Chicago Gnosis Podcast

The mechanical laws of nature govern the present psychological state of humanity―for both good and ill. By transcending the forces of nature and their subsequent influence on the mind, the initiate enters the higher mysteries: states of unconditioned, blissful consciousness free from the limitations of matter. Discover how mother nature functions through the law of evolution: birth, progress, development, and growth; and the law of devolution: death, regression, destruction, and decay. Our full, conscious potential is only developed by revolutionizing ourselves against lunar (mechanical) influences, suffering, and our animal inheritance. By comprehending and annihilating the lunar ego, the soul or essence awakens to its solar (divine) nature and solves the mystery of the sphinx, the fundamental question of our gnostic studies: "How do I become a true human being made into the image of God?" This lecture discusses the esoteric significance of Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex,  Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana," and the writings of Dr. Arnold Krumm-Heller (Master Huiracocha) and Samael Aun Weor. Learn also about the tenth Hebrew letter, Iod, and its kabbalistic relationship to the Biblical and Quranic story of Joseph, a symbol of the mysteries of Yesod. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-10-retribution

Every disciple who follows the path of sexual and moral purity encounters solitude and psychological suffering, which must be comprehended in order to be transformed into understanding and wisdom. The fundamental precept of the ninth arcanum is initiation into the higher mysteries, achieved by reverence, remorse, recognition of one's errors, and awakening consciousness. The number nine also signifies the genesis of the soul through the power of sexuality, otherwise known on the tree of life as the sephirah Yesod or the ninth sphere.   Learn the basic requirements for achieving initiation, the way of repentance and comprehension in meditation. This lecture discusses the hermetic wisdom of the serpent in Genesis, the Zohar, and the kabbalah, including the esoteric meaning of the ninth Hebrew letter: Teth. Discover how the consciousness can return to divinity with objective knowledge as taught in the Sufi writings of Aishah al-Bauniyyah and the ninth Surah of the Qur'an. The lecture concludes with the mysteries of the Kundalini, the path of initiation, and the self-realization of the Being alluded to in Beethoven's ninth symphony. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-9-the-hermit

The eighth arcanum hides many mysteries essential to kabbalah and alchemy: the different levels of consciousness and the scientific work with creative energy. Discover how the holy eight, the sign of the infinite and sacred tantrism, applies to the mystical science of the Tree of Life ["the tree of lives," otz ha-chaim] and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil [otz ha-da'ath tob ve ra, which can also be translated as "the tree of knowledge of purity and impurity"].   This lecture explores alchemical and kabbalistic teachings within the Books of Genesis and Revelation, the Zohar, and the Qur'an, extending the prior discussion on the solar and lunar ways, the right and left-hand paths mentioned throughout Islam. Discover how Genesis hides alchemical instruction for solar initiates, especially through the temptation of the serpent, and how Eve, Chavah, "the mother of the living," represents the spiritual power of sexuality. The eighth letter of kabbalah, Chet encloses the mysteries of life, Chai'ah, which are the marvelous synthesis of the previous arcana and Hebrew letters Vav and Zayin. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-8-justice

Spiritual development is based on struggle, effort, challenges, and difficulties, primarily in how the consciousness learns to comprehend and eliminate egos, defects, vices, and errors. This is a spiritual war mentioned throughout the conflicts of the Bible and the Qur'an, how the Innermost, our spirit, commands, conquers, and overcomes the obstacles to His Self-realization. Discover the principles upon which the spirit triumphs over animality, desire, egotism, and conditions of mind. This lecture explores the mysteries of the seven planets of the alchemical and kabbalistic traditions, the seven archangels, the seven chakras, the seven lower Sephiroth, bodies, and initiations of the Tree of Life, the seven notes of the musical scale, and how the number seven, the law of organization, applies to the spiritual work. You will also learn about the symbolism of Eve's creation from Adam's rib in Genesis, as well as the Zohar regarding the seventh letter of Hebraic Kabbalah, Zayin, the latter representative of the feminine creative energy, sword or Kundalini within any adept or angelic being. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-7-triumph

To arrive at complete knowledge of divinity, the soul must undergo specific trials and temptations, symbolized by the Sixth Arcanum of the tarot. The disciple must confront, in a state of equanimity, insight, and dispassion, the undesirable elements he or she carries within the psyche. Such egotistical elements come in the form of pride, anger, greed, gluttony, laziness, envy, and most of all, the capital defect of lust. Sexual desire is the original sin that expelled Adam and Eve from Eden, the primordial blissful state of the consciousness. To return to Eden, one must enter through the same door one left: sexuality. It is not by renouncing sex that one can overcome lust, but by learning to work in a perfect matrimony to transmute selfishness and desire into conscious love. This lecture explores alchemical and kabbalistic teachings within the Zohar, especially the significance of the Hebrew letter Vav, its representation as the spinal column, and its appearance within the first verse of Genesis: (Bereshit Bara Elohim At Ha-Shamayim Vey-At Ha'aretz): "In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth." Discover the mysteries of Da'ath, alchemical knowledge, as defined through serpent mysticism: the positive brazen serpent that healed the Israelites in the wilderness and the tempting serpent of Eden. You will also learn about the initiatic significance of the seven days of Genesis; the symbolism of the Menorah, the seal of Solomon / Star of David, and the left / right hand paths in the Qur'an; the relationship between alchemy and abstinence as explained in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra; as well as the hidden meaning of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, particularly the famous first movement. Resources and References https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-6-indecision

