Alchemy has been linked to Qabala since time immemorial. In addition to Hermetic references, several Jewish alchemical texts exist, further strengthening the connection. The most famous of these is a treatise on mineral alchemy, the Aesch Mezareph, or "Purifying Fire." However, for many, the link between Qabala and alchemy solidified in the fourteenth century, when Nicholas Flamel went to Spain in search of a Qabalistic rabbi to help him decode the strange engravings in the alchemical text that had dominated every waking hour of his and Perenelle's life for twenty-two years-the hieroglyphs in the Book of Abraham the Jew. (See Appendix C for more about Flamel.) Later, this information would be transferred to the Paths of the Tree of Life, thereby offering us insight into deciphering alchemical practices and general information about the principal alchemical paths known as the "Wet Way" and the "Dry Way."
However, it is only recently that tarot cards have been assimilated into Qabala, and as such, while offering us some alchemical information, the information is limited. For students with an affinity for the tarot, the images found in alchemical plates and texts will be a gold mine of symbolic opportunity. To help prepare you for working with these images in an alchemical fashion (rather than strictly Wiccan, Qabalistic, or as a fortune-telling device), we will briefly examine the tarot cards and interpret them according to the principles of physical and transcendental alchemy. In working with images that most students are already familiar with, we hope that their consciousness will be "seeded" with the process that is used in alchemical plates and engravings.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
• The Tarot as Hermetic Synthesis
• Alchemical Interpretation of the Major Arcana
• Symbolism, Dreams, and Inner Awakening
The Fool-This card represents the aspiring alchemist early in his or her journey, filled with visions of what is possible and completely ignorant of the reality of the inner and outer work that awaits.
The Magus-This card is the accomplished alchemist, creator of the Philosopher's Stone, master of the elements. It is what we aspire to become.
The Priestess-This card reveals the secrets of Nature to us. Through a study and application of the divine laws manifesting in our perceptions of the visible and invisible worlds, the veil of ignorance is pulled back, and Nature stands revealed in the Empress. The Priestess is linked to the Prima Materia, or First Matter of the Wise, and needs to be studied in this light. The Prima Materia is everywhere and can be had cheaply if we just know where to look and how to harness it. The lunar forces influencing our world are a microcosmic reflection of the greater principles demonstrated by this trump.
The Empress-The Empress is the Queen of Nature in her full glory. This represents the invisible energies operating in the material body and life of the alchemist. As generator of forms and substance, she is the Celestial Waters as well, or the Queen of Heaven hidden in the Priestess.
The Emperor-The Emperor is Aries, action, the first phase of the work. He is often associated with sulphur, the self-realizing power within everything. This is the essential vital energy needed to initiate, sustain, and complete the Great Work.
The Pope-Often called the Hierophant, or Teacher of the Mysteries, the Pope is a form of Thoth. He is also the great animating force in life, as is mercury to the plant, mineral, or animal realms. The self-realizing powers of self are drawn to it, as sulphur is to mercury, drawing the latent energies of sulphur (or consciousness) into fruition and expression through the power of motion and activity.
The Lovers-This card represents the two great paths of alchemy: the Wet Way and the Dry Way. The angel is the Inner Alchemist, the Holy Guardian Angel, who through intuition and dreams helps aspiring alchemists make their choices and find their way. One way is slow and sure; the other is fast and dangerous.
The Chariot-The Chariot represents the oven of the alchemist and its need to be constantly watched, directed, and controlled through skillful operations of the head, heart, and hands.
Justice-Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The possible outcomes of every act must be understood to avoid error, accident, and disaster. The habits of mind, emotions, and action (karma) developed along the way are the sources of our balanced approach and keep us from being sidetracked.
The Hermit-The son of Hermes is an adept who is in, but not of, the world. He is seen but hidden from the eyes of the profane, or those who would seek to abuse the powers of Nature. The Hermit shuts himself off from the world, led by his inner light, relying on the staff of experience to create new and more perfect forms so that what is seeking expression in material life may be an improvement over what it replaces.
The Wheel of Fortune-The cycles of life are the source of misery and happiness in life. Through understanding and using them, the alchemist is able to stand outside the domain of fate and be master of life. Freedom from the Wheel is achieved by following the most propitious time for every act; in doing so, astrology is the friend and aid of the alchemist.
Strength-The most sublime of all cards, this synthesizes alchemy, astrology, and Qabala through the tarot. The woman, Sophia (Wisdom), directs the energies of instincts (the Lion), and in doing so commands the most difficult, powerful, and dangerous aspects of the work-the blind forces of matter and the subconscious. By using what energy we have available to us wisely, we gain more, and what once could destroy us now willingly serves and assists us in our undertakings.
The Hanged Man-This is the sign of sulphur, or self-realizing energies brought to fruition. In this, however, the world as it was known is turned upside down. The bonds of material life must be loosened-and in some instances lost-so that the energies may flow from the feet to the head, and the sublime work realized.
Death-Constant change is constant renewal, and death is the loosening of energies of matter for release into spirit and eventual rebirth. The dead matter gives up its spirit, just as the corpse gives up the consciousness of friend, stranger, and foe alike. If the spirit, however, has no new form to enter into, or the old one is not resurrected, then its energies are lost and the work is a failure and must be restarted. This card should be studied in relation to the Hanged Man and the Last Judgement.
Temperance-Constant flux and reflux of the active and passive forces is how the universe expresses itself in and through us. We must understand the cycles within ourselves and balance them if we are to become the Magus. This constant flux allows for spiritual and physical renewal and regeneration. The fluids and their vases are the lunar and solar energies that are manipulated through the two alchemical paths: the Dry Way, or "the foot on land," and the Wet Way, or "the foot in the water." Both belong to the adept once the other has been mastered, as the Philosopher's Stone belongs to both paths, and is one.
The Devil-"Solve et coagula" is a term you will hear often in alchemical work, and as was pointed out in chapter 2, it is the key to all occult work. Students of tarot see these words emblazoned on the arms of the Devil in the Oswald Wirth deck and other tarot decks derived from Qabala and alchemy. It is good to write this down on a card and place it where you can easily see it when you are doing your alchemical work. Just as the muscles of the human body grow stronger through the process of breaking down and building up, so do the powers of alchemical products grow more potent though an identical cycle of activity. This process is so fundamental to alchemy, and the plant experiments outlined here in particular, that a considerable amount of time should be spent meditating on this phrase. A copy of the fifteenth trump of the tarot can be used to assist in meditation, insofar as the typical descriptions given are ignored, and students seek to use it as a means of strictly alchemical insight into the hidden workings of Nature's invisible forces. Nothing is wasted, or evil in the true sense, and matter is put to the use of spirit.
The Tower-This card is the first disaster: the wrong intention for undertaking the work, inappropriate attention to details, haste, pride, and materialism corrupting the work.
The Star-This represents the influences of the astral energies though the planetary hours, the influences of the zodiac on alchemical work, the power of seasons, and the ever-present reality of the magnetic powers of Nature, or natural magic.
The Moon-This is the symbol of the White Stone and the Wet Way.
The Sun-This is the symbol of the Red Stone and the Dry Way.
Judgement-This represents discretion, reasoning, and the power of traditions brought forward into the modern world.
The World/Universe-This is the accomplishment of the Great Work, the Stone made and multiplied. The ideals of Chesed are manifest on earth, and the Hermit's journey is done.
The Fool-Whoso begins the journey and completes it. The seeker who began in ignorance has acquired wisdom. This is the Wise Man and the Fool in one. The alchemist at the beginning of the journey of the Path of Return completes it full of wisdom and grace. He is the Alpha and the Omega.