The Path of The Emperor

Aeon418

I think what happened here is that the Tzaddi is the Stabilizing intelligence, and so in Tarot form, it seems appropriate to assign The Star, as the woman's foot traditionally rests on the stabilized water. In the Western Mystery Tradition this represents meditiation.
This is a curious interpretation. On the surface it appears reasonable to connect the Stabilizing Intelligence with 'stabilized water', but the stabilization implied by this Intelligence isn't necessarily that of stillness and tranquillity. The stabilization is rather one of formation and establishment. For this reason the usual title for the Path of Heh is the Constituting Consciousness.
James Eshelman said:
SEKHEL MA’AMIYD (ShKL MOMYD). The root of ma’amiyd is OMD, ’amad. The primary meaning of this root is “to stand.” Its secondary meanings include: to stand firm, endure; to stand up, arise, stand erect; to raise or erect; to be constituted, set up, appointed. Of all of the synonyms that could be employed, the traditional translation “constituting” (lit., “setting up,” Latin con-stituere) is entirely apt. It means to set up, formulate, establish, compose, etc.
In light of Crowley's placement of the Star on the Path of Heh, I interpret the above in terms of the Great Mother giving form to the world. The Seed/Will of the Father in Chokmah is gestated and formulated through the agency of the Mother (XVII Star/Heh) and born as the Child-Tiphareth.
 

Mirror of Galadriel

Yes, you are right about the Intelligences. I referred to posts here, and not the ToL text directly, and made an error. But it is not relevant to my post in any event.

The Intelligences are not the way I analyzed it, because it is not the only way of looking at it. If Tzaddi is not the Star, and Heh is being put in its place, the question becomes about the Paths, since that is where the letters are located.

The Paths themselves should describe how one Sephiroth flows into another, and it is greatly affected by which Triangle is in operation. We must remember that Heh operates in the Supernal Triangle, which is beyond human comprehension. Tzaddi, on the other hand, operates in the Astral Triangle, in which the conscious will and mind operate, Netzach and Hod. Tzaddi is usually ascribed to the Star, "meditation".

This is a very practical way of looking at this switch and why it would be made.

If the Star is Heh, then something which was traditionally ascribed to a Supernal operation is personalized in the Astral Triangle...chiefly the part which connects the Will (Netzach) to the inner astral, premanifestation of that desire, Yesod. Heh is the Window, and it is spelled HH, to signify that the one who looks out is the same as the one who looks in. Is it Crowley's way of signifying that the personal will is the Divine Will? The Emperor is concerned with Logic and Reason, not Meditation.

The Emperor/Heh however is normally attributed to that which is in the Supernal realm. In fact, the magical image of the Sphere of Kether is "a bearded man in profile". This image is used for the Emperor in the BOTA Tarot (Heh). That is why it seems helpful, seeing as though there are so many ways of looking at this, and that it is speculative, to see how Heh would be ascribed to the Star, which is below the Supernal realm.

That which is above is that which is below? Supernal Will is mirrored in the personal Will? I think that, because it is Crowley's way, to be concerned with Will. Love is the Law, Love under Will. Netzach to Yesod IS about the operation of the Will and it seems he wants Heh to associated with that Path, if Heh is appearing where Tzaddi would be, on that Tarot Key/Card. Furthermore, there is a consonance with the image of the Thoth Star and the Universe so it once again, to me, may hint at ways in which the Supernal operates in the personal will and what we manifest. Because that is more of what the Tarot is about of course, on an esoteric/Qabbalistic/Western Mystery level...aside from how we look at it, as "cards to be read".

All speculation...thank you...so interesting to me what other thoughts are about it. A fascinating subject to me always. :)
 

Aeon418

Yes, you are right about the Intelligences. I referred to posts here, and not the ToL text directly, and made an error. But it is not relevant to my post in any event.
I was under the impression that you were trying to use a particular interpretation of the Stabilizing Intelligence to prop up your argument. That's why I posted an analysis of the Hebrew word "MOMYD".
Tzaddi is usually ascribed to the Star, "meditation".
Tzaddi most certainly does mean 'meditation'. But the Star does not necessarily have to. Interpretation of the cards can be reframed.
If the Star is Heh, then something which was traditionally ascribed to a Supernal operation is personalized in the Astral Triangle...
For the sake of clarity, is your idea to have the Star and the letter Heh on the 28th path between Netzach and Yesod? Can you spell out clearly which card/letter combinations you are placing on which paths?

