in the male, which is a real transformation function of a given energy consciousness.  We may understand this as the "contra sexual component" postulated by Carl Jung which states that in the unconscious the male harbors the perfect female image- Anima (female) and the female harbors the perfect male image-the Animus (male)- in her unconscious as well.

In truth for one energy to not be created nor destroyed, it only transforms, is both a process of male-electric dynamic motion and female formation (magnetic form). It may boggle the Mind, but there really isn't a separation of male and female.....We are both conscious (male) and unconscious (female) because she produces the "form" that he must act on. Imagination, is both active idea  and form! I have already described the Emperor card in previous blogs, and  will later on cover the path of Heh. but for now know that Heh is window: a window of "insight" about Union rather than the "outsight" of divisionism. And without this window of insight. we can't see God-Logos! The Emperor is "I" sight---the first sense enacted on Form.

The Thoth Tarot Emperor is illustrated as an imperial figure bedecked with crown and imperial vestments.

The Emperor also represents the alchemical chemical, Sulfur, as shown by his posed head and arms forming a triangle; below crossed legs form the cross, making a complete sigil of the alchemical sulfur. In the Gnosis of Alchemy, Sulfur is the male creative fiery energy of the Universe and corresponds to the Qabalistic Fiery- swift creative energy, the initiative of all Being.

The Bee and Fleur-de-lys, both support the Imperial image as ancient signs of imperial power.  The quality of this power is prone to sudden, violent but impermanent activity, so this fiery power must not persist for too long or it  burns and destroys.

The Rams head septure is a  obvious continuance of authority and Aries. The Orb with the Maltese cross  and the Aries septure imply that his authority and power are now established governance. The shield at his feet, represents the two headed eagle crowned with a crimson disk which  is symbolic of the Alchemist's red tincture or the nature of gold. The golden eagle, the Sun, is consort to the white eagle, the moon, silver, of the Empress.

In the final observation of this card, the white light descending upon the Emperor's head is Chokma and symbolizes Chokmah's authority of creative wisdom, the Logos, and is exerted upon Tiphareth (Beauty), the organized "man build" of the Whole Soul Collective. This makes sense, if you understand that Beauty is a perfect organization of opposites... a Jungian synchronicity.

THE Qabalistic Thoth Tarot, EMPEROR-Key 4, is the Path of Heh that runs between Netzach (-Lesser Creator who rules over manifestation) and Yesod is known as theConstituting Intelligence ( Dr.Paul Foster Case).

Because of our Divine Inheritance from the Demiurge (Lesser Creator) and the Great Mother (Binah- Empress-Female aspect of the Demiurge) we are  all the"Shades" of consciousness.

Modern psychology has called these Shades of Consciousness, the Unconscious, the Sub-conscious and the Consciousness which just about every elementary school child has heard of; However, hearing of a thing is not knowing the thing. Because of the evolution of subjective thought, from Mythology, to fundamental Religions, and now to the modern science of Psychology, and Parapsychology we are beginning to easily deal with the shades of consciousness within ourselves and are experiencing a New Age (The Age of Aquarius or Aeon of Horus) of enlightenment.

The Higher we realize ourselves on the Self Tapestry of the Tree of Life, the more the student understands that the Trump or Cards of the Major Arcana, only point the way towards understanding concepts that the human objective pattern seeking-mind cannot otherwise grasp.

By just beginning to understand the next Five Trumps/Paths, [THE EMPEROR, THE EMPRESS, THE HIGH PRIESTESS,THE MAGUS, THE FOOL], the initiate will be developing the consciousness of the Horus; the 22nd century human psyche.

Because of Modern Physics, we know that there is only One Energy that cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed (and transmitted), and the student of the Tarot knows that all the 78 cards of the Tarot deck represent Transformations of the One as Self. From the One, emergence the opposites, which are activating the formative, that is the Male (Electric) and Female (Magnetic)  communion. Thus it is accurate to state that all Male figures are Chokmah (Jah) and Binah (YHVH Elohim) is that of all Female.

The robes the Empress/Green Woman or Emperor/Green Man wear, represent the different planes and/or dimensions of our mufti-verse, which are actually vibratory rates that are either "will to force" (male) Kether or "will to  form" (Female) Binah, and/or their intertwining of vibration (The Divine Union of Goddess/God) that makes all things possible.

The Qabalist knows that the "Big Bang" came from what is the Source, Kether, thus the ejaculation of Energy, making the Action of Kether -male( Male is not a sex here, but an action) and therefore defining the Divine Feminine as "Formless" (virgin dark energy- magnetism) in the three formless states of Ain, Ain Soph and Ain Soph Ur.

The One became Two, Androgynous, when I  became Am , which is known as Chokmah and Binah, as Empress and Emperor which should be stated Empress/Emperor, just as Yin/Yang or Time/Space are known to be inseparable and established at the same moment. Thus, with some authority we can say that the I is male and the Am is female, for one is Wisdom (Chokmah) and the other is Understanding (Binah) and we can't experience one without the other!

In the Tarot, THE FOOL represents the One Energy,   THE MAGUS and the HIGH PRIESTESS, are the Macrocosm into Microcosm;  first differentiation of Male and Female electromagnetic energy polarity. Pure Consciousness, known as the "root of Water" is represented by the HIGH PRIESTESS and Her consort,  THE MAGUS, is considered psychologically as the Will. Thus the term I Am, is understood as the intercourse of consciousness and will, i.e "existence" which is not yet alive, but is the union of "will to force" and "will to form". Like I've said before, I AM is your Real Psyche Birth name.

The mating of the HIGH PRIESTESS, to the MAGUS, is described in Robert Wang's book: THE QABALISTIC TAROT as, ".....the activity of the directing Will of the One on the Great Ocean of undifferentiated consciousness [Binah] which It has Itself projected [Big Bang]  ( The bracketed words are my own).

Here we begin to think of the reflexive qualities of the Divine Creative; The Divine Feminine/Masculine creates, idea/thought, then the mind/understanding to hold that thought in a "net of magnetism" (emotions). Thus we have the concept of the Universe as a Mirror, where everything is the perception and activity of the Divine Spirit, reflecting on Itself, a process which the various and varying symbols of the Tarot are attempting to suggest.

 As stated:The reason Crowley has positioned THE EMPEROR , so that the body forms a triangle and a cross. is because he is representing the alchemical symbol of Sulfur. This representation is because of the Alchemical explanation of the  Divine-Self Interaction in terms of Sulfur, Salt and Mercury. In Tarot, Mercury is THE MAGUS,  THE EMPRESS is Salt and THE EMPEROR is sulfur. This may seem as little more than obscure abstraction: However, when we consider that THE MAGUS, (Philosophic Mercury) acts upon THE HIGH PRIESTESS (Pure Consciousness) and by Union they are transformed into THE EMPEROR (Sulfur) and THE EMPRESS (Salt), we are actually considering the quite basic attributes of our own consciousness.

The Wild Wood Tarot-Key 4- The Green Man, displays a guardian's approach. For here, the Green Man stands guard over the cauldron of thriving and regenerating nature, a preserver and storehouse of the vital energy of creation and stability. This cauldron represents the Throne of Kingship that is currently empty. Hence, the Green Man is standing with the spear of power and horn of plenty, in hand, waiting and ready for the King of the land to come and take his place.

Traditionally, the Pagan Green Man is, one of the most ancient images of man's connection with nature. The Green man is the symbol for the flourishing heart of the masculine part of nature.

Sprouting out of his face is the rich greenery of the forest as he is the conscious spirit of the land, and at one with beast and nature.

The Fecund cauldron, that the Green Man is guarding, depicts the Cerne Abbas giant, who is both proud of his manhood and protective power.

The Green Man is noted for his generous heart and happy spirit of primal joy. However, he is fierce and severe to those who don't respect the sacred land. Hence, his warnings to respect the laws of nature and the beasts of the forest are to be heeded.

If ill defined by attending cards, the querent is up against a dominant boss, or authority figure (s)  who sets rules, boundaries, definitions and analysis. 

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