Category: Word of ONE

An Outline of the WORD of ONE Tarot by Ralph Metzner In the late 1960s, Ralph Metzner (1936–2019) was involved with John Starr Cooke’s group. As part of his early efforts to formulate an understanding of consciousness – an attempt to map its territory – a young Ralph delved headlong into a study of Tarot.…

The Progressed Tarot — Teaching of ONE Behind the mask of the progressed Tarot lies a teaching – the teaching of ONE. This teaching is precise and simple, and has a character consistently its own. It is unmistakably original and bears the imprint of authenticity. “’Tis a statement – not a restatement.”– John Starr Cooke,…

JUDGMENT BECOMES THE KNOWER Once reversal has taken place, there is no judgment anywhere. There is nothing left to judge. All is known as it is, the ever-changing motion of One, springing from One, designed by One. The Book of the Knower is the final statement of the new progressed Tarot. It says: “I am…

TEMPERANCE BECOMES THE REVERSER The androgynous figure of the Reverser, formerly Temperance, is at once the simplest and most meaningful Book in the entire Book of T projected by the Nameless One. Early versions of Temperance sometimes showed the angelic being proceeding from the sun, wearing a golden robe to indicate that it was not…

THE HIGH PRIEST BECOMES THE SPEAKER The Speaker speaks. From his mouth lightning bolts and birds shoot forth. The earth trembles. Volcanoes erupt. The land shakes. There are water- spouts. Flowers spring up before his feet. Terrible are his eyes. Mighty are his words. The entire universe hangs upon them. He stands unclothed, his feet…

JUSTICE BECOMES THE DONOR In the Book of the Donor, the ancient symbol of Justice, her predecessor, has become the symbol of Truth and is akin to the Egyptian Ma’at. The sharp sword which has cleft illusion with one mighty stroke swings between her breast, touching but not penetrating the apple at her feet. The…

THE MOON BECOMES THE REACTER The Seeker sensed his way up a serpentine path to reach the goal – the fire. Consuming his fill of the heart’s flame in the cup of the Deliverer, the ancient man became young once more. But now, in order to be born anew, he had to face what he…

DEATH BECOMES THE RENEWER The Renewer reveals. The Renewer was formerly the Death card. The old figure of Death was a skeleton, mowing a field with a scythe in which human hands sprouted up as the mower mowed down human heads – some crowned, some uncrowned. The cycle of death and re-birth was symbolized by…

THE JUGGLER MAGICIAN BECOMES THE CHANGER The Changer’s significance “cannot be said”. Nobody can ever pin point the Changer in words. No one can name that which he personifies – for he is always changing and the meaning of what he expresses is of the moment alone, now. His acts are mercurial and, as the…

STRENGTH BECOMES THE DELIVERER The Deliverer is at hand. Who or what is the Deliverer? “The Deliverer is not the woman nor is he”, it was written, referring to the woman extending her hands into the vat of fire and the young man drinking the cup of fire. “The flame is”. Fire is the Deliverer.…

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE BECOMES THE ROYAL MAZE This is one of the most complicated Books in the Book of T and is central to its design. The meaning of the Royal Maze is Destiny. The seven spheres of consciousness are upheld by the two lions: The Actor and Feeler, Mind and Feeling, but as…

THE EMPRESS BECOMES THE FEELER Crowned with the symbol for Venus, her breasts entwined by her golden hair, the Feeler moves outward toward the reader of this Book, her arms extended in embrace. She stands for the Prime Mover, the feelings that ignite the will into action. She represents the bridge between man and the…

THE EMPEROR BECOMES THE ACTOR The mind is the Actor significance. The Actor is not one playing a role, but rather one who performs acts. The Actor does not enact; as representative of the mind, he performs acts. The mind performs acts to bring about change. The mind is the artful hypnotist that makes seemings…

THE HERMIT BECOMES THE SEEKER The Seeker is that in everyman which causes him to seek – and sense – the light. Blazing upon the mountain-top, the Shiva fire of the One light shines like a mighty jewel. This is the crown chakra of the Citadel. The mountain is the Tree – the former tower…

THE LIGHTNING STRUCK-TOWER BECOMES THE CITADEL The Citadel presents the most startling change in symbols in the entire new series and in itself indicates that a transformation has occurred in man’s consciousness. For the predecessor of the Citadel was the Lightning Struck Tower which meant destruction, and may have referred to the Fall of Man,…

SATAN BECOMES THE THINKER The Thinker thinks “about” things. The Thinker thinks he thinks. This is his error. Error is the significance of the Book of the Thinker. Bright Lucifer fell, and mind, at its highest, was submerged in the speech world, the world of naming. Lucifer erred by believing he was separated from the…

THE SUN BECOMES THE DOER The Doer means Right Activity. Man thrives on secrets. His unconscious is built on hiding. Seldom does he dare expose himself as an open book for fear of what another might see. Rarely does he open the door to himself and permit others to read what they will. Man is…

THE STAR BECOMES THE WAY-SHOWER In the past Tarot decks, the Star shone remotely in the heavens to lead men onwards. Its meaning was hope. A Pandora-like maiden centered the trump, the star in the sky above her head. She knelt pouring water from a vessel onto the earth or into a river – indicating…

THE CHARIOT BECOMES THE VICTORIOUS ONE Triumphant in the battle of Self, the Victorious One walks forward, bearing aloft in his purple-gauntleted right hand an exotic flower – a flower such as a Buddha might carry – and leading by his left a brace of lions, the two lions that formerly pulled his chariot. On…

THE LOVER BECOMES UNITY Through the Book of Unity, the Hanging Man is freed of his predicament. Male and female natures no longer function as the divergent actions of attraction and repulsion – and they no longer need redemption. They are no longer bound. Instead, holding each other’s symbol, they move in the same direction…

THE WORLD BECOMES THE VIRGIN The Virgin, formerly the World, is Beingness, and she is the X, the mandala and the point or center of the mandala – the “point” of the Tarot. The Old World card was thought of as containing the entire meaning of the Tarot. No one card contains the total meaning,…

THE HIGH PRIESTESS BECOMES THE MOTHER From very early times in all parts of the world, the innermost sanctuary harboured the Mother – the Great Cow whose milk nourished mankind. In temples the humble stable’s door became represented by two pillars over which was placed horns or two serpents fashioned to form a crescent Moon.…

THE HANGED MAN BECOMES THE HANGING MAN There are various possible ways of reading the Books of the Tarot. They can be read separately or in sequence, as steps upon a path. The order, however, may be different for everyman. Each Book is a complete Book and expresses an entire facet in nucleus containing a…

THE FOOL BECOMES THE NAMELESS ONE The Nameless One is the Tarot, for he is the container-resolver, and is the author of the scrolls he carries, which is the Tarot or the Book of T. Furthermore, he bears the signature T, which stands for Thoth-Tehuti and for the Tarot; also the T is the cross…

If you were around in the 1970s you might remember a peculiar set of tarot cards called THE NEW TAROT, also affectionately known as the “Hippie Tarot.” As fate would have it, this strange tarot was mostly ignored and fell into obscurity.  For us at Royal Maze, the NEW TAROT – also known as the…