Insanity is the New Normal

Path 14: The Empress

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ALLIES OF VENUS

"Oh, Mr. M, she is so lovely!" Claire exclaims.

“The Empress holds up a golden scepter, for she rules nature, all of manifested life. On her head is a crown with twelve stars, which represents the zodiac, and we see seven visible pearls around her neck, suggesting the seven planets of classical astrology. All around her is the glory of nature: the yellow sky represents the element of Air, the stream represents the element of Water, the flourishing grain suggests the abundance associated with the element of Earth, and the bright orange pillow suggests passion and the element of Fire. The Empress rules fertility and life in all its forms, at all levels of the cosmos. She is a great, joyful, loving Goddess.”

"She makes me feel joyful, Mr. M."

“On this horizontal path known as ‘The Empress’ we find the first great polarity of transcendent forces on the Tree of Life, and at the heart of that creative polarity is love. Within the fourteenth path are the seeds of manifestation, which eventually flourish in the seventh and tenth Emanations, Victory and the Kingdom. Venus, the astrological association, and YHVH Tzaboath, the God-name for the fourteenth path, can also be found in Victory, the seventh Emanation. In Victory we find the true origin of multiplicity that manifests in the Kingdom, otherwise known as the physical plane, where all of the forces of the Tree of Life ultimately manifest. Beauty, the Emanation of the Sun above Victory, reflects the unity of the Crown of creation. But suddenly in Victory, we find multiplicity, as if a hand has held up a prism in front of the sun to reveal the colors of creation.”
   “This path connects the heavenly Father with the heavenly Mother, doesn't it, Mr. M?”
   “Yes, and more. The Hebrew letter Daleth associated with this path suggests the unity within multiplicity, the One within the Many. Daleth means ‘door,’ and a door can create both a sense of division and unity. When closed, the door suggests an otherness that exists on the other side, which creates a sense of separateness. When open, the door allows a movement into that otherness into a sense of unity. The path of Daleth connects Wisdom, the Emanation of dynamic, masculine life-force, with Understanding, the Emanation of feminine form, which divides and restricts and limits force. This path contains the first manifestation of gender, which results in the One and the Many manifesting in diverse ways below the Abyss.”
   “In our world, I think we know the diversity pretty well but not the unity so much.”
   “That’s true, but on the spiritual level we find the unity that manifests in multiplicity.”
   “Isn’t the first polarity really between the Crown and Wisdom, though, Mr. M?”
   “Good question. But the ancient literature suggests that Wisdom is like a mirror image of the Crown where God first sees Itself. In the literature known as the Yetziric text, Wisdom equals the Crown, and the division suggests not polarity and opposition but a Self-awareness. Remember that the intense force in Wisdom emanates Understanding, and that the life-force continues in a lightning flash down the Tree of Life, through all levels of being. The life-force changes vibration, setting up polarities as it flows from the spiritual to the physical, but it remains essentially one thing. Romantic love is one manifestation of the life-force and often provides a sense of unity, but a person can be potent on all levels of being, not just the physical level.”
   “Is that sense of unity what you mean by ‘love?’ Because I know some people who don’t feel a sense of unity that often.”
   “Yes, and that is often the case until you have an awareness of the underlying unity of all consciousness. But love is also a kind of power and illumination. Venus, remember, is intimate with Mars; the Martian power and energy flows through Beauty, the sphere of harmony and equilibrium, before it reaches Victory. People often associate the power of the life-force with passion, but the ability to feel the underlying unity of consciousness leads to a kind of inner strength and power. Spiritual, mental, and emotional connections and manifestations of the life-force are no less important than the physical side of things. The more powerful the vibrations of the life-force on all levels of the self and the more intense the feeling of unity, the greater the sense of love.”
   “Doesn't Venus also represent beauty?”
   “Oh yes, beauty in a special sense. We see the beauty of the blue sky because of all the dust particles in the air, just as we know the beauty of the Source in all of Its manifestations, which implies that without all of the incredible diversity of life on this plane we wouldn’t be as aware of the beauty of the Source of all life, and I hate to say it, but humanity has gotten so proficient at destroying the beauty of nature that many people might not even be able to comprehend that idea. That is why it is important to go out into nature as often as possible. Humanity has despoiled nature in many parts of the planet, but what remains can ravish the soul.”
   “Does Venus represent the natural world too?”
   “Venus symbolizes the love and beauty that manifest in the natural world and in our individual natures. Venus is the terrestrial mother, the celestial mother on a lower arc. All Goddesses are one Goddess, and all Gods are one God, functioning at different levels. Over thousands of years, Western culture has tried to destroy the Goddess, which is essentially a blasphemy against the Source of all Creation because the feminine is an essential expression of the Source, and humanity consequently has ended up nearly killing the planet.”
   Mr. M bows his head. “Notice how the symbol of Venus can encompass the entire Tree of Life. The circle at the top can include the Crown, Wisdom, and Understanding, as well as Mercy, Mercy and Beauty, the higher Emanations. The equal-armed cross at the bottom of the symbol can include Victory, Splendor, the Foundation, and the Kingdom. All of life is united in that symbol."

"I love that, Mr. M!"

Four of Wands: Venus in Ares

Lord of Perfected Work

"I feel like celebrating, Mr. M!" Claire exclaims.

