THE HIEROPHANT / TAURUS
/ BELTANE
Authentic, unconditional compassion
Humility in facing authority
Triumphant and eternal intelligence;
eternal principles
High Initiation of Divine Love
Inner hearing, or Intuition
Latent powers and energies,
secretness, reserve, propriety
- The initiate is called upon
to be an impersonal, all-beneficent administrator of supernal grace and
power.
- "Vav" means "nail," or "heart,"
or "and." The nail holds things together, and provides a hook to hang
things on. The heart is the life of the body. "And" connects concepts
in language.
- "And" is a way of joining,
or "union." "Union" is the meaning of "Yoga," in the sense of joining
physical to spiritual. Key 5/ Taurus rules the neck, joining head and
body.
- The Hierophant represents
structured ritual used for linking the personal to the universal. The
Hierophant is the "concealer of sacred things," and the one who reveals
them to the initiate in the Elusinian
Mysteries.
- Taurus is fixed earth - matter
in it's purest essence. It is inescapable gravity, the ultimate hard reality
of our mortal existence. It is "what matters," our values, ethics, and
morals.
- "Hearing" is the sense attributed
to Key 5. It is "The Voice Within," or the "Listening to the Heart," we
must do to find out what really matters to us. In order to listen, the
listener must be silent. The Hierophant represents this silence. This
is the silence of the hidden seed or idea, the sequestration of the sacred.
- It can also be materialism;
an obsession with acquisition as an avoidance of the inner voices.
- This key has been called
"The Pope," "The Merlin," or "The Holy Father," showing connection to
Sepher Kochma, the Father, and
the aspect of father shown in Key
4, the Emperor.
- This is the "pontifex,"
the "bridge maker," between outer experience and internal illumination.
He builds the bridge manifested in Key
2, the High Priestess.
"All
the world is a narrow bridge - but the point is to be fearless." Hasidic
proverb
- The Hierophant sits on a
throne between pillars, topped with Taurus glyphs. The pillars repeat
the pillars in the Tree of Life. The grey colors show another connection
to the second sepher.
- The pillars are of carved
stone; in Hebrew stone is: "aben." "Ab" is "Father," and "ben" means "son
of," so the word "aben" joins "father-son."
- The crown is a golden triple
tiara, with trefoils in rows of 3, 5, and 7. The gold shows radiant energy
and wisdom. The "W" is a rendering of "Vav."
- Three trefoils represent
the threefold nature of life power, the upper triad of Ets Chaim, the
Tree of Life. The row of seven refers to the seven chakras, and the seven
inner bodies of astrology. The row of five shows the five senses, or the
four elements plus ether. There are five tattwas in various permutations,
which are a Vedic way of describing energy flow. [more
to come]
- The top row is the Creative
world, the middle is the Formative world, and the bottom is the Material
world. The three crossbars in his staff symbolize the same things.
- Crowns appear in Keys
2, 3 ,
4 , 5, 7,
11 , 14 ,
16, Keter, and Malchut.
- The blue scarf at the throat/neck
shows the moon, which is exalted in Taurus. The blue undergarment also
refers to the subconscious, lunar energy.
- There are ten crosses in
the image: three on the closure of the robe, four on the floor, one on
each shoe, and one at the crossed keys. Ten is the number of Sepherot
in the Tree. Crosses represent matter, and the binding of spirit to matter.
The cross is also a symbol of order.
- A yoke (Vav) hangs behind
his ears; showing listening and control, channeling. This is Orthodoxy,
and Hierarchy. (ortho: straight - dox: thought)(hier:
sacred - archy: rulership by).
- The silver and gold keys
on the dais show lunar and solar energy, Ida and Pingala, subconsciousness
and superconsciousness, crossed in protection. These are the keys to spiritual
growth.
- The orange carpet is the
color of Taurus; the crosses in circles are the Venus symbol folded into
itself. Taurus is Venus ruled. Black and white checkers are under the
carpet, showing the universal pattern of alternation.
- Tonsured monks kneel attentively,
listening. They wear gold yokes, and robes. The blue robe with datura
flowers speaks of sleep, dreams, and the subconscious. The black and gray
robe with alchemical symbols shows wisdom and intellectual knowledge acquired
through study.
- Keywords: Alliance, benediction,
conscience, consecration, endurance, patience, goodness of heart, meditation,
organization, placidity, purification, serenity, strength, restraint.
- BELTANE - (pronounced
bell-tayn) May 1 - Beltane comes from an Irish word "balefire." Here,
the young God matures into manhood. The union of the Goddess and God is
celebrated with the great rite, usually in a grove of sacred trees. This
is the creative act. This is when the May-Pole dance occurs, the May-Pole
representing the male force. The Goddess is symbolized by the Cauldron,
also invoked at this time. This celebrates the Druidic Fires of Bel,
and is when a Priestess trained in the highest magic couples with the
Horned One, a young man similarly trained, in a frenzied ritual of procreation.
The resulting child is a priest or priestess in the Temple.
Hieroglypic bull from Valley of the Kings, Egypt
TAURUS
April 20th to May 20th.
Ruled by Venus.
I have.
Sensualist or hedonist.
Fixed Earth. Physicality, practicality,
stability, seriousness, all characteristics of earth, concentrate in Taurus,
in its rich, deep, mature tones. Taurus is the bull plowing the new earth
of spring, the pregnant heifer, the surging gardens. Taurus influences in
the chart (Second house, or planets in Taurus) create an emphasis on worldy
achievement and security. This can manifest as success, comfort and
beauty.
Taurus (in its purest essence)
is stable, patient, diligent, determined, long-suffering, kind, and gentle.
Taurus creates beauty whenever possible, in its physical body, its home,
its work, kitchen and garden. Taurus can also be overbearing, stubborn,
dour, boring, staid, possessive, dogmatic, linear/inflexible or greedy.
There is an emphasis on social approval, and desire to conform.
Taurus is concerned with propriety,
that is, fitness, correctness, moral uprightness, decorum, suitability,
delicacy, and even fastidiousness. Jupiter or Venus in Taurus soften this
tendency, lending grace. Saturn, Martian or Plutonian influences in Taurus
can produce lasciviousness, wanton waste, or deliberate affronts to piety.
Taurus, when active in the chart,
can bring elegance, wealth, artistic power, care in speech, stamina, love
of sensuality and pleasure. Taurus is direct, straightforward emotion. It
is prudent, traditional, and articulate; it is attracted to literature,
language, history, theater, and collecting.
Unfavorable Taurus aspects:
indulgence, lethargy, missing opportunities, exorbitant, too passionate,
con artist, overweight, mean, hesitant, difficulty in love, perpetual victim
of love and work, controlled by older persons, self-isolating, impotent
or frigid, sexually unorthodox or perverse, sex organ problems, taking too
much leisure time.
Taurus, when active in the chart,
can bring compulsive behavior, and a drive to control people and situations.
Scorpio, Capricorn, and Cancer share these traits.
Like its opposite, Scorpio,
Taurus enjoys having power over others. But Taurus' strategy is to permeate,
while the Scorpio approach is to penetrate. (Taurus is Venus ruled
- Scorpio is Mars ruled). In this sense, Taurus has an affinity with Pisces,
when Taurus chooses to be adaptable. Earth mixed with water becomes clay.
Taurus is symbolized by the
bull, with its connotations of plowing, fertility, strength, endurance,
stubbornness, and deliberate, steadfast determination. Taurus moves slowly,
carefully, and with certainty.
Domains of Taurus are authority,
banking, collecting, building, investing, the arts, music, culture, monasteries,
or anything requiring commitment and patience.
Lessons for Taurus include flexibility,
letting go, ready acceptance of change, learning to raise their values from
an earthly to a spiritual aim.
Like all three earth signs,
Taurus has a tendency to stay put, in one way or another. With Taurus, if
afflicted, it's an immovable stress, but usually has some mitigating Venusian
beauty. There is often a "cross to bear" in the life.
Tatanka Iyotanka (Sitting Bull) - Dakota
[1834? - 1890]
Taurus rules the throat and
neck.
For Taurus, the Shadow
takes the form of Other's being emotionally explosive or manipulative, and
shattering your peaceful existence. You react by bearing down on it, flattening
it with earthly logic, or ignoring it. Work with your shadow, and the people
you project it onto, by learning to be quick on your feet, by understanding
human nature, and by better planning. The more you deny your Shadow, the
more it will manifest itself and attract what you will interpret as disruption
or pain.
The Second house has the character
of Taurus: planets in this house are concerned with Security, whether
it be in achieving it, maintaining it, obsessing over it, or always losing
it, etc. This is the house of wealth or "power in reserve;" helpful planets
in the second house can bring prosperity, testing planets can bring difficulty
with money, etc.
The Second House is said to
be the house of money. This is a metaphor for comfort, and the security
necessary to be able to afford going slow, taking time, and doing things
in a stately, graceful, thorough, and well paced manner. Taurus is not quick
on its feet, in that sudden changes are hard for Taurus.
The earth triplicity is Taurus
(fixed), followed by Virgo (mutable),
and then Capricorn (cardinal).
In the natural order of the signs,
Taurus is earth, preceded by Aries
(fire), and followed by Gemini (air).
The opposite axis, or antidote
to Taurus, is Scorpio. |