The Magician's Kabbalah

by Marcus Katz

  Throughout his life, Crowley wrestled with the complexity of this received text, and wrote elaborate commentaries on its many mysteries. There is one particular verse which whilst terse, causes a complication in our correspondence system, as Crowley received this line:

  All these old letters of my Book are aright; but Tzaddi is not the Star. [Liber Al I:57]

  Crowley later wrote in his “new” commentary on this line, having only briefly mentioned it in his first commentary:

  Tzaddi is the letter of The Emperor, the Trump IV, and Hé is The Star, the Trump XVII. Aquarius and Aries are therefore counter-changed, revolving on the pivot of Pisces, just as, in the Trumps VIII and XI, Leo and Libra do about Virgo.[25]

  He goes on to explain:

  This last revelation makes our Tarot attributions sublimely, perfectly, flawlessly symmetrical. The fact of its so doing is a most convincing proof of the super-human wisdom of the author of this Book to those who have laboured for years, in vain, to elucidate the problems of the Tarot.[26]

  However, by the time of his writing of the Book of Thoth, first published in 1944, some forty years later, whilst noting that the card of the Emperor is “attributed to the letter Tzaddi”,[27] Crowley also appears to correspond the card back to its position on the Tree upon the path of Heh:

  It is finally to be observed that the white light which descends upon him [The Emperor] indicates the position of this card in the Tree of Life. His authority is derived from Chockmah, the creative Wisdom, the Word, and is exerted upon Tiphareth, the organized man.[28]

  He does continue with the Book of the Law switch in his description of the Star card, which is “attributed to the letter Hé, as has been explained elsewhere”.[29] In his various other writings, over time, the switch is alluded to where the topic comes up, in various degrees of accessibility.

  It is tempting to follow the lead of commentator Lon Milo Duquette on this issue, and utter “Arghhhh!” and “move on - please!”.[30] In fact, we shall do so, although not without making a further point for readers, as Crowley himself offers little more to say on the matter.

  We might consider that this singular twist of the Emperor and the Star reveals to us either a particular re-mapping of the landscape of life through Crowley’s vision – and/or a reflection of the change of Aeon as Crowley presents in the Book of the Law. In brief, Crowley suggested that we were at the end of an age of approximately 2,000 years, the Age of Osiris, and moving into a new age, that of Horus. These two ancient Egyptian deities for Crowley carried the significance of the old and new age; the former, a time of patriarchy and religion, the latter a time of individualism and self-determination – he called this Thelema, the Greek word for Will.

  So the Star, which he expressly equated with the individual Will, and the Emperor, equated with government and paternal power (see BOT, p. 77-8), are the ideal images to swap to indicate the replacement of one by another in the passing of one Aeon to another. Whilst they both remain on the Tree, their position in society is altered, as society itself moves to a new paradigm.

  If we are working with Thelema, or mapping out our own individual course in this new Aeon, perhaps we might use the map with this switch, and see if it provides more focus on that particular aspect of our journey.

  The Waite-Trinick System

  A. E. Waite did not leave his tarot work behind after his “delightful experiment” (as he called it) with Pamela Colman-Smith in 1909 when they created what is now the world’s most iconic deck. Some ten years later, between 1917-1923, he worked with stained glass artist J. B. Trinick to create a secret set of tarot images for the Major Arcana, to be used in ritual and contemplation within his magical order, the F.R.C. or Fellowship of the Rosy Cross.

  In the previously unpublished typescripts describing these cards, Waite gave a clear indication of a variant set of correspondences to that used by the Golden Dawn and later modified only slightly by Crowley. Waite’s system was a radical overhaul of the correspondences based on his conception of the Shekinah (the presence of God in the world, usually depicted as feminine) and his version of Catholic Mysticism.

  In overview, it appears to make as much sense, if not more, than the Golden Dawn model, if we consider a tighter correspondence to the concepts of the Tree of Life. However, as we have already covered, every map has its own utility, and Waite’s is specific in mapping to particular concepts in Kabbalah that were not of such peculiar significance to the founders of the Golden Dawn.

