Key 13 – Transition

In our deck we have changed the popular name for this Key from “Death” to “Transition”. This card is all about change and dissolution; the end of the old and the beginning of the new. It’s all about transitions. We call these ideas expressions of the Law of Transformation.

We saw in the previous Key 12 why it was necessary to reverse our current habits and  reassess our personality. They were based on the misinformation supplied by input only received from the material world. This card takes that idea a step further using the Law of Transformation.

This Key takes the necessity for change, and how to go about it, with the least trauma in your life. Why is just the idea of change a little disconcerting? When we are dominated by tribal or racial thinking, any change to that thinking represents an unknown situation. We want life to continue just as it is, the status quo is just fine. Good ol’ couch potato style. The underlying fallacy to this notion is that life is continuously changing, like it or not, so it’s best to get on board, and explore what’s out there. Let’s take a look at the various components of this card to see how it expresses the Law of Transformation.

We’ll start with the number 13. In Hebrew, the number 13 has the value of two words, which mean love and unity. This combination means that the power flowing from the Creator is based on love, which flows through and unites all creation. Because love flows through all creation, we’re looking at the reason for the generation and reproduction of every species. Scorpio belongs to this card. Scorpio governs our reproductive organs and rules the House of Death and Rebirth in any horoscope. So with this number 13 we have an expression of both our birth and our death, or transition. Possibly this is why, depending on the source and your point of view, 13 is either lucky or unlucky. Either point of view, though, is based on the notion “all you see is all there is.”

We fear what we don’t know. Death fits that notion quite nicely. We have no idea what’s going on after the dissolution of our physical bodies. In nature forms are always changing into other forms. The Qabalah states, “Dissolution is the secret of the Great Work.” Scientifically when a form dissolves, or breaks down, it releases energy. Fungi have the ability to breakdown a myriad of substances. They play an important role in energy cycling within, and between, ecosystems. Fungi are found in terrestrial, marine and freshwater environments, and are part of a diverse community of “decomposers” that break down dead plants and animals. From this decomposed soil new plants grow.

Chlorophyll is a pigment that gives plants their green color. Plants use chlorophyll, along with sunlight, to get their nutrients. We and animals eat plant life and incorporate their essence, which includes their captured sunlight, into our bodies. We eat both plants and animals, again absorbing their captured sunlight, to build our bodies. So, we are continuously transforming ourselves, just like our environment. But at some point, we will move beyond this. At that point we will be consuming sunlight directly for all our needs.

Mastery will allow mankind to both create and terminate his physical body. Here death has no longer any meaning. Sounds crazy, huh!?  At this stage in your progress with the Tarot, it may sound a bit much, but it is the doctrine. Here you are learning about this by your study of the Tarot. So, what you’re doing is setting in motion, by your interest in this, using your subconscious mind, the information that you’ll need to make this a realty in your life. Pretty amazing! Remember, all that we see manifests through the subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is the delivery system. Don’t ever tell it how you want your requests to be delivered. It knows just what to do. Tell it what you want accomplished and make your picture clear. By continuous study of the Tarot your picture gets clearer every day.

Something to think about, science says our bodies are no older than 7 years. So why do we get old? Just what have you been thinking about for the past seven years? Again, the subconscious mind delivers to you, from your suggestions, everything that manifests in your life, including that beautiful body. So, how’s that discussion going? And what have you been feeding your millions of cells to keep them healthy? Do you exercise?

Let’s move on and take a look at the “Grim Reaper” depicted here. But why is he so happy! You’d be, too, if you really understood and could live in the consciousness of the Law of Transformation. The skeletal structure of the body is the underlying foundation of its every move. All of our muscles are attached to this structure. So here we have a symbol of the basis of all function, growth and development in our bodies. Let’s look further.

The skeleton is twisted at two points, one just above the pelvis, and the other at the neck so that the backbone is in front. Whoa! Seriously? The meaning of this strange position is that the Mars force symbolized here must be twisted, or reversed, in order to perform its highest function. Mars is predominate on the Emperor card. He’s the consort of the Empress. And she’s pregnant. Mars is all that color red on his card, and here again we have a lot of red in the background. The skeleton walks from north to south, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of perfection.

So let’s look at the reversal of the Mars force being expressed here. The Hebrew letter Nun (pronounced noon) is attributed to Key 13. Scorpio, a fixed, watery sign, is assigned to Nun. Scorpio is ruled by Mars, which rules the sex organs. Key 13 on the Path of Wisdom on the Tree of Life is called the Imaginative Intelligence, which is also the mode of consciousness attributed to the letter Nun. We know that the generation of our species is transmitted through the reproductive function of sex.

