55Degrees, thank you for sharing your interest. Qabbalah goes deeper into Tarot more than any other system. Qabbalah is the mystical interpretation of the Torah, which Jews see as The Law. The exoteric, or outer discourse on this law can be found in the first 5-books of the Old Testament of the Bible.
So there is the outer interpretation, The Torah, the intellectual interpretation, the Talmud, and the mystical, or inner, interpretation, the Qabbalah. Traditionally, Jews said people should not study the Qabbalah until their 40th birthday; for the sake of maturity. But I started studying it, with supervision from Rabbis in Los Angeles, at the age of thirty. I am not a Jew, and do not follow any particular religion, but I do take from most of the prominent religions. Qabbalah means “a body of work.“ or knowledge, and the Hebrew Qabbalah has mountains of practical information.
Kabbalah, with a “K” is the original Hebrew spelling, Qabbalah, with a “Q” is how esoteric practitioners spell it, and Cabala, with a “C” is the spelling mostly used by Christian Gnostics.
The Magician, Key-1:
The Magician is a picture of “ATTENTION,” which I put in capitals to get your attention. Key-1 can be used to develop your own concentration. All 22-Major Arcana Keys are different pictures of the same being, or different aspects of the one being. So the Fool is the Magician, etc., displaying a different aspect. Although every key in sequential order is the opposite of, and complements, the key that precedes it.
Thus a magician, or wise man, is in contrast to a fool. The number one (1) is the number of beginning, but zero (0) is the symbol for absolute unity, which is before all beginnings. Comparison of the two pictures shows lots of other contrasts. The magician is a symbol of what psychology calls “self-conscious awareness,” or objective mind. This is the ordinary waking consciousness of human beings. The mind that comes to grips with our daily issues, and its basic function is attention.
Alert watchfulness is the key idea of this picture. To your inner consciousness this key says “be alert.” We direct power with our attention, and amplify that power when we concentrate. Nothing can withstand the force of one who has mastered the art of concentration. I have and entire course on concentration, which I may later share in another thread. With concentration you can see through and into the things which constitute your environment, instead of merely looking at them. Key-1, The Magician, is a tool that can be use to develop concentration. Although there are lots of ways to develop concentration. Some people say they can not concentrate, but most people are very concentrated when they are angry or furious. They zero in on what they think got them angry, and often can not let go of it.
Key-0 can put you in touch with the limitless source, Key-1 calls into action the ability whereby you may apply that power to changing the conditions of your life. All of the 22-Majot Arcana Keys build on each other, and I will point out how when discussing each of the 22-Keys. This is the same way human consciousness works, each feature builds on the other features. Understand, you are always telling your own sub-conscious what to do by how you think, speak, and act. No one ever becomes a magician, a wielder of nature’s subtle forces, who permits themselves to be preoccupied with personal, subjective reactions to events. The first requisite is a sharp, clear awareness.
Like and arrow head which has no energy of its own. The force whereby it cleaves the mark is a derived force. An arrow-head is and instrument which transforms propulsion into penetration. It turns bow force into arrow force. Concentration works on attention in the same way. First we observe what is going on, then we use inductive reasoning, faulty or otherwise, to try and discover what is behind the veil of appearances. This leads to the discovery of experience. You do not have to acquire any new powers, you just change things by applying powers that you already have, and you learn to use those forces in different ways.
Everything that surrounds us is a manifestation of subconscious forces. The next key, Key-2, The High Priestess, is all about sub-consciousness. In summary, the esoteric meaning of Key-1, The Magician, is that our waking self-consciousness is the primary expression of the life power. It constitutes our awareness, which with most is filtered through mental impressions.
Just looking at these major tarot keys regularly, or concentrating on them, can help you in develop the esoteric qualities of that particular key. Qabbalist do not use Tarot cards for fortune telling. They read the cards for themselves, and rarely for others. To a Qabbalist the Tarot is a tool for spiritual development, and reading the cards is a prayer and a meditating. Please feel free to comment, etc.
Peace and Good Journey
