When I first encountered the images of the "Reverse Tarot" here described and presented I was immediately struck by their evocative force. Unlike the images of the old Tarot deck, which (to me) had appeared lifeless, these had a kind of direct electric-emotional "charge", and some of them were strongly reminiscent of images found in dreams or under the effects of certain chemicals. I started to "work" with them--that is, I put the ones I was most drawn to up on the wall and began to meditate and reflect on their meanings. Over a period of a few weeks they would become strikingly "familiar"-they would intrude suddenly in my waking thoughts, fragments might appear in dreams or during quiet moments. They appeared to work a kind of subtle transformation of unconscious, prerational "complexes" (to use the Jungian terminology). A fixed image-complex, surrounded by anxious feelings, could, by contact with one of these Tarot images evolve into an enlarging, affirmative, enlightening vision. Then after a time, another one of the series might emerge as an indicator of the "next step".

The images, in other words, represent a kind of consciouness map. A series of markings to guide the spirit in its quest for the light. At all times when men have concerned themselves with the possibilities of human evolution and the practical means for realizing it, they have tried to devise maps of the path in terms of symbolic images. Direct verbal analyses and descriptions of the "path" have also been given (in particular in the various Indian systems of yoga) and numberless attempts have been made to encode the message in song or sculpture, in temple or tomb.

Different groups at different times have emphasized various phases of the process, and have used different structural metaphors. Some, like the Indian yogas, have employed a linear model; others, like the Buddhists in their Wheel of Life, and the Chaldean astrologers with their circles of "Houses" and Zodiac "#signs", have employed cyclical images to diagram the progress of the soul on its way to the One. Still others, like the I Ching and the Tarot, employ a kind of multi-dimensional "web" pattern. Everything is interconnected and one can start at any one or several points simultaneously; yet there are also sequences to go through and inherent directions (see, for example, the first part of Appendix II for one linear reading of the present set of Major Arcana).

To many persons trained according to the current canons of scientific credibility, the authors' claim to have received these images and their interpretations from a non-human, non-physical being, identified only as "One", through the ouija board, might make them automatically suspect. Such phenomena are still regarded as somehow unscientific, somehow not quite "above board". I myself have no reason to doubt the authors' claim, knowing them both to be honorable, sane persons not given to deceit nor subject to delusion any more than the rest of us. Yet the question of the source of this material is, it must be remembered, quite distinct from the question of its value. Even if the authors, let us imagine, had perpetrated an enormous hoax, and "made the whole thing up", its value as an aide-guide to psychic transformation, is not thereby impaired in the least. It is a practical spiritual map and can only be evaluated by being used. In other words, I am suggesting, take it at face value, try it; if it works, line; if it doesn't, perhaps you'll find a system that does elsewhere.

This leads us to the question of how such a "map" of consciousness-- evolution as this series of images might be used. Traditionally, the Tarot deck is a set of cards used in making "readings", which may have had spiritual or psychological factors depending on the level of the reader and the questioner, but would mostly be a variant of "fortune--telling". It is possible that the groups who originally worked with the Tarot conceived the idea of concealing their esoteric teachings in the garb of a "game" or pastime, thinking it would be more likely to survive in this form in the dark ages they anticipated. However, the technique of concealment worked too well, in that the "playing cards" of the present day have lost all meaningful connection with the esoteric Tarot. A similar fate seems to have befallen the various symbol systems of "astrology" which degenerated from being spiritual ciphers to more or less arbitrary prediction games. The communicators of the present Tarot expressly discourage its use for such purposes. There is apparently no longer any need to hide the teachings. Everything can be revealed. This is in keeping with a world-wide trend towards bringing the hitherto "occult" (that is, academically unfashionable) out into the open, to publicize hitherto zealously guarded oral traditions (as by the Tibetan Buddhists).

It may of course be that there are still further layers of meaning hidden in this new psychic alphabet, which would be clear only to initiates who had the key to the understanding of those layers. It is possible that the pictures contain, in some instances, detailed instruction in methods of inner work, in a disguised form. One might, for example, make the experiment of physically adopting the position of the figure in a given image, and then visualizing repeatedly and consistently the other parts of the image. The "Reverser" for example, with 'water'-energy flowing from above down the right side and 'fire' energy flowing down from the left side to the ground Particularly persons who are experimenting with image-amplifying chemicals such as lysergic acid diethylamide could find such experiments instructive.

Another possible application of this Tarot is in psycho-therapy. The Rorschach Ink-Blots and the fantasy-stimulating pictures of the T.A.T. are commonly used as diagnostic devices to assess unconscious factors in a person. The present images would, I suspect, prove far more useful in many instances, because of their tremendous psychic force. One could, for example, let a patient study the whole set for a while, then pick out the ones he liked best and the ones disliked most, and then use those as starting- points for guided association and fantasy-symbol work of the kind practiced in Gestalt Therapy, in Psychosynthesis or the Jungian technique of "active imagination."

By giving concrete expression to certain consciousness processes and states which are inaccessible to verbal-conceptual mentation this revised form of the Tarot brings again into the open one of the most ancient symbolic languages of the world. As such it represents another of the increasing numbers of rays of wisdom-light in the fast-accelerating darkness of our un- fortunate age.

Foreword

The Book of One is the transcript of the Ouija sessions which led to the birth of the New Tarot. The delivery of the Major Arcana doesn't begin until session 8. The first 7 sessions are mostly messages to the individuals involved in the sessions, so don't worry too much if they make no sense to you. The group receiving these messages partially understood them, and made some comments about Egyptian history and the Swastika, but you can easily skip that material. I have added comments in a gold color after some of the fables which apply to all Seekers, but there are some that will become meaningful only with the passage of time.

John Cooke (Legion), Rosalind Sharpe (Gay-La), Rhom / Bill (Given) and a shifting kaleidoscope of other characters began dabbling with a homemade Ouija board in 1962. For each session, they began by drawing an abstract character in the middle of a fresh sheet of drawing paper. They then drew the arc of characters and numbers as in a commercial Ouija board. Two people put their fingers on the silver dollar, one of them being Rhom, who was given the name "Given" by the source, but later called himself Bill. He was the principal channel. The ouija would work with other people, but not without Rhom. When the source was asked "Who are YOU?" it replied "Would a name help? And why is that?" No name was ever given.

There are 106 sessions. Most of them were done in the Carmel highlands, in John Cooke's house, in 1962-1963. All 22 major arcana of a new tarot were dictated during this period, the last one being given in session 74. After about a year of Ouija sessions, Rhom was played out, and swore off doing any more. But more sessions did take place two years later, first in Sausalito, and then in the Mexican village where John Cooke then lived, and Rhom was again the essential channel. These later sessions helped to clarify some central concepts, such as ONE, Self, Legion, the Golden Heart, and the relationship between the Thinker and the Knower. They also served to convince Cooke that this revelation was important and worth publishing. He took a lot of convincing! A few more sessions were dictated in the late sixties, after John Cooke's drawings of the Major Arcana were first published as posters, and then a few more after the T Tarot deck was published in 1969. This complete collection of all the Ouija sessions (minus a few of purely personal importance) was published in 1975. Kennydd and I now bring it back to life, and put it on the Web, for all to see. Thank the Three Norns for scanners! It is 400 pages of material in printed form. I was not prepared to retype it.

Usually I refer to this as the Revelations of the Nameless One, although the silver dollar never gave a name to the source. It seemed to know everything, however, especially about the people at each session. Interesting physical phenomena accompanied some of the sessions, such as a glow around the hands of those at the Ouija board, or a sudden gust of wind in the final session, number 106.

The source spoke in symbolic and mythic terms, sometimes using archaic terms such as "thy," and using the fundamental fluidity of English to create new verbs and nouns, whose meaning is self-evident. This makes the book hard to read for those not fluent in the language of symbolism. So, I suggest a refresher course in An Alphabet of Symbolic Elements. It took me seven years of study just to figure out the symbolic meaning of the 22 major arcana.

The birth of the New Tarot is an event of mighty importance, and it has been and continues to be a long labor. The Ouija source only gave the 22 major arcana, because we are encouraged to create our own minor arcana. Using the enormous resources of the Web, I have found images of various kinds to represent the symbolic meaning of the pips. The meaning of each card is based on the meaning of that number in the Tree of Life (=Differentiation of the Tai Chi = the 10 Samadhi), as expressed via the symbolic elements of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. There is a correspondence between these four symbolic elements and the suits of the New Tarot, the old Tarot, and the suits of playing cards. Earth (material for building or growing) is Stones, Pentacles, and Diamonds. Air (intellect, decision) is Blades, Swords, and Spades. Fire (life force) is Serpents, Wands, and Clubs. Water (intuition) is Pears, Cups, and Hearts.

Cooke invented the 16 face cards, but their symbolism is not self-consistent. Still, it might be possible to modify his drawings. At any rate, Kennydd and I are determined to present the complete New Tarot on the Web, so that anyone may print out their own deck, now that color printers are reasonably priced. Then the Sun will be Known, and the ONE set in motion.

REVERSE THE NILE'S FLOW

G, however, could be considered the symbol for the entire work that follows for the moving creative ONE is G.

The evening's meeting was informal and social and no ouija board session had been planned. Usually the group met for meditation and had not previously experimented with the ouija board when so fore gathered. But tonight things were to turn out quite differently than in the past. A new adventure was about to be embarked upon which would involve them, in the next few months, in a kind of treasure hunt leading them through ancient Egypt and the new Books of Tarot to the ONE --or the quest for the Holy Grail.

The ouija board experiment was suggested casually. No one expected anything in particular to come forth. Yet once John and Rhom-the latter had never touched a ouija board before in his life-had placed their fingers lightly on the silver dollar planchette, a force seemed to gather in the room and the "table, as the board was called thereafter, began to sizzle with life. The letter G was pointed to over and over again as energy built and the planchette swirled in circles. The flow, once started, was unerring; there was no hesitation for a letter and no mistakes were made. Nadine began to record the letters as Rhom read them off aloud. The pace was so swift that no one could have followed the meaning if Nadine had not recorded. The silver dollar planchette went to G, G, G, G, G, then J,J,J, and again, G, G, G, and then the following:

J is John. G. is Dean. Now find mark of Rhom and Nadine and Rosalind. Each has a mark on his head, lost but still there. H = Rhom. Nadine = W and M. Nadine and Rosalind both dual signs.

Nadine: But why? Explain!

WE: Must you want to know? Not yet . .

Put together those things which have meaning, for now is the proper season to assemble those designs written on watery light-a rush into all phases of given directions. Volumes quickly open to place the key of the Nile at top of headwaters where rests cat and dog and bird and shaft. Key is that key: J.

Nadine: What is the real message to he received tonight? This is not it!

WE: Loud is the sound of wind passing overhead. Softly passes the tread of the man who knows where he walks. Fearing not, he searches his motives and purity of purpose. He walks freely to that which is his destiny-for he is all men.

John, keep hold to your vision. Stray not among changelings. (Pause) Who questions? Be not timid. Ask aright.

Nadine: Are we to travel soon? If so, where to?

WE: It would not be fitting now. Later. Now is the time to ready Self to be long-lost hub.

(The group stopped for a coffee break and to read the message back. Later the riddle of the Nile given at the start was to be seen as the most important clue to that which followed, especially as the Nile connected the subject matter with ancient Egypt, the legendary home of the Tarot. Later, too, the man who "walks freely to his destiny-for he is all men" was to be seen as the first mention of the Nameless One, the former Fool of the Tarot; but at the time the group was at sea.)

John: What lies at the headwaters of the Nile?

WE: Fashioned by you to negate. Try to reverse flow. Wait one period. Call upon a factor once lightly dismissed.

John: But how does one negate the Nile's flow?

WE: Bring all your faculties up to where your thinking and feeling function. Your faculties are not overworked. Function from that point below the highest and above the lowest. Split the difference.

Dean: What can I and should I do to further the progress of us all?

WE: Fully fashioned it is. Bells proclaim the New Man. Mirrored to them is grandeur of Tall One with golden feathers of force, of power. Quality brought forth to tear asunder blue demon lurking in center. You are given needed strength to do. Do!

Rhom: What significance does my moonstone ring have?

WE: Moonstone is badge of admission to School of Nautililus.

Rhom: What is that?

WE: Make John tell. (The rhythm of the silver dollar planchette changed.) A School of Fools, full with lore of songs, of body-rhythm, of mind, harmony and spirit-wholeness.

John: Good God! Did I write that?

WE: Perhaps you overlook the import.

John: Who and what is writing these messages?

WE: The writer is a silver dollar. Rhom is being channeled through. He has been clear for the most part. Where there have been digressions, WE have not bothered to correct them.

The session ended late, for on this first try it had taken a long time to get through it due to frequent stopping for Nadine to translate the message. Later all would become more adept at understanding the words as they were given and the pauses were not so frequent. In the ensuing discussion, the group pondered the significance of the Nile and its reversal and the four curious figures at its headwaters. Later, each was to become identified with one of these figures-John with the cat, (later seen as a lion,) Rhom with the dog (further described as "dog-not dog"), Nadine with the bird and Dean with the shaft. However, they never realized that they formed the four arms of a single cross or central mandala of being--ONE. In other words, they corresponded to fire, air, water and earth or the Jun gian mandala of Feeling, Thinking, Intuition and Sensation. The enigma of why these four figures had to be reversed along with the Nile's flow was never solved by the group, but the key had been given at the start with the letter "J." When the cardinal cross is formed by the letter J, it is the reverse swastika-the one used by Hitler. It signifies dissolution and dispersal. But when the key J is turned (and a key is meant to turn) it becomes L and forms the positive swastika-the one indicating creation and involution.

The Nile's flow related to the spinal column and the tree of the chakras and was later connected with the Hanged Man of the old Tarot who was to reverse to become the Hanging Man. The Nile is the only major river in the world that flows from South to North; therefore it is in itself an image of reversal None of this, however, was even vaguely understood at the time. The WE of the board was speaking in riddles. Some of the message given seemed sheer nonsense such as the School of Nautilus and the School of Fools. It was not discovered until years later that the Nautilus is the symbol used on navigator's maps to indicate the galaxy of the Milky Way--the Celestial Nile of the Egyptians formed by the body of Nut, mother of the gods. Therefore, it was related to the Nile's reversal, and may also have referred to time, for the Milky Way flows between the heart of Leo and the jug of Aquarius and we are on the brink of the Aquarian Age. Not only the reversal of the earthly Nile (or the Nile in man) but of the Celestial Nile is hinted here. Perhaps the reverse swastika formed in the age of Leo, the Lion, over 12,000 years ago is that which is to be reversed to the positive one as the Age of Aquarius begins.

The School of Fools meant initiates or T's as in the Nameless One who is the Fool's successor.

The next session did not take place for two weeks and in the meanwhile everyone had become increasingly intrigued by the riddle of the Nile and its reversal which had, at first, been almost overlooked.

THE LION THAT LOST ITS TAIL

August 29, 1962
Present: John, Rhom, Nadine, Dean.

Waiting you--presence of given star. Leap to motion. Period not understood. Period must be Sun-period. Sun-period is man's dawn. Moon-period is man's noon. Star period is man's twilight period. Is constant. Man is constant. Change is constant. Just as you know, you will make more known.

The hidden river is the ocean. The source of the river is at center. Open that center gently. Forceful entry not advisable, though possible. Seeming entry previously was at wrong center and time and spirit. G force has a center also, yet is scattered. For rightful purpose, G force must not be associated with a personality but with a force that is a portion of the spectrum. Full acceptance required. Stress NO. Reject whatever is of inferior vibration. G is the force of love in an active role, not a force of destruction. G has been misused seemingly only. G force will function at a rate slower than formerly. Force fields are constant, however. Carriers are many--understanders are not, however. But that mattered not until now.

Understanding is a requisite of acceptance and responsibility.

G will blend with a force not identifiable. Its carriers are on the way to becoming fit containers of that blended function. WE may assume a designation of X. Resumption of activity.

(Coffee-break while Nadine read back the message. What was the window of night? The Moon? But in the human body, it must mean one of the chakras. Which one? The brow? The solar plexus? If so, how did it relate to G force?

Think of France and what has taken place there. WE will now entertain a change of directors. (The planchette changed rhythm.)

Predicted events are in sway. Interference not needed. Understanding, yes. Support of leaders, yes. New lands are forming, new leaders are here. They will be there when called. Serpent sheds skins and dons wings. Ocean reversed. River loses force to parent and becomes golden spear in hand of victor.

Circled are all straight lines.
Yellow is the circle around Moon. Blue is the diamond within Moon. Red is the thread connecting solar orb. Green are the fields between. Stones symbolic will be carried with benefit.

Q; You mean we ought literally to carry rubies and emeralds, etc.?
WE: Corresponding in color.
Graceful One has a need-that long-neglected one.
Q: Dean?
WE: Yes. Grounding element. Not ground element, but grounding. Can be found outside Self.

Dean: How do I obtain it, find it, this grounding?

WE: Not in another. Place wings on ground, put feet in heaven.

Dean: Literally? (He was studying ballet at the time.)

WE: Only symbolically. Flights of soul not. WE will show in dream the pattern and its results. WE don't wish to personally involve participants. (Pause)

J-Lion of Judah. What about that? Have you met it, seen it as it is? Not stalking, but in repose. Think back carefully. WE will help recall. Did you leave behind a possessive entity? Claws. Think not of a person but rather of an eventful night when the lion was permitted to sleep and, thereby, lose its tail. What about it? WE ask again. Thereby hangs the tale.

If U reject the meaning, U err. WE will leave it alone if U ask. G.G.G. Would U like to awaken it once more? Sure? Do it! U can, U will, U must. Do it, Lion of Cain! WE cannot interfere.. From this point on, WE cheer U R stand. Thereby stands the tail. Fear not forever. Nothing will shear the upright lion. It has his power ready. It has his strength and majesty. The sleepers have flown. The night stretches into dawn -break. Roar, 0 Cain's lion!

Blight of past is blockage of present and promise of future. Royal mix-up is more than that. Periods of history inter-change. Carry-overs are evident. Period in flowering Egypt most muddled. Royal lines aborted. Royalty not aborted. Entwined lines of royalty and rulership recalled-at periods of recall-for reasons of aid to understanding the present rulership of Self.

Mix-up was purposeful. Present confusion is in front brain only. Reality presupposes clear understanding of that which has preceded. Man-woman confusion paramount . . . a child was born. Ruth fruitful. Seed of lion carries fruit.

The session ended here, for it was 2 am. and everyone was exhausted. There was no discussion after Nadine reread the transcript; it was long past bedtime. But in the eleven days elapsing before the next session, each, in his separate way, thought about it. Many clues had been given this night which would be illumined in the weeks and months to come, the principal of which was the Lion of Judah, also called the Lion of Cain. Clearly the lion was related to G force and to John for J, "the key of the Nile" had been indicated as John's signification in the opening session. But surely the ronde was confusing and would not be straightened out for some time to come. What had happened in "flowering Egypt"? What was the royal mix-up? And how did it relate to the Christ Spirit, the line of David and the Book of Genesis? Or to Atlantis, for that matter, for it was said Atlantis had gone down in 9,500 B.C., at the tail end of the age of the Lion?

The mysterious reference to Ruth was to be taken up again later in connection with the Book of the Virgin. (Formerly the World)

KEY FIGURE REVERSED

Bring me one bird, bring me two stars, show me three portals. Bring me a refrain. Wish me not gone. Join. Quell the vipers. Rise through the mist. Center all now. Placed upon the underside of the brow of Neptune is the Bird of Paradise. Twain sorrow seems one. One sorrow is not pulled apart and put together. Opened now, closed then. Twice born dies not. Stone of guilt is raised, never to fall and crush. Under each torn vessel is a heart pure. On each wing is a chariot of flame. Burned away are the dregs of bitterness. Peace shall come, dear ones. Vibration settling. I need a question from the newcomer.

Q: Which newcomer?

WE: Fred. The question is not important but one must be placed on the board.

Fred: How will this trip to Carmel affect my life?

WE: Carmel is for you a centering center only. Centering will continue wherever you are. Serpent-power at higher elevation to be looked for. Trust that which arrives on the wings of the snow birds.

Jane: Does Fred's answer mean we are literally to move to a higher altitude?

WE: Why do you question that, my child? When you have already been given a most clear answer-several times. The game must have an ending soon. The chores are not to be neglected much longer. Provisions are to be paid for. That is the law, my child. You are not being chastised, merely reminded. Any more questions?

Nadine: Would you tell me the nature of what has been happening to me this past week?

WE: Vivid is the impression impressed, cloudy are the streams, repaired are the divisions. Returned are the cloaks of seership. Opened are the avenues of remembering. Closed are the channels of dispersion. Loose still are the threads-the knotting element must acknowledge that function. Separated no longer are the scattered brotherhood.

John: Please relate more how the royal lines of Egypt relate to now.

WE: Sleeping still are the factors which will unravel the Royal Maze. With a flick of the fingers, so to speak, it is possible to place yourself in the proper role. '"Role" is a carefully chosen word as are all words. Traced upon the sand of your time is the impression incorrectly viewed. "Reversal" is the key word here. Key figure is reversed. Key is the open door to the past. The desert has rosed. Stay with it. It will open to your benefit. Its importance cannot be stressed too much. Ignore the smiles of those who are not so concerned. Stay with it.

(Coffee break while Nadine read back the message after, as usual, separating the letters into words, the words into sentences. The "key figure reversed" was the first overt clue to the Tarot, although it was as yet unrecognized-for the key figure was the Hanged Man who was to reverse and become the Hanging Man. It was clear, however, that the reversal of a "role" would unravel the Royal Maze-meaning the royal mix-up in flowering Egypt. However, the visitors were far more interested in understanding the message given them personally. It occurred to no one that the serpent-power at a higher elevation referred not to a mountainous clime but to a chakra-the serpent, kundalini, moved to the brow chakra, to be precise which would "happen" when the key figure reversed. This, however, was not to become clear until the Book of the Citadel (the Lightning Struck Tower) was given some months later.

Dean: What of the present Berlin situation?

WE: Black eagle joins ruby lily. Short is the time to the birth of-quote-a nation. Crisis exists not. Crisis is in the mind of man. A paper crisis only. Restore the vibration being generated by the brotherhood. It is highly placed. Your method shall continue to be not an overt one. Do not allow black symbols to divert your flow of energy. Help as you have done for your brothers many past ages ago.

Dean: What is the "ruby lily"?

WE: Flowering Christ.

Dean: What is the black eagle?

WE: Symbol. Russia is a symbol also.

Jane: Why did we see eleven white eagles en route here? (Talk of the number thirteen and of death, etc., ensued.)

WE: Written on the wind in the above and below are the signs to be read by the knowing heart. Read these signs and symbols aright, for there is no other way. Eleven is ONE, eternally repeated. Thirteen is the name of that which has not been known-a most fortuitous name.

Q: Would you write out something helpful for Fred and Jane?

WE: They are selected ones as they know. Their mission will unfold and will include another who is trying to come to them. He cannot enter the field that has grown up around them. He must enter their personal ground. He will enter with their permission. He is a seeming stranger. He is a brother-sister. Rapid is the pace they will walk together. Their field is with people of little understanding. Love will clear the way to full understanding. Many fortunate ones await their coming. Understanding is good. Personality is real, also. WE are much pleased with period.

After the session, Nadine sang Bob Dylan's song "The answer, my friend, is blowing on the wind," but she changed it to "written on the wind"--a song which was to become almost the theme song of the work in Carmel, as Nadine sang it again and again.

REVERSE THE REVERSAL

(Pause to discuss who the returned Pharaoh might be. Several claimants existed, but the "Queen never, prince, never" presented a seemingly insoluble riddle. Years later it occurred on re-reading the notes that it might have been Hatshepsut who was indicated-for she was a Pharaoh and was referred to as "he," not as "she" or the "Queen," and had certainly not been a prince. But the claimants who had presented themselves saw themselves as Akhenaton or Nefertiti rather than as Hatshepsut, who had lived a century earlier at the beginning of the 18th dynasty.)

Eight is a number of import. Its double circle has entwined the force of electric ones. Spaced between spheres is point of fusion. This number can be worn near heart region with great benefit. Substance of form should be copper. Wearers of symbol are students of ancient lore who understand well import of number mysteries. Pointed in the direction of sitters is a bringer of bright stones. This bearer has power to unlock closed doors-open door to new house. Now slammed shut will be the door that permitted frivolous activity and waste of electric energy. Bearer has misguided notion of personal direction, but no matter to sitters. Bearer has things necessary to do. Interfere not. In personal patterns, each has his chance; each must mind his own opportunities. Bearer of bright stones has subsidiary followers, balancers.

Swing now to another subject uppermost in pattern of company now seated not on a throne; like a spiral road that only ascends but goes not onward, this one goes in a spiral outward but not upward. Reversal to be accomplished. Sitting on a throne over-long numbs the limbs. Telling a tale sometimes involves the listeners uncomfortably. Pardon. To continue: Throne room has sometimes been a gathering place of knaves and fools drawn by the rosey light of the crown-wearer. Sometimes the crown- wearer has permitted an over-long stay of hangers-on-"crownwearer" is to be understood to mean something different in your present time. Gather together those forces--individual and universal-in your present orbit. Let not loose those straggling forces lying at the outer margin of yourself. All must be used. Concentrate to gather and incorporate those long allowed to straggle. Time of great activity, time of great doing. Question required:

John: What of present India?

WE: Seat of stone--black and white.

John: Has India to do with reversal?

WE: No. Reversal to be accomplished in site of worship.

John: Where is that site?

WE: Inward.

John: Has reversal begun?

WE: Yes, it has begun. Pace can quicken, and will, if return is made.

John: What is "return"?

WE: Reverse reversal. Ask more freely please on same subject.

Q: Are we all involved?

WE: Pattern going on with all but not being reversed fully.

John: How can I help the reversal?

WE: Recover loss. You must reverse reversal.

Q: Does John know how to do this?

WE: Yes. This is personal and understood. Lacking is the will to speed the return. All amputations need not be hurtful. Question, John? Leave it now. The time must come, dear one, when it must be placed on the table, as it were, and looked at. Time is eternal but wait not too long, son.

Dean: What direction of study for best reversal results for me?

WE: Release yourself to an all-inclusive force. Be not bound by that selfsame force. Then will follow an activity needed in this world. Unlock that door behind which YOU do not permit others. Fear not the tread of others on that hallowed ground. It is time to include all in your world.

Rhom: Where is the new direction to lead me?

WE: A step ahead is to be taken. Its direction is not to be foreseen, though foretold. With it comes "open sesame." React. Do not accept as before.

Nadine: Any advice for me regarding the odd and painful pressures I have been experiencing lately?

WE: Continue investigations. WE are satisfied that your question is sincere, but it need not be asked. Just continue.

Q: Should we have a coffee break now and then continue, or should we stop? (Everyone was getting tired, yet the energy seemed high, hence the question.)

WE: WE are not pushing at this time. At another time, dark areas shall be lit.

John: Let us light them now. We would like to get this over!

WE: Not so!

John: How many are WE?

WE: ONE.

The session had been intense. It was clear to everyone that the "crown- wearer" meant John, for he was very popular and his house at the Highlands was a gathering place for many, not only for the group. John welcomed everyone and there were, no doubt, many hangers-on who had stayed "over- long." However, the meaning was not merely literal. Its other dimension, although not clearly understood, was felt. The reversal of the reversal was clearly the subject uppermost, however. The question yet remained: return to what?

And John was to "recover loss"-presumably the lion's lost tail or the loss of G force. But exactly what was the lion's tail? In ancient Egypt, according to Breasted, the lion's tail signified the power of Pharaoh, and in the Sed Feast, held 30 years after the father of the Pharaoh had named him Heir Apparent, he was given, in a very secret ceremony, the lion's tail. The Pharaoh Narmer (Menes, who united the Two Kingdoms of the North and the South) was depicted on a clay-tablet as going into battle wearing a lion's skin and a lion's tail. They indicated Pharaonic majesty, strength and victory. However, since the lion had also been called "the Lion of Judah" it could not be seen merely as relating to the royal house of Egypt but to divinity or to the power of God. All Pharaohs were, of course, considered divine, and Akhenaton had been called the living Aton; and, in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, after the ceremony of the Weighing of the Heart, one became the living Osiris-whose bier was the body of a Lion. Osiris was often thought of as being related to the Christ. Thus the mystery deepened for those foregathered.

STAND UP FOR THE GOLDEN FRUIT

John had received a letter from a friend named Francis who had been visiting at the Carmel Highlands earlier that year but was now in New York, undecided as to whether to return to his home in Algeria or go to the West Indies. Nadine had also received a letter from Francis that day. Hence the "thought wall around the table" mentioned early in the session.

WE: A flashing red light is the sign of the commencing. Rigid no more--fluid again. Dotting blue light places point here. WE announce a new phase. Twice told is the tale, numerous the cast, known are the lines, unending is the song, treble the force. Unearthing process will resume uninterrupted. Stripped, the husks from the golden fruit are perjured no more. The Spirit shall be placed. In the midst of your Being is that Revelator. Loudly whispered is His note. True is His beam. Follow it. He has said "Shed the masks and robes of unreality, return to that A naked state of yore, don the well-worn garb of purity."

Traced from now to backward time in lines deeply furrowed is that meaning of all your todays. Now the furrow is congested. This will be adjusted. Rock of Ages is that which the waters circle and upon which the hungry dove awaits her feasting. In this pattern-seemingly absurd-is the right activity now foremost.

The down are being upped. The strays are being gathered. The not-needed do not exist. Unanimity will come, because it must. With the triangle is a power- core. This is to be utilized when recognized and released. The points-at present time--point in separate directions, but they must be focused to that fourth, and hidden direction. When this is accomplished, the trine contracts into a cube containing the others. This force is to be a real working unit. A thought-wall is around the table. Can specific answers be given to clear it, please?

John: What of Francis? Is he lion-force? Did he do "magic" that put the lion to sleep as he is wont to imply? Why, at this time, does he write--and why the pressure?

WE: It is all connected with present and the present-present. The one under discussion, Francis, is not a One but a many. They are not irresponsible but not responsible-though directly involved. The lion family is a varied one. The lion who slept was not lulled-but tired and slept. He who writes is seeking reconnection to aid the line of the lion of which he is a member.

Q: Are we four all of the lion family?

WE: Two of lion family present-one of lion family in body. (First the planchette pointed to John, then indicated Nadine.) Winged one.

Dean: (Voices objection to not being the second lion, as he felt he too belonged to the lion family. John and Nadine had both felt he was the shaft, the fourth of the strange figures at the Nile's headwaters-for the lion was the first one, the cat.)

WE: WE will talk to the shaft for now is the time. From top to bottom of shaft are placed in reverse order those sheaves which will be uncovered as the stalks are rolled away from the golden fruit. One on top of another are the mistakes of others. The shaft has been the unwitting but willing container. That function has been most burdensome to the bearer of this force. Only one willing and able to carry the burden has the opportunity to bear this burden. This does not say that all is on schedule now for things needed are awaited. These things are the lighteners. They are in your atmosphere but must be integrated into your being. These have to do with inter-personal relationships. WE will say no more.

John: Will you please be more specific about Francis?

WE: Riding on the back of the lion who slept and now dreams is that one to be carried through the dry and barren ground.

Nadine: Are we all to do something for Francis?

WE: Not by all. The burden is again heavy, of a heaviness not physical. That which is on a lion's back is removed when the lion stretches upward to the golden fruit. The fruit is remembered as being most satisfying-totally, in fact.

Q: What is on the lion's back? Another lion?

WE: Small one. The lion family is varied.

Q: Did the lion line commence in Egypt?

WE: Egypt is universal and eternal. Sleep is not with lids shuttered but dimmed.

Q: When did the lion go to sleep? This life? Past life?

WE: The lion has slept many times and he has slept in this cycle. Never fear. The lion who dimmed his lids permitted the rider to think he clambered aboard unnoticed.

John: Should I send Francis to the West Indies, as he hinted?

WE: Time is essential-timing, too. No, do not send him any place. You are the lion. You must merely stand up for the golden fruit of the past withering on the vine for want of plucking.

John: I am not responsible for Francis, then? I do not have to carry him through the "dry and barren ground"?

WE: He is on your back still and will continue for evermore unless you dislodge him by reaching for the golden fruit. This fruit WE speak of is vital to your total perfection and is not a pretty saying!

Nadine: Why does Francis write me?

WE: The appeal to you is not a real request for aid. Your involvement is in another sphere.

Q: Does the bird have feet? Nadine says it does not have feet for it is in flight. (Nadine had identified with the bird, the third figure at the Nile's headwaters, and Rhom with the dog.)

WE: The bird is in flight except when on the rock of ages waiting. At that time, few are standing though the desire to do so has been flamed.

Rhom: And the dog? What of the dog?

WE: The dog must also be reversed. The dog has been known in the world as something it is not. The dog has never been. The dog has been the symbol of that which has been the land of the Nile. However, he was not there in that form. Between the tail of the lion and "not-dog" is a relationship.

John: What has this to do with Cancer and Leo? What was the sign for Cancer in Egypt?

(A discussion arose about Egyptian astrology. The scarab was the Egyptian symbol for the zodiacal sign Cancer. The scarab has also long been thought of as the symbol for Egypt. John read from a book: "Cancer is not actually shown. for the space is taken up with the Hathor cow . . . . Further, this fignre shows a scarab, the symbol of rebirth, at the commencement of Leo. This I take to represent the rising of Sirius with the Sun. A scarab was placed at the heart of the mummy as early as the Middle Kingdom and a chapter of the Book of the Dead specifically identifies the scarab with the heart . . . the heart (and the "dog star" Sirius) identified with Leo." John interpreted this to mean that between Regulus and Sirius there is a relation.)

WE: Symbols mentioned contain great key. You have a fine awareness of symbols' import. When needed, some symbols should be combined or blended. For present-time and persons, the dog-sign is a blended sign. Cancer-Sirius. Sun, yes. Moon, yes. Star, yes. Heart, yes. Relationship is not to be given as a map but a relationship does exist and is a greater mystery than the container (the pyramid), the factor to be released.

Dean: Is the shaft, then, the pyramid?

WE: This has been quite covered earlier.

Nadine: Can these symbols be found in legend? Isis and Osiris, for instance?

WE: Legend, yes. Isis and Osiris. Dog Osiris, Sirius. Bird = Isis. Horus = shaft, connect, yes. They relate.

John: Tahuti is connected with the lion, then?

WE: Vocally. Yes is no. There is much to be revealed, uncovered and borne by the principals here gathered. However, we are running into a powerful mental bar. That is alright, too.

John: Thank you for this evening's words.

WE: Present at this very moment is that which you all felt for a moment when the bar was allowed to rise. When the bar is no more, great will be the uncoverings. personal and otherwise. WE, too, also give thanks.

What of the Tarot?

There once was an eagle born without wings. He walked over twigs and pebbles and never saw over the top of the lowest bush. Our eagle was not known of other eagles. None of the footed creatures would speak with him. In his total silence, he would gaze upward, knowing that he had something to do with those eagles soaring between the topmost clouds. This something he felt only as a lack. After a period of falling off rocks in his attempts to join those above-during which period he bruised himself sorely-he determined to continue his jumping. As time went on and he climbed to higher heights and fell to lower depths, he remained unknown to the eagles above. He traveled the earth in search of the highest peak and, after climbing it, he rested for a period. When the season of greatest storm arrived, our eagle walked to the edge of the peak and, with shrieking summons to the above eagles, he stepped off. He was surrounded by whirring wings and disappeared into the golden ball above.

This is a parable for all mankind. We dimly comprehend that a higher level of development is possible for humanity, whether we call them angels or UFO aliens. Not that these two things are the same. I believe we have barely begun to guess at our potential, particularly our potential to join our fellow humanoids in levitating huge spaceships and apporting them instantaneously over light-years. But we are presently like the poor eagle stumbling over rocks. The "golden ball above" represents all our higher aspirations.

John: How does this story apply to us?

WE: All will one day fly as an eagle. Do you think you have missed the stones and twigs in your own story? You have not. You have been sorely bruised. Your strength-gathering, rest period is awaiting the stormy season and the golden ball.

Q: Is the "golden ball" the new Word?

WE: The story has been said. "Green mansions" is a phrase--has it meaning for you? WE only ask. No matter. Up to now WE have exercised you. Now WE proceed. Quell the raging river, still the ranting lion, gird yourselves. Much is of perfection yet the process of becoming continues. You have minor and one major task.

John: What is the major task?

WE: It is unique for each. In symbol, John is to walk, Rhom is to stand, Nadine is to fly. Do not depend on a thing removed as far as your heart beats. Each in your circle aids all, yet each saves himself. "Saves" is a word to be investigated and fully understood. Help them who come--spare not yourselves -save yourselves, however. The help you give to each other is sometimes evident but not usually. The saying of Self is a great aid to all. This is clear but is said, nevertheless, as a reminder lest you forget. Great calm, great strength in sight. Love realized. Serpent has struck. His barb has entered the heart, his coils are loosed, his venom brings new energy. Vibrant is the flow between you; rewarding beyond imagination are the results of the flow of this vibration when functioning properly. Encourage this further flow. Abort not its benefits now. Let not others sway its course. They will attempt this. Yours is the choice-- question or adieu?

Q: How will they attempt this?

WE: You will know immediately and usually in advance.

John: What of the Tarot? It seems to be drawing me again.

WE: Follow its depths, enter its mystery, do not ever be frivolous with it. Do not expose it to the profane. You cannot err with it.

Q: Have you a message for Dean? (Dean was away on a trip.)

WE: His absence is felt, yes. WE would leave behind for each a special parting thought. This is received in silence . .

After the session had been reread, the three present realized that the Indian sonnet probably related to the story of the eagle--and that the word Indian may have meant American Indian, since the eagle is an American Indian symbol for the Spirit, also for courage and victory. The Tarot was not discussed, and no one connected it at the time with the "New Word" which later was to be symbolically manifested in the Book of the Speaker (the Heirophant).

The feeling was very peaceful that night. The preliminary phase had ended. The dictation of the Tarot was about to begin. Later, much that had been men- tioned in the early sessions which seemed mysterious would become illumined in connection with the Books of T. For example, the "ocean reversed" was connected with the Mother Book (the High Priestess)-find with the Nile's reversal, for if the Nile were reversed, the ocean would become its headwaters and inundate the Valley of the Nile. Symbolically this meant that the ONE or the SELF would inundate the river of the egoic self. The Mother, the Creator, was the ocean, or the "Hidden river" which is the heart. And below the house, the surf boomed against the granite cliffs. The ocean, in fact, was ever felt during those sessions at the Carmel Highlands- sometimes roaring, sometimes very, very still.

Green Light Around the Hands

No one was consciously thinking of the Tarot when this session commenced. The three members of the group present were still thinking about the meaning of the "cat, dog, bird and shaft" at the headwaters of the Nile and of Isis, Osiris, etc. Yet were they aware, by this time, that that which was coming down was beyond the ordinary and was, in a sense, "exercising" them, as had been said. It is significant that the symbol for this session was the Sun-- for the Sun (also to be thought of as a star, the ONE, the Aton sun disk etc.) had definitely come out from hiding as the WE of the board commenced to speak of the Tarot--which was an objective way of manifesting the message or the inner import of the "reversal," the latter meaning a return to a state of being in which the knowledge of ONE was dominant and therefore "the naked state of yore referred to earlier.

A symbolic Garden of Eden was being referred to and, possibly, a quite literal state on Lost Atlantis prior to the final destruction around 9564 B.C. at the tail-end of the Age of Leo, the Lion. When Atlantis went down, it is said that the high priests and others who were followers of "The Law of One" consciously "reversed the vibration"- which is to say turned the positive swastika to the one of dissolution --so that the evil which had come about through the influence of the Sons of Baal would be lost along with the continent. Their basic idea was to preserve for the present time-period the higher Atlantean principles so that, when another destruction was threatened, it would not take place. The negative swastika was again to reverse (or re-reverse in the terms of these notes) to bring in the positive energy at the onset of the Aquarian Age. The Tarot is obviously closely connected with this, or would not have been given in connection with the "reversal of the reversal."

Dean had returned from his trip but was away this evening, attending a class at Monterey Peninsula College. In the meanwhile, John had had an accident which is referred to in this session. He had unknowingly imbibed a poison which had nearly cost him his life.

WE: Bringers of light, WE salute you. Bearers of light WE comfort-you. Bearers of burdens, WE cheer you. Place your hands on the table of truth and come away restored. Willing are the hosts of elders to ease the load. Rush into print, stay not the flow, wring from each drop its full measure. Take up thy staff; feel free to express the inexpressible. Upon your efforts depends the very life of many which without your effort--cannot survive actually. The flesh may quiver and the pulse may race. The emotions may falter; still you will do and win. The still voice will not be stilled. The others may shout. Listen not to the shouting but to the Still One. You ask about being practical. Nothing in your world is more so. The whats and whys are taken care of, actually. Still you are not alone and never shall be.

When the source says "Rush into print," it is referring to the New Tarot. And the source says "Upon your efforts depends the very life of many which without your effort--cannot survive actually." Thus, the very survival of mankind depends upon this new word, this new collection of books for the new age, for without them, war and murder will continue, and the spiritual devolution of our age will continue, and another dark age will ensue. So the source is not being obscure when it says "Bringers of light, WE salute you." Bringers of light they truly were, although they didn't know it, and neither does the world...yet.

(Pause. In this pause, the group had a very definite feeling of a Presence.)
ONE is for all.
Two is forever,
Three shall be.
Four points the way.
Five takes precedence.
Six will not intervene.
Seven will win.
Eight doubles the way.
Nine contains the tale.
The numbers should be reviewed with understanding and will be referred to again when fuller meaning is given. The mystery of number IS. Not so, YOU. The strength of numbers' force is part of your structure. Build with and from that structure. Seated here now is a hovering number for each of you. It is known to YOU, but WE shall place it in the light now. YOU have used this number-structure before. Now use it knowingly. Three is the number of the bird. Five is the number of the upright one. Seven is the number of the One who walks. (Nadine, Rhom, John.) Will you bring up a subject for handling?

Rhom: What happened to John on October 6?

WE: The date is wrong.

John: That is correct. It was the 5th.

WE: The indicators are pointed in opposite directions. From each point streams a vitalness. From that spot whence the points originate lies the meaning. Dropped into the kettledrum is a resounding stone. Its rattle is not harmonious. Its sound reverberates in circles in widening arcs. Its vibration has been felt in far places. Its power is now on the wane.

John: Was the action, as it happened, part of the pattern? Was it necessary?

WE: Patterns are formed as they occur. What happened should have been avoided. Its activity was utilized, however, by that true YOU. A storm when it is gathering electrifies the atmosphere. When it has spent itself, the corn has been washed. "Vitalness" is a word for your pondering. Fear never-WE cannot say this to YOU too often. Fear not, for I am with you always.

John: What were the indicators?

WE: You and YOU-personal and real.

John: Has this got to do with reversal?

WE: The full beauty is to come. WE are pleased as WE have said so often. This has not been done in the past-past but now it is needed. Well done--but you can and will do better.

WE must say this for him who is not here: (Dean) Travel on in a direction that has been indicated. Refuse to be burdened with grips. Travel light, travel alone, always mindful that you are never alone. Expand the heart regions in a heartless universe. Do not be literal in your understanding.

(Dean was thinking, at the time, of leaving Carmel and M.P.C. for New York to get a job somewhere rather than to continue as a college student, etc. He was questing his life direction at the age of 22.)

Rhom: (with feeling) What is going on anyway?

WE: Divest yourself of the trappings of discarded patterns. The shell has cracked. Oozing out is the life-substance. Don't caulk the cracks. Expose that flow to the life-giving Sun. Birth is the most difficult experience in life. We all come through it okay. Into your triple pattern-and sometimes quadruplicate pattern-is about to enter a special, significant factor in the form of a female person. (A stranger was expected but, as became clear later, the person referred to was Rosalind-who had not yet attended the sessions at the Highlands and was, momentarily, out of immediate touch with the group.) She will uncover for you lost wealth. She has her own reward. And now to the Tarot. Spell out in numbers words of meaning. Center for a moment. (The group did so. The place became very still and even the candles in the altar holders seemed to still and center.) 1-2-9-5-3-1-22-17-8.

Nadine: What alphabet are you going by? One of the Mediterranean ones?

WE: It is older than that you must go. Save this with others to come. Place them apart. Together a story will be told in this fashion. Its reason will be clear. School is in session. The Tarot speaks!

Rhom: Have we met the arriving female?

WE: Many times. Past lives. You will know even as you are known. When certain times impress you with the rightness, you will shuffle and reread for choice persons for reasons beyond the apparent. In such matters, motions are activated.

John: I've always suspected this. Should one do mandalas with the Tarot?

WE: When a sound precedes, you should heed its beckoning and set into action that force for that now. A special understanding has been recalled; a special work results. Forgotten will be politics and niceties. Truth in its blunt beauty will issue to enrich the hearers.

John: But how will we know the cards' true meaning?

WE: Revisions. If an understanding is absolutely in error, it will be revised. However, there will be no revisions needed if what you know is called forth.

Nadine: Are the cards correctly numbered?

WE: No.

Nadine: Many changes.

WE: Yes.

John: Can we get them in the correct order, at least before beginning?

WE: Yes-slowly because of the nature of things. What WE are dealing with is the essence of ultimate force. Caution is required, WE are not confident of the time-factor and will stop when WE must. This you will understand. Proceed.

John: What of the Fool?

WE: There is no Fool. He is the Nameless One.

John: Is his number 22?

WE: Yes.

John: What is his function?

WE: He is the Resolver.

John: In the sense of being the transmuter?

WE: No. He is the container of all from the beginning.

John: What is his letter?

WE: T. A beginning. The end is determined by the three-pointed form.

Nadine: Do you mean three cards?-Death, Judgment, the Moon?

WE: Moon, no. The Wheel, yes. Determine end of the beginning.

John: May we take one of these cards at a time?

WE: Better if you could not think. WE will give you a new name when you do this work.

Rhom: Why, the 3-pointed form is the pyramid, the tomb!

Nadine: This is the T reversed. I thought they meant that in speaking of the reversal. It must be the inverted pyramid.

WE: Pyramid is upright. All ever.

Nadine: What has the Hanged Man got to do with the Pyramid?

WE: He is within the pyramid. He is suspended only-waiting. Hanging Man is better.

John: What number is the Hanging Man?

WE: 7. (This was the same number assigned to John earlier in the session.)

John: What letter?

WE: S.

John: What function is the Hanging Man?

WE: Redemption-just desserts by own activity. The hanging state awaits the redemption of the act.

Rhom: Is the pyramid a symbol of one of the cards?

WE: Yes-three staves.

Nadine: The three of wands? or a major trump?

WE: (No response was made to this question. Instead, an intense green light circled John's and Rhom's hands on the table. Silence reigned as everyone watched the green light.)

WE: A song is sung on this evening's wind. Its melody can be heard. Its measure will be felt. Feel it ere dawn breaks. To you movers, thanks. Spread the song, join the chorus.

John: Does any card symbolize the end?

WE: None.

The Mother

Dean, after another brief trip to San Francisco, was back and working hard on his metal sculpture as well as attending college. He was restless, however, and in some ways skeptical of the ouija board message. He belonged to a group called Subud, an Indonesian spiritual movement, headed by one Moham mad Subuh, which taught a method of contacting God from within rather than from without-to which the rest of the group belonged, at that time, also. But Dean, at 22, was more of a purist and was not entirely certain that the ONE coming through the board was exactly the same as the ONE contacted in the latihan (Indonesian word for exercise). Or rather, he was not certain in his mind. Inwardly he was as sure as the rest, for the feeling that accompanied these sessions was quite unmistakable, and the atmosphere was ever one of light, not the opposite. But, as the session opened, he was feeling restless and even irritable. He kept wandering around the room, as though oblivious of the lighted candles, the fire in the fireplace and the incense Nadine had lighted. He had other things on his mind than the coming ouija board session. As John and Rhom sat on the davenport in front of the fireplace with the paper oujia board on a drawing board between them and Nadine sat with her notebook and pencil poised, wearing, as usual her white dress from Guatemala and her plastic pendant containing a scarab, Dean's wandering around seemed almost a deliberate interruption.

At length, John said lightly: "We will wait 'til Lady Godiva gets on her horse "-by which he was referring to the statement made by the board "return to that naked state of yore," also the statement: "Ye have been given needed strength to do. Do!"

When Dean settled down, the session commenced. The fact that the new Moon was in Scorpio the night the Book of the Mother was dictated was to seem significant later since both John and Nadine had the Moon in Scorpio and Rosalind also. The sign Scorpio is also associated with ancient Egypt, Osiris, the scarab and the High Priestess and the High Priestess, Isis, was the predecessor of the Mother in the Tarot. While Cancer is the sign of the Mother, the sea, and of birth, Scorpio symbolizes resurrection, the phoenix, sex, death and regeneration and how can the Mother be separated from these connotations? But also, as was to be seen much later, Death is the Renewer-reveals.

WE: Bringers of sorrow, weep not. Twisted asunder are the ribbons that tie the child to his home. Fatherless at last, freedom is won. Half-born no more, the child walks alone. The youth falters into his manhood to discover his origin. He begets sorrow for a season. When the Moon of Sorrow sets, the dawn follows in its season to light the path of the twice-born.

(At this point, a freezing cold came into the room and caused Nadine and John to shiver. They both felt it physically. The blazing fire seemingly had no warmth.)

Cold-cold. A faint rosy warmth comes and, in its season, enflames the world. From the ashes emerges the silvered winged One. Sorrowing no more, enlighten your hearts, faithful Ones.

The group was very surprised to be called "bringers of sorrow." But the source explains in the following passages. "The light fears not the darkness. Not so the dark. Swept to its doom will be the spoilers." And in the present time, it is the "spoilers" who run society, dictate thought, and determine the backward "progress" of our Civilization.

Rhom: We are bringers of sorrow?

Nadine: Don't you see? Light penetrates darkness and brings sorrow to those who live there. Light is not easy.

WE: Light-bringers are called "bringers of sorrow." The light fears not the darkness. Not so the dark. Swept to its doom will be the spoilers. Your cast is not that of prophecy. Yours is active witnessing the activity. Having been foretold, would you have it otherwise? WE think not. Your patterns are deeply imbedded in SELF, the SELF WE know here. To question is seasonal. Activity has no season.

(Coffee break. There was talk about the Cuban situation. Dean, in particular, was ever sensitive, at that time, to world affairs.)

We would speak to one not here. WE may say this to you: Russia is not an enemy of good purpose. You need only silently remember this to do your part. There will not enter your individual worlds dangers of any kind. Involve yourselves not. Only hold fast to what WE now say: Russia is not an enemy of any good purpose. The Planetary ruler is reforming his charge. Is this understood?

Rhom: "Of any good purpose" can be taken two ways. Which way do you mean?

WE: Not enemy stop. The world body-centers are being . . . the best word is "electrified." Correspondence in other-or all-worlds. Changes are inevitable. The body grows to its purpose. Its mystery and vastness are interchangeable. You know this.

Here the unexpected collapse of evil Communism is foretold, as it was by Edgar Cayce. We may expect the further development of democracy and a Second Spirituality in Russia and China.

(Pause for discussion about Russia with some disagreement among those present. However, the conclusion was that only time could tell the answer about Russia and that, as is well-known, those who speak from "the other side" have no sense of time in the calendrical sense. Very often what seems immediate and present on another level is in the far-off distance insofar as human time is concerned. Someone mentioned the fact that it had been predicted that in the 21st century Russia would be the most advanced nation in the world and would have by then experienced a very great change ideologically and spiritually.)

WE: Sorry-WE forgot there are other matters troubling the table which WE have to handle this evening with full cooperation and understanding. If there are no question, WE will proceed.

John: What about Rosalind? Should she not be present? She says she cannot come.

WE: The situation cannot be separated from the personality in this instance. The Primary Personality Soul-world problem is simply a gaping wound. The wound need not be identified, only cauterized. The drip-drip of the blood-drops is heart-breaking personally and is the world body. The wounded soldier cannot be blamed, that his heart-substance spills and soils the earth where he has fallen. Some wounds are fatal, however, when not properly treated. A session with the two soldiers is indicated for medication if the wounded are willing to take strong medicine. WE never interfere as you must know. There is much, you know, about our work together.

Nadine: Do you mean that all of us should have a session together, or just Rosalind and John-the two "wounded soldiers"?

WE: For the session indicated, the players on the table will be the same--but she should be here. Others welcome -not necessary but welcome.

(A painful misunderstanding had occurred in Hawaii a few months earlier in connection with kahuna studies and fire ceremonies for the goddess Pele under the leadership of David "Daddy" Bray, one of the last of the old traditional Kahunas, or Hawaiian high priests. This misunderstanding was soon to be cleared.)

John: Dean, haven't you a question? (Silence)

WE: WE feel your hesitancy to uncover. This WE will not disturb. WE will assist only and never direct you at this point. You may be directed later-even commanded. The buried period will see the light of day in its season. Heavy lies the hand. WE wish to aid and will. Recovery of the lost treasure is made easier when the heart is golden. Each of the four, each of the five and six, has a treasure to uncover. Some have several treasures. Some treasures are actual, some are buried, some are in sight only not visible. The course is through the golden heart in all instances.

(Another break was taken at this point. The treasures were speculated upon but not identified. Each felt he had more to learn and hoped more clues would be given. However, the WE of the board this evening was proceeding toward the dictation of the Mother Book-the first one of the new series of the Greater Trumps of the Tarot to be described. The mention of the "child, half born no longer" at the beginning of the session was connected with the Mother as was the treasure and the "golden heart.")

Rhom: Will you please give me some indications?

WE: Dwell not in marble halls. Roam the sod. Open the valve to feeling in others as you feel by trusting yourself and others. Express instantly and true. Now cannot be a better time. The need is great. The reason for the stoppage has spent itself; know this! WE must say this about the Tarot readings: purity of purpose must accompany all readings for continued progression. A step backward is a long one; a step forward is a mighty one hard fought.

Throw one card on the table--not actually-and WE will see what gives.

John: What of the High Priestess?

WE: Good one.

John: What is her proper name?

WE: Mother.

John: What is her number?

WE: A changing one 1,2,3.

John: What is her significance?

WE: Creator.

John: How should this be understood?

WE: Depends on factor of the moment. Creator is ever continuing and changing.

Q: What letter?

WE: S. Sin, the fish, yes.

John: Sophia?

WE: More. Mother Creator is not a role but a duty-position is assumed by others. It is difficult to separate Tarot and reality in words. WE cannot in this case without floundering. You understand this card. Soul aspect-wrong word again. You do understand, though, right.

Q: In the card you describe, what does She carry?

WE: She carries a spark or star.

Q: Where?

WE: Heart area.

Q: What other symbols are on the card? Pillars?

WE: She strides them.

Q: What other symbols are there?

WE: In right hand a thunder bolt; left, a flower. Her robes are spread by birds, two birds.

Q: What kind of birds?

WE: Mighty ones.

Q: Is she crowned?

WE: Two serpents. Robes are black. Element on card is water. Above.

Q: Like the symbol for Aquarius?

WE: Almost. Waves almost.

Q: Does she represent the fish?

WE: More.

Q: Does the moon figure in this card?

WE: Yes, serpent's shape.

Q: What color are the birds?

WE: Coloring is not vital except when indicated from time to time.

Q: Have you any more to tell us about Her?

WE: Her eyes are closed.

Q: Are the cards of the Nameless One and the Hanging Man also very differently depicted in the cards you speak of?

WE: Later. (To Nadine) Cramps in stomach area will pass. Thank you.

The day following the session, John painted the Book of the Mother in casein on mat board. This first rendition he gave to Nadine because, at that point, everyone identified her with the Mother-the former High Priestess- perhaps rightfully so. Later he decided that his first version was wrong, so he did another one-the one that appears in the published Aquarian Tarot deck. His first version of the Mother was not pregnant; the second one was. Indeed, She seems imminently to be giving birth as she stands atop the two pillars . . . Her Son is to be born of the waters of the womb, but her Sun-the star upon her breast in the heart area-is born of fire and is the Virgin, Beingness, also the Holy Grail "The course is through the golden heart in all instances."

THE BOOK OF THE NAMELESS ONE

Nadine was in Sacramento, so Dean did the recording for this night's session. The planchette commenced by going around and around the symbol drawn the board, first in one direction and then the other, out-in, in-out, etc. It had never done this with a symbol.

WE: Powerful are WE. Powerful are You. Powerful, powerful, powerful. Swing it out, draw it in. Silver the tone. The twisted trine will be mended ere long; untwisted the cord that binds, frayed ends spliced. A wholeness to emerge, sweet its perfume, soft its song, enduring its strength, unending its sphere. The mend occurs uninvited because of time-pattern. The three Wise Ones will walk the rough ground un-shod, exposed in the vitals. To them will rush the beating wings of the mighty bird.

(As the group realized later, this entire passage related to the Victorious One- formerly the Chariot-which was to be dictated November 24.)

WE: The mighty orb casts no shadow now. In the wake of the storm, seedlings sprout. The kingdom has been stormed and won. It is a time of great rejoicing. Naked stand the trine. Down the wind comes a shower of shafts. The trine is split asunder. The shafts flower and bear fruit. The fruit is partaken of by the many. Deliriums follow, madness hovers. Not for naught has been the preparation. Supple the movements that take wing from the ashes. Their robes are now well worn. Maleness in your world to strengthen, woman-ness to strengthen. Hand in hand, the duo wed and produce a flower. (An early reference to the Book of Unity.) This wedding is not consummated amid happiness. Bitter have been the moments. The honeymoon is over. The flowers' petals will be snatched at, their perfume will be squeezed and attempts to sully their sweetness will follow. But stand firm for each crushed rose will be replaced by another. The song WE sing tonight is a love song.

A blade of gold, a silver horn, a jet staff, a diamond Off WE now go to another matter: weaponry. tube, a stone. These have deep significance to each separately and to all collectively. The wielders are the same order as follows: Rhom, John, Dean, Nadine, Rosalind. When these are reviewed, let none be greater than another. The arsenal is loaded with needful instruments. You have already responded to and experienced the effects of using your weapons. There is much more to come. Your weapon fits you like skin. Wear them in good health. Let no man steal your thunder and no man will carry you back on your shield. Floating over the land will come the dirge. A leader has fallen.

Q: Is that why sadness exists in the room tonight?

WE: The sadness is of the people. The spirit soars and sings a song of freedom. (A day or two later Eleanor Roosevelt died which indeed brought sadness to the people of the nation.) To give numbers we may assign 4 to the stone (Rosalind).

Dean: (Dean asked a silent question as to which number was his.)

WE: Yes, it is 9.

The group recalled that the other numbers had been given previously: Nadine was 3, Rhom 5, and John 7. They went on to discuss the fact that some people are at the center of activity, such as the work being transmitted through the board, while others are at the periphery but that all of them seemed to move in and out of the Carmel center. Was there something special about Carmel? Was it, in fact, the major center of the ONE work?)

WE: The vast network is spun over a bridge. There is much coming and going. The spans extend in many lands. The center strut is not fixed. Be not deluded there. An exercise WE recommend to you is that of personal recall. Take a quiet time and recall everyone you have ever known. Do not make of it a labor. Divide it as you will and allot to each his due. Please do this soon. There should be no regrets, there should be no abortions. Give new birth to each one.

Rhom: Have you anything to say to Nadine who is in Sacramento?

WE: Retreat never. To your world has come a vital pressure. Embrace it. No more. The Mother of Creation is again functioning. Place a card on the table and WE shall see what WE shall see.

John: The Nameless One. Is he like the present Fool? Is the card very different?

WE: Similar.

John: Is there a precipice?

WE: Behind.

John: Are there animals?

WE: Two--a cat-dog and a spider. The cat-dog is at heel, the spider is overhead.

John: What does the Nameless One carry?

WE: Books in his hands; left one open, right one not.

John: Is he in profile?

WE: Naked in profile. The Sun is overhead and is reflected in water in distance. Cat-dog is two-headed with cat-body.

John: Colors?

WE: Lightness.

John: Is there an ocean beneath the precipice?

WE: Lake, no ocean. Precipice holds a mound of bones. It is a dark pit full of bones. That IS the precipice (the pit of bones). In the distance is a reflecting lake. It starts behind and to the side on card-the lake, that is. Left corner-far distance, though. The naked One strides, clothed with his books, away from the dark pit of bones which lie beneath and behind him. More later. The Books are not like your books. They are scroll-like. Behind him are the stones, in front of him are flowers. On one calf is a band of purple. The forward leg. Number not.

Victory is to be portrayed.

When naming it say the Nameless One. No more.

John: What of the Hanging Man? Can we get a description now?

WE: Timing leaves nothing hanging, not even the Hanging Man. Patience, 0 Lion! You have been told the import of a slow pace. The Mother-creating period has made this clearer. Clearer WE cannot be. WE appreciate your attention this night. Journey on now.

In the ensuing discussion, after Dean had read back the message, the beginning part of the session was seen as being related to the Nameless One and almost an announcement of it-which indeed it was. However, later on it was clear that everything that had been said applied equally well to the Victorious One whose meaning was Self-Mastery. But, since the Nameless One was the container-resolver and was the one who held the Books (the scrolls) which he himself wrote, he "contained" the Victorious One as one of his projections. For the Nameless One is the "son" whom the Mother carries within her belly, and, as such, he is the hero or prototype of all the ensuing Books. The curious matter of weaponry was discussed. It was clear that it related to victory and the battle of the Nameless One after his leaving the pit of bones behind him, but beyond this no one could go. Throughout the remainder of the Carmel sessions, the group was to be haunted and puzzled by the matter of weapons. It remains an enigma to this day.

The Hanging Man

John's painting of the Nameless One now hung on the wall next to his second version of the Mother. (The Mother Book was the only one he did over again.) The group thought his cat-dog looked rather odd, but still it conveyed the idea. As the group centered in stillness prior to the session, a very high vibration was felt in the room. Was it due to the Grail?

WE: The quest of the filling cup. Pondered long and completely, they, the meaning of the cup. Forgotten in the study was the Fashioner of the cup and the score who quaffed at its rim. The contents--virgin, unchanging-differed for every man. No man will drain the cup, yet all must hold it aloft and become immersed in its elixir. Drunk indeed are they who wet their lips in its blood. Death shall know them not.

(Pause) Mary, the ring-bearer, tells a tale: Thunder is a character in the tale. Released he was. The void crackled in his presence. To him rushed the vibration of ringing bells in millions. Under Thunder's heel was the serpent green. His two--tongue spat bolts. His coils wrapped upward to Thunder's life-center and beat a steady song. Thunder mis-breathed and crushed serpent green who reflexed the life center. Still silence reigned, awaiting Thunder's new breath. How long? End of tale.

This odd tale has to do with John, who is Thunder, and his former wife, Mary. The green serpent represents sexual initiation.

(The group paused to discuss the tale. Unlike the first tale, the tale of the eagle born without wings, it seemed obscure and incomprehensible. John thought Mary "the ring-bearer" probably referred to his former wife, Mary, who had a very valuable and supposedly magical or "force-carrying" diamond ring which she had worn when they both lived in North Africa and were on the quest of T, also of the sacred letters I,R,O and U. But in this he missed the connection between the cup--or Holy Grail--and Mary, the mother of the Christ. Thunder referred to the Christ, and to the thunder of God, so to the Hanging Man, whose meaning was Redemption, who was to be described ere the evening was over. However, "serpent green" was to remain a mystery as was his relationship to the ''life-center,'' the solar plexus. Yet the tale is clearly related to the Hanging Man who wears a girdle of serpents starting with his solar plexus, and pointing, in the form of an inverted pyramid, to his groin.)

The road onward stretches forth over broken-ness. Ties are broken, backs are broken, minds are broken, spirits are broken, but the road ends not. It is not beset with danger or mortal fears. Walkers tread lightly, freely, gaily, forever.

We live in a materialistic, reductionistic age, one which doubts the independent existence of the mind, much less the soul. So, restoring a sacred purpose to life is not going to be easy. From a spiritual point of view, we live in a dark age, where the road does indeed stretch over broken-ness, where ties are broken, minds are broken, and spirits are broken. But the source gives comfort in the paragraph which follows, and spurs the group onward.

A poem is sung to a Weary One unnamed: Report to us. Stay not your moments. Push out the One to be delivered. Grind your eyes and drip those stones; let them fall around below. They mount skyward; they glisten like the pearls they were. Mount up and report. Strike the steel to the steed, bend over the mane. Sure-footed, come to us and report. Behind and below are the depths; above, the deeps. Seated firm is the reporter. Sure is the rein. Gallop on, gallop on, gallop! Sands cover that which must not be seen now. Sands preserve something for each one here tonight. The items are as small as a tiny jewel and as large as a modern city. The areas are scattered in many directions. It is enough to know these things are yours and will come to you, whether you labor for them or others do. Only when these things are returned will you be fulfilled. (This was a reference to the "lost treasures" which would be expanded upon in the next session.)

WE bring this matter forward now so that the power of attraction can commence. In this regard, it has begun. Do not labor it. Let it function, however. Something has been stolen.

Q: Who from?

WE: ONE. Justice has been done. Ask that question, John. Your question.

John: About the stolen object?

WE: That is not the subject. The question, John, please ask.

John: Is Andre's arrival connected with the Tarot? Did YOU bring him here?

(Andre-later to be called Peter--had recently visited at the Highlands with a mutual friend from San Francisco. A brilliant and gifted poet, age 22, he had a very "shining" quality about him. He was to return later, to stay for several months, before leaving for Europe where he intended to settle in Florence and continue writing poetry. But, curiously, before leaving Carmel in the spring of 1964, he destroyed all his poetry though knowing in advance that he had another fate before him. After only a few weeks in Rome, he departed for Katmandu, Nepal, where he became secretary to the Sakya Lama and, eventually, a Buddhist monk, wearing the orange robe of the sannyasin. Today he still lives in India, as a highly revered monk and Sanskrit translator.)

WE: Yes, he was sent here. He is the 'harbinger" mentioned before.

John: What "bringer"? Please remind me.

WE: Not necessary. The point is being missed. (Andre-Peter was the "bringer of bright stones" mentioned earlier. John picked up the reference when he reread the transcript the next day.)

John: What force does Andre carry? Is it a new and different force?

WE: Central. Into the matter has leapt the Mind which WE love-but not as much as YOU.

John: Is it because of reincarnation that I feel so close to Andre? What is the connection?

WE: Child, father, mother, friend . . . these are beads on the chain. There are other beads. Together, they repeat-and repeat.

John: Why Rosalind's recent series of difficulties? (There had been financial problems, fruitless job-huntmg, housing and car-breakdown hassles, etc.)

WE: At the edge of the forest lies a clearing. It is better when one finds the clearing in the middle of the forest. To answer the question: there is a clearing somewhere. She will stand in it, she will rest in it, she will advance from it. How unfortunate for the wanderer of the forests to be without a compass on dark days! Be prepared with one--food, also--when the clearing is won and left. A word of comfort to some wanderers is necessary. If the clearing is not sighted before darkness, remember scouts are on the way. WE prefer not to relay in curves, though.

(This was the first example of a seemingly personal question--or rather one relating to a specific personality-which was answered in a way that was universal and could apply to Everyman. Many more such will be found in the sessions to come.)

(Pause. Silence.)

Treatment of Books of Life well done.

Q: Ought we to "place one on the table" now?

WE: Try.

Q: Please describe the Hanging Man. What is he hanging on?

WE: Man hanging in card, not ON. The Hanging Man is a man who hangs, but he is not hanging. He hangs others.

Q: Where on the card is he?

WE: He is atop two buildings. (Like the two pillars of the Mother Book- repeated as a motif later in the Donor.) One has a dome; the other has no roof and hides his feet. In his extended arms-ON, rather-are hung a man and a woman-the man upright, the woman inverted. The domed building is on the left, the hung man is on the right. (The domed building, therefore, corresponding to the woman; the one with no roof to the man-yet another reversal)

Q: What does the Hanging Man wear?

WE: A robe of purity. A girdle of serpents many, their heads pointing to his center. The girdle is a belt from which are suspended many serpents whose heads point downwards but centerwards. The two serpents in the middle are longer than their neighbors. Those at the edge of the robe are hung just below the girdle. The pattern is like an inverted pyramid.

Q: What does he wear on his head?

WE: A flower-red, tulip-like.

Q: What do the hung man and woman wear?

WE: Naked. The man is hanging by his hands, the woman by her two feet. Not roped. The man has a linkchain, the woman hangs by a glove.

Q: Where?

WE: On forearm.

Q: What is beneath the Hanging Man?

WE: Animals-wolf, lion, sheep. Daylight, sunrise. A peep between the buildings. Horizon distant and of no importance. All activity is taking place in the fore-ground. Animals are upright but tranquil. Center is sheep looking to right, wolf on left facing right, lion right facing right. The Hanging Man is weeping.

Q: Are the animals looking at anything?

WE: Facing only. No number.

(Everyone noticed later that it was interesting that the WE of the board specified numbers for only a few of the new Books of Life-whereas numbers had been assigned to the members of the group. But, evidently, numbers were to be "tested" on later-but never were. Later the board was to say: "There is no number but ONE.")

Q: What letter and ought it to be drawn somewhere?

WE: A. Above on chest. WE will test later on numbers.

John: Are we through with the Hanging Man?

WE: Never! Pace is good. We all made it. Thank you.

Earlier it had been stated that the meaning or function of the Hanging Man was Redemption-the same function as that of the Christ, the "lamb of God." and a lamb was one of the three animals at the foot of the Hanging Man. A trinity was seemingly implied; the wolf as the egoic personality or persona, the lion or Lion of Judah as the Self, and the lamb as the "holy spirit" or the Christ in Everyman. The symbol seemed very Christian at the time, but it was also related to the Pyramid, the T, and Osiris and the concept of sacrifice or self-sacrifice (and suffering) in order to achieve the balance of ONE. The Hanging Man was, in fact, to "hang heavily" on those present throughout the sessions. He, too, was a riddle, a mystery, never completely understood but always felt. And, after all, he was weeping. What did this mean? And was he, truly, the right reversal for the Hanged Man? Was he not suffering even more cruelly by standing atop two buildings and hanging "others"- the opposite polarities in himself?

Winds Blow the Willows Flat

WE: Steady-steady-while the winds blow the willows flat. Steady and yielding be you. That which passes, passes. It leaves behind nothing to be remembered. Change is constant. To resist change is suicide of spirit. Flashed before you have been pictures of up-coming changes. All shall be affected but the dead. Be it known, resistance is seen. Be it further known, there is no ill wind. The Archer appears. He has no quiver. Shooting bolts of liquid fire, he destroys the demon at the portal. The demon dies a thousand times and rises yet again. He is not to be destroyed, finally, but elevated. (This was the blue demon lurking at center" mentioned in the opening session August 17. The ego? Or kundalini? Probably kundalini, for, in the Book of the Citadel, given December 8, the serpent of kundalini is no longer found at the root chakra but is "elevated" to the brow chakra-the ama or fire center. Flame, as is explained later in connection with the Deliverer Book is thought of as "blue.") The one following the Archer elevates.

WE: Think not lightly on this saying: it will come to pass again. (Referring to the "twice-told tale.") Smoother now goes the wind past the willows. Good. Locked in the heart is a secret, sacred something. The morn of unveiling breaks cleanly. A rosie purity shelters the humble. A rod of grace is bestowed the faithful. A garment of crystal decks the just. The feast follows the fast-and Love triumphs.

Do you see how the play is played, oh lovers?

You do--and that is good.

The lover is never sated, his object ever eludes, his fulfillment is not known and this is the way of things. From world to world he loves onward, creating futures. Such a grand creation! How profound the direction: "Love ye one and all."

(Everyone noted the mis-spelling of "rosie." Neither John nor Rhom spelled it this way. It seemed very clear tonight, as, indeed, it did always, that they were not dictating the message--and that, in fact, no finite human being could have written it.)

May WE lovingly serve you this night?

John: May we continue with the Tarot?

WE: You may prepare for another Book.

John: Will you give us the card most helpful to us at this time?

WE: Well said! The Virgin.

John: Is this the name of the Book?

WE: Yes. The preparation period is now; the Book to be read later.

John: How do we prepare?

WE: The message of the night will prepare you if studied properly. Book to be finished at another time. Your ready acceptance is gratifying.

John: About the Hanging Man? Is the flower painted in the correct position?

WE: You have done what you had to do. (Questions John asked about his rendition of the Books were invariably answered in such a fashion. He was also often told to color "as led.")

John: Is there anything more on the card?

WE: A mark is needed in the lower right hand corner-like a signature, but not that. The reason is your personal identification with the card. It is not on any others given to date. The mark you select is your very own.

John: Why the tears on the Hanging Man?

WE: The answer is never given for each questioner has been given the answer and it is burned in his being. Each knows and weeps also.

John: What has B'hai, the Bab, Bahaullah, etc., to do with the messages and with the Tarot? (At an earlier time, John had been strongly drawn to the B'hai movement. Several members of B'hai had been among recent visitors at the Highlands.)

WE: The thread is van-colored and is woven into a cloth the world has long known. Let no man claim the cloak as his. Many wear it for a time and pass it on. WE-though unimportant-will one day be known of you. (This last statement seemed to imply that the "WE" was one of the cloak-wearers-but did it also mean that later "it" would manifest? The remark was enigmatic and could be interpreted in many ways. However, it was clear that there is only the ONE cloak-that it is passed on from wearer to wearer and is woven of the threads of various religions and teachings.)

John: What can we do for YOU on this level? Is there anything?

WE: Yes. When so impulsed to accept OUR teaching-if that is what you call it- follow it. When impulsed-whenever-share this gift.

(Pause, Silence.) The hawk of night has just swooped into your midst, gathered a shower of stars, and is now separating them throughout the world. Blessings.

In discussing the session later, the group realized that the preparation for the Book of the Virgin was connected with the message about the "lover . . . his object ever eludes, "for the Virgin, Beingness, was that elixir which was sought in the cup known as the Holy Grail. The cup had been spoken of in the session of November 10 prior to the description of the Hanging Man. "The contents virgin, unchanging differed for every man." On this night, the Cup seemed very, very close. And, in the next session, the first of the five cups of the Tarot was to be described in--and "on"-the Book of the Virgin.

The Virgin

Rosalind had finally gotten a baby-sitter and driven down to attend the session at Carmel Highlands. This was the first time the group of five had been fore-gathered in several months.

WE: Seeds are sprouting. Buds promised Will not wither. WE have grown since WE last gathered. It is bud-ding. Worlds are to be won this night. Storms will abate. Calm will be the atmosphere. Tensions will not be known. The wand of Athena will touch the brow and OUR work will continue. The warden has opened the steely doors. The Sun enters again and a butterfly wings in. The vulture departs. Relax. WE will pay a visit to the Garden now WE have passed the walls. The flowers have been plucked. The fruit stolen. Why has this scene been presented now?

There is a Garden known to each. At another time, you enjoyed the Garden's sweets. Here you dallied and went forth. You let others tend the Garden and they did not. It was here that you were stolen from-each to his own nature. A stone was halved; a child was born not-born; a jewel was swallowed; a crown was given to another; light was darkened. Great was the loss! Sorely missed, these treasures. A pattern was begun to be repeated many times. It is well to visit gardens in and out of season. This trip most productive though questions have arisen. See the Garden in bloom and let the questions answer them-selves. YOU were there. Now WE are here.

(The planchette traced these designs around the numbers on the board, then pointed to the symbol chosen for the session. The original symbol evidently lacked only the circle (4) around the triangle (1,2,3,) to complete it. The group discussed the Garden for a moment. The garden "known to each" was clearly reminiscent of the Garden of Eden described in Genesis, yet was a variation on it. Had something else happened than was told in the Bible? The mysterious lost treasures-mentioned before-were involved. There were five of them. Which or who was which?)

The past is very dominant now. Yes, tale of past. A stillness is creeping into the mind of man. The spirit fades; glories of the flesh predominate. False gods proclaim their greatness. (Atlantis? The flood of Noah? No further clues were given.) A council of seven meet to bring the truth to the heart. This picture fades and a land appears, great with greatness. Rulers there were. This is a period you are centering on now. The Royal Maze confounds still. Before you were the pyramids. The child was born to rule though did not. Nor did the ruler. A father failed his children and lost himself, a song-singer wandered to the far hills and beyond, a virgin remained to flower the desert, the caster of spells mystic divided body and soul. Again patterns similar are seen and known. You may ask "Why this?" and WE answer: "It must be-and more." Center again for greatest benefit. Now one question, well-phrased, will do much for centering. Ask.

Q: How best can we understand and benefit by this concept of the repeating pattern?

WE: Centered now. Thank you. Patterns have been repeated, exchanged, erased and picked up again on other levels. When understanding of present pattern is yours, all patterns everywhere will be known. This is near in some cases and nearer in others. The Royal Maze refers to exchanged patterns. The dual state is almost an accomplished fact. But how it is battled!

Q: Resisted by us?

WE: Yes.

Rosalind: What do you mean by exchanged patterns?

WE: Here today, gone tomorrow-now me, now you. The battle lines are drawn, but who will engage the Armed One? Shall the armor glisten in the Sun till dusk?

Q: Who is the "Armed One"?

WE: WE.

Q: What do we battle for?

WE: Victory comes when WE are met.

Q: Is the battle new?

WE: No.

John: The battle lies in the heart.

WE: WE have drawn first blood.

Rosalind: What is the nature of this battle?

WE: Most terrible!

Rosalind: What is the goal?

WE: Victory-complete mastery of the Self. Do not holster your pistol!

Rosalind: How does one do this? Some must have been victorious . .

WE: You never have. You will. The Self must be known, loved and forgotten.

Q: By the Self you mean the individual?

WE: Much more.

Q: What is the Self?

WE: ALL.

Q: How is each to use his own weapon?

WE: Five fingers a hand make. Remember you are lost in a strange land. The language is only sensed. You are far from home. If you think you are home, you will never get there. The day came to each when he thought he would never get back home. If he but knew, one step more would have put him home. Always take one more step! Rest now. Return if you will. There is more.

During the coffee-break, the five lost treasures were discussed. The stone that was halved clearly related to the caster of spells mystic who divided body and soul. The child born-not born to the child born to rule who did not; the jewel swallowed to the virgin who remained to flower the desert; the crown given to another to the father who failed his children and lost himself; and the light darkened to the song-singer who wandered away . . . yet what was the real meaning behind them? What did they symbolize? What "treasures" of the one whole Self had been lost? As five they referred to the pentagram of perfected man and later were to be seen as the five jewels of the crown at the heart of the Royal Maze. Could they mean Being, Truth, Wisdom, Unity and Love, or did they relate to the chakras? Or perhaps refer to a literal story, long forgotten? The mention of the pyramids seemed to place the allegory in Egypt, along with the Royal Maze, yet it was also a repeated pattern which had happened before, starting with the lost Garden. And the Self? The "Armed One"? The "battle"? The session was resumed, everyone hoping for further clarification; but yet other mysteries were to come up, including the con- tinuation of the tale of Ruth, hinted at in Session 2.

WE: Starward fly thoughts of doubt. Better now except for balance. (The board had tipped between Rhom and John as they were seated on the davenport. They straightened it.)

Ruth is here and Ruth is fruitful. A child was born. He walked with men and beasts. The men, he tamed; the beasts, he loved. And Ruth wept. The beasts ripped the man-child's heart from his body and left it. No man came near the living-dead. Ruth gathered the heart to her bosom and roamed the far regions of the world seeking she knew not what. After seasons of wandering, the living heart rocked. This stone was placed in a common spot for all to see and think upon. This-Ruth's heart of hearts-reached the heart of all. You will see the day when this heart of stone is found and placed in operation. T-ruth!

Rosalind is Ruth. The story is similar to the Isis-Horus-Osiris myth. T is a central symbol for this deck. An Ankh is a T with a handle (we see figures on tomb walls carrying them this way). The crucifix is also a T symbol. The symbol came first, made into a pseudo-historical event later. It stands for the gesture of orisen, used by the early Christians. It simply involves standing on a high place and putting the arms out to the sides, in a welcoming gesture to all that life has to offer, good and bad. The word "truth" just happens to be formed with the T symbol and the name "Ruth."

Rosalind: (Writes question relating to how to make money and solve urgent financial problem on piece of paper.)

WE: Burn it-burn it! (Rosalind burned the paper in the fireplace.)

WE will report that we have with us the lost who is found. A wilderness- seeker has quested strange blossoms and found not the fragrance. Only in snowy peaks are found the flowers desired. There--in the cold purity of ice--can such rare blooms be preserved. The peaks have been stormed from above and below.

To scale the top, naked are the feet so that blood is spread upon the snow. You have dropped your crimson. The petals are exposed. Why hesitate ye? The night is long and bitter cold. Pick your treasures. Leave the peak through the center. Descend to your fellows. Strew your petals. They will forever bloom in pure places.

Rhom: Was that an answer to Rosalind's question?

Yes it is! This is the first session with Rosalind present, and she will turn out to be one of the major creators of the eventual new tarot.

WE: WE could say "pick up your marbles" in another way. WE may now proceed with the Book of the Virgin. Do not connect Books with entities. Now ask.

John: Have we this card in the modern pack?

WE: Yes. It has several names. It has been known as the World.

John: Please describe this Book.

WE: As you know it.

Q: Is the Virgin in the center?

WE: Yes. She holds in each hand a ribbon which twines around her. Her head is uncovered, her limbs are seen, her breasts are open. One ribbon in each hand. The streamers pass in front only. Viewed from the rear, She would be nude. Clasped in the toes of her right foot are two rods. Her knee is lifted and her legs are spread. A ring of red flowers circles the Virgin. A star with seven points appears near her feet. She is not on the ground, of course, nor is she in the sky. You know how to do this. Twenty-two flowers. Five leaves only, spaced equally. The flowers are like roses.

John: What does She wear on her head?

WE: Wait . . . . One feather which sweeps down could be called a plume, is a feather, though. Left-right of Virgin. The color of the feather is yellow. The ribbon is white. She has dark hair, neatly long. Corners: Lower right corner--a red apple. Upper right corner--a child. Face dual. As to sex and color, face left-boy is black. On right-girl-is yellow. Is on left of card. One head, two half-faces. Okay? Left corner-cup, chalice, golden with light streaming from interior. Cup's base is at top of card, light descends. Simple cup. Bottom left-hand corner-lightning- struck horse. Four feet down, facing in. Profile. Color of horse-black and yellow, Streaked.

John: Like a zebra? WE: Not so uniform. From underside lightning strikes stomach. Comes out on back. Letter is O.

Q: This is represented by the circle of flowers?

WE: That is O. Name is Virgin. She is open-eyed and close-mouthed. She is calm in attitude; her arms are at her side, gracefully. Her function is Being-Beingness. That is a Book with your names in it. You are written of in the Book of the Virgin. Each Book is complete, yet together they are a Book. You have been written of in all Books-though not told this before now. Clear? Rest now.

The session had been such a long one that there was little discussion afterward. Was the Book of the Virgin connected with the strange tale about Ruth? She must be. And the Virgin wore a feather-like the feather of Truth (T- ruth) of Ma'at? Or the ostrich plume of Isis? It was impossible to know at this stage. The feather was yellow-the color of the Sun, also of the solar plexus chakra. But what of the heart that rocked, the heart of stone? The enigma of the tale of Ruth and its connection with the Book of Being (the Virgin) was to remain an enigma throughout the sessions. Could the heart of Stone "placed in a common spot for all to see" be the great Pyramid of Giza or the Sphinx? If so, was it connected with Atlantis and the Atlantean secrets said to have been preserved in Egypt?

Unity

WE: Twisted and tangled are the roots binding ye one to another. Some are deeply buried, others are air-roots shining in the light. A root is a root only, drawing its life from a common core--which means to say: ye shall bear a mighty fruit! A tearing process unfolds before you. It is as though the pages were cut apart rather than in two. The words long unread will then be visible to the readers of the Book. A needed operation for full reading will then have been performed. The tool must be kept clean and sharp. A ragged tear is unsightly. Red a color of import now. Have it close in any form or shade. To the new month red helpful only-vital no. Ask that question.

(No question was asked. If one of the group asked a question silently, he or she did not announce it).

WE: That which has been foretold will come to pass because it must. While you are living as people, people are not involved. This is a hard saying for the uninitiate to accept. You, however, are not in that group. A hard saying for all. Spacing of events most wonderful. The hands you are in are your very own. A further step needed. It requires that which has never been done before by an actor: reverse pattern. No more. Willingness to continue game-not game is a vital requirement of the players. There will be a winning team and no losers.

John: Will there be another Tarot Book tonight?

WE: It will be a Book of import. Draw a circle. A man and a woman are on this circle on the outer rim. She is on top lying on her back; he is on the bottom lying on his stomach-stomach on circle. Within the circle is a body of water in which swims two sea creatures. Put wings on fishes, facing the viewer. In left to right order across the bottom are a blade, a star, an ear of corn (corn off staff), a turtle with a bird on her back, and a tree in fruit and flower. The figures are unrobed and suggest simple purity. They must be clearly sexed. Is the picture clear that they full circle the globe?

John: Yes.

WE: Above are four phases of the Moon. Left to right-full first, new, quarter with horns down, quarter with horns up. The one called new'' is the same as full but without color. Clear? One up, two lower, three up, four lower. Man holds full lily-like flower. Woman holds short wand. These holdings do not touch, nor should apart-ness be suggested. You place them just so. John: Are there any special colors in this Book?

WE: Moons yellow and one white. Flower is white, wand is black. Field of Book is red.

John: What about the fish? Are they in the water or flying above the surface?

WE: Both in water and air. At sides of Book are ladders. No letter.

Q: What is this Book called?

WE: It has been called the Lover. You will call it Unity.

Q: In what form are the blade and the star?

WE: Sword is straight. The point should be down. Five pointed star.

Rhom: It seems surprising the man and woman do not face each other.

WE: They go the same direction in all things.

Q: How ought this Book to be understood? What is its designation?

WE: Completeness and Unity are the names and purpose of this Book.

Coffee break while Nadine read back the message and the fifth Book that had been described. The work was becoming ever more exciting although the symbols and connections remained mysterious. It seemed significant, however, that there were five symbols at the foot of the Book of Unity -- connecting it with the five lost treasures, the five fingers of the hand, the five members of the group, and the five-pointed star. Furthermore, it was the fifth Book given. The number five was becoming ever more emphasized-yet, at the same time, the four phases of the Moon were at the top of the Book. Four plus five equals ninee--and, it had been written earlier, "Nine contains the tale." Did Unity, then, 'contain the tale"?

WE: Hello. A ring, studded with light, encircles your vibration-containing it and returning it to its center. The ring is temporary. When it is dissolved, your influence will be unbounded. The ring is good now. The hoof at your temple is a golden one.

John: If it is all right with everyone, I'd like to tackle something.

WE: A two-way street accommodates much traffic.

John: (He asked a very complicated question about Salome, head-hunting, pools, the lion, the axe, etc.)

WE: It has been said: "Traced in the sand of your memory is the riddle's unsolving"-and unsolved it will-and must- be if the darers but dare!

John: But why the pool? And why does sulfur water have such an effect on me? (He had recently gone to the sulfur baths at Big Sur.)

WE: Dig in the water. The past-known-lies in a watery grave. A headstone is to be rolled away.

John: This all has to do with the crocodile!

WE: Yes.

John: Is that why Gino (a friend of Dean's) brought me the spiraling lizard's corpse?

WE: Reverse it! The gift-reverse it!

John: Do you mean make the head spiral outward? But that will destroy the lizard.

WE: If it involves destruction, do it!

(John reversed the spiraling lizard's corpse, then threw it into the fire to be burned.)

WE: Where lies the tale now? Tale-not tail.

John: It lies in the past at the center point.

WE: It does-but it should not lie in its present condition. That which has been put away should be in such condition that decay does not disease. The stone will roll away. The grave will contain nothing. The terror comes in the digging only, during which times tears and blisters form.

John: You mean that there is a literal grave to be found and opened? (He was thinking of Egypt with which the crocodile symbol was connected, also the lion and the "watery grave." Was there a tomb beneath the surface of the Nile?)

WE: In the past only. The death involves the One to live forever. WE must say in fairness to you, son, this is your story but not yours alone. Your efforts to bare are as real as you can stand now. There is more required of you at another time--after you have witnessed the crocodile and the lion in combat. You can slip your weapon into the fray if you will.

John: What of the horn? (A silver horn was his weapon.) Is it a musical instrument? Or a bull's horn?

WE: It is a curved horn, not a musical toy. Not a bull's horn-but close, as you know it.

(Related to the symbol for Hathor, John wondered-or the Moon?)

WE will walk with you. Enough.

Victorious One

Prior to the session, everyone had been talking about Point Lobos. Earlier that year, many meditations had been held there and it, in itself, seemed to contain a legend or a tale. In Spanish, this tiny promontory, now a state park, had been called La Punta de los Lobos Marinos-or the Point of the Sea Wolves, meaning Sea Lions. It was also the scene of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island."

WE: What will ye?

John: Are our "treasures" buried on Point Lobos?

WE: No. Priceless gifts there ARE. Buried they are not. Call it not Lobos.

John: What shall we call it then?

WE: There is a land called Motherland. This area is called, in like fashion, Sisterland. John, direct the questioning, please.

John: How are we to understand our relation to Sisterland and use its power for humanity?

(It was said to be the center of psychic force for the entire Pacific coast but that, unlike Mount Shasta, it had "not yet made friends with humanity.")

WE: The meaning of a Sisterland is not known of in this time. A meaning there is and knowers of it are ye.

John: Was Motherland in the Pacific? (He was thinking of the legend of lost Lemuria with which "Lobos" was supposedly connected.)

WE: The Motherland extended from North to South and beyond both horizons. Its center was above and its core had no boundary.

John: Was Motherland physical? (By this time, he was thinking, also, of Atlantis-since Motherland, apparently, was not confined to the Pacific, and, in any case, the exact geographic location of Atlantis was uncertain. Atlantis, it was said, had been called the Motherland-but so had Mu, or Lemuria. Were they one and the same?)

WE: Motherland has many children.

John: Does it still exist today? Is it what is called "home"?

WE: No.

John: Is this land the Mother's sister?

WE: Child of child.

John: Granddaughter?

WE: Yes. It is now a haven for gathering, restoring, preserving and multiplying.

Nadine: (Recording). You are going so fast I can't keep up with you! Speak louder, Rhom!

WE: WE will change the pace, for sweetness is a theme you sing well. Sisterland is a secret place and its meaning is not to be known of by all. Nor does its secret mean equally to ye. There will be seasons of its import to ye. (No- ticeably, the WE of the board was being "cagey" about Sisterland and Motherland. Direct questions would not be answered directly. A secret was being preserved.)

Q: Is this symbol on the table tonight connected with Sisterland?

WE: Yes. Such symbols as are in black (the center portion) tower in white above this land. Three in number are they. A word may be fitting here: make not a graveyard out of a haven. Gather strength and move on. Havens are many-graveyards but one for ye.

Q: Does this symbol have to do with the Tarot card Judgment, or Resurrection?

WE: That is another Book. Please-there is no judgment anywhere, no Book.

Q: We've been asking many questions. Have you a message for us?

WE: Voluntarily you selected plays and donned costumes and, on occasion, had star billing. Each vehicle had its author and director. Now you are in the New Theater where you are writer, actor, director and audience. Critics there are not.

Q: What are we performing plays for?

WE: Each is learning to know what he is. That answer cannot satisfy but WE cannot answer otherwise. It has been similarly answered by the men of old whom you knew also. When that answer is fully known, the theater season ends.

Q: When did the present theater season begin?

WE: The New Theater began for you at moment of birth. For all present-this life.

Q: Why this life?

WE: The season is on schedule.

John: Is this because of what the Hindus call the unwinding of the skandhas?

WE: It is not for One to say which is winding and which is unwinding. An author may omit whatever scenes he wishes.

Q: What is the next step ahead in this play?

WE: All participants-actor, director and audience-can be totally aware of each other at any given moment and, at instant of creating, may become aware of curtain's close and any acts between. It is an art form to be experienced. Practice is in rehearsal.

Q: Were we not actors, directors and authors in previous lives?

WE: Yes, but you have never sat in the balcony before. Who asks about the missing One? No matter. (Dean.))

Q: What is his role?

WE: Prompter.

Q: Are there many of us in this play throughout the world?

WE: Many.

John: Plays inter-play, don't they?

WE: Yes.

Q: Who, then, is directing the overall play?

WE: WE.

Q: What about God? WE: It has been said, "ye are Gods." What do you think that means?

Q: How can we understand this, know it?

WE: Shall WE try another medium, a tale? A girl-child unwanted by mother and father was placed on a log in the river. The quickening water carried her to the white water and beyond. For many days a black bird carried drops of water to her tiny lips. When the Moon passed one time, the log was brought aboard a ship. The girl-child and blackbird were revered by the travelers. When the ship homed, the girl-child was sung to by her new people. She in turn sang to them of her homeland, and other songs. In time her song was known, and she left her new family, and the black bird was left behind in marble. To this day, her song is sung.

Perhaps an illustration of the way an ordinary mortal creature (the blackbird) may be a god, and be worshipped as one.

Q: What on earth has this tale got to do with anything? (No one ever understood it, and none of the group does so to this day.)

WE: The tale is told. WE have not spoken idly. Is there a pressing concern?

(Rosalind said that she had been thinking of one. She did not name or explain it.)

WE speak to the concern: Leave! You are not in this child nor is she in you. Too long have you leeched. You are no more substantial than the nightmare you are. The cock crows, the sun lifts, the morn arises and all awake. The dark is over the hill and the shapes of the night are the well- loved landmarks of memory. Daydreams arrive, bringing fulfillment ere dusk. Be gone!

(Pause. The "speaking to the concern" seemed to have a universal, not a merely personal, meaning. It needed not to be explained to be significant.)

WE: A new Book. 'Tis a great Book-one that you studied and, in fact, (have) written.

John: What colors are around our hands-pink, gold, green, blue-gray! (All watched the brilliant display of color over the hands of John and Rhom on the "table." This was not the first time there had been a visible manifestation of color, but this was the most varied one so far.)

WE: Remember colors. Picture now a noble man. He is the Victorious One. He has just left his golden chariot. His dress is as follows: white is the color of cloth he wears. He wears only one sandal which has thongs rising above calf on his right foot. His left foot has two wee wings rearward. His white robe is unusual. It is like a long strip with a slit for the head to enter. It falls front and back to just below knees. It is narrow and does not extend beyond nipples. He leads on a leash-one leash-a brace of lions. His chariot behind him is without animals. The chariot in front has a device like your pulpit. The device is a guard for the vitals. Two wheels, a standing area, no seat. Was a battle wagon. No roof. A sunburst on front of chariot. The chariot leads are grounded. The whip remains in chariot. From a chain on his neck hangs tonight's symbol. Not black-gold. No weapons. Upheld flower-one, exotic in right hand. One glove on raised arm-right hand. A circle of blue stars on brow. Seven stars. In the sky hangs a full and mighty sun, directly above him in center. The lions are right front. Right rear-chariot. Two lions. Lions are-one white, one black. Black's mouth is wide open. White lion next to noble. Above Sun at top of Book, spreading from cover to cover, is winging eagle. Black. In his talons are shafts-spears, three in each talon, pointed up and down. They cross also, like pyramids joined at peaks. Each talon holds two pyramids. Eagle looks at left on Book. On left, a curtain. Fine one-thin, seen through-held aloft by small blue birds. Behind curtain, area of battling wolves. Many wolves. Name of Book is Victorious One. Letter is C. C placed on curtain. Is drawn over battling wolves. Letter ripples on curtain.

Q: What other meanings has this Book?

WE: Self-mastery is meaning of Book. Very noble battle and Book and victor. You know this one well. Rejoice! The Redeemer draws close. Sing your song. Well done. If no more, then no more.

Clearly the Victorious One was the former Chariot or Charioteer. Self- mastery had been mentioned earlier in connection with the battle of the Self the battle with the Armed One. The eagle on the Book held shafts in his talons in the form of pyramids. Was it a coincidence that a cluster of shafts appears in the left talon of the eagle on the U.S. dollar, and that the cluster of stars above the eagle's head forms a star of David or a double pyramid? "The writer is a silver dollar" it was stated in the opening session, referring to the silver dollar, with its eagle, used as a planchette.

Way-Shower

The symbol placed on the board this evening came from a discussion of the rose, the lily and the thistle -yet formed a star radiating from an Egyptian ankh-symbol of Life. Dean was still away.

WE: Prepare, watch, record, report. Tale-teller sings refrain of nobility disunited. Crowns lifted and reversed, mantles switched, scepter mishanded, throne upturned, the ruler is naked. The Royal Maze is entered from the North. A winding path leads Eastward, South, reverses. A path runs Southwesterly for two paces, twists East, rests at a Northern point. The Maze wanders carefully to the South and rests. The reversal Northwards brings the Maze-follower to mid-center where no visible path is seen. Darkness postpones journey through Maze. It will continue when morrow's dawn lights. The feeling prevails of a successful passage at last. The celestial period approaches. Does this provoke questions?

(In an early session, the star period had been referred to as "man's twilight period"-but the group did not catch the reference until later.)

Q: What is a celestial period?

WE: A time when those bodies around planet exert influe