The Magician: Matrix of the Mind

[Jade]

Hello, let me introduce you to my friend, the Magician, also known as the Matrix of the Mind.



The Magician, in its basic form, represents consciousness (unfed), and the use of will (to feed it). He holds a sphere in his right hand, and he is looking at it, aware of the infinite, magical possibilites of the moment. What will he choose to seek? There is a bird in a square cage, wings folded, representing the illusion of his trapped spirit within the third density - he is not looking at it, but he is aware, because his hand reaches for it. Will he choose to move towards releasing the bird? Or will he content himself with looking toward all the catalyst he is facing by heading towards the separation inherent in third density?

The Matrix of the Mind itself is, unmoved. It is the foundation of experience.

Ra: As to its name, the name of Magician is understandable when you consider that consciousness is the great foundation, mystery, and revelation which makes this particular density possible. The self-conscious entity is full of the magic of that which is to come. It may be considered first, for the mind is the first of the complexes to be developed by the student of spiritual evolution.

The Matrix of the Mind is the computer that makes everything possible. However, the computer needs an input. That input comes the Potentiator, but the Magician must use itself as the will to ask for it. It is difficult to speak of the Matrix without the Potentiator in this context because the two are intricately intertwined. Between these two cards is where the veil is. Before the veil, the Magician was fully aware of the infinite resources of the High Priestess. Now, it is the mystery of the infinite that stimulates the Magician to seek. But, as he stands, the Magician is "unfed". At birth, it is totally blank. As we process experience, the experience gets "stored" into the Matrix, so that the next extension of the will is further informed. This is not the full consciousness of a being, it is the waiting, blank consciousness, though it has its biases that come from the Significator.

The ibis itself in the cage has a crescent beak, harkening to the hidden need to access the unconscious portions of the mind. Brandy Rox has this quote on her website which I think says a lot about the symbolism of the ibis:

“The ibis has a bill that resembles the crescent moon, and its gait suggests the movement of the moon to some classical authors. Plutarch has written that the alternating black and white feathers of the male ibis are reminiscent of the dark and light phases of the moon. In addition to being a lunar animal, the ibis was well known in antiquity, because it would refuse to drink unhealthy or poisoned water, killed poisonous reptiles, and set mankind an example of cleanliness. Like the god Thoth, the ibis was hostile to dangerous forces and a model for purity and good sense; for Thoth, in addition to being the moon god, was the god of wisdom, who maintained the cosmic order that pervades the created world.”

The power of the Matrix is in its "unfedness" - being that, to the Magician, every experience is new and desired. Also, the "lack of polarity" allows the "charge" of polarity to offer its full brunt of force.

While his hand is holding the orb, he is making the "as above, so below" gesture: The Matrix of the Mind is that which we use as tertiary beings to unify the animal body and the infinite spirit. The path of the Fool begins with that of the Magician, and the hidden desire of unlocking the cage and freeing his spirit into the cosmos. The mind is required for this experience to even be conceptualized. And therefrom, infinite possibilities await. The Magician holds the sphere in his hand - he has the power to choose which experience from the infinite that he desires.

Ra: The sphere of spiritual power is an indication indeed that each opportunity is pregnant with the most extravagant magical possibilities for the far-seeing adept.

Ra: Let us for a moment consider thought. What is it, my friends, to take thought? Took you then thought today? What thoughts did you think today? What thoughts were part of the original thought today? In how many of your thoughts did the creation abide? Was love contained? And was service freely given? You are not part of a material universe. You are part of a thought. You are dancing in a ballroom in which there is no material. You are dancing thoughts. You move your body, your mind, and your spirit in somewhat eccentric patterns for you have not completely grasped the concept that you are part of the original thought.

