“In the tunnel of Tzuflifu is Power to find the courage to fight against culturally institutionalized injustice, to connect with our aggressive energies and passions to go after what we want, to contact the inner moral strength that enables us to establish life outside traditional sex roles.”
The Shadow Tarot by Linda Falorio
Often in literature, war is used as the antithesis of love. The opposite of everything romance and beauty is fighting and bloodshed. However, it is in The Path of the Warrior that initiates learn that these two things, love and war, are one and the same. For what better to fight for than love itself.
Fighting for what we want, as well as to protect who and what we love, this is the Path of the Warrior. It is here that initiates learn how to address conflict as well as resolve it as needed. This is a needed skill when it is progress that we are aiming for. Though this conflict resolution doesn’t always result in “war” it can at times. It is also a path of resolving wars that have already been going on. In the mist of chaos, anger, and bloodshed, we find resolution, peace, and growth. To be a warrior is not only to know what you want and go after it, but also to protect what you have and love.
The Path of the Warrior is also about embracing some of the harder emotions, such as anger, fury, wrath, deep sadness, mourning, and more. It is common to feel as though you might need to “push away” these feelings and not feel them, but they are just as worthy as any other emotion. And these emotions are great for fueling you and your desires.
Tzuflifu oversees the 17th (27th) pathway. This tunnel is associated with the Tarot card The Star. It is here, between the Black Earth and Dark Venus that initiates find the power to to push for change. The force that runs through this tunnel is symbolized with violent heat, and gives this path a sense of urgency as initiates are thrust past the point of rebirth and into their new reality.
Tzuflifu is a liberator. Working the Path of the Warrior with him helps initiates free themselves. His tunnel is filled with furies, those who were created through violence. This energy helps initiates learn to slice through the veil of false desires and see things in a new light. Through initiations, practitioners learn to spark their passions, and then use their emotions as alchemical fuel that will propel them forward into the reality they desire.
Tzuflifu not only helped me learn to free myself of false desires but also learned to see the difference between my true desires and the desires of others, placed upon me like a veil of illusion. Sometimes it’s worth it to embrace these falsities. Integrate them into your truth and find where it connects with what is already known about yourself. Other times it’s important to see the difference so that you can stay true to yourself.
This path was also about facing my fears. Fear was something that kept me frozen for a long time, the large looming “what if.” What if something went wrong? What if I wasn’t worthy of my desires? Or the worst of all– What if I got exactly what I wanted and couldn’t handle it? Through the Path of the Warrior, Tzuflifu taught me, that if I don’t at least try I will lose every time. And if what is for you will always be for you. Don’t waste your time and energy fighting against yourself. Instead, be honest and embrace your truth.
Lastly, it was here I found the ability to try again, despite the fact that I have been hurt before, and I will be hurt again. The inevitable is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean I have to be powerless.
(Click here for a Spell for Protecting What you Love done with Tzuflifu.)
Bibliography & Books for Further Reading on this Topic:
- Qabalah, Qliphoth, and Goetic Magic by Thomas Karlesson
- The Shadow Tarot by Linda Falorio
Acidalia Kipos 