Science to Sage - Inner Zodiac with Michael T. Sarion

INNER ZODIAC

T A R O T , A S T R O L O G Y , K A B A L A A N D N U M E R O L O G Y A R E S I S T E R D I S C I P L I N E S .

THEY ARE NOT MEANT TO BE STUDIED, TAUGHT OR PRACTICED SEPARATELY, AS IS ALL TOO COMMON TODAY.

Those who wish to practice these Arts esoterically, must use the four together. However, the secret of how this is performed is not of interest to most exoteric practitioners. The “glue,” so to speak, that holds the four great Arts together has been ignored and largely forgotten. Fortunately it has been re-discovered and explained in the Taroscopic System. In this regard, the Taroscopic System signals a major revision of what we presently know about the Hermetic Arts of Divination.

BY MICHAEL T. SARION

How important are the Divination Arts? Well, on the subject of astrology many great sages have spoken. Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung accurately wrote: ...astrology represents the summation of all the psychological knowledge of antiquity.

In The Secret Doctrine, H P Blavatsky emphasizes astrology's ancient origins: Whether the origin of the zodiac is Aryan or Egyptian, it is still of immense antiquity. Simplicius (sixth century AD) writes that he had always heard that the Egyptians had kept astronomical observations and records for at least 630,000 years...Diogenes Laertius carried back the astronomical calculations of the Egyptians to 48,863 years before Alexander the Great. Maritanus Capella corroborates the same by telling posterity that the Egyptians had secretly studied astronomy for over 40,000 years before they imparted their knowledge to the world.

A man ’ s destiny, they say, is written in the stars. All he’ll ever do, all he’ll ever love, all he’ll ever be…If this be true, as I now suppose it must, only one question remains: who does the writing?

- (Introduction: The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, Curtis Signature Collection)

As seasoned students know, the study of astrology and its sister Divination Arts reveals the secret connections between psychic and physical energy.

Irish Druids, Egyptian Amenists, and members of the Arya and Stellar Cults of the ancient world, understood the subtle relationship between mental processes and physical events. Long before the advent of the modern age - before Quantum Science and Holographic Theory - sages of old knew about the so-called “Implicate Order” and deep relationship between consciousness and matter. They knew there was no essential difference between microcosm and macrocosm. In the mystical tradition it is a given that nature is objectified Spirit and mind subjectivized Spirit.

T H R E E W I S E M E N F O L L O W I N G T H E S T A R

STYLISH

After the great Stellar Cults fell from power, two changes occurred which had negative consequences for existence. Firstly, in the astrological canon, the sun replaced the stars as the dominant principle or in other words, sun gods such as Amen Ra, Horus and Aton, gained supremacy over ancient stellar deities such as Set, Thoth and Taurt and, secondly, the ego ("Left Brain") became the center of the psyche. Consequently the antique precepts of astrological divination were gradually ignored. Knowledge of the Inner Zodiac was lost and men began believing the fallacy that consciousness and destiny are affected, in some undefined manner, by distant rocks floating in space. Regrettably, the prevalence of this fallacy means that most scientificallyminded people dismiss the relevance of astrology. They contemptuously turn from the sacred Western Magical Tradition which might otherwise receive their positive interest.

The word zodiac from the Greek zoon means "living creatures" or "living beings." This emphasizes that the zodiac is a living phenomenon. If the signs of the zodiac are discovered in the heavens, they got there by way of the psyche's strange but scientifically acknowledged capacities of projection and inflation. In short, the famous horoscope of twelve signs exists above us as a omnidirectional cinema like projection of the innate twelvefold divisions of consciousness. As the twelve disciples of Jesus represented aspects of his own consciousness, so do the twelve signs of the celestial zodiac represent the twelve archetypal facets of the psyche. Hermetic Arts not founded on this fundamental precept are inauthentic. Astrology not based upon this precept is in our opinion not true astrological divination

Know that the philosopher has power over the stars, and not the stars over him - Paracelsus

It is an erroneous interpretation of astrology to opine that special forces emanate from the planets and the stars - R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz (Sacred Science)

As we all know science began with the stars, and mankind discovered in them the dominants of the unconscious, the “gods,” as well as the curious psychological qualities of the Zodiac: a complete projected theory of human character - Carl Jung

We can see this most clearly if we look at the heavenly constellations, which originally chaotic forms were organized through the projection of images. This explains the influence of the stars as asserted by astrologers. These influences are nothing but unconscious, introspective perceptions of the activity of the collective unconscious - Carl Jung

INTROSPECTIVE

COLLECTIVE

H E R M T I C A R T S

The collective unconscious appears to consist of mythological motifs or primordial images, for which reason the myths of all nations are its real exponents In fact the whole of mythology could be taken as a sort of projection of the collective unconscious We can see this most clearly if we look at the heavenly constellations, whose originally chaotic forms are organized through the projection of images. This explains the influence of the stars as asserted by astrologers. These influences are nothing but unconscious introspective perceptions of the collective unconscious - Carl Jung

The idea is to demonstrate that the zodiac is an archetype, not only within the collective unconscious, but within the fabric of reality itself...as a ground plan of creation. This archetype has not been invented. It exists, and knowledge of it has been developed in step with evolving human consciousness Denis Elwell

Another important difference between Taroscopic and conventional astrological systems concerns the connections between astrology and Tarot. Indeed, we can go so far as to say that Tarot is the most precious Hermetic Art. This is because it alone makes use of a rich palate of archetypal images that resonate with deeper dimensions of consciousness. Sadly, as in the case of astrology, the Tarot has also long been misunderstood and misrepresented. It was not created by Gypsies; is not expressly for the use of fortune tellers; and not merely a pastime for those who enjoy card games.

...the Alphabet of Thoth can be dimly traced in the modern Tarot which can be had at almost every bookseller in Paris. As for it being understood or utilized, the many fortune tellers in Paris, who make a professional living by it, are sad specimens of failures of attempts at reading, let alone correctly interpreting the symbolism of the Tarot without a preliminary philosophical study of the Science H. P. Blavatsky

The medieval packs are hopelessly corrupt or otherwise far from presenting the Ancient Truth of the Book in a coherent system or shape of lucid beauty - Aleister Crowley (The Book of Thoth).

As to the power and importance of symbolism, think of a constellation such as that of Pisces. It appears in the night sky as two fishes. Of course this is an imposed symbol. But our mistake is to minimize the power of symbols, be they astrological, planetary or mathematical. In any case, it is certainly not magic rays from the physical planets that effect personality and destiny. If anything, it is the symbols (of the planets and constellations or signs) representing those bodies that effect consciousness. It is not the planetary bodies or the physical constellations that effect personality and destiny. It is more likely that the symbols representing them are responsible. Alternatively, one can look to the light emanations from heavenly bodies for the connection, or to the subtle fields known as Morphogenic Fields for the answer. In our opinion, the 12 symbols which represent the signs of the zodiac are not incidental or arbitrary. They were selected purposively because they represent fundamental states of consciousness. The same goes for the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot. One does well to think of them as keys unlocking psychic mysteries.

So, in our opinion, it is the symbol making faculty of the human imagination that matters when it comes to the mysteries of astrology and Tarot. Accepting this fact makes it easier to grasp the concept of the inner zodicac. Of course we bear in mind that there is what a symbol does, and the way it does it. In short, all is revealed when we realize what symbols are and do. They are the means by which spirit, world and being speak to one another The mind learns from the cosmos by way of these numinous symbols that are sent forth, as it were, onto matter to return to source from their stations imbued with their rich cargoes. Hopefully, the result is wisdom.

ARTS

The Western Magical Tradition is based on the premise that each man is his own priest and each woman her own priestess. This doctrine was taught to adepts in ancient times, before the rise of orthodox religions and oppressive political and educational institutions. Ancient elders emphasized the need for independent moral and spiritual development. The purpose of the Hermetic Arts is to aid men on their journey toward psychic hygiene, sensitivity and wholeness, or as Carl Jung expressed it - toward Individuation.

