22 Atu cards of fire photographs I have been taking over the course of several years, in an altered contemplative or meditative state, and sometimes merging with the spirits materialising through the flames.
With a little guidance from Aleister Crowley's works as written in his Book of Thoth, an inviting beginning to the multiple layers and depths of the Tarot...
A one to One talk with oneSelf .
0 - The Fool
Be the spark that sets everything else into motion, the divine breath that gives life and inspires the first step towards fulfilment and completion.
Jump head first into the abyss of the unknown, and know that even if you eventually fall to the ground, for a while you will soar.
"Know naught!
All ways are lawful to innocence.
Pure folly is the key to initiation.
Silence breaks into rapture.
Be neither man nor woman, but both in one.
Be silent, babe in the egg of blue, that thou mayest grow to bear the lance and graal!
Wander alone and sing! In the King's Palace his daughter awaits thee."
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I - The Magus
Your life is under your control. Your life is what you want it to be. Your life is what you make it.
" The True Self is the meaning of the True Will: know Thyself Through Thy Way.
Calculate well the formula of Thy Way.
Create freely, absorb joyously; divide intently; consolidate completely.
Work thou Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, in and for Eternity."
II - The Priestess
She is the manifestation of the unconscious and the effects of the mysterious in our everyday world. She is the gateway to realms that we may never fully comprehend or master.
Her lesson is that everything you need to know already exists within you.
It is not always necessary to act; sometimes goals can be realized through inaction.
"Purity is to live only to the Highest; and the Highest is All; be thou as Artemis to Pan.
Read thou in the Book of the Law, and break through the veil of the Virgin."
III - The Empress
Her world is an ideal and perfectly beautiful place, totally natural, untouched by artificial colours, lights or sounds. She is Mother Earth's embodiment. Cultivate your creativity and plants the seeds of a bountiful harvest.
"This
is the Harmony of the Universe, that Love unites the will to create
with the Understanding of that Creation: understand thou Thine own Will!
Love and let love. Rejoice in every shape of love, and get thy rapture and thy nourishment thereof."
IV - The Emperor
Domination of the mind over the heart is not often wanted, but sometimes necessary and even welcomed.
If you can master yourself then you should have little problem mastering the world and all the things in it.
"Pour water on thyself thus shalt thou be a Fountain of the Universe.
Find thou thyself in every Star.
Achieve thou every possibility."
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Abracadabra: "As it is said, so it shall be"
Through controlling your emotions, you will eventually learn to control yourself.
"The Issue of the Vulture, Two in One, conveyed; this is the Chariot of Power.
TRINC : the last oracle."
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(Adjustment or Justice) teaches the fairest yet cruellest lesson of all because, like in the suit of Swords, her blade has a double edge. You do not get what you expect, or even what you want - you get what you deserve. You can be a saint or a demon - it is your choice.
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"Follow thy Fortune, careless where it lead thee.
The axle moveth not: attain thou that."
To admit that you are afraid will give you the strength to conquer your fear. When you relinquish your desire for control, everything begins to work as it should.
" Let not the waters whereon thou journeyest wet thee. And, being come to shore, plant thou the Vine and rejoice without shame."
V - The Hierophant
If your current situation seems to require more experience then you can call upon, be open to the presence of a teacher or mentor in your life. But do not make the grave mistake of openly seeking such a teacher - as the old proverb says, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
" Offer thyself Virgin to the Knowledge and conversation of thine Holy Guardian Angel. All else is a snare.
Be thou athlete with the eight limbs of Yoga: for without these thou are not disciplined for any fight."
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VI - The Lovers
Trust the counsel of your Inner Voice, and once you have made your decision, do not rescind it no matter how much opposition you face.
"The oracle of the Gods is the child-voice of love in thine
own soul; hear thou it. Heed not the siren-voice of sense, or the
phantom voice of reason: Rest in simplicity, and listen to the
silence."
VII - The Chariot
Abracadabra: "As it is said, so it shall be"
Through controlling your emotions, you will eventually learn to control yourself.
"The Issue of the Vulture, Two in One, conveyed; this is the Chariot of Power.
TRINC : the last oracle."
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VIII - Adjustment
(Adjustment or Justice) teaches the fairest yet cruellest lesson of all because, like in the suit of Swords, her blade has a double edge. You do not get what you expect, or even what you want - you get what you deserve. You can be a saint or a demon - it is your choice.
" Balance against each thought its exact opposite. For the Marriage of these is the Annihilation of Illusion."