There is a full Q'uo session on the relationship between the Matrix of the Mind and Potentiator of the Mind. Here are some of the more fruitful quotes:

Q'uo: Matrix is a word that seems not even to indicate a living being but, rather, a structure, a container, a grid, qualities and aspects of self. The basic figure of Matrix is figured forth as royal. And this is not by mistake. For as a spiritual being each seeker is indeed the highest royalty, is indeed prince and king and Creator. This figure of Matrix has tremendous potential, for it is empty and waiting. The hunger for evolution is stitched and knitted into every fiber of the carefully articulated web of being that the Matrix experiences as its nature. Possessed of crown and power and royalty, it is a figure with no lack of self-respect, with no concern for being unworthy, with no unhealed issues. And coming to the mind of the Matrix as a human is the work of some time. For much of human sorrow, shame, guilt, low self-esteem and unworthiness need to be, not denied, but taken off as shoes, as garments that are upon the body of the self, but are not the self.

This seems to me to describe a being without blockages - so the Magician represents the ability to draw forth an 'unfed' energetic system that is free of any blockages, so that the thrust of the will may be at its purest.

One of my favorite Ra-isms is that of whether one chooses to seek the details of the day or chooses to seek the keys to unknowing. I believe the keys of unknowing point to the usage of the unfed Magician. We are seeking the keys to unknowing all of our distortions and biases, seeking the purity that can be represented by the encloaking in white robes, to stare into the crystal sphere.

http://www.llresearch.org/transcripts/is..._0329.aspx

[BlatzAdict]

There is this scene in the holy mountain after all the kids throw rocks at Jesus, this dude comes along and hugs him and then offers a joint

I can't help but crack up every time I see this with the magician card strapped on the back of this guy. As if he's bringing the physical manifestation of the magic to the main character.

Certainly at this stage it's possible to do almost anything, though without the know how, it's difficult. Reminds me of when first learning it was possible to get out of the body with meditation.

I kept thinking I just need to know how, then I need to try it without any regard to what I would come to learn and realize later upon the experience.

[ricdaw]

"The Matrix of the Mind is the computer that makes everything possible. However, the computer needs an input. That input comes the Potentiator"

I might reverse this analogy. The High Priestess, to me, is the computer, in that the card represents all Information. The Magician would be the fingers typing on the keyboard and seeking (invoking?) the High Priestess to bring the information up. The Potentiator is what "makes everything possible," but it is the Magician who picks which event/possibility/creative expression actually comes to be. In the context of the Earth Life School, the Magician has to want to come here. The Magician asks, the Potentiator grants.

[Jade]

That's an interesting perspective. I think I see the Matrix as the "unfed" (blank) hard drive, that calls programs (offered by the Potentiator) to fill its space by nature of it being empty. But these analogies can be really inadequate, heh.

[Blunt Force]

vitality of matrix does not depend on the presence of magician

[JustLikeYou]

Ricdaw brings up a good point. The magician has a "mind of his own" if you can excuse the pun. A hard drive is blank, but it is also without consciousness. I tend to see the magician is a pure subjectivity which lacks an object.

This particular matrix is the oddball of the three because it exists as a singularity into and out of which experience is constantly flowing. The other two matrices are much larger and have a more tangible geography. This one, however, only has a set of attitudes. Everything that is recorded in the matrix of the mind amounts to a shift in attitude. I think of the direction of growth of this archetype as moving from naivety, inattentiveness, and emotional ineptitude to a very intentional awareness. Even the substance of the Potentiator only flows through him, not into him, because all that information remains stored in the unconscious. The only thing that changes is the conscious mind's ability to access the information.

So if we stretch the computer metaphor, perhaps the matrix is more like a hacker and the potentiator is more like the Internet. The Internet of Things is limitless and nebulous, while the hacker's evolution is not properly an increase of knowledge, so much as an increase in his ability to access whatever information he might require. This metaphor, however, might fall flat when we bring the Transformation into consideration: what could it mean for the hacker to view the Internet as either a maiden or a prostitute?

[Peregrinus]

Q'uo, 1992_1003

Let us gaze at the archetypes of the mind. Firstly, the Matrix of the mind. This essence or energy is the untaught seeker, the beginner’s mind, reaching, reaching and again reaching. For what? The Potentiator of the Mind is that which receives the desire and enables it by a process of reflection and blessing. The Significator of the Mind is then the result of the Matrix entity or archetypical figure reaching or intending that which can only be potentiated by the seemingly passive Potentiator, that seated figure which has within the bosom great wisdom.

Thusly, the Matrix of the Mind is able to record incoming data, and through the Potentiator once again is able to deliver to the archetype of the Catalyst of the Mind the catalyst which shall become experience.

Q'uo, 1993_0523

The advantages of being polarized are a fruitfulness which one cannot gain without polarity. This may be seen to be literally true in human sexuality, wherein male and female come together to allow the opportunity of a pregnancy to occur. In the sense of working with one’s conscious awareness of the passing moments of experience, polarity is that which actively encourages the self to move into relationship. The sexual polarity creates a bias towards seeking companionship. The companionship may then move in any of a number of ways, all of which bear fruit in terms of an increased rate of catalyst, and therefore, an increased opportunity to learn from the catalyst.

Archetypically speaking, this sexuality can be seen to be that difference between the Matrix of the Mind and the Potentiator of the Mind, in that the male energy is seen as that which reaches, as does the Matrix of the Mind. The female may be seen likewise as that which awaits the reaching. In the cultural roles prevalent among your peoples, these roles are seen to hold somewhat towards true; that is, to the male of a mated pair, there is given the most affirmative training towards the bias of feeling a responsibility to provide for a family, to nurture and tend a wife and children by working and offering the fruits of that labor. The cultural feminine archetype, as opposed to the archetype of the deep mind, is considerably clouded and complex compared to the cultural role of the feminine gender, say, one hundred of your years in the past. However, there is a tendency still, and an inevitable one, towards the female’s perception of the self as one which nurtures and supports by the presence, by the loving and intuitive caring, by the qualities of compassionate gentleness, and intuitive hunching or guessing.

[anagogy]

So if we stretch the computer metaphor, perhaps the matrix is more like a hacker and the potentiator is more like the Internet. The Internet of Things is limitless and nebulous, while the hacker's evolution is not properly an increase of knowledge, so much as an increase in his ability to access whatever information he might require. This metaphor, however, might fall flat when we bring the Transformation into consideration: what could it mean for the hacker to view the Internet as either a maiden or a prostitute?

Perhaps the concept of the magician being the "hacker" is the prostituted relationship to begin with. If the internet (metaphorical high priestess) were viewed as a "maiden" to be "courted" the information would not be accessed in a "hacking" sort of way, in other-words, rather than trying to brute force your way to whatever information you required/desired, you would instead be supplicating or asking various personalities (metaphorical aspects of the high priestess) for assistance accessing the information you desired, in more of two way cooperative relationship. It would be akin to contacting other individuals over the internet and supplicating their assistance and expertise in divulging the information you desired (with an acceptance of the fact that they might well refuse you if you don't go about doing it the right way.

Other fruits of that less prostituted relationship could be these various aspects showing you various gems of knowledge and sources of information that otherwise you might not have found on your own.

I think the analogy correlates quite nicely. Each relationship has strengths and weaknesses. The hacker accesses any information he wants if he has enough personal skill, and he doesn't have to ask for permission. The humble supplicant gets communion with a wealth of expertise, knowledge, and creativity provided they achieve the trust and affection of the various aspects of the high priestess.  

[JustLikeYou]

So the STO version of this "hacker" would be more like someone with supreme Google-fu and networking skills.

[Ankh]

I often think about the caged bird in this Archetype, and what daddy Ra said in session 91, which is just so beautiful:

"Questioner: The hand downward has been seen as seeking from within, not outwardly active dominance over the material world. Would Ra comment?

Ra: I am Ra. Look again, O student. Does the hand reach within? Nay. Without potentiation the conscious mind has no inwardness. That hand, O student, reaches towards that which, outside its unpotentiated influence, is locked from it."

And then more about the bird in the cage:

"Ra: The folded wing in this image is intended to suggest that just as the Matrix figure, the Magician, cannot act without reaching its wingèd spirit, so neither can the spirit fly lest it be released into conscious manifestation and fructified thereby."

"Ra: Observe the struggle of a caged bird to fly."

And then at last this powerful statement about the Matrix:

"Ra: It is then that the adept would call upon the new mind, untouched and virgin, and dwell within the archetype of the new and unblemished mind without bias, without polarity, full of the magic of the Logos."

These statements and the caged bird indeed haunts me.

[JustLikeYou]

It occurs to me, Ankh, that since this archetype is programmed into us, we're never really going to feel satisfied and complete. The Logos thought it wise to embed existential anxiety into us: the caged bird that never quite escapes, the trapped spirit that always feels prison even if it can't see it.  :-/

[Ankh]

It occurs to me, Ankh, that since this archetype is programmed into us, we're never really going to feel satisfied and complete. The Logos thought it wise to embed existential anxiety into us: the caged bird that never quite escapes, the trapped spirit that always feels prison even if it can't see it.  :-/

"Never" is a strong word, JustLikeYou, but it made me to think.

I think that the bird is one of many other details in this Archetype. The adept who is working with indigo and violet rays is past dwelling in this Archetype in a helpless state, in my understanding. This adept would only dwell in this Archetype to experience the full magic of the Logos, or to maybe recapitulate the past learning of some details which it perhaps semi-forgot. But it wouldn't helplessly be stuck in this Archetype with no understanding of how to go on, i.e. how to free that bird. With that being said, indeed can other people who are not adepts, like me for instance, be stuck by this detail of this Archetype. I am not an adept and feel sure trapped and imprisoned many times, though I don't think that this feeling comes from the spirit. Anyway, for now though, I don't think that this caged bird is embedded in us in any other purpose than to firstly perhaps limit our spiritual power while we are making the choice, and secondly to make us uncomfortable, so that we will start to seek. It is meant to be a temporary element I think.

[Minyatur]

It occurs to me, Ankh, that since this archetype is programmed into us, we're never really going to feel satisfied and complete. The Logos thought it wise to embed existential anxiety into us: the caged bird that never quite escapes, the trapped spirit that always feels prison even if it can't see it.  :-/

I'm no so sure this aspect of the archetype necessarily comes for the Logos' choices of programmation and instead more from the inherent nature of the archetypes.

What makes infinity infinite?
First thought, the boundless nature of spirit.

If so, then how could any bounded expression of boundless spirit not hold this symbolism of a caged bird?
I think it can't, except to greater/lesser extents.

Only by seeing the whole whole can the Creator truly know complete satisfaction, and any other layer of the Creator partakes in the seeking that manifests all that this thrist, of not seeing the whole, can find.

[Matt1]

Can you go into more detail on the magician being unmoved by itself? I have never fully grasped this aspect of the archetype. I assume its probably something to do with consciousness being developed through unconscious catalyst/experience? Without the unconsciousness we could not learn anything in an incarnation? Its the dance between the two that allows for inner guidance from the higher self?

[JustLikeYou]

Can you go into more detail on the magician being unmoved by itself? I have never fully grasped this aspect of the archetype.

I don't know who you have in mind here, but I have an answer for this one. The conscious mind is often thought of as a single point of awareness, this moment right here and now around and through which the totality of experience flows. The point of awareness does not move; rather, the world around it moves. Even your thoughts only come to you from somewhere else because your will to know them was strong enough. You conscious mind doesn't move to your thoughts, nor does it travel some distance to get there.

I assume its probably something to do with consciousness being developed through unconscious catalyst/experience? Without the unconsciousness we could not learn anything in an incarnation? Its the dance between the two that allows for inner guidance from the higher self?

While these things are true, I don't think this is what Ra means by the term "unmoved". The reason I say so is that the same relationship between Matrix and Potentiator exists in the Body cycle, but Ra describes the Matrix of the body as being in constant motion. Clearly, in this instance, Ra is referring to the perpetual motion of the material world. So, by analogy, we should look to the perpetual stillness of the immaterial world. I think the quip "Wherever you go, there you are" accurately captures this stillness.

