Symbolic Study of the Tarot and the Tree of Life

[Starman]

Originally Posted by Legrand

May everything go well!

Thank you for wishing me well. I drove about 600-miles and found a campground for my RV, so I am out of
the smoke and fire area, and I am doing well. Although I don’t know how long I will be at this location. Its’
just another test in patience.

For more than a decade I was a member of Builders of the Adytum (BOTA), which is a Fraternal Order of
Qabbalists. It was there that I learned about the Qabbalah, Torah, Hebrew Alphabet, including Gematria,
Tree of Life, Tarot, Cube of Space, Hermetic philosophy, etc. The word “Adytum” is Greek, it means “Inner Temple.”

This particular order taught practical applications of these tools to help a student, or Frater, actually experience
a rising of consciousness and change in perspective. It involved a lot of work, concentration techniques, etc.,
and you come to realize that you are studying your own consciousness. That is what the Qabbalistic Tree of Life
is to me.

My teachers were Qabbalists who graded my papers and tests, and admitted, or denied, me to further learning
until I had mastered the previous coursework. I feel fortunate to have gone through their entire curriculum of study,
and experienced what was once just theoretical principles that they taught. As you know, a person has to commit
themselves to Qabbalistic study in order to benefit from it.

Traditionally, many in the Jewish faith believe that a person should not study Qabbalah before age-40, but I started
my studies when I was much younger than that. I am not Jewish but I do take liberally from many different religions
and spiritual practices. Qabbalah has been one of those practices that spoke to me and I embraced it.

Originally Posted by 55Degrees

Hi Legrand.
If you google search Tree of Life and tarot, you should find a link for a site called Labyrinthos (not allowed to post the link on SF, so it makes linking learning resources difficult), it has a fab diagram of the Tree of Life with the corresponding tarot cards.
Starman sounds like he's dealing with a lot just keeping safe so thought I'd let you know where to find a good site for reference.

Thank you 55 Degrees,

Found it, will reed it.

I am curious to know why we can't post the link here?

Regards,

Originally Posted by Starman

Thank you for wishing me well. I drove about 600-miles and found a campground for my RV, so I am out of
the smoke and fire area, and I am doing well. Although I don’t know how long I will be at this location. Its’
just another test in patience.

For more than a decade I was a member of Builders of the Adytum (BOTA), which is a Fraternal Order of
Qabbalists. It was there that I learned about the Qabbalah, Torah, Hebrew Alphabet, including Gematria,
Tree of Life, Tarot, Cube of Space, Hermetic philosophy, etc. The word “Adytum” is Greek, it means “Inner Temple.”

This particular order taught practical applications of these tools to help a student, or Frater, actually experience
a rising of consciousness and change in perspective. It involved a lot of work, concentration techniques, etc.,
and you come to realize that you are studying your own consciousness. That is what the Qabbalistic Tree of Life
is to me.

My teachers were Qabbalists who graded my papers and tests, and admitted, or denied, me to further learning
until I had mastered the previous coursework. I feel fortunate to have gone through their entire curriculum of study,
and experienced what was once just theoretical principles that they taught. As you know, a person has to commit
themselves to Qabbalistic study in order to benefit from it.

Traditionally, many in the Jewish faith believe that a person should not study Qabbalah before age-40, but I started
my studies when I was much younger than that. I am not Jewish but I do take liberally from many different religions
and spiritual practices. Qabbalah has been one of those practices that spoke to me and I embraced it.

Glad to know you are safe,

My father is the one who introduced me to spirituality at 16, he new about all the possible paths, that I don't know yet about. Amoung them he started to help me decipher Fulcalleni "Mystère des Cathédrales" and present me to his alchemist friends with whom I learned for a while.

They are so many paths to explore, makes life wonderful.

Of course with no commitment everything is just words, hard to find the noumenon behind them then.

Regards

Path between Thipareth and Chokmah in Yetzirah

Colour in Yetzirah: Red flame

Letter: Tzaddi

IV – The Emperor: “This card is attributed to the letter Tzaddi, and it refers to the sign of Aries in the Zodiac. This sign is ruled by Mars, and therein the Sun is exalted. The sign is thus a combination of energy in its most material form with the idea of authority. The sign TZ or TS implies this in the original, onomatopoetic form of language. It is derived from Sanskrit roots meaning Head and Age, and is found to-day in words like Cæsar, Tsar, Sirdar, Senate, Senior, Signor, Sefior, Seigneur.

The card represents a crowned male figure, with imperial vestments and regalia. He is seated upon the throne whose capitals are the heads of the Himalayan wild ram, since Aries means a Ram. At his feet, couchant, is the Lamb and Flag, to confirm this attribution on the lower plane; for the ram, by nature, is a wild and courageous animal, lonely in lonely places, whereas when tamed and made to lie down in green pastures, nothing is left but the docile, cowardly, gregarious and succulent beast. This is the theory of government.

The Emperor is also one of the more important alchemical cards; with Atu II and III, he makes up the triad: Sulphur, Mercury, Salt. His arms and head form an upright triangle; below, crossed legs represent the Cross. This figure is the alchemical symbol of Sulphur (see Atu X). Sulphur is the male fiery energy of the Universe, the Rajas of Hindu philosophy. This is the swift creative energy, the initiative of all Being. The power of the Emperor is a generalization of the paternal power; hence such symbols as the Bee and the Fleur-de-lys, which are shown on this card. With regard to the quality of this power, it must be noted that it represents sudden, violent, but impermanent activity. If it persists too long, it burns and destroys. Distinguish from the Creative Energy of Aleph and Beth: this card is below the Abyss.

The Emperor bears a sceptre (surmounted by a ram's head for the reasons given above) and an orb surmounted by a Maltese cross, which signifies that his energy has reached a successful issue, that his government has been established.

There is one further symbol of importance. His shield represents the two-headed eagle crowned with a crimson disk. This represents the red tincture of the alchemist, of the nature of gold, as the white eagle shown in Atu III pertains to his consort, the Empress, and is lunar, of silver.

It is finally to be observed that the white light which descends upon him indicates the position of this card in the Tree of Life. His authority is derived from Chokmah, the creative Wisdom, the Word, and is exerted upon Tiphareth, the organized man.”
(The Book of Thoth)

Picture of the card:

Week 58: Path between Binah and Chokmah in Yetzirah

This is the last horizontal path out of three going up the Tree. It comes after the third veil.

To reach the top of the Tree when we are in Chesed, we must cross the abyss and meet the mysterious Sephirath Daath. Geburah and Chesed crossed, no guide supports us anymore. Maintaining the aspirant at equal distance from the two pillars, only the perfectly balanced forces can help him to cross the Abyss.

Colour of the path in Yetzirah: Soft green

Letter: Daleth

III – The Empress: “This card is attributed to the letter Daleth, which means a door, and it refers to the planet Venus. This card is, on the face of it, the complement of The Emperor; but her attributions are much more universal.

On the Tree of Life, Daleth is the path leading from Chokmah to Binah, uniting the Father with the Mother. Daleth is one of the three paths which are altogether above the Abyss. There is further more the alchemical symbol of Venus, the only one of the planetary symbols which comprises all the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. The doctrine implied is that the fundamental formula of the Universe is Love. [The circle touches the Sephiroth I, 2, 4, 6, 5, 3; the Cross is formed by 6, 9, 10 and 7, 8.]

It is impossible to summarize the meanings of the symbol of the Woman, for this very reason, that she continually recurs in infinitely varied form. "Many-throned, many-minded, many-wiled, daughter of Zeus."

In this card, she is shown in her most general manifestation. She combines the highest spiritual with the lowest material qualities. For this reason, she is fitted to represent one of the three alchemical forms of energy, Salt. Salt is the inactive principle of Nature; Salt is matter which must be energized by Sulphur to maintain the whirling equilibrium of the Universe. The arms and torso of the figure consequently suggest the shape of the alchemical symbol of Salt. She represents a woman with the imperial crown and vestments, seated upon a throne, whose uprights suggest blue twisted flames symbolic of her birth from water, the feminine, fluid element. In her right hand she bears the lotus of Isis; the lotus represents the feminine, or passive power. Its roots are in the earth beneath the water, or in the water itself, but it opens its petals to the Sun, whose image is the belly of the chalice. It is, therefore, a living form of the Holy Grail, sanctified by the blood of the Sun. Perching upon the flamelike uprights of her throne are two of her most sacred birds, the sparrow and the dove; the nub of this symbolism must be sought in the poems of Catullus and Martial. On her robe are bees; also dominos, surrounded by continuous spiral lines; the signification is everywhere similar.

About her, for a girdle, is the Zodiac.

Beneath the throne is a floor of tapestry, embroidered with fleurs-de-lys and fishes; they seem to be adoring the Secret Rose, which is indicated at the base of the throne. The significance of these symbols has already been explained. In this card all symbols are cognate, because of the simplicity and purity of the emblem. There is here no contradiction; such opposition as there seems to be is only the opposition necessary to balance. And this is shown by the revolving moons.

