The Universe is card XXI of the Major Arcana in the Thoth Tarot. In a reading it speaks of completion, wholeness, synthesis and fulfilment. In the Golden Dawn system it corresponds to the Hebrew letter Tau, path 32 of the Tree of Life between Yesod and Malkuth, the element Earth and Saturn/Earth in astrology.
completion · wholeness · synthesis · fulfilment · the dance
What does The Universe mean?
Completion and integration: the cycle closes successfully and the next one is prepared.
Everyday meaning
Completion, fulfilment, final success. It points to the end of a cycle, the reaching of a goal and sometimes to journeys or a widening of horizons.
Psychological meaning
The integrated wholeness of the person; the peace of someone who has given form to their potential and can recognise themselves as whole.
Initiatic meaning
Path 32 from Yesod to Malkuth, the letter Tau (the cross, the seal, 400) and at once Saturn and Earth: the last path, where manifestation is completed and from which the return begins. The seal of the Great Work is also the door of the ascent.
The shadow side
Ill-dignified, it signals stagnation, inertia, works left unfinished, Saturnine rigidity.
The Universe reversed
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading:
Something remains unfinished or too heavy; it needs to be completed before you begin anything else.
The Universe in love, work and spirit
In love
A full, mature union, a sense of shared completeness; sometimes a bond that opens out to the world or to a journey together.
At work and career
Goals reached, projects concluded, recognition of a long path.
In spiritual practice
The Great Work accomplished: matter revealed as the dance of spirit.
Kabbalah, astrology and the Hebrew letter of The Universe
Tau ת (400) · path 32: Yesod – Malkuth · Earth · Saturn/Earth
Crowley on The Universe
Crowley's Universe is a maiden dancing with the serpent, turning the spiral of energy inside an ellipse of seventy-two sections; the Kerubim stand at the four corners, and at the centre the pattern of the elements.
Frequently asked questions
What does The Universe mean in the Thoth Tarot?
Completion and integration: the cycle closes successfully and the next one is prepared.
What does The Universe mean in love?
A full, mature union, a sense of shared completeness; sometimes a bond that opens out to the world or to a journey together.
What does The Universe mean for work and career?
Goals reached, projects concluded, recognition of a long path.
What does The Universe mean reversed?
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading: Something remains unfinished or too heavy; it needs to be completed before you begin anything else.
What are the Kabbalah and astrology correspondences of The Universe?
In the Golden Dawn system The Universe corresponds to the Hebrew letter Tau, path 32 of the Tree of Life between Yesod and Malkuth, the element Earth and Saturn/Earth in astrology.
