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" HAROLD B.LEE LIBRARY
BRiGHAM YOUNG UNlVERSirt

PROVO. UTAH

'^^

-^'

THE TAROT OF THE BOHEMIANS.

Absolute Key to Occult Science.

i^ronti apiece.

ABSOLUTE KEY TO OCCULT SCIENCE.

THE TAROT

OF THE BOHEMIANS.

THE MOST ANCIENT BOOK IN THE WORLD.

For the exclusive use of Initiates.

By PAPUS.

TRANSLATED BY A. P. MORTON.

"All intellectual light, like all physical light, comes from the East, and I
come with it, also from the East," — Narad, the Bohemian.

LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, Ld.

1892.

'^^^VO, UTAH

AND
TO ALL ITS DISCIPLES.

PREFACE.

The Tarot pack of cards, transmitted by the Gypsies
from generation to generation, is the primitive book of
ancient initiation. This has been clearly demonstrated
by Guillaume Postel, Court de Gebelin, Etteila, Eliphas
Levi, and J. A. Vaillant.

The key to its construction and application has not yet
been revealed, so far as I know. I therefore wished to
fill up this deficiency by supplying Initiates, i. c. those
who are acquainted with the elemeiits of occult science,
with an accurate guide, which would assist them in the
pursuit of their studies.

The uninitiated reader will fiaid in it the explanation of
the lofty philosophy and science of ancient Egypt ; whilst
ladies are enabled to practise the use of the divining
Tarot, by methods which we have rendered easy in
Chapter XX.

The book has been so arranged that each part forms

Vlli

PREFACE.

a complete whole, which can, if necessary, be studied
separately.

I have used every effort to be as clear as possible ; the
public that has warmly welcomed my other books will,
I hope, forgive the imperfections inherent to a work of

this kind.

PAPUS.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

THE " GENERAL KEY TO THE TAROT," GIVING THE ABSOLUTE
KEY TO OCCULT SCIENCE.

PAGE

Chap. I. — Introduction to the Study of the Tarot :
Approaching End of Materialism — Synthesis
— The Occult Science — The Secret Societies
— The Cultus — The People, Transmitter of
Esoterism — The Gypsies — The Sacred Word
of Freemasonry — Our Work ... ... 3

ir. — The Sacred Word Yod-He-Vau-He : The
Kabbalah and the Sacred Word — The Yod —
The He— The Yau— The 2nd He— Synthesis
of the Sacred Word 17

HE. — The Esoterism of Numbers : The Theosophic
Numbers and Operations — Signification of
the Numbers .. . ... ... ... ... 26

lY. — Analogy between the Sacred Word and
Numbers : The Kabbalistic Word and the
Series of Numbers — Explanation of the
Tetradijs of Pythagoras — Figuration of the
General Law ... ... ... ... 32

CONTEXTS.

CHAP. p^^''

V. The Kky to the Minor Arcana : Formation

of tho Tarot — Study of a Colour — The Four
Figures — The Ten lumbers — Affinity be-
tween tlie Figures and the Numbers — Study
of the Four Colours — A Comprehensive Glance
over the Minor Arcana ... ... ... 35

VI. — The Key to the Major Arcana : The Major
Arcana — 1st Ternary — 2nd Ternary — 1st
Septenary — 2nd Septenary — The Three Sep-
tenaries and the Ternary of Transition ... 51

A^II. — Connection between the jNIajor and Minor
Arcana : Domination of the 1st Septenary —
Affinities of the 2nd Septenary in the Tarot,
Card by Card — Ditto of tlie 3rd Septenary —
General Affinities — Affinities of Yod, He, Vau,
and of the 2nd He ... ... ... ... 61

General Figure giving the Key to the Tarot ... 68

PART II.

SYMBOLISM IN THE TAROT.
application of THE GENERAL KEY TO THE SYMBOLISM.

VIII. — Introduction to the Study of Symbolism :
The Symbols — The Priuiitive Terms — Key of
Symbolism — Definition of the Sense of one
of tlie Symbols — General Law of Symbolism

IX. — History of the Symbolism of the Tarot.
Inquiry into its Origin : The Tarot is an
Egyptian Book— Its Transformations — Man-
tegna's Pack — Venetian Tarot — Florentine
Tarot — Bolosnese Tarot — Hindu Tarot —

CONTENTS.

CHAP.

Chinese Tarot — Modern Tarots — Etteila —
Marseilles — Besan^on — Watillaux — Oswald
Wirth — Italian and German Tarots — Consti-
tution of the Symbolism of the Tarot — The
16 Primitive Hieroglyphic Signs — The 22
Hebrew Letters ... .... ... ... 81

X. — The Symbolical Tarot. The 1st Septenary.
Arcana 1 to 7. Theogony : Scheme of
Work — Key to the 1st Septenary — The 1st
Card of the Tarot the Origin of all the others
— The Three Principles of the Absolute —
The Trinity — Figure of the 1st Card and its

Affinities 96

2nd Card— The High Priestess (Eetli) ... 112
3rd Card — The Empress (Gimel) ... 115

4th Card— The Emperor (Daleth) ... 119

5th Card —The Pope (He) 123

6th Card— The Lovers (Van) 127

Summary — Constitution of God ... ... 132

XL — 2nd Septenary. Androgony : Key to the 2nd

Septenary ... ... ... ... ... 133

7th Card— The Chariot (Zain) 135

8th Card— Justice (Cheth) 138

9th Card— The Hermit (Teth) 142

10th Card— The Wheel of Fortune (Yod) 145

nth Card— Strength (Kaph) 148

12th Card — The Hanged Man (Lamed) ... 151

Summary — Constitution of Man ... ... 155

XLI. — 3rd Septenary. Cosmogony : Key to the

3rd Septenary ... ... ... ... 156

13th Card— Death (Mem) 158

14th Card — Temperance (Nun) ... ... 161

15th Card— The Devil (Samech) ... 164

Xll

CONTENTS.

Lightning-struck

To\Y

IGth Card— The

(Zaiu) ...
17th Card— The Star (Phe)
18th Card— The Moon (Tzaddi) ...
Summary — Constitution of the Universe

XIII. — General Traxsitiox

19th Card— The Sun (Qoph)
20th Card — The Judgment (Eesh)
21st Card— The Foolish Man (Shin)
22nd Card— The Universe (Tan) ...
Summary

XIV. — General Summary of the Symbolical Tarot
Involution and Evolution
Tlieogony : The Absolute according to
Wronski, Lacuria, and the Tarot — Theo-
gony of Divers Eeligions identical with
that of the Tarot — Summary ... ... 194

Androgony : Figure with Summary ... ... 210

Cosmof/oni/ : Figure with Summary ... ... 214

Figure containing the Symbolism of all the
Major Arcana, enabling the Signification of
each Card to be easily defined ... 220 — 221

PAG I?

168
171
174
177

178
179
182
185
188
192

193

PART III.

APPLICATIONS OF THE TAROT.

XV. — General Key to the Applications of the
Tarot : The Principle and the Forms — The
21st Card of the Tarot is a Figure-Principle —
The Tarot— The Year— The Month— The
Day — The Human Life 225

CONTENTS. xiii

CHAP, PAGE

XVI. — The Astronosiic Tarot : Egyptian Astronomy —
The Youv Seasons — The Twelve Months —
The Thirty-six Decani — The Planets — Abso-
lute Analogy with the Tarot — Figure contain-
ing the Application of the Tarot to Astron-
omy— Key to the Astrological Works of Chris-
tian— Oswald Wirth's Astronomical Tarot 233

XVII. — The Initiative Tarot : Ch. Barlet's Essay on
this Subject — Involution and Evolution — The
Hours of Apollonius of Tyana — The Phases
of Initiation re]3resented by the Tarot ... 253

Barlet's Work upon the Cosmogonic Tarot ... 253

XVIII. — The Kabbalistic Tarot : Deductions by Etteila
upon the Book of Thoth — Example of the
Application of the Tarot to the Kabbalah, the
Hierogram of Adam by Stanislas de Guaita 291

XIX. — The Authors who have interested themselves
IN the Tarot : Eaymond Lulle — Cardan —
Postel — The Eosicrucians — Court de Gebelin
— Etteila — Claude de Saint-Martin — J, A.
Vaillant — Christian — Eliphas Levi — St. de
Guaita — Josephin Peladan — The Platonist — ■
Theosophical Publications — F. Ch. Barlet —
0. Wirth— Poirel—Ely Star— H. P. Blavatsky
—Ch.de Sivry— Mathers 297

XX. — The Divining Tarot in Seven Lessons.
Introduction: To our Lady Readers — As-
tronomy and Astrology — Intuition — Eortune-
telling by the Tarot in Seven Lessons ... 301

\st Lesson — Simplification of the Rules of
Fortune-telling by the Tarot ... ... 305

^icl Lesson — Minor Arcana — Signification

XIV CONTENTS.

CHAP. ^ P'^GR

— A good Memory unnecessary for their
retention — Key to the Divining Tarot . . . 307

dni Lesson — Major Arcaua — Signification
from a Divining Point of View ... 316

ifh Lesson — Basis of the Application of
this Knowledge — Arrangement of the
Cards 318

5tli Lesson — Eeading the Tarot — Rapid
Process — Elaborate Process ... ... 322

Qth Lesson — Etteila's original and un-
published Method of reading the Tarot
(from one of his rarest works). 1st Deal
—2nd Deal— 3rd Deal— 4th Deal ... 327

7th Lesson — Conclusion — Bibliography ... 333

XXI. — Application of the Tarot to Games : The
Royal Game of the Human Life according
to the Egyptians — The Unity of Games in
the Tarot ... ... ... ... ... 335

XXII. — Conclusion OF the AVoRK ... ... ... 343

Index 349

Table of the Authors and Principal Works

quoted .. 353

INTKODUCTION

THE STUDY OF THE TAROT

THE TAROT.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE TAROT.

Approaching End of Materialism — Synthesis — The Occult Science —
Tlie Secret Societies — Tiie Cultus — The People, Organ of the
Transmission of Esoterism — Tlie Gypsies — The Sacred Word
of Freemasonry — Our Work.

" Therefore you must open the book and carefully weigh the statements made
in it. Then you will know that the drug within is of very different value from
the promise of the box, that is to say, that the subjects treated in it are not
so frivolous as the title may imply." — Rabelais.

We are on the eve of a complete transformation of our
scientific methods. Materialism has given ns all that we
can expect from it, and inquirers, disappointed as a rule,
hope for great things from the future, whilst they are
unwilling to spend more time in pursuing the path
adopted in modern times. Analysis has been carried, in
every branch of knowledge, as far as possible, and has
only deepened the moats which divide the sciences.

Synthesis becomes necessary ; but how can we realize it ?

If we would condescend to waive for one moment our
belief in the indefinite progress and fatal superiority of

4 THE TAROT.

later (renerations over the ancients, we should at once per-
ceive that the colossal civilizations of antiquity possessed
Science, Universities, and Schools.

India and Egypt are still strewn with valuable remains,
which reveal to archaeologists the existence of this ancient

science.

We are now in a position to affirm that the dominant
character of this teaching was synthesis, which condenses
in a few very simple laws the whole of the acquired
knowledge.

But the use of synthesis had been almost entirely lost,
throu<^h several causes, which it is important to enumerate.

Amongst the ancients, knowledge was only transmitted
to men whose worth had been proved by a series of tests.
This transmittal took place in the temples, under the
name of mysteries, and the adept assumed the title of
iwiest or Initiate} This science was therefore secret or
occult, and thus originated the name of occult science, given
by our contemporaries to the ancient synthesis.

Another reason for the limited diffusion of the hio-her
branches of knowledge, was the length and difficulty of
the journeys involved before the most important centres
of initiation could be reached.

However, when the Initiates found that a time was
approaching when these doctrines might be lost to
humanity, they made strenuous efforts to save the law
of synthesis from oblivion. Three great methods were
used for this purpose —

1. Secret societies, a direct continuation of the mysteries ;

2. The cultus, a symbolic translation of the higher
doctrines, for the use of the people ;

^ See Jaiublichus, Porphyry, and Apuleius.

INTRODUCTION. 5

S. Lastly, the people itself became the unconscious
depository of the doctrine.

Let us now see what use each of these groups made of
the treasure confided to it.

THE SECRET SOCIETIES.

The school of Alexandria was the principal source from
which the secret societies of the West arose.

The majority of the Initiates had taken refuge in the
East, and quite recently (in 1884) the West discovered
the existence in India, and above all in Thibet, of an
occult fraternity, which possessed, practically, the ancient
synthesis in its integrity. The Theosophite Society was
founded with the object of uniting Western initiation with
Oriental initiation.

But we are less interested in the existence of this
doctrine in the East, than in the history of the develop-
ment of the initiative societies in the West.

The Gnostic sects, the Arabs, Alchemists, Templars,
Rosicrucians, and lastly the Freemasons, form the Western
chain in the transmission of occult science.

A rapid glance over the doctrines of these associations
is sufficient to prove that the present form of Freemasonry
has almost entirely lost tlie meanings of the traditional
symbols, which coDstitute the trust which it ought to
have transmitted throug^h the ages.

The elaborate ceremonials of the ritual appear ridiculous
to the vulgar common sense of a lawyer or grocer, the
actual modern representatives of the profound doctrines
of antiquity.

6 THE TAROT.

We must, however, make some exceptions in favour of
great thinkers, like Ragon and a few others.

In short, Freemasonry has lost the doctrine confided
to it, and cannot by itself provide us with the synthetic
law for which we are seeking.

THE CULTUS.

The secret societies were to transmit in their symbolism
the scientific side of primitive initiation, the religious sects
were to develop the philosophical and metaphysical aspects
of the doctrine.

Every priest of an ancient creed was one of the Initiates^
that is to say, he knew perfectly well that only one
religion existed, and that the cultus merely served to
translate this religion to the different nations according
to their particular temperaments. This fact led to one
important result, namely, that a priest, no matter which
of the gods he served, was received with honour in the
temples of all the other gods, and was allowed to offer
sacrifice to them. Yet this circumstance must not be
supposed to imply any idea of polytheism. The Jewish
High Priest in Jerusalem received one of the Initiates,
Alexander the Great, into the Temple, and led him into
the Holy of Holies, to offer sacrifice.

Our religious disputes for the supremacy of one creed
over another would have caused much amusement to one
of the ancient Initiate priests ; they were unable to suppose
that intelligent men could ignore the unity of all creeds
in one fundamental reliofion.

Sectarianism, chiefly sustained by two creeds, equally

INTRODUCTION. 7

blinded by their errors, the Christian and the Mussuhnan,
was the cause of the total loss of the secret doctrine, which
gave the key to Synthetic Unity.

Still greater labour is required to re-discover Synthesis
in our Western religions, than to find it in Freemasonry.

The Jews alone possessed, no longer the spirit, but the
letter of their oral or Kabbalistic traditions. The Bible,
written in Hebrew, is marvellous from this point of view,
for it contains all the occult traditions, although its true
sense has never yet been revealed. Fabre d'Olivet com-
menced this prodigious work, but the ignorant descendants
of the Inquisition at Rome have placed these studies on
the list of those prohibited.^ Posterity will judge them.

Yet every cultus lias its tradition, its book, its Bible,
which teach those who know how to read them the
unity of all creeds, in spite of the difference existing in
the ritual of various countries.

The Sepher Bereschit of Moses is the Jewish Bible, the
Apocahjiise and the Esoteric Gosioels form the Christian
Bible, the Legend of Hiram is the Bible of Freemasonry,
the Odyssey the Bible of the so-called polytheism of
Greece, the Jf^Jneid that of Rome, and lastly the Hindu
Vedas and the Mussiolman Koran are well known to all
students of ancient theology.

To any one possessing the key, all these Bibles reveal
the same doctrine ; but this key, which can open Esoterism,
is lost by the sectarians of our Western creeds. It is
therefore useless to seek for it any longer amongst them.

1 See Fabre d'Olivet, La Langne Hebraique Bestltue'e.

THE TAROT.

THE PEOPLE.

The Sages were under no illusions respecting the
possible future of the tradition, which they confided to
the intelligence and virtue of future generations.

Moses had chosen a people to hand down through
succeedinfy a^^es the book which contained all the science
of Egypt; but before Moses, the Hindu Initiates had
selected a nation to hand down to the generations of the
future the primitive doctrines of the great civilizations
of the Atlantides.

The people have never disappointed the expectations
of those who trusted it. Understanding none of the
truths which it possessed, it carefully abstained from
altering them in any way, and treated the least attack
made upon tbem as sacrilege.

Thus the Jews have transmitted intact to us the letters
which form the Seplier of Moses. But Moses had not
solved the problem so authoritatively as the Thibetans.

It was a great thing to give the people a book which
it could adore respectfully, and always guard intact ; but
to give it a book which would enable it to live, was yet
better.

The people intrusted with the transmission of occult
doctrines from the earliest ages was the Bohemian or
Gypsy race.

THE GYPSIES.

The Gypsies possess a Bible, which has proved their
means of gaining a livelihood, for it enables them to tell

INTEODUCTION. 1)

fortunes ; at the same time it has been a perpetual source
of amusement, for it enables them to gamble.

Yes ; the game of cards called the Tarot, which the
Gypsies possess, is the Bible of Bibles. It is the book of
Thoth Hermes Trisniegistus, the book of Adam, the book
of the primitive Revelation of ancient civilizations.

Thus whilst the Freemason, an intelligent and virtuous
man, has lost the tradition; whilst the priest, also intelligent
and virtuous, has lost his esoterism ; the Gypsy, although
both ignorant and vicious, has given us the key which
enables us to explain all the symbolism of the ages.

We must admire the wisdom of the Initiates, who
utilized vice and made it produce more beneficial results
than virtue.

The Gypsy pack of cards is a wonderful book according
to Court de Gebelin ^ and Vaillant.'-^ This pack, under
the name of Tarot,^ Thora,^ Rota,^ has formed the basis
of the synthetic teachings of all the ancient nations
successively.*^

In it, where a man of the people only sees a means of
amusement, the thinker will find the key to an obscure
tradition. Raymond Lulle has based his Ars Magna
upon the Tarot; Jerome Cardan has written a treatise
upon subtility from the keys of the Tarot ;^ Guillaume
Postel has found in it the key to the ancient mysteries ;
whilst Louis-Claude de Saint- Martin, the unknown

^ Court de Gebelin. — Le Monde Primitif.

2 Vaillant. — Les Homes, Histoire ties Bohemietm.

2 Eliphas Levi.— Bituel de la Haute Magie.

* Vaillant.— Ojt;. clt.

^ Guillaume Postel. — Clavis.

^ Vaillant. — Loc. cit.

'' Eliphas Levi. — Op. cit.

10 THE TAROT.

I.hilosopber, finds written in it the mysterious links which
unite God, the Universe, and Man !

Through the Tarot we are now able to discover and
develop °the synthetic law, concealed in all these

symbolisms.

Tlie hour is approaching when the missing word will
be refound. Masters, Rosicrucian and Kadosh, you Avho
tbrm the sacred triangle of Masonic initiation, do you
remember !

— Knight Kadosh —

Mastei' Z— — - Rosicrucian

Remember, Master, that illustrious man, killed through
the most cowardly of conspiracies ; remember Hiram,
whose resurrection, promised by the Branch of Acacia,
thou art looking for in faith !

Remember, RosiCRUClAN, the mysterioits word "which
thou hast sou<^ht for so lonsf, of which the meaninof still
escapes thee !

Remember, Kadosh, the magnificent symbol which
radiated from the centre of the luminous triangle, wdien
the real meaning of the letter G was revealed to thee !

HIRAM— INRI—YOD-HE-V AU-HE ! indicate the
same mystery under different aspects.

He who understands one of these words possesses the
key which opens the iomh of Hiram, the symbol of the

INTRODUCTION.

synthetic science of the Ancients ; he can open the tomb
and fearlessly grasp the heart of the revered Master, the
symbol of esoteric teaching.

The whole Tarot is based upon this word, ROTA,

arranged as a wheel.

yod

(I)

A /-« (N)

(I) he 0

■(E)
vau
(R)

INRI ! is the word which indicates the Unity of your
origin, Freemasons and Catholics !

Igne Natura Benovatur Integra.

lesus Nazareus Bex Tiideorurn are the opposite poles,
scientific and religious, physical and metaphysical, of the
same doctrine.

YOD-HE-VAU-HE (nin>) is the word which indicates
to you both, Freemasons and Kabbalists, the Unity of your
origin. TAROT, THORA, ROTA are the words which
point out to you all, Easterns and Westerns, the Unity of
your requirements and of your aspirations in the eternal

12 THE TAROT.

Adam-Eve, the source of all our knowledge and of all our
creeds.

All honour, therefore, to the Gypsy Nomad, to whom
we are indebted for the preservation of this marvellous
instrument, the synthetic summary of the whole teaching
of antiquity.

OUR WORK.

We will commence by a preliminary study of the
elements of the Kabbalah and of numbers.

Supplied with these data, we will explain tiie construc-
tion of the Tarot in all its details, studying separately each
of the pieces which compose our machine, then studying
the action of these pieces upon each other. Upon this
point we shall be as explicit as possible. W^e will then
touch upon some applications of the machine, but upon
a few only, leaving to the genuine inquirer the work of
discovering others. We must confine our personal work
to giving a key, based upon a synthetic formula ; we can
only supply the implement of labour, in order that those
who wish for knowledge may use it as they like ; and we
feel assured that they will understand the utility of our
efforts and of their own.

Lastly, we will do our best to explain the elements of
divination by the Tarot as practised by the Gypsies.

But those who think that occult science should not be
revealed must not be too angry with us. Experience has
taught us that everything may be fearlessly said, those
only who should understand can understand ; the others will
accuse our work of being obscure and incomprehensible.

INTEODUCTION. 13

We have warned tbem by placing at the head of our
work —

For the exclusive use of Initiates.

It is one characteristic of the study of true occult
science, that it may be freely explained to all men. Like
the parables, so dear to the ancients, it appears to many
only the expression of the flight of a bold imagination :
we need, therefore, never be afraid of speaking too openly,
the Word will only reach those who should be touched
by it.

To you all, philosophers of Unity, enemies of scientific,
social, and religious sectarianism, I now address myself, to
you I dedicate this result of several years' study. May I
thus aid in the erection of the temple which you are about
to raise to the honour of the Unknow^n God, from whom
all the others emanate throughout Eternity !

PART I.

GENERAL KEY TO THE TAROT,

GIVING THE ABSOLUTE KEY TO OCCULT SCIENCE.

CHAPTER II.

THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE.

T!ie Kabbalah and the Sacred Word— The Yod— The He— The Van
— The second He — Synthesis of the Sacred Word.

According to the ancient oral tradition of the Hebrews,
or Kahhalah} a sacred word exists, which gives to the
mortal who can discover the correct way of pronouncing it,
the key to all the sciences, divine and human. This word,
which the Israelites never uttered, and which the High
Priest pronounced once a year, amidst the shouts of the
laity, is found at the head of every initiative ritual, it
radiates from the centre of the flaming triangle at the

^ "It appears, according to the most famous rabbis, that Moses
himself, foreseeing the fate which awaited his book, and the false
interpretations which would be given to it in the course of time,
resorted to an oral law, which he delivered verbally to reliable men,
whose fidelit}' he had tested, and whom he charged to transmit it to
others in the secret of the sanctuary, who in their turn, transmitting
it from age to age, secured its preservation even for the most distant
posterity. This oral law, which modern Jews still flatter themselves
that they possess, is called the Kabbalah, from a Hebrew word which
signities that which is received, that which comes from elsewhere,
that which passes from hand to hand." — Fabre d'Olivet, La Langue
Hehra'ique Restituee, p. 29.

18 THE TAROT.

33rd degree of the Freemasonry of Scotland, it is displayed
above the gateways of our old cathedrals, is formed of four
Hebrew letters, and reads thus, Yod-he-vmc-he, rl^r]\

It is used in the Sepher Bereschit, or Genesis of Moses,
to designate the divinity, and its grammatical construction
recalls even by its formation i the attributes Avhich men
have always delighted to ascribe to God. Now we shall
see that the powers attributed to this word are real up to
a certain point, for with its aid the symbolical gate of the
arch, which contains the explanation of the whole doctrine
of ancient science, is easily opened. It is therefore necessary
to enter into some detail respecting it.

The word is formed of four letters, Yod C), he (n),
vaic p), he (n). This last letter he is repeated twice.

A number is attributed to each letter of the Hebrew
alphabet. We must look at those which relate to the
letters we are now considering.

^ Yod = 10
n he =5
1 vau = 6

1 "This name presents first tlie sign wl)ich indicates life, repeated
twice, and thus forming the essentially living root EE (njl). This
root is never used as a noun, and is the only one which enjoys this
prerogative. It is from its formation not only a verb, but a unique
verb, from which ail the others are merely derivations ; in short, the
verb Tl^'n (ftVE), to be, being. Here, as we can see, and as I have
oarefiiUy exphiined in my grammar, the sign of intelligible light "1
(VO) is place<l in the midst of the root of life. Moses, when using
this uniqtie verb to form the proper name of the Being of Beings,
added to it the sign of potential manifestation and of eternity, "^ (I) ;
he thus obtained Jlin"^ (lEVE), in which the facultative Being is
placed between a past tense without origin, and a future without
limit. This admirable word thus exactly signifies the Being who is,
who was, and who will be." — Fabre d'Ohvet, La Langue Hehraupie
Restitute.

THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE. 19

The total numerical value of the word n^TV is therefore

10 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 26.
Let us now study each letter separately.

THE YOD.

The Yod, shaped like a comma or a dot, represents the
principle or origin of all things.

The other letters of the Hebrew alphabet are all pro-
duced by different combinations of the letter Yod} The
synthetic study of nature had led the ancients to conclude
that one law only existed, and ruled all natural productions.
This law, the basis of analogy, placed the Unity-principle
at the origin of all things, and regarded them as the
're/lections at various degrees of this Unity-principle. Thus
the Yod, which alone forms all the other letters, and there-
fore all the words and all the phrases of the alphabet, was
justly used as the image and representation of this Unity-
principhy of which the profane had no knowledge.

Thus the law which presided over the creation of the
Hebrew language is the same law that presided over the
creation of the Universe, and to know the one is to know
the other, unreservedly. The Sepher Yetzirah,^ one of the
most ancient books of the Kabbalah, proves this fact.

Before proceeding any further, let us illustrate the
definition which we have just given of the Yod by an
example. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the
aleph (S), is composed of four j'ods placed opposite to each
other; the other letters are all formed on the same basis.^

^ See the Kahhala Dzmidata.

^ Translated into English by Dr. Wynn Westcott.

2 See the Kahhala Denudata.

20 THE TAROT.

The numerical value of the yod leads to other consider-
ations. The Unity-principle, according to the doctrine of
the Kabbalists, is also the Unity-end of beings and of
things, so that eternity, from this point of view, is only an
eternal present. The ancients used a dot in the centre of
a circle as the symbol of this idea, the representation of
the Unity-principle {the dot) in the centre of eternity {the
circle, a line without beginning or end).^

According to these demonstrations, the Unity is regarded
as the luhole, of which all created beings are only the con-
dituent parts; just as the Unity-man is formed of an
agglomeration of molecules, which compose his being.

The Kabbalah, therefore, places at the origin of all things
the absolute assertion of the being by itself of the Eo-o-
Unity, which is represented by the yod symbolically, and
by the number 10. This number 10, representing the All-
principle 1, with the Zero-nothing 0, well supplies the
requisite conditions.^

^ See Kirclier, CE:H})us j^gyptiacus ;

,, Leiiain, La Science Kabbalistique ;

,. J, Dee, Mmias Hieroijlyphica.
^ See Saint-Martin, Des rapports qui existent entre Dieu, VHomme
et V Univers.

„ Lacuria, Harmonies de VEtre exprimees par les nombres.

THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE<VAU-HE. 21

THE HE

But the Ego cannot be realized except through its
opposition to the Non-Ego. The assertion of the Ego is
scarcely established, when we must instantly realize a
reaction of the Ego, Absolute, upon itself, from which the
conception of its existence will be drawn, by a kind of
division of the Unity. This is the origin of duality, of
opposition, of the Binary, the image of femininity, even as
the Unity is the image of the masculine. Ten, divided

by itself, in opposition to itself, then equals -^ = 5, five,

the exact number of the letter He, the second letter of the
great sacred name.

The He therefore represents the passive in relation to
the Yod, which symbolizes the active; the Non-Ego in
relation to the Ego, the luoman relatively to the man;
the substance relatively to the essence ; life in its relation
to the soul, &c., &c.

THE VAU.2

But the opposition of the Ego and the Non-Ego imme-
diately gives rise to another factor ; this is the Affinity
existing between this Ego and this Non-Ego.

Now the Vau, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
produced by 10 (yod) + 5 (he) = 15 = 6 (or 1 + 5),
signifies link or analogy. It is the link which, uniting

^ See Eliphas hev\, Dogme et Bituel de la Haute Magie ; laClefdes
Grands Mysteres ; — Lacuria, op. cit.

2 See Fabre d' Olivet, La Langu^ Hebra'ique Restituee.

22 THE TAROT.

antagonisms in the whole of nature, constitutes the third
word of this mysterious Trinit}^

Eo^o — Non-Eg^o.

Affinity of the Ego with the Non-Ego.

THE 2nd he.

Nothing can exist beyond this Trinity, considered as
a law.

The Trinity is the synthetic and absolute formula to
which all the sciences converge ; and this formula, forgotten
with regard to its scientific vakie, has been transmitted to
us integrally, by all the religions of the world, the uncon-
scious depositaries of the Science Wisdom of primitive
civilizations.^

Thus the great sacred name is formed of three letters
only. The fourth term of the name is formed by the
repetition of the second letter, the He.

This repetition indicates the passage of the Trinitarian
law into a new application ; that is, to speak correctly,
a transition irom the metaphysical to the physical world,
or generally, of any world whatever to the world that
immediately follows it.^

The knowledge of the property of the second He is the

^ See Louis Lucas, Le Roman alchimique.

'' Proeter hcex". tria nnmera non est alia Tmignitndo, quod tria sunt
omnia, et ler iindecunqne, ut pythagorici dicnnt ; om,ne et omnia tribus
xleterminata suntj' — Aristotle. (Quoted by Ostrowski, page 24 of
his Mathese. )

^ Ostrowski lias seen this clearly. " The passng-e of 3 in 4 corre-
sponds to that of the Trimurti in Ma'ia, and as the latter opens the
second ternary of the pregenesetie decade, so the fi,<>-are 4 opens that
of the second ternary of our genesetic decimnl." — Mathese, p. 25.

THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE. 23

key to the whole divine name, in every apphcation of
which it is susceptible. We shall presently see the proof
of this statement.

SUMMARY UPON THE WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE.

Now that we have separately studied each of the letters
that compose the sacred name, we will apply the law of
synthesis to them, and sum up the results obtained.

The word Yod-he-vcm-he is formed of four letters, signi-
fying :

The Yod The active principle pre-eminent.
The Ego = 10.

The He The passive principle pre-eminent.
The mn-Ego = 5.

The Vau The Median letter, the linh, which unites the
active to the passive.
The Affinity hetween the Ego and the Xon-
Ego = 6.

These three letters express the Trinitarian law of the
Absolute.

Tlie 2nd He The second He marks the passage from one
world to another. The Transition.

This second He represents the complete Being, com-
prising in one Absolute Unity the three letters which
compose it : Ego, Non-Ego, Affinity.

It indicates the passage from the noumenal tc the
phenomenal or reciprocal ; it serves as means of ascension
from one scale to another.

THE TAROT.

REPRESENTATION OF THE SACRED WORD,

The word Yod-he-vau-he can be represented in various
ways, which are all useful.

The circle can be drawn in this w^ay —

yod

1st he

2nd he

vau
•)

But since the second He, the sign of transition, becomes
the active entity in the following scale, i. e. since this He
only represents a yod in gerin,^ the sacred word can be
represented, with the second he under the first yod,
thus —

yod Isf lie van
2nd he

Lastly, a third method of representing the word consists
in enveloping the Trinity, Yod-he-vau, with the tonalisating
letter, or second He, thus —

2nd he

2nd he.

2nd he

^ The second He, upon which we are intentionally dwelling at
some length, may be compared to a grain of reheat relatively to the

THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE. 25

Now we will leave these data, to which we must return
later on, and speak of the occult or Pythagorean conception
of numbers.

ear. The ear, the Trinity, manifest or yod-he-vau, exerts all its
activity in the production of the grain of wheat, or second He. But
this grain of wheat is only the transition between the ear which
gave it birth, and the ear to which it will itself give birth in the
following generation. It is the transition between one generation
and another which it contains in germ ; this is why the second He is
gi Yod in germ.

CHAPTER III.

THE ESOTERISM OF NUMBERS.

The Theosophic Numbers and Operations — Signification of the

Numbers.

The Numbers.

The ancients had a conception of numbers which is
almost lost in modern times.

The idea of the Unity in all its manifestations led to
numbers being considered as the expression of absolute
laws. This led to the veneration expressed for the 3 or for
the 4 throughout antiquity, which is so incomprehensible
to our mathematicians.

It is however evident that if the ancients had not
known how to work any other problems than those we
now use, nothing could have led them to the ideas we find
current in the Hindu, Egyptian, and Greek Universities.^

What then are these operations, that our savants do
not know ?

^ See Fab re d'Olivet, La Langue Hebratqiie Restitne'e et Saint-Yves
d'Alreydre, Mission des Juifs.

THE ESOTERISM OF NUMBERS. 27

They are of two kinds : tlieosopbic reduction and
theosophic addition.

These operations are theosophic because they cause the
essential latvs of nature to penetrate throughout the world ;
they cannot be included in the science of phenomena, for
they tower above it, soaring into the heights of pure
intellectuality.

They therefore formed the basis of the secret and oral
instruction confided to a few chosen men, under the name
of Esoterism.

1. Theosophic Reduction.

Theosophic reduction consists in reducing all the numbers
formed of two or several figures to the number of a single
figure, and this is done by adding together the figures
which compose the number, until only one remains.

EXAMPLE :

10 = 1+0 = 1

11 = 1 + 1 = 2

12 = 1+2 = 3
126 = 1+2 + 6 = 9

2488 = 2 + 4 + 8 + 8 = 22 = 2 + 2 = 4

This operation corresponds to that which is now called
the proof hy 9.

2. Theosophic Addition.

Theosophic addition consists in ascertaining the theo-
sophic value of a number, by adding together arithmetically
all the figures from the unity to itself inclusively.

Thus the figure 4, in theosophic addition, equals all

28 THE TAROT.

the figures from 1 to 4 inclusively added together, that
is to say, 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10.
The figure 7 equals —

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 28 = 2 + 8 = 10.

Theosophic reduction and addition are the two oj3er-
ations which it is indispensable to know, if we would
understand the secrets of antiquity.^

Let us now apply these rules to all the numbers, that
we may discover the law which directs their progression.

Theosophic reduction shows us, first of all, that all
numbers, whatever they may be, are reducible in them-
selves to the nine first, since they are all brought down
to numbers of a single figure.

But this consideration is not sufficient, and theosojyhic
addition will now furnish us with new light.

Through it we find that 1, 4, 7, 10 are equal to 1.

for: 1 = 1

4=1 + 2 + 3 + 4=10=1

7 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 28 = 10 = 1
10 = 1

So that all the three numbers ultimately return to the
figure 1, thus —

1. 2. 3 4. 5. 6

4 =10 =1 7= 28 = 10 = 1

^ See for more details Traite Elementaire de Science Occidte, by
Papus, chap. ii.

THE ESOTERISM OF NUMBERS. 29

Or one could write —

1. 2. 3

(1)
4. 5. 6

(1), etc.

The results of this consideration are: (1) That all the
numbers in their evolution, reproduce the 4 first;

(2) That the last of these 4 first, the figure 4, represents
the unity at a different octave.

The sequence of the numbers may therefore be written
in this way —

10.

11.

13.

14.

16.

17.

19..

We may notice that 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, etc., are only
different conceptions of the unity, and this may be proved
by the application of theosophic addition and reduction
thus —

1= 1

4= 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10=1
7= 1 + 2 + 3 + 4+ 5 + 6 + 7 = 28=10=1 .
10= 1

13= 4 = 10= 1
16= 7 = 28 = 10=1 •
19 = 10= 1, etc., etc.

We see that in every three numbers the series reverts
to the unity abruptly, whilst it returns to it progressively
in the two intermediate numbers.

30 THE TAKOT.

Let us now repeat that the knowledge of the laws of
numbers and the study of them, made as we have here
indicated, will give the key to all occult science.

We must now sum up all the preceding statements in
the following conclusion : that all numbers may be reduced,
in a final analysis, to the series of the 4 first, thus arranged —

1. 2. 3
4

THE SIGNIFICATION OF NUMBERS.

But our knowledcre of the numerical science of the
ancients does not end here. It also attributed a meaning
to each number.

Since we have reduced the series of all the numbers to
the 4 first, it will suffice for us to know the meaning
attributed to these 4 first.

The Unity represents the creative principle of all
numbers, since the others all emanate from it; it is the
active principle pre-eminent.

But the Unity alone cannot produce anything except

by opposing itself to itself thus —- From this proceeds

duahty, the principle of opposition represented by two, the
passive principle pre-eminent.

From the union of the Unity and Duality proceeds the
third principle, which unites the two opposites in one
common neutrality, 1+2 = 3. Three is the neuter principle
pre-eminent.

But these three principles all reduce themselves into

THE ESOTEEISM OF NUMBERS.

the fourth, which merely represents a new acceptation M
the Unity as an active principle.^

The law of these principles is therefore as follows —

Unity
or return to unity.

Opposition

antagonism.

Action of opposition
upon the unity.

Active
1

Passive
2

Neuter
3

Active
4

Etc

Active
1

Pa,

ssive
2

Passive- Active

Nei
t

iter
5

1 See for farther enlightenment the Traite ^lementaire de Science
Occulte, p. 49 and following.

CHAPTER IV.

ANALOGY BETWEEN THE SACRED WORD AND NUMBERS.

Tlie Kabbalistic Word and the Series of Numbers — Explanation of
tlie Tetractys of Pythagoras — Figuration of the General Law.

Numbers and the Kabbalistic Word.

This sequence of numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, representing the
active, the passive, the neuter, and a second active principle,
corresponds in all points with the series of the letters of
the sacred name, so that the latter may be thus written —

Yod — He — Vau

2nd He = Yod, etc.,

which demonstrates analogically that —

1 represents Yod

2 — He

3 — Vau

4 — The 2nd He

We can prove the truth of these analogies by the
identity of the action of the iiuniber 4, which becomes a
unity (4 = 10 = 1), and of the second He, which represents
the Yod of the following sequence.

THE SACRED WORD AND NUMBERS.

In comparing the two identical series we obtain the
following figures —

KahhaUstic sequence
Yod

Sequence of number's
1

2nd he

van

Identity of the two sequences

Yod

2 he n

n Ind he 4

van

We can now understand why Pythagoras, initiated in
Egypt into the mysteries of the sacred word Yod-he-vau-
he, replaced this word in his esoteric teachings by the
sequence of the 4 first numbers or tetractys.

This sequence of the numbers is, in all points, identical
with the sequence of the letters of the sacred .name, and
the tetractys of Pythagoras, 1, 2, 3, 4, equals and absolutely
represents the word Yod-he-vazc-he.

The sequence of the numbers, or the sequence of the
letters, therefore, resolves itself definitely into the following
data —

:U THE TAROT.

1 Term positive and generator.
The Foe/ or the 1.

1 Term negative or generant.

The He or the 2.

1 Term neuter or generated proceeding from the two
preceding.

The Vau or the 3.

1 Term of transition individualizing itself in the following
sequence.

The '2nd He or the 4.

Provided with these preliminary data, which are abso-
lutely indispensable, let us now take our pack of cards, or
Tarot, and see if we cannot find the universal law in it —

yod

lie ' 2nd he

vau

symbolized through antiquity by the Cross.

CHAPTER V.

THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA.

Formation of the Tai-ot — Study of a Colour — The Four Figures — The
Ten Numbers — Affinity between the Figures and the Numbers —
Study of the Four Colours — General Study of the Minor Arcana.

The Key to the Minor Arcana.

The Tarot is composed of 78 cards, divided as follows —

56 cards called the minor arcana.
22 cards called the major arcana.

The 56 minor arcana are formed of 4 series of 14 cards
each.

The 22 major arcana are formed of 21 numbered cards,
and of one un-nnmbered.

In order to study the Tarot with success, we must then
arrange the following packets —

4 packets of 14 cards each.

14 + 14 + 14 + 14 = 56

1 packet of 21 cards = 21

1 packet of 1 card = 1

Total 78

36 THE TAEOT.

•
We shall presently return to the origin of this marvellous

conception of the human mind, but for the present we

must confine ourselves to the dissection of the machine,

and to displaying its mysterious arrangement.

Starting from a fixed and immovable principle, the
constitution of the sacred tetragrammaton, Yod-he-vcm-he,
the Tarot develops the most divers combinations, without
one departure from its basis. We shall now unveil this
wonderful construction, which confirms in its application
the universal law of analoQ^ies.

The explanations which follow may appear dry to some
persons ; but they must remember that we are now giving
them an almost infallible key to the ancient or occult
science; and they will understand that they must open
the door of the sacred arch for themselves.

STUDY OF A COLOUR.

Let us now take one of the packets of fourteen cards and
analyze its construction.

This packet, taken as a whole, corresponds to one of the
coloitrs of our pack of cards. The 4 packets respectively
represent the loands or sceptres, corresponding to our
clubs ; the cups or goblets, corresponding to our hearts ; the
swords, corresponding to our spades ; and money or Fentacles,
corresponding to our diamonds.

We shall now study one of these packets, for instance
that of Sceptres.

The packet consists of 4 figures : the king, queen,
knight, and knave, and of ten cards which simply bear
numbers.

The ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
and ten.

THE KEY TO THE MINOR AECANA.

THE FOUR FIGURES.

We must first consider the four figures —
The king represents the active, the man, or male.
The queen represents the passive, the woman, or female.
The knight represents the neuter, the adolescent.
Lastly, the knave represents the 4th term of this
sequence, which may be figured in this way —

King

Queen

Knave

Knight

This sequence is only an application of the general law
Yod-he-vau-he, which we already know, and the analogy is
easily established —

King

Yod

Queen

or
\st He

Knave

or
2nd He

Knight
or

VCLU

The knave therefore corresponds with the second He, i. c.
it is only a term of transition ; but transition between
what ?

Between the four fio-ures and the ten numbers following'.

38 . THE TAROT.

THE TEN NUMBERS.

Let us now study these numbers. We are acquainted
Avith the Latv of numbers, or law of the sequences, which
we have ah'eady stated in these terms —

1 — 2. 3
4 — 5. 6

7 — etc.

The ten cards cannot escape from this law, and we can
at once arrange them in series.

The first series will be formed of the ace, or 1, repre-
senting the active, of the 2 personating the passive, of the
3 for the neuter, and lastly of the 4, which represents the
transition from one series to another.

1, 2, 3, 4 therefore correspond also with the Yod-he-van-
he, and are thus formulated —

Ace

Yod

Two or 1st He ' 2nd He Four

Vau

■ Three

The other series follow the same rule exactly, the second
He of the preceding series becoming the Yod of the follow-
ing series: thus 4, the fourth term of the first series,
becomes the first term of the second series ; 7, the fourth
term of the second, becomes the first 'term of the third, as
follows —

THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA.

THE SERIES OF NUMBERS.
1 4

We see that the same law, Yod-he-vau-he, can be apph'ed
to these series. Since this law is also applicable to the
four figures, we can make a comparison based on the
following proposition —

Two terms (the numbers and the figures) equal to a
same third (the law Yod-he-vau-he) are equal between
themselves.

THE SEQUENCE IN ONE COLOUR.

King

Queen

Knave

Knicfht
4

If we now group all the numbers of the sequence accord-
ing to the letter of the tetragrammaton, to which they
are analogous, we shall find —

40 THE TAROT.

Representing Yod 1 — 4 — 7

Representing the \st He 2 — 5 — 8

Representing the Vau 3 — 6 — 9
Representing the Ind He 10

(1. 4. 7)
Yod

(2. 5. 8) 1st He

2nd He (10)

Yfiii
(3. 6. 9)

The figure 10 therefore acts for the mcmhers, as the
knave acts for the figures, that is to say, it serves as a
transition. Between w hat ?

Between one colour and another.

AFFINITY BETWEEN THE FIGURES AND THE NUMBERS.

We have already studied both the figures and the
numbers separately, let us now see what connection exists
between the fiofures and the numbers.

If we group the similar terms according to the identical
Lmv which rules them, we shall find them as follows —

The King is the Yod

1. 4.

The Queen — ■ He

2. 5.

The Knight Vau

3. 6.

The Knave — 27id He

The sequence of the figures is reproduced three times in
the series of numbers, that is to say, that each series of
numbers represents a conception of the figures in each of
the three Kabbalistic worlds.

The series 1, 2, 3, 4 represents the emanation of the
sequence king, queen, knight, knave in the divine world.

THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA. 41

The series 4, 5, 6, 7 represents this evolution in the
human world.

The series 7, 8, 9, 10 represents this evolution in the
material world.

Each colour is a complete whole, formed after the
manner of beings.

Of a material body :

(Knight — 7.8.9)

Of a vital force :

(Queen — 4.5.6)

Of an intellect :

(King — 1.2.3)

Of reproductive organs :

(Knave — 10)

Each of these parts can subdivide itself into three others,
as the numbers indicate.^

Let us, however, return to our deduction, and by
summing up the results obtained, we shall find —

Representations of the Yod :

The King
The 1 or Ace
The 4
The 7

Representations of the He :

The Queen
The 2
The 5
The 8

1 We wislied to make this application of the Tarot in order to
show Initiates what results might be expected from the laws
explained by studying it.

THE TAROT

Representations

of the Vcm :

The Knio-ht

The 3

The 6

The 9

Representations

of the 2nd He :

The Knave

The 10

FIGUKATIOX OF ONE COLOUR,

THE KEY TO THE MINOR AECANA. 43

Head — Spirituality

\C^N c

Divine World

Chest— Yitalit J

O^^^^N

Human World

£oc^i/— Materiality

W 1 ^ Ay 7^

Transition from

one being to

another

Material World

Transition from

one world to

another

'^/V aM"^

44 " THE TAROT.

STUDY OF THE FOUR COLOURS.

Supplied with these data, let us continue our study
and apply the same principle to the other cards.

The laws which we have defined for the constitution
of one colour, apply in the same way to the other three
colours.

But when we consider the four colours of the Tarot,
new deductions will be called forth. We must remember
that these four colours are : the Sceptre, the Cup, the
Sword, and the Money or Pentacles.

The Sceptre represents the Male or the Active.

The Cup is the image of the Passive or Feminine.

The Sword represents the union of the two by its crucial form.

Lastly, the Pentacles represent the second He.

The authors who have philosophically studied the
Tarot are all unanimous in asserting the analogy that
exists between the tetrao^rammaton and the four colours.
Guillaume Postel,i and above all Eliphas Levi,- have
developed these studies with great results, and they show
us the four letters of the tetragrammaton applied in the
symbolism of every cult us.

We must pause one moment to notice the analogy
between these letters and the symbols of the Christian
religion.

The Yod or Sceptre of the Tarot is represented by the episcopal
crosier.

The Id He or Cup is represented by the Chalice.

The Van or Sword by the Cros<, bearing the same form.

The 2nd He or Pentacles by the Host, the transition from the
natural to the Supernatural world.

^ Clavis ahsctinditanim reriim.

2 Eliplias Levi, Dogme et Rituel cle la Haute Magle.

THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA. 45

The series which we have studied in one colour is
defined equally strictly in the four colours regarded as a
whole, thus —

Sceptre

Tod

Cup or He 2nd He or Money

Vaa
or
Sword *

A COMPREHENSIVE GLANCE OVER THE MINOR ARCANA.

If we look back a little, we can easily judge the road
we have traversed.

The four colours considered in gloho have shown us the
application of the law Yod-hc-vau-he.

But the same law is reproduced in each of the colours
taken separately.

The four figures represent Yod-hc-vau-he ;

The four series of numbers also.

Let us then arrange all the cards according to their
affinities, and we shall obtain the following results —

The 4 Kings n

The 4 Aces

The 4 Fours
The 4 Sevens

Yod

The 4 Queens

The 4 Twos [^ = He

The 4 Fives

The 4 Eights

46 THE TAROT.

V = Vau

The 4 Cavaliers
The 4 Threes
The 4 Sixes
The 4 Nines

The 4 Knaves \ = He

The 4 Tens J

If we wished to represent this arrangement by a
synthetic diagram, we should place the sacred name in
the centre of a circle divided into four parts, which re-
spectively correspond with each of the letters Yod-he-vau-
he. In each of the quarters, the cards that are analogous
to the letters of the tetragrammaton will radiate from the
centre. See the diagram on page opposite.

The figures have the same connection with the colours
as the numbers have with the fioures.

The sequence of the figures is reproduced in the three
worlds by the numbers ; the same thing takes place in
the sequence of colours : Sceptre, Cup, Sword, Pentacles
are reproduced in the figures.

The Sceptre is the Yod of the 4 Kings.
The Cup is the He of the 4 Queens.
The Sword is the Van of the 4 Kniglits.
The Pentacles is the He of the 4 Knaves.

And just as each colour has a complete whole, formed
of a bod}^, of a soul, and of a mind or vital force, so the four
colours form a complete whole thus composed : —

The material body of the minor arcana :

The 4 Knights
The 4 Sevens
The 4 Eights
The 4 Nines

THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA.

P.CE:

'I/

.v^^^

.v^-

■ xfjORDS

.-^c.

•7

^=•5

.^/.

A^c

<<?,

VII

ir>

1 f f OJ

/ '^

.->

•^

Vll

•r-

' n

^^5;

Cups

'QHT

SWOBO^

,^^^

5>"

/I/

l/ll

VII

KNI

GV^-^

V^'

.^x^

GENERAL FIGURE OF THE MINOR ARCANA. — Disposition of Series.

The vital body of the minor arcana:

The 4 Queens
The 4 Fours
The 4 Fives
The 4 Sixes

SCEPTRES

Head, Spirituality

Chest, Vitality Queen

Divine World

Human World

Knight

7. 8. 9.
^

Body, Materiality | Knight n -|- H Kuig-ht| Material World
7. 8. 9. 1 7. 8. 9.
Knight
7. 8. 9.

Trai^sition from
one being to
the other.
Generation

Transition from

one world to

the other

PENTACLES

THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA.. 49

The intellectual body :

The 4 Kings
The 4 Aces
The 4 Twos
The 4 Threes

Reproductive organs :

The 4 Knaves
The 4 Tens

We can only point out the very instructive affinities
shown in these figures ; they can be carried to a great
length.

We give these indications in order to demonstrate the
management of analogy, the method of the occult science,
to which we have so frequently alluded in our preceding
works.

We need only compare this last diagram, which repre-
sents the four colours, with the first, which depicted one
only, to see at once that the law upon which these two
diagrams are constructed is the same, only that the
applications of it are .varied.

It is the same law by which the cells that form the
human being group themselves to constitute organs, the
organs group themselves to form members, and the grouping
of the latter produces the individual}

We have drawn the following^ conclusion from all that
we have already stated —

The Fentaeles, responding to the second He, indicates
a transition.

Between what ?

Between the minor and major arcana.

1 See the Traite Mementaire de Science Occulte, chap. iii.

THE TAROT.

-7^

CO,

\?<'

<\J

s>y

.^^

\OHT

s.V

-^^

^/v

'^.

/>-

^i|

\\\'A-

v->

vO^

A\N

N^\%

^-v,

?3no

HO^^^^

s a y 0 M^

GENERAL KFA' TO MIJSOll AIICANA.

CHAPTER VI.

THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.

The Major Arcana — 1st Ternary — 2nd Ternary — 1st Septenary —
2nd Septenary — The Three Septenaries and the Ternary of
Transition.

The Major Arcana.

The fundamental difference which exists between the
minor and major arcana, is that in the latter the figures
and numbers are united, whilst in the former they are
distinct.

There are 22 major arcana, but one of them bears a 0,
so that, in reality, there are only 21 great or major arcana.

Most of the authors who have studied the Tarot have
devoted all their attention to these 22 cards, without
noticing the others, which, however, contain the real key
to the system.

But we will leave these digressions and commence the
application of the law Yod-he-vau-he to this portion of the
Tarot.

A little reflection will suggest to us that there should
be some sequences in the oiajor arcana as well as in the
minor arcana. But how are we to define the limits of
these series ?

52 THE TAROT.

Each card of the minor arcana bears a symbol which
easily connects it with the whole scheme (Sceptre, Cup,
Sword, or Pentacles); it is different in this case. Each
card bears a dij^erent symbol. Therefore it is not symbolism
that can guide us here, at all events for the moment.

Besides the symbol, each card expresses au idea. This
idea is already a better guide, for it is easier to classify
than the symbol ; but this guide does not yet offer all the
security that we could desire, for it may be read differently
by various persons. Again, the idea proceeds from the
action of the symbol upon the other term expressed by
the card, the mtmber.

The number is certainly the most reliable element, the
easiest to follow in its evolutions ; it is, therefore, the
number that will guide us ; and through it we shall
discover the two other terms.

Let us now recall our explanation of the numbers, and
Ave shall easily define the series of the major arcana.

However, from the commencement we must 'make one
great reservation. The series which we are about to
enumerate are the most usual, but they are not the only
ones.

This said, we will now study the four first major arcana.

The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 at once indicate the classification
to be adopted and the nature of the terms.

1 corresponds to Yod, and is active.

2 — to He — passive.

3 — to Vau — neuter.

4 — to the 2nd He, and indicates transition.

This 4th arcanum corresponds to the Knave and to the
10 of the minor arcana, and becomes Yod in the next or
following^ series.

THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.

If we wish to make a figure of the first ternary 1, 2, 3,
we should do it in this way —

o
1

(n) 2

(3)1

The active term 1 is at the head of the triansjle, the
two other terms are at the other angles.

This ternary can also be represented in its affinities with
Yod-he-vaib-he —

1
yod

2 he

2nd he i

vau
3

Second ternary. — We have stated that the 4 becomes
the Yod or active term in the following sequence.
This is realized in the figure below —

4
yod

5 he

2nd he 7

ran
6

THE TAROT.

The 4 representing the Yod, therefore, acts with regard
to 5 and 6, as the 1 acted with regard to 2 and 3, and we
obtain another ternary.

The 7 acts here as the 4 acted previously, and the
same rule applies to all the series in the arcana.

First septenary. — The application of one law to very
different terms has led us so far ; we must nut abandon
this system, but persevere and say —

If in one ternary exist an active term = yod, a passive
term = he, and a neuter term = vait, resulting from the
two first, why should not the same result be found in
several ternaries taken together ?

The first ternary is active and corresponds to yod ; the
second ternary is passive and corresponds to he; the re-
action of one ternary upon another gives birth to a third
ternary or vau.

Let us make a figure representing this —

THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.

The 7 therefore forms the element of transition between
one septenarij and another.

If we define the analogy between this first septenary
and the Yod-he-vaio-hc, we shall find —

(1-4)
yod

(2—5) n he

2ik1 he n (7)

vau

(3-6)

A deduction may be made in passing, from which a
great deal of information may be derived, if it be carefully
studied: the 4 being only the 1, considered negatively, the
5 is only the 2 considered negatively, whilst the 6 is the
negative of 3. It is always the same numher under different
aspects.

We have therefore defined a first septenary, formed of
two opposing ternaries.

THE TAROT.

We have seen that this septenary also reproduces Yod-
he-vau-he.

Second septenary. — The law that applies to the first
ternaries is also true for the others, and following the
same method we obtain a second septenary, thus formed —

Positive Ternary.

Negative Ternary.
10

The two ternaries, positive and negative, will balance
each other to give birth to a second septenary and to its
term of transition 13. Thus —

THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.

General figure-

7_ 10

(jTiT) he -|- he (j3^^

i/au

9-12

But if the two ternaries respectively act as positive and
negative, why should not the two septenaries do the same ?

The first septenary, taken as a whole, will therefore
be positive, relatively to the second septenary, which will
be negative.

The first septenary corresponds to yod, the second to he.

58 THE TAKOT.

Third septenary. The third septenary is thus formed-

(14-17) he

(13-16)
yod

vau
(15-18)

he (19)

f \

■r

/lA

/is

\(I6V

If the first septenary is positive and the second negative,
the third will be neuter, and will correspond with vau.
We should have therefore, definitely —

1st, A POSITIVE SEPTENARY = Yod.
2nd, A NEGATIVE SEPTENARY = He.
3 id, A NEUTER SEPTENARY = VciU.

Yet each septenary contains one term which belongs to
the preceding septenary, and one which belongs to the
following septenary.

Thus the 7 is ihe 7th term of the first septenary and
the 1st term of the second. 13 is the last term of the
second septenary and the 1st of the third, etc.

The result is that three terms remain to be classed.
These are —

19 _ 20 — 21

These three terms form the last ternary, the ternary of
transition between the major arcana and the minor arcana,
a ternary which corresponds to the second lie, and which
may be thus represented —

THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA. 59

(19)

yod

(20) he

2nd he (0)

vau
(21)

The last numbered card, which ought correctly to bear
tlie number 22 for its Hebrew correspondent), closes the
Tarot by a marvellous figure, which represents its consti-
tution to those who can understand it. We will return to
it presently. Therefore, in the major arcana, the great
law is thus definitely represented. (See next page.)

The first septenary corresponds to the Divine World, to
God.

The second to Man.

The third to Nature.

Finally, the last ternary indicates the passage from the
creative and providential world to the created and fatal
world.

This ternary establishes the connection between the
major and minor arcana.

THE TAROT.

^.od

,] 2 1-^'

VOiU

CHAPTER VII.

CONNECTION BETWEEN THE MAJOR AND MINOR ARCANA.
GENERAL AFFINITIES.

KEY OF THE TAROT.

Domination of the 1st Septenary — Affinities of the 2nd Septenary in
the Tarot, Card by Card — Ditto of the 3rd Septenary— General
Affinities- — Affinities of Yod, He, Vau, and of tlie 2nd He.
General figure giving the Key to the Tarot.

Connection between the Major and Minor Arcana.

The Pentacles on one side, the Ternary of transition on
the other, establish the connection between the major and
minor arcana.

Tliis connection is found in the general affinities of the
four letters of the tetraoframmaton.

The 1st septenary, which corresponds to yod, governs all
the correspondents of yod in the minor series, that is to
say —

The 4 Kings.
Tlie 4 Aces.
The 4 Fours.
' The 4 Sevens.

62 THE TAROT.

Each element of the septenary governs different terms,
thus —

1st Septenary.

The arcana 1 and 4 govern Ki7ig-\A.l of Sceptres.

— 2 and 5 — — of Cnps.

— 3 and 6 — — of Swords.
The arcanum 7 — — of Pentacles.

Moreover —

The 1st arcanum especially governs the positive terms

of the series, i. e. —

Arcanum | The King of Yod or of Sceptres ( + ).^
1 ( + ) I The King of Vau or of Swords ( — ).

The 4th arcanum especiallj^ governs the negative terms
of the series —

Arcanum
4(-)

The King of He ... Cups( + ).

The King of the 2nd He + Pentacles ( — ).

By applying the same law to the other arcana we find —

Arcanum I Ace of Yod ( + ) Sceptres.
( + ) 2 1 Ace of Vau ( — ) Swords.

Arcanum Ace of He ( + ) Cups.
( — ) 5 Ace of He ( — ) Pentacles.

Arcanum 3

(+)

Arcanum 6

(-)

Arcanum 7

4 of Sceptres ( + ).
4 of Swords ( — ).

4 of Cups ( + ).

4 of Pentacles ( — ).

All the transitional terms
7(»).

1 The signs +, — , oo indicate : the sign + tlie positive terms, the
sign — the negative terms, the sign oo tlie neuter terms.

THE MAJOR AND MINOE AllCANA.

Second septenary. — The second septenary, correspond-
ing to He, governs all the correspondents of the first He, in
the minor series, that is to say —

The 4 Queens.
The 4 Twos.
The 4 Fives.
The 4 Eights.

Each element of the second septenary has the following
dominations —

Arcanum 7

(+)

'Queen of Sceptres,

(+)

Queen of Swords,

(-)

TTwo of Sceptres,
Arcanum 8 J ( + )

( + ) Two of Swords,

^ (-)

{Five of Sceptres,
( + )
Five of Swords,

, , Queen of Cups,

Arcanum \^ , .

10 J ( + )

(-)

Arcanum
11

(-)

Queen of Pentacles,

(-)

Two of Cups,

(+)

Two of Pentacles,

(-)

Five of Cups,

(+)

Five of Pentacles,
(-)

Arcana 13 f All the 8,

Third septenary. — The third septenary corresponds
to Vmi, and rules over —

The 4 Knights.

The 4 Threes.

The 4 Sixes.

The 4 Nines.

64 THE TAROT.

Each element of this septenary thus rules over-

rKnidit of Sceptres,
Arcanum , \

13 ] (+)

, , Kniffht of Swords,

'Three of Sceptres,

(+)

Three of Swords,

(-)

Six of Sceptres,

(+)

Six of Swords,

(-)

Arcanum
14

( + )

, fKnight of Cups,

Arcanum , ^

16 ] . . (+)
. V Knight of Pentacles,

Three of Cups,

(+)

Three of Pentacles,

(-)

Six of Cups,

(+)

Six of Pentacles,

(-)

Arcanum
18

(-)

Arcanum 19 f All the nines,

(») I («)

Ternary of transition. — The ternary of transition
rules over —

The 4 Knaves.
The 4 Tens.

Each of its elements thus rules over —

Arcanum

'Knave of Sceptres,

Arcanum

'Knave of Cups,

(+)

(»)

Knave of Swords,

(»)

Knave of Pentacles,

{ + )

^ (-)

(-)

^ (-)

Arcanum 21 f All Hie 10,
(+) I (^)

Value of the signs + , — , and oo .

The signs which follow each card in the preceding lists
define the exact value of the card. One example will
suffice to make this clearly understood.

THE MAJOR AND MINOR ARCANA. 65

Each term can be taken in two principal acceptations :
in the positive ( + ) or in the negative ( — ). The same rule
applies to the sub-divisions of these terms.

For instance, the correspondents of the first septenary
are 1 and 4.

1 is the positive ( + ).
4 is the negative ( — ).

1 governs two minor arcana : the King of Sceptres and
the King of Swords.

The King of Sceptres is positive.
The King of Swords is negative.

The definite value of these terms would therefore be —
1st King of Sceptres.

Positive ( + ) of the positive ( + ) ;

King of Sceptres

+ +
2nd King of Swords.

Negative ( — ) of the Positive ( + ) ;

or more simply

King of Swords

+ —

The same rule applies to the other terms in combining
the sign which follows the major arcanum with that which
follows the term under consideration.

The value of each of the 78 cards of the Tarot is thus
defined.

THE TAROT.

GENERAL AFFINITIES.

AFFINITIES TO Yod.

r Positive.

Negative.

Major

Arcanum 1

Arcanum 4

Arcana

/ King of Sceptres

King of Cups

Ace

Ace —

Minor

Arcana

King of Swords

King of Pentacles

Ace

Ace —

AFFINITIES TO

THE 1st He.

r Positive.

Negafive.

Major

Arcanum 2

Arcanum 5

Arcana

^ Queen of Sceptres

Queen of Cups

Two —

Five —

Minor
Arcana

Eight

Eight • —

Queen of Swords

Queen of Pentacles

Two —

Five —

Five

V Eight

Eig])t

AFFINITIES

TO Vau.

Positive.

Negative.

Major

Arcanum 3

Arcanum 6

Arcana

- 9

THE MAJOR AND MINOR ARCANA.

/ Knight of Sceptres Knight of Cups
Three — Three —

Six Six

Minor

Nine — Nine —

Arcana

Knight of Swords Knight of Pentacles

Three — Three —

Six Six

\ Nine — Nine —

AFFINITIES TO THE 2ND He.

Positive. Negative.

Arcanum 19 Arcanum 20

Knave of Sceptres Knave of Cups

— of Swords — of Pentacles

Equilihrium.

Arcana 21 — 22

Ten of Sceptres

— of Swords

— of Cups

— of Pentacles

GENERAL FIGURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TAROT,
SHOWING ALL THE AFFINITIES.

The absolute law.

Yod He Vau He

is in the centre of the fig^ure.

Each of the letters of the tetragramrnaton governs one
quarter of the circle which contains its affinities.

The different colours indicate the especial dominion of
each arcanum.

THE TAROT.

vN>^'-

^sN

dros

A-

^ct ._

, Ay

^c?>.^>

■e^

<rc

(

ex:
c

GRANT) OENEBAL riGURE OF THE TAPOT. — Arravgcment of Series.

PART II.

SYMBOLISM IN THE TAROT.

APPLICATION OF THE GENERAL KEY TO SYMBOLISM.

CHAPTER VIII.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SYMBOLISM.

The Symbols — The Primitive Terms— Key of Symbolism — Definition
of the Sense of one of the Symbols — The General Law of
Symbolism.

Introduction to the Study of Symbolism in the

Tarot.

Our study of the Tarot and its numerical arrangement
has given us the general key, which should be applied to
all the further developments of which our subject may be
susceptible.

The symbols should therefore exactly follow the evolu-
tion of the numbers, and this we shall find them do.
However, as we shall now study each of the cards of the
Tarot in turn, and as the reader's attention maj^ be a little
diverted by all these details, we have determined to com-
mence by a short introduction to the study of the symbol-
ism of the Tarot, an introduction in which we shall say a
few words upon the grouping of the symbols.

This point explained, we can pass on to further details,
which we shall terminate by a synthetic recapitulation.
We thus hope to obtain the greatest possible light upon
these difficult subjects.

The analysis of the word Yod-he-vcm-he has given us

THE TAROT.

the general law upon which the whole Tarot is constructed.
This law is thus represented —

yod

2 he

2nd he 4

vau
3

We must therefore first define the four primitive terms
in our symbols, which form the law exactly applicable to
the whole symbolism.

And, in fact, we find these four terms in pur four first
cards ; the general sense of these terms being —

1 — (Creator or Divine.

2 — Preserver or Astral.

3 — Transformer or Physical and Diffuser.

4 — Generator or Transitional becoming Creator.

This law corresponds in all points with our sacred word,
thus —

Creator

Divine

yod

Preserver
or

Astral

2 he

2nd he 4

Transition

or
Generation

vau

Transformer

Pliysical

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SYMBOLISM. 73

We shall see that this law applies exactly to each of the
cards which possess three meanlDgs.

A superlative or Divine meaning.

A comparative or Magic-Astral meaning.

A positive or Physical meaning, responding to a transition.

GENERAL STUDY OF THE FOUR FIRST CARDS.

Key to the Symholism of the Tarot.

The four first cards of the major arcana form, symbolic-
ally as well as numerically, a complete sequence, which
corresponds with the sacred word Yod-he-vau-he.

For the first card expresses the active absolute, and
corresponds with Yod.

The second card denotes the reflex of the first, the
passive ahsohUe ; it corresponds with the first He.

The third indicates the median term, the convertible
transforming term, corresponding to VaiL

Lastly, the fourth card is a term of transition between
the preceding series and the one that follows it.

The symbolic series of the Tarot is therefore completely
represented by the four first cards, exactly as the numerical
sequence is represented by the four first numbers. This
fact produces a very important consideration, namely,
that all the symbols of the Tarot are but transformations
of the three first, and that the latter will supply us with
the general law of symbolism, a law which will enable us
to determine mathematically the sense of each card that
follows.

But we can go still further.

THE TAROT.

Since the second card is the reflex of the first, and is
formed by the first considered negatively, and since the
third card results from the two others, it suffices to he
perfectly acquainted with the first card of the Tarot to
determine mathematically the sense of all the others.

Some details upon this subject are necessary.

The general law of the four first cards is as follows —

1 — Positive. Creator.

2 — Negative. Keflex of the first. Preserver.

3 — Neater, enveloping the two others. Transformer.

4 — Passage from one series to another.

We can then represent the series in this way —

Positive

Negative

^ Neuter

And what is true for each of the terms of a ternary is
also true for the ternary taken as a ivhole, and this leads
us to new considerations.

For the first ternary would be positive, corresponding to
Yod, the active, the creator.

The second ternary would be negative, and would corre-
spond to the first He, i. e. that all the terms of this ternary
would be reflections of the terms of the first, just as the
second card was the reflex of the first.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SYMBOLISM. 75

This gives ns —

(5)
Keflex of 2

(7)
Keflex of 4

(6)
Reflex of 3

Reflex of 1

We can thus determine the meaning of the arcana 4,
5, 6, 7 in the three worlds, since we know the meaning of
the arcana 1, 2, 3, 4.

We need only refer to the study of the Tarot by num-
bers, to find the symbols, which correspond respectively to
Yod, to He, to Vau, and to the second He.

But if the second ternary is the reflex of the first, the
same rule applies to the septenaries.

All the cards of the second septenary will therefore be
the symbolical reflection of those of the first.

All the cards of the third septenary are representatives
of the third term, or of transformation.

We have then —

The 1st septenary,

Which represents the active Creation. The Divine Osiris-
Brahma, or the Father.

The 2nd septenary.

Which represents Preservation. The Astral, Isis, Vishnu,
the Son.

The Srd septenary,

Which represents Transformation, Physics, Horns, Siva,
the Holy Spirit.

THE TAKOT.

The three first arcana will therefore give the sense of
all the others according to the following figure :

FIGUEE

SHOWING

THE SENSE OF

EACH OF THE

22 MAJOR ARCANA.

yod

positive or

10.

13.

16.

19.

creative series

1st he

negative or
preservative

11.

14.

17.

20.

series

vcat

neuter or
transforming series

12.

15.

18.

21.

equilibrium

2nd he

4 =

1
= (1)

transitional

series

positive

negative

yod

positive or
creative series

he
negative or
preservative

neuter or

transforming

series

2nd lie

transitional

series

equilibrivmi

This figure is very important, for it enables us to see at
once the symbolical value of any card in the Tarot, by
working in the following way —

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SYMBOLISM. 77

TO DISCOVER A PRIORI THE SYMBOLICAL VALUE OF ANY
CARD IN THE TAROT.

We must see —

(1st) Which Hebrew letter is written to the left in the
horizontal column, which contains the card under con-
sideration.

{2nd) Which Hebrew letter is written at the foot of the
vertical cohcmn, containing the card.

(Srd) Which sign (+ or — ) governs the secondary
vertical column, containing the card in question.

EXAMPLE :

I wish to determine the sense of the 5th arcanum.

I look to the left and find the Hebrew letter he.

This shows that the 5tli arcanum is the he of what 1

In order to know, I look at tlie vertical column and find
yod.

The 5th arcanum is the he of yod, but that is not enough,
so I look at the secondary cohimn which contains the sign
( — ) negative.

I thus obtain a definite description of the 5tli arcanum.

The fifth card of the Tarot is —

The He of Yod considered' negatively.

This is a synthetic formula comprehensible to those
only who are used to manipulating the sense of the word
Yod-hc-vau-he.

It is therefore necessary to give further explanations.

He represents the reflex.

We may therefore say, more explicitly —

The 5th arcanum is :

The reflex of yod considered negatively. But what is
yod considered negatively %

78 THE TAROT.

To find this out, I look in my left column at the letter
yod, I seek in the secondary vertical column the sign ( — )
negative, and at the intersection of these two lines I find
the 4th arcanum.

The yod considered negatively is the -Ith arcanum.

This leads me to conclude —

That the 5th arcanum is the reflex of the itli arcanum.

All the arcana can be explained in this way by each
other, according to the above rules.

This tableau is the key of the Ars Magna of Raymond
Lulle.

COKRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE CARDS OF THE TAROT.

To obtain the origin and derivation of any card in the
Tarot, it suffices to take the third card before it, and the
third card after it.

Thus the 8tli arcanum is derived from the 5th arcanum,
and gives rise to the 11th arcanum.

5 8 11

Universal life. Elementary Reflected and

existence. transitory life.

* *

From this it ensues that, when two cards added to^^ether
give an even number, we need only take the half of the
number to discover the card which serves to unite those
under consideration.

Thus, in order to discover the link which binds the 4th
arcanum to the 6th, i. e. the universal vivifying fluid, to
universal love, I add together 4 + 6 = 10, and I take one-
half of the number obtained "L^ = 5.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SYMBOLISM. 79

The 5th arcanum (universal life) therefore unites the
two opposites.^

The passage of the vivifying fluid (4) into love (6) is
performed through the medium of universal life (5).

Since each card of the Tarot has three meaning?, it is
easy to philosophize by means of our pack, without taking
too much trouble about it.

* *

Another result of this rule is, that each card of the Tarot
has a complementary in any card bearing a number which,
added to its own, gives a total of 22.

For instance, what is the complementary card of the 1st
arcanum ?

It is the 21st arcanum, since 21 + 1 = 22. What is the
transition from 1 to 21 ?

According to what we have just stated it is 21 + 1 =

The 11th arcanum (reflected and transitory life) there-
fore forms the transition between the 1st arcanum
(creative principle) and the 21st arcanum (universal
generation).

To find the card that serves as complementary to any
other, we must therefore subtract the number of the card
in question from 22.

For instance to find the complementary card to 14 —

22— 14 = 8.

The 8th arcanum is therefore complementary to the 14th.
We have made this diOTession because all these details

1 The Hebrew alpliabet thoroughly establishes tliis affiliation for
the letters corresponding to these three niunbers. (See 8th arcanum.)

80 THE TAROT.

will be most useful to us presently. We can now return
to the study of our major arcana.

Let us once more recall the manner in which the four
first arcana have given us the key to the symbolism of all
the others, according to their affinities with the sacred
word, as follows —

THE GENERAL LAW OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT.

Positive

(1)

yocl

Negative Transition

Reflex of (2) he ! 2nd he (4) yod of the

yod following series

vau

(3)

Neuter
Union of yod and of he

CHAPTER IX.

HISTOEY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT.
INQUIRY INTO ITS ORIGIN.

The Tarot is an Egyptian Book — Its Transformations — Mantegna's
Pack — Venetian Tarot — Florentine Tarot — Bolognese — Hindu
Tarot — Chinese Tarot — Modern Tarots — Etteila — Marseilles —
Besan^ou — Watillaux — Oswald Wirth — Italian and German
Tarots — Constitution of the Sj'nibolisin of the Tarot — The
16 primitive Hieroglyphic Signs — The 22 Hebrew Letters.

Origin of the Symbolism of the Tarot.

As we have already stated, each card of the Tarot repre-
sents a symbol, a number, and an idea.

We have endeavoured to avoid empiricism as far as
possible in the course of these explanations ; and therefore
we first studied the numbers, for they are the most settled
element, and give the most unvarying results in their
combinations.

Relying firmly upon the basis which we have lius con-
structed, we can now study the symbols with absolute
assurance.

We hope that for this purpose you have procured the
Tarot ^ of Marseilles, the most correct in its symbolism, or

1 See p. 89, the price of the Tarots and the addresses where they
may be procured.

82 THE TAROT.

else the twenty-two keys designed by Oswald Wirth ;
perhaps — and this is really almost indispensable — you have
both of them.

You need, then, only deal the cards upon the table, to
see at once that the personages depicted upon them all
wear dresses of the Renaissance period.

And yet, is this pack of cards of ancient origin ? It
does not appear so.

Look at your figures more attentively and you will soon
perceive Egyptian symbols [the triple cross (No. 5), ibis
(No. 17)] combined with these Eenaissance costumes.

They at once prove that the Tarot of Marseilles is really
the exact representation of the primitive Egyptian Tarot,
slightly altered to the epoch denoted by tlie costumes.
Only the gypsies possess the primitive pack intact.

The studies of those learned men who have investigated
the Tarot have confirmed this fact by the strongest
evidence. And the works of Chatto,^ Boiteau,^ and above
all of Merlin,^ shoAv us that history corroborates our
assertion.

Merlin conducted his researches very scientifically, and
succeeded in discovering the original of our Tarot of
Marseilles in an Italian Tarot at Venice, the father of all
the later packs.

He believes also that he has discovered the origin of
this Venetian Tarot in the philosophical pack of Mantegna.

But he cannot determine the origin of this pack, because

^ Cbatto, Facts and Specidations on the Origin and History of
Playing Cards in Europe. 8vo. London, 1848.

^ Bo'iienu, Les Cartes a Joner et la Cartomancie. 4to. Paris, 1854.

3 Merlin, Origine des Cartes a Joner, recherches nouvelles sjir les
Xaih'ts, les Tarots et sur les antres Especes de Cartes. A work ornr-
niented with 70 ilkistrations. 4to. Paris, 18G9.

HISTORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT. 83

tlie one tbat Merlin believed to be the source of the
Tarot is on the contrary a rcproditction, made by one of
the Initiates. The Ars Magna of Raymond Lulle was
produced in the same way ; it is drawn entirely from the
Tarot.

We have given for reference the j^ac/j of Mantegna,
known in the trade as the cards of Baldini, as well as
the packs of the Italian Tarots, from which most of ours
are derived.

The tableau ^ which indicates the -connection between
the Tarot packs and that of Mantegna ought to be reversed,
and on the contrary show the cards of Mantegna derived
from the Tarot, as we have stated.

Here are the figures of the Tarots. (See page 84.)

1 Page 86.

THE TAROT.

G
O

-i EC

O ^ .

P-c C r-

O M p2

>■ C^

(^ i-s c/2 oo O Ph

^?F "^ ■'^ "^^ "^ ^T^ Tt^ -^^ -^^ \^

o
o

cC' CO CO CO CO CO cC' CO c-':i -^

bD -^

o -^

:5 a.
•r: =3

.^ ri c o r:;

O ^

'^ CD

r— i(rqco-^ocoi>.cociO

Cq (M (M (M (M Cq <M (M (M CO

<:= .2

t>^

•— r F f-i ?i. "-r* ii oj

rt ^^ o

O -G

a; t: ■::; S.

r-i(MCO'^iO^t>-00a:

;-<
a
to
bo

_G 0) rG

^ r:H bD ? be

S ,j2 .r-j to G

<D O C O -^

£ ^ M P M

H H

(M CO

a; c o

^ ^ ^
H H H

-rfi IC O I- O) Ci

o •

C C

^^ Ph

c o

H H
o

H c/2 O P^ J/}

<1 p;o p pq

r/j

>-i

C/l

■+J

Pw f^ CO [> H

P o

HISTORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT. 85

ORIGIN" OF THE OTHERS.

Minchiate of Florence,

Venetian Tarot,

Tarot of Bologna,

97 cards,

78 cai-ds,

62 cards,

of which iO are Tarots.

of which 21 are Tarots.

0 The Foolish Man.

The Foolish Man.

1 The Juggler.

The Juggler.

2 The Grand Duke.

2 The High Priestess

The High Priestess.

3 The Emperor of

3 The Empress.

The Empress.

the West.

4 The Emperor of

4 The Emperor.

The Emperor.

the East.

5 Love.

5 The Pope.

The Pope.

6 Temperance.

6 The Lovers.

Love.

7 Strength.

7 The Chariot.

The Chariot.

8 Justice.

Temperance.

9 The Wheel of For-

9 The Hermit.

Justice.

tune.

10 The Chariot.

10 The Wheel of For-
tune.

Strength.

11 The Old Man, with

11 Strength.

Fortune.

an Hour-glass.

12 The Hanged Man.

The Old Man.

13 Death.

The Hanged Man.

14 The Devil.

14 Temperance.

Death.

15 Hell.

15 The Devil.

The Devil.

16 Hope.

16 The Lishtning-

Thunder. '

17 Prudence.

struck Tower.

18 Faith.

19 Charity.

20 Fire.

21 Water.

22 The Earth.

23 Air.

24 The Scales.

25 The Virgin.

26 The Scorpion.

27 The Ram.

28 Capricornus.

29 Sagittarius.

30 Cancer.

31 Pisces.

32 Aquarius.

33 The Lion.

34 The Bull.

35 The Twins.

36 The Star.

17 The Star.

The Star.

37 The Moon.

18 The Moon.

The Moon.

38 The Sun.

19 The Sun.

The Sun.

39 The Universe.

20 The Last Judgment.

The Universe.

40 Fame.

21 The Universe.

The Angel.

THE TAROT.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE PRIMITIVE ITALIAN PACKS AND
THE MODERN TAROT

Modern Tarot.

Mantegna.

The King

King

No. 8 of Mantegna

Tiie Knight

Knight

The Knave

Knave

The Emperor

4 of the Tarot is the IX i

series E of Mantegn

The Pope

5 —

Temperance

Strength

Justice

The Moon

The Sun

The Eoolish Man

(unnumbered) Eeggar

No. 1 Mantegna

The Star

17 Venus

The Chariot

7 Mars

'Ihe Hermit

9 Saturn

The Universe

' { Jupiter
1 First cai

ise

If, however, the existence of purely Egyptian symbols
in these so-called Italian Tarots do not convince the
reader, a few words on the transformation of the Tarot in
the East, and in other countries of Europe besides Italy,
will completely enlighten him on the subject.

HINDU TAROTS.

In spite of Merlin's assertions, the Tarot represents the
summary of the scientific knowledge of the ancients. This
is unquestionably proved by Chatto's researches amongst
Orientals on this subject.

In fact the Indians possess a game of chess, the Tchatu-

HISTORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT. 87

ranga, evidently derived from the Tarot, from the manner
in which the men are arranged in four series.

Elephants, chariots, horses, foot-soldiers.

The Mussuhnen of India also possess a pack of cards
tliat is derived from the old symbols of the Tarot : the
Gnngeific or Glieiidgjfch.

This game is composed of eight series of twelve cards
each, divided in this way —

Superior Sp-dkm Inferior Seetion

or Bishbiir : or Kunbur :

Crowns Harps

Moons Suns

Sabres Royal diplomas

Slaves. Bales of Merchandise.

CHINESE TAROT.

An inexperienced eye might find some difficulty in
recognizing the Tarot in these games, but the Chinese
have given us an irrefutable argument in favour of our
assertion, in the arrangement, of their Tarot, which is
represented by the figure on page 8S.

We have placed the correspondences of the minor and
major arcana, and of the four letters of the tetragrammaton.
above this figure.

A description of this Cliinese pack will be found in
Court de Gebelin (Le Monde Primitif), and in the work
of J. A. Vaillant.

With reganl to the foreign Tarots, we possess nearly all
of them at the present time, and this induces us to name
the various editions of the Tarot which we are now able
to consult.

THE TAROT.

MINOR ARCANA.

ynd he vau

MAJOR ARCANA.

■

MODERN TAROTS.

The following are the most important of these modern
Tarots —

The Tarot of Etteila.
The Itiilian Tarot.
The jNIarseilles Tarot.
The Tarot of Besan^on.

HISTORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT. 89

The double-headed Tarot of Besan9on.

The Tarot of Watillaux.

The German Tarot.

The Tarot of Oswald Wirth.

THE FRENCH TAROT PACKS.

The Tarot of Mteila is of no symbolic value, it is a bad
mutilation of the real Tarot.

This pack is used by all our fortune-tellers. Its sole
interest lies in the strangceness of its figures. It can be
obtained for 5 or 8 francs from all the great card-sellers in
Paris.

The Tarot of Watillaux, or pack of the princess Tarot,
reproduces the minor arcana very correctly. It is worth
consideration on this account.

The Italian Tarot, that of Besancon and of Marseilles}
are unquestionably the best which we now possess, par-
ticularly the latter, which fairly reproduces the Primitive
symlolical Tarot.

FOREIGN PACKS OF TAROTS.

Besides the Italian we must quote the German Tarot,
in which the symbols of the minor arcana are different.

For

The Cups are represented by The Hearts
The Pentaeles — The Bells

The Swords — The Leaves

The Sceptres — The Acorns

^ However, this Tarot is a very bad one.

1 These Tarots are to be found in Paris, 20 Rue de la Banqne,
M. Piissey, at 4 francs ; and one is published in London by Mr.
George Redwny, 15 York Street, Covent Garden.

90 THE TAROT.

THE TAROT OF OSWALD WIRTH.

It became necessary to have a Tarot pack \n which the
symbolism was definitely established. This work, suggested
by Eliphas Levi, who defined the principles on Avhicli it
was to be based, has been accomplished by Mr. Oswald
Wirth.

This clever occultist, aided by the advice of Stanislas de
Guaita, has designed the series of the twenty-two major
arcana. These drawings reproduce the Tarot of Marseilles,
with the symbolical modifications suggested by the re-
searches of Eliphas Lovi upon this important question.

Owing to the kindness of M. Poirel, who assisted the
work by printing these designs, we now possess a mar-
vellous symbolic document in the Tarot of Oswald Wirth.

It is therefore wise, as we have already said, for those
who wish to study the Tarot. very thoroughly, to procure
the Tarot de Marseilles, and that of Oswald Wirth.

We shall use them both presently in our explanation of
the symbolical meaning of each card.

But before passing to the study of these symbols, card
by card, we must see if there are no means of positively
defining the symbolism of the Tarot.

HOW CAN WE HOPE TO DEFINE THE SYMBOLISM OF THE
TAROT CONCLUSIVELY ?

We have already and sufficiently explained that the
Tarot represents the ancient or occult science in every
possible development.

If we then wish to find a solid basis for the study of the
symbols represented in the 22 major arcana, we may
put the Tarot on one side for an instant, and devote
ourselves to this ancient science. It alone can enable us

HISTORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT. 91

to attain our end, not in finding the explanation of the
symbols, but in leading us to create them one by one, by
deducing them from fixed and general principles.

We shall thus commence work of quite a new character,
whilst avoiding, so far as possible, falling into those errors
which arise from the effort to explain the symbols of the
Tarot by themselves, instead of seeking lor their solution
at their original source.

The first step in the search for these particular symbols
leads us to discuss the grave problem of the origin of
symbolism itself.

We cannot enter upon, much less solve, this question by
ourselves ; we shall therefore quote the opinions of several
writers upon this subject. Truth, having Unity for its
criterion, the agreement of various conclusions in one
point will be a valuable guide for us.

Claude de Saint-Martin, the unknown philosopher, states
in his book, the Livre des Ra/pports, that the primitive
alphabet is composed of sixteen signs. He received these
data, so far as we can judge, from intuitive revelation,
joined to the teaching of the Uluminism, of which he was
one of the members.

Lacour, in his book on the Eloliim or Gods of Moses,
has inductively determined the existence of a primitive
alphabet, also composed of sixteen signs. Another
author, Barrois, pursuing inquiries of quite a different
nature, also reaches the conclusion of the existence of
sixteen primitive signs in his system of Dactylology.

But the labours of Court de Cdhelin, and above all of
Falre d' Olivet, are the most remarkable in this respect. In
his Langue HShralque Restituee, this learned Initiate estab-
lished the existence of primitive hieroglyphic signs from
which the Hebrew letters are derived.

92 THE TAROT.

All these writers, starting from very different points,
ao-ree in their conclusions, and this gives us a strono^
argument in favour of the truth of their inquiries.

But it matters very little to us whether these IG
primitive signs are the direct origin, either of the Hebrew,
Sanscrit, Chinese, or Greek letters. The identity of source
tends strongly to identity of results, and any one of these
derivative alphabets will answer our purpose.

