The Chariot ~ Meaning and Symbolism

THE CHARIOT.

I saw a chariot drawn by two sphinxes, one white. the

other black. Four pillars supported a blue canopy, on

which were scattered five-pointed stars. The Conqueror,

clad in steel armour, stood under this canopy guiding the

sphinxes. He held a sceptre, on the end of which were a

globe, a triangle and a square. A golden pentagram

sparkled in his crown. On the front of the chariot there

was represented a winged sphere and beneath that the

symbol of the mystical lingam, signifying the union of two

principles.

"Everything in this picture has a significance. Look and

try to understand", said the voice.

"This is Will armed with Knowledge. We see here,

however, the wish to achieve, rather than achievement

itself. The man in the chariot thought himself a conqueror

before he had really conquered, and he believes that

victory must come to the conqueror. There are true

possibilities in this beautiful conception, but also many

false ones. Illusory fires and numerous dangers are hidden

here.

He controls the sphinxes by the power of a magic

word, but the tension of his Will may fail and then the

magic word will lose its power and he may be devoured

by the sphinxes.

This is indeed the Conqueror, but only for the

moment; he has not yet conquered Time, and the

succeeding moment is unknown to him.

This is the Conqueror, not by love, but by fire and the

sword,—a conqueror against whom the conquered may

arise. Do you see behind him the towers of the conquered

city? Perhaps the flame of uprising burns already there.

And he is unaware that the city vanquished by means

of fire and the sword is the city within his own

consciousness, that the magic chariot is in himself and that

the blood-thirsty sphynxes, also a state of consciousness

within, watch his every movement. He has externalized

all these phases of his mind and sees them only outside

himself. This is his fundamental error. He entered the

outer court of the Temple of knowledge, but thinks he

has been in the Temple itself. He regarded the rituals of

the first tests as initiation, and he mistook for the goddess,

the priestess who guarded the threshold. Because of this

misconception great perils await him.

Nevertheless it may be that even in his errors and

perils the Great Conception lies concealed. He seeks to

know and, perhaps, in order to attain, mistakes, dangers

and even failures are necessary.

Understand that this is the same man whom you saw

uniting Heaven and Earth, and again walking across a hot

desert to a precipice.

The Moon ~ Meaning and Symbolism

THE MOON.

A desolate plain stretched before me. A full moon

looked down as if in contemplative hesitation. Under her

wavering light the shadows lived their own peculiar life.

On the horizon I saw blue hills, and over them wound a

path which stretched between two grey towers far away

into the distance. On either side the path a wolf and dog

sat and howled at the moon. I remembered that dogs

believe in thieves and ghosts. A large black crab crawled

out of the rivulet into the sands. A heavy, cold dew was

falling.

Dread fell upon me. I sensed the presence of a

mysterious world, a world of hostile spirits, of corpses

rising from graves, of wailing ghosts. In this pale moonlight

I seemed to feel the presence of apparitions;

someone watched me from behind the towers,—and I

knew it was dangerous to look back.

The Lovers: Meaning & Symbolism

LOVERS.

I saw a blooming garden in a green valley, surrounded

by soft blue hills.

In the garden I saw a Man and a Woman naked and

beautiful. They loved each other and their Love was their

service to the Great Conception, a prayer and a sacrifice;

through It they communed with God, through It they

received the highest revelations; in Its light the deepest

truths came to them; the magic world opened its gate;

elves, undines, sylphs and gnomes came openly to them;

the three kingdoms of nature, the mineral, plant and

animal, and the four elements—fire, water, air and

earth—served them.

Through their Love they saw the mystery of the

world's equilibrium, and that they themselves were a

symbol and expression of this balance. Two triangles

united in them into a six-pointed star. Two magnets

melted into an ellipsis. They were two. The third was the

Unknown Future. The three made One.

I saw the woman looking out upon the world as

though enraptured with its beauty. And from the tree on

which ripened golden fruit I saw a serpent creep.

It whispered in the woman's ear, and I saw her

listening, smiling at first suspiciously, then with curiosity

which merged into joy. Then I saw her speak to the man. I

noticed that he seemed to admire only her and smiled

with an expression of joy and sympathy at all she told

him.

"This picture you see, is a picture of temptation and

fall", said the voice. "What constitutes the Fall? Do you

understand its nature?

"Life is so good", I said, "and the world so beautiful, and

this man and woman wanted to believe in the reality of

the world and of themselves. They wanted to forget

service and take from the world what it can give. So they

made a distinction between themselves and the world.

They said, "We are here, the world is there." And the

world separated from them and became hostile.

"Yes", said the Voice, this is true. "The everlasting

mistake with men is that they see the fall in love. But

Love is not a fall, it is a soaring above an abyss. And the

higher the flight, the more beautiful and alluring appears

the earth. But that wisdom, which crawls on earth, advises

belief in the earth and in the present. This is the

Temptation. And the man and woman yielded to it. They

dropped from the eternal realms and submitted to time

and death. The balance was disturbed. The fairyland was

closed upon them. The elves, undines, sylphs and gnomes

became invisible.

The Face of God ceased to reveal Itself to them, and all

things appeared upside down.

"This Fall, this first sin of man, repeats itself

perpetually, because man continues to believe in his

separateness and in the Present. And only by means of

great suffering can he liberate himself from the control of

time and return to Eternity—leave darkness and return to

Light."

The Star - Meaning and Symbolism

THE STAR.

A strange emotion seized me. A fiery trembling ran in

waves through all my body. My heart quickened its

beating, tumult agitated my mind.

I felt that I was surrounded by portentous mysteries.

And presently shafts of Light penetrated my being and

illuminated many things before in darkness, whose

existence even I had never suspected. Veils vanished of

which I had been before unaware. Voices spoke to me.

And suddenly all my former knowledge took a new and

different meaning.

I discovered unexpected correlations in things which

hitherto I had thought foreign to each other. Objects

distant and different from one another appeared near and

similar. The facts of the world arranged themselves before

my eyes according to a new pattern.

In the sky there appeared an enormous star surround-

ed by seven smaller stars. Their rays intermingled, filling

space with immeasurable radiance and splendour. Then I

knew I saw that Heaven of which Plotinus speaks:

"Where... all things are diaphanous; and nothing is dark

and resisting, but everything is apparent to every one

internally and throughout. For light everywhere meets

with light, since everything contains all things in itself, and

again sees all things in another. So that all things are

everywhere, and all is all. Each thing likewise is

everything. And the splendour there is infinite. For

everything there is great, since even that which is small is

great.

"The sun too, which is there, is all the stars; and again

each star is the sun and all the stars. In each however, a

different property predominates, but at the same time all

things are visible in each. Motion likewise there is pure;

for motion is not confounded by a mover different from

it. Permanency also suffers no change of its nature,

because it is not mingled with the unstable. And the

beautiful there is beautiful, because it does not subsist in

beauty. Each thing, too, is there established, not as in a

foreign land, but the seat of each thing is that which each

thing is.

 .... Nor is the thing itself different from the

place in which it subsists. For the subject of it is intellect,

and it is itself intellect. ... In this sensible region, therefore,

one part is not produced by another, but each part is

alone a part. But there each part always proceeds from the

whole, and is at the same each time part and the whole.

For it appears indeed as a part; but by him whose sight is

acute, it will be seen as a whole.

"Where... is likewise no weariness of the vision which

is there, not any plenitude of perception which can bring

intuition to an end.

"For neither was there any vacuity which when filled

might cause the visible energy to cease; nor is this one

thing, but that another, so as to occasion a part of one

thing not to be amicable with that of another.

"Where... the life is wisdom; a wisdom not obtained by

a reasoning process, because the whole of it always was,

and is not in any respect deficient, so as to be in want of

investigation. But it is the first wisdom, and is not derived

from another."

I understood that all the radiance here is thought;

and the changing colours are emotions. And each ray, if we

look into it, turns into images, symbols, voices and moods.

And I saw that there is nothing inanimate, but all is soul,

all is life, all is emotion and imagination.

And beneath the radiant stars beside the blue river 1

saw a naked maiden, young and beautiful. She stooped on

one knee and poured water from two vessels, one of gold

and one of silver. A little bird in a near by bush lifted its

wings and was poised ready to fly away.

For a moment I understood that I beheld the Soul of

Nature.

"This is Nature's Imagination", said the voice gently.

"Nature dreams, improvises, creates worlds. Learn to unite

your imagination with Her Imagination

and nothing will ever be impossible for you. Lose the

external world and seek it in yourself. Then you will find

Light. "But remember, unless you have lost the Earth, you

will not find Heaven. It is impossible to see both wrongly

and rightly at the same time."

The Hierophant - Meaning and Symbolism

HIEROPHANT.

I saw the great Master in the Temple. He was siting on

a golden throne set upon a purple platform, and he wore

the robe of a high priest with a golden tiara. He held a

golden eight-pointed cross, and lying at his feet were two

crossed keys. Two initiates bowed before him and to

them he spoke:-—

"Seek the Path, do not seek attainment, Seek for the

Path within yourself.

"Do not expect to hear the truth from others, nor to

see it, or read it in books. Look for the truth in yourself,

not without yourself.

"Aspire only after the impossible and inaccessible.

Expect only that which shall not be.

"Do not hope for Me, — do not look for Me,—do not

believe—that I am outside yourself.

"Within your soul build a lofty tower by which you

may ascend to Heaven. Do not believe in external

miracles, expect miracles only within you. Beware of

believing in a mystery of the earth, in a mystery guarded

by men; for treasuries which must be guarded

are empty. Do not search for a mystery that can be

hidden by men. Seek the Mystery within yourself.

"Above all, avoid those towers built in order to

preserve the mysteries and to make an ascent to Heaven

by stone stairways. And remember that as soon as men

build such a tower they begin to dispute about the

summit.

"The Path is in yourself, and Truth is in yourself and

Mystery is in yourself.

The Tower - Meaning and Symbolism

THE TOWER.

I saw a lofty tower extending from earth to heaven;

its golden crowned summit reached beyond the clouds.

All round it black night reigned and thunder rumbled.

Suddenly the heavens opened, a thunder-clap shook

the whole earth, and lightning struck the summit of the

tower and felled the golden crown. A tongue of fire shot

from heaven and the whole tower became filled with fire

and smoke. Then I beheld the builders of the tower fall

headlong to the ground.

And the voice said:—-

"The building of the tower was begun by the disciples

of the great Master in order to have a constant reminder

of the Master's teaching that the true tower must be built

in one's own soul, that in the tower built by hands there

can be no mysteries, that no one can ascend to Heaven by

treading stone steps.

"The tower should warn the people not to believe in it.

It should serve as a reminder of the inner Temple and as a

protection against the outer; it should be as a lighthouse,

in a dangerous place where men have often been wrecked

and where ships should not go.

"But by and by the disciples forgot the true covenant

of the Master and what the tower symbolized, and began

to believe in the tower of stone, they had built, and to

teach others to so believe. They began to say that in this

tower there is power, mystery and the spirit of the

Master, that the tower itself is holy and that it is built for

the coming Master according to His covenant and His

will. And so they waited in the tower for the Master.

Others did not believe this, or interpreted it differently.

Then began disputes about the rights of the summit.

Quarrels started, 'Our Master, your Master,' was said; 'our

tower, your tower.' And the disciples ceased to

understand each other. Their tongues had become

confused.

"You understand the meaning here? They had begun

to think that this is the tower of the Master, that He

builds it through them, and that it must and, indeed, can

be built right up to Heaven.

"And you see how Heaven responded?"

Strength - Meaning and Symbolism

POWER.

In the midst of a green plain, surrounded by blue hills,

I saw a woman with a lion. Girdled with wreaths of roses,

a symbol of infinity over her head, the woman calmly and

confidently covered the lion's mouth and the lion

obediently licked her hand.

"This is a picture of power", said the voice. "It has

different meanings. First it shows the power of love. Love

alone can conquer wrath. Hatred feeds hatred. Remember

what Zarathustra said: "Let man be freed from vengeance;

this is a bridge for me which leads to higher hope and a

rainbow in heaven after long storms."

"Then it shows power of unity. These wreaths of roses

suggest a magic chain. Unity of desires, unity of aspirations

creates such power that every wild, uncontrolled,

unconscious force is subdued. Even two desires, if united,

are able to conquer almost the whole world.

"The picture also shows the power of infinity, that

sphere of mysteries. For a consciousness that perceives the

symbol of infinity above it, knows no obstacles and

cannot be withstood."

The Devil - Meaning and Symbolism

THE DEVIL.

Black, awful night enveloped the earth. An ominous,

red flame burned in the distance. I was approaching a

fantastic figure which outlined itself before me as I came

nearer to it. High above the earth appeared the repulsive

red face of the Devil, with large, hairy ears, pointed beard

and curved goats' horns. 

A pentagram, pointing downwards, 

shone in phosphoric light between the horns

on his forehead. Two large, grey, bat-like wings were

spread behind him. He held up one arm, spreading out his

bare, fat hand. In the palm I saw the sign of black magic. A

burning torch held down-end in his other hand emitted

black, stifling smoke. He sat on a large, black cube,

gripping it with the claws of his beast-like, shaggy legs.

A man and woman were chained to the cube—the

same Man and Woman I saw in the garden, but now they

had horns and tails tipped with flame. And they were

evidently dissatisfied in spirit, and were filled with protest

and repulsion.

"This is a picture of weakness", said the voice, "a

picture of falsehood and evil. They are the same man and

woman you saw in the garden, but their love ceasing to be

a sacrifice, became an illusion. This man and woman forgot

that their love is a link in the chain that unites them with

eternity, that their love is a symbol of equilibrium and a

road to Infinity.

"They forgot that It is a key to the gate of the magic

world, the torch which lights the higher Path. They forgot

that Love is real and immortal and they subjugated it to

the unreal and temporary. And they each made love a tool

for submitting the other to himself.