Ancient adepts knew that a insensitive, toxic, virtueless man cannot hope to enjoy healthy relationships with nature, reality and other human beings. More importantly, they knew that such a man has a dysfunctional relationship with himself. Texts and inscriptions from antiquity leave us in no doubt about how important Selfhood, Self-determination and Self-discovery were to ancient elders: Self-Realization is necessary before God-Realization - Vedic Adage

Know Thyself - Inscription at Delphi

He who knows himself knows god - Clement of Alexandria

The most excellent and important among all forms of knowledge is therefore self knowledge; for if one knows himself he can also know God Clement of Alexandria

Jesus said: If you have gained this within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have this in you, what you do not have in you will kill you Gospel of Thomas

I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within Socrates

According to Bishop Epiphanius, the Krist is the spiritual self within each person Tony Bushby (The Bible Fraud)

The Egyptians had no vicarious atonement, no imputed righteousness, no second-hand salvation. No initiate in the Osirian mysteries could possibly have rested his hope of reaching heaven on the Galilean line of glory. His was the more crucial way of Amenta...to tread with the guidance of the word, that step by step and act by act he must himself make true - Gerald Massey (Ancient Egypt: Light of the World)

The Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans, had no word in their language for sin: the Israelites introduced both the word and the concept into the stream of Western civilization and by doing so diverted it - Leonard Shlain (The Alphabet Versus the Goddess)

"

Clement of Alexandria said enlightenment was possible "when the two shall be one, the outside as the inside, and the male and the female neither male nor female." This strange statement refers to an Alchemical process known as Hieros Gamos or Chemycal Wedding. It was a process of central importance to the elders who conceived the magical arts. It was of paramount importance to the creators of Tarot. In fact, if we study Arcanum

I The Magician we see four symbols united, as it were, on a single table top. That's right, the Magician is in the process of transmuting Fourness into Oneness. Let's take the card's imagery very seriously, and remember that when you want to know something about the Tarot, go to the Tarot.

The four objects on his table the Wand, Cup, Sword and Disk symbolize the four suits of the Tarot, and also the four elements: Fire, Water, Air and Earth. They also symbolize the four hemispheres of consciousness: Intuition, Emotion, Intellect and Sensation. One might say they symbolize the four great Arts of Tarot, Astrology, Kabala and Numerology, which must be harmonized if the Great Work is to proceed successfully. That we are right to speak of Tarot's connection to consciousness is confirmed by a study of the Magician's peculiar table. We notice it has a square top and three legs. This is because the card represents, among many things, the Great Pyramid in Egypt. The Pyramid has sides of three and a base of four. The Magician's table has three legs and square top. The letter associated with the card is "B," known in Hebrew as Beth. This term means "house" and connotes the "House of God." In Egypt, the Pyramid was considered the House of God, as was the human body. So we understand the doublemeaning of the letter associated with Arcanum I. Of course numerically speaking, three times four equals twelve, the number of the zodiac. So, the Magician's table can be regarded as an allusion to the twelve signs of the zodiac, which incidentally are divided into divisions of three and four. In short, Arcanum I emphasizes that the Divination Arts must be combined if consciousness is to be unified. Consciousness is fourfold and so are the Hermetic Arts. When the tools are harmonized, consciousness attains the fifth stage or Quintessence.

…the Kabalists hold that these four principles penetrate and create everything. Therefore, when the man finds these four principles in things and phenomena of quite different categories (where before he had not seen similarity), he begins to see analogy between these phenomena. And, gradually, he becomes convinced that the whole world is built according to one and the same law, on one and the same plan. The richness and growth of his intellect consists in the widening of his faculty for finding analogies. Therefore the study of the law of the four letters, or the name of Jehovah presents a powerful means for widening consciousness P. D. Ouspensky

The Major Arcana has esoteric correspondences to the Egyptian, Hebrew, Irish and English magical alphabets, Kabalistic Tree of Life, chakra system, alchemical process, Precession of the Equinoxes, process of Individuation, yearly maturation of a human being, personality types, sequential movement of historical centuries (from the first to the twenty first), periodic table of elements, and several other esoteric and exoteric phenomena.

