Flying Roll No. #7 The End of Time and the Veil of Illusion.
Level: Zelator 10=100
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Within the philosophy of the Qabalah (the Tree of Life) we have a model for the creation of the universe. How curious is it then that the concept of Ain Soph Aur, the ‘Limitless Light’, (admittedly outside the Tree) echoes the scientific concept of Ultimate Entropy. That’s when all the energy in the universe is used up and all that is left is a universe composed of ‘dead’ photons, all nicely balanced by being equidistant from each other (the ‘photon’, of course, being, a particle of ‘light’, or was, in this case).
So we have the Qabalistic concept of ‘Limitless Light’ being, at the end of Time, in the form of a black, lifeless, lightless universe of dead photons. Of course, it can’t be the End of Time because the photons, even though they never had mass, but are taking up Space; then according to Einstein, there must also be Time.
Then there is the further concept of the Veil of Illusion which is within the Qabalah itself. The Veil of Illusion is just below Tiphareth; the four elemental Sephira (Netzach, Hod, Yesod & Malkuth) being on the other side. Now the model is that the manifest (physical) universe was created as the Veil of Illusion, from Tiphareth by us; and we, if you like, ‘walked through’ the Veil to manifest as part of the physical universe.
So that gives us the nice circular argument that the Qabalah was created from within an Illusion to describe the Illusion that created it. Another way to look at it is the Heavens created the physical universe and the Physical Universe created the Heavens. This self-referential projection/reflection is further defined in the name Qabalah itself. In Hebrew it is QBL which in the Tarot can be interpreted as “The Illusion of the Juggler creating Balance or maybe keeping everything in Balance”
Q = XVIII = The Moon = Illusion
B = I = The Magician = Juggler
L = XI = Justice = Libra = The Balance
Which could also depict the Magician attempting to change the Illusion which is in a state of Balance, by altering the Balance (Juggling with the Universe). Or, the Magician creating the Illusion by balancing forces. Or the Magician creating in spite of Balanced forces (maybe like splitting an atom to release the energy that keeps it together). Take your pick, or, preferably, come up with a new viewpoint.
Now this, of course, is if you’re looking at the Waite deck where the Justice card depicts a figure holding a scales (balance) and a sword, held upright at its point of natural balance, sitting in front of the Veil of Illusion which has now become all one colour. The Illusion has now become ‘adjusted’ to a common, presumably workable, monotonous state where everything seems to simply go around and around in circles. (qv the Buddhist ‘Wheel of Becoming’ – also described within the Qabalah as the Path from Netzach to Chesed, represented by the Tarot card, Wheel of Fortune)
The Crowley deck presents a different view. Crowley was very fond of the number 11. There are ten Sephiroth in the Qabalah, so the number 11 is outside of the Qabalah, making it, possibly, a basis for magick (magic here is spelled with a ‘k’, another adoption of Crowley, because ‘magick’ adds up to 11. A bit like Terry Pratchet’s Octarine, the 8th colour, and, thereby, the basis of magic on Discworld (and, I understand, in Chaos magic).
Further, Crowley decided to shake up the Tarot as he wanted the number 11 to be associated with the Sephira Binah (the Goddess, Babalon, and so on; the name Babalon meaning ‘the Gate of the Egyptian God On’ and On’s number is 11). However, Waite’s Tarot has the card number 8 (Strength) as representing Binah. So Crowley swapped card 11 for 8 and renamed it ‘Lust’ in the process to represent Babalon’s lust for the Beast; which, of course, he perceived as himself. And, he can do this because it’s ALL an illusion anyway. In the Waite deck, and others preceding him, card 11, as we saw above, is ‘Justice’. Crowley now makes that card number 8 and renames it ‘Adjustment’. I guess ‘cos he’s ‘adjusted’ the tarot deck.
So now, for Crowley, the Qabalah, QBL becomes …
Q = XVIII = The Moon = Illusion
B = I = The Magician = Juggler
L = XI = Lust = Binah/Babalon
So this seems to become the Magician playing with Sex to change the Illusion. (Or maybe calling on the power of the Goddess in Binah to help her or him change things.) Something that Waite in his very Christian approach to occultism could probably not have countenanced.
But maybe this is the profound basis for sex magic? Or is it all simply playing with numbers? Or, as I like to think of it, painting the Veil of Illusion by numbers.
Scio Nescio, 5o=60 RRetAC, Chief Adept, Hermetic Order of the Red Dragon, (HORD).