First published in 2009 by
Aeon Books Ltd
118 Finchley Road
London NW3 5HT
Copyright © 2008 by Claudine Aegerter and Berenice Benjelloun
The right of Claudine Aegerter and Berenice Benjelloun to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-1-90465-835-1
Typeset by Vikatan Publishing Solutions (P) Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain
INTRODUCTION
Humanity is at the present time at a crossroads, or point of transition. The human kingdom represents the latest state of biological evolu tion on planet Earth, so further expansion of the mind beyond its intellectual boundaries must take place, if we are to realise the true potential of who we are as human beings and understand the pur pose of our existence. It is our responsibility to lead the way in ser vice to the whole process of life in this Solar System. Up to now, mankind has been the frightened brave species, expressing group survival through our behaviour and mentality. By extending our selves beyond our safe place, we can see ourselves as vehicles for a greater energy and a greater plan. We then step into the realm of the next kingdom in the evolutionary process; that of the Soul. The Tarot, seen as an initiatic tool, offers a perception of the inner work that a human being has to achieve as he associates with his Soul. This leads to contact with the higher mind and its universal experience.
This is a new exploration of the Tarot, which reveals the esoteric numerological links underlying this ancient system. It also connects the journey of the Tarot to the initiatic teachings, which express the idea of the work of the expansion of consciousness. This expansion takes place through the realisation that there is more to life than the outer form. As we explore beyond those physical, emotional and mental aspects in us that we call the personality, we find another energy that is not so easy to define and which seems to move us at a deeper level; this is the Soul. It is by being receptive to its mys tery that we can start to connect to the universal collective energy of the Spirit. The different stages in this pioneering expansion into the unknown, unseen world of Soul and Spirit are reflected in the twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana. They provide a structure or map on which that journey can be recognised. The symbols on the cards are translated into practical steps that can be applied to the everyday lives of those who seek greater consciousness.
When natural man first awakened by opening the doors of aware ness and consciousness, the whole of the greater story was revealed, so that everything was seen for what it is. The wise seers of those times had the insight to understand the revelation as a mind looking at its creation, seeing the origin of everything in the greater mind. The story of manifested life had to be retraced and given out in codes and symbols to measure time and space; this was done with the help of geometrical shapes representing numbers and spiralling symbols for the understanding of the cycles of numbers.
These seers elaborated on the initial symbols of 1, 2 and 3 as a blueprint, out of which the final structure of 4, 5, 6 and 7 emerges. These are the seven rays of manifestation. Through the ages the descriptions of the movement of the creator as he built the worlds as we know them, took the many different forms of the stories or myths that are linked to every culture and religion. The original sym bols themselves do not belong to any particular group or sect; it is always the same revelation of the unfolding of a higher conscious ness, capable of being of service to the great mind of the universe. As the tribal consciousness took control of most of mankind on the planet, it became dangerous for this knowledge to be given out, so it was hidden, the mysteries being kept in the depth of the Ancient Wisdom. Then later, the idea of drawing pictures which related to that universal story was materialised and one of the end results was what we now know as the Tarot. The Tarot illustrates the mystery of the alchemical process of transmuting matter back into light, per sonality into Soul.
The cards carry pictorial symbols which, at the time they were made, were linked to what was known of the ancient traditions, such as the Ancient Egyptian, Hebraic, Christian and Islamic cul tures. Like parables, they tell the hidden story in a universal lan guage that can be translated according to the understanding of the reader. The Tarot is a book for disciples and aspirants, or those who are open and ready to hear the symbolic language of the Soul. The first language was number, then the language of pictures and myths kept the knowledge of initiatic enlightenment alive.
As we get to know the world and so become ourselves, the world becomes itself. The Gospel of St John tells us, “The wind blows where it wants; we hear its voice but we do not know whence it comes, or where it is going. It is the same for whomever is born of Spirit”. Once we remove the idea that we’re doing anything, but are still participating in action then we’re not even really doing it; it is happening through us. For example, if we think we are writing a book, we are trying too hard. If we simply make ourselves avail able, the book will come through us and our skills will be used. By all means try to know who we are, where we are, what we’re doing, or what’s the next best thing. However, as John Lennon’s song says, “How do I know where to go, when I don’t even know where to turn, or where I stand, or where I face?” This one speaks as a Fool of God. Spirit comes through the wind and it is with the air and the fire that we spiritualise the earth and the water, for they are divine once we have seen the light. So if we’re not doing something because we are waiting to face the right direction, we are not a Fool of God! Fly with the wind, burn with the fire, or flow with the water, it does not matter which; we are on Earth and it is of beauty.
‘In these happy nights I was helped in the secret, Nobody could see me and I could not perceive anythingTo guide me, only the light burning in my heart’.
Numbers give us a never-ending appreciation of the cycles of manifestation of life as it progresses towards its apotheosis. Each card is a stage in our personal transformation. The Tarot is a pictorial crystallisation of the mysterious language of number to guide us through the cycles of spiritual transformation. Each chapter can only be understood in relation to the one before and the one after, just as with numbers. We can really only truly understand a Number 2 or a Number 3 if we’ve understood what the Number 1 was about; a Number 1 by itself without time and space has no chance of realis ing itself! If the blade is alive in the fire, in the air, in the rock and in the water, we have to pull it out and go where it takes us. Each card by itself is one aspect of whom we are, but all of them together make a book of esoteric life, of man becoming his future, the essence of love and wisdom, Heaven and Earth – a Soul.
The brotherhood of Soul is an initiatic brotherhood that does not bring us into conformity and even less into uniformity, but more into harmony by and through the wonderful diversity of the expressions of the one life. We know that we are all one and are making the glori ous pattern of the one life together, so it is not for one cell to say; “Do as I do”, but in the words of Albert Einstein, “I love you as I am”.
This book – The Spirit of the Tarot – enables the receptive reader to return to the original understanding of number behind the pic torial symbols on the cards. This knowledge has been kept going through the intellect. The aim of this book is to go behind the intel lectual understanding and bring in a natural intuitive flow, by link ing with the numbers.
Each picture is a crystallised depiction of mindsets from ages past, reaching right back to that first explosion of understanding. This symbolism and knowledge has been held and kept going by the Ancient Wisdom schools, ready to emerge at the time and place of greatest need