It is for good reason sages referred to the Tarot as the “Book of Life.” In fact, when students of Alchemy pontificate about the mysterious “Emerald Tablets of Hermes,” they fail to realize that they refer to the seventy eight cards of the Tarot.

When thou hast made the quadrangle round, Then is all the secret foundGeorge Ripley (Alchemist, 1490)

The antiquity of this book is lost in the night of time...And goes back to an epoch long before Moses… It was written upon detached leaves, which at the first were of fine gold and precious metals…It is symbolical, and its combinations adapt themselves to all the wonders of the Spirit. Altered by its passage across the Ages, it is nevertheless preservedthanks to the ignorance of the curious - Eliphas Levi

W H O L E W O R L D I S B U I L T A C C O R D I N G T O O N E A N D T H E S A M E L A W

As an erudite Kabalistic book, all combinations of which reveal the harmonies preexisting between signs, letters and numbers, the practical value of the Tarot is truly and above all marvelous. A prisoner devoid of books, had he only a Tarot of which he knew how to make use, could in a few years acquire a universal science, and converse with an unequalled doctrine and inexhaustible eloquence ibid

The Tarot embodies symbolical presentations of universal ideas, behind which lie all the implicits of the human mind, and it is in this sense that they contain secret doctrine, which is the realization by the few of truths embedded in the consciousness of all A. E. Waite (The Key to the Tarot, Part II)

The Tarot can be considered one chapter, so to speak, in the greater Book of Symbolism. Its seventy-eight enigmatic pages of images, together with their geometrical, numerological and Astro Theological motifs assist the adept to open the doors to his inner Wisdom Body or “Living Oracle.” (For example, the numbers from one to twelve, when added digitally equal 78, hence the connection between the zodiac and the Tarot.)

The means of entering into dialogue with the Living Oracle or Inner Zodiac involves the correct usage of, and meditation upon, iconic images such as those in the Major Arcana. The images are figurative representations of our archetypal intelligence not normally accessible to the ego This intelligence emanates from deeper hemispheres of consciousness.

archetypes, as Alchemists of old understood, express themselves via images, colors, numbers, geometric shapes and musical harmonics. Several open minded and informed thinkers accept the importance of the righ-brain and its deep emotional intelligence. Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and other thinkers, specifically recommended working with symbolism. The great Otto Rank even spoke of man himself being not only an Artist but a Work of Art, in the highest moral and aesthetic sense.

A S A T O M S A R E T O M A T T E R ,

A R C H E T Y P E S A R E T O C O N S C I O U S N E S S . . .

A N C E S T R A L I N T E L L I G E N C E O R L I V I N G O R A C L E

hnically speaking, it is the so called "right hemisphere" of the brain that ses the ancestral intelligence or Living Oracle, and which projects the ological symbolism into the heavens. This field of intelligence was referred y William Blake as the “Imagination.” Its natural flow is, however, blocked tly after we are born. It must be unblocked and communed with if life is to e meaning and enlightenment is to be attained.

h card is, in a sense, a living being and its relation with its neighbors are t one might call diplomatic. It is for the student to build these living stones his living temple - Aleister Crowley (The Book of Thoth)

ntists know that verbal communication is a phylogenetically recent phenomenon. Moreover, as we said, it is only the smallest part of consciousness that expresses itself through language. It has recently been discovered that the human brain contains over 240,000 neural threads, enough to stretch from the earth to the moon. On each micrometer of these threads data is stored as pictograms or composite images, not words.

With the advent of verbal and written communication, humankind experienced a cognitive shift from a polyphrenic, holarchic mindset to the monophrenic, hierarchic mindset known today. The mythographers responsible for the rise of Judeo-Christianity saw to it Image of God. In the Comma images,” that is, against sym prohibition comes before th

You shalt not make for yourself a graven image, or any liken that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or tha water of the earth - (Exodus 20:4)

…According to the Ten Commandments, art, therefore, is mor than murder - Leonard Shlain (The Alphabet Versus the Godd

If the great arts were good enough for Pythagoras and Egyptian sages who constructed the pyramids and temples of the Nile Valley, they are obviously good enough for modern man. Unfortunately, due to generations of persecution, suppression, contempt, demagoguery, indoctrination and junk science, inhabitants of the modern world suffer from “symbolic illiteracy.” Western man certainly excels at verbal communication. However, words prove less useful when we attempt to commune with deeper hemispheres of consciousness. They cannot open the way to the Living Oracle. That task is accomplished by symbols.

SYMBOLS LITERACY

Jewish law forbids the making of any graven imag the present time will not permit any sculptured fi James Hewitt Brown (Stellar Theology and Maso

What are graven images? They are pictures

They are images of the gods or, more correctly, o and India were covered with such images, and all mother tongue of Spirit was symbolism. They also the tablet on which the "gods" communicated to i correctly decipher and interpret what was transm

In order for the Solar Cult to successfully superse Lunar Cults, there had to be an all-out prohibition blatant act of colonization had several motivation eventually eradicate the pagans and their ways, a to appropriate and pervert their symbolic canon. symbols that once served to uplift the soul of ma purpose.

The Old Testament is believed to have been base commonly known or readily admitted, however, is based upon the Aryan Tarot. In fact, the words To same root, meaning “ way ” or “law.”

The Book of Genesis recorded that the plural wor the Torah represents a singular body of instructio the Tarot signifies the plural version containing 22 instruction or guidance. The word Torot became T as Ishtar became Easter Tony Bushby (Secret in

Remains of the original Tarot designs can be seen Thebes, capital of Egypt in 2000 BC, particularly o the palace of Medinet-Abou. Moreover, the 22 ma paralleled in the Book of the Dead, etched into st sketches thousands of years ago ibid

H

As we said, the suppression of symbolic motifs served to empower the demagogues of Judeo Christianity. Religious indoctrination has served to disconnect men from nature, their supreme teacher and guide. Nowadays most men think of themselves as individuals when they are quite the opposite. Their dependency on one another is almost total. Spiritually, man does not look within for guidance; he looks to priests, pastors, gurus and experts of every sort. The more man looks outwardly, avoiding introspection, the weaker he becomes psychically. And this meets with Establishment approval. The misleaders adore psychically mutilated men too narcissistic, obedient and selfsadistic to pose a threat to their dominion. When a man gets anxious over inner sterility, he is handed a large book of words. The Bible gives him his instructions. It tells him what to do and what to suppress and condemn. It tells him what is good and what is evil.

T H E Z O D I A C M A N , A D I A G R A M O F A H U M A N B O D Y A N D A S T R O L O G I C A L S Y M B O L S W I T H

I N S T R U C T I O N S E X P L A I N I N G T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F A S T R O L O G Y F R O M A M E D I C A L P E R S P E C T I V E . F R O M A 1 5 T H C E N T U R Y W E L S H M A N U S C R I P T

The man who understands a symbol not only opens himself to the objective world but at the same time succeeds in emerging from his personal situation and reaching a comprehension of the universal...thanks to the symbol, the individual experience is "awoken" and transmuted into a spiritual act - Mircea Eliade

IMAGINE

ourse, where there are words there are images. One cannot be rated from the other. When, for example, a passage of the Bible is aloud, it conjures images in our minds. This is because the mind s magically, or should we say imagically. The greatest words, those en by the poets, are “great” because of their capacity to convey es. We are not, therefore, moved by words as much as we are moved e images words give rise to. And the images that move us are ured within consciousness. Words, therefore, are merely carriers of es.

often have we said or heard a phrase such as: "If I could only convey plain what I see, then you would understand?" How often do we say ar: "I'll see what I can do?" When complications arise, and when icts occur, it is not over the images we have but the words we speak. curs because of what we say and how we say it. Images are ntially nonviolent. Moreover, words are of the Left Brain. When we speak to someone, they do not hear us with the whole of their mind. And when someone speaks to us, our defenses are up. We hear the speaker with a small part of our brain. This is why we tend to be more receptive and attentive to those we know and care for.

