I - The Unicursal Hexagram

In my experience dealing with tarot cards, I always put aside the extra cards. Crowley used this card as his magical seal. And in his deck, it means something. From the spreads that I have created, I have found that whereever this card may fall it almost always stands for "fate" or "the way that things WILL be". Somethings the cards will tell us, others it just lets us learn by living.
Corey Ward (Secarusjc18@mymailstation.com)

Maybe the back of the cards give us a clue about their ordering? The unicursal hexagram in the center (the five petalle rose in the heart of the cross at the back), The three Magus/Magician cards (The three flower leaves around the cross)-Their specific order, and representation of the colors I do not yet know 7 cards of the trumps (which ones I do not know) The fool is probably the lowest "corner stone" in this house of cards, the starter-point. But also the stubborn rock onto which everything is build. (Together with the three Magus/Magician cards it forms the path from "rags to riches", leading to the top, the joining of Lingam and Yoni (the two "later" cards?) The four "houses" fill in the colored beams of the cross (the spaces of nine cards between the lines) With - probably - the Aces in their middles. The higher cards fill out the dotted lines, surrounding the houses with their powers. But maybe the aces themselves fill out the lines, leaving the nine "numbers" to fill out the holes. (The circles of 10 forming the centers?) Well, i promised to keep it short, so... If it is possible to choose the seven cards "guarding" the heart of this body, there is a possibillity of a system - not unlike that of the I Ching...
But then again, maybe I'm just babbling after having too much Absynthe last night... (who knows)

Please help me out with this! I'm just a man alone against the storm. Growing weak fighting it My mind is fast but my understanding is slow. And there is too less of time to learn how to use them, leaving me wasted and wounded.
Aart van Essen (AJ.vEssen@Stoas.nl)

The Unicursal Hexagram symbolizes the beauty of Tiphareth. This is at the centre of the Tree of Life on the Pillar of Equilibrium. It connects to all other Sephera, save for Malkuth. It is the first Sephera below the abyss, directly in line with Kether.
The four sixes are Victory, Pleasure, Science, & Success. (Swords being earned success & Disks being material success, of course.) The sixth Trump is The Hierophant, which represents a spiritual master, an Enlightener, or Advisor.
The hexagram has always been recognized as a symbol of the balance of power, politically, religiously, and spiritually.
The Unicursal Hexagram represents victory after struggle. As the sixes to their fives, the ensuing pleasure and success following the completion of any of lifes 'great works' is what we all strive to achive (feel), but not finality. That is Malkuth. In Tiphareth, we are only half way to the ultimate goal.
For example: Moses' freeing of his people is represented in Chesed; The Egyptians in pursuit of them in Geburah; & 'finally', the swallowing of the Egyptians into the sea is Tipherath.
Also Jesus: the Crucifixion (Gerubah) & the Resurrection (Tipherath). The Resurrection is a great victory but, obviously, not the end.
Life is The Eternal Struggle.
db
Foolish Mortal (sink1111@yahoo.com)

At first, I set this card aside from my deck, completely disregarding it. It didn't mean a thing to me, until I was compelled to meditate upon it. Then The Unicursal Hexagram became a symbol of balance (restoration and destruction) It seemingly absorbs all energies -- negative or otherwise from my cards as well as other objects. There are periods of time when I am unable to tap into the deck's power, uniting this symbol with the remaining cards, amplified my ability but at other times diminished it. It seems to me, that this card acts as a focal point for the remaning 78 cards' energies.
Star Seed (petrol-sunrise@portal.gs)

When I started wearing this symbol instead of the standard five-pointed pentacle, someone immediately stated to me: "Oh goodie, another Thelemite." Nope, nope, nope. To me, the unicursal hexagram is one step beyond the pentacle. Whereas the five-pointed star represents earth, air, fire, water and spirit (of man), the sixth point of the hexagram represents the spirit of god, or the all. The meshing triangles are the marriage of the microcosm and the macrocosm. It just feels appropriate to use this symbol, though I also still use the pentacle and the ankh.
Haviland (terra@ulster.net)

Just a piece of information about the card. He once said that the five petalle rose was "upside down" in mistake, and that the petal should symbolize a pentagarm with the single point up.
Gerald del Campo (solis@hevanet.com)

Although Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea identify the pentagram, be it right-handed or left, with the male psyche, they identify the hexagram with that of the female. Some relate this to the number of body cavities in men, 5 (nasal cavity which encompasses the ears, nose and mouth; the two teat ducts, the urethra and the anus) and the 6 orifices in women (same first three, the vagina, anus and urethra). Others (of a more stereotypical mindset) claim that it relates to the "6th sense" (sometimes sexistly referred to as women's intuition). Crowley identified the lesson of 5 = 6 with the number 11, which he claimed represented magick. Of course, this does little to help the inflexible mind, because notions that everyone lies somewhere between the abstraction of 5 (fire, earth, water, air, and first ether) and 6 (the 4 elements and both ethers), cannot enter the mindset of those addicted to the idea that "words are truth". Remember the lesson of the Fool: be neither man nor woman, but rather man and woman, for all elements complete the whole. The unicursal hexagram also implies an unbroken "abstract" female, whereas previous hexagrams, such as the Star of David, because they were broken, implied that the feminine path was the way to ruin.
The Fool (wigtil@hotmail.com)

Im not saying this will look for you, but under deep trance and invocations the back of every card has the unicursal hexagram if you know how to look. Stare at the back as if it were a 3-d magic eye and with the right tilt and focus...there it is shining through. This is one of the first things i noticed and maybe it wont work for you, but to each their own...
bright eyes (jedidiah@linctel.net)

This card has Crowley's personal magical seal, known as the Unicursal Hexagram or the Hexagram of the Beast. When one draws this card or is attracted to it, it represents that persons magical abilities. are available to call upon. It is the state of mind that transcends illusion and puts one in the position to succceed at magick. If the person is not spiritually confident, the card is dangerous to meditate upon, as one's karma determines his ability to succeed. The Hexagram of the Beast is a magical amplifier and can be used in ritual and ceremonial magick. This symbol scares the hell out of any closed minded christian or practitioner of "white magic".
Szandor Starr (starr108@flash.net)

The origin

The Unicursal Hexagram originates from the Golden Dawn document "Polygons and Polygrams". When Regardie published his book "The Golden Dawn", he did not have access to document, and it was first published by Crowley, which lead to the generel misconception that Crowley originated the Unicursal Hexagram.

The Unicursal Hexagram is a solution to the problem of drawing a six-pointed figure in a single pass, as can be done with a traditional pentagram. This one-pass version is easier to trace in the air during rituals than the several Star of David variants, consisting of superimposed separate triangles.  In addition to this utilitarian virtue, it has some symbolic advantages as well, such as its inclusion of the center point in the figure, and its radial asymmetry.

Combined with the Marian Rose, the Unicursal Hexagram becomes Crowley's personal sigil, which is the magical union of 5 and 6 giving 11, the number of magick and new beginnings.

This information is compiled by information given to me by various sources.
Hans (hle@nethotel.dk)


This is a part of the Tarot Inspiration site.