Spirit Keeper’s Tarot

MEDIUM WHITE BOOK

BENEBELL WEN
 ANGEL WHO RECORDS,
whose Hand seals upon the
Book of Remembrance,
who bears witness to All to
enumerate every deed,
since Creation, from the
beginning of the world to
this day, from my cradle to
my grave, I invoke you to
read to me, to show me, to
transcribe upon my heart,
to place upon the mantle of
my mind the pages of the
Book I petition for. Let it
be the Truth. Let that
Truth, come what may,
ever be used to work the
Highest Good. And so may
it be.

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 Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 5
THE FIRST EDITION .....................................................................................................................................11
MAJOR ARCANA: PRIMORDIAL REALM..................................................................................................13
The Significator ....................................................................................................................................15
First Septenary.......................................................................................................................................23
Second Septenary..................................................................................................................................36
Third Septenary ....................................................................................................................................47
MINOR ARCANA: SEVEN UPPER REALMS ..............................................................................................61
Realm of Aces: Nucleic Seeds ..........................................................................................................63
Realm of Twos: Provision .................................................................................................................72
Realm of Threes: Fruition .................................................................................................................77
Kings: The Archangels .......................................................................................................................82
Queens: The Shields ..............................................................................................................................89

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 Knights: The Shining Ones ............................................................................................................. 97
Pages: The Strongholds ................................................................................................................... 102
MINOR ARCANA: SEVEN LOWER REALMS ......................................................................................... 109
Realm of Fours: Building................................................................................................................. 111
Realm of Fives: Expanding ............................................................................................................. 115
Realm of Sixes: Nurturing.............................................................................................................. 119
Realm of Sevens: Reasoning .......................................................................................................... 123
Realm of Eights: Manifesting ........................................................................................................ 127
Realm of Nines: Culminating ....................................................................................................... 131
Realm of Tens: Mounting ............................................................................................................... 137
THE INITIATE’S TAROT READING.......................................................................................................... 141
THE SEEKER’S TAROT READING ........................................................................................................... 143
THE KEEPER’S TAROT READING ........................................................................................................... 145
A STRATEGIC PLANNING SPREAD ......................................................................................................... 149
SHUFFLING YOUR TAROT DECK............................................................................................................ 152
HOW TO READ TAROT INTUITIVELY .................................................................................................... 153
INITIAL READING TIPS ............................................................................................................................. 164
TAROT FOR PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................... 165
READING WITH REVERSALS .................................................................................................................... 169
TAROT SYSTEM EQUIVALENTS .............................................................................................................. 173
CORRESPONDENCE TABLES .................................................................................................................... 179
ABOUT BENEBELL ..................................................................................................................................... 197

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 INTRODUCTION
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot begins with a personal quest for the prisca theologia, a universal
religion—a pursuit since the Age of Enlightenment and earlier that became the bedrock of
esoteric schools such as Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and Thelema.
Seeking revelation of that prisca theologia, I journeyed in the same manner the early
Hermeticists did: by studying the ancient Egyptian religions, Zoroastrianism and the Persian
magi, Hinduism, the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece, Jewish mysticism, and esoteric
Christianity. These studies are then refracted through my cultural lens and inherited roots in
esoteric Buddhism and Taoist ceremonial magic.
Building around fundamental premises of the prisca theologia, I begin with
Zoroastrian angelology and the Arda Fravash, or Fravashis. The design and sacred
engineering of Spirit Keeper’s Tarot facilitates connection to your Holy Guardian Angel by
using the theory of prisca theologia to tap into a universal channel of divine, beneficent
beings. I’ll get to what I mean by Holy Guardian Angel later. The concept can be approached
through either a religious framework or a secular, psychological one.
The architectural blueprints that I have created this deck with is premised on the belief
in a Holy Guardian Angel who has accompanied you since birth, who is your guide
throughout your lifetime, a beneficent celestial entity that connects you directly to God, the
Holy One, or a divine monad. We can invoke our Holy Guardian Angel whenever we are in
danger, whether that is danger that threatens us externally, or danger that threatens us from
within.

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 Within the mind, that Holy Guardian Angel is your divine higher genius. It is the part
of you that is pure genius, the facet of you that is the face of Holy Spirit, a Holy Spirit of
many faces and many names.
In Zoroastrian angelology, there is a vast realm and a hierarchy of celestial beings on
a spiritual plane created by a Supreme Being, which Zoroastrians refer to as Ahura Mazda.
These angels are in essence beneficent immortals that are personifications of ideas or key
archetypal aspects within our cosmos.
To that end, every tarot card in Spirit Keeper identifies the immortal spirit that
personifies a key aspect of our cosmos.
Key 0, which in my particular deck will always be the significator card, is not so much
an immortal spirit as it is the astral self that also stands in for your higher self, or super-
consciousness. Key 0 is the potential of you as a beneficent immortal.
The cards are heavily encoded with protection symbols and sigil-crafting to cast a
ward around the deck and reinforce its own built-in security defense system.
My purpose is to produce a deck system where the collective design taken altogether
shields itself from interference by malefic spirit energies of any kind or nature. Furthermore,
gatekeepers are employed to patrol the bounds of every threshold for oversight.
Though darkness, shadow, revelations of pain, suffering, trauma, and tribulations can
come through (and, if we’re being realistic, often will), such feeds are always in the beneficent
spirit of truth, never malefic.
Assuming you’re open to an animistic view of the deck, the spirits communicating
with you through your cards will never bring malefic entities to your front doorstep, but
rather, alert you to those that are and have been present, so that you have the full insights
needed to extinguish any present malefic entities.
If and when malefic entities do appear, they remain at the bounds and the gatekeepers
of the deck serve as informants to the tarot reader, transmitting the information needed from
or about those malefic entities. Corrupted or nefarious spirits not in alignment with the
beneficence of your Holy Guardian Angel cannot influence you through the Spirit Keeper’s
Tarot.

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 You already possess latent connections to your Holy Guardian Angel, though for most
of us, we seem to lack the right telecommunication device to receive clear signals from our
Angel.
“Holy Guardian Angel,” by the way, is simply a personified representation of your
higher self, that latent core of you born of the Divine Nature. You have already seen glimpses
of that higher self when you experience spontaneous sparks of inspiration, genius, and
innovation. When you operate at your personal best and have work product to show for it,
you are in knowledge and communion with that divine higher genius.
In simpler terms, actualization of your Holy Guardian Angel is the unleashing of your
full creative potential onto the physical, material world. It is nothing more—and nothing
less—than summoning up from deep within you your greatest inborn capabilities, talents,
karmic gifts, and you produce for this world a work of significant contribution.
Although the intricate or “busy” art style of this deck might give the first impression
that it’s going to be complex, I assure you it is not. I aspired to design a tarot deck that any
Rider-Waite-Smith or Thoth tarot reader would be able to pick up and start reading straight
out of the box, without any dependency on a guidebook. (Except to the Thoth readers, you’ll
need to make do with the Strength card in the position of Key 8 and the Justice card in the
position of Key 11.)
Though the deck operates beautifully for everyday tarot readings, I’ve illustrated
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot with the designed purpose of conveying esoteric knowledge and
creating a platform for divine transmissions. To that end, each card is layered with symbolism
and allegory. Each card is also designed to tell a story, to introduce you to a complete psychic
realm, and to invite you to pathwork and journey into that realm. The more you pathwork
with the cards, the stronger you build the foundations of your inner temple. What is within
you is reflected outward, so when you possess a strong inner temple, the rest of your physical
life will seem to just fall in place, harmonized, fruitful, productive, and fulfilled.
From the early Egyptian and Greek mystery traditions down the ages to Freemasonry
and even in the reconstructionist mystery traditions of the modern era, the science of the
occult traditions that the seeker undertakes knowledge of are veiled in allegory. Symbolism
encoded into rituals, the tradition’s religious iconography, religious and alchemical texts or
grimoires, and parables are designed to instruct an initiate on the tradition’s teachings.

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 In other words, it is through imparting symbolism that esoteric and occult teachings
take place, not in the literal transmission of ideas or practices. Pictorial keys, not spoken or
written words, illuminate the mind’s darkness. It is with that reasoning that the Spirit Keeper’s
Tarot is cast: to amplify a tarot reader’s psychic knowledge through symbolism.
The Holy Trinity is another recurring topic I explored in illustrating these cards.
Beyond Father, Son, and Holy Ghost or Maiden, Mother, and Crone as a motif, this is the
structure of every Initiate’s path, no matter the tradition: to understand Man, then to
understand the Universe, and finally, to understand God, or the Divine (i.e., the trinity of
Homo, Rota, and Deus).
In Eastern tradition, this is the Holy Trinity of Man, Earth, and Heaven, which is
reflected in the Hermetic Trinity (“First, God; Secondly, the World; Thirdly, Man,” from
Corpus Hermetica). This is also the Trimūrti of creation, maintenance, and destruction—
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva—and how the three can form a Union Incarnate, a three-headed
avatar, Dattatreya. The Trinitarian Principle will also be expressed through the mythology of
Osiris, Isis, and Horus.
It is the Tria Prima, or ingredients for the Bread of Life. In Tarot of the Bohemians,
Papus quotes Hesiod: “I feel that hidden beneath this mystical formula of the Trinity is one
of the most important scientific laws that man has ever discovered.” And so on the spiritual
quest, Key 0: The Seeker is the Spirit in Search of Science. Understanding the Holy Trinity
unlocks the gates of understanding Spirit, that 1 x 1 x 1 = 1.
The crafting of Spirit Keeper’s Tarot was steeped in ritual—both a process I’ll refer
to as evidence-based ritual and intuition-based ritual. For evidence-based ritual, prior to work
on each (and every) card, I would read its entry in Waite’s Pictorial Key and Crowley’s Book
of Thoth, then reference Papus, Macgregor Mathers, Ouspensky, and Wynn Wescott.
While working on this deck, I was reading the Corpus Hermeticum, The Book of the
Cave of Treasures, The Cloud of Unknowing, Albert Mackey’s The Symbolism of
Freemasonry, the Avestan texts of Zoroastrianism, the Gathas (Songs of Zarathurstra), The
Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster, The Oracles of Nostradamus, and Kapadia’s The Teachings
of Zoroaster. Egyptian, Persian, Gnostic, and Hermetic texts on magic and medieval
grimoires from both Europe and the Middle East were consulted during the crafting of Spirit
Keeper’s Tarot.

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 Yet I didn’t merely transcribe from those texts onto my tarot cards. I filtered it all
through my own perspective, my life, my experiences, and painted those ideas through the
colors of my own emotion. Thus, the final expression for each card is decidedly my own
perspective, reflecting how the realms materialized by the Key energies looked to me in my
own mind’s eye.
Balancing the evidence-based ritual was also intuition-based ritual, where I would
pathwork through each card, enter lucid dream states, petition deity and spirits, perform
summonings, evocations, invocations, and I also found myself frequently pulled to reciting
the Lord’s Prayer and studying the Torah, Bible, and Quran. I read verses from these three
sacred texts daily during the entire crafting process of Spirit Keeper.
Every single card was an attempt to capture in pen and ink the landscapes I traversed
through pathworking and depictions of the angelic beings guiding me. Every card is drawn
with consecrated ink only. I anointed myself with holy oil prior to working on the cards and
I only worked on the cards within closed sanctified sacred space. I began each session of
work with prayer and closed with prayer. I constantly stopped to monitor my own frame of
mind and my environment to ensure a steady atmosphere of beneficence.
I say all that not to convince you or to even presume we share similar spiritual belief
systems. I say all that to document the heavy sense of responsibility I felt throughout the
crafting of this deck and the measures of faith I took to honor that responsibility.
The final result, I hope, is a working tarot deck that will read like a sacred text, one
imparting directly to you the Divine Word. Readings with the Spirit Keeper Tarot are
representative of communion with your higher angels. Once you’ve cultivated a spirituality-
based discipline through the mechanisms of reading with this deck, you’ll be able to take that
discipline into any area of your life to reap success, fruition, and acumen.

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10
 THE FIRST EDITION
On the evening of June 12, 2018, at 6:31 pm Pacific Time, Scorpio rising during a
dark moon in Gemini, I voiced a thought in jest about hand-drawing my own tarot deck. What
should have been a passing thought stayed with me all night, and so the next morning during
the new moon, I put pen to paper and started illustrating Key 0 of the Major Arcana.
After Key 0, I went on to Key 1, then 2, and in consecutive order through the Majors.
By June 21, 2018, the summer solstice, I completed the First Septenary, ending on Key 7:
The Chariot (corresponding with Cancer) on the day of the summer solstice (when the sun
enters Cancer). Two days later on June 23, I completed the Second Septenary, and so fourteen
cards were done.
That may seem fast, but I was obsessed. I barely slept, barely ate, and thinking about
the cards, ritual work with the cards, reading sacred texts, and liturgy occupied every space
of my life throughout those weeks. I was scribbling mathematics while thinking about
numerology during business meetings at the office and constructing card images while I drove
to and from work, and slept about three hours a night. I purchased religious texts and had
them overnighted to my front doorstep.
By June 28, on the full moon in Capricorn, I completed the Majors and on June 29, I
released the line drawings of the Major Arcana to the general public for free, along with
having written a guidebook for self-initiation into working with the spirits of the Majors.
I reconsidered that very first Key 0 I drew, however. I was dissatisfied with it, so I
scrapped it and redid The Fool card, then drew another, and then came up with the three
significators idea for Key 0.
After the Majors, I started with the Fours in the Minor Arcana, since the Fours were
the realm of materialization. The Fours, not the Aces through Threes, are where the spiritual
take corporeal form. So I commenced the Minors with the Four of Scepters (Four of Wands)
and called forth The Demiurge. On July 7, I completed the Lower Realm of the Minors, which
were the Fours through Tens.
On July 12, during the new moon in Cancer and a solaar eclipse, I completed the Aces
through Threes. At 7:47 pm Pacific Time on July 20. 2018, I completed the Spirit Keeper’s
Tarot deck along with the first draft of a 500-page companion guidebook, which were the
copious notes I took throughout the crafting process. It was the hour of Capricorn rising and

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also at that moment, a zodiacal release per my birth chart, or an Aphesis of Spirit in Capricorn.
The transiting midheaven sign in Scorpio was in conjunct with my natal midheaven sign
Scorpio.
Originally I had no intention of publishing the deck. I gave out the Majors for free to
anyone who wanted access to it, but the original pen and ink illustrations would make up a
single physical copy of a hand-drawn tarot deck for my personal use only. Before I could start
cutting the cards out of the stock, my husband James saw the drawings and looked sincerely
impressed with my work. Usually, nothing I produce surprises him, but this deck surprised
him. He said we should definitely publish and sell the deck. So we did.
I placed an order of 1,000 decks for the First Edition print run. The printing and
production process, from the moment of signing a deal with a manufacturer to the date of
delivery of all decks to our front doorsteps took eleven weeks total. The parcels were
scheduled to arrive on October 2, which incidentally is A. E. Waite’s birthday, but they were
held in customs for two days. On Friday, October 5, 2018, I opened sales and on Friday,
October 12, Aleister Crowley’s birthday, the deck sold out.
The day after, James and I left for London and visited many of the places Waite and
Crowley would have gone. We then headed to Prague, Vienna, Athens, and Istanbul, where
I sketched much of what I saw there that became the inspiration of the redesigned cards in
the subsequent Vitruvian Edition.
Every deck was anointed with holy oil and consecrated. Among the 1,000, a subset
was consecrated on Halloween eve, another on All Saints Day, and another on All Souls Day.
An additional note documenting the consecration date accompanied these decks. Full moon
consecrated decks also came accompanied with a note. Every deck received the whole of my
attention and energies.
In considering the deck’s natal astrology, I’m not sure whether to use the date I
completed all line drawings in totality or the date that printing completed for all 1,000
physical copies of the decks. If we use the date all line drawings were completed, then the
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot is a sun sign Cancer, with white moon Selena in conjunct with the sun,
a moon sign Scorpio, with Jupiter and the midheaven in conjunct, and a Capricorn rising,
with Saturn, Pluto, and black moon Lilith in the ascendant house. This is a deck that can
absorb and hold a lot of beneficent energy, compassion, and emotions, but is also fierce,
intense, and pithy in its deliverance of messages. I sense it to be a deck that delivers excellence
but also demands excellence of its handler.

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 MAJOR ARCANA: PRIMORDIAL REALM
1. First Septenary: Integrating the Self (7 Keys, 7 Gateways)
2. Second Septenary: Integrating the Cosmos (7 Keys, 7 Gateways)
3. Third Septenary: Integrating the Divine (7 Keys, 7 Gateways)
4. The Fool (Key 0 / Number 4)

The cards of the Major Arcana are the primordial spirits in the compendium. They
articulate the 22 facets of Holy Creation propagated from the Four Worlds corresponding
with the Holy Creator’s name. Just as there are 22 letters in the sacred alphabet of Western
esotericism, 22 Paths in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, 22 fundamental roots in the Chinese
celestial dial (10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches), an esoteric system in operation
since 1200 BC, and the 22 sacred astrological features, the numbering of the 22 Keys of the
Major Arcana represent the perfected compendium of primordial spirits that build every
universe, macroscopic and microscopic. YHVH corresponds to Keys 9, 4, 5, and 4
respectively, with the total sum of 22.
Reading the Top Captions

The top caption on each Major Arcanum features the elemental or astrological
correspondence at left; the center is the name of the spirit as revealed to me that occupies the
depths beneath the pulse point of the classic tarot Key; and to the right is the associated Logos,
or letter from the Proto-Canaanite/Phoenician alphabet corresponding with that Key.
To integrate astrology into a tarot reading, consider the astrological correspondence
of the Key. For example, if Key 11: The Chancellor comes up in a love and relationships
reading, note that the zodiac sign is Libra, which can signify marriage or partnership. This
still aligns with the essence of Key 11, which can often denote social institutions or rendering
judgment. Consult the Correspondence Table, “Glyph Correspondences of the Major Arcana
Keys” in the back of this book. You can also combine tarot with an astrological natal or
transits chart reading by locating the astrological correspondence of the Key in either the natal
chart or transits chart cast for the time period relevant to the reading.

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THE PERSONIFICATION OF ANNEALING, the alchemical symbol for which is emblazoned upon
her blouse. To anneal is to strengthen, to temper, and the working of craft to render malleable
that which was too rigid or unyielding. She endows the power to make compliant that which had
been incompliant, to bend the unbending, and change what had been fixed. She personifies the
genius of the alchemist.

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 The Significator

A classical divinatory technique in tarot reading transplanted in from horary astrology

is the use of a significator. In Spirit Keeper, the significator card will always be Key 0
(traditionally The Fool card in both the RWS and Thoth). However, which version of Key 0
being used will depend on where in the path of discovery the operator of the deck is at.
In The Book of Thoth, Crowley notes three distinct traditions for interpreting The Fool
card in tarot. There are the archetypes of the Green Man (embodied in The Initiate), the Great
Fool of the Celts (embodied in The Seeker), and the Holy Ghost (embodied in The Keeper).
The Green Man personifies the return of spring and the cycle of growth. The
suggestion here is of rebirth and perhaps even the idealization and romanticizing of spring.
One notable symbol here is the Easter Egg, a symbol we can find on Key 0: The Initiate.
The second distinct tradition is the Great Fairy Fool of the Celts. Waite, W.B. Yeats,
and Crowley all reference Dalua, the Great Fairy Fool of the Celts, from a poem by William
Sharp, who also wrote under the pseudonym Fiona Macleod. Sharp, writing under the
pseudonym Fiona Macleod, described Dalua as being the “Dark Fool, the Faery Fool, whose
touch is madness or death for any mortal: whose falling shadow, even, causes bewilderment
and forgetfulness.” Contemporary mystic Ellen Goldberg notes about The Fool: “We start
our spiritual quest because we’ve been bitten by the shadow.” The Dark Fool, or Faery Fool
is that shadow and thus, Key 0 is the start of a spiritual quest.

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 The Great Fool as a doctrine conveys the human tendency to seek out its own savior,
a savior who must appear “as the result of some extraordinary accident.” Here, the Fool
denotes a sense of unreasonableness to salvation: salvation cannot be obtained on reasonable
terms. Thus, salvation and the messianic archetype are personified in the Great Fool: there is
a requisite madness to religion and the pursuit of salvation—so it is the pursuit of the Fool.
The Fool is the savior.
Finally, there’s the tradition of reading The Fool card as the Holy Ghost, the spirit of
God. In this tradition, the Fool is on a quest for the Holy Grail, much like Percival, one of the
knights of King Arthur’s Round Table. Here, there is an interpretation of fate and destiny
woven into Key 0—Percival was born to a noble knight, but after the father dies, Percival’s
mother raises him secluded in the woods so that he would never walk his father’s path. When
a band of knights pass through the woods and encounter Percival, the boy walks the path of
his destiny anyway, despite his mother’s best efforts to thwart it, and becomes a Knight of
the Round Table.
Early on Percival comes across the Holy Grail, kept by the Grail King, a wounded
man who cannot walk, and so fishes in a small boat. However, at the time, the young Percival
does not recognize what he sees as the Holy Grail, so he misses his opportunity. Later, in
retrospect when he realizes he had in fact found the Grail but did not know he had, he makes
a vow to rediscover it once again. Later, it is Sir Galahad who finds the Grail, but does so
accompanied by Percival and led to the Guardian Ship of the Grail by Percival’s sister. In this
third tradition, Percival is The Fool. Key 0 is interpreted through the allegory of Percival’s
quest for the Grail, an embodiment of the Holy Ghost.
The three versions of Key 0 skate upon these three traditions of interpreting The Fool.
In The Initiate card, there are the two reliefs of the Green Man in the archway and the Easter
Egg. In The Seeker, the hands in prayer and the hands seeking to receive from the divine
powers suggest the quest for salvation. Note that in Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, Key 0 signifies the
astral self, and so it is the astral self—The Fool—who is the savior, though it will take a long
and arduous externalized quest before the seeker realizes who, after all this time, the savior
is. The Keeper, or “Spirit in Petition of Spirit,” is a rendering of the Holy Ghost and the
depiction of one appointed to lead the Keeper to the Guardian Ship of the Grail. Here, the
trinity of doves also stands in for the Triune God.

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 Key 0: The Initiate personifies a return to spring, starting a new cycle
of growth. The Orphic Egg is the alchemical Hen’s Egg, where the four elements join: the
yolk is Fire, the white is Water, the membrane between the white and the shell is Air, and the
shell is Earth. The fifth element, the potential for life that the egg carries, is the element of
Spirit.
This Orphic Egg is what the Initiate seeks to alchemize into the philosopher’s stone.
The coiled serpent is creative life force. This is you in search of your philosopher’s stone, to
define what exactly is your Great Work. You see upon the Orphic Egg: ab initio mundi, since
the beginning of the world, since Creation, emblematic of a cosmogonic story. Who are you?
Why are you here? How did you get here? You, as the Initiate, want to know your own
cosmogonic story.
Inscribed upon the first step of the gateway, prior to entering beyond the threshold
between realms, ab incunabulis—from the cradle to the grave. For you to even be here now,
facing this gateway, destiny has orchestrated the events leading up to this point in space and
time.

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 You embodied within the astral spirit of The Initiate is one in the springtime of a
greater cycle, and it is cyclic. We are not the initiate just once in our lives, but many times
over. After the chasm depicted on the card, ab aeterno, since the beginning.
Use The Initiate for Key 0 when inquiring about a new undertaking, when a Path has
not yet been chosen or taken, or when insight is needed on which road to take forward.
Use The Initiate as your significator card when what is sought is experience. How
might you decide between potential paths? Are you embarking on a fresh start in life? What
is your potential anyway? Do you need a little divine guidance on how to map out your Path?
Access the cards through The Initiate as your significator.
Layered here are references to the warrior Cuchulain, the Hound of Ulster, and the
goddess Morrigan; Hecate; the kitsune fox spirit of Japanese lore; and Anubis. A fox is a
faithful companion and guide to the mystic. The fox is also emblematic of the Norse goddess
Sigyn, consort to Loki. Here is both a familiar waiting for the Initiate to take the first steps
over the threshold and an omen of guardian spirits standing by. In Zoroastrian magic, the dog
symbolizes a beneficent spirit companion who protect a magus against demons and curses.
The cosmic egg depicted here is also the alchemical Hen’s Egg, where the four
elements are joined together (the yolk is Fire, the white is Water, the membrane between the
white and the shell is Air, and the shell is Earth) with the fifth element, which is that potential
for life at the center of the yolk. The Hen’s Egg is said to be the perfected metaphor for
producing the philosopher’s stone.
The serpent coiled around the egg symbolizes the creative life force, a divine
masculine, and both the power of healing and potential for immortality. The serpent is also a
manifestation of the Green Man, a symbol of spring and the cycles of nature. The many
lifetimes and incarnations of The Initiate is what has led to this moment.
In medieval lore, a serpent coiled around an egg was the symbol of the World Egg,
which is the totality of all creative forces in the universe. The classic imagery of Key 0: The
Fool card in tarot is that of a mendicant carrying a sack, with the esoteric implication that
within the sack are the tools of the magus, or the totality of creative forces for bringing
together heaven and earth.

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 In alchemy, the World Egg is also symbolic of prima material, the essential
ingredients for creating the philosopher’s stone. The yolk of the egg is symbolic of gold and
the white of the egg symbolic of silver.

Key 0: The Seeker personifies a Fairy Fool with a trickster persona, and
yet one on a spiritual quest. This is The Fool who seeks answers, who seeks to know.
Before the threshold, marked by the twin pillars, two hands clasped in prayer offer
three white roses to the divine spirits. One is in full bloom and two are still rose buds. White
roses symbolize reverence, esotericism, to keep silent, and purity of spirit. It indicates that
the Seeker has been cleansed and consecrated, and in a serene state prior to coming before
the threshold for communion with the Divine. This is the adept as a Mystic Fool.
The two closed rose buds indicate that which still has not been revealed to the Seeker.
After crossing over to the other side of the threshold, upon communion with the divine, the
closed rose buds will open in full bloom.
Supporting the clasped hands on either side are palms open and ready to receive. Upon
the right wrist of the open palm, the astrological glyph for Uranus, the planetary
correspondence for Key 0. Astrologically, Uranus represents science, progress, ingenuity,
and unconventional knowledge.

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 A luminescent halo of light shines out from the other side of the pillars. It is the light
that the Seeker is about to enter and, on the other side, find illuminated the Answers the
Seeker has been looking for. This is you in search of how to utilize the philosopher’s stone,
to help you navigate the ways in which your Great Work has been intended by the Holy Spirit
to contribute to this material world. This is the determination of how your Great Work can
make the world a better place.
Here, the rose is symbolic of divine protection, in the Iliadic tradition of Aphrodite
anointing the corpse of Hector with rose oil. The rose is depicted here as the offering you
give to the gods in exchange for knowledge of the sacred mysteries, and for safe passage
through that threshold into the beyond.
Use The Seeker for Key 0 when divinatory insight is sought, when the adept needs
guidance mid-stream along a path, or when you seek divine counsel on a material matter.
“Science” here means knowledge, the quest for truth, or seeking to better understand
the system, the architecture upon which your world is built. This is about revealing the
operation and the laws.
This is the Mystic Fool represented by the Mystic Rose, who seeks knowledge,
wisdom, and truth. The Seeker is the one who is on a quest to better understand the operations
of the Universe and of the Divine. This is the Seeker in search of systematic knowledge of
the cosmos.

Key 0: The Keeper has reconciled all that is

the Keeper’s worldly fate and now seeks knowledge of the spirit
realms and communion with those realms. This is The Fool who
has become practiced and learned in a spiritual path and now
engages in a more interactive relationship with the many names
and many faces of the Holy Spirit.
Another way to put it is The Keeper is one who masters
control over the many states of consciousness and levels of
Awareness one is capable of.

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 The Keeper for Key 0 is the significator used by the seasoned practitioner of the Craft
to empower the tarot deck as calling cards for the roster of spirits embodied within the sigils
and seals of these cards. When spell-crafting, using the energy of the cards for faith healing,
and modalities of advanced esoteric practice, work with The Keeper.
Use The Keeper for spirit petitions, invocations and evocations, or direct communion
with the spirit entities resident within the cards. Using The Keeper for Key 0 will enliven the
deck immediately and open it to spirit communications.
This is also the version of Key 0 to use in mediumship work, ancestor contact, or to
reach beyond and beneath the physical realm to interact directly with the spirit realm.
Words, here as sigils and commands, are inscribed upon the two pillars.
Upon the left pillar, top to bottom: “king” in Old Persian cuneiform; “luminescence”
in Chinese oracle bone script; “journey” in bone script; “path” or road in Egyptian
hieroglyphics; “path” or teachings in oracle bone script; “spirit” in oracle bone script; and
“earth” in cuneiform.
Upon the right pillar, top to bottom: “god” in Old Persian cuneiform; “benevolence”
in Chinese oracle bone script; “fate” or destiny in bone script; the divine right eye of Ra or
utchat in Egyptian hieroglyphics; the divine left eye of Ra; “ka priest,” priest, or shaman in
hieroglyphics; “Keeper” or guardian in oracle bone script; “open” or commencement in oracle
bone script; and an ideograph in cuneiform that would be pronounced with a “B” sound, beta,
(one of the earliest alphabetical letters in human history, over 3,000 years ago). The letter
means “house.”

Providing three versions of Key 0s to convert The Fool card into a significator is offered
only as an option, not a requirement. If you do not use significator cards in your tarot
readings, then simply choose one of the Key 0s to use in place of The Fool card. Make your
selection based on the nature of your inquiry, even when not working with Key 0 as a
significator, tuck that selection into the deck, and proceed with your reading as usual. E.g.,
The Initiate card if you have seeking out a new path for yourself, have yet to take any steps
in any direction, and want to know more about the possibilities in your horixon; The Seeker
card if you are inquiring for further information about a situation already in motion; The
Keeper card if you seek to use the deck to access the Akashic Records, for mediumship, or
for doing a divination where you seek answers back directly from the spirit realm.

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 The Three Septenaries
Keys 1 through 21 in the Major Arcana can be subdivided into three sets of sevens,
the Three Septenaries. Each set of seven corresponds with seven milestones of wisdom
attained per Theosophical principles. The first key in each Septenary (Keys 1, 8, and 15)
correspond with attaining wisdom of the Self. In the First Septenary, that wisdom of the Self
is acknowledging personal identity. In the Second Septenary, that wisdom is how the Self
relates to the material world you dwell on. In the Third, wisdom of the Self is what you must
do to transcend the temporal and achieve union with the divine.
Likewise, the second key in each Septenary (Keys 2, 9, and 16) correspond with
attaining wisdom of the Soul. In the First, it’s intuitive knowledge; in the Second, it’s
cultivated knowledge; and in the Third, it’s experiential knowledge, or wisdom of the soul
attained after suffering. The third keys correspond with attaining wisdom of Will—how you
change the circumstances you seek to change. The Empress is kinetic creativity; the Wheel
of Life is changing one’s fate by changing one’s karma; and The Healer is conscientious
choice to mend one’s open wounds.

Wisdom Attained First Septenary Second Septenary Third Septenary

SELF 1 – The Magus 8 – The Force 15 – The Demon
SOUL 2 – The Priestess 9 – The Erudite 16 – The Tower
WILL 3 – The Empress 10 – Wheel of Life 17 – The Healer
DESIRE 4 – The Emperor 11 – The Chancellor 18 – The Necromancer
FORCE 5 – The Holy See 12 – The Outlaw 19 – The Warrior
ASTRAL 6 – The Lovers 13 – The Reaper 20 – Apocalypse
MATERIAL 7 – The Chariot 14 – The Angel 21 – New World Order

The Emperor facilitiates wisdom of our desire for temporal power. The Chancellor
gives access to wisdom of our desire for justice. The Necromancer gives access to all other
unseen and unspoken desires we harbor. The keys of Force avail us to the wisdom of the
external powers that influence who we are, external powers that we either let hold us back
and limit us or we overcome. Key 19, the traditional Sun card in tarot, is typically interpreted

22
 as success, which I agree with, but the force of success is like flying too close to the sun.
You will get burned. And so, too, Key 19 is like Keys 5 and 12—forces that cause events to
happen to us, which we then must navigate with care.
With the three Astral keys, The Lovers are the guides for astral journeying to Eden;
The Reaper is the guide to the Underworld; and Key 20: Apocalypse is the threshold for
journeying to the world that has yet to come. The Material keys each signify manifestation.

First Septenary
Integrate the Self

The First Septenary is the exposition of the narrative arc when the precise setting of a
life path is revealed. This is about coming to terms with who you are, your identity. Note how
the serpent coiled around the cosmic egg in Key 0: The Initiate transitions into Key 1: The
Magus where that coiled serpent arranges itself into an intelligent design of the double
ouroboros. This is the initiated power of the self, of Spirit evident in Man.
The first four keys bear many cross-relations. There is the intuitive pairing of Key 1
and Key 2 as the divine masculine and divine feminine, then Key 3 and Key 4 as the temporal
feminine and temporal masculine. Yet Key 1: The Magus and Key 3: The Empress are also
related by their common trait of manifestation and productivity. Meanwhile Key 2: The
Priestess and Key 4: The Emperor are related to each other by their common trait of
intelligence, aptitude, and reasoning. The Priestess is psychic intelligence while The Emperor
is social intelligence. Key 5 hearkens to influential values, culture, and ideologies that form
the personal identity. Key 6 marks the consummated relationships of our personal history that
have an impact on the psyche. Key 7: The Chariot marks the rising action or triggering events
that set the protagonist into motion on the hero’s journey.
These seven Keys represent the primordial family, both in terms of a divine pantheon
that governs us and as the relatives that make us who we are. The First Septenary is about
making sense of the Self, based on where we’ve come from, what influences us, and how we
commence the journey of personal actualization.

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Key 1: The Magus. This is the primordial Mark of Creation, and of Logos. The
Magus is the personification of creative thought. When this Key appears to you, the call to
action is exercising the powers of your mind and you will achieve your greatest potential.
The Magus appears to you now to help you manifest discipline and focus toward mastery
over your own innate talents. Never forget: you have the capability to manifest your thoughts
into reality. That is the divinity in man and the powers embedded within your spirit.
Along the four corners of the cards are the four gifts of The Magus. In the top left is
the alchemical symbol for mercury. This is your genius defined. Bottom left is salt. This is
the fertile earth that gives you nourishment. Bottom right is sulfur. This is the fire that
breathes passion into your spirit. To the top right is water. This is the love that gives you
strength. Mercury, salt, and sulfur are the Tria Prima of alchemy, but water unites them,
brings synthesis so that the philosopher’s stone can be attained.
The only symbol that touches the intertwined Serpent of Wisdom is the symbol for
mercury. Mercury stands in for the mind. Water is power, salt is matter, sulfur is energy.
Through the mind and mentalism, the magus can also have power, matter, and energy (control
over the other three). Mercury is also the astrological correspondence for Key 1.
The Magus personifies the Hermetic principle of mentalism. The message to you is
this: The All is Mind. The Mind is All. What transpires across the material landscape of the

24
universe is also connected to the astral landscape within your mind. Will your control over
one and you can will your control over the other. When The Magus has called to you, find
the method of control over your circumstances through the control over your own mind.
Key 1 is also connected to the Work of specialized trades, economics or merchantry,
of cultural exchange, or information exchange. This card bodes well for commerce.
The Magus is the touchdown point of Divinity in Man, when the Divine Unconscious
Will becomes the Conscious Personal Will. The card is emblematic of the Powers of the
Spirit. As above, so below: worldly knowledge is psychic knowledge. What you master inside
of you, you will also master beyond you.
[RWS: The Magician, Thoth: The Magus or The Juggler]

Sulfur, mercury, and salt comprise the Tria Prima of alchemy. Water is what the
alchemist uses to unite the three base elements and produce the philosopher’s stone.

Alchemical Alchemical / Elemental Suit

Metaphysical Significance
Glyph Sophic Base Correspondence Correspondence

Sulfur Fire Scepters Brimstone; initiates change;

essential for life; the Red
King
Water Water Chalices The womb and the
primordial soup; Tria Prima
combined in water begets
abiogenesis
Mercury Air Swords Quicksilver (metal); catalyst
for change; the White
Queen
Salt Earth Orbs Removes pestilence;
neutralized acid and base

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Key 2: The Priestess. This is Sophia, or wisdom personified. She guides you
toward the deepening and broadening of your knowledge. The Priestess is the Queen of the
Angels. This Key marks the threshold into the Sanctuary of Isis.
When The Priestess appears to you, she instructs on the cultivation of your wisdom
and intuition. The summation of choices you have made and the landscape of thoughts you
have painted for yourself have taken you to the threshold of a particular Path, and that Path
awaits you behind the veil of The Priestess. The sign of the pomegranate here portends
fruitfulness when you learn the teachings of this Path: yes, you are headed in the right
direction. You are doing exactly what you need to cultivate the knowledge for success.
The Priestess now calls to you to advance that knowledge of your Path, and to read
the Literature of Wisdom. “Isis” also means “throne.” The Sanctuary of Isis is the throne
room of your inner temple. This is the seat of the monarch, where you preside in majesty and
from where you command the architecture of your Great Work. When The Priestess has
called to you, your Work to be endeavored upon now is one of esoteric knowledge—of
mysteries that are known to only the few.
[RWS and Thoth: The High Priestess]

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Key 3: The Empress. This is the unconscious feminine and the spirit who springs
forth your productivity. Poetry, the arts, your creativity, and the prophesy of your path to
realizing the Holy Grail are what this spirit brings.
Push your creativity to its limits and there you will realize your personal greatness.
The Empress appears to those who are on the verge of producing a Work of worthy
admiration. The magic of The Empress transforms your hopes into reality. A divinity of
Universal Love is present in your life path and The Empress appearing to you is the
affirmation you need for acknowledging that presence.
The Empress is your connection to the primordial divinity of Earth. This is your
ancestral mother calling, and in divination, Key 3 affirms an offering to you of abundance,
fruition, and the material resources you need to thrive.
Her crown symbolizes Musica Universalis—the Harmony of the Spheres. The
constellations are a form of music, a harmonic of mathematics and the Holy Spirit. When
Key 3 appears, you are being called to conduct the Harmony of the Spheres—the spirit of
music, math, and the Holy Spirit will work through your two hands.

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 In the foreground, a swan guards the Empress Mother’s scepter, the swan being an
emblem of Venus, symbolic of poetry, the arts, and creativity. The orb atop the scepter is
reminiscent of the alchemical symbol for salt. Placed before the swan are raspberries,
symbolic of fertility. The single knotted button on The Empress’s mandarin collar is also
reminiscent of a raspberry, a fruit that has been with us since prehistoric times. The raspberry
symbolizes the heart of the Messiah. It flows with the red juice of compassion. Raspberries
possess the spiritual power to ward evil.
Irises hang from her ears. The iris symbolizes the balance of power and wisdom and
thus emblematic of the divine-mandated right to sovereignty. A dragonfly—a symbol of self-
actualization— masks her true identity. She is an encoded revelation of the Holy Grail.
The swan and scepter are fenced in by an abundance of golden grain. She is the Giver
of Plenitude, emanating of Ceres or Demeter; she can manifest as the Empress Mother of the
West. Deep green waters in the distance are symbolic of how humankind evolved from algae
blooming in the seas. In the background, behind her right shoulder is the resting alchemical
Pelican: only by blood, sacrifice, and resurrection comes to fruition the Great Work.
Gloria Mundi is the muse for poets, writers, artists, and musicians. The Empress also
embodies the spirit of Rhetoric. She wields the art of persuasion.
This is the Mother of Thousands, who wears a crown inscribed with the twelve signs
of the zodiac, a tribute to Ourania (Urania), and the seal of a lotus blossom with three orbs
symbolizing the Holy Trinity and the Three Pure Ones. Ourania is the daughter of Zeus,
granddaughter to Uranus, and the divine feminine personification of the Supreme One. This
is also the card of prophesy and sooth-saying through the study of stars and celestial
configurations.
The Empress is connected to Venus, and so she is the Bringer of Light. Note that Key
19, The Warrior, is the Bringer of Dawn. The spirit of Key 3 is Gloria Mundi—the glory of
the world. The pelican behind her conveys a Mother’s Love. Cf. The spirit of Key 21 is Anima
Mundi—the soul of the world. Their numerical relative Key 12 is the bridge between glory
and soul.
[RWS and Thoth: The Empress]

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Key 4: The Emperor. This is the unconscious masculine and your temporal
power. This is the spirit personification of order and authority. This is how you create and
destroy your world to mold it into the image of yourself and your will. When The Emperor
appears to you, your power of self-determination is being affirmed. You have the power to
determine what is and what will be for yourself. Summon the audacity to choose for yourself,
to stand in your own truth and by your own principles. The Emperor calls to you to fight for
what you believe in. This is your temporal power: The Emperor is the omen that you possess
the capability of understanding the material universe.
Key 4 corresponds astrologically with the sign Aries. In that correspondence is
revealed the spirit’s divine purpose. The Emperor is the primordial spirit of leadership and to
be the leader, you must know where you are going. The Emperor appears to you now to
challenge you: do you know where you are going? Your task: define your destination, and
then lead. The Emperor appears when you are being called to lead.
The ram’s horns on the helmet are the horns of tenacity. You must exert tenacity to
bring your ambitions into form. When The Emperor appears to you, the message is this:
overcome your fears, because it is now time for you to conquer new frontier.

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 The Orb wielded by the Emperor features a pictorial map of the formulas for creation
and destruction. The lines forming a pentagon within the orb signify the formula for creation
while the paths of lines forming the pentagram signify the formula for destruction. Key 4 can
also be the personification of the rules of the game. This is the Key that expresses Reason as
the supreme authority, that knowledge must be self-evident for it to be the Truth.
[RWS and Thoth: The Emperor]

Key 5: The Holy See. The spirit of The Holy See personifies tradition. Between
twin pillars is the Right Hand giving the ecclesiastical sign of Divine Secrets.
This is the establishment and cultural values that form your identity. When The Holy
See appears to you, you are confronting what you have inherited and are now tasked to
evaluate that inheritance with individual responsibility.
This is the spirit of sovereignty over your soul purpose. Is your purpose to be a vessel
for passing on the ideologies of a predecessor? Or is your purpose one that you will define

30
for yourself? When you are being told how to think and how to behave, you are facing the
diverging Two Paths—the essence of universal duality—compliance or defiance.
Key 5 personifies the Hermetic principle of correspondences. It is the mastery over
knowledge of how to bridge what occurs in one plane of reality to what occurs in another.
The Master of the Arcanes wields the power of a priest, an interpreter of signs.
Whose voice is truly speaking for the Holy Spirit? Take great care here when The
Holy See appears. Interpretations of the sacred mysteries are subjective. Whose interpretation
will you listen to?
Key 5 is also the primordial spirit of material culture and social norms justified by
claims of higher spiritual authority. When The Holy See appears to you, this spirit is
appealing to you to evaluate your material culture, your social norms, and discern for yourself
whose interpretation of the Arcanes is the correspondence that rings true with your divine
higher genius.
Coiled around the pillar to the Hand’s right, a vine of red roses; around the pillar to
its left, a vine of white lilies. Inscribed upon the triple crown: “Vicarius Filii Dei” (Vicar of
the Son of God, in reference to Saint Peter, though by another view, also denotes the
Antichrist, where the Latin phrase, reduced to its Roman numerals, sums up to 666). Inscribed
in the red and orange halo surrounding the hand: χξϛ (Greek, “cxz”), Man’s Number
associated with the Beast. Standing in the foreground is the white bull, with one black horn
and one gold, and sapphire eyes. Behold the powers of the divine, manifested as exoteric,
orthodox doctrine. An inverted ankh adorns the bull’s head, representing the absence of the
blessing from the Divine Mother. In a different light, this is also the Holy Bull, the beneficent
bull of the Avestan scriptures.
In Spirit Keeper, The Holy See is the card of challenge: challenge authority, defeat
the papal bull, and walk through, beyond, and to the other side of the twin pillars toward Key
12: The Outlaw, the counterpart to Key 5: The Holy See. These two cards reveal the building
and establishing of your inner temple so that you might commune directly and personally
with the Divine, no longer relying on intermediaries.
[RWS and Thoth: The Hierophant]

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Key 6: The Lovers. The Lovers is the spirit of pairs. This is our internal binary.
The Lovers portend the sacred marriage of your higher self and your ego. This is the guardian
at a threshold where you face the diverging fork in your destiny, a moment of choice. Thus,
Key 6 is also the spirit of choice.
In the foreground, a dragon and phoenix face off. The dragon guards the Tree of Life,
rendered per the Ari Paths, though the tenth sefirah Malkuth is concealed from view. The
phoenix guards the Tree of the Knowledge, upon which the Kundalini serpent is coiled,
guarding a single born fruit, a fruit implying the hidden sefirah Malkuth.
In Chinese symbology, the phoenix and dragon together represent the perfected
marriage of yin and yang, matrimonial bliss, and are a power couple, as two of the most
powerful celestial animals of heaven’s kingdom.
The Arch of Swords is formed from a bow and arrow, appearing over the dragon and
phoenix, cast by their Holy Guardian Angel. The feathers of the arrow are from the Angel’s
own wings. The arrow is also a symbol for Mercury, the planetary ruler for Gemini.

32
 Inscribed on one side of the bow: Solve et Coagula (“dissolve and concentrate,” an
alchemical maxim balancing a time to rest and a time to act, which leads to successful
completion of the Great Work). Inscribed onto the other side: Mutatis Mutandis (“the
necessary changes having been made”).
Upon the arrow itself: Law of Providence. The arrow is aimed into an empty chalice
placed between the dragon and phoenix. This is the Secret Law of Divine Providence. Note
that the Secret Law of Divine Providence is not in solid physical form. It is illuminated and
present only in spirit.
The bow and arrow reveal God’s love for humanity. This is the sacred marriage of the
higher self and the ego.When The Lovers card appears, you are at a crossroads and your next
step is to choose between two paths. These two choices might best be described as either
choosing the Tree of Life, in which case mutatis mutandis, or the Tree of Knowledge, in
which case the divine instruction to you is solve et coagula.
The developmental stage marked by The Lovers precedes integration and temperance,
so at the stage of Key 6, the path is to choose either one side of the binary, the dragon’s path,
or the other, the phoenix. At this stage, the Two Paths feel (and are) at odds.
Key 6 appears to you when you must decide between instant gratification or delayed
gratification. When The Lovers card appears, it can also be a call to evaluate your
interpersonal matters. In modernity, The Lovers card might appear so that attention can be
called toward a romantic relationship or to the themes of Eros.
Key 6 marks The Two Ways. First is the choice that must be made between the Two
Ways. Key 6 is also the choice between instant gratification in your Path and delayed
gratification. Second in the Mystery of the Covenant comes the marriage of both ways so
they become one and the same. It is the anima and the animus in conflict, in struggle, and
then in perfected harmonious union. In alchemy, the Two Ways are Analysis then Synthesis.
The realm that Key 6 leads to is the first realm to achieve dominion over toward
Perfection of the Soul. This is the card of interpersonal relationships to integrate.
[RWS and Thoth: The Lovers; Thoth: also The Brothers]

33
Key 7: The Chariot. An armored knight, adorned with an eight-pointed star on
the helmet—the Seal of Prophets, steers a canopied chariot pulled by two sphinxes, dark and
light, representing the Urim and Thummim. One sphinx has eyes for seeing the light; the
other has only an open mouth, for speaking the truth. The hind leg of the sphinx who speaks
is crushing its own tail, symbolizing the self-inflicted pain of speaking your truth. Crescents
on their headdresses are reminiscent of divination moon blocks.
This is the primordial spirit and personification of free will. The Chariot is the spirit
that helps you create change. You have attained a certain mastery of knowledge, and now
you must determine how you will use that knowledge to create change in the world around
you. The spirit of The Chariot is here giving momentum to your knowledge and intuition so
that the skills you have acquired can be used to drive you forward along your Path.
Key 7 appears to affirm that you have triumphed over your obstacles. The charioteer
reminds you that you are in control of yourself. When The Chariot card appears, you have
arrived at a critical milestone, and are in movement toward victory. Success will come to the
one who refuses to stop fighting. You are capable of making the extraordinary happen, if you
take control of what you have power over and release control from what you do not. Let your

34
faith be the chariot that drives you when you do not have the power to change your
circumstances.
Lux et Veritas: Light and Truth, a translation of the Urim and Thummim. In the
journey toward the godhead, Free Will must be steered by Light and Truth. The sphinx to the
left with eyes and no mouth can see the Light, but cannot speak the Truth. The sphinx to the
right with a mouth and no eyes cannot see the Light, but can speak the Truth. Its hind leg
crushes its own tail, symbolizing the self-inflicted pain that can sometimes come from daring
to speak one’s Truth.
In ancient mythos, the chariot was associated with the sun and therefore an emblem
of solar deities, such as Mithra, Apollo, or Cybele. The chariot is also symbolic of spiritual
elevation. In antiquity, the charioteer represented control over one’s passions, desires, and
therefore symbolized the exercise of logic and Divine Reason. The canopy of the mind is held
up by the four pillars symbolic of the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, in the Proto-Canaanite
alphabet. A shield bearing the cardinal zodiac signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn,
indicated by the ram, crab, balancing scales, and goat respectively, conceals the knight’s
acquired treasures: the Sacred Relics.
[RWS and Thoth: The Chariot]

A previous table on the Three Septenaries noted that Keys 7, 14, and 21 signified the
attainment of wisdom relating to the Material. Signifying physical manifestation are the
zodiac signs by their modalities, to represent the four seasons and the four quadrants of
the earthly plane. Thus, the three Material Keys in the Majors bear the zodiac signs of
their corresponding modality.

Major Arcanum Zodiac Glyphs Zodiac Signs Modality

Aries, Cancer, Libra,
Key 7: The Chariot Cardinal
Capricorn
Gemini, Virgo,
Key 14: The Angel Mutable
Sagittarius, Pisces
Key 21: New World Taurus, Leo,
Fixed
Order Scorpio, Aquarius

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 Second Septenary
Integrate the Cosmos

The order of Keys in the Second Septenary initiates your understanding of the cosmos,
or as Papus notes, the keys to understanding the Constitution of Man. The Second Septenary
reveals the collective system of principles governing the human condition. It’s about
understanding the compositional nature of humanity.
If the First Septenary is the pathwork for understanding yourself, then the Second
Septenary is the pathwork for understanding the social order and natural laws of your world.
When Keys from the Second Septenary appear to you in a reading, you’re at the stage of
gaining understanding about the metaphysical laws that govern nature (including magic and
how the human world interacts with the spirit world) and the physical laws of nature
(chemistry, mathematics, physics).
Where the First Septenary revealed Divine Providence so that you might integrate the
Self, the Second reveals your Destiny. These seven Keys are about heightening your
awareness of the world around you and gaining more experiences so that you can make
positive, constructive changes to your life path.
The Second Septenary is the most volatile and changeable. It is the part of your path
that is in flux. This is due to its astrological attribution to the Mutable modality.
The three modalities in astrology are Cardinal, Mutable, and Fixed. The First
Septenary corresponds with the Cardinal zodiac signs (which are the signs depicted on the
shield of the charioteer in Key 7: The Chariot).
The Second Septenary corresponds with the Mutable, so at the parallel point to Key
7, which is Key 14, the Angel’s robes feature the Mutable signs. Finally, later in Key 21, the
four Fixed signs corresponding with the pathworking of the Third Septenary are depicted
along the four corners of the New World Order. In astrology, the Mutable signs (Gemini,
Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) are keenly attuned to the world around them, and perceiving
the unseen that is underneath the seen comes easier for the Mutable signs. Likewise,
pathworking through the Second Septenary gains you perceptivity of that unseen beneath the
seen, which is to understand how the world works, and by what divine and natural laws it
seems to operate.

36
Key 8: The Force. This is the spirit of mastery over your own fears. A maiden
in white radiates with the double-headed ouroboros in a double lemniscate knot—it is the
same lemniscate knot of the manifested Magus.
You have tamed the beast and thereby now actualized your potential and kinetic
power. The Force is the personification of audacity to achieve personal miracles. In spite of
all the setbacks you’ve endured, you prevail, you endure, you persist.
When the beast growls at the maiden, instead of responding with violence or with
fear, the maiden shows love, kindness, and compassion. Her loving-kindness tames the lion.
The Force appears to you now to remind you that when you are facing the beast, face
it with love, kindness, and compassion, not violence or fear. The most powerful force is the
force of Love. Sometimes, that beast is our inner selves threatening to undermine the progress
we have achieved. It is appetite and desire, cruelty, inner depravity, or savagery.
When the beast that threatens you is yourself, show yourself love, kindness, and
compassion. The answer is not to beat the beast into submission; the answer is integration of

37
the beast. Acknowledge the dark side and meld it lovingly with the light. Key 8 symbolizes
the Acts of Love we’re capable of.
The Force is the spirit of inner strength, and when Key 8 appears to you, you are being
called to acknowledge the beast and show that beast love, kindness, and compassion. Let the
maiden and the beast stand as one, and not against each other in rivalry.
The astrological glyph for the north lunar node hovers above the awakened serpent
that has manifested itself from within the maiden. One head of the serpent emerges from her
crown, and the other from her root, the Gate of Life and Death, where the serpent is first
awakened. She wears a garland of roses. This is the adept who has acquired some active,
working knowledge of the mystic arts, and mastery over fears and fearsome situations.
In the heavens shining down is the constellation for Leo, with the star Regulus
illuminated the brightest. Perched upon a bush in the background is a baby eagle facing
leftward back toward The Emperor.
The maiden and the lion together symbolize the alchemical force of having achieved
balance and reconciliation of the polarities within us. This is the spirit of Inviolable Innocence
because in spite of all that you have endured to get to where you are now, all the darkness
you have seen, the cruelty and suffering, you remain willful, strong, resilient, and untainted.
[RWS: Strength, Thoth: Key XI: Lust]

Key 9: The Erudite. This is the inner light of

wisdom and guidance that shines through the darkness—Lux ex
tenebris, meaning the light in darkness, the light that the
darkness cannot comprehend (from the Gospel of John).
The Erudite bears this message: as you walk through the
valley of darkness, fear no evil, for the Holy One is with you.
The Holy One’s rod and staff shall comfort you so that you
always shine, but never burn—luceo non uro.
The Erudite is the prophecy of a wise teacher. This is
someone who has learned and mastered many subjects, and
therefore possesses great knowledge as broad in scope as that

38
knowledge is deep. When The Erudite appears to you, you are being called to shine with the
light of the heavens. Shine for others, so others can see themselves and the world clearer.
Light the life of humanity—lux hominum vita.
The bars of music in the open book symbolizes the language of Key 9. The Erudite
speaks with the Voice of Light and that Voice, the universal language that unites all of
mankind is music. The zodiac sign Virgo corresponds with an ear of corn, and here corn
symbolizes fertility of the mind.
When you understand why The Erudite has appeared to you, then this spirit leaves
you with one final message: “Where I am, you also may be,” says the Hermit of the Mysteries.
[RWS and Thoth: The Hermit]

Key 10: Wheel of Life. When Key 10 appears

to you, you are at a major turning point in your life.
This is the symbol of changing cycles and even the
cycles of our mind, how we change our perspectives based on
the evolution of our experiences. This is our karma and the law
of causation. The Wheel of Life doles out the consequences
played out in our life path. This is the guardian spirit present
during a major shift in your life.
When the Wheel of Life appears, watch to see if history
will repeat itself. What had turned before may come to turn
again. Yet when the Wheel appears to you, it is also an
affirmative opportunity to change. History does not need to
repeat itself. What had turned before does not need to turn again.
The Wheel is emblematic of Friedrich Nietzsche’s
discourse on eternal recurrence. This is the principle that with infinite time and infinite space
but finite events, every physical mass that exists in the present has existed in a self-similar
form in the past and will return to exist in a self-similar form in the future. The principle
applies to every individual sentient being and also to every grand designed universe. Our
universe, too, has existed before and will exist again.

39
 In that sense, Key 10 is the divinatory notice to you that this is your last clear chance
to change an outcome.
If you are discontent with how you see your current life trajectory, then seize the
present moment to reorient yourself and make corrections. The Wheel of Life is the law of
avoidable consequences: exercise effort now in this final window of opportunity and you can
prevent the outcome you seek to avoid, thereby manifesting that which you seek for your
fortunes.
[RWS: Wheel of Fortune, Thoth: Fortune]

Key 11: The Chancellor. This spirit represents

rectification measures that counter karmic consequences. It is
the spirit guiding you toward balanced judgment and making
clear decisions. Do not judge based on appearances. Choose
balanced action, balanced words, and balanced thought.
When Key 11: The Chancellor appears to you, it is a call
to make the necessary adjustments so that you might restore
balance.
The Angel of Justice arrives when all considerations
have been duly weighed and the resulting outcome of the
choices you’ve made, your actions and your speech has now
been determined.
Key 11 marks that point when the truth comes out. It is
the moment of deliberating whether an action taken was moral and if not, how the action can
be rectified.
The Angel of Justice is tasked with maintaining the equilibrium of the universe and
thus the equilibrium of your inner temple. The scales of your life are about to get tipped so
that balance can be maintained. What the Angel of Justice wields in her right hand appears
as a sword, but serves as a pen. The Chancellor is also the primordial spirit of the scribes and
of scripture memorialized after experiencing the turning Wheel of Life. The Chancellor works

40
through scribes and scripture. The spirit who works through Key 11 is the personification of
discourse that achieves harmony, justice, and reveals the truth.
The imagery depicted on Key 11 is the Angel seated in the Hall of Two Truths
weighing your heart against the Feather of Ma’at, the Egyptian goddess of Truth and Justice.
Thus, when the Angel appears to you, it is now your turn to have your heart weighed against
the Feather of Ma’at. Key 11 marks your moment of divine accounting for all that you have
done and how it shall weigh toward an outcome.
[RWS: Justice, Thoth: Key VIII: Adjustment]

Key 12: The Outlaw. Examine your situation from a different perspective. Be
the outlier. This is the spirit designating how we break from establishment to serve a higher
purpose. A guardian spirit has come to support you as you scrutinize both the fundamentalism
around you and the personal dogma embedded deep within. Key 12 sends the message of
psychic mindfulness. Tap in to your own deep sea of unconscious.

41
 The Outlaw hangs from pillars supporting the opposing side of the temple depicted
earlier on Key 5: The Holy See. This is the vantage point in opposition of tradition. We are
seeing that which defies orthodoxy.
This is the heretical, the eccentric, the dissident. This is the rejection of authority and
rebellion against establishment. The Outlaw appears to you when the answer is to operate
outside of and in contention with the established rules of institution. Yet be aware that there
are consequences to nonconformity and noncompliance.
The spirit of The Outlaw is showing you both the way of your path and also the
consequences of that way. If you choose to be the sacrifice, then those who come after you
will be redeemed.
Do ut des: “I give so that you may give.” Take heart, as the swan is the omen of grace
and the fish is the omen of prophecy. Coram Deo: In the presence of God. You act against
the laws of the material, worldly establishment, but not against the laws of God. Divinity is
on your side.
The appearance of Key 12 designates a figurative baptism: a spiritual purification by
the element Water. This is the Key of Grace.
The Outlaw is the consciousness that each individual, no matter the karma, the fate,
the capacities, or integrity, can speak directly to God and can receive directly from God the
Revelation of the Mysteries.
When The Outlaw appears to you, you may find yourself presently suspended in
suffering, but a greater good and a Grace is to come.
Key 12 is the expression of the Dying God. The red anemone depicted upon the top
stones of the twin pillars are reminiscent of Adonis (Adonai) of Greco-Roman lore where the
blood of the dying Adonis and Aphrodite’s tears transformed into the anemone. In common
fortune-telling Key 13, classically titled the Death card, is often the Key among the Majors
associated with death and dying, but it is Key 12 where a death or departure transpires. In the
lore of the Dying God, Key 12 is the death and Key 13 is the resurrection. Thus, here in The
Outlaw, we have already the prophecy of a resurrection.
[RWS and Thoth: The Hanged Man]

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Key 13: The Reaper. This is the guardian spirit present when you’ve arrived at a
life stage of transition and personal transformation. You are being guided through an initiation
phase and the suffering you experience serves a greater divine purpose. A change that you
know in your heart is imminent but have been denying is the change that you will face.
The Reaper appears to you when the circumstances you face call for this gentle
reminder: All is not fair to the human perception. You toil for the Bread of Life until sweat
seethes from your brow, and yet that Life will be taken away no matter who you are or what
you have done. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. That is the purpose and the absence of purpose
to human Genesis. Nevertheless, keep your focus on that which is the Light. Follow your own
True North and The Reaper will protect you. Endure through the difficult changes to come
and when those winds of change have settled, you will find yourself better for it. There will
be rebirth after this death.
[RWS and Thoth: Death]

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Key 14: The Angel. This is the first sight and recognition of our inner divine
genius. It is the presence of your own Holy Guardian Angel. Key 14 marks the transition
point to a higher state of consciousness, and thus a heightened state of personal wellbeing.
This is the first omen that you are on the path to ascension.
When The Angel appears to you, exceptionalism amplifies your ordinary
consciousness. The tempering of what is higher divine with what is physical brings healing,
rejuvenation, and changes toward the better. This is where it gets better. When The Angel
appears to you, it is an omen that troubles are passing, pains subsiding, and you are growing
closer to Divinity.
The Angel is your patron deity. Genius, in Greco-Roman lore, is one’s tutelary deity,
or a guardian spirit that protects an individual person. It is your daimon from your cradle to
your grave, the realization of an inner divine.
Circumstances in your life path have converged and a work of personal inspiration
becomes your productivity. You realize your innate talents and bring into material being that
which is extraordinary.

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 This is the primordial spirit of exceptionalism. Key 14 corresponds with Sagittarius,
the sign of the archer, which expresses a compelling nature of the divine higher genius:
“Genius hits a target no one else can see.” (Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860)
Look for the omens in your path: your Angel will always reach out to you and
forewarn you of dangers or troubles to come. That is not to say your Angel averts danger
from coming your way. The reason why you must suffer is from a divine creed well beyond
human wisdom.
Invest more confidence in your own intuition. It is precisely your intuition that
actualizes the inner genius. Trusting in your own intuition is what begets genius. To come in
to knowledge and conversation with your Holy Guardian Angel, you must first trust fully in
your own intuition. When genius is realized, the product is art.
One foot of the Angel is dipped into the Great Salt Sea of Awareness while the other
keeps balance on the material plane. Written upon one sash: Solve et Coagula (“dissolve and
concentrate,” an alchemical maxim balancing a time to rest and a time to act, which leads to
successful completion of the Great Work); and upon the other: Mutatis Mutandis (“the
necessary changes having been made”)—reminiscent of the bow from Key 6, the astrological
polarity of The Angel. Key 6, The Two Ways, hinted at the presence of The Angel, who is
The Two Urns. This is also the Time card—the indefinite progress of events and existence;
the fourth dimension. Tempered between her goblets: the Universal Medicine that is later
used by The Healer to replenish the earth in Key 17.
When the spirit of The Angel appears, it is Divinity showing its face to you. It is
Divinity assuring you that you are never alone. You do not suffer the slings and arrows
without your Angel standing by—the Threads of Fate knotted around The Angel’s gown
signify that the path of Higher Genius is always intertwined with you. The iris by Her foot
reveals to us that She was the Angel of Justice and a protégé of The Empress. The Angel now
reveals that the light in Key 13 was Her all along.
[RWS: Temperance, Thoth: Art]

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 Inscribed upon the Metternich Stela and pyramid texts is the story of Horus, a story
thought to be secret and reserved for the pharaohs.
Isis, pregnant with Horus, has been in seclusion, on the counsel of Thoth. One evening
she asks the woman of a dwelling if she could have shelter for the night. The woman brazenly
shuts the door on Isis. The Seven Scorpion goddesses accompanying Isis are angered by this
offense and send a scorpion to sting the woman’s son to death. The woman is overcome with grief
and Isis seeing the woman’s sorrow, feels compassion despite the woman’s earlier disrespect, and
so Isis uses her magic to bring the woman’s son back to life. Overjoyed about her son, the woman
repents for her sins against Isis.
However, as soon as Isis resurrects the woman’s son, her own son Horus, whose right eye
is the sun and left eye is the moon, dies by the sting of a scorpion. Now it is Isis who laments.
Thoth comes to her and, authorized by Heaven, utters the words of the Great Spell, which
are so powerful, the words send the fluids of life from the sun god Ra into Horus and resurrects
him. Isis expresses her deepest gratitude to Thoth, who tells her that it is not him, but her Love
that has brought her own son back to life.
Thoth goes further to pledge to Isis that when her son enters the Halls of Judgment, Thoth
will be the advocate on behalf of Horus and no matter who speaks out against Horus, Thoth will
be there to defend her son. He also states that Heaven has ordained Horus to inherit the Throne of
the Two Lands. The pharaohs of the earthly realm would all be the incarnations of Horus.
The death and resurrection of Horus is encoded in the Keys of the Second Septenary.

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 Third Septenary
Integrate the Divine

The Third Septenary reveals the Keys toward ascension. Papus describes it as
the revelation of the Human Will, or more precisely, the divinity and power of Will,
integrating Providence and Destiny.
You will know that the Third Septenary of your Path has been reached when you
are battered and besieged with the most adversarial forces you have yet to encounter.
It is only at the ascended point of the Third Septenary that antagonists seem most
determined to thwart your every effort toward even higher cultivation.
As Hildegarde of Bingen (1098—1179) known as the Sibyl of the Rhine put it, to
reach God, man must first pass through Hell. Thus, the Third Septenary begins with Key
15: The Demon. When faced with The Demon and then struck by The Tower, do you give
up and abandon the Path because of the obstacles that have beset your success? Or do
you dig deeper, persist, perspire, and confront those obstacles?
When a prominent Major Arcanum in your tarot spread is from the Third
Septenary or there are multiple Majors from the Third in the reading, a higher purpose
is at stake. The matter you are divining on is a matter of much greater significance than
perhaps you’ve initially realized. Underlying the matter is the question of what will
bring you a sense of spiritual fulfillment. What is it that truly speaks to your soul?
In the Third Septenary, six of the cards (all except Key 21) correspond with a
divinatory art based on the seven mystic arts in Renaissance magic. Keys 15 and 18
together represent the dark arts, both demonology and necromancy; Keys 16 and 19
together represent oracle bone divination; and Keys 17 and 20 represent the
integration of palmistry and astrology. The remaining four are found in the Threes of
the Minor Arcana: pyromancy, hydromancy, aeromancy, and geomancy (Scepters,
Chalices, Swords, Orbs, respectively).
The Third Septenary reveals the Keys toward ascension. This is a figurative
Return to God or to Manifest the Inner God (the Two Paths). These are the trials and the
omens that determine whether the hero succeeds on the perilous journey.

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 Key 15: The Demon. The Demon, with its serpent tail, bat wings
outstretched, and the head of a goat, has chained the Lovers—the dragon and phoenix. In
Renaissance Europe, bats were associated with demons, darkness, ghosts, but also
intelligence. In Biblical mythos, the bat is the enemy of the Light. Since the bat was observed
to sleep upside down, the bat also came to symbolize disruption of the natural order. Another
name for The Demon is Melancholia. The serpent’s tail bears his relationship with the Magus.
The Demon also calls to mind the Ophiotaurus in Greek mythology—part bull and part
serpent (recall the symbolism of the bull in Key 5). The entrails of the Ophiotaurus have the
power to defeat the gods when burned.
You know you’ve begun the final prong of your spiritual journey when you’re thrust
into a battle with the Typhon. This is the mental and emotional chains of bondage you must
break, and to break those chains, you must see clearly that those chains have always been an
illusion. To break the chains, you have to break the illusion. Though he has cast an illusion
that he controls the chains binding the Lovers, the ends of his chain, which go off-frame, do
not in fact link to the chains around the dragon and phoenix.