Fundamentally, images do not normally foster gross misinterpretation or zealotry. They are synthetic, mutable and anomalous. They lead to words and speech but also to silence. They are cryptaesthetic and welcome multiple interpretations. Archetypal images, as found in great art, Alchemy, Tarot, or yantras and mandalas, awaken us to kataphatic knowledge, where knower and known are not polarized. When a sacerdotal image or geometric shape is deeply contemplated, it transmutes consciousness from the “hylic” (or base) level to the “phosphoric” (or spiritual) level. It opens consciousness to the reservoir of ancestral wisdom. This is why ancient Druids and Amenists cherished hierograms, and why Indo Aryan sages employed mandalas and yantras. It explains why Tarot was conceived.

The creative intelligence, from which modern man is divorced, can be likened to a great river upon which floats the fragile boat of ego-consciousness. The great river - or Imperial Self - has its own mysterious flow and course. It has its own enigmatic voice which speaks to each person in a unique manner. The voice man hearkens to and takes for a guide is merely the voice of his ego or pseudo-self. Modern man's failure to attune to his inner voice ensures he lives inauthentically. He endures a life full of competitiveness, envy, guilt, sorrow, loss and waste. Clinging to socially-vetted roles and plethora of ready-made escapes from the roles, man falls victim to what Alexis de Tocqueville referred to as the “tyranny of the masses.” Image-starved, he seeks to alleviate his systemic impoverishment in a compulsive manner, hence his addiction to television, video games, sports, pornography, advertisements, drugs, and all manner of virtual realities. However, these are temporary panaceas. They do not empower spiritually or lead to wisdom.

M O D E R N M A N ' S F A I L U R E T O A T T U N E T O H I S I N N E R V O I C E E N S U R E S H E L I V E S I N A U T H E N T I C A L L Y

Fortunately, there are remedies for the state of decay. Working with the Divination Arts opens dialogue with the inner Wisdom Body or Living Oracle. The Divination Arts are the Western Magical Tradition. They bring magic back into our lives. They inspire, unveil and empower. The student who learns how to use the Arts correctly discovers their power and magnificence, and most importantly, learns to “know himself.” Psychologically, the cards of the Tarot (and personal Tarot chart) demarcate the “Rites of Passage” that occur throughout our lives. There are many such rites and they cannot be avoided. Each stage is usually distinguished by intense emotional experiences. They can be considered times of peak experience. However, they can also be times of emotional and spiritual challenge, when we are hindered by authority figures or strange inner compulsions that disturb our equipoise and upset our domestic routine.

RITES OF PASSAGE

J O U R N E Y O F T Y P E S

The average person may experience approximately seven major Rites of Passage during their lives. The awakened person can have more, while a symbolically literate, selfrealized person's life may be considered one continuous Rite of Passage. The round of twenty two Major Arcana demarcate and illustrate the journey of these types. The obvious Rites of Passage have been recognized by mainstream psychologists and philosophers for some time. They include birth, entrance to school, puberty, leaving school, the first sexual experience, the first job, marriage, giving birth, loss of a parent (or similar significant trauma), the astrological "Saturn Return," divorce, menopause, retirement, and death. There are many others, such as moments of betrayal or punishment for misdeeds, and so on, not to mention the various euphoric experiences of a creative, religious or mystical nature.

authentic istence). ation and mperial Self and ame way. ealed in a luable enter the us to anding of nced as rld of the punctures the wires les of the ces from osts in a ess does ot mature der to n hedonic e to s his way. t follows r assage

P H I L O S O P H I C A L L Y S P E A K I N G , T H E R I T E S O F P A S S A G E E X I S T A S U N A V O I D A B L E P H A S E S O R S T A G E S O F M A T U R A T I O N .