The Hebrew alphabet, composed of 22 letters, seems
preferable to us, on account of the concordance between
the number of its letters and that of the Arcana in our
Tarot.

We shall therefore adopt, as the starting-point of our
study, the Hebrew alphabet of 22 letters, derived from the
16 primitive hieroglyphic signs.

This conclusion is scarcely reached, when fresh light
shines upon us from all sides.

Guillauvie Postel ^ reveals to us the connection between
the Hebrew letters and the Tarot ; Van Hehnont fils^
Claude de Saint- Martin,^ Fabre d' Olivet,^ all confirm our
opinion; \^^\\y,Eli/phas Lcvi^ also throws the weight of his
marvellous learning into the question.

But we are more surprised to find that the Scphcr
Yetzirah,^ an old book of the Kabbalah, which contains a
study upon the formation of the Hebrew alphabet, arrives
at a division of the letters which exactly corresponds with

1 Clavis.

2 Origin of Language (Lwt'm).

^ Tableaux natnrels des rapports qui existent entre JJieu, Vhomme
et VUnivers.

^ La Langue Hebraique Bestltu^e.

^ Rituel de la Haute Magie.

6 Translated into English by Dr. Wynn Westcott.

HISTORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT. 93

the astrological data contained in an old manuscript in
the Vatican, upon which Christian ^ based his liovoscopic
works.

One single and identical conclusion arises from all these
different points of view : the value of the Hebrew letter as
a symbol.

In it we possess a real symbol, of whicli we can ascertain
not only the meanings, but also the origin.

We could then make a Tarot exclusively composed of
Hebrew letters and of numbers, but this is not our object ;
we are seeking to discover in the symbolism of the Hebrew
characters the symbolism of the Tarot, and we shall thus
realize our intention of ascertaining deductively the value
of the figures of the Tarot and the reason they have been
chosen.

THE HEBREW LETTERS AS THE BASIS OF THE SYMBOLICAL

TAROT.

We shall now study the Hebrew letters one by one, in
determining successively —

1st. The hieroglyphic value of each one of them according
to its origin (Fabre d'Olivet, Barrois) ;

2nd. Its symbolic value derived from this hieroglyphic
(Fabre d'Olivet, Eliphas Levi, Christian) ;

3rd. Its astronomical value (Christian and the Scphcr
Yetzirali).

Once acquainted with these data, it will be easy for us
to deduce from them the application of the letters to the
symbols of the Tarot.

But before we enter upon this study, it is necessary to
say a few words upon the Hebrew alphabet in general and
its constitution.

1 Histoire de la Magie.

94 THE TAKOT.

The alpliabet of the Hebrews is composed of 22 letters;
these letters, however, are not placed by chance, one after
the other. Each of them corresponds with a number
according to its rank, with a hieroglyphic according to its
form, with a symbol accordins^ to its affinities with the
other letters.

As we have already said, all the letters are derived from
one amongst them, tlie yod} The yod has generated them
in the followii)g manner (see Sepher Yetzirah) —

1st. Three mothers :

The A (Aleph) S

The M rrhe :Mem) 12
The Sh (Tlie Shin) W

2nd. Seven doubles (double because they express two
sounds, the one positive strong, the other negative soft) :

The B (Beth) 2,

The G (Gimel) 1 '

The D (Daleth) 1

The Ch (Caph) D

ThePh (Pe) S

The E (Resl.) ^

The T (Tail) n

3rd. Lastly, twelve simple, formed by the other letters.

To render this clearer, we will give the Hebrew alphabet
here, indicating the quality of each letter and its rank.
(See page 95.)

We have now given a fixed principle for symbolism in
the Hebrew letter, and need not fear being deceived by
the false interpretation of a costunie, or of an incorrect
figure. The Hebrew letter will be always there, to en-
lighten us upon obscure or difficult points.

^ See above (p. 19) ; Study upon the word Yod-he-vau-he.

HISTORY OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT. 95

We can therefore safely return to the Tarot, Avhich we
have left to make this diOTession.

1
!

'numbers

i T-KT

HIERO-

VALUE IN

1 IN
ORDER

GLYPHIC

NAM ES

ROMAN
LETTERS

VALUE IN THE ALPHABET

aleph

mother

beth

double

gimel

double

daletli

double

simple

van

simple

zain

simple

heth

simple

teth

simple

Yod

simple and principle

kaph

double

lamed

simple

mem

mother

nun

simple

samech

simple

ayin

simple

phe

double

!.*

tzaddi

simple

qoph

simple

-1

resh

doable

shin

mother

tau

doidjle

CHAPTER X.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

THE FIRST SEPTENARY, IST TO 7tH ARCANA. THEOGONY^

Scbeine of Work — Key to the 1st Septenary — The 1st Card of the
Turot the Origin of all the others — The three Principles of the
Absolute — The Trinity — Figure of the first Card and its Affinities
- — Tlie High Priestess and the Beth — The Gimel and the Empress
— Tlie Daleth and the Emperor — The He and the Pope — The
Vau, the Lovers — Summary of the 1st Septenary — Constitution
of God.

Study of each of the 22 Major Arcana.

Scheme of Work.

We shall now apply this general law of symbolism to
each of the twenty-two major arcana.

We must here beg for the reader's careful attention in
spite of the length of the subject under consideration.
W^e shall make every eftbrt to be as clear as possible, and
therefore we shall first explain the scheme which we have
adopted in the study of each of the cards of the Tarot.

(1st) We shall always start from the hieroglyphic sign
which has given birth to the Hebrew letter. Court de
Gebelin is the author whom we shall consult chiefly upon
this subject.

(2nd) We shall explain from the hieroglyphic character

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 97

all the ideas that can be progressively deduced from it,
and which characterize the Hebrew letter considered as a
sign. Kircher and Fabre d' Olivet are our authorities in
this work.

(3rd) When we have once defined the ideas signified by
the Hebrew letter, we shall search for the application of
these ideas in the symbolic figure of the Tarot.

Eliphas Levi,i Christian,^ and Barrois^ will aid us in
our inquiries.

(4th) Lastly, we shall determine the meaning which
must be attributed to the card of the Tarot, according to
its numerical and symbolical affinities with all the others,
in applying to it the general law of symbolism. This
portion of our work is strictly personal.

(5th) We shall end the stud}^ upon each of the cards by
a fissure showing^ all that we have said.

We must warn the reader that the perusal of the
recapitulations only will be of no use as a means of under-
standing the card of the Tarot, and that the best way will
be to carefully follow the successive explanations of each
card, with the Tarot before him.

We cannot end this opening chapter without alluding
to the basis upon which we have established the
astronomical relations of each card of the Tarot.

One of the most ancient books of the Kabbalah which we
possess, the Sei^luT Yetzirah,^ says that the three mother
letters of the Hebrew alphabet correspond with the three
worlds, the seven doubles with the seven planets, and the
twelve simple with the twelve signs of the zodiac.^

^ Rltuel de la Haute Magie. ^ Ilistoire de la Magie.

^ Dactylologle ou Langage Frimitif.
* Translated into French hy Papns.
^ See Franck, The Kabbala, Paris, 8vo.

98 THE TAROT.

Now in studying the astrological manuscript published
by Christian, we have discovered that the numbers
attributed to the planets by the author of this manuscript
exactly correspond with the douUe Hebrew letters. The
numbers attributed to the twelve signs of the zodiac
exactly correspond with the simple letters.

We considered that this absolute agreement between
two documents of such different origin deserved our serious
attention, and we have therefore given with each letter its
astronomical correspondence.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

KEY OF THE FIRST SEPTENARY

ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIGURES FOR STUDY,

Juggler

Emperor
4

Empress 3 :' 4

The chariot

2
High Priestess

5 .

Pope

6 Lovers

CHARACTER OF THE FIGURES.

Origin of the Tarot Reflex of 1

Katuraliz-
at".on of 3 :'
1 and 2

Equilibrium of

3 and of 6
passage from
one world to
the other

Reflex of 3
/ 6 Equilibrium of
4 and 5

Reflex of I

Reflex of 2

100 THE TAEOT.

THE FIRST CARD OF THE TAROT.

ORIGIN OF THE SIGNIFICATION OF ALL THE OTHERS.

We see from our preceding work that if we know the
exact meaning of the first card of the Tarot we can, from
that, discover, the signification of all tlie others.

We cannot approach this subject without great hesitation.
The hope of ascertaining the truth is, in fact, troubled by
the possibility of making a mistake which might have
very serious results.

The work which we have already accomplished will,
however, enable us to decipher the meaning of the
symbolism of the first card of the Tarot almost mathe-
matically, but the general meaning only ; whilst we know
that each card must have not one, but three meanings.

We must discover three sufficiently general principles
to be applied to every order of human knowledge ; for this
should be the object of the Tarot.

In this case we will, as usual, resort to those eminent
authors who have treated these questions from different
points of view, and the agreement between their teachings
will give us new light to illuminate our path.

The Pole Hcene Wronski,i who died of hunger in the
suburbs of Paris, was perhaps one of the most powerful
intellects produced by the 19 th century. He asserted that
he had discovered the formula of the absolute, and his
works are unquestionably a summary of one of the most
elevated syntheses that we have ever seen. We need not
discuss the doctrines of Wronski, but will only say a few
words upon the three primitive elements which enter into
his law of creation.

1 See V Occultismc Contemporain (M. Carre).

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 101

Wronski places at the origin of all creation three
elements, which he designates by the names —

Of Neuter Element (E. K)

Of Element of Being (E. B.)
Of Element of Wisdom (E. W.)

The Neuter Element represents the Absolute, Reality
resultino^ from the total neutralization of the two other
elements by each other.

The Element of Wisdom represents the creative faculty
with its especial characteristics, autogeny and spontaneity.

The Element of Being represents the PERMANENT FACULTY
with its characteristics, autothesis and inertia.

Principle of the Creation or Element of Wisdom.
Principle of Preservation or Element of Being.
Principle of ISTeutralization or Neuter Element.

These are the three terms upon which Wronski estab-
lishes the foundations of Reality, and, consequently, of all
the systems of creation. We must remember these
conclusions.

Fabre d' Olivet, in his researches upon the first
principles which direct everything,^ determines the exist-
ence of three elements, which he names Providence,
Destiny, and Human Will.

Froviclenee is the principle of absolute liberty, of the
creation of beings and things.

Destiny is the principle of absolute necessity, of the
preservation of beings and of things.

Lastly, the Human Will is a neuter principle inter-
mediate between the two : the principle of mobility and
CHANGE in all their forms. Now it is not necessary to be

^ See The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, and the Histoire Philo-
sophique du Genre Humain.

102 THE TAROT.

very learned to perceive the absolute agreement which
exists between the two authors ; the one, Wronski, reached
his conclusions by mathematics, the other, d'Olivet, attained
his by profound study of antiquity and its mysteries. The
words used may vary, but the idea is fundamentally the
same.

Wronski's Element of Wisdom (E. W.), the 'pi^hwiple of
the creation, is the same thing as the Providence of
d'Olivet, who thus places it as the principle of the
creation.

Wronski's Element of Being (E. B.), the princij^le of the
permanent facility, exactly represents what d'Olivet calls
Destiny, and which he concludes to be the principle of
preservation.

Lastly, d'Olivet's human Will corresponds in all points
with Wronski's Neuter Element.

Here then are two very different systems, wdiich lead to
the same signification. But our conclusions do not stop
here.

If we study these three primitive principles more
attentively we shall find in the first : Providence or the
Element of Wisdom, represented in philosophy by the
word God.

Destiny or Being shows us its identity with the immu-
table laws which a-overn the Universe.

Lastly, it does not require much study to prove to us
that the human Will responds to Man.

God, Man, and the Universe.

This is the basis of all the esoteric philosophy of the
ancients, and not only Wronski and Fabre d'Olivet agree
in their conclusions respecting this mysterious ternary ;

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 103

occult science itself proclaims its identity with these
principles by the mouth of all its disciples. Hermes
Trismegistus, the Soli/ Kabhcdah, Neo-Platooiicism and the
Alchemists through Pythagoras and all the Greek philoso-
phers assert the division of the Great All into three

ENTITIES OR WORLDS.

In less remote ages Giiillaitme Fostel'^ gives the key of
the Tarot without explaining it, and the basis of this key
is formed by this mysterious entity —

Deus, Homo, Rota.

Trithemie and his pupil Cornelius Agrippa ^ also give
us this fecund and sublime trinity in all their analogical
figures.

The Jesuit Kircher^ describes this division into three
worlds as the basis of the Egyptian mysteries.

Lastly, Claude de Saint-Martin has written a book
entirely based upon the keys of the Tarot, and it is
entitled — Tableau Naturel des rapports qui imissent DiEU,
l'Homme, et l'Univers.

Let us question India upon the law of the absolute, she
replies —

Trimurti: Brahma, Siva, Vishnu.

Let us ask China for the great secret of her philosophy,
and she will give us the Tri-grams of Fo-Hi.

Address ourselves to one of the ancient initiated
Egyptians, he will tell us —

1 Claris.

2 La Philosophie Occnlte (La Haj-e).

3 (Edipvs ^gyptiacus.

104 THE TAROT.

Osiris, Isis, Horus.

The founder of Greek Cosmogony, the disciple of the
science of Egypt, Hesicd, also transmits this law to us,
and they all confirm Louis Lucas when he states : ^ ''I
feel that hidden beneath this mystical formula of the
Trinity is one of the most important scientific laws that
man has ever discovered."

God, Man, and the Universe, these are the most general
principles that we can attain, and they constitute the
three meanings of the first card of the Tarot.

It remains for us to ascertain first, whether these
meanings respond to the primitive hieroglyphic, and then
to determine how far they extend through the whole
Tarot.

^ See Le Roman Alchimiqiie,

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

105

THE JUGGLER.

/ Lf-BATCLEUR ]

THE JUGGLEK.

I. s
1st Hebrew letter (Aleph).

OR[GIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OP THE FIRST CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Aleph hieroglyphically expresses Mmt liimself as a
collective unity, the master principle, ruler of the earth.

From this hieroglyphic meaning are derived ideas of
the U^iity and of the principle which determines it, ideas
which give to Aleph, its value as the sign of Power and
Stability.

Man, or the Microcosm, the Unity and the Principle in
all the worlds, is the meaning of the primitive hieroglyphic,
which, as we see, exactly renders the general ideas which
we have established.

But attentive consideration of this first card of the
Tarot will enliofhten us still further.

106 THE TAROT.

Synibolisin of the First Card of the Tarot.
THE JUGGLER.

If you take the first card of the Tarot and examine it
attentively, you will see that the form of the juggler
depicted upon it corresponds in all points with that of the
letter Aleph. If we now apply to the study of this card
the principles of the elucidation of symbolism, according
to the Traite Elementaire de Science Occulte, we at once find
new explanations of it.

The top of the figure is occupied by the divine sign of
Universal Life oo placed upon the head of the Juggler.

The bottom of the figure represents the Earth orna-
mented with its productions, the symbol of Nature.

Lastly, the centre is occupied by the Man himself, placed
behind a table covered with divers objects.

The right and left of the figure are occupied by the
hands of the Juggler, one of them bent towards the Earth,
the other raised towards Heaven.

The position of the hands represents the two principles,
active and passive, of the Great All, and it corresponds
with the two columns Jakiii and Bohas of the temple of
Solomon and of Freemasonry.

Man with (me hand seeks for God in heaven, with the
other he plunges below, to call up the demon to himself,
and thus unites the divine and the diabolic in humanity.
In this way the Tarot shows us the role of universal
mediator accorded to the Adam-Kadmon.

If we wish to make a summary of the meaning of the
symbol, so far as we have now deciphered it, we can
represent it in this way —

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 107

Top Divine Head
Right Left

{Arm lowered) Centre Human Bodij {Ann raii<ed)
Necessity Liberty

Evil Bottom Natural Feet Good

Yet the symbolism of this first card of the Tarot does
not end here.

The Juggler holds the wand of the Mage in the left
hand, which he raises, and the four great symbols of the
Tarot are placed before him.

The Cup, the Sword, the Pentacles or Talisman, which,
as we have already seen, exactly correspond with the
letters of the Tetraorammaton —

Sceptre or Yod, symbol of the active Principle pre-
eminent, and of God.

Cup or He, symbol of the passive Principle pre-eminent,
or of the Universe.

Sword, Gross or Vcm, symbol of the Etpulibrist Principle
pre-eminent, or of Man.

Pentacles or 2nd He, the cyclic symbol of Eternity, which
unites the three first Principles in one AVliole.

From the human point of view these symbols correspond
with the four great human castes.

TJie men of Yod., or the Inventors, the Producers. . The
Nobihty of Intellect.

The men of He, or the depositaries of tlie great truths
discovered by tlie men of Yod: tlie Savants, the Judges.
Professional nobility.

Tlie men of Van, or the guardians and defenders of the
former : the Warriors. Nobility of the sword.

Tlie men of tlie 2 ad He, the multitude from which the
other classes are continually recruited : the People.

108 THE TAROT.

The four great symbols are placed upon the table at
random, and Man rules them and must arrange them ; in
the twenty-first arcana we shall find these symbols arranged
in a cross.

We already know that the first card of tlie Tarot is
completed b}^ the twenty-first (21 + 1 = 22), and we see
why, if this first card represents Microcosm, the last would
represent Macrocosm, and the eleventh card, which serves
as the universal link to all the complements of the Tarot,
represents the Vital reflex Ctcrrent, which serves as a link
between the worlds.

But we must not anticipate, so we will return to our
first arcanum.

This symbol is the first of the whole Tarot,^ and it bears
the Unity as its characteristic number.

The Unity-principle, the origin of which is impenetrable
to human conceptions, is placed at the beginning of all
things. We cannot seize the origin of this primal cause,
which we are content to assert accordincf to the absolute
law of analogies so well expressed by Eliphas Levi —

'■ Je crois a Vinconnu que Dieii personnijley
Prouve par I'etre meme et par rimmensite,
Ideal SURHUMAIN de la philosophie,
Parfaite IntelHgence et Supreme l?ont(^." ^

If we cannot follow this Unknown in its principle, it is

^ It is curious to notice, when examining the position of tlie hands
of the personages in tlie Tarot of Marseilles, how often this position
represents the alphabetical letter to which the figure corresponds,
according to Barrois (system of dactylology or primitive language).
The arcana 1, 2 and 5 are especially noticeable in this respect.
2 " I believe in the unhiown, which God personifies^
Proved by existence itself and by immensity,
Superhuman Ideal of all philosophy,
Perfect Intelligence and Supreme Benignity."

THE SYiMBOLICAL TAROT. 109

at least easy to us to follow it in its consequences, and
therefore our study will be only the development of the
Unity-principle in creation, related according to the
Cosmogony of ancient initiation.

God, Man, and the Universe are, then, the three mean-
ings of our first card, and we will now sav a few words
upon the application of these data to all the other cards
of the pack.

EXTENSION OF THE THREE GREAT PRINCIPLES THROUGH

THE TAROT.

The three meanings of the first card respectively
represent —

The Creator or Yod.
The Receiver or He.
The Traiisformeu or Vuu.

Lastly, the transition to the second ITe, which is not
under consideration at present.

But the first card of the Tarot, taken as a ivhole, repre-
sents the Creator or Yod, the second card taken as a whole
will therefore represent the Receiver or He, and the third
the Transformer or Van. Each of them will also show the
four aspects of Yod-lie-vau-lie in the idea which it expresses.

But what is true of the ternary, is also true of the
Septenary, so that the first Septenary, taken as a whole,
will represent the Creator.

The second septenary will represent the Receiver.

The third the Transformer.

Lastly, the ternary of transition will represent the
return of effects to causes, and of consequences to the
principle.

Let us condense this all by saying —

no THE TAROT.

1st septenary represents God.

2n(l septenary — ■ Man.

3rd septenary — the Universe.

Moreover, each of these elements is contained in the two
others in all points of their manifestations.

GENERAL RECAPITULATION.

We have now to recapitulate all the acceptations of tlie
first card in a general figure. As each card in the Tarot
will have the same recapitulation, we think it may be
useful to explain the scheme followed in this arrangement.

At the head of the figure will be found the Hebrew
number and letter of the card. Below it, the name usually
oiven to the card in the Tarot.

To the right of the figure are the significations in the
Three Worlds : Divine, Human, and Natural.

Below these three significations is found the ahsohtte
key to each card, according to the figure of the revolutions
of the word Yod-he-vau-he. The Hebrew letters placed
upon the upper line of this key indicate the origin of the
card under consideration, the Hebrew letters placed above
it indicate the exact meaning of the card.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAEOT.

Ill

1. «
Tlte Juyrihr.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Key to I
tiie I
Card

Primitive Hieroglyphic Man

Kabbalah
Astronomy

K ether
ISo affinity

yocl
yod

The divine creator or

GOD

the Father

OSIEIS

yod of yod
yod-yod

The divine preserver
MA]Sr
ADAM

he of yod
yod-yod

OBSERA^ATIONS

The divine transformer

THE ACTIVE UNIVEESE

NATURA NATURANSi

vau of yod
yod-yod

'2nd he of yod
yod-yod

1 According to Spinoza the only free cause and substance of all
modes or phenomena, conscious and unconscious, past, present, and
to come. [A. P. M.]

112

THE TAROT

2-1

THE HIGH PIUESTESS.

LA-PAPCSSe (i,

THE HIGH PRIESTESS.

2nd Hebrew letter (Beth).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SECOND CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Beth hieroglyphically expresses the mouth of man
as the organ of speech. Speech is the production of man's
inner self. Therefore Beth expresses that inner self,
central as a dwelling, to which one can retire without fear
of disturbance. From this ideas arise of a Sanctuary, an
inviolate abode for man and for God. But the Beth also
expresses every production that emanates from this
mysterious retreat, every internal activity, and from it
issue ideas of Instruction, of the higher Knowledge, of
Law; of Erudition, of occult- Science or Kabbalah.

Beth corresponds with the number 2, and astronomically
with the moon. This number has given birth to all the

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 113

■passive significations emanated from the Binary, hence
the ideas of reflection, of Woman : applied to the Moon
relatively to the Sun, and to Woman relatively to Man.

THE SECOND CARD OF THE TAROT.

The High Priestess.

God himself, or God the Father, reflects himself, and
gives birth to God the Man, or God the Son, the negative
relatively to his creator. As we have seen, man is the
divine receiver, therefore this second card of the Tarot
will express all the ideas of the first conceived negatively.

The first card represents a man standing; this, on the
contrary, bears the figure of a seated luoman.

(First idea of passivity) by the woman and by her position.

The man, endowed with all the attributes of Power,
was placed in the midst of nature.

The woman is adorned with all the attributes of
Authority and persuasion, and she is placed under the
porch of the temple of Isis, between two columns.

Idea of a sacred dwelling, of a divine recipient.
The two columns, like the arms of the Juggler, express
the Positive and the iS^egative.

The woman is crowned with a tiara, surmounted by the
lunar crescent, she is enveloped in a transparent veil
falling over her face. On her breast she bears the solar
cross, and upon her knees lies an open book, which she
half covers with her mantle.

This is the picture of Isis, of Nature, whose veil must
not be raised before the profane. The book indicates that
the doctrines of Isis are hidden ; but she divulges to the
magi the secrets of the true Kabbalah, and of occult
science. We must admire this profound symbol.

114

THE TAROT.

The first card expressed Osiris in the three worlds ; this
second gives us the signification of Isis, the companion of
Osiris —

In God it is the reflex of Osiris, the reflex of God the
Father, Isis, or God the Son.

In Man it is the reflex of Adam of the absolute man :
Eve, the woman, life (mn).

In the Universe it is the reflex of natura naturans : it is
natura naturata,^

2. n
Tlie High Priestess.

AFFINITIES

TT. 1 , . The Mouth
Hieroglyphic- ^^ ^^^^

Kabbalah Chocmah

Astronomy TlieMoon )

Day of the Week Monday

Hebrew letter Beth

(Double)

SIGNIFICATIONS

Reflex of God the Father or
Osiris

GOD

the 8on

ISIS
yod of lie
he he

Keflex of Adam

EVE

the woman

lie of lie
he he

OBSERVATIONS

Reflex of Natura naturans
NATURA NATURATA
vau of he
he he

2nd he of he
^ That which follows from the divine nature.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAKOT
1

115

THE EMPRESS.

THE EMTKEiib.

3. :j
3rd Hebrew letter (Gimel).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE THIRD CARD OF THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic meaning of the letter Gimel is the
throat, the hand of man half closed in the act of prehen-
sion. Hence it signifies all that incloses, all that is
hollow, a canal, an inclosure. The throat is the spot
where the words conceived in the brain are formed, or I
might almost say embodied, therefore the Gimel is the
symbol of the material envelopment of spiritual forms, of
organic generation under all its forms, of all the ideas
springing from the corporeal organs or their actions.

Generation is the mystery by which the spirit unites
itself to matter, by which the Divine becomes Human.

The signification of Venus-Urania, to which this card
corresponds, is easily understood by the above explanations.

116 THE TAROT.

THE THIRD CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Empress,

This symbol would therefore signify ideas of generation,
of embodiment in all the worlds.

A woman seen full face.

The human being becomes corporeal in the womb of a
woman.

This woman is represented with wings, or in the centre
of a radiating sun.

The idea of the spirituality of the vivifying Principle of
all beings.

She holds an eas^le in her rig^ht hand.

The eagle is the symbol of the soul and of life (Holy
Spirit).

In the left hand she bears a sceptre forming the
astroloo'ical sio'n of Venus.

The sceptre is held in the left hand to indicate the
2Kissive influence, whicli Nature, Venus-Urania, or the
woman exercises in the oreneration of beiusjs.

She wears a crown with twelve points, or twelve stars.

The sign of the diifuaion of the vivifying Principle
through all the worlds and of the sun, through the Zodiac.

The third card of the Tarot shows the result of the
reciprocal action of the two first terms neutralizing each
other in one principle. It is the Neuter Element of Wronski,
the basis of every system of reality.

The absolute creative force, or Osiris, and the absolute
preservative force, or Isis, neutralize themselves in the

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 117

equilibrist force, which contains in itself the two very
different properties of the two first forms.

In God this would be the equilibriam of the Father and
of the Son, or — •

God the Holy Ghost

HORUS

The universal vivifying force.

In Man this would be the equilibrium of the Adam-Eve —
Adam-Eve
or Humanity.

In tlie Universe this would be the ec[uilibrium of Natura
Jiatura7is and of Natura naturata —

The World

Conceived like a being.

118

THE TAROT.

3. 2
The Empress.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS ^^'^^

vau

Primitive ) ^he hand in

-u-- 1 1 • • the act of
Hierosflyphic i ,

° "^ ^ ) prehension

Kabbalah Binah
Astronomy Yenus 9
Day Friday
Hebrew letter Gimel (double)

God the Holy Ghost Horns

THE u:n^iversal
yiyifyi:n^g foece

yod of vau
vau-vau

Adam Eve
HUMANITY

he of vau
vau-vau

OBSERVATIONS

THE WORLD

vau of vau
vau-vau

2nd he of vau
vau-vau

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

119

The creative principle and the receptive principle,
having, by their mutual action, given birth to the trans-
forming principle, a complete entity is created.

The terra which now follows will correspond with the
second he of the sacred word, and will consequently indicate
the passage from one series to the other.

5 Il'Ejipekeu^ ^

THE EMPEROR.

4. -[
4th Hebrew letter (Daleth).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FOURTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic meaning of Daleth is the womb. It
suggests the idea of an object giving plentiful nourish-
ment, the source of future growth. The child is the living

120 THE TAROT.

link, which in its neutrality reunites the opposition of the
sexes ; the Daleth therefore denotes abundance springing
from division.

Like the 1, it is a sign of active creation; but this
creation is the result of previous actions easily determinable,
whilst the origin of the Unity is inaccessible to human
conceptions. The Daleth expresses a creation made by a
created beingr accordiao^ to divine laws.^

The Daleth should be the image of the active vivifying
principle of the Universe, Jupiter, the reflex of the Primal
cause.

THE FOURTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Emperor.

This symbol should express in the active form all that
the preceding card expressed in the passive,
A man seated in profile.

The man indicates the active ; his position, however,
shows that this activity is engendered by a superior term.
The 1st arcaniun, the Juggler, the active absolute, was repre-
sented standing, looking to the front; the 4th arcanum,
active relative, is seated in profile.

This man holds in his right hand the sceptre, the
symbol of generation or of Venus $ .

The sceptre is held in the rlyht hand, to indicate the
active influence, which tlie vivifying principle exercises in
nature, by opposition to the formative principle (arc. 3).

The man is bearded and wears a helmet with twelve
points (six on each side). He is seated upon a cubic stone,
which bears the figure of an eag^le.

^ See the second He, and the study upon the number 4.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAEOT. 121

The helmet indicates the rule of the Divine Will in tlie
Universe, and its universal action in the creation of Life
(eagle).

The position upon the cubic stone indicates realization in
all the worlds.

(Lst) Realization of the Divine Word by the creation.
(2rid) Realization of the ideas of the Being shared by the
quadruple work of the spirit —

Affirmation, — I^egation,
Discussion,
Solution.
(3rd) Realization of the actions conceived by the Will.

The man's legs are crossed, his body forms a triangle '^.
Domination of the Spirit over Matter.

Considered more attentively, the figure reproduces the
symbol of Jupiter 2 + , represented by the fourth card of
the Tarot.

The fourth card of the Tarot corresponds to the second
He, and therefore bears two very distinct aspects.

It first expresses a term of transition uniting the first
series (active and passive forces, the link between the two
forces) to the following series ; the passage from one world
to the other.

But it also represents this term of transition, itself
becoming the first term in the following series. As the
following series taken as a whole is negative relatively to
the first, the fourth symbol represents the active influence
of the first series 1, 2, 3, in the second series 4, 5, 6.

The 4 therefore expresses the reflections of the first
card in all its details. It acts towards the first series
exactly as the second card acted towards the first.

This interprets its meaning —

122 THE TAROT.

In the Divine. Reflex of God the Father —
The Will.

In the Human. Keflex of Adam —
The Power.

In the Natural. Reflex of Xatura naturans-
The Universal Creative Fluid.
The soul of the Universe.

4. -T

The Em'peroT.

affinities

significations

Primitive r

TT- 1 1-1 The Womb
Hieroglyphic [

Kabbalah Chesed

Reflex of God the Father
THE WILL

Astronomy Jupiter
Day Thursday
Hebrew letter Daleth (double)

Reflex of Adam
THE POWER

observations

Reflex of Nalura naturans

The universal creative fluid

THE SOUL OF THE
UNIVERSE

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

123

J'HE POPE.

THE POPE.

o. n
5th Hebrew letter (He).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FIFTH Cx\.RD OF THE TAROT.

The hierogl3'phic meaning of He is aspiration, breath.
It is by aspiration that life is incessantly maintained and
created. Hence springs the idea of all that animates
attributed to He.

But life specializes the being, by rendering it different
from any other; hence the idea of the being itself
attributed to this letter.

However, the action of life does not stop here. It is
also the mediating principle, which attaches the material
body to the divine spirit, in the same way that man unites
God and Nature ; life is to the man (aUph) what man
is to the universe, pre-eminently the mediate principle.

124 THE TAROT.

Here we find the origin of the ideas of hond, of the reunion
of opposing principles, of religion, attributed to He.

This letter is simple ; astronomically it corresponds with
the igneous sign of the Ram, which it explains.

THE FIFTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Pope.

This symbol expresses the following ideas —

(1st) Idea of Life, of animation,
(2nd) Idea of Being,
(3i\l) Idea of Eeunion.

The Initiate of the mysteries of Isis is seated between
the two columns of the sanctuary. He leans upon a triple
cross, and makes the sign of Esoterism with his left hand.

The triple Cross represents the triple Lingam of Indian
theogony ; that is to say, the penetration of the creative
power tkrougliout the Divine, the Intellectual, and the
Physical Worlds, which causes all the manifestations of
universal life to appear (first idea),

Tlie two columns symbolize : on the right, the Law ; on
the left, the Liberty to obey and to disobey, the essence of
Being (second idea).

The Initiate wears a tiara. Two crowned men kneel at
his feet, one clothed in red, the other in black.

Here we find the active form of the symbolism expressed
in passive form by the second card. The same idea of
Esoterism, of secret Instruction, reappears ; but the Tuition
is now practical and oral , it no longer requires a book
(third idea).

As we see, this card is the complement of the second ;

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 125

the same rule applies to all the cards, when the total of
their number makes 7. Thus —

The Empress

is completeil by
4+3=7
7 = 28 = 10 = 1

The Emperor

The High Priestess

is completed by

2 + 5 = 7

The Pope

The Juggler

is completed by
1 + 6 = 7.

The Lovers

The fifth card of the Tarot corresponds with the letter
he of the sacred word. It is the direct reflection of the
4th arcanum, and the indirect reflection of the 2nd
arcanum. It therefore signifies —

In tlie Divine. Reflex of the Will —

Intelligence
(characteristic of God the Son).

In the Human. Reflex of the Power —
Authority
(characteristic of the Woman).
Religion. Faith.

In Nature. Reflex of the Soul of the World, or of the
Universal creative fluid —

The Universal Life
(characteristic of Natuva naturata).

126

THE

TAROT

The

Pope.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive f

XT- 1 1,- 1 Breath
Hieroglyphic [

Kabbalah Pechad

Keflex of the Will
INTELLIGENCE

Astronomy The Kam
^lonth March
Hebrew letter He (simple)

Reflex of Power

AUTHORITY

RELIGION— FAITH

OBSRRVATIONS

Reflex of the soul of the

world
THE UNIVERSAL LIFE

Universal life is the negative part of the vivifying
universal fluid. Their reciprocal action will give rise
to the universal attraction or universal Love represented
by the 6th arcanum.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

127

THE LOVERS.

THE LOVEKS.

G. 1
The 6th Hebrew letter (Vau).

OEIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SIXTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic sign for the Vau is the eye, all that
relates to light and brilliancy. The eye establishes the
link between the external world and ourselves ; by it light
and form are revealed to us. The dominant idea expressed
by this letter will therefore be that of a connection, of a
link hetiueen antagonists. We have already dwelt at some
length upon the Vau, but we think it may be useful to
quote Fabre d'Olivet's observations upon this letter in
extenso —

" This sign is the image of the deepest and most in-
conceivable mystery, the image of the knot which re-
unites, or of the point which separates, the nothing from

128 THE TAROT.

the being. It is the universal convertible sign, which
forms the passage from one nature to the other ; com-
municating on one side with the sio^n of lisfht and of
spiritual sense i (a pointed Vau), which is but a higher
form of itself; on the other hand linking itself in its de-
generation with Ayin (v), the sign of darkness and of the
material senses, which again is but a lower form of itself."
The Vau is the second simple letter; astronomically it
represents the second sign of the zodiac, the Bull.

THE SIXTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Lovers.

This symbol represents reunion, antagonism, with all
their consequences.

A beardless youth (our Juggler of the 1st arcanum),
but without a hat, is standing motionless in the angle
where two roads meet. His arms form a diaGfonal cross
upon his breast.

The repetition of the 1st arcanum under another form.
Here the man is not one of the Initiates. He does not
know how to direct the magnetic currents of the Astral
Light ; he is therefore plunged in the antagonism of the
different ideas which he cannot master.

Two women, one on his right, the other on his left,
each with one hand upon his shoulder, point to the two
roads. The woman on the right has a circle of gold upon
her head, the one on the left is dishevelled and crowned
with vine leaves.

The two arms of the Juggler, expressing the positive and
negative, the two columns of the temple of Isis, expressing
necessity and liberty, are here personified by the two
women, who represent Vice and Virtue.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 129

The future of the young man depends upon the road
which he chooses, whether he becomes one of the Liitiates,
the Mage of the 1st arcanum (the spiritual '^), or the rash
thunder-stricken personage of the 16th arcanum (the 37).

The spirit of Justice floats above this group in a radiant
halo ; he bends his bow and aims the arrow of Punishment
at the personification of Vice.

A profound symbol indicating that if man chooses the
path of Virtue he will not be left unaided, but that
Providence will ally itself to his will and assist him to
overcome vice.

In short, this hieroglyphic expresses the struggle
between the passions and conscience, the antagonism of
ideas.

But this antagonism is also the most powerful natural
producer that exists in the world, when it resolves itself
into Love, which attracts the opponents and unites them
for ever.

This sixth card of the Tarot must be regarded under
two aspects, which tend to the same signification.

1. As 3 of the 4, that is to say, as representing the
4th arcanum, or the reflection of 1 considered in its
relation to union.

2. As balancinof 4 and 5 ; this is shown in the trianofle
formed by the second ternary —

Each card balances the two others.

130 THE TAROT.

The 4 balances the 5 and the 6.
The 5 — the 4 and the 6.
The 6 — the 4 and the 5.

Its signification proceeds from this : —

In the Divine. The Equilibrium between Will and In-
telligence—

Beauty

(characteristic of the Holy Spirit).

In tlie Human. The Equilibrium between Power and
Authority —

Love
(characteristic of Humanity).

Charity.

In Nature. The Equilibrium between the Universal soul
and the Universal life —

Tpie Universal Attraction.

Universal Love.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

131

6. 1

Tlie Lovers.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive 1 ^, ^,

, ,. ^ The eye, The ear
Hieroglyphic J

Equilibrium of Will and
Intelligence

Kabbalah Tiphereth

BEAUTY

Astronomy The Bull

Month April

Equilibrium of Power and

Hebrew letter Yau (simple)

Authority

LOVE

CHARITY

OBSERVATIONS

Equilibrium of the

Universal Soul and the

Universal Life

THE UNIVERSAL

ATTRACTION

UNIVERSAL LOVE

132

THE TAROT.
1st Septenary.

CONSTITUTION OF GOD.

0^
02

CHAPTER XL

SECOND SEPTENAEY. ARCANA 7 TO 13.
ANDROGONY.

Key to the 2nd Septenary — The Zain and the Chariot — The Heth
and Justice — The Teth and the Hermit — The Yod and the Wheel
of Fortune — The Kaph and Strength — The Lamed and the
Hnnged Man.

Summary of the 2nd Septenary — Constitution of Man.

Key to the Second Septenary.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIGURES FOR STUDY.

Chariot Wheel of Fortune
7 10

The Hermit 9

8
Justice

Death

13 M2 The Hanged
Man

Strength

134

THE TAROT.

CHARACTER OF THE FIGURES.

Influence of the 1st
septenary in the 2nd

Equilibrium
of 9

7 and 8

Reflex of 7
10

Equilibrium

of 9 and 12

Passage from

one world to

the other

Reflex of 7

Reflex of 8

Reflection of 9
Equilibrium
of
10 and 11

The 1st septenary has shown us the World of principles,
or of the Creation under all its aspects ; we shall now study
the World of Imus, or of Preservation.

7. T
7th Hebrew letter (Zain).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SEVENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Hieroglyph ically the Zain expresses an arrow, and
therefore it suggests the idea of a v:capon, of the instru-
ment which man uses to rule and conquer^ and to attain his
object.

The Zain expresses victory in all the worlds. As a
simple letter it corresponds with the astronomic sign of
the Twins in the Zodiac.

SECOND SEPTENARY.

]35

y LE CHARIOT

uTTH AR 10. T „ja

THE CHARIOT.

SEVENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Chariot.

The symbolism of this card corresponds in all points
with the ideas which it expresses.

A Conqueror, crowned with a coronet, upon which rise
three shining Pentagrams of gold, advances in a cubical
chariot, surmounted by an azure, star-decked canopy
supported by four columns.

This symbol reproduces the 1st and 21st arcana in
another order of ideas. The four columns represent the
four animals of the 21st arcanum, and the four symbols
of the 1st arcanum, symbols of the quaternary in all its
acceptations.

The Conqueror, who occupies the centre of the four
elements, is the man who has vanquished and directed the
elementary forces : this victory is confirmed by the cubical

136 THE TAKOT.

form of the chariot, and by the Pentagrams, which crown
the Initiate.

The Conqueror has three right angles upon his cuirass,
and he bears upon his shoulders the Urim and Thummim
of the sovereign sacrificant, represented by the two crescents
of the moon on the right and left ; in his hand is a sceptre
surmounted by a globe, a square, and a triangle. Upon
the square, which forms the front of the chariot, we see
the Indian lingam, surmounted by the flying sphere of
Egypt.

Two sphinxes, one white, the other black, are harnessed
to the chariot.

This symbol represents the sacred septenary in all its
manifestations. The word Yod-he-vau-he is portrayed
upon the front of the chariot by the winged globe, to
indicate that the septenary gives the key to the whole
Tarot. The two sphinxes correspond to the two prin-
ciples, active and passive. The Conqueror corresponds
especially with the Sword and the Van of the sacred
name.

The 7th card of the Tarot sh(5ws the influence of the
creation in the preservation of the Divine in the Human.
It represents the Yod or the God of the 2nd septenarj^

The God of the 2nd septenary.

Man performing the function or God the Creator.

The Father.
Tlie law of the 2nd septenary.
Kealization.
(Keflex of the PoAver.)
The Man of the 2iul septenary.
Nature performing the function of Adam.

The Astral Light.

SECOND SEPTENARY.

7. T
The Chariot,

137

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive 1
Hieroglyphic / ^™^^

Man performing the function of
God the creator

Kabbalah Hod

THE FATHER

Astronomy The Twins

The Eealizer

Month May

Hebrew letter Zain (simple)

Law

THE REALIZATION

OBSERVATIONS

Nature performing the function

of Adam

THE ASTRAL LIGHT

The passage from one world to the other is scarcely
performed, when we see the same law in action that we
found in the 1st septenary. The second term of this
series will be the reflection of the first, just as the second
term of the first series also reflected the first. However,
since this 2nd septenary is the central one, we shall find
as the foundation of all its constituent arcana, the idea of
mediation or equilibrium. This is shown by the eighth
card.

133

THE TAROT.

LA JUSTIC

JUSTICE.

8. n
8th Hebrew letter (Heth).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EIGHTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Hieroglypliically the Heth expresses a field. Frora it
springs the idea of anything that requires labour, trouble,
an effort.

Continued effort results in the establishment of an
equilibrium, between the destruction of the works of man
accomplished by nature, when left to herself, and the
preservation of this work. Hence the idea of balancing
power, and consequently of Justice attributed to this
letter.^

^ Tliis letter, an intermediary between H (He) and 3 (Kaph), tlie
one designating life, absolute existence, the other the relative life,
assimilated existence, is the sign of elementary existence : it is the
image of a kind of equilibrium, and attaches itself to ideas of effort,
of 1 ibour, and of normal and legislative action. — Fabre d'Olivet.

SECOND SEPTENAKY. 139

Astronomically the Heth corresponds to the sign of
Cancer in the zodiac.

THE EIGHTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

J%istice.

The ideas expressed by this symbol are of Equilibrmm
in all its forms.

A woman seen full face, and wearing an iron coronet, is
seated upon a throne. She is placed between the two
columns of the temple. The solar cross is traced upon
her breast.

Here vve find the continuation of the symbolism of the
2nd and 5th arcana. The seated woman occupies the
centre between the columns, the first idea of the equilibrium
between Good and Evil.

She holds a sword, point upwards, in her right hand,
and a balance in her left.

Occult science (2), at first theoretical, has become practical

(5), and has been taught verbally. Now it appears in all

the pitilessness of consequences, terrible for the false Magi

the Sword), but just toward the true Initiates (Balance).

The siGfuiiication of this arcanum is central between the

5th (H He) and the 1 1 th (p Kaph) arcana.

This card is the complement of the eleventh, as the
fifth was of the second. In the 1st septenary all the
cards which, by addition, formed the number 7, completed
each other ; in the 2nd septenary all the cards which,
added together, form 19, act in the same way.

