The Path of The Emperor

Zephyros

In contrast The Book of Thoth was written and edited by an elderly Crowley in the most primitive way using typewriters and hand written notes. Is it any wonder that mistakes crept in?

It's a wonder that it's as consistent as it is, despite the mistakes. He had a mind like an encyclopedia.
 

Aeon418

A little bit of grist for the mill...

Aleister Crowley said:
To attain the grade of Magus he must accomplish Three Tasks; the renunciation of His enjoyment of the Infinite so that he may formulate Himself as the Finite; the acquisition of the practical secrets alike of initiating and governing His proposed new Universe and the identification of himself with the impersonal idea of Love.
The three tasks of the Magister correspond to the paths of Heh, Vau and Daleth respectively.

Heh: "the renunciation of His enjoyment of the Infinite so that he may formulate Himself as the Finite." Crowley comments upon this point in The Temple of Solomon the King.
Aleister Crowley said:
But to him who would be a Master of the Temple, the reverse applies. He wishes to remain perpetually in Samadhi, and it is therefore his renunciation to descend further and further into matter. He has volatilized the fixed; now he must fix the volatile. He has ascended from his particular body to the Universal Soul. That Universal Soul must now incarnate itself ever more completely in that body, and in the bodies and minds of all men. He has made his darkness light; that light must illuminate the darkness of all.

Samadhi has been attained once and for all. The process is complete and permanent. The Great Work is accomplished. The new Great Work is proclaimed. He has finished with Solve. He must begin Coagula.

The Magister has attained permanent Samadhi or Cosmic consciousness. He/she has completed the final Solve and given up the personal life to the universal life. That same Universal life seeks to 'consciously' incarnate itself in that which was the Adept below the Abyss in the final act of Coagula. This is reflected by the Goddess of Atu XXII pouring water on herself from one cup, while pouring water from the other cup onto the "junction between land and water", the finite and the infinite. Just as Nuit declares that she is divided for the chance of union, so must the Master renounce his enjoyment of the infinite (Heh) and re-cast himself in the realm of the finite (Heh-final).
AleisterCrowley said:
Every active Member of the Order has destroyed all that He is and all that He has on crossing the Abyss; but a star is cast forth in the Heavens to enlighten the Earth, so that he may possess a vehicle wherein he may communicate with mankind. The quality and position of this star, and its functions, are determined by the nature of the incarnations transcended by him.
Aleister Crowley said:
From the Abyss comes No Man forth [NEMO], but a Star startles the Earth, and our Order rejoices above that Abyss that the Beast hath begotten one more Babe in the Womb of Our Lady, His concubine, the Scarlet Woman, BABALON.
 

foolMoon

Heh: "the renunciation of His enjoyment of the Infinite so that he may formulate Himself as the Finite." Crowley comments upon this point in The Temple of Solomon the King.


In that case, is there connection between Thoth Tarot deck and Goetia? If so, which Goetia spirit is associated with The Emperor card? Or perhaps the Emperor himself would be The King Solomon? Which would be correct?
 

smw

A little bit of grist for the mill...


The three tasks of the Magister correspond to the paths of Heh, Vau and Daleth respectively.

Heh: "the renunciation of His enjoyment of the Infinite so that he may formulate Himself as the Finite." Crowley comments upon this point in The Temple of Solomon the King.[\QUOTE]

I am wondering if there is any connection here with the reversal of the task(s) of the Magister and the reversal of the Emperor on the path of Heh with the Star.

Liber LVX mentions 3 renunciations "I have burst the bonds of LOVE and of POWER and of WORSHIP. Possibly connected to these 3 further tasks of the Magister corresponding to the 3 paths of Heh, Vau and Daleth.

Vau is the Heirophant, uniter of the Micro with the Macro and representing imagery of the New Aeon. The WORSHIP reversal maybe representing non worship of any previous systems and the incoming
The task of the Magister as Heirophant aspect?

Daleth, LOVE, the Magister giving up this attachment, now the reversal task of... Not sure, love maybe in agape form uniting spiritual and material.
 

smw

Emperor Star on the way up... Emperor Star on the way down

Cont-

Heh, Emperor/Star the possible reversal from the position of pre Magister, below the abyss and supernals perspective and after attainment from above the abyss perspective.

The Power of the Star might suit or correspond with the task of the would be Magister crossing the abyss with the imagery and associations of the card. The water poured from the silver cup apon the junction of sea and water referencing the abyss and powerful elixirs of immortality ( infinity/Samedhi) with the the ambrosia of the gods, Amrita or nectar of the blood of the Grail.

However, this leap of the Magister to infinity or universal self from the personal seems to reverse with the universal now incarnating more fully in the personal- the new task which now might suit the Emperor, being earthly, power finite authority, government etc. Possibly ....

There is also that reference to the Star whirling thunderbolts.. Pretty powerful ...
 

