The Tarot of El, LLC: The Major Arcana- The Dreams of Gaia Tarot- 0- Choice & The Thoth Tarot- 0-The Fool.

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Today, is the start of a new Tarot Card Comparison, between the Dreams of Gaia Tarot and the Western Qabalistic Thoth Tarot. Shown above is the Tarot Book that accompanies the Dreams of Gaia Tarot Card Deck, which can be bought online at Amazon. com or www.blueangelonline.com. The author of the guide book and its art is Ravynne Phelan . The book is edited by James Morris and is published by Blue Angel Publishing in Victory, Australia.

The only introduction needed for the Dreams of Gaia Tarot, is best said by the Author herself:

Dreams of Gaia Tarot is for those who desire unity within themselves, their relationships, and with heaven and earth. It is for those who wish to explore, and develop a keener understanding of Self, as well as those who seek to commune with the spirit realms and the Divine.

The philosophy of the cards is simple- to seek, to feel, to grow and to heal.

This is also the goal of the Western Qabalistic Tarot of the Thoth Tarot. I would recommend this Tarot deck to anyone who thinks the Thoth Tarot is too much, or as another wonderful tarot deck to use when you divine. Lovely and powerful in its message and understanding, you can't go wrong here.

The Dreams of Gaia-0-Choice, is comparable to the Thoth Fool and expounds upon the issue of choice. Choice is true freedom, yet many confuse Choice with Decision making. Decision making, is based on association with past experience; hence not freely made. Freedom is Choice, for it is an "Eenie-Meanie- Miny- Moe" phenomena. One is not sure where this choice may lead, but they are either excited by the imagined possibilities or just plain curious, and/or "foolishly" spontaneous in their choices. Hence, the 2 faces on the Card, one white and free of fear, and the other, crying, and dark with fear. The Tree of knowledge along with its serpent (frequency) and the golden apple of knowledge at the base. Those who wish to make choices for you, invented Religion, and in Patriarchal religions, it is often stated to "have faith" in the Church, and believe what those of this Theological hierarchy tell you. All for the purpose of controlling what you "imagine" to be yourself. Hence, 2 gates with closed eyes ("I's") are those of Decisions made, and Choices made for you. The Open Eye gate, is the gate of I AM, the open personality that listens to their inner divinity. Each of these gates lead to a "starry" path, of illusion. However, the central,"open minded gate", has the only path that leads upward, into the realms of the Higher Self. For all is illusion, we are Photons/ the light of the Son/Sun, not people. People are who we operate. I am the golden psyche that is called "Soul", and as a collective of Spiritual Knowledge, I know I was made by the Divine, not by man. God made by man, is religion. I am the image of the Divine and I only need to go into my heart and find that Divinity bright and clear, radiating love of its child, to its child who knows himself. So what I perceive to be "life" is a story I tell myself. I for one, choose to create my own story.

You as a Psyche/Soul have made a decision and that is "To Be", the choices of what to be, is left up to the self-conscious, and/or personality. This means that choice, opinions, self determination, free will, causes and effect, consequence and procrastination is totally up to the persona of the Soul. Persona is the root word of Personality, and is a Greek word for "mask". Therefore, your choices, al be it free, are simply "proof that is in the pudding" and/or experienced to prove the "theory", by the "lesser self" and/or "lesser ego" whereas, the Soul is the Greater Ego's (the Divine -I AM), "Golden Child" and/or Sun/Son of the Divine. Therefore, Choice creates reality, as does decision making. Decisions are made by the "survival thinking" of the lesser ego and/or animal mind, while Choices are made by a "free spirit" who is trusting of their Psyche/Soul.

However, your life is not only made of your choices, but also the choices you let others make for you, or the choice they made for themselves that you have impacted on or influence your life. Hey, you may believe that in certain situations, that you have no choice, but then that is also a choice based on a decision; usually a decision not to "make waves". One can choose decisions over choice, but both are choices. However, if you exercise your right to have others make a choice for you, this is still a choice. One must remember, that what they believe, is a choice, but it isn't based on fact. Belief, is easily done, all you need is to listen to fear. That is why Carl Jung, the famous German psychologist, stated:

Religion is a defense against the experience of God. This is not because he didn't know god, for he even stated that he did:

Fear is a choice. Belief is a choice, as not to believe and not to fear, are also choices. Knowing is the in the realm of the Soul. The Golden Child doesn't fear its Divine Creative Parents, is Knows them and loves them dearly; a great trust unbroken by choices. To choose Knowing, one must go within to the realm of "intuition", where the Soul abides. "Above all things, know thyself", is the often heard Western Qabalistic Axiom, yet it is the truth of Knowing, for all you will ever know, is Self. It is also the ancient legend of the Sphinx;

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, three legs in the evening, and no legs at night?"

