The Law of One, Book IV, Session 89
Questioner: In Archetype One, represented by tarot card number one, the Matrix of the Mind seems to have four basic parts to the complex.
Looking at the card we have, first and most obvious, the Magician and what seems to be an approaching star.
A stork or similar bird seems to be in a cage.
On top of the cage seems to be something that seems to be very difficult at (?) discern.
Am I in any way correct in this analysis?
Ra: I am Ra. You are competent at viewing pictures.
You have not yet grasped the nature of the Matrix of the Mind as fully as is reliably possible upon contemplation.
We would note that the representations drawn by priests were somewhat distorted by acquaintance with and dependence upon the astrologically based teachings of the Chaldees.
The Law of One, Book IV, Session 90
Questioner: I have an observation on Archetype Number One made by (name) and I request comment on it by Ra.
I will read it,
“The Matrix of the Mind is the conscious mind and is sustained by the power of the spirit as symbolized by the star which flows to it through the subconscious mind.
It contains the will which is signified by the scepter of power in the Magician’s hand.
All of creation is made through the power of the will directed by the conscious mind of the Magician, and the bird in the cage represents the illusion in which the self seems trapped.
The Magician represents maleness or the radiance of being manifested as the creation through which each entity moves.”
Ra: I am Ra. As this instrument is becoming somewhat weary we shall not begin this considerable discussion.
We would request that this series of observations be repeated at the outset of the next working.
We would suggest that each concept be discussed separately or, if appropriate, a pair of concepts be related one to the other within the concept complex.
This is slow work but shall make the eventual building of the concept complexes more smoothly accomplished.
Were we to have answered the observations as read by you at this space/time, as much space/time would have been given to the untangling of various concepts as to the building up of what were very thoughtful perceptions.
May we ask if there are any brief queries at this time?
The Law of One, Book IV, Session 91
Questioner: Thank you.
We have some observations on the archetypes which are as follows.
First, the Matrix of the Mind is depicted in the Egyptian tarot by a male and this we take as creative energy intelligently directed.
Will Ra comment on this?
Ra: I am Ra. This is an extremely thoughtful perception seeing as it does the male not specifically as biological male but as a male principle.
You will note that there are very definite sexual biases in the images.
They are intended to function both as information as to which biological entity or energy will attract which archetype and also as a more general view which sees polarity as a key to the archetypical mind of third density.
Questioner: The second observation is that we have a wand which has been seen as the power of the will.
Will Ra comment?
Ra: I am Ra. The concept of will is indeed pouring forth from each facet of the image of the Matrix of the Mind.
The wand as the will, however, is, shall we say, an astrological derivative of the out-reaching hand forming the, shall we say, magical gesture.
The excellent portion of the image which may be seen distinctly as separate from the concept of the wand is that sphere which indicates the spiritual nature of the object of the will of one wishing to do magical acts within the manifestation of your density.
Questioner: The hand downward has been seen as seeking from within and not from without and the active dominance over the material world.
Would Ra comment on that?
Ra: I am Ra. Look again, O student.
Does the hand reach within? Nay.
Without potentiation the conscious mind has no inwardness.
That hand, O student,
reaches towards that which, outside its unpotentiated influence, is locked from it.
Questioner: The square cage represents the material illusion and is an unmagical shape.
Can Ra comment on that?
Ra: I am Ra. The square, wherever seen, is the symbol of the third-density illusion and may be seen either as unmagical or, in the proper configuration, as having been manifested within; that is, the material world given life.
Questioner: The dark area around the square, then, would be the darkness of the subconscious mind.
Would Ra comment on that?
Ra: I am Ra. There is no further thing to say to the perceptive student.
Questioner: The checkered portion would represent polarity?
Ra: I am Ra. This also is satisfactory.
Questioner: The bird is a messenger which the hand is reaching down to unlock.
Can Ra comment on that?
Ra: I am Ra. The winged visions or images in this system are to be noted not so much for their distinct kind as for the position of the wings.
All birds are indeed intended to suggest that
just as the Matrix figure, the Magician, cannot act without reaching its winged spirit, so neither can the spirit fly lest it be released into conscious manifestation and fructified thereby.
Questioner: The star would represent the potentiating forces of the subconscious mind. Is this correct?
Ra: I am Ra. This particular part of this image is best seen in astrological terms.
We would comment at this space/time that Ra did not include the astrological portions of these images in the system of images designed to evoke the archetypical leitmotifs.
Questioner: Are there any other additions to Card Number One other than the star that are of other than the basic archetypical aspects?
Ra: I am Ra. There are details of each image seen through the cultural eye of the time of inscription.
This is to be expected.
Therefore, when viewing the, shall we say, Egyptian costumes and systems of mythology used in the images it is far better to penetrate to the heart of the costumes’ significance or the creatures’ significance rather than clinging to a culture which is not your own.
In each entity the image will resonate slightly differently.
Therefore, there is the desire upon Ra’s part to allow for the creative envisioning of each archetype using general guidelines rather than specific and limiting definitions.
Questioner: The cup represents a mixture of positive and negative passions.
Could Ra comment on that?
Ra: I am Ra. The otic portions of this instrument’s physical vehicle did not perceive a significant portion of your query.
Please requery.
Questioner: There is apparently a cup which we have as containing a mixture of positive and negative influences.
However, I personally doubt this.
Could Ra comment on this, please?
Ra: I am Ra. Doubt not the polarity, O student, but release the cup from its stricture.
It is indeed a distortion of the original image.
Questioner: What was the original image?
Ra: I am Ra. The original image had the checkering as the suggestion of polarity.
Questioner: Then was this a representation of the waiting polarity to be tasted by the Matrix of the Mind?
Ra: I am Ra. This is exquisitely perceptive.
Questioner: I have listed here the sword as representing struggle.
I am not sure that I even can call anything in this diagram a sword.
Would Ra comment on that?
Ra: I am Ra. Doubt not the struggle, O student, but release the sword from its stricture.
Observe the struggle of a caged bird to fly.
Questioner: I have listed the coin represents work accomplished.
I am also in doubt about the existence of the coin in this diagram.
Could Ra comment on that please?
Ra: I am Ra. Again, doubt not that which the coin is called to represent, for does not the Magus strive to achieve through the manifested world?
Yet release the coin from its stricture.
Questioner: And finally, the Magician represents the conscious mind. Is this correct?
Ra: I am Ra. We ask the student to consider the concept of the unfed conscious mind, the mind without any resource but consciousness.
Do not confuse the unfed conscious mind with that mass of complexities which you as students experience, as you have so many, many times dipped already into the processes of potentiation, catalyst, experience, and transformation.
Questioner: Are these all of the components, then, of this first archetype?
Ra: I am Ra. These are all you, the student, see.
Thusly the complement is complete for you.
Each student may see some other nuance.
We, as we have said, did not offer these images with boundaries but only as guidelines intending to aid the adept and to establish the architecture of the deep, or archetypical, portion of the deep mind.
Questioner: How is the knowledge of the facets of the archetypical mind used by the individual to accelerate his evolution?
Ra: I am Ra. We shall offer an example based upon this first explored archetype or concept complex.
The conscious mind of the adept may be full to bursting of the most abstruse and unimaginable of ideas, so that further ideation becomes impossible and work in blue ray or indigo is blocked through over-activation.
It is then that the adept would call upon the new mind, untouched and virgin, and dwell within the archetype of the new and unblemished mind without bias, without polarity, full of the magic of the Logos.
Questioner: Then you are saying, if I am correct in understanding what you have just said, that the conscious mind may be filled with an almost infinite number of concepts but there is a set of basic concepts which are what I would call important simply because they are the foundations for the evolution of consciousness, and will, if carefully applied, accelerate the evolution of consciousness, whereas the vast array of concepts, ideas, and experiences that we meet in our daily lives may have little or no bearing upon the evolution of consciousness except in a very indirect way.
In other words, what we are attempting to do here is find the motivators of evolution and utilize them to move through our evolutionary track.
Is this correct?
Ra: I am Ra. Not entirely.
The archetypes are not the foundation for spiritual evolution but rather are the tool for grasping in an undistorted manner the nature of this evolution.
Questioner: So for an individual who wished to consciously augment his own evolution, an ability to recognize and utilize the archetypes would be beneficial in sorting out that which he wishes to seek from that which would be not as efficient a seeking tool.
Would this be a good statement?
Ra: I am Ra. This is a fairly adequate statement.
The term “efficient” might also fruitfully be replaced by the term “undistorted.”
The archetypical mind, when penetrated lucidly, is a blueprint of the builded structure of all energy expenditures and all seeking without distortion.
This, as a resource within the deep mind, is of great potential aid to the adept.
We would ask for one more query at this space/time as this instrument is experiencing continuous surges of the distortion you call pain and we wish to take our leave of the working while the instrument still possesses a sufficient amount of transferred energy to ease the transition to the waking state, if you would call it that.
The Law of One, Book IV, Session 92
Questioner: In the last session we discussed the first tarot card of the Egyptian type.
Are there any distortions in the cards that we have that Ra did not originally intend or any additions that Ra did intend in this particular tarot?
Ra: The distortions remaining after the removal of astrological material are those having to do with the mythos of the culture to which Ra offered this teach/learning tool.
This is why we have suggested approaching the images looking for the heart of the image rather than being involved overmuch by the costumes and creatures of a culture not familiar to your present incarnation.
We have no wish to add to an already distorted group of images, feeling that although distortion is inevitable there is the least amount which can be procured in the present arrangement.
Questioner: Then you are saying that the cards that we have here are the best available cards.
Ra: I am Ra. Your statement is correct in that we consider the so-called Egyptian tarot the most undistorted version of the images which Ra offered.
This is not to intimate that other systems may not, in their own way, form an helpful architecture for the adept’s consideration of the archetypical mind.
The Law of One, Book IV, Session 96
Questioner: I have planned to re-draw the tarot cards omitting the extraneous additions by those who came after Ra and I would like quickly to go through those things that I intend to eliminate from each card and ask Ra if there is anything else that should be eliminated to make the cards as they were before the astrological and other appendages were added.
I would eliminate all of the letters from the edge of the card with the possible exception of the number of the card.
That would be the case for all of the cards.
In Card Number One
I would eliminate the star, the wand in the Magician’s hand, and I understand that the sphere remains but I am not really sure where it should be.
Would Ra comment on that please?
Ra: I am Ra.
Firstly,
the elimination of letters is acceptable.
Secondly,
the elimination of stars is acceptable in all cases.
Thirdly,
the elimination of the wand is appropriate.
Fourthly,
the sphere may be seen to be held by the thumb and index and second finger.
Fifthly,
we would note that it is not possible to offer what you may call a pure deck, if you would use this term, of tarot due to the fact that when these images were first drawn there was already distortion in various and sundry ways, mostly cultural.
Sixthly,
although it is good to view the images without the astrological additions, it is to be noted that the more general positions, phases, and characteristics of each concept complex are those which are significant.
The removal of all distortions is unlikely and, to a great extent, unimportant.