The Qabbalistic Tarot

[Starman]

I have used the word “occult” here many times, and as used it means hidden from plain sight. When I worked in the medical field we would say that a patient had “occult” blood in their stool, or there is and occult substance in their tissue. This is how I first learned how to use the word “occult.” But for many that word means evil or sinister. In esoteric matters it just means “hidden from plain sight.”

Kindness, to yourself and others, is extra important during these times of pandemic. Our mental health is already in jeopardy due to quarantine and long periods of isolation by many, if not most. I deal with this by having long periods of inner silence, and also gradually building up to do light exercise workouts. I have to rebuild my aching muscles and joints after my covid recovery and it is a slow process. Nonetheless, it gives me something else to do during quarantine.

I used to go camping every month but all of my reserved camping trips have been cancelled over the past 12-months by the National and State Park Services, so now is the time to be creative. A good time for spiritual studies or consciousness studies, a hobby, or something that you have been meaning to do at home but never got around to it. Be safe, we are living in very stressful times, watch your mental and emotional health, and take steps to maintain inner balance. I feel like writing this, I am really talking to myself.

The Fifth Stage of Unfoldment; Key-5, Key-12, and Key 19:

Key-5, The Hierophant is the principle, whose major attribute is intuition. The agency for this principle is Key-12, The Hanged Man. The Law of Reversal is mentioned frequently in the Ageless Wisdom doctrines. Kabbalah says that Key-12 is “the most important symbol in Tarot.” The Law of Reversal is one of the most important secrets in occultism. The essential meaning of this law may be stated as follows: To reverse the conditions of misery, disease and failure, and substitute for them their opposites of health, happiness and success, it is necessary to think, speak, and act in ways which are the reverse of those in which most persons‘ think, speak, and act.

An ancient statement of the Law of Reversal is given at the beginning of THE DHAMMAPADA, which is and important summary of Buddha’s doctrine: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” “hatred does not cease by hatred, hatred ceases by love.” What we need is a practical method which will actually effect the necessary reversal. The right use of Key-12 is such a method. Just looking at the symbols in Key-12 will do wonders to help reverse ordinary habits of thought and speech. But to get the full suggestive power of this picture into operation, it is helpful to have some knowledge of its meaning and correspondences. When these are understood, they form a bridge which carries the suggestion of the symbols much easier into our subconscious.

Water symbolizes the Law of Reversal, it is considered “the first mirror,” and it reflects everything upside down. It reverses the images cast upon it. Images in a mirror are reversed, and physical life is a reflective mirror. The occult water is not something we draw from a kitchen tap; although it is called “water” because it is like that element. It is spread over a vast expanse, like a great sea. It moves in waves, and it flows in currents, forming itself into whirlpools. It also takes form in drops or corpuscles. In short the occult water is the astral fluid; electro-magnetic energy which is the substance of all things. When concentration is prolonged the effect produced is what Hindus call “Samadhi.” Outward effects of Samadhi include profound trance and the suspension of most bodily functions. The inner result is direct experience of what may be called “super-consciousness.”

The title of Key-12, The Hanged Man, refers to such practices, and is sometimes called “The Suspended Man.” “Man” is and English noun derived from a Sanskrit root, manas, meaning mind as the thinking principle. The title of Key-12 suggests the suspension of personal mental activity. This is achieved by concentration. When the suspension of personal activity is effected, there is a release of sub-conscious abilities which can make themselves manifest. The person who experiences super-consciousness knows themselves to be merely a vehicle, or instrument, of the cosmic life breath. Gone is the delusion that personality is, or can be, separate from the sum-total of cosmic activity. There is no form of personal activity which is not also an expression of universal laws and forces. Personality can do nothing of itself, although it is and indispensable agent whereby the One Life can express itself in the conditions of relative existence. Spiritually oriented people often see human life in a reverse way than non-spiritually oriented persons.

Key-19, The Sun, is the condition in this Fifth Stage. The Life-power is the basis of all forms; it is the invisible sea of perfect knowledge, wisdom, and power. There is no place where it is not. It is from that sea that all things come into manifestation. The Sun corresponds to the dominant symbol in Key-19, a radiant solar orb with a human countenance. The sun itself is our day star, which corresponds to Key-17, The Star. The Sun is often thought of as a masculine attribute, while the Moon, a feminine attribute. Regeneration is the major attribute of the symbolism in Key-19. The Great Work of self-transformation is done by the sun and the moon together. This work is the regeneration of human personality, described as something that can not be made except by the grace of God. To obtain this goal something more than personal effort is required, and that something more is and influx of power from the super-conscious level.

Ancient occult doctrine holds that all celestial bodies are vehicles of intelligence. This is what astrology is based upon, the influence of the planets, in essence their intelligence, or consciousness. The Sun is a living power and not merely a physical energy. It is a power like ourselves, and we have something in common with it. Our lives are a series of transformations of solar energy. This energy constitutes a circuit Thus solar energy shines in us and our energy shines in the sun. Although there is a difference of degree in radiance. The child in Key-19 is nude, repeating the symbolism of Key-17 where we see nature unveiling herself as truth. It is only in humanity that the function of sub-consciousness as intuition is expressed. According to Kabbalah, in the kingdoms below humanity true intuition can not be manifest.

Key-19 is about taking a new birth, what Christians might call “being born again.” Regeneration is about rebirth. “Be ye retransformed by the renewing of your mind.” The new birth involves both mental and physical alterations. The fifth stage of unfoldment requires a degree of adeptship; that of liberation from the limitations of physical matter and circumstance. It is a conscious identification with The One Life. Yet it is not the final stage. The number 19 stands for the expression of the power symbolized by Key-9 through the symbolism of Key-1. Esoterically, and in metaphysics, it is said we have the entire astrological zodiac within us; it is just that some influences are more prominent than others. We have a Sun within us, a pure divine spark of God, around which all of our inner planets, or chakras, revolve. Within us we have our own solar system. Spiritually advanced persons can express all of the influences of the zodiac equally and they are not bound by only the major influences of their birth.

Summary:
Intuition (Key-5) works through a suspension (Key-12) of mental activity to regenerate (Key-19) our human condition. When you lay out Key-5, Key-12, and Key-19, together as shown in The Tarot Tablet, these keys together have more power to evoke thought and insight, then studying them separately.

[GlitterRose]

This is great. Thanks for posting.

Thank you Starman for all of this.... A lot to read and take in.. but a lovely thread to keep coming back to , and learning from... Hope you are keeping well.. and good for you, for filling your time/ days with something positive....

[Starman]

I am about to talk about what most humans call “death.” I have shared here on this forum my experiences with “death,” some of those experiences I will now share again. I was a U.S. Army combat medic in the former Republic of South Vietnam during that war, and saw lots of people die. Death on a large scale, sort of like what we have now with this covid pandemic, can become numbing. People often numb themselves in the face of widespread death to emotionally protect themselves.

But I wanted to share that it is my experience that some people know when they are going to die. I saw this in Vietnam, when guys would give me letters to send to their family, loved ones, etc., and they would tell me how they had a dream about their own death, or a vision, or just a very strong feeling, and most of the time that premonition came true the exact way they described their dream or vision of their own death. I also witnessed while working in hospitals, after the army, how when people died there was often an increase of energy around them right before their last breath. Like there were other entities there, invisible, helping them with their lift-off.

Talking about death comes easy to me; it is neither a bad or sorrowful subject. Lots of people say they have “no fear of death.” Fear of death comes from anticipating what you may think it is going to be like. The biggest fear is that a lot of people are afraid they not exist anymore. To diminish fear, quiet your mind and live in the moment. Be there with your transition as it is happening, each breath, right up to the last, is precious.

