The Tarot of Eli, LLC:- Major Arcana: Thoth Tarot- ATU 11-Lust & Tarot Illuminati-Key 8-Strength

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This card represents the powerful purpose of androgynous being, with the Grail held high, filled with the "Scarlett womb" energy that is the primal force of Life and known as Mother's Blood. The Priestess (key 2) is seen riding the Lust for life that is all around us, through us and is us. By tradition, the principle deities associated with this card are: Demeter and Astarte born by lions, Venus representing the volcanic fire, Babylon the Great and the Beast of the book of Revelations. All of whom are associated with the power of the Female to arouse, harness and direct the animal nature. The imagery of a naked almost swooning female astride a 7 headed beast, all serpent tailed and ferocious is often still shocking to some people. There are prison systems that don't allow inmates to have this card in their Thoth Tarot decks, as it is considered pornographic. (?) Truth be told, this is one of the most beautiful and provocative of the Major Arcana, maybe even the entire deck. She exemplifies Crowley's visionary and initiatory experiences that are chronicled in The Vision and The Voice, particularly his vision of the 12th Æther.

The anima, and animus of Earth, are the many faces of life that all are under the leadership of the Scarlet/Active Goddess. This is the universal principle of Passion, awareness and aliveness! This is self-esteem, and the courage necessary to acknowledge the inner convictions so necessary to manifest as the Passionate Creative-Self. In all of us is this irresistible strength of Earth; this Divine Frenzy drives us beyond the fears of the flesh back into the ecstatic dissolution of all that we are, into the Universal Self of "Godhead" (Universal Collective Unconscious). This lust to reach this level of Higher Consciousness, that is so profoundly high, that only the deity's self-universal consciousness is higher(Kether-Chokmah-Binah). Our dissolution into the infinite is the ultimate marriage. The Scarlet woman lust's for the moment when all her children return to her and someday all her children will lust to return to her.0=2 and then lusts to become 2=0. From chaos all is born and to chaos all will return. This is the 2nd law of thermodynamics, All things proceed from order to disorder.

For centuries the symbol of the Virgin, the Grail, was a pure vessel and the supreme ideal of Female in spirit. In Western culture this Virgin is a wonderful symbol of Spiritual descent into matter. However, the image of Babalon (Crowley's spelling) concerns the reabsorption of all evolving life and consciousness into Binah, the Supernal Female.

However, in most of us, we are divided against ourselves and devote the creative power of lust to "good and bad" creativity of Self -Identity, often devoting more to creative fear that creative expansion and thereby, locking our souls to earth bound expressions. Resulting in division of forces that make us unable to call upon the inner power that cleaves us from our chains of fear based self-imposed slavery and return us to the Source.

We are Divinity dancing as the active children of the Divine Creative, whose self-expression is "Being"; I AM ME.

When this card falls in a reading, it means that you are in union with or you should be listening to the passionate roar of I Am that resides in your very essence of soul in order to find the bliss within that radiates you as it’s very creative and unashamed self. We live now! We are not to be "wanna-be's" who are the faux life of the past, hoping for a pretend future, and therefore, not living the truth of today's passionate expression of I Am Me! Our definition belongs to no one, not our environment, not our parents, not our rulers and not our theologians –our definition belongs only to our passionate creative self as the Divine grant of “freedom of choice”. Divinity gave you the right to define yourself as an image of the Supreme Child (Qabalah tree of life Adam/Eve Khadmond). Peer pressure is not your definition!

To those of magic, lust is not obsession with the opposite sex. It is obsession with being Self. It is the luster of Will- that ejaculated this universe of self into self- manifestation in the womb of “To Be”. It is the indivisible creative strength of I Am Me that radiates through us, outward, as a sun of creative passion that restores life in the dead. Therefore even in the most mundane indolence, we can dance!

-Eli Serabeth, the class text: Enfleshenment

We see in this card the universal myth known as "beauty and the beast". This key represents the beauty (Tiphareth on the Qabalistic Tree of Life) that is represented in all of us as combinations of talent, gifts, and creative resources which can quell our bestial natures. When our heart, mind and spirit are in a balanced combination of movement and repose--we manifest divine beauty. The multi-headed lion represents the beasts within which Beauty has tamed to do her creative biding, the Saints in us all. She expands and liberates the living from their past bonds of survival thinking onward to greater achievements of courageous creation. For it is the experiences of those who have succeeded to elevate their thinking to that of the higher states of non possessive love, that have contributed to the evolution of Self -Awareness. "All that I see is another way to be me".

I AM One Energy, One Life, and One Love in many self reflections.

Lust comes from the root word Lustre which is radiance. We cannot shine if we are not in our strength. Fear of our "beasts within" steadily weakens us until we cannot radiate our purpose on this earth. Beauty created us to radiate ourselves into the movement of life! We all have much more purpose than we can see! Strength and Lustre are inseparable partners in creation. This can easily be seen as a soft and spongy mushroom pushes through hard concrete as if it was mere soggy tissue paper. In all of us is this quiet manifestation of strength.

The Thoth LUST card, ATU-11, replaces the STRENGTH, card which is Key-8 in the traditional tarot decks. Strength is key 11 in the Golden Dawn and Rider-Waite-Smith, B,O,T,A, Spiral Tarot and Manara Tarot Decks. So it may be confusing when Crowley places it in the Path of Teth, which is normally called STRENGTH-Key 8. As I stated, I agree with Aleister Crowley's expansion of the STRENGTH card, into the LUST card, because it is the Passionate Vital Force of Universal Construction, "the motion within the movement" of everything. Lust is the Passionate expression of the- I AM as Two, the I-phallus and the Am-womb, who then Join to become One Passion that creates all, i.e... The Active and Passive force of Kundalini, and/or of the Lion-Serpent. It can also be called "Serpent theory" instead of the Quantum Physics "String Theory", where every particle has a serpentine string of active and passive energy with in it. In other words, there is within all, vibratory strings of Vital Fiery strong atomic Force. Thus, Lust, where active and passive forces come together, seems a more appropriate understanding of the underlying "motion" of Life.

The Kundalini, or Fiery Lion Serpent (Holy Serpent shown a the tail of the Lust Beast) is the vital aspect of Solar Life Force, which in manifestation, is duality of passivity and activity. Kundalini is known as the Sacred Fire, when in its active phase, purposely unleashed by Will and propelling us back to the Source.

Again, this is a very powerful path and those of sensitive psyche, will be profoundly affected. One must appreciate the fact, that this Path of Teth, Lust Card, is a statement of methodology; whereby the Will controls the Vital Life Energy. We must also remember, that the word Power, means "the ability to do work" and our body, if loved as a master Craftsman loves and adores one's favorite-tools, gives us Will - to-Power in this dimension of crystallized energy; a power to weave our very own Vital Life Force into masterpieces of movement and repose! So let us all ride the “Lion Serpent” or Inner Dragon, with the powerful presence of loving control and shameless presence! This is the Divine Frenzy that obliterated one and split into two and the inner movement to return to One.

Self-annihilation is also the process of becoming One, Force and Form, who then become One Dragonish expression of Frenzy and Form, when the Red-Babalon (Crowley’s spelling for purposes of Gematria) unites with the Golden Fiery Force of the Solar Husband, the offspring are Beautiful.

Skry the Lust card only after you are capable of holding one thought or image focus during an entire meditation! Any Psyche that Touches the Lust OF The Great Father/Mother, will be profoundly charged, changed, and expanded beyond comfortable perspectives; all of which can be dangerous to our delicate denial based egos.This requires a focused willful spiritual intelligence, and not some mad Hatter type of personality, that can't even control its own thought.