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 The Demon is a beneficent spirit from your inner universe who appears to you when
you are letting your Beast take control over your Self. When you have been letting the darker,
destructive aspects of human nature prevail over your own spirituality, The Demon will
appear in an effort to redirect you on the rectified Path.
While the name of the spirit conjures supernatural and sinister denotations, put
simply, The Demon is the primordial spirit of harm, and more often than not, self-harm. This
is self-sabotage. Even when your conscious intent appears to be to hurt others, your
subconscious intent is to punish yourself.
An inverted alchemical symbol of the squared circle appears in front of the Demon’s
belly, indicating the sacral chakra. At his crown is the astrological glyph for the south lunar
node. Together, the symbols reveal the Demon’s relationship with Key 8, The Force, its
parallel counterpart back in the Second Septenary.
The Demon is beneficent because it is the divinity that compels humanity to confront
that which they fear, because that is necessary for actualizing your God within. This is the
spirit that guides you to confront what you are avoiding.
The Demon is the personification of interferences that undermine our pursuit of our
aspirations or the advancement of our knowledge and wisdom. The Demon is that which
holds us back.
When Key 15 appears, you are letting forces of harm inhibit your progress. You have
been surrendering your self-control. The Demon is thus trying to alert you to manipulation,
abuse, deception, or undue influences that are causing you sabotage in the long-term. Key 15
is a sign of impairment.
The action to take now is to battle the Typhon and overcome that manipulation. Break
yourself free from the undue influences that are causing you harm. There is no easy way
around the battle to come and there is no avoiding the battle: you will need to exert an
extraordinary amount of strength to defeat your Typhon.
The Demon is also Exalted Creativity. The lesson to learn from The Demon is this:
the Mystery of Sorrow; the Mystery of Change; and the Mystery of Selflessness. Key 15 as
Capricorn is both the Great Builder and the Great Destroyer. You wouldn’t even be worthy
of confronting The Demon if you weren’t destined for greatness. And thus Key 15 is also the
mark of prodigy and exceptionalism.
[RWS and Thoth: The Devil]

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Key 16: The Tower.
The blasted Tower is struck: the Staff of Moses from
Key 9 has transformed into a lightning bolt. Alongside it, the
trishula descends down—the Trident of Shiva, which in
mythos, was used to sever the first head of Ganesha (recall the
imagery evocative of Ganesha in Key 5). The trishula is also
symbolic of the Holy Trinity.
This is a Fall, a trial that will test the Soul.
The Tower is the spirit of disappointment when you feel
what you have worked hard for is not propelling you toward the
higher ground you desire.
The Tower of Babel was constructed when a united
humanity endeavored to erect a tower that could lead straight up
to Heaven and thus would provide humans with direct and easy
access to the celestial realm. Yet such an endeavor was struck down by the the divine fires of
lightning, crushing the human pretension that there could be an easy way to enter Heaven.
The Tower card is a beneficent spirit borne out of that narrative and that memory,
appearing before you to prevent you from falling prey to the delusion that material
conveniences can accelerate spiritual awakening.
The tail of the Demon is present here because Key 16 portends having to face the
potential for malevolence both within you and in the world around you. This is the spirit of
having to voluntarily accept suffering. There is no spiritual transformation until you accept
that your own suffering and also the suffering of the world are your responsibility.
There is no easy or direct path to awakening. To complete your Great Work, there is
only the path of toil, labor, suffering, sacrifice, and attainment of wisdom through experience.
That experience can only come through the passage of time.
The spirit of The Tower appears when the message you need to hear is this: change
your direction. Before the physical construction of your Great Work can manifest, you must
build a solid inner foundation. Focus on that inner foundation and then when the conditions
are ripe, the physical construction of your Great Work will manifest.

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 This is the moment your material and spiritual worlds collide. The spirit of The Tower
appears to you now in an effort to guide you through the challenge of dismantling your own
preconceived notions. A talisman is given to you: a battle axe, which you must wield to
remove the obstacles in your way.
Heed these teachings: there can be joy in sorrow and stability in change.
In the background, an erupting volcano makes known the presence of Pele. The bolts
of lightning strike the Tower, which begins to crumble, but also, it strikes to break the chains
that had linked the Tower to the chains of the Demon from Key 15—the Initiate now realizes
that the Demon’s chains bind the material Tower, not the Lovers.
In the foreground, a battle axe dripping with blood is offered. A message this card
delivers to you is to find that battle axe, because it is the axe that will empower you to navigate
the matter at hand. Blood dripping from the blade symbolizes past experience, which must
now be utilized and applied to the situation.
The two crescent moons from the headdresses of the two sphinxes in Key 7—Key
16’s numerological relative—are inscribed upon the axe. (The crescent moon is also an
iconographic representation of Shiva.)
The axe is a symbol of war and sacrifice, but it is also associated with lightning. Per
Biblical lore, an axe striking the root of a tree symbolizes the Last Judgment: Key 16 is the
second key in the final Septenary and Key 20: Apocalypse, also known as the Last Judgment,
is the second to last key in the final Septenary. The axe is also significant in Freemasonry,
symbolizing one’s initiatory courage to reveal the Divine Mysteries.
For the magus to return to the Light and Glory of God, magic must be pursued without
arrogance or ego. Another word for magic is science. When The Tower card appears,
reevaluate your intentions. An adjustment of those intentions can bring an adjustment of fates
for the better.
Key 16 can also be an omen of armed conflict.
[RWS and Thoth: The Tower; Thoth: also War]

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Key 17: The Healer. This is the Star of the Magi, Queen of Infinite Space.
You have overcome a brutal yet necessary trial in your life, and now your Holy
Guardian Angel returns as The Healer to nurse your battle wounds.
The Holy Guardian Angel manifests as Our Lady of the Stars to heal your broken
world. She sheds a Tear of Compassion, feeling your pain as her own. She pours from one
chalice into the Great Salt Sea of Awareness, purifying the soul and unconscious, and from
the other onto the material plane, healing the physical realm and restoring the body.
This Key is a blessing. She is curative Love who meets and embraces you after you
have survived the gauntlet of adversity. In Key 17, the Titan goddess of nocturnal oracles
Asteria—The Starry One—mother of Hecate, can appear in revelations to the Seeker.
Your Angel—your inner divine genius—sheds a tear because your pain is the Angel’s
pain. Yet lest we forget, this is the spirit of Hope, the spirit of agape Love, and the spirit of
Divine Beauty.
An eight-pointed star, the Seal of Prophets—a reference to the Islamic prophecy of
The Messenger—and Star of the Magi, radiates overhead, casting its light down onto your

52
world. When this world is being overrun with darkness and injustice or the teachings of The
Paths are being corrupted, Divinity will send a prophet to restore light and justice and clear
the teachings of The Paths.
This star, the Seal, is also emblematic of the masonic Keystone, which is the center
stone that holds an archway together. The Keystone represents enlightenment and stability at
the peak point. The Star of the Magi is also Faith. Faith is expressed through communion with
Divinity and service to Humanity.
The smaller stars form the constellation Aquarius. The Aquarian mission is to
understand life’s mysteries, to serve a greater good, and to be a champion for that greater
good. The Healer’s companion, a scarlet ibis, flies close. The ibis here is symbolic of Thoth,
the ancient Egyptian god of the sciences, the inspiration for Hermes and medieval alchemy,
Hermeticism, and even Middle Eastern magic.
In the distance, the structure of the Tower has been restored, visible along the
horizon—this time, built in accordance with the Divine Will.
The Healer appears to mend what was broken. Capax Dei: capable of receiving the
Divine. The mind is formed in the image of God, and in that, it is capable of Divinity. Your
capacity of holding Divinity within you is now being revealed. The goblets pour forth Hope
and Faith—hope and faith in yourself that you are capable of greatness.
Key 17 is the Star of the Magi and when The Healer appears to you, the fragments of
your broken world will be healed. This is the omen of restoration, of rebuilding, salving, and
alleviating your pains.
The lotus blossom of The Healer depicted on the card sends this message to you: No
mud, no lotus. Suffering is the mud in which the lotus flower of divine awakening can grow.
When The Healer is making her presence known to you, it is the prophecy that a
blessing is soon to be conferred.
Note: The woman in The Star card is more commonly depicted as nude, to associate
her with the Egyptian sky goddess Nut. In lieu of nudity, Nut is represented here by the veil
of emanations covering the sky and her presence is made known by the sycamore tree in the
background.
[RWS and Thoth: The Star]

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Key 18: The Necromancer. Key 18 is the Moon of the Magi. The
Necromancer is the spirit of unseen influences. It is the spirit personification of
uncertainty and illusions. When the Moon of the Magi appears to you, the matter at hand
is steeped in ambiguity.
It is the guardian who walks you toward mastery of seeing beyond perception
and unraveling illusion. The Necromancer is the spirit of your own imagination, an
imagination that shines now so that the Truth can finally be illuminated.
The Necromancer appears when you are coming toward the crossroads of having to
endure through a dark night of the soul. The Necromancer will be your guide and ally through
the darkest night.
Yet there is prophecy here: journeying through the dark night of your soul will take
you onto the path that leads to your Holy Grail. What is to come is part of your Quest, and
reflects what is to be your chosen Path. Thus, while Key 18 bodes uncertainty, can feel
ominous, and portends a coming darkness, there is also the foretelling of Greatness to come.
Of all the spirits in all the Realms, it is only The Necromancer who can unveil the passageway
to the Grail.

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 Oftentimes this Key can mark the dark night of the soul or having to pay closer
attention to your dreams. A waning crescent moon—the moon of witchcraft and sorcery—
appears at the zenith point of the skies. A scarab flies close, symbolic of eternal life, divine
teachings, and a spiritual crossroads. Twin stone pillars symbolize a sacred gateway and
mystic passage into the unknown. A cut-out window in one pillar suggests the Eye of Spirit
watching over.
The Necromancer is also the spirit of resurrection. In Egyptian symbology, the scarab
is an omen of life after death. The parting seas depicted on the card symbolize climactic
miracle. Through the doubt and mystery, maintain an unwavering faith and that is what will
power resurrection and miracles to happen.
[RWS and Thoth: The Moon]

Key 19: The Warrior. Key 19, the Sun of the

Magi, signifies competence and reciprocity. This is the
primordial spirit of Dazzling Light. Here we see your
consciousness expanding.
We are predisposed to seeking out competence—the
mastery of knowledge, skill, and to possess qualification—
and also reciprocity—for there to be mutual exchange in all
our social interactions.
The spirit who has appeared before you in Key 19 is
the Bringer of Dawn. The armor she wears is made of dragon
skin. In both ancient Eastern and Western lore, the skin of a
dragon produces the most impenetrable armor.
Thus, in The Warrior we have the indomitable spirit. The Master of the Mystic
Light appears to you when you are on the verge of confronting potential with Reason
and Truth, through which you shall create Goodness.
Goodness is Creation with purpose arrived at through Reason and Truth.

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 Libertas perfundet omnia luce is inscribed upon The Warrior’s right gauntlet or
armored glove: freedom will flood all things with light. The Warrior’s mission is to
ensure that all may live with dignity and to be self-governing. The Sun of the Magi is
personal sovereignty that radiates out as manifested contributions to the world.
Here is victory in the battles you’ve fought for your own independence of mind,
body, and soul. You’ve broken all chains. You’ve detached yourself from that which had
tried to control your will. And now your light shines freely out into the world.
The Warrior is also the spirit of fighting to protect others, fighting in service. This
is success and glory you achieve not for yourself, but so you can be in the empowered
position to help others thrive and grow. Once you are delivered into freedom, you bear
the responsibility to deliver others to the same.
The Warrior is the spirit beckoning you to vow a life in service of others, to
always strive for personal greatness, and to live by your own honor code. This is the
spirit of heroic acts. Inscribed upon The Warrior’s other glove, luceat lux vestra: let your
light shine. You are now liberated and triumphant.
This is the Key of Expanded Consciousness, the Sun, charged with a Rose, the
budding of solar influence, with Aries rising in the east. The Sun—a mystic rose—
illuminates at the zenith point of the skies.
Inscribed in the three petals from the top clockwise: Aleph, Mem, Shin in the
Proto-Canaanite alphabet, for the three mother letters. The ring of seven petals bears
the symbolism of the sacred seven planets, also for the seven metals of antiquity, and
the seven double letters. The outer ring of twelve bears the symbolism for the twelve
zodiac signs. Within the Sun, an amber lemniscate bears a cross for the four directions
and rose. The three-tiered rose as the Sun is emblematic of the philosopher’s stone, but
more than that, it designates full blossom—achievement of the Great Work.
The emanating rays of sunlight feature the cubic stone, in reference to the
masonic Stone of Foundation. When Thoth resurrects Horus, he uses the fluids of life
siphoned from Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun. Those fluids of life are now used to cast
the cubic stones for the construction of your inner temple. When The Warrior appears
to you, success is imminent. Glory comes.
[RWS and Thoth: The Sun]

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Key 20: Apocalypse. This is the spirit presented upon your path when you
have arrived at a point of no return. What has transpired is now irreversible.
“The only way out is through.” (Robert Frost, 1874-1963)
This is that moment of full realization for why all that has happened to you has
happened. The Apocalypse is the spirit of revelation, when the answers that were
hidden before are now obvious. This is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the
end.
When the Apocalypse appears in divination with other cards, it adds an emphasis of
significant spiritual importance to those other cards. Pay closer attention when Key 20 is
present.
When the Apocalypse appears in a single card draw, it is the first sign to you that
God’s presence will be made known to you imminently. It is the foretelling that an important
message is to come, and that message will unveil what had been obscured to you, and give
you knowledge of what you did not know of before. Self-actualization is to come.

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 The spirit of the Apocalypse presented to you can also be a sign of a true ending. You
have walked beyond the point of no return for a path. A certain way of life you had grown
accustomed to is coming to an end. In its place will be a new way of walking your life path.
The Apocalypse is a mythic personification of an event horizon—this is a space-time
in which no event that comes subsequent can affect the outcome, because all that could have
affected it has either transpired or not transpired. The Apocalypse card appears when you
have crossed the boundary of where gravitational pull over you is such that turning back is
impossible.
[RWS: Judgement; Thoth: The Aeon]

Key 21: New World Order. This is the Crown of the Magi. It is both the
beginning and the end of the Great Work. It is Oneness with the Great Calling, and the final
state of actualizing divine consciousness. Key 21 marks the World to Come, Heaven on Earth,
and the materializing of a new Paradise.

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 This is the spirit present upon your path after change has taken place. This is the spirit
you encounter when a cycle has come to its completion.
A starfish—a hermaphrodite who spends one part of its life male and another
female—appears at the center: the divine godhead is unity manifested as duality. The five
arms of the starfish represent the five ingredients for bread: flour, water, oil, salt, and yeast.
The starfish is also reminiscent of the Shield of Solomon, or Pentagram of Solomon. Here, it
designates the powers accrued.
As if suspended by an unseen force, an androgynous messianic figure hovers behind
the starfish, and as if by that unseen force, each hand is pinned to an hourglass. The
hourglasses on either side defy the laws of space and time. Together, one with sands to spare
above, and the other with sands to spare below, symbolizes perpetual change. In Western
alchemy, the hourglass represents balance between Heaven and Earth.
Great balance and stability come when the catalyst has succeeded at creating a new
zeitgeist. You are the New World Order who brings positive change to the zeitgeist. You are
the catalyst. This is the spirit of you succeeding at creating the change you have wanted to
see in your world. What do you see in your world right now that is broken or causes suffering?
What is your dream of how your world can be repaired?
The New World Order is the spirit ready and by your side, aiding you, guiding you,
so that you can truly and fully embody the catalyst to a most wonderful change, a change that
will make the world you live in a much better place for all. The New World Order ushers in
a period of renaissance and unification.
When Key 21 appears to you, it is the divinatory mark of a new epoch in your life.
With it comes dramatic changes to your world. This is the spirit of a great power rising. The
New World Order is the spirit personification of a newfound peace, one that will be stable
and enduring. That peace ushers in a period of prosperity and a sense of security. All is
balanced. This is the primordial power of social change.
The allegory of the Messiah embedded into Key 21 appears to you now to remind you
that your suffering and the suffering of the world is your burden. Know yourself as a
perpetrator, not a victim: do not look for what the world has done to you; see what you have
done to this world. Determine what it is you need to do, how you must act in a manner that
shoulders responsibility so that you can confront not only your own suffering but the suffering
of this world and rectify it. Take ownership to take control.

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 The New World Order is the rectification of past adversity. It is only when you accept
hardship and affliction, truly accept it, that you can transform yourself physiologically,
psychologically, and spiritually.
[RWS: The World, Thoth: The Universe]

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 MINOR ARCANA: SEVEN UPPER REALMS
If the Majors are the primordial spirits, then the Minors are the spirits of our world
who operate among us to orchestrate the mundane. The Upper Realms are the transitory states
of Creation from spiritual to temporal.
The Minor Arcana gives the actual formula for the philosopher’s stone: it gives the
logistical step by step instructions for achieving the your Great Work. The Minor Arcana
reveals how you can achieve that Great Work, instructing on the interior design, styling, and
psychic accoutrements of your inner temple.
Here, the Upper Realms relate to conception and the first signs of growth or
development. The Aces are the divine seeds that are implanted into our minds and hearts,
which we then channel outward to materialize.
In lay terms, the Upper Realms relate to conception and the first signs of growth or
development. The Aces are the divine seeds that are implanted into our minds and hearts,
which we then channel outward to materialize.
MINOR ARCANA KEYS WITH TRINITARIAN PRIMORDIAL INFLUENCES
Lower Realm Upper Ream Lower Realm
Ten Ace Two Three Four
Key 1 Key 1 Key 2 Key 3 Key 4
Key 10 Key 10 Key 11 Key 12 Key 13
Key 19 Key 19 Key 20 Key 21 Key 0

The Tens from the Lower Realms are linked to the Aces because, after the material
pinnacles that the Tens represent, what had manifested is returned to dust, back into the
intangible realms from where they first sprung—and that’s the Aces. The cycle continues,
and what is in the intangible realm of the Aces will begin to manifest in the Realm of Twos.
The Threes, then, give birth descending from the Upper Realm to the Lower Realm, and the
first sign of what has materialized having function is in the Fours.
Within each Realm, there are four guardian spirits that correspond with the four
elements. The spirit of that Realm reigning over the Scepters emanates with Fire; the spirit
reigning over the Chalices emanates with Water; the spirit reigning over the Swords emanates
with Air; and the spirit reigning over the Orbs emanates with Earth.

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 THE FOUR SACRED RELICS

The Aces in the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot represent the four sacred relics that represent
actualized knowledge of Divinity. They signify the four attainments in the four key
quadrants of your life: the work that you do, the relationships that fulfill you, the name and
legacy you leave behind, and the material prosperity that you manifest for you and your
loved ones.

The Ace of Scepters (Sacred Fire) is the SPEAR OF DESTINY, which manifests
your courage and audacity. It imparts knowledge, which then becomes
wisdom, and it fosters your utmost creativity, willpower, and ability to
innovate. It infuses everything that you do with passion and zeal. Those who
find their figurative Spear of Destiny will achieve the pinnacle of career
success and productivity in their lifetimes.
The Ace of Chalices (Holy Water) is the HOLY GRAIL, which manifests as not
only your connection to the spiritual universe around you and the unseen
energies that influence that which is seen, but the Grail is what nurtures and
feeds your soul, that saves your soul, that brings alchemical concord to your
life, your emotional wellbeing, your interpersonal relationships, and your
internal sphere. Those who find their figurative Holy Grail will achieve an
unshakeable sense of inner peace and spiritual conviction.
The Ace of Swords (Sacred Cinnabar) is the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT that helps
you to achieve knowledge of all things—a knowledge and wisdom that
advances what was attained through the Spear of Destiny, and empowers
you to become an indomitable spirit, to be undefeatable and to achieve the
penultimate of sophistication. This is the consummation of all that you
worked for that begets glory and defines your legacy.
The Ace of Orbs (BREAD OF LIFE) is what brings you access to a plenitude of
resources, always. It is what avails to you at all times the abundance in all
things that you need. It is your physical health, your material assets, your
industry, and the physical accoutrements of your dominion. The Bread of
Life feeds you in such a way that you always have the physical capability to
do what you seek to do.

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 Minor Arcana: Seven Upper Realms, 28
(In each Realm, 4 Keys, 4 Gateways)

1. The Aces: Nucleic Seeds

2. The Twos: Provision
3. The Threes: Fruition
4. Holy Guardians of Fire
5. Holy Guardians of Water
6. Holy Guardians of Air
7. Holy Guardians of Earth

In “Tarot System Equivalents” toward the back of this book, you’ll find a card to card
correspondence table for reference. These tables will help you understand the Tarot de
Marseille, Rider-Waite-Smith, and Thoth equivalents in the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot deck.

Realm of Aces: Nucleic Seeds

There are four elemental worlds that the One Creator bore from Logos (“In the
beginning was the Word”), the four letters of the Creator’s name. From those four elemental
worlds, we can see the 22 facets of the Creator, which are the 22 primordial spirits of the
Major Arcana.
To then materialize from the spiritual realm into the material and corporeal realm,
four nucleic seeds are planted, and those are the Aces.
In Book of Thoth, Crowley noted that the Aces are not materialized forms of their
respective elements but are the root from which materials of their respective elements will
spring form. The Ace of a suit is the formless essential nature of the element, which is needed
for the matter to be created of that elemental realm.
According to Crowley, the Ace of each suit also corresponds with a geographical
region of the world: Root of Fire, or Ace of Scepters, for Asia; Root of Water, or Ace of
Chalices, for the Pacific; Root of Air, or Ace of Swords, for the Americas (North and South);
and Root of Earth, or Ace of Orbs, for Europe and Africa. The German theologian and
occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa associated Fire with the Orient, Water with the North,
Air with the Occidental West, and Earth with the South.

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 In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Realm of Aces arises from the sefirah Keter, the
Crown, and that which is beyond the human mind’s comprehension. It is the primordial
intentions of Ein Soph, or the infinite void from which God manifested. Thus, Aces in a
reading point to intentions to conceive or can even be thought of as predictive and prophetic.
Aces in a spread direct your attention to that which has yet to happen, but which will, should,
or could.
The Aces in this deck also signify the next alchemical phase for you to transition in
to on your path toward success, achievement, and fulfillment.
Four Alchemical Phases to the Magnus Opus
Alchemical Element Tarot Suit Color Metaphor Phase Correspondence
Stage

Nigredo Earth Orbs Blackening Purging earthly nature;

(Phase 1) Salt Release, completion of decay; new life
banish, take begins only after putrefaction;
control dark night of the soul
Albedo Water Chalices Whitening Stage of the Moon; cleansing the
(Phase 2) Transform, soul; awakening to our Light
awaken, atone, nature after experiencing
clease, refine, Darkness; becoming fully
sublimate conscious of one’s true being
Citrinitas Fire Scepters Yellowing Stage of the Sun; capable of
(Phase 3) Sulfur Discipline, emanating with our own Light;
exert active creativity; intelligence;
influence, actualizing knowledge; revelation;
science, have a a mystical experience
vision; genius
Rubedo Air Swords Reddening Climax; rising to a crescendo; the
(Phase 3) Mercury Accrue power, crowning achievement; actualized
intensify; the manifestation of the Magnus Opus
turning point (Great Work)

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Sacred Fire. Ace of Scepters: Above the Celestial Lights is an Incorruptible Flame,
always sparkling, the Spring of Life, the Formation of all Beings. This Flame produces all
things—and so states the Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster.
This is the root of the powers of Fire, when spiritual alchemy of Fire is about to
materialize in your world as a creative project, a venture of innovation, entrepreneurship,
passion project, or career development. This is the prophecy of an exciting new venture.
The Ace of Scepters is the Awakening stage of your path to achieving the Magnum
Opus. Alchemically, the Ace of Scepters corresponds with Sulfur. The color associated with
the Ace of Scepters is yellow, symbolizing the transmutation of silver into gold, or the
yellowing of lunar consciousness. Through the presence of Sacred Fire, you realize your own
inner Solar Light.
When the Ace of Scepters appears, it signifies your Spear of Destiny—that which will
manifest your courage and audacity. Illuminate your mind with the pursuit of higher
knowledge. Foster creativity and willpower so that you will have the ability to innovate.
Infuse all that you do going forward with more passion and more zeal.

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Holy Water. Ace of Chalices: This is the root of the powers of Water, when a
spiritual or artistic realization is about to materialize in your world. This is the seed of
concord, fruitful developments in home and family on the domestic front, or promising
prospects in love and relationships.
Alchemically, the Ace of Chalices is the Purification stage of your path toward
achieving your Magnum Opus. Your world is being detoxified, cleared. Through Holy Water,
you connect to your allies, both among the people in your world who love you and your spirit
protectors. The color associated with the Ace of Chalices is white for purification and blue
for spiritual serenity.
When the Ace of Chalices appears to you, you are about to receive, and what you
receive will fulfill. What fills you will wash away past hurt. There is renewal.
A three-tiered fountain contains the essence that is the prima materia, or first matter
to begin the Great Work. The top tier pours forth three streams of the alchemical primes, or
tria prima: sulfur, mercury, and salt. In alchemy, the flying dove symbolizes the spiritual
force that tempers the opposites—it is the spirit of Divine Union. Here, the dove symbolizes
the presence of the Holy Ghost.

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 The Ace of Chalices is the omen that what you seek now is the pursuit of your personal
Holy Grail. The Grail itself is inscribed with the ichthys, and the circular ichthys symbol
(ΙΧΘΥΣ), for Christ consciousness. Embedded into the detailing is also signs for the triple
goddess.
The Ace of Chalices marks the alchemist entering the White Stage of the Work, or
White Work. It is purification of the subconscious and realization of lunar light. White Work
is meditation, channeling, and the you as a receiver of divine communications.
Holy Water appears to you when what it is you need most is purification so that you
might have a clearer sense of what it is that truly will fulfill you—what truly is your Grail.
Those who find their figurative Holy Grail will achieve an unshakeable sense of inner peace
and spiritual conviction.

Sacred Cinnabar. Ace of Swords: This is the root

of the powers of Air, when spiritual alchemy of Air is about to
materialize in your world as intellectual property, achievement
of glory, social advancement, or that which shall become
memorialized in written form, documented.
The Ace of Swords is the card of Actualization in
alchemy. It is realization of your Magnum Opus ready to enter
physical form. Alchemically, the Ace of Swords corresponds
with Mercury (cinnabar is refined mercury in a brilliant scarlet
form—hence, the alchemical phase name Rubedo, associated
with the element of Air).
When Sacred Cinnabar appears to you, glory and success
is imminent. The elements of your Great Work have come
together and consummated. All that you have worked hard for shall culminate in attainment.
The sparks for victory and conquest have ignited around you, and for you. The masterpiece
shall be complete. When the Ace of Swords appears, the message is this: the deed shall be
done. Yet the Ace of Swords is not victory itself; it’s the foretelling of victory while itself, is
presented to you as a challenge. You have to accept the challenge to achieve the promised
victory.

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 Cinnabar is the key to producing the philosopher’s stone, mythologized to resemble a
ruby. In medieval Chinese alchemy, cinnabar was believed to be the critical ingredient in the
elixir of immortality. When cinnabar is heated, it produces quicksilver, or mercury.
Above to the sword’s right is a palm leaf symbolizing victory; to its left, red hollyhock
for ambition, and thus cinnabar is the stone of victory and ambition. The Ace of Swords
appearing in your reading is such a talisman for ensuring your victory and a prophesy that
your ambitions are to be consummated. Courage and strength are the final measures to
produce Sacred Cinnabar; the Ace of Swords is the quality of Enforcement.

Bread of Life. Ace of Orbs: This Ace of Orbs

prognosticates plenitude and well-being to come.
Walls that blocked you before come down and you are
about to gain access. In the bottom right, there is the image of
an illuminated virgin mother. She is at the entrance of a dark
cave. The outer walls of the cave are etched with the letters from
various ancient ideographic writing systems: pre-Columbian
Aztec/Nahuatl logograms; Egyptian hieroglyphs; Chinese
oracle bone script; Old Persian cuneiform; ancient Aramaic; the
Proto-Canaanite alphabet; the Ge'ez script from the Horn of
Africa; Old Nubian; Elder Futhark runes; and Hebrew.
The wall of ancient languages makes reference to some
of the essential natures of how Earth comes from Air. In the
Opening of the Four Worlds telling the story of Creation, Air
(the intellectual plane) begets Earth (the material plane). The Formative World (Air, the wall
of languages) opens into the Active World (Earth, the orb inside the cave). “And the Word
became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only
son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Inside the cave is the sacred orb, the essential ingredient in the recipe for the Bread of
Life. This portends your receiving of that essential ingredient you’ve been searching for, that
completes the formula for you.

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 The orb is set within a hexagonal six-pointed geometric pattern, symbolizing God’s
role as a sacred geometer. This is the geometric blueprint for the origins of the universe. There
are three pine cones inside the cave, two at the bottom and one in the top left corner. The pine
cones symbolize enlightenment and the Sacred Seed within that can be nurtured into divinity.
The pine cone is an emblem of Divine Wisdom, spiritual ascension, and immortality. You are
coming in to realization of your greatest power and potential.
This is the root of the powers of Earth, when spiritual alchemy of Earth is about to
materialize in your world as a productive investment, gains in your assets or resources, gains
in property or commerce, and matters of economics. There are strong ties here to that which
is occulted, and the esoteric—you come in to revelation of that which had been concealed to
you before. The Ace of Orbs endows you with beginning access to the Sacred Mysteries and
the beginning stage of acquiring the Gift of Prophecy, which is what will help you uncover
for yourself the Bread of Life.
The quality of this Ace is Fruition—the fruit born after achievement. In a reading, the
Ace of Orbs portends that you have now acquired all the ingredients for and the knowledge
of how to produce your Bread of Life. When this card appears to you in a reading, you are
about to receive that which shall nourish you spiritually and also bring you a sense of worldly
prosperity. What is to come will feed the many.
The color associated with the Ace of Orbs is black, for putrefaction, or the state of
decomposition and decay, because after the full bloom of fruit, the branches will whither and
the seasonal cycle repeats itself, back to the beginning. This beginning, though, will lead to
accomplishment.
The Ace of Orbs is the first sign of movement from darkness into the light. To ensure
movement onward into the light, release, banish, and take control. New life as promised by
the Ace of Orbs will come only after you’ve cut the cords that still bind you to that which no
longer serves.
At this stage, the Sacred Seed has been given to you, but you still have to sow it, and
to sow it, it is plunged deep into the darkness of the earth before it springs forth growth and
sees the light again.

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70
 Reading the Top Captions
After the Aces in the Minor Arcana, the Twos and onward up to the Tens feature top
captions that give the decan ruler of the Key. The correspondence system used here is
following the Golden Dawn, and while there are many different astrological correspondence
systems that can be ascribed to the tarot deck, the Golden Dawn based system has become
the most popular and ubiquitous, so it is the system adopted by this deck.

To the left is the planetary ruler (one of the traditional Sacred Seven) and to the top
right is the zodiac sign. For example, The Discerning One (Two of Scepters) corresponds
astrologically with the decan ruler Mars in Aries.

The Gardener (Seven of Orbs) features Saturn in the top left corner and Taurus in the
top right corner, so its decan ruler is Saturn in Taurus.
Each zodiac sign, as it governs space-time, is subdivided into three decan rulerships.
Under Hermetic doctrine, God created Seven Ruling Lords (corresponding with the
Sacred Seven planets, sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) to govern the
fates of mankind. Those Seven Ruling Lords are expressed in the primordial spirits (the Major
Arcana). Here, decan rulers explain how, exactly, the Seven Ruling Lords are governing over
specific facets of space-time.
The decan ruler correspondences can be insightful when a tarot reading is integrated
with a birth chart or astrological transits chart reading. If inquiring about a career change and
the card pulled is The Discerening One, locate the house that Aries governs in the querent’s
solar return chart for the year that the career change is contemplated for, then locate the area
of the decan rulership (1° to 10° in Aries). Then based on the house location of that decan
ruler in the solar return chart and any transiting planets occupying that area, interpret whether
the career change is auspicious or inauspicious, reconciled with the reader’s interpretation of
the Two of Scepters.

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 Realm of Twos: Provision
In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Realm of Twos arises from the sefirah Chokhmah,
or Divine Wisdom. It is God’s agent in Creation. It is the intellection behind that creation.
This is the number of balance and cooperation. It is the sacred number of the Minister.
The Twos in tarot express balance and choice. The four Twos also designate the
influence of the Egyptian ogdoad (four gods and their four consorts), or primordial deities as
they dwell here on earth. Note the card back designs with the plaques down the center in
Hieroglyphs, which read: the glory of divinity manifesting in earthly nature.

Kuk is the dawn and the bringer of light. Kuk and his
Kuk female consort Kauket are also the darkness of night,
Fire & the obscurity from which dawn and light arise. They
Two of Scepters Kauket also reign over thunder and lightning. In hieroglyphs,
they are identified with a staff or scepter.

Nun and his female consort Naunet are in every droplet

Nun of water. They are the Sacred Lake and forces of chaos
Water & from which the world was born. In hieroglyphs, they are
Two of Chalices Naunet identified with water jugs and ideographs symbolizing
water (similar to the alchemical glyph for water).

Amun, god of both the air and the sun, along with his
Amun female consort Amunet are the hidden ones. Amun
Air & reveals and transmits the Divine Will through oracles.
Two of Swords Amunet There is an inherent contradiction to Amun’s
expression: he is both what is seen and what is unseen.

Heh is the god of the infinite and of eternity. He and his

Heh
female consort Hauhet are the floods and forces
Earth &
majeure that created the material world we dwell upon.
Two of Orbs Hauhet
This is the black of the earth along the Nile river.

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The Discerning One. Two of Scepters: Determine your boundaries and define
the scope of your own dominion. This is a moment for you to map out your ambition. Exercise
discernment before you proceed any further on this path you’ve chosen. Look out to the
horizon and discern whether this is the sea you want to embark from. Decide: do you want
the kingdom or do you want an empire?
The crossed diamond vajra symbolizes irresistible force and indestructible force,
expressing the primordial nature in the Two of Scepters. This is acute and accurate judgment
that will unleash your indestructive personal forces. You perceive at a heightened level, which
shall gain you sovereign authority. You wield the control.
Rest assured that proceeding will bring good auspices to you, but before you take
another step, define your vision, know that vision, and then pursue that vision.

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The Joined One. Two of Chalices: In external alchemy, The Joined One guides
us to choose our allies, and also is the spirit leading us to the most fruitful alliances. The
Joined One designates an outer accord, but also an inner accord. In internal alchemy, this
spirit guides us to unite our anima (unconscious feminine in the conscious masculine) and
animus (unconscious masculine in the conscious feminine).
This is the spirit of two becoming one, and an omen of Perfected Love, love in all its divine
forms. Abyssus abyssum invocat: sea calls to sea, or the depths of me calls out to the depths
of you. One deep reservoir of yearning is filled with the love of another and it is mutual.
Do not neglect the relationships you cherish. Reach out across the aisle (isle?) and
offer amity. Act toward peace and accord. An alliance brings you the balance and strength
you’ve been seeking. Love fills both chalices of the Two Ways.

