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Description:
The Fifteenth Path of Heh symbolises the influences between Chokmah and Tiphareth, across the Abyss.
(More to follow)...
(Updated 07 January 2021)
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The Path of Heh
By Peter Oddey (2000)
The fifth Hebrew letter, Heh, is ascribed to the fifteenth path and joins the sephiroth Chokmah and Tiphareth. The letter Heh means ‘a window’, but it may also be translated as the ‘incoming light’ or the light that fills a room, as it passes through the window from the outside. In this sense, the path of Heh is the window from the darkened room of manifestation out and into the boundless realm of the Supernal.
Heh is the first of the simple Hebrew letters, to which is also ascribed the zodiac sign of Aries the Ram, the first sign of the zodiac and the herald of Spring. To Aries is assigned the element of Cardinal Fire and it is appropriate that the colours assigned to the path are reds, oranges and scarlets, all colours associated with the Sun of Tiphareth and fiery celestial bodies generally.
The Sepher Yetzirah assigns ‘Sight’ to the letter Heh and this is deemed the first of our sensory organs to be created; although this is not, of course, simply the sight our physical eyes. This is the sight of inner vision, of perception in the mind and perhaps also, the first stages in the classification and categorisation of that which is perceived. All this sits very comfortably with the path that travels from the world of Wisdom and the primary principles of manifestation, to the world of Beauty and unity in the Tree of Life, to which is ascribed the sun of our solar system.
The fiery colours of the path also accord well with the ascriptions of the Minor Arcana. The Kings of Chokmah are deemed swift, powerful and rapid, as are the Princes of Tiphareth and many of the popular, modern Tarot decks imply a martial or military aspect to the figures, to which reds and scarlets are appropriate. The Two’s of the Suit, attributed to Chokmah, generally imply the beginning of things and the Sixes of the Suits, assigned to Tiphareth, the successful completion and accomplishment of a thing.
The Yetziratic Text, of the “Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom”, provides further information as to the nature and function of the fifteenth path. It is called “the Constituting Intelligence...(because)...it constitutes the substance of creation in pure darkness”. We understand that creation in its most rarefied form is light and we understand that the light of the Supernal world is actually darkness. In the ‘Book of Tokens”, Paul Foster Case speaks of “the radiant Darkness of the Limitless Light.” So we understand that the fifteenth path bears the dark elements from the depths of Chokmah and constitutes them into the light we receive within the order of manifestation through Tiphareth and this is represented in the sun of our solar system, or the countless stars of the galaxies.
Generally, the Tree of Life does not lend itself to overly radical alterations of its paths and numerous ascriptions. In most conventional Kabbalistic circles, we are generally agreed as to which Hebrew letter is assigned to which path and Tarot card. However, the path of Heh is one of the few paths over which there is a restrained and polite difference of opinion. Some schools of thought naturally ascribe the card of the Emperor as the logical sequence following the Empress and this was presumably the original teaching of the magical Order of the Golden Dawn and can be seen in the cards created by A.E. Waite and S.L. MacGregor Mathers. Their Emperor figures are seated on grey stone thrones representing Chokmah and depict the ram of Aries.
An alternative ascription is the inter-change of the card of the Emperor with the card of the Star, otherwise assigned to the letter Tzaddi, on the Twenty-eighth path. This was first put forward by Aleister Crowley, where in his ‘Book of the Law’ he states, “Tzaddi is not the Star” and has been the preferred ascription by many, including D. Ashcroft Nowicki, who took over from the late W.E. Butler as co-founder of the Servants of Light.
No-one appears to be particularly dogmatic as to which card is correct and indeed, there are many similarities to be found between the two paths, to which they are applied. For instance, to Heh is ascribed sight and to Tzaddi is ascribed imagination by the Sepher Yetzirah and both sight and imagination are indispensable to each other. Both paths travel in the same direction from the positive pillar to the middle pillar, on the descent of the Tree. The idea of Heh meaning a window and being broadly attributed to light, being associated with starlight is also fitting. The colours ascribed to the two paths are scarlets and violets, which although not from the same region of the light spectrum are similar, when compared with pastels and there are many numerical affinities, as demonstrated by Paul Foster Case, applying the principles of gematria. The idea of starlight, above and beyond the light of the Sun of Tiphareth is also cosmologically correct.
