TAROT INTERPRETATION

LessonTwentv-nine

The Tarot tableaufor this lessonis as follows:

8 18 t9 5

I3 1l 10 T6

9 t5 l4 12

20 6 t7

The constantsummationis 50. This indicatesl(ey 5, the Hierophant,consideredas the

operationof the power of Key 0, the Fool, through the agencyof Key 5.

This tableau,then, may be expectedto show how the power of intuition (Kev 5) utilizes the
energyof superconsciousness (Key 0), to bring abstractprinciple into the field of conscious
awareness.Thus the whole tableauwill be more or lessrelatedto the mode of consciousness
known in Qabalahas the Path of the Triumphantand EternalIntelligence,saidto be "the
delight of glory, the glory of No-Thing, veiling the nameof Him, the FortunateOne . . . the
Gardenof Eden,preparedfor the righteous."

'the
As we have written elsewhere:"This path is called delight of glory, the glory of
No-Thing,' becausewhen at last we do hear,the messageof the Inner Voice is one of purest
.joy, and the joy is that which comeswhen our interior hearingenablesus to identifi' the Self
'All
in us with that eternalI AM whosevery essenceis the AIN of No-Thing which we call
the power that ever was or will be.' The glory of that power is then revealedto us, and the
experienceis what Hinduscall'Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute'."

This revelationof the real natureof the Self includesthe perceptionof consciousimmortality,
symbolizedin Tarot by I(ey 20. To hearthe Voice of the Eternalis truly to shareits
knowledgethat the Self neverwas born and shall neverdie. Hencean old magical manuscript
quoted by Eliphas Levi declaresthat he who knows the secretof the letter Vav, to which the
Hierophantis attributed,"knows the reasonof the past,present,and future." Pastand present
and future have their reasonfor existence,or their cause,in eternity. Eternity is always Now.
When the lnner Voice speaks,the fact of eternityis a direct present realization, and is seen
to be the causeof the illusion of time.

us0300
 TAROT INTERPRETATION )o

Three centersof the body are active when we hear the Inner Voice, the auditory center in the
brain; the pituitary body or Moon center;and the Venus centerin the throat. Thus we are told
by astrologersthat the sign Tautus,ruled by Venus,and place of the Moon's exaltation,
governsthe throat and ears.

In listeningto the Inner Voice we really hear,but the vibration of the three centersinvolved in
this interior hearingis setup by the impact of energyoriginatingin superconscious levels and
is not causedby air-wavesimpinging on our ear-drums.That is, the physiologicalapparatus
for ordinary hearing is set in motion by etheric impulseshaving their origin in the Universal
Mind (I(ey 5). Such interior hearingis greatlyfacilitatedby our consciousrealizationthat
sensationsmay be experiencedwithout the stimulusof forceshaving their origin in our
externalphysical environment.

As soon as we understandthat the "inner sensorium"which gives us spiritual hearing,

spiritual sight, and other spiritual sensations,is none otherthan the senseapparatusordinarily
excitedby physical stimuli, much of the mystery concerningthe higher kinds of perceptionis
dissipated.fhen we can turn away from outer sensestimulusintentionallyin order to be in a
receptiveattitudetorvardthe spiritual stimuli which arousethe higher and inner sensations.
This is exactly what is representedby the symbolismof I(ey 19, and the two figures of that
I(ey are shown as little childrenbecause,when we begin this practice,we have to learnthe
significanceof our interior sensations just as childrenhaveto learnthe meaningof ordinarv
sensations (I(ey i9).

By tuming our attentionto the inner life we graduallyorganizethesebodily centerswhich are

our meansof contactwith the higher planes. The path shown in I(ey 18, therefore,leadsto
heightsin the far backgroundof the picture. Thus in accordancewith an ancientconvention
of symbolic art, the hint is given that the goal of occult practice,the height of interior Reality
which is the backgroundof our externallife, and the sourceof power whenceall the forcesof
the externallife are derived,may be experienceddirectly. We cannothearthe Inner Voice
unlesswe have earsto hear. Organicdevelopmentis an indispensablecondition for spiritual
experience(Key 18).

'Ihis
developmentfollows automaticallywhen we graspintellectuallythe principle involved
and make that principle the basisof our practiceof life. For subconsciousness, always
amenableto the dominantsuggestionoriginatingat the self-consciouslevel, is the body
builder. We have merely to seeto it that our thoughts, words and acts formulate the
fundamental idea that we are on the Path of Return, that we are ripening into beings having
earsto hear,and eyesto see. The subconsciousorganizingpower automaticallytakescareof
the complex processeswherebythe actualphysiologicalreadjustmentsare effected(Key 8).

The earlier stagesof that readjustmentresemblewhat occurswhen a new building is erected

on the site of an old one. What happensfirst is that the old building is torn down. Thus,
wheneverany personseriouslyundertakesto live the life of regeneration,he invites and

us0300
 TA IIOT I N 7'E IIP R E'I'tl T I O N 29

experiencesa period of mental and emotionaland physicalupset. Every true occult teaching
announcesthis fact in no uncertainterms;but the egotismof many beginnersoften leadsthem
to believethey will be shining exceptionsto this invariablerule. Thus many who begin occult
rvork with enthusiasmabandontheir practicebeforeit has gonefar enough. They bewail their
apparentmisfortunes,and, in a vain effort to eat their cakeand have it too, fail miserably (Key
I 6).

Yet eventhis apparentfailure is but part of the ripeningprocess.All of us have probably

failed againand again,but our inability to rememberpastincarnationsmercifully hides those
failuresbehind a veil of forgetfulness.From theseabortiveattempts,however,comesthe
irnpulsewhich drives us now to seekrelease.Sooneror later,that impulsewill be fully
realizedand we shall reachthe term of our quest(Key l0).

Faithful adherenceto what we do know, and faithful practice of the best type of life our
presentunderstandingshowsus, are indispensable.Intermittent,casualeffort is of little avail.
There must be daily-yes, hourly and momentary-adjustment. Continualvigilance, careful
weighing of every mental,emotionaland physical statewhich holds us back-these are
necessaryto the unfbldmentof the higher ordersof knowing (Key 11).

By this time it must be familiar to you that the secretof the GreatWork is dissolution-and
how often have you beentold that dissolutionand deathare synonyms! Your old personality
tutusibc utterly dissrrlvedbeforeihe new personaiiiyoan be formuiateci.iusr as a caterpiiiar's
body inside its cocoonlosesall its characteristicpartsand is resolvedinto a homogeneous
mass,so doesthe occultist's mental conceptof personalityhaveto be dissolvedbefore it may
be reconstitutedin the New Image (Key 13).

This dissolutionis not destructionof the physicalbody. It is the renunciationand

repudiation---ofthe conceptionof humanpersonalityheld by the uninitiatedor worldly man.
It is the reductionof that falsenotion to absolutenothingnessuntil the seeker'sconsciousness
retainsno traceof affinity with the world's false interpretationof the meaningof personality.
This utter reversalof ordinary opinion is the true meaningof alchemicaldissolution(I(ey 12).

He who regardsevery eventof his life as being a particulardealingof God with his soul acts
fiom rnotivesquite other than thosewhich are behindthe ordinaryperson'sthoughtsand
cleeds.The psychologicaleffect of this new point-of-view is very important. No one but a
very ignorantpersoncan possiblybelievethat his "own" powersare adequateto effect the
work of regeneration.We must invoke the aid of a power higher than ourselvesif we are to
succeedin the GreatWork. AgelessWisdom gives rationalsupportto our faith insteadof the
irrational acceptanceof creedsand authoritydemandedby exotericreligion. Faith we must
have; for we can neversucceedwithout it; but ours is a reasonablefaith, susceptibleto
experimentalverification (Key 14).

us0300
TA IIOT I N TE RP RETAT I ON : 29

Our work in practicaloccultismdemandsa faith like this, becausethe occultist is confronted,

early in his endeavorsto escapefrom delusion,with many a vivid apparitionof the Terrible.
The Dweller on the Thresholdis by no meansa fanciful creationof romancers.By no means
cloesthe adoptionof the occult way of life immediatelyremoveall problemsfrom our path.
On the contrary, our earlier experiencesusually bring us face to f'acewith a host of problems
which are not lessterrifying becausetheir existenceis not even suspectedby an ordinary
humanbeing (Key 15).

Not the leastof thoseis the senseof utter lonelinesswhich often descendsupon the occult
aspirant,especiallyif he happensto live in a community where few other personssharehis
interests. When one beginsin earnestto leadthe occult life, not the leastof his testsis that his
conductbecomesincomprehensibleto his relativesand friends. Often he finds that his work
breaksties which have existedfor years,and until he realizesthat freedomlies in the breaking
of all ties, the severingof all bonds,this hurts. Then too, it often seemsto him that he is
working without a glimmer of light from above. To all who are besetby suchfeelings,
AgelessWisdom says: "Whether you reahzeit or not, you are neverreally alone.Always
there standsthe Silent Watcherholding up the lamp of truth to light your way. Persist,then,
and in due seasonyou will reachthe goal, the goal of absoluteidentificationwith that One
whose high attainmentnow seemsto you to be so far removedfrom your presentsituation,
That One is your true Self. Advancewithin to the heightwhere He stands"(Key 9).

