The Mountain of Myrrh: An Esoteric Tarot Narrative

Table of contents :
CAPUT 0
CAPUT I
CAPUT II
CAPUT III
CAPUT IV
CAPUT V
CAPUT VI
CAPUT VII
CAPUT VIII
CAPUT IX
CAPUT X
CAPUT XI
CAPUT XII
CAPUT XIII
CAPUT XIV
CAPUT XIV (A)
CAPUT XV
CAPUT XVI
CAPUT XVII
CAPUT XVIII
CAPUT XIX
CAPUT XX
CAPUT XXI

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The Mountain of Myrrh An Esoteric Tarot Narrative Containing a treatise upon the Emblemata Sacra commonly referred to as the Tarot.

Also Known as Liber CCCLX (360) Sepher Hafra'á The Book of Perturbation

O.E.D. Zelator Grade Material Publication in Class C

MARCUS KATZ

Twelve spokes, one wheel, navels three. Who can comprehend this? On it are placed together three hundred and sixty like pegs. They shake not in the least. — Dirghatamas, Rigveda 1.164.48

FORGE PRESS

Keswick, Cumbria, 2019 www.westernesotericism.com Copyright © Marcus Katz, 2019.

This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the author. Tarosophy® and Western Esoteric Initiatory System® are registered trademarks.

Dedication

To the dedication of the Initiates of the Order of Everlasting Day. And as ever, and above all, this book is spiritually dedicated to Antistita Astri Argentei The Priestess of the Silver Star She whose light leads the way to the Arcanum Arcanorum, the Secret of Secrets Vos Vos Vos Vos Vos V.V.V.V.V.

PREAMBLE In this booklet is set out a progressive series of esoteric correspondences utilising the Tarot. As symbols they are woven as if in a dream. As numbers they are structured and sequenced in patterns. As meaning they are narrated to create a demonstration of their connectivity. The whole is explained as a textual Tree of Life. Any confusion within this document will often be resolved by appropriate attribution. A fictional narrative then presents the Emblems in their grace. The reader should ardently look for patterns of three, four, five, seven, ten, twelve or twenty-two. Often a pattern is given in ascent and descent, above and below, one in two. The point is towards the light of understanding, wisdom and knowledge.

COMMENTARY (PREAMBLE) This booklet is set out as an exercise in correspondence and a demonstration of the use of such in creating narrative verse. It seeks to present new ways of looking at Tarot and encourages the reader towards novel interpretations and insights of the works of many Esoteric authors who have utilised a similar approach in the past, particularly Aleister Crowley and A. E. Waite. The ten lines of the Preamble themselves are set to a Kabbalistic template, following the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life, ascending from Malkuth to Kether. This booklet is a gate through which the reader may find the dawnladen meadow, and upon crossing it, come at last to the forge in which awaits the crucible of the everlasting day. The reader is cordially invited to join us in that Crucible. www.marcuskatz.net

COMMENTARY (TITLE PAGE)

This structure of this booklet is inspired by two significant but enigmatic works of Aleister Crowley; the Book of Lies and WakeWorld. It further takes inspiration from a similar work by A. E. Waite, Steps to the Crown. As a title, I have taken a pair of symbols noted by both Crowley and Waite to point to the most profane and sacred of mysteries; The Mountain of Myrrh. A companion piece to this present work will soon follow and be titled with the paired symbol, The Fig Tree. The Order title of this work is the “Book of Perturbation”, a word here taken in an astronomical context as applying to the complex motion of a body when subject to other forces. It denotes that symbols are interlocked and the trembling of one symbol has consequences upon the entire system. The Hebrew word for ‘perturbation’ equates to 360 by Gematria, the numerology of Kabbalah, this number being the number of degrees in a perfect circle. It demonstrates that disturbance arises within the fabric of order.

-0CAPUT 0 SHUSH The Master Key Words Or, the Answer to the Least important Question of All.

Silence. Speech. Secrecy. Nature. Power. Religion. Love. Mind. Relationship. Self. Union. Balance. Value. Life. Integration. Knowledge. Release. Vision. Reflection. Expansion. Decision. Comprehension.

COMMENTARY (C. 0) The sound “shush” or “shh” is the perfect simple sound of the womb and the optimum phoneme for immediate cessation of meaning The secret of the true enigma is unbearable silence. Therefore, noone should remain before stepping off the cliff-edge into the void. If 1 should remain, the 0 will be imperfect and return immediately to 10 fragments in what is termed the cascade magnus, or ‘Greater Fall’. The Keywords in this chapter [caput] follow the sequence of Major Arcana in the Tarot, and in other chapters follow the Minor Arcana in Decreasing numerical order, through the four Worlds of Kabbalah; Pentacles/Assiah, Swords/Yetzirah, Cups/Briah and Wands/Atzliuth. Then follows the Court Cards in order of ascent though the Worlds. In this chapter the keywords are arranged in a triangle to demonstrate how patterns and relationships are highlighted within particular arrangements of the cards. A tarot deck is a constant and living prayer, as is life. It exists as a perpetual re-arrangement of the infinite void between silence and comprehension. This verse also refers to the silence of the Aeons and Harpokrates. NOTE The question is “What is in the Fool’s Satchel?”

-ICAPUT I PLENTY, ASLEEP IN JUPITER’S GARDEN In the Intermediate Space is Bound the Will. The Daemons are many and various, and the main of them is Love. Neither Mortal nor Immortal. Through Will and Love subsists the sciences of the sacred; All divination. All sacrifice and Expiation. All disenchantment. All Prophecy. All Magic. When we are Plenty, we Sleep.

COMMENTARY (C. I) The title refers to a description by Plato in The Banquet, wherein is described the nature of philosophy - and, the Daemon Socrates. Plenty, son of Metis, attends the great feast, which is celebrating the birth of Venus. He becomes drunk and falls to sleep in Jove’s garden, where he is found by Poverty. She, low of estate and desiring a child, lays with him and conceives - their child is Love. Plato goes on to describe Love as the Servant of Venus and of a far more troubled nature; “so far from being delicate and beautiful, as mankind imagine”. “Love is the Law, Love under Will”. In this section, relating to the tarot card of the Magician, is described the power and nature of philosophy applied to the magical act. As with each Arcana, we will return to this card in the narrative section.

- II CAPUT II SANCTUM SANCTORUM She is the Indwelling Glory and Abiding Mercy in the Chamber of the Heart. Betwixt the Pillars of Time. Upon the Cubical Altar of Space. The Veil is but the dust thrown up of I MUST BE. We do not draw it back but rather await our own withdrawal. It is Remembrance of the Divine Estate. Reconciliation. Neither Memory nor Realisation. It cannot be remembered. It cannot be Real. It is the Loss of Forgetfulness.

COMMENTARY (C. II) The Tarot Trump labelled La Papess or High Priestess is an image of the Shekinah, the presence of the divine upon the Altar of the Apparent. The veil is the dust thrown up by the activity of the mind. It is only when we still our own feet and be silent that it settles. At that point we realise it was only ever there because of our own seeking. “I am that which is attained at the end of desire”.

- III CAPUT III THE VIRIDIAN TABLET 1. If it only existed it would be enough. 2. That all things are created is its certain truth. 3. With no mother, it bears all in its womb. (And nothing dies within it) 4. It remains beyond recognition of mercy or fear. 5. For it has no edge to define itself. 6. Yet its edge is an endless mirror. 7. In time it is a moving likeness of eternity. 8. It recognises only itself. 9. No matter the dream, it can be awoken. 10. And it is enough, then, that it exists.

COMMENTARY (C. III) The Astrological Symbol of Venus, corresponding to the third Tarot Arcana of the Empress, is the only symbol to connect all ten Sephiroth when traced onto the Tree of Life. It is therefore a symbol of love and unity; indeed, the Hebrew words for love and unity, Ahavah and Achad, both equate to 13 by Gematria and together sum to 26, the number of the divine name YHVH. Viridian is a type of green as is Emerald.

- IV CAPUT IV MARCH! I never understood Surrealism. Until the poet Enrique Enriquez said to me ‘it arose from a political necessity’, as a reaction to a singular madness and human atrocity. It arose to remind us forever never to forget our common sense. And, as he kindly explained, in a simple way that stopped me dead and absolutely changed the way I saw it; “It was so that if they ever said ‘March!’ again, everyone would simply laugh and reply ‘April!’”

COMMENTARY (C. IV) Peshat There is a power in listening and learning [Heh in Assiah]. Remez There is a power in remembering [Heh in Yetzirah]. Derash There is a power in being able to change the way you look at things [Heh in Briah]. Sod There is a power in the word [Heh in Atziluth]. This section relates to Atu IV, the Emperor, which corresponds to the Spring Equinox in March.

-VCAPUT V A RATTLE OF LOCKS In the temple, Upon the Altar, A Box, A Box, A Rattle of Locks. In the Box, Upon the Altar, A Light, A Light, Full of Delight, In the Box, A Box, A Rattle of Locks. In the Light, Within the Box, A Flame, A Flame, The Call of your Name, In the Light, A Light, Full of Delight, In the Box, A Box, A Rattle of Locks. In the Name, Within the Flame, A Mystery, A Mystery, A Rosy Key, Set you free. In the Call of your Name, In the Light, A Light, Full of Delight, In the Box, A Box, A Rattle of Locks.

COMMENTARY (C. V)

There are three fundamental blocks in the construction and presentation of oneself to oneself; a set of values/beliefs, a means of self-identity and a sense of time in which to transport those values and identity from moment to moment. These are illustrated by the cards of the Hanged Man (values), the Hierophant (beliefs), the Hermit (Self-Identity) and the Wheel (Time). One might look upon these cards upon the Tree of Life for further elucidation. The Hierophant illustrates the interface between what is believed and what is actual - in itself, an unknowable mystery. It is thus no wonder the Hierophant is the most disliked card amongst readers of tarot.

- VI CAPUT VI BY THE LIGHT OF A FARTHING DIP The Whore’s Catechism DEMANDE. Quelles qualités doit avoir une putain? RÉPONSE. Trois qualités essentielles. DEMANDE. Quelles sont ces qualités? RÉPONSE. L'effronterie, la complaisance et la métamorphose.

COMMENTARY (C. VI) The Catechism libertin, or ‘Whore’s Catechism’ is falsely attributed to Theroigne de Mericourt. However, it was originally published in 1791, and later re-published in 1881 by Gay et Doucé as “Catéchisme libertin à l'usage des filles de joie et des jeunes demoiselles qui se décident à embrasser cette profession.” It was published first in English as ‘The Whore's Catechism’, by Mary Wilson, Spinster (London, 1830). Wilson - likely a pseudonym - also wrote Venus School Mistress, The Voluptuous Night and the dedication for The Spirit of Flagellation. It would appear that the three essential qualities of a whore are also those of an Initiate. First, a lack of shame in the sense of self-acceptance and comfort in oneself for oneself. Second, complacency in terms of working without lust of result. Thirdly, an ability to actively court and accept transformation. The title of this chapter is taken from a note by Aleister Crowley in which he described writing a particular section in The Book of Lies which was of later significance.

- VII CAPUT VII JACK IN THE GREEN Jack took a trade, made himself a kettle, Beat it himself, made out of metal. Jack took the Kettle, went out for tea, Got burnt by the metal and stung by a bee. Jack took the tea, threw it away, Got wet by the tea, no time to play. Jack took his trousers, hung them to dry, Got called names by a rude passer-by. Jack chased after the stranger, left his home, Got lost in the woods, scared and alone. Jack climbed a tree all the way to the top, Fell all the way down and came to a stop.

COMMENTARY (C. VII) Jack is a theophoric name, deriving from the name of a deity, such as Demetrius, ‘devoted to Demeter’. In the case of Jack, which has come to stand for an ‘everyman’, it derives from the Hebrew, YVChNN, ‘god is gracious’. This word totals 10 + 6 + 8 + 50 + 700 = 774, by Gematria, which is given in 777 as ‘filia septenarri’ [it should be septenaria]. In turn, this is BTh ShBA’a (seventh daughter). Such a child, daughter or son, was said to be born with the gift of healing or prophecy. Any story of Jack might well have him as a seventh son. There is a long history of Jack tales, such as Jack and Jill, and one in particular is a cumulative (or chain) tale, The House That Jack Built: This is the man all tattered and torn That kissed the maiden all forlorn That milked the cow with the crumpled horn That tossed the dog that worried the cat That killed the rat that ate the malt That lay in the house that Jack built.[1] Such chain tales might be considered initiatory fables, similar to an Aramaic and Hebrew song, Chad Gadya, which first appeared c. 1590, and is commonly sung at the end of the Passover Seder. It has ten verses which can be interpreted as stages of initiation upon the Tree of Life. (1) Then came The Holy One, Blessed be He, and (2) smote the angel of death, who slew the (3) slaughterer, who killed (4) the ox,

that (5) drank the water, that (6) put out the fire, that (7) burned the stick, that (8) beat the dog, that (9) bit the cat, that ate (10) the goat, Which my father bought for two zuzim.

- VIII CAPUT VIII THE TENTS OF KEDAR It is true, sayeth the Psalmist, that the coals of Juniper are alike to heat as the sharpness of arrows. It is true that we must look upwards for salvation. It is true, that which is divine does not sleep. Yet it is true that the tents of Kedar are found still within the shade of our right hand and the embers of that fire are not yet diminished.

COMMENTARY (C. VIII) The Card of Strength is of profound import to the mystical work; “in one of its most exalted aspects, [it] is connected with the Divine Mystery of Union”.[2] “Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesach that I dwell in the tents of Kedar” [Psalms 120:5]

NOTE This chapter should be considered a retrospective upon After the Angel, particularly journal entry April 8th, 2004.

- IX CAPUT IX FOUR STATIONS OF PROPHECY O prophet, speak in the woods At dawn, when the light is young. Speak to the trees And seek wisdom in the glade of the forgotten. O prophet, speak by the water’s edge At sunset, when the air is still. Speak to the empty sky And stand in the silence of the Angels. O prophet, speak in the cities At midnight, when they dance in dream. Speak to the people, And touch the hands of the hungry. O prophet, speak in the wilderness At noon, when there is no shadow. Speak to no-one, And say nothing.[3]

COMMENTARY (C. IX) The Hermit corresponds to Mercury through Virgo and thus the mercurial nature of prophecy and divination. All divination is an act of recognition; “concealed within Mercury is a light which pervades all parts of the Universe equally”.[4] Thus, the Hermit is the Way. On the Tree of Life, his card illustrates the state where “there is perfect Identity, not merely Equivalence, of the Extremes, the Manifestation, and the Method”.[5]

-XCAPUT X ROTA ROSA The Great Wheel Turns upon the Heart of the Rose. The Rose Burns upon the Axle of the Wheel. It sheds petals like blood in great streaming torrents, rivulets of damask carving out the granite of the Aeons. We are bound to this Wheel, palms held open to the sky. And the Aeons thunder by, churning the centuries, discarded to the infernal wastes. What is there to understand? We are bound to this Wheel. The Sphinx is bornless as much as Oedipus is homeless; yet the answer is the same - the two sisters are day and night and we are the riddle of Time.

COMMENTARY (C. X)

The Wheel illustrates the covalency of symbolism in the Latin numerology of X, the cross. Albeit from utterly different hierarchies, the cross is associated with the circle in this manner. The Adept must learn to burn the rose upon the great cross of this wheel, which is Time.

- XI CAPUT XI SALT MONEY If we would work, we would work. If we would rest, we would rest. The two truths are but one truth; it is as above as it is below. One machine to consume salt. One machine to refine salt. One machine to carry salt. One machine to dispose of salt. The Wages of Sin are paid in Salt, time and time again. If we could work, we would work. If we could only rest, we would rest. We would make our Way Home, To the Temple of the Truth.

COMMENTARY (C. XI) The number 11, replete with association in numerology, is the atomic number of Sodium, which, with an equal amount of Chlorine, is Salt. The word ‘salary’ derives from the practice of providing partial payment in the form of salt wafers, salarium, to Centurions who guarded the Via Salarium, Salt Roads, which led to Rome. Money is a ticket of time, our only asset. NOTE 11 is the number of Magick. It is appropriate to our enigma that it is also the number about which is switched the number 8 in the development of Tarot decks. It is thus to one, the number of La Force, and to another, the number of La Justice.

- XII CAPUT XII THE GARDENS OF ADONIS Lo! From Athens to Argos, lamentations! Sing a dirge, O Nymphs, to the god slain by a boar! Ill omen, indeed. The dog-star rises to tremble over the thin dust of Alexandria! I have seen the ships that set sail to make war, carrying the burnished swords. I see shattered shards of pottery, in which wither the rootless stems of fennel. Cast them into the Ocean, into the Springs. Return him to his Mother, in the shade of Myrrh. Woe for the sake of Woe. There is no Beauty beyond the Broken.

COMMENTARY (C. XII) The Adonia festival is described by Aristophanes and Plutarch, albeit placing it on different times of the year, amongst other Greek authors such as Plato. There is an unbidden sacrifice in life, as the bidden sacrifice of spirit.

NOTE In addition to the Adonia described here, one of the major rites of the Order of Everlasting Day is a version of the Thesmorphia. This latter rite is conducted after a procession through the late night so it can commence in a cave at dawn. The rite then moves to a mountain peak by noon, a ceremony at a stone circle for sunset and reaches a conclusion in a temple at midnight. Other rituals include the Haloa, or ‘Threshing Floor’ and the Skira, or ceremony of the ‘Celestial Canopy’ all of which will be published in later volumes of The Magister.

- XIII CAPUT XIII VIA EXHAUSTIO If you try to take away from someone’s home, they will see you full of only yourself. If you try to take away from someone’s self-importance, they will see you only as a loser. If you try to take away from someone’s self-imposed sorrow, they will see you only as fanciful. If you try to take away from someone’s imagination, they will see you as a child stealing their toy. If you try to take away from someone’s child-like expectation, they will see you as without joy. If you try to take away from someone’s grief, they will not accept that. If you try to invite the closed-minded, they will see you as a clique. If you try to join the celebration, they will see you wanting something. If you try to be open, all blessing.

COMMENTARY (C. XIII) In this chapter we see the manner in which the Minor Arcana of the Tarot provide a schema of complex redaction. Only the Ace is a pure essence and incapable of reduction or division; each of the numbers is subject to separation, by one. The textual map here given commences at the Ten and demonstrates reduction by another to Nine. The subsequent lines reduce the Number by One. In this way we see the attempt of each Sephiroth towards recognition and completion. Here in the World of Briah corresponding to the Suit of Cups. One might repeat this exercise with the other three Suits. NOTE The Way of the Order is not a Via Salutis, a Way of Salvation, but rather a Via Exhaustio, a Way of Exhaustion. When we are fatigued of falsity, the truth abides.

