Windhorse said:
Getting back to your original topic, Dulcimer old chap....
I think your idea concerning the pictorial division in some of the cards has merit, and I do plan to quantumplate on this ordering as soon as I get a moment to myself (fatherhood can be soooo demanding, especially for one with a Cancerian Sun in the 4th House....
).
However, I think that there is something wonderful that the two most contentious cards in the Book of Thoth sit together in Chesed. I like them sitting together, especially when there is so much controversy surrounding them. It has eased my aching brain after all these words concerning stars and fish-hooks and windows and ox-goads and red herrings to know that ol' Big Red is nooking up with the the wet goddess in such a warm and wonderful bed such as 'Mercy'....
And really, if Selene couldn't shack up in the closet of Daath with the virginal Priestess, then the Empress is just as scrummy for that little union. In fact, I think the Empress is rather under-rated by Big Al - he clearly had some Freudian issues going on... LOL
I kinda like the harmony there, as opposed to Moon & Star. Again, must have something to do with the whole 21-numerology thing.
I'm very glad you're getting something out of it, Windhorse. Even my friend Aeon418 thinks there is something in it. Which I think is a seal of approval.
Yeah. Maybe I got caught up in the horizontal line thing too much. With all that geometry going on (see Aloba's link) I might be seeing things. Even I can find a good reason for keeping things as they are. I'm going to have to, as you say, quantumplate the matter some more.
However, if you're interested (if you're not then look away now) my notes on Chesed include the following. Remember I write this with Empress in place of Star in the sephirah:
CHESED
Jupiter is ruler here and the Sephirah means Love on a Spiritual basis; compassion and self sacrifice on behalf of the greater good belong here. At first sight The Emperor looks out of place on the descending, materialising side. But Jupiter rather than Mars seems more in keeping with an Emperor. The sephiroth is the first below the Abyss so it is the first "materialisation". I would expect it still to contain a large amount of Energy from above but obviously of a distinctly expansive type - this being the positive/generative/active pillar. This is too easy. I mean just look at the card. Masculine fertility or what? The man is a testosterone filled power-house. The sign is Aries, the ram! Need I say more? As for Jupiter, well this is the sephirah of the Father of the Gods: Jupiter, Zeus, Odin, Marduk, they were all horny (= ram, gedit?) as well as all powerful. Indeed, in the old days, in many societies a strong virile leader was absolutely essential for the survival of the tribe. In Celtic and Greek tradition he was regularly challenged by a representative of Soveriegnty, i.e. his consort, to ensure his continued worthiness.
On the Ascending, Spiritualising, side is the Empress. The eternally pregnant, fecund nature of which fits in perfectly with the idea of controlled procreative energy. In Celtic tradition (where stag = ram) the King's wife was symbolic of the land and while he could father children (well, sons really) on her he was permitted to lead the tribe. If he became unable to fulfil this function he would be challenged and if the challenger defeated him, then the challenger became king and inherited his wife.
Given that she, (rather than The Star) is now Tzadi, a fishook, a symbol it seems to me of hunting by stealth, it brings to mind all those devious Great Goddess figures of antiquity who managed to trick men into bedding them, e.g. Morgan Le Fey, who lay with Arthur and gave birth to Mordred; then there are the seducers of course, such as Aphrodite; and not forgetting the huntresses such as Artemis. But Demeter is the Goddess associated with this card most often. She was not a love goddess, but she had plenty of lovers. It was/is Her function to remain fruitful by bedding the most worthy of men to produce the most worthy of offspring to challenge the old King to maintain the future prosperity of the land. She is quite ruthless in getting what She wants.
So why is She here instead of in Netzach or Malkuth? Because this is the sphere of the Rulers of the Cosmos.
Descending the Tree, it means the entrance of Power - ordered (by Chockmah) and focused (by Binah) - into directly perceptable existence. In fact it is the first perceptable manifestation of energy. And that is Love. And that is Light. This Love, like Light, permeates Creation at all levels and in all places. It exists at the closest point to God we can find in mortal existence - just this side of the abyss which separates us from the Eternal.
Ascending the Tree that Power of Universal Love reaches its zenith. With the creation of a new life in the womb of The Mother within. A child who is destined to take centre stage as the ruler of a New Age. The Fool become Wise, the Divine Child who appears in Atus XX, Aeon, as King of the New World.
When we feel the "Love of God", when we feel whole and in touch and our heart is just bursting with Love, THIS is where you are.
If there is a sephirah which extolls the line "Love is the Law; Love under Will", it is Chesed.
OK, that's quite enough of that! I'm off to watch Stargate......