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Thoth- ATU XX-The Aeon
The Spirit of Primal Fire.
The Universal Key of good judgment that is utilized in both personal and professional situations.
Triple Goddess Tarot- Key 20-Judgement
The Thoth Aeon Card depicts Egyptian Goddess Nuit (Nut or Nuith), the dark Sky Goddess as she curves over the Golden Sphere of Hadit, Egyptian God of Wisdom (Chokmah on the Tree of Life) who married Isis, Egyptian Goddess of Intuition (Binah on the Tree of Life). The union of Isis & Osiris gave birth to Horus, the God of Perception, which is seen as the seated god Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Horus) who holds the phoenix wand in his right hand. His left hand is empty. Standing as a transparent essence before Seated Horus is his twin, Hoor-pa-kraat (see the Sun twins), his finger at his lips in the sign of silence. Baring his Horus Lock, his head is shaven and crown with the 2 Uraeus serpents. Below is the Hebrew letter Shin (fire-tooth), filled with 3 floating fetuses. Nuit, her body filled with stars, her breasts alive with the milk of whirling galaxies, makes the sign of Leo; the zodiac Leo represents creative and professional power.
The 3 Aeons, of Isis, Osiris (Hadit), Horus, displayed on the Thoth card reminds us that properly used creativity makes positive impact in both family and professional career. Hoor-pa-kraat, with his finger in his mouth, reflects that wisdom comes from experience; to create, see error and correct it, is the path of wisdom. Hence, Wisdom is not randomly spoken.
The red-winged eye of Horus at the top of the seated figure of this card represents inspired vision that gives us the whole-view of any situation. We should understand that by creating error and correcting that error, we become wise. Therefore, there is no error in Creation, only knowledge is gained by doing; what gets one there and what doesn't get one there are both knowledge. Hence, right and wrong do not exist in Knowledge. Every image is of the One Self, for everything proceeds from a generating idea (self-awareness) which is related to transcendent conception. I (Osiris) Am (Isis) Me (Horus)...is the generating principle of manifestation. We are the Divine Me communicating to the Whole of Spirit (Holy Ghost) as I Am! We need never leave that which we truly love, for all we become truly aware of, we become! Becoming never ends, it is the love process of being! Such is the message of Horus.
The Triple Goddess Tarot-Key 20-Judgment, concentrates on the Traditional Tarot Card of Judgement. Here a feminine figure has passed through the "gates of heaven" after using the "Stairway to Heaven". Here the Golden Sun, (Horus) is shown as an angelic figure of with wings of golden light welcoming the "soul". This is very much a Christian concept of soul judgment after death.
The AEON is much more informative than the Traditional JUDGMENT- Card.
The Twentieth Key
Primary Path color:
Radiant Orange-Scarlet.
Musical Note:
C Natural.
Meaning:
Tooth.
Maternal Letter:
Fire.
Qabalistic/Esoteric Title:
The Spirit of the Primal Fire.
This ATU 20 Card is the 31st Path of Wisdom that is known as The Perpetual Intelligence, because it regulates the motions of the Sun and Moon, each in an order convenient for it. The Path of Shin known as Judgment because it joins the Earth (Malkuth) with Splendor (Hod), the base Sephiroth and completion of the Pillar of Severity (The right side of the Tree of Life --your left if looking at it--forms a Pillar to the top Black circle that is Binah. This is the Pillar of Severity.) . The Earth is now connected to the ultimate expression of Binah (Goddess/Mother) which is the Will to Form that is the activating Path of Intellect while the opposite, The Moon, is a formative Path of emotion. This Judgment, is a process undergone by the Personality as it strives to become conscious of its own inner working. It is perpetual process of monitoring of the Personality toward universal consciousness or what I call "Claiming your Divine Inheritance"and/or "Receiving", which is the meaning of the Word, Qabalah.
The Spiritual fires/powers, invoked by the desire of the path traveling student, slowly burn away that which is deemed unworthy of Divine Inheritance by the redeeming fire; a process that is actually physical and can be associated with the Kundalini Fire of the Root/Muladhara chakra as it rises up the spine towards the Brain. This is the "Splendor of the Material World"(as noted by the Golden Dawn) that points out the relationship of the Path of Shin to the physical body as a state of Resurrection or Rebirth. The Path of Shin is a controlled "Redeeming Fire"; a process that is physically experienced as the higher vibratory Passion of the Primal Will To Be- begins hotly flowing through our bodies. This is a point of delicate balance, and a Teacher of the Mysteries must expect the Students to react in peculiar ways, such as a feeling of heated passion for the Teacher. This is simply a misplaced transference, because the cultural ego, seeks self-gratification when stimulated by a seemingly outside influence. This bright energy is really the beginning of unconditional love radiating within the student whose inner self is responding to the Gnosis (Knowledge).There exists a Love/ Passion dynamic that is the Fire of Spirit acting in sensual flesh and with proper guidance the Student will go into the Fire, instead of trying to control it with outside conditions. I recommend the proven practice of Kundalini Yoga to anyone who aspires to be the Solar Being that they really are. Such is the lesson of Hod, love/passion is not a peacocks splendor, rather it is the Foundation of all Creation. For the personality to know this is a perpetual process of "burning off the unworthy", so that progress can continue, this "burning" is often hard won. Thus the "Splendor of the Material World" is burned away in a kind of fiery-willful physical resurrection, a rebirth of body and personality sending us perpetually towards the Great Mother/Creatrix.
The Path of Shin is where the components of the Personality first encountered in the Moon are critically analyzed and judged (evaluated). It is a bright and fiery probationary path of the intellect while the Moon is the dark, cold and watery probationary path of the emotions. Both are the introduction to the true nature of Self (Greater Self) in incarnation and can thus be extremely difficult as all the fears of the fear based subconscious must be examined and overcome with Wisdom. That is one reason why people are cautioned about "Raising the Kundalini"(primal life force) for it releases the "dragons" of fearfully suppressed identity kept in the dungeons of our lower subconscious. We are our own judgment of self, by our belief in our own identity. How a person perceives themselves to be, becomes their judgment at death.
As seen in the 20-Aeon card, all elements are present on this path, either active or inactive--which is to say expressed (seen-active) or unexpressed (unseen-passive) making these Elemental Paths difficult to understand. Shin contains all four alchemical Elements, Fire, Water, Air and Earth. The evolution of the cosmos is from the subtle (simple) to the most complex; from nothing to something. From simple quanta (sub-atomic massless particles) to complex molecular and cellular structures that have mass. In all things, the whole is implicit in the developing parts.
In the Thoth Tarot, The Aeon, supersedes all earlier concepts of the Key, making the idea of the Judgment card obsolete, by showing the harmonious and spiritual state of human existence which will be on earth in the 22 century (according to Crowley). Crowley saw that the World the Traditional Judgment card was talking about, is spiritual the Age of Osiris. The Spiritual Age of Horus, is depicted on the Thoth Aeon card, as Spiritual Forces that initiated the next Aeon. This is symbolized by the Goddess Nuith, and her consort Hadit (seen as a golden orb of light). Their union births Horus, shown as seated and standing depicting his active and passive forms. Another name for Horus is Heru, which is synonymous with Hru, "The Great Angel set over the Tarot". This card, according to Qabalistic doctrine, also symbolizes the passing of the 500 year period of darkness and trial, preparatory to a new Aeon of Light." There is much more to know, so if you have questions---research is recommended by reading and getting the Book of Thoth, by Master Theron (A. Crowley)
The Aeon, ATU/Key 20, the Path of Shin, is a double letter (Soul)- one meaning Tooth is the part of the letter Shin and the maternal meaning of the Shin is Fire, both the meaning of the Path and the maternal meaning are a powerful combination of transformation. Dr.Paul Foster Case describes the Path of Shin, as, “The Perpetual Intelligence", because it is a continuous monitoring Intelligence of the progress of the Personality toward Universal Consciousness. This monitoring is by the Golden Child and/or our Soul (Tiphareth-the Sun) who is Horus.
Now I have often called the One Mind, The Universal Collective Conscious, not merely consciousness, simply because a consciousness is more often understood as a microcosmic reality; However, if we release our consciousness to the Universal Conscious Energy, we have developed a Consciousness that bridges the Macrocosm and Microcosm forming a Whole Self/Mind that is personally Self-Aware! We have then successfully become the Horus, the 22nd century human evolution! That is the reasoning behind Crowley's replacing the old Judgment card with the newer Aeon card.
This resurrection paradigm of the new Aeon, is based on the developments of the opposite card to this progressive Path of Shin, A path that is THE MOON - ATU/Key 18, relating to the disciplined quest for a greater reality, that actually changes the physiological form. In other words, the balanced Energetic forces of both Shin and Qoph (the Moon) stimulate the rebirth of our bodies that necessitates a physiological rebuild, necessary to handle the higher vibratory states of the Higher Consciousness and the One Emotion that is Love without conditions. This is a process that Dr. Paul Foster Case described, as building a "Master's Body"; a body, where the Primal Vital Life Force of Kundalini is flowing, uncoiled and hot, without emotionally adverse effects.
These introductory Paths to the True Nature of Self in incarnation, are usually extremely difficult to travel, because these Elemental Paths of which The Aeon, The Fool, and The Hanged Man are known, are very difficult to understand. This mental difficulty is because all of the Elements are present on each Path in either repressed or expressed form. For example, the pattern of maternal letters (form producing intelligence) as stated in the Qabalistic text, Sepher Yetzirah that Air (Gases-Mind) produces Water (emotions) which produces Fire which we know to be true by studying physics. THE FOOL-0, is pure Air. THE HANGED MAN-KEY 12, is Air acted upon by Water, and THE AEON- Key- 20, is Air and Water acted upon by Fire within the human body. It pays to note, that the human body is the Crucible of Spiritual Alchemy. On the Path of Shin, the Consciousness (Water) is activated by the Dynamic Principle (Fire) in the presence of equilibrating Spirit (Air) with in the physical vehicle (Earth), all of which produces a balance of intelligence forces in the individual, necessary for total understanding of the Personality structure and its relationship to the Greater Self.
Many Qabalists know the Middle Pillar, the straight alignment of Malkuth, Yesod, Tiphareth and Kether, is the pillar of balance, yet the Path of Shin, is Left hand Path, or the left side Pillar of Severity and is usually subject to imbalance. The answer to this seeming quandary is that every symbol, represented on these Path cards, is a duality, containing its own opposite. Each Path must contain the essential components of its opposite Path, as energy moves from positive to negative, male to female, electric to magnetic. Upon viewing Hod (Splendor) you will see that it is connected or conjoined with Netzach. Hod is related to The Aeon, and Netzach is related to The Moon, showing that intelligence applied without feeling is as pathological as feeling applied without intellect. And since the Cards represent a kind of intellect/conscious energy, everything we experience, every idea, every activity, co-exists in us with its opposite.
There are so many concepts to grasp in the Major Arcana, that the student may feel overwhelmed. Luckily, the images on the Cards are pictorial representation of the visual experiences of the Paths opening up a great deal of learning and data by meditating on or skrying them. These Qabalistic Images have been carefully assembled over the centuries by the experienced mental work of highly advanced women and men, who have at first traveled these inner Archetypal Roads and then meticulously laid down, in image, the details to assist latter generations.
It often is the shortcoming of most students who begin these astral (interdimensional Conscious paths), that at once encountering theses Tarot constructs, believing that they have a reality of their own. The Qabalistic Teacher must explain that only when the student is able to go beyond the lower Astral of the Subconsciousness, is it where one touches upon realities that activate the symbols, i.e. "open the Gates" to greater Consciousness. For instance, while traveling the Path of Shin, one may at first experience what is illustrated on the Aeon Card. Diligent skrying, will soon project our consciousness beyond the visual construct into a understanding that the Path is the enervating, activating effect of the Cosmic Motive Principle on the individual consciousness. That is to say, that on the Path of Shin, the Fiery Spirit (Kundalini) permeates the Personality of the individual, in the descent of Energy into Matter. Thus, the last illusions of personality separateness is burned away (Bye bye dark cold Moon, Hello brilliant, bright and Warm Sun!).
The Tree of Life is as the Universe, if we have learned any physics at all, we know that from the simplest concept, came all the complexity that is the Cosmos. In the Big Bang theory, a singularity, which came from nothing (Dark energy and Dark Matter), exploded outward, and became many. This is also a concept easily seen in the development of the human body, as a single celled zygote, divides into hundreds of thousands of cells ultimately ending up as a human body. In the Tarot, The Fool, is the ultimate simplicity and The Universe is representative of the ultimate complexity and yet all the Cards are implicit, unexpressed in The Fool. Therefore, in all the cards in-between we find the balance between what is expressed or unexpressed. I am ending this discussion of simplicity into complexity, with the understanding that The Aeon, The Universe and The Moon are aspects of our individual waking consciousness that comprises a sensual personality while also representing stages of Self -Awareness that transpires through intimacy with all that is Self.
It should be noted, that the patterns of the cards will be totally meaningless, unless the student understands what is symbolized by the four alchemical "Elements" and/or Elemental Forces that every Qabalistic symbol represents a specific part of the Whole Self. Further understanding of The Aeon or Path of Shin, is in its meaning, "Tooth", which suggests hardness, sharpness and/or biting. It is often interpreted as the teeth which chew prior to the ingestion of energy into the system--in this case the Kundalini is released and chews up the divided personality, by dealing a final bite to the perception of a separate and individual physical self, leaving the original Persona which is Child of the Divine Creative producing a continual and transformational process of "Above all things, Know thyself".
The word Stele, may confuse so let me explain: A stele, or occasionally stela, when derived from Latin, is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both. These may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted (Wikipedia).
As I have lightly mentioned Crowley's Aeon card departs completely from the traditional Cards of the Ryder-Waite or Golden Dawn Tarot decks. The Aeon card is illustrative of Crowley's personal philosophy derived from The Book of Law, which he stated was revealed to him, thus forming the core of his teachings. He called the Aeon Card the Stele of Revealing. In his explanation of the Aeon, he claimed it superseded all traditional concepts of the Key (Judgment Card) because it shows the harmonious, spiritual state of human existence that will reside on this earth in the mid-twenty second century. This advanced human condition is illustrated by the Dark Sky Goddess Nuith arching over her consort, Hadit, who is the Golden Orb of Light. Their Union produces Horus, as shown both seated and standing, his passive and active forms. Crowley states that another name for Horus is Heru, which is synonymous with Hru, which he calls "The Great Angel set over the Tarot".
Consistently, Qabalistic doctrine is a system of Gnosis (Knowledge) that evolves with the races of mankind, we have passed into the predicted 500 year period of extreme darkness and trial, preparatory to a new Aeon of Light. Thus, we have the letter Shin below the Standing Horus, in a flowery form and the Three Yods, each have an internal human shape that is arising to partake of the Light of the coming Aeon. Naturally the study of The Book of Law is recommended to further the understanding of this card of the new Aeon. However, Horus is the "Heavenly Human" and/or the Qabalistic Adam Khadmon, the "Divine Hermaphrodite", within you.
When the Aeon-ATU/Key 20, card is thrown during a reading:
- It states that a final decision has been reached.
- A matter has been determined without appeal on its plane.
- The final decision has been made, and a new state of enlightenment is beginning.
- Birth, renewal, awakening.
- Cosmic awakening.
- Birth of the new.
- Recognition of the great correlations
- Expanded perception.
- Liberation of previously concealed abilities.
If ill defined by the surrounding cards, it implies:
- False identification of self.
- Self -delusion.
- Megalomania.
- Resisting change.