140

THE TAEOT.

The Chariot

8
Justice

The Hermit

is completed by The Hanged Man
7 + 12 = 19

19 = 10= 1

is completed by Strength

8 + 11 = 19

is completed by The Wheel of Fortune

9 + 10=19

The eighth card of the Tarot represents the conception
in preservative of the second card. It synthetizes in itself
the meaning of the second and of the fifth card of the
Tarot, and represents the reflex of the seventh. It
signifies —

1. In the Divine. God the Son of the 2nd septenary.
The woman fulfilling the functions of God the Son.

The Mother.

Eeflex of the Father. Preserver of God the Son in
Humanity.

2. Passive law of the 2nd septenary.

Justice.

Reflex of Realization and Authority.

3. The woman of the 2nd septenary. Nature fulfilling
the function of Eve.

Elementary Existence.

Reflex of the Astral Light. Preservation of Katura
naturata in the World.

SECOND SEPTENARY.

141

8. n
Justice.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive 1 . tt.- --,
[A Field
Hieroglyphic J

Kabbalah Nizah

Astronomy Cancer

The woman fulfilling the
functions of God the Son

THE MOTHER

Month June
Hebrew letter Heth (simple)

Law
JUSTICE

OBSERVATIONS

Nature performing the
function of Eve

ELEMENTARY
EXISTENCE

The elementary existence is the means by which the
astral vivifying fluid or astral light (7) manifests itself
through the ether or astral matter (9). This is
demonstrated by the following arcanum.

142

THE TAROT.

THE HERMIT.

THE HERMIT,

9. t:5
9th Hebrew letter (Teth).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE NINTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Hieroglyphically the Teth represents a roof, and suggests
the idea of a place of safety, a protection. All the ideas
arising from this letter are derived from the alliance
of safety and protection given by wisdom.

Astronomically the Teth corresponds with the zodiacal
sign of the Lion.

NINTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Hermit.
The following ideas are connected with this card —

1. Protection.

2. Wisdom, Circumspection.

SECOND SEPTENARY. 143

An old man walking supported by a stick. He carries
before him a lighted lamp, half hidden by the great
mantle which envelopes him.

This symbol is midway between the sixth and the
twelfth.

Protection is indicated by the mantle which envelops
the old man.

Wisdom by the half -hidden lamp.

The stick indicates that the Sage is always armed to
fight against Injustice or Error.

By comparing this card with two others, the sixth and
the twelfth, we shall see that the beardless young man in
the former (6th) has chosen the right path. Experience won
in the labour of life has rendered him a prudent old man,
and prudence united to wisdom will safely lead him to the
higher level, which he is anxious to attain (12th card).
The arrow shot by the genius in the sixth arcanum has
become his support, and the effulgent aureole which sur-
rounded the genius is now imprisoned in the lamp which
guides the Initiate. This is the result of his prolonged
efforts.

The ninth card of the Tarot represents the third con-
ceived as preserver and recipient. It also balances the
seventh and the eighth.

1. Humanity fulfilling the function of God the Holy
Spirit.

The human creative force.

Human Love.

The preserving power of Humanity. The equilibrium
of the Father and the Mother.

. 2. Equilibrium of Realization and Justice.

144 THE TAROT.

Prudence.

(Silence.)

3. Nature accomplishing the function of humanity.
Equilibrium of the Astral Light and Elementary Existence.

The Natural Preserving Force.
The Astral Fluid.

9. ^
The Hermit.

AFFINITIES

significations

Primitive 1 * -o r
1- A Eoof
Jtlierogiyphic J

Kabbalah Iesod

Astronomy The Lion

Humanity accomplishing the

functions of God the Holy

Spirit

HUMAJS^ LOVE

Mouth July
Hebrew letter Teth (simple)

PRUDENCE

Silence

observations

The natural Preserving Force
THE ASTRAL FLUID

SECOND SEPTENARY.

145

The astral fluid therefore represents the universal
preservation of the active forces in nature. Here ends
the first ternary of the septenary of Preservation. We
shall now see the reflections of all these terms in the
following ternary.

f^^^/^

&4ifW^^\_ (^ <<\, Y»LfJ

-^^^&gv^

P|^)«^

W//7 >^

r^ y

Wim^^n

^^1

UROVEDEr^RTVNE

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

THE WHEEL OF FOETUNE.

10. >
loth Hebrew letter (Yod).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OP THE TENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic meaning of the Yod is the finger of
man ; the forefinger extended as a sign of command. This
letter has therefore become the image of potential mani-
festation, of spiritual duration ; lastly of the eternity of
time, with all the ideas relating to it.^

1 See the study of the word Yod-he-vau-Jte.

146 THE TAROT.

The Yod is a simple letter ; astronomically it corresponds
with the zodiacal sign of the Virgin.

TENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Wheel of Fortune.

Two principal ideas are expressed by this symbol —

1. The idea of Command, of Supremacy.

2. The idea of the duration, of the eternal action of time.

The wheel of fortune suspended upon its axis. To the
right AnuhiSy the genius of good ascending ; to the left
Typhon, the genius of evil descending, the Sijhinx is
balanced upon the centre of the wheel, holding a sword
in its lion claws.

The first idea is expressed by the ternary, Anubis or
positive, Typhon or negative, the balanced Sphinx the
ruler.

The second idea is expressed by the wheel, a line without
beginning or end, the symbol of eternity.

The 10th arcanum is midway between the 7th and 13th
arcana.

20
7 + 13 = 20 -7^ = 10.

It expresses the incessant equilibrium, which modifies
the creative reali2?ations of the septenary by the necessary
destruction by Death (arcanum 13). The three arcana, 7,
10, 13, correspond exactly with the Hindti trinity or
Trimurti.

Brahma = Creator = Arcanum 7.

Siva = Destroyer = Arcanum 13.

Vishnu = Preserver = Arcanum 10.

SECOND SEPTENARY.

14"

It represents the course of things according to the
ternary law, which directs all the divine manifestations.

The tenth card of the Tarot commences the negative
portion of the 2nd septenary, and expresses the notion
of the septenary considered in its reflections.

It will therefore represent —

1. Reflex of will (see 4th arcanum).

Necessity.
The Karma of the Hindus.

2. Reflex of power and of realization.

Magic Power.
Fortune.

(To will.)

3. Reflex of the universal soul.

Force Potential in its Manifestation.

10. >

The Wheel of Fortune.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive \

TT- 1 u- y The Forennsjer
Hieroglyphic J ^

Kabbalah jMalchut

NECESSITY
The Karma of the Hindus

Astronomy The Virgin
Month August
Hebrew letter Yod (simple)

MAGIC POWER

Fortune
To Will

OBSERVATIONS

Reflection of the universal soul

FORCE POTENTIAL
IN ITS MANIFESTATION

148

THE TAKOT.

The absolute creative force has varied successively in
the universal vivifying Fluid (4), and the astral Light (7) ;
now it is represented by force potential in its manifesta-
tion. We shall see this force fully displayed in the
following arcanum.

jj LA FORCE 3

STRENGTH.

11. 3

11th Hebrew letter (Kaph).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE ELEVENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic meaning of the Kaph is the hand of
man, half closed and in the act of prehension, like the
Gimel. But the Kaph is reinforcement of the Gimel, so
that we might say that it designates the hand of man in
the act of grasinng strongly. Ideas of strength are therefore
applied to this letter.

SECOND SEPTENARY. 149

The number 11, the first after the decade, gives a
different value to the Kaph, which designates a reflected
transitory life, a kind of mould, which receives and restores
every variety of form.

It is derived from the letter Heth, H (8), which is itself
derived from the sign of absolute life, He n (5). Thus,
allied on one side to the sign of elementary life (see the
8th arcanum), it joins to the signification of the letter
Heth (n) that of the organic sign :i (Gimel) (3rd arcanum),
of which too it is merely a reinforcement.

The Kaph is a double letter, corresponding astronomically
with March and Tuesday.

THE ELEVENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Strength.

Only two ideas are expressed by this arcanum —

1. The idea of streno^th.

2. The idea of vitality.

A young girl calmly closing a lion's mouth without any

visible effort.

(First idea.)

This young girl wears the vital sign oo upon her head.

(Second idea.)

The 11th arcanum is midway between the 5th and 14th
arcana. In it we find the symbolism of the 8th arcanum
transformed to the physical plane. It is, in fact, the image
of the power given by the sacred science (2nd arcanum)
when justly applied (8).

The eleventh card of the Tarot shows us all the negative
or reflective significations of the fifth, that is to say —

150

THE TAROT.

1. Reflex of the Intelligence (5).

Liberty.

2. Reflex of Authority, of Faith.

Courage.

(To dare.)

3. Reflex of the Universal Life. Manifestation of the
strength of the preceding arcanum.

Reflected and Transitory Life.

11. D

Strength.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive ( The Hand in tlie
Hieroglyphic ( act of grasping

Reflex of the Intelligence

Astronomy Mars o

LIBERTY

Day Tuesday

Hebrew letter Kaph (double)

Reflex of Authority, of Faith

COURAGE

{To dare)

OBSERVATIONS

Reflex of Universal Life
Reflex and Transitory Life

SECOND SEPTENARY.

151

The strength, already potential in its manifestations, has
shown its full force in the 11th arcanum ; it will balance
itself in the followino" arcanum.

j2 IE p.e:^du~| ^

LE PCNDU

THE HANGED MAN.

12. b
12th Hebrew letter (Lamed).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TWELFTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Hieroglyphically the Lamed designates the arm, and
therefore it is connected with anything that stretches, that
raises, that unfolds like the arm, and has become the sign
of expansive movement. It is applied to all ideas of exten-
sion, of occupation, of possession. As a last sign, it is the
image of the power derived from elevation.

Divine expansion in humanity is produced by the

152 THE TAEOT.

prophets and revelation, and this inspires the idea of the
revealed law. But the revelation of the law involves
punishment for him who violates it, or elevation for
him who understands it ; and here we find the ideas of
punishment, of violent death, voluntary or involuntary.

The Lamed, a simple letter, astronomically corresponds
with the zodiacal sign of the Balance.

TWELFTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Hanged Man.

A man hanging by one foot to a gibbet, resting upon
two trees, each bearing six branches, which have been
cut off.

The man's hands are tied behind his back, and the fold
of his arms forms the base of a reversed triangle, of which
his head forms the point. His eyes are open and his fair
hair floats upon the wind. His right leg crosses his left
and so forms a cross.

This young man is again the Juggler whose transform-
ations we have aheady followed in the 1st, 6th, and 7th
arcana.

Like the sun placed in the midst of the signs of the
Zodiac (six on each side, the lopped branches), our young
hero is again suspended between two decisions, from which
will spring, no longer his physical future, as in the 6th
arcanum, but his spiritual future.

The 12th arcanum fills the centre between the 6th
arcanum (Wisdom) and the 15th (Fatality). These arcana
represent the two women of the 6th arcanum, regarded in
the spiritual sense.

This Hanged Man serves for an exam'ple to the pre-

SECOND SEPTENARY. 153

sumptuous, and his position indicates discipline, the
absolute submission which the human owes to the
Divine.

Considered alchemically, the Hanged Man shows the
sign of personality.

In the hermetic grade of the Rosy-Cross (18th degree
of the Freemasonry of Scotland) one of the signs of recog-
nition consists in crossing the legs like those of the Hanged
Man. It is needless to say that the origin and meaning
of this sign is quite unknown to the Freemasons.

The twelfth card of the Tarot represents Equilibrist
Power. It neutralizes the oppositions of the tenth and
eleventh cards.

1. Equihbrium of Necessity and Liberty —

Charity. — Grace.

(Preserving power of Love.)

2. Equilibrium of Power and Courage. Reflex of
Prudence —

Acquired Experience.

(Knowledge.)

3. Equilibrium of the potential Manifestation (10), and
of reflected Life (11). Reflex of the astral Fluid.

Equilibrist Force.

154

THE TAROT.

12. h
The Hanged Man.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive | The Ann out-
Hieroglyphic J stretched

Astronomy The Balance

CHARITY

Grace

Month September
Hebrew letter Lamed (Simple)

ACQUIRED EXPERIENCE

(Knowledge)

OBSERVATIONS.

EQUILIBRIST FORCE

Modifying force is the last term of the 2iid septenary.
By it the Astral will realize itself to pass into the physical,
I'rom the world of preservation and reception (2nd sep-
tenary) into the world of transformation (3rd septenary).

SECOND SEPTENARY.

155

Constitution of Man.

1-5

s^i oj

I^ s •

p
o

=§s

a;H

^
w

'J Si

1; S

fii ®

5?.S

f^^

S 3^

k— I

fe s

o ■£

1— i

5=5 :=r

ffi

CHAPTER XII.

THIRD SEPTENARY. ARCANA 13 — 19.

Key of the 3rd Septenary — The Mem and Death — The Nun and
Temperance — The Samech and the Devil — The Ayin and the
Lightning-struck Tower — Tlie Tzaddi and the Moon.

Summary of the 3rd Septenary — Constitution of the Universe.

Key to the Third Septenary.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIGURES FOR STUDY.

Devil 15 /

Death Liojhtnincj-struck Tower

13 16

Tlie Sun

18 The Moon

Temperance

17
Star

THIRD SEPTENARY.

15^

CHARACTER OF THE FIGURES.

Influence of the 2nd Septenary

in the 3rd Reflex of 13

13 16

Equilibrium , ^
of 13 and 14 ^^

Equilibrium
of 15 and 18

return

to the world of

principles

Reflex of 15
18 Equili-
brium of
16 and 17

Reflex of 13

Reflex of 14

The first septenary has shown us the World of Principles,
or of the Creation.

The second has developed the World of Laws, or of
Preservation.

The third will now show us the World of Facts^ or of
Transformation. We shall now see how the circulation of
the forces of the two first septenaries is established. .

158

THE TAROT.

DEATH.

13. n
13th Hebrew letter (Mem).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOIJSM OF THE THIRTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic meaning of the Mem is a woman, the
companion of man, it therefore gives rise to ideas of fertihty
and formation. It is pre-eminently the maternal and
female, the local and plastic sign, the image of external and
passive action. Employed at the end of words, this letter
becomes a collective sign n (final Mem). In this case it
develops the being in unlimited space.

Creation necessitates equal destruction in a contrar}^
sense, and therefore the Mem designates all the regfener-
ations that have sprung from previous destruction, all

THIRD SEPTENARY.

159

transformations, and consequently death, regarded as the
passage from one world to the other.

The Mem is one of the three Mother letters.

THIRTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Death, or the Skeleton Moioer.

The ideas expressed by this arcanum are those of
destruction preceding or following regeneration.

A skeleton mows down heads in a field, from which
hands and feet spring up on all sides, as the scythe
pursues its work.

The works of the head (conception) become immortal as
soon as they are realized (heads and feet).

The 13th arcanum is explained by the 10th (Fortune)
and by the 16th (Destruction), between which it stands.

10 + 16 = 26

= 13.

13 is therefore the centre between the Yod (Principle of
the creation) and the Ayin (16), Principle of destruction.

The 13th arcanum is completed by the 18th, its com-
plementary, as the fifth was of the second, and the twelfth
of the seventh. (See the 8th and the 5th arcana.)

Death

is completed by

The Moon

13 + 18 = 31

31= 4=10 = 1

Temperance

is completed by
14 + 17 = 31

The Stars

The Devil

is completed by
15 + 16 = 31

Destruction

160

THE TAROT.

The thirteenth card of the Tarot is placed between the
invisible and the visible worlds. It is the universal link
in nature, the means by which all the influences react
from one world to the other. It signifies —

1. God the transformer —

The Universal Transforming Principle.
Destructive and creative.

2. The negative of realization —

Death.

3. The Astral light accomplishing the function of the
Creator —

The Universal Plastic Force.

(Balancing death and the transforming force.)

13. rs

Death.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive ) xhe Woman

Hieroglyphic j

Hebrew letter Mem (one of
the 3 mothers)

THE UNIVERSAL

TRANSFOEMII^G

PRINCIPLE

Destroyer and Creator

DEATH .

OBSERVATIONS

THE UNIVERSAL

PLASTIC FORCE

THIED SEPTENARY.

ICl

TEMPERANCE.

^ TEMPERAN CC
TEMPERANCE.

14. • 3
14th Hebrew letter (Nun).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FOURTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic sense of the Nun is the offspring of
the female ; a son, a fruit of any kind, all things produced.
This letter has therefore become the image of the being
produced or reflected, the sign of individual and corporeal
existence.

As a final it is the sign of augmentation ] (Nun as a
final), and gives to the word which receives it all the
individual extension of which the thing expressed is
susceptible.

Astronomically the Nun corresponds with the zodiacal
sign of the Scorpion.

162 THE TAROT.

In short the Nun expresses the production of any com-
bination, the result of the action of the ascendins: or
creative forces, and of the descending or destructive forces
figured by the star of Solomon. '

FOURTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Temperance.

The following ideas are expressed by this symbol —

1. Combination of different fluids.

2. Individualization of existence.

The genius of the Sun pours the fluid of Life from a
golden vase into a silver one.

(First idea.)

This essence passes from one vase to the other without
one drop being spilt.

(Second idea.)

The fourteen til card represents the young girl whom
we have already seen in the 11th arcanum, and whom we
shall see again in the 17th.

The vital current placed upon her head in the 11th
arcanum here passes from one vase into another, but will
spread further in the 17th arcanum.

The fourteenth card of the Tarot shows us the fluid,
hitherto carefully preserved, now freely circulated in
nature.

1. Combination of active and passive fluids. Entry of
Spirit into Matter, and reaction of Matter upon the Spirit —

Involution.

THIRD SEPTENARY.

163

2. Reflex of Justice in the material world —

Temperance.

3. Fixation of reflex Life. Incarnation of Life —

Individual and Corporeal Life.

14. 3

Temperance.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Priniitive \ ^ j-^^j^

Hieroglyphic J

Astronomy The Scorpion

INVOLUTION

(The Spirit descends towards
Matter)

^lonth October
Hebrew letter [Nun (simple)

TEMPERANCE

OBSERVATIONS

INDIVIDUAL AND
CORPOREAL LIFE

1G4

THE TAEOT.

THE DEVIL.

15. D

15th Hebrew letter (Samech).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FIFTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The Samech expresses the same hieroglyphic sign as the
Zain (7th arcanum), that is to say, an arrow ; a weapon of
any kind ; but to this idea is here added that of the arrow
making a circular movement, of any circle defining and
delimiting a circumscription.

This idea of an impassable circle has given birth to that
of Destiny, of Fatality, circumscribing the limits of the
circle in which the human will can act freely; so that the
Serpent forming a circle of his own body, biting his own
tail, has always been the symbol of this Fatality, of this
Destiny, encircling the world in its embrace. It is the

THIRD SEPTENARY. 165

image of the year (the ring), and of the fatal and settled
revolutions of time.

As a letter, the Samech is the link (Zain) reinforced and
turned back upon itself. As a simple letter, it corresponds
with the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius.

FIFTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Devil

In every cosmogony the Devil represents the mysterious
astral force, the origin of which is revealed to us by the
hieroglyphic of Samech.

But a little attentive consideration of the symbol will
show us that it contains several of the details which we
have already seen in other figures of the Tarot, but under
a different aspect.

If we place the Juggler by the side of the Devil we
shall see that the arms of the two personages are using
the same gesture, but in an inverse sense. The Juggler
points his right hand towards the Universe, his left hand
towards God ; on the other hand the Devil raises his right
hand into the air, whilst his left points to the earth.
Instead of the magic initiating wand of the Juggler, the
Demon holds the lighted torch, the symbol of black magic
and of Destruction.

By the side of the Devil, and balanced by him, are two
personages reproducing the same symbolism that we find
in the two women of the Lovers (6), and in the two
supports of the gibbet of the Hanged Man (12).

The universal vivifying force represented by the 3rd
arcanum has here become the universal destroying force.
The sceptre of Venus-Urania has become the Demon's

166 THE TAROT.

torch, the Angel's wings have changed into the hideous
pinions of the God of Evil.

The 3rd arcanum symbolizes the Holy Spirit, or the
Providence of Fabre d'Olivet.

The 15th arcanum symbolizes the False Spirit, or the
Destiny of Fabre d'Olivet.

15 + 3 = ^- =9.

The 0th arcanum, which fills the centre between the
two figures, symbolizes Prudence, or the Human Will of
Fabre d'Olivet.

The Devil has materiaUzed upon his head the universal
fluid which surrounded the head of the Juggler; this is
indicated by the two six-pointed horns which adorn him.

He stands upon a cube placed upon a sphere, to indicate
the domination of Matter (the cube) over the Spirit (the
Sphere).

The fifteenth card of the Tarot derives its signification
from its own symbolism —

1. Destiny (chance).

2. Fatality, the result oi the fall of Adam-Eve.

3. The astral fluid, which individualizes.

Nahash, the Dragon of the Threshokl.

THIRD SEPTENARY.

107

15. D
The Devil

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive ) g^^p^^^^
Hieroglyphic )

Astronomy Sagittarius

DESTINY
Chance

Month Novemher

Hebrew letter Saniech

(simple)

FATALITY

Result of the fall of
Adam-Eve

OBSERVATIONS

NAHASH

The Dragon of the Threshold

168

THE TAROT

iQ LEFElf DUCIEL y

THE FIRE OF HEAVEN.

XVI ^ y

LAMAISC>N'DICV>

THE LIGHTNING-STRUCK TOWER.

(Lightning. )

16. V
16th Helrew letter (Ayin).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SIXTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The Ayin expresses the same hieroglyphic as the Vau
(6), but materialized. It is the sign of Material sense.
Again degenerated, it expresses all that is crooked, false,
perverse, and bad.

Astronomically this letter corresponds with the zodiacal
sign of Capri cornus.

SIXTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Lightning-struch Tower.
This card bears the picture of a tower, with its battle-

THIRD SEPTENARY. 169

ments struck by lightning; two men, one crowned, the
other uncrowned, are falling with the fragments of broken
masonry ; the attitude of the former recalls the shape of
the letter Ayin.

This card contains the first allusion to a material build-
ing in our pack, but we shall find the same symbol
reproduced in the 18th and 19th arcana.

Here it signifies the invisible or spiritual world, incarnated
in the visible and material world.

The 16th card represents the material fall of Adam.
He will gradually become more materialized until the
18th arcanum, in which he attains the maximum of his
materialization.

The significations of this figure are all derived from this
idea of fall, of the materialization of the spiritual letter

(Vau).

1. Materialization of God the Holy Spirit. (See 3rd
arcanum.)

Entrance of the Holy Spirit into the visible World.
The Holy Spirit acting like the God of matter.

Divine Destruction.

2. The materialization of the Adam-Eve, who have been
spiritualized until now.

Entrance of the Adam-Eve into the visible World —

The Fall.

3. Materialization of the Universe-principle —

The Visible World.

170

THE TAROT.

16. V

The LlgJitning-struch Tower

AFFINITIES

Primitive 1 Link (Yau)
Hieroglyphic J materialized

Astronom3" Capricornus

Month

December

Hebrew letter Ayin (simple)

OBSERVATIONS

SIGNIFICATIONS

DIVINE DESTEUCTION

THE FALL

THE VISIBLE WORLD

THIRD SEPTENARY.

171

I^/IlES ET0JLE5

THE STARS.

17. D
17th Hebrew letter (Phe).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SEVENTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The Pile expresses the same hieroglyphic meaning as
tlie Beth (2nd card), but in a more extended sense. For,
whilst the Beth sig^nifies the mouth of man as the orgjan
of speech, the Phe represents the produce of that organ :
Speech.

It is the sign of speech and of all connected with it.
The Word in action in nature with all its consequences.

Astronomically this letter responds to Mercury the God
of Speech and of scientific or commercial diffusion, the
God of Universal exchange between all beings and all
worlds.

Phe is a double letter.

172 THE TAROT.

SEVENTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Star.
The ideas expressed by this symbol are those —

1. Of the expansion of fluids.

2. Of their eternal renewal.

A nude female figure pours the Water of Universal Life
from two cups.

The genius of the Sun (14tli arcanum) has now descended
to earth under the form of this young girl, the image of
eternal Youth. The fluids, which she formerly poured from
one vase to the other, she now throws upon the ground
(first idea).

This young girl is crowned with seven stars ; in the
midst of them shines a very large and brilliant one. Near
her an ibis (or sometimes a butterfly) rests upon a flower.

Here we find tlie symbol of immortality. The soul (ibis
or butterfly) will survive the body, Avhich is only a place of
trial (the ephemeral flower). The courage to bear these
trials will come from above (the stars).

The fall of the Divine and of the Human into the
Material has scarcely taken place, when a mysterious voice
whispers courage to the Sinner, by showing him future
re-instatement through trial.

This card exactly balances the evil effects of the
preceding one, and from it we derive the following
siofnifications —

1. Opposition to destruction. No destruction is final.
Everything is eternal and immortal in God —

THIRD SEPTENARY. 173

Immortality.
Creation of the human souL

2. The fall is not irreparable. This is whispered to us
by the intuitive sentiment we name

Hope.

3. The Visible Universe contains the source of its
Divinization in itself. This is

The Force which dispenses the Essence of Life,

which gives it the means of perpetually renewing its
creations after destruction.

17. D

The Star

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

-n • -,' \ Speech
rnmitive i ^

TT- 1 \ • ) (the mouth and
Hieroglyphic P ^, ^ ,
/ the tongue)

Astronomy Mercury

Day Wednesday

Hebrew letter Phe (double)

IMMOETALITY

HOPE

OBSERVATIONS

THE EOECE WHICH DIS-
PENSES THE ESSENCE
OE LIFE

174

THE TAROT.

XvHJ -v;'

la-lune:

THE MOON.

18. !^
18tli Hebrew letter (Tzaddi).

ORIGIN OF THE SYxMBOLISM OF THE EIGHTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic idea connected with the Tzaddi is the
same as that of the Teth (9th card) ; but it chiefly signifies
a term, an aim, an end. It is a final concluding sign,
relating to all the ideas of term, of secession, division and
aim.^

The Tzaddi is a simple letter ; it corresponds with the
zodiacal sign of Aquarius.

^ Placed at the commencement of a word it indicates the move-
ment which leads towards the end ; placed at the end it marks the
term itself to which it has tended ; it then receives this form, \^. It
is derived from the letter Samech D (15) and the letter Zain T (7), and
it marks the secession of one or the other.

THIRD SEPTENARY. 175

THE EIGHTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Moon,

We have now traversed the steps which the spirit
descends in its gradual and utter fall towards the material
world. All is now ended ; the spirit is completely
materialized, and the change is indicated by the eighteenth
card.

A meadow feebly lighted by the moon.

The light, the symbol of the soul, no longer reaches us
directly ; the material world is only lighted by reflection.

The meadow is bounded by a tower on each side.
Drops of blood are falling from the moon.

The material world is the last point which the spirit can
reach, it can descend no lower ; this is shown by the
boundaries of the field. The drops of blood represent the
descent of the Spirit into Matter.

A path sprinkled with drops of blood loses itself in the
horizon. In the centre of the field a dog and a wolf are
howling at the moon, a crayfish is climbing out of the
water between the two animals.

The entry of the Spirit into INIatter is so great a fall that
everything conspires to augment it.

Servile spirits (the dog), savage souls (the wolf), and
crawling creatures (the crayfish) are all present watching
the fall of the soul, hoping to aid in its destruction.

1. End of divine Materialization. Final point of
involution —

Chaos.

176 THE TAROT.

2. End of the Materialization of man —

The Material Body and its Passions.

3. End of physical Materialization —

Matter.

18. 1*
The Moon.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive U R„„f
Hieroglyphic j

Astronomy Aquarius

CHAOS

Month January
Hebrew letter Tzaddi (simple)

THE MATERIAL BODY
AND rrS PASSIONS

OBSERVATIONS

MATTER

Involution, that is to say, the descent of the Spirit into
Matter, ends with the 3rd septenary.

The three last cards of the Tarot will show us how all
the emanated forces gradually return to their common
principle by evolution.

THIRD SEPTENARY.

177

Constitution of the Universe.

CHAPTER XIII.

GENERAL TRANSITION. ARCANA 19 TO 21.

The Qoph and the Sun — The Resh and the Judgment — The Shin

and the Fool — The Van and the Sun.
The Ternary of Transition.

GENERAL TRANSITION.

179

J 9 I L£ SOL£IL I |,

THE SUN.

THE SUN,

19. p
19th Hebrew letter (Qoph).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOIJSxM OF THE NINETEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

HiEROGLYPHiCALLY the Qopli expresses a sharp weapon,
everything that is useful to man ; defends him ; makes an
effort for him.

The Qoph is therefore a particularly compressive, astrin-
gent, and cutting sign ; it is the image of agglomerative,
restricting;- form, and this ogives rise to the idea of material
existence.

This letter represents the letter D (Kaph, 11) entirely
materialized, applying itself to purely physical objects.
Here is the progression of the sign —

180 THE TAROT.

n (He, 5). Universal life.

n (Clietli, 8). Elementary existence. The effort of

nature.
D (Kapli, 11). Assimilated life, tending to material

forms,
p (Qopb, 19). Material existence, becoming the medium

of forms.
This is a simple letter ; it corresponds with the sign of
the Gemini.

NINETEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Sun.

Two naked children are shut into a walled enclosure.
The sun sends down his rays upon them, and drops of gold
escape from him and fall upon the ground.

The spirit resumes its ascendancy. It is no longer a
reflected light, as in the preceding arcanum, which illumines
the figure, but the direct creative light of the God of our
Universe, which floods it with his rays.

The walls indicate that we are still in the visible or
material world. The two children symbolize the two
creative fluids, positive and negative, of the new creature.

1. Awakening of the Spirit. Transition from the
material world to the divine world. Nature accomplishing
the functions of God —

The Elements.

2. The body of man is renewed —

Nutrition. Digestion.

3. The material world commences its ascension towards

God—

The Mineral Kingdom.

GENEEAL TRANSITION.

181

19. p

The Sun.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive j' Axe, sharp-edged
Hieroglyphic ( weapon

THE ELEMENTS

Astronomy The Gemini
Month February
Hebrew letter Qoph (simple)

NUTEITION

Digestion

OBSERVATIONS

•

THE MINERAL KINGDOM

182

THE TAROT.

LE JUGEMEl^T

THK JUUGMEMT.

THE JUDGMENT.

20. n
20th Hebrew letter (Resh).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TWENTIETH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic meaning of the Resh is the head of man,
and it is therefore associated with the idea of all that
possesses in itself an original, determined movement. It
is the sign of motion itself, good or bad, and expresses the
renewal of things with regard to their innate power of
motion.

The Resh is a double letter, and responds astronomically
to Saturn.

GENERAL TRANSITION. 183

TWENTIETH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Tlie Judgment.

An angel with fiery wings, surrounded by a radiant
halo, sounds the trumpet of the last judgment. The
instrument is decorated with a cross.

A tomb opens in the earth, and a man, woman, and
child issue from it; their hands are joined in sign of
adoration.

How can the reawakening^ of nature under the influence
of the Word be better expressed ? We must admire the
way in which the symbol answers to the corresponding
Hebrew hieroglyphic.

1. Return to the divine World. The Spirit finally
regains possession of itself —

Original Determined Motion.

2. Life renews itself by its own motion —

Vegetable Life.
Respiration.

3. The material world progresses one degree in its
ascension towards God —

The Vegetable World.

184

THE TAROT.

20. -)
The Judgment.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive j The Head of
Hieroglyphic \ Man

Astronomy Saturn
Day Saturday

Hebrew letter Eesh (double)

OBSERVATIONS

OEIGIXAL AND
DETERMINED i\rOTIOX

RESPIRATION

Vegetable Life

THE VEGETABLE
KINGDOM

GENERAL TRANSITION.

185

LE FOU

THE FOOL.

THE MATE.

21. w
21st Hebrew letter (Shin).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE UNNUMBERED CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The Shin ^ expresses the same hieroglyphic meaning as
the Zain (7th arcanum) and the Samech (15th) : this is an
arrow, an object directed to an aim. But the movement
which was direct in the Zain (}), and which became circular
in the Samech (p), here takes the form of a vibration from
one pole to the other, with an unstable point of equilibrium
in the centre. The Shin is therefore the sign of relative
duratioyi and of the movement relating to it, whilst the

1 This letter is derived from its vocal "^ ( Yod), become a consonant ;
and it adds to its original meaning the respective significations of the
letters T (Zain) and D (Samech). — Fabre D'Olivet.

18G THE TAROT.

Samecli expresses cyclic movement, and therefore absolute
duration.

Shin is one of the three mother letters.

TWENTT-FIllST (UNNUMBERED) CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Foolish Man.

A careless-looking man, wearing a fool's cap, with torn
clothes and a bundle upon his shoulder, goes quietly on
his vv^ay, paying no attention to a dog which bites his leg.
He does not look where he is going, so walks towards a
precipice, where a crocodile is waiting to devour him.

This is an image of the state to which unresisted passion
will reduce a man. It is the symbol of the Flesh and of
its gratification. From a moral point of view the follow-
ing verses of Eliphas Levi well explain this symbol —

" Souffrir c'est travailler, c'est accomplir sa tache,
Malheur au paresseux qui dort sur le chemin ;
La douleur, comnie un cliien, mord les talons du lache,
Qui, d'un seul jour perdu, surcharge uu lendemain." ^

1. More rapid return to the Divine World. Personality
asserts itself —

The Motion of Relative Duration.

2. The intellect roughly appears under the influence of
evolution —

Innervation. Instinct.

^ " Sorrow lessens in work, in fulfilling a task,
Woe to the sluirgard who sleeps on his way ;
Like a dog at his heels pain clings to him fast,
If he leave for to-morrow the work of to-day."

GENERAL TRANSITION.

18-

3. The matter of the world attains the maximum of its
material progression —

The Animal Kingdom.

21. w
The Foolish Man.

OBSERVATIONS

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive 1 rr^^ A

^ ihe Arrow
Hieroglyphic J

The Shin
Hebrew letter ^ (one of the 3
mothers)

THE MOTION"
of

Relative Duration

INNERVATION

Instinct

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

188

THE TAROT.

LE MONJ^E

■ XXT^ P^^

LE MONDE, o

THE WORLD.

THE WORLD,

22. n
22nd Hebrew letter (Tau).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CARD OF

THE TAROT,

The Tau has the same hieroglyphic meaning as the
Daleth (fourth card), the womb ; but it is chiefly the sign
of reciprocity, the image of all that is mutual and reciprocal.
It is the sign of signs, for to the abundance of the letter
Daleth t (fourth card), and by dint of the resistance and
protection of the letter Teth, to (ninth card), it adds the
idea of perfection, of which it is the symbol.

In the primitive Hebrew alphabet the Teth was repre-
sented by a cross ( + ). This letter is double, and in
astronomy it represents the Sun.

GENERAL TRANSITION. 189

TWENTY-FIRST CARD OF THE TAROT.

The World.

A nude female figure, holding a wand in each hand, is
placed in the centre of an elKpsis, her legs crossed (like
those of the Hanged Man in the twelfth card). At the
four angles of the card we find the four animals of the
Apocalypse, and the four forms of the Sphinx : the Man,
the Lion, the Bull, and the Eagle.

This symbol represents Macrocosm and Microcosm, that
is to say, God and the Creation, or the Law of the Absolute.
The four figures placed at the four corners represent the
four letters of the sacred name, or the four great symbols
of the Tarot.

The Sceptre or yod = Fire.

The Cup or Jie = Water.

The Sword or vau = Earth.

The Pentacle or 2nd he = Air.

These affinities can be represented thus —
Sceptre Pentacle

Cup Sword

Between the sacred word that signifies GoD and the
centre of the figure is a circle or an ellipsis, representing
Nature and her regular and fatal course. From this comes
the name of Bota, wheel, given to it by Guillaume Postel.

190 THE TAROT.

Lastly, the centre of the figure represents humanity,
Adam-Eve, the third term of the great series of the
Absohite, which is thus constructed : —

The impenetrable Absolute, the En Soph of the Kab-
bahsts, the Parabrahm of the Hindus —

The impenetrable Absolute or God ... 1st septenary.
The soul of the Absolute or Man ... 2nd septenary.

The body of the Absolute or the Universe 3rd septenary.

This twenty-first card of the Tarot therefore contains
in itself a recapitulation of all our work, and proves to us
the truth of our deductions.

A simple figure will sum up what we have said.

rod

Ai E

ifau

This symbol gives us an exact figure of the construction
of the Tarot itself, if we notice that the figure in the centre
represents a triangle (a head and two extended arms)
surmounting a cross (the legs), that is to say, the figure
of the septenary thus formed ^.

The four corners therefore reproduce the four great
symbols of the Tarot. The centre represents the action
of these symbols between themselves, represented by the
ten numbers of the minor arcana, and the twenty-two

GENERAL TRANSITION.

191

letters of the major arcana. Lastly, the centre reproduces
the septenary law of the mfijor arcana themselves.

As this septenary is in the centre of three circles, repre-
senting the three worlds, we see that the sense of the
twenty-one arcana is once more determined (3x7 = 21).

The following figure indicates the application of the
twenty-first card to the Tarot itself

We shall also see that this card of the Tarot gives the
key of all our applications of the pack to the Year, to
Philosophy, to the Kabbalah, etc., etc.

192

THE TAROT.

THE TEENARY OF TRANSITIOK^.

The Elements

Original and

Determined

Motion

The Motion

of Relative

Duration

Divine Reproduction

Nutrition

Respiration y/.^^ ^

Vegetable Life

The Mineral Kingdom

Innervation
Instinct

Tlie Vegetable y20
Kingdom

Tlie Animal
KinQ;dom

Reproduction of Man Reproduction of the Universe

The Absolute

containing in itself

God

Man

The Universe.

CHAPTER XIV.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.
THEOGONY — ANDROGONY — COSMOGONY.

Involution and Evolution. Theogony — The Absolute according to
Wronski, Lacuria, and the Tarot — Theogony of divers Religions
identical with that of the Tarot — Summary. Androgony —
Cosmogony.

Figure containing the Symbolism of all the Major Arcana, enabling
the Signification of each Card to be defined immediately.

General Summary of the Symbolism of the Major

Arcana.

theogony — androgony — COSMOGONY.

Having completed our study of the twenty-two major
arcana, considered separately, we will now review as clearly
as possible the knowledge which may be gathered from
the preceding explanations.

We have already established from the study of the
first card, that three primary principles are considered
throughout their evolution : the Universe, Man, and God.

We need only recall grosso modo the sense of each card
of the Tarot to prove the existence of a well-established
progression, which starts from God the Holy Ghost to end
in Matter f while passing through a number of varying

194 THE TAROT.

modalities. Another gradation leads from Matter to God,
the primitive origin of all things.

This double current of the progressive Mateo-ialization
of the Divine, or Involution, and of the Progressive
Divinization of the Material, or Evolution, has been too
well studied by our eminent friend Ch. Barlet, for us
intentionally to vary from him in any way ; we shall
therefore quote his interesting work in extenso} and thus
enable the reader to see that our conclusions are abso-
lutely identical, although we have been led to them by
very different paths.

But our present object is to review as clearly as possible
the meanings of the major arcana of the Tarot, regarded
from a synthetic point of view. From the preceding
chapters it will be seen that this study is really a Cosmo-
gony, or study of the creation of the Universe, crowned,
by an Androgony, or study of the creation of Man, and
even by an essay on Theogony, or study of the innate
creation of God.

THEOGONY.

The Tarot places at the origin of all things the Absolute
undetermined, undeterminable, the One, both knowing
and unknowing, affirmative and negative, force and matter,
unnamable, incomprehensible to man.^

The Unity manifests itself to itself by three terms, the
highest and most general terms which the human com-
prehension can grasp ; terms which form the basis of all
theogonies, and which designate the same principles under
a multitude of varying names.

1 See p. 253. 2 ch. Barlet, Initiation, p. 10. •

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 195

1. The first of these terms symbolizes Absolute activity
in all its acceptations, the origin of all movement, of all
masculine creative force.

God the Father : Osmis — Brahma — Jupiter.

2. The second of these terms symbolizes Absolute
"passivity in all its acceptations, the origin of all repose, of
all feminine preserving force. It is the humid principle
of nature, even as the first is the igneous principle.

God the Son : Isis — Vishnu — Juno.

The third of these terms is the most important to us.
Synthetically it blends the two preceding terms in one
Unity ; all study should be commenced by it, for no being
is conceivable unless it be considered synthetically, and the
third term is the origin of all synthesis. It is Absolute
Union in all its acceptations, the origin of all reality, of
all equilibrium, of all equilibrist transforming force. Ifc
is the mercurial principle in nature balancing the two
first.

God the Holy Ghost: Horus — Siva — Vulcan.

*
* *

It is necessary to give a few explanations before we
proceed further, in order that the deductions which follow
may be intelligible to our readers.

We have said that no being is conceivable unless it
be considered synthetically : we must now explain this
sentence.

Let us take Man for our example, and follow the advice
of Claude de Saint-Martin : " We must explain nature
by man, and not man by nature."

196 THE TAROT.

Man, regarded synthetically, is composed of an acting,
animated body.

If we would think of the being man as a bod}^ only,
without reference to its animation or to its faculty of
acting, its Q-'eality immediately disappears, it is no longer
a man ; we are considering but a phantom created by our
spirit, a phantom which we can analyze, study in all its
subdivisions, but which, since it conveys no synthetic idea,
does not really exist.

If in the same way we wish to imagine by itself the
principle which animates this body, which makes it live,
the reality at once disappears. It is impossible for us
to separate the life from the idea of the body, to con-
ceive what this thing may be which is called the human
Life, if we wish to see in it a kind of metaphysical
being. It is on this point that materialistic savants find
the most power in their arguments against exclusivel}^
idealist thinkers.

The difficulty increases considerably if it be a question
of the principle which causes this body to act — of the Will,
of the Soul. Analysis here, as elsewhere, can be brought
into use, but we cannot possibly conceive what the soul
can be like unclothed in a form, that is to say, in a
principle that differs from itself We picture to ourselves
a small sphere, a Avinged head, in fact anything, according
to individual fancy, but never the soul considered
individually.

On the other hand, the moment we say A MAN, these
three terms, thus synthetised, assume consistence and
become the expression of a o^eality, and a being, formed
of a body, a life and a will, defines itself quite clearly.

This synthetic action, the source of all existence and
of all reality, is the innate property of the third term in

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 197

our Trinity of principles. This is why the study of all
realities should be commenced by this third term. Henri
Wronski has always adopted this method ; he names this
principle the Neuter Element, and places it at the
commencement of all his studies.

* *

Consequently, the Trinity, composed of the three terms
which we have specified, should be considered under two
aspects.

1. We should first look at the synthesis of this trinity,
the cause of its reality. The third term (God the Holy
Spirit) contains these conditions in itself.

2. We should then analyze this synthesis by dividing
it into its three constituent terms, and by determining
the existence of the two opj^osite terms, active and passive,
positive and negative. We must not forget that during
this analysis we destroy the reality of the being thus
divided into fractions.

Every reality, of whatever kind it may be, is therefore
composed of three terms, and these three terms are con-
tained in one sole whole. This truth is quite as applicable
to physics as to metaphysics ; the works of Louis Lucas
upon physics aad chemistry,^ and of Wronski in mathe-
matics,^ are an irresistible argument ag^ainst those who
think that a philosophical principle is a foolish idea,,
without any practical import.

