The Tarot of Eli, LLC-Major Arcana: The Thoth Tarot- ATU 4-The Emperor & Tarot of Druids-Key 4-Dagda

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The Emperor-ATU 4 is the Path of Heh that runs between Tiphareth (Beauty-the Solar Logos) to Chokmah (Wisdom-Lesser Creator who rules over manifestation) and is known as the Constituting Intelligence (Dr.Paul Foster Case). You may have noticed the Hebrew letter Tzadde at the bottom left of the Thoth Emperor card, this is an error, a mixing up the Star card with the Emperor card. The letter Tzadde, meaning "hook", should be on the Star Card, for it hooks our personality with the above of the Greater Self, while the Emperor, is a "window", the meaning of Heh, to the One.

In the Sepher Yetzirah (Qabalistic text) the letter Heh is a simple word meaning, sight. This is well represented in THE EMPEROR, since he is the "Fiery Aspect of the Garden of Eden" of which the Higher Self relates as a Self-observation of the One. It is the first path that is attributed to a function, suggesting that sight is the first of the senses, as Aries, the sign attributed to the Emperor, is the first sign of the Zodiac. This Path of Heh, THE EMPEROR, is what I call the First "I" sight, while the EMPRESS is the "Am" of understanding (an inner sight I call a "Womb with a view")...Together they are the "I AM", the Counter Sexuality of the One Mind/Energy. Pursuant to the garden theme, it is time to note that Crowley poses and interchange of The Emperor with the Star which myself and most Western Qabalistic Scholars see as a mistake. As stated, The Emperor is "the fiery aspect of the Garden of Eden", to which the Higher Self relates, while The Star is the Eden of Personality which connects the above and below. Each unto itself is a specific pristine point where consciousness can look both forward and back upon itself. Hence, sight is attributed to Heh, which is the Self -observation of the 1. Being that it is the 1st path of which sensation and/or sensory function which is attributed in the Qabalistic Text- Sepher Yetzirah, implying that sight is the first of the senses as Aries/Emperor is the first house in the Zodiac sequence. Therefore, as the first sign, Aries/Emperor, emerges directly from the 2nd Sephiroth- Chokmah, The Sphere of the Zodiac. Therefore, the Constituting Intelligence/Emperor is understood as the first phase of a natural cycle. All in all, the letter Tzadeh (Tzadde) which is errantly applied to The Emperor in the Thoth Tarot, should be applied to The Star, and the letter Heh (He), applied to the Emperor. This may confuse the student who uses a Qabalistic Tree diagram where the error of placement that is Tzadde as Emperor and Heh as Star are used. This is because they haven't discovered the error yet.

Because of our Divine Inheritance from the Union of the Demiurge (Lesser Creator-Chokmah) and the Great Mother (Binah-Female aspect of the Demiurge) we are all the "Shades" of the One Self-Consciousness. Modern psychology has called these Shades of Higher Consciousness, the Unconscious, Consciousness, and the Subconscious which just about every elementary school child has heard of and often mixies up. However, hearing of a thing is not knowing the thing. Because of the evolution of subjective thought, from Mythology, to fundamental Religions, and now to the modern science of Psychology, we are beginning to easily deal with the shades of higher consciousness within ourselves and are experiencing a New Age (The Age of Aquarius) of enlightenment. The Self-Consciousness is a "child of the Universal Collective Unconscious", the Unconscious being the place of dreams and phantoms, while the subconscious is the body's animal mind of instinct and survival thinking.

The Higher we realize ourselves in consciousness or on the Self Tapestry of the Tree of Life, the more the student understands that the Trump or Cards of the Major Arcana, only point the way towards understanding concepts that the brain cannot otherwise grasp.

By beginning to understand the next Five Trumps/Paths, [THE EMPEROR, THE EMPRESS, THE HIGH PRIESTESS, THE MAGUS, THE FOOL], the initiate will be developing the consciousness of the Horus----the 22nd century human and/or "the heavenly human" which in Qabalah is called Adam Khadmon.