[Cobrien]

It occurs to me, Ankh, that since this archetype is programmed into us, we're never really going to feel satisfied and complete. The Logos thought it wise to embed existential anxiety into us: the caged bird that never quite escapes, the trapped spirit that always feels prison even if it can't see it.  :-/

I believe you are misinformed about the magician.

I was going to share my perspective about the magician, but I don't think it a good idea. The tarot has a complete internal alchemy system built into it. It's very obvious. The material is a great guidepost. Real application is best learned thru practice and experience. Understanding the tarot on an intellectual level is good and all, but remember the burden of the adept

[Jade]

The burden of the adept is to teach what it has learned. If you carry insight about the archetypes, I'd love to hear it!

[JustLikeYou]

^ What she said. If I got it wrong, tell me how.

I'm sorry to hear that you judge my approach to this study as purely intellectual; I don't experience it that way at all. But then there's no telling what others will see in my words.

I agree with you about the internal alchemy system. This is what Ra and Don were trying to bring out of it, and it's what I seek to pull out of them also.

It strikes me as manifestly false that this system is "very obvious" in the images. If it were very obvious, then the study would not be so long and difficult for so many who try. Though perhaps it is very obvious to you, in which case you would make a natural teacher.

Anyway, my point about the caged bird is that once you figure out how to free it, you'll find there is yet another bird in there that is still caged. This isn't an intellectual judgment, but something I've found true in experience. Another way to put this is that we always want something, no matter how many of our desires find fulfilment. Only the very, very few have crossed the threshold from desire to complete satisfaction (and presumably also complete freedom).

[Infinite Unity]

Agreed man loses his throne through de-sire.

It is only when man(woman) truly integrates the wisdom of all things are perfect, that de-sire can be truly quenched. Then you do not desire at any moment, but flow.

Also btw us justlikeyou, Your words have shown much to me. Easily some of the most wisdom filled and profound words, I've ever read. Truly you are an adapt, trying to realize the awareness of a burning sun.

[Cobrien]

^ What she said. If I got it wrong, tell me how.

I'm sorry to hear that you judge my approach to this study as purely intellectual; I don't experience it that way at all. But then there's no telling what others will see in my words.

I agree with you about the internal alchemy system. This is what Ra and Don were trying to bring out of it, and it's what I seek to pull out of them also.

It strikes me as manifestly false that this system is "very obvious" in the images. If it were very obvious, then the study would not be so long and difficult for so many who try. Though perhaps it is very obvious to you, in which case you would make a natural teacher.

Anyway, my point about the caged bird is that once you figure out how to free it, you'll find there is yet another bird in there that is still caged. This isn't an intellectual judgment, but something I've found true in experience. Another way to put this is that we always want something, no matter how many of our desires find fulfilment. Only the very, very few have crossed the threshold from desire to complete satisfaction (and presumably also complete freedom).

The sphere of power is the reaching. Yet you've arrived where you are. Thus the caged bird. The mind is it's own messenger. The relationship between the magician and high priestess is always stressed.

[Cobrien]

^ What she said. If I got it wrong, tell me how.

I'm sorry to hear that you judge my approach to this study as purely intellectual; I don't experience it that way at all. But then there's no telling what others will see in my words.

I agree with you about the internal alchemy system. This is what Ra and Don were trying to bring out of it, and it's what I seek to pull out of them also.

It strikes me as manifestly false that this system is "very obvious" in the images. If it were very obvious, then the study would not be so long and difficult for so many who try. Though perhaps it is very obvious to you, in which case you would make a natural teacher.

Anyway, my point about the caged bird is that once you figure out how to free it, you'll find there is yet another bird in there that is still caged. This isn't an intellectual judgment, but something I've found true in experience. Another way to put this is that we always want something, no matter how many of our desires find fulfilment. Only the very, very few have crossed the threshold from desire to complete satisfaction (and presumably also complete freedom).

The sphere of power is the reaching. Yet you've arrived where you are. Thus the caged bird. The mind is it's own messenger. The relationship between the magician and high priestess is always stressed.

The crux of the developmental system is the polarization between the mind and its messenger. The positions in each card are significant.

