Predicting The Present

by Daniel Kelley

  "Our Father is life, our Mother is Death, and between them we are torn."

  This in-between state is symbolized in Tarot by the higher octave of The Empress: The twelfth trump, The Hanged Man (12=1+2=3=The Empress) This applies to any ambivalent situation in which we find ourselves, especially if it involves a difficult transition from one cherished state to another (e.g., comfort to discomfort). The general message is that life is a touch-and-go affair; there's nothing permanent in existence. Man is very much afraid of this process of growth and decay. Even if he understands it philosophically it remains somewhere on the fringes of his consciousness. He clings desperately to the superficial, temporal, and transient things in life, all the while trying to convince himself that they're permanent. So, it happens that when these things pass away, we suffer.

  The Empress, as sensation, represents the sweetness of the heart. The heart is always ready to touch things directly, intimately. For the heart, nothing can be known unless it’s felt directly. Even very abstract things and the heart will attempt to contact them directly. Quite the opposite is the case with intellect. The head will take even very concrete things and turn them into abstractions. It's by discovering this source of compassion within your own heart that we can be of any true service, to others and to ourselves. By recognizing The Empress in every woman and The Emperor in every man (and vice versa!) we can change this world into the paradise it was meant to be; but first we must discover these within ourselves.

  The Emperor:

  Sun of the Morning, chief among the Mighty

  Trump #4

  Zodiacal Trump of Aries

  Mars Rules—Sol Exalted

  Letter: Tzaddi (fish-hook) (Numerical value: 90.)

  Path: #28 (Netzach to Yesod)

  Alchemical Trump of Sulphur

  NOTE: (The entire suit of Wands can be attributed to The Emperor, as well as to The Aeon. But because of The Emperor's traditional position on the 15th path he’s given the most sublime attributes. His birthright resides on the 2nd Sephira, Chokmah. In this deck, however, The Emperor resides below the Abyss. Trump #20, The Aeon, associated with elemental Fire as well as quintessential Spirit, represents a deep and profound metamorphosis on all levels of being. The Emperor of the present deck must pass through this catharsis before he can be found worthy to sleep next to The Empress in the divine bedroom above the Abyss. In the Aeon, this has already been accomplished.)

  Helpful Quotes

  "Use all thine energy to rule thy thought: Burn up thy thought as the Phoenix."

  -Aleister Crowley

  "One country may become very rich, but its riches are a poison as long as there is another country which is starving."

  -J. Krishnamurti

  Contemplation

  As we’ve seen, The Emperor is the male consort of The Empress and represents the alchemical principal of Sulphur. Aleister Crowley tells us that Sulphur is:

  "The male fiery energy of the Universe, the rajas of Hindu philosophy. This is the swift creative energy, the initiative of all being."

  Also, Martha Graham says:

  “There is a vitality, a life force that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost."

  The Emperor, like any other figure in Tarot, is a multifaceted character. On the one hand, he symbolizes the spiritually mature mind that recognizes The Emperor (or god) in every man and The Empress (or goddess) in every woman. On the other hand, he's the egotistical tyrant who mercilessly manipulates nature, including animals and fellow human beings, in pursuit of his own self-interests. In this sense, both The Empress and The Emperor represent what Nietzsche called the “Will to Power”. It’s crucial to note that this will to power has its healthy and pathological forms. For example, to manifest one’s Will as a whole that is itself part of a larger whole is a healthy form of this drive. Conversely, to oppress the Will of someone else in pursuit of your own desires is the pathological expression of the will to power.

  Kabbalistically speaking, The Emperor is a man who's learned (or must learn) how to balance Mercy (Chesed) with Severity (Geburah), and he harbors the potential to manifest the Four Cardinal Virtues. These are Justice (Adjustment), Prudence (The Hanged Man), Fortitude (Lust), and Temperance (Art). These can manifest as pseudo virtues (used for political purposes) or may truly be the hallmark of honest integrity.

