Tarot and the Gates of Light

by Mark Horn

  Questions for reflection and contemplation: Day 7

  1. (Wands) Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the Flow blessings in your life, or have you known someone whose life is filled with blessings yet they seem burdened by them? What is your habitual response when someone remarks about the Flow of blessings in your life: are you a “kineahora” type of person, do you react with an “oy, don’t ask” kind of response, or do you express gratitude for the Flow?

  2. (Cups) Consider the full spectrum of your emotions: which emotions are the hardest for you to feel and express? Why do you think that is? What is your experience with the ability to feel the Flow of several emotions at once; for example, being angry and loving at the same time, or happy and sad? When in relationship, what is your experience with being able to be fully present to the full spectrum of your partner’s emotions?

  3. (Swords) What are the patterns of thought or beliefs that have blocked you from the Flow of Love in your life? What old thought patterns need to die?

  4. (Pentacles) Consider your therapeutic relationships, whether as a guide or client: how do you surf the dynamic of being Present to the Divine in the other while honoring the financial arrangement? What are your thoughts and feelings about money and the Flow of resources in a therapeutic relationship? What are your feelings around this issue? How are financial relationships in your life expressions of a spiritual relationship?

  WEEK 2

  Gevurah

  IT’S WEEK TWO. Metaphorically speaking, we’re on the trek through the desert. Imagine that long line of ancient Israelites—men, women, children, and the “mixed multitude” of people who went with them. Plus animals, tents, and belongings. Without the discipline of Gevurah holding everyone together, people would have wandered off in all directions.

  I am a gay man who is a child of the sixties, and Gevurah can feel like “the establishment” to me. Authority that defends the rules without soul. Law without compassion. And that is indeed part of the shadow side of Gevurah. But to look only at the shadow side suggests there is a lack of balance that must be addressed. Gevurah is the Sephira associated with the Torah because, after all, the Torah is the Law. That’s not to say that the Torah is free from severe laws that show no compassion—consider the death penalty for a son who disobeys his parents.1 However, Gevurah is an essential component of the Tree. Everything is out of balance without it. But the Severity of Gevurah on its own chokes the life out of everything.

  Remember, it’s Gevurah at work in restraining Chesed, which on its own is overwhelming. Some Kabbalists believe that creation began with Gevurah—with the Divine Limiting Itself through the constriction of the Tzimtzum so there would be space for our experience of reality.*13 There is a protective quality to Gevurah that can get lost in our (my) projections onto authority.

  During the second week, we get to explore our relationship with this difficult energy, how it works in our life and relationships, and how it is expressed through the lens of the other Sephirot.

  Day 8: Chesed of Gevurah

  Creating Structure without Stricture

  Today is the eighth day of the Omer, which is one week and one day of the Omer.

  Just like the yin-yang symbol, Chesed and Gevurah are always in dynamic tension, and there is a little bit of the other in each of them. On the second day, we explored Gevurah in Chesed. Here, the focus of the pairing is reversed, and we get to consider how this shift in focus changes the meanings of the cards, how it shades the energies of the Sephirot, and the issues they raise for us.

  Over the course of the next six weeks, there will be many other days when we encounter card pairs we’ve seen before, but in a different order. And today is the first time, though this is the structure of the practice, as you will see. Notice how this seemingly simple change can change everything.

  Day 8: Chesed of Gevurah in Atzilut

  The Four and Five of Wands

  _________within_________

  You’ve seen these cards before: they’re the same cards for the second day, the Gevurah that is in Chesed. But here the order is reversed. A change of order may not seem like much, but Counting the Omer is a practice not unlike mindfulness meditation. It calls for being aware of subtle shifts in energy.

  So what is Chesed that is in Gevurah? How is Love expressed in Discipline? Consider the simple traffic light. It’s an example of many of the characteristics of Gevurah: Law, Structure, and Form that express care for both pedestrians and drivers. The Flow of traffic is directed with safety, and in order to do that, people as a society must come together and agree on this Structure. Of course, this is a pretty Assiyatic example for the cards in Atzilut.

  Both the world of Atzilut and the suit of Wands are connected to will. We can see this in the action of the man in the Five of Wands, holding his wand up in a position to command the attention and obedience of the other four people pictured in the card. This is Love expressed in the will to create Structure and Discipline out of the chaos he sees before him. This is the wand of Psalm 23, in which the psalmist sings, “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” This is not a wand to be used as a cudgel to beat someone into Discipline—the way Zen monks whack your back if you’re not sitting in perfect zazen style. This is the staff of the shepherd guiding his flock, an expression of Loving guidance and protection. Where is this energy of Gevurah expressed through Chesed at work in your life?

  Day 8: Chesed of Gevurah in B’riah

  The Four and Five of Cups

  _________within_________

  The very shape of a cup is an example of Gevurah in the world. It creates a Structure that holds and, in the case of, say, a pitcher, directs the Flow of liquid. So let’s consider again the potter throwing the Form of a cup on the wheel. One of the potter’s hands is on the inside of the Form being shaped, the other is on the outside. The force on either side must be perfectly balanced. On the outside is Gevurah, Discipline, holding the Form and giving Structure to the clay body. On the inside is Chesed, Expanding out and lifting up the Form with a Loving touch that understands the imperfections and Limits of the clay body. When Love is expressed through Structure and Form, the results can be beautiful. So it is with Chesed of Gevurah. This is not Form for the sake of Form; it is Form infused with meaning.

  A potter friend of mine once asked somewhat philosophically of the experience of throwing on the wheel, “Do I center the clay, or does the clay center me?” When you can express Chesed of Gevurah, you’re coming from your center and connecting to the Center that is everywhere.

  Looking at the Five of Cups, we see that overly strict Discipline can lead to loss or that being Judgmental focuses too much on loss. But a Disciplined approach that includes Love sees that all is never lost and that (in the Four of Cups) the Flow just keeps coming. With balanced Discipline, we can direct that Flow and share it.

  Day 8: Chesed of Gevurah in Yetzirah

  The Four and Five of Swords

  _________within_________

  The figure in the foreground of the Five of Swords has what looks like a spiteful smirk on his face—the nasty glee of an unpleasant winner. In the distance, two other figures wander off. They’ve dropped their swords on the ground. One seems to be grieving—walking away in shock and leaving himself undefended. This is an image of schadenfreude: the man in the foreground is taking pleasure in the misfortune of others as he picks up the discarded swords.

  So what does this have to do with Gevurah? As Law, Gevurah is necessary to keep the universe from chaos. But the feeling here is less the Law of the Divine and more the Law of the jungle, which has no pity. Gevurah is also the pivot point where the Tree connects to what is referred to in Jewish mysticism as the Sitra Achra, or the other side: the world of the demonic, the world of evil, the Shadow Tree. The other side is always present and looking for opportunity. It can warp the Judgment that is Gevurah and appear in our lives as defeatist selfcriticism or as someone outside who really is hypercritical, spiteful, contemptuous, and wi
thout empathy.

  Part of the message of the Five of Swords is that even when you face a defeat or setback, you can’t drop your defenses and walk away. And here is where the Four of Swords and Chesed come in. The knight-to-be is not holding a sword either. He is using the sword of intelligence to look within and gather strength so that he can act with that strength out of compassion rather than spite. The meditator is armed with the sword of discriminating intelligence against the attacks of the inner critic.

  When you reflect and look inside, you may well find that you’re not immune to feeling spiteful. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, since all of us have these feelings at times, but it is dishonorable to act them out. And this is where the Four of Swords puts the break on the energy of the Five of Swords. It does the inner battle against the desire to humiliate another. It awakens us to the voice of the inner saboteur who is lying in wait to take our swords of clarity, leaving us to feel contempt for others or ourselves.

  When we’re dealing with Gevurah in the suit of Swords, criticism and Judgment become especially sharp, so it’s an opportunity to look at your own style of criticism, because the energy that belongs to Chesed of Gevurah provides you with a chance to reflect on the way you criticize others (and yourself). It’s a call to be mindful, using awareness to find the Love and express the Love within criticism instead of simply expressing a sharp Judgment.

  Day 8: Chesed of Gevurah in Assiyah

  The Four and Five of Pentacles

  _________within_________

  One of the words associated with Gevurah is Severity, and there are few pairings that feel as Severe as the Four and Five of Pentacles. Who would not feel compassion for the two beggars, one shoeless in the snow, huddling against the weather as they walk outside a church? It’s true that there are many so-called religious people who have no compassion for the homeless or the poor, and there are many houses of worship where they preach that poverty is God’s Judgment. This is the unbalanced Severity of Gevurah at work in the world. But this unbalanced Severity can appear within each of us, leading to the question, Do I have a Judgment of myself that keeps me from feeling the Love of the Divine and that keeps me feeling outside, in spiritual exile?

  The great Hasidic teacher, the Baal Shem Tov,*14 told a story of a king who built a palace with no doors and surrounded by high walls in concentric circles. The king then offered great rewards to anyone who could get in to see him. Many tried. Those who managed to scale a wall were met by guards who gave them gold and jewels so that they grew satisfied and stopped trying to see the king. Only the king’s son realized that the walls and the gold were all illusions. He passed through them all to see his father.

  The beggars in the Five of Pentacles may well share the illusion that there is no way inside the church and that they’re not welcome. They may suffer from the delusion that they aren’t worthy of the Divine Presence. This is severe self-Judgment, though of course it may be introjected; that is, they may have internalized criticism that came from others. It could also be the case that because these people are suffering, either because of poverty or illness, they feel abandoned by the Source. Their pain and suffering clouds their ability to find Divine comfort.

  When we consider how the Chesed of the Four of Pentacles mediates Gevurah, we see a man who knows that the ground below him is holy, the sky above him is holy, and the heart within him is holy. He doesn’t let the Structure of an institution blind him to his Divine connection. His message to the beggars in the Five of Pentacles is that the star engraved on the disk is also within you.

  We can also look at the Four of Pentacles and see the shadow side of Chesed. It shows someone who, like the people in the Baal Shem Tov’s parable, let his love of gold become a spiritual obstacle. Either way, this pairing of cards should serve as a wake-up call from the delusion of self-imposed spiritual exile.

  Questions for reflection and contemplation: Day 8

  1. (Wands) What structures have you created in your life that are an expression of love? What are the structures in your life that you experience as an expression of love?

  2. (Cups) How does your discipline help you express your love?

  3. (Swords) How often do you examine your motivations before offering criticism? Is your criticism sharp or contemptuous, or is it expressed with love? In which close relationships do you find yourself expressing Judgment sharply—and why?

  4. (Pentacles) What Judgments do you hold about yourself that keep you in spiritual exile, that keep you from feeling Divine Love? Think about the different communities where you are a member: In which of them do you feel judged? Where do you feel welcomed? What about yourself or what actions have you taken in your life that make you feel unacceptable to the Divine? How might you heal this break?

  Day 9: Gevurah of Gevurah

  Learning Restraint in Judgment

  Today is the ninth day of the Omer, which is one week and two days of the Omer.

  This is the second of seven days where the Sephira of the week and the Sephira of the day are the same. And of them all, Gevurah of Gevurah is perhaps the most challenging. Do the work of this day, but beware of falling into a well of self-criticism.

  Day 9: Gevurah of Gevurah in the Four Worlds

  The Five of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles

  _________within_________

  This is a difficult day, when I often experience the strength of the shadow side and the negative possibilities of this Sephira. Severity of Severity. Discipline within Discipline. A very constricted place. Mitzrayim in fact—the narrow place of slavery we have escaped from. And here we are, nine days out, facing the slavery within. What might that slavery be?

  Are you white-knuckling this practice? Are you being rigid in your approach to a spiritual Discipline? Is this an energy you recognize? I certainly do. I can get pretty rigid about things and be a real hardass sometimes. And Gevurah of Gevurah is the place of rigidity, of Structure devoid of love. I’ve been in institutions, organizations, and companies where I felt this, and I’ve felt it within myself. Part of the challenge of this day is to sit with this energy without being squashed by it, to feel this energy without identifying with it: feel the spaciousness around it knowing that it is within you but that it is not you.

  Where Chesed is boundless, Gevurah is all about Boundaries, building a wall. As you know, there are important, positive reasons for Boundaries, but there is also the possibility of using these Boundaries to prop up the ego. Gevurah is the pivot point on the Tree for the Sitra Achra, where the will of the ego takes precedence over Divine will. It either doesn’t recognize Divine will or makes the mistake that the egoic will is an expression of the Divine will—the delusion that is the source of evil.

  So I always have to remind myself that Gevurah is an essential energy and that because there are many characteristics and key words that can be used to describe the energy of Gevurah, to simply think of it as Discipline of Discipline or Severity of Severity is reductive and simplistic. Because Gevurah, in its role of boundary setting, also has the quality of Restraint. So another, more positive way to look at the energy of the day is as Restraint of Judgment. Looked at this way, Gevurah of Gevurah is having the Restraint to keep from Judging another or oneself.

  There are times when it’s important to show this Restraint. I’ve worked as a creative director in the world of advertising, and part of this job means I’ve had to review and Judge work developed by my team for creativity and strategy. When I look at work by seasoned professionals, I know I can speak directly about any issues I might see. But when a junior team presents work, I know that if I don’t show Restraint in my critique of the work, the team won’t be able to hear or learn. They are overwhelmed by Judgment and take it personally, as so many creative people do. I’ve made this mistake a few times with less experienced writers and art directors who weren’t able to take in important criticism because my words were not Restrained, not balanced with Love. And believe me, you don’t get good work from
people when this happens. So for me, a very important exercise for this day is to consider how to Restrain my more Severe side and to know when it’s appropriate to express it fully.

  The Buddhist in me notes that Gevurah of Gevurah is also the Form of Form, which from a Zen perspective is actually emptiness of emptiness. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles!

  When I lived in Japan, I found myself chafing under the Form in this highly formal society when I first began to study Sogetsu ikebana—one of the three main schools of Japanese ikebana flower arranging. Even though Sogetsu is the most modern of the schools, a beginner starts with a basic Form and does it again and again. When you look at the diagram of the Form, you can see it is very, well, formal.

  The arrangement of the flowers is quite fixed. When I first started working in this most basic of Forms, if I varied an angle by so much as a degree, my teacher would move it. If I tried to improvise something because I felt it would be a little more interesting or creative, she would move it back to the proper Form. I resisted this for some time, and then I surrendered to it, and I learned the freedom of Form. For that matter, when I realized how truly different the arrangements looked from student to student, I was stunned. When I saw how varied this one Form could be from week to week, I was impressed. And when I considered that no matter what, the arrangement always looked natural, I became a disciple. Eventually, I received a license to teach in the Sogetsu school.