Therefore, the mode of consciousness of this card implies, according to the doctrine of the Ageless Wisdom, that the process of causing, or creating, something to happen or exist, is mental. This is a reversal of the Mars force. In other words, all changes are primarily changing our mental imagery. Change the image, and you create a new external form. According to this Key, the mastery of the forms created by the Mars force is an alteration of the mind by which we become better able to survive and multiply.

The letter Nun means fish, to sprout, and to propagate.  Further, Nun’s function is also motion and locomotion.   Motion implies change or transformation. Thus, by linking up these ideas with the meanings of the letter Nun, we can arrive at the idea that change is the basis of manifestation. We also have new seeds sprouting up through the dark, fertile earth.

To further this idea we find in the upper left hand corner of the Key the picture of a symbolic “seed.” This little seed is composed of two ovals (or zeros), one within the other. The two ovals are united in their structure. The small oval has 5 rays extending towards the limits of the larger oval.  The inner oval is a source of energy radiating the five elements of  fire, air, earth, water and ether into the space enclosed by the larger oval. Here is a symbol of the Inner Power extending itself, and filling Space with all the elements of the universe.

The fishing boat pulled up on land refers to Nun’s meaning as fish. The black earth upon which it rests refers to the vast Unknown. Fish must be raised out of the water in order to eat them. So we need a fishhook. The Hebrew letter Tzaddi on Key 17 means “fishhook.” The function expressed by Key  17 is meditation. So here we have meditation as a tool used to catch and make use of the mysterious fish, that vast resource called the Universal Mind, which is swimming in the waters of the subconscious mind.

The handle of the scythe is shaped like the Hebrew letter Tav (T). On Key 12 we have the Suspended Man supported by the real nature of the universe, symbolized by Tav. He is in a state of meditation, illumined, and dependent entirely on the personality of the Universe. And he’s safe.

The blade is formed like a crescent, symbol of the Moon, which reminds us of the subconscious mind and the feminine. All creation arrives through the feminine, through the subconscious mind. The blade is made of steel, a metal assigned to Mars, which symbolizes the selfconscious, directing consciousness. So the blade is a combination of the two. And  a blade, knife or cutting edge, always represents discrimination.

The river flows toward the rising sun. It starts in the north, the left side of the card, and makes a bend, so that it flows eastward. The rising sun is connected with Key 3 the pregnant Empress, and also refers to the dawn of higher consciousness expressed by the Suspended Man, Key 12. The green sprouts and the leaves of the rose bush also remind us of the Empress.

The last time we saw a white rose was on the Fool Key 0. There it represented the purified action of our desire nature. Here its thorns symbolize pain and its bloom beauty and joy. So we see that through correct cultivation of the desire nature we are able to create a perfect white rose.

The woman’s head at the left is a symbol of the Sephirah, or emanation of light, on the Tree of Life called Understanding. It represents the Supernal Mother, the divine feminine. The man’s head represents the Sephirah Wisdom, which represents the Supernal Father and the divine masculine.

The creation of new works from the changes we make in our lives, as a result of the operation of Key 13, are symbolized by the single hand on the right and the wheel.

Pisces physically rules the feet. The empty boot shows all that remains of the passing of the Piscean Age.  Gone are the old ideas about the status of women and children that predominated that Age. The single foot on the left repeats the reference to the Piscean Age. But keep in mind, that Key 13 also symbolizes something which is at work in every age.

To sum up, man is immortal and can never die. Though our bodies change and disintegrate a thousand times, we remain. Others have taken the path upon which you are about to embark. Learn to welcome change in your life and remove the fear of it. You begin where you are now, and you take with you all your prior experiences. You are creating the forms that will eventually be filled. Enjoy the adventure – your Hero’s Journey. You will be prepared. You’ve already taken the first steps. The power, force and energy of the Cosmos is there for those whose ethical preparation is complete.

From the Bhagavad-Gita:

“The wise in heart mourn neither those who live, nor those that die. Nor I, nor thou, nor any of these, ever was not nor ever will not be, forever and ever afterwards. All that doth live, lives always! To man’s frame, as there come infancy and youth and age, so come their raisings-up and laying down of other and of other life-abodes, which the wise know, and fear not.”