Meditation is the methodadoptedby all occult schoolsfor the work of readjustment.The

technicalwork of meditationbrings aboutmany subtlepsychologicalchanges,among them
the balancingand coordinationof the activitiesof the "interior stars"(Key 17). By meditation
one comesto krow at first liand that the personalityis nothing but a vehicle for the real Self
(Key 7). Meditation leadsalso to right discriminationand to the balancingof the activities of
the consciousand subconsciouslevels of personalaction (Key 6). No one can be a practical
oocultistwho doesnot rneditate,for releasefrom the time-bound,three-dimensional
consciousness of uninitiatedhumanity into the consciousimmortality and fourth-dimensional
experienceof the initiate is a direct consequenceof meditation(Key 20).

Tlre time of that releaseno man knows. They who ask,"How long will it take me to attain
liberation?"betray their ignoranceof fundamentalsby their questions.Not for nothing did
Eliphas Levi say, "The occultistmust work as if he had all eternityto completehis
undertaking."For it is the essenceof occult attainmentthat it is unrelatedto time as we
understandtime (Key 20).

The illusion of illusions, ailer all, is the appearance

that we are not now what we shall some
day become. Notwithstandingall that has beensaid abouthigher experiencesbeing the
consequenceof organicchanges,the fact remainsthat the speedwith which thosechangesare
effecteddependson elementswe cannotpossiblycalculate. Therehavebeeninstancesin
which the transformationof the vehiclesof consciousness appearedto be instantaneous.The
main point to bearin rnind is that the transformationis merely in the vehicle,not in the Self.

us0300
 TAROT INTERPRETATION: 29

You are,in reality, at this very moment all that you aspireto become. The delusionthat you
ale somethingelseis preciselythe root error from which occult practicewill releaseyou (Key
15 ) .

At the centerof a wheel thereis no movement. At the core of your existenceis the changeless
Spirit of Life. When you have arrivedat the goal, you will discoverthat you were never
anywhereelse. Is this a paradox? It is also a fundamentaltruth (Key 10).

For who is the SpeakerwhoseVoice is heardin the Silence? Your Self. Who is the l(nower
from whose inexhaustiblestoreof wisdom you may receivelight on all your problems? None
other than your Self. To know that Self, to comprehendits exhaustlesspower, to expressthat
power in every detail of personalexistence,is the sum of true occult attainment(Key 5).

You have come in touch with this work because,evennow, you are ripening into the New
Image. Whetheryou have any particularexternalevidenceor not, the subtlepower of the law
which transformspersonalityis at work in you (I(ey 8). Be f'aithfulin the little things of daily
practice,and presentlyyou will find yourself entrustedwith the adjustmentof greaterthings
(Key 11). Thesepagesgo wherethey are sent,and somethinghigher than the knowledgeand
plans of the humanbeingswho composeand distributethem is in chargeof this work. YOU
are amongthe called. You are amongthosewhose lives are underthe immediatesupervision
of Those Who l(now.

You are in the midst of a processof transmutationwhich shall changeall the basemetal of
your natureinto pure gold (I(ey 14). Let this thoughtbe the focal point of your meditations
during the coming week, and be sureto make note of any unveilingsof truth which may come
to you during this period (Key 17).

MEDITATIONS

FIRST DAY: I(eys 5, 19, 18, 8. Instructedby the Inner Voice,I tum awayflom the
limitations of the outer sensesin order that this my body may be transformedinto the new
image through the unfailing strength of the perfect law.

SECOND DAY: Keys 16, 10, I 1, 13. Let every vestigeof the false life be clearedaway that
through right comprehension of the law I may be faithful in eventhe leastthings, thus
dissolving every traceof the emorof separateness.

THIRD DAY: Keys 12, 14,15,9. Daily I reversethe falseconceptsof the world, submitting
every detail of my life to the guidanceof the True Self, facing everyproblem courageously,
relying conf,rdentlyon the power of the Silent Watcher.

Ils0s00
7'AROI- INTERPRETAT'lON: 29

FOURTFIDAY: I(eys 17,7,6,20. I will persistin rneditationuntil lrealize fully the

Indwelling Presenceof the One Self, and experiencethat perfectbalanceof my inner powers
which shall releaseme from Time into Eternity.

FIFTH DAY: Keys 20, 15, 10, 5. I am not in haste,for I know all adversityshall be
overcomein due seasonif I but listen to the Inner Voice and obey its admonitions.

SIXTH DAY: I(eys 8, I l, 14, 17. The perfectLaw works in my flesh to eliminateall
embodimentsof delusionand balanceall forces,to the end that I may enjoy the Knowledge
and Conversationof the Guardian Angel, and witnessthe Unveiled Truth.