They described the process figuratively as the "Quartering" or "Quaternity." In the discipline of Sacred Geometry, as practiced by Pythagoras, Agrippa, Vitruvius, da Vinci, and other sages, it was depicted by a motif known as "Squaring the Circle." In Christian Scripture the perfected state of consciousness is alluded to in the Book of Ezekiel as the “fourfold vision of God.” In the New Testament the nucleation of four hemispheres is subtextually referenced in the imagery of the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha or Skull Hill. Indeed the phenomenon is to be found in numerous traditions throughout the world.

During a Rite of Passage the Imperial Self attempts to provide us with the opportunity to move beyond the "horizontal" sphere of existence. In mystical terms, we get a chance to make a proactive shift from Karmic to Dharmic life. When in karma, ignorance is king. Death and the Devil are constant companions. In karmic life there is scant protection against the storms of fate. We exist because we learn to lean on hand rails provided by society. We learn to depend on so called rights and privileges bestowed by worldly authorities. If the gifts of the world are forthcoming, we deem ourselves contented. If they fail to manifest, we become neurotic and depressed. We strike out at others and end by cursing ourselves.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You close the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to - (Matthew 23)

Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, But not within thyself, thy soul will be forlorn; The cross on Golgotha thou lookest to in vain, Unless within thyself it be set up again - Angelus Silesius

The Imitatio Christi will forever have this disadvantage: we worship a man as a divine model, embodying the deepest meaning of life, and then out of sheer imitation we forget to make real the profound meaning present in ourselves - Carl Gustav Jung

Bad things happen and we still know adversity. However, our attitude toward the vagaries of life is not that of the karmic man. Our perspective and comprehension of what transpires is radically more mature and insightful. We are more than survivors, we are creators. We operate in the world as our own priests or priestesses, reinventing ourselves daily. We become our own teachers and cease being guided by the misguided. We do not wait for life to give us meaning, rather we bring meaning from within ourselves.

In order to actualize our Dharma we must first clean our emotions and psyche. This in turn means enduring many sacrifices. We come to understand what Sophocles meant when he said “Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse. ”

Regardless of the nature or intensity of the Rites of Passage, we are not condemned to go through them blindly. The four great Arts of Divination, when correctly applied, provide us with the pertinent information we need to negotiate them correctly. By way of the Tarot and its sister Arts we receive clear information about the events, experiences, opportunities, relationships, obstacles, challenges and warnings coming our way during Rites of Passage. When correctly constructed and interpreted, our Chart becomes an invaluable compass leading us safely through the shallows and depths of the omnidirectional ocean of life. After all, as we said, the zodiac and the chart are extensions of our consciousness. The chart merely encapsulates and transmits the directions and advice of our Imperial Self.

God has placed at every man ’ s side a guardian, the Daemon of each man, who is charged to watch over him; a Daemon that cannot sleep, nor be deceived. What greater and more watchful guardian could have been committed to us? So, when you have shut the doors, and made darkness in the house, remember, never to say that you are alone; for you are not alone. But God is there, and your Daemon is there Epictetus

The Divination Arts of Astrology, Tarot, Kabala, and

Numerology

are the only diagnostic tools to provide insight into the Rites of Passage. They were in the world long before high price psychologists and counselors who are good at the patch-up but not much good at prevention.

It is beyond question that the great ancient design of the zodiac is a wondrously conceived graph aimed to depict the structure of the Logos, the pattern or creative evolution, the essential constitution of the universe and the course of the current of life in the cosmos, and by analogy in man the microcosmic replica of the macrocosm...Man...was to fashion his new body of spiritual glory "after the pattern of the heavens," the frame of the heavenly or zodiacal man, the primal Adam Alvin Boyd Kuhn

Psychology text books of future generations will look back on the modern psychologists working without the aid of astrology as being like the medieval astronomers working without the aid of the telescope Richard Tarnas PhD

MICHAEL T. SARION

...perhaps there is a pattern set up in the heavens for one who desires to see it, and having seen it, to find one in himself - Plato

B Y M I C H A E L T S A R I O N