In other words, one must be diligently trained in channeling higher and higher vibratory levels of Vital Life Force, before they "Ride the Lion-Serpent". One must become the lover of vigorous motion, that is why A. Crowley calls the Traditional Strength card Lust (Love of Vigor). When invoking the Kundalini a great amount of caution is called for, as even the "little lust" of the manifested (Microcosm) seems to be beyond the cultural ego's control, as every politicians "secret life" of greed and sexual conquest will show. It is not hard to imagine, what the Macrocosmic Lust would do to such a weak psyche... but then again, we have examples in Adolf Hitler, etc., where lust becomes a vigorous if not, violent form of masturbation.

Lust represents a very important initiatory formula dealing with Serpent Power. This Spiraling Power is the Force that opens, stimulates or spools up all the Chakras (energy centers) in the Human body. The Principles embedded in the Lust Card, tell us how to use this power. This is a "Divine Frenzy" which when stated alchemically becomes; “the heat of the furnace makes the Stone" or if religious; “inflame thyself with Prayer". The Heat applied, is the Great Passion of vigorous motion, incurring some friction in the confines of a condensed magnetic field that is the human. This Heat or burning is experienced often in Tantric exercises, or the exercise of the Middle Pillar (Aleister Crowley's book, 777), all of which I recommend the interested party research...because the eventual purpose of this Vigorous Serpentine Energy flow is to "Return to its Source"!

Crowley's imagery may shock some, as he presents the Whore of Babylon, taming the Lion-Serpent but then he understood that the epitome of virginity (sign of Virgo), was the Sacred Virgins of the Temples, before Christianity, made them "evil women" or Saints, of which both perspectives were confusingly applied. The Christian word 'Whore" is a bastardization of the Greek word, Hetacrate, meaning female companion. Something more for the diligent student to investigate!

The maiden and the Beast.

The Tarot Illuminati-Key 8-, depicts a beautiful maiden hugging a great lion (beast) in an expression of gentleness and love. This ornate and beautifully rich card, embellished with images of fertile creation, and the rising energy of "the Kundalini Serpent" coming off of her right hand, flowing upward, into the symbol of the infinite (lemniscus "ribbon") which is the O that equals 2 and ending in the serpent's enlightened head.

It has been commonly taught to destroy or cage one's libido, one's beast within, so that we can become free of passion and therefore, free of "Sin". This thought is very "upside down" thinking. To destroy that powerful passion to be within, destroys a part of one's vigorous self. It isn't to be caged, locked away nor destroyed, for then one becomes less, not more. It is to be nurtured with love and respect, taming that power and great strength, so one doesn't destroy their own courage and ability to take risks. For these bodies, are evolved from great predators, and we all have the DNA of earth and the Stars and therefore, animal and Sun. My Flaming Spiritual Sun of God, didn't come down to earth to slay the animal, the Prince Beast of Earth. Rather, to grant it access to the Divine Creative, the Great I AM. That Sun/Son Self is represented as the 6th Sephiroth of Tiphareth-The Solar Self that is Beauty and my Beast is my most beloved partner. There is no "conflict within" but just loving play and cuddling peace, sublime courage and vigorous movement towards Divine Inheritance. I Am Me.

When the Lust/Strength card is thrown during a reading:

• It means the querent is relying on spiritual powers to manage the situation at hand and is receiving the strength to overcome. 
• Following one’s own inner light, doing what their "heart of heart".
• Inner -self, says it is right.
• There can be an experiencing of a "gut level" driving force, instinctual. And compelling for protection or survival.
• Also, possessing the courage of one's convictions.
•  The strength of Passion, in the Higher Nature, which are dragon like power, courage, energy, action and magnanimity.
• One is experiencing the Law of Self-Domination, self-rule and self-control

• This card represents the querent’s' passion, awareness, and aliveness
• A symbol that you have a strong faith in your abilities. You have no qualms about relying on the spiritual powers within in order to handle the situation at hand.
•  In other words you radiate your inner beauty.
• Strength in kindness.
• Acknowledging  and welcoming the libedo and passions. 

If ill defined by surrounding cards:

• Weakness. 
• Lack of fulfillment.
• Aggressive perversion and addiction as a result of repressed instincts.
• Depression.

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