Dear Friend,

This lesson is about Subject and Object, about what they mean in tarot, andhow they are expressed in the numbers 22, 10 and 4.

In a manner of speaking, there are twenty-three trumps in a tarot deck.Twenty-two are facets of the spirit, the faces of the soul pictured as archetypes.They lay one atop the other like transparencies and together they make the completedimage of what we mean by “human.” The 23rd trump is invisible without a mirror.It is the individual person, the querent, who sits before the tarot and asks for a truereflection.

The mystery of the Major Arcana is our own secret self projected onto paper.From this vantage point we look out at the world. We are the seer and not the seen.As the Major Arcana, the big secrets, we look for the answer to the riddle of ourselves.We are the Subject.

But we can become, as if by magic, the Object, the thing seen, simply by askingwhat the future has in store for us. If the oracle of tarot is kind, we are happy towait passively and let good fortune fall on us like rain. If the prediction is negative,we can steer ourselves around oncoming misfortune like a car in an arcade videogame. In either case, the only mysteries that are addressed are the mysteries of whatwill happen to us. These are the small secrets, the Minor Arcana.

It is the relationship of Major Arcana to Minor Arcana, big secrets to little secrets,Subject to Object, that gives tarot its power and us the answers to our questions.

In Lesson One we promised to eventually explain the significance of the

© 1998, 2001, 2003 The Tarot SchoolNo part of this material may be reproduced without prior written permission.

Lesson Two

number 10 in the structure of the deck. 10 in tarot is the number of the Object. It isnot only a mathematical but also a metaphysical symbol. It is not used only to countbut also to see. To the Qabalist, that strange combination of mystic and magician, 10is the exact number of steps needed to bridge the gap between a spiritual Nothingand a solid, objective Something. In ten stages, not nine; in ten stages, not eleven,the act and drama of creation itself can be counted and described. In ten parts theydrew a diagram of a Divine plan that they called the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life isthe Qabalist’s visual description of both the divine method and the divine purpose,showing us with breathtaking simplicity the answers to the questions of who we are,how we got here, and what to do now. Qabalah is, in part, the discipline of describingthis visual simplicity in words so that the mind can grasp what the spirit experiencesdirectly, a discipline as demanding as any ever devised. The vision of Qabalah is simplebut its language is so complex that the multi-layered symbolic alphabet we call tarotwas pressed into service to make it manageable.

In Qabalah, 10 is the number of degrees of separation between theExperiencer and the experience, between the Seer and the seen. The uncrossablechasm between No-thing and Some-thing, Spirit and Matter, Subject and Object, isbridged in 10 stages. These 10 stages are an objective blueprint of creation. They arethe Objective state. They are the 10 numbers of the Minor Arcana. 22 is the numberof paths that connect these 10 aspects of the Objective state. It is on these 22 pathsthat we experience the otherwise incomprehensible act of creation. 22 is the numberof the Subjective state. It is the number of the Major Arcana. 4 is the number oftimes the Objective blueprint must be repeated for creation to be complete. 4 is thenumber of suits and the number of Court Cards in each suit, which together describeour final, observable reality. 22, 10 and 4, the numerical skeleton of tarot.

It is not our purpose here to explain Qabalah and the Western Mysteries.There are other, and excellent, sources for that. But it is only in these mysteries thatthe grand architecture of tarot is visible and complete, despite tarot’s other uses andlayers of meaning. It is only in the Mysteries that the Minor Arcana, the secrets ofobjective reality, and the Major Arcana, the secrets of subjective experience, are joinedin the great secret of a divine plan.

To know that a structure of thought and practice as vast as the Western Mysterieslies behind an already far too complex alphabet of symbols may be cold comfort forstudents of tarot, many of whom only want to know “what the cards mean.” We canonly apologize for this awkward fact, and hope that in time it will become a source ofdelight instead of an embarrassment.

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This is a good time to return to earth, as it were, and get back to the cardsthemselves. What do they mean?

Do this:

Once again, sit at a table with notebook, pen, and your deck. Extractfrom the deck the Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten of Swords. Do aClose Examination of all five cards, then write an exhaustive IntuitiveInterpretation of each card, as you did in Lesson One for The Fool.

Only after you have done this, read the interpretations and attributionsthat follow. Then re-read what you have written, and compare.

The best way to learn from this procedure is to conclude with aContemplation, as follows:

Close your eyes. Ask yourself the question, “What are the meanings ofthe 6 of Swords?” Be aware of the plural in meanings. Visualize the 6 ofSwords in detail. Then hear, with your inner ear, the essence, thecentral sense, of the card. Write this core meaning down.