The Emperor is concerned with Logic and Reason, not Meditation.
Why not? Unless you're working from a particular idea of what meditation means. The meditation practice that Crowley assigned to the Path of Tzaddi/The Emperor(section S.S.S. of Liber H.H.H.) is an instruction in the willed raising of the Kundalini. Through intense physical control and mental concentration (The Emperor) the fire of the sexual force (Aries) is raised and lifted (Tzaddi) out of the generative centre (Yesod) and directed towards channels of devotion and desire (Netzach).

The other aspect of the 28th Path, the imprinting of the subconscious with the symbols of desire, has already been covered in my first response to you.
 

Mirror of Galadriel

I was under the impression that you were trying to use a particular interpretation of the Stabilizing Intelligence to prop up your argument. That's why I posted an analysis of the Hebrew word "MOMYD".

Tzaddi most certainly does mean 'meditation'. But the Star does not necessarily have to. Interpretation of the cards can be reframed.


For the sake of clarity, is your idea to have the Star and the letter Heh on the 28th path between Netzach and Yesod? Can you spell out clearly which card/letter combinations you are placing on which paths?


Why not? Unless you're working from a particular idea of what meditation means. The meditation practice that Crowley assigned to the Path of Tzaddi/The Emperor(section S.S.S. of Liber H.H.H.) is an instruction in the willed raising of the Kundalini. Through intense physical control and mental concentration (The Emperor) the fire of the sexual force (Aries) is raised and lifted (Tzaddi) out of the generative centre (Yesod) and directed towards channels of devotion and desire (Netzach).

The other aspect of the 28th Path, the imprinting of the subconscious with the symbols of desire, has already been covered in my first response to you.

Thank you for your analysis of the Hebrew word MOMYD.

The Star does not have to mean meditation. However it is particularly concerned with receiving something from above, and the chakras, which point to meditation and the Great Work. To this end, the fish-hook/Tzaddi does point to "drawing from" Higher consciousness. The ibis bird that appears in other decks is steeped in symbolism as to its bill as a fish-hook. I will not linger on this point though. There are implications with the Emperor representing logic and reasoning, connected with meditation and mindfulness.

Obviously, the Trumps are highly concerned with the operation of the mind in various ways in relation to the Great Work. Certainly, both the Star and Emperor, are concerned with this. It would seem that a choice of Tzaddi versus Heh would serve to illuminate further what is meant by those mental powers and how they are operating. Heh is the window. And what does that mean? Higher consciousness mirrored in personal consciousness...among other meanings. And I am looking at how Heh could be the Star.
Because the Path of Heh is the Fifteenth, extending from Chokmah, I think of Heh as a Supernal realm letter. And the personal mind is said not to operate in the Supernal realm. However, one can speak of how Tzaddi draws from it, OR...how Heh could be a reflection of it.

That is a great point about how the raising of the Kundalini is depicted by Crowley through the letters and Trumps you mentioned. There is no point in discussing it outside of Tarot language. That explains a great deal, about why Crowley has made the choice he has made, in and of itself. Thank you so much for that point.

"For the sake of clarity, is your idea to have the Star and the letter Heh on the 28th path between Netzach and Yesod? Can you spell out clearly which card/letter combinations you are placing on which paths?" That is how I am looking at it, yes. I envisage Heh being placed on the 28th Path between Netzach and Hod, and Tzaddi being in the 15th Path between Chokmah and Tiphareth.

Some Western Mystery Qabbalists such as myself have also worked with Tarot in a Tableau, with the Fool apart from the rest, and the subsequent Trumps, in three rows, seven across. Each row has meaning. The Emperor is in the first row, but the Star is in the last. To have reversed the letters Tzaddi and Heh, becomes a real issue as those letters illuminate operations of the mind and the Great Work. And I attempt to reconcile it by bringing the Tree and Paths into the picture. I am asking myself, from a critical point of view and not from the texts of the intelligences, "what happens between Netzach and Hod that could be construed and illuminated by Heh, and not Tzaddi?" And that is the whole essence of it. I am not a Thelemite, but I work with the Thoth and have read some of Crowleys works, and so I have to ask myself "how does this relate to Will and the Great Work".
 

