ROTAE I Trumps 0 to 7Glossary
A, Aleph, Alpha
Ain, Ain Soph, Ain Soph Aur
Akasha
Alchemy
Amrita Nadi
Asia
Astral Light
Babylon
Central Asia
Chakras
Color
Creation Myths
Crystal, Crystal Structure
Demiurgos
Dwapara Yuga
Ether
Evocation
Evolution
Four Ethers
Four Worlds
Geodesy
Harmonic Convergence
Invocation
Jupiter
Kali Yuga
Karma
Light
Lila
Magic/Magus
Mars
Measure
Mercury
Moon
Myth
Nadi
Noëtic
Sakhya (Sathya, Sattva, Sathia) Yuga
Saturn
Siddhis
Six Doctrines
Sirius
Skandhas
Sufi / Sufism
Synchronicity
Tolkien, J.R.R.
Treta Yuga
Venus
Vibration
Yoga
Yuga
Zen
A, Aleph, Alpha
The first letter, the first sound, the "primal inhaling": Aaahhh. Represents all that is newly manifest, just about to manifest, or even just prior to manifest. As "Atha", whereby the T is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Tau, the Alpha is also the Omega, or, in Hebrew, the T. When all ending is also seen as a beginning, and all beginning also an ending, then A is O, the "primal exhaling", or Tau is also Aleph, and Omega Alpha, and all letters unite to, ultimately, sing the praise of the manifest-and-unmanifest primal all-pervading force, known as Tao, God or All and One.
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Ain, Ain Soph, Ain Soph Aur
The Hebrew wording for "unfathomable God", the primal agent, the One and All. It is graphically shown to encompass the Tree of Life by a triple circle. The inner circle is Ain, which means "It", "Being" or also "Nothing"; second Ain Soph means "that which has no limit(s)"; Ain Soph Aur, which encompasses all of Creation, means "the eternal divine Emanation, limitless and eternal".
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Akasha
The Sanskrit word for Ether. Within the Hindu system of the Tattwas, which correspond to the five elements, Akasha is the highest, "divine" impulse. It is therefore, as "pure Akasha" also used as a definition of God. It is seen as Divine Emanation, is limitless and extends throughout the universe. In Alchemy, it is the "prima quintessentia". If "Double-Magnetic Fluid Light" is the whole "name of God", then Akasha is Light. Its first manifestation is Fire, then it further "splits" to create the elements and the Four Ethers (see: Ether). Akasha is therefore also the "primal, etheral impulse", the purest form of the life-giving force commonly named Shakti (yet existent in a prior state to its manifestation). See also Light and Color. See also Appendix 6: Akasha.
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Alchemy
Alchemy is of two kinds: Spiritual and Material. The spiritual Alchemy is the main object of the Tarot. Within this realm, all ancient wisdom coincides. Yoga, Tantra, Meditation of all systems and beliefs, all are concerned with "inner enlightenment", which is simply another word for Alchemy. The pages of the Book of Wisdom, the cards of the Tarot, are all symbolic stimuli, indicators of direction, guardians and protectors of "the path". Man is expected to develop, evolve, search for God, and finally "become as God". This is the spiritual alchemic process, leading either to the innermost centre of the Heart, or to the highest merging with the divine Emanation. In the end, both processes are the same.
Material Alchemy is also a part of the Tarot. It is hinted at through the ever-evolving symbolism. By going through the spiritual stages, Man can also follow a path of material transmutation, whose quality, nevertheless, will depend on his or her spiritual progress. For a closer analysis of Material Alchemy, see the Appendix 7: Alchemy.
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Amrita Nadi
"The nerve or channel through which the nectar of immortal bliss flows." The transcendent form, intuited as divine reality, rising out of the Heart, which is the very Self, into the Light of God. Thus the human "Form" becomes the "Form of God". It is the ultimate outcome of spontaneous, intuitive meditation fixed in the 4th Anahata Chakra, the Heart. This is the ultimate stage of Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of Devotion, of Submission.
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Asia
see Central Asia
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Astral Light
see Light
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Babylon
see Central Asia
To the topCentral Asia
Used as metaphor for the mingling and merging of all known exoteric and esoteric wisdom-systems from Egypt to China, from Mongolia to India, Ceylon and Thailand. The reasons for their meeting in the area roughly bordered by Afghanistan, Turkestan, Persia, Mongolia, Tibet and China are – exoterically – to be found in the two conferences of learned wise men, the first ca. 530 B.C. in Babylon, the second ca. 570 A.D. in Ktesiphon.
In Babylon, in the presence of Pythagoras, of Zarathustra, direct disciples of Buddha and Mahavira Jain, the Magi of Persia, the exiled Jews, and missions from Mongolia, Turkestan and Afghanistan, the oldest traditions were gathered and compared. Due to the violence of the times, and the equally present Chaldean Astrologers could well foresee a worsening during the following centuries, at the end of the Babylonian conference it was decided to save all that remained from ancient times (remnants of Holy Science). Thus, as the area between the rivers Syr Darya and Amu Darya were for the next thousand years to remain in uncontested prosperity, in peace, this area of Central Asia was chosen. And Astrology proved true: this area escaped the Assyrian, later Babylonian, Greek and Roman domination. Bordering on Mongolia and Tibet, the remains of Holy Science, among which the Tarot constitute the central hieroglyphic core, were slowly aligned with the "religion" of the Great Spirit. This, in China is related to Taoism and Ch’an (Open Sky, later: Zen), in Mongolia and Siberia with Shamanism, and thus relates to the indigenous religions and traditions of the two Americas. These are related to Polynesia, the Philippines and Indonesia, an indirect "proof" for the previous existence of the central-Pacific Mu. So Central Asia defines the region where all "old World" religion and tradition touched the pervasive Great Spirit of Nordic and "new World" origin.
During the conference at Ktesiphon, 570 A.D., Mohammed's arrival was imminent, Christianity had split and become the religion of power in the West, its last true remains were limited to the Near East and Cappadocia. The extremely bloody repression of the Gnostics, as also of Christians of another creed, had made Christianity unacceptable for the Near East, where most of the bloody massacres had taken place. The Magi were still the ruling priestly caste in Persia, associated with the creed of Zoroaster, but within 50 years neither Persia nor Egypt nor even Byzantium in its old state existed anymore: the Moslem invasions had wiped all from the map, soon to reach Spain and India. Also, all countries of the Mediterranean were then affected by the plague, killing 100 million people within 120 years. This plague, and the Black Death of the European Middle Ages, affected only the heavily populated plains and sea-shores, and only slightly touched the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Again, the conference of wise men, called to consult with the Persian king Chosru I., decided to save the original teachings, as they were still available, from the coming onslaught. The last Magi, also to disappear within a generation, saved the wisdom of Zarathustra (Zoroaster), Jesus Christ, of Sokrates, Pythagoras Plato, the Gnostics of Egypt, etc., by moving it also to Central Asia, probably via Mossul. And again, Central Asia proved to be the perfect place for its preservation, for it was not touched by any violence up to the time of Tschingis Khan (1157-1227). From this time on, Holy Science either moved back West, or was secreted away even further, to Tibet, Afghanistan and Kashmir. The ancient wisdom of Mediterranean Europe, the Near East, India, and Asia was saved from the onslaught of time. Its reappearance in the West is traced within the introductory chapters of this study.
