And the Minor Arcana of the Tarot are 78. It is interesting to note that in alchemy exactly 78 stages of the Great Work are also described.
Initiation into occult mysteries is also based on the so-called “arcanas” or secrets. The arcana can be expressed, described in ordinary language, or symbolized. The ancient initiatory centers chose a third type of transmission of the arcana - they wrote them down symbolically. Based on this, the Tarot can be considered a diagram of the metaphysical worldview of the ancient initiates.
Each nation has its own worldview - this is the language of this people. If, moreover, a people has a written language, then the elements of the language are represented by its alphabet. The ancients considered writing, or rather the alphabet, a “gift of the gods.” Thus, it is, as it were, an initiatory alphabet, the signs of which are assigned certain numerical values.
Tarot is the teaching of truth captured in symbols. It was passed down from generation to generation and has survived to this day in the form of an amazing monument to human genius - a deck of 78 cards, the origin of which is lost in the mists of time. The Tarot is also called the “Sacred Book of Thoth” in honor of the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, patron of knowledge, magic and medicine.
The Holy Book of Thoth states that life is built on the number 3:
- Providence (Divine Providence).
- Fate (our given earthly incarnation).
- Conscious human will (conscious action).
Providence gives a person destiny - something like a path map that determines the main direction in his life. A person is free to choose one way or another, but this choice has a limit. At the subconscious level, only wisdom can help a person. This is the meaning of the astrological saying: “The stars incline, but do not oblige.”
French occultist Eliphas Levi wrote about the Tarot: “All religions have preserved memories of a primitive book written by the sages of the first centuries through images. Jewish tradition considers the author of this book to be Enoch, the seventh teacher of the world after Adam, the Egyptians attributed its authorship to Hermes Trismegistus, and the Greeks attributed its authorship to Cadmus, the founder of the holy city. This book was a symbolic abbreviation of primitive tradition, later called the Kabbalah, the Hebrew word equivalent to tradition. Subsequently, its symbols, simplified and introduced into general use, provided letters for writing, the word – its distinctive features, and occult philosophy – its mysterious signs and pentacles.”
He also notes that this book can be found everywhere, but “it turns out to be the most secret and the most unknown of all, since it contains the key to all the others. Everyone knows her, and she is unknown to no one, no one thinks of looking for her where she is. This book, perhaps much older than the book of Enoch, has never been translated. It is written in primitive characters on separate pages, like the tablets of the ancients. This book, monumental, simple and powerful, like the architecture of the pyramids, summarizes all sciences. This is a book whose endless combinations can solve all problems, it says, making you think. This book is the inspiration of all kinds of concepts, perhaps a masterpiece of the human spirit and, undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful things left to us by antiquity - a comprehensive key.
The Tarot is indeed a book, but the book is silent: it speaks only to those who are truly ready to hear its message.
The Holy Book of Tarot consists of 78 Arcana, which have come down to us in the form of 78 highly symbolic and deeply philosophical images. In turn, the 78 Arcana of the Tarot are divided into the Major Arcana (22 trump cards) and the Minor Arcana (56 cards: 40 digital and 16 figure cards).
The symbol of the sacred Book of Tarot is a triangle enclosed in a square. The square is the Material world, and the triangle inscribed in it is the Spirit. This is a sign of the relationship between the Almighty, man and the Universe.
The Tarot deck can be divided into three parts:
- 21 Major Arcana;
- 56 cards, i.e. four suits of 14 cards;
- one card with number 0 (or 300) – Jester.
The Tarot summarizes the symbolic system of Hermeticism.
Each card of the 22 Major Arcana corresponds to a number, a letter of the Hebrew (sometimes also Sanskrit) alphabet, a sign of a planet, a zodiac constellation, a symbol of a substance. Tarot, in addition to its own symbolism, uses the terms of astrology, numerology (more correctly, gematria - the replacement of Hebrew letters with their numerical values) and Kabbalah.
Each Arcana has its own correspondences in a variety of areas of knowledge. The images of the Major Arcana are allegorical and deeply symbolic. In everyday life, symbols are used to concisely express complex concepts. Symbols are used in religion, in painting and sculpture, in legends and folklore, and tell us about higher and more comprehensive truths than words.
A. Waite wrote: “The true Tarot is symbolic. He speaks a universal language and presents comprehensive images. Spiritually, it is the key to ancient secrets.”
The symbolism of the Tarot opens up a world of new ideas to us. When we learn to read their secret writing, a vast kingdom of ancient wisdom will open up to us. We can find these symbols in ancient and modern art, in myths, in witchcraft rituals, in history. They will revive for us the brilliant mystical traditions of the ancient world and open the way to the heights of spiritual and occult wisdom.
The Tarot is a system of esoteric knowledge based on the Egyptian initiatory mysteries, medieval European Hermeticism, Jewish Kabbalah and Christian ideas. The figures depicted on the Major Arcana cards point up with one hand and down with the other, stand with one foot on land and the other in the water, sit between black and white columns, or are on the road between two towers. These figures include pagan gods and Christian angels, the Devil and the Pope. The cards themselves persistently indicate that the Tarot system is multifunctional and comprehensive, and this is its uniqueness. With the help of Tarot cards, you can not only predict fate, but also, using meditation techniques, try to understand the secrets of the creation of the Universe, as well as try on the role of a magician and try to change the world at will.
M. P. Hall wrote: “The Tarot cards may be considered as (1) separate and complete hieroglyphs in themselves, each of which represents a separate principle, law, force or element of Nature, (2) interrelated with each other, as the influence of one agent on another, (3) ) as vowels and consonants of the philosophical alphabet. The laws governing all phenomena are represented by symbols on the Tarot cards, whose numeric value is equal to the numeric equivalent of the phenomenon. Like any structure made up of elements, Tarot cards represent components of a philosophical structure. Regardless of the particular science or philosophy in which the investigator is engaged or adhered, the Tarot cards can be identified with essential parts of the subject of his study, and each card is related to a specific part of the study, according to mathematical and philosophical laws."
Tarot- This is a deck of cards. In Latvian mythology, Karta is the goddess of fate. In folk songs, her name is associated with the Latvian word kart - “to hang”, in the sense of “to designate”. Therefore, it is not surprising that Tarot cards can be used to predict fortune.
Divination- the occupation is quite ancient, and there is no people on earth who would not know it. According to the Stoic Posidonia(about 135-51 BC), a contemporary of Cicero, the world is permeated with the divine spirit, which creates a “sympathy” for all things, making oracles, fortune telling, prophetic dreams and other methods of prediction possible. World processes proceed in strict accordance with predestination, fate, and the sage freely submits to fate.
B. Olya in his book "Gods of Tropical Africa" writes: “Throughout his life on earth, a person who adheres to traditional thinking tries to adapt to the laws of the higher world, on which he fatally depends, and wants to be informed about the desires and changes of mood of invisible beings. To do this, he needs to interpret dreams and phenomena that, in his opinion, carry “messages from there,” and follow their instructions. The most reliable means for a mere mortal seems to be fortune-telling, elevated to the rank of a real profession.”
Mythological consciousness considered fortune telling an integral part of the cult. The Latin word divination meant a request addressed to the gods.
Our twentieth century is the century not only of the atom and rockets, but also the century in which humanity conceived of itself as the bearer of the Supreme Mind. Having broken away from the vulgar materialistic approach to the human being as an evolved monkey, man comprehends the spiritual world. Therefore, in our time, such a thing as a personal oracle should be perceived as an everyday philosophical tool. A person needs it to better understand who he is, what to strive for and what he should count on in life. Tarot cards are an important tool that will help you live your life more correctly, more consciously, in accordance with higher rhythms.
The vast majority of people don't know what to do with their lives or what they need to be happy. However, for some reason they are sure: whatever it is, they don’t have it. The insatiable appetite for material things is encouraged by the consumer system, which implicitly and explicitly teaches us to buy, buy and buy, maintaining the desire to buy more. These people miss out on dozens and hundreds of great opportunities because they don't want to think about what's happening to them. And now old age creeps in unnoticed. And death is birth and life, but not a new one, but the same one, unless a person himself makes it new. Man himself creates his own reality. Divination is one of the important tools that helps him in this.
Tarot cards build a bridge between the earthly and spiritual worlds. The Tarot deck in various combinations of symbolic meanings of the cards is an attempt to present a complete psychological and eventful picture of a person’s life. This is the basis for its use for fortune telling.
Tarot- not just cards for fortune telling, there is a whole philosophy behind them.
Tarot is often compared to the I Ching. For the European magical tradition, the Tarot is the same as the I Ching for the Far Eastern, that is, a powerful tool of divination and operational magic, based on the deepest metaphysical knowledge. Both Tarot and I Ching are closely related to astrology, alchemy, numerology and other magical arts.
There are, of course, significant differences between them. And the point is not only that there are 64 divinatory figures of the I Ching (hexagrams), and 78 divinatory figures of the Tarot (and taking into account inverted forms - 156). More importantly, hexagrams are, in essence, fragments of information written in binary code, and Tarot cards are pictures, visual images. (Although the images of the Arcana are also easily subject to alphabetical and numerological codification, and for the hexagrams of the I Ching, pictures have long been compiled that are very reminiscent of the Major Arcana of the Tarot - they can be found in Zhou Zonghua’s book “The Tao of the I Ching”).
But the main thing is that the Chinese hexagrams are accompanied by a canonical text called “Zhou Yi” or “I Ching”. The authors of the most ancient sections (the so-called “layers”) of this text, according to legend, are sages revered in the Far East, among whom is Confucius himself. And the Tarot, although called the “Book of Thoth,” is not a book as such. The only text that appears on the cards is their names. If there was any book in Ancient Egypt, it has not reached us.
Therefore, the efforts of all European occultists who studied the Tarot were aimed at recreating "Books of Thoth" in the form of text similar to the text “Zhou Yi.”
Tarot - what's the magic, brother?
Using various variants of the Tarot in predictive work is a very common practice. But, let's remember that classic Tarot decks were created not by ordinary people or even tarot readers, but by eminent magicians and researchers of ancient mystical teachings. The Waite-Rider Tarot, and even more so the Thoth Tarot (Aleister Crowley), is based on the multidimensional structure of the energy of the universe, the Tree of Sephiroth. And I think it’s obvious that the predictive function is only a small part for this system. It's like limiting the use of a powerful smartphone to a phone and alarm function.
But first of all, let's understand what magic is. Probably, for many people, such things as unexpected events, inexplicable phenomena are habitually associated with this word... In general, all those things that are too elusive for the cumbersome structure of rational thinking.
Aleister Crowley, creator of the Thoth Tarot
I prefer the definition of Aleister Crowley himself, creator of the Thoth Tarot deck:
MAGIC is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in accordance with Will (INTENTION)
Aleister Crowley
This short phrase contains the main secret of magic. After all, such a simple formula can describe any action. So what is the difference between magic and everyday things? Nothing! Only there are processes and phenomena that are familiar and understandable to us, and there are processes, the essence of which we do not understand and call Magic. But this is a false division. If you place a medieval person in our modern world, he will perceive household appliances, electricity, cars as a miracle, and he will call us incredibly powerful wizards.
But we know that, for example, the “magic” light of a flashlight is just the result of connecting an electrical circuit between the battery and the lamp. Charged particles run along the wiring, heat the wire of the incandescent lamp - and this is the result. And this process no longer seems like magic to us. Why? Because we know how it works and what causes the light to turn on in a flashlight. At the same time, we don’t see the electrons themselves in the wires and don’t really think about what happens when we press the “on” button. We just get the desired result.
Let's look at the magic of the Tarot from the same point of view. The magical Tarot layout can be compared to assembling an electrical circuit. The necessary parts are located in their places and perform their function. Here we lay out several cards, one of which serves as a “battery” that charges the entire process with the required type of energy, the other as a conductor, the third as the “magic lantern” in our hand, the result of the work.
And the most important thing! The assembly of this entire “scheme” of energy flows does not take place on a table with Tarot cards, candles and other tools. Has everyone heard the phrase “thoughts are material”? Real magic is precisely the transformation of a stream of scattered thoughts, the so-called obsessive internal dialogue, into a clear INTENTION. This is no longer a fantasy, not a dream, and not even a thought as something fluid and amorphous. Intention is a bright, powerful clot of mental, emotional, psychic energy, concentrated and aimed at results.
It is to form this clarity and strength of intention that all the details of the magical Tarot layout are needed. There are many options for creating such a power impulse of intention: a rhythmic text of a conspiracy, a shamanic tambourine, reading prayers and mantras.
There are many ways to use the Tarot in magic. There is a good book by Janina Reni, “The Magic of the Tarot.” There, the author posted ready-made collections of cards (spells) for almost all occasions. And she even gave a detailed model of the ritual with cards. This book is very useful for beginners, for those who are not so familiar with the Tarot, so that they themselves can choose the necessary arcana for the ritual. I have this book and I carefully read all the collections of spells and did not find a single discrepancy.
For myself, I created my own method of magically influencing the situation using Tarot cards. The fact is that it is recommended to turn to magic only when all other methods of solving the problem have been used and have not brought results. But that is not all. First you need to learn to “desire.” What I mean? Well, let’s say, if a person decided to resort to magic to improve his material well-being, or even raised the bar to “wealth,” then, if he has certain abilities, he may well succeed.
The danger is that if he does not “specify” in the ritual the methods and ways of obtaining what he has planned, then his plans will materialize in the shortest possible way. Let’s say a beloved aunt died in the prime of her life and left an inheritance. It is unlikely that such prosperity will bring joy. But it can materialize even faster - the criminals who robbed the bank, while running away, threw or lost a bag of money, and you find it. Wow, happiness has arrived! True, it may not last long. You didn’t specify such details in the ritual, but simply “ritualized” wealth. The next morning, the guardians of the law come and take the would-be magician under white hands to the prison dungeons, as an accomplice to the robbery.