Aeon418

The Star does not have to mean meditation. However it is particularly concerned with receiving something from above, and the chakras, which point to meditation and the Great Work. To this end, the fish-hook/Tzaddi does point to "drawing from" Higher consciousness.
Tzaddi does represent a "drawing from", but then you add "Higher consciousness" at the end. I'm not entirely sure where you're getting the final part. I suspect you are conflating the whole Star/Tzaddi/Aquarius package with the letter itself. It may help to consider the significance of the letter Tzaddi in isolation.
Heh is the window. And what does that mean? Higher consciousness mirrored in personal consciousness...among other meanings. And I am looking at how Heh could be the Star.
The Star/Heh on the 15th Path links the Will of the Father to the Son via the form giving Mother (Heh-Window). Tiphareth is the incarnated extension of the Will of Chokmah. That same Will is the guiding Star that motivates and guides the incarnation on its self appointed course through the Universe of Infinite Possibilities.
I envisage Heh being placed on the 28th Path between Netzach and Hod, and Tzaddi being in the 15th Path between Chokmah and Tiphareth.
The order of the alphabet is the sequence of emanation down the tree. How can the 28th Path manifest before the 15th?
Some Western Mystery Qabbalists such as myself have also worked with Tarot in a Tableau, with the Fool apart from the rest, and the subsequent Trumps, in three rows, seven across. Each row has meaning. The Emperor is in the first row, but the Star is in the last. To have reversed the letters Tzaddi and Heh, becomes a real issue as those letters illuminate operations of the mind and the Great Work.
It sounds like the tableau developed by Paul Foster Case. I work with a similar tableau (Liber Tau) in which XXI/Tau is set apart. One aspect of Liber Tau is that it was received by Crowley before he made the Star/Emperor switch. But this switch makes no difference to Liber Tau because the sequence of the Hebrew alphabet is unaffected by a movement of cards. I don't see why this can't be applied to Case's tableau. Try moving the cards instead of the letters.
 

Mirror of Galadriel

Tzaddi does represent a "drawing from", but then you add "Higher consciousness" at the end. I'm not entirely sure where you're getting the final part.

I am suggesting that the fish-hook draws from higher energy outside itself, Divine energy, Divine Will, Superconscious, Higher Consciousness, there are very many ways of expressing this, and I would prefer to leave it to the reader, as to their own preference of expression.

The Star/Heh on the 15th Path links the Will of the Father to the Son via the form giving Mother (Heh-Window). Tiphareth is the incarnated extension of the Will of Chokmah. That same Will is the guiding Star that motivates and guides the incarnation on its self appointed course through the Universe of Infinite Possibilities.

I see...so it is the linkage of the Father and the Son, and we are considering Heh, the Window, as the form-giving Will which guides this...and in Tarot terms "that same Will is the guiding Star". I appreciate that. It makes sense to explain how the Tree, the Letters and Tarot is viewed in Thelema, and resolves a lot about why Crowley made this switch. From the usual Western Mystery point of view, one is taught to think of Daleth the Door, as passing between the Mother and Father (the Empress) and it is drummed in, that Heh the Window is masculine, as it is the Emperor. It creates a bit of a barrier. But once one stops thinking of Heh the Window as the Emperor, and thinks of Heh as the Star, it makes sense.

The order of the alphabet is the sequence of emanation down the tree. How can the 28th Path manifest before the 15th?

It cannot. My issue is similar that I raised, in moving the letters. I did not propose moving the Paths. I had issue with moving the letters. Now I see, based on what you are saying, that only the Tarot is being moved.

It sounds like the tableau developed by Paul Foster Case. I work with a similar tableau (Liber Tau) in which XXI/Tau is set apart. One aspect of Liber Tau is that it was received by Crowley before he made the Star/Emperor switch. But this switch makes no difference to Liber Tau because the sequence of the Hebrew alphabet is unaffected by a movement of cards. I don't see why this can't be applied to Case's tableau. Try moving the cards instead of the letters.

You are quite correct, it is the Paul Foster Case tableau that I refer to. How interesting about Liber Tau...and it being conceived prior to the switch. I will see how that works in the Tableau and give contemplation to that. Thank you so very much as I needed to have these explanations from someone who knows about Thelema. I started in Tarot with Crowley, and later in Mystery School learned Case's way. And once a person has learned it that way, all kinds of things go through one's mind. I constantly try to reconcile what I first learned through Crowley, especially this. I did try however this time, to reconcile it with consideration to Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabbalah, and the concept of the Tree in terms of the Triangles. No matter. Your explanation has convinced me that nothing is changing in any of the realms...Supernal/Ethical/Astral, nor in the Paths. It is the Tarot moving, period. You have given me much understanding and food for thought. Thank you so much!
 

