On our journey we are presented with a problem. We cannot see where we are going. We don’t know what’s incoming, and sometimes we see the damage we cause from our actions. We can become frozen in place through fear, or over-compensate through our actions.
The Thoth deck shows an image that is both dynamic and passive. And this hold true to pass through this path uninterrupted. A person has to be balanced, and able to let go of trying to manipulate the threads they see occur. It’s this manipulation that causes the mind to create entities within the mind that can end up becoming a self fulfilling narrative.
Circles
This place is returned to again and again as we aim to strike the right balance in the self to be able to act with confidence that our direction is in line with your whole being, the higher qualities of the self, and the ‘Tikkun Olam’. This is probably the hardest part of QBLH to absorb, as we are going to be going around in circles for a long, long time. It’s almost as if we are installing a new system within the self, and need to not only delete old parts, but detect and scan for corrupted ones. Now and then we attempt to run the new system, but hits a problem; These are paths that get highlighted for working on.
Because we strive beyond the normal, we position ourselves in a treacherous position. We can either end up in the crushing waters of Binah, or blinded by the pure unformed light of Chockmah. You can get smacked down for decades or more, but that’s what we need. Mother nature ever so gently destroys all our created ideas, and shows us a natural path when we’re ready to receive it.
Nurtured
The cards attribution to the mysteries is highlighted here. We approach the holy, nothing profane gets past the Priestess. We are pressed back into the coarse earth, pushed back into learning through repetition or folly. Nature is fully able to take all your toys away. The positive of this process is that it is needed, and helps us have the chance to choose better ways of express our nature, and how we react to different situations. Nature is forming us into subtle guides, and our experiences need to be accented to be able to pass on that knowledge in a clear and convincing way. ‘Are we listening?’ Is the message, and can we hear it for each pathway we cross.
The shift
Once we go through the pillars, we are in a different world, and seeing the world with very different, and learning eyes. Experiences become a process of revelation, rather than something we suffer with. There’s no way to really paint the picture of what life is after this veil, as it becomes something that rests upon the combined elements within the self once resolved, crowning it.
Our mind becomes a temple, a sacred space that protects itself from the lower, abrasive instincts, reflexes, and learned behaviours that seek to upend things in the self. Initially before being in harmony with the path, the cyclic process that disrupts the heart and mind is perpetual, driving people to insanity, suicide, or worse. Eventually this process is quietened by the crowning force, and anything turbulent that enters this holy hall stands out, and can be repelled with ease ‘You don’t belong here’, ‘Get out’, the force of our spirit has the strength of the Unified self behind it.
Neutral
Virtue and choice become the keys for moving forward here. And once you’ve cleared out all the old matter within the self, you can proceed. This is the process that the Magician prepares for, they learns about the elements and train well to discriminate as to what is the true nature of how we function. There is a sense of being setup, but in a glorious sense of the amazing way that nature weaves life together. We can become forgetful that nature does exactly what it needs too, both savagely cruel, and exquisitely beautiful in its processes. We alive for all to brief a time, but moments speckled with the completion of spiritual aspirations, is a life that can be rewarding on so many levels. The hard work pays off, but don’t get too serious about it all; This is where the Fool steps in to remind us of the lightness of spirit, the sustenance which gives us the loving nature that points us in the right direction.