THE WORLD

Here we see a dancer clad only in a scarf. An oval wreath frames her figure, symbolizing the mystery of creation.
The ribbons twined around the wreath again suggest the cosmic lemniscate.

The four beasts at the four corners of the key, a slightly different version of those in Key 10 (The Wheel of Fortune), represent the four elements of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, which have here been balanced and become the cornerstones of life.

The legs of the dancer form a cross, as do those of the Hanged Man, but the triangle he represented was under the cross, signifying that he was still bound by earthly things.
Here, a triangle is formed pointing upward from the dancer’s hands to the top of her head.

Thus the triangle of Spirit now surmounts the cross of the material . The dancer’s two wands represent the powers of involution and evolution, which she now possesses.

Though the dancer seems a female, some writers claim that a hermaphrodite is depicted in this Key, with the veil hiding the truth. This is thought by some to be the ideal state from which humanity came and to which it returns.

This attainment is the merging of the self-conscious with the subconscious, and the blending of these two with the superconscious — the final state of Cosmic Consciousness, the supreme goal to which all the other keys have led.

Divinatory Meaning:
Completion, reward, success, triumph in all undertakings.
Travel, change of residence, arrival at a state of Cosmic Consciousness.
The path of liberation.

Reversed:
Success yet to be won; fear of change or travel, too great an attachment to one’s place of residence or job. Lack of vision.

Dascent Deck