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The Blind Seer. Two of Swords: A blindfolded Seer sits on a stone bench, wielding
two crossed swords over her heart. Above her is the Eye of Providence radiating with light.
The twin swords are the Ego and the Self.
The Blind Seer helps us navigate the stalemate between the Ego and the Self. The
twin swords, or twin paths, form the cross that you bear. You have yet to attain the realization
you need to make an intelligent, reasoned decision. So take the time to look inward. Arrive
at an inner peace and restore a sense of calm before you proceed any further.
Think about your social connections with others and how those connections can help
in your endeavor. Your social influence will determine your success in navigating the
stalemate. Block out external influences and those who might try to manipulate your decision.
Seek counsel inward.

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The Nocturne. Two of Orbs: The Nocturne is balanced, harmonious change after
the dark night of the soul. It bears good tidings, because this is the spirit of commerce,
enterprise, and far-reaching new ventures forward after a past series of failures and
disappointments. Two promises of production are made to you, a result and prophecy from
your own karma, and your own destiny. Forming a lemniscate around the twin promises of
product is the alchemical Black Dragon gnawing its own tail, and this is the totem, the daimon
brought before you by The Nocturne: the Black Dragon’s venom is also the Great Medicine:
past suffering sires future opportunity.
When The Nocturne appears to you, this is your revelation: “To make gold, you must
first have it.” Attain the capital for investment and then invest it for the greater return. That
is how you overcome the recession. The Nocturne is the alchemical Black Dragon (a
reference to the works of Nicolas Barnaud, 1538—1603) gnawing its own tail, where venom
is the Great Medicine.

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 Realm of Threes: Fruition
In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Realm of Threes arises from the sefirah Binah, or
intuitive understanding. If the Realm of Twos is knowledge, then the Realm of Threes is
contemplation. The Realm of Threes is also known as the Palace of Mirrors. It is the number
associated with Divine Awakening.
In freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and medieval Christian mysticism, which in turn
entered Western ceremonial magic, the pelican is one of the most important occult symbols.
Here, you’ll find a pelican depicted in the Three of Scepters, Three of Chalices, and also
earlier in the Majors, Key 3, Key 12, and Key 21.

The Politic.
Three of Scepters: Three priests stand around an open
fire, each wielding a scepter of prophesies. They are
performing a ritual to commence divination—to scry into
the flames of the open fire. The magic being conjured
here is tact, diplomacy, and shrewdness toward achieving
a targeted purpose. This is the expansion of vision and
the expainsion of opportunities. This is the spirit of
Established Strength.
The Politic is an omen validating glory achieved
through artful negotiation, pragmatism, and prudence.
The Three of Scepters portends expedient success. This
is the spirit of ingenuity and wielding your personal
brilliance, social intelligence, and psychic dexterity to
successfully navigate complicated social or political
situations. Here, we also see powerful allies supporting
you in your endeavor.

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The Kindred. Three of Chalices: Three priestesses stand by the waters. They’re
scrying into their chalices. The one to the left with a crescent waxing moon on her sleeve is
a young maiden; the center with full moons on her sleeves (not visible) is a mother; the third
priestess to the right with a crescent waning moon is the crone.
The Kindred is the spirit of affinity within the tribe. This is abundance in love,
camaraderie, and the prophecy of jubilee to come.
A personal zenith point is reached in your community relations.
Mutual trust benefits all. Creativity requires input.
Fellowship edifies the psyche.

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The Bereaved. Three of Swords: This is the spirit of bereavement by your side.
There is sorrow, mourning, sadness, and deprivation of love. Yet this is also the power of
resurrection after sorrow. Take heart, because you will prevail in the end.
The Bereaved tells the story of Isis mourning the murder of her husband, the king
Osiris by his brother Set. Osiris is the symbol of order; Set is chaos. Chaos dismantles order.
When Isis quests to find her husband’s corpse, she was said to have taken on the form of a
falcon in search of the carrion. In the end, through a magical healing spell, Isis resurrects her
husband and conceives her son Horus. Horus becomes the falcon god.
There was fruition and then there was sabotage, but there is also the foretelling of
resurrection. The hurt shall pass. Forge onward like a falcon in search of the carrion. In the
end, you will find the magical healing spell and the wrongs will be rectified.

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The Mason. Three of Orbs: Steps lead up to a stone archway and through it, a long
tunnel.Upon the first stair: ex nihilo nihil fit—nothing comes from nothing, the philosophy
that every Work is built or comes from a preexisting Work. Any world you create can only
be created by you because another world existed before yours.
Labor omnia vincit: Hard work conquers all. Within the circle, the alchemical symbol
of the squared circle, the emblem of your Great Work. A brilliant idea is nothing without
execution. Genius is nothing without dedication and tenacity.
The Mason is completion and inauguration, with a materialized work product to show
for yourself. Your success comes from true merit, hard work, and dedication . This is the
spirit of architecture, of construction, and material works erected brick by brick, stone by
stone. This is the dream come true through toil, determination, and hard work.

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 THE FOUR EMPYREAN COURTS
The four suits of pips—Scepters, Chalices, Swords, and Orbs—correspond with the
four elements Fire, Water, Air, and Earth respectively. The fifth element of aether, or
quintessence, referred in contemporary times as Spirit, corresponds with the court cards.
Passages from the Hermetica (Latin translation circa 1471 AD) note that after God molded
the four elements into our world, with seven rulers to govern our fates, culminating with the
Realm of Threes: Fruition, God “filled a mighty Cup with Mind, with Spirit, with Light, and
sent a Herald to take the Cup to earth.” The Four Empyrean courts in Spirit Keeper’s Tarot
are the Herald.
The Empyrean Courts in the Upper Realms are sectioned by elementals.
1. Holy Guardians of Fire
2. Holy Guardians of Water
3. Holy Guardians of Air
4. Holy Guardians of Earth

However, in this booklet the court cards will be explained by hierarchy, so the Kings
(Archangels) will be covered together, then the Queens (Shields) covered together, and so
on, even though each King governs a different realm from the others.
The bridge between the 22 Keys of the Major Arcana (occupied by the 22 primordial
spirits) and the Aces through Tens in the Minor suits (occupied by 40 universal spirits) are
the Four Empyrean Courts (occupied by 16 angelic beings). Each suit Court is held by four
Holy Guardians—the angelic beings from an Empyrean realm. The Holy Guardians of the
Empyrean Courts are the direct communication channel to God.
Working within the framework of traditional tarot court titles King, Queen, Knight,
and Page, in Spirit Keeper, the positions are occupied by a hierarchy of Guardians:
Archangels, Powers, Virtues, which are referred to as the Shining Ones, and Strongholds,
respectively. Despite borrowing terms from Western angelology, god and goddess energies
from pantheons around the world have descended down to lend symbolism, omens, and
references as sigils into these court renderings so that they can occupy the face of these Court
cards as your Holy Guardians and through the face of the cards, deliver messages to you.

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 Kings: The Archangels
There are four Archangels that correspond with the four Kings in tarot. Although in
the temporal world, “king” often equates to male, in the spiritual realm, “king” is a title of
ranking. The Archangels manifest as Divine Androgyne, possessing both the male and female
manifestation, a perfected union of anima and animus in their beings, each one by nature
intersex.
Thus, here in Spirit Keeper, for the purpose of appearing before you, the Archangels
of the active suits appear as male, and the Archangels of the passive suits appear as female,
even though the title of rank for all four are “King.”
With regard to these four Archangels who lend their Grace to this deck, per Gnostic
and Kabbalistic traditions, the four Archangels correspond with the four elements, four
directions, and each governs a quadrant of the zodiac. However, texts will differ on the
specific direction and elemental attributions of the four archangels.
The earliest Kabbalistic texts do not assign directions, but positions. It was said that
Archangel Michael stood to the right of the throne of God, Archangel Gabriel stood to the
left, Archangel Raphael protected from behind, and Archangel Uriel guarded from the front.
It was later that specific directions and elements were ascribed, and then those
correspondences differed and often contradicted. Still other sacred texts refer to the frontlines
being occupied by the Seven Archangels, not Four. So Biblical names of archangels are not
used here, and instead, their respective titles are attributed to the Kings.
Although the tarot Kings are titled after the Abrahamic concept of archangels, or chief
angels, the theological concept is found across many cultural traditions. The Archangels in
Spirit Keeper are immortal beneficent beings born of the Divine Sparks as revealed in
Zoroastrian theology. Divine Sparks are sacred personifications of philosophical concepts,
like faith, devotion, beauty, creativity, elegance, eternity, loyalty, excellence, logic, or the
many ascribed virtues.
When an Archangel (tarot King) appears in your reading, the bar is being set
exceptionally high. You are being directed to embody the idealized traits of divinities you
would associate with that tarot King.

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Archangel of Glory (King of Scepters: The angelic title for the King of
Scepters is the Archangel of Glory, a patron of the arts and bringer of salvation. This is the
Angel of Glory and Grace. His symbol is both the flame and papyrus scroll, representing
wisdom and knowledge.
The Archangel of Glory is a divine teacher of the arts and all forms of scholarship.
This is the Angel now by your side to facilitate success in artistic, literary, academic, or
scholarly endeavors. He is also known as having the sharpest and clearest vision of all the
heavenly spirits, and is now present to lend his Sight to you.
The Archangel of Glory was once also the patron deity of the Delphic Oracle, and so
your attunement to the King of Scepters brings you closer to the gift of prophecy. Those to
whom this King appears will have innate affinity to the arts, music, poetry, and to the science
of medicine.

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 When the Angel of Art and Grace appears in your readings, you are an incarnate of
Alexander the Great and thus hold the potential to conquer realms far beyond what you
currently perceive for yourself. Dream big, aim high, and the Archangel of Glory will lift you
to the heights you set upon.
The Archangel of Glory is the absolute epitome of intellectual, innovative, and
creative excellence. This is the angel who makes an appearance in your reading when you’ve
been ordained by the powers that be to be more motivated yourself so that you can motivate
others, to quell your own fears and anxieties so that you can placate the fears and anxieties
that others are feeling, and to replace uncertainty with
calculated risk, self-confidence, and visionary thinking.

Archangel of Healing (
King of Chalices: The angelic title for the King of Chalices
is the Archangel of Healing. She is the Exalted One. The
Archangel of Healing is a reigning angel over the healing
arts and purification of mind, body, and soul. Her symbol is
an alabaster jar filled with healing oil.
She presents herself to you now to guide you
through precarious times, and she is here, by your side, to
salve, to heal, and to purify what is currently diseased,
debilitated, feeble, or unwell. This Archangel appears to
those who most need healing. She has a tender place in her
heart for those who are like fish out of water, caring for
them the most.
The lotus upon her ear symbolizes one of her many names, “The One Who Perceives
the Sounds of the World,” and her personification of mercy, compassion, and a commitment
to alleviate human suffering. Through meditation on this card, connect to the divinity of this
King within you to amplify your personal powers of healing, rejuvenation, alleviation of pain,
and to restore spiritual or emotional health.

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 When the Angel Who Salves and Purifies appears in your readings, you are an
incarnate of Charlemagne and are on the verge of achieving a personal Renaissance. Your
receptivity to learning and scholarship has been duly noted by the greater powers that be, and
the Archangel of Healing will impart to you the ways of the healer, the shaman, the mender
of fractures.
The Archangel of Healing is the power to make whole, to restore, to free from ailment,
to bring conflicts, harms, or damage to an end, to reconcile, and to broker peace. This is the
divine archetype of the miracle worker. If you’re asking me, in contemporary times, that often
is getting translated to social worker—someone who is deeply and empathetically concerned
with the welfare of people, someone who seeks to be of service to those in crisis. The
Archangel of Healing appears when you are to receive teachings of the sacred arts, the healing
arts, or forms of counseling to others.

Archangel Commander (
King of Swords: The angelic title for the King of Swords is
the lead commander of the Divine Forces. He is the most
powerful and most formidable of Heaven’s Warriors. His
full title is the Archangel Commander of the Light.
The Archangel’s symbol is the spear, though the
spear can shapeshift into other weapons as needed. The
Archangel Commander appears to you now to bring
strength, conviction, courage, and manifest fearlessness.
He is tasked to assist you with navigating the storms,
inner and outer, and to defeat any demons that threaten to
harm you.
The Angel of Storms and Battles will defend you
and protect against malefic attacks and snares of demons
you face.
A warrior general from Heaven is present beside
you, guarding you so that you will withstand what is to

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come. The Archangel Commander is a guardian deity, a fearsome protector when you call
upon this King to cast an impenetrable shield around you.
Connecting to this King within you will amplify your personal powers of strength,
stamina, resolution, courage, fearlessness, and prevail through the storms and battles you
face. The great gift of the Archangel Commander to those who attune to the King is the gift
of military success and victory in wars, both in the conflicts waged on the earthly realm and
the conflicts that rage within you. The Commander of the Light shall ensure that the Light
prevails.
The King of Swords is your divine warrior who will lead heavenly armies against
your adversaries. When the Commander of the Light appears to you, it is because you need
reinforcement and now that spiritual reinforcement has come, led at the helm by your greatest
champion, the Archangel Commander.
The Archangel Commander the most formidable warrior who embodies fearlessness,
courage, audacity, and who succeeds in all areas of conflict, whether that’s as mundane as
legal matters or navigating politics within a community or actually having to run toward
danger rather than away from.
As comforting as it can be to come into the presence of the Archangel Commander, it
is also a divine edict to take up metaphorical arms. You are being appointed the hero and you
cannot run from the battle, and not only are you barred from running away, you must fight
that battle under a strict code of honor and integrity.
When the Angel of Storms and Battles appears in your readings, you are an incarnate
of King David and thus prophesied to grow from a creative, intuitive dreamer to a hero and
great warrior. You started out in life as the underdog, but it is you who kill Goliath. You are
the anointed one—marked for greatness. The Archangel Commander will lift you in your rise
to power.

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Archangel of Mysteries (
King of Orbs: The angelic title for the King of Orbs is the Archangel of Mysteries. Another
one of her many names is the Archangel of Revelations. She reveals to you the Sacred
Mysteries, of revelations direct from the Divine, and confers to you the Gift of Prophecy.
She is also known by her title Archangel of Revelations. She is a beneficent guide
connected to the underworld, one authorized to act as an intermediary and mediator between
the angelic realm still subservient to the Divine and the realm of the fallen angels. She can
also traverse through all of the lower realms to guide lost souls.
The Archangel of Mysteries appears now because these qualities and powers of
protection of hers are needed by you. In the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, the Archangel of Mysteries
is the reigning archangel of your inner temple constructed through the blueprints of this tarot
architecture.

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 This spirit of the King of Orbs illuminates the darkness for you and appears now to
assist you, who are about to traverse the realms of shadow. You are about to uncover great
mysteries. This is the Archangel who protects you against all forms of darkness along your
initiatory path of discovery.
Her symbol is the illuminated lantern. Within her six-pointed lantern is a sacred orb.
The Angel Who Illuminates the Shadow is entrusted by the Divine to hold the most sacred of
powers: To give Life and administer souls from the formless world into the material. This is
now the sacred power conferred to you.
The Archangel of Mysteries is the divine and beneficent personification of Craft and
when she appears to you frequently in your divinations, she is calling to you, for your soul is
connected to the Craft, to the initiatory path of Revelations.
With her lantern, she illuminates crossroads; she will reveal to you any presence of
ghosts and the supernatural; and she is the great master of spells and incantations. The ears
of corn symbolize the seeds of spiritual enlightenment through the erudite study of esoteric
practices. She is an angel connected to the underworld, one authorized to act as an
intermediary and mediator between the angelic realm still subservient to the Divine and the
realm of the fallen angels. She can also traverse through all of the lower realms to guide lost
souls.
The Gorgoneion amulet in the bottom left corner of the card is a symbol of protection
conferred by the King of Orbs. So when you are in crisis and the Archangel of Mysteries
appears to you, the one of the spirit realms who has come to your aid now is a divinity of
formidable supernatural power.
The Archangel of Mysteries confers the power and capability to use Logos and
transform that which was hidden or intangible into that which is open to all, accessible, and
tangible in physical form. The Archangel of Mysteries appears when the message is this:
There is so much you still don’t know and that is unacceptable, because you’ve been tapped
by Divinity to be One who does know.
The Angel Who Illuminates the Shadow is the guardian angel over this tarot deck.
She is the only Angel to be seated upon a throne, a symbol of stability, of structured power,
and the highest direct authority to transmit the Divine Word.

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 Queens: The Shields
The angelic Power in each court corresponds with the four Queens in tarot. These are
the Shields. Like the Archangels, the Shields are Divine Androgyne with perfected union of
male and female, anima and animus, but to appear in the physical realm for you, the angelic
Powers of the four active suits appear before you as male (The Golden Shield and The Scarlet
Shield), and the angelic Powers of the passive suits appear before you as female (The Ivory
Shield and The Ebony Shield).
The Shields in each court wear armor and are formidable fighters. The Shields are a
line of defense against demonic entities and malevolent spirits. These angelic Powers in
celestial hierarchy are always addressed by their respective titles, “The Shield.” The coloring
notation of their shields (Golden, Ivory, Scarlet, and Ebony) is based on the four alchemical
processes necessary for achieving the philosopher’s stone. The angelic Shields, inspired by
the traditional practice of heraldry, are emblematic of the achievements, glory, and divine
pedigree of their respective elemental worlds.
The Shields protect, nurture, and maintain the integrity of their worlds. By extension,
they are the fierce protectors of all you have accomplished in correspondence with their
element. The querent or seeker’s ancestors often come through appearing as the Shields in a
reading.
In tarot, Queens are typically ascribed the qualities of nurture and support, since they
signify feminine force. While I agree with that, my concept of “nurture” doesn’t translate
tenderness and a gentle demeanor. To nurture is to feed, to protect, to support, to encourage,
to foster strength and personal growth, to train, and to push you to new heights of
development. Thus, when a Shield appears to you, you are being pushed to new heights of
development. Meanwhile, as you move upward, you are being protected.
The Queens are the last line of angelic defense in Heaven. They’re warriors, but in
the capacity of warriors, are nurturing and supportive in function. Shields protect. Queens
protect their Kings. Thus, Shields signify to you the measures to take to ensure achievement
(the Kings).
When a Shield shows up in your reading, instead of expanding, set your boundaries
and now go deep. Focus on what resources or attributes you already possess, and not on trying
to acquire more.

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The Golden Shield (Queen of Scepters:
You are shielded against those who are sending you
psychic arrows of envy, ill will, resentment, someone who
covets what you have and who is just waiting for a
vulnerable opening to strike. Thus, the Golden Shield
defends you, and this spirit is now making his presence
known so that the angelic Power of Fire can keep you safe,
healthy, and flourishing.
The Golden Shield is a sign to block out new
distractions and instead, mine deep into your current
reservoirs of creativity or ingenuity. As you focus on the
endeavors that stoke your passion and give you that raison
d’etre, the Golden Shield is protecting you from the evil eye,
from malefic energies others are sending you, such as envy,
or provoking your insecurities and self-doubt, or just trying
to drain you of your wellspring of energy.
The design on the Golden Shield the angelic Power
holds up features a flaming cross. On either side of the cross is a seven-pointed star
symbolizing the perfection of God and the seven days of Creation. One star symbolizes the
diurnal Sacred Seven; the other symbolizes the nocturnal Sacred Seven. Below it in a V
formation are six single-fold tomoe from Shinto, which put together would form twin gankyil,
wheels of joy per Tibetan Buddhism, symbolizes pieces of the wish-fulfilling jewel.
Assembled into one, they form the philosopher’s stone. One triplet forms the Power
of Inspiration and the other, the Power of Exploration. At their midpoint is a solar cross and
below that, a column of four power crosses that lead to another solar cross, in a different
design. The crosses here are also reminiscent of a double vajra, for the powers of thunder.
Visualize alternating bright colors of the sun and fire further fortify the shield.
Here, the angelic Power and Queen of the Scepters wears a kabuto helmet from feudal
Japan and the armor of a Chinese Qin Dynasty warrior. The scepter he wields can also be

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used in the manner of a rattan fighting stick prevalent in the traditional martial arts of
Southeast Asia.

The Ivory Shield (Queen of Chalices: You are shielded against ailments,
disease, and infirmity. Malefic energies that can cause malady or emotional afflictions are
present in your space, challenging your vitality, and so the Ivory Shield appears in your path
to help you preserve your own wellness. Under The Ivory Shield, you are being sheltered
from a worse malady that this Queen has seen coming your way. What is to come is lessened,
but you still have inner soul journeying to do on your own. Strengthen that which is in the
realm of your emotions and soul and you shall strengthen the body.
When the Queen of Chalices appears, she is here to give you shelter, to accompany
you by your side as you make your way out of danger. She is your defender as you walk
through the valley of shadows. Know that she is
present. Know that you are not alone in your dark hour.
Concealed behind her shield, the Queen of
Chalices bears the ciborium, which contains the
Blessed Sacrament. In architecture, a ciborium is also a
canopy, and here the Queen is your canopy, covering
you.
The Ivory Shield blocks distractions that have
been holding you back from either focusing on your
intimate relationships, the familial relations that matter
the most to you or from focusing on your own spiritual
development. The Ivory Shield can also come up when
you need to focus more on protecting yourself from
ailments and infirmity.
The design on the Ivory Shield the angelic
Power holds up features ten chalices arranged in a circle
and at the center, an eleventh chalice. Note that there
are two more chalices on the Power’s shoulder armor
for a total of thirteen, indicating the thirteenth card in
the suit of Chalices. One alchemical glyph for Water on

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the right and the outer cross formed on the shield calls in the Power of Concord; the other
glyph on the left and the inner cross calls in the Power of Silence, the two pillar forces at the
Ivory Shield’s command.
Inscribed into the design of the shield are the letters forming the Latin phrase, “Nam
et si ambulavero in medio umbrae mortis non timebo mala quoniam tu mecum es.” (Though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.) In
between the chalices are crosses that resemble the mmusuyidee, a West African adinkra
symbol for purification and sanctity that brings good fortune and protection. The four symbols
in the circle around the center chalice are the name of God, YHVH, written in the Proto-
Canaanite alphabet. The rays symbolizing rays of light emanating outward in the circles
around the shield’s design amplify the power of the talismanic sigils.
Here, the angelic Power and Queen of Chalices has taken on features of Viking and
Celtic cultures in her revelation to you. A Trinity Knot on her chest symbolizes the powers
and authorities of the Holy Trinity and calls in the
divine protection of deities, old as space-time, that the
Knot represents.

The Scarlet Shield (

Queen of Swords: He, the Queen of Swords, is a Shorn
One, a warrior priest who shall be your formidable line
of defense as you charge forth confidently to face your
battles.
When The Scarlet Shield appears to you, he is
making his presence known so that you might go forth
into combat, taking your stand, with might and
confidence. When The Scarlet Shield appears, it is time
for you to stand your ground, hold your position, and
this warrior priest is here, ready to face the fight with
you. The Scarlet Shield is not about attaining new
knowledge, but rather, it is about blocking distractions
so that you can deepen your understanding of the

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knowledge you have already acquired. The Scarlet Shield is the key to transforming
knowledge into experience, and insight into outcome.
Encoded into the Scarlet Shield’s imagery is the story of Judith beheading Holofernes.
You undertake what others are not willing to do, and you do so for those you love and toward
a greater good. The plight of others move you to take on a martial persona. The message from
the Queen of Swords is echoed in the words of George Bernard Shaw: “Doing what needs to
be done may not make you happy, but it will make you great.”
The design on the Scarlet Shield the angelic Power holds up features an ornamental
Mesoamerican style mosaic mask made of precious stones of gold, silver, turquoise, obsidian,
serpentine, amethyst, opal, and talismanic designs of a chimalli, or defensive armament. The
head imagery at the base of the shield is also a subtle reference to the head of Holofernes and
the Biblical story of Judith, which is often associated with the Queen of Swords.
Above the mosaic mask is the depiction of an eagle devouring a serpent—an
important divine omen of establishing dominion under the blessing of the gods. This shield
as a talisman confers the Power of Intellection, victory, and fortuitous good luck in all
defensive battles.
Behind the angelic Power is a wall of adobe mud brick—one of the earliest building
construction materials in global history, symbolic of methodical discipline behind the Power,
the strongest of protection and defense, and ensuring barrier to entry so that what does not
belong in the landscape of the Keeper’s inner universe shall not enter.
Here, the angelic Power and Queen of Swords takes on features of indigenous
American cultures in his revelation to you. At the bottom right in the foreground by the shield
is a macauhauitl, a sword-like weapon from Mesoamerican civilizations consisting of
sharpened obsidian blades.
The angelic Power is dressed as a Shorn One from Aztec warrior culture, wearing
golden tlahuiztli armor that identifies the Power’s high rank. The headdress he wears indicates
his priesthood, nobility, and prestige. The tattoos on his sword arm denote his victories.

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The Ebony Shield (Queen of Orbs: The Queen of Orbs brings nourishment so
that you have the vitality to accomplish your goals and the strength to overcome your
challenges. She bears the apple of knowledge that will fortify you with all that you need to
be your most resourceful. The Ebony Shield brings protection around your wealth, luck,
gains, and earthly dominion so that others cannot take what is yours.
When The Ebony Shield appears to you, she is making her presence known so that
you might take prudent action to preserve your assets and capital. Save, invest, and be more
mindful of your security.
The Ebony Shield is about development of the material resources you already have
on hand, and not to reach out and grasp at new, possibly illusory ones. The Ebony Shield is

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about gratitude for your daily bread—focus your efforts on being industrious at what you’re
already doing, and don’t get distracted by what you wish you were doing.
The Queen of Orbs appears in your reading to endow you with resourcefulness and to
help you activate your own intelligence. Encoded into the Ebony Shield is the story of Rachel,
Jacob’s great love. When you’re feeling barren, look around you to conceive of an alternate
yet equally viable solution to your problem. Here, there might also be the theme of being the
more beloved one, but having to endure the greater burden of suffering and personal sacrifice.
The design on the Ebony Shield the angelic Power holds up features four quadrants
with a Triskele, or Triple Spiral, at the center. It stands in for goddess protection over the
three earthly realms of land, sea, and sky.
In the top left quadrant is the West African adinkra symbol eban, meaning fence,
which symbolizes safety, security, and protection. In the top right, bese saka, representing a
cluster of cola nuts, which symbolizes abundance and affluence. In the bottom two quadrants,
aya, representing a fern leaf, which symbolizes the Power of Industry.
Above and below in total are two orbs of primordial matter encrusted into the Shield,
empowering it and also connecting her to her elemental realm of Orbs.
In her right hand, the angelic Power holds an apple for knowledge of the Divine
Mysteries per pagan lore. Her earrings are the symbol of the goddess; in her right ear, a
crescent waxing moon and in her left, a waning moon. Upon her headdress is the full moon
and above it, the rune fehu for wealth, luck, gains, fertility, and abundance.
Emanating behind her is a veil projecting designs of the cubic stone.
Here, the angelic Power and Queen of Orbs has taken on fusion features from the
pagan cultures of Western Europe and also Moroccan cultures of Northwest Africa.

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 ‫قدوس‬

WHEN THE HOLY ONE SHOWS HIS NATURE TO HIS CREATION, INTO WHAT MIRROR SHALL HE
ENTER? The burden of proclaiming the Unity—not everyone bears. The desire to
proclaim the Unity—not everyone tastes. In every dwelling God is adored, but the
Adored cannot be confined by any dwelling. The earthly man wanders from the road.
On the road of truth, you must abandon your passion. Rise and forsake the vile sensual
nature. When you have come forth from your Sojourn of Life, then through God, you
will see God.

From The Enclosed Garden of the Truth, or Hadîqa

By Hakim Sanai (1080—1141 AD)

Above: Quddus, “The Most Holy” in Arabic, one of 99 names of God in the Islamic tradition.

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 Knights: The Shining Ones
Supporting the Archangels and Shields in their missions are the angelic Virtues, who
are known as the Shining Ones. The Shining Ones are titled as such because in spiritual
theory, their movement is so swift that all you would see is glistening light. In other words,
they represent active forces. Put most simply, when a Shining One appears in a reading,
something that had been intangible is about to materialize into tangible form. Angelic Virtues
are the active control of the elements. They are divinities who sway the metaphysical forces
behind the materialized forms of the physical world.
Virtues correspond with the four Knights in the tarot. Here, the four Virtues appear as
horsemen. They signify active engagement with forms of outer alchemy. They represent
alchemical transmutation. Each Shining One corresponds with the actions of its element. In
each element, Quality 1 as noted in the subsequent table dominates. When Quality 1 combines
with Quality 2, the binary of qualities transmute to form the manifested element. The formulas
of alchemical transmutations for the four elements are the theoretical basis of The Shining
Ones, or Knights.
TABLE OF ALCHEMICAL TRANSMUTATIONS

Element Quality 1 Quality 2

Fire = Heat + Dryness
Water = Cold + Fluidity
Air = Fluidity + Heat
Earth = Dryness + Cold

The Knight of the Scepters is The Shining Flame, a red horse named Bellum. The
Knight of the Chalices is The Shining Dew, a pale horse named Mortem. The Knight of
Swords is The Shining Winds, a white horse named Victorum. The Knight of Orbs is The
Shining Quarry, a black horse named Denarius. They are the four horsemen, represented here
as angelic beings that appear in your visions in the form of horse spirits, of the apocalyptic
vision.

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The Shining Flame (Knight of Scepters: The Shining Flame is alchemizing the
elemental nature of Fire to advance your professional work. Transmuted Fire is the qualities
of Heat and Dryness. Heat is the quality the Shining Flame endows you with now to help you
accelerate, hasten, and advance your progress. Dryness is crystallization and the creation of
something that will finally be in defined, concrete form.
When the Knight of Scepters appears in a reading, angels are illuminating upon the
ways a seed of Divine Intellect has been sown into your mind, which you are now being
called to manifest. This Knight is also a spiritual guide who appears to you to lead you to an
awakening. The appearance of this card is a prophecy that awakening is imminent.

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The Shining Dew (Knight of Chalices: The Shining Dew is alchemizing the
elemental nature of Water to enhance social charisma. Transmuted Water is the qualities of
Cold and Fluidity. Cold is the quality the Shining Dew endows you with now to help you
decelerate, slow down your frenetic movements, find your calming center, and reflect.
Fluidity is the quality of being like water, as is the Taoist philosophy of wu wei, and here the
spirit is here to guide you toward free-flow so you might roll with the waves and let the natural
movements of karma take you where you need to go. The Knight of Chalices is your guide
as you navigate the waters of destiny.
The Shining Dew marks the alchemizing of our soul nature, or the alchemical stage
of albedo. Here is the quenching of thirst for the waters of life. When this card appears in a
divinatory reading, Spirit is telling you to sublimate what is deep within your psyche into the

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material world as creative or artistic product—allow your soul to be visible. This is Spirit
reminding you that you are sacred, and to express Divinity is to express who you truly are.
The Shining Dew is elemental water that will imminently fuel a realized outcome in
your life relating to your interpersonal relationships, personal spirituality, psychic
development, or matters relating to family, past lives, or ancestors.

The Shining Winds (Knight of Swords: The Shining Winds is alchemizing the
elemental nature of Air to win a battle. Transmuted Air is the qualities of Fluidity and Heat.
Fluidity is the quality the Shining Winds endows you with, and the alchemical instructions
this spirit brings to you now is this: conform to a shape of reference that is around you and
be a flowing form of energy. While yielding yourself to the established forms and framework

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around you, accelerate your activities, because the conditions are ripe for your advancement
and you will make great progress soon.
This spirit is the active key of illuminated consciousness, the confirmation of a fully-
formed idea bound for manifestation, so long as progressive action is taken. When the Knight
of Swords appears in a reading, mind and body are acting in collaboration toward achieving
your goal. This is the card that prophesies imminent victory, so long as you continue your
proactive progress along the Path you have chosen.
The Shining Winds is the card that confirms full realization and understanding of a
dilemma and figuring out how to troubleshoot or solve that dilemma. Now, what is left to do
is to act upon the solution. This card also marks the need to change your personality so you
can advance further on your Path, so that mind and body can be aligned. Shift your mindset
and you will accomplish more.

The Shining Quarry (Knight of Orbs:

The Shining Quarry is alchemizing the elemental
nature of Earth to increase your material resources,
assets, and to cultivate fruitful abundance. Transmuted
Earth is the qualities of Dryness and Cold. Dryness is
the quality the Shining Quarry now endows you with,
and the alchemical instructions the spirit brings you is
this: crystallize your work ethic into something finally
solid and tangible; create definitions. Then slow down,
decelerate so that you have a chance to reflect and
meditate. You do not need to be on the path of rapid
increase, not yet. Now is the time to cultivate your
resources organically, without giving in to the
temptation of urgency. Be methodical.
The Shining Quarry marks the encounter with
one’s own earth nature and making sense of our
material attachments. This Knight is the spirit of
elemental earth that will imminently fuel a realized

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outcome in your life relating to your personal economics, finances, property matters, access
to resources, business, income, or earnings. The Shining Quarry is here as a guardian spirit
to help you navigate the work cut out for you: having to build a stronger, earthy foundation
so that you can increase your access to sources and thus bring about the success you have
been seeking.

Pages: The Strongholds

Strongholds, the tarot Pages, are identified by the rooks, a chess piece that symbolizes
guardianship over one directional corner fortress of your inner temple. The rook has another
layer of meaning: a rook—the black raven, a messenger between worlds.
When a Stronghold appears in your card reading the beneficent comes to deliver a
message from a greater Divinity, often a Divinity associated with the elemental realm the
Stronghold is from (i.e., a fiery divinity if it is the Stronghold of the Flame, a god or goddess
of the waters or of healing powers of it is the Stronghold of the Grail, etc.).
Thus, take the sealed envelope in the bottom right corner as a sign: draw an additional
card. The additional card you draw after the Stronghold is the message this spirit is delivering
to you.
The angelic Strongholds are messengers who bring signs and miracles. They make
the Divine Will known to you, bringing the Gnosis of God’s gifts.
The Strongholds are also the mediators and connecting points between Heaven and
Earth. They are emissaries and appear in your tarot reading as an emissary on behalf of a
greater Divine Being. Here, the four Strongholds appear to you as female.
Pages suggest an unknown and a matter pending in your life path that is still malleable.
When a Page appears, Divinity is giving you “insider knowledge.” Nothing is set in stone yet.
Pages signify possibilities, opportunities, and the power is still entirely in your hands as to
whether you want to act on those offerings.

