Major Arcana and the Thelemic Holy Season

Always Wondering

Aeon418 said:
Good catch. ;) In the chapter 3 study threads we have seen how the letter Kaph and Ordeal X were related.Ordeal X - OX. Square the circle and establish order by uniting the X and O.

It's going to be fun to reread the study threads now that I have a better grasp.

Aeon418 said:
What is luck? It's being in the right place at the right time. How very orderly and efficient. :D

It's odd how little things creep into everyday language. When someone "gets off" with someone we say they got lucky. The physical act is symbolic of the union of the O and X. Abrahadabra! :D
There's a common theme in both Fortune and the Moon cards. Cycles, patterns, and rhythms.
From Amen to getting lucky. :laugh:The connection of every day life to the Hebrew alpahabet amazes me more and more.

AW
 

Always Wondering

LRichard said:
You are sneaky, Aeon418.

Aeon418 said:

:laugh: I have decided to start chipping away at a life long math block, LRichard. And it's becuase of sneaky Aeon418. :laugh:

But a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case it's the connection between the rotation of Fortune(Jupiter) and the oscillations on the Moon card.
The Moon card is attributed to Pisces, which is ruled by Jupiter. At first sight this association appears a little incongruous. But the visual link between rotation, plotted against time, creating periodic oscillation can be a light bulb moment for some people.
The spiral says much. It's a big lightbulb. I really was feeling one step forward, two steps back. I hadn't made the connect to the serpent either. The spiral is all over the cards. I got out my tunning fork and listened too. I will be thinking about this for a while.

Aeon418 said:
Always Wondering spotted the connection between the letter Kaph and Qoph.
KPh = 100 = Qoph. Perhaps this simple visual will help her understand the connection a little better.
A friend encouraged me to track the moon through the signs. So I was in the right place at the right time. ;)

AW
 

Richard

In Masonic rituals they say "So mote it be," which, in spite of the archaic language, is more expressive of agreement than "Amen," which to most of us signifies "Thank god that *^%$#@ prayer is finally over and I can open my eyes now."
 

Always Wondering

LRichard said:
In Masonic rituals they say "So mote it be," which, in spite of the archaic language, is more expressive of agreement than "Amen," which to most of us signifies "Thank god that *^%$#@ prayer is finally over and I can open my eyes now."
:laugh: Yes, exactly.

AW
 

Always Wondering

Yod
10
Path 20 Chesed (Mercy) to Tiphareth.(Beauty0
Intelligence of Will
Hand
Virgo
The Hermit

The Twentieth Path is the Intelligence of Will, and is so called because it is the means of preparation of all and each created being, and by this intelligence the existence of the Primordial Wisdom becomes known.

This is huge. The Law of Thelema. Also Case and Regardie have much to say. Very difficult to summarize into understanding. Will is misunderstood, we've had plenty of discussion of that on this forum. Coition is burdened with complexes, even my spell checker didn't want me to use it. :laugh:
If you learn to accept the Cosmic Will as the only true Will, if you embrace it as a love his beloved, if all your thoughts, words and acts are truly from that One, Omnipresent Will- then you will know the bliss of union with the Higher Self, the satisfaction and delight of the certainty that all your actions are expressions of a power which cannot possibly fail, the pleasure that is always experience by him who knows beyond peradventure that all his actions are expressions of adequate power and wisdom, so that whatever he does must of necessity be well done.
How's that for a sentence? :bugeyed: And I like to read Case because he is succinct. This just scratches the surface; as my surface has only been scratched.

Regardie notes that the hand of Yod is the pointed index finger on the hand with the other fingers closed. I hadn't known that, and it does help as a phallic symbol, and it's connection to the spermatozoon, libido, and Primordial Wisdom. Also helpful is his connection to legends of young men setting off on a adventure after receiving the wand (attaining puberty). Yod is also referred to the hand of the divine, extended to assist us. This kind of ties into the intelligence of Primordial Wisdom, and what Case says about a power that cannot fail.
All letters of the Hebrew alphabet are derived from Yod. Regardie points out that the shape resembles the beginning point of all creation. This got me thinking of the gliph of the Sun, with the point of Hadit.

