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Venus in Scorpio,
Venus in Victory (Netzach)
ELEMENTAL TRIANGLES:
THE CHOICE
In your journey through the Tarot, you will encounter cosmic forces manifesting in many different circumstances. The basic, subtle forces of the Universal Mind have often been represented throughout the ages as Gods and Goddesses, but in the Tarot, the forces are often represented as people in common situations, which makes it easier for you to think of these forces as your allies. The more you resonate with your allies in the Tarot, the more you stimulate the archetypal forces within yourself, for your individual energy field contains the energies of the Universal Energy Field (which is how you are made in God's image). In other words, we each contain the energies of the Tree of Life, the basic energies of the Universal Mind, within us. Stated another way: the microcosm (the individual), embodies the energies of the macrocosm (the cosmos). These energies often remain latent in the subconscious mind, however; through social conditioning, we are forced to suppress the powerful forces within us, partially because we might end up using the forces for destructive or harmful purposes. You now have the opportunity to experience all of the energies of the Tree of Life as you work with the Tarot. One systematic way to experience the energies is by building elemental triangles.
Working with elemental triangles helps you learn much about the symbolism of the Tarot and the Tree of Life. Let's take a look at an example, The Seven of Cups. The alternate title of the Seven of Cups is “Lord of Illusionary Success.” The card reveals a shadowy figure that is reaching out toward seven golden cups, each of which symbolizes some potential goal in life. We each have a shadow self that might desire to achieve a goal that will not be in our best interests or the highest good of others. However, we also inevitably reach a point in life where we have to make a critical choice, so we cannot simply ignore or banish this potential situation.
Elemental Triangle with the Seven of Cups
A simple solution would be to create a downward-pointing triangle with the appropriate cards since the suit of Cups represents Water, with The Empress across from Death at the top, and the Seven of Cups in the middle. The influence of Venus is strong in the Seven of Cups since Venus appears in both the decan and Tree of Life associations. Venus, the Goddess of Love, can be a destabilizing force in our world, but she represents all aspects of love, from high spiritual love to the act of love itself. Since Venus is also the Goddess of Beauty, the arts, abundance, harmony, and the natural world, you have a number of qualities to choose from when setting your intention. A way of showing that you intend to make a mature choice would be to include the King of Cups, who is extremely wise in spiritual matters and the ways of love, at the bottom of the triangle.
The Sevens are challenging to work with, mainly because they are associated with Venus, an influence that can lead to impulsive or unwise choices because the energy emanates from one of our most primal and powerful instincts. Many of our choices, of course, are related to love in one way or another. Therefore if you need to make a choice, particularly one associated with love, it would be wise to state your intention of working for the highest good as you place the King of Cups at the bottom of the triangle.
We make important choices all the time, one of which might be whether or not to work with the Tarot.
Symbolic Correspondences of the Elemental Triangles
For you to understand how all this works, we need to do a little review.
As you can see in the diagram above, the two "active," or masculine elements are Air and Fire, and the two "passive," or feminine elements are Water and Earth. For those of you who don't know a lot about astrology, the zodiac contains four triplicities, each one of which is associated with an element. The triplicity associated with the element of Air is comprised of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. The triplicity associated with the element of Fire contains Ares, Leo, and Sagittarius. (Since these are "active" elements, you need to use an upward pointing triangle in any elemental ritual based on the elements of Air and Fire.) The triplicity associated with the element of Water contains Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The triplicity associated with the element of Earth contains Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. (Since these are "passive" elements, you need to use a downward pointing triangle in any ritual based on the elements of Water or Earth.)
The other thing to remember is that each Number Card in the Tarot contains a decan correspondence and a Tree of Life association. A decan represents ten degrees of the zodiac, which contains both a planet and a zodiac sign. As I mentioned above, the decan for the Seven of Cups is Venus in Scorpio. Since the card in question is a Seven, the card is also associated with the seventh Emanation on the Tree of Life, which is known as Victory (Netzach). Venus rules the seventh Emanation, so the Seven of Cups brims over with the energies of Venus.
In order to perform a simple Tarot Ritual, you need to remove the four cards mentioned above from the deck, the Seven of Cups, The Empress, Death, and the King of Cups. Remember that The Empress is symbolically associated with Venus, a Goddess who commonly represents love; this love can be for a person or a thing, such as music or art or a career. Death is associated with Scorpio, a zodiac sign that suggests radical transformation or a significant change of some kind. The King of Cups is our symbol of wisdom. Imagine a downward-facing triangle in front of you, and place the Seven of Cups in the middle of the imaginary triangle as you state out loud (or in your head if necessary) what choice you are facing. Then place The Empress in the upper left-hand corner of the triangle and state out loud (or in your head), "The Empress, Venus." Then place the card called Death in the upper right-hand corner of the triangle and state "Death, Scorpio." (If the word death freaks you out, you can add or substitute, "transformation, change.") Then place the King of Cups at the bottom of the triangle and state, "King of Cups, wisdom, my highest good." Then close your eyes and clear your mind and meditate for at least fifteen minutes to see if you receive an answer of some kind.
The Magician
A few words before you make your choice about working with the Tarot. Imagine for a moment that within the infinite cycles of life, death, and rebirth, the Universal Mind dreams the cosmos into existence and then preserves the dream for billions of years. Eventually the Universal Mind destroys the dream and begins the cycle all over again. Imagine that the Universal Mind exists within a timeless state, where all time exists at once, and that Universal Consciousness can change reality within the different dimensions of the Cosmos through powerful intermediaries, what some call Gods or Goddesses or Archangels. Imagine that human beings, creatures made in God's image, can contact these powerful intermediaries and create greater harmony on earth by altering the cosmic dream.
In Hindu thought, what humanity understands to be reality is actually the dream of Brahma. Though not the creator of the primordial universe, Brahma creates all forms within the cosmos by dreaming them into being. Vishnu is the preserver of the dream, and Shiva is eventually the destroyer of the dream, an act which leads to cosmic rebirth.
Many spiritual traditions have intermediaries, such as a savior or saints or Archangels or Gods, who help people to create greater harmony and neutralize evil. With the Tarot and the Powers of Harmony, you can alter the cosmic dream for a higher good. That may sound way too occult to some people, but I'd like to remind you that people pray to intermediaries all the time, asking for healing or a higher good--intermediaries such as saints and Jesus and Archangels, for instance, and no one considers that an occult practice. Nothing is wrong with prayer, of course, but ritual tends to concentrate spiritual power and also enables the individual to feel more deeply involved in the process of healing or creating greater harmony or neutralizing evil. Through the Tarot, you also have the power through ritual to create greater harmony for the highest good of yourself and others and the planet as a whole. Elemental triangles help you to learn about the Tarot as you develop spiritual practices associated with the Tree of Life. After we journey awhile through the Tarot, I will focus in future posts on extremely powerful rituals associated with the Tree of Life and the Tarot....
Using these forces to serve the Divine Will for the highest good can result in extremely positive changes in your life. A journey through the Tarot is transformative, but if you do not understand the forces you are encountering in the Tarot, you can also have a negative impact on others as you stimulate those forces and manifest them in the world.
Our consciousness is part of the Universal Mind. The local reality of each individual, which is limited by space and time, is embedded in the nonlocal reality of Universal Consciousness, which enables the psyche to transcend space and time. Working with the Tree of Life and the Tarot can enable us to experience the dimensions of Universal Consciousness, but as with all aspects of life, we need to be careful. Whenever we strive to manifest the most harmonious and ideal aspect of a powerful archetypal force in any given circumstance, we are serving the Divine Will. Being mindful of how we manifest these forces is absolutely imperative because as we bring those forces into conscious awareness, we will eventually manifest them through our actions in one way or another.
For instance, if we stimulate the ideal energies of Mars within us, we can act with greater courage, confidence, power, and strength, but we might also stimulate the same energy at the opposite end of the spectrum, resulting in cruelty and destructiveness. If we stimulate the cosmic Christ-force within ourselves, we can experience the oneness of creation and manifest harmonizing love and kindness and compassion. But if we are not careful, we can stimulate the same energy at the opposite pole: the pride that exalts the individual ego above the rest of creation. If we stimulate the energy of Mercury, we can manifest the splendor of the intellect and its highest ideal: truth. But we can also stimulate the energy at the opposite end of the pole, resulting in falsehood and deceit. Almost every energy represented in the Tarot and the Tree of Life has a virtue, an ideal manifestation, and a vice, a harmful or negative manifestation. The energy of each force, in other words, exists within a spectrum containing a positive and negative pole, and sometimes we need to move by degree towards the ideal through sheer willpower.
The Tarot reflects both the negative and the positive ends of the spectrum. If you deal with the energies within any card in an ideal, balanced way, you will effectively harmonize the energies within yourself so that you are less likely to manifest the negative aspect, or vice, at the opposite end of the pole. For instance, if, in ritual, you emphasize the positive energies of the Seven of Cups, known as the Lord of Illusionary Success, you will be less likely to manifest the negative energies associated with Venus in Scorpio (the decan association) and Venus in Netzach (the Tree of Life correspondence).
As you work with elemental triangles, remember to choose a card with an appropriate decan correspondence that helps you establish your ritual intention. This often depends on how you personally relate to the cards. This is your journey through the Tarot, so allow yourself the freedom to resonate with the forces in the cards in your own way as you build the Tree of Life in your aura because that is what enables the powerful archetypal forces to come through into conscious awareness and eventually manifest in your world.
DECAN CORRESPONDENCES AND TREE OF LIFE ASSOCIATIONS OF THE NUMBER CARDS
(WITH ALTERNATE TITLES)
PENTACLES
Two: Lord of Harmonious Change Decan: Jupiter in 1 - 10 degrees of Capricorn Tree of Life Association: Zodiac in Chokmah (Second Emanation)
SWORDS
Two: Lord of Peace Restored
Decan: Moon in 1 - 10 degrees of Libra
Tree of Life Association: Zodiac in Chokmah (Second Emanation)
Three: Lord of Sorrow
Decan: Saturn in 11 - 20 degrees of Libra
Tree of Life Association: Saturn in Binah (Third Emanation)
Four: Lord of Rest from Strife
Decan: Jupiter in 21 - 30 degrees of Libra
Tree of Life Association: Jupiter in Chesed (Fourth Emanation)
Five: Lord of Defeat
Decan: Venus in 1 - 10 degrees of Aquarius
Tree of Life Association: Mars in Geburah (Fifth Emanation)
Six: Lord of Earned Success
Decan: Mercury in 11 - 20 degrees of Aquarius
Tree of Life Association: Sun in Tiphareth (Sixth Emanation)
Seven: Lord of Unstable Effort
Decan: Moon in 21 - 30 degrees of Aquarius
Tree of Life Association: Venus in Netzach (Seventh Emanation)
Eight: Lord of Shortened Force
Decan: Jupiter in 1 - 10 degrees of Gemini
Tree of Life Association: Mercury in Hod (Eighth Emanation)
Decan: Mars in 11 - 20 degrees of Gemini
Tree of Life Association: Moon in Yesod (Ninth Emanation)
Ten: Lord of Ruin
Decan: Sun in 21 - 30 degrees of Gemini
Tree of Life Association: Four Elements in Malkuth (Tenth Emanation)
CUPS
Two: Lord of Love
Decan: Venus in 1 - 10 degrees of Cancer
Tree of Life Association: Zodiac in Chokmah (Second Emanation)
Three: Lord of Abundance
Decan: Mercury in 11 - 20 degrees of Cancer
Tree of Life Association: Saturn in Binah (Third Emanation)
Four: Lord of Blended Pleasure
Decan: Moon in 21 - 30 degrees of Cancer
Tree of Life Association: Jupiter in Chesed (Fourth Emanation)
Five: Lord of Loss in Pleasure
Decan: Mars in 1 - 10 degrees of Scorpio
Tree of Life Association: Mars in Geburah (Fifth Emanation)
Six: Lord of Pleasure
Decan: Sun in 11 - 20 degrees of Scorpio
Tree of Life Association: Sun in Tiphareth (Sixth Emanation)
Seven: Lord of Illusionary Success
Decan: Venus in 21 - 30 degrees of Scorpio
Tree of Life Association: Venus in Netzach (Seventh Emanation)
Eight: Lord of Abandoned Success
Decan: Saturn in 1 - 10 degrees of Pisces
Tree of Life Association: Mercury in Hod (Eighth Emanation)
Nine: Lord of Material Happiness
Decan: Jupiter in 11 - 20 degrees of Pisces
Tree of Life Association: Moon in Yesod (Ninth Emanation)
Ten: Lord of Perfected Success
Decan: Mars in 21 - 30 degrees of Pisces
Tree of Life Association: Four Elements in Malkuth (Tenth Emanation)
WANDS
Two: Lord of Dominion
Decan: Mars in 1 - 10 degrees of Aries
Tree of Life Association: Zodiac in Chokmah (Second Emanation)
Three: Lord of Established Strength
Decan: Sun in 11 - 20 degrees of Aries
Tree of Life Association: Saturn in Binah (Third Emanation)
Four: Lord of Perfected Work
Decan: Venus in 21 - 30 degrees of Aries
Tree of Life Association: Jupiter in Chesed (Fourth Emanation)
Five: Lord of Strife
Decan: Saturn in 1 - 10 degrees of Leo
Tree of Life Association: Mars in Geburah (Fifth Emanation)
Six: Lord of Victory
Decan: Jupiter in 11 - 20 degrees of Leo
Tree of Life Association: Sun in Tiphareth (Sixth Emanation)
Seven: Lord of Valor
Decan: Mars in 21 - 30 degrees of Leo
Tree of Life Association: Venus in Netzach (Seventh Emanation)
Eight: Lord of Swiftness
Decan: Mercury in 1 - 10 degrees of Sagittarius
Tree of Life Association: Mercury in Hod (Eighth Emanation)
Nine: Lord of Great Strength
Decan: Moon in 11 - 20 degrees of Sagittarius
Tree of Life Association: Moon in Yesod (Ninth Emanation)
Ten: Lord of Oppression
Decan: Saturn in 21 - 30 degrees of Sagittarius Tree of Life Association: Four Elements in Malkuth (Tenth Emanation)
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