The Spirit of the Tarot. Claudine Aegerter

a kingdom we have many people coming to us who need help; this is what he is there for. However, he must not be influenced by anybody, for it may cloud his judgement and make him biased. He is the impartial judge and the helmet protects him from making a wrong decision, at the same time it allows him to cap ture the light and intuition. The only way to do that as a personality is to be aligned, so that all the elementals as well as the personality, can receive the light without being disturbed. Alignment of person ality takes a long time because if it is done too quickly, the physical, mental and emotional bodies can’t take it and the tower or structure can crumble. Our Emperor is organised and aligned, so he can take the light. Protection is not quite the right word here; it is more about allowing the best possible organisation of everything that is available, so that the job can be done well. This is what a true protection is; there fore the best and most true protection we can have is alignment.

      His helmet covers the nape of his neck, which is a part of the body where we are most fragile and vulnerable psychically; also from here we release a lot of emotional trauma. It is a place of entry, therefore a weak point.

      The Emperor must at all costs remain master of himself, not just of the four realms, but of the psychic realm within him as well. The first immediate goal of initiation is to create a human being who can retain control over his elemental and psychic life, with the power of the sword of truth and righteousness. He has dominion over the terrestrial powers.

      The reality of his defence is that he is completely aligned and has let go of any selfish interests. Because of this he cannot be corrupted and as he acts he leaves his imprint on the world. He is indifferent, but not disinterested; he has to uplift and purify and is not seduced by the world. His strength is greater than the attraction of any self-interest, for he sees beyond. All the dances we move to as part of the life on this planet are danced to bring out the weaknesses. Even if we may intend to be true, like Peter (the personality) in the story of the capture of Jesus (the Soul), the survival instinct of the personality takes over and the Soul is betrayed by the denial of the truth. Peter is the cornerstone of new humanity, but he betrayed Jesus three times. The three bodies, physical, emotional and intellectual were not yet fully aligned to the will of the Soul and each one reacted in turn, to demonstrate that it was not time yet for the crucifixion. He denied the Soul out of weakness and out of wanting to save his own skin. The world we live in does its little theatrical dramas, so that all our weakness can be seen and brought to the surface.

      There is no way anyone can act as The Emperor, until he has gone through both an alignment to personality and the alignment of Soul to the Spirit. This is a personification of the will of God incar nate, which is the will in the Soul. He doesn’t carry any weapon because he doesn’t need one. His helmet is open to the divine, pro tecting him from charm and seduction of the psychic level. He has dominion over the world, which is the temple of the God we live in. He is a guide and a true judge; not the kind of judge who speaks of good and bad and tells us that we are naughty, but more like a referee who simply shows us the yellow card. He is watching over the destiny of the world and of mankind. He has acquired immunity before he can use his powers on the world.

      The only way we can truly give manifestation and structure to an idea is by bringing in the energy of the 4. We may have a lot of good ideas, but this doesn’t work on its own for very long. For an idea to be able to mould the world, it has to faithfully and painstakingly move through the scrutiny of the 4 and be personally out of the way, so that we can see all the details and all the ways that the idea can be implemented. We need to ask the questions: “Will it benefit society and will it benefit the world?” It needs the matrix, so it does need the internalisation of the quality of mind of The Emperor before we start, just as a rebirth always needs a term of gestation.

      The Emperor is not a man of pity and forgiveness because that is not his job; his task is uncompromising. He is not there to soothe, but to make sure that everything moves to its end. He might be called to strike, not in judgement but because it is needed. He is truly a conscious instrument for the karmic laws.

      When the missionaries went to far-off countries to spread the good news, they made certain they had a beard, because men who have beards have always been recognised as men to be respected and listened to. Hair holds the whole of our yesterday and when it is on the face it demonstrates spiritual will. So in The Emperor we are looking at a man who is displaying the fact that he has lived a long time and understands the great laws of the lord of time and karma. The Egyptians depicted their pharaohs with a well-knotted beard to denote wisdom at the etheric level, which is when the physical life is rendered available for service and the authority of dominion has been given.

      When we put together three strands, which rep resent the three paths (1, 2 and 3) going back to the metaphysical divinity, we have complete union and complete strength. So the plait is a sign of initiation, representing the energy that holds the world together. If we have a vision for good, however crazy it might look and even if the opposite comes to pass, we should still hold it, because it is that vision that holds the world together and stops it from going into complete disintegration. Without the vision of the initiate it would truly be a chaotic, anarchic world; it is the vision that holds order. The initiate is not alone in holding it; in fact none of us is alone. The lighted three fold plait of the stream of consciousness represents all the past lives offered to the great life, so the initiate is part of the fab ric of the long chain of men of goodwill. When a change is needed in a social institution, any new idea will always need many groups to hold the vision and to impress the right authority at the right time for it to be implemented.

      It is the union of all the initiates that gives The Emperor the power to guide the manifested world. This union is a chain that never breaks, for it has been there from the beginning of time and is made up of all the ones who have ever worked by themselves or in groups, throughout the world. They make up that magnetic network of thoughts and it is through the magnetic field that we can receive information. To receive and to translate the plan is the work we do, so however feeble we might be at doing it, keeping on will make perfect. This union of minds and Souls is a protective web of love; the love is truth and light. Without it our world of racism, class hate, envy, war and separation would have degenerated and dis integrated a long time ago; we have to accept this. The fact that we haven’t killed ourselves to extinction is because there is a true web of life watching over this planet, which was created by the thought forms of all the initiates that have been before us. This chain of intel ligence and love gently guides the world towards its goal, for it is made up of those that have dedicated their lives to the work of love and sacrifice; of dying without hate.

      The sun and moon are depicted on The Emperor’s chest, which tells us that he has to create complete harmony over his yin and yang. This means he has to be active but also receptive. If he is going to receive the word of God and act on it, he has to listen first. A man or a woman who is all action and not receptive, can end up as a tyrant who gives out dogma; that is the problem with a strong personality. On the other hand a person who is com pletely internalised and does too much daydreaming, has no will. The Emperor is a good blend and balance of the intuitive and active, so these two poles come together in him. He receives the bright idea from the sun and takes it into the moon, so that it can be born. This is a generative principle, which requires both receptivity and activ ity and brings cohesion and harmony between the two aspects, fus ing in the cross of sanctified matter – the cross linking Heaven and Earth.

      The golden cube on which The Emperor is seated can be interpreted as either a masonic stone, or a pet-rified beam of light from the sun. All matter, includ ing ourselves, is in essence crystallised light. Masonic stones usually had an obelisk sitting on top of them, to represent the channelling of the light of Spirit into matter.

       Figure 4. A Masonic stone.

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