The Spirit of the Tarot. Claudine Aegerter

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      The cube is Number 4, which is the number of humanity and the Earth. It is a symbol for matter and nature. The Emperor holds the structure which supports matter and stability is an attribute of the cube. The obedience, the service and the focused attitude of mind of The Emperor has transmuted the matter of his body into gold; gold tells us that it cannot be corrupted.

      The world is forever moving, but it is the stability and the incor ruptible nature of the will manifested in man that we are look ing at here. The Emperor’s focus on the vision does not influence the adaptability of his mind. Our problem is that we are always seeking balance, for most people want balance and harmony; in other words they want to be happy and well. The only stability we should seek to acquire is the stability of will and wisdom, for sta bility, balance and harmony in the physical is very transitory. The world we live in thinks that what we all need is a family, a partner, health and money, but the only true stability is a vision and the ability to apply it. If this applies to the former ideal, so be it, but the vision is the key.

      The cube represents the power that knows that it is viable until the end of the world. It is not our power, but the force that comes through us. That golden cube goes through from revolution to revo lution. It is durable and is not going to be overturned, because it has been given the ultimate power, which is to hold the vision. The Emperor is truly the first cornerstone of the New Jerusalem and so he is sitting on that golden cube; this tells us that he has dominion. He doesn’t have to work at it, for he can trust it so completely that he doesn’t have to do a thing. It is his throne, just as misericord is one of his aspects. He can judge and guide the world because he has achieved the constant stability of holding the vision. The cube is underneath him, but he doesn’t have to stand on it, because that would mean he wants to leave it behind; sitting on something means we trust it. He’s got his legs crossed for he’s not going to run; he is at ease, for the vision will never fail him. He is not going to go into the excess of tyranny, for the cube is telling us he has gained his gold, so he is at peace with the world.

      The Emperor is the foundation stone of the most important build ing, the sacred temple or church of humanity. From the beginning of time, the building of the temples or churches has always started with the ritual of laying the cornerstone. This job was traditionally done by kings or emperors, to honour God and ask for fertility and abundance for the community. The ritual was also about protection, being a warning to those who might come to destroy or damage it. No edifice was built without a cornerstone as a manifestation of the idea of God. The one who lays it holds the divine right to do so, that is why the kings or heads of state still do it. This has taken place since the beginning of time, because the sacred building always had the eye and the mind of the first initiate, king or priest, who offici-ated at the ritual.

      We must not forget the part played by the great brotherhood of Initiates, who were the ones who crafted that plait before us. We do not thank them enough in our prayers, or recognise them in our daily lives, even though they have given their lives to create the lad der of light. We do not thank ourselves enough, for however weak we may be we still carry on holding a vision of peace for humanity. There are numerous beautiful Souls that gave their lives to do the work. This is not to do with thanking the gods of nature for giving us the harvest; it is foregoing today’s harvest, so enabling the seeds of light to be anchored in the pure soil of the Soul for tomorrow’s harvest.

      Because The Emperor has done the alchemy, he is the result of the great work of the transmutation of all matter, as well as the puri-fication of that which has been soiled, so matter is rendered pure and psychically precious. Because of this he can have dominion over the world he lives in.

      The eagle in this card is black, whereas the eagle in Number 3 (The Empress) was white. Everything that she represented has to be put into action by The Emperor, who guides the people back up to the Trinity. The eagle is a bird of height, so it wants to rise, but this one is dark and heavy, for it has to work with the ignorance of mankind. Its darkness symbolises all the greed and the holding on to safety, as well as all the things we like and don’t want to release. It is fierce, like a bird of prey is when it holds onto its prey and kills it with its beak. It has its wings well spread out and its talons are ready to grasp, but it is actually not holding onto anything. It is going to be flying, following our Emperor in rising and being transmuted into gold. Black is the first colour of the alchemic work, so we are see ing an eagle in the process of being transformed into gold. It wants to fly and is using the best in itself. It has hope, which is one of the great characteristics that The Emperor offers, so it is the hope of all the would-be flyers and transmuters. This is the equivalent of the Black Virgin. The black eagle knows it needs to change. This is like the initiate, who has the quality of the mind of The Emperor within him, so he knows that he will have to put his black eagle through the process of transmutation by going through a crucifixion. This is the energy coming through the 4. It is the balance between the spiritual aspiration and the separative downward pull of matter. The eagle is looking towards the West, which is the direction of death, for Spirit has to receive the heavy materiality of the technological mind of the west, in order to uplift it and make it its tool for good. The thirteen protrusions of its feathers (13/4), speak of that state of transforma tion that it is undergoing and it is uplifting with ease.

      The sceptre in the right hand of The Emperor has a crescent Moon at its base, which represents receptivity. The Empress was in complete control of the whole of the psychic world, so her moon was turned down, but The Emperor has to receive so he uses it the other way up, to denote that he is not going to go into illusion. It is in his active hand, so that we know that man receives and has to act with intuition, rather than rationality. On the top of the sceptre is the fleur-de-lys, which tells us of the purity of all his actions. Between the moon and the fleur-de-lys, there are two little things that look like fishes, to represent the Spirit coming down into incarnation, then coming up again with matter after hav ing transmuted it. This is the divine sacrifice. The fleur-de-lys is a symbolic flower rather than a real one, because we are all myth and symbolism; the only thing that is real is the power of pure intent. We are surrounded by transitory illusion, so nothing of what we see is truely viable unless it is manifested out of pure intent.

      The globe or orb is green, with the cross of Spirit at the top, representing the alchemic transformation of humanity and of the Earth. It is held in The Emper or’s left hand, for it has to have love and care from his feminine, nurturing side so that he can act with love. The balance is completed by the sceptre being in his other hand.

      The flower under his right knee is an open tulip. In The Magician we saw a closed flower, a little bud, but here we see it open to symbolise the manifested initiate.

      The golden egg shape on the sock on his left leg pro tects the vulnerable shin on the front of the leg. The socks are sky-blue to represent the truth, which touches the Earth as he walks, so like the Buddha he’s pure. The intent is to bring the sky or cosmos down to the Earth. He has wisdom and his point of vulnerability is covered by gold, so he is rendered invulnerable. His red stockings tell us of action and fire, for he’s an initiate who fires things up.

      If we do not find in nature the way by which we can see our selves, so enabling the God we live in to see itself, then there is no life. The only reality is perception, which is an attribute of Spirit. We are not the centre of the world for if we die life carries on, but if there are no more witnesses to allow awareness, there is no light in life because there is no perception.

      A keyword of the 4 is ‘severity’, which tells us that it is only out of the experience of knowing every little bit of

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