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Above all things, know thyself!

#1. I am the center of expression for the primal will to good.

To us moderns—who think in myth yet now call it science—it may be understood that the Source of Energy corresponds to Kether, which may be likened to what physics calls dark energy. Likewise, the Creatrix of Western Hermetic Qabalah, Mother Binah, may be compared to dark matter—or more precisely, Dark Mater, the Dark Mother—an image echoed in the abyssal oceans and primordial seas of earthly water.

Thus, there is an essential element of darkness present in the Thoth Tarot Ace of Cups, just as there is an element of darkness associated with the Moon. In Latin, mater means mother, and it is this Dark Mater—this Dark Mother—that is the true womb of creation: the Abyssal Womb, the Sea of the Universal Collective Unconsciousness.

At first glance, this may seem like a play on words. Yet modern physics itself admits that dark matter and dark energy remain fundamentally unseen and poorly understood. Long before contemporary science, Qabalists described this same reality as “pure light”—non-reflected and therefore invisible—emanating from Kether and pervading the entire Supernal Triangle of Super-Consciousness. They called it “non-space,” for space requires measurement, and this darkness is infinite, immeasurable, and beyond form.

The first frequency of light, the purest light, is Kether—the Source of All. It is not known to us objectively, yet it is subjectively apprehended as movement within all that moves: the living current behind vibration, spiral motion, and even what modern theorists metaphorically approach through string or serpent imagery (Hence the twin serpents of the Lemniscate on the Cup). It is pure energy itself. For this reason, the Thoth Ace of Cups depicts this force as white purity—not because it is visible, but because it is an unlimited source of light and therefore transcends visibility altogether.

On the face of the Thoth Ace of Cups, are the 3 intertwining rings that represent the serpent-like twisting of the 3 Aeon of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. 

As Crowley states in his book of Thoth, pg., 195.

"The card represents the element of Water at its most secret and original form. It is the feminine complement of the Ace of Wands, and is derived from the Yoni and the Moon exactly as that is from the Lingam and the Sun." This Statement is true for all Tarot Ace of Cup cards

The Aces are attributed to Kether, the First Sephirah, while Cups correspond to Mother Binah, the Third Sephirah, operating in the Qabalistic World of Briah. Together, they represent the purest forms of Will shaping Energy: unseen by the human eye, yet rendered symbolically as white—the theoretical balance of all colors combined.

Each Ace expresses a specific quality and density of energy, corresponding to the Alchemical and Empedoclean–Pythagorean Universal Elements. Cups embody the Universal Element of Water, which signifies the Collective Unconsciousness—both the unconscious itself and its reflection as the subconscious. From this ocean arise emotion, intuition, imagination, dreams, and psychic receptivity, all gestating within the Dark Womb of Binah before taking form in consciousness.

In the Thoth Tarot Ace of Cups, the metaphysical doctrine of Kether and Binah is not merely stated—it is shown. The Grail itself is the central image of Mother Binah, the Dark Mater, the Abyssal Womb. It is not a vessel that contains something, but the womb from which all emotional, psychic, and imaginal life is born. As the Cup of Cups, it represents the Sea before form, the vast Universal Collective Unconsciousness from which all differentiated feeling emerges.

In the Thoth Tarot Ace of Cups, the doctrine of Kether and Binah is expressed not through anthropomorphic symbolism, but through pure alchemical process. There is no dove present. Instead, what descends from above is the Alchemical Gluten—a stream of white, viscous light-substance pouring directly from the Supernal Source into the Grail.

The Grail itself is the image of Mother Binah, the Dark Mater, the Abyssal Womb. It is not merely a container, but the matrix of formation, the receptive Sea in which Supernal energy becomes substance. The Cup is shown already full, yet still overflowing, revealing Binah’s inexhaustible capacity to receive, gestate, and give birth to form. This is the Dark Ocean of the Collective Unconsciousness, rendered symbolically as Water.

The descending white Gluten represents the first densification of Kether’s pure light—not yet differentiated, not yet refracted into color, but thickened just enough to enter the womb of form. This is the First Frequency of Light, the unreflected, unseen radiance of Kether made symbolically visible. Because it cannot be perceived objectively, it is shown as white—the theoretical balance of all colors combined.

From the Lotus the Cup arises, the Lotus, floating upon the surface of the Waters. The Lotus is the first articulation of consciousness within the unconscious—awareness emerging from the abyss without negating it. It signifies intuition, imaginal vision, and emotional intelligence being born from the Dark Mother, not in opposition to darkness, but through it.

Beneath and surrounding the Grail is the Sea, immeasurable and deep. This is not personal emotion, but the Primordial Ocean—the Universal Collective Unconsciousness and its reflection as the subconscious. It corresponds to what modern physics gestures toward as dark matter and dark energy, yet what Qabalists have long named pure light in its non-reflective state. Space requires measurement; this Sea is non-space, infinite and without limit.

Thus, the apparent purity and brilliance of the Ace of Cups does not deny darkness—it reveals its function. The whiteness of the descending Gluten and the luminous Cup signify not visibility, but transcendence of visibility. The Ace of Cups depicts the precise moment when Kether’s Will becomes Binah’s Water, when infinite energy is received, thickened, and made available as feeling, intuition, imagination, and psychic life.

In this card, the Grail overflows because the Mother cannot contain infinity—she can only express it. And so the waters spill forth, descending into manifestation as the emotional and psychic currents that sustain all forms of life.

If you’d like, I can now:

The paradigm of the Universal Four Elements—Fire, Water, Air, and Earth—is attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles (circa 495–435 BCE). He introduced this concept in his philosophical writings, particularly in his work On Nature. Empedocles proposed that these four elements were the foundational building blocks of all matter in the universe.

Empedocles' Contribution:

1. The Four Roots:

   • Empedocles referred to the elements as the "four roots" (rhizomata): Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.
   • He viewed them as eternal, unchanging substances that combine in various ways to create all physical phenomena.

2. Forces of Change:

   • He also introduced the forces of Love (Philia) and Strife (Neikos) as the agents that bind the elements together and pull them apart, respectively. These forces explained the cycles of creation, destruction, and transformation in nature. Today we call this Love force-The Law of Attraction.

Development and Influence:

1. Plato:

   • Plato expanded on Empedocles' ideas in his dialogue Timaeus, where he associated the elements with specific geometric solids (the Platonic solids) and linked them to the structure of the cosmos.

2. Aristotle:

   • Aristotle refined the concept further by connecting the elements to qualities:
     • Fire: Hot and dry
     • Water: Cold and wet
     • Air: Hot and wet
     • Earth: Cold and dry
   • He also introduced the concept of aether as a fifth element (or quintessence), which he associated with the heavens and celestial spheres.

3. Hermetic and Alchemical Traditions:

   • The concept of the four elements was integrated into Hermeticism and alchemy during the Hellenistic period. These traditions imbued the elements with spiritual and symbolic significance, linking them to mystical processes of transformation.

4. Eastern Parallels:

   • While Empedocles formalized the four elements in the West, similar paradigms appeared independently in other cultures:
     • China: The Five Elements (Wu Xing)—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
     • India: The Five Great Elements (Pancha Mahabhuta)—Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether.

Why Empedocles?

Empedocles is credited as the first to explicitly define and articulate the idea of four universal elements as fundamental components of reality in a systematic way. His paradigm profoundly influenced Western thought, becoming foundational to natural philosophy, medicine, and esotericism for centuries.

The Ace of Cups represents Kether in Briah, depicting the direct influence of Kether upon the Intuitive Mental Level of the Divine Feminine. It reveals how the pure, undifferentiated Will of the Crown enters the formative world as receptive consciousness, prior to thought, image, or emotion taking shape.

As the Root Powers of Water, the Ace of Cups embodies the Universal Element of Water—the primordial medium through which all psychic and emotional life arises. Water is the symbolic language of intuition, unconsciousness, subconsciousness, and emotion, understood here as waves of energy emoted rather than personal sentiment. These are not moods, but currents of formative force moving through the psyche and cosmos alike.

In this sense, the Ace of Cups is not merely the beginning of feeling, but the matrix in which all forms are conceived. It is the subtle fabric of the Universe itself—the invisible sea in which vibration becomes pattern and potential becomes experience. All things are gestated within this watery continuum before they crystallize into image, thought, or action.

Thus, the Ace of Cups shows the first reception of Spirit into Form, where infinite energy is softened, thickened, and made knowable through the Divine Feminine principle. It is the womb of psychic life, the silent depth beneath all manifestation, and the living ocean from which every wave of consciousness arises.

The Thoth Tarot Ace of Cups depicts the wave action characteristic of physical water, expressed through its distinctive scalloped, shell-like wave forms. These rhythmic curves are not merely decorative; they visually encode vibration, frequency, and the movement of formative energy through the medium of Water.

Kether, as pure light, is the source of all frequency across the electromagnetic spectrum. In the Thoth Ace of Cups, this is symbolically rendered as a luminous scallop-shaped web of white light in the background of the card. This web appears woven from subtle frequencies—suggestive of microwaves of light or plasmic radio waves—indicating that manifestation arises not from solid matter, but from patterned vibration within an invisible field.

At the center stands the Graäl / Grail, overflowing and flowing through with White-Kether Energy. This is not emotional excess, but Supernal saturation: infinite source energy descending into the watery matrix of Briah. The Cup does not merely receive—it radiates, empowering the surrounding field with a luminous, web-like emanation.

This radiance strongly evokes Spider Woman’s Web, a symbolic pattern of creation spreading outward from the Grail. In Native American mythic language, Grandmother Spider is a name given to the Great Mother Goddess, she who wove the fabric of the Universe itself. The Thoth Ace of Cups mirrors this same archetype through Hermetic symbolism: the Divine Feminine as weaver of form, shaping vibration into pattern, and pattern into experience.

Thus, the scalloped waves, the woven light-web, and the overflowing Grail together reveal a single truth:

Water is not passive—it is formative intelligence.
Emotion is not weakness—it is frequency in motion.
And the Divine Feminine is not merely receptive—she is the architect of manifestation, weaving the universe from waves of light.

Today, time–space is increasingly understood as an electromagnetic grid—a woven field of energy, a matrix rather than an empty void. Within modern physics, string theory proposes that the most fundamental constituents of reality are not solid particles, but vibrating, spiral strings of energy whose frequencies give rise to what we perceive as matter.

To the ancients, this same truth was expressed symbolically as the serpentine flow of energy—the living current that coils, spirals, and undulates through creation. What modern science describes mathematically, myth described imaginally. The serpent, the wave, the spiral, and the web are not poetic fantasies; they are accurate symbolic languages for forces that could not yet be measured.

The convergence of these views does not diminish myth—it confirms it. What we are witnessing is not the replacement of myth by science, but the verification of myth through science. The electromagnetic spectrum of light, now empirically acknowledged, corresponds precisely to what ancient traditions intuited as unseen currents of creative power moving through the fabric of reality.

Thus, myth and science are revealed as two expressions of the same truth:
one spoken in symbol, the other in equation—
both describing a universe woven from vibration, frequency, and living light.

As an example of an ancient myth resounding with modern understanding:

Yama and the dancing red Yogini relate to the Ace of Cups and Kether through a polarity that governs the descent of pure source into living, emotional, and psychic reality. Together, they articulate the boundary and the flow of Supernal energy as it enters Water.

Yama — The Law, the Boundary, the Still Point

In Hindu cosmology, Yama is the Lord of Measure: death, time, restraint, and cosmic law (ṛta). Esoterically, Yama does not “end” life—he defines its limits. This makes him a precise analogue to Kether’s function as boundaryless source that nonetheless establishes order.

• Kether is infinite, unmeasured light.

• Yama is the principle that introduces measure—the moment where infinity becomes knowable through form.

