THE AARNI ARRANGEMENT OF THE ATU OF TAHUTI UPON THE TREE OF LIFE

by Pope NiKhetMaat V

This essay has been dictated to Pope Nikhetmaat V aka Frater Perturbabo by a voice with no mouth and partly inspired by the Pope's own meditations, use of logic, intuition and minute study of Aleister Crowley's The Book Of Thoth (all subsequent quotes in italics are from this source), Liber ABA and other writings as well as the actual Frieda Harris artwork of the Thoth deck. Treat it as the "true" secret Tarot arrangement which The Master Therion encrypted inside his published exoteric system and writings (intended solely as a blind for the uninitiated), or just another more or less interesting & useful Tarot meditation - the not-so-humble Pope does not give an aerial copulation soever. Yet suffice it to quote Crowley: "It would be quite wrong to say [the Trumps] represent a complete universe. They seem to represent certain rather curious phases of the universe. [...] They change from time to time in their relation to current events.", "it is therefore proper [...] to modify the aspect of the pack when it seems [...] good to do so". It has been revealed that now is indeed such a time.

For proper study of this aeonbreaking new system, nay, prophetic revelation from the ineffable Logos itself, one should take out one's Thoth pack and form the QBListic Tree Of Life by placing the 10 Wand pip cards as representing the Sephiroth. Alternatively one could employ any Minor Arcana cards face down for added clarity & distinction from the Navitoth formed by the Maior Arcana. The Unicursal Hexagram card should always be placed as Tiphareth.

Below have been listed the Illuminated Navitoth; designating the Sephiroth with Arabic numerals (& Briatic colours) and the Atu with Roman ones:

1 - 2  Magus  I
1 - 3  The High Priestess  II
1 - 6  The Fool  0
2 - 3  The Lovers  VI
2 - 6  The Emperor  IV
2 - 4  The Star  XVII
3 - 6  The Empress  III
3 - 5  The Chariot  VII
4 - 5  Adjustment  VIII
4 - 6  The Hierophant  V
4 - 7  The Hermit  IX
5 - 6  Lust  XI
5 - 8  The Tower  XVI
6 - 7  The Sun  XIX
6 - 8  Death  XIII
6 - 9  Art  XIV
7 - 8  Wheel Of Fortune  X
7 - 9  The Moon  XVIII
7 - 10  The Universe  XXI
8 - 9  The Hanged Man  XII
8 - 10  Aeon  XX
9 - 10  The Devil  XV

One should study and meditate upon the above arrangment based on one's experience concerning the Sephiroth and their respective natures - "traditional" navitothic attributions such as the letters of the Hebrew alphabet with their meanings, astrological correspondences (the Trumps do not refer to zodiacal signs) etc. MUST BE IGNORED - the student's focus should be upon the qualities and interrelations of the Sephiroth alone.
It is also worth stating that in this system the isometry with Dr. Timothy Leary's Eight Circuit Brain Model is even more pronounced than previously, concerning both the Sephiroth and the Aeons.

Next, observe thou in general this current placement of the Atu: duly note any coherencies/incoherencies thou findest. Pope NiKhetMaat The Fifth himself hath spotted e.g. the following curiosities, viz.:

  • Depiction of the Aeons
    1. Aeon of Isis: formed by the triad of Sephiroth 2, 3 & 6 and the Navitoth in between: the primal forces of vegetative growth The Empress (Salt & Love) and Emperor (Sulphur & Energy) joined as The Lovers: "The key is that the Card represents the Creation of the World" ; Mother/Queen & Father/King produce the Son/Prince from their ecstatic union. Biosurvival circuit.
    2. Aeon of Osiris: the triad 7, 6 & 8: The Sun rising from the Earth, reaching zenith in Tiphareth and meeting its subsequent Death. This laevo-rotatory cycle begins anew and is perpetuated by the Wheel Of Fortune. Note also the situation of the latter card and the correspondence of the Sephiroth in question to the Alchemical trinity of Salt, Sulphur and Mercury - of which the card itself is a glyph as the initiated reader knows. Similarily meditate the attributions of further trinities Sat, Chit, Ananda and Tamas, Sattvas, Rajas as well as the Lamb, Wolf and Raven. Emotional-Territorial and Semantic circuits.
    3. Aeon of Horus : the triad 7, 10 & 8: Here we find The Wheel Of Fortune in a similar rôle as above, except now its motion has changed to dextro-rotatory; the individual is placed on the Kingdom of Earth by the generative powers of The Universe and the seed ideas pertaining to Netzach. Once incarnated, it is the individual's task of utmost importance to achieve Illumination from the vestiges of Osirian darkness by the Destruction Of One's World With Fire and achieving Spiritual Realisation of one's sidereal nature. Socio-sexual circuit. This cycle will apparently keep on spinning until the required number of enlightened individuals has been accumulated and flung into the next Aeon.
    4. Aeon of Maat: the triad 4, 5 & 6: Perfect Balance between female and male ("[...] in the year of the vulgar era 1904 [...] the fiery god Horus took the place of the airy god Osiris in the East as Hierophant.") strength has been achieved as a state of Spiritualised Lust. Knowledge and Conversation with one's Holy Guardian Angel enjoyed as matter of course. Humanity's transit en masse across the Abyss awaits; Neurosomatic circuit. Little can currently be said publicly about this Aeon; still less of the completion of the Aeonic cycle in the fifth and final Aeon Of Thoth (triad 1,2 & 3), before the circle or upward spiral is closed and commences anew at another level. Conceivably every spin of the complete Aeonic Cycle takes at least millions of years and has the whole cosmos as its stage - it may take as much (exactly as much, in fact) as the whole lifespan of the universe in question. Neuroelectric and higher circuits.
  • Ancient Egyptian Myth of Ra/Osiris

    Regard the four-point cycle of Sephiroth 7, 6, 8 & 9 and the connecting Navitoth with the Wheel Of Fortune as its hub, revolving it in thy mind. As the Osirian Aeon triad discussed above, this cycle too begins with The Sun (Ra) rising from the East, reaching zenith and setting to the Gates of the West/Hod - already wearing the crown of the black god Osiris. Thence Ra plummets into the Underworld of Duat, submerges under water as depicted in Atu XII which "represents the descent of the light into the darkness in order to redeem it" & "[...] he represents Osiris in the waters of Amennti" and is sacrified by reaching nadir in Yesod, where the forces of Apophis threaten to consume his solar barque - as shown on XII by the serpent. At this point Set intervenes in from below Yesod in the form of Atu XV and Apophis is routed by his powers, which as mythology informs us are also born of Chaos. Ra is simultaneously transformed by the resurrective powers of Osiris and begins his arduous climb towards dawn through the treacherous waters of The Moon - "She is the poisoned darkness which is the condition of the rebirth of light". Note how the previous is visually evident in the artwork as the Lingam of Atu XV impregnates the menstruating Yoni of The Moon with the sun borne by the Scarab/Kheper - until Ra is born again at the horizon.
    The student would do well to further observe the details of the cards in this "Wheel Of Ra" context:

    1. Atu XVIII - The twin aspects of Anubis as guide of the dead. The nine yod-shaped drops of blood hinting at a connection to Yesod and the lighter upper portion of the card as anticipating the newborn Sun's brightness.
    2. The features and colours of the Atu as pertaining to the present scheme; for example, note the aquatic characteristics around Yesod in the Atu XV, XVIII and XII (and also in XIV), always in the part of the cards pointing towards the ninth Sephira. The same observations go for the Atu around Netzach, with hints of greenery and earthiness, and for Hod with respective bluish Mercurial features.

    There are further items to be noticed in re the Wheel Of Ra, but only those wholly pure of heart can grasp them.

  • The Five Elements / The Pentagram

    The advanced student becomes instantly fascinated by the three-dimensional Pentagram formed by Trumps I, IV, III, II and 0, corresponding respectively to Air, Fire, Earth, Water and Spirit. The afore-mentioned cards should be viewed as the points of a pentagram seen from a high angle, but not directly overhead. Much can be gained from meditation on this glyph situated "uncharacteristically" high upon the Tree.

  • Pillars Balanced

    Commencing with the Middle Pillar, study thou the Paths thereof: starting from Malkuth, The Devil / Kundalini Serpent rises to Yesod, thence balanceth The Art (arrow piercing the rainbow) to Tiphareth the moon and the sun, wherefrom the ascent to Kether - "know naught!" - requires the attitude and wisdom of The Fool (consider in this connexion the journey of the Taoist sage and "the whole picture is a glyph of the creative light"). Observe also the equilibrium of e.g. The Magus and High Priestess, and their lower reflections The Emperor and The Empress. The side of the Tree towards the Pillar of Severity is occupied by cards of female character, whilst those reaching Mildness are masculine. Reckon thou the formula of the Trumps joining the pillars, comparing the enumerations of each pair; starting from The Magus and High Priestess we get II - I = 1, downwards to Emperor & Empress and IV - III = 1 etc. and we have the following string of figures: 1,1,6,6,6,1. In other words the holy 111 and 666, the latter of which is of course especially coterminous with TO MEGA THERION himself - here in the present arrangement we have his seal and sanction around Tiphareth and confirming the validity of this essay 111 points to the Supernal Triad and Kether itself. By Theosophic reduction the formula gives us the sum of 21 - the number of the Maior Arcana without/within The Fool. Further calculation: 2 plus 1 equals 3, which besides being the sacred number of divers Holy Trinities is the number of triads forming the Tree Of Life itself.

    Then follow the Tree down each lateral side, from Kether to Yesod: upon the Pillar Of Mercy The Magus pairs with The Hermit and The Star with The Moon - two masculine cards with two feminine ones. The student will immediately see how the cards interrelate both with their pair and their opposites. The same holds true with the Pillar Of Severity. One should also compare the Paths/Atu upon the two pillars with the one directly across, e.g. The Hermit ("The highest symbolism of this card is [...] Fertility in its most exalted state.") with The Tower. Notice the similarities in artistic execution, especially the composition of these two: in the lower right-hand corner we see Kerberos and the jaws of Dis, respectively, and in the upper centre the fulgurogenic Eye Of Horus/Shiva and Emission of Light. Mark the Yod-shape of The Hermit's body and the lightning strike. Similarily take note of The Chariot and The Star (perfectly placed as touching Chokmah - the starry sphere of the Zodiac. Indeed "Tzaddi is not The Star"; "The Zodiac is a kind of childish representation of the body of Nuith [...]").
    Adjustment is at its proper place betwixt Chesed and Geburah balancing the opposite Pillars, annihilating Illusion. Finally take heed the four Atu remaining in their "old" places as confirmation of the Stability of our present perfect arrangement.

Conclusions: This rectified Aarni Atu Arrangement appears to clarify admirably what previously was a confused & forced artifical system - forced to follow the "traditional" arbitrary arranging of astrological etc. symbolism, with Loops in the belt of the Zodiac and other such Qliphoth-inspired rubbish. It is left to the reader's ingenie to (re)arrange the wealth of symbols pertaining to the paths if such a task should be deemed appropriate. Inquire within!

Bottom Line: Hail Eris, o thou Goddess who told me "This also is secret; my prophet shall reveal it to the gullible" and inspired the above ranting! Like everyone wholly pure of brain probably realises, the Tarot has "in truth" very little to do with the QBL - just as the Maior Arcana has precious little to do with the Minor Arcana, the latter being derived from a Far Eastern boardgame with four suits; the former being a confusing historical hotch-potch mixture of a mnemonic device for the Mediæval illiterati, a list of assorted virtues of Antiquity rediscovered in the Renaissance and lastly, some Astronomical observations. Various scientific Tarot scholars seem to have verified these conclusions as you likely already know if you have studied the matter at all. In all likelihood the fact that most popular Tarot packs have 22 Maior Arcana cards results from coincidence - albeit a meaningful one. Because despite its dubious and somewhat ludicrous origins, the Tarot appears to function marvellously if you are willing to believe it does. You can arrange the Atu any way you wish on the Tree Of Life and it will still make sense in some way. Witness the beauty of this evocative symbol system!

Still, the Aarni Arrangement remains the only lawful & tr00 one, for my Haughty Gargantuan Arsehole told me so and It will astrally kill any knave soever who saith nay!

Just kidding, or am I? Must...investigate...further...

Yours by the Octarine Pentagon,
His Holeyness the Pope Ni-Khet-Maat V