[Learner]

Hello, let me introduce you to my friend, the Magician, also known as the Matrix of the Mind.



...

The image of this archetype reminds me of the song that really resonated with me when I was just starting on my path of seeking and reading Ra Material. The lyrics goes: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgpMEhEqEhg)

There's a darkness upon me that's flooded in light
In the fine print they tell me what's wrong and what's right
And it comes in black and it comes in white
And I'm frightened by those that don't see it

When nothing is owed or deserved or expected
And your life doesn't change by the man that's elected
If you're loved by someone, you're never rejected
Decide what to be and go be it

There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in 
And demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I'll scream 'til I die 
And the last of those bad thoughts are finally out

There's a darkness upon you that's flooded in light
And in the fine print They tell you what's wrong and what's right
And it flies by day and it flies by night
And I'm frightened by those who don't see it

It seems to me that I must be channeling the energy of the Matrix of the Mind at that stage of my seeking. :-)

[sillypumpkins]

hi everyone

I'm beginning to dive more into the tarot and have been getting a real kick out of it!!

I am currently studying the Magician and have my own (though incomplete) understanding of it's meaning. I'm using the Albano-Waite deck. My only block with this card so far has been in regards to the garden.

My understanding, helped by my readings and my own conclusions, is that the garden represents the subconsciousness. The Magician draws from the arbor (superconsciousness) and directing his will, he plants seeds in the ground of the garden (subconsciousness), resulting in the 5 five-petaled roses and 4 six-petaled lilies.

In reading Paul Foster Case's 'The Tarot,' he states that the roses (symbolic of desire-nature), represent 'that phase of subconscious response to self-conscious direction which has to do with art, invention, and the adaptation of the principles of abstract truth to practical ends.' And then, that there are five of them because all desire is related to sensation, there being 5 traditional senses. The 4 six-petaled white lilies have six petals which is signified as the hexagram, a symbol of the macrocosm. Hermetic science concerns itself with the laws of the Macrocosm, thus there are 4 lilies because these laws exist in the 4 worlds (Archetypal, creative, formative, and material).

The garden itself makes sense to me, however the fruits, or the flowers, that eventually grow just aren't clicking for me. Everything else clicks.

I don't expect anybody to work this out for me, obviously that is something one must do for themselves. I just figured it might be helpful to hear other's perspectives on the card, and specifically this aspect of it ....

thanks !

[Diana]

@ sillypumpkins: I suggest you use the archetype cards suggested in the Ra book. The reason is not because there is no use for other decks such as the Rider-Waite deck, but that the intention for other decks is not the same as the ones offered by Ra. The tarot images from Ra speak to the architecture of this particular logos, and other decks may speak to things such as divination or have other symbols added or changed from the original symbology from Ra. If you are seeking to understand the tarot according to Ra, and the architecture of this existence, then your best bet would be to study the best cards. Aside from just getting the images from lawofone.info, or the original book 4 of the Ra Material, the Brotherhood of Light deck is good, too.

[sillypumpkins]

Hmm... okay, thank you for the heads up Diana.

I was under the impression that all tarot sought out to express the same truths in each card, with there only being minor cultural/what-have-you differences in each one.....

When I read book IV, I hadn't gotten into tarot yet. I remember Don asking Ra if it would be appropriate to remove "such and such" symbol from a card. Is the deck on the LOO that "edited" deck?

It's interesting to me that there are different "effects" of different decks in that way, I had no idea! lol. I would love if someone chimed in perhaps discussing what effect the Rider-Waite deck is supposed to have vs. others, specifically the LOO one.

Is there somewhere where I can read more about this concept of decks differing in intention or effect? I truly thought it was all just preference!! Very cool

Thank you again

edit: I think I understand more what you're trying to say. Ra were the originators of the system of Tarot, and therefore the original Egyptian and especially the corrected LOO cards are less distorted than other decks. And therefore, if one is wanting to study Tarot, using the original Egyptian/corrected LOO images would be more effective especially because the study of the archetypal mind was of primary concern to Ra, while divination was a side thing.... is that about right?

[Navaratna]

Thank you