The heraldry of the Empress is two-fold: on the one side, the Pelican of tradition feeding its young from the blood of its own heart; on the other, the White Eagle of the Alchemist.
With regard to the Pelican, its full symbolism is only available to Initiates of the Fifth degree of the O.T.O. In general terms, the meaning may be suggested by identifying the Pelican herself with the Great Mother and her offspring, with the Daughter in the formula of Tetragrammaton. It is because the daughter is the daughter of her mother that she can be raised to her throne. In other language, there is a continuity of life, an inheritance of blood, which binds all forms of Nature together. There is no break between light and darkness. Natura non facit saltum. If these considerations were fully understood, it would become possible to reconcile the Quantum theory with the Electro-magnetic equations.

The White Eagle in this trump corresponds to the Red Eagle in the Consort card, the Emperor. It is here necessary to work back wards. For in these highest cards are the symbols of perfection; both the initial perfection of Nature and the final perfection of Art; not only Isis, but Nephthys. Consequently, the details of the work pertain to subsequent cards, especially Atu vi and Atu xiv.

At the back of the card is the Arch or Door, which is the interpretation of the letter Daleth. This card, summed up, may be called the Gate of Heaven. But, because of the beauty of the symbol, because of its omniform presentation, the student who is dazzled by any given manifestation may be led astray. In no other card is it so necessary to disregard the parts, to concentrate upon the whole.”
(The Book of Thoth)

Picture of the card:

[BigJohn]

Interesting project you have started, Le Grande.

I am very much impressed.

Thank you John,

Coming from you its a very big compliment.

But as you know I am not looking to impress anyone, simply exploring all the flowers of this world, taking the time to smell them one by one.

Enjoy!

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Legrand

Thank you John,

Coming from you its a very big compliment.

But as you know I am not looking to impress anyone, simply exploring all the flowers of this world, taking the time to smell them one by one.

Enjoy!

I am humbled with your complement.

As for smelling all of the flowers......
what a wonderful journey.

Week 59: Chokmah in Yetzirah and the 2 of Swords

General Symbolic of Chokmah:

From Kether, we reach the top of the White Pillar where Chokmah, the Wisdom of God, stands. It is the awareness of transcendental Unity, of the will of the divine. Too brilliant to be reflected directly to the different worlds, Chokmah wraps himself in the veil of Binah, the Intelligence that takes on the manifestation of a form.

A point is a position that appears, crystallizes in the primordial "void". It has no dimension. Kether is that point.

But if a point is conceived as moving in space, it becomes a line, an infinite number of points. Its only dimension is length. Kether is the dimensionless point, and Chokmah its extension into that measurable dimension which is the line (existence by extension). If we represent the primordial point that is Kether as becoming as becoming the line that is Chokmah, we will get a good image of it. This energy that unfolds is dynamic in essence. It is assumed in Euclidean geometry that the ends of a straight line will never meet, but this is only true in our near universe. Extend the line to infinity and it becomes a circle of inconceivable diameter, a sidereal zodiac whose constellations are the last elements that the eye can perceive.

Kether is a static state, a "crystallization" of the formless. But we cannot conceive of this concentration as a dynamic process. The limits of this crystallization having been reached, the force, the ever-emerging force of the unmanifested breaks these limits. The full potential of the energy that keeps our existence in manifestation.

This sephirah is the first to give rise to the appearance of a polarity. Although Binah, the sephirah facing it, is created from Chokmah, it is good to associate it with the other, because both are connected to Kether and form the basis of the polarity that gives its structure to the Tree of Life. As a creative force, it personifies the energy, the impulse that launches the project. Binah is the form. Or Chokmah is the essence and Binah is the universal substance. A Father cannot exist without a mother, Chokmah cannot exist without Binah.

Wisdom and knowledge should not be confused. True wisdom, or spiritual intuition, is as unsubjective as the certainty that two and two make four. It has the power to penetrate beyond the person to the primordial depths of divinity. On the other hand, knowledge is a state of human knowledge, useful but limited. In order to preserve the priority of wisdom over knowledge, oral transmission was long favoured. The true Qabalah must be received from within. The only true secret is incommunicable. It lies in what the student makes to spring forth from within and in the transformations that take place within him.

The student-hermetist is mistaken if he/she thinks that there is a book that will reveal the "hidden knowledge" to him/her or an Initiatic Order that will teach it to him/her from grade to grade. The only thing that can be proposed is a teaching pedagogy, the transmission of working tools and the realization of group rituals. This is very much and even indispensable in the magical process.

When the final stages of the quest are reached, it is important to keep in mind that the Light, Chokmah, is not the perfect manifestation of the Lord, but the last veil that still hides Him.

Chokmah in Yetzirah: Ophanim

Colour of Chokmah in Yetzirah: Iridescent gray

It is through the action of the Ophanim that Kether's point extends along a line and continues as a circle. Ophanim means "wheel". They bear this name because their appearance is that of the wheels of burning fire. This order also belongs to the edifice of Ezekiel's vision (1:15-20).