  In traditional decks, The Emperor occupies the path of Heh, leading from Chokmah to Tiphareth on the Tree of Life (see diagram in Appendix). This attribution makes sense when we consider that The Emperor represents the Animus in the Major Arcana in the same way that Chokmah does on the Tree of Life (The Anima is represented by The Empress in the Major Arcana and by the Sephira Binah on the Tree of Life.) According to depth psychologist, Carl Jung, each of us has both a masculine and feminine side of our psyche. He dubbed the masculine principle “Animus” and the feminine principle “Anima”. Sometimes the masculine aspect is most dominant in a person, and at other times it’s the feminine aspect that is most obvious. Rarely do you find a person with a balanced Anima and Animus!

  But I digress…

  In the Thoth deck, the position of The Emperor has been switched from the path of Heh (Chokmah to Tiphareth) to the path of Tzaddi (Netzach to Yesod). In the Thoth deck, the path of Heh is occupied by The Star, and puts an entirely different spin on the interpretation of those two Trumps. Looking at The Emperor on the path of Tzaddi, we see that he looks away from Netzach (Victory) toward Yesod (Foundation). Netzach represents the planet Venus, therefore it must "adopt" the Venusian archetype. As we learned in our discussion of The Empress, this archetype represents pleasure, desire, and the stormy pursuit of sensual debauchery. This is more than likely the case with Netzach because it's such a low and imbalanced Sephira on the Tree of Life. Netzach not only occupies a very low position on the Tree, but it's also found on the Pillar of Mercy making it even more imbalanced and weak.

  The Emperor looks away from the docile lamb as well as the entire Pillar of Mercy. The Empress looks away from the sparrow (latent lustfulness) and the entire Pillar of Severity and looks toward the dove (spiritual purity) and the entire Pillar of Mercy. This asserts the reciprocal balance of these principles. The Emperor is looking toward Yesod, the very foundation of the Tree of Life. This glance suggests that personal responsibility for one's growth—psychological, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, or otherwise—is the very foundation upon which the individuation process stands. Put simply, true growth occurs only when rooted in one's being (Yesod). The core of who we are is like fertile soil in which illimitable amounts of seeds may be planted, and illimitable amounts of flowers may bloom, but the seed must find the right climate.

  The Heh/Tzaddi switch reminds us that no matter what stage we find ourselves at in our personal development, the distance between one's persona and true Self remains the same, equidistant. At any point the option remains for us to make the courageous leap into life, or if you prefer, the jump from the Tree of Knowledge into the Tree of Life. I propose that the light issuing from the upper-right corner of the card suggests that the Supernal Triad can be accessed from anywhere on the Tree of Life, at any time. In short, one may dare to take the great leap into the unknown at any time (The Fool). Sometimes the path leading to Wisdom means going to places where even angels fear to tread.

  But here’s the rub:

  If tradition places The Emperor on the path of Heh and Crowley places him on the path of Tzaddi, which one is the correct placement? The answer is Both! It depends upon how the cards are being approached. One very unorthodox approach I've seen involves the black magick practice of Vampirism. The path of Tzaddi is the realm of the so-called incubus and succubus method of vampiric "feeding". When a woman uses this method, we’re dealing with the shadow aspect of The Star (Lilith). When a man employs it, we are dealing with the shadow aspect of The E
mperor (Pluto). I’m of course referring to the esoteric tradition of Vampirism, and not the pop-culture antihero seen in films and portrayed in novels. In true Vampirism, the latter is used only archetypically, in much the same way as Remez (symbol) and Drash (fable) are used by the Kabbalists.

  The Emperor, when placed on the path of Heh, suggests a ruler who derives his authority from a divine source. Indeed, another card that descends from Chokmah is The Hierophant, and he too derives his authority from the divine. It can be said that The Emperor represents the State and The Hierophant represents the Church. The role of Pharaoh in ancient Egypt is a good example of both institutions united in one individual. The people of Egypt thought the Pharaoh to be the earthly manifestation of the sun god, Ra. In modern times, the priest is still considered to be the intermediary between man and God.

  When viewed on his traditional path (Heh), The Emperor unites the Supernal Triad (Chokmah) with individual consciousness (Tiphareth) giving birth to insight. When viewed from the standpoint of Numerology (#4), The Emperor is that aspect of Tiphareth that gives form and structure to insight (Chesed). The path of Tzaddi—the path that he occupies in the present deck---shows his energy (Sulphur) to be neutral and can be used to feed either desire (Netzach) or growth (Yesod). In this deck, The Emperor deals more with the individuation process of becoming conscious of one's psychological Shadow, and he must learn to make use of these energies in a creative way. Of the so-called Seven factors of Enlightenment, The Emperor is one of four cards that represents the factor of energy (Qi, Prana, Orgone).

  As an interesting side note, look at The Emperor's left hand, the one holding the Maltese Cross. You'll notice, written in cursive upon his sleeve, the word “See”. You'll notice that the only objects not illuminated by the Light issuing from the upper-right corner of the card are The Emperor's eyes. This indicates that insight exists only as a potentiality within The Emperor. If you count how many points there are on the two star-shaped designs on either side of his Throne (armrests), you'll see that they add up to sixteen, the number of The Tower. The association of The Emperor with the image of a castle or tower requires no explanation, but what does that have to do with the fact that he's associated with the function of "inner sight"? Well, if you look at The Tower you'll see, above and behind the crumbling structure, the image of an enormous Eye (eye of Shiva) symbolizing enlightenment, awareness, realization, shock, and yes, insight. This Eye symbolizes what Buddhists call "high equanimity" or "diamond consciousness." The Christian mystics refer to this state as "divine apathy," and it's characterized by the dissolution of psychic boundaries and logical contingencies. In this state all sense of separateness is lost, and all things appear to rise and fall in an ocean of empty-fullness.

  There's a lot of confusion regarding the light that shines down upon The Emperor from the upper-right corner of the card. The problem is that this light suggests the presence of the divine, and as we've seen, the original path of The Emperor was one that descended from the supernal Father, Chokmah. We've also noted that Crowley, as well as the Egyptian sky-goddess, Nuith, switched him to the path of Tzaddi. In other words, the card has been painted as if it still occupies its traditional position on the Tree of Life. Not only that, but Aleister Crowley himself, in his "Book of Thoth", speaks of The Emperor as if he still occupies the traditional path!

  Lon Milo Duquette, in his informative book, Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, has this to say about it:

  "The 'white light' in the card issues from the upper right corner and shines diagonally toward the center of the card. In other words, Crowley is talking as if The Emperor is positioned on the Tree of Life on the path that runs from the second sephira, Chokmah, to the sixth sephira, Tiphareth—the path that he tells us in nearly every other reference should be occupied by The Star."

  I believe that there's another explanation to this dilemma. Keeping in mind what we've said about The Emperor being associated with the function of insight, we can say that this light is issuing from the Eye of Shiva. Take note of the beam of light issuing from the "Eye of God" in The Universe card. This gigantic Eye, also a solar symbol, has shattered the defensive walls that The Emperor has built around himself. This "dark night of the soul" rends the Veil of Paroketh. Because there's no longer any possibility of resistance or control, the only thing one can do is become more and more conscious. The Veil of Paroketh, otherwise known as the Veil of the Sanctuary, is the abyss that separates the lower four Sephiroth from the upper three in the Kingdom of Tiphareth. To cross this threshold is the beginning of psychospiritual liberation. The Emperor, to be an enlightened ruler, must work out the tasks associated with the paths that separate him from the Supernal Triad (Kether, Chokmah, Binah). If he accomplishes this, then the light of the Supernal Triad will shine on him anywhere and everywhere, regardless of his station on the Tree of Life.