It is, however, implied from the Yetziratic Text of the Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom for the fifteenth and Twenty-eighth paths, that there are aeons of time and light-years of space, between two paths:
The Text for the ‘Constituting Intelligence’ speaks of the very beginning of things, where ‘...is constituted the substance of creation in pure darkness,...’.
The Text for the Natural Intelligence speaks of ‘...the consummation and perfection of the Nature of every existing thing beneath the Sun’. This, one assumes, to be the Sun of Tiphareth and the consummation is clearly of things already in existence.
One might also state that the Constituting Intelligence performs a function at the beginning of creation, while the Natural Intelligence performs a function at the apogee of the involuntary and evolutionary cycle. The interchange of the two Tarot cards is therefore not without considerable significance, if only by virtue of the distance between them, on the Tree of Life.
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The Path of the Star
By Malcolm Henbury-Ballan (1986)
"Every man and woman is a star"
The Path of the Star lies between Chokmah and Tiphareth. This Path has as its Hebrew letter 'he' or 'Heh' (h), which is an important letter in the Hebrew alphabet, as shown by its inclusion in the sacred name of God, the Tetragrammaton: 'Yod He Vau He’ (hwhy) It is the symbol of incoming life; it is the window through which "incoming light” or 'illumination’ is received. Upon this Path we travel from the sphere of the sun to that of the Zodiac, from the sphere of the mental comprehension of the Creator, to the vision of God face to face. We must examine this aspect carefully, for it could mean man facing God or God facing God with mankind looking on. Therefore, to fully understand this Path it is necessary to examine it through the four worlds of the Tree of Life.
Chokmah is the Sephirah of wisdom and is the dynamic drive of spiritual force. It is the reflection of the up-welling spirit of Kether, and at the head of the positive pillar, we find its symbols are of a positive and masculine nature. In the world of origin it represents the explosive force, the primordial bang, which accompanied the beginning of creation. It is described as the Spirit of God rising from the infinite ocean calling for light with his first breath and through light became life.
Tiphareth is the Sephirah of beauty, harmony and balance. It lies central on the Tree of Life and is the keystone of creation, holding the balance between the other Sephiroth from God in the highest in Kether to the physical manifestation in the universe of Malkuth. It mediates between the two pillars and is called the "Mediating Intelligence", forming a pure balance between all the other forces. This sphere provides an imprint of unity, integrating the many aspects of the Tree of Life and which leads to synthesis and unity. Tiphareth represents the goal we must all obtain and its virtue is devotion to the great work. This is represented through the ideals of rebirth, and this sphere is full of symbolism relating to death and sacrifice through to regeneration or resurrection, as shown in the sacrifice of the chosen gods, i.e. Osiris, Christ.
Tiphareth is unusual in that its spiritual experiences are two, through which we reconcile the upper part of the Tree to the lower. Its spiritual experience is, the vision of harmony of all things and in the understanding of the mysteries of death and sacrifice.
The colours of this sphere are Pinks, Yellows and Ambers, which so closely resemble the beauty of the sun rising or setting. The God Name is Jehovah Eloah va Daath (meaning God made manifest in the sphere of mind). Raphael is the Archangel of this sphere and is closely related to the healing aspects of Tiphareth. In ritual he is the Archangel who guards the Eastern quarter, and is associated with the Element of Air. The East has always been regarded as a symbol of holiness - where the light of the sun first appears at dawn - so the spiritual light dawns in the darkness of the conscience.
In the world of Atziluth, through the Path of the Star, we have the first sound of creation uttered, which vibrates through the universe, linked with the universal mind in Tiphareth, which is kindled by the Divine source in Kether. Thus we see the formation of life from the atom to the expanse of the universe - all in perfect harmony/ balance and unity with each other - the origin of the Divine Plan seen through the vision of beauty. From Tiphareth along the Path to Chokmah, we view the beauty of the Divine Plan under the direction of Divine Wisdom. Thus through the Tree of Life we see that life is created from the influence of Chokmah's wisdom and Tiphareth's harmony, balance and beauty.
The Tree of Life is a living dynamic cosmos, in which it is the symbol of our spirit, which moves and lives throughout the system. When viewed at this level on the Path of the Star, our spirit becomes aware of Divine Consciousness - the wisdom of Chokmah, and emerges from the Christ consciousness of Tiphareth - which is reached through self sacrifice and devotion to high principles, and through which death can lead to rebirth and regeneration.
On the Path of the Star in the World of Briah, we see the knowledge and wisdom of the stars being poured upon Tiphareth creating the divine plan in the creation of the universe and life. We have the knowledge and wisdom of the stars aiding us in understanding the creation by maintaining a perfect balance in themselves. Through understanding the rhythms and cycles of the human body, we come to understand the workings of the whole being. We can further realise this in Tiphareth when we see the divine plan in Chokmah for the perfection of mankind. Thus we can conceive an awareness of our position in the scheme of the universe.
Disease, sin and evil are seen by us as a state of unbalance, while good is based on harmony and balance. To us as Kabbalists, to alter an unhealthy state in human affairs is to achieve a balance rather than to blame. This condition is only obtained by the balanced distribution of energies along the Paths, and Tiphareth is the centre point of the mediating power. So from Tiphareth we learn as we travel this Path, the art of healing in its widest sense.
The Archangel Michael is also attributed to Tiphareth and it has been suggested that he heals the bodies of men, and the diseases in mankind. It was through Michael that the war in Heaven was won, and through which he conquered death and transmuted evil into good. Beyond Tiphareth, good and evil do not exist as we have come to understand them. The forces beyond are neither, but it is the result of their actions and reactions on the lower levels which we term good and evil. Therefore, as we seek along the Path between Tiphareth and Chokmah we see the vision of Heaven and realise the significance of death, by transformation and transmutation up the spiral of life.
The next stage in the understanding of this Path is in the world of Yetzirah, where we have the machinery of the universe, set in motion by the Angels of Chokmah, the Auphanim, maintained by the Angels of Tiphareth (the Malakim).
The wheels of the universe are revolved by the Auphanim, and they are the formative equivalent of the Zodiac (the mundane chakra of Chokmah; and are engaged in keeping manifestation in motion. They are responsible for directing the force towards form, and through the wisdom of God,operate every circulating energy cycle in the universe, including Karma, which is action relating to its own reaction. Karma is associated with force and not form, yet its force at its highest level affects formations on the lower levels. Karma is experienced in this world because we are unable to rise high enough to convert the energy into superior cycles, as against, our physical ones. Through occult training links are made with this Path as we aim to control the power Cycles from the highest possible levels.
In Tiphareth, the order of Angels, the Malakim (which means kings, rulers or masters) strive to keep the various individual aspects of the universe, the galaxies and the stars, related to each other. Existence is always fluctuating and changing and the Malakim provide points of stability and balance, for these fluctuations to harmonise with each other. They cannot prevent death or destruction, but will salvage what is usable by maintaining focal points in new fields of existence, for all existence is a continuous system. The Malakim maintain the balance in human life by harmonising all the aspects of each being, building new patterns where needed and healing by effective processing of re-alignment through the conditioning of unbalance. Thus on the Path of the Star, we have the beginning of life force activated in Tiphareth but receiving the inspiration and guidance from Chokmah. This is thus the first aspect of divine wisdom in which our own affairs are used to maintain equilibrium and balance, in all forms of existence from the tiniest cell to the largest galaxy.
Finally, we view the path of the Star through, the world of Assiah, where the purpose of the universe is made, manifest.
The mundane chakra of Chokmah is the Zodiac, which can be compared to the 12 aspects of God, as well as to usage on the Paths of life. With it we can learn to use the influences and qualities of each sign to its best advantage. In its highest context, we can learn to blend and harmonise with our fellow men by a greater understanding of them.
The magical image of Chokmah is a bearded man - the beard is often associated with the image of wisdom and of maturity. Wisdom is never gained quickly, but only by slow and careful learning, supplemented by application, experience and practice of the laws of the universe. Wisdom must not be confused with knowledge - wisdom acts rightly at all times because it stems from eternal good. Knowledge may act rightly or wrongly - depending on how it is used, only wisdom can put knowledge into good practice.
On the Path of the Star we are on a Path of meditation and inspiration. By learning to identify ourselves with the need for wisdom that encompasses all aspects of creation and by reaching upwards to the planetary forces which govern us, we can mature on all levels of consciousness. We can see the Divine plan carried through into physical manifestation. As we transcend this Path through the four worlds, we can see how we are made in the image of God and when we have perfected that image, we shall see God face to face in Chokmah.
With wisdom we can learn to utilise the forces and energies of the universe, and by using Tiphareth we can harmonise the elements within ourselves, and ultimately the universe. For as Crowley stated; "Every man and woman is a star". We can radiate light and energy and reflect the light of the Divine force of God and show Kether and Tiphareth within us. Through meditation we can reach to the star of inspiration and divine knowledge - for it is the star within us all which makes us desire to reach out, for when each star on earth is set in heaven where it truly belongs, then we will have progressed up the ladder to the world of Briah and we will no longer need the earth on which to manifest ourselves. We shall have acquired the wisdom of Chokmah and will not have to know knowledge to be wise, but being wise will know all things needful.
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Meditations on the Star
By K.G. Huntley (1980)
The Star is arguably the most beautiful arcanum in the pack and invariably stands for hope. It is an arcanum that has caused much controversy because of its position on the Tree; Chokmah-Tiphareth, or Netzach-Yesod. It is hoped to resolve this controversy in this paper.
In the Marseilles version the figure is like Yin and Yang because her blue hair flows down in and around the cups into the blue water just like so much energy being poured down.
The naked figure symbolises the purity of spirit, spirit unclothes on the outward journey and is stripped of matter on the return. It may also be regarded as representing ultimate freedom, for "Aradia" suggests that witches should be naked in their rites. Nakedness is a great leveller. To be considered is the paraphrase:
"Naked came I into the World, and naked shall I leave it."
Temperance is the only other arcanum which holds the cups and it is on the middle pillar. These are the same cups as the Star. The woman pours water to water; i.e. negative to negative and water to earth negative to positive, like a battery perhaps. She is called the Dweller between the two waters (reference is JOB) and the firmament which divides them is the Abyss; the pot on the land symbolizes the bridging of the abyss.
Continuing the brief description, we note that there are eight stars, one large yellow one representing spiritual energy and seven lesser ones which reflect the energy. These seven stars must be the seven chakras and the seven metals will be the seven planets. The seven planets correspond to the chakras in alchemy. Jung stated that alchemy was a mental process of chakra stimulation to see the Monad or One. It could be considered that the Monad is the Akashic record, and by purifying the seven stars, i.e. chakras, you could break the seven seals and read it.
Alchemy means literally the black or red land. They were supposed to change lead to gold. There are many references to the egg in the athanor, or the child in the womb. or man reborn, or latent energy.
"Shiva is Shava without Shakti", i.e. consciousness is inert (Shava = Corpse) without Shakti (power, movements, times, the Kalas) or we cannot become conscious until we have awakened the chakras.
All the stars in the arcanum are eight pointed representing the balance of the Universal Forces in Matter. It is also a symbol of Ishtar, the balance between Love and War. The path itself runs from positive pillar to middle, i.e. balance. An electron is particle moving around an atom and is always seeking to form a first 2 or an eight.
