Thoth Tarot: Alignment Through Allowing

 

The Hierophant sits in the position of significator in this Thoth Tarot reading today. He is the Holy Guardian Angel within, our alignment with Source. The High Priest in other decks, the Hierophant represents mastery of knowledge, structure, and tradition. He is the enlightened teacher within and without, representing divine, spiritual wisdom.

He asks us to align first before knowing, before taking action. All truth is found in alignment with Source Energy and the Hierophant reminds us to listen to our inner voice, our intuition when choosing how we experience the world around us.

Cups, Wands, and Swords are present in the reading along with two Court cards representing the influence of Elemental Water, Fire, and Air respectively. The Court cards can either depict people or the characteristics reflected by those people.

Beginning with the 5 of Cups, Crowley entitles this card as Disappointment. The five cups are empty and the pentagram points downward into physical form. The petals are falling from the flowers suggesting the bloom is off the rose so to speak. The 5 of Cups suggests lost alignment or focus, perhaps too much focus on material concerns. There’s a sense of feeling bereft with this card, as if there’s been too much excess and now there’s nothing to show for it.

The Queen of Wands is wonderful and vibrant as she sits on her throne in full glory, her right hand resting comfortably and lovingly on the jaguar’s head as he sits protectively at her side. She is the talented seer, the visionary witch and her energy is catalytic. Although she is successful and generous with others, she can be swift in her reactions. You know where you stand with this woman.

Crowley renamed some of the cards in the Thoth Tarot as many tarot deck creators do. He refers to the King as a Knight, and a Knight as a Prince and so forth, also renaming Pages as Princesses. The Knight of Swords represents Air or our intellectual presence. The Knight is full of focused and swift intelligence. He moves in concert with his horse, swords extended in front. He is analytical and educated, the loyal and wise counselor. He can either be a solid friend or powerful enemy. His mind is logical, rational, and above all, clever. He sees what others do not.

I think the reading centers around how we handle loss. The Hierophant within tells us to align first and then make all decisions from that point. We are to observe without judgment, allowing the experience without truly interfering with it. The 5 of Cups illustrates what happens when we focus on the ego-side of self and lose alignment with our Source within. We feel bereft and lost. The Queen suggests that we have more power than we realize and that we need to stand above the fray and not become lost in the ego’s judgment. This world is but an illusion or projection of collective consciousness. Eternal Source reality sits outside of that projection and it’s where we should be viewing all things. The Knight of Swords reinforces the Queen’s presence by telling us to take back our power, using our intelligence to discern the truth.

We can succumb to the chaos surrounding us or we can stand apart, observing without reaction or judgment. We make the world around us too real when reacting continually to everything around us. The Hierophant, Queen and Knight illustrate how we can rise above our circumstances by choosing how we view them. React, and we move from a place of weakness. Observe instead, we move from a place of strength, oftentimes discovering that we may need no reaction at all.

The loss indicated by the 5 of Cups need not derail us from our creative focus. It’s only suggesting that we’re a little too focused on the material aspects of life and that it’s time to allow the loss and then let it go. We center, align and then know. Always.

~Blessings!