Alchemy for Investors, part 5

Contemplation of the Tarot trump The Empress will yield insights into the workings of the imagination. There is a wealth of symbolism on the card. Let me direct your attention to the fact that the trump is associated with the planet Venus. This is an astrological correspondence, and, as you may have already discovered, The Magician corresponds to Mercury, and The High Priestess to the Moon.

Upon the breast of the Empress is a curious design. It resembles an inverted letter T. Indeed, this symbol appears frequently in Tarot, both upright, inverted, and combined to form a cross. A regular T represents the power of Saturn to place limitations. The inverted T represents the power to cast aside limitations. The subsidiary symbolism, the use of color, is also worthy of your study.

The three planets, Mercury, the Moon, and Venus, are in balance (using The Emperor as fulcrum) with three other trumps, these being representative of the astrological signs Taurus (the Hierophant), Gemini (the Lovers), and Cancer (the Chariot). As you progress in your investigation of Tarot, you will begin to study cards in combinations of two, three, or whatever. Be aware that every single card has a balancing correspondent. All cards balance through Justice. Those in the top row (which we have been investigating) balance through The Emperor. You can balance any two cards using The Fool. There are seven fulcrums. Some are unchanging, (The Fool, Justice), some move around depending on your position on the Trestleboard (this being the three by seven arrangement). In some cases, you will not much like the results, much as a chemist studying sulphur must prepare for stink. Be alert, or stay away from the stove.

As the tarot is but a model, you can discover in your environment objects, actions, and activities that will evoke the same effects as contemplation of a Trump. Recall the sorting exercise that evokes the Emperor. The color red also evokes The Emperor, much as the metal silver evokes The High Priestess, and copper or green evoke The Empress. Knowledge of these associations will allow you to do your alchemy while surrounded by discord, noise, or people who drink too much coffee. This is the essence of ritual magic. Rituals are highly effective, however, they are not necessary. Moving a paperclip across your desk can be as effective as plunging a dagger into an enemies heart. Thoughts are things, and alchemy will teach you to mock physics with action at a distance.

Keep notes in your journal.

I, Sargon the Magnificent, wrote this.