D is for Duality

Duality. Polarity. Body copy here.

D is for Da'ath

"Endless Tunnel of Light Optical Illusion,"
http://visualfunhouse.com/altered_reality/endless-tunnel-of-light-optical-illusion.html

Body copy here

http://odditymall.com/infinity-tunnel-mirror-dining-table

Refresher of where on the Tree of Life Daath is located:

For a contemporary and stylized look at Daath and why falling down it (rather than crossing over it) is bad news, check out the comic series The Filth by Grant Morrison.

C is for Chariot

Let's talk tarot. The Chariot is the seventh trump in the major arcana and corresponds to the astrological sign of Cancer. It represents, among other things, "right action," Divine force, and "the right hand of God."

Path on the Tree of Life: http://www.qabalah.dk/Paths/18chethchariot.html

Knowing that The Chariot represents the path between Binah (Understanding) and Geburah (Force), it's interesting to note the shield the knight carries in Crowley's depiction of The Chariot in the Thoth tarot deck. Since red is associated with Geburah, the red center in the knight's shield could be a reflection of Geburah as the knight travels toward it from Binah, Divine sephirah of Understanding. It fits; The Chariot represents a Divine Warrior. The idea of The Divine working through the mundane.  A person on a righteous quest. But not just anyone, a person on a full-on Divine mission.

Force vs. Resistance

For all its aggressive aspects, though, The Chariot is a card ruled by feminine, "passive" energy and travels the Pillar of Severity. There are numerous artistic depictions of the polarity in this, I will list at least a couple of good ones.

All good artistic interpretations of this card understand the fundamental message of The Chariot: Harnessing the power of opposing forces to propel oneself forward in service to the Divine. (Except, yeah, Ms. Ad Copywriter needs to find a simpler, more effective way to articulate that.)

What Does Uncle Al Say? What does Uncle Arthur (Edward Waite) Say?

In 777, Crowley describes The Chariot as The Child of the Powers of the Waters: the Lord of the Triumph of Light. Interessante, non? This would also be a good place to summarize all my notes from past years.

Lux Gets Schooled

IMO, The Chariot contains important information for Lux as she struggles to understand herself and find her place in the world. In the meantime, I contemplate the mysteries of The Chariot and am always on the lookout for new artistic interpretations that show an understanding of traditional qabalistic interpretations of The Chariot.

Here's an image that blew me away. Superb reinterpretation, I am reading up on this artist now.

From http://planetcyberluz.com/2011/04/09/the-chariot/
Image from the Magdalene Tarot

From The Magdalene Tarot, by Sarah Wheatley
http://sarahmagdalene.com/2010/09/15/switched-on-lotus/

C is for Caduceus

Symbol of balance, mastery and The Magician. Known as the staff of Hermes.

But whut does it mean?

In this entry I will write about the multilayered symbolism of the caduceus in Hermeticism. That sounds boring, and I can't promise it won't be. However, it is interesting to me, and magic geeks of any kind will likely appreciate it.

The symbolism and purpose of the caduceus in Hermeticism is all about achieving the facility and mastery that Hermes has. You know, Hermes. Greek god of, among other things, thieves, commerce, and communication. Messenger to the gods, and a psychopomp.

We're talking a level of mastery on par with that scene from Labyrinth, where the Goblin King juggles a crystal sphere. Yeah, that kind of skill. Except, you know, applied in other ways.

But wait

It might be a good idea to clarify somewhere how Hermetics perceives Hermes versus how he's seen in Greek mythology. Maybe. Clarity is good, always a goal I pursue.


For Further Reading

http://www.crystalinks.com/caduceus.html

B Is For (Franz) Bardon

If you don't know who this man is, do yourself a favor and find out. He's one of, if not THE greatest teacher of Hermeticism in the last couple centuries. It would take days for me to put together a proper Suggested Reading List, but the links below are a good start:

The tl;dr bio

For those who want the Cliffs Notes version on who this guy is and why you should care: Franz Bardon Wikipedia page

Official site

http://www.franzbardon.com/index.html

Most famous book

Essential reading, imo: Initiation Into Hermetics

B Is For Balance

In the Crowley Thoth tarot deck, The Magician is depicted as gracefully balanced--
between nature, between worlds, fluid yet on point at all times.
Image source: http://www.amazon.com/Aleister-Crowley-Thoth-Tarot-Deck/dp/0913866156

This is essentially placeholder text as I attempt to catch myself up on the schedule of the Pagan Blog Project. I will be expanding on this entry but right now, just publishing the bare bones. As I have not promoted this blog in the slightest, I'm not too worried about shortchanging any readers. If you ARE a reader, then chances are, you are interested in magic and Hermeticism, and I appreciate that. So please bear with me, everyone, as I get caught up. And I welcome comments for discussion.

Every now and then I get in a conversation with a fellow magician/rootworker/witch/whatever, and the subject of balance comes up. And 9 times out of 10 my colleague scoffs at the word, as if the subject were ridiculous to discuss. Usually they say something like, "Well, rootwork is all about results. I ain't got time for that theoretical nonsense." Or, "As a chaote, I'm all about disruption and changing nature. Who cares about that new-agey shit." You get the idea.

Whatever the specifics, every time I hear a magician/rootworker/chaote/whatever scoff at the importance of balance, I can't help but think, "Seriously?" I just can't imagine any serious practitioner of magic not understanding the importance of balance in magic practice. Maybe that's why there's so many magical trainwrecks in the various communities, but I digress.

For the most part, I'm willing to let it go. Not everyone is into high magic, and that's perfectly fine. But to be downright hostile to the idea? Hard for me to understand. Rarely do I argue with them, but sometimes I want to, so perhaps I'll do it here. Because I'll argue that balance is important to even the most bare-bones, practical, pragmatic practitioner.

Why? Because you can be the most skilled practitioner under the sun, or perhaps that the world has ever seen, but at the end of the day, the fact remains: without balance, your results are uneven, unpredictable, and/or temporary.

Balance is the achievement of The Magician. Not the magician, mind. The Magician. ;-)

In Hermetics, and in the tarot, The Magician represents mastery. Not heavy-handed mastery but rather a quiet, effortless finesse. The simple yet sublime skill born from from being in tune with the Divine, for lack of a better way to put it. The Magician has learned how to master the four elements of nature--and, more importantly, has mastered himself.

Path on the Tree of Life: The Magician is the path between Kether and Chokmah. Nice short article on the path by Copenhagen Qabalah: http://www.qabalah.dk/Paths/12bethmagician.html