Prophetical, educational and playing cards

AIS^D

MRS. JOHN KING

RENSSEL.AER

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II

LA PAPESSA

iin

L'IMPERATORE

S

ATOCTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF TAROTS

1 II Bagattel

2 La Papessa

3 L'Imperatrice

4 L'Imperatore

5 II Papa

6 Gli Amanti

r — : r

Prophetical, Educational

and

Playing Cards

By
MRS. JOHN KING VAN RENSSELAER

Author of
"The Devil's Picture Books," Etc.

LONDON

HURST & BLACKETT, Ltd.

PATERNOSTER HOUSE
1912

AUG
19B4

PRINTED BY

THE GEORGE H BUCHANAN COMPANY
PHILADELPHIA, U. S. A.

'I proclaim it aloud — What Has Been Will Be—
I am Nebo— The Lord of the Writing Tablet —
Glorify Me."

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I — PROPHETICAL AND OTHER

CARDS 27-57

Divining cards — Tablets of fate — Tarots —
Gambling cards — Their difference — Persian
cards — Oldest emblems — Standard packs of
Tarots — German designs — French designs —
Rouge et Noir — Persia and Sweden —
Writers on cards — The three gods — Deri-
vation of name — Mercury and his predeces-
sors— Writer of E-Sigalia — Fortune-telling —
The priest of Thoth — Speech — Italian
Tarots — L'Ombre — From leaves to cards —
Attributes of Mercury — Atouts — de Gebelin
— From arrows to cards — Gambling sticks of
King Qa — Rods — Devices — Argiphontes —
— Cyllenius or Agoneus — Caduceator —
Chthonius — The study of cards — Rods —
Many authorities — Papus — Temple at Baiae
Book of Thoth — Addha-Nari — Heraldry-
Tradesmen's signs — Lady Mary Wortley
Montagu — Terminus — Cestus — Pigs and ton-
gues— Gazelle — Number Thirteen — Joker.

CHAPTER II — THE BOOK OF THOTH,

HERMES, AND NEBO 58-71

Its leaves — Mercury's attributes — II Matto —
Nebo — Tablets of fate — The Atouts — Their
significance — de Gebelin — Egyptian deities
— Parchment records — Thoth the framer of
laws — Bible of the gypsies — Attributes of
Mercury — Interpretation — Balaam — The

CONTENTS

"baru" — T§te-&-T§te mysteries — The pack —
L'Ombre — Skus — Pagat — Austrian Taroks —
The romance of a pack of Tarots — Aus-
trian games — Austrian game books — A
clergyman on cards.

CHAPTER III — MERCURIUS 72-93

The rank of Mercury — His occupations —
His statues — Caduceus — The purse bearer —
The sword — The cup of Hermes — The four
symbols — Nebo's temple — E-Sigalia — Poz-
zuoli — Its merchants — The Serapeon — Ser-
apis — Roman villas — The temple of Mercury
at Baiae — Mercurius — His work — His parent-
age— His Infancy — Gifts from the gods —
Golden-leaved rod — Wings — The planet
Different cognomens — Representations —
Thoth — Inventions — Priests — Sirius —
Hermes introduced by the Pelasgi — Books
of Thoth — Inventor of games — Great teacher
— Titles of books — Connection with cards —
Their scientific arrangement.

CHAPTER IV— THOTH 94-1 08

M. Maspero's description of temple — Mr.
Rawlinson's account — Psammetchas — Nebo
and Thoth — Symbols — The month — Its device
— Tablet of Khufu or Cheops — Hieroglyphi-
cally described — Names of gods — Qualities
and titles of Thoth — At judgment seat — Sac-
rifices— Books — Colleges — Priestess of Thoth
— Khufu — Thotmes — Cleopatra's needles —
Generations of priests — Gypsies — Hermetic
books — The ghosts — Book of knowledge — Its

CONTENTS

boxes — Magical texts — Amulets — Ritual of
the dead — Hall of two truths — Osiris — Con-
fession— Three Writings — King of Sais —
The dumb children — Some of the books of
Thoth — The temple — Wall pictures — Origin
of Atouts.

CHAPTER V— NEBO OR NABU 109-123

Chaldean god — Different names — Parent —
Wife — Presides at birth and death — Sword
as symbol — Assyrian gods — King's temples —
Protector — Hymn to Nebo — Borsippa —
E-Zida — Great library — Invocations — Titles —
Emblems — Stylus — God of Revelations —
Nabi, Naypes or prophet — Mr. Chatto's deri-
vation— Early cards in Italy — Planet —
Assyrian gods identical with Roman gods —
The Moon — The month — Dog star — Sacrifices
— Card emblems — Boar — Temples — Cult —
Nebuchadnezzar — All wise — Asshurbanipal —
Assyrian invasion — Mingling of cults — High-
way of Egypt — Cuneiform inscriptions —
Tablets — Texts — Hymn to Nabu — Origin of
letters.

CHAPTER VI — THE ATOUTS OF THE

TAROTS 124-174

Consultation of the divinities — Wave offer-
ings— Prayers — Priests and Priestess — Her-
metic books — Ishtar — Rods — Jackstraws —
Rites — Graven images — Divining arrows —
L'Ombre — Egyptian gods on the cards —
Number One — The Pagat — Quotation — Baton
de Jacob— Meaning of Rod — Choice of the

CONTENTS

boy — Lottery Chart — Aleph — Meaning —
Bohas and Jakin — Initiation of youth —
Tablets of fate — Korean superstitions —
Fringes of temple — Numbers or letters —
Number Two — La Papesse — Isis — Emblems
— Qualities — Eve — Derivation of name— de
Gebelin — Juno — Emerald Tablet — Mr.
Willshire — Juno's worshippers — Ritual of
dead — Beth — Number Three — The Empress
— Maut — Attributes — Significances — Figure
— Gimel — Dress — Girdle — Titles — Number
Four — Emperor — Ammon — Daleth — Per-
sian cards — Titles — Invocation — Number Five
— Le Papa — Phthah — Attributes — Hands — >
Fatima — Number Five's Meaning — Number
Six — Lovers — Cupid — Significance — Vau

— Symbolism — Number Seven — Chariot —
Mystic meanings — Zain — Arrows — Marked
Yes and No — Chinese sticks — Mercury —
Pythagoras — The occult seven — Three ages
of the world — Seven evil spirits — Hymn to
them in Assyric — Seven in the Bible —
Other references to that number — Number
Eight — Justice — Ma or Truth — The Judge —
Attributes — Tiemei — Heth — Ceres — Cups

— Number Nine — The Hermit — Aspect —
Diogenes — Significance — Rod — Texts —
Typical of shelter — Teth — Number Eight —
Rota, Wheel of Fortune — Osiris — Anubis —
Typhon— The Circle — Wheels of Ezekiel and
Pythagoras — Yod — Tennius — Use of Yod —
Anubis called the Lord of Burying Ground —
As jackal — Number Eleven — Strength —
Mystic hat — Una — Amazons — Kaph — God-
dess Neith — Emblems — Inscription on her

8

CONTENTS

shrine — Brides — Number Twelve — II Pendu —
Hanged man — Freemason's signals — Pagat —
Lamed — Its meanings — Vulcan — Number
Thirteen — Death — Skeleton — Proverb —
Horse of Aurora — Bad luck — Its reasons —
Mem and its meanings — Number Fourteen —
Temperance — Nut or Nepte — Titles and de-
scription— Nun — Oil — Oblations — Number
Fifteen — Devil — Set or Sutech — Parents —
Title of Hyksos kings — Ears — Zam — Sig-
nificances— Number Sixteen — Tower — Light-
ing god — Castle of Plutus — Rameses II
and the thieves — Bael — Enlil — Second
Dynasty of Ur — Dr. Radau's translations —
Goddess Nin-Mar's hymn — Ayin — Number
Seventeen — The stars — Dog star — Nebo's
mountain — Hebe — Oblations — Gazelle —
Typification — Number Eighteen — La Lune —
Attributes — Tzaddi — Diana — Number Nine-
teen— The sun — Zoph — Ra and Rameses —
Number Twenty — Day of Judgment — Resh —
Significance — Pluto — Ishtar — Epitaph of
Lord de Ros — Number Twenty-one — Le
Monde — Verity — Four Apostolic emblems —
Their manifold meanings — Tau — Le Fou or
the Joker — Mat — Emblems — Shin — Gypsies —
Early Tarots — Intention of Atouts — Bible of
Gypsies.

CHAPTER VII — PIPS OF THE TAROT

PACK 175-195

Suits — Court cards — German, Spanish, Ital-
ian and French cards — Emblems of Mercury
— Four castes — Lucky devices — Addha —

CONTENTS

Nari— Phallus — Cties — Vau— Jod-He-Vau-
He — Divining arrows — Golden rod — Numbers
17 — Symbols of the Israelites — Indian —
Typical of families — Chinese fortune-tell-
ing— Zeichiku — Meisir games of Arabia-^-
Naib or prophet — Trifle — Coppas — Assyrian
cup — Cup-bearers — Saki-bearer — Jamshid
— Omar Kayyam — Golden cup — Texts — Hall
of Two Truths — Osiris — Ma — Thoth —
Espadas or Piques — Argiphontes — Meaning
of sword in Hebrew — Pitch-pot — Money suit
— Collars — Zones — Meaning of suits — Numer-
ical value — Court cards — Their meaning —
Seventy-eight Tarots — Rods of Aaron.

CHAPTER VIII — SOME OLD ITALIAN

TAROTS 1 96-207

Mysteries — St. Paul — Osiris — Bewildered his-
torians— "Portrayed on the walls" — Nebo the
Writer — Gypsies — The crossed palm — Span-
ish cards — The Egyptian fleet — Essay of
Count Emiliano di Parravicino — Professional
teachers of early days — Cards belonging to
the Duke di Visconti — The Royal pack —
The artist da Tortona — A wedding gift —
Old Tarots — The artist Cicognara — Historic
cards — The proverb — Fibbias Tarocci — Mu-
seum at Bergamo — Victoria and Albert
Museum — Beautiful Tarots.

CHAPTER IX — HEARTS AND DIAMONDS.

SPADES AND CLUBS 208-221

Oldest French pack — The costumes — Charles
VI— The marriage fete— The fire— Original

10

CONTENTS

French Piquet pack — Invention of French
pips — Vignoles and Chevalier — Jacques Coeur
— The Palace at Bourges — Money or Car-
reaux — Swords or piques — Sticks or Trifles
— The pun — Red and black — The startling
inquiry — Tarots, Playing Cards or the Book
of Thoth — Ignorance of writers — French
cards born three hundred years ago — Vig-
nolles — Chevalier and Jacques Coeur — Piquet
— Agnes Sorel — Black and red — de Gebelin's
history — Confusion — Discussion — Prejudice.

CHAPTER X — COURT CARDS WITH

FRENCH PIPS 222-244

Paio— Stock— Widow — Bunch— Pips — Court
cards — Their historic derivation — The num-
ber of pip and court cards — The Joker — His
origin in America — Cunning Mercury — Fan-
tastic designs — Conservative court dresses —
Double-headed and index cards — Costume of
the Kings — Their attributes and headgear —
Charles of France — Old Tarots in Paris —
French cards — The names on the French
cards — La Hire— The dress of the knaves—-
Their attributes — Patch the court fool —
Nicknames — The Bowers — Skat — Le Valet —
Le Fante — II Soto — Der Ober— Der Unter —
The Queens — Elizabeth of York — Her hus-
band's picture — The history of Elizabeth our
Queen of Cards — Her birth, education,
bethrotal and costume — The jilting Dau-
phin— Louis XI — Marriage — The poem — The
credulous queen — The elegy of Sir Thomas
More — Elizabeth's effigy in Westminster

11

CONTENTS

Abbey — Card backs — Messages and invita-
tions.

CHAPTER XI — POINT CARDS WITH

FRENCH PIPS 245-252

The Pique — Its names — Dr. Stukley's cards —
A Picke — Clubs, the emblem of Agnes Sorel
—Hearts— The Ace— The Earl of Cork—
Le Borgne — Spanish nicknames — The Deuce
— The curse of Scotland — Duke of Cumber-
land— Chinese card and counter boxes —
Pope Joan — Trey — Nicknames for the four
and five spots — "Grace's card" — Lady Dor-
othy Nevill — The origin of visiting cards —
The backs — Derivation of the name of Tarot
— The reverse designs — Dolls and their furni-
ture from cards — Thackeray's invitation — Sir
Jeffry Amhurst's bid to a ball — Luck at
Piquet.

CHAPTER XII — "ACCORDING TO HOYLE" 253-276

The original game played with cards —
L'Ombre and its successors — Manilla — The
Matadores — Spadille — Nine of Money — The
game described in "Cranford" — Punto —
Primero — Philip of Spain — Piquet in Eng-
land— Earl of Northumberland's letters —
Sidney papers — Sir Walter Raleigh — The
terms used in Primero— Its Italian rules —
Rabelais — Shakespeare's and other plays —
Terms used in Primero — The games that
succeeded it — Mawe — Noddy — Gleek — Terms
and nicknames used — Ruff, Whisk or Whist
— Piquet — Its inventors, Rules, Hands —

12

CONTENTS

Ballet — References — Piquet or Cent — Polit-
ical satire — Hamlet's speech — "The age is
grown so picked" — Euchre — "Heathen
Chinee" — American Hoyle — History of
Euchre — Dialect — Bower or youngster —
Euchre derived from Juch — The German
words — An unreliable derivation — Poker —
Jack-pot — Widow and Kitty — Poker, Pa-
tience— Rules of game — According to Hoyle
— His birth and history — The story of Whist
— Hoyle's rules — Cavendish.

CHAPTER XIII — ENGRAVED CARDS 27 7 '-29 1

Print lovers — Invention of Xylographic
arts — Earliest wood cuts — Double purposes —
Rare prints — Gregineur — Dr. Stuckley's
pack — Cologne engraved cards — Spanish pips
— German emblems — Martin Schoengaur — Le
Maitre — His designs — E. S. — Augsburg — Its
guild of cardmakers — The cards of Nurem-
burg — Jost Ammon — His productions — Ital-
ian and Netherland cards.

CHAPTER XIV — PLAYING CARDS FOR
EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER PUR-
POSES 292-307

Invectives from State and Church — Destruc-
tion in Nuremburg — Its Museum — "The
Devil's Picture Books" — Bishop Latimer —
The Text — German instructive cards — Those
of China and Japan — The Friend's cards —
Dr. Muruer's cards — Louis XIVs cards —
History of France — Heraldic cards — Political
and other packs — Cards with Mercury's

13

CONTENTS

emblems — Harlequin cards — Musical packs —
Japanese cards — Cards as Christian and Jew-
ish Prayer Books — Grammatical cards —
Plato's advice — A tract — Astronomical and
religious packs — Historical cards of the
United States — Proverbs.

CHAPTER XV — EUROPEAN PLAYING

CARDS 308-321

Cards — Charles V — Proclamation in Paris —
Red Book of Ulm — Palamedes and the
siege of Troy — Egyptian gambling rods —
Cards as postals — Evolution — M. Angelo —
Prince of Pisa — Maffei Ringhierri Feli-
ceano and Menesturier — Singer — Chatto,
1393 — St. Cyprian — Nearsighted writers —
The points of view — Concealed practices —
The game of gold — Chinese legend — Connec-
tion with divination — Count de Gebelin —
"The great dreamer" — Connection with
magic — First French cards — Rouge et noir —
Rapid spread through Europe — The sailors
with Columbus — Introduction of cards into
America — Italian verses — Pictures — Litera-
ture.

CHAPTER XVI — ASIATIC PLAYING CARDS 322-340

Discoveries of Messrs. Gushing and Culin —
Arrows of Divination — The Magi before
Pharaoh— The Rod of Moses at Horeb— The
connection between arrows and cards —
Korean cards — Alaskan rods — The game —
Hida Island Indian rods — The next step —
Htou-Tjyen or "Fighting arrows" — Chinese

14

CONTENTS

lotteries and cards — Derivation of pips —
Actor's cards — Jokers called Blessings — Edu-
cational cards — Japanese cards — Historical,
gambling and divining arrows — Poetic cards
— Cashmere cards — Persian cards — Their
emblems.

CHAPTER XVII — CHESS AND OTHER

GAMES 341-364

Chess a battlefield — The Emperor Akbar and
his queen — Lady Dufferin's description of the
Palace of Glass — Living Chess — Two Jokers
— Derivation of Chess — Troy — Crete — Nig —
Egyptian caricature — Korean Chess — Set in
British Museum — Chess from Brahmins —
Ravan, king of Ceylon — Seffa's trick — Per-
sian words — Jussef's escape — Mora — Draughts
— The Pharoah — Greek and Roman names —
French games — Checkers — Korean "horses" —
Dice — German dice cards — Korean dice —
Dominoes — Jackstones — Materials — Ball —
Pieces — Kong-Keui — Chinese and Korean
games — The sets — Muggins — Milking the cow
Grab — Peas in the pot — Horses in and
out of the stable — Sweeping the floor —
Spreading the table — Laying eggs — Setting
eggs — Hatching eggs — Jackstraws — A set de-
scribed— Their values.

CHAPTER XVIII - - FORTUNE-TELLING

THROUGH THE CARDS 365-383

Methods — Etteila — Le Normand — Fortune-
telling cards — Rules — Meanings of cards
with French pips — A fortune told — The liair-

15

CONTENTS

dresser of Paris — The First Napoleon — Les
hautes sciences — Deductions of the fortune-
teller— Papus — Definition of suits — Key to
the pip cards of the Tarots — Staves, Cups,
Swords and Money — Rules for reading the
cards.

CHAPTER XIX — READING THE BOOK OF

THOTH 384-392

Rules — The first diagram — Directions for
divination — The young man's career — A sec-
ond game with its rules — To establish fluidic
sympathy — The fourth deal — Etteila's
method.

16

ILLUSTRATIONS

ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF

TAROTS, 1 TO 6 Frontispiece

Facing Page

ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF

TAROTS, 7 TO 1 2 30

ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF

TAROTS, 1 3 TO 1 8 54

ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF
TAROTS, 19 TO 22, WITH Two COURT
CARDS 74

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, COURT CARDS. ... 98

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP CARDS OF THE

CUP SUIT 116

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP AND COURT

CARDS OF THE CUP SUIT 1 40

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP CARDS OF THE

ROD SUIT 1 66

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP AND COURT

CARDS OF THE ROD SUIT 1 90

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP CARDS OF THE

SWORD SUIT 216

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP AND COURT

CARDS OF THE SWORD SUIT 238

17

ILLUSTRATIONS

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP CARDS OF THE

MONEY SUIT 264

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS, PIP AND COURT

CARDS OF THE MONEY SUIT 288

SWEDISH, KOREAN AND JAPANESE GAMBLING

AND EDUCATIONAL CARDS 312

ENGLISH, GERMAN AND CHINESE GAMBLING

CARDS 326

SPANISH, ENGLISH, DUTCH AND AMERICAN
GAMBLING, HISTORICAL AND EDUCA-
TIONAL CARDS. . 354

18

FOREWORD

IF AN apology is needed for writing again on
the subject of playing cards, the excuse may be
offered that new lights have been turned on the
subject, so that there is fresh information to lay
before the public, derived from a close and ex-
haustive study of the European libraries and
museums, as well as of the pictures on the Play-
ing Cards themselves or prints found in those
repositories, and also in the collection owned by
the writer; for these speak their histories to those
who regard their symbols with appreciative
knowledge, since they had an immense signifi-
cance when originally adopted.

It is twenty years since The Devil's Picture
Book was published and it is now out of print.
The writer has been frequently called upon to
furnish papers on the subject, so that it has been
kept fresh in mind. At the time that the first
book was issued it was the only one that had been
printed in the United States devoted entirely to
the history of cards not necessarily connected
with games. Since then little has been published

19

FOREWORD

on the subject, and the information given in the
present volume has been largely derived from the
writers's own observations and studies.

A collection of Playing Cards, begun at that
time with a solitary pack brought as a curiosity
by a traveler from Algiers, that bore the ancient
pips of Swords, Staves, Money and Cups, has
now grown to hundreds of specimens culled from
many different countries. Comparing these with
each other, and studying all obtainable histories
on the subject, leads to the conclusion that the
writers of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries were correct when they stated
that no historical record existed before the middle
of the fourteenth century of games played with
cards. But each and all of the writers on Play-
ing Cards agree that there were cards and that
they seem to have been used for fortune-telling
before 1350, and also that there was a baffling
resemblance between the traditions of the cards
and what was recorded of the Egyptian
mysteries connected with the worship of Thoth
Hermes.

It therefore followed that the history and tra-
ditions peculiar to the ceremonies connected with

20

FOREWORD

that personage should be studied in order to trace
Playing Cards to their birthplace and find for
them an origin, without weakly stopping at the
fourteenth century, and declaring that cards came
out of space, as many authors have done.

The heraldic devices of Mercury, which are
the emblems of what has always been called, by
historians, "The Book of Thoth Hermes Tris-
megistus," are in themselves mute proof of the
connection of the Tarots (as they are now
called) with the cult of Mercury. These cards
are the oldest ones known, and the symbols are
retained in Italian Tarots of to-day, so it may be
allowed that when Playing Cards are studied as
the leaves of the book of a cult, not as a game,
their own pictures relate the story that has lain
dormant for many hundreds of years. They only
required to have a key in order to be intelligible
to any one interested in the subject, and this has
been furnished by recognizing the four attributes
of Mercury in the card pips, which had escaped
the notice of students until the present time, as
well as the attributes of the picture part of the
pack called the Atouts, which are those of Egyp-
tian gods.

21

FOREWORD

The popular notion that cards were invented
for the amusement of a crazy French king is quite
disproved by the historical records of the Tarots
of the fourteenth century and the packs that sur-
vive. There are some beautiful specimens in Mr.
Pierpont Morgan's collection, the emblems and
devices of which are identical with records of the
ancient Tarots, and these cards are very much
older than the French packs.

Although the gap between the old cards and
the worship of Mercury in Etruria is still to be
bridged through accurate historical data, the
inferential connection is too strong to be ignored
and the rules of the games played with the cards
intended for prophesying or fortune-telling, as
well as the tradition connected with the Tarots
themselves offer connecting links with the cult
of Mercury that cannot afford to be disregarded,
as has been done hitherto.

Mr. Stuart Culin, in his introduction to
"Korean Games," says: "Investigation has been
hitherto comparatively unproductive of results
from the fact that most students have failed to
perceive the true significance of games in primi-
tive culture, regarding them primarily as pas-

22

FOREWORD

times." But he traces many of the games which
are common to all children all over the world to
a "sacred and divinatory origin, a theory that
finds confirmation in their traditional associations,
such as the use of cards in fortune-telling."

That Playing Cards are derived from the
mysteries of ancient days will prove to be such
a novel idea to many persons that the well-worn
expression: "It can't be true, I never heard it
before," will be hurled at the author. But such
critics are begged to pause, to consider the sub-
ject carefully, and to marshal convincing proofs
to the contrary before dipping caustic-tipped pens
into the inkwells of ignorance, doubt and dis-
belief.

Court de Gebelin, over a hundred years ago,
was scoffed at and called a dreamer by the
writers who followed him and wrote on the sub-
ject of Playing Cards; yet these same gentlemen
with strange accord, while failing to advance any
proofs of de Gebelin's inconsistencies or ignorant
deductions, contradicted themselves by agreeing
with his bold statement that the Tarots were the
survival of the cult of Mercury or Thoth
Hermes.

23

FOREWORD

The nineteen-hundred-year-old crusade against
cards, as wicked tools of wicked persons, dates
from the struggle of the early Christians against
idolatry, and this has been transmitted for gen-
erations, although there are few persons who can
trace their prejudices to the true origin. Nor do
they realize how often Divine commands to con-
sult the occult were laid upon the Israelites with-
out carefully perusing the books of Moses.

It may be as well to sum up in a few words
the various proofs that the Playing Cards we now
use are descended from the ancient mysteries.
First, Arrows, and their successors, Straws,
Sceptres or Rods. Cups, Swords and Money have
always been used in connection with prophesying.
Second, the emblems of Swords, Sceptres (or
Stylus) , Cups and Money have always represented
Mercury, Thoth and Nebo as their emblems or
attributes. Third, the worship of Thoth was
introduced into Italy by the priests of that cult,
as is proved historically by the remains of their
Temple at Puozzoli, as well as the Temple there
to Mercury, near which place the Tarots are still
found in common use in their original form, dis-
playing pictures of the Egyptian deities. Fourth,

24

FOREWORD

the Egyptians or Gypsies are the fortune-tellers
of Europe and always use cards for the purpose.
Fifth, the name given originally to the Tarots or
prophetical cards that bear the ancient emblems
was Nabi, Naypes or "Prophets," which name
is retained for playing cards in many parts of the
world.

Thanks are due to the custodians of various
museums who have displayed their collection of
cards, and in particular to the artist, Mr. Burton
Donnel Hughes, who kindly and skillfully de-
signed the beautifully symbolic cover for this book.
M. K. VAN RENSSELAER.

New York, 1912.

25

CHAPTER I
PROPHETICAL AND OTHER CARDS

PLAYING cards may be classified under three
distinct heads. First, are those intended for
divining purposes; these have descended from an
ancient religious cult that would be entirely for-
gotten were it not for the traditional ceremonies
connected with consulting this oracle, or "The
Tablets of Fate," that are known as Tarots,
and which are still used for fortune-telling in
southern Europe, Asia and Africa.

The second division embraces cards used for
gambling as well as for educational purposes,
which have a short and easily studied history cov-
ering the time of their invention and the amuse-
ments for which they were intended. These date
no further back than the end of the fourteenth
century in northern Europe.

The third division includes the cards used for
amusement or gambling, commonly known as
playing cards, which are found in common use

27

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

all over the world, although the designs on them
vary with the location, and those familiar in
France, England and the United States are
unknown in Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden,
Persia, China or Japan, since each of these
countries has playing cards peculiar to the nation
and quite unknown to the others.

The French and German packs were invented
solely for amusement or gambling purposes, while
the Tarots, with their typical and heraldic de-
signs, transmitted from early days, are now only
to be found entire in Italy, other countries
having adopted one portion or the other of the
original set as more convenient for games. This
separation renders the decks useless for divining
purposes; whereas, when intact they are dis-
tinctly prophetical or fortune-telling cards, that
are derived from ancient mysteries, not only bear-
ing the emblems of the three prophetical gods, but
also those of the chief divinities of ancient days.

In some countries, such as Persia, only the
emblematic or picture part of the pack, called by
the Italians Atouts, is used; but the greater part
of the world ignores these entirely and is igno-
rant that such cards exist, recognising only the pip

28

AND PLAY INC CARDS

or suit part of the pack, but in almost every
quarter of the globe four suits composing a pack
are known, although the symbols on them vary
widely.

The oldest emblems are those of the Tarots
that are still those most commonly known. These
are Swords, Rods, Money and Cups, which are
the pips familiar in Italy as well as Spain, Algiers,
South America, Cuba, Mexico, Porto Rico, the
Philippine Islands and wherever the Spanish
language is used, for the Spaniards, when con-
quering the world, carried their favorite toys with
them, introducing them to the natives who ac-
cepted the novelty with avidity and used them for
games, just as the Spaniards had adopted them
from the Italians.

The standard pack has ten pip and four court
cards, or fifty-six in all, which are headed by a
King, a Queen, a Cavalier and a Knave, and
these cards all have names given to them according
to the country where they are used. Cards for
all parts of the world are made in Paris and local
preferences are closely followed, although most
countries manufacture their own cards, and a con-
siderable revenue is gained by taxing the product

29

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

as well as the import of cards. But while the
ancient emblems are now commonly used in the
countries mentioned, the important part of the
ancient pack has been discarded. This comprised
twenty-one picture cards, which were a most
necessary adjunct to the pip cards, for when the
fortunes of the players were to be revealed by
reading the prophecies of the gods it was impera-
tive that the two sets should be used in connection
with each other, but the complete pack that is
still known as Tarots can only be found in Italy.

The German cards were never intended for
fortune-telling, but entirely for gambling, and they
have devices peculiarly their own. Hitherto no
one has explained why or for what purpose these
symbols were invented, since they had no par-
ticular significance when used in connection with
the cards. They are Acorns, Bells, Hearts and
Leaves, and are partly heraldic emblems con-
nected with the game of Lansquenet. There are
but three male court cards called King, Over
Knave and Under Knave.

France uses the gambling pack invented for
Charles VI about the year 1395. This contains
three court cards — namely, King, Queen and

30

XI

LA FORZA

10

11

ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF TAROTS

7 II Carro

8 La Giustizia

9 L'Eremita

10 Ruota della For tuna

1 1 La Forza

12 L'Appeso

AND PLAYING CARDS

Knave, and the cards display Carreaux, Piques,
Coeurs and Trifles, or as we know them
Diamonds, Spades, Hearts and Clubs. This
French pack is the only one confining itself to
two simple dominant colours, while all other
cards are extravagantly blazoned in variegated
tints that are by no means as harmonious as the
distinctive French Rouge et Noir, which com-
mends itself so well to players for gambling pur-
poses, that the packs of this nation are being now
rapidly introduced and adopted all over the world
to the exclusion of native designs, even although
these symbols have been inherited from the pro-
phetical cards of prehistoric times. This is due
to the fact that the cards used for fortune-telling
are not as convenient as those that were invented
particularly for gambling.

In Persia, where only the Atout or figure part
of the pack is used, while the pip part is omitted,
the figures are painted in harmonious colours and
it is left for the tints of the background to indi-
cate the suits. In the Kile Kort or Cucu pack of
Sweden (which also has figures) there are no
colours whatever, but the designs are printed in
black ink on white cardboard. This is also the

31

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

case with old cards from the Netherlands, but
none of these packs were ever intended for for-
tune-telling.

There have been many persons who have inter-
ested themselves in the history of playing cards,
and some of them have pierced the veil surround-
ing their cradle; but, generally, since these stu-
dents have only been interested in the cards as
toys or gambling instruments or as rare specimens
of painting, engraving or stencilling, the studies
have not extended beyond the time when playing
cards became common in Europe, or about the
beginning of the fourteenth century. None of
these students followed the clues that would have
proved the original purport of the "tablets of
fate."

In "Les Etudes Historique sur les Cartes a
Jouer," by M. C. Leber (1842), the question
is asked: "Where do cards come from, what
are they and what do they say?" These queries
the writer proceeds to answer only in part, for
he fails to see the connection of the cards familiar
to him, that have French or German pips, with
the more ancient Tarots, which, in all probability,
he had never seen. But Leber states positively

32

AND PLAYING CARDS

that cards "are of ancient origin and Eastern in-
vention, and primarily they constitute a symbolic
and moral game." He professes to be guided by
the emblems on the cards themselves, but he fails
to decipher or to understand the evidences shown
by the heraldic devices peculiar to one of the
ancient Greek gods, which would have answered
his questions.

According to the Rev. Edward Taylor and
other authorities, the emblematic and mystic cards
called Tarots were "born long since in the East,
from whence they were brought by the gypsies for
thaumaturgic purposes." Although it is declared
that the gypsies always carried and consulted
packs of cards ever since the wanderers were
known in Europe, these people themselves have
no history of their mystic book that they will dis-
close, so the positive historical record of playing
cards as used for gambling games or fortune-
telling does not commence before the second half
of the fourteenth century.

These cards are the ones we call Tarots, which
are still common in Italy, and the emblems on the
cards themselves reveal their original connection
with the worship of Mercury in Etruria, of Thoth

33

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

in Egypt, and of Nebo in Babylonia. These
three gods have the same attributes, and were
worshipped for many generations in the then civil-
ised portions of the world; yet the forms of their
worship, that have been so strangely transmitted
to us through the greatest of their books, the
cards are now little understood and seldom con-
sulted.

Indeed, the very name Tarot has been deemed
by some authors as positive proof that the cards
are the unbound leaves of one of the great books
of the Temple of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus,
since they derive the word Tarot from Thoth or
else from Thror Tahar, which, says Wilkinson
(Volume II, page 90), "were the parchment
records kept in the Temple, which are mentioned
in the time of the eighteenth dynasty that were
written on skins." The same author states (page
207) that "Thoth framed the laws." In fact,
his temple was the seat of all learning, where
doctors, lawyers and scientists were able to study
and to devote their knowledge to the god they
worshipped.

It seems, therefore, that the name is in truth
one of the links in the chain of evidence proving

34

AND PLAYING CARDS

that what we use as playthings were once part of
the great cult of Mercury and his African or
Asian confreres, in whose time the pictures and
the emblems were thoroughly understood and
were regarded with awe or reverently consulted,
since by their means alone could the wishes of the
gods be made known to mortals, through the
medium of the priests of Mercury, Thoth, or
Nebo.

The intimate connection of the triple god is
no fanciful suggestion, but is acknowledged by all
students. Nebo, of the Babylonians (mentioned
in the Bible), Thoth, of the Egyptians, and
Hermes, of the Greeks, were all worshipped as
gods of speech and inventors of transmitted ideas.
It is not credible that in Asia or Africa, even as
early as the twelfth dynasty, that voice language
or speech was a gift newly granted to mankind, so
there must have been some reason for the belief
that "these gods gave speech to mankind." This
is one of the superstitions puzzling many modern
students who have tried to investigate the
mysteries of the Temple of Thoth.

It is now believed that one of the priests who
was connected with the cult conceived the bright

35

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

idea of communicating the wishes of the planets,
of the vegetable and the animal kingdoms, as
well as those of the patron gods, to mankind
through a well-arranged system that had the
Temple of Thoth for a centre and its priests as
interpreters. The power that this system would
give to the learned men congregated in the vast
Temple of learning would be great, and would
increase their prestige to a wonderful extent. Be-
fore that time the primitive people were content
with simple means of consulting the wishes of
the gods, or with the decrees written at the birth
of each child on the tablet of fate by "the
writer of Esigalia, who was called Nebii." The
means generally resorted to were those still com-
mon in Korea, Japan and China, where the oracle
is consulted by throwing a handful of sticks before
a shrine. Among the Arabs a sheaf of arrows
is used. Gordon Cummings describes his negro
servants using sticks which were marked and then
thrown on the ground, when the natives desired
to be told by their gods where the game lay and
what direction to take when hunting.

The scientific arrangement devised by the
priest of Thoth that earned for his god the repu-
tation of giving speech to mankind was done

36

AND PLAYING CARDS

•

through placing on the walls of the temple a
series of pictures representative of the chief gods,
such as Thoth, Isis, Maut, Phthah and Ammon,
as well as various virtues, vices, etc., either
pictorially or through heraldic and emblematic de-
vices. These mural pictures could be consulted
by the priests by casting on a central altar a hand-
ful of arrows, straws or rods, that were always
connected with the magic of the Egyptians, as is
mentioned in Exodus. As these rods fell they
naturally pointed toward the pictures on the walls,
and since these represented nearly every event in
human life the "speech or commands" of the gods
were readily interpreted by the priests, who thus
proved that Thoth was the "God of speech" with
themselves for his mouthpieces. This superstition
was carried out even to the sacrifice of tongues,
which was customary as late as the days of the
Roman emperors, when tongues were used as
one of the sacrifices to Mercury.

It can easily be seen that the primitive arrows
were incomplete without the interpretation of the
pictures on the walls used in their connection, just
as the pip part of the Tarot pack is useless for
fortune-telling without the Atouts, which are sup-

37

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

posed to be crude Europeanized copies of the
pictures on the walls of the Egyptian temples
representing their deities. It will also be seen that
the cards bearing the comparatively modern pips
of Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades, or of
Acorns, Bells, Hearts and Leaves have no power
whatever of translating the wishes of the gods,
since they were invented for another and widely
different purpose.

Some old and beautifully painted Tarots have
been found in Italy, so it is assumed that their use
was common among the upper classes in that
country, who could afford to buy the beautiful
unbound leaves of the great book of Thoth, long
before there is any historical record of cards either
for gambling or for fortune-telling, and that these
cards were probably used for the latter purpose
whenever any wandering priest of the cult could
be induced to interpret their meaning.

We find that these mediaeval Italian Tarots are
usually painted on cardboard by a skillful hand,
and that when they were used for amusement the
game was called 'TOmbre" (or The Man).
The rules for playing it show plainly that it was
not originally intended for amusement, but for

38

AND PL AY INC CARDS

a serious consultation of the wishes of the divine
powers. In short, the game was identical with
fortune-telling, since the most important rule de-
termines that only two persons took part, the one
to inquire the future, and the other to interpret
the meaning of the cards that were dealt. Both
the rules for laying out the pack and the value or
significance of the cards point to the occult mean-
ing of the game, which is still played with some-
what the same laws, although alterations and
modifications have crept in that obscure the origi-
nal intention, of consulting an oracle which is
probably not even conjectured by modern players
of Tarocci, as the game is now called.

The arrangement of the unbound leaves of the
book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, that is re-
garded to-day as a mere pack of playing cards,
enabled the priests (or initiates, as we may call
them) of ancient days to carry a pack on their
persons, so that the wishes of the gods might be
consulted at any place. This rendered it need-
less to enter the Temple of Mercury for the pur-
pose, which had been the custom before the
Christian era. After this time secrecy was prob-
ably necessary, since the priests of the Roman

39

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Catholic Church naturally discouraged any con-
sultation with the gods of ancient mythology,
although the people might cling privately to the
cult that they had enjoyed and had believed in
since prehistoric ages. Through appealing to the
prophets (or fortune-tellers, as the priests of
Mercury would be deemed at present) the super-
stitious people believed that they were actually
receiving divine guidance, and this belief is
secretly held by many, even in the twentieth
century; although few of those who consult
diviners through playing cards realise that they
are worshippers at the shrine of Nebo, of the
Babylonians; the great god Thoth, of the
Egyptians, or their successor, Mercury, of the
Romans.

Many links in the chain connecting playing
cards with the ancient mysteries can be separately
taken up and studied. In the first place, the
histories of Mercury show him as being wor-
shipped under several distinct attributes, combined
with that of being the Interpreter or Messenger of
the gods, and the students who were of his cult
learned twenty or more of the arts and sciences
which Thoth or Mercury was supposed to have

40

AND PL AY INC CARDS

invented, such as speech, music, painting, agri-
culture and astronomy, all of which were under
his protection. Virtue, vice, death, temperance,
health, joy and sorrow each had an emblematic
figure peculiar to and connected with it, such as
a hanged man or a skeleton. Each of these
figures, if displayed on the walls of a temple
could be recognised even by an unlettered con-
gregation, so the people would have been accus-
tomed to these representations, even after they
were removed from the walls to the flat surface
of the cards and no longer displayed in their
exalted positions.

The emblematic figures found on the Tarots
and called the Atouts are still known by the
names given to them when the Egyptians intro-
duced them to Europe, and are as familiar in
Italy to-day as when worshipped under the pro-
tection of Mercury. After a little study the
attributes displayed on the modem Tarots show
most plainly their Egyptian origin, and mutely
declare their pedigree — the image, value and posi-
tion of each card, unchanged for ages, all silently
pointing to this. Yet, while strangely conforming
to all the attributes, decorations and posture of

41

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the gods as represented in the Egyptian temples,
the designs have been so modernised as to be at
first difficult to recognise.

It is supposed by several authors, notably by
Court de Gebelin, as early as 1 773, when he
published "The Primitive World," that originally
the twenty-two figures of the Atout or emblem
part of the Tarots were painted on the walls of
the temples, a fashion inherited from Biblical
times, to enable the worshippers to recognise gods,
sciences, arts or conditions represented by the
figures and their attributes when it was wished
to consult them. Discoveries in Babylonia and
Egypt since De Gebelin's time have confirmed his
suppositions.

These figures in themselves were insufficient for
communicating with the gods, for they were
speechless, so for the purpose of transacting busi-
ness with them the second volume of the book
of Thoth was adopted by taking from the peasants
their ancient fashion of consulting the gods
through the throw of arrows or rods. These
were marked with figures representing a father,
a mother, a child and a servant, and four tokens
or heraldic devices were also scratched on the

42

AND PLAYING CARDS

rods, dividing them into the suits that have been
so universally retained. These symbols were al-
ways connected with the worship of the gods, and
ivory rods bearing these devices have been found
in the tomb of King Qa, who is supposed to have
lived about 4000 B. C.

Thus, the ancient divining arrows became the
pip cards now in general use, while the pictures
on the walls, or the Atout part of the pack, is
unknown except in Italy, where the complete
book of two volumes with twenty-two Atouts and
fifty-six pip leaves is still found.

Originally what we call the suits or pip cards
were probably simply rods inherited from Moses
and Aaron, or perhaps only a quiver full of
arrows, or a bundle of straws, which we know
were used at the Delphic oracle ; and out of these
primitive articles the cards were evolved. On
them were placed the four heraldic emblems of
Mercury by which any statue or painting of him
may be readily recognised. These emblems are
convincing proof that cards were part of the wor-
ship of Mercury, since the four suits of the Tarots
represented the four chief attributes of the god,
those symbols by which he is universally recog-

43

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

nised, which are Espadas (Swords), Denari
(Money), Bastoni (Rods), and Coppas
(Cups).

Any one familiar with the many beautiful
statues of Mercury that are scattered through the
great museums of Europe, or the funeral urns or
sarcophagi on which Mercury is represented, is
aware of this. First, he appears as Argiphontes,
with the harpe or sword at his side, given him
by his father, Jupiter. Second, he is shown as
Cyllenius, or Agoneus, holding a purse, through
the meshes of which round coins can be seen,
signifying the protector and representative of
merchants. Third, he appears as Caduceator, or
the messenger of the gods, bearing aloft the
caduceus, or magician's rod. Fourth, he is repre-
sented as Chthonius, presiding at birth or leading
the soul to the unknown regions, when his emblem
is the Cup of Fortune.

This emblem inspired the shape of the beautiful
Etruscan funeral vase, which is in itself sym-
bolical and derived from the worship of the
Assyrians. He is frequently represented by a
cup or chalice, since Mercury was also the cup
bearer of the gods, like the butler of the Pha-

44

AND PLAYING CARDS

raoh (Genesis xl), who protected his master
from poison. When he was the messenger he
held to the lips of mortals the seven-ringed cup
of sorrow or joy, and the many significances of
this cup, although now nearly forgotten, were
realised by the ancient worshippers as an important
emblem of the functions of the god.

If the Tarots are the direct descendants of the
occult images in the Temple of Thoth, as is con-
ceded, it must also be acknowledged that then
these cards each has a meaning or intention worth
studying, if only to discover their secret; and that
if they are connected with the ancient mysteries
they represent human life in all its phases. To
wrest their secret from them has been the
endeavor of many writers, some of whom have
learned their portent traditionally, others through
careful historical investigation, while some con-
fess to inspiration without authority or support,
but not one of these authors discovered the
important connection between the emblems on the
cards and those representing Mercury heraldically
under his chief guises, although such a discovery
would have been conclusive proof that their sur-
mises were correct and that cards were the sur-

45

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

vival of the cult of Mercury and his predecessors.

Nevertheless, a thorough examination of all
these writers shows that through different channels
they all come to the same conclusions, and by
comparing their writings with that of the original
rules for the game of 1'Ombre (or The Man)
quite a definite idea of the value and meaning
attached to each card by the initiates or priests of
Mercury may be reached.

Raymond Lulle (1235-1315) gives an histori-
cal account of Tarots in his "Ars Magna."
Jerome Cardeau (1501-1576) writes of the his-
toric pack in his work "Subtility." An English
writer named Mathers has written exhaustively
about the great book of Thoth Hermes Tris-
megistus, chiefly with the view of explaining
fortune-telling through a correct reading of the
mysterious leaves.

Court de Gebelin, although sneered at by the
authors who followed him, who found his learn-
ing too deep for their understanding, has given a
lucid account of Tarots and their connection with
divination, while Boiteau, in his "Les Cartes a
Jouer et la Cartomancie" ; Merlin, in his "Origin
des Cartes"; Chatto, in his "Facts and Specula-

46

AND PLAYING CARDS

tions About Cards," and Taylor, in his "History
of Playing Cards," agree that cards appeared
suddenly in Europe early in the fourteenth
century, that the cards of that day were the
Tarots, or the fortune-telling cards, that they were
altered to suit Dutch, Swedish or German tastes,
or the fancies of a French king, following also
the desires of each nation that adopted them for
gambling purposes, with no thought of the
ancient cult to which they had belonged. Not
one of them, however, pointed out the connecting
link with the emblems of Mercury, or explained
the reason for this sudden appearance in civilised
nations of these fortune-telling packs, except De
Gebelin, while even he failed to connect the at-
tributes of Mercury with the pips on the cards
or the emblematic figures on the Atouts that still
show the attributes of the chief gods of Egyptian
mythology, that would have been such convinc-
ing proofs of their origin.

We are indebted to Papus, in his "Tarots of
the Bohemians," for clearly pointing out that the
cards are derived from the book of Thoth and
for explaining the meaning of each leaf. But
even Papus, shrewd and far-seeing as he is, does

47

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

not bridge the chasm lying between the temples
of the Egyptian deities and the introduction of
cards into Europe, although he recognises the
paramount importance of the emblem of Rods,
which he wisely calls Sceptres, since he sees the
value that such a symbol of power was to the
ancients, and he never condescends to call the pip
by its vulgar name of Club.

It is the more strange that the surviving signs
connecting the ancient worship of Mercury with
the emblems on the pip cards remained unnoticed,
for the old Temple of Mercury at Baiae remains
with its vaulted roof in a fairly good state of
preservation ; and on the ceiling of this temple can
still be seen traces of pictures resembling those on
the Atouts. Almost obliterated and difficult to
see, since the place is dark and there is no means
of lighting, they can yet be discerned, even though
it would be impossible to reproduce the emblems.

