113 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
113 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
"The Purpose and Function of a New Tarot"
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Reprinted from: National Satanic BBS
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by Roger L. Whitaker, Priest of Set III* Temple of Set
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Electronic mail: CompuServe 72460,3034
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As is the case with all Great Works, this particular one - the redesign and
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development of an updated Tarot deck - began with a simple question, a
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nagging need for an answer, and a specific Form within which to encase that
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answer as it made its way into consciousness.
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Why is there a need, a necessity as it were, to create and design another
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Tarot deck? Hasn't the poor old Tarot been disrespected, mauled, and cajoled
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into a boring plaything of the casual and shallow dilettante? Don't we have
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enough decks of various types to exhaust every possible initiatory
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proposition which MAY have a grain of truth hidden somewhere within its
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mysterious confines?
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At present the so-called "Tarot reader" enjoys a choice of decks, from which
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he or she can select the one by which the "querent" will be most easily
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influenced. Such mundane considerations have no place within the function of
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a new Tarot deck, which would be designed specifically for Greater Black
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Magical (GBM) applications.
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The creation of such a new deck - the Setian Deck - will constitute a return
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to the original inspiration that resulted in the final Great magical Work of
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Aleister Crowley, the _Book of Thoth_ (Thoth Tarot). Ipsissimus Crowley
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realized that for any Tarot deck to be a viable initiatory tool, it must
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undergo periodic revisions in accordance to the known Principles of the
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existing aeonic current. Balance is a primary concern of any serious
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aspirant to initiated wisdom. If the Tarot is to be used in any capacity to
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aid one's initiation, it must be synchronized with the appropriate
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initiatory current.
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In keeping with the groundwork laid by Crowley, this new Tarot will be one
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in which the essential elements contained within the deck are updated. The
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deck will contain those fundamental initiatory Principles that are the
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standards by which to judge the coming into being of events which pass
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within an initiate's personal environment.
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As many of you probably already realize, the use of the Tarot as a "fortune
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telling" device is a debased activity for which the cards have unfortunately
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been employed. The utilitarian aspect of the Tarot in its much higher and
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more useful aspect (for initiates) is its function as a vehicle for the
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mapping out or structuring of an individual's Subjective Universe at a
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particular moment in time. Used in this manner, the Tarot can become a very
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precise and articulate tool by which to classify and realte those elements
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pertinent to each individual's personal concept of what profane humanity
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call a divine being: one's "Holy Guardian Angel" - but what the true Adept
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understands as an image not of an exterior entity of any sort, but rather of
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the Higher manifestation of his OWN consciousness: a persona of personal
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godhood.
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Here is something that those of you who believe yourselves Adept at such
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matters should take to heart: For all the good or bad that it does to each
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individual's personal equilibrium, the ultimate goal and purpose of
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initiation is to create a god of ONESELF: a being of genuine control over
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one's existence, environment, and, most importantly, Will. The method of
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accomplishment is the conscious and willed structuring (and re-structuring)
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of the components that comprise one's individual Universe within and without
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oneself.
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The Tarot is intimately involved with the above-mentioned goal. Its cards,
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through a variety of mathematical, scientific, and classical symbols and
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archetypal imagery, inspire mental images or concepts. These are instantly
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realized as representing timeless Principles which have eluded decomposition
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into triviality or dogma.
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An important point: It is the responsibility of certain initiates within
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each aeon to update and make correct those aspects of the Tarot which have
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become more clearly defined by the new aeonic current. This work clearly
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involves the removal of unintelligible and dogmatic elements as well as of
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outdated and useless symbols. In some cases, complete conceptual re-design
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is called for. This must be accomplished while retaining AND maintaining
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those elements of the deck which are timeless and eternal. This guarantees
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the integrity of the Tarot system itself.
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* * *
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This work was begun a number of years ago by Priest and Priestess Whitaker
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of the Temple of Set. The projected date for having the project finished is
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still several years away. The Whitakers may be reached through CompuServe
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for those of you who would like to discuss this topic.
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* * *
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THE INVERTED PENTAGRAM LAYOUT
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I have never been much for the complicated layouts that are often designed
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for placing the Tarot cards. Understanding that the special significance of
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a card should be apparent on its own regardless of physical position I came
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to use the Inverted Pentagram layout which was shown to me by a Mr. Lynn
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Norton.
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1. You need to know the cards well enough to easily do a reading with only
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5-6 cards.
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2. Do not give any of the positions pre-imposed designations (such as: "the
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lower point of the pentagram represents an element of the past", etc.). Lay
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the cards out in any order you wish.
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3. AFTER you lay the cards out, study them. THEN give them specific time-
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designations if you wish as you apply them to the context of your reading.
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An inverted pentagram layout is specifically that. One card will represent
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each of the five points of the pentagram - in this case a star with two
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points upraised. An additional card may be placed in the center if
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absolutely necessary.
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The most essential and sublime use of the Tarot is that of an initiatory
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tool for the individual aspirant. I'd rather read a "soul" than a "fortune".
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I'd rather chart a course than be led down one not of my own making. Adepts
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should understand this. |