The third term of our theogonic series, or God the Holy
Ghost, therefore represents the whole hody of God, who
can be analyzed in this way —

1 Louis Lucas, La Chimie N'onvdle, Paris, 1854. 18mo.

2 Wronski, Messimdsme, 1825, fol. ; and above all Apodictique
Messianique, 1876, fol.

198 THE TAROT.

God the Holy Spieit

Synthesis

God the Son God the Father

Antithesis Thesis

2 1

To sum up all tliat we have studied so far, we will say
that we have discovered, first of all —

1. An indeterminable and unnamable principle, of which
we are content to assert the existence only —

2» This synthetic principle, when analyzed, is found to
consist of a Trinity thus constituted —

N eider

Synthetic Principle

Negative / \ Positive

+
Negative /_ X Positive

Principle Principle

2 1

If we would use a common but very suggestive image,

we should say —

The constitution of God is thus defined by the Tarot —

The Spirit of God, or God the Father.

The Soul of God, or God the Son.

The Body of God, or God the Holy Spirit.^

^ Spirit is here taken in the sense of tlie superior and creative
principle : soul in tlie sense of median and animator. Since many
writers use these words in a different sens", it is useful to exi)lain
what is our meaning in this case.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 199

We must now prove that the conclusions which we have
reached through the Tarot agree in all points with those
of every autlior who lias treated the question on a higher
level and with all the superior theogonies of antiquity.

1. THE PRINCIPAL AUTHORS WHO HAVE STUDIED THIS

QUESTION.

We have chosen from amongst the authors who have
studied this question of first principles, two writers who,
starting from different points of view, support the
conclusions of the Tarot : Lacuria and W^ronski.

F. G. Lacuria.

This eminent writer, in his book on the Harmonies of the
Being expressed hy Numbers, starts in his deductions from
the three words used by St. John : Vita^ Verbum, Lux.
He analyzes each of these words, establishes the connec-
tion that exists between it and the Christian Trinity, and
defines each of the elements in this trinity —

" Here is the Trinity : the Father, who is life or im-
mensity ; the Son, who is %oord or form, and distinction or
variety ; the Holy Spirit, who is light and love, or unity.
And these three persons are only one God. Their unity is
not only in the external fact of their existence, but in the
essence of things, /or they are inseparable in the thought of
man ; no one can imagine one without the others " (p. 43).

"In the commencement was the being, the being is not
undetermined, but it is distinct from the NON-BEING ; it sees
that it is the being, and these two points of view, partici-
pating in the unity of the substance wdiich they affect,
produce by their union THE CONSCIENCE, which is also light
or harmony" (vol. ii. p. 333).

200 THE TAROT.

+ —

The Being The Non-Being

The Father The Son

The Life The Word

The Conscience

The Holy Spirit

The Light

First principles of Lacuria.

Henri Wronshi.

This author interests us doubly, for his conclusions not
only agree with the data given by the Tarot, but they also
throw great light upon them. Let us therefore listen to
him (Ajwdidique, p. 5) —

" Thus the reality of the absolute, Reality in itself or
reality in general, is unquestionably the first determin-
ation of the very essence of the absolute, and conse-
quently the first principle of reason. Without it as an
indispensable condition, as we have just admitted it to be,
every assertion made by reason would be valueless. And
it is upon this fundamental principle of reason, upon this
indestructible and in every way indispensable condition,
that we shall now establish absolute philosophy itself with
the same infallibility.

" In the first place this reality of the absolute, which we
now recognize so profoundly, produces or creates itself; for,
as we have already irrevocably concluded, the absolute, this
indispensable term of reason, is that which is BY itself.
Thus this innate generation, this autogeny of the reality
of the absolute, this creation by itself, is manifestly a second

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 201

determination of the very essence of the absolute ; and the
condition by which alone this determination can take place
constitutes quite as manifestly, and in all its primitive
purity, the faculty which is designated by the name of
Wisdom (koyosy das Wissen).

" We therefore discover wisdom as the second essential
attribute of the absolute ; this primordial faculty which
is the condition of all creation, or rather which is the
creative faculty itself in its loftiest puissance, as we
have now discerned it, is, if we may thus express it, the
instrument of autogeny, that is to say, the faculty of the
creation by itself. And consequently we discover in
Wisdom,, shown in this highest creative power, the second
principle of reason, quite as infallible as the absolute
itself, from which we have now deduced it.

" Moreover, in the reality of the absolute, the necessary
result of its wisdom or of its innate creation is PERMANENT
STABILITY, because, precisely through being what it is by
itself, the absolute could not be other than itself. We can
therefore understand that this permanent stability in the
reality of the absolute, which is properly its autothesis,
constitutes a third determination of the very essence of the
absolute, and we shall easily recognize that this stability,
this permanent unchangeableness, this innate unalterahility ^
is only that condition of the reality which we name Being
(iov, das Seyn).

" Thus, we discover as the third essential attribute of the
absolute, the Being, the condition of stability in reality,
and therefore of its force or innate unalteraMlity , which in
the absolute constitutes its autothesis itself. And conse-
quently we find in the Being, considered almost in its aato-
thetic origin, the third principle of reason, as infallible as
the absolute itself, from which we have deduced it.

202 THE TAROT.

" We therefore already possess the three first principles
of reason, which, as we have just seen, are the three first
determinations of the very essence of the absolute. More-
over, if we notice on the one hand that Wisdom and the
Being, taking them in all their generality, are opposed to
each other, just as autogeny and autothesis — of which they
form the conditions — are opposed, or spontaneity and inertia,
which form their characters ; and if on the other hand we
notice that Wisdoin and the Being, these antagonistic con-
ditions, are neutralized in all REALITY in general, this
reality — according to the deductions which we have given
— being the fundamental principle of reason, its primitive
basis, we shall understand that the three principles which
we have discovered in the determinations of the essence
itself of the absolute, are really the i\\VQQ primitive principles
of the supreme Wisdom, or of Philosophy."

+ —

Wisdom The Being

Autogeny Autothesis

Principle of Motion Principle of Stability

Eeality

Principle of Existence

FIRST PRINCIPLES OF WROXSKI.

2. THEOGONIES OF DIFFERENT RELIGIONS.

We have now shown the identity of the three first
principles of the Tarot with the philosophical discoveries
of some modern authors. We need only revert to the
study of the first arcanum to see the conclusions which
Fabre d' Olivet and Claude de Saint-Martin have come
to upon the same subject; and we will now say a few

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 203

words upon the identity of the deductions of the Tarot
with the religious ideas of various nations.

EGYPTIAN THEOGONY.

Osiris is an emanation of the Great Being ; he reveals
himself in three persons —

Amen, Avho hrings forth the hidden forms of things,
is Power.

PtaJi the demi-urgus, the eternal workman, embodying
the primitive ideas, is Wisdom.

Osiris, the author of being, the source of all life, is
Goodness.

"The Egyptian god is called Amen when he is
regarded as the hidden force wliich brings all things to
the light; he is Ptali when he accomplishes all things
with skill and truth; lastly, when he is the good and
beneficent god, he is named Osiris" — Jamblique.

Indeterminable Principle

Divine Trinity :

+ —

Amen Ptah

Osiris

204 THE TAROT.

HINDU THEOGONY.

Indeterminable Principle

PARABRAHM :

Brahma

Vishnu

Creator

Siva
Transformer

Preserver

Here is an analysis of this conception applied to
Cosmogony : —

PRIMITIVE HINDU COSMOGONY, ACCORDING TO THE

RIG-VEDA.

There was neither being nor no-being, nor ether, nor the
roof of the heavens; nothing enveloping nor enveloped.
There was neither death nor immortality ; nothing
separated the darkness of night from the light of day.

But That One, the He, breathed alone with Her, whose
life was sustained in his breast. Of all those who have
existed since that time, no other then existed. The
darkness covered them like an ocean, which cannot be
lightened. This universe was indistinct, like the fluids
mingled with the waters ; but this mass, which was
covered by a crust, was at last organized by the power
of contemplation.

The first wish was formed in its intelligence, and it
became the original productive seed. This productive
seed became Providence or sensitive souls; and Hatter or
Elements, She who was supported in his breast was the
inferior part, and He who observes was the superior part.
Who can know exactly, and who in this world can assert,
from whom or how this creation took place ? The gods
are posterior to this creation of the world.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 205

KABBALISTIC THEOGONY.

Indetenninahle Principle

EN SOPH

The Absolute

Divine Trinity :

+ —

Chocmah Binah

Absolute Wisdom Absolute Intelligence

Kether
Absolute Equilibrist Power

We might carry these comparisons much further ; but
it is useless to prolong our studies unreasonably. The
curious reader can refer to the works on the ancient
theogonies,^ and see the universal harmony that exists in
the primitive principles of all religions.

It will be sufficient if we determine the universality
of the three first principles, which we name, like the
Christians, in order to be clearly understood —

+ —

God the Father God the Son

God the Holy Spirit

Tliese principles once defined, we shall see them in
action throughout creation.

The first principle had manifested its existence to
itself in the second principle named by Christians :

^ See particularly P. Renand, Nonvelle Symholique, Paris, 1877.
8vo.

206 THE TAROT.

the Son. Lastly, these two principles had embodied
themselves in the third, which gave them substance.
This is why we have named the Holy Spirit the body
of God.

Now the same law of creation acting in the affinities
of the first principle with the second, will manifest itself
in the action of the first ternary upon itself, to give birth
to the followino- Trinitv : —

God the Father, the principle of Will, is entirely self-
reflected in the rough Adam, the principle of Poiver ; God
the Son, the principle of Intelligence, is self-reflected in
the gentle Eve, the principle of Authority. Lastly, God as
a whole, or God the Holy Spirit, clothed these two mystical
unities in a body, and made a reality of them in the
balanced creation of Adam-Eve, or of Humanity.

Humanity, the image of Love, also contains in itself a
rough, astringent principle (see Jacob Boehm i), and a
gentle, insinuating principle (Jacob Boehm). The first of
these principles, symbolized by Adam, is the origin of brute
Force, of Power in all its manifestations. The second,
symbolized by Eve, is the origin of feminine Grace, of
Authority. We have seen that Power and Authority find
their equilibrium in Love.

Each man, a reflected molecule of humanity made in
its image, contains in himself an Adam, the source of the
Will — this is the Brain ; an Eve, source of the intelligence
— the heart ; and he should balance the heart by the brain,
and the brain by the heart, to become a centre of divine
love.

It is the same with man and woman, represented by
Adam and Eve (mn Eve, the life).

1 Jacob Boehm, The Three Principles.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 207

But just as the Father and the Son have become
realities in the Holy Spirit, as Adam and Eve are
embodied in Humanity, so the third ternary will take
rise in the reciprocal action of the other two.

Natura naturans, or creating, will take her birth
under the action and the reciprocal reaction of God the
Father and of Adam, the two active and passive creative
principles. Thus also appears the Universal creative Fluid,
balancing and realizing in itself both will and power.

From this again will be born Natura naturata, or
preserving, realizing the union of God the Son and of
Eve, at the same time that the Universal preserving Fluid,
or Universal Life, will appear, balancing a,nd realizing the
Intelligence and Authority which define its innate qualities.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit and Humanity, the divine and
the human bodies, unite and manifest themselves eternally
in the Living Universe, the source of Universal Attraction.

For even as the Holy Spirit was the body of God, the
Son his soul, and the Father his Spirit, even as Humanity
was the body of Adam, Eve his life or soul, and Adam
his Spirit ; so also —

The Universe is the hody of God ;
Hitmanity is the soul of God ;
God Himself is the Spirit of God.

From this we recognize the truth of the opinion of the
Pantheists, who declared that God was the Universe ; but
we also see their error, when they refuse to acknowledge in
him any innate consciousness. For as the consciousness of
man is independent of the millions of cells which compose
his body, so the consciousness of God is independent
of the molecules of the Universe and of man which
form its body and its soul. We might partly destroy the

208 THE TAROT.

Universe without in any way diminishing the Divine
Personality, even as the four limbs can be cut off a
man without his losing the consciousness of the integrity
of his personality. This is why the conclusions of
Schopenhauer and Hartmann are partly erroneous.

Before leaving this study, we must once more express
our admiration for this wonderful book, this symbolical
Tarot, which thus defines God —

God is the Absolute, the essence of which is impene-
trable, formed of the Universe as body, of Humanity as
soul, and of himself as Spirit.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 209

THEOGONY.

The Spirit
of God

The Soul
of God

The Body
of God

UNKNOWN GOD

God the Father

God the Son

Adam

Natura
Naturans

God the Holy Spirit

Adam-Eve
Humanity

The Universe

Eve

Natura
Naturata

Will

Power

Universal Creative
Fluid

Intelligence or
Intuition

Authority

Beauty

Love

Universal preserving
Fluid or
Universal Universal Life
Attraction

210 THE TAROT.

ANDROGONY.

Each man contains in himself an Adam, source of the
Will, i. e. the Brain ; an Eve, source of the Intelligence/
i. e. the Heart, and he should balance the heart by the
brain, and the brain by the heart, if he would become a
centre of divine love.

In Humanity, the passive Realistic principle of God
Himself, the Father and the Divine Son, are represented
by Man.

Man accomplishing the functions of God the creator is
the Father ; the woman accomplishing the work of God
the preserver is the Mother ; lastly, Human Love
realizes the whole Divinity in Humanity.

The human family is therefore the representation of
the Divinity upon earth. The Tarot also teaches us this
fact by its minor arcana (king or father, queen or mother,
knight or young man, knave or child) ; and it was so
thoroughly understood by ancient science, that the whole
social organization was based upon the family, instead of
npon the individual, as it is in modern times. ^ That
the social organization of China has been maintained for
so many centuries, is solely due to the principle of basing
everything upon the family.^

The characteristics of the human Ternary are : Adam,
Necessity, the image and reflection of Will and Power ;
Eve, Liberty, the image and reflection of Intelligence
and Authority; and Adam and Eve, Charity, the image

1 Intelligence is here taken in the sense of Intuition, and not in the
sense usually attributed to it by the Philosopliy of the Universities.
^ See Saint- Yves d'Alveydre, Mission des Juifs, 1884.
3 See Simon, La Cite Chinoise, 1886. 8vo.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 211

and reflection of Love and Beauty given by the constituent
terms.

Realization and Justice, balanced by Prudence,
indicate the moral constitution of Man, whilst the
Positive Astral Light (or OD), the Negative Astral
Light (or OB), and the Equilibrate Astral Fluid (or
AOUR), demonstrate the origin of his physical constitution.

Magic Poivcr, Courage, and Hojic manifest the moral
qualities of man, whilst Force potential in its manifest-
ation, reflected Life, and Force balancing the two preceding
qualities, indicate the influence of the Universe in him.

Thus, the law which governs all these manifestations of
God in the series of his creations is Emanation.

From the uni(|ue but fathomless centre emanates, in
the first place, a Trinity of absolute principles which
serves as a model for all the posterior emanations of the
Being principle itself Each element of this Trinity
manifests itself in two great principles, of which it is the
source : from the first principle, or the Father, emanate
successively Adam and Nature creating, ncUitrans, accord-
ing to Spinoza; from the second principle, or the Son,
emanate Eve and Nature natitrata, or recipient ; lastly,
the third principle, or the Holy Spirit, serves as a model
to the similar constitution of Adam-Eve, or Humanity and
the Universe.

In this way also the Ternary, emanated from the
mysterious Unity, soon constitutes a Septenary formed by
the various emanations of these three Principles, like the
seven coloicrs of the scale of light formed by the combination
of three simple colours, themselves emanated from one
single light ; or like the seven notes of the musical scale,
formed by the fundamental trinity of sounds.

The Septenary formed of " two Ternaries in the midst of

212 THE TAROT.

which the Unity upholds itself," ^ is therefore the expression
of a being completely constituted. This is now confirmed
by the recent data given by Hindu Theosophy upon the
seven principles of Man, and upon the seven j^Tinciples of
the Universe.^

We could apply the Tarot to the explanation of these
data ; but we feel sure that it will soon be done, and
we consider it useless to lengthen our work too much.

We will therefore conclude our study upon man by
pointing out his constitution as given by the Tarot, which
teaches that his body comes from the Universe, his soul
from the Astral plane, whilst his Spirit is a direct
emanation from God.^

1 Sepher Yetzirah (trans. Papns), chap. vi.

2 See Sinnet, Esoteric Buddhism ; H. P. Blavatsky, Secret Doctrine ;
and nil the publications of the Theosophical Society.

3 See for further developments the works of Paracelsus and Van
Helmont.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 213

The Spirit
of Man

(intellectual)

The Soul
of Man
(moral)

The Body '
of Man
now materialized
(physical)

ANDROGONY.

Adam Creator
the Father

Realization

Astral Light

(CD)

Necessity

Magic Power
(to will)

Potential
Manifestation

Love

Prudence

Astral Fluid
(aour)

Charity

Hope

Equilibrist Force

Eve Preserver
the Mother

Justice

Elementary
Existence

(OB)

Liberty

Courage
(to dare)

Reflected
Transitory Life

214 THE TAROT.

COSMOGONY.

As we descend the ladder of the emanations of the
Absolute Being, the principles become more material and
less metaphysical. The Tarot teaches us that the
Universe results from the participation of the Human in
the creative actions of the Divine, a profound mystery,
which can throw much light upon the theological theories
of the Fall. Jacob Boehm, the sublime visionary shoe-
maker, and Claude de Saint-Martin, his admirer and
disciple, give upon this subject some explanations which
may be easily understood with the Tarot, and to which
we refer curious inquirers.

God manifests himself in the Universe by his third
trinitarian manifestation : Natura nahtrans, realized in
the Universal Transforming Principle, Natura
natiiroia, in Involution ; and lastly in the mysterious
cyclic force which we have analyzed, in reference to the
loth arcanum, and which we name the Fatal Force
OF Destiny. This is the God adored by materialist
science, and we see that unconsciously its homage is
offered to the Divinity itself under its most material
form, even whilst it foolishly boasts of Atheism.

Death, Corporeal Life, and the Destiny which
rules their mutual connection, constitute the preserving-
principles of the Universe; lastly. Plastic Force,
Individual Life, and the Astral Light in circulation,
show us the means of Transformation and of Realization
used by the Cosmos.

But these are abstract principles ; if we wish to see
them in action we must consider the following ternary.
The Universal Transforming Principle marks its existence

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 215

by the Destruction of beings and of things; but the
Opposing PTincip)le, Involution, at once immortalizes
Destruction bv the influx of new divine currents into
Chaos.

Adam materiahzed his nature by the fall of his spirit
into matter, the source of Death; but tbe Corporeal Life,
the source of Hope, arises and provides the means of
redeeming the fault, by suffering in the Material Body.

Lastly Matter itself appears, the final term of invo-
lution, after which recommences the grand Evolution
towards the primitive centre.

It is unnecessary to say that we only wished to give a
rapid sketch of the evidence of the Tarot upon Theogony,
Androgony, and Cosmogony, without entering into detail.
In fact these are very serious questions, which require
whole volumes to themselves, and we had not the least
intention of discussing them in a few pages.

216

THE TAROT.

The Spirit of
the Universe

The Soul of
the Universe

COSMOGONY.

Natura naturans

in action
The Universal
transforming
Principle \

Death

The Body of The Plastic
the Universe Force

Natura naturata
in action

Involution

The Universe
in action
The fatal force of
Destiny

The Corporeal Life

Destiny

The Individual
Life

The Astral Light
in circulation
Nahash

Destruction

The Fall of Adam

Tlie Visible
World

Chaos

The Material Body

Matter

Immortality

Hope

The Physical
Forces

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 217

Let us now recapitulate a little, so that we may
definitely end the invokition of the three grand principles :

From God the Father have emanated successively —

Adam Will

Natura Naturans Power

Then their form The Universal Creative Fluid.

Adam realized in the Father has produced Realization
and the Astral Light ; whilst the Will was realized in
Necessity, Supreme Power is shown in Magic Power, and
the universal creative Fluid in Force potential in its
manifestation.

Natura naturans realized in the Universal Transforming
Principle has produced Death, and the Universal Plastic
Fmxe, with their forms, Dcstrnction, the Fall of Adam,
and the visible world.

These are all the principles that have successively
emanated from the Father, and which represent him. We
have reproduced them in a tableau —

GOD THE FATHER

Positive Emanations

ADAM

the Father

lUalization

Astral
Light

Death

Plastic
Fo)xe

Necessity

NeQ;ative Emanations

CREATIVE FLUID

Manifest
Force

Destructioyi

Fall of
Adam

Visible
World

The two following figures arranged upon the same plan
as this one, give the emanations of the two other principles
of the first ternary.

218

THE TAROT.

GOD THE SON

EVE NATURE INTELLIGENCE AUTHORITY UNIVERSAL LIFE

thz Mother Involution

/ \ /

Justice Elementary Corporeal

Existence Life

Courage /

Liberty Lnmortality j Reflected and.

Transitory Life

Individual
life

Hope

Physical
Forces

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

ADAM-EVE

II u manity
Love

KOSMOS

Fate

UNIVERSAL ATTRACTION

/ \ Desilay I Charily

Prudence Astral Fluid Nahash
(aour)

Hope

Equilibrist
Force

Chaos

Matei'ial
Body

Matter

In our Introduction to the study of symbolism we have
given a numbered figure which enables us to determine
immediately the meaning of any card in the Tarot.

If we now apply all that we have said upon the
symbolism of each of our cards to this subject, we can
condense the whole symbolism of the majm^ arcana in
one figure.

The new tableau thus formed will give us the sense
of all our principles, whatever their number may be, and
this is how we obtain this meaning —

GENERAL SUMMARY OF SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 219

USE OF THE TABLEAU.

1. Seek in the Jiorizontal column, to the left of the principle
under consideration, the sense written there.

2. Having ascertained this meaning, return to your principle
and search in the vertical column at the bottom the great principle
(God, Man, or the Universe) which is written there.

3. Combine the meaning first obtained with the name placed
in the vertical column, adding to it the word (itself or manifest)
written in the vertical column which contains the principle of
which you are seeking the meaning.

An example will explain this better.

Let us ascertain the meaning of the Mother —

The first term of the 8th arcanum.

1. I look in the Jiorizontal column containing the word Mother
and I find at the end, to the left, the following mieaning —

Active preserving Principle.

The Mother is the Active preserving Principle. Of what %

2. In order to know, I seek in the vertical column containin<j'
the word Mother, and at the bottom I find Man or Humanity.

Tlie Mother is the Actioe preserving Principle of Humanity.

3. I add to the word Humanity the word placed in the small
vertical column which contains the word Mother. This word
is Hinnself if relating to man, or itself if we take the sense of
Humanity. We should say — •

The Motlier is the Active preserving Principle of Man himself
or of Hunianitij itself.

This example clearly indicates how this tableau should
be used.

TAB

Recapitulating the Symbolism of all the Major
Arcana to be immediately de-

CREATIVE
PRINCIPLE

(^) Active ^

CREATIVE
PRINCIPLE

Passive H

CREATIVE
PRINCIPLE

Equilibrist )

God the Father

Adam

Natura naturans

Will

Power

Universal
Creative Fluid

The Father

7
Realization

Astral Light

PRESERVING
PRINCIPLE

(H) Active *•

PRESERVING
PRINCIPLE

Passive (PI)

PRESERVING
PRINCIPLE

Equilibrist "1

God the Son

Eve
Natura naturata

Intelligence

Authority
Universal Lile

The JMother

8
Justice

Elementary
Existence

REALIZING
PRINCIPLE

(1) Active ••

REALIZING
PRINCIPLE

Passive n

PEALIZING
PRINCIPLE

Equilibrist 1

God the Holy
Spirit

* 3

Adam-Eve,
Humanity

Kosmos

Beauty

Love

Universal
Attraction

Love

Prudence
(Be silent)

Astral Fluid
(aouk)

Himself C) Manifested
+ —

GOD (21)

Himself (H)
+

HUMA-

LEAU

Arcana, enabling the definition of any one of these
termined. {See its use on i^age 219.)

Necessity

Magic Power

Force potential
ill its manifest-
ation

Liberty

Courage (to dare)

Reflected and
transitory Life

Charity

Universal

transforming

Principle

Death

Universal Plastic
Force

Destruction

The Fall of Adam

The Visible World

Involution

Corporeal Life
Individual Life

Hope
^visdom)

Equilibrist Force

Manifested

N (21)

NITY

Fate

Immortality

Hope

The Physical
Forces

The Elements

Nutrition

The Mineral
Kingdom

Destiny

Nahash
Astral Light
in circulation

Chaos

The Material
Body

Matter

Innate Motion

Respiration

The Vegetable
Kingdom

The Motion of
Relative Duration

Itself {^) Manifested
+ —

UNIVERSE (21)

Innervation

The Animal
Kingdom

Return (n)

to
the Unity

222

THE TAROT.

Tableau iudicating the revolutions yod-he-vau-he in nnmbers
(positive arcana) : {yod = l, /ie = 2, vau = 3, 2nd he = A).
(Key to the preceding Tableau.)

I. 1

]I. 2

III. 3

IV. 4

of 4
in XVI.

of 4

ill XXII.
3

of 4
in
4

PART III.

APPLICATIONS OF THE TAROT.

CHAPTER XV.

GENERAL KEY TO THE APPLICATIONS OF THE TAROT.

The Principle and the Forms — The Twenty-first Card of the Tarot is
a Figure-principle — The Tarot — The Year — The Month — The
Day — The Human Life.

General Key to the Applications of the Tarot.

We have already stated that the twenty-first card gives
the key to the construction of the Tarot. The utility of
this arcanum does not end here ; we shall now see that it
is the key to every amplication of the Tarot.

Some explanation may be necessary as to the manner
in which a symbolical figure can be applied to conceptions
of very different orders, without undergoing the least
transformation.

Let us take one very simple example, chosen in the
realm of experimental science, by applying the analogical
method to its study. Let us represent the well-known
phenomenon of the decomposition of the white light by
the prism.

We place the prism, indicated by a triangular figure, in
the centre ; the white light, represented by parallel lines,
enters it on one side : from the other the colours issue.

226

THE TAKOT.

They are represented by the refracted and more or less
oblique lines.

The words Prism, White .Light, and Colours, indicate
all the phases of the phenomenon.

If, however, we reflect that after all it is only a general
force (the white light) which undergoes various changes,
according to the quantity of matter with which it comes
in contact (the ditferent thicknesses of the prism),i we
shalleasily grasp another aspect of the figure.

In fact the work of Louis Lucas, unconsciously continued
by contemporary scientific men, proves by evidence the
unity of force in action throughout Nature. The different
physical forces, heat, light, or electricity, are only repre-
sentations of this unique force diff'erently modified, accord-
ing to the quantit}" of matter with which it comes in
contact.

Thus the white light in contact with the large amount
of matter at the base of the prism becomes violet : in the
same way the unique force coming in contact with much
matter becomes heat, or placed in contact with little
matter becomes light or electricity.

We can therefore represent this new phenomenon without

1 See Louis Lucas, Chimie Nouvelle^ chapter upon " Angulaison."

GENERAL KEY TO APPLICATIONS OF TAROT. 227

clianging the form of our figure in any way ; only the words
need vary —

Here the different qicantities of matter are represented
by the different thicknesses of the prism, the ^tniqite force
corresponding with the white light by the parallel lines,
the various 'physical forces responding to the various
colours by the refracted lines.

If any one should consider that these two examples
belong to the reahn of physics, and are therefore insuffi-
cient to generalize a phenomenon to this point, we can
answer by another instance quoted from physiology.

Physiology teaches us that all the organs in man act
under the influence of the blood. Thus the latter, acting
upon the salivary glands, produces the saliva, acting upon
the stomach the gastric juice is secreted, upon the liver
in certain cases it produces bile, etc., etc.

In short, this physiological phenomenon reduces itself to
one unique agent (the blood), acting upon the different
organs (the salivary glands, stomach, liver), and producing
secretions of equally different natures (saliva, gastric juices,
bile).

Can we not therefore represent the different organs
by the different thickness of the pi ism, the different

228

THE TAROT.

transformations of the unique force by the refracted rays,
and the unique force itself by the parallel lines ?

The correspondence is exact on all points, and the same

figure can be used once more —

Thus the figure has never changed : only the words
applied to its different parts have varied. The basis of
all occult science and of the analogical method resembles
this example : one fixed and invariable figure, which is
always the same (Ex. : the figure), to which various orders
of phenomena can be successively applied.

The twenty-first card of the Tarot is a figure-principU
of the same nature as the prism which we have just
studied, and a few examples of the various methods in
which it can be applied will fully enlighten us upon this
point.

We have seen that the four figures in the corners of the
twenty-first card represent the four animals of the Evan-
gelist. In the centre stands a woman, the image of
Humanity, and between the two symbols is a crown of
elliptic form.

This shows us that there will always be four fixed
principles in every application of this card (since the
symbols placed at the four corners of the square do not
move), and a certain number of mobile principles repre-

GENERAL KEY TO APPLICATIONS OF TAROT. 229

sented by the wheel, rota, which occupies the centre of the
symbols.

This figure can never change, since it is a figure-
principle : the words alone that may be applied to it can
vary.

Thus we have seen the four following symbols —

become

Man

Easle

Pentacles

Bull

Lion

Sword

Sceptre

Cup

We see that none of the svmbols have chanwd, but the
words only.

230

THE TAHOT.

The same rule applies to every application of the Tarot.
Thus if we take astronomy, the four figures will be the four
seasons, the crown is the zodiac, and the nude figure (Eve)
the animating system of the zodiac, the planets ; thus —

Winter

Autumn

Sprint

Summer

This shows us the progress of the S2m, as it gives birth
to the year. If we wish to know that of the moon as it
produces the month, the four seasons would become the
four lunar phases, the zodiac would be the twenty-eight
houses of the moon, and the centre the sun, which animates
tlie moon ; thus —

New Moon

Last Quarter

i^'irst Quarter

Full jMoon

GENERAL KEY TO APPLICATIONS OF TAROT. 231

If we wish for the horoscope of a single day we find it

in the following figure —
Nidit

Evening

Dawn

Noon

Here the earth occupies the position of the moon in the
month and of the sun in the year.

If these astronomical data weary us, we can study the
circle of the Human Life, and the figure will assume a
new aspect.

Ohl Age Maturity

I-^atali<-y

Childhood

Youth

A profound symbol, which indicates that the Human
Will creates the fatality in which man moves, under the

232 THE TAROT.

inflaence of the providential cycle of the four ages of the
human life. If we know that Providence (the outer circle)
acts upon the Future, Fatality (the intermediate circle)
upon the Past, and the Humau Will (centre circle) upon
the Present, we shall see the basis of the divining Tarot.

We think that these examples are sufficiently clear to
enable us to proceed, and we shall now study some appli-
cations of the Tarot, leaving to the student the work of
discoveringr a larojer number.

NETSAH

Keter ^ Arctic Pole.

\
/

The ketf tu the great avcaiixtm.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

Egyptian Astronomy — The Four Seasons — The Twelve Months —
The Thirty-six Decani— Tlie Planets — Absolute Analogy with
the Tarot — Figure containing the Application of the Tarot to
Astronomy — Key to the Astrological Works of Christian —
Oswald Wirth's Astronomical Tarot.

The Astronomical Tarot.

In order to demonstrate the accuracy of the principles
upon which the construction of the Tarot is based, we will
take the constitution of the Universe itself, as shown by
Astronomy, for our example of the first application of its
system.

It is known that the Egyptians divided the year into
four seasons, each composed of three months. Each month
contained three decani or periods of ten days, which gave
three hundred and sixty days in each year. They added
to complete it a period of five days, or Ujyagomenes,
placed after the 30th degree of the Lion (August).

We must therefore find in our Tarot —

1. The four seasons ;

2. The twelve months, or, better still, the twelve signs
of the zodiac ;

234 THE TAROT.

3. The thirty-six decani.

Moreover each montli, or, still better, each zodiacal sign,
and each of the decani is ruled by a planet.

1. The Four Seasons.

The four figures of the Tarot correspond absolutely with
the four seasons of the year.

If we then look at the twenty- first card of the Tarot,
the origin, as we have seen, of all its applications, we shall
see that the four figures in the corners represent the four
colours of the Tarot, and in this case the four seasons of
the year.

The elliptic space between these four figures and the
centre correspond to the zodiac and its divisions.

Finally, the central portion corresponds to the planets,
which influence the whole system.

2. The 12 Signs of the Zodiac.

Eich colour represents one season. Each season is
composed of three months. How, then, will the months
be represented in our colour ?

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

235

The months will be represented by the figures, and the
correspondence is established in this way —

King. 1st Mouth or Active Month in the Season.

Creative Montli. Yod.
Queen. 2nd Month or Passive Month in each Season.

Preserving Muntli. lie.

Knight. 3rd Month or Realizinrj Mojith, Eqailihrist
of the Season. Vau.

Knave. Transition from the preceding Season to the
one following. Epagomejie}

(Consult, for further details, the first part of our study upon
the Tarot.)

We therefore find twelve figures, which respond to the
twelve signs of the Zodiac, as follows —

The Iiam \

The Bull [- Spring

The Twins J
Epagomene

Cancer ^

The Lion ^ Summer

The Virijjin J
EiKUjomene

The Balance ^
The Scorpion - Autumn
Sagittarius J
Epagomeiie

Capricornus ^
Aquarius \ Winter

The Fishes J
Epagomene

^ Thus the Tarot places one epagomene, or complementary day,
after each season.

King of Sceptres

Sceptres

Queen

Knight

Knave

Transition

King of

Cups

Queen
Knight

Knave

Transition

King of Swords

Swords

Queen

Knight

Knave

Transition

King of Pentacles

Pentacles

Queen

Knight

Knave

Transition

236 THE TAROT.

8. The 36 Decani.

Each season is divided into three months, but each
month is divided into three decani, or periods of ten days
each.

We need only recall the analogy existing between the
figures and the members in the minor arcana, to ascertain
which cards of the Tarot represent these new divisions.

If we take one of the figures — the King, for instance —
we know that this king governs certain cards : the Ace,
two, three, and the first ternary.

We then obtain the followine^ analogies —

King of Sceptres : zodiacal sign, the Ram.

Ace. 1st Decan or Active Decan of the Month.

Creative Decan. Yocl.

Two. 2ud Decan or Passive Decan of the Month.
Forming or Preserving Decan. He.

Three. 3rd Decan or Equilibrist Decan. Van.

Four. TraDsition between the third Decan of the
actual series, to the first Decan of the
following series, which it forms.

The thirty-six decani are therefore represented in the
Tarot in the following series —

r Ace of Sceptres 1st Decan ^

King \ 1 — 2nd — [ of the Earn

I 3 — 3rd — J

r 4 — 1st Decan ^

Queen J 5 — 2nd — \ oi the Bull

I 6 — 3rd — J

r 7 — 1st Decan \

Knight J 8 — 2nd — ^ of tlie Twins

I 9 — 3rd — J

Knave 10 • Transition Epagomene

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

237

King

Queen

Ace of Cups
2 —

1st Decan

Knight } 8
I 9

Transition

Ace of Swords
2 —

Queen -^5 —

I 6 —

[' ~

Knight - 8 —

i 9

Knave 10 Transition

King

Ace of Pentacles
9

3 —

Queen 4 5
I 6

7
Pnight J 8
I 9

ecan ^

2nd — ^ of Cancer
3rd — J

1st Decan ^

2nd — ^ of the Lion

3rd — J

1st Decan ^

2nd — V of the Virgin

3rd — J

Epagomene

1st Decan ^

2nd — y of the Balance

3rd — J

1st Decan ^

2nd
3rd

- J

of the Scorpion

1st Decan \

2nd — ■ - of Sagittarius
3rd — J
Epagomene

1st Decan

of Capricornus

2nd — V of Aquarius

of the Fishes

Knave 10 Transition
Each decan, governing ten degrees of the zodiacal circle,

238 THE TAEOT.

corresponds to a certain number of days in the month.
Consequently each card in the minor arcaoa, corresponding
to a decan, represents a certain fraction of the year —

Ace of Sceptres 21st to 30th of March.

2 — 31st of March to 9th of April.

3 _ 10th to 19th of April, etc.

We need only consult the figure at the end of this study
of the astronomical Tarot to see which days correspond to
each decan.

This is the basis of the astrological Tarot, and by its
cards a horoscope can be drawn out ; but since this appli-
cation lies beyond the purely scientific field to which we
have limited ourselves, we must not dwell upon it here.

In short, our minor arcana are fully represented in the
astronomical Tarot, and they exactly determine the limits
in which move the planets, that we have still to consider.

The Planets.

The major arcana are represented in this application of
the Tarot by the septenary of the planets acting upon the
three worlds (3x7 = 21).

Each zodiacal sign and each decan is governed by a
planet, and the connection between the planets and these
different signs is indicated upon the tableau which follows.

This tableau enables us to comprehend all the work
that Christian! and Ely Star^ accomplished upon Astrology.
Moreover it indicates the astronomical correspondence of

^ Christian, Histoire de la Magie, Paris, 1854. 8vo.
^ Ely Star, Les Mysteres deV Horoscope, Paris, Dentu, 1888. 18ino.
(3 fr. 60.)

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT. 239

every card in the Tarot. Here is an explanation of its
construction — ■

Here the four figures of the twenty-first card of tlie
Tarot represent the four seasons of the year and the four
colours of the Tarot.

The centre of the twenty-first card responds to the
seven planets, which animate the yearly system.

Lastly, the Zodl4CAL Ellipse revolves between these
two terms, and it contains the key to the influence
exercised by the major arcana (the planets) over the
minor arcana (the signs and decani).

This tableau is therefore both a proof of the accuracy of
our system of explaining the Tarot, and also a magnificent
key to the Tarot itself.

(Consult the tableau.)

We shall now quote two extracts from La Vaillant (Les
Romes, Histoire des BoMuiiens), which demonstrate the
harmony which exists between our deductions and the
traditional explanations given by the gypsies.

SOME OF THE GYPSY TRADITIONS

UPON THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

The 21st card, entitled the Universe or Time, is, in fact,
the time of the temple and the temple of time.

It represents an oval crown of flowers, divided into four
by four lotus flowers, and supported by the four symbolical
heads, which St. John borrowed from Ezekiel, and the
latter from the cherubim and seraphim of Assyria and
Egypt.

The four heads are those —

240 THE TAROT.

Of the Eagle. The symbol of the East, of the morning, of the

equinox of spring.

Of the Lion. — of the South, and of the solstice of

summer.

Of the Bull. — of the Evening, the West, and of

the equinox of autumn.

Of the Man. — of the Night, the North, and of

the solstice of winter.

In the midst of this crown, the symbol of the egg of the
world, stands a nude woman, the symbol of Uve ; one of
her feet is raised, symbolizing the flight of time ; and she
holds two wands of equal length, symbols of the balance
and equilibrium of time, of the justice and equity of men,
of the equality of day and night, of man and woman.

This Uve is the great Mother (Ava or Ebe) who pours
out to the stars the men-gods of heaven, and to men the
star-gods of earth, the nectar and ambrosia of immortality,
the shadow and light of eternit}^ (Aon), of which the crown
which surrounds her is the sea or the ocean, the enclosure
or the vase, the ark or the vessel.

This symbol is not new. It was throughout antiquity
used to express the nature of the Universe, the synthesis of
the arcs of the circle, the union of the arches of the sphere,
which the Hebrews made into the ark of the covenant, the
modification of the ancient coins of Crete, which took this
arch of the world, the covenant of the rainbows, for the
^rinci]jle of justice which gives it its name. And, in
fact, the name of K%tdas, of that Ehce of Crete, clearly
expresses justice, saduJc, which makes of this Melchi
sedek, the spirit of the Lord, and of this spirit (JSon) of
the sun, the law of the times of the stars, of the life
of man ; consequently Noah, who is himself the spirit

THE ASTKONOMICAL TAROT. 241

{Eon) of eternity {Aon) of centuries (Aion), has been
qualitied SiS 2^'i'(^G0 justitice, revealer of justice.

The Tarot is a deduction of the sideral book of Henoch,
who is Henochia ; it is modelled from the astral wheel of
Athor, which is As-taroth, resembling the Indian ot-tara,
the polar bear or arc-tura of the north ; it is the mnjoi-
force (to.rie) upon which is based the solidity [feo^rah) of
the world and the sideral firmament of the earth; con-
sequently, like the polar bear, called the chariot of the
sun, the chariot of David and of ARTHUR, it is the Greek
luck (tttche), the Chinese destiny (tiJw), the Egyptian
chance (tiki), the fate {tika) of the Romanies ; and the
stars, as they incessantly revolve round the polar bear,
reveal to the earth ostentation and misery, light and
shade, heat and cold ; whilst from them How the good and
evil, the love and hatred, which form the happiness
(ev-titchie) and the misfortune (dis-tuchi4) of men.

In truth Sephora is one of the harmonies in that triad
s. f. r., which united form the light (Sajoher), the number
(Sipher), and the word (Sephora) of the Hebrews, from the
Sj^here of the Universe. From this sphere,

of which the light is the truth,

the zodiac the book which contains it, the stars the
numbers and letters which explain it, the Anaks have
drawn their Tara, the Gypsies their Tarot, the Phoenicians
their As-tharot, the Egyptians their Athor, and the
Hebrews their Thora.

242 THE TAROT.

But we cannot end this study upon the astronomical
Tarot without some allusion to the work of Oswald Wirth
upon this subject. In some respects his conclusions differ
from our own ; but we are anxious on that account to copy
his essay upon it, in order that each reader may judge
between us for himself.

ESSAY UPON THE ASTRONOMICAL TAEOT BY
OSWALD WIRTH.

According to Christian the twenty-two major arcana of
the Tarot represent the hieroglyphic paintings which are
found in the spaces between the columns of a gallery,
which the neophyte was obliged to cross in the Egyptian
initiations. There were twelve columns to the North and
the same number to the South, that is, eleven symbolical
pictures on each side. These pictures were explained to
the candidate for initiation in regular order, and they
contained the rules and principles for the Initiate.

The arcana corresponding to the twenty-two letters ol
the Hebrew alphabet must have been arranged upon the
walls of the secret crypts in the temples of Osiris in
the following order. (See p. 243.)

This opinion is confirmed by the correspondence which
exists between the arcana when they are thus arranged.

It is at once evident that the arcana 2, 3, 4 and 5 form
a complete group ; this group corresponds to another
formed by the arcana 21, 20, 19 and 18. Now in the
interpretation of the symbols each arcanum should be
studied in its relations with the neighbouring arcana, and
particularly with those which are pendant to it in the
grouping that we have pointed out. For instance, the 2nd

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

243

JLSYa

T—l

r-H

lla

o o

l-H

CO
I— 1

I— 1

"-5

t'c

S^ I.

*—

P»

1—1

t-H

CLh

c«

#—

171

I— 1

T— I

r-5

O
C<1

•'^ M

5£i»

c-1

I— 1

[x\V

r/3

244 THE TAROT.

arcanum p), the High Priestess, should not only be com-
pared with the 1st arcanum (W), the Juggler, the 3rd, and
4th (p), the Empress ; but also with the 5th arcanum (p), the
Pope, with the 21st (H), the Universe, and even with the
18th (^), the Moon. By studying each of the twenty-two
arcana in this way, we shall discover that the whole are
closely linked together, and we shall acquire unexpected
light upon the most ancient of all the sacred books which
we possess.

It should be noticed that the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th
arcana represent a quaternary, to which a last group
corresponds, formed of the 16th, 15th, 14th, and 18th
arcana. We therefore have sixteen pentacles divided into
four quaternaries, which give a definite general meaning.
Six other pentacles are placed in pairs at the commence-
ment, the centre, and the end of the double series of the
arcana of the Tarot. These six arcana appear to frame the
others, and this fact gives them great importance. Their
signification is easily discovered by their mutual com-
parison, and the judicious application of the laws of analogy
supplied by the keys of the Book of Thoth, as well as by
those of the Eternal Book that Nature, symbolized under
the form of Isis, holds half-opened in the 2nd arcanum p),
the High Priestess.

But it is necessary to proceed methodically in these
researches, by means of a progressive analysis starting
from the whole, before we can grasp each arcanum separ-
ately, for each one must be carefully examined under the
numerous aspects which it presents. When tliis work of
dissection is once accomplished, the student must retrace
his steps, and synthetically recompose the whole by a
reverse operation.

In applying these principles here, we must first repeat

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT. 245

that the Tarot considered as a whole is pre-eminently the
Sacred Book of occult initiation. Now we attain this
initiation by two different paths, by one of which we
develop the powers which we innately possess to their
utmost extent ; by the other we subdue ourselves, and thus
attain a state of being which renders us susceptible to the
action of the cosmic forces which surround us. Although,
these two methods differ completely, we can accomplishi
this great work by following either of them. This is the
meaning of the Hermetic precept, " that the philosopher's
stone can be prepared by the dry path or by the moist, by
the red dye or by the white." Initiation, androgynous as a
whole, is therefore subdivided into male and female. It
is masculine from the 1st (^^) to the 11th (p) arcana, and
becomes feminine in the arcana 21 (^) to 12 (v). With
regard to the arcanum 0 (^), which is unnumbered in the
Tarot, although it is eminently passive in itself, it must
not be included in the feminine series, for reasons easily
discerned in the study of the exact signification of each
arcanum taken separately.

Let us then content ourselves for the moment with
asserting that masculine or Dorian initiation starts from
^ to end in ^, whilst feminine or Ionian initiation starts
from C27 to end in a The two unite and complete each
other in the androgynous initiation, which can start from
W to end in ^> or start from ^ to return to it again, after
traversing the whole series of the arcana, taking their
numbers in the inverse order.

But initiation can be regarded not only under the
double aspect of activity and passivity represented by the
North and South, but it can be also contemplated as light
and life, that is to say, as the intellectual instruction as
well as the moral education of the Initiate. In this respect

246 THE TAROT.

the Tarot is divided by the 6th arcanum (1), the Lovers,
and the 17th (p), the Stars, into two parts, which represent
the West and the East.

This double division produces the four quaternaries of
which we have already spoken. Each represents one
especial section, its general sense being indicated by its
orientation ; the North-West thus corresponds with in-
tellectual activity ; the North-East with moral activity ;
the South-West wdth intellectual passivity, and the South-
East with moral passivity. These four sections are also
united in the arcana 1 (^) the Juggler; 11 (2) Strength;
12 (^) the Hanged Man; and 0 {^) the Foolish Man.

The 6th arcanum, the Lovers, indicates the passage of
intellectual activity to its moral application, the l7th Q.
The stars form the transition between passive intellectu-
ality and its practical employment in the exercise of the
occult powers.

We think that enough has been now said to enable each
student to discover for himself the complex signification
of every arcanum in the Tarot. We will therefore end
this sketch by some classifications, intended to prove that
the order in which we arrange the arcana of the Tarot
does not form a purely arbitrary system.

It will, in fact, be easily seen that connection in their
opposition links the arcana when they are grouped in
four quaternaries of different formation from the four first,
which we have already examined. (See p. 247.)

The analogy of these significations is particularly
striking between the arcana 7 and 16, 10 and 18, which
yet present an antagonistic meaning, as soon as 7 is
compared with 16, and 10 with 13. It is the same with
the other quaternaries represented here, although the fact
may be less visible at the first glance. But we will now

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

247

leave a fiee field to individual investigation on this point,
and pass on to the study of the Tarot from another point
of view.

High

Priestess

Pope

Empress

Emperor

World

Moon

Judgment

Sun

•s

Chariot

Wheel of
Fortune

Justice

Hermit

Lightning-
struck Tower

Death

Devil

Temperance

The 22 major arcana of the Tarot compared to the figures
representing the constellations upon the celestial sphere,
according to the Greek and Egyptian planisjoheres.

The Tarot which we possess represents a series of sym-
bolical images adapted to the ideology of the fourteenth

248 THE TAEOT.

century, and fixed by the invention of xylography. It is
impossible for us to retrace through the darkness of the
middle ages the origin of the twenty-two significative
figures known as atoiots, in the pack of seventy-eight cards
by which the Gypsies claim to reveal the secrets of fate.

Still it has been proved that the major arcana of the
Tarot are disfigured reproductions of a primitive model
dating from the earliest ages. It would be difficult to
refind this model in its original purity ; and if it were
possible to do so it could only be through judicious study
of every manifestation of symbolism throughout the
history of Oriental mythologies. They have bequeathed
to us an hieroglyphic monument of immense importance
in the representative figures of the signs of the Zodiac,
and of the constellations of the celestial Sphere. But
it would be most interesting if we could prove that these
allegorical figures absolutely reproduce the 22 major
arcana of the Tarot. From this affinity we might obtain
great light upon the genesis of human knowledge. For
the same identity of origin which manifestly unites the
plates of the Book of Thoth to the subdivisions of the
Greek and Egyptian planispheres, leads to the conclusion
that in both cases we possess a special adaptation, made from
documents which we have not yet found, but which may still
give us complete information respecting primitive India.

In any case the arcana of the Tarot explain many of the
anomalies in Greek mythology. We cannot now enter
into any minute details upon this subject, for it would
lead us beyond the limits of this book. We must content
ourselves with giving the reader a tableau indicating the
constellations which appear to correspond with the 22
major arcana of the Tarot, and therefore with the 22 letters
of the Hebrew alphabet, although their correspondence

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

249

with the latter is much less clearly defined. We will then
trace a planisphere grouping the arcana of the Tarot
according to the order of the constellations, and we will
end by a pentacle in the form of a double hexagram, in
which the Hebrew letters will represent the signs of the
zodiac, and the circumpolar constellations to which they
correspond, according to our first tableau.

OSWALD WIRTH'S TABLEAU.

O o
< <

H 5

. o

DENOMINATION OF
THE ARCANA.

CONSTELLATIONS.

The Juggler

Orion— The Bull

The High Priestess

Cassiopeia

The Empress

The Virgin

The Emperor

Hercules, Lyra and Boreal Crown

The Pope

The Eam

)

The Lovers

Eagle, Antinoiis, and Sagittarius

The Chariot

Great Bear

Justice

The Balance

The Hermit

The Ox-Drivcr

The Wheel of Fortune

Capricornus (opposed to Sirius)

Strength

Lion (and Virgin)

The Hanged Man

Perseus

Death

Dragon of the Pole

Temperance

Aquarius

The Devil

Goat and Coachman

The Lightning-struck Tower

Scorpion, Ophiuchus

The Stars

Andromeda, the Fishes

The Moon

Cancer, Sirius, and Procion

The Sun

The Twins

The Judgment

The Swan

The Universe

Lesser Bear and Pole Star

tj^

The Foolish Man

Cepheus

250

THE TAROT.

PLANISPHERE,

ACCORDIlSrG TO THE DATA OF THE PRECEDING TABLEAU, BY

OSWALD WIRTH.

Temperance

Wheel of
Fortune

The Lovers

Aquarius

Capricornus

Sagittarius

stars

The High
Priestess

The Foolish
Man

The Judgment

The Lightning-
struck. Tower

The Fishes

Cassiopeia

Cepheus

The Swan

Scorpion

The Pope

The Hanged
Man

The Universe

Death

The Emperor

Justice

The Ram

Perseus

Pole Star

Dragon

Hercules

The Balance

Juggler

Devil

The Chariot

Tlic Hermit

The Empress

Bull

The Coachman

Great Bear

The Ox -Driver

Virgin

Sun

Moon

Strength

Twins

Cancer

Lion

THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT.

251

Pentacle of Oswald Wirth.

Signs of the Zodiac and Circnmpolar Constellations.
Affinities with the Tarot.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE INITIATIVE TAROT.

Ch. Barlet's Essay on this Subject — Involution and Evolution — The
Hours of Apollonius of Tyana — The Phases of Initiation re-
presented by the Tarot.

The Initiative Tarot.

APPLICATION OF THE TAROT TO THE THEORETICAL AND
PRACTICAL DOCTRINES OF INITIATION.

Our friend F. Ch. Barlet has written a very interesting
article upon this subject, which we will quote in extenso.
Our readers will then see the exactitude with which his
conclusions harmonize with our own.

INITIATION.

Amongst the ancients the scientific men were also the
sages, such as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle ; in modern times,
on the contrary, science and wisdom are unsuccessfully
seekinof for each other, or strugoflinoj in mortal conflict
over the religious question. That such a separation
is against nature is easily seen by the study of those
Positivist philosophers whose extensive learning and

254 THE TAROT.

admirable efforts to build up a synthesis of scientific
wisdom merit high rank in the modern intellectual world.
Whilst their fundamental aphorism is that nothing is
attainable by man beyond the world of phenomena, their
works display an increasing though unintentional tendency
to cross the limits which they seek to impose upon
themselves, for they are led by that nature which they
love, and which in its final manifestations they know
better than any one else. We may compare them to
insects imprisoned behind a window ; in despair they beat
themselves against the glass, clearly seeing the sunbeam
which should lead them to the source of all light, yet
unable to follow it beyond the invisible wall of their
prison. On! the other hand, the Spiritualists are outside,
free, and as it were lost in the luminous ocean, wandering
without a compass, unable to find the guiding sunbeam
which is the despair of the Positivists.

However, one school exists which promises to guide
the one, to free the other, and to direct each student
towards the centre of Truth so ardently desired ; an
unknown school, little frequented, like every transcendent
degree, although its masters have always given proofs of
considerable learning — the school of Theoso'phy, a positive
spiritualism preserved for ages in the ancient mysteries,
transmitted with more or less purity by the Kabbali^ts,
Mystics, Templars, Rosicrucians, and Freemasons, often
degenerate, like every other doctrine prematurely divulged,
yet hidden at the root of every religion, and carefully per-
petuated in a few unknown sanctuaries, chiefly situated
in India.

The secret of Theosophy, in the reconciliation between
science and metaphysics, lies in a certain practical develop-
ment of those human faculties which are best fitted to

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 255

extend the limits of reliable knowledge. Let us first try
to understand this possibility.

An attentive examination of any scientific method,
however positive it may be, proves that there is no
evidence or certainty save in axioms, and that the fragile
and changeable scaffolding of our sciences, built upon this
immovable basis, is entirely due to intuition, of which
observation and experience are only instruments.

But the field of direct perception in which intuition
exerts itself is capable of extension ; this fact is now
demonstrated by the phenomena of hypnotism and
magnetism, the torments of our modern sciences ; for by
them the limits of opaque matter, of space and time, are
suppressed in variable but incontestable degrees.

But still, in this realm of transcendental faculties the
perception is not always so reliable as the unvarying
certainty which characterizes an axiom ; for amongst the
hypnotizable or magnetizable subjects, the material lucidity
presents a number of gradations which are reproduced
in the intellectual order, and which vary between the
fancies of a disordered imagination and the sublime
revelations of healthily inspired genius.

We do not therefore exceed the possibilities given by
the reliable evidence of observation and experience, when
we assert that the physical or intellectual perception of
the human being is capable of extending beyond the
limits of ordinary judgments and sensations; and that
in the transcendental regions which it can attain it is
susceptible of more or less certitude in its impressions.
This assertion opens new fields for human knowledge, an
hierarchy of new immediate causes, and the prospect of
an indefinite progress in science.

Now Theosophy inspires man with the enthusiasm

256 THE TAROT.

which enables him to draw near to these transcendent
regions of perception, whilst it guards him from illusion,
through the forces and the new beings which he will
meet there : it is this instruction which constitutes
Initiation.

The slight sketch which will now follow will at least
give some idea of the principles by which Religion and
Philosophy, Wisdom and Science, are united in Theosophy,
Any defects which the reader may find in it must be
attributed to want of skill on the part of the student
who has undertaken it.

*
* *

Initiation comprises two different but united sections.
The Theory of the resources and necessities of his enter-
prise, which the neophyte always receives as an inheritance
which leaves him absolute liberty of thought — and the
Practice in which he exercises, under the direction of
his masters, the physical, intellectual, and moral self-
control which will render him an Initiate.

The Theory, the primary instruction of Theosophy, is
a preliminary definition, consisting almost exclusively of
the contents of the Theosophical publications; but a
student should not fancy himself one of the Initiate
because he possesses these public works ; the knowledge
of them is an excellent preparation, but nothing more.

This theory is found scattered throughout a number of
more or less well-known and accessible books ; but there
are very few of them which explain it as a whole, simply
and methodically enough to satisfy a beginner. This
first difficulty, chiefly due to the actual state of many
minds, which will not admit regular instruction, also

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 257

corresponds to the numerous varieties of intelligence which
examine them. Some, previously opened to theosophical
doctrines, approach every detail with equal profit to
themselves ; others, on the contrary, who cannot at first
accept them as a whole, willingly examine them by
means of a secondary door which especially suits them,
but which often forces them to make enormous digressions
through our sciences and philosophies. The first steps
are consequently very varied, and they require guidance
from some more advanced brother, who is capable of
discerninoj the intellectual and moral state of the
neophyte.

This is why no work on the subject can be especially
recommended here. An excellent bibliography of theo-
sophic works will be found in the TraiU EUmentaio^e de
Science OccuUe, by Papus. We now add to it an excellent
list of a series of studies, long but reliable, which will
form a gradual transition from Positivism to Theosophy :

For facts. Study : Richefc, d'Assier, Liebault, Philipps,
Dupotet, Reichenbach, Mesmer, &c.

Hypothesis of the whole : Comte, Stuart Mill, Bain,
Ribot, Spencer, Taine, &c.

Philosophers: Du Prel, Hartmann, Schopenhauer, Hegel.
Great profit can then be derived from older works :
Spinoza, Leibnitz, and even from the ancients : Aristotle,
Plato, the Neoplatonists, the Pythagorists ; then the
modern mystic scientists : Wronski, Fabre d'Olivet,
Lucas, &c.

The student wdll then fully understand Theosophy.

This series will, however, require further modifications,
according to the character and the scientific aptitudes of
the student. We must also point out some features of
the theory, which are necessary for the comprehension of

258 THE TAROT.

our principal subject; the reader must only remember
that this explanation is entirely due to the author of this
article, and he must not impute any of its errors to
Theosophy itself.

*
* *

Our positive sciences give the last formula of the visible
Avorld in the following words —

There is no matter without force : no force luithout matter.

An indisputable but incomplete formula, unless the
following commentary be added to it —

1. The combination of what we call Force and Matter
presents itself in various proportions, from that which
is called materialized Force (rocks, minerals, simple
chemical bodies), to suhtilized Matter or Matter-Force
(a grain of pollen, spermatozoid, the electric atom).
Matter and Force, although we cannot isolate them, there-
fore present themselves as the extreme and opposing
mathematical limits (or contrary signs) of a series of
which we see only a few medium terms, abstract but
indubitable.

2. The terms of this series, that is to say, the substances
of nature, are never stable ; Force, which is characterized
by infinite mobility, sways essentially inert matter from
one pole to the other, as though it were drawn by a
continual current, while it retorts by a counter-current,
which leads it back to its inert condition. For instance,
an atom of phosphorus borrowed by a vegetable from tlie
mineral phosphates, becomes the element of a human
cerebral cellule (subtilized matter), then through dis-
integration falls back into the inert mineral kingdom.

3. The movement resulting from this unstable equili-

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 259

brium is not disorganized ; it presents a series of chained
harmonies which we call Laws, and which are synthetized
in oiir eyes in the supreme law of Evolution.

One conclusion is forced upon us : This harmonious
synthesis of phenomena is the eminent manifestation of
what we call a loill.

Therefore, according -to positive science, the visible
world is the expression of a will which manifests itself
by the unstable but progressive equilibrium of Force and
Matter.

It is represented by this quaternary —

I. Will (simple origin).

III. EoRCE (Elements of this polarized Will). II. Matter.

lY. The Visible World

(The result of their unstable, dynamic equilibrium).

The positive method will not allow us to pause there,
we must analyze the Will in its turn. We will abridge
this analysis here, for the reader will easily master it with
the aid of the treatises on psychology ; it leads through
the two opposing terms of affirmation and negation to a
new superior, apparently simple cause, the Idea, which
analysis again decomposes into consciousness and un-
consciousness, gradually remounting to its furthest limit,
the absolute term, the One, both conscious and uncon-
scious, affirmative and negative, force and matter, name-
less, incomprehensible to man.

Let us designate this supreme term by A, and the
material atom by XI, we shall then have, according to our
analysis, the following series of hierarchized quaternaries
as a representation of the Universe —

260 THE TAROT.

+ (1) A - ^

(3) Consciousness (2) Unconscious-
ness
(4) Idea
(6) Affirmation (5) Negation

(7) Will
(9) Force (8) Matter

(10) KOSMOS

Divine World
(The Transcendent)

Intelligible World
(Logic)

Visible World
(Positive Science)

The extreme terms, a and w, Spirit and Matter, equally
incomprehensible to human intelligence in their infinite
grandeur and infinite littleness,^ are not only linked
together by invariable intermediate chains, but they also
make an incessantly descending movement from one to
the other, in which the Spirit becomes Matter by the
successive disintegrations which express the Idea, the Will,
and Kosmos. This constitutes the creation.

But since, as our sciences prove to us, the Kosmos itself
is in a state of evolutive movement, and since according
to their teachings this movement clearly inclines towards
a progressive synthesis, which spiritualizes the living
being by entering more and more into its composition,
the preceding scheme expresses but one half of the
Universe, the one ^vhich descends. We must now add to
it a second half, which restores the atom, co, to its opposing
principle a, through the progressive synthesis of individual
lives. This is Progress, the sequence of Creation.

Thus the Universe appears to us like a circular current,
in which the flow is necessarily inverse in the two opposing
arcs : from the positive pole a to the negative pole co the

^ The first a, One and infinitely great ; integration of Q. Tlie
second a>, a multiple composed of an itifinite number of infinitely
tiny elements ; analysis of a.

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 261

current descends — this is Involution, the descent of the
Spirit into Matter ; from the negative pole co to the posi-
tive pole a the current re-ascends— this is Evolution, the
spiritualization of Matter. We shall describe it presently.

* *

Let us then infer for man —

The evidence of our sciences shows him to be upon
the ascending arc, already far from the negative pole,
since he is at the head of the three kingdoms of the
terrestrial world. He thus belongs to the visible tvorld of
the Universe ; the imposing monument of science is a
proof of the position which he also occupies in the
intellectual world; but at the same time his errors, his
doubts, the enormous deficiencies in his knowledge, and
his passions, sufficiently prove that he is no longer master
in this sphere, as he is in the inferior world. As to the
divine world, he conceives it, presses towards it ; but if
he attain it, it will be by faith rather than by science.

Man is then a being who in his re-ascension has reached
the middle region, and even the centre of that region ;
his place is in the centre of the ascending arc, between
the superior and the inferior beings of creation, ruling
the oae, ruled by the others, midway between the Angel
and the Beast. A situation inevitably painful through
the equality of the two opposing forces, which retard his
ascension ; he has come to a dead stop, which must be
overcome by a special effort.

At the present time Initiation is the instrument which
facilitates the development of the human butterfly. We
shall soon understand of what it consists.

* *

262 , THE TAROT.

The Ancients, with the usual force of their synthetic
genius, have symbolized the whole of Involution and
Evolution by a sequence of twenty-two figures, full of
hidden significations, which the occultists name the
Twenty-two Great Arcana.

Taking the ten first as a description of Involution, we
find in the others the successive phases of Initiation, such
as they are depicted in the twelve hours (or sentences)
which form the Nioctemeron attributed to Apollonius of
Tyana. These we shall now enumerate.

To be perfectly clear we must first return to Evolution
for one moment.

In fact its analysis is not completed by the ten terms
which have led us to the Kosmos, the dynamic equilibrium
of Force and Matter. This Kosmos can be analyzed in its
turn as two principles which, according to all the sciences,
are conflicting in every movement of matter : the Active
and Passive (male and female of organizations, acid and
basis of chemistry, the opposing poles of electricity, &c.).
Completely inert matter is only found in their absolute
equilibrium in the unsiezable pole exactly opposed to the
a — the CO of the Universe.

The occultists have represented this 4th tetractys, of
which the Kosmos is the first term (the tetractys of the
inferior world, infera, hell), by the 11th, 12th, and 13th
arcana, the Kosmos being its first term. The arcanum
which bears the generally dreaded number 13 requires
further notice. It is called Death and Resurrection,
and it represents absolute Inertia, only found in Death ;
but here Involution stops and Evolution commences, for
the equilibrium of the two principles, active and passive,
is never prolonged.

This would seem to contradict the preceding remark,

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 263

that the description of Initiation, that is to say, of the
re-ascension, opens with the 10th arcanum, and not with
the 14th. This however is not so, because in Involution
the being should retrace in an inverse sense, to complete
the synthesis, every stagB by which the a has been dis-
integrated in the course of its Involution. Man is the
actual result of a work of this kind anterior to his present
state, but of this work which has raised him from the w
to the stage of Wdl he is quite unconscious ; at first he
was subjected to it under the fatal pressure of pure Force
only, then of instinct, desires, and passions ; his previous
evolution is therefore wihiown to him, and yet how can
he master any of these worlds without knowing them all ?
His first work in Initiation must therefore be to re-descend
to his first steps in Evolution, to become acquainted with
all the degrees, all the forces, and all the beings that he
has passed through, to penetrate the roots of life to death
itself, and to learn to dominate them all.

We shall see presently that this is not a figurative
assertion; the Neophyte cannot attain any reliable voluntary
exercise of the transcendental faculties without first obtain-
ing the mastery over the forces which would produce
illusion, which would threaten his life itself; without
reaching Inertia and conquering it. Like the Christ, the
model of regenerate man, he must expire upon the cross
and rise again the third day ; that is to say, after
descending the three last steps represented by the 11th,
12th, and 13th arcana, into the depths of hell, there to
discover Death and to overcome him.

This fully understood, we will describe the twelve hours
or phases of Initiation.

*
* *

264 THE TAROT.

The 10th arcanum, the first hour of the series, corre-
sponds with the stage which man has reached at the
present time. The symbol of this arcanum is the S^phinXj
which guarded the entrance to the Egyptian world ; the
Neophyte descended between its paws into the tunnel
which led to the sanctuary, through a series of tests, the
image and noviciate of the descent which we have just
mentioned.

This is then the hour of preparation ; it separates the
common life from the transcendental life ; in it the
student learns the w^ork that he must undertake, and
prepares himself for it. Let us see in what way.

The human head of the Sphinx, the centre of the
intelligence, says to the Neophyte : " First acquire the
Knoivhdge which shows the goal, and lights the way to
it." This is the theoretic instruction mentioned above.

Its bull's thighs, the image of the rough, persevering
labour of the agriculturist, say to him : " Be strong and
patient in thy work."

Its lion's paws say to him : " Thou must hrave all, and
defend thyself against every inferior force."

Its eagle's wings say to him : " Thou must will to raise
thyself towards the transcendent regions, which thy soul
already approaches."

The riddle attributed to the Greek Sphinx, and the
answer required for it, are an equally expressive image
of man, and his aim. He is the animal that in the
morning (that is to say, in the infancy of humanity)
goes on four feet (4 being the number of realization,
expresses matter and its instincts, the visible world) ; at
noon (that is to say, in the maturity of his humanity)
he walks upon two feet (2, the number of opposition, the
image of science, of its contradictions, its doubts, and of

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 265

the intelligible world) ; and in the evening (when the day
is nearly over) walks upon three feet (3, the number of
the divine world, in which the Trinity gives the solution
of all the oppositions, of all the antinomies, by the superior
term, the harmonious synthesis of the two adverse terms).

Apollonius describes the same hour in these words :
" Here the Neophyte praises God, utters no injurious words,
inflicts no more pain," which means that his theoretic
knowledge of the Creation is increased, and that he
practises self-control. We will now pause and examine
the consistency of these various prescriptions.

We have seen that man, having reached the ascending
arc, has become the object of dispute between the inferior
forces of inertia, which he has traversed under the im-
pulse of instinct, and those active forces which draw
him upwards ; we have noticed that the struggle must
now be decided by the intervention of the Will, sufficiently
developed by Evolution, and sufficiently free to exert its
influence on one side or on the other : man can therefore
decide either for the inferior forces of disintegration, or
for the superior ones of synthesis, under the names of
Good and Evil. And truly evil for him if he redescend,
for he will meet the terrors of decomposition, of Death.
Good, on the other hand, if he ascend, for he will enjoy
the realization of his natural aspirations, the knowledge
of the Creation and dominion over it.

Now where is the index of the forces of inertia in the
human organization ? — In instinct, in i\\Q passions. Where,
on the other hand, is the index of the active forces ? — In
moral energy, in Virtue.

Where is the index of the forces of disintegration, which
lead to inertia in the human organization ? — In the
tendency to isolation, in egoism. Where, on the other

266 . THE TAEOT.

hand, is the index of the integrant forces ? — In the
tendency to joint responsibility, to altruism, in FraUmity.

The transcendent world is therefore open to whoever
has sufficient Will (or even artificial impulsion) to
triumph over the forces which guard it; but woe to that
man who approaches it with a passionate and selfish
heart; with lowered head he will fall back into the
current of decomposition, where he will be dissolved.
Nature destroys all Evil; it is the law of selection!

Only the man whose heart is full of charity can raise
himself to the true destination of the human being in the
region of Principles.

This is why the Sphinx prescribes, with the persevering
will of the Bull, the courage of the Lion against the
forces of the passions ; and why Apollonius commands
reserve and fraternity, with the Gospels which place self-
control at the foundation of all Law.

Such then, with the aid of knowledge, is the preparation
for Initiation ; we shall soon see the importance of these
precepts.

The Neophyte, sufficiently exercised in these pre-
liminaries of the first hour, then descends the three lower
steps as follows —

Arcanum XI. : Strength.

Second hour of Apollonius : '"' The, ctbyss of jire, — th^
virtues of the stars close as a croivn throttgh the dragons
and the fire " (the ma.gnetic chain).

The Neophyte learns to distinguish imiversal Force
and its double current, positive and negative, in his own

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 267

organization. The application of this knowledge will be
found in the two following hours —

Arcanum XII. : The Great Work.

Third hour of Apollonius : " The se^yents, the dogs,
and fire!'

The first manifestation of force applied externally to
inert matter for atfecting transmutations: this is Alchemy.
The Neophyte having attained this step in practice must
be ready morally to make a complete sacrifice of his
personality ; in the language of the alchemists, he must
have destroyed his fixed nature by fire so as to volatilize it.

Arcanum XIII.: Death.

Fourth hour of Apollonius: '* The Neojphyte wanders in
the sejndchres, and it will injure hiiii ; he will experience
horror and fear of visions; he should devote himself to
magic and to giotic^' ^

. This is Necromancy, the application of Force to the
domination of inferior living beings : Elemental, or
organisms ready to synthetize themselves, and Elementary,
remains of the dead, on the way to disorganization.

Morally, the Neophyte should die to ordinary life, to
enter the spiritual life ; the celestial man will be born from
the corpse of the terrestrial man.

The foundations of the Universe are now reached ; the
Neophyte touches the extremity of the terrestrial aura,
the sublunar atmosphere which surrounds every planet,
like the reservoir of the elements of its life ; he has now
reached a terrible moment, when he must lose the earth

1 The magic which evokes the evil genii who injure man — A.P.M.

268 THE TAROT.

to launch out into the ocean of space ; a formidable crisis,
to which two periods are consecrated.

The first is transitory.

Arcanum XIV. : The two Urns (the terrestrial and
celestial fluids).

Fifth hour of Apollonius : " The waters above the
heavens."

Here the Neophyte learns the flow of the astral currents
in the planetary aura, just as in the second hour he
acquired a preliminary knowledge of Force, before exposing
himself to it in the following hour.

Arcanum XV. : Typhon (the electric whirlwind).

Sixth hour of Apollonius : " Here one must remain
quiet, immovable thwugh fear^

Unprotected the Neophyte exposes himself to the
double and formidable fluid-current of celestial space, by
which the ignorant or imprudent is carried away without
mercy, but which raises the strong man who has purified
himself. Silence, prudence, courage !

According to your deserts you will be enraptured like
St. Paul, or you will expose yourself either to madness,
to the spiritualization of evil, or to sorcery. This is the
Sabbat or the Ecstasy !

The reader cannot pay too much attention to this
solemn monument of practical occultism, so well described
in Lytton's novel Zanoni under the name of the Dragon
of the Threshold; it is the formidable danger which
necessitates so many secrets. This threshold is reached
by many artificial paths : the hachich, narcotics, hyp-
notics of every kind, the practices of spiritual mediums ;

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 269

bat woe to him who attempts to pass it before he has
triumphed in the long and laborious preliminary prepar-
ation 1 His fate is foretold in the next arcanum.

Arcanum XYI. : The Lightning-stnick Tower.

Seventh hour of Apollonius : ^' Fire comforts every
living creature, and if some priest, himself a 'pure man,
purloin and use it, if he Mend it ivith holy oil, consecrate
it, and then anoint some ailing limb with it, the malady
tvill he cured."

The irresistible current has touched the man who
exposed himself to its vortex on the terrestrial heights ;
if he be impure he is threatened with disorganization
more or less complete, according to his intellectual or
moral unworthiness, and his energy (incoherent mysticism,
folly, death, or complete disintegration, represented by the
genius of evil, the Devil) !

If, on the contrary, he be worthy of the higher regions,
this baptism of fire renders him one of the Magi ; the
sources of terrestrial life are at his disposition ; he becomes
a Therapeut.

Having reached this point, he will then learn to know
the celestial spheres progressively as he knows the
terrestrial one, and to dominate them ; three hours are
consecrated to this exploration —

Arcanum XYII. : The Star of the Magi.

Eighth hour of Apollonius : " The astral virtues of the
elements, of seed of every hind!*

This is the region of" the principles of the solar system;
in it life becomes clear; its distribution from the solar
centre to all the planets, and their reciprocal influences,

270 THE TAROT.

are understood in all their details, in what the occultists
name the Correspondences. The Initiate is then master
of Astrology in every branch of the science, in the widest
meaning of its acceptation.

Arcanum XVIII. : The Twiliglit

Ninth hour of Apollonius : " Nothing is finished here."

The Initiate now extends his perceptions beyond our
solar system, " beyond the Zodiac " ; he is in sight of the
Infinite ; he touches the limits of the intelligible world ;
the divine light commences to show itself, the object of
new terror and danger.

Arcanum XIX. : The Resplendent Light.

Tenth hour of Apollonius : " The gates of heaven are
open, and man is horn again, doeile in the lethargic sleep!'

The Idea appears to the regenerate soul of the Initiate,
or, in the language of the Occultist, the spiritual sun will
rise for him ; he will by a new regeneration enter the
Divine World, in which man dies no more.

Two steps remain before the highest human destinies
can be accomplished —

Arcanum XX. : The Awakening of the Dead.

Eleventh hour of Apollonius : " The Angels, the
Cheruldm, and the Seraphim fly 'with nestling wings ;
there is joy in heaven, the earth rises, and the Sun, ivhich
issues from Adam!'

This is the hierarchy of the Divine world, which appears
upon new earths and new heavens. The Initiate will
not pass through death again; henceforth he will live
eternally.

THE INITIATIVE TAEOT.

271

Arcanum XXIL : The Croivn of the Magi.

Twelfth hour of Apollonius : " The cohorts of fire redT
Nirvana ! Complete return to a.

Let us recapitulate these twelve hours of the initiation.

0. — Preliminary studies aud tests.

Arcanum X.

1st hour

I. — Transcendent study of the Visible

World.

Inferior Manifestations :

1. Preliminary study of

Force.

{Magnetism)

Arcanum XL

2nd hour

2. Application to the inert

world.

{Alchemy)

Arcanum XII.

3rd hour

3. Application to the ani-

mate elementary world.

{Necromancy)

Arcanum XIII.

4th hour

Transitory phase :

{Magic)

(Death)

1. View of the superior

forces.
2. Entrance into the ultra-

Arcanum XIV.

5th hour

terrestrial world.

{Ecstasy)

Arcanum XV.

6th hour

The Dragon of the Threshold !

(Typhon)

Higher regions :

1. Application of the higher

forces to the terrestial

life.
2. The forces in the solar

{ Therapeutics)

Arcanum XA^I.

7th hour

system.
3. The forces of the wliole

{Astrology)

Arcanum XVII.

8th hour

Universe.
II. — Study of the Intclligihle

World.

Arcanum XVIII.

9th hour

On the borders of the Infinite.

Arcanum XIX.

10th hour

III. — Study of the Divine World.

Divine hierarchies

Arcanum XX.

11th hour

Nirvana !

Arcanum XXII.

12th hour

272 THE TAROT.

Need we add how much effort and time (years, lives,
often centuries) are required for each of these hoicrs, how
few there are who pass even the first steps !

And what can we expect from their knowledge ? The
hope of indefinite progress towards the realization of our
most radiant hopes, the desire to attain at least those
first realizations, so that we may derive from them the
assurance of the others ; confidence in the instruction of
those whom we recognize for masters ah^eady far advanced ;
lastly, the certainty that in these fruitful doctrines we
shall find the salvation of our suffering societies, as well
as the most longed-for individual happiness. And these
desires, this confidence, are felt after the first preliminary
studies.

To succeed, we need undertake but one work at first,
that which the Sphinx depicts to us : moral and intellectual
preparations. But only the man who seriously under-
takes them can know what immense and persevering
efforts they exact ! May this rough glimpse of them
inspire the reader with the desire and the courage to
devote himself to them with all the ardour of Hope !

F. Ch. Barlet.

THE DIVINE NAME IN THE TAROT.
By Ch. Barlet.

The totality of the symbols which form the Tarot is
distributed through a series of 78 plates or cards, instead of
being presented in a single figure ; the reason for this is,
that the signification of this totality is very multiple ; for
it is at the same time theologic, cosmologic, psychologic,
and divining, and this variety is the result of the different
combinations which can be produced by the arrangement
and comparison of these 78 cards. This variety is not one
of the lesser beauties of this unique masterpiece, in the
sense that it adds movement and consequently life to the
usual immobility of every written representation, without
counting the diversity of its appliances, which include
numbers, words, form, and colour.

The Tarot can therefore be made to speak when one of
its innumerable combinations has been found ; that is to
say, when the student knows how to arrange the whole or
part of his cards upon the table, in the order necessary to
discover the answer which he seeks.

We ask him : What is the Creation from man's point of
view, that is to say, what is the life of the Great All, and
how can or should man participate in it ? The whole
Tarot, with its 22 great arcana and 56 minor arcana, will
answer us, as we shall show by quoting only a few of the
profound interpretations which it provides.

274 THE TAROT.

To obtain this information we must remember that the
three first cards which express the Trinity form at the
same time the key to the 22 great arcana, which, when
the 0 is abstracted, are only seven repetitions of this
Trinity. We must also notice that the card IV., the
fourth term of the divine tetractys, is both the realization
of the Trinity restored to the unity, and the first term of
the following Trinity. The four first cards thus represent
the divine name of 4 letters, lEVE ('^iH*'), so that if we
repeat the Trinity seven times, to obtain the sequence of
the 21 great arcana, the numbers will correspond to the
four letters as follows —

:N'umbers 1. 2. 3 — 4. 5. 6. — 7. 8. 9 — etc.

Letters... r H ,-- H ^ n -^ H ^ - etc.
ilEV— EIE— VEI — etc.

We will assume that these letters are thus attached to
the corresponding arcana, and this remark will be the first
key to the arrangement which we are looking for.

To find a second key, we must redeal our cards in a
given space ; at first only their place in the plane will
appear ; then it will be clearly defined. We know that
the Kosmos is conceived as the final expansion of the
mathematical point, that is to say, of the Absolute, which
before this expansion included all force or potentiality in
its nothingness. Let us draw this sphere (see Fig, 1).
The centre of it will be represented by one of the cards,
0, the Foolish Man or Crocodile, which is the pivot of
the whole pack, at the same time that it participates in all
the other cards, for they include all the properties of our
universe. From some point of the sphere, a point which
becomes our north pole, the movement will start, by which
the creation will appear on its surface.

{^x

<->'

A /

v\'

276 THE TAROT.

Around this point upon the sphere, the reflex of the
centre, we will place the cards of our 3 first arcana : I. (the
Mage, the Spirit, '^) ; II. (Knowledge, Substance, ^) ; III.
(Love, the fertile Power, the Being, 1) ; and in order
that this Trinity may be repeated in the whole septenary
of our distribution we will make it the root of 3 o^reat
divisions, representing the 3 terms of the Trinity, which
will divide the surface of our sphere by 3 meridians.

We can then continue the distribution of our cards
upon this surface in the following way. The head of each
partial Trinity will be in division 1 ; each second term
will be in division 2 ; each third term in division 3.
Consequently our IV. card (the Emperor, H) will be in the
I. ; the V. card (the Pope, i) will be io II. ; the VI. card
(Liberty, ^} will be in III., and this second I sequence will
form a new zone upon the sphere. A third, a little
inferior, will be formed by cards VII., VIII. and IX., cards
XI., X. and XII. will occupy the Equator, and the 9 cards
from XIII. to XXI. will be distributed like the 9 first, in 3
bands placed upon the lower hemisphere as shown in Fig. 1.

NoAV our 22 great arcana are placed ; let us pause aad
look at their significations. 'Above the Equator we see an
ever-increasing expansion of the North Pole, represented
by the 3 upper triangles, then by the 6 trapezes which
follow, each larger than the one before. Here are the three
planes of the Creation : The Divine, metaphysic (L, II.,
HI.), the Intelligible, moral (IV., V., VI.), and the physical,
that of the generative attributes or elements (VII., VIII.,
and IX.).

The creation is realized upon the equatorial line (X.,
XL, XII.), in which the first term, with the preceding cards,
represents the 10 sephiroth of the Kabbalah.

Below the Equator, in the world of material realization,

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 277

which is quitted by Death (XIII.), this expansion is
retracted and synthetized by an inverse and symmetrical
movement of the above. The arcana which follow
represent Initiation carried to its extreme limits, the
path by which the creature (X.) returns from its multi-
plicity to the unity of the spirit, goes back to the point —
the southern pole — a new reflex of the Absolute, towards
which it reascends by the vertical axis of the sphere.^

The Neophyte, after his preparation (positive science,
magnetism and alchemy, X., XI., XIL), travels through the
sublunar world (XIII., XIV., XV.), then through the solar
system (XVL, XVII. and XVIIL), and escapes by the sun
in the abyss of the Infinite (XIX., XX., XXL).

We may now end this short explanation of the practical
distribution of our 22 arcana upon a plane (the reader will
do well to imitate it upon a table with a pack of Tarot
cards). The student should imagine that our sphere is
seen from a considerable distance, vertical upon its axis ;
for instance, at the distance of the earth from the sun, the
upper hemisphere only will appear, the other being seen
but transparently ; and it will look like a circle, with the
Equator for its circumference. The limits of the 3 super-
posed zones appear like 3 concentric circles ; the meri-
dional planes, seen by their dividing lines, only look like
3 equally divided radii, making of the 3 sectors 3 equal
arcs. This representation, which geometricians name jpro^
jection upon the plane of the Equator, gives the second
figure (the 4 circles of the centre only) ; to it, for the sake
of clearness in the symbols, has been added an equilateral
triangle inscribed in the inner circle, with the points
posed upon the 3 meridians. The Roman figures inscribed

1 The details which justify this assertion will be found in the first
part of this chapter.

278 THE TAROT.

in the circles represent the numbers of the cards placed
as we have said, and, consequently, also indicate their place
upon the table. The arcana of the lower hemisphere are
indicated upon the figure in dotted letters, in the same
circles as the preceding ; since the lower zones, seen only
transparently, might be confused with the upper, through
their mutual symmetry.

Here, in its great features, is already an answer to our
questions : the Spirit descends by three trinities from the
Absolute into Matter (upper hemisphere). It is realized by
the trinity X. (Malchut), XI. and XII. (the Equator), and
it returns to the Absolute by a trinity of growing synthesis,
which constitutes human progress (lower hemisphere).

We will presently explain some of the philosophic
interpretations which this distribution furnishes ; let us
first complete it by our 55 minor arcana. They especially
represent our solar world.

Since we are now in the world of realization, 4 is its
number, its fundamental basis ; it is the Trinity realized ;
the divine name of 4 letters lEVE (n*in^). Our cards will
be divided into 4 sections : the 4 colours of the pack,
spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds, with their hieroglyphic
and far more significant names : the Sceptres, Ctcj)s, Swords^
and Fenfacles.

Everything is dual in this world, where the equilibrium
is unstable, unable to find any rest, except in the return
to the Trinity, from which it proceeds. Thus these 4
fundamental divisions will divide into 2 duads : the one
spiritual, the other material, each composed of a masculine
and feminine principle, namely —

Spiritual duad, the Scqito^e (spades, a full triangle,
masculine) ; the Cuj^ (heart, an open triangle, feminine) ;
religious attributes ;

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 279

Material diiad : the Sword (club, a lobed triangle),
and the Pentacle (diamond, double triangle) ; the attributes
of the warrior and of the artisan.

Four other divisions correspond to these 4 colours, those
of the figures which also form 4 duads, namely —

King and Queen ;

Knight or Warrior, and Knave.

As to the numbers which follow these figures, they lead
us to another consideration, which is also essential to the
distribution of our cards —

If 4 is the fundamental number of these minor arcana,
the symbols of our world, we must not forget that it is
also connected with the Trinity, from which it emanates;
that it realizes it, and returns to it. We must then also
find the ternary element in it : after the colours and the
figures, which have provided the basis of our world, the
numbers, which are, as it were, the essence of it, will
reflect the sephiroth in it, and by them the act of creation.
They pause, in fact, at 10, including 3 trinities besides the
tenth, Malchut, which unites them.

Our distribution must also take the two numbers 3 and
4 into account, by combining them so as to utilize all the
elements which we have just enumerated. This is how
we can do this (follow Fig. 1 upon the plane of the
Equator, represented as a ring outside the sphere) —

We will first separate some of the cards : the Knave of
each of the 4 colours (p), which, as the realization of the
Trinity, King (''), Queen (H), Knight (1), serves as the tran-
sition from the quaternary to the ternary; and the 10
of each colour, the unity of complete reiilization, the multiple
unity 1 and 0 — Malchut.

The Knaves, by their participation in the quaternary
and ternary, and their return to the Unity by the Trinity,

280 THE TAROT.

have a universality which connects them with the un-
numbered card 0 of the great arcana ; we will therefore
place them round this card, as a cross, in the centre of our
equatorial circle. In this way the centre will express : By
the card 0, the original unity, the source and aim of
creation ; by its triangle, the primitive Trinity ; by its 4
colours, the quaternary in which it is realized ; by the
character of the 4 Knaves, the return of this quaternary to
the ternary ; in short, the whole creation assembled in one
point, in potentiality, which is the characteristic of the
Spirit.

On the other hand the four 10 will be placed at the ex-
tremities of the cross formed by the Knaves, outside all our
circles, as the expression of the Unity multiple, in its last
term of differentiation.

As to the other cards, they include first 3 kinds of
figures, which correspond with the 3 terms of the
Trinity ; it is quite simple to distribute them in the 3
parts of our external equatorial plane, corresponding with
the 3 divisions of the sphere — •

The Kings opposite to division I Q) ;
The Queens opposite to division E (H) ^
The Knights opposite to division V CT) ;

and, since there are 4 colours for each of them, 4 sub-
divisions are naturally produced in each of our 3 principal
divisions; these 4 subdivisions, corresponding to the
Sceptre Q, the Cup (n), the Sword Q), and the Pentacle (n),
also repeat the Divine name of 4 letters (lEVE) ('^1^*'),
and form the passage from the ternary to the quaternary.

Now only the numbers remain to be placed ; and we
have only to make them correspond with the terms of the
Trinity —

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 281

The four 1 behind the Kings ;
The four 2 behind the Queens ;
The four 3 behind the Knights.

Then, in a still more external circle —

The four 4 outside the Kings and the 1 ;
The four 5 outside the Queens and the 2 ;
The four 6 outside the Knights and the 3.

Finally, an outlying circle will include the four 7, 8 and 9
in the same order. As to the four 10, they are placed quite
outside, as we have already said.

We thus obtain the distribution represented by tlie
figures 1 and 2.

Let us now consider their signification.

The living atom descended upon the sphere has reached
the point represented by arcanum X., the wheel of JEzekiel,
which raises man and lowers the elemental. From this, the
atom falls, so to speak, through the material world, which
he has just entered. He first descends through the spiritual
decade (Sceptre and Cup) (see the figure), traversing
numbers of increasing complexity : King, 1, 4, 7, then 10.
By this 10, the multiple unity, limit of materialization^
which unites the two portions of the decade Sceptre-Cup,
he resumes in an inverse sense, as though by a reascending
arc, the road which will lead him back to plate X.,
remounting the 4, 7, 10, and King of Cups and Swords, the
substantial duad.

This is only one-third of the voyage which the living
atom must accomplish in the real world ; and, in this first
excursion through matter, he has still retained the
spiritual character which he received from Yod (**), the
characteristic of plate X.; he must now lose this character
for that of the following E ip). To this end, he passes

282 THE TAROT.

from plate X., which he has just re-entered, to plate XI. (H),
the Hermit, the veiled LamiJ, to pass in the same way as
he has already done through the dual series of the Sceptre-
Cup, through the Queens, the 2, 5, and 8, passing by the
10 of Cups, and remounting by it through the second
series, Sword-Pentacles, to the arcanum XI., the starting-
point of this second excursion.

Finally, from this last arcanum he passes to number
XII. (1), the Sacrifice, descends the neuter series of the
Knight, 3, 6, 9 of Sceptres and Cups, crosses the 10 of
Swords and the 10 of Pentacles, and remounts by the
dual Swords and Pentacles to the intelligible world.

His journey across the material world is completed ; he
has travelled over the Zodiac ; he will now die ; the
arcanum XIII. is ready for him, and will give him access
to the spiritual world, to the Redemption.

We will now explain some other features of this
distribution.

It divides the external circle of the Equator into 3 arcs,
subdivided into 4 portions; in all 12 divisions of different
characters. These are the 12 signs of the Zodiac. The
first is naturally ranked with the first card of the minor
arcana in the spiritual sector, i. e. the King of Sceptres
(Spades) ; the second corresponds with the King of Cups,
and so on to the twelfth.

One observation will suffice to justify the connection
between the zodiac and our cards. We must note the 12
divisions of the circle into the triple repetition of the 4
letters of the Sacred Name ; an operation legitimized by
the rem.ark already made, that these 4 colours correspond
with these letters (see Fig. 2, in the intermediate
circle, where the signs of the Zodiac are written). We at
once recognize the 4 trigons of the Zodiac, corresponding

THE INITIATIVE TAEOT. 283

with the elements which the 4 colours also represent, and
these trig^ons are characterized as well as desicrnated.

The fieo^y trigon (T, Q, f), corresponding with the
Sceptre and the letters ''*''', is swayed by the spiritual element.

The earthy trigon ( 8 , "HJ, 'VJj, corresponding to the
Clip and to the letters TMin, namely, two E s of the name
of 3 letters, and the final E of the name of 4 letters —
an essentially feminine character, substantial, but of
superior order.

The awy trigon (11, =£l :;::j^), corresponding to the Swoo'd

and the letters '1'^'T swayed by the masculine element of
the second order.

The loatery trigon (s, '\, }{), corresponding to the
Pentacle and to the letters T^T^^, comprising, this time, the
final E of the name of 4 letters twice repeated, and the E
of the name of 3 letters — the dominant character, the
inferior feminine.

But we must leave the minor arcana to the investi-
gations of the reader — they would lead us too* far — and
return to some further notice of the great arcana.

Let us first notice how the three chief sectors preserve
and reproduce their innate characters in all their divisions.

We find, in the first, that of the letter Yod Q), the Spirit,
the numbers of the unity, I., IV., VII., X. (repeated in the
minor arcana) ; as figure, the Kings ; as colotcr, the
Sceptre ; in the Zodiac, the lines of the ascension of the
sun above the Equator from the spring to the solstice.

In the second sector (n) the substantial principle is the
feminine numbers II., V., VIII., XI. (repeated in the minor
arcana) ; as figure, the Queens ; as colour, the Cup ; in
the Zodiac, the four signs of the descent of the sun
towards the Equator ; the season of harvests and vintages,
fecundity in all its forms.

.cr^

''C;

^^ — 1

n .

n
10 0

Fig. 2.

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 285

In the third sector (1), the Son, the Element, are the
sacred numbers which participate in the two preceding
orders, III., VT., IX. ; as figure, the Knight ; as colour, the
Pentacle of the practical world, and the Sword also, which
close the preceding sector; in the Zodiac, the signs through
which the sun passes in the southern hemisphere ; our
winter, the season for the consumption of the produce of
the earth, of renovation for the cycle which follows :
Christmas is in the centre ; the new birth in the winter of
death ; the time when the Son was born into an inferior
world to reanimate it.

The divine Name TDTi^ is not only written in the series of
concentric circles, it is also found upon the lines belonging
to those circles, either in descending or in remounting.

The first sector gives it without transposition, as we see
in Fig. 2.

In the second sector the divine Name is preceded by
the feminine letter E, the Mother, and finally pauses at it :
E, lEVE, IE. (See the figure.)

In the third, it commences by the letter of the Son and
ends by that of the Father, to which he returns : VE,
lEVE, I.

We shall now inquire from the symbols of the cards the
different ways of pronouncing the divine Name, and also the
vctrious manifestations in the Kosmos of each of these four
letters. Let us question even the spirit of these symbols,
instead of their number, colour, or form, which have
chiefly occupied us at present.

By first following the regular order of our arrangement
we shall find —

In the divine world : the arcana I., II., III., IV., the
divine Tetractys, comprising: (1) the Absolute Being ; (2)
the Consciousness of the Absolute ; (3) Love or the power

286 THE TAROT.

of fecundity ; (4) the realization of the vn^tuaUties of the
Absolute.

In the world of laws : arcanum V., the laws of the
relation of the Created with the Uncreate (the Initiator,
Fear also)} VI. {Liberty, Beauty) ; knowledge of good
and evil ; knowledge of the Law. VII. (Glory) ; rule ol'
the Spirit over Matter, the fertile power of the Law ; and
VIII. {absolute Justice, Victory), realization of the Law.

In the physical world : arcana IX. (the veiled Lamv), the
light extinguished in the darkness of the substance, the
spirit imprisoned in the material world, Yesod. X. ( Wheel
of Fortune), which raises the fallen spirit to lead it back,
with the nature which it has spiritualized, to all its power,
by Strength (arcana XL), and by Sacrifice (arcana XIL).

The phases of spiritualization then follow. XIIL : First
phase : {Death) to the physical world. XIV. {the tiuo Urns)
combination of the movements of life. XV. (Typhon)
Magic. XVI. (the Lightning-struch Tower) ; the inter-
planetary force.

Second phase : XVII. (the framing Star), the internal
light. XVIII. (the Twilight), the aurora of the divine sun.
XIX. (the Sun), central ; and XX. (the Judgment), after
which the supreme realization is obtained, the Croion of the
Magi.

We have said that the divine Name is again enunciated
in following the three sectors.

In the first are the arcana I., IV., VII., X. The absolute,
the realization of its virtual ities, the dominion of Spirit
over Matter, and the animating principle of beings.
Then, in return, XIIL, XVL, XIX. and I. Death (Inertia),

^ Consult for the generation and signification of numbers the
Traite Elenientaire de Science Occulte, by Papus, a learned author,
whose good counsels have produced the best part of this article.

THE INITIATIVE TAEOT. 287

the astral light, the central sun, and the Unspeakable
himself.

This is the account, by the principles, of the differentia-
tion and integration of the Absolute.

In the second sector, the one which corresponds to the
consciousness of the Absolute or faith, we have the series,
v., VIII., XI., XIV. : the Hierophant, or religion ; Justice,
Force, and the combination of the movements of life ; the
image of the Saints ; the Mystics of all religions, who by
absolute Faith and Justice, receptive, feminine virtues,
acquire, without seeking for it, the power of working
prodigies.

Lastly, in the third Sector, that of Love or power of
fecundity, we have the series : IX., Wisdom and Prudence ;
XII., the Sacrifice; XV., self-abandonment to the astral
forces; and XVIIL, the attainment of the Infinite. The
essence of this series of efforts, both active and passive,
constitutes Initiation, the Redemption.

Let us once more seek for the divine Name, through the
three divisions at once. We shall find, for instance, the
arcana I., II., III., VI., which demonstrate the divine
Trinity, manifesting itself by Beauty and Liberty in the
Intellectual world : it is the passage of the Father Q) to
the Son 0).

Or again, I., VI., IX., X. : The descent of the Father f)
into the physical world (X.) by the Son (VI.) and by Yesod
(IX.) ; the Word made fiesh. This is the Redemption,
the series which in the Seiolur Yetzirah represents the
Column of the Sephiroth (Kether — Tiphereth — Yesod and
Malchut).!

1 The signification of the cards is borrowed from Fabre d'Olivet,
Wronski, E. Levi, Christian, and the Sepher Yetzirah (translation by
Papus).

2S8 THE TAROT.

But we must limit these examples, which the reader will
easily multiply for himself. Let us only add a few more
words upon our second problem : the different manifest-
ations of each of the three persons of the divine Trinity.

The Yod is found in the arcana L, V., IX., XII. and
XIII. ; in Keter, in the Hierophant, in the Wise Old Man ;
then it presides over death, which will bring the world
from the depths of gloomy Inertia to the resplendent
crown of the Magi, by the internal light.

It will be noticed, at the same time, that the Yod is the
only one of the four letters which, by its various positions,
forms a complete spiral round the sphere, from the north
to the south poles ; a symbol which may appear very
remarkable to any one acquainted with the mysteries of
the life of a planet.

The first E, the celestial Mother (arcana II.), is found
in the arcana VI., X., XIV. and XVIII., that is to say.
Beauty, Form, the Angel of Temperance, which balances
the movements of life, and the aurora of the divine Sun ;
Diana the Moon.

The V, the Son, is characterize 1 upon the various
planes by the arcana III., VII., XI., XV. and XIX. ; Love,
the fertile power ; the Ruler over Matter, Force ; then
Typhon, the mysterious Baphomet of the Templars,
which collects the superior forces to spread them over the
Earth; and lastly, the central Sun. In a word, the Christ
of the Gospel, the Spirit of Love, the Master of the
Elements, the Word made flesh to spiritualize the flesh ;
the divine reflex of the Universal Sun.

Lastly, the second E ; the terrestrial Mother is seen in
the arcana IV., VIIL, XII., XVI. and XX. The realization
of the divine virtualities, and also Mercy, absolute
Justice, Sacrifice, the overwhelmed and suffering Spirit,

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 289

and finally Resurrection ; the head of the Serpent crushed
beneath the woman's heel, by the force of abnegation and
resigned faith.

We need only follow these various arcana upon the
sphere, to see once more that the Yod has 8 superior
arcana (northern hemisphere), and 2 inferior ;

That the V Q) has only 2 superior and 1 medium
(upon the Equator) ;

And that the E has 4 superior, 2 inferior, and 2
medium.

Let us close these remarks, already too lengthy, by a
simple observation upon the general effect of our
arrangement.

The three worlds, Divine, Intelligible, and Physical,
are found not only in the three zones of the sphere, but
they are again reproduced in the whole arrangement ;
the Divine is in the centre, through the Foolish Man of
the Tarot, and the cross of four colours ; this we have
already pointed out.

The Intelligible and its developments are provided by
the sphere (Fig. 1), or the circular distribution of the 21
great arcana (Fig. 2).

The physical is seen in the external plane of the
Equator (Fig. 1), with the distribution of the 56 minor
arcana, representing the Zodiac and the various degrees
of the multiplicity of Force through substance to the
extreme pole, the negative unity 10.

Moreover, the whole (Fig. 1) reproduces the form of
the planet Saturn, with its ring, a form which in itself,
according to the theories of our positive sciences, is the
clearest manifestation, the demonstration of the great
laws of the formation of the Universe ; namely, the
concentration of the substance in a radiant state around

290 THE TAROT.

a point of attraction, producing with a progressive con-
densation a rotatory movement, particularly accentuated
at the Equator, and giving birth to the stars, planets, and
satellites, thus descending from the ethereal n4hulcuse to
the atom, to the solid ultimate ; from living nothing-
ness to inert nothingness, from the unit to an infinite
multiplicity.

Thus the Tarot, the secular fruit of the genius of our
ancestors, can represent not only the creation in its actual
state, but its history even in details, and its future
with that of the human creature, even to their principles ;
yet avoiding, by the combination of its analogical symbols,
borrowed from natural life, the rock upon which all
philosophy breaks — namely, the definition of words, the
clear, full expression of the Word in the sublunar world.

CHAPTER XVIIL

THE KABBALISTIC TAROT.

Deductions by Etteila upon the Book of Tlioth — Example of the
Application of the Tarot to the Kabbalah, the Hierogram of
Adam by Stanislas de Guaita.

Deductions by Etteila upon the Book of Thoth.

We will now recapitulate some of the conclusioDS which
Etteila attained in the course of his work upon the Book
of Thoth (the Tarot).

The Booh of Thoth Hermes indicates by its name alone
that our author had discovered its Egyptian origin. It
is composed of 78 leaflets, forming 4 volumes.

The 1st volume contains 12 leaves
The 2nd — 5 —

The 3id — 5 — -

The 4th — 56 —

Thus the 22 major arcana form 3 volumes, and the 56
minor arcana form the last.

The 56 leaves of the last volume divide in the following
way, according to the operation indicated in the first
reading of the cards —

26 + 17 + 11 + 2-56.

292 THE TAROT.

The 4 divisions of the 56 leaflets (the 4 colours)
respectively represent —

1. Agriculture.

2. Priesthood.

3. Mobility,

4. People,

Magistrates.
Soldiers.
Art.
Commerce

The Booh of Tliotli contains three parts, viz. :

22 Major Atouts.

16 Minor Atouts (the figures).

40 Small cards.

It is formed like a livino- beino^, for —

78 is its body ;
3 its spirit or mediator ;
1 its soul.

If we add the 12 first leaflets of the book together, we
shall discover the number of its total —

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 = 78.

If we now look back at the first operation in reading
the cards according to our author, new deductions will arise.

Number 78 will be found to represent Salt, or the
incorruptible Spirit.

The number 1 (a book) represents the Unity, the
Divinity ; lastly, the number 26, which divides the Tarot
into three parts, is exactly that of Jehovah (mn**).

Yod = 10

He = 5

Vau = 6

He = 5

Total 26

THE KABBALISTIC TAROT. 293

In the first operation-^ upon the packets of 26 cards
nothing remains, — 0.

In the second operation upon the packets of 17 cards
1 remains, which represents the point in the centre of
the circle zero.

Lastly, in the third operation upon the packets of 11
cards 2 remain, which represent Man.

To sum up —

0 — The Circumference of the Universe.

1 — The point of the Centre-God.

2 — The Male and the Female. Man.

God, Man, and the Universe, obtained by the mystic
system of Etteila !

We shall never end if we try to follow our author in all
the deductions he makes from the above ; let us content
ourselves, in closing, with demonstrating the meaning
which he gives to the numbers of the packets which have
been successively placed on one side.

2^— The Soul
11— The Spirit.
U— The Body,

Finally, the remainder of the cards 11 + 11 + 2 = 24 is
Life.

These few pages will suffice to give the student a
glimpse of Etteila's method of proceeding. We have
rendered his deductions as clearly, and presented them
as methodically, as possible. The curious had better
consult his work on the subject —

^ See, for an explanation of these packets and the method of
obtaining them, Chapter XX. (6th lesson).

204 THE TAROT.

Collection sur les Hautes Sciences, or a theoretical and
practical treatise upon the wisdom magic of the ancients,
absolutely complete in twelve books, which contain all that
Etteila has written upon the Hermetic philosophy, the art of
fortune-telling by cards . . . and particularly the sublime Book
of Thoth. 2 vols. 8vo., bound, 1780.

EXAMPLE OF THE APPLICATION OF THE
TAROT TO THE KABBALAH.

THE HIEROGEAM OF ADAM, BY

Stanislas de Guaita.

In asserting that the hierogram of Adam conceals the
most profound arcana of the living Universe, we shall
not astonish those who have made a serious study of the
Scplier Bereschit. By comparing the admirable translation
of Fabre d'Olivet with the pentacular revelations of the
Book of Thoth, it is not impossible to strike out the
supreme light of truth. Here are a few data which will
aid us to reach it.

Adam ^is is written in Hebrew, Alejjh, Dcdeth, Mem.

H (1st key of the Tarot : The Juggler). God and man ; the
Principle and the end ; the Equilibrant Unity.

"T (4th key of the Tarot : The Emperor). The Power and
the Kingdom ; tlie verbal Quaternary ; the Multiplication of
the cube.

72 (13th key of the Tarot : Death). Destruction and Restor-
ation ; Night and Day, moral and physical ; Eternity and the
Ephemeral ; feminine Passivity ; at once the gulf of the Past,
the matrix of the Future.

The ternary analysis of the fathomless principle that
Yod manifests in its inaccessible and synthetic unity, Adam

THE KABBALISTIC TAROT. 295

is, in fact, very analogous to the hierogram Au7n, which
is so famous in the sanctuaries of India.

In QlS, Aleph corresponds to the Father, the source of
the Trinity ; Dahth to the Son (whom the Kabbalah also
names the King) ; and Mem to the Holy Spirit, whose
ethereal body, devouring yet fertilizing transitory forms,
causes life (inexhaustible and unalterable in its essence)
to blossom upon the changing hot-bed of Groiuth.

I have said that li^lW is the cyclic analysis of the
principle, of which > (Yod) is the inaccessible synthesis.

A simple calculation of the numerical Kabbalah confirms
my assertion. Let us translate the letters into numbers
(Tarotic method).

Ml 14 ?2 13.

1 + 4 + 13 = 18. In 18, 1+8-9.

In Kabbalistic absolute numericals the analytical
number of Adam is then 9. Now we obtain 10 by
adding to 9 tlie specific unity which leads the cycle
back to its starting-point, and closes analysis in synthesis,
and 10 is the number which corresponds to the letter
Yod: this we were anxious to prove.

The hierogram matic vocable D1S (Adam) then repre-
sents the ninth evolution of the cycle, which emanated
from •> (Yod), and which closes in 10 by returning to its
starting-point. Principle and end of all, the eternal Yod,
revealed in its expanded form tertrnme.

Let us go further still.

We have then the right (noting, however, that Adam
differs from Yod, or from Wodh, as the totality of the
sub-multiples differ from the Unity), — we have the right
to say, pursuing our analogies,

If Adam he equal to 1,

296 THE TAROT.

Adam-ah = I-ah ; and Adain Eve = I-eve. He (n)
represents Universal Life, natura naturans ; n** then
represents Yod united to Life, and n^lS (Adamah),
Adam united to Life. This is the union of the Spirit
and of the Universal Soul at two different degrees (always
remembering the distinction noticed above).

Lastly, in 'n^rr' (lEVE), as in nin-^TM (Adam-Eve),
Vau (i) represents the fecundity of this union, and the
last He (n) symbolizes nahora naturata (issued from
natura nahirans, increased by the mixed principle).

These four letters, mil'' (lEVE), symbolize the
quaternary of Mercavah, the six letters of Adam-Eve,
nih'^is, the senary of Bereschith.

(Fragment of the Serpent of Genesis published in the Lotus
of March 1888, p. 327, and 328 note.)

CHAPTER XIX.

LIST OF THE AUTHORS WHO HAVE INTERESTED THEM-
SELVES IN THE TAROT.

Raymond Lulle — Cardan — Postel — The Rosicrucians — Court de
Gebelin — Etteila — Claude de Saint-Martin — J. A. Vaillant —
Cliristian — Elipbas Levi — Stanislas de Gnaita — Jos^phin P^la-
dan — The. Platonist — Theosophical Publications — F. Cb, Barlet
—Oswald Wirtli— Poirel— Ely Star— H. P. Blavatsky— Cb. de
Sivry — Matbers.

SOME ACCOUNT

OF THE AUTHORS WHO HAVE SPECIALLY INTERESTED THEM-
SELVES IN THE TAROT.

Raymond Lulle (1235 — 1315), an eminently learned man, the
founder of a system of philosopby, but chiefly of logic,
entirely based upon the application of the Tarot ; this is the
Ars Magna.

Cardan (Jerome). Born in Paris in 1501, died in 1576. Pro-
fessor of Mathematics and Medicine at Milan and Boulogne.
Travelled through Scotland, England, and France, working
miraculous cures.

His treatise On Suhtillty (1550) is entirely based on the keys of
the Tarot.

Postel (Guillaume). Born at Dolerie (diocese of Avranches)

298 THE TAROT.

in 1510. Sent to tlie East by Francis T., he brought back
some valuable manuscripts, and was appointed Professor of
Mathematics and Oriental Lano-uaQ;es in the Colleg;e of France.
Died in the Convent of Saint-Martin des Champs in 1581.
One of the greatest Initiates of the sixteenth century. He
discovered the key to the Tarot, but did not disclose the
secret, in spite of the promise given in the title to his work,
TJie Key to the Hidden Mysteries (1580). A list of his works
will be found in the index.

The Mysterious Fraternity op the Eosicrucians (1604).

La Fama Fraternitatis Rosea Crucis (1613) shows the Initiate

that the Rosicrucians possessed the Tarot, which is described

thus —
They possess a hook from which they can learn everything that

is in the hooks already written and to he written.
We mast not forget that the Eosicrucians are the Initiators of

Leihnitz^ and the founders of actual Freemasonry through

Asmhole.
Court de Gebelin. Born at Mmes in 1725, died at Paris in

1784. An illustrious scholar, who discovered tlie Egyptian

origin of the Tarot. Consult his Primitive World (1773 —

1783).
Etteila (1783). AVe have given a summary of his work upon

Fortune-telling Avith the Tarot, and upon the application of

this work to the Kabbalah.
Claude de Saint-Martin. The unknown philosopher. Born

in 1743 at Amboise, died in 1803. The disciple of Martinez

Pasqualis and Jacob Boehm, the founder of the so-called

Martinist order. His book, the Tahlean Naturel des Rapports

qui existent entre Dieu, V Homme ei V Univers, is based upon

th(i Tarot.
J. A. A^aillant. Lived many years with the Gypsies, and

received a great many of their traditions orally: these are

contained in his works —

LIST OF AUTHORS. 299

Les Romes, Hlstoire vraie des vrais Bohemiens (towards 1853).

La Bible des Boh/'iniens (1860).

Clef Magi que de la Fiction et du Fait (1863).

Christian. Librarian of the Arsenal. Has published an occult
manuscript upon the Tarot, blending with it his personal
reflections upon astrology in —

V Homme Roage des Tuileries (1854).

Eliphas Levi. Amongst contemporary Masters of Occultism,
he had the greatest knowledge of the Tarot. His work Dogme
et Rituel deda Haute Magie{\^&\, 2 vols., 8vo.) is based upon
the keys of the Tarot. Eliphas Levi had a most romantic
life, and died in 1870, leaving a son (I believe).

Stanislas de Guaita. Contemporary Kabbalistic scholar. He
• made several applications of the Tarot to the Kabbalah. We
have given one extract of them already. Consult also, Au
Seuil du Mystere (1886), and Le Serpent de la Genese.

JosEPHiN Peladax. A clcver novelist and eminent Kabbalist.
He often wrote upon the Tarot in his works (1885 — 1889).

''The Platoxist" (1888). Eeview of American Occultism. It
contained a poor study upon the application of the Tarot to
horoscopy. This essay has been reproduced in the

llieosophical Publications. vSmall pamphlets called "Siftings,"
Ko. 14 (London 1888) (7, Duke Street).

F. Ch. Barlet. One of the most learned and most highly-
esteemed authorities amongst French Occultists. The sum-
mary of one of his works on the Tarot Initiatique (1889) is
quoted in extenso, page 253.

Oswald Wirth has studied the astronomical Tarot (see
Chapter XVI.), and has carefully reproduced the twenty-
two symbolical figures, according to the most recent informa-
tion obtainable upon Symbolism (1889).

300 THE TAROT.

E. PoiREL. Occultist. Editor of the Tarot cVOsicald Wirtli
(1889).

Ely Star. An author known by his interestiug work upon
Astrology, the Mysteres de V Horoscope (Dentu, 1888). It
contains a chapter upon the Tarot.

H. P. Blavatsky. This author, rendered eminent by her works
upon Theosophy, mentions the Tarot in her books [Isis
Unveiled and the Secret Doctrine)^ but very superficially and
without any synthetic basis.

Ch. de Sivry. a very talented occultist, chiefly known by his
works upon music. To his kindness we owe the summary of
a Tarot Boliemien entitled —

Extract from the sacred book of the Opachti tribe, the primitive
family, which adored Otchavatri, representiug the only God
Otchawatra. This tribe lived at the foot of the Himalaya.

This book describes the symbolism of the twenty-two arcana,
according to the Gypsies, with interesting details upon
esoterism.

Mathers, an English author, has recently published a short
account of the Tarot, which contains nothing very original : it
is rather a summary of the principal authors who have studied
the question. It is chiefly written as an aid to fortune-telling
hy cards.

This closes the list of authors whose books we have
heard of, and who have alhcded to the Tarot or used its keys.
We may have omitted some of them, if so we must beg
them to excuse us.

CHAPTER XX.

THE DIVINING TAROT IN SEVEN LESSONS.

Introduction: To our Lady Readers — Astronomy and Astrology —
Intuition — Fortune-telling by the Tarot in Seven Lessons.

\st Lesson: Simplification of the Rules of Fortune-telling by the
Tarot.

2nd Lessoib : Minor Arcana — Significations — A good Memory un-
necessary for their retention — Key to the Divining Tarot —
Sceptres — Cups — Swords — Pentacles.

Brd Lesson : Major Arcana — Significations from a Divining Point of
View.

Ath Lesson: Basis of the Application of this Knowledge — Arrange-
ment of the Cards.

5th Lesson : Reading the Tarot — Rapid Process — Elaborate Process.

6th Lesson : Etteila's original and unpublished Method of reading the
Tarot (from one of his rarest works) : 1st deal — 2nd deal — 3rd
deal — 4th deal.

7th Lesson : Conclusion — Bibliography,

THE DIVINING TAROT.

INTRODUCTION.

To OUT Lady Readers — Astronomy and Astrology — Intuitio7i
— Fortune-telling hy the Tarot in Seven Lessons.

The first part of our study of the Tarot, full of numbers,
of Hebrew letters, and abstract deductions, is not calcu-
lated to attract the attention of ladies. But if women

302 THE TAROT.

enjoy mystery and idealism, prefer and excuse the flights
of a vivid imagination, men exact precision and method
in studies of this kind, and I have therefore built this
arsenal of technical arguments for them, confining imagin-
ation in the narrow limits of deduction ; so that, if she
has sometimes escaped and scattered the brilhant gems
of illusion over the course of my work, the escape was only
made with great trouble, and in spite of my efforts to
retain her. It is, however, traditional that the future can
be read through the Tarot, and our feminine readers will
never forgive me if I ignore their natural curiosity on
this point.

I have therefore decided to approach this delicate
question, and I hope that the pleasure gained by the fair
inquirers will balance the scepticism of sterner intellects.
It is true that I can quote the opinion of all the writers
of antiquity, who assert that the Egyptians used the Tarot
as a means of predicting the future, and that the Jews also
employed it to confirm their prophecies. But in my
opinion an important distinction should be made on this
subject.

Unquestionably the Egyptians predicted the future
through the Tarot ; but they used its astronomical appli-
cations only. Nothing was left to chance. Thus, knowing
that most of the important events which take place upon
the earth are determined by the magnetic currents pro-
duced by the position of the earth at the moment that the
event takes place, these learned men first defined the
relations existing between the position of the stars in the
heavens, and the circumstances they created upon the
earth. Since the stars accomplish fixed revolutions, that
is to say, that they return to the same position at the end
of a certain number of years, which are mathematically

THE DIVINING TAROT. 303

determinable, tlie Egyptians thought that the same events
would be also reproduced at fixed intervals. It would
therefore suffice to know the movements of the stars, to
■oredict the coming events. This is why asto'onomy was only
the commencement of astrology.

As the Tarot reproduced the movements of the stars
upon a table, we can easily guess how the ancients pro-
ceeded when they read prophecy by its aid. They drew
up the Horosco'pe, of the coming year, according to the
position which the stars would occupy during its course,
and could then at once predict two-thirds of the events
likely to occur. Fabre d'Olivet in his works shows that
one-third of the events are Determined^ another third
depend upon the Human Willy and the last third is subject
to Promdence. As the determining Fatality and the
human Will usually unite, almost unconsciously, we see
that the astrological Horoscope can predict two-thirds of
the events.

Later on reliable data were lost, and men commenced
to read fortunes by chance, without using any scientific
method. The astrological systems, called onomantic, that
is to say, which use the numbers formed by the letters
of the name and pronoun of the individual, are generally
false, and produce no practical results. For this reason
the astrological system described by Christian can be
regarded only as a deceitful, lying dream. The truth of
the predictions, then, depends upon the intuition of the
prophet, and this leads us to consider the differences which
may be noticed between the predictions of fortune-tellers.

Intuition plays the most important part when the more
exact methods disappear, and therefore woman's nature,
which is essentially intuitive, is well qualified to read these
divinations.

304 THE TAROT.

The discussion of the wherefore of all this would lead us
much too lUr from our subject. We cannot either teach
astrology by the Tarot in a few pages — a whole volume
is necessary for this purpose — nor have we the time to
handle these difficult subjects. Perhaps we may decide
to undertake them some day.

However, we see that chance and intuition are the chief
instruments in divination by the Tarot, as it is usually
practised at the present time. We must therefore aid our
readers to undertake it for themselves, and will now
explain the most simple principles of the art, dividing them
into seven lessons, so as to render them as clear as
possible.

We will arrange them so that they may be complete,
and therefore it will be unnecessary to read all the pre-
ceding abstract studies before using the Tarot from this
point of view. Lastly, we will explain the principal
methods used by masters in the art of fortune-telling, so
as to enable our readers to become adepts in the pre-
diction of the future. But we must remind them that
science has little empire over the subject, and that
imagination and intuition reign over this charming
domain.

FIRST LESSON. ,

SIMPLIFICATION OF THE RULES OF FORTUNE-TELLING BY

THE TAROT.

The great difficulty encountered by a beginner in the
study of divination by the Tarot, is the number of meanings
to be remembered in reading the cards.

Open any treatise upon this subject, and you will see
that you must first learn the different significations of the
78 cards of the Tarot. Then you must learn the significa-
tions of these 78 cards reversed, without counting the
meetings and other complications, which bring them to
about 200 different meanings, which must be retained in
the memory before any one can become a good fortune-
teller by cards. Habit only will enable the student to
remember all these details, and in this case intuition
becomes an important aid to the memory.

Now this complication alvvays points to an imperfect
system. Nature is synthetic in its manifestations, and
simplicity is always found at the bottom of the most
outwardly complicated phenomena. Whilst admitting
that our work upon the Tarot may be erroneous, no one
can deny the absolute simplicity of the constituent prin-
ciples. We will therefore apply the same method to the

306 THE TAEOT.

divining Tarot, and endeavour to establish a system which
will enable us to dispense with memory almost entirely,
or at least to considerably reduce its work. We shall thus
allow a certain scope for scientific data, although we are
unwilling to create any prejudice by this influence, con-
sidering the subject we are dealing with.

The first point to retain from the commencement of
this study is the necessity for clear, simple rules, by which
the divining Tarot may be read. We will explain them
in the following lessons.

SECOND LESSON.

MINOR ARCANA.
SIGNIFICATION FROM THE DIVINING POINT OF VIEW.

The Tarot pack is composed of 78 cards or plates ;
22 of them bear symbolical names (the Juggler, Sun,
Moon, Hanged Man, etc.), and they should be separated
from the 56 others, which are divided into four great
series : Sceptres, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles.

These four series each contain 14 cards (Kin^, Queen,
Knight, Knave, Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10), corre-
sponding with the four series of common playing cards
(clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds), but called Sceptres, Cups,
Swords, Pentacles. These are the Minor Arcana.

The 22 symbolical cards are the Major Arcana or Great
Arcana.

1. Minor arcana, formed of four sequences of 14
cards each, or 56 cards in all.

2. Major arcana, formed of 22 cards.

These are the two great divisions which must first be
remembered.

We have already said that the minor arcana were
divided into four sequences : Sceptres, Cups, Swords,
Pentacles. Each of these series represents one of the four
great principles, as follows —

308 • THE TAEOT.

The Sceptres represent Enterprise and Glory.

The Cups — Love and Happiness.

The Sivords — Hatred and Mis/o7iune.

The Pentacles — Money and Interest.

Enterprise, Love, Hatred, Fortune, are the four
great principles which must be remembered.

If you now take one of these packets of 14 cards, you
will see that it is formed of four figures, and of 10 other
cards, which bear numbers formed by the symbols.

We will first look at the 4 figures —

Tlte King represents Man.
The Queen — Woman.

The Knight — A Young Man.

The Knave — A Child.

The Man represents the creator, the one who undertakes
the enterprises; the woman characterizes love; the young
man, conflict, struggle, rivalry, hatred ; the child symbolizes
the absolute neuter, the second He, which varies according
to circumstances, money, which addresses itself to all, and
applies itself to all, universal transition. Man, Woman,
Young Man, Child, are therefore the same symbols applied
to the family as the four great principles applied to
humanity, and to know them in one case is to know them
in the other.

To sum up all this, we may say that the first element
represents the positive, the second the negative, the third
the opposition between the two ; finally, the last the
absolute neuter ; and these elements are symbolized by the
four figures of each of the minor arcana.

But even as the cards are divided into two colours, red
and black, so humanity is divided into dark and/az?\

The eight figures of the Sceptres and Swords therefore

THE DIVINING TAROT 309

represent darh people^ the eight figures of the Cups and
Pentacles, fair people.

The figures of the Sceptres and Cups are good ; of the
Swords and Pentacles, had.

We shall presently repeat this in connection with each
colour, and will now recapitulate the meanings of the
four figures of the Sceptres.

King of Sceptres : Dark man ; good ; a friend.
C^ueen of Sceptres : Dark woman ; good.
Knight of Sceptres : Dark young man ; good.
Knave of Sceptres : Dark child or messenger ; good.

Besides our four figures we have to consider the 10
cards bearing numbers. How can we discover the
meaning of these 10 cards, and above all how can we
recall it ?

We have nothing new to learn, but need only apply all
that we already know. We divide our 10 cards into four
packets : three packets of 3 cards each, and one packet
formed of a single card, the 10th. When this is done we
say—

The first packet of 3 cards, formed of the ace, 2, and
3, will have the same meaning as the Man, enterprise,
commencement, the creation of some undertaking (enter-
prise, love, hatred, or money).

The second packet, composed of the 4, 5, and 6, repre-
sents Woman, and all the ideas of negation, of reflection,
associated with her; that is to say, the opposite of man,
antagonism, opposition in any matter.

The third packet signifies the equilibrium which results
from the action of the two opposites upon each other,
represented by the Young Man,

310 THE TAROT.

Lastly, the Child, the absolute neuter, will be represeuted
by the 10th card.

Each of the 3 cards in these packets have the same
meaning.

The first card of these 3 packets will indicate the com-
mencement ; the second, opposition, antagonism ; the third,
equilibrium, which gives us the following general sequence
in our 10 cards.

KEY TO THE DIVINING TAEOT.

1. Commencement

2. Opposition \ of Commencement.

3. Equilibrium

4. Commencement

5. Opposition j- of Opposition.

6. Equilibrium

7. Commencement

8. Opposition \ of Equilibrium.

9. Equilibrium
10. Undetermined : The card which follows will explain it.

Thus the three words, Commencement, Opposition,
Equilibrium, the synonyms of Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis,
or of Brahma, Siva, Vishnu, etc., suffice for the explanation
of all the minor arcana of the Tarot. We need only add
the words love, hatred, enterprise or fortune to each of
the series, and we can define the meaning of every card
without wearying the memory. This we will now do.

THE DIVINING TAROT.

311

SIGNIFICATION OF THE FOUR SERIES OF THE MINOR
ARCANA IN THE DIVINING TAROT.

SCEPTRES.

Creation. Enterprise, Agriculture.

King.

Queen.

Knight.
Knave.

Ace of Sceptres.
Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

The King of Sceptres symbolizes a dark man,
a friend. He generally represents a married
man, the father of a family.

A dark woman, a friend. Represents a serious
woman, a very good counsellor, often the
mother of a family.

A dark young man, a friend.

A dark child, a friend. Also represents a
message from a near relation.

Commencement of an Enterprise.

Opposition to the commencement of the Enter
p)rise.

The Enterprise is commenced when an un-
expected obstacle suddenly prevents its
execution.
Realization of the comjnencement of the Enter-
prise.

The basis of the work is now definitely
established, and the undertaking can be
fearlessly continued.

Obstacles to the Enterprise.

Nothing can be accomplished without ob-
stacles. We therefore now find them
appearing, and must prepare ourselves to
overcome them.

Opposition to the obstacles. Victory after
surmounting them.

312

Six.

Seven.
Eight.

Nine.
Ten.

THE TAROT.

Realization of the opposition.

At last the obstacles succeed. Failure of the
EnterpiHse in the midst of its execution.

Certain success to the Enterprise.

Oppositio7i to its success. The Enterprise will
only partially succeed.

Realization of success. Success is continued.

Uncertainty in the management of the Enter-
prise.

CUPS.

Preservation. Love. Instruction.

Knowing the meaning of one series, we know a priori
the significations of the three others. We shall however
give them in order to facilitate the work.

King of Cups. A fair man, afrieml. This card also repre-
sents a barrister, judge, or ecclesiastic. It
symbolizes a Bachelor.
Queen OF Cups. A fair looman, a fi-iend. The woman loved.

The Mistress.
Knight of Cups. A young fair man, a friend. The young man
loved. The Lover.
A fair child. A messenger. Birth.
Commencement of a love affair.
Opposition to this commencement. Unimport-
ant obstacles raised by one of the lovers.
Realization of this commencement. The love

is mutual.
Serious obstacles to the love. They arise from

other persons, not from the lovers.
Opposition to the obstacles. Victory over the
obstacles after a struggle.

Knave of Cups.
Ace of Cups.
Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

THE DIVINING TAROT.

313

Six.

Seven-.
Eight.

Nine.
Tex.

The obstacles triumph. Love destroyed in the
midst of happiness. Widowhood.

Success assured to the lovers.

Partial failure of love. Love only partially
succeeds.

Motherhood.

Uncertainty in the management of the love
affair.

SWOKDS.

Transformation. Hatred. War.

King of Swords. A dark, had man. He is a soldier, a

powerful enemy, Avho must be distrusted.

Queen op Swords. A dark ivicked looman. The card also indi-
cates her actions, gossip and calumnies.

Knight. A young, dark man, an enemy. He is also

a spy.
Knave. A child, an enemy. Bad news. Delay.

The figures generally indicate opposition raised outside
the house.

Ace of Swords.
Two.

Three.
Four.

Five.

Six.
Seven.

Commencement of enmity.

Opposition to this commencement. The

enmity does not last.
Kealization of the enmity. Hatred.
Opposition to the hatred. Success against

the enemy,
Opposition to this opposition. The enemy

triumphs at the moment one fancies the

victory is secured.
Equilibrium of the opposition. The enemy

is rendered powerless at last.
Success assured to the enemy.

314 THE TAROT.

Eight. Partial opposition to this success. The

enemy only partially triumphs.
Nine. Certain duration of the hatred.

Ten. Uncertainty in the enmity.

PENTACLES.

Development. Money. Trade.

King of Pentacles. A fair man, inimical or indifferent.
Queen of Pentacles. A fair woman, indifferent, or inimical.
Knight. A young, fair man. A stranger. An

arrival.
Knave. A fair child. A messenger. A letter.

The figures of the Pentacles are inverse to those of the
Sceptres and Cups, and indicate all that comes from
outside, from the country or abroad.

Ace of Pentacles. Commencement of fortune. Inheritance.

Gifts. Economy, etc., etc.

Two. Opposition to this commencement. Diffi-

culty in well establishing the first land-
marks of good fortune.

Three. Realization of this commencement of

fortune. A small sum.

Four. Opposition of fortune. Loss of money.

EiVE. Opposition to this opposition. A success

coming tvhich tvill balance the loss.

Six. Realization of the opposition. Ruin.

Seven. Success assured. A lar^ge fortune.

Eight. Partial success. Great loss of money at

the moment apparently of definitely

securing the fortune.

THE DIVINING TAROT. 315

Nine. Equilibrium of Equilibrium. A durable

fortune.
Ten. Uncertainty in Hie fortune. Great success

and great reverses.

As a whole, we see the same series always repeating
themselves. It therefore requires little time to
thoroughly learn the meaning of the minor arcana, even
without much memory. We advise those readers who
fear they may forget them, to simply write the meaning
on the cards themselves. However, professional card
readers are careful not to do this, for intuition often leads
them to an interpretation which differs from the exact
meaning of the card.

THIRD LESSON.

MAJOR ARCANA.
SIGNIFICATION FROM THE DIVINING POINT OF VIEW.

We now know the siojnification of the minor arcana, and
need only study the major arcana.

As we have already stated, the major arcana consist of
22 symbolical cards, which we have not yet examined as
a means of predicting the future.

Their meanmg is very easy to remember, if any one will
take the trouble to consider theai carefully one by one, as
their signification is described.

One general rule will also aid the memory in this
matter, that is, that the seven first cards chiefly refer to
the intellectual side of man, the seven next to his moral
side, and the seven last to the varioits events of his material
life.

We will now give the signification of these 22 cards of
our Tarot —

1. The Juggler signifies Male Inquirer.

2. The High Priestess — Female Inquirer.

3. The Empress — Action. Initiative.

4. Tlie Emperor — Will.

5. The Pope — Inspiration.

6. The Lovers — Love.

THE DIVINING TAROT.

317

7. The Chariot

8. Justice

9. The Hermit

10. The Wheel of Fortune

11. Strength

12. The Hanged Man

13. Death

14. Temperance

15. TAe i)ey/Z

16. The Lightning-struck

Tower

17. T7ie iSto?-^

18. T/ie Moon

19. TAe AS^^7^

20. The Judgment

21. T/ie i^'ooZM Man

22. TAe Universe

Tkiumph. Providential Pro-
tection.
Justice.
Prudence.
Fortune. Destiny.
Strength. Fortitude.
Trials. Sacrifice.
Death.

Temperance. Economy.
Immense Force. Illness.
Ruin. Deception.

Hope.

Hidden Enemies. Danger.

Material Happiness. Lucky
Marriage.

Change of Position.

Inconsiderate Actions. Mad-
ness.

Assured Success.

FOURTH LESSON.

BASIS OF THE APPLICATION OF THESE DATA.
ARRANGEMENT OF THE CARDS.

We are now in a position to handle the Tarot as a means
of divination.

But before we attempt to read it, we must settle how
to arrange the cards upon the table.

To know the meaning of the cariis is only the first step
in the art of cartomancy ; to know how to arrange them
is still more important. As a fact, the astronomical data
should not be lost sight of, and the Tarot ought only to
be used to represent the revolutions of the stars, the
source of future events ; but that is the realm of Astrology,
and we must confine ourselves to that of telling fortunes
by the Tarot cards, and their combinations depend a little
upon chance.

We shall, however, give as many reliable elements in
this study as possible. We need only look back to the
commencement of the third part (Key to the Applications
of the Tarot), to see that the human life passes through
the four great periods of —

Childhood.
Youth.
Maturity.
Old Age.

THE DIVINING TAROT. 319

If the student is not interested in Human Life, and
simply wishes to see the evolution of an event, it will also
pass through four great evolutions —

Commencement.
Apogee.
Decline.
Fall.

We must then first determine, in our arrangement of
the cards, four points facing each other in pairs, upon
which we can afterwards place the cards which are to
reveal the future to us.

This, therefore, is our first point : the determination of
the four places 'which the cards ivill occupy.

Apogee

Youth

Commencement

Decline

Childhood

Fall

Old Age

Maturity

We must notice that the disposition of the points goes
from left to right. This is seen by the order of the numbers,
whilst the symbols are read from right to left.

The Human Life or the Event moves in three very
distinct periods —

The Past.
The Present.
The Future.

Which gives us a new figure as follows —

320

THE TAROT.

Future

The Inquirer is found in the Centre. The arrangement
of the triangle follows that of the figures and not of the
symbols.

However, since four points are not enough to reproduce
the movement of the sun exactly, we take, for important
readings of the Tarot, twelve points which correspond
with the twelve months of the j^ear. The figure already
obtained will, at any rate, serve as a means of consulting
the Tarot upon small events. But we can also get the
following figure, which we must remember for the arrange-
ment of our cards when we wish to inquire about great
events or the course of a lifetime.

THE DIVINING TAROT. 321

10
11 9

11.

12 Apogee

V. Future

Commence-
ment
1

YII.
IV.
Fall

This figure, which is very important and should be
carefully studied, is composed of three circles.

1. An outside circle, formed of twelve houses, filled by the
minor arcana. The houses are arranged from left to right ;
this is shown by the numbers.

2. A second intermediate circle, composed of four houses,
arranged from right to left.

3. A central circle, formed by the triangle, and contain-
ing a house at each point, giving three houses in the circle.

The last three houses and the four preceding ones will
be. filled by the major arcana.

The Inquirer will be in the centre of the figure.

FIFTH LESSON.

FORTUNE-TELLING BY THE TAROT.

I. — Rapid Process :

What must we do if we wish to draw out the horoscope
of any matter ?

1. You should take the minor arcana and separate the
suit of cards that refers to the kind of consultation you
require.

If it is some business yoit are about to undertake, you
must take the Sceptres or Diamonds.

If it is a love affair, take the Cups or Hearts.

For a law-suit, or any struggle, take Swords or Spades.

In a money matter, the Pentacles or Clubs.

2. Shuffle the cards selected, then ask the Inquirer to
cut them.

3. Take the four first cards from the top of the pack,
and without looking at them place them in a cross in the
following way, from left to right, as shown by the numbers.

1 3

4. Then take your major arcana (which should always
be separated from the minor arcana), shuffle them, and let
them be cut for you.

THE DIVINING TAROT. 323

5. You then ask the Inquirer to draw out seven cards
from the major arcana by chance, and to give them to you
without lookincr at them.

6. Shuffle these seven cards, and when the Inquirer has
cut them, take the three top cards, and without looking at
them arrange them in a triangle, in the following order —

I. II.

III.

You thus obtain the following figure —

Major Arcana

I. . 11.

III.

7. Take up the cards so that you can see them and
read the oracles, noticing that the card placed at number
1 indicates the commencement.

The card placed at number 2 indicates the apogee, at
number 3 the obstacles, lastly, at number ^ the fall.

The major arcanum placed at I. indicates the influences
that have weig^hed in the affair during^ the Past.

The major arcanum in II. indicates the influence exerted
over the Present.

The arcanum at number III. shows the influence which
will affect and determine the Future.

These cards can be very rapidly deciphered when the
habit is once acquired. But one important point should
be noted, that when the rapid process is used for fortune-

324 THE TAKOT.

telling, the figures do not exclusively represent persons of
especial complexion. The King represents a man, without
any other distinction, the Queen a woman, the Knight a
young man, and the Knave a child.

II. — A MORE ELABORATE PROCESS :

1. Shuffle all the minor arcana together and let them
be cut for you.

2. Take the twelve first cards from the pack, and place
them in a circle thus —

11 9

12 8

1 7

2 6

3 5

3. Shuffle the major arcana, and let them be cut by
the Inquirer, who will then choose seven cards.

4. Take the four first of these cards from the pack,
and arrange them opposite the cards placed at numbers
1, 10, 7, 4, thus—

II.

I. III.

IV.

5. Then place the three others in a triangle in the
centre of the figure, thus —

V. VI.

VII.

THE DIVINING TAROT. 325

You thus obtain the following general figure, which we
have already given.

10
11 9

II.
12 8

V. VI.

.. V

III. 7

VII.

IV.

Place the Inquirer in the centre of the figure, unless it
has been drawn amongst the other cards. If the Inquirer
has been drawn you must place it in the centre, and replace
it by another major arcanum chosen by the person whose
fate is being studied.

The 12 minor arcana indicate the different phases
through which the individual life will pass, or the evo-
lution of the event during the four great periods : Com-
mencement, indicated by the major arcanum I., which
displays its character ; Apogee (arc. II.) ; Decline or Obstacle
(arc. III.) ; Fall (arc. IV.).

Lastly, the 3 major arcana placed in the centre indicate
the especial character of the horoscope in the Past (V.), in
the Present (VI.), and in the FiUure (VIL).

The future is indicated in the minor arcana by the cards
placed from 7 to 1 2 ;

The past by those placed from 1 to 4 ; and the present
by those placed from 4 to 7.

These numbers only indicate the numbers of the places
occupied by the arcana, and never the numbers of the

326 THE TAROT.

arcana themselves. It is important to avoid the idea
that the arcanum VII. must always return to the place
numbered VII. But our readers are sufficiently intelligent
to make any further insistence upon this point quite
unnecessary.

The explanation of the meaning of the arcana will be
perfectly easy, when the lessons 2 and 3 have been once
read.

Practice will teach all these details far better than all
the theories in the world.

SIXTH LESSON.

Etteilas original and unpublished Method of Fortune-telling
hy the Tarot (from one of his rarest works).

We have explained a method which is original in a
great measure, but as we have no intention of monopolizing
the art of Cartomancy, we will now say a few words upon
the system used by Etteila, the great master in this portion
of occultism.

Etteila, whose real name was Aliette, was a hairdresser's
apprentice who lived at the time of the French Revolution.
Having accidentally found a pack of Tarot cards, he was
interested by its eccentricity and began to study it. After
thirty years he believed that he had discovered the secret
of this Egyptian book. Unfortunately Etteila did not
possess any synthetic knowledge, and this ignorance led
him to the most erroneous conclusions, whilst many of his
intuitive solutions are really marvellous. There is too
much inclination to calumniate this ardent worker ; but
we must recognize the real truths contained in his works
without laying too much stress upon the ignorant simplicity
which disfigures them.

However this may be, Etteila devoted all his powers
to fortune-telling, and if his contemporaries may be believed,

328 THE TAROT.

he succeeded wonderfully in his aim. He therefore he-
came the great authority for all fortune-tellers by cards.

We will describe his system in some detail, instead of
alluding to those used by bis female successors, who as a
rule misrepresented without understanding his explanations.

* *

Four deals are required before the Tarot can be clearly
read accordin(j to this method : we will now enumerate
them one by one.

First deal : Shuffle all the cards of the Tarot, without
making any distinction between the major and minor
arcana. Then let them be cut, and divide your pack into
three heaps, each containing 26 cards.^

26 26 26

Take the central heap and place it on your right —

26 26 26 on one side

to the right.

. You have still two packets of 26 cards. Take them,
shuffle the cards, cut them, and divide them into three
heaps, each containing 17 cards —

17 17 17

One card will remain, but you need not trouble about it.

You then take the central packet and put it on your
right hand by the side of the one of 26 cards already
there —

17 ^ 17 17 26 on one side.

^ Etteila quite realized that the number 26 corresponded with the
divine name H'ln'^, the total being 10 + 5 + 6 + 5 = 26.

vod he van he

THE DIVINING TAROT. 329

You then take the 85 cards which are not on one side,
shuffle and cut them, then divide them into three heaps
of 11 cards each —

11 11 11

Two cards remain, but these are of no consequence ; take
the central packet as before and place it on your right by
the side of those already there —

11 ^ 11 11 17 26

This ended, you collect the 24* cards that you have not
placed on one side, and you are then ready to explain the
oracle.

* *

For this purpose you first take the packet of 26 cards
from your right and lay it upon the table card by card,
going from right to left —

26 1

Then take the packet of 17 cards, which you place
beneath the others, then the 11 cards, which you also
spread out beneath the other two. You then obtain the
following arrangement.

Soul 26 1

Mind 17 1

Body 11 1

Waste packet
24

You then explain the meaning of the cards, remember-
ing that the lowest line of 11 refers to the body, the centre

330 THE TAROT.

one to the mind, and lastly, the upper line of 26 cards to
the soul of the Inquirer.

From this system of arrangement Etteila deduced his
subtle arguments upon the creation of the Universe, the
Kabbalah, and the Philosopher's Stone. But we need not
linger over it. We will rather pass on to complete this
study of fortune-telling by the Tarot.

Second deal: Reshuffle all your cards (78) and let
them be cut for you.

Take the 17 first cards and arrange them thus —

17 1

Look quickly at the 18th card (it will be under your
hand when you have placed the 17 first) and the 78th,
which will be found beneath the pack.

The meaning of these two cards will tell you whether
any fluidic sympathetic communication is established
between the Inquirer and yourself.

You can then read the oracles spoken by the line of
cards, commencing as usual on the right.

When your line is read, you pass the I7th card to your
right and the 1st to your left, then move the 16th and
the 2nd, etc., and so on until the cards have all changed
places except the one in the centre. This card falls on
one side.^

Third deal: Take up all your cards, let them be
shuffled and cut for you, then arrange them as shov^n in
the following figrure, accordino^ to the order of the numbers.

You thus obtain Etteila's great figure, which gives the
key to the Past, Present, and Future of the person about

^ Perhaps we liave misunderstood Etteila, who is very obscure in
his books, and whom we are trying to explain ; but this last
operation seems perfectly useless.

THE DIVINING TAROT.

331

whose fate you are inquiring. To use this method success-
fully you must follow this figure very carefully. The best
plan is to draw it with all its numbers upon a table or a
large sheet of cardboard, and then to arrange the cards
according to the order of the numbers.

For reading the results of this figure you must take up

the cards two by two, the 1st with the 84th, the 2nd with
the 85th, etc., for the Past.

The 23rd with the 45th, the 24th with the 46th

the 33rd with the 55th, for the Present.

The 12th with the 66th, the 13th with the 65th

the 22nd with the 56th, for the Future.

One careful survey of the tableau will render it easily
understood.

332 THE TAROT.

Fourth deal : The fourth deal is only subsidiary.
By it answers can be obtained to any questions asked.
Shuffle all the cards, let them be cut, and then deal out the
first seven of the pack thus —

7 1

then read the answer.

The above system of fortune-telling is based upon
Etteila's original method. We have summed up in these
few pages, an — on some points — obscure pamphlet by this
author — The Booh of Thoth. It contains a portrait of
Etteila and is very rare, like the other works of this
author. We must add that his method has never been
seriously elucidated by any of his numerous disciples ;
and we believe ourselves to be one of the first to explain
it upon simple principles.

SEVENTH LESSON.

CONCLUSION.

We have learnt that intuition and practice are necessities
in the art of fortune-telling by cards, now that this art has
lost its scientific principles (Astronomy) and launched into
empiricism. Having made this reserve in our opinion of its
present value, we have studied the best method of applying
the Tarot to this curious practice, and with this object we
have learnt the meaning of the minor and major arcana,
and the best arrangement of the cards for reading them.
With this method, which is chiefly the result of our
previous studies, we were anxious to give one of the most
ancient systems, and chose the one used by Etteila, the
founder of Cartomancy.

Our readers are therefore able to choose whichever
system they prefer, and whichever they find most successful.
We must repeat that intuition is the great secret of all
these divining arts, and that fortune-telling by cards, in
water, in earth, or coffee, is precisely the same thing.

We wished to speak of the modern divining Tarot to
render our work more complete, and our lady readers
will thank us for not ignoring them in these abstract
digressions.

334 THE TAROT.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Mademoiselle Lemarchand, Recreation de la Cartomancie.
Paris, 1867, 12ino. E.

Julia Orsini, Le Grand Etteila^ ou VArt de Tirer les Cartes.
1853, 8vo. V.

Madame Clement, Le Corheau Sanglant ou VAvenir Devoile.
E.

The works of Etteila we have already quoted.

CHAPTER XXI.

APPLICATION OF THE TAROT TO GAMES.

The Royal Game of Human Life played by the Egyptians.
The Unit}^ of Games in the Tarot.

The Royal Game of Human Life,

ACCORDING TO THE EGYPTIANS.

1. When the players have chosen their Magian, they also
choose from amongst the non-players a man and a woman,
whom they name Osiris and Isis.

2. When commencing a game, the Magian having taken
the central place, the players settle the amount of the
principal fine together (we will suppose it ta be one
halfpenny), and a basket is placed on the table to receive
the money.

3. When all the players are seated, the Magian takes
the Book of Thoth, i. e. the pack of Tarot cards, and
shuffles them, carefully placing their heads alternate ways,
but without looking at them, lets them be cut by some
player on his left, and then deals the cards to his right,
giving as many as he likes, up to seven, to each player
and to himself.

336 THE TAROT.

4. Each player should notice that the top of the card
(when the Magian deals it) is facing his chest ; it is there-
fore in that sense, and according to the order in which the
cards are dealt, that the players should read the oracles
traced upon it, which they refer to whomever they choose
amongst the persons in the house.

5. When one of the players reads an oracle he assumes
the character of an interpreter, and if the person to whom
he refers the oracle will not give him a present, he must
pay half the fine.

6. When a person has received three veracious oracles
upon the past, the present, or according to probabilities
the future, and he refuses to reward the interpreter, the
players will hold a council, and judge by a majority of
voices whether his refusal is justified or not. In the latter
case, the Magian must pronounce the word Pamenes,
which warns all the household that there is one person
present who does not join in the royal game of the Human
Life, and then Osiris and Isis are obliged to pay for him,
for when they accepted these titles, they undertook to
diffuse peace and abundance over the heroes who are
playing.

7. When one of the spectators asks to buy the hand of
one of the players, the Magian fixes its price, which is
divided into three parts : the first third is paid into the
fine-box ; the second to the Magian ; and the third to the
player, who however can avoid parting with his cards by
paying the two first thirds of the price fixed by the
Maoian.

8. When one of the spectators has acquired the hand of
one of the players, he takes with it all the player's chances
of fines and presents.

9. When one of the players cannot read the oracles, he

APPLICATION OF THE TAROT TO GAMES. 337

places his seven cards on one side and pays one-fourth of
the fine.

10. If the player, although able to read the oracle, cannot
find any one to whom he can refer it, he must lay his cards
upon the table, face upwards, and read the meaning that
he sees in them, without paying anything. If, on the other
hand, he interprets them badly, according to the judgment
of the other players, the Magian condemns him to pay
half the fine.

11. When the interpreter has pronounced the oracle,
aloud or privately, and has received a present, he can have
his seven cards re-shuffled by the Magian, who will return
them to him to cut ; and finally, if the same cards produce
three presents from the same or other persons to whom
the oracles have been uttered, all the players, except the
Magian, give the interpreter three times the value of the
fine. This is the civic crown.

12. The Magian arranges and directs the games as he
likes ; he awards the fines according to the nature of the
faults, such as showing the cards to other players, hiding
them from the spectators, any indiscretion in the utterance
of the oracles, reading oracles which are not justified by
the cards, etc.

13. The spectators can join in the game until the
Magian indicates that it will soon end, by saying in a
quarter of an hour, or half an hour, the game will close.

14. If the Magian should forget to announce the coming
end of the game, all the spectators have a right to share
the fines, which are divided equally amongst all the
players, when the expenses have been paid.

338 THE TAROT.

THE UNITY OF GAMES.

Is it not true that man has displayed more inventive
faculties to satisfy his vices, than for anything else ?
To convince ourselves of this fact we need only look at the
innumerable inventions destined to aid him in losino; the
time which has been so parsimoniously dealt out to us all.

But the human brain acts in accordance with a very
small number of laws, and the inventor cannot escape from
the effect of this rule. Look at the basis of most games,
however they may differ in appearance. Is it not possible
to find one single game, from which most of the others are
derived ?

Follow me in thought, dear reader, over one of the high-
roads of Spain or Italy, and let us ask some old Gypsy to
leave her camp for a moment and tell our fortunes. Look
at the strange cards she draws from her greasy bag : the
Universe, the Sun, the Stars, Death, Fortune, Love, are
only a few of the names of these eccentric figures, which
depict the phases of our daily life with so much simplicity.
What is this game ? The Gypsy Tarot.

It is composed of our cards with four additional figures
called Knights, who are placed between the Queen and
the Knave. But its originality lies in the twenty-two
supplementary and symbolical figures. Each of them
represents an image, a number, an idea. Court de Gebelin,
a savant of the eighteenth century, has shown us that this
game, as possessed by the Gypsies, is of Egyptian origin,
that it also existed in China and India from the earliest
antiquity, and we shal! see that it is the father of most of
the games now known.

It is composed of numbers and figures, which mutually
react upon and explain each other. But if we separate

APPLICATION OF THE TAROT TO GAMES. 339

the figures and arrange them npon a paper in the form of
a wheel, making the numbers move in the shape of dice,
we produce the Goose game, with which Ulysses, according
to Homer, practised cheating beneath the walls of Troy.

If we fix the numbers upon alternate black and white
squares, and allow the lesser figures of our game to move
upon them — the King, Queen, Knight, Foolish Man or
Knave, Tower or ace— we have the Game of Chess. In fact,
the primitive chessboards bore numbers, and philosophers
used them to solve problems of logic.

If, leaving the figures on one side, we confine ourselves
to the use of numbers, the Game of Dice appears, and if we
weary of throwing the dice, we can mark the characters
upon horizontal plates and create the Game of Dominoes.

If the symbolical figures are in our way, we replace
them by black and white draughts, and by using the
numbers upon the dice we invent Backgammon, another
combination of the Goose game.

Chess degenerates in the same way into the Game of
Drauglits.

Lastly, our fack of cards, instead of first appearing under
Charles X., according to the common report, is of far older
date. Spanish regulations are in existence dated long
before this reign, forbidding the nobles to play at cards,
and the Tarot itself is of very ancient origin.

The sceptres of the Tarot have become clubs, the cups
hearts, the swords spades, and the pentacles or money
diamonds. We have also lost the twenty-two symbolical
figures and the four knights.

But if all these games are derived from the Tarot, what
is its origin and its primitive derivation ?
, These are grave questions, which for their solution
lead the mind into dangerous researches. Let. me

340 THE TAROT.

therefore relate to you a certain confidence upon this
subject which I received from a dusty old manuscript,
forgotten in a corner of a library. Take it as romance or
as history, whichever you like, it does not matter so long
as your curiosity is gratified.

Now, let us transport ourselves in imagination three
thousand miles away, into the midst of the wonderful and
grandiose Egyptian civilization, which archaeologists are
each day revealing more fully to our century.

Let us enter one of those cities, of which Paris would
form but one district, passing through the defensive out-
works guarded by a well-equipped body of soldiers, and
glide amongst the inhabitants, who are as numerous and
as busy as those of our greatest cities.

On all sides immense monuments of strange architecture
rise to enormous heights ; the terraces of rich houses
indicate the first steps of a gigantic staircase, formed by
the palaces and temples, and dominated by the silent
residence of the supreme head of the Empire.

The great cities are everywhere fortified, the Nile is
restrained by moles, and enormous reservoirs are ready to
receive its surplus waters, and thus transform terrible
inundations into beneficent irrigation.

All this involves science and savants, but where are
they ?

At this epoch science and religion were blended in a
single study, and all the men of science, engineers, doctors,
architects, superior officers, scribes, etc., were called ]3riests
or Initiates. We must not confuse the priest of antiquity
with the word taken in the modern sense, or we shall fall
into many errors, amongst others that of believing that
Egypt was given over to clerical despotism in its worst
form.

APPLICATION OF THE TAROT TO GAMES. 341

Instruction of every kind was given in the temples in
various degrees, according to methods perfectly estabUshed,
and, at that epoch, imitated in every country in the world.

The highest instruction which man can acquire was
given in the great temple of Egypt, and it was there that
the great reformers of the future completed their studies :
Orpheus, Lycargus, Pythagoras, and Moses amongst many
others.

Astronomy was one of the sciences which became the
object of constant investigation. We now know through
Pythagoras, who has perpetuated the knowledge of the
wise men of Egypt, that they were acquainted with the
movement of the earth round the sun, as well as with the
position of the latter in relation to its satellite planets.
Many of the mythological stories relate to these mysteries
and the wise men of the epoch, that is to say, the priests
taught astronomy to their disciples, by means of small
cards, which represented the months, seasons, signs of the
zodiac, planets, sun, etc., etc. In this way they imprinted
upon the imagination of the students the data which later
on they verified in nature.

A time followed when Egypt, no longer able to struggle
against her invaders, prepared to die honourably. Then
the Egyptian savants (at least so my mysterious informant
asserts) held a great assembly to arrange how the knoAv-
ledge, that until that date had been confined to men
judged worthy to receive it, should be saved from
destruction.

At first they thought of confiding these secrets to
virtuous men secretly recruited by the Initiates them-
selves, who would transmit them from generation to
generation. But one priest, observing that virtue is a
most fragile thing, and most difficult to find, at all events

342 THE TAKOT.

in a continuous line, proposed to confide the scientific
traditions to vice.

The latter, he said, would never fail completely, and
through it we are sure of a long and durable preservation
of our principles.

This opinion was evidently adopted, and the game
chosen as a vice was preferred. The small plates were
then engraved with the mysterious figures which formerly
taught the most important scientific secrets, and since
then the players have transmitted this Tarot from gener-
ation to generation, far better than the most virtuous men
upon earth would have done.

Such is the story or the history confided to me by this
old manuscript, upon the origin of the father of our great
games, and I am very glad that it provided me with the
means of proving my perhaps paradoxical assertion of
their original unity.

CHAPTER XXII.

CONCLUSION.

Having reached the end of our journey we must cast
one rapid glance over the road we have followed, in order
to give some account of the scope of our work.

Seeing that materialistic science was giving way, in
spite of the desperate efforts of its partisans, under the
irresistible pressure of the new era, the impotence of
purely analytical methods forced itself upon us, and we
were led to search for the possible basis of a synthesis
which each day renders more indispensable.

At this moment, the ancient wisdom revealed itself
to our investigations, and we find that it contains this
synthetic method as the immutable basis of all its
scientific, religious, and social discoveries.

The secret societies entrusted with the transmission of
this sacred deposit have lost its key as well as its ritual ;
the nomad Gypsies and the Jews only have guarded their
Bibles intact throughout the centuries : the latter had the
Sepher of Moses, the former the Tarot attributed to Thoth
Hermes Trismegistus, the triple hierarchic University of
ancient Egypt.-^

^ Consult Saint-Yves d'Alveydre, Mission des Juifs.

344 THE TAROT.

The Tarot appeared to us as the Egyptian translation of
the book of initiation, starting as the now missing key
to Freemasonry and the whole occult science.

How could we decipher this series of hieroglyphics ?
How discover the mysterious grouping of these plates,
now become the accessory of gamblers ?

Wronski teaches us that the faculty to conceive implies
the faculty to execute. Strong in this truth, we have
questioned antiquity. Its Sphinxes, dumb to the profane,
have spoken, its old temples have unveiled their mysteries,
its Initiates have re-awakened in answer to our call : four
mysterious letters have been revealed to us —

*> n 1 n

Yod He Vau He

The sacred word, which shines above every initiation, the
object of the veneration and respect of all the sages.

The study of the Tarot has shown us that ' it only
expresses the combinations of lEVE. However, since we
must in these questions guard ourselves above all things
from leaving too much scope to the imagination, we have
chosen as the starting-point for our studies a fixed
principle, as basis to these immutable combinations, the
sole guarantee against all possible error : the number.

We then approached the symbol, and there we again
encountered new difficulties. The history of the Tarot
has shown us that its figures have often changed in pass-
ing through the hands of various peoples, and through
different epochs, although its meaning has been preserved
in all times and in all places.

It was therefore necessary to find for the symbols a
principle as fixed and immutable in its combinations as
the number. The study of the origin of the letters used

CONCLUSION. 345

to inscribe human languages led us back to the determin-
ation of the sixteen primitive hieroglyphic signs, the
source of the first alphabets. The 22 Hebrew letters
immediately derived from these signs furnished us with
this indispensable basis to all serious researches, as
definitely fixed for the symbol, as the numbers were for
the whole Tarot. We thus had a sure guide, which
rendered error still more unlikely.

Thanks to the application of these principles, exact,
although very general, information was furnished to us
upon Theogony, Androgony, and Cosmogony, and we could
at last recapitulate the symbolism of the Tarot in a very
interesting tableau.

We then wished to show that the Tarot was really the
general hey which we had pronounced it to be. A few
applications proved the fact. Astronomy is unquestion-
ably the most important amongst them through its fixed
principles. Therefore, when we wish to discover how an
evolution can advance, and we wander in the labyrinth
of inexactitude, Astronomy shows us how the evolution
of the sun progresses, and that knowledge gives us the
key to every possible evolution.

The gigantic labours of Dupuis were fruitless, because
he did not understand that the solar Myth was only a
representation of the general law of evolution, and not
that of the especial evolution of the sun. The method
of occult science is neither induction nor deduction, but
analogy, an unknown method at the present date which
the Tarot reveals to us in all its splendour.

Afterwards we have made other applications of it, and
could have made still more ; shown the key of Philosophy,
of the Holy Kabbalah, of Theosophy, of the Physiology
of Man and of the Universe in the Tarot ; but we have

346 THE TAEOT.

restricted ourselves to giving the key, and to showing the
way to use it by some examples.

We were unwilling to exceed the strict limits of our
engagement.

Such as it is, our work still contains some imperfections
which we would willingly efface. We are under no
illusions on this point, and time alone can remedy it.
But we would draw attention to the aim which is visible
throughout its pages ; the application of the most exact
methods possible to occult science.

Throvigh the modern exact sciences we have reached
the study of occultism, and starting ourselves from
materialism, of which we were one of the most ardent
disciples, we felt the necessity of advancing further. But
we had retained one trace of our early affections, the
taste for method, and it is the absence of this method
which spoils occult science. Louis Lucas had clearly
seen that physics must advance by the side of meta-
physics to serve as its basis : in the same way we have
endeavoured to place fixed principles, such as numbers
and the Hebrew letters, side by side with the metaphysical
data, like the symbols or abstract conceptions.

Occultists as a rule are lost through this lack of pre-
cision. We have made every effort to avoid this stumbling-
block, without however asserting that we have succeeded.
An author is not qualified to judge his own work.

Be this as it may, we have been frequently obhged to
speak of occult science without the leisure to enter into
these explanatory details — this is the reason we addressed
our book

To Initiates.

THE TAROT.

cycle op revolutions of i eve (mrt').

Absolute Key to Occult Science bv

PAPUS.

Tofaupaijo 313.

CONCLUSION. 347

An Initiate is one who possesses the elements of
occultism, and who is therefore familiar with a whole
vocabulary, which may well alarm a man of the world ;
this is our excuse for words which may sound pretentious
to some minds, and this is why we were anxious to express
our ideas quite clearly.

Still, since it is customary for the Tarot to be used for
fortune-telling, we have touched upon this subject, and
rendered it as attractive as possible. We have tried
to simplify the systems used, so that a woman of even
little intelligence can easily and with little exercise of
memory amuse herself with this art.

But since our own system may not please all the
partisans of Cartomancy, we have summed up the process
of the great master Etteila, so that, even in this purely
empiric region, we have tried to introduce as much
scientific exactitude as possible.

We hope that this recapitulation of the efforts of
several years may prove useful to occultism, and to its
revival, which becomes daily more pronounced. This is
the aim which we have kept in view. May the social
disorders which are preparing give rise to an era of peace
and harmony amongst the now divided nations, and may
the knowledge of these mysteries overthrow European
Csesarism in all its forms ! This should be your aim,
Kabbalists, Theosophists, Martinists, Rosier ucians, and
Freemasons! On this point believe the humble disciple
of your doctrines, who will be only too happy if his work
has retained one feeble ray of the Eternal and Holy
Truth.

INDEX.

Adam, 111, 294

Addition, theosophic, 27

Air, 189

Alchemists, 5

Aleph, 105

Alphabet, Hebrew, 93 — 5

Amen, 203

Androgen y, 210

Animal, 187

Arabs, 5

Arcana, major, 51 — 60, 61 — 67, 316

Arcana, minor, 35 — 50, 61 — 67, 307

Astronomical Tarot, 233

Atlantides, 8

Attraction, universal, 131

Authority, 125, 126

Authors who have spoken of the

Tarot, 297
Axe, hieroglyphic, 181

Balance, sign of the Zodiac, 152

Barlet, C. , 253

Beauty, 131

Beth, 112

Bible, Christian, 7

— Freemason, 7

— Greek, 7

— Hindu, 7

— Jewish, 7

— Roman, 7
Binah, 118, 205
Blood, 228
Body, 180

Body, material, 176, 177
Bologna, Tarot of, 85
Brahma, 75, 146, 195, 204

Cards, fortune-telling by, 305

Chaos, 176

Chariot, the, 135

Charity, 131, 153

China, 103

Chinese Tarot, 87

Chocmah, 114, 205

Clubs, 36

Colours, 44

Conclusion, 343

Cosmogony, 216

Courage, 150

Creator, 74, 109

Creeds, 6

Cross, symbol of the, 34, 44

■ — episcopal, 44
Cups, 36, 44, 312

Daleth, 119
Day, 231
Death, 158, 159
Decan, 236
Destiny, 101
Devil, 164, 165
Diamonds, 36
Divine world, 41
Divining Tarot, 301

Earth, 189

Elements, the, 180, 181

Element, Being, 101, 102

— Neuter, 101, 102

— AVisdom, 101, 102
Emperor, 120

Empress, 116

En SojDh, 205

Epagomene, 235

Esoterism, 26

Etteila, 88, 291, 327

Eve, 114, 240

Existence, elementary, 140, 141

Experience, 153, 154

Eye, 127, 131

Faith, 126

Fall, the, 169, 170

Fatality, 166, 167

Father, 75, 136, 137

Figuration of the sacred word, 23

Figures, 37 — 41

Fire, 189

Fo-hi, trigram of, 103

Foolish man, the, 185, 186

Force, 153, 154, 160

Forces, the physical, 227

350

INDEX.

Fortune, wheel of, 145
Four, 32, 37
Freemasons, 5
Friday, 118

Game, royal, of human life, 335

Games, unity of, 338

Generation, 116

German Tarot, 89

Gimel, 115

Gnostics, 5

God, 102, 109, 111

Guaita (Stanislas de), the kabbalistic

Tarot, 299
Gypsies, 8, .239

Hanged man, 151

He, 21, 38, 66, 123

He, second, 22, 24 note, 38

Hearts, 36

Hermit, 142

Hesiod, 104.

Hieroglyphics, 91

Hindu Tarots, 86

Hiram, legend of, 7, 10

— heart of, 11

— tomb of, 10
Holy Spirit, 75, 117, 118
Hope, 173

Horns, 75, 117, 195

Host, 44

Human world, 41, 48, 118

Immortality, 173
Initiates, 4, 6, 124
Initiative Tarot, 253
Innervation, 186, 187
Inri, 10, 11
Instinct, 186, 187
Intellectuality, 41
Intelligence, 125, 126
Inventors, 107
Isis, 75, 113, 114, 195

Jakin, 106

January, 176

Judgment, 184

Juggler, 106

Juno, 195

Jupiter, 120, 121, 195

Justice, 138—141

Kabbalah, 17, 32, 144

Kadosh, 10

Kaph, 148

Karma of the Hindus, 147

Kether, 111, 205

King, 37

Kingdoms (animal, vegetable,

mineral), 192
Knave, 37
Knight, 37
Kosmos, 118

Lamed, 151

Liberty, 150

Life, 123—126, 150, 163, 180, 231

Light, astral, 136, 137

Lightning-struck tower, 168

Lingam, 124

Love, 130, 131

Lovers, 128

Macrocosm, 108

Man, 102, 103, 105, 111, 113, 155

Mantegna pack, 84

Materialism (approaching end), 3

Material world, 43, 48

Matter, 215, 227

Mem, 158

Mercury, 171

Microcosm, 105, 108

Mineral kingdom, 180, 181

Monday, 114

Months, 233, 235

Moon, 114, 175

Moses, 7, 8

Mother, 140, 141

Motion, innate, 184

Motion, of relative duration, 186,

187
Mysteries, 4

Nahash, 166, 167
Natura naturans. 111, 206
Natura naturata, 114, 207
Nature balanced, 117
Nizah, 141
Numbers, 26

— law of the evolution of, 29

— signification of, 30
— ■ affinities of, 33

Numbers (of the minor arcana), 38
Nun, 161
Nutrition, 180, 181

INDEX.

351

Occult science, 4

Operations upon numbers, 18, 20

Osiris, 75, 114, 116, 195, 203

Parabralim, 204

Pe, 171

Pechad, 126?

Pentacles, 36, 47—49, 52, 251, 314

People, the, 8, 107

Planets, 238

Pope, 125

Power, 122

Power, magic, 147

Priestess, High, 112

Prism, 226

Providence, 101

Prudence, 144

Ptah, 203

Pythagoras, tetractys of, 33

Queen, 37

Ra, 203

Reduction, theosophic, 27
Religion, 126
Reproduction, 41, 192
Resh, 182

Respiration, 183, 184
Roof, 176

Rosicrucians, 5, 10, 298
Rota, 9

Samech, 164

Saturn, 184

Savants, 107

Sceptres, 36, 311

Sepher Bereschit, 7

Septenaries, 54 — 58, 61 — 65, 75,

99, 132, 133
Shin, 185

Signs, primitive, 91
Siva, 75, 146, 195, 203
Societies, secret, 4
Son, 75

Soul of the Universe, 122
Spades, 36
Speech, 112, 171
Star, seventeenth card, 171
Stars of Solomon, 162
Sun, 179
Swords, 36, 44, 107, 313

Symbols, 11
Synthesis, 3

Table of the twelve hours of the
Initiation, by Barlet, 273

Table indicating the meaning of
the twenty-two major arcana, 76,
220, 221

Tarot of Florence, 85

Tau, 188

Temperance, 162, 163

Templars, 5

Ten, 38

Ternaries, 53

Teth, 142

Tetractys of Pythagoras, 33

Theogony, 194

Theosophite Society, 5

Thoth, book of, 9, 292

Three, 30, 38

'i'hroat,

Thummim, 136

Thursdav, 122

Tipheroth, 131

Transformer, 72

Tuesday, 150

Two, 30, 38

Tzaddi, 174

Universe, 102, 111, 177
Urim, 136

Van, 21, 66, 127
Vegetable kingdom, 184
Venetian Tarot, 85
Venus Urania, 116, 175
Virgin, 146

Vishnu, 75, 146, 195, 204
Vital force, 41
Vulcan, 195

Watillaux, 89

Wednesday, 173

Will, 102

Wirth, 89, 90, 242—251, 299

Womb, 119, 188

Word, 32

World, visible, 103, 169, 170

Worlds, 43, 48

Zain, 135, 168

ALPHABETIC TABLE

OF THE

AUTHORS AND PRINCIPAL WORKS QUOTED.

Agpjppa. — La Philosojjhie Occulte, La Haye, 1727. 2 vols. 8vo.
(Bib. Fat., Z. 1983, A.^)

Apocalypse 7

Amakavella. — A theosophic writer known by his fine works in Lc
Lotus, and in the Revue Theosophique.

Apollonius of Tyana. — A great initiate and thaumaturge, con-
temporary with Christ ... ... ... ... ... 265, sgg.

Arnould (Arthur). — President of the Theosophite Society Hermes,
the French branch of the Theosophite Society of Adyar (Madras).

Abbema (Louise).

Adam (Mme. Juliette).

Adhemar, D' (Countess Gaston).

Barrois. — Dadylologie ou Langage Primitif, Paris, 1850, 4:to.
(Bib. Nat, X. 4,679.)
— Eliments Carlovingiens, Paris, 1854, 4to. (Bib. Nat., Z.)

Blavatsky (H. P.)— /s2'.9 C/>i^7ez7c^, New York, 1884 300

BoiTEAXJ. — Les Cartes a jouer et la Cartortiancie, Paris, 1854, 4to.

Boehme (Jacob). — Les Trois Principes, translated by Claude de
Saint-Martin,

Bertrand (le F . • .). — Venerable de la L . • . La Renaissance, a con-
ference in defence of occult symbolism in the F . ' . M , * .

Barlet (Ch.). — Editor of the Lnitiation. The author of the most

learned works that France possesses upon Occult Science 15, 299

Court de Gebelin. — Le Monde Primitif, 9 vols., 4to., 1773 — 1783.

CAiLLifi (Rene). — Dieu et la Creation, Paris (Carre), 3 vols., 8vo.,
1886.

Chatto. — Facts and Speculations upon tlie Origin and History of
Playing Cards in Europe, London, 1848, 8vo.

D6e (Jean). — Manas Hieroglyphica (in Theatrum Chemimum), 1560.

Ely Star (Les Mijsteres de I Horoscope, 18mo., Dentu, 1884 ... 300

Etteila. — Works by.

Franck(A.) — La Kabbalah, Paris, Hachette, 1889, 8vo,

Fabre d'Olivet. — Les Vers dores de Pythagore, Paris, 8vo., 1816 ;
La Langue HibraXgue restitute, 1825, 4to., Paris. (Fundamental
works of one of the greatest contemporary masters of occult
science. )

GuAiTA (Stanilas de). — Au seuil du Mystkre, Paris, 1886, 8vo., 2nd

enlarged edition, 1889 294

354 AUTHORS AND PRINCIPAL WORKS QUOTED.

PAGE

rxAP.Y (See Polti).

GoYARD (Dr.). — Former President of the Vegetarian Society, author

of several works upon occultism.
GouDEAU (Emile).
Hartmann. — Works by.

Hermes Trismegistus 9

Holmes (Augusta).

Homer. — The Odyssey ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7

Hesiod. — Op. et Dies ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 104

KiRCHER (the R. F. Jesuit). — (Edipus ^gyptiacus, 3 vols., fol.,

Rome, 1622.
Kabbala Denudata. — Frankfort, 1764. 2 vols., 4to., (Bib. Nat.,

A. 969).
Koran, the.
Levi (Eliphas, ^jsetidonym of the Abbe Constant). — Dogme et Rituel

de la Haute 3Iagie, Paris, 2 vols., 8vo. ; Histoire de la Magie,

8vo., Paris ; La Clef des grands Mystercs, 8vo., Paris (Funda-
mental works) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 299

Lenain, — La Science Kabbalistique^ Amiens, 1823, 8vo. (A good

summary. )
Lacuria (P. F. G. ). — Harmonies de Viltre cxprimees par Ics nombres,

Paris, 1847, 8vo. , 2 vols. (Fundamental work.)
Lejay (Julien). — Editor of the Initiation. Has made an application

of occult synthesis to Sociology.
Lacour. — Les (Eloini ou dietcx de Moise, Paris, 1825, 8vo., 2 vols.
Louis Lucas. — La Chimie Nouvelle, 1854, 8vo. ; La Medecine

Nouvelle^ 1863, 2 vols., 8vo. ; Le Homan Alchimique, 1853, 8vo.

(Fundamental works) ... ... ... ... .. ... 226

MoNTiiiRE (George). — Chief Editor of the Revue V Initiation.

Moses. — Le Sepher Bereschit (Genesis).

Merlin. — Origine des cartes a jouer, rccherches nouvelles sur les

na.'ibis, les tarots et sur les autres especcs de cartes, Paris, 4to.,

1869.
Manoel de Grandfort.
MoRSiER (Emilie de).
Nus (Eugene). — Philosopher, the author of several works upon

Spiritualism. Les Gran/is Mystercs, Paris, librarie des Sciences,

psychologiques, 8vo.
Olcott (Colonel). — President of the Theosophite Society of Adyar,

which now includes more than 175 branches in ditferent parts

of the world.
Papus. — Traits EUmentairc de Science Occulte, Paris, 1887, 18mo.

(4th edit.).
Paracelsus. — Works by.

PosTEL (Guillaume). — La Clef des Choses CacMes (Latin), 12mo. ... 297
PoLTi and Gary. — La Theorie des Tempiraments, 1889, 18mo.

(Carre, publisher.)
Peladan (Josephin). — La decadence Latine, Ethopoeia, in 7 vols.

(Edinger, Paris) 299

PoiREL, E. — Occultist, editor of the Tarot de Wirth, and of several

other reproductions deduced from occult science ... ... 300

Rabklais (epigraph) 3

AUTHORS AND PRINCIPAL WORKS QUOTED. 355

PAGE

Ragon. — Orthodoxie Alaconnique, followed by 3Ia(^,onnerie OccuUe
and the Initiation Hennitique.

— McK^onnerie Ocadte, with a Treatise on the Planets, 8vo.

— La Messc ct scs Myderes, 18mo., Paris, 1863.
RocA (Abbe). — Lc Monde Nouvcaii, 1889, 8vo., Paris.

RouxEL. — The author of important works upon Magnetism, published

in the Initiation.
Saint Martin (Louis Claude de). — Tahlcau naturel des Eapports

qui existent entre Dieic, I'Hovime et VUnivers, 2 vols., 8vo. ,

Edinburgh, 1782 298

Sepher Yetzirah, the (translation by Papus), Paris, 1888, 8vo.

(Carre).
Schopenhauer. — First principles.
ScHURii;. — Editor of the Revue des Deux Blondes. Has just published

a fine study upon esoterisin, Les grands Inities (Perrin, editor).
Simon. — La Cit4 Chinoi^e^ 18mo., 1884.

SiVRY (Ch.de) 300

SiNNET. — Esoteric Buddhism, 1884, 18mo.

Trithemus (1462 — 1516). — A remarkably learned man, the master

of Cornelius Agrippa.
Vaillant (J. A.) — Les Eomes, histoire vraie des vi'ais Bohemiciis,

Paris, 1850, 8vo 298

YiRGih.— The ^neid 7

Vedas, the.

Van Helmont (Mercurc). — Principia Philosophim antiqitissimm et

rccentissimK, Amsterdam, 1690. Mercury Van Helmont is

reputed to have initiated Leibnitz.
Weber (Louis Zenon). — Author of important philosophical works

\tv\A\i^\\Q(\. in i\\e. Initiation .. . ... ... ... ... ... 178

WiRTH (Oswald). — The Astronomical Tarot (in the course of work).

See Index.
Wronski (Hoene). — Le Messianism ou Reforme Ahsolue du Savoir

Humain, Paris, 1825, 3 vols., small folio. See the complementary

list of his numerous works in Occultism Contemporain by Papus.
AVoLSKA (A. de).
Yves d'Alveydre (Saint). — La Mission des Juifs, Paris, 1884, large

8vo, of more than 1000 pp. Alcan Levy, publisher. (Funda-
mental work.)

Richard Clay & Sons, Limitkd,
London & Bungay,

The

Tarot

OF THE

'BOHEMIANS!

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BRIGHAM VOUNG UNIVERSITV

31197 12260 7218

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Full text of "Absolute key to occult science : The tarot of the Bohemians. The most ancient book in the world. For the exclusive use of initiates"

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