The law of causality is present in every level of nature, from gross materiality to the heights of the psyche and spiritual abstraction. This law has been known as karma in the East (from the Sanskrit karman: action and consequence). The Judeo-Christian tradition has referred to this law as the Torah: the divine law of balance and equilibrium that serves as the basis for every mystical tradition. Spiritual life is based upon laws and the implementation of their causes. Therefore, learn how to develop superior action to pay karma. By performing selfless service and struggling for the spiritual well being of others, we obtain our own peace and happiness, thereby overcoming the mechanicity of suffering. This indicates that karma is not a blind law, but is managed by superior beings and can be negotiated in accordance with the qualities of the heart. This lecture also explains the esoteric symbolism of the gnostic pentagram, the Hebrew letter Hei and the significance of Abraham's meeting with divinity in Genesis, as well as how to negotiate with divinity and pay one's karmic debts. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-5-the-hierarch

The Emperor of Tarot and Kabbalah represents our inner spirit, known as Chesed: "Mercy" in Hebrew, the fourth Sephirah or sphere from the top of the Tree of Life. Our inner spirit, divinity, or particular God, is perfect, yet he longs to acquire self-knowledge, unity, and integration of the inferior parts of his psyche, represented by the four elements: air (Netzach / mind), fire (Hod / emotions), water (Yesod / vitality) and earth (Malkuth / physicality).  This feat of religion (religare: reunion) is based on will (Tiphrereth). Our psychology is a kingdom or empire that needs to be ruled and ordered by the will of our spirit, the Innermost. Learn about the three mother letters of Hebraic Kabbalah and their esoteric relationship to gnostic psychology, the etymological, alchemical, and kabbalistic significance of the sacred Tetragrammaton or four-lettered name of God (Iod-Chavah) in mystical Judaism, an explanation of the opening verse of Bereshit (Genesis), the creation of the solar bodies, and the fourth way teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, particularly the paths of the fakir, monk, yogi, and the psychologically equilibrated human being. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-4-the-emperor

The trinity constitutes an important aspect of many world religions and reflects the generative laws of divine nature. The number three is the synthesis of the previous two arcana, how the masculine / affirmative and feminine / receptive forces combine and reconcile into a perfect unity, the neutral / synthetic principle, to create physical and spiritual life.  As above, so below. Just as human beings cannot create children without masculine and feminine principles, likewise individuals cannot generate the completely perfected soul without the help of a matrimony. Learn how the number three relates to gnostic psychology through the study of the three brains, the three types of soul within the Kabbalistic tradition (Nephesh, Ruach, and Neshamah), and how the three primary forces of nature mentioned by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky: Affirmation, Negation, and Reconciliation, work within the consciousness. A profound study of the three primary forces of nature aid the practitioner in developing creative comprehension: profound understanding that is based on the creation and development of the soul. Resources and References: http://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-3-the-empress  

For creation to emerge, the unity (masculine, positive, or projective force) unfolds into a duality (the feminine, negative, or receptive force). Just as divine nature is initiated and formed through these two principles, likewise the human being must work with both the sacred masculine and sacred feminine in order to advance spiritually. Every priest (representative of the Divine Father) requires his priestess (reflective of the ineffable feminine or Divine Mother Kundalini) in order to perform works of high magic. Discover how the High Priestess constitutes the eternal feminine through which any magician acts, specifically through the work of the Cubic Stone (Yesod or sexual magic in Kabbalah) through the alchemical tree of knowledge (Da'ath). This lecture draws upon a variety of sources, including the Muslim / Sufi tradition through unveiling the mysterious Preserved Tablet, Mother of the Book, and Book Concealed within the Qur'an, a direct reference to the secret book of the tarot. Likewise, this lecture explains the meaning of the sacred cow in Hinduism and Islam (Surah Al-Baqarah), as well as the meaning of the Hebrew letter Beth, Bethlehem, and the Merkabah: the solar bodies mentioned by Samael Aun Weor, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Zoharic commentary on the first line of Genesis. Resources and References: http://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-2-the-high-priestess

Every cosmos, whether macrocosmic (universal) or microcosmic (within the human being) is based upon divine, eternal laws, the latter being systematically represented within the tarot. The Magician is the divine masculine principle that initiates any endeavor, specifically in relation to the path of initiation: the induction into a higher way of spiritual being and the complete development of one's true human potential. Learn how to become a practical magician: a being who fulfills the divine will for the benefit of others. This is accomplished by harnessing one's creative energies and conquering the lower, conditioned, and negative qualities of one's psyche. A magician is capable of consciously controlling the elements, not only physical, but energetic, emotional, mental, and volitional as well. The Magician of the First Arcanum therefore represents our own inner divinity who must command our interior universe, but for Him to do so, we must learn to cooperate so as to be a suitable vessel for Him. Resources and References: https://chicagognosis.org/lectures/arcanum-1-the-magician