Aleph -- Ox

rainwolf

I searched through AT, and The book of thoth, but I still could not find a reasonable explanation as to how 'Ox' applies to the fool. I know it is also 'plough', but that doesn't make it any easier.

So how does The fool represent Ox?

(Sorry if this pushes the limit of kabbalah into the Thoth realm, I thought it would be better answered here where kabbalah studiers are)
 

Grigori

rainwolf said:
So how does The fool represent Ox?

I don't think The Fool represent the Ox, but rather Aleph (of which Ox is one meaning) contributes to the meanings of The Fool. I don't think any card represents an Ox, or it would be called that :D.

This is from Wang's Qabalistic Tarot, the first paragraph of the the final chapter (which is on The Fool).

Robert Wang said:
The path of The Fool connects Kether, the Source of All, with Chokmah, the first activity towards manifestation. Aleph is assigned to this path, the letter symbolic of absolute unity by the Zohar. As a word (Aleph) means ox, which has been interpreted in a variety of ways. Gareth Knight, for example, suggests that for the most earthy of beast to be applied at this exalted level of the Tree mean that "the Spirit's aim is rooted in earth". Paul Case essentially agreed, although his approach was more broad. He called the ox a symbol of the motive power in agriculture, and equated agriculture with civilisation. Thus, he described the ox as the life-power, creative energy and "the power at work in all forms of human adaptation and modification of natural conditions." Crowley, on the other hand, concentrated on the letter's shape, said to represent a plow-share: "thus", he says "the significance is primarily phallic." Cynics may suggest that Crowley saw phalluses everywhere he looked, despite the high philosophical tone of his argument. Yet it is true that only by reference to sexuality do we come to the slightest glimmer of understanding of the Universe.
 

rainwolf

>.>

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Ok, so I'm not the sharpest tack in the box when it comes to kabbalah, but hey--I need to get a grasp of it if I want to (personally) know the Thoth deck.
 

Grigori

similia said:
I don't think The Fool represent the Ox, but rather Aleph (of which Ox is one meaning) contributes to the meanings of The Fool. I don't think any card represents an Ox, or it would be called that :D.

rainwolf said:
Ok, so I'm not the sharpest tack in the box when it comes to kabbalah, but hey--I need to get a grasp of it if I want to (personally) know the Thoth deck.

oh no! Thats not what I meant. :( I was having a little dig at our friends who are about to tell you Aleph is not The Fool... :D
 

Rosanne

Heheheh Similia- well the Fool could be an Ox of a man (dumb Ox) silent sound of Breath, but we all have our little peccadilloes. My faults happen when I look at Crowley ;) (not his Lady Harris painted cards though)
Anyway Rainwolf I guess one has to decide who Aleph pertains to. I have chosen Aleph as number one, the first letter of the Phoenician Alphabet and so have given the title to Le Bateleur- The Magician. If you look at him in TdM his stance (arms etc) look like the the letter A and a close word derived from Aleph, is Aloph which means 'Lord' I dinna see no Lord in the Fool, nor number one for that matter. It has rained tomatoes on me before for my belief, I just make sauce with them. I also do not see man bits in every card like Crowley; I thought he might have seen the Ox plowing his fields though ;) Very Phallic association and magic too!! Happy hunting for an answer to your question. ~Rosanne
 

Huck

.. :) in old Egyptia they had animals cults. In "lower Egypt" (delta-region of the Nile) cults will bulls and cows were popular, cause the country was usable to breed them - similar to Phoenicia, similar to Crete. As in these regions the alphabet developed to become an interesting language and writing tool, they called the first letter "Aleph", which meant in normal language an Ox - to honour their specific animal cult.
All this happened perhaps 3500 years ago, perhaps some more. Tarot developed in 15th century in Italy - with a fool.
In 19th century Tarot was combined with the Hebrew Alphabet - in creative action. In one of the combining actions, that of the Golden Dawn, the symbol of the Fool met the letter Aleph.
Since then Fool and ox are connected ... for those, who "believe" in this specific sort of correspondence.
 

wizzle

I think it's important to conceptualize the sequence of events qabala and tarot-wise via a timeline. As an formal occult tool used in high magick the attributions of the tarot to the Tree of Life came last.

I don't think anyone will claim that the Talmudic scholars of the 3rd to 16th centuries used tarot cards. So the Tree of Life comes before tarot attributions. There were several schools of Talmud and ToL with the paths connecting the sephiroth in various ways. There were even disagreements over the number of sephira, which survives today in the debate over Daath... quasi sephira? non existant? etc.

So... ToL comes first and depending on the Rabbi, the 22 letters were assigned in different ways to paths 11 - 32. By the time of the Golden Dawn, this was fairly well established. Then finally we have the occultists of the 19th century assigning tarot cards to all of the paths, with the system of the Golden Dawn being the most complete inasmuch as it attempted to synthesize qabala, astrology and tarot into a single, coherent tool. Remember too that the tarot as conceptualized by the GD folks is much more than a divinatory tool. It is actually a living book of magick with a full set of achetypes.

So your question is probably more correctly stated as "how does the Fool apply to ox/path 11" and not as you stated it, in the inverse. Also, remember that paths 11-32 connect the sephira, one to the other. The assignment of a card or letter or number to a given path MUST make sense in that context. You should constellate attributions around a sephira first and only secondarily make attributions to the connective paths. Astrology is a great help in this task. Hope that helps.
 

rainwolf

I should've thought of analyzing the paths from the sephirah first. I'll ponder on that--thanks for the tip.
 

jmd

Where I have to personally disagree is with wizzle's statement that by the 19th century the correlations adopted by the GD between letters and so-called 'paths' was in any way 'well established' (I suppose it does depend on what one means by 'well established').

There are various ways and views as to what (if any) correlations occurs between Tree of Life and letters, and for each, discernment of judgement has to be used. Given my own particular way of working, I do not adopt GD-type correlations.

There are, of course, always ways that the intellect may relate any two concepts.

One way in which it can be viewed on that so-called 'path' is to also view a correlation between the 'Ox' as 'prime mover', and relate this to Keter as what the GD also terms 'prime mover', and realise that it is on a 'path' extending from there that the Fool is placed by the GD and derivatives.

Some years ago, I posted (a little reluctantly, I must admit, but had been asked to) portions of a 'Z' document that says not much, but is from a GD perspective. If interested, it is in the thread 'Reflection on the Golden Dawn's 'path' allocation'.

It perhaps should be noted that I personally favour, if any correlation is going to be made, one between Alef and, as mentioned also by Rosanne, the Bateleur. At least they both have similar ordinal value and also display a similarity of overall image-pattern.
 

wizzle

While my Qabalistic scholarship is certainably questionable, I must say that I was relying on a statement on page 19 of Dummet/Decker's book "History of the Occult Tarot"
A principle followed in Kircher's numbering of the pathways and association of the letters with them is that a pathway leading form a higher (lower numbered) sephira is always associated with a letter earlier in the alphabet and has a lower number, than one leading from a lower (higher numbered) one. The arrangement of the pathways in Kircher's diagram became predominant among non-Jewish students of the Cabala: they seem unaware tha Jewish Cabalists contemplated alternative diagrams and favored quite different principles for associating the pathways with letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Kircher's numbering was, I believe around 1652-54. Assuming that the occult tarot was largely a product non-Jewish Qabalists, then I think my statement is reasonable. However, if there is a source that cites an alternative scheme in common use among non-Jewish Qabalists, then this quote is incorrect, and as JMD said, I am in error.

I do realize that Crowley decided to move tzaddi on the ToL, and this is a notable exception to Kircher's scheme that perhaps I should have cited.

In the matter of aleph = 1 rather than 0, I agree with it's allure, but must question the re-ordering of the other cards on paths that of necessity results. It is not enough that a single card and number make a nice scheme. All 22 cards need to fit every single path in a convincing way.