Tau is the last or first path of the Tree of Life. It establishes
contact between Yesod, the great amplifier
of astral images, and Malkuth, the
maintainer of the sensory world. It is the gateway
of all mystical traditions into the underworld, the magical subconscious of Yesod
to which all magicians withdraw and from which they return from pathworking. It is also the womb and the grave through which life passes in and out of our physical body.
to which all magicians withdraw and from which they return from pathworking. It is also the womb and the grave through which life passes in and out of our physical body.
Tau is the path on
which the emanations
of the entire tree is
finally transmitted towards the physical plane. And therefore
the path where the magician can find traces of all nine Sephiroth
above Malkuth., especially the seven
sephiroth (planets) of the Microprosopos; "...it directs
and associates in all their operations the seven planets...".
Tau means 'cross' referring not only to the T-shaped
Tau cross, but also to the equal-armed cross and the swastica
which are symbols of the four elements, now in perfect and balanced manifestation. The path of Tau is the process
by which all divine forces combined make their mark in the sensory
world.
Tau is the first
and final test of the capacity of the magician. Do we feel powerless
when faced with the way the divine is manifesting itself through
the etheric womb of Tau? Do we posess the cosmic consciousness to realize the perfection of the
universe and our own place within The Great
Work? These are ultimately saturnian
issues.
The Universe is also
the name of the tarot trump associated with this path (see below).
The card shows a woman dancing inside a womb upon the waves of
the Astral Light, surrounded by the
four kerubim. She is dancing with a snake which
can not only be seen as the serpent of Kundalini,
but also the Teth, the serpent as a symbol of the soul's will to
incarnation.
| Meaning of Letter: Tau Cross. Equal Armed Cross. The Swastica. | Type of Letter: Double Letter: Power/Servitude. | Value: 400. | ||
| Place | Between Yesod and Malkuth on the Middle Pillar. Compare also with the Sephirah Binah, the Mother of all form. | |||
| "32 Paths of Wisdom" | "The Thirty-second Path is the Administrative Intelligence, and it is so called because it directs and associates in all their operations the seven planets, even all of them in their own due course." | |||
| Tarot Trump | 21. The Universe. The Great One of the Night of Time. Pantacle of the whole. | |||
| Virtue / Vice: Beginning / scattered. | Astrology: Saturn. | |||
| The four worlds | Atziluth | Briah | Yetzirah | Assiah |
| Meanings of Trump | Fulfilling | Exciting | Plenty | Integrating |
| Colours | Indigo | Black | Blue black | Black, rayed blue |
| Tarot affirmation 1: | "I am a child of the Universe. I am secure and sure of my place in the scheme of things. All my needs are provided". | |||
| Tarot affirmation 2 | "I am the Universe!". | |||
| Magical symbols | Pantacle. Salt. Temple. | |||
| Body | Perineum. Buttocks. Bladder. Skin. Skin diseases. Cystitis. Astral vision. Geomancy. | |||
| Mythology | Persephone's (daugther of Demeter/Earth Mother/Malkuth) descent to Pluto, King of the Underworld (from the Demeter hymn of Homer). The well where Demeter mourns over Persephone. Persephone eats a Pomegranate (full of seeds) and must return each year to the Underworld (to regenerate). Hole in the ground from Alice in Wonderland . Oedipus' way into it. Ghoul. | |||
| Other symbols | A Natural. marjoram. Sarsparilla. Rue. Daffodil. Hawthorn. Crocodile. | |||