It is precisely so that there is no side effect that I like the magic of the Tarot. Arcana are multifaceted and can reflect even the smallest details, details of the materialization of what was planned. None of the ready-made methods of magic on the Tarot suited me. I am very scrupulous in details and I believe that until you are completely confident in the quality of the result, you should not resort to magic at all, and not only with the Tarot.
The fact is that there is hardly one ready-made recipe for happiness for everyone. Remember the phrase from the film “Brother”: “What is good for a Russian is death for a German.” In my understanding, in the life of every person it is precisely those energies that intersect that he himself creates with his lifestyle, desires, optimism/pessimism... I may not have expressed myself accurately, but try to understand me. Let's say one is happy and successful when he is surrounded by people and leads a hectic life. Another, on the contrary, experiences moments of happiness when he has the opportunity to remain in solitude...
Now imagine, a person decided to use the magic of the Tarot to call this very “happiness” into his life. And he finds, for example, in ready-made spells a formula from cards where the Hermit is present. He receives “happiness” on a silver platter - the opportunity to retire and, against this background, engage in creativity, which will also bring money in the future. Great, isn't it?
There was no imbalance, no one was hurt, everyone was happy... Only our poor guy became even more unhappy. Because he is precisely from that category of people who can only express themselves fruitfully in a crowd of admirers! The same can be cited as an example for someone who loves solitude - when, after a magical effect, crowds of colleagues and fans begin to bother him, to such an extent that he begins to have a nervous breakdown.
I specifically gave two hypothetical examples of how unacceptable even miraculous methods can be for an individual person. And where is the way out? For myself, I found the optimal solution to this problem. I was looking for a method that would work individually for each person.
True, there is one indispensable condition - it is necessary to understand the arcana, be able to freely navigate them, and most importantly - to know what role each arcana plays in the process of the Work.
The method itself is very simple. We give the person the usual layout on the deck for divination. We analyze it carefully. Many would be tempted to replace the final negative with a positive lasso (it’s all business!) and perform a ritual. But this is fundamentally wrong. This is already violence against the natural situation. Yes, and it turns out illogical. We identify moments/positions in which something went “wrong”.
That is, the reason why we received a negative final map. And we correct exactly the reason. We either turn the card “upside down” if you use upside down cards, or replace it with the one you want, but not in conflict. And logically, we look at further positions that this card influenced and replace them with the natural result of the influence of the replaced card.
When we have again analyzed the changed alignment and are satisfied with it, we can begin to consolidate the situation with a ritual. As you can see, we have not brought into a person’s life a single energy that is alien to him. His life still involves only what is unique to him. It’s just that somewhere in his situation we installed a “bulkhead” in order to redirect one energy in the right direction, and somewhere, on the contrary, we removed the limiter. The main task has been completed - human natural life has not been disrupted.
Now let’s prepare the altar and duplicate the resulting layout on the deck, which we use only in magic. I will not give the ritual itself for consolidation. I have my own methods, my own spells. Let me explain just a few details.
When I got acquainted with rituals in various areas of magic, I came to the conclusion that they all work according to the same scheme. I don't mean ceremonial magic, I'm not very familiar with it. You can't imagine a wheel twice. But otherwise, the names of the Gods change, insignificant details change, but everything happens according to the same pattern. This is an appeal to God and the Goddess (Sun and Moon), the construction of a Circle, an appeal to the four elements... This is in brief. I compared runic rituals, Wiccan rituals, church rituals, and the Thelemic MRP - all according to the same scheme. So, I think whoever is closer to something does his own ritual.
When the turn came after the opening of the Circle to begin the goal of the ritual - the magic of the Tarot, we do not just name the cards that are present in the layout. From the very first position we begin to “pass” the entire alignment through ourselves. We enter the lasso and within it we begin an action that is characteristic and inherent within the powers of this lasso. That is, we act in it ourselves. Then we move on to the next lasso and so on - until the final position we live the entire alignment in images, colors and action. We have essentially created a clear thought form in every detail. I think there is no need to explain the obvious, that there should not be a shadow of doubt about the result. After completing the walk through the arcana, I use a spell to consolidate the resulting situation. Well, then, as expected in the ritual you used, we complete it according to the standard scheme, close the Circle... In general, that’s all.
For those with little experience, I’ll explain that as soon as the ritual is completed, it literally needs to be thrown out of your head. Don’t talk to anyone and don’t even remember it yourself. Nothing will materialize until you let go.
In the article I provide an interpretation of the layout and a variant of modeling it in the direction necessary for a person.
Summer is the time when magical energy associated with the forces of the Sun is at its peak. This is a great season for fortune telling and all forms of magic. Especially for love spells, magic to lift your spirits, attract the forces of success and prosperity. I present several rituals of Tarot magic to spend the summer profitably.
Tarot in the magic of love
Who doesn't love summer romances? Try these simple spells based on the principles of sympathy magic and see what happens! Sympathetic magic can be performed in a wide variety of ways. One of them is a combination of the power you want to attract into your life and your own energy. You simply weave them together through visualization, through willpower and various symbolic actions. For Tarot magic based on this principle, you must choose several cards: the one that represents you, the one you imagine your ideal lover to be, and the one that represents the feelings you want to evoke. Place the Sun lasso over them to enhance the impact of this luminary, so powerful during this period. Visualize the energies symbolized by these cards coming together. Take a closer look at the pictures and “overlay” them on top of each other. At this time, you can say an affirmation, a spell, or simply a statement that will consolidate the intention, for example: “From now on, the forces are intertwined, they are all united in love.”
Another way to work with magic is to project into the universe the energy you want to have in your life. This method is based on the “law of threefold retribution”, which is widely accepted among practitioners of the Craft. It lies in the fact that all the energy you send comes back tripled. Therefore, choose a tarot card that represents pure love (or what you want to attract), such as the Ace of Cups, evoke that feeling within yourself, reflect on the symbolism of the chosen arcana to enhance your feelings, and then let them go energies into the world so that they bring you what you are looking for.
Tarot magic for finding happiness
I present to you a wonderful spell that will attract happiness into your life. One of the rules of magic used to lift the mood and attract happiness is based on the principles of denial and absorption. You simply “pull out” and neutralize negative feelings, and then fill the empty space with the energy you want to attract. To do this, choose a card through which negative energy will be released. Cards that symbolize neutralized negativity or cards of balance are suitable, in particular: “Moderation” (“Art”). Think about your sorrows and anxieties, and then, touching the chosen lasso, visualize how all the negativity “flows” into it. Afterwards, hit the card hard or shake it in the air, while thinking: “Neutralize.” You can add more gray color to your visualization if you want to more effectively dispel and neutralize all negative energies. Now look at the table and choose the lasso that represents what you want to replace the expelled negativity with. “Sun”, “Mage”, “High Priestess” are well suited for this purpose. Look at them, meditate on the images, feel the forces symbolized by them. Then, raise the chosen card high above your head, holding it upside down, sending these powers to yourself, and allowing the feeling of joy within to grow.
Another way to work to lift your spirits is to create a protective spell. To do this, build a shield around yourself, which consists of the energy with which you want to be surrounded. The shield will help you “immerse” yourself in these forces in everyday life, while protecting you from the penetration of unwanted forces and emotions. To create it, choose a lasso that represents positive energies, for example: “Sun”, “Strength” or “Ace of Cups”. Turn the card towards you and rotate around its axis, visualizing a shield of summoned energy forming around you, like a magic circle during a ritual.
Tarot magic to attract success
Summer is the season when golden sunlight carries a colossal amount of power. This is the time of dreams and we can use the magical energy of the Tarot to make them come true. One way to work with success magic is to combine the principles of sympathy magic and attracting the right energy to yourself. It lies in the fact that you weave your own and the power of success into one. To do this, choose a card that represents the success you are looking for. "Sun", "Ace of Pentacles", "Ten of Pentacles" or "Ace of Cups" are perfect for this. Place these cards together and visualize your strength intertwined with the energies of success. Imagine that this power “wraps” you and makes you shine. Now stand up, confident and proud, as if you were extremely successful. You can carry these cards with you as a talisman if you like, or leave them in a safe place. Place them under a citrine crystal or any other stone that attracts success to enhance the spell.
Another way to attract success using magic: project energy outward that will attract what you are looking for. To do this, choose a card that symbolizes leadership qualities, your abilities, readiness to achieve a goal or desire. "Mage" is a great choice, but keep in mind that the cards must have special meaning for you. Show exactly what you want to have in abundance when you achieve success. Take this card and imagine yourself successful, imagine what you want. Feel a powerful wave of energy flowing through you. Now focus on the qualities that are already there within. Understand that you are worthy of the success you desire, think about your strength, energy, wisdom, talents, vision, determination and creativity. Write your full name on a piece of paper and place the chosen card above what you wrote. Intensify the feeling of success as much as you can, while wanting this power to grow even more and increase its radiance within you. Now, project all this energy onto the card and your name written on the paper. Feel the powerful flow of magic flowing from your fingers. If you want, say an affirmation, for example: “I am ready for success! Opportunities and necessary tools come to me and I use them effectively.”
Summer magic
Summer is a great time to try something new and open up new horizons. So why not try some tarot spells while soaking up the sun and feeling the power of this season? Take the deck on your travels for "emergency" spells, spells to attract summer romance, or simply lie back and relax with magic designed to relieve any tension. And although summer is not endless, the magic of the Tarot is the key to the door behind which unlimited possibilities await you.
Books dedicated to tarot can be divided into two parts. One, the smallest part of the authors, explores the higher symbolic language of the tarot as a means of self-knowledge and knowledge of God in oneself. This is "The Book of Thoth" by Aleister Crowley, "Tarot and the Hero's Path" by Hayo Banzhaf, the G.O.M. Encyclopedia of Occultism. and a few others. Unfortunately, there are really very few such works.
Another, much larger category of books focuses entirely on the tarot as a divination system. This is, of course, an important part of the possibilities, but to reduce tarot only to predictions is the same as thinking that a computer was created exclusively for computer games.
The most surprising thing is that until now I have not come across a book that would describe a system of how through the tarot you can influence reality, that is, perform a magical effect. Some works of the first category mention that through the tarot it is possible not only to predict, but also to influence reality, but specific examples of such magic are not given anywhere.
This question has always interested me, and, armed with Aleister Crowley’s tables 777 (I give their correspondence at the beginning of each lecture on the arcana), I began to look for ways to create a ritual.
The history of these tables in itself is extremely remarkable: it is known that in the beginning they were the secret knowledge of the mysterious Order of the Golden Dawn, which was passed on at higher degrees, when the candidate was already ready to manipulate reality. Aleister Crowley, having significantly refined and improved this system, risked making it public, which aroused the enormous anger of his former brothers in the Order. Alistair believed that the system of magical knowledge and the ability to change reality should be available to all people, and not usurped by a small handful of initiates. By divulging the knowledge of the order, Crowley, like Prometheus, opened up the opportunity for humanity to become familiar with the highest secrets of the universe. He understood perfectly well that there was no point in deliberately hiding anything, because, as another great initiate, Carl Jung, said, “True secrets cannot be divulged, they are acquired through painful experience of development.”
To use tables 777, you need to have a fairly high level of awareness and good volitional discipline, otherwise either nothing will work out, or the released forces will tear apart the careless adept. As it turns out, very few have even attempted to consult these tables, which contain the keys to the universe of archetypes.
Before we begin to describe the complex art of the 777 tables, let us ask ourselves the question: how does magic work? The ancient Hermetic law tells us: what is inside us is also outside, what is above is also below. Therefore, by changing the space of the inner world, we will naturally change the reality around us.
Very often this law is misunderstood, and teachers of various schools confidently say that it is enough to change values, attitudes and your life for the better, and everything will work out on its own. Modern, popular esotericism is built on this naive faith, inspired by which a person can suddenly change slightly, but in the end is doomed to return to square one.
Gerard Encaus Papus, polemicizing with materialists, cited the telegraph as an allegory. “Materialistic faith,” he wrote, “is like the brain, “producing” thoughts, like a child’s naive assertion that a telegraph machine creates the text of a telegram.” Fifty years later, Dr. Stanislav Grof made an almost similar analogy, likening materialism to “the belief that the image on the television screen is produced by it.”
Thus, the psyche is not an Ego, closed within the boundaries of the skin, but an inexpressible play of primordial archetypes. Space for her is the whole universe. Our ego is just the tip of a grandiose psychoid iceberg, its last point, and the separation of the ego from the outside world and the depths of the unconscious is nothing more than an illusion.
To be convinced of this, it is enough to observe the dynamics occurring in our psyche. Are our thoughts and feelings really ours? Can we control the fiery streams of love and the cold of hatred by force of will? Don't we feel, when we have experienced a wonderful epiphany, that it has come from somewhere deep, and that we are merely the midwife of our best thoughts and feelings, creating the conditions so that they can be properly born?
But what we are talking about concerns only those forces that reach the level of consciousness! Can you imagine what kind of tornadoes and hurricanes are at the source?
Please look at the following diagram.
The top point is our conscious self, space A is the personal unconscious, and space B is the deepest levels: memories of birth trauma or the family unconscious. What is higher, or territory C, is the zone of universal archetypes, the play of which weaves our whole life. The lower space is the space of the external world, in which the play of archetypes is reflected with some distortions.
Now imagine that I perform a magical action, for example, I want to evoke the love of another person by activating the corresponding Venusian archetype, or create a favorable set of circumstances for the realization of my dream. To do this, I need to send some impulse into the depths of the unconscious through my subconscious, so that this particular archetype begins to manifest itself in my life, and not some other.
