Tableau 2

For this week’s study lay out Keys 1 to 9 as follows:

| --- | --- | --- | | 4 | 5 | 6 | | 7 | 8 | 9 |

In this arrangement the central agency is Key 5, which is the connecting link between the Magician and the Hermit, the High Priestess and Strength, the Empress and the Chariot, the Emperor and the Lovers. This little tableau also shows that the High Priestess is the agency carrying the influence of the Magician into the field of activity represented by the Empress, and that Strength is the agency which is the means of completing the power of the Chariot in the Hermit. The other combinations (1-4-7 and 3-6-9) may furnish material for your notebook, but will not be interpreted in this lesson.

In the printed Tableau of the Tarot, Keys 1 to 7 are designated as principles, Keys 8 to 14 as laws, and Keys 15 to 21 as conditions, or stages of unfoldment. To avoid confusion, let me say that while these designations are correct as applied to that particular tableau, they do not apply to all the combinations of the Tarot Keys. That is to say, with the exception of Keys 0, 1, 20 and 21, every Key of the Tarot may be either a principle, or a law, or a condition. With the exception of Keys 20 and 21, every Key may represent a principle. With the exception of Keys 0 and 21, every Key may represent a law. With the exception of Keys 0 and 1, every Key may represent a condition.

By this I mean that any Key in the Tarot but 0 and 1 may be the final member of a group of three consecutive Keys like those in the small tableau you are studying this week, and may therefore be taken to represent the outcome or effect of the principle symbolized by the first member of that group of three. Similarly, every Key but 0 and 21 may be the middle Key, or mean term, of such a group of three and in that position will represent the agency or law through which the principle represented by the first Key of the groups is brought to bear upon the third Key in that group. Again, every Key but 20 and 21 may be the first member of such a group of three Keys, and thus stand as the principle whose operation is completed in that group through the agency of the second Key, and manifested in the condition typified by the third Key.

Thus Key 0 may be the representative of a principle in 10 instances, but will never appear as either agency or effect. But Key 1, although it appears as principle 10 times also, appears once as agency, and never as effect. Key 2 is principle 9 times, agency twice, effect once. Key 3 is principle 3 times, agency 3 times, effect once. Key 4 is principle 8 times, agency 5 times, effect twice. Key 6 is principle 7 times, agency 6 times, effect 3 times. Key 7 is principle 7 times, agency 7 times, affect 3 times. Key 8 is principle 6 times, agency 8 times, effect 4 times. Key 9 is principle 6 times, agency 9 times, effect 4 times. Key 10 is principle 5 times, agency 10 times, effect 5 times. Key 11 is principle 5 times, agency 10 times, effect 5 times. Key 12 is principle 4 times, agency 9 times, effect 6 times. Key 13 is principle 4 times, agency 8 times, effect 6 times. Key

14 is principal 3 times, agency 7 times, effect 7 times. Key 15 is principle 3 times, agency 6 times, effect 7 times. Key 15 is principle 3 times, agency 6 times, effect 7 times. Key 16 is principle twice, agency 4 times, effect 8 times. Key 17 is principle twice, agency 4 times, effect 8 times. Key 18 is principle once, agency 3 times, effect 9 times. Key 19 is principle once, agency twice, effect 9 times. Key 20 is never principle, agency once, effect 10 times. Key 21 is never principle, never agency, but appears as effect 10 times.

Thus Keys 0 and 21 have each 10 different aspects; Keys 1 and 20 have 11 each; Keys 2 and 19 have 12; Keys 3 and 18 have 13; Keys 4 and 17 have 14; Keys 5 and 16 have 15; Keys 6 and 15 have 16; Keys 7 and 14 have 17; Keys 8 and 13 have 18; Keys 9 and 12 have 19; and Keys 10 and 11 have 20. From which comes this rule: THE TWO MEMBERS OF ANY PAIR OF TAROT KEYS WHOSE NUMBERS ADD TO 21 HAVE EACH THE SAME TOTAL NUMBER OF ASPECTS.

Again, you will notice that if the Tarot Keys be taken in consecutive pairs as 0 and 1; 2 and 3; 4 and 5, and so on, each member of that pair will appear the same number of times as principle, and also the same number of times as effect. Thus 0 and 1 are each principle 10 times, and each is never an effect; 2 and 3 are each principle 9 times, and each is an effect once. From this it appears that there is a close relationship between the two members of any pair of Tarot Keys of which the card bearing the lesser number is even, while that bearing the greater number is odd (as 2 and 3, 6 and 7, 14 and 15, 20 and 21). In fact, by careful examination of the Keys themselves, it becomes evident at once that the Fool and the Magician are two aspects of one thing; that the High Priestess and the Empress are likewise two faces of a single reality; that the Emperor and the Hierophant have a similar identity; that when the situation depicted by the Lovers is established it may also be expressed by the Chariot. Follow up this hint through the eleven pairs from 0-1 to 20-21, and you will begin to see for yourself how striking some of the intimations are. For example, Keys 14 and 15 fall in this classification. Key 14, generally speaking, is an event which results from the operation of the ONE IDENTITY. Key 15, generally speaking, is a symbol of the appearance presented by some of those situations when the mind of the personal observer does not understand the significance of the event. In other words, what looks like the devil to the eyes of ignorance is realized by the thought of the enlightened as being the working of God.

These may seem to be very complicated details, but that is only because you are reading them for the first time, and because Tarot is not so familiar to you now as it will become in time. I have introduced them at this point in order to help you understand how it is that a series of twenty-two pictures can be so rich in meaning and so potent in suggestive influence. When you begin to see the marvelous ingenuity which has been displayed in the construction and arrangement of these Keys, when you realize that there is nothing arbitrary or haphazard in their symbolism, or in their relation to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, you will have more and more confidence in the intelligence of the inventors of this wonderful device. That confidence is beneficial, and will help you to make progress more rapidly. As soon as it becomes evident to you that you are working with tools whose very nature shows that they were made by masters of the arcane wisdom, you will develop that intense expectation of the successful outcome of your work which is indispensable for the attainment of the best results.

Coming now to the general interpretation of the groups of three Keys in this week's small tableau, we find them substantially as follows:

When the self-conscious mind is occupied in close observation of the various conditions of environment, the materials are being gathered for the construction of the house of philosophy (Key 1). Yet these acquisitions of knowledge, valuable as they are, will not suffice to bring us to the goal (Key 9), without the operation of intuition (Key 5). Observation gathers the facts (Key 1), which the Inner Voice explains (Key 5), so that the seeker for light becomes aware of the truth that all events are the operation of a single IDENTITY (Key 9). Self-consciousness, when we have learned to concentrate, collects the reports of our senses as to what is going on around us (Key 1), but until these reports are conditioned by intuition (Key 5), so that their inner significance is made evident, we do not perceive the fundamental tendencies of the cosmic operation (Key 9). Thus it is that intuition (Key 5) is the agency whereby observation (Key 1) is brought to fruition in the adept's realization of the Cosmic Will, which realization is represented by Key 9.

Intuition (Key 5) is also the agency whereby the subconscious record of the fundamental laws of manifestation (the scroll on Key 2) is brought to bear upon the work of directing the forces of the subhuman plans of activity (Key 8). True intuition provides us with knowledge of some cosmic principle or law which applies directly to the solution of some immediate problem. The source of this knowledge, which is communicated to us by the Inner Voice (Key 5), is really the Life-Power's perfect memory, to which we have access at subconscious levels (Key 2); and the practical application of this knowledge to the solution of our problems invariably results in the modification of some phase of those deeper activities of our lives which are symbolized by the lion of Key 8. To the degree that we recover through intuition the Life-Power's perfect knowledge of its own processes of orderly manifestation, as typified by Key 2, to that degree are we in a position to effect constructive modifications of the tremendous forces latent in the field of sub-consciousness. It is because the stream of our personal consciousness is at all times continuous with the universal stream of Life-Expression (Key 2) that we may be instructed by the Inner Voice (Key 5), and so come to gain some knowledge of the secret of directing the spiritual powers which have their field of operation in the realm of sub-consciousness (Key 8).

The development of mental imagery by subconscious processes of deduction and association also contributes its share to the operation of intuition, and has its outcome in a gradually unfolding realization that personality is, in reality, but the vehicle or instrument for the manifestation of forces above and beyond the level of person consciousness. Below the level of our personal awareness, the deductive process elaborates our observations and memories, and works out their logical consequences (Key 3). The result, or harvest, of this subconscious elaboration of experience (Key 3) is delivered to us by means of intuition (Key 5), and the sum and substance of this intuitional instruction received from the Inner Voice is invariably this:

“Your personal existence is the field of manifestation for cosmic activities. Your personality is not yourself. There is but One Self, and that Self, as the Bhagavad-Gita puts it, ‘is the rider in the chariot of the body.’” This knowledge of the true Self and of the fact that personality is but the instrument or vehicle (Key 7) can be traced to intuitive perceptions in the minds of those who have formulated the knowledge (Key 5), and the sources of those intuitions are deductions elaborated in the sub-consciousness of the person who has the intuitions (Key 3).