Crowley writes that Yod is the first letter of the name of Tetragrammaton, and symbolizes the Father, who is Wisdom; the highest forum of Mercury, and the Logos, the Creator of all worlds. Mercury rules Virgo which is mutable Earth. He has a way of writing about Mercury that brings it to life for me. It is the iridescent, flashing, creative, swift and brilliant, fluid essence of light which is the life of the Universe. This energy represented in physical form is the spermatozoon.

It is again, the General Characters of the Trumps as They Appear in Use that ties the spermatozoon to the hermit in ATU IX.
Wander alone; bearing the Light and thy Staff. And be the Light so bright that no man seeth thee. Be not moved by ought without or within: Keep silence in all ways.
So I get from spermatozoon to fertility in it's most exalted sense. In traditional astrology, Mercury is also exalted in Virgo. Which implies a special quality or Grace.


The appears to be much symbolism in Liber VII:5 I see lots of leaping blood, inverted places, secret chambers, drops of love, crystal caves and even a weird winged God. A crater of mountain fire, and stealthy tongue of liquid stone.
5. Only one fish-hook can draw me out; it is a woman kneeling by the bank of the stream. It is she that pours the bright dew over herself, and into the sand so that the river gushes forth.
More depth to ATU XVII than I ever realized.

These seem especially related to Yod.

26. And my deeds are the myriads of Thy children, the stars and the atoms.

32.So shall it be unto the end. We who were dust shall never fall away into the dust.


46.Nor by memory, nor by imagination, nor by prayer, nor by fasting, nor by scourging, nor by drugs, nor by ritual, nor by meditation; only by passive love shall he avail.
Surrender is easy for me to forget with all this study of up and action. But as a path from Chesed to Tiphareth it makes sense.

The value of Yod, 10.
10 Sephiroth
10 fingers
10 toes
Regardie calls 10 the perfect number. Case says 10 combines the idea of 0 and 1, the return to the eternal No- Thing, an inherent self manifesting power, the incessant whirling forth of Primal Will, the ever-turning wheel of manifestation.

AW
 

Aeon418

While reading Liber VII - 5 yesterday verses 5 and 6 hooked me.
5. Only one fish-hook can draw me out; it is a woman kneeling by the bank of the stream. It is she that pours the bright dew over herself, and into the sand so that the river gushes forth.

6. There is a bird on yonder myrtle; only the song of that bird can draw me out of the pool of Thy heart, O my God!
Before I get started I will point out an important connection between the Star and the Hermit. Star = Kokab = Mercury.

The main reference being made in the above quote is to Atu XVII The Star. The "bird on yonder myrtle" is the Ibis. On the Golden Dawn version of the Star there is an Ibis perched on top of a tree that is meant to represent the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree has 7 upright branches (Good), and 7 averse branches (Evil). It is meant to symbolise the expulsion from Eden, or Nuit's pain of division.

What I find interesting on the Hermit card is that the Hermit has the head of an Ibis, which is sacred to Thoth-Hermes/Mercury. If you can't see it cover the parts that look like strands of hair. Now look at the remaining part. See how it looks like the head and hook beak of an Ibis.
Here's a piccy for comparison.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Glossy_Ibis_(Plegadis_falcinellus)_in_AP_W_IMG_3918.jpg
Ok, that's the Ibis connection is out of the way.

Counting the beak and the locks of hair there are 7 strands. I will make a leap here and say that they correspond to the 7 averse branches of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. To add to this there are Crowley's comments on this card about the legend of Persephone and the descent into Hades. Cerberus is the hound of hell. Also Mercury is the Psychopomp the guide of the dead. The dead in this instance being the un-awakened. Another interesting point is that Fish are sacred to Mercury. The inner light that the Hermit carries is the L.V.X. hidden within us that serves to guide us out of the waters of illusion. On top of that there is the connection with the letter Yod and Hadit, the hidden God who is divided for loves sake. (Myrtle is sacred to Venus.)