Repeat the Four Steps of this process (Close Examination, IntuitiveInterpretation, Comparison, and Contemplation) in writing for each card.

THE SYMBOLS OF SWORDS (Six – Ten)

The Number Six – Attributions:

Name: Beauty (in Hebrew, Tiphereth) — The inner, luminous beauty of the center ofconsciousness; the beauty that lights every smallest bit of creation from within

Color: Yellow — The third true, primary color, symbol of the center as the center ofthe spectrum

Quality: Brightness — The light of the soul and of the world, the consciousness of thegreat masters

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Astrological Attribution: The Sun — central symbol of astrology, alchemy and theTree of Life, the three major symbol systems that between them carry most of theesoteric meaning of Tarot

Alchemical Metal: Gold — The symbol of perfection

Intelligence: Mediating —The balancing, harmonizing, healing and supporting center

Symbols: Cube, Rose Cross, Point within the Circle —• The cube is the esoteric symbol of the structure of consciousness. (See Cube ofSpace in Lesson One.) The number 6 is the center of human consciousness onthe Tree of Life.

• The rose cross is the symbol that results from opening up the Cube of Space. TheCube of Space is made of 6 equal faces, which open into a Calvary Cross. At thecenter of the cross, where vertical and horizontal meet, the rose of spiritualperfection (equivalent to the perfect alchemical Sun) is said to blossom. This isone of the central esoteric mysteries.

• The point within the circle is the measureless point of Kether (Crown), the number1, which pours its endless fountain of divine light into the disc of the Sun to makeit shine. The energy of this point is equivalent to the atomic energy contained inthe nucleus of an atom.

Dimension: World

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b

Depth: East — The beginning of all work (spiritual, magickal and physical)

Location: Solar Plexus — The energy center of the body

The Number Six – Issues:

• The third complex reality — blending the extremes of expansion and contractioninto a perfect and benign working balance

• God the Child, offspring of masculine force and feminine form, fusion into thesolar light that drives and sustains the universe

• The faces of reward as they are revealed through the four suits — achievement andapplause, pleasure and happiness, success through risk and strife, material success

• The hub of all sacred places — liberation, realization, union, bliss

6 of Swords:

Attributions:

Name: BeautyElement: AirWorld: FormationPlanet: MercurySign: AquariusEsoteric Title: Lord of Earned Success

Traditional Meanings:

Regret for the past, fear of the future; transition, uncertainty. Tough times, leave whileyou can. Survival needs energy, patience and clarity. Propelled by will, guided byintelligence, supported by trust, take the necessary journey and go with the flow.

Deliberate change – of focus, viewpoint, environment; patient labor; success after anxiety.

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Imagery:

Boat: A symbol of travel and voyages; journey over water. A symbol of direction anddestiny under human control.

Boatman: Source of energy; symbol of intention. Envoy or messenger.

Pole: Symbol of will, focus, and determined effort.

Water: Both physical and psychic depths; symbol of the distance to be travelled andobstacles to overcome.

Waves in Water: Graphic reference to Aquarius (m).

Swords in Boat: Represent the mind in its most focused and attentive state, as a referenceto Mercury.

Passengers: Symbols of resignation, acceptance, and willingness.

Far Shore: The goal; solid results.

The Number Seven – Attributions:

Name: Victory (in Hebrew, Netzach) — The will to live, and to experience life as alimited, manifest being.

Color: Green — The color of Venus and the first secondary color, a blend of the blueof Grace (#4) and the yellow of Beauty (#6).

Quality: Blazing Hot—The heat of instinct, appetite, passion and desire in the naturalworld.

Astrological Attribution: Venus — Goddess of desire.

Alchemical Metal: Copper — The major shrine to Venus is in Cyprus, the center ofcopper mining in the ancient Mediterranean. Cyprus means copper.

Intelligence: Occult — Hidden from the intellect, a mystery to the mind.

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Symbols: Girdle, Rose, Lamp —• The girdle is the control that restrains or unleashes the passions.• The rose is the perfect flower, symbol of beauty and desire.• The lamp is the light in the temple of Venus, symbol of eternal love and devotion.

Dimension: World

Depth: Above — Among the four elements of the lower triad of the Tree of Life,Victory is Fire, or Above.

Location: Right Hip — Half of the pelvic channel on the archetypal human form ofthe Tree of Life, and entrance to the world of nature.

The Number Seven – Issues:

• The beginning of nature — the instincts, appetites, passions and desires. Theseinclude the instinct for self-preservation; the libido, the forces of love and hate, fear andhunger; the maternal instinct; the attraction to beauty and pleasure, the aversion tougliness and pain.