They are in the shape of the old Atouts, that
is to say, the figures are enclosed in a well-defined
line the shape of a card, and the same size if
considered in reference to that of the emblematic
pictures. Two of them are distinct enough to
show a figure, although which one of the Atouts

48

AND PLAYING CARDS

is intended it is now impossible to say. Traces
of other Atouts may be discerned all along the
roof of the building, although they are being
rapidly destroyed by the weather.

Enough evidence exists now to show that, in
this house erected to Mercury by the rich mer-
chants of Rome, the emblematic figures were dis-
played as ornaments on the ceiling and were not
concealed in alcoves or curtained niches, which
some writers have supposed was done in the more
ancient temples of Egypt where pictures have
been discovered that have puzzled the savants
who have not connected them with the worship of
Thoth or Serapis.

Why the emblems of Mercury did not receive
recognition from the authorities on playing cards
of the past three centuries, or from others, remains
a mystery, since it seems to be quite evident that,
while the Atouts show the various virtues, vices,
arts and crafts, which were under his protection,
the pip cards display his four chief attributes, and
that these were evidently placed in the book to
represent the god when it was necessary to call
on his good offices to protect or guide merchants,
to direct love affairs, to encourage warriors or to

49

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

inspire scientists. No other derivation for these
devices has even been suggested, and these self-
evident links in the chain of evidence connecting
playing cards with the worship of Mercury have
been totally ignored. Many students have, how-
ever, pointed out that the Tarots are the survivors
of his cult and were originally the Book of Thoth
Hermes Trismegistus.

In the "Catalogue of Playing and Other Cards
in the British Museum," by William Hughes
Willshire, M. D. (1876, page 52), he shows a
picture of Addha-Nari, saying, "she is the Isis
of the Hindus, a pantheistic emblem typifying
Nature, Truth and Religion." In this Hindu
emblematic figure the four symbols of the ancient
Tarots (now the suit marks of the numeral play-
ing cards of the Tarots and of Italy and Spain)
are placed in the four hands of the figure that has
the crescent or emblem of prophetic power on her
head — namely, the Cup, the Circle (or Money) ,
the Sword and the Magician's Rod. "These are
recognised," says Mr. Willshire (page 62), "as
being the symbols of the four chief castes into
which men were divided on the banks of the
Ganges and of the Nile. Accordingly, the Cup

SO

AND PLAYING CARDS

denotes the sacerdotal rank or priesthood; the
Sword implies the king, a soldier or military type ;
the Circle or ring of eternity (that in the hands of
the protector of commerce became Money) typi-
fies the world or commercial community, and the
Staff is emblematic of agriculture or the tiller of
the soil." This connection between these symbols
with those on the Tarots has been copied slavishly
by many authors as the only explanation for the
adoption of these devices. That there were in
early days these principal caste divisions is unques-
tionable, and men of the different professions se-
lected their heraldic emblems when consulting the
oracle to worship or consult Mercury as Chtho-
neus, Argiphontes, Cyllenius or Caduceator.

The bridge connecting the great goddess of
India with Mercury has not yet been built, al-
though the foundations have been laid and will
soon be given to the world. It is sufficient to say
at present that the mythologies of Babylonia and
Egypt have mingled mysteriously, and that the
mother of Thoth is connected with the Indian
deity so that symbols and rites common to one
country are often found in the sister continent.

Before the era of printing men crystalised their

51

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

ideas by making pictures to portray the thing or
person that it was desired to represent. Thus the
heraldry of to-day is simply this crude idea
scientifically treated and classified, and a coat-of-
arms is the name of a family pictorially repre-
sented. The totem of the North American
Indian displays his family cognomen in this way,
as do the various symbols of uneducated people
all over the world who are unable to express their
ideas in written characters.

Signs over the doors of tradesmen carry out the
same plan, as the barber's basin or pole (the latter
being really the caduceus of Mercury, that was
inherited from the doctors who studied at the
Temple of Thoth). The bunch of grapes or
bush of a wine dealer shows an inn, and a well-
known saying of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
recalls this, for she remarked, "How should we
know where the wine was sold if we did not see
the bush?"

Thus, also, at a cross-road where directions
from the god Terminus (Mercury) were required,

his pointing finger ~T JF^ (which was also the

Yod found on the Tarots) was a pictured sign

52

AND PLAYING CARDS

that all could comprehend. It is the same with all
the other emblems connected with this ubiquitous
deity, and the ancients understood these devices
far more easily than we of to-day, as the lapse
of time has caused the intention of many of them
to be forgotten, and none more so than those of
Mercury on the pip cards of the Tarots. That
their meaning is forgotten is not the fault of those
who credited transmitted knowledge through
pictures instead of written words, as the devices
remain as a simple key to the origin of cards that
originally were intended only as a means of com-
municating with occult powers. (See Numbers
xvii. )

In order to come closely to the meanings at-
tributed to the devices as well as to the figures
on the Atout part of the Tarots, each one must
be studied separately, and close attention must be
given to the other connections with the cult of
Mercury that have not been dropped from the
cards in the course of ages, but which remain to
enlighten us.

Thus, the girdle or cestus that Mercury stole
from Venus encircles the deuce of Money, and
all the oldest cards retain this symbol as well as

S3

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

those manufactured now. This card plays an
important part in the soothsayer's pack. Under
some conditions it signifies thieving, which prob-
ably refers to the theft of the girdle. A pig is
always displayed on the two of bells of the
German pack that was evidently derived from the
Tarots, since it was sacred to Nebo. Pigs and
tongues (representing speech) were always part
of the sacrifice to Hermes at his annual festival,
and both were sacred to Proserpene, whose de-
scent to hell was celebrated on the day she was
dragged from her mother, Ceres, and conducted
by Mercury Chthoneus, to the arms of Pluto.

A gazelle under a palm tree is placed on the
knave of Money, which recalls the worship of
Osiris, in which Thoth plays such an important
part. According to a legend, the gazelle gives
notice of the rising of the waters of the river Nile
by fleeing from its wonted feeding grounds on the
banks to the recesses of the desert, long before the
first signs of the coming flood are noticed by man-
kind. The gazelle acts in this way as a lieutenant
to Hermes, or as a messenger from the gods to
humans, and it is sacred to Thoth, who was after-
wards, by the Romans, merged into Mercury.

54

XIIII

LA TEMPERAN

XVII £>

LE STELLE

ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF TAROTS

13 La Morte

14 La Temperan
is II Oiavolo

1 6 La Torre

17 Le Stelle

1 8 La Luna

AND PLAY INC CARDS

Thoth is also represented on the Fool or Joker.

The number thirteen has always received
mystic reverence, and the reason for this has been
sought by many. Among the Atouts that number
is on the card representing Death. Mercury's
festival falls on the thirteenth of the fifth month,
so the thirteenth card has more than one sig-
nificance to the believers in the old pictured sym-
bols, particularly when connected with the Tarots.

The card known to us as the Joker combines in
itself all the versatile qualities attributed to the
god Hermes himself, and it is small wonder that
it was so regarded, as he was supposed to repre-
sent in his own person so many and such different
things. Among the Atouts it is called Le Fou
(the Fool). It has no number in the pack and
was not one of the pictures that were placed on
the walls, but was probably a statue occupying
the centre of the temple, where it might be sepa-
rately approached. Among the cards it outranks
all others, and is as volatile and as little to be de-
pended upon as the god of Quicksilver himself.
It controls and dominates every card in both the
pip and Atout parts of the pack. It represents
the unforeseen, the unexpected, uncertainty or un-

55

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

controllable fate, and the destiny that presides over
every walk in life. It stands for Destiny, whether
it be called Kismet, Luck, Chance, Fate or
Mercury, who alone could tell to mortals what
he had foretold at their birth, when as "the
Writer" he inscribed on his "tablets" all the events
of life.

Through studying the Joker and the value
bestowed on him in the old as well as in the
modern packs the similarity of the powers that
he wields with those that were attributed to the
Hermes of the Greeks may be recognised, and
this representation of irresponsibility, of chance or
of luck, is found in every part of the world where
divining cards are used. It marks the difference
between the Tarots and the French, German and
Swiss packs that were invented for gambling only,
and were never intended for fortune-telling. That
packs in the United States, with French pips, have
a Joker, does not prove that in France the gentle-
man is known, for he made his appearance here
after 1850, as will be related later.

The way that the Joker is represented varies
most strangely. Sometimes the card shows a
group of huddled imps. Sometimes it is a blank

56

AND PLAYING CARDS

like that of Korea and Japan, or it may show
the figure of a clown or a jester like that of
Austria. It would be interesting to follow the
history of jesters through the troubadours from
Mercury himself. But each and all representa-
tions have the same value when luck rules, and
the Joker takes every card in the pack.

57

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER II.
THE TAROT PACK OF CARDS

THE complete pack of Tarots (sometimes
called "the book of Thoth") contains seventy-
eight leaves, and, of these, fifty-six bear pips,
with four court cards to each suit, which show
the attributes of Mercury, namely: Swords,
Staves, Money, and Cups. Besides these, there
are twenty-two cards with emblematic figures,
that were also connected with the worship of Mer-
cury or some of the ancient mysteries; and they,
as a whole, represent the chief moral or spiritual
characteristics of mankind, the cardinal virtues,
marriage, death, creation, and resurrection,
closely following the attributes of the Egyptian
deities. They are presided over and controlled
by Mercury himself, the card being named in
Italy "z7 Matto," or "/e Fou"; and we know it
as the Joker. This figure was also originally
intended for Thoth or Nebo and is often pre-
sented as a vagabond or tramp, who typifies

58

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irresponsibility, the elements of uncertainty,
chance, or luck, that pervade all the concerns
of life, and which must be acknowledged and
provided for under all circumstances, and in all
social conditions from the emperor to the beggar.
The close resemblance of this Matto, in all the
attributes bestowed upon him in the card world,
to the Greek god Hermes should not be over-
looked, for he was so rapid in his movements as
to have quicksilver named after him, the min-
eral that has so many qualifications and is so
uncertain. The name was probably given to
the metal by the scientists who belonged to the
Egyptian temple of learning. Then, too, its
healing qualities were recognised by the medical
world of ancient days, and, as these wise men
were under the protection of the god Hermes,
that also may have contributed to its having
been named after him. Mercury also was the
unexpected and versatile god who attended the
dying, although he did not cause the death.
He was the inventor and patron of games,
although he was no gamester himself, but he per-
sonified luck and chance; so, with these and
many other characteristics, Mercury was, indeed,

59

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the Joker of the pack, "the Trump that captures
all other cards."

The twenty-two Atout cards, as they are
called, present allegorical figures in which the
attitude, the costume, the accessories, and the
attributes each have a significance that may be
traced back to their origin, and although some of
these symbols are still unidentified, the greater
part are recognised, so the value of the figure
itself is understood. Some of them were con-
nected with one or the other of the arts, crafts,
or sciences that were taught by the priests of
Thoth, and by them transmitted to their suc-
cessors in Italy; twelve of them represent the
gods of Olympus; the others are connected with
Egyptian gods or can be traced to even earlier
ceremonies connected with divination.

Before describing each one of the Atouts and
their meanings, it must be mentioned that, while
many authors have written of different packs of
cards, there are but two authors who have made
a study of the Tarots, and that neither of these
regards the packs as toys or gamblers' instru-
ments, but as the outcome of a great mystery
or religious cult. Court de Gebelin, as early as

60

AND PLAYING CARDS

1 773, declared : "The complete pack of Tarots,
with pip and emblem cards together, were part
of the Egyptian mysteries, and particularly of
the worship of Thoth," and he traces the resem-
blance of the figures and the quality or value
attributed to them to Isis, Maut, Anubis, or other
personages in the Egyptian cosmogony, which
theory is confirmed by Papus in his "Tarots of
the Bohemians." A careful study of Sir Gar-
diner Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians," and
Mr. Rawlinson's "Ancient Egypt," shows how
accurate these surmises were, for the origin of
many of the figures on the Tarots can be traced
in these works, although in the days of de
Gebehn, Egypt was a sealed book to students.
Sir G. Wilkinson stated in "Ancient Egypt-
tians" (Vol. II, page 207) : "Parchment was
used for the records kept in. the temples and is
mentioned in the time of the eighteenth dynasty,
when there were histories written on skins called
Thr, or Tahar, and Thoth (Hermes) framed
the laws." This proves that the rules governing
mankind emanated from the temple of Thoth
(as the name is indifferently spelled), and that,
if it were necessary to give publicity to the man-

61

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

dates, it could be done outside of the temple
with written characters, or ideographically.
Probably letters were not used at the time, al-
though Thoth was the god of letters and the
inventor of the alphabet; but symbols and em-
blems were adopted, since they could be more
easily understood by illiterate people. This,
then, might well have accounted for the figures
of the Atouts, even if there were no other reasons
for them.

We are indebted to M. de Gebelin for con-
necting the Tarots with this cult, as well as to
Papus, for the latter, in his "Tarots of the Bo-
hemians," not only accepts the statements made
by the other writer, but tries to prove that the
Tarot pack was "the Bible of the Gypsies" and
states that "it was also the book of Thoth Hermes
Trismegistus of ancient civilization."

Other writers who have studied the cards
believe that they "are the key to forgotten mys-
teries"; but none of them have pointed out the
significant facts connecting the emblems of the
suit cards with the heraldic attributes of Mercury,
and none have noted the value and connection
between the different figures of the Atouts with

62

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those of the gods of Babylonia mentioned in the
Bible, yet they are so remarkable that it seems
incredible that they should have been so long
overlooked by those who were searching for the
origin of Playing Cards.

It is quite evident in the first place that the
Staff, or magic wand, must have been inspired
by the caduceus, or, perhaps, by the stylus, which
is also emblematical of Thoth and was used by
the Babylonian god Nebo to write on his tablets
of fate. The Sword was derived from the Harpe
presented by Jupiter to his son, Mercury, and was
also used by Nebo. The purse of Money, and the
Chalice, have from the earliest times been con-
nected with spiritual uses and the mysteries of
the three prophetical gods. Any one of the four
denoted Mercury, while not one of the other gods
of Olympus, Babylonia, or Egypt was ever so
marked, and none of them combined all the
sciences and arts that were practised by his
priests and dedicated to the honour of the god
who was worshipped as the prophet and mes-
senger from gods to men.

The connection of the Tarot cards with as-
tronomy and astrology is a study by itself, but,

63

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

since these sciences were part of the course of
studies pursued by the priests of Thoth, many
emblems connected with them are found on the
Atouts. These had meaning for those learned
enough to read the signs. But each Atout, be
it connected with kabbalism, demonology, Baby-
lonian, Egyptian, Greek or Roman mythology,
is written in a language now partly forgotten, but
once widely known and revered.

At first the book of Thoth, or prophetic cards,
was only in the hands of the priests; but as the
meaning of these detached leaves was from time
to time revealed to the educated classes, these
persons learned to consult the Tarots for them-
selves when desiring to know the wishes of the
gods. A systematic arrangement of , the cards
could be made by a couple of players, and this
tete-a-tete method of asking for divine guidance
is a very ancient custom, and must receive due
recognition when studying the cult of Mercury,
for it must be particularly noted that all the
earliest known games with cards are invariably
for two persons and two only, so that when more
players were added to the game its name was
altered.

64

AND PLAY INC CARDS

It will be recalled how many times magical
performances are mentioned in the Bible, one
of the most notable being in Numbers xxii,
when Balak consulted Balaam. The whole
ceremony is there graphically described, but these
two men were the only ones who took active part
in the ceremony, although Balak sent "the elders
of Moab and the elders of Midian to Balaam
with the rewards of divination in their hands."
By some people it might be supposed that Balak
intended to bribe Balaam for a favorable report
from his god, but "When Balaam saw that it
pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as
at other times, to seek for enchantments" (Num-
bers xxiv : 1 ) . The whole history of the occult
transaction shows that these two men alone took
part, although others stoo<^ aloof and watched
from afar.

Prof. Samuel Daiches, in his essay, "Balaam
a Baru," declares that "Balaam was a sor-
cerer pure and simple," quoting from certain
Babylonian tablets written in cuneiform charac-
ters, to prove his resemblance to the "baru" of
the ancient ritual who would be deemed a magi-
cian in these days. Professor Daiches also

65

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

states that, in the Babylonian Ritual Tablets
lately deciphered, is found the statement that
"the diviner and the inquirer in the ceremony
have both to be engaged and present when the
wishes of the gods are to be consulted," and
that "this was followed in religious ceremonies
in many other countries." This custom is adhered
to at present in the Roman Catholic Church
when the penitent confesses to the priest, the two
people being alone and shielded from observa-
tion.

All the early games for the Tarots were ar-
ranged for two persons. The modifications that
crept in after 1 400 allowed other players to join,
when different names were given to the newly
invented games. The main rules were but little
altered and the play was only changed in order
that others might take part, which is one of the
clearly defined marks indicating the period when
the Tarots were discarded by initiated persons
and adopted by people in general, who accepted
the cards for amusement, leaving the prophetic
mysteries to the superstitious. The complete pack
of Tarots, as it came from the ancients, consists
of two parts, twenty-two Atouts and fifty-six suit

66

AND PLAYING CARDS

cards, or seventy-eight in all; but these are used
only in Italy.

A pack called Tarok or Taroc is a favorite
in Austria and Hungary, though unknown else-
where, a fact of which the Viennese are inordi-
nately proud, for they declare, and with truth,
that their game is scientific and requires keen in-
tellects to play it successfully. But their hand-
books on the game do not recognise the fact that
their cards are copied from the ancient Book of
Thoth, and that their game is almost identical
with the original one of divination called
"L'Ombre." The Austrian Taroks have the same
numbers as the originals, and retain twenty-two
Atouts, but only "le Fou" or "Mercury" has
an emblem resembling those on the old leaves.
The designs have within fifty years changed from
the German or Italian pips to the French devices
of Coeurs, Carreaux, Trifle and Piques.

"Le Fou," or the Joker, is called Skus, Skis,
Skys, or Stiis. The Juggler of the old pack is
named Pagat, and although the lowest in number
it has peculiar values that recall the fact that
when used for fortune-telling it represented the
inquirer into the wishes of the gods. The card

67

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

of highest value in the Austrian Taroks is the
World, and is called after its predecessor, retain-
ing the name, as well as its position in the pack,
with the value of its namesake, but the picture
on the card does not resemble the original, and
it requires the inspection of an expert to connect
these two packs, since the Austnans have strayed
so far from the old designs as to make the
emblems hardly recognisable.

The pictures on the rest of the Atouts are not
even copies of those that formerly were used
in Vienna. One of these packs is now in the
writer's collection, bearing the date 1780; and
showing some faint resemblance to the Italian
Tarots, proves its descent, for in it the figures
of Death and other characters are retained, while
the card makers of the twentieth century adorn
the Austrian Taroks with pastoral views, which
mislead students who have not older packs with
which to compare them, so the book describing
the Wiener Tarok games claims that these cards
and games originated in that city and are peculiar
to that locality.

The Austrian Taroks, given to the writer in
1 890 by an old lady in New York, were wrapped

68

AND PLAY INC CARDS

with a faded green ribbon and accompanied with
a note describing how they had come into her
possession. It seems that her father left Vienna
when a young man, having got into some scrape
through playing cards. Before leaving he bade
farewell to his betrothed and begged for her gar-
ter and her miniature. These he placed with
the fatal pack of cards and kept in his desk.
After several years the young man, having made
a fortune in America, wrote to his ladylove, beg-
ging her to cross the ocean to marry him. The
answer was that, not having heard from him since
he had left, she had married. Her lover con-
soled himself with an American wife, and had
many children, the descendants of whom are
now well-known people in New York.

There are several complicated and interesting
games played with the Austrian Taroks derived
from "1'Ombre," or "the man," and originally
intended for two players only. One is called
the "Great Tarok," another retains the old name
"Tarok 1'Ombre," while a third game (a modifi-
cation of the last and arranged for more players) ,
is called "Tarok for Four." The game
called "Tapp Tarok" requires but fifty-four

69

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

cards; it is only a variant of the others and is
most popular. "Styrean Tarok," like the Tapp
game, requires three players, the fourth one being
a silent partner or dummy. These games are so
intricate, and have so many rules, that none but
Austrians play with these adapted cards.

In the "Illustrirtes Wiener Tarokbuch," by
Ulman, we find this statement: "Two centuries
had not passed after cards were introduced into
Europe, when Francis Fibbia, Prince of Pisa,
Italy, arranged from the oldest of all games,
called Tappola, a new one called Tarok, which
is found in Bologna as a favorite game during the
fifteenth century. This was played with Trap-
pola or Trappelin cards, when the original suits
were retained, which were Cups, Money, Swords,
and Staves, but after wood engraving was in-
vented, the French pips were adopted and are
now the only ones used in the Austrian Tarok
pack."

It is noteworthy that the Rev. Edward Taylor,
in his "History of Playing Cards" (pages 209
and 457), mentions an interesting pack of cards,
"the imprint of which states them to be sold by
John Lenthall, stationer at the Talbot over

70

AND PL AY INC CARDS

against St. Dunstan's Church, London, who car-
ried on business there from 1665 to 1685, so the
cards were probably issued immediately after the
Restoration." They were prophetical or fortune-
telling cards, and their use was described in direc-
tions published with them. The pips were
French; the emblematical figures were imitations
of the Atouts and evidently had been copied from
part of a pack of Tarots, but the figures had
names applied to them that were not exactly like
the originals. The Ace of Hearts had a figure
that was named Hermes Trismagus, which leads
to the supposition that the original connection of
Mercury with the Tarots was not entirely for-
gotten in the seventeenth century, but was known
in connection with fortune-telling. As a prophet
he was still an important personage. The other
figures on the cards represented Roman Catholic
saints or modern heroes, so that of Mercury was
entirely out of place, unless in connection with
his cult.

71

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER III
MERCURY

ALTHOUGH treated by modern writers as one
of the minor of the twelve gods of Olympus,
Mercury was by no means so looked upon by
the ancients, who revered, feared, consulted and
obeyed him as they did no other deity, so
he wielded more influence over the lives of man-
kind than did all the other gods put together.
Jove was dreaded because a bolt from the blue
might destroy the unwary at any moment; even
though Mercury was the lightning conductor, the
latter was not blamed for the catastrophe. Juno
commanded admiration by her beauty, but her
cold self-esteem drew few followers; still, as
presiding over maternity, she delivered, through
Mercury, the newly born to its parents. Diana
had, perhaps, the largest number of worshippers,
since she had a plurality of attractions, and had
under her protection many and various walks of
life, when Mercury acted as her lieutenant. It

72

AND PLAYING CARDS

was Mercury who lured Proserpine from the side
of Ceres, to reconduct the former to earth when
spring followed winter, and it is under this form,
as Chthonius, that Mercury is allegorically rep-
resented as the messenger conducting the soul at
death to the future state.

Mercury was the peacemaker, or adjuster of
difficulties, as well as the councillor and inter-
cessor, for he could be appealed to with the
certainty that his orders could be received by
mankind, and by them could be comprehended
through a sign language interpreted by his priests.
He was in reality more powerful than any of the
other gods taken separately, for, although they
might be lavishly propitiated, they could not re-
ply to invocations except through their messenger,
Mercury. He was also the inventor of emblems,
pictorial art, and language, through which he
could be directly approached and his wishes com-
municated in response to invocations by means
of the Atouts and the pip cards. Any profana-
tion of his mysteries was rapidly revenged by his
worshippers, so it is little wonder that they were
not placed in town records or in early histories.
Nor, if they were, would these mysteries have

73

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

been mentioned as Playing Cards, for the ancient
Book of Thoth was not classified as a game, and
until the Temple of Toth, as well as the Serapeon,
near Naples, were destroyed, compelling the
exiled priests to carry on their person the em-
blems taken from the walls, there was absolutely
nothing like a card to mention in the official
records. Students, therefore, must search for de-
scriptions of wanderers, of soothsayers, of astrol-
ogers, of fortune-tellers, of prophets or of gyp-
sies, if they wish to discover traces of the cult of
Mercury, since it was gradually and imperceptibly
merged into the Playing Cards as we understand
them.

There were few of the homes of the rich Ro-
mans that were not adorned with a statue of this
god under one of his four great attributes. The
best known is, perhaps, one by John of Bologna,
showing him as Caduceator, or the messenger,
under which guise Mercury carries the caduceus
and points with his right hand to heaven. When
represented in this way, he is the bearer of news,
of life, and of health. It was his wand, or cadu-
ceus, that, up to the middle of the eighteenth cen-
tury, was the emblem of the medical man, who

74

XIX

IL SOLE

XXI

IL MONDO

IL MATTO

RE DI COPPE

ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF TAROTS WITH Two COURT CARDS

19 II Sole

20 II Giudizio

21 II Mondo

22 II Matto

23 Queen of Cups

24 King of Cups

AND PLAYING CARDS

always carried his stick or staff into the sick cham-
ber. It is still used by barbers, who display his
staff, apparently wound with bloody rags, before
their shops, a survival of a custom dating from the
time when barbers were the dentist surgeons and
"blood-letters." His wand was also representa-
tive of the stylus which was used to write on the
"Tablet of Fate," for Mercury was also the god
Nebo of the Babylonians, who is mentioned under
this name in the Bible. He is credited with being
"the writer in the Book of Fate" and, says a
Cuneiform inscription, "had foretold the destiny
of mankind since eternity." The stylus was also
the emblem of Thoth, who wrote in the "Book
of Good Works" after death.

As the protector and foreteller of events, Mer-
cury was represented as benign or benevolent, but
the second attribute as reproduced in his statues
was purely mercantile. These statues are fre-
quently found holding a purse in the right hand,
the coins inside being seen through its meshes,
emblematic of the Money pip on the cards.
When represented in this way the face is no longer
joyous or serene as it is when depicted as the
messenger; it is stern, cold and calculating, per-

75

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

haps rather shrewd, yet still self-reliant, and with
an air of concentration, but always youthful. As
the god could foresee and foretell business prob-
abilities, since they were already written in his
Book of Fate, or could give counsel in mercantile
transactions, Mercury was always consulted and
obeyed. It was due to this that his image bearing
aloft the money bag was a favorite decoration in
the homes of successful merchants, who credited
the counsels of Mercury with having caused the
riches of Plutus to fall into their coffers.

The beautiful statue of Mercury seated idly
with a sword girded at his side, but trailing on the
ground, is well known. Here another and most
powerful attribute of the god was silently dis-
played for worship in all that concerned enter-
prises other than commerce, since the sword de-
noted warlike expeditions, explorations, and voy-
ages, and was the symbol of rulers, of soldiers,
and of men of a class superior to rich merchants.
Besides, under the attribute of "the sword," Mer-
cury was the patron of books, and of arts and
crafts, as well as the encourager of learning.
Girded with the ever-ready sword, presented to
him for his wit and understanding by his father,

76

AND PLAYING CARDS

Jupiter, Mercury was alert to point out in the
Book of Fate the initiative that should be taken,
if success was desired, and also to adjust quar-
rels, smooth away strife, or heal differences. Un-
der the emblem of the sword, Mercury was an
often-consulted oracle. The sword (or lightning)
was also emblematic of Nebo.

The fourth guise of Mercury was usually kept
for serious or sacred periods of life, and was sel-
dom seen in the home, as it was reserved for more
grave positions. After Mercury gave up being
the cupbearer of Olympus to the beautiful Hebe
he retained the badge of office, and "the cup of
Hermes" remained as one of his attributes as a
reminder of this position. To-day it is used at
Christmas in Italy, when presents are placed in
Mercury's cup for distribution instead of being
hung on a tree, as is the more northern custom.
The seven-ringed cup was sacred to Nebo as well
as to Toth, and this votive cup entwined with
two serpents — now in the Louvre — proved that
the Chalice and the Caduceus were always
typical of Nebo.

As Chthonius, Mercury was always the useful
helper of mankind. He presided at birth, when

77

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

he recorded the future events of a child's life on
"the tablet of fate," as had been done by his
predecessor, the god of the Babylonians, Nebo.
He also attended the dead, when the tablet was
broken, (which was Thoth's perogative) , so he is
allegorically represented on funeral urns, where
he is seen leading Proserpine to Hell. The vase
has been converted into one of Mercury's emblems
on the cards, as the Cup or Chalice. Many of
the beautiful Etruscan vases in the Vatican show
Mercury with Pluto's reluctant wife. Perhaps
the most graceful of stone pictures on this subject
is in the British Museum, where a female figure
reclines on a couch, surrounded by a group of
mourners, and behind the dying woman stands
Mercury, patient and alert, ready to show the soul
to its bourn. The cup of sacrifice is overturned,
the tablet is broken, and Mercury's task is to guide
her spirit carefully and gently to another sphere.

Here, then, are the four attributes of Mercury
through whose aid he speaks to men: the Cadu-
ceus, stylus or magic wand ; the Coin or ring, em-
blem of eternity; the Sword, and the Cup or
chalice.

Always depicted as a youthful or, perhaps, irre-

78

AND PLAY INC CARDS '

sponsible man, sometimes described as inconse-
quent, volatile and light-hearted, still Mercury
was the most affording and helpful of all the
gods of Olympus, and it was he who interceded
for men, who presided over births and deaths, as
well as over love affairs, business, and the arts.
He was, therefore, consulted at every turn of life
— small wonder that his image was a prized orna-
ment of their homes, under one of his three attri-
butes, or else near their tombs under the fourth.
Temples to Mercury, to Thoth, and Nebo,
were the principal and most ornate ones that were
built. The great one at Babylon to Nebo was
called E-Sigalia. He was worshipped as the
"tablet writer" who foretold fate. There is one
to Mercury that is still in a fairly good state of
preservation and is first of the group to the other
gods of Olympus, at Baiae, a town ten miles north
of Naples in Italy. This temple was probably
erected by the rich merchants of Rome, near their
own beautiful villas, that have rendered the place
historical. The other temples are little more than
charming ruins, but that of Mercury survives to
remind us that mutilated rites are still held in his
honour in all parts of the world, although by per-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

sons who have lost their clue to the original in-
tention of the cult that they follow.

It is probable that the adjoining town of Poz-
zuoli was the cradle of Playing Cards in Europe,
for it was here that the mysteries of the Egyptian
god Thoth were taught by the priests of that cult.
Close to the edge of the water are the ruins of
the vast temple of Osiris, or Serapis, called the
Serapeon. Here the strangers worshipped, who
landed there yearly from the Nile, from a vast
fleet which was sheltered in the bay of Baiae. Its
arrival was heralded by a number of swift yachts
that could be recognized as they passed through
the narrow straits between Capri and the main-
land with topsails flying, a privilege that was ac-
corded to none but the visitors from Alexandria,
who were too powerful to offend and too desir-
able not to conciliate.

The exports of corn from Alexandria were
of such importance to Italy that the trade enjoyed
the peculiar protection of the State, and "the
Alexandrian corn fleet," says Merivale ("Ro-
man Empire," Volume IV, page 392), "enjoyed
the protection of a convoy of war galleys that was
met by a deputation of senators."

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The visitors landed at Pozzuoli, at the spot
where St. Paul disembarked from the Castor and
Pollox, in a bay that sheltered mariners from
Spain, Sardinia, Elba, Cyprus and all the great
trading ports of Asia Minor, the isles of the
/Egean Sea and, above all, Greece. This great
centre received merchandise, iron and fine tools
from the clever workmen of Elba, and gorgeous
carpets from Phoenicia, as well as Egyptian goods
and cults; so it was natural that what was pre-
sented at this port should also be exported from
there. Thus it was with the learning and the arts
of Egypt that were taught by her priests or initiates
in the temple erected by them at this spot, which
points to the probability that their great book was
from this centre scattered over Europe.

What is now called the Serapeon is one of the
most remarkable ruins in Italy, for through some
volcanic action it was buried beneath the sea in
the twelfth century during the last eruption of the
Solfatara, reappearing after another volcanic
outburst in 1538. It had been forgotten for
centuries, but when the fresh movement of that
ever-swaying shore made the waters recede, the
temple again appeared above the surface. Some

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

of its marble columns are still erect, although they
are honeycombed with holes made by a little
bivalve that is still found in the bay of Baiae, and
in these perforations countless of their shells can
be seen. Enough of the temple remains to record
the fact that the Egyptians were numerous and
prosperous on the foreign shore, and it is prob-
able that it was built 211 B. C., although many
students think its erection was even earlier.

Serapis, or Osiris, was worshipped as Hermes,
or Mercury, by the Romans, which worship was
introduced into the neighbouring city of Rome by
the Emperor Antoninus Pius, in A. D. 146,
which may indicate the date of the Temple of
Serapis (Mercury).

Serapis was the god of commerce, so his shrine
was enriched by the merchants who thronged to
the ever-busy port. It was probably after this
temple (the original home of Mercury) was sub-
merged, that the smaller one was erected to him
at Baiae. The latter was a famous marine water-
ing place of ancient Italy, perched on an inden-
tation of the western shore of the Bay of Naples.
It is celebrated for the softness of its climate, and
the abundance of its hot springs, so it became

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fashionable about the era of Lucullus, the ruins
of whose magnificent villa, as well as those of
Caesar, Pompey and Augustus, still remain. It
was a favourite resort until the invasion of the
barbarians under Theodoric the Goth.

Horace alludes to the palaces and temples over-
hanging the sea, but most of these have now fallen
into the water, where beautiful columns may be
seen beneath the waves.

Besides these luxurious homes, and the vast
temple of Serapis that was so near, there remain
ruins of a temple to Jupiter, another to Venus,
and others that are unidentified. But the one that
remains in the best condition and state of pres-
ervation is Mercury's, as the domed roof pro-
tected it when the others were destroyed by the
ashes from the neighbouring volcano. The
fagade of the temple has been removed, but one
long vaulted hall remains. It is not pierced with
windows, and was probably intended to be dark,
for the better perpetration of mysteries. On the
ceiling may be traced oblong shaped paintings,
"men portrayed upon the wall," that are too much
defaced to identify, but they recall the shape and
approximate size of the Atouts of the Tarots.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

These may be seen at stated intervals, and, when
originally placed there, would have accommo-
dated the twenty-two Atout cards ranged in the
order in which they are now numbered. It was
supposed that the emblematic figures representing
Osiris, Maut, Isis and other deities with the vir-
tues, vices, love, marriage, death, etc., were placed
in recesses or alcoves in the Egyptian temples, but
if these half -obliterated figures in the temple at
Baiae were intended to represent the Atouts, a
different plan was followed, more like that men-
tioned in Ezekiel xxiii : 1 4. It may have been
that the priests followed the idea of putting the
figures on the ceiling, so that they might teach
their followers the significance of the emblems
when it was no longer worth while to make mys-
teries of them and to conceal them.

