TAROT INTERPRETATION

LessonEigltt

You have now completedyour pleliminary study of Tarot. From here on you u,ill learn how
to usethe'Iarot I(eys fol the purposeof realizingyour heart'sclesire.

We assnmethat your heart's desireinvolves no conflict with the rights and happinessof
others. Surelyyou havethe goodsenseto know tlratnothingin tnre occultisrnwill enableyor-r
to gain any tricky advantageover anotherhuman being. Your previousstuclieshave taught
you the folly of expectir:rg
somethingfor nothing. Rememberalwaysthat it is impossibleto
curploy the higher Ibrcesfor any br"rtriglrt ends.

All that a blacl<magicianever accomplishesis his own downlbll, his own rnentaland physical
deterioration. Selfish personalmotives aretitemselvesenoughto debarhim who harborsthem
fi'ornmaking any useof subtlespilitual energy. Selfishnesscloudsthe mind so that it cannot
perceivethe true import of the instruction.

Ilou,everclearthe teaching,he who would misuseit is snreto misunderstand it. Ignorance

cannotempioypowersreserveci lor tireexpressionof wisclom. Stuciyancipracticeersnruciras
he may, he who intendsto use AgelessWisdom to ftlrther iris own interestsat the expenseof
anotherwill meet with nothing but disappointment.

Considerwell your motives,therefore,and make up your rnind what you want to be, and what
you want to do, more than anythingelse. Seeyourself engageclin the kinds of action
apprclpriateto the expressionof your heart'sclesire.Make your mental imagesclear and
clefinite,You cannotbe too specific.

Vivid imagerylike this will, naturally,inclucleall necessary

detailsconcerningthe meansor
instrumentalitiesyou needin order to carry out your action. Setyour mental stagewith
sceneryappropriateto the bestpossiblerealizationof your desire. Yet rememberthat to see
yorrrselfhaving what you now supposeyou needis far lessimportantthan to seeyourself
cloingwhat you want to do.

Pay no attentionwhateverto any who would persnadeyou that you needclnly hold fast to the
essentialicleaof your main purpose.This may soundwell, but it won't work. Certainlyyou
'fhis
must have a definitc iclea,a centralmotive. but if you are to experience
is indispensable,
anythinglike full rcalizzttion,
the ideamust be clothedwith specilicmentalimagery.
 T A R O T' I N 7-E IIP R EI' A 7'I O N :

We shall assllme,then, that you know what you want and that you are readyto devote
yourself udrolehearteclly
to the realizationof your aim. Now fix firmly itr mind the followi'e
plinciple which is lundamentalto this whole courseof instruction:

I{EALIZA'fIONIS A STA'|EOF COI{SCIOUSNESS: I'f IS THE ILLUMINEDPEIICEpTION

OF
THINGSAS TIIEY ARE, SUPPI.ANTING ]'IIE DELUDEDACCEPTANCE OF THINGSAS
TIJEY I-OOK.
'l'he
twenty-two Talot l(eys were designedto bring aboutthe neededchangein consciousness
to make tlris realizationpossible. They were inventedby adeptstn realization.They represent
the fundamentalstatesof human consciousness as expressedin the thogght of illuminated
men and worlen. FIewho impressestheir symbolsdeeplyupon his brain cells plants within
himself the seedsof illumined realization. For him are confirmedthe worclsof Eliphas Levi:

"'fhe farot is a bool<rvliich is the sutn of all the scienoes,which can resolveall problems
by
its infinite colnbinations,which speaksby evoking thought,and is the inspirer and regulator
of ail possibleconceptions."

'l'he
first pageof this tnagicalbook picturesthe hidden force which is at work in the process
o{'realization.Your previottsstudieshavegiven you someideaof the meanilg of I(ey 0. l'he
clegreeof your sLlccess in doing r,vhatyou want to do will be measuredstrictly by your
ttnclerstaucling
of its deepersignificance. lt sumsup what the wisestof men have learned,
.Oehind
abottttireOne Energy all appearances. lt tells 5,e11what
they knou,. It alsotells you
rvhat they clonot know.

'l-he
firrcer,vhichmakespossiblethe realizationof your heart'sdesireis occultbecauseit is
hidden liom the ignorant. Among the oldestbooks in the world are thosewritten by 're' who
ttnderstoodand usedit. In this dawn of a New Age, a greaterntulber of personsare ready to
assitnilatear-rdapply this ancientknowledge;br,rteventoday preparedminds are in the
minority. Yet fi'om that minority are chosenthe real, thoughhidden,mastersof the world.

No wise man pretendsto know the irurermostnatureof this hidden force. None pretendsto
dcfine tt. L,ao-tzesaysof it: "The TAO whicir is the subjectof discussionis not the true Tao;
the quality which can be nameclis not its true attribute.',

OccLrltnameslbr it are mereiy convenientdesignations,identilying labels. We do not know

.justwhat it is any more than we know just what electricity is, anclnobocly neeclsto know!
The wise, therefbre,avoid all uselessquestin this direction.

Unl<nowableness is a conceptrecentlyacceptedby modernscience.lt appliesto Absolutes

which cannotbe l<norvnby the finite mind. Infinity is an Absolute. Thgughtsabout it can be
cntertainedand it is somewhatextetrsivelydiscnssedin the more recentdepartmentsof the
tnathematics.Neverthelessit is an Absolute concerningwhich no definition in terms of
anything finite can be given.

r.ts'030t) 2
 'l'/
Ii o't' I N'r L. It t, Il L 7'..t 't' I o ^i

Einstein has taughtus that Absolute Spaceand Time are unhnowableto the humanmind and
hcnceuudiscoverableby experiment. But this is not to say that theseand other Absolutes
cannotprofitably be usedand dealt witli in their relativeaspects.Thus Absolute Spaceu'hen
rnoclihedby the finite conceptof distancebetweenobjects,and AbsoluteTirle when
consideredas the periodic movementof the handsof clocks,al'econceptswhich we use every
momentof our lives.

The manifestedattributesof Absolutescan and must be dealt with in hnmanthought, but not
the Absoiutesthemselves.The hiddenforcementionedaboveis an Absolute. it is the One
Thing which is the sourceof all else. Tliereforeit cannotpossiblybe identified with any of
the things which proceedfrorn it. Frornthe deepestantiquity it hasbeenrecognizedand
designatedby termsfor which the Englishequivalentis NO-TIIING.

Of this No-Tliing the zero sign is a symbol. Zero also signified freedomfrom limitations
'fhus
called "time" and "space,"in their relativeaspects,of course. the Fool showsthat the
hidden force is always in the position suggestedby the picture. lt is alwaysat the height of its
llower, yet there is always somethinghigher beyond. It lraslimitless possibilitiesfbr flner and
better:types of rnanifestation.Let this realizationsink deepinto your mind: neithertime nor
spacecan bind the hicldenforce. It is alwayspelfectly fiee, nor can any condition limit its free
sell.expression.

Being boundless,it is necessarilypresent. "All the power that everwas or will be is here
no\ry." Its energy,rnanifbstedas the light of stars,maintainsitself without the sliglrtestloss
tlrrough millions of light-years,and propagatesitself without deviationthrough reachesof
sp.rcewhose immensity staggersour imaginations. Whereanythingis, it is; anclwhere
nothingseemsto be, thereit is also.

You yourself are completelyfilled with tl,e real presenceof the hidclenfbrce. All that you are
is an assemblage of manifoldveils that hide it, and,by hiding it, makeit "occult." Your body
is made of'it. It is the substanceof your food and the earthbeneathyonl feet, all of your
possessions.This is the One Reality, manifestin all things you linow and dwelling in
everythingoutsideyour presentrangeof knowledge,also.

The universeis a greatoceanof vibrating electro-magneticenergy. Psychologistsassureus

that this energyappearsas "objects" when its vibrationsare distinguishedwithin relatively
narrow fields perceptibleto our senses.If our senseorgansshouldchangea little, we should
fiucl ourtselvesin a new worlcl full of things unknown to us now. f'hesethings actually exist,
even now, tl-roughwe can lbrm no clear idea of whal they ale like.

Matter as a separateentity, doesnot exist. Sil William Ostwaldcalls the nolln "matter" a
mere generalizattoninventedby man to accountfor his variousexperiencesof an energy
which presentsitself in physical forms. Everythingin the physicalplane emergesfiom a

t rs03a0
 7 '/ . t] r? O 7 ' I N 7 'E R P R E T A ' I ' I O N

wholly invisible artdimmaterialsourcewhich is usr,rally termeclelectro-magneticenergy. The

primal pliysical form of this energyis light, or radiation,and everythingelseis made of this
radiation. l his is the substanceof what is now taughtby suchleaclersof modern scienceas
Edclington,Jeansand Millikan.

What they advancein their latestbooks has a familiar ring to studentsversedin the lore of
AgelessWisdom. "Light is the veil of the Boundless,and all things are from that Light,,' says
thc Inner School of Westernoccultismthat inventedTarot. "That which hath beenmade was
lil'e in the Creative'fhought,and the iife r,vasthe light," is the declarationat the beginning of
the Gospelaccorcling to St. iohn.

This living light is often given a narle which means"Life-Breath." The term is no figure of
speech.Our atmosphereis really madeof iight. I'he atomsof its gasesare built up of
electrons,themselvespoints of radiantenergy. Every electronis a point at which li1es of
magtleticforce converge. Their convergencesetsup whirling motion at the electronicpoint.
'I'his
whirling motion is representedby the ten 5'ellowwheelson the Fool,s dress.

In proportion to their size,electronsare as far apartas arethe stars. Thus the active units of
cllerg-vin the universe,tire electrons.are separatedby relatively vast expansesof apparently
crnptyspace.

Dwell otr this iclea1'orarvhile.It will help you overcorneone greatobstacleto realization,
namely the notiou that becausethe things of the physicalplaueseemhard and soliclto ou1
scnsesthey offer resistanceto the passageof the hiddenforce. Think of radio waves,bringilg
tnusic fiom distantstationsiuto your home through solid walls. 'Ihink of cosmic rays,
penetratingmany feet of "solid" lead. fhere are finer vibrationsthan theseto the action of
uftich nothing physicalcan opposea barrier. As we readin the EmeraldTablet of Hermes:
"'lhis is the strotrgforce of all forces,overcomingevery subtleand penetratingevery solid
thing."

Electrons,as we have said,are separatedfiom one anotirerby vast expansesof apparently

cmpty space.It is not really empty. Spaceis frlied with the Life-Breath.It is everywhere,
betweeuthings as well as in thern. T'heyrnay be small as electronsor big as Betelgeuse,but
things are limited areasor fields whereinthe occult force takeson physical form. All things
are \vavesin an oceanof lisht.

'[he
earth is a r,vheelin a machinedliven by solar force. The movementsof matteron its
surface,inciuding your personalactions,aretransformationsof the sun's radiance.
Everything pictureclin I(ey 0 is an imageof somefbrm of solar energy. Even the earth itself
is made of electr'onsr.vhichwere onceirart of the slrn'smass-

'l-he
measuredbeatof wavesupon the shore,the slorv,rnajesticprogressof the Amazon
sweepingdown to tlte sea,the songof a mountainrill running to meet its matesan<ljoin its
 7 't t l l O 7 ' I N 7 ' l i l l P l l I i 7 ' , 1 ' l ' t ( ) N .

waterswith theirs,the bubbling of hillside springs,the fall of every raindrop-these are the
watery vesturesof solar light and heat.

The gale,driving storm-cloudsacrosstiie sky, the breezestirringthe curtain,the rvild tornado

cutting a swatheof death,the steadytradewinds carryingproud shipson peacefirlerranclsof
commerce-these are phasesof the influenceof sunlight on our atmosphele.Every breath
drawn by living creaturesand every transformationof that breathinto soundexpressesthe
salxepower. Every prayeranclevery curse,every u'ord of wisdom and every tttteranceof
folly, is madepossibleby sunshine.The sluill call of buglessoundingthe attack,the solemn
music echoingbeneathcathedralarches-these are the sunliglrt'sgarmentsof air.

Every fire that burns is a flame lit and sustainedby the sun. The history of human culture is
the story of man's masteryof fire. Almost everythingwe own haspassedthrough fire, or has
'fhe
beenfashionedby machinesdriven by fire. energyof luel is imprisonedsur-rlight.And
rvhatmore wonderful than the slow fire in our bodies,lit befble our birth, rvhich,while it
bnrns,is life itself. Mastery of this vital flarneis one of the greatestoccult secretsto be
learnecllrom your presentstudies.

This fire takesfbrm as thor.rgl'rttirroughthe functionsof your brain. Your brain itself is made
of light lilie everythingelse. lt changessunlightinto mental imagery.

l'hought at your end,the expressingend of the cosmicplay of-light vibration, irnplies a mental
qr-ralitywithin the sourceof these\l/avesof living light. The hidden force is life force ancl
rlinct forceas well as the root of all physicalenergies.Thus the Wisdom of Israelascribes
Fiery Intelligenceto tlie letter correspondingto Key 0.

During this week,memorizethe following:

'Ihe
characterN, Aleph, is also the Hebrewnumber 1. In Roman lettersit is
transcribedas A.

The letter-namelf N (ALP, Aleph) meansOx or Bull. Its numericalvalue is 11l.

The letter Aleph standsfor hll (RVCh), Ruach,the Life-Breath,and for the element
of air.

It is the sign of the Fiery Intelligence.

To it is attributedthe olanetUranus.

It is a symboi for superconsciousness.

U50300
'I'
A II () 7' ] N 'I'E R P II E 7'A 7'I O N : B

Wreuever you are besetby appearances of limitation. call up be{breyour mind's eye the
picture of tlie Fool. Absorb its messageof absolutefieedorn. Remember,this is a pictorial
suggestionlbrmulatedby adepts. Your subconsciousness will acceptand act upon it. It is a
trcatmentfbr realization,cerrefullyworked out by Those who Klow.

It is also a meansfbr mental and spiritual contactwith membersof the Inner School,virtuosi
in the art of-living, who havc completedthe work you are now beginning. Make it, then, an
integral part of your flesh and blooclby looking at it every day until every detail of the design
is irnprintedon your brain.

T AM.
I Withoutbeginning. withoutend,
Older than night or day,
Youngerthan the babenew-born.
Brighter than light,
Darker than darlaness,
Beyond all things and creatures.
Yet fixed in the heartof everyone.

From me the shiningr,vorldsflorv fbrth,

'fo
nre zill at last retum,
Yet to rne neithertnen nor angels
May dr:awnigh,
F-orI am known only to myself.

Ever the sameis mine inmost being;

Absolutely one, cornplete,whole, perfect;
Always itself;
Etcrnal.infi nite, ultimate;
Forrnless,indivisible,changeless.

lirom the BOOK OF TOIGNS

by Dr. PaulFosterCase