Showing posts with label tarot deck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tarot deck. Show all posts

The High Priestess ~ Meaning and Symbolism




THE HIGH PRIESTESS.


When I lifted the first veil and entered the outer court
of the Temple of Initiation, I saw in half darkness the
figure of a woman sitting on a high throne between two
pillars of the temple, one white, and one black. Mystery
emanated from her and was about her. Sacred symbols
shone on her green dress; on her head was a golden tiara
surmounted by a two-horned moon; on her knees she
held two crossed keys and an open book. Between the
two pillars behind the woman hung another veil all
embroidered with green leaves and fruit of pomegranate.

And a voice said:

"To enter the Temple one must lift the second veil
and pass between the two pillars. And to pass thus, one
must obtain possession of the keys, read the book and
understand the symbols. Are you able to do this?"

"I would like to be able, " I said.

Then the woman turned her face to me and looked
into my eyes without speaking. And through me passed a
thrill, mysterious and penetrating like a golden wave;
tones vibrated in my brain, a flame was in my
heart, and I understood that she spoke to me, saying
without words:

"This is the Hall of Wisdom. No one can reveal it no
one can hide it. Like a flower it must grow and bloom in
thy soul. If thou wouldst plant the seed of this flower in
thy soul —learn to discern the real from false. Listen only
to the Voice that is soundless... Look only on that which is
invisible, and remember that in thee thyself, is the
Temple and the gate to it and the mystery, and the
initiation."

The World ~ Meaning and Symbolism




THE WORLD.


An unexpected vision appeared to me. A circle not
unlike a wreath woven from rainbow and lightnings,
whirled from heaven to earth with a stupendous, velocity,
blinding me by its brilliance. And amidst this light and fire
I heard music and soft singing, thunderclaps and the roar
of a tempest, the rumble of falling mountains and
earthquakes.

The circle whirled with a terrifying noise, touching the
sun and the earth, and, in the centre of it I saw the naked,
dancing figure of a beautiful young woman, enveloped by
a light, transparent scarf, in her hand she held a magic
wand.

Presently the four apocalyptical beasts began to appear
on the edges of the circle; one with the face of a lion,
another with the face of a man, the third, of an eagle and
the fourth, of a bull.

The vision disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. A
weird silence fell on me. "What does it mean?" I asked in
wonder.

"It is the image of the world," the voice said, "but it
can be understood only after the Temple has been
entered. This is a vision of the world in the circle of
Time, amidst the four principles. But thou seest
differently because thou seest the world outside thyself
Learn to see it in thyself and thou wilt understand the
infinite essence, hidden in all illusory forms.

Understand that the world which thou knowest is only
one of the aspects of the infinite world, and things and
phenomena are merely hieroglyphics of deeper ideas.

The Empress ~ Meaning and Symbolism




THE EMPRESS.


I felt the breath of the spring, and accompanying the
fragrance of violets and lilies-of-the-valley I heard the
tender singing of elves. Rivulets murmured, the tree-tops
rustled, the grasses whispered, innumerable birds sang in
choruses and bees hummed; everywhere I felt the
breathing of joyful, living Nature.

The sun shone tenderly and softly and a little white
cloud hung over the woods.

In the midst of a green meadow where primroses
bloomed, I saw the Empress seated on a throne covered
with ivy and lilacs. A green wreath adorned her golden
hair and, above her head, shone twelve stars. Behind her
rose two snowy wings and in her hands she held a sceptre.

All around, beneath the sweet smile of the Empress,
flowers and buds opened their dewy, green leaves. Her
whole dress was covered with them as though each newly
opened flower were reflected in it or had engraved itself
thereon and thus become part of her garment.
The sign of Venus, the goddess of love, was chiselled
on her marble throne.

"Queen of life," I said, "why is it so bright and joyful all about
you? Do you not know of the grey weary autumn, of the cold,
white winter? Do you not know of death and graveyards with
black graves, damp and cold? How can you smile so joyfully on
the opening flowers, when everything is destined to death, even
that which has not yet been born?"

For answer the Empress looked on me still smiling and, under
the influence of that smile, I suddenly felt a flower of some clear
understanding open in my heart.

Judgement ~ Meaning and Symbolism




JUDGMENT.

I saw an ice plain, and on the horizon, a chain of
snowy mountains. A cloud appeared and began to grow
until it covered a quarter of the sky. Two fiery wings
suddenly expanded in the cloud, and I knew that I beheld
the messenger of the Empress.

He raised a trumpet and blew through it vibrant,
powerful tones. The plain quivered in response to him
and the mountains loudly rolled their echoes. One after
another, graves opened in the plain and out of them came
men and women, old and young, and children. 

They stretched out their arms toward the Messenger of the
Empress to catch the sounds of his trumpet.

And in its tones I felt the smile of the Empress and in
the opening graves I saw the opening flowers whose
fragrance seemed to be wafted by the outstretched arms.
Then I understood the mystery of birth in death.

The Emperor ~ Meaning and Symbolism




THE EMPEROR.


After I learned the first three numbers I was given to
understand the Great Law of Four—the alpha and omega
of all.

I saw the Emperor on a lofty stone throne, ornament-
ed by four rams' heads. On his forehead shone a golden
helmet. His white beard fell over a purple mantle. In one
hand he held a sphere, the symbol of his possession, and
in the other, a sceptre in the form of an Egyptian cross—
the sign of his power over birth.

"I am The Great Law," the Emperor said. 

"I am the
name of God. The four letters of his name are in me and
I am in all.

"I am in the four principles. I am in the four elements
I am in the four seasons. I am in the four cardinal points I
am in the four signs of the Tarot.

"I am the beginning; I am action; I am completion I
am the result.

"For him who knows how to see me there are no
mysteries on earth.
"I am the great Pentacle.

"As the earth encloses in itself fire, water and air;
as the fourth letter of the Name encloses in itself the first
three and becomes itself the first, so my sceptre encloses
the complete triangle and bears in itself the seed of a new
triangle.

"I am the Logos in the full aspect and the beginning of
a new Logos."

And while the Emperor spoke, his helmet shone
brighter and brighter, and his golden armour gleamed
beneath his mantle. I could not bear his glory and 1
lowered my eyes.

When I tried to lift them again a vivid light of radiant
fire was before me, and I prostrated myself and made
obeisance to the Fiery Word.

The Sun ~ Meaning and Symbolism




THE SUN.

As soon as I perceived the Sun, I understood that It,
Itself, is the expression of the Fiery Word and the sign of
the Emperor.

The great luminary shone with an intense heat upon the
large golden heads of sun-flowers.
And I saw a naked boy, whose head was wreathed with
roses, galloping on a white horse and waving a bright-red
banner.

I shut my eyes for a moment and when I opened them
again I saw that each ray of the Sun is the sceptre of the
Emperor and bears life. And I saw how under the
concentration of these rays the mystic flowers of the waters
open and receive the rays into themselves and how all
Nature is constantly born from the union of two principles.

Wheel of Chance - Meaning and Symbolism

THE WHEEL OF CHANCE.

I walked along, absorbed in deep thought, trying to
understand the vision of the Angel. And suddenly,
as I lifted my head, I saw midway in the sky a huge,
revolving circle covered with Kabalistic letters and
symbols. The circle turned with terrible velocity,
and around it, falling down and flying up, symbolic figures
of the serpent and the dog revolved; above it sat an
immovable sphinx.

In clouds, on the four quarters of heaven, I saw the
four apocalyptical beings, one with the face of a lion,
another with the race of a bull, the third with a face, of an
eagle, and the fourth with the face of a bull. And each of
them read an open book.

And I heard the voices of Zarathustra's beasts:—
"All go, all return,—the wheel of life ever turns. All die, all flourish
again,—the year of existence runs eternally.
"All perish, all live again, the same house of existence is I ever
building. All separate, all meet again, the ring of existence is ever true to
itself.

"Existence begins at every moment. Round each 'here' rolls 'there'.
The middle is everywhere. The way of eternity is a curve.

Death - Meaning and Symbolism


DEATH.

Fatigued by the flashing of the Wheel of Life, I
sank to earth and shut my eyes. But it seemed to
me that the Wheel kept turning before me and
that the four creatures continued sitting in the
clouds and reading their books.

Suddenly, on opening my eyes, I saw a
gigantic rider on a white horse, dressed in black
armour, with a black helmet and black plume. A
skeleton's face looked out from under the
helmet. One bony hand held a large, black,
slowly-waving banner, and the other held a black
bridle ornamented with skulls and bones.
And, wherever the white horse passed, night
and death followed; flowers withered, leaves
drooped, the earth covered itself with a white
shroud; graveyards appeared; towers, castles and
cities were destroyed.

Kings in the full splendour of their fame and
their power; beautiful women loved and loving;
high priests invested by power from God;
innocent children — when they saw the white
horse all fell on their knees before him, stretched
out their hands in terror and despair, and fell
down to rise no more.

Afar, behind two towers, the sun sank.
A deadly cold enveloped me. The heavy hoofs of the
horse seemed to step on my breast, and I felt the world
sink into an abyss.

But all at once something familiar, but faintly seen and
heard, seemed to come from the measured step of the
horse. A moment more and I heard in his steps the
movement of the Wheel of Life!

An illumination entered me, and, looking at the
receding rider and the descending sun, I understood that
the Path of Life consists of the steps of the horse of Death.
The sun sinks at one point and rises at another. Each
moment of its motion is a descent at one point and an
ascent at another. I understood that it rises while sinking
and sinks while rising, and that life, in coming to birth,
dies, and in dying, comes to birth.

"Yes," said the voice. The sun does not think of its
going down and coming up. What does it know of earth,
of the going and coming observed by men? It goes its own
way, over its own orbit, round an unknown Centre. Life,
death, rising and falling— do you not know that all these
things are thoughts and dreams and fears of the Fool?

The Hanged Man - Symbolism and Meaning




THE HANGED MAN.

And then I saw a man in terrible suffering, hung by
one leg, head downward, to a high tree. And I heard the
voice:—

"Look! This is a man who saw Truth. Suffering awaits
the man on earth, who finds the way to eternity and to
the understanding of the Endless.

"He is still a man, but he already knows much of what
is inaccessible even to Gods. 
And the incommensurableness of the small and the great in his
soul constitutes his pain and his golgotha.

"In his own soul appears the gallows on which he
hangs in suffering, feeling that he is indeed inverted.
"He chose this way himself.

"For this he went over a long road from trial to trial,
from initiation to initiation, through failures and falls.

"And now he has found Truth and knows himself.

"He knows that it is he who stands before an altar
with magic symbols, and reaches from earth to heaven;
that he also walks on a dusty road under a scorching sun
to a precipice where a crocodile awaits
him; that he dwells with his mate in paradise under the shadow
of a blessing genius; that he is chained to a black cube under
the shadow of deceit; that he stands as a victor for a moment in
an illusionary chariot drawn by sphinxes; and that with a
lantern in bright sunshine, he seeks for Truth in a desert. 

"Now he has found Her."