Key 21 - The World

Tonight we're going to talk about the various meanings that relate to Tarot Key Number 21, particularly in terms of its association with cosmic consciousness or cosmic awareness, and very much in order to try to help you to see that that which people have commonly thought of as cosmic consciousness is not exactly correct. You see, as we've often tried to point out, An experience that goes beyond words certainly cannot be explained in words. Not any more than a form or a color can be explained to someone who has been born blind.

Not any more than we can give you the shape and texture of an emotion, like for example, love.

There are some things simply cannot be given, yet there are an extraordinary number of books that have been written by an extraordinary number of people who quite seriously go in for words and words and words and more words explaining what cosmic consciousness is, which in itself tells tells us immediately, they haven't the slightest conception.

Now, cosmic consciousness, we have heard about it a great deal.

I think we should realize that automatically, even by its very terminology, would indicate a state of consciousness that has to go beyond our intellect, which is limited. And that's why, symbolically, the secret wisdom of Israel has given the Tarot key Tav, which is assigned, incidentally, to the planet Saturn. It has given Tav, assigned to Saturn, which astrologically is said to be that which limits. It has assigned that particular tarot key, the imagery, to the Hebrew letter and the meanings that have to do with cosmic consciousness. Now this seems to be what? It seems to be saying the very opposite, doesn't it? If we think of cosmic consciousness as being a complete beyondness, like an all-over nothingness perhaps, or certainly a non-physical something, Here we have Qabalah telling us that cosmic consciousness is very definitely associated with that part of our consciousness, which we call the inner holy planet Saturn. And remember Saturn on the Qabalistic tree of life is a sign to understanding the black sephirah and that being called the sphere of the activity of Saturn and what is that black sephirah none other than the feminine polarity of God the masculine polarity being wisdom what What is the sphere of the activity of Saturn?

None other than the divine soul, Bina.

None other than Aima.

Aima when Bina is pregnant with the divine seed and Ama when she is the dark sterile mother until the Cosmic Father is able to project the seed or decides to for that matter. We have then a very extraordinary something to analyze here and after we analyze it perhaps we'll be able to lift our hearts and souls together and get a touch of the experience we will try let's see the Divine Mother is assigned to Saturn which definitely at least astrologically is said to be not only that which limits but the frustrator Saturn has been called the father of time certainly time limits eternity when you want to think of it in that matter we have with the ideas of Saturn also that which has to do with heaviness Saturn is assigned to lead and lead is heavy and in spiritual alchemy we're told regularly that the alchemist, and remember that comes from Qabalah, the alchemist has to turn the lead into gold.

Gold. Now remember, lead associated with Saturn is also part of the entire, you might say, projection of the ideas that we associate with inertia, because lead is a heavy metal. Not only with inertia, but with that which we can experience as heavy, as physical, as a thing.

Now turning lead into gold, you know, a lot of people went in for nonsense and started to stir their little cauldrons.

Maybe some of them even put on the proper caps for all we know. But basically the changing of lead into gold or transmuting it is very readily understood by those even slightly trained in Qabalah, since the inner holy planet Saturn is assigned to that part of the chakras, you know, or whirling forces that is said to have their connection in the physical vehicle to the base of the spine. And that's lead, remember, whereas gold is assigned to the sun, S-U-N, as well as S-O-N, begotten sun. Gold is assigned to the sun center in the heart. And certainly, all of transmutation then is aimed at transmuting the lead, that is, that that which we think of as the negative Saturn, into gold, or shall we say transmuting responses from the lower levels of our inner worlds of force, to that center which we call the true ego seated in the hearts of men. That true center, which is not only assigned to gold, but as a sign to that which in the Christian thought has come to be called the Christus in the Qabalistic teaching and training system, we think of it as the self-redeemer because all of us have to come to the point, as we've pointed out, where through aspiration, through application of the, thee, and listen carefully to this, through application of the disciplines of Saturn.

We attain to the knowledge of who and what we are, to that illumination, that center within the heart. We become one then with the father, which means incidentally one with the mother, because it has not been properly translated. So people have not come to recognize the full meaning as yet.

Now then, think for a moment. Saturn, with Tarot key number 21, assigned to the Hebrew letter Tav, the last letter of the alphabet, also has this kind of symbolism that is very closely related to it. In its older form it was called the mark or the cross now by mark or cross I want you to think of the idea of signature and this particular signature or mark has to do with the spirit or the essence, the inner essence of Saturn. Because Saturn, as we see here in the Tarot key itself, is being shown as being a dance of life.

We see here the figure, this woman, and she is very obviously dancing. Dancing. Furthermore, she's not only dancing, she's doing something quite impossible. She's dancing in the air. You know, everybody knows that in order to dance you have to put your feet solidly down on the ground, you know, and then there's one foot and the other and there are various motions and what have you. So we have to throw out the idea that discipline Discipline means sorrow and sadness, in other words, the things that exoteric astrologers have said about Saturn.

We have to give up the idea that discipline, and I'm speaking particularly about self-discipline, although all discipline has to be self-discipline in the final analysis. We have to give up the idea that self-discipline is something that is the opposite of freedom. You know, in the occult, you often hear the word being liberated, you know. People want to be liberated when they have spiritual aspiration. But the idea is that, and what this Tarot key is saying, and saying in a thousand and one ways, it is saying that cosmic consciousness, because that's one of the Qabalistic attributions here, that cosmic consciousness is dependent upon the measured rhythm of self-discipline of which the dance is a marvelous indication.

It is saying that that which we look upon as hard and solid or heavy or inertia is not that at all, but it is a glorious, joyous dance of livingness. Livingness.

This Tarot key is saying that that which we think of as being a hindrance on the path of return is not that, it is the opposite. It is a nade. This tarot key is saying this in a thousand and one ways now I want you to notice that tarot key number 10 the wheel of fortune is very closely related to tarot key 21 called the world it also has the four figures in the corners you notice that now these four figures incidentally have many terms. One of them, in case you don't know it, are the four holy creatures, H-O-L-E, you know, sacred.

And they are also known as the caribbean. What do you think of that? In order for the evolution to take place, for growth, for attainment of the capacity to become consciously the begotten, to become consciously co-administrator with God, another reason why the administrative intelligence is given here to Saturn, the world. In order for this to take place, you have to have your periods where, say, you're in what is really a kind of imprisonment, that is, a physical vehicle. You live in and through, you experience in and through a physical vehicle. This is a limitation of a kind. And then you have to be released from it. That's what you might call the reincarnating, the being born, experiencing, then dying.

And you have to die in order to sort of have a rest. That is, you die physically. Because how can the mind of God die, and there is naught else. And if when one dies physically I mean after all what has really happened you haven't annihilated the atoms that make up your body you know they still exist the only thing that has happened is that the consciousness that is the soul of the person has withdrawn from holding the atoms within that particular field or area of force.

That's all that's happened.

But then, the point is then consciousness can say, Aha, now I see. Now I did this wrong and that wrong. I didn't do that as beautifully.

In other words, you can analyze your life. And that's what a soul does after every incarnation.

It analyzes the lifetime. Time it's just been in to see where what it did where it went wrong and if it isn't good enough at it why there are always angels and other beings and consciousness to help point it out incidentally so we have we have this analysis that brings what that helps to bring us extra understanding that's the sphere of the activity of bina on the tree of life and therefore extra wisdom inheriting then then from our divine father, divine mother.

But the idea then of inertia or the idea of limitation exists for the very purpose of what we might call expansion.

That's why we have Tarot Key 10, the Wheel of Fortune assigned to Jupiter. And Jupiter, you know, is the expansive planet. You know, it expands out, out. Just the universe is expanding, consciousness is expanding, Jupiter symbolizes the expansion. Whereas Saturn, assigned to this key, is apparently symbolizing contraction.

So we have expansion, contraction. Contraction, incidentally, the figure holding the two whirling forces is actually indicating this also. The pairs of opposites where expansion and contraction are the two sides of a coin like. But notice the difference between key 10, the Wheel of Fortune, and this one. In Ki 10, the bull, which is representative of the earth part of the divine name, that is in Ki 10, it's facing inward.

In Ki 21, it's facing outward. Do you notice the difference?

Now that is the difference in the caribbean there. And what does it mean? In essence it means that when you've attained the perfection of this key 21 saturn the world you the caribbean do not have to protect you anymore from the eating of the fruit of the tree of life that's why I am giving you the nourishment and fruit so you see the point is is you are being taught how to utilize the principles of tarot, the principles, the ways, the means, the methods of Qabalah, in order to become consciously eternal, consciously consciously immortal with your divine parents, Yod-Heh-Vah-Heh-Elohim.

Now, with Tarot Key 21, the world then, why do we have it even called the world? It's because not until we have really developed enough self-consciousness, and self-consciousness is a limitation. Think about that for a moment, isn't it? So that you might say all of manifestation, all of manifestation that is experienced, is experienced because the divine soul, So, Bina, sphere of activity, understanding, the Divine Mother, who is the complement of the Divine Father, was moved into the relationship and into the partnership, into the union, to bring about the development of limitation. Without limitation you could not experience anything at all we're learning to love the manifestation of all the infinite varieties of variations yet at the same time we're learning to recognize the fact that there's no such thing as separation and that's it you see we're in a a state of ignorance when we just take for granted that we're separate and that other people have done and not done the various things. Now then, we are trying to show you true cosmic awareness is being able to recognize that the greatest gift, the greatest treasure treasure that life can hold is the fact that we are able to experience differences othernesses instead of hating it we love it because we know that inside I am that I am is the same I am but what kind of miracle look at the genius god has just right here I wish I had a mirror so we We could all look in the mirror at once.

And God's got it made. Because all at once, God experiences selfhood in these myriad ways, not just us. What's the population of the planet? The world. There's the world.

God's dancing.

God's having a ball. You say, yeah, what about the hunger and what about the tears? Yes, but I was just trying to point out that when we're immature, we do things immaturely because we're learning how to use this fantastic power of self-discipline and how to love responsibility.

So cosmic awareness then is really a dance of life. You might say God has such genius that God is a choreographer. No, that means you fashion special dances.

God does that. God is also, incidentally, a fantastic musician, a composer. Look, God's composed us.

You know, anything, you name it, God is it. In and through us in all kinds of varieties. That's why when we develop this realization and this is the work that teaches us to do it, you receive these lessons, you learn how, little by little through the use of this very thing that we thought is a restriction, this self-discipline, which really means reminding ourselves, ourselves, reminding ourselves to feel joyous at the responsibilities instead of growling at them. Wouldn't life be hell if you had no one that you loved to take care of, to do things for? To be joyous where before we thought we're having problems. This is the self-discipline where we ourselves discover that the dance of life is coming more and more alive in us. And then we not only discovered alive in us, we can then share it.

We're like the Pied Piper, you know, with our little pipe. People pick it up from us because all the power of the universe is there. And cosmic awareness then can be shared because we We radiate this joy, we radiate this love, we help others to give up the unnecessary nonsense, the unnecessary tears.

Let's together just make a, well, make an oath. You know, it says thou shalt not swear, of course, or take the name of thy Lord and God in vain. So if you take an oath, better not use the Lord thy God's name when you take the oath, though. Make sure you don't take it in vain. Make an oath to yourself that goes something like this.

I dedicate myself to remind myself as often as I can that not only I, but everybody that comes across my path, passes my way, is a very specialized aspect of God, of the cosmos, of the divine. I dedicate myself to hunt for this beauty, whether it's in a sunrise or sunset, whether it's in twinkling stars, or whether it's in the glimmering silver of a cloud deck day, whether it's in times of so-called plenty or times of so-called lack. I dedicate myself to hunt for the beauty and the joy, to join in this dance.

I dedicate myself to use it for expansion. Remember, you see the veil around Saturn?

That is the Hebrew letter kaf, which is assigned to key 10.

And that means, kaf means grasp. You are starting to grasp the principles as we teach them to you. And this figure, which is really life, your life and my life, This is the divine presence dancing in you. And this is the divine presence waiting to dance in you as soon as you let this presence dance. It is covered by a veil, which means grasp. You will be able to grasp the expansion principles. And that will be the only covering you will ever need. You won't have to hide yourself from yourself anymore because you will see every covering as being an aspect of God the Understanding the grasp of God wherever a form is you will look at your pet and you'll know this is a veil veiling God You will look at your beloved you'll that the body this is a veil veiling God Look at me. I am a veil veil, veiling God. I look at you. I see the veils. Oh, the most fantastic varieties of veils, veiling God. And this is the miracle. And this is the miracle and mystery. This is the cosmic awareness. And this is the fulfillment which we have to bring to earth. That's why the world, This world is the kingdom of God. It is. And you are being helped to discover it and live it.