So where are the other 7 branches of the Tree of Good and Evil. They're on the Star card. The 7 rays of light that emanate from the Star of Bablon are in just the right place to line up with the Hermits head. Join the Good and Evil branches together again and Eden is restored and Nuit and Hadit are no longer divided.

At the start of verse 5 it says "only one fish-hook can draw me out", which seems to point to the Star being Tzaddi - Fish-hook. Liber AL tells us otherwise though. On closer inspection we see that Fish is Nun, and Hook is Vav. Only one NV can draw me out. And it's verse 5 = Heh.

On a technical point, the Hermit joins Chesed and Tiphareth. The sephirah Chesed is the end of the road for the Adept. His/her finite point of view, the Phallic aspiration, has been fulfiled and expanded to the maximum. And there's only one step left for any aspiring Phallus that has given it's all. Ejaculate! The next step for the Adept is the leap into the Abyss and the transition from the personal to the trans-personal. And the Father becomes One with the Mother.
To me! To me! calling forth the flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant.
Trivia: XVII + IX = 26. The value of IHVH. The 26th path is Ayin the Devil, which is card XV - 15. Yod + Heh = 15.
 

Always Wondering

Aeon418 said:
While reading Liber VII - 5 yesterday verses 5 and 6 hooked me.
Before I get started I will point out an important connection between the Star and the Hermit. Star = Kokab = Mercury.

The main reference being made in the above quote is to Atu XVII The Star. The "bird on yonder myrtle" is the Ibis. On the Golden Dawn version of the Star there is an Ibis perched on top of a tree that is meant to represent the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree has 7 upright branches (Good), and 7 averse branches (Evil). It is meant to symbolise the expulsion from Eden, or Nuit's pain of division.

What I find interesting on the Hermit card is that the Hermit has the head of an Ibis, which is sacred to Thoth-Hermes/Mercury. If you can't see it cover the parts that look like strands of hair. Now look at the remaining part. See how it looks like the head and hook beak of an Ibis.
Here's a piccy for comparison.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Glossy_Ibis_(Plegadis_falcinellus)_in_AP_W_IMG_3918.jpg
Ok, that's the Ibis connection is out of the way.
Very cool. I thought his hair was funny, that one strand sticking up like that.

Aeon418 said:
Counting the beak and the locks of hair there are 7 strands. I will make a leap here and say that they correspond to the 7 averse branches of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. To add to this there are Crowley's comments on this card about the legend of Persephone and the descent into Hades. Cerberus is the hound of hell. Also Mercury is the Psychopomp the guide of the dead. The dead in this instance being the un-awakened. Another interesting point is that Fish are sacred to Mercury. The inner light that the Hermit carries is the L.V.X. hidden within us that serves to guide us out of the waters of illusion. On top of that there is the connection with the letter Yod and Hadit, the hidden God who is divided for loves sake. (Myrtle is sacred to Venus.)
Wow, so many correspondences. I caught Crowley's reference to the fish being sacred Mercury but didn't know about the Mrytle.

Aeon418 said:
So where are the other 7 branches of the Tree of Good and Evil. They're on the Star card. The 7 rays of light that emanate from the Star of Bablon are in just the right place to line up with the Hermits head. Join the Good and Evil branches together again and Eden is restored and Nuit and Hadit are no longer divided.
Nice. I actually hadn't thought of Nuit's division in terms of the fall and Eden.

Aeon418 said:
At the start of verse 5 it says "only one fish-hook can draw me out", which seems to point to the Star being Tzaddi - Fish-hook. Liber AL tells us otherwise though. On closer inspection we see that Fish is Nun, and Hook is Vav. Only one NV can draw me out. And it's verse 5 = Heh.
I was wondering about this yesterday also, because I hadn't thought of Nuit as a hook. A correlation between Hook and Vav is much easier. This was helpful.

Aeon418 said:
On a technical point, the Hermit joins Chesed and Tiphareth. The sephirah Chesed is the end of the road for the Adept. His/her finite point of view, the Phallic aspiration, has been fulfiled and expanded to the maximum. And there's only one step left for any aspiring Phallus that has given it's all. Ejaculate! The next step for the Adept is the leap into the Abyss and the transition from the personal to the trans-personal. And the Father becomes One with the Mother.

Trivia: XVII + IX = 26. The value of IHVH. The 26th path is Ayin the Devil, which is card XV - 15. Yod + Heh = 15.

This technical stuff is starting to make more sense to me too. Go figure.

AW
 

Always Wondering

Teth
9
path 19 Chesed(Mercy) and Geburah(Severity)
Intelligence of the Secret of all Spiritual Activities
Serpent
Leo
Lust

The Nineteenth Path is the Intelligence of all the activities of the spiritual beings, and is so called because of the affluence diffused by it from the most high blessing and most exalted sublime glory.

Knowledge of the Great Arcanum including the power of number, expansion, contraction, and vibration. The forces that created the Sephiroth. I've never thought of these things as beings, and Regardie goes as far as calling the angels. The 19th path is one of two horizontal paths that join together the male and female pillars. The natural electric current made of the polarity of Chessed as water and Geburah as fire. Regardie says this path is the diffused counterpart of the influence of Kether, which I don't really understand.

Teth means serpent I see much of the the 19th path represented in the Kundalini Rising pictured in Raja-Yoga. The triangle force of fire, the Sushumna or “hollow tube” through the spinal cord, to the Thousand-petaled lotus in the brain. The serpent's movement is vibrational. The serpent sheds its skin and is a symbol of regeneration. Case references taste and the assimilation of solar power from food. I recognized some of this symbolism in the serpent and feasting in BoL chapter 2. This also points to the Hebrew of Genesis. When Adam gained carnal knowledge of Eve with the help of the serpent, he ate (achieved orgasm), and was full.

The Sun rules Leo, the lion of fixed fire. The symbol for Leo is the tail of the lion, also a serpent symbol. Leo is attributed to spine, and the heart.

Crowley says that ATU XI represents the most critical operations in magick and alchemy. The act of the original marriage as it occurs in nature. There is no attempt to direct the course of this operation. The woman is mad with ecstasy and the lion is aflame with lust. “This sacrament is the physical -magical formula for attaining the initiation, for the accomplishment of the Great Work.”


Liber Stellae Rubeae
I found The commentary on the Book of The Ruby Star from from Black Pearl, Vol.I, No.7 very helpful. Bold is the actual text. Unbold is the commentary.

Reading this ritual out of the context of what I put together on paper today was very confusing. I wasn't sure if this was an inwardly orgasmic type of operation, or an outward sexual orgasmic sacrament. But I begin to understand that it is both. A lot of it is too subtle and too technical for me as of yet.
But this makes me feel better.

4 No man shall understand this writing – it is too
subtle for the sons of men.

Nemo (lit., “no man”; i.e., a Master of the Temple
8=3) shall Understand (Binah) this writing. This is a
positive statement. However, the rational mind, devoid
of superconscious experience, will never grasp the sublime
Joy now to be invoked. (The idea of it being possible
is really quite funny.)
It is most interesting that “this writing” is “too subtle
for the sons of men.” The Hebrew for “sons of men”
is <ymda ynb, beney adamiym, which enumerates to
157, as do the Hebrew words for both “lingam” (/qz)
and “yoni” (hbqn). This teaching is more “subtle” than
merely an instruction concerning the genitals.

It seems that Crowley likes to poke fun and yank chains a lot so I was taking that in consideration also. But now his reverence becomes clear to me.

1 Apep deifieth Asar.
In this opening verse, we learn that it is the sacred
sexual force (Apep) that transforms Natural Humanity
(Asar) into God.
Asar (Osiris) is physiologically the phallus, psychologically
the ego. Apep (Apophis) is the force of annihilation:
orgasm to the erection; or, to the ego, that liberating
ecstasy which dissolves the barriers between one
person (one discriminated mind) and another. Apep is
love under will, that which unites Isis with Osiris. This
is true sexually, as the union of any man and woman
(any I and O, in fact); and also in the uniting of Pingala
and Ida, the solar and lunar currents of the spine, in the
thunderous uprush of kundalini. Apep is kundalini, and
the Ruby Star. This document is, to paraphrase its title,
a secret ritual of kundalini; specifically, the application
of sexual love under will to produce any required result.
Its number, 66, is the sum of the first eleven numbers;
eleven being the number of magick itself.

But. . .
I did enjoy part c of this commentary.

41 Thou shalt assure thyself of the stability of the
altar.

(a) From Book 4: “The Altar represents the solid
basis of the work, the fixed Will of the Magician; and
the law under which he works [. . .] this Altar must embody
the Magician’s knowledge of the laws of Nature,
which are the laws through which he works.” This
foundation must be stable and sure.
(b) The Altar is the priestess. To the Magus is suggested
a careful wariness regarding her psychological
and spiritual stability, i.e., her suitability to the rite.
(c)Don’t break the bed!

54 I leap with joy within thee; my head is arisen
to strike. 55 O the lust, the sheer rapture, of the
life of the snake in the spine!

Kundalini.

I find Eshelmans' comments on fear very helpful.

57 Follow out these my words. 58 Fear nothing.
Fear nothing. Fear nothing. 59 For I am nothing,
and me thou shalt fear, O my virgin, my prophet
within whose bowels I rejoice. 60 Thou shalt
fear with the fear of love: I will overcome thee.

The Hebrew word for fear is pachad (djp). In this
word, we encounter, first, the Mars force (p). Atu XVI,
The Tower, shows the destruction of the transitory
which has held too dearly to its isolated existence. The
Neophyte 1=10 of the AA learns in her initiation
that the substance of fear is a pure flame, an energy
which is hers to use as she will if she only “know and
pass by” her present restriction.
p and j both indicate the overthrow of the illusion
of individual will. In fact, j, the surrender symbolized
by devotion to the Holy Grail, instructs us that there is
no such thing as individual (personality) will, that all
Will manifests through each of us as its vehicles.

And sometimes it's nice not to break things up with commentary.

61 Thou shalt be very nigh to death. 62 But I will
overcome thee; the New Life shall illumine thee
with the Light that is beyond the Stars.
63 Thinkest thou? I, the force that have created
all, am not to be despised. 64 And I will slay thee
in my lust.
65 Thou shalt scream with the joy and the pain
and the fear and the love – so that the LOGOS
of a new God leaps out among the Stars.
66 There shall be no sound heard but this thy
lion-roar of rapture; yea, this thy lion-roar of
rapture.


The Value of 9
Bo- Come, come in, come upon, go down.
Hed- Shout of joy.

Case has quite a riddle of gemitria.
SVD(secret)=70 Ayin. HPOVLVT(spiritual activities)=206, equal 276. All I could figure was the moon.

AW
 

Always Wondering

Cheth
8
Path 18 Binah(Understanding) to Geburah(Severity)
Intelligence of Influence -Imaginative Intelligence – House of Influence
Cancer
The Chariot

The Ninth Path is the Pure intelligence so called because it purifies the Numerations, it proves and corrects the designing of their representation, and disposes their unity with which they are combined without diminution or division.

This is where I always fall apart. 0=2, divided and not. Above and below, me and not me, you and not you. I could go on and repeat words. Holy Grail, 418, The Great work, consciousness, time. Cancer, The Moon and Jupiter. But out of my mouth they feel wooden and empty.

Fence makes no sense to me, then it's a house, and then The Grail. It's not going to come together for me, yet.

20. This Path is beyond Life and Death; it is also beyond Love; but that ye know not, for ye know not Love.
:(
?

I will drink again tomorrow. ;)

AW
 

Richard

Robert Wang suggests that the chariot itself is the fence, as it is an enclosure. It's true that the chariot is not really very enclosed, but neither is the area inside a fence.