Category Archives: Tarot

Any set of Tarot that carries the proper traditional elements speaks directly to the soul, even when the person has no clue as to the internal keys or Tree of Life basis. And that is because it carries knowledge that pre-dates the religious, classical and Homeric eras, even while it includes the ideas and cultural contexts of the latter. In the same way, some very old churches contain stones and carvings that can be traced back to prehistoric times when the greater part of our whole land was covered with thick forests. The ancient Egyptians recycled building materials from much older temple structures and built them into newer structures, perhaps after two thousand years or more had passed, retaining some of the hieroglyphs and reliefs of the older works.

Clearly understanding the esoteric symbolism of the Tarot cards requires that we first liberate our minds from the baneful curse of modernism and of post-modernism within the occult, which has loudly suppressed all genuine tradition. When we refer to an ancient Egyptian source we are not speaking of the Egyptian civilisation as such. We are alluding to that Great Mind, whose heirs preceded the race of humans and established their divine image on the earth in times of unimaginable antiquity.

Thomas De Quincey spoke of a sublime form of divination by which ‘magnetism’ may call up from the darkness, ‘sentiments the most august, previously inconceivable, formless, and without life’, and so exalting their character as to ‘lodge them eternally in human hearts’.[1] De Quincey refers here, by way of analogy, to rhabdomancy, divination (or geomancy) by rod. The notion of ‘magnetism’ was rather popular at the time in which he wrote but what is important is that he speaks of divination as akin to evocation, ‘to call forth’. This is divination in the real sense, as opposed to the degraded sense of it as is applied by psychism, fortune telling or prediction. The real ‘cause’ of all natural phenomena can never be known through ordinary observation and the recording of supposed facts, as is the case with material scientism. The will is esoteric; the effect is exoteric. The True Will cannot be rationally understood. It is intuited firstly through the act of evocation. This is done through the mode of analogous thinking. The meaning behind the symbols of the Tarot, as with any complete universal yantra, is known through such evocation. The analogy may be extended even to the method of creating talismans and ensouling them. By means of magical evocation, life and substance is conveyed to a housing or ‘body’ as befits the nature and function of the indwelling intelligence.

By further analogy, the soul has a tenuous relation with the mind, and cannot do without that relation; the very existence of the soul depends on it. The soul is latent until she is able to bring forth her ‘child’, by which she is able to resurrect and restore the world to the divine image—which is called a Great Work.

It is through such subtle relations that the soul releases the principle that is able to resurrect the whole individual. If this relation does not exist, then the soul departs and is effectively, as far as the person is concerned, non-existent. Also if the mind refuses the soul, or there is some intervention or disruption so that the mind is unable to give substance to the soul through the power of attention, then the soul may depart. The person is then of the damned, without a soul. This is the great tragedy of the world. The joy of the world is for those who will live, which have chosen life.

Thus in every true act of divination, in every true act of magick, something of the soul is born into the world. The soul will take with her something of the nature of the world she is in sympathetic accord with, even upon the death of the physical body that houses her. This is the great transformation, recounted in diverse ways in the Egyptian papyrus spells. To return to the elegant words of De Quincey, the ‘previously inconceivable’ or ‘formless’ that may be ‘lodged eternally in the human heart’ is not a foregone conclusion. Hence there is a need for a Great Work. Now, perhaps more than at any other time in history, that need is most pressing.

[1] Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1856 Revision).

From the book Egyptian Tarot.

Leo: Egyptian Tarot Sekhet XI

Posted on 22nd July 2019 by Shaktananda

The Egyptian Tarot trump for the nineteenth path of Leo is Sekhet XI. The Sun, the Solar Light, is the ruler of the sign of the Lion.

All tarots on this website are from our Egyptian Tarot and Guidebook.

Sekhet, the Egyptian lioness goddess of heat and fire, is depicted in the centre of the Tarot design. She is crowned by the solar disc from which projects the cosmic cobra serpent, the animating spirit and energy of the Occult Force or Kundalini. In her right hand she wields the ankh of eternal life and in her left the lotus sceptre. The lotus, as a symbol, combines the four classical elements. She has her roots in the fertile mud, floats upon the surface of the waters and grows upward through the air, opening her flower to the solar light or fire.

Her collar of grey rayed with amber declares the manifesting power of the true word or oracular utterance, which is symbolised by the cobra serpent emerging from a basket at the upper right of the Tarot card. The collar is also a type of protective shield, a further attribute of Sekhet, who protects the soul against the hostile forces of the underworld. The nemmys of Sekhet is purple, reflecting the nineteenth path at the level of Atziluth, the world of emanations.[1]

One of the many titles of Sekhet is ‘The Powerful One’, for that is the literal meaning of her name, derived from sekhem. Her name is thus spelled with the priestly sekhem sceptre hieroglyph in the upper right of the Tarot picture. As the Shakti power par excellence, there is some comparison to be made with Kali, adored by Shaktas and yogins.

The esoteric title of the Tarot trump, Daughter of the Flaming Sword, further indicates the close affinity between Sekhet and Ma’at. This is emphasised by the position of the path of Leo on the Tree of Life, extending from the azure sphere of Jupiter to the fiery red of Mars. Jupiter is the natural sephira of Ma’at, the spiritual and natural order of Truth and Justice, while Mars is an apt station for Sekhet in her fiery and vengeful aspect. In many ways Sekhet and Ma’at are so close as to be interchangeable, and the path of Leo combines the attributes.

The path of Leo is called the Intelligence of the Secret of all Spiritual Activities or the Occult Intelligence. The path is the first that is wholly beneath the Abyss when descending, and the last before the Abyss when ascending the Tree. It is therefore the secret ruler and governor of all that is below, even as it receives the influence (mezla) from that which is above.[2]

The traditional magical power of the path of Leo is the Power of Training Wild Beasts, which is, more accurately, understanding the language of non-human intelligences.

The power of hypnotism is also associated with the snake, which is an inversion of the wisdom that overcomes all delusion. The snake of light, or Lion-serpent, analogously extends from the base of the spine to the nape of the neck. The serpent then enters the third eye chakra (ajna). When the primary goal of yoga is accomplished, the crown chakra (sahasrara) is brought into being.

Leo the Lion-serpent

Djet or Techa Serpent Hieroglyph

Teth the Serpent is the letter of the path, shown on the lower right edge of the Tarot card. The serpent is one of the earliest magical images of Leo. Figures of Sekhet and the cat goddess Bast frequently showed a serpent spine or tail. Techa or djed, the ancient Egyptian form of the serpent, looks similar in shape to the letter lamed.

There is a close relationship between Ma’a, the Lion of Truth, whose letter is the sickle or Egyptian sword of Ma’at, and the oracular serpent. The serpent hieroglyph is both the root and phonetic of the name of Tahuti (or Thoth), god of magick, writing and words, especially the Word. The serpent is also closely identified with Ra and his sun boat as both protector and antagonist, as explained with the previous zodiacal trump in the series, Atet VII. The Lion-serpent is a very ancient image of Leo the Lion, the fifth sign of the Zodiac ruled by the Sun.

With this Tarot trump we have chosen to show Uranus as exalted in Leo, as glyphed on the lower left edge of the card. As the Daughter of Ra and the Eye of Ra, Sekhet sends forth flashing rays that incinerate the foe. Uranus corresponds to Da’ath by the analogy of lightning bolts or arrows of Neïth striking down through the Abyss. The matrix of Ma’at or Isis, as seated on her Throne of Hollow Stone is thus made luminous.

Ancient Lore of Sekhet

Sekhet or Sekhmet is a warrior goddess as well as protectress. According to ancient Egyptian lore, the desert was formed from her hot, fiery breath. She is the protector of kings and leads them into battle. Upon death, Sekhet assists their passage through the underworld to her perfumed garden of paradise, called Sekhet A’aru, the ‘blessed fields’ from which the Greeks took their Eleusinian Paradise. Sekhet A’aru literally means, ‘Reed Fields’.

In a tale concerning the ending of Ra’s rule on the earth, Ra sends Hathoor in the form of Sekhet to destroy all those who conspired against him. Sekhet’s blood lust is not quelled at the end of battle and there is a danger of her destroying the entire human race. Ra then pours out beer dyed with red ochre or hematite so that it resembles blood. Mistaking the beer for blood, Sekhet becomes so drunk that she returns peacefully to Ra. Ra, the Sun, it is well to remember, is the ruler of the astrological sign of Leo the Lion. The Sun is the secret self of Sekhet, soul and daughter of Ra.

