The World card is at the bottom of the three cards in the 7th column of the Tarot Tableau. This column is called the seventh stage of spiritual unfoldment, named Cosmic Consciousness. The first card at the top of the column is the Chariot Key 7. That Key portrays the principle that the Inner Self rides within our outer vehicle, aka our body. It is also a summary of the six Keys in the top row. The Charioteer’s will power establishes harmony, and brings order out of chaos.
The Chariot expresses itself through the activity taking place on the Key below it, called Temperance. Temperance exemplifies the Law of Verification. We must try out, and then experience in our everyday activities, all the lessons of the Keys. Through this verification we arrive at the place that results in the World Key.
The World is the last of the 22 major arcana cards of the Tarot deck. You’ve arrived! The Hero’s Journey is the quest for the Inner Self. The goal is the Self. The knowledge gained is Self-knowledge. You’ve discovered that the power of the infinite and eternal Self is the only Power. The dancer in the middle of this card is you, your Eternal Self, dancing in the Dance of Life, the universe. Here we have the full realization that we are the Self within our vehicle.
To understand what the Key “says” we have some helpful hints placed at the bottom of the Key. The first is the card’s number 21. Next, there are four symbols of its attributes, which can be found in the lower right hand corner. We find there the Hebrew letter Tav, which translates T and Th in English. We have the letter meaning displayed, which is a cross (+). A cross also means a mark or signature. And we have the symbol for the planet Saturn, the ruling planet of this Key.
Let’s go through these hints and explore the picture of the card in order to find out what it’s telling us. As I’ve mentioned before, each Key is a chapter in a book. Your Inner Self knows this book inside and out. There’s really nothing for you to learn, to memorize. You’ve just forgotten who you are, and this Tarot book is here simply to remind you, giving you hints and insights.
Let’s look at the number 21. It is the sum of the numbers from 1 to 6. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 21. On the Tarot Tableau, the Chariot Key is the sum of the principles expressed in the cards from 1 to 6. So here on the World Key 21 we have the completion of the power of all the principles of those six Keys as expressed in Keys 15 through 20.
Now reading the number 21 from right to left, the number 1 is expressing itself through the number 2. This is the Magician Key 1 using and directing His tools of concentration through the law of the High Priestess Key 2. In other words, Self-consciousness, Will Power, is expressing Itself through memory. Translated, we no longer forget who we are. Our will power manifests the Will Power of Creation. We live in the 4th dimension from the point of Self. We have unlimited access to that Will Power.
Saturn rules this card. It is the seventh of the planets known to the ancients. According to mythology, Saturn ate his own children. Put a less ghastly way, Saturn represents Creation reabsorbing Its own creations. By extension, it’s the Path of Return.
From the Hebrew name for Saturn, Shabbathai, we get the meaning Sabbath, the day of rest or inertia, and the seventh day of the week. All has been accomplished so we rest. Saturn on this card gives us the idea of limitation. On a cosmic level, Saturn creates form from the cosmic mind-stuff, which is everywhere. Here is an expression of the Life Power’s energy being transformed into appropriate, suitable life forms.
Now let’s move on to the Hebrew letter Tav associated with this Key. It means signature or mark; the mark is the cross (+). The Egyptian TAU, corresponding to this letter, was a tally for measuring the depth of the Nile during planting season and when it flooded. In the old Hebrew alphabet it was written as a simple cross of equal arms like on the banner of the angel in Key 20. In the Tarot symbology it represents the self-conscious mind.
Tav is one of the seven double Hebrew letters, which are attributed to the seven planets. Double letters are pairs of opposites. Tav is both Dominion and Slavery. The attribute of dominion is the ability to understand correctly the necessity for limitation. Get it wrong, and we become slaves to our environment, our attachments, our stuff. We must know how the Laws of Nature work in order to get this right.
Tav also means signature. A signature makes a business instrument valid. Tav, as the last letter of the alphabet and on the last major arcana Tarot card, makes this Key the final seal and completion of the Great Work. Signed, sealed, and delivered! According to the Book of Formation, at the center of the cross is where the One Identity has its abode.
Looking at the picture, what is striking are the four figures in the corners. They look identical to Key 10 the Wheel of Fortune. There is one change, though. The bull on Key 21 is now looking out rather than in toward the lion. The four figures represent the four fixed signs of the zodiac: the bull to Taurus; the lion to Leo; the eagle to Scorpio; the man to Aquarius.
On Key 10 the bull, which represents the element earth and manifestation of form, is turned towards the lion. The lion is ruled by the Sun. Plus, the bull faces towards the center of the card, where Spirit is depicted. So here, our attention is concentrating on Spirit. The opposite is shown on Key 21. All the forces on The World are moving outward, toward manifestation.
On another note, these four fixed signs of the zodiac add up to 26, which is the same number of the Name imprinted on the inner garment of the Fool, the Tetragrammaton, IHVH. Having them at the four corners of the World card reminds us that all manifestation is included within that Name.
Continuing with the letter Tav, it is assigned to the Path of Wisdom 32, which is found between Foundation and Kingdom, on the Tree of Life. Path 32 is called the Administrative Intelligence. Administration relates to running a business, and organization. You’re in charge. Tav is located at the point of control, the heart, found at the Center of our being. This is not in the physical sense, but rather the place where we are connected with the All, the place of our sovereignty. We now function from the heart, not our mind, or our intellect, or our knowledge. The transmission of Light, Power and Wisdom coming from Creation, which goes through us, moves through this point, the Heart, expressing Love.
The wreath is a figure, which if you placed a rectangle over it, would be 5 x 8. This makes the area of this rectangle 40, which is the numerical value of the Mother letter Mem. Mem is the letter of Key 12 the Hanged Man. He is at the place of silence. Then if we add up the length of the four sides we get 26. And this is the number of the Tetragrammaton, IHVH, the four letters written on the undergarment of the Fool, which is the Name of our Creator. To conclude, the wreath expresses the Form of all manifestation.
Let’s look at the wreath a little further and see what it reveals about this idea. It has 22 bunches of leaves in sets of three. From this we can assume each bunch corresponds to a Hebrew letter, which in turn corresponds to one of the 22 Tarot Keys. Each of the three leaves expresses one of the three operations of the Life-power.
The first operation is integrative, which means serving, or intending to unify, separate things. The second operation is disintegrative, which means to separate into parts or lose solidness, to break up, to deteriorate. The third operation is equilibrating. This is the cognitive balancing of new information with old knowledge. So you can see that the third operation balances the other two.
The wreath is woven. So, this wreath did not make itself. It’s telling us that natural selection won’t spontaneously get us into the 4th dimension. We must participate, through the use of our will power, to get to this Key.
There are two red fasteners at the top and the bottom of the wreath. Their color red signifies action and courage. The shape of the fasteners is the figure 8, on its side. This is the infinity symbol, which signifies the concept of limitlessness or eternity. And, interesting to note, this is also an ancient form of the letter Tav, which rules this card. The two fasteners are binding the wreath, so you could say that man binds the wreath, Nature, by the power expressed by Tav, the Heart. Sweet!
The Dancer wears a crown of 7 red flowers. The dancer’s authority, the crown, is fully manifest, the flowers are in bloom. The 7 refers back to the Chariot card at the top of this column. The will power expressed on that card is now fully manifest on this card.
Look at the wreath again. It’s resting on the bull and the lion. The bull signifies our ability to give form to the formless. It’s facing out, the direction of manifestation. The lion signifies the fiery essence, that which is formless. Our ability to create the wreath rests on our ability to give form to the formless.
The wreath is in the form of an ellipse, a zero symbol, the symbol of our Creator. The figure is free to dance in the center and is not bound by the wreath. This is because the figure knows everything there is to know about the wreath. The Dancer is the Master.
The figure is covered by a purple veil, in the form of the letter Kaph, which hides the fact that the figure is neither male nor female, but an androgyne. Kaph takes us back to Key 10 the Wheel of Fortune, which it rules. To our 3rd dimensional mind Nature looks like a vast machine with the activity of cause and consequence unchangeable. Laws are part of manifestation. At our 4th dimensional awareness, this is only relatively true. The Life Force is the Master; no Law can bind the Self. The figure dances in the middle, unbound, standing on nothing, perfectly balanced.
There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and 22 Tarot Keys. The consciousness contained in each Key is symbolized by the two spirals, or wands. They each have 11 loops. Here we have involution in the right hand and evolution in the left hand. The Life Force at work, perfectly balanced. And this manifestation takes place through you; you are the director and the sovereign of all that manifests. You are the Master, the I AM. This is the Divine Name of the Crown of Primal Will on the Tree of Life. Remember, the Ain Soph Aur, the Formless, the Nameless is behind the Tree of Life.
The practical power of this Key is for you to identify with the Self. In alchemy this awareness is known as the Philosophers’ Stone. Here we have the mineral kingdom as the truly wise perceive it. Remember the Pythagorean Triangle discussed on The Moon Key 18?If not, go back and take look at it. We are at the end of the Keys. The goal of the Great Work is to know the Self. But not merely as a witness, not to be aware as something external. It is the immortal, central Self of you that is the Eternal Dancer!
I would suggest now that you begin again at the Fool Key and work your way through the cards one more time. You will find that when rereading them more will be revealed to you than on your first time through. That’s because you are now an entirely different person than when you began. And that new person will see and experience the cards in an entirely different light. As you begin again, spend a few minutes looking at each card before beginning to read. Allow the card to speak to you. Ask it, “What would you like to reveal to me now? Show me more, tell me more.” This is your Hero’s Journey. Just by getting this far, you are well along the Way to your personal transformation. Smile and enjoy it!
Gates of Light 