Notes of a Hermetic Conversation on October 23, 2018
October 23, 2018
Seven of Coins
We began with the protective practice.
We then invoked the presence of the Virgin Mary through moving the Hail Mary.
After focusing briefly the mantra I AM on the brow chakra, we then moved the fourth part of the Inner Radiance Sequence.
We then read from Revelation 4:2-3, and Matthew 13:44-46, and moved the 19th Letter of the Divine Alphabet, Qoph (The Sun).
– The quality of The Sun is “Heart Awakening.” This reminds us of what we came to last week: that this is the first Coin Arcanum that expresses something of a heart/circulatory system rather than a nervous system. It is truly a “Heart Awakening.”
– This is the first of the Coin Arcana that one can actually bring through a metamorphic process in one’s mind; one can visualize the plant growing up from the bottom and blossoming out into the form it takes in the actual card; one can also take the form as given in the card and visualize it enfolding and descending down into the bottom flower/roots. The first 6, one cannot perform this inner visualization, metamorphosing the plants. They are not in the archetypal position and structure as plants. Maybe in the Three of Coins, but even there not really. One can see movement in the other Coins, but not growth and decay per se.
– Noting the colors of the flower blossoms. In the Ace and the Two they are red and yellow. In all others red and blue. The Ace we associated with Mars due to the 16 pointed star on its coin; the Two we associated with Mercury due to the 10 waves on its coins. These are Red (Mars) and Yellow (Mercury). But since the Three we have had 12 petals on the coins—the Sun. This is associated with red and blue (arterial and veinous blood). The Sun-Heart.
So we begin with a polarity between Mars and Mercury that finds increasing harmonization in the realm of the Sun.
It is like the first breath of the child when it is born. Up until then, in the womb, it has been more or less breathing its mother’s breath through the placenta. Only with its first breath is it breathing its own breath. The first two Arcana are like the child still breathing the mother’s breath, in the womb. With the Three we have birth, the first breath. Development of circulatory system.
This brings us back to former associations:
Ace = Conception (like Magician)
Two = Gestation (like High Priestess)
Three = Birth (like Empress)
then we can see something of the same progression continuing as in the Majors:
Four = Physical body (like Emperor)
Five = Etheric body (like Pope)
Six = Astral body (like Lover)
Seven = Ego (like Chariot)
Five is like an inversion of Four; space and counter-space. Then Six is like a further inverting of Five.
– Last time we remarked on the Seven as like a Sabbath or “cosmic recess.” Light hearted and playful. Let’s look closer at Seven as Sabbath.
We had never thought about the Days of Creation in terms of the Six before. But now, this makes sense of the cumulative, summative aspect of the Six. Notice that God created the Heavens and the Earth in Six days; on the Seventh, he rested. So the Six contains the fullness in the series thus far. The Seven is a break, a relaxation, a playing.
Ace = Creation of Light and Darkness
Two = Creation of the Firmament between Waters Above and Below
Three = Creation of Dry Land and Vegetation
Four = Creation of celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, Stars)
Notice that within the days of creation, the fourth day is also a jarring leap from the sequence of things prior to it, just as the Four of Coins is a jarring leap. From the first to the third day, the focus is increasingly towards the earth. One would think that the natural progression from the creation of dry land/water and vegetation would be to create animals. But no—we suddenly move our focus out into the celestial heights, to the creation of the starry bodies. Why didn’t this happen right after “Let there be light?” Or even at the same time?
Phillip’s situation as happening under the sign of the Four of Coins: an intrusion, a presentation of something Awful and/or Awesome. A case presented, a verdict handed down.
The Four is a presentation.
The first three implicitly display the flower-process, the becoming of the flower.
The Four says: “This is a flower.”
But the central image in Four is still only an image of the flower. It is only an image of what comes to be a reality in the Seven. The realization of the ideal presented in Four. Last time we had noted that the central flower in Seven was totally unique vs what we had seen in the other Arcana thus far. But it is not totally unique: it was pre-figured by the central flower-image in Four. And this central flower is what we referred to as the Heart in the Seven last time. The image of the Flower is the image of the Heart. The Seven achieves the realization of the goal of the Flower-Heart.
Seeing the Four in relation to the Heart Chakra suddenly makes it less jarring. This is common, actually, in Theosophical/Anthroposophical enumeration, where the first and seventh terms are the upper left and right of a “U”-shaped development, and the fourth is the turning point, the center of gravity—and therefore, different and unique.
Going back to the sequence of Arcana as Days of Creation:
Five = Creation of Birds and Fish
Six = Creation of Beasts and Man
Seven = Sabbath
When we then arrange the Arcana in the form of the Divine Name moving from below to above:
Notice the paths or sequences that arise. Two and Five: Waters above and below paired with Birds and Fish. These two go together.
Three and Six: dry land and vegetation paired with Beasts and Man (who eat vegetation on dry land). These two also go together.
Ace, Four and Seven: Light and Dark—Luminaries—Sabbath. This is a very illuminating sequence. The Sun, Moon and Stars are the material realization of Light and Darkness. But here we can see that Sabbath is the inner realization (within Man) of what is expressed outwardly by Sun, Moon and Stars. The Cosmic Time that is expressed by the movements of the celestial bodies when internalized becomes the state of Sabbath, of “concentration without effort, work become play, burdens made light.”
The Sabbath = Sun, Moon and Stars in terms of the image of Isis-Sophia from Revelation 12, in terms of how this is described in the Letter-Mediation on The Sun (pages 543-547). The Sun and Moon are the marriage and reconciliation of Intelligence and Wisdom (Image and Likeness). But the starry firmament is the whole ladder of the Spiritual Hierarchies. It is not just a matter of realizing the Transcendental Self, but of bringing this Self into relationship with higher Selves of a similar nature. This is true Sabbath.
– In Lazarus, Come Forth!, Tomberg relates these titular words to the first Day of Creation: Let there be Light!
Perhaps there is a Sophianic sequence of correlations to the Days of Creation? Revelation 12 as an image of the Fourth Day. Maybe looking at the sequence of 7 Seals would be illuminating? The Fifth Seal (Isis-Sophia) as Fourth Day; the Fourth Seal (Two Pillars on Land and Sea) as Third Day, etc.?
(Edit during note-taking—Going through the whole sequence:
1st Day: “Let there be light”—Second Seal: Lamb of God
2nd Day: “Let there be a firmament”—Third Seal: Seven Seals/Trumpets
3rd Day: “Let there be dry land and vegetation”—Fourth Seal: Two Pillars
4th Day: “Let there be Sun, Moon, and Stars”—Fifth Seal: Sophia
5th Day: “Let there be birds above and fish below”—Sixth Seal: Michael/Dragon
6th Day: “Let there be animals and Man”—Seventh Seal: Holy Grail
7th Day: “And on the seventh day God rested”—1st Seal: Cosmic Christ
The 1st Seal could also be seen as the time preceding the 1st Day of Creation: the Spirit of God brooded over the face of the Deep.)
The Seven Miracles:
Ace = Raising of Lazarus—I AM the Resurrection and the Life
Two = Healing of the Man Born Blind—I AM the Light of the World
Three = Walking on Water—I AM the Good Shepherd
Four = Feeding of the 5,000—I AM the Bread of Life
Five = Healing of the Paralyzed Man—I AM the Door
Six = Healing of the Nobleman’s Son—I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Seven = Changing of Water into Wine—I AM the True Vine
The I AM sayings work very powerfully in conjunction with their respective Arcana. The Five as the Door. The Seven as the “True Vine” = Complete plant.
Powerful, Seven-fold themes and associations—which can go on and on! Miracles, Stages of Passion, Evolutionary phases, etc etc. We’ve never made these associations before, oddly enough (that is, the many seven-fold associations that go with the 7 chakras/planets). At least if we have, only with passing interest, e.g. “Maybe the Ace is Saturn evolution?” or something. But now that we’ve entered this type of thinking, the number of direct correspondences is huge (e.g. 7 = Seventh Day of Creation = Changing of Water into Wine = Resurrection = Root Chakra, etc etc). This is unlike the way the rest of the process has gone, in terms of the other Arcana.
It’s because we’ve looked at each Number as a unique Number, not as a part of a Seven-fold sequence. This is unlike Anthroposophy, in which virtually everything is looked at in terms of a seven-fold sequence. One would never, for example, look at the number Four as Four in its own right. Physical/Etheric/Astral/Ego is still only a part of a seven-fold organism.
With the Minor Arcana, we are practicing fidelity towards the number in question. When we get to the Eight, a new way of seeing things will come to light. We won’t stay stuck at seven-foldness. When we were only at the Two, that was all we saw. Getting to the Two cast new light on the One, but we didn’t look at the Two in terms of Seven at that point. Each new number seems to reflect back on the whole sequence and magnify what has come before.
The future changes the past. It is not only a recapitulation, as one might have it in Anthroposophy (e.g. Saturn, Sun and Moon recapitulate, and then something new is added). No, the new that is added actually changes and transforms that which seemed to only recapitulate.
The Four has an additional or different quality to this. It doesn’t seem to cast new light on the past—in fact, in some ways it seems to ignore it completely. Rather, it draws something new in from the future.
Similarly, The Emperor isn’t just a finished product, a “presentation in the Temple.” He’s the first one in the sequence of the Major Arcana to be drawing from the future, from the depth world of the Pope. He stands at the Threshold along with the Pope. All behind him (the Throne, shield, etc) represent the first 3 Arcana, while the Scepter is what comes toward him from the future. He mediates what comes from across the Threshold, brings the future into the present. This brings to mind the first lecture from Inner Development, the Michaelites guarding this side (the human side) of the Threshold.
– Aligning the first seven Major Arcana with the first seven Minor Arcana:
Ace = “This is what happens to my coin”
Two = “This is my book—my scroll unrolling”
Three = “This is my shield—or my belly?” Notice the pearl point.
Four = Emperor facing Four is like a Knight facing a Dragon. Also, the Archetype of Enthronement (the central flower as a dais/throne, with a crowd honoring the throne. Four holy creatures around the Lamb)
Five = Pope only has on one glove. The mark on this glove has enlarged into the Five. Image of Stigmata?
Six = The tension/vibration is shared by both. The bow and arrow shape is reflected in the Six. Quivering, high strung bow.
Seven = The enlargement of the scepter/wand. This makes the quality of his scepter different. It is not so much powerful or authoritative, but playful, magical—almost like a magic wand. Also, the totality of his enclosure is reflected in the Seven. We noted in our conversations on the Chariot, long ago, that this was the first Major Arcana that expressed any kind of movement. Similarly, we have noted that the Seven of Coins is the first Coin Arcana that expresses growth and decay, as well as a kind of spinning/dancing quality. This has something to do with self-mastery, attainment. The Seven of Coins is the pearl, the buried treasure (like from the reading from Matthew). It’s there and complete, but latent. It isn’t expressing everything.
The Heart Flower in Seven is like the shield on the Chariot. This hearkens back to the Four of Coins as well. The SM on the shield = Sulphur/Mercury = Mars/Mercury. Balancing polarities.
What about going backwards through the Majors? 22 through 16? Then the counterparts are given:
Magician—Ace—World = Christ and Sophia; Alpha and Omega. Magician = mundane, potential, microcosm. World = macrocosm, resplendent, crescendo. All is revealed.
High Priestess—Two—The Fool = Again Christ and Sophia? But different. Inverse poles of activity. The Fool is active without and totally still/empty within. High Priestess is active within and totally still without. Activity and Passivity.
Empress—Three—Judgement = Birth into Life vs Rebirth out of Death
Emperor—Four—Sun = Anonymity vs Friendship/Companionship. The weight of the world on one’s shoulders vs spontaneous, light, innocent interaction.
Pope—Five—Moon = The master of the domain of depth facing the unconscious, unrestrained depths themselves. He has no fear of the region of The Moon. He knows it inside and out—in fact, he contains this world within his own being, he encapsulates it. He warns the acolytes “Beware before ye enter here.”
Lover—Six—Star = Temptation vs purity. Pure creativity of The Star vs the potential for passionate intoxication.
Chariot—Seven—Tower = Self-Mastery vs Folly/Failure.
The Crisis that builds the pressure that creates the diamond (the central coin of the Seven). This is what the Chariot expresses: creation of the diamond through pressure. The Tower is this same pressure losing control, exploding.
This pairing of the Majors with the Minors brings us right into the heart of the special quality they have: of expressing binaries so powerfully. The positive and negative aspects of each Minor are accentuated and typified by the Majors paired with them. Their innate duality. Notice that in the Five, Six, and Seven, the polarity becomes expressly between Good and Evil. With Ace, Two, Three, and Four it is a polarization of what is more or less two different types of goodness.
The Four is the transition. We enter the realm of human experience, human emotions when we reach these three Arcana.
Ace through Three are more expressing cosmic archetypes. The Trinity: Magician/Fool/Judgement and the Trinosophia: World/High Priestess/Empress. Then the Emperor/The Sun as the human expressions of these two trinities.
– A few other observations from the course of the week: the Seven makes one think of a Whirling Dervish, or Choreomania. Any kind of ecstatic religious experience/ritual.
Also, the fact that the Christmas Tree came up as a theme last week. Christmas is a big theme in the 19th Letter-Meditation on The Sun, which we have associated with the Seven. The manger, coming to the center of the mandala, the personalizing personality. We could see the Six coming to the Seven like the Three Kings and Three Shepherds (there are Three Shepherds in the Shepherd’s Play) coming to the Nativity. They are bringing their gifts to the Christ Child, their accumulated Wisdom. 3 + 3 = 6. The Michaelite Stream of Aristotelians and Platonists bear knowledge/research. Whereas the Kings and Shepherds of the Sophia Stream bear Wisdom/Revelation.
This brings us back to the picture we had been developing, that:
Ace = Age of Gemini/Hinduism
Two = Age of Taurus/Zoroastrianism
Three = Age of Aries/Hermeticism
Four = Age of Pisces/Church of Peter (loneliness, isolation)
Five = Age of Aquarius/Church of John (depth, inwardness)
Six = Age of Capricorn/Church of Paul (confrontation with Evil?)
Seven = Age of Sagittarius/Grail Church (Mastery? Or War of All against All? War within or War without?)
Tomberg writes of the temptation of the Church of Laodicean (American Epoch—Capricorn/Sagittarius) of being the temptation to retain one’s spiritual riches. To rest easy in what one has been given, not offer it up to the spirit and reattain spiritual poverty so that something new can be bestowed. That which is new is conscience, inner certainty out of the darkness of intuition.
We closed with the fourth stanza of the Foundation Stone Meditation.
The Unknown Friends 