The Thoth Tarot & the word Secret in the Book of the Law.

[Aeon418]

In his book, Secrets of the Thoth Tarot - vol.1, Marcus Katz draws attention to the 22 occurrences of the word "secret" in the Book of the Law, and a possible match-up to the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot. The link being that Arcana means Secret.

 

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.... it turns out that the word ‘secret’ occurs exactly 22 times in the book – the number of Major Arcana. Even if this is a neat coincidence, it is truly neat, as the 22 verses containing the word ‘secret’, taken in straight order, can be said to have a reasonable correspondence to their appropriate tarot card.

 

I had never noticed this link before. So I dug out my old copy of Wolfgang Gregory Zeuner's concordance to the Book of the Law. And yes, the word "secret" does indeed occur 22 times. Intrigued, I thought I would see if I could see a correspondence between the Major Arcana and the "secret" verses. Going sequentially through the cards (with two very interesting exceptions) I immediately noticed that there really is something "truly neat" in this, as associations were very easy to see and came to my mind almost instantly with very little effort. Admittedly, this is probably due to decades of familiarity with the text of the Book of the Law. But, if all this seems incredibly obscure, I will quote Marcus Katz in my defence.

 

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My personal view is that it is essential to appreciate the Book of the Law to get even one level down into the Thoth Tarot.

 

I:6. "Be thou Hadit, my secret centre", .... (0 - The Fool, pure Be-ing.)

 

I:10. "Let my servants be few & secret: they shall rule the many & the known". (I - The Magus, duality, polarity.)

 

I:14. "Above, the gemmèd azure is
     The naked splendour of Nuit;
She bends in ecstasy to kiss
     The secret ardours of Hadit." (II - The Priestess, the naked Truth behind the veil.)

 

I:16. "For he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret flame, and to her the stooping starlight". (III - The Empress. Nothing immediately jumps out at me here, so I won't try to force a correspondence and will sit with this one for a while.)

 

I:20. "The key of the rituals is in the secret word which I have given unto him." ("I, Nuit" XVII - The Star. "Him" IV - The Emperor. An interesting loop!)

 

I:22. "Now, therefore, I am known to ye by my name Nuit, and to him by a secret name which I will give him when at last he knoweth me." (V - The Hierophant, "knoweth" - union, gnosis.)

 

I:46. "Nothing is a secret key of this law." (VI - The Lovers, 0=2.)

 

I:49. ".... Hoor in his secret name and splendour is the Lord initiating." (VII - The Chariot. RA HVVR = 418, Cheth)

 

I:57 ".... All these old letters of my Book are aright; but צ is not the Star. This also is secret: my prophet shall reveal it to the wise." (VIII - Adjustment, rebalance of Tarot and Zodiac. The double loop in the zodiac.)

 

I:60. ".... Also I have a secret glory for them that love me." (IX - The Hermit as Hadit, the lover of Nuit.)

 

I:62. "At all my meetings with you shall the priestess say— and her eyes shall burn with desire as she stands bare and rejoicing in my secret temple— To me! To me! calling forth the flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant." (X - Fortune, the Wheel is Nuit. The "flame of the heart" is the axle of the Wheel - the secret temple.)

 

11 "secrets" in chapter 1. Nuit's number.

 

II:2. "Come! all ye, and learn the secret that hath not yet been revealed. I, Hadit, am the complement of Nu, my bride." (XI - Lust, Teth = (Secret) Serpent i.e. Hadit.)

 

II:15. "For I am perfect, being Not; .... for there is a further secret." (XII - The Hanged Man, reversal. AL, God <> LA, Not.)

 

II:26."I am the secret Serpent coiled about to spring: in my coiling there is joy." (XIII - Death, "coiling" transformations of Serpent Force.)

 

II:39. "A feast for Tahuti and the child of the Prophet— secret, O Prophet!" (XIV - Art, "child" the product of Union. Great Work.)

 

4 "secrets" in chapter 2. "foursquare, mystic, wonderful."

 

III:9. "Lurk! Withdraw! Upon them! this is the Law of the Battle of Conquest: thus shall my worship be about my secret house." (XV - The Devil, Mars exalted in Capricorn.)

 

III:10. "Get the stélé of revealing itself; set it in thy secret temple— and that temple is already aright disposed— & it shall be your Kiblah for ever." (XVI - The Tower, secret temple - House of God as every Star/Soul.)

 

III:22. ".... I am the visible object of worship; the others are secret; for the Beast & his Bride are they: and for the winners of the Ordeal x." (IV - The Emperor, Horus, the Visible Object of worship. XVII - The Star, "secret others," i.e. Nuit and Hadit. Exoteric versus Esoteric Tarot attributions.)

 

III:38 ".... There is a secret door that I shall make to establish thy way in all the quarters." (XVIII - The Moon, the Gateway of Resurrection.)

 

III:38. ".... The light is mine; its rays consume
     Me: I have made a secret door
Into the House of Ra and Tum,
     Of Khephra and of Ahathoor." (XIX - The Sun in it's four stations.)

 

III:39. "All this and a book to say how thou didst come hither and a reproduction of this ink and paper for ever— for in it is the word secret & not only in the English—," (XX - The Aeon, Thoth Tarot as illustrations to the Book of the Law. See BoT p.116. The Aeon card itself as a pictorial distillation and summary of the Book of the Law.) 

 

III:49. "I am in a secret fourfold word, the blasphemy against all gods of men." (XXI - The Universe, Tau = Mark of Cain and the of Beast. Initiation as realization of one's own godhead is "blasphemy." to the false gods on men.)

 

7 "secrets" in chapter 3. A.R.A.R.I.T.A. and the 7 permutations of the name of Horus in the Book of the Law. 

[Flegetanis]

Thanks for this! And now, on to Liber Arcanorum! 😄 

93s! 

Edited March 5, 2024 by Flegetanis

[Aeon418]

This is an attempt at a line-by-line commentary on the textual portion of Crowley's, Liber Arcanorum. It was written several years ago as part of a meditation on the Death card (representing the 22 scales/paths of the serpent) and an devotional reading of the text during the Thelemic Holy Season (as defined by James A. Eshelman).

 

The commentary was written with an eye on Crowley's definition of Liber Arcanorum as: "an account of the cosmic process so far as it is indicated by the Tarot Trumps." And the subtitle of "Vidit Asar in Ammenti," - the Journey of Osiris in the Underworld - suggests an allegory of incarnation.

 

My comments represent the first idea that came to mind in the heat of the moment as I read through the text, filtered through the interpretive lens of Tarot correspondences. As such it is neither authoritative or exhaustive. Nor is is it necessarily "correct."

 

N.B. The text of Liber Arcanorum predates Crowley's ideas around "card loops" by roughly a decade. As such it sticks to the Tarot sequencing order that Crowley first learnt in the Golden Dawn. 

 

Liber Arcanorum

 

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0. A, the heart of IAO, dwelleth in ecstasy in the secret place of the thunders. Between Asar and Asi he abideth in joy.

The Fool - A, the ecstatic unity produced by the Union of the cosmic I and 0. He "dwelleth in ecstasy" and "abideth in joy." To me this says un-manifest and undifferentiated being. Pure potential waiting to be born.   

 

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1. The lightnings increased and the Lord Tahuti stood forth. The Voice came from the Silence. Then the One ran and returned.

The Magus - The "Lord Tahuti stood forth" and extended the divine Will and uttered the Creative Word (Logos). Duality is created by the One running and returning.

 

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2. Now hath Nuit veiled herself, that she may open the gate of her sister.

The Priestess - Nuit, the veiling of Infinite Possibility in the Matrix of Form.

 

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3. The Virgin of God is enthroned upon an oyster-shell; she is like a pearl, and seeketh Seventy to her Four. In her heart is Hadit the invisible glory.

The Empress - Hadit, the core of every star. The grain of sand in the pearl at the heart of the pregnant oyster.

 

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4. Now riseth Ra-Hoor-Khut, and dominion is established in the Star of the Flame.

The Emperor - Manifestation and birth of Force within Ideal Form. Ra-Hoor-Khuit formulating the Pentagram and ....

 

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5. Also is the Star of the Flame exalted, bringing benediction to the universe.

The Hierophant - The Hexagram. 5 & 6 = 11, i.e. Nuit. The intrinsic link between the microcosm and the macrocosm.

 

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6. Here then beneath the winged Eros is youth, delighting in the one and the other.
He is Asar between Asi and Nepthi; he cometh forth from the veil.

 

The Lovers - Asar (the incarnated soul) enters into duality. The body of the Goddess is divided for "loves sake" into the dual forms of Asi (Isis) and Nepthi (Nephthys). Choice appears and things can now happen.

 

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7. He rideth upon the chariot of eternity; the white and the black are harnessed to his car. Therefore he reflecteth the Fool, and the sevenfold veil is reveiled.

