Yael R.

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Qaballah and Tarot: A Basic Course in Nine

Lessons
Lesson II: Keys 1-10 – the Lower Arcana and the
Court Cards

B. The Lower Arcana of the Tarot and the Ten Sephiroth of

the Tree of Life, Continued

10.Sephirah 10

a. The Sephirah
Malkuth, “Kingdom.” Sphere of j (Earth). Another system assigns Da’ath to Sephirah 0 (Ain Soph)
and the Planet Anteros/Persephone (see above) rather than Saturn; in this system, Saturn is in
turn equated with Malkuth, while Earth (the Planet) is associated with Key 32, Tav (see Lesson
III, Key 32 of this course).

Malkuth represents the end-product of all the activity of the Tree of Life. It is the nadir of spiritual
evolution, the outermost point on the outgoing arc, through which all life must pass before returning
whence it came. This is the Sphere of the Earth-soul, the subtle, psychic aspect of Matter, the underlying
quantum-mechanical noumenon of the physical plane which gives rise to all physical phenomena. The
same is true of the four Elements: they are not earth, air, fire, and water as known to the physicists, but
are rather the four conditions in which energy can exist, i.e., bound solid matter (Earth), bound fluid
matter (Water), gaseous matter (Air), and plasma (Fire). 51
The Hermeticist finds the end results of all operations of Magick in Malkuth. Not until the
complimentary pairs of opposites have achieved the settled equilibrium which is the state known as the
Element Earth, coherent matter and form, can they be said to have completed any given cycle of
experience. When this is achieved, they build a permanent vehicle of manifestation and stereotype its
reactions. The machinery of expression thus evolved becomes homeostatically self-regulatory,
continuing to function from then on with a minimum of attention.
In this way stability is achieved. The virtue of Malkuth resides in its inertia. All the other Sephiroth
are mobile, plastic to some degree; even the Central Pillar of Consciousness only achieves equilibrium in
function, in the same way that a tight-rope walker does, not by standing still, but through dynamic
activity.
Though Malkuth is essentially the sphere of form, the coherence of its components depends upon the
operations of Yesod, which in turn depends for the manifestation of its activities upon the substance
provided by Malkuth. The forms of Yesod are “such stuff as dreams are made on” until they have picked
up the material particles of Malkuth in which to manifest, systems of quantum stresses in the space-time
continuum into whose framework the physical particles are slotted. Likewise Malkuth consists only of
inanimate matter until the powers of Yesod animate it. 52
The Qaballistic assignments for Malkuth include the following:

MAGICKAL IMAGE: A young woman, crowned and throned.

GOD NAME: ] l m y n d a or { r a h y n d a
(ADNI MeLeK “The Lord Who is King,”
or ADNI ha-AReTz, “The Lord of Earth”)
ARCHANGEL: } w p l d n s (Sandalphon)
CHOIR OF ANGELS: \ y c a (AShIM, “Souls of Fire)
MUNDANE CHAKRA: Earth; the Sphere of the Elements
VIRTUE: Discrimination, that is, the ability to
discern differences among things
TITLES: The Gate. Gate of Death. Gate of the
Shadow of Death. Gate of Tears. Gate of
Justice. Gate of Prayer. Gate of the
Daughter of the Mighty Ones. Gate of the
Garden of Eden. The Inferior Mother.
Malkah, the Queen. Kallah, the Bride. The
Virgin.
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE: The Knowledge and Conversation of the
Holy Guardian Angel
ATZILUTHIC COLOR: Yellow
BRIATIC COLOR: Citrine, olive, russet, and black
YETZIRATIC COLOR: Citrine, olive, russet, and black, flecked
gold.
ASSIATIC COLOR: Black, rayed yellow.
VICE: Avarice or greed. Inertia (Sloth).
SYMBOLS: Altar of the Double Cube. The Equal-
Armed Cross. The Magick Circle.
Triangle of Evocation or Art.

For Malkuth, Liber 777 gives the following assignments: Rock crystal; willow, lily, ivy; the
Sphinx; magnesium sulfate, peppermint (drugs); dittany of Crete (perfume).

Malkuth is associated with the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

Article X
Rights of States under Constitution.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The commandment associated with Malkuth is

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s
wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is
your neighbor’s.

Exodus 20:17, Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version

According to the Yetziratic Text,

 The Tenth Path is called the Resplendent Intelligence because it is exalted above
every head and sits upon the throne of Binah. It illuminates the splendors of all the
Lights, and causes an influence to emanate from the Prince of Countenances, the Angel
of Kether.

