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The 13th Path: The High Priestess

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ALLIES OF THE MOON

   "She's wearing a strange crown, Mr. M."

   “Her mysterious crown suggests the phases of the moon. She is a Goddess who gloriously reveals the receptive feminine side of the psyche. She hears messages from the other side of the Abyss that she communicates to us. She can be a dark Goddess but she can impart great spiritual knowledge to us from both the higher and lower dimensions. She is comfortable with unity and multiplicity and harmonizes and balances all aspects of the psyche under the moon. Knowledge from the divine comes through her.”

   “The 13th path, known as ‘The High Priestess,’ is one of the most mysterious paths because in several key ways it belies our sense of logic. The moon and water symbolism of the path alludes to The Foundation, the ninth Emanation just above Malkuth, the Kingdom. But the 13th path connects Beauty, the Christ center, with the Crown of Creation high on the middle pillar, establishing the most direct route to union with the Source. Instead of sun symbolism, which suggests unity and spiritual awareness, you find moon and water symbolism, which suggests constant change, the multiplicity of phases, and the subconscious mind.”
   “On the very first path we took, the 32nd path, which connects the Kingdom with the Foundation, we had to go down before we could ascend. Does that have something to do with it?” Claire inquires.
   “On the 13th path, we have to go deep into the subconscious mind across the desert that separates the divine core of the self from the conscious mind. The highest that the conscious human mind can go is Mercy, the fourth Emanation on the Tree of Life. That is one reason why the Hebrew letter associated with this path is Gimel, which means ‘camel.’ The conscious mind cannot take us across this desert--some other inner force must carry us. The Source in the Crown of Creation, remember, contains the greatest unity that the human mind can know; the human mind in The Kingdom is much more used to dealing with polarity and division and the multiplicity of form.”
   “But all of these paths contain symbols to help us move across the Abyss, right?”
   “Remember that symbols are still part of the world of form; symbols are essentially forms that represent spiritual principles. But you are right. The other paths across the Abyss contain symbols that help us feel our way through the formless light. They form bridges to higher awareness. The spiritual abstractions above the Abyss are presented in The Foundation as symbols to our subconscious mind. We can create a bridge to the formless spiritual truths with the symbols in the ninth Emanation, which is hinted at in the moon and water symbolism of this path. The first connection with higher consciousness often consists of visions of symbols, such as an infinity symbol or an equal-armed cross. In other words, the higher self can project formless spiritual abstractions into the subconscious mind, which then represents the abstractions as symbols to the conscious mind.”
   “Didn't you say that higher knowledge is actually more intuitive, Mr. M?”
   “Yes, higher knowledge is formless, without symbols. You just know something is true or something is about to happen. That is where faith comes in.”
   “So is it possible to cross the Abyss?”
   “Yes, but remember: You cannot look upon the face of God and live. In other words, if you experience the absolute unity of the Source, your consciousness will be translated into a completely different state of being. You will not be annihilated--instead, your consciousness will totally transcend this plane. You will retain your human experience within the fire of the Source. Numerous lifetimes pass before a soul is ready for this transcendent experience.”
   “But the core of the self communicates intuitive knowledge to the soul, right, so we can still know God even while we live as human beings?”
   “Yes, as long as a path has been cleared between the divine core of the self, and the enlightened conscious mind, and the lower incarnated personality. That is why it is crucial that you purify yourself regularly. Negative energies garble and distort the messages.”
   “So the High Priestess channels those messages to us in pure form.”
   “Yes. The feminine side of the mind is much more psychic and receptive to spiritual intuition. Notice that the High Priestess sits between two pillars, one black and one white, which means that the High Priestess herself is essentially representing the middle pillar of the Tree of Life. She holds the Torah in her lap, a symbol of spiritual knowledge. Over her heart is a pure-white equal-armed cross, which symbolizes the unity and harmony of all of the elements of the Tree--before the white light is shattered into the many colors of multiplicity. In that sense, she is pure, virginal, and can sit before the veil of the Abyss communicating the messages of Spirit to us. Her white equal-armed cross is the opposite of the black equal-armed cross associated with The Kingdom, which suggests a different logic in the realms of unity and diversity, yet her feet touch the solid ground. She integrates the opposites of polarity, and the direct link to the Source is through Her.”

Nine of Wands: Moon in Sagittarius
Lord of Great Strength

   "That guy looks really messed up. He seems a little dizzy."

   "Yes, our friend is still standing up straight after suffering a blow to the head. He might be a little dazed, but the other wands standing up straight behind him suggest his great strength. Perhaps he has many allies who can come to his aid, or perhaps the wands signal deep strength on the different dimensions of the psyche represented by the Tree of Life. Our friend remains unwavering  under the influence of the Moon in Sagittarius in the Emanation 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 contradictory 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 ally on a personal level. His strength stems from a subconscious, spiritual source. The suit of Wands symbolizes the plane of spiritual will, which is sometimes 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 the subconscious. Sagittarians are known for having strongly idealistic natures 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 usually on the side of the underdog. Whether our friend is aware of it or not, these qualities stem from the Higher Self.

Four of Cups: Moon in Cancer

Lord of  Blended Pleasure

   "He looks like he is meditating with his eyes open, Mr. M," Claire whispers.

   "Yes, our friend sits at the foot of a tree in a posture of meditation, recalling the Buddha who meditated under a Bodhi tree until he attained enlightenment. Our friend is having a vision: an ethereal hand extending from a cloud offers him a golden cup. His eyes appear to be open, but he is concentrating intensely, perceiving the cups before him with the psychic third eye. As many who meditate know, visions of archetypes and symbols often appear as real as anything in conscious, waking vision. Your ally is experiencing the influence of Cancer, which stimulates psychic powers as well as the powers of sympathetic imagination. The Moon, also associated with psychism and the subconscious mind, is also a powerful influence. Even though your ally may give the impression of being down-to-earth, common, even simple, in this state influenced by the Moon and Cancer, he can experience great insights that reveal the magnificence, harmony and abundance of the spirit (characteristic of Jupiter), even possibly, like the Buddha, inspiring generations with his wisdom."

   "He makes me want to meditate, Mr. M!"

Two of Swords: Moon in Libra

Lord of Peace Restored

   "Look, she is glowing in the moonlight, Mr. M!"

   "Or her soul is glowing. She crosses her arms, grasping a long sword in each hand. Since the swords are so long and heavy, this balancing act obviously requires great strength and concentration. Our friend wears a blindfold, which perhaps is helping her to concentrate. If you think back, you might remember that she is like the figure of Justice, who does not wear a blindfold, which suggest that true justice sees all. So our friend appears to represent something besides the forces of karma and justice. Since she is in the second Emanation known as Wisdom, a state of almost unimaginable energy, she is concentrating on balancing powerful forces, an act of great discipline in such a dynamic sphere, which is a quality of Libra. On the Tree of Life, the second Emanation balances the forces of the Source, establishing equilibrium. Our friend wears a blindfold to suggest that the force of equilibrium is at this stage a blind, primal state “above” nature, just as Wisdom is a supernal Emanation "above" manifestation, and she wears white to suggest how all colors together form one unified state “above” or “beyond" the diverse forms of creation. The sense of primal unity, willful balance and stability within the dynamic powers and flux of creation, suggested by water and the Moon, is what our friend manifests."

   "I see why she is glowing, Mr. M."

Seven of Swords: Moon in Aquarius

Lord of Unstable Effort

   "Look, Mr. M, those swords must be hurting his hands!"

   "Yes, I'm sure those swords are sharp, but our friend is gleefully stealing them from the enemy’s camp. He resembles a jester more than a soldier, and his attitude suggests that he is performing a prank rather than attempting to seriously harm the enemy. He is alone, and his actions have minimal impact on the opposition, yet his prank suggests that humor is potentially a kind of weapon that can force the mind to examine different points of view. He cannot carry all of the swords, which suggests that it would have been wiser to involve others in the scheme--if he were actually attempting to destabilize the enemy. His efforts are unstable (a quality of both the Moon, which constantly changes, and Venus on the lower planes), but there is the suggestion of a deeper principle: conflict, which usually stems from desire or emotion, often causes instability. His prank resembles a jest before a king who unwisely insists on dragging a society into war, into open conflict which stems from unstable emotions and desires and ends up causing even more instability. Your ally is out in the open, committing a theft, which is less evil than killing. He doesn’t even seem to mind that he might be seen. “Look at me,” he seems to be saying. “My actions are less crazy than yours!” His awkward theft points to another basic motivation for conflict: stealing property. Our friend reveals a facet of The Fool, a divine madness that forces the people in power and the community to confront its own irrationality and impetuousness and greed."

   "He seems like a wise fool, Mr. M. I like him!"

Six of Pentacles: Moon in Taurus

   "That man seems super-generous, Mr. M!"   

   "Yes, he is manifesting the generosity that the life-force manifests in many ways. With one hand he is giving money, a form of energy; in the other he holds scales as if to determine how deserving the supplicants are. The master resembles the life-force with its inherent sense of balance, from which abundance is obtained through a desire for development and improvement. Each of us receives spiritual impulses, inspirations that we can manifest down through the planes through the use of imagination, technical knowledge and skill. Those with a strong desire to develop their talents and use their abilities to realize their dreams are supported and rewarded on some level. Those who do not develop their talents lose what they already have through lack of initiative. Individual talents, like muscles, atrophy if they are not used."

   "I won't ignore my talents, Mr. M."

Go on a different adventure with Mr. M.