Why is Fool Aleph instead of Magician

Michael Sternbach

The Aleph has a function as a consonant, known as a glottal stop. A glottal stop refers to the adduction of the vocal folds, closing off the flow of air. For instance, it's present before the word apple is said (you can feel the folds close before you begin to say the word).

This "non-sound" can indeed be seen as an analogy to The Fool, which is demarking a 'zero state' right before manifestation occurs, so to speak at its very threshold. I think the Thoth Fool expresses this nicely as he is surrounded by the spiral windings of 'negative existence' (Ain Soph Aur), while he is also being 'ejected' towards the observer.

A good analogy from modern physics are the virtual particles that keep popping out and back into the vacuum at a stupendous rate that renders them unobservable.

Now as has been said before, Beth is the first letter in Genesis, which starts with the word "Bereshith" or "in the beginning" - and this corresponds nicely with The Magus as the beginning of Creation and the series of the 21 numbered Major Arcana.

But there are also good reasons for seeing Aleph as analogous to The Magus - the posture of the Magus in traditional decks, but even in the Thoth (although reversed left to right here) being just one of them.

Neither view is wrong. It's just that different decks highlight different perspectives. Personally, I'm okay with regarding each deck as a universe of its own, with its own rules.
 

Aeon418

But there are also good reasons for seeing Aleph as analogous to The Magus - the posture of the Magus in traditional decks, but even in the Thoth (although reversed left to right here) being just one of them.
The posture of the Thoth Magus is meant to indicate the influence of the Swastika on the Path of Beth. The Paths of Aleph and Gimel also share this influence from Kether.
6th Aethyr said:
It is the whirling Swastika which throws off all these things, for the Swastika is in aleph by the shape and number, and in beth by the position of the arms of the Magician, and in gimel because of the sign of the Mourning of Isis, and thus is the Crown defended by these three thunderbolts. Is not thrice seventeen fifty-one, that is, failure and pain?
 

Aeon418

Crowley in discussing Adjustment, (Lamed) talks of the importance of the Letters Aleph and Lamed as constituting the secret key of the Book of the Law, number 31. I am wondering why this formula doesn't seem to include Peh as above.
The Table of Vital Triads.

XVI. The Crowned and Conquering Child emerging from Womb as in ALP.

Peh is the Child of the Union of A (Ox) and L (Ox goad). Although the chapter on the Tower seems to suggest that Peh/Mars indicates the manifestation is a destructive preface to Atu XX.

Atu XX and XI are Force and Fire and are another way of expressing 31. (XX + XI = 31) The associated letters, Shin-Teth, represent the K&C of HGA under the symbolic veil of the God Horus. Shin - the Gods of the New Aeon, incarnated in their earthy emissaries, Teth - Babalon and the Beast.
 

Michael Sternbach

The posture of the Thoth Magus is meant to indicate the influence of the Swastika on the Path of Beth. The Paths of Aleph and Gimel also share this influence from Kether.

It was inspired by older designs (i.e. Tarot de Marseille) nonetheless. Alternative Magus designs by Harris show a similar posture, but without the lateral reversal.
 

Abrac

I ran across something while researching an unrelated matter. smw touched on it in mentioning Aleph = Air or Spirit. Aleph is one of the Mother letters, the other two being Mem = Water and Shin = Fire. The Fool seems like a good fit with Air.
 

Ruby Jewel

I'm presently reading "Synchronicity" by C.G. Jung, and I am constantly reminded of the Fool as that "subjectless simulacra" that is described therein. The Fool comes and goes on the Path and is everywhere at once. How is it that it gets pasted onto a certain spot on the Tree and given a "specific" letter? Could it be that "no thing" means just that.... no number, no letter, no address, no gender..... no thing. The Fool appears as a "synchronous event" throughout the entire path as in a meaningful coincidence. It takes on the quality and experiences of each of the arcana. So much hypothetical analysis only reminds me of the "elusive quality" of the Fool. I can't say anything about the Tree of Life because I do not know enough to speak of it but I am aware that Jewish priests deny the alphabet has anything to do with the Tree of Life. Does anyone pay attention to that? I mean, in the end, how can one simply ignore them and the entire Jewish history? And instead put all their eggs into the GD basket? I ask, "is that prudent?"
 

Abrac

I don't have any idea what Jewish priests say. If the intention is to uncover why Aleph is assigned to the Fool though, it helps to understand how those doing the assigning looked at it. Whether they were "right" or "wrong" doesn't really interest me. I can see the reasoning in assigning Aleph to the Fool, but I'm sure there are many other ways to look at it.
 

Ruby Jewel

I don't have any idea what Jewish priests say. If the intention is to uncover why Aleph is assigned to the Fool though, it helps to understand how those doing the assigning looked at it. Whether they were "right" or "wrong" doesn't really interest me. I can see the reasoning in assigning Aleph to the Fool, but I'm sure there are many other ways to look at it.

Hi Abrac...of course, you cannot just ignore any of it, least of all those who created the system and the rules. But I'm sure it goes without saying that you can't afford to take it for granted that they were correct, or even honest. The price for doing so is steep.... generations of blindly following the wrong path. The GD was notorious for "tricking" us in order to do just that....lead us astray. I, personally, do not trust any of them (laugh). This is why I believe it is so important to question and challenge an entrenched system.....and think outside the box.
 

Barleywine

I'm presently reading "Synchronicity" by C.G. Jung, and I am constantly reminded of the Fool as that "subjectless simulacra" that is described therein. The Fool comes and goes on the Path and is everywhere at once. How is it that it gets pasted onto a certain spot on the Tree and given a "specific" letter? Could it be that "no thing" means just that.... no number, no letter, no address, no gender..... no thing. The Fool appears as a "synchronous event" throughout the entire path as in a meaningful coincidence. It takes on the quality and experiences of each of the arcana. So much hypothetical analysis only reminds me of the "elusive quality" of the Fool. I can't say anything about the Tree of Life because I do not know enough to speak of it but I am aware that Jewish priests deny the alphabet has anything to do with the Tree of Life. Does anyone pay attention to that? I mean, in the end, how can one simply ignore them and the entire Jewish history? And instead put all their eggs into the GD basket? I ask, "is that prudent?"

I'm not sure about the opinions of Orthodox rabbis on kabbalah, but here's a Jewish mystical philosopher who had quite a lot to say on the subject.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gershom_Scholem
 

Aeon418

Does anyone know where this thread is going to go next? :confused: