The Spirit of the Tarot. Claudine Aegerter

will be attracted to the strength of The Emperor. We keep on working at the process of rising up to God, without being able to know, feel, or understand that greater life and then God comes down to us. We work at being ‘magnetic’ enough and ‘light’ enough by transmuting and forget ting all the heavy, dense memories, so that we can magnetically be a good receptor for the plan and vision of the Solar System. A lot of us might want to go to another universe or into the heart of the Sun, but actually it happens the other way round; it is the heart of the Sun that comes into our hearts, because we are not of much use on the planet if we are actually on the Sun. If we become what we are channelling from another star we can be excellent teachers, but not for planet earth!

      How can we ever get out of what is heavy, dense and useless, if we do not first put our nose in it? It is the same idea with the Sun; the minute we give room for that tiny bit of light in us, which is the aware ness of Soul, by looking at our actions and reactions we can burn off all those weaknesses, so that the light of the Sun can keep on expanding in us. The problem is that most of us think that we are aware all the time when we are not; we think we have got the answer when we haven’t. It is not about seeking answers, it is about being truthful.

      We all have to remember stages we have been in so that we can heal them. The minute we have understood and healed something from the past, the door is closed underneath us; this is ‘closing the door where evil dwells’. If, however, we are working through this life and suddenly we click and understand something for the first time, it is going to take a little bit more time, because we have to bring all the levels of reaction (mental, emotional and physical) into that little realisation or Sun, to be purified. Little by little we lighten the pot.

      The Emperor puts everyone in front of themselves; it is that princi ple in us that we have to recognise. To be able to face ourselves is the beginning of being able to materialise a higher principle and a better world for tomorrow. The intent and hope may be true, but we have to face ourselves. Water will not boil until it has reached the right temperature, so keep watching yourself and that kettle will boil. This is watching in the sense of being a witness, so is different from self-development. It does take time, but eventually the water boils.

      The key to the 4 is discovering truth, working to ensure justice and then, when that is undertaken its power cannot be resisted. The first duty and the only justification of power, is to know and discover truth, without pretension, prejudice or self-interest; only then can we operate justice. This doesn’t happen through brute force. If we are going to bring the kingdom of God onto the planet, then all the little units in humanity are going to be joyful and beautiful instru ments. Justice then would mean that every single unit is going to be able to get back what it gives, which would be completely fair; this is nothing to do with good and bad. Everyone has to become truly realised so that they can be true witnesses. Everybody will have their share of light, but the way they are going to do it is by taking full responsibility for their actions and reactions. The personality has to respond to the Soul and accept truthful witnessing; the Soul has to respond to Spirit by loving the work it has undergone. This is a fantastic justice. The man who is true to himself is an Emperor, who is able to mould the world in the way it is going to be eventu ally. All he can do is guide, watch and help, but not impose himself on anybody else, although he has to persuade by saying “Well done, you are doing all right, carry on”.

      The Emperor gives us the understanding of three-fold golden plait of the co-creators, who are building the plan on Earth.

       Figure 5. The golden plait. The golden plait of the brothers of the wisdom.

      When we understand it we realise it is the top of the triple Heaven, the 1 2 3 (as above so below) and once we see it we bring Heaven down to Earth so the Trinity can be manifested.

       Figure 6. As above, so below. Heaven coming down to Earth.

      We are here to transmute through alchemy, for it is the power of pure thought and unconditional love that makes it happen.

      The Magician was part of the active absolute, made of the first three or the Trinity, then to start the new line we have the active rela tive, in the form of The Emperor, who has to relate.

      The Emperor is the vivifying principle. The 1, 2, 3 comes back as the Trinity into the web, then the 4 is the one that makes the form, not the one that creates; it is very important to understand the difference. The 4 has far too often been put as the one who puts the furniture together, but it is formative not creative. We are looking at the divine will in manifestation and the realisation of that in the world, which is brought into being by creation.

      So we have three steps to take:

      1. Realisation of the divine will by creation.

      2. The realisation of an idea, by measuring all the possibilities of manifestation in order to bring in a solution.

      3. Realisation of action conceived by the 2, through the direction of the 1.

      The 4 has to give form to the realisation, so he will meet the resistance of matter as he brings more light (therefore possibilities of change) until a harmonious compromise is found and a new order has been realised.

      We know that The Emperor is a transition point from one cycle to another; this transition enables mankind to move from nature to Spirit.

      The 4 is definitely a first reflection of the 1. That first reflection, when it reflects the divine, is the will. The guidance of the will of the greater life is what our Soul is seeking.

      At the human level, we are a reflection of Adam and the seed of the power of the greater life. At the natural level the reflection is the universal creative field, or the Soul of the universal nature. We mustn’t forget the roots we came from in nature, because they are the ones that have to become gold through the perception of their divinity; they also give us the foundation for the golden future.

       NUMBER FIVE

      The Pope, Le Pape

      The Blessing

       The Pope holds the blessing of the primary religion, which is the knowledge that God is within us and not in rituals. He is not attached to any particular religion, therefore is not dressed in white as the tradi tional Pope would be. He is the fifth card and so concludes the first stage of the journey. His pure blessing is there for all, but it is only possible to receive it by making the choice to look up and so rise above the personal desires and dramas. The message is very simple and clear, reminding us to look beyond the outer form and see the energy of love and truth behind all things.

      The Pope at Number 5, represents peace of mind, which is the state that is reached once the mind has explored all the experiences of the senses, all the sciences and all the philosophies. In this state it will perceive itself as wisdom, Active Intelligence and the obedi ent will. The higher mind it has become is falling in love with its reflection and it is that moment of deep peace that reveals the love aspect at its fullest. The understanding that we are all one great life is the ‘coming home’ feeling, where nothing else is needed; we are whole, we are blessed – so the giving out of the blessing can begin. Many numerologists will question this view of the 5, but this is the highest attainment that the mind of mankind can reach, just as the 12/3, The Hanged Man, is the highest expression of the Trinity in mankind.

      Before the mind reaches this point, it will have to revisit every behaviour pattern that the experience of living has imprinted on an inquisitive human being, who seeks answers through knowl edge in the never ending record of mindsets. When these mindsets are seen as his lot and his weakness, the initiate seeks the trans forming inner path into wisdom. As he does this he is not even aware that this accumulated