TAROT INTERPRBTATION

LessonNine

THE TRUB MAGIC

Ti-IE EMERALD TABLET of Hermes,quotedin Lesson8, is one of the greatclassicsof

AgelessWisdom. it is ascribedto i{errnesTrismegistus,thc Egyptian Masterreputedto be
the lbunder of alchemyand magic.

Who actually wrote this masterpieceof practicaloccultismwe do not know. The oldest
versionswhich have come to light are in Latin, thoughtheremay have beenearlier onesin
Greek. Scholarsgenerallyare agreedthat, in its presentform, the text belongsto the early
centuriesof the ChristianEra, not to the literatureof ancientEgypt.

Two thousandyearsago, authorsof occult treatisesdid not put their own namesto what they
wrote. Believingthemselves to be inspiredby gods,or by Mastersof Wisdom,they would
say,"This is a work of [{ermes," and so give honor to the sourceof their illumination. In this
practicethere was no taint of deception,nor any intent to invest a book with the authority of a
'fhe
greatname. modestgeniusesof that day, free from personalvanity, soughtonly to
indicatetheir senseof indebtedness to the higher powerswhencetheir knowledgewas
derived.

Various traditionsconcerningTHE EMERALD TABLET have come down to us. One says
the thirteen sentenoes
of this wonderful treatisewere engravedby HermesTrismegistuswith a
cliamondstylus on a single largeemerald. At his death,the emeraldwas hidden in his tomb in
the GreatPyramid,where it was discoveredby Alexanderthe Great,centurieslater, and so
given to the world.

This is obvious allegory. Emeraldis the stoneof Venus. Hermesis Mercury, the
personificationof human intellect. The implementusedfor engravingthe emeraldis made of
diamond,a stonesacredto the sun. Thus the allegoryintimatesthat the substanceof this
classicwas inscribedon the subconsciousness of the humanrace (Venus,Key 3), as a result of
man's careful observationof the laws of nature(Mercury, I(ey 1), exercisedin actsof
concentrationwherebythe solar force was madesharp,like an engraver'stool.

The GreatPyramid is "the tomb of Hermes"becauseits wonderful proportionssum up the

whole body of scienceknown to the humanracein prehistorictimes. The "death of Hermes"
reflersto the temporaryloss of this ancientknowledge,or "Master's Word," during a period
comparableto the Dark Ages which followed the destructionof Rome by Huns and Vandals.
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Alexanderthe Greatis not the Macedonian,but symbolizesthe schoolof esotericphilosophy

which flourishedat Alexandria. Membersof this occult brotherhoodrecoveredthe secretsof
the GreatPyramid, and so "raisedthe body of the GrandMasterHermes"by bringing once
more to light the hicldenHermetic Wisdom, Thus were revivedthe greattruths which are
summarizedin THE EMERALD TABLET.

This pricelessdocument,saysEliphasLevi, containsall magic in a singlepage. Its text,

translatedfrom an early Latin version,is alreadyin your hands,for it was printed on the Tarot
you receivedwith INTRODUCTION TO TAROT.
tablear-r

It containsthirteensentencesin all. Five are in the first paragraphand eight in the second.
Five, the proportionalheight of the GreatPyramid,if its baseline be taken as eight. Five, the
nuunberof adaptationof the magicalpentagramand specialnumberof Man. Eight, the
number of rhythm, the numberof strength,the number of mastery. Five and eight, the
determiningnumbersof that greatmagicalpentacle,the Vault of Brother C. R., Founderof
the RosicrucianOrder. Each side of this vault was a rectanglefive feet wide and eight feet
high. As you proceedin your work of realizingyour heart'sdesire,you will leam that these
two numbers,togetherwith their sum, 13, and their difference,3, are keys to greatsecretsof
occultism.

Ihc final sentenceof THE EMERALD TABLET makesclearthe natureof the GreatWork.
"I have completedwhat I haveto telt concerningthe Operationof the Sun." For us on catth,
the various transformationsof the radiantenergyof the sun are activeagenciesin the process
of adaptationwherebythe illumined perceptionof things as they are is madeto supplantthe
delLrdedacceptanceof the outward appearances which surroundus.

Thereforeis the sun placedhigh in the heavensbehind the Fool, and the force the Magician
draws liom abovel-rimis that samesolar energy. If you will compareKey 0 with Keys 10 and
2I, you will seethat the sun in Key 0 occupiesthe sameposition which, in I(eys 10 and 21, is
given to the eagle'shead. The eagleis a symbol of Scorpio,the sign which govemsthe
reprodnctiveforcesof the human organism.

T'hissigu,corresponding to I(ey 13, is saidto rule the eighthhouseof the horoscope,the

housc of death,but also the houseof irrheritanceand of practicaloccultism. The ir-rtimation
here is that behind the grisly appearance of death,as it looks to the unenlightened,there is a
power whicir is the secretforce in the GreatWork. This is the Astral Light of Eliphas I-evi
who saysthis greatmagical agentis the force which man apparentlymultiplies in the
reproduction of his species.

Astral Light rxeans"light of stars,"and sincewe know that erzerystar is a sun,we should not
supposethat this namefor the One Energydesignatesa force other than the solar radiance.
When Levi said, in 1859,that the Astral Light is diffusedthroughoutinfinity, that it is tl-re
substanceof heavenand earth,that it is the First Matter of the GreatWork. scientistsof his

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day laughedat him. Their grandchildrennow put forward preciselythe samedoctrine,but

give no credit to the Frenchoccultistwho was enabledby his Tarot studiesto reacha
conclusionexactlythe sameas theirs ninety yearsago.

Eliphas Levi said also that exotericscientistswould, sooneror later,confirm his doctrine, and
that their discoveryof Astral Light would effect a completerevolution of physicsand
chemistry. This hasnow come to pass,and we are well on our way to the fulfillment of the
Frenchadept'sother prophecy-{hat this revolution in scientificthoughtwould lead to a
revival of the transcendentmagic of the Chaldeans.

The uplifted wand in the Magician's right hand points to that cornerof Key I which, in Keys
l0 and 21, rs occupiedby the headof a man. This man is a symbol for the sign Aquarius.
The force the Magician draws down from superconscious levels is conditionedby his clear
perceptionof the true natureand possibilitiesof man, In this, the dawning Aquarian Age, we
are beginningto realizethat every humanbeing is an embodiment,here and now, of the
power which producesand governsthe universe.

Iu erstrology,Aquarius rules the eleventhhouseof the horoscope,the houseof friends, and the
honseof hopes,desiresand aspirations.As we begin to understandthat man is truly "but little
lower than God," we shall seethat our hopesrest on a firm foundation. As we see,also, that
the One Thing is embodiedin every humanbeing,we shall realizethat Its perfectexpression
utr cartii rnusrlestis rcsult itr al era uf urrivcrsaiiiierrcisiripaili brLrilieriiouti.Tiris wili
supplantthe pitifully inadequate"civilization" of the PisceanAge, with its fierce
oompetitions,its f-ear-bornwars, and its follies of racial and nationaldiscriminationand
iratred.

'fhus,
in the gardenof the Magician,grow the lilies of right knowledge.A cross-section
of
their f.lowerswill show a six-pointedstar,or Shield of David. Now, the nameDavid means
"love," or "the beloved."Thusthe Shieldof David signifies"the protectionof love."

Lilies are also symbolsof science,and of the greatcosmicexpressionsof the Life-power,

becausethe six-pointedstar is connectedalso with the circle of the signsof the zodiac. The
Magician cultivateslilies becauseright use of the consciousness he representswill enableus
to perceivethat, beneathall the superficialconflicts of forcespresentedto us by sensation,
there is actually at work a hidden law of relationshipand order which can be no better
designatedthan by calling it the Law of Love. To know the truth is to be free, becausethat
knowledgeshowsus, beyondperadventure, that all the forcesof creationare working with
every true lover of humanity.

Side by side with the lilies grow red roses. They are symbolsof love becausethey are the
flowers of Venus. Yet they are sacredalsoto lacchus,the centralfigure of the Dionysian
Mysteries,and they are likewise dedicatedto the god of silence,Harpocrates,the younger
Holus. Desire,love, secrecy,beautyand silenceare representedby the symbol of the rose.

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Ftuthermore,a oross-sectionof its flower showsa five-pointedstar,the magicalpentagram,

symbol of man. Thus the rosesin l(ey 1 standfbr humanlove, in contrastto the lilies, which
may be taken as types of the greatprinciple of Divine Love which pervadesthe schemeof
cosmiclaw.

In other lbrms of symbolism,too, the number6 standsfor universallove, and the number 5
'Ihis,
for its human expressions. indeed,is the true signilicanceof the crossof six squares
(patternof the cube)to which is affixed a five petalledrose. This is believedby many to be
the true and ancientform of the Rosy Cross.

When httmandesireand affectionsare perfectlyrelatedto the cosmic pattern,when man loves

as Goclloves,then man's life is the perfectexpressionof universallaws. Every detail of his
clay'sexperiencethen becomesa consciousexpressionof the Divine Working, the perfect
Operationof the Heavenly Sun. This is the true magic.

Tlie true magic aims at actualexpressionwithin the limits of the physicalplane. Remember
what was said in Lesson8. The physicalplaneis that field of the Life-power's activity which
is within rangeof the human senses.

Thesesensesare symbolizedby the numberof rosesin the garden-five. They are,moreover,

many-petalledto indicatecultivation and development.They also representman's desire
nature.

The true magic brings the irresistibleenergyof the Astral Light to bearupon the cultivation of
man's desirenature. Cultivation irnpliesimprovement,development,adaptation.As we
perfect and purify our desires,workiug silently and secretlywith them to make them ever
tnore true and beautiful,we comenearerand nearerto the definite.externalmanifestationof
the truth and beautyof the One Reality.

AgelessWisdom doesnot offer you a way of escapefiom this lvorld into someother. It puts
in yout'hanclsthe meansof witnessingthe transmutationand transformationof this world. As
your vision clears,as you becomemore and more definitely awareof the significanceof your
life, you will actually seethe true world which is hidden from the majority of rnankindby
cloudsofignorance.

You will find yourself in a diff-erentworld, it is true; and whereveryou are,that new world
will be. Yet it will be madeof the samefour elementssymbolizedon the Magician's table by
the wand, the cup, the sw'ordand the pentacle. It will be a physicalworld, a world of things
and creatures,a world srveptby clean,invigoratingwinds, and lighted by the sun and moon
anclstars,its streamsand lakesand oceanssweetand pure, its very substancetransmuteclby
the power of your realization.

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TI-iE EMERALD TABLET tells us plainly that the One Thing's power is integrating,if it be
turned into earth. So, too, in the Apocalypse,the Ileavenly Jerusalem,a wonderful symbol
of perfectedhumanconsciousness, comesdown from heavento earth. All over the world
men havebeenpraying,for generations, "1'hy kingdomcome." In this New Age, many shall
seethis oometo Dass.