Aeon418

I am suggesting that the fish-hook draws from higher energy outside itself, Divine energy, Divine Will, Superconscious, Higher Consciousness, there are very many ways of expressing this, and I would prefer to leave it to the reader, as to their own preference of expression.
My own understanding is that Tzaddi represents a 'drawing up' or 'lifting out'. Its numerical value of 90 provides the key to its understanding.

90 = 50 + 40, or Nun & Mem. Tzaddi is the Fish-hook that draws the Fish(Nun) out of the Water(Mem).

Nun/Fish corresponds with the sign of Scorpio and sexual energy. Scorpio is the Night house of Mars. The Fish-hook that draws it out corresponds to Aires in Crowley's system. Aires is the Day house of Mars. In this is we can see the Nun/Fish being drawn from the dark into the light. Or another way of putting it is that a subconscious process is being directed and controlled by the conscious mind - The Emperor.

Where did all this Mars energy come from though?. Yesod, from whence it is drawn, is the seat of the generative force and corresponds to Luna not Mars. But in Hebrew Yesod is YSVD = 80 = Peh/Mars.

I don't recall Crowley ever mentioning it, but I doubt he failed to notice that positioning of the Emperor on the Path of Tzaddi is a symbolic link to the healing of the legendary Fisher King. The king whose kingdom is in decay because of the wound to his groin.

That and the fact that Tzaddi = 90 is a lovely right angle of 90°. Perfect for Mr Four-square. :D
 

Aeon418

From the usual Western Mystery point of view, one is taught to think of Daleth the Door, as passing between the Mother and Father (the Empress) and it is drummed in, that Heh the Window is masculine, as it is the Emperor. It creates a bit of a barrier. But once one stops thinking of Heh the Window as the Emperor, and thinks of Heh as the Star, it makes sense.
It also makes sense that the double feminine component in the name IHVH should be represented by an explicitly female card. The Star is the perfect choice for the Naked Revelation and direct insight implied by the Path of Heh.

There's a comment by Crowley in The Book of Thoth that sometimes gets missed because it's in the section dealing with the Ace of Swords.
Aleister Crowley said:
The Ruach is centred in the airy Sephira, Tiphareth, who is the Son, the first-born of the Father, and the Sun, the first emanation of the creative Phallus. He derives directly from his mother Binah through the Path of Zain, the sublime intuitive sense, so that he partakes absolutely of the nature of Neschamah. From his father, Chokmah, he is informed though the Path of Heh’, the Great Mother, the Star, our Lady Nuit, so that the creative impulse is communicated to him by all possibilities soever.*
Finally, from Kether, the supreme, descends directly upon him, though the Path of Gimel, the High Priestess, the triune light of Initiation. The Three- in-One, the Secret Mother in her polymorphous plenitude; these, these alone, hail him thrice blessed of the Supernals!

*Footnote [How strikingly this fact confirms the counterchange of IV and XVII, above fully expounded: as a link between Chokmah and Tiphareth, the Emperor would have no great significance, and this exquisite doctrine of the Three Mothers would be lost.]
Another reason why the Star makes sense on the Path of Heh is that it represents the consolidation of the Crossing of the Abyss on the plane of the Nephesh. The Path of Zain and the Lovers card is the consolidation of the crossing on the intellectual plane, but the Path of Heh and the Star are the Master's 'direct experience' without the clothing of thought wherein he/she perceives the essential identity of the two letter Heh's.

The mystic reading of the letter Heh points to this: HH - the Mother is the Daughter, the Daughter is the Mother.

The Great Work is the setting of the Daughter on the throne of the Mother.
 

foolMoon

Just noticed Snuffin also wrote Emperor's path as 15th in his Thoth Companion Book pp.23

Henry Ho says that both The Star and Emperor cards are interchangeable in the correspondence, and it is up to the reader to decide which one to go for. "Tarot and The Path of Initiation"Henry Ho, pp.274
 

Aeon418

Just noticed Snuffin also wrote Emperor's path as 15th in his Thoth Companion Book pp.23
The path of The Star on page 64 is wrong as well. Fortunately the correct attributions are printed in the various tables. But it does show how easy it is to make a mistake even with the help of modern technology and the services of a professional publisher.

In contrast The Book of Thoth was written and edited by an elderly Crowley in the most primitive way using typewriters and hand written notes. Is it any wonder that mistakes crept in?