Tarot and the Gates of Light

by Mark Horn

  There’s an expression Jews use when someone has done a good service for themselves and others: yasher koach. It’s most often translated as “go from strength to strength,” meaning that may the strength you’ve demonstrated in your good work and deeds grow ever stronger. So to you, dear reader and companion on this path, I say, “Yasher koach!”

  Day 49: Malchut of Malchut in the Four Worlds

  The Ten of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles

  _________within_________

  The place on which you stand is holy ground.

  EXODUS 3:5

  In the Ten of Wands, we have reached the end of the journey: it’s time to put down anything that isn’t yours or that doesn’t serve your higher purpose. It’s time to be sure that the Responsibilities you take on will be healthy and in service of your growth and of Tikkun Olam.

  Regarding the rainbow in the Ten of Cups, in the last seven weeks, you will have no doubt experienced the full spectrum of emotions, and this is a gift. Those who are depressed live a muted experience, where emotions feel muffled if they are felt at all. You have been given the gift of feeling. Feel deeply, that you might know yourself in your heart and that you might share the joy and sadness of others.

  The image on the Ten of Swords reminds us to continue to use our insight so that we might not fall prey to illusory fears or desires and that we might not allow old defenses to rise up to try to seize control over our higher self. And it reminds us that our time is short: use it wisely.

  Last, the Ten of Pentacles is your reminder of the words YHVH spoke to Moses from the burning bush: “The place on which you stand is holy ground.” This is true wherever you stand. The image of the Sephirot shining in the air in this card tells us that there are hidden sparks everywhere for you to reveal and raise up. Now that you are no longer enslaved, it’s time to free the light, helping to restore the light of Creation and increase the ability of the universe to know itself. This is your partnership with the Divine, and in celebrating the holiness of wholeness, the enlightenment of Integrity, you reveal your true Nobility. You are taking on the sacred Responsibility of raising these sparks in your daily life, so that having counted the last forty-nine days, from this day forward you will know how to make every day count.

  Questions for reflection and contemplation: Day 49

  Sit quietly before your journal for a moment, receiving all the energies of the Sephirot. Then write your responses to the prompts that follow:

  Look back over the last seven weeks, and review all the ways in which you have grown.

  Remember those who were there for you along the way: name them, and hold them in your heart with love.

  Say goodbye to those complexes that may have been useful at one time but had become obstacles in your path forward. Thank them for when they were helpful, and say goodbye.

  Think about the responsibilities you want to take on in the work of Tikkun Olam that will become a practice for the rest of your life. What are the practices that will support your moving forward?

  Remember to say blessings of gratitude and presence each moment you have a chance to raise the sparks.

  Pentecost

  Day 50: The Gates Are Always Open

  The enlightened will shine like the radiance of the sky.

  DANIEL 12:3

  I arise at midnight to praise You.

  PSALMS 119:62

  REMEMBER BACK ON THE FIRST DAY, when we first looked at the knight meditating in the chapel on his Night Vigil in the Four of Swords? This will be your Night Vigil. The difference is that the knight was alone, but the Jewish custom is that this vigil, the Tikkun, is done with other people in community. Yes, you can do it alone. And if you have followed this practice at the same time other people around the world are doing it so that you reach this day together, you have the benefit of the morphic field of energy that will help you along. You are entering mythic time: just as Passover is a reexperiencing of the freedom from bondage in Egypt, so this day is a reexperiencing of the receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is not only our ancestors who received the Torah, it also is every one of us now. Tradition says that the Torah is always being given and that it’s only a question of being able to tune in to the channel. The work of Counting the Omer was about clearing the static so you can receive this channel clearly.

  If you can observe this Tikkun in a group of ten people, all the better to hold the energy of the ten Sephirot. If you can observe this Tikkun in a group of fewer than ten people, the Divine Presence will still be mong you. And if this is something you are only able to do alone, keep a space in your heart for all those whom you love so that they are also present with you; their energy will hold you as you hold them, and you will effect the “arousal from below,” opening a channel to Divine energy.

  INTERPRETATION AS REVELATION

  For the ten companions of the Zohar, the act of studying and interpreting verses from the Tanakh is what opened them to revelation. And so the tradition is to take short selections from each of the five books of Moses, always including the verses from Exodus 19–23, which recount the encounter of the people with YHVH.

  Each hour of the night, a different text is read aloud, with everyone contributing to and building on previous interpretations. Texts include selections from the books of the Prophets and the Writings, and always include the book of Ruth, sometimes the entire book, for reasons that are better for you to discover on your own when you do it. Other sacred texts are also often included, with selections from the Zohar.

  As previously noted, for the Kabbalists, reading and interpreting these texts is known as “adorning the bride,” preparing the Shekinah to be reunited with YHVH in the Divine Marriage.

  Of course, this is not the most traditional book about this practice, and I have been present when texts from other traditions were also read and studied. I am a big believer in bringing in contemporary midrash, and I think there can be no better addition to the texts read and studied on this evening than the short section titled, “What I Heard at Sinai” in Andrew Ramer’s compelling and enchanting collection Torah Told Different: Stories for A Pan/Poly/Post-Denominational World. Or poems by Marge Piercy. The guiding principle for finding texts is that they should open you to a sense of wonder and to the Divine in every other person and throughout all Creation. They should surprise you and challenge you to be bigger.

  These study sessions are not about reaching conclusions; they are about learning to live in the questions and learning to hold the tension of all the multiple interpretations, recognizing them all as an expression of the Divine. Think of this as a group-created Zen koan that despite the intellectual quality of study ultimately bypasses the intellect to unlock the gates of enlightenment, unifying the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine within you. And connecting you to a spiritually intimate community of seekers who all see through to the Divinity of each other’s essence.

  UNDER THE WINGS OF THE SHEKINAH, ON WINGS OF SONG

  Between text study sessions (and strong coffee with light snacks and dairy foods), there is often song. Sometimes prayers, most often the wordless melodies called niggunim. These acapella repetitive songs can go on for quite a while, creating a meditative state that unlocks the heart. You can find many traditional melodies online. They are easy to learn and share. Some of these melodies were originated by great Hasidic masters, and the Hasidim believe that when you sing a niggun from such a rabbi, the energy of his soul enters the room. Some of these tunes are very rousing and are sung with clapping to keep time, so that as the night goes on, this rouses your soul to greater heights. There are melodies handed down from the Baal Shem Tov, so that if you sing them, it is believed that the energy of his soul will appear to assist you.

  If you are on your own, there are niggunim that have a slower tempo that are designed to create the deep meditative state known as devekut, aligning you with the Divine vibrations that surround and suffuse us all the time. You can find all these varieties of niggunim online, o
n YouTube, where you can learn them easily. Listen to them until you find a melody that speaks to your soul and make that niggun the one you work with most deeply. There are some sessions where those assembled spend one of the text study hours in song only.

  There are some niggun chants that do have words, often from sacred texts, simply repeated, like a mantra. Rabbi Shefa Gold is a master of finding such texts and melodies that speak to the soul.

  After a niggun, move seamlessly into silent meditation, listening within for the still, small voice.

  THE FIRE AND THE ROSE ARE ONE: CREATING A BEAUTIFUL SPACE

  You may recall that in medieval churches at Pentecost, sometimes red rose petals were dropped from the ceiling to recall the “tongues of flame” that came to rest on Christ’s followers who were gathered in the same room as the Last Supper on Pentecost following his Crucifixion. Interestingly enough, in synagogues on the night of the Tikkun, rose petals are scattered through the sanctuary, as well as other flowers and greenery.

  There is also the custom of decorating with papercut silhouettes of symbols like the Magen David, crowns, the tablets of the ten commandments, and the Torah scroll. Of course, on your own, you may wish to use symbols from the tarot deck, including the symbols of the four suits.

  It’s not so much what you use to decorate; it’s about creating a beautiful space to help set the intention. So go where your heart leads you, knowing that the space you are adorning is adorning the bride.

  THE BREEZES AT DAWN HAVE SECRETS TO TELL YOU

  If you are able to go all night, the last reading is from the prophet Hosea, verses 2:21–22, to be spoken aloud at dawn, sealing the sacred marriage within.

  I will betroth you unto Me forever;

  I will betroth you in righteousness, and in justice,

  And in lovingkindness, and in compassion.

  And I will betroth you unto Me in faithfulness;

  And you shall know YHVH.

  But if you aren’t able to go all night, let these be the last words on your lips before you go to sleep, to seal the Divine union within you and to recognize the radical unity of all Creation. So that when you wake up, you wake up.

  One last thing, as if you haven’t already read this enough times over the course of this book, is that another custom on the fiftieth day is to give charity in gratitude for the blessings you have received. Keep the flow going.

  Meditation Instructions

  EACH DAY, THERE IS A MEDITATION you can do to open the gates of that day’s Sephirotic energies. Remember, you are not praying to a Sephira, but to the Source of all blessing.

  Begin by reciting aloud a prayer adapted from I Chronicles 29:10–13. These verses were a central text in the Zohar because they name the lower seven Sephirot.

  To You, Holy One, is the greatness, and the power, the compassion and the glory, the truth and the victory: for all that is in heaven and earth is Yours; Yours, Source of All Blessing, is the foundation, the kingdom, and the sovereignty over all.

  After this prayer, you will begin by “invoking” the Sephira of the week. Once you have silently repeated this prayer several times, sit silently, noticing any change in the quality of the light around you, any sensations of energy in a field that surrounds and envelops you. You are not so much calling down energy as opening your sensorium to the already existing Divinity in its many facets that enfold and suffuse you.

  When you apprehend this energy of the week, then invoke the Sephira of the day, within the Sephira of the week. Again, sit silently and notice how the energy shifts.

  Sit with this energy for a few minutes, letting it flow freely around and through you, scanning your body. If you feel any places where the energy is blocked within you, don’t force it. Simply watch with love, compassion, and acceptance for a moment and then move on. Spend some more time each day with the parts of the body that correspond to that Sephirotic combination. On days where the weekly and daily Sephirot are the same, substitute qualities or key words for the name of the Sephira to consciously access those qualities.

  When you are done, say the word of the sealing prayer of gratitude that follows.

  Inviting the Sephirotic Energy In and Sealing It with Prayer

  Your [Sephira of the week] is ever before me.

  And I walk continually in Your [Sephira of the day].

  May my words of thanksgiving be heard, may my deeds of thanksgiving follow my words, and may I walk in integrity with the Source of All Blessings ever before me.

  Glossary

  addithana: The Buddhist practice of resolute determination.

  Adonai: This word is usually translated as Lord, an appellation for God, and is how the Divine Name YHVH is pronounced when spoken aloud.

  aleph: The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

  Am Y’Israel chai: It literally means “the people of Israel live,” though historically, before there was a modern nation of Israel, it referred solely to the Jewish people. It was sometimes translated as “the nation of Israel lives” before the establishment of the modern state, and again, referred to the Jewish people.

  Amalek: A term for the tribe of Amalekites, descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau, who attacked the Israelites as they made their way through the wilderness.

  anicca: The Buddhist concept of impermanence.

  Arahatas: In Buddhism, one who has gained full enlightenment and has achieved Nirvana.

  Assiyah: The world of Action in Kabbalah. In tarot, it corresponds to the suit of Pentacles.

  Atzilut: The world of Emanation in Kabbalah. In tarot, it corresponds to the suit of Wands.

  Ayin: Nothingness. The nothingness that existed before Creation.

  Baal, Baalim (plural): An honorific title and also the name of a Semitic god. As an honorific, it means “master.” The plural, Baalim, refers to the multiple gods worshipped by the Semitic tribes in the ancient Near East.

  Baal HaTanya: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Lubavitch Hasidism and the author of the Tanya.

  Baal Shem Tov: Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, a charismatic rabbi who was the founder of Hasidism.

  Binah: The third Sephira, Understanding.

  bittul: Nullification. Refers to the extinguishing of the ego self, selflessness, which is achieved in deep meditation.

  B’riah: The world of Creation in Kabbalah. In tarot, it corresponds to the suit of Cups.

  B’rit Milah: Ritual circumcision.

  b’tzelem Elohim: The image of God, used to describe humanity; that is, that we are made in the image of God.

  Chabad: The Lubavitch sect of Hasidism, which takes its name from the acronym of Chokhmah, Binah, and Da’at.

  chai: This means “life” in Hebrew and is written with the letters chet and yod. Because Hebrew letters are also numbers, chet and yod can be read as the number 18. The common toast in Hebrew is “l’chaim,” which means “to life!”

  chaver: Hebrew for “friend.”

  chaya: One of the levels of the soul, corresponding to the world of Emanation, or Atzilut; it is the life essence within each person.

  chet: The eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, also read numerically as the number 8.

  chet: Sin.

  Chokhmah: The second Sephira, Wisdom.

  chuppah: A canopy beneath which Jewish wedding ceremonies take place.

  chutzpah: Audacity, cheekiness, boldness, nerve.

  Da’at: A hidden eleventh Sephira. It means “knowledge.”

  devekut: Deep meditative state attained during Jewish prayer. Usually translated as “clinging” or “cleaving.”

  Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh: The Divine name that Moses was told by YHVH to tell the people when they asked who sent him. It means, “I will be what I will be.”

  Ein Sof: The Infinite One: one of the names of God in Kabbalistic texts.

  El: Both a title, God, and a name, God. Commonly used throughout ancient Near Eastern religions.

  El Shaddai: One of the names of God in the Hebrew Bible; it can be
translated variously as God of the Mountain or Almighty God. There is scholarship that suggests it means God with Breasts, and refers to the Divine Feminine.

  Elohim: Plural of El. In the Hebrew Bible, it refers both to multiple deities and to a name of the Hebrew God in the singular.

  Elohim Gibor: Almighty God. Gibor is related to Gevurah.

  Elohim Tzevaot: The God of hosts.

  emet: Truth.

  Erev Shabbat: Friday night. In Judaism, the day begins at sunset, so that the Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday night. Erev Shavuot is the evening on which the day of the holiday of Shavuot begins.

  Etz Chaim: Tree of Life. In the liturgy, it refers to the Torah. In Genesis, it refers to one of the trees Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from. In Kabbalah, it is the symbol or diagram that explains the nature of God and shows the movement of Divine energy as it manifests in Creation.

  ganbare: From the Japanese verb ganbaru, meaning “to persevere.”

  Gedulah: Another word for Chesed, Loving-kindness. The fourth Sephira.

  Gevurah: The fifth Sephira. Awe, Judgment, Limitation.

  Gilgul, Gilgul Neshamot: Wheel. Also, the Jewish belief in the cycle of the reincarnation of souls as taught in Kabbalistic texts and as taught by Rabbi Isaac Luria.

  haftorah: Readings from the books of the Prophets that follow the Torah reading on Shabbat. It has become the custom in many communities for the haftorah to be read by a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah at his or her respective ritual, either with or without the reading of the Torah portion.

  halakha: From the Hebrew verb “to go” or “to walk.” It refers to the body of Jewish law, based on the commandments in the Torah.

  HaShem: The Name. One of the names of God.

  Hasidism: A Jewish spiritual movement founded by the Baal Shem Tov in the eighteenth century and noted for the importance of joy in religious life.