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Page 1 of 31944 · PDF PAGE 47
II 0. THE FOOL1. This card is attributed to the letter Aleph, which means an Ox, but by its shape the He‐ brew letter (so it is said) represents a plough‐ share; thus the significance is primarily Phallic. It is the first of the three Mother letters, Aleph, Mem, and Shin, which correspond in various interwoven fashions with all the triads that occur in these cards, notably Fire, Water, Air; Fa‐ ther, Mother, Son; Sulphur, Salt, Mercury; Rajas, Sattvas and Tamas. The really important feature of this card is that its number should be 0. It repres…
1944 · PDF PAGE 71
…ons, and some form of Hermaphroditism. Yet the attribution is the essence of simplicity. Atu VI refers to Gemini, ruled by Mer‐ cury. It means The Twins. The Hebrew letter corresponding is Zain, which means a Sword, and the framework of the card is therefore the Arch of Swords, beneath which the Royal Marriage takes place. The Sword is primarily an engine of division. In the intellectual world‐which is the world of the Sword suit‐it represents analysis. This card and Atu XIV together compose the comprehensive alchemical maxim: Solve et coagula.…
1944 · PDF PAGE 164
…re dispersed; she becomes incoherent, and all her gifts tend to combine to form a species of low cunning whose object is unworthy of the means. In the Yî King, the earthy part of Air is represented by the i8th hexagram, Ku. This means “troubles”; it is, for all practical and material matters. the most unhappy symbol in the book. All the fine qualities of Air are weighed down, suppressed, suffocated.
1944 · PDF PAGE 157
In the Yî King, the earthy part of Water is represented by the 41st Hexagram, Sun. This means diminution, the dissolution of all solidity. People described by this card are very de‐ pendent on others, but at the same time helpful to them. Rarely, at the best, are they of indi‐ vidual importance. As helpmeets, they are unsurpassed. 1See, for a full analysis and explanation of this Word, Magick, pp. 45‐9.
1944 · PDF PAGE 110
…s therefore the complement of the Fool. It is attributed to the letter Tau. The two cards together accordingly spell the word Ath, which means Essence. Mi reality is consequently compromised in the series of which these two letters form the beginning and the end. This beginning was Nothing; the end must therefore be also Nothing, but Nothing in its complete expansion, as previously explained. The number 4, rather than the number 2, was chosen as the basis of this expansion, partly no doubt for convenience, to enlarge the “universe of dis‐ cours…
1944 · PDF PAGE 149
… part of Fire is described by the 27th hexagram, î. This shows a person omnivorous in passion of whatever kind, entirely reckless in the means of obtaining gratification, and insatiable. The Yi commentary is packed with alternate warning and en‐ couragement.
1944 · PDF PAGE 212
…he phenomenal from the arcane obscurity of Akasha? How may one reconcile the doctrine of Mind with the fact that Ruh, or Ruach, actually means Spirit itself? “Achath Ruach Elohim Chum” (777) means “One is the Spirit (not Air) of the Gods of the Liv‐ ing”? And is not Air, the element attributed to Mercury, also most properly the Breath of Life, the Word, the Logos itself? The student must be referred to some less raw, cursory, elementary and superficial Treatise than this present bat‐eyed, penguin‐winged, bluebottle‐brained buzzing. Neverthe‐ le…
1944 · PDF PAGE 52
…ish as a symbol of fatherhood, of motherhood, of the perpetuation of life generally, constantly recurs. The letter N. (Nun, N, in Hebrew means Fish) is one of the original hieroglyphs stand‐ ing for this idea, apparently because of the mental reactions excited in the mind by the con‐ tinual repetition of this letter. There are thus a number of gods, goddesses, and eponymous heroes, whose legends are functions of the letter N. (With regard to this letter, see Atu XIII.) It is connected with the North, and so with the starry heavens about the Pol…
1944 · PDF PAGE 220
… OF SWORDS Netzach, in the suit of Swords, does not represent such catastrophe as in the other suits, for Netzach, the Sephira of Venus, means victory. There is, therefore, a modifying influ‐ ence; and this is accentuated by the celestial rule of the Moon in Aquarius. The intellectual wreckage of the card is thus not so vehement as in the Five. There is vacillation, a wish to compromise, a certain toleration. But, in certain circumstances, the re‐ sults may be more disastrous than ever. This naturally depends upon the success of the policy. Thi…
1944 · PDF PAGE 258
…o call them; of memorizing, discussing and manipulating the Relations between them. The Units of this system are Numbers: generally, one means the “natural numbers”; but there is no reason for excluding other mathematical terms such as √‐1, ε, π, w, θ, a, {, Ω, and so on. Each Unit is a having idea or person; to each are related in nature all other ideas in some way or other. Thus 93 is related to 31, being a multiple of it; 13 is related to I, since AChD the Hebrew word for Unity means One. A gentian is related to the sky, because both appear …
1944 · PDF PAGE 82
…. FORTUNE This card is attributed to the planet Jupiter, “the Greater Fortune” in astrology. It corre‐ sponds to the letter Kaph1, which means 1Kaph 20 Pé 80=100, Qoph, Pisces. The initials K Ph are those of ?τεις and Φαλλος the palm of the hand, in whose lines, according to another tradition, the fortune of the owner may be read. It would be narrow to think of Jupiter as good fortune; he represents the element of luck. The incalculable factor. This card thus represents the Universe in its aspect as a continual change of state. Above, the firma…
1944 · PDF PAGE 252
…ent events. X Follow thy Fortune, careless where it lead thee. The axle moveth not: attain thou that. Change of fortune. (This generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent.) XI Mitigate Energy with Love; but let Love devour all things. Worship the name , foursquare, mystic, wonderful, and the name of His House 418.
1944 · PDF PAGE 64
… A A are Men. It is important to reflect that this card is wholly feminine, wholly virginal, for it repre‐ sents the influence and the means of manifestation (or, from below, of attainment) in itself. It represents possibility in its second stage without any beginning of consummation. It is especially to be observed that the three consecutive letters, Gimel, Daleth, Hé (Atu II, III, XVII) show the Feminine Symbol (Yin) in three forms composing a Triune Goddess. This Trinity is immediately followed by the three corresponding and complementary …
1944 · PDF PAGE 115
…ere is sound traditional authority; Harpocrates, God of Silence, is called “The Lord of Defence and Protection”. But His nature is by no means that negative and passive silence which the word com‐ monly connotes; for He is the All‐Wandering Spirit, the Pure and Perfect Knight‐Errant, who answers all Enigmas, and opens the closed Portal of the King’s Daughter. But Silence in the
1944 · PDF PAGE 99
XVI. THE TOWER (OR: WAR) This card is attributed to the letter Pé, which means a mouth; it refers to the planet Mars. In its simplest interpretation it refers to the manifestation of cosmic energy in its grossest form. The picture shows the destruction of existing material by fire. It may be taken as the preface to Atu XX, the Last Judgment, i.e., the Coming of a New Aeon. This be‐ ing so, it seems to indicate the quintessential quality of the Lord of the Aeon1. At the bottom part of the card, therefore, is shown the destruction of the old‐ est…
1944 · PDF PAGE 142
…s. If wrongly energized, he is evil‐minded, cruel, bigoted and brutal. He is in either case ill‐fitted to carry on his action; he has no means of modifying it according to circumstances. If he fails in his first effort, he has no resource. In the Yî King, the fiery part of Fire is represented by the 51st hexagram, Kan. The sig‐ nification there given is entirely in accordance with the doctrine of the Tarot, but great em‐ phasis is laid on the startling, perilous, and revolutionary character of the events cognate. The Querent is advised to be ap…
1944 · PDF PAGE 80
IX. THE HERMIT This card is attributed to the letter Yod, which means the Hand. Hence, the hand, which is the tool or instrument par excellence, is in the centre of the picture. The letter Yod is the foundation of all the other letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which are merely combinations of it in various ways. The letter Yod is the first letter of the name Tetragrammaton, and this symbolizes the Father, who is Wisdom; he is the highest form of Mercury, and the Logos, the Creator of all worlds. Accordingly, his representative in physical life i…
1944 · PDF PAGE 21
…Soph”—”Without Limit”. (This idea seems not unlike that of Space.) They then decided that in order to interpret this mere absence of any means of definition, it was neces‐ sary to postulate the Ain Soph Aur—”Limitless Light”. By this they seem to have meant very much what the late Victorian men of science meant, or thought that they meant, by the Lumi‐ niferous Ether. (The Space‐Time Continuum?) All this is evidently without form and void; these are abstract conditions, not positive ideas. The next step must be the idea of Position. One must fo…
1944 · PDF PAGE 204
…g, Sol in Scorpio is represented by the 20th Hexagram, Kwan, which is also “Big Earth”, being the Earth Trigram with doubled lines. Kwan means “manifesting”, but also “contemplating”. The Thwan refers directly to an High Priest, ceremonially purified, about to present his offerings. The idea of Pleasure—Putrefaction as a Sacrament is therefore implicit
1944 · PDF PAGE 235
… of a great tree, its solid roots in fertile land. In the Yî King, Sol in Virgo is represented by the 33rd Hexagram, Thun, “Big Air”. It means “retiring”; and the commentary indicates how best to make use of that manoeuvre. This is congruous enough with the essence of Virgo, the secret withdrawing of Energy into the