  Illus. Tarot Cards on Tree of Life (Waite-Trinick System).

  We see in Waite’s map that the Empress and the Emperor are placed at the top of the Tree, rather than the Fool and the Magician. In this we might see the fundamental difference of the two maps; Waite’s is primarily of mystical intent, the Golden Dawn of magical intent. His version places the divine feminine and masculine potencies enthroned atop the Tree, the GD place the spiritual seeker and the magician at the end of their journey and attaining mastery. It is a fine if not totally insubstantial difference in the end, but for now it will suffice to explore the two models as being different in this regard.

  The Waite-Trinick model also continues logically the theme of masculine and feminine in having the High Priestess descend from Binah to Geburah on the feminine pillar of form, and in balance, the Magician descend from Chockmah to Chesed on the masculine pillar of force. We see from this suggested a connection between the Empress and her emissary on earth, the Priestess, and the Emperor likewise represented by the Magician. In actually reading tarot, these resonances can inform a reading very powerfully.

  There are other elements of beauty in the Waite-Trinick model; the stellar cards of the Sun, Moon and Star now all emit from Netzach, the Sephirah corresponding to Venus and representing Nature and natural cycles.

  At a more abstract level, there is also the perfectly balanced trinity of the Sun, Devil and Lovers in the triad of paths below Tiphareth, the central Sephirah of the Christ-centre. This trinity is clearly depicted in the Waite-Trinick images as Christ (Sun), Lucifer (Devil) and Eden (Lovers), illustrating the fall from grace and redemption through Christ which leads us into the saviour-centre of Tiphareth.

  As we work with a new model of correspondences, we sometimes have to unlearn or shake out previous connections, which remain as overlays; like still seeing in your imagination a building that used to be there when now another stands in its place. The Wheel of Fortune in Waite’s system takes the highest position of all, between Kether and Da’ath, indicating it contains the most secret and “highest” of mysteries. It now becomes a cosmic symbol, of all time and space, unity beyond comprehension, the divine in all things, not merely the play of a wheel of fortune and fate in life.

  We should also note that Waite included Da’ath (meaning ‘knowledge’) as an entity on his map, as he viewed it as a significant spiritual landmark and perhaps saw more in it than the founders of the Golden Dawn. It was also a concept developed further by Crowley in his writings upon the Abyss and Da’ath, and further by Kenneth Grant.

  As a result of this incorporation of Da’ath, we split two paths into half, each with their own tarot card correspondences, and as a result have to lose two paths. There are many variant models of the Tree of Life, and Waite could have chosen to lose the bottom two diagonal paths, connecting Hod and Netzach to Malkuth, but instead dropped the two diagonal paths connecting Binah and Chockmah to Tiphareth. In this way he removed direct connections from the Upper Triad to Tiphareth save through the path of the Fool through Da’ath. We will see that the Fool is represented by Waite as a Cosmic Christ, hence making sense of this alternate schema.

  In the descriptions below I have also paraphrased, re-presented or interpreted Waite’s unpublished writings on the Waite-Trinick Tarot which I am not able to reproduce in their original form or in their entirety.

  1. Malkuth

  From Malkuth reaches the path of Tau, illustrated by the World card. This is one of five cards that remain in the same
place on the Tree of Life in both the Golden Dawn system and the Waite-Trinick systems, the others being Temperance, Hermit, Devil, and the Hanged Man.

  The symbolism is much the same as Waite utilised in his deck with Pamela Colman-Smith, but in his private writings some ten years later he was able to discuss more about his interpretation of the card, about which he had only alluded in his earlier Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910).[31]

  Waite saw the image as that of Nature, a woman, but also the divine presence in all things, both within us and without us, the Shekinah. We discuss the Shekinah further in this present book and it is of utmost importance in Waite’s life-work.

