Symbolic Study of the Tarot and the Tree of Life

[Scholarly Tarot]

LeGrand Said:
XII – The Hanged Man: “This card, attributed to the letter Mem, represents the element of Water. It would perhaps be better to say that it represents the spiritual function of water in the economy of initiation; it is a baptism which is also a death. In the Aeon of Osiris, this card represented the supreme formula of adeptship; for the figure of the drowned or hanged man has its own special meaning. The legs are crossed so that the right leg forms a right angle with the left leg, and the arms are stretched out at an angle of 60° so as to form an equilateral triangle; this gives the symbol of the Triangle surmounted by the Cross, which represents the descent of the light into the darkness in order to re deem it. For this reason there are green disks-green, the colour of Venus, signifies Grace-at the terminations of the limbs and of the head. The air above the surface of the water is also green, infiltrated by rays of the white light of Kether. The whole figure is suspended from the Ankh, another way of figuring the formula of the Rose and Cross, while around the left foot is the Serpent, creator and destroyer, who operates all change.

Scholarly Tarot Responds:
This was the first card that when I was introduced to Tarot just simply didn't make sense to me. I suspect it is for that reason it has become one of my favorites. I am not sure, but I suspect so that you are aware of the Cube of Space? This Hanged Man is one of three Maternal Cards as they are called, signifying the Three Maternal letters of Hebrew, the Aleph, Mem, and Shin, which all intersect exactly in the center of the Cube.

I have been reading in Robert Wang's book on The Qabalistic Tarot this week , which also got me into Kevin Townley's book on the Cube of Space. The book on the Cube of Space by Hulse is also very informative and well done. The Hanged Man is truly one of the stellar cards in all of it being right in the heart, right in the center of it all.

I am making progress through your posts and just saying thanks for sharing, they are nice to read. Have a great day, and remember, only you can prevent Tarot Card fires.....LOL....

Thank you for your suggestion of readings on the cube of space.

A nice place to sit in the middle to feel this World.

But I must say that in the last 8 years I have only read two little books by curiosity, the World since has been my open book. It is also true that I like to read the post on here, mostly if they share direct experience.

I took note of that book if ever I get tired of reading directly from the World.

Thank you.

Week 77: Path between Netzah and Tiphareth in Briah

Between Haniel and Raphael

This tarot card of the paths, more than others, shows how its meaning changes from one world to another in the Tree of Life symbolism. In Assiah (disks) the scorpion aspect comes out. In Yetzirah (swords) the serpent aspect comes out. While in Briah (cups) going up the Tree, it is be the eagle point of view.

A comparison could be made on what means death respectively to the physical/etheric/soul bodies.

Color of the path in Briah: Cold brown

Letter: Nun

XIII - Death: “This card is attributed to the letter Nun, which means a fish; the symbol of life beneath the waters; life travelling through the waters. It refers to the Zodiacal sign of Scorpio, which is ruled by Mars, the planet of fiery energy in its lowest form, which is therefore necessary to provide the impulse. In alchemy, this card explains the idea of putrefaction, the technical name given by its adepts to the series of chemical changes which develops the final form of life from the original latent seed in the Orphic egg.

This sign is one of the two most powerful in the Zodiac, but it has not the simplicity and intensity of Leo. It is formally divided into three parts; the lowest is symbolized by the Scorpion, which was supposed by early observers of Nature to commit suicide when finding itself ringed with fire, or otherwise in a desperate situation. This represents putrefaction in its lowest form. The strain of environment has become intolerable, and the attacked element willingly subjects itself to change; thus, potassium thrown upon water becomes ignited, and accepts the embrace of the hydroxyl radicle.

The middle interpretation of this sign is given by the serpent, who is, moreover, the main theme of the sign. [The Qabalists embodied in the Book of Genesis, Caps I and II, this doctrine of regeneration. NChSh, the Serpent in Eden, has the value 358: 50 also MShICh, Messiah. He is, accordingly, in the secret doctrine, the Redeemer. The thesis may be developed at great length. Later in the Legend, the doctrine reappears in slightly different symbolism as the story of the Flood, elsewhere in this Essay explained. Of course, the Fish is identical in essence with the Serpent; for Fish=NVN=Scorpio=Serpent. Also, Teth, the letter of Leo, means Serpent. But Fish is also the Vesica, or Womb, and Christ -and so on. This symbol resumes the whole Secret Doctrine.] The serpent is sacred, Lord of Life and Death, and its method of progression suggests the rhythmical undulation of those twin phases of life which we Call respectively life and death. The serpent is also, as previously explained, the principal symbol of male energy. From this it will be seen that this card is, in a very strict sense, the completion of the card called Lust, Atu XI, and Atu XII represents the solution or dissolution which links them.

The highest aspect of the card is the Eagle, which represents exaltation above solid matter. It was understood by the early chemists that, in certain experiments, the purest (i.e., most tenuous) elements present were given off as gas or vapour. There are thus represented in this card the three essential types of putrefaction.

The card itself represents the dance of death; the figure is a skeleton bearing a scythe, and both the skeleton and the scythe are importantly Saturnian symbols. This appears strange, as Saturn has no overt connection with Scorpio; but Saturn represents the essential structure of existing things. He is that elemental nature of things which is not destroyed by the ordinary changes which occur in the operations of Nature. Furthermore, he is crowned with the crown of Osiris; he represents Osiris in the waters of Amennti. Yet more, he is the original secret male creative God: see Atu XV. "Redeunt Saturnia regna." It was only the corruption of the Tradition, the confusion with Set, and the Cult of the Dying God, misunderstood, deformed and distorted by the Black Lodge, that turned him into a senile and fiendish symbol.

With the sweep of his scythe he creates bubbles in which are beginning to take shape the new forms which he creates in his dance; and these forms dance also.

In this card the symbol of the fish is paramount; the fish (Il pesce, as they call him in Naples and many other places) and the serpent are the two principal objects of worship in cults which taught the doctrines of resurrection or re-incarnation. Thus we have Oannes and Dagon, fish gods, in western Asia; in many other parts of the world are similar cults. Even in Christianity, Christ was represented as a fish. The Greek work IXThUS, "which means fish and very aptly symbolizes Christ", as Browning reminds one, was supposed to be a notariqon, the initials of a sentence meaning "Jesus Christ Son of God, Saviour". Nor is it an accident that St. Peter was a fisherman. The Gospels, too, are full of miracles involving fish, and the fish is sacred to Mercury, because of its cold-bloodedness, its swiftness and its brilliance. There is moreover the sexual symbolism. This again recalls the function of Mercury as the guide of the dead, and as the continuing elastic element in nature.

This card must then be considered as of greater importance and catholicity than would be expected from the plain Zodiacal attribution. It is even a compendium of universal energy in its most secret form.”
(The Book of Thoth)

Picture of the card:

[Miharo]

About Saturn and his connection to Scorpio..

In Vedic astrology, Saturn is the so called karaka = natural significator and ruler over longevity, endings, death and the 8th house, which is the house of Scorpio.

It is nice reading you here Miharo.

[Scholarly Tarot]

Nice post LeGrand. I myself have just been studying this Nun and the path and wrote up on it in my small article on the Tabula Smaragdina in this Tarot and Oracle Cards section. I think our two articles correlate very well. I was excited when I saw you were posting on the Tarot Card death because that is the card of the green path on the Kabbalah Tree of Life I was just writing. Kinda cool that.....

I enjoy reading your posts, they are very good and worthwhile. Thank you.

Hello Scholarly Tarot,

I have subscribed to your tread and enjoyed the reading.

Your a a greater scholar than I will ever be. As an empath, I have always learned from others, living or dead, or writings by feeling the noumenom behind them.

Each as its own way to learn from this world.

Your emphasis on the importance of the colour green is important. Had a small discussion with Starman on this tread on how some sound frequencies and colours may be gateways to an archetypal form of consciousness.

Regards

[Scholarly Tarot]

Well I read a lot, but your way of just being out in the world and letting our Mother Earth teach us has much more to commend. Books are good and they are o.k., but they still are, more or less, man and woman's opinion. Nature however....ah! I think your heart is entirely in the right place. I think this thread is a great thread and full of valuable information. It's also fun getting to discuss it with you as we have time!

I'll be back,
Take care!

Week 78: Tiphareth in Briah and the 6 of Cups

General Symbolic of Tiphareth:

Tiphareth (Beauty) sits in the centre of the Tree of Life, in the middle of the central pillar. It is the outermost manifestation of the five most subtle sephiroth, while being the spiritual principle of the four most dense sephiroth. It's Kether on a lower plane, and Yesod on the upper plane.

Tiphareth is halfway between the body (material world of Malkuth) and the first expression of the divine Kether. For Irenaeus of Lyon, "the son of God became man so that man could become son of God" (Against heresy).

Tiphareth is to the Tree what the sun is to our world; the vital centre, the heart. If everything emanates from Kether, Tiphareth keeps all the Elements of the Tree in relation to each other. With the exception of Malkhut, each sephirah is directly connected to Tiphareth by one of the paths. It is comparable to the eye of the cyclone, a place of calm and security in the centre of the storm. Unless our lives are centered around an appropriate point, we get lost in chaos. Without an inner sun to illuminate us, everything disintegrates and dissolves. This center is God in us, the Self, the Holy Guardian Angel. This is the sun to which Tiphareth draws our attention to the tree. It is the light that we must find to arrange around it the whole of our inner and outer universe that it will transfigure. In a second step, he will be entrusted with the direction of our life. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this task, the only true objective of Magic.

Tiphareth is the centre of the second triad of the Tree, who’s other two angles are Gerubah and Chesed. This triad, reflecting the three upper sephiroth, is the one that remains after the death of the body and mind. In privileged moments, the voice that the inner listening perceives is that of the Self, and not that of God or disembodied spirits.

It should be noted that there are two circuits in the trails. The first is that of the Light distributed to the sepiroth via Tiphereth, and the second is a system of exchanges between the sephiroth themselves. The origin of the light comes from Kether, but from a practical point of view, the distribution centre is Tiphareth.

The six sephiroth of which Tiphareth is the center are sometimes called the Universal Man. From Kether's point of view, this man is a child. From Malkuth's point of view, he is a king in his kingdom. In the Bible, according to the name expressed for "God", we know to which sphere of the Tree this particular mode of manifestation should be assigned. Any reference to the son refers to Tiphareth.

There are three types of magical images of Tiphareth; a child, a king-priest and a sacrificed god. The child indicates that this is where our "individuality" begins, distinct from that of others. The king (divine right) between the heavenly city and the human city. The sacrificed god shows that we must divest ourselves of our individuality to join the union with God. We descend the Tree with the child, we live with the king, and finally ascend to accept the sacrifice of ourselves.

In the tradition of Western mystery schools, the first of the great initiations confers the power to converse with our Guardian Holy Angel. The characteristic of this state is that there are no visions or voices. The higher consciousness (Tiphareth) is beyond the mind (Yesod). Pure intuition, it contains no image perceptible by the senses.

Moreover, any inner experience where the vision ends in dazzling light is assigned to Tiphareth. Visions of a clearly defined shape (characters for example) are characteristic of Yesod. En-stasis without form or light, such as the one described by Plotin, tends to reach Kether.

Tiphareth in Briah: Raphael

Color in Briah: Golden Yellow

May each and all that come to touch what is behind this archetype be deeply healed in a sensation of great pleasure by the fire of Love that burns in their heart.

RAPHAEL (God heals) is the angel of healing, of purification. His task is to guide us through the veil of the Great Mystery as he led the blind Tobit through the desert.

Archangel Raphael by Ros:



The 6 of Cups - Pleasure:

“This card shows the influence of the number Six, Tiphareth, in the suit of Water. This influence is fortified by that of the Sun, who also represents the Six. The whole image is that of the influence of the Sun on Water. His fierce, but balanced power operates that type of putrefaction-he is in the Sign of Scorpio-which is the basis of all fertility, all life.

The lotus stems are grouped in an elaborate dancing movement. From their blossoms water gushes into the Cups, but they are not yet full to overflowing, as they are in the corresponding card below; the Nine.

Pleasure, in the title of this card, must be understood in its highest sense: it implies well-being, harmony of natural forces without effort or strain, ease, satisfaction. Foreign to the idea of the card is the gratification of natural or artificial desires. Yet it does represent emphatically the fulfilment of the sexual Will, as shown by the ruling Sephira, planet, element, and sign.

In the Yi King, Sol in Scorpio is represented by the 20th Hexagram, Kwan, which is also "Big Earth", being the Earth Trigram with doubled lines. Kwan means "manifesting", but also "contemplating". The Kwan refers directly to an High Priest, ceremonially purified, about to present his offerings. The idea of Pleasure-Putrefaction as a Sacrament is therefore implicit in this Hexagram as in this card; while the comments on the separate lines by the Duke of Chau indicate the analytical value of this Eucharist. It is one of the master-keys to the Gate of Initiation. To realize and to enjoy this fully it is necessary to know, to understand, and to experience, the Secret of the Ninth Degree of the O.T.O.”
(The Book of Thoth)

Picture of the card:

Week 79: Path between Hod and Geburah in Briah

Going up the Tree, being in Tiphareth in Briah (the Self, the One), the central path between Tiphareth and Kether (the Crown, the Absolute) shines of Ecstasy and Bliss making all the other paths seem like shadows.

But here we go with the following path going up the Tree:

Path between Michael and Samael

Color of the path: Cold Brown

Letter: Mem

XII – The Hanged Man: “This card, attributed to the letter Mem, represents the element of Water. It would perhaps be better to say that it represents the spiritual function of water in the economy of initiation; it is a baptism which is also a death. In the Aeon of Osiris, this card represented the supreme formula of adeptship; for the figure of the drowned or hanged man has its own special meaning. The legs are crossed so that the right leg forms a right angle with the left leg, and the arms are stretched out at an angle of 60 deg; so as to form an equilateral triangle; this gives the symbol of the Triangle surmounted by the Cross, which represents the descent of the light into the darkness in order to re deem it. For this reason there are green disks-green, the colour of Venus, signifies Grace-at the terminations of the limbs and of the head. The air above the surface of the water is also green, infiltrated by rays of the white light of Kether. The whole figure is suspended from the Ankh, another way of figuring the formula of the Rose and Cross, while around the left foot is the Serpent, creator and destroyer, who operates all change. (This will be seen in the card which next follows.)

It is notable that there is an apparent increase of darkness and solidity in proportion as the redeeming element manifests itself; but the colour of green is the colour of Venus, of the hope that lies in love. That depends upon the formulation of the Rose and Cross, of the annihilation of the self in the Beloved, the condition of progress. In this inferior darkness of death, the serpent of new life begins to stir.

In the former Aeon, that of Osiris, the element of Air, which is the nature of that Aeon, is not unsympathetic either to Water or to Fire; compromise was a mark of that period. But now, under a Fiery lord of the Aeon, the watery element, so far as water is below the Abyss, is definitely hostile, unless the opposition is the right opposition implied in marriage. But in this card the only question is of the "redemption" of the submerged element, and therefore everything is reversed. This idea of sacrifice is, in the final analysis, a wrong idea.

"I give unimaginable joys on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life, upon death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice."

"Every man and every woman is a star."

The whole idea of sacrifice is a misconception of nature, and these texts of the Book of the Law are the answer to it.

But water is the element of Illusion; one may regard this symbol n evil legacy from the old Aeon; to use an anatomical analogy, it spiritual vermiform appendix.

It was the water, and the Dwellers of the Water that slew Osiris; it is the crocodiles that threaten Hoor-Pa-Kraat.

This card is beautiful in a strange, immemorial, moribund manner. It is the card of the Dying God; its importance in the present pack is merely that of the Cenotaph. It says: "If ever things get bad like that again, in the new Dark Ages which appear to threaten, this is the way to put things right." But if things have to be put right, it shows that they are very wrong. It should be the chieftest aim of the wise to rid mankind of the insolence of self-sacrifice, of the calamity of chastity; faith must be slain by certainty, and chastity by ecstasy.

In the Book of the Law it is written: "Pity not the fallen! I never knew them. I am not for them. I console not: I hate the consoled and the consoler."

Redemption is a bad word; it implies a debt. For every star possesses boundless wealth; the only proper way to deal with the ignorant is to bring them to the knowledge of their starry heritage. To do this, it is necessary to behave as must be done in order to get on good terms with animals and children: to treat them with absolute respect; even; in a certain sense, with worship.”
(The Book of Thoth)

Picture of the card: