The Experience of the Spirit
-Archetype Eighteen-

In the Law of One material, the archetypes form a fundamental part of understanding the structure and evolution of the mind, body, and spirit. The Experience of the Spirit is the archetype of the traveler’s movement through the veiled spirit complex after the catalyst of faith has been received. It is a masculine archetype, characterized by transparency of experience and the capacity to activate inner evolutionary progress. There is no human figure in the image, so there is no obvious point of perspective; the scene itself is the path of travel.

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Overview of the Archetype

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The Experience of the Spirit is symbolized by two pyramids rising on either side of the scene, a white pyramid on the left with a door and a black pyramid on the right with no door. Between and above the pyramids there is a moon in the night sky, obscured by clouds or mist. In front of the pyramids are two jackals facing each other, a black jackal on the left and a white jackal on the right. At the bottom of the scene a scorpion crawls toward the black jackal and the white pyramid, enveloped by a circle of light.

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Symbolic Elements

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The Two Pyramids

The two triangles in the Catalyst of the Spirit image are now much closer. They have taken on the appearance of two temples, two palaces of spiritual initiation, one white and one black. Each temple symbolizes a new and more helpful mental configuration for the purpose of doing spiritual work. This new temple will become the dogma that separates the acceptable from the rejected, thereby becoming the next iteration of the Matrix of the Spirit. We do not think of the temples as dogma, but as a new way of viewing our relation to the infinite which promises an escape from the previous dogmas that inhibited contact with the Creator. In the temple of our choice, what we see is a stable spiritual foundation from which we can gain new insight on ourselves and also become closer to the Creator. At the horizon of human experience these temples also represent the Great Work that each of us has set about to do: to enter into the ultimate truth of this third density illusion and take our place as co-Creators with the One Infinite Creator. The temple simultaneously represents the future dogma in which we will feel one day trapped and the release from dogma that allows us to grow and build the spirit complex. The door on the white pyramid indicates that the right-hand path is easier to tread. One must cut a hole into the black pyramid to gain entry.

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The Moon, the Jackals, and the Scorpion

Again, as in the Catalyst of the Spirit, we have a night sky accompanied by a dim source of light. In this case the source of light is the Moon, which is not fixed in the sky the way a star is. The Moon cannot offer an objective marker by which we can gauge the direction of our movement. Instead it only offers dim light. This is the context of the veiling of the spirit in the Experience of the Spirit. The transparent side of spirit, represented by the light of the Moon, is a dim and diffuse reflection of the Logos itself. The hidden or veiled side of spirit, represented by the night sky and the environment itself, is filled with shadows, illusions, potential guides and hidden threats. The two jackals face each other, black on the left and white on the right. The scorpion crawls toward the black jackal and the white pyramid, enveloped by a circle of light.

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Functions and Dynamics

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Even more disorienting in this card is the absence of a human figure. If we imagine our inner Traveler as riding the butterfly that soars from the ground to the star in the heavens, then the scene before us represents that path of travel. In the Experience of the Spirit we leave the mind behind, since no amount of reasoning will help us in this environment. This is a masculine archetype, so it is characterized by transparency of experience as well as the capacity to activate inner evolutionary progress. What is transparent to us is not the nature of spirit itself, since that is as confusing as ever in this archetype; rather, in this experience we are aware of ourselves as Travelers within a strange and terrifying world. Because there is no human figure in this image, there is no obvious point of perspective to use as a point of orientation. Perhaps the butterfly soars from behind the pyramids; perhaps it attempts to escape the scorpion; perhaps it flies from the Moon to the pyramid.

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The Role of Catalysts

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The Experience of the Spirit receives the catalytic activity of the Faithful and integrates it by moving through the veiled spirit complex. The two temples represent the new mental configurations that arise after the lightning of potentiation and the outpouring of faith. The Moon provides only dim light, so the traveler must navigate without an objective marker. The jackals and the scorpion show the potential guides and hidden threats that fill the environment of the veiled spirit. On the personal level this is the movement of the inner witness through the darkness after the catalyst of faith has been received. On the interpersonal level it is the navigation of a relationship after Revelation has demolished the previous structures. On the social level it is the revaluation of norms that follows an earth-shattering event, as the group moves through the dim light of the new configuration.

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Veiling and Unveiling

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The night sky and the obscured Moon represent the veiling of the spirit. The transparent side of spirit is a dim and diffuse reflection of the Logos. The hidden side is filled with shadows and illusions. The absence of a human figure means there is no fixed point of perspective. The traveler is aware of the self as a traveler within a strange and terrifying world, yet the nature of spirit itself remains as confusing as ever. Unveiling occurs as the traveler moves through the environment of the two temples, choosing which path to enter and which threats to navigate.

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Polarity and Balance

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The white pyramid with the door is easier to enter; the black pyramid requires that a hole be cut. The right-hand path is easier to tread, yet both temples are present. The jackals face each other, black and white. The scorpion crawls toward both the black jackal and the white pyramid. Mixed expressions are the common condition. The traveler must navigate both the dim light of the Moon and the shadows of the night sky, choosing which temple to approach while remaining aware that the chosen temple will eventually become the next dogma.

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Integration and Transformation

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The Experience of the Spirit is the path of travel after the catalyst of faith has been received. Distorted expressions include remaining fixed on the dim light of the Moon as if it were an objective marker, or attempting to reason one’s way through an environment that cannot be navigated by the mind. Integration occurs as the traveler leaves the mind behind and moves through the strange and terrifying world of the veiled spirit, aware of the self as a traveler and open to the potential guides and hidden threats that fill the night. When the traveler has navigated the two temples and the circle of light around the scorpion, the next configuration of the spirit complex becomes available.

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Practical Application

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In practical terms, working with the Experience of the Spirit involves recognizing the self as a traveler within the veiled spirit complex after the catalyst of faith has been received. Meditation and honest self-inquiry can reveal the dim light of the Moon and the shadows that fill the night, as well as the two temples that offer new configurations for spiritual work. The work is not to force an objective marker or to reason one’s way through the environment but to leave the mind behind and move as a traveler through the strange and terrifying world. By remaining aware of the self as a traveler and open to the potential guides and hidden threats, the seeker creates the conditions under which the next configuration of the spirit complex may arise.

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Summary

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The Experience of the Spirit is the traveler’s movement through the veiled spirit complex after the catalyst of faith has been received. Through its symbolism of the two pyramids (white with a door, black without), the obscured Moon, the facing jackals, and the scorpion enveloped in light, it shows the path of travel that leaves the mind behind and navigates the dim light and the shadows of the night. This archetype guides the seeker to recognize the self as a traveler within a strange and terrifying world, to leave reasoning behind, and to move through the environment of the two temples so that the next configuration of the spirit complex may become available.