In the Americas, a very similar wisdom-system also survived, yet – at the arrival of the Europeans – had nowhere to go to preserve it intact. Thus only highly secretive tribal teachings, plus the archaeological evidence fortunately to be found, could eventually re-emerge, in the latter half of the 20th century.
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Chakras
The Oriental equivalent of the Sephirot within the Tree of Life. As physical, psychic-astral or vital-emotional, and mental-noetic centres within the body, they serve as focus-points within the flow of the Life-Force, Shakti. Numbered 5, 7, 12 or 13, they are referred to within the text: Trump 13 and in a general way, as below:
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Color
see Light
To the topCreation Myths
see Appendix 3: Creation Myth: J.R.R. Tolkien and Appendix 9: Yuga, High Time, Venus, Myth.
To the topCrystal, Crystal Structure
see also Appendix 8: Geodesy, Crystal Structure and Harmonic Convergence
The Quartz crystal vibrates at a rate of 786.000/millisecond, which is much faster than the speed of light. Per second, by comparison, the pure Quartz, vibrates 786.000.000 times.
Therefore, it is said that quartz in fact is "captured light", heightened in its vibrational rhythm through the dense "encapsulating" structure of matter. In this way, the densest state reflects the most ethereal, called: "Fluid Light."
Planet Earth, as mentioned within the text, may be seen as a giant crystal. This also applies to all other planetary bodies. The Sun, in this view, is in a stage of "primal crystallisation". What is hot and fiery, in constant atomic fusion, is the crystalline structure prior to its formative state. In this, the crystal is still reflective of the primal "fiat lux", the first "akashic" impulse that is symbolised by Yod (of Yod Hé Vau Hé), the most rarefied first Ether, the Reflective Ether. For Man, living within the binary Earth-Moon-Sphere, only the deep interior of the Earth is both in a state of liquid and gradually solidifying crystallisation. But it is this core, about 92 % of the total mass, that vibrates in accord with the other celestial bodies. Geodesy explores this rate of vibration, and studies its manifestation on the outside terrestrial crust. The Moon, in spite of its outer appearance, which is only a thin layer of spatial debris and slow material disintegration, is almost wholly of crystalline structure. It thus emanates vibrations of high intensity, not smoothened by a "buffer-zone" on the surface. This is the "central secret" of the Moon. As a crystal, the Moon also has a very high potency to reflect: the Suns’ rays, and the transmuted energies of planet Earth. This last therefore depends on how Earth achieves its primal "duty" towards the solar system and the universe. For also planets, as a whole, transmute energies. As reflective of what occurs on and within Earth, the Moon has always been seen in widely different aspects. Astrology (which is not a true theme of this study) has various systematic conclusions to offer, which should be seen in light of the crystal vibratory functions of the Moon. Within the solar system, only Venus and Mars have a "buffer-zone" to modulate their interior crystal vibrations. Venus, as actually more four- and five-dimensional that physically wholly manifested, filters most or even all possibly violent, extreme, hyper-impulsive inner vibrations through its thick atmosphere. Thus its vibrations are felt as smoothing, harmonious, in accord with the beneficent aspects of the central Sun, whose light and vibrations it reflects most powerfully. It is, in other words, a benign crystal
Mars has a very thin atmosphere, which cannot modify its inner-core crystal vibrations. Thus the emanations from its crystalline core go unfiltered, yet they pass through a large solid zone on the surface. Thus Mars’ vibrational quality is very material, "Earth-like", dense, and – reflective of the Sun – also fiery and highly dynamic
Mercury is a small crystal of high intensity. Through its immediate neighborhood to the Sun, even a small crystal acquires strong powers. Fortunately, the interior quality of this crystal is in the violet, "akashic", ethereal range, for otherwise its emanations, direct reflections of the Sun, could act like a deadly laser-beam, highly concentrated, possibly incontrollable. Thus Mercury, by symbolism, is the dynamic messenger, a crystal of strong power, with a very high vibratory rate. Its inner motion is extreme, for the Sun looms as a giant moon, covering a great part of the visible sky, and thus perpetual dynamic "explosions" occur within the planet. This adds even more to its already primal dynamic force. For the great comfort of this solar system, the Suns’ emanations, which are magnified 3000-fold by Mercury (within the mental-noetic sphere), are fundamentally beneficent. Any imbalances are due to the fact that this sun is still rather young, "inexperienced", still in a pubertary state. . Jupiter and Saturn, both giant gaseous planets, are in the "pre-crystallised" states symbolised by the Luminous and Reflective Ethers. Their solid Chymic and Vital Ethers are limited to a small core. Thus their emanations are highly ethereal, within the higher range of "akashic" influence; this lends them great power in the mental-noetic spheres, symbolic of universal compassion.
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Demiurgos
A name for the "planetary intelligence". It corresponds to the "creative will", as put into action for the manifestation of the terrestrial plane. As an Intelligence, reflective of God’s intent, the Demiurgos and the demiurgic impulses reign the entire Earth-Moon Sphere. As regards the Tarot, the Demiurgos is the supreme intelligence "in charge" of and serving the physical, psychic-astral and mental-noetic triple sphere of the Earth-Moon-Belt-Zone. The "religions" most concerned with a positive interaction with the Demiurgos are those inspired by the Great Spirit, Amero-Indian traditions, and also Shamanism and Taoism.
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Dwapara Yuga
see Yuga
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Ether
The fifth Element, the primal impulse, giving rise to the four "gross" elements forming and giving form to all of manifest, and also terrestrial, creation. In Hinduism, where the five elements are called the Tattwas, Ether is Akasha, and this is the term mainly employed in this study. For Akasha splits into the "Four Ethers", the Chymic Ether, the Vital Ether, the Luminous Ether, and the Reflective Ether. These, as subtle "akashic" influences and impulses, distribute through the triple body of Man through the inner channels, the Nadi, which interconnect the Chakras.
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Evocation
see also Invocation
The possibility, by the use of "magic force", actually better called "applied Shakti" (Life Force), to make a Being of higher or simply other dimensions appear in a physically discernible form. This aligns with elements of conjuring and entreating, normally associated with a plea, a grave reason to seek guidance – an entreaty or solemn appeal towards "Higher Beings". Thus, these ethereal Beings (for the "Beings of the Elements" should not be met through evocation, but rather through "Invocation"), are called forth to answer a deep spiritual request – usually through very well-prepared magic preparations, fit by color and vibration to "allow the Being to materialise", either ethereally, or at least in some way appreciable through the senses. The "senses" hereby are seven and more, for inspiration and intuition also count among the senses, as well as "sensing vibrational phenomena", etc. This is the action of high concentrated will. But human will, when totally purified and made to align with divine will, is also "the will of God", when applied to Beings who necessarily (within the solar system) are in some kind of contact with Man. The possibilities of evocation cannot be described fully, for they make up a primal instruction of many pages, too many for even three books. Still, the reader is referred within the bibliography to studies which profoundly (and soundly) enter this consideration. As also mentioned within the Index: "Invocation", neither invocation nor evocation should be attempted without having studied the Tarot as "stages of enlightenment" from Trump 1 to Trump 16 at least. Within Astrology and Alchemy the procedures vary, yet Man is always made up of a basic "Three-Centred Being", expandable by effort and purification to a "double-luminous four-fold Being", whose complete scope aligns with the total of spiritually perceivable dimensions – and no living Man has yet defined this total scope, nor the whole number of perceivable dimensions. As has graphically been pointed out within the text, Trump 16 reflects the double-polar luminosity of the "Whole Man", who then may decide upon a course of "inner fusion" (the "Alchemic Wedding"), or – as this may not be possible within one actual life-time ("this life: Now") – pursue courses associated with Jnana Yoga (the Yoga of Wisdom), or very individual "Raja Yoga", within whose context the possibilities of invocation and/or evocation are certainly possible. Therefore, the individual student may decide, whether one or the other practice is within his/her scope, helpful towards his/her "completion" or maybe only a passing phase of "heightened curiosity". Still, it is also beyond doubt a path unto itself, which leads to an acquaintance with "elemental spirits", "planetary rulers", Beings of the planetary spheres, inclusive of the Sun, and therefore towards an intimacy with the ethereal Beings living within the same spiritual "boundaries" as Man also – be it by dimensions or within the outer reality of Orion’s Arm, part of this Milky Way Galaxy.
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Evolution
This term is throughout used to describe "developing, unfolding" processes, and has no bearing on any scientific doctrines. Chapter 2 is meant to indicate a more or less definite point in time – variously between 320.000 and 400.000 years ago, as referred to by myths and also the Sumerian clay tablets – when Man in his present physical, psychical and mental form arose. Man has existed before that time, yet there is no proof as to his/her inner semblance to Man today. In any case, human foot-steps have been found alongside the imprints of Dinosaurs at Glenn Rose, Texas, as also elsewhere – which would prove beyond all "evolutionary theory" that physical Man has inhabited Earth for a very long time. As the Tarot, and also the myths and legends of our ancestors, are only concerned with Man as a spiritual Being, his "evolution" is only regarded as the inner process of his / her emotional, psychic, mental and intuitional/inspirational development.
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Four Ethers
see also Akasha, Ether
The Four Ethers, apart from the processes they are involved in as described within the Trumps, together constitute the whole range of invisible, "akashic" emanations. The main interest in their individual functions resides within the hitherto unclarified phenomena of levitation. The simple experiments, whereby persons and objects are made to lose weight through the interaction of several people, are the consequence of accrued "denseness" or of a focusing of Reflective and Luminous Ether. As most people cannot control their inner composition and "etheric emanation" the weight-lifting experiments are rarely equal in their outcome. Within a heightened state of conscious control of the inner workings of the Ethers a harmonious application of their conscious condensing becomes possible. In this sense, only the working of the Four Ethers can serve to explain the giant constructions of ancient times. Their further application will come when they can be reproduced through technical means, which will then replicate their universal distribution, thus combining their inherent energies to create "Free Energy", levitation-space-ships, "double-magnetic" impulsion engines – all of which will depend only upon a correct focusing of the Ether’s inherent forces.
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Four Worlds
Corresponding abstractly to the Tetragrammaton, Yod Hé Vau Hé, the four spheres of the Quabbala:
- Atziluth, the Archetypal World;
- Briah, the Creative World;
- Yetzirah, the Formative World;
- Assiah, the Active World. In this study, the oriental system of the Four Ethers has been preferred to the "archetypal characterisations" of the Four Worlds.
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Geodesy
see Crystal,
Appendix 8: Geodesy, Crystal Structure, Harmonic Convergence,
Appendix 9: Yuga, High Time, Venus, Myth
To the topHarmonic Convergence
see Appendix 8: Geodesy, Crystal Structure, Harmonic Convergence
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Invocation
Man, as a spiritual Being, may invoke spiritual Entities, Beings, "Angels", "Demons", and Planetary Genii, Intelligences or Rulers. His/her aim in this is to call upon higher, divine instances to further the individuals’ advancement, to protect, to guide, to accord their will with the action undertaken, etc. Seen in this light, there is no doubt concerning the benevolence invoked and possibly accorded. It depends on the purity and ripe maturity of the person. It should be self-evident that "other-dimensional" Beings need not be especially attracted by any members of the human race – at least not by those who reflect the spiritual evolution generally to be observed. Further, in this age of interweaving dimensions, attention must be focused also on the unknowns of this procedure, which also concerns "Evocation". For Man is here dealing with the "higher" worlds of 4, 5, 6, and even higher dimensions. There, today, the individual must be aware that an intense struggle is occurring. Man, "as image of God", is spiritually beyond and potentially unbound by any lower "terrestrial" or "binary earthly-lunar" spheres. If any "lower" spheres gains dominance over the individual, it is his/her own fault, for the Spirit, Mind, and Soul, they are free. Though all dogma of all religions tend to imprison the individual, still the basic fact of potential unlimited freedom of Man is the only true legacy of any religious concepts (and their dogmatic approach only a definite sign of their degeneration within time).
Just as an example, we may mention what certainly occurred, when Man made a first acquaintance with so-called "extraterrestrial unknown flying objects", UFOs. As planet Earth is ruled by a very restricted group of very materially minded oligarchs, as far as mankind is concerned, the very contact with authentic extraterrestrial material is bound to have given rise to an invocation of this sphere. In this invocation, the very material retrieved from crashed vehicles of alien origin was used to establish contact with the unknown species. Mind over matter, and so not only did UFO-technology enter the terrestrial sphere, but via Invocation and actual "channeling" a situation was created for the physical contact to take place. It does now (50 years later) not matter what material was retrieved, what still matters is that humans, by invocation, gave the extraterrestrial Beings a "point of entrance" – which they may otherwise may have not found open. So, with the phenomena of "alien" intrusion – yet hopefully within a constructive, positive collaboration – still on the rise, the "Magus", the person using invocation, must be aware that he/she may also thus contact Beings of other dimensions, which where not on the "gift-list". It is therefore, at the station or sphere indicated by Trumps 1 to 15 (!), not advised to attempt either invocation or evocation practically. Yet the laws of diligence and study made the appearance of the basic "formulae" necessary, for each man or woman is responsible for his/her fate, and later, from a higher view, the suggestions offered within the higher Trumps come to practical application by "down-reference" to the first Trumps (as above so below).
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Jupiter
Fifth planet from the Sun, formerly – prior to the planetary destruction whose remnants now constitute the so-called Asteroid Belt – the sixth planet from the Sun, and perhaps, seen from an "extra-Pluto" planet, also the sixth when entering the solar system from without (today also at fifth place from without). Holy number: 4. Planetary sign:
. Main harmonious "regulatory force" – together with Saturn – within the solar system, being the largest planet. Within the Major Arcana, the Trumps of the Tarot, mainly associated with Trumps 4 and 14, as a sphere of accentuated "power" also with Trumps 16 and 17.
To the topKali Yuga
see Yuga
To the topKarma
Karma has also been called "spiritual blindness". It pertains to action, action that leads to reaction, movement that leads to further consequences, for which the individual must then take responsibility. Thus a "karmic load" is the result of previous actions that have influenced the individual and other people and circumstances as well. This is a far reaching conception. For it includes the notion that for example. any signature of a bill or law which will influence a multitude of other human beings (and maybe also animals, plants, etc.) carries the weight of all these consequences for the individual who fixes his/her signature to this act. Seen in this all-encompassing sense, only very careful action (probably spiritually far removed from any interaction with the physically manifest forces) can ensure any individual impeccability within human life. As Karma includes thought, thought-forms, imaginative forms, physical actions, gestures, etc., all manifestations of a human individual are inducive of "karmic consequences". In the old wisdom of the past, only Lila can save Man from the limiting and inhibiting influences of Karma (which are seen to persist beyond any few life-times, and may even eventually lead to the total disintegration of the individual, "on the downwards-leading spiral road to destruction"). Karma must thereby be overcome by "submission to divine inspiration", "abstinence from all self-willed action", "dissolution of the individual thought-forms", etc. Man must become "a vehicle of pure thought, feeling and action". Emotions must be erased or so far sublimated as to further the flow of Shakti, the Life Force, thus not manifesting as "emotions" anymore. In other words, "Man cannot act from within and on his/her proper initiative". Self-willed action is not only an illusion, but it also leads to unknown consequences possibly burdening Man for ages to come: Karma. For the possible way to elude all the "karmic snares of Maya", the world of illusion, see Lila.
To the topLight
Light is the primal manifestation of the non-created. Fiat Lux.
In the Tetragrammaton formula, this is expressed by the first element to issue forth, to manifest from Akasha or Ether: Fire, Yod. But Yod is not Light in its complete scope, though this may be purported by all followers of the "Luciferic Spirit", who worship not "God as Akasha" but His first emanation, the most ethereal of all elements. Yod is the element Fire, and it may correspond to the highest Ether, the Reflective Ether (see Ether/Akasha), but already the name gives the correct analogy: "reflective", and thus only the bright, warm manifestation of Akasha, not Akasha itself.
As the definition of God has undergone amazing changes with time, God has eventually also been called: the Universal Fluid Oscillator, "Double-magnetic electro-magnetic primal Magnetism", Primal Magnetism – Akasha, or also Fluid Light. Light is hereby seen as fluid, beyond the "speed of light" (which only applies to Yod-Fire as giving light). Even the waves and cosmic radiations, though oscillating, are seen as fluid, the one common denominator of both elements Fire and Water (Yod and Vau).
In whichever spectrum, Light is boundless, eternal, and thereby is an aspect of Eternity. In the analogy applied within Trump 2, Light may be seen graphically as situated "between" or uniting Polarity. It thereby acquires a universal aspect. Primal Polarity, prior to the creation of its definable components, as synonymous with the "Central Magnetic Universal Fluid Oscillator", whose other name is "Fluid Light", achieves a first ethereal manifestation.
In this view Astral Light is Ain; Akashic Light is Ain Soph; Fluid Light is Ain Soph Aur.
Reminiscent of this vision, the mystery-school of the Golden Dawn said: "Between Black and White oscillate the Colors". Thus all of transient manifestation may be called the "Flux of the Colors of Maya", manifesting between Being and Not-Being.
The highest Body of Light may thus also be visualised as an all-encompassing double-luminous Being, which has simply "clothed itself" with the all-encompassing outer aspects of Akashic and Fluid Light. The Cosmic Individual (see Appendix 4:Law of Mutual Self-Preservation) is thereby still the same original Being, only by inner alchemy it has added the subtle qualities to the same inner core, which in this view remains unchanged. This is reminiscent of Bhakta Yoga.
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Lila
See also Karma.
Lila is the action and "way of action and non-action" that evades the consequences of accumulating Karma. Thus neither "good" nor "disadvantageous" subtle astral-mental "imprints" remain with the individual’s Self. Neither in physical life, nor after. The great composer Johannes Brahms, before working on a music piece, first put himself in a mental disposition which would free him from the results of his work. His meditation was framed by the certitude that the divine holy impulse emanating from the One And All reflected itself within himself, he being but a mirror for the divine spark's appearance in the world. Before attempting any new work, he checked the first impulse to create, and first asked himself, actually: asked God, "the most important questions in the world: from where?, why?, where to? . When I then clearly perceive strong vibrations illuminating the inner souls’ creative powers, then I feel able to open myself to inspiration, secure that no evil may result, secure that my souls’ purity shall not be blemished.…" This is a clear example of Lila, action that is preconceived as to not entail any reaction, any reactive counter-movement, nor any further development at all – other than what may appear, manifest itself by the all encompassing forces of "Divine Will". Especially any "magic action" should be very well prepared so as not to entail any consequences within further time. A careful purification of all that pertains to handling the Tarot cards, the I Ching, any magic implements, of all personal surroundings, all these preparations, without and within, are meant to facilitate the free flow of "Lila-inspired action". Also, Arjuna, in the epic battle of the Bhagavad Gita at Kurukshetra, does not hasten into battle – instead, he almost desists and wishes to retire. Only when his actions are proven to be simple expressions of pervasive Divine Will, when he is certain of being free from all action-born retribution, he goes forth, acts, and wins the victory. His action is not karmic action, nor does it stem from "purified wisdom (Jnana) or devotional (Bhakti) insights", it is the free action of Lila, the "god-given intuitive, inspirational right action within the right frame, right place and right time" – thus the "self-action" of the emanational vortex (using a living Being to further "Universal Divine Action").
To the topMagic/Magus
The Magi were a priestly caste in Bactria and later Persia, they can be seen as a "spin-off" of the Aryan movement towards India. Maga, according to Porphyrios (a Greek Neoplatonist), means "the gift of God" or "His compassionate Grace". The Magi were seen as people who were wise in divine knowledge and who served the divine will. Their esoteric centres of teaching, connected to the Central Asian "Sarmoun Brotherhood", moved from the lands around the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, to northern Persia (where they cooperated with Zoroaster (Zarathustra) and helped establish his faith, and thus spread with the Persian invasions to Palestine and Egypt), and finally to Cappadocia, where the Magi finally merged with the Nestorian and Manichäan Christians (to later return to Transcaucasia, Turkestan and even China). The Magi are associated with the safe-keeping of the "Book of Thoth", taking its last withering remains to Arabia and Central Asia.
Magic is an integral part of the Quabbala, in theory associated with "speculative metaphysics", in practice associated with the Major Arkana, the Tarot. The Quabbala sets magic in relation to the Sohar and the Notaricon, giving it the name:" synthesizing and identifying hieroglyphism". The Mystic and Quabbalist (as "student of the Quabbala) are just other names for the practitioner of Magic. It is from Magic that the five elements are retrieved to form a holistic whole of four manifest elements, plus the "divine spark" gives them life.
Magic is concerned with understanding and integrating the five elements. From this, the possibilities of evokation evolve. The practice is always placed under the divine guidance of "divine prescience", and attempts to reflect the action of Divine Emanation. Magic, exoterically, leads to domination of elemental forces, the possibility to invoke them, and also to appeal to "divine synchronicity" to step into action. It is thus a part of Karma Yoga, the Yoga of Action. Esoterically, Magic is concerned with the purification and ripening of the individual. The higher the integration of exterior impulses, from terrestrial to planetary, the higher the inner evolution. In practice, Magic encompasses all systems, Shaman, Sufi, Polynesian, Voodoo (in its benign aspect), Quabbala and Rosicrucian. It is therefore possible to call Magic a "modern science", for its ancient roots are seldom explored. These, practically and theoretically, lie within the Tarot. The powers and forces susceptible to be applied and put to use within Man are all to be found in the first pages of the Book of Wisdom.
In the Orient, Magic is placed under the high guidance and protection of the Boddhisattva Manjushri; his Hindu equivalent is mainly Ganesh, the "Elephant-God". Shiva and the Avatar Krishna are both high adepts of Magic, though more on a cosmic plane.
By integration of Central Asian and Amero-Indian traditions, Magic has turned into a globally oriented "high art". Still, as concerns the individual, it is only a stage, an evolutionary equivalent to certain basic precepts, which do not include the "whole person as a Body of Light". Thus, Magic is superficially classed into two aspects: "invokational", concerning the inner development of Man, and "evokational", concerning the powers Man may acquire. The Magician capable of "passing through the spheres", symbolised by the planets and the Sun, is the highest esoterical station a Magician can reach. Not able to impose his/her will on these spheres, "only" comprehending and possibly integrating them, the practitioner of Magic is of a lower step or elevation than the Quabbalist, though his/her path may lead him forwards to an accomplishment of Alchemy.
Richard Wagner, when he composed the "Götterdämmerung", the "dusk" of the Gods, was dealing the death-blow to the passing old age. But "Dämmerung", in German, means both dusk and dawn, and so a "dawning" of the new Gods is also implied. At his death, in 1883, the dawn of the Magicians, as the "magical renaissance" has been called (Pauwels-Bergier, 1954), had just begun. Today, over 120 years later, thousands of "magic adepts" have issued forth from this renaissance. Theosophy, the rediscovery of the Quabbala, of Alchemy, and of the ancient wisdom, Sacred Science, all led to the reopening of the ancient "mystery-schools". The "magic sciences" have been enriched by the evermore unfolding of ancient, hitherto secret, traditions of indigenous, "primitive", "peasant", Nordic and Amero-Indian Magic. Today, this field of knowledge is extremely wide-spanned. A "sorcerer" of the scope of Don Juan (Castaneda), imagined "magicians and alchemists" of authors like Paolo Coelho, not to speak of their predecessors as mentioned by Dionne Fortune and others, all have "made their way around the globe", anyone halfway educated and interested has at least heard and maybe considered these aspects of "modern magic". Brasilian, African, and again Central Asian impulses are constantly adding to this "science", which is now blended and merged within the true sciences of Geodesy, Astrology and Alchemy (spiritual Alchemy). In this sense, a great multitude may be considered as "pupils and students" of Magic. Holy Science, the sacred "secrets" from the past, has made the study of Magic an acceptable occupation, may it remain within this pure impulse, from which it takes its modern renaissance.
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Mars
see Crystal; planetary sign (ancient symbol):
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Measure
Measure is the system applied to determine length and distance, volume and mass, and the passing of time. See Appendix 10: Measure & Number, Ratios, Time.
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Mercury
see Crystal; planetary sign:
. First and closest planet to the Sun. To the top
Moon
see Crystal;
see Appendix 8: Geodesy, Crystal Structure, Harmonic Convergence;
astrologic sign:
So many are the Moon’s aspects, within the binary system of Earth and Moon, that this big satellite rules over and is ruled over most of what concerns Earth, each body reflecting the other. As the Moon is referred to wherever Earth appears (and vice versa), paradoxically being both the emanative-impulsive "vital-emotional" psychic-astral aspect and also the receptive, "motherly" caring, but life-destroying, dissolutionary, and yet again also nurturing aspect, reflecting the absolute unfathomable density and complexity that such contradictory and even mutually-exclusive "aspects" necessarily "incorporate", and thus explicative of the utmost obscurity that is symbolised by Trump 18. Even the "god of wisdom", Thoth, was not wholly able to elucidate this sphere (at least through the surviving symbolism). Our words, confusing enough, are but the last possible remnant of what may be said at all, the rest, as concerns the Moon, disappears into unutterable mists.
This said, and any reader may well be excused not to comprehend this complexity, here only appear some simple words, spoken by Charles Darwin:
"Man is like unto the mammals, the birds, and even the insects, in that he is subordinated to the mysterious law, which governs certain normal processes as pregnancy and gestation, the growth of plants and their ripening, the duration of various illnesses, and more, and this law depends on the periodicity of the Moon."
The Moon remains, within the solar year, only 2,5 (two and a half) days in each sign of the Zodiac. This is within the lunar calendar of 28 days, but in reference or ratio to the solar month. Each day, within the solar or/and lunar calendar, is therefore associated with certain qualities, related to the inherent "impulse" of each zodiacal sign.
The Moon has a double or twin-aspect: either "rising" or "descending", which is distinct from the New Moon to Full Moon Phase, and vice-versa. It has to do with the "crystal-reflective" quality of this celestial body.
The "Yang" – force, the rising aspect, is placed between the solar solstice dates, i.e. from 21. December to 21. June in the northern hemisphere, and inversely in the South. The "Yin" – force, the descending aspect, is placed from 21. June to 21. December in the North, and from 21. December to 21. June in the South.
Both forces, "Yin and Yang", reflect the arising from unmanifested form to manifestation, and further to growth and flowering; and, on the other side, from the flowering to ripening, full expression, complete manifestation in strength and fertility, and then decay, withering, and death.
Very simply, all signs of the Zodiac associated with each period are grouped by six signs towards these aspects: Sagittarius to Gemini as rising, Gemini to Sagittarius as descending
Here, the "harmonic point of convergence" within the Moon-related zodiacal signs becomes evident: Gemini "is" potentially also Sagittarius, as also Sagittarius "is" Gemini" inversely, under different aspects. What is remarkable is that, independent from any world-age, independent from humanities" and the Earth’s station within the evolutionary time of precession, the central signs of each development or manifestation, in which direction it may go, are Pisces and Virgo, the most dense signs of Water and Earth. And these, surely, are also the basic signs governing natural evolution upon the vital, biologic sphere of the surface of planet Earth.
Further, the Moon is associated with the "zodiacal qualities", as expressed by the inherent impulsive-receptive aspects of each zodiacal sign:
This applies to the actual stages from Full Moon to New Moon, from New Moon to Full Moon, the waxing and waning phases. Thus all zodiacal signs acquire a double-aspect, either within the phases of waxing or of waning - Aries: waxing phase: October to April, waning phase: April to October.
As this study only treats Earth- and Moon-related Biorhythm as a possible associate study, further investigation of these cycles within the Earth-Moon-Sphere is suggested within the bibliography.
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Myth
see Appendix 9: Yuga, High Time, Venus, Myth,
and Appendix 3: Creation Myths: J.R.R. Tolkien.
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Nadi
see also Amrita Nadi and Six Doctrines
Nadi means channel. These are channels of ethereal qualities, interconnecting the Chakras. By purifying them, the separate Chakras interconnect and the flow of the Life-Force, Shakti, is dynamised. They are the subtle channels used by Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.
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Noëtic
A term associated with Mental, corresponding to the third, mental, body of Man. Its origins are to be found among the Gnostics of the first centuries A.D. In Gnostic thought, the "noëtic world" passes beyond the humanly possible understanding, yet in their original view this is also the case with the "mental world". With the passage of time, the human components of the mind were seen as not only accessible, but also forming the otherwise inexplicable faculties of intuition. Without the mental intuitive faculties, which may come from all Chakras (but are mainly associated with the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Chakras), the inspirational intuitive action of Lila, as opposed to Karma-developing reflected, calculated action, is not possible. The "boddhisattvic" development of the Body of Light is mainly a high inspiration of the mental sphere. But "mental", as also "mental body" or "mental sphere" inherently lack any warmth of emotion, of beneficent, compassionate qualities. This is not true, for especially in our present time, the most profound inspirations emanate from the Heart. Thus "mental" could not well be left alone to signify the higher, third component of Man. Noëtic is meant to symbolise a link with the vital-emotional psychic sphere (astral), thus adding the benign primal quality of love and compassion to the "mental sphere". It is for this reason, that mental is most often associated with noëtic, thus creating a mental-noëtic sphere of inspiration and intuition.
As the primal Divine Emanation is principally associated with Love, this double-meaning imposed itself.
Within a certain modern Christian-Gnostic teaching, the second double-luminous body of Man is said to consist of the blending of a "psychic" lower body with a higher "lower noëtic" body. Thus, according to this school of thought, deriving from Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria, this body is essentially ethereal. A "higher noëtic" body, which we call the Body of Light, is said to contain the psychic body at its centre – thus within Tipheret – and appertains to a "higher permanent personality", which in the view expressed in this study (see Addendum 4: Trump 5: The Penteade and the Appendix 4: The Law of Mutual Self-Preservation), is the Cosmic Individual. As the main thoughts result from Gnosticism, the Cosmic Individual is made equal to the Holy Spirit. This more or less Christian view kept the compilers of this study, with all traditions world-wide in view, from adopting this particular symbolism. Via Buddhism, Taoism and the "religions" of the Great Spirit, this would have meant the inclusion of a limitative factor (though, abstractly, the differences may be shown to be negligible). Still, the "noëtic factor" was adopted for its emotional, compassionate qualities.
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Sakhya (Sathya, Sattva, Sathia) Yuga
Used in the text to signify the Golden Age (see Yuga). The purported spelling as Sathia or Satia Yuga, which comes from "sattva" (benign, divine, heavenly), as opposed to "raja" (impulsive, action-oriented, emotional) and "tama" (static, decaying, lingering), has been changed in accordance with Sino-Tibetan phraseology: Sakhya (= highest state).
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Saturn
Planetary sign:
. The 6th planet from the Sun. In ancient symbolism it is called the 7th Sphere (Earth and Moon count for two planetary spheres), and combines all planets beyond (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and trans-Pluto planetary bodies) into its sphere.
Within the Tarot, it is described mainly within Trumps 3, 7, and 17. Within the central "inhaling" and "exhaling" forces of universal transmutation, Saturn is also associated with Trump 11.
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Siddhis
In Yogic and meditative practice, at a certain stage of inner equilibrium and purity, certain qualities arise, which may be called "Magic Powers". They are perceived as gifts, as powers naturally presented to the practitioner in recognition of his/her elevated state. As mentioned within the text, the Siddhis, even if they open possibilities to achieve "miracles", in the natural world of the elements, as also in healing, should not be indulged in, and should be seen as transient "miracle-working" agents. Thus, by remaining under the influence of their capacities, at least the "normal" Yogi, Magician, Alchemist or Quabbalist, is more hindered than furthered, for the Siddhis keep new, dynamic-changing elements from arising. A highly developed true Adept may use them at will, yet only as need arises or the flux of fate indicates.
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Six Doctrines
Associated with the "Yoga of Inner Fire", a Tibetan practice. Associated with Tantra and Mahayana Buddhism, it is the practice that the Tibetan Yogi Milarepa used for ultimate transformation, the attainment of Nirvana. It is also the practice of inner heat, known as Tummo. The six doctrines, which lead to an inner blending of the Nadis or Chakras, depending on the situation and stage of practice, are:
- The Doctrine of the Inner Fire
- The Doctrine of the Illusory Body
- The Doctrine of the Dream State
- The Doctrine of the Clear Light
- The Doctrine of the Intermediary State
- The Doctrine of the Transference of Consciousness
In "Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism", Lama Anagarika Govinda consecrates chapters 8, 9 and 10 only to this "central Yoga of the Heart". It is, as the 4th Chakra and Tipheret, central to Man and his development. Within contemporary Hindu Yogas, it is simply a part of Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of devotion and submission (and thus completely misunderstood), see Yoga.
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Sirius
The supposed twin-star of the Sun, within the galactic Arm of Orion. Both stars are seen as circling each other in a cyclic spiral movement through space, resembling the DNA – spiral. In Theosophy, the highest initiation of Man, while still alive within the solar system, is the 7th initiation of the Sun, which corresponds to the 1st initiation of Sirius. Man is sometimes supposed to originate within the sphere of Sirius, and its inhabitants are said to be "Men", only of higher development. As all ethereal systems are associated with triple aspects, the star Alcyone of the Pleiades – the Seven Sisters – also relates to the Sun and Sirius. One or the other, as well as other more or less only symbolic "stars", may represent the invisible central force, which flows through the centre of the DNA-like spiral, the ethereal force which in fact "holds together" the spherical-cyclic spiral movement. Discussed within the text in relation to Trumps 17, 19, 20 and 21.
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Skandhas
see also Trump 6
The Buddhist tradition ascribes Five Skandhas to the developmental stages of Man. They constitute one whole body of transcendent philosophy, divided into realms or spheres within the physical, psychic, noetic-mental of Being: be it Man or humanity as such, the planetary or local solar surroundings, or even extending to the origins of universal Creation.
- Rupa skandha literally means "form", "matter", "body", yet also implies inside/outside, micro/macro; it is thus similar to Malkuth-Yesod, to which all things return eventually.
- Vedana skandha stands for "sensation" and "feeling", including all psycho-somatic impressions; again : within Man, the local cosmic surroundings and the further reaches of Creation.
- Samjna or sanna skandha means "perception" and "cognition"; it also stands for all kinds of conditioned knowledge or "thinking". The preceding skandhas are here coagulated, give rise to this level of knowing, thus permitting derivational thought, be it on an individual level or within cosmic dimensions.
- Sankhara or samskara skandha stands for "mental formations", "mental processes", "volition", thus implying all karmic forces and mental-psychic creativity.
- Vinna(na) or vijnana skandha means "consciousness", yet also all forms of "touching" and "contact".
Due to the fifth skandha as "conscious contact", an abstract "Sixth Skandha" necessarily appears, which is the coagulating agent within Creation, the "force of contact" or Will of God. This appears also at the center of quite another yet very similar Buddhist concept, the 12 Nidanas, there named sparsa or phassa, the sixth nidana. Vinna and rupa give rise, through phassa, to formation – creative forces are seen as limitless and eternal.
In other words: nature is existing, as ignorance (form and matter) and consciousness; it has no origin because origin cannot be defined, being eternity itself. Thus Creation is explicit within itself, a timeless flow that enters nature, enters the universe – and as it enters also exits, at all times and within no time.
The application of the Five Skandhas (plus their inherent sixth) within mental speculation appears very foreign to occidental thought, yet their very power of abstraction proves their applicability, especially within the noetic spheres.
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Sufi / Sufism
Sufism is reported to be an age-old aspect of Holy Science, the remnants of the high accomplishment of the Golden Age, Sakhya Yuga. It incorporates a whole system of intimate knowledge, of Man, Earth and the Elements, the Ethereal Beings, and the spiritual path humanity must follow. Sufis, the practical adepts of this wisdom-system, made their appearance under this name when Islam merged with the old traditions of Persia, Turkestan and Central Asia. The most famous adepts are mentioned in chapter Initiation and Reality.
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Synchronicity
A term coined by C.G. Jung, the Swiss psychoanalyst and philosopher. It means the seemingly unrelated appearance of events pertaining to very related, implicit happenings. Thus, the flux of time and fate leads apparently unrelated phenomena to "appear" at the same time and place. Synchronicity is the main, "intuitive", inspirational "force" alive within all oracles, thus leading to predictions and intuitively perceived future events. Applied to the "here and now", it is synchronicity that leads to the manifestation of all events surrounding the individual, and their seeming unrelatedness is sometimes proved to be intrinsically merged into a common stream of events and time.
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Tolkien, J.R.R.
see Appendix 3: Creation Myths: J.R.R. Tolkien;
see Appendix 9: Yuga, High Time, Venus, Myth
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Treta Yuga
see Yuga
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Venus
see Crystal. Planetary sign: .Within the text, especially Trumps 5, 6, 7, and 15 are related to Venus, which is there discussed. See also Appendix 9: Yuga, High Time, Venus, Myth.
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Vibration
see Crystal; see Appendix 8: Geodesy, Crystal Structure, Harmonic Convergence
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Yoga
Generally, there are seven classes of Yoga, with an eigth class that has remained name-less. Within the doctrines of Sino-Tibetan Buddhism, associated with the manyfold doctrines of Hinduism, "Yoga" is without end, without or beyond definition. There are as many Yogas as there are human beings, for Yoga simply means "practice", application of spiritual concepts. Raja Yoga, esteemed to be the highest, most pure way to God, is largely ethereal, without definable limits, stages or classifiable states of being. Of these, wherever its definite state may be, the highest and most metaphysical is Tantra. But that is only another word for "bliss", as, in their ultimate, highest function, also applicable to all other "Yogas". "Union", in Sanskrit, means Yoga, and Yoga means Union. "Union", by definition, is always sought with something higher, or at least equal. Yoga therefore, as a practice, aims to unite with the highest sphere attainable. If "God" is the aim, then all attention goes above and within. The alchemic transmutation of inner energies is the secret instruction that accompanies every practice. Where to and within what sphere these energies are brought to fruition, this defines the Yoga, the practice, the aim or goal, and predefines the eventual outcome.
Yoga, as also another quality of "Being", is eight-fold, but that is evidently limitative, as suggested above. It only defines, or rather: tries to define, something without limit. In this sense, Yoga is Ain Soph, "that which has no limit".
In the Quabbala, as in the Tarot, Yoga is another word for Alchemy, inner and outer Alchemy, symbolic of the blending and merging of the Sephirot or Chakras.
The eight symbolic stages, ways, paths or states are:
- Yoga as Union, Man as God, God as Man. This has no definition. Then follow:
- Hatha Yoga, the preparation of interiorisation, of reflective meditation through body-control. It is essentially a preparative state, if other considerations and applications do not enter the physical practices;
- Karma Yoga, the Yoga of action, as selfless service, escaping Karma through the application of Lila, the selfless, inspirated intuitive action which comes from the heart, knowing that the higher divine agents act through Man. This may, according to disposition and character, be a high Yoga of "action within inaction", doing through non-doing;
- Mantra Yoga, which is a concentrated mental training, thus liberating the Self from outside influences. It has no major outside scope, but an inner scope to unite the three lower Chakras, to create one self-conscious Being, as a first stage towards enlightenment and liberation;
- Kriya Yoga, which builds upon Mantra Yoga, as a first established trinity, to blend this foundation with the central Anahata Chakra, the Heart Chakra. Thus a lower whole Being "of seven" is perfected, in the Heart (as highest stage, without expanding the faculties of the Heart further);
- Bhakti Yoga, which takes the previous stages for granted, and concentrates on the inner alchemy of purification, the freeing of the inner pure channels, the Nadi. When all the Nadis, which interconnect with all seven Chakras, are cleaned, purified, and rendered perfect to permit a permanent dynamic flux of the Life Energy, Shakti, then the final interiorisation of the blissful state is the ultimate goal. The Heart is thereby seen as an open, interdimensional "door", which allows all cosmic emanations to interconnect with Man. Amrita Nadi, the Nadi of divine bliss, is the individuals" ultimate connection with "One and All";
- Jnana Yoga is the path of wisdom. It allows the research of all Chakras, by intuition, inspiration, and actual Being. But the separate Chakras are seen as separate, they are united by supreme understanding and sight. In the last definition, Jnana Yoga is Perfect Sight, which also allows for the "reading of the akashic record", the historic mental record of the solar system. Thus wisdom is the main goal, intellectual curiosity its stimulus, wisdom and "all-knowing" its goal. As all-knowing includes all stages and paths of Yoga, Jnana Yoga can turn to practical application within the individual according to his or her preference: Raja, Tantra, Inner Fire, Total Liberation;
- Raja Yoga has always been considered the highest Yoga. It is such, but mainly in Mahayana Buddhism, less so in Hinduism, which has forgotten many of its original roots. Thus, Raja Yoga is also Tantra. In the Hindu view of modern times, Raja Yoga is equal to the Reflective Ether, just below pure Akasha. In this, it is the essence of all other paths, without displaying many qualities of its own. If "Union with the Eternal Blissful Spirit" is the goal of Raja Yoga, then it is only an aspect of perfected Bhakti Yoga. If "Total Scientific Union with the Divine" is the goal, then Raja Yoga is but an aspect of pure Jnana Yoga. It is therefore preferrable to "forget about Raja Yoga", let it be the "absolute, perfected state": in the age of Kali Yuga these are empty words. Of course, some high initiates may duly state certain totally perfected aspects of Raja Yoga, and it is to be commended, if rightly understood, if seen as distinct from the perfected stages of other Yogas. As Tantra, it is the most profound, and also the most "magical, occult, alchymical". Therefore its station is best defined as the most inner, the most perfected within. When attaining to the most high and absolute, symbolised by the 6th and 7th Chakras, then it is Raja Yoga that applies. It is therefore, in general, a most highly abstract perfection, but also the most high practice, which necessarily coincides with the most inner and profound practice: as above, so below, as without, so within.
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Yuga
Traditional time-span of Aeons or "Worlds", the cycles of Creation (Sanskrit). There are four Yugas: Sakhya Yuga (the Golden Age), Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga, Kali Yuga (the Age of Iron or The Dark Age).
The Yugas are seen in a downward-leading cycle, which is complemented by an upward-leading cycle. Thus a whole "World-Age" consists of 8 Yugas, 4 leading "down", when "heavenly light and emanation" is diminishing, 4 leading "up", when "heavenly light" is waxing. Varying time-spans are accorded the different Yugas.
Each Yuga may be seen as three-fold, i.e. in its initiation-stage (a tenth of its given time-span), its full age (either under substraction of the beginning- and end-stages, or as full length), and its end-stage (which is also given as a tenth of the given time-span). As an example, following the Hindu tradition given below, Sathia/Sakhya Yuga, whose whole supposed time-span is 4.800 years, "begins" with a phase of 480 years, then blooms in full for either 4.800 years or only for 4.800 minus 2 x 480 years = 3.840 years, and "ends" for another 480 years. An inclusion of all stages would lead up to 4.800 + 480 + 480 years, i.e. 5.760 years. Applied to all yugas, the latter approach would give a time-span of 14.400 for a "half-cycle", and thus 28.800 for a full cycle. The true astrologic time-span for the movement of the "precession of the equinoxes" – due to a tilt of the planet"s axis – is about 25.920 years, though cosmic influences yet unknown may either speed up or slow down such a long movement through space. Evidently, the medium time-span – 28.800 + 24.000: 2 – 26.400 years, is the closest to astronomic truth, all other numbers are highly idealised and constitute in fact a latter-day corruption of ancient knowledge. In this study, the theoretic time-spans given by the Jnana Yoga Master Sri Yukteswar Giri are not followed, but their qualities are integrated. Still, the theoretic, highly idealised time-spans are given here: Sakhya Yuga: 4.800 years; Treta Yuga: 3.600 years; Dwapara Yuga: 2.400 years; Kali Yuga: 1.200 years. Thus each half-cycle lasts 12.000 years, and a complete Aeon 24.000 years. For an alternative "Yuga-Science", which extends beyond any historically confirmable ages, see Appendix: "Yuga, High Time, Venus, Myth".
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A spiritual path and meditative practice. Today mainly associated with Japan, it originates in China, where Zen was known as Ch"an, the "Way of Open Sky". This was the practical, applied side of Taoism and a result of Sino-Tibetan Buddhism. Indeed, Zen and Ch"an trace their origins to the Buddhist saints having come from India and Tibet. In Central Asian tradition, it is said that Zen was the result of a blending, a merging of the different meditative practices in use and orignating in India, Persia, Mongolia, the area of the two rivers, Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya, and in Afghanistan. This blending also included a later Christian element, the Nestorians and Manichaeans. Today, it reflects mainly what is known as Jnana-Yoga and Vajrayana Buddhism.
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