In the right order of nature, the flesh is subject to the spirit and not the reverse. ~ The Cloud of Unknowing
In Letter III: The Empress of The Meditations on the Tarot, we learn the three effects of the Fall of Adam:
- toil
- suffering
- death
| Arcanum | After the Fall | Replaced | Before the Fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magician | Toil | Mystical Union with God | The mystical spontaneity of the first Arcanum is that relationship between man and God which was before the Fall. |
| High Priestess | Suffering | Directly reflected revelation or gnosis | The gnosis of the second Arcanum is that consciousness which was before the Fall. |
| Empress | Death | domain of life or creative, sacred magic | Sacred magic is that life which was before the Fall. |
With these clues, we can return to the first Arcanum of the Magician to unpack it. First of all, the principle of this Arcanum underlies all the others, viz.,
The connection between personal effort and spiritual reality
More specifically, the Magician reveals the practical method for this relationship to the other Arcana. It is insufficient to know cognitively; personal effort is also required. The fundamental principle of esoterism, which shows the way to the experience of the reality of the spirit:
- Learn at first concentration without effort
- transform work into play
- make every yoke that you have accepted easy and every burden that you carry light
Hence the first practical task is to learn concentration, which is “the suppression of the fluctuations of the mental substance” (Patanjali). In practical terms, these fluctuations are the intellectual and sensual imagery that occupies our minds. The arise spontaneously, scattering attention; that is the opposite of concentration.
Calm and silence are the conditions for concentration, when the mind is free of the spontaneously arising images. Therefore, the cultivation of inner silence is the necessary prelude to any meditation on the Tarot.
If the Magician—the first Arcanum—underlies all the other Arcana, then the World—the last Arcanum—unifies all the other Arcanum into a Whole. However, it is not so simple, since the World, when analyzed, actually comprises four Worlds. These four worlds are the background for psychurgical practice, leading from the Fallen state to the State before the Fall. These worlds can be characterized like this:
- Action: The world of sensual and intellectual imagery.
- Formation: The destruction of this imagery, i.e., the emptying of the mind
- Creation: The Silence necessary to receive Revelation from above
- Emanation: Pure creative activity
Do you see how this ties in with the esoteric principle of the Magician?
In the fallen state, the mind is perturbed with the spontaneously arising fluctuations of sensual and intellectual imagery. In this state, the mind is attached to the lowest plane of toil, suffering, and death, as it cannot conceive of anything superior.
The practice of the destruction of this imagery leads to the next plane of awareness, the world of Formation. This is the task of concentration. However, this task is no longer experienced as toil; on the contrary it is effortless.
When Calm and Silence are achieved, we can enter into the world of Creation. Without Silence, knowledge require suffering: intellectual doubt, moral quandaries, illusions. However, in this state, gnosis is possible since a calm consciousness is the perfect reflection of the revelation from above.
In the fallen state, the World is experienced as oppressive, a system of unchanging laws, the plaything of ineluctable destiny. In the world of Creation, life returns, and the world is understood once again as a creative work of art. This means, in the end, that the Universe is Open. It cannot be encapsulated in any system of laws, or scientific theory, or in a catechism. This is how the project begins, although it never ends:
The Arcana of the Tarot are magic, mental, psychic and moral operations awakening new notions, ideas, sentiments and aspirations, which means to say that they require an activity more profound than that of study and intellectual explanation. It is therefore in a state of deep contemplation—and always ever deeper—that they should be approached. And it is the deep and intimate layers of the soul which become active and bear fruit when one meditates on the Arcana of the Tarot. Therefore this “night”, of which St. John of the Cross speaks, is necessary, where one withdraws oneself “in secret” and into which one has to immerse oneself each time that one meditates on the Arcana of the Tarot. It is a work to be accomplished in solitude and is all the more suitable for recluses.