Atu XX- The Aeon, flame on!

Owl Tarot

Opening post:
Welcome folks, welcome to The Aeon! I hope you didn't think I would back away from finishing this, since I like to finish what I start. I am one week late however, due to some stressing paragons in my life. But, we are still here! As some of you already know, I decided to start weekly threads about some of the thoughts and interpretations, as they come to me the moment I am writing, of the Trump I am currently studying. It is the third time I undergo this process (of weekly Trump study I mean) because in the previous two I gained further insight about the cards so I decided to follow this process yet again, but with a slightly different twist in it! So, anyone willing and available to provide some thoughts and opinions for me to work and contemplate about would really be appreciated! I also hope my thoughts as of this post and moment help you!

XX- The Aeon

Elemental Trump of Fire/Spirit

31st Path, connecting Hod to Malkuth. Hebrew letter: Shin (Tooth)
There's a lot going on with this Trump, since in this card the tradition of the more traditional form of this Path, Judgment, has already taken place (1904) and so this card is adjusted in order to continue and maintain the tradition in a new form since the Lord of the New Aeon took his seat. So, to depict that event, the Steele of Revealing is presented in this Trump. But the perspective we see it from is not from a third point of view, as in the Steele, but from the perspective of Ankh-af-na-khonsu.

Book of Thoth said:
Around the top of the card is the body of Nuith, the star-goddess, who is the category of unlimited possibility; her mate is Hadit, the ubiquitous point-of-view, the only philosophically tenable conception of Reality. He is represented by a globe of fire, representing eternal energy; winged, to show his power of Going. As a result of the marriage of these two, the child Horus is born. He is, however, known under his special name, Heru-ra-ha. A double god; his extroverted form is Ra-hoor-khuit; and his passive or introverted form Hoor-pa kraat. (See above, the Formula of Tetragrammaton). He is also solar in character, and is therefore shown coming forth in golden light.
So, we have all the Deities as presented in the Book of the Law in the same pic! We have Nuit, the infinite, ever-expanding circle, Hadit, the ever-contracting point and their child, Heru-ra-ha. Ra-hoor-khuit is seated on the Throne of Ra (I assume) with his golden, majestic solar light spawing forth from his mere presence and Harpokrates as the babe which surrounds Ra-hoor-khuit, as if it is projected by him.

Interestingly enough, Nuit is shaped like an Omega, the last letter of the Greek Alphabet. It is the equivalent of the letter Tau and so she is the manifestation of every actuality and potential, both in the same figure. Hadit is almost hidden below her figure glorifying her presence me thinks. A certain comment by Crowley on The Book of Law might aid us here.
Old comments of Liber AL said:
In Nu is Had concealed; by Had is Nu manifested. Nu being 56 and Had 9, their conjunction results in 65, Adonai, the Holy Guardian Angel. Also Hoor, who combines the force of the Sun with that of Mars. Adonai is primarily Solar, but 65 is a number sacred to Mars.

So, the universal Love making of Hadit as a phallic symbol and Nuit as a universal womb gave birth to the whole Universe, but their Twins are here as well: Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hoor-Pa-Kraat.

Book of Thoth said:
At the bottom of the card we see the letter Shin itself in a form suggestive of a flower; the three Yods are occupied by three human figures arising to partake in the Essence of the new Aeon. Behind this letter is a symbolic representation of the Sign of Libra; this is the forth-shadowing of the Aeon which is to follow this present one, presumably in about 2,000 years-“the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and place”. The present
Aeon is too young to give a more definite representation of this future event.

In those three Yods, we have three shapes which suggest to me the figures of a woman, a man and a child. I assosiate those figures with the Aeons, the Aeon of Osiris (the man), the Aeon of Isis (the woman) and the Aeon of Horus (the child). The child is surrounded by light and is brighter then the other two.

I think that in this point it is important to consider the fact that Osiris and Isis are the parents of Horus according to the Egyptian myths. In the same manner, the Aeons preceeding the Aeon of Horus are present, because they are harmonious and interconnected. They are refined and reappreciated through the Light of Horus, the God who avenges his father, Osiris.

For me, this card pretty much presents this vengeance. There is a difference with the Steele. In the Steele of Revealing, Horus holds his Wand with his left hand. In our Trump, he is holding it with his right hand and his left hand is open. The Book of the Law aids, once again:

Liber AL 3:72 said:
I am the Lord of the Double Wand of Power; the wand of the Force of Coph Nia—but my left hand is empty, for I have crushed an Universe; & nought remains.

The Esoteric title of this Trump is "The Spirit of the Primal Fire". Shin means Tooth, and is the letter doing "double duty" elemental wise, being both Fire and Spirit. The result of the devastation caused by the Primal Fire with which Horus "crushed the Universe" allows for the Spirit to shine.

The tooth is the hardest substance in the human body. Just like it, the Spirit is the hardest substance within the individual. It is the perfect substance to endure the "destruction of the universe" cause by the primal fire, and the primal fire is the Divine tool which will elavate the Spirit.

A really interesting consideration here in accordance with the whole enduring symbolism is the selection of the Christian Apostle assosiated with this Path: Mark (See Liber 777, Table XXXVI). Mark is a really unique Evangelist, since many assosiate Mark with the Evangelist who presents the aspects of Christ as the "servant" of humanity, as one who constantly fulfills the work he is sent for. Also, Mark is said to reproduce the life of Christ as Peter recalls it. Peter was the Apostle who, according to Christ

Matthew 16:18 said:
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

All those ideas are closely assosiated in my opinion with our Trump. Just like how Peter is the "rock" of Church, so is the Steele the "rock" which is the foundation and presentation of the energies of the current Aeon. A look in Alchemy to better understand the function of Fire is also helpful in my opinion.

Paracelsus said:
By the element of fire all that is imperfect is destroyed and taken away, as for instance, the five metals, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Saturn. On the other hand, the
perfect metals, Sol and Luna, are not consumed in that same fire. They remain in the fire: and at the same time,out of the other imperfect ones which are destroyed, they assume their own body and become visible to the eyes. For fire tests everything, and when the impure matter is separated the three pure substances are displayed. Fire separates that which is constant or fixed from that which is fugitive or volatile. Fire is the father or active principle of separation. Whatsoever pertains to separation belongs to the science of Alchemy. It teaches how to extract, coagulate, and separate every substance in its peculiar vessel. Fire contains within itself the whole of Alchemy by its native power to tinge, graduate, and fix, which is, as it were, born with it and impressed upon it.

It's getting too long, so it's a good idea to consider the Sephira connected by this Path to better comprehend the card. It connects Hod to Malkuth. Hod is the Sephira of the intellect, the form giving abilities of our minds. Hermes is the Deity most closely assosiated with Hod. Hermes is traditionally the Messenger of the Gods. Malkuth, on the other hand, is the universe manifested and fully functioning. In this light, I could say that The Aeon is the influence of Fire upon our mentality and our perception of the universe, which in a large percentage forms our personal world. The Lord of the Aeon destroys the falsities and lies (the vice assosiated with Hod) of the mind and allows the truth (the virtue assosiated with Hod) to shine in order to allow the Message to enter matter.

Another long thread (it's getting repetitive, I know) but as usually it was another good exercise in itself for me, and I hope it both helps you and motivates you to give me some food for thought! That's some of the things I could say about this card as I view it today, I could go on by I think it will be boring and I hope you liked it! Looking forward to hear from you as well!

I also wanted to say to you, since I feel touched currently, that it was an honor for me to read posts from people in this sub-forum. Many thanks to all of you, and I feel slightly sad that the next Trump will be the last in this session at the least. I just really love this deck from the depths of my heart and I am meant to be working with it for better or worse, and I hope that I helped you even a bit, just like those few who actually gave life to some of my threads really helped me. One Trump left!
 

smw

I also wanted to say to you, since I feel touched currently, that it was an honor for me to read posts from people in this sub-forum. Many thanks to all of you, and I feel slightly sad that the next Trump will be the last in this session at the least. I just really love this deck from the depths of my heart and I am meant to be working with it for better or worse, and I hope that I helped you even a bit, just like those few who actually gave life to some of my threads really helped me. One Trump left!

Thank you for the time and passion you have brought to the cards with your weekly thoughts. It is inspiring and does for me help bring the concepts alive. :heart:
 

Terrapin

Quote: [At the bottom of the card we see the letter Shin itself in a form suggestive of a flower; the three Yods are occupied by three human figures arising to partake in the Essence of the new Aeon. Behind this letter is a symbolic representation of the Sign of Libra; this is the forth-shadowing of the Aeon which is to follow this present one, presumably in about 2,000 years-“the fall of the Great Equinox; when Hrumachis shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and place”. The present
Aeon is too young to give a more definite representation of this future event.]

I have a question about the above the quote regarding his mention of the Sign of Libra. If we are in or, soon to enter, the Age of Aquarius, the next Aeon to come would be called Capricorn if I'm not mistaken. How does Libra foreshadow this next age? Maybe I'm completely misunderstanding his meaning. Is it because the next Aeon would arrive to balance the eventual in-balances sure to come as the new age of Aquarius progresses and begins to wind down? Not sure. Any ideas?
 

Zephyros

The Aeons don't correspond to the ages. One Aeon can encompass several different astrological ages since it refers to an epoch of human understanding of itself. We are now in the third Aeon, of Horus. The first was the Aeon of Isis, where all life was assumed to be from the mother. The second was the Aeon of Osiris when it was discovered that life came from the seed of the father. Our own Aeon is that of the child.

The next one is the Aeon of Maat, goddess of balance, seen on the card Adjustment.
 

Aeon418

If we are in or, soon to enter, the Age of Aquarius, the next Aeon to come would be called Capricorn if I'm not mistaken.
Don't confuse astrological 'ages' with 'aeons'. Even though there may be some cases of overlapping symbolism, they're not the same thing.

How does Libra foreshadow this next age?
According to Thelema the next stage in human evolution is symbolised by the goddess, Maat. She is the Lady of Balance and Truth. Hence the connection with the sign of Libra. But, as already pointed out, this has nothing to do with the astrological age of Libra.

EDIT: Cross posted with Zeph.
 

Babalon Jones

Past and current aeons did seem to have some correspondence/overlap with the astrological ages. Though as has been noted they are not the same thing at all. Age of Capricorn and Maat though, well I guess Saturn is exalted in Libra...

So what I find intriguing is the formula mother-father-child (isis-osiris-horus) then we get Maat, considered connected to or a form of Isis at times, so one can speculate that the Aeon of Maat is an evolved feminine Aeon, and perhaps might be followed by the Aeon of Thoth!
 

Aeon418

Age of Capricorn and Maat though, well I guess Saturn is exalted in Libra...

Capricorn -> Pan -> NOX.

M.A.A.T interpreted to mean the Master of the Temple of A.'.A.'.
 

Zephyros

Although it is too early to really identify the attributes of even our current Aeon, although it might be characterized by violent upheaval and discovery, are there any theories about what the one of Maat might be like? Serenity? Balance? But balance is a double-edged sword, so it doesn't necessarily portend a peaceful existence.
 

Babalon Jones

Capricorn -> Pan -> NOX.

M.A.A.T interpreted to mean the Master of the Temple of A.'.A.'.

So, crossing the City of Pyramids>Master of the Temple-Magus-Ipsissimus?
(Maat-Thoth-Amon or Understanding-Wisdom-One Perfect?)
 

Babalon Jones

Although it is too early to really identify the attributes of even our current Aeon, although it might be characterized by violent upheaval and discovery, are there any theories about what the one of Maat might be like? Serenity? Balance? But balance is a double-edged sword, so it doesn't necessarily portend a peaceful existence.

"Let the woman be girt with a sword before me."

Question is, is it a militant or an intellectual sword.