The Sixth Stage of Unfoldment - Key-6, Key-13, and Key 20:

The power of love as symbolized by Key-6, The Lovers, is the principle in this 6th Stage. The agency it works through is symbolized by Key-13, Death. The major attribute of Key-13 is transformation. Kabbalah does not say, “there is no death.” On the contrary, human bodies do die; denial of this fact is folly. Embracing this fact is necessary, as we can not understand anything by denying it. We face and undeniable fact when we come into the presence of death. Part of the life-equipment of every human being is an immortal something which was not born with the physical body, and is something that will never die. More than this, that immortal something within us is what brings about the dissolution, or death, of our physical body. Our essential immortal nature is the actual cause of our physical death.

When we face the fact of physical death, and learn its meaning, we shall find out how to overcome it, how to erase it completely from our consciousness and our experience. Everyone survives the death of their body. It is much more than mere hope of resurrection. It is more than a change of consciousness. The knowledge of those who are consciously immortal totally annuls death. Those who become perfect in this knowledge, and not just repeating words to themselves about not fearing death, need have no experience of physical dissolution.

Key-13 declares this doctrine of Ageless Wisdom symbolically. It conveys to sub-consciousness, through the sense of sight, stimuli which will call forth from our deeper self the knowledge which will enable us to overcome death. Death and inheritance are related; you can not have a new beginning without something ending. Our most precious inheritance is in the power which manifests in what we call death. Some people need to be forcibly removed by death from the rut of false perceptions. While others gracefully let go. The nature of death is indicated by the number thirteen. The number 13 is vilified and seen as a bad luck number in many places worldwide. But what it really means is transformation.

The One power, also known as the “love-power,” which is the cause of all attractions and affinities, is also the death power which brings about the dissolution of the human body. These are not two antagonistic powers, one making for love and the other death. They are one power having opposite forms of manifestation. Life and death are one thing. All growth and development are based on endless permutations of form. We do not grow our soul or deeper being rather we grow our physical body’s ability to express more of our soul or deeper being.

Our deeper being, that which we are at our core, remains eternally itself throughout its whole series of appearances. It is the outward transformations that necessitates the dissolution of outworn forms. We are constantly going through transformations, and in human life these transformations that we see in others, and in our environment, label them “good” or bad,” are there to teach us about our own transformations, including the one we call “death.”

Without continual change human life could not exist. We would not grow in our mothers’ womb, or from babies to adults. We generally think of the love-power as chiefly having to do with reproduction. The same love-power which leads to birth also controls the physical changes in our body that result in dissolution and death. This love-power governs both the beginning and cessation of our bodily activities. Life and death are one thing. People fear death because they are closely identified with their body and the transformations it goes through, but the dissolution of form is imperative for growth. When forms break down energy is released to be used for further development. Stone disintegrates to form soil, soil brings forth vegetation, animals and humans eat vegetation. Lots of humans eat animals and incorporate them into their bodily structure. Everything comes from everything else, and everything goes back into everything else. The creation devours itself and also gives birth to itself. In human existence consciousness learns, through transformation, how to master the very energies that built his or her own body.

When a human being has achieved self-mastery, they are able to maintain their physical body for many years beyond the span of ordinary human life. With such perfect realization of mastery a person can also disintegrate their physical body at will, and also reintegrate it. Understanding that at this state of mastery life and death are truly viewed as the same thing, and a person with such self-mastery knows the value of transformation. The Condition on which this agency works is symbolized in Key-20, Judgment. The Angel in Key-20 is Gabriel, he carries a trumpet which summons the dead from their coffins. Gabriel is the archangel of the moon, which is connected to Key-2, which is attributed to the moon. Two (2) is the root number of twenty (20).

Gabriel means “Might of God,“ and the symbolic suggestion of Key-20 is that human personality is raised from the “death” of three-dimensional consciousness by a power descending from above. The spirit of life within us never forgets itself, and on what many call “judgment day,” we hear the trumpet call proclaiming our real nature and calling us from the deathlike sleep of belief in mortal existence. In esoteric studies the trumpet call is attributed to a change in environment at the time of physical death. Like traveling from the valley to a high mountain, your ears may get stopped up, and a lot of people will hold their nose and blow to unstop their ears. The trumpet call is similar. The three figures in Key-20 represent self-consciousness (the man) sub-consciousness (the woman) and the regenerated personality (the child).

The man is in a posture of passive adoration. In fourth dimensional consciousness, the self-conscious mind realizes that it does nothing whatever of itself. It is merely a channel through which the greater life descends to lesser levels of manifestation. The more transparent self-consciousness becomes, the less interference it offers to the free passage of the flow of the One Being. The woman in Key-20 activity receives the influx of power from above. The child represents insight, the turning away from the false reports of external sensation. The three figures are nude to denote innocence, a state of freedom from shame. We are all naked before God. Fire, the quality of Mars astrologically, is prominent in Key-20. Twenty represents Key-4 The Emperor multiplied by Key-5 The Hierophant, which leads to insightful decisions, or right judgment.

Key-20 suggests the union of the spark of divinity inherent within us all, with the totality of the Divine Being. We do not achieve union rather we become deeply aware of it, as there is no way that we can separate ourselves from the One Divine Being. They who seek unfoldment for selfish purposes never unlock the more potent forces. The person who devotes themselves to what is pictured in Key-20, with humility, selfless service, and persistence in giving their attention to understanding and applying insights from this key, is on the road to self-mastery.

Summary:
Love (Key-6) brings about the transformations (Key-13) which reveals (Key-20) our truest nature. Love is behind our human birth and also our human death. Transformation, or change, is that which grows us.

....No words Starman..... I can only stand and applaud... X

[Starman]

With this post we enter the seventh and final stage of spiritual unfoldment. Even with the lengthy posts I have made in this thread, I have only scratched the surface of the Qabbalistic Tarot. My approach here was to give a basic framework that anyone interested could further develop on their own by using the exercises and suggestions mentioned in my posts here. Most learning on this path will take place in silence, but if you are going to do Tarot practice it is suggested that you take written notes. After all, life is school.

The Seventh Stage of Unfoldment - Key-7, Key-14, and Key-21:

Key-7, The Chariot, is the principle in this stage, with its major attribute of will-power, as previously posted. Key-14, Temperance is the agency for Key-7. The central figure in Key-14 is the Angel Michael; angel of the sun and archangel of the element fire. He is connected with the Sun in Key-19. His name means “Like unto God.” On his brow is a solar symbol and from his head light radiates. One foot rests on water, symbol of the cosmic mind-stuff. The other foot rests on land, symbolic of concrete manifestation. The angel is a symbol that in every human to which the term “higher self” is applied. Verification is the prominent attribute of Key-14.

We put ourselves in a position to receive the angelic message when we devote ourselves to the work of making experimental verification of the fact that the real presence of the Higher Self may be perceived at the heart of our personal lives. Such single devotion brings us into harmony with the universal order of laws governing manifestation and the cycles of the heavenly bodies. The Great Work, which completes the expression of the laws of nature, is and artistic adaptation of those laws by humanity. Without humanity, this work can not come to full fruition. “Nature unaided will fail.” Although all human action is a result of a series of transformations of the One Energy. There is and esoteric maxim which says, “a student must be well grounded in theory before they begin to practice.”

Thus I am talking about the process of verification here, which is the major attribute of Key-14. There is a lot which I have left out in this thread, like the 22-letters of the Hebrew alphabet and how each letter also has a number value corresponding with each of the 22-Major Arcana Cards, the astrology and numerology in each of the 22-cards, the colors assigned to each of the 22-cards, and how each color has a sound that corresponds with it. How you can use sound and color to raise your consciousness, etc. This is all related to the western mysticism of alchemy. There are techniques associated with all that I have just mentioned, but first I would have to go into the premise, or theory behind the techniques before giving the techniques; otherwise the technique might not make sense. Therefore I have tried to keep this thread simple, not even going into the symbolism of the cards too deeply. But what I’ve shared in this thread is like a spring-board for the reader to dive deeper into. Theories must be verified before they become part of your working equipment. Application is the touchstone whereby all of our knowledge must be tested.

Tarot practice is a magical art, which requires more than just a recipe, or a set of directions which you may follow. This magical art includes a transformation of your personality, and the raising or expansion of your consciousness until you perceive clearly the principles and laws whereby you operate. The great trial and error is a testing of yourself. Tarot represents your states of consciousness. The principles it depicts are those governing your life. Tarot is a manuscript written in symbolic language whereby you can study, grow, and develop, yourself.

The title of Key-14, Temperance, is not restricted to its common usage. Here it refers to being able to manage ones’ appetite. What we take in. The goal of tempering is to impart more strength to what is tempered. In the Great Work this is attained by a balanced mixture of opposing forces. This is evident in the symbolism of Key-14. The condition on which the verification attributed to Key-14, is Key-21, The World. The World suggests world consciousness, cosmic consciousness, or Nirvana, however one might want to call it. When you attain this you find yourself in tune with the whole universe. You find that the center of your personal life is one with the power that rules creation. In this consciousness the entire universe is realized as the body of the “I AM.” The emphasis is on concrete manifestation of knowledge gained. It is about first hand knowledge and not just theory.

Words will fail to give any adequate idea of this seventh stage of unfoldment as it relates to cosmic consciousness. It must be left to your own intuition to combine the suggestions in Key-21. Key-21 symbolizes what you really are and what the cosmos really is. The universe is a dance of life. The inmost, central self of you is the eternal dancer. Key-21 is the completion of all of the principles depicted from Key-0 through to Key-6, and it has a close relationship with Key-7. You are the cosmos but in our finite state we are subject to error, the completion of the Great Work of Self Transformation brings salvation from the experience of death; it is a realization from experiencing our eternal nature. It validates the hypothesis of the unity of being. That which is called “GOD” is boundless in every direction, when we experience cosmic consciousness we are boundless, no bonds or boundaries. It is and unimaginable freedom. The human mind can not conceive this experience. Every particle of the manifested universe is a living center of the One Reality. It is infinite and its center is everywhere. Everything manifested has the same center that you have, although everything does not have the body to access that center like the human state of being. The center is without form or dimension. It is in a region which is not. It is no thing, neither and object, place, or thing. Eternity is the absence of time and infinity is the absence of space. The human mind can have trouble grasping this.

Summary:
The primal will (Key-7) which flows through us, applied to verification (Key-14) with equilibrium and balance, can bring about and expansion in consciousness (Key-21) of the one reality in all things.

Conclusion:
This concludes my offering on The Qabbalistic Tarot as related to The Major Arcana Tarot Tablet. I have enjoyed sharing this with you. The important thing is, if you are interested, to verify it for yourself. The learning, and practice, is lifelong, as you are studying your own consciousness.

Each person knows the path of truth by finding it for themselves. It is not theory; for it surpasses understanding. It is beyond the experience of the physical senses. The relationship between a creation and its creator is the most intimate relationship possible. It is in the fineness of our touch; to recognize our connection with the universe. For, we do not see the world as it is, rather we see the world as we are. According to our conditioning.

Peace and Good Journey

MY GREATER/DEEPER SELF:

I was a bird with broken wing and you came along to save me.
Wounded and cold, shivering, warm as the sun you made me.

You were right there when my heart was crying, holding my hand
beneath the city lights, you were right there shining through, only you.

I need you more than a flower needs spring. I’ve got to learn to give you
everything. I just love what you are.

And you tell me; anywhere you may go, I’ll be right there beside you.
When you will leave this world behind, I’ll be right there to guide you.

Starman, this is amazing information.
Thank you so much for sharing it.
Be well Starman. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

[Starman]

Thank you for all of the positive feedback. Often what I write does not come from me, rather it comes through me. I have no problem with anyone copying or linking what I have shared in any thread here at SF, but I don’t know what forum rules, if any, there may be regarding such.

What I have shared in this thread came from notes, and other material I acquired, back when I was going through this intense training. I was going to put some three to five question quizzes at the end of each stage but dropped that idea after about the second or third post.

When I was in training I was tested on all of the stages to see what I had grasped as well as how to do practical applications. I have had this information since 1978 but this is the first time I have publicly shared it in some kind of detail. I feel in my heart that such teachings that were once held secret and given only to those who were members of a secret order or society, should now be made public.

Because, like most of you, I am also quarantined at home, I may offer another caveat to using the Tarot this way. Basically it is energy work, or learning how to work with vibration. Each Key in the Major arcana, especially when using the Rider-Wait deck, has a dominant color that corresponds with its major attribute.

Color is to light what sound is to vibration. Light is a continuation of sound at a different frequency. So you can use sound and color to rather quickly change your own vibration and experience the attribute associated with a particular Tarot card, etc. Its something I want to review and re-study myself while I am stuck at home.

But right now I am concentrating on raising my own vibration and bringing greater health to my own 73-year old body, and also keeping my mind centered and quiet during these challenging times. Be aware of your own gifts, as we all have something very positive and wonderful to offer.

Peace

[Scholarly Tarot]

You truly do have an enormous amount of information in these posts. Very interesting! By chance, to satisfy my curiosity, have you seen or read Robert Wang, "The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy"? He is one of the most profound and overall excellent authors on Tarot I have ever looked at. I really enjoy his book! When I read the title of your thread I thought you were going to talk about his book, and perhaps you have been, just haven't seen it referenced, not that it is a problem.

Wang is one of the better Tarot authors in my opinion. You obviously have been studying a lot through the years. You remind me of one who is doing what Joseph Campbell said "Follow your bliss." Fun isn't it?

Best,
Scholarly Tarot

[Starman]

I have Robert Wang’s book, titled The Qabbalistic Tarot, but the information I have shared here in this thread comes from volumes of manuscripts that reference The Brotherhood, Helena Blavatsky, Eliphas Levi, theosophical references, and so forth. Too many for me to mention. The origins of this work go back to ancient Egypt. I did not give references because this information is considered “Ageless Wisdom,” and it did not originate with any one person. Its’ like who invented yoga or meditation? It is said that yoga was created by ancient yogis in India, but no one person can take credit for it.

The “enormous” amount of information which I have shared here is but a drop in the bucket from all the information I received over a 13-year curriculum on the Qabbalah, with emphasis on the Tarot Major Arcana, Tree of Life with its 32-Paths, Cube of Space, etc. 16-courses in all and some of the courses lasted 12-months. There were written tests and verbal presentations required of students regarding practical applications at the end of each course, and you could not move on until you got a passing grade in each successive course. It was formal training given by Jewish Rabbi’s.

The courses were taught in Los Angeles, California at a Jewish Temple. But this same material is also taught by the late Paul Foster Case and his successor Dr. Ann Davies. It is also taught by Freemasons and in the Rosicrucian Order, although they are more Egyptian oriented. Hermetic philosophy was also included in my curriculum, as was the Jewish Torah, Zohar, Gematria, etc. It was a very comprehensive program on alchemy and western mysticism, and I feel blessed to have stuck with it and graduated from it.

Lots of people who started such training dropped out within a year or so and never completed it. I have a doctorate in General Psychology, a masters in social work, and my undergrad work is in nursing, spent 10-years in college and university combined. So I had acquired the skill to apply myself to long term study when I embarked on this, while at the same time working in the healthcare profession applying what I was learning from esoteric studies. I was also a professor at the University of Colorado, and in my teaching I would disguise what I learned about the Tarot in my lectures. I am now retired. My spiritual path has combined eastern practices, like yoga and meditation, with westerns practices, like Tarot. It has been, and continues to be, quite a journey.