The priestesses of Sekhet performed a ritual before a different statue of the goddess on each day of the year. This has resulted in many well-preserved images of the goddess. Most of her statuettes are finely cut from solid granite, the most enduring stone—and very difficult to cut and work with.[3]

Feasts to Sekhet were celebrated at the end of battles, for the preservation of peace. During the annual festival held at the beginning of the year, the Egyptians danced and played music in celebration of the goddess. According to the few written accounts that have survived the ages, the celebrants ritually drank great quantities of red beer and wine to imitate the divine intoxication that calmed the wrath of the goddess when she almost destroyed humanity. The tale was at one time mirrored at the beginning of each year, when the Nile ran blood red with silt from up-stream. Some versions of the legend have it that Sekhet swallowed the overflow to save humankind from destruction.

There are historical records of tens of thousands attending the festival of Sekhet. The findings were made in the temple of Mut; when Thebes (Waset) rose to prominence, Mut absorbed some of the characteristics of Sekhet. Temple excavations at Luxor discovered a ‘porch of drunkenness’ built into the temple by Queen Hatshepsut, at the height of her twenty-year reign.

Such accounts have always delighted travellers and historians. However they reveal little if anything of the real mysteries of Sekhet, or even of the magical powers of her path. As the ‘Old One’, Sekhet’s origins are lost in antiquity. Like Set, the only begotten son of Nuit, she is considered First of all Gods. Today, knowledge of Sekhet’s path exists in fragmentary form. Her followers, contrary to that which we would surmise from the writings of historians and Egyptologists, continue her rites in secret.

Notes

1. The name Atziluth, the divine world of emanations, is derived from the root etz, ‘source’, ‘essence’. The word is etymologically related to Etz Chaim, the Tree of Life from which the gods are sprung.

2. The full commentary on the Yetziratic attributions of the paths is given in Thirty-two paths of Wisdom [Ordo Astri].

3. It is thought that more than 700 statues of Sekhet once stood in the funerary temple of Amenhotep III, on the west bank of the Nile.

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Solstice: Egyptian Tarot Atet VII

Posted on 21st June 2019 by Shaktananda

The Egyptian Tarot trump for the eighteenth path of Cancer is Atet VII. The Moon, the Lunar Flame, is the ruler of Cancer the Crab or Scarab. The Atet or sun boat of Ra is here depicted in the centre of the Tarot design.

All tarots on this website are from our Egyptian Tarot and Guidebook.

The motion of Ra defines the expanse of the sky, the reach of heaven. Thus the invisible Sun of Spirit is concealed or clothed in light. The barque or sun boat of Ra is also therefore the marker of time. If the sun boat should be stopped in its tracks, as is told in the legends of Isis, time would cease.

The esoteric title of the Tarot trump, traditionally named ‘The Chariot’, is Child of the Powers of the Waters: Lord of the Triumph of Light. This is best explained through the Qabalistic title of the eighteenth path, Intelligence of the House of Influence. Cheth, the letter of the path, means ‘a wall or enclosure’. The enclosure of cheth is the sun boat itself. It is also the radiance of spirit called the Khu (or khu-t) in ancient Egyptian sacred texts.

The eighteenth path of Cancer the Crab or Scarab is the intelligence linking the Understanding of Binah, the throne of Saturn, with Geburah, the Energy of Mars. From the interior of Binah, runes of knowledge flow forth via the Abyss that marks a separation between the spiritual realm and that of the individual human domain and its faculties of perception. The primordial (non-verbal) language communicates the means of return to Nuit or absolute being, consciousness and bliss. The power or intelligence of the eighteenth path is experienced as light that flows like water from the innermost depths. The Sun is said to enter the house of his mother at the solstice. He is thus at his height, or depth from the point of view of the southern hemisphere of the globe. The Atet or sun boat of Ra is the original type of the solar chariot, which later became the triumphant vessel of kings and warriors. The Holy Grail or Cup of Binah is reflected across the Abyss in the magnificent sphere of Gedulah or Jupiter, which attains exaltation in the sign of Cancer.

The Sun is said to enter the house of his mother at the solstice. He is thus at his height (from the point of view of the northern hemisphere). The Atet or sun boat of Ra is the original type of the solar chariot, which during the Age of Kali Yuga became seen as the triumphant vessel of kings and warriors. The Holy Grail or Cup of Binah is reflected across the Abyss in the magnificent sphere of Gedulah or Jupiter, which attains exaltation in the sign of Cancer.

The hieroglyphic name Atet is shown at the top of the Tarot picture. The name is pronounced an-djet, with the soft ‘n’ sounded as in ‘sing’.[1] The hieroglyph for andj is frequently depicted as the shuttle of Neïth, the House of the Net.[2] Thus she is the sky-weaver who spins the threads of light defining heaven and earth, manifesting the worlds that receive life from Ra, the supreme principle.

Ra travels on the Atet Boat of Millions of Years when he is visible in the heavens. His companions include Sia (vision, perception) and Hu (will, command), as well as Heka (magick power). During the evening, Ra sets in the west as Atum or otherwise in the form of a ram, and enters the duat or Egyptian underworld. In some legends he is swallowed into the mouth of Nuit, the sky goddess, and thus his journey through the duat is a journey through her body. In the duat, the sun boat is named Sektet. Apep (Apophis), the opposer of the light, appears here as a great serpent. Every night Apep attempts to stop the journey of the sun boat with his hypnotic stare. Set, who accompanies Ra on the sun boat, assists Ra by overcoming the serpent. By morning, the night boat reaches the end of its journey through the underworld and Ra is reborn from the womb of Nuit.

Secrets of the Sun Boat

Much of the labour of the Great Work is to make the frail human personality a suitable vehicle for the influx of cosmic consciousness that would otherwise overwhelm it. The preliminary work is to train the mind and increase the power of concentration—to hold an idea steady in the mind like an unwavering flame. The mental powers are then applied to the building of a chariot, as depicted in the Tarot trump, by which one may ascend. Such a chariot is shown forth in various traditions as a means of passing through a Journey of the Soul by making contact with various gods, angels or devas along the way.

The Atet is the vehicle of will called the resurrection body in Christian esotericism. The Holy Ghost and Holy Grail are cognate terms. The Cup of Babalon or Binah is the receptacle from which the feminine Holy Spirit, Khu or Shekinah, is imbibed, producing divine intoxication—not to be confused with ordinary drunkenness. The symbolism of soma or wine in various rites has nothing to do with any material substance but there are no words in modern languages to describe its real meaning, which amounts to a sum total of all knowledge or the knowledge of Universal Being.

Lord of the Triumph of Light

The magical power of the eighteenth path is the Power of Casting Enchantments. The ancient Egyptian image for Cancer is the scarab beetle, Khephra. When Ra is in the underworld, he visits all of his various forms and thus undergoes the transformations that prepare him for rebirth from the body of Nuit.

Sun Boat of Ra: Khephra Scarab from Egyptian Tarot of Thelema Khephra, or the sun at media nox, is the supreme totem of enchantment and of all transformations. Khephra is the neter (principle) of Becoming. As self-created, self-born and ever living, Khephra is more than Existence or Being itself. As with all Egyptian Gods, he conceals the supreme principle, changeless, infinite, immutable and so forth. The underworld, or reflected body of Nuit, is the vessel and means of transformation from lower to higher states. At the end of the night, the soul emerges as a radiant Khu or Phoenix—the resurrection bird. It is the accomplishment of the Great Work.

Notes

1. At, atu, ‘moment of time, minute, hour, culmination of an act’. At-t, ‘bed, couch, bier’ and ata, ‘boat’. Also, ā-t, ‘chamber, house, place, temple’. See Budge, An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Volume I pp. 12–13. The root of the noun is cognate with all senses of the chariot in the various traditions, including the nuptial place of repose for Shiva and Shakti in the tantrik tradition. From it is derived ‘Atu’, the name of the Tarot trumps. In The Book of Thoth, Chapter III, Crowley poured scorn on the notion that atout, the French word for ‘trump’, might be etymologically derived from Atu, ‘House’. However, the Egyptian language is far more ancient than Latin or Greek!

2. Ā(N)TIT (andjet), Budge I, pp. 128 [ibid]. Note also that andj or antech has the meaning of ‘health, well, sound’. All is well when Ra travels in his sky boat.

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