The third Arcanum, the Empress concerns sacred magic. Valentin Tomberg identifies three kinds of magic:
- sacred magic: magic where the magician is the instrument of divine power
- personal magic: magic where the magician himself is the source of the magical operation
- sorcery: the magician is the instrument of elemental forces or other unconscious forces
Tomberg demonstrates the contrast between personal and sacred magic in regard to similar phenomena.
| Personal Magic | Sacred Magic |
|---|---|
| Hypnosis | Awakening free will |
| Suggestion | Deliverance from possession by fixed ideas and psychopathological complexes |
| Evocation by necromancy | The ascent towards the deceased effected by the force of love |
| Constraint employed by ceremonial magic with respect to elemental beings | The gain of their confidence and friendship by corresponding acts. |
| Procedures of the practical Cabbala to subjugate evil spirits | Their transformation into servants through their own accord by resistance to the special temptations of each of them |
In Letter III we learn that the goal of the first three Arcana is to return to the state of consciousness before the Fall.
- The Magician: return to the mystical spontaneity of the relationship between man and God
- The High Priestess: return to the state of consciousness before the Fall
- The Empress: return to that life which was before the Fall
These are not propositions to believe, but rather states of being to experience.
Miracles
A miracle is the visible effect of an invisible cause, or the effect on a lower plane due to a cause on a higher plane. Said another way, it demonstrates vertical causation. The purpose then of unusual miracles is to remind us of vertical causation.
Familiarity obscures our recognition of miracles. There is no explanation, in terms of horizontal causes, for the existence of the universe, of the stars, of life, of sentient life, or of human life. A hippopotamus is a miracle.
Human life is supra-biological, hence its continuation from century to century is a miracle. Only familiarity prevents us from seeing it that way. Even a conscious act like lifting a finger is an example of vertical causation, since there is no physical explanation.
Here are two principles to keep in mind, even if they are not fully understood:
- We create reality
- Faith can accomplish anything