When the mental house has been set in order by reason (Key 4), so that external relationships are clearly perceived, intuition (Key 5) carries the process a step farther, and makes us aware of the underlying principles of internal relationship (Key 6). The perception of external order (Key 4) prepares us for the recognition of internal order (Key 6), and the recognition is intuitive (Key 5). An unreasonable man is, essentially, one who fails to perceive the true relationships between the events constituting his external environment. His estimates and measurements are imperfect. Thus even the Voice of Intuition is misunderstood by him when he hears it. In consequence, there is discord in his internal relationships. But he who sees the outer world reasonably (Key 4), understands the purport of the messages of the Inner Voice (Key 5), and has obedience to this instruction, results in the establishment of the inner harmony pictured by the symbolism of the Lovers.

For your practice this week, follow the same general plan as for last week. Use the Pattern as before, and be sure to have the three Keys for the day placed before you as you read the meditation that goes with them.

Meditations

FIRST DAY: 1, 5, 9. This day I am alert to gather, through every channel of sensation, a set of clear impressions of the events constituting the day's experience. This day I listen for the Inner Voice which knows, and can reveal to me, the significance of what my senses report. Thus from the day's events I learn the trend of the Will of the Eternal, as that Will is manifested here and now. I AM THE WITNESS OF THE DIVINE SELF-EXPRESSION, I PARTICIPATE IN THE DIVINE UNDERSTANDING, I AM ESSENTIALY ONE WITH THE ETERNAL WILL.

SECOND DAY: 2, 5, 8. The record of universal law is inscribed on the tablets of my sub-consciousness. Whatever I need to know today is communicated to me from that record by the Inner Voice. Thus I learn today what must be done to make the best use of the mighty forces of my inner life. THE LAW OF THE ETERNAL, MADE KNOWN TO ME BY THE VOICE OF INTUITION, GOVERNS EVERY PHASE OF MY PERSONAL LIFE THIS DAY.

THIRD DAY: 3, 5, 7. Today I recap the harvest of my yesterdays. I listen for that inner instruction which shows me the true meaning of past experience. I see ever more clearly that my personal existence this day is the culmination of, and weaving together of, innumerable cosmic activities continuous with the entire past history of the Life-Power's self-manifestation. THE DIVINE UNDER-

STANDING INSTRUCTS ME AND GUIDES ME IN THE WAY OF VICTORY.

FOURTH DAY: 4, 5, 6. The One Life which rules the universe establishes order in my field of experience. The One Teacher that is the source of all true knowing imparts to me this day what I must know in order to grasp the import of this day’s experiences. My conscious and subconscious states of personal existence are overshadowed by the harmonizing presence of the One Reality. THE EYE OF THE ETERNAL SEES THROUGH ME ITS PERFECT ORDER, THE VOICE OF THE ETERNAL SPEAKS THROUGH ME ITS PERFECT ORDER, THE VOICE OF THE ETERNAL SPEAKS THROUGH ME ITS WORD OF TRUTH, THE POWER OF THE ETERNAL ESTABLISHES IN MY LIFE ITS PERFECT LAW OF LOVE.

FIFTH DAY: 1, 2, 3. Through my conscious thinking, the Life-Power integrates itself in forms of truth and beauty. Keenly alert of this day’s experience, I write a clear record of its events upon the tablet of memory. Seeing things clearly, I plant seeds of true understanding. I WATCH LIFE INTENTLY, I STORE MY MEMORY WITH VIVIDLY REALIZED EXPERIENCE, THUS I CLARIFY AND MAKE DEFINITE ALL MY MENTAL IMAGERY.

SIXTH DAY: 7, 8, 9. My personality is the vehicle of the One Life. The resistless energy of the Astral Light is coursing through me now. All that I am, all that I do, all that I have, is the direct expression of the ONE IDENTI-

TY. THE ONE LIFE LIVES THROUGH ME, EXPRESSING ITS MIGHTY POWER THROUGHOUT MY BEING, AND LEADING ME ALONG THE WAY THAT BRINGS ME TO PERFECT REALIZATION OF THE ONE IDENTITY.