• The energy of the ripples of consequence — what happens depends on the forcereleased or the action taken.

• The furnace of inexhaustible energy that keeps the flame of life burning, the forcethat gets you up in the morning and preserves you while you sleep.

7 of Swords:

Attributions:

Name: VictoryElement: AirWorld: FormationPlanet: MoonSign: AquariusEsoteric Title: Lord of Unstable Effort

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Traditional Meanings:

Daring, impulsive, alone. Crafty, indirect, insolent, slippery. A master of tactics, heavoids confrontation. Shameless, fearless and cheerful, no respecter of theEstablishment or its rights or property, he has a light touch in heavy matters.Sometimes he steals things or ideas, sometimes he plants them. The hidden criticalfactor, he can precipitate or defuse a volatile situation. Effective in the short term, heis a monkey wrench in the works, a lubricant in sticky situations, and the bubble-gumthat holds things together. James Bond.

Spy, hypocrite, deceiver, manipulator, researcher, thief. Taking action; hidden motives;indirection and misdirection; gathering evidence; close shave; coup.

Imagery:

Figure in Foreground: The element of surprise; an unexpected turn of events

Red Hat and Boots: Symbols of action and energy

Fur Trim: Symbol of the shapeshifter, master of the lunar powers of change and disguise

Figures in Background: Refer to the Aquarian predilection for causes and communalaction

Tents: Temporary dwellings, symbols of the fast-changing phases of the Moon —the designs on the tent flaps (circles and wavy lines) refer to the Moon in Aquarius.

The Number Eight – Attributions:

Name: Splendor (in Hebrew, Hod) — The dangers and allure of the powers ofthe intellect and of genius.

Color: Orange — The color of Mercury and the second secondary color, blendingthe red of Severity (#5) and the yellow of Beauty (#6).

Quality: Icy Cold — The crystalline qualities of clarity, curiosity and wonder;the shape that contains the raw force of nature.

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Astrological Attribution: Mercury — The god of writing and communication, and inhis Egyptian form as Thoth, scribe of the gods.

Alchemical Metal: Mercury — In alchemy, the metal that reconciles opposites; thesymbol of hermetic power and knowledge; the key to the creation of the philosopher’sstone.

Intelligence: Perfect — Here, everything is made visible, clear and flawless; form isperfected.

Symbols: Scroll, Shield, Apron —• The scroll is the matrix for all words and numbers, written and spoken.• The shield is the matrix for heraldry, the formal language of symbols and images.• The apron is a masonic symbol for the builder who is the craftsman of theMysteries, which are the combined secrets of all intellectual disciplines, includingmagic and the sciences.

Dimension: World

Depth: Below — Among the four elements of the lower triad of the Tree of Life, thisis Water, Below.

Location: Left Hip — Half of the pelvic channel on the archetypal human form of theTree of Life, and entrance to the world of nature.

The Number Eight – Issues:

• Swiftness, elegance, discipline and skill

• The beginning of mastery in any field; the first step on the way to the status of adept

• The acceptance of the burden of knowledge — endless learning and theresponsibilities and dangers of knowing

• Success is routine but limited to a single focus or activity within a single field ofknowledge or expertise.

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8 of Swords:

Attributions:

Name: SplendorElement: AirWorld: FormationPlanet: JupiterSign: GeminiEsoteric Title: Lord of Shortened Force

Traditional Meanings:

Inhibited, repressed, restrained. Feeling helpless. Abandoned and trapped, she standsin her own way. Reduced to a temporary prison, her focus is too tight and herimagination is fenced in by old habits and prohibitions. But her bonds are temporary;they are only the formalities of initiation. She has already left the old ways to take achance on untried methods. She is on a new path, felt but unseen, and potent unseenguardians surround and support her.

Oppression, confusion, isolation. Blocked, paranoid, vulnerable. Inhibited, repressed, indenial. Sight and hearing are focused within. Concentration, intuition.

Imagery:

Blue Water and Orange Robe: The colors of Jupiter and Gemini, respectively.

Robed Figure: Masonic candidate for Initiation. The darkness of ignorance beforethe dawn of knowledge.

Eight Swords: The officers of the Lodge; powerful unseen guardians.

Blindfold and White Bindings: Ceremonial trappings of initiation. The blindfoldsymbolizes a person living in darkness. The bindings wrapped around the candidateare called the cable tow. They are the coils of the serpent power of the Kundalini atthe base of the spine. During the initiation process, the blindfold is removed tobring the candidate to light and the cable tow is unwound to allow the Kundalinienergy to rise.

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Castle on the Cliff: Symbols of a person’s old life, which has been left behindforever.

The Number Nine – Attributions:

Name: Foundation (in Hebrew, Yesod) — The single source of all the laws and powersof the natural world as we know it; the funnel through which all the power of thehidden enters the world we know and becomes visible.

Color: Purple — The third secondary color, blending the blue of Grace (#4) and thered of Severity (#5).

Quality: Astral Light — Neither hot nor cold, neither bright nor dark; intimate,essential, stimulating and arousing, the first non-physical energy and the point of entryto the hidden portion of the universe.

Astrological Attribution: The Moon — Possesses all the qualities of reflected light andthe special divinity of the goddess, ruler of the natural world and also of human nature.

Alchemical Metal: Silver — In Alchemy, next to gold, the purest of metals and noblestof qualities, the step of refinement just before perfection.

Intelligence: Pure — Disembodied forms and images, made of alternating waves oflight and darkness, the source of dreams and fantasies.

Symbols: Perfume, Sandals —• The perfume is the incense that pervades the Amethyst Temple, another name forFoundation, and alters the awareness of whoever enters the astral realm.

• The sandals are the intermediary platform that separate the sleeping from thewaking state, and consecrate the steps of those who work here consciously.

Dimension: World

Depth:West — In occult work, West is the direction from which one enters the templeto begin the work, and where one exits when the work is done. Foundation (West) isthe doorway to the upper reaches of knowledge, spirit and power.

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Location: Genitals — The engine of both potency and fertility. The Kundalini serpentcoils here to become the visible world in its sleep, and uncoils to reveal the invisibleworld when it awakens.

The Number Nine – Issues:

• The source of both cause and effect — both the reason a thing happens and theconsequence of its happening.

• The source of psychic power, astral projection, and the energy that makes magic work.

• Nameless fears, baseless hunches, the power behind the belief in stories ofshapeshifters like ghosts, werewolves and vampires, and all sub- and super-humanforms and abilities (demons, angels, superheros and villains, etc.).

• The fluid from which thoughts, intentions, feelings and appetites manifest in real life.

9 of Swords:

Attributions:

Name: FoundationElement: AirWorld: FormationPlanet: MarsSign: GeminiEsoteric Title: Lord of Despair and Cruelty

Traditional Meanings:

Anxiety, worry, premonition. Guilt, suspicion, shame. Malice, cruelty, pain. Self-torment, depression, discouragement. Nightmares, insomnia, phobia. The burden ofthe woes of the world.

But it’s all in the mind. And the way out is in the mind, too. A ladder of swords up andout. A sudden realization, an epiphany — “Why didn’t I see that before?!” A particulardarkness or ignorance is a thing of the past. Awakening from coma.

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Imagery:

Central Figure: The experience of the moment between sleeping and waking

Wooden Bed: Foundation for the manifestation of thoughts

Quilt: A patchwork of the Rosicrucian rose, symbol of initiation, and the planets andsigns of the zodiac, symbols of occult knowledge

Black Background: Symbol of the night sky, reference to the mind and the element ofAir as the ground from which thought arises

9 Swords: A ladder on which one can either ascend to the consciousness of trueknowledge or descend to the sleep of ignorance

The Number Ten – Attributions:

Name: Sovereignty (in Hebrew,Malkuth) — The act, nature, and essence of rulership.Sovereignty (#10) is paired with Crown (#1) which is the source of the authority of allrulers.

Color: Here there are four colors:• Citrine (the blend of orange and green)• Russet (the blend of orange and purple)• Olive (the blend of green and purple)• Black (the blend of all of the above)

Quality: Brooding (paired with the Brilliance of Crown/#1) — Sleep/awakening, thedream of independent reality becomes the urge to seek the single source of all things.

Astrological Attribution: Earth — All that is solid and real, the ultimate compound ofall that came before it.

Alchemical Metal: Prima Materia —The stone rejected by the Builder; the raw materialof alchemy and all esoteric spiritual work.

Intelligence: Resplendent — The full beauty of creation revealed.

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Symbols: Double Cube Altar, Equal-armed Cross, Mystic Circle, Triangle of Art —

• Double Cube Altar — Symbol of completely manifested reality, the joining andpairing of Above and Below.

• Equal-armed Cross — Symbol of the four magickal elements and all themanifestations of the number four in the visible world.

• Mystic Circle — The world of nature as sacred ground.

• Triangle of Art — The magickal space of evocation, where spirits from another planeare called into manifestation.

Dimension: Soul

Depth: Evil (paired with the Good of Crown/#1) — The greatest distance from thepoint of origin, the movement away from the origin toward endless becoming.

The Number Ten – Issues:

• The stage on which every drama is played out

• The completion of every process

• The manifestation of every intention

• The revelation of every secret

• The realization of every potential

• The complete surrender of the inward to the outward

• The inescapable gravity of reality — the end of the Fall

• The urge to awaken and arise — beginning of the Great Work

• The natural world as spiritual teacher through analogy

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10 of Swords:

Attributions:

Name: SovereigntyElement: AirWorld: FormationPlanet: SunSign: GeminiEsoteric Title: Lord of Ruin

Traditional Meanings:

Death, the end, it’s over. What’s done is done. Attitudes of suffering are belied by clearingskies and placid waters. The sacrifice was a willing one, the conclusion tidy. Pain becomesamnesia. A good death. Karma is fulfilled, the situation is finished, the slate is clean.

Gloom, pain, overkill. Hysteria, exaggeration, paralysis, hostility. Acceptance andresignation. Failure, disaster, ruin. Pleasure in the unhappiness of others. Gossip andslander. Detachment; decisiveness.

Imagery:

Ten Swords: The orderly completion of any thought or plan.

Sky: Yellow fading into black symbolizes a loss of waking consciousness.

Slain Figure: Acceptance of the inevitability of physical death and the transition frombody to spirit. In Masonic lore, this is the body of Hiram Abiff, Architect of Solomon’sTemple, and symbol of the master of plan and concept. The “death of Hiram Abiff ”is part of the personal ritual experience of candidates for Master Mason.

Blood under the Head: Represents the spirit leaving the body.

Visible Hand: The fingers form the gesture of the Hierophant’s blessing and refer to thepromise of immortality implicit in the occult dictum “As above, so below.”

Unmarked Sand: The sign that all is as it should be, and no one is to blame.

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Among tarot readers it is a common understanding that the lower case of thetarot, the Minors, deal with the events of daily life, as they flow toward us from thefuture and as they reflect our past and present. These events, this daily life, is acceptedpretty widely as real. States of mind and spirit are seen as only affecting real life, if theyare taken into account at all. Real life is felt to be objective and therefore believable;everything else is subjective in varying degrees and thus a bit unreliable.

But when anyone asks for a reading, no matter how plain and down-to-earththe question, it is the subjective state of the querent that is always the issue. It isthe querent’s desires and fears that a reading deals with; actual events are importantonly as they affect what the querent regards as a desirable outcome. The objectiveworld is generally not considered important in itself. This is true in life as much as itis in a reading. Only when the world is being paid attention to directly and for itsown sake, when we appreciate a sunset or a dawn, for example, or are impressed by avolcano or a hurricane, does the objective world enter our consciousness as such. Atthese times we can see the objective world, Creation as an Object, as a true miracle.And it is at just such times that we tend to view ourselves and our problems as smallby comparison. But it is the lesson of tarot that Self and World, Subject and Object,Major and Minor, are two mirrors standing face-to-face, each reflecting the other’smystery.

In each lesson, Minor and Major stand next to each other so that we can seeourselves as mystery doubled.

Do this:

Once again, sit with pen, notebook and deck. Take out The Magicianand The High Priestess. Do a Close Examination of The Magician andan Intuitive Interpretation, both as complete as you can make them, asyou have learned to do before.

Repeat this process with The High Priestess.

Then read the material that follows on The Magician, re-read what youwrote about that card, and compare.

Repeat this process with The High Priestess.

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I - THE MAGICIAN

Karmic Interpretation:

Focus, purpose, commitment, control. A time to spin webs, manipulate events, castspells. Charm and eloquence are called for. Use your skills, your organizational ability,your powers of persuasion. Communication is all-important. Clarity, confidence,discrimination and poise are your allies.

Archetypal Interpretation:

Expert, charlatan, sorcerer, juggler. Realities are rabbits in his hat, appearances andenergies that he directs and controls. His sign is Mercury, messenger of the gods,traveler between the worlds. Sometimes he is a mountebank, sometimes a musician andcommunicator, and sometimes he is the Lord of the Occult. His wand channels energyfrom the higher to the lower self.

It is time to act. You know yourself, you know your task, you have the skills. The godsare with you. Make it happen.

Magickal Interpretation:

Attributions:

Name: The Magician — Thoth, Hermes, the god of magic (both occult and sleight ofhand).

Key Number: 1 — the 2nd Major Arcana card. The numerical hierarchy of the MajorArcana does not begin with 1, the first real number. Instead, it begins with 0, The Fool,which comes before any reality at all.

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Hebrew Letter: Beth (B) — the number 2 in Hebrew, a reference to The Magician asthe second card in the Major Arcana. Beth means House, a reference to the sense ofcontainment and protection of a path leading to pure form (see Path #12). As The Fool(Aleph) is the prelude to sound, Beth (the English letter B) is the first real sound.

Esoteric Function: Life and Death — not Life orDeath. Life brings death with it. Onedemands the other. The Magician turns life on or turns it off with a shift of hisattention.

Astrological Attribution: Mercury — God of magic, first of the seven planets ofancient astrology

Path #: 12 — From Crown (#1) to Understanding (#3). This is the first journey fromthe center to the left-hand side of the Tree of Life. It is the experience of moving fromperfect equilibrium to the intensity of pure contraction. This path is the first formality,the organizing of the spontaneous experience of The Fool. The Fool’s journey from thecenter to the right side of the Tree of Life has no goal or direction. The Magician givesthe Fool’s journey focus and intent.

Intelligence: Transparent — The channel of will and energy from Above to Below, asthrough a clear glass, which transmits its original intention without the distortion ofthe agenda of a separate ego.

Direction on the Cube of Space: Above — One end of the dimension of Above/Belowin the Cube of Space

Esoteric Title: Magus of Power

Imagery:

Flowers: The arrangement of flowers above and below The Magician suggest the shapeof the letter Beth, the form that gives shape to the energy of Aleph,The Fool.

Roses and Lilies: Fiery energy of life and purity of spirit, respectively.

Table: Field of attention.

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The Implements on the Table:Wand = Fire = YodCup = Water = HehSword = Air = VavPentacle = Earth = Heh

Engravings on the Table’s Edge:Ripples = WaterAnimal = EarthBird = AirTable = Fire

Colors:Red = energy, passion, life forceWhite = purity, spirit, originBlack = occult powerYellow = consciousness, mind, creativity

Lemniscate: Symbol of eternity (∞). Also the number 8 sideways = number ofMercury = number of Hod (8th Sephirah), also associated with Mercury.

The Magician’s posture: The shape of Aleph in reverse. The Magician is the channelof the energy of Aleph (the Fool).

The White Inner Robe: A reference to the beginning of Path #12 in the sephirah ofKether, whose color is white.

The Red Outer Robe: Symbolizes the end of Path #12 in the sephirah of Binah in thefirst Qabalistic world of Atziluth (Emanation). The Red surrounds the White asUnderstanding contains the Crown.

Double-tipped Wand: The channel that brings divine energy into manifest creation,and sends it back again.

Black hair: Mastery of the occult

Headband: Mastery of spirit over forces of the occult

Belt: Ouroboros - snake eating its own tail = symbol of eternity

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Transcendent Interpretation:

The Magician is the great master — master of meditation, master of austerities,master of all disciplines. He has control of his body. He controls his emotions and hismind. His actions and his speech serve him obediently. But with all these attainments,he is the perfect servant of the spirit which acts and speaks through him. Were this notso he would be a charlatan, a bag of wind filling the sails of his own ego.

He is the embodiment of surrender. He surrenders his smallness to his own greatness.He surrenders his limitations to his own perfection. He surrenders his ego, hisseparateness, to his own Inner Self, the blaze of all-pervasive Consciousness.

Without desire or personal will, without attachment or aversion, he is the agent bywhich things come and go, arise and disappear. The magic symbols on his table haveno life but the life that flows into them through him. He is the channel for all force,the animator of all form. The flood of life flows through him, while he remainsestablished in perfect equanimity and stillness.

II - THE HIGH PRIESTESS

Karmic Interpretation:

Reflection, contemplation, seclusion. Moon time, cycles, moods, secrets. Look inward,pay attention, listen closely, speak little. Believe your inner voices, remember yourdreams, look at the moon. Spend time alone. If advice is offered, consider it carefully.If advice is solicited, be slow to answer.

Archetypal Interpretation:

Virgin, seeress, oracle, she is the voice of the unconscious, the boundless ocean, thesilent night. Moon goddess, knower of the soul, keeper of the mysteries, the unknowablefeminine. She keeps the secrets you need to know. She answers the questions thatcannot be asked in words.

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Magickal Interpretation:

Attributions:

Name: The High Priestess — The first and highest archetypal female energy in theMajor Arcana hierarchy. The Fool is androgynous, The Magician is male, and The HighPriestess is the balancing female.

Key Number: 2 — the 3nd Major Arcana card

Hebrew Letter: Gimel (g) — In Hebrew, the number 3. Gimel means camel in Hebrew,and symbolizes the ability to complete the journey across the desert of the QabalisticAbyss, the great emptiness that separates Above from Below on the Tree of Life.

Esoteric Function: Peace and War — Peace implies war as a necessary balance. To beeither at war or at peace with the world is to be equally at war or at peace with oneself.

Astrological Attribution: The Moon— Virginal, feminine, cyclic, mysterious, reflective

Path #: 13 — From Crown (#1) to Beauty (#6). The longest and most mysterious pathon the Tree of Life, the highest path on the Middle Pillar of equilibrium, the experienceof hidden beauty and perfect knowledge.

Intelligence: Uniting — The fluid that surrounds all forces and forms, embracing andincluding everything, in which all changes take place without itself being changed. Theexperience of the totality of hidden knowledge on the journey from the source ofcreation (Crown/#1) to perfect beauty (Beauty/#6).

Direction on the Cube of Space: Below — As the Magician is Above on the Fool’scontinuum of Above/Below, the High Priestess is Below

Esoteric Title: Princess of the Silver Star, the esoteric name given to the Moon

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Imagery:

The veil behind the High Priestess conceals the Holy of Holies, the sacred womb atthe heart of Solomon’s temple, which contains the memories of the individual, therace and the cosmos. The concealing veil is made of light, so bright as to beimpenetrable. This is the light that stands above Tiphereth (Beauty/#6), concealingthe Abyss.

The palms and pomegranates on the veil, are said to represent the oppositions of maleand female, and the equal truths of Christianity (the palm) and the ancient mysteries(the pomegranates).

The two pillars are the white (right) and black (left), pillars of the Tree of Life, the pillarsthat stood before the door of Solomon’s Temple. They are esoteric symbols of the labia offemale genitalia, the portal of initiation into the mysteries. The B & J on the pillars standfor the biblical names of Boaz and Joachim, references respectively to Severity andMercy, the twin principles on which all creation rests.

The scroll bears the word TORA, one of the manipulations of the word TARO(T), andis a reference to tarot as the scroll of the Law.

The cross on the Priestess’ chest is a symbol of the four elements of the sub-lunar world.

The crown refers to the phases of the moon, feminine symbol of flow and cycle.

Her black hair symbolizes her occult powers.

The white veil covering the Priestess’ ears refers to inward listening, and psychic power.

The color white of her crown and robe refer to Kether (Crown), the beginning of Path #13.

The color yellow in the veil refers to the vibrations of the Magician’s will. In the floorbeneath her it is the color of Tiphereth (Beauty/#6), the end of Path #13.

The color blue of her cloak is the color of water, uniting left and right, above and below.The Moon-crowned woman in blue and white robes with a sickle moon at her feet was amedieval icon, depicting Isis as the Virgin Mary, uniting Pagan with Christian spirituality.

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Transcendent Interpretation:

The mystery of the Priestess is a brilliant, vibrating silence surrounding, pervading anduniting everything. In the heart of every created thing is her divine effulgence. To seeit is to become steady and tranquil. Outer and inner beauty are both born of this light,and when it leaves us we become lifeless clay. It is this light that unifies and binds onething to another, so that love is possible, and it is this light that allows distinction andforbids separation. Whoever sees it in meditation becomes speechless.

Within every created thing there is the perfect silence of the Priestess. It is there likethe void in a grain of salt, in a flower, or within a planet. Her silence is at the core ofeverything. But the silence vibrates. It can be found on the peaks of high mountainswhere the stillness echoes, or at the bottom of deep, empty wells in the deafening quiet.In the same way, within each of us there is a deep silence, and it has a pulse. It is thepulse of this silence that turns us inward to seek the mystery of our innermost selves.

After you have finished the exercises for these Keys described previously,complete the process with a Contemplation.

Pick a comfortable place to sit, and a quiet time. Close your eyes andbreathe deeply and slowly. Let your breath resume its regular rhythmand picture Key I–The Magician. Let the image complete itself, and letyour inner eye slowly scan it from top to bottom in full detail. As youpicture each detail, recall its symbolic and intuitive significance. If thereis something you can’t remember, make a mental note to look it up orthink about it later.

After you have reviewed the details of Key I, still with your eyes closed,see or sense the central meaning, the intent, of the image as a whole.Then open your eyes and write it down.

Later, in a separate Contemplation, repeat this process for Key II.