Aeon418

Liber LVX mentions 3 renunciations "I have burst the bonds of LOVE and of POWER and of WORSHIP. Possibly connected to these 3 further tasks of the Magister corresponding to the 3 paths of Heh, Vau and Daleth.
Possibly. But to me Liber LXV. III v.58 just seems to be using the symbolism of the first six cards of Tarot to paint a picture. The Adept identifies himself with Atu 0. He is therefore indifferent to the illusions of Atu I and cannot be taught anything by Atu II. Likewise he is utterly beyond Atu's III, IV & V. None of them can spoil the perfection of Zero.
Heh, Emperor/Star the possible reversal from the position of pre Magister, below the abyss and supernals perspective and after attainment from above the abyss perspective.
I've played with this sort of IV/XVII "job share" idea in the past, but I'm not convinced by it anymore. I now see the card switch as emblematic of changes brought about by the New Aeon.

The Emperor moving from the 15th to the 28th path represents the progressive dethroning of the dominant principle of human evolution up to this point - the Ruach - Mr big boy King Ego. :royal: He needs to be put in his place and learn the lesson that he is nothing more than an experience gathering machine. This 'tool' has now reached the stage of development where it can be used to consciously direct our own spiritual development by using the tremendous latent power hidden within each individual. (28th Path - Tzaddi)

The 16th Aethyr touches on this point. The Ruach-King in that vision really doesn't want to give up the hot seat. But he's powerless to prevent it.
16th Aethyr said:
Would God that my tongue were torn out by the roots, and my throat cut across, and my heart torn out and given to the vultures, before I say this that I must say: Blessing and Worship to the Prophet of the Lovely Star!

And now he is fallen quite to the ground, in a heap, and dust* is upon his head; and the throne upon which he sat is shattered into many pieces.

*[The 'dust' of the Abyss]
Awww.... :( Maybe he should console himself by reading the second paragraph of the Emperor chapter in The Book of Thoth. (It's the bit that reads like classic reverse psychology and ego stroking.) Old Mr Ruach is wild and courageous. He ain't tame, he's a wild ram, lonely in lonely places.... :bugeyed:
Liber CLVI said:
12. And behold! if by stealth thou keep unto thyself one thought of thine, then shalt thou be cast out into the abyss for ever; and thou shalt be the lonely one, the eater of dung, the afflicted in the Day of Be-with-Us.
Aleister Crowley said:
Should he fail, by will or weakness, to make his self-annihilation absolute, he is none the less thrust forth into the Abyss; but instead of being received and reconstructed in the Third Order, as a Babe in the womb of our Lady BABALON, under the Night of Pan, to grow up to be Himself wholly and truly as He was not previously, he remains in the Abyss, secreting his elements round his Ego as if isolated from the Universe, and becomes what is called a “Black Brother”. Such a being is gradually disintegrated from lack of nourishment and the slow but certain action of the attraction of the rest of the Universe, despite efforts to insulate and protect himself, and to aggrandise himself by predatory practices.
Moving the Star to the 15th Path is symbolic of the progressive revelation of naked reality, stripped bare of the clothing of the mind.
The Master who is 'cast out' can never have the same relationship with Ruach that he did before. He/she has seen what's behind the curtain and can't be taken in by the same con trick.
There is also that reference to the Star whirling thunderbolts.. Pretty powerful ...
Do you mean the light that is reflected from the path of Aleph into the path of Heh? Aleph is the Thunderbolt by shape. The goddess of Atu XVII trasforms this 'force' into 'form' by "making her beauty into a thunderbolt. This is why her posture is meant to indicate the Swastika. I like the Butterflies on that card too ... very transformational. Growing up to be themselves wholly and truly as they were not previously.
The Wake World said:
Then there was another passage which was really too secret for anything; all I shall tell you is, there was the most beautiful Goddess that ever was, and she was washing herself in a river of dew. If you ask what she is doing, she says: “I'm making thunderbolts.” It was only starlight, and yet one could see quite clearly, so don't think I'm making a mistake.
1st Aethyr said:
Blessed, blessed, blessed; yea, blessed; thrice and four times blessed is he that hath attained to look upon thy face. For I will hurl thee forth from my presence as a whirling thunderbolt to guard the ways, and whom thou smitest shall be smitten indeed. And whom thou lovest shall be loved indeed.
 

Aeon418

6th Aethyr said:
... above me appears the starry heaven of night, and one star greater than all the other stars. It is a star of eight rays. I recognize it as the star in the seventeenth key of the Tarot, as the Star of Mercury. And the light of it cometh from the path of Aleph.

I've been thinking about this idea of the Star reflecting the light of Aleph.

In Liber XXII (included within Liber Arcanorum) we are told in the top line to compare Aleph with Tzaddi. On the table of Genii's (left hand table) both seals depict the Swastika or Thunderbolt, but drawn in opposite directions suggesting reflection or reversal of direction.

Liber Arcanorum
https://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib231

The accompanying text of Liber Arcanorum reinforces the idea of a link between the two.
The Fool - Aleph said:
0. A, the heart of IAO, dwelleth in ecstasy in the secret place of the thunders. Between Asar and Asi he abideth in joy.
The Star - Tzaddi said:
17. Transformed, the holy virgin appeared as a fluidic fire, making her beauty into a thunderbolt.
The qabalistic spelling of IAO is Yod-Aleph-Vau. 10 + 1 + 6 = 17. The 'thunderbolt' (Swastika or Flyfat cross) is made up of 17 squares composed of the twelve signs of the zodiac, the four elements, and the sun in the centre. This is the reason why Crowley did not change the card numbers when he later switched the Emperor and the Star.

If we indulge the notion that the Star reflects and manifests the light of the letter Aleph below the Abyss, what impact could this have on the two different placements of the cards involved in the card swap - IV & XVII ?

Aleph is the Creative Light, the animating 'spark' or Breath of Life. It's full spelling, ALPh, enumerates to 111, one of the great numbers of the Sun. If the Peh at the end is counted with its final value of 800 instead of 80, then Aleph enumerates to 831. In Greek this is the numerical value of φαλλός - Phallus. This suggests the Light extending or manifesting into existence with the Will to create. The Tarot numeral, 0 - Zero, and the Hebrew letter value of 1 also suggest the One emerging from the Void. It is the initial creative impulse of the divine.

In the old Tarot scheme this Creative Light would have been reflected into the human sphere on the Path of Tzaddi and the Star. Sitting between the spheres of Netzach and Yesod indicates that the creative impulse is communicated via Subconscious Desire.
In a way this is also indicated by Crowley's 'apparent mistake' with the Emperor card. In the old scheme the Emperor sits on the Path of Heh and the Light that shines upon him is meant to show the influence of the creative Wisdom of Chokmah. But the Emperor faces away from the light. The 'creative Wisdom' is shinning on the back of his head. :!:
The 'back of the head' is the meaning of the letter Qoph which is attributed to the Moon. This indicates Desire manifesting through subconscious channels. To me this looks like the True Will manifesting subconsciously.

OK. So now we swap the cards around. What effect does this have? With the Emperor on the Path of Tzaddi we have a card representing conscious control and deliberate intention on the path of Subconscious Desire. The subconscious can now be imprinted with willed desires and autonomic processes are brought under the control of the conscious mind. (Pranayama breath control is a good example of this.) Instead of natural development, this is self-directed spiritual development.

On the Path of Heh the Star continues to manifest the Creative Light of the Path of Aleph. But whereas before it was communicated through Subconscious Desire, it is now communicated directly to Tiphareth and the center of human experience. In the place of subconscious influence we now have Direct Conscious Apprehension of the Creative Light in the sphere of human activity - a.k.a. the True Will.
 

smw

Do you mean the light that is reflected from the path of Aleph into the path of Heh? Aleph is the Thunderbolt by shape. The goddess of Atu XVII trasforms this 'force' into 'form' by "making her beauty into a thunderbolt. This is why her posture is meant to indicate the Swastika.[/I].

I hadn't thought of the idea of light reflecting from Aleph, though it was the Wake world I was thinking of, thank you. I'm not quite sure why, apart from the power and whirling element of the thunderbolts.

I'm not so sure about the job share either, though there just seems to be something missing as if there is a bit more to the phrase 'Tzaddi is not the Star'...
 

smw

The Light reflecting from the path of Aleph

This seems similar to what you are talking about?

Wang describes the light from Aleph as the "Fiery or Scintillating Intelligence. It touches a Limitless Light which is darkness to us, that fiery darkness which is at once the Primum Mobile, the possibility of motion or vibration or will of the One having the potential for activity". I thought this made sense too of the idea of light, which at the same time we can't see.

I looked at Genesis and interestingly (I hadn't realised before) in Creation , it is movement, or Vibration first! then sound and then Light. It reminds me too of the silent (secretive?) Aleph who doesn't speak up in the myth to be the first letter of creation... Though as you say, Aleph is the creative animating spark, breath of life.. God's breath moving across the waters...

The Star card shows the rays of light in a swaztika shape too covering the globe and from the seven pointed Star of Babalon at the top. The Rays do seem to come from the stars themselves though... There is a suggestion of the universal - the renamed pentacles, manifestation and whirling disks, the most powerful the Ace...

So the Star maybe does get direct light vibrations on the path of Heh, from Aleph, unlike the Emperor who seems to only get part of the secondary 'light' - logos/word? of Chokmah. This light 'part' or 'splitting' is shown on the card imagery, one ram in light, one in shade etc...in psychological terms, consciousness (light) and unconscious. As it does seem to be from the back of the head, Qoph, is the Emperor aware of this? Not sure if this splitting idea moves away from the idea of the more conscious control of (unconscious) whirling forces represented by the move of the Emperor to the path of Tzaddi and Qoph, or is related somehow.

Apologies for the unlinked posting, it's not working to well on iPhone.
 

Aeon418

I'm not so sure about the job share either, though there just seems to be something missing as if there is a bit more to the phrase 'Tzaddi is not the Star'...
There is a bit more. ;) The rest of the verse says, "my prophet shall reveal it to the wise."

The letter Heh means window. But other meanings associated with the letter are look, behold, reveal, revelation. Also breath or sigh.

"Tzaddi is not the Star. This also is secret: my prophet shall reveal (Heh) it to the wise."

Also in verse 5(Heh) Nuit asks for help in her "unveiling". Naked revelation!