In relation to the Ace of Cups, Yama represents the silent rim of the Grail—the invisible law that allows the Cup to exist at all. Without boundary, Water would be chaos. Without Yama, Kether would never descend; it would remain undifferentiated infinity.

Thus, Yama corresponds to:

• The stillness before movement

• The edge of the Abyss

• The Law that allows the Waters to hold vibration

He is not opposed to life or feeling—he is the container that makes feeling possible.

The Dancing Red Yogini — Shakti in Motion

The red Yogini is the opposite pole: Shakti in ecstatic motion. She is the living current within the Waters, the emotive wave itself. Red signifies blood, life-force, desire, and heat—energy becoming experience.

Where Yama establishes the boundary, the Yogini moves within it.

In Hermetic terms:

• She is Binah awakened

• The motion of Water

• The emotional and intuitive intelligence of the Ace of Cups

Her dance is not chaotic—it is patterned vibration, much like the scalloped waves and web-like frequencies in the Thoth Ace of Cups. She is the wave-action I described earlier: energy emoted, spiraling, pulsing, weaving reality through rhythm.

Their Union in the Ace of Cups

The Ace of Cups holds both principles simultaneously:

• Yama = the Supernal Law that receives Kether’s light without distortion

• The Red Yogini = the Shakti that animates that light into emotion, intuition, and psychic life (The red wave boundary).

Kether pours down as White Light.
Binah receives it as Dark Water.
The Yogini dances within that Water.
Yama stands at the threshold ensuring coherence.

This is why the Ace of Cups is not sentimental—it is cosmic.

It depicts:

• Kether’s Will restrained by Law

• Binah’s Waters activated by Shakti

• Emotion as sacred frequency

• Intuition as lawful ecstasy

Initiatory Insight

Yama teaches that not everything flows at once.
The Yogini teaches that nothing remains still.

Between them, the Ace of Cups reveals the deepest Hermetic truth:

Feeling is lawful.
Ecstasy has structure.
And the Divine Feminine weaves infinity into experience.

The Arcane Tarot — Ace of Cups presents imagery that is more traditional and archetypal than the Western Hermetic symbolism of the Thoth Tarot. At its center is a golden chalice, glowing from within with a red, vital heat, suggesting emotional warmth, passion, and creative life-force. Rising from the Cup are waves of steam, forming the shape of a dove, a classic emblem of love, peace, and spiritual blessing.

These vaporous waves also swirl throughout the dark cosmic background, implying that emotion and love are not confined to the vessel alone, but permeate the surrounding field of experience. The Cup’s two handles flow outward like serpents, subtly indicating living energy, circulation, and the instinctual currents that move feeling into relationship and expression.

Though less overtly Hermetic in structure, this Ace of Cups still conveys the timeless themes of love, creativity, emotional renewal, and relational beginnings.

Upright Meaning

The Universe offers the gift of love. This may arrive through a new relationship, a deepening of self-love, or an emotional opening that inspires creativity and fresh beginnings.

Relationships

This card signals the start of a new relationship or the renewal of emotional intimacy within an existing one. Connection, trust, and heartfelt exchange are emphasized.

Career

You may be finding greater emotional fulfillment through your work or experiencing improved relationships with colleagues. New opportunities rooted in cooperation and mutual support may be emerging.

Reversed

Reversed, the waters of the Cup appear to drain away. Something may be depleting your emotional or creative energy. Identify the source of this imbalance and consider how you might restore flow—by turning the Cup upright once more.

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In both Western Hermetic Qabalah gematria and Western numerology, the number One holds profound symbolic significance. While the interpretations vary slightly between these systems, they both view One as foundational, representing unity, beginnings, and singularity. Let's break down the characteristics associated with the number One in each tradition.

1. Western Hermetic Qabalah Gematria

In Hermetic Qabalah, the number One is primarily associated with the Sephirah Kether on the Tree of Life. Kether, meaning "Crown," is the highest point on the Tree and represents the source of all creation, the divine spark, or the primordial unity. It symbolizes the emanation of pure, undifferentiated potential. Here are some of the primary characteristics of One in this context:

• Unity and Singularity: One represents the unity of all things. It is the source from which all numbers (or beings) emanate but remains undivided. Kether contains everything in potential, yet it is beyond differentiation.

• The Divine Monad: One is often referred to as the Monad, or the supreme, indivisible Oneness of God or the universe. It is the beginning point of creation and existence. Kether is associated with the primal point of creation that sets the entire cosmos into motion through the "will -to-force" of Chokmah.

• Infinite Potential: In Kabbalistic (Hebrew Mysticism)-Qabalistic (Western Mysteries) thought, One represents Ain Soph Aur, or the limitless light, the infinite divine potential that has not yet been expressed into form. It is the root cause of all manifestation, though it is itself beyond manifestation.

• Masculine and Feminine in Potential: Though Kether is often seen as masculine, it transcends gender. At the level of One, masculine and feminine principles are united in potential but not yet differentiated.

• The Crown of Pure Spirit: One in Qabalah reflects the essence of pure spirit, untouched by the material world, indicating the highest level of consciousness or divine awareness.

• The Hebrew Letter Aleph (א): The letter Aleph is often associated with One in gematria, and it symbolizes the breath of life, the eternal flow of energy, and the ineffable nature of the divine. Aleph is silent yet contains the potential for all sounds, representing the primordial unity.

2. Western Numerology

In Western numerology, the number One has its own symbolic characteristics that align with the idea of beginnings, leadership, and independence. Here are some key traits associated with the number One in this system:

• New Beginnings and Creation: One is the number of new beginnings. It represents the initiation of action, creativity, and the start of a journey. Just as One is the first number, it symbolizes the beginning of all endeavors and projects.

• Independence and Leadership: One is often seen as the number of individuality. It is associated with strong leadership qualities, self-reliance, and the ability to stand alone. People influenced by the number One are believed to have pioneering spirits, often forging new paths and acting as innovators.

• Assertiveness and Confidence: The number One carries qualities of assertiveness and self-confidence. It symbolizes the drive to push forward, often with a clear vision of the goal. It is decisive and action-oriented, with a strong sense of personal power.

• Masculine Energy: In numerology, One is often seen as carrying a more masculine energy, representing strength, initiative, and assertiveness. It embodies the archetypal “yang” energy of action, determination, and dominance.

• Singularity and Focus: As a number, One symbolizes unity and focus, suggesting that someone with this number is highly focused on their goals. It represents the ability to concentrate efforts into a single direction, leading to success.

• Self-Sufficiency: One is connected with the idea of self-sufficiency and independence. People aligned with this number are often self-reliant and prefer to take initiative rather than follow others.

Overlapping Themes Between Hermetic Qabalah and Numerology

Both systems emphasize some common themes with the number One:

• Unity: Both systems see One as representing unity or oneness with the source, whether it’s the divine origin of the universe (Kether) or the independent power of the self (numerology).

• Beginnings and Creation: One is the starting point in both traditions, signifying the initiation of creation, action, or a new phase of existence.

• Masculine Principle: Though more pronounced in numerology, both systems imbue One with characteristics of action, initiative, and strength, often aligned with masculine energy.

• Potential: The number One holds the energy of pure potential. In Qabalah, it's the divine potential before manifestation, while in numerology, it's the potential of a new journey or creation.

Overall, the number One in both Western Hermetic Qabalah and numerology symbolizes divine unity, potentiality, independence, and leadership, offering powerful insights into both cosmic and personal growth.

Chat with Eli's Thoth Tarot Guide answering your questions about Tarot, Western Hermetic Qabalah, and magick rituals.

WHEN THE ACE OF CUPS   CARD IS THROWN DURING A DIVINATION:

It implies:

• A new attitude brings rewards.
• Spontaneous and innocent emotions.
• In a period of One Year, the querent will develop a new relationship, or new awareness about existing relationship.
• Is experiencing a new bust of empathy, emotion, sentiment, or enthusiasm. 
• This is a time for staying open and vulnerable to reap rewards.
• The opening of spiritual, psychic, intuitive channels/
• Heart opening to the gift of Love.
• Longing for union.
• Receptivity.
• Devotion.
• Harmony.

If ill defined by the surrounding cards, it implies:

• Vagueness.
• Irrationality.
• Hysteria.
• Trouble communicating.
• Value of life questioned. 
• All hopes are vain and meaningless.
• Loneliness haunts you. 
• Love fades away, leaving you depressed and empty.

Thank you for your support and engagement. Your generosity sustains this work and returns to you as abundance. May you live long and prosper.

🔥 Thoth Master Class

Western Hermetic Qabalah & Tarot

Private One-on-One Esoteric Training with Magus Eli

This Isn’t a Tarot Class. This Is a Soul Activation.

Step into the current of Living Light.
The Thoth Master Class is a one-on-one initiatory experience that fuses Hermetic wisdom, Qabalistic structure, and the archetypal genius of the Thoth Tarot — all personally guided by Magus Eli, master teacher and Solar Self awakener.

These aren’t generic lectures. They are ritual-grade, soul-specific transmissions designed to unlock your inner Temple, align your psychic architecture to the Tree of Life, and awaken your resonance with the living language of Tarot.

🌞 What Makes This Class a True Initiation?

• 🎓 Private Apprenticeship: Just you and the Magus in a deep 2-hour Google Meet session, entirely focused on your development.

• 🔄 Flexible Rhythm: Weekly, biweekly, or monthly — you set the pace. (12 sessions recommended for full arc of mastery.)

• 📹 Recorded Sessions: Each class is recorded so you can revisit the teachings and track your spiritual evolution.

• 🌿 Living Hermeticism: You won’t just learn about Qabalah — you’ll live it, feel it, and integrate it into your energetic field.

• 🃏 Practice Meets Power: You’ll lay spreads, decode symbols, and channel Tarot through your own voice, with real-time feedback and co-interpretation.

🜂 What You'll Learn (and Embody):

• The entire architecture of the Thoth Tarot: Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Court Cards through a Hermetic lens

• The Western Hermetic Qabalah: 10 Sephiroth, 22 Paths, and the Four Qabalistic Worlds

• How to use Tarot as a portal to meditative pathworking and astral temple building

• Rituals, spreads, and practices that bring gnosis, guidance, and transformation

• How to build your personal mystical system, rooted in self-authority and Divine resonance

📚 What You’ll Need to Begin:

• The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy by Robert Wang

• A Thoth Tarot deck (Crowley-Harris edition preferred)

• A Book of Shadows or personal journal

• A desire to know thyself through the Solar Flame

🌟 Is This Class for You?

Yes — if you are:

• A beginner with a soul-call to the Thoth deck, but no formal training

• An experienced reader seeking depth, ritual, and Hermetic context

• A mystic ready to reclaim your path through archetype, symbol, and gnosis

• Anyone craving one-on-one spiritual mentorship in the Western Esoteric Traditio

💠 Investment in the Self — Not in Gold

At The Tarot of Eli, money is never the gatekeeper of gnosis.

These teachings are offered on a sliding scale, because every soul ready to walk the Path deserves a guide. You are not buying a class — you are answering the call of your Soul.

If you feel the fire of this journey within, reach out. Let’s find a way that works for your means. No sincere aspirant will be turned away for lack of coin.

🕊️ The true currency of this Master Class is your will to become who you truly are.

📬 How to Begin Your Journey

Email eli@elitarotstrickingly.com
to request your resonance mapping session, check availability, and discuss the exchange that fits your path.

For Information concerning individual Thoth Readings, and/or Western Hermetic Qabalistic Thoth Master Card reading classes, log onto-elitarotstrickingly.com. and just click on the Tarot Store page. Thank you.

For traditional Tarot Card comparisons-Rider-Waite-Smith & B.O.T.A. etc.

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