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The grip of concepts and notions is made of steel. The complexities of tarotfor most of us are only a structure of words, a maze of ideas and images that live inthe forebrain. This is just as true for the psychic as for the psychological reader, for thepractitioner as well as the scholar. No matter the approach, most students and readersof tarot skid and slide on the surface of their ideas, unable to involve the heart, the bodyand the spirit in their knowledge or process. The steel grip of concepts does not yield tosympathetic warmth, intuitive flashes, channeled voices or great knowledge. And yet it ispossible to go deeper into the waters of tarot than the level of ideas and words.

Do this:

From among the seven cards discussed in this lesson, pick the one thathas the most intuitive power or significance for you at this moment. Setthe rest aside. Examine this card carefully so that you can visualize itclearly when it is not physically in front of you.

Close your eyes. See the image of the card in your mind’s eye, as largeas you are. The edges of the card are a doorway into the landscape ofthe card, which extends beyond the doorway infinitely in all directions.Step through the doorway. Look around. What do you see that youcouldn’t see before? Use your ears. What do you hear? Use your othersenses. What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you feel withyour sense of touch (texture, temperature, pressure, etc.)? Take yourtime. Experience these sensations fully.

When you are done, step out of the landscape, close the door, and openyour eyes, but continue to experience these sensations. While doing so,write down the answers to these questions:

What do I see?What do I hear?What do I smell?What do I taste?What do I feel with my sense of touch?Which of these sensations makes the strongest impression on me?What message is there for me in this sensation?How does this message relate to my life at the present time?

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This exercise is another one-card spread, called The Five Senses Reading. It isone you can do often with remarkable results. But more important than any insightor information it may give you, it is an experience of tarot that is sensuous rather thanverbal. This experience grows with practice, and in time becomes intense.

Please review The Voice in the Card technique described in Lesson One.Practice it with yourself as subject. Then try it with a querent (i.e., someone else as asubject). Have the querent pick a card and, following the procedures of thetechnique, give the querent a psychic (intuitive) reading. The three criteria for agood reading, with this as with every spread, is that it be true, surprising and useful.If it can only be two out of the three, let it be true and useful. If it can only be oneof these two, let it be true.

Note: We would be surprised if this course doesn’t raise questions, and maybesome confusion and objections as well. We would like to reassure you that mostquestions raised in any given lesson will be answered in later ones (in fact, carefullyre-reading lessons will often reveal answers that were given before the questions cameup), and confusion subsides naturally with time and persistence.

Some independent reading is also helpful. At this point, we suggest that youfollow your own nose. Everyone’s needs and tastes are unique, and luckily there is alarge literature on every facet of tarot readily available at bookstores and throughcatalogs. Still, a short and very select reading list might be useful here.

For a clear, thorough explanation of how to read tarot, for beginners:• Joan Bunning: Learning the Tarot

For a broad look at techniques and interpretations:• Ruth Ann & Wald Amberstone: Tarot Tips: 78 Practical Techniques toEnhance Your Reading Skills

• Mary K. Greer: Tarot For Your Self and 21Ways to Read a Tarot Card• Rachel Pollack: Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom and Tarot Wisdom

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Rich resources for spreads:• Evelin Burger & Johannes Fiebig: The Complete Book of Tarot Spreads• Sandor Konraad: Classic Tarot Spreads• Trish MacGregor & Phyllis Vega: Power Tarot

For a more in-depth look at tarot symbolism:• Ruth Ann & Wald Amberstone: The Secret Language of Tarot

For an historical overview:• Michael Dummett: A History of the Occult Tarot: 1870-1970• Cynthia Giles: The Tarot: History, Mystery and Lore• Stuart Kaplan: The Encyclopedia of Tarot (several volumes)• Robert M. Place: The Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination

For more advanced students interested in the esoteric aspects of tarot:• Israel Regardie: The Golden Dawn• Robert Wang: The Qabalistic Tarot

For a readable and useable introduction to the symbolism of Masonry and Alchemy:• W. Kirk McNulty: Freemasonry—A Journey Through Ritual and Symbol• Adam McLean: Alchemical Mandala

For an enjoyable, useful and authentic introduction to Kabbalah:• Aryeh Kaplan: Inner Space

For a more advanced Kabbalistic text, applicable to advanced tarot study:• Aryeh Kaplan: The Sefer Yetzirah

Also, talk to friends and colleagues, join discussion groups and dive into tarotas you would into cool, deep water on a hot day. Tarot, and this course, is a process.Our very best advice is, enjoy it immensely!

Bright blessings,

Ruth Ann & Wald

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