The classic riddle presented to Oedipus Rex by the Sphinx in Greek Mythology. He was the first one to solve it--all the others who failed were eaten by the Sphinx--after which she threw herself down a chasm. This is one of the oldest Stock Puzzles out there, going back to the Greek writer Apollodorus in the second century CE.

The answer? As a baby, a human goes about on all fours ("four legs in the morning"; morning = childhood), until he learns to walk, which he does so well into adulthood ("two legs in the afternoon"; afternoon = adulthood), until old age requires him to use a cane to support himself ("three legs in the evening", evening = old age), finally he dies ("no legs at night", night = death). So the answer is "a man".

In other words: Man know thyself!

Even in the Christian bible , which is often used as an excuse for religion, states:

Psalm 82 vs 6: I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

John 10 vs 34: Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

Genesis 1 vs.27 … So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them

Now that we know that all we have experienced, because of past choices-yours or others, has shaped your beliefs, personality, and how you perceive the world we may wish to un-make them. No can do. You have to make new choices, to change, to grow, to be. So instead of choosing the "same old you", that has been created by culture, religion, society, and family life. You must choose to believe in your Soul, for it created you "in its image" and above all things, knows you. You experience "spirit" everyday, for it is what makes you breathe. Spirit, comes from the Greek word, Spiro-which means-breath and/or to breathe. Your contact with your Spirit, of your Spirit, Psyche (mind) and Body trinity, begins the process of inner harmony of the "3", that is the "will to form" of the Creatrix, and becomes your outer expression of happiness. For you are not alone, nor ever have been, there are 3 of you, here and now. What has happened, is that you've been divided against yourself, and therefore, conquered. The Spirit-Mind-Body, is the Whole Self, (holy spirit) and is one of Knowing, not the pusillanimous choice of believing. Believing has divided your body, from the knowing of Spirit, and the surety of Mind. I AM Me. not anything else. For those of the Knowing, are those of the Soul. I=Spirit, Am=Mind, Me= the image born.

The future is merely the effect of today's choices. Choose to be what the Divine Creative made you to be. Hence, Qabalah, the study of Receiving your inheritance from the Divine. Above all things know thyself and that you use energy-in-motion/emotion, to operate the body, emotion does not use you. For you are Spirit-Mind-Body, and there is nothing higher, greater or more than that!

When the Dreams of Gaia-0-Choice is thrown in a Divination, it implies:

• Choice offers reward or consequence.
• Weigh your options.
• Chose wisely.
• Stop procrastinating. 
• Be responsible for your choices.
• Awareness empowers. 

Fear not. What is not real, never was and never will be.

What is real always was and cannot be destroyed.

-Bhagavad Gita

The Fool is the universal key that is associated with the state of conscious energy that is us before and after death. In other words, the conscious state that is Holy Spirit. Many of us believe that we “have a spirit" but few of us know that we are Spirit and seek not spirituality but rather are Spirituality; a Spiral Vital Force that brings whole-conscious liberation and expansion to Earth anima (female animal mind) and animus (Male animal mind).

Rather than just being assumed as being mystical, transpersonal, transcendent, and ecstatic in its nature, the Fool represents the power of wonder and ecstasy that is so apparent in the very young (and the “enlightened”) before they succumb to indoctrination and form a "cultural identity". The cultural identity is not real so Cabalists call it "reality" which we all know as relative and subjected to the “I” of the beholder. The Real is the infinite part of ourselves!

The Oriental symbol for fear is the tiger. In this card, fear is seen as attempting to gnaw on the leg of the fool who isn't giving any consideration to fear. He looks forward, and the tiger can't even make a dent in his perspective.

The Fool is the energetic essence of who we are---an unflappable immortal spiritual flow of Photon- energy consciousness that flows from the Infinite Source. This card symbolizes the creative expression that is needed to give birth to new parts of our lives and to boldly take risks that are so necessary to evolutionary development!

As a mental Path, THE FOOL connects Kether (Crown) with Chokmah (Wisdom). To the Qabalist, Kether is known as the Source of All, and Chokmah is known as Father God.

This mental journey is the Path of Aleph, (The Fool) meaning OX, is about the "flowing of Life Force and creative power", showing that the SPIRIT had a beginning aim to be manifesting on Earth and/or Sensual Being.

Crowley symbolizes this "Holy Spirit" (The Spirit on every level of the Tree of Life) as a dove in the Thoth Card. Crowley also called The Letter Aleph, a phallic symbol.....but then so is the Projected Will that is THE MAGUS, and one wonders if Crowley was so besotted with the Phallus, that he was unable to see anything else; However, truth be told, by reference to Sexes and sexuality do we come to the minutest glimmering of understanding about the Universe. We begin seeing that the Below is a mirror reflection of the Above The Divine Spirit is all we know, we breathe it, we live within it, it is ourselves. Because we know this Divinity to be "the One Energy that cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed" (Psychics-Thermodynamics 1^st law), we know that everything is of this One, as symbolized by THE FOOL the Path of Aleph.

In this context, Aleph is attributed to Air and means Life-Breath. Just as Spirit is from the Greek root word Spiro, which means Breath. The One Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is then known in the Life-Breath. This is well known in Eastern cultures, and Pranayama (Breath yoga) are a major if not primary part of all Spiritual development. The Sanskrit Word Prana, is the Life-Breath energy; Prana meaning life and Yama meaning death. Simply, inhale and exhale.

The Qabalah and I have described the Magus as relating to "Words" (vibration), the underlying sonic of patterned manifestation. However, it is the power of breath that expels the sound. Thus THE FOOL activates THE MAGUS (The Spirit activates Will).

The Science of Crowley’s time, considered Air to be a vacuum, as related to THE FOOL, so did Crowley, but the Ancient Wisdom is that the Element Air is not a vacuum, as in empty of anything, but rather a No-thing who is the fertile No-thingness and egg of Spirit. The universal Egg of Spirit is known by students of the mysteries, to be the EGG OF AKASHA, the zero of THE FOOL, also represents this egg of Spiritual Womb, and is the mathematical formula of one Male, minus one female= 0 . Therefore, the understanding is that the Egg of Akasha, is a fertilized ovum of undefined sexuality, but having the potential for both!

Illustrated in the Thoth Fool card, is the Tiger, "fawning about" THE FOOL'S leg, which is an archetype image representing the Animal Nature of Survival thinking as related to the Higher Spiritual process of Love that is fearless. Again, as this cannot be said enough, the Horns on the Thoth figure represent those ancient mysteries of Dionysus Zagreus. The green clothing is that of the Celtic Green Man of Spring, the grapes at his feet are a tribute to Bacchus, the Greek God of Ecstasy, and the Crocodile (great creative energy) is “a swimming at his feet in the Nile" (Crowley quote). Making this 0, a complexity of subtleties and far from empty.

Images referring to the Godhead/Divine Creative, in the Thoth card, are the dove of Venus and the vulture of Maat the Dark Egyptian Goddess of Judgment, where she is the Mother of Dark Matter. Then there is the triple egg shape created by the caduceus in motion, symbolizing the Ain Soph Aur (The three states of No-Thing).

As you may realize, the imagery is so subjective that I haven't the words to detail it all for you. If you need more detail, and you do, I would recommend reading Crowley's BOOK OF THOTH, Robert Wang's Book: THE QABALISTIC TAROT and also investigating the Mythology of the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

To even begin understanding THE FOOL, we must entertain a multifaceted and fluid interpretation of Force and Form.

Dr.Paul Foster Case calls this Eleventh Path of Aleph, in his book THE THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM, the fiery or Scintillating Intelligence. Which makes sense as The Path of Aleph borders on the Limitless Light (Ain Soph), which is "not" or 0. Light without limit is darkness to us who need a beginning and an end to see. So here we try to explain what can't be seen as The Fiery Darkness which is the possibility of vibration or motion and the First Perception of the One having potential for activity. This would make a modern definition of “Dark Energy” as the “first I” or identity.

In the context of Masculine sexuality, the Fool is the Testes, and the Magus is the Phallus, (Represented by the three flowers beneath the spread legs of THE FOOL) as He directs active first flow from the Fool rather than potentiality doing so. However, I fear that is a rather limiting concept of the ONE as the Ain Soph is 0, but then, all concepts are less than the potential for conception.

We may reason that the potential for Thought, comes from the Dark Energy as Dark Matter (The First Material). The appearance of Thought emanates Mind, which is the vessel for Thought and/or Womb of Thought Forms, i.e. The “I-magi-nation”, transcending all reason. Thus, as often is so with the Supernal Triangle, our reason leaves us with more questions than answers.

Limitlessness is a very difficult concept! To say that THE FOOL represents the initial potential for thought which transcends reason, i.e. the All Seeing I, is about the best I can do with words.

The special reality we may touch in sleep, often gives us images that do not correlate to our mundane understanding of reality. This being so, our dreams seem to be so much abstraction and are considered as nonsense to our waking condition. However, the Great Work (As above so below) involves the assimilation of The Real, not a reality conceived of mundane ideas. And the Real Concepts are from what is not making what is from Dreams of Potential- Self! To think of the Universe as God Dreaming (Darkness Dreaming it is Light) is very difficult to grasp, and the fact that you are a "Lucid" Dreamer (Image of God), who has been given the Power of Observation that changes a thing, meaning you can change the Principle that is Things just by observing, is just about as mind boggling as it gets. But I dare postulate that just such a glimmer of insight requires a more than mundane understanding of Self! Thus, your Divinity is not often acknowledge by the mundane world of survival thinking. However, your Spiritual Womb, the conception of "the image of God", is the invisible Sephiroth, Daath (knowledge) seated within the Abyss, and is the Child of the Goddess (Understanding) and the God (Wisdom) who are face to face (Yab Yum). This middle path of Union is known as the Path of Gimel (meaning Camel); THE HIGH PRIESTESS OR HIGH PRIEST; the Divine Androgyny.

All the Inner Paths leading upward to Kether, THE FOOL, THE MAGUS, AND THE HIGH PRIESTESS, must be approached with a certain understanding of whimsy, as we realize that by crossing the Abyss and approaching Kether (As above, so below) means the total annihilation of Personality as we perceive it. Thus presenting us with the irony of our attempt to grasp such esoteric and refined principles from an earthly-mundane perspective. Often, when teaching the Major Arcana and knowing what I speak, cannot truly convey what I am saying, brings a smile, if not outright laughter to my face. To me, the subjective I AM- potential is ironically displayed as a limited conception—a Me. Being a Me must never be taken too seriously, for that concept will change daily, when one enters the Higher Self, and becomes a master of subjectivity.

To reiterate, THE FOOL- 0, is the initial potential for thought, transcending all reason. Thus objectifying the Upper Regions, the Supernal Triangle is a futile endeavor. However. Once we recognize the impossibility of consciously approaching the Highest Levels of the Tree of Life, i.e. The Universe, in a direct manner, we are forcibly driven into the key Principles of the Mysteries/ Tarot and the Metaphysics of As Above, So Below.

Once we start the study of Receiving, we begin seeing that the Below is a mirror reflection of the Above. Hence, The Divine Spirit is all we know, we breathe it, we live within it, it is ourselves. Because we know this Divinity to be "the One Energy that cannot be created nor destroyed, only transformed" (1^st law of Thermodynamics), we know that everything is of this One, as symbolized by THE FOOL, the Tarot image of the Path of Aleph.

In this context I dare to repeat, Aleph is attributed to Air and means Life-Breath. Just as Spirit is from the Greek root word Spiro, which means Breath. The One Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is then the Life-Breath the “one rope of Life” that we are all woven strands of. This is well known in Eastern cultures, and Pranayama (Breath yoga) are a major if not primary part of all Spiritual development. The Word Prana, is the Life-Breath energy and is also called the Sex force and means “life-death”. Now I have described the Magus as relating to "Words" (vibration), the underlying sonic of patterned manifestation. However, it is the power of breath that expels the sound. Thus THE FOOL activates THE MAGUS.

THE FOOL, represents the fertile Nothingness and egg of Spirit. The universal Egg of Spirit is known, by Qabalists, to be the EGG OF AKASHA, THE Fool is also the mathematical formula of minus one Male, minus one female= 0. Therefore, the understanding is that the Egg of Akasha, is a fertilized ovum of undefined sexuality, but having the potential for both!

THE FOOL, is the very expression of the god name of Kether, Eheieh, which means I will be. This is the essence of the Divine Child as yet unborn, who is all potential and who is our/your very beginning!

When THE FOOL card is thrown during a reading the querent is in or experiencing:

• When this card falls in a reading it shows us that this is the moment to do what you fear and trust the spirit within!
•  A state of ecstasy and/or a state of Peek experience.
• Fearlessness. Courage.  And is completing all motion by Faith, absolutely trusting THE SPIRIT. 
•  A feeling of being protected, and that everything will work out.
• Being open to what the future brings!
• Magic, amazement and desire in a relationship.

If ill-defined by accompanying cards, The Fool, is then the harbinger of folly, mania, extravagance and even negligence.

Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper.