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Path 15: The Emperor

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ALLIES OF ARES

   “He is an emperor? What does he rule, Mr. M?”

   “That is truly the question, isn’t it?  Notice the molten lava behind the emperor’s throne.  Even the sky is orange.  He is sitting in a world of fire, which is appropriate, since Ares is the Fire sign associated with this path.  This is the fire that consumes and purifies so that new life can spring forth, the fiery energy of new growth in springtime.  This is the fire of the mind, which destroys what is not beneficial in order to create balance.  Our emperor friend is a self-actualized individual who has dominion over his own world--and who takes responsibility for everything in it.  In a sense, every individual is a kind of emperor, containing the intense fire of the life-force, whether or not he or she knows it.  We each hold our own orb and scepter.  What we do with these gifts is our karma, our fate.”

   “But some people are born into terrible situations, aren't they, Mr. M?”

   “No one can deny that it is incredibly difficult in some cases to extricate oneself from bad circumstances.  But the fire of the mind is extremely powerful.  It can burn away negative thought patterns and fill positive thought-patterns with great force.  Notice that this path connects Beauty, the central Emanation of harmonizing love and equilibrium, with Wisdom, the transcendent Emanation of pure, intense, dynamic life-force above the Abyss.  The emperor recognizes he is on fire with the life-force and that the life-force is on fire all around him.  That Fire from the Source within his own mind is what he rules.”

   “You mean that anyone can be an emperor, Mr. M?”

   “Each person is a kind of emperor, but it takes the fire of courage, which is a virtue of Mars, to realize it.  Humanity wants to set one person aside, like a pharaoh or a king or a Christ as the archetypal ruler, without recognizing that the archetypal forces exist within each person and for each person, not just within one exalted human being.  It takes courage to break away from the herd mentality and take dominion of your own life.  Many obstacles may be in the path, but the mind can burn all that away and use the energy of the life-force to take whatever action is needed to overcome them.

   “When you feel the life-force flowing into you from the Emanation of Wisdom, you see the fiery play of the life-force and feel a strange sense of eternity and know the transitory nature of all things from a transcendent perspective.  That, in one sense, is what the Hebrew letter Heh, which means ‘window,’ suggests--transcendent sight.  But the letter Heh, which is the second and fourth letter of the Tetragrammaton, Yod, Heh, Vau, Heh, the God-name Jehovah, also suggests not only how we perceive but how we create our world on the mental and physical levels, the ‘worlds’ of form.  To simplify a bit, we perceive, we interpret, we create, we remember.  Initially, Yod is the spark, the catalyst of creation, on the spiritual level, and Vau is the nail or peg, the force that holds the creation together on the astral level--the Heh in the second and fourth positions relates to the forms of mental and physical perceptions and creations, thought-forms as well as physical forms.”

   “So, can I ask kind of a personal question?”

   “Fire away.”

   “What did you experience when you first traveled the ‘Path of Heh’?”

   “At first, the scepter jumped out at me and grew larger and larger.  Suddenly I fell into molten lava and every part of me burned away except for the awareness that I am a point of consciousness in a vast, fiery cosmos.  Then, using my will, I rose above the lava and saw myself as a white-hot ankh, which very much resembles a scepter.”

   “Wow.”

   “That’s not all.  A few days later, I learned that one way to take the initiation of Osiris is to imagine submerging yourself in molten lava, which is a kind of symbolic death and rebirth.  Synchronicities do tend to happen occasionally on the spiritual path.

   “On this path, you see a ruler sitting on a throne in a world that appears to be on fire.  With his own mind, the emperor creates stability and establishes personal dominion.  With the potency and power and courage of Ares on the personal level he creates his own world, working as a co-creator with the Divine Will.  Nothing can stop him from realizing his own potential, aligned as it is with the transcendent spiritual will.”

Two of Wands: Mars in Ares

Lord of Dominion

   "You say this guy is influenced by Mars and Ares. He doesn't look that intimidating."

   "True, he is not intimidating like some great warrior or hero. Though average in appearance, with the globe in one hand and a wand in the other, he has the air of a master. He is experiencing the influences of the second Emanation of the Tree of Life known as Wisdom, which is one key to understanding his power and dominion. Wisdom, containing unimaginable power in equilibrium, is the first state of being emanated from the Source, and Ares the Ram is the first sign in the zodiac, which corresponds to the birth of spring. Mars, like the ram, represents the sheer power and potency of the life-force, but Mars is not just power--Mars also burns away what does not serve the life-force according to the laws of nature and karma. Mars restricts and channels and disciplines power so that it can be used forcefully and creatively and productively. Our friend balances the power of the life-force within himself. He is in complete dominion of his own world. But our friend also looks upon and and draws from the vast potential of creative energies within the cosmos. As a microcosm within the macrocosm, our friend, as an individual, a personal energy field, is a reflection of the cosmos, the Universal Energy Field, and draws upon the energies of the life-force at all levels of being. Our friend might also be gazing into the distance toward Understanding, the next Emanation within the supernal triad above the Abyss. If Wisdom is the sphere where the One becomes aware of Itself, Understanding is the first sphere to establish the principle of polarity, what some call duality. Most notably in these two Emanations the feminine principle balances the masculine principle. On the Tree of Life, Understanding is the realm of the celestial Mother, and Wisdom is the realm of the celestial Father. Recognizing the creative possibilities of connection and polarity between himself and the world and anything that is “other” or “opposite,” our friend, in dominion of himself, maintains the unobstructed power of the life-force in a sustainable balance with the laws of nature."

   "That is a great power to have. Thanks, Mr. M."

Three of Wands: Sun in Ares

Lord of Established Strength

   "Is that guy on some kind of journey, Mr. M?"

   "Yes, our friend, like all of us, is on a journey. As he looks out upon the world, he is seeing the big picture, perhaps even feeling transcendent cosmic forces, but we cannot tell how he is affected because his back is turned to us, his posture suggesting only stability. Our friend is experiencing the energies of the third Sephira, an Emanation that completes the supernal triad comprised of the Source, The Crown of Creation; the masculine principle, or God, the celestial Father; and the feminine principle, or Goddess, the celestial Mother. Even though this triad is transcendent, beyond the Abyss that separates human consciousness from the transpersonal aspects of the One, this original trinity establishes the basis for the diversity of all that was, all that is, and all that shall ever be within the planes of manifestation, the Many within the One. The third Emanation, as the womb of creation, establishes the celestial Mother, often known as the Goddess, as the creator, preserver, and destroyer. Once spiritual force is restricted by form, death is inevitable, but so is rebirth, and the cycle begins all over again for everything that has ever manifested in our wonderful world. Besides the restrictive influence of Saturn, your ally also feels the powerful influences of the Sun and Ares, hence the fiery golden atmosphere. The physical sun is the basis of all life on the planet, and Ares represents the energy of spring. Your ally, standing on a ridge overlooking the sea, remains stable yet open, experiencing the light of the Source and the energies of rebirth within the established cycles of existence."

   "Cool."

   "Yes, very cool indeed."

Three of Wands: Venus in Ares

Lord of Perfected Work

   "What are those people celebrating, Mr. M? Is that a wedding?"

   "Four wands stand together with a decorative wreath hanging between them. The perfected work of the harvest has brought prosperity, peace, and harmony. Our friends in the distance are enthusiastically waving bouquets of flowers under the influence of Jupiter in the fourth Emanation, known as Mercy, and Venus in Ares. Venus rules attraction, love, and marriage, as well as harmony in relationships. Venus, placed in a Fire sign, often results in dramatic, exciting and fiery expressions of love, which unfortunately can lead to short-lived, unsatisfactory love affairs. On what some call the “lower" planes, the emotional and physical dimensions, the influence of Venus often leads to instability. But in terms of the Tree of Life, our friends are experiencing harmonizing love on the spiritual level, combined with the expansiveness and abundance of Jupiter. For our joyful friends, the manifestation of spiritual love--filled with compassion, the Fire of the life-force, and the  abundance of both heart and soul--is the perfected work."

Go on a different adventure with Mr. M.