#tifereth

Death (Scorpio), Temperance (Sagittarius) and The Devil (Capricorn): An Analysis

The fifth ternary of the Major Arcana in Tarot is composed of XIII Death, XIV Temperance, and XV The Devil. In Papus’ ternary system, any triad expresses the dynamic of י (Yod), ה (He), and ו (Vau): impulse, receptivity, and synthesis. Not only that, but it sequentially reproduces the zodiacal sequence of Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, from the eighth to the tenth houses.

In this specific case, Death represents the י (Yod), the initiating impulse of dissolution, transmutation, and the symbolic death of the ego. It is aligned with the sign of Scorpio, the fixed and subterranean Water where all forms decay to release their essence. This is a destructive current governed by Mars, the nocturnal malefic, who feels at home when the Sun has set and shadow begins its reign. The somber eighth house of the Zodiac, a succedent house, is its natural dwelling.

Appropriately, the martial force of Scorpio appears in geomancy as Rubeus, the most violent and brutal of all the sixteen figures, embodying the energy of decomposition itself, where the only active element of the four is Water and where its element is Water itself. In the Tree of Life, Death corresponds to the Path of נ (Nun), the Fish of those putrid waters, ascending from Netzach to Tifereth, the passage through which the egoic desire perishes so that the Higher Will may arise. More at The Mirror of Sienna.

The Solar Mystery of 666 and 777

The number 666 has been feared, condemned, and distorted, but its origin can be found in the Sacred arithmetic of Light. Long before it was cast into shadow, ancient magi recognised it as the numerical body of the Sun. When the numbers from one to thirty-six are summed, they yield six hundred and sixty-six, forming the perfect triangle of thirty-six. These thirty-six are the astrological Egyptian decans, the solar faces through which the star of day pours its rays upon the world.

At this moment, for instance, the Sun stands in the twentieth decan – the second of Libra, sign where the solar power knows its fall. This decan is specifically ruled by Saturn, who finds exaltation in Libra, and it corresponds to the Three of Swords among the minor arcana.

The figure 666 represents the total emanation of the solar power distributed through the 360 degrees of the zodiac. It is the fullness of Light entering the field of matter. Later, the apocalyptic vision recast this number as the sign of pride, the seal of the Demiurgic self that mistakes its reflection for the source. But the symbol has never lost its double nature. The Sun can be illumination and arrogance; and it can bless or burn.

More at The Mirror of Sienna.

Tarot Liturgy: Lunar Eclipse in Pisces

The moment of a total lunar eclipse always cuts deep into the fabric of the cosmos. The Moon, the reflective luminary of Gabriel, who governs the tides of memory and image, is pushed into the mouth of shadow. Yesod, which receives and filters the current of Light descending from Kether through Tifereth, suddenly falls into darkness. The lunar vessel is swallowed by the umbra and offered to the dragon’s mouth.

The eclipse occurred at fifteen degrees of Pisces, within the bound of Jupiter, in the very sign of mutable water. Pisces is tied to the twelfth house, the domicile of the Bad Spirit, the Cacodaimon, where vision falters, the unconscious grow denser and the veil of incarnate life becomes thin. The ruler of this eclipse was therefore Jupiter, who at that same hour was in Cancer, cardinal water, in the subterranean root, the Imum Coeli.

A mutual Moon-Jupiter regency was drawn in heaven, right as she sank beneath the draconian shadow. Saturn had also just moved retrograde into Pisces, sealing the event with the mark of his slow and weighty presence in the same mutable waters. To this was added a separating square of one degree between Jupiter and Mars in Libra, hence creating a sharp angular discord between expansion and contest.

This reading took place after eclipse, with the Moon in Aries, under myrrh incense, Psalms 120 and 121 read aloud beforehand.

Full liturgy at The Mirror of Sienna.

Six of Wands: An Analysis

When a person ends a difficult day and draws the Six of Wands, the first reaction is often confusion. How can a card of victory appear when the mood has fallen into defeat? The answer lies in understanding what kind of victory the symbol represents. It does not describe success in ordinary terms, but the endurance of the inner flame when the surface seems broken. The image belongs to the path of fire, and fire reveals truth through persistence rather than comfort. The Six of Wands reflects the secret survival of Spirit beneath material fatigue. It shows that the divine axis has held firm, even when the emotions and the body could not.

Drawing a card is an act that connects the visible to the invisible, the above and the below. When the Six of Wands emerges after a day of failure, it means that the higher fire has found a vessel that did not break. The person may feel defeated, but the image declares that the will to continue is itself a victory of the Spirit. The gesture of drawing becomes a sign that the conduit is still open between the centre above and the heart below.

More at The Mirror of Sienna.

Tifereth in Assiah and the Six of Pentacles

The Six of Pentacles holds a strange place in the Tarot. It does not dazzle with visions of towers or stars. It does not promise triumph or thunder. It shows a man giving coins, a balance in his hand, two figures at his feet. At first sight it may look ordinary, a social gesture of wealth. But, beneath the surface, it hides one of the most luminous Christic symbols in the deck. This card is Tifereth in Assiah. The Beauty of the Tree made flesh in the world of action. The Logos stepping into the dust of the street. The incarnate Son working not in heaven but in the workshop, the market, the small places where justice is tested. The Six of Pentacles is the Sun in the clay, the Word made daily bread.

More at The Mirror of Sienna.

A Lunar Eclipse of Blood and Fire

The eclipse of the Moon at fifteen degrees of Pisces is an event that opens the heavens to shadow and fire. When the Earth rises between the two great lights, the covenant of Sun and Moon is interrupted, and the mirror that should reflect silver light turns into a vessel of blood.

The ancients saw this as a time of danger, since the nourishment of the soul becomes obscured. The Moon, mother of memory and guardian of the tides, is clothed in red; the Sun, source of the Logos, is concealed from her gaze. In the body of the Tree of Life this is a rupture of vertical harmony, a trembling of the Fire that unites Christ and Mary, Tifereth and Yesod.

The regent of this eclipse is Jupiter, as the Moon stands in his sign and bound. But Jupiter himself is in Cancer, under the power of the Mother. This creates a closed circle of rulership; the Moon rules Jupiter, Jupiter rules the Moon. It may seem to seal a bond of mutual protection, but the truth is harsher: Jupiter will be carrying the mark of a violent clash with Mars; a separating square of one degree reverberates.

More at The Mirror of Sienna.