- XIV CAPUT XIV THE IDOL OF AGATHOCLES The Elephant is ensnared by the Snake. Both Die and from their Waste comes Something New and Strange. The Wayfarer makes his way to Sicily and worships there a golden idol of Jove. Realising it is made from the melts of a chamber pot, he is angered. Yet Agathocles was a Potter afore he was a Tyrant, something New and Strange. Democritus, visiting Egypt, discovered both Chameleon and Crocodile. These, as was the Wisdom of the Priests, something New and Strange. Scaevola assassinated the Secretary mistaken for the King. Sometimes we must dissolve something less regal, something New and Strange. Delos is neither the Centre of the World nor West. Two Eagles, a God, a Remora, something New and Strange. Androcles Heals the Lion. The Lion is showered with flowers in many a Taberna. “This is the lion, a man's friend; this is the man, a lion's doctor"[6] Something New and Strange.

COMMENTARY (C. XIV) The number 14 is that of the card Temperance in the Tarot, entitled ‘Art’ in the Thoth Tarot, and being illustrated by the ‘art’ of Alchemy. This chapter is a description of selected secrets of Alchemy, following the illustrations of the Viatorium (1618) by Michael Maier. The sequence of six illustrated plates is also known as the Wayfarer’s Guide. It is a commonly known fact that the great secret of Alchemy is that the Philosopher’s Stone is a description of Time and all alchemy is an illustration of our relationship to Temporality. Sexual Symbolism found within Alchemy is thus illustrative of the Embodiment of our Temporal and Carnal Nature.

- XIV(A) CAPUT XIV (A) THE CRUCIBLE

Mem Eight bulrushes beneath the five-rayed star; the light upon the earth gives not up her constant calcination. Seed, rain, bud and flower float in the warming waters. Tzaddi A Winged Globe of four bright wings, ceaselessly rotating. The Natural Intelligence experiencing the four elements. We come to recognise our attachments to both matter and spirit. Resh The Sun upon the Collecting Intelligence. The Circle of Light which is the Sacred Name. The Planets and the Zodiac. All is to Awaken. The circles align to make zero. Peh A Spear drips with thirteen beads of blood. Above, the Hexagram. Below, three find themselves crucified upon a dark hill. All done in the Square and done upon the Cross is done again after the Sacrifice.

COMMENTARY (C. XIV (A)) This Chapter is an alternative version of Chapter XIV, much as there are alternative versions of the Temperance Tarot card in the Golden Dawn, Crowley and Waite - on this at least there was agreement. MTzRPh (crucible). The images are those of the Tarot of the Secret Dawn, an Initiatory Set of 22 Tarot Keys scryed by Frater Ex Oriente Lux, Neville Meakin c. 1909. He was an influential yet lesser-known occultist and member of the Order of the Morning Star, well regarded by A. E. Waite. The descriptions of these images were discovered by Derek Bain in the archives of the Golden Dawn, re-created in 2015 by artist Janine Hall, and published as the Tarot of the Secret Dawn with companion guide. The deck provides a profound account of initiatory work and the 22 images are utilised as a contemplative gateway by members of the Order of Everlasting Day.

- XV CAPUT XV

σκιά To those who have forsaken their angel is given one supreme task, for we all live and work in the divine plan. Unto them is the duty to prevent all others from awakening to themselves and this they do with fervour and zeal. It is true that every grade of initiation has opposition and those who take such work as their own. In this there is a divine grace for they serve to test and refine those who are upon the Way. We imagine evil and yet it is not hidden, it is the merely mundane. It is in the pretence of spirit and not its fire, it is in the show of soul and not its terror, it is in the distraction of god. Our task is to release ourselves and see at last the simple fact; what remains was always truer than they could know.

COMMENTARY (C. XV) The title of this section is the Greek for ‘shadow’.

- XVI CAPUT XVI TONITROPHOBIA Withdrawing the Darkness, a Point of Light. A Moment to realise the Darkness and the Light. The Waters Part. Two Great Lights, Father and Mother of the Earth. All that Lives, Lives. A Man in the Moving Likeness of Eternity. A Woman in the Nature of Things. Naked to the Truth of the Matter. Awakened to Oneself. We Are Ground Lightning.

COMMENTARY (C. XVI) In the stained-glass work of J. B. Trinick, initiate of the F.R.C. and artist of the Waite-Trinick Tarot, is found subtle reference to the Tree of Life and his studies with Waite. These were later to be partially revealed in his strange work, A Fire-Tried Stone, on which he briefly communicated with C. G. Jung. In this section I extend the note in Abiding in the Sanctuary upon the windows of Salmestone Grange, Kent. The title is the Latin for ‘fear of lightning’.

- XVII CAPUT XVII QUI SITIT BIBIT The Hours pass by the Gilded Gate where we hide from the Enemy. Evening comes as a bird bearing an olive leaf, fair plucked. An end to the ending of days, an opening to one everlasting. We drink from the Rose of Heaven. The Eternal Star. Our Heart Bursts. It pours upon the Rose of Earth. It pours forth upon the Sea of Stars. The Rose Blooms. We are Serpent and Dove, Sighing Upon the Cross. For Where you have been, there shall I always Be.

COMMENTARY (C. XVII) The Rosicrucian Emblems of Daniel Cramer: The True Society of Jesus and the Rosy Cross (1617), translation of Fiona Tait (1991) published by Adam Mclean. Emblem 31 HE WHO IS THIRSTY WILL DRINK "But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14) QUI SITIT BIBET -- XXXI The mouth is wet with the rosy liquor, From which found the thirsty heart gushes out; Thence the rose bursts into bloom. NOTE The study of Alchemy is encouraged in the Order with particular regard to the stages and processes of initiation. The study of Tarot is seen as a foundation for engagement with enigmatic series such as the Rosicrucian Emblems or the Mutus Liber.

- XVIII CAPUT XVIII MUSRUM I read that Christopher Columbus often related a singular childhood memory, in which he was stopped, in a Genoan street, by a man who asked the way to Chicago. However, in that same book, upon that same page, it was erroneously reported - as a fact - that Columbus had been credited with the invention of Faraway Places. Perhaps the man found his way to Chicago, arriving there on 11th February, 1955.[7] The fear of dog or wolf is naught to the fear of Sponge Cats in the places of the dead. My favourite God is Anubis. I do not think that I am His favourite Worshipper. This Is My Enquiry.

COMMENTARY (C. XVIII) Musrum by Eric Thacker and Anthony Earnshaw (1968). This chapter is a commentary on the nature of the unconscious.

- XIX CAPUT XIX STATIONEM SOLIS SPRING EQUINOX Aware of our estate, to falter and fail, condemned. We carry our burdens. THE FIRST FALL (vel zelus) And fall into sensation. SUMMER SOLSTICE To revisit the sins of those who sired us. To find help in the most unlikely of hands. To know mercy and the face of it. THE SECOND FALL (vel velanem) Only to fall in the revisiting of it. AUTUMN EQUINOX To reach out only to give our own burden.

THE THIRD FALL (vel abyssus) And fall again. WINTER SOLSTICE To become naked. To become crucified. To die unto ourself. To be removed. And be released from our forgetfulness.

COMMENTARY (C. XIX) The 19th card of the Tarot is the Sun. Whilst A. E. Waite has it illustrated as an innocent child upon a small horse, the reality of the symbolism is entirely stark; it is a Christian depiction of the avenging Christ riding out at Armageddon, his red flag soaked with the blood of sinners. So cogent is this symbolism that it is the only card to which Waite mentions a specific colour in the whole of Pictorial Key to the Tarot. The Stations of the Cross are illustrative of the initiatory journey as are the stations of the Sun in the Path of the Seasons. All may be deducted from the three crucial state transitions of awareness modelled upon the Tree of Life. These are the essential experiences of initiation rather than the dressing up of it. There is no difference, for the Adeptus Exemptus, between any religious conceptualisation of the simple truth of their own existence in the universe. After a particular initiation, even the notion of pursuing any religion becomes its own mystery.

NOTE For insight into the deep symbolism of the Waite-Smith Tarot as intended by A. E. Waite and designed by Pamela Colman Smith, see Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot.

- XX CAPUT XX AEON For this ritual is required a candle, sistrum, bell, dagger and quill. Light the Candle. O BES, PROTECTOR OF HORUS, GUARD ME FROM THE HEAD OF THE SERPENT. Shake the Sistrum. O ISIS, MOTHER OF MAGIC, GRANT ME KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE. Ring the Bell. O OSIRIS, WHO ART UNDYING AND UNBORN, GRANT ME SPEECH. Take up the Dagger. O HORUS, WARRIOR, GRANT VICTORY OVER ALL THAT ASSAILS ME. Take up the Quill. O MA’AT, GRANT ME TRUTH. Blow out the Candle. O HARPOCRATES, GRANT ME SILENCE.

COMMENTARY (C. XX) In this ritual is recapitulated and prophesised the nature of the Aeons in both the context of social change and in every individual life from birth to grave. The progressive use of tools and our relationship to the external world is captured by the six simple actions within the rite. Sometimes the simplest rituals are the most powerful. NOTE For more on the Aeons, see The Magister, pp. 66-84.

- XXI CAPUT XXI FAUX PAS I will Complete. I will not. I will Devote. I will not. I will be Silent. I will not. I will Obey. I will not. I will be Disciplined. I will not. I will conduct the Great Work. I will not. I will consider Other. I will not. I will be True. I will not. I will be Free. I will not. I will Enquire. I will not.

COMMENTARY (C. XXI) These lines summarise the virtues of the ten Sephiroth, commencing with Kether and completing with Malkuth. They each present the possibility to make a false step, which might be considered the sins of initiation, or at the very least a potential vice. Malkuth means ‘Kingdom’ and is spelt with the Hebrew letters; Mem, Lamed, Kaph, Vau and Tau. These five letters derive from the glyphs of five objects; Water, OxGoad, Palm of Hand, Nail and Cross. Thus, the central image of a religion was long-written prior into the language. We can learn to Read the Kingdom as a Story already Told. For Language is the Symbolism of Prophecy.

- ARCANA MINOR 0 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 - 10 - 12 - 14 - 16 - 18 - 20 21 19 - 17 - 15 - 13 - 11 - 9 - 7 - 5 - 3 - 1 0 Having Established our Major Arcana, we will now arrange the Minor Arcana. A triangle will be used to group the concepts and again illustrate curious patterns. In re-arranging the triangles in reverse numerical order, a new arrangement is seen by which a different story is told, both of ascent and descent narratives. The central narrative of this booklet then follows, taking the Major Arcana in a unique sequence. This sequence commences with the Fool (0), and then works through the Even numbers of the Major Arcana, i.e. High Priestess (2), Emperor (4), etc. through to Judgement (20) until it reaches the World (21). The story then returns through the remaining Odd cards in reverse, starting with the Sun (19) which re-ignites the light from nothing (0) and then follows the Path of Return back to the Fool (0).

PENTACLES Hold. Validate. Check. Save. Divest. Measure. Learn. Work. Enjoy. Complete. Complete. Enjoy. Work. Learn. Measure. Divest. Save. Check. Validate. Hold.

SWORDS Choose. Wait. Separate. Peace. Plot. Navigate. Watch. Look. Break. Ruin. Ruin. Break. Look. Watch. Navigate. Plot. Peace. Separate. Wait. Choose.

CUPS Give. Relate. Reach. Refuse. Mourn. Grow. Imagine. Believe. Remember. Present. Present. Remember. Believe. Imagine. Grown. Mourn. Refuse. Reach. Relate. Give.

WANDS Own. Plan. Ambition. Invitation. Agreement. Recognition. Response. Movement. Patience. Struggle. Struggle. Patience. Movement. Response. Recognition. Agreement. Invitation. Ambition. Plan. Own.

- ARITHMUS ONES Hold. Choose. Give. Own. TWOS Validate. Wait. Relate. Plan. THREES Check. Separate. Reach. Ambition. FOURS Save. Peace. Refuse. Invitation. FIVES Divest. Plot. Mourn. Agreement. SIXES Measure. Navigate. Grow. Recognition. SEVENS Learn. Watch. Imagine. Response. EIGHTS Work. Look. Believe. Movement. NINES Enjoy. Break. Remember. Patience. TENS Complete. Ruin. Present. Struggle.

- TO COURT COMPLETION Although not utilised in the narrative of this particular book, for the sake of completion, I provide here a set of keywords for the Court Cards in the context of this present work. We will return to these cards in The Fig Tree, the companion book to The Mountain of Myrrh, which might be considered to provide a KEY to this ROSE. The Court Cards can be considered as Gates to Sixteen Types of Ritual. In order to work with a card, place it out somewhere obvious to you that is “in the way”. It is more powerful if it is also uncomfortably public, without explanation. NOT on a special altar, etc., which is only applicable to a lower level of magic. Your natural inclination to move it “out of the way” will actually provide the energy and connection for the card to be activated in your immediate situation. Once the situation has been changed, return the card immediately to your deck - it should be with a certain sense of relief. This powerful mechanism of magic is built on the principles of incorporation and utilisation, working without “lust of result”.

- 16 RITUALS PAGES Invoke a Channel for … PENTACLES better finance. SWORDS better learning. CUPS better relationship. WANDS better accomplishment. KNIGHTS Activate a Response to … PENTACLES lack of resources. SWORDS lack of clarity. CUPS lack of support. WANDS lack of opportunity. QUEENS Evoke a Connection with … PENTACLES physical health SWORDS mental health CUPS emotional health WANDS self-worth KINGS Manifest a demonstration of … PENTACLES wealth SWORDS truth CUPS love WANDS status

NOTE The astute reader of our works will discern that these sixteen rituals are intimated in the introductory-level Tarot book, Tarot Flip (p. 8). The purpose of teaching tarot (for the Order) is as an experiential language of initiation. All students are prepared for initiation if they so choose.

We now turn to the narrative of this Work, following a unique sequence of the Major Arcana. This narrative contains a selection of commentaries brief enough to elucidate the structure without interruption of the flow of the sequence.

- PRELUDE Here it is. It is incomplete. But it is here. It is for you alone. But it is not about you. It is about everything. But it means nothing. It is good. But not about anything. It is perfect in its imperfection. As all teaching. It is words. And the power of words. It is a similitude. But that can be recognised. It is a dream of something better. As we are. It has no end. But it is present.

Here it is.

-0It was dawn and the fire had gone out save the flickers tracing across an ancient juniper branch. Across the mountains, bells were tolling, and the lamentations of priestesses were being written into the clouds now hanging motionless beneath a white sun. As was custom in those times, eleven and one thousand doves had been released, each stained with the blood of sacrifice. Wherever one cast one’s eye, the sky was littered with blood, with beating tears, scattered in motion across the heavens. Upon the mountains, on a particular peak, a young man gazed across the cities and towns that were only now awakening to the news. He looked up from the circle traced about him and whispered to himself, "It is so, then. God has died". His dog, if it had any opinion on the matter at all, kept it to himself and simply cocked his head to one side. "Now," the Prince said, nodding, "it is time to return home".

- II It was a little after dawn and the bells had fallen as silent as speech. In the empty light of the sanctuary, those who had long worshipped, remained or returned. There were many who sat, still and stunned, amongst the feathers fallen from the sky. Where she herself sat, no echo came. Her sin and suffering lay forgotten behind her on yesterday's altar. In her hands she held the spell of redemption, upon which she had written the words; Today. One. Reality. Always. Here. She contemplated the virtues, she contemplated the vices. She mused upon the tasks ahead of her. Behind her, the veil simply lifted itself free in the warm breeze and joined the feathers and blood upon the courtyard stone. She stood up between the pillars. "Because it was always time", she said, to no-one in particular.

- IV The sun had not yet taken its station in the sky, and yet all the world was aflame with glory. The endless acres of wheat marched in the hot breeze like the burnished helms of armies without number, gold upon gold, falling upon the walls of the burning cities. The Man of the Red Robe knelt in front of his own throne, letting the dust of the ground cascade between his fingers. About him, the horns blew at every horizon, calling for mercy, for justice, for peace, for god, for all the things lost in war. "Time to take control," he announced. His command was relayed - as swiftly as a dry wind in barren times to those who stood waiting in the boundless fields, to those who outnumbered even the blades of grass beneath their impatient feet.

- VI They knew it noon for no shadow was cast upon their tryst. In the garden they met and the blooms of the Tree burnt like the fire in their eyes. "Kiss me", she hissed, so as not to wake the watching Angel. He did, and Heaven was confounded.

- VIII And later that day, that day of unbidden grace, shortly after the lion had consumed the body of the king and made whole the wolf, she arrived at the Gladden Glade. Her way had bedecked her with flowers, and the honey of her hair shone like the summer sun. Her naked feet upon the worn stone of the temple steps called the very earth to exult her in gleaming veins of silver, of mercury, and of copper. Those who tended the last stars bowed their blind eyes as she entered through the temple gate and approached the one who waited within. "I am the Fear of Beauty", she spoke to Him who had devoured god and whose skin was no more than everything that existed. "You are Mercy and it is time for us to undo this World".

-XAnd before that golden dawn, that herald of the everlasting day, the great circles of heaven turned a final time as though they were the gears of a grand clockwork museum. All was stilled, the clouds astonished; and in that moment, no baby cried, no woman wept, and no man stood. The fragrance of Raptura, the most ancient incense, made from the leaves taken out of Eden and lit by the last hands on earth or in heaven, rose above the altar. A final breath came from the Beast and the smoke above the ashes coiled into itself, and against all nature, bound itself in impossible knots. The wheel turned and toppled from its axle. Everything became undone; the vessels were shattered, the lights extinguished, and the sparks of the engine of creation scattered beyond time's own knowledge. The moving likeness of eternity reversed itself and everything began again. And again. And again.

- XII The past is an ocean full of stars that may or may not have ever been, endless in its possibility. In that darkening ocean sleeps an ancient god, who is all that was never was; the Lord of Unfulfilled Desire, He is called, and in some tongues, strange and barbaric, his name means He Who is Regret. He hangs suspended above all the Aeythers, the Archons and the Worlds without end and number. He is fixed only at the highest point, the singularity from which all proceeds, even He, All that was Never to Be. A Great Mystery, indeed. The Necessity of Nothing. An event horizon shrouds his diffusion in everything that is done; an endless, limitless light without edge. Silence then, from nothing, in nothing, outside of nothing. And yet, and yet ... this.

- XIV This Angel, She is Alchemy. The Furnace of Jerusalem and the Dew of Heaven are of Her. This Angel, She is Eternity. Her Wings are the Experience of Everything that Lives. True, She is her Presence as No Other. She comes to those who have left everything behind. Those who have laboured in the vineyard. Those who have worked in the workshop. Her eyes, oh her eyes see through everything. Her intense curiosity pours through and removes you from yourself. You are Born to Her. Sweetly. Cleanly. Gently. She Cuts the Cord. It is more of Fear than it is of Love, yet Equal in the Crucible. Her mystery is alike nothing else but Her. The touch of Her trembles Existence. The embrace of Her is to know everything in its own simplicity. Out of the Darkness of Every Night, her Light comes. She stands between us and heaven. Oh! Her hands reach down to us!

- XVI From out of the ruins come the hod-carriers of the bricks of babel. The architects, the planners. The alchemists and magicians. The builders, the creators. The artists, the engineers. The sailors and soldiers who survived intact. The Diplomats and Peacemakers. The doctors, the nurses. The teachers, the leaders who worked together. The dreamers. The workers. All who live to build against disaster. These bricks are made of imagination become real. These towers are manifestation in the hands of those who know the one true secret of creation; only the past and future can be built - the present is naught but the foundation.

COMMENTARY The "foundation" here refers of course to Yesod, as does the nature of the bricks (imagination). In the original biblical verse, the bricks of the Tower of Babel are described with the same Hebrew word from which we also get "moon", which is usually taken to refer to the bricks being "white as the moon". In Kabbalah, of course, that correspondence is much deeper. The Tower is built from imagination to reflect the divine. "Lest it be built in the divine name, it is built for naught".

- XVIII Such reflected light upon these deeper waters, lost in the dark. The Moon wades out into the oceans. Her path but the echo of memory writ upon the waves. In our bodies her tide turns. Such mystery, such difference between the surface and the swimming. Such fear, to tread between the pillars of duality, to open it all. Such terror, to be rendered by both the dog and the wolf. Such loss, to be born of habit and to die in nothing. Yet a deeper mystery, secret upon secret; Her reflection is how we know Her. Just like ourselves, then. We are also only here because we are dead to the light that shines upon us.

- XX Your arms spell light. Cast out of the earth of Eden, we rise to the clamour of angels. The resurrection engine churns and spits us out like a mouth between the rotting teeth of broken tombs. Fire is upon our tongues; we speak in the language of the reborn. We go to where we look; those who look up, ascend, those who but look to the dirt, descend. The Light is Extended beyond Being. At last the line is levelled, at last the true word spoken in divine determination. Everything we have made is built again before us in a moment. Some are shamed, some are settled, and others satisfied. This is the revelation of sin, to have wasted such time on such matter. But above all, the banner beckons, the clarion call of time announces both our end and beginning.

- XXI A PRAYER FOR PASSAGE O World. O Temple. O Thought. O Nature. O Light. O Service. O Love. O All. O Edge. O One. O Nothing. O Everything. O Nothing at All.

COMMENTARY This is merely a list of everything, from the Sephirah of Malkuth up the Tree of Life, including the "Ain Soph Aur" or three states of "nothingness" above the Tree. It is also a sequence of prayer, rising through the states as meditation or contemplation (or ritual or other ritualised physical activity such as dancing, sex, walking, running, yoga, drumming, etc.) deepens.

- XIX SMALL ENOUGH TO BE LOST, BRIGHT ENOUGH TO BE REMEMBERED In unbearable nothing, an ache, a spark, a remnant of ruin. It collapses into itself, becomes itself, knows itself as one. It becomes light, radiance, fire upon the dark. A sun. A centre. An Illumination. It grows like a child, races into being like a horse. It becomes everything as itself, in infinite patterns. You. You are one pattern of that light. Shining so that you forgot for a moment. You are seen.

- XVII And in the night, the first stars are seen. They trace the heavens with signs and portents. We look up, are reminded of significance. Some reach, some cower, some shout and others pray. Some set their sights by them, and these are they who travel. Lo, let us journey together. The twelve tribes of the stellar realm shall meet by sacred stone. There we dance, there we feast, there we make love and sing. Above, the stars oversee.

- XV Afterwards, after the delight, each goes to their own silence. And in that silence, a voice. A whisper like the hiss of a torch burning upside-down. We write: What beast lies? What shadow is cast by the bright light untold? What lust is sated in the temples of midnight? What fear comes in love? What does this pain serve us? Where do we go when we watch ourselves? What do we do to let ourselves surrender to our nature? What thoughts cannot be controlled? What is this that stands before me? What is the World if not but for its taking? And too late, we realise Satan is not our Accuser, he is our Questioner.

- XIII And Death. A dark sail on the horizon, a ship which takes us home. A father slain in battle, protecting his tribe. A mother killed in birth, giving life to her child. A great abyss, where death lives not. A lover of god lost in exemption, discovering everything. A magician of power, having given his soul. A teller of truth slain by many, cleaving to that truth. A veil, parted by the final breath upon the cross. A rose blooming, giving honey to the bees. A thought taking shape, impure in its matter. A dream, gone upon awakening. A piece of coal, warming the diamond-cutter. It is true, most certain, then. Death is merely the Alchemy of Life.

- XI After the Dark Hours, The Things we Have Done, We at last arrive at the Hall of Double Truth. Above, a Wheel is Shattered But We are Safe at the Axis. Ahead, She Awaits Who is the Measure of the Gods. And before we even open our mouth To Lie, Our Heart is Torn Out and Weighed. The Actions of our Life are but A Feather in the Torrent of Her Truth. It is the One Most Important Thing. It is What Your Father Never Said. It is What Your Mother Cried About in Silence. It is What you Lost to Love. It is What You Regret Fighting For. It is a Negative Confession. It is the Law of Reality. It is Everything You Thought. And Nothing You Imagined. It is a Coming Forth by Day.

Endure! Beyond those Holy Balances The Pillars of Dawn Await Us.

COMMENTARY We are returning now back along the odd numbers, so we come to Justice. In the narrative of the even numbers, we have the Wheel (10) before Justice (11), so we note the Wheel on the way back, as we are at the centre point of the series - Justice (11) & Wheel (10) are both pivot points of a different nature, like two sides of the same coin. In effect, one is the image of fate/destiny and the other fortune/luck. The 10 lines commencing "it is the one most important thing" relate to the Sephiroth in a context of making a negative confession.

- IX The Man Looked Down from on High, At the Glades, the Temples and Ruins Of his Way. His Eyes were as Light. Ancient as All the Seen Days, Mystery of all those Days Unknown. His Staff was carved with the Letters Of Experience; An Ox, the manner of his journey; A House, made empty for the Guest; A Camel, self-unto-self in the Wastelands of the Abyss; A Door, through which Creation comes; A Window, through which Light shines upon that Creation; A Nail, to crucify us on the cross of Existence; A Sword, to choose on which side we will fight; A Fence, to protect our Soul; A Snake, to question all that is above the ground; A Fist, holding the seed of life; A Palm, turning fate into destiny; A Goad, punishment in the Temple of Truth; Water, in which we wash before the covenant; A Seed, death not yet realised; A Prop, his own staff held by an Angel; An Eye, to see the Beast;

A Mouth, to raise Towers into Heaven; A Hook, to take us out of the World, One by One; The Back of a Head, a monkey made of flesh and dreams; A Head itself, lit by its own illumination; A Tooth, a tongue of fire to taste wisdom; and A Cross, the signature of God, hidden in All. The Man took his Staff, He took his Light, And made his Way To write a New Story.

COMMENTARY In this, the Hermit, we reflect upon the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet and the Paths of the Tree of Life, whom the Hermit has become as the "Ancient of Days". He is no longer following a way, he is the way.

- VII Returning from the City of Pyramids Across the Great Divide The Prince of Heavens Descends. His Belt is the Stars of Heaven, Upon his Shoulders the Sun and Moon. He Bears the Soul of All. Empty in armour, Elect of those who bear the Grail, To Return to His Estate; Pour Innocent Blood upon Dead Earth. Bright Glory of Winged Chariot! Strange Creatures, Once a Man, Once a Woman, Made Mysterious to each in their division, Draw his reign close.

-VAnd in the Churches built of Bones, The Temples built of Flesh, The Halls echo in strange Lament To Gods once Lost. Now comes the Holy War, The Black Glass Prison, A Game of Blood Beads, Belief upon Belief like the Walls Of the Bull's Labyrinth. The Prince Escapes. The Man of the Red Robe Marches to Claim his Throne. It is Revealed, All Faith Shattered, The Death of Divinity; The Holy Living Creatures Fall from the Heaven, The Bright Wheels collapse into Themselves, The Thrones Pass into Shadow, They who are Brilliant are Exiled, Fiery Serpents Kiss the Ground and Eat of Dust,

The King is Killed by his people, God Dies on a Cross, The Sons of God, We are Scattered, Angel Feathers soaked in blood, And Flames of Cold Fire consume All that Remains. The Last Priest looks up To a White Sun in an Empty Sky.

COMMENTARY The Hierophant corresponds to Taurus, the Bull, and is both "revealer of the sacred" and the prison of belief itself. As we now return back to the start of our story, we discover why in the first few sections there had been a war; it is always a war of belief. The verse of 10 lines here corresponds to the Sephiroth and the ten elements of the "Body of God" as described by Crowley in 777.

- III Nature is Her Own Rebellion. Life Teaches us to Live, To Each Our Own Garden Given. The Wheat Fields Flourish, Waterfalls Innumerable, The Dawn Star, the Day Star, The Night Star Resume Their Watch. The Queen of Heaven Rules the Earth. All is One. Then The Other, a Second. In Relationship a Third. Falling Between the Ideal and the Actual. Comes Matter. Then Motion in Time, the Living Likeness of Eternity. Defined into Self by What is Above. It Discovers Its Bliss. It Becomes a Thought. And Is Realised as Being In the Fulfilment of All. And, Forgetting, the Prince Returns To the Distant Mountain.

COMMENTARY As we reach the penultimate card of the Empress, corresponding to Venus, the only symbol to cover the whole Tree, we look at the concept of Unity in its ten divisions through what Crowley calls the Naples Arrangement. It is the bedrock of numerology.

-IThe first Magician looked up To the Sky. The Bells had Fallen Silent Heaven Emptied of its Flock. He Spoke. He Told the Story of Everything, How It Came to Be, How it was Told, How it Came to End. How, Most of All, How it was Below, As it was Above. And Above, How it was as Below. He Stood at the Altar Of the Universe And His Voice Brought Forth Wonders With Words, Just Words. What it is like to Live; What it is like to Dream; What it is like to Think;

What it is like to Feel; What it is like to Wake Up; What it is like to Love; What it is like to Fear; What it is like to Die; What it is like to be Reborn; What it is like to be God. And then he set forth, To Sweep the Old Temples Clean.

- FINIS THE FIG TREE UPON THE MOUNTAIN OF MYRRH Isis stays the hand of Horus, and bids him plant a tree. Ra and Osiris unite upon the mountain of dawn. Set and Typhon unite in the garden of spices. All that is withered in the Kingdom is not wasted. This blood will rose-bloom in the valley of thorns. The King shall stand between Horus and Set. He shall take his place in the Double Hall of Maat. Great Mother, Bless the Fifty Gates. Eternal Father, Erect the Pillar. And Atop the Mountain, the fig tree blooms.

COMMENTARY Crowley includes in his list of correspondences, 777, ‘The Mountain of Myrrh’ (HR HMVR) which he provides as having the identical value of 456 to the word for ‘Fig’ or ‘Fig Tree’, (ThANH). In this, at least and at last, he agrees with A. E. Waite, who wrote “The greatest mystery of all is the blossoming of the withered figtree”.[8] Although Waite also suggested this symbolism was vel infra cingulum.[9] This final chapter is inspired by the Hours of Isis (1928), by Evelyn Eaton (1902 - 1983). NOTE “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.” [Song of Solomon 4:6]

- EPILOGUE "'What are your fees?' inquired Guyal cautiously. 'I respond to three questions,' stated the augur. 'For twenty terces I phrase the answer in clear and actionable language; for ten I use the language of cant, which occasionally admits of ambiguity; for five, I speak a parable which you must interpret as you will; and for one terce, I babble in an unknown tongue.' - The Dying Earth, Jack Vance (1950).

Those interested in the authentic spiritual path of the Western Esoteric Initiatory System are invited to enter the Crucible. www.marcuskatz.net

[1]

[2]

First published in Nurse Truelove’s Book for Children (1755).

A. E. Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Originally published in Liber Aculeus, ‘The Book of the Thorn’, a handbook for students of the Order of the Everlasting Day. [4] Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth, p. 89. [5] Ibid. [6] The Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius, with An English Translation by John C. Rolfe. London 1927, Book I, section XIV. [7] Whilst not everything has a significant meaning, everything remains connected. [8] A. E. Waite, Steps to the Crown (1906). [9] A. E. Waite, The Secret Doctrine in Israel (1913), p. 96. [3]