We know that the thirty work ‘I’s are divine wisdom, but when the steward is not using them, “wisdom is obscured in darkness.” This is illustrated by the Hanged Man tarot card (XII), in which the steward is upside down, asleep, only imagining that he is awake. (08-14-05)
“Unless the weeds are removed, neither plants nor flowers can grow.” [Al-Ghazali]
“Weeds,” which represent imagination, are the most common symbol in the tarot. In the Hanged Man tarot card (XII), the steward is portrayed upside down, his head surrounded by weeds. Unless imagination is removed, presence—the lotus—cannot appear. (1-23-05)
“The pleasures of the world seem sweet till they are tried, and then they are found to be very bitter and repulsive.” [Jalaluddin Rumi]
When you are in imagination, you do not feel any pain. In the Hanged Man tarot card (XII), although the figure is upside down, he is not in pain. When you awaken from imagination, however, you realize that it was bitter fruit, for you have been deceived by the king of clubs. (08-14-05)
“Most have their hands tied behind their back.” [Rabia]
This refers to the Hanged Man tarot card (XII). Eighty billion people in the history of humanity have passed through the earth’s unconscious stage with their hands “behind their back.” They were asleep, only imagining that they were awake, and they did not suspect their condition. Gurdjieff said, “Machines they are born, machines they die.” Attar said, “The back would please you if you had never seen the face.” Eighty billion people have been content with the four lower centers. The “back” has pleased them, for they have not seen the “face”—the intellectual parts of centers engaging presence. When our steward is not using the thirty work ‘I’s, our hands are tied behind our backs. This is our pitiful condition. However, this situation will not last, and the tarot ends with the World card (XXI)—in which world twelve is triumphant, in a prolonged state of presence. This is the state we are in now. We have the lower self chained, hand and foot. (9-25-05)
“A man in chains cannot run. Nor can the mind that is enslaved to passion see the place of spiritual prayer.” [The Philokalia, Evagrios the Solitary]
The “place of spiritual prayer” is the nine of hearts. “A man in chains cannot run” refers to the intellectual parts of centers not promoting presence, represented by the Hanged Man card (XII) in the tarot. The Nobel prizewinners are men in chains. The steward that is enslaved to the four lower centers cannot see the
place of spiritual prayer. (10-21-05)
“He who busies himself with the sins of others has not yet even begun to repent or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins.” [The Philokalia, Maximos the Confessor]
The steward who “busies himself with the sins of others”—the sleep of others—“has not yet even begun to repent”—has not begun to use work ‘I’ number one—“or to examine himself so as to discover his own sins.”
This predicament is represented by the Hanged Man tarot card (XII), which depicts the steward listening to the ‘I’s rather than separating from them. If one turns the card upside down, one can see that the Hanged Man is not feeling any pain. He is asleep, only imagining that he is promoting presence. In the Hanged Man card, the Tree of Life has six cut branches on each side, representing the six work ‘I’s that are not being used. In II Samuel 23:13, it is said that David had “thirty chief” officers, of whom six were more important, and three were the most important. These three are: “Eat,” “Drink,” and “Be merry.” (11-9-05)
"Pure is the tongue which is in the King's mouth. The King will not be hanged head downwards." Pyramid Texts
"Pure is the tongue which is in the King's mouth", the mouth of the Lord, the steward. "The King will not be hanged head downwards", that is, he is not in the state of imagination. This passage is convincing proof that the tarot originated in Egypt. It refers to the Hanged Man card (XII), which portrays the steward asleep, imagining that he is engaging world twelve. However, the word Be, or a shock from Influence C, alerts the steward to his pitiful condition. The Hanged Man card is lovely because on either side of the figure a branch with six shoots depicts the first six work I's. However, they are red rather than green, signifying that they have been cut off. The tree of life is not flowering. (12-28-05)
“And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” [Revelation 12:4]
A sculpture from the cathedral of Chartres depicts a laughing devil, who has thrown a pregnant woman over his shoulder. The woman represents the nine of hearts, who is pregnant with the Son of Man. However, the devil has consumed her son, whose face is now inside his belly.
The son is like the Hanged Man, for he does not realize his condition—that he is asleep, only imagining that he is awake. However, when work ‘I’ number one Be sounds, it will deliver him from this illusion. We can see that the woman is in imagination, because the tail of the devil is whispering in her ear. The figure of the devil is an authentic portrayal of the lower self. It is animal intelligence in human form. He is standing upon a representation of the city—the intellectual parts of centers—which is under the control of the lower self and not promoting presence. This is the state you are in when you are using a computer, driving a car, or speaking on the telephone without presence. You are not feeling any pain. You do not realize your condition. I can guarantee that the lower self has put you into this state. He has you where he wants you. You are under his feet. (1-1-06)
“The illusion of grace comes to us when we fall into a light sleep while our remembrance of God is half-hearted.” [The Philokalia, Diadochos of Photiki]
“The illusion of grace”—the illusion of presence—“comes to us when we fall into a light kind of sleep while our remembrance of God is half-hearted.” A “light kind of sleep” is the state of the Hanged Man. (1-4-06)
“Down to the deepest depths I peered;/I hung on that windy tree,/Swung there for nine long nights;/None gave me bread./None gave me drink.” [Icelandic poem, from about 1200 AD]
“Down to the deepest depths I peered”—the belly of the whale, the bottom of the pit, world ninety-six—the lower self. “I hung on that windy tree”—the king of clubs—“swung there for nine long nights”—the intellectual parts of centers not promoting presence—three, three, and three—the three wise men who visited Christ with their three divisions. “None gave me bread”—none gave me the thirty work ‘I’s. “None gave me drink”—none gave me prolonged presence. The Hanged Man was totally oblivious to his condition. (1-4-06)
“When this prayer becomes grafted in our heart, then there are no inner interruptions, and it continues always in the same evenly flowing way.” [The Philokalia, Theophan the Recluse]
This is a lovely new thought for us. “When this prayer becomes grafted in our heart” means that the work ‘I’s are acting with the emotional center. They are grafted in the heart to actually engage presence. “Then there are no inner interruptions, and it continues always in the same evenly flowing way.” The state you are in now is the state you want to reach at the end of the sequence, and to hold it for the same length of time as it took for you to attain it.
The Hanged Man card (XII) illustrates quite clearly that the nine of hearts is the Tree of Life. However, the work ‘I’s were not grafted in the heart; in fact, the branches have been cut off. There is no emotional connection with the sequence. (6-7-06)
“Never turn your back carelessly on an enemy, because this can only lead to evil days.”
[Persian Book of Kings]
“This can only lead to evil days” refers to the six “days” of the week—the six work ‘I’s—submerged in imagination. It can only lead to the Hanged Man. The story of Judas symbolizes the sequence breaking down at work ‘I’ number four. The sequence failed, and Judas hung himself, and became the Hanged Man. The thirty pieces of silver that he received signify that, rather than acting, and becoming thirty pieces of gold, the sequence remained in the second state. For the Christians, Peter also represented the Hanged Man, who was crucified upside-down. (1-14-07)
“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” [Mark 8:36]
“What shall it profit a man”—what shall it profit the intellectual parts of centers—“if he shall gain the whole world“—if they shall serve the lower self—“and lose his own soul”—and lose the steward? This is illustrated by the Hanged Man card (XII) in the Tarot. Abu Said said, “Those seeking this world will kill Moses and worship the Pharaoh.” Those seeking this world—the ‘I’s unrelated to your sequence—will destroy your sequence and serve the lower self. (8-27-06)
“I will walk upright, I will not walk upside-down, and I will go aboard the bark of Ra.”
[Egyptian Coffin Texts]
We can see by this passage that the Egyptians invented the Tarot, as well as the common deck of playing cards. They are referring to the Hanged Man (XII), who is hanging upside-down. “I will walk upright”—I will engage presence with the sequence—“I will not walk upside-down”—I will not say Be, Hold, Hear without connecting with presence—“and I will go aboard the bark of Ra”—the nine of hearts prolonging presence. Ra means Be. (8-6-06)
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