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Thoth- 4 of disks-Power
THOTH- 4 OF DISKS: Power
[Pentacles in traditional decks]
...condition of assured material gain, and earthly power completed but nothing beyond. (Waite).
Here we have a fortress made by the grounding of the 4th Sephiroth- Chesed (mercy) in Assiah, the Material world. Held by constant authority and vigilance, a type of Law and order holds the 4 Alchemical Elements in balance. Fire (Spirit) Air (mind), Water ( Unconscious/emotions), and Earth, are all centered on material security. Material security can also mean "nothing ventured nothing gained" and which is a warning of a problem of stasis that will be removed by the Greater Spiritual Self (A Tower Moment) to keep things moving. For now things look under control and sitting back and enjoying material security seems justified. Here we also have gift, legacy and inheritance.
Astrologically we have Sun in Capricorn which assures the light and warmth of success but nothing beyond the moment.
The 4 of Disks represents the Rational Mind in total control of creative energy for material wealth; boundaries against change are erected and the illusion of security is enjoyed. Now this feeling of benevolent strength, is indeed wonderful but we must also invest in the motion of wealth into progressive prosperity---so being flexible with your wealth is recommended. The 4 of Disks card reminds us that damming a river can secure water, but if we don't leave room for flow, we stifle the prosperity and prudrid becomes our wealth while all around us for a false sense of security. This easily becomes avarice, blockages of thought and action which naturally follow from excessive devotion to materialistic rewards. However, if the drawbridge (seen on card) of an open mind is available for "outside" traffic we can make something tangible and take concrete steps towards creating security in the physical world that actually enhances that security for others as well.
So when all is examined, this card represents a positive with a caution; a kind of “good for you", that can only keep being good if you expand it to "good for others" as well. That is why the draw bridge is down and the gate open on this illustration of the 4-of Disks, we must allow flowing change in order to really stay Secure in our power.
By looking at the Qabalistic Tree of Life, one can see that Chesed- the 4th Sephiroth called Mercy, is the architect of the Supernal (upper 1-2-3-triangle on the Tree of Life) whose intelligence externalizes the combined potencies of the upper Trinity. Chesed is the administrator of manifestation and the laws there of. He is often called the architect. Therefore, the 4 of Disks (Pentacles in Rider-Waite decks) represents the most complete expression of the grounded Chesed forces.
The 4 of Disks -Power, is also called the Lord of Earthly Power. The Angels of the Decan are Keveqiah and Mendial The planet is the Sun and here it is in Capricorn.
The illustration of the 4 of Disks suggests a fortress implying law and order maintained by undaunted vigilance. The Disks themselves, are square implying that revolving or motion, is opposite to this card, However, another form of Chesed is in the Key 13 card of the Major Arcana, and it is the Death of stability, so that revolution can continue, 1+3=4, so the number of Chesed lays hidden in Gematria (numerology). Chesed, the Engineer of manifestation, has the power to reorganize creation through a process we call Death/Transformation.
The 4 square disks each contain one of the symbols for the 4 Pythonean Universal Elements and the walls are strong and seemingly immobile. Yet we have the Sun reborn in Capricorn so new powerful activity is present, and is best shown as the Dancing Skeleton of key 13. What hints at underlying powerful motion seemingly held in the 4 of disks Tarot Card, is the orange-yellow color of the card.
Like the eye of a hurricane, the 4 of Disks is the "Dead Center" of the Engineer of all manifestation. Here at the center, everything looks quite and stable, but violent activity is making it so and soon, that stability will "fly to the winds". Capricorn is the center "where the Sun turns Northward." So the turning or swirling, is happening in what looks to be stable. Therefore, the "fortress" represents the "condensed" energy anchored in material form, and/or the Power of Limitation. However, this power does not lie in the material body itself, but in how we structure it's identity and meaning and how we place it in the center of our considerations. In the negative, the body corresponds to the attempts of constructing one's own reality within the effects of the eternal and idolizing it. In the positive, the body also corresponds to thoughts of the "higher" insight, finding such models of thought and reality useful and helpful but never allowed the brain to claim them as the absolute truth; just helpful models. Absolute truth belongs to the Supernal Triangle of the Greater Self where it is understood that 0=2.
the tarot of the spirit-four of earth-power
The Tarot of The Spirit- Four of Earth-Power, uses a door with 4 encircled pentagrams rather than a fortress. This door is barred at the top and bottom, implying one is standing in a room looking at the door which belongs to the room of material acquisitions and success. Here, the querent has a sense of power, knowing they have the ability to open or close the door. The radiant keyhole, represents the view of the next level of development that can be achieved. The Keyhole is surrounded by 10 circles representing the 10 Sephira of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Beyond the 10th Sphere, is the invisible Sephiroth called Daath (knowledge) representing a secret bridge over the abyss that leads to higher understanding. Higher Understanding is Love.
When love is used as a key that opens the door of the higher Self, one comes to understand the Universal Collective Unconscious, and that we all "belong to one another". Seen are the rights and responsibilities that accompany the facts of Universal fellowship. What becomes known is also the separation of seemingly having power over others and feeling a sense of one's own self-empowerment. Power means the ability to do work. Therefore, ones Soul, begins doing its Great Work through the brain of the body, slowly eliminating the indoctrination and dogma that grip the brain in a never ending nightmare of insecurity; Where we never have enough and worry about losing what we do have.
The orange and yellow of this card also shows the Solar Self (soul) , beginning to teach the body through action (in-form-action), here the act is to accept love and go through that door.
When the Four of Earth or the Thoth 4 of Disks is thrown during a reading:
- The querent is owning their own personal energy, physical potency and vitality. The very act of which proceeds change.
- There may be a feeling of holding on tightly to what one has, emotionally or physically.
- The enfoldment of Power, Here the Ability to Do Work (Power) is unfettered and the engineer is active.
- The querent is taking solid steps towards creating material security in the physical world.
- Here, "nothing ventured nothing gain" is the axiom of the Four.
- Holding to tightly to what you have, and not taking risks of change.
- Blockage of creative thought due to avarice, or excessive devotion to material things.
- Completion of earthly power through condensation of strength.
If ill defined by the surrounding cards:
- Compulsive behavior.
- Stubbornness.
- Stagnation.
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