The Chariot - The incarnated soul journeys forth onto the path of Eternity, drawn by manifestations of the polarities already latent within the Fool. The process of emanation is complete and the veil is drawn across the mystery of incarnation. (All five paths across the Abyss have now been crossed.)

 

- Conditions of Incarnation / the Manifest Universe -

 

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8. Also came forth mother Earth with her lion, even Sekhet, the lady of Asi.

Lust - (Golden Dawn Strength = 8, VIII) Sekhet seems to be a variation of Sekhmet. According to Egyptian myth she almost slaughtered all of mankind and had to be subdued with beer. This verse might be symbolic of the goddess in the form of an apparently hostile universe. Mother Nature in all her savage glory.

 

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9. Also the Priest veiled himself, lest his glory be profaned, lest his word be lost in the multitude.

The Hermit - The Priest may be the inner light, the Yod, that is swallowed up in incarnation. Forgetfulness of the Logos due to incarnation?

 

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10. Now then the Father of all issued as a mighty wheel; the Sphinx, and the dog-headed god, and Typhon, were bound on his circumference.

Fortune - The establishment of the three gunas in the universe. Change and impermanence as necessary conditions of existence.

 

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11. Also the lady Maat with her feather and her sword abode to judge the righteous.
For Fate was already established.

Adjustment - (Golden Dawn Justice, XI) The establishment of Karma, the Law of cause and effect.

 

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12. Then the holy one appeared in the great water of the North; as a golden dawn did he appear, bringing benediction to the fallen universe.

The Hanged Man - L.V.X. shinning into the darkness of matter. The universe is not completely fatalistic.

 

- Asar in Ammenti - Initiation begins. -

 

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13. Also Asar was hidden in Amennti; and the Lords of Time swept over him with the sickle of death.

Death - The Soul, incarnated in the universe, is subject to transformation through the medium of Time and Death.

 

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14. And a mighty angel appeared as a woman, pouring vials of woe upon the flames, lighting the pure stream with her brand of cursing. And the iniquity was very great.

Art - Incarnation involves trials, tests, and ordeals. The purification and perfection of the Prima Materia in pursuit of the Great Work.

 

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15. Then the Lord Khem arose, He who is holy among the highest, and set up his crowned staff for to redeem the universe.

The Devil - The Dark Lord (or Secret Self) revealing the Way of Redemption. Ayin = 70 represents the Middle Pillar connecting Malkuth to Kether. (Compare with verse 3 and the Empress who ever seeketh Seventy to her Four. 74 = LMD, Lamed, "The Satisfaction of the Woman.")

 

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16. He smote the towers of wailing; he brake them in pieces in the fire of his anger, so that he alone did escape from the ruin thereof.

The Tower - Liberation and Awakening. Only the Lord Khem escapes. The falling figures on card XVI are said to represent the letter Ayin, and are those who have inverted their perspective of life and escaped the Tower. (Liber A'ash:30 .... "for mine acorns are blown afar by the wind")

 

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17. Transformed, the holy virgin appeared as a fluidic fire, making her beauty into a thunderbolt.

The Star - The Thunderbolt is also the Flaming Sword that descends the Tree of Life and bestows the sudden flash of illumination.

 

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18. By her spells she invoked the Scarab, the Lord Kheph-Ra, so that the waters were cloven and the illusion of the towers was destroyed.

The Moon - The breaking of the illusion of duality.  The transforming vision that reveals the true nature of reality.

 

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19. Then the sun did appear unclouded, and the mouth of Asi was on the mouth of Asar.

The Sun - The transformation of the relationship between the Incarnated Soul and the Universe. They are, and always were twins and lovers. Hexagram = Twin Tongues.

 

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20. Then also the Pyramid was builded so that the Initiation might be complete.

The Aeon - Establishment of the Trinity in Manifestation, H.H.H. The pyramid is symbolic of the Phallus that was lost by Asar (Osiris). This is equivalent to the letter Shin appearing within the four dead elements of IHVH, thereby forming the name IHShVH.

[The old interpretation of IHShVH said that it represented Jesus the redeemer. The Shin was said to descend from above and outside in the manner of the cloven tongues of flame on the heads of the apostles. In contrast Thelema recognizes the divine Spirit is already latent within all humanity. The spark just needs to be kindled. Every man and every woman is a star.]

 

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21. And in the heart of the Sphinx danced the Lord Adonai, in His garlands of roses and pearls making glad the concourse of things; yea, making glad the concourse of things.

The Universe - The Great Work accomplished. Adonai (Lord) established in perfect unity with the Universe. Spirit and Matter united.