The Life Power

The first thing to do before your read this lesson is to take your Tarot Key numbered 0, the Fool, and place it before you. Observe every detail closely, so that you can make mental reference to it as you read this lesson. Be orderly about it. Start with the Hebrew letter, which is Aleph, in the lower right hand corner, then the Title and the number. Work progressively from right to left, from the top of the picture to the bottom.

Key 0 represents the manner in which the Absolute presents itself, in a measure, to the wise. The Absolute is THAT about which nothing can be said, because IT entirely transcends finite comprehension. It is the Rootless Root of all being, the Causeless Cause of all that is, yet these names cannot in the least define IT. All speculations as to ITS nature are futile. But what is important to us is the way in which IT manifests ITSELF to our understanding.

Some of the names which have been given to this manifestation are as follows: the LIFE POWER; LIMITLESS LIGHT; L.V.X.; the ONE FORCE; the ONE THING; the PRIMAL WILL. Learn these names. They designate the force that you use in every thought, feeling, and action; the force which you will utilize in your Tarot practice. Your advancement will be measured strictly by your growing comprehension of the real meaning of these names.

The first symbol of the LIFE POWER is 0. Review what is listed under the numerical sign 0 in your lesson last week. There you will see the key word is NOTHING. The LIFE POWER is limitless. Therefore it is nothing we can define, nothing we can measure; nothing we can fathom, nothing that will ever come to an end, nothing which ever had a beginning.

0 looks like an egg, and an egg is something which contains the potencies of growth and development. As a living form is hatched from an egg, so is everything in the universe brought forth from the Cosmic Egg of the LIFE POWER. The LIFE POWER has within it all possibilities. All manifestation, every object, every force in the universe is an adaptation of the ONE LIFE POWER. Because its possibilities are truly limitless, it can be specialized in any particular form, or manifestation, of which the human mind can conceive. This is the reason why it is possible to achieve results by purely mental means.

Because the LIFE POWER is the force behind all manifestation, and consequently behind all growth, it is obviously Cultural Power. This is graphically portrayed by the attribution of the Hebrew letter Aleph to this Key. Aleph means “Ox.” Oxen were the motive power in primitive agriculture. They were used to plow fields, to thresh grain, to carry burdens. Agriculture is the basic form of civilization, so the ox represents the power at work in all forms of human adaptation and modification of natural conditions. In this way the ox symbolizes creative energy, the vital principal in all forms of living creatures. This vital principle comes to us in physical form as the energy of the sun.

Consequently we see that the LIFE POWER is not an abstraction, far removed from our everyday life. We contact it everywhere, in every form. Our senses reveal it to us physically as light and heat from the sun, and scientific research makes known to everyone that sun energy is the basis of our physical existence.

Just as sunlight is a form of electro-magnetic vibration, measurable with physical instruments, so is every other part of the universe, physical or super physical, composed also of electro-magnetic vibrations which quickly pass beyond the range of any man-made instrument. But there is an instrument, not made by man, which can utilize and adapt these higher vibrations, this radiant mental energy, in a manner truly wonderful. That instrument is the human personality, and you are its possessor. Its function is to give free expression to the LIFE POWER (recall statements 0, 1 and 2 of the Pattern on the Trestle Board.)

One of the most important forms taken by this energy, and the first one you should learn to use, is AIR. You must learn to control actual atmospheric air, or, in other words, learn to breathe properly. We do not recommend here that you indulge in any of the various breathing exercises recommended by many teachers of occult development. They have no place in your instruction at this time, since they only too often prove dangerous to students who do not fully realize what they are attempting. It is important just to learn to breathe deeply, filling the lungs with air and providing the blood stream with oxygen it requires. Practice this consistently and you will soon breathe properly automatically.

The important of breath is shown in the symbolism of The Fool. Aleph is the special sign of Air in Hebrew esoteric philosophy. The noun “Fool” is derived from the Latin word “follies” meaning “a bag of wind.” Follis also means “bellows” which is an instrument for the utilization of air. The yellow tint in the background is also symbolical of air. Add to this the fact that, in every civilized language, wise men use the words which ordinarily mean air, wind, or breath to designate life, or conscious energy, and you can readily fathom the significance attached to air by occultists, and realize the importance of learning to use it properly.

The Tarot title for the LIFE POWER is highly ingenious. It tells us all that we need to know, at the same time throwing the idly curious or the superficial completely off the track. One key to the true significance of the title “THE FOOL” is the say, “The Wisdom of God is foolishness with men.” Thus it is that those men, found in every generation who gain an unusual knowledge of the LIFE POWER are usually called madmen or fools by their less enlightened brethren.

So this title hints at a state of consciousness which has even been termed pathological by some materialistic psychologists, simply because its results were unfamiliar to them and they were totally incapable of understanding it. This state of consciousness is termed, by those who can comprehend its significance, as “Super-consciousness” or “Cosmic Consciousness.” To attain such a state of consciousness is to comprehend the universe in its entirety, and to gain complete self-realization. The attainment of

Super-consciousness may well be given as the ultimate object of your Tarot study. You must not understand, by that, that some method of instruction or practice outside yourself is going to bring you Super-consciousness in some miraculous manner. Nothing could be farther from the truth. To study will help you gradually to organize the powers of your personality so that you will be able to express Super-consciousness through it.

The only way that we can conceive of the Absolute is in terms of our own experience. We always tend to invest IT with human form, from the highest ideas of a creator to the grossest anthropomorphism. This is what is symbolized by the Fool himself. Behind this personal seeming, however, the sages discern something higher – typified in this picture as the white Sun – an Impersonal Power, manifesting as the Limitless Energy radiated to the planets of innumerable world-systems by their suns. In manifestation that Energy, symbolized also by the fair hair of the traveler, is temporarily limited by living organisms, of these the vegetable kingdom, represented by the green wreath, is the primary class from which, in the order of evolution, spring animal organisms typified by the red feather.

The LIFE POWER is forever young, forever in the morning of its power, forever on the verge of the abyss of manifestation. It always faces unknown possibilities of self-expression transcending any height which it might previously have reached. Hence the Fool faces west (the direction of the unknown) toward a peak at which he gazes, above and beyond his present station. It is that which was, is, and shall be, and this is indicated by the Hebrew letters IHVH (Yod-Heh-Vau-Heh) at the collar of his undergarment, which have that meaning. This inner robe is the dazzling white light of Perfect Wisdom. It is concealed by the black coat of ignorance, lined with the red of passion and material force. This outer garment is embroidered with a floral decoration, but the unit of design is a solar orb containing eight red spokes, and symbolizing the initial whirling motion that brings the universe into manifestation. This outer garment is held on by a girdle consisting of twelve units, seven of which are showing. This girdle symbolizes Time, and it is only when man is freed from the limitation of time that he is able to overcome ignorance and passion. Other details of this picture are outlined in the booklet you received with your Tarot Keys. Study them in connection with this Key.

During your practice period this week read this lesson once each day. Pay particular attention to anything that may seem obscure to you, and endeavor to think it through. Give complete attention to everything stated, and set down in your notebook anything that may occur to you in connection with this lesson.

The most important part of your work, however, will be the study of the Key itself. Devote at least five minutes to that before commencing to read the lesson. It is far more important to imprint the details of the Key upon your brain cells than it is to gain an intellectual grasp of their significance. The reason for this will develop as you continue with the instruction. There is only one way to make such an impression, and that is to look at the Key and observe its details carefully. It is particularly important to place in your notebook any thoughts which may occur to you during your study of the card itself. Do not neglect any of these instructions.

Before you look at your Key, place yourself comfortably in a chair, preferably one with a straight back. Sit with both feet squarely on the floor, and take several deep breaths, exhaling slowly. Try to see that there is fresh air in the room, because breath of air that is stale is but little better than no breath at all. Do not shift about constantly nor cross your knees. Sit naturally and restfully. It is entirely unnecessary to hold yourself rigidly, either physically or mentally; yet you should not adopt a posture of complete relaxation. Have observed these preliminaries you will be able to devote your attention to your Tarot Key without giving your body any further thought.

There is one other exercise with the Fool that is earnestly recommended to you. This practice is to be used every day, not for this week only. Just after reciting your Pattern on the Trestle Board each morning look at the 'The Fool' for a few minutes. Do the same thing before reciting it at night. You will find this practice very beneficial, because The Fool sums up all of the meanings of the Pattern. In this way you will impress upon your consciousness, with doubled strength, the Truth about the Self.

THE MAGICIAN

Yellow / E

Figure 38. The Path to the Godhead.

Astrological Chart