  She is also the guardian of the gate into the world of formation; as we first step upon the mystical path, we leave the world of our senses and enter the world of our imagination, which formulates all things; we come to see how we create our own version of the World. We learn in the world card, both naked and veiled, how images arise of nature within us, and what might lie before our expression of that mystery. Her various symbols are intended to show the comprehensive model of all we might attain, the unity behind all separate displays of that unity.

  Also leading out of Malkuth is the path of Shin, which in this system corresponds to the Blasted Tower, rather than the Last Judgement, which Waite moved higher up the Tree. This image is definitely equated by the Golden Dawn as the Tower of Babel, and Waite picks up on that meaning of overthrow – in the Golden Dawn image, the two figures thrown out of the Tower were said to be the King who some stories have constructing the Tower, Nimrod and his Vizier.

  In at least following the general Order teaching to this point, Waite suggests that the Tower is the pinnacle of the mind, the state of separation (divorce) in which we find ourselves at the beginning of our journey. Our words are not born of the Word and our utterances are in a language of confusion. When we enter the mystical life, we must prepare for our mind to be destroyed by the divine will, as we engage in spiritual work to break up our personality structure.

  As a counterpoint to this process - for nothing is unbalanced in the Tree other than ourselves as we make the journey – is the Star card connecting Malkuth and Netzach.

  The Star here fits beautifully the Sepher Yetzirah description of the 30th path, which is “the collecting intelligence, so called because Astrologers deduce from it the judgement of the Stars, and of the celestial signs, and the perfections of their science, according to the rules of their revolutions”.

  The Star is that which collects the broken pieces of the Tower, and the Tower is what we build to reach the Star. Our vision can never be completely realised in this world, so we keep ascending. In a Thelemic sense, the Star represents Will, and here it is our sense of personal will and independence, which will later be turned into a pure channel for divine will once the lesson of the Tower is truly comprehended. As it is written, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” [Psalm 127:1].

  2. Yesod

  In Yesod we connect to Tiphareth via the image of Temperance, which Waite viewed as the will toward re-birth. She is the Shekinah that reconciles the confession of sin with the sanctifying grace of God. Her two chalices represent the influence of Chesed and Geburah passing through Tiphareth (the Shekinah is also seen as the vessel of the Messiah) through Yesod and into Malkuth through the path of the World. These two great powers are as water and fire; purification and consecration.

  The card shows how we must ascend in our sacramental life and attain salvation, as the chalice is symbolic of benediction, the meeting of our prayer for blessing and the bestowal of that blessing.

  As a bridge between our world and that of the divine, Waite saw Temperance as the equivalent of the Bronze Laver, the bowl that was placed half-way between the brazen altar and the holy place in the Temple of Solomon. Here Temperance is placed between Yesod and Tiphareth, thus corresponding to the Temple of Solomon, with Tiphareth as the Inner Sanctuary.

  In the Waite-Trinick Tarot, the symbolism is further picked up with the placement of a Scallop Shell which is symbolic of baptism and is painted by Trinick as being the commencement of the path between what Waite calls the last mystery of the rose-cross, as the initiate enters into Tiphareth.

  Also connecting from Yesod, to Netzach, is the path of the Moon. Waite again sees this as an aspect of the Shekinah, at this lower level reflecting the light of the Sun, corresponding to Tiphareth and the card of the Sun itself, radiating also out of Netzach but to Tiphareth. The Moon is our natural mind, caught between the limits of the visible world, the two towers. It is the illusion of thought, when it is not self-aware and transcended. The trap on this path is the glamour and uncertainty of thought itself, when we get caught into trying to make logical sense of all things, even our spiritual life.

  Waite maintains common symbolism on the card in the Waite-Trinick image, having the crayfish as representing our evil part, always trying to rise up into our mind from the depths, and the two dogs as our degenerated nature, holding us in bay by its own fear lest we attempt the process of regeneration and redemption.

  So we do not progress to Netzach from Yesod, as our mind must be made self-aware first, else it get caught in its own machinations. It is for good reason that Yesod is also referred to as the “treasure-house of images”, and a clockwork museum in which many are lost.