I take the energy for this impulse from the outside world, organizing it in such a way that everything around me reminds me of this particular archetype. Let's say, if I want to appeal to Venus (the unsuccessful experience of such a ritual will be discussed later), I will, to the best of my ability and ability, surround myself with symbols corresponding to her - images of doves, rose and red sandalwood incense. I will choose the color green in my clothes, concentrate on the color green in the space around me and meditate on the third lasso of the tarot. Then, when the time comes to perform the ritual, I will direct the flow of accumulated and summoned power into the deepest layers of the unconscious, affecting the archetype I need.
From the described example it is clear how naive and infantile in the light of true magic is the belief that it is enough to go to a crossroads and read a few words to get the desired goal. No most effective ritual can help without deep penetration into the archetype and experiencing its symbolism.
From what has already been said, the attentive reader will conclude that magic of this level is not intended for people who have not worked through their personal unconscious. A person who does not have proper reflection, does not understand the influence his parents have on him or simply does not want to know about it, a person for whom external social life is much more important than the internal one, and dreams are just a meaningless set of images released uncontrollably , cannot use magic under any circumstances. At best, his message will simply be lost in his opaque personal unconscious and will not cause any effect; at worst, it will be so distorted that after that he will curse the tarot, magic and everything connected with them all his life. If he survives, of course.
Magic - in particular the magic of correspondences associated with the paths of the tarot arcana - must be used with the utmost deliberation and caution. The main principle, which we must not forget for a moment, is that in the process of magical work we pass EVERYTHING through ourselves, and this is introduced into our individuality either against our will or in accordance with it. For example, having received several convincing successes in the rituals of Jupiter associated with gaining income, we will not stop at what we have achieved; we may end up obsessed with greed, that is, receive the qlippot of Jupiter, which will have to be compensated by other rituals, for example, on the lasso of the Fool. You should always remember that balance is the fundamental law of magic, the violation of which is doomed to the most unpleasant consequences.
Ritual time
In the best case scenario, you should prepare for the tarot ritual one month in advance. This, on the one hand, is enough to accumulate the required amount of energy for a breakthrough into the depths of the symbol, and on the other hand, working with this archetype will not have time to turn into a boring routine.
Taboo
About a month in advance, you need to take on a certain number of obligations related to the planned ritual. These duties can be directly related to the symbolism of correspondences to a given archetype (for example, every morning and evening solemnly burn rose incense, surround yourself with images of doves and lynxes, hang an image of a statue of Venus in a prominent place, stare at the lasso for five minutes a day, which is your goal). However, to complicate the task and, accordingly, gain more energy, you can also take relatively neutral taboos, the temporary implementation of which should cause you difficulties (for example, prohibit yourself from crossing your legs for a month or eating a certain category of your favorite(!) food ).
These taboos should not be associated with morality and the desire to “become better,” since, firstly, they can cause moral pride, and secondly, they can significantly distract you from the main goal, confusing the means and the goal. However, in some cases taboos may be associated with morally desirable qualities. So, working with the word (Hierophant), I took a taboo to abstain from spontaneous obscene speech, and when working with Venus (where it is especially necessary to keep your intellect clear) - from alcohol. But in any case, it should be remembered that at the end of the project the taboo must be completely removed.
Why are these prohibitions needed? We know that taboos were especially widespread among primitive peoples, whose consciousness was at the very beginning of its development. The need to monitor the observance of taboos allowed the native to concentrate his attention and contributed to the formation of consciousness. Since we are about to come into contact with a deep level of the unconscious, the power of which we may not even suspect, we need to strengthen our will.
However, this is not all. It is known that in India, ascetics collected inner heat by imposing strict, often almost impossible, obligations on themselves. The magical power that such ascetics possessed was enormous. They could even influence kings.
The same phenomenon is known to us from the Celtic tradition, where warriors and priests voluntarily impose on themselves gays, that is, a set of self-restraints.
In addition, the requirements that we fulfill in connection with correspondences allow us to tune our consciousness to accept a specific archetype. It’s as if we “turn the knob of our internal radio to another program, and instead of the usual business reports, we begin to listen to the channel of love lyrics or vice versa.
But what if we involuntarily violated a taboo? Of course, you should try to prevent this from happening, but if it happens, punish yourself as harshly as possible. Aleister Crowley advised cutting yourself on the shoulder with a razor in such cases, but the punishment can also be psychological. A woman can, for example, walk around the city in the dirtiest rags and without makeup - I think the effect of such self-punishment will be no less than that of a razor wound.
However, it is important to remember one thing: no one can or should define your taboos and punishments for you. Only you have the right to determine your boundaries and create appropriate laws. There are no exceptions to this rule - I am giving possible examples, not iron-clad instructions. It is important that the punishment is truly frightening, making breaking the taboo extremely undesirable.
Space of ritual
One day before the ritual, you should go into solitude in order to isolate yourself from all possible influences. Therefore, it is logical to calculate that the last days of preparation will fall on the weekend, and the ritual itself will take place on Sunday evening. Although, of course, planetary correspondences should also be taken into account - for example, Jupiter rituals are best done on Thursday, and Venus rituals on Friday.
The more images and associations are firmly attached to the idea of the ritual, the more correspondences you use, the greater the chance that the result will be achieved. However, do not neglect the ritual if any condition cannot be fulfilled. So, despite all efforts, I did not even find styrax incense in Moscow stores when I was working with the energies of the Hierophant, and given everyone’s busy schedule, the Jupiter ritual had to be carried out on Sunday.
It is effective to use a large amount of incense during the ritual - this allows you to change the state of consciousness. The ritual site should be covered with fabrics of appropriate colors, incense should be burned, and surrounded by images of deities, animals, and symbols. Everything around you should remind you of your task.
The main organizing fact of the ritual should be two objects. The first is a circle, in the center of which you stand when you read the ritual and direct the flow of the deity towards yourself (it all depends on the availability of free time - you can draw a circle with chalk, or you can weave a canonical circle with holy names). The second is the altar. Two chairs brought together and covered with a cloth of the color corresponding to the ritual can be used as an altar. On the altar, in the center, is the major arcana card that you work with, and several correspondences of your choice.
Drawing up a ritual
You can use existing rituals, but it is much more interesting and productive to create your own ritual. This allows you to get a deeper feel for each symbol used.
The key to composing the ritual is the major arcana card you are working with. Therefore, before you start creating the text of the ritual, you should spend enough time contemplating the images of this card, their interrelation and connection with the images of other arcana. It is useful to combine active and passive methods of meditation: with the active method, you reflect on the correspondences and symbols of the card, with the passive method, you simply contemplate the symbols, mentally trying to become them.
It is worth remembering the structure of the ritual, the canon of which was first formulated by Aleister Crowley. Writing a ritual can be compared to writing poetry - on the one hand, it is a process of spontaneous creativity, on the other - there are certain requirements (rhymes, rhythm, meter) that must be met in order for what is written to be poetry.
Here we will consider only one type of ritual work that is most closely associated with the symbolism of the tarot - the ceremonial invocation. Those wishing to familiarize themselves with this and other methods in more detail are referred to “Magic in Theory and Practice” by Aleister Crowley.
So, the invocation method should take into account the structure and material. The material is the correspondences known to us from tables 777 and data at the beginning of each chapter devoted to the major lasso. That is, when calling on Venus, we can call her by various names of the goddesses corresponding to her (Aphrodite, Freya, Hathor, Lalita), liken her to a dove, a rose flower, an emerald. You can emphasize her wild, natural, frantic aspect of sexual intercourse or the soft aspect of the goddess giving life through childbirth - depending on the purpose of the ritual. Finally, those symbols that are present in the image of the Empress lasso have special meaning for us. Some of them can be introduced into the text directly, and some - indirectly.
The ritual itself consists of four parts: in the first you proclaim the goal of the ritual that you want to achieve, in the second you recite with all passion the text you have composed, listing the attributes (symbols) of the god (archetype) with whom you are working. Concentrate on the feeling that this force is “entering” you, and identify with it. The main enemy of this stage is tense expectation - “it will work out” - “it won’t work out”. Remember, nothing can enter a tense mind. To achieve success, you should remember the principles of Zen or the idea of \u200b\u200bnot striving for a goal. The Holy Book of the Law says so - “for pure will, not directed towards a goal, free from lust for a result, is perfect in everything.” Yes, before you entered the ritual space, you had a purpose. But as soon as you begin to speak the text, this goal must be recognized as something secondary compared to the greatness of the timeless and spaceless force that you are calling to enter your consciousness. Do not demand anything from yourself, for the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. You can experience a powerful mystical ecstasy two days after the ritual, you can - at the same moment when you start invoking, or perhaps these signs will be so careful and unnoticeable that everything on which you track its action will be a stream of specific events in your life, in which the result will manifest itself. The main thing is not to demand anything from yourself and refuse any prediction of the result, telling yourself simply: “Now I am taking a step into the unknown.”
In an ideal case (but God forbid you strive for the ideal, the main thing is to relax and observe) the second phase of the ritual should be felt by you as if from the outside, as if someone were speaking through your lips.
Finally, in the third part, you again speak on behalf of the archetypal force, as if expressing a desire to help you fulfill your task.
Then, in the final part, you can draw a pentacle according to a pre-prepared diagram from ancient grimoires (see “Grimoire Library”) or surrender to your imagination, which will create exactly the symbol that will correspond only to your individual experience. Both options are possible and preference should be given only based on your personal intellectual intuition.
A few words should be said about the art of goal setting. By demanding the fulfillment of your desire too within a limited framework, you risk never fulfilling it - if you want to make a profit, it should be mentioned that this should not be a profit from insurance for a burnt car or a broken arm, but at the same time it is stupid to insist on winning the lottery. Often, by demanding a specific result, we practically demand a miracle, whereas we must understand that magic is not an infantile belief in miracles, but a very specific science with its own laws. The most powerful magician will not make a diamond materialize out of thin air or turn bricks into sandwiches. Another thing is that a truly strong adept is sufficiently privy to the laws of magic and will not make such attempts.
Warning
Although individual columns of tables 777 describe the “Works of Curse and Revenge,” you should be quite clear that by such actions you bring curses primarily on yourself. This has nothing to do with morality; simply by calling upon yourself a force charged in a certain way, you automatically change yourself and the space around you in accordance with this force. I can imagine that at the extreme point of despair, when you have nothing left to lose, these methods can be applied, but before using them you should think carefully - do you really have nothing to lose and is there another way out? Crowley wrote that a pistol or a knife is a much more suitable weapon for killing than magic, and anyone who thinks that the use of magic will protect him from an otherwise inevitable punishment is simply a fool who does not know the basics of the royal art.
The main goal of magic in any manifestation is to achieve personal integrity. If you naturally have a strong fear of confrontation with opponents, it makes sense for you to call on the energies of Mars, recognizing that this calling risks causing you to become aggressive in the most unexpected situations. In this case, working with aggression is an operation to achieve integrity, and therefore is reasonable magic.
On the other hand, if you feel an urgent need to change your financial situation, you can turn to Jupiter. However, it should be remembered how powerful structures this appeal affects and whether there will be a situation later when the ritual will be more relevant. Crowley worked with Jupiter only once in his life and did receive an unexpected profit, but ten years later, when he was broke again, he was quite aware that the problem must now be solved on his own, and not by repeated invocation.
You should also carefully monitor and analyze dreams before performing the ritual. In dreams you can find the hint you need or, conversely, a warning.
Examples from practice
Example one. Invocation of Venus (Arcanum 3)
This story happened to me about a year and a half ago and is still, in the eyes of all unwitting participants and witnesses of this process, one of the most convincing proofs of the reality of magic, although the goal itself was not achieved and the project ended in defeat, from which I learned a number of important lessons.
At that moment, I was faced with the realization of the important fact that for my spiritual path I needed a constant companion. Truly, the spirituality of those who speak with contempt for the flesh reeks of neurosis and repression, and the spirit of the new eon (era) requires not abstract perfection and ethereality, but integrity, as evidenced by the examples of Carl Jung or Aleister Crowley.
In short, I came to the point where casual relationships no longer satisfied me, and I wanted to achieve the status of a married man. The woman for whom I had feelings at that time clearly did not share my aspirations, although before that we had had cases of intimacy.
Having learned that now is an extremely favorable time for carrying out the Venus ritual (the planet was passing through the sun), I began to intuitively, through trial and error, prepare to invoke the power of the goddess of love for the purpose of marriage.
This was my first project, in which, fortunately (fortunately, since at the moment I am married to another woman, and married very happily), I made so many mistakes that the force that escaped almost destroyed my consciousness, seriously complicating my life on six months. Nevertheless, I think this unsuccessful project will be extremely interesting to everyone interested in the practical magic of the tarot.
It was decided to carry out the project over the course of a month, from the first of June to the first of July, and the first part of the project was to impose some taboos on oneself in order to accumulate the required amount of energy. A ban was imposed on sex, or more precisely, on any sexual release, since the work was with Venus, and on alcohol, since alcohol destroys the boundaries between people, and I needed to create some kind of hermetic vessel inside myself. In addition, some commitments were made, such as doing a Venus MRG every morning and evening, calling on Haniel, concentrating on the green color around you and reflecting on the nature of Venus.
At the very beginning of the project, I made a certain inaccuracy. Based on the tables, I invoked the powers of the seventh sephira Netzach, while the 14th path - the Empress - is associated with the love potion. Therefore, some mistakes were made, for example, involving a lynx instead of a dove.
From day one, I intensely focused my attention on the green color of the world around me. Green trees, cars, posters on the fourth day merged into one color due to terrible tension. From such concentration, at some moments it even seemed to me that I would forget how to see colors other than green.
On the second day I had a dream that expressed the spirit of this project: I saw an image of a war between America and China. In this war, Russia found itself between two fires - destroyed houses, burned forests everywhere, and all this is happening at the Azarovo station. The dream left me with an extremely difficult feeling.
From the Jungian tradition, I knew that dreams are of great importance and reflect the unconscious, which often “knows” much better than us about the processes launched by consciousness. Much later, I learned from a respected astrologer that Azail (consonance with Azarovo) is the angel of Mercury, and his world was destroyed as a result of this project, and the war between America and China is explained very simply: America, the country of extreme rationalism, is the archetype of Mercury, then like China, with its Taoist cult of the hidden womb - the archetype of Venus.
On the fourth day I dreamed of a very ugly girl, for whom I felt a blind desire mixed with disgust. The Qlippoth of Venus began to act even before I started all the mechanisms. On the seventh and fifteenth days, dreams associated with China began to recur.
The most pressing day in the project was the seventh day (seven is netzach, the sephira of Venus). And it was on this day that Venus passed across the Sun. As a good friend told me, this day comes around once every three years. It was at this time that I planned to carry out a decisive invocation of power, and it was on this day that I had the most vivid dream that predicted the entire process.
In this dream I saw myself at a small station near Moscow. There was a strange woman with a bucket, she was not particularly attractive. She accused me of something like apostasy and said that I would try to “convert” her and follow her, although this infuriates her. I felt a strong temptation to do so, but, overcoming myself, I turned sharply and went onto the train. Surprisingly, she, who was leaving just a minute ago, followed me, that is, as if I had defeated her. True, she was not particularly attractive in appearance and rather represented the unconscious desires of the first stage of Anima.
Finally, on the train she began to kiss me, but with incomprehensible force I fell away from her - it seems that for this month the taboo was perceived at such a deep level that it acted even in dreams. Finally, I got to the station, but for some unknown reason I had to return again to Azarovo station. But again, for some unknown reason, I didn’t get to the station and got off the train three or four hundred meters away. In the dream, this was the site of some kind of helipad.
A man older than me appeared next to me and said: “Let’s run - there are helicopters here.” I couldn’t understand why helicopters could be dangerous for me, but his tone left no doubt, and besides, this man inspired me with great respect.
I saw a helicopter with a spinning propeller and wondered what the danger was, but the man silently demanded that I run at full speed. Taking a closer look, I noticed that the helicopter spinning its propellers was somewhat unusual. "Military!" - either my thought or the caught thought of this man flashed. Around the bend there was another helicopter. I felt that the wind was rising (probably from the helicopter blades), and with every second this wind was becoming more and more like a storm. Finally, we reached a sharp descent, but the man next to me paused, as I later realized, to show what we were fleeing from and to dispel mistrust. At that second, I received such a blow from the air in my back that it seemed like I had been hit by an angry giant. If I had been in an open area, this blow would have spread me like butter on bread. I fell head over heels, and we found ourselves on the roadway, however, there were no cars nearby. I realized that the man who saved me was in the same tradition with me.
A third came to us - he was a Christian, and an anchorite at that, who had injected himself with the essence of leprosy and now began to rot alive. We wondered how he could find pleasure in such a situation and in the “special lisp of leprosy,” as my companion put it. We were afraid of getting infected from him, so we wanted to quickly put him on a trolleybus, away from us. The third was a typical fanatic, a certain “pale young man with a burning gaze.”
Finally, multi-colored balls began to open before my eyes. “Behold the tree,” said my companion. A moment later, other balls appeared. “Behold the shadow of the tree,” he now said. “Am I really going to see a shadow - a Qlippoth?” - I thought with horror. But instead of the darkness and slime that I expected, multi-colored spheres also began to appear before my eyes, only slightly different from the previous ones. They had a somewhat denser energy, and they had a very special, strange glow; how can I say it, they had a special attractiveness, despite their will. I wanted to see Lilith's ball, and it was a green ball with white specks. “This is not a light force,” said my companion. “But will it be suitable for my purpose? - I asked. “Then what difference does it make who helps me with this?” By the way, for some reason (although there was nothing erotic in the dream) I woke up with powerful sexual arousal.
On this day I performed a key ritual. I cut out a magic circle from whatman paper, hastily built a green altar and, not yet knowing about the rules for leaving the ritual, entered the circle and began to vibrate the name of the Archangel of Venus - Haniel, entering a deep trance. The correspondences I surrounded myself with created a very special energy in the room.
Anyone who has carefully studied the theory of magic will understand that at that time my actions were simply magical barbarism, and I did not even develop a ritual, replacing it with one single vibration. However, the tension was so great that I immediately felt the effect: a visual image of the green sephira that I had just seen in my dream appeared above my head. The Sephira seemed to descend on me from above, filling the space of the circle. It was an amazingly sweet feeling of merging with the subtlest flow. I continued to vibrate Haniel’s name, but something was already happening to my perception. After that, there was a click, and everything changed in my consciousness: I, the room, sensations occurred simultaneously on a visual and kinesthetic level. I got the power. “What should I do with her now?” I thought at that moment. Soon I left the circle and began to draw a talisman.
Without even doing the banishing ritual, I went to the other side of the room, to the computer, and wrote down everything that happened. When I returned to the circle two hours later, the power was still there, and this warmth and bliss again filled me to the brim.
After this day, I began to feel that my mind was falling deeper and deeper into the viscous abyss of lower Venusian forces. My dreams were filled with the most perverted images, and during the day I experienced incredible fatigue. The intellect refused to serve and plunged into the viscous abyss of thermal death. Until the twentieth day, I still naively believed that everything was going as it should, although my dreams caused me real horror.
But on the twentieth everything changed dramatically. What I found out was beyond my strength. Firstly, the woman, against her will, found herself in the same space as me. Our dreams became almost identical, we compared them and became seriously worried. Almost simultaneously, we began to have nightmares, all kinds of perversions, persecution and the worst sexual pathologies. Her dreams were even worse than mine, and perhaps there was a danger to her life - one of the dream episodes was a dying horse, and, as we know from the works of Jung, this is the worst thing that can ever be dreamed. In addition, we have one common image - a war with China. She mentioned a dream where an alcoholic friend of hers decided to kill all the Chinese. And also something else related to China. We had no associations with this image before.
As it turned out later, one of our friends, who was aware of my project, told her about it, and she began to perform a ritual to “turn me away from her.” Thus, on the seventh there was a mutually exclusive request for the same sephira. It is not surprising that the space was reflected in such a distortion.
In the last days of the project, the last chord was... my illness with chickenpox. At 23 years old! The humor of the gods was that I spent the entire month concentrating on the green color around me, and then I “turned green” myself. The funny thing is that this gift turned out to be connected with Venus. I open it, which means I am Book 777 and look at the correspondence of diseases. I read - skin diseases - the seventh path, Netzach. Quite unexpectedly for herself, the woman on whom the ritual was performed became covered with an allergic rash and sunburned for the first time in her life. Everything is in absolute accordance with the tables. Funny, but also a little creepy.
I advise you to carefully read the tables of diseases that follow in case of improper operation, because if “skin problems” are still solvable, then some arcana threaten madness and even death.
Thus the ritual ended in defeat. It took me a long time to get out of the viscosity into which my consciousness had plunged.
What was done wrong?
First, if you decide to use magic, you should refrain from telling anyone about it. Secondly, it is necessary to carefully study the tables of correspondence and not confuse the impersonal sephira and the paths of the major arcana of the tarot. Thirdly, correctly formulate a goal that can become a reliable defense. For example, I should not have appealed to a specific woman, but rather formulated in my mind a set of personal qualities of the desired spouse.
Example 2. Project Hierophant (Arcanum 5)
Needless to say, after six months of unconsciousness, into which an unsuccessful magical operation plunged me, I prepared for the next project much longer and more carefully. The very idea of conducting a ritual on the fifth lasso - Hierophant, arose a year before its implementation, and I patiently waited for its contours to take shape.
I understood too well that the magic of the tarot has enormous potential, and the forces that are released as a result of magical actions on the arcana exceed all imaginable expectations. On the other hand, I learned from my own experience what cruel consequences an incorrectly performed ritual can lead to.
My new magical project needed to be thought out much more carefully and in detail, in order to eliminate, if possible, any side effects.
The first thing I considered necessary was a correctly formulated goal. It is important to provide for possible “misunderstanding” on the part of higher powers. In my experience, the gods have a very good sense of humor: I know of a case when, when calling on Jupiter with the phrase “open the waters of the thundering sea,” pipes burst in the bathroom of the apartment where the ritual was taking place. Crowley attached great importance to the correct wording, warning the magician about the fate of Tarpeia, who was thrown to death by shields, asking the warriors to “give up what they wear on their left hand,” meaning luxurious rings. However, my desire to gain students and master the word clearly could not be played out in a negative way.
After much thought, I defined the desired result for myself as “mastering the nuances of semantic play on words and the ability to perform the function of a mentor, that is, attracting students.” For my purposes, the sixteenth path was most suitable, corresponding to the fifth lasso - the Hierophant, and traditionally associated with the secret word, the teacher (for the role of which I strenuously claimed) and the intellectual sidhe.
However, I should have thought about something else. Sometimes wishes come true at a high price. Therefore, in the wording, I clarified that I would not want to pay for the right to have students with my material well-being or happiness in love, which by that time was gradually acquired and things were heading towards the wedding.
But the splendor of the Hierophant path is that it is also associated with material well-being (Taurus, Earth), and with Venus, which is exalted in Taurus (on the lasso Venus is depicted in the form of a woman with a sword). Therefore, the ritual should emphasize invoking these aspects of the power with which the work was to be done.
I have drawn up an action plan. The month was divided into three cycles - the preliminary part, the time of solitude and, in fact, those few minutes when the text of the ritual will be read and the energy of the Hierophant will be invoked.
The cornerstone ritual, which was supposed to crown the project, was compiled according to the standard of “Liber Israfel” by Aleister Crowley, and fell on the last day of the month. I called it the Ritual of the Word.
A month before the ritual, I took on a number of obligations, the fulfillment of which was supposed to constantly remind me of the upcoming work and thereby concentrate the energy of attention. The main obligation was to abstain from a number of words (since it was about gaining the power of speech), in particular, obscene language.
Being a Mercurian type, I simply adapt to the communication context that dominates in a given company. This merger occurs almost instantly, and if in a given society it is not customary to use obscene expressions, I will not have them, but if this is normal, then the adjustment that occurs automatically will turn off attention. Therefore, the meaning of this taboo was not the desire to get rid of the habit of swearing, but to learn to distance oneself from the semantic discourse of others, which is extremely difficult for the Mercurian type. But the desire to “control the word” required the development of this ability.
Another arbitrarily assigned taboo was the ban on drinking carbonated drinks. It also forced me to constantly be aware, since the habit of drinking about a liter of soda a day was very strong.
Another meaning was a temporary symbolic distance from a social circle that always drinks beer. This, as my intuition told me, firstly, will allow me to look at the discourses in which I find myself as if from the outside, and secondly, it will destroy my unconscious identity with everyone and everything that happens around me.
However, the essence of the taboo is actually secondary. If you really love milk, you can forbid yourself to drink it for a month, and if you have never sworn in your life, use obscene words at least three times a day. Only one thing is important - concentration on fulfilling the taboo, which becomes the key to achieving the goal.
As the project progressed, I meditated on the color orange, admired the image of the fifth arcana, and hung in my room various images of bulls and buffaloes corresponding to this card.
No bright effects were observed this month and I began to worry that the process would be a failure, like the previous project. However, everything turned out the other way around.
When, at the end of my meditative retreat, I entered the circle and, taking the pose of a five-pointed star, recited the text of the ritual, I felt my body shake with vibration, and my consciousness for a few seconds merged with the idea of the pentagram. In the flow of vibration, I suddenly caught just one thought flying towards me from above - “I give you more than you think.” Then I lay in a circle for a long time, rolling streams of energy throughout my body. After a while I felt the energy lifting my hands and placing them above me. The ritual is over.
Unlike the stunning effects of the Venus invocation, which reached the point of visual hallucinations, this effect was weak, like a light breeze, and I even worried that the vibrations were just the result of a change in consciousness from prolonged solitude, and the quiet whisper was self-hypnosis.
However, subsequent events refuted my fears, since the result of the ritual significantly exceeded my wildest expectations. First of all, what I wanted happened - I had two direct students. This happened over the next two months, so I have the right to consider this fact the result of the Ritual of the Word.
The work of correspondence has intensified - for many I am becoming a source of objective knowledge about Thelema. It seems that I have been given the opportunity to enter into the space of Thelema not only through personal communication, but also by correspondence. However, this happened before the ritual, so I don’t know whether this fact can be considered a result of its action.
Moreover, just a month and a half later I was entrusted with the post of one of the two heads of the training sector of the O.T.O. with the responsibilities of leading the study group and working with candidates, which is a huge honor.
Another important fact is the increase in my intellectual activity in studying and in working on articles. According to my beloved wife, after the ritual, my level of word proficiency increased qualitatively, and my sense of the semantic space of a word became more acute.
Moreover, the ritual really turned out to be devoid of side effects, since the preparation, goal formulation and motivation were extremely correct.
My true will is, in the language of fiction, to be a progressor, that is, to teach those who are ready to learn. The ritual of the “Hierophant” project seemed to break through some invisible boundary, giving me such opportunities. The effect of the ritual lasted for several years: I received the necessary position that allowed me to teach students, students spontaneously appeared and found me under circumstances that can be called a kind of small miracle. Whether these facts can be connected is up to you to decide. In the end, everything that happens to us is a consequence of a cause, but how accurately we can determine the cause is another question.