  The Emperor is also associated with the fours of each suit in the Minor Arcana. According to Numerology, the number four represents structure, order, concrete form, security, stability, law, and limitation. Although these things are necessary requirements, they're by no means the final word on this vast mystery we call life. The problem with the stability of the Four begins when the structure becomes either outdated or rigidly tyrannical in its application. This manifests in exaggerated idealism, perfectionism, and dominion in all its forms, complacency and the inflexible dependence upon The System. The danger lies in a little thing called "habit". For example, traffic lights exist due to the necessity of safety and order. However, they've also taken the place of human awareness and sensibility. Drivers can simultaneously talk on cell phones, listen to music, and do their make-up while driving through a thickly settled district, trusting that the traffic lights will go on thinking so that they, the drivers, don't have to!

  We’ll briefly discuss some of the connections between The Emperor and the fours of each Suit:

  The Emperor/Four of Wands: The connection between these two cards is very interesting. The astrological situation of the four of Wands is Venus in Aries, which is the same as that of The Empress and The Emperor combined. The name of the four of Wands is "Completion," and the fact that The Empress and The Emperor complete each other is no big secret, as we've seen. Crowley associates the four of Wands with the Thelemic doctrine of "Love under Will", suggesting a willing surrender of one's ego to a higher power. Translated to human endeavor, I'm immediately reminded of the popular saying, "There is no 'I' in team". This includes any relationship for that matter.

  The crisis of the Five, which lurks in the four of Wands, has nothing to do with stagnation. The suit of Wands deals with the fundamental difference between action and activity. Action is the appropriate, adequate, and intelligent response when the situation demands it. Activity, on the other hand, is merely the restless movement of aimless energy. The Venus/Aries relationship portrays the perfect balance between effort and relaxation. This recalls the creative absorption of an artist or craftsman. The general message of this card-combo seems to be: rest, relaxation, joy, and thanksgiving---the fruits of labor and the completion of projects. The crisis of the Five suggests, at one extreme, the testing of one's limits; the ambitious struggle to the top of the ladder. At the other extreme, it deals with hyper-activity, the workaholic who takes great pains to be perfect and is therefore a pain to everyone else as well.

  The Emperor/Four of Cups: The threat of stagnation and decay is an ever-present threat to the suit of Cups. When applied to The Emperor, the very symbol of ambition itself, we can see how this could become a problem! One may conceive an interesting idea (Briah) and yet do nothing with it. The impetus and skill to create may be very strong, and yet the idea may completely flop without having any effect whatsoever. The astrological situation of the Four of Cups is the Moon in Cancer. Here, we often learn the hard way that we can't remain in our comfort zone forever. If we don't learn this lesson, then the situation becomes that of the Five of Cups: Disappointment.

 
The Emperor/Four of Swords: The Four of Swords gives us the astrological situation of Jupiter in Libra. The Emperor, as the number Four, is associated with the fourth Sephira on the Tree of Life, Chesed, sphere of Jupiter. In Greek mythology Jupiter is Zeus, King of the gods. In many decks, The Emperor is associated with Zeus, Jehovah, and the deity who maintains the order of the cosmos. This card connection is suggestive of the human response to the inherent Sorrow (Three of Swords) and meaninglessness of existence. One could say in this regard that The Emperor is locked inside of the Tower. He avoids a defeat by avoiding conflict. Soon, The Emperor finds himself stuck in the petrified state of The Hanged Man. So, the advice here is to maintain a creative balance between the many facets of our lives.

  The Emperor/Four of Disks: Here we have the blueprint for social-structure commonly mistaken as the true and accurate model of reality. Recalling now The Emperor's association with the Greek god, Zeus, we can see the Four of Disks as a bird's-eye-view of life. Indeed, the card does look as though it's being viewed from on high, and it should be noted that the favored bird of Zeus was in fact an eagle. On the lighter side of this card combo we recognize the healthy setting of boundaries. We see The Emperor in his role as organizer, designer, leader, and progenitor of growth and teamwork. His task here is to learn when and how to think outside of the box.