The Black Madonna exemplifies the principle of Duality. This causes problems for monotheism, because of course there is only one God. Dualism suggests there must be two… how do you reconcile the difference? We see everything in terms of duality – self and non-self, earth and sky, male and female. Deep within is the desire to unify those dualities, obvious in human relationships, and in techniques of sex magic. Many ancient religions have Mother and Father Gods, but they were superseded in Christianity, which focussed on the product of the union, the Child. Modern magic is not much different with its focus on Tipareth on the Tree of Life as the place where the Holy Guardian Angel is supposed to be contacted. The ultimate image of the union of opposites is the Black Madonna, a woman who has a child, so she has created the universe we live in. Of course you do not have to stay in this universe when there are many others to explore. The Black Madonna is an echo of a far more ancient iconography, of Isis the Dark Mother. In sex magic, Universe B of Dark Matter is accessed through the woman.

Dualism tells us that we have polarities to unite. And when we meet this Union, even for only a few seconds, we create real transformation. Unification does not need the agency of the Tree to effect this – in fact, the Tree is a real barrier to any kind of spiritual progress.

The best way to unify is to see the differences clearly, otherwise, how do you know you need the unification in the first place? The Chinese Daoists had it right, living in harmony with Yin and Yang, where both interpenetrate and coexist. That is the reality of Universe B; there is fear of it only when it is misunderstood. Unifying Universe A and B, gives us the benefits of both universes.

Tarot and Dualism

The spiritual powers of the Tarot are uniquely set up to get access to and unify Universe B with Universe A, particularly after the pioneering work of Aleister Crowley. The reasons for having two sets of Spirits in Liber 231 are there precisely to reconcile the two Universes. The Minor Arcana have had two sets of spirits, the Goetia, assigned to each card, which leaves us the Court cards, which have two aspects of the elements structured within them. Furthermore, the Laws of Elemental Dignities acknowledge the dualistic properties of the elements, which enables the Opening of the Key Spread to be so effective in accessing the Spiritual Powers of the Dark Matter.