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 The tarot Pages are the closest to the material world, associated with the sephira
Malkuth, where the four elements of fire, water, air, and earth are concentrated. They signify
what has already taken form in your world and now it’s a matter of you acknowledging or
coming to terms with that which has already taken material form.
When a Stronghold shows up in your reading, all the decisions that need to be made
and all variables have already played out, so the Stronghold appears as prophecy of what is a
certainty and what is inbound based on everything that has already transpired to date.
The Strongholds help us to construct the materialized worlds we seek to build, to
manifest that Great Work, and do so by bringing us messages from beyond. The Strongholds
are messengers by nature and every time they appear in a tarot reading, they come bearing a
message from the Holy Spirit, whatever name or face of that Holy Spirit you’re working the
closest with at that given moment.

PRACTICE GUIDE

When a Stronghold (tarot Page) appears in your reading, draw an additional card.
If a Stronghold appears in your reading, read it as indicating a divine message is
being delivered to you, one for an area of your life corresponding to the element of that
Stronghold. Broadly, Scepters/Fire for a creative or passion project, entrepreneurship, or
innovation; Chalices/Water for personal relationships or spiritual development;
Swords/Air for law, science, communications, or your public persona; and Orbs/Earth
for finances, property, resources, or personal industry.
Even if your question pertains to a different subject matter than the elemental suit
of the Stronghold, the appearance of the Stronghold suggests that you may want to
reconsider. For example, if you ask a question about a romantic relationship and the
Stronghold of the Vale (Page of Pentacles) appears, there is a divine message for you
with regard to money and resource matters that relate to your question about the romantic
relationship. So after seeing the Stronghold of the Vale appear in your reading, pull an
additional card, which is the divine message the Stronghold brings to you from Holy
Spirit about money and resource matters that ultimately relate to your question at hand.

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Stronghold of the Flame Page of Scepters: The Stronghold of the
Flame, or Page of Scepters, comes bearing an important message to you or an opportunity
about career matters, schooling, creative or artistic endeavors, employment, or passion
projects. The symbols here are the salamander—symbolizing invincibility—and the angelica
root, which wards evil.
The Page of Scepters appears as affirmation of a coming adventure, a quest that will
be presented to you. Your creativity and ingenuity will be the deciding factors on how you
navigate that quest. The presence of the Stronghold of the Flame could be an emissary sent
by a solar deity. It could be Sekhmet, the protetive lioness goddess of the sun and fire; Oya,
goddess of fire, Ekhi, Marici; Amaterasu, goddess of the sun; Agni, god of fire and
purification; Brigit, Vesta, Freya, or Vulcan, god of the crafts. From the Stronghold’s
message—the additional card you pull to supplement the reading—and your own inner light
and intuition, you will know who is calling to you.

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Stronghold of the Grail Page of Chalices: The Stronghold of the
Grail comes bearing an important message to you or an opportunity about matters relating to
love, relationships, domestic affairs, or your spiritual path. The symbols here are the crayfish
for regeneration and immortality, and chamomile blossoms, for the strength to overcome
adversity.
The Page of Chalices appears to deliver important messages about an interpersonal
relationship, love and family, domestic relations, or personal spirituality. The Page of
Chalices is the Stronghold most connected to transmitting messages about the sacred
mysteries between the heavenly realm and the earthly realm, with revelations that will help
humanity in their pursuit of true happiness. Thus, she is the Stronghold of the Grail.
The presence of the Stronghold of the Grail could be an emissary sent by a lunar
deity. It could be Artemis, Hecate, or Thoth; Mayari, the goddess of the moon in Philippine

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lore; Avatea, father of the gods and men; the Maya moon goddess or the rebellious Huitaca
of the Colombian Andes; a divinity of the waters, healing, and wisdom, such as Anahita; a
goddess of love and beauty, such as Aphrodite; Mazu, goddess of the seas and protégé of
Kuan Yin; or Nu, the primordial watery abyss calling out to you; or Thalassa, spirit of the
seas. From the Stronghold’s message—the additional card you pull to supplement the
reading—and your own inner light and intuition, you will know who is calling to you.

Stronghold of the Zephyrs

Page of Swords: The Stronghold of the Zephyrs, or Page of Swords, comes bearing an
important message to you or an opportunity about your social status, community relations, a
political or legal matter, higher education, greater social network that you are a part of or
engaged with, or a matter pertaining closely to your pursuit of glory. The symbols here are
the owl for knowledge and witch-hazel blossoms for the
gift of shape-shifting and perseverance.
The Page of Swords appears as affirmation of
glory to come if you pursue the challenges that will be
presented to you in the times to come.
The presence of the Stronghold of the Zephyrs
could be an emissary sent by a sky deity or a god of the
winds. Nuada of Celtic lore is the god of the skies, of the
winds, and war. Perhaps it is Uranus. The Page of Swords
is also an emissary of the gods and goddesses of war and
combat, such as Kartikeya, the Hindu god of war; Kokou,
a fear warrior orisha of Yoruban mythos; Andarta
sending omens to help you with victory and overcoming
your adversaries; The Morrigan calling; Athena; Eris,
goddess of discord and strife bringing prophecy; or
Inanna. From the Stronghold’s message—the additional
card you pull to supplement the reading—and your own
inner light and intuition, you will know who is calling to
you.

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Stronghold of the Vale Page of Orbs: The Stronghold of the Vale
comes bearing an important message to you or an opportunity about your assets and
resources, money or business matters, and that which relates to your personal economics or
industry. The symbols here are a wolf and apple blossoms.
When the Stronghold of the Vale appears in a reading, the offer, events, or
opportunities to come are ones that will help you to make your mark in your world. These are
opportunities for establishing yourself.
Perhaps there is a mundane matter you are facing at the moment or will face. The
Page of Orbs may appear to you to offer insights on how best to navigate that situation. The
Stronghold of the Vale appears when you need to hear whispers of counsel on what measures

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to take next. Of all the Pages, she is most connected to the everyday ongoings of your world,
of mortal and earthly life.
The presence of the Stronghold of the Vale could also be an emissary sent by an
underworld deity or a divinity of the earth. Perhaps it is Hades. Hermes, too, might appear
here bringing prophecies of commerce, your area of trade, or travel. The Page of Orbs might
be a messenger sent by Persephone, or the Mater Larum, Mother of the Lares, a goddess of
fruitfulness. From the Stronghold’s message—the additional card you pull to supplement the
reading—and your own inner light and intuition, you will know who is calling to you.
The Page of Orbs brings a message that echoes of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. There is a
lesson for you to learn about your situation from the Epic of Gilgamesh.While Gilgamesh,
part god and part human, embodies the cultured, civilized, and refined warrior king, Enkidu,
part beast, embodies the wildman or witch in the woods. Yet the two are equals, both with a
dark stirring in their hearts. Though at first rivals, once they cooperate, together they set out
on an adventure to slay the demi-god Humbaba for glory. Before they depart, Gilgamesh’s
mother, the goddess Ninsun, adopts Enkidu as her son.
When Gilgamesh and Enkidu enter the Cedar Forest, where Humbaba dwells, they
perform dream rituals and receive prophecies of what is to come. With the help of the gods,
Gilgamesh and Enkidu manage to subdue Humbaba, but not before he curses them.
Ultimately, the two kill Humbaba and his seven sons, then return home, taking with them as
a giant cedar tree as a prize.
Continuing their adventures, they slay the Bull of Heaven, or the Sacred Bull. In
antiquity, the killing of the Bull by Gilgamesh and Enkidu signified rebellion against the
gods. Enkidu has an ominous dream where the gods say that one of the two heroes must die.
In yet another of Enkidu’s dreams, he is taken to the Underworld by the Angel of Death.
Ultimately, Enkidu does die and Gilgamesh deeply mourns his brother’s death.
The Page of Orbs is the goddess Ninsun of Sumerian mythos, the Lady of the Wild
Cows and an interpreter of dreams. When she appears in a reading, there is a message for you
encoded in the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, her two sons.

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 MINOR ARCANA: SEVEN LOWER REALMS
The Lower Realms are the nature or terrestrial spirits, personifications of emotions or
archetypal conditions found on the realm that humanity dwells upon. In other words, these
are the spirits who oversee everyday life, who have the most direct impact on our routine and
the minutiae. These cards are about your day to day mindfulness and the minutiae or baby
steps you take toward achieving your greater goals.
Minor Arcana: Seven Lower Realms, 28
(In each Realm, 4 Keys, 4 Gateways)
1. The Realm of Fours: Building
2. The Realm of Fives: Expanding
3. The Realm of Sixes: Nurturing
4. The Realm of Sevens: Reasoning
5. The Realm of Eights: Manifesting
6. The Realm of Nines: Culminating
7. The Realm of Tens: Mounting
The Seven Lower Realms correspond with the two lower Triads of the Kabbalistic
Tree of Life: the Ethical Triangle and the Astral Triangle, passing into Malkuth below the
two Triads. Thus, within the inner temple, the landscape of that internalized universe, the
Seven Lower Realms inform on codes of morality (or “what is the Will of my God?”), codes
of self-governance, and seeking to understand both the persona of the self and the persona of
the world that the self occupies. For the Seeker on a Path of Craft, the Seven Lower Realms
are where that Craft is learned and mastered.
In creating the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, the first card I drew was Key 0: The Fool and
then I went in consecutive order of the Keys through the Major Arcana. When I finished Key
21, I returned to draw a second Key 0. Once the Majors were complete, the first Minor Arcana
cards I worked on were the Fours, beginning with the Four of Scepters: The Demiurge. That’s
because the Fours are the first point when Divinity manifests on the earthly physical plane,
when that which is Divine creates the world. In Platonic philosophy, the Demiurge is the
creator of the physical universe, with etymological roots to the word “craftsman” and
“artisan.” The Seven Lower Realms is where you mold and shape your life path. The Fours
are the first visible signs of the craft and the Tens are completion, the aftermath.

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 The Green Lion Alchemical Allegory for Vitriol
by Johann Theodor de Bry for Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens (1687)

THE ZOROASTRIAN ETERNAL FLAME PRAYER

Listen with your ears, the highest ideals—Consider the most enlightened thoughts—Then let
the path between the two be chosen—person by person, each for oneself.

On three noble ideals, be ever intent—the good thought well thought; the good word well
spoken; the good deed well done.

Every good thought, every good word, every good deed is of wisdom born. Every good
thought, every good word, every good deed is the best existence.

I am of good thoughts, not evil thoughts. I am of good words, not evil words. I am of good
deeds, not evil deeds.

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 Realm of Fours: Building
The fours represent reign, rule, and order. Here, we also see God’s presence below
the abyss, initiating the architecture of the Divine Plan into material reality.
The fours represent the sequence that formulates the Rule of Law. In the Kabbalistic
Tree of Life, the Realm of Fours arises from the sefirah Chesad, the emanation of virtue,
justice, and receptive intelligence.
The fours are about strength, power, and conviction. These are the four cornerstones
of your iner temple.

The Demiurge.
Four of Scepters: The Demiurge builds our physical
platform of success. This is the attending spirit who
guides your intangible idea into tangible work
product in the material world. The Demiurge marks
progress, achievement attained, and is the spirit
presence with you through a momentous rite of
passage. The Demiurge is the spirit to help you cull
from the spiritual or intellectual plane and bring
perfected work into form on the physical plane.
Two women hold up the Seal of the
Demiurge, the tool with which the architect of the
universe has created this world. The woman on the
left is a maiden nurse in white with rosaries (or mala
prayer beads) around her neck. The other is an archer,
symbolic of God’s infantry. Archers on battlefields
instigate the action and ar at the frontlines. Together
they personify the cycles of creation and destruction,
of peace and strife. In the background, a manorial
fortress symbolizes stability and establishment.

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 The Hollow Void.
Four of Chalices: The Hollow Void builds our psychic
inner platform for spiritual strength. This is the spirit
presence with you as you look inward, reflect, meditate,
and reach independent insight on why there is the hollow
void.
This is the spirit that helps you to conduct
reevaluation. How do you find meaning in that which
feels meaningless? The Hollow Void is the spirit here to
help you navigate personal sensations of worldly
discontent.
Here, a sorceress goddess of magic and healing
signified by the scorpion perched in the tree, has
compelled a divine hand to offer you waters blended from
the Mystic Sea and Sea of Awareness—spiritual
revelation and attainment of worldly knowledge that will
fill that hollow void.
When The Hollow Void appears to you, it reflects
back at you your discontent. Meet that discontent with inner reflection and personal
reevaluation. You want more out of your circumstances than what you’ve been granted. Go
inward to determine the root cause of that discontent. Here, there is a questioning of purpose.
The Four of Chalices is the first touchdown point of the elemental Water, with Water
representing intuition and wisdom. As the first touchdown point, the Four of Chalices is
undeveloped intuition and wisdom.You don’t yet trust your own hunches, so you try to rely
on reason and rationalism. Thus, the numerological significance of the fours come in to
play—the Rule of Law. You’re now questioning that Rule of Law. When the Four of Chalices
appears, learn how to cultivate and thus begin to trust and rely on your intuition. The Hollow
Void in a reading is an omen for you to deepen and advance the cultivation of your spiritual
practices.

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The Convalescent. Four of Swords: The Convalescent is the net loss after
construction. This is needed rest and restoration after enduring strife. It might indicate stress
and anxiety that you aren’t properly addressing. Focus on your health, be that physical or
mental health. The Convalescent is the spirit of nursing you back to full strength. Never forget
that your body hears everything your mind says, so think kind thoughts of yourself.
You may have lost a battle, but the war is still ongoing. Take respite and recuperate
before you return to the fight. Here, we see imagery reminiscent of both Key 13: The Reaper
and Key 14: The Angel, a subversion of the classical Death and the Maiden motif. The
Convalescent is the spirit of a transition phase and is present along your path when you
experience affliction. This is the spirit to bring you rehabilitation after fighting battles.
Fortune comes to you after you have taken the time to restore both inner and outer balance in
your life. The Convalescent in a reading is an omen for you to ground and center. Before
healing others, heal yourself.

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The Conservator. Four of Orbs: A human figure with a goat’s head—
embodying Capricornus—sits upon an unseen throne. The figure also calls to mind
Baphomet, or the Sabbatic Goat symbolizing the sum total of the knowledge availed in this
universe and the materialized product of Astral Light. We also see an association to Pan and
thus here in the suit of Orbs in the realm of Fours, we see the product of created nature.
The Conservator is the maintenance work, investments, and natural resources needed
in reign, rule, and order. This is the spirit presented in your life path when you are
demonstrating an inordinate attachment to the material. This is earthly power you are clinging
desperately to, at the expense of greater spiritual realization. The Conservator is both the
spirit of that which is empirical and orderly, efficient and pragmatic, and also that which is
self-serving, covetous, and parsimonious. Here we also see the Horned God.

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 Realm of Fives: Expanding
The fives represent the principle of Motion coming to propel Matter. Fives indicate
destabilizing forces. The theme of the fives in the Minor Arcana is storm and stress, and yet
emerging from the tensions of conflict will be that which enables greatness.

The fives express the discernment of spirits, both good and evil. In the Kabbalistic
Tree of Life, the Realm of Fives arises from the sefirah Gevurah, the emanation of strength,
the power to create change, and an active intelligence. This is warrior consciousness,
perspiration, the source of courage, and that which is the inner drive.

The Contender.
Five of Scepters: Five hands of five princes extend their
scepters in battle, fighting to be the king. The five rods
here symbolize the essential nature of strife in this card:
each hand wielding a rod points an index finger at
another. They each in turn blame each other for the
troubles, uncertainty, and instability that has come to
pass.
The Contender is the spirit of a zero sum game.
This is the spirit appearing before you when you face
competition. This is the battle, the contention you fight
for domination. This is the spirit who helps you through
a rivalry for supremacy. There is strife in your world,
but The Contender is the spirit here to help you navigate
that strife—the five rods form the rune Ingwaz, for love,
peace, creativity, and great potential.
A circuit of pentagons in the background
symbolize not just the material world, but the material
world occupied by Mankind’s intelligence, ingenuity, and zealotry.

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The Grotesque. Five of Chalices: The Grotesque is loss after the waning of joy,
a personal feeling of disfigurement, a mystery, and unseen power rising. You feel rejected
and alone. When your blood, sweat, and tears have been expended without yielding fruition
or meaning, The Grotesque is the spirit who will appear by your side. Yet behind The
Grotesque are two intact chalices, symbolic of hidden powers that the grotesque ones possess.
Though the disfigured ones feel indept in social circumstances, they are the ones who possess
the greatest arcane powers. You walk alone, and it is for that reason you will venture to places
no one has ever ventured to before, and see what has never been seen before. Do not run from
who you are, even when others run from you.
Your differences, which others have denigrated, are the very powers that will catapult
you above all others and toward greatness. We see these powers in the two intact chalices.
The Grotesque is the spirit here to guide you on that daunting aspiration.

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The Hector. Five of Swords: He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to
command (Niccolo Machiavelli). Hector was the greatest warrior of ancient Troy, and
through that namesake, The Hector is the spirit of indomitable strength, but it is indomitable
strength at any cost. The Five of Swords marks a defeat of your opponents by unfair
advantage. And yet never was anything great achieved without danger.
The Five of Swords personifies self-interest. The card can denote an imbalance of
power in the situation at hand. Heed also: the Hector is the spirit of that which upon first
impression is predicted by all to be victorious, but who will end in defeat if you do not learn
the important lessons The Hector is here trying to impart to you: indomitable strength does
not come from lording your power over others; it comes from using your charisma to sway
others. He who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against.

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The Vagabond. Five of Orbs: The Vagabond is the spirit of alienation and feeling
alienated. Crowning the holy temple is a lotus blossom that features five petals symbolizing
the five aggregates of suffering: sensation, consciousness, physical forms, perception, and
thought forms. To live is to suffer; to survive is to find some meaning in your suffering. When
you find that meaning, you emerge the stronger soul.
The Vagabond appears by your side when you are the wanderer with no sense of home
or identity. This is the spirit that comes to you when your spirit is restless and when you are
in search of meaning. The Five of Orbs appears when it is a moment for you to learn toughness
and resilience. You are being put through the gauntlet of material trouble.
The Vagabond also appears when there is a poverty of aspirations. You limit yourself
before any condition of deficiency limits you. Aspire for more. Demand greater success and
higher achievement from yourself. Do not restrict your potential.

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 Realm of Sixes: Nurturing
Pythagoreans called six the Number of the Soul. This is harmony between heaven,
earth, and man. After the material world is formed, it remains connected to the spirit realm
from where it came, and the sixes in the Minor Arcana are the remaining tethers and bridge
between the material and spirit.
In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Realm of Sixes arises from the sefirah Tiferet, the
emanation of heart consciousness, the quest for balance, and pulchritude.
This is also the consciousness of spiritual teaching. Note that the numerological
essence of the tarot (7+8=15, 1+5) is 6. The four Archangel magic squares featured in the
Kings bear numerical values that add up to 15, which reduces to 6 (1+5).

The Champion.
Six of Scepters: The Champion is the spirit of victory.
When the Six of Scepters appears, success will be yours.
There will come the exhilaration of triumph.
Yet here we are reminded there are two sides to
victory. The Champion can bring wisdom, wealth, seed,
life, dominance, peace, and grace, as noted in the Seven
Double Letters corresponding with the Sacred Seven
planetary rulers occupying the archways. Likewise, The
Champion can bring folly, poverty, desolation, death,
subjugation, war, and ugliness.
The imagery of the spirit here conveys the core
of the message: to be the champion, one must be
oblivious to pain. For there to be victory, there must be
self-sacrifice. If you seek to defeat your opponents in
competition or combat, then with the support of The
Champion, you will be victorious, though with it comes personal sacrifice.

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 Victory always necessitates personal sacrifice. The spirit resident in this card is the
competition or combat. This is also the spirit of confidence. The spirit of the Champion lifts
the Initiate up to the top, but never forget that even when earned through merit, victory always
comes with a price. A message: self-inflicted pain is the necessary sacrifice to become a
champion.

The Memory Keeper. Six of Chalices: The

Memory Keeper is the spirit of reminiscence. There is
nostalgia for more innocent times. Memory is the trail
of light after the shooting star of Time.
Each of the six chalices bears a daffodil and
from top left clockwise, the six blessings are: hope,
honor, joy and cheer, (which are the top three chalices
left to right), self-love (center right), unrequited love
(foreground), and fortune (center left). Had one of the
six chalices pulled your attention more than the others?
The blessing offered by that one chalice is the one Spirit
is sending your way.
The Memory Keeper is your custodian of past
memories, both fond and adverse, the reflection of your
inner child. When The Memory Keeper appears to you
in a reading, the past and the present converge. The
warm glow of memory illuminates your soul, and
space-time converges in the mind for good reason.
Understand that reason. Here, the dragon and phoenix
from Key 6: The Lovers and Key 15: The Demon are
but infants…or is it their scions? There is unfinished karma with another and so what had
passed will pass again, what had come and gone, will reappear.
This is also the flow of time, and when the Six of Chalices appears to you, you know
in your soul the time is right. Here is Spirit giving the affirmation. With the astrological
correspondence sun in Scorpio, when The Memory Keeper comes to you, it could be a sign
that the veil between worlds is thin around you for the time being.

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The Ferryman. Six of Swords: The Ferryman navigates you to calmer waters. When
The Ferryman appears to you, you are about to embark upon a journey in the hopes of leaving
behind turbulence and achieving earned success. The success factors that The Ferryman
endows you with are intellectualism, acute and accurate analysis, and claircognizance. The
emblem of Universal Mercury the Ferryman wields symbolizes specialized knowledge and a
methodical plan. Plans move forward. When the Six of Swords appears, a pathway out of
danger is being revealed to you.
Note here how The Ferryman is also the passenger on the boat. To some, Arianrhod
may appear disguised as the Ferryman, her Silver Wheel concealed from view. When she
appears in the Six of Swords, the card indicates reincarnation, the full moon, perhaps even
retribution, and the river is the Aurora Borealis.

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 The Ferryman is the spirit of navigating troubled waters. This is the archetype of
Charon of the River Styx. This card is also the sign of the psuchopompos (Greek), a guide
that escorts souls during their journey to the underworld. Aqen, the Egyptian god of the
underworld, was a Ferryman and called the Mouth of Time, just as the river depicted on this
key flows forth from the sea. The river itself is the Rope of Time and it runs forward.

The Giver.
Six of Orbs: Let the karmic circle remain unbroken:
give to receive; receive, but give back. A kind gesture
heals a painful wound. The Giver is the spirit of
provision. Seeking anonymity, The Giver shows only
the hand in offering. Emanating from the Six of Orbs is
the divine essence of Anesidora—the “Giver of Gifts.”
When the open palms are what call to you, then
The Giver is Gaia, who endows you with vitality and
the gift of creation that yields fruition. When the orbs
are what call to you, then The Giver is Pandora, the all-
gifted, who manifests hope into your heart, to help you
counter the adversity you’ve had to face. When the
flower is what calls to you, then The Giver is Demeter,
blessing you with harvest, abundance, and
nourishment. The Holy Trinity Giver of Gifts endow
you with the blessings of material success. The ley lines
forming trinitarian knots in the background mark their
presence.
When The Giver appears to you, the spirit of nurture is all around. Give freely,
mercifully and you shall receive freely, and mercifully. This is the spirit of philanthropy.
Compassion is not a quality; it is an act. It is a powerful energy one conjures.
We assume that the gifts flow from the have to the have-not, but that is not so; there
is balance and harmony here in the gift-giving. What flows from upper to lower also flows
from lower to upper.

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 Realm of Sevens: Reasoning
Seven is a sacred number that represents the Divine Law. Pythagoreans called it the
Number of Life. The Realm of Sevens is the realm of knowledge and wisdom. This is the
world-weary spirit. In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Realm of Sevens arises from the
sefirah Netzach, the emanation of optimism, faith, and an awareness of Oneness. It is the
emanation of victory and endurance. Seven also signifies challenge and interrogation.

The Dark Horse.

Seven of Scepters: The Dark Horse is the underdog
who blindsides the naysayers and will emerge
victorious. When you are being cornered or are
outnumbered, The Dark Horse appears to you, ready
to stand shoulder to shoulder with you as you take on
your opposition. You will emerge in prominence and
glory: take that fighting stance and ready yourself.
The Dark Horse is marginalization
personified, and yet this spirit is extraordinary in
both strength and stealth. This is the spirit of valor
who has come now to empower you with courage.
When outnumbered, you resist. The Seven of
Scepters is the spirit of resistance.
When The Dark Horse appears to you, the
message is to be fearless and to stand your ground,
advocate and fight for yourself. You may be the
victim of injustice or the one expected to lose, but
when The Dark Horse appears to you, Divinity
reminds you that in fight or flight, you are the One
who chooses fight.
Resist fear. Master your own anxieties and you will defeat even the most formidable
foes. At first glance, The Dark Horse appears outnumbered, but a closer study of the offense

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will reveal its weakness. Not only does The Dark Horse stand a chance, with one clever and
strategic move, victory is guaranteed. The underdog endures.

The Corrupter. Seven of Chalices: The Corrupter is the master of sophistry—

superficially your current reasoning seems plausible, but it’s fallacious. This is the spirit of
faulty logic, where emotions and desire rule over the senses. The Corrupter appears to you
when you need a threshold guardian to caution you that it is time to redirect yourself.
The Corrupter personifies the pursuit of wisdom that derails into folly, wealth that
leads to poverty, the sowing of seeds that becomes desolation, seeking dominance but finding
subjugation; it is peace that becomes war, or well-intentioned grace that becomes ugliness.
The Corrupter is illusory success and wishful thinking. You’re dreaming big but acting small.
We see the allegory of the seven sins. The pig is gluttony, the snake for envy, peacock for
pride, snail for sloth, lion for wrath, toad for avarice, and the goat for lust. The symbology
here is taken from the 18th century Tableau de Francois-Marie Balanant.

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 Do not act on impulse. When The Corrupter appears to you, rethink that idea you’ve
been contemplating: it might not be prudent. Also, pay closer scrutiny to your environment:
there are poisons around. The Seven of Chalices is falsehood appearing as truth. This spirit
appearing to you is a warning that misleading perceptions abound. When this card appears,
the action to take is challenge and interrogation.

The Rogue. Seven of Swords: The Rogue is

mischief personified. Here you see the story of Loki
cutting off Sif’s beautiful golden locks of hair while she
sleeps. Sif is the Norse goddess of the earth, of plenitude
and the grains, affinity, fertility, family, marriage, Mother
of Might and Magnificence. She was also a seer. The
mind, the thought plane, and the intellect are the
weakening barriers to materialized success. The Seven of
Swords denotes an unstable mind, and unstable efforts.
Your own thoughts and judgment are what undermine
fruition.
The Rogue is the spirit of cunning and scheming.
We see compromised integrity. Yet The Rogue is also the
personification of one who is misunderstood, so when this
spirit appears to you, you are the rogue in pursuit of an
undertaking that diverges from the mainstream. You may
get blowback for it, and yet take heart that the toad on the
lily pad is symbolic of a rainmaker, an omen of ambition
that begets plenitude, while the snail calls in the grace of
The Eminence, the blessings of the Nine of Orbs.
Where the Realm of Sevens is the province of reasoning, the Seven of Swords is the
reasoning that convinces you to act in a clandestine, cunning, or devious manner because
you’re clever enough to get away with it. The Seven of Swords is the spirit of acting
impulsively. It also shows someone fleeing from social norms, who embraces the role of
being the outcast in society.

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The Gardener. Seven of Orbs: The Seven of Orbs expresses fiscal responsibility
and deferred gratification—resisting the temptation of immediate reward and instead,
investing in the future for the harvesting of a much greater reward later. Thus, this is the key
to success, stronger physical health, and promotions. When The Gardener appears to you,
what you have invested will be returned in abundance back to you.
The Gardener is the nature spirit of low magic, and the spirit of harvest. When The
Gardener appears, close by is the presence of Goddess.
The Seven of Orbs card is a threshold, a special nexus
point between the physical realm and the spirit realm. The
Gardener calls to mind the Magna Mater, the goddess
Cybele, and She appears to you now to help you take what
is formless matter within your mind and spirit to yield
meritorious work product and a presentment of harvest.
The Gardener is also a spirit who oversees spell-crafting
for financial gains, romance, and worldly success, and can
be called upon to assist with the Craft, utilizing herbs,
stones, roots, oils, and the crafting of charms.
The Gardener appears to you when you are
experiencing success unfulfilled. The Seven of Orbs is a
liminal gateway between states of consciousness. When
this card appears to you, take time to visualize yourself
entering the landscape of the card and when you are there,
The Gardener’s eyes open and you will hear words
whispered to your inner ear. Receive the words with faith,
reverence, and gratitude. Make your way toward the
willow tree. There will be a small door etched into its
trunk. Open the door and reach inside without looking. Your fingers wrap around and grip an
object and when your hand re-emerges, look down to see what that object is. The very first
visual that comes to mind, that immediate impression before you have had any moment to
rationalize the visualization, is the object in your hand. Note what that object is: it is a symbol,
a divine omen from the spirit realm that is a prophecy for what is to come, why you are here,
and how best to navigate the present circumstances of your life path.

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 Realm of Eights: Manifesting
The Realm of Eights is the realm of manifestation. It is the number of the Universal
Order and said to symbolize the Eleusinian Mysteries. In Burmese astrology, the number
eight symbolizes cosmic balance and energetic equilibrium.
In the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Realm of Eights arises from the sefirah Hod, the
emanation of glory and splendor. Hermetic associations for Hod relate the emanation to
intellection, communication, and reasoning. Judaism connects Hod to prayer, meditation, and
yielding to Faith.

The Sharpshooter. Eight of Scepters:

Swift movement abounds around you. This is the
spirit of marksmanship. When the Eight of Scepters
appears, it bears notice to pay attention to messages
being directed at you coming from your world, for
Spirit is presenting itself through the words of those
speaking to you. Momentous words coming at you
within the next eight days are the spoken Words of
Spirit.
The Eight of Scepters is the spirit of inbound
tidings that bear your name. When The Sharpshooter
appears in a tarot spread, pay attention to what she is
aiming and shooting at in the context of the spread’s
landscape. What she points at is what Spirit is
directing you to pay your attention to.
The Sharpshooter might be appearing to you
as a protégé of Anat, an old Canaanite maiden goddess
of war. She might also be a messenger from Artemis.
Perhaps she is a priestess-daughter of Minerva, or
Pallas Athena. The Sharpshooter in the Eight of
Scepters is the spirit oft called upon to be an emissary

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into our world to deliver messages from a divine feminine embodying courage, wisdom,
military strategy, war and battles, or a patron goddess of the arts. When The Sharpshooter
appears to you, such a divine consciousness is calling to you.

The Defector. Eight of Chalices: This is the spirit of abandoned success, to desert
one path to endeavor on a different path. The Defector is the spirit personification of
abandoning one path to walk a contrasting and entirely different one. This is walking away
from what you have otherwise devoted a great deal of effort to, and not looking back. This is
the spiritual quest for that which will be more emotionally fulfilling.
The five chalices stacked on the ground symbolize the material work that The
Defector leaves behind. The three hovering above symbolize the beliefs and ideologies The

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Defector now abandons. When the Eight of Chalices appears, you are at the foot of a steep
mountain, about to embark onto challenging, yet personally fulfilling terrain. Wisdom will
be attained and the path of that mountain is the path toward achieving your Great Work,
toward fulfilling your life purpose.
The scarlet ibis with wings outstretched, flying overhead is the material manifestation
of a guardian deity who will be overseeing your difficult journeying ahead. The Defector is
the guardian spirit guiding you to abandon illusory success and to scale new heights in a
different direction.

The Captor. Eight of Swords: You are

feeling bound by the Threads of Fate. You’re being
pulled in so many oppositional directions that now
you cannot move in any direction at all.
When The Captor appears to you, it is a
message from beyond warning you that there has
been undue interference to your path. The themes
here are having to confront the evils of oppression,
aggressions of those in a superior position to hurt
those who are helpless and meek, feelings of
isolation, but also, that prophecies will be delivered
to you through your dreams. When The Captor
appears to you, begin paying closer attention to your
dreams.
This is the spirit of shortened force, of
obstruction. When the Eight of Swords appears to
you, take immediate action toward unbinding
yourself and cutting loose from all that is trying to
hold you down. The way out is not to exert your own force against the oppression, but to use
the oppression against itself. Instead of struggling with your own strength to escape the
bindings, use the blades of the swords blocking your path to cut yourself free. Is this the sun

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on a dark day or is this the full moon on a clear night? Which you see will reveal the true
location of where you are.

The Journeyman. Eight of Orbs: The Journeyman is the spirit of apprenticeship,

of perfecting one’s craft, of routine work that leads to mastery. This is also the spirit of
prudence. When The Journeyman appears to you, you are being called to apply discipline, a
strong work ethic, and perserverance to hone your skills in a particular trade.
The Journeyman is the grind of dedicated work,
practice, and careful, methodical study of a specialized
craft. Note the orb set into a master’s staff: this is
prophetic of an adept who is currently an apprentice, but
who will someday exceed the master. It has been foretold:
you will become The Warrior, or The Erudite, or perhaps
it is The Healer. One of these three paths manifested—
that is the prophecy of The Journeyman. Even magic and
genius requires toil, determination, and hard work.
Behind the Journeyman and into the dark woods: can you
see the forest through the trees? When The Journeyman
appears to you, look again at your surroundings. Can you
discern the holistic pattern from the details? Try to
understand the bigger picture.
The Eight of Orbs expresses the perfecting of
your craft and being methodical in the ways you hone
your skills. You possess a natural talent already; now you
need to train yourself so that you can take that talent to
heightened levels of productivity and success.
In medieval trade, the journeyman is the rank of a craftsman between new apprentice
and master. You’ve already established a proficiency for your craft, but you have not peaked
yet. Stay humble, modest, methodical, and continue to work hard. Then the day will come
when you far exceed many masters.
Do not rest on the promises made by Destiny; determine the future for yourself and
labor in every way necessary to Craft that outcome.

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 Realm of Nines: Culminating
The Realm of Nines is the realm of spiritual ascension. It is the realm of artists and
healers. With nine comes spiritual cultivation and karmic lessons. In the Kabbalistic Tree of
Life, the Realm of Nines arises from the sefirah Yesod, the foundation upon which God built
the material world.
In the Hermetic Qabalah, Yesod is the emanation of communication, dream
consciousness, connections, and the source of where magic begins to take form toward
manifestation. The number nine is divine, receiving completion from three triads—it is the
summit of theology. Nine is the number of crystallization.

The Malaise.
Nine of Scepters: The Malaise is the questioning of
purpose and why we suffer. It is the wearing away of
vitality and innocence when we’ve seen too much of
suffering in this physical world. When the spirit of
The Malaise appears to you, engage in grand
strategy, whereby you reach for all instruments of
power availed to you as a measure of security.
Summon all the abilities within you and direct it
outward, now. The Nine of Scepters is the spirit of
Great Strength.
This is also the personification of malaise,
reflecting back at you so you can see clearly your
own feelings of debility or weakening health. This is
the spirit of despair, pessimism, and cynicism. Do
not reduce yourself to feelings of apathy. Feeling
feelings, and passions, even when they hurt, are the
necessary gauntlets to overcome so that wisdom and
transcendence might be attained. Discomfort will
unleash your full potency and fortitude.

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 Note the resilience of the figure in this imagery. The Nine of Scepters is a powerful
key against debility, weakening, or despair. The Malaise appears to remind you of the
powerful defensive magic that you are capable of conjuring to protect yourself and to
revitalize what has been depleted. This is the key of immunization.

The Wish Granted. Nine of Chalices: Nine chalices are arranged in the formation
of a magic square, a grid that denotes power. This is the spirit of personal happiness achieved
after earning material gains. The Wish Granted is the neverending blessing of abundance. All
that you conceive of will manifest, is manifesting.
This is one of the more profound keys in the tarot architecture. The Nine of Chalices
is a channel through which gift-giving deities of old folklore can pass through and bless you.
The imagery here is symbolic of a sacred space
within your own inner temple. The well is iconic of
Mimir’s Well from Nordic mythos, where Odin’s eye
was sacrificed. At Mimir’s Well is where you will find
wise counsel from the gods. Drink from Mimir’s Well
to gain knowledge.
When this card appears to you, focus on each of
the nine chalices in turn, reciting, “Light, Love, Life”
three times (3x3=9). As you focus on one chalice, recite
“Light,” then focus your line of sight onto the next
chalice over, recite “Love,” and on over again, “Life.”
Move to the next row and repeat so that each chalice has
received your focus and the utterance of one word from
the recitation. Such a ritual seals that the wish you have
petitioned for shall be granted by the gift-giving gods of
old lore.
The one of the nine chalices you are drawn to
reveals further divinatory insight through its
correspondences per the magic square.

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 Magic Square Correspondences in the Nine of Chalices
SOUTH – RED PHOENIX
4 9 2
WIND, Influence, Hoist FIRE, Cultivation, Illumination EARTH, Nurturing, Receptivity
Wealth/Assets Ambitions/Honor Love/Relationships
Finances, Money Validation Mother, Home
Worldly Belongings Happiness, Fulfillment Emotional Wellbeing

A gift of worldly A meritorious accolade There is harmony in the

treasure to come; financial is bestowed upon you. You are inner sanctum. A maternal
earnings come your way. seen and you are heard. Your embrace. Love enhances. Be
Whether you advance or inner fire burns outward and content with what you already
retreat, both bodes well. persistence brings fruition. possess. Find peace in darkness.
3 5 7
THUNDER, Catalyst POWER CROSS, Fountainhead LAKE, Vision, Growth, Intuition
EAST – BLUE DRAGON

WEST – WHITE TIGER

Family/Ancestry Energetic/Metaphysical Health Innovation/Children
Roots, Foundations Luck, Trials, Challenge Creativity; Fertility
Past Lives, Underworld Impact of Fate, Force Majeure Reservoir of Potential Energy

A karmic gift: you reap The wellspring from A vision of greatness is

what you sowed long ago.
Ancestors watch over you.
Past losses are restored. An
unseen power restores you.
8 1
MOUNTAIN, Discipline
Knowledge/Skills
Education
Arts & Culture
which your power springs
forth is recharged and strong.
The answer to your question
comes when you are silent.
WATER, Great Depths, Flow
Career, Employment
Willpower, Goals
Occupational Success
the seed planted within you.
You are fertile with that
greatness. The developmental
phase looks promising.
Catharsis.
6
HEAVEN, Authority, Power
Allies/Community
Father; Blessings
Physical Body, Vitality

Advancements in the Career success comes Sovereignty is granted to

scholarship of your discipline.
You overcome your
challenges and your craft
achieves new heights of
aptitude. Literacy.
your way. The work you do
brings contentment. Your
labors are valued by others,
and your self-control pays off.
NORTH – BLACK TORTOISE
you. The greatest of the
blessings are bestowed. Your
divine genius reigns. Reward
your allies. Strength restored.

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The Haunt. Nine of Swords: Restful sleep eludes a figure, who sits upright in bed,
face buried in hand, in slight fetal position. Behind the slatted wall of swords is a dark horned
shadow. The shadow is The Haunt.
The background is an illusion of space, a seemingly endless, spacious checkered room
(emblematic of Hermetic duality) that leads through an archway to an endless hall. As
Aleister Crowley calls it, this is the “cathedral of the damned.”
This is anxiety personified, anxiety about what your future holds, because at least for
the moment, your perception of your situation is bleak. The astrological glyphs of planets and
zodiac signs stitched into the bedding signify how you feel: you feel haunted and bound by
your fate.

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 And yet what the imagery on the Nine of Swords card reflects back to show you is
that your perception is an illusion of space. You feel despair over the cruelty in this world
and you are not wrong, but you are wrong about your helplessness.
The Haunt is the haunting of our own past actions, our inner demons that we have not
resolved, our regrets, and the actions we have taken both against others and against ourselves.
The Haunt is also your spirit ally and an appearance during divination made by The Haunt
could be this beneficent spirit detecting malefic
energies or psychic poison arrows in your vicinity and
alerting you of such presence. Thus, The Haunt is often
a sign to conduct a full spiritual cleansing, banishing,
and to engage in more proactive shielding or personal
protection rituals. Exorcise that which is causing
debilitation.

The Eminence. Nine of Orbs: The Eminence is

the spirit personification of upward mobility and
material fruition, born out of our own hard work. All
that we have done and invested in has propelled us to
the top. And yet now that we are at the top…are we
feeling isolated and alone? All that glitters is not gold…
The woman pictured here in the Nine of Orbs is
the same woman pictured in the Nine of Swords, and
yet upon first impression, they appear so different.
Inner lives versus outer lives can be unrecognizable
from one another. The very top can be a lonely place to
be.
Nevertheless, The Eminence appears as your spirit ally and when she makes her
presence, she is here to support your endeavors toward elevating rank, reputation, and to
increase your material gains. More importantly, she heps you find purpose and meaning in
eminence. When the Nine of Orbs appears in your reading, this is the message from Spirit to
heed: Everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds (an aphorism from Voltaire).

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 Card Back Design on the First Edition

The card back design is inspired by the Merkabah star, which

forms a hexagram—the alchemical glyph for Fire and Water combined.
The hexagram is also the center of a cubic stone (in linear algebra and
geometry, the twelve midpoints of a cube form a hexagram). In esoteric
Buddhism, it symbolizes a perfected meditative state and
enlightenment.
The six here is also for the six noble gases found in the
eighteenth group of the periodic table, considered the most stable of
the elements, and are strong conductors. Finally, the six-pointed star is
an amulet that safeguards against malefic forces.
At the center is the Eye of Providence (and an abstract
rendering of the Eye of Horus). Within the inner-most triangle are the
scales of the serpent, the awakened kundalini, the dragon and phoenix
consummated.
The middle triangle features a sun in the top left, representing
sulfur; a waxing crescent moon in the top right, representing mercury;
and a cubic stone, or the stone of foundation, at the bottom blade point,
representing salt. This is the Tria Prima.
The center of the sun, by the way, is the single born fruit on the Tree of Knowledge in Key 6, and
that appears again at the base of the throne in the Six of Scepters. That single born fruit is also the
philosopher’s stone sought after by the alchemist.
The outer-most triangle features layered brick, symbolizing the construction of an inner temple
where one can commune with the Divine. There are two such stars so that the card back design is reversible.
The balance of stars also suggests the equal and opposite reactive forces of the universe.
The black and white of the cards symbolize the fundamental binary for life, and the binary that
the keeper must master to navigate both Worlds and between the Worlds. The gold edging on the cards is
symbolic of alchemical gold, and symbolizes the absence and yet the presence of the 79th key in the tarot.
There are 78 cards in the standard deck, and the 79th element in the periodic table of elements is Au, or
gold. Thus, the gold edging on the cards is a reminder of the Great Work: transmutation of the common
and base metals to alchemical gold, or transmuting the body (the physical deck of cards) into the spiritual.
Elements in the periodic table are defined by their protons. To change one element into another
requires altering the elements’ protons. And to change an element like Pb lead, with atomic number 82, to
Au gold, with atomic number 79, takes an extraordinary amount of force—and cost. The cost of the process
may in fact outweigh the value of the gold. Thus, I see the alchemical transmutation of lead into gold as a
metaphor. Ultimately, the work of the alchemist is about the journey that the work takes the alchemist on.
It’s what changes spiritually within that matters, and not the product of the Great Work itself.

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 Realm of Tens: Mounting
Ten is the number of transformation. It is the mounting atop a peak and now the
waning or unwinding period down, to repeat the cycle in another incarnation. In the
Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the Realm of Tens arises from the sefirah Malkuth, the emanation
of the material world. It is the concentration of the four elements, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.
Malkuth comes not directly from God, but from God’s creation. Malkuth is the tangible form
of all other divine emanations. It is the world-and condition—Man has created for himself.
Ten is the number of work product made by human skill. It is also the imitation of divinity.
Ten is the future, the next generation. Technology and artificial intelligence are born from
the realm of Tens.

The Burdened One.

Ten of Scepters: The spirit resident in this card is the
carrier of sorrows. The Burdened One is oppression
we bring onto ourselves when we don’t temper or
when we have acquiesced to others using us as their
beasts of burden. The series of decisions you have
made along the way have led up to this culminating
point of unduly carrying the responsibilities of others.
Are the Hands of Spirit holding the rods to
help you carry the weight of your load? Or are the
Hands of Spirit presenting the burden to you to test
your strength, resolve, and perseverance? Is this a
Divine Trial or Divine Assistance?
The mystic rose at the center, between the
Hands symbolize a secret, a mystery, indicating that
you don’t know everything. There are greater reasons
for why you are where you are. There is purpose and
you are not yet privy to what that purpose is. The Ten
of Scepters is the card of laborious tasks.

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The Joyous One. Ten of Chalices: The Joyous One is happiness we have
earned. This is the prognostication of spiritual fulfillment. Creativity becomes productivity,
and productivity leads you on a directed path toward contentment.
The glyph etched upon the large chalice in the foreground is the emblem of the Holy
Womb, of Hagia Sophia or Holy Wisdom. The Ten of Chalices appearing before you signifies
the appearance of God the Mother. The rainbow across the heavens is an omen: perpetual
success.
The Joyous One is an omen of fertility, and that which was in the figurative womb
shall mature and ripen into a great spiritual and emotional reward for you.
When this spirit appears before you, it reflects back for you to see how along your
path, you have developed your wisdom, your intelligence, and your agape love. The Ten of

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Chalices is an affirmation that your learned skills, intellect, and acumen have matured. The
Joyous One is the personification of wisdom attained. When this card appears for you, it is
an affirmation from the Holy Spirit of your spiritual maturation.
The card can also appear to remind you that you are complete, that your life and world
is perfected and harmonious as it is right now, that it is not necessary for you to pine for more.
Bask in the blessings you’ve been given.

The Destroyer. Ten of Swords: If you fear

being conquered, then you pave the way for your own
defeat. The Destroyer is Ruin personified. Here you are
watching the Dance of Kali, a wave of catharsis
crashing onto the shores of your psyche. The Destroyer
is downfall as a consequence of our acts. There has
been a Fall from Grace. The Destroyer appearing
before you can be an omen from a death spirit or a triple
goddess motif portending doom, destruction, or
plunder. And yet defeat will reveal your hidden powers.
Learn from this and you will never lose again.
The gods acknowledge a profound injustice has
transpired: a punishment does not fit the crime.
Rightful sovereignty is brought down by malevolent
and petty forces. Nevertheless, the gods give light:
If you have erred to let pride or glory corrupt
you, then The Destroyer is here to cut down that pride
and glory so that you might find your way back onto
the rectified path of wisdom.
If you have been unduly betrayed or hurt by another, then The Destroyer is here to
pull the swords out from your back and will ravage vengeance on your behalf. What goes
around will come around.

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 The Destroyer is here to warn you of deception afoot, treachery, perhaps even treason
that threatens your wellbeing. Be cautious of your environment and who you’re trusting. You
may bleed and you may fall, but your gods will never leave your side.

The Dynasty. Ten of Orbs: The Dynasty is

wealth multiplied. In the foreground, the old man faces
the young man—they personify inheritance, legacy,
and the multigenerational dynasty. This card portends
advancing prestige.
The Dynasty is the spirit of collective power
that strengthens a tribe. The theme here is
successorship. It can also suggest the personal impact
on you of much greater national or global affairs.
Something greater going on in the collective has
reached down to directly affect you, at the individual
and personal level. What the Ten of Orbs portends is
gains to be had from that impact. The Ten of Orbs can
also indicate the gift of good physical health or a
reawakening of your strengths.
While the Ten of Orbs marks a pinnacle of
material wealth and success, the Book of Thoth reminds
us that the success will quickly go inert, and from that
inertia, degenerate and rot, if the pinnacle is not
immediately put to productive use toward the greater
good. Thus, with the benefits and gains you shall reap, you must direct those benefits and
gains toward a greater good. Do not harvest all the blessings for yourself.
The spirit of The Dynasty, with its influence from Mercury in Virgo, can signify social
influence or even ideological influence—the power and capacity to sway culture. The
Dynasty appearing before you can also signify excellence in the arts and letters, scholarship,
education, or occupational training.

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 THE INITIATE’S TAROT READING
Set Key 0: The Initiate down on the table in front of you. This is going to act as an
energetic anchor for your reading. Hold the deck in both hands. Feeling reverence and love
toward all divine and sentient beings, recite the following:
ANGEL WHO RECORDS, whose Hand seals upon the Book of Remembrance, who bears
witness to All to enumerate every deed, since Creation, from the beginning of the world to
this day, from my cradle to my grave, I invoke you to read to me, to show me, to transcribe
upon my heart, to place upon the mantle of my mind the pages of the Book I petition for. Let
it be the Truth. Let that Truth, come what may, ever be used to work the Highest Good. And
so may it be.
If you have a specific question you would like answered, present that question to the
cards. If not, simply hold as a thought in your mind: “Please reveal to me what it is I most
need to see right now.” Then shuffle the cards. As you shuffle, repeat recitations of your
inquiry. When you intuit that you’re ready, draw a single card from the deck.
Take a moment to be silent and still. Listen with your inner ear. Listen to your
thoughts. What do you hear? Note which detail or symbol on the card pulls at your attention
the most.
Free-write a paragraph in a stream of consciousness style all that comes to you about
this card and what it is revealing to you in answer to your inquiry. Or speak aloud to yourself,
voicing all that comes to mind, as if channeling the revelations.
Then locate the card title in this booklet and read the entry for your card. Take a
moment to be silent and still, to meditate on how the written passages might apply to you.
Consider what impressions you are left with after reading the passages.
When you feel ready to close the reading session and return to your ordinary state of
consciousness and awareness, recite the following as a personal practice of gratitude:
HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL, ever you are by my side, to light and guard, to love and guide.
Hear my thanks for all that you provide.
Start with single card divination readings and as you feel more comfortable with the
cards, expand on the process and find tarot spreads to work with.

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142
 THE SEEKER’S TAROT READING
Select Key 0: The Seeker as your significator card. Place the card face down at the
top of your deck. Place one hand below, in support of the deck and one hand above, covering
the deck. Recite the invocation to the Angel Who Records instructed from the Initiate’s
Reading. If you have a specific question to be answered, hold that question in your mind as
you proceed to shuffle. Otherwise, feel yourself open and receptive to whatever divinatory
insights are intended to come through for you.

Place the deck face down on the table in the position of Card Pile 1. Next, cut the deck
in half, placing one half of the deck in Card Pile 2, so that the cards should be about equally
distributed between Card Piles 1 and 2.
Return to Card Pile 1 and cut that pile in half, so approximately one quarter of the
cards are now transferred over to Card Pile 3.
Do the same to Card Pile 2, taking about half of that pile and transferring over the
remainder one quarter of the total cards to Card Pile 4.
Starting from 1, turn the pile over and look for Key 0: The Seeker. The card pile
among the four that you locate The Seeker card is the area of life for you to focus on or the
general themes pertinent to the question at hand. See the table on the subsequent page for
reference.
Pile 1 is the physical plane; Pile 3 is the emotional and spiritual; Pile 2 is social and
intellectual; Pile 4 is the material plane, and the realm of production.
Taking just that quarter card pile in your hands, set The Seeker card down on the table.
Shuffle that quarter card pile.

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 Card Specific General
Pile Question Reading

1 Creation and your ingenuity are the Focus on work, career, or the
factors that bring advancement. inception of a new undertaking.

2 Acquiring more knowledge or Focus on social relations, higher

further research is needed before education, a legal or political
you proceed. matter, or your reputation.

3 Charisma and your personal Focus on personal relations, love,

connections are what will advance family, spirituality; focus on
the matter. emotional fulfillment.

4 Capital or access to resources is the Focus on finances, property,

main factor at play in the matter. assets, debts, business, or
economic matters.

As you shuffle that quarter card pile, recite the following: Show me what is in my
mind. Then pull a card (Card 1) and set it down next to Key 0.
Shuffle again and recite: Show me what is in my heart. Pull a second card (Card 2).
Shuffle again and recite: Show me what it is I must do to ensure the outcome that will
most fulfill me. Pull the third and final card (Card 3).

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 Card 1 reflects back your thoughts and mental factors that clarify your self-awareness.
Turn to the page in this book with the card meaning entry for your Card 1. Read the entry and
consider how it applies to you. Add your own interpretation and perspective.
Card 2 reflects back your feelings, the state of your emotions, and what you’re holding
in your heart. As with Card 1, turn to the page in this book with the card meaning entry for
Card 2. Consider both the written entry and your own interpretation.
Card 3 is real world active advice from Spirit on how to proceed, what immediate
action to take next. The astrological, elemental, or numerological correspondences of Card 3
can also foretell timing for the matter at hand. Consult this book for the card meaning. Read
the entry and consider it alongside your own perspective of the card’s message.
Take time afterward to journal and ruminate on the results.

THE KEEPER’S TAROT READING

Select Key 0: The Keeper as your significator card. Next, extract the four Shields
(tarot Queens) from your deck and place them in the four directions around The Keeper card
to form a cross.
The suit for each Shield corresponds with an element (Fire, Water, Air, and Earth).
Above, below, and to either side of your significator indicate directionality.
Which Shield should be placed along which direction is a determination to be made
by you alone. Will you be following the correspondences of a specific mystery tradition, such
as the Golden Dawn? Will you be working with the directionality from Jewish mysticism, or
Persian/Islamic mysticism? Also consider which hemisphere of the world you are located in.
Your geography can affect how you attribute the four elements to the four directions.
Once the arrangement is set, clasp your hands in prayer and read the Shielding
Recitation.

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146
 SHIELDING RECITATION:
I burn bright. The seat of my power is strong. Glory becomes me. No matter what
unkindness is directed at me, my heart is full. I show mercy.
My love is my strength. I give and I receive Great Compassion. My voice is the power
of Good Change.
I am connected to the Akasha. I am connected to the Anima Mundi. I see what is not
seen. I hear what is not heard. I feel what is not felt. I sense what is not present. I awaken the
Light within.
A crown of Light protects me. A crown of Light empowers me. This is the Light of the
Holy Spirit. This is the Light of the Holy Guardians.
A crown of light shields my head. The armor of Light encases my body. The Light of
the Light defends every attack, diverts the malevolent.
My shield is impenetrable to all who dissuade my Highest Good. My shield is
impenetrable to all that weakens my essence. My shield is impenetrable to all that weakens
my love. My shield is impenetrable to all that weakens the purpose of my soul.
By the power of the Holy Trinity—my fire within is burning; the winds of my will carry
me far; I am grounded to the earth. The Heaven above sends me Love.
Pick up your deck of cards, leaving the arrangement of the cross on the tabletop.
Shuffle your cards and as you do so, recite:
Spirits of the Light, Spirits of the Sun, Spirits of the Moon, Spirits who Illuminate the
Dark: I call upon you. I call forth the One who hears my cries, who feels my present pain,
who knows the conflicts in my heart. I call forth the One.
Pull a card and set it atop Key 0: The Keeper, your significator. This is the spirit who
has come forth to listen to you and to converse with you.
Here, it can help to read the entry for that card from this little white book or the deck’s
companion book, The Book of Maps to gain a better sense of who this spirit is and the spirit’s
purpose. Based on the spirit who has appeared to you, formulate any question you want to
ask the spirit, addressing that spirit by title as it appears across the top caption of the card.

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 Shuffle the deck and draw a card for the spirit’s response. Place it on top of any of the
four Shields you’re intuitively pulled to set that drawn card down upon.
There is no right or wrong way; only what feels right to you and what feels wrong.
Continue to ask a question, shuffle, and draw a card to place over one of the Shields,
up to four questions whereby four drawn cards cover the Shields. You do not need to ask up
to four questions and can stop any time, even if not all the Shields are covered by a card.
However, do not ask more than four questions.
When you are ready to close the reading, leave Key 0: The Keeper card on the table
while returning the rest of the cards into a single pile. Seek out the Archangel of Healing
(Angel Who Salves and Purifies) and Key 17: The Healer cards from the deck and place one
on either side of your significator. Follow your intuition for which card to place on which
side of you.
Communion with Spirit is an opportunity to apply spiritual healing salve to your soul
fragments and to maintain spiritual health. Place the fingertips of your left hand on the card
you’ve placed to the left and your right fingertips on the card you’ve placed to the right. Then
recite the prayer for healing below. You can place a paperweight on this booklet to keep the
page open as you read from the page.

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 PRAYER FOR HEALING:
What had been drained from my body, may the Holy Light hereby restore. What had
been empty inside me, may the Holy Light fill with Curing, Invigorating Love. Mend my
fractures. Purify my impurities. Soothe the disturbances of my spirit. And so may it be.
When you feel ready to close the reading session, recite the following as a personal
practice of gratitude:
HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL, ever you are by my side, to light and guard, to love and guide.
Hear my thanks for all that you provide.
The Keeper’s Reading uses visualization techniques to strengthen your connection to
the deeper regions of your mind and memory, tapping in to unconscious knowledge. The
metaphor of talking to a spirit helps pierce through the veil of our conscious state and dig
deeper within.

A STRATEGIC PLANNING SPREAD

To supplement an outline delineating your priorities and strategy for achieving a
particular goal, consult the cards to help you complete the planning.
Start by holding the deck in both your hands. No significator card is necessary for this
reading procedure, though make sure only one of the Key 0s is in the mix. As you’re holding
the deck, steady your breath and calm both your mind and body. Think about the goal you
want to achieve. Consider where you are now and where it is you want to be. Really take your
time for a few moments to meditate on that goal and define it as clearly as you can among
your thoughts.
Then proceed to shuffle the deck. Continue focusing on your clearly defined goal for
a few moments longer. Then present the question to the cards:
How do I achieve my goal? Give me insight into the method to adopt.

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 Repeat the question a number of times that corresponds with numerology that is
significant to you. For example, three for fruition and manifestation, or six to connect deeply
into the soul and psychic realms, or seven for knowledge and wisdm, etc. Shuffle the cards
while you repeat the question.

Then pull Card 1.

Repeat the steps again for Card 2, this time presenting the inquiry as follows:
What do I need to overcome? What are my main obstacles?
Repeat the steps a third time for Card 3 and present the final inquiry as follows:
What do I need to focus on to ensure success? Counsel me on setting priorities.
Consider Card 1 in your assessment of a strategic plan to implement for achieving
your goal. How are you going to manage yoru time and resources to ensure success? Integrate
the message of Card 1 into that plan.
Card 2 helps to highlight your main challenges, weaknesses, and what it is that could
potentially hold you back or be an obstruction. These are the limitations to eradicate.
Card 3 will advise you on how to begin setting a plan into action. What are your
immediate next steps after this reading? How do you launch your strategic plan and through
the launch, what needs to be your focal point so that you hit your bull’s eye? Consider all the
implications and facets of Card 3 that lend advice on the matter.

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 If you pull a card from the Major Arcana, consider which Septenary that Key is from.
Read the opening paragraphs for that section on what Keys from that Septenary generally
indicate, then read the card meaning section for that Key. Note the glyph in the top left corner
of the card. Consult the “Glyph Correspondences of the Major Arcana Keys” per the Golden
Dawn attributions at the back of this book and assess whether very specific omens are being
delivered to you through those corresponding keywords.
If one of the three cards is the Key 0 you’re using in the deck, consider which tradition
of interpreting the classic Fool card that specific version of Key 0 denotes. The Initiate
expresses the Green Man, suggesting a figurative spring season or renewal onto a fresh path
and the beginning steps of a journey toward attainment or prosperity. It can suggest that a
resurrection has taken place and now you’re starting anew. The Seeker is the Great Fairy
Fool, the personification of our quest for the magical panacea, the comprehensive and divine
solution to our problems. The Keeper is the Holy Ghost and your quest for your personal
Holy Grail. What you seek is even deeper anad more profound than you consciously realize.
If you pull an Ace, be sure to read the preceding passages about Aces in the deck and
the four alchemical stages to achieving your magnum opus. What alchemical stage does the
Ace you pull signify? How might that relate to your inquiry?
If you pull a a card from the Realm of Twos, Threes, or any from the Seven Lower
Realms, consider the numerological significance of that Realm. E.g., Drawing the Six of
Chalices, or a card from the Realm of Sixes, could denote a spiritual life lessons and the need
to focus on balancing polarities, or aesthetics. Also, consult the keywords table at the back of
this book titled “Force Majeure Per the 36 Decanates in the Pips” based on the attributions of
MacGregor Mathers. Find the keyword corresponding with your pip card. What does it evoke
to you? What thoughts, sentiments, and ideas does it trigger? Formulate an action plan around
that keyword.
If you pull a court card, start by reading about that realm, e.g., what do Shield cards
(the tarot Queens of the deck) generally indicate when the card you’ve pulled is The Scarlet
Shield. Then read the card’s corresponding entry. Also, note the Sefirah correspondence for
the court. The Strongholds (Pages) correspond with Malkuth; Shining Ones (Knights) with
Tiferet; Shields (Queens) with Binah; and Archangels (Kings) with Chokhmah. Consult the
correspondence tables in the back of this book to assess whether the Sefirah indications round
out the divinatory messages that the court card is delivering to you.

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 SHUFFLING YOUR TAROT DECK
Prior to commencing a tarot reading, you’ll shuffle your deck so the cards are
randomized. Seasoned readers will have developed their own signature ways of shuffling.
There’s the overhand shuffle, where you hold the deck in one hand and with two fingers from
the other hand, slide a group of cards out from the deck and stack it either to the top or bottom
of the deck. Then you repeat.
The riffle shuffle, also called the dovetail shuffle, divides the deck into two piles. You
grasp on to each with one hand, hold the cards by their opposing edges, bend or bow them
slightly so their backs arch downward, and then release the cards into each other so they fall
one atop the other into a ragged single pile. Some readers perform an additional final step,
called bridging, where they’ll bow the interlaced cards again, this time arched backs upward,
and release so the cards come together into a neat stack.
The technical method of shuffling your tarot deck is not as important as the centering
and calming of the mind that goes on while you shuffle. No matter how you shuffle,
mindfulness is what matters. You want to settle in to a method of shuffling that’s so
comfortable to you that you can somewhat forget about the shuffling and focus your attention
inward.
A form of quick mindfulness meditation takes place while you shuffle. You want to
take the moment while you shuffle to bring your awareness to how you are feeling and what
thoughts are going through your mind. Clear those feelings and thoughts the way you would
take an eraser and wipe the slate of a filled chalkboard clean.
Reciting an affirmation, prayer, or invocation to yourself helps to ground and center.
Using religious language that calls upon Divinity is a powerful way to ground and center,
which strengthens your mindfulness so you approach the reading to come with a balanced
perspective. Secular affirmations can be just as powerful. The following is one example of an
effective secular recitation to say in your mind prior to commencing: I emanate with Love. I
receive Love. I am in Light and I am present. The Light that shields and protects, nurtures
and guides is present.
Modifications to exact wording are perfectly fine. What matters is whether the
recitation grounds, centers, and calms you. Then, still shuffling, state your question and
continue shuffling as you visualize the wording of your question as rays of energy flowing in
to the shuffling cards. When you’re ready, proceed with the reading.

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 HOW TO READ TAROT INTUITIVELY
The Spirit Keeper’s Tarot can accommodate those who are improvisational tarot
readers, a method often referred to as intuitive reading. Improvisational or intuitive reading
is when you sidestep deck creator intentions and, without reading any books on the tarot or
guidebooks for the deck, interpret a card by connecting directly and personally to the imagery
in front of you.
To read in an intuitive style with the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot, consider what story is
being told by the imagery on the card and which stage of that narrative arc the image is
portraying. Is this the beginning of a story or is it near the end? And because space-time is a
loop, it’s not permanently fixed for each and every card. What you see depicted in The Rogue
might be the start of a story in one reading, but in another reading at a different time, depicts
the ending.
When reading intuitively, consider the title given in the top caption of the card. Think
of this title as a character or major theme of your story. Now tell me about it. You can also
interpret the top caption titles as archetypes.
Let’s demonstrate with an
example. Say you’ve drawn two cards:
Key 3, The Empress and The Seven of
Swords, named The Rogue. Here, I’ll
start. “I see a woman who is concealing
the truth about herself. She’s capable
of bringing to fruition something of
incredible, extraordinary beauty. The
swan here is what suggests to me
something of extraordinary beauty, but
I don’t know if she can see it for what
it’s worth.” Moving the narrative on to
include the Seven of Swords, “But I
wonder if it’s naysayers around her
who have caused her to have this

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doubting, hesitant view of herself. I sense that someone around her is doing a great deal of
significant harm to her sense of self-worth.”
Irrespective of whether you can recall any textbook meaning for the Four of Orbs (or
Four of Pentacles; Four of Disks) and even if you never bother to read the card entry for this
card in this Book, I hope I’ve illustrated the card sufficiently for you to tell a story. What do
you see? Perhaps the building blocks of life, but this builder is holding all resources too close
to himself and not putting up the investment and resources needed to multiply productivity.
Maybe you see suspension: something that has already been started is now just hanging mid-
air and something needs to give to break out of the box for the desired business productivity
or career advancement.
Another approach is to first describe something that is
going on in the card’s imagery, in one sentence. Then consider
which keyword in that sentence links to the querent’s life. Then
channel out a sentence about the querent’s life that utilizes that
keyword in the new, second sentence. For example, “There’s a
stubborn, ornery figure keeping possessions too close, who needs
to give to receive. You’re being stubborn here, and the message
coming through for you is you need to give to receive.”
What I have to say as the deck creator about the symbolism
in each card does not need to matter to you as a tarot reader. It
only matters if you want it to matter. You are not using the cards
to tap in to my knowledge base; you are using the cards to tap in
to a universal and collective knowledge base but accessing that
through a very personalized channel wholly unique to you. While
we are all accessing the same universal knowledge base, how each one of us gets there
through the pattern of symbols and how we interpret those patterns of symbols will be
different—has to be different.
A rule or guideline I had set for myself when I crafted each card was that it needed to
be a gateway into a complete, well-built, detailed world, culture, and a paradigm that has its
own concretized ethos, which I hope desperately has been expressed by my illustrations.
Then, what is within view inside the four corners of the frame will tell you a prophetic tale.

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 We all have the tendency of getting into the mindset that we must interpret a deck of
tarot cards through the lens of its creator. We feel pressured to “get it right” in a way that the
creator will approve. In fact, that is the very foundation of impulses that drives people to
create religious institutions and then become dogmatic—our interpretation of a creator’s
intentions is elevated to an official doctrine and no one else can or should question it.
Established religious institutions—all of them by definition—are premised on the mindset of
interpreting our world through the lens of who we believe is its creator, and then feeling
pressured to get that interpretation “right” in a manner we hope the creator will approve.
The problem with that mindset is it hinders us from each achieving our own psychic
and spiritual potential. You can’t walk my path to get to where you need to be. You have to
walk your path to get to where you need to be. When you look to role models, always look
for theoretical principles you might be able to adopt. Don’t try to simply mimic the outward
motions. Don’t parrot the way someone else thinks or acts. Try to dig deeper and examine
the spirit and the essence. Then consider what your own expression or manifestation of that
spirit and essence might be.
That’s how you approach life, personal spirituality, and in the specific case of tarot
reading, that’s how you approach card meaning interpretation.
Let’s return to the Seven of Swords to demonstrate
what I mean. We see the imagery on The Rogue and for many
of us, run the initial risk of pressuring ourselves to interpret the
card the way its creator, or in this case illustrator, would
interpret it. We give ourselves undue anxiety in trying to walk
someone else’s path, channel someone else’s connection to the
universal oneness rather than walk our own paths and attune
to our own direct connection.
Assuming you have a baseline proficiency in reading
tarot under one of the three major systems (Marseille, RWS,
or Thoth), the first impulse when we see The Rogue is to look
for similarities between what we already know and what we
see before us. When there are little to no similarities, we’re
reduced to anxiety and apprehension because the imagery feels
foreign to us.

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 When we can’t manage to pin our preconceived go-to interpretations of the Seven of
Swords onto The Rogue, we have two options: dismiss our own abilities and feel inadequate
or dismiss the tarot deck and judge the deck as inadequate. I challenge you to rise above both
tendencies. Release yourself from your ordinary go-to meanings and also release yourself
from any pressure to interpret the card as you believe I, Benebell Wen, would interpret it.
First, have the faith that the imagery of this card is an accessible portal or gateway to
what it is you’re looking for. So there is that prerequisite—you need to start from a point of
faith. Then from a place of neutrality, observe what is going on in the imagery of the card.
Note symbols and your immediate, intuitive impressions of what those symbols mean.
One intuitive reader might immediately be drawn to the stormclouds and isolated
island of rain in the background of The Rogue. Another might get drawn to the frog resting
on a lily pad in the bottom right corner or the path of lily pads before that frog, leading to
land. Meeting the frog on land would be the feet of that figure who is cutting off the hair of
the sleeping maiden. How will taking the path of the lily pads bode for this frog?
While we’re asking questions, who exactly is the rogue here, in this scene? Who you
identify as the rogue may not be the same as who I identify as the rogue and that difference
is necessary—makes all the difference in our unique spiritual paths and progress of personal
development.
Say that you are focused on the frog. Does it symbolize fortune and prosperity to come
if you embody the persona of The Rogue? Or does the frog portend evil?
Don’t worry about what your culture or my culture believes a particular symbol to
mean. Don’t worry about Renaissance history, Hermetic principles, Western occult theory,
what you’ve read about the author’s educational background, or any of that nonsense. Just
lean in to the thoughts, emotions, and impressions you get from the symbol or symbols that
are standing out to you at this precise moment.
Then, noting what is depicted within the frame of view, identify a subject.
Is there a prominent theme in the story of this card?
Can you spot motives?
Or motifs?
Do you see a person or personhood and can you describe that persona?

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 What are the inherent qualities you’re picking up from the imagery of this card?
Work with psychic sympathy. Decide on one subject in the imagery and put yourself
in the position of that subject. See through the eyes of that subject and look out at the scene
depicted on the card, from the perspective of that subject. If you truly were in that position,
how would you feel? What would you be doing next?
In the beginning, when you’re first starting out as an intuitive tarot reader, copy down
these questions and then write out your answers to each question in a stream-of-consciousness
style. Doing so repeatedly and consistently at the start is a form of psychic training.
Eventually, you don’t need to force yourself into an intentional question-and-answer. Your
psychic mind will automatically perform these functions.
I speculate that the court cards in Spirit Keeper’s Tarot
are not immediately easy to read because they represent a
celestial realm we don’t have immediate and easy access to. If
you determine that this deck is worth your while to commit to,
then how well you connect to the Empyrean Courts can be used
as a litmus test for assessing your own spiritual progress.
No matter your religious or philosophical beliefs, when
that body of beliefs is solid and rooted in conviction, you will
see those beliefs reflected back at you in the court cards. When
you don’t yet have a solid sense of beliefs, that’s when the
court cards in the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot will feel most elusive.
A reliable starting point for reading the court cards is
to ascribe your religious or philosophical beliefs onto the
archetypes that the cards represent. Even the atheist will find
meaning in the courts.
The Archangel of Glory is the personification of glory—the pursuit of honor and
distinction, to achieve a position of exaltation. The Archangel Commander is the
personification of fearlessness, courage, and not running away from necessary confrontations.
The Golden Shield is a defense strategy and might be interpreted as blocking outside forces
from interfering with your determined path. Block out commotions or diversions. The Ivory
Shield might signal to you to protect and safeguard your heart and your emotional wellbeing.
In contrast to The Golden Shield where you’re blocking chaos. The Shining Winds might

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suggest creating chaos, drumming up a gale or storm of controversy to make your point, and
to act in a way that embodies “A Swirling Gale.”

A religious approach to intuitive reading of the courts is to attribute the cards to a

divinity in the pantheon you work with. If you subscribe to Christian mysticism, then the four
Archangels are, well, the four Archangels, and every time, say, the Archangel Commander
appears in a reading, it is a divine oracular message delivered to you from the Archangel you
associate with the Archangel Commander card (for instance, to some it may be Archangel
Michael). I see Kuan Yin in the Archangel of Healing. Perhaps you see Yemanya, the
Yoruban goddess of the sea and moon. Or a Shield Maiden in The Ivory Shield (Queen of
Chalices), Abundantia, the Roman deified personification of abundance and prosperity in The
Ebony Shield (Queen of Orbs). The Stronghold of the Grail might appear to you as a
messenger from Aphrodite.
To read the Spirit Keeper’s Tarot intuitively, tell stories with the cards. To interpret
multiple cards in a reading spread, apply basic techniques in improvisation. The following
are some tips on how to apply basic improv techniques that actors learn and train on to the
art of reading tarot intuitively.

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Do Not Deny the Cards
A common rule taught in improv is to not deny what somebody else has already set
up during the routine. If I say that you are wearing a blue shirt but the shirt you have on as
far as you can tell is red, don’t deny my statement. Build on my statement that your shirt is
blue. Acknowledge that my shirt is blue and add to it with your own improvised insights or
observations. The genius of well a executed improv routine is, no matter how incredulous the
premise seems to be getting, what the actors have displayed before us strikes at a core truth
about humanity, and that core truth is so resonant it causes us to erupt in laughter at the
profound resonance.
A well executed tarot reading is no different. When
the divination has completed itself, it doesn’t matter whether
your shirt was blue or red. If your shirt is red and the cards
say your shirt is blue, there was a reason for it and you have
to acknowledge the statement at face value, then add to the
statement. Keep going. There’s more. The improv isn’t over.
At the end, the completed divinatory experience will convey
a core truth about who you are and about your life path and
that core truth is going to resonate deeply with you in a way
that will facilitate your growth.
Say that you do a reading on whether John is the right
man for you to marry and for all intents and purposes, you
love John and are pretty sure he loves you back (yet here you
are, doing a reading about him…). Let’s also say that you pull
The Tower card and your immediate emotional reaction is to
say no, that is not accurate. That does not resonate with you
at all.
Instead of denying the veracity of what the card is saying, acknowledge it and add to
the baseline interpretation. Should you marry John? The card in response is The Tower. “The
Tower is the spirit of disappointment,” you read from this book. You’re already shaking your
head but you read on. “This is the spirit of having to voluntarily accept suffering.” Now you
stop. This is simply not true, you say.

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 Apply the “do not deny” rule. Let go of the denial and nod your head instead. Okay,
yes, you accept these premises as expressed so far by The Tower, but there’s more. There’s
more to the story. Okay, what’s the rest of the story?
Finish the rest of the story with your intuition. Yes, the story in response to your
question begins with The Tower card but it is not the whole story. Marrying John without full
realization of who he is and the circumstances of this relationship could lead to
disappointment and suffering. So you need to get the full picture before you say yes (assuming
you really, really want to say yes and the reason you came to the cards in the first place was
just for validation).
The tail of the Demon is coiled around the base of the
tower and you’ve got your trusty axe. The lighting bolts
striking the chains is a Divine message telling you to break the
chains first. In other words, before you say yes to John, take
up that axe and go in search of what could be holding the
marriage back from its full potential of happiness.
“If this is true, then what else is true?”
Let’s say you have no idea what Key 8: The Force
means, or even if you have a generic idea of what Key 8 in the
tarot signifies, you’re not sure how it applies to the question
you’ve asked.
Recall the previous rule: do not deny the cards.
Assume that everything you see happening as illustrated on
the card is true. As applied to The Force, it is true that the
maiden has her hand in the lion’s mouth and she won’t be
harmed. Yet common sense would tell us otherwise—that putting your hand in a lion’s mouth
isn’t going to bode well—you will certainly be harmed if you do so.
At this point, ask yourself, “If this is true, then what else is true?” If it is true that the
maiden can put her hand in the lion’s mouth and she won’t be harmed, then what else can the
maiden do? The double ourosboros emanating along the vertical of her spine might suggest
to you that she possesses more power than her simple demeanor is letting on.

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 Exercise your imagination, creativity, and psychic muscles to contemplate beyond
what is pictured on the card what else this maiden could be capable of.
Then translate it all in to the situation at hand. The maiden can put her hand in the
lion’s mouth and not be harmed. Thus, you can take risks but if you do so in a calm, collected,
and confident manner, you will achieve success. You are a force to be reckoned with. Say
that when you were imagining what else that maiden is capable of you decide she also knows
where the Holy Grail is concealed. Translate that to the situation you’re reading for. Not only
will you succeed when you are self-possessed and fearless enough to take risks, but you are
The One who in fact possesses the solution to the problem. Thus, know that your way will be
the right way.
The “Yes And” Technique
For instance, the “yes and” rule: start by accepting the implications of one card as
true, then compound it with the implications of the second card.
For example, how might you
read Key 5: The Holy See and The
Mason: Three of Orbs together? Apply
the “yes and” technique. First, assess
Key 5. Then compound it with your
impressions of The Mason.
Here’s what I might say
intuitively about my impressions from
The Holy See:
“You’re being confronted with
orthodoxy. It has always been done
this one way before, but you want to go
a different route. That scares you.”

I started with the first impressions that came to me when I thought “Holy See,” which
is the caption at the top of Key 5. I also felt an ominous, confrontational energy from the bull
staring straight at me. From there, I launched into my improvisations inspired by the imagery
on the card.

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 Next, I consider the first thoughts that come to me when I see The Mason:
“And yet you wouldn’t be where you are without that orthodoxy, without that
heritage. What you need to know is you can appreciate those old values and traditions and
still move forward in an innovative, even perhaps heretical manner. Whatever you choose to
do, though, commit to it. Hard work and pure merit is what will get you through.”
If you’re not familiar with the Latin phrase “ex nihilo nihil fit” (nothing comes from
nothing), then that might not be the hit you lead with, but for me, it takes me in the direction
of thinking about how the current work has been built on a predecessor’s past work. The
alchemical symbol for squaring the circle front and center on the card calls to mind someone’s
Great Work or pursuit of it. I combined those impressions with what I had already blurted out
about Key 5.
Another way to work the “yes and” rule into intuitive readings is to pull out two
different yet complementary messages from the same card. Do not be afraid to venture far
“off script” from textbook tarot card meanings. As you apply the “yes and” technique, also
settle yourself into a mindset of channeling information. Approach the reading as if you are
receiving downloads, and therefore not giving the reading yourself.
Pull out the Archangel of Mysteries (King of Orbs). Say that this card appears to you
in a reading and now you need to transmit the message of the Archangel. Your conscious,
textbook educated mind has no idea what this Archangel of
Mysteries card could mean. No matter. Latch on to one symbol on
the card and thoughtlessly blurt out your first impression of what
that symbol represents. Lean in to your emotions rather than your
rationalism.
If you latch on to the orb within the lantern and you blurt
out what comes immediately to mind, in complete disregard for
any textbook meanings for the King of Pentacles or King of Disks,
perhaps you say, “You’re the one with the lantern. You light the
way.”
Then your attention moves over to the ears of corn
displayed in the foreground, in front of the angelic figure. What do
ears of corn symbolize to you? Now apply the “yes and” rule.
You’ve already made mention of the lantern. So what you have to

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say about the symbolism of the corn has to follow the lantern. “You are the one with the
lantern. You light the way.” (Now think, “yes and.”)
“And when you take up the task to be the lantern holder, when you light the way for
others, that is how you yourself will find prosperity. Your own prosperity is tied to that
lantern.”
You’ll be pleasantly surprised that more often than not, these blurted out channeled
messages that may or may not have any bearing on textbook card meanings are the most
prophetic readings you can do about the situation at hand.
Identify the Characterizing Action
You do not need to know any tarot card meanings to
identify something that’s happening within the frame of a card. The
characterizing action is the main event depicted as happening in
the image.
In The Shining Winds (Knight of Swords), the
characterizing action is a horse wearing an armored mask is
galloping on wild grass, heading toward a paved road. You can
even say it aloud as the opening statement in your reading of the
card. Once you’ve said it aloud, you can dismantle the statement
into its parts.
What are the characterizing parts of the characterizing
action? In the Knight of Swords, the horse is galloping. What does
that signify to you?
Perhaps it signifies fast movement, velocity, intensity. The horse has an armored mask
on. There’s a sense of needing to protect oneself.
Draw a connection between the first and the second characterizing parts. The horse is
charging out of a sense that doing so is the best way to protect itself. The horse gallops in the
direction from wild, untamed grass to paved road. Perhaps that signifies heading toward
civilization, toward development, advancing development, and representative of progress.
After dismantling the characterizing parts of the characterizing action, but those parts back
together, this time as applied to the issue at hand.

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 INITIAL READING TIPS
You often hear tarot readers talk about bonding with a new deck to connect to it. When
the imagery on a new deck feels unfamiliar to you and you don’t quite know how to interpret the
cards yet, bonding techniques help to get over that initial barrier of entry. To bond with Spirit
Keeper’s Tarot, apply any classic bonding technique or just work with the cards.
Start by focusing on yourself, being mindful of how you think and feel prior to
commencing a reading. Try to clear your thoughts and balance your emotions before you proceed.
Take time to just shuffle and handle the cards with the mindset of assimilating or synthesizing
your imprints with the deck’s.
Try out “The Initiate’s Tarot Reading” first. Feel free to omit the invocation prayer
recitations if the religious phrasing of the recitations are more distracting to you than calming.
The whole point is to calm and center, so if the recitation does not do that for you, then don’t do
the recitation. What you want to do before you start pulling cards for divinatory readings is to
clear yourself of fear, apprehension, volatile emotions, and scattered, frenetic thoughts. If the very
first card you pull is the Three of Swords, Four of Swords, Eight of Swords, Nine of Swords, Ten
of Swords, The Demon, or The Tower, then it’s probably because you haven’t adequately
centered yourself and the deck is reflecting back your mindset, alerting you to start over and work
more on your mindfulness first before continuing with a reading.
After pulling an initial card, look up its meaning and message in this book. Identify
whether the card is from the First, Second or Third Septenary of the Major Arcana, one of the
Upper Realms in the Minors, or one of the Lower Realms. Read about the specific Realm it’s
from. Then read the specific card’s entry.
For example, if I pull The Wish Granted (Nine of Chalices), I’ll read the page about the
Minor Arcana and Lower Realms. Then I’ll turn to read about the Realm of Nines. Then I will
read the corresponding passages for The Wish Granted. And note the additional divinatory
correspondences in the magic square reference table accompanying The Wish Granted.
Then turn to the “Tree of Life: Sefirah Correspondences” table in the Correspondence
Tables section at the back of this book. Note which sefirah your card corresponds to and consider
those implications. Then check the “Numerological Correspondences” table and read about the
numerology of your card. Review “How to Read Tarot Intuitively” and apply some of the
techniques to your interpretation of the card. Write out the questions prompted on pages 154 and
155, then answer them for yourself. Follow these steps consistently for each and every beginner
reading until your confidence in your own abilities has outgrown this book.

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 TAROT FOR PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT
The following practice can be adopted into your daily routine for strength training of
your psychic abilities. This isn’t a tarot reading technique per se. It’s a private training
exercise that uses the tarot deck as a tool for strengthening your four clairs (clairvoyance,
clairaudience, clairsentience, and claircognizance). The Spirit Keeper’s Tarot is crafted
intentionally to advance such forms of psychic training and development.
Start each training session with the following recitation:
Angel Who Records, whose Hand seals upon the Book of
Remembrance, who bears witness to All to enumerate every
deed, since Creation, from the beginning of the world to this
day, from my cradle to my grave, I invoke you to read to me,
to show me, to transcribe upon my heart, to place upon the
mantle of my mind the pages of the Book I petition for. Let it
be the Truth. Let that Truth, come what may, ever be used to
work the Highest Good. And so may it be.
You’ll also need a notebook reserved exclusively for documenting the training
exercises. At the same time every day, proceed with the same simple ritual, then pull a single
card, two, or pull three cards from your deck. Don’t pull more than five. Keep it simple. Also,
don’t use tarot spreads. Just pull cards.
Before you pull the cards, anchor the reading not to a specific question, but to a subject
point. For example, a personal event that will happen that week, or national financial or
business news, political news, science or health, etc.
Next, forget everything you know about tarot reading. Instead, you want to visualize
the imagery depicted on the card or the narrative landscaped formed by the sum of the cards
you’ve pulled.
Then move beyond the physical edges of the card spread to see what is not there. Let’s
use Three of Orbs to illustrate. Study what you see within the four corners of the card’s
imagery. Then visualize the same scene in your mind’s eye. Close your eyes and walk into
the scene. Study the etchings on the stone walls. Pick up the tools on the steps and turn them
over in the palms of your hands. Then make your way through the archway and down through
the long tunnel. Keep going through the tunnel, taking your time, until you make it out the

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other side. As soon as you emerge from the tunnel,
beyond the scope of what has been drawn on The
Mason card, look around you with your mind’s eye.
What do you see? How does the landscape look on the
other side of the tunnel?
Document what you’re experiencing and
sensing. Utilize creative visualization and imagine the
scene unfold in as much detail as your creativity can
summon up. Meanwhile, note to yourself: is the
landscape realistic or a fantastical world? Is it a
plausible geographic region on our Earth or are you
somewhere else entirely? Are there a lot of people
around you or are you by yourself? Is the landscape
verdant or decayed? Are there animals? Take in as
much as you can and write all of it down to assess later.
Step into the shoes of the figure in the Four of
Chalices, The Hollow Void. Do you drink from the
chalice offered to you? If you get up and walk around
that tree toward the harbor, what do you see?
In the Five of Chalices, step into the shoes of
the cloaked figure and cross the river toward the pentagram etched onto the ground. Take a
closer look at that pentagram. Is it made of stones arranged in formation? Or something else?
Head toward the shoes. Listen to the sounds around you: can you hear the weather and if yes,
how does it sound? Can you hear the waterfall? Beyond what is pictured in the frame, is there
any other life around?
For the exercise, you want to be as literal and as specific as possible. We don’t want
themes or generalities or merely “energies.” We want to literally and precisely see, hear, or
experience something within our mind that is beyond the ordinary chronology of space-time.
Case in point, you pull the Three of Chalices, walk around the three women and head for the
pasture behind them. Right behind the women, out of view in the actual illustration, you come
upon apples on the ground. Pay attention to how your imagination and creative visualization
led you to see apples on the ground. Perhaps it is because the very next day at the grocery

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store in the fruit aisle, you bump into an old childhood friend who is literally holding an apple
in her hand. That is the specificity you are aiming for with your training.

The next important step is to write everything down and journal the visualization
exercises. Date each entry, note the cards drawn, note every impression you experienced with
your mind’s eye, mind’s ear, scents, sensations, emotions, everything. For each entry, leave
enough blank space so you can revisit the entry later and write in feedback. You have to
revisit every entry and write in feedback. The feedback step is how you reinforce the psychic
training.
Let’s say the anchor point you give yourself is headline news. Hold the deck in your
hands, recite the invocation to the Angel Who Records while shuffling, then continue
shuffling and direct your focus to headline news in the coming week. Pin that topic—headline
news in the coming week—into your cards as you shuffle. Then draw a single card, or two.
If you prefer to work in narrative sets, pull three. To demonstrate, I’ll pull a single card, and
I draw the Six of Chalices.

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I’ll take time to study the imagery of the card, then imprint it
into my mind. I’ll close my eyes, enter the scene, and through
creative visualization, decide to walk into the cottage.
Suddenly, however, for no rational reason, an ominous
sensation overcomes me and I that something inside the
cottage is burning and now much of the interior has caught on
fire. I’ve walked in to a burning house. Immediately I rush
back out. I look around for some means of putting the fire out,
but can’t. I run until I am a safe distance away, then tell myself
to emerge from the scene. I open my eyes and I’m back in
ordinary consciousness.
Over the next week or so, I might scour the frontpage
news for articles about fires in residential areas or references
to fires. Also look for the imagery, symbolism, omens, or
impressions you saw in your reading that connect to actual
events happening. When you find a match, document it in
your notebook. Or if the anchor point was more personal,
when an event occurs in your life that matches the reading, be sure to jot that down, noting
date, time, location, as many actual details as you can.
Initially, the psychic hits may feel insignificant, e.g., you saw a puppy and then two
days later on a walk around the neighborhood a similar looking dog came up to you and
wagged his tail. It doesn’t matter. Record the results in your notebook. Over time, the hits
will become more significant, more impactful, and you will be able to measure the
improvement of your success rate. You’ll have dramatically enhanced your psychic abilities
and those abilities can now be transferred into your tarot readings.
Also, the small successes build up your confidence in yourself, and soon you’re more
likely to trust and act on your own hunches. Before long, small successes become big
successes. Be patient with yourself. This is just like working out at the gym to get fit: muscles
do not build overnight. For me, I didn’t notice significant improvement until after a year of
dedicated training. Commit to the exercise and you may just find it to be a radical
gamechanger not just in your readings and the caliber of your intuition, but even in your
outlook and convictions in the concept of psychic ability. Your Spirit Keeper’s Tarot deck
was encoded in such a way as to facilitate such exercises of psychic development.

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 READING WITH REVERSALS

The Spirit Keeper’s Tarot is designed with the intention of being versatile enough to
accommodate both readers who observe reversals and readers who do not. In my own
practice, I have two working SKT decks out on my reading table. One contains reversals and
I read with reversals when using it while the other does not and so I do not observe reversals
when reading with the second. And having had both decks out since the birth of the deck, I
can report back to you now that I tend to reach for the one without reversals. Thus, I primarily
read SKT without reversals. But to each their own. Your copy of the SKT deck may call to
you in a different from how my copy calls to me.
I find that for myself, the tonality of readings from the reversals deck is very different
from the no reversals deck. The reversals deck comes across a little sharper, more direct, and
the force pushing the cards into the reading feels more consistently like it’s coming from the
unknown beyond. The force I intuit pushing cards into a reading from the no reversals deck
is more open to a case by case basis—sometimes it’s something from beyond; most of the
time it’s coming from my own inner voice.
Speaking strictly from the limited perspective of my religious and deeply personal
views, my Holy Guardian Angel comes through with greater clarity in the no reversals deck
and the no reversals deck is the one I reach for when communing with Divinity or the Higher
Genius. Whereas the reversals deck is the one I reach for when I want a more—and this is
just me using lazy terminology to describe it—“lower chakra” reading. The terminology is
inaccurate and doesn’t have any bearing on the lower chakras or chakras at all, but for some
reason, when I say “lower chakra reading” to this audience, you just know what I mean.

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 Whether Spirit Keeper’s Tarot reads better for you with reversals or without will rest
on your style and approach to reading, how your mind works best, and so many other factors
that are case specific to you. What holds absolutely and reliably true for one may not work at
all for another.
Reading with reversals has never at any point in space-time elevated a tarot reader’s
sophistication, accuracy, or intellect, much like how taking your coffee black instead of
loaded up with cream and sugar doesn’t make you a better human being.
If you do decide for yourself that you want to read the deck with reversals, here’s how
I recommend reading the reversals within the context of the card meanings provided in this
book: consider the mnemonic WIND. When a card appears in reversed, first read the
corresponding card entry in this book. Then consider the four prongs to interpreting a reversed
card:
The WIND Mnemonic for Reading Reversals

W Weakened The energy expressed by the card is present and relevant, but
weakened by overpowering forces. That overpowering force
could very well be yourself, subconsciously, and so the
energy expressed in the card is being weakened or blocked
by you.

I Inverted Direction that the energy flows in is the opposite of what

you’re thinking, or the reversed card means the opposite of
what it means when upright.

N Negative The energy expressed by the card has a negative influence, or

if that energy is given space to fully manifest, the impact on
you will be negative.

D Delayed The seeds for the energy has been sowed, so now its prospects
are present, but whether it will indeed come through is not
yet certain. There may be delays in the way the energy
ultimately comes through.

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 When a reversed card appears, immediately
think “WIND.” First ask yourself whether the energies
conveyed by the card might be Weakened. Simply
consider it. Intuit whether the shoe fits. Maybe The
Contender (Five of Scepters) reversed is suggesting
that competition has come and gone and you weren’t
even aware you were in the competition.
Continue on to consider whether the energies of
the card has been Inverted—what you think it is,
meaning the direction you believe the energy is flowing
is in fact the opposite. You think the competition is
heavy and you’re being blamed for the issues, but The
Contender (Five of Scepters) reversed is conveying that
might not be the case; instead, you’re the one who is
trying to be in competition with others and you’re just
blaming yourself.
Maybe the reversal is to indicate the energies
Negated (or Negative). The Contender reversed is
adding opinion to the circumstance (upright, an energy
that comes through is blame), where in reversed, the
message is: stop blaming others. Whereas The
Defector, or Eight of Chalices, in reverse might be a message that changing positions or
moving on from where you are now isn’t going to be fruitful for you.
Finally, consider whether the energy is being Delayed. The Defector reversed might
be noting that you’re thinking of moving on, departing, but the message is to wait—not yet—
delay the departure for the time being. If you’re asking whether to move on from a
circumstance in your life and enter a new phase, the Eight of Chalices reversed might indicate
yes, but there will be delays in that transition.
This reversals reading method may seem so simple that it doesn’t feel esoteric or
intelligent enough to be effective. And yet it works. If you’re reading reversals, run through
the four possibilities, WIND, and then make an intuitive determination as to which of the
possibilities is most likely to be the message coming through.

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 I’ve heard the argument that reading with
reversals means you are now working with 156
different card meanings (78 card meanings in the deck,
doubled), with the implication that the reader working
with 156 meanings is better than the reader working
with 78. Such an argument shows a rather perfunctory
understanding of how a tarot deck works when
activated by the psyche of its handler.
There isn’t 156 meanings when you read with
reversals and only 78 when you don’t. The tarot isn’t
that kind of simpleton math.
Card meanings come from you. They always
have. Any sense of “universal card meanings” are
coming from a collective agreement within a culture of
what certain symbols mean, and you are part of that
culture, so you share in that collective agreement.
When you are not a part of that culture, then you
do not share in the collective agreement, so the meaning
of symbols will be different for you.
Within the world of tarot, reading with reversals
and reading without are two distinct and separate cultures. How the symbols then function
within one culture (say, the culture of reversals) will be different from how they function
within the other (the culture of no reversals).
That is why nothing is added or taken away by your choice over reversals. It is merely
a choice between two cultures, and then once you’ve made that choice, the way the deck will
read for you and the symbols that come up to convey the message will be based on the choice
of culture. In both cultures of reading with reversals and reading without, you are working
with 78 keys. Those reading with reversals are not suddenly availed twice the number of keys
than those reading without. Rather, reading with reversals is about approaching those 78 keys
with a slightly different perspective from those reading without.

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 TAROT SYSTEM EQUIVALENTS
Major Arcana 22 Keys
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
(SKT) (TdM) (RWS)
0: The Initiate 0: The Fool 0: The Fool 0: The Fool
0: The Seeker
0: The Keeper
1: The Magus I: The Magician I: The Magician I: The Magus
(or The Juggler) (or The Juggler)
2: The Priestess II: The Popess II: The High Priestess II: The Priestess
(or The High
Priestess)
3: The Empress III: The Empress III: The Empress III: The Empress
4: The Emperor IV: The Emperor IV: The Emperor IV: The Emperor
5: The Holy See V: The Pope V: The Hierophant V: The Hierophant
6: The Lovers VI: The Lovers VI: The Lovers VI: The Lovers
(or The Brothers)
7: The Chariot VII: The Chariot VII: The Chariot VII: The Chariot
8: The Force VIII: Justice VIII: Strength VIII: Adjustment
[XI: Strength] [XI: Lust]
9: The Erudite IX: The Hermit IX: The Hermit IX: The Hermit
10: Wheel of Life X: The Wheel of X: Wheel of Fortune X: Fortune
Fortune
11: The Chancellor XI: Strength XI: Justice XI: Lust
[VIII: Justice] [VIII: Adjustment]
12: The Outlaw XII: The Hanged Man XII: The Hanged Man XII: The Hanged
Man
13: The Reaper XIII: Death XIII: Death XIII: Death
(Untitled)

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Spirit Keeper’s Tarot Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
(SKT) (TdM) (RWS)
14: The Angel XIV: Temperance XIV: Temperance XIV: Art
15: The Demon XV: The Devil XV: The Devil XV: The Devil
16: The Tower XVI: The Tower XVI: The Tower XVI: The Tower
(or The House of God) (or War)
17: The Healer XVII: The Star XVII: The Star XVII: The Star
18: The Necromancer XVIII: The Moon XVIII: The Moon Key XVIII: The
Moon
19: The Warrior XIX: The Sun XIX: The Sun Key XIX: The Sun
20: Apocalypse XX: The Judgment XX: Judgment Key XX: The Aeon
21: New World Order XXI: The World XXI: The World Key XXI: The
Universe
Minor Arcana Scepters, Batons, Wands
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
Tarot (SKT) (TdM) (RWS)
Sacred Fire Ace of Batons Ace of Wands Root of the Powers
Ace of Scepters of Fire
The Discerning One Two of Batons Two of Wands Two of Wands:
Two of Scepters Dominion
The Politic Three of Batons Three of Wands Three of Wands:
Three of Scepters Virtue
The Demiurge Four of Batons Four of Wands Four of Wands:
Four of Scepters Completion
The Contender Five of Batons Five of Wands Five of Wands:
Five of Scepters Strife
The Champion Six of Batons Six of Wands Six of Wands:
Six of Scepters Victory

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Spirit Keeper’s Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
Tarot (TdM) (RWS)
(SKT)
The Dark Horse Seven of Batons Seven of Wands Seven of Wands:
Seven of Scepters Valour
The Sharpshooter Eight of Batons Eight of Wands Eight of Wands:
Eight of Scepters Swiftness
The Malaise Nine of Batons Nine of Wands Nine of Wands:
Nine of Scepters Strength
The Burdened One Ten of Batons Ten of Wands Ten of Wands:
Ten of Scepters Oppression
Stronghold of the Page of Batons Page of Wands Princess of Wands
Flame
Page of Scepters
The Shining Flame Knight of Batons Knight of Wands Prince of Wands
Knight of Scepters
The Golden Shield Queen of Batons Queen of Wands Queen of Wands
Queen of Scepters
Archangel of Glory King of Batons King of Wands Knight of Wands
King of Scepters
Minor Arcana Chalices, Cups
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
Tarot (SKT) (TdM) (RWS)
Holy Water Ace of Cups Ace of Cups Root of the Powers
Ace of Chalices of Water
The Joined One Two of Cups Two of Cups Two of Cups: Love
Two of Chalices
The Kindred Three of Cups Three of Cups Three of Cups:
Three of Chalices Abundance

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Spirit Keeper’s Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
Tarot (SKT) (TdM) (RWS)
The Hollow Void Four of Cups Four of Cups Four of Cups:
Four of Chalices Luxury
The Grotesque Five of Cups Five of Cups Five of Cups:
Five of Chalices Disappointment
The Memory Six of Cups Six of Cups Six of Cups:
Keeper Pleasure
Six of Chalices
The Corrupter Seven of Cups Seven of Cups Seven of Cups:
Seven of Chalices Debauch
The Defector Eight of Cups Eight of Cups Eight of Cups:
Eight of Chalices Indolence
The Wish Granted Nine of Cups Nine of Cups Nine of Cups:
Nine of Chalices Happiness
The Joyous One Ten of Cups Ten of Cups Ten of Cups: Satiety
Ten of Chalices
Stronghold of the Page of Cups Page of Cups Princess of Cups
Grail
Page of Chalices
The Shining Dew Knight of Cups Knight of Cups Prince of Cups
Knight of Chalices
The Ivory Shield Queen of Cups Queen of Cups Queen of Cups
Queen of Chalices
Archangel of King of Cups King of Cups Knight of Cups
Healing
King of Chalices

176
Minor Arcana Swords
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
(SKT) (TdM) (RWS)
Sacred Cinnabar Ace of Swords Ace of Swords Root of the Powers of
Ace of Swords Air
The Blind Seer Two of Swords Two of Swords Two of Swords:
Two of Swords Peace
The Bereaved Three of Swords Three of Swords Three of Swords:
Three of Swords Sorrow
The Convalescent Four of Swords Four of Swords Four of Swords:
Four of Swords Truce
The Hector Five of Swords Five of Swords Five of Swords:
Five of Swords Defeat
The Ferryman Six of Swords Six of Swords Six of Swords:
Six of Swords Science
The Rogue Seven of Swords Seven of Swords Seven of Swords:
Seven of Swords Futility
The Captor Eight of Swords Eight of Swords Eight of Swords:
Eight of Swords Interference
The Haunt Nine of Swords Nine of Swords Nine of Swords:
Nine of Swords Cruelty
The Destroyer Ten of Swords Ten of Swords Ten of Swords: Ruin
Ten of Swords
Stronghold of the Page of Swords Page of Swords Princess of Swords
Zephyrs
Page of Swords
The Shining Winds Knight of Swords Knight of Swords Prince of Swords
Knight of Swords
The Scarlet Shield Queen of Swords Queen of Swords Queen of Swords
Queen of Swords
Archangel King of Swords King of Swords Knight of Swords
Commander
King of Swords

177
Minor Arcana Orbs, Coins, Pentacles, Disks
Spirit Keeper’s Tarot Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth
(SKT) (TdM) (RWS)
Bread of Life Ace of Coins Ace of Pentacles Root of the Powers
Ace of Orbs of Earth
The Nocturne Two of Coins Two of Pentacles Two of Disks:
Two of Orbs Change
The Mason Three of Coins Three of Pentacles Three of Disks:
Three of Orbs Works
The Conservator Four of Coins Four of Pentacles Four of Disks: Power
Four of Orbs
The Vagabond Five of Coins Five of Pentacles Five of Disks: Worry
Five of Orbs
The Giver Six of Coins Six of Pentacles Six of Disks:
Six of Orbs Success
The Gardener Seven of Coins Seven of Pentacles Seven of Disks:
Seven of Orbs Failure
The Journeyman Eight of Coins Eight of Pentacles Eight of Disks:
Eight of Orbs Prudence
The Eminence Nine of Coins Nine of Pentacles Nine of Disks: Gain
Nine of Orbs
The Dynasty Ten of Coins Ten of Pentacles Ten of Disks: Wealth
Ten of Orbs
Stronghold of the Vale Page of Coins Page of Pentacles Princess of Disks
Page of Orbs
The Shining Quarry Knight of Coins Knight of Pentacles Prince of Disks
Knight of Orbs
The Ebony Shield Queen of Coins Queen of Pentacles Queen of Disks
Queen of Orbs
Archangel of King of Coins King of Pentacles Knight of Disks
Mysteries
King of Orbs

178
 CORRESPONDENCE TABLES

ELEMENTAL CORRESPONDENCES
For the Four Elements and Spirit Keeper’s Tarot

FIRE WATER AIR EARTH

Astral Body Soul Mind Physical Body

Spirit Soul Astral Body Physical Body

(Paul Foster Case) (Paul Foster Case) (Paul Foster Case) (Paul Foster Case)

SCEPTER in each Realm CHALICE in each Realm SWORD in each Realm ORB in each Realm

Archangel (King) Shield (Queen) Shining One (Knight) Stronghold (Page)

Key 4: The Emperor Key 7: The Chariot Key 11: The Chancellor Key 15: The Demon
(Cardinal, Aries) (Cardinal, Cancer) (Cardinal, Libra) (Cardinal, Capricorn)

Key 8: The Force Key 13: The Reaper Key 17: The Healer Key 5: The Holy See
(Fixed, Leo) (Fixed, Scorpio) (Fixed, Aquarius) (Fixed, Taurus)

Key 14: The Angel Key 18: The Key 6: The Lovers Key 9: The Erudite
(Mutable, Sagittarius) Necromancer (Mutable, Gemini) (Mutable, Virgo)
(Mutable, Pisces)

Ceylon Cinnamon Myrrh Lemongrass Cassia Cinnamon

Angelica Root Chamomile Witch Hazel Apple Blossom

179
 GLYPH CORRESPONDENCES OF THE MAJOR ARCANA KEYS (GOLDEN DAWN)

Glyph Major Arcanum Conventional Indications Natal or Transits Astrology

0 – The Seeker Balancing, rejuvenating; Rationalize Check house of Uranus

☿ 1 – The Magus Acumen, strength of mind and voice Check Mercury sign and house

☽ 2 – The Priestess Intuitive knowledge Check moon sign and house

♀ 3 – The Empress Attracting the auspicious Check Venus sign and house

 4 – The Emperor
 5 – The Holy See
 6 – The Lovers
 7 – The Chariot
 8 – The Force
 9 – The Erudite
The warrior king; leading the charge Check house of Aries
Steer of heaven; builder of traditions Check house of Taurus
The great twins: agilility, persuasion Check house of Gemini
Spiritual protection Check house of Cancer
Radiance; glory, grace, honor Check house of Leo
Learned, perceptive; to enlighten Check house of Virgo

♃ 10 – Wheel of Life Success factor; metrics of luck; growth Check Jupiter sign and house

 11 – The Chancellor The Middle Path; impartiality Check house of Libra

12 – The Outlaw Receiving; The Idealist receives blame Check house of Neptune
 13 – The Reaper Unlocking mysteries; shapeshifting Check house of Scorpio
 14 – The Angel The sage; the polymath; exploration Check house of Sagittarius
 15 – The Demon Power of influence; vainglory Check house of Capricorn

♂ 16 – The Tower What is at stake in the fight Check Mars sign and house

 17 – The Healer The humanitarian, the missionary Check house of Aquarius

 18 – The Necromancer The martyr, the messiah; vision quest Check house of Pisces

☉ 19 – The Warrior Public glory, validation Check sun sign and house
20 – Apocalypse Emitting; The Creator comes forth Check house of Pluto

♄ 21 – New World Order Attaining a wise perspective Check Saturn sign and house

180
 GLYPH CORRESPONDENCES OF THE MAJOR ARCANA KEYS
Glyph Major Arcanum
0 – The Seeker
☿ 1 – The Magus
☽ 2 – The Priestess
♀ 3 – The Empress
 4 – The Emperor
 5 – The Holy See
 6 – The Lovers
 7 – The Chariot
 8 – The Force
 9 – The Erudite
♃ 10 – Wheel of Life
 11 – The Chancellor
12 – The Outlaw
 13 – The Reaper
 14 – The Angel
 15 – The Demon
♂ 16 – The Tower
 17 – The Healer
 18 – The Necromancer February 19 – March 20
☉ 19 – The Warrior
20 – Apocalypse
♄ 21 – New World Order
Timing (Seasons & Path of the Sun) Gifts of the Magi
The next full moon Astral travel; vision quest
Alchemical science
Prophetic dreams
Power of conjure
March 21 – April 19; March equinox Martial and military arts
April 20 – May 20 Consecration; anointing
May 21 – June 20 Pathworking
June 21 – July 22; June solstice Past life and ancestor work
July 23 – August 22 Animal communication
August 23 – September 22 Edification; arcane sciences
Political prowess
September 23 – October 22; Sept. equinox Theurgy
The next quarter moon (waxing or
Scrying; divination
waning)
October 23 – November 21 Shamanic journeying
November 22 – December 21 Ritual purification
December 22 – January 19; Dec. solstice Maleficium
Power to defeat
January 20 – February 18 Medicine; astrology
Necromancy, mediumship
Glory and eminence
The next new moon Evocation; palmistry
Great Work achieved
181
 KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MAJOR ARCANA

Element Major Arcanum Hebrew Letter Pitch Color Wave Golden Dawn
0 – The Seeker Aleph E Pale Yellow Air
1 – The Magus Beth E Bold Yellow Mercury
2 – The Priestess Gimmel G sharp Blue Moon
3 – The Empress Daleth F sharp Emerald Venus
4 – The Emperor Heh C Scarlet Red Aries
5 – The Holy See Vav C sharp Red-Orange Taurus
6 – The Lovers Zain D Orange Gemini
7 – The Chariot Cheth D sharp Amber Cancer
8 – The Force Teth E Lime Leo
9 – The Erudite Yod F Chartreuse Virgo
10 – Wheel of Life Kaph A sharp Violet Jupiter
11 – The Chancellor Lamed F sharp Emerald Libra
12 – The Outlaw Mem G sharp Dark Blue Water
13 – The Reaper Nun G Blue-Green Scorpio
14 – The Angel Samekh G sharp Blue Sagittarius
15 – The Demon Ayin A Blue-Violet Capricorn
16 – The Tower Peh C Scarlet Red Mars
17 – The Healer Tzaddi A sharp Violet Aquarius
18 – The Necromancer Qoph B Magenta Pisces
19 – The Warrior Resh D Orange Sun
20 – Apocalypse Shin C Carnelian Fire
21 – New World Order Tav (rest note) Indigo Saturn

Golden Dawn derives its 12 zodiac attributions and 3 elemental attributions from the Sepher Yetzirah but revised the 7
planetary attributions to follow their own theosophical system of planetary attributions.

182
 KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MAJOR ARCANA
Modern Hebrew Phoenician
Major Arcanum Sefirot Path
Astrology Letter Alphabet
0 – The Seeker Keter to Chokhmah ♅ ‫א‬
1 – The Magus Keter to Binah ☿ ‫ב‬
2 – The Priestess Keter to Tiferet ☽ ‫ג‬
3 – The Empress Chokhmah to Binah ♀ ‫ד‬
4 – The Emperor Chokhmah to Tiferet  ‫ה‬
5 – The Holy See Chokhmah to Chesad  ‫ו‬
6 – The Lovers Binah to Tiferet  ‫ז‬
7 – The Chariot Binah to Gevurah  ‫ח‬
8 – The Force Chesad to Gevurah  ‫ט‬
9 – The Erudite Chesad to Tiferet  ‫י‬
10 – Wheel of Life Chesad to Netzach ♃ ‫כ‬
11 – The Chancellor Gevurah to Tiferet  ‫ל‬
12 – The Outlaw Gevurah to Hod ♆ ‫מ‬
13 – The Reaper Tiferet to Netzach  ‫נ‬
14 – The Angel Tiferet to Yesod  ‫ס‬
15 – The Demon Tiferet to Hod  ‫ע‬
16 – The Tower Netzach to Hod ♂ ‫פ‬
17 – The Healer Netzach to Yesod  ‫צ‬
18 – The Necromancer Netzach to Malkuth  ‫ק‬
19 – The Warrior Hod to Yesod ☉ ‫ר‬
20 – Apocalypse Hod to Malkuth ‫ש‬
21 – New World Order Yesod to Malkuth ♄ ‫ת‬

183
 KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MAJOR ARCANA
Reconciliation and synthesis of Hermetic, Theosophical, and Mary K. Greer texts.

Personality Soul Theosophical Attribute

Major Arcanum
Number Number Septenary Manifested
0 – The Seeker 22 4 ------- Inaugurate
1 – The Magus 1 1 Self Focus, Mastery
2 – The Priestess 2 2 Soul Esoteric Knowledge
3 – The Empress 3 3 Will Creativity, Mettā
4 – The Emperor 4 4 Desire Temporal Power
5 – The Holy See 5 5 Force Spiritual Power
6 – The Lovers 6 6 Astral Passion
7 – The Chariot 7 7 Material Creating Change
8 – The Force 8 8 Self Audacity, Bravura
9 – The Erudite 9 9 Soul Wisdom, Guidance
10 – Wheel of Life 10 1 Will Consequence, Karma
11 – The Chancellor 11 2 Desire Truth, Veracity
12 – The Outlaw 12 3 Force Mindfulness
13 – The Reaper 13 4 Astral Transmutation
14 – The Angel 14 5 Material Equanimity
15 – The Demon 15 6 Self Rapture
16 – The Tower 16 7 Soul Demolish, Oust
17 – The Healer 17 8 Will Healing, Mending
18 – The Necromancer 18 9 Desire Revealing
19 – The Warrior 19 1 Force Heroic Acts
20 – Apocalypse 20 2 Astral Epiphany, Announce
21 – New World Order 21 3 Material Divine Androgyne

According to Greer, the Personality Number is the first theosophical reduction of the sum of your birth month, birth
day, and birth year, down to 1 through 22. If that number is a single digit, then that is also your Soul Number. If the
Personality Number is double digits, then reduce the double digits to a single digit, 1 through 9, and that is your Soul
Number. Ex. For someone born March 18, 1988, the Personality Number is 11 (The Chancellor) and the Soul Number
is 2 (The Priestess). The Personality Number is your innate character, disposition, persona, and temperament. It’s
your psyche. The Soul Number sheds light on your life purpose, the Great Work destined by your soul, and how best
you personally contribute to the greater good. Soul Numbers 1-3 have 3 Keys; all others have 2.

184
 KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MAJOR ARCANA
Reconciliation and synthesis of texts by Comte C. de Saint-Germain,
Paul Christian, J. Augustus Knapp, and Manly P. Hall

Major Arcanum Stone C. C. de Saint-Germain Spirit’s Journey (Theosophy)

0 – The Seeker Azurite The Crocodile Foolishness
1 – The Magus Fire Opal The Magus Divinity in Man
2 – The Priestess Selenite Gate of the Sanctuary Creative Power
3 – The Empress Jade Isis-Urania Desire, Restlessness
4 – The Emperor Ruby The Cubic Stone Power to Control
5 – The Holy See Bronzite Master of the Arcanes Highest Intellect
6 – The Lovers Apatite The Two Ways Love
7 – The Chariot Pearl Chariot of Osiris Freedom by Knowledge
8 – The Force Carnelian The Tamed Lion Cycle of Judgment *
9 – The Erudite Bloodstone The Veiled Lamp Conquest of Emotions
10 – Wheel of Life Sapphire The Sphinx Destiny Turning
11 – The Chancellor Emerald Balance and the Sword Will Power *
12 – The Outlaw Fluorite The Sacrifice A Probationary Cycle
13 – The Reaper Shungite The Reaping Skeleton Passage to Rebirth
14 – The Angel Amethyst The Two Urns Ability to Harmonize
15 – The Demon Obsidian Typhon / The Serpent Evil Conditions
16 – The Tower Garnet Thunderstruck Tower Unexpected Happening
17 – The Healer Aquamarine Star of the Magi Gift of the Spirit (Hope)
18 – The Necromancer Moonstone Twilight Bringing into Form
19 – The Warrior Amber Dazzling Light Expanded Consciousness
20 – Apocalypse Malachite Rising of the Dead Higher Consciousness
21 – New World Order Lapis Lazuli Crown of the Magi Cosmic Consciousness

* “Cycle of Judgment” corresponds with the classic tarot Justice card (The Chancellor) as Key 8 and “Will Power”
corresponds with Strength (The Force) as Key 11. European Theosophists noted that the trump sequence (per the
Tarot de Marseille structure) charts the spirit’s journey descending into matter and then finally transcending matter
(“The Progress of the Soul through Matter”). In particular, Keys 11, 12, and 13 recapitulate the material obstacles to
the spiritual ascent.

185
 KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MINOR ARCANA
Reconciliation and synthesis of Golden Dawn, Paul Foster Case, and Hermetic Qabalist texts.

Minor Arcanum Astrology (Trad.) Sefirah Western Alchemy

Ace of Scepters Point of Aries; Spring Equinox Keter Sacred Fire: Sulfur
Two of Scepters Mars in Aries, Mar. 21 - 30 Chokhmah Separation + Calcination
Three of Scepters Sun in Aries, Mar. 31 - Apr. 10 Binah Coagulation + Calcination
Four of Scepters Venus in Aries, Apr. 11 - 20 Chesad Conjunction + Calcination
Five of Scepters Saturn in Leo, Jul. 21 - Aug. 1 Gevurah Calcination + Fermentation
Six of Scepters Jupiter in Leo, Aug. 2 - Aug. 10 Tiferet Dissolution + Fermentation
Seven of Scepters Mars in Leo, Aug. 11 - 22 Netzach Separation + Fermentation
Eight of Scepters Mercury in Sagittarius, Nov. 23 - Dec. 2 Hod Fermentation + Calcination
Nine of Scepters Moon in Sagittarius, Dec. 3-12 Yesod Distillation + Calcination
Ten of Scepters Saturn in Sagittarius, Dec. 13-22 Malkuth Double Calcination Process
Page of Scepters Aries, Leo, Sagittarius Malkuth Earth in Fire
Knight of Scepters Aries, Leo, Sagittarius Tiferet Air in Fire
Queen of Scepters Aries, Leo, Sagittarius Binah Water in Fire
King of Scepters Aries, Leo, Sagittarius Chokhmah Fire in Fire

Seasonal correspondence for Ace based on Cardinal Fire (Aries), March.

Stage of the Magnum Opus: Citrinitas (Awakening)
In short-term timing, Scepters might signify days (elemental Fire links to solar energies, solar is day).
E.g., Five of Scepters is five days.

Seven Stages of Alchemy

Stage 1. Calcination: To burn limestone, decompose that which was volatile; heat treatment for
transformation; to corrode so that only the purest essences will remain; to disintegrate worldly and material
attachments; self-examination; to seek spiritual discipline or training

186
 Cont’d. KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MINOR ARCANA
Reconciliation and synthesis of Golden Dawn, Paul Foster Case, and Hermetic Qabalist texts.

Minor Arcanum Astrology (Trad.) Sefirah Western Alchemy

Ace of Chalices Summer Solstice; Imum Coeli Keter Holy Water: Water
Two of Chalices Venus in Cancer, Jun. 21 - Jul. 1 Chokhmah Conjunction + Dissolution
Binah Fermentation +
Three of Chalices Mercury in Cancer, Jul. 2 - 12
Dissolution
Four of Chalices Moon in Cancer, Jul. 13 - 20 Chesad Distillation + Dissolution
Five of Chalices Mars in Scorpio, Oct. 23 - Nov. 1 Gevurah Double Separation Process
Six of Chalices Sun in Scorpio, Nov. 2 - 11 Tiferet Coagulation + Separation
Seven of Chalices Venus in Scorpio, Nov. 12 - 22 Netzach Conjunction + Separation
Eight of Chalices Saturn in Pisces, Feb. 19 - 28 Hod Calcination + Coagulation
Nine of Chalices Jupiter in Pisces, Mar. 1 - 10 Yesod Dissolution + Coagulation
Ten of Chalices Mars in Pisces, Mar. 11 - 20 Malkuth Separation + Coagulation
Page of Chalices Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces Malkuth Earth in Water
Knight of Chalices Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces Tiferet Air in Water
Queen of Chalices Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces Binah Water in Water
King of Chalices Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces Chokhmah Fire in Water

Seasonal correspondence for Ace based on Cardinal Water (Cancer), June.

Stage of the Magnum Opus: Albedo (Purification)
In short-term timing, Chalices might signify months (elemental Water links to lunar energies, lunar is
month). E.g., Three of Chalices is three months.

Stage 2. Dissolution: To reduce to ash, to break down and dissolve solids into a liquid so energy can flow
more freely; to bring to an end that which needs to end; breaking down as the prerequisite phase for restoring
stability
Stage 3. Separation: To isolate the parts of a whole and discern that which is unproductive from that which
is productive; the reclaiming of parts within the self that had been eclipsed by other more prominent parts of
the self

187
 Cont’d. KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MINOR ARCANA
Reconciliation and synthesis of Golden Dawn, Paul Foster Case, and Hermetic Qabalist texts.

Minor Arcanum Astrology (Trad.) Sefirah Western Alchemy

Ace of Swords Autumnal Equinox; Point of Libra Keter Sword of the Spirit: Mercury
Two of Swords Moon in Libra, Sep. 23 - Oct. 2 Chokhmah Double Distillation Process
Three of Swords Saturn in Libra, Oct. 3 - 12 Binah Calcination + Distillation
Four of Swords Jupiter in Libra, Oct. 13 - 22 Chesad Dissolution + Distillation
Five of Swords Venus in Aquarius, Jan. 20 - 29 Gevurah Conjunction + Coagulation
Mercury in Aquarius, Jan. 30 - Feb. Tiferet Fermentation + Coagulation
Six of Swords
8
Seven of Swords Moon in Aquarius, Feb. 9 - 18 Netzach Distillation + Coagulation
Eight of Swords Jupiter in Gemini, May 21 - 30 Hod Dissolution + Coagulation
Nine of Swords Mars in Gemini, Jun 1 - 10 Yesod Separation + Coagulation
Ten of Swords Sun in Gemini, Jun 11 - 20 Malkuth Double Coagulation Process
Page of Swords Gemini, Libra, Aquarius Malkuth Earth in Air
Knight of Swords Gemini, Libra, Aquarius Tiferet Air in Air
Queen of Swords Gemini, Libra, Aquarius Binah Water in Air
King of Swords Gemini, Libra, Aquarius Chokhmah Fire in Air

Seasonal correspondence for Ace based on Cardinal Air (Libra), September.

Stage of the Magnum Opus: Rubedo (Actualization)
In short-term timing, Swords might signify weeks. E.g., Seven of Swords is seven weeks.

Stage 4. Conjunction: To combine after separation in order to form a new substance; union of the
dichotomy; union to strengthen and union for advancement; to amplify personal power by acknowledgement
and marriage of different parts of the self
Stage 5. Fermentation: Putrefaction; to first cause decay and then to resurrect and prompt growth; to
embody and acknowledge that which is foul and then to spiritually purify, to cause the decaying self to die and
to reanimate the enlightened self

188
 Cont’d. KEY CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE MINOR ARCANA
Reconciliation and synthesis of Golden Dawn, Paul Foster Case, and Hermetic Qabalist texts.

Minor Sefirah Western Alchemy

Astrology (Trad.)
Arcanum
Ace of Orbs Winter Solstice; Medium Coeli Keter Bread of Life: Salt
Two of Orbs Jupiter in Capricorn, Dec. 21 - 30 Chokhmah Dissolution + Fermentation
Three of Orbs Mars in Capricorn, Dec. 31 - Jan. 9 Binah Separation + Fermentation
Four of Orbs Sun in Capricorn, Jan. 10 - 19 Chesad Coagulation + Fermentation
Five of Orbs Mercury in Taurus, Apr. 21 - 30 Gevurah Fermentation + Conjunction
Six of Orbs Moon in Taurus, May 1 - 10 Tiferet Distillation + Conjunction
Seven of Orbs Saturn in Taurus, May 11 - 20 Netzach Calcination + Conjunction
Eight of Orbs Sun in Virgo, Aug. 23 - Sep. 1 Hod Coagulation + Distillation
Nine of Orbs Venus in Virgo, Sep. 2 - 11 Yesod Conjunction + Distillation
Ten of Orbs Mercury in Virgo, Sep. 12 - 22 Malkuth Fermentation + Distillation
Page of Orbs Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn Malkuth Earth in Earth
Knight of Orbs Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn Tiferet Air in Earth
Queen of Orbs Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn Binah Water in Earth
King of Orbs Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn Chokhmah Fire in Earth

Seasonal correspondence for Ace based on Cardinal Earth (Capricorn), December.

Stage of the Magnum Opus: Nigredo (Darkening)
Timing wise, Orbs indicate longer periods than the other suits. Orbs indicate years. E.g., Three of Orbs is
three years.

Stage 6. Distillation: To heat and then condense, thereby purifying; to refine; to convert that which was a
solid into a vapor, an intangible power; to elevate
Stage 7. Coagulation: Clotting; to gel that which was liquid; activation to unite and collect the varied into
one; this is the powder of the Sun; immortalizing by fusing the Elixir of Life with blood; coming in to
actualized knowledge

189
 FORCE MAJEURE PER THE 36 DECANATES IN THE PIPS
Based on the attributions published by MacGregor Mathers.

Minor Arcanum Force Majeure Minor Arcanum Force Majeure

Two of Scepters Dominion Two of Swords Peace Restored
Three of Scepters Established Strength Three of Swords Sorrow
Four of Scepters Perfected Work Four of Swords Rest from Strife
Five of Scepters Strife Five of Swords Defeat
Six of Scepters Victory Six of Swords Earned Success
Seven of Scepters Valor Seven of Swords Unstable Effort
Eight of Scepters Swiftness Eight of Swords Shortened Force
Nine of Scepters Great Strength Nine of Swords Despair & Cruelty
Ten of Scepters Oppression Ten of Swords Ruin
Two of Chalices Love Two of Orbs Harmonious Change
Three of Chalices Abundance Three of Orbs Material Works
Four of Chalices Blended Pleasure Four of Orbs Earthly Power
Five of Chalices Loss in Pleasure Five of Orbs Material Trouble
Six of Chalices Pleasure Six of Orbs Material Success
Seven of Chalices Illusory Success Seven of Orbs Success Unfulfilled
Eight of Chalices Abandoned Success Eight of Orbs Prudence
Nine of Chalices Material Happiness Nine of Orbs Material Gain
Ten of Chalices Perpetual Success Ten of Orbs Wealth

190
 FIRE WATER AIR EARTH

Knowledge Healing Courage Sacred Mysteries

Wisdom Purification Strength Gift of Prophecy

Work, Career Home, Family Ambitions, Glory Money Matters

Passion Project Love, Romance Community Assets, Resources
Personal Identity Relationships Civic Matters Business
Scholarship Domestic Issues Social Politics Commerce
Expansion Spirituality Your Public Face Physical Body
Innovation Poetry, Art Science, Conflicts Industry, Property
STONES: STONES: STONES: STONES:
Amber Blue Lace Agate Amazonite Bronzite
Carnelian Chrysoprase Aquamarine Dark Agates & Jaspers,
Cinnabar Fluorite Azurite Jade
Fire Agate Kunzite Blue Tiger Eye Emerald
Red Goldstone Moonstone Chrysocolla Green Aventurine
Red Tiger Eye Pearl Dumortierite Hematite
Ruby Rose Quartz Iolite Moss Agate
Sunstone Selenite Sodalite Smoky Quartz

OILS & HERBS: OILS & HERBS: OILS & HERBS: OILS & HERBS:
Angelica Root Aloe Vera Frankincense Apple
Apricot Chamomile Hazel Cedarwood
Basil Cucumber Lemongrass Cumin
Bergamot Jasmine Marjoram Cypress
Chili Pepper Lavender Mint Fern, Grain
Citrus Lilac, Lily Myrrh Jujubes
Clove, Garlic Melon Parsley, Sage Mugwort
Ginger Rose Sandalwood Oak
Marigold Tansy Star Anise Oak Moss
Nutmeg Willow Tea Tree Oil Patchouli
Sunflower Ylang Ylang Witch Hazel Vetivert

191
 TREE OF LIFE: SEFIRAH CORRESPONDENCES

In a reading, if several of the same numerical key shows up (e.g., three Fives from the Minors in a spread,
you repeatedly pull the Shields or tarot Queens consecutively over the course of multiple readings, or you
consistently pull cards all corresponding to one sefirah, like Threes and Shields appearing together in a
reading, or Sixes and the Shining Ones appearing in groups), consider the sefirah correspondence and
whether the indications here offer a cohesive overarching message.

Or if you pull a single card, such as The Nocturne, Two of Orbs, supplement your reading of the card with
consideration of its sefirah correspondence. In the example of the Two of Orbs, after considering your
interpretation of the card, you might look to the correspondences for Chokhmah to better grasp the
underlying theme or energetic roots of the reading results.

Keter THE CROWN. Keter represents completion of the Great Work. It is access
to the most potent source of personal power. Keter is a
ACES superconsciousness, a place of pure, healing White Light and emanation
of the Divine. Prognostication of attainment. This is Divine Union.

Chokhmah WISDOM. Chokhmah is the force of moment toward understanding the

Divine God. It is the active, conscious quest toward attainment. Chokhmah
TWOS is one transcended step beyond knowledge. It blends compassion with
ARCHANGELS knowledge for wisdom, for application of knowledge in a way that will be
harmonious with all. Communion with Divinity has transpired.

Binah UNDERSTANDING. Binah is the force of creation and destruction of

matter. It is empowerment and acquisition of the most powerful forms of
THREES knowledge. Binah is attainment of esoteric and occult knowledge.
SHIELDS Consciousness of empowerment. Prophecy of sorrow; prophecy of
wonder.

Chesad MERCY. Chesad represents virtue, justice, benevolence, and a receptive

intelligence. It is the remuneration given for positively accrued karma.
FOURS Chesad is associated with wealth, good luck, and fortuity.

Gevurah STRENGTH. Gevurah is the power to create change. It represents an active

intelligence. Gevurah embodies a warrior consciousness. It is having the
FIVES courage to take action. It is a source of motivation, perspiration, and the
inner drive or push to action. This is the vision of Power.

192
 Tiferet BEAUTY. Tiferet is heart-centered consciousness, and the quest for
harmony, balance, and equilibrium. Tiferet is an elevated consciousness
SIXES of beauty and magnificence. It is the residence of ascended masters, and
SHINING ONES therefore a consciousness of spiritual teaching. To gain access to those
teachings of ascended masters, devote yourself to service. This is also the
Mystery of the Messiah.

Netzach VICTORY. Netzach is a consciousness of selflessness, optimism, and faith.

It relates to emotional connections. It is a collective consciousness, an
SEVENS awareness that we are all One. This is the realm of fairies and sprites,
where there is much creativity, thriving arts, and innocence.

Hod GLORY. Hod is the consciousness of analytical reasoning. It is about

cogent communication and transmission of knowledge. Here is where
EIGHTS intellectualism and ideas thrive. It is a consciousness of brainstorming
and sharing ideas. There is robust exchange of information here. There is
a consciousness of investigation, of unraveling deception to find truths.

Yesod THE FOUNDATION. Yesod represents dream consciousness, or the

imaginative world within the mind. It is where physical reality and
NINES visionary reality fold into one another. Yesod is a level of
subconsciousness. Here, ideas and knowledge are on the verge of taking
form. Yesod is related to the cycle of changes that run the course in the
natural world. It is about the seasons, the cycle of life, and access to the
nonlinear continuum of space-time. Yesod is the source from where magic
begins to take form toward manifestation.

Malkuth KINGDOM; THE MATERIAL WORLD. Malkuth is the concentration of the

four elements that created our world—Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.
TENS Malkuth is the consciousness of living. Malkuth is the first consciousness
STRONGHOLDS of the initiate. It is the state of the newcomer. It is where you begin to
realize how much knowledge there is for you to still acquire. Malkuth is
the foundational study of the physical world so that you can ready
yourself for understanding of the metaphysical. This is the point of first
intuitive perception of the Holy Guardian Angel.

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 NUMEROLOGICAL CORRESPONDENCES

When a number 1 through 9 repeats itself or is in a position of prominence in a tarot reading, consult this chart for
further information about what the numerology of your reading might be conveying.

Individuality; autonomy; agency; unity. Beginnings; new start; new venture; focus on
1 only one aspect or a single issue and from there you can develop your plan or concept,
The Leader but start small; every journey begins with a single step. You’re about to take that first
Keys 1, 10, 19 step. The number one is all about willpower and preparing your mental faculties to
Aces, Tens exercise or manifest that willpower. This is the number of unbound potential. Life
Strongholds Path Primordial Archetypes: The Magus; The Warrior
Balance; cooperation; needing to be part of a team and not just fly solo. The number
2 two in tarot also corresponds with the need to make decisions, to act decisively. Two
The Minister is the number of choice. In determining how you will choose, think about your
Keys 2, 11, 20 personal relationships and your spheres of social influence. Think about who you
Twos love and what that person might have to do with the matter at hand. Think about love
Archangels or relationship building. Think about your connections with others and how those
connections can help you in your endeavors.
Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Priestess; The Chancellor
Fruition; developmental phase toward personal greatness. You’ve got the concept,
3 but now it’s time to implement and execute. Enough thinking, more doing. This is the
The Creator next step after conception. You are in the gestation phase. Time to use your assets
Keys 3, 12, 21 and resources to bring your concept or goal to fruition. The number three pushes you
Threes toward manifestation. Lean in to your own originality and transcend old canons.
Shields Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Empress; The Outlaw
Reign and rule. Order, symmetry. In modern terminology, that’s planning. How will
4 you be ruling over your own dominion? You thought you had all the details of your
The Builder plan worked out, and so you moved forward, but now you realize a couple of issues
Keys 4, 13 are still unresolved. Take a breather and do a little bit more planning. Work out the
Fours kinks and then continue. Don’t be deterred, though! You’re fine. It’s just about a little
bit more work on the foundation before you go forward. The number four compels
you to think about the way you reign over your personal domain.
Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Emperor; The Reaper
Some uncertainty going on. Hanging in the balance and it’s not clear which way
5 you’re going to swing. This is also the number of adventure. It’s about taking risks
The Seeker because that’s how you expand your personal horizon. There is a pioneering or
entrepreneurial spirit within you and it’s time to let that spirit out into the open. You
Keys 5, 14,

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Fives are at the half-way mark. Think about the checks and balances in your life and how
that factors into your decision-making. That is how you advance past the uncertainty.
Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Holy See; The Angel
Harmony of heaven, earth, and man. A need to return to the god principle. Harmony
6 of body, mind, and spirit. This is the number of harmony with the trinity. Success is
The Nurturer not just material gain and social accomplishment. To be truly successful, you must be
Sacred Number of
the Soul attuned to your own spirituality and your own spirit. Six is also the number of
connection with the Divine and with the spirit world around you. Think about that
Keys 6, 15
spiritual plane and what messages you need to receive from “the beyond.” This is the
Sixes
Shining Ones number of psychic ability and intuition.
Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Lovers; The Demon

Knowledge and wisdom. This is the number of the philosopher-sage. Think about
7 what you know. (Also think about what you don’t know, and let your own humility
The guide you toward finding the answer.) Think about how to implement what you
Philosopher know to help you get ahead. You know more than you consciously realize and right
Sacred Number of
the Divine Law now, it’s about mining your own Self for that information. This is also a reminder to
exercise wisdom in your endeavor. Be wise. Be world-weary. Also, access your
Keys 7, 16
intellect. The solution to the problem is in your mind. The resolution will relate to
Sevens
intellectualism, knowledge, scholarship, and of course, wisdom.
Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Chariot; The Tower
You are so close to achieving your goal! This is the construction phase, when you are
8 near completion but still need more material support. Think about how best to use
The Manifestor the resources you have as investments to gain more. Pay attention to your own assets
Eleusinian Mysteries
and financial security. How do you use what you have but also save enough for the
Keys 8, 17 future going forward? How do you maintain the balance between risk and loss? The
Eights resolution is in how you manage and how you use what you have, and I’m talking
about the material, not mental. This is the universal order.
Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Force; The Healer
Spiritual ascension. You’re in a pretty good place in your life right now; I hope you
9 realize that. If you want more, then you must give more. Think about how you can
The Exalted give back to the world at large. Think about humanitarian endeavors. Think about
Keys 9, 18 your karma and how to improve karmic merits to ensure spiritual ascension. This is
Nines the number of inner cultivation.
Life Path Primordial Archetypes: The Erudite; The Necromancer

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 AGRIPPA’S CORRESPONDENCES FOR THE SEVEN SACRED PLANETS

Saffron, amber, musk, agarwood, balsam, cherry, cloves, myrrh, frankincense,

Sun mastic plant resin, storax balsam, ambergris; “balanite stone” (balanites aegyptiaca
wood) or ruby (ruby for boldness, courage, good fortunes in wars and contentions,
dispelling disease, expelling evil); gold and glittering things, chrysolite, heliotrope
flowers, hyacinth, marigold, peony, honey, wood of aloe, cinnamon, marjoram

Moon Selenite, pearls, sea shells, palm, hyssop, rosemary, olive tree, chaste trees,
chasteberry, evergreen shrubs (mastic trees), the whites of eggs, animal fat,
marcasite, menstrual blood, tortoise shells, crab shells, oyster shells, cockles,
camphor, bay, myrtle, white poppy

Gemstones with diverse colors (e.g., picture jasper, calligraphy jasper, tiger eye,
Mercury unakite, etc.), hazel, five-leaf grasses, marjoram, parsley, painted ferns, yellow
archangel leaves, yellow loosestrife, phlox, mastic plant resin, frankincense, cloves;
image of a rod with a coiled serpent (confers knowledge, eloquence, wit, memory,
success, gains, alliances)

Venus Carnelian, coral, vervain (verbena), violets, valerian, maidenhair fern, thyme,
ambergris, musk, sandalwood, coriander, pears, figs, pomegranates, rose, myrtle,
amber, red coral, potentilla plant, lapis lazuli stone charmed at the hour of Venus

Mars Iron, brass, sulfur, garlic, hellebore plants, euphorbium resin (euphorbia), bdellium
resin, radish, laurel, wolfsbane, stems with prickles or thorns, nettles, onions, leeks,
mustard seed, dogwood, hellebore flowers, lodestone, sandalwood, balsam,
agarwood

Jupiter Green jasper, basil, bugloss plants, nutmeg, dracaena spike plant, mints, mastic
tears (tree resin), violets, henbane, poplar, oak, chestnut, beech, hazel, pear, apple,
plum, ash, dogtree, corn, barley, wheat, raisins, licorice, sugar almonds, rhubarb,
agarwood, ash, clear, “clear or white stones”

Saturn Onyx, dark jaspers, dark chalcedony, daffodil, dragonwort, cumin, benzoin,
mandrake, opium, seeds that have never been sown, leaves from trees that have
never born fruit, figs, pine, cypress, black poppy, nightshade, pepperwort,
frankincense

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 ABOUT BENEBELL

Hi, I’m Benebell. I’m the author of Holistic Tarot (2015) and The Tao of Craft (2016),
both published by North Atlantic Books. I am not a professional illustrator and have no formal
training in the arts. I just like to doodle on my free time. In fact, my education is in law. I’m
a practicing corporate attorney licensed in California and New York. My livelihood is in
venture capital and I work in Silicon Valley. Outside the legal profession, my key area of
interest and study is the occult.

Website YouTube Channel Instagram Twitter

benebellwen.com Benebell Wen @bellwen @tarotanalysis

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 #spiritkeeperstarot
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