by Marcus Katz
4 of Pentacles: Whilst this may seem the most mundane of material images, Waite says succinctly in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, “He holds to what he has.”[187] To the spiritual journeyer at this stage, this simple mantra embodies a whole mystical approach to life. It is one demonstration of how a sentence can be given which means nothing at one grade, yet at higher grades takes on a knowing significance. The whole of Dion Fortune’s Mystical Qabalah book is written in that same manner.
4 of Swords: The mental faculties now go into retreat and re-align themselves. The mystical quest alights in the sanctuary and reviews all that has arisen. There is a simple clarity, as of light passing through a stained glass window, a “veil of vibrating light” as Trinick calls it. In that window (in the Waite-Smith Tarot) is the word ‘PAX’. This refers to Chesed, the fourth sephirah and our present stage in the journey up the Tree, which means ‘Mercy’.
4 of Cups: All temptations are now refused and one becomes utterly divine-sufficient rather than self-sufficient. This is the last of the challenges before the Abyss. There is only the Trinity ahead.
4 of Wands: The Abyss. There is no self on the other side of that invitation.
3 of Pentacles: Now within the Holy Sanctuary, the Master of the Temple commences work under new management.
3 of Swords: After fulfilling that work, the mind (through that work, by which we are changed) becomes a tripartite form, with a heart that burns for the divine.
3 of Cups: The people must be celebrated and their causes uplifted to fulfill the spiritual duty. There is no self in this, only service.
3 of Wands: There is only a far horizon in sight, and all journeys now lead to divine service. In the clothing and head circlet of this figure (Waite-Smith Tarot) we see intimations of the Magician, who is the image of the archetype of spiritual service. We now take the step and commit ourselves to the light, whilst knowing even this is another journey, not the end.
2 of Pentacles: Again, in contrast to its usual mundane meanings, this card embodies in our spiritual light a far more profound teaching. It is significant of the action of Chockmah in the World of Assiah, the ‘Wisdom of Action’ which is the literal translation of those signposts. It is no more complex than that. This card signifies the ongoing wisdom- in-action of the Magus, the one who is existing in this eternal moment. As Crowley indicates, it is at this point that the Lord of Karma takes notice, and one’s books become audited and balanced in every moment. There is no cause-and-effect here – everything is connected now.
2 of Swords: In this upper silence, the mind is stilled and held in singular balance. Beyond meditation and beyond contemplation, the mind is blind unto itself.
The value of meditation for inner peace, sublime ecstasy and world-free self-absorption is immense. But its value for the quest of truth and reality unaided by philosophy is quite a different matter and demands searching investigation by sympathetic yet impartially critical minds possessed of a sense of proportion and philosophical acumen – qualities usually absent from a mystic’s make-up.[188]
The tide draws out, the Sun is eclipsed; our emotional world is withdrawn and our awareness vanishes. There is a period of divine emptiness, a holy moment like no other – the house is now prepared for the master’s return.
2 of Cups: And as is – and always was – promised, with nothing more than a touch, a kiss, a gesture, like the opening of a palm, the filling of a cup, the Great Secret is revealed. All that exists arises from that moment, this co-creation of soul and silence, man and woman, human and divine. The spirit and the flesh; all dualities are known by the one to arise in a third – a red winged lion, perhaps, atop the wand of healing and wholeness. And that lion, that sacred revelation, devours and consumes us utterly.
2 of Wands: So it comes to pass, the journey is complete. Only the realm of the archetypes awaits; the Aeons, the realms and circles and zones and sephiroth as they are known only in creation. We stand inbetween the pillars with the world as it began, all possibilities unfolding, no attachment, no particular perspective. In many ways, this is the ultimate depiction of the spiritual journey in this card. This is the outward Fool card in right relation to the apparent World card. And the only outward sign of the journey is the rose and the lily entwined. It is done. Tetelestai.
The Four Aces now can be seen to embody the seeds of what G.I. Gurdjieff called the Four Ways or paths of spiritual enlightenment:
Ace of Pentacles: The Way of the Fakir – the mastery of attention through asana, or physical work such as yoga, dance, trance-work, etc;
Ace of Swords: The Way of the Yogi – the mastery of self through mental discipline;
Ace of Cups: The Way of the Monk (or Nun) – who works with the affections and spiritualises the emotional worlds of faith and love as their path;
Ace of Wands: The Way of Synthesis – perhaps this is the esoteric way, and was coined by Gurdjieff as his ‘Fourth Way’ teachings.[189]
Meanwhile Back at the Beginning of the End
Having seen how the Minors map our spiritual journey, we will return to take a look at the starting positions of each world – the four 10s – in order to demonstrate how they reflect the four aspects of existence in four elements. This is the Zelator grade of the WEIS, where all work is done, and the beginning of the spiritual journey commences – by working through the lessons and transcending each of the attachments illustrated by these cards. We will also demonstrate how they each contain a trap and, at the same time, their highest principle is also evident – ‘as above, so below’.
10 of Pentacles: The unity of the 10 becomes at one between the 10 and the Ace of Pentacles. The aim is to get beyond the obstacles of the earthly pentacles thrown along the path – these will trip you up if you pause to want. The child in the 10 of Pentacles grows up at last to become the Fool in the pack. Earthly riches make the world go round, but you will be caught on that Wheel if you become attached or fall asleep in the Garden of Earthly Delight.
10 of Swords: Italo Calvino wrote, “This is what I mean when I say I would like to swim against the stream of time: I would like to erase the consequences of certain events and restore an initial condition. But every moment of my life brings with it an accumulation of new facts, and each of these new facts bring with it consequences; so the more I seek to return to the zero moment from which I set out, the further I move away from it ...”
As Da Free John also puts it, “It is always already too late” to commence the journey. The moment of thought that enquiries is a paradoxical separation from which no unity can follow. This attempt to return to the “zero moment” of The Fool is also part of the journey of the tarot.
It may seem that we move further from it, but in actual fact we are moving circularly towards it in our journey, winding our way up the slopes of the mystical mountain of initiation. The 10 of Swords warns of the inertia that will inevitably arise from prolonged mental fatigue, when surrender is due. There is no more working out to do, the swords of emotional anguish do weigh heavily but your worst fears have materialised into reality.
Acceptance is to be embraced and a still point resonates. There is now the prospect of a new start and relief that will come when all turns full cycle. The old wounds of the battle of the Swords from Ace to 10 are the very wounds that will heal and transform into the Ace of Swords. A transmutation can occur. The World spins and The Fool steps into existence again and so the cycle goes on – Hallelujah! In fact, in the Tarot of Everlasting Day, the Outer Deck Fool contains this word, for ‘Hallel’ in Hebrew means ‘somebody who acts madly’, and ‘Jah’ is ‘Creator’ therefore this uplift of The Fool is as Creator and the ‘madness’ that is actually the transcendence of the reason.[190]
In summary of the 10 of Swords, to quote Einstein, “Logic can only take us from A to B, imagination can take us anywhere.” Both of these dualisms have their traps, but from each we do (Swords), can (Pentacles), must (Cups), and will (Wands) escape.
10 of Cups: The natu
re of the Cups is seen most evidently in the 3 of Cups: the mitwelt, that is a ‘co- world’, where two figures – male and female – are depicted, and a third entity that evolves, whether it is the creation of children, or the creation of Creation. Perhaps the images on the card can correspond to the mitwelt way of being, as it can personify many things; it is a growing, changing entity.
The 3 of Cups may contain the ‘third entity’ with the manifestation of the below. All your wants, desires and hopes, and these find their completion in the 10 of Cups.
Think about what you would like to have filling your 10 Cups. If you like, you may try shuffling the Major cards of the tarot, and choose 10 which can be read as filling the 10 Cups below. Ask what they symbolise for you, these archetypal energies in each of these 10 emotional and spiritual contexts. Thus, you might pull The Hanged Man for Cup Three, “love of survival through community / society.” This might suggest that you are tasked to work from a different perspective whilst remaining in mainstream society. The phrase “be in the world but not of it” might come to mind.
Don’t leave anything out, be all-inclusive (4 of Cups). Don’t be afraid to let go of obsolete desires (5 of Cups). In doing so, you can honour your innocence and authenticity whilst maintaining a mature perspective (6 of Cups). Also, while selecting your 10 cards do not be distracted by passing fancies – only choose what has endured (7 of Cups). You will soon find yourself free of what has been and your past will rapidly be eclipsed by a future, and one worth walking towards (8 of Cups). And in this making your choice – walking in the path of your own Grail Quest – there is true satisfaction (9 of Cups).
And in the healing power of love, each of the 10 Cups contains a gift of divine exploration, as depicted by the previous Cup cards, from Ace to 10, all each within another:
Cup One contains love of coming into existence;
Cup Two contains love of the divine breath;
Cup Three contains love of survival through society (culture);
Cup Four contains love of your very own existence;
Cup Five contains love of melancholy;
Cup Six contains love of nostalgia;
Cup Seven contains love of imagination;
Cup Eight contains love of your worth;
Cup Nine contains security;
Cup Ten contains love of family.
All 10 Cups contain all you may ever need. Perhaps this explains why the 10 of Cups is the most spiritually idyllic image of human existence; it is indeed the idealised and realised Lovers card, that archetypal image played out in the real world.
We must absorb from the 10 of Cups; experience the osmosis effect of love and being loved.
Exercise: The Indwelling of 10 Cups
Here is an exercise you might like to try. By placing the 10 of Cups by your bedside with the Ace of Cups, be aware of your emotions through that following day; then on the second night change the Ace for the 2. Repeat this each night, until you have the 9 and the 10 of Cups together.
You may find this simple exercise opens your spiritual heart quest – it a way of connecting that flow of the Ace into the 10. The most powerful magic is when you invoke the highest into the very far reaches of what is below.[191]
10 of Wands: This is the highest level of energy dropped into the lowest world; it shows what Crowley called “the force detached from its spiritual sources.” For us in our quest to redeem our own spiritual dignity, this card shows the worst result of misunderstanding the spiritual path. As Crowley says, “The whole picture suggests oppression and repression. It is a stupid and obstinate cruelty from which there is no escape. It is a Will which has not understood anything beyond its dull purpose, its ‘lust of result’, and will devour itself in the conflagrations it has evoked.”[192]
Where we see these characteristics in a person or a situation we know that it is far removed from spiritual dignity, which is ultimately characterised by the Ace of Wands.
The Spiritual Journey in the Wands
So from each of the 10s we can commence our spiritual journey as we have seen through the entire 40 Minors. Let us finally work through the Wands as a more detailed example and each see how they re-connect us when we feel lost from our spiritual source. You can recreate this detailed mapping with each of the other suits to show the way out of any dilemma in any world from a spiritual point of view. If you constantly struggle with your relationships, family and emotions, examine this journey in the Cups; if your finances and material work, the Pentacles; and if your education and thinking, the Swords.
10 of Wands: We begin by observation of where we struggle to ‘be spiritual’. This is always our first signpost. The spiritual path is characterised by the wrestling with one’s own Angel. There is always something more which must be discovered, always something presently preventing us being in the moment. The 10 of Wands calls us to step away from the struggle. Where we have patterns in our life that constantly weigh us down, these are each a potential Ace of Wands, repeating time and again to awaken us. That person in the 10 of Wands is carrying 10 identical Aces, they just do not realise it.
See Michal Conforti’s Field, Form and Fate for a fascinating exploration of how patterns in our life collaborate creatively to provide us opportunities for growth.[193]
9 of Wands: We begin with the burden of attachment, so we must let this go – it literally does not (is not) matter. We stop struggling and embrace our own wounds, as that is where we may become strong. We take it from the perspective that the process of scar formation and its lifelong legacy is a protective mechanism to heal and protect us after harm. However, after repair we are still ‘vulnerable’, as the replacement scar tissue is more fragile than our original tough skin; therefore, we need to be kind to ourselves and tread with care along the journey, and wisely choose who we entrust to help us to heal, whether it is friends, family, therapist, or foe! It is tempting in emulating the 9 of Wands to ‘tread carefully and carry a big stick’.
From a Jungian perspective, the ‘wounded healer’ does not mean a ‘once wounded now recovered’ one, but one who is currently vulnerable as well (the Latin word ‘vulnus’ means ‘wound’). We continue with our battle scars and wash them in the Cave of Wounds at dawn – a phrase that can be ritualised in the practice of the Greek mystery rites. The 9 of Wands can illustrate the impact of childhood wounds on our adult self, which in turn affect the way in which we develop our own unique spiritual path. As one therapist said, “We cannot choose our garden, merely the way in which we work with it.”
This aspect of the 9 of Wands can be explored in Strong at the Broken Places by Linda Sanford (1991). Whilst this book illustrates the quite rightfully sensitive aftermath of the effects of child abuse/neglect, it is written from the perspective of how the wounded (vulnerable) become empowered and it refutes the belief of some that the abused must become the abuser. It is an essential book for those working in any therapeutic modality.
The 9 of Wands teaches us that it is possible to escape our past. Or in the present moment, “You do not have to attend every argument to which you are invited.”
8 of Wands: At this point, escaping from our own past, we must not stop. This card tells us to keep going, to ride the energy from whatever source it is conjured. Think of the power of lightning and the strength that it wields. As Eco says, “Initiation is learning not to stop.”[194]
7 of Wands: Once we have begun on our journey, we must learn to use a spiritual system or map to maintain equilibrium.
6 of Wands: In engaging with a system, exploring it fully and deeply, dynamic energy brings new victories of understanding, taking one forward into new situations and states of being. We must be careful here for ‘pride cometh before a fall’.
5 of Wands: At the next point, the inner work must be transformed into outer work. We exert great effort in a group to create and construct what is new and innovative. The way of the 5 of Wands is ‘just do it, go on, get on with it NOW’. Alterations can be made later; this sta
ge is a production in progress. It is characterised in our spiritual life by constant change, challenge and growth, constant success and disappointment; a rapid realignment of one’s values from moment to moment. It can lead to a new cohesive pattern or a complete breakdown.
4 of Wands: At last we achieve a form of stable inner Sanctuary, a place where you can consolidate your efforts so far, put down tools for a while and reward yourself for your endeavours. This is also the stage in our quest termed by Robert Anton Wilson ‘Chapel Perilous’, a phrase that originally occurs in Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. It is the point in our spiritual journey where we have to decide whether we are being accompanied by a presence external to ourselves or choose to believe that it is all in our imagination. This card calls for an act to faith from which there is no return.
Those that make the wrong choice here – for choice it is – through fear (an incomplete initiation of their previous stage, the 5 of Wands) become what Crowley refers to as “Black Brothers.”[195] Whilst an admitted over-dramatisation, this can be seen in anyone whose modus operandi is to cast doubt, confusion or dismay, to sow seeds of despair, to attract others to their cause. It is characterised by constant implicit calls for self-validation and ultimately – for its fault is to not be creative beyond its own delusion – implodes, taking those who have been attracted to its apparent delights with it.
3 of Wands: Having escaped the perils of the previous stages in our spiritual quest, the 3 of Wands awaits. This is the stage where we have to think about where we are going next. We have turned our back on the past and look to the future; we cannot afford to be held back by restless yearning for old ties, and the new world is where the future of change lies. Do not find yourself left behind while others progress; avoid isolation. We have to pass on the baton. At its highest level this card signifies the trinity, generation, creation, progression/procession, all unified in one creative act.