All Text, Music, and Illustrations, including Paintings, Photographs, and 3D models, Copyright © 2022 by Jim Robbins.
LORD OF UNSTABLE EFFORT
War was raging at the edges of the Tarot Realm. Nathan decided to head to the front lines to help drive back the invaders. When he arrived, he immediately rode out with a group of other knights to raid an enemy encampment, but before the attack commenced, Nathan witnessed a man stealing five swords from the enemy. The man was not in uniform and appeared more like a prankster or a clown than a soldier. Instead of becoming involved in the conflict, the man, who was smiling, seemed to be making some statement about war and dominance, but Nathan couldn't understand why the man was taking such a risk, for surely he would be executed if he were caught, and stealing a few swords really wouldn't make much difference as far as the war effort was concerned.
After the knights raided the encampment and drove the enemy back, Nathan, exhausted and slightly wounded, decided to find a place to rest. As he was heading toward one of the tents that was still standing, he encountered the King of Swords.
Nathan bowed before the King.
"My brave knight, you are wounded. You should find a place to rest."
"Yes, your Highness, but I would like to ask a question first."
"You may ask your question, brave knight."
"Thank you, your Majesty. Before we raided the enemy encampment, I witnessed a man, who was not a soldier, stealing a few swords from the enemy. His act appeared foolish, and he seemed mentally unstable, but he was smiling as if he were fulfilling his duty or making a point of some kind. Why do you think a man would take such a risk, your Highness? Is he just a fool?"
"War is an act of dominance that often makes the masses feel righteous and strong, but it usually amounts to a few wealthy, powerful people stealing land and resources from others. In war, numerous people, often innocent women and children, are killed and harmed in terrible ways, and war poisons people on both sides of the conflict against each other for many years. I think I have encountered the man of whom you speak. He is very much like a court jester. Stealing a few swords seems foolish but reveals a way of neutralizing conflict. Instead of being a prankster or a fool, the man, I believe, is experiencing the influences of powerful spiritual forces. The man is part comedian and part priest who reveals spiritual principle in an unusual way by performing an absurd act. He is not afraid to look like a lunatic. Humor, brave knight, if performed effectively, forces people to reexamine their beliefs. His act of stealing is nothing compared to the terrible acts of plunder and murder and mayhem committed by people who want to dominate others and obtain more land and wealth. If our hearts were truly open and we experienced the divinity of all life, we would find every means possible to neutralize conflict instead of engaging in it, just as the holy man neutralizes dark forces to create balance. In the Tarot Realm, balance is the key. Sometimes as a knight you fight injustice and lawlessness and disorder, but as you act for the highest good of the realm, you also often neutralize conflict to create balance and stability. In other words, you find ways to remove the potential for negativity. Like our friend, you take risks in different situations for the highest good of the realm, and you deserve our thanks."
Nathan bowed. "I serve thee always, your Majesty."
The King responded, "Rest now, my valiant knight. We may soon require your skills once again."
After receiving some medical care, Nathan fell asleep in one of the tents, and after a few days of rest, he felt much better. As he was taking a walk in the forest, he remembered what the holy man in the castle had revealed to him. The Fool, the holy man said, reveals a kind of divine madness that can awaken greater spiritual awareness in other people. Many might dismiss the person as a lunatic, but some might feel their heart open and experience the descent of the divine. They might even for a few moments experience the marriage of heaven and earth. The holy man laid down the Seven of Swords. This card, he said, is associated with The Moon in Aquarius, which in the Tarot is associated with the High Priestess and The Star, as well as with Venus in Victory, the Emanation of the victory of love and harmony, represented by The Empress. When performing a ritual with the Tarot, he said, you can focus on the Tree of Life association, in this case Venus in Victory, and use the other cards, in this case The High Priestess and the Star, as modifiers. Love and the moon can cause lunacy, he said, but on the Tree of Life The Moon is associated with "The Descent of the Divine," and the Empress is associated with "The Marriage of Heaven and Earth." Combined with The Star, "The Opening of the Heart," we experience powerful spiritual energies that can neutralize or reduce conflict or turn a negative situation into a positive one. In the physical realm, neutralizing conflict or dark forces might look like an unstable or even clownish act, but on the spiritual level, it can be a heroic act that can have a powerful impact on the psyche of other people if you are acting from spiritual principles that help people to open the heart and know the divinity of all life and experience the marriage of heaven and earth.
The holy man had shown Nathan how to create a positive living image with The Empress at the center of the pentagram and The Star and the High Priestess as modifiers. The holy man had confided that The Empress is one of the best cards in the deck because it reveals the Marriage of Heaven and Earth. The Empress, he said, is associated with Path Fourteen on the Tree of Life, which connects Wisdom with Understanding, as well as with the Emanation of the Victory of love, which is associated with Venus.
So much divine feminine energy, he said, neutralizes the baneful masculinity that so often leads to conflict and can provide the understanding that domination is a way to rob people in one way or another, of their dignity or their property, for instance, and ends up being extremely negative and destructive in most cases.
Nathan found a rock in a secluded part of the forest that he could use as a makeshift altar. First, he performed the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Then he performed the first eleven steps of the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. Then he got ready to create a living image of the The Empress, with The Star and The High Priestess as modifiers, in his Tarot Pentagram Spread.
Since The Empress and the two modifiers are associated with the Seven of Swords, and the suit of Swords is an active element, Nathan used the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram while laying down the foundation cards, starting in the lower right corner of the pentagram, moving to the upper left corner and continuing from there. After he placed all of the cards, he tapped each card in the direction of the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram, making sure to tap the Ace of Wands in the lower right corner to complete the pentagram.
Then Nathan placed The Empress in the middle of the pentagram, saying, "The Empress, the Marriage of Heaven and Earth," and tapped the card. Then he placed first The Star, associated with the zodiac sign Aquarius, then The High Priestess, associated with The Moon, on the Ace of Swords and tapped both. As he placed The Star on the Ace of Swords, he said, "The Star, Aquarius, the opening of the heart." As he placed The High Priestess on The Star, he said, "The High Priestess, The Moon, the descent of the divine."
Then he drew the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram and the spirit wheel in brilliant white above The Empress on the altar, charging the pentagram and the symbol in the usual way with the Sign of the Enterer. After that, he drew an Invoking Pentagram for the element of Air directly over the Active Invoking Spirit Pentagram, charging the pentagram and the symbol with the Sign of the Enterer.
At that point, he imagined the symbol of Aquarius becoming the living image of The Empress. He imagined the living image moving a few feet east of the altar and coming alive as Venus, a powerful feminine force creating the marriage of heaven and earth through the opening of the heart and the descent of the divine. Nathan remembered that The High Priestess is deeply connected with all the Paths on the Tree of Life, which helped him feel the marriage of heaven and earth, for he knew that all divine energies exist within his personal consciousness, as well as within the Universal Consciousness. As he visualized the living image of The Empress, he imagined that sylphs, brilliant points of light, flowed from the Archangel Raphael and filled the living image of The Empress while at the same time tiny points of gleaming light emanated from his aura and filled the living image as well.
He said again, "The Empress, the marriage of heaven and earth."
Then he said, "Great Venus, awaken my heart so that I feel the descent of the divine and experience the marriage of heaven and earth and have the understanding and wisdom and love to serve the realm for the highest possible good."
Then he stated, "Perform this task and then return to the bosom of nature, doing no harm." He ended by exclaiming, "So mote it be!" Then he imagined for a few minutes the living image of The Empress engulfing him in light and awakening his heart and mind to the marriage of the spiritual and the physical, the marriage of heaven and earth.
He unexpectedly felt the light of understanding and wisdom and love often afterwards, and he sensed once again that his higher self was always guiding him.
Nathan finished the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.
(Please note: All AI versions are based on my 3D Blender renderings, paintings, or photographs.)
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