A Small Essay, Predominantly on Hope

Perhaps the Wisdom of God is symbolized by the lofty hawk or eagle because from the Almighty's perspective, all connections between incidents are perceived. All potential pasts and futures are observable from these great heights. It may truly be said of this Knowledge that man is not fit to wield it of his own accord. For man as we tend to understand him knoweth himself not, nor his neighbor, and his nature is such that he is oblivious and impervious to all connections between things and events, being too concerned with his own miniature world and its experiences. Man is all too often full of weakness and ignorance as to be able to successfully harness such a great Knowledge toward any end other than base self-gratification, and it would be most unwise for him to manipulate it simply for such reasons. And yet, he must use it in a way that is responsibly in tune with himself as he is intended to be, and therefore one can easily suggest that the use of Knowledge must be inherently geared toward self-preservation, for lack of a better word. By "self-preservation," I really mean to say, "the process by which an individual maintains their own purity." For man "liveth not on bread alone," but also by the spirit, who is entirely pure in substance and nature. But to return to my original point, such Knowledge is not wholly banned from man's grasp (as any mystic will tell you) for the axis upon which this Knowledge of all things revolves is the Self. To know oneself is to know one's past, present, and future. It is to hold the keys to all possible realities, and to possess the foresight and prudence to know which ones are not possible. For our relationship with the Universe is represented best by the nail, the letter Vav, the Son of the Holy Name, Tetragrammaton. We are undeniably pinned to the events that occur around us; that which transpires within exhales into the without, and whatever we are exposed to without we inhale inwards. Thus, there is a constant flow of influence in the shape of the lemniscate, or symbol for infinity. "Change is stability." God is expressed by but also beyond both these concepts, for neither heaven nor earth may contain him. He is not solely in the world around us and he is not solely within the human spirit. His Representative may be found and the junction-point between the two, and this is Adonai, the Holy Reconciler and Judge who perceives one's life as it truly is. But this is simply the most pure representation of God that we may know in the flesh. The purest idea of God exists beyond even this, beyond all ideas of here or there, or I and they, in a state in which neither of these polarities exist. God in this condition simply must be the great I AM WHO AM, Eheieh, Kether the Crown of the Qabbalists, and this is the true idea of paradise, the Kingdom of God. He is as a child who is conqueror of all things, or as a seed that has been scattered everywhere and nowhere at once. It is impossible to attempt to say anything about him, for any said thing about him is a blasphemy against his holiness, and therefore to men his Wisdom seems as folly.

I say all this because of two concerns. The first is that the Tarot, being a representation of both God's Wisdom and Understanding, can show us, after meditation and appeal for aid from the Angel, these lofty perspectives. Therefore, the Tarot can be a dreadfully potent tool, one to be greatly respected by all men, however blessed, who know not necessarily how best to use the wisdom it imparts (except through the council of their Guardian Angels, but this is an experience achieved by relatively few of our race, or at least it would seem given the current state of affairs). Therefore it is imperative that we seek to redeem this Art from the piteous state it is often cast into - often being called "fortune-telling" and the like - for in this Art lies Hope. Hope is perhaps the most characteristically human virtue, the belief that out of utter despair and desolation something may be done by our bold hands to remedy things and strive forward to a different tomorrow. Perhaps not even a tomorrow that will immediately shine brighter but perhaps at least a tomorrow that will lead to further tomorrows that shine progressively brighter with optimism. No other being on God's great earth carries hope in its heart and relies upon it so heavily for its own survival. It is therefore safe to suggest that Hope is truly Power, which is truly in turn Wisdom, and therefore Hope is a force that elevates us to God's own place in the Universe. For if God can create a world out of blackest nothing, then surely we, being made in his likeness and who have tremendous power to change the future, can also build out of bleakest horror something of worth, something worth protecting and believing in, simply because we have Hope - the desire to make change. Simply because we believe somewhere in our hearts that the seemingly impossible just might be possible, even if for a moment. And so this is my second, more pertinent concern that has weighed heavily on my mind and the minds of many others this week, I am sure. That in the face of oppressive tragedy we must cling to hope firmer than ever, and we must choose to believe that out of this aching trauma something good can come. For if we give in to the darkness and see it simply as misfortune there will no longer be any light to cast it away. It is our moral responsibility to preach the light, and defend it, and love it, and hold true to it despite the raging darkness because believing in the light is what makes us human. It's what gives us empathy, and courage, and creativity, and it being an emanation from God Himself, it urges us to fight for the betterment of the world for all peoples by turning chaos into order, darkness into light, and despair into Hope.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, take hope that even though all may seem lost in a void of meaningless violence, some good may arise from these wastes, though it may not yet nor ever be seen by eye or heard by ear. The Spirit moves in many ways, and we must believe in It and ourselves enough to stand for what we know is true and just in these sad moments.

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come home again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
Psalm 126

The Allegory of the Seasons

My idea for this post probably first hit me last year around this time. I was walking around campus and it was snowing. I'd never really noticed exactly how beautiful snow can be, and how winter is such a sublime season (minus the shoveling and all that). After doing some thinking, it seemed so obvious how the hermetic formula of Tetragrammaton applies to the seasons.

Tetragrammaton is the ineffable name of God, otherwise known as LORD in the Torah, Yaweh, or Jehovah. It is the first four-letter word, consisting of the Hebrew characters Yod, Heh, Vau, and another Heh (we refer to the first Heh as "Heh primal," and the second as "Heh final"). It is considered to be the name that resounds throughout the manifested universe, and provides it with structure and law. Tetragrammaton and the number four are associated with the demiurge, from the Greek demiurgos. This aspect of God is the one responsible for maintaining the order of the universe - perhaps one could even liken it to the source of kosmos (order). A lot of things seem to come in fours, don't they? The four elements, the four Evangelists, four compass directions, and of course, the four seasons!

Also important to remember is that in the hermetic teachings, Tetragrammaton is a revolving formula by which psycho-spiritual/micro-macrocosmic integration occurs. The yod represents the Father, the original unbegotten, active, self-generating, fiery masculine principle. Heh primal is the Mother, or the element of water, which receives the seed of the Father and becomes pregnant with twins. These twins are the vau and heh final, the first one being a male, the second being female. The "princess" is therefore the lowest lifeform in this scheme, but remember that the formula "revolves." The princess marries her twin brother, and because she is of the same substance as her Mother, she replaces the Mother on her throne, and her husband becomes the new Father, and thereby sparks the cycle of creation all over again.

Now, there are people who may disagree with my attributions, but for me, these make the most sense when trying to pair the seasons with the letters/elements of Tetragrammaton. Spring is most obviously fire and the yod. Spring is primarily associated with Aries the ram, the cardinal sign of fire, who is definitively masculine. In fact, the cardinal signs of each element begin a certain season. Cardinal signs represent the initial onset of that element, as opposed to the life of the element as expressed by the fixed signs, and the waning of the element, as expressed by the mutable ones. (Therefore, Cancer is associated with summer, Libra with Autumn, and Capricorn with Winter.) Spring is the season of blooming, when life finally begins anew, after having suffered a not-so-finite death. Things that have died and suffered a non-cyclical death have been recycled into new forms and energies, thereby helping the diversity of life.

Summer is a bit tougher to figure out in all honesty, but I'll do my best to make it work. Perhaps it helps to remember the purpose of the sign of Cancer in the tarot - the Chariot. The Charioteer is the grail bearer, the grail ultimately being a vehicle for the blood of the sun - the primary point of singular consciousness which acts as the main motivation for all motion and energy. (Hence the meaning of the Chariot, in addition to the fact that its path connects Binah, the universal Holy Grail and throne of the Mother Goddess, to Geburah, the seat of all manifested energy and motion.) Is it no wonder then that the days seem to last forever in the summer? The sun is at the pinnacle of its glory, having been reborn in the springtime, and now infusing the earth with light and warmth. Also, it's amusing to think that the slowness of summer, between the long days and the heat, is connected to the Feminine being associated with salt, the alchemical element of slowness, inertia, immobility. (Remember, the hermetic Feminine is all about receptivity. These things are not necessarily negative qualities in and of themselves, but they are negative when taken to excess. They, like all things, must be balanced by their complement, in this case, the Masculine.)

Fall then is connected with air and the suit of swords. Swords tend to represent suffering and anguish, and let's face it - who isn't sad when summer's over??? But air is also associated with the letter vau, the Son, the Dying Man God formula and all that, the Messiah, the Christ, the True Sun, etc. Therefore, should it not make sense that autumn focuses on the "dying" of the sun, which in turn causes the vegetation to undergo putrefaction? In alchemy, putrefaction and sacrifice is associated with the rainbow, the "coat of many colors" of Jesus and Joseph. The leaves on the trees also go through a similar transformation, shifting gradually from their standard green to yellows, oranges, and reds. We know that this season marks a clear separation from the warmth and splendor of spring and summer, an attribute which is also associated with swords - separation from godhead.

Finally, Winter is the element of earth, that ever mysterious yet simple element. The lowest of the low, earth is equipped to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, and in some ways, is the Kingdom of Heaven (this is a standard Kabbalistic doctrine). Earth is not remotely abstract, nor is it remotely intelligent, yet, it is still the throne of spirit, as it contains it within itself. The heh final with which it is associated though is of course also very similar to the heh primal, so much so that the heh final (the Daughter) is able to rise to the level of the heh primal (the Mother). In order to do this though, the Daughter must first attain Silence: perfect innocence and fertility, and knowledge of the Jungian Self/Kabbalistic Higher Self. Earth in its best form is therefore simple and humble, while also industrious and durable. During the winter, the earth is stripped of all its pretenses and is shown in its most barren form, or rather, we see it as barren, but this infertility actually bears the seeds for new life waiting to blossom in the spring. This "death" is required for newness and creation. The whiteness and silence of snow is enough to explain the purity and innocence inherent in the earth - perhaps it's even more profound to remember that snow is simply frozen water. The cold of winter also forces people indoors, where they have no choice but to contemplate. So next time you complain about winter, remember that it's pretty, and is an allegory staring you in the face. All that shoveling you have to do is similar to the amount of Work one has to do in order to bring the Great Work to completion. (The Great Work refers to the merging of the microcosm and the macrocosm, the integration of the separate selves with the whole self.)

(Picture: Allegory of the Four Seasons by Bartolomeo Manfredi)