December 6-8, 2011: 3 of Wands
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Three of Wands
VIRTUE
(Previously called, “Established Strength.”)Meditation Pattern: Place Atu XIX, The Sun, and Atu IV, The Emperor, side-by-side, with the 3 of Wands above them.
Traditional Description: Three wands in the center: two crossed, and the third upright between them. Flames issue from the point of junction. Above and below are the symbols Sol and Aries.
Binah of Fire: The establishment of primeval energy. Self-respect, integrity, arrogance, self-assertion; that is, the ideas of Will and Dominion (the two previous cards) now have become interpreted in terms of character.
Sun/Aries: Established force or strength. Realization of hope. Leadership, enthusiasm, courage. Formulation, birthing. Pride, nobility, wealth, generosity, power, obstinacy, conceit. Rude self-assumption, insolence, conceit.
Binah/Saturn + Sol: Firm, decisive, determined, persevering; completion of labor; attaining to a certain status; yet withdrawn, private, secluded.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DEdGWm1X-io/TdGBEAxGcXI/AAAAAAAAAfw/TxgZIEo68l0/s1600/thoth+3+wands.png
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I'm stuck on Binah of Fire: the card being named "Virtue" and "the ideas of Will and Dominion (the two previous cards) now have become interpreted in terms of character."
Why in terms of character? Why is character the milieu in which will is expressed?
I keep coming back to ". . .pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect."
So, my thoughts are... way up here on the Tree, first we have the force of Will itself, but then we have... what? Will under the influence of it's own ideal restriction in Binah? Emerging as the force of Virtue?
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The Tarot is essentially Yetziratic. Though we can abstract it backwards to higher planes, the fact that it employs images supports the traditional teaching that it is inherently Yetziratic. So "way up here on the tree" doesn't actually exist in Tarot other than in theory.
But... that said... "character" refers to a persisting, core aspect of a person. For example, it is the traditional word to describe what the Sun represents in a horoscope (in contrast to the Moon being personality: shifting, adapting, etc.). Psychologists tend to use it the same way, and in fact used to have a diagnostic category of "character disorder" until the field officially dropped the idea that there actually is any sort of persisting, inherent part of a person, and changed the category to "personality disorder."
It is in this sense that I picked the word. It is a solar idea, and this is a solar card. Yes, you can call it idealized if you wish, but remember also that this isn't pure Binah. Binah in Fire is only one aspect of the card. The solar decanate of Aries of the other. It is at least as much a solar card as a Binah card. When you combine these two, you get ideas such as the will-seed having settled into the matrix which gives it a distinctive shape and form (Binah) - removes it from the abstract - plus the solar idea of emerging as something resembling a distinctive individual. These various ideas (run out to some eventual conclusions) emerge as a formulation in character.
We are well past the "unmodified pure will" idea. The pure will of Kether has become the particularized will-impulse of Chokmah, and this is now undergoing whatever modifications are necessary to allow it to be formulated into a distinctive form capable of manifestation. In other words: A baby is in the works!
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"Why in terms of character? Why is character the milieu in which will is expressed? "
My experience of this card so far can be summed up as this:
"You want to do . Great. ***Who do you need to be in order for you to do ***_."
The game so far has been answering that "who do I need to be?" The answer to that gives us the character and the character will contain the virtues that go into fulfilling on the intention of the Will.
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Very informative. Thank you both for your comments.
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Trying to develop a decent sentence to express it:
The Will of the Emperor is harmonious with the other Willings of the Sun.
The Will of the Emperor is guided by the evolution of consciousness.??
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"Trying to develop a decent sentence to express it:
The Will of the Emperor is harmonious with the other Willings of the Sun.
The Will of the Emperor is guided by the evolution of consciousness.??"
The impression I get is the Emperor is in harmony with his Inner Guide which causes the evolution of his consciousness and aligns him with his Will such that he becomes an expression of that Will and radiates it outward, where it can take on particular forms.
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What i felt from this card is... strong arousal, plain and simple...
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I feel like I got more in touch with myself and more firmly rooted in myself. It's kinda crazy. There's a physical feeling of "being solid". Like a rock. There still some soft spots but I don't think I've ever really felt this comfortable in my own skin.
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@Al-Shariyf said
"I feel like I got more in touch with myself and more firmly rooted in myself. It's kinda crazy. There's a physical feeling of "being solid". Like a rock. There still some soft spots but I don't think I've ever really felt this comfortable in my own skin."
That's plain awesome! I feel quite similar