"Yes, there is much to celebrate. The perfected work of the harvest has brought prosperity, peace, and harmony. Our friends in the distance feel the influence of Venus, who 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, but Venus is sometimes an unstable influence. Here and now, though, the Empress and Emperor are experiencing harmonizing love on the spiritual plane. Combined with the expansiveness and abundance of Jupiter, our joyful friends are experiencing spiritual love filled with compassion, the fire of the life-force, and the abundance of the heart. That is the perfected work.

Two of Cups: Venus in Cancer

Lord of Love

"Wow, Mr. M, those two really seem to be in love!"

"The magnetism they feel draws them together, and the energy they generate rises above them, represented by the red lion’s winged head above intertwined serpents. Our friends are, in other words, are “mated" with each other at all dimensions of their being, the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Our friends are in the second Emanation known as Wisdom, and they reveal the energy of polarity in equilibrium and expansion. The most primal expansion in terms of the Tree of Life was the first cosmic act of creation within manifestation, with the Crown, the Source, emanating Wisdom, the second Emanation, or state of being, establishing equilibrium and then expanding again to give rise to the third Emanation, the state known as Understanding. This process occurs naturally also within the individual at different levels of being. The intertwined serpents suggest the caduceus, the ancient symbol of optimum health that represents the open and balanced channels, both masculine and feminine, of the life-force in the personal energy field known as the aura. The red lion shows the fiery expansion of the kundalini, which is the life-force thrilling through every level of the psyche--physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual--when nothing is blocking it. When you are tuned to another person on these levels, you can experience the energies much more intensely. But that powerful energy is not pure expansiveness--it is expansion that occurs in its optimal state in balanced equilibrium, as suggested by the intertwined serpents. The powerful energy of the life-force, to be anything more than blinding fireworks, needs to be firmly grounded for love to flourish."

"Wow, their love seems wonderful!"

Seven of Cups: Venus in Scorpio

Lord of Illusionary Success

"That man seems a little confused, Mr. M."

"Yes, our friend is reaching out a shadowy hand as though about to make an important decision. He is feeling the influences of Venus in Scorpio, so I can understand why he might be feeling a little perplexed. No one wants to choose something that turns out to be merely an illusion. Scorpio is associated with transformation, suggesting the inevitable change that occurs after an important life-choice. The influence of Venus, associated with desire and volatile emotion, is often unstable, except in the spiritual dimension where the influence leads to valor and high spiritual love. Each choice presented to our friend is attractive but also a little off-putting. The golden snake and the dragon are both a little frightening, the castle seems remote, the blue head floats decapitated above the cup, the jewels on closer inspection resemble colorful bubbles, and the cup with the laurel wreath has a faint skull etched (or reflected) in it. The central cup shows a figure emanating pink light. The top half of the body is completely hidden by a veil, and the figure remains anonymous, seemingly detached from worldly concerns and desires. At first glance, that cup might appear the least attractive of all. Pink, however, symbolizes spiritual love, the highest, most loving energy of the heart. The four lower cups suggest the four lower Emanations of the Tree of Life, while the central cup suggests Beauty, the Emanation of spiritual transformation from the lower personality to the higher self. The influence of Venus, except on the highest levels, can attach a person to an illusion. It is impossible to determine which cup our friend will choose, but the highest spiritual love is within his reach."

"I hope he makes the right choice, Mr. M!"

Five of Swords: Venus in Aquarius

Lord of Defeat

"That man with the swords seems pretty proud of himself, Mr. M, but he seems to have made those other two men very sad."

"Our friend with the swords appears to have won a victory. Since we are experiencing the influence of Venus here, this conflict might be about love, but since we are also feeling the influence of Aquarius, there might be something else going on. The other two men have turned away in defeat. Two swords, too sharp and heavy for the victor to carry, remain on the bloodless ground. A storm has occurred, but the clouds are breaking up, and the water in the background, though still choppy, is growing calmer. If this conflict is only about love, you might imagine yourself as either the victor or the vanquished. You might believe for a moment that you have triumphed but then realize that instead you have lost. You might turn from winner into loser and back again. A fight tends to result in at least one winner and one loser, and the loser often attempts to undermine the winner in a cycle of conflict that continually leads to instability, a characteristic of both Venus and Mars on the lower planes. Even though you are momentarily victorious, you might, in other words, find yourself caught in a vicious cycle. All involved in a cycle of revenge lose because conflict causes fear, disruption, and suffering, but since there is no blood on the ground, our friend with the swords might have simply neutralized the other two to create harmony, which suggests the deeper wisdom characteristic of Aquarius."

Nine of Pentacles: Venus in Virgo

Lord of Material Gain

"She is so pretty and happy. She seems pretty happy, Mr. M."

"Our friend lightly touches a pentacle and gazes lovingly at the hooded falcon, as if she knows the meaning of success, not just in the material realm, but as a person who has created her own stable world full of sweetness and quiet joy. She can allow the falcon, like her mind, to soar, but she realizes that at times it must remain hooded, subject to restrictions and discipline. Like the bushes and vines, her life is productive and harmonious and satisfying, which requires self-awareness, sacrifice, and effort. In addition to the flowers on her dress, which resemble symbols of Venus, Goddess of Love, she has the mark of an evolved person who is aware of what matters and what needs to be done to create and maintain a world of loveliness and abundance."

Go on a different adventure with Mr. M.