Liber 231 – secret powers of the Tarot

We all need energy. Energy enables us to do things in our life. With energy we are sharper, clearer, optimistic, dynamic, inspirational, and so many other things. Energy is even more important when it comes to magic, but this is an area that has not been addressed, until now.

While I was writing The Tarot and the Magus,  the Spirits of Liber  231, a document of mysterious origins by Aleister Crowley. The fact  that these Spirits turned up without any kind of invocation and evocation  on my part (the book was supposed to be for beginners!) – proved a turning  point. These Spirits were ignored simply because nobody knew their  origins, but at their insistence, I started researching Crowley’s writings.  Eventually, many secrets were revealed – see my book, The Tarot and the Magus.  A few days after the Spirits of Liber 231 revealed themselves to me, the  Goetic Spirits also turned up, saying they were ‘cousins’, and did not  want to be left out!

The Spirits of Liber 231 are the secret powers behind the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Previously these spirits could only be contacted after much time and effort using ritual magick (see Kenneth Grant’s Nightside of Eden and Linda Falorio’s Shadow Tarot). Now, they are all available to the user in safe controlled conditions. The powers of the Major Arcana found in Liber 777 are listed after each verse.

0. Aleph – The Fool

A, the heart of IAO, dwelleth in ecstasy in the secret place of the thunders.
Between Asar and Asi he abideth in joy.

Fool: Divination. Foolish actions, for gain or loss

1. Beth – The Magus

The lightnings increased and the Lord Tahuti stood forth. The Voice came from the Silence. Then the One ran and returned.

Magus: Miracles of healing, gift of tongues, Knowledge of sciences. Manipulation, communications, wheeling and dealing

2. Gimel – High Priestess

Now hath Nuit veiled herself, that she may open the gate of her sister.

High Priestess powers: Clairvoyance, divination by dreams. Fluctuation and change. Problems with timing events

3. Daleth – The Empress

The Virgin of God is enthroned upon an oystershell; she is like a pearl, and seeketh Seventy to her Four. In her heart is Hadit the invisible glory.

Empress: Love-philtres. Seeing the big picture

4. Heh – The Emperor

Now Riseth Ra-Hoor-Khuit, and dominion is established in the Star of the Flame.

Emperor: Consecrations. War, authority. Swift, impermanent action. Overconfidence

5. Vau – The Hierophant

Also is the Star of the Flame exalted, bringing benediction to the universe.

Hierophant: The secret of physical strength. Endurance, work. Help from superiors

6. Zain – The Lovers

Here then beneath the winged Eros is youth, delighting in the one and the other. He is Asar between Asi and Nephthi; he cometh forth from the veil.

Lovers: Bilocation, prophecy. Indecision, instability, superficiality

7. Cheth – The Chariot

He rideth upon the chariot of eternity; the white and the black are harnessed to his car. Therefore he reflecteth the Fool, and the sevenfold veil is
revealed.

Chariot: Power of casting Enchantments. Victory, success. Chain of command

8.  Teth – Lust

Also came forth mother Earth with her lion, even Sekhet, the lady of Asi.

Lust: Power of Training Wild Beasts. Courage, strength, magical power

9. Yod – The Hermit

Also the Priest veiled himself, lest his glory be profaned, lest his word be lost in the multitude.

Hermit: Invisibility, Parthenogenesis, Initiation. A virgin. Retirement from current events

10. Kaph – Fortune

Now then the Father of all issued as a mighty wheel; the Sphinx, and the dog-headed god, and Typhon, were bound to his circumference.

Fortune: Power of acquiring Political and other Ascendency.  Change of fortune

11. Lamed – Adjustment

Also the lady Maat with her feather and her sword abode to judge the righteous.
For Fate was already established.

Justice: Works of Justice and Equilibrium. Lawsuits, treaties. Look before action

12. Mem – The Hanged Man

Then the holy one appeared in the great water of the North; as a golden dawn did he appear, bringing benediction to the fallen universe.

Hanged Man: The Great Work, Talismans, Crystal-gazing. Suspension, death, suffering

13. Nun  – Death

Also Asar was hidden in Ammenti; and the Lords of Time swept over him with the sickle of death.

Death: Necromancy. Time, age, unexpected change, death

14. Samekh – Art

And a mighty angel appeared as a woman, pouring vials of woe upon the flames, lighting the pure stream with her brand of cursing. And the iniquity was very great.

Art: Transmutations. Success after complex manoeuvres

15. Ain – The Devil

Then the Lord Khem arose, He who is holy among the highest, and set up
his crowned staff for to redeem the universe.

Devil: The Witches Sabbath, so called, the Evil Eye. Unscrupulous ambition, strength

16. Peh – the Tower

He smote the towers of wailing; he brake them in pieces in the fire of
his anger, so that he alone did escape from the ruin thereof.

Tower: Works of Wrath and Vengeance. Danger, death

17. Tzaddi – The Star

Transformed, the holy virgin appeared as a fluidic fire, making her beauty into a thunderbolt.

Star: Astrology. Unexpected help, renewal

18. Qoph – The Moon

By her spells she invoked the Scarab, the Lord Kheph-Ra, so the waters were cloven and the illusion of the towers was destroyed.

Moon: Bewitchments, casting Illusions. Threshold of significant change

19. Resh – The Sun

Then the sun did appear unclouded, and the mouth of Asi was on the mouth of Asar.

Sun: The Red Tincture, Power of Acquiring Wealth. Glory, riches. Enlightened civilization

20. Shin – Aeon

Then also the Pyramid was builded so that the initiation might be complete.

Aeon: Evocation, Pyromancy. Learn from the past and prepare for the future

21. Tau – The Universe

And in the heart of the Sphinx danced the Lord Adonai, in His garlands of roses and pearls making glad the concourse of things; yea, making glad
the concourse of things.

Universe: Works of Malediction and Death. Reward for works accomplished.