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True wisdom and true enlightenment always come from within. A teacher may tell the student how he found wisdom, but the student must go and find it for himself. Wisdom is not a gift presented to you on a platter. It is a gift you give yourself.
"Wander alone; bearing the light and thy staff. And be the light so bright that no man sees thee. Be not moved by aught without or within: Keep silence in all ways."
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X - Fortune
When times are bad, or when times are good, always keep in mind that they won't last forever. Such events are just out of your control, and if you can accept that then the ride gets a lot easier. If you struggle against the Wheel it will crush you. So roll along with it!
"Follow thy Fortune, careless where it lead thee.
The axle moveth not: attain thou that."
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XI - Lust
A card of quiet yet unstoppable power. Such
power radiates from the soul, and for a consciousness aware of this power,
there can be no resistance, and no defeat.
"Mitigate Energy with Love; but let Love devour all things.
Worship the name - - - -, foursquare, mystic, wonderful, and the name of His House 418."
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XII - The Hanged Man
To admit that you are afraid will give you the strength to conquer your fear. When you relinquish your desire for control, everything begins to work as it should.
" Let not the waters whereon thou journeyest wet thee. And, being come to shore, plant thou the Vine and rejoice without shame."
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XIII - Death
Sometimes you cannot see how
your attitudes are hurting you, and when that is true, the Death card is your
wake-up call. Death is not simply destruction; it is destruction followed by
renewal. Even though one door may have closed, another is opening. Will you
have the courage to step through?
" The Universe is Change; every Change is the effect of an act of Love; all Acts of Love contain Pure Joy. Die daily.
Death is the apex of one curve of the snake Life: behold all opposites as necessary complements, and rejoice."
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XIV - Art
Life seeks balance and if you strive to be a totally positive being you will be fighting the current all the way. Better to embrace moderation and go with the flow.
This is a card of health, and its appearance shows that your inner power is ready to heal you and make you stronger.
"Pour thine all freely from the Vase in thy right hand, and lose no drop. Hath not thy left hand a vase?
Transmute all wholly into the Image of thy Will, bringing each to its true token of Perfection.
Dissolve the Pearl in a Wine-cup; drink, and make manifest the Virtue of that Pearl."
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XV - The Devil
Always remember, that shadow cannot exist without light, and that there is no Devil except the one you create. No one has power over you unless you give it away. If you are willing to release yourself from the chains of ignorance, then nothing is beyond your grasp.
"With the right Eye create all for thyself, and with the left accept all that be created otherwise"
XVI - The Tower
You
have been oversleeping and this is your spiritual wake-up call. When the
Tower is in the area, know that anything that seems secure could not really
be safe at all. If a change is destined to happen, to not try to fight it,
because all change happens because it is needed.
"Break down the fortress of thine Individual Self, that thy Truth may spring free from the ruins."
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XVII - The star
Trust in yourself, and in whatever powers you believe control the universe, to help you through difficult times.
Hope is only a beginning. Once you have been inspired, you still have much work to do in order to bring your vision into manifestation.
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XVIII - The Moon
This is the last challenge posed by the Major Arcana, in which you must travel in the dark, relying on your own inner light to lead you along the true path. The Moon is a card of intuition and psychic forces, so let go of your conscious mental blocks and let your intuition guide you.
"Let the Illusion of the World pass over thee, unheeded, as thou goest from Midnight to the Morning."
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XIX - The sun
Know that in every challenge there is an opportunity, and behind every cloud sits a sun waiting for its chance to be revealed to all.
One cycle is over and, before the next begins, there is a period of light and relaxation that you can and should properly enjoy. Success comes if you are confident and bold in the use of your creative energy. Glow with the vitality of the Sun whose light is unmatched and whose power is absolute.
"Give forth thy light to all without doubt ; the clouds and shadows are no matter for thee.
Make Speech and Silence, energy and Stillness; twin forms of thy play."
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XX - The Aeon
Put the past behind you and look to the future, ready to begin again. Now is time for a definite step, so don't let the shadows of the past hold you back.
"Be every Act an Act of Love and Worship.
Be every act the Fiat of a God.
Be every Act a Source of radiant Glory."
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XXI - The universe
The final gateway, this journey is over and the next is only beginning. A cycle is complete, it begins where it ends and ends where it begins ; start and finish are no longer the ends of straight line, but coincident points on the circumference of a circle that encapsulates your life. The present is now. The future is now. Eternity is now.
" Treat time and all conditions of Events as Servants of thy Will, appointed to present the Universe to thee in the form of thy Plan.
And : blessing and worship to the prophet of the lovely star."
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