1944 · CLOSE READING
The Book of Thoth
The Book of Thoth (1944), PDF p. 62
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II. THE HIGH PRIESTESS
This card is referred to the letter Gimel, which means a Camel. (The symbolism of the
Camel is explained later.)
The card refers to the Moon. The Moon (being the general feminine symbol, the symbol
of the second order corresponding to the Sun as the Yoni does to the Lingam) is universal, and
goes from the highest to the lowest. It is a symbol which will recur frequently in these hiero‐
glyphs. But in the earlier Trumps the concern is with Nature above the Abyss; the High Priest‐
ess is the first card which connects the Supernal Triad with the Hexad; and her path, as shown
in the diagram, makes a direct connection between the Father in his highest aspect, and the
Son in his most perfect manifestation. This path is in exact balance in the middle pillar. There
is here, therefore, the purest and most exalted conception of the Moon. (At the other end of
the scale is Atu xviii, q.v.)
The card represents the most spiritual form of Isis the Eternal Virgin; the Artemis of
the Greeks. She is clothed only in the luminous veil of light. It is important for high initiation
to regard Light not as the perfect manifestation of the Eternal Spirit, but rather as the veil
which hides that Spirit. It does so all the more effectively because of its incomparably dazzling
brilliance.1 Thus she is light and the body of light. She is the truth behind the veil of light. She
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