The Sephirah Malkuth represents the entire physical universe. Though most of us think we have a good
idea of what physical reality means, and that we are fully conscious of it most of time, very few people
truly live in that world, their consciousness fully focused in the here and now rather than wandering off
into memories of the past or fantasies of the future. Only the Yogi, the Zen adept, or the very small child
truly live in the present moment; the rest of us have our faculties centered on our mental and emotional
lives rather than the sensory life of the physical world. In the West, even our religions embrace an
aversion to sensuousness, that is, the life of the senses, confusing it with sensuality, an undue indulgence
in the grosser pleasures of the senses.
Yet, from the point of view of spiritual evolution and reincarnation, the physical world is the one
which must be thoroughly grasped by the soul. There is ample time between incarnations for
explorations of past and future, emotions and mental spheres. Because one must return again and again
to the physical world, it holds the key to spiritual development, which is not to be gained in regarding all
of physical reality as a trap and a temptation which must be strenuously denied and rejected.
The soul descends on the arc of involution from the planes of Spirit, forming functional vehicles of
manifestation on all the planes as it descends. On the evolutionary arc, it is the soul’s destiny to gain
objective control of all the planes in ascending order. The first plane on the evolutionary path is
therefore the physical realm – yet few aspirants to spiritual attainment have any effective control over it.
All too often, such a person is incompetent and ineffectual in life, in the physical world, and his or her
apparent calling to the spiritual life is in fact no more than escapism, a way of running away from his or
her True Will, which is to become fully functional and effective in the mundane world, achievement of
which is the Initiation of the Nadir.
The Yetziratic Text pertinent to Malkuth, quoted above, indicates the importance of the physical
world in the divine scheme of things: “The Tenth Path is called the Resplendent Intelligence because it
is exalted above every head and sits upon the throne of Binah.” The reference to Binah shows that
Malkuth is the supreme manifestation of the entity which was first conceived as a possibility in the
Supernal Sphere of Binah. It is thus exalted above all things, for Malkuth is the goal of the divine
impulse toward manifestation, the Spirit made manifest in matter.
Its title, the Resplendent Intelligence, comes from the second part of the text: “It illuminates the
splendors of all the Lights, and causes an influence to emanate from the Prince of Countenances, the
Angel of Kether.” The Lights are either the Divine Sparks that are the souls of mortals, or the other nine
Sephiroth and the Planets associated with them, which represent the whole of Creation. This text implies
that objective physical existence is necessary to draw forth the true potentials within the Spirit residing in
every mortal. It gives a picture of what physical existence should be – and, indeed, which it must be
before further evolution can occur.
The significance of the phrase “[It] causes an influence to emanate from the Prince of Countenances,
the Angel of Kether,” is that the material world is a focus or grounding device for the creative powers of
the Spirit. The Angel of Kether is Metatron, the being who superintends the Creative World of Briah.
Spirit and Matter function as the poles of a gigantic cosmic battery, each of which before anything can
flow through the circuit between Da’ath and Yesod. Further, all knowledge of spiritual reality can be
gained from study and contemplation of the physical world, which is the reflection of the Macroprosopos
or Vast Countenance in Kether, something which is entailed in the Hermetic axiom, “As above, so
below.”
The various titles of Malkuth which refer to it as a Gate represent the fact that the physical world is a
definite stage in spiritual development, a passage which one must go through. The Gate of Death and the
Gate of the Shadow of Death refer to the great boundaries of Malkuth as far as our physical existence is
concerned, birth and death. Through birth, we come into the world; through death, we leave it. But
birth and death are two sides of the same coin, for upon physical death one is born into the higher realms
of Spirit, while physical birth is death from the point of view of the higher realms of the Inner Planes.
That aspect of Malkuth called the Gate of Death can be looked at in two different ways. There is the
Gate of Death of the Physical Body, to be sure; but there is also the Gate of the Death that is
Illumination or Initiation, a dying away from one way of life and a birth into a new one that does not
require the destruction of the physical body.
 The spiritual exercise of imagining oneself as dead is well known in the Roman Catholic Church.
The practice of going back over the happenings of the day just prior to going to sleep is recommended
among various esoteric schools, because in this way a good deal of the abstracting process of death is
carried out in life. (It should be noted that communication between the living and the dead should be
achieved by meditation within oneself, rather than by indiscriminate, uncontrolled evocation of the spirits
of the dead of the sort carried out in Spiritualist churches and séance rooms. The latter is a good way to
do irreparable injury to the spirits called up in this way – or become possessed by one of them, should
that spirit decide it would really like to give the Earth plane another try at it without, however, going
through all the bother of being born and taking on all the burdens of living which that entails.)
The Death of Initiation is achieved through invocation of and meditation upon the higher Sephiroth.
Success at such work is made evident via profound changes in the behavior and way of life of the one
who has been initiated; though he or she hasn’t physically died, nevertheless it is as if he or she had been
transformed into a being very different from the one which he or she had been before.
The reference to Malkuth as the Gate of Tears emphasizes its connection with Binah, whose Spiritual
Experience is the Vision of Sorrow. Sorrow is among the things we must learn in Malkuth. It has,
however, nothing particularly to do with self-pity, but is rather caused by realization of the delays and
separations implicit in spiritual evolution and the development of form, perhaps best expressed in the
German word Weltschmerz. The title “The Gate of Justice” has to do with the fact that the great balance
of all things is worked out on the physical plane. The title “The Gate of Prayer” has to do with the fact
that just as Malkuth is a child of Binah, the Parent of Faith, so prayer is an active result of the fact of
faith. The title “Gate of the Garden of Eden” refers to the original perfect state of Creation, the pure
mind and awareness of the newborn.
The remaining titles, “the Inferior Mother,” “the Queen,” “the Bride,” and “the Virgin,” all suggest
femininity and the Yin aspect of reality. Malkuth is receptive to all emanations of all the higher
Sephiroth, an archetypally Yin condition. “The Queen” and “the Bride” are references to the relation of
Malkuth to Tiphareth, the King and the Lesser Countenance or Microprosopos, the Harmony of which
must become manifest in Malkuth. Malkuth is also the Cross of dense matter upon which the Spirit is
crucified, thereby forming another link with Tiphareth in the form of the Mysteries of Sacrificed God.
The “Inferior Mother” indicates the link with Binah, the Supernal Mother, and the title of Virgin could be
applied either to the pristine condition of Creation at its inception or to that of Earth before becoming the
Bride of Tiphareth. Most of these feminine titles reflect the Magickal Image of Malkuth, a young
woman, crowned and enthroned. The Throne is that of Binah, and the maiden can be identified with an
Earth-Goddess such as Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, the Earth-Mother.
The God-Name of Malkuth is ] l m y n d a (ADNI MeLeK), “The Lord Who is King,” or { r a h
y n d a (ADNI ha-AReTz), “The Lord of Earth.” y n d a is a holy emanation of God, like any other
God-Name; therefore Malkuth is no less holy than Kether, for it is an expression in manifest form of the
same force.
The Archangel of Malkuth as the physical Planet Earth is } w p l d n s (Sandalphon). His colors
are citrine, olive, russet, and black. He is the Guide of Intelligence of the Planet Earth. However,
Metatron, the Archangel of Kether, is also an Archangel of Malkuth as Sephirah, because of the link
between these two Sephiroth. The Archangel of the Element Earth, on the other hand, is Auriel or Uriel,
one of the Great Archangels of the Four Quarters. Raphael the Healer rules the East; Mikhail the
Protector, the South; Gabriel, the Archangel of Vision, the West; and Auriel the Teacher, the North.
The colors of Auriel are the dark greens and browns of Earth, and in his inner aspects he represents the
primeval Light of God. Auriel is much concerned with the great teacher who have periodically been born
on Earth.
The Archangels of the Four Quarters might best be conceived as great fortresses or towers colored in
the active colors of the Elements concerned, i.e., Yellow for Raphael, Red for Mikhail, Blue for Gabriel,
and Green for Auriel (as opposed to their passive colors, which are respectively Blue, Dark Red, Silver,
and Black). The Archangel Sandalphon might then be conceived as interpenetrating all the rest, colored
in citrine, olive, russet, and black, pulsing with the slow harmonics of the Earth.
As for the Kings of the Elemental Forces, surrounded by the lesser beings dwelling in the Sphere of
the Elements under their dominion, these might take the following forms: The Air-King, Paralda,
presiding over the Sylphs, in the East, standing in great eddies of air, air and wind streaming from him in
radiant light; the King of fire, Djin, in the South, presiding over the Salamanders, waves of heat surging
up around him, and points of fire and flame searing the atmosphere and reaching toward the high
heavens; the King of Water, Niksa, in the West, presiding over the Undines, permeated with moisture,
currents of foam swirling around his feet and pouring forth from his aura; and The Earth-King, Ghob, in
the North, presiding over the Gnomes, waves of “Earth-power” emanating from him, an intermediate
state of matter, slow-moving but extremely powerful, a spiritual equivalent of gravity waves. The
Elements themselves can be conceived of as forming a vast equal-armed cross, a symbol of the Elements
as well as of Malkuth; in the center of the cross is the Rose of the World, which blooms slowly with the
development of the Elementals, whose falling dew helps these beings to manifest.
The four Cardinal Points or Quadrants of the Compass can be associated with the Fixed, Cardinal,
and Mutable Signs of astrology. The Fixed aspect is the “temperament” or “personality” of the Quadrant,
based on the nature of one of the Four Holy Living Creatures of Kether, oriented Northwest-Southwest-
Southeast-Northeast. The Cardinal aspect is the Great Intelligence behind the Quadrant, the ruling power
of its Archangel, oriented East-South-West-North. The Mutable aspect, oriented SSW, ESE, ENE, and
NNW, is associated with the Elemental Kings, who work through the processes of change.
The Choir of Angeles, \ y c a (AShIM), “Souls of Fire,” are the intelligences of the atoms of which
all matter is composed, by whose influence physical reality is held together. The Mundane Chakra of
Malkuth is the Sphere of the Elements, ruled by the Elemental Kings.
The Spiritual Experience of Malkuth is the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian
Angel. This being is often confused with the Higher Self or Individuality, comprising Da’ath, Chesed,
Geburah, and Tiphareth in the microcosm that is the behind the Lower Self, or Personality (Netzach,
Hod, Yesod, and Malkuth). However, what this experience really ahs to do with is the attainment of full
awareness of one’s true destiny or dharma, one’s True Will. Usually this manifests in the form of urges
within the self that constitute a calling, but sometimes it is experienced as being separate from the self, as
in the case of Socrates and his daemon, which could well have been an aspect of his Holy Guardian
Angel. I.e., the Holy Guardian Angel is that part of oneself that knows what one is supposed to be doing
with one’s life at all times, and urges one to do it. Sometimes the term is used indiscriminately to mean
“spirits,” “angels,” and so forth that are not part of oneself, but which are believed to dance attendance
on the soul and steer it in the right direction. It may be that the term should ultimately be junked and
something which more accurately describes what it is intended to mean put in its place, for there is a
wealth of contradiction and misunderstanding surrounding it that hasn’t really done anything to help the
student to understand much about the Inner Planes.
The symbols of Malkuth include the Magick Circle and the Triangle of Evocation or Triangle or Art,
which represent the actual results of Magickal operations. The Magick Circle defines the area in which
the Magickian chooses to work; as the Circle is the most perfect form, it symbolizes God, the perfect
being, and by standing within it, the Magickian acts out his or her intent to create an identity between
him- or herself and God or some aspect of God for the purposes of the Working. The Triangle of Art,
which stands just outside the Circle at the East or North, is the area into which the Magickian evokes
spirits. The Triangle is the strongest of geometric forms, and symbolizes the divine strength of Will
necessary to keep the spirit within safe boundaries and constrain it to obey the Magickian’s commands.
The Altar of the Double Cube is a six-sided figure, though its name implies ten sides (if one cube is
stacked upon another, the bottom of one is conjoined with the top of the other, thus subtracting two of
their total of 12 faces from view). Ten is the number of Malkuth, the reason for this symbol. Malkuth is
itself an Altar, the place into or onto which forces from the higher Sephiroth descend. In another sense,
an altar is also a Gate, especially in cases in which the whole of one’s being is offered up on the Altar of
Sacrifice – usually not in the sense of blood-letting, but rather in the sense of dedicating one’s life to a
cause or a God.
The Vices of Malkuth are Avarice and Inertia or Sloth. That greed is a great driving force in this
world, no one over the age of about 10 can truthfully dispute; and the inertia is met with by anyone who
tries to do any kind of creative work.
The Virtue of Malkuth is Discrimination, the faculty of discernment, the ability to tell what is good
from what is bad.
All the Earth Gods and Goddesses are associated with Malkuth. Demeter and Persephone come
immediately to mind; They are the deities of the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the great focal religious
rituals of the ancient world, the inner aspect of the Earth Cult. The Gods of the Underworld – Hades,
Pluto, Hel, Dis, Ta’aroa (Kanaloa), Poseidon Earthshaker, Hekate, etc. – are also associated with
Malkuth, another tie between Malkuth and Kether, which is associated with the Planet Pluto.*

*See Gareth Knight, op. cit., Volume I, pp. 189-203.

 b. The Cards
Decagons (regular ten-sided polygons with ten interior angles of 36°), Decagrams (ten-pointed Stars,
formed by connecting the points of a Decagon with gaps of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 points between the
connected points), and ten-rayed Stars (ten rays emanating from a central Point) are all associated with
Malkuth. The Ten Commandments and the ten articles of the Bill of Rights are also associated with it.
The 36°-angle (which equals 4 x 9°) is considered by astrologers to represent valuable potentials within
the native, or valuable opportunities that come one’s way, as well as potential talent for working with
esoteric matters; and 36 also represents the total number of decanates, or thirds of a Sign, in the Zodiac
All these are excellent for the design of the Tens.

The Tens
1) WANDS

Design: Generally, ten Wands, Staves, or Rods in one arrangement or another. Waite’s
pack shows a man carrying a bundle of ten heavy Wands, approaching a building in the distance.
Crowley’s shows four small Rods crossed with four others, all tipped with flame; two larger,
vertical Rods with fools’ heads at the top and spear-points at the bottom are superimposed upon
the first eight; above is the sigil for Saturn, below that for Sagittarius. The New Tarot shows ten
Snakes in two groups of five. The Fantasy Showcase Tarot shows a rather pixilated gentleman
carrying ten long pieces of wood, stumbling along a road (as the sign says) “to the city 10
miles.”

America’s Tarot: Upright: Ten gigantic redwoods at the edge of a clearing. Ten forest
rangers and ten lumberjacks stand adamantly before them, barring access to a group of ten
American Indians, ten raccoons, ten squirrels, ten deer, etc. that look longingly toward the trees.
Reversed: Same scene, except that the Indians and animals are raising merry hell for their
opponents, running around them in circles and generally deviling them; the Indians and animals
are grinning as if at a great joke, while the forest rangers and lumberjacks look as if they were
driven half out of their wits by it all (á la Keystone Kops sort of thing).

Upright meaning: Entitled “Oppression.” Saturn in Sagittarius. Third decanate of

Sagittarius, 20° 0’ 0” - 29° 59’ 59” Sagittarius (about December 11-20 of a given year).
Oppression. Burden of ill-regulated power (as in The Fantasy Showcase Tarot version of this
card). The most violent form of the energy of Wands. Saturn is strong in Sagittarius; that
placement represents political philosophy, religious dogma, or political or religious ideology.
Cruelty and malice toward others. Overbearing strength. Revenge. Injustice. Temporary
power in the realm of the psychic. Difficulties. Plans which do not succeed, or only succeed
with great difficulty. With other cards, this card can indicate a halt or sterility. Treachery.
Change of style, place, occupation, activity, and/or location. Excessive pressure. The quality of
being overburdened. Subterfuge. Duplicity. Bar. Uncertainty in the management of the
enterprise. Karma. Obedience. Executive ability. Falsehood. Dishonesty. Overestimation of
the importance of things. Miserliness carried to extremes. Dogmatic materialism taken so far as
to exclude any dimension of the spiritual. Fortune. Gain. Success. Oppression of the results of
success, fortune, or gain. False-seeming. Disguise. Perfidy. Success is prevented if this card is
followed by the Nine of Swords, and if the matter under consideration is a lawsuit, there will be
certain loss. Difficulties and contradictions if near a good card.

Reversed: Arterial blood system, blood (as tissue), bile (as secretion), buttocks, liver,
sciatic nerve. Mid-December. Malicious deceit. Guile. Lies. Mischief with the object of
watching the ants run around in circles. Gold. The sea. A situation which has within itself at
least some of the seeds of its own solution. Confidence. Honor. Security. Good faith.
Intrigues.
2) CUPS

Design: Generally, ten Cups in one arrangement or another. The Marseille Tarot shows
nine carven Chalices, oriented vertically, surmounted by a tenth, larger Chalice oriented
horizontally; this larger one has a quatrefoil floral design within it that may be a reference to the
Host of Holy Communion. Waite’s shows a man and woman beholding a rainbow of Cups in
the heavens; nearby, two children are dancing. The Aquarian Tarot shows a pair of lovers; she
wears a rose in her hair; above are nine small Cups, and a tenth, larger one into which a rainbow
is pouring. Crowley’s shows ten Cups, their design suggesting the sigil for the Sign Aries; the
sigil for Mars is above, that for Pisces below. The New Tarot shows ten Pears arranged in two
groups of five. The Fantasy Showcase Tarot (my favorite for this card) shows a the same scene
as that on Waite’s version of this card – except that the scene is enclosed in a cartoon dream-
balloon emanating from the sleeping dreaming of a gently smiling leprechaun who has passed
out on the floor; the cause is immediately evident, 10 empty cans of “Putz Beer” – and oh, is he
ever gonna have a head when he wakes up!

America’s Tarot: Upright: Ten pristine lakes in open land next to a vast forest, mountains
in the background; rainbows springing up from the lakes link them together, i.e., each rainbow
has a foot in two lakes, and every lake is linked to every other by a rainbow. An American
Indian family consisting of a man, his wife, and their children stand nearby, looking over the
lakes with awe and joy. Reversed: Ten badly polluted lakes next to a devastated city. The
inhabitants of the city consist of horribly injured, diseased, or insane figures stumbling through
the ruins, attended by a few howling dogs and, of course, hordes of rats. Cockroaches are
everywhere.

Upright: Entitled “Perfected Success” or “Satiety.” Mars in Pisces. The third decanate of
Pisces, 20° 0’ 0” - 29° 59’ 59” Pisces (about March 10 through March 19 of a given year).
Lasting success. Happiness to come. Perfected success. The work proper to Water is complete,
and disturbance is due to come. Perpetual success. Matters definitely arranged and settled in
accordance with one’s wishes. Complete good fortune. Contentment, friendship, trust.
Separation of matter and mind. A burning need for evolution or spiritual progress. Home life or
homeland. Adjacent cards indicate final outcome. The city. Envious people. Material well-
being. The town where one lives. Honor. Consideration. Esteem. Virtue. Glory. Reputation.
Uncertainty in the management of a love affair. Well-earned security. The city. Birthplace.
Physical constitution. Organic life of the body or community. Repose of the entire heart.
Perfection of human love and friendship. If with several Court Cards, someone who is taking
charge of the Querent’s interests. The town, village, or country inhabited by the Querent. If the
Querent is male, a good marriage, and one beyond his expectations.

Reversed: The negative aspects of peace and security. Discontent, enmity, distrust,
suspicion, paranoia. Transition. Passage from life to death. A halt. A strange turn of fortune.
A miraculous event. Meeting with a friend from the distant past. The unusual, unexpected,
remarkable, or unbelievable. Combat, strife, opposition, dispute. Irritability and agitation. A
weak nervous system must avoid the fully sway of emotions. Repose of a false heart.
Indignation. Violence. Sorrow. A serious quarrel.

3) SWORDS

Design: General: ten Swords in one arrangement or another. The Marseille Tarot shows
eight curved Swords, crossed; two diagonal Swords, one crossing each set of four curved
Swords. Waite’s pack shows a man lying face downward; his back is pierced with ten standing
Swords; heavy, dark clouds fill most of the sky, only a bit of sky above the mountains in the
background still showing. Crowley’s shows two Swords with hilts in the form of hourglasses,
two with hilts in the form of Greek Crosses, two with hilts of four-pointed Stars, one with a hilt
with scales at the top, and one with a hilt having a Pentagram and Crescent at the bottom; many
of the blades are broken; the sigil for Sol is above, that for Gemini below. The New Tarot
shows ten Blades, five above moving clockwise, five below moving widdershins. The Fantasy
Showcase Tarot shows a little naked, sexless figure with great big paddle feet and a belly-button
from which three long hairs protrude, standing erect, which might be a mouse; it holds five
Swords in its arms, the Swords pointing in all directions, holding none by the hilt; four of the
Swords lie on the floor between or around its feet; and one, point down, has come to rest with
the point in the being’s left foot; the expression of the being clearly means “Oops!”

America’s Tarot: Upright: Ten guided missiles, their ballistic trails showing, which, having
been launched from pads on land, have curved around to come right back to their launching-
point. Soldiers scurry about, looking panicked. Reversed: John F. Kennedy and Nikita
Kruschev on two sides of a jagged line representing telephone communication over great
distance, each talking into a red phone; both look extremely worried; on the wall behind
Kennedy is a map of Cuba showing five probable missile-sites for Soviet nuclear weapons, and
on that behind Kruschev is a map of Turkey, ditto.

Upright: Entitled “Ruin.” The Sun in Gemini. The third decanate of Gemini, 20° 0’ 0” -
29° 59’ 59” Gemini (about June 10 through June 19 of a given year). Reason run mad. Soulless
mechanism. Neo-Skinnerian philosophy. The logic of lunatics and (for the most part)
philosophers. Quantum mechanics. Reason divorced from reality. The energy of Swords (Air)
as a completely disruptive force). Hence tornadoes, hurricanes, other catastrophic
manifestations of the power of Air. Ruin. Pain. Desolation. End of delusion in spiritual
matters. Disillusionment. Desolation and ruin as these apply to a whole community or other
collective entity. Warning that one is about to experience a lethal situation and that one should
turn back NOW; one has not yet encountered that situation, and escape is possible – the sooner
the better. False dawn. Continued or worsening suffering. The Sun is esoteric Lord of Gemini,
hence very strong here; the “ruin” here can mean simply the “ruin” or end of Spring, making
way for the beginning of Summer. Tears. Jealousy. Envy. Loss. Agony. Tears, affliction,
grief, sorrow. Uncertainty as to the nature of the enemy. Results of karma, whether benefic or
malefic. Material limits. “The proof is in the pudding.” Results of an experiment, particularly
those which overturn established ideas, theories, and beliefs. Destruction of dogmatic beliefs
and ideologically determined convictions. Physical necessity. Authority. Official might and
power. Official persons. Possessions may become a curse. Not very beneficent for the parents
of the Querent, or else the Querent does not esteem his or her parents. Sometimes death, but
may mean a death which the Querent observes. Sadness. Desolation. Not especially a card a
violent death. Followed by the Ace and King of Swords, imprisonment. For a girl or wife,
treason on the part of friends.

Reversed: Lungs, breath, bronchi, breathing apparatus, diaphragm, sense of hearing, nerve
fibers, nervous system, oxygenation of blood, respiration, respiratory system, sense of taste,
thoracic cavity, thymus gland, sense of touch, trachea, memory, thought, idea, mind, all Third
House meanings. Mid-June. The worst is over. Reason for hope. Overthrow of evil forces. A
measure of success. Courage to rise again (i.e., to “get back on one’s horse and ride again”).
Looking for help from higher powers. The beginning of harmony between evolved matter and
the things of the mind. Agreement. Equilibrium. Understanding. A party. Illness of short
duration (which, if infectious, also confers the benefits of immunity to whatever caused the
infection upon the sufferer); an inoculation or vaccination. “Whatever does not kill me makes
me stronger.” The evening, in the evening. Benefit. Profit. Possible Temporary gain. Passing
success, monetary advantage. The enemy is uncertain, giving our side an advantage. Due
reward and honest profit. Merited position. Worldly position and authority. Learning from past
errors. Advantage, profit, success, favor, but all of them transient. Power and authority.
Victory and consequent fortune for a soldier in war.

4) COINS/DISCS/PENTACLES

Design: Generally, ten Coins, Discs, or Pentacles in one arrangement or another. The
Marseille Tarot shows ten coins arranged in two ‘X’ forms, one above the other; each coin has a
four-petaled flower at its center. Waite’s pack shows a patriarch seated before the gate of his
estate; near him are his dogs, his children, and his grandchild; ripe grapes and crescent Moons
decorate this card; at the left, behind a pillar can be seen a hill and high mountains, perhaps a
wilderness. The Aquarian Tarot shows a man, woman, and child entering the gate to a castle
 which stands on a high hill or mesa; Pentacles are incorporated into the design of the gate.
Crowley’s pack shows ten Coins with Qaballistic designs upon them, including the sigils for
Mercury, a combination of the sigils for Mercury and Saturn, the Caduceus formed from the
three Hebrew “Mother” letters Aleph, Shin, and Samekh, the Zodiacal Sign for Aries, an eight-
pointed Star, a Hexagram inscribed within a Hexagon, the Hebrew letter Beth, and the sigil for
Mercury combined with that for the setting Sun; of the two central coins which complete the
ten, one is illegible, and the other contains the Hebrew for “Raphael,” Archangel of the East,
Tiphareth, and Angel of the Planet Mercury. The New Tarot shows ten Stones arranged in two
Pentagrams. The Fantasy Showcase Tarot shows a couple holding hands, standing in an
archway within a great medieval keep; in the background are towers of the keep and the Sun,
just sinking behind a wall; a faceless figure in a green cloak is in the foreground; above is the
Roman numeral “X” for 10.

America’s Tarot: Center: Ten silver Liberty-head dollars arranged to form two Pentagrams
with congruent centers such that together they form a ten-pointed Star. Lines of light connect
the Coins to make the Stars. Upright: An American Indian community, rich, filled with people.
Tribal elders hold council in the middle. Children run at play among the dwellings, which could
be either long-houses, as of Pacific Northwest tribes (in which case there should be totem-poles
among them), or one- or two-story houses as of many settled tribes, teepees of the sort common
to Plains Indians, etc. A vast forest fills the middle distance, and purple mountains and a sunset
sky the background; in the foreground are indications of great natural wealth, e.g., a beaver-
dam, birds flying, fertile meadows, etc. Reversed: A Wheel of Fortune. A man with empty
pockets stands weeping on one side, a grinning woman with a full purse on the other.

Upright: Entitled “Wealth.” Third decanate of Virgo, 20° 0’ 0” - 29° 59’ 59” Virgo (about
September 13-22 of a given year. The manifest results of any successful Magickal Working.
Wealth, riches, material prosperity. The great and final solidification of Earth, completely
expended and resulting in death. A hieroglyph of the cycle of regeneration. Inheritance and its
effects, for good or ill. Ancestry. Wills. Dowries. Success. Agreement. Equilibrium.
Satisfaction. Complete joy. The end of a cycle. Stable home. Family life. The house.
Assignations and conferences. Money. Peace. Amity. A mate. Dwelling, habitation. The
family. Great successes. Economy. Agriculture. Music and painting. A beautiful voice.
Advantages in world affairs. Possessions. Domains, lands, or property. Banking. Insurance.
Art dealing and dealers. Laziness. Dull luxury. Full midsummer of one’s life. You cannot
escape this good, ripe fruit of karma, nor the fullness of Nature at Her height. Archives.
Extraction. Represents one’s house or dwelling, deriving its value from other cards. A notable
event. The coming of Autumn. Harvest. Harvest celebrations. The end of a Season.

Reversed: Mid-September. Abdominal cavity, bodily metabolism, digestive system overall,

gall bladder, pancreas, Solar plexus. Diabetes. The manifest results of any unsuccessful
Working, or of one which has gone seriously awry, with deadly impact on the Operator and/or
those close to him/her. A genetically-caused illness. Possible loss. Gambling. Dissipation.
Robbery. Loss. Uncertainty in the fortune. Great reverses. Favorable chance. “Enjoy it while
you can.” Chance. Games of hazard. Gift. Dowry. Pension.

Pages
1) WANDS

Design: Generally, a young person holding a Rod, Wand, or Staff. The Marseille Tarot
shows a young man who stands holding a club cut from a tree-branch. Waite’s pack shows a
young man wearing clothing decorated with Salamanders who stands in a desert, holding a
Wand. The Aquarian Tarot shows a young man wearing a hat decorated with a flower in bud,
holding a flowering Rod, standing before a swamp filled with cat-tails (bulrushes). Crowley’s
pack shows a princess drawn upward with a leopard past an altar upon which a sacrifice burns;
she carries in her left hand a Wand tipped with a Solar emblem, and her hair forms the sigil for
Leo. The New Tarot shows the Serpent Page, a snake, a spilled cauldron, a zebra, and the sigil
for Sagittarius. The Fantasy Showcase Tarot shows a young man bearing a long staff (bo, about
6’ long) in his right hand, standing in front of a large oval opening in a red wall; through the
opening, a lake within a cavern or canyon can be seen in which swans paddle; an owl flies by
on his right; quail stand by his feet, and his left foot is upon a rock.

American Tarot: A Polynesian girl dressed as one of the alii nui, holding an upright Wand
or Rod in her left hand, standing at the beginning of a field of cooled, solidified lava that
stretches upward along the flanks of a great volcano; she faces away from the volcano, toward a
village, as if proclaiming something to them. The ghostly figure of Madame Pele can be seen
hovering above the volcano’s caldera. Molten lava flows gently over the edge of the caldera and
begins to run down the volcano’s flanks.

Upright meaning: Entitled “The Princess of the Shining Flame, the Rose of the Palace of
Fire.” Rules the quadrant of the globe which includes the Pacific Rim and everything within it,
the “Ring of Fire” formed by the volcanoes generated by the vast subduction zones at the edges
of the continents surrounding the Pacific Ocean, extending from pole to pole. The Earthy part of
Fire. The dance of the virgin priestess of the Lords of Fire; she attends upon an altar
ornamented with ram’s heads which symbolize the Fires of Spring. Brilliance. Daring. Vigor.
Energy. The impression of beauty. Sudden, Violent, implacable, ambitious, aspiring, patient
only when it is a matter of revenge. A young woman; a girl. Girl with fair hair, blue/hazel/gray
eyes, and dark or tan skin. A dark young man. A messenger. Resource. Enthusiasm. Beauty.
Force. Sudden in anger or in love. Desire for power. Enthusiasm. Earth of Fire, Princess and
Empress of the Salamanders. Throne of the Ace of Wands. Courage. Volatile in love and
anger. Man faced by difficulty becoming aware of his forces and who can prevail or stagnate
according to his abilities. Hard work with chance of success. A stranger of good character.
Good news. Pleasure. Satisfaction. A dark child. A friend. A message from a near relation. A
brother or sibling. A schoolmate. A younger man on an errand. News. Telegraph, telephone,
radio, telepathy; in general, a communication of important information. Helpful influences in
general. Helpful people. Dustmen, chimney-sweeps. He is unknown but faithful, and his
tidings are strange. Faithful. A lover. An envoy. A postman. Beside a King, a Knight, or
Trump I, The Magus, he will bear favorable testimony concerning him. A dangerous rival if
followed by the Page of Cups. The chief qualities of Wands. May signify intelligence running
in a family.

Reversed: The Pacific Ocean; that part of the Japanese islands East of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki; the Pacific (tectonic) Plate; the Hawaiian Islands; all areas settled by the
Polynesians and Micronesians; the extreme Western portions of the United States of America;
the extreme Eastern portions of Siberia, including the Kamchatka peninsula; everything
between 90° West longitude and 180° West longitude. Someone who is superficial, theatrical,
shallow, cruel, faithless, or domineering. Betrayal of trust. An interpreter who gives a false
interpretation. Bearer of scandal, disinformation, malicious gossip, or slander. Slander,
misleading information, gossip, scandal, disinformation. A libeler, libel. A saboteur, a
counterintelligence agent. Someone who may break your heart. A tease. A flirt. A young
person who plays with the hearts of others. Powerlessness yielding in the face of effort. News.
Displeasure. Chagrin. Worry. Anecdotes. Jokes. Announcements. Evil news. Indecision, and
the instability which accompanies it.

2) CUPS

Design: Generally, a young person holding a Cup or Chalice. The Marseille Tarot shows a
young man carrying an ornate Chalice in his right hand; his hat droops from his left hand.
Waite’s pack shows a page standing beside the sea, holding a Cup from which a fish is jumping.
Crowley’s pack shows the Princess of Cups holding a giant Cup in the form of a shell in which
seems to be a tortoise; behind her is a swan, and next to her a fish; her gown is decorated with
diamond-shapes. The New Tarot shows the Page of Pears, a wreath of white roses in a circle;
above is an inverted Cup from which light issues; in the center are a pear, a mandolin, a cup of
blood, and the inverted stalk of a green plant; below are the sigils for the waxing and waning
Moons (which also suggest the sigil of Pisces).
 America’s Tarot: An American Indian girl standing on the shore of a great lake or ocean.
She holds a beautifully worked and painted vase or pot (the style could be from any American
Indian people who have had a long history of making and decorating pottery). A salmon (for a
lake) or whale (for the ocean) broaches joyfully from the ocean. The girl looks about her with
joy and wonder.

Upright: Entitled “The Princess of the Waters, the Lotus of the Palace of the Floods.” Rules
that quadrant of the globe that includes all but the Westernmost edge of North America and all
of Central and South America. Princess of the Waters and Lotus of the Palace of the Floods.
Princess and Empress of Nymphs and Undines. Throne of the Ace of Cups. Represents the
faculty of crystallization, the power of Water to give substance to idea, to support life, and to
form the basis of a chemical compound. She is infinitely gracious, all sweetness, all
voluptuousness, gentleness, kindness, and tenderness; all these are part of her character. She
lives in the world of romance, in the perpetual dream of rapture. A dependent person, but
unsurpassed as a helpmeet. The power of Water to dissolve virtually anything; its chemical and
biochemical qualities. Fair-haired, blue/hazel/gray-eyed, fair-skinned young person. Fair,
studious youth. Reflection. News. Sweetness. Poetry. Gentleness. Kindness. Imagination.
Dreaminess. Dreams. Can be roused to courage. Spiritual and moral riches obtained as a
reward and giving full satisfaction. Work rewarded and giving wealth. A sensitive youngster.
A bachelor or spinster dreaming of pleasure. Confidence. Probity. Discretion. Integrity. A
messenger. Birth. Friendly message, good news. A proposal of marriage or love affair.
Solicitation. Change of relations and sympathies. Praise. Persuasion. A young person impelled
to render service to the Querent, with whom the Querent will be connected. A studious youth.
Messages. Application. Reflection. Meditation. Business-oriented mind. A good omen. A
young man unfortunate in love.

Reversed: Generally, the continents of North and South America; in particular, the United
States of America; 0° - 90° West longitude. Indolence. Selfish. Luxurious. Any happiness
gained from wealth or affection is elusive. A flatterer, flattery. Deception. Artifice. A
possibility that someone will try to seduce the Querent; a seducer. Someone who is very much
open to being influenced by sex or the promise of it. Taste. Inclination. Attachment.
Seduction. Obstacles of all kinds. A heartbreaker.

3) SWORDS

Design: Generally, a young person bearing a Sword. The Marseille Tarot shows a young
man resting a sword over his left shoulder. Waite’s pack shows a young man standing on a
windy hill, brandishing a Sword. Crowley’s shows The Princess of Swords, brandishing a Sword
that is held point downward, from a throne set in the middle of storm clouds. The New Tarot
shows the Page of Blades, a half light/half dark face or mask, a horn, a chalice filled to
overflowing with blood, a sword, and a victor’s wreath; below is the sigil for Gemini. The
Fantasy Showcase Tarot shows Jimi Hendrix, bearing a silver guitar; he is dressed in a close-
fitting bright green blouse with a scoop neck and hallucinogenically purple trousers, and wears
brown boots; he dances in the midst of a sandy desert from which erupt countless protrusions of
rock, and in which no other living being exists.

America’s Tarot: A girl wearing dress normal to a young woman from Europe (ethnic
costume for various Eastern European countries, the Netherlands, or other could be used), Africa
(ethnic costume for various African countries), or the Near East (ethnic costume for Turkey or
other Near Eastern country). She is sitting at a desk, writing in a notebook or diary; books lie
scattered about the desk. She is dreaming of being a dashing swordswoman in a Sword-&-
Sorcery epic.

Upright: Entitled “The Princess of the Rushing Winds, the Lotus of the Palace of Air.”
Rules that quadrant of the globe that includes Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Earth of Air.
Princess and Empress of the Sylphs and Faeries. She represents the fixation of the volatile. She
brings about the materialization of idea. Her character is stern and vengeful, her logic
destructive. She is firm and aggressive, and possesses great practical wisdom, subtlety in
material things, and cleverness in managing practical affairs, especially controversial ones.
Wisdom, strength, acuity, subtlety in material things. Grace, dexterity. A young person with
brown hair and brown eyes. A page in the diplomatic service. A page in a legislative assembly.
Possible great understanding or knowledge about diplomacy, messages, military intelligence, or
espionage. Graceful, dexterous. A defensive and agile intellect triumphing without violence
over matter. A fencer. Defense against fate. A friend who gives aid in time of need.
Overseeing. Authority. That which is unforeseen. Vigilance. Support. A child. The results of
study and examination. A test. Policeman. Detective. Sudden events or effects. Surprises.
Authority. Secret Service. Spying, spies. What is unforeseen. A state of unpreparedness.
Illness. Astonishing news.

Reversed: 0°-90° East longitude. Incoherent. Displays low cunning. Someone who
exhibits paranoid schizophrenia. Someone who is devious, prying, vindictive, or treacherous.
Frivolous. An imposter. Likelihood of exposure. Frivolity. Frivolousness. Illness, especially
of the mind. Watch out for the unforeseen. Oppression by the material. Powerlessness in the
face of strong forces. A spy. A rival. Deceit. An enemy. Bad news. Delay. Dilettante. The
evil side of authority, supervision, secret service, or spying. Someone who will pry into the
Querent’s secrets.

4) COINS/DISCS/PENTACLES

Design: Generally, a young person holding up a Coin, Disk, or Pentacle. Waite’s pack
shows a young man standing in a field of flowers, holding up a pentacle. Crowley’s shows the
Princess of Discs as a Germanic princess wearing a ram’s-head crown; her left hand rests on a
pentacle formed by combining a lotus and the symbol for the Tao, and it holds a spear with a
point made of a diamond, oriented point down, shedding light on the earth near it. The New
Tarot version of this card is reminiscent of some American Indian art; it has the Zodiacal sigil
for Virgo at the bottom. The Fantasy Showcase Tarot shows a young woman dressed in
medieval costume, of gentle aspect, staring wistfully upward at a Pentacle in the form of a Star
within a circle which may represent a real Star or some other heavenly body.

America’s Tarot: A young woman wearing ethnic costume from a culture in the Far East or
Australia, holding up a silver Liberty-headed dollar, at which she looks as if it were a crystal
ball and she were a fortune-teller. She is from a culture either in the Far East or Australia. If an
Australian aborigine, she stands in the Great Outback; if from the Far East, she is in a setting
containing buildings and other things pertinent to her culture, e.g., temples, roads, fields of
crops, etc.

Upright: Entitled “The Princess of the Echoing Hills, the Lotus of the Palace of the Earth.”
Rules a quadrant of the Earth which includes the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, and
Antarctica. Rose of the Palace of the Earth. Earth of Earth. Princess and Empress of the
Gnomes. Throne of the Ace of Pentacles. Womanhood in its ultimate projection. Thrift,
diligence, honor, administrative sense, business acumen. Generous, kind, diligent, benevolent,
careful, courageous, preserving, pitiful. A young person with black hair and eyes; a swarthy,
dark brown, or black complexion; possibly curly or kinky hair. Material work to ensure one’s
survival. Disinterested work bringing riches as a reward. Economy, order, rule, management.
A disciple, student, messenger, or newsagent. Liberal treatment of the Querent. A director,
bookkeeper, assistant, editor. Honorable mention. Application. Study. Scholarship (in both
senses). Reflection. The bringer of messages. Rule. Management. A young officer or soldier.

