The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of the Tarot and Kabala
CHAPTER I
ARCANUM No. 1 - "THE MAGICIAN"
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINT. In the upper part, the eyes represent the eyes of the Father. Internally they represent the infinite, the Holy Eight, Mercury’s caduceus, and the eight Kabirs who direct the planet. The Magician is in right-sided profile, signifying that for the manifested it is the whole right side. The Serpent protrudes from his forehead, indicating that it is raised, that he is a self-realized Master. In the left hand: the crosier of power, which symbolizes the spinal cord, pointing towards the infinite. With the right hand he points at the Earth, indicating that he dominates it with science; that it is necessary to rise from below; that we cannot ascend without first descending; and that it is necessary to descend to the Ninth Sphere, which has two representations. The first is sex, the cubical stone. The second is the nine circles, the atomic infernos to which the Initiate has to descend. It symbolizes Descending In Order To Ascend.
On his clothing there is a triangle with the vertex pointing up. This represents the three primary forces reunited in Kether, the One. To one side there is a table, which represents the four elements (earth, water, fire and air), the physical plane.
On the table various elements are found in disorder: the sword of power, the lingam (the masculine sexual organ); a chalice, which represents on one hand the physical brain and on the other hand the yoni (feminine sexual organ); and a moon, which must be turned into a sun.
Beneath the table we see the immortal Ibis, the Phoenix, the Kalahamsa Swan, the Holy Spirit, which symbolizes Love. It is beneath the table, indicating that it is by means of the Sacred Fire of the Third Logos that we must put in order the disordered elements on the table.
In the lower part, in the waters of life, we find the cubic stone, the Philosopher’s Stone already carved, indicating to us that this is the work that needs to be done. That is the cubic stone of Yesod: sex, stone of stumbling and rock of offense.
ESOTERIC MEANING OF THE ARCANUM. The esoteric study of the tarot is divided into two parts: the esoteric and the mathematical. The first consists of the 22 Arcana. Afterward the advances through mathematics are begun.
Arcanum number 1 is The Magician, that which initiates, that which commences; the One. It is Unity, the Divine Spirit in each person, the Monad or immortal spark of every human being, of every creature. The One is the mother of all unities. The One unfolds into what the next Arcanum, The Priestess, is.
In Arcanum number 1 we enter the Sanctum Regnum of Magic. Over the head we see the Holy Eight represented by two eyes. It is the infinity symbol, representing the eight Kabirs, symbol of Life and Death.
In the center of the Earth, in the Ninth Sphere, we find this sacred symbol of the Infinite. All organisms revolve around this symbol, including the human body. Inside of someone who wants to self-realize, there is always an eternal struggle between “brain against sex”, “sex against brain”, and “heart against heart”, but if sex overrules the brain it produces the fall, and the Pentagram (which represents the Master) stays with its lower points upward and the head downward.
The Holy Eight is a very important and interesting symbol. It encloses, defines and links the magnetic currents that are established between the earthly human being and the Spiritual. That sign joins or separates all elements ruled by atomic energy if it is traced with the thumb, middle and index fingers over the surface of the cardiac plexus.
PRACTICE: Make the mind quiet and silent. Become sleepy while thinking on the figure of the Holy Eight (infinity). Trace over the heart as described above. Let that figure sink into your consciousness, then make the mind blank, thinking of nothing. In this way, after a certain time, “you will awaken the consciousness in that region that is called the Astral World.”
If we observe the spinal column we will see the Holy Eight and there the caduceus of Mercury or Hermes, which represents the two ganglionic cords that coil up around the spine, which are Ida and Pingala, the two witnesses, the two olive trees, the two candlesticks before the Throne of the God of the Earth, and which ascend to the brain, to the pineal gland, then to the pituitary gland at the midbrow, finally reaching the heart through an extremely fine thread called the Amrita-nadi.
The solar atoms rise through the right cord and the lunar atoms rise through the left. When they ascend through the dorsal spine, they ignite our magical powers. The Holy Eight is, has been and will be the key of everything. Without the Holy Eight, there is no magician.
If we consider the outline of this symbol we see that it contains a double circuit where the two forces cross; one closes and another opens. This is the key for opening all doors. It opens our inner Temple. It is the sign that opens the Book of the Seven Seals. In the Sacred Order of Tibet it is used for everything. This Order, which we have the great honor of representing here in Mexico, is the most powerful of the entire Eastern tradition. It is composed of 201 members. The main staff is formed by 72 Brahmans. The Grand Regent of this Order is the great Guruji Bhagavan Aclaiva. The Sacred Order of Tibet is the genuine depository of the royal treasure of Aryavarta. This treasure is the Arcanum A.Z.F.
EXERCISE: A few moments before lying down, concentrate on the Sacred Order of Tibet and on the Holy Eight, calling the Master Bhagavan Aclaiva. He will help you go out in the astral body. On any given night we will be invoked to the Tibetan Lodge and in the Himalayan Temple we will be submitted to seven tests. When they call you they pull you by the feet so you can present yourself standing up.
But it is necessary to have courage because you will be submitted to many very hard tests. We will be decapitated and pierced through the heart with a sword. You must have courage. Those who have aspiration and perseverance will succeed. The Sacred Order of Tibet is very demanding. The true rulers of humanity are found there.
The Fire of the Phlegethon and the Water of the Acheron cross each other in the Ninth Sphere, sex, forming the sign of the Infinite. One must work with the Water and the Fire, origin of beasts, men and gods. Those who want to rise must first descend; this is terrible. This is the greatest test. Almost all of us fail.
Everything in life has a price; nothing is given to us as a gift. The price of Self-Realization is one’s life. You must have courage and maybe you will be admitted into the Sacred Order of Tibet.
The constitution of the Earth and that of our organism are the same. We need to work and to descend to our own infernal worlds.
We need to work with sex. This is the cubic stone of Yesod.