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Page 1 of 31944 · PDF PAGE 112
In the centre of the lower part of the card is represented the skeleton plan of the build‐ ing of the house of Matter. It shews the ninety‐two known chemical elements, arranged ac‐ cording to their rank in the hierarchy. (The design is due to the genius of the late J. W. N. Sulli‐ van: see The Bases of Modern Science.) In the centre, a wheel of Light initiates the form of the Tree of Life, shewing the ten principal bodies of the solar system. But this Tree is not visible except to those of wholly pure heart. 1. The primum mobile, represented by…
1944 · PDF PAGE 108
…etely from the tradition of the cards, in order to carry on that tradition. The old card was called The Angel: or, The Last Judgment. It represented an Angel or Messenger blowing a trumpet, attached to which was a flag, bearing the symbol of the Aeon of Osiris. Below him the graves were opening, the dead rising up. There were three of them. The central one had his hands raised with right angles at the elbows and shoulders, so as to form the letter Shin, which refers to Fire. The card therefore represented the destruction of the world by Fire. T…
1944 · PDF PAGE 70
…d of the whole card is the dark blue of the starry night of Nuit, from whose womb all phenomena are born. Taurus, the sign of the Zodiac represented by this card, is itself the Bull Kerub; that is, Earth in its strongest and most balanced form. The ruler of this sign is Venus; she is represented by the woman standing before the hierophant. Chapter III of the Book of the Law, verse xi, reads: “Let the woman be girt with a sword before me.” This woman represents Venus as she now is in this new aeon; no longer the mere vehicle of her male counterp…
1944 · PDF PAGE 235
…ership of the Sun in Virgo suggests also birth. The disks are arranged in the form of the geomantic figure Popu‐ lus. These disks may be represented as the flowers or fruits 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
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 152
…h infinite subtlety; to see the Truth of her is hardly possible, for she reflects the nature of the observer in great perfection. She is represented as enthroned upon still water. In her hand she bears a shell‐like cup, from which issues a crayfish, and she bears also the Lotus of Isis, of the Great Mother. She is robed in, and veiled by, endless curves of light, and the sea upon which she is enthroned con‐ veys the almost unbroken images of the image which she represents. The characteristics associated with this card are principally dreaminess…
1944 · PDF PAGE 188
…eason one sees the wand taking the form of the Lotus in blossom. The Sun has enkindled the Great Mother. In the Yî King, Sol in Aries is represented by the 11th hexagram, Thai; its meaning is identical with the above description.
1944 · PDF PAGE 151
In the Yî King, the fiery part of Water is represented by the 54th Hexagram, Kwei Mei. The commentary is singularly obscure, and somewhat sinister. It deals with the difficulties of rightly mating such opposites as fire and water (compare the Queen of Wands; but in that case Water is the calming and modulating influence, while here it is Fire which creates trouble.) Swiftness and violence ill suit a character naturally placid; it is rare indeed to meet with a per‐ son who has succeeded in harmonizing these conflicting elements. He tends to mism…
1944 · PDF PAGE 169
… purely mechanical; and they cannot rise, or even seek to rise, above their ap‐ pointed lot. In the Yî King, the watery part of Earth is represented by the 3ist hexagram, Hsien. This has the meaning: Influence. The commentary describes the effect of moving various parts of the body, from the toes to the jaws and tongue. This is rather an amplification of what has been said above than an exact correspondence; yet there is no discordance. The general ad‐ vice is to go forward quietly without overt attack upon existing situations.
1944 · PDF PAGE 56
…ed about the crocodile. His constant attendant is the ti‐ ger; and, in all the best extant examples of the card, the tiger or panther is represented as jumping upon him from behind, while the crocodile is ready to devour him in front. In the leg‐ end of his journey through Asia, he is said to have ridden on an ass, which connects him with Priapus, who is said to have been his son by Aphrodite. It also reminds one of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. It is curious, too, that, at the fabled birth of Jesus, the Virgin Mother is re…
1944 · PDF PAGE 145
…st friends without intelli‐ gible excuse. Also, when she misses her bite, she breaks her jaw! In the Yî King, the watery part of Fire is represented by the 17th hexagram, Sui. It indi‐ cates reflection upon impulse, and the consequently even flow of action. There is great capac‐ ity for lucid conception and steady prosecution of work; but this is only at the bidding, and under the guidance, of some creative mind. There is a tendency to be fickle, even disloyal; the ideas which she obeys make no deep or permanent impression. She will “cleave to …
1944 · PDF PAGE 197
… Holy Grail. Upon the dark sea of Binah, the Great Mother, are Lotuses, two in one, which fill the cup with the Life‐fluid, symbolically represented either as Water, as Blood, or as Wine, according to the selected purpose of the symbolism. This being a primor‐ dial card, the liquid is shown as water; it can be transformed into Wine or Blood as may be required. Above the Cup, descending upon it, is the Dove of the Holy Ghost, thus consecrating the element. At the base of the Cup is the Moon, for it is the virtue of this card to conceive and to p…
1944 · PDF PAGE 156
…ion. She represents the power of Water to give substance to idea, to support life, and to form the basis of chemical combination. She is represented as a dancing figure, robed in a flowing garment on whose edges crystals are seen to form. For her crest she wears a swan with open wings. The symbolism of this swan reminds one of the swan in oriental philosophy which is the word AUM or AUMGN, which is the symbol of the entire process of creation.1 She bears a covered cup from which issues a tortoise. This is again the tortoise which in Hindu philo…
1944 · PDF PAGE 99
…octrines of Yoga, especially those most widely current in Southern India, where the cult of Shiva, the Destroyer, is paramount. Shiva is represented as
1944 · PDF PAGE 142
… 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 apprehensive, yet cool, resolute and energetic: to beware of untimely action, but to go forward with tense confidence in his own ability.
1944 · PDF PAGE 160
…very dangerous, on account of the superficial beauty and attractiveness which distinguish her. In the Yî King, the watery part of Air is represented by the 28th hexagram, Tâ Kwo. The Shape suggests a weak beam.
1944 · PDF PAGE 204
…atically the fulfilment of the sexual Will, as shown by the ruling Sephira, planet, element, and sign. In the Yî King, 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 155
…thers, and although his abilities are so immense, he cannot be relied upon to work in harness. In the Yî King, the airy part of Water is represented by the 61st hexagram, Kung Fû. This is one of the most important figures in the Yî: it “moves even pigs and fish, and leads to great good fortune”. Its dignities and correspondences are manifold and great; for it is also a “big Li”, the trigram of Sol formed by doubling the lines. By shape it suggests a boat, but also the geomantic figure of Carcer, Saturn in Capricornus. This card is in consequenc…
1944 · PDF PAGE 164
… 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 230
…ern of green and indigo to represent the guarded fields whose security is assured by the fortress. In the Yî King, Sol in Capricornus is represented by the Second Hexagram, Khwan, which is the Female Principle. Compare the English word Queen, Anglo‐Saxon Cwen, old Mer‐ cian Kwoen. Cognate are Icelandic Kvan, Gothic Kwens, woman. The Indo‐ Germanic type is g (w)eni and the Sanskrit root GwEN. Note also Cwm, coombe, and agnate words, meaning an enclosed valley, usually with water running from it. Womb—possibly a softened form?