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Temperance: The 25th Path

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ALLIES OF SAGITTARIUS

   "Look, Mr. M, it's the Archangel Michael! We've met him before!" Claire exclaims. "I can't tell, Mr. M. Is that water or some other kind of energy flowing from one cup to the other?"

   “Yes, you're right. On this path, we find the great Archangel Michael, who rules the element of Fire. With one foot on land and one foot in the water, he is mixing liquids in two cups, which suggests mixing water with wine as an act of temperance. In the background a path leads to a crown glowing like the sun, which reveals that this is the path to the Emanation known as Beauty and eventually to the Source of all Creation beyond. The energy flowing between the cups perhaps jumps out at you because it suggests the balancing of energy, the conscious creation of balance and harmony. One foot of the Archangel is in the water, which suggests a connection with the subconscious mind, and the other is on the land, which suggests the conscious mind grounding itself on the earth, and the Archangel is harmonizing them to create and maintain the heightened consciousness of the higher self.

   "This path is on the middle pillar of the Tree of Life, and is therefore a path of balance. The two side-paths leading to Tiphareth, which means Beauty as I just mentioned, each contain dangers of unbalanced force. ‘The Devil,’ for instance, presents the temptation of using the intellect for personal gratification, of manifesting thought-forms as a sorcerer for selfish personal ends. The one that you will travel next, called ‘Death,’ contains the temptation of inertia, of passivity in the face of the forces of inevitable change. The middle path known as ‘Temperance,’ the 25th path, emphasizes the attainment of balance within our natures. The astrological sign associated with this path is Sagittarius, the archer, who is a centaur, a creature with both human and animal characteristics, a combination of the transient and the eternal.”
   “Are the middle paths are the most important, Mr. M?”
   “The middle paths form the quickest route to Source, the Crown of Creation, and are by necessity the most balanced of the paths, but each path, remember, connects and balances the energies of two spheres on the Tree of Life. Each path helps us to harmonize energies within us. The Tree of Life, as you recall, contains three pillars: the left pillar, the Pillar of Severity; the right pillar, the Pillar of Mercy; and the middle pillar, the Pillar of Mildness. The left side, the Pillar of Severity, is essentially about form on different levels of being, and the right side is essentially about force on different levels of being. Some paths present greater chances of missing the mark of union with God, because they are more oriented toward either form or force, but all paths, remember, are part of one creation. The middle paths create a balance of form and force at different levels.”
   “So each path helps us to balance energies.”
   “Yes. In fact, we are traveling the path of the serpent Nechustan because it reveals the best overall route to take up the Tree since on this path you ultimately experience and harmonize all of the energies within yourself. In the process of building the Tree of Life in the aura and the conscious mind so that our personal energy fields are in balance with the Universal Energy Field, we harmonize these energies. That is one reason we are meeting the Archangel Michael here, whose name means 'one who is like unto God.'

   "The 25th path is called ‘the path of the arrow,’ suggesting the arrow that the centaur shoots heavenward. The centaur is similar to the God Horus in a significant way. Horus, remember, contains the energies of the eternal and the transient within him--one of his eyes is the sun, the other the moon. Like Anubis, he is an important God for our age. Anubis, remember, guides you into the underworld, into the subconscious. Horus takes you from the subconscious to soul consciousness--the super consciousness of the higher self, which is found in Beauty, the Emanation that balances the energies of the Tree.”
   “So balance is really, really important everywhere on the Tree. Right, Mr. M?”
   “Yes, indeed. Balancing the energies within yourself as you progress on your path through the inner planes is essential. Whenever you connect with an Emanation, you open up the virtues and vices of that sphere. For instance, the virtue of Tiphareth is devotion to the great work, which is union with God, and its vice is pride. When you first touch the energies of the sphere of equilibrium, you open up the possibility of oneness with the Source, but you also experience the negative pole of that sphere, which is the selfishness that makes you believe that your individual ego is central to the universe. You must balance those energies within you, retaining your individuality while recognizing that you are a reflection of the Source, one form of energy within a vast fabric of living energies all connected and interrelated. So many religious conflicts have occurred because people have touched the harmonizing energies of the Christ center, feeling a sense of oneness with creation, without realizing that they have to deal with the opposite tendency in their nature, which is separateness, the pride that makes them feel superior to others. So what do we end up with? Wars and conflict between people who have essentially the same aims. The outer struggles reflect the inner struggles of people who are striving to harmonize the energies within them. One of the great challenges of spiritual development is the balancing of the polarized forces within our own natures while remembering that everything is divine energy, everything is holy, no matter where we are on the Tree.
   "The Archangel told us that we might feel a sense of the oneness of all creation, a sense of harmony and balance that transcends human understanding--a sense impossible to explain because of all the conflict in the world. Remember also that he told us that we might also understand that sacrifice is involved, the sacrifice of attachments and desires that bind us to the unbalanced aspects of the lower personality.
   “Like Horus, the higher self knows the harmony of all creation, and through sacrifice the higher self balances all the forces of our nature. The higher self contains the balance of all forces, the harmony of the transitory and the eternal. The higher self knows the divinity within the manifested world and the underlying unity of all consciousness and can rise or descend at will on the Tree of Life.”

   "The Archangel Michael is so awesome, Mr. M!"

   "Yes, all the Archangels are incredibly awesome. Together, they can neutralize dark forces and the unbalanced energies within ourselves."

The Eight of Wands:

Mercury in Sagittarius, Mercury in Hod

   "Eight wands are flying across the sky.  They are descending together at the same angle and almost the same rate down to the Earth, which, considering the heaviness of the wands, is a masterful feat of coordination.  Together in flight, the wands suggest the proficiency and focus of the intellect, a quality of Mercury, but suggests also a mastery and knowing that flows from a place deeper than the conscious mind, recalling the way a Zen master, shooting an arrow in total darkness, hits the bulls-eye.  In terms of the Tree of Life, it is no wonder that the path of Sagittarius lies between Yesod, a sphere of the Moon associated with the subconscious, and Tiphareth, the sphere of the Sun and the Higher Self.  Sagittarius is an archer, and the flight of his arrow suggests the ascent of the mind to higher realms.  Mercury also, in his role as the messenger of the Gods, is associated with unexpected intuitions that are communicated to the conscious mind from the spiritual dimension and the higher self.  The fact that we don't know where the wands are coming from suggests this difficulty in identifying exactly where intuitive knowledge originates--from the personal or the transpersonal, from a God or from a divine level of the self."

The Nine of Wands:

Moon in Sagittarius, Moon in Yesod

   "Look, Mr. M, that poor guy is hurt!" Claire exclaims.

   "Yes, our friend here is standing up with a little effort after suffering a blow to the head. He might be dazed, but he's ready for another challenge. The eight other wands standing up straight behind him suggest strength on other levels. Perhaps he has many allies who can come to his aid, or perhaps the wands signal strength on other levels of the psyche. Your ally is unwaveringly strong under the influence of the Moon in Sagittarius in a sphere known as Yesod, the Foundation. On the cosmic level, one of the two main characteristics of the Foundation is strength. The other quality, which might seem to be a contradiction at first, is the flux associated with water and the Moon. The strength inherent in the flux of the Foundation can be understood more easily in terms of a body of water like the ocean, with its constantly shifting waves and deep currents. The tides and waves and currents keep changing, but the the ocean remains a vast, powerful force. The Moon, also associated with the depths of the subconscious mind, is a strong influence on our friend at a personal level. His strength stems from a subconscious, spiritual source. The suit of Wands symbolizes the plane of spiritual will, a plane often buried deep within the subconscious mind of the individual. The sun shines on the moon, which in terms of the Tree of Life symbolically suggests the Higher Self stimulating subconscious motivations. Sagittarians are known for having strongly idealistic natures and indominatible spirits that can suffer many disappointments because of their passion for truth and justice. They tend to fight for causes they believe to be just and are often on the side of the underdog. Whether your ally is aware of it or not, these qualities stem from the Higher Self."

The Ten of Wands:

Saturn in Sagittarius, Four Elements in Malkuth

   "Look, Mr. M, there's that guy carrying those sticks!"

   "Yes, indeed, our friend is still plugging away at his task. But notice again your ally carries the wands forward in an orderly fashion, and remember, he is feeling the influences of Saturn in Sagittarius. Your ally has too much to deal with, but the discipline of Saturn enables him to manage his burden. Your ally shows the heroic determination and endurance necessary to complete worthwhile labors initiated by the fiery inspirations of the spirit. As I said before, your ally is grounded, able to bring projects to a successful conclusion, and does not shy away from responsibility. He looks like a common laborer, but he is comparable to a hero like Hercules as he manages the impulses of the spirit within the demands of the physical plane."

   "He has an indomitable spirit!" Claire proclaims.

 

Go on a different adventure with Mr. Mellifluous.