Reversed: 90°-180° East longitude. Asia East of the longitude of Hiroshima, Japan.
Australia. Indo-China. China. Japan. Antarctica. Bewildering inconsistency. Idleness,
stupidity, humorlessness, literal-mindedness, over-cautiousness, hypercritical nature, a tendency
toward pride and pride in power. Wasteful, prodigal. Tentative advance. Mediocre results. A
crass young materialist. Dull person. Avarice and greed. Profusion, waste, dissipation. A
meeting, committee, or board of directors (with the implicit understanding that “a camel is a
 horse put together by a committee; an elephant is a mouse built to government specs”). A
libertine, libertinism. Unfavorable news. Luxury. Unfavorable news. Degradation. Pillage.

c. The interrelationships between the Sephirah and the cards of the Tarot

The Tens represent Malkuth, the final crystallization of that which was first conceived in Kether, the
Spirit enthroned in Matter. Its Queen-Scale colors are the browns, i.e., various combinations of all three
primary and/or secondary colors in varying proportions. The reasons for this are that (a) brown is the
color of Earth, associated with this Sephirah, and (b) brown is the result of combining the Queen-scale
colors for all the other Sephiroth below the Abyss. The Tens embody the Four Elements as well as the
physical globe of the Earth; because of the first, they therefore also represent the Quintessence, T’ao,
chi, or Spirit (Life), which is the product of the combination of four lesser Elements.
The Ten of Wands, “Oppression,” represents Saturn in Sagittarius. Saturn is an esoteric Lord of
Sagittarius, at His very strongest in that Sign, which represents the philosopher and the Godly. Hence
this card represents the force or weight of philosophy at its most powerful, i.e., in the form of religious or
political dogma and ideology. This card represents the complete internalization of the ruler, the
Superego, which can be a horrible tyrant.
The Ten of Cups, “Satiety,” represents Mars in Pisces. Mars falls in Pisces, and many of His worst
attributes appear in that Sign or in the Twelfth House, ruled by Pisces. On the negative side, meanings of
this card include “Be careful what you pray for – you might get it” and “Marry in haste, repent at
leisure.” It represents not just the satisfaction of a drive or desire, but also excessive zeal in pursuit of
that satisfaction, until one is sickened and repelled by the very thing which formerly one desired – “the
morning after the night before.”
The Ten of Swords, “Ruin,” represents Sol in Gemini, of which Sol is esoteric Lord. This is the
crowning moment of the Idea, its ultimate apotheosis. It also represents the process of “testing to
destruction,” pushing the envelope until the envelope ruptures, applying a theory, an idea, or a method
indiscriminately and without consideration of its appropriateness to every possible situation until that
application proves disastrous. It represents the overturning of theory, the disproving of the Null
Hypothesis, scientific and philosophical revolution. Because Sol is at His strongest in this Sign, it
represents the tremendous Solar energy that brings about revolutionary breakthroughs in science and
philosophy as well as the tremendous changes that are brought about in the world because of them.
Finally, the Ten of Discs, Coins, or Pentacles represents Mercury in Virgo, of which Mercury is the
traditional Lord. It represents the competent and consistent application of the force of intellect and
experience to the solution of practical problems and management of practical situations, the ultimate
result of which, all other things being equal, is wealth, prosperity, and prospering families and
communities. It represent harvest-time and all the skills which go toward accounting for the harvest and
reckoning its worth, the work of the bookkeeper, analyst, accountant, and general business manager.
The Pages of the Tarot represent the four major quadrants of the physical globe, and the peoples who
live therein. Roughly, these are the Pacific Basin and the “Ring of Fire” that circles it, the Pacific Rim
(Wands/Fire), whose peoples are Polynesians, Melanesians, and the most future-oriented people living in
the countries surrounding or in the Pacific Ocean; North and South America (Cups/Water), whose
peoples include the original American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and South American native peoples as
well as the descendants of European and Far Eastern peoples who also colonized them later on; Europe,
Africa, and the Near East (Swords/Air) and their peoples; and the Far East, Australia, and Antarctica
(Discs or Swords or Pentacles/Earth), whose peoples include the Chinese, Japanese, Australian
aborigines, European settlers in Australia, Indonesia, etc., as well as scientists and other personnel from
all over the world who are stationed in Antarctica.
The Princesses, Empresses, or Pages represent the final h of h w h y. They symbolize the
ultimate issue of the original influence radiated from Kether in its completion, crystallization, or
materialization, as well as the counter-balancing and reabsorption of that energy or influence in Kether
after making its way back up the Tree of Life again from Malkuth. They represent the great silence and
complete equilibrium into which all things return, which we experience as Nibbana, achieved through
repeated Samadhi. As such, they represent that which is at the same time permanent and nonexistent. In
Crowley’s words, they are an “audit of the equation 0 = 2.”*
*Crowley, The Book of Thoth, op. cit., p. 150.

Because Malkuth is linked to Kether, there is a primordial link between the

Pages/Empresses/Princesses, which are allied with Malkuth, and the Aces, allied with Kether. More:
from Malkuth of one Tree of Life springs Kether of a new one, so that the Pages represent new
beginnings, new enterprises, and the tremendous energy that accompanies these.
The Pages also represent the end-points of processes, their equilibrium condition. Hence the Pages
of Wands represents thermodynamic equilibrium; the Pages of Cups represents liquids at their most
quiescent and still; the Page of Air represents climatic patterns, relatively permanent meteorological
conditions and factors in a given region; and the Page of Earth represents the Earth itself and all that
dwell upon Her, from mountains, oceans, and great chasms in the Earth to human beings, elephants,
sequoias, bacteria, toxic tubeworms, “all creatures who on Earth do dwell”:

All things bright and beautiful,

All things great and small,
All things wise and wonderful –
The Lord God made them all.

Thus in the world’s pantheons the Page of Wands would be associated with, e.g., Kali; the Page of
Cups with, e.g., Undine or the Nymphs; the Page of Air with Pallas Athena Medusa or Maîtresse Ezeli of
Haiti; and the Page of Discs/Coins/Pentacles with Persephone, or at any rate with Koré (Her name before
Her marriage to Hades).