"Then love became dissension and fettered them with

iron chains to the black cube of matter, on which sits

deceit."

And I heard the voice of the Devil: "I am Evil", he said,

"at least so far as Evil can exist in this best of worlds. In

order to see me, one must be able to see unfairly,

incorrectly and narrowly. I close the triangle, the other two

sides of which are Death and Time. In order to quit this

triangle it is necessary to see that it does not exist.

"But how to do this is not for me to tell. For I am the

Evil which men say is the cause of all evil and which they

invented as an excuse for all the evil that they do.

"They call me the Prince of Falsehood, and truly I am

the prince of lies, because I am the most monstrous

production of human lies."

The Hermit - Meaning and Symbolism

THE HERMIT.

After long wanderings over a sandy, waterless desert

where only serpents lived, I met the Hermit.

He was wrapped in a long cloak, a hood thrown over

his head. He held a long staff in one hand and in the other

a lighted lantern, though it was broad daylight and the sun

was shining.

"The lantern of Hermes Trismegistus", said the voice,

"this is higher knowledge, that inner knowledge which

illuminates in a new way even what appears to be already

clearly known. This lantern lights up the past, the present

and the future for the Hermit, and opens the souls of

people and the most intimate recesses of their hearts.

"The cloak of Apollonius is the faculty of the wise man

by which he isolates himself, even amidst a noisy crowd; it

is his skill in hiding his mysteries, even while expressing

them, his capacity for silence and his power to act in

stillness.

"The staff of the patriarchs is his inner authority, his

power, his self-confidence.

The lantern, the cloak and the staff are the three

symbols of initiation. They are needed to guide souls past

the temptation of illusory fires by the roadside, so that they

may go straight to the higher goal. He who receives these

three symbols or aspires to obtain them, strives to enrich

himself with all he can acquire, not for himself, but, like

God, to delight in the joy of giving.

"The giving virtue is the basis of an initiate's life.

"His soul is transformed into a spoiler of all treasures" so

said Zarathustra.

"Initiation unites the human mind with the higher mind

by a chain of analogies. This chain is the ladder leading to

heaven, dreamed of by the patriarch."

Temperance - Meaning and Symbolism

TIME

(TEMPERANCE).

An angel in a white robe, touching earth and heaven,

appeared. His wings were flame and a radiance of gold

was about his head. On his breast he wore the sacred sign

of the book of the Tarot—a triangle within a square, a

point within the triangle; on his forehead the symbol of

life and eternity, the circle.

In one hand was a cup of silver, in the other a cup of

gold and there flowed between these cups a constant,

glistening stream of every colour of the rainbow. But I

could not tell from which cup nor into which cup the

stream flowed.

In great awe I understood that I was near the ultimate

mysteries from which there is no return. I looked upon

the angel, upon his symbols, his cups, the rainbow stream

between the cups,—and my human heart trembled with

fear and my human mind shrank with anguish and lack of

understanding.

"Yes", said the voice, "this is a mystery that is revealed

at Initiation. 'Initiation' is simply the revealing of this

mystery in the soul. The Hermit re-

ceives the lantern, the cloak and the staff so that he can bear

the light of this mystery.

"But you probably came here unprepared. Look then and

listen and try to understand, for now understanding is your

only salvation. He who approaches the mystery without

complete comprehension will be lost.

"The name of the angel is Time. The circle on his forehead

is the symbol of eternity and life. Each life is a circle which

returns to the same point where it began. Death is the return

to birth. And from one point to another on the

circumference of a circle the distance is always the same, and

the further it is from one point the nearer it will be to the

other.

"Eternity is a serpent, pursuing its tail, never catching it.

"One of the cups the angel holds is the past, the other is

the future. The rainbow stream between the cups is the

present. You see that it flows both ways.

"This is Time in its most incomprehensible aspect.

"Men think that all flows constantly in one direction.

They do not see that everything perpetually meets and that

Time is a multitude of turning circles. Understand this

mystery and learn to discern the contrary currents in the

rainbow stream of the present.

"The symbol of the sacred book of the Tarot on the

angel's breast is the symbol of the correlation of God, Man

and the Universe.

"The triangle is God, the world of spirit, the world of

ideas. The point within the triangle is the soul of man.

The square is the visible world.

"The consciousness of man is the spark of divinity a

point within the triangle of spirit. Therefore the whole

square of the visible universe is equal to the point within

the triangle.

"The world of spirit is the triangle of the twenty-one

signs of the Tarot. The square represents fire, air, water

and earth, and thus symbolises the world.

"All this, in the form of the four symbols, is in the bag

of the Fool, who himself is a point in a triangle. Therefore

a point without dimension contains an infinite square.

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.