Because of Modern Physics, we know that there is only One Energy that cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed, and the student of the Tarot knows that all the 78 cards of the Tarot deck represent Transformations of the One/The Fool. From the One, emergence the opposites, which are activating the formative, Male (Electric) and Female (Magnetic) communion. Therefore, it is accurate to state that all Male figures are Chokmah (Jah) and Binah (YHVH Elohim) is that of all female. The robes they wear, represent tie different planes and/or dimensions of our mufti-verse, which are actually vibratory rate that are either Force (male) Kether or Form (Female) Binah, and/or their intertwining of vibration (The Divine Union of Goddess/God) that makes all things possible.

The Qabalist knows that the "Big Bang" came from what is the Source of Will and Energy, Kether, thus the ejaculation of Energy, making the Kether male (Male is not a sex here, but an action). The One became Two, Androgynous, when I became united with Am, which is known as Chokmah and Binah, which should be stated Chokmah/Binah, just as Yin/Yang or Time/Space are known to be inseparable and established at the same moment. Hence, with some authority we can say that the “I “is male and the “Am” is female, for one is Wisdom (Chokmah) and the latter is Understanding (Binah)...and we can't experience one without the other!

In the Tarot, THE FOOL represents the One Energy, THE MAGUS and the PRIESTESS, are the Macrocosm into Microcosmic, first differentiation of Male and Female energy polarity. Pure Consciousness, known as the "root of Water" is represented by the PRIESTESS and her consort, THE MAGUS, is considered psychologically as the Will. Thus the term I Am, is understood as the intercourse of will and understanding . Like I've said before, it's your Real name, for every self thought begins with "I AM...".

The mating of the PRIESTESS, to the MAGUS, is described in Robert Wang's book: THE QABALISTIC TAROT as, ".... the activity of the directing Will of the One on the Great Ocean of undifferentiated consciousness which It has Itself projected” [Big Bang] ( The bracketed words are my own). Here we think of the reflexive qualities of God; God creates, idea/thought, then the mind/understanding to hold that thought. Thus we have the concept of the Universe as a Mirror, where everything is the perception and reflected activity of the Divine Spirit/Divine Creative on its Dark Energy/ Matter Self, a process which the various and varying symbols of the Tarot are attempting to suggest.

The reason Crowley has positioned THE EMPEROR, so that the body forms a triangle and a cross, is because he is representing the alchemical symbol of Sulfur. This representation is because of the Alchemical explanation of the Divine-Self Interaction in terms of Sulfur, Salt and Mercury. In Tarot, Mercury is THE MAGUS, THE EMPRESS is Salt, and THE EMPEROR is sulfur. This may seem as little more than obscure abstraction: However, when we consider that THE MAGUS, (Philosophic Mercury) acts upon THE PRIESTESS (Pure Consciousness) and by that Union they are transformed into THE EMPEROR (Sulfur) and THE EMPRESS (Salt), we are actually considering the quite basic attributes of our own consciousness.

THE EMPRESS is on a Path of Daleth (meaning door) which is above the Path of THE EMPEROR, simply because without her manifestation of form, he would have nothing to rule. On the Path of Heh, the Emperor is a transformation of the MAGUS (Will). Basically, when we are classifying images according to color, subject, measurement or other criterion, we are calling THE EMPEROR into play. As does THE EMPEROR, we are acting upon form via perspective/observation. Another way to see this exercise of rule, is that if the Unconscious (mind of the Empress) didn't send up form from its depths, as a stream of images to be classified by the differentiating exercise of reason, Will would have nothing to control or transform. Thus THE EMPEROR, albeit a potent masculine force, functions as determined by THE EMPRESS. Hence, he is always "looking at her".

As I have stated, THE EMPEROR, is the Path of Heh and its function is determined by Binah who is pure fruition. The Path of Heh, is a formative path of rational and classifying activities. The Thoth Card’s bright Red color is that of Binah (The Great Mother) in the World of Pure Spirit

known as Atziluth. Albeit, the male and female forces are seen as more interwoven in the lower levels as we go down the Tree of Life, the assumption that Chokmah and Binah are the only "Pure" states of Male and Female force is in error; As Chokmah(Wisdom), meaning the primary quality of maleness, is a female noun in Hebrew. Taking the point of view that whatever gives birth is exercising a primary female quality at the moment of birth, then all that is inherent in the male is inherent in the female and visa versa. We can mentally see this by understanding that the Creation of Chokmah, gave simultaneous birth to maleness, and femaleness. 

