The Secret Behind Spiritual Strength

The Diacal Sign of Leo.

Now, with this Tarot Key, Number 8, we usually start what might be called the beginning of a new cycle.

Even though Number 8 might not sound like it would be the beginning of a new cycle. But those of you who've gotten that far in your lessons, that's I think the eighth lesson that you receive in your membership will have received the Tarot Tableau by then. And in that Tarot Tableau you see the way the Tarot Key Zero, the Fool, sits up at the top all by itself because that is the beginningless endless super conscious power shown in ways that subconsciousness would understand. But then the very first line of tarot keys is shown by the number one the magician and so tarot keys one to seven are laid out in numerical sequence on the first line. If you will recall in that Tarot tableau, the second line begins with Tarot Key Number Eight, which is placed immediately under Tarot Key Number One, immediately under it, which shows an interconnection between the two keys. And if you will look at Tarot Key Number One, the Magician, you'll see that's Figure Eight over his head and that's the same figure 8. The Tarot Key 1 the magician is right in front of you above and you see here in Tarot Key number 8 straight that same figure 8 but these are the only two Tarot Keys that have the figure 8 shown in this way immediately above the head and of course amongst its many meanings, the figure eight has to do with the meanings of eternity.

It has to do with the basic concept of the continuation of cycles, of the interaction between the pairs of opposites being balanced. If you put your pencil on a paper you can make the figure eight continuously without lifting your pencil, as has been pointed out by Dr. King. And the only other letter of which this is true is Parotein zero. Well, eight could be called two zeros, or perhaps should we say the zero reflecting itself to itself like looking in the mirror but we still have the principle of super consciousness being expressed via self-consciousness when we see the figure eight therefore we are and especially seeing it over the magician we are seeing one of the many symbolic messages messages being given to your inner consciousness that self-consciousness is the reflection of super-consciousness or shall we say super-consciousness reflecting itself to itself in a specialized manner so that we could therefore say in essence that all consciousness could be called this and it is true, except that consciousness expresses itself in varying ways, in different manners, so that when we can understand the different ways consciousness expresses, we also can come to see how we gain control of the various areas in which we are meant to gain control.

Now Tarot Key Number Eight is said to be the motion or the means by which the magician, Tarot Key Number One, gains control or gains dominion over the workings of subconsciousness. In a way, you might say Tarot Key Number One shows the entire principle, because the field of action of the magician on the table, really here with Tarot Key Number Eight, is shown as a field that has no specific area. And of course we know the magician's self-consciousness always condenses down or gives specialized areas.

What then is meant by seeing this wider area here? Each symbol, remember, is understood by your subconsciousness, whether you consciously know it yet or not. So to consciously know it is to add power to its influence. And each tarot key is used to help give you to help you receive suggestions on the positive level because all suggestion is really presented to consciousness via imagery whether we realize it or not we make suggestions to ourselves via imagery we make suggestions to others via imagery we use words to implement the imagery, but what are words but attempts to present images in a less efficient manner, one to another. People who are in telepathic communion present images to each other without the requirement of words, which does not mean that words are useless, but it means that words, but it is certainly shown that words are a step away, farther away, from the actual basic of consciousness. We think in pictures.

We all know this. The whole principle of consciousness in manifestation is the movement of pictures.

Yod-Heh-Vah-Heh-Elohim created man in, or at which is Adam, remember, man in his image and likeness. That's how, that means in and through image making, pictures if you will, so that consciousness just not forming pictures as at the base of every secret. Every secret. And that's one of the reasons, the several reasons, that this particular Tarot key with its Hebrew letter is also assigned to a very special kind of awareness by the Qabalists called the intelligence of the secret behind all spiritual activities. Now that's quite a mouthful isn't it? But it is saying more than a mouthful. It is giving you I would say a galaxy full at least of information. Just that statement. This is It is the intelligence of Lincoln Continents, very unspiritual of them.

The intelligence of the secret behind all spiritual activity.

That's really making a very strong statement. Catabolistically, there's another way that this idea is presented. It is also occasionally called the intelligence behind the secret of work.

Work.

Which means what? The intelligence behind the secret of wages.

Dr. Cases mentioned that. In other words, when we think of wages, we work, we receive our wages. In our life, we come into an incarnation, we're said to receive our karma.

Now, too many of us think of the receiving or experiencing of our karma as something painful. And if this is how we image our karma, I assure you my darlings, you are using this particular principle, you are using it very intensively and you are making very certain that your experiences are going to be painful because you're using the law of suggestion and the the law of suggestion is one of the most profound secrets, although it's preached everywhere in elementary metaphysics. We are told, no matter where we go in the metaphysical field, that we have to become aware of this law of suggestion and use it aright. And even when we know it, we find ourselves using it in negative manners consistently. That's one of the many reasons the Qabalists, wise beyond time, call this key strength. Because what is strength? It takes great strength to train oneself to become aware of what suggestions we're permitting ourselves to receive from ourselves as well as from our near and dear ones as well as from society at large as well as from the very entertainments we choose.

Anything and everything.

Suggestion is a law that is operating all the time. There is never a time that it is not operating it is one of the primary laws of consciousness and this and when we say suggestion we mean the presentation of images to oneself or what one permits in the way of images to be received into to oneself, quality-wise as well as quantity-wise. And receiving into ourselves, remember, I again must remind you, is just as much involved with what we present to ourselves personally as what we permit ourselves to receive from others, from environment, even from the mass consciousness which comes via the unconscious telepathic loop. But of course being unconscious we're not aware of what we are doing and if there's one thing that life seems to be out to teach us or train us it's to cure our unawareness wouldn't you say we often think that being unaware of a thing makes us innocent of whatever it is we want to feel we are innocent of but the truth of the matter is that in occultism it is definitely stated it may sound harsh but harsh smart reality is reality and it is very definitely stated that the greatest sin is ignorance ignorance which is what un-awareness. So that trying to make excuses to ourselves saying well I'm sorry I didn't know I'd also like to remind you a little saying the road to hell is paved with good intentions you know and so just having good intentions is not enough. We have to also be willing to cure ourselves of our ignorance, and no one else can do it for us. Experience does it, but even experience takes us so far. It takes us to the point where we We have to come to recognize the fact that it is our own responsibility to ourselves to take our evolution in hand and to train our subconscious responses.

And when we do this, by the time we do this, we also have been guided to that place where where we will be taught how to use the law of suggestion, which is being used all the time, but how to use it consciously, effectively, efficiently, for the purpose of spiritual attainment, for the purpose of taking our evolution in hand, for the purpose of becoming something more than we were, for the purpose of gaining control of the unconscious processes and so on.

So we don't have to learn how to use the law of suggestion because we have been using it from the very time before time began, but certainly from the very time that YHWH Elohim said, Now man is like us.

You know, that's when we ate the fruit. Now man is like us, knowing the difference between good and evil. And therefore, and we have been using the law of suggestion, suggestion, that is, making images, image and likeness, of the most high, and making images in terms of the quality and quantity, you might say, of the evolutionary levels we are on at the moment, or at that point. So, true strength actually has to do with the ability to direct this principle of suggestion in ways that are intelligent, that are organized, in ways that are effective, and in ways that that are in harmony with the cosmic law.

Now, what does all this mean? It means very much more than one thing. Remember, this Hebrew letter has as the object symbol for its meaning the serpent, snake or serpent. Now, this is, as it was read in the Book of Totems, This is the same serpent that pointed out to humanity, or to Adam and Eve, that the proof of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil makes you pretty smart, gives you wisdom, gives you knowledge.

And we've also spoken about that aspect of it. This is the serpent of temptation, which if you will recall in the book of tokens, it is also pointed out that it is this very same serpent of temptation, which is the redeemer.

It is there all right, but what does that mean? Now here is the spot where people get real uptight. Notice how modern I'm getting. Whenever we decide to enter into this particular phase of its meaning, meanings. And that is why it is often, even in the written lessons, we sort of march around Robin Hood's barn. We go round and round and we point towards the middle with arrows all along the way to show it to you. Figure those that have eyes to see will see, and they'll be ready to also hear more because they'll have ears to hear. Now, what is this serpent of temptation? What is the energy of this same serpent of temptation, which is also called that which finally is the Redeemer?

Well, if I just said out and out it is the reproductive energy, what would you think?

Do you remember how Adam and Eve suddenly saw their naked and were ashamed?

Now here in this parakeet, whatever you think, it's still stuff.

In other words, reality is reality. Whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not, if it's reality, it is reality. Now, this reproductive energy, here is another bit of information that people find hard to see, or accept at least, this reproductive energy is pure spirit.

What? What? Say 90% of those people or 99.9% of those people oriented towards spiritual thought. What? What kind of sacrilege is this?

God is pure.

God is beyond anything like that.

Spirit is purity. It is glory, it is evolution beyond the knowledge of such low, animal, ugly, horrible, degrading kind of activity.

And do you know, a little expression that I got from somewhere or other, I don't remember quite where, but the expression is, don't look now, but your consciousness is showing.

You know, it's just don't look now, but your slip is showing. A little off uh you know don't look now but your consciousness is showing because you see that don't look now but your consciousness is showing people who get this uptight or indignant when they hear that the reproductive energy reproductive energy I'm not beating around any bush the energy that makes babies, the energy that lays eggs, the energy that blooms a flower. That's the reproductive energy, the energy that drives the bee to the pollen, the reproductive energy.

Now this energy pure spirit well that which is creative could it be other than pure spirit but we have something far more involved here because you see even our eastern brethren make it very clear that the kundalini energy now that's another term for the serpent energy energy it undulates, that the kundalini energy in the human organism is condensed at what they call the base of the spine. In our work, we call it at the Saturn center, which is shown behind us in Tarot Key 21, the world, right above me there, the world. And we have here a figure that's really incidentally the virgin of the world is another term for her she is the elohim the virgin of the world and she is veiled which is another way of saying the virgin of the world incidentally but what is this veil that she wears the veil she wears is the symbol that is involved with Tarot Key Number 10 assigned to Jupiter, the measuring intelligence, incidentally, is one of its aspects. If you remember, in the Book of Tokens we were told how important the knowledge of number is to being trained in the Western mysteries. Well, it is important important indeed, but in ways other than we usually think of it as being.

Now this Kundalini energy, basically, is the selfsame energy which is called the Mars energy.

And the Mars energy we know as being the energy that drives all living creatures into the the interactions that bring about the creation of offspring.

Basically, that is why, incidentally, this Tarot Key Number 8 Strengths—now, this is not anything you're going to find in the regular lessons, you know.

I give you material that, shall we say, although I don't believe in meat, I eat meat, but but I'm hoping that we'll all evolve vehicles where I won't be forced to eat it so I can stay on the physical plane, at least eat it occasionally.

But that expression, you know, you give milk to babes and meat to strong men, if you think of that in its psychological implications, you will perhaps realize a little bit of what we're saying. The point is that this Tarot Key, number 8 Strength, which is assigned to Leo, in astrology, Leo is associated with the fifth house.

The fifth house is said to express, for instance, in a person's chart, if someone who knows how to interpret it properly but they look to the fifth house to see if a person is going to be more or less fertile or sterile and incidentally Tarot key number 19 the Sun that's up right above me there that's the Sun s UN the pair of opposites assigned to that particular key in this letter are fertility and sterility. And that's very much tied up with this key because remember the sun, S-U-N, is the ruler of the sign Leo.

So that fertility and sterility are part of the meaning of the rulership of this particular sign. Also, this sign is tied up with the emperor Ares.

You see the emperor? That's the first sign of the zodiac aries and how is that tied up because the sun as you went is said to be exalted in aries which and this emperor is shown as the ruler overlooking the stream now that's the stream which is the high priestess and on the tree of life the high priestess is between the crown and beauty. That's the principle of memory. And remember, here's another virgin.

The virgin stuff, the virgin mind stuff that receives impressions, the fluidic mind stuff.

And that's the stream. The next development from this high priestess is the empress receiving the mind stuff, which she's received incidentally from the magician.

The high priestess has.

The next development from the high priestess, remember, is the empress.

Here, subconsciousness is pregnant with the impact of the imagery.

But she is still not very active.

She is seen again in Tarot Key No. 6 as Eve.

You see there the lovers?

Now here, she has become active.

And the activity here is that subconsciousness is looking to the higher self the archangel rafael and self-consciousness shown by adam the male figure is looking towards the female figure in other words he is seeing has developed the discrimination to see that through subconsciousness E. Will the guidance from superconsciousness here as the Archangel Raphael, and there you see the sun above the head of Raphael, here is the movement of consciousness as required. Now then, the feminine figure here in Tarot Key Number Eight, all of these are the same figure they are all subconsciousness in different phases of activity universal subconsciousness and personal subconsciousness both now here we see the nth degree of development the most fantastically glorious portion of the development from the previous movement of subconsciousness both as quiet receiver as the developer within and then finally is the movement to the above here we see subconsciousness as a humanized figure in full control of the animal nature or in full control of those forces that are below the human self-conscious level.

Or you might say in full control of that part of the being, which on the Qabalistic tree of life is shown by foundation.

And foundation, amongst other things, is called the sex organs of the grand man.

And now I made that very clear, I think, so that we have here the principles so the humanized aspect of subconsciousness in full control of that part of our being which is the vital animal reproductive energy which we share with all the other living creatures.

But here, you are being told via the symbolism, you, the human consciousness of you, the human self-consciousness of you, you know, via the magician, via spirit above that, are in control. The suggestion being given you of how to gain control, but control in what way? Now remember, the fifth house I pointed out is assigned to the idea of fertility and sterility, the idea then of children. But incidentally, it's also assigned to love affairs.

And it's also assigned to gambling. And it's also assigned to entertainment.

And all of these ideas interact within our own consciousness and so it's no wonder that the sun center is assigned to the heart considering love affairs the fifth house which is in the heart and incidentally the spine you know people are said said to straighten up your spine, have a good stiff spine, in other words, the strength or power to resist, the idea of resistance.

Now, we're being shown at the training of our being that those forces, and again I repeat, the reproductive forces which are the powerhouse this is pure spirit and this has to be controlled via the method shown here in fact the truth of the matter is there is no other way we try all all other ways, and after they finally fail, we discover the way to do these things. Strength is not having great big thick muscles from picking heavy loads up and down and then parading up and down with the heavy muscles. It's the spiritual muscles we're talking about. Real real strength is strength of character, basically. You know, whatever your character is. I've been called a character, and it hasn't been meant as a compliment by some.

But at least I hope that it's been considered strong as a character in any case.

We think of character as being something where we're able to frown properly grit our teeth tremble with the power thereof and if this is the way we think of it this is the image we give ourselves and oh life will present us every opportunity to frown and grit our teeth and and tremble, in fact, because we're manufacturing it.

So I hope if this is your concept, you're going to change your imagery as rapidly as you can, because it is what we present to ourselves that gives us the ability to utilize the various principles now then.

I've got to point out another important aspect of what what this is saying to you in its pictorial imagery. You see what she wears on her head.

She is wearing a crown. But this is a crown made of flowers, the organic kingdom. And And when we pick flowers, or when we see flowers, we respond with beauty and delight. We say, how exquisite. And we inhale the fragrance.

And we're full of joy and inspiration.

And we do not think it is ugly or dirty.

We do not say, eek, take that away. Way that's the sex organ of the of plant life oh how unspiritual can you get you know we don't do it but when it comes to looking at the animal kingdom we start reacting more and more like that and then we start and And when it comes to the human kingdom, we start slapping little hands before little hands know what it's all about. We're saying, that's a no-no. Oh, bad. Slap, slap, that's a no-no.

And I'm sure the child gets very confused, but if it's a no-no, it's a no-no.

You know, she probably then does the investigating in secret.

You know, if mom and daddy are going to know them with flaps and whatnot. Because they've already been given an image, a suggestion. That's not spiritual.

That's a bad.

That's a bad. So that the mass mind, even, you know, in its cultural aspects, starts training even our little pure of heart children children, how to think of portions of the body, which incidentally the Lord God has made. Who else? Who do you think made your body? Yeah, I know you say, well, my mother and father. Oh, and how many children have been filled with horror? What? My mother and father are too pure. You mean that way? No, in the first whisperings that have been given, it is really tragic it is truly tragic to think that the mystery and the miracle that the Lord has wrought and that the Lord of the universe does express every second of every day at all times through all living beings it is truly tragic that man has degraded this glorious expression of the divine spirit to see it in ways other than it is seen by those who are pure, pure in heart.

Blessed are the pure in heart, say the Beatitudes, said Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth, that greatest Qabalist of them all, trained in the Western mysteries, And what is meant by the pure in heart? Here this tarot key is showing us how to attain this purity of heart, incidentally, although it needs much else. But you see, attaining the purity of heart does not mean going backward or regressing to the animal kingdom. This is the point. There is only, only within the human kingdom do we have a true capacity to control, direct and redirect this extraordinary energy, this creative energy, this reproductive power. Because animals are still in that level of their evolution where the life power brings them to their interaction with each other at very specific chosen cycles for the purpose of of fifth house activity, that is, fertility, not sterility, the fertility aspect of it. But only when you come to man, and of course a few of the higher anthropoid apes, who are once second or third or fourth cousins, basically, basically, although all life is cousin, it's just first or second or third or tenth or twentieth cousin removed is all it has to do. We're still all related, completely related.

But only in man and the higher anthropoid apes do we have a capacity for using imagery to stimulate the interaction or the utilization of this reproductive energy at any time.

In other words, man is not limited to the cycles of nature.

Man can respond at any time of the month or year, at any time, just by using the power of imagination, that is the image-making power, the image-making power, and there the use goes. Now, Now what man has done, unfortunately, too much of the time, is deliberately use this image-making power to stimulate physical plane eroticism so that almost automatically the physical plane eroticism keeps wasting the very energy that the Lord of the universe universe has given to humanity to attain the higher levels of knowing, to attain to the true knowledge of the secret behind all spiritual activity.

And what is that basically? And why is that basically? Well, of course, we have to be ignorant before we become wise, reap the repercussions. I guess this is what you might call receiving the wages or the rewards of work you remember what I said the Qabalists call this the intelligence of the secret behind work or that is the secret behind getting our wages or our rewards well you see that crown in this figure is actually telling your subconsciousness something very important It is saying that it is the reproductive energy that has been brought up to the highest center – the lowest center is at the base of the spine and the Mars center – and the highest center, which is the pineal, at the pineal gland physically speaking, though it isn't a physical place, but it receives the energy there. Remember the pineal gland is assigned to the magician itself so that it is the magician that has brought the energy from that lowest area to the highest and the rising of the kundalini energy which our eastern brethren talk about and incidentally they present very dangerous methods very dangerous very and extraordinarily dangerous especially for the western mind and body and the western culture that is to directly and deliberately image these chakras or centers but still they are correct in the idea of the raising of the energy but incorrect in ways and means and also incorrect correct in certain other areas because the our eastern brethren fall into the same trap that so many other human beings fall into and that is they continue to think of that energy as being unevolved low unspiritual and so on whereas it is actually the attitude towards this entire energy, the attitude that has to be changed.

Because without change of attitude, it is absolutely impossible to learn how to utilize this energy properly. Furthermore, not only impossible, but we are kept from really experiencing the highest, the most beautiful, the most rapturous potential within us.

And our lives show it.

Now this lion, remember, is a symbol of reproductive energy, of the animal nature, of those portions of subconsciousness which we all share, that are below the human level.

So none of us want to just give ourselves over to that drive. What we want is to utilize that energy and notice it isn't being killed you see our eastern brethren make the mistake of trying to kill it out they even go so far as to say kill out desire you don't want to kill out the very power that's going to give you the crown the unity with god which is the crown on that tree of life no what we want to do is to keep it very much alive as is being done here but controlled and what is controlling it here obviously human consciousness is controlling it but human consciousness in a control is controlling controlling it in a very special way, the white robe gives us a part of the secret. Because here you are being told that purification of the entire subconscious attitude towards this energy is an essential. It doesn't come by itself.

No great vast spiritual teacher no great vast miracle is going to bring you the sudden ability to work and do and have what this key shows nor will you attain without the use of these forces as shown in this way you have to do the work yourself in other words you have to utilize your continuous awareness of the figure eight over the magician to bring about a purification of your thinking and feeling about reproduction as a principle and your portion of it very especially which means that we have to learn how to watch our drives and our thinking and our feeling we have to learn to see that everyone and everything that comes into expression has come into expression via the divine we have to see it in such a way that we become incapable of using vulgar expressions regarding a member of the opposite sex or regarding the function, which is a function of the unity of spirit with spirit, if it is being utilized properly.

And I hope you are all listening. I hope your ears are open to hear what I have said.

Because as long as we permit ourselves this snickering, we are saying to subconsciousness, that is a dirty thing. We are indeed being sacrilegious to the Spirit of God. As we start developing more and more, and we have to do it to ourselves, reverence.

Towards this mystery and this miracle that God hath wrought, we will become more and more incapable of misusing it.

Some people say, well, God is love and God is unity and God is everywhere. So if you're going to be really spiritual, what you do is fall into the supine position with any member of the opposite sex, which is, I'm sorry to have to put this this bluntly, but I've heard too many people try to rationalize a return to the animal nature and try to call it by spiritual names. It It is not true. Entering into union is the right thing only when our heart remembers. Leo, ruled by the sun, is assigned to the heart when our heart is a part of this entire process. True love, and true love takes on the responsibility of its interaction.

True love takes on the responsibility of its interactions, I repeat.

And anything that potent, the spirit that is condensed to express all that is, has to be seen as being so wholly impure that we wouldn't dream of attempting to express it without undertaking the expression with the fullness of love and the responsibility for it, which means far more than too many people in our modern day world will acknowledge right now. And this saddens me somewhat, but on the other hand, I guess it's a phase necessary for the realization that some of these youngsters are certainly going to have. I have the fullest confidence in them. Now then, this white robe expressing this purity, remember, you and I are responsible for purifying and keeping purified our entire concept of all that is.

It means we have to start looking upon ourselves ourselves and every human being as having been born of the Divine, Yod-Heh-Va-Heh-Elohim, Cosmic Father, Cosmic Mother. And we have to start seeing that every person has been an agent for that Divine. We must not permit ourselves vulgarity, and we must not permit, We don't permit, incidentally, other people to be vulgar in our presence, because when we are quiet, when someone else is being sacrilegious about the divine creative energies, we are in essence agreeing with them. You know, one of the occult maxims, and this is a very true one indeed, points out that when we do not take action in certain areas of life where evil is being perpetrated, we are making ourselves a partner to the evil and we are aiding and abetting it so that when we permit sacrilege in our presence I don't mean when I say we should step in and stop it that we should do this in in an unbeautiful way there are ways and ways and ways and ways and ways but certainly we should have enough strength this is strength we should have enough strength so that instantly we bring the opposite suggestion to bear upon ourselves and everyone there I remember even before god gave me the blessing of bringing me to the tarot training I was blessed with the awareness, I did come into this incarnation with the awareness that union is sacred and must not, must not be permitted to be degraded by dirty mouths and attitudes.

Attitudes and in my presence when anyone used such language I never hesitated to speak up and do you know I don't as far as I remember it never lost me a friend as a matter of fact it never lost me a boyfriend and as a matter of fact it gave me much lovelier boyfriends because anyone who didn't have the capacity to feel his beauty certainly wasn't going to want to hang around me very long nor would I want them. I'd say God bless them.

But you know, you have a lot to learn. And God is beauty.

And strength of capacity to bring about transmutation has to do with a basic inner strength of integrity in how we are going to train ourselves to think and feel about this energy. Then, working with the tarot, it is this energy, when we stop letting it be degraded by ourselves to ourselves, as well as in our presence, this is the same energy then that starts to bring the charging of livingness to the higher centers until finally, through the pineal center, we experience the full knowledge of the rapture in union with God. Now, does this mean that human beings have to eliminate union with each other on the outer material plane? No, it does not mean that at all. It does mean that when they do enter into union, they had better enter into union with the attitude of this is a divine representation of the forever pure and undefiled, the divine cosmic masculine, the divine cosmic feminine, and I will express it with my beloved in the fullness of beauty, of devotion, emotion, responsibility, and I will dedicate it to the very highest. I will not let it go exploding in every direction. This is fine for the lower kingdoms, but man has the extra energy given him, this reproductive energy, to be creative in ways beyond description and to bring total, and I mean total liberation from enslavement to pain, agony, ugliness, failure, and the host of other sins.

We can, and my darlings, you are destined to become consciously the forever pure and undefiled and to express yourself with that fantastically higher most profound level of beauty you are destined to do this and that's why you are being told the importance and even shown the beginnings of how to go about it work with this aspect of this team I love and heaven on earth is just the least of what you'll have it will be heaven on earth and in every way shape and form that you can remotely imagine my love in heaven I give you I share with you and the entire inner plane of angels and archangels are aiding you to have that beauty