The Great Way of the Mind
-Archetype Seven-

​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 Great Way of the Mind is the total environment within which the mind evolves on its journey toward self-knowledge. It depicts all the coordinating elements in their large-scale relationships to one another in the mind’s relation to itself. Unlike the Transformation archetypes, which are brief and liminal, the Great Way is enduring: anyone who pursues inner evolution expresses it to some degree, and it remains active.

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Overview of the Archetype

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The Great Way of the Mind is symbolized by a male figure standing inside a cubic chariot whose roof is held by four pillars. A veil hangs from the front of the roof, lower on the figure’s left than his right. A winged orb appears on the front of the chariot. The figure wears a helm and uraeus; two mirrored right angles sit above a tau on his chest. He holds a glowing orb in his right hand and a sword turned downward in his left. Two sphinxes pull the chariot—a black one on the right and a white one on the left—each with one front limb straight as if walking and the other bent as if resting.

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Symbolic Elements

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The Chariot and the Veil

The male figure represents the conscious mind. The cubic chariot and its four pillars indicate the entrapment of the “caged mind” within the physical world. The veil above him is the veil between the conscious and unconscious mind; the environment beyond the chariot is the unconscious mind which the conscious mind will come to know. The skewed veil indicates greater potential for lifting the veil on the right-hand path, a sign of the Logos’s preference for that path.

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The Sphinxes

The two sphinxes mirror the two servants in the Significator of the Mind. Their configuration (black on right, white on left) reiterates the theme of polarity: apparently positive experiences tend to catalyze toward the left-hand path and apparently negative experiences toward the right-hand path. The sphinx is a “time-full” creature; the alternating straight and bent limbs indicate that forward motion occurs in phases. After each transformation the mind must rest to become familiar with its new surroundings. This stop-and-go process reflects the alternation between the Lesser Cycle and the Greater Cycle.

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The Winged Orb, Hands, and Chest Symbols

The winged orb represents the covenant with the spirit complex: as goes the mind, so goes the spirit. The orb in the right hand symbolizes the light the mind shines on the unconscious in an effort to see it in its natural truth and bless it as it is. The sword in the left hand reiterates the sword of the Significator: what is seen is absorbed to serve conscious purpose. The two right angles represent the physical and metaphysical realms mirroring each other. The tau, the lower portion of an ankh, represents the careful and precarious balance that must be struck as the foundation for all mental evolution, and the necessity of sacrificial choice.

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Functions and Dynamics

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The Great Way of the Mind is not a culmination or final product. It shows the inescapable nature of inner evolution for the mind. The Fool, having developed critical distance from the Significator, can now identify with a different Significator. This capacity extends free will beyond mere articulation of the existing Significator; the Significator can become something different entirely. The Great Way is dependent upon its notable difference from the Significator because the veiling process has created a new architecture of mind within which choice is possible.

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The Role of Catalysts

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Catalysts continue to arise within the environment of the Great Way. The sphinxes represent the apparently positive and negative periods of time that recur cyclically. The charioteer must choose which sphinx leads the ship forward through the sea of the unconscious mind. That choice is tantamount to a preference for the right- or left-hand path. Each choice reinforces and powers the last, carving a mental pathway that makes subsequent steps along the same path more likely.

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Veiling and Unveiling

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The veil remains present, yet the structure of the Great Way shows that the conscious mind moves through its own conceptual environment while interacting with the physical world in which it is trapped. Other-selves mirror back the contents of the unconscious mind. As the mind walks the path of inner evolution, outward reality mirrors inward reality. The skewed veil indicates that the right-hand path offers greater potential for lifting the veil.

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Polarity and Balance

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On the right-hand path the mind submits itself to the greater authority of the spirit, allowing the spirit to draw the mind forward. On the left-hand path the mind subjugates the spirit to its own authority, moving forward on willpower alone. The Leader persona that characterizes the Great Way has a clear sense of what is wanted and who is. There is no internal conflict; all inner resources are oriented in the same direction. This harmonic orientation is what gives the Leader strength and charisma. Choosing a morally polarized path is self-reinforcing: when the masculine side chooses to see the feminine side as Innocent, the feminine side responds with evidence that affirms her innocence, deepening the groove of the chosen path.

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Integration and Transformation

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The Great Way does not replace the Lesser Cycle; it provides the larger environment within which the Lesser Cycle continues. After each Transformation the mind rests, observes, and becomes familiar with the new configuration of the Significator before the next opportunity for critical distance arises. The stop-and-go motion of the sphinxes makes this alternation visible. Anyone who embraces and pursues inner evolution expresses the Great Way to some degree; when expressed purely and without significant distortion, it remains active.

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Practical Application

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In practical terms, working with the Great Way of the Mind involves recognizing that the environment of mind is always present and that choices of polarity carve pathways that reinforce themselves. Meditation and honest observation of which experiences are being used to deepen a chosen path, and which are being used to maintain internal conflict, reveal the current configuration of the chariot. The work is not to force a final state but to notice when the sphinxes are moving and when they are resting, and to align the conscious mind with the covenant of spirit so that forward motion continues in phases.

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Summary

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The Great Way of the Mind is the total environment within which the mind evolves toward self-knowledge. Through its symbolism of the charioteer, the sphinxes, the veil, and the covenant of the winged orb, it shows how free will extends beyond the existing Significator, how polarity is reinforced through repeated choice, and how the mind moves in phases of transformation and rest. This archetype guides the seeker to recognize the enduring nature of inner evolution, to observe the self-reinforcing pathways carved by prior choices, and to allow the Leader within to guide the mind forward in alignment with the spirit.