The Kings
The Four kings or Figures mounted on Steeds Golden Dawn and Crowley versions represent the Yod forces in the name of each suit, the Radix, Father and commencement of Material Forces. A Force in which all the others are implied and of which they form the development and completion. A force swift and violent in action, but whose effect soon passes away, and therefore symbolized by a figure on a steed riding swiftly, and clothed in complete armour. KING OF WANDS, Lord of the Flame and of the...
The Four Threes The Four Queens
The Organizer and Compensator The Dark Sterile Mother the Bright Fertile Mother Symbols The Yoni, the Triangle, the Cup, Heh Planet Saturn Color Black In Binah is a thick darkness which yet veileth the Divine Glory in which all colours are hidden, wherein is mystery and depth and silence, and yet, it is the habitation of the Supernal Light. There is the Supernal Triad completed. And the Sphere of its Operation is Shabbathi, or rest, and it giveth forms and similitudes unto chaotic matter and...
The Initiatory Scheme Of The Tarot
As we have seen, the Tree of Life is based on one very simple principle, that of a positive and a negative which, between them, produce a third and balanced energy. These are the Yod, Heh and Vau of the Divine Name. A variety of terms describe this pattern, such as Male, Female, Neuter, or Father, Mother, Son. Figure 28 labels the Sephiroth centers of Force and Form, whereas Figure 28. Patterns of Form and Force on the Tree of Life. The Activating Paths are the gt the Formative Paths are the 1...
The Golden Dawn Tarot
There is only one known, published, reference to the origin of the Golden Dawn Tarot. This appears in the 1945 autobiography of Irish artist and poet, Ella Young. In the book, Flowering Dusk she describes a visit to the home of the Mathers, having been brought there by Maud Gonne, a member of the Order. Maud Gonne had herself been brought into the group by William Butler Yeats, who courted her unsuccessfully for many years. Ella Young describes having been attracted to some large illustrations...
Applications Of The Sepher Yetzirah
As has been indicated, the Tarot is usually related to the Sepher Yetzirah or Book of Formation. This brief, but major, document of esoteric cosmology purports to demonstrate the rational framework and course of creation of our Universe. Yet, as with all truly enlightened works, it is not intended to be read it must, rather, be used as a stimulus to meditation. The Sepher Yetzirah uses the symbolism of highly abstract words to describe those energies which the Tarot describes in pictures, the...
The Seventh Key
SIGN Cancer Cardinal Water ESOTERIC TITLE The Child of the Powers of the Waters the Lord of The Triumph of Light THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Eighteenth Path is called the House of Influence by the greatness of whose abundance the influx of good things upon created beings is increased , and from the midst of the investigation the arcana and hidden senses are drawn forth, which dwell in its shade and which cling to it, from the cause of all causes. The Path of THE CHARIOT runs between Geburah...
The Fifth Key
ESOTERIC TITLE The Magus of the Eternal. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Sixteenth Path is the Triumphal or Eternal Intelligence, so called because it is the pleasure of the Glory, beyond which is no other Glory like to it, and it is called also the Paradise prepared for the Righteous. The Path of THE HIEROPHANT, Vau, leads from Chesed to Chokmah and is the uppermost Path on the Pillar of Mercy. It is described in the Golden Dawn documents as The Zodiac acting through Taurus upon Jupiter, which...
The Twos
The Four Deuces symbolize the Powers of the King and Queen first uniting and initiating the Force, but before the Prince and Princess are thoroughly brought into action. Therefore do they generally imply the initiation and fecundation of a thing. TWO OF WANDS, Lord of Dominion Mars in Aries . Angels of the Decan Vehooel m and Deneyal iwjT . Chokmah in Atziluth, the influence of Chokmah in the World of Pure Spirit. In the Atziluthic realm, the fiery male force is on its own ground, so to speak,...
The First Key
ESOTERIC TITLE The Magus of Power. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twelfth Path is the Intelligence of Transparency because it is that species of Magnificence called Chazchazit, which is named the place whence issues the vision of those seeing in apparitions That is the prophesies by seers in a vision . The Path of Beth is between Kether and Binah. It is the transition between the One Pure Source of All, energy undefined, and the Great Organizer, a relationship described by the meaning of the...
Tarot Cards The Faithful Dog
PATH COLOR Bright Pale Yellow ESOTERIC TITLE The Spirit of Aether. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Eleventh Path is the Scintillating Intelligence, because it is the essence of that curtain which is placed close to the order of the disposition, and this is a special dignity given to it that it may be able to stand before the Face of the Cause of Causes. The Path of THE FOOL connects Kether, the Source of All, with Chokmah, the first activity toward manifestation. Aleph is assigned to this Path,...
The Nines
Generally they show very great fundamental force. Executive power, because they rest on a firm base, powerful for good or evil. NINE OF WANDS, Lord of Great Strength Moon in Sagittarius . Angels of the Decan Yirthiel i KiTT gt and Sahiah h gt iiKiy . This is Yesod in Atziluth, the influence of Yesod in the World of Pure Spirit. The Lunar powers acquire great strength in Sagittarius, although wherever Yesod and the Moon are concerned, there is always another side to the coin. Successes are...
Book T
The Golden Dawn, Waite, and Crowley decks are agreed in their conceptual dependance on the principles of Book T, a set of Tarot papers issued to members of the inner lodge of the Order of the Golden Dawn. The principal suggestion of the papers is that the key to the Tarot is the Qabalah and the Tree of Life. Certainly, without some basic knowledge of the symbols of the Qabalah the modern decks illustrated here would be incomprehensible. One must also know the Hebrew alphabet, since in its use...
The Fourth Key
SIGN Aries Cardinal Fire ESOTERIC TITLE Sun of the Morning, Chief Among the Mighty. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Fifteenth Path is the Constituting Intelligence, so called because it constitutes the substance of creation in pure darkness, and men have spoken of these contemplations it is that darkness spoken of in Scripture, Job xxxviii.9. and thick darkness a swaddling band for it. The higher we rise on the Tree of Life, the more obvious it becomes that the Tarot trumps only point the way...
The Simple Letters Signs Of The Zodiac
The twelve simple letters. . . are the foundation of these twelve properties Sight, Hearing, Smell, Speech, Taste, Sexual Love, Work, Movement, Anger, Mirth, Imagination and Sleep. . . . These Twelve Simple Letters he designated, and combined, and formed with them the Twelve celestial constellations of the Zodiac. Figure 22 shows the Signs of the Zodiac on the Tree with the corresponding Tarot Keys. This should be studied with Figure 23, which considers the attribution of Elements to the same...
F Budda Taro Cards Meaning
PATH COLOR Green-yellowish SIGN Virgo Mutable Earth ESOTERIC TITLE The Prophet of the Eternal, the Magus of the Voice of Power THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twentieth Path is the Intelligence of Will, and is so called because it is the means of preparation of all and each created being, and by this intelligence the existence of the Primordial Wisdom becomes known. The Path of Yod, connects Tiphareth the Christ-Buddha center and Chesed the Architect of Manifestaton . In brief, it represents...
The Tenth Key
DOUBLE LETTER Riches-Poverty ESOTERIC TITLE The Lord of the Forces of Life THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twenty-first Path is the Intelligence of Conciliation, and is so called because it receives the divine influence which flows into it from its benediction upon all and each existence. The Path of Caph, the WHEEL OF FORTUNE, runs from Chesed to Netzach. It is the connecting Path between the Personality and the Higher Self on the Pillar of Mercy under Chokmah. The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom...
Camino Real Kabbalah
ESOTERIC TITLE The Princess of the Silver Star. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Thirteenth Path is named the Uniting Intelligence, and is so called because it is itself the Essence of Glory. It is the Consumation of the Truth of individual spiritual things. Having just considered the Path of THE EMPRESS, one of warm enclosure a literal return to the cosmic womb and of maternal protection, the Path of THE HIGH PRIESTESS may be somewhat disconcerting. It is as if the Supreme Mother has removed...
THE PATH OF TAU The Universe
MEANING Tau Cross, Equal Armed Cross DOUBLE LETTER Power-Servitude ESOTERIC TITLE The Great One of the Night of Time THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Thirty-Second Path is the Administrative Intelligence, and it is so called because it directs and associates in all their operations the seven planets, even all of them in their own due course. Study of the Paths begins not with the first card, THE FOOL, but with the last, THE UNIVERSE.97 This is because we ascend the Tree of Life, working from our...
Numerology
Qabalistic numerology is called Gematria. This involves nothing more than taking the numerical value of each Hebrew letter in a word, and adding those values together. Theoretically, words of the same total value bear some conceptual relationship, although the principle can be taken to absurd extremes. Gematria can be a petty trap. The interrelationship of numbers and letters often, however, points to some profound ideas. For example, we have considered the reinteraction of Chokmah and Binah,...
The Riderwaite Deck
In 1910 Arthur Edward Waite and the artist Pamela Colman Smith produced what has become the most popular Tarot deck in history, generally called the Rider Deck after his publisher, William Rider amp Son. The production of this deck is discussed by Waite in his autobiography, Shadows of Life and Thought The Secret Tradition in Goetia was my first considerable work bearing the Rider imprint, but it was preceded in 1910 by a delightful experiment with the so-called Tarot Divinatory Cards,...
Divination
It may come as a suprise to some to learn that the primary reason for divination in the Great Work is not to learn the future. Rather, it is for the development of psychic faculties. The more one uses the Tarot cards to find answers to given questions, the more that person taps into unseen currents. Those who have used the Tarot cards for years will attest to the fact that there comes a point where the cards are not longer necessary to an accurate divination. Answers to specific problems are...
The Cube Of Space
A slight feeling of despair may be a common reaction to one's first encounter with this diagram Figure 24 , which may appear to add the last straw to what is an already unbearably heavy weight of symbolism. But in actuality, anyone who can follow a subway map of New York City will have no problem with the Cube of Space. It is a sort of internal map of the Universe, given in the Sepher Yetzirah, where a direction is assigned to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Many of the symbols discussed in...
The Sixes
Definite accomplishment and carrying out of a matter. The underlying characteristic of all of the sixes is success which results from effort. In Atziluth, world of energy, this means victory. In Briah, world of pleasure, happiness is brought about after work to that end. In Yetzirah, world of quarreling and strife, success is earned by the strife itself. And in Assiah, world of business and commerce among men, this means material success. SIX OF WANDS, Lord of Victory Jupiter in Leo . Angels of...
The Fives
Opposition, strife and struggle war, obstacle to the thing in hand. Ultimate success or failure is otherwise shown. The fives bring serious problems into all areas symbolized by the Elements. To Wands Energy the Fives bring quarrel and strife to Cups Love, Friendship the Fives bring the destruction of relationships to Swords Sickness and Trouble they bring certain defeat in a given matter and to Pentacles Business and Money they bring material hardship. Yet success or failure is shown by other...
The Universe The Keys The Eighth
RELATED SOUND E Natural SIGN Leo Fixed Fire MEANING Snake SIMPLE LETTER Taste ESOTERIC TITLE The Daughter of the Flaming Sword THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Nineteenth Path is the Intelligence of all the activities and spiritual beings, and is so called because of the affluence diffused by it from the most high blessing and most exalted sublime glory. In our upward progress on the Tree of Life the Path of STRENGTH leads to the edge of the Abyss, as did THE HERMIT. And as we come closer and...
Daath Knowledge
Daath is called the Invisible Sephira in that it does not appear in any representation of the Tree of Life. And, in terms of pure Qabalistic doctrine, it is not actually a Sephira at all. As the Sepher Yetzirah states Ten is the number of the ineffable Sephiroth, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven.11 But an experience of what is called Daath is required to cross the Abyss, the great gulf between the Supernal Triangle and all beneath. This is the area of demarcation between Macroprosopus and...
The Sevens
Generally shows a force, transcending the material plane, and is like unto a crown which is indeed powerful but requireth one capable of wearing it. The sevens then show a positive result which is dependant on the action then taken. They depend much on the symbols that accompany them. SEVEN OF WANDS, Lord of Valor Mars in Leo . Angels of the Decan Mahashiah rponn and Lelahel i f lt ni gt i . This is Netzach in Atziluth, the influence of Netzach in the World of Pure Spirit. The position of Mars...
The Twelfth Key
ESOTERIC TITLE The Spirit of the Mighty Waters THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twenty-third Path is called the Stable of Intelligence, and it is so called because it has the virtue of consistency among all numerations. THE HANGED MAN, the Path of Mem, connects Hod and Geburah on the Pillar of Severity. It is also a connecting channel between the Personality and the Higher Self, although its initiatory implications are very different from those three Paths leading directly into Tiphareth. This...
The Tower
DOUBLE LETTER Grace-Indignation ESOTERIC TITLE The Lord of the Hosts of the Mighty THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twenty-seventh Path is the Active or Exciting Intelligence and it is so called because through it every existent being receives its spirit and motion. The Path of Peh, THE TOWER, connects the center of the reasoning process Hod with the center of the intuition-desire nature Netzach . It is the equilibriating Path of the Personality, related to Mars, and to the North, the quarter...
Skrying
Skrying, meaning the projection of oneself into an inner vision, is actually very simple. It involves nothing more than sitting quietly in front of a Tarot card or other stimulus , closing one's eyes and stepping into that card in imagination. The essential principle is that we create day dreams, allowing our minds to flow within the given structure of a Tarot card. Soon most students discover that what they experience could not possibly be of their own making. At very least, most are...
What Path On The Tree Of Life Is The Justice Card
ESOTERIC TITLE The Daughter of the Lords of Truth the Ruler of the Balance. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twenty-second Path is the Faithful Intelligence, and is so called because by it spiritual virtues are increased, and all dwellers on earth are nearly under its shadow. The Path of Lamed, JUSTICE is between Tiphareth and Geburah. Lamed means ox-goad, the spear-like prod which keeps the ox moving down the road. This attribution points to the letter's special relationship with Aleph ox on...
The Princes
These Princes are seated in chariots, and thus borne forward. They represent the Vau Forces of the Name in each suit The Mighty Son of the King, and the Queen, who realizes the influences of both scales of Force A prince, the son of a King and Queen, yet a Prince of Princes, and a King of Kings. An Emperor, whose effect is at once rapid though not so swift as that of a King and enduring though not as steadfast as that of a Queen . It is therefore symbolized by a figure borne in a chariot, and...
The Four Sixes The Four Princes
Consciousness of the Higher Self and of the Greater Masters The Vision of the Harmony of Things Symbols The Calvary Cross, the Rose Cross, the Truncated Pyramid, the Cube, Vau. Planet The Sun Color Yellow In Kether is the Radix of a Golden Glory and thence is there a pure, primitive and sparkling, gleaming golden yellow which is reflected into Tiphareth. This is the first reflected Triad completed. And the sphere of its operation is that of Shemesh, the Solar Light, and bestoweth Life, Light...
Sets Of Paths
Another way to consider the Keys is in terms of equilibrium and opposites Figure 25 . Here THE FOOL is viewed as the opposite of THE MAGICIAN, or THE CHARIOT the opposite of THE HIEROPHANT on the basis of their position on the Tree of Life. It is important to note that position is the consideration here, since some authorities establish card opposites in other ways. Beyond Gematria as a means for examining the Tree's internal workings, one begins to look for Paths that are related in special...
The Four Eights
Contact point of the Masters Symbols Names and Versicles, Apron. The beams of Geburah and Tiphareth meet in Hod and thence arises in Hod a brilliant pure and flashing orange tawny. And the Sphere of its Operation is that of Kokab, the stellar light, bestowing elegance, swiftness, scientific knowledge and art, and constancy of speech, and it ruleth the sphere of the action of the planet Mercury. And Elohim Tzabaoth is also a God of Hosts and of Armies, of Mercy and Agreement, of Praise and...
Aleister Crowleys Thoth Tarot
The Crowley deck has had a long and complex history. Not only did it take Lady Frieda Harris five years to paint the cards, but the completed work remained unpublished for twenty-five years. The first and little known printing was done privately by Carr Collins and his Texas based Sangreal Foundation. This was a very poor printing, in one color. It was not until 1969 that an American publisher of occult books arranged for the first color edition, the actual printing being done in Hong Kong....
The Court Cards
MacGregor Mathers described the Court Cards as being not on the Sephiroth, but beside them. Here he apparently intended to suggest that these cards are not purely integral to the Sephiroth, but are extensions of their qualities. The Court Cards represent the Elemental powers of the Tetra-grammaton, mrp , in the Four Worlds. They personify the attributes of the Specific Elements refer again to Figure 10 and, as such, generally represent real people when they appear in a divination. Where this is...
Rosicrucianism
Rosicrucianism, developed in Bohemia in the early seventeenth century, appears to be the direct result of John Dee's travels through Germany in 1589.48 There are three key works of Rosicrucian philosophy. The first of these works is the Fama Fraternitas written in German, and originally published though circulating in manuscript for perhaps four years earlier in 1614. The Fama Fraternitas or A Discovery of the Fraternity of the Most Noble Order of the Rose Cross, tells the story of a mysterious...
The Four Fives
The Eliminator of the Useless Symbols The Pentagon, The Tudor Rose of Five Petals, the Sword, the Spear, The Scourge. Planet Mars In Binah is the Radix of Red, and therein is there a red colour, pure and scintillating and flashing with flame which is reflected into Geburah. The Sphere of its operation is called Madim or violent rushing Force and it bringeth fortitude, and war and strength and slaughter, as it were, the flaming Sword of an avenging God. And it ruleth the Sphere of Action of the...
The Third Key
DOUBLE LETTER Wisdom-Folly ESOTERIC TITLE The Daughter of the Mighty Ones. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Fourteenth Path is the Illuminating Intelligence, and is so called because it is that Brilliant One which is the founder of the concealed and fundamental ideas of holiness and of their stages of preparation. The Path of THE EMPRESS connects Binah and Chokmah. As such, it is the mediating Path of the Supreme Spiritual Self. It is the Path of unity of the Father and Mother, the Path on which...
The Fours
Perfection, realization, completion, making a matter settled and fixed. FOUR OF WANDS, Lord of Perfected Work Venus in Aries . Angels of the Decan Nanael PN O J and Nithal Kn gt 3 This is Chesed in Atziluth, the influence of Chesed in the World of Pure Spirit. Here Venus, the Planet of love and luxury, is activated by the Mars energies of Aries. If this placement were to occur in an astrological reading it could mean a brief romance, or warm but fleeting feelings of some sort. But this is not...
The Minor Cards
The Aces relate to the Primordial Elements found in Kether, and the very root of the inn . As Crowley stated, The point to remember is that, both in their appearance and in their meaning, the Aces are not the elements themselves but the seeds of those elements. When the Tree of Life is projected into a solid sphere, they are placed at the North Pole, above the Princesses, which are called the Thrones of the Aces. The Golden Dawn taught that the Aces govern the revolution of the Universe, and...
Later Rosicrucians
Robert Fludd, as we have mentioned, was one of those who insisted on promulgating the Renaissance idea of Hermes Trismegistus as ancient Egyptian adept another was the German Michael Maier . Fludd significantly furthered the idea that an actual Rosicrucian brotherhood existed, and seems to have believed it himself, though admitting that he had never actually met a Rosicrucian.52 Fludd combined Hermeticism and Qabalism in the light of the Rosicrucian manifestoes and the developments of John Dee....
13th Path Kabbalah
SIGN Scorpio Fixed Water ESOTERIC TITLE The Child of the Great Transformers the Lord of the Gate of Death THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twenty-fourth Path is the Imaginative Intelligence, and it is so called because it gives a likeness to all the similitudes which are created in like manner similar to its harmonious elegancies. The Path of Nun, DEATH, is one of the three Paths leading from the Personality to the Higher Self. As a preface to its study one may usefully consider comments by Case...
THE PATH OF AYIN The Devil
SIGN Capricorn Cardinal Earth ESOTERIC TITLE The Lord of the Gates of Matter the Child of the Forces of Time THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twenty-sixth Path is called the Renovating Intelligence, because the Holy God renews by it all the changing things which are renewed by the creation of the world. The Path of Ayin, THE DEVIL, connects Tiphareth, the center of the Sun consciousness, with Hod, sphere of Mercury and of the intellect. The twenty-sixth Path is formative and, in terms of the...
Qabalistic Symbolism
A symbol is of value in that it suggests something which cannot be adequately expressed in language although language is itself a form of symbolism . More important, however, is that while on our plane of existence symbols are abstractions, they are realities on other planes. In the astral realms a symbol can be a powerful device for attracting or for repelling spiritual entities. It can be a call or a protection, in that it affirms the power of a deity governing a particular form and level of...
The Moon
PATH COLOR Crimson Ultraviolet SIGN Pisces Mutable Water ESOTERIC TITLE The Ruler of Flux and Reflux. The Child of the Sons of the Mighty. THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM The Twenty-ninth Path is the Corporeal Intelligence, so-called because it forms every body which is formed beneath the whole set of worlds and the increment of them. The Path of Qoph connects Netzach Victory with Malkuth The Kingdom , and is described not only as the Victory of the Material World, but as the deceptive effect of...
Magus To The Queen
The next important figure we encounter is Dr. John Dee 1527-1608 , the great Elizabethan philosopher who, with Edward Kelly, developed the system of Enochian Magic later expanded by MacGregor Mathers. Dee shared the ideas of men such as Pico della Mirandola and Agrippa, and could be considered their English counterpart. Moreover, like the Italian metaphysicians, he enjoyed the protection of the royal court, being an advisor and confident to Queen Elizabeth.47 Dee produced two works of major...
The Double Letters Planets Localities Days Gateways Contrasts
The initial commentary on the Double Letters states that they are so called because each letter represents a contrast or permutation. In fact, each of these seven letters has two pronunciations, one hard and one soft. The letters refer, in order, to Life and Death, Peace and War, Wisdom and Folly, Riches and Poverty, Grace and Indignation, Fertility and Solitude, Power and Servitude. These are the pairs of opposites which we can apply to the designated Tarot Trumps. These Seven Double Letters...
The Four Aces
All that Is the Breath of That which Is Not The Source of Energy from the Infinite Unmanifest The First Motion That from Which we come, and to Which we shall return In Kether is the Divine White Brilliance, the scintillation and corruscation of the Divine Glory that light which lighteth the universe that light which surpasseth the glory of the Sun and beside which the light of mortals is but darkness, and concerning which it is not fitting that we should speak more fully. And the sphere of its...