been led to the Mount of Vision and been told of its glories. "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

CHAPTER XLVI.

The Twenty-second Letter TAU (n).

"The Twenty-second Path is the Faithful Intelligence and is so-called because by it spiritual virtues are increased, and all dwellers on earth are nearly under its shadow."-Sepher Yetzirah, 30.

"He produced Tau, and referred to it Beauty; He crowned it, combined and formed with it Jupiter in the Universe, the Seventh Day of the week, and the mouth of man."-Sepher Yetzirah, 22.

The Twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Tau (Th). Its meaning is "The sign of the Cross" and it is assigned to Jupiter. It is a double letter just as the cross is both crucifixion and redemption. Also the double force of Jupiter is the power to rule, either in righteousness, as the Father of the Gods, or through ambition and worldly might. Like the Tau, the power of Jupiter can only be manifested in its fullness as the Jupiterian becomes a true ruler, when through much suffering and service he has at last found the perfect balance and given up his spirit of ambition and self into the hands of the Father, and with Jesus can cry: "It is finished. Into thy hands I commend my spirit." This letter is assigned also to Beauty, i. e., the Beauty of Holiness or of wholeness. Its opposite expression is the deformity of sin and imperfection.

In astronomy this letter represents the Sun, owing no doubt to the Myths of the Sun Initiation associated with the cross. In The Voice of the Silence, Tau is called the Fourth Path that leads to the Fourth Truth. "Hast thou not entered Tau, the 'Path' that leads to knowledge"? The meaning of this letter is well expressed in this sentence, for the Tau marks the final Path to Liberation, just as the cross-a Christianized Taurepresents the final redemption. Like 22 it is the square foundation which, laid in bitterness and crucifixion and planted in the mire of earth, still frees the Christ-man. And the words

"It is finished" form the triumphal cry which this letter proclaims. When this is accomplished it becomes no longer the Tau or cross of crucifixion, but the perfectly balanced cross of spiritual power.1

THE TWENTY-SECOND TAROT CARD.

The World.

Because the previous card, "The Fool," is called "no number"—although it bears the twenty-first letter, Shinmany writers have called "The World" the twenty-first card. This we regard as a grave error of judgment, for not only does this card bear the twenty-second letter, Tau, but its symbology is in no way expressed by 21, but is fully expressed by 22. We therefore feel justified in calling it the twentysecond card.

In this card we find the picture of the oval shaped wreath of one who has conquered. This is the egg-shaped aura symbolizing the great mystery of creation held sacred in all ages; for all things come forth from an egg,2 whether surrounded by a limestone shell, as in birds; a woody husk, as in seeds and nuts, or a fleshly membrane, as in man and the animals. The egg contains all the nutriment and lifeforces that will be needed to bring forth, and this is equally true of the aura (egg) of the Spiritual Man and of the Uni"The Radiant Egg, in itself a symbol of Universal, Abstract Nature-meant spiritual conception and birth, or rather the re-birth of the individual and his regeneration." 3

verse.

Hence in this card we find an egg-shaped aura composed of leaves all turning downward toward the earth, showing that the symbol is meant to be all-inclusive and final embracing the idea both of the macrocosm and the microcosm, since it is a well known legend that the Tree of Life has its roots

1 For description of TAU as the Path, see The Voice of Isis, Curtiss, page 320; also The Key to the Universe, Curtiss, 135-140.

2 See The Key to the Universe, Curtiss, 43-4.

3 The Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky, II, 492-4.