The students of Carl Jung know that he stated the "male harbors the perfect female image in his unconscious, as the female harbors the perfect male image in her." unconscious", these being the "counter sexual component" necessary for the transformation of force and form. Jung also called the "counter-sexual components", the Anima (female) in males and the Animus (Male) male in females. The Anima, means soul in Latin and the Animus is Latin for spirit, we than can understand that the Soul is the enclosure of Spirit. Thus we can see that THE EMPRESS is Anima/Soul/ Water/ Understanding and THE EMPEROR is Animus/Spirit/Fire/Will, making the perfectly developed male type on the Paths THE EMPEROR and the perfectly developed female type, THE EMPRESS. These are the pure intelligent forces that we meet and actually converse with on the Paths. If we think of the One as a Human Brain, albeit a simplistic comparison of a reflection to the one reflected, then one has become two in the brain, female left and male right in One Intelligent collective organism. The Tree of Life on the Path of Heh bespeaks such a union.For he is a window whose sight is focused on her.

Since the Sun of Tiphareth-the 6th Sephiroth and our Soul/Psyche, is in the sign of Aries, which is the sign of This Path, indicates that THE EMPEROR exercises some control over the solar forces of the Higher Self. For only after Tiphareth are Forms measured out.

Thus, we have the term Constituting Intelligence meaning that THE EMPEROR assists in the building up of Light of Tiphareth, as a measurement for formation from the utter-darkness of Limitless Light of the Supernal Triangle.. This Path of Heh, could also be considered as the "start of Time" in infinity. In the Thoth card, this importance of Tiphareth to THE EMPEROR is illustrated by the Sun behind his head and the overall two colored scheme of Martian reds and Sun yellows. These two colors also suggest a furious/"divine frenzied" rush of often short-lived activity. The image of a lamb and flag, suggests the docile ram whose power has been distributed throughout the bureaucracy of the state. Crowley's theory on government.

All this contributes to the understanding that the Constituting Intelligence is the first phase of a natural cycle, such as Aries bringing forth Spring. This understanding is shown as the lamb at the Emperor's feet and the Ram headed wand. Paternal Power is shown by the bees and Fleur de Lys. The two headed Eagle in front of a crimson disc that is on the Emperor's shield, symbolizes the Alchemist's red tincture related to the Sun and Gold. There is a similar eagle on THE EMPRESS card that refers to the Moon and Silver.

The Tarot of Druids-key IV (4)-Dagda, is a amusing caricature of the Celtic God whose club can cause death or restore life. Here his club seems to be a hammer. He is also leaning against the Cauldron of Gunstrup, a Celtic or Teutonic"Holy Graäl". Implying he is "leaning on the goddess" and/or is being supported by the Divine Feminine.

Dagda, (Celtic: “Good God”)also called Eochaid Ollathair (“Eochaid the All-Father”), or In Ruad Ro-fhessa (“Red [or Mighty] One of Great Wisdom”), in Celtic religion, one of the leaders of a mythological Irish people, the Tuatha Dé Danann (“People of the Goddess Danu”).

www.britannica.com/topic/Dagda

As you can read, he is the Celtic Concept of Father God, as is the Emperor card. Hence, the divinatory meanings are the same.

When THE EMPEROR or DAGDA card is thrown during a reading it emphasizes:

• The Principle of Personal Power and Leadership.
• Building a pure base of Knowledge while remaining open minded.
•  Pointing towards success, authority, stability and ambition in gain or achievement.
•  Self-realization of Life Force and Personal Power.
• Safety, 
• Achievement of personal goals. 
• The need for protection.
• Mind over nature.
• Sense of responsibility.

If ill-defined by attending cards:

• The querent is up against an authoritative boss.
• High handedness.
• Perfectionism.
• Cleverness without intuition.
• Rationality as a prison.

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