Tableau 4

Your study tableau for this week is as follows:

It emphasizes Key 7 as the mean term the pairs 3-11, 4-10, 5-9, and 6-8. Besides these combinations we shall also consider the sequences 3-4-5 and 9-10-11, omitting 3-6-9 and 5-8-11. Of these two the first has been interpreted in Lesson 5, and the other will be explained in Lesson 7.

Turn now to the large tableau accompanying Lesson 1. There you will find the general meaning of Key 7 given as being Receptivity-Will. This Key represents personality as the vehicle for the directive principle of the universe. Personality is a movable field of action, like a chariot, fenced in by the boundaries of organism and environment. The rider in the car is the true Self, and that Self is identical with the power which sets the universe in motion and keeps it going through the various cycles of transformation.

The rider is the One Will. Ageless Wisdom teaches that the will-power in any human personality is really an influx of the directive energy symbolized by the Charioteer. The chariot is the personal organism. It is drawn or moved by sphinxes, representing sensation, and receives the influx of the universal will-power through subconscious channels, as shown in Key 6, where the woman is the agency reflecting the light of the angel’s glory to the man.

When we consider Key 7 as a symbol of agency, the emphasis falls on what is represented by the car itself, that is, upon the function of the personal organism as the vehicle of the One Life. Thus in saying that Key 7 is the agency linking Key 3 to Key 11, we mean that the receptivity of the personal organism to the influx of the cosmic will-force is the means whereby the image-making power of sub-consciousness (Key 3) is enabled to bring about the development of faith which adjusts what the Eastern teachers call Karma (Key 11). When we are consciously receptive to the influx of the Life-Power, and consciously submit all the details of our personal lives to its direction, our mental imagery becomes clear. Our intention to act as vehicles for the One Life is carried to subconscious levels, where it works to bring forth from the garden of the EMPRESS the “bread of life” in the form of right desires.

Receptivity is the means whereby we are enabled to receive the direct influence of the universal regulating power symbolized by the Emperor. When we are properly receptive, our personal reasoning is in unison with the Universal Reason. Then we see things as they really are, not merely as they look. Our receptivity puts us in conscious relation with the cycles of universal activity symbolized by the Wheel of Fortune. To those who have no knowledge of our method of procedure, it seems that we have unusual command of circumstances, or that we are unusually lucky. Apparently we make things happen to suit ourselves. We work wonders which amaze all beholders. To ourselves, however, it seems otherwise. We know that all we do is to submit ourselves completely to the influence of the directing principle of the universe. When we do this, we find that the least details of our daily experience are brought into harmony with the cosmic order.

Receptivity enables us also to reap the full benefits of intuition. As you have learned, true intuition, the Triumphant and Eternal Intelligence, invariably teaches us how to apply some principle which is eternally true to the solution of a particular personal problem. The principle is always universal, but intuition is what enables us to see just how the principle bears upon the situation which confronts us and thus change the situation. The more receptive we are the more intuitive do we become and the clearer and better are we able to see the path immediately before us. This is the path which leads ultimately to conscious union with the One Identity pictured by the Hermit.

Key 7, furthermore, is the link between Key 6 and Key 8. It is through thinking continually of personality as being a vehicle for the Universal Will that we experience the good results of the harmonious relation between the conscious and subconscious minds, as pictured by the Lovers. For then we no longer try to bend conditions by means of 'personal will.' Instead, we simply perceive the actual presence in our lives of the One Will which is sufficient to meet our every requirement.

This attitude of willingness constitutes a most potent suggestion to sub-consciousness. It clears away the negative effects of the wrong notion that we have to accomplish anything whatever through the exercise of merely personal powers. The powers assume personal form as they are expressed in thought, speech and action, but we know that the powers themselves do not have their origin in the field of personality.

The subconscious mind, acting in response to the suggestion that personality is actually the dwelling place of Omnipotence itself, brings all the subhuman forces of the personal field into line with the suggestion. Thus the functions of the entire organism are adjusted, and even bodily structure is altered. The wild beasts of the lower nature are tamed and brought under control. A tide of strength, surges through the whole organism, and all the powers of personality are coordinated.

In the sequence 3, 4, 5, Key 4 is the mean term. It shows us the power of reason as the link between the subconscious process of mental imagery and the superconscious activities which bring to us the instruction of the Inner Teacher. That is to say, the deductive process of the subconscious mind provides us with groups and complexes of associated ideas.

These are then submitted to the regulative function of self-conscious reasoning, symbolized by the Emperor. Until this has been done, and the materials made available by the creative imagery of subconscious have been sorted and classified, we are not ready to listen to the Inner Voice. For it is in the process of consciously setting and arranging our mental images that the nature of our problems becomes evident to us. Then only do we see where there are missing links in the chain of knowledge. Then only do we perceive in what respects we are yet in ignorance. Until we know what we do not know we are not ready to seek, much less to profit by, the higher guidance typified by the Hierophant. For intuition gives us light from above, but only when we seek that light. Unless we know how to ask, we cannot receive the higher instruction, and until our conscious reasoning has shown us clearly what it is that we do not know, we cannot formulate the specific questions which are necessary if we hope to receive enlightening answers from the Inner Voice.

The sequence 9, 10, 11 shows the Wheel of Fortune as the mean term between the Hermit and Justice. The Hermit is the same as the Charioteer, and he is really also the same as the Emperor and the Hierophant. He is the guiding power lighting our path to the heights of spiritual attainment. The mountain whereon he stands is within us, not outside. The path leading to this height is therefore the way of gradual progress in the science of self-knowledge. The Hermit is the goal of our hopes, and he is also the foundation of our personal existence.

The Wheel of Fortune represents the cycles of cosmic law through which the power of the One Identity is communicated to us, its centers of expression. The outcome of the working of the law represented by Key 10 is shown in Key 11. The One Identity adjusts our personal lives through the orderly sequence of its own self-manifestation. The more clearly we perceive this, the more definitely are we established in faith. We learn to say, 'So be it' to the heavenly order. No matter how things look to us, we affirm that the present situation is an orderly development from all previous conditions.

What should be understood here is that faith in the cosmic order is no mere pretense. It is really a logical deduction from all that we know of the power, wisdom and beauty of the One Reality. Concerning this, as exemplified in the idea of Victory (which is definitely associated with Key 7 through its number), Albert Pike writes:

'Victory is the perfect Success, which with the Deity, to Whom the future is present, attends, and to His creatures is to result, from the plan of Equilibrium everywhere adopted by Him. It is the reconciliation of Light and Darkness, Good and Evil, Free-will and Necessity, God's omnipotence and Man's liberty; and the harmonious issue and result of all, without which the universe would be a failure. It is the inherent Perfection of the Deity, manifested in His Idea of the universe; but it is that Perfection regarded as the successful result, which it both causes or produces and is; the perfection of the plan being its success. It is the prevailing of Wisdom over Accident; and it, in turn, both produces and is the Glory and Laudation of the Great Infinite Contriver, Whose plan is thus successful and glorious.' -- Morals and Dogma, p.767.

Our affirmation that the Creative Process is a success NOW, includes the realization that since we are not yet all seeing and all-knowing, it is merely logical to assume that apparent failures owe their appearance to our ignorance. Concerning this we may also quote from The Sculptor Speaks (Doubleday, Doran & Co.), in which Jacob Epstein sets forth this view:

'I do not agree with the theory that the magic wand changes something ugly in nature; transmutation by a painter or sculptor into something beautiful. The thing itself is always beautiful, or will appear beautiful to the person who knows how to look at it. The beauty was always there. It is only the accidental circumstances of life that conceal the beauty from some people, sometimes, and from some people, always.'

To know how to look at it. That is the thing. We need not agree with Epstein's notion that inability to look is merely the outcome of accidental circumstances. Rather would we say that to each one in due season, enlightenment comes not by accident, but by a growth which works outward from within under the guidance of the One Identity.

Thus THE BOOK OF TOKENS says:

'Into every state of knowledge do I enter, Into false knowledge as well as into true, So that I am not less the ignorance of the deluded Than the wisdom of the sage. For what thou callest ignorance and folly Is my pure knowing, Imperfectly expressed Through an uncompleted image Of my divine perfection.

Woe unto them Who condemn these my works unfinished! Behold, they who presume to judge Are themselves incomplete, Through many a fiery trial of sorrow Must they pass, Ere the clear beauty of my wisdom May shine from out of their hearts, Like unto a light Burning in a lamp of alabaster.'

Follow the same general plan in your practice this week as in the preceding lessons. Begin with the Pattern, and then contemplate the three Keys relating to the day's meditation. It will also be an excellent idea to read over whatever material you may find in TAROT FUNDAMENTALS concerning the Keys you are using.

Above all, remember your occult notebook. Do not force yourself when you write in it, but, on the other hand, make sure that it contains some record, however sketchy; of all you receive from within, concerning this work.

Meditations

FIRST DAY: Keys 3, 7, 11. The seeds of true understanding come to rich fruition in the garden of my subconsciousness. More clearly than ever, I realize that I am an actual embodiment of the very principle of success. I am poised and serene in the midst of action, for I know that the One Life is continually adjusting all things for my good. THE GATE OF LIBERATION IS OPEN BEFORE ME, FOR I AM THE DWELLING PLACE OF THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM, MAINTAINING ALL THINGS IN PERFECT BALANCE.

SECOND DAY: Keys 4, 7, 10. When I look out upon my surroundings, I see them with the single eye of Divine Reason. I submit my whole field of action to the direction of the One Life which is now the perfect master of all conditions. The whirling cycles of change revolving round me hold no terror, for I know they speed me onward toward the perfect realization of my heart’s desire. THE PERFECT ORDER OF THE ONE REALITY VANQUISHES EVERY SEEMING ADVERSARY, AND MAKES THE EXPERIENCE OF THIS DAY PART OF THE PERFECT CYCLE OF THE DIVINE EXPRESSION.

THIRD DAY: Keys 5, 7, 9. All this day my inner ear is open, and I listen for the Heavenly Instruction. My Teacher dwells with me always, and will not leave me comfortless. My heart's desire is for union with Him, and I shall not miss that goal. I LISTEN, RECEPTIVE TO THE INFLUX OF TRUTH AND LIGHT FROM ABOVE, AND I LOOK UPWARD TOWARD THE GOAL OF PERFECT LIBERATION.

FOURTH DAY: Keys 6, 7, 8. Harmony is established within me through the balanced action of my conscious and subconscious minds. I am at rest, for now I see that, of myself, I truly do nothing. Strength beyond my power to reckon is at my disposal, and even now is being applied to the perfect manifestation of my heart's desire. LOVING LIFE, I OPEN MY WHOLE PERSONALITY TO ITS OVERFLOWING ABUNDANCE, SECURE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ALL THE FORCES OF NATURE ARE EVEN NOW OBEDIENT TO THE ONE SPIRIT DWELLING IN MY HEART.

FIFTH DAY: Keys 3, 4, 5. My subconscious mind, filled with the radiance of the One Spirit, is luminous with right understanding, My affairs are set in order by the power which frames all conditions for good. The Teacher of Teachers instructs me in the Way of Liberation. RIGHT UNDERSTANDING, RIGHT REASON, AND UNFAILING INTUITION KEEP ME STEADFAST IN THE WAY TO FREEDOM.

SIXTH DAY: Keys 9, 10, 11. I abide this day in the protective presence of the One Identity. Through all the mutations of circumstance I remain unmoved. Poise and security are mine this day. THE ONE SPIRIT GUIDES ME, ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR MY GOOD, AND I AM POISED IN THE MIDST OF ACTION, ALL THIS DAY.