The Fool and the Supernal Triangle
In the Golden Dawn system, a simple white triangle represents the Supernal universe, made up of Kether, Chokmah and Binah, from which the Tzimtzum, or Light in Extension is projected.
Significantly, this symbol is used in Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot in ways that reflect the Golden Dawn Teachings.
In the Fool card, there are two Triangles, the apex of the first is seen behind the head of the figure, while the other is seen behind the body of the figure, the baseline at the centre of the card; in the Fortune card, it is at the centre of the Wheel; in the Princess of Disks, we see it in the area from behind the Princesses' head to her elbows. As the first and last cards, it is easy to understand why the Fool and Princess of Disks have this symbol when we consider the Doctrine of the Concourse of Forces around the North Pole, around which the Aces and Princesses reside, but why is it prominent in the Fortune card, when it associated with Kaph, Jupiter and the Wheel of Fortune? I believe the answer to be that this card is a symbolic representation of the Earth at the Pole Star, and the whirling forces shown on the card is the Spiral force of Creation. At the top of the card is a flattened disk that is reminiscent of the diagram showing the Serpent path around the zodiac in the Concourse of the Forces.
The Chariot
Recently, I discovered the word "Abracadabra" worked into the blue canopy above the Thoth Chariot card. The letters are not easy to see as they are part of the 'embroidery'. Crowley mentions ABRAHADABRA in the text, but in the correspondence between Frieda Harris and Crowley, she refers to the Chariot as the Abracadabra card. Crowley changed the traditional word to create the gematric value of 418, which is hugely significant in Crowley's system, particularly Liber 418, The Vision and the Voice, a record of his explorations of the Enochian Aethyrs. The word HAD at the centre is related to the Egyptian god Set.
Why do I mention The Chariot here? Well, Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, and Crowley emphasizes the influence of Jupiter (Fortune) in this card. Further, Crowley mentions June 24th, John the Baptists' Day, hugely significant for Freemasons and Templars.
The Spiral
An aspect of the Golden Dawn rituals is the Mystical Circumambulation around the Altar at the centre of the Temple. A concentric circle of three and a half turns is made, which is reflected in the Fool card by the spiral around the man. "The centre turns not", a comment echoed by Crowley in the Fortune card. It is noteworthy that in the Princess of Disks, not only do we have the Yin-Yang symbol held by her, but the curvacious nature of her robe echoes the swirling forces in the Fortune card.
The 'Spiral of Creation' mentioned by Crowley in the Fool card, and the Devil card, Zero and AYN (Nothing) respectively, is an important aspect of the Golden Dawn.
An understanding of the Triangle is critical:
The Triangle is the only lineal figure into which all the surfaces can be reduced, for every Polygon can be divided into triangles by drawing lines from its angles to its centre; and the triangle is the first and simplest of all lineal figures. It refers to the Triad operating in all things, to the Three Supernal Sephiroth and to Binah, the Third Sephirah in particular.
Among the planets it is especially referred to Saturn and among the Elements to Fire, and, as the colour of Saturn is black, and that of Fire red, the black Triangle will represent Saturn, and the red, Fire. [See the Banner of the East and the Banner of the West].
The Three Angles also symbolise the three alchemical Principles of Nature: Salt, Sulphur and Mercury.
Golden Dawn Book, Llewellyn
Aleister Crowley may have left the Golden Dawn decades earlier, but some things are never forgotten:
0. The Fool
This card is attributed to the letter Aleph, which means an Ox, but by its shape the Hebrew letter (so it is said) represents a ploughshare; thus the significance is primarily phallic. It is the first of the the three Mother letters, Aleph, Mem, and Shin, which correspond in various interwoven fashions with all the triads that occur in these cards, notably Fire, Water, Air; Father , Mother, Son; Sulphur, Salt, Mercury; Rajas, Sattvas and Tamas.
Book of Thoth
Crowley goes into greater detail on the Three Gunas in the Fortune card.
X. Fortune
... Above, the firmament of the stars. These appear distorted in shape, although they are balanced, some being brilliant, and some dark. From them, through the firmament, issue lightnings; they churn it into a mass of violet and blue plumes. In the midst of all this is suspended a wheel of ten spokes, according to the number of the Sephiroth, and of the sphere of Malkuth, indicating governance of physical affairs.
On this wheel are three figures, the Sworded Sphinx, Hermanubis, and Typhon; they symbolize the three forms of energy which govern the movement of phenomena.
The nature of these qualities requires careful description. In the Hindu system are the three Gunas - Sattvas, Rajas and Tamas. The word "Guna" is untranslatable. It is not quite an element, a quality, a form of energy, a phase, or a potential; all of these ideas enter into it.
The Gunas are represented in European philosophy by the three qualities, sulphur, mercury and salt, already pictured in Atu I, III and IV. But in this card the attribution is somewhat different. The Sphinx is composed of four Kerubs, shown in Atu V, the bull, the lion, the eagle, and the man.
Later, Crowley describes the nature of change.
Fortune
One of the most important aphorisms of Hindu philosophy is: "the Gunas revolve". This means that according to the doctrine of continual change, nothing can remain in any phase where one of these Gunas is predominant; however dense and dull that thing may be, a time will come when it begins to stir.
"Continual change" is further defined in terms of another card.
X. Fortune
This card thus represents the Universe in its aspect as a continual change of state.
Now, we might understand the Universe to mean the Cosmos, except that when we read Crowley's commentary on the Universe card, there are significant overlaps that include the Fool card and Fortune.
XI. The Universe
The first and most obvious characteristic of this card is that comes at the end of all, and is therefore the complement of the Fool. It is attributed to the letter Tau. The two cards together accordingly spell the word Ath, which means Essence. All reality is consequently compromised in the series of which these two letters form the beginning and the end. This beginning was Nothing; the end must therefore be also Nothing, but Nothing in its complete expansion, as previously explained.
The letter Tau means the Sign of the Cross, that is of extension; and this extension is symbolised is symbolized as four-fold because of the convenience of constructing the revolving symbol of Tetragrammaton.
In the card itself there is consequently a glyph of the completion of the Great Work in its highest sense, exactly as the Atu of the Fool symbolizes its beginning. The Fool is the Negative issuing into manifestation; the Universe is that manifestation, its purpos accomplished, ready to return. The twenty cards that lie between these two exhibit the Great Work and its agents in various stages.
Note significant keywords: "Nothing", "Extension", "revolving symbol of Tetragrammaton", "Great Work". The revolving Tetragrammaton can be thought of as the ten spoked wheel on the Fortune card, but a more significant link to the Fortune card is seen in the Kerubim:
The Universe
In the four corners of the card are the four Kerubim showing the established Universe; and about her is an ellipse composed of seventy-two circles for the quinaries of the Zodiac, the Shemhamphorasch.
Thus, Crowley subtley interweaves the Trinity with the Quadruplicity, astrology and the Polar forces. The female figure in the Universe card is the Daughter, seen in her various manifestations in the Princess cards, particularly the Princess of Disks. In the Concourse of the Forces, the Tarot cards around the North Pole are the Aces and the Princesses, and in the Thoth depiction of the Princess of Disks we see the Diamond Sceptre (symbol of Kether) pointing below her feet.
Magick
Although the astrological attribution of Fortune, Kaf, is Jupiter, it is clear that the planet figures little in the understanding, which throws light on the importance Crowley held for Kaf, or K, since he considered magic to be 'change', and famously changed the word to 'magick'. As the eleventh letter, Kaf is exactly half-way through the alphabet, and eleven also relates to the false sephirah Daath, which is the argument that is generally used for this letter regarding Magick.
Black and Red Triangles
The upward pointing red triangle represents Fire, but according the Golden Dawn, the Black Triangle represents Saturn, or the Sephirah Binah on the Tree of Life. Saturn of course is related to Tau, and therefore the Universe card, which relates it to the doctrine of Mother and Daughter, and black is the colour of Binah. In Golden Dawn rituals there are two Temple weapons of interest.
The Banner of the East has the letter Tau at the centre of the Cross. Tau relates to the World or Universe card, discussed above. Superimposed on the Cross is the Hexagram or Star of David.
The Banner of the West has the Supernal Triangle on a black background with the Cross at the centre. The Banner of the West is used to keep out undesirable forces during a ritual.
There is one other interesting symbol that combines the Triangle with the Cross; this appears in the Concourse of the Forces, and is the supreme symbol of The Golden Dawn: