The Inner Meaning Of The Tarot

The Inner Meaning Of The Tarot

Robert M. Haralick
The Inner Meaning Of The Tarot

Robert M. Haralick

27 Tara Drive
Pomona, New York
[email protected]
 This book was prepared with LATEX, and published from camera-ready
pages prepared by the author on a laser printer. The Hebrew font was de-
signed by the author in postscript and converted to metafont by Visvanathan
Ramesh.

Copyright 1992
c by Robert M. Haralick. All rights reserved. Printed in
the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States
Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or
distributed in any form or by any means or stored in a data base or retrieval
system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The Inner Meaning of the Tarot iv

Contents
Acknowledgement 1

Introduction 3

Tetragrammaton and The Divine Nature of Change 7

Overview 17

The Colors 23

The Fool 27

The Magician 39

The High Priestess 55

The Empress 75

The Emperor 93

The Hierophant 111

The Lovers 135

The Charioteer 153

The Woman of Strength 175

The Hermit 191

The Wheel of Fortune 207

The Woman of Justice 229

The Hanged Man 249

The Death Rider 267

Contents v

The Angel of Temperance 285

The Devil 305

The Tower 325

The Star Maiden 345

The Moon 367

The Sun 389

Judgement 409

World Dancer 425

Index 440
Contents 1

Acknowledgement

Working this material into a book has been a humbling experience. There is
so much that had to be learned, especially for a technical person who works
for a living with linear symbol strings rather than with visual symbolism.
And there is so much more that is yet to be learned, that it is apparent that
this learning will never end.
Although the preparation of this book has taken a fair amount of time,
I have had fastastic help. Gene started me on this path, showing me that
it was possible to organize a small group for the purpose of experiencing,
learning, and growing. Michael, Laurel and Raeah have had great fortitude
in bearing with the frustrations I liberally provided them as I struggled with
my own ego’s resistance to their efforts to teach me. Perhaps their efforts
have not been entirely wasted.
Recognizing the Tarot archetypes in oneself is not always so easy. Because
Holly and Mark each have lived aspects of many of the Tarot archetypes,
their sharing of their experiences always enlightened me. For I saw real
life illustrations in them, even when they themselves did not recognize it.
More importantly, they challenged me with their questions and directly or
indirectly answered my own questions. But most of all they had faith that
I had the ability to select, organize, and interpret the Tarot in a way that
would benefit all of us. It was because of their unspoken faith that I found
the time and energy to do what was necessary to assemble the book. To
them I am enormously grateful. Thankyou so much for what you have given
to me.
Contents 2
Contents 3

Introduction
The Inner Meaning of the Tarot explores the meaning and symbolism of the
Major Arcana of the Rider and the B.O.T.A Tarot decks. Inner meaning
refers to the occult, mystical and hidden meaning and not to the ordinary
divination meaning.
The basis for the exploration are the books written by Case, D’Agostino,
Eden, Javane and Bunker, Moore, Nichols, Oribello, Sharman-Burke, Ussher,
and Waite. On occasion other writers are quoted such as Arien, Connolly,
Wanless, Lady Harris, and Sorer. They sometimes have something to say
that fits in with the interpretations of the B.O.T.A. and Rider Tarot decks,
even though they may have been discussing one of the other Tarot decks.
Each of the above authors has a slightly different point of view and a
slightly different emphasis. By selecting what they write which is most per-
tinent to the inner meaning from the Tarot and by juxtaposing what they
write, an all-around and yet deep form of the Tarot meaning emerges. The
depth and breadth of this kind of juxtaposition has the possibility of even
exceeding that contained in each of the original writings.
Not only are the specific symbols of each card described, but the meanings
corresponding to them are discussed in a language very close to the language
used by various authors writing about them. In addition to the specific
symbols, a general discussion for each Major Arcana as given by the authors
are quoted. Finally, the meanings we have integrated from our own study
are given. These meanings center on the deepest spiritual level.
Because the teachings of the Tarot are teachings about Godliness, about
how we can manifest Godliness in our lives by our handling of the change
we encounter and produce ourselves, a special discussion section of selected
quotes on the Tetragrammaton and change is put immediately after the
overview on the Tarot and just before the concentrated material on each
of the Major Arcana.
In working with this book, read the spiritual level first and the general
discussion quotes second. Then while examining the Tarot cards read the
symbolism particulars third. Finally, return back and read to the spiritual
level meaning.
It is our hope that the organization of the material selected and collected
from a variety of authors, authors having multiple of points of views, will act
Contents 4

as a catalyst helping the reader understand the meanings of the Tarot. Depth
that one author has is in one area is often complemented by the depth of
another author in another area. Thus this arrangement balances and deepens
each author’s insights. As well it can serve as the jumping off point to further
reading and studying of the complete writings of each of our commentators.
Contents 5

References
[1] Angeles Arrien, The Tarot Handbook, Arcus Publishing Company,
Sonoma California, 1987.

[2] Paul Foster Case, The Tarot, Macoy Publishing Company, Richmond,
Virginia, 1975.

[3] Eileen Connolly, Tarot, Vol I and II, New Castle Publishing Company
Inc., North Hollywoood, California, 1979.

[4] Joseph D’Agostino, Tarot, Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine, 1985.

[5] Eden Gray, A complete Guide to the Tarot, Crown Publishers, Inc., New
York, 1970.

[6] Lady Harris, Explanation in the Rider Tarot Deck, U.S. Games Systems,
Inc., Stamford, Connecticut.

[7] Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker. Numerology and The Divine Triangle,
Para Research Inc., A Division of Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. West Chester,
Pennsylvania, 1980.

[8] Daphna Moore, The Rabbi’s Tarot, Huges Hensahw Publications, Lake-
wood, Colorado, 1987.

[9] Sallie Nichols, Jung and Tarot Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine,
1988.

[10] William Alexander Oribello, The Sealed Magical Book of Moses, Inner
Light Publications, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1986.

[11] Juliet Sharman-Burke, The Complete Book of Tarot, St. Martin’s Press,
New York, 1986.

[12] G.H. Soror, “The Tarot Trumps” in Robert Wang, An introduction to

the Golden Dawn Tarot, Samuel Weiser, Inc., York Beach, Maine, 1978.

[13] Arland Ussher, The XXII Keys of the Tarot, The Dolmen Press, Dublin,
1970.
Contents 6

[14] Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, U.S. Games Sys-
tems, Inc. Stamford Connecticut, 1989.

[15] James Wanless, New Age Tarot, Merril-West Publishing, Carmel, Cali-
fornia, 1987.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 7

The Tetragrammaton and The Divine

Nature of Change
The Tetragrammaton is the unpronounceable name of God, dedi. The four
letters stand for the four worlds: the world of emanation, the world of cre-
ation, the world of formation, and the world of action. Think for a moment
what these four worlds mean. With respect to us, the world of emanation
is the world through which God gives us the gift of existence and life. We
realize this gift by our consciousness and free will. The world of creation is
the world in which this gift manfests through our ability to think and reason.
The world of formation is the world by which what is in our consciousness
can get expressed through our emotions. The world of action is the world
where we act in a way consistent with our emtions causing change in physical
existence. In an analogous way, the thought of the Divine mainfests through
these four worlds, for everything in existence, with its particular level of con-
sciousness, free will, ability to think and reason, express emotion, and act
causes change in existence.
Physical existence is just the carrier, the medium the Divine created, by
which the Divine thought gets expressed. So physical existence is just the
appearance. The thought, itself, is the essence. The essence is never the
carrier. The carrier is only the appearance.
Zalman writes:
The meaning of the Tetragrammaton is “that which calls every-
thing into being” (lkd z` dedn. Now dedn is the simple present
tense. The letter Yod (i) is substituted for the letter Mem (n)
giving the name dedi. The prefix Yod (i) added to the stem ded
indicates not only a present, but a continuous action as Rashi
remarks in his comment to the verse: ‘In this manner used Job
to do all the days” (Job I 5). The Tetragrammaton, then, repre-
sents the Life which flows down actually at every moment unto
all creatures and calls them forth at each moment out of noth-
ingness.1
1
Shneur Zalman, The Portal of Unity and Faith in Raphael Ben Zion, An Anthology of
Jewish Mysticism (New York: The Judaica Press, 1981), p. 95-96.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 8

The result of the Divine thought is something that comes into and acts in
physical existence. We perceive this coming into physical existence as chang-
ing when we beome aware of it in the physical world. Something happens
which was not there before. Something is different. The changing we our-
selves undergo is our becoming. Our becoming is our being.
Our world, therefore, is a changing world. The world is not constant.
We are part of this changing world. We encounter change. We change. We
initiate change. And we have to adapt to the change initiated by others.
Adapting means that we too have to change in ways that we did not antic-
ipate. Our world is a world of surprises: surprises that are given to us and
surprises that we give to others.
These surprises come when our comfortable state of being has become
completed in time. This means that just when we are comfortable, then we
find there is Change. But within us, our ego likes security. Security means
constancy in existence, in appearance. Constancy is having. But constancy
is not in the world of action. Constancy in the world of action is an illusion.
The beingness which we seek is cannot be found in appearance. This is
because the beingness is in the becoming. The becoming is the essence for it
is the pathway toward God.
Becoming means that the freedom that we have must be utilized to initiate
change and to adapt to change in a way that moves us closer to God. This
adaptation manifests in the world of action. But this is only its appearance.
The essence of this becoming is in our relationship to God.
The cycle can be easily described. Godly essence gives rise to changing
appearance, which is a carrier for the expression of the essence. We respond
to changing appearance by our becoming: changing our thoughts, words, and
actions. This response is our expression of an essence. The response itself
is also carried by a changing appearance. But the appearance is not the
essence for us either. This essence which is expressed through the changing
appearance of our becoming, is that which brings us to God.
To emphasize this point of view, we will discuss change in its essence,
which we denote by Change. There are two ways in which we can participate
in Change: by playing a finite game or by playing an infinite game. When
we play a finite game we are finite players. When we play an infinite game,
we are infinite players.
To encourage Change is to participate in it. To encourage Change in
The Tetragrammaton and Change 9

oneself is to play an infinite game. To participate in Change is to be surprised.

To be surprised is to move boundaries, remove limitations and experience the
unexpected.
As Carse says, this means that

Because infinite players prepare themselves to be surprised by the

future, they play in complete openness. It is not an openness as in
candor, but an openness as in vulnerability. It is not a matter of
exposing one’s unchanging identity, the true self that has always
been, but a way of exposing one’s ceaseless growth, the dynamic
self that has yet to be. The infinite player does not expect only
to be amused by surprise, but to be transformed by it...2

The infinite player plays for the essence, which is never to play in order
to accomplish something. The infinite player plays in order that the game
be infinitely continued, that the game never end. Therefore, the rules change
in the course of the game. In contrast, the finite player plays to accomplish
something that he might be declared the winner and the game be ended.
Therefore, the rules of the game do not change and because they do not
change, the game has been internally limited. That is why it is called a finite
game.
When the infinite player moves boundaries and experiences surprise the
infinite player discovers that

the infinite play of life is joyous. Infinite play resounds through-

out with a kind of laughter. It is not a laughter at others who
have come to an unexpected end, having thought they were going
somewhere else. It is laughter with others with whom we have
discovered that the end we thought we were coming to has unex-
epectedly opened. We laugh not at what has surprisingly come
to be impossible for others, but over what has surprisingly come
to be possible with others. 3

To suppress Change in oneself is to play a finite game. Though the finite

player suppresses Change in himself, the finite player plays to surprise the
2
James Carse, Finite and Infinite Games (New York: Ballantine Books, 1986), p. 23.
3
ibid. p. 31.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 10

opponent. For when the opponent has been sufficiently surprised, the finite
game ends and the surpriser is declared the winner.
This means that
Finite players must appear to be something other than what they
are. Everything about their appearance must be concealing. To
appear is not to appear. All the moves of a finite player must be
deceptive; feints, distractions, falsifications, misdirections, mysti-
fications. 4
Not only do finite players not appear to be what they are, but they exist in
an existential contradiction. This is because for the finite player, the purpose
of the game was to have accomplished something, obtained something, own
something, or possess something. Hence, life
is not play, but the outcome of play. Finite players play to live;
they do not live their playing. Life is therefore deserved, be-
stowed, possessed, won. It is not lived. 5
The purpose of the finite play is to win. If one wins, one has won a title.
There is no surprise and the game is over. So, the finite player after winning
has not yet lived. If one loses, one has lost a title. There is no surprise and
the game is over. So, the finite player after losing has not yet lived. To win or
lose a finite game is not to live because the purpose of the game was only to
win or lose a title. A title is a statement of what one is. It is a statement of
a static Being, not a statement about a dynamic Becoming. Carse explains:
Because the purpose of a finite game is to bring play to an end
with the victory of one of the players, each finite game is played
to end itself. The contradiction is precisely that all finite play is
play against itself.6
Play against play is serious. There can be no room to experience surprise
in the play. There can be no room for uncertainty. There can be no room to
remove limitations or remove boundaries. There can be no room for an open
outcome. There can be no room for living.
4
ibid. p. 22.
5
ibid. pp. 28-29.
6
ibid. p. 29.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 11

In playing an infinite game, the infinite player expresses freedom. The

real meaning of freedom is that of essence responding to essence, our essence
responding to Godly essence. What can an essence response be? To un-
derstand this we must first understand what could be the essence which the
Creation which the Divine is expressing.
Russell says:
The perpetuity of Creation is based upon the constant giving of
one half of a cycle to the other half for the purpose of repeating
the creative process through another cycle of giving for regiving.7
What is being given is a sharing of Divine Oneness. Now Oneness cannot
be comprehended without its opposite, multiplicity. And the Oneness which
is shared is a Oneness which changes to the appearance of multiplicity which
we, by our understanding, come to experience as the Oneness from which it
came. Thus, Oneness is not a static experience. It is a dynamic becoming in
which we play an integral part.
To explain this idea of Oneness and multiplicity, Russell considers the
ocean.
Its unchanging stillness, unbroken by waves of motion which seem-
ingly divide it into many measurable units, might be likened to
the stillness of the one Light of God’s unchanging knowing, bro-
ken by the thinking of that knowing into many seemingly chang-
ing and measurable parts. Upon that calm ocean there are no
separate or separable units to give multiplicity or individuality
to its oneness. There is nothing there which changes, nothing to
measure. One could not put his finger anywhere upon it and re-
turn to locate that same point, for every point upon it anywhere
is the same point. There is no everywhere in it, for there is not
extension in it - nothing that is relative to any other thing - for
there is no other thing in the ocean’s oneness for it to be relative
to....
The moment the still balance of the ocean becomes extended to
two unbalanced opposite conditions, the unchanging oneness be-
7
Walter Russell, The Message of the Divine Iliad, Vol. 1 (Waynesboro, VA: University
of Science and Philosophy, 1971), p. 88.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 12

comes a changing multiplicity. The unity of the ocean idea is

divided into wave units of that idea. Separateness and separa-
bility come into seeming being when one can count oneness into
infinity - where the measureless can be measured - where vari-
ation from oneness gives individuality to varying and changing
units.
Wherever unity is manifested by infinite numbers of units no two
of those units are alike. Likewise, where one balanced equal pres-
sure is divided into two opposite unbalanced pressures, motion
becomes imperative for the purpose of seeking balance.
The import of this is the fact that all divisibility and multiplic-
ity, all individuality, changing, measure, unbalance and disunity
come from oneness - from unity itself. Furthermore, all of these
qualities of separateness return to the oneness from which they
came for the purpose of again expressing their separateness in
infinite numbers of forever changing units.
That fact of the division and multiplication of unity of God’s
knowing into the infinity of God’s thinking - for taking His One
Idea apart and expressing it as many parts - then putting all
those parts together again into the unity from which they came
- is the one dominant characteristic of Creation. That is what
Creation is - many changing units of moving light waves arising
from the stillness of the one light; then returning to that stillneess
for rebirth into light waves of motion....
In this manner life springs from oneness to manifest one half of the
life cycle, and returns to oneness as death to manifest the other
half. This is the inviolate order of Nature. There is no other
order. That is the law of Nature. There is no other law than
that one of rhythmic balanced interchange between the opposite
halves of cycles which forever spring from oneness to manifest
oneness in multiple forms of individual expressions. 8
God is always sharing Divine Beneficence: “balanced interchange between
opposite halves of cycles which forever spring from oneness to manifest one-
8
ibid. pp. 93-96.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 13

ness in multiple forms of individual expressions.” This is the light. This is

the essence. The essence of our response is an acknowledgement of receiving
Divine Beneficence and our sharing of this Beneficence in our human world.
So we bless and we do. The blessing is our internal ceremony of acknowledg-
ing that we are have received Divine Beneficence. Such blessings we can also
make external if we wish. In the world of appearance, the doing is our actions
by which things that appear to be in opposition can be harmonized. The
essence of this appearance is the beneficence which we share by this doing.
And this doing not only causes change, but is an integral part of Change.
Lee says

The Change is the beginning and the end of all process. Every-
thing is in a process of becoming because of the Change. The
Change is in everything, but everything is not the Change. The
Change is both hidden in the depth of all things and manifest in
the concrete process of becoming. The Change is not known by
itself but by its manifestation only. It is manifest in everything,
because everything owes its existence to the Change.
Day changes to night and night to day because of the Change.
Brightness changes to darkness and dark to bright because of
the Change. Spring changes to summer and summer to autumn
because of the Change. Coldness becomes warmth and warmth
becomes coldness because of the Change. The Change makes
trees grow and decay. Man is born and dies because he is part
of the Change. The way of our thinking changes, the manner
of our behavior changes, the system of our values changes, for
the Change is active in all things. The strong becomes weak
and the weak becomes strong because of the Change. The future
becomes the present and the present becomes the past because
of the Change. The Change makes the small great and the great
small. Energy changes to mass and mass to energy, for they are
relative to the power of the Change. Everything is in the process
of change because of the Change. In the process of becoming
changing can be gradual or rapid, for everything has its own
trend in the changing process. The process of change is total
and universal, for the Change is the inner essence of all existence.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 14

The Change is the mother of everything that exists in the uni-

verse. Being is possible because of becoming, and becoming is
possible because of the Change. Being is not real by itself, but
is real only in the process of becoming. Being itself is nothing
but the illusion of becoming. Being is our misunderstanding of
becoming. Being is our mental particularization of becoming,
while becoming is the wholeness of being realized in the process
of change. It is not the being which makes becoming possible,
but the the becoming which makes being real. Being is totally
dependent on becoming, for it is always relative to the Change.
Becoming is not dependent on being but is meaningful because of
being. Becoming is the realization of the Change, while being is
the realization of becoming. Thus, without the Change becoming
is not possible, and without becoming being is an illusion. The
Change is the source of all creative process, because it has cre-
ativity within itself. The process of creativity through production
and reproduction is possible because of the Change. Whenever
there is growth and decay or expansion and contraction, there
must be the Change. The Change is the moving mover of all the
changes in the process of becoming.

Man’s attempt to stop the realization of Change is man’s attempt to

put something permanent in place. This is a finite game. This is a game
of restriction. This is a game of attempting to make something be rather
than become, put the world in a static state of being rather than its state of
becoming. All such attempts in the end must fail for the nature of Change
is to induce becoming, not being.
When our freedom of becoming is fully utilized, essence responds to
essence and we experience fulfillment. When our freedom of becoming is
not fully utilized we do not experience fulfillment for our being is in the
mode of a static having. Thus we experience unfulfillment and suffering.
It is in this dynamics of being, becoming and change with consciousness
and meaningful living that the Tarot archetypes tell a story. For each of the
22 archetypes represent a dimension of our being, an axis, a roadway. In one
direction there is a joyful becoming and full meaningful living. In the other
direction is a staticness that leads to suffering, sadness, meaningless, crises
The Tetragrammaton and Change 15

and death. When we are consciously aware of the roadways, consciously

aware of the roadways in each of our situations, then we can more effectively
and meaningfully live in a way bringing ourselves closer to God.
Our issue is to bring the teachings of the Tarot archetypes into our con-
sciousness. To do so, not only do we have to study and understand the story
of each archetype tells, but we have to understand how our consciousness
works. Therefore, we also must learn the dynamics of our self-conscious, our
subconscious, and our super-conscious.
The Tetragrammaton and Change 16
Overview 17

Overview
The major arcana of the Tarot consists of twenty two pictorially displayed
spiritual archetypes. The archetypes teach us about the deepest mysteries of
our own lives. They teach us about the interaction of the physical and the
spiritual and about our role of linking heaven and earth. They teach us how
to understand and develop our spiritual beingness by understanding the most
important dimensions of the purpose of living: to bring down Godliness; to
serve God; to make our earth a dwelling place for God. They tell us that
we can accomplish this purpose by a process of continually transforming
our nature from one of just desiring to receive for ourselves along to one of
desiring to give and receiving in order to give. And they tell us that we must
do this continually, level by level. This is the world of being, becoming, and
change.
By necessity, the Tarot tells us about change: what kind of change we
can encounter; what kind of change we cause, and what happens to us in the
process of change. It explains all of this as a function of our own attitude
toward the Divine nature of change.
By necessity, the Tarot tells us about unification and separation: how the
unity brought about when we link earth to heaven reveals to us the Divine
Law and creates a joy in living; and how the separation brought about when
we desire to receive for ourselves alone creates our own suffering.
The spiritual archetypes of the Tarot can be classified into three major
groups; the self-conscious, the subconscious, and the superconscious. The
self-conscious is the initiator, the seeder of action. The subconscious is the
implementor, the builder of the physical reality. And the superconscious is
the blesser, the endower of meaning.
The self-conscious initiates a thought. The thought not only develops into
an action, but it also impregnates the subconscious, who then goes about
forming a physical reality specified by that subset of all currently active
thoughts consistent with the Divine Law. Thus, a child is born. The child
is the new situation that results from the action taken by the self-conscious
and the building done by the subconscious. The superconscious then has the
choice of blessing or not blessing this new situation. The issue is whether
to bless, thereby, endowing a beginning and a unification or to not bless,
thereby endowing an ending and a separation.
Overview 18

There are six archetypes of the self-conscious and six corresponding arche-
types of the subconscious. The self-conscious archetypes are the Hermit,
Hierophant, Charioteer, Emperor, Magician, and the Hanged Man. The cor-
responding subconscious archetypes are the Star Maiden, High Priestess,
Woman of Justice, Empress, Women of Strength, and the World Dancer.
The first three of these pairs participate in the upper world and the second
three of these pairs participate in the lower world. Each group of three can
be classified as willing, knowing, and doing.
The resulting four-fold division of self-conscious and subconscious with
upper and lower can be named: the upper self-conscious is named the inner
self-conscious. the lower self-conscious is named the outer self-conscious,
the upper subconscious is named the cosmic subconscious, and the lower
subconscious is named the personal subconscious.
Emphasizing the upper and lower dimensions, the self-conscious and sub-
conscious archetypes can be arranged in the following table:
Upper

Inner Cosmic
Self-Conscious Subconscious

Willing Hermit Star Maiden

Knowing Hierophant High Priestess
Doing Hanged Man World Dancer

Lower

Outer Personal
Self-Conscious Subconscious

Willing Magician Woman of Strength

Knowing Emperor Empress
Doing Charioteer Woman of Justice
Overview 19

Emphasizing the willing, knowing, and doing dimensions, the self-conscious

and subconscious archetypes can be rearranged as follows:

Willing

Self-Conscious Subconscious

Upper Hermit Star Maiden

Lower Magician Woman of Strength

Knowing

Self-Conscious Subconscious

Upper Hierophant High Priestess

Lower Emperor Empress

Doing

Self-Conscious Subconscious

Upper Hanged Man Woman of Justice

Lower Charioteer World Dancer

Life is sacred and so it must inherently have meaning. This meaning,

however, is a lived personal meaning, not a meaning in the abstract sense. A
lived meaning is one which is renewed moment by moment, for old meanings
stagnate. It is one which is future directed in the present and not past
directed in the present. It is one which fulfills life’s sacredness.
The lived meaning comes about by an active renewing and an active
endowing with meaning each circumstance we are in. It is our superconscious
Overview 20

which is responsible for this. Its choice is two-fold: either to reach beyond
wherever we have taken it and endow our new situations with meaning, with
life, or to hold fast and suffer stagnation, endings, and unwanted change. It
is either to enter the fifth dimension of living, the dimension of eternity, or to
remain a limited creature of the three dimensions of space and one dimension
of time. The choice is always ours.
In order to endow our life with meaning, moment by moment, situation
by situation, we have to understand what is real and what is unreal. What is
unreal is called unreal because it itself is nullified in the existence of what is
real. What is unreal is everything that we have and have set up in our lives.
This is appearance. What is real is the essence: what we are, who we are,
and who we are to be. Reality consists of being and becoming. It does not
consist of having. For what we have or have set up is subject to unwanted
change. But what we truly are and are becoming changes in appearance but
never changes in essence.
The ancient teachings embodied in the pictorial representations of the
Tarot tell us how the changes we encounter in our having constitute just
a neutral playground for our being. Thereby, it centers us on the reality
of our being over the illusion of our having. Our being is connected with
God and the connection is actualized when our will is aligned with God’s
will. Our superconscious can either reach beyond, making this connection,
thereby bringing us joy, or holding fast, not making this connection, thereby
bringing us suffering.
There are ten archetypes of the superconscious. Five are associated with
reaching beyond and five are associated with holding fast. When there is
holding fast, separation, instability, change, and endings are experienced with
suffering. When there is reaching beyond, unification, stability, change, and
beginnings are experienced with joy.
As with the self-conscious and subconscious archetypes, each supercon-
scious reaching beyond archetype is associated with a superconscious holding
fast archetype. The Lovers - Devil pair constitute the unification - separation
dimension. The Sun - Moon pair constitute the serving God - serving ego
dimension. The Temperance - Tower pair constitute the stability - instability
dimension. The Judgement - Death pair constitute the beginnings - endings
dimension. And the Fool - Wheel pair constitute the living on the knife’s
edge - change dimension.
Overview 21

The groupings of the superconscious archetypes can be arranged as fol-

lows:

Superconscious

Reaching Holding
Beyond Fast

Unification Lover Devil Separation

Serving God Sun Moon Serving Ego
Stability Temperance Tower Instability
Beginnings Judgement Death Endings
Living Fool Wheel Change
Overview 22
Overview 23

Colors
In this section, we give a short summary of many of the main colors
which are used in the Tarot and the general meanings these colors have.
More specific references to these colors will be found in the interpretations
of the individual discussions of each of the Major Arcana.

Black Ignorance is the lower meaning; mystical and

occultism is the higher meaning.

Blue The cosmic subconscious; memory.

Gray The lower meaning is the color of the mineral

and stands for stone (or the physical world).
The higher meaning is wisdom; the union of the
personality with the Higher Self.

Green The personal subconscious; feminine; creative

imagination.

Gold Metal of the sun.

Orange The color of the superconscious and is

associated with the transformed heart whose
function it is to bring in the white-yellow and
the white; the reason of the creator in making
active the images of the creator.

Pink The divine use of the Mars force.

Red Desire and action;

Silver The metal of the moon.

Stone Color The natural physical body is the lower

meaning; union of the Son (dust) with the
Father (stone) is the higher meaning.
Overview 24

Violet The color of equilibrium; the manifestation or

creation of forms.

White Archetype; abstract thought; spiritual plane;

eternal and eternally young.

Yellow (deep) The self-conscious mind; masculine.

Yellow (light) The mind of the Higher Self.

The Fool 25
The Fool 26
The Fool 27

The Fool
The Fool represents a force continually being created by the Divine. The
force is a pure and innocent potentiality which itself is symbolic of air or
breath. The word fool is related to the Latin word follis meaning a bag of
air. The Fool is superconscious. He can create situations so that he always
has enough room to take one more step. He never has to come to the limit of
his potential. Should he be attracted only to the earth and water below, he
will be drawn in it. Should he be attracted only to the spiritual fiery heavens
above, he will lose sight of the reality below and he will fall. In either case
he will be foolish. But if he acts with attention to both above and below,
mediating between them, the God force will flow through him and open any
potentiality for manifestation.
The Fool is one who by his very nature cannot get stuck. The Fool is
always able to go beyond and break through the reality which confines him.
For to be a Fool is to be foolish enough not to behave in the expected way
and thereby the Fool is able to create a new reality.
What does the Fool do? When a situation is too ordered and regular,
the Fool becomes entirely unintellectual and acts expansively introducing
disorder, surprise and love. When a situation is a disordered mess, the Fool
becomes the organizer and intellectual one from whose mouth words of truth
are spoken. When a situation is too emotional or too intellectual, the Fool
becomes spiritual and when the situation is spiritual, the Fool becomes down
to earth. The Fool always acts in the unexpected way to balance the scale.
The Fool is no fool at the higher level. For the Fool does not set any
finite goals. The Fool does not desire money, for example. Rather the Fool
desires an opulence and is therefore open to receive opulence in any form
that it comes to him, not just in the limited form of money. Thereby the
Fool is open to receive the infinite goodness that is best for him. Because
the Fool does not have a finite goal, but desires the fullest expression of his
Divine self, he lives life at the knife’s edge, ready at any moment to step off
the cliff. The cliff, however, is the cliff of the finite. And the Fool is always
stepping off the cliff for this is the doorway to the infinite.
The Fool 28

General Discussion Quotes

Case says that:

The Fool is the state of the first emanation. He is the primary

aspect of universal consciousness, which we term superconscious-
ness. He is the cosmic Life-Breath, about to descend into the
abyss of manifestation.
Because he symbolizes the state of the Life-power just prior to the
beginning of a cycle of self-expression he also represents inexperi-
ence. For until the Life-power actually enters into the particular
activities of such a cycle, it can have no real experience of those
activities.

Moore says that:

The word “fool” comes from the Latin “follis” which means a
“bellows.” A bellows has no usefulness until it is filled with air,
the pressure of which it intensifies and directs....
The Fool is the I AM descending into matter and the equipment
He brings with Him to ascend again out of it. This type of In-
telligence is called the Cultural Intelligence. He who descended
into matter ascends again out of it by self-cultivation....
All the pioneers of the world, the teachers, the artists, the do-
ers have been those whom their sensible neighbors called “fools”.
Why? Because these Fools were unaccountably willing to put
aside acquisitions of pleasure for the sake of a vision as yet unre-
alized.

Javane and Bunker say that:

The Fool is the super-conscious, pictured here as having room to

take one more step. This indicates that we never come to the
limit of our potentials.

Sharman-Burke says that:

The Fool 29

The Fool seeks the truth, and turns his attention towards the
spirit in search of truth. His madness or foolishness links him
to the divine, for originally the word ‘silly’ meant ‘blessed’. The
Fool is simple, trusting, innocent and ignorant of the trials and
pitfalls that await him, yet he is prepared to abandon his old ways
and take the leap into the unknown.

Nichols says of the Fool:

... he is free to travel at will, often upsetting the established order

with his pranks. As we have seen, his vigor has propelled him
across the centuries where he survives in our modern playing cards
as the Joker. Here he still enjoys confounding the Establishment.
In poker he goes wild, capturing the king and all his court. In
other card games he pops up unexpectedly, deliberately creating
what we choose to call a misdeal. ...
[The Fool is] popping up now here now there and then disappear-
ing before we can catch him. He likes to be where the action is,
and if there isn’t any, he creates some. ...
... the Fool’s spontaneous approach to life combines wisdom,
madness, and folly. When he mixes these ingredients in the right
proportions the results are miraculous, but when the mixture
curdles, everything can end up in a sticky mess. At these times
the Fool can look pretty foolish which (being a fool) he has the
good sense not to mind. He is often pictured like Bottom, wear-
ing asses’ ears because he knows that to admit ignorance is the
highest knowledge – the necessary condition of all learning.
Our inner Fool urges us on to life, where the thinking mind might
be overcautious. What seems like a precipice from afar may prove
to be only a small gulley when approached with the Fool’s gusto.
His energy sweeps everything before him, carrying others along
like leaves in a fresh wind. Without the Fool’s energy all of us
would be mere pasteboard. ...
Because the Fool encompasses the opposite poles of energy, it
is impossible to pin him down. The minute we think we have
The Fool 30

caught his essence, he slyly turns into his opposite and crows
derisively from behind our backs. Yet it is his very ambivalence
and ambiguity that makes him so creative. ...
In our journey toward individuation, the archetypal Fool often
demonstrates both the resistance and the initiative inherent in his
nature by influencing our lives in less drastic and more creative
ways. His impulsive curiosity urges us on to impossible dreams
while at the same time his playful nature tries to lure us back
to the laissez-faire childhood days. Without him we would never
undertake the task of self-knowledge; but with him we are always
tempted to dawdle by the wayside. Since he is part of ourselves
cut off from ego-consciousness, he can play tricks on our thinking
mind; embarrassing slips of the tongue and convenient lapses of
memory are the least of these. Sometimes his jokes, even more
practical, lure us into situations where the ego would never dare.

D’Agostino says that the Fool

represents the Total Being; the Inner Self religion speaks of; that
level of consciousness saints and mystics refer to a Union with
God. 0, the number of this card, suggests nothingness; unity
without a second; oneness prior to any beginning; the initial and
final balance of opposites. We call it Super-Consciousness.

Waite says that:

The sun, which shines behind him, knows whence he came, whither
he is going, and how he will return by another path after many
days. He is the spirit in search of experience.

Ussher says that:

The Fool is pure Contingency, Impulse completely undermined

and free as air, both Will and Destiny and neither: he is aboriginal
Chaos, primary Matter in which the dry and the earthy have not
yet been parted from the wet and the oceanic. He is the traveler
who tosses up at every crossroads, and, because he has no goal,
cannot lose his way.
The Fool 31

Eden says that the Fool

symbolizes the Life-power before it enters into manifestation...

the youth as Spirit facing unknown possibilities of self-expression
as he enters the world.
The Fool 32

Symbolism

Black Robe The Black Robe is the robe of ignorance (low

level). It is also the superconscious perception
that comes from occult practices (higher level)
(Moore).

Black Wand The Black Wand is a measuring tool, a symbol

of will, of which attention, the wand itself, is
the essence, and to which memory, the wallet is
closely linked (Case).
The Wand is black, the colour of power and
energy, although in the Fool’s case, it is as yet
untapped (Sharman-Burke).
The Black Wand he carries on his shoulder
depicts his directed will through which he
initiates his course of action. This wand is also
a measuring tool, and is painted black
suggesting hidden forces. When we take the
right measurement of any given situation or of
any particular form, these hidden forces are
released, thereby providing us with greater
control over portions of ourselves and of our
environment. Permanently assimilated into our
personality, these manifesting forces are forever
available in times of our needs, and at our
beckoning (D’Agostino).

Blue Twin Peaks Wisdom and Understanding; Cosmic

subconscious and personal subconscious
(Moore).

Brown-red Shelf/Cliff Red stands for desire and action; all action is
prompted by desire; flaky shelf means that we
can flake off our subconscious or make the
matter which composes it less and less dense by
The Fool 33

desire and action instigated by the

self-conscious which is the mind (Moore).

Eight-spoked Wheels The yellow background of the wheels is the

radiant solar energy; the red spokes are the
eight forms of energy; eight aspects of the Life
Power; the laws of the Life Power; there are
eight such wheels and two additional yellow red
figures which represent the ten sephirot
(Moore).
The yellow background represents air or breath;
eight spokes represent rhythmic action of the
fiery activity which set the Life-Breath into
whirling, wheeling motion (Case).

Fourteen Rays Value of Hebrew Godname Yod Dalet, the

Almighty Hand; number of cards to each suit of
the Tarot (Moore).

Golden Hair Radiant energy of life breath (Case).

Green Hat Green hat of plaited leaves is a symbol for the

creative Imagination (Moore).
The Green Hat is made up of interwoven laurel
leaves, a symbol of success (Sharman-Burke).

Open Eye The open eye on the flap of the wallet is the eye
of imagination that unlocks the treasure house
or the wallet of the subconscious (Moore).
The lock of the wallet is in the form of an eye
which stands for the All-seeing Eye of
Freemasonry, and for the Eye of Horus, in
Egyptian symbolism. Through the development
of a higher type of vision we may gain access to
the treasure of stored-up experience in the
universal memory (Case).
The Fool 34

Red Feather The Red Feather is the wing feather of an

eagle; it represents active and productive action
and desire. It opens the wallet of cosmic
subconscious (Moore).
Symbol of aspiration and truth (Case).
The Red Feather which is perched jauntily on
top of the Fool’s Hat is the color of desire
(Sharman-Burke).

Threefold Leaves Creative number of Father, Mother, and Child;

Physical, Astral, and Mental Body (Moore).

Red Lining Desire and action that springs from desire

(Moore).
Passion, fire and material force (Case).

Seven Trefoils Seven great phases of Life Power’s activity;

seven centers of the body; (Moore).
Seven Spirits of God; seven great rays of the
universal creative energy; each trefoil has a
triple expression: integrating, equilibrating, and
disintegrating (Case).

Triple Red Flame State of the Life-Breath prior to manifestation

when the universal energy (yellow disk) has not
yet organized the triple potency of expression
into the rhythmic whirling motion which is the
basis of all modes of expression (Case).

Two leaves Balanced action of conscious and subconscious

(Moore).

Wallet The Wallet is a symbol for cosmic subconscious.

It is opened by practical occultism, by occult
practice and in the making of images (Moore).
The Wallet contains the summed-up experience
of previous manifestations, because at the
The Fool 35

beginning of every new cycle of self-expression,

the Life-power carries with it the essence of all
its experiences in former cycles (Case).
The Wallet represents the past experiences that
the Fool has no immediate need
(Sharman-Burke).
The Wallet suspended from the Wand is a
symbol of the collective unconscious, the
memorial storehouse of all our past, present
and future experiences (D’Agostino).

Wallet Eagle The eagle refers to Scorpio. The wand and the
wallet together are phallic emblems, referring to
the natural process whereby the accumulated
experience of the Life-power is passed on from
cycle to cycle (Case).
The clasp of the Wallet is in the form of an
Eagle’s head. This suggests the spirit, perhaps
the flight into the unknown. The eagle is the
sacred bird of Zeus, the Greek All-Father, who
has important connections with the Fool
(Sharman-Burke).

White Belt Belt of the zodiac; limits of time and space; the
Divine Spark must necessarily limit itself in
order to manifest. Nothing can be manifested
without a body, and a body means limitation
(Moore).
To rid ourselves of ignorance and passion we
must overcome the illusion of Time. A practical
occultist learns to replace Time by Eternity,
and practices daily to accustom himself to
leading the timeless life (Case).

White Dog Purified intellect, intellect which has abandoned

all its earthly estimates of success and
The Fool 36

substitutes the Fool’s idea of success (Moore).

Something given in a wild and dangerous state
by the unmodified processes of nature has been
changed into a friend, helper and companion of
man; all subhuman forms of the Life-power are
elevated and improved by the advance of the
human consciousness; symbol of intellect,
subordinate to superconsciousness (Case).
The White Dog symbolizes the instinctive fear
which all men share of the unknown, while his
step off the edge of the precipice shows that,
despite his fear, he is prepared to take the
plunge into uncharted terrain (Sharman-Burke).

White Undergarment The White Undergarment represents our

spiritual origin which is always with us (Moore).
The White Undergarment is a symbol for the
light of perfect wisdom (Case).

White Peaks Plane of abstract thought (Moore).

White Rose The White Rose is a symbol for purified desire

(Moore).
The White Rose is a symbol for freedom from
the lower forms of desire and passion (Case).
In the Fool’s left hand he holds a White Rose,
representing the cultivation and control of the
desire nature (D’Agostino).

White Sun The White Sun is the spiritual plane from

which the Fool comes (Moore).
The White Sun shining in the upper right
corner is the Spiritual Sun. It remains forever
at forty-five degrees and never reaches its
zenith, therefore it never descends; for the
The Magician 37

powers of the Self are always at their height

and never diminish (D’Agostino).

Yellow Boots Mind is the guide of the feet (Moore).

Element of air, the vehicle of the Life-power
(Case).

Yellow Sky The Yellow Sky is representative of the

self-conscious mind. This is the first state of
consciousness which is chiefly instrumental in
producing the state depicted in the card of the
fool (Moore).
The Magician 38
The Magician 39

The Magician
The Magician represents the self-conscious creative force in action. The
Magician is the self-conscious mind which by concentration and single-minded
attentiveness can manifest and bring into reality an objective by acting as
a channel for the Eternal Force. By opening to what is above and by con-
centrating and focusing to what is below, the Magician connects above and
below permitting the Godly light force to flow through him. Thereby, both
the Magician and his reality are transformed. By particularizing his will, the
Magician impregnates the subconscious. Then by the flow of the Godly force
the subconscious builds a physical reality that reflects that part of what the
Magician wills that is consistent with the Divine Law.
The Magician is the awareness which wills. And what does the Magician
will? He wills to align his will with God’s will. Thereby the Magician acts
to balance and harmonize the powers controlled by the mind. In his act, the
Magician uses the cup representing water and imagination; the sword repre-
senting air and the intellect, the pentacle, representing the earth and body,
and the wand representing fire and the creative magickal will. And what kind
of magick does the Magician do? The Magician changes his consciousness in
accordance with his will.
The Magician operates in the world of diversity which is evident through-
out creation. By aligning his will with God’s will, the Magician changes his
consciousness of duality and illusion, a consciousness embodying separate-
ness, into a consciousness of unity.
The Magician is in the house where he belongs. It is a place in which
his personality develops, a place in which the Magician defines himself physi-
cally, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. And what does the house of the
Magician contain. It contains the light which always is. By aligning his will
with God’s will, the Magician reveals the light through his body which is the
vessel. The unity thereby created is the revealment of the light. When the
Magician reveals the light, he transforms his body, his vessel, his container,
to a sanctuary, which is a container of holiness.
However, when the Magician desires to receive for himself alone, he con-
nects to fragmentation and illusion, for the desire to receive for oneself alone
is always deficient, having elements of frustration, or resentment, or anger,
The Magician 40

or uncertainty. These cannot be a blessing. For when the Magician’s desire

is to receive for himself alone, he becomes more determined by his uncer-
tain fragmented world. Then his ego inflates in order to take control and to
try to reduce this fragmentation. But this makes the world even more frag-
mented and more uncertain and his ego worries and stimulates the emotions
of frustration, anger and resentment.
When the Magician’s desire is to receive for the sake of imparting, he
becomes free and in this world of freedom and completion, he is certain and
his ego stays in its proper place. This is true blessing. The Magician becomes
able to work with opposites, bringing them together to achieve a common
beneficial purpose. Indeed the very notion of harmony in creation must
involve opposites such as heaven and earth, concealment and revealment,
light and vessel, expansion and restriction, love and strength, etc. By acting
with cooperation and alliances, the created reality of the Magician becomes
a blessing for there is permanency when the Magician reveals the light and
creates a blessing. Any other act has a transitory illusionary existence for it
is only the energy intelligence of blessing that is capable of removing illusion
and reveal a cosmos which is one. Another way of saying this is that when the
Magician desires to receive in order to impart, he reveals the light through
his vessel. In this manner, he connects to the infinite reality, experiences
fullness, and certainty. He stimulates the emotions of love and compassion
and he becomes blessed.
The Magician 41

General Discussion Quotes

Javane and Bunker say that

The Magician represents the conscious mind, which by concen-

tration and single-minded attention to a specific idea or goal can
draw upon the forces from above. In this way the idea or goal
will take form and become a reality in the material world.

Sharman-Burke says that

The energy embodied in the Magician is that of action, purpose

and will. He reveals to the Fool his potentials and possibilities;
he lays before him a map of personality in terms of elements,
and reminds him of the duality of his nature, mortal and divine.
In alchemy, Hermes was said to preside over the whole alchem-
ical work; in the Fools’ journey he acts as the initiator and will
accompany him, unseen, on his way.

Waite says that the Magician

signifies the divine motive in man, reflecting God, the will in the
liberation of its union with that which is above. It is also the
unity of individual being on all planes, and in a very high sense
it is thought in the fixation thereof.

Eden says that

The Magician represents Man’s will in union with the Divine

achieving the knowledge and power to bring desired things into
manifestation through conscious self-awareness.

Nichols says that the Magician’s

The Magician 42

energy is directed to the objects before him which he has singled

out for special attention. They are set on the table of reality
which will confine his activity within its boundaries so that his
energy does not spill over and run away. He evidently has a plan.
He is about to do something – to perform for us.
If the Fool is that impulse deep in the unconscious that sets us
on the quest, then the Magician might symbolize a factor in us
that directs this energy and can help to humanize it. His magic
wand connects him with his ancestor, Hermes, the god of rev-
elations. Like the alchemical Mercurius, who possessed magical
powers, the Magician can initiate the process of self-realization
which Jung called individuation, and he can guide our journey
into the underworld of our deepest selves. Man has always recog-
nized a power transcending the ego, which he sought to propitiate
through magical rites. ...
Like human consciousness itself, an aspect of which he symbolizes,
the Magician can create maya, the magic illusion of “ten thousand
things.” For, by making the objects on his table disappear, he
can dramatize the simple truth that every object, every thing,
is but an appearance of reality. It is we who create the world
which appears to exist. By transforming one object or element
into another, the Magician reveals another truth; namely that
underneath the “ten thousand things,” all manifestations are one;
all elements are one and all energies are one. All are whole and all
are holy. The Magician helps us to understand that the physical
universe is not the result of The Original Life Power acting on
matter, rather it is the result of the Life Power acting upon itself.
Out of itself the One Power builds all shapes and forms, all force,
and myriad of structures.

Case says that

The true magic presides over house-building because it shows

us how to erect actual houses so as to take advantage of occult
properties of the earth-currents of magnetic vibration. The higher
phases of magic, moreover, have to do with the building of the
The Magician 43

“house” of personality, with the rearing of the Temple of Spirit,

the “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” ...
He understands that his operations succeed to the degree that
his thought, word and action transmit faithfully the powers of
the plane above him. The greatest Magicians know themselves
to be no more than channels for the Life-power, clear window-
panes through which the light of wisdom within the house of
personality streams forth into the objective world.
D’Agostino says that the Magician,
personifies what psychologists refer to as objective mind or self-
consciousness. Prototyped as masculine, it is this level of con-
sciousness that makes us aware of ourselves and of all that sur-
rounds us. The objective mind, or self-consciousness, is an exclu-
sively human quality and its essential function is to initiate and
direct the course of action of all the creative forces manifesting
in man and in the universe. ...
The creative forces the Magician receives from above are always
modified by his desires and his intellect, therefore the habitual
patterns predominating within his sub-conscious mind motivate
all his thoughts and actions.
Moore says that
The Magician stands for that in you which is acutely aware, which
wills. You are not your body and you are not the stream of con-
sciousness which flows through your mind. You are the awareness
which looks at your stream of consciousness which flows through
your mind and selects from it for your own purpose. The aware-
ness which wills is what your are....
The One Life which we call God, naturally can and does identify
Itself with Its body, the universe. There was nothing out of which
it could make the universe but Itself. For the purpose of mani-
festation, the One energy divided Itself into Two (the masculine
principle and the feminine principle). These two are called the
superior and the inferior natures, though they are really equal.
The Magician 44

The superior nature is the Will and by working upon another

part of itself, the inferior nature (the substance), it produced all
the things which go to make up the universe. The Will supplied
the ideas, the images. The inferior nature supplied the substance
out of which those images took shape and gave them the shape
which the Will instructed it to take.
The receptor in our minds which perceives, which discriminates
and which recognizes the relationships, is identical with the su-
perior nature of this One energy which we call God. It is in this
sense that we are made in the image of God. Our awareness
which wills our Will is identical with His. This awareness we
call the “Self-conscious.” We possess the power of Attention, the
power of seeing how things are related in cause and effect, only
because that Energy possesses the same. If He did not possess it,
we could not. It is this energy which is aware of what is going on,
which wills, and which selects. We call that the self-conscious (
the consciousness of Self)...
The Magician in this card is the spiritual man. Spiritual man
has made himself out of the natural man. The man, who by
working on himself, has become spiritual. In this card you see
him cultivating his roses, making himself spiritual; the garden is
his own body. Stripped of this little allegory it means that the
self-conscious was set in the body to refine the desire of the body,
to civilize it, as we say. Our body is the first medium of our
activity and all our activity of expression must be manifested by
means of our body on the physical plane. It is the mechanism of
our expression.
The Magician 45

Symbolism

Arbor of Roses The Arbor of Roses corresponds to the

letter-name Beth, because an arbor is the
simplest type of shelter (Moore).

Black Hair The Magician’s Black Hair signifies that his

present work is mystical or occult (Moore).
The Black Hair signifies ignorance (Case).
This is the ignorance which perceives or
interprets darkness.

Black Legs The table has Black Legs. This indicates that
there is a very occult process being undertaken
(Moore).

Blue Sword The Blue Sword represents Air (Moore).

Cultivated Roses The Magician is refining his desires. He desires

to make his body receptive to the
superconscious (Moore).

Five Red Roses The Five big Red Roses are the senses, the
source of all desires (Moore).

Four Lilies The four lilies in the garden with the green and
blue foliage is abstract thought. The Magician
is making his mind capable of abstract thought
(Moore).
The lilies have six petals, and in cross-section
their flowers show the Hexagram, or six-pointed
star, which is the symbol of the Macrocosm.
Pure science concerns itself with the study of
the powers of the Macrocosm, and with the
laws of those powers. Because these laws and
forces operate in the four worlds or planes, the
number of lilies is four (Case).
The Magician 46

Four Table Legs The table has four legs. These are the four
worlds: emanation, creation, formation, and
manifestation. These are the mental, emotional,
etheric, and physical worlds (Moore).

Garden The Garden symbolizes the body (Moore).

The garden is fertile and productive. It is itself
a symbol of the subconscious plane of mental
activity. From this teeming soil come forth the
productions which give shape and form to the
ideas of the Magician. He is shown as a
gardener, like Adam, of whom an old legend
says that he was put into the Garden of Eden
to grow roses (Case).
The garden is the subconscious mind cultivated
by attention from the conscious mind (Javane
and Bunker).

Green Leaves The green leaves represent the creative

imagination of the subconscious in the active
creative process.

Infinity Symbol The infinity symbol above the Magician’s head

is the symbol of the Magician’s transformation
by the subconscious after he has transformed
her (Moore).
It is the ancient occult number ascribed to
Hermes. It is also a symbol of the holy Spirit.
It means dominion on the horizontal plane,
dominion in material affairs, because one of the
oldest symbols of matter is the horizontal line
(Case).
The horizontal figure 8 symbolizes the Holy
Spirit, dominion, strength and infinity. Since a
horizontal line is the ancient symbol for matter,
this glyph represents the conscious mind’s
The Magician 47

control over earthly things when that mind

directs the life energy through fixed attention
upon a specific goal (Javane and Bunker).
Over the Magician’s head is the cosmic
lemniscate, shaped like a figure 8 on its side - a
symbol of eternal life and dominion, indicating
the harmonious interaction of the conscious and
subconscious, idea and feeling, desire and
emotion (Eden).
Above the Magician’s head is the horizontal
eight, a symbol of continuous creation, renewal,
and the affirmation that all opposites are the
expressions of a single cause. This distinctly
suggests that the harmonious integration of
personality is our immediate objective
(D’Agostino).
The figure eight above the Magician’s head
stands for Infinity (Sharman-Burke).

Left Hand The Left Hand points downward symbolizing

the direction of power to a plane below (Case).
The left hand shows the descent of grace,
virtue, and light, drawn from things above and
derived to things below (Waite).
The gesture the Magician exhibits with his left
forefinger demonstrates the principle of
concentration. The principle endows the
Magician with the ability to focus his attention
upon a single detail or field of activity.
Intelligently implemented, he can then observe,
analyze, select what he needs, and provide the
required adaptations and adjustments he
perceives as being beneficial to him
(D’Agostino).
The Magician 48

Magical Tools The Magical Tools on the table are the

implements of the four Tarot suits, signifying
the elements of natural life, which lie like
counters before the adept, and he adapts them
as he wills. As elements of natural life they
refer to fire (wand), water (cup), air (sword)
and earth (coin or pentacle). They symbolize
the four worlds, and correspond to the letters of
the Tetragrammaton. They also symbolize the
four ancient esoteric admonitions: To Will
(wand), To Know (cup), To Dare (sword), and
To Be Silent (pentacle) (Case).
The Magician has at his disposal all the
elements and their human counterparts: the
cup, indicating water and the imagination; the
sword, indicating air and the intellect; the
pentacle, earth and the body; and the wand,
fire and will. These four objects represent the
letters dedi, the Tetragrammaton, the unsayable
Hebrew word for God, and the letters INRI
(Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum) which appear
on the Christian cross (Javane and Bunker).
The Magical Tools on the Magician’s table link
up with the attributes of Hermes: the wand
with the caduceus, his herald’s staff of office
which all respected; the sword with that given
to him by Zeus with which to slay Argos, the
many-eyed monster; the cup with the cup of
fortune which Hermes gave mortals to drink
from in order to change their fortune, either for
joy or sorrow: and the pentacle with the coin
symbolizing his guise as protector of merchants
and thieves (Sharman-Burke).
The Magical Tools orderly arranged on the
table correspond to the four subtle elements of
The Magician 49

fire, water, air, and earth, representing the four

phases of creation. Psychologically, the wand,
to will, is the initial impulse to create; the cup,
to know, is the contemplation upon the
unconscious in search of knowledge and
enlightenment; the sword, to dare, is the
discriminating process of selection and
elimination, formulating the creative impulse
into its most practical channels of expression;
the pentacle, to be silent, is the manifestation
of this possessive impulse into a corresponding
tangible form (D’Agostino).

Pentagram The Pentagram on the pentacle expresses the

mind’s domination over the elements, and it is
by this sign that we bind the demons of the air,
the spirits of fire, the spectres of water, and the
ghosts of earth. It is the star of the Magi, the
burning star of the Gnostic schools, the sign of
intellectual omnipotence and autocracy. It is
the symbol of the Word made Flesh. The sign
of the Pentagram is also called the sign of the
Microcosm. Its complete comprehension is the
key of the two world - it is absolute natural
philosophy and natural science (Levi).

Red Robe The Magician’s Red Robe represents desire,

passion and activity. This red robe has no
binding girdle. It may be slipped on or off at
the Magician’s pleasure. This means that
self-consciousness may enter into action, or
abstain from it according to circumstances
(Case).
The Magician wears red to symbolize his
purposeful activity (Sharman-Burke).

Red Roses The Red Roses represent the desire-nature. The

The Magician 50

roses are developed from the five petaled wild

rose, and thus they symbolize the number 5,
which has for its geometrical correspondence
the Pentagram. As symbols of desire, they
represent that phase of subconscious response
to self-conscious direction which has to do with
art, invention, and the adaptation of the
principles of abstract truth to practical ends.
Because all desires are related to sensation,
there are five roses, corresponding to the
conventional five senses (Case).
Red roses represent desires. Every moment of
our waking consciousness is motivated and
conditioned by some kind of desire, which must
be elevated to a higher plane (Javane and
Bunker).
In the garden below we see Red Roses
indicating the active desire nature of man.
There are five roses in bloom because all desire
is based in one of the senses (D’Agostino).
Right Hand The uplifted right hand suggests power drawn
from above (Case).
Serpent Girdle The Serpent Girdle signifies wisdom and
eternity (Case).
The Serpent Girdle indicates the eternity of
attainment in the spirit (Waite).
The Magician’s Serpent Girdle is the symbol of
eternity (Sharman-Burke).
The Serpent Girdle entwined around his waist,
relates to the power of transformation
(D’Agostino).
Seven Pleats The seven pleats on the white undergarment
represent the seven lower sephirot - Chesed,
The Magician 51

Gevurah, Tipharet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and

Malchut.

Table The Table represents the field of attention

(Moore, Case).
The word table has affinities in language with
the word “measurement”, inasmuch as to
classify and arrange is to tabulate. Note that
the corners of the table had to be squared, and
that the cylindrical legs, which have capitals
like Ionic columns, required the use of
compasses, and, by their capitals suggest the
“orders” of architecture (Case).
The Table is orange indicating that the
attention is to bring the superconscious to the
self-conscious.

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton is sloppily printed on the

Magician’s uplifted right arm. The Magician is
bringing down the white light in order to make
it a concrete thing on the physical plane. If
what is created is external, creation is brought
down by the forces of nature, the cosmic
subconscious. The cosmic subconscious is the
sword which carves the creation out. If what is
created is internal, creation is brought down by
the personal subconscious. The personal
subconscious is the sword which carves the
creation out. Everything which is done is done
by the subconscious at the instigation of the
self-conscious (Moore).

Yellow Background The Yellow Background indicates that the

primary state of consciousness required to
activate the Magician is the self-consciousness.

Yellow Cup The Yellow Cup represents water (Moore).

The Magician 52

Yellow Pentacle The Yellow Pentacle represents food and earth

(Moore).

Yellow Wand The darker Yellow Wand represents light and

fire (Moore).

White Headband The white headband encircles the brow and

passes around the Magician’s forehead to the
location of the brain areas particularly active in
self-conscious mentation Thus the ignorance is
limited by knowledge (Case).

White Inner Robe The White Inner Robe signifies that the
spiritual is close to the body (Case).
The Magician’s white undergarment symbolizes
the light of perfect wisdom (Javane and
Bunker).
The Magician wears a white undergarment to
signify his inner purity (Sharman Burke).

White Lilies The White Lilies represent abstract thought,

untinged by desire (Case).
The White Lilies represent purified thought
untinged by desire (Javane and Bunker).
The four White Lilies represent the human
intellect in passive contemplation upon the
principles and laws of nature. The knowledge of
these principles and laws is derived from the
four planes of consciousness: the spiritual,
mental, astral, and physical worlds
(D’Agostino).

White Wand The White Wand has two identical points to

remind us of that which is above is as that
which is below. The two points also indicate
that all magical operations are of two great
The High Priestess 53

classes - those leading to the higher expression

of life, and those resulting in death (Case).
The identical ends of his Wand graphically
represent the axiom as above, so below (Javane
and Bunker).
The Magician holds a White Wand heavenward
symbolizing the purity of his higher aspirations.
He points up to the heavens and down to the
earth, for he is a link between the gods and
men, spirit and matter (Sharman Burke).
In the Magician’s right hand is a Wand raised
towards heaven, while the left hand is pointing
to the earth. This dual sign is known in very
high grades of the Instituted Mysteries; it
shows the descent of grace, virtue and light
drawn from things above and derived to things
below (Waite).
The Magicians’ White Wand, like an orchestra
conductor’s, is an instrument for concentrating
and directing energy. Energy needs direction.
Only with man’s conscious cooperation can it
be shaped to human use. He holds the Wand in
his right hand indicating that his power is not a
result of intellect and training but is rather a
natural, unconscious gift. With his left hand he
points earthward, dramatizing the Hermetic
maxim “As above so below.” Although the
Magician’s Wand has two poles, both of them
are white. Thus the masculine spirit is double
emphasized whereas the dark feminine yin is
excluded altogether. “White above and white
below” suggests a static sterile universe ruled
by rigid perfectionism (Nichols).
The High Priestess 54
The High Priestess 55

The High Priestess

The High Priestess is the holder and implementor of the Divine Law. As
the holder of the Divine Law, it is the High Priestess who makes knowable the
Divine Law. As the implementor of the Divine Law, it is the High Priestess
who represents the form creating and destroying inherent in our physical
world, our world of manifestation.
To understand the High Priestess, we must understand the full linkage
between the higher and the lower worlds in which the High Priestess partic-
ipates. The lower world, the world of manifestation, is a world of forms, a
world of appearances. Behind every appearance is an essence existing in a
higher world. As the appearance is tied to the physical, the essence is tied
to the spiritual. The essence is the living spirit behind the appearance. The
appearance is the living body of the essence.
The physical form, the appearance, is a localization and specialization of
the essence. The expression of the physical form is the spiritual. That which
is inside the form, the spirit, is the essence. The spiritual is undifferentiated,
and not localized in space or time. But its expression, the form, is differen-
tiated and localized in space and time. That which is inside the essence, the
spirit, is the form, the appearance.
Now the purpose of spiritual expression or physical expression can be
understood by an analysis of the two semantic parts of the word expression:
ex and press. The prefix ex is a Latin and Greek prefix meaning out or
forth. There are many instructive words with this prefix which can help us
understand the underlying meaning of expression: to thrust out as in expel;
to thrust out or forth as in extrude; to make more sharp and intense as in
exacerbate; to increase as in exaggerate and exasperate; to go beyond as in
exceed and excel; to draw out as in extract and expand; to drive out and
measure as in the obsolete form to exact; to measure and weigh out as in
examine; to weigh out as in expend; to lift up and out as in exalt; to hollow
out as in excavate, to put or set forth as in expose; to call out or to call forth
as in excite; to cry out as in exclaim; to sift out as in excrete; to follow out or
through as in execute; to put into action as in exercise; to stretch out and put
forth as in exert; to put or set forth as in expose; to hold forth as in exhibit;
to breath out as in exhale and expire; to bring out joy as in exhilarate; to
The High Priestess 56

leap out or up for joy as in exult; to urge out as in exhort; to go out as in

exit; to drive away as in exorcise; to drive off as in explode; to spread out as
in expand; to spread out or unfold as in explain, to wander freely away from
one’s course as in expatiate; to undergo as in experience; to search out as in
explore; to carry out as in export; to blot out as in expunge; to stretch out as
in extend; to root out as in exterminate and extirpate; to twist or turn out
as in extort; to estimate beyond the known range as in extrapolate; to set
free as in extricate; to sweat out as in exude; and finally to press or squeeze
out, to make known or reveal, as in express. All of these senses of out are
the ones which go with the out of expression when the context of expression
is that form is the expression of the spirit and essence is the expression of
the form.
Continuing on with the second part of our analysis, the verb to press
means to act on with a steady force or weight; to push (not pull) steadily
against, to act upon with a lateral force; to squeeze, such as to crush or
squeeze out or extract out juice (the essence). In the context of ironing, to
press means to make smooth and compact, which when understood in the
higher sense means to localize. In the context of touching, to press means to
clasp with affection, to hug or to embrace closely. In the context of discussion,
to press means to inculcate strongly as a truth; to act upon the mind with
weight or moral force; it also means to impose or to urge by persistent and
insistent entreaty. In the context of a race, to press means to follow closely,
to hasten or urge onward, rush and strain forward, advance strenuously. All
of these senses of press are the ones which go with the press of expression
when the context of expression is that form is the expression of the spirit
and essence is the expression of the form.
From this analysis, it is clear that to express means to insistently and
persistently urge on, drive out, draw out, squeeze out, force out, thrust out,
set free in a measured way and go beyond that which is the inside, by hugging
and embracing it closely, thereby revealing and making known what the inside
is.
Now we see that everything has turned topsy-turvey. The form or ap-
pearance is the expression of the spirit or of the essence. But such expression
means that it is the essence, the form, which is insistently and persistently
urged out, thrust out, squeezed out, in order to make the form known, in
order for the form, which is the essence of the essence, to become revealed.
The High Priestess 57

From this point of view, the expressed form is itself the inside.
The ancient teachings explain this by referring to form as a reflection of
the essence. But from the point of view of the spiritual, it is the form or
appearance which is the inside and from the point of view of the physical, it
is the essence which is the inside.
This duality is often referred to in terms of the spirit evoluting into form
and the form involuting into spirit. This is the Divine law of evolution and
involution. But there is something yet deeper in the Divine Law which the
High Priestess holds.
When the one becomes the many, its oneness becomes hidden and the
Divine Law retreats to its own secret place and becomes veiled. When the
many unifies back into the one, the Divine Law then becomes manifest.
To explain this more fully, consider that life is the expression of itself, that
life is the dual expression of the physical into the spiritual and the spiritual
into the physical. Then it also must be the case that it is through life that the
Divine Law is being expressed. This means that from the point of view of the
total process of living, the Divine Law is unchanging, but that from the point
of view of the involuting and evoluting, the Divine Law has the appearance
of involuting and evoluting as well. That is, as the one, the spirit, expresses
itself in the many, and as the many unifies itself into the one, the unification
back into the one makes manifest different aspects of the Divine Law that
were not known, knowable, or revealable before the unification. Thus the
in-going process of involuting, the process of reducing the manyfoldness of
manifestation to unity, the process of taking form out of manifestation and
pushing it into its essence, the process of extracting the form’s essence out
of manifestation and pushing it into the oneness of the spiritual, this process
is the process that makes manifest the Divine Law.
And all this which the High Priestess represents is the workings of the
Divine Law from the point of view of the spirit. But from the point of
view of the form, the conscious individual, the High Priestess represents
our cosmic subconsciousness. It is called cosmic because its operation is
all-encompassing and the workings are the same everywhere. It is called
subconscious because the workings which are individually experienced, are
not part of the self-conscious awareness nor are part of the self-conscious
individual will.
The High Priestess 58

Therefore, we can say that the High Priestess represents the reproductive,
creative form or structure building knowledge and power inherent in the cos-
mic subconscious. She is the cosmic subconscious mind which receives with-
out preference the life-creating and life destroying Divine instructions. She
retains these desires, ideas, and suggestions and then goes about manifesting
them in an orderly progressive and uncritical way. It is the High Priestess
who reveals the law of truth by what she manifests for she brings into man-
ifestation the Divine consequences of the desires of the self-conscious. The
cosmic subconscious follows the Divine Law which is the will of the Creator.
She is, therefore, the feminine force who coordinates, balances, and combines
all the component forces holding them until the perfect moment when they
are ready to be released.
The High Priestess is objective and dispassionate. What she brings into
being reflects the Divine Law, the light in its creative, preservative, and
destructive facets, in its benevolent and malevolent facets and in its fruitful
and barren facets. She is associated with the moon because her light has the
appearance of waxing and waning as we ourselves act to unify or separate.
The High Priestess 59

General Discussion Quotes

Ussher says that the High Priestess represents the relational web of Nature
and that she is space, the formative.

Everything about her suggests remoteness and mystery.

Moore says that:

The High Priestess in you is not subservient to your will. The

High Priestess is subservient to the Laws of Nature, that is, to the
will of the Creator - but you bring her more and more into your
body. The High Priestess is that part of the Cosmic Mind which
functions in your body and which you may continually increase
by intensive work on your body.
The Cosmic mind-stuff you bring into your body is not sub-
servient to your will. She does not take the impress of your
images. She is subservient only to the will of the higher self.
She takes only the impress of his images.

Waite says:

She has been called Occult Science on the threshold of the Sanc-
tuary of Isis, but she is really the Secret Church, the House which
is of God and man. She represents also the Second Marriage of
the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride
and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of
Eden. She is, in fine, the Queen of the borrowed light, but this
is the light of all. She is the Moon nourished by the mind of the
Supernal Mother.
In a manner, she is also the Supernal Mother herself - that is to
say, she is the bright reflection., It is in this sense of reflection
that her truest and highest name in symbolism is Shekinah - the
co-habiting glory. According to Kabbalism, there is a Shekinah
both above and below. In the superior world it is called Binah,
the Supernal Understanding which reflects to the emanations that
are beneath. In the lower world it is Malkuth - that world being,
The High Priestess 60

for this purpose, understood as a blessed Kingdom - that with

which it is made blessed being the Indwelling Glory. Mystically
speaking, the Shekinah is the Spiritual Bride of the just man, and
when he reads the Law she gives the Divine meaning.

Case says:

High Priestess means literally “chief feminine elder,” or primary

receptive aspect of the Life Power. In Hindu philosophy this
is Prakriti, the precosmic root-substance which is the substra-
tum beneath all the objective planes of existence. Thus the High
Priestess is in one sense identical with the First Mother, or First
Matter, of the alchemists, who often call the Prima Materia their
Virgin Diana.
Diana is the goddess of the crescent Moon. She is also the Great
Hecate of Greek occult philosophy. Hecate, often confused in
ancient mythology with Luna, was supposed to have all secret
powers of nature at her command.
In fact, the High Priestess corresponds to all the virgin goddesses
of the ancient world - to Artemis, guardian and helper of child-
birth, to Maia, mother of Hermes, to Bona Dea, who “out of
modesty never left her bower, or let herself be seen of men,” and
to Kybele, whose sanctuaries were caves.

The High Priestess is a symbol for the subconscious. The subconscious

repeats and elaborates the mistaken results of faulty, superfi-

cial self-conscious observation. Being at all times uncritically
amenable to suggestion, and at the same time the channel of tele-
pathic communication, subconsciousness is the source of most of
the foolish notions which cause our maladjustments. Something
of this lies behind the Biblical allegory that Eve was the means
of Adam’s temptation and fall.

Sharman-Burke says that the High Priestess

stands for his [the Fool’s] spiritual or celestial mother... .

The High Priestess 61

The High Priestess may be connected with the virgin goddess

Persephone, queen of the underworld. The virgin is a symbol of
potential yet to be fulfilled. She stands for the treasures of the
unconscious mind, brought to consciousness in the same way as
Persephone bore Dionysus – Zagreus, god of light. The Priestess
can also be connected with Artemis, virgin goddess of the moon,
and with Hecate, witch and enchantress, queen of the underworld
and of magic. Hecate was goddess of the dark side of the moon
and symbolizes the bitter, destructive element in the feminine
nature. The bitterness is evoked when the natural potential in-
herent in the virgin remains unfulfilled.

Nichols says that the High Priestess

can be seen to symbolize the primary yin, or feminine aspect

of the godhead. She embodies the qualities of Isis, Ishtar, and
Astarte, all goddesses who reigned over the rituals of women’s
mysteries. In her spiritualized aspects she appears as the Virgin
Mary and as Sophia, Divine Wisdom. ...
The element with which she connects is water. In most creation
myths, water is depicted as the original receptive, productive,
and form-building power. From the depths of the ocean, out of
the cradle endlessly rocking, rose all creation – all forms of life.
Out of the deep unconscious rose consciousness itself. For, as
the individual embryo is contained and nourished in the amniotic
fluid, so each individual identity is contained and nourished in
the deep unconscious of every newborn babe. Thus it is from the
unconscious that consciousness is born.

D’Agostino says that

The High Priestess is what psychology calls subjective mind or

sub-consciousness. She is that part of our personality we share
with all beings below the human level. The High Priestess is the
antithesis of the Magician, whose red robe personifies fire and
light and is actively engaged, while she wears the blue garment of
water and the night, and sits in a passive state. Like the moon at
The High Priestess 62

her feet she has no light of her own, rather she is the receptacle
who receives, preserves, and reflects all that has been impressed
upon her from above, that is super-consciousness, The Fool, and
self-consciousness, the Magician.

Eden says that the High Priestess

is spiritual enlightenment, inner illumination. Whereas the Fool

and the Magician represent only the potentiality, the will, to cre-
ate, the High Priestess has the latent power to manifest. She is
the link between the seen and the unseen.

Javane and Bunker say that:

The High Priestess symbolizes the subconscious mind, the re-

ceptive, reproductive and form-building power within the human
organism.
The High Priestess 63

Symbolism

Blue Robe The Blue Robe of the High Priestess is made to

suggest water, and it is flowing through the
crescent to symbolize that it is cleansing it.
The Cosmic Mind-stuff is always referred to
esoterically as water. This is for two reasons:
(1) that it visibly vibrates in waves and (2) that
it cleanses, since it is entirely untainted
(Moore).
The High Priestess wears a Blue-white Robe,
suggesting coldness and moisture, which are the
astrological properties of the Moon, and the
characteristics of the element water. The folds
of this robe show a shimmering radiance, like
that of moonlight on water, and below the
white pillar, this garment seems to flow out of
the picture, like a stream. It symbolizes the
“stream of consciousness” familiar to students
of psychology. In Tarot, the robe of the High
Priestess is the source of the river and of the
pools which appear in several subsequent major
trumps (Case).
The vestments are flowing and gauzy, and the
mantle suggests light - a shimmering radiance
(Waite).
The edge of her gown, which balances the
crescent moon at her feet (in the Rider
version), trails out of the picture, indicating the
stream of consciousness, which flows into the
background of the Empress and reappears in
later cards (Eden).

Green Palm Leaf The Green Palm Leaf is a universal feminine

symbol. Green is the color of the personal
The High Priestess 64

subconscious. In the center of it is a lobe of

Yellow, so the symbolism of this figure is the
masculine and the feminine. The self-conscious
principle within the subconscious principle
(Moore).

Left Hand The Left Hand of the High Priestess is revealed.

This speaks of her superficial appearances, and
our conscious record of personal impressions
(D’Agostino).

Pillars The High Priestess sits between the Black and

White pillars, holding the balance between
them. The two pillars represent all the positive
and negative forces of the universe. She is not
bound to either, but sits at perfect peace
between them, using the one or the other as
suits her purpose. “B” the letter on the Black
Pillar is the Intellect. “J” on the White Pillar is
the spirit (Boaz and Jakin). Spirit and Intellect
oppose each other. The High Priestess brings
them into union. Intellect wants one thing.
Spirit wants another (Moore).
The two pillars between which the High
Priestess sits are those of Solomon and of
Hermes. Opposite in color, but alike in form,
they represent affirmation (white pillar, bearing
the letter i, initial of the word Jachin) and
negation (black pillar, bearing the letter a,
initial of the word Boaz). For strength (Boaz)
is rooted in resistance or inertia, which is the
negation of the activity which is the
establishing principle (Jachin) of all things.
The High Priestess sits between the pillars,
because she is the equilibrating power between
the “Yes” and the “No”, the initiative and the
The High Priestess 65

resistance, the light and the darkness.

Alike in form, close to each other, opposite in
color, the pillars represent three laws of the
association of ideas and of memory. We
associate things similar, things near together in
space or time, things sharply contrasted (Case).
She is seated between the white and black
pillars of the mystic Temple (Waite).
The High Priestess is seated between two pillars
from the Temple of Solomon - the black pillar
of Boaz representing the negative life force, and
the white one, Jachin, the positive life force
(Eden).
The two Pillars the High Priestess sits between
are black and white, symbolizing duality. The
feminine nature contains both positive and
negative aspects, creative and destructive,
benevolent and malevolent, fruitful and barren
(Sharman-Burke).
The two Pillars symbolically denote that all we
experience is the collective reaction to mental
patterns we consciously and unconsciously
create (D’Agostino).

Pillar Base The bases of the pillars are cubes. Thus they
repeat the symbolism of the High Priestess’
seat, which is a cubic stone (Case).

Pillar Capitals The capitals of the pillars, borrowed from

Egyptian architecture, are in the form of lotus
buds. They are buds, not opened flowers. In
this detail they differ from the capitals in the
Rider version of the High Priestess. The reason
the capitals are buds is that the High Priestess,
as a symbol of virginity, is, in some measure, a
The High Priestess 66

type of latent, or undeveloped, powers. In the

state of subconsciousness here symbolized, the
forces of subconsciousness have not come to full
bloom (Case).
The Pillar Capitals are lotus buds and this
reveals that the High Priestess is the cause of
all growth and development. However, the buds
are not flowering, acknowledging that she is a
virgin (D’Agostino).

Pillar Tops The Pillar Tops are shaped like bells with long
handles, the lower part being the long handle.
The bell cannot fulfill its function unless its
bowl has a clapper. The bowl of the bell is
useless without the clapper and likewise the
clapper is useless without the bowl. It takes
both to make the sound. The clapper
represents an image; this image represents the
will of the self-conscious. The bowl represents
the subconscious. The pillar is also made in
that shape to remind us of the goblet on the
table of the magician. If you will look at the
goblet, you will align downward into the
Cosmic Mind-stuff (Moore).

Red Pomegranate The pomegranate is a universal feminine

symbol because of its numerous seeds (Moore).
The veil of Pomegranates, the sacred fruit of
Persephone, queen of the underworld, shows the
High Priestess’s connection with the
unconscious world, the realm of the spirit
(Sharman-Burke).
The color red designates desire and action and
the completed formed fruit indicates that the
desire is completely balanced.
The High Priestess 67

Right Hand The Right Hand of the High Priestess is

concealed. This tells us that the greater part of
subconsciousness is always hidden from our
view. Yet she will unveil herself to us for a
moment of enlightenment once we understand
her character and powers, and learn how to
properly approach her (D’Agostino).

Scroll The Scroll in the lap of the High Priestess is

that of memory. In some versions of the Key it
is a book, half-open. This is the record of past
events, of all mental and physical states,
indelibly impressed in subconsciousness.
Subconsciousness is both universal and
personal. Thus the memory record includes the
past events of race-history, the past events of
the history of the planet, and the past events of
this whole cycle of cosmic manifestation. Hence
the scroll is inscribed with the word “TORA,”
which is the phonetic equivalent of the Hebrew
“Torah,” or “Law.” Yet this word is also
related to the Latin ROTA from which the very
name TAROT is derived. Natural law is the
cosmic subconscious record of every event in
the innumerable cycles and sub-cycles of the
Life-power’s self-expression (Case).
The Scroll in her hands is inscribed with the
word Tora, signifying the Greater Law, the
Secret Law. It is partly covered by her mantle,
to show that some things are implied and some
spoken (Waite).
The High Priestess is protecting on her lap a
Scroll of esoteric wisdom inscribed with the
word “Tora” (Divine Law), for it is not for all
eyes to see (Eden).
The High Priestess 68

The Scroll’s inscription TORA means natural

law, but the letters could be rearranged to read
TARO, a clue to the natural wisdom and law
contained in the Tarot itself (Sharman-Burke).
The Scroll the High Priestess holds on her lap
has inscribed upon it the word Tora, meaning
the Law. For written within the Scroll is all
that we are, and all that we can and will evolve
in the future (D’Agostino).

Silver Crown Silver is the metal of the moon. The crown

shows the crescents of the moon waxing and
waning with the full moon orb in between. This
is symbolic of the feminine principle which is at
the root of all things (Moore).
The High Priestess wears a silver crown,
reminding us that silver is the metal of the
Moon. This crown shows the crescents of the
waxing and waning Moon, with her full orb
between. It is the horned diadem of the
Egyptian Isis, another of the feminine deities
personifying the root-matter of all things
(Case).
The High Priestess is the virgin daughter of the
moon, and wears on her head the symbol of a
full moon, with a waxing and waning image of
the moon on each side. She is the eternal
feminine, sometimes called Isis or Artemis. She
corresponds to all the virgin goddesses of the
ancient world, even to Eve before her union
with Adam (Eden).
Upon her head, the High Priestess wears a
horned Silver Crown suggesting the waxing and
waning of the moon. This designation
insinuates that rhythm is the crowning
The High Priestess 69

principle of her mental activity (D’Agostino).

Veil Immediately behind the High Priestess is a veil.

The first veil is the curtain of illusion which
hides reality. You see it is made very thin; the
idea being that it can be seen through. All
science is an attempt to see through the veil.
All mysticism is an attempt to see through the
veil. All religion is an attempt to see through
the veil. The mystic and occultist asserts that if
one works upon his own organism he fashions
an instrument of his own body which will
enable him to penetrate that veil. The occultist
tells us if we develop powers of the subconscious
we can see through the veil as far as it is given
man to see through at the present (Moore).
The veil between the pillars hints that the High
Priestess is virgo intacta. It is a phallic symbol
of virginity, but is embroidered with palms
(male) and pomegranates (female), as if to
suggest the union of positive and negative
forces. Subconsciousness is only potentially
reproductive. So it is covered by a veil. Only
when this veil is rent or penetrated by
concentrated impulses originating at the
self-conscious level may the creative activities of
subconsciousness be released and actualized
(Case).
The veil of the Temple is behind the High
Priestess: it is embroidered with palms and
pomegranates (Waite).

Veil Pattern The pattern on the veil represents the tree of

life. Seven of the ten sephirot can be seen, the
remaining three are occluded by the High
Priestess (Moore).
The High Priestess 70

The veil between the pillars is decorated with

pomgranates (female) and palms (male) -
symbols indicating that the subconscious is
potentially reproductive (Eden).

White Cross The White Cross represents the spirit will

(Moore).
The solar cross of equal arms on the High
Priestess’ breast shows the union of positive
(upright) and negative (horizontal), male and
female, active and passive, originating and
duplicating elements. It also foreshadows the
completion of the entire cycle represented by
the twenty-two Tarot Keys, because this cross
of equal arms is the original form of the Hebrew
letter z, the final letter of the Hebrew
alphabet. Again, this same cross stands for
Hecate, who, among other things was patroness
of all cross-roads, according to Greek
mythology. Finally the arms of the cross are
related to the number 4, or square of 2, as are
the square sides of the cube (Case).
The solar cross on her breasts, with arms of
equal length, represents the balance of the
positive and negative forces. (The upright is
the positive, male element; the horizontal, the
negative female element) (Eden).
The white cross represents the proper use of the
four implements on the Magician’s table. The
conscious mind formulates ideas which the
subconscious accepts as suggestions and then
set about to make them realities in an orderly,
progressive fashion (Javane and Bunker).

White Cube The white cube on which the High Priestess sits
is the physical plane (Moore).
The High Priestess 71

The High Priestess sits on a white cubic stone,

a symbol of salt, which crystallizes in perfect
cubes, and is a reminder of the saltiness of that
mystical sea which is associated with the Virgin
Mary. Since the time of Pythagoras, moreover,
it has been taught openly that the cube is the
regular solid representing “earth” or actual,
material manifestation.
The High Priestess sits on a cube because the
basis of all subconscious mental activity is what
has actually occurred, what actually exists.
This underlying Reality is what is designated in
Hebrew by the name dedi, and to this word the
figures required to define the proportions of a
cube have special reference. Every cube has 6
sides, 8 points or corners, and 12 edges or
boundary lines. The numbers required to
express a cube’s peculiar limitations being
6,8,and 12, their sum is 26, and this is the sum
of the values of the letters dedi. What actually
exists, what really is, what materialists and
idealists alike misunderstand and misinterpret,
is the real presence of That which was, is and
shall be. This real presence is the basis of all
subconscious activity (Case).
The cubic stone of truth upon which the High
Priestess sits represents the principles of order
on which the subconscious must function for
perfect fulfillment (Javane and Bunker).

Yellow Crescent The yellow crescent at the feet of the High

Priestess symbolizes the intellectual
subconscious (Moore).

Yellow Rind The yellow rind surrounding the red

pomegranate indicates the subconscious within
The High Priestess 72

the self-conscious (Moore).

The Empress 73
The Empress 74
The Empress 75

The Empress
The Empress represents the personal subconscious, the womb of the High
Priestess. We can understand how she functions by examining the root of
the word Empress. Empress comes from the old French word Empresse which
consists of the feminine ending esse on the old French word Emperere, Em-
peror. The ending or indicates the one who is acting. The root is Emper
and comes from the Latin imperator which means commander. The word
imperator is itself combined of the prefix im, which means in, into, or to put
within and the Latin root parare, which means to make preparations. Thus
the Empress represents the feminine dimensions for taking that which has
been prepared and putting it or bringing it into existence.
What is it that has been prepared? On the cosmic side, what has been
prepared is the Divine Law. On the personal side what has been prepared
is the image derived from the will of the self-conscious. The will of the self-
conscious constitutes the seed planted by the Magician. When this seed is
unified with an egg from the High Priestess, the Empress becomes pregnant.
The Empress nurtures the fertilized egg which becomes a fetus and grows
in her womb. So what the Empress manifests comes from nurturing the
spiritual union of the Magician and the High Priestess.
For the self-conscious, the fetus of the pregnancy of the Empress is the
thoughts of the creative imagination. The creative imagination is feminine
in that it receives the images of the will from the self-conscious and it is
masculine with respect to the child which it is creating.
From this point of view we can say that the Empress is the personal
subconscious mind which receives without preference or judgement the life-
creating or the life destroying willed images from the self-conscious. This she
combines with the Divine Law. The Empress continually nourishes what she
receives. The pregnancy results in a birth of a child. The child the Empress
produces manifests, in an orderly progressive and uncritical way, the result
of the willed image combined with the Divine Law. When we see that there
are differences between our willed image and that which has been produced,
we must understand these differences to be the result of the modification
caused by the Divine Law. And in these differences there are lessons for us
to learn about the Divine Law.
The Empress 76

The Empress has dominion over the physical world of our bodies by pro-
ducing and remaking our bodies to be the child that she produces. The
Empress also has dominion of that aspect of our mental world called the
creative imagination. The mental child the Empress produces is our creative
imagination.
The imagination in the intellectual order is the equivalent of will in the
realm of movements. And the reflection of will is imagination just as the
reflection of imagination is what is accomplished or manifested.
From the perspective of the self-conscious, we can understand how the
Empress functions: the self-conscious has the functions of willing, similarity
associating, controlling of the emotions and the motor activities, and being
aware. Consider awareness and its relationship to thoughts. The thoughts
that we think are not thought by the self-conscious. Rather, the thoughts
that we think are the contents of the awareness of the self-conscious. This
awareness is our awareness. The thoughts themselves come from the creative
imagination, when they are new thoughts, or from past memory, when they
are old thoughts.
The interesting question then is where does the Empress get the contents
of the thoughts which she gives to the awareness of the self-conscious? The
contents of these thoughts can come from two places: the High Priestess or
from past memory. Past memory is the personal memory of our experiences
and thoughts. The dimension of will of the self-conscious only draws them
or pulls them out. When we remember something pulled out we say it is
from past memory. When we do not remember something pulled out, we
say it is from creative imagination. In either case, it is the awareness of
the self-conscious which receives the thought. Here we can learn that the
self-conscious is masculine in its will dimension and feminine in its awareness
dimension.
When the self-conscious wills to solve a problem, the Empress receives
the solution from the High Priestess, and then passes the solution along
in a thought to the self-conscious. When the self-conscious is receptive,
it becomes aware of the thought made present by the Empress. The self-
conscious can then internalize the thought thereby refining its will. The
cycle then repeats as the refined will then draws out another thought from the
creative imagination. Eventually, the child is born: the Empress manifests
the solution in physical reality.
The Empress 77

General Discussion Quotes

Waite says that the Empress

is the daughter of heaven and earth... is the inferior Garden of

Eden, the Earthly Paradise, all that is symbolized by the visible
house of man.... She is above all things universal fecundity and
the outer sense of the word.

Ussher says that

The Empress is an altogether more flesh and blood person; with

her we are for the first time on the Earth. The celestial Moon-
Woman, the Virgin Diana, has merged into a terrestrial Corn-
Woman or Fertility-Goddess - the Venus-Urania, the Magna Mater
of Mediterranean cults. The Empress is fecundity; she is the flux
of history or formed matter, as the Fool was that of prehistory
and the formless; she is maternal and material Earth - the last of
the physical ‘elements’ and first of the biological ‘kingdoms’.

Eden says that

The Empress is the Earth Mother, here seated in a blooming

garden.... the Empress typifies the productive, generative activ-
ities in the subconscious after it has been impregnated by seed
ideas from the self-conscious. The subconscious has control over
all the steps of development in the material world; therefore, the
Empress represents the multiplicator of images.
She is the Goddess of Love, Venus, the symbol of universal fe-
cundity. As the High Priestess is Isis veiled, the Empress is Isis
unveiled.

D’Agostino explains the Empress in terms of the interaction between the

Magician and the High Priestess. He says

Now the Magician, by an act of concentration, focusing his at-

tention upon a portion of her substance, impregnates the High
The Empress 78

Priestess. The union of opposites takes place and the creative pro-
cess begins. In Key 3, she appears again in guise of the Empress,
the pregnant mother in action, expressing herself as creative imag-
ination. ... She is Mother Nature at work, the basic substance of
all man’s creativity. The creative activity of subconsciousness is
what psychology terms deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning
is the mental elaboration of a seed idea into its logical conclusion
or consequence. However, the subconscious deductive process has
no power to analyze or evaluate the seed premise initiated. She
will elaborate the false as well as the true, so accordingly, she is
the gateway to heaven or to hell.

Case says that

The Empress means literally, “She who sets in order.” She is

the feminine ruling power. ... Her name contrasts with High
Priestess, which indicates the cold virginity of a cloistered devo-
tee of the gods. In like manner, mythology contrasts the warm
mother-goddess, Venus, with Diana, virgin-goddess of the Moon.
Psychologically, the Empress represents subconsciousness as the
mother of ideas, the generatrix of mental images. The power by
which she works is the power of subdividing seed-ideas derived
from self-consciousness. This is the power of deductive reasoning.
The apparent multiplication of images is really the splitting-up
of the seed-ideas into manifold presentations. This is symbolized
by the multiplication of the original seed in the wheat ears at her
feet.
She is called the Empress because subconsciousness has control
over all sequences of development in the material world. Occult
science declares that this control extends to the mineral kingdom,
so that adepts in the direction of subconsciousness by suggestion
are able to effect transformations even in the inorganic worlds, by
purely mental means. The particular mental functions peculiar
to subconsciousness is imagination, based on memory.

Moore says that

The Empress 79

the Empress is the cosmic subconscious made active in bringing

forth the image.... The meaning of the Empress is she who sets
the house in order.
Your house is your body. Venus,... remolds your subconscious
according to what you desire, and your image is what you desire.
The image is nothing in the world but the emotional picture or
the thought of a desire. So you see it depends upons your image
whether your house is set in order for good or for evil. In either
case she sets it in order and she brings out the product that you
desire. The trouble with most of us is that such desires as we
have proceed directly from the subconscious without the medium
of the self-conscious at all; that is to say, we desire what pleases
our body.
Here are the important things: she receives according to the at-
tunement you have given her by your habitual images; She re-
ceives either Wisdom or Folly. If your messages are wise she
receives wise telepathic images from the outside. If you think
foolish thoughts, if your conclusions about the outside world are
based upon superficial attention; and if you don’t think at all but
confined your mental activity to daydreams and sensual pictures
by recombining the material you find on the recording cells of the
brain, then you are tuned in on the whole world of Ignorance and
Folly.
If we are going to work upon our bodies, change our bodies into
bodies with new powers, we do it by making images and our faith
in the images. The self-conscious makes the image and instructs
the subconscious to carry it out.
No matter whether your images are good or bad, your Empress
must carry them out, and she carries them out perfectly. She
always makes fruitful in the body the images of the intellect.

Sharman-Burke says that

The Empress is a symbol of fertility and abundance. She wears

full robes as a hint of pregnancy and suggesting potential fulfilled.
The Empress 80

... The Empress represents the Fool’s earthly mother. From her
he learns about women and their nature. He learns to care and
nurture himself and look after his own bodily needs as well as
respecting and caring for others. He is loved and cherished by
the Empress and is thus able to love and cherish others. He
learns about nature, cycles of growth, death and rebirth and he
learns about the same cycles operating within men and women
and their relationships. Attached as he is to his Empress-mother,
he must also learn to leave her and make his own way in the
world.

Nichols says that

The reality which the Empress produces is not the finished prod-
uct. For this, we need the Emperor’s discrimination and orga-
nization. One of the Empress’s chief functions is to connect the
primary energies of yin and yang and to give them a body in the
world of sensory experience. ...
It is the Empress, then, who bridges the gap between the Mother
World of creative inspiration and the Father World of logic and
laboratories – the kingdom of the Emperor, where her ideas and
intuitions will be pruned and tested. It is she who carries the seed
from which ultimately will spring a new transcendental awareness
in which mysticism and science, spirit and flesh, inner and outer,
can be experienced as one world. ...
At her highest and brightest, the Empress illuminates the heav-
ens, synthesizing all their powers; sun, moon, and the great wheel
of the zodiac. In her lower, more earth-bound aspects, the god-
dess’s unbridled fertility can lead to overindulgence and stagna-
tion.

Javane and Bunker say that

the Empress appears pregnant, as does the landscape around

her.... The Empress produces. She is the great mother sur-
rounded by love, beauty and growth.
The Empress 81

She is the epitome of creation and abundance, reminding us of

the biblical passage, “And there appeared a great wonder in the
heavens; a woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under
feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she being
with child, travailing in birth...” (Revelations 12:1,2)
The Empress 82

Symbolism

Black Cushion The Black Cushion is covered by a fine gold

pattern. It is situated behind the orange
cushion and above the red bolster. This
symbolically means that the desire and action
(red bolster) is transformed and lifted by occult
practice (the Black Cushion) into the heart
making the heart the master. The occult
practice is called “Preparing the images that
the self-conscious mystically makes” (Moore).

Blue Stream The Blue Stream and pool in the background

represent the stream of consciousness. Their
source is the flowing robe of the High Priestess.
This stream waters the garden and makes it
fertile (Case).
Behind the Empress is a Blue Stream of
consciousness flowing between the Cypress
trees, sacred to Venus (Eden).
The Blue Stream is the life stream, the stream
of consciousness. Falling into the pool, it
represents the union of the sexes or the union of
the conscious and subconscious minds (Javane
and Bunker).
The flowing Blue Stream (of the collective
unconscious) behind her is another symbol of
her continuous association of images. Unaided,
she wanders aimlessly, so she depends on
self-consciousness to constructively direct her
(D’Agostino).

Blue Waterfall The Blue Waterfall is a subtle intimation of the

union of male and female modes of cosmic
energy. For the stream is modified and directed
The Empress 83

by the Magician, and the pool represents the

accumulation of influences descending from the
self-conscious level (Case).
The Blue Waterfall emptying into the pool
symbolizes the union of male and female
combining to produce new life
(Sharman-Burke).

Crown The Crown on her head is a insignia of her

power. This Crown has 12 stars and they
symbolize the 12 signs of the Zodiac. The 12
signs of the Zodiac symbolize, among other
things, the 12 major states of consciousness and
extension of those 12 states. Through the 12
stars runs a red ribbon. This denotes that she
makes active in man’s body the twelve signs of
the Zodiac.
The Crown always means control. The Crown
means that Venus, who carries out the image,
has control of the twelve states of consciousness.
Their correct functioning depends upon what
image the self-conscious makes, whether it is a
good or bad function (Moore).
Like the woman in the Apocalypse (Revelation
12:1), the Empress wears a crown of twelve
stars. The stars are six-pointed, or hexagrams,
to show that she has dominion over the laws of
the Macrocosm, or great world. This crown of
twelve stars, like the Fool’s girdle, also
symbolizes the zodiac, the year, and time
(Case).
The Empress wears a Crown of twelve stars,
each with six points denoting dominion over the
macrocosm (Eden).
The twelve stars on the Crown of the Empress
The Empress 84

are the twelve zodiacal signs or the twelve

months, thus representing time itself. In the
same vein, it takes time to bring our desires
into manifestation (Javane and Bunker).
The twelve stars in her Crown represent the
twelve months of the year, the twelve signs of
the zodiac, and the infinite becoming finite in
the twelve hours of the day and night. She also
symbolizes the natural cycles of the year with a
time for the seed, blossom, fruit and decay
(Sharman-Burke).
Upon her head the Empress wears a Crown, a
tiara, of twelve stars, depicting the twelve signs
of the zodiac and her rulership over the
universe. The stars of her Crown are
six-pointed hexagrams. They speak of the
universal forces manifesting in human
personality. These basic human faculties
externally appear as memory, will, imagination,
desire, the intellect, and the reproductive force
(D’Agostino).

Golden Scepter The Golden Scepter which the Empress holds in

her uplifted right hand is the Venus symbol
without the horizontal line forming a cross with
the vertical. Thus the commanding power of
the Empress does not involve the self-conscious.
The Empress forms the material in accordance
with the images supplied by the personal
subconscious.
The Golden Scepter implies dominance over the
conditions of the physical plane (Case).
The Golden Scepter which the Empress bears is
surmounted by the globe of this world (Waite).
The Empress’s Golden Scepter represents her
The Empress 85

dominion over the world of creation through

love, the Venus glyph (Javane and Bunker).
The Empress’s Golden Scepter displays the orb
of earthly reality, and in some of the Tarot
decks, this is surmounted by the cross of spirit.
Her Scepter is not held upright but rests
casually aslant – further indication that the
Empress rules intuitively rather than according
to man-made laws (Nichols).

Gown The white background of the Gown reveals that

her basic substance remains forever pure and
undefiled, regardless of how many forms she
may appear in (D’Agostino).

Gown Design The Gown Design of the Empress is in the

shape of the same Venus symbol that you see in
the circle over the cross. The circle is the sign
of the Zodiac and always means the
self-conscious. The cross also means the
sacrifice of the lower to the higher. The Venus
symbol means that man brings in the
superconscious into his self-conscious, just in
proportion as he sacrifices his lower to his
higher. He brings the superconscious into his
self-conscious just in proportion as he sacrifices
his intellect to his higher self.
The circle is a red rose flowering out of a
crescent of Green, the two so put together that
they make a circle. The cross underneath the
circle is represented by a trefoil on a stem and
is made with two leaves. The trefoil always
signifies a sex symbol, a sex creation. There is a
red rose in a green cup upon the trefoil stem
which is a very subtle charming symbolism.
The red rose (desire or activity) can only
The Empress 86

proceed from desire and always flowers out of

the image. The green cup and the flower are
over a cross thus, the perfect image is always
emanating from the self-conscious, from the
lower to the higher. (Moore).

Gray Stone The Gray Stone ground below the Empress is

the color of Wisdom. Here it represents the
union of the personality with the Higher Self
(Moore).
The shape of the unoccluded Gray Stone
ground is that of a crescent indicating the
connection of the Empress with the
subconscious.

Green Trees The images are depicted by the Green Trees.

Her bidding is to make images symbolized by
those Green Trees and to become the golden
harvest below the waterfall at her feet. If the
images are bad the harvest is also Yellow but it
is tares and not wheat. In any case you see the
harvest is the product of the mind as
symbolized by the color Yellow (Moore).
There are ten Green Trees, one for each
sephirot. Two of the green trees have a lighter
color. These two green trees are symbolic of the
two highest chakras which become more highly
developed by the process in which the
self-conscious provides thought forms to the
subconscious for manifestation.
The Green Trees of the forest constitute a
symbol of natural richness (Sharman-Burke).

Green Wreath Like the Fool the Empress also wears a Green
Wreath. This wreath of green leaves is the
nearest thing we have to sunlight. This wreath
The Empress 87

of green leaves has both a psychic and physical

meaning. Leaves are transformed sunlight,
sunlight nearest to its original state. A leaf is a
promise of harvest, flowers, or fruit. Just as the
Fool’s eyes are on an image, your eyes are on
desire (Moore).
The Green Wreath is a wreath of myrtle, a
plant sacred to Venus (Case).
Her yellow hair is tied by a Green Wreath, or
bound sunlight, as the leaves have captured the
sun’s rays (Javane and Bunker).
The Green Wreath binding her yellow hair
represents her powers to limit the solar energy
of the Fool into special mental forms of
expression (D’Agostino).
There are 8 pairs of green leaves visible on the
Green Wreath. Eight on its side is the symbol
for infinity. The green leaves are wrapped
around the head as a double loop, infinity
folded back on itself.

Hair The hair of the Empress is orange-yellow like

the Fool’s. This means radiant Solar Energy
and the mental emanations of radiant Solar
Energy (Moore).
Like the hair of the Fool, hers symbolizes
radiant energy (Case).
Her yellow hair symbolizes the super-conscious
mind (Javane and Bunker).

Heart Shield On the Heart Shield is the symbol of Venus, the

circle above the cross. The circle is colored
green which is the color of Venus. What does
the circle stand for in the signs of the Planets
and Zodiac? The circle stands for the
The Empress 88

superconscious. The cross stands for the

self-conscious and the crescent stands for the
subconscious (Moore).
The Heart Shield by the feet of the Empress
bears the astrology glyph of Venus, ruler of
Taurus, the sign associated with nature
(Sharman-Burke).

Orange Pillow The Orange Pillow behind the Empress is

square. Its sides are curved to represent
vibratory motion, and it is decorated with little
squares. Remember the instrument of building
is the square, the carpenter’s square or right
angle with which he adjusts every piece of
material to see that is is true. If one piece is
not set straight, the subsequent pieces which
depend on it become crooked also. This square
which is indispensable to good building is your
image. The perfection of your house, your body,
depends on whether your image be good or not.
The Heart center is symbolized by the Orange
Pillow. Orange is the color of the
superconscious and is associated with the heart
(the Transformed heart), whose function it is to
bring in the white-yellow and the white. The
Transformed Heart brings in the Orange
(Moore).

Pearl Necklace Around the neck of the Empress is a Pearl

Necklace which is traditionally ascribed to
Wisdom. We have the expression Pearls of
Thought. Wisdom and Understanding, in their
Spiritual significance, are pretty near the same
thing; one is looking back to your source, the
other is looking forward to your source, You
describe a circle. You are her and you look back
The Empress 89

to your source; that is the memory of the High

Priestess. When you look forward to the place
where you are going, that is the Empress.
Spiritually they are the same thing (Moore).
The Empress wears a Pearl Necklace of seven
pearls. This insinuates that her functions play a
major role in awakening the seven mysterious
psychic centers in the body (D’Agostino).

Pomegranates The Pomegranates signify conjugal love

(Sharman-Burke).
The Pomegranates on her gown symbolize
seeds, for she brings forth all the seed
possibilities available at the moment
(D’Agostino).

Red Cushion The Mars center here is symbolized by the Red

Cushion which is made like a bolster with a
drapery. The Mars center is present everywhere
in the body (Moore).

Red Slipper Just barely visible is the Red Slipper on the

Empress’ left foot. As this is the lowest point
on her body, it indicates that the Mars force is
to be used to raise the spiritual level of the
personality.

Sheaf of Corn The Sheaf of Corn is a symbol of fertility

(Sharman-Burke).

Stone Seat The Stone Seat the Empress sits upon is the
work of man. It is man’s creative ability to
shape her substance into endless variations,
which brings all progress to the world.
(D’Agostino).

Yellow Background The Yellow Background is like the harvest.

Yellow is the color of the Magician and the
The Empress 90

self-conscious. He is the one who plants the

images in the subconscious which she brings
forth into harvest. “As a man images, so he
becomes through her agency.” As a man images
so is his body. As his body is, so is he. So it is
up to you whether your harvest be wheat or
tares. The work of the subconscious in
harvesting the image is just the same in one
case or the other. She performs, with exactness,
all the necessary labor of bringing it into being
performing the operation.
The Yellow Background is the attention of the
self-conscious mind which dictates what your
desires will be. All the changes which she works
in your body, whether they be for a better body
or a worse one (they must be for one or the
other), come from the image you furnish her to
work upon. The chief symbolism of the
Empress consists in seeing how the acme of
improvement can be secured (Moore).

Yellow Wheat The Yellow Wheat is the harvest of the good

images brought into materiality by the
subconscious. If the harvest is of bad images
then the Yellow Wheat will be Yellow tares
(Moore).
A field of ripe Yellow Wheat lies before the
Empress, sacred to the Egyptian goddess Isis
(Eden).
Below we see growing a tract of Yellow Wheat.
Here we observe the fruition of her seeds, our
mental images formulated (D’Agostino).
The Emperor 91
The Emperor 92
The Emperor 93

The Emperor
Emperor comes from the French word Emperere, meaning Emperor. The
ending or indicates the one who is acting. The root is Emper and comes
from the Latin imperator which means commander. The word imperator is
itself combined of the prefix im, which means in, into, or to put within and
the Latin root parare, which means to make preparations. Thus the Emperor
represents the masculine dimensions for taking that which has been prepared
and putting it or bringing it into existence.
The Emperor is the archetype of reason and order. The Emperor orders
all past experiences, groups similar things together, and classifies new experi-
ences into the current working classes. This enables memory to be organized.
From this point of view the Emperor is the permanent civilized ruler.
The Emperor also works with creative imagination, memory, and the rules
of logic to determine in an ordered, open, and public way, how to accomplish
a new creation, how to determine a solution to a problem whose solution is
not already in memory.
The solution comes about in three phases. In the first phase, reason poses
the problem and packages all that is in memory and pertinent to the problem
in a format suitable for the creative imagination. In the second phase, cre-
ative imagination suggests candidate solutions in the way of insights, flashes
of inspiration, and in the third phase reason verifies whether or not an in-
sight will work. Reason works out the technical details using memory and
the rules of logic.
The Emperor formats from memory all that is pertinent to the problem,
and then gives this preparation to creative imagination. The Empress, the
creative imagination, receives from the Emperor, reason, the pose of the
problem and a variety of other information the Emperor believes is true.
Creative imagination then works under the instigation of reason. Therefore,
from the point of view of the self-conscious, we say that the Emperor rules
the Empress.
In working with memory, the Emperor is working with the past. For the
past experience is codified in the inferred laws and rules about reality which
the Emperor has internalized. In working with creative imagination, the
Emperor is working with the future. The Emperor then brings the future
The Emperor 94

into the present on the basis of the past. In doing so, the Emperor is a
creator/destroyer. The Emperor destroys the past and through his wife, the
Empress, creates the future.
The Emperor is the initiator of change for it is the Emperor, who by using
reason, realizes that the new situation cannot be solved by any of the old
solutions. Therefore, the Emperor gives up the past and makes way for the
changed future. It is the Emperor who advances time. That is why we have
the phrase “Father Time.”
And what is it that is really changed? Does the Emperor change physical
reality? No, the reality the Emperor changes is our own internal reality. This
reality is the model we carry and use of the world in which we interact. For
when we get into trouble, it is the deficiencies of this model which has gotten
us into trouble. We find a solution to our problem by adjusting this internal
model of reality, making it a more accurate and richer model.
The Emperor is the ruler. He is the one who sets our inner house in order
through the use of reason.
The Emperor 95

General Discussion Quotes

Waite describes the Emperor in the following way.

He is a crowned monarch - commanding, stately, seated on a
throne, the arms of which are fronted by rams’ heads. He is
executive and realization, the power of this world, here clothed
with the highest of its natural attributes... He is the virile power,
to which the Empress responds, and in this sense is he who seeks
to remove the Veil of Isis; yet she remains virgo intacta....
[The Emperor signifies] the higher kingship, occupying the intel-
lectual throne. Hereof is the lordship of thought rather than of
the animal world... The Emperor has been described as ... will
in its embodied form, but this is only one of its applications.
Ussher says that
With him, one feels, the masculine Mind and Will have com-
menced their dominance in the world; in most versions he is shown
in profile - expressing thrust and singleness of aim - and in some
he is seated on a cubic stone, to indicate the cruel compelling
weight of logic and the Ego.
D’Agostino says that
The major mental functions assigned to the Emperor are induc-
tive reasoning, and the sense of sight. ... he is another aspect of
our self-conscious activity. His performance in observation and
inductive reasoning supplies the necessary measuring tools that
the Magician requires to expand upon his initial impulse of con-
centration. The autonomous functions that the Emperor sym-
bolizes are the human factors directly engaged in self-analysis.
Their activity initiates psychological regression; the reduction of
an external form into its primary cause by mentally observing
its sequence of events backward. ... His reasoning faculties are
actually an act of recollection, the feminine expression of memory.
Eden says that
The Emperor 96

The Emperor is the active Father force contrasted with the active
Mother force through whom his characteristics are brought forth.
He is the Magician after his union with the High Priestess has
changed her into the Empress and made him the father of her
offspring.
The Emperor stands for domination of the material world, for
authority, paternity, and the regulation of life by law.
Note that flesh is not the enemy of the Spirit but its vehicle;
Spirit is not the enemy of the flesh but its driving force.

Moore says that

The Emperor is assigned the occult extension of the faculty of

Sight. We have two phrases in our ordinary speech which figu-
ratively present the same idea. We say “the mental vision - the
minds eye.” ...
It is with actual mental eyes that the Emperor sees. When you
awake your mental vision, meaning your real and literal mental
eyes, then you can see thoughts forming in peoples’ minds. You
can see the shapes these thoughts take when they leave the mind
and go on whatever errand their maker sends them. You can see
that the universe itself is mental and has only the appearance of
being physical. For everything in the universe is but a thought
of its creator. The mental is the real and the physical is only the
appearance....
The Emperor is the link between the human equipment and the
superhuman. We shall never bring in the superhuman until we
have employed our reason as far as it will go. The act of reasoning
is basing a new conclusion upon an old premise; employing our
observation to make something new....
The Emperor, like all the Tarot cards, pictures the highest goal in
that state of consciousness, shows the Reason active when Father
and Son (Soul and Personality) are one; then we use the mind to
see with. This is designated by the Stone Throne upon which the
Emperor sits. When we have reached that stage, Intuition and
The Emperor 97

Reason are the same thing, for the Higher Self is functioning in
our bodies and in our Reason. Reason is what the thinking cells
of the brain do with the material afforded them by the recording
cells of the brain; what the distinctly human part of our brain
(the front lobe) does with that part we share with the animals
(the back lobe) which records our observations proceeding to us
through the senses. We need to pay attention to the external
world not as animals but as thinking human beings. Otherwise,
what they record will be faulty and superficial. These records, be
they what they may, are our only safe way or basis for reasoning,
whether faulty or accurate.

Javane and Bunker say that the Emperor

ruling our conscious existence, represents reason, which is a func-

tion of the conscious mind. The Emperor therefore rules over and
sets in order the reasoning, conscious elements of the material
world. He supervises and controls through his ability to discern
the truth in any given situation. It is his wisdom in handling
affairs systematically that has placed him upon the throne.
The Emperor is the Magician grown older and now in a position
where the efforts of the three previous stages bring about concrete
rewards in power and dominion.

Sharman-Burke says that

As the Empress is mother, so the Emperor is father, giver of life,

sower of the divine seed. The Emperor’s task is to teach the
Fool to handle the material side of life, how to live and deal in
the world of men. He instructs him on matters of authority and
administration as well as giving guidelines on moral and ethical
behavior. The wisdom the Emperor imparts is of an earthly na-
ture, but nonetheless essential to the Fool’s development. The
Emperor is symbolic of a dynamic force, energy channeled into
making ideas solid and workable. He represents the drive for
ambition and power, wealth and fame. His mode of expression
is direct, forceful and outgoing, unlike his consort the Empress
The Emperor 98

whose feminine energy is receptive and nurturing. The Emperor

acts, the Empress is acted upon. The links which form to join
the two parents act as a lesson for the Fool that an excess of
either quality can be damaging. What is needed is a balance, an
equation of the two opposites. The Fool needs to internalize the
images and use them in harmony within himself.
Oribello says that
The Emperor is symbolic of the conscious mind (masculine prin-
ciple) awakening to an illuminated awareness.
Nichols says that the Emperor
may be seen as an active, masculine principle come to bring order
to the Empress’s garden which, if left to grow by itself, can be-
come a jungle. He will carve out room for man to stand erect, will
create paths for intercommunication, will oversee the building of
homes, villages, and cities. He will protect his empire from the
inroads of both hostile nature and barbarians. In short, he will
create, inspire, and defend civilization. ...
To become civilized, man needs to place himself in space and time.
The Emperor brings permanence, stability, and perspective. He
stands as the figurehead for the state. He represents the principle
upon which the fertility and the welfare of the kingdom depends.
Case says
The Emperor means “he who sets in order”... It implies both au-
thority and paternity. It also represents the head of government,
the source of war, the war-making power, and so on. The ideas
are related to the sign Aries and to Mars and the Sun....
The Emperor is obviously the consort of the Empress. He is,
in fact, essentially identical with the Magician, after the latter’s
union with the High Priestess has transformed her into the Em-
press, and has made him the father of her children.
It is on this account that the Emperor follows the Empress in
the series. As Magician he is only potentially a father, just as
The Emperor 99

the High Priestess is only a potential mother. After his consort

has borne him children, the Emperor has opportunity for actual
exercise of his parental authority.
In one sense the Emperor represents the Grand Architect of the
Universe, the Ancient of Days. He is the supreme NOUS, or
Reason, the constituting power, alike of the great world and of
the little, of the universe and of man.
Psychologically, therefore, he represents, the self-consciousness of
man, when its activities are engaged in the work of inductive
reasoning whereby errors arising from superficial interpretation
of experience are overthrown. He is the definer, the lawgiver, the
regulator. He is the ruling mental activity in human personality.
He frames the constitution of your personal world.
The Emperor 100

Symbolism

Black Crescent The shadow on the Emperor’s red robe just

positioned by his left foot takes the shape of
the crescent. Reason, is, therefore, over the
subconscious.

Blue Armor The Emperor wears a blue suit of armor under

his red robe. Blue designates memory, in this
case personal memory of a physical fact.
Reason arms itself with memory and protects
itself in its conclusions by reasoning about the
future of the past (Moore).
The Emperor is clad in steel armor. This
further emphasizes his correspondence to the
martial sign Aries, because iron and steel are
the metals of Mars (Case).
The Blue Armour suggests that one of the
qualities of the Emperor is power beneath
which lies considerable strength, available
whenever necessary (Nichols).
There are seven ridges on the boots of the steel
armor. These represent the seven lower
Sephiroth which control the world of the
emotions.

Blue Stream The Blue Stream on the Emperor’s right flows

from the robe of the High Priestess. It means
that the activity depicted by the Emperor is
controlled by the self-conscious, since the
stream falling from above into the below on the
Empress card designates the self-conscious
image impregnating the subconscious
mind-stuff. The mind-stuff is the substance
The Emperor 101

which gives body to the mental image and

makes it become a form (Moore).
Far below, at the base of the mountains, flows a
river. This is the same stream of consciousness
that begins in the robe of the High Priestess,
and waters the Empress’ garden (Case).

Infinity sign The top of the crown has an infinity sign. The
Emperor, like the Magician is conscious of the
Spiritual and works with it.

Orange Mountain The mountains to the Emperor’s left are

orange. Orange is the blending of red and
yellow. Orange is also the color of the
superconscious; it designates the reason of the
creator in making active the images of the
creator. This is accomplished by dividing itself
into the two minds (indicated by the two ds in
the Tetragrammaton dedi) who impressed the
images of the first mind upon the second who
thereupon, brought them forth (Moore).
These mountains in the distance are forbidding
heights, in sharp contrast to the valley where
the Empress sits. Barren, they represent vividly
the sterility of mere supervision and regulation,
unless there be something vitally warm and
fruitful to set in order. On the other hand, it is
the erosion of these barren rocks which provides
the soil for the Empress’ garden (Case).

Ram’s Head The stone throne on which the Emperor sits

has a Ram’s head on each armrest and on the
left and right top of the backrest. The Ram is
the Zodiac sign of Aries. In addition, there is a
Ram’s head on the violet cape positioned over
the Emperor’s left shoulder (Moore).
The Emperor 102

Aries is a fiery, cardinal sign. It governs the

head and the face. It is ruled by Mars,
significant of force, strength, energy, courage
and activity. Mars rules iron, steel, surgery,
chemistry and military affairs.
In Aries the Sun is exalted, or raised to its
highest level of power. The Sun has to do with
health and vitality. It is the significator of high
office, and of positions of rank and title, so that
it represents rulership and authority. It also
stands for the Ego, or individuality, in one’s
natal horoscope. Its metal is gold. Astrologers
say Aries represents rulership, government,
guidance and leadership (Case).
The Emperor is a solar figure, Martian in
character - as testified by the Ram’s heads
(emblems of Mars) that decorate his throne and
appear on his left shoulder (Eden).
His helmet is red and gold, representing Mars
and the Sun. The Sun is exalted in Aries, which
rules this card, as shown by the ram’s heads
adorning the throne. The Emperor’s thoughts
have been channeled through personal efforts
(Mars) into productive and useful
implementation, a process which has crowned
him with authority (the Sun) (Javane and
Bunker).
There are four Rams’ heads carved on the
throne which reveals that by determination we
uncover the mysteries of the elemental kingdom
(the physical realm) (Oribello).

Orange Background The orange background in the upper part of the

picture refers to the exaltation of the Sun in
Aries, because orange is the color of the Sun
The Emperor 103

and of gold, in our color scale. Below it are red

mountains, of igneous rock. Both in form and
color, these refer to the fiery quality of Aries.
Red is also the color of this sign, and of Mars,
its ruler (Case).

Red Robe The Emperor wears a Red Robe. Red means

desire and the result of desire is action. The
Emperor instigates action and change. Red is
also the color of the Mars Vibration. The Mars
vibration is destructive. Reason is constructive.
This tells us that one cannot engage in
construction without first engaging in
destruction, even if the destruction is only a
destruction of prior misconceptions about
reality (Moore).

Stone Throne The Emperor sits on a Stone Throne which in

its highest aspects denotes the union of the
Higher Self (the Father) with the personality
(the Son). In its lowest aspect, the Stone
Throne represents the physical world. This
means that reason sits enthroned upon the
physical world (Moore).
The monarch sits on a cubic stone, like that
which is the seat of the High Priestess. This
indicates that the mode of consciousness here
symbolized has its seat or basis in laws of
cosmic manifestation which are at work in the
mineral kingdom. A very few laws suffice for all
the complex manifestations of the Life-power,
and they are operative on “low” planes as well
as on “high” (Case).
His throne, simply carved of stone, is symbolic
of the body, which needs long and arduous work
before it is perfected (Javane and Bunker).
The Emperor 104

The Emperor sits on a gray Stone Throne

proclaiming the powers of human adaptation
(D’Agostino).

Thumb The Thumbs of the Emperor are noticeable in

the Emperor’s stance. The thumb is to the
other fingers what the eye is to the other
senses. The thumb and the eye controls, guides
and increases the efficiency of all the rest.
Man’s career as maker and architect was made
possible by the thumb. So reason, to which the
Hebrew wisdom assigns the function of Sight
when its perceptions are occultly opened,
makes it possible for a man to use all his senses
correctly and puts their results at his disposal.
So the thumb is an important symbol for reason
(Moore).

Violet Cape The Emperor wears a Violet Cape over the red
robe. Violet is the color of equilibrium and also
signifies the manifestation, the creation of
forms. There can be no creation without
tearing down and building up again. To create
we throw a thing out of equilibrium and then
throw it in again. The Violet Cape is fashioned
like a wheel showing four concentric circles.
The four circles represent the four stages of an
idea as it works out from the image of the
creator through the three other planes into the
physical world of manifestation. (Moore).

Violet Stream The stream on the Emperor’s left is colored

violet. Violet is the color of equilibrium and of
the creation of forms. It is the Emperor who
changed the color of the blue stream to violet in
order to build his new forms. To do this
requires the imagination (the material the
The Emperor 105

subconscious furnishes to make reason fruitful)

to bring forth the images (Moore).

White Beard The Emperor has a youthful face with a White

Beard to indicate that he is eternal and
eternally young. He is the oldest thing in
manifestation and at the same time the
youngest immemorial age and immemorial
youth (Moore).

White Hair The Emperor has White Hair to indicate that

he is eternal and eternally young and to show
that his work is Spiritual (Moore).

Yellow Crown The Emperor wears a Yellow Crown. A crown is

a symbol of control of dominion. There are five
bars in the top of it and each ends in a segment,
a square enclosing a circle. The complete crown
thus has ten bars and ten circles. These typify
the ten emanations of the Life Power, over
which reason through his wife has control and
which his son can manipulate. Each alternate
circle is red to denote that he can make the ten
aspects or emanations active (Moore).
The metal parts of the Emperor’s helmet-like
crown are of gold, a further reference to the
exaltation of the Sun in Aries (Case).
The Emperor wears the Yellow crown of twelve
divisions of the zodiac, of which only five are
showing. Wearing a crown like the Empress
implies his co-rulership with her over the
universe. He is not only her royal consort, but
also her complement in the process of creativity
(D’Agostino).

Yellow Mountains The mountains on the Emperor’s right are

Yellow Mountains with some red stripes
The Emperor 106

running through them. The Yellow means that

the Emperor is using reason to impress images
or thought forms on the subconscious. The red
means that the Mars vibration is functioning in
the self-conscious, killing off that part of the
self-conscious that resists the future (Moore).

Yellow Scepter The Emperor holds in his right hand (his active
male side) an upright Yellow Scepter topped
with a T-Cross. The T-Cross is call Tav or
Saturn cross. Saturn represents the condensing
and the limiting power. The T-Cross handle on
the scepter of the Emperor not only means that
he rules through his wife, the Empress, who
carries out and makes fruitful his images or
thought forms, but also that he sternly controls
those images or thought forms. He limits them
and employs only those that reason wants to be
carried out; exercising careful supervision over
the images or thought forms (Moore).
The scepter in the Emperor’s right hand is a
modified Venus symbol, made of gold, as
another reference to the exaltation of the Sun
in Aries. This scepter is also one form of the
Egyptian ankh, or sign of life. It means that the
power of regulation is chiefly derived from the
exaltation of solar energy in the sense of sight,
and in the mental vision which is the inner
correspondence thereto (Case).
He holds the Tau (T) cross in his right hand.
This cross is the T-square used in mathematics,
geometry, surveying and planning. He has
attained his position through proper planning
(Javane and Bunker).
The Yellow Scepter is a symbol of the
The Emperor 107

Emperor’s masculine creativity and potency

(Nichols).
The Emperor holds in his right hand a Yellow
Scepter resembling the symbol of Venus. This is
an Egyptian ankh of life, directing our
attention to the generation of images brought
forth by the Empress. These images wander
aimlessly, and are of no use to him unless he
first puts them into some definite order. In
what particular order we have arranged these
images, dictates all of our personal
interpretations and definitions (D’Agostino).

Yellow Sphere In the Emperor’s left palm (his passive female

side) is a Yellow Crystal Sphere. This
represents the son of reason. Reason rules
through his wife and his son. He must be
balanced by these two in order to do fruitful
work (Moore).
The Yellow Sphere is the globe of dominion,
showing that only through the feminine power
of love can the Emperor balance Spirit and
matter and thus have the true power to rule
(Eden).
The Yellow Sphere held by the Emperor is an
Orb. It represents his rational understanding of
the laws necessary for men to abide by
(Nichols).
The Yellow Sphere in the monarch’s left hand is
the conventional symbol of dominion. It is red,
color of Mars, and on it is an inverted,
blue-violet T-square. The square is a symbol of
the use of mathematics and geometry and
planning. Because it is blue-violet, and is
shaped like a letter “T”, it is in correspondence
The Emperor 108

with z, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet,

to which the planet Saturn, associated with
blue-violet in our color-scale, is assigned. What
this hints is that the order and dominion
exercised by the Emperor bring about an
inversion or reversal of the Saturnine power of
limitation. Right definition is itself a sort of
limitation, which sets us free from slavery to
circumstances because it enables us, through
right knowledge, to establish new boundaries,
to enlarge our horizon (Case).
Notice how the Emperor is holding the Yellow
Sphere. His hand is cupped as if he is receiving.
Notice also that the top of the sphere is open.
This makes the sphere like a cup, an occult
symbol for receiving.
The Hierophant 109
The Hierophant 110
The Hierophant 111

The Hierophant
The Hierophant represents our Higher Self. This is that part of us which
is fully knowledgeable. We do not develop it. Rather he develops us by
instructing us. The Hierophant is our inner teacher.
The Higher Self operates in accordance with Divine Law. It knows about
how to initiate change. Therefore, the Higher Self holds all the latent pos-
sibilities of the future. By listening to our Higher Self, we can bring the
becoming of this future into being.
When we are conscious of a thought which has come to us from the Higher
Self, there is a recognition of it being a profound insight. For something which
has not been is unfolding and growing out of itself.
The knowledge which comes from the Higher Self are the teachings of the
Divine Law. He provides the knowledge of how to improve oneself in any way
one desires. He provides the knowledge of how to obtain anything the ego
wants, when the ego wants it for the right reason. And when the ego wants
it for the wrong reason, he provides instruction to the subconscious to create
conditions by which the self-conscious can learn and experience the fact that
the motivation for the desire was not in accordance with Divine Law.
In order for this knowledge to be transmitted from the Higher Self to the
self-conscious, the self-conscious must be able to clear the mind and keep
the mind still. First, the self-conscious must concentrate its will on one and
only one purpose. This focusing of will emanates the light from the world
of emanation to the world of creation. Second, imagination must transform
the light emanation to a thought-form and attention must hold it so that it
becomes well-formed. Third, this one and only one purpose must be wanted
or desired fully, completely, and sincerely: for its own sake as a celebration of
Creation, and not for any finite unsacred purpose. This desire transports the
thought-form from the world of creation into the world of formation. Fourth,
the self-conscious must have the faith that what was desired will transpire.
This faith, is the certitude which transports the thought-form into the world
of manifestation.
Finally, the self-conscious must exert every possible effort to obtain what
is desired. This constitutes perseverance. Perseverance provides the op-
portunity for the Higher Self to instruct and for the self-conscious and the
The Hierophant 112

subconscious to listen how, when, and where to operate to bring into mani-
festation that which the attention has been holding. Perseverance gives time
and space for the subconscious to do its creating in accordance with the how,
when and where given in its instruction. Perseverance permits the thought
form to come into existence in the fullness of its time, place, and being.
The Hierophant 113

General Discussion Quotes

Waite says that

He is the ruling power of external religion.... [He is] the summa

totius theologiae, when it has passed into the utmost rigidity of
expression; but he symbolizes also all things that are righteous
and sacred on the manifest side. As such, he is the channel of
grace belonging to the world of institution as distinct from that
of Nature, and he is the leader of salvation for the human race at
large. He is the order and the head of the recognized hierarchy,
which is the reflection of another and greater hierarchic order....
He is not, as it has been thought, philosophy - except on the theo-
logical side; he is not inspiration; and he is not religion, although
he is a mode of its expression.

Eden says that

This master of the sacred mysteries wears the triple crown of a

Pope, the lower design trefoils representing the lower material
world, the middle one representing the formative world, and the
top tier representing the creative world. The symbol of three
is repeated in his staff, revealing the realms of spirit, soul, and
body....
The Hierophant represents traditional, orthodox teaching consid-
ered suitable to the masses. He is the ruling power of external
religion, whereas the High Priestess teaches only in secret and to
initiates.

Sorer says that

He is the reflective or mystical aspect of the masculine. He is the

thinker as the Emperor is the doer.

Nichols speaks of the Hierophant as the Pope. She says that

The Hierophant 114

... it was the Pope’s [Hierophant’s] function to make accessible

to man the transcendental world heretofore reached only through
intuition. ...
In contrast to the Popess, [the High Priestess] who communicates
largely through intuition and feeling, the Pope [Hierophant] can
organize and verbalize his ideas, bringing them together in a for-
mal rational system. Like the Emperor, he is an embodiment of
the masculine Logos, but his concerns are more inclusive than
those of the Emperor, who dealt chiefly with the physical well
being and social welfare of his subjects; and he is also concerned
with the inner world of conscience and responsibility.
... the Pope [Hierophant] also embodies powers which are both
salutary and destructive. In one aspect, the inner Pope [Hiero-
phant] is the function in ourselves that governs our spiritual wel-
fare, the inborn conscience that tells us when we have sinned
against the Spirit; and like the Pope, this inner voice can be so
dependable as to be virtually infallible.

Ussher says that

As the High Priestess stood to the Juggler in the relation of Law

to Impulse, so we might say that the Pope stands towards the
Emperor as the Codifier to the Source of Power, or the Tutor
or Guardian towards the Father. To put it differently, he is the
soul, as the Emperor was the Body. But this is to use Soul and
Body in the paradox, specifically human, sense of the Classical
European tradition; if we use them with their primary meanings
of Energy and Form, Life and Death, we shall have to make the
contrary identifications. For during the World-Era which begins
with Greece - and (roughly) with this Card - the ‘Soul’ has meant
the specific Form restricting the individual Energy of the Body;
and in this sense the ‘Pope’ represents mortal man’s discovery
of himself, as the ‘High Priestess’ meant his first discovery of
Nature.

D’Agostino says that

The Hierophant 115

The major mental functions assigned to the Hierophant are Intu-

ition and the sense of hearing. The Hierophant ... is your most
inner self, the teacher of the mysteries. The knowledge he com-
municates is an understanding of the principles and laws that
govern the universe and our lives. These fundamental ideas are
forever present in every age, and always prevail when we sensi-
bly implement them. The method in which this inner teaching
is expounded is what we call intuition. Intuition is the continu-
ation and the evolution of the inductive reasoning process of the
Emperor. There cannot be any inner teaching unless the stream
of images brought forth by the Empress are first arranged into
their proper order by her royal consort. Pursuant to the accu-
rate mental classification of this stream of images, our recovery
of the primordial emanations instantly auto-activates the deduc-
tive powers of the Hierophant. His unconscious elaborations of
these primary forces eventually project into our conscious aware-
ness some principle or law of life. The availability of this ancient
wisdom enhances the human solution of personal problems, and
universally disseminated, benefits all of mankind.
D’Agostino then summarizes that the Hierophant is
the God within us, our inner self, who is always present and ready
to dispense its healing powers, to assist us in our need when we
seek its help.
Sharman-Burke says that
The Hierophant embodies the other face of the masculine prin-
ciple. The Emperor stands for man’s worldly face while the Hi-
erophant represents his spiritual one. The Hierophant represents
the urge to find spiritual meaning in life; he is the force behind
the forming within each man of religious beliefs or philosophical
values. He stands not only for accepted and traditional theology
but also for the need within each man to test out such teachings
or beliefs for himself. The Hierophant is the energy behind the
desire to find a personal spiritual truth. He is thus the Fool’s spir-
itual guide and mentor, but unlike his partner, the High Priestess,
The Hierophant 116

whose secrets are not readily revealed, the Hierophant is clearer

and more direct in his teachings.

Case says that

Hierophant means “revealer of sacred things.” It was the name

of the chief officer in the Eleusinian Mysteries, and signifies that
which makes known the hidden import of the appearances whereby
we are surrounded....
We do not agree with Dr. Waite that the Hierophant “is the
ruling power of external religion,... exoteric orthodox doctrine,..
the outer side or the life which leads to the doctrine.” On the
contrary, he is the pontifex, the “bridge-maker” who provides a
connecting link between outer experience and interior illumina-
tion....
Psychologically, the Hierophant represents Intuition, which fol-
lows reasoning, and adds to it. Intuition is subconscious response
to reason, whereby, through laws of association at work below the
conscious level, thought-relations which go beyond the results at-
tained by reason are attained. Usually these are perceived by
interior hearing. Intuition, it should be noted, means literally
“inner tuition.”

Javane and Bunker explain

The Hierophant represents our inner teacher, our inner hearing,

our intuition. Sages have always said that release from all lim-
itation comes to those who awaken their inner awareness. True
inner hearing does not involve spirits, clairvoyance and visions
from the astral plane. Rather, true intuition is based upon the
number 4 and key 4, the Emperor. When the conscious mind
gathers all the facts and feeds them into the subconscious mind,
the subconscious acts upon this information and, in a flash of
intuition, sends the correct analysis back to the conscious mind.
This is true intuition, based upon reason.

Moore explains
The Hierophant 117

The two meanings that this card particularly call attention to

are the Higher Self and the body. The Higher Self is the link of
the human with his Spirit, and the body is the link between the
Higher Self and the self-conscious...
The goal of the self-conscious is to find union with the Higher Self
and to perform the union of the lower body with the higher body.
That is done with apparent self-sacrifice and when it is done, you
find you have infinitely extended yourself....
The message received from this card is from the Higher Self and
is called Intuition, the inner teaching. I want particularly to
warn you against thinking of Inner Teaching as teaching to the
self-conscious alone, and that is what it is doing in this card.
The teaching deals with telling the two forms of the subconscious
in you all that is necessary to bring about the physical changes
which they must work in the body in order for you to become
truly spiritual, in the mystic sense of the word....
In this card [is] the Hierophant (the Higher Self) whose object
is to get into your mind and get you to sacrifice the body of the
lower self....
The Hierophant, in this card, is imparting to the two kneeling at
his feet (they are the two forms of the subconscious in you, the
cosmic subconscious or the High Priestess, and the personal sub-
conscious or the Empress) how to work physical changes in the
body, which depend upon the equilibrium of the self-conscious
and the subconscious. This equilibrium is physical matter, not
merely mental and emotional equilibrium. The mental and emo-
tional are very important. It is the effort at mental and emotional
equilibrium, the effort of the self-conscious which is the next pre-
liminary of the physical changes worked by the subconscious. As
exemplified in the gospel story of John the Baptist: “The intellect
must prepare the way of the Lord and make them straight.” It
is the effort of the self-conscious which prepares the way for the
changes worked in the subconscious.

Oribello says
The Hierophant 118

The Hierophant is symbolic of your super-conscious mind or High

Self. He sits on a throne between two pillars, two persons, and
his face between two ribbons of gold on either side of his crown.
All of the symbols just mentioned tell us that the superconscious
mind is the prime factor of balance and harmony between the
conscious and subconscious mind as we develop on the path.

Wanless says

The Hierophant, ‘revealer of the light,’ is the teacher. He has

mastered the tests of life... He calls upon the higher wisdom of
the ancients to bring himself into wholeness. The Hierophant
communicates the knowledge of the Priestess in a Taurus down-
to-earth way. Through the power of his voice, we listen to his
practical sagacity.

Arien says

The Hierophant represents the universal principle of learning and

teaching that is experienced within our families and in life chal-
lenges that require us to trust our faith. Faith is asked for in
different parts of human experience, and yet for many human
beings the test of faith and individuality is often challenged and
experienced within family situations.... The Hierophant is that
part of ourselves that knows how to directly apply the sacred,
that is within all of us, into the outer world.
The Hierophant 119

Symbolism

Black/White Checks Just barely visible on the carpet are four strips
of Black and White checks. They are the four
keys of the four planes. They are black and
white because they represent the opposing
masculine and feminine as did the two pillars of
the High Priestess. When we speak of them as
the emotions we see they represent the pleasant
emotions and the unpleasant ones. One of the
secrets the Hierophant is teaching these two is
how to control their emotions so that their
emotions will no longer control them (Moore).
The four strips of Black and White Checks at
the edges of the carpet remind us of the
Masonic mosaic pavement, which represents the
alternation of light and darkness in the
manifestation of the Life-power (Case).
On the dais are Black and White Checks.
These squares of opposite colors represent the
constant alternation of light and darkness; a
product of the principle of rhythm
(D’Agostino).

Crossed Keys The two golden Crossed Keys have handles

made like the Venus symbol, with the cross
turned in. A key suggests a door and Venus is
the door. They are the keys to unlock the
Venus Center. The Wards of these keys are
noticeable square, and the sign of the Venus
Center is a carpenter’s square. They are gold so
they represent the use of the energy of the Sun,
the use of the Light Force (Moore).
The Crossed Keys at the feet of the
Hierophant, one gold and one silver, are the
The Hierophant 120

solar and lunar currents of energy (Eden).

The Crossed Keys at the Hierophant’s feet are
the familiar symbols of the power of the
Papacy. Yet they have a deeper meaning. One
is silver, the other golden. They stand for the
solar and lunar currents of radiant energy,
which, as nerve-currents in the human body,
are utilized as keys to open the inner doors
leading to higher modes of awareness.
The Crossed Keys consist of a golden one and a
sliver one. The golden key is the key of heaven,
wherein the sun is ruler. The silver key is
associated with hell because of the
correspondence between the Moon and Hecate,
whom the Greeks worshipped as a deity of the
underworld. Thus the silver key relates to the
powers of subconsciousness, and the golden key
represents the powers of superconsciousness
(Case).
At the Hierophant’s feet, the Crossed Keys
symbolize the super-conscious, which is the key
to heaven, and the subconscious, which is the
key to earth (or hell, if one makes it so).
(Javane and Bunker).
The Crossed Keys which are at the foot of the
throne stand for knowledge of good and evil
and are the keys to heaven (Sharman-Burke).
The Crossed Keys at the bottom of the card
tell us that the Hierophant unlocks the
mysteries of heaven and earth. The bell designs
inserted on the two keys speak of the power of
sound and the sense of hearing (D’Agostino).

Four Circles The four circles on the square dais enclose

crosses - the Venus symbol folded in upon itself.
The Hierophant 121

They represent the manifestation of dedi in the

four worlds (Case).

Gray Background The Hierophant sits on a throne, between two

stone pillars. These, and the throne, together
with the background, are gray, a color
associated with Wisdom, because gray is the
tint resulting from equal mixture of any two
complementary colors. Since color complements
are also opposites, gray stands for the perfect
balance of all pairs of opposites, and this is the
practical aspect of Wisdom, the second
Sephirah. Thus the gray background of Key 5
affords a very definite clue to the position of
the Key on the Tree of Life, since, in colored
representations of the Tree, the second Sephirah
is painted gray (Case).
The pale gray background represents wisdom
because gray is a mixture of equal parts of
black and white. Thus gray stands for perfect
balance which is the practical aspect of wisdom
(Javane and Bunker).

Hierophant Robe The Hierophant has a red-orange robe on over a

white one. The Blue robe is intermediary
between the white and the red-orange robe,
between the innermost robe and the outside
robe. Blue, the subconscious, is the vehicle by
which the spirit, white, expresses itself to the
Reason of man. When the Reason acts in
accordance with the superconscious it is
red-orange. The red is Reason and the Orange
is superconscious (Moore).
The outer robe of the Hierophant is red-orange,
the color corresponding to Taurus. It has for
trimming a border of blue-green,
The Hierophant 122

complementary to red-orange, and

corresponding to the sign Scorpio, the sign
opposite and complementary to Taurus. At the
neck, this outer garment is caught with a clasp
in the form of a sliver crescent. This is a
symbol of the Moon, which is exalted in
Taurus. Its position at the Hierophant’s throat
is a reminder that Taurus rules that part of the
human body.
Under this red robe the Hierophant wears a
garment of blue, like that of the High Priestess,
and having the same meaning. Under this is a
white garment, like that of the Fool, and having
the same significance (Case).

Monks The two tonsured monks kneel at the feet of

the Hierophant who is instructing them. They
have tonsured heads and yokes of yellow to
show they are like monks, entirely abandoned
and dedicated to the Higher Self, the source of
all intuition (Moore).
Two Monks kneel before the Hierophant and
are listening attentively to what he has to say
(D’Agostino).

Monks’ Robes The robe with the roses represents the

intellectual subconscious, the body with five
senses. The robe with the lilies represents the
cosmic subconscious.
The Monk dressed in the blue robe represents
the High Priestess. The self-conscious of the
Personality cannot impress her with his images.
Only the Hierophant can do this, but the
self-conscious of the Personality can impress the
Empress, the intellectual subconscious, which is
The Hierophant 123

the monk dressed in the black and white robe

with the red roses (Moore).
The robe of one is decorated by the white lilies
or thought; that of the other shows the roses of
desire (Eden).
The Monks kneeling before the Hierophant
wear robes which repeat the motif of the flowers
in the Magician’s garden. The Monk who wears
lilies personifies thought, the other represents
desire (Case).
The robes of the two kneeling monks represent
desire (roses) and purified desire (lilies), both of
which must be sublimated to the conscious
mind (Javane and Bunker).
The Monk on the right, with the white lilies
displayed upon his blue robe, personifies our
intellect. The monk at the left, with red roses
on his gray robe, embodies our desires
(D’Agostino).

Pillars The Hierophant sits between two Pillars. The

Pillars are alike and they are made of stone.
They stand for the union of the Personality
with the Higher Self, the body with the soul.
The two Pillars bear the symbol of the principle
of gender, two opposite forces working
harmoniously and creatively together (Moore).
These are the pillars of the Tree of Life from
the Kabbalah, one representing Mercy and the
other Severity (Eden).
The two Pillars are symbolic of duality and the
balance that needs to be struck between two
opposites (Sharman-Burke).
The Hierophant 124

Pillar Capitals The two designs on the pillars are set in deep
semicircles, again representing the two forms of
the subconscious in you. One semicircle is for
the one listener and the other semicircle is for
the other listener. One is the intellectual
subconscious and the other is the cosmic
subconscious (Moore).
The capitals of the pillars are decorated with
mystic symbols of sexual union (Eden).
The design on the capitals of the pillars is a
phallic symbol of union. The pillars themselves
repeat the motif of duality, and suggest the
laws of association represented by the pillars of
the High Priestess (Case).

Pink Carpet The Hierophant is enthroned on a Pink Carpet.

Pink is red-on-white. Red means the Mars force
and white means the Spirit. Red-on-white,
which is pink, means the divine use of the Mars
force, the Mars vibration (Moore).

Square Dais The square dais suggests the number 4, symbol

of order and measurement, as if to suggest that
however far beyond our present experience the
higher consciousness may go, it rests on a solid
basis of fact and reason. The dais is covered
with a red-orange carpet, corresponding by this
color to Taurus (Case).

Stone Throne The throne on which the Hierophant sits is

made of stone, and the word “stone” has a very
special meaning in the Bible and in the
Qabalah. In Hebrew, “stone” is oa`, ehben.
The first two letters of this word, Aleph and
Beth, are the letter of the noun a`, Ab,
meaning “Father,” and this is one of the
The Hierophant 125

Qabalistic names for the second Sephirah. The

last two letters Beth and Nun, spell the word
oa, Ben, meaning “Son,” and this is the
Qabalistic name for the sixth Sephirah, Beauty,
which, as you can see from the diagram of the
Tree, is the central point, and so to say, pivot,
of that diagram. Thus in the oa`, ehben, as
Qabalists say, “the names of the Father and the
Son, of Wisdom and Beauty, are conjoined”;
and this is the main reason for the many
symbolic uses of the “stone” throughout the
Scriptures (Case).

Ten Crosses The crosses on the Hierophant’s white shoes

refer to the union of male and female, positive
and negative, forces, and to the order (4,cross)
which results from that union. Similar crosses
are shown on the backs of his hands, on the
carpet under his feet, and on the handles of the
crossed keys. These ten crosses repeat the
symbolism of the ten circular ornaments on the
outer garment of the Fool (Case).
The ten crosses represent the spiritual numbers
1 to 10, the ten aspects of the Tree of Life and
the ten trees in the Empress’ garden (Javane
and Bunker).
His heart is crossed with a white strip with
three crosses. His white shoes also bear the sign
of the cross. This is symbolic of pure emotion
and pure action in the physical kingdom. There
are also four circles with crosses at his feet
which revel mastery over the kingdom of the
four elements (Oribello).

Uplifted Hand The partly closed uplifted right hand of the

Hierophant means this: that the world
The Hierophant 126

contacted by the senses is only a small part of

the story. However sharpened the senses are by
practice, the major part of the world will be
eluded by any physical interpretation (Moore).
With his right hand he gives the well-known
ecclesiastical sign which is called that of
esotericism, distinguishing between the manifest
and concealed part of doctrine (Waite).
The Hierophant raises his right hand in the
salutation of the adepts, symbolic of right
action and initiation into the Fraternity of
Light. His three upraised fingers are part of one
hand and signify the trinity, or three in one
(Oribello).
The Hierophant has his right hand raised with
the thumb and first two fingers pointing
upwards and the other two fingers folded in on
his palm. This indicates the distinction
between above and below, gods and men, spirit
and matter. The Hierophant stands as a link
between the two. Through the priest men
obtain knowledge of the spirit and men may
communicate with the gods (Sharman-Burke).
The Hierophant has his right hand raised in the
traditional sign of benediction. The hand shows
two extended fingers. This indicates that moral
problems involving the opposites of good and
evil are under his domain, to be openly
recognized and dealt with. The thumb and two
remaining fingers, which he holds concealed
might signify that the Trinity is a holy mystery,
not to be examined scientifically, but rather to
be experienced emotionally. The Hierophant
holds the key to this holy mystery concealed in
the palm of his hand (Nichols).
The Hierophant 127

Yellow Crown The imposing crown on the head of the

Hierophant, from which hangs down the two
tabs of yellow-deep yellow, represent the
self-conscious mind and the subconscious mind.
He controls both the self-conscious and the
subconscious mind. He communicates only
through the subconscious mind. His Tiara
represents the dominion over nature. He
extends down into the self-conscious and the
subconscious and stretches down into them his
possession of the fifteen emanations of
consciousness and his functioning in the four
planes. There will come a time when we have
his fifteen extensions of consciousness and we
can function on the four planes also. It is
because of him that we can do this.
The Tiara on the head of the Hierophant is
made in the shape of the Pineal Gland, made in
the shape of a pine cone. It is made to
designate the opened Pineal Gland which is the
temple in the body in which the soul functions
and from which it directs the personality.
The crown also means dominion. Here
dominion means dominion over the four planes.
There are three circlets in the Tiara to
correspond to the three lower planes. They are
surrounded by three nails meaning “Three in
One” and the one is the self-conscious, the
superconscious, and the subconscious. They
comprise the All of existence. In the Archetypal
Plane these three exist as one. To come down
into the matter of the three lower planes they
must split up and become three separate things.
From the point of view of the conscious, the
three trefoils in the upper circlet of the crown
The Hierophant 128

represent the self-conscious, the superconscious,

and the subconscious. From the point of view
of matter, these three trefoils represent the
three qualities of matter: the tendency of
matter to collect into form; the tendency of
matter to remain in that form or to be stable;
and the tendency of matter to disintegrate after
the form has served its purpose.
The bottom-most circlet of the crown has five
trefoils. They represent the five-fold activity of
the formative world. These are the activities of
the faculties of hearing, sight, taste, touch, and
smell as they exist on the higher plane. These
faculties correspond to the subtle principles of
the five elements: ether corresponding to
hearing, fire corresponding to sight, water
corresponding to taste, air corresponding to
touch, and earth corresponding to smell.
The middle circlet of the crown has seven
trefoils. The seven correspond to the seven
forces of dedi, which is also symbolized by the
seven branched candlesticks, seven branches,
but one flame. The seven also corresponds to
the seven planets, to the seven chakras, and to
the seven alchemic metals. All symbolize
control over manifestation (Moore).
The crown is a triple tiara, like the Pope’s
crown. It is of gold, symbolizing radiant energy
and wisdom. It is ornamented with three rows
of trefoils: top row, 3; middle row, 5; and the
bottom row, 7. (In the Rider pack, the middle
row has 7, and the bottom row has 5.) The
total number is 15, the numeral value of the
Hebrew divine name di, Jah. This name is that
associated by Qabalists with the second
The Hierophant 129

Sephirah, and affords another clue to the

attribution of Key 5 to the path joining the
second Sephirah to the fourth.
Since any trefoil represents the number 3,
fifteen of them stand for 3 x 15, or 45, number
of the name mc`, Adam. Here is a reference to
the Qabalistic doctrine that man or Adam is
God’s image of Himself - that the primary
thought in the Mind of God, prior to all
manifestation, must be God’s awareness of His
own nature and powers, and that this
awareness is the true “image of God,”
designated by the name Adam.
The three trefoils in the upper row designate
the three-fold nature of the Life-power. The
five in the second row represent the five modes
of manifestation - the Quintessence and the
four elements, or the five Tattvas of Hindu
philosophy, which are the subtle principles or
sensation. The seven in the bottom row
correspond to the Seven Spirits of God, to the
seven sacred planets, to the seven alchemical
metals, and to the seven chakras, or interior
“stars,” of the yoga schools. Here we have, also
the three principles of the alchemists, their five
modes of the manifestation of the One Thing,
and their seven so-called “metals.”
In the Rider pack, the tiara is surmounted by a
black “W”, indicating the correspondence of
Key 5 to the letter Vav. In the B.O.T.A.
(Builders of the Adytum) version, the ornament
at the top of the crown is a small sphere,
symbolizing the archetypal world. Below it, the
three rows of trefoils, in descending order,
symbolize the creative, formative, and material
The Hierophant 130

worlds (Case).
The Hierophant’s crown is triple: the row of
five trefoils represents the five senses; the row of
seven trefoils symbolizes the seven centers in
the body and the seven original planets; the
row of three trefoils stands for the three states
of consciousness - the super-conscious, the
conscious and the sub-conscious. The
ornaments attached to his crown fall just
behind his ears to emphasize hearing. The
crown represents the four worlds - archetypal
(knob), creative, formative and material
(Javane and Bunker).

Yellow Scepter The Yellow Scepter which the Hierophant holds

in his left hand indicates that he has dominion
over the four planes. The Archetypal Plane is
indicated by the knob at the top, and the three
lower planes are indicated by the three cross
pieces: the Creative, Formative, and Physical
planes (Moore).
In his left hand, the Hierophant holds a golden
staff. It symbolizes the dominion of the
Life-power through the planes of nature,
represented by the knob at the top, with the
three cross-bars below it. These latter
correspond in meaning to the three rows of
trefoils on the tiara, and the knob at the top of
the staff corresponds to the circular ornament
at the top of the crown. The scepter is golden
to show that the power exerted in the
Hierophant’s dominion is the power of the
universal radiant energy (Case).
The Hierophant holds the Scepter in his left
hand to indicate that he rules from the heart
The Hierophant 131

rather than by force of will (Nichols).

Yellow Tabs These tabs are not the pale yellow of the Fool,
but the darker yellow of the Magician. If you
turn to the High Priestess card you will see
that the portico in which she is sitting is pale
yellow, not the darker yellow of the Magician.
She is sitting in the gateway of the Temple and
the Temple is the opened Pineal Gland. The
opened Pineal Gland means that the
personality is functioning and is inspiring the
activity of the body (Moore).

Yellow Yokes The monks have Yellow Yokes. The Yellow

Yokes show the yoke of the Higher Self. One of
them, the intellectual subconscious, has black
dots on it. It can be impressed by the mind.
The other, the cosmic subconscious, cannot be
impressed by the mind. It can only be
impressed by His Mind, the Mind of the Higher
Self.
The yoke of the monk in blue is light yellow
and indicates the subconscious of the
Personality. The yoke of the monk with the red
roses is deep yellow. The two yellows indicate
different thoughts. The light yellow indicates
the mind of the Higher Self. The deep yellow
indicates the mind of the lower self in these two
phases, that of the self-conscious and that of
the subconscious (Moore).
The two tonsured priests kneeling before the
Hierophant wear palliums to symbolize the yoke
of union (Eden).
Their robes are ornamented with yellow
palliums, symbols of the yoke, or union. These
The Hierophant 132

are yellow because the yoke is that of Mercury,

or intellectual perception (Case).
The Monks both wear the Yellow Yoke of
union. Here, the intellect and desire receive
their counsel and guidance from the inner
teacher (D’Agostino).
White Shoes The Hierophant wears White shoes because he
is carrying out the designs of the Higher Self
whose agent he is (Moore).
White Sleeve The Hierophant has White Sleeves because he
is carrying out the designs of the Higher Self
whose agent he is. We do most of our work
with the forearm and with the wrist and that is
why his sleeves are white (Moore).
White Tabs Two white tabs hang down from the crown of
the Hierophant and there are two more hanging
down from his throat. Throat and ears are
ruled by Taurus, consequently by Venus. It is
the quickened activity of the throat center
which sends up the message of the Higher Self
to the Pituitary who sends it to the hearing
region of the back lobe of the brain. This is
symbolic of the two tabs which fall from the
ears and two from the throat. The tabs are four
in number to show the functioning of Abstract
Thought on all the four planes (Moore).
White Yoke The Hierophant has a White Yoke on. Just as
the two beneath him are yoked with a yellow
yoke, he is yoked with a white one. Note that
the white yoke goes down into the many
concentric folds of his robe, just as the White
cross does on the robe of the High Priestess
(Moore).
The Lovers 133
The Lovers 134
The Lovers 135

The Lovers
The Lovers are male and female. Male represents the self-conscious and fe-
male represents the subconscious. As male and female stand naked, it means
that the self-conscious and the subconscious must stand completely open
to one another. As Lovers, they stand in union, having no real separation
between them.
The female stands on the ground and looks upward. Standing on the
ground, she is the personal subconscious. Looking upward she is receiving
the Eternal Law from the cosmic subconscious. The male stands on the
ground and looks toward the female. Standing on the ground, he is the
self-conscious. Looking towards the female, the personal subconscious, he is
waiting to receive of her wisdom.
When there is separation between the cosmic subconscious level of exis-
tence, the personal subconscious level of existence or the self-conscious level
of existence, then there will be trouble and great suffering. Suffering is, after-
all, love unrealized, love or union incomplete. When there is no separation,
there will be peace and harmony. No separation means that the Eternal Law
of the cosmic subconscious is consistent with the memory of the personal
subconscious and this is consistent with the knowledge and desires which the
self-conscious has put in the memory of the personal subconscious.
Separation means that there is some inconsistency. And whenever there
is inconsistency, the cause is the self-conscious. This is because the self
conscious had made some discrimination, some interpretation that is wrong
and gave that incorrectness to the personal subconscious. As the cause of
the inconsistency is the self-conscious, the correction must come from the
self-conscious.
This is the reason that if there is a separation, then the male, who is the
initiator, must do something about it. The only thing the self-conscious can
do is to discriminate at a higher level. The self-conscious must actively change
some interpretations of the discriminations it made and it must change those
related conscious desires of receiving for oneself alone to conscious desires of
receiving in order to share. This choice is a choice of virtue over vice. After
making this choice, the self-conscious must communicate it to the personal
subconscious by holding in attention these resolves and desires.
The Lovers 136

By its nature, life is full of changing, changing which occurs in the world
external to us and not caused by us and changing which occurs in the world
internal to us and is caused by us. This changing is a manifestation of the
Fullness of the Divine. We can respond to this changing by embracing it,
absorbing it within us. This results in a changing in us which permits us
to operate at a new more encompassing and Godly level of discriminating.
We go beyond where our old reason would lead us and we find ourselves in a
new level of loving, a new level of desiring to receive in order to share. Our
natural feeling is one of delight and in this moment of delight we meet the
Divine.
On the other hand, if we are stubborn, we will not rise to the level of
understanding, feeling, and union that is inherent in the possibilities. By
not rising, the possibilities remain unrealized and incomplete. This conceals
the light from us and we must consequently suffer from the deficiency we
created. Our suffering is a turmoil and war within us, a state of being that
is agitated and disconnected from the Divine.
To initiate a change to eliminate separation, the self-conscious must first
perceive that there is separation. This requires a sensitivity and discrimina-
tion. Such sensitivity and discrimination can only occur if the self-conscious
continuously holds in its attention the desire for peace and union. Then when
it discriminates that there is separation, it must do something to eliminate
it.
Doing something about it does not mean to be disappointed, to become
bitter or resentful, to get angry, or to complain. For none of those states will
reveal the light. Rather, we must understand existentially. If there is to be
union, then there must be separation. For, union in the physical world is
dynamic union. It is a union which is a coming together of things which we
had perceived to be apart. And when we take action to bring them together,
action to realize the inherrent unity, then we engage union. We realize and
know that it is union. Existentially, to know union means to know separation.
To know separation means to experience it. To experience it means for our
self-conscious to find and feel some aspect of ourselves in separation, even if
moments, hours, or days before our self-conscious had an awareness of union.
Separation, therefore, provides the opportunity to put oneself in a state and
to act in a way to bring back union.
The Lovers 137

At a higher level, the process of discriminating, feeling separation, and

then making an internal change and acting in a corresponding appropriate
way to bring separated things together is union. Therefore, both the state
of separation and the state of bringing together are to be blessed for they
are part of the one process called Union, part of the one process which is the
spiritual breath of life, part of one process which is the process of loving.
The Lovers 138

General Discussion Quotes

Moore says:

The only means the personal self-consciousness has of connect-

ing with the Higher Self is through the subconscious, considering
the subconscious in her two aspects, the High Priestess and The
Empress. The Higher Self is the link between man’s personal
self-consciousness and his spirit....
[It] is the woman who hears the angel and she is man’s means of
communion with the angel. She is the one who gets his message
and relays it to the man. She is looking at the angel. The man
appears unconscious of the angel. He is looking at her. So it is
through the subconscious that you hear the voice of the super-
conscious. She is our means of communication with the spirit....
Reason cannot make you aware of the super-conscious. This can
be done only by the subconscious.... which hears the voice of
the angel and it is the subconscious which raises us up to the
superhuman level; but it cannot do it unless the self-conscious
initiates the process and keeps it going. The subconscious is then
enabled to raise us to the angel.
All activities except those which are needed to keep the body
going must begin with the mind. All the subconscious does by
herself is that which is necessary to keep the body going. In all the
rest, all activities begin with the mind. So you see the function
of each is sternly limited and you see here all the functions of
the self-conscious and the subconscious. She cannot initiate the
spiritual process, he can. He cannot construct the mechanism,
she can. So it is necessary they work together. Together they
must work in concert. It is necessary that they play into each
other’s hands interdependent. In short, they must be Lovers as
this card calls them, or twins as the Zodiac calls them. Thus the
necessity of the equilibrium of the two is what Tarot teaches and
it brings about this equilibrium. Since they must play into each
other’s hands, they must be balanced, and to teach you how to
The Lovers 139

balance the self and subconscious is the object of Tarot and the
object of mysticism. To make the heart equal the head and the
head equal the heart.

Case says:

The title intimates the union of opposite but complementary

modes of existence....
The woman looks toward the angel, the man toward the woman.
The self-conscious intellectual mind, although it is the determin-
ing factor in personal consciousness, does not become directly
aware of superconsciousness. Self-consciousness, as the symbol-
ism of the Magician shows, does receive and transmit the powers
of superconsciousness; but conscious awareness of the nature of
those powers comes from careful observation of the activities of
subconsciousness. Powers are developed within, and the subcon-
scious “within” is the woman. From that within they are edu-
cated, or drawn forth, in response to self-conscious impulses, and
their manifestation is in the field of self-consciousness (the with-
out). Development comes by response of the inner to the outer.
It is the answer of woman to man that peoples the world. It is
the response of the interpreting subconsciousness to the observ-
ing self-consciousness that peoples the thought-world with ideas.
This is a basic law of mental development. Its constructive op-
eration depends on the discriminative exercise of self-conscious
powers.
Personal happiness, health and success depend on harmonious
co-operation of these two modes of mental activity. To secure
this harmony, we must understand that both are expressions of
a power superior to either. We must see also that subconscious-
ness is the mode which, in response to suggestions originated and
framed by self-consciousness, brings us into personal relationship
with this superior power.
Furthermore, the relationship between self-consciousness and sub-
consciousness should be one of loving intimacy. Hence the two
figures are nude. They veil nothing from each other. This is not
The Lovers 140

the state of affairs with most people. Too often, self-consciousness

and subconsciousness are “not on speaking terms.” Consciously,
we accept this or that idea. Subconsciously, we seek the realiza-
tion of its opposite. To correct this error, to establish harmony
between these two phases of personality is to have clear, unmixed
unadulterated desires.
Again, since love is the ideal relation between the two modes of
consciousness, this picture warns us against any attempt to bully
or coerce subconsciousness. Persuade subconsciousness, and it
will do anything for you. Endeavor to drive it harshly, and you
set into operation the law of reversed effort, so that you get a
result just the opposite to that at which you aim.
Discrimination, then, is the key to the establishment of happy
co-operation between the two modes of personal consciousness.
The burden falls on self-consciousness, because it is the framer
of suggestion. If it be careless and lax in observation, or harsh
and driving in giving commands to subconsciousness, the results
are destructive. On the other hand, if self-conscious intellect
perceives the true relation among the three modes of conscious-
ness symbolized by the Lovers, it will be able to frame a series
of suggestions which will make it the recipient of superconscious
guidance, through the agency of subconsciousness.
All that is necessary is to formulate suggestions embodying the
idea that subconsciousness can, and does receive the influence
from above, that it can, and does reflect that influence to self-
consciousness.

Eden says:

As the man looks at the woman and she looks up at the angel,
the truth conveyed is that the conscious mind cannot approach
the superconscious unless it passes through the subconscious -
a thought to consider in meditation. The lovers stand here in
friendly harmony, with nothing to hide from each other, as the
nudity of the figures indicates. A harmonious and successful life
The Lovers 141

depends on the cooperation between the conscious and the sub-

conscious.

D’Agostino says that

The major functions assigned to the Lovers are the mental perfor-
mance of discrimination and the sense of smell. ... It is through
the accurate self-conscious scrutiny of the contents and activi-
ties of our sub-conscious, that we become aware of the unfolding
powers of the super-conscious emanations. ...
In the Lovers, Adam, self-consciousness, and Eve, sub-conscious-
ness, enjoy the paradisiacal state. They are naked, free from all
disguise, and in perfect relationship with each other.

Waite says:

This is in all simplicity the card of human love, here exhibited as

part of the way, the truth and the life.... In a very high sense,
the card is a mystery of the covenant and sabbath.
The suggestion in respect of the woman is that she signifies that
attraction towards the sensitive life which carries within it the
idea of the Fall of Man, but she is rather the working of a Secret
Law of Providence than a willing and conscious temptress. It is
through her imputed lapse that man shall arise ultimately, and
only by her can he complete himself.

Oribello says:

The woman looks towards the angel while the man looks towards
the woman. Symbolically the man represents the conscious mind.
The woman represents the subconscious mind, and the angel rep-
resents the superconscious mind or High Self. The conscious
(man) must go within to create harmony with the subconscious
(woman), which looks to the superconscious (the angel) to chan-
nel inspiration into everyday consciousness. This is the way our
mental levels should work.
The Lovers 142

Symbolism

Angel The angel of the sun is Raphael. Raphael

means wholeness or health - the rounded,
complete unobstructed, whole use of the
Life-power (Moore).
The angel is Raphael, angel of air, the element
attributed to Gemini, and, in the symbolism of
the Roman Church, the particular angel of the
planet Mercury. He is also the great archangel
of the eastern quarter of the heavens
(East-Above). Here he represents
superconsciousness, and thus is related also to
the Fool. His airy nature is indicated by the
color of his skin, the yellow we have associated
with air and with Mercury. His violet garment
carries out the same idea, because violet is the
color-complement of yellow. Another indication
of his airy nature is the fact that he is
supported by clouds. He is the cosmic
Life-Breath, Prana, superconsciousness. His
influence descends on both figures below,
streaming from his upraised hands (Case).
Here we find Raphael, angel of the air,
personifying the superconscious pouring down
the cosmic benediction on the two figures below
(Eden).
The Angel holds out his arms as if to draw the
pair together, for only together can they reach
the mountain which stands between them
(Sharman-Burke).
Hovering above, under the rays of the Sun of
Completeness, is the Archangel Raphael. He
has his hands stretched out, symbolizing that
The Lovers 143

he embraces and watches overmankind and the

entire universe. Raphael is a Hebrew word
meaning, “He who heals.” The Archangel is
another aspect of the Hierophant, the God
within us, our inner self, who is always present
and ready to dispense its healing powers to
assist us in our need when we seek its help
(D’Agostino).
Black-stem Tree Behind the man is a tree with a black stem and
on it are 12 flames of red on yellow, like the
alternating flames on the head of the Angel.
These flames are triple in form; so they are
used creatively and three always means sex
activity - Father, Mother, and the Image that
passes between them. The Father had to divide
himself into duality before he could manifest,
and creation began by the action of one part on
the other. There can be no manifestation with
unity. Unity must turn itself into duality before
there can be a product of the two.
The black stem on this tree indicates mystic or
occult practice. The fruits of this tree are the
12 types of consciousness typified by the
Zodiac. It is this practice which unlocks all the
12 types of consciousness and starts them into
creative activity (Moore).
Behind the man is a tree bearing twelve fiery
fruits. These are the signs of the Zodiac, and
each flame is triple because astrologers
subdivide every sign into three parts or
decanates. Thus the tree behind the man is the
tree of human life, and its fruits represent the
twelve main types, and thirty-six types of
personality, or self-conscious life-expression
(Case).
The Lovers 144

Behind the man is a leafless tree bearing the

trefoil flames of the 12 signs of the Zodiac, each
divided into three decans (Eden).
The tree behind Adam symbolizes the signs of
the Zodiac. The flames on the left of the tree
trunk symbolize the five senses, and those on
the right symbolize the body and the original
planets (Javane and Bunker).
Behind the man stands the Tree of Life, bearing
twelve fruits, one for each sign of the zodiac
(Sharman-Burke).
Behind Adam grows “the Tree of Life,” also
identified as “The Tree of Consciousness.” This
Tree has twelve branches and the fruit each
branch bears is red and yellow three-fold
flames. These flames of life designate the twelve
signs of the zodiac and the thirty-six sub-types
called decanates (D’Agostino).

Flames From the head of the Angel Raphael stream

forth green flames alternating with flames of
red on yellow. Red on yellow typifies reason.
The red is the self-conscious and the green is
the subconscious. The two flames are working
together (Moore).

Green Carpet The man and woman stand on a carpet of

green. Green is the color of imagination, when
it is used creatively (Moore).

Ground The rolling ground depicts cyclic action. All

progress of the individual and of civilization
comes in waves. There are times when this
cannot be done. Now these times are dictated
astrologically. It is not that the stars influence
these times. They are also influenced by these
The Lovers 145

waves. Stars do not make them. They respond

to them as you do. The times are beyond the
stars (Moore).

Hands In the hands of the angel is written the

character of zayin. Not the printed character,
but the written one. There are two of them,
held in blessing over the two-fold consciousness.
This indicates that discrimination is as
necessary for the subconscious as it is for the
self-conscious if we are to have perfect
equilibrium in the body. It is just as necessary
for the subconscious to discriminate as it is for
the self-conscious because she has perfect
discrimination if you will allow her to use it
(Moore).

Man and Woman The man and the woman in this picture are
standing on a level. That is to say, they are
equals (Moore).
The man at the right is Adam, namer of things
and tiller of the soil. He is also the Magician of
Tarot. The woman at the left is Eve. She is
also the High Priestess and Empress (Case).
The man represents the conscious mind of the
Magician and the Emperor, as well as the King
standing in the Chariot. The woman is the
subconscious mind, the High Priestess and the
Empress (Eden).
The two human figures represent opposing
factors of the one Source, Adam and Eva (her
name in the original manuscripts), male and
female, positive and negative, and the conscious
and subconscious minds. These two specialized
manifestations of the one life force must become
The Lovers 146

equalized before attaining unity (Javane and

Bunker).
The man and woman face each other, yet the
man looks towards the woman while she looks
towards the angel, which implies that the
masculine principle of intellect cannot reach the
spirit directly but only through the feminine
principle of emotion (Sharman-Burke).

Mantel The mantel of the angel is violet. Violet is the

color of equilibrium and the creation of forms.
Like all fabrics in the Tarot this fabric is heavily
folded and pleated to suggest that he creates by
manipulating vibratory power (Moore).

Mountain Between the man and the woman is a mountain.

A mountain is indicative of something
accomplished or to be accomplished. Here it is
something accomplished or to be accomplished
by the union of the man and the woman. Since
the mountain is between the two, it is to be
accomplished by their working together. It
indicates the freedom of the imagination when
the man and the woman work cooperatively.
The mountain is red on blue. It means the
desire of the self-conscious working upon the
subconscious in external nature. It typifies the
ability of the equilibrated person to mold the
mineral kingdom, to have mastery over the
mineral kingdom. Complete mastery of the
mineral kingdom is accomplished with perfect
equilibrium (Moore).
The mountain in the background combines
several meanings. Mountains are symbols of the
abode of gods. Consider Sinai, Olympus, Meru,
Fujiyama. Again, they suggest climbing,
The Lovers 147

aspiration, the possibility of attainment. We all

have peaks to climb, and the incentive to
action, the disposing element in our
consciousness which leads to volition, has
always in the background this idea of climbing
above our present level. Thus the mountain
represents what alchemists call the Great Work.
Again, a mountain is often a phallic symbol of
pregnancy, or gestation, suggesting preparation,
organization, and the like ideas (Case).
The Mountain has to be climbed to reach its
peak, and each partner has an equal distance to
travel to obtain harmony with the other,
symbolized by the mountain (Sharman-Burke).

Red-trunk Tree The tree behind the woman has a red trunk
shaded with black and it has five red fruits in a
wealth of green foilage. The five fruits are the
five desires springing from the five senses. All
desires arise from the fact that we sense the
outside world, in these five different ways. All
desires arise from the image-making faculty.
This tree represents sex at a high level. That is
first of all indicated by the tree trunk, the
occult use of sex, black shed red (Moore).
Behind the woman is the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil. It bears five circular fruits - the
five senses (Case).
Behind the woman stands the Tree of
Knowledge, from which hangs five fruits
representing the five senses (Sharman-Burke).
Behind the woman is the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, bearing the fruits of the five
senses (Eden).
The Lovers 148

Behind Eva is the Tree of Knowledge (Javane

and Bunker).
There are four fruits on the tree, symbolic of
the fact that by creating a state of harmony
within, we become our own master in the four
worlds (the physical world, the astral or
emotional world, the mental world and the
spiritual world) (Oribello).
Behind the woman Eve, we see “The Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil,” bearing four red
fruits, and a green serpent coiled around its
trunk. This tree is a representation of the true
and false knowledge that lies within the
personal and collective sub-conscious. The
mental function of discrimination follows
intuition, because at this point we must
carefully examine the elements as they rise from
the unconscious into self-conscious awareness.
Subsequently, these subliminal observations
require that we mentally distinguish between
the diverse images of false knowledge based on
incompleteness, and the archetypal principles
founded upon universal truths. The four fruit
on the tree depict the four subtle elements of
fire, water, air, and earth. These elemental
forces are closely associated with faculties of
the five human senses (D’Agostino).

Serpent There is a green Serpent winding up the

red-trunked tree. He is whispering into the ear
of the woman. The Serpent is green and the
product of desire.
This green Serpent represents what we call
serpent fire in the body. The Serpent force in
the body lies coiled in the Saturn center at the
The Lovers 149

base of the spine, the sacral center. The

Serpent fire is awakened by some form of mystic
practice - that is to say by your imagination. It
ascends the spine in four loops. You will
observe this serpent has four loops. It vivifies
the seven centers as it ascends. Thus you see
the trunk of the tree is the spine. It ascends
into the head. The foilage of the tree is the
skull. It is the serpent fire which brings about a
union of the personal consciousness with the
superhuman consciousness. It does so by
making active the pineal gland; and by
extending the perception of the five senses so
that they can perceive matter on the higher
planes (Moore).
Up the tree climbs the Serpent of sensation,
because temptation arises from subconscious
memory of sensation, or from suggestions based
thereon. The Serpent is also a symbol of
wisdom and of redemption (Moses’ Serpent in
the wilderness), because wisdom and liberation
result from the right adaptation of the very
forces which, at first tempt us into mistaken
action (Case).
The Serpent of sensation climbs up the tree, for
temptation comes from the subconscious
(Eden).
The Serpent in the tree is the kundalini force,
which gives the power to create. When the
kundalini is trapped in the lower center of the
body, at or near the base of the spine, only the
senses are fulfilled. One must raise the
kundalini, or life force, up the spine to the
higher centers in the head so that the life force
can be expressed on a loftier plane. (Javane
The Lovers 150

and Bunker).
The green Serpent, who plays the part of the
malicious tempter in Genesis, and in our lives,
is also our liberator. The serpent is a portrayal
of the reproductive forces of the High Priestess
who, as the Empress, generates our images in
response to a seed premise initiated on the
self-conscious level by the Magician
(D’Agostino).

Sun A golden sun streams out its rays on all

beneath. The super-conscious is here
represented as Raphael, the angel of the sun
(Moore).
The sun is the great light-source, the dynamo of
radiant energy whence all creatures derive their
personal forces. Here it is yellow, or golden
instead of the white on the Fool’s card. This
shows that it is our day-star, the actual physical
sun whence we draw not only energy and life,
but also, potential consciousness. The sun is
not merely a center of physical force, a thing, in
the sky. It is the body of a Being (Case).

White Clouds The White Clouds below tell us that the Spirit
within us is always hidden from the direct view
of our self-consciousness (D’Agostino).

Wings The wings of the angel are red, denoting that

he is full of aspiration of desire to be one with
the fundamental cause, with universal energy.
His desire is to do the will of the Father, to
create (Moore).
The Charioteer 151
The Charioteer 152
The Charioteer 153

The Charioteer
The Charioteer represents equilibrium, balance, and power. The Chariot
itself is the body and the animals pulling the Chariot are the muscles of the
body. Symbolically, the body is the personality and the muscles of the body
are the emotions. The Charioteer is that aspect of self that is directing what
to do. When we are not in equilibrium and balance, the Charioteer is our
animal or physical soul. It will lead the Chariot to uneven unpleasant places,
places of turmoil. These are the places from which the Charioteer will get
thrown off the Chariot.
When we are in equilibrium and balance, the Charioteer is our Godly soul,
our Higher Self, that part of God that is in each of us. Under the direction
of the Godly soul, the body travels the world in peace and tranquility. It
travels along even and pleasant places. The travel is a transcendant delight.
This realm in which the body travels gives to the body all kinds of sense
data which the self-conscious interprets with help from the subconscious.
The inner world is the world of this interpretation. This world is completely
open. The outer world is the place traveled to.
Some people think that the real world is the inner world, neglecting the
entirety of the outer world. Other people think that the real world is the
outer world, neglecting the entirety of the inner world. The real world is the
inner and the outer world. The real world is both, because for the living, one
does not exist if the other does not exist.
To explain this further, the senses are the windows to an inner reality,
but the inner reality is not the reality sensed. It is the reality we create by
the sensing. That is, the sense data enter into our windows and through
our image-making power we turn them into thought-forms. Thus, by our
motivation for so doing, airy nothingness is given a name and turned into a
habitation. It is this process of expressing our motivation by our doing, a
doing which can go beyond the limitations of the outer world, it is this doing
which has unmeasurable heights and unfathomable depths.
This process has no limits and no boundaries. For it is this process which
reveals the light, which here means giving visibility to that which itself is
formless. What is formless and substanceless is utterly open. The process
of expressing our motivation transforms this openness into spirit. Spirit
The Charioteer 154

produces energy. Energy produces material form. The result of it all is that
the One divides into the multiplicity, which is its manifestations.
To express what we really want to express, which is what our Higher
Self wants our bodies to express, requires being attentive with calm stability.
This is balance. Emotions which are active and all in proportion constitute
harmony. Harmony results when revealing the Godly light is our sole mo-
tivation for expressing what we do. If this is what we want, then we will
manifest balance and harmony. We will discover our actions are sensitive, ef-
ficient, subtle, and non-interfering. For this is how the Higher Self directs the
self-conscious to respond to the open possibilities of Change and the cyclic
movement and stillness of the flow of Change.
This is what it means to live: to express in the outer world and experience
the full intensity of the balance and harmony of the immensity of the inner
world we create, based on the outer world given to us. Full of this intensity
and insight we can accomplish all. And we can do this even when little or
no action is outwardly visible.
The Charioteer 155

General Discussion Quotes

Moore says that the chariot

depicts equilibrium in many ways: the result of equilibrium, what
equilibrium can achieve, and the equilibrium of the self-conscious
with the subconscious of the mind with the body.
Case says that
Everything about the Charioteer suggests that he sums up all the
powers and potencies of the personages who have preceded him
in the series of major trumps. His is their synthesis. He is the
true Self, the Master-power behind all forms of life-expression. ...
His car symbolizes by its canopy and cubical body the combi-
nation of celestial and terrestrial forces. Viewed from the front,
it is in the form of an oblong square. Thus it corresponds to
the traditional Masonic “form of the lodge.” The “lodge” cor-
responds to the Temple, and we have the highest authority for
the doctrine that human personality is the living temple of the
Most High. Thus the chariot is truly the “House of Influence,”
and stands for human personality as the vehicle, or channel of
expression, through which the omnipresent SELF manifests its
dominion over all things.
Case associates the Chariot with Receptivity-Will.
The uninitiated believe their “will” to be something originating
in personality. The occultist, without in the least denying the
fact that free will is part of our equipment, refuses to believe that
“personal” free will exists. For the occultist, all that we mean
by “volition” is but a synthesis of innumerable cosmic influences
coming to a focus at a point within.
Hence all the great initiates say, with Jesus, “Of myself I can do
nothing.” ...
The more perfectly we understand that the office of human per-
sonality is to serve as vehicle for cosmic forces, the more freely
The Charioteer 156

does the Primal Will behind all manifestation find expression

through us. To others we may seem to have very strong personal
will. We ourselves will learn from our practice that the strength
of our volition is measured by the degree of our willingness to let
life find unobstructed manifestation through us.
This willingness takes form in thought and word, and the thought
itself is unuttered speech. It is a willingness developed through
purposeful concentration. Relaxation of body, passivity of mind,
one-pointed attention to the real presence in our personal field of
the limitless powers of the whole universe, with progressive free-
dom in the expression of those powers as our dominant purpose
- this is the infallible practical formula for triumph in the mind
and elsewhere.

Nichols says that

Symbolically, a Chariot has heavenly powers which makes it an

ideal center for the journey toward individuation. As Sun Chariot
it is the Great Vehicle of esoteric Buddhism. In the Cabala it is
the conveyance on which the believers mounted up to God and
the human soul united with the world soul. Thus it can function
to connect man with the godhead, as did Elijah’s mystic Chariot
and Ezekiel’s Chariot of Fire. ... Perhaps the Tarot means to
show us that this Chariot also has magical qualities. In its overall
design it resembles illustrations of Ezekiel’s Chariot. Both are in
effect, movable thrones with four posts supporting an overhead
canopy, a design still observable today. ...
[The Charioteer], this young ruler, will need all the protection and
stability he can get, for he is piloting a dubious conveyance. Like
all two-wheeled vehicles, it demands perfect equilibrium from its
driver. Ideally this king might act as a living gyroscope, which
may help to keep the opposites in balance. ...
... each of us has a Chariot available for use. It is always there,
ready and waiting whenever we want to embark on another imag-
inative journey into inner space. The reason it is so easy to imag-
ine we are riding in this magic vehicle is that we are actually
The Charioteer 157

doing so all the time. To become aware of this, we need only shut
our eyes and tune in.
Whenever we do this, we can sit near the charioteer and experi-
ence his essence: he is in tune with destiny. He neither drives nor
is driven. He rides the uneven road with easy grace. His crown
connects him with the golden understanding of the sun. Since
he rules by divine right, he must receive divine guidance in some
mysterious way.
D’Agostino says that
the gray chariot is a moveable body artificially constructed, sym-
bolically representing the limiting, transitory, dependent, vehicle
of personality. ...
The Charioteer is another variation of our Inner Self. He silently
directs the vehicle of our personality, through the invisible reins
of the mind, drawn by the powerful senses of knowledge and emo-
tion.
Javane and Bunker say that:
The Chariot represents receptivity to the will of the one Source.
The keyword attributed to this card is fence or enclosure, and its
sense function is speech. Every word we speak is a fence enclosing
an idea or thought. An eloquent vocabulary is a powerful tool
for protection and preservation, as well as advancement. When
we speak we set in motion a vibration that acts upon the ethers,
space and akasha. Blavatsky said, “Sound or speech is a tremen-
dous force when directed by occult knowledge.” It is only when
we become still, quiet and receptive that we can be victorious.
Then the primal force can work through us.
Symbolically, the Charioteer is the soul, directing the chariot,
the body. Notice that the Charioteer has no reins. It is mentally,
through the will, that he directs the sphinxes, the positive and
negative senses, to draw the chariot along. ...
The message here is that through control of the sense, and eleva-
tion and purification of the desires, by the use of our own free will,
we can achieve complete dominion while in the physical body.
The Charioteer 158

Ussher says that the charioteer

embodies ruthless power - the self confident intellect. He is Will

in action - whereas the Emperor was Will in statuesque response,
the archetypal idea of Will, the monarch by divine right.

Waite says that the charioteer

is conquest on all planes - in the mind, in science, in progress,

in certain trials of initiation.... He is above all things triumph in
the mind.
It is understood for this reason ... that the planes of his conquest
are manifest or external and not within himself; ... that the lib-
eration which he effects may leave himself the bondage of logical
understanding; ... that the tests of initiation through which he
has passed in triumph are to be understood physically or ratio-
nally; ... and that if he came to the pillars of that Temple between
which the High Priestess is seated, he could not open the scroll
called Tora, nor if she questioned him could he answer. He is not
hereditary royalty and he is not priesthood.

Sharman-Burke says that the Chariot

is about the conflict which opposites create. The card depicts the
charioteer keeping the opposing sphinxes under control. Each is a
different colour, so each will want to pull in a different direction.
It is the charioteer’s job to stop them pulling too far out of con-
trol, or from turning on one another. These opposite forces are
often thought to be the carnal and spiritual forces within man
which need to be balanced. They can also represent the wish
to go forward and the simultaneous wish to stay secure in the
tried and tested. The Fool, as the charioteer, must learn how
to steer a middle course through the battleground of his oppos-
ing feelings, thoughts and desires. Although uncomfortable, the
confusion brought about by the opposition can be creative, for
conflict is necessary to promote change and growth. No change
results in stagnation.
The Charioteer 159

Eden says that

This key signifies victory for the triumphant king who has con-
quered on all planes, particularly those of the mind, science, and
growth. ... The chariot stands for the human personality, which
can be a vehicle for the expression of the Self. ... If ... [the]
powers of [the Charioteer’s] observation are faulty, superficial, or
fearful, the resulting sequence of subconscious reactions is bound
to be destruction. ...
[The Chariot] means rest and victory, self-discipline and stability.
The conqueror may not yet have conquered himself. Here we find
both will and knowledge, but there is more desire to attain than
proven power for real attainment.

Wanless says:

The Chariot is the drive to reach our destiny. The Charioteer

takes the path to the top. He is victorious in the search. As the
Cancer crab with its home on its back, the Chariot is at home
anywhere - a true traveler, adventurer, and explorer. Sensitive
yet outwardly dynamic and assertive, the Chariot is enigmatic -
concealed yet noticed. Inner-directed by his own ambition, he is
a mover and shaker by example.
The Charioteer 160

Symbolism

Belt The Charioteer wears a belt. This is like the

belt of the Fool. The Fool wears the belt of the
Zodiac. The belt of the Charioteer means that
the Charioteer knows how to make all time and
space serve him by choosing the appropriate
moment and space for his doing (Moore).
The Charioteer’s golden Belt suggests light, and
is ornamented with indistinct signs, among
which is one which is plainly the astrological
symbol for Cancer. The position of this belt,
moreover, suggests the slanting circle of the
ecliptic. It represents Time, and the influences
of stellar forces (Case).

Blue Armor The upper arms of the Charioteer are armored

with Blue Armor. This indicates that the
Charioteer is armed with cosmic memory
(Moore).

Breastplate The breastplate is brass, the metal of Venus. It

is shaded deeply with black and is set on a
black background. This represents the
imagination used occultly (Moore).
The Charioteer’s cuirass is greenish-yellow, or
the color of brass, to show that it symbolizes
the protective power of creative imagination,
represented in Tarot by the Empress, inasmuch
as brass is a metal sacred to Venus (Case).

Canopy The Canopy protects the Charioteer from the

sun. The blue on the Canopy suggests the sky,
and this suggestion is borne out by its being
sprinkled with stars. The symbolism is that the
Charioteer (through mystic knowledge,
The Charioteer 161

symbolized by his head being in a triangle of

black) knows the astrological seasons for doing
things. This was Agrippa’s astrological
meaning also. This knowledge is his protection.
He knows the time to do things. It is not
sufficient that a thing be right; but it must also
be done at the right time (Moore).
The canopy of stars over the Charioteer’s head
indicates that celestial influences hang over him
and affect his victory (Eden).
The starry canopy represents the celestial
forces. Their descent into the physical plane
through the activity of the four elements is the
cause of all external manifestation. Thus the
stars in the azure canopy symbolize the
correlation of the influences of distant suns and
planets, of zodiacal constellations, and of
human forces. This canopy therefore represents
the forces which surround the earth, and seem
to be above us in the sky. It represents also the
subtle, metaphysical forces which are above the
level of personality (Case).
The starry canopy overhead indicates that we
are recipients of celestial energies (Javane and
Bunker).
The blue drape with stars above the driver
represents mystic knowledge. This card reveals
that the field of mental activity should be
protected (fenced field) by the High Self
(Oribello).
The starry Canopy depicts the heavens
(Sharman-Burke).

Chariot The Chariot is stone color. This, on the lower

level, typifies the physical nature of the body.
The Charioteer 162

The Chariot is the body, and on the Higher

level, the union of the three-fold personality (or
body) with the Father (the Higher Self)
(Moore).
The Chariot stands for the human personality,
which can be a vehicle for the expression of the
Self (Eden).
The Chariot is a movable fence. Its body is a
cube, carrying out the symbolism of the cubes
whereon the High Priestess and the Emperor
sit. Moreover, it is of gray stone, so that it
combines the notions of wisdom (gray) and of
union of Father and Son suggested by the
Qabalistic meaning of oa`, stone (Case).
The Chariot represents the earth, thereby
symbolizing the ancient magical dictum ‘as
above, so below’ (Sharman-Burke).

Charioteer The Charioteer is the Fool. The Fool is here

not in his aspect of descending into matter to
become the personality, but now as the tenant
of the body which the personality has finally
perfected for his occupation (Moore).
The Charioteer is the High Self (Oribello).
The Charioteer penetrates the Chariot just as
the Higher Self must penetrate the body.

Crown The Crown is made of gold, the metal of the

sun. Crown means dominion. The star in his
Crown represents Solar Energy made active.
The eight points of the star indicate the same
thing as the 8-spoked wheel on the Fool’s robe.
The Crown is outlined in a black triangle. This
means that the Charioteer is the ruler of the
forces back of the outward appearance of the
The Charioteer 163

stars, the hidden forces of nature. Most people

are afraid of their stars, that is their destiny.
Properly understood, the stars are your means
of achieving in this life what the Higher Self
wishes for you (Moore).
The Charioteer wears a Crown with an
eight-pointed star, here representing dominion
(Eden).
The Charioteer is crowned, and the Crown is
surmounted by three golden pentagrams. The
pentagram represents mental dominion. Three
are shown, because the control we exert over
cosmic forces by right use of the power of speech
does really extend over three worlds. This
detail of symbolism agrees with older forms of
Tarot symbolism. In the Rider pack, the
diadem is a golden eight-pointed star, having
much the same meaning as the pentagrams, but
more particularly emphasizing the idea of the
cosmic order. This order is the expression of the
supervising authority of the One Self (Case).
On the head of the Charioteer is the
eight-pointed star, symbolic of regeneration
(Oribello).
The golden eight-pointed star the Charioteer
wears on his head decrees the Inner Being’s
sovereignty over the solar light (D’Agostino).

Epaulets The Epaulets which the Charioteer wears on his

shoulders represents the two phases of the
Moon, the two aspects of emotion which can be
pleasant or unpleasant. The shoulders in a
human being are the indexes of emotion. We
square our shoulders, we droop our shoulders,
we shrug our shoulders. An epaulet, in a suit of
The Charioteer 164

armor, was a protection to the shoulders. The

symbolism conveys that the Charioteer is
protected from his moods. That is, he is no
longer at the mercy of moods: now he controls
them.
The Epaulets are masks of comedy and tragedy.
The crescents of the masks are yellow indicating
that it is the attitude of the mind which makes
comedy and tragedy, which makes things
pleasant and unpleasant (Moore).
On the Charioteer’s shoulders are lunar
crescents, indicating the rulership of the Moon
in Cancer (Case).
The waxing and waning moons depict time and
rhythm, which are stages of mind. This can be
seen by their placement on the shoulders, ruled
by Gemini, which is the first air sign,
symbolizing the mind (Javane and Bunker).

Fortresses On the Charioteer’s left is a depiction of a

Fortress. A Fortress is for protection against
foes. It is masculine and represents protection
against external human forces (Moore).
The left side of the Charioteer corresponds to
the left side of the tree. Strength and power
require protection from foes.

Golden Hair The Golden Hair of the Charioteer is the

Golden Hair of the Fool (Moore).
The Charioteer’s hair is fair, like that of the
Empress and the Fool (Case).

Green Wreath Circling the area of the brain, the Green

Wreath binding the Charioteer’s golden hair
calls our attention to the human specialization
The Charioteer 165

of the solar energy into mental forms.

Eventually these human patterns of thought
will crystallize, and some sort of corresponding
physical expression will materialize
(D’Agostino).
The Charioteer wears a Green Wreath just as
the Fool wears a Green Wreath on his head.

Houses On the Charioteer’s right is a depiction of

houses. A house is for protection against the
weather. The group of houses are feminine and
represent the subconscious. The subconscious is
your residence (Moore).
The right side corresponds to the right side of
the tree of life. Loving kindness only needs
protection against the weather.

Lingam-Yoni The red shape on the shield of the Chariot is

the Lingam-Yoni, and it indicates the
interaction of two opposing forces (Moore).
The Hindu sign of Lingam-Yoni is the sign of
the union of positive and negative forces
(Eden).
The red symbol on the shield is one form of the
Hindu Lingam-Yoni, typifying the union of
positive and negative forces in action (red)
(Case).
The disk with an upright rod through the center
depicts the positive and negative forces joined
in a working relationship (Javane and Bunker).
The red symbol that resembles a top on the
front of the chariot is an ancient one which
represents the balance of sexual energy
(Oribello).
The Charioteer 166

Moat The Moat of blue water signifies memory. Your

life is protected by imagination and memory,
and memory is not sufficient until imagination
steps in. The stream also typifies the cosmic
memory. When one has gained union with the
Father he knows his place in evolution, he
knows his past lives to orient himself. Note that
this stream flows from the outside to the
outside. Cosmic memory is not yours, it is
yours only to use as it passes through you. Just
as the solar energy is not yours, it is yours only
to use as it passes through you. Cosmic
memory does not belong to you (Moore).
A Moat surrounds the stand of trees, which in
turn surrounds the wall, which in turn
surrounds the homes and fortress. The moat
contains blue water reminding one that the first
layer of protection is loving kindness which
arises naturally from the subconscious.

Pillars Surmounting the body of the Chariot are four

pillars, supporting a starry canopy. The
number four is the number of order and
measurement. It refers also to the four
elements: fire, water, air, and earth. Each pillar
is divided into two equal parts, reminding us of
the Hermetic axiom, “That which is above is as
that which is below.”
The point of division at the center of each pillar
is surrounded by a ring. This is a symbol of
Spirit, for the rings are circles, like zero-signs.
The idea is that each of the four elements is
encircled by the One Spirit (Case).
The back of the chariot is formed by four
upright pillars. They stand for the four places
The Charioteer 167

he contacts. Union with the Father holds good

in the four planes (Moore).
The four Pillars stand for the four elements
(Sharman-Burke).
Descending from the canopy, there are four
Pillars which portray the differentiation of the
Primary Being into the four elements of
creation. Mathematically formulated in the
microworld, the proportional arrangements of
these elements give birth to all appearances
perceptible to human consciousness. Science
classifies these elements in their outer form as
radiant energy or light, gasses, liquids, and
solids (D’Agostino).

Sphinxes The Sphinxes represent the interaction of

opposing forces. The black one has a female
head and a male body; the white one has a
male head and a female body. This is similar to
the figures on the veil of the High Priestess.
They mean the masculine in the feminine and
the feminine in the masculine. This designates
occult equilibrium.
The two Sphinxes represent, at their lower level
the emotions. All emotions arise from the
senses; the reports the senses bring us of life.
The Sphinxes are black and white, just as the
pillars on each side of the the High Priestess, to
represent opposites. Though you think of them
as emotions, they represent the pleasant things
and the unpleasant things.
There are several things about these two
Sphinxes which charmingly symbolize that it is
no effort to drive them as well as in addition to
the easy poise of the Charioteer. In the first
The Charioteer 168

place they need no harness, they have no

harness, or rather, the harness they have is
invisible. The mind is the harness of the senses.
It is not done by tension but suggestion, by
suggesting to the subconscious.
The Sphinxes wear the headdresses of striped
black and white and alternate black and white.
This has similarity to the four stripes on the
carpet of the Hierophant, and it stands for
equilibrium. The two alternates are measured
against one another as it was in the black and
white pillars standing to the sides of the High
Priestess.
The Sphinxes are tame. This is indicated by the
fact that their tails are neatly curved around
and under their bodies. This depicts that they
no longer have any will of their own to interfere
with the will of the Charioteer, for the tail in
an animal is the index of emotion just as the
shoulder is with the human being (Moore).
The two Sphinxes are the outer pillars of the
Tree of Life, related in this instance to Nature
and not Spirit. They may pull in different
directions if the will of the Charioteer does not
control them (Eden).
The Sphinxes, combining animal and human
attributes, suggest a force common to men and
animals. Their contrasting colors are like the
contrast between the pillars of the High
Priestess. Moreover, the white sphinx wears a
beneficent expression, while the features of the
black one show a forbidding frown. The white
sphinx is a symbol of Mercy, the black one of
Severity. Note that their contrasting
expressions are similar to those of the human
The Charioteer 169

faces in the lunar crescents on the rider’s

shoulders.
By mythological allusion the sphinxes represent
the senses, which are continually propounding
riddles. Here they are shown at rest, thus
agreeing with the notion of rest which Hebrew
occultism attributes to the number 7 (Case).
On the right side of the driver is the black
sphinx (conscious mind). On the left is the
white sphinx (the subconscious mind). The
sphinx is a symbol of great wisdom, therefore,
this card reveals the state of wisdom which the
total mind ascends into (Oribello).
The Sphinxes are a symbol of an enigma or
riddle which the charioteer must solve, each
sphinx reflecting an opposite nature indicated
by their different colours (Sharman-Burke).
Skirt The Skirt of the Charioteer has eight pleats.
Eight indicates equilibrium. It is the
equilibrated personality which brings about the
union with the Father. The figures on the Skirt
are geomantic. Here geomancy means the
ability to tell the inner nature of a thing by its
outward lines and proportions (Moore).
The Skirt below the cuirass is divided into eight
parts, and is ornamented with geomantic
symbols, used in making magical talismans.
They typify dominion over terrestrial forces
(Case).
The eight-paneled Skirt decorated with
talismans, represents the soul’s dominion over
the material world (Javane and Bunker).
The magical talismans engraved on the
Charioteer’s black Skirt exhibit the unconscious
The Charioteer 170

forces as being of geometrical structure. They

substantiate the concept that the sub-conscious
medium of communication is basically pictorial
in design. These geometric symbols expressing
universal ideas have the most powerful effect
upon human consciousness when we meditate
and absorb their meanings (D’Agostino).

Trees A stand of trees stands in front of the wall for

protection (Moore).
There are two kind of trees. There are the
green trees and the two blue-green trees. This
indicates that creative imagination can be used
for protection and also that the cosmic
subconscious also protects.

Wall A wall stands in front of the residences and

fortress to protect them both. The walled city
of your personality, which is composed of your
subconscious and your self-conscious, is
protected by a row a green trees typifying
Imagination (Moore).
In the background is a walled city. The wall is a
stone fence. The city is a collection of houses
corresponding to the ideas relating to a and the
Magician (Case).

Wand In the hands of the king is the wand of will,

with which he must control the sphinxes
(Eden).
The Charioteer’s scepter is surmounted by a
figure 8, combined with a crescent. This is a
combination of the symbol over the Magician’s
head with the lunar crown of the High
Priestess. Thus the rider’s ensign of authority
shows that his dominion is a result of the
The Charioteer 171

blending of the powers of self-consciousness

with those of subconsciousness (Case).

White Cuffs The Charioteer wears huge white armored cuffs

around the forearm and wrist. Now, the
forearm and wrist are the chief tools of
accomplishment. We do our work with them.
So the symbolism means that the chief
essentials to our handiwork are protected for us
when we let the higher self do the work in us;
the superconscious, the subconscious, and the
personality.
The white cuffs have a deep seven-fold fluting.
This refers to the seven centers of the body all
purified and at their highest spiritual rate of
vibration (Moore).

White Square The White Square on the breastplate of the

Charioteer represents the measurement and use
of the White forces, the Spiritual forces, on the
four planes. The Greek word for this is
Tetragrammaton and stands for the Hebrew
dedi.
A White Square on the cuirass represents order
and purity by its shape and color. On it are
three black T’s, which stand for the limiting
power of Saturn (Case).
The White Square on the Charioteer’s breast
indicates an orderly attitude (Javane and
Bunker).
On the chest of the Charioteer is a White
Square amulet that is symbolic of even balance
between our physical, emotional, mental and
spiritual natures (Oribello).
The Charioteer 172

Winged Globe There are two Blue Wings on the yellow sun,
just above the lingam-yoni. You extend your
senses and you give wings to the mind. You
occultly extend all the five senses. The yellow
sun is mind. The senses soar to higher planes
(Moore).
The symbol on the front of the Chariot shows
the wings of inspiration (Eden).
Above the shield is a variation of the Egyptian
winged globe. The wings are blue, like the robe
of the High Priestess. They are symbols of
aspiration. The globe is yellow, suggesting
self-consciousness, because, in our color-scale,
yellow corresponds to Mercury and the
Magician (Case).
The winged globe on the cart represents
self-consciousness, elevated by aspiration
(Javane and Bunker).
Above the shield is the Winged Sun which is
another symbol for regeneration (Oribello).

Yellow Sky The Yellow Sky indicates that it is through the

powers of the self-conscious that the Charioteer
can be calm, attentive, and is able to drive the
Chariot to wherever he desires to go, without
even having to hold the reins.

Yellow Wheels The Chariot moves on Yellow Wheels. These

are wheels of solar energy, the energy that we
can use but which does not belong to us
(Moore).
The Yellow Wheels of the Chariot refer to
light-energy, but particularly to specific
activities associated in Tarot with the planet
The Woman of Strength 173

Jupiter. This is the planet exalted in the sign

Cancer (Case).
Notice that the Yellow Wheels do not seem to
be standing on the ground. They are supported
by the blue water. The body is not supported
by the self-conscious, but by the subconscious.
The Woman of Strength 174
The Woman of Strength 175

The Woman of Strength

The Woman of Strength represents the subconscious in action. She is so
strong that she can open or close the mouth of a lion with gentleness. How
can such strength with gentleness arise?
The ancient wisdom tells us that there is Divine Law. Divine Law is like
a one way gate. Only that which is consistent with it can happen. So if we
have a desire and embody it with emotion and focus it with attention and
this desire is consistent with Divine Law, then the subconscious will create
and manifest that which is desired. It will do so with strength and gentleness.
On the other hand, if our desire is not consistent with Divine Law, then
the subconscious will create and manifest circumstances to teach the self-
conscious that the desire is not consistent with the Divine Law. The incon-
sistency between the circumstances, which are in accord with the Divine Law,
and the desire, which is not then has the consequence of causing suffering.
Looked at another way, everything that happens is in accordance with
Divine Law. Since Divine Law is the way we understand what is Divine
Beneficence, what is in accordance with Divine Law must be good. Nothing
bad can or does happen.
But everyone encounters the bad. So how can it be that nothing bad
happens? The explanation is that every time we encounter the bad, we
have made an interpretation that what has happened is bad. The badness is
not intrinsic to the circumstance; it is intrinsic to our interpretation of the
circumstance. It is in this sense that our inner reality is the real reality. We
are never forced to make an interpretation that what has occurred is bad. We
are never forced to make an interpretation that what has occurred is good
either. The interpretation is our free choice. Now, if we insist on making an
interpretation of badness, then the message of badness will be impressed into
the personal subconscious. Since this interpretation is not consistent with
Divine Beneficence, which is the true reality, the subconscious will act, as
mentioned earlier, to set up circumstances to teach the self-conscious that
the interpretation was in error. These circumstances created by the personal
subconscious do not oppose the specific interpretation of badness. Rather, it
goes to the root or the essence of the cause for the interpretation and creates
a reality inconsistent with that essence which the self-conscious then has to
The Woman of Strength 176

handle. When this happens we not only face something which we interpret
as bad, but because we encounter something close and inconsistent with an
inner essence that we have created to be, we face a crisis.
Looking at this from the flip side, how is it possible not to ever make
an interpretation of badness? Or said positively, how is it possible for the
self-conscious to always be making the interpretation of goodness? Here we
learn that there must be faith. Without faith in Divine Beneficence, nothing
can be accomplished. Then when we encounter that which we consider to be
bad, we must say to ourselves that the reality itself is good. It is only our
interpretation that associates the attribute of badness to this reality. Since
this interpretation must be wrong, we must look within and discover what
essence within ourselves we have to change so that our interpretation of the
circumstances can change and give these circumstances the attribute “good.”
What happens when we truly can associate the attribute good to all
circumstances we encounter? We discover that whatever it is we desire, this
is fulfilled. More than that. We discover that the personal subconscious
begins to make selections and take actions which the self-conscious had been
doing before; that is, some essence of the self-conscious passes itself on to
the subconscious where it continues its existence. The self-conscious then
begins to have a responsibility for doing things on a higher level. And now
the situation is as it was before, only it is more interesting!
Level by level, the self-conscious becomes more aware of and in tune with
the Divine Reality. Level by level, the subconscious absorbs the individuality
of the self-conscious and returns this individuality to the Source. Level by
level, the self-conscious lets the subconscious take care of everything. And
she does: with strength and gentleness.
The Woman of Strength 177

General Discussion Quotes

Moore says:

In the Tarot, the woman is the subconscious, and as the conscious

stretches her, so she bends with him. The Ageless Wisdom also
defines what constitutes potent suggestion to the subconscious.
It says it must not be anything abstract, it must be concrete; it
cannot be anything neutral, it must be emotional. And it cannot
be anything passive. It must be active. The ageless wisdom says,
“The conscious must continually place before the subconscious an
image of itself acting, accomplishing what it wants to accomplish;
the definite, concrete thing. The greater your desire to accomplish
it, ... the sooner the subconscious responds.” That is the greatest
Law of Life. It wants emotion. It does not think you mean
business until you are emotional. ...
The Ageless Wisdom ... says that if you approach her in the right
way, the subconscious will first transform herself. Then she will
transform the self-conscious in such a fashion as to remake our
body and mind, and equip it with powers it does not at present
possess, one of which is to remake your environment.
What do we mean by transformation? We mean receiving new
powers. When you transform the body you give it new powers.
When it turns around and transforms you, it gives you new pow-
ers. ... We come into new powers by your thoughts and by your
images you give her new powers and equip her with the ability to
transform you and give you new powers. ...
As a man impresses his subconscious, so he becomes. You are
what your most cherished thoughts make of you. As a man im-
presses his subconscious, so his body becomes in the end.

Case says:

The Great Secret is the law that subconsciousness is at all times

in control of every subhuman manifestation of cosmic energy. The
The Woman of Strength 178

extent of this control is far greater than is usually supposed. Ev-

ery force in nature, down to those of the inorganic mineral king-
dom, is within range of this subconscious direction. ...
Subconsciousness always directs the activities of the subhuman
forces of nature. This is true whether the action of those forces be
hostile or friendly to man. Subconsciousness, in turn, is always
amenable to impressions originating at the self-conscious level of
mentation.
What matters, therefore, is the kind of patterns we set. Our
mental patterns are determined by self-conscious interpretation
of experience. Let observation and attention (the Magician) be
faulty, superficial, negative or fearful and the resulting sequence
of subconscious reactions is bound to be destructive. Then the
spoken word and unuttered speech of thought (the Chariot) will
be vehicles for a destructive pattern, and we shall set wild beasts
at our own vitals.
Change the pattern, and you change the result. Make it accu-
rate, profound, courageous, positive. Then you tame the lion,
and he becomes your servant. This indeed, is the secret of all
spiritual activities, the secret of strength, the secret of ultimate
mastery. Your personal application of this secret to your own life
will change everything for the better. Carry it farther, into all
your social relations, and you will become one of that increasing
number of builders of a new, free world that shall realize the glory
of the Eternal Splendor of the Limitless Light.

Nichols describes the psychology of the woman of Strength. Nichols says

that her magic

is the magic of human relationship, the daring of personal in-

volvement, of direct physical contact. With her bare hands she
explores the beast’s dimensions and needs; at the same time she
communicates to him her own atmosphere, her faith and expecta-
tions. If the lion is hungry, perhaps the lady will feed him, for she
knows that if she does not give the beast appropriate food, he will
swallow her up, body and soul. Psychologically this could mean
The Woman of Strength 179

that the hero’s eros side, this capacity for relatedness, would be
obliterated. He would then become possessed with an archetypal
lust for power, pride, primitive rage, or other lion-like attributes.

Oribello says that the woman of Strength

is symbolic of allowing the subconscious mind to tame the beastly

nature (carnality) of the conscious mind. The subconscious mind
is gentle and pure in its proper state. It also has access to the
High Self so that it is able to channel wisdom and inspiration to
the liberated individual.

D’Agostino says that the woman of Strength

as creative imagination, opens and closes the jaws of the lion,

and makes it speak, indicating that she has the power to define
and shape this reproductive force into any and every conceivable
form. Therefore she tames and makes an ally of the mighty King
of Beasts, who is another symbolic variation of the destructive
powers of the serpent.
This woman’s actions are a classic example that we must subdue
and redirect our emotions and passions before we can gain ad-
equate control over our personal actions and our environmental
conditions. ...
Strength speaks of the potential conscious control of our destiny,
through the right understanding and utilization of the principle of
suggestion. However, the application of suggestion alone in itself,
will not assure you of beneficial or successful ends. You must be
aware by now that the relationship between the conscious and
the unconscious is much more complex than merely the selection
of and concentration on an image. The supplemental element
required is the ample comprehension of the mental and analytical
process.

Ussher says that the woman of Strength is

not a creator, but a tamer of nature: Thought has grown stronger

than the Thinker....
The Woman of Strength 180

Humanity has become hungry for the Marvelous - for wisdom

to declare itself as power, weakness as strength, innocence as
generative virtue.

Sharman-Burke says that the imagery of Strength

shows the blend and union of opposites in the maiden who rep-
resents the Moon and femininity, with the lion who symbolizes
the Sun and masculinity. The maiden is not trying to kill the
lion, only tame him, and the lion, symbol of strength and power,
is submitting to her. There is no evidence of force, yet the lion
meekly obeys the maiden’s firm command.
Greek myth tells of Apollo the Sun god, encountering Cyrene,
handmaiden to the Moon goddess Artemis, struggling with a
fierce lion. Cyrene won her fight, and Apollo was so charmed
with her courage and fortitude, as well as her feminine beauty,
that he spirited her off to a paradise land where she enjoyed har-
mony and peace ever afterward. ...
This card represents the strength and endurance necessary to
achieve self-control. It suggests that obstacles can be overcome
through will power resulting in a sense of mastery.

.
Eden says that the Woman of Strength

is exhibiting spiritual courage and the power that emanates from

it, for the lion represents the passions and lower nature of man.
For a consciousness aware of the sign of Eternity above it, there
are no obstacles, nor can there be any fear of resistance. ...
The message transmitted by this Key is that we must learn to
create a balance between our spiritual and carnal natures and
thus influence the lower of the two. This lesson of the need for
harmony between opposing forces is often noted in the Tarot.
The Woman of Strength 181

Symbolism

Blue Mountain In the back is a Blue Mountain which signifies

Cosmic Memory. This is one of the gifts that
comes from being able to manipulate the Astral
Light: having the memory of other lives, other
states, our past lives and even of our planetary
states (Moore).

Green Ground The ground is partly green liquifying into blue.

It is elaborately outlined with black which
generally means the occult. The Ground is
presented as fluid because it is a fusion of water
and land (Moore).
The ground is an uninhabited plain in a valley.
This suggests it represents the level of actual
existence, but the absence of houses indicates
that the conditions here are those of nature,
apart from human artifice (Case).

Infinity Symbol Above the head of the woman is the Infinity

Symbol, the number 8 lying on its side. The
number 8 represents equilibrium, a perfect
uniting of the mental energy of the
self-conscious and the mental energy of the
subconscious, so it can control and direct the
self-conscious. Here the woman is performing
the will of the spirit. The Magician has
transformed her and she is able to take the
lead. She now has the powers of selectivity and
can take the initiative (Moore).
The Infinity Symbol suggests that something of
the Magician’s quality has been transferred to
the woman. It indicates the fact that
subconsciousness receives the impress of
The Woman of Strength 182

self-conscious mental states, and is modified by

self-conscious selectivity and initiative. The
outcome of subconscious operations in general
depends for good or ill on the selection and
direction which are the particular business of
the self-conscious plane of mind (Case).
Above the woman’s head is the cosmic
lemniscate of Eternal Life, indicating that she is
in control, thanks to the spiritual power above
her (Eden).
The cosmic lemniscate (figure-8-shaped curve)
over her head gives her dominion in this world
(Javane and Bunker).
Above her head is the number eight in the same
position as above the Magician’s, symbolic of a
new beginning through achieving a state of
harmony (Oribello).
The chain of roses twists around the woman’s
waist and the lion’s neck, forming another
figure eight, identical to the one shown above
her head. This universal signature of
integration and renewal declares that the
regeneration of personality has been effectively
initiated (D’Agostino).

Lion The Lion is licking the hand of the woman in

devotion and his tail is curled under his legs.
This means that the Lion no longer has any will
of its own. It has placed its will at the disposal
of its master. That is the interpretation at the
lower level, the body, or at the higher level, the
Astral Light. The power of the Lion is placed
at the disposal of the owner of the body and
not used as it was before, for itself. If you take
it at its lower level it means destruction. The
The Woman of Strength 183

appetites of the body are now changed and

become constructive, and the body is tamed
because it wants to be tamed. Until the animal
wants to be tamed it is never tamed; it is only
cowed into subjection.
Notice how the Lion grips the ground with his
paws and claws. He is gripping it to try to keep
himself still. Cosmic Electricity is always on the
move, but it quiets itself long enough for you to
use it (Moore).
The Lion, as king of beasts, represents all
subhuman forces, all subhuman expressions of
the cosmic vital electricity. The king stands for
all his subjects. His color refers to the
alchemical Red Lion, symbol of Sulphur,
purified and sublimated by its amalgamation
with Mercury (Case).
There is one aspect in which the Lion signifies
the passions, and she who is called Strength is
the higher nature in its liberation. It has
walked upon the asp and the basilisk and has
trodden down the Lion and the dragon (Waite).
The Lion represents the passions and lower
nature of man (Eden).
The Lion stands for instinctive desires and
wishes, which although they should not be
denied or repressed, sometimes need to be
controlled (Sharman-Burke).
The red Lion is a personification of the wild,
uninhibited, primitive forces of nature,
manifesting as the psychic and reproductive
energy present within human subconsciousness.
It is this reproductive energy that lies behind
all our emotional and sexual expressions. It is
The Woman of Strength 184

this psychic energy that unfolds as the

unconscious instincts that operate and drive the
physical organism. These instincts are patterns
inherited from past evolutionary development
(D’Agostino).

Rose Garland The pattern of roses, petals and leaves in the

dress of the Empress has here become a wreath
on the woman’s head and a Rose Garland
around her body. This Garland takes the form
of the figure 8, the Infinity Symbol in vertical
alignment (Moore).
Around her waist is a chain of roses, a Rose
Garland, twisted (though this detail is not very
clear in the picture) so as to form another
figure 8. It signifies artistic adaptation (chain)
of desire (roses). When we learn how to weave
our desires together into a chain, rejecting all
desires which are incompatible with our main
purpose, and co-ordinating those we do decide
upon as fitting to our purpose, we shall be able
to make wonderful applications of creative
imagination to the control and direction for the
serpent-power (Case).
The higher meaning of the card is intimated in
a concealed manner by the chain of flowers,
which signifies, among many other things, the
sweet yoke and the light burden of Divine Law,
when it has been taken into the heart of hearts
(Waite).
Around her waist there is a chain of roses -
symbol of union of desires, which creates such
strength that wild, unconscious forces bow
before it (Eden).
The Rose Garland around the woman and the
The Woman of Strength 185

lion form a chain. Roses, representing desire,

must be tended and properly cared for. In this
context, a chain of roses is a series of cultivated
desires. Any suggestion emanating from a
desire sets up a chain reaction in the
subconscious that eventually results in
manifestation (Javane and Bunker).
Around her waist and head are garlands of red
and green, symbolic of inner development and
refinement of the appetites (Oribello).
The Rose Garland has seven roses. These stand
for the lower seven Sephiroth, the Sephiroth
which are related to the emotions.
The Rose Garland represents combined and
cultivated desires, selected and arranged on the
self-conscious level. Combined denotes that
these desires are restricted solely to those ideas
directly corresponding to the principal
objective. Cultivated signifies that these desires
are a composite of the most constructive and
creative images available to human
consciousness (D’Agostino).

Rose Wreath The pattern of roses, petals and leaves in the

dress of the Empress has here becomes a Rose
Wreath on the woman’s head and a garland
around her body. The Empress had a wreath of
leaves in her hair. The flower is the fruit of the
leaves, the leaf is only the preparation for the
fruit. This indicates that in this card, the
Empress is nearer her goal.
A Rose Wreath always means control of the
desire of nature. “Roses’ represent the desire
nature. “Wreath” represents putting in order
and control. Controlling the nature so as to be
The Woman of Strength 186

sure when you do desire, it is the true basic

desire you objectify (Moore).
The Rose Wreath or crown of flowers indicates
that the forces of organic life are nearer to
fruition (Case).
The Rose Wreath that the Woman of Strength
wears on her head bears flowers which are the
developing seed ideas rising from the
unconscious mind to materialize as the multiple
images of our thoughts (D’Agostino).
The Rose Wreath has four roses. These stand
for the four worlds. It also has four trefoils.
Each trefoil stands for the integrating,
equilibrating, and disintegrating powers of
creative activity.

White Dress The woman wears a white dress. White is the

color of the Spirit. This means that the woman,
who is the Empress, is performing with the will
of the Spirit.
The White Dress is filled with black lines.
These denote the Spirit used occultly. They
also denote that is what you can do; you can
see the white light, shining through darkness,
or the darkness shining through the white light.
Black is the outer robe of white when you are
using your transcendental nature. When you
are speaking of the spirit, the spirit is the outer
robe of you (Moore).
The white robe of the woman signifies purity, in
the strictest sense of that word, which means
“freedom from mixture.” Because white is the
color assigned to Kether, the Crown, which is
the uppermost circle on the Qabalistic diagram
The Woman of Strength 187

of the Tree of Life, this color, wherever it

appears in Tarot symbolism, relates to the pure
spiritual influence of the Primal Will (Case).
The simple white robe indicates purity (Eden).
The woman wears white which is symbolic for
purity (Oribello).

Woman The Woman is the Empress at a higher stage

(Moore).
The woman tames the lion. In Dr. Waite’s
version, she shuts his mouth. In the B.O.T.A.
version, as in all the older versions, she opens it.
This is preferable, since “to open the mouth” is
to make articulate, to give speech to, and
whatever has the power of speech is assimilated
with humanity and impressed by human
thought. When we assimilate the hostile,
destructive, dangerous, wild forces in nature to
the uses of mankind, we add to those forces the
quality of human consciousness (Case).
A woman, over whose head there broods the
same symbol of life which we have seen in the
card of the Magician, is closing the jaws of a
lion. Her beneficent fortitude has already
subdued the lion, which is being led by a chain
of flowers (Waite).
The Woman is not a creator, but a tamer of
nature. She closes the lion’s jaws with her
hands. Or, as seems the better interpretation,
she opens them - gives voice and articulation to
mute knowledge (Ussher).
A Woman garlanded with flowers is either
closing or opening a lion’s mouth (Eden).
The Woman is the subconscious mind
The Woman of Strength 188

controlling body functions and directing the

amounts of vital force that the body receives.
She also receives and acts upon suggestions
from the conscious mind. Her dominion over
the lion is through gentle and spiritual power
rather than by brute force (Javane and Bunker).
The Woman stands in the shape of a crescent
to signify her subconscious nature.

Yellow Hair The Yellow Hair symbolizes the radiant energy

of the Life-Breath as it does in the Empress
and in the Fool (Case).

Yellow Sky The Yellow Sky indicates that it is by

self-conscious mental activity that the
thought-forms are given to the subconscious
which tames the body.
The Hermit 189
The Hermit 190
The Hermit 191

The Hermit
The Hermit is the supernal inner man, the spiritual source of the physical
man. That aspect of God’s will, here called the finite will of God, is the light
emanating from the lantern of the Hermit. The Hermit is the one who holds
the light. And the light is what enables us to apprehend God in our lives.
By the light we are able to grasp God’s will and wisdom.
What does it mean to really apprehend or grasp God’s will and wisdom?
For nothing can apprehend the En Sof. En Sof is without measure and
without internal distinctions and divisions. Recall the biblical sayings: “His
greatness can never be fathomed” and “No thought can apprehend Him.”
That is why we say that it is the finite will of God which is the light
emanating from the lantern of the Hermit. The Infinite will cannot be ap-
prehended. But the finite will can be understood and apprehended.
The finite will is the light and the light is what enables us to apprehend
God. So the means (the light) by which we apprehend and what it is (the
light) that we apprehend are the same! What does this mean?
The light, which is the essence, clothes itself in a garment. The garment
is our thought, speech, and action. If we look carefully at the garment, we
will never find the light. For it is like looking for the king in the closet where
his royal clothes are hung up on a hanger. We can find the garment. We can
examine its stitching. We can examine its pattern. We can see its colors.
We can feel its fabric. But we will not find the king. It is quite clear. When
the royal clothes are on a hanger the king is not in them. The light cannot
be understood by an intellectual examination of our thought, speech, and
action.
What can be the purposes of our thought, speech, and action? If our
purpose is to act for ourselves, an act of separation from Godliness, then
Godliness will not be present. The royal clothes will be on a hanger and the
king will not be in them. If our purpose is to act for the purpose of revealing
Godliness, then the king will be in his royal clothes and we will find him.
For then, the light enclothes our actions which constitute the garment for
the light. It is in these situations that what we are and what we do become
eternal, transcend time.
But if we try to embrace the royal garment when the garment is in the
closet, it would be meaningless. For in the closet, the garment has a sepa-
The Hermit 192

rate existence from the king. This separateness offers resistance and is an
obstruction to the revelation of Godliness. But when the garment is on the
king, whether the king wears one garment or many, the embrace fulfills a
closeness and an intimacy which we call union. When we embrace the king
wearing the royal garments, the garments become an expression for the king.
The garments then have no separate and individual existence.
The same is true with our thoughts, speech, and action. In the physical
plane, they are lowly. They are only garments. Without our intent that they
be the garments expressing the king’s will and wisdom, we will not even see a
ray of the Shechinah. There will be no light. With our conscious intent that
they be garments expressing the will and wisdom of the king, an intent at one
with the will and wisdom of the king, a ray of the Schechinah shines brightly
through us. For the garment, the individual thought, speech, or action, then
loses its individual separate existence and is understood as being one with
God.
To apprehend the light means to grasp it, to surround it, to penetrate
it through and through. How is it that something is grasped? It is grasped
by the hand. When the hand surrounds it on top and on bottom, from the
north, south, east, and west it is completely grasped. So the lantern from
which the light emanates is six sided. When the hand grasps completely, the
light enclothes the grasp and the light is then revealed. So by the garments
of thought, speech, and action, made sacred by the Godliness we invest in
them, God’s will and wisdom, as it can be expressed in the physical plane,
can be grasped, apprehended, and understood.
Understanding is in the mind, apprehending is in the feeling, and grasp-
ing is by serving. We grasp God’s will and wisdom by consciously making
ourselves a source for Godliness, by wrapping our intent of Godliness through
our thoughts, speech, and action.
How is it that something is grasped? What happens in the grasping?
Here we find that the self-conscious is very involved. In grasping, the mind
surrounds and encompasses the subject. And the subject is grasped and
enwrapped within the intelligence which is understanding the subject. Like-
wise, the subject under study surrounds and enwraps the mind which studies
it. The mind is immersed in the subject and the subject is immersed in the
mind. The mind envelopes the subject and the subject envelopes the mind.
When the mind can see the six ends of the subject, then the mind has grasped
The Hermit 193

the subject. And, the extent to which the mind is absorbed in the subject,
the subject grasps the mind. So when we study Kabbalah, with the intent
of transforming what we think, say, and do to reveal more Godliness we
activate this grasping process and by so doing we activate a process which
creates the changes we desire. For what we grasp by the study of Kabbalah
is not concepts about Godliness, although that certainly happens. But we
grasp Godliness itself. And as we internalize this Godliness, we create an
inner light which manifests in our outer deeds. This inner light is the light
which the Hermit holds.
To apprehend the light means to experience it by thinking, speaking, or
acting with the motivation of experiencing the holy and the sacred, with the
motivation of doing in order to reveal Godliness. Very simply, will your moti-
vation to reveal Godliness and you will begin to think, say and do Godliness.
You will experience and reveal Godliness. Will to reveal the light and you
will reveal the light. And the experience of willing to reveal the light and
then experiencing the revelation of the light is called union for then the ac-
tions constitute the garment for the light and the light enclothes the actions.
This union is a most wonderful magical feeling for the oneness and unity
attained is in each instance a unique peak experience, an eternal experience
transcending the commonplace. It is an experience that lasts. And it is an
experience, that even with all the other people who may be involved, is an
experience of one alone with God. It is an experience that is not repeatable,
for by it we transcend where we were. And the next encounter, even if every-
thing else is the same, requires something yet more from us. And we are able
to give more because we have moved beyond where we were before. So we do
give more. Being the channel for God’s greater and greater illumination, we
participate in the Infinite. It is something we can never tire of and something
we want to repeat again and again.
The Hermit 194

General Discussion Quotes

Sharman-Burke says that for the Hermit

... the time is clearly ripe for withdrawal from the busy outside
world in order to enter the quiet inner one. This means clearing
our minds of the external hurly-burly to allow time and space
for our minds to empty and our thoughts to clear. The Hermit
teaches the lesson of time and the inevitability of old age. Time
and change must be accepted as part of the natural cycle by which
man lives, for they involve constant flow from birth to blossom
to fruit, to return to the seed to ground.
Another sobering lesson the Hermit teaches is that of solitude,
another of man’s great fears. The truth is, ultimately, that we
are all always alone, but to face this fact is often frightening and
uncomfortable. At the same time, however, by facing the truth we
are half-way to accepting it, and once it is accepted it stops being
so frightening. ... Acceptance, patience and inner understanding
are the messages brought by the Hermit.

Oribello says:

A Hermit is a person who dwells alone. The symbolism of this

card has more than one interpretation. For example, the Hermit
walks on top of a white mountain, which means our soul is moving
upward in search for the higher consciousness. When we search
for God, we may (and often do) walk the path alone, as a Hermit.
Another way to interpret this card is to see the Hermit as the
superconscious level of mental awareness, standing at the summit
and holding the light of truth to guide our steps upward.

D’Agostino says that

The Hermit depicts the aged and those prudent in thought, lean-
ing on the past, and retaining those achievements they look upon
as proven and reliable. ... The Hermit is a portrayal of the collec-
tive unconscious, the recorder and preserver of all manifestation,
The Hermit 195

and the container of all potential possibilities available to man in

any given age or time.

Nichols says that

Like Lao-tzu, whose name means “old man,” the friar pictured
here embodies a wisdom not to be found in books. His gift is as
elemental and ageless as the fire in his lamp. A man of few words,
he lives in the silence of solitude – the silence before creations –
from which alone a new word can take form. He brings us no
sermons; he offers us himself. By his simple presence he illumines
fearful recesses of the human soul and warms hearts empty of
hope and meaning.
Like the Fool, he is a wanderer: and his monk’s cowl, prototype
for the Fool’s cap, connects these two as brothers of the spirit.
But the pace of this old traveler is more measured than that of the
young Fool, and he is not looking over his shoulder. Apparently
he no longer needs to consider what lies behind; he has assimilated
the experiences of the past. Neither does he need to scan distant
horizons, seeking out future potentials. He seems content with
the immediate present. His eyes are wide open to receive it –
whatever it is. He will apprehend and deal with it according to
his own illumination. ...
It is obvious that his lamp penetrates spiritual rather than tem-
poral darkness, for the sky above him is light and cloudless. His
insight pierces through our arbitrary divisions of space and time
to reveal the meaningful pattern of the ever present now. He sees
so deeply into the present that he clarifies all time, past and fu-
ture and their interrelationships. That this wise man, like Merlin,
possesses the seer’s magic power to master the riddle of time is
further evidenced by the fact that in some of the older decks he
holds an hourglass and is called Time.

Case says that the Hermit

is the Source of all, yet is he also the goal of all endeavor. Every
practice in occult training aims at the union of personal con-
The Hermit 196

sciousness with the Cosmic Will which is the Causeless Cause of

all particular manifestations. ...
The Hermit is the Ancient One, above all things, yet supporting
all. He precedes everything and when considered in that aspect,
is forever young (the Fool); yet He will continue when all else has
passed away, and He is the term of all our hopes.
He stands in darkness, because what is behind our personifica-
tions of the Supreme Reality is darkly incomprehensible to our
intellects. The darkness represents also the hidden, interior, sub-
conscious field of the Divine Operation. ...
When we reason about it, the Causeless Cause seems afar off -
a cold, isolated abstraction. In truth it is intimately related to
every circumstance in our daily personal experience. It is the
substance, the power, the consciousness expressed in the least of
our experiences. It is the source of all our personal light and
wisdom. It the the objective of all our aspirations.
The Hermit is the Supreme Will, the cosmic, eternal urge to free-
dom. Union with that will is the highest result of the operation
of the law that subconsciousness responds to the initiative and to
the suggestions of self-consciousness.

Moore says something similar:

The Hermit stands at the summit of the mountain upon the

heights of abstract thought, which represents as much of the Spirit
as we are able to recognize in our physical bodies. The Hermit
represents the Supreme Will, and the Supreme Will is the eternal
urge to evolve, to change, to exhibit variety.

In speaking about the Higher Self, Moore says:

It is the teaching of Ageless Wisdom that when man identifies

himself with his Soul or his Higher Self, his Higher Self is not any
longer needed as the intermedial between himself and his Spirit.
Consequently, his Higher Self disappears. It is only a Thought-
Form and it disappears. ...
The Hermit 197

This card marks very graphically that situation. Here is the Spirit
at the top of the mountain, at the end of that journey. During all
of the journey he has held the Lantern out for us to see the way
up to Him. The Light in that Lantern typifies the Higher Self ...
. He has projected the Higher Self down so that you can see it
and come up to it. When you come up to it, ‘the Light,” is no
longer necessary; for then you can vision the Spirit yourself. So
the Higher Self is withdrawn.

Finally in speaking about union, Moore says that the state of conscious-
ness depicted by the Hermit is

a state of blissful unity with the Father. This bliss is not open to
anyone who has not entirely purified his consciousness. ... This
bliss is reserved for those who have given up their personal will
and identified their will with that of the Higher Self. We are then
pure, free from matter and from the biases of the physical plane.
The Hermit 198

Symbolism

Blue-gray sky The background of the Hermit is Darkness, and

signifies the Source, the Beginning. All religions
have pictured darkness as the Mother of Light -
as coming before the Light. In Genesis it says,
“And God said, Let there be Light.” He was in
darkness when He said it (Moore).
The Hermit stands in darkness because what is
behind our personifications of the Supreme
Reality is darkly incomprehensible to our
intellects. The darkness represents also the
hidden, interior subconscious field of the Divine
Operation (Case).

Golden Wand In his left hand the Hermit holds the Golden
Wand. This is the magical Wand of Creation,
the same as the Magician has upon his Table.
What is held in the left hand is automatic.
The Golden Wand is an implement which the
personality can also wield. It is by the use of
this instrument and the two others on the
Magician’s table that the Magician can carve
out the physical plane product of his mental
ideas. First he has to use these implements on
his own body, and by use of them he so refines
the dense matter of his body that the Higher
Self, who was unable to do so on account of the
density of the body, can now control it
personally (Moore).
The Hermit has no need to climb, hence his
staff is held in his left hand. The staff is one of
the implements of the Magician, and
corresponds to the archetypal world (Case).
The Hermit 199

The Hermit carries a patriarch’s staff to use on

the narrow path of initiation (Eden).
The Hermit has learned to use the Magician’s
wand, which he now leans on, for he knows he
can depend upon it for support. He has
achieved mastery (Javane and Bunker).
The Hermit holds the staff, symbolic of control
over the flow of energy within the spinal canal
(Oribello).

Gray Cowled Robe The Gray Robe of the Hermit is an allusion to

the fact that He is the source of His own
darkness. Darkness came before Light: Light
was born out of Darkness. That Darkness is the
Father-Mother Originator; the Light is the
Child. This Hermit is muffled up in a Gray
Cowled Robe. He is concealed from us until we
have annointed our eyes with eye-salve (Moore).
His Gray Cowled Robe suggests another
Kabbalistic title for the One - “Concealed with
all Concealment.”
His cloak is the mantle of discretion, and in
some decks he partly covers the lantern with it
as if to protect Truth from profane eyes (Eden).
The Gray Cowled Robe of the Hermit signifies
that the powers of human adaptation make it
possible for him to combine, neutralize, and
resolve all opposites in nature; therefore
dissolving the seeming obstacles they present to
us (D’Agostino).

Hermit The name Hermit signifies that he is alone; that

he has no companion, no equal. He is our
Spirit, the highest member of our trinity. The
teaching of occultism is that the Soul is just the
The Hermit 200

agent of the Spirit projected by Spirit as a

“thought-form,” to function on the lower plane,
a lower plane than the Spirit can come down
and function in (Moore).
The Hermit blends the idea of the Ancient of
Days with the Light of the World.
The Hermit is a card of attainment, and to
extend this conception the figure is seen holding
up his beacon on an eminence (Waite).
The Hermit is alone, standing on a snowy
mountain-peak, far above the climbing travelers
for whom he holds aloft his lantern as a beacon.
He is the Source of all, yet is he also the goal of
all endeavor. Every practice in occult training
aims at the union of personal consciousness
with the Cosmic Will which is the Causeless
Cause of all particular manifestations (Case).
The Hermit stands isolated on a snowy
mountain peak, holding up a lantern to guide
those below.
He is ready to go to the help of every man who
cries for Light. He remains on the heights
throughout the long nights of spiritual darkness
(Eden).
The Hermit represents that isolation of the soul
which is the penalty of any high material
civilization (Ussher).
The Hermit is a symbol of ageless wisdom,
standing on the mountain of attainment. He
has achieved (Javane and Bunker).
The Hermit is the eternal seeker, the Pilgrim
soul (Sorer).
The Hermit is the Creator of Life (Lady Harris).
The Hermit 201

The Hermit is the way-shower (Wanless).

Lantern The Soul is represented as the Lantern, which

the Hermit is holding in his right hand to those
who are at the foot of the mountain. What is
held in the right hand represents conscious
activity. This lantern, or the Light in it
represents the Soul. The lantern has a top
which is made like the crown on the
Hierophant’s head, in three tiers with a knob at
the top. The tiers are arranged in a dome. The
dome of course represents the subconscious.
There are three tiers on it. There are three bars
on the Lantern taken in connection with the
knob on the top. This represents the four-fold
world, the Archetypal, Creative, Formative, and
Physical worlds. It is the Hermit, of course,
who starts this four-fold process of creation.
His images are Archetypal before they come
down into matter.
The function of the Hermit in showing the way
to his creative influence is more important to
him than was their creation in the first place.
His lantern is in his right hand (Moore).
The Lantern is the lighted Lamp of Truth,
containing within it the six-pointed star, the
Seal of Solomon (Eden).
In his hands he holds the lamp to enlighten the
way for others (Wanless).

Light In the lantern, there is a six-pointed star, and it

is that which gives the Light. That Star is the
Higher Self. The Soul is represented by this
six-pointed star, because the six-pointed star is
the interlaced triangles, and when the
personality has interlaced his two triangles, he
The Hermit 202

has made himself equal to his Higher Self. He

becomes permanently united with his Higher
Self. He has made his Chariot fit for the
Charioteer.
The two triangles are those of fire and water,
the triangle of the head and the triangle of the
heart. Until we have achieved union with the
head and heart in our personality, we cannot
achieve union with the Higher Self. The union
of the head and the heart is accomplished by
suggestion; the self-conscious constantly making
images for the subconscious to follow. In
accordance with his image she transforms him.
In the process of transforming herself she has
become gifted with new powers, which allows
her to transform him. When he is entirely
transformed, then the two triangles of head and
heart are interlaced; a perfect union with the
Father is accomplished (Moore).
It is a star which shines in the lantern. His
beacon intimates that “where I am, you also
may be.” (Waite).
The Hermit carries his own Light and holds it
aloft for the benefit of those who toil upward
toward him. It is the light of a golden, six-rayed
star, and its interlaced triangles are symbols of
union. The six points of the star hint also at
Virgo, sixth sign in the zodiacal series (Case).
The golden hexagram star in the Light
represents the solar light of the spiritual sun
differentiated into the six universal forces. That
it is encased in the lantern denotes that these
universal forces are concentrated, manifesting
as pure unaltered desire. The Hermit elevates
the magic lamp of light in his right hand to
The Hermit 203

guide those of us below to the perfection he has

attained (D’Agostino).
As the Hermit turns to shine his light on those
who follow him, he intimates that our
knowledge is empty and meaningless until we
turn and give it to others (Javane and Bunker).
In the lantern we see the sacred symbol of the
six pointed star which is formed from two
triangles, one pointing up and the other
pointing down. This symbol represents the
unity we must achieve between the lower and
higher expressions of our being (Oribello).

Snowy Peak The Hermit is standing on a Snowy Peak to

indicate that He awaits us at the summit of our
evolution, our Spiritual evolution. The peak is
snowy to indicate the highest abstract thought.
The same heights you also see in the Fool. The
same heights were the very last thing the Fool
left behind him as he went down into matter.
Therefore, in order to get above - get where he
was before he got down into matter, he must
reach again the heights of Abstract Thought
(Moore).
The peak whereon he stands is snow-capped
because to us the Ancient One is an
abstraction, cold, and far removed from the
warmth of everyday life (Case).
The snow represents the isolation he endures
because his wisdom sets him apart from others
(Javane and Bunker).
The white snow on the mountain peak reports
that some aspect of the unconscious has been
purged and purified, and is now fixed into a
definitive form of expression (D’Agostino).
The Hermit 204

White Beard The Hermit’s White Beard shows that he is the

“Most Holy Ancient One,” identified with the
Primal Will (Case).
The Wheel of Fortune 205
The Wheel of Fortune 206
The Wheel of Fortune 207

The Wheel of Fortune

God creates the world in such a way that we are able to conceal God from
ourselves. God also creates the world in such a way that when we realize that
we have concealed God from ourselves, our very situation is an opportunity
for us to reveal Godliness. This is the meaning of the Wheel of Fortune.
The Wheel turns around the center. The center is God. One side of the
Wheel moves downward. This is the descent downward. This descent is for
the purpose of permitting an ascent. The descent is to provide the material
physical circumstance by which a good deed can be done, a circumstance in
which we can express love, faith, joy, truth, beauty and understanding.
If we lived in an artificial world where there was no need to do a good
deed because everything was already provided, we would have no purpose.
Indeed, such a world would have no purpose. It could not, in fact, exist.
This means that the nature of our reality is that it is an empty vessel for
love, faith, joy, truth, beauty, and understanding. Our descent is just our
meeting with this reality in its state of darkness or emptiness. We meet an
empty vessel. If we do not create in ourselves love, faith, or understanding
when we meet the empty vessel, we lose our center and focus, and we react.
We throw ourselves into turmoil, anger, frustration, and depression. When
we create qualities of love, faith, and understanding in ourselves, we can do
our service properly. We can complete and fulfill the empty circumstance.
We can fill the vessel and this filling is our ascent. This occurs on the other
side of the Wheel which moves upward. The upward ascent is our service of
uplifting the Divine sparks invested in the world and transforming the world
into a dwelling place for God.
The Wheel turns round and round. One good deed brings another. One
lost opportunity for doing a good deed brings another. And each additional
opportunity has invested in its emptiness greater depths of darkness than
the previous ones. As we descend further, we can ascend further.
Said in another way, we each have the potential to manifest a level of
Godliness that transcends the world and that enclothes our physical reality
with that Godliness. The transcending, not only changes us, but it also
creates a new world. This means that old solutions will eventually not work
in the new situations we face in the new world. We have to create within
The Wheel of Fortune 208

ourselves a growth which develops new feelings, new understandings, and

new expressions to be able to complete and fulfill the empty vessels we meet.
When we do we discover that we have a sense for things as they really are,
we discover that what could have been obstacles no longer are. In fact they
are transformed to facilitators and collaborators. And because God creates
the world expressly for us, we can always choose to connect to the Divine
source to grow and develop the capabilities we need.
The Wheel of Fortune 209

General Discussion Quotes

Waite says that the Wheel of Fortune

stands for the perpetual motion of a fluidic universe and for the
flux of human life. ... Behind the general notion expressed in the
symbol there lies the denial of chance and the fatality which is
implied therein.

Eden says that

the ever-turning Wheel of Fortune ... carries men and their des-
tinies up and down. This is the exoteric meaning of the Key, but
the many symbols it depicts give it a much more profound and
subtle significance.

Ussher says

The title of the “Wheel of Fortune” is one appellation - and

derivation - of the Tarot (or “Rota”) itself. ... With the “Wheel”,
man’s self-discovery is complete ... This card stands for Chance
and Fate.

Javane and Bunker say that

rotation and cyclicity are the keywords for the Wheel of Fortune.
All is in the process of becoming; change is the only constant, so
in due time, all things come to pass.

Lady Harris says that the Wheel

represents the universe in its aspect of continual change.

D’Agostino says that the Wheel

fundamentally displays the Totality of Being endlessly creating.

And in speaking about the key property of the Wheel that it rotates, he says
that
The Wheel of Fortune 210

Psychological observation of this principle of Rotation reveals

that many human beings unconsciously remain bound and chained
to the same erroneous cyclic patterns throughout their entire
lives. Confined within their false world of delusion, they pretend
to escape the undesirable by superficial change in their appear-
ance and activity. However to their dismay they soon discover
that their problems, in one variation or another, remain basically
the same. For those perceptive souls who discern the need of
transformation within as well as without, and act accordingly,
this principle of Rotation responds by spontaneously accelerating
their consciousness to the higher, exciting levels of awareness and
experience.

Sharman-Burke says that

The Wheel of Fortune is a symbol of stability and change. The

true self of a man, which is hidden from his conscious mind, very
often remains at the still hub of the wheel, like the blind god-
dess. The hub remains stable though the external of conscious
situations change, as reflected by the moving outer rim. Fate is
the moving circumference of the Wheel, while the true self is the
center. The hub enables the rim to turn and is thus responsible
for all that comes its way. Each man is responsible for his own
destiny, and although circumstances are determined, as are the
four points of the great wheel, it is each man who turns his own
wheel to whichever point his true self dictates. So, when joy or
sorrow come into your life it is not that misfortune or happiness
have befallen you, but rather that you have turned to face it. Fate
does not seek you out, you turn to meet your fate. Often the fear
of taking such a responsibility upon our own shoulders causes us
to blame fate for the course our lives take. In reality, we are pre-
sented with choices and situations, and what we do with them is
on our own account. This is the difficult lesson the Fool learns at
eh Wheel of Fortune and he must now take responsibility for his
own life and fate.

Oribello says that the Wheel of Fortune represents

The Wheel of Fortune 211

the sum total of the existence and potential of every person.

Sorer says that the Wheel represents
the revolution of experience and progress, the steps of the Zodiac,
the revolving staircase, held in place by the counter-changing
influence of Light and Darkness, Time and Eternity - presided
over by the Plutonian cynocephalus below, and the Sphinx of
Egypt above, the eternal Riddle which can only be solved when
we attain liberation.
Nichols says that
Life presents itself here as a process – as a system of constant
transformation equally involving integration and disintegration,
generation and degeneration. Up and down are not shown here as
two fixed forces playing at tug of war. Instead we are presented
with the whole spectrum of infinitesimal graduations from upness
to downness, all of which blend subtly into one another like the
seasons of the year.
As the Wheel’s turning reveals, nothing exists per se: everything
is becoming and everything is dying – not sequentially in time,
but all at once. ...
There are many pairs of opposites which a wheel dramatizes. For
example: motion and stability, transience and transcendence, the
temporal and the eternal. If we watch a wheel’s turning, we see
how these opposites function together – how the wide motion of
its outer rim, which is its raison d’être, would be impossible were
it not for the stability of its fixed center. ...
To put these ideas into another language, one might say that a
wheel’s hub represents universal laws and its rim the individual
applications of these laws; at the center is the archetypal and
eternal, at the rim the specific and ephemeral; at the hub the
subjective and ideal, on the periphery the objective and real. It
is as if the primal creative urge of the godhead, the idea at the
center of all manifestation, spins itself out to the periphery where
it appears in a thousand different guises. The center expresses
The Wheel of Fortune 212

the undifferentiated wholeness of pure being whose essence is un-

changing, imperishable unity, whereas the rim offers modification,
experiment and motion – with, of necessity, less unity.

Moore says that everyone’s

personal action is a specific expression of those wheels within

wheels of natural law typified by the Wheel of Fortune. All per-
sonal activity is a series of particular expressions of the Cosmic
cycles of Involution and Evolution; the wheel of two arcs, Involu-
tion and Evolution. ...
The card symbolizes, in its cosmic process, the entire process of
Involution and Evolution - or a Cosmic day. During the first part
of the process, vitality flows into it. During the second part of the
process, vitality flows out of it. Finally there is no more vitality
to flow out of it, and the form is at an end. This in-flowing and
out-flowing is the fundamental form of forms. Occultism calls it
the Wheel of Involution, Evolution.
Thus the card stands for completion, accomplishment, and at-
tainment, etc. The wheel itself is a symbol of progress, of ad-
vancement. The card sums up the great law of cycles. ...
The One Energy, the mental image of God descends into the
Great Sea of Substance or Cosmic Mind-Stuff at the left of the
Wheel. This descent changes matter by setting into operation its
three qualities which had, up to this time, been static in equilib-
rium. It throws them out of equilibrium and the result is that
forms start into being according to the image. ...
The other side of the Wheel represents the present stage of Evo-
lution, or the unfolding after the infolding.

Case says that the Wheel of Fortune

combines the ideas of rotation, cyclicity, sequence, whirling mor-

tion, simultaneous ascent and descent (evolution and involution),
and so on, with the ideas of fortune, destiny, chance, fate, ne-
cessity, probability, and the like. Occult teaching emphatically
The Wheel of Fortune 213

asserts that what seems to be chance - whether absence of pur-

pose or absence of design - is really the working of unalterable
law. The rotation of circumstance appears to be accidental, but
is not really so.
Every effect is the consequence of preceding causes, and the bet-
ter we grasp this law of sequence and cyclicity, the greater our
command over subsequent events. There is periodicity in every-
thing.
The affairs of men, and those of nations, have a rhythm, a regular-
ity, a steadiness of beat which enables the wise to read the mean-
ing of the present in the history of the past, and makes it possi-
ble to forecast the events of the future from close examination of
present tendencies. The wheel, moreover, is a symbol of progress,
advancement, improvement, and so represents the march of cul-
ture, civilization, and amelioration which, in occultism, is called
the Great Work. ...
Psychologically, the Tarot Key refers to the law of periodicity
in mental activity, whereby mental states have a tendency to
recur in definite rhythms. It is the law, also, of the involution
of undifferentiated conscious energy, and its evolution through a
series of personalized forms of itself. Finally, the Wheel of Fortune
is the Tarot symbol of the law of cause and consequence which
enables us to be certain of reaping what we have sown.

Though the turning of the wheel represents change, there is a level of

understanding which reflects permanency. Case says

the “living creatures” typify the fixed, eternal modes of the One
Reality, which, so to say, remain permanent in contrast to the
flux and reflux symbolized by the turning wheel. That which
was, is and shall be remains ever the same in itself, and the whole
sequence and rotation of events goes on within it.

In discussing the nature of the consciousness associated with the Wheel

of Fortune, Case says that this
The Wheel of Fortune 214

mode of consciousness is what brings perception of the law which

fulfills the promise, “Seek, and ye shall find.” The law here shown
is that which reconciles apparent differences, that which enables
us to harmonize the elements of existence, that which leads to
the winning over of seemingly antagonistic forces, that which con-
duces to peace and prosperity.
The Wheel of Fortune 215

Symbolism

Alchemical Symbols On the spokes of the wheel, in the circle

representing the Formative World are the
alchemical symbols of mercury (above), sulphur
(right), salt (left), and below is the alchemical
symbol of dissolution, identical with the
astrological symbol of Aquarius, the man or
angel in the upper left corner. Man becomes
Angel by dissolution, by remaking his body.
The self-consciousness corresponds to sulphur;
the superconsciousness corresponds to mercury;
and the subconsciousness to salt (Moore).
On the spokes of the wheel in the circle
representing the formative world are the
alchemical symbols of mercury (above), sulphur
(to the right), and salt (to the left). These
correspond to the three gunas of yoga
philosophy: sattva (mercury), rajas (sulphur)
and tamas (salt). At the bottom of the same
circle is one of the alchemical symbols for
dissolution, identical with the astrological
symbol for Aquarius. Mercury is consciousness,
sulphur is passion and activity, salt is ignorance
and inertia. Dissolution is said to be the
fundamental process of the Great Work (Case).
The central wheel has four spokes with
alchemical symbols. The spoke to the left has
the symbol of salt (conscious and physical).
The spoke to the right is the symbol of sulphur
(subconscious and emotional). The upper spoke
has the symbol of mercury (superconscious and
mental) and the lower spoke has the symbol of
Aquarius (spiritual flow or secret process)
(Oribello).
The Wheel of Fortune 216

The symbols on the inner circle are alchemical

and stand for mercury, sulphur, water and salt,
the essential ingredients required for the great
alchemical works (Sharman-Burke).
The middle concentric circle represents the
Formative World of Action. It has four
alchemical symbols of Mercury, Sulphur, Salt,
and the Universal Solvent of Dissolution.
Mercury, Sulphur and Salt represent the
three-fold nature of consciousness. These three
essential qualities proportionately combined,
create the Universal Solvent; the human
compound that formulates, dissolves, and
reconstructs all forms prior to their appearance
on the physical plane (D’Agostino).

Blue Sphinx The Blue Sphinx represents a sphinx which has

memory of all things. It has seen all things
which have ever been. It bears in its hand the
sword of discrimination and with it carves out
the formative world, as does the implement on
the Magician’s table, the sword of processes, of
his ideas (Moore).
The Sphinx is the equilibrium therein (Waite).
The Sphinx typifies the real Self of man, behind
the veil of personality. It is known by the
unfoldment of inner senses corresponding to the
outer ones. When this unfoldment comes, we
become aware of the One Thing which
transcends personality. This One Thing is the
propounder of riddles of existence. It remains
motionless while the wheel turns. Its blue color
relates it to memory, the basic function of
subconsciousness, as if to emphasize the idea
that the highest self-knowledge is really
The Wheel of Fortune 217

self-recollection (Case).
The Sphinx at rest at the top of the Wheel is
wisdom and the principle of equilibration -
stability amidst movement, suggesting that we
are not always governed by chance and fatality
but that we have the power to change our lives
(Eden).
The Sphinx depicts the developed human being
to which we aspire. The woman’s head and
breast, coupled with the lion’s body, show the
soul in dominion over the body, in perfect
harmony, hence exemplifying the union of male
and female powers (Javane and Bunker).
At the top of the Wheel sits the Sphinx which
symbolizes intelligence and balance (Lady
Harris).
At the top of the Wheel sits the Sphinx, symbol
of all wisdom in all dimensions, holding the
sword which divides the real from the unreal
(Oribello).
Astride the wheel is seated a Sphinx,
symbolizing resurrection, and life emerging
triumphant over death (Sharman-Burke).
The Blue Sphinx is a synthesis of the four
elements pictured at the four corners of the
card. Its male face and female body
demonstrate the conciliation of opposites, and
speak of the liberation of humanity by its
identification with the True Self. The weapon
the Sphinx ominously exhibits suggests that
this victory of liberation is due to the exercise
of right mental discrimination (D’Agostino).
The Sphinx holds the sword in the left hand.
Left represents the subconscious, that which is
The Wheel of Fortune 218

done without self-conscious control.

Bull The bull symbolizes the law of limitation under

which all forms must come in order to be forms;
they have their limits and they cannot
transcend them. The halo of letters around the
head of the bull spells “The yoke of the law.”
In order for a form to become a form, there
must be a limit set; but do not forget that
“Yoke” is synonymous with “Yoga” and that
“Yoga” means “Union” (Moore).

Clouds Each of the animals are in a cloud of gray.

Gray stands for wisdom.

Eagle The Eagle represents the House of Scorpio in its

aspect, not of death but of resurrection. You
have a double meaning: that which kills as
Scorpio sets free as Eagle. The force that kills
is the same which can be transmuted to the
head and there it exalts. You have the same
idea in beating a sword into a ploughshare.
Around the Eagle is the motto “The liberty of
the gospels” which has the hidden meaning of
this transmutation of the reproductive energy
typified alike by Scorpio and the Eagle, by
means of which death is finally overcome
(Moore).

Four Animals In the four corners are four animals. These are
the four sacred animals and symbolize the four
fixed signs of the Zodiac (Moore).
The four living creatures exemplify the Divine
intention working from the outside (Waite).
At the corners of the card, seated on clouds, are
the mystical animals mentioned in Ezekiel 1:10
and in Revelation 4:7. They correspond to the
The Wheel of Fortune 219

fixed signs of the zodiac: the bull to Taurus;

the lion to Leo; the eagle to Scorpio; the man
to Aquarius. The numbers of these signs in the
zodiacal series are 2,5,8, and 11, adding to 26,
the number of dedi. In this name, i is
represented by the lion, the first d by the eagle,
the e by the man, and the final d by the bull
(Case).
The numbers of the four mystical animals in the
four corners add up to 26, which is the number
of dedi. These are mentioned in the Bible
(Ezekiel 1:10; Revelation 4:7). There is also a
correspondence to the fixed signs of the Zodiac -
the bull to Taurus, the lion to Leo, the eagle to
Scorpio, the man or angel to Aquarius (Eden).
The bull, the lion, the eagle and the man
represent the four fixed signs of the zodiac -
Taurus, Leo, Scorpio (the eagle is a symbol for
the higher side of Scorpio) and Aquarius
(Javane and Bunker).
In the four corners of the card are the symbols
of the four elements. The ox is for earth. The
lion is for fire, The eagle is for air and the man
for water (Oribello).
The creatures in the four corners of the card
are the four fixed signs of the zodiac: Aquarius,
Taurus, Leo and Scorpio, which also stand for
the four elements: earth, air, fire and water
(Sharman-Burke).

Golden Serpent At the left of the wheel descends the Golden

Serpent of the One Energy, the mental image of
God into the Great Sea of Substance or Cosmic
Mind-Stuff (the blue background). This
represents the arc of involution of the cosmic
The Wheel of Fortune 220

radiant energy into the conditions of substance

and form (Moore).
A Golden Serpent, its wavy movement
suggesting vibration, and its color that which is
assigned to light, to the planet Mercury, and to
the sign Leo descends on the left side of the
wheel. Its descent represents the involution of
the cosmic radiant energy into conditions of
name and form. It is the force which descends
through the Magician to his garden, and this
force bears the message or impulse of the
cosmic will (Case).
The Golden Serpent descending the Wheel is
Typhon, the Egyptian god of evil, in one of his
many forms. Typhon is also used to represent
the Life-force on its descent into manifestation.
This is the same force that descends at the
command of the Magician, in the garden
(Eden).
The wavy Golden Serpent symbolizes the
descent of the life force into the manifestation
(Javane and Bunker).
The reptile-headed Typhon is the symbol of
destruction sluggishness, and ignorance (Lady
Harris).
To the left of the wheel is the Golden Serpent
of divine wisdom manifesting within physical
matter (Oribello).
The Golden Serpent represents Set, Egyptian
god of evil who was supposed to have brought
death to the world (Sharman-Burke).
The Golden Serpent illustrates the vibratory
light of the spiritual Sun descending into
grosser forms (D’Agostino).
The Wheel of Fortune 221

Man The halo around the man’s head spells “The

untouchable glory of God.” “Untouchable” has
a hidden meaning. It means “unsmirchable,”
“cannot be spoiled.” That means there is no
hell. All men are angels in the making; nothing
can stop man from becoming the angel (Moore).
The serpent descends on the left, the side of the
automatic, non self-conscious.

Orange Jackal On the right side of the Wheel is the human

colored in orange with the Jackal head. This
side of the Wheel represents evolution. He is
representative of the higher plane; and up to it,
far nearer than the eyes can go, stretch the ears
of intuition (Moore).
Hermanubis (Hermes-Anubis), jackal-headed
Egyptian god, rises on the right side of the
wheel, to represent the evolution of
consciousness from lower to higher forms. His
jackal’s head represents intellectuality. His red
color typifies desire and activity. He symbolizes
the average level of our present human
development of consciousness. Beyond and
above him is a segment of the wheel which only
a few human beings have, as yet, traversed
(Case).
On the right-hand side of the Wheel, the
jackal-headed Egyptian god, Hermis-Anubis, is
the symbol of intelligence ever aspiring to
ascend, while evil is ever descending into
darkness and disintegration (Eden).
The jackal-headed Hermanubis (an Egyptian
god Thoth, also a race of jackal-headed men)
shows evolution of form, while the human body
and animal head indicate that man has not
The Wheel of Fortune 222

evolved beyond the intellectual level. His ears

above the horizon of the Wheel show that
man’s interior hearing or intuition allows him
to rise to a higher level (Javane and Bunker).
At the right side of the Wheel is Hermanubis,
who represents the restlessness of brilliant
unstable reason (Lady Harris).
The half-man half-Jackal is connected with
Anubis, the Egyptian god who, like the Greek
Hermes, was a Conductor of Souls. Anubis
would take the dead by the hand and lead them
into the presence of judges who would weigh the
soul before passing sentence (Sharman-Burke).
The Jackal ascends on the right side, the side of
the self-conscious.
The ascending red Hermanubis is an Egyptian
mythological god who, in “the Egyptian Book
of the Dead,” acts as the guide of the soul in its
journey through the underworld. This
Jackel-Headed god denotes that the
reproductive force residing in the unconscious is
the impetus that evolves the lower forms of
creation into the higher levels of expression and
consciousness (D’Agostino).

Spokes The eight spokes are like the eight-pointed star

and represent the universal radiant energy.
This central circle is the same as the symbol of
the Life-Breath, ten times repeated on the dress
of the Fool (Case).
The eight spokes are like the eight-pointed star;
they represent universal radiant energy. This
design is also repeated ten times on the
costume of the Fool (Eden).
The Wheel of Fortune 223

The four spokes that cross each other like the

letter X are symbolic of the physical kingdom
(Oribello).
The first circle flowing forth from the center
point has eight Spokes which divide the cirle
into eight sections and corresponds to the
Mental world of creation. Eight is the number
of the Sun, designating that the regeneration of
personality begins by renewing the mind
(D’Agostino).

Wheel The Wheel is the symbol of the whole cycle of

cosmic expression, and is also an emblem of any
particular series of events. Its center, or pivot,
is the archetypal world; the inner circle is the
creative, the middle circle the formative, and
the outer circle the material world (Case).
The Wheel has three circles, of which the inner
one is the creative force, the middle is the
formative power, and the outer is the material
world, - the same symbolism as in the three
tiers of the Hierophant’s crown (Eden).
The Wheel has three concentric circles which
represent the universal and personal cycles
operating simultaneously on all planes of
consciousness. The central point within the
circles relates to our most inner self described
as reigning on the spiritual plane (D’Agostino).
The Wheel is orange, the color of the
superconscious.

Wheel Letters On the outermost Wheel, alternating with the

letters dediare the Roman letters ROTA. As the
Wheel turns, these letters read ROTA TARO
ORAT TORA ATOR. This is a bad Latin
The Wheel of Fortune 224

sentence meaning “The Wheel of Tarot teaches

or speaks the Law of Nature.” Hathor is an
Egyptian goddess corresponding to the
Empress. In Hebrew letters the value of all the
8 letters on the Wheel, equals 697, whose digits
add to 22, the number of letters in the Hebrew
alphabet and of the Tarot Trumps. Each of the
sections between the letters is 45 degrees and
45 is the number assigned to man. So the
Wheel says “Man” eight times, and 8 is the
number of dominion and equilibrium -
equilibrium of the self and subconscious.
Nature constitutes the All; and man has
dominion over the all if he can have dominion
over himself by self-effort. The conception of
man extended infinitely is the only conception
we are to form of God, and He, too, has
dominion over all (Moore).
The transliteration of Taro as Rota is inscribed
on the wheel, counterchanged with the letters
of the Divine Name - to show that Providence
is implied through all. This is the Divine
intention within (Waite).
On the wheel, in the circle representing the
material world, are the letters of TARO
countercharged with the Hebrew letters spelling
dedi. In Hebrew values, the letters of TARO
make the number 671, important in Kabbalah
as the number of certain titles of Malkuth, the
Kingdom. As the value of dedi is 26, the total
numeration of the eight letters on the wheel is
697, and the digits of 697 add to 22, a number
associated with the circle or wheel from time
immemorial, and the numbers of letters in the
Hebrew alphabet, symbolized by the major
The Wheel of Fortune 225

trumps of Tarot.
By transposition, the letters of TARO may be
arranged to make the following five words:
ROTA TARO ORAT TORA ATOR. “Ator” is
an old Latin form of the name of the Egyptian
goddess Hathor. Thus this rather barbarous
Latin sentence may be translated, “The Wheel
of Tarot speaks the Law of Hathor (the Law of
Nature)” (Case).
Within the outer circle are four Hebrew letters
which, together, represent the word
Tetragrammaton. This word is said to contain
and conceal the unspeakable name of God.
Between the Hebrew letters are the Roman
letters ROTA which represent a sentence in
broken Latin. “Rota Orat Tora Ator” means
“the Tarot reveals the laws of life” (Oribello).
The letters TORA, or if read in reverse, TARO,
mark the four compass points of the circle
(Sharman-Burke).
The outer circle containing the Latin and
Hebrew letters, speaks of the World of
Sensation and Matter. Here we perceive the
end product; the result of all that has been in
operation on the planes above (D’Agostino).

White Book All the animals are reading from a White Book,
getting the knowledge of the Law; and the
animals are all yellow; the action of mind,
indicating the mind receiving instruction from
the Spirit. Yellow is the color of the sun
(Moore).
The books that they hold represent the wisdom
of the ages. They indicate the laws of the
The Wheel of Fortune 226

universe, which are immutable, fixed, and

cannot be changed (Javane and Bunker).
The Woman of Justice 227
The Woman of Justice 228
The Woman of Justice 229

The Woman of Justice

The Woman of Justice represents that part of the cosmic subconscious which
provides justice. In all things, in all situations she assures that there is full
and complete justice. For the essence of all things is the Godliness which is
within and being the cosmic subconscious, she is within everything.
Our experience of injustice and our dealings with what we interpret to be
unjust come about because we often deal with the appearance rather than
the essence. We make distinctions according to the opposites of good and
evil that we have been taught. To illustrate this, consider the biblical story
of Joseph and his eleven brothers. With a non-kind intent, the brothers sell
Joseph and he becomes a slave in Egypt. To Joseph this situation certainly
has an unjust appearance. What did he do to deserve being taken away from
his family? He wore a coat of many colors and dreamed dreams in which he
played an elevated role and his brothers a more lowly role. Does this warrant
being sold as a slave?
After Joseph had been in Egypt for a while, he interprets the dreams of
Pharoah and becomes his first hand helper in providing food for all the people
in times of the seven years of famine. Now, we can come to understand what
Joseph had understood all along. That when his brothers sold him this too
was for the good. This too was just. For how could it have come about in
any other way that Joseph would become the first hand helper of Pharoah?
How could it have come about that Joseph would be in a position to interpret
the dreams of Pharoah?
When Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to buy food rations and Joseph
recognizes his brothers, he tells them

Now do not worry or feel guilty because you sold me. Look! God
has sent me ahead of you to save lives! There has been a famine
in the area for two years, and for another five years there will be
no plowing or harvest. God has sent me ahead of you to insure
that you can survive in the land and to keep you alive through
such extraordinary means. Now it is not you who sent me here,
but God. He has made me Pharaoh’s vizier, director of his entire
government, and dictator of all Egypt.
The Woman of Justice 230

From this the important lesson about justice can be learned: that ev-
erything which happens to us is ultimately just, for it comes from God.
Whatever we do, whether it be good or bad, the appropriate equilibrium and
balance will occur both to us and the people to whom we have acted with
goodness or badness.
But from this lesson, it does not follow that we need do nothing or do
what is not correct. Indeed, just as God constantly keeps things in balance,
in our own sphere of influence, we too must keep things in balance. One
dimension of our service is balance and justness. For it is by our own actions
that Godliness is revealed.
Since it is the case that God constantly keeps things in balance, what
can it mean that we must act with balance and justness? It means that we
must endeavor to act so that by our act not even appearances are thrown
out of balance. We must take care of all the present loose ends and future
consequences of our deeds. To do this we must use reason. And this is why
the Woman of Justice holds the sword of reason in her right hand. For the
sword of analytic reason can free one from the abyss of emotional turmoil
and keep one concentrated on the perceiving of the Godliness which is always
everywhere and all around us. In this way we can act with balance.
But in order for us to be able to correctly use reason, we must undergo
training and instruction. Part of this kind of training is training to use logic:
to be able to make correct inferences and to be able to identify and under-
stand the assumptions that we tend to make as we reason about something.
By identifying the implicit assumptions we have a chance of withholding the
conclusion of our inference process until we can validate that the assumptions
are true.
We must study, learn, and practice. This learning must not just be in-
tellectual learning. But it must be learning which ultimately manifests itself
in our thinking, feeling, and behaving in accordance with what we learned.
And what is it that we learn again and again, each at deeper and more subtle
levels? We learn to be able to use our reason at one level higher than we may
be currently existing emotionally. This level of reason enables us to not just
rationalize an action on the basis of a felt emotion, as we are prone to do.
Rather this level of reasoning enables us to explicitly recall our underlying
assumptions about God’s benevolence in providing just the right situations
for us to learn and grow and to help others learn and grow. Starting from
The Woman of Justice 231

this assumption, we can cast aside our need and desire to rationalize. And
we can power ourselves, thrusting our emotions forward in a way to do that
just thing which God would want us to do. In this way, the learning man-
ifests itself in just action. This is the kind of learning that constitutes real
knowledge.
The Woman of Justice 232

General Discussion Quotes

Oribello summarizes Justice in the following way.

The common symbol for Justice is a blindfolded person with a

sword in one hand and scales in the other. However, the person
in this card is not blindfolded, which means that this represents
the higher justice of the Divine Consciousness that sees all.
...divine justice may drive us into situations by which we purge
ourselves from past mistakes and karmic debts. We must right
all wrongs and heal all wounds in this, or another lifetime. When
we go through difficult situations and seem to be getting a subtle
message from it all, it is divine justice helping us to clean the
books by reaping what we have sown.

Waite says that Justice is

the moral principle which deals unto every man according to his
works.

Ussher says that Justice

has a similar significance to the High Priestess and the Pope: all
three oppose rest to motion or passive reflection to vital force.
The first represented Wisdom, the second Understanding, while
Justice stands for the abstract Reason – which tames the anarchic
energies of Love and War.

Ussher concludes by noting that by Justice

the ground is laid for spiritual growth in the world.

Nichols says that

The symbolism of Justice consistently stresses a harmonious union

of opposite forces. Sitting on a throne, this large female figure
symbolizes superhuman feminine power. Yet she holds a sword
and wears a warrior’s helmet, indicating that masculine discrim-
ination and courage are also involved in her work.
The Woman of Justice 233

Her sword is held neither in a position of defense nor of attack, but

upright as one might hold a sceptre or other symbol of dominion.
Perhaps Justice holds it thus to remind us of the flaming sword at
Eden’s gates, and to warn us that we can never again return to the
innocence of childhood. We must now assume full responsibility
for whatever knowledge of good and evil we have acquired. The
weapon is enormous and made of gold, which further emphasizes
its enduring value. ...
Justice holds her sword with the tip pointing heavenward. Solid
and unwavering, it acts as a plumb line to keep her decisions
true to the spirit. In her left hand she holds the scales, the two
pans of which are connected by a horizontal rod, emphasizing the
earthly axis. Unlike the sword, the scales are mobile, suggesting
the relativity of all human experience and the need to weigh each
individual event as a unique phenomenon. Its two cups, symbols
of feminine receptivity and duality, contrast with the uncompro-
mising single statement of the masculine sword. The respective
vertical and horizontal lines of sword and scales together form
the cross of spiritual striving versus human limitation, of ideal-
ism versus practicality – the cross upon which we are all impaled.
Justice sits as mediator between these two realities. ...
Perhaps at the deepest level of human experience, God and man
are the two pans of a set of scales which, acting together, create
the One Equilibrium – the lasting harmony whose beauty and
truth alone endure.
Javane and Bunker say:
Teaching, education and guidance come under key 11, which seeks
to bring about balance through justice. The scales here also sym-
bolize the doctrine of karma – work, action and reaction, the law
of cause and effect.
The outstanding lesson of key 11 is to weigh the meaning of
present conditions and achieve balance by overcoming the errors
of the past.
Case says that the general meaning of Justice
The Woman of Justice 234

is that education (oxgoad) has equilibration for its aim. It re-

quires, therefore, the elimination of useless, outworn forms (sword,
and attribution of Libra to the kidneys). Education is completed
by action and work. Merely hearing the word, or reading it, is
not true education. Action is required, and action is motivated
by subconscious response to self-conscious observation and con-
centration.
Psychologically, this picture illustrates the law of poise and self-
direction. A balanced personality is faithful, constant and con-
fident, because right use of reason has established enduring cer-
tainty as to the just outcome of all activities. For a practical
occultist this card signifies: (1) You really know only when you
have acted; (2) Equilibration, mental and physical, demands the
elimination of waste, the getting rid of “excess baggage” (Case).

On speaking about the symbol of the scales, Case says:

Libra, the scales, is a cardinal, airy sign. It is ruled by Venus

(Key 3, the Empress), and is the sign in which Saturn (Key 21,
the World) is exalted. Our subconscious deductions from experi-
ence are the seeds of Karma, and are actually the basis of all our
activities. From them we gain instruction and knowledge. Fur-
thermore, the highest manifestation of the restrictive, concrete,
definitive power of Saturn is brought about through the operation
of the law symbolized by Key 11.

Moore says:

Justice stands for nature and the way she works. What she is
working out are the images of God. Those images were clear,
definite, altogether good; and when we have perfected our bodies
we shall see in all things great and small “the Beauty of Divine
Expression.” ...
Justice is the practical application by you, at this moment of the
Law of Involution–Evolution, or action and reaction. In the mea-
sure in which you apply it, you will adjust yourself to your envi-
ronment and you readjust your environment to your advancement
The Woman of Justice 235

– you utilize it. ... Any unfortunate circumstances you are in, is
the direct consequence of some action which you once initiated.
You made this circumstance yourself. How shall you handle it
so as to ... [equilibrate] that former action and at the same time
start nothing going to form the cause of a future bad circum-
stance? That is the reason this card stands for action. Although
it chiefly concerns the action of the subconscious the concrete ac-
tion of the subconscious is determined by the self-conscious. The
body contains many structures of error which if you want your
Mars vibration to break down, will necessitate a change in your
mental pictures or patterns. As Justice in this card has yellow
hair heavily shaded with black, she indicates the intellectual sub-
conscious of a practical occultist who is seeking by daily technique
to reconstruct his body.
In speaking about the subconscious, Moore says:
This card pictures man’s subconscious at work accommodating
herself to the changes wrought in his body by his good images and
not his bad ones, though with each her work and her purposes
are the same.
In explaining how the subconscious works with respect to the changing
it does in the body to create and manifest a special and high kind of life as
well as the equilibrium which Justice represents, Moore says:
To build such a body, the entire present body must be rebuilt.
Subtle chemical and even structural transformations are required
in every part of it. In making these changes all the cells of the
body are called into action. With every change the scales must
be balanced anew and another equilibrium secured by the sub-
conscious – the new digestion. New elements must be extracted
from the blood making new elements in the body to transform
the blood stream. New cells must be built in the brain and subtle
forces must be extracted from the air outside of the body. Forces
as yet unrecognized by chemists, such as new electric currents
must be generated in the body and directed: color and sound vi-
brations entirely unused before must be employed. In addition to
The Woman of Justice 236

all this, the subconscious must summon to her aid in the spiritual
reconstruction of the body certain outside entities called in tele-
pathically by the Moon center to help her in this reconstruction
and after every tiny change equilibrium comes.
Moore compares Justice with the High Priestess and Empress.
When the High Priestess is at work she becomes the Empress, cos-
mically speaking the Empress who holds in her hand the sceptre
which symbolizes the Will, the Image of the Torah of the Father.
In us, the Empress symbolizes the intellectual subconscious, the
Will. Thus Justice merely explains the Law by which the Empress
works and the tools she works with.
And Moore compares Justice with the Magician.
Of the processes by which she carries out the will of the self-
conscious, the self-conscious knows only theoretically, if that. He
would not know how to manage them, and yet her action in this
card is precisely the action of the Magician and illustrates the
same equilibrium. One-half of her is active and the other half
passive. The hand that brandishes the Sword is as strenuous
as his hand that brandishes the Wand. The hand that holds
the Scales is as relaxed as his finger from which flows down the
White Light that transforms his body. These two active-passive,
passive-active processes must work simultaneously - the four of
them - in order to create a better spiritual body.
D’Agostino says that
The major mental functions assigned to Justice are Action or
Work and Equilibrium.
D’Agostino in discussing about the Karma associated with justice speaks
of the unfolding seeds of our past thoughts and activities as be-
ing the source of our present personal circumstances and external
conditions. This principle of Karma is well expounded in the bib-
lical admonition “As a man soweth, so shall he also reap:” there-
fore, Justice, in its final judgement always prevails. Although
The Woman of Justice 237

the principle of Karma cannot be destroyed, we can divert unde-

sirable Karma into more constructive channels by subsequently
introducing positive elements. Collectively, this card is a glyph
of man’s pursuit to bring equilibrium into his life and into all of
his manifestations.

Sharman-Burke says that

Justice teaches the Fool to discriminate, to make dispassionate

evaluations and the impersonal decisions that the intellect is con-
centrated upon at this stage of his journey; he must learn to
solve his problems impartially, to weigh up, to balance and then
to make rational judgements. Justice is a fundamentally human
conception centering on fairness and reason. Nature, however, is
not fair, nor is it reasonable, according to man’s interpretation of
the word. Even so, man at his best strives to be fair and to use
justice in an attempt to establish equilibrium as a guiding prin-
ciple of his world and on his society. Although his ideal might
seem hopelessly naive, because nature can never be tamed by
man, justice is nevertheless one of the most noble conceptions of
the human spirit.

Eden says that Justice

is the great mother through whose love, care, and perfect justice
the children of men may achieve equilibrium.
With Justice, the Fool embarks on a higher cycle of manifestation
but with all the experience gained during the previous sequence of
the ten keys. The purified, disciplined personality now recognizes
the One Life and feels it standing beside him, as the sword of
power endows him with the ability to divine right from wrong.
The Woman of Justice 238

Symbolism

Blue Square The Blue Square in the front of the crown

indicates measurement. To reconstruct the
body by images requires her to take the
measure of the cleansing powers of the Holy
Ghost and to summon them to her aid (Moore).
The Blue Square set in front of the Crown is a
jewel. This natural crystal created by nature
brings to our attention that the basic
geometrical patterns of all matter are
discoverable in the mineral world. The blue
stone is an announcement of the reproductive
principle of memory. The square setting tells of
the mental measurement and classification of
some specific form of knowledge. Form and
memory are inseparable laws. There cannot be
any memory of knowledge to draw upon unless
there is some form in which this knowledge has
been recorded and preserved, nor can any form
continue to perpetuate unless there remains
recollection of its existence (D’Agostino).

Blue Undergarment Underneath the red robe, showing at the

sleeves, is a blue undergarment. This is the
color of the High Priestess, and her number, 2,
results from adding the digits of 11, the number
of Justice. For all imagination is based on
memory (Case).

Brooch The Brooch which fastens the cape is a circle

within a square. The square always represents
the number 4 and the circle represents the
number 22. 26 in all - they stand for dedi, or
the one energy active in the four worlds. The
circle in the Brooch is red because it is by the
The Woman of Justice 239

use of the Mars vibration that she destroys the

structure of error in the body (Moore).

Crown Her turreted Crown is intended to make you

think of Venus, the Empress. It has in front of
it a square, and the four sides of this together
with the three turrets give the number seven,
which is the number of Venus; also of the
Chariot, the perfected body, made by the
perfected action of the seven centers. In
addition, a Crown always indicates dominion,
and this one indicates that she rules, in the
body, the working of the seven interior stars
(Moore).
The three turrets of her Crown and the four
sides of the jewel in the center add up to the
number 7 (Venus) (Eden).
In the Rider pack, Justice wears a Crown,
showing three turrets, and ornamented with a
square jewel. The three turrets and the four
sides of the square give the number 7, the
Kabbalistic number of the Sphere of Venus on
the Tree of Life. In the B.O.T.A. version the
square is white, and contains a red circle. Since
22 is the conventional arithmetical symbol for
any circle, and a square stands for 4, the two
together, like the Masonic square and compass,
represent the number 26, which is the value of
the divine name dedi(Case).
The Crown has three squares, symbolic of
balanced harmony between the three levels of
mental awareness (Oribello).
The golden Crown the woman wears denotes
that in the physical body, this solar energy has
its highest concentration in the brain. The
The Woman of Justice 240

three square castellations of the Crown speak of

the three-fold nature of human consciousness as
being gradations of this solar light, yet each
possesses its own characteristics and field of
operation (D’Agostino).

Green Cape The Green Cape also makes you think of Venus.
It has two tabs. Its two tabs in front are to
carry out the idea of the balance and
equilibrium. They are made like serpents to
suggest the two streams of Kundalini whose
rising in the body quickens the action of the
seven interior stars over which she rules
(Moore).
Her Green Cape identifies her with Venus,
because green is attributed to Venus (Case).
Red is the colour of war, while green is the
colour of love and the Cape of Justice combines
the two symbolizing the harmony inherent in a
balance of opposites (Sharman-Burke).
The Green Cape of fertility declares that
abstract thought has no practical use unless its
theoretical formulas are brought forth into
distinctive patterns of mental expression or
physical objectivity (D’Agostino).

Scales In her left hand are the scales of gold, always

related to balanced judgement. Balance is
indicated here, as it is in Strength (Eden).
The golden Scales in the woman’s left hand are
a subtle hint that solar energy, or light, for
which the ancient symbol is gold, may be used
as an instrument whereby to weigh and
measure action. This fact was well known to
occultists in the day Tarot was invented, and
The Woman of Justice 241

modern science confirms this by making the

speed of light, and also its mass, the basis for
calculations which demonstrate the electrical
nature of all so-called “matter” (Case).
The Scales represent balance. There are seven
straight lines of equal length in the scales,
representing the seven centers in the body, and
the seven original planets – Mercury (The
Magician), Venus (The High Priestess), Jupiter
(The Wheel of Fortune), Mars (The Tower),
Sun (The Sun), and Saturn (The Universe)
(Javane and Bunker).
The Scale is feminine (Sharman-Burke).
The golden Scale that the Woman of Justice
holds in her left hand is a product composed of
the solar light, and insinuates that we must
correctly measure and weigh this substance in
whatever form it may appear before we can
successfully define its function and equilibrate
its activity in nature (D’Agostino).

Pillars The two pillars Justice sits between are (like the
two pillars of the Hierophant), the two phases
of the subconscious. The side the sword is on
stands for the Holy Ghost Pillar, for the Sword
cuts away, and in this respect agrees with the
cleansing function of the Holy Ghost which you
see pictured in the High Priestess where her
blue and white robe flows through the yellow
crescent. This indicates the intellectual or
personal subconscious of the ruler of the body.
The other pillar stands for the Empress, for the
scales are instruments for weighing and
measuring, and according to their findings she
makes readjustments by which she secures
The Woman of Justice 242

equilibrium. Justice trims off with the Sword

where she weighs off with the scales. She trims
things off until they are in equilibrium (Moore).
Justice is seated between the positive and
negative forces, indicated by the pillars first
seen in the High Priestess and again in the
Hierophant (Eden).
There are two pillars. The one to the left
behind the scales is the pillar of the Universal
Law. The one behind the sword is the pillar of
the Divine Word. Therefore, divine justice is
built upon the law and the word of God.
(Oribello).
The two Pillars depict the eternal opposites
(Sharman-Burke).

Red Robe The Red Robe is the color of Mars, complement

of the green of Venus. The Greek myth
concerning the clandestine love-affair of Mars
and Venus intimates that action (Mars) and
imagination (Venus) are always related. Mars
rules the tonicity of the muscles. Consequently
all work or action, the function attributed in
Kabbalah to Libra, depends on this Mars force
in the muscles (Case).
The woman wears a Red Robe. This Red Robe
of action almosts blots out the cube of the
physical world upon which she is sitting. The
intellectual subconscious acting under occult
instructions from the self-conscious, almost
entirely effaces the present physical world of the
body and substitutes another world (Moore).
The Red Robe implies that all human actions
begins with the calculation of available
The Woman of Justice 243

possibilities discerned in the lofty levels of the

abstract (D’Agostino).
Sword The Sword of Justice has a Tav handle, the
letter that goes with the last card The World
which depicts the Saturn vibration and our
state of boundless and joyous activity when we
have learned to utilize the Saturn vibration.
Limitation is the handle which enables us to
grasp and wield the Sword of action. If it had
no handle, we would cut ourselves. With that
Sword the self-conscious should cut off all that
is wasteful and unnecessary, whatever does not
contribute to a well-poised balanced
self-expression. That is what your subconscious
is doing in the body. Just as the kidneys, ruled
by Libra rids the body of waste which would
otherwise poison us, so right action enables us
to get rid of self conscious waste. We do not,
fortunately, have to worry about our
subconscious not being on the job, not
attending to her business; she does it always.
She is the one who needs to worry about us and
our faithful attention to our job; and the
truthful interpretation of our dreams shows us
that she does worry. Our self-conscious part is
to get rid of the obstacles which we continually
place in the way of the subconscious doing her
job (Moore).
Her Sword is lifted in defense of justice and
none can escape it; it points upward, indicating
victory, and is two-edged to convey that action
destroys as well as builds, that the false must
be cut away from the true (Eden).
The Sword is of steel, a metal attributed to
Mars. It is an indication that all action
The Woman of Justice 244

destroys as well as builds. We may take it,

likewise, to represent the elimination of all
waste and hesitancy from wisely directed action
and to be a reference to the idea of
discrimination represented by Zayin, the sword,
in the Hebrew alphabet (Case).
Use the Sword of discrimination to eliminate
mistaken thoughts (Javane and Bunker).
The Sword is masculine. (Sharman-Burke).
The Woman of Justice holds a sharp, straight
Sword, pointed up in her right hand, suggesting
that effective mental action requires the
concentration of effort, supported by acute
observation and careful analysis, separating and
eliminating all that interferes with our course of
personal development (D’Agostino).

Throne The throne of the woman has stretched between

its two pillars, a violet veil. Pillars and veil are
reflections of the ideas suggested by similar
symbols in the picture of the High Priestess
(Case).
The throne is of stone to indicate how Justice
manifests in the physical world.

Violet Curtains Violet, the color the curtains, is referred to

Jupiter and the Wheel of Fortune, to suggest
that the veils of mechanism conceal from the
uninitiated that the whole universe is
permeated by the Life-Breath of Spirit,
symbolized by yellow (Case).
Behind the figure of Justice is a veil of
violet-red. Violet-red symbolizes the making of
better bodies out of previous ones. That is the
evolutionary (cosmic) business of nature, to
The Woman of Justice 245

make better and better bodies; but it is

particularly the business of the subconscious
depicted here in this card (Moore).
The Violet Curtain draped between the two
gray pillars is representative that the mechanics
of the universe and its cyclic manifestations are
the disguise that conceal the radiant light
energy of the Spiritual Sun, displayed as the
yellow background (D’Agostino).

White Shoe The right foot of the Woman of Justice has on

a white shoe. White is the color of the spiritual
plane. The shoe is what connects a person to
the earth. Right is for the self-conscious. So the
meaning of the white shoe is the planned
manifestation in action of spiritual purpose.

Woman The Woman represents equilibrium (Moore).

The Woman is the great mother through whose
love, care, and perfect justice the children of
men may achieve equilibrium (Eden).
The Woman, Justice, signifies the active
administration of law. It also makes us think of
balance, poise, exactitude, accuracy,
impartiality, equity, and the like.
The highest manifestation of the restrictive,
concrete, definitive power of Saturn is brought
about through the operation of the law
symbolized by Justice.
We may identify her with the woman who
tames the red lion in Strength (Case).
The Woman Justice is the balancer of all
individual assertions of will (Ussher).
The Woman of Justice 246

Yellow Background The Yellow Background refers to the element of

air, since Libra is an airy sign (Case).

Yellow Hair Her yellow hair, like that of the Empress,

identifies her as Venus (Case).
Her hair is yellow deeply scored with black and
this indicates that the images she receives from
the self-conscious, and which she is working to
carry out, are occult images (Moore).
The Hanged Man 247
The Hanged Man 248
The Hanged Man 249

The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man represents the experienced reversal. The tree from which
the man is being hanged represents a binding of man to the true law which
is the energy intelligence of z. This binding permits man’s will to be free
on the one foot, and yet on the other foot constrains man to experience, in
accordance with true law, the consequence of the prior choices of his free
will. When the constrained foot is unexpectedly experienced, our dancing
becomes momentarily halted. We find ourselves suspended upside-down.
And this upside-down suspension is exactly the difference between our
conventional wisdom about reality and what reality actually is. This differ-
ence is one of reversal. When we concentrate on dealing with our reality in
the usual way, the reality in and of itself becomes important. Indeed it be-
comes of central importance. So important does it become that we perceive
that it takes on its own existence separate from all spirituality, separate from
God.
Then plunged into this perceived reality separate from God, we find our-
selves frustrated, disoriented, and afraid. We become frustrated because we
find that we cannot control everything the way we want to control it. We
cannot accomplish all that we want to accomplish. We become disoriented
because there are no spiritual principles in a reality separate from God. We
become afraid of any change in this reality and act in a way to prevent change.
Since God manifests in change, our actions preventing change further cut us
off from our source. This is called living in the illusion.
But if we understand our reality to be connected to God, and if being
conscious of this connection we unite our will with God’s will, if we submit
ourselves to God, then we discover that we accomplish all that we desire
to accomplish. This does not necessarily mean a passive acceptance of any
situation we find ourselves in. This does mean that we desire without de-
siring, we reach without reaching, and we strive without striving. And we
accomplish what is to be accomplished. How is this possible? It is possible
because we believe in a miracle. We believe in the miracle of God: that God
causes existence to be as an expression of His beneficence.
If something physically happens to us, then it must be that this is given
to us by the beneficence of God. So what happens to us is necessarily for us.
The Hanged Man 250

And this is so whether the situation is one of joy or sadness. If we accept

that regardless of joy or sadness, the situation has present and future real
goodness in it, we can open ourselves to make manifest that goodness. This
can mean a more joyful acceptance of a sad situation or it can mean a greater
determination to challenge it and successfully work to change it. So what we
do by our striving without striving is to transform a situation which we did
not choose to one that we can choose and see the good contained therein.9
For we have faith in the miracle that all is for us, for God is beneficent, all
good, all loving. Whatever our response to the situation, we are not confused
because our purpose is to bring down Godliness into our world. Our purpose
is to make this world a dwelling place for God.
The more difficult and painful the situation is, the greater inherent good
there is to be revealed, the greater Godliness we can bring down into our
world. Furthermore, it is only we who can make this revelation. It is only
we who can bring down this Godliness. The symbolism of the Hanged Man
reminds us of this experienced reversal.
This is a reversal in two senses. In the first sense, it is a reversal with
respect to ourselves when we temporarily lose our faith in the miracle. In
that case our world becomes not miraculous. Our world works by a natural
cause and effect, and the conventional wisdom becomes applicable. We are
indeed upside-down. In the second sense. it is a reversal with regard to
others in that the good we reveal in what seems to conventional wisdom to
be a bad or difficult circumstance is opposite to what is expected. For they
see us as being upside-down. But in this case the natural cause and effect
mechanisms are suspended. And in its place we experience the receiving of
the Divine beneficence and we become agents bringing down Godliness into
our world. We become revealers of the Glory of God.
The bringing down of Godliness into our world is represented by the asso-
ciation of the element water with the Hanged Man for water flows downward.
Water is also associated with the womb. The womb is what gives birth to
the appearance of our true selves. Reality is, after all, a mirror in which our
true selves can be seen. However, what we see in the mirror of reality is not
the true self. We can only see its reflection, an appearance which is left-right
reversed.
9
Alexandre Safran, The Kabbalah, Feldheim Publishers, New York, 1977, p250.
The Hanged Man 251

To understand how this is so consider the fact that water takes the shape
of that which holds it. It is our true selves that hold the water. The appear-
ance we see in the mirror of reality is the reflection of the water. The true
self, the container, holding the water is never seeable. It is always hidden.
For the true mirror of reality does not reflect the container. It only reflects
the essence. Can we learn to see ourselves in the true mirror of reality? When
we do not, we become the Hanged Man.
The Hanged Man 252

General Discussion Quotes

Oribello concentrates on the aspect of the reversal. He says that

the outer symbolism of the hanged man reveals a state of will-

ful submission to hanging upside down, but the esoteric meaning
reveals more. If we observe the thinking of mass humanity, we
quickly realize that anyone who thinks spiritually, with complete
sincerity, is thinking in reverse of the accepted way of thinking
(upside down). Such a one is often scorned for their beliefs and
branded as weird or too old fashioned. However, they are sym-
bolically attached to the Tau Cross (symbol of forgiveness) which
means that because of their willful submission to spiritual think-
ing ( symbolized by water), they are pardoned of all past errors.

Javane and Bunker say that

The keyword for the Hanged Man is reversal. The corresponding

symbol means oasis, sea, or water. According to the alchemists,
water was the basis of all life, the fluid substance that solidified
into physical forms. This substance which emanates from the
stars and suns is called astral fluid. The Hanged Man symbolizes
the first water of the divine power.
Water was the first mirror in which the reflection always appears
upside down. The significance of this card is that things are not
as they appear on the surface. You must look beneath the surface
for true understanding. ...
The Hanged Man represents a person who is poised in conscious-
ness and under perfect control. He is conscious of the one Power
everywhere, yet centered in himself. He sees the trouble in the
world – people unhappy in marriage, in trouble financially and
lost because they have no goals – and he knows it is because
they all see things upside down. Yet they look at him and think
that he is the one who is crazy. The Hanged Man’s philosophy
sets him apart from the crowd and, at the same time, brings
him peace of mind and perfect contentment. Perhaps the world
The Hanged Man 253

should examine his views. The ideal is to grow out of material-

ism by transmuting animal passion to human compassion. The
twelfth step sees a man reversed, hanging upside down by his
foot. The law of reversal is the keynote here, reversal from living
egocentrically to giving selfless service to others.

D’Agostino says that the Hanged man

has arrived at a degree of intense concentration and mental in-

trospection, and is withdrawn from all contact with outer ap-
pearances and activities. Here the mental sequence has been
rightly implemented. Its exercise has made it possible for him
to consciously descend to the greatest depths of the unconscious.
On the surface he seems to be in a tranquil state; however the
golden halo surrounding his head implies that within himself he
is actively engaged, undergoing an illuminating experience. This
enlightenment he receives is a communication of a distinct phase
or aspect of the Universal Law.

Sharman-Burke explains that

The essential meaning of this card is one of sacrifice: the volun-

tary giving up of something in order to get something of greater
value. In Teutonic myth, the god Odin volunteered his own sac-
rifice and rejuvenation. ‘For nine nights’ he says in an old poem,
‘wounded by my own spear, consecrated to Odin, myself conse-
crated to myself, I remained hanging from the tree, shaken by the
wind, from the mighty tree whose roots men know not.’ The tree
mentioned was the ash Yggdrasil, the world tree, and by wound-
ing himself and hanging from its branches, Odin performed a
magical rite for the purpose of rebirth and rejuvenation. ...
The Fool has reached the point in his journey at which knowledge
of what lies within becomes as important, if not more so, than
what exists outside. This card represents the turning point in psy-
chological development where the individual must come to grips
with unconscious forces within him. He needs to sacrifice control
of his conscious ego by surrendering to the unknown territory
The Hanged Man 254

of his inner world. It seems this can only be done by conscious

choice; it cannot be inflicted by others or by the outside world,
although circumstances may contribute to one wanting to look
within. As Jung says, it is as if the conscious mind volunteers to
die in order to bear a new and fruitful life in the unconscious, de-
spite the fears of the unknown and the fear that inevitably arises
when a journey to the underworld of Hades is contemplated. The
Fool started his journey with a sense of trust and sillingness to
take a risk no matter what, and now, once again, he has to take
a risk and dare to make that inner journey

Nichols interprets the Hanged Man from a psychological point of view.

She says

With his hands tied behind his back the Hanged Man is as helpless
as a turnip. He is in the grasp of Fate. He has no power to shape
his life or control his destiny. Like a vegetable, he can only wait
for a face outside himself to pluck him free from the regressive
pull of Mother Earth.
After experiencing the exhilarating influx of energy indicated in
the previous card, the hero must have been shocked and dazed
by this sudden reversal. With his one free foot he must have
struggled wildly at first to extricate himself, kicking against his
fate. He must have felt deeply wronged, impatient to be righted
– to be able once more to hold his head high and set his two feet
firmly on the path of his quest. He must have suffered long be-
fore attaining the degree of acceptance, of almost graceful repose
pictured here.

Then Nichols says that more can be learned if the Hanged Man is turned
so that he is standing upright.

Now, delicately posed on one foot and with arms akimbo, he

is “really” dancing a jig! Viewed from the perspective of the
unconscious, he who appeared to be immobilized and stagnant
– held captive – is now freed; he who seemingly had lost his
balance has now achieved a splendid new equilibrium. What our
The Hanged Man 255

upright consciousness experienced at first as a time of stagnation

and frustration is newly revealed as moment of liberating action.
Even the Hanged Man’s facial expression seems to have changed.
He now meets our gaze calmly and confidently with a new look
of authority; he appears to smile as if he knew a secret.

Finally Nichols sees the Hanged man as one who is going through an
initiation.

We have all felt the loneliness and helplessness of our suspen-

sion over this eternal abyss. Such a terrible isolation or trial by
endurance plays an important part in all initiation rites. Some-
times, for example, the initiate is forced to spend the night alone
in a dark cave or forest. Here he must face and withstand possi-
ble physical death with no help but his own inner strength and
resourcefulness. By facing this ordeal, the youth being tested is
driven to find a new center, hitherto hidden within himself. If
he survives this experience, he emerges indeed as one reborn, in
token of which he is given a new name and accepted as an adult
by the community. ...
An initiation of this sort can occur at various times in life, usually
whenever we have reached the end of a certain phase or stage of
existence and life demands a transition to new ways. It is an
awesome moment, for we must give up the old and tried ways of
functioning and must entrust ourselves to the unseen and untried
new life. It demands sacrifice and courage. ... [But by this
process] the focus of ... [our] awareness has shifted perforce to
the roots of life – the fundamentals from which all growth arises.

Case concentrates both on law and reversal. He says that the hanged man

means occultly, “suspended mind,” because “man” and “mind”

are from the same Sanskrit root, and this fact was known to the
occultists who invented Tarot. ...
Here is a man turned upside down, inverted, in a position contrary
to that in which we find most people. ... For the basis of the
occult approach to life, the foundation of the every-day practice
The Hanged Man 256

of a person who lives the life of obedience to esoteric law, is the

reversal of the more usual ways of thinking, speaking and doing.
...
In what, then, does the reversal consist? Primarily, in a reversal
of thought, in a point-of-view which is just the opposite to that
accepted by most persons. At first there may seem to be no
practical advantage in this, but just consider. One need only look
about him to see that most people are sick, that most people are
in trouble, that most people cannot get along with themselves or
the world. Does it not become evident, then, that most people
are in trouble because they have somehow put the cart before the
horse in the practice of life?
In this scientific age we know that everything is an expression
of the working of the law of cause and effect. Is it not plain,
therefore, that the miseries afflicting most people are the result
of their negative use of the law? For every moment of a human life
is some special application of the law, and the outcome depends
wholly on whether the application be positive or negative.
Practical psychology shows us the potency of ideas. It demon-
strates conclusively the truth that thoughts are the seeds of speech
and action, that interpretations are the patterns for experience,
that what happens to us is what we have selected, whether the
selection be conscious and intentional, or unconscious and un-
premeditated. Thus, in practical psychology, the emphasis is
upon the importance of a changed view-point, and this change
is no less than a total reversal.
Every idea we considered in our study of Key 11 points to the
central theme of the Hanged Man. This is that every human per-
sonality is completely dependent upon the All, here symbolized
by the tree. As soon as this truth is realized, the only logical
and sensible course of conduct is a complete self-surrender. This
surrender begins in the mind. It is the submission of the per-
sonal consciousness to the direction of the Universal Mind. That
submission is foreshadowed even in the picture of the Magician,
who derives all his power from above. Until we know that of our-
The Hanged Man 257

selves we can do nothing, we shall never attain to adeptship. The

greater the adept, the more complete his personal self-surrender.
...
This thought does not imply that the Universal Will visits af-
fliction, disease and poverty upon us. It does not mean that we
must be resigned to our troubles, like dumb beasts, making no
complaint when they are beaten. It means that in spite of ap-
pearances the cosmic Will works always toward good, that the
universal Will-to-good cannot possibly be defeated. It means
that personality is known for what it is, a partial expression of
the All, and that in consequence our personal notions of what is
best for us may often be mistaken. Our notions of the ways in
which good is coming to us frequently fall short of being adequate
anticipations of the blessings ahead. Thus, so long as we continue
to make false interpretations, the inexorable laws of the cosmos
work out those interpretations in pain-bringing forms.

Ussher says that the Hanged Man

is the Crucified God: the last card, so to speak, which the Old
World had to play – the last of the gods or ‘archetypes’ of an-
tiquity, who opened a new Era by accepting the human tragedy,
an acceptance which meant a complete somersault or reversal of
posture. Yet there is nothing shocking or tragical about the Card,
which depicts a youth in green jerkin suspended by one foot from
a sort of rustic arch, shaped like the World-hieroglyph, Tau; only
the position of the legs is cruciform – the youth is hanged by the
foot and not the neck! We seem to be shown only a stage in the
soul’s journey – an ordeal, like the ordeals by which, in certain
communities, the growing male attains recognition as a person.
From this point onward, the soul is no longer a player on the
earth; we are entering the years of schooling.

Waite says that the Hanged Man

suggests life in suspension, but life and not death. It is a card

of profound significance, but all of the significance is veiled. ...
The Hanged Man 258

it expresses the relation, in one of its aspects, between the Di-

vine and the Universe. He who can understand that the story of
his higher nature is imbedded in this symbolism will receive in-
timations concerning a great awakening that is possible, and will
know that after the sacred Mystery of Death there is a glorious
Mystery of Resurrection.

Gray says that

We see in the Hanged Man the idea of the utter dependency of

the human personality on the tree of Cosmic Life. ...
The initiated man now stands as a responsible co-worker with
the Divine. It is as though during the cycle from 1 to 10 God
had held the hand of His child and guided him in carving the
model of the man to be. Now the chisel is left in the hands of the
matured youth, and he must create from the materials given him.
He must, like the Hermit, take his part in the world’s redemption.
The Hanged Man 259

Symbolism

Belt and Braid The Belt and the Braid down the front of the
Hanged Man’s jacket form a cross, and the
edging of his collar is so drawn that if we could
see it all it would form a circle. Thus this part
of the Hanged Man’s dress forms an inverted
Venus symbol (Case).
The Belt and Braid worn by the Hanged Man
are red. This represents the consummation of
the imprint selected by the Magician into the
subconscious (D’Agostino).

Doublet The Hanged Man’s Doublet is blue, the color of

the subconscious. It is the subconscious that
becomes the superconscious, that is the
Empress when she has identified herself with
the High Priestess. That which converts the
subconscious into the superconscious, the
Empress into the High Priestess, is just the
great reversal for which this card stands
(Moore).
The upper garment of the Hanged Man, a
Doublet, is blue, the color of water, and of the
robe of the High Priestess, symbol of the
universal mind-stuff. It has two pockets shaped
like crescents, and colored silver. Ten silver
buttons refer to the ten Sephiroth by their
number, and by their material suggest that
manifested life is a reflection of the One Life
(Case).
The blue Doublet the Hanged Man wears
coincides with the unconscious waters of the
High Priestess. Upon her pliable substance, the
The Hanged Man 260

Magician has imprinted his selected premise by

an act of concentration (D’Agostino).

Crooked Elbows The Hanged Man’s elbows are Crooked and his
hands are behind his back. They are meant to
suggest the base line of an equilateral triangle.
If you draw imaginary lines to the upper point
of his hair, as sides of the triangle, you get an
inverted equilateral triangle. The whole figure
now becomes a water triangle under a cross.
The figure of the Hanged Man is the reverse of
the figure for Sulphur. Therefore, he is the
transmuted mind, the mind which is not
objective but the mind which is subjective. He
is the mind which does not break down in
analysis, but the mind which in meditation
grasps the synthesis. He is the mind which has
lost its own will in identification with the one
will (Moore).
His arms, folded behind his back, together with
his head, form a triangle with the point
downward. His legs form a cross. The sign of a
cross sitting on top of a triangle with point
downward is the sign of the accomplishment of
the Great Work – the overcoming of personality
and the transmutation of the lower passions
into pure gold. Eventually, he must stand on
his own feet and surmount the cross making the
cross on the bottom and the equilateral
triangle, point upward standing on the cross.
(Gray).
The lines drawn from the elbows of the Hanged
Man to the point formed by his hair will form
the sides of a reversed triangle having his arms
for its base.
The Hanged Man 261

The cross is the number 4, and the triangle is

the number 3. The multiplication of these two
numbers results in 12, which, because it is the
number of signs in the zodiac, represents a
complete cycle of manifestation (Case).
His hands are behind his back, which means he
has ceased from the mass form of actions in life
and acts in a hidden level unperceived by the
average world (Oribello).
The triangle formed by the Crooked Elbows
and head is a symbol of the generating activity
of the Empress. It declares that this entire
psychological process of the imprint of the
Magician on the subconscious is an active
elaboration within the womb of the
subconscious (D’Agostino).

Feet His Feet are yellow because they carry out the
errands of the impersonal mind (Moore).

Head There is a nimbus about the Head of the

seeming martyr. His face expresses deep
entrancement, not suffering (Waite).
“The Head of the Hanged Man ... is LVX, in
manifestation as the Logos,” means that his
head, by its white hair, suggest identity with
the Emperor and the Hermit. He is the Ancient
of Days, reflected into the incarnate life of
personality. One of the old occult names for the
One Life is LVX, which is Latin for “Light,”
and this word is also an occult reference to the
Hebrew name “Adonai,” or “Lord.” For the
numeral values of the letters L, V and X in
Roman numerals are, respectively, 50,5 and 10.
Their sum is 65, the numeration of the Hebrew
name ipc` Adonai, Lord (Case).
The Hanged Man 262

The attitude of the Hanged Man is positive, for

he has a brilliant light around his Head which
indicates spiritual thinking (Oribello).
The halo symbolizes light shining in the
darkness of the underworld (Sharman-Burke).

Leaves The Leaves indicate that the wood is alive and

growing (Moore).

Legs and Thighs There is no action in the feet themselves, they

go where they are propelled. The action is in
the Legs, as the agent of the Thighs whence the
action arises. Hence his Legs and Thighs are
colored red (Moore).
The Hanged Man’s Legs and Thighs are
covered with red tights. This is parallel to the
color of the red robe of the Magician and
indicates that some intention has been
consciously formulated (D’Agostino).

Crossed Leg The legs take the form of a Cross because they
are the legs of a man who has laid down his
so-called personal will. A cross means
self-consciousness and a cross means sacrifice.
The sacrifice of the lower life to the higher one,
of the lower will to the higher one, of the body
to the real Self which inhabits that body. That
sacrifice is performed by the mind. We offer up
our lower selves as a sacrifice to our higher
selves, when in our brain the Solar Light is
burning and not the lunar.
The Legs compose the cross or reason that this
man uses his reason only to carry out his
superconscious instructions, only to make
objective his subjective thought which he has
The Hanged Man 263

received from this contact with the wisdom of

the High Priestess (Moore).
The legs of the Hanged Man form a cross. The
Crossed Legs represent the Emperor, since they
indicate the number 4. Thus they are red, the
color of action and also the color of fire, the
particular quality of the sign Aries, typified by
the Emperor (Case).
The man’s legs are in the form of the Tau Cross
(if you look at him right side up). This reminds
us that he is a willing victim (willingly trains
his mind to think in reverse of the masses)
(Oribello).
The inverted triangle formed by the Crossed
Legs suggests the descent of high nature into
the lower, or conscious into the unconscious
(Sharman-Burke).
The Crossed Legs of the Hanged Man
demonstrate that the Emperor has taken an
accurate measurement, and has arranged and
classified the four elements in their proper order
(D’Agostino).

Right Foot The Hanged Man is suspended from the tree by

his Right Foot. It is the self-conscious that
must do the thinking for him if he is to suspend
himself in this position: it must not be
prescribed by the appetites, emotions, and
ambitions of the body. He is suspended by one
foot. This, as so often is in the nature of a pun.
Only when we are suspended by oneness are we
at rest (Moore).

Rope A Rope around his ankle binds the Hanged

Man to the tree. The rope is twisted with a
The Hanged Man 264

yellow and green strand. The yellow is for the

mind, the image making faculty; and the green
is for the intellectual subconscious, the
image-executing faculty (Moore).

Solar Radiation The Solar Radiation is streaming from his head.

This means that his brain is stilled of every
personal thought (Moore).

Tree The Tree represents Cosmic Law. It takes the

form of a tau cross. The word “tree” and the
word “stable” have the same numeric value in
Hebrew. To some extent the words are
synonymous in our own conscious for we say
“as sturdy as a tree.” The tau cross has always
been regarded as the symbol of Life and
Salvation (Moore).
The Tree of sacrifice is living wood with leaves
thereon.
The gallows from which the Hanged Man is
suspended forms a tau cross, while the figure –
from the position of the legs – forms a fylfot
cross (Waite).
In the Rider pack the Hanged Man hangs from
a T-cross, but it is a cross of living wood, to
symbolize the cosmic life. It also represents the
letter z. In the B.O.T.A. Tarot the gallows
from which the Hanged Man is suspended is
shaped like a Hebrew z, as it is in all versions
of this Key except the Rider pack.
The Hanged Man is suspended from a Tree,
which appears to have been cut in half, and one
half laid in a horizontal position across the
vertical other half. This is the symbol of the
“Tau Cross”, one of the most ancient versions
The Death Rider 265

of the cross. In some mystery schools, the Tau

Cross was made on the forehead of new
students with oil or ashes. In some ancient
cultures, a Tau Cross was handed to a person
who found mercy in a court and was forgiven of
a crime (Oribello).
The Tree in the shape of a Tau cross and
bearing green foliage insinuates that all of
man’s productivity and his evolving dominance
over the forces of nature, are due to his ability
to limit and adapt the Universal Substance into
whatever forms he desires (D’Agostino).

White Hair The Hanged Man has White Hair. In this he

resembles the Emperor and the Hermit. His
mental vibrations are the same as those of the
“Ancient of Days.” He now feels himself divine
because for the moment he has gone back to his
Source and identified himself with It. His object
is to keep that feeling all the time, not merely
to get it in the act of meditation (Moore).
His hair has the appearance of flowing water
(Oribello).
The Death Rider 266
The Death Rider 267

The Death Rider

Life is never static. Everything in its own way undergoes change. Some-
times the change is caused by us; sometimes the change we experience has
its roots outside of us. The only question is in what way and in what time
scale.
As in all things there is a balance in change. Whenever there is a balance
to be achieved, there are two opposing sides. In the dimension associated
with change there is the side pushing for change and there is the side resisting
change. Within ourselves are these two desires which at each moment present
to our intellectual and emotional faculties arguments in support of their
positions. By the choices we make and the actions we do, we control and
choose the extent to which each desire plays in any given situation.
Change is not mindless. Everything has purpose. During the time this
purpose is being fulfilled, there must not be change. There must be resistance
to change. After the purpose is fulfilled then change becomes appropriate.
When does change occur? When what is, finishes, then comes change.
When the purpose is fulfilled, it is finished. Then comes change. But if we
hold on to what is finished, we hold on to what is dead. And in our hands
it will rot and decay. The impurity attracted to what we keep in existence
longer than its appointed life then attaches itself to us. And by this means,
we bring to life the forces of the other side to work on us.
The change that we experience that is not caused by us is change that
we receive from above. The change that we cause is change that we do to
that which is below us. So we are receiving (feminine) to that which is above
us and giving (masculine) to that which is below us. And if we truly receive
from that which is above us, then when change comes, we recognize in it a
Divine emergence, a new beginning. And if we can receive from that which
is above us, then we can give to that which is below us. Here our giving
corresponds to the ways in which we can help form and bring out to full
blossom that which is emerging. It is in this process of giving to that which
is about to emerge that we are able to most amplify the capability or power
that we have. It is this moment of emergence that we are most capable, most
powerful.
The key issue is on what basis do we make our choices, determining the
change that we initiate to that which is below us. Here the answer is union.
The Death Rider 268

When we choose in a way that unites that which is below to that which is
above we fulfill the purpose of the circumstances given us. This means that
the full meaning of the circumstances is lived out. We have no desire left
unfulfilled. When we choose in a way that does not unite that which is below
to that which is above, the full meaning is not lived out. Nevertheless, we
also fulfill the purpose of the circumstances given us, but here the fulfillment
serves more the purposes of providing others circumstances of change than of
directly fulfilling that which our own Divine soul desires to be fulfilled. Thus
choices which do not unite that which is below to that which is above will
ultimately leave us unsatisfied. As a result of desire unsatisfied, our desire
increases. And unsatisfied increased desire leaves us in a state of suffering.
How can we recognize a choice of action which unites that which is below
to that which is above? We can do this by adopting a framework different
from what conventional wisdom would call “our own life.” The uniting of
that which is above to that which is below happens by choices coming from a
more cosmic framework, a framework above our “our own life.” To establish
this framework we need to set our consciousness to one of serving God. We
set our consciousness to the above. When we do this we discover that we see
things in a different way. We become conscious of things at a more universal
level. We can make choices to act for the primary inherent good in the action
itself and not for any secondary consequences the action might bring. By so
nurturing the Divine light flowing within us, the carrying out of the action
is its own reward. Nothing can go wrong. There is nothing left unsatisfied
or unaccomplished, regardless of the consequences of the action. This makes
the action eternal. And an action which is eternal is our giving to the Divine.
Why can an action which unites below to that which is above be called
an eternal action. Because the action is not spiritually bound to a causal
time process. To be eternal means to be free of the dimension of time. To
be free of the dimension of time means that the action did not depend on
the fulfillment of a subsequent action for its own fulfillment. Its fulfillment is
so fully in the present that it does not set up any future expectations which
have the possibility, even just the potential, of not being fulfilled.
This is the meaning of death. An action which can be done for its own
sake, for the love inherent within it, has no spiritual connection to anything
outside itself. It is complete. It is born, it grows and is fulfilled. And when
the fulfillment is complete, it is over. It, as an action below, is dead. And
The Death Rider 269

because it is dead, it has left room for the next action to be done for its own
sake. It leaves room for the next birth, a birth unencumbered by the death
of that which occurred before, a birth completely free to fulfill the purpose
from above. And this is truly living.
The Death Rider 270

General Discussion Quotes

Waite says that
The veil or mask of life is perpetuated in change, transformation
and passage from lower to higher, and this is more fitly repre-
sented in the rectified Tarot by one of the apocalyptic visions
that by the crude notion of the reaping skeleton. Behind it lies
the whole world of ascent in the spirit. ...
The natural transit of man to the next stage of his being is or may
be one form of his progress, but the exotic and almost unknown
entrance, while still in this life, into the state of mystical death
is a change in the form of consciousness and the passage into a
state to which ordinary death is neither the path nor gate.
Ussher says that
Death is not only the frontier between Time and Eternity, but
that between the Future and the Past. At this stage the Present,
from being a plane as limitless as sight itself, has narrowed to a
point – the moment of self-division, of tension between the will
be and the has been, between willing and having, the thought and
the thing: the gulf which, in the Zero-Card, opened in front of
the ‘Fool’ ...
Gray says that
The fundamental meaning of Death in Key 13 is that of the Man-
ifestor of the Universe. The sun is the center and the 12 signs
of the Zodiac surround it, making 13 signs in all. The king has
fallen reminding us that kings must inevitably fall. There is per-
petual transformation, one aspect of which is death-birth. Death
is a protest against stagnation – it is by death that social changes
for the better come to pass and old ideas give way. With the new
generation, new ideas gain currency as youth moves into maturity.
This card is a suggestion to change old concepts for new, to change
rigid intellectual patterns. Petty prejudices, ambitions, and opin-
ions gradually die. The change from the personal to the universal
The Death Rider 271

view is so radical that mystics often compare it to death. But

Death is the twin brother of Life. Creation necessitates its op-
posite – destruction. As Spirit descends into matter, so it must
return to its source. Death is half of the Universal Transforming
Principle. But Spirit is immortal; thus humanity can never die,
for the Destroyer has become the Creator.

Sorer says that Death is

the sign of transmutation and disintegration. The skeleton which

alone survives the destructive power of time, may be regarded as
the foundation upon which the structure is built, the type which
persists through the permutations of Time and Space, adaptable
to the requirements of evolution and yet radically unchanged; the
transmuting power of Nature working from below upwards, as the
Hanged Man is the transmuting power of the spirit working from
above downwards.

D’Agostino says that

Symbolizing both beginnings and endings, Death implies the uni-

fication of all contrary forces by their reduction to a single essence.
... No form present in nature, or conceived by man, can remain
fixed forever, or be thought of as having arrived at its ultimate
stage. Change is continuous, and this propels eternal progress.
...
Present within this card lies the most sacred and recondite knowl-
edge concerning the Inner Power upon which man and the uni-
verse are founded. The Tarot reports that the animating force
which extends our consciousness to the higher levels of perception,
is the same impetus which on the physical plane provides us with
physical bodies. However this force misdirected and misapplied,
as it usually is, unfortunately, leads to undesirable experiences,
strife, and sorrow.

Nichols, in discussing the Death in the Marseilles Tarot Deck, where

unlike the Rider Deck, a fallen head wears a crown, says that in Death
The Death Rider 272

Every aspect of the hero’s former life seems to have been chopped
down – even his central guiding principle, for one of the heads in
this picture wears a crown, indicating that the kingly charioteer
pictured in the ... [Chariot] will no longer rule his destiny in the
old way.
But the hero has not lost the royal charioteer who helped guide
his course when he set forth to conquer the world in the Chariot,
for the crowned head at the skeleton’s feet already radiates new
life. Whatever parts of the old order that are still vital and useful
will be incorporated into the new. Nothing in nature is lost.

Sharman-Burke says that

The Death card symbolizes change, the end of the old and the
birth of the new. Life, both human and in nature, consists of
constant cycles of death and renewal as the Fool first learned
with the Empress. Each age of man has its phase, and each phase
must end when it is lived out. After all, what parent would wish
their child not to progress through infancy into childhood through
adolescence into adulthood? It is the natural development both
physically and psychologically in the life of man. Death marks
the transition stages. Trees shed their leaves in autumn in order
to prepare for the new growth in spring. The skeleton is like
the bare trees, stripped of leaves to allow for new buds. The
skeleton represents the stripping away of old outgrown feelings
and thoughts – under the influence of Death, all is tried and
tested and if to be found out-lived, must be discarded.

Oribello says that

Another word for death is transition or change. Nothing ever

really dies, it only changes form. The figure of the skeleton of
death riding on a white horse is not a symbol of evil. This card
is symbolic of the death of old destructive ideas and beliefs.

Case says that:

The Death Rider 273

All changes are primarily changes in mental imagery. Change the

image, and ultimately the external form will change. ...
The Bible says death is the last enemy to be overcome. But
how? “Overcome evil with good. Love your enemies.” In these
two brief sentences is the whole secret.
The forces of change which result in physical death are inimical
only because we misunderstand and fear them. They are forces
connected with reproduction, and by right use of imagination
they may be tamed and transformed, so that they can be utilized
for indefinite prolongation of physical existence. Death, like ev-
ery other event in human life, is a manifestation of law. When
we understand the law we can direct the forces of change so as
to overcome death. Yet understanding never will be ours until
fear, not only of dying, but of death itself, has been overcome by
right knowledge, and by right interpretation of the phenomena of
physical dissolution. ...
... the entire cosmic order is fundamentally liberative. It has an
irresistible tendency toward the manifestation of freedom.
In the human heart, this tendency is a continual urge. It is the
basic motivation of every normal person. We hunger and thirst
for liberty. For freedom we sacrifice everything else; and if we
are ignorant, we believe we can attain freedom for ourselves by
enslaving others. Yet the ignorant and the wise are basically the
same, because the realization of perfect freedom is the common
ideal of all men.
To what we adopt as an ideal, to that we give homage. It is the
object of our worship. To it we bow the knee. ... and to the ideal
of human liberty indicated by the fundamental meaning of that
name, to the wisdom which declares the whole cosmic order to
be a process making for freedom every heart responds.
What Ageless Wisdom always has declared is that everything
works together for freedom and for good, to them that love God.
Modern science begins to confirm this ancient intuition by show-
ing us that no force or law of the universe is inimical to man, or
The Death Rider 274

an obstacle to his freedom. To love God is not to go into silly

ecstasies of emotional adoration for a personal Deity. Love is the
fruit of understanding; and when we understand that the One life
which finds expression in the order of the heavens of which our
world-system is a part is a Life working always toward the liber-
ation of mankind, we advance from the fear of the Lord which is
only the beginning of wisdom into the recognition of the perfect
beauty of the order of which we are a part. This perfect love
casts out fear, and with the coming of this deeper understanding
comes freedom from fear of death.
It is by death that social changes for the better come to pass.
Old ideas pass away with the death of the persons who hold them.
New ideas gain currency as the new generation comes to maturity.
Thus the actual fact of death is an instrument of progress. And
now the time is close at hand when man shall master the secret
of death itself.
Psychologically, the emphasis falls on imagination. Change your
ideas and your old conception of personality dies. Every few years
you have a new body, made up of trillions of tiny beings, or cells.
Change your intellectual patterns, and with the passing away of
the present generation of cells new ones will come to take their
places. In the mental nucleus of each tiny cell, implanted there by
subconscious response to your new patterns, will be an impulse
to realize the new thought in body structure, in function, and in
external action. ...
... Every morning becomes a resurrection to the awakened soul.
All the old motives, all the petty ambitions, all the foolish opin-
ions and prejudices gradually die out, as the cells which carry
them are eliminated in the ordinary course of body repair.
Thus, little by little, there comes a complete readjustment of
one’s personal conceptions of life and its values. The change from
the personal to the universal viewpoint is so radical that mystics
often compare it to death. They are more literal than many of
their readers suppose. It is by the death and reproduction of
body-cells that patterns created by imagination are finally fixed
The Death Rider 275

in personal consciousness. Then it is that we may truly declare,

“The Kingdom of Spirit is embodied in my flesh.”

Moore says that Death represents the rebirths which arise from deaths.
This means the dissolution in us of those things which are ready to die. This
happens by

changing the mental and emotional body; the new intellectual

cells are making new patterns so the old and emotional bodies are
changing also. Old cells are being eliminated, your old rhythm,
your old motives are starved to death. All your foolish opinions
and prejudices gradually die out because you are building in the
new mental matter and new emotional matter capable of being
worked up into new cells which can stand the higher rate of vi-
bration. It is this deliberate, intentional, willed death in your
body which makes possible such a change in your organism and
habits. ...
The process of “willed cell death” and “willed cell reconstruction”
according to a new pattern is what makes possible our change of
habits and organism ...
The Death Rider 276

Symbolism

Black Pennant The Black Rider on the white horse is tallied by

the Black Pennant he carries, the white rose on
the black background. This black and white is
the black and white of the High Priestess and
indicates all opposites, particularly the sex
opposities of masculine and feminine.
The black square of the pennant means the
measurement of the occult forces of nature.
The whole standard thus typifies the
purification of desire, which combined with the
measurement of the occult forces, secures for us
the fifteen extensions of the faculties and
perceptions which are latent in mankind; which
it is the purpose of the individual self-evolution
to develop. The particular occult forces here
referred to are connected with Scorpio. To
measure and learn how to master them is to
overcome death.
It is the willed extermination of the moribund
cells of our physical, etheric, emotional and
mental bodies by the Mars vibration in the
service of the spirit, which finally brings to us
these fifteen extensions of our perceptions and
faculties. These fifteen extensions of
consciousness are designated by the 3 mother
letters and the 12 simple letters (Moore).
Death carries a banner on which there is a
five-petaled rose, symbol of Mars and the
Life-force (Gray).

Black Skeleton Rider The Black Skeleton Rider on the White Horse
represents the double interchange of opposites:
The Death Rider 277

the masculine in the feminine and the feminine

in the masculine.
The Skeleton refers to the fact that each thing
must die in order that life may enter another
form.
The Black Skeleton Rider, mowing down forms
is the imaginative intelligence (Moore).
The Skeleton is the basis, or essential thing, in
all movements of the human body. Similarly,
change or transformation – particularly the
transformations connected with reproduction –
is the framework which supports the whole
body of phenomenal existence (Case).
The Skeleton is the figure of Death, which
comes to all: king, man, woman and child,
without respect for station (Javane and
Bunker).
The Skeleton is a personification of time, and
time is a restrictive factor which eventually
introduces physical death and the
decomposition of all forms of matter. A
Skeleton is also the supporting frame of the
physical body and the basis of all growth,
suggesting the inception of life and its
development (D’Agostino).

Black Armor The Black Armor is iron, the metal of Mars,

and he has a red tassel and a red saddle to
indicate the same – that he kills by a special
use of the Mars vibration. Black also indicates
that his destruction is deliberate and intended.
The red ship also indicates the Mars vibration.
The horseman carries no visible weapon, but
king and child and maiden fall before him,
The Death Rider 278

while a prelate with clasped hands awaits his

end (Moore).

Child The infant Child must go, must undergo the

death which means rebirth (Moore).
The Child kneels. This is symbolic of the death
of childish pettiness or spiritual immaturity
(Oribello).
The small Child appears unperturbed, even
holding out a posy in welcome. Children do not
fear change in the same way adults do
(Sharman-Burke).

Old Emperor The Old Emperor (or ruler of the body) must
go; and he is the first to go (Moore).
The dead king with his crown removed from his
head is symbolic of the rule of the carnal
consciousness, being the first thing that must
die (Oribello).
The Old Emperor is dead means that many
predominating beliefs we hold to be sacred have
worn out their usefulness. They must now be
dissolved and the energy confined to be released
so that we can further evolve the vehicle of
personality by the reorganization of this energy
into new interpretations (D’Agostino).

Prelate The Prelate is wearing a fish mitre begging for

his life while he is about to be trampled down.
The power of the church and Piscean religion is
to go (Moore).
The standing figure is a bishop in a miter
shaped like a fish – denoting the Piscean Age
which is about to end (Gray).
The Death Rider 279

The bishop stands, praying for mercy, symbolic

of the fact that the last thing to die is a
person’s false religious convictions. These false
concepts are the most difficult to dispose of
(Oribello).

Rising Sun The Rising Sun is at the top of the Stream. It

represents the final work: the construction of
the deathless body (Moore).
The Rising Sun on the eastern horizon indicates
immortality – once the two towers have been
passed (Gray).
Between two pillars on the verge of the horizon
there shines the sun of immortality (Waite).
The brilliantly shining Rising Sun between the
towers in the distance promises eternal life. The
life force does not die, but merely changes form
(Javane and Bunker).
In the background is the Sun, rising between
two pillars or towers. The rising sun is symbolic
of the truth that with change comes the
resurrection of a new life. The towers are
symbolic of harmony between the two mental
levels, conscious and subconscious (Oribello).
The dawn breaking between the pillars of life
and death suggests that within death is always
the seed of life, for without death there could
be no new life (Sharman-Burke).

Stream The stream is the cosmic mind-stuff and it

symbolizes the body. It is the cosmic mind-stuff
localized in you (Moore).
The Stream in the background indicates the
constant circulation of the Life-force into
materialization and out again. The water, as it
The Death Rider 280

flows to the sea, is sucked up by the sun to

form clouds, from which rain falls into the
streams and then to the sea again (Gray).
The Stream is part of the cycle of
transformations affecting the element of water,
which rises from the sea to become clouds,
descends as rain, and then flows back to the sea
through various watercourses (Case).
The background landscape shows a Stream
flowing toward the sea. This represents the flow
of life toward death. The Stream might be the
Styx, the river which flows through the
underworld filled with the waters of death,
which are also transformable into the life-giving
waters of rebirth, or it might the river of
Jordan which Christian souls must cross to
reach the promised land (Sharman-Burke).

Towers The Towers behind which the sun is rising

represents the “Known.” Beyond them
stretches the present “Unknown.” It is the
business of intuition to push back all those
Towers.
The twin Towers remind us of the two pillars of
the High Priestess, the pillars of Jachin and
Boaz. These are the pillars of the creative and
destructive forces, the pillars the positive and
negative, the pillars of thought and form, the
pillars of spirit and body, the pillars of
unknown and known.

Waterfall The union of the Empress with the High

Priestess is represented by the Waterfall.
The Waterfall here represent the same waterfall
as in the Empress card. It depicts the union of
The Death Rider 281

the Cosmic Mind-Stuff with the personal

subconscious - or perhaps it would be clearer to
say the reunion.
The Waterfall is a picture of the process of the
Above falling into the Below. Only in this case
it means the Holy Ghost and the Empress,
rather than the male principle impregnating the
female principle. This river really represents
your body finally purified.
Your body is changed by this Waterfall; by the
above falling into the below, by the image
which you plant in your body, and the body
responds to it – by our self-conscious image
changing in the three-fold body. Wherever the
Waterfall occurs in these cards and in symbols,
it designates sex (Moore).

Woman The subconscious must go; this is the Woman

(Moore).
The Woman looking away is symbolic of the
subconscious mind having to let go of
destructive ideas that have been programmed
into it by repetition, over a long period of error.
She looks away because she does not wish to
face death. The subconscious mind is reluctant,
at first, to release old habits and ideas
(Oribello).
The Woman kneeling turns aside her head as
though she feels too young, too unprepared to
face Death (Sharman-Burke).

White Horse The White Horse is the symbol of the spirit, the
white sun behind the golden or physical sun.
The figure of Death rides astride a well behaved
White Horse, a symbol of the purified desires
The Death Rider 282

and senses in submission to the cyclical rhythm

(Moore).
The White Horse the knight directs is in
motion and designates perpetual
transformation (D’Agostino).
White Rose The White Rose on the Black Pennant
represents the double interchange of opposites:
the masculine in the feminine and the feminine
in the masculine. It also represents all the
diabolic and angelic powers concentrated in the
flesh.
The White Rose signifies purification of the
desire nature, not by any means diminishing or
banishing desire (it is much increased) but
through purifying it. This is the White Rose
opened which the Fool carries in his hand,
symbolizing the vision he has of man at last
who became the angel. He becomes the angel
through the purification of the desire nature,
not through the relinquishment of desire. The
White Rose also designates the 15 extensions of
perceptions and faculties which man will posses
when he becomes the angel. It means the same
thing as the Tiara of the Hierophant. It stands
for the 15 extensions of consciousness which the
skeleton will bring you by killing off the old
cells. 12 go for the zodiac signs and 3 for the
mother letters. Fifteen petals and sepals are
arranged in four rows as were the trefoils in the
tiara. We say they could be looked at from the
viewpoint of Spirit and matter. Looked at from
the viewpoint of Spirit, One becomes Three
becomes five. Looked at from the viewpoint of
matter it becomes the five subtle principles of
sensation manifesting on the physical plane as
The Temperance Angel 283

the five qualities of hearing, sight, taste, touch,

and smell (Moore).
The mystic rose signifies life (Waite).
The white flower on the black flag is a version
of the Rose and Cross, and reveals that we must
die out to the limitation of human existence so
that we may resurrect to a state of purification.
There are three layers of five petals each which
reveal that by the purification of our five
senses, we also purify our physical, emotional
and mental vehicles (Oribello).
The White Rose represents the human will,
desire, and the five senses. Desire is an
expression of will, and all desires are based in
one of the five senses. Therefore, the senses
must be purged in order to eliminate the
memory patterns of sensations we no longer
wish to retain. The five points of the rose take
the form of an inverted pentagram. The
pentagram is a sigil used in ceremonial magic
by the magician to evoke and banish forces
present in the unconscious. Here the
pentagram’s single point down suggests that we
are dealing with the unbalanced forces of
nature. These forces are usually spoken of in
books of magic as demonic powers. Our
conscious recognition of their existence is an
essential requirement before we can initiate by
an act of will the banishment and resolution of
these forces (D’Agostino).
The Temperance Angel 284
The Temperance Angel 285

The Angel of Temperance

Temperance, in its archaic meaning is the quality or state of being a properly
proportioned mixture. To temper is to make suitable or desirable, to make
free from excess, by mingling with something else. Tempering a metal, for
example, by heating and then rapidly cooling, increases its hardness and
resiliency.
The life experiences we go through and have difficulty with constitute
one sort of meeting of opposites: circumstances are opposite from expecta-
tion; feelings which were mutual between people are now opposite. Each of
these situations provides an opportunity for tempering what it is that we
are becoming and as well permits the opportunity for experimentation and
verification that who and what we are is indeed who and what we choose to
be. It is in this way that we can grow spiritually.
But there is yet a deeper meaning than the tempering that is involved
with growth. There is the tempering that is associated with fulfillment.
To understand this aspect of tempering, consider the fulfillment for which
tempered steel comes into existence. Consider a steel beam which has just
been formed and tempered. Is such a beam fulfilling its existence by lying in
the stockyard of steel beams? Or is such a beam fulfilled when it is used in
the construction of a bridge or skyscraper?
There is an important sense in which the answers to both these questions
is no. For fulfillment to the steel beam comes when because of the resiliency
of its tempering, the bridge or building in which it is used is able to support
the full weight of itself and everything in it and on it, even though the wind
is blowing very strong and the building or bridge is stressed to the limit in
a controlled swaying. Only under the stress of a high load and strong wind
does the virtue of the tempering of the steel beam become apparent.
From this example we see that the heavy load and high wind stress was
not just a test of the steel beams for the sake of a test. It is that reality
has heavy loads and high winds. Under these conditions of stress, we want
a material like a tempered steel beam to be able to manifest its virtue by
holding its load, supporting and keeping everything together and safe.
Virtue is manifested only in situations in which there is the possibility
of not manifesting virtue. Situations in which virtue is not necessarily man-
ifested are situations of difficulty and stress. And by proper reaction, by
The Temperance Angel 286

proper positioning the opposite in us to what we are facing, we can manifest

virtue. And this is the occult meaning of temperance: proper restraining ac-
tion on our part, opposing that which we are facing, to preserve, support, and
enhance the state of things as they should be, especially when our situation
is stressful and difficult.
The Temperance Angel 287

General Discussion Quotes

Case says that Temperance means
“tempering” or “modifying.” ... Adaptation is the basis of all
practical work in Hermetic science. ... To adapt is to equal-
ize, to adjust, to co-ordinate, to equilibrate. There it is written:
“Equilibrium is the basis of the Great Work.” ...
The angel [Temperance] is the real I am, or Ego of the entire
human race, having its seat in Tipharet, the sixth Sephirah. He
is shown adapting and modifying the personal stream of psychic
energy in the actions and reactions of the self-conscious and sub-
conscious aspects of human personality.
The practical import of the picture is this: We do nothing of
ourselves. The Holy Guardian Angel makes all the tests and trials
which lead us along the path of attainment. Know this, but act
as if you were making the tests yourself. The only correction
necessary is the intellectual correction. For practical purposes,
the wise man acts just as if he were doing things “on his own.”
He knows better, that’s all.
In your practice, shoot at some definite mark. Quit accepting
theories and statements - no matter how plausible they may be –
until you have tested them out in actual practice. The purposes
of Ageless Wisdom is to get you to try, not to persuade you to
accept. Thus it is written, “The only failure is failure to try.”
By trial you will soon realize that the real working power which
makes the experiments is something higher than your personality.
It is the Angel, on whose robe is written the identifying name of
That what was, and is, and shall be.
Finally, all your experiments will be in equalization, in the co-
ordination of vibratory activities. There is nothing in the cosmos
but vibration, and all forms of vibration may be modified and
managed by mental control.
Waite says that Temperance is a winged angel who is neither male or
female and who is
The Temperance Angel 288

pouring the essences of life from chalice to chalice. It has one foot
upon the earth and one upon waters, thus illustrating the nature
of the essences. ... It is called Temperance fantastically, because,
when the rule of it obtains in our consciousness, it tempers, com-
bines and harmonizes the psychic and material natures. Under
that rule we know in our rational part something of whence we
came and whither we are going.
D’Agostino says that the Temperance Angel is
a personification of our Inner Self in action, manifesting as the
immortal soul or, psychologically defined, the human ego. The
ego, the cognitive element operating in personality, constitutes
our feelings of individuality, and in our lives, plays the role of
messenger and administrator dispensing due rewards and pun-
ishments.
Then in speaking about spirit, soul and body, the qualities that Temper-
ance works with, D’Agostino says that
Their combination and structural variations formulate all the ele-
ments defining human existence. Temperance speaks of the mod-
ification and adjustment of these various elements into more ad-
equate channels of expression.
Ussher says that Temperance is an
apt image of Time ... restoring measure and seasonal rhythm
after every harvest of Death.
Nichols in speaking specifically about the Temperance Angel says that
Angels have long been seen as winged messengers from heaven,
meaning psychologically that they represent inner experiences of
a numinous nature which connect man with the archetypal world
of the unconscious. These winged visions appear in our mundane
lives at crucial moments, suddenly bringing new insights and re-
vealing new dimensions of experience.
These new insights come from an inner knowing which Nichols says will
The Temperance Angel 289

increasingly supplant “belief” and “opinion” in the hero’s re-

sponse to life. ... In Temperance, contact with the numinous
is re-established. Her two urns, like the Holy Grail and the com-
munion chalice, have magic powers to gather together, contain,
preserve, and heal. And this winged personage herself will remain
as a kind of archangelic guide for the hero on his journey. She
will stay with him as a constant reminder that his thoughts, his
energies, and his plans are never wholly under conscious control.
The liquid in the Angel’s urns seems to spring by its own vitality
from some inexhaustible source, like the mythical waters of the
miraculous pitcher. The pattern of the liquid’s trajectory can be
seen as a lemniscate opened out. ... In Temperance the lem-
niscate has unfolded so that all the opposites are now separated
and clearly defined as two vases, with the precious liquid being
transferred from the higher to the lower container, generating a
new kind of energy. ...
The help which the Angel offers is a practical one, vital to both
outer reality and to the inner journey. If we take the two vases to
represent outer and inner, conscious and unconscious, the Angel,
by her ritual pouring, helps the hero to reconcile these two aspects
of life.

Sharman-Burke says that

The Fool learns through this card how to mix, in their due pro-
portions, the opposites of success and failure, growth and decay,
joy and sorrow; the waters poured by the angel represent these
different feelings and emotions. The care with which they are
poured shows the benefit of moderation. Justice may need to
be tempered with mercy, and Temperance offers the quality of
compassion and forgiveness; taking into account the feelings in
situations rather than just the factual circumstances, as Justice
does. The feelings strive towards a sense of calm and serenity,
the equivalent of what the mind knows as Justice.

Gray says that

The Temperance Angel 290

This Key represents the archangel Michael, who is related to fire

and the sun. He pours the essence of life from the silver cup of
the subconscious into the golden cup of the conscious, from the
unseen into the seen and then back again. This depicts the entry
of Spirit into matter and the influence of matter upon Spirit, as
well as the flowing of the past through the present and into the
future. ...
This is the card of vibration, or radiant energy, of the tempering
and modification of experience. ... Here Man has, in large mea-
sure, mastered his own thoughts and achieved mental balance.
There is nothing in the cosmos but vibration, and all forms of
vibration can be modified and managed by the adept. But we do
nothing of ourselves alone. Our guardian angel makes the tests
and trials that lead us along the path of attainment.
As we learn to transfer the Life-force from the imagination (moon)
into the activity of the conscious (sun), the will is developed and
the imagination purified so that in pouring from the silver cup to
the golden one we lose nothing. This is another of the stages of
occult progress that the Fool must take on the path to mastery.

Javane and Bunker say that Temperance stands for

sustenance or establishment. You should establish the founda-

tions of your belief system through proof or verification. ... This
key teaches you to verify your destiny as a manipulator of the life
power ... . This should be verified by actual practice and testing
until you feel the presence within.

Moore says that Temperance stands for the law of verification.

To verify is to certify or establish by testing. When we construct

a machine we verify each part of it before we build it, and when
we have assembled all the parts we test the whole machine to see
if it has any weak spots before we set it to the work for which
we have constructed it. Just as the subconscious tests the body
with her scales after she has used the sword, so with every change
which the self-conscious works in itself to secure equilibrium, the
The Temperance Angel 291

Higher Self tests us to see if we have assimilated that change and

if it is time to initiate in us a still greater change. All your life
experience, inner and outer, subconscious and self-conscious, is
a process of continual readjustments to changed conditions. The
inner changes, when they are occult, are for the purpose of mak-
ing your physical body a better vehicle for the expression of the
latent potencies of the Life-Power. The outer changes are for the
purpose of giving you the emotional and mental control, which
will, in the end through the Laws of Suggestion and Mutual Re-
sponse, work these internal changes. To the former set of changes
the subconscious attends; as you see her doing in Justice. To the
latter set of changes, the Higher Self attends. He attends to sev-
eral inner changes also, and it is these inner changes which form
the subject matter of this card. ...
If we see the Wheel turn and pay accurate attention to its turning,
we can perceive every trial, every testing that fits us ( if we use it
correctly) for a higher manifestation of our powers. All things are
tested to estimate their accuracy, whenever we wish to use them
for a higher purpose. In order to come to a conclusion we have
to make an initial assumption. We must then test the conclusion
the assumption allowed us to reach. We test it by “temptation”
or experiment, to see if we are justified in using it as the first
step in a following process of reasoning. Just so, the Higher Self
must constantly test us by trial to see if we are fitted for a higher
mission, our next step in spiritual evolution. This is a process we
can confirm by our own action. We never know our weakness or
our strength until we have met temptation.

Moore continues in telling us that the action of the Temperance Angel

sends external trial and internal modifications to our psychic current. This
tells us that

experiences in life are a process of continuous readjustments to

changed conditions without and within. All events external and
internal are parts of the process whereby He, who is representative
of the One Life, is tempering ... [our] personality so as to make
The Temperance Angel 292

it a better and better vehicle for the expression of the latent

potencies of the Life Force.
The Temperance Angel 293

Symbolism

Angel Temperance is the angel Michael, the archangel

of fire, angel of the sun, and ruler of the South
(Case).
The Angel is another aspect of the Hierophant.
The Angel represents our personal connection
with the supreme Spirit which is both Father
and Mother, and the dedi on the collar of the
Angel’s robe shows that the Angel stands for
the Supreme who is both sexes in one.
The Angel keeps adapting and modifying the
personal streams of psychic energy in the
actions and reactions of the self-conscious and
subconscious minds. This is the adapting or
modifying of the personality to the action of
opposites upon each other. The Angel is mixing
the two as one mixes the two liquors in what we
call a cocktail shaker.
The self conscious is associated with fire and
the subconscious is associated with water.
Being subjected to fire and then to water is like
the act of tempering steel (Moore).
The Angel is symbolic of the superconscious
level of awareness, which, at this stage of
development is in control of the other levels of
mind (Oribello).
The androgynous Angel is a perfect blending of
polar opposites, of male and female (Javane
and Bunker).
The Temperance Angel is connected with Iris,
the messenger goddess of the rainbow, who
served both Zeus and Hera. The rainbow
The Temperance Angel 294

bridges heaven and earth so Iris was equally at

ease on the earth, in the sky or even in the
ocean’s depth, where she would cheerfully
descend to carry messages. She was a kind and
compassionate goddess whose willingness to
help everyone made her beloved of gods and
men alike. It was said that even the underworld
opened up at her feet when she was sent by
Zeus to refill her golden cup with the waters of
the river Styx (Sharman-Burke).
The golden disk on its forehead obviously
identifies the central figure as the Archangel
Michael, who “Like unto God,” is the angel of
the Sun, and of the element of fire
(D’Agostino).

Blue Land Between the cultivated land and the end of the
path, there is a suggestion of a great stretch of
Blue Land. This Blue land signifies the planes
of consciousness open to us in sleep from which
come the recollection we may later call
discoveries, which help us progress (Moore).

Blue Water The Blue Water symbolizes the Cosmic Mind

and the stuff of which it is composed (Moore).

Crown At the upper end of the path is a Crown. It

signifies attainment and mastery. The end of
the path of attainment is the realization of the
Crown of perfect union with the Primal Will
(Case).
Above and between the two Twin Peaks is the
Crown of mastery, which comes from personal
identification with the Higher Self. When we
have identified the lower self with the Higher
Self, we have mastery over all the subconscious
The Temperance Angel 295

forms and forces of nature. The crown and goal

of evolution is to become co-workers with God.
In order to wear the Crown at the end of the
path we must get a clear perception that all our
personal activities are merely our particular
concrete expressions of the interplay of cosmic
forces and of the operation of eternal laws.
These cosmic forces and eternal laws are ours to
manipulate one way or the other, but through
us they must continually play (Moore).
The Crown in glory over the Twin Peaks
represents the culmination of the great work
(Javane and Bunker).

Cups In the Rider pack, the angel pours water from

the cup in his left hand to that in his right
hand. The cups are of gold to symbolize the
idea that all forms of life-expression have
radiant energy for their basic substance. The
upper cup is self-consciousness, corresponding
to the man in the Lovers. The lower cup is
subconsciousness, corresponding to the woman
in the Lovers. The stream of water (mind-stuff)
vibrates between them. Furthermore, action
and reaction are intimated, for when the lower
cup is filled he will reverse the position of the
cups, and that which is above becomes that
which will be below (Case).
The pouring of a double stream from one
golden goblet into the other goblet depicts the
inner work the Angel performs in the person
who has prepared himself (herself) for it. Here
the Angel is pouring as the crescent denotes
from the subjective mind into the objective
personality into which the influx of the Spirit is
The Temperance Angel 296

streaming (Moore).
The Angel pours water from one cup into
another. This is symbolic of harmony and a
flowing unity between our conscious and
subconscious levels of mental awareness (the
cups being symbolic of these levels). The water
is symbolic of spiritual thought (Oribello).
The Angel is pouring water from a golden cup
into a silver one. He pours the waters of
emotions from the golden cup, symbolizing
consciousness, into the silver one, standing for
the unconscious, thus showing the need for a
constant flow between the two
(Sharman-Burke).
Composed of the radiant light energy, the two
gold Cups the angel holds depict the receptive
characteristics of the conscious and unconscious
mind. Eventually, the cups will reverse their
positions and the unending cycle of action and
reaction will complete one rotation
(D’Agostino).

Eagle The eagle in the B.O.T.A. Tarot is a symbol for

the watery sign Scorpio. From the torch in the
angel’s left hand five flames, shaped like the
letter i fall on the head of the eagle, and a sixth
flame rises. This represents fire on water, one of
the action-reaction opposites. It symbolizes the
general idea of tempering or modification
(Case).

Feet One foot rests on earth and the other in the

water. This symbolizes that the archangel is
equally at home in the conscious or the
subconscious (Gray).
The Temperance Angel 297

One foot of the angel rests on water, symbol of

the cosmic mind-stuff. The other is on land,
symbol of concrete physical manifestation
(Case).
The Angel stands with one foot submerged in
the water, the foot on which his weight rests;
the other foot barely touching the ground
(Moore).
The Angel stands with one foot in water, and
the other on land. This reveals balance between
our physical and spiritual sides of nature. We
experience support from higher realms of life
when we use temperance or create balance
between our physical and spiritual selves
(Oribello).
The Angel has one foot in the water and one
foot on the land. Land and water are associated
with the conscious and the unconscious,
respectively (Sharman-Burke).
The right foot of the angel is immersed in the
pool of the watery mind stuff. His left foot
resting firm on the earth represents the
concentration of the watery mind stuff into
solid forms of matter. The physical gestures the
angel employs reveal that the work he performs
is a psycho-chemical process. Alterations in
mental patterns effect corresponding changes in
the chemistry of the physical organism
(D’Agostino).

Golden Circle On the Angel’s forehead is a Golden Circle

which reveals the opening of the third eye
(Oribello).
The angel is an angel of the Sun, the life force,
as shown by the solar disk on the forehead
The Temperance Angel 298

(Javane and Bunker).

Golden Hair The Golden Hair of the Angel represents the

radiant life force.

Irises On the bank of the pool are Irises, a reminder

that Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow
(Gray).
At the side of the Angel grows a clump of Iris,
in which there are many spears of green and
only two flowers. The green stands for the
creative imagination. Iris was the Greek
Goddess who served as messenger of the gods.
There are two Yellow Iris Flowers, one above
the other. This shows that the subconscious
(which is the messenger of the gods) flowers
only from the creative imagination. (Moore).

Land The Land symbolizes the physical body. Land

is masculine to water (Moore).

Lion The Lion in the B.O.T.A Tarot is dark, earth

brown, like the body of the Devil because he is
a symbol of that same Devil, in the guise of a
lion, seeking whom he may devour. Yet the
Lion is also a symbol of fire because dix`,
Arieh, the Lion, has the same numeration of
dxeab, Gevurah, strength. The Lion is the
symbol for the Mars-force concentrated in
Gevurah.
Upon the fiery Lion the angel pours water.
Water on fire represents one of the
action-reaction opposites and this symbolizes
the general idea of tempering or modification
(Case).
The Temperance Angel 299

Path There is a path leading away from the pool. At

the end of this path there is the crown of
mastery and attainment (Gray).
The path rising from the pool, rises over rolling
ground, and thus imitates the wave-motion
which is characteristic of all forms of vibration
(Case).
On one side of the Angel is a Path coming from
the Pool and stretching away over the green
rolling country into the far distance. It is the
path of evolution. Evolution proceeds from
cultivation, and hence the ground is green. The
pathway constantly rises and falls. All progress
is in wave motion, by curves of ups and downs.
Yet in spite of downs the path constantly
ascends if looked at with sufficient perspective.
As the upward journey is continued, the point
of each succeeding depression is higher than the
height of each preceding wave (Moore).
The Path leading to the mountains represents a
route for the Fool to follow (Sharman-Burke).

Rainbow The Rainbow is associated with the Irises since

Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow
(Gray).
The rainbow is a popular symbol of promise
and hope, expressed in folklore as a ‘pot of gold
at the end of the rainbow’ or in children’s songs
as a land beyond the rainbow where dreams
come true (Sharman-Burke).
Rainbow has the meaning of covenant. One
who is obedient to the covenant helps bring
about a circle of natural perfection.

Red Wings The Red Wings of the Angel depict the fiery
The Temperance Angel 300

nature aspiring to higher consciousness (Javane

and Bunker).

Square The square on the breast of the angel indicates

the four-square reality of physical
manifestation, and within it the triangle of
Spirit points upward. This symbol is also the
sign of the sacred book of the Tarot. Four plus
3 equals 7, indicating the aspects of Divine Life
and the seven chakras of centers of the body
used in yoga meditation (Gray).
On the Angel’s chest is a white square with a
golden triangle that reveals purity of life within
the kingdom of the four elements, and the
revelation of our individual trinity as body,
mind, and spirit. Also, the four sides of the
square and the three sides of the triangle add up
to seven which is a sacred number (Oribello).
The geometrical inscription of the triangle
enclosed within a white Square declares that
the ultimate objective of the angel’s vigorous
operation is to restore the Inner Self’s creative
impulses into measurable forms, free from the
colorations of error injected by human
personality (D’Agostino).

Star In the B.O.T.A. Tarot, below the letters on the

neck of the white robe is a golden star with
seven points. This has special reference to skill
because to make such a star a circle must be
divided into seven equal parts. There is no
exact mathematical formula for this. Thus the
division must be made by trial and error. Here
we have the underlying idea of Intelligence of
Probation or Trial. The seven points of the star
symbolize the seven Spirits of God, or aspects
The Temperance Angel 301

of the Divine Life. They correspond also to the

seven sacred planets, the seven alchemical
metals, and the seven chakras of the Yogis
(Case).

Twin Peaks The Twin Peaks on either side of the path,

under the crown, are wisdom and
understanding, the second and third sephirot
(Case).
At the end of the path are the two mountains
of wisdom and understanding, the Twin Peaks
of the subconscious (Moore).
The Twin Peaks symbolize attainment of
wisdom and understanding (Javane and
Bunker).

Water Pool The Water Pool indicates the subconscious

mind of man and the universe (Gray).
At the bottom of the picture is a pool,
corresponding to the ninth sephirah, Yesod, the
seat of the automatic consciousness, the sphere
of the moon (Case).
The pool and the earth represent the
subconscious and conscious minds, on which
the angel maintains perfect balance (Javane
and Bunker).

White Background The angel is actuating force in both the outer

and inner work. Hence the background is white.
The outer work of the angel is done without our
assistance, but his inner work can be done only
after we have ourselves prepared the body for it
by the amount of transformation, of rebuilding
taken place in it because of our images (Moore).
The Temperance Angel 302

White Robe The white robe of Temperance represents

purity and wisdom. At the neck is written, in
Hebrews characters, the letters of the
Tetragrammaton, dedi (Case).
The Devil 303
The Devil 304
The Devil 305

The Devil
The Devil is what results when we act with half-knowledge and we do not do
anything to update, change, or correct this half-knowledge. So to understand
the Devil we must first understand what is half-knowledge.
We are confronted each day or each week in our lives with situations.
Something happens. The happening is significant because our intellect in-
terprets it to mean that there has occurred something which implies an in-
consistency between the reality we are confronted with and our current or
future expectations of what we desire our ideal world to be.
Because we seek perfection, that which interferes with the fulfillment of
our ideal world must be bad and must not be for us. Towards that which
is not for us we get angry. And this brings out our negative emotions in a
fiery destructive reaction. When this reaction is directed outward, towards
others, we become hateful, belligerent, and vindictive. When this reaction
is directed inward, towards ourselves, we become sad, depressed, or full of
self-doubt.
If we analyze the situation very carefully, there is indeed an inconsistency.
But this inconsistency is not necessarily caused by what we have interpreted
to be not for us. It may be, and more likely is, caused by our own partial
knowledge.
How can it be this way? The intellect creates and continues to update
throughout our lives the value system that encodes our knowledge of our
ideal world. The inconsistency or incompatibility in the happening is just
an inconsistency between our interpretation of the happening and the value
system encoding our ideal world.
We usually assume that our knowledge is correct and, therefore, that our
interpretation is correct. Hence the trouble is outside of us. But it may
be that our knowledge, that which our intellect has given and created for
our subconscious, perhaps it is this knowledge that is faulty. If this is the
case, the happening and situation that we have to contend with is just our
indication that it is time to look within and see what it might be with our
knowledge that must be updated, corrected, or completed. From this point
of view, the Devil results not so much from the half-knowledge we have at
the time of the happening as our stubbornness or laziness to look within for
The Devil 306

that which inside us could be the wrong or incomplete knowledge about our
ideal world.
The intellect is the only tool we have that has the freedom and capability
to do the considering, the reflecting, the perusing, and the exploring. To
initiate the exploration of this inconsistency, we must give up our initial
interpretation which has identified something outside of us that is not for us.
Until we do, there is no reason for the intellect to go on an exploration. And
what does the exploration consist of? It consists of using our consciousness to
reveal something which has been concealed. It consists of using our intuition
and insight to find and adopt a broader frame of reference, a frame of greater
understanding and love, a frame which reaches beyond, beyond anywhere we
have already been.
Once we can elevate ourselves to a broader frame of reference, we will
discover that there is more than one interpretation to the situation. We will
find that there are many possible interpretations. Then we must ask ourselves
that if there are multiple possible interpretations, why is it that we selected
the interpretation we did. What was it in our knowledge base, our value
system of our ideal world that necessitated the interpretation we did choose.
When we do that we always discover that we had made some unwarranted,
unnecessary, and logically uncompelling assumptions. These assumptions
restricted our ideal. We discover that there indeed was an inconsistency,
but it was between our new broader frame of reference, a frame embodying
a greater understanding, and the values encoding our ideal world, values
which depended on the restrictive assumptions. Here that which needs to be
updated, changed, or completed is this value encoding. The broader frame
embodying a greater understanding must be taken to be the correct one.
The narrower framework encoding the values for our ideal world must be
understood as containing some subjective choices of what should be. And
their very restrictiveness caused the inconsistency.
So the culprit of our half-knowledge is subjective restriction. And it is
this restriction which chains our man, the self-conscious, and our woman,
our subconscious to the half-cube of the Devil. Unchaining is easy. The
man, the self-conscious intellect, just needs to exert effort to discover where
the subjectively chosen restrictions are. On his initiative and discovery he
must then lessen the subjective restriction. He must make the subjective
choice less restrictive, less limiting. This act unbinds him from the chain.
The Devil 307

Then he gives the new choices, the new ideals, the ideals reflecting a greater
understanding, a greater love, to the woman, the subconscious. Then she
too becomes unchained. Both being free, the Devil disappears. And in his
place appears the Divine Light.
The Devil 308

General Discussion Quotes

Gray says that

There is no Devil except of man’s own creation, and here it is

evident that men are chained by their own wrong choices. How-
ever, the chains about their necks are loose and can be removed
at will.

D’Agostino says that

This horned monster, a synthesis of deformities, certainly does

not exist. Rather, it is a personification of man’s faulty percep-
tions, misunderstandings, and misdeeds, collectively accumulated
in the course of human evolution. ...
Everything God creates has its usefulness, therefore behind this
ridiculous apparition must lie some hidden purpose of construc-
tive and beneficial significance. The Devil, the master of illusion,
is the limiting principle of the universe compressing the subtle ra-
diant light energy into the grosser forms of sensation. This world
of relative appearances is necessarily full of contrast and incon-
gruities. However, appearances will only deceive if we accept
them at face value. Man’s inquiring mind is always concerned
with the unknown, so as these seeming inconsistencies enter into
our field of experience they awaken our curiosity and lead us on
to investigate their nature.

Ussher says that the Devil

typifies the rebel Will, who holds the divided sexes in thrall.

Waite says that the Devil is

a bondsman, sustained by the evil that is in him and blind to the

liberty of service.

Sorer says that there are

The Devil 309

two great controlling forces of the Universe, the centrifugal and

the centripetal, destructive and reproductive, dynamic and static.
The lower nature of man fears and hates the transmuting process;
hence the chains binding the lesser figures and the bestial forms of
their lower limbs. Yet this very fear of change and disintegration
is necessary to stabilize the life-force and preserve continuity.

Javane and Bunker say that the Devil

shows what happens when we fail to use discrimination. The

Devil is a misconception of God, as God upside down or oppo-
site. He represents the delusion of judging by outward appear-
ances instead of by inner realities. He also represents religious
dogmatism, which is ridiculous to the enlightened person. There-
fore the keyword here is mirth. We should learn to laugh in the
face of difficulties, for laughter or ridicule is sometimes the most
effective defense against evil. ...
This key means we are God incarnate, but all too often we play
the role in an upside down position, as undeveloped people,
chained in bondage to appearance.

Nichols compares the Devil to a bat.

The Devil, too flies at night – a time when the lights of civilization
are extinguished and the rational mind is asleep. It is at this
time that human beings lie unconscious, unprotected, and open
to suggestion. In the daylight hours, when human consciousness is
awake and man’s ability to differentiate is keen, the Devil retreats
to the dark recesses of the psyche where he too hangs upside
down, hiding his contrariness, recharging his energies, and biding
his time. The Devil metaphorically sucks our blood, sapping our
substance. The effects of his bite are contagious, infecting whole
communities or even states.

Then Nichols explains that the dark side manifests when the unconscious
is in control.
The Devil 310

... the more conscious we become of our creative potential, the

more alert we must be to the tricks of our shadow side and the
more responsible we must be in relation to it. As conscious-
ness expands, conscience becomes more refined so that one be-
comes increasingly aware of the potential harmfulness of even the
most casual word or deed. Since every human drive is essentially
amoral, what makes an instinctual action immoral is simply its
unconsciousness. Any drive that manifests itself unconsciously
is primitive, uncontrolled, compulsive, and therefore potentially
harmful.

Sharman-Burke explains that

The image of the horned, hooved Devil originates with Pan, the
goat-god of untamed nature and sexuality. He was worshipped by
the Greeks as life-giving fertility god, abundant and procreative.
He represented natural energy in its chaotic and disordered state.
Pan personified primitive, instinctive urges in man, particularly
those of sexual energy. However, with the advent of Christian-
ity, Pan was banished to hell and the devil is consequently often
depicted with horns, hooves and a tail. Natural impulse and in-
stinct was then frowned upon as evil, and man became ashamed
to acknowledge his connection with such things.
The Devil teaches the Fool to recognized and accept all aspects of
his nature, both dark and light. The Devil represents the blockage
of repressed fears and feelings which once removed, can release
a great deal of positive energy. Energy in itself is neutral; it is
how it is channeled that makes it positive or negative. The Devil
points out that if our nature with both its aspects is not accepted,
many inhibitions and phobias can accumulate unconsciously to
prevent normal growth and development of the personality. In
other words, the ‘devil’ in each of us must be faced, before we
can come to terms with him and put his energy to good use. In
Jungian terms the Devil represents the ‘shadow,’ that part of our
psyche we would rather ignore, the tiresome bit we see in everyone
else but never in ourselves.
The Devil 311

Oribello says that

Evil is a reality that exists and endures only by the energy it

receives from man’s negative thoughts, emotions and deeds. One
may ask why the word “eye” is connected to this card. The answer
is that man sees things in a distorted consciousness. In other
words, he misinterprets what he sees so as to be in a condition
of error. The word “evil” spelled backwards is “live.” The word
devil spelled backwards is “lived.” This reveals that most people
live or have lived life backwards. There is an old saying; “Believe
only half of what you see.” Most of us, even after having attained
a certain degree of development, may still be confused about the
appearance of things. The Greek word for devil is “diabolos,”
meaning one who lies and throws blocks in the way. ...
... in the card of the Lovers, the man and woman stand in front of
trees, with the Angel of the High self between them. Also, in the
card of the Lovers, the man looks to the woman, and the woman
looks to the angel. Notice that in the card of the Devil, the man
and the woman look different ways. The trees have turned into
tails, symbolic of falling into the error of allowing senses to rule
instead of being ruled. ...
The student must be aware of the possibilities of falling back
into negative ways. A person may advance to a great degree on
the path, then find themselves going through inner conflicts and
problems in everyday life. They will, at this point, be tempted
to think, speak, and act in a negative manner. The person may
even slip and fall back for a time. However, it is very important
that one does not remain in this condition. We must realize the
illusion of evil and force ourselves out of its grip.

Moore says that

the card which is called the Devil describes the first stage of
enlightenment. In one word, it depicts a man misusing his in-
stincts. The lower animal does that. The misuse of the instinct
is the first and inevitable consequence of possessing a mind. It is
The Devil 312

a stage through which the individual man, as a race, must pass

in order to learn the correct use of his mind. ...
The man in the Devil is really living entirely in the subconscious
sensations, although he imagines he is exercising his mind. The
body is dictating to him instead of him dictating to the body. ...
The Devil represents the earth, or the body as it is misunderstood
by those who are entirely content with superficial appearances.
The Hermit has implanted in all forms the same urge for growth
which drove the Life Power Itself to self-expression. The human
being has more of it than any other earthly form, because he pos-
sesses a self-conscious brain, a thinking brain. This urge to unfold
our power must begin on the lower level first, and then proceed
to the higher. The lower level is the complete expression of the
animal instincts. The complete expression is our only means of
self-realization when we are at that level, and unless we utilize it
we shall always stay at that level. Only so long as we misunder-
stand the element of earth does it appear to be our enemy. In
it there is forever working a power which seeks better and better
forms to enclose the expanding life, the power which science calls
evolution. ...
Occultism teaches that the earth is our enemy only when it is
misunderstood, only when we allow it to dominate us. When
we can dominate it, it is our means of rising to Godhood. The
earth is our enemy only when we are content with superficial
appearances. The superficial tells us that sensation is all. When
we are content with that, then and only, is our body our enemy.
From the earth, from the body, comes our means of liberation if
we know how to control the body.

Moore also has another interpretation of the Devil. She says that

We must exert effort to go up the hill, to slide down and back

to the animal is to refuse to make the effort. ... The perfect
subconscious is just as much created by man as the deformed
subconscious. The perfect self-conscious is just as much created
by man as the grasping, selfish, sensual self-conscious. Spiritual
The Devil 313

man is just as much created by man as natural man. All of these

things are the result of man’s own behaviour.

The Devil, too, is the result of man’s behavior. But the behavior she refers
to here is the lack of effort. She says the Devil comes about because of man’s

lack of effort for not trying to be in [the] rightful place in evolution

above the animal. He has gone back to the animal by letting
himself slide down hill, the mere force of gravity.

Case says that the Devil

represents the cruder forms of man’s answers to the question,

“What keeps me from expressing this inner freedom I feel?” ...
The picture refers to man’s ideas concerning the nature of that
which seems so relentlessly to oppose his struggles for freedom.
...
This picture represents the first stage of spiritual unfoldment. It
is the stage of conscious bondage. The Devil personifies the false
conception that man is bound by material conditions, the false
notion that he is a slave to necessity, a sport of chance.
In truth, the forces which appear to be our adversaries are always
ready to serve us. The one condition is that we understand our
essential freedom, and take account of the hidden side of exis-
tence. Then, when we conform our practice to our knowledge,
liberation begins. The Devil is sensation, divorced by ignorance
from understanding. Yet he is also what brings renewal, because
we can make no real effort to be free until we feel our limitations.
Until they irk us, we can make no effort to strike off our chains.
The Devil 314

Symbolism

Bat Wings The Bat Wings are there to carry out the black
background: darkness and ignorance (Moore).
The Devil has bat wings signifying the powers
of darkness (Case).

Black Background The Black Background is the color of darkness,

ignorance, limitation, and also of that which is
hidden or occult. Here is an intimation that
ignorance is the underlying cause of bondage.
A hint, also, that the ridiculous figure of the
Devil is a veil for a profound secret of practical
occultism (Case).
The black background on this card indicates
ignorance, lack of light (Javane and Bunker).

Chain The chain binding the nude man and woman to

the half-cube represents the chain and fatality
of the material life (Waite).
Although the man and woman are chained to
the half-cube, the loops of the Chains are so
large that they might lift them off their heads.
Their bondage is imaginary (Case).
The humans, chained loosely to the half-cube
could easily free themselves by refusing to be
bound by darkness and imperfect knowledge –
or half truth – as indicated by the half-cube
(Javane and Bunker).
Around the neck of the humans are Chains that
bind them to the seat of the Devil, and this
reveals misuse of the spoken word, which is a
great stumbling block to our progress on the
Path.
The Devil 315

The humans are bound by Chains to the

Half-Cube on which the Devil squats. The man
could lift off his Chain if he wanted to. The
woman cannot because she has no initiative of
her own until the man gives it to her; but he
could do it and then lift off hers (Moore),
The Man and Woman stand naked and
vulnerable with weighty Chains around their
necks but their hands are free. They could lift
the Chains from their necks and set themselves
free, or so it would seem (Sharman-Burke).
The Chains rest loosely around the necks of the
male and female suggesting that they may
remove them at will. Their bondage is of their
own creation, the result of erroneous
conclusions based on the imperfect and
incomplete knowledge of themselves and the
universe. It was their ignorance that formulated
this legion of confusion, which is a compound of
the four elements in distorted proportions
(D’Agostino).
Claws The Devil’s feet are the claws of an eagle. This
symbolizes the materialization and misuse of
the reproductive power, and its debasement in
the service of sensuality (Case).
Devil The Devil has the horns and face of a goat,
wings of a bat, and ears of a donkey suggesting
obstinacy and stubbornness of materialism
(Gray).
The Devil has a face of a goat and has ears of a
donkey to suggest the obstinacy and
stubbornness of materialism (Case).
The Devil is the polar opposite of the
Temperance Angel. He is also a caricature of
The Devil 316

the angel over the heads of the Lovers, even as

the nude man and woman below him are
bestialized reproductions of the man and
woman in the Lovers (Case).
The body of the Devil is positioned so that his
head and his knees both form downward in the
form of the water triangles. This indicates that
the humans below are wallowing in sensations
which are extracted from the subconscious. A
balanced position would be the interlaced
triangle, one water and one fire (Moore).
The Devil represents different things. One is the
power of Saturn which restricts us so that we
may learn valuable lessons of life that we would
refuse to learn, it they were not imposed upon
us by Karma, or the Law of Compensation.
The Devil is also symbolic of our distorted
perception of Higher Thought. He may also be
symbolic of misapplied power (Oribello).
Donkey Ears The head of the Devil has Donkey Ears because
the man will not listen to the voice of human
experience. In the gratification of his instincts
he is as stubborn as a donkey (Moore).
Half-Cube The Devil sits on a Half-Cube which signifies
the half-knowledge of what is only the visible
sensory side of reality (Gray).
The Devil sits on a pedestal which is
Half-Cube. Since a cube represents that which
was, is, and shall be, a Half-Cube symbolizes
half-knowledge of that reality. Half-knowledge
perceives nothing but the visible, sensory side
of existence (Case).
The Half-Cube represents imperfect knowledge
or half truth (Javane and Bunker).
The Devil 317

A cube represents the physical world. The

Half-Cube represents a half-knowledge of
reality. As half-knowledge is ignorance, the
cube is black (Moore).
The Devil sits on a Half-Cube altar designating
the incompleteness of outer appearances. His
altar is the base of the chains that restrain the
male, self-consciousness, and the female,
subconsciousness, the dual aspects of human
personality (D’Agostino).

Horns The humans have horns which means a divided

mind (Oribello).
The Horns are those of a goat because of the
sign Capricorn, yet they are fashioned so as to
suggest a backbone. Sin means going back to
the animal, whose backbone curves and who
cannot stand erect (Moore).
The Man and Woman have sprouted Horns.
This symbolizes that they have allowed
themselves to become the Devil’s disciples
(Sharman-Burke).
The male and the female sport Horns, Hoofs,
and Tails, demonstrating that presently the
lower and less evolved forces are actively
engaged. Unless we chain and tame these wild,
unstable, destructive elements of consciousness,
we will eventually become their victim and
their slave (D’Agostino).

Inverted Pentagram On the top of the Devil’s head is an Inverted

Pentagram signifying evil intent (Gray).
Between the Devil’s horns is an Inverted
Pentagram. The pentagram is the symbol of
man, and an Inverted Pentagram suggests the
The Devil 318

reversal of true understanding of man’s place in

the cosmos. In point of fact, the mistaken
estimate of man’s powers and possibilities is all
that keeps any one in bondage (Case).
The inverted pentagram on the Devil’s forehead
is the symbol of black magic, inverted power
(Javane and Bunker).
At the top of the Devil’s head is the Inverted
Pentagram. The Pentagram with one point up
is a symbol for illumination. But in an inverted
position, it becomes a symbol for the
uninitiated or fallen man. In some schools, the
Inverted Pentagram is a symbol for pure evil.
We may take this card as a symbolic warning
not to misuse our inner powers (Oribello).
Over the head of the Devil is a crudely
constructed Inverted Pentagram. The 5-pointed
star symbolizes the perfected man. It should
stand on 2 points, the self-conscious and the
subconscious as equals. Here it stands on only
one point. Now the question is, what is that
point? Is it the self-conscious or the
subconscious? It is the subconscious but the
man thinks it is the self-conscious. The man
below is living entirely in his subconscious,
although he fatuously thinks he is living in his
self-conscious. He is wallowing in sensations
which he can, for a very limited time, extract
from her. He is using his mind for no other
purpose than to sharpen his pleasures (Moore).
The Inverted Pentagram inscribed between the
Devil’s brows is a seal of black magic and
mental inversion. This sigil implies the denial of
the unity of Being, and is a rejection of the
superiority of the Inner Self. The pentagram
The Devil 319

single point down, is the geometrical signature

employed to evoke the demoniac powers, which
are always present within the substratum of
human consciousness. As long as we personally
sustain the belief that our existence depends
upon, and is subordinate to, the elements
composing our physical environment, these
unresolved instincts of nature will continue to
exert a major influence upon all our thoughts
and actions (D’Agostino).

Navel The Devil has a navel. This represents the fact

that he is a human product, begotten of man’s
ignorance. A symbol of Mercury is shown just
below his navel, to indicate that he is a product
of faulty observation and superficial reasoning
(Case).
The Devil has a Navel as also has the man and
the woman. This is one of the most subtle
symbolisms of the Tarot. It indicates that all
are man-made. They picture man at his most
bestial and man at his most perfect form. We
must exert effort to go up hill, to slide down
and back to the animal is to refuse to make the
effort (Moore).

Nude Man Chained to the half-cube is a nude man with

horns, hoofs, and tail. The Nude Man
represents the self-conscious mode of human
mentality. The horns, hoofs, and tail shows
that when reasoning takes its premises from
surface appearances, human consciousness
becomes bestialized (Case).
The body is gross and thick because sin is
always the absence of grace and beauty
(Moore).
The Devil 320

The Man and Woman are chained to the Devil

by their thoughts as well as by their fear. In
order to escape this bondage they must not
only remove their chains but also radically alter
their thoughts (Sharman-Burke).

Nude Woman Chained to the half-cube is a nude woman with

horns, hoofs, and tail. The Nude Woman
represents the sub-conscious mode of human
mentality (Case).
Her attitude is one of unwilling submission. Her
face is averted from the man. Furthermore, the
man has malformed her, just as he has
malformed himself. The left shoulder of the
woman is lacking while the left shoulder of the
man is developed all out of proportion. The
shoulders are the index of emotion, and his
emotions are all centered in subconscious
sensation; and to feed this the man is
exhausting her more and more (Moore).

Tail The nude man and woman have Tails. The

Tails represent the animal nature (Waite).
The Tail of the man represents the wrong use of
the signs of the Zodiac (Gray).
The Tail of the woman resembles a bunch of
grapes suggesting the wrong use of the wine of
life (Gray).
The man and woman have Horns, Hoofs, and
Tail to signify that they are living entirely in
the animal nature. His Tail has the red of Mars,
and is shaped like a scorpion, denoting that his
principal bestiality is sex. Her Tail is a bunch
of grapes, indicating that it is the business of
the subconscious to bring to fruit the desires of
The Devil 321

the self-conscious. To denote this more

graphically, the grapes spring from a green cup,
symbol of the power of imagination (Moore).

Thighs The Devil’s Thighs are the motor power of all

action forward. Here they are not human, but
animal, indicating that the desire for animal
satisfaction is all that drives forward the
humans below under his blessing (Moore).

Torch In the Devil’s left hand is the Torch of

Destruction (Gray).
In the Devil’s left hand is a torch, burning
wastefully, and giving little light. The torch is a
phallic symbol, representing the transmission of
life from generation to generation. Its fiery
quality refers to the Mars vibration. In one
sense, this is the fiery torch of revolution, based
on materialistic interpretations of experience,
the torch of terrorism and anarchy (Case).
The Devil’s torch burns wastefully and gives no
light (Javane and Bunker).
The Devil is holding the Torch of the Mars
vibration to inflame the man’s acquisitive and
sexual desires. To satisfy them the man
constantly works his body by pandering to
them (Moore).
All the light in this card comes from the Torch.
If not for the torch it would be completely dark.
That is to say there would be no light whatever
would it not be for the torch inflaming man’s
desire. It is an inverted torch which gives the
least light of which it is capable and most
smoke; yet without it there would be complete
darkness (Moore).
The Devil 322

Upraised Right Hand The Devil’s right hand is upraised giving the
sign of black magic. On the palm is the symbol
of Saturn, the planet of limitation and inertia
(Gray).
The Devil’s uplifted right hand has all its
fingers open, as if in contradiction to the sign of
esotericism made by the Hierophant. The
Hierophant’s gesture says: “What you see is not
all there is to know.” The Devil’s gesture
intimates: “What sensation reports is all there
is to it.” On the palm of this uplifted hand is
outlined an astrological symbol of the planet
Saturn. Saturn is the planet of limitation,
inertia, and therefore of ignorance (Case).
The Upraised Right Hand blessing the humans
below is open wide as if to say “You see all
there is to life is the desire for sensation; there
is nothing else.”
Upon the Devil’s upraised paw is an old Saturn
symbol. Saturn stands for limitation. The Devil
is encouraging man, the self-conscious, to
extract sensation from his body. Yet nothing
comes more under the unalterable law of
diminishing returns than the continuous
extraction of sensation from the body.
On the Upraised Paw is an ancient symbol of
Saturn. Here it signifies that the pair below,
instead of utilizing their limitations, have fallen
a victim to them (Moore).
The Tower 323
The Tower 324
The Tower 325

The Tower
Life is a continual and cyclic process. One phase of the process is when we
build principles of what is important to do and be and we try to live by
them. This is a creative phase when we are the initiators of that which is
to serve us well. Another phase is when we finish manifesting the principles
we have built up and we are ready to build up new higher level principles.
This is the point at which we reach our limitation. And here two possible
things can occur. Either we do something to break down or break through
our current limitation and move on or by the hand of the Divine something
happens to us which throws us out of the plateau of limitation (The Tower)
we have been living in, destroying the binding we have to the old principles
which have served us so well. If our tower is destroyed we can try to rebuild
it, in which case we will again experience its destruction. Or we can use our
freedom to find the higher level meaning in what has occurred in order to
create a new higher level set of principles by which to do and be.
The difficulty in this process is that since we are striving for perfection, we
think that the principles we have created and by which we live are as perfect
as we can get them. We only let them go with the greatest of reluctance. In
fact, as our consciousness and sensitivity increases, our natural tendency is
to utilize our freedom to change less and less. For we realize that we have
created a set of principles, that we have been living by these principles, that
they have served us well, and that they are a better set of principles than
we judge many others to have. We become superior, something actually
inconsistent with our principles, and this makes the transition to expand to
a higher level of principles that much more difficult.
But there always comes a time for change and for growth. And this time
is always just after we have managed to manifest all that we could manifest
of our old principles. The time comes just after the peak when we have
figured out how to manifest all that we have understood. This is the time
when we have reached the limit and we must pass through the borders of our
own limitation. We must reach beyond, beyond anywhere we have already
been, beyond anywhere that we already knew about. It is by this reaching,
reaching with a freedom that we did not know that we had, that we get
delivered to a new mountain. And when we reach, we enter a higher state of
consciousness. We can look back at what had challenged us with the delight
The Tower 326

of having tasted a new spice. We can look back at what had been destroyed
and understand how we have helped it fulfill the purpose for which it came
into existence. We can thank it for having participated with us. And we can
let it go with peace.
When we begin the phase of creation and manifestation on the new moun-
tain, we explore and fill out the new higher level principles we have made
room for. We blossom and bloom. The mountain flourishes. We come to
understand at an even deeper level how it is that freedom lives at our inner
extremity. We come to understand how the Divine lightning bolt strikes just
at the appropriate time to enlighten us and remind us that we have man-
ifested what we could at the level we were and that the time has come to
break through. Bathed in the Divine light, we can only express blessing.
Thus the true meaning of The Tower is connected with a quiet joyousness,
for the tower is the joyousness of our being thrust through our tower of
limitation. The thrusting through may be rough and difficult. But even in
the process of being thrusting through we know that after the fall we will be
living at a new level and because of this we also feel a quiet inner joy.
The Tower 327

General Discussion Quotes

Gray says that the Tower is
of ambition built on false premises. It is made of the bricks of tra-
ditional race-thought and the wrong use of personal will. Streaks
of lightning issue from the Sun; the crown of materialistic thought
falls from the Tower. The lightning is also the Divine Fire that
destroys only what is evil and purifies and refines what is good.
The falling drops of light or dew ... are Yods. They signify the
descent of the Life-force from above into the conditions of mate-
rial existence. The man and woman are falling from their tower
of material security, after a brilliant glimpse of Truth.
We see here the Cosmic Consciousness struggling to break through
man’s thoughts of material ambition and bring them to naught
in order that he may build again. When man sells his soul to the
devil and uses his occult knowledge for evil ends, then destruction
descends upon him from above.
... This tower is built upon a foundation of misapprehension.
“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build
it.”
Ussher says that in the Tower the devil
has really set things in motion! This falling Babel-Tower repre-
sents the necessary defeat of human action and conscious planning
by the Incalculable Factor
Waite says that the Tower
is the ruin of the House of Life, when evil has prevailed therein
...
The Tower has been spoken of as the chastisement of pride and the
intellect overwhelmed in the attempt to penetrate the Mystery of
God; but in neither case do these explanations account for the
two persons who are the living sufferers. The one is the literal
word made void and the other its false interpretation. In yet a
deeper sense, it may signify also the end of a dispensation.
The Tower 328

Sharman-Burke says that the Tower

represents the external circumstances which constrict internal de-

velopment; the social conventions which bind, and the society
which governs, body, soul and mind. ... [The] imagery [of the
Tower] illustrates the shattering of the Fool’s worldly illusions:
the breaking down of false values and beliefs. ... The walls of
false beliefs and values must be torn down as the divine lightning
penetrates the underworld of the unconscious to dispel the dark
forces. ...
At this point, the Fool must sort out for himself which way is
right for him. It is the point at which he abandons whatever is
not truly his own. It is often the case that, for years, we live as
we have been taught, even though what may have suited those
who taught us might not suit us. There comes a time when our
needs, thoughts and ideas need to be tested, evaluated and lived
by. The conflicts inherent in our behaviour when we attempt to
structure our lives by convention are symbolized by the Tower, a
narrow, constricting edifice.

Case says that the Tower

corresponds to the second stage of spiritual unfoldment, wherein

a series of sudden, fitful inspirations leads to the perception that
the structure of knowledge built on the foundation of the fallacy of
personal separateness is a tower of false science. At this stage, the
advancing seeker for wisdom suffers the destruction of his whole
former philosophy. For this tower is built upon a foundation
of misapprehension. The whole structure is an elaboration of
superficial observation, traditional race-thought, false reasoning
and an erroneous theory of will.

Oribello compares the Tower with the Devil. He says that in considering
the Devil

we realized how old negative habits may try to reassert them-

selves. This card of The Tower gives the same revelation in a
The Tower 329

different way. The Tower is symbolic of the “Tower of Babel”

(confusion).
There are elements of consciousness within us which try to force
their way into a state of harmony without giving up their grip on
negativity. This is revealed in the story of the Tower of Babel,
as recorded in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Genesis. The
people tried to build a tower to heaven. The tower is symbolic
of the illusions of the false ego. It is said that God destroyed
the tower and the people were scattered. In this card, the people
are symbolic of negative cell consciousness and false concepts.
The lightning (the High Self) strikes the tower, casting down
its crown (false mental concepts) and the people (negative cell
consciousness).
Nichols says that the Tower
... appears to be a small, private tower inhabited by two persons.
Sealed off at the top, it invited no visitations from heaven and
permitted neither warmth nor illumination to enter from above.
The two who built this edifice crowned it king, indicating that
they recognized no authority above their own creation. There are
no doors pictured in this structure whereby its inhabitants might
come and go at will or receive guests, and its windows are very
small. ...
Psychologically speaking, many of us live “up in the air,” impris-
oned in ideological towers of our own making: for the tower can
symbolize any mental construct be it political, philosophical, the-
ological, or psychological, which we human beings build, brick by
brick, out of words and ideas. Like their physical counterparts,
such towers are useful for protection against chaos, for occasional
retreat, and as a vantage point for taking our bearings in relation
to the wider view. They are useful as long as we allow room for
a little remodeling from time to time and keep the doors open so
that we can come and go at will. But when we build a rigid sys-
tem of any kind and crown it king, then we become its prisoners.
We are no longer free to move and change with the moment, to
touch the vital earth and to be touched by its seasons. ...
The Tower 330

To the humans in this picture, what is happening seems like a

catastrophe. They experience only the shock and cannot yet see
the illumination: it is still behind them (in the unconscious). Like
Phaëton, Apollo’s son, who was struck down by Zeus for running
amok with the sun chariot, these two experience this catastrophic
happening as retaliation and punishment inflicted on them by an
angry god. But this may not be the case. According to Ovid,
Phaëton was struck down neither in wrath nor punishment, but
in order to save the universe from destruction.
Looking at this card from our detached vantage point, we can
see that these two mortals are similarly saved from psychological
destruction and liberated from the prison of their prideful ego-
centricity. Symbolically speaking, they had built for themselves
a towering edifice of rational thought by which they hoped to
rise above the mundane world. Fearing the chaotic complexities
and individual responsibility involved in moral choice, they had
retreated into a rigid system of philosophy by whose concrete
general laws all decisions were automatically made.

D’Agostino explains the Tower in terms of the Higher Self which he calls
the Inner Being.

The Tower in flames, the usurpation of the crown and of the

two figures, is a necessary function periodically initiated by the
Inner Being. With never ending patience and love, this Inner
Being, who creates all things, is also the purging fire that initi-
ates the destruction of the many inhibiting thoughts and actions
we no longer need by initially awakening our awareness of their
presence. When these awakenings occur, they temporarily have a
shattering effect upon our mental and physical structures because
they usually tend to deal with the reversal of patterns of ideas we
have held throughout our lives to be of unquestionable character.

Javane and Bunker say that Mars rules the Tower

in which the keyword is awakening. This comes as a clear flash

of understanding, a bolt from the blue bringing awareness of the
The Tower 331

true nature of the self. What inspires fear in the mind of the
ignorant liberates the enlightened, just as electricity frightens the
primitive but is used constructively by the knowledgeable. A flash
of lightning is another symbol of the electrical serpent force, or
the kundalini, the Mars force in the body.
The Tower, also called the Lightning-struck Tower, is the house
of God, or the human body. It was also referred to as the Tower
of Babel (Babble means confusion of understanding.) Lightning
strikes the crown or head or place of understanding and knocks
the man and woman out of the tower. This analogy depicts erro-
neous ideas being knocked out of the two parts of mind, conscious
and subconscious, by the lightning of true understanding.

Moore says:

Those who seek the Kingdom of God sincerely, seek it for its
own sake. Then, they are told, all things needful will be added
unto them. It must be sought for its own sake. As long as a
person seeks it to get things or to get power, he will miss the
Kingdom. In the end he will lose the mess of pottage for which
he sold it. When the Kingdom of heaven is sought for its own
sake, the body becomes, in the end, The House of Influence; (the
body which was once the Tower of False Reason). You must not
think this minimizes the personality. Personality is all important,
but we must not pander to its desires. We must control and use
them as a vehicle for the individual transformation of the Life
Power. Each personality, properly controlled and utilized, has a
contribution to make to the evolution which can be made by no
other personality. ...
People try to impose their wills upon events, upon the Cosmic
Life, to force the Ocean of Divine Wisdom to disobedience; or
compel the Cosmic Mind-Stuff to take the form they want. They
can get away with it for a while if they know how to do it, but
this is what we call black magic. Imposing your will on somebody
else or on a form of any sort is black magic. Always there will
come a lightning flash which shatters these false structures to the
The Tower 332

ground. The same way if you build yourself a Tower of any false
opinion whether you know how to work black magic or not, your
Higher Self will always jolt you out of it. As you generally have
free choice, you can build up your Tower the same way after He
has knocked it down. The next time he will give you another kind
of dose or jolt. ...
The first act of creation was to throw out of equilibrium the three
qualities of matter which, as long as they remained in equilibrium
were static. The first act of creation was a destructive act. It was
destructive in order to make the creation of forms possible. That
is the way nature creates. The seed of plants and animals must be
destroyed in order to make new life. The sprout that grows from
a bulb feeds on the bulb and destroys it. That is the way man
creates. He builds nothing without previously destroying some-
thing. That is also the way nature localized in our body acts.
“All personal activity,” says science, “breaks down cell structure
and thus liberates energy for action and new construction.” Any
movement, however small, breaks down the cells of our bodies
which are engaged in that movement. Any thought burns up the
physical cells in our brains. The only way man can create physi-
cally, emotionally and spiritually is by a preceding destruction of
his body; his only concern being to build up something as good
as what he has destroyed or better.
The body is the out-picturing of the mind; and hence the work
of the practical occultist is the substitution of good images for
poor ones, true patterns for false ones. True patterns proceed
from accurate attention to life; false patterns from superficial
attention.
The word the Hebrew Wisdom applies to the Mars force is whirl-
ing. The “whirling force” wherever it is manifested, always begins
by tearing down one kind of form to build up another, yet you
and I can defeat its intention in us by persisting in our false
patterns of life, by paying such superficial attention that we do
not perceive what the true ones are, or if we do, by being too
languid or too greedy to want to follow them. Finally the Higher
The Tower 333

Self (the God “Who will not always strive with man”) sends a
bolt which destroys our willful tower. Even then we can refuse
to learn our lesson. We can begin to build it again, just as it was
before, hoping for better luck this time.
The Tower in this card is called the Tower of separateness. As
long as there is any idea of separateness in your personality, you
will continue to have your House of Life torn down by external
and internal calamity. Sooner or later it comes to all. If you
have set foot upon the mystic or occult path it will come sooner.
You will continue to have your House of Life torn down until
you rebuild it as your Higher Self would have it. The interests
of all humanity are inextricably bound up with yours. This is
only a small part of the sense of separateness. The interests of all
nature are bound up with yours. The interests of the creator are
bound up with yours. We have to cease feeling that we are one
thing and our neighbor is another – our neighbor no matter how
geographically distant; that Man is only an expression of the One
Life, and God is the One Life out of which all things come. Man
is no more an expression of the One Life than the animal, the
plant, or the mineral. He is a greater agent, thanks to his ability
to wield more of the Mars “good” or with what we call “evil,” he
must wield it in obedience to Cosmic Law.
The Tower 334

Symbolism

Black Background The Black Background of the Tower can be

thought of at two levels. The first is of course
the level of ignorance; the second is the level of
Occult perception and practice, being able to
make use of this hidden force. This is the
second stage of unfoldment. The inverted torch
in the Devil was the first stage of
enlightenment. The Torch, when inverted, gives
the least light of which it is capable, and the
most smoke; but in the Devil, it was the only
means of illumination.
Now here, the only means of illumination is the
Lightning flash. That lasts only a blinding
second, but while it lasts it lights up everything.
In this card you see it is not distributed as the
lightning flash in nature. It leaves behind it the
falling rain of twenty-two Yods (Moore).
The Black Background portrays the occult
forces veiled in darkness (D’Agostino).

Bricks The Tower has twenty-two courses of masonry

and is built of brick. In Hebrew, the word for
moon and the word for brick is spelled with
precisely the same letters, dpal, because the
white Babylonian bricks resemble moonlight.
Bricks are made of clay, and clay is the symbol
of Adam. Thus the tower suggests a structure
of human speech, because its twenty-two
courses correspond to the number of letters in
the Hebrew alphabet (Case).

Crown On the top of the Tower is a crown. The crown

is yellow, so it means the intellect or the solar
The Tower 335

energy as it expresses itself in us through the

intellect. Our body is topped as it were by our
intellect. In this case our intellect expresses its
own will, and not the Will of the Father, not the
One Will. Here is this Tower of the personality
expressing itself as the false will (Moore).

Falling Crown The Falling Crown being knocked down from

the Tower by the Lightning-flash is the
materialistic notion that matter and form are
the ruling principles of existence. Since
“Crown” is a Qabalistic term relating to the
number 1, and to Will, this crown refers to the
false monism of the materialist, and to the false
interpretation of will which makes it something
personal, something which may be set against
the impulse originating in the cosmic Purpose
(Case).
The Falling Crown is a characterization of the
egotism of self-will manifesting within our
consciousness the illusionary feeling of
separateness from all other wills. It is the
self-centered arrogance of perpetuating the
individual superior will which is a major
underlying cause of man’s cruelty of lesser and
greater degree. A spiritual frailty in itself when
misdirected, this self-will self-preservation
aggressiveness, is the power complex that
erroneously drives man to take advantage of
human weaknesses, suppressing and degrading
other fellow men of lesser stamina, knowledge,
and talents (D’Agostino).

Falling Dew The falling drops of light or dew are Yods. They
signify the descent of the Life-force from above
into the conditions of material existence (Gray).
The Tower 336

Twenty-two Yods are hanging in the air on

either side of the tower. These represent the
twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and
the forces corresponding thereto. Ten, on one
side of the Tower are arranged in the form of
the Tree of Life. They also represent the
elementary and planetary letters. The twelve
on the other side represent the twelve zodiacal
letters. They hang in the air, to indicate that
the forces they symbolize rest on no physical
foundation (Case).
The Lightning flash leaves behind it a falling
rain of twenty-two Yods, the number of the
Hebrew letters. Ten fall on the side of the
woman, the body. They represent the ten
emanations of the life power required to
construct all human forms. Twelve, the number
of the signs of the Zodiac, fall on the side of the
man. Twelve means the perfect self expression
of these ten emanations. Note the expression of
these ten emanations depends not on the
woman but upon the man. She only carries out
his instructions. A man’s body is the result of
his mental images. Just as God’s body (the
manifested universe) is the result of God’s
mental images. The physical depends upon the
metaphysical, upon mental imagery, either of
God or man.
The twenty-two Yods or tongues of flame
represent the twenty-two letters in this
alphabet. These tongues of flames also refer to
the Hermit, who is a Yod, representing the
response to primal will. When we respond to
the primal will, we receive a flash of
illumination which bears a message that
The Tower 337

awakens us to our true source (Sorer).

Around one person is twelve flames, around the
other is ten flames. This totals twenty two, and
is symbolic of overcoming our negative
hindrances through consideration of the twenty
two keys of life (Oribello).
The twelve drops of light at the left correspond
to the twelve signs of the zodiac. Woven
together, the energies they represent formulate
our psychological and physical make up. The
ten drops of light at the right are a symbol of
the ten concepts of creation. These ten
concepts arranged in a particular order outline
the Tree of Life. These ten points of light are
the primordial seeds upon which all unfolding
laws and principles are founded (D’Agostino).

Falling Figures The falling figures correspond to the chained

prisoners in the Devil. They fall headfirst,
because the sudden influx of spiritual
consciousness represented by the lightning-flash
completely upsets all our old notions about the
relations between subconsciousness and
self-consciousness.
This domination of personality by emotion, and
by telepathic invasion through
subconsciousness, is overcome by right
knowledge. So is the concealment and division
between consciousness and subconsciousness,
here indicated by the fact that the falling
figures are fully clothed (Case).
The two Falling Figures are the chained man
and woman in the Devil. Note that then they
were nude, but now they are clothed. The
meaning of this symbol is that they are
The Tower 338

ashamed. They cannot sustain their old, simple

frank relations, which they had when they were
animal-humans in the Devil. They are destined
to regain that simple relation on a higher spiral,
as we find in the Lovers. In the long interval
between these two states these partners hide
from each other their intentions.
The figures fall head first. It is intended that
they should fall on their heads, because the
lightning flash of intuition always destroys old
notions and forms new ones. We are obedient
to the heavenly admonition if we make the new
vision permanent. Most people soon forget it,
and rebuild the same old towers, crawl into it
again, and then build up the door after them so
that no new idea can enter (Moore).
The Falling Figures are fully clothed disguising
their true nature from each other and creating
an inharmonious division in their relationship.
Their reciprocal misinterpretation of
experiences erected the false crown above,
which sustains the continuing delusion of the
exclusiveness of personal will (D’Agostino).

Falling Man The Falling Man wears both red and blue, to
show a mixture of conscious and subconscious
activities (Case).
The man wears the feminine robe of blue when
he should be clad in the masculine robe of
yellow. All the desire of the self-conscious,
typified by the red mantle is that he might live
in the body.
The Tower itself is crowned with his crown.
The Tower represents the body.
The man in the card dwells in the appetites of
The Tower 339

the mind, that is, more in his ambitions than in

his body appetites. He has crowned the Tower
(his body) with the crown of intellect, the
yellow of the mind. It is the same yellow as the
lightning flash. The symbolism would be better
if the flash were a pale yellow to associate it
with the Higher Self and not mere intellect
(Moore).

Falling Woman The Falling Woman is shod with red, but wears
a blue robe. The woman, furthermore, is
crowned. In false knowledge, subconscious
motives are permitted to dominate the
personality. Thus people excuse themselves for
unintelligent action by saying, “I can’t help it;
that’s the way I feel.”
The woman is dressed just as she should be, in
blue. The woman wears the crown and not the
man. He has willingly abdicated to her
(Moore).

Flames The Lightning is striking the Tower which

bursts into Flames as it is struck. The Flames
are both red and yellow. Red is the Mars
energy, the yellow is the solar energy (Moore).

Gray Clouds The Gray Clouds speak of the incessant human

attempt to balance the hidden occult forces
veiled in darkness by integrating the knowledge
they embody into conscious perception. The
unknown frightens most human beings, yet
these hidden forces are the source of our
strength and enlightenment, and when
consciously incorporated, understood, and
developed, bring forth the liberation and
freedom we are constantly seeking
(D’Agostino).
The Tower 340

Lightning The Lightning is a masculine symbol. In the

BhagavadGita, Krishna says: “Among weapons,
I am the thunderbolt.” It is interesting to note
that when lightning-flashes, artificially
produced, were photographed at the
Westinghouse laboratories, they were shown to
be spirals, rather than zig-zags. This fact may
have been known to the ancients, for Chaldean
Oracles of Zoroaster speak of the Supreme
Spirit as “the god who energizes a spiral force.”
In olden times lightning was an emblem of
fecundation and nutrition, as we learn from
Plutarch, who says: “The agriculturalists call
the lightning the fertilizer of the waters, and so
regard it.”
The lightning-flash is the power drawn from
above by the Magician. It is the sword of the
Charioteer, the scepter of the Emperor, the
force which turns the Wheel of Fortune, the
scythe of Death, and the light streaming from
the Hermit’s lantern. It breaks down existing
forms in order to make room for new ones.
For Qabalists, the lightning-flash is a symbol of
the tenfold emanation of the Life-power. In the
B.O.T.A. version the thunderbolt is so drawn
that it corresponds to the familiar Qabalistic
diagram of the lightning-flash. Concerning this
The Book of Formation says: “Ten ineffable
Sephiroth (numerations); their appearance is
like that of a flash of lightning, their goal is
infinite.” In terms of consciousness, the
lightning-flash symbolizes a sudden, momentary
glimpse of truth, a flash of inspiration which
breaks down structures of ignorance and false
reasoning (Case).
The Tower 341

The Lightning flash is the same as the power

which is drawn down by the Magician. It is the
same thing as is symbolized by the sceptre of
the Emperor, and by the wand of the
Charioteer. It is the trampling in the onward
march of the horse of Death. The Lightning
Flash is the universal fundamental masculine
principle – the Tower represents the universal
fundamental feminine principle. In the
Magician card the Tower is the Garden. In the
Emperor, the Tower is represented by the
Throne on which he is seated. In the Chariot
the Tower is the same as the Chariot. In the
Wheel of Fortune, it is the Wheel itself, it is the
manifestation of evolution. In the Death card it
is all these figures that are trampled down by
the White Horse (Moore).
The fork of Lightning is the flash of illumination
which splits hell open and breaks down existing
forms to make way for the new. It represents
the flash of vision which causes us to change
and live our own chosen way (Sharman-Burke).
Toppling the crown, the descending Lightning
Flash signifies a selected course of action.
Arriving at its destination, the Lightning Flash
assembles into the form of an arrowhead
implying the concentration of power.
Manifesting as the electrical substance of our
thoughts, this fire from heaven is a projection
and extension of the Spiritual Sun within
(D’Agostino).
Tower The Tower has the same basic meaning as the
garden of the Magician, the throne of the
Emperor, the turning Wheel, the field in Death.
It is subconsciousness, considered as the
The Tower 342

root-substance which takes form, first as mental

images, and ultimately as physical things. From
moment to moment, throughout all time, it is
being transformed. It is the Prakriti of the
Hindus, concerning which it is written: “True
knowledge makes Prakriti disappear, first as
containing Purusha (the I am), and then as
separate from Purusha.”
The Tower is reared on a lonely peak, and
suggests the fallacy of personal isolation which
is the basis of all false philosophy (Case).
The Tower crowns an inaccessible peak
seemingly made of glass. There is no way to
climb up to it. If you could climb up the peak,
there is no door in sight, and the windows are
very high up. The two occupants of this Tower
have fenced themselves off from the rest of the
world. It symbolizes the greatest fallacy of
mankind. No sooner do people get possessions
than they proceed to build around themselves
some sort of wall of distinction. They forget
one thing: when people cannot get at you,
neither can you get at them. These two are
virtually prisoners in the Tower that they have
built with such care and pain to be exclusive.
The Higher Self sees that the only way to get
them out is to hurl them out head first, hoping
they will strike on their heads. Their heads are
made of bone so they need a pretty hard jolt in
order to give up their ideas of separateness.
Here is the self-conscious that has an entirely
erroneous idea of itself. It is impossible to build
up exclusiveness and make itself separate from
everything else. The Higher Self has to adjust
so much of that that it destroys the Tower. You
The Star Maiden 343

have further choice, you can attempt to build

up your Tower again, after it is destroyed, in
the same way.
The Tower is the tower of false reason. False
reason proceeds from the fact that the body
desires are dictating the activity of the mind.
The subconscious should never wear the crown;
to let her do so is lunacy. People who live in
their subconscious imagine that they are in
control, when it is really the body (which is the
product of the subconscious) which is in
control. The occultist is not likely to live in his
subconscious. He is more likely than any other
person to build a tower of separateness, to
consider himself a man of superior knowledge,
set off from other people. He is forgetful of the
principle: “He that is greatest among you let
him serve the rest.” (Moore).
Like the Tower of Babel, this structure is an
expression of confusion and ignorance, founded
on man’s mistaken belief that outer
appearances are the origin of life and activity,
and its sole support (D’Agostino).

Yellow Hair The Yellow Hair of the man and woman

symbolizes the radiant energy of the
Life-Breath as it does in the Empress and in
the Fool (Case).
The Star Maiden 344
The Star Maiden 345

The Star Maiden

The Maiden of the Star depicts our spiritual cultivator. She is that part
of our subconscious which is the impetus for carrying out unification. In
humbleness, the spiritual cultivator waters the earth on her left and pours
water into the pool on her right. The earth corresponds to the dry land, the
(lower) waters, in Genesis chapter 1. The pool corresponds to the (upper)
waters in Genesis. The lower waters constitute the left column of the Tree
of Life. The upper waters constitute the right column of the Tree of Life. It
is the upper waters which were separated from the lower waters in Genesis 1
verse 6.
With this correspondence we can make the following interpretation. The
maiden of the Star constitutes the middle column. With one hand connected
to the left column and one hand connected to the right column, the maiden
of the Star unifies the left with the right. This unification is eternal, tran-
scending time and space.
What we each do does make a difference. And what makes the most
difference are the unifications we cause: unifications uniting upper with lower.
These unifications, however, cannot be done with thought alone. It must be
done with thought, words, and action. It must be done in our physical world
by looking beyond the limitation of external appearance. We must always be
willing to search for a reference frame, a perspective, which puts us beyond
the limitation of what we see. In this way, we can connect to the higher level
infinite essence which is hidden behind every appearance.
From this we learn that the infinite is the inner essence. And that is why
we can only see God from the behind. For what we see is the appearance.
The connection to the essence is not given or inherent in the appearance.
From the backside we cannot tell what is on the front side. The front side,
the essence, is always concealed. By raising our level of consciousness so that
the essence can be grasped, we can act in a way to reveal Godliness. And
this constitutes the union of that which is above to that which is below.
The interesting question, then is, how can we raise our level of conscious-
ness so that we can make unification. We can only do this by clearing our
mind, disconnecting its attention from our emotional state. This is the value
of meditation techniques, for they give us practice in clearing the mind. The
The Star Maiden 346

meditation associated with the Star Maiden, however, is not the meditation
practice of clearing the mind. Rather it is the moving point meditation of
clearing the mind in the midst of living through the situation we are in. The
clear mind can then establish the focus which is how to get to the essence.
The essence is always the Divine Benevolence that is continuously being given
to us. Freed from all limiting assumptions, and the judgements arising from
them, intuition and reason is able to determine what to do, even in difficult
and trying circumstances. The doing that reveals Godliness is the action
below. The unifying we have been discussing is the corresponding action
above.
The Star Maiden 347

General Discussion Quotes

Ussher says that the Star

is like a variant of ‘Time’, only that the figure is here no angel but
a naked maiden who empties both her vessels – the one into a lake,
the other upon the ground. She rests on one knee at the water’s
edge, amidst an undulating landscape crowned with a flowering
bush, on which a bird or butterfly has alighted. The sky is almost
entirely filled by eight stars, one of them of remarkable effulgency.
This is a card of Evening – or, what is the same thing, of Science
and Enlightenment.

Javane and Bunker say that the

Star key explains the fifth or celestial essence, which is above and
beyond the four elements of fire, earth, air and water.

Gray says that the Star

is the key of meditation showing us that meditation modifies and

transmutes the personal expressions of cosmic energy that pour
down upon the maiden. If we will but listen, the Truth will unveil
itself to us in the silence. From the record of nature’s memory,
symbolized by the scroll of the High Priestess, we gain wisdom,
out of which meditation develops specific powers by controlling
the animal forces in human personality as pictured in Strength.

D’Agostino says that

The most important lesson we can derive from this card is the
correct procedure and application in the art of meditation. True
meditation is an active pursuit with a single objective in mind.
...
Having equipped ourselves with reliable knowledge, we focus our
consciousness by an act of attention on a selected point of inquiry,
and hold it there. This single occupation of consciousness seals off
our senses from outer distraction, redirecting them inwardly. The
The Star Maiden 348

gradual descent into the depths of the mind stirs the unconscious
into action, attracting all relevant images directly associated with
our central thought. This progression is pictorially displayed by
the water falling from the vase into the center of the pool, agitat-
ing its substance and causing concentric circles to form. As we
mentally follow this unbroken flow of images, we eventually arrive
at its very essence. Here, we observe the seed idea in its pristine
state, free from distortions fabricated by the misinterpretations of
personality. Elaboration of these illuminating perceptions induce
adjustments in personality which, in effect, synchronize a portion
of our consciousness with the universal principles.
Waite says that for the prepared mind the maiden
will appear as the type of Truth unveiled, glorious in undying
beauty, pouring on the waters of the soul some part and mea-
sure of her priceless possession. But she is in reality the Great
Mother in the Kabbalistic Sephirah Binah, which is supernal Un-
derstanding, who communicates to the Sephiroth that are below
in the measure that they can receive her influx.
Sharman-Burke says that
The Star has always been an emblem of hope and promise; a light
to steer by. The wise men followed the bright star to Bethlehem;
astrologers gain knowledge through charting the movement of the
heavenly bodies; mariners use the stars to set their ships’ courses.
Even popular songs tell us that if you wish upon a star, your
dreams come true.
Sharman-Burke relates the Star with
the Star of Isis, goddess of Egypt. During the dry season in
Egypt, the land became parched and barren, so that even the
great river Nile would shrink dramatically. The people would
fear starvation until the longed for Star of Isis would appear and
herald the coming of rain to replenish the river and put new life
back into the dead lands. The people of Egypt rejoiced and were
filled with awe of the ‘magic of Isis.’
The Star Maiden 349

Each man needs a goal, an aim toward which to strive. We all

need faith, and the belief that our hopes and wishes will be ful-
filled, that our dreams will come true. The Star is symbolic of
that faith, that hope. Without the inspiration of the Star, life
would become dull and lack-luster. The Star provides that little
bit of magic which spurs us on and keeps us going in times of
stress and doubt. The faith that things can improve is essential
in difficult times, and the Star is that emblem of the inner light
which guides us.
Case says that the Star
shows the third stage of spiritual unfoldment. It is the calm which
follows the storm depicted by Tower. It is a period of quest and
search. The light is dim, like starlight, but these stars are distant
suns. Thus it is written: “When you have found the beginning of
the way, the star of your soul will show its light.”
Nichols describes the Star in the following way.
The woman is kneeling beside a stream, pouring water in a ritual
way from two red urns so that one jet of water flows back into
the stream and the other falls onto the earth. She appears at the
point where the living water of the collective unconscious touches
the earth of individual human reality. She is concerned with both,
and through her ministrations the two interact creatively. The
water that falls on the earth nourishes whatever seeds lie dormant
there. The water from the other jug, now aerated and purified,
flows back into the common stream to revivify and replenish it.
Psychologically speaking, the kneeling figure might be dividing
and sorting out insights newly available to consciousness, sepa-
rating out the personal from the transpersonal. ... Meditating
on its meaning, both humanly and symbolically, she relates the
external happening to the internal psychic situation with which
it corresponds. ... In her calm, natural setting there is room for
contemplation and space for silent growth. ...
The woman is an archetypal creature of the deeps. She lives and
moves in the timeless world of the planets ... She moves beyond
The Star Maiden 350

time, subject only to nature’s rhythm. Like the woman in this

picture, our inner woman matches her rhythm to the motions
of the stars. The archetypal figure is an important part of the
psyche, but when the ego is overactive, we sometimes lose contact
with her: when the ego is depotentiated, as happens in The Star,
we can find her again. ...
Stars are pinpoints of illumination scaled down to human dimen-
sions. Unlike the lightning in the previous card, starlight cannot
blind or destroy man. Unlike sunlight, it cannot wither and burn.
Like the Hermit’s lamp each star offers us limited and controlled
illumination – spiritual insight – dismembered into small pieces
suitable for human assimilation. Their ever changing yet pre-
destined pattern sheds light on the unique moment of ordinary
time; but the light that reaches us today from the stars began its
voyage to earth milleniums ago. In this way, the stars connect
each individual moment with transcendental time. They shed the
wisdom of old knowledge upon our current dilemmas. ...
In this phase the hero, like many seekers today, will move away
from fascination with outer nature toward exploration of inner
nature, from ego concerns to relationships, ultimately combining
and unifying all experience, inner and outer, to create a new
world.
Indeed the Star Woman appears to have begun this task. For
although she concentrates her activities on the water and earth,
the stars and the wide sky are also prominently featured in the
picture. One feels that with her help all four functions of the
psyche will move toward integration.10 Despite the fact that the
ego is ‘out of the picture,” perhaps even because this is the case,
it can now become passively aware of an expanding universe with
dimensions hitherto undreamed. Flat on its back, the ego cannot
participate in ordinary human activity; it can only lie inert in
a deep depression. When the ego is immobilized, intuitions are
free to soar. At this point the ego begins to be filled with a new
10
The four functions are sensing, feeling, thinking, and intuiting.
The Star Maiden 351

sense of destiny and to experience its individual fate as part of

the universal design. Purely ego-centered ambitions are now lost
in contemplation of the stars, and life begins to revolve around a
new center.
It is only through the inner images of the unconscious that such
realizations can shine forth. The night light of fantasy, rather
than the searching beam of consciousness, reconnects us with the
eternal wisdom of our inner constellations. These inner eyes never
sleep; they glow within us all the time. But sometimes we lose
contact with them. Only through our natural eros side can we
get in touch with our psychic heavens. This way of connecting –
fluid rather than static, contemplative rather than rational – is
pictured here as pouring. ...
As he [the hero] watches the Star Woman at her cyclic pouring,
he begins to understand that the journey toward consciousness
is itself a continuous circular process. As soon as one uncov-
ers, recognizes, and integrates an aspect of the hidden shadow
side, another, hitherto unrecognized, comes to light. Each sud-
den breakthrough of illumination, like the disastrous one pictured
in The Tower, brings with it new archetypal contents to be assim-
ilated and integrated. Now the hero begins to view his journey
as a series of such breakthroughs followed by periods of relative
calm and integration. He no longer imagines the lightning to be
an irrational act of the gods, an undeserved bolt from the blue.
Neither does he experience it as a vindictive punishment for his
many sins. Rather, he accepts his present situation as part of
a meaningful design, a necessity, a challenge, and an opportu-
nity. Deep in his heart a sense of life’s meaning shines forth to
illuminate his suffering and make it bearable.

Moore says that the Star

stands for the occult extension of the function of thought. The

function of thought is raised to its highest degree in what we
call Occult Meditation. Everyone knows that you cannot think
without keeping your emotions still. Even ordinary thinking is
The Star Maiden 352

blinded by emotions and that refers to our prejudices too. That is

only half the story. Not only are most people’s thinking controlled
by their prejudices for and against, but in addition most people
think in accordance with their wishes. Some “wit” has said,“Most
people think with their wishbones.” They think what they want
to think. They do not think in accordance with mental processes
but with their emotional processes and desires. It is necessary,
then, to quiet the emotions for ordinary thinking. For occult
meditation it is not only necessary to quiet the emotions, but to
quiet all the mind, the rest of the mind. ...
Thought in its lowest form cannot exist unless you control the
mind, unless you keep it from running around everywhere. You
cannot pay attention unless you control your eyes. Attention
means “to make your eyes behave,” and then you have to make
your brain behave too. You have to make your mind behave
to accept the testimony of the brain. You cannot do the most
ordinary thinking without control of the mind and control of the
emotions. ...
Meditation means the strictest most strenuous control of the
mind. Meditation is thought at its highest scope. It depends
on concentration, the flow of mental images is ceaseless. Unless
you restrain it, it is not concentration. Meditation depends first
upon concentration. You must learn to keep your mind to one
thing. The mental images are constantly in flux and you have to
keep that still. Mental image activity is always on jump; if left
alone you can think of 20 dozen things in a few moments. Your
mind leaps from one thing to another, until you have traveled
thousands of miles away from where you started out.
Meditation is the deliberate limitation of this activity to one se-
lected point of thought. You look at one thought. ...
We can always keep our bodies elastic, and capable of readjust-
ment to change, if we can get in touch with the solvent which
flows through us, the Cosmic Mind.
It merely flows through us; it cannot be retained in any container.
The Star Maiden 353

We can seize it as it flows. If we can make connection with it,

we can apply it to any condition to help us solve that condition
or dissolve it. We make connection with it self-consciously only
when we deliberately cease all personal mental activity. Medi-
tation must be preceded by stilling the Waters of the intellect
(the personal mind), which are always in motion until we deliber-
ately still them so that the Waters of the Cosmic Mind can flow
through unimpeded.

Connolly gives the following meditation for the Star.

Trying to comprehend the universal consciousness, we must rec-

ognize that it is far beyond our own understanding. We cannot
possibly comprehend the intellect of the Superconscious with our
earthly minds. Consequently, we must learn to pierce the dark-
ness by submitting ourselves completely to the God force. We
must go to the source without question, for we could not un-
derstand the answer. By submitting our spirits to the Heavenly
Spirit, we will lose our petty desires and earthly concerns. The
first part of our heavenly journey will make us aware of our own
individuality, and by concentrating on the pure essence of life,
we will merge slowly and beautifully with the God force. As this
miracle of true belonging takes place, we will become stronger
and stronger – the universal forces will absorb every atom of our
being. In this journey of consciousness, we will touch the mercy
of God and experience for a short time the true meaning of Love.
As we progress, we will also know the true meaning of pain. In
all our meditations using the Star as our spiritual focus, we will
arrive back at earthly consciousness more aware and thankful for
the many blessings that have been given to us.
The Star Maiden 354

Symbolism

Blue Background The Blue Background indicates that the action

in the Star relates to cosmic subconsciousness.

Ibis Behind the maiden the sacred Ibis of thought

rests on a tree (mind) (Gray).
The bird on the bush is a scarlet Ibis. This is
the Egyptian bird sacred to Hermes, the
Magician. Its long bill is a natural fish-hook.
Perched on a tree which represents the human
brain and nervous system, it symbolizes the act
of bringing intellectual activity, or the
thought-process, to rest by concentration. We
have to stop thinking in order to meditate
properly, and when we stop thinking Truth
unveils herself to us (Case).
The Ibis is a fishing bird, emphasizing searching
and probing (Javane and Bunker).
Above the tree is a bird, believed to be the
legendary Phoenix, symbol of regeneration
(Oribello).
There is a red bird perched on top of the part
of the tree representing the thinking lobe of the
brain. This is the Ibis, or the fish catcher.
The Ibis is called a wader, and it does a great
deal of wading in order to catch a fish. This is
another bit of humor. One must do a great deal
of sterile work before he can successfully
meditate. The preparatory work is so tiresome
and so sleep-producing. So much practice work
must be waded through before you can produce
results, analogous to five-finger exercises before
you can play a composition on the piano. Only
The Star Maiden 355

those who have an intense desire persevere

enough to go through the preparatory stage
(Moore).
The Ibis is the Ibis of immortality, sacred bird
of Thoth, god of all arts. The bird is a symbol
of the spirit’s ability to rise to high levels of
emotional and spiritual consciousness
(Sharman-Burke).

Jugs The Maiden is pouring water from two Jugs.

They are curiously made, to look like sponges.
A sponge sucks in water and gives it out again.
The idea here suggests a pulsating action and
reaction, each the consequence of the other
(Moore).

Land The Land represents the personality, or the

3-fold body: the physical, emotional, and
mental body. (Moore).

Maiden A beautiful Maiden kneels with one knee on the

land and one foot in the water. The earth
supports her weight, but she balances herself on
the water of the subconscious. She is the
Empress and Mother Nature pouring the waters
of life onto the material earth (Gray).
The Maiden expresses eternal youth and
beauty. She communicates to the living scene
the substance of the heavens and the elements
(Waite).
The Maiden represents the subconscious mind
which shows that all secrets are available if you
fish in the proper manner. Her left leg, holding
her weight, forms a right angle or square,
hinting at the number 4, order and reason.
The Star Maiden 356

Resting on the water, her right foot shows that

the mind sustains her.
She pours water, her mental powers, on land
and sea, indicating the pouring of knowledge
over humanity everywhere (Javane and
Bunker).
The superconscious mind appears as the
Maiden. She has her right foot in the water
(symbolic of spiritual thought), and kneeling on
her left knee upon dry ground. She pours water
from two pitchers (symbolic of the conscious
and subconscious). This resembles the card of
Temperance, and the scene reveals the principle
of balance.
From the pitcher in her right hand she pours
water into a larger body of water symbolic of
the purified subconscious mind contributing a
portion of its developed wisdom to the mass
consciousness, or universal subconscious mind.
The Maiden’s knee upon the earth is symbolic
of the virtue of humility in our life (Oribello).
The Maiden is Hathor, or Mother Nature. In
some respects we may identify her with the
Empress. In others she corresponds to the High
Priestess. She is also the woman who in
Strength tames the lion and opens his mouth.
For meditation is largely the utilization and
direction of the powers of deduction and
imagination peculiar to subconsciousness. The
knowledge gained in meditation is gleaned from
the imperishable record of the memory of
nature symbolized by the scroll of the High
Priestess. Furthermore, meditation develops
specific powers, and does this by controlling the
The Star Maiden 357

animal forces in human personality, as pictured

in Strength.
The left knee of the Maiden, supporting her
weight, rests on earth. Her right knee, bent to
form the angle of a square, is over the pool, and
her right foot rests on the surface of the water.
Thus the earth supports her weight, but she
balances herself by water. That is, sensations
derived from physical forms are the main
support of meditation, but these are balanced
by experience gained direct from
subconsciousness (Case).
The Maiden is nude and typifies nature. She is
a combination of the Empress and the High
Priestess. One half of her, we might say, is the
High Priestess (the half with the foot on the
water) and the other half of her is the Empress
(the half with her foot on the land.) That is
your Intellectual Subconscious. She is unlike
the picture of the Empress and the High
Priestess in that here she is unveiled. Nature
shows herself to us as she is in meditation. She
unveils herself when we have so transmuted our
bodies so as to be fit to receive the truth.
Meditation consists in restoring to the Empress
the power of her Mother, the Cosmic Mind and
Memory. First, fructifying the land by pouring
water upon it, and under her ministration
flowers are springing up. The Land is stippled,
like the land in the Emperor card, to represent
a desert. It is she who brings reason to flower;
without her it would be sterile.
The other hand of the Maiden is pouring into
the pool of the cosmic mind-stuff, and stirring
it to new vibratory waves thereby. This means
The Star Maiden 358

that a human being who has developed the

power to do so can directly, by use of his body
as the Great Magical Agent alter the cosmic
mind-stuff. He can work it up into new forms
and “become a co-worker with God” to forward
evolution on the physical plane.
Toward this action the gaze of the woman is
directed and not towards the fructification of
the land. This indicates where her chief interest
lies. The improvement of the body is merely a
means to an end. The end is to assist in the
evolution of all matter.
The Maiden is posed in a very peculiar way.
One knee rests upon the earth and her weight is
on this. She depends chiefly upon the body to
help her. Her right foot rests upon the surface
of the pool. In these two respects she is the
opposite of the Angel or Higher Self in
Temperance, whose left foot touches the land
lightly, while his weight is on his right foot
which is submerged in the pool. The masculine
principle and the feminine principle, wherever
they exist in nature, work in opposite ways,
each by means of the other. If the woman had
her foot submerged in the water the picture
would not portray the fact that her reliance is
upon the land. Also, it would be impossible to
indicate that her two knees are exactly
balanced.
Furthermore, there is another reason. She keeps
her balance by her understanding of her
Mother, the High Priestess. She is filled with
the understanding of the Mother’s perfect laws.
It is through her understanding that we are
able to meditate and learn the truth about
The Star Maiden 359

nature. She lays the truth on to us. That is

why she is depicted as naked in this card.
There is no concealment in her. You can see
that she is not nature herself from the piece of
symbolism described in the Devil card. She has
a navel; she is man-made (Moore).
The nudity of the Maiden represents truth
unveiled; she has no need of protective
garments for she has nothing to fear and
nothing to hide. She is young, for she stands for
renewal (Sharman-Burke).
The Maiden is another phase of the High
Priestess who, as the Egyptian Isis, lifts a
corner of her veil to reveal an aspect of her
powers, or the Empress, as the mythological
Venus, born from the foam of the sea, unfolding
the mysteries of the universe. She kneels with
her left leg on the earth, and places her right
foot on the pool of water, indicating that the
harmonious balance of the physical and mental
worlds is established through the unconscious
(D’Agostino).

Mountain The Mountain in the background is a symbol of

the Great Work (Case). The Great Work is the
Great Work of Alchemy: the transmutation of
that which is base to that which is noble. That
which is base in us is an emotional expression
which comes about as a reflex expression of ego
rather than an expression of the place we have
put our mind.
Under the star, which represents the
transformed heart, is a pinkish Mountain which
is the same mountain that you see in the card
the Lovers. It is red-on-blue, and symbolizes
The Star Maiden 360

the mineral kingdom made active. To work

miracles, or to magically create, is the work of
the transformed heart (Moore).

Rivulets The five Rivulets represent the five senses

before they run into the pool of the Universal
Consciousness (Gray).
The stream of water flowing from the pitcher in
the left hand divides into five Rivulets, which
flow back to the pool along the ground. They
indicate the fact that meditation also modifies
sensation, and unfolds higher and subtler types
of sense experience (Case).
The water on land divides into five Rivulets
representing the five senses (Javane and
Bunker).
From the pitcher in her left hand, the Maiden
pours water on the earth and the water breaks
up into five streams, symbolic of the purified
five senses (Oribello).
The five Rivulets stand for the five senses
(Sharman-Burke).
The contents of the vase in the Maiden’s left
hand fall onto the earth whereby it separates
into five Rivulets, which indirectly flow back
into the pool. All our perceptions of the world
of sensation are based upon impressions we
receive through the channels of the five senses,
yet their substance in essence is also derived
from, and consequently returns to, the pool
(D’Agostino).

Pool The Pool is the universal consciousness, or

reservoir of cosmic mind-stuff, which is stirred
into vibration by the act of meditation. This is
The Star Maiden 361

indicated by the stream of water flowing into

the pool from the right-hand pitcher. It
indicates direct modification of the cosmic
mind-stuff, apart from sensory experience
(Case).
The Pool the Maiden kneels beside might be
the Pool of memory, which, although situated
in the twilight realm of the underworld, has its
water replenished by Mnemosyne, goddess of
memory. The Fool drinks of these waters so as
not to forget his underworld experience
(Sharman-Burke).
As the actions of this woman designate, from
this Pool the two modes of personality11 draw
all their knowledge, and seeds of innovations to
be evolved. In turn, all human experiences as
they unfold are simultaneously incorporated,
and collectively preserved, in this universal
unconscious treasurehouse of images
(D’Agostino).

Stars In the sky are seven small eight-pointed stars

and a large one, all representing radiant cosmic
energy. The seven smaller stars correspond to
the seven chakras of the body (Gray).
There are seven small eight-pointed stars which
represent the awakened seven psychic centers
within man. In the center is a large
eight-pointed star, symbolic of us reaching a
state of at-one-ment with all levels of our being.
The eight-pointed star is a symbol of
regeneration and immortality (Oribello).
The great yellow star signifies the cosmic
radiant energy which is sent forth from the
11
The two modes of personality are the intellect and the emotions.
The Star Maiden 362

various suns and fixed stars of the universe. It

has eight points. Thus its geometrical
construction is like that of the Wheel of
Fortune, or the symbols of Spirit embroidered
on the dress of the Fool. This star symbolizes
the solar energy.
The seven smaller stars refer to the seven
“interior stars,” which are the same as the
“chakras” mentioned by the Hindu occultists.
They are also the “metals” of alchemy, and the
planets of esoteric astrology. They are: Sacral
plexus, Saturn, Lead, Muladhara chakra;
Prostatic ganglion (below the navel), Mars,
Iron, Svadistthana chakra; Solar Plexus,
Jupiter, Tin, Manipura chakra; Cardiac plexus,
Sun, Gold, Anahata chakra; Pharyngeal plexus,
Venus, Copper or Brass, Visuddhi chakra;
Pituitary, or post-nasal ganglion, Moon, Silver,
Ajna chakra; Pineal gland, Mercury,
Quicksilver, Sahasrara chakra. They are shown
white, to indicate purification (Case).
The seven white Stars represent the seven
purified centers and their perfect action, when
purified, produces the eighth star. This star is
yellow, to show that it is on the mental plane.
All the stars are eight-pointed. Eight means the
perfect transmutation of the Solar Energy.
Solar energy, however imperfectly transmuted,
constitutes the life of all things. The
eight-pointed stars repeat the same idea as the
eight-spoked Wheel of Fortune and the
eight-spoked wheels on the robe of the Fool and
the eight-pointed star in the crown of the
Charioteer.
The stars are curiously arranged: six in a
The Star Maiden 363

semi-circle, holding a large yellow one, and

another white one on the right side, outside of
the semi-circle. The six stars are the centers,
the ones you were born with. The other two
you make yourself. You purify and vivify six,
but you actually create the seventh yellow star,
which represents the awakened Pineal and
Pituitary functioning as one. You also create
the transformed heart from a masculine to a
feminine organ. This is symbolized by putting
the heart star on the right side instead of the
left where it actually is. Right in symbology is
masculine and left is feminine (Moore).
The great star has eight points representing
rotation. The seven lesser stars refer to the
seven bodily centers which are really whorls of
motion and vibration (Javane and Bunker).
The large eight-pointed Star is the
Quintessence of Being. The smaller Stars are
the differentiation of the Quintessence into the
seven interior planets or chakras of yoga. These
planetary forces have corresponding centers in
our physical body. During meditation these
forces combine to initiate certain chemical and
electrical changes in the organism. These
changes permanently instituted, bring about
those supernormal powers we so often read and
hear of (D’Agostino).
Tree On the highest part of the land is a Tree whose
formation shows it to be the brain with its two
lobes. It is the thinking lobe of the brain,
controlled by will. All personal thought in it
ceases. This permits it to capture the ideas
which are the result of successful meditation
(Moore).
The Star Maiden 364

There is a tree in the background which breaks

out into three main branches, symbolic of the
mind, divided into three levels, yet one, as the
three branches come from one trunk (Oribello).

Vases The two vases she holds contain the total

elements of personality. With the vase in her
right hand, she pours our unconscious contents
into the pool to signify that their substance is
of similar nature. The vase in her left hand
embodies the accumulated perceptions of our
self-consciousness (D’Agostino).

Yellow Hair The Maiden who kneels upon the land has
yellow hair which indicates that she is the
Empress, but she is now at one with the High
Priestess (Moore).
The Moon 365
The Moon 366
The Moon 367

The Moon
The Moon, which reflects the light of the Sun, shines in the dark, during
nighttime. And sometimes she can even be seen in the light, during daytime.
To understand the Moon, therefore, requires understanding what is light,
what is darkness, what is the Sun, what is reflection, what is daytime, and
what is nighttime.
Light symbolizes connection to God. When the light comes from the
Sun, it is the connection from the Divine to us. When the light comes from
the Moon, it is the connection of us to the Divine. For the light of the
Moon is the feminine waters. When the Moon shines the feminine waters
are raised and this opens the gates of heaven thrusting the masculine waters,
the beneficence of God, down upon us. This is daytime.
In this context, light symbolizes the control of the will over the ego.
Moonlight symbolizes the visible reflected Divine light, the light of the Sun,
which occurs when the will controls and limits the ego so that our thoughts
speech, and action are intended for Divine service.
In its dark Moon phase, the Moon does not shine. Here the resulting
darkness symbolizes the lack of control that the will has over the ego. In
these cases, the intent behind the thought, speech, or action is not for the
purpose of revealing the light. Hence no light is revealed. No light returns
or is reflected home. In these cases, the darkness permeates the thought,
speech, and action and annihilates it into spiritual non-existence. This is
nighttime.
Associated with this annihilation is the gradual subconscious destruction
of the physical environment or physical structures we set up which support
the intent of thinking, speaking, or acting in a way not directed for Divine
service. These structures are destroyed by the all-consuming fire.
From this point of view what is interesting about the Moon is how and
why we can sometimes have an intent which is directed toward the Divine
and sometimes not directed toward the Divine. That is, how we can have an
intent which transcends the physical and how we can have an intent which
is limited to the physical.
To understand this we have to understand that we have free will and the
choice is always before us:
The Moon 368

• to think, say, or do that which can reflect the light;

• to think, say, or do that which will not reflect the light.

And the choice which we do is always a free choice. There is nothing which
forces us to choose one way or the other. We only experience the urge from
each of our conscious sides: the holy side, and the other side. And these
urges do not and cannot identify themselves one saying “I am from the holy
side: think, say, or do, thus and so.” And the other side saying “I am from
the other side: think, say, or do thus and so.” Rather, they each urge their
thus and so as best as they can. Even with correct intent, it may be hard
for the intellect to discern one from the other.
Our intellectual discernment must be based on wisdom, understanding
and knowledge. When the wisdom, understanding and knowledge are of
worldliness, our discernment will be worldly. When the wisdom, understand-
ing and knowledge are of Godliness, our discernment will be directed toward
the Divine. So the long term issue is to discipline ourselves and to open up
ourselves to consciously, incrementally, and consistently bring Godly wisdom,
understanding, and knowledge to our spiritual temple, our spiritual home.
We do this by bringing into our heart the kind of love that is directly as-
sociated with our willingness to surrender the other side to the all-consuming
fire. For holiness, the indwelling of God’s presence, dwells only in that which
has been surrendered. When we do not surrender (and having the intent of
raising ourselves, however worthy it is, is not surrendering) we think of our
selves as entities separate from God. In this case, our will is not aligned with
God’s will and in us there is no place for the dwelling of God. Here there is
the exile of the Shechinah, dpik, from God. Here there is the dark Moon.
When we become humble and sacrifice the ego’s worldly desires, we sur-
render to the all-consuming fire, but we are not consumed. Then there is
founded a love of Godliness and our choice will be directed toward the Di-
vine. Here, what we do is for the sake of Heaven. Here there is the union of
God, dedi, and His Shechinah, dpik. Here there is a full Moon.
The Moon 369

General Discussion Quotes

Moore says that:
The Moon superimposed on the Sun counterparts the serpent
projecting itself into the blue sea. The twin energies which must
act together as two aspects (masculine and feminine) of the same
energy, are required to cooperate in a sex union for the making
of any body in the stupendous list of bodies, beginning with the
stellar nebulas to the very last perfected one in the cycle of man-
ifestation. The one energy, which actuates all things, cannot be
separated from the body and action of the tiniest, invisible bac-
terium or from one of the thirty trillion cells which composes the
human organism or the body and action of the largest star. These
are all inseparable from the one energy whose body is the Uni-
verse itself! The consciousness of every atom in that Universe,
the consciousness of every cell of your body, the consciousness
of your entire body as one entity, all are precisely similar to the
consciousness on the part of the one energy of its body, the Uni-
verse. Each and every body employs the degree of consciousness
suitable to it, and that consciousness has gathered around itself
the body in which it functions. ...
... the expanding of consciousness ... has constructed itself an
appropriate body to manifest in. Spirit and body are the aspect
of the One Reality. The reason for a body is that the Spirit must
have some vehicle for expressing itself. Spirit cannot come out
into manifestation unless it has a body. Consequently, the One
energy, in order to manifest, divided itself into equal halves. The
second half (which the Christian theology calls the Holy Ghost)
provided the body for the first half in which to manifest. It con-
structed the body, but the first half (which the Christian theology
calls God the Father) provided the pattern for that body. The
body itself was then constructed by the union; Christian theology
calls God the Son.
To construct any body requires the utmost employment of two
Intelligences, that of the Spirit and that of Matter. The Intel-
The Moon 370

ligence of one is no less or no greater than the Intelligence of

the other; they merely express themselves differently. The first
expressing itself in devising, the second in executing. ...
We have now arrived at a point in our individual evolution where
we have to take a conscious part in future development. This card
refers to the means and mechanics by which bodies are adapted to
finer and higher forms of Spirit. We supply the Spirit and nature
supplies the body. She needs, however, no instructions from us.
Subconsciousness knows already what to do, and the same law by
which she had built our highly complex organism out of simple
cells, will also work the farther changes.
What then does Nature need, and where is the necessity for our
taking a hand? Nature needs but one thing from us, the creative
imagination. The tools she has, but we must commission her to
use them. It is the visualization of the ardent desire to build
a better body which enables nature to set about getting one.
Unless she is thus stimulated, she will not furnish a better body
that you will acquire by the ordinary process of her evolution. To
speed her up requires that you cultivate the visual imagination,
and visualize the result you wish to be achieved. All the people
who have trod this path, which leads up to the superhuman body,
have left us word that this is the only way it can be procured.
They were once where we are not, and they built it only by the
aid of the creative imagination.
Is that anything new? Throughout the entire evolution of the
organic world, organism has been built only in response to the
ardent feeling of need. When you intend your mind on the man-
ifestations of something beyond your limit, your subconscious at
once seeks to provide you the means to do so. It will not start
going in that direction until the conscious mind has made con-
siderable progress in picturing expectantly what it desires. The
Moon is reflected light; it follows the conscious mind. Its light
comes, in the first place, from the the Sun. The conscious mind
stimulates the subconscious mind to begin to build the kind of
body that will express the image you have habitually impressed
The Moon 371

upon it. She has already the tools for doing so, but they need to
be quickened by you into a new use. ...
Reflection is the outstanding note of this card. The Moon is re-
flecting the Sun, and she, herself, is reflecting upon the path of
better bodies (which corresponds to the growing body conscious-
ness), the Yods, or the images, of the Father are made flesh by
the Mother. Reflect upon your image and your body will respond
to it, by reflecting also.

Case says that the Moon:

represents the fourth stage of spiritual unfoldment, wherein the

knowledge gained by meditation is incorporated into the bodily
organism. It is the stage of body-building, or organization in
accordance with subconscious mental patterns.

Waite says the Moon:

represents life of the imagination apart from life of the spirit.

The intellectual light is a reflection and beyond it is the unknown
mystery which it cannot shew forth. It illuminates our animal
nature, types of which are represented below – the dog, the wolf
and that which comes up out of the deeps, the nameless and
hideous tendency which is lower than the savage beast. It strives
to attain manifestation, symbolized by crawling from the abyss
of water to the land, but as a rule it sinks back whence it came.
The face of the mind directs a calm gaze upon the unrest below;
the dew of thought falls; the message is: Peace, be still; and it
may be that there shall come a calm upon the animal nature,
while the abyss beneath shall cease from giving up a form.

Ussher says:

The Moon does not so much shine as shed leprous flakes of light
– in some versions they are blood-drops. It is the ‘waning Moon’
of Coleridge’s famous lines – with, below her, the Pillars of Her-
cules, the limits of the ancient world. Our spirit feels hemmed
in between those twin towers-in -arms, as between two absolutes
The Moon 372

or logical alternatives; and [in] the relativism, which is subtly-

adaptive, life appears, as yet, only in the ignoble guise of ‘com-
promise.’ With this Card we know at once where we are; it is
the age of Power-ideology and the Guilt complex – of The Castle
and The Beast from the Abyss – the fable, not of Grimm (like
‘the Fool’) nor of Aesop (like ‘Strength’) but of Kafka. This is
the obverse and conclusion of the Era of Enlightenment.
Sharman-Burke explains that
The Moon shines down upon the scene, revealing her three faces:
new, full and old, which correspond to the faces of woman: virgin,
mother and hag. Mythically, each face can be compared to a
goddess; Artemis, the virgin moon goddess for the new moon;
Demeter, the earth-mother goddess, for the full moon; Hecate,
witch-enchantress goddess for the dark face of the moon. The
three faces reveal the three aspects of femininity: the virgin, full
of potential waiting to be fulfilled: the mother, potential fulfilled;
the hag, potential shriveled up or wasted.
The Moon is the mistress of the night, the womb to which men
return each night to rest, sleep and dream. The Moon was once
thought of as the home of the dead, for it was believed that
the dying would leave their bodies and be drawn up to the moon
where they would be kept safe until time was ripe for rebirth. The
Moon was thus seen as the womb which gave forth new life as well
as taking it away. She was worshipped as the great mother from
whom all life sprang and to whom all life returned. The Moon
rules the waxing and waning rhythms of life, of tides and all
natural cycles. The Moon also symbolizes feelings and emotions
which are by nature volatile, nebulous and uncertain. She rules
the realm of unconscious thought, dream and fantasy, and as the
High Priestess signified the wisdom of the unconscious revealed
in a controlled way, the Moon symbolizes the unconscious in its
unpredictable and uncontrolled aspects. These aspects need to
be transformed into wisdom but if they are all able to function
together harmoniously they can form part of the well-integrated
personality.
The Moon 373

D’Agostino discusses the Moon from the point of view of climbing the
path. He says that the climb
is not a straight upward climb. Rather the path follows undu-
lating ground, leading us to experience a succession of ascents
and descents, revealing a certain psychological force at work. ...
However, after a time our achievements come to rest and further
advancement necessitates the assimilation of new knowledge, and
the formation of new habits. ... We cannot always be climbing.
When we reach as plateau of arrested progress, we must stand
steadfast. Those who do not understand the law represented
here, become discouraged and drop out. All things have their
ebb and flow, flux and reflux, their pendulum-like swing between
opposite poles. The Moon, with its waxing and waning phases is
an appropriate symbol of this Universal Law of Rhythm.
Javane and Bunker relate the Moon to evolutionary growth and development.
The keywords are organization and sleep. The function of the
Moon is sleep, and, during sleep, waste is eliminated and new
materials are woven into the body. Consciousness continues while
the upper brain cells rest. It is during sleep that our aspirations
and efforts are being built into the body cells. What we think
and do all day goes on influencing the body while we sleep. Every
cell is a center of consciousness, and every cell contains spirit. ...
Many symbols here show that we can change the outward struc-
ture of things. They are proof that the same changes may be
accomplished within the body through organization and cultiva-
tion.
Oribello says that
The Moon has a bright side and a dark side. As it rotates we
see, at one point, half of the bright and half of the dark. We call
this a half Moon. When the dark side faces us totally, it becomes
invisible to the naked eye, yet it is there. As we contemplate
the cycles of the Moon in a mystic way, we realize that darkness
is often symbolic of the hidden wisdom of occult teachings (the
word occult means something that is hidden).
The Moon 374

Nichols says that

The Moon represents Nature herself, within whose seeming chaos

exists order of a very different kind from the conscious categories
imposed by a masculine ruler. Her diffused illumination reveals
to us many aspects of reality not visible under his sunlight con-
sciousness.
Unlike the sun, which is bright, dependable, and warm, the moon
is pale, inconstant, and cold. Yet by her illumination we can see
shadows hitherto unknown. Whereas in sunlight objects stand
out clear-cut as separate entities with sharply defined forms, un-
der the moon’s pale glow these man-made categories dissolve,
offering us a new experience of ourselves and our world. Trans-
formed by moon magic, a bush can become a bear, a tiger, a
rock, a house, or a human being. It is frightening at first to find
our tidy compartmentalized world thus dissolved into shimmer-
ing moon-flux; but as our eyes grow accustomed to the moon’s
revelations, our fears, too, begin to dissolve in wonder and awe.
The Moon 375

Symbolism

Black Vegetation Upon the brink of the Pool there is a fringe of

Black Vegetation indicating occult images
(Moore).

Blue Background The Blue Background indicates that the action

in the Moon relates to cosmic subconsciousness.

Blue Ground The Blue Ground begins where the cultivated

ground leaves off. Here the natural evolution
ends and the spiritual begins. This is where the
greater change takes place (Moore).

Crayfish From the pool of Cosmic Mind stuff in the

foreground, a crayfish appears, symbolizing the
early stages of conscious unfoldment (Eden).
The Crayfish climbing from the Pool is a
symbol of the early stages of conscious
unfoldment. In these first developments of
consciousness, the individual seems to be
isolated from the rest of nature (Case).
The Crayfish who clambers upon the Path is no
longer symbolic of the exodus of the water
animal to the land. In this the Crayfish is like
the Egyptian scarab, symbolizing the spirit.
The spirit descended into matter, and now the
conscious spirit is beginning to climb out of
matter and to get upon the Path where it is no
longer conditioned and trammeled by matter.
This goal is reached by building a better body
for it to function in.
The Crayfish is red-violet, the color which
symbolizes the making of the better body
(Moore).
The Moon 376

The Crayfish coming out of the water represents

the lower form of existence. Shaped like a
scorpion, it indicates the creative force starting
on the path of return, which leads to the
mountain of attainment (Javane and Bunker).
From the water (the Universal Consciousness) a
Crayfish emerges. This is symbolic of having a
firm grip on both sides of life (the seen and the
unseen) (Oribello).
The Crayfish is symbolic of inner most fears
forcing their way to the surface of
consciousness. The Crayfish might represent
childhood fears reappearing in adult life, still
managing to cause fear and anxiety even
though we may recognize the lack of logic in
this. As the Crayfish crawls into consciousness
we often try to push him back, where he
continues to exist, giving rise to vague fears and
unacknowledged anxieties until such time as we
allow the Crayfish, or our fears, to come right
out of the pool of the unconscious and be faced
(Sharman-Burke).
The violet Crayfish represents consciousness in
its early stages of development. Born of the
watery mind stuff below, the Crayfish resembles
a scorpion, the zodiac sign of Death. This
suggests that the reproductive instinct inherent
within us, incessantly animates our journey
onward to accelerate our consciousness to the
higher levels of being (D’Agostino).

Falling Dew The falling Dew consist of drops which are

Yods, representing the descent of the Life-force
from above into material existence (Eden).
The Falling Dew are drops of light falling from
The Moon 377

the Moon. This corresponds to the implication

that “corporeal” is related to “rain.” In the
B.O.T.A. version, there are eighteen Hebrew
Yods, corresponding to the number of the Key.
The number 18 is the value of the Hebrew noun
ig, Chai, signifying “life.” Thus the falling
Yods refer to the descent of the life-force from
above into the conditions of corporeal existence
(Case).
Regarded as consciousness these Yods fall from
the Sun; regarded as matter, these Yods fall
from the Moon. Regarded as falling from the
Sun, these Yellow Yods stand for the states of
consciousness symbolized by the 12 zodiacal
signs and the three mother letters of the
Hebrew alphabet.
The 15 Yods fall upon the Blue Ground and
not on the green. This means that the body
cannot receive what these Yods stand for until
you have made your Empress one with the Holy
Ghost. The Yods stand for the 15 extensions of
consciousness indicated by the 12 Zodiacal
signs and the three mother letters; also by the
15 petaled rose on the pennant of Death. The
Hierophant wears a crown composed of them
which means that he had control of them. The
Hierophant is the masculine expression of the
High Priestess. From the very beginning the
Universal Mother has been leading us up to the
point where she can retain this influence upon
us, patiently longing for the self-conscious to
make it possible for Her so to transform the
body (Moore).
The Falling Yods represent the descent of the
life force from a higher plane into the material
The Moon 378

world (Javane and Bunker).

Green Ground The foreground is green indicating that stage of

spiritual evolution where the Empress is still
doing the chief work (Moore).
The Green Ground is symbolic of development
within our physical existence (Oribello).

Moon The Moon in three phases watches over the

landscape. The Moon’s three phases of
intuition concern body, mind, and spirit. The
Moon Mother watches over the birth of Spirit
into material manifestation.
The Moon will lead him along the rugged path,
past the Towers, to the final heights of
attainment, if he will be guided by her reflected
light and listen to the voice of his subconscious
(Eden).
The Moon is on the side of mercy, to the right
of the observer. It has sixteen chief and sixteen
secondary rays. The Moon represents the life of
the imagination apart from life of the spirit
(Waite).
The Moon symbolizes the reflected light of
subconsciousness (Case).
When you intend your mind and turn it on the
manifestation of something which has been
before your mind, your subconscious at once
tries to give you the means to do so. If you
keep at it long enough and intensely enough,
your body produces the means.
Your body cannot start in that direction until
your conscious mind images what it wants,
makes a sharp, definite outline of what it
wants. In other words, this is why the
The Moon 379

subconscious is called the Moon because the

Moon passes on the light of the Sun. The Sun
is the mind – the body reflects the light – the
mind. The Moon shines by reflected light. All
the light comes from the Sun (Moore).
The Moon is symbolic of our intuitive faculties
or subconscious mind. Under the Moon are 15
flames. When you add 1 + 5 you get 6,
symbolic of the six days of creation. When you
have done your best in developing your full
potential you can look forward to the seventh
day of rest, when you look upon all the things
you have become through your sincere efforts,
and see that it is good (Oribello).

Path The Path, rising and falling, has been worn by

the feet of those who have traveled this way
before. It passes between two animals of the
same genus, both canine; a Wolf and a Dog.
This means that the path passes between the
extremes of nature and art.
At its very beginning, where it rises from the
margin of the pool, the path is bordered by
stones and plants, symbols of the mineral and
vegetable kingdoms. Then it progresses to the
point where wolf and Dog are shown, as
symbols of the animal kingdom. In the
foreground it traverses a cultivated field, which
symbolizes matters of more or less general
knowledge, until it comes to two towers, which
mark the boundaries of the known. Then it
continues into the Beyond, rising and falling
through blue distances which represent the
planes of consciousness open to us during sleep
or trance.
The Moon 380

The Path rises and falls, suggesting periodicity,

wave motion, and vibration. Yet it continually
ascends, so that, as one progresses, the time
comes when one’s most depressed states of
consciousness are at a higher level than some of
one’s earlier exaltations (Case).
There is a path passing midway between the
Wolf and Dog. Whether it is the natural or the
Spiritual evolution, the better body lies exactly
between the two parents, subconscious and
self-conscious, nature and culture. Our culture
must never take us away from nature, and
nature must never be followed exclusively, but
must be restrained by culture.
At the end of the ever-ascending path stands
the Hermit, on His mountain peak. In the path
are the two figure 8’s which were hovering over
the head of the Magician and the Woman of
Strength (Moore).
The narrow Path implies that concentration is
necessary. It goes up, then down, but always
rises higher at the next step. It is meant to
show that spiritual unfoldment does not come
all at once, but rather progresses gradually
(Javane and Bunker).
A bright Path leads from the water to the
mountains, symbolic of the spiritual path
within (Oribello).
The Path leads through the two pillars, as a
suggestion of movement between conscious and
unconscious (Sharman-Burke).

Pool The Pool below is the same as that shown in

Temperance and the Star. It is the “great deep”
of cosmic mind-stuff, out of which emerges the
The Moon 381

“dry land” of physical manifestation. From it

all organic life proceeds. The Pool also refers to
the ninth Sephirah, Yesod, which is known as
the Sphere of the Moon, and is the seat of the
Vital Soul manifested in man as the automatic
consciousness, generally referred to as the
subconsciousness (Case).
The Pool out of which the path proceeds is the
same as in the Star and in Temperance, and as
the river in the other cards – the Cosmic
Mind-Stuff into which melts the robe of the
High Priestess. Out of that Cosmic Mind-Stuff
brought down from the Archetypal into the
world, finally emerges the “dry-land” or what
we call physical manifestation (Moore).
The Pool is the Pool of Forgetfulness, which lies
to the left of the Pool of Memory in the dark
world of Hades. We try to forget that which
gives rise to unpleasant or uncomfortable
feelings or memories but the Crayfish
periodically reminds us of them by struggling
out of the water (Sharman-Burke).

32 Rays There are 32 rays associated with the

Sun-moon luminary, half are short and half are
long. Since the card concerns the work of the
body rather than of the mind, the long rays are
the subconscious and the short rays the
self-conscious. Why 32? This is the number of
the Hebrew word laiv, al, meaning heart. In
the occult teaching the heart stands for the
great sympathetic nerve system. This is the
special system in the body which responds to
the impulses emanating from the
Subjective-Mind, the Holy Ghost (Moore).
The Moon 382

The 32 Sun-Moon Rays indicate the thirty-two

paths on the Tree of Life (Javane and Bunker).
Around the Moon on the card are thirty two
rays of light, symbolic of the “Thirty two Paths
of Wisdom,” as embodied in the twenty two
tarot cards and the ten Divine Names or
Emanations. The Thirty Two Paths of Wisdom
are called the “Tree of Life” by initiates. This
card reveals that the full understanding of these
paths can only be attained in the stillness of
intuitive reflection. This understanding releases
the truth contained in the hidden chamber of
the mysteries (back of the head), the inner
mind (Oribello).

Stones Upon the brink of the Pool, there is a heap of

Stones, some of which are touched with red.
The higher meaning of Stone is union with the
Father, and the red means the Mars vibration
being put at His service rather than the service
of the personality. Thus the path becomes from
its very start, the path of better bodies, bodies
deliberately created now occultly, by the
personality, as it takes itself in hand (Moore).

Towers In the background, halfway up the path, are the

twin Towers Man has erected to protect himself
from his hostile environment (Eden).
The path between the Towers is the issue into
the unknown (Waite).
The Towers are the handiwork of man. In the
B.O.T.A. version they have battlements. This
is because they represent the mental attitude of
the average man, who conceives himself to be
surrounded by a hostile environment, against
which he must fight, and from which he must
The Moon 383

protect himself. Thus the towers correspond to

the mental states symbolized by the hard
carapace of the Crayfish (Case).
The Two Towers are the same as that seen in
the tarot key for Death. These are the Towers
of the known. Beyond them lies that which is at
present unknown. It is the business of science
and of individual spiritual evolution to keep
pushing back those towers so that we can get
on the path, beyond the Towers of the known.
In each Tower there is only one window. It is
high up for only those who ascend the height;
Those who are capable and can see what
stretches before them in the future. The
window is black to indicate the occult vision,
and there being only one reminds you of the
words of Jesus: “If thine eye be single, then thy
whole body is full of light.” Window means
reason. The two windows (one in each Tower)
indicate the self-conscious and the
subconscious, the two reasons working together
to produce a new body, and so to move back to
the Towers of the known. As the self-conscious
Tower is moved back by the mental vision, the
subconscious creates a better body in which to
house that vision. The window, of course looks
ahead, and is actually on the opposite side of
the Tower, but there is no way that it could be
put there on the card (Moore).
The Towers are human handiwork (Javane and
Bunker).
The two Towers represent the balance between
the seen and the unseen: in the foreground is
the seen, and in the background is the unseen
(illustrated by the mountains) (Oribello).
The Moon 384

Beyond the two Towers of personality a vast

unknown, uncharted world of knowledge and
experience awaits. Those aspirants who have
the imagination, courage and strength to
properly prepare themselves can enter and
share in its wonders (D’Agostino).

Wolf and Dog The Wolf is nature’s untamed creation; the Dog
is the result of adaptation to life with man
(Eden).
The Wolf and Dog are the fears of the natural
mind in the presence of that place of exit, when
there is only reflected light to guide it (Waite).
The Wolf remains what nature made him. The
other, a Dog, is a product of human adaptation
(Case).
The Dog typifies the self-conscious and the
Wolf typifies the subconscious. The Dog is
orange, and is looking towards the Light from
above; the Wolf is stone color, and is looking
toward the dog. This means that the dog,
because of striving to realize his heavenly
vision, has transformed the subconscious and
made her one with the Holy Ghost. She is now
trying to transform him; but note that although
her eyes are fixed only on him, her ears are
decidedly pricked upward, while his ears are
down. Here you are told again that it is the
subconscious which receives intuition, and that
she transfers it on to the self-conscious.
The Wolf has been traditionally known as
man’s worst enemy and has, through his
cultivation, become man’s best friend. What
transformation is like this? It is a greater
transformation than man has so far made of
The Moon 385

himself. Maeterlinck, in his beautiful essay on

“Our Friend the Dog,” calls attention to the
fact that the dog is the only animal who has,
through his love of us, converted himself into
another species. “He has solved, in an
admirable and touching manner, the problem
we should have to solve, if a divine race came to
inhabit our planet.” The occultist knows what
Maeterlinck here suggests: that a divine race is
inhabiting our planet, and that we must
eventually do what the dog has done, convert
ourselves from our original species (Moore).
The Wolf and Dog are of the same species, but
one is wild and the other is domesticated
(depicting nature aided by human
consciousness) (Javane and Bunker).
On one side of the Path is the Wolf (a symbol
of the Devil, or blocks which sometimes hinder
our spiritual progress), and on the other side is
a dog (the Dog is a symbol of God’s power,
present with us in physical life). The Dog has
been called man’s best friend. In esoteric
teachings, wisdom is sometimes cloaked in
obvious symbolism. The reasons some teachers
use a Dog as a symbol of the God-Power is
simple; the word “dog” spelled backwards is
God.
Both Wolf and Dog look and appear to be
howling at the Moon. This reveals that all
experiences contribute towards the awakening
of our inner mind. Bad events can be blessings
in disguise for they prompt us to pray more and
try harder. The positive events give us the
added energy and reward for our efforts
(Oribello).
The Moon 386

The Wolf and Dog are both creatures of the

underworld, guides of souls to the land of the
dead. These animals are sacred to Hecate,
goddess of the dark moon and enchantment and
the infernal regions. The idea of Wolves and
Dogs baying at the full moon is a powerful
image suggesting madness or lunacy
(Sharman-Burke).
At the right of the path howls a yellow Wolf, a
symbol of the wild impulses of nature. At the
left of the path barks a dog, a symbol of the
world of artificiality (D’Agostino).
The Sun 387
The Sun 388
The Sun 389

The Sun
The Sun is the provider of light during the daytime. It furnishes warmth and
light. The Hebrew word for Sun is nVV. This comes from the root ynyof the
verb meaning to serve, to attend, wait upon, minister, or officiate. It is cog-
nate to the noun n !=, which means attendant, servant, janitor and caretaker.
It is the Sun which serves the earth. And in the spiritual world, it is we who
are on the transcendent path of serving the Divine. We are the caretakers of
the Divine Light, for it is only through us that the Light is revealed.
By aligning our will with God’s will, cleaving to God, walking in the way
of God, ungodly thoughts will no longer linger in our consciousness. The
Divine light will emanate straight out of us just the same way that the light
of the Sun emanates straight out of the sun to shine on earth.
To understand this metaphor, consider that the earth would be dark
without the light of the sun. In the same way, our spiritual world would
be dark if we do not serve as a channel for the Divine light. Dark in this
sense means that there is what, in everyday language, can be called evil or
bad lurking in the world ready to do its thing in the darkness of the night.
We serve the Divine by transforming this evil or about-to-manifest-bad to
good. By so doing, we constantly reach beyond. We continually grow. And
by growing, we continually diminish the “other side” within us. We see and
magnify the good and the beautiful in existence. Where we see bad, we
adjust our understandings and actions to compensate for it. We search for
a way in which the good within the bad can be brought out and developed
through what it is that we do. In this way we become a channel for the
Divine Light. Through us this Light is able to illuminate the entire reality
of the physical and spiritual world.
Consider why it is that we interpret a situation as bad. We interpret
what is bad as something that makes us feel bad, something which is too
much for us to handle, something which we would rather not have to handle,
something which is a challenge to us, something which we think is beyond
our physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual ability to handle. That which
is bad is something we believe to be beyond our self perceived limitations.
Yet within this ”bad” is the good that we reveal when we work with it, a
good that we can bring out because the handling it requires is not beyond
The Sun 390

our self perceived limitations. God arranges experiences for us exactly in this
manner. When we are ready, God gives us a situation which is the opening
through which we can experientially learn that whatever limits we thought
we had, we do not have. Therefore, we are able to learn that our creative
potential is larger than whatever restrictions we had perceived for it.
To go through the opening God gives us, we have to suspend judgement
“good” and “bad.” We have to forget whatever interpretations we would
ordinarily make. We have to forget the distinction of opposites. We have to
put aside our memory which is filled with reasons, rationalizations, interpre-
tations, and distinctions that have worked in previous situations. We have
to quiet our emotions and minds. Then we have to ask ourselves:

What is it that God would have us do in this situation?

In this way we make ourselves the receiver’s of God’s will. By aligning our
will with God’s will and then doing in accordance with God’s will, we refine
and purify our own will. We become able to do beyond our self-perceived and
self-imposed restrictions. For we have connected ourselves to the unlimited
source and we will do right. We will become channels for the Divine light.
Like the Sun in the daytime, this Divine Light is everywhere. But it is not
revealed everywhere. For there are some who, by their self-centered acts do
not allow the Divine Light to enter. We reveal the Light which is inherrent
within the situation, by working with the bad we encounter, converting it to
the good. We interpenetrate the profane with the Holy.
Living in this way, our desire is a constant willingness to bestow upon
others the treasures of the Divine Light. So we constantly seek ways for
our consciousness to receive and share the Divine Light. We do this with a
conscious spiritual force which draws down heaven to earth and raises earth
to heaven.
The Sun 391

General Discussion Quotes

Javane and Bunker say that

The Sun means face or countenance. Face implies head, one who
takes the lead as the head of an organization. This card also
brings to a head all the potencies of the life power. The keyword
is regeneration. We renew our bodies when we renew our minds.
“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may
prove what is the good and perfect will of God.”
Nichols says that
The Sun heralds a new stage of enlightenment and nourishment.
... The Sun pictures that moment when the hero, leaving forever
the world of sterile opinions and formal dogma, steps into the
sunny world of direct experience and pure knowledge. ... life is
no longer a challenge to be overcome but rather an experience to
be enjoyed. It is a world of innocent play, where we can recapture
the lost spontaneity of our natural selves. Here we can rediscover
the inner harmony we felt as young children before the opposites
split us so cruelly asunder, dividing us from ourselves and from
one another. ... [AND] this “climate of delight” is not a distant
land to be found in the skies but is, rather, simply a new way of
experiencing the known world.
Then in speaking of the two children who play in the Sun in the Marseilles
deck, she makes some comments which are equally applicable to the Rider
and B.O.T.A decks.
The motif of twin children is a familiar one in legend and myth,
and it often appears in our dreams. Usually it symbolizes a cre-
ative potential of unusual proportions. ...
Children often represent the inferior function, childlike and un-
developed – close to nature. It is through this inferior function,
which has remained spontaneous, natural, and close to the un-
conscious, that renewal can come. A good way to relate to this
inferior side is through play. ...
The Sun 392

The children in this Tarot play together freely and naturally. Be-
cause each is in harmony with himself, he moves in harmony with
his companion and with all of nature. Each reaches out to the
other with no fear of rebuff, and since each gesture arises spon-
taneously from the heart, it is not rejected or misunderstood.

Waite says:

The Sun is that of consciousness in the spirit – the direct as the

antithesis of the reflected light. The characteristic type of hu-
manity has become a little child therein – a child in the sense of
simplicity and innocence in the sense of wisdom. In that simplic-
ity, he bears the seal of Nature and of Art; in that innocence,
he signifies the restored world. When the self-knowing spirit has
dawned in the consciousness above the natural mind, that mind
in its renewal leads forth the animal nature in a state of perfect
conformity.

Ussher says that in the Sun, the

restriction limits are left behind; man’s load of memory seems to

have fallen from him, as Bunyan’s Christian was freed from the
pilgrim’s wallet of his sins. As ‘the star’ symbolized the Reason
and ‘the Moon’ the Irrational, so ‘the Sun’ is the true Super-
rational – the freedom of the harmonized personality. It is the
moment of renovation expressed in the modern dream of untram-
meled self expression.

Case says that

The Sun represents the fifth stage of unfoldment. It is a degree

of adeptship, that of liberation from the limitations of physical
matter and circumstances. It is also a grade of conscious self-
identification with the One Life. Yet it is not final. For though
it is a stage wherein all physical forces are under the control of
the adept, who, having himself become childlike, realizes in his
own person the fulfillment of the promise, “A little child shall
lead them” – yet a person who has reached this grade still feels
The Sun 393

himself to be a separate, or at least a distinct entity. This is not

full liberation, though it is a higher stage in which all physical
forces are dominated by the will of the adept, because he is an
unobstructed vehicle for the One Will which always has ruled
those forces, since the beginning.

Sharman-Burke notes that

The Sun has many mythical associations and an obvious one is

the Greek sun god, Apollo. He was the god of light, born of Leto,
goddess of night, and his shrine, the oracle at Delphi, was sacred
to all goddesses of darkness. Apollo’s twin sister was Artemis,
the Moon goddess. Apollo was an archer god whose fiery arrows
could heal sickness but could also bring sudden death to those
who ran foul of him. He was often depicted with his famous
lyre as the god of music, poetry and song. He was a god of form,
shaping elusive aspects of the psyche into durable and permanent
expression, often as an artistic nature.
The Sun symbolizes the masculine capacity to impart form and
structure. His influence gives form to the formless, shape to the
shapeless. The Sun god presides over the arts as well as over
the activity of the intellect; man’s rational capacity to impose
order and coherence on the fluctuating moods of his experience.
The Sun is a card of daylight, which, while it lasts, is a time for
vigorous activity and clear perception. In this respect, the Sun
complements the Moon; for if the Moon represents the uncon-
scious in its murky darkness, the Sun is consciousness in all its
bright lucidity. If the Moon represents the feeling nature, the Sun
stands for the capacity for thought. And as the Moon is formless,
so the Sun is form.

Moore says

that the God-consciousness is born from the Sun streaming down

through Reason (depicted here as the sun-flower). Alchemy has
given, in a fantastic language, how regeneration was to be ac-
complished. Regeneration comes only from ourselves when the
The Sun 394

purified will and purified body work together as one. Each must
be purified. How do you purify the personal will? Make it the
will of the higher self; give it up and take the will of the higher
self instead. How do you purify the body? Make your intellec-
tual subconscious the same as the High Priestess: identify your
intellectual subconscious with the Holy Ghost.
The Sun 395

Symbolism

Banner The red Banner that the Child holds signifies

action and vibration, as do the rays of the Sun.
He carries the banner in his left hand to
indicate that control has now passed from the
conscious (right hand) into the subconscious
(left hand) (Eden).
In his left hand the Child bears the gigantic
Banner which gives him no trouble at all to
wield. His right hand is solely occupied in
keeping his balance as he wields it. This
symbology means that he pays no attention to
wielding the orange Banner, for the
subconscious attends to it automatically. The
only effort he makes, and from the card this
appears to be very little, is to balance the
Banner with his other hand as he swings it, and
so keeps his equilibrium.
The Child joyously wields the orange Banner of
the stellar energy, which streams into his body
through the transformed heart. It is colored by
his own personality, passing through the heart
again to raise the vibrations of all he contacts.
The Child carries the Banner on an occult staff.
Where his fist closes on the staff he makes the
lower loop of a figure eight; the higher loop is
formed by the scoring on a green leaf. It is
equilibrium that enables him to wield the giant
banner. He wields it automatically, for it is in
his left hand; his right hand is employed in
keeping his balance. This is the business which
demands his conscious attention. If at any time
he should fail to keep his balance – should he
The Sun 396

allow his emotions to get the better of him, he

would be destroyed (Moore).
The Banner is situated between the one
isolated Sunflower and the group of the other
three Sunflowers. This reveals that there is a
veil of mystery which separates the seen from
the unseen. However, we also notice that the
child has his hand on the pole, and this reveals
that the spiritually minded person may lift the
veil and see beyond (Oribello).
The Banner is symbolic of all the cloaks worn
by the earlier cards of the Major Arcana, cast
off, waved in the air with triumph and
celebration. Their lessons have been learned
(Sharman-Burke).
Like the Fool, the Magician, and the Hermit,
the Child carries a wand or measuring stick.
These signs tend to imply that the mental and
physical analysis of the occult forces involved,
has been successfully completed, and has taken
effect; therefore the wand sports a waving
banner to inform us that victory is assured at
this stage (D’Agostino).

Blue Background The Blue Background grows darker as it goes

down. This symbolizes the admixture of the
Holy Ghost with the mineral kingdom, our clay
or subconscious. Man has perfected his body
when he has made his personal subconscious
at-one with the Holy Ghost (Moore).

Child The Child is fair, like the Fool, and like the
Fool, he wears a wreath and a red feather. His
nakedness indicates that he no longer has
anything to hide. Here the Fool has gained
spiritual victory over the lower aspect of his
The Sun 397

nature – a very different triumph from that

which he was demonstrating as the Charioteer,
when his conquest was only over his own will.
The Child controls the horse, the solar energy,
without saddle or bridle. The Child represents
perfect control between the conscious and the
unconscious (Eden).
The Child is the destiny of the Supernatural
East and the great and holy light which goes
before the endless procession of humanity,
coming out from the walled garden of the
sensitive life and passing on the journey home
(Waite).
The B.O.T.A. version has two children, a boy
and a girl. Both are nude to show their state of
Edenic innocence, comparable to that of the
Lovers. The two children represent
consciousness and subconsciousness, and they
are dancing in a fairy ring, their hands clasped,
to suggest the perfect union and rhythmic
synchronization of the activities of the two
modes of human personality. Each has one foot
planted firmly in the central circle of the ring,
so that the other foot is free to swing; and the
boy’s right hand is extended before him palm
upward, as if ready to accept something he
expects to receive (Case).
The Child symbolizes the transformed heart,
which formally was feminine (involuntary) and
now is masculine (voluntary). It is because the
heart has become a masculine organ that it can
now safely become the governor of man, and by
it the boy comes to its wholeness or health. It
can at last perfect equilibrium (as you see from
the position of the Child, who symbolizes it)
The Sun 398

and that is the reason it stands for the Fool in

us. It is in perfect equilibrium as was the Fool,
being both masculine and feminine (Moore).
The nude Child astride the horse has
sublimated the animal desires and is a symbol
of the naked truth and an understanding of
things as they really are. “Except as ye become
as little children, ye cannot enter the kingdom
of heaven” (Javane and Bunker).
The Child is symbolic of reaching a state of
new birth or a transformed life. On the child’s
head are six circles, symbolic of the purified five
senses and the awakened sixth sense. The
feather rising from the child’s head represents
the awakened cosmic fire of the Holy Spirit
(Oribello).
The Sun’s image of a naked Child represents
greeting of the Fool’s new-found state of
optimism with joy. The image of a child, rather
than an adult figure, points towards the chance
the Fool has to grow up again; he has the
opportunity to revert to a childlike state so he
can restart his inner or spiritual growth
(Sharman-Burke).
The Child is the son of the spiritual sun,
manifested on earth in human form. Having
nothing to hide, its nakedness is the exposition
of an advanced stage of consciousness, free from
all disguise and delusion.
The nipples and the navel of the Child form the
points of a water triangle, a motif of the
Hanged Man (D’Agostino).

Horse The Horse is solar energy (Eden).

The Sun 399

The destructive lion of the body has become

the docile Horse, the eager carrier of the Christ
child. It is the goal of the body to become the
animal carrier of the Christ consciousness. His
extreme docility is no more obvious than in his
pricked up ears (Moore).
The Child sits on a horse, symbolic of soberness
and tranquillity (Oribello).
The Horse, a domesticated animal, depicts the
forces of nature after they have been specialized
by the selected power of the human will
(D’Agostino).

Red Feather The Red Feather of an eagle set in the Child’s

yellow hair speaks of the visionary and creative
abilities of man, and the unrelenting human
pursuit to realize its highest aspirations
(D’Agostino).

Sun The Sun represents the solar energy in its

highest aspect: it is the energy the initiate will
use to accomplish on the inner planes what the
physical Sun accomplishes in giving light and
warmth to the earth (Eden).
The Sun represents the truth that the
seemingly material forces of nature really are
modes of a conscious energy, essentially human
in character and potencies. The Sun is the
power which reaches its highest manifestation
in reason, and which always and everywhere is
the ruling force which makes effective the law
symbolized by Strength (Case).
The Sun rules the Law of Suggestion. Nature in
you (your subconscious) is ruled by the
suggestion coming from your self-conscious;
The Sun 400

however badly your self-conscious works,

however rudimentary it is, it is a miniature
Sun. It is a Sun in the making (Moore).
The Sun is a symbol of the divinity, the great
divine power. We must control and adjust our
lives through the Sun’s action. As the ancients
knew, the powers themselves are neither good
or bad; it is how they are used. The power of
the Sun is not just a physical energy but also a
living power. What we see in the Sun is
identical with the spiritual power behind the
Sun. Everything on earth is a manifestation of
the Sun (Javane and Bunker).
The Sun is symbolic of illuminated reason in
the conscious mind. The Sun has a human face
which is a clue that you are to picture your face
within the sun (Oribello).

Sunflowers The garden has four Sunflowers. These

Sunflowers are looking toward the Child instead
of looking toward the sun. They represent the
four elements - Air, Earth, Fire, and Water
(Eden).
Four Sunflowers, representing the four
Kabbalistic worlds, and the four kingdoms of
nature, mineral, vegetable, animal and human,
turn, not toward the day-star, but toward the
little children, as if to hint that all creation
turns to man for its final development. In the
B.O.T.A. version a fifth sunflower is shown. It
is still in bud, and turns toward the sun. This
bud represents the “Fifth Kingdom,” the
kingdom of the Spiritual Israel, composed of
human beings who, by understanding the law of
evolution which has brought organized life
The Sun 401

expression as far as ordinary genus homo, is

enabled to apply that law to the self-evolution
of a “new creature,” who is as far beyond
ordinary humanity as the average human being
is beyond the animals. As yet, though the
whole line of sages, prophets, adepts and
masters belongs to the Fifth Kingdom, that
company of new creatures is small, by
comparison with the mass of humanity. Thus it
is symbolized by a sunflower in bud, rather
than in full bloom; and because the outstanding
characteristic of all members of the Fifth
Kingdom is their utter dependence on the
universal Life-power, this fifth flower turns
toward the sun (Case).
The Sunflowers are to be taken at three levels.
First they represent the four kingdoms of
Nature. It is these which man has improved by
the use of his Reason, and which still look to
man for further development. The Bible says,
“All nature groaneth and travaileth together for
the coming of the sons of mind.” The hope of
nature lies in the perfected man, man who has
previously used his reason to perfect his body
and himself. Three of the kingdoms of Nature
are grouped together; the fourth by itself. This
indicates that man need not be conditioned by
his past, but that the seeds he sows may be
something entirely new, and bring forth new
species not previously found in Nature.
In the Cosmic sense rather than the planetary,
the four sunflowers represent the four planes –
the Physical, Formative, Creative and
Archetypal. In this case the meaning is the
same as when they are purely physical, only
The Sun 402

wider in extent. Not only the physical world,

but all the higher ones look for their final
development to man in which the
Christ-consciousness has been born.
Particularly in the case of the Archetypal
World is man unconditioned by his past. The
ideas he may bring down into the physical
plane through the other two stages are far
beyond present limits.
In the third level, the Sunflowers represent
reason (Moore).
The four Sunflowers symbolize organized
development; mineral, vegetable, animal and
Adam-consciousness. Sunflowers always face
the sun to draw their power, as we should do to
develop our consciousness (Javane and Bunker).
There are eight layers of masonry upon which
are four Sunflowers. This symbol reveals that
by uniting that which is below with that which
is above we develop our power within the four
worlds, or realms of existence (physical, astral,
or emotional, mental and spiritual). Notice that
three of the sunflowers are grouped together.
They represent the astral, mental and spiritual
worlds. The Sunflower by itself to the right
represents the physical world (Oribello).
The four Sunflowers behind the wall illustrate
the four evolving stages of the solar energy.
The three Sunflowers at the left correspond to
the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms,
and to the elements of earth, air, and water.
The single sunflower at the right is a
representation of natural man and the element
of fire. Man, the microcosm, the compendium
of all the elements and forces in the universe, is
The Sun 403

the only creature in the scale of creation with

the degree of consciousness to rise above the
wall of the senses and enter into the Garden of
Eden. A child shall lead them, therefore, the
four sunflowers face the child, indicating that
they depend on him for their further
development and evolutionary advancement.
This child is the only gateway to light, liberty,
life, and love, and its purpose is the complete
emancipation of the human race (D’Agostino).

Sun Rays The Sun Rays are alternatively waved and

salient. The wavy rays represent vibration. The
strait ones represent radiation, which is
apparently in straight lines (Case).
From the Sun proceed 21 yellow Sun Rays, 11
straight and 10 wavy ones. These are arranged
alternately, but the series begins and ends with
a straight ray, making the first and last straight
rays come together. Between these two there is
another ray, wavy, and black. Black stands for
the occult, and the meaning is that this is not a
natural ray, but we must make it ourselves by
occult practice.
The Sun Rays stand for the 21 numbered cards
of the Tarot Trumps; the black ray stands for
the Fool, which precedes them and is numbered
zero. The Fool symbolizes the spirit before it
descended into matter, and in that state, was
both masculine, and feminine, or rather neither
masculine or feminine, but containing the
potencies of both (Moore).
The twenty-one rays of the Sun represent the
twenty-one keys of the Major arcana in the
Tarot (Javane and Bunker).
The Sun 404

The straight and wavy Sun Rays indicate the

dual nature of the card, both its positive and
negative aspects (Sharman-Burke).

Walled Garden The Walled Garden behind the child is the

cultivated garden of Man, which the Child has
left behind him (Eden).
The Walled Garden represents human
adaptation of natural conditions. In the
B.O.T.A. version, the wall is of stone, in
contrast to the bricks which compose the tower
in the tarot key The Tower. Wherever stone
appears in tarot symbolism we are to
understand it as a reference to the Hebrew
word oaVV̀, Ehven, and thus to the perfect union
between the Divine Wisdom which Kabbalists
call a`
!, Av, the father, and the One Self of the
entire human race, which they call oA-, Ben, the
Son. Human speech (the Wall) is actually the
manifestation of this union, because all
personal consciousness is based on the
indissoluble union of the cosmic life-force (a`
!,
the Father) with the central Self (oA-, the Son)
seated in the hearts of men.
From the most primitive speech to the most
highly evolved languages, humanity’s
word-forms evolve as a direct consequence of
the fact that the word-maker is the central Self.
As that Self evolves higher and higher types of
personality through successive rounds and
races, language becomes a more and more
adequate vehicle for the expression of ideas. Yet
all human language has one basic limitation.
Its words are descriptions of, or labels for,
various types of sense experience (Case).
The Sun 405

The Wall has eight courses of masonry, and

represents man’s development of natural
conditions. The layers correspond to the
eight-fold energy of the sun, which we duplicate
in our own activities, tallying with the eight
eight-spoked wheels on the robe of the Fool. All
that man has done in developing nature has
come about through the reports of his five
senses. His improvements were always initiated
by the attempt to secure from Nature greater
gratifications for his five senses.
On the uppermost layer of the Wall are the
letters dÐd
,¼, the Tetragrammaton. On the next
layer is the divine name di. This name is
particularly attributed to the feminine
principle; the other to both the feminine and
masculine. These letters on the Wall show that
the Wall is also to be taken as the eight-fold
path to holiness or right-use-ness, the way to
achieve perfection of mind and body. The Wall
was erected by man using his reason, his powers
of measurement, to lead him to new conclusions
(Moore).
The Wall in the background represents the
formation of the Fool’s past life and his
limitations. It represents all he has learned and
done so far; the grey pattern of experience, a
solid foundation from which he can now ride
forward (Sharman-Burke).
The children play in a walled enclosure,
insuring that the insights available here will not
be flooded or swept away by an invasion from
the unconscious (Nichols).
The Wall represents the mistaken conception of
appearances construed by the human
The Sun 406

imagination in response to sense perceptions.

When we rely solely on our physical senses, they
become an obstruction to our further progress.
The world of form certainly exists, but external
appearances are incomplete. Observation of the
total picture is desired. Outer sensory reports
must be balanced with the revelation of their
inner essence. Only then can we arrive at a true
judgement of the construction of thought and
matter, and its significance in relation to our
lives (D’Agostino).

Wreath The Wreath on the head of the Child is

composed, not of green leaves, like that of the
Fool’s wreath, but of little sun symbols, the
circle with the central dot. The Wreath must
extend around his head; therefore there are
twelve symbols in all. They represent the
Zodiac, and correspond to the belt of the Fool.
The Child controls the twelve forms of
self-expression. As his Mars vibration is entirely
at the service of the enlightened awareness,
these twelve forms of consciousness are
expressing themselves to perfection (Moore).
The Child wears a Wreath of six roses,
resembling the crown of a king. This means
that the cultivation of our desires is mentally
required to harmoniously combine the universal
forces at play within us (D’Agostino).
Judgement 407
Judgement 408
Judgement 409

Judgement
The key to understanding Judgement is to realize that the time when the
trumpet is blown is the time when there is a royal coronation. The royal
coronation in Judgement is our coronation. For Judgement is the time when
our consciousness surpasses beyond its usual limitations and our understand-
ing enters a new dimension. Being conscious in four dimensions releases us
from the bondage of Judgement. For it is here that we realize that creation
is not something that happened some time ago. But creation is happening
at each moment.
And for what purpose is creation happening? Creation is for the purpose
of receiving the beneficence of God. We receive this when we reach beyond
ourselves by not letting our consciousness dwell in the limited worldliness of
the physical. We do this when we think, say and do for the sake of Heaven.
We do this when our involvement in mundane activities has the intention of
creating a sanctuary for Godliness, a place where the presence of God rests.
We do this when we become a complete receiver by becoming a complete
giver.
There is yet a deeper message of Judgement. In our physical world, time
is usually experienced as the instance which is the present. The past is gone
and the future is yet to be. Neither are present in the instantaneous now.
Yet when our consciousness transcends its limitations, we discover that the
past, the present, and the future are all in the instantaneous now. This is
because each moment has within it the totality of all time. Each moment is
eternal. The totality of all existence, all time, and all space are united with
the Divine in Oneness. And we are the agents to make this revelation! For
it is through us that Godliness is brought down to the physical world, which
is only the neutral medium that permits the simultaneously concealing and
revealing of this Godliness. But, it is only through our doing that the essence
of God stays concealed or becomes revealed.
The coronation in Judgement is our initiation marking our moment of
understanding and marking our dedication to the highest spiritual purposes.
For after this initiation, we no longer judge things in physical terms alone.
We judge things from the point of view of the spiritual. We understand that
the world is created in the state of beginning. It is always in an incomplete
Judgement 410

state, in the form of a beginning. Thus everything can be viewed as if it is a

beginning. When we experience a difficulty, this is not a difficulty. It is a new
beginning. For the difficulty was only the sign that there had been a conceal-
ment. And because we understand with our heart, mind, and soul that the
Blessed Holy One is just concealed, then there is no concealment. Thereby,
instead of limiting others and ourselves because of our judgement, we can use
our judgement to free them and ourselves by revealing the inherrent sparks
of Divinity given to us by God in our situation.
Judgement 411

General Discussion Quotes

Javane and Bunker say that

When we have gained realization of spiritual things, our personal

consciousness is ready to blend with the universal consciousness.
We then realize our oneness with God and our unity with all hu-
manity. This state of consciousness begins with a mental grasp
of the real world, where our attitude is the reverse of most peo-
ple’s because we identify ourselves with the One Reality. Our
subconscious minds are dominated by true will.
Our judgement day is the day we have reached our ability to judge
the true from the false. The card represents the call to judgement
day.

Sharman-Burke says that

Judgement is a card of summing-up, of balancing accounts;

through this card the Fool’s progress is evaluated and assessed.
Judgement may symbolize, what in Eastern thought is called
Karma, the principle whereby man’s actions produce their ap-
propriate reward or punishment, which in Western tradition is
summed up by the phrase, ‘as you sow, so shall you reap.’ Judgement
reflects a process of self-appraisal, an honest and sincere attempt
to come to terms with oneself and whatever resolutions one has
found for inner conflict. It necessitates removing the veils through
which man generally perceives himself and either over-estimates
or under-estimates his efforts. Excessive modesty or self-recrimination
is just as erroneous as excessive egotism or complacency. Judge-
ment stresses the need to evaluate oneself and one’s accomplish-
ments at their true worth and though we condemn those who puff
themselves up, we should also condemn those who, for whatever
reason, sell themselves short.

Nichols in writing about the Judgement of the Marseilles deck says that
the people in Judgement are being
Judgement 412

called to enter a new dimension of awareness hitherto unknown.

Judgement dramatizes this moment of spiritual resurrection in
several ways. Here for the first time a human figure (the one
rising form the tomb) faces the source of illumination. ... In
Judgement the central figure consciously perceives and hears the
call. ...
Although our hero appears to be redeemed, his life henceforward
is not to be envisioned as one of perfect peace and everlasting
harmony. He too, must pay a price. His increased awareness will
inevitably entail increased responsibility. His long trial in the
dark dungeon is over; but he must now face the challenge of new
light.
The hero, who formerly rose above all he surveyed, now stands
in a grave looking up to the heavens for guidance. He, who once
considered himself superior, now hears the call to serve a power
above and beyond himself.
If he is able to respond to the trumpet’s call, he will step forward
into an expanded life beyond anything he has known or imagined.
If he fails to meet the challenge, he will sink back into his dungeon,
perhaps never to re-emerge. ...
Now, at last, in Judgement, the hero and his two companions
stand naked together, exposed to one another and to the influ-
ence of heavenly powers. It is as if the dismembered bodies which
Death had plowed into the earth have now sprouted forth in a
new and more human way. The angelic figure in the sky has also
become humanized. Although he has golden hair and two sets
of golden wings, his expression shows more intensity and human
feeling than one could observe in the faces of the heavenly figures
pictured in previous cards. And significantly, he is communicat-
ing directly with the figures below.
That all the figures in Judgement are humanized and are in com-
munication with one another marks an important breakthrough
in the hero’s psychic awareness. It gives promise that the qual-
ities of each may be brought together and consolidated into one
Judgement 413

complete being – a human being. The earth echoes the promise

of new birth.

Ussher says that

The Judgement is the Card of the Future. It represents the secret

aim of humanity, expressed in a hundred myths, to justify the
Past – and so bring it to life: ... The Judgement is the world-
view of the artist-philosopher, which opens all “tombs” and can
see the Form hidden under all Accidents: a sage who – seeking to
change nothing — will not be tempted to action, but perceiving
that the world is good will grant it (and be granted in return) a
Nunc Dimittis. ... The Judgement concludes the work which the
Juggler commenced, of turning all existence to essence, evoking
consciousness out of unconsciousness by the power of the Word,
and revealing the logical syntax of Being.

Waite says that Judgement

is the card which registers the accomplishment of the great work

of transformation in answer to the summons of the Supernal –
which summons is heard and answered from within. ... it has
been called truly ... a card of eternal life, and for this reason
it may be compared with that which passes under the name of
Temperance.

D’Agostino says that

Judgement, sometimes called the Last Judgement, implies that

at this point, the weighing of evidence has been completed, and
decisions have been made. Therefore there is no longer need for
further evaluation of the facts, or debate, pro or con. Here, the
resurrection of the soul sets the stage for our personal realization
of immortality and the final liberation into the Eternity of Being.

Case says that Judgement

implies completion, decision, termination. It is the final state of

personal consciousness. ...
Judgement 414

This card shows the sixth stage of spiritual unfoldment, in which

personal consciousness is on the verge of blending with the univer-
sal. At this stage, the adept realizes that his personal existence
is nothing but the manifestation of the relationship between self-
consciousness and subconsciousness. He sees, too, that self-con-
sciousness and subconsciousness are not themselves personal, but
are really modes of universal consciousness. Thus he knows that
his personality has no separate existence. At this stage his intel-
lectual conviction is confirmed by fourth-dimensional experiences
which finally blot out the delusion of separateness forever.

Moore says that

Judgement is the sentence passed by Justice; that is, it is the

final result of the perfect equilibrium of the self-conscious and
the subconscious. ...

Moore says that after the message of Judgement is heard,

we can never have a merely personal point of view again, that

we have come into a universal consciousness, a higher kind of
knowing and feeling. By this message the Human consciousness
is awakened to what the Hebrew Wisdom designated as “Lord”,
which is translated into English as “Adonai.” It means the glow-
ing manifestation of the life power which pours forth the cosmos
and endlessly transforms one expression of itself into another by
a series of perpetual changes.

Moore says Judgement operates in three ways:

physical, mental, and spiritual. The physical phase is the higher

digestion and building into the body the new elements after they
are assimilated, by the medium of the bloodstream. The mental
part also concerns, figuratively speaking, a new kind of diges-
tion and building into the mind what has been assimilated by
it. We come to pay more accurate attention to the things that
happen to us, and we see what appeared to be mere chance, is
only an individual (ourself) working through the Universal Law
Judgement 415

of Cycles. Third, there is this same process upon the spiritual or

superconscious plane. By the employment of our new powers of
physical and mental analysis and the consequent transmutation
of our bodies and minds, we acquire new perceptions one after the
other until at last we become “fourth-dimensional” perceptions.

Eden says that Judgement is

the reawakening of Nature under the influence of Spirit, the mys-

tery of birth in death. The man arising from the tomb of world
belief is again the conscious, the woman the subconscious, the
child the regenerated personality. Spirit has now fully clothed
itself in Man, the Word has been made flesh and dwells amongst
us. ...
“The Power belongs to him who knows,” and he who knows is
then responsible. Therefore the Fool is the one who by effort and
suffering has found the secrets of life.
Judgement 416

Symbolism
Angel The Angel is the Divine Breath, or cosmic fire,
yet he is obviously the angel Gabriel, not only
because he carries a trumpet, but also because
Gabriel is the Angel of the element of water,
which is indicated by his blue robe (Case).
The Angel is the Angel of the Universal
Creative Fire. His hair is yellow flames as well
as red. He is the Angel of the Solar Fire. Since
his Robe is blue, he is an angel of the element
of water also. He thus, united himself with both
Sun and Moon as did the angel of Temperance.
The action of fire on water creates air, the
substance of breath (Moore).
Hovering above, holding a trumpet in his hands
is the Archangel Gabriel, a Hebrew word
meaning “Strength of God.” Gabriel, another
aspect of our inner self, shows the flaming hair
and wings of mixed colors, indicating that he is
a compound of all the universal forces. The
predominance of violet in the wings, a
color-tone associated with Jupiter, the planet of
expansion, predicates that the unification of
man into a total being is at hand. The angel
wears the blue robe of memory and reflection,
which identifies him as the Root and Ruler of
the element of water (D’Agostino).
Banner The Banner of the cross measures exactly 5 by
5 units. Thus the arms of the cross will include
9 out of the 25 square units on the face of the
banner. 9 is the number of completion and 5 is
the number of adaptation. Complete
adaptation is one, but only one, of the esoteric
meanings of the Banner (Case).
Judgement 417

The Banner on this card is a white square,

therefore the Angel equips the three below him
with the measurement of the Spiritual forces,
just as the Angel in Temperance is equipped
with the measurement of the Higher Self. The
Banner is the Magic Square of Mars which has
25 cells, 5 on each line. These cells each have a
number, and the numbers are so proportioned
that every vertical, horizontal and diagonal line
in it sums up to 65, the Divine expression of
the Mars force. Adonai, ipc`, has the value of
65 (Moore).
The Banner on the trumpet is a flag with a
cross, revealing that we may achieve victory
over death (illusion) even while in the physical
world (Oribello).

Blue Background The Blue Background indicates that the action

in Judgement relates to cosmic
subconsciousness.

Body Color The bodies of the Man, Woman, and Child are
colored tinted gray, rather than flesh-color, to
intimate that in this phase of personal
consciousness the “pairs of opposites” have
been neutralized, as complementary colors are
neutralized in gray and that the scene depicted
is not located in the physical plane (Case).

Body Position The positions of the arms of the Man, Woman,

and Child refer to symbolic gestures used in
certain occult societies to represent the letters
L (woman’s extended arms), V (upraised arms
of the child) and X (crossed arms of the Man),
which spell the Latin noun LVX, meaning
“Light” (Case).
Judgement 418

Child The Child is the regenerated personality. The

Child’s back is toward us because he represents
return to the Source of all. (Case).
The Child stands for the transformed (reborn)
personality (Oribello).
The hair of the Child is black to show that he is
the product of his father and that he works by
the same occult practices (Moore).

Clouds The gray Clouds correspond to the element of

air and to the plane of formation where the
balance of consciousness continuously takes
place. The mental patterns formulated here
obstruct the direct observation of the inner
spirit from those who erroneously base their
thoughts and actions primarily upon outer
sensations (D’Agostino).

Coffins The coffins are rectangular, to represent the

three dimensions of the physical plane.
Standing at right angles, so to say, to these
Coffins, the three human figures indicate the
mathematical definition of the fourth dimension
– that which is at right angles to the other
three (Case).
The Coffins are the discarded limitation of the
physical bodies of the Man, Woman, and Child;
they are the discarded limitations of their
three-dimensional knowing.
The inner parts of the Coffins are black to
suggest not only that Man bursts forth from a
state of comparative ignorance, but that he has
done so by his own occult practices (Moore).
The blackness of the inside of the Coffins
represents the dark underworld, life without
Judgement 419

initiation (Sharman-Burke).
The Coffins are an expression of the physical
plane as well as our physical body. They float
on the surface of the water mind-stuff,
insinuating that its substance sustains all
things created in the universe (D’Agostino).

People There is a man, woman, and child in both the

foreground and the background of the scene.
The pair of trinities reveal that this awakening
(resurrection) is taking place in both the
physical and spiritual sides of life (Oribello).
The People are naked because they have
thrown off their garments of worldliness in favor
of spirituality. The People have undergone a
spiritual rebirth; they died in order to find
themselves and to acquire new life to which
they are now being summoned.
(Sharman-Burke).
The People arise from the Coffins of material
bondage in response to the blast of the Angel’s
trumpet, awakening all from the illusion of
separate existence.
Proceeding from right to left, the woman with
her arms outstretched forms the letter L, the
sign of the mourning of Isis and of the
sublimation of subconsciousness. As the only
active figure directly below, she receives the full
force of the magical influence pouring form the
trumpet. The child in the center lifts both of
his arms to reproduce the letter V, the sign of
Apophis, the destroyer. He demonstrates the
power of renewal and rebirth, which is the
result of constructively directing the
reproductive forces in man. The male at the
Judgement 420

left folds his arms on his chest forming the

letter X, the sign of Osiris Risen. Representing
self-consciousness, he remains comparatively
inactive, fixed in meditation upon the self
above. The letters the trio collectively
displayed, produce the Latin symbol of LVX
designating that their coordination initiates the
extension of light (D’Agostino).
Man The Man is the self-conscious (Case).
The Man stands for the illuminated conscious
mind, the father (Oribello).
The hair of the Man is black to show that he is
the magician; he has transformed the Woman
and himself by occult practice (Moore).
Red Cross The Red Cross of the Banner covers just 9 of
the 25 cells. Nine is the number of the Hermit
and also the number of completion, the last of
the series. The Red Cross may be taken at
many levels. Its four arms may stand for the
four planes. The Christ child has now become
dedi and can create upon the four planes. That
he can use his sex force upon the four planes is
indicated by the red color. In its narrowest
sense, the Red Cross also stands for the four
rivers of the garden of Eden, all of which are
now functioning perfectly and proportionately
in his body. It also stands for the four figures in
the card: the Angel, the self-conscious, the
subconscious, and the Christ Consciousness
(Moore).
The Red Cross on the Banner is the solar
symbol of the balance of forces (Eden).
The points of the Red Cross denote that the
way to spiritual ascent is through the
Judgement 421

reconciliation of opposites to form a higher

unity, and the central crossing point of the two
lines shows a joining together of all things that
have been separate or separated
(Sharman-Burke).

Sea The Coffins float upon a sea which is the final

reservoir of those waters which begin in the
robe of the High Priestess (Case).
The Sea upon which the Coffins float is the sea
of cosmic mental energy. It is Divine
Understanding of the meaning, mechanics, and
the goal of Life (Moore).
The Coffins float on the Sea of Cosmic Mind
stuff, which is the ultimate goal of those
streams and pools that began in the High
Priestess and passed through many forms
(Eden).
The Coffins float on the Sea. This reveals that
by spiritual thought we resurrect the hidden
spiritual qualities of our being. They have been
hindered (as though dead in a coffin), but now
they are free (resurrected) (Oribello).

Snowy Mountains Snowy mountains in the background represent

the heights of abstract thought (Case).
The Snowy Mountains correspond to abstract
thought. This formless thought is given us by
the subjective mind and to which the objective
mind of the self-conscious gives a local
habitation and a name.
Its first precursors were the Lilies that the
Magician made to grow in his garden. These
peaks were the last thing the Fool left behind
him in his descent into matter. They have now
Judgement 422

once again become as continuous as then. Man,

though ever assisted by the twin agents of the
Spirit (the Higher Self and the Holy Ghost) has
grown into all this understanding of the eternal
principles upon which the universe is founded
by his own efforts (Moore).
The Snowy Mountains beyond the sea are the
heights of abstract thought (Eden).
The Snowy Mountains indicate that we are
arising into the higher realms of consciousness
(Oribello).

Trumpet The Angel blows his message through the

Trumpet. The message is from the High
Priestess and is a message of Cosmic Memory.
The message causes us to remember what we
were before we descended into matter, what we
were on the Archetypal plane (Moore).
The angel Gabriel blows his trumpet, symbolic
of the “Clarion Call” to ascend into higher
consciousness (Oribello).

Trumpet Rays Breath is specialized in sound, and the basis of

sound is sevenfold. These seven basic tones are
indicated by seven lines radiating from the bell
of the trumpet, itself an instrument utilizing
sound vibration. Sound is the instrument of
final liberation, and that the seven tones are
those which affect the seven interior stars by
sympathetic vibration (Case).
The seven Trumpet Rays correspond to the
seven ways in which the ten emanations of the
Life Power present themselves. These also
correspond to the seven centers in our body.
The seven ways also make the seven basic
The World 423

sounds, each one associated to one center. In

order to hear Gabriel’s trumpet, the seven
centers of the body must all be working
perfectly and in unison. The instrument of this
final liberation is the actual sound. To each of
the seven tones of the trumpet the seven
interior stars will vibrate on a new and grander
scale. This is the culmination of man’s effort to
quicken the rate of his interior stars (Moore).
The seven Trumpet Rays are the seven
imperious blasts which are the creative word
that liberates Man from his terrestrial
limitations (Eden).

Woman The Woman is the sub-conscious (Case).

The Woman stands for the illuminated
subconscious mind (the mother) (Oribello).
The hair of the Woman is yellow to show that
she is the Empress and the Woman in Strength
(Moore).
The World 424
The World 425

The World Dancer

The Dancer of the World represents all of each of us, the conscious and the
subconscious, living in the act of dancing the rhythm of life.
The World is a dance. Indeed, it is the only dance that is. And what is
the nature of this dance? The dance is a constant movement of light. We
receive it and what we receive can then be revealed. And the revealment is
the passing along of the light we receive. To receive the light, we must be
feminine. To reveal the light we receive, we must be masculine.
But this is yet too simple. For when we fulfill our masculine role by
revealing the light, this act in itself is the stimulus which opens our feminine
aspect to be receiving a greater light at a higher level. And when we fulfill
our feminine role by receiving the light, this act in itself too, serves as the
stimulus providing a greater wisdom with which our masculine aspect can
reveal the light. So the dance contains more than the just the receiving and
revealing of the light. The action of the feminine aspect gives birth to a
higher level of the masculine aspect and the action of the masculine aspect
gives birth to a higher level of the feminine aspect. This is the meaning of
the masculine within the feminine and the feminine within the masculine.
The dance is intricate. The steps are complex and yet simple. The dance
cannot be danced with the new masculine coming from the old masculine and
the new feminine coming from the old feminine. For it is this which leads to
extremes and unbalance. It is this which leads to the vices. It is this which
leads to the concealment of the light and it is this which leads to the dark
descents. The dance must be danced so that the new masculine comes from
the old feminine and the new feminine comes from the old masculine. Each
step must give rise to its opposite. Only in this way is the world transformed
uniting the finite with the infinite, the limited with the transcendent, and
the eternal with the transitory.
And with the uniting of the finite with the infinite, there is cosmic com-
pletion and perfection. The manifestation of this is in the truth or true law
which becomes manifest. This is depicted in the World by the wreath which
encircles the dancer.
That which surrounds or encircles is never the essence. For the essence
is that which is contained within. What is contained within is the dancer
The World 426

dancing. What is contained within is the dancer who is always in movement

and fluctuation. Each dance step produces a change in the dancer’s knowl-
edge of the true law. These changes always increase the dancer’s knowledge
and perspective providing the dancer with opportunities for new steps, new
movements, and new dynamics. And the dancing of these new movements
leads the dancer to higher and higher levels of perfection. This movement to
higher and higher levels of perfection is the meaning of cosmic completion.
It is the dance of the world dancer.
The World 427

General Discussion Quotes

Waite says that the World represents:

the perfection and the end of the Cosmos, the secret which is
within it, the rapture of the universe when it understands itself
in God. It is further the state of the soul in the consciousness of
Divine Vision, reflected from the self-knowing spirit. ...
It has more than one message on the macrocosmic side and is, for
example, the state of the restored world when the law of mani-
festation shall have been carried to the highest degree of natural
perfection. But it is perhaps more especially a story of the past,
referring to that day when all was declared to be good, when the
morning stars sang together and the Sons of God shouted for joy.

Sharman-Burke says that the World:

symbolizes completeness by showing oneness with self and na-

ture. It represents an establishment of oneself in one’s rightful
place, in relation to the cosmos and as an expression of internal
and external harmony. The individual is now at one with nature
and the world; there is a sense of satisfaction and achievement
at finding one’s rightful place. Realization of the World is the
objective to which mystics have aspired from time immemorial.
Jung calls it Realization of the Archetype of the Self; Christian-
ity calls it Beatitude; it is the supreme goal in Buddhist, Hindu
and Taoist traditions as well as the goal to which the cabalist as-
pires. In involves the supreme integration of self and the cosmos
as well as unity, harmony and balance. Whether it is a viable ex-
pectation for the average individual is questionable but certainly
intimations of it can be offered. ... Here the Tarot connects with
the great mystic traditions which have constituted a common de-
nominator between all the world’s great religions and systems of
philosophical thought from ancient times up to the present day.

Nichols says that

The World 428

The dancer pictured in the World ... appears as a naked human

being, intent on no specific act or purpose other than being –
being herself. Focused neither on past nor future, she moves in
rhythm to the ever changing present. As her title indicates she is
not confined by restrictions of a limited allegorical classification.
.. She encompasses all of these and much more. ... Although she
is in constant motion, she remains connected with the ground of
her being – golden and indestructible. ...
Heretofore, the hero has had brief intimations of the self as the
central guiding force of his journey. Now, in the World, the self
stands completely revealed in an unforgettable way. When one
has such a revelation, it effects a profound and permanent change.
The result is not simply a further widening of the former person-
ality – it is as if one were re-created as a wholly new being. From
this moment forward, the self becomes a conscious, ever present
reality. ...
Then Nichols quotes Jung’s description of the self.
The widened consciousness is no longer that touchy, egotistical
bundle of personal wishes, fears, hopes, ambitions which always
has to be compensated and corrected by unconscious counter-
tendencies: instead, it is a function of relationship to the world
of objects, bringing the individual into absolute, binding, and in-
dissoluble communion with the world at large. The complications
arising at this stage are no longer egotistic wish-conflicts, but dif-
ficulties that concern others as much as oneself. At this stage
it is fundamentally a question of collective problems, which have
activated the collective unconscious because they require collec-
tive rather than personal compensation. We can now see that the
unconscious produces contents which are valid not only for the
person concerned, but for others as well, in fact, for a great many
people and possibly for all.
Eden says that the World
is thought by some to be the ideal state from which humanity
came and to which it returns. This attainment is the merging
The World 429

of the self-conscious with the subconscious, and the blending of

these two with the superconscious – the final state of Cosmic
Consciousness, the supreme goal to which all the other keys have
led.

D’Agostino discusses the World Dancer from the perspective of the Fool.
He says that in the beginning

The Fool, abiding on a barren mountain top, prepares to descend

into the world of phenomena, to pursue the realization of his
inner visions. The journey has now come to an end, and his
visions have been fulfilled. So in the center of the picture, this
same androgynous figure stands unsupported in space, free from
all limitations, and surrounded by the riches of its own creation.

Ussher says that

‘The World’ is a metaphysical phase, which is the reason why

(like ‘the Fool’) it has no equivalent in the primitive runes. This
nude maiden – a Kali dancing down the world – is Eternity, as the
Fool was Infinity, the Eckhartian ‘Abyss of Godhead’: her feet –
like the Hanged Man’s, but unbound and in movement – form a
cross. She is ... the twin opposites of innocence and experience,
instinct and reason, day and night, Nature and the Divine – she
is the eternal morning of him who, instead of bending joy to his
will, kisses it as it flies. The bower which framed the Hanged Man
has become an ellipse formed by a flower-studded garland, around
which are gathered the four symbolic creatures of the Apocalypse
– the four quarters of the Cherub in Hebrew mysticism. ... She
is the alchemists ‘Quintessence’ – as much of fire as of earth, as
much of air as water – the concrete actuality which is at once ideal
and material, as the Fool was pure potentiality: she, the bride, is
Cosmos as he was Chaos – she is the attained Sophia or Wisdom
of him who ‘persists in his folly’. In her, in Nietzsche’s words, all
spirit has become raiment and all body a dancer.

In comparing the World with the Hanged Man, Moore says that
The World 430

The Hanged Man’s card is constructed with the cross over the wa-
ter triangle; while the pattern on which the World is constructed
is the fire triangle over the cross. ...
The Chariot card, too, is composed on this pattern of the fire
triangle over the cross. The Charioteer stands in a square which
represents the perfected body, and the cross is always supposed
to be a square in the shape of its diameter.

Moore gives the reason why the figure in the World is not a man:

Because the Mind, or the Man, is only the agent or executive.

The Administrative Power is really Nature herself, localized in
you.

In comparing the Chariot card with the World, Moore says that

In these two cards the central figure is doing the same thing,
performing magical creation. Why in the first card is it a man
and in the second card a woman? Merely to represent the double
reciprocal action of the two life Principles you see illustrated on
the veil back of the High Priestess, the masculine in the feminine
and the feminine in the masculine. The Charioteer emphasizes
the masculine in the feminine part of the coordination; the figure
in the World emphasizes the feminine in the masculine part of
the coordination.

Moore sums up one of the main themes through the Tarot.

The problem of human evolution is two-fold. To cultivate the

mind to its utmost potency, and to use it only in the service of
the Spirit. ... [Then] When we have conquered instinct [by mind]
we find we have another enemy to conquer, ... the mind itself.
The only way to control the mind is by the transformed heart,
which is the product of man, the son of man or mind. The animal
in us toilfully creates the mind, and at last emerges and takes
control. Then the mind in us toilfully creates the transformed
heart, and in the end it must emerge and take control of the
mind. At any point in this long process the animal may slip
The World 431

control and the mind may slip control. Then our work is for the
moment undone. We must pause in our work to readjust our
mistake, and the results of it, before we can resume it. When we
have finished the process of perfecting ourselves and the matter
which composes our bodies, we then set about the task, which
was assigned to us from the beginning of this solar system, to
help Nature perfect all the other matter in this planet.

Finally in describing what the World symbolizes Moore says:

This picture tries to symbolize that the superconsciousness as

brought into the body of the Empress is now directive power,
and the self-consciousness is motor power. She directs and he
executes.

Case says that the World is sometimes named

“The Universe,” to indicate that the consciousness it represents

is not merely terrestrial, but truly cosmic. ... This key signifies
Cosmic Consciousness, or Nirvana. ... The central fact of this
experience is that he to whom it comes has first-hand knowledge
that he is in perfect union with the One Power which is the Pivot
and the Source of the whole cosmos. He knows also that through
him the governing and directing power of the universe flows out
into manifestation. ... Here is a representation of what you really
are, and of what the cosmos really is. The universe is the Dance
of Life. The immortal, central Self of you – That is the Eternal
Dancer.
The World 432

Symbolism

Blue Background The Blue Background is the Cosmic Mind-Stuff

in which the Dancer dances, and which the
Dancer helps to manipulate using her two
wands (Moore).

Beasts The four Beasts ( Lion, Man, Eagle, and Bull)

represent the four elements of Fire, Air, Water
and Earth, which have here been balanced and
become the cornerstones of life (Eden).

Bull The Bull represents Taurus, Spring, and Earth

(Sharman-Burke).
In the Wheel of Fortune, the Bull faces the
Lion, but in the World, the Bull faces away
from the Lion. This is because the Bull
corresponds to the last letter of dedi, which
symbolizes the physical plane. In cosmic
consciousness the closed circuit of successive
transformations of energy is, so to say, broken,
so that the limitations of the physical plane and
its three dimensions no longer bind the
consciousness of the adept (Case).
The Bull is yellow stripped with red. The color
of the Bull means that the body is now
reconstructed according to the desires of the
Higher Self (Moore).

Crossed Legs The legs of the Dancer form a cross, as do those

of the Hanged Man, but the triangle he
represented was under the cross, signifying that
he was still bound by earthly things. Here, a
triangle is formed pointing upward from the
Dancer’s hands to the top of her head. Thus
The World 433

the triangle of Spirit now surmounts the cross

of the material (Eden).

Eagle The Eagle represents Scorpio, Autumn, and

Water (Sharman-Burke).

Dancer The Dancer wears a purple sash that is the

color of wisdom and divinity and it is draped in
such a way as to conceal the sexual gender, for
this Dancer represents a hermaphrodite, a
symbol of unity between the sexes. The World
Dancer is seemingly blending and unifying the
opposites to create harmony and balance as
though the four elements have been combined
to create a fifth complete one. The World
Dancer can also symbolize the fetus, waiting to
be born again as the Fool so the procession of
Trumps may begin again (Sharman-Burke).
The Dancer seems a female, some writer claim
that a hermaphrodite is depicted with the veil
hiding the truth (Eden).
The Dancer represents the merging of
self-consciousness with subconsciousness, and
the blending of these two with
superconsciousness. Occult tradition says that
the scarf, violet in color, and shaped like a
letter Kaph, conceals the fact that this is an
androgyne figure. In this highest form of
conscious experience all sense of separate sex is
lost, along with the extinction of the sense of
separate personality. The Dancer is the
All-Father and the All-Mother. She is the
Bride, but she is also the Bridegroom. She is
the Kingdom and the King, even as Malkuth,
the Kingdom is by Kabbalists called the
“Bride,” but also has the Divine Name jln
The World 434

ipc`, Adonai Melek, Lord King (Case).

The Dancer is androgyne. The legs of the
Dancer are the legs of a man.
The Dancer being enclosed in a Wreath
illustrating the creative imagination made like
an ellipse, symbolizes that there is nothing to
limit the free action of the Dancer except the
Laws of Nature and the Will of the Higher Self.
All magical creation must be obedient to the
laws of nature. There is nothing super-natural.
The so-called miracle only utilizes the laws of
nature on a higher spiral (Moore).
The legs of the Dancer are crossed like the
Hanged Man’s legs are crossed. Her arms form
the sides of an upright triangle having her head
as the apex, while drawing a line from her right
to left hand would create its base. The triangle
over the equal arm cross forms the alchemical
symbol of Sulphur, designating that human
consciousness has arrived at its highest level of
awareness and expression (D’Agostino).

Eagle The Eagle is colored orange and yellow. The

orange beak of the Eagle means that the mind
dictates the use of the Stellar sex power. It
enters the body through the transformed heart
– to issue forth again in magical creation. The
mind is the mind of the Higher Self, and not
the personality. This fact is indicated not only
by the pale yellow, but in addition by the arrow
(Moore).

Laurel Wreath The oval Laurel Wreath is a symbol of success

and triumph. The Laurel Wreath can also
symbolize the womb (Sharman-Burke).
The World 435

The Laurel Wreath symbolizes the mystery of

creation. The ribbons twined around the
wreath suggests the cosmic lemniscate (Eden).
The Laurel Wreath is formed of twenty-two
groups of three leaves, eleven groups on either
side. These represent the twenty-two forces
corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew
alphabet and to the Tarot Keys. There are
three leaves in each group, because every one of
the twenty-two forces has three modes of
expression. Any one of these forces may
manifest itself in integration, in disintegration,
or in equilibration, according to the way in
which it is applied. The ellipse is a zero sign,
and zero is the numeral symbol of
superconsciousness.
The horizontal 8-shaped bindings at the top
and bottom of the wreath are like those over
the heads of the Magician and the woman in
Strength. They have the same meanings. Here
they are red, to suggest that the law
symbolized by the Magician and Strength has
been carried into action. The similarity
between them, and their positions, suggest the
Hermetic axiom, “That which is above is as
that which is below” (Case).
The Laurel Wreath surrounding the Dancer is
shaped like an ellipse or zero, the no-thing,
which the Fool represents. The Wreath is
composed of four rows of green leaves, the
creative imagination working in the four planes.
These leaves are held together by the Mars
vibration, which is the activity of sex and
gender; and its form being two eights, it repeats
the idea of the Dancer’s two Wands, of the two
The World 436

eights which hover over the heads of the

Magician and the transformed Empress
(Moore).
The Laurel Wreath framing the Dancer
indicates a harmonious interweaving of all
aspects of nature, conscious and unconscious to
form a continuous and integrated whole. As
well it creates a safe asylum for the newly
emerging self, so that its unity can never be
disrupted by invasion from the outside. It
creates a boundary to contain the Dancer’s
energies and protect them from dissipating.
Finally, it is shaped like an eye through which
man may glimpse the miraculous (Nichols).
The Laurel Wreath is composed of the
reproductive forces of nature, woven into a
definitive body, selected and finitized by the
human will. The future development of these
forces on the lower scale of evolution depends
upon and requires the introduction of the
human element. The outline of the Laurel
Wreath resembles the glyph of
super-consciousness. Its communication
declares that the powers at work within
personality, regardless of their characteristic
quality, originate at this higher level of
consciousness, and only when we fully realize
that we are much more than our personality,
will we be able to rise above the limitations we
impose upon ourselves and become the true
masters of our lives (D’Agostino).

Lion The Lion represents Leo, Summer, and Fire

(Sharman-Burke).
The Lion is colored orange and is the stellar sex
The World 437

power itself. It is the same Lion whom in

Strength licks the hand of the purified Empress.
In the World, he is placing himself at her
disposal (Moore).

Man The Man represents Aquarius, Winter, and Air

(Sharman-Burke).

Purple Sash The Purple Sash is the color of wisdom and

divinity. It is draped in such a way as to
conceal the sex of the Dancer (Sharman-Burke).
The fringes on the top of the Purple Sash form
the letters of the Hebrew word which in English
means “Judah.” Judah refers to the
transformed heart. The Lion of the Tribe of
Judah is the lion in the lower corner. The word
seems to be written on top to show that the
transformed heart takes the place of the head
(Moore).
The flowing Purple Sash suggest the presence of
the ever moving spirit (Nichols).
Wrapped around the body of the Dancer is a
violet sash. This depicts the cyclic principle of
the mechanical sequence of events, which
creates the outer world of appearances
(D’Agostino).

Red Fillet The red fillet running through the Dancer’s hair
symbolizes the mind and mental plane made
active (Moore).

Wands The two Wands represent the duality the Fool

had encountered so many times along his route.
There has been constant emphasis on two
halves forming as whole; pairs and opposites
combining to become one (Sharman-Burke).
The World 438

The Dancer’s two Wands represent the powers

of involution and evolution, which she now
possesses (Eden).
The Dancer has two Wands. In the B.O.T.A.
version these are spirals. That in the right hand
turns clockwise. The one in the left hand turns
counter-clockwise. The Wands represent the
spiral force of the Life-power. That in the right
hand symbolizes Involution the other represents
Evolution (Case).
Each Wand is double-headed. The Wand of the
Charioteer has only one head and represents
the fact that the solar force is incomplete until
supplanted by the lunar force.
The Wand in the Dancer’s right hand
represents the masculine in the feminine. The
Wand in the left hand represents the feminine
in the masculine. This reciprocal interchange of
power is depicted by the fruits and leaves on
the veil of the High Priestess, by the horizontal
figure over the head of the Magician and the
transformed Empress, and by the symbol of
Aquarius, the perfected man. The two wavy
lines say the Above is like that Below, and the
Below is the Above (Moore).
The Dancer holds two wands, one in each hand,
representing the positive and negative poles of
energy. As she moves, these two move in
relation to each other in a compensatory way,
symbolizing the constant and dynamic interplay
of all opposites (Nichols).
The Dancer holds a Wand in each hand
representing centripetal and centrifugal motion.
This spiral activity simultaneously winds and
The World 439

unwinds, integrates and disintegrates all forms

existing in the universe (D’Agostino).

Yellow Hair The Dancer has yellow hair to identify her with
the Empress (Moore).
Index
above, 267 being, 8, 17
accomplish, 249 belligerent, 305
action, 175, 191, 367 below, 267
actions, 154 beneficence, 249
afraid, 249 beneficence of God, 249, 409
agitated, 136 benevolent, 58
air, 39 beyond, 193, 306, 325, 409
align, 39 binding, 325
all good, 250 birth, 269
all loving, 250 Black, 23
all-consuming fire, 367 Black Robe, 32
anger, 39, 207 Black Wand, 32
angry, 305 blesser, 17
annihilation, 367 blessing, 40
appearance, 7, 20, 55, 56, 229, 345 Blue, 23
apprehend, 191, 193 body, 39
apprehended, 192 break through, 326
archetypes, 14, 17
ascent, 207 call forth, 55
attend, 389 caretaker, 389
attendant, 389 carrier, 7
attentive, 154 Carse, 9
attentiveness, 39 causal time process, 268
awareness, 76 center, 207
certainty, 40
bad, 175, 305, 389 chains, 306
badness, 175 Change, 14, 154
balance, 27, 153, 154, 230 change, 8, 17, 20, 135, 136, 249, 250,
balance in change, 267 267, 325
beauty, 207 channels, 390
becoming, 8, 14, 17, 285 Chariot, 153
beginnings, 20 Charioteer, 18, 153
Being, 14 circumstances, 285

440
The World 441

civilized ruler, 93 dark descents, 425

clearing the mind, 346 darkness, 207, 367
cleaving, 389 daytime, 367, 389
collaborators, 208 dead, 267
commander, 75, 93 Death, 20
compassion, 40 death, 268
complete giver, 409 decay, 267
complete openness, 9 deficiency, 136
complete receiver, 409 deficient, 39
completion, 40 delight, 136
conceal God, 207 depressed, 305
concealed, 306, 410 depression, 207
concealment, 40, 410, 425 descent, 207
conceals, 136 descent downward, 207
confronted, 305 desire, 175
connection, 367 desires, 58
conscious, 425 desiring to give, 17
conscious intent, 192 desiring to receive, 17, 136
consciousness, 7, 15, 39, 306, 325, 345, destroyer, 94
389, 409 destroying, 55, 325
constant giving, 11 Devil, 20, 305, 307
constrained foot, 249 difficulty, 285, 410
container of holiness, 39 dimension of time, 268
control, 249 disconnected, 136
cosmic completion, 425 discrimination, 135, 136
cosmic framework, 268 disoriented, 249
cosmic perfection, 425 distinctions, 390
cosmic subconscious, 18, 135, 229 Divine, 7, 136, 409
cosmic subconsciousness, 57 Divine Beneficence, 12, 175, 176
create, 175 Divine Benevolence, 346
creating, 55 Divine consequences, 58
creative form, 58 Divine emergence, 267
creative imagination, 75, 76, 93 Divine Law, 17, 57, 75, 111, 175
creator, 94 Divine Light, 307
crisis, 176 Divine light, 389, 390
cup, 39 Divine Oneness, 11
The World 442

Divine Reality, 176 exclaim, 55

Divine service, 367 excrete, 55
doing, 18 execute, 55
duality, 39 exercise, 55
dynamic union, 136 exert, 55
exhale, 55
earth, 39, 40, 389 exhibit, 55
efficient, 154 exhilarate, 55
ego, 8, 40, 111, 367 exhort, 56
emotional turmoil, 230 exile, 368
emotionally, 39 existence, 249
Emotions, 154 existential contradiction, 10
emotions, 7 exit, 56
Emperor, 18, 93 exorcise, 56
Empress, 18, 75, 93 expand, 56
emptiness, 207 expansion, 40
empty vessel, 207 expectation, 285
En Sof, 191 expectations, 305
encircles, 425 expel, 55
encompasses, 192 experience, 56
encounter, 193 experienced reversal, 249
endings, 20 expire, 55
endower of meaning, 17 explain, 56
endowing, 19 explore, 56
energy, 154 export, 56
equilibrium, 153 express, 56
essence, 7, 20, 55, 56, 176, 191, 229, expressing, 153
251, 345, 425 expression, 55, 56, 192
eternal, 268, 409, 425 expunge, 56
Eternal Law, 135 extend, 56
eternity, 20 external appearance, 345
evil, 229 extort, 56
evolution, 57 extrapolate, 56
exaggerate, 55 extremes, 425
exceed, 55 extricate, 56
excel, 55 extrude, 55
The World 443

exude, 56 gentleness, 175

exult, 56 gift of existence, 7
give up, 306
facilitators, 208
giving, 267
faith, 176, 207
Glory of God, 250
feel bad, 389
go beyond, 27, 136, 153
female, 135
God, 249, 367
feminine, 425
God’s benevolence, 230
feminine dimensions, 75
God’s will, 20, 39, 191, 249, 389, 390
feminine force, 58
Godliness, 3, 17, 191, 193, 207, 229,
feminine waters, 367
230, 368, 409
finite, 425
Godly essence, 8
finite game, 8
Godly level, 136
finite goals, 27
Godly light, 154
finite will, 191
Godly soul, 153
fire, 39
Gold, 23
fluctuation, 426
good, 175, 229, 389
Fool, 27
good deed, 207
Fool - Wheel, 20
goodness, 176
form, 57
grasp, 193
formless, 153
grasped, 192
four worlds, 7
Gray, 23
fragmentation, 39
greater wisdom, 425
frame of reference, 306
Green, 23
free choice, 175
grow, 230
free will, 7, 249, 367
growth, 285, 325
freedom, 40, 325, 326
frustrated, 249 half-knowledge, 305, 306
frustration, 39, 207 Hanged Man, 18, 249, 250
fulfillment, 268, 285, 305 happening, 305
full Moon, 368 harmony, 135, 154
fullness, 40 hateful, 305
future, 93, 409 having, 8
future consequences, 230 heaven, 40
future directed, 19 help others, 230
Hermit, 18, 191
garment, 191
The World 444

Hierophant, 18, 111 injustice, 229

High Priestess, 18, 55, 75, 76 inner essence, 345
Higher Self, 111, 153, 154 inner extremity, 326
holy, 193 inner joy, 326
holy side, 368 inner light, 193
house, 39 inner man, 191
humble, 368 inner reality, 153, 175
humbleness, 345 inner self-conscious, 18
inner teacher, 111
ideal world, 305 inner world, 153
ideas, 58 innocent potentiality, 27
illusion, 39, 249 insight, 306
illusionary existence, 40 insistently, 56
image, 75 instability, 20
image-making, 153 intellect, 39, 305
imagination, 39, 111 interferes, 305
imperator, 75 internal reality, 94
implementor, 17, 55 internally limited, 9
implicit assumptions, 230 interpretation, 135, 175, 176
incompatibility, 305 interpretations, 390
incomplete state, 410 intuition, 306
inconsistency, 135, 175, 305 involution, 57
incorrectness, 135
individual existence, 192 Joseph, 229
individual will, 57 joy, 20, 207, 250
individuality, 176 joyful becoming, 14
indwelling, 368 joyous, 9
Infinite, 193 joyousness, 326
infinite, 27, 345, 425 Judgement, 20, 409
infinite game, 8 just, 229
infinite reality, 40 just action, 231
inflates, 40 justice, 229
inherrent unity, 136 justness, 230
initial interpretation, 306
knife’s edge, 27
initiator, 17
know separation, 136
initiator of change, 94
knowing, 18
The World 445

knowledge, 111, 305, 368 mentally, 39

middle column, 345
lantern, 191
mind, 192
laziness, 305
minister, 389
learn, 230
miracle, 250
Lee, 13
mirror, 250
let it go, 326
moment of emergence, 267
life experiences, 285
Moon, 20, 367
light, 40, 191, 192, 367, 389, 425
motivation, 153, 154, 193
limitation, 325, 326
move boundaries, 9
limitations, 153
movement, 426
limited, 425
moving point meditation, 346
limited worldliness, 409
multiplicity, 154
living body, 55
living spirit, 55 negative emotions, 305
lose our faith, 250 new dynamics, 426
love, 40, 207 new reality, 27
love unrealized, 135 nighttime, 367
Lovers, 20, 135 non-interfering, 154
loving, 136 not unite, 268
lower world, 18
officiate, 389
Magician, 18, 39, 75 One, 154
magickal will, 39 one way gate, 175
major arcana, 17 Oneness, 409
male, 135 oneness, 57, 193
malevolent, 58 openness, 153
manifest, 57, 175 opposite, 285
manifestation, 57 Orange, 23
manyfoldness, 57 order, 93
masculine, 425 other side, 267, 368
masculine dimensions, 93 our will, 249, 390
masculine waters, 367 outer self-conscious, 18
material form, 154 outer world, 153
meaning, 19, 325
meaningful living, 14 partial knowledge, 305
memory, 93 past, 93, 409
The World 446

past directed, 19 reason, 7, 93, 230

past memory, 76 reasons, 390
peace, 135, 136, 153 receive, 425
peak experience, 193 receiving, 267
pentacle, 39 receiving for oneself alone, 135
perfection, 305, 426 receiving in order to share, 135
perseverance, 111 Red, 23
persistently, 56 reference frame, 345
personal subconscious, 18, 75, 135, reflected Divine light, 367
175, 176 reflection, 367
physical, 17, 55 reluctance, 325
Physical existence, 7 remove limitations, 9
physical form, 55 renewed, 19
physical man, 191 renewing, 19
physical world, 55 reproductive, 58
physically, 39 resentment, 39
Pink, 23 restraining action, 286
power, 153 restriction, 14, 40
present, 94, 409 restrictions, 390
prevent change, 249 restrictive assumptions, 306
principles, 325 restrictiveness, 306
process of loving, 137 reveal, 306, 389
profound insight, 111 reveal Godliness, 207, 345
purpose, 267 reveal the light, 193
revealing, 154
quiet our emotions, 390
revealing the light, 367
rationalizations, 390 revealment, 40, 425
reach beyond, 20 reveals the light, 39
reaching, 325 revelation, 409
reaching beyond, 20 reversal, 250
react, 207 reward, 268
real goodness, 250 rot, 267
real knowledge, 231 royal coronation, 409
real world, 153
sacred, 19, 193
Reality, 250
sad, 305
reality, 249, 305
The World 447

sadness, 250 Stone Color, 23

sake of Heaven, 368 strength, 40, 175
sanctuary, 409 stress, 285
security, 8 striving, 250
self-conscious, 15, 17, 18, 39, 57, 75, structure building, 58
76, 93, 111, 135, 136, 153, 154, stubborn, 136
175, 176, 192, 306 stubbornness, 305
self-doubt, 305 subconscious, 15, 17, 18, 57, 111, 135,
sensitive, 154 153, 175, 176, 305, 306, 345,
sensitivity, 136, 325 367, 425
separate, 58, 249, 368 subjective restriction, 306
separateness, 39 substanceless, 153
separation, 17, 20, 135, 136, 191 subtle, 154
servant, 389 suffer, 136
serve, 389 suffering, 14, 20, 135, 175, 268
Shechinah, 192, 368 suggestions, 58
Silver, 23 Sun, 20, 367, 389
situations, 305 super-conscious, 15
speech, 191, 367 superconscious, 17, 27
spirit, 153 surprises, 8
spiritual, 17, 55, 409 surrender, 368
spiritual breath of life, 137 surrounds, 192
spiritual cultivator, 345 suspend judgement, 390
spiritual home, 368 suspended upside-down, 249
spiritual non-existence, 367 sword, 39, 230
spiritual purposes, 409
spiritual source, 191 take control, 40
spiritual temple, 368 teachings, 111
spiritual union, 75 Temperance, 20, 285
spiritual world, 389 Tetragrammaton, 7
spirituality, 249 the self-conscious, 76
spiritually, 39 think, 7
squeeze out, 56 thought, 191, 367
stability, 20 thought-form, 111
stagnate, 19 thought-forms, 153
Star Maiden, 18, 345 Tower, 20, 325
The World 448

tranquility, 153 unsatisfied, 268

transcendant delight, 153 upper world, 18
transcendent, 425 upside-down, 250
transcendent path, 389 upward ascent, 207
transcending, 345
transcending the commonplace, 193 value system, 305
transcends, 409 veiled, 57
transform, 250 vessel, 40
transforming evil, 389 vice, 135
transforming our nature, 17 vices, 425
transforming the world, 207 vindictive, 305
transitory, 425 Violet, 24
tree, 249 virtue, 135, 285
true law, 249, 425 wait upon, 389
true selves, 250 wand, 39
truly living, 269 water, 39, 250
truth, 207 Wheel of Fortune, 207
turmoil, 136, 153, 207 White, 24
ultimately just, 230 will, 75, 249, 389
unbalance, 425 willed image, 75
unbinds, 306 willing, 18
uncertainty, 40 wisdom, 135, 368
Unchaining, 306 Woman of Justice, 18, 229
understanding, 207, 368 Woman of Strength, 175
understood, 192 Women of Strength, 18
undifferentiated, 55 World Dancer, 18, 425
unfulfillment, 14 world of action, 7
unification, 17, 20, 57, 345 world of appearances, 55
unifies, 57, 345 world of creation, 7, 111
unify, 58 world of emanation, 7, 111
union, 135, 136, 192, 193, 267, 345 world of formation, 7, 111
union incomplete, 135 world of forms, 55
unites, 268 world of manifestation, 55, 111
unity, 39, 193 worldly desires, 368
unpleasant places, 153 wrong, 135
The World 449

Yellow, 24

Zalman, 7