(ARIES) DOMINION: (North/East)
Esoteric Titles:
The Lord of Power
Chief of the Mighty Ones
The Conquering Magnate
Son of the New Morning
The 4th card of the Major Arcana is the embodiment of the masculine principle and usually assigned to the planet Mars. However, it also denotes that any action has in principle and cause an equal reaction and that our own actions must be based on fundamental human principles if we are to enjoy peace and justice. Indeed the raw energy of Mars itself needs to be organised, channelled and directed if it is to have a positive and fruitful effect. In many esoteric interpretations it signifies the dominion of the Holy Roman Emperor or the sovereign powers of state and religion guiding or controlling mankind. Traditionally Mars‘ rulership is in Aries (The Ego) and also in Scorpio, the 8th sign signifying the possibility or potentiality of death, particularly at the hands of a secret assailant. In a more subtle context the death is that experienced when the “egoic state” is transcended. Any form of temporal power whether physical, sexual or political must be administered correctly if it should avoid any form of corruption or perversion. The powerful male figure is sat on a throne bearing ram’s horns and depicted wearing a helmet and carrying a sword and shield. Traditionally he is shown carrying a sceptre denoting the fixed will and rational mind of any temporal yet worldly ruler. The whole of history, from Alexander the Great to Napoleon is littered with countless militant authoritarian archetypes who have shaped the destiny of mankind. In some instances this has led to good, while in others to repression and decline into feudal tyranny. In many cases, after achieving their monumental deeds, these great and powerful men met their end in some ironic, miserable or tragic circumstances. The glorious Alexander the Great died of malaria, in effect a mosquito bite was his ultimate nemesis, Napoleon by arsenic poisoning from all things his wallpaper and Julius Caesar at the hands of what appeared to be a trustworthy and loyal friend. The 4th path on the Tree of Life connects Tiphereth to Chokmah symbolised by 4 faculties of human communication namely, grammar, vocabulary, syntax and articulation. In mathematical symbolism it denotes the square or cube, the four cardinal directions, elements or the four human faculties of sight, hearing, taste and touch.
4.The Emperor (Julius Caesar) Heh – The Emperor Must Die!
Julius Caesar was also in effect the controversially ambitious Emperor of Rome and is therefore readily and aptly attributed to the Tarot card named The Emperor. In my previous post “The Empress” I made reference to a comparison to Shakespeare’s play “Anthony & Cleopatra” where she was euphemistically named “The Serpent of the Nile”. Queen Cleopatra would have been synonymous with the Moon Goddess, Isis and presumably Anthony or Augustus Caesar would have been the god Osiris. The result of their sacred union was the hawk-headed “god-child” Horus. However, certain aspects of the drama suggests the playwright also had access to a translation of Plutarch’s “Of Isis & Osiris”. Veiled allusions to these two Egyptian gods and their mythological relationships also appear in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, namely the characters of Theseus and Hyppolyta. This stereotypically Roman play was scheduled to be first performed at the newly built Globe Theatre that had accidentally burned down, the roof of which was made of thatched reeds. The 15th path on the Tree of Life links the sphere of Chokmah (Uranus-Intelligence), on the supernal triad with Tiphereth (Beauty-Sun) below and signifies the “Governing Intelligence” from which limiting darkness a form of sequential creation evolves. It also denotes the unifying bridge between the Father and the Son (Osiris & Horus), that again links the microcosm with the macrocosm on the right hand, masculine side of the Tree of Life. In astrological terms it is the zodiac acting through the sign of Aries, the Ram, which is ruled by Mars, upon the sphere of the Sun or heart chakra (Anahata). The pinkish red ribbon at the bottom of the gestalt image (Geburah) suggests the shape of the colon which corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Aries. The red eagle is taken as symbolic of the Holy Roman Empire, the crown being the light of Tiphereth shining on the Kingdom of Earth. In his own esoteric Tarot deck Aleister Crowley substitutes the card of the Star (28th) for the Emperor (15th) because the hieroglyphs do not correspond – the Hebrew letter Tzaddi, meaning a fish hook is exchanged for Heh (a window or the sighting of a star). As students of Shakespeare will know the play has the well-known references to predestination and the reading of portents or omens observed in the celestial firmament:
“I am constant as the Northern Star,
Of whose fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.”
Nevertheless, it seems that the people or the demos can be as capricious as their rulers and their representatives not entirely clear in anticipating their reactions or those of their protagonists. In act I scene 2 Cassius attempts to explain this fundamental discrepancy with a disparaging reference to the astrological prognostications of the day:
“The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
The play also contains the infamous, doom-laden phrase (“Beware the Ides of March”) spoken by a soothsayer, in fact the word March in this context is employed ten times throughout the entire play. The apparent unification of Europe (800-814AD and 962-1806AD) was a Papal experiment blessing the creation of a Holy Roman Emperor which was perceived by some more liberally-minded citizens as an attempt to restrict their fundamental freedoms; freedom of speech, freedom from want, freedom of worship and freedom from fear. The Qaballistic keyword for the sphere of Geburah was “SEVERITY” and the role of the Holy Roman Emperor was to strike fear into the hearts of those wishing to protect those freedoms and deny homage and fealty to the oppressor. Hence the underground cry went abroad among the oppressed populace “The Emperor Must Die!”. However, it was more often the monarchs of Europe or their ministers who feared and were sometimes subject to assassination. In 1588 for example Catherine de Medici discovered that her son, Henri IIIrd arranged for the elimination of the Duke of Guise and his brother the Cardinal (1588). In retaliation a year later Henri IIIrd similarly was assassinated by a monk named Jacques Clement while he was sat at council who, under the pretext of whispering into the monarch’s ear, suddenly drew a dagger and then stabbed him fatally in the stomach (1589). Elizabeth 1st undertook to deny anyone of the Catholic faith the opportunity to supplant her or for that matter eliminate her from the throne of England with two important statutes, The Oath of Allegiance from Catholic nobles and an Act forbidding anyone to criticise her legitimate reign or to advocate, prepare and instigate acts of insurrection. Following the papal bull excommunicating Elizabeth Ist, numerous Catholic priests arrived from European Jesuit seminaries from 1580 onwards and conspired to overthrow the Protestant Queen or undermine her authority in England. Apparently the Pope went further and said that anyone assassinating the Queen could do so with impunity. Fortunately, all attempts at removing England’s long-reigning Queen of 44 years were thwarted by the head of intelligence, Francis Walsingham.
In 1585 a Catholic exile, Gilbert Gifford was intercepted at Rye, in Sussex by Walsingham’s agents and when interrogated he confessed to being involved in a Catholic plot against Elizabeth. Walsingham then offered to spare his life if he would work as a double agent and Gifford naturally agreed. The plot as such had two principal origins, one from Spain, the another a home-spun plot by Morgan and Charles Paget to muster support for the assassination of the Queen. John Ballard, a Jesuit priest enlisted the support of John Savage, an ex-soldier who was already involved in a separate plot to kill the Queen and secured the assurance of Sir Anthony Babington of support from the Northern Earls should a Spanish or French invasion be required after the success of the assassination. Mary’s secretaries, Claude Nau de la Boisseliere and Gilbert Curle were arrested and interrogated in August 1586. Likewise the conspirators Babington, Ballard, Chidiok Tichbourne, Sir Thomas Salisbury, Robert Barnwell, John Savage and Henry Dunn together with their accomplices Edward Habington, Charles Tilney, Edward Jones, John Charnock, John Travers, Jerome Bellamy and Robert Gage were all tried, found guilty and executed on September 20th. This was probably the most gruesome and barbaric series of executions to ever take place in England. The horror of being hung until nearly dead, being disembowelled, having one’s tongue cut out, genitals or heart removed and then finally being quartered and decapitated must have been truly shocking. Such was this horrific spectacle that after the first series of executions Queen Elizabeth ordered the remainder of conspirators just to be hung until dead and then have them disembowelled. Such was the scale and measure of her sovereign mercy!
Some assassinations were made to appear as accidental homicides such as the untimely death of Christopher Marlowe (See “Who Killed Christopher Marlowe”) who was apparently involved in a tavern brawl after refusing to pay his “fair share” of the bill. Now, it has been recorded by Shakespearean scholars that Shakespeare’s Scottish play, “Macbeth” which was performed for King James 1st, contains several topical allusions to the Gunpowder Plot itself because James feared assassination during his own reign. However, scholars disagree on which parallel narrative is enclosed in Shakespeare’s own dramatic plot whereby a Scottish King is forcibly deposed by assassination for it might easily reflect the incident in which Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary Queen of Scots, was blown up after his capture by Lord Bothwell. The use of the word Emperor is employed in several of Shakespeare’s plays including “The Tempest”, “King John”, Henry VIIIth, “Henry Vth”, “Henry VIth Part 1”, “Edward IIIrd”, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, “Othello”, “Titus Andronicus”, “Romeo & Juliet”, “Hamlet”, “Measure for Measure”, “The Merry Wives of Windsor”, “Cymbeline”, “Anthony & Cleopatra” and “A Winter’s Tale”.
Stephano (referring to Caliban):
“I will give him some relief, if it be but for that. if I can recover him
and keep him tame and get to Naples with him, he’s a
present for any emperor that ever trod on neat’s leather.”
Robert:
“And once dispatch’d him in an embassy
To Germany, there with the emperor
To treat of high affairs touching that time.”
Hubert:
“Not for my life: but yet I dare defend
My innocent life against an emperor.”
Salisbury:
“Thou art a murderer.”
Hubert:
“Do not prove me so;
Yet I am none: whose tongue soe’er speaks false,
Not truly speaks; who speaks not truly, lies.”
Buckingham:
“Now this follows,–Which, as I take it, is a kind of puppy
To the old dam, treason,–Charles the emperor,
Under pretence to see the queen his aunt–
For ’twas indeed his colour, but he came
To whisper Wolsey,–here makes visitation…”
“…England and France might, through their amity,
Breed him some prejudice; for from this league
Peep’d harms that menaced him: he privily
Deals with our cardinal; and, as I trow,–
Which I do well; for I am sure the emperor
Paid ere he promised; whereby his suit was granted
Ere it was ask’d; but when the way was made,
And paved with gold, the emperor thus desired,
That he would please to alter the king’s course,
And break the foresaid peace.”
First Gentleman:
“‘Tis the cardinal; And merely to revenge him on the emperor
For not bestowing on him, at his asking,
The archbishopric of Toledo, this is purposed.”
Norfolk:
“For, now he has crack’d the league
Between us and the emperor, the queen’s great nephew,
He dives into the king’s soul, and there scatters
Dangers, doubts, wringing of the conscience,
Fears, and despairs; and all these for his marriage:”
Suffolk:
“Then that, without the knowledge
Either of king or council, when you went
Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold
To carry into Flanders the great seal.”
Canterbury:
“In pure truth, it was corrupt and naught,
Convey’d himself as heir to the Lady Lingare,
Daughter to Charlemain, who was the son
To Lewis the emperor, and Lewis the son
Of Charles the Great.”
The prologue (Act V):
“The emperor’s coming in behalf of France,
To order peace between them; and omit
All the occurrences, whatever chanced,
Till Harry’s back-return again to France:”
Audley:
“What news, my Lord of Derby, from the Emperor?”
Derby:
“As good as we desire: the Emperor
Hath yielded to his highness friendly aid,
And makes our king lieutenant general
In all his lands and large dominions;
Then via for the spatious bounds of France!”
King John:
“Besides, we hear, the Emperor conjoins,
And stalls him in his own authority;
But, all the mightier that their number is,
The greater glory reaps the victory.”
Panthino:
“I think your lordship is not ignorant
How his companion, youthful Valentine,
Attends the emperor in his royal court.”
Antonio:
“I know it well.”
Panthino:
‘Twere good, I think, your lordship sent him thither:
There shall he practise tilts and tournaments,
Hear sweet discourse, converse with noblemen.
And be in eye of every exercise
Worthy his youth and nobleness of birth.”
Antonio:
“I like thy counsel; well hast thou advised:
And that thou mayst perceive how well I like it,
The execution of it shall make known.
Even with the speediest expedition
I will dispatch him to the emperor’s court.”
Panthino:
“To-morrow, may it please you, Don Alphonso,
With other gentlemen of good esteem,
Are journeying to salute the emperor
And to commend their service to his will.”
Antonio:
“I am resolved that thou shalt spend some time,
With Valentinus in the emperor’s court:
What maintenance he from his friends receives,
Like exhibition thou shalt have from me.”
Divinatory Meaning of this Card:
The 15th path on the Tree of Life links the sphere of Chokmah (Uranus-Intelligence), on the supernal triad with Tiphereth (Beauty-Sun) below and signifies the “Governing Intelligence” from which limiting darkness a form of sequential creation evolves. It also denotes the unifying bridge between the Father and the Son (Osiris & Horus), that again links the microcosm with the macrocosm on the right hand, masculine side of the Tree of Life. In effect this suggests a rational self-consciousness that bestows power and influence over reasoning and the mental faculties born out of direct observation and the application of logic to the affairs of the world. In astrological terms it is the zodiac acting through the sign of Aries, the Ram, which is ruled by Mars, upon the sphere of the Sun or heart chakra (Anahata). As such it has the potential to create order out of chaos, translate thought into action and its ultimate result is to remove the darkness of human ignorance born out of lethargy or indifference. In other words it signifies self-discipline, single-mindedness, confidence and inner strength. The gestalt or hieroglyphic image of the “window” suggests a portal through which the light of the solar self, the self-determining principle is made manifest and the will is channelled towards one single objective. Therefore all thought and action is defined, directed or controlled within a limit or boundary according to certain pre-ordained laws or regulations. It is the diametric opposite of the previous path and therefore symbolises opposing human conditions which require objective or rational reconciliation. In his own esoteric Tarot deck Aleister Crowley substitutes the card of the Star (28th) for the Emperor (15th) because the hieroglyphs do not correspond – the Hebrew letter Tzaddi, meaning a fish hook is exchanged for Heh (window or sighting of a star).
Positive: Leadership, authority, logic and reason applied to problems. An organised or structured environment, the rational, archetypal Father figure.
Negative: A dislike of authority or discipline, a lack of command or ambition, parental dependency.
SPHERE 5 Geburah (Severity) Radical Heh – A Window
Astrological: Cancer or 4th House
Constellation: Hercules – The Heroic Giant
Sacred Gemstone: Ruby or Jasper
The next Arcanum in this series can be viewed by clicking on the following link:
