The Emperor

Bright red, hot path. Tzaddi to left, Aries to right.

I came upon a well. Pan was sitting on it.

"You may be surprised to see me here. You think I should not, but this is the path of leadership and in this Aeon, my leadership is all. The well represents the depths to which my reign goes and the sky the heights. It is indeed the path of slavery, but slavery to that which one wills. My leader is Bacchus, his is wine, the wine grapes, the grapes the sun, the sun me. Thus all is a circle. The meaning of this card is different to all. Everyone is driven by a different force. Thus, you see, this card is not so terrible."

I walked a little further and saw a small sapling with golden pears. I decided not to eat them. I heard a voice saying that they represented drops of pure ecstasy but that now was not the time to eat them.

I crossed a wall into water. I realised later that this was a horse-jump (I realised later the symbolism, with the rider being the leader of a horse).

At last I came to a beautiful woman.

"Of course you know that I am the Goddess and that all things are subject to me as long as they remain in this world of duality."

JMS 1998