Death:

 

Death:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

The 24^th path is attributed to the Death card and the Hebrew letter Nun. Its zodiacal and planetary correspondences are Scorpio and Mars, and its element is water. The card indicates the death of the old so that something new may be born from the decay, or the transformation of certain unconscious elements is experienced as a death. I guess it could be as simple as the cycle of life and death, that the putrefying dead fertilizes the earth, so that new life can emerge from the decay. Oversimplifying this card leads to a lot more questions than answers though, which has especially been true in my own study of the card. In the case of transformation spoken of above, the death suffered during such an ordeal is the result of willful self-sacrifice and it is experienced as painful for the simple reason that one is giving up things, or killing off parts of himself, he has become too comfortable with. Therefore, it is self-sacrifice as he is willingly killing that which isn’t in service to the whole, and to be reborn with a clearer conception of self and a more focused will. So, "change is stability" and is symbolized by the Scythe which is a symbol of Saturn (death) but more it is symbolic of the unchanging laws of existence itself, it is a constant force in nature wherein the play of life and death is perpetually enacted, and to which we are all subject, it then indicates coming into consciousness.

As I have mentioned in a previous essay, this card represents a certain aspect of the Formula of ON and so it is interesting to note the symbol of crucifixion corresponding to it. As, it is only through the death of the old self that the Christ may emerge, or the formula of Love under Will, may be realized. This is one interpretation of the sacrifice associated with the path, the card also represents the redeeming qualities of self acceptance that may transform one into a more complete person. However in a formal reading it may indicate anything that needs to be given up, or something that has already been given up and is now causing the state of uncomfortableness that the card is suggestive of. If all goes well the current circumstances should give way to opportunities of positive change, which was the aim of bringing these circumstances about in the first place. Therefore, the card is associated with rebirth and awakening, but it is indeed symbolic of death and putrefaction, and a positive outcome is still something that will have to be fought for, and explains the card’s martial correspondence.   

The myth surrounding Scorpio is that Orion who was the son of Poseidon and Euryale was the most beautiful man alive, who as the son of Poseidon could walk on water and one of the Heroes of Greek mythology. Orion used to hunt with the goddess Artemis, and according to Apollo who got jealous of their friendship, Orion bragged that he was a better hunter than Artemis. Apollo went to his sister and convinced her that Orion should be killed for his transgression, so the two of them went to their mother Leto, who sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion. The plan worked and the scorpion successfully murdered the giant. Orion was later immortalized as the constellation of Scorpio. The qabalistic significance of this story is very hard to miss, Orion is presented as the most beautiful man in the world who Artemis must’ve been in love with, but he was only human. Apollo had to kill Orion in order for the union between him and his sister to take place, their union is necessarily accompanied by the self-sacrifice symbolized in this card as those things in the psyche of the individual that have been a hindrance to realizing the True Will are transformed and integrated.

“Love is the law, love under will.”