The Tarot of Eli, LLC-Minor Arcana: Thoth Tarot- 7 of Swords-Futility & The Declarative Tarot -No.7 -Layers of the Mind-Ineffectual.

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Above all things, know thyself!

#7. Living from that will, supported by its unfailing wisdom and understanding, mine is the victorious life.

The Thoth 7 of Swords card represents the sabotaging mind where you know what you want symbolized by the central sword and then go about defining the reasons why you can't obtain it, as shown by the 6 swords surrounding the central one. This is the "yes-but..." mind that often keeps us from making our dreams work.

Astrologically the 7 of Swords is Moon and Sun in Aquarius; the circle with a dot in the center on the hilt is a symbol of the Sun, the above Crescent is the Moon and the wavy lines at the bottom of the card are Aquarius. Each of the 6 swords of procrastination bear a planetary sign on the hilt for the 6 ways we sabotage ourselves:

1. The yes-but aspect of Saturn is telling us there is too much red-tape or it's too complicated.

2. Another Sword has on the handle the symbol of Mercury which is about the negative communication of subconscious origin such as “I can't... I wish I'd a ...If only..." all negative reasons why "it won't work".

3. Another sword handle bears the planetary sign of Jupiter; the planet that symbolizes flexibility and expansion. The negative self-talk of Jupiter is “it’s too limiting and constricted" or” I am not lucky" or "I am not talented enough".

4. Another sword sports the planetary sign of Mars. Positively Mars is a sign of dynamic energy, vitality, and assertion but the negative side of Mars is " I don't have the energy to...I am burnt out...it's dull and boring etc.".

5. Another sword handle is adorned with the sign of Venus; the planet of Love. The Venusian negatives would be wrapped in denial;" I really don't care...It doesn't mean anything to me anyway..."

6. Then there is the final sword whose handle supports the double loops which represent the Sun and the Moon, the negatives of which are consciously and subconsciously implying that you are sabotaging yourself out of doing what it is that you want to do. In other words, you are caught in "wanna-be-ism" which is a vicious cycle of mental inferiority. You devote much time to fantasy, but no time in achieving it.

Netzach is the 7th Sephiroth, Victory, and governs Love, feelings, and instincts. It is the Group Mind of humanity, influencing Nature and the Arts. As quoted from the Texts of the Golden Dawn:

"The beams of Chesed and Geburah meet in Netzach and thence in Netzach arises a green, pure, brilliant, liquid, and gleaming like an emerald. And the Sphere of its operations is that of Nogah or External Splendor, producing zeal, love, harmony, and it ruleth the Sphere of Action of the Planet Venus and the nature of the Vegetable World. And Jehovah Tzabaoth is a God of Hosts and of Armies, of Triumph and of Victory, ruling the universe in Justice and Eternity. And its Archangel Hanial, is the Prince of Love and Harmony, and the Name of the Order of Angels is Elohim, or Gods who are also called the Order of Principalities."

This quote makes Netzach seem invincible; However, the Thoth 7 of Swords, is called Futility or Lord of Unstable Effort. Here, the Moon is in Aquarius which indicates sociability, and religious inclinations. However, there is the fact that the Moon is less fluid and less changeable here than in other positions. Therefore, the balanced flow of Aquarius is interrupted making the balance precarious and easily upset. One must not forget Netzach is the placement of the Elohim Malachim, (elemental messengers of the Divine) and the placement of the Subconscious instinctual mind which is subject to fears as it is a survival mind.

This is Netzach in Yetzirah, influencing the Astral-Formative World of the Mind. Netzach, is that green Sephiroth on the lower illustrated Tree of Life. This green color is not only because of Venus being the Nature of the vegetable world but also because the metal attributed to Venus is copper. Copper is noted for its internal corruption called a "patina" and/or verdigris, which is a green discoloration that appears on copper overtime. Also, attributed to Venus, the planet of Netzach, are Love, feelings and instinct, the Group Mind, Nature, and the Arts, which all radiate from this Sephiroth. Netzach is also the lower form of the fiery Yod of Chokmah that is reflected from Geburah through Tiphareth. This is the formula for Yod Heh Vau Heh (YHVH), Malkuth being the final Heh, because of the "fall" which is really a condensing or "coagulation" of self that is necessary to create sensual intimacy. Hence, Malkuth is likened to a clotted energy, rather than the full flowing flexible Energy that we are all Beings of. Images of God, simply mean we are Gods (Demiurges)who own a human body, not bodies looking for gods. Or if it makes you more comfortable, Souls who operate a human, rather than a human looking for a soul.

The symbols for Netzach, that are used in Western Magic and Tarot are:

1. The Medieval Girdle.

2. The Rose.

#. The oil lamp.

Netzach is the first Sephiroth of the astral-Formative triangle and is the first energy intelligence to make up the personality of the individual. You may remember that I stated that the Personality is made up of the Four Alchemical Elements, each of which are represented by the lower Sephira, in the familiar sequence of Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Netzach is Fire (Will-energy), Hod is Water (Emotion-intuition), Yesod is Air (intelligence-Mind) and Malkuth is Earth (Body).

In Netzach, normal waking consciousness of the student, must deal with the Astral Triangle of "thought forms" and the ambivalent component parts of the Personality, we are not of the Personality for it is a creation of Our Soul for the purpose of "autopiloting" and avatar on a plane in which we do not normally participate! Personalities are software programs that are created to operate hardware, as an "automatic pilot" as Souls are not usually interested in culture and daily mundane activities as they create Self-Image to enhance Self-Awareness in a process of intimacy with the dreams of self that they produce. Personality is supplanted in the brain to manipulate the physical body properly, in the name of the Soul (I Am) while the Soul-Psyche is occupied with a particular situation of Self-Identity information, often on multiple planes of Self (Tree of Life). However, if your personality was made for you out of the propaganda, illusions, delusions, and ambitions of "Patriarchal Authority", you have a hypnotic "membrane" of words blocking your Psyche/Soul's communication and don't know the individual code that went into making the software your body is operating from. Therefore, you haven't a clue who is operating the body and thereby fix on any faux outside authority, causing self-doubt and thereby giving any perceived outside authority power over the body! The god was blocked from its temple. Unless you exorcise the lesser or false ego built for you by media-controlled indoctrination and dogma, it is futile indeed to think you have any control over your life. Yet again the axiom of Qabalah: "Above all things, know thyself!" rings true!

The most important part of initiation is to observe the layers of lies that your ego/ personality is constructed from, removing layer after layer of words that make the false you, until the real you shines true. This "Garbage in" is called man-made persona and the "Garbage out" is the dysfunctional action of "seeking yourself" in the eyes of your peers, or of some outside authority. You are already divinely approved---your existence proves this, and your Software for operating the Hardware, was already created by the Higher Self, out of its library of living experience which many call "the Soul". In other words, you are the only Author, and therefore, your only Authority is the Soul... which is also the "You" of awake consciousness. Your real identity is Life, and you make Lifetimes. This is because you are the Psyche/Soul who is timeless! Time is a paradigm of measurement, so necessary for forms but is a false assumption of the intangible.

Often, Mystery schools, such as The Golden Dawn, use a set of Tattva exercises as a type of "controlled day- dream" (guided meditations), intended to bring the student into direct contact with the subtle Elemental realms immediately underlying the material sphere of sensation. Tarot also brings those Elemental realms into sensual manifestation for the aspirant, all of which is necessary to prepare the aspirant for more advanced techniques of scrying with Tarot Cards and thereby producing a bridge between the Cosmic Mind and the personal Mind. The astral realm beginning with Yesod and including Netzach and Hod, is a fluidic, non-solid realm where everything begins in assumption/ illusion/dream. It is the place in Mind where our Formative consciousness can experiment with image, such as children role-playing, to comprehend in a later stage of growth which is the actual manifestation of being "that".

If done with controlled will, this is a boon to any creative endeavor on Earth; if taken as rote, or a law laid down by some divine deity, all hell will break loose in the physical realm, as the experiment is unobserved and left with its errors as it hasn't been analyzed as to its value as information. Therefore, your "form creating mind" (imagination) is controlled by the words of the "few who wish to rule the many" and/or an alien/outside authority! Since you are the creator of your own thought, I AM, then you must realize that "thought" isn't the real you at all! You are the thinker, not the thought! If you believe every thought, you think is "yourself", then a happy life as you is futile indeed. Thought is merely a theory unproven and needs to be made into in-form-action to create Understanding and Wisdom. You then experience the "thinking" as information, which must be proven by experience and/or in-form-action so that you can discern whether this thinking is true knowledge or a falsehood. You are not what you think you are. Above all things know thyself! Also, every experiment is a failure until it isn't. Therefore, if the information you used didn't work, keep expanding your information base until it does! This function is called learning, which leads to Understanding!

The Astral plane of Mind is not a Master of your personality nor is anything that you contact in it! It is a collective of racial and cultural dreams. Therefore, the Astral is your malleable substance to create with, not be created by! Many " Medium-Channels" just channel astral personae, and live in an illusion of devotional thought, not allowing them to see that they are their own "holy' delusions. Truth being that the energy you feel in your body, is the Real You, as you are the Energy of The Divine Creative, and/or "Sun/Son of God". This makes the 6th Sephiroth, The Son/Sun, the True Soul Presence that is "You". You are a Solar Being, who has 7 light bodies surrounding a physical one, a type of Spiritual atmosphere. The physical makes the necessary sensual body that we need to experience information intimately and thereby produce knowledge. Therefore, we didn't come seeking "the light", for we are "the light". Rather, we are Light seeking "enfleshenment!"

Let me explain what few wish you to know: A god is a dominant Consciousness on its Plane of Manifestation (a plane is a trinity of 3 points-in-time that make a triangle). Every one of the 10 Sephiroth, is a demigod, therefore you are composed of the united cooperation of these energy intelligences we call Sephiroth, which contribute to the make up the One Collective Self, and when united as "One" become the Divine Hermaphrodite that is Adam Khadmon (The Divine Hermaphrodite and/or the "Heavenly Human" as shown above.) The Soul completes the Will of the One by manifesting a "Self-Image" by adding depth to the equation of I AM. The homo Sapien sapiens is the Top Mammal Predator because of its connection to the Divine Creative, the ruler of all domains! So, you are a Great Group of 10 demigods, /interdimensional creative intelligences, who should be working as One Group Psyche of your individual Tree of Life...A One Living Divine Creative! Each of us is our own "Tree of Life".

The fact that we think we "are not" creative authors of our "life", is because we’ve been mentally separated from the reality of our divinity by the divide and conquer efforts of the Patriarchy and/or military industrial complex. To "think it" is to begin the process of creation and one must eventually prove it as a "life movement"; a movement that is either forward or backward by emoting it as life motion! What was done by the manipulation of our imagination, the beginning of all creation, (auto-suggestion and pleasure /pain training) by "The few who wish to rule the many" and the dogma of “divide and conquer” using disinformation as "worded truth" has divided our trinity of Spirit-Mind-Body, and/or put a membrane and/or caul of words between our 3 aspects of Spiritual Self, so now we can't manifest our "whole self-plane" and we have no depth of character which cause us to run around seeking Spirit! This is like a fish in the ocean seeking water! A perfect description of "futility"!

The Astral plane of Mind is the beginning of theory formation, a fluid light residing in the lower and/or coagulated subconscious (Netzach) influenced by the subconscious dreams (Hod-Yesod)before it is crystalized and/or coagulated on earth (Malkuth). Hence, everything in thought is malleable and not written in stone. By giving us "nightmare" stories of how bad our natural body is, and how unintelligent our mind is, and that the Spirit must be sought, the rulers of definition have divided our imagination into good/bad, a 2-dimensional block against our masterful Mental Trinity of Ten Dimensions. Therefore, you forgot the human body is a god of its domain and you are the Daemon Force (Godman in Greek) that keeps it breathing. Your Primary Identity is that of the Spirit and by seeking it you keep pushing it away from you: you are the Spirit! You are the Divine Will encompassing a body, not a body looking for Divine Will!

Ego/Personality is the least powerful self-reflection as it resides as programs in the brain; one you the psyche should have installed in the brain but were not allowed to by "those who rule definition" and/or Rulers. Before you even have even solidified a physical intelligence you were made to reject the body as bad and dirty (especially when naked) a shameful device, causing a division amongst your Spirit-Mind-Body before you even reached 7 years old! Therefore, we all must return consciously to the Astral-dream plane of our unconscious and clean up our software (wetware) thus allowing the Above Intelligence (Greater Self), The I AM, to operate the Below intelligence (Lesser Self), ME, for the purpose of expanding and liberating life from the Patriarchy created entropy/evil's/ignorance's stifling hold!

By now you may be aware that when we are dealing with Netzach, we are dealing with understanding a particularly difficult State of Energy Conscious. Netzach is where both the Macrocosm (Great) and Microcosm (Small) meet. Therefore, in Netzach, we are dealing with the understanding of the entire race patterns of humankind, animal instinctual and patterns of our own individual persona. But if that isn't enough, we must understand that this Spirit-Mind-Body paradigm is an illusion! For a persona/personality is a "mask" of word sponsored thought, place over the invisible I AM, so we can pretend we are it as a ME. That is how the experiment of "thought" is intimately experienced. It is a purposeful faux identity so that we can "play act" it out to see if it is Futile or a Viable progressive self-awareness! For We are Life, experimenting with Self-Identity as a "Lifetime"!

It is often heard but rarely applied, that to think the same thoughts over and over, and expecting different results in the "now", is Futile if not insane. Therefore, on the Thoth Deck 7 of Swords, Crowley/Harris have precariously balanced the 6 planetary swords, one against the other, aimed against the Larger Sun Sword. Implying unstable effort, vacillation, and untrustworthy character.

What is surprising is that Netzach in the suit of Swords, does not represent as much catastrophe as is done by swords in other suits, as the 7th Sephiroth of Venus means Victory over the material world by coming to an understanding of futility. There is, however, a wish to compromise, a halting tolerance and a certain vacillation. When overdone, this need for compromise can bring disaster for as history has proven, and as any student of WWII knows, rarely does a policy of appeasement produce peace, only a false hope. Therefore, the 6 Swords chipping away at the One Strong Sword suggests a contest between the many feeble and the one strong. Here, The Strong One strives in vain against the pusillanimity of the many, as it fears the futility produced by resistance. To resist the flood of many weak thoughts gives them strength, for you must resist by expressing your own energy-in-motion to try and stop the very thoughts you are creating out of your own energy! This is Futile! Like the sky doesn't resist the clouds, let these thoughts just float by while you concentrate your energy on I AM. I Am healthy; I Am Wealthy; I Am the Will, and I Am the Way! We command our presence by I AM, not by I Ain't.

The Declarative Tarot-Layers of Mind (Swords)No. 7-Ineffectual emphasizes choices that don't bring results. Such as chasing down thoughts down a fruitless path or nitpicking at details and forgetting the whole. There is also the "know it all" whose chattering mimics intelligence but has no substance. We must "be it to know it", something intellectual parroting is incapable of doing. Hence, the "Tower of Babel" where words are the ego's false elevation of reaction rather than the signposts of action that point to creation.

At the very top of this busy card, is the image of the very clever lava of the Pink Underwing Moth. This caterpillar presents the appearance of a large and scary predatory self and thereby uses its skill sets to effectively ward off predators. This implies that we often predate ourselves with mindless activities of trying to prove how important we are, which look like action, but produce no life-expanding results.

To the middle left of this card is a tree branch that is winding all over itself, while another branch, which is not so concerned with its appearance produces effective growth. Hence, we have a metaphor of how we ineffectively use our energy-in-motion (emotions) in a variety of approaches which results in a challenge to eventually connect all the directions into one powerful expression of I AM! There is a loud exclamation here of futility, as we go about handling things by ignoring, over-researching, focusing on frustration, and trusting ourselves to take the first step so necessary to launch our "hero's journey".

The two fellows arguing, seem to be comparing apples and bananas as an exercise in futility. Both are fruit but neither is the image of the other. Here we associate without listening, such as when the inner self is communicating ineffectively to the brain who insists it already knows the truth. Truth is not a fruit of the brain. Truth is the Divine Creative's domain of Mind/Self and comes to us an intuition. The two-dimensional concepts of good and bad have turned our personalities into ruler chained realities. The world we live in is not two dimensional, it is three dimensional confined by a fourth called time. So instead of black and white, it is the Wisdom of gray as shown on the Ten-dimensional Tree of Life as the second Sephiroth-Chokmah-Wisdom.

Shown below, is a robin trying its best to eat a rope, thinking it is a worm that it normally pulls out of the ground. Two stylized beings of nature, amused at the scene, wonder if the bird will eventually catch on to the folly and ineffectiveness of the situation. This presents us with the image that we often stick to what worked in the past and not step out of our comfort zone to try innovative ideas, listen to other's experience, or accept we have made a choice that is ineffective. You know, doing the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results.

The Thoth-Seven of Swords is about those stealthy thoughts that instill in our subconscious the necessary subordination that enables us to recognize our place in the world of the Military Industrial Complex and/or Patriarchy. Introspection and/or self- critique allow us to banish the "false ego" and/or Wetiko mind virus allowing us to maintain an enlightened identity of self throughout our lives. After working on the first step towards acknowledging you are not the you that you think you are, the Life that you really are places the body in a new position, one beyond your wildest dreams.

The Seven of Swords is about theft of your identity by the "false ego" and suggests that you will be faced with cheating and theft, implying that you should beware of cunning and betrayal from your subconscious. The 7 of Swords also suggests that you cannot solve your problems without help from friends, who will see beyond the denial imposed on you by your "false ego".

The Seven of Swords is about the futility of impulsive acts, undercover acts, and even detective work. You may have to act alone, keeping your ideas to yourself, or you might find that you are avoiding issues. The "false ego" is a noted "sneak thief" or "Trickster", and represents deception, which can apply to one's loss of self-identity. The "false ego" often lies to achieve a false sense of acceptance from peers. Sometimes a "little white lie" may be necessary to "keep the peace", just be careful that this lie doesn't hurt others or yourself. The more consciously aware one is of the "subconscious" and its mind virus, the more the subconscious becomes conscious giving your awake consciousness of the Soul, absolute control over what is programmed into your corporeal mind and/or brain.

When the 7 of Swords or the Declarative Tarot-No. 7-ineffectual card is thrown during a reading:

•  The querent may be experiencing thoughts of futility. 
• A sense of resignation produced by wanting something but believing they can't have it and/or "giving up" before they even start.
• There is a possibility of breaking through this futile cloud, of lies, in 7 weeks or 7 Months. 
• This card suggests that because of guilt feelings or resentment, the querent is creating problems for themselves. 
• There is a certain craftiness displayed, schemes and actions by the ego are brought to bear, which solve nothing. 
• There is an opportunity to regroup and review if one forgoes the schemes and seeks advice from others. 
• There is suggested that there is just too much noise in the brain for focused action, as many feeble thoughts of vacillation out shout the One strong will to act.
• Instead of the Power of I AM, we are caught in the self-denial of I ain’t... Often we run "mind loops" that constantly repeat our past as today's reason for not progressing or going forward with our life. These mind loops are the "nag within" syndrome that fear of discomfort that often generates in our subconscious to avoid presumed pain.

Also, when the 7/Seven of Swords card is thrown, the querent will:

•  Have the opportunity in the next 7 weeks or 7 months to break out of self-imposed defeatism and move towards creating what one really wants. 
•  Now it’s time to "damn the torpedoes and go full steam ahead". 
• Know and declare what you want, for that is the truth. The falsehood is the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. 
• Remember that the 7's are associated with the Charioteer, which is the originator of motion and change. So, this card is not nagging at your weakness but advising you that choosing your wants moves you forward into a satisfying life motion and that you have the inherent power to do so. 
• Have the capability to release sabotaging thought processes that were developed in the past that may go back to 7 years or when you were 7 years old. 
• Focus on what you genuinely want; focus your heart, creative mind and passion on it, and your programed self-defeat won’t be able to impede you; it’s just becoming white noise in the backwash of your powerful wake on the ocean of possibilities.

If ill defined by the Surrounding Cards in the layout, it implies:

• Deceitfulness. 
• Intrigues. 
• Insincerity.
• Betrayal.

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