User blog:DayTripper49/By the Blessed Will of Hekate, i come in peace, in knowledge, and in glory...

Hello children and namaste i have for the betterment of our venture (for what can be powerful without the understanding of the will of the cosmos and her brethren) taken it upon myself to consult the starts, the oracles, and the mysteries of the Deck of Thoth as revealed and illuminated by Master Therion. As one who has spent decades attuning herself to the soul of the universe and developing the sight of the inner eye required to peer through the veil of the Lunar Society and their befouling taint on the world-heart i am one of the few remaining and authentic Percievers and find i must lend my services to those who tread the path of Truth, lest they stray from its hallowed cobbles in search of false lights and mischevious will-o-wisp.

I asked of the ancient gods of wisdom, in the mindframe of my dear friend Archibald whom you know as the Neuromancer, to reveal the workings of the primordial images unto me, and they did deign to grant me knowledge. ‘What, i asked, shall the outcome of our venture be? Shall it be boon and comfort to friend or blight and sorrow to our enemies?’

And thus was it revealed to me, with the works of the Master to guide my sullied soul:

The first card is placed as a singular representation of the principle of the reading, the question itself made manifest as the Hero of the journey through the widdershins pentagram drawn by the Revealed Thoth Spread, here startlingly incarnated through the trump HIEROPHANT, flanked by Oppression and Valour, wands both and of mutual dignities, expansive in the element of flame juxtaposed in their virtues to represent an expressive outward deluge of destructive chaos, but also a forward marching of wrathful justice, fought in the trenches, a soldier’s battle as the Master calls it. This latter interpretation is lent weight by the primary presence of the HIEROPHANT, the most powerful card of the group as well as the Signifier. The HIEROPHANT is read to represent wisdom, teaching, toil, and organization. And so I read the first pentuple, “A burning knowledge spills forth from the font; a battle of minds is waged in the souls of the people; a Lord passes judgement and finds the world wanting.”

The second pentuple, read from the right to the left to follow the progress of the outwards spiral, is in harmony with the third pentuple, with the PRIESTESS mirroring the CHARIOT as the moon does the sun, the rightwards cards, both discs, progress from the stronger to the weaker, signalling a decay of sorts. Finally, the center cards are an inverted mirror, seeming to be unrelated by way of dissimilarity but truly linked in their synchronic dissonance. Thus the second and third pentuples, agreeing as they do, are meant to be read as an order of events, with the rightmost upper pentuple being the local future, and the leftmost upper pentuple being its progression.

The first placement of the second pentuple is the Knight of Discs, unity of land and man and purveur of hopeless ideals and wanderlust, seated next to Science, its 6 swords forming the Rose Crest of the melding of moral and mental harmony leading to right choice and drawing order from chaos. Finally, these build to the CHARIOT, the strength of purpose and resolute progress against odds, the CHARIOT is especially significant as the rider of the chariot is pulled along by the four beasts, a team of 5 not unlike the venture laid before us now. There is an influence of water over fire, as air and earth clash and counter, and as the CHARIOT surges forward so does the running river of time. In relation to the Modified Signifier, it seems a moderating water comes to quench the consuming fire, creating harmony. And so I read the second pentuple: “Greatness is forged in dreams and tempered with wisdom; The goal in sight is made manifest in the journey.”

The third pentuple as we discussed is a forward progression of the near future, a glimpse outside the local timesphere and must be digested as an extension of the second pentuple. Here we begin with Failure, 7 discs of silver that purchase naught but fouled crops and spoiled work. The next placement is the Queen of Wands which, given the preceding card, must be read in the undignified way, revealing a corrupting influence of vanity, anger, vengeance, and the great sin of pride that cometh before the fall. The final card of the set is the PRIESTESS, a fickle woman who is a bearer of light and revealer of secrets, but who is bound to drag one down into the darkness from which secrets are born and to which they return when they die, a symbol of manifestation and becoming. A powerful water influence lies in this set, and the positioning implies a decay of victory into defeat, of honesty to vanity, and of burning truth into a veiled reflection of itself. And so I read the third pentuple: “The work is undone, the journey forgotten and soul of the land left fallow; The faults at the foot of the temple are widened, until they consume the structure above and leave nought but worthless tokens; a revealed secret is made manifest in enmity and dissolution.”

The fourth pentuple reads the psychological and metapsychic state of the querent and this is makes for a very illuminating set. Now, of course, we read left to right as it follows the outward spiral and here we begin with the Ace of Wands, flame and passion incarnated as <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">yod <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">arranged as the tree of life. It is the divine made matter, pure energy undirected by will. Next in the reading is the Princess of Swords, a card with much mystery to it. Master Therion describes her as stern and vengeful, and if ill-dignified takes the form of a low cunning and wasted potential. Further, she is the earthly part of air, which in the I Ching as taught in the Technical Libers of Thelema is represented by the 18th hexagram, Ku, meaning ‘troubles’, and described in line 6 as ‘one who does not serve either king or feudal lord, but in a lofty spirit prefers to follow his own bent.’ This I take to mean a sense of individuality and independence from the mundane structures of influence and power, a true free spirit. Additionally, she brings the fixation of volatile forces, here made almost blatantly apparent in the previous Ace of Wands. The final card of the fourth pentuple is the Prince of Discs, <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">extremely <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> interesting given that he represents the airy parts of earth in mirror to the Princess of Swords. Thus the rising of the airy earth and the falling of the earthen air mix and meld, and birth new and vibrant meaning as the bearing of new life. The Prince of Discs, enduring, solid, and practical, sets a slow but progressive course towards the Great Work and evinces the greater nature of our base selves, that the animal and instinctual are not a sin but a gift of inborn knowledge and guidance from the consciousness of the universe. And so I read the fourth pentuple: “Earth and Air bind Fire, and in their union is born a bridled power, where water is manifest in the venom of the serpent and the sweat of the ox; Purity cannot shine without temperance, wit cannot gleam in silence; the strength of the individual will hold strong so long as the Great Work is fought for.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">And now we arrive at the final pentuple, the set representing the powers of fate, destiny, and karma. It is through this set that the gods speak to us and guide us on our path, a bit of advice to satiate the mortal desire for divine acknowledgement. The first placement of the set is Abundance, the Three of Cups, signifying growth and spiritual basis of fertility and eventual death, as well as being referred to the influence of Mercury in Cancer, <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">very <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> significant given that Mercury is the messenger of the gods and therefore signifies the Will or Word of the All-Father, which I hardly need point out is of GREAT significance when interpreted through the lense of of the fifth pentuple, serving almost as a metaphysical exclamation point. Further, that it bears influence on Cancer, the most receptive of the signs and the Zodialogical sign of our endeavor (being that it is born between June the 20th and July the 22nd) is of note. The second placement of the pentuple is the Two of Cups, which as the Master states in the Book of Thoth “always represents the Word and the Will”. Additionally, it is a harmony of union, a coming together of disjoined spirits, and ultimately of sublime Love, which recovers unity from dividuality by mutual annihilation. Further, it refers to the influence of Venus in Cancer, in which sign Jupiter is exalted in the House of the Moon. And, finale of finales, the EMPRESS reveals herself. The conjoined duality of nature, of light and dark and of hot and cold, are here made manifest in what Master Therion calls the “Many-throned, many-minded, many-wiled, daughter of Zeus” She represents the living Holy Grail, sanctified in the blood of the sun. In the EMPRESS is shown the continuity of life, the inheritance of blood, which binds all the natural order together - <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Natura non facit saltum <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">, nature does not leap. And so I read the fifth pentuple: “Hear my words, o product of Love, o ever-flowing child of Cancer, that the wisdom of the Eternal Queen, the Mother of Magic, may guide your way; that to gain what you seek you must give up what you have, and that only in the conjoinment of opposites will your path open before you; The Great Work is just out of reach, the Grail just out of sight, and the waters grow dark and deep; break not your bonds, delay not your forgiveness and the spirit of the world will open to you.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Thus, the reading is complete, and is as follows:

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">“A burning knowledge spills forth from the font; a battle of minds is waged in the souls of the people; a Lord passes judgement and finds the world wanting.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Greatness is forged in dreams and tempered with wisdom; The goal in sight is made manifest in the journey. The work is undone, the journey forgotten and soul of the land left fallow; The faults at the foot of the temple are widened, until they consume the structure above and leave nought but worthless tokens; a revealed secret is made manifest in enmity and dissolution.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Earth and Air bind Fire, and in their union is born a bridled power, where water is manifest in the venom of the serpent and the sweat of the ox; Purity cannot shine without temperance, wit cannot gleam in silence; the strength of the individual will hold strong so long as the Great Work is fought for.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Hear my words, o product of Love, o ever-flowing child of Cancer, that the wisdom of the Eternal Queen, the Mother of Magic, may guide your way; that to gain what you seek you must give up what you have, and that only in the conjoinment of opposites will your path open before you; The Great Work is just out of reach, the Grail just out of sight, and the waters grow dark and deep; break not your bonds, delay not your forgiveness and the spirit of the world will open to you.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The Thoth could not be any clearer: Our ‘Great Work’ of passion and of liberating fire will at first flower and grow with bonds of friendship, and be set upon by iniquities and vanities. Given the barely-contained nature of the querent and the overarching motif of water muting, quenching, and threatening to douse the fire of the principle, the forces of karma demand an opening of the heart and a unity of purpose in pursuit of our goals.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Thus I, Madame Vivirectus Wu, speak, and through me the Master and the wisdom of the Thoth.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;font-weight:400;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Go in peace, in knowledge, and in glory.