By their rotation, the four "spokes" of the Holy Animals described in Kether take on the appearance of the four wheels (Ophanim), each of which seems to be in the middle of another. Their vibration is certainly luminous, but also sonorous, so that their interpretation produces at the same time the ocean of hues and supra-terrestrial melodies. All activity is cyclical, and the Opahnim's role is to keep the manifestation in motion. Their spiritual and spherical vibrations direct the force towards the form (Binah). Our life/death cycle, the circulation of our blood, all energy in movement or rotation depend on it. They are the wheels of the universe on which its mechanism rests.

We are subject to determinism because we are not high enough to confront the forces of the Ophanim. The closer we are to Chokmah, the closer we are to the cycles of the Ophanim that control our destiny, and to the central axis (Kether) in which all movement ceases.

The Ophanim are called "mills of God". They disintegrate, crumble structures and shapes so that they can be reabsorbed by Kether. Record a scream and its echo, or a gong and its resonances. Play the tape backwards. The return to the primordial sound will illustrate the action of the Ophanim.

The Ophanim from Dante Divine Comedy illustrated by Gustave Dore:



The 2 of Swords: Peace

“This card is ruled by Chokmah in the Element of Air. This suit, governing all intellectual manifestations, is always complicated and disordered. It is subject to change as is no other suit. It represents a general shaking-up, resulting from the conflict of Fire and Water in their marriage; and proceeds, when Earth appears, to crystallization. But the purity and exaltation of Chokmah are such that this card manifests the very best idea possible to the suit. The energy abides above the onslaught of disruption. This comparative calm is emphasized by the celestial attribution: the Moon in Libra.

The Moon is change, but Nature is peaceful; moreover, Libra represents balance; between them, they regulate the energy of the Swords.

In the card appear two swords crossed; they are united by a blue rose with five petals. This rose represents the influence of the Mother, whose harmonizing influence compounds the latent antagonism native to the suit. The Rose emits white rays, producing a geometrical pattern that emphasizes the equilibrium of the symbol.”
(Book of Thoth)

Picture of the card:

Week 60: Path between Tiphareth and Kether in Yetzirah

The making of Soma:


Letter: Gimel

II – The Priestess: “This card is referred to the letter Gimel, which means a Camel.

The card refers to the Moon. The Moon (being the general feminine symbol, the symbol of the second order corresponding to the Sun as the Yoni does to the Lingam) is universal, and goes from the highest to the lowest. It is a symbol which will recur frequently in these hieroglyphs. But in the earlier Trumps the concern is with Nature above the Abyss; the High Priestess is the first card which connects the Supernal Triad with the Hexad; and her path, as shown in the diagram, makes a direct connection between the Father (Kether) in his highest aspect, and the Son (Tiphareth) in his most perfect manifestation. This path is in exact balance in the middle pillar. There is here, therefore, the purest and most exalted conception of the Moon. (At the other end of the scale is Atu xviii, q.v.)

The card represents the most spiritual form of Isis the Eternal Virgin; the Artemis of the Greeks. She is clothed only in the luminous veil of light. It is important for high initiation to regard Light not as the perfect manifestation of the Eternal Spirit, but rather as the veil which hides that Spirit. It does so all the more effectively because of its incomparably dazzling brilliance. [The tradition of the best schools of Hindu mysticism has a precise parallelism. The final obstacle to full Enlightenment is exactly this Vision of Formless Effulgence]. Thus she is light and the body of light. She is the truth behind the veil of light. She is the soul of light. Upon her knees is the bow of Artemis, which is also a musical instrument, for she is huntress, and hunts by enchantment.

Now, regard this idea as from behind the Veil of Light, the third Veil of the original Nothing. This light is the menstruum of manifestation, the goddess Nuith, the possibility of Form. This first and most spiritual manifestation of the feminine takes to itself a masculine correlative, by formulating in itself any geometrical point from which to contemplate possibility. This virginal goddess is then potentially the goddess of fertility. She is the idea behind all form; as soon as the influence of the triad descends below the Abyss, there is the completion of concrete idea.

At the bottom of the card, accordingly, are shown nascent forms, whorls, crystals, seeds, pods, symbolising the beginnings of life. In the midst is the Camel. In this card is the one link between the archetypal and formative worlds.

Thus far concerning this path, considered as issuing downwards from the Crown; but to the aspirant, that is, to the adept who is already in Tiphareth, to him who has attained to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, this is the path which leads upwards; and this card, in one system entitled the Priestess of the Silver Star, is symbolic of the thought (or rather of the intelligible radiance) of that Angel. It is, in short, a symbol of the highest Initiation.”

Picture of the card: