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.