IntroToTarot8.PDF

INTRODUCTION TO TAROT

LessonEight

KEY 14.TBMPERANCE

Verification is thebasicmeaningof Key i4. This picture

represents

the plocesswherebywe provethe accuracyof the

principlesand laws laid down in AgelessWisdom. It shows us

how we may confirm our beliefs andtheories'It indicates the

rnethod wherebywe may establish the truth of what we are

taught.

Truth is established by trial. In order to know, we must do.

Fluencyin theuseof the languageof Ageless Wisdom is no

guarantee

thatwe are competentto perfolm the Great Work. We

mustsubjectour theories to the laboratory testsof dayto day

experience.

The Hebrew letteron Key 14is Samekh D,andits Chaldean

form is the third of the three serpentinelettersin the alphabet'It

representsa snake with its tail in its mouth, andthusit is a

syrnbolof completionandeternity.

As a verb,the letter-nameSameldr means"to prop,to bearup, to uphold,to sustain, to

establish". The oliginal form of the letterwasa picture of a tentpeg.Thusit really signifies,in

relationto a tent, what a foundation meansto a house.It givesstabilityandfirmness to our

houseof life.

The ngmberof I(ey 14is significantto everystudentof HebrewWisdom, because14is the

numerical valueof th.enoun !i11, zawhab,gold.This is the gold of enlightenment,

the

pliilosophical gold which represents perfect,verifiedtruth.

The title, Tempelance, combinesthe ideas we havebeenconsidering.Understand it in its now

obsolete sense,which is "the actof temperingor mingling; modification; combination". Thus

"Temperance"really means regulationandthe measured proportionof constituentpafts.

The GreatWork is just this.It combinesand harmonizesall thevariouselements which enter

into the constitution of humanpersonality, blendingtherntogetherin one whole.

In Key 14,the centralfigure is tl-re greatarchangelMichael, angelof the sunand angel of the

elementof fire. The solardisk on his forehead establisheshis identity. So doeshis glowing

TO TAROT:

INTRODUCTlON

in thetenth chapter

hair surrounded by rays.He correspondsalsoto the greatangeldescribed

of Revelation. THE,AMERICAN BIBLE translates

thus:

..Then I saw anothermighty angeldescend frorn heaven. He wasclothedin a cloud,anda

rainbow encircled his head.His facewas like the sun,his legs werelilcepillars of fire, and he

had a little scroll open in his hancl.He sethis right foot on the sea andhis left foot on the land,

ancl he uttered a greatshoutlike the roar of a lion; andwhen he shoutecl,

the seventhunders

raised theirvoices."

Notice the cogection between the solarangelandthe seventhunderswhich uttered thingsthe

seer was forbiclden to write. The thunderboltis the special ernblemof Jupiter, andJupiter

rulesthe sign Sagittarius to which I(ey 14 corresponds.Sagittarius

is the Archer andthe

Hebrew namefor this signis alsothe name for the rainbow.

The only clifferencebetween the angelin Revelationand this oneis thatthe angel in Key 14

hasa vaseanda torch instead of a little scroll.Yet the meaningis reallythe same.The little

scroll is the scroll of the law, which the High Priestessholds.When that scroll is unrolled,the

Law is mademanifest, or put into operation.In Key 14,the operationof the Law is shownby

what the angeldoes.

The Divine Name i1lili, Jehovah, on his breastidentifiestheangel with the One Reality.

Commonly we thinl<of angelsasbeing different from the One Life of whieh they are

messengers;

but in truth,theyale aspectsof thatOne Life. That lvhich was, is, and is to

come, il'li1!,is the Realitywhich plesentsitself to usunderall gr-rises.

The seven-pointed starunderthe GreatName refersto the SevenSpiritsof God. Theseare

seven phasesof the OneConscious Energy.

the Astral Fluid. Like the waterin the vases

shown in Key 17,it comes from thepool below the angel in which his right foot rests.The

water hasthe samemeaning aselsewhere

The vase,from which wateris poured,represents

tll'oughout the Keys of Tarot.It falls in a triple

stream to showthat, althoughthis cosmicsubstance

is usuallyassociatedwith

operationsalso,

its activitiesreally includeconsciousandsupercouscious

subconscioltst'tess,

which are all combinedin the GreatWork.

The stlearnof waterfalls on a lion, symbolof the signLeo.I-Iiscolor,ltowever,shouldbe

darker thanthe lion in Key 10becausehenot only represents

the signLeo andthe elementof

fire, but alsothe "roaring lion, seeking whom hemay devollr", r,vhich

is oneof the Biblical

thatthe Angel is tempering the

undevelopedaspects of personalityin orderto transmuteignorance.

symbolsof the devil. This suggests

to subconsciousness

The streamof waterfalling on the lion alsoindicatesthe modificationof tlie animalnatureby

the powersof humanconsciousness. Again, it suggests

the blendingof opposite elements,

water and fire.

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INTRODUCT-lON

TO TAROT:

the consumptionof physical forms by the fiery

actionof the Life-power.From it fall five flames,eachshaped like a letterYod. They referto

the fivefold differentiation of theLife-Breathinto ether, fire, water,air andearth.

The torch in the angel'sleft handrepresents

Since Scorpiois a waterysign, the flamesfalling on aneagleindicate th.eblendingof

oppositesandthe equilibrium which results.The eagleis a symbolfor wateraswell asfor

Scorpio. It is, moreover,the bird of Jupiter,ruling planetof Sagittarius.

In the background, at the endof thepath,is a crown suspended

the first of

the ten Qabalistic Sephiroth,Kether,the Crown. it is a symbolof the culminationof the Great

Work which is the perfectself-knowledge

in air. It represents

indicatedby the statement, "I andthe Fatherarein

perfectLlnion." Thetwin mountain-peaks on eithersideof the crown standfor two other

Sephiroth, Wisdom andUnderstanding.

The pool andthe earthlepresent,respectively, consciousness

andphysicalform. The angel

stands on both to showthat the Great Work is a psycho-chemicaloperation wherein

transformations of mentalstatesbring about correspondingchanges

in the bodily organism.

the teachingof Ageless

Wisdom that man is destinedto completethe cosmic manifestationof the Life-powerthrough

his personalactivities.In sodoing, lrlanchangeshis body sothathis brain canregister

consciousness

The central ideaof this I(ey is thatwe may veriff for ourselves

of identitywith the PrirnalWill of which all activitiesareexpressions.

This Key sullts up the occultdoctlineas to whatoccursin suchtransformation.By usingit as

a focusfor concentrated attention,r,veareenabled to keepsteadilyin mind what is the real

meaningof daily experience. Thenwe will cometo lanowthatoccultdoctrine is true.Practice

of the mentalstates evoked by I(ey 14is the "practice of the presence of God", or the

"knowledge andconversationof the Holy GuardianAngel".

TO TAROT': 8

INTRODUCTION

KEY 15. THE DBVIL

Th.eplinciple of contrast, runningthrotrghTarot,is obviousin

compaling Keys 14and 15.The angelof Temperance

is an

angelof light. Key 15 showsanangelof darkness.

Of all the Keys of Tarot, Key 15is oneof the most important'It

is a symbolicveil for the greatestpracticalsecretof occultism.

It both concealsandrevealsthe secretof the powersascribedby

tradition to Moses, David andSolomon.This is the samesecret

Pythagoras

learnedin Egyptian templeschools.It is the Great

A:'canumof alchemy andrnagic.To know it is to be ableto

make the Philosophers'Stoneandthe Elixil of Lif-e.

Yet thosewho know it cannottell. Fortheessentialpoint is

beyondthe powerof wordsto express.If you alreadyknow it,

you will be ableto decidewhe'.heror not the writer of this

lesson

lcnowsit also.If youarereadyto learnit, this lesson will

plant a seedin your mind which seed will grow evenfliallyinto

positiveknowledge

receivedand pelceived.Themeaningdawnson us.Whenthis

guesswork, no unceltainty. Oneknows,andknowsthat he

This knowledge is interiorly

occurs, thereis no doubt,no

knows.

The first clue is thatthe letter-name frJi, Ayin, means not only "eye" and"fountain", but also

"outvvard appearance".Thuswe know Key i5 is a pictule of the way thingslook ratherthana

pictureof the way theyreally are.Yet we mustbearin mind alsothe fact that every Key of

Tarot is a picftire of humanity itself, a symbolf,orsomeaspectof the One Self which is

manifest in the innumerable personalities constituting thehumanrace.Becomingawareof the

undeveloped aspectsof personalityis the first steptowardsovercomingour "devilish"

responses

to life experience.

The very word "devil" is from a Greeknounlvhich means "slanderer". This may help you to

understand what Key 15reailymeans.It standsfor everythingor anythingthat gives man a

badopinion of the worth andvalue of his nature.

constitutinghumanenvironmentwhen

superficially interpreted.Yet, if we larowwhatthey are,what they spling from, andwhat is

their purpose in the cosmicorder,we shallunderstandhow to dealwith them.

What does just this? What elsebut the appearances

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TO TAROT:

INTRODUCTION

The Bible gives anotherhint to the sameeffect when it tells us the serpentwho temptedEve

was createdon a daywhenthe Lold looked at all He hadmade andplonouncedit "vely

good." If we thinl<long anddeeplyon theproblemof creation, we shallseethatthe Lord had

no material other than His own substance.Then it may dawn upon us that it is the

appearanceswhich deceive us andarethe imrnediatecausesof our fears,andof our poor

opinion of humannature.

the OnePower asit appearsto thosewho arecontentto take

In blief, then,Key 15replesents

at facevalue.Whenwe look at the wolld surroundingus,we seea composite

of seeminglyincongruous elementsrrixed in hopelessconftision. Of this confusionthe

impossiblemixture of maleandfemale,humanandanimal,bild and beast, which is the

central figure of Key 15,is a perfect example. Nothing like it actuallyexists, yet everythingin

it is someaspectof reality.

its appearances

Even the sign of the zodiacwhich is attributedto the letler Ayin hasconnection with the

Devil. For the ancientEgyptianscalled this sign Typhon,andtheir Typhonwas the origin of

muchthat came to be incorporated

into laternotionsof His SatanicMajesty.Symbolic

representations of Capricorninclude: 1.A rnonster havingthe headandbody of a goat and

the tail of a fish; 2. a crocodilewith theheadof anelephant;3. a donkey; 4. the mysterious

creature represented

in Jobandin Revelation asLeviathanandthe Old Serpent.

As a ferrinine sign,Capricornis related to themother-powerwhich, afterthe golvth brought

aboutthroughtemptation andtrial, bringsforth the Savior, the RedeemedOne.

This establishesa link with anotheroccttltmeaning of Ayin givenin a tablein HIGHLIGI-ITS

which saysthis letterrepresents

the RenewingIntelligence.A Qabalistic commentaryon this

declares that by meansof the RenewingIntelligence God renewsall thatis begunafieshin the

creation of the wolld. Herethe Wisdom of Israelgivesus a hint thatthereis a relationship,

evenan identity, betweenthepowerwhich tempts anddestroysandthatwhich renewsand

saves.

The perceptionof this identityby occultistshas madenecessary

the carefulveiling of esoteric

In this supposediyenlightenedage,

doctrines, evenwhen thesedoctrinesarecommunicable.

fi'ee country,therearemanylocalitieswhereit would be dangerous

and in this supposedly

make a plain statementof somethings written in this lesson.

Perhapswhat has been written by EliphasLevi will comeasnearasanythingcanto putting

you on the track of the truemeaningof this Talot Key. He says,"Satan,as a superior

pelsonalityand power,hasno existence.The devii is the Great Magic Agent employedfor

evil purposes by a perversewill." To this we may addthattheperversityof that will is dueto

ignorance.

I1the Tarot Key, the Devil is androgyne,havingone maleandonefemalebreast.Flom the

pentagramto the extremity of his right-handhorn, theleareten divisions,andon the other

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