“The ground of being has three aspects: its essence is empty, its nature is radiant clarity, and its compassionate energy (thugs rje) is unceasing.”

“Compassion is not contrived or fabricated but radiates naturally, as rays from the sun.”

—Longchenpa, from The Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena and The Treasury of the Way of Abiding.

“From within the state of rigpa, the compassionate energy of spontaneous presence accomplishes benefit for beings without effort.”

—Garab Dorje, the first known Patriarch of the mundane lineage of Dzogchen, from the Three Statements that Strike the Vital Point.

“When you rest in the state of awareness, the energy of compassion is spontaneously present, benefiting beings without bias.”

—Dudjom Lingpa, from Buddhahood Without Meditation.

“Being has come into existence by the outflow from the One; and all things are preserved by the care (epimeleia) of Being.”

“The Soul administers the All with care, not by deliberate choice, but because of what it is.”

—Plotinus, Ennead V.9.8 and Ennead IV.8.1.

“When a man is found worthy of the divine light, he becomes wholly love, wholly compassion, wholly goodness.”

—St. Symeon the New Theologian, from the Hymns of Divine Love

“The divine and deifying grace of the Spirit is called love, peace, joy … for it is the uncreated energy of God.”

—St. Gregory Palamas, Triads, I.iii.23

“What is a merciful heart? It is a heart burning for the sake of the entire creation, for men, for birds, for animals, for demons, and for every created thing.”

—St. Isaac the Syrian, from Philokalia

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.
— John 3:8

Into this happy night
In secret, seen of none.
Nor saw I aught,
Without other light or guide.
Save that which in my heart did burn.
— St. John of the Cross

"Dear Unknown Friend,

The words of the Master cited above have served me the key for opening the door to comprehension of the first Major Arcanum of the Tarot, 'The Magician,' which is, in turn, the key to all the other Major Arcana. [...] For the Major Arcana of the Tarot are authentic symbols, i.e. they are 'magic, menial, psychic and moral operations' awakening new notions, ideas, sentiments and aspirations, which means to say that they require an activity more profound than that of study and intellectual explanation. [...] It is a work to be accomplished in solitude, and is all the more suitable for recluses."

— Meditations on the Tarot

"The Major Arcana of the Tarot are authentic symbols. They conceal and reveal their sense at one and the same time according to the depth of meditation. That which they reveal are not secrets, i.e. things hidden by human will, but are arcana, which is something quite different. An arcanum is that which it is necessary to 'know' in order to be fruitful in a given domain of spiritual life. It is that which must be actively present in our consciousness—or even in our subconscious—in order to render us capable of making discoveries, engendering new ideas, conceiving of new artistic subjects. In a word, it makes us fertile in our creative pursuits, in whatever domain of spiritual life. An arcanum is a 'ferment' or an 'enzyme' whose presence stimulates the spiritual and the psychic life of man. And it is symbols which are the bearers of these 'ferments' or 'enzymes' and which communicate them—if the mentality and morality of the recipient is ready, i.e. if he is 'poor in spirit' and does not, suffer from the most serious spiritual malady: self-complacency.

Just as the arcanum is superior to the secret, so is the mystery superior to the arcanum. The mystery is more than a stimulating 'ferment.' It is a spiritual event comparable to physical birth or death. It is a change of the entire spiritual and psychic motivation, or a complete change of the plane of consciousness. The seven sacraments of the Church are the prismatic colours of the white light of one sole Mystery or Sacrament, known as that of the Second Birth, which the Master pointed out to Nicodemus in the nocturnal initiation conversation which He had with him. It is this which Christian Hermeticism understands by the Great Initiation.

It goes without saying that nobody initiates anyone else, it we understand by 'initiation' the Mystery of the Second Birth or the Great Sacrament. This Initiation is operative from above and has the value and the duration of eternity. The Initiator is above, and here below one meets only the fellow pupils; and they recognise each other by the fact that they 'love one another' (John 8:34-35)."

— Mediations on the Tarot

Peter Mark Adams conducts a thorough dissection of the symbolism of the deck, finding Platonic, Mithraic, and other esoteric symbolism. He also connects the contents of the deck to the conduct of the Venetian families who essentially invented modern banking and mercantilism.

"The supreme nobility of a Roman emperor does not consist in being a master of slaves, but in being a lord of free men, who loves freedom even in those who serve him."

— Julius Evola, Revolt Against the Modern World (1934)

"The Indo-European concept of order, that is, as consciousness—this consciousness is naturally connected with Divinity as much as the [divine] Order is affirmed in the universe itself. ...

Consciousness is marked by a broad vision, which is literally the concept of Providence—molding the universe in your own image. Providere meaning being able to predict, to foresee; simply because through your own spiritual eye you project that same image onto the world, literally forming it through your consciousness. You can understand such consciousness as the 'broad vision' of individuals destined for spiritual freedom, because only God has no boundaries."

🦅⚡️

https://youtu.be/dlxRcDOGElo

"This unparalleled Phoenix with its golden braid,
That Phoebus sends to us from the race of Gods,
Combining three into one, who descends from high places,
To be seen here below as victorious over the world."

Les dovze clefs de philosophie de frere Basile Valentin, c. 1616

You must be strong enough for this truth: you are not the life in you. You do not exist. No claim of “mine” holds. You do not possess Life—it possesses you, a burden you bear. It’s a lunar phantasm to think this “Self” endures beyond the body’s decay. Can’t you see this flesh binds your being, its every faculty—however solar or exalted—swayed by illness, trauma, or chance? Now, detach from this false self and cross the threshold, sensing the rhythmic analogy deepen into the telluric shadows of the force sustaining your form. Here it sheds name and individuation. This sensation stretches, merging “me” and “not-me,” pervading nature, upholding time, sweeping myriad beings—drunk, mesmerized—in its relentless, wild, limitless flow, ablaze with an eternal void and lack. Say to yourself: “This is.” If this truth turns back upon you, a kali-yuga frost chilling your core, an abyss yawning beneath—“I exist in this”—then you’ve seized the waters’ knowledge.

Julius Evola