17 = 2 complete
8 complete
7 needs one more electron
and will seek it from another element/chemical and share it. The sharing will result in a new substance and much energy. If my chemistry is correct, it (17 = Sodium) will seek one electron from an element, i.e. chlorine (CL) to form HAcl or Sodium Chloride or Salt (Chokmah is a chemical salt).
17 = 1 + 7 = 8
and La Force* is the balance of male and female forces.
* On a personal note, I dreamed of the Trump La Force (the Marseilles Versions) four days before I wrote this.
There are 32 Major Kalas in the Universe, the Kalas or Rays which form the magick menstruum, charges the astral atmosphere of the planets. There are 16 Cosmic Power Zones too, 8 in the Male and 8 in the Female. Kala means "Time . . . essence, STAR." These Kalas are chakras. Khabs in the Star and the "Khabs is in the Khu" appears in AL 18 which implies eight Rays.
The Seven Stars of Ursa Major and Set the Dog Star are the animal announcers of the Goddess. The seven stars represented NUIT "Infinite Space and Infinite Stars thereof". The Seven Stars symbolised Eight (NUIT is French for Night) or Typhon or Sothis, whose child was Set.
Another name for Ursa Major was the Hippopotamus or beast of the Waters, so the Star is well portrayed with a pool of water. It is the primal Goddess Tuart as the Hippopotamus known as the ''Mother of Revolutions" and embodied the concept of time and repetitions. The Tarot embodies these concepts, as surely as the I Ching does.
In the arcanum there is an ibis. The ibis is linked to the new moon. Egyptians believed the bird to administer its own enema. This in Egyptian is Tekh, the hard form of Teen, meaning crossing, boundary or limit. Tekh is another name for Thoth.
The Ibis glyphed the Phoenix and Hekt was an essence coming from the Phoenix. The Phoenix is called "The Bird of Return" implying cycles of time.
The change of the moon between half and full is shown. By the Ape of Thoth in the waning half and the Ibis in the waxing phase. The dual lunation was the full circle that had primarily been described by the circumpolar stars of Ursa Major.
Magick is energy tending towards change and the weapons of the Star include energy. Could the energy be electrical? The Dance of Shiva is merely the dance of the electrons around the atom and as has already been mentioned, these electrons will seek to balance themselves, creating energy.
All the cosmic forces which do not go to Binah from Chokmah will flow down this path 15. All that is formed is done by the power (energy?) of Chokmah directing the Life Force of the Ain. It is pure dynamic energy that stimulates the Universe. The only other figure showing a naked female (Hermaphrodite) is the Universe card, showing the balance of the elements.
This Arcanum’s intelligence is the constituting intelligence, constituting the creation of substance in darkness. The Ain is linked to darkness, and it is believed that in the water of the sea, life was created in darkness by lightning striking the water to produce DNA. A Babylonian Priest of Kardulf wrote in 3rd Century B.C.:
"...all was darkness and water and in the murky darkness strange beasts came into being."
He likened it to chaos.
The 15th Path is the Path of Darkness in the Sepher Yetzirah.
It is the sea, according to Gareth Knight, which is swaddled in cloud and thick darkness, but it is the Water of the Unmanifest pouring into manifestation. God ordains that which will manifest. Hence Aries is the sign of the 15th Path, being the first Zodiac sign.
Merlin is alleged to have taken the Round Table from the Constellations of the Great Bear. The Round Table is the Zodiac. The Seven Rishis of the Great Bear hold the pattern of Evolution for seven planets, of which the Earth is one.
According to the Hindus the Mansions of the Moon for Aries are Sharaton, the Ram's head, Butayn, the Ram's belly and the 0-10º of Aries are the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades or Suraya of the Arabs. This ties in nicely with the idea of the "Star" being ruled by Aries.
Aries is Fire of Fire. Lightning is swift violence, anger and creative energy (in a sense). Chokmah is the Creative Energy too. Aries is ruled by Mars. Mars has red as his colour and angry people turn red. The flowers of the path are tigerlily, which looks like fire and the red stamens look like tongues of fire, and the geranium which is scarlet.
The stone is ruby, also of Mars, but it is the Star Ruby of Chokmah, the male energy of the Creator Star. The Marseilles version shows the Monad has red parameters.
Aries is the sign of the Ram. Rams have horns. The Ram's horns are the power of thought, the energy of Minerva. Ram's horns were used as drinking cups and the Arcanum shows the women with two such cups. There is a pitcher called an ewer. The Burin engraves the lamen, perhaps the lamen of Temperance, and is a knife and thus has a martial quality, but it also belongs to Aries because it is used to indicate the creative ideas of the Magician.
Aries is a cardinal sign, these people are pioneers. Pioneers start things, i.e. create and thus need energy. This needs intelligence. Aries rules the head. Aries is ruled by Mars, but the Sun is exalted in Aries. The Sun is Tiphareth. Thus it is proven that Aries is the applicable astrological sign and not Aquarius.
Crowley did not know about the Moebius Strip, but said that "Tzaddi is not placed aright".
The Moebius Strip shows the interchanging with Tzaddi. It meant that the Emperor transposes from Chokmah-Tiphareth to Netzach-Yesod. His commentary that Tzaddi is like the Ts of Tsar, Cz of Czar and K of Kaiser is feeble.
It is the 15th path but the 17th Arcanum one would expect 15 - 4 = the 4th Arcanum (really the 5th) the Emperor which pairs nicely with the Empress.
If the Emperor is Aries, then the Star is Aquarius.
Two cups (Symbol of Aquarius) Water Carrier Aquarius
Waters above and below < (Symbol of Aquarius) Firmament
At this rate the Star should be Aquarius. The Sun signifies high office. What higher office is there than Emperor who sets everything in order?
The Emperor is a rather worldly card and better placed lower down the Tree. There is also nothing whatsoever in the Emperor to suggest energy. The Emperor is motionless whereas the Star patently flows. Thus the Star applies on the 15th path and Aries, because of the Sun, is the astrological sign of the path.
In the Roman tradition Mars, God of War, was second only to Jupiter "Greatest and Best" as Scipio Africanus said. His energy aspects derive from the roots;
MAS: Generative force
MAR: To shine - just like a star
At his temple in Rome he had twelve shields, i.e. one for each astrological sign.
The Rhyme of the Path is N = H, i.e. Heh, a storm, hail. It means raw evil energy, unless very well aspected, in which case it is creative raw energy. The numerical value is 5, the astronomical meaning is head and face (Aries) and the magical power is that of consecrating things, just like the Star.
To quote Alan Leo on Mars:
"Mars . . . represents the animal man in the fullness of his strength, a force . . . to be transmitted* and wisely used, for Mars represents the consciousness of all the cells of the body, including the brain, but excluding the heart** . . . It is the cerebellum that is the store-house of . . . passional force; and Mars, its planetary representative furnishes the materials for ideation, while the frontal lobes of the cerebrum are the finishers and polishers of the materials, but not their creators."
* Alchemy
** Heart is found at Tiphareth, also in Leo.
Mars is the animal sense and Venus the Soul.
The cerebellum is the lower and hinder part of the brain and the cerebrum is the front and larger part of the brain where the third eye is situated. Since Thoth's two animals are the Ape and Ibis, the Ibis will be I think, the cerebrum, and the Ape the cerebellum.
It is possible to contrast the Fool and the Star.
Sometimes the Star is called Sirius, the Dog Star, and the Fool is pursued by a Dog.
The Star is crossed by La Force which itself is governed by Leo, yet more fire and energy. The fire will purify the Fool.
The Seven Stars represent the seven planets, and Chokmah is the Sephirah of the Zodiac, The Empress has seven pearls and twelve stars. The Fool has seven points on his belt, exactly the same planetary principle.
The Ibis is a bird and is of air; the Fool's bird is the Eagle and represents air. Without air, fires die out. The Fool's hair is yellow, as is that of the woman, and symbolises radiant energy. The Great Yellow Star symbolizes radiant energy too; the eight points it has are like the spokes of the Wheel and the symbol for spirit embroidered on the Fool's coat. It is not possible to give the same link with the Emperor.
If the path is darkness, then the Star surely shows a great deal of light. Sight needs light. Fire burns to give off light. Sight is attributable to HEH. We speak of sight as vision. Second sight involves the use of the third eye; both the Fool and the Star have the same drugs, i.e. cerebral stimulants. The third eye is in the front of the brain and these drugs will stimulate it. The third eye is found at Chokmah.
The third eye is the Eye of Shiva. When the Eye opens, then is the illusionary universe destroyed and we can see what constitutes reality, the Absolute Truth. The Truth can be revealed by meditation.
In the Arcanum an ibis may be seen in the Tree, a symbol of Silence, the silence of meditation by which all may be revealed. The Ibis is sacred to Thoth of Chokmah. The scarlet red ibis perched on a tree represents the human brain and the nervous system; it symbolises bringing thought to rest by concentration, the tree is the Tree of Life which the Ibis, i.e. meditation, can ascend.
Meditation is the direction of currents of solar force by art of self conscious attention. Meditation may yield the great powers Patanjali describes in "The Aphorisms of Yoga". Regeneration can occur because it uses the nerve force taken from the reproductive centre and without thought of sex functions. The five streams of water from the air are the sign that meditation heightens the five senses. The left knee of the woman rests on earth, and the right foot is supported by water, i.e. balanced by water, i.e. "Sensation derived from physical forms are the main supports of meditation, but these are balanced by experiences, gained from the subconscious."
Perhaps by meditation we could read the Akashic record. The pool of water is the cosmic mind stuff of the Priestess and therefore the Empress, which is stirred by the activity of meditation into action.
The Mountain in the arcanum is symbolic of the Great Work.
Pallas Athene sprang fully armed from Zeus's head. In contrast to Ares she was extremely intelligent. It was her shield that reflected the Gorgon's head, and it was she who helped Prometheus to steal fire from heaven. In a spinning contest, she lost to Ariachne and turned her into a spider, which no doubt scuttled to Tiphareth. Her applicability to this path is apparent, for she sprang from Zeus as Chokmah did from Kether.
The number 17 is a masculine Unity of Aleph 1, Vau 6 and Yod 10 which is applicable to Chokmah.
The mystical number is 120.
The colours of the path are:
King - Scarlet Aries is Scarlet, Geburah's colours.
Queen - Red
Emperor - Brilliant Flame
Empress - Glowing Red
They are all reminiscent of the birth, life, death of a fire.
The intelligence of the path on the reverse of the Tree is Hemethterith and the sigil is
in lurid red.
The are the two Breasts* of Odudua of Binah, and the two flows are blood and milk. The number 1054 is associated to the path, 1054 = NAOS which is Greek for Ark (i.e. Womb). Arke was the Greek Goddess who was the Mother of all the Gods. **
* The shape of the 7 around the One is breast shaped.
** Akasha is Sanskrit for "regulated by the Star" and is egg shaped.
Alchemically this is Sulphur. 1 + 7 = 8, the number of Strength, in which we see the lion as sulphur being overcome. Sulphur purifies by fire. Strength is ruled by Leo which is a fire sign. The yellow flowers of fire are a powerful purifier as is the enema of the Ibis, the Fool in Atziluth will be purified likewise.
The letter of the path is Heh. The Mother is the Daughter and the Daughter is the Mother, witness YHVH. Heh means window. A window reminds us that understanding (Heh being the letter of the Mother in Tetragrammaton) is the means by which Light (Understanding) reaches us. Heh means 5, the number of the pentacle, it also means window. Windows admit light (knowledge) and air (Aleph - the fool) into the House (Beth) personality (Aries is the first house, the one which rules personality). Aleph (l) + Daleth (4) = 5 Heh. Or: the window is a WIND-DOOR. ***
*** Significance of Ophiel's version of the Banishing Ritual is that he uses WINDS instead of ANGELS in his DOORS (Pentacles).
Wisdom is at Chokmah. It pours down through the window Heh, to illuminate Tiphareth, the Sephirah of the Crucified Gods, for even there is no wisdom. At Tiphareth we can see through the glass (of the window) darkly, yet at Chokmah we see clearly face to face.
HEH has a single pronunciation, and thus all the twelve single letters will represent astrological signs. As the first sign is ARIES, then Heh will be Aries. The direction of the letter is North East.
To return to the Constituting Intelligence, it constitutes the substance of creation in pure darkness. It is also a variant of self conscious mental activity. Heh in the Hebraic acts as "the" - "the" is a definitive article. A definition limits (remember Kala). The Constitution is a set of laws. Laws are definitions. Man writes his own law to his subconscious and has to live by it.
The power on the path is that of consecration, Aries and the Owl. The perfume is Dragon's Blood which gives off a dark red pungent smoke.
Minerva was a war goddess too, and her creature was a screech owl - owl standing for wisdom. She was a true patroness of the arts and the intellectuals. Her weapon like that of Mars and Pallas Athene, was a spear.
The original Celestial North Pole was Thuban in the constellation Draco the Dragon. It was none other than Minerva who flung the Dragon (Titan) into heaven next to Polaris. Polaris is brighter than the Sun. (Relatively speaking, if it were 93 million miles away).
Let us consider some more myths about Seven Stars such as Orion and the Seven Sisters (Pleiades).
Orion the Giant possessed a dog, Sirius. One of his rapes led to his loss of sight and so he went westward to the Sun and recovered his sight on Haephaetus the Smith-God's advice. He also pursued the seven sisters across the mountains of Boetia. To save them, Zeus turned the seven sisters into doves and then placed them in the sky.
The Indians of U.S.A. have a myth about seven brothers pursued by a monstrous bear. The brothers change into stars and rise to heaven by unrolling a spider's web. It is reminiscent of Ariachne as well as the Pleiades.
Considering the Star: -
it is like a breast except star A is out of sequence and the whole is like a sickle. A sickle is a cleaver. The sword oxsickle shape was based on the Great Mother; literally she was limned in the Thigh (Womb) Constellation of the Polar Stars. The sickle plus shape of her celestial origin, gave birth to the shape of Saturn.
Ursa Major is the Great Bear, it is the Plough which cleaves the earth. The Plough has seven stars of which two can be lined up to show Polaris itself!
Polar-Polus is Latin which means pivot, axis. Firmament and our lady dwells on the firmament.
Orion is a constellation found of seven very bright stars. It is also known as Dionysus - The Fool.
He is attributed to the Star of Nuit, i.e. Sothis Set Typhon - Sirius, the Dog Star, The system Ursa Major is the Plough, but it is in Ursa Minor that Polaris resides.
Actually, it must be possible to place the Tarot on the whole sky map, i.e. for all the constellations in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
The legend of the Great Bear is that Zeus changed the beautiful Callisto, attendant to Juno, into a bear because Juno was jealous of her greater beauty. Zeus flung her into the heavens when her son tried to slay her with a spear when he saw the "bear". Zeus flung both of them into heaven by their tails; hence their long tails.
The seven and the one are the Little Bear.
Older occultists used to describe the Dweller on the Threshold as something dreadful hinting at the Devil. It is more likely to be the less pleasant side of ourselves. It may be linked to the Shadow then:
"The Stronger the Light, the Darker the Shadow" - Carl Jung in "The Portable Jung".
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To Be Continued...
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