Tarot. and the. Tree of Life

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Jewel West
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1 Tarot and the Tree of Life

2 Part 1: The Process of Emanation

The Creation Process Beam of Sunlight Shines on a Rock Pedestal in a Cave by Stephen Alvarez The Tsimsum The contraction of G-d when he desires to create something

3 The Creation Process Beam of Sunlight Shines on a Rock Pedestal in a Cave by Stephen Alvarez The Tsimsum The contraction of G-d when he desires to create something The line is the ray of light from G-d into the darkness that resulted from his contraction Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 3

The Overlapping Circles Wednesday, October 27,

Intersections Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Esoteric Fool Each of these developments (line to worlds to sephiroth to paths) has to do with the Divine and his desire to interact with the material world of his creation and how he steps his

12 The Esoteric Fool Each of these developments (line to worlds to sephiroth to paths) has to do with the Divine and his desire to interact with the material world of his creation and how he steps his energy down into forms that no longer are him but only, often inaccurately, reflect him, but that we can more easily understand and work with Has qualities of the esoteric Fool, but not necessarily associated directly with the Tarot rather this concept gives us the why behind the how learning to use the tarot for our personal process of manifestation Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 12

13 Kabbalah is a Process; Tarot is a Tool The kabbalah defines a process of manifestation (stepping down) or connecting with the Divine (climbing up) The Tarot gives us a tool for working with that system Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 13

14 Part 2: The Correspondences

The Four Worlds The four tarot suits (wands, cups, swords, pentacles) correspond to the four worlds YHVH Fire, Water, Air, Earth Yod: Atziluth: Fire: Wands

15 The Four Worlds The four tarot suits (wands, cups, swords, pentacles) correspond to the four worlds YHVH Fire, Water, Air, Earth Yod: Atziluth: Fire: Wands Heh: Briah: Water: Cups Vav: Yetzirah: Air: Swords Heh: Assiah: Earth: Pentacles Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 15

16 The Ten Sephiroth The tarot pips, or numbered cards, correspond to the 10 Sephiroth 1. Kether: Crown. The four Aces. 2. Chokmah: Wisdom. The four twos. 3. Binah: Understanding. The four threes. 4. Chesed: Mercy. The four fours. 5. Geburah: Severity. The four fives. 6. Tiphareth: Beauty, Harmony. The four sixes. 7. Netzach: Victory, Perseverance. The four sevens. 8. Hod: Splendor, Yielding. The four eights. 9. Yesod: Foundation. The four nines. 10. Malkuth: Kingdom. The four tens. Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 16

Other Correspondences Wednesday, October 27,

Example - Hod 8 of Wands: Swiftness Shows eight flying staffs angled towards the ground, representing swiftness and coming in for a landing in the

Yetzirah) without allowing the motivating force of emotion (Netzach, also World of Briah) to help us manifest success.

level and unable to manifest due to not making decisions or not being able to cut away or eliminate the unnecessary, perhaps even an overactive

18 Example - Hod 8 of Wands: Swiftness Shows eight flying staffs angled towards the ground, representing swiftness and coming in for a landing in the world of manifestation inspired by the spiritual fire of emanation the real power behind Hod (compare Mercury bringing messages from the gods to the world of man). 8 of Cups: Abandoned Success Shows the figure walking away from the emotional cups of Netzach, perhaps staying in the intellect (Hod, also World of Yetzirah) without allowing the motivating force of emotion (Netzach, also World of Briah) to help us manifest success. 8 of Swords: Foreshortened Force Shows a bound figure surrounded by swords, representing too many ideas, or being stuck on the World of Yetzirah level and unable to manifest due to not making decisions or not being able to cut away or eliminate the unnecessary, perhaps even an overactive intellect not able to ground itself into practicality. 8 of Pentacles: Prudence Shows a man methodically and studiously repeating the steps of etching pentacles-- manifestation, but without the spiritual fire to kick us to a higher level. Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 18

19 The Tetragrammaton and the Court Cards Heh Vav Yod Final Heh The tarot court cards correspond to YHVH as placed over the Sephiroth Yod: Chokmah: Kings Heh: Binah: Queens Vav: Tiphareth: Knights Final Heh: Malkuth: Pages Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 19

Tiphareth Now demonstrate the converse Discuss the relevance of the permutation of

20 Example Kings and Knights Use kabbalistic correspondences to demonstrate why the Kings are associated with Chokmah and why the Knights are associated with Tiphareth Now demonstrate the converse Discuss the relevance of the permutation of the court cards Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 20

21 The 22 Paths The 22 Major Arcana of the tarot correspond to the 22 paths of the Tree of Life Paths are a negotiation between the two Sephiroth that they link Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 21

Example The Path of Tav The Path of Tav negotiates between Yesod/Foundation and Malkuth/Kingdom Between the Moon and the four Elements Between the etheric body (nephesh) and the material body (guph)

22 Example The Path of Tav The Path of Tav negotiates between Yesod/Foundation and Malkuth/Kingdom Between the Moon and the four Elements Between the etheric body (nephesh) and the material body (guph) The World card could mean: the transition from the world of illusion (moon) into the world of reality (elements) Or, the manifest world (Kingdom/elements/material body) is based on/derived from (Foundation) the world of imagination (moon/etheric) we create our own reality Other ideas? Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 22

The Three Pillars 3 Pillars Define relationships between the Paths/Majors Left pillar is the Pillar of Severity or Pillar of Form Right pillar is the Pillar of Mercy or Pillar of Force Middle Pillar

23 The Three Pillars 3 Pillars Define relationships between the Paths/Majors Left pillar is the Pillar of Severity or Pillar of Form Right pillar is the Pillar of Mercy or Pillar of Force Middle Pillar is the Pillar of Consciousness or Pillar of Balance (Equilibrium, Balance) Illustration from Paths of Wisdom (2 nd Edition) by John Michael Greer Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 23

24 Path of Creation Lightning Flash Path Follows the 10 Sephiroth process of enlightenment Divine coming down to us Path of emanation or manifestation Also called The Flaming Sword Illustration from Paths of Wisdom (2 nd Edition) by John Michael Greer Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 24

25 Path of Redemption The Serpent Path Follows the 22 Paths process of study Working up towards the Divine Path of connecting with the Divine Illustration from Paths of Wisdom (2 nd Edition) by John Michael Greer Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 25

26 Part 3: Practical Application

28 Reading List Case, Paul Foster. The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages. Richmond: Macoy, Fortune, Dion. The Mystical Qabalah. York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1935, Greer, John Michael. Circles of Power: Ritual Magic in the Western Tradition. St. Paul: Llewellyn, Paths of Wisdom: Principles and Practice of the Magical Cabala in the Western Tradition. St. Paul: Llewellyn, Paths of Wisdom: A Guide to the Magical Cabala. 2 nd Ed. Loughborough, Leicestershire: Thoth, Knight, Gareth. A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism. Boston: Weiser, 1965, Levi, Eliphas. Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual. Trans. A. E. Waite. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, Regardie, Israel. A Garden of Pomegranates. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1932, , Israel. A Garden of Pomegranates: Skrying on the Tree of Life. Ed. Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 1932, The Golden Dawn. Vol. 4. St. Paul: Llewellyn, Waite, Arthur Edward. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Blauvelt, NY: Steiner, The Rider Tarot Deck. NY: U.S. Games Systems, Wirth, Oswald. The Tarot of the Magicians: A Guide to the Symbolism and Application of the Wirth Tarot Deck by its Designer. York Beach, ME: Weiser, Wednesday, October 27, 2010 (c) 2010 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved. 28

The. Turkey Conundrum. Holiday Tarot Spread

The. Turkey Conundrum. Holiday Tarot Spread The Turkey Conundrum Holiday Tarot Spread By Joy Vernon Presented to the Denver Tarot Meetup Tuesday, November 12, 2013 Table of Contents Introduction 3 The Spread 5 The Symbolism 9 Chiromancy 12 Qabalah