The Aeon
In this card it has
been necessary to depart completely from the tradition of the cards, in
order to carry on that tradition.
The old card was called The Angel: or, The Last Judgment. It
represented an Angel or Messenger blowing a trumpet, attached to which was
a flag, bearing the symbol of the Aeon of Osiris. Below him the graves
were opening, the dead rising up. There were three of them. The central
one had his hands raised with right angles at the elbows and shoulders, so
as to form the letter Shin, which refers to Fire. The card therefore
represented the destruction of the world by Fire. This was accomplished
in the year of the vulgar era 1904, when the fiery god Horus took the
place of the airy god Osiris in the East as Hierophant. At the beginning,
then, of this new Aeon, it is fit to exhibit the message of that angel who
brought the news of the new Aeon to earth. The new card is thus of
necessity as an adaptation of the Stele of Revealing.
Around the top of the card is the body of Nuit, the
star-goddess, who
is the category of unlimited possibility; her mate is Hadit, the
ubiquitous point-of-view, the only philosophically tenable conception of
Reality. He is represented by a globe of fire, representing eternal
energy; winged, to show his power of Going. As a result of the marriage
of these two, the child Horus is born. He is, however, known under his
special name, Heru-ra-ha. A double god; his extraverted form is
Ra-hoor-khuit; and his passive or introverted form Hoor-pa-kraat. He is
also solar in character, and is therefore shown coming forth in golden
light.
The whole of this symbolism is thoroughly explained in the Book of the
Law.
At the bottom of the card we see the letter Shin itself in a form
suggestive of a flower; the three Yods are occupied by three human figures
arising to partake in the Essence of the new Aeon. Behind this letter is
a symbolic representation of the Sign of Libra; this is the
forth-shadowing of the Aeon which is to follow this present one,
presumably in about 2000 years - "the fall of the Great Equinox; when
Hrumachis shall arise and the double-wanded one assume my throne and
place". The present Aeon is too young to give a more definite
representation of this future event. But in this connection attention
must be drawn to the figure of Ra-hoor-khuit: "I am the Lord of the Double
Wand of Power; the wand of the Force of Coph-nia; but my left hand is
empty, for I have crushed an Universe; & nought remains." There are many
other details with regard to the Lord of the Aeon which should be studied
in the Book of the Law.
It is also important to study very thoroughly, and meditate
upon this
Book, in order to appreciate the spiritual, moral, and material events
which have marked the catastrophic transition from the Aeon of Osiris. The
time for the birth of an Aeon seems to be indicated by great concentration
of political power with the accompanying improvements in the means of
travel and communication, with a general advance in philosophy and
science, with a general need of consolidation in religious thought. It is
very instructive to compare the events of the five hundred years
preceding and following the crisis of approximately 2000 years ago, with
those of similar periods centred in 1904 of the old era. It is a thought
far from comforting to the present generation, that 500 years of Dark Ages
are likely to be upon us. But, if the analogy holds, that is the case.
Fortunately, to-day we have brighter torches and more torch bearers.