  From Yesod to Hod we take the path of Justice, clearly held by Waite to be in two forms; natural justice and divine justice. He sees it as evidence that the mind reflects the higher, for we bring the notion of justice into our life, therefore it must exist as a template in the higher realm. Justice is here leading us from a life of separation to a life of union.

  Within the secret rituals of Waite’s magical order is a beautiful wording of the tradition, wherein it is described that when we sit in a place of union, we have Hades (Lucifer/Devil) on our left, the Garden of Eternity (Paradise/Lovers) on our right, the Angel of Death (here Justice with her Sword presiding over the dead souls) above us, and the Tree of Life behind us. This is a statement of our position on the Tree of Life in this specific grade, according to these correspondences and their layout and positions on the Tree. It is a demonstration of how these maps are used within ritual to initiate complex appreciation of deep patterns in nature and the divine.

  As it might be said with regard to ritual, if you receive these messages truly within your heart, you will be travelled to those places in spirit.

  3. Hod

  As we will see in Netzach, certain paths are blocked to our progress as we ascend the Tree of Life. The path of Samekh, to which corresponds the Devil, is sealed to us, as we have to yet progress to Netzach from Hod; we cannot take a short-cut to Tiphareth. In fact, we will find ourselves turned back from Netzach too, only to have to return to the middle path and enter Tiphareth through the path of Temperance.

  The warning about short-cuts is implicit in the card image being that of Lucifer; as we trace what Waite calls the path of liberation, we are tempted by the desire for spirituality, and spiritual things. We might come to believe we are on a path of attainment, rather than surrender, and in doing so fall into bondage of the most evil kind; to that of our own separation and agency.

  Hod also connects to Netzach through the Lovers card, although this would have been shown earlier in the journey to the initiate at the stage of Yesod, as the path stretches across their view from that point, looking up the middle pillar. The Lovers is a symbol of the mystic marriage, that of the feminine aspect of the divine, the Shekinah and the male aspect of the divine, the Messiah. It is a second birth of spiritual consciousness, a regeneration of our soul as we draw together all the parts of our personality for redemption.

  Above Hod is the Hanged Man, the closed path to Geburah and one of the most variant of images in Waite’s work (and in some versions of the Golden Dawn) in its symbolism. Whilst often depicted as a literal hanging man, the image can
also be a drowned or sleeping giant; the symbolism of the divine hidden within all manifest nature. This is barely intimated by the halo in the Waite-Smith Tarot, and Waite plays his most coy in Pictorial Key with his notes that it “is a card of profound significance, but all the signification is veiled”, and that in other (false) interpretations, “we may exhaust all published interpretations and find only vanity”.[32]

  We encounter this sleeping figure later in the journey on the path of Teth, the Last Judgement, where he is awakened within us and seen to be the Divine in the Universe and our very soul, but here he is asleep, the signal drowned in noise.

  Waite writes of this image as “immanency” which is a fundamental concept in Kabbalah, in addition to the concepts of emanation and to some extent, exemplarism. The divine is not seen as some distant entity but present in all things in different graduation, so all things are examples of the divine. This is seen in the lessons of each path as we progress up the Tree; that each teaches us of the nature of the divine in the unknowable Sephiroth, so we can learn and align those lessons to our life, ultimately removing the illusionary separation between ourselves and the divine.

  This is the outward expression of the inner realisation of Tiphareth, so we do not yet comprehend it and pass from Hod to Netzach. It is only later that we look from Geburah, the House of Death and see the true nature of this Resurrection; that when we die spiritually, we become empty to the divine, and only the divine can fulfil us. This realisation of the Hanged Man is what takes us across the path of the Last Judgement.

  4. Netzach

  During the work of this grade in the journey of re-birth, Waite considers that we govern ourselves under the rule of “purified will”. As he also sees Christ as representing the prototypical adept within the initiate, this will is one which is aligned to our role as mediator of the divine. Out of Netzach to Tiphareth stretches the path of Nun, to which the Sun card corresponds, but we are not able to enter Tiphareth along this way, says Waite, following the Golden Dawn ritual initiation sequence.