Beside the temple, and opening from it, is an
inner room that was probably once covered by a
roof, but that has fallen, and now the space is
only an enclosed court. In the centre remains
what might have been a platform or altar where
the sacrifices of pigs or tongues, and of other
things immolated to Mercury, were made yearly
at the time of his festival, on the thirteenth of May.

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Prof. Charles Anthon, in his "Classical Dic-
tionary," when describing Mercury, says:

"Mercurius was a celebrated god of antiquity,
called Hermes by the Greeks. He was the mes-
senger of the gods and of Jupiter in particular.
He was the god of speech, of eloquence, the
patron of orators, of merchants, and of all dis-
honest persons, particularly thieves, of travellers,
and of shepherds. He also presided over high-
ways and crossways, and conducted the souls of
the dead to the world below, and it would be
nearly impossible to discover anything about which
this versatile god could not be consulted through
his learned priests, who had been taught the gift of
speech from him that they transmitted to their
followers. The Egyptians ascribed to Hermes
the invention of letters, and the Greeks accredited
him with many other important improvements that
made men's lives happier or better, such as the
invention of the lyre, as well as the regulation of
commerce, and the improvement of gymnastic ex-
ercises, while, by a strange perversion the Greeks
made Hermes the protector of thieves, when, in
Egypt, he was the god of merchants, so that it
may be possible that the crafty god favoured the

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

person who first propitiated him or, perhaps, the
highest bidder."

Mercury was the son of Jupiter by the brightest
of the Pleiades, Maia, herself the daughter of
Atlas, King of Mauritania, and Pleione, one of
the Oceanides, or ocean nymphs whose mother
was Tethys, and father, Oceanus. Such distin-
guished ancestry may well have placed the ever-
youthful Mercury among the presiding deities of
Olympus, even if he had not inherited the mantle
of the Egyptian god Thoth, and with it the aegis
of the god of the Babylonians, Nebo, who was
the arbiter of the fate of mankind.

His infancy was intrusted to the Seasons, who
could not prevent his stealing the trident of Nep-
tune, the girdle of Venus, the sword of Mars, and
the sceptre of Jupiter, all of which are displayed
on the old pip cards, the sword and sceptre being
two of the pips, while the girdle of Venus encir-
cles the Deuce of Money.

The ingenious god presented the lyre that he
invented to Apollo, receiving in exchange the
"golden three-leaved rod," called by the poets
Aurea virga. It was represented as a wand
of laurel, or olive, with two dainty wings on one

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end, and entwined with two serpents, the whole
emblematical of many things besides peace, or a
flag of truce, for which it was generally used.
This rod entwined with serpents is one of the most
ancient symbols and is found on a vase discovered
in Babylonia that is supposed to have been used
2350 B. C. Another device showed the staff
wound with ropes tied after a peculiar fashion,
and when so depicted the caduceus represented
commerce and merchants, since the rope tied after
a certain fashion was the token of the Phoenician
traders. This is retained on the Ace of Sticks
in the Tarot pack. When the caduceus was
wound with stripes of red and white it repre-
sented surgeons, or the healing arts; and, as has
been mentioned, is so displayed on barbers' poles
to-day. The stick wound in this way also rep-
resented birth, and, set before the door, was a
token of Mercury's recent visit carrying a babe
from Juno to its parents. The caduceus served
Mercury as a herald's staff, and this name was
sometimes applied to the white wand or rod that
in time of war was regarded as a signal for peace.
The wings of Mercury typify the planet named
for him, that is so fast that it completes its revo-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

lution around the sun in a little less than three
months. He is connected with the old Israelitish
legend, referred to in Ezekiel ix: 2, where Nebo
is one of the seven planets.

The important place given to the rod in the
Bible must not be overlooked. It is closely con-
nected with the arrow of primitive peoples, that
was used not only for war or the chase, but
serving also to ascertain the wishes of the gods,
for when a bundle of arrows was cast to the
ground from a quiver or the hand, according to
certain well-known laws, they indicated the
wishes of the divine power by the direction in
which they fell. This is recalled in Jeremiah, in
the story of Jonathan and David, besides in many
other instances.

It was a natural sequence that Mercury, who
had inherited the "tablet of fate" from Nebo of
the Babylonians, should also have received the
"wand of the magi" that, when cast before the
Pharaoh by his wise men, was able to swallow
the serpents that sprang from the rod of Moses.
The rod, when used as a sceptre, has other and
important significances, and is one of the chief
signs of a ruler's position and power.

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Mercury was the most active and useful of all
the gods, owing to his temperament, and no event
or ceremony was undertaken without seeking his
advice. He had many names under which his
good offices were invoked, such as Argiphontes,
or the slayer of Argus, when he represented war-
riors. Then he was called Chthonius, or "he
who guides the dead"; when thus represented he
is generally seated and is without sword, cadu-
ceus, or purse. Another name for him was
Agoneus, the patron of gymnastic exercises, of
commerce, and of executive ability.

Sometimes Mercury is represented in his birth-
day suit, at others with a chlamys or cloak envel-
oping him, the petasus or winged cap on his head,
the talaria, or winged sandals, on his heels, bear-
ing the caduceus aloft. Ancient representations
of Mercury were simple wooden posts, the ter-
minals carved with a rude head wearing a beard,
which were the original signposts.

Professor Anthon says: "Hermes may in
some degree be regarded as a personification of
the Egyptian priesthood. It is in this sense,
therefore, that he is regarded as the confidant of
the gods, their messenger, the interpreter of their

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

decrees, the genius who presides over science, the
conductor of souls to the realms of bliss."

One of the Egyptian names for Mercury,
when he combined many attributes of Osiris and
other deities, was Thoth, which, according to
Jablonski's "Pantheon ./Egypt," signifies "an
assembly composed of sages and educated persons,
the sacerdotal college of a city or temple." Pro-
fessor Anthon says: "Thus the collective priest-
hood of Egypt, personified and considered as a
unity, was represented by an imaginary being to
whom was ascribed the invention of languages
and writing, hence the sacrifice of tongues to
Mercury. He was also credited with the origin
of geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, medicine,
music, rhythm, the institution of religion and
sacred processions, the introduction of gymnastic
or health-giving exercises, and, finally, the less
indispensable, though not less valuable, arts of
architecture, sculpture and painting. So many
volumes were attributed to him that no human
being could possibly have composed them.

"For many years it was customary for the
priests devoted to his service to present the results
of their labours to Thoth, receiving no reward or

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AND PLAYING CARDS

glory for the individual work, which was turned
to the advantage of the whole sacerdotal associa-
tion in being ascribed to its presiding genius, who,
by his double figure, indicated the necessity for
a plural doctrine, of which the interpretation was
confined entirely to his initiates, or priests, who
translated the occult signs of the gods or the
learning entrusted to their care to the inquirers,
who frequented the temples to receive knowledge
or directions in the material walks of life which
they were taught to believe was transmitted by the
oracle to ordinary mortals by the priests of Thoth,
who alone understood the painted or written signs."

Besides the arts and crafts before mentioned as
being under the protection of the Egyptian god,
was the important one of commerce. "This in
like manner," says Professor Anthon, "was in-
tended to express the influence of the priesthood
on commercial enterprises."

"The identity of Hermes with the Dog Star,
Sirius, that serves as precursor of the inundation
of the Nile, the emblem of which," says the same
authority, "was the gazelle that flies to the desert
on the rising of the waters, his rank in demonology
as the father of spirits and guide of the dead, his

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

quality of incarnate godhead, and his cosmogon-
ical alliance with the generative fire, the light,
the source of all knowledge, and with water, the
principle of fecundity. It is surprising, however,
to observe how strangely the Grecian spirit modi-
fied the Egyptian Hermes, who was transformed
by the Greeks into the messenger or interpreter
of the wishes of others who were more powerful
than himself, but not omnipotent, as the Egyptian
mythology regarded him."

This is seen in the mystic portions of the early
Orphic or Homeric hymns, where Hermes is
treated quite differently than is done in the Iliad
or the Odyssey. The earliest records of Hermes
recall all the peculiar qualities of the Egyptian
Hermes, and sometimes even the strange legends
of the Hindoo Avatars, as well as the Babylonian
Nebo. One of the Hindoo gods bears the same
emblems that are devoted to Mercury, namely:
the Cup, the Sword, the Staff, and the Ring, Coin,
or Circle; but a striking difference is noted when
Hermes is adopted by the Romans, who even
changed his name as well as his characteristics,
although retaining his distinguishing marks or
emblems.

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"The Romans," says Professor Anthon, "first
received the sacerdotal Hermes, whose worship
had been brought into Etruria by the Pelasgi,
previous to the time of Homer, and, as the earlier
Hermes had been represented by a column, he
became with them the god Terminus. When,
however, the Romans became acquainted with
the twelve great deities of the Athenians, they
adopted the Grecian Hermes under the name of
Mercury, preserving at the same time the remem-
brance of their previous traditions and jumbling
the attributes of the Egyptian god Thoth with
that of the Grecian Hermes."

But, in order to make this favourite god of use,
it was necessary to approach him through his own
priests, the only persons who were initiated into his
mysteries and who could interpret them. Since
these priests were already established and had
been for some time in Italy, in the great temple of
Serapeon, it is easy to see how the cult engaged
the attention of the people, and how readily it ab-
sorbed the new-fashioned god who strayed there
from so many different quarters.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER IV
THOTH

THE great authority on modern Egyptian dis-
coveries, M. Gaston Maspero, says in his book,
"Ancient Sites and Modern Scenes": "On the
outskirts of Thebes there are ruins that lie to the
north of the Valley of Kings. The temple was
built or restored in the last years of the seventh,
or in the first years of the sixth, century B. C. to
Thoth, the master of magic and letters; the god
who was the scribe and the magician of the
gods."

This mysterious but powerful god ranked high
in the Egyptian cosmogony and the remains of
his worship flourish to-day among the votaries
of the card table, who, however, no longer con-
sult him as the oracle, but use his book for
their amusement or pleasure.

"During the Roman period, from 527 B. C.
to 332 B. C., that was called the Egyptian renais-
sance," says Mr. Rawhnson in his "History of

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Ancient Egypt" (Volume II, page 502),
"Asia poured the fetid stream of her wonderful
superstitions into Africa. The exorcisms of Thoth
and the powers of witchcraft in league with him
are the favorite themes which cover the polished
surfaces of the monuments at this remarkable
time." And on page 465, "Asiatic Greeks be-
came in the reign of Psammetchas (about 610
B. C.) close to the throne. Consequently, free
communication and commercial intercourse be-
tween Egypt and Europe were opened." This
ruler was devoted to art, architecture and adven-
ture, and one of the inventions of his reign was
the enchorial or demotic writing which super-
seded the hieratic. This was attributed to the
priests of Thoth, those wise men who sought no
personal glory, but who contented themselves
with placing their works at the feet of their pre-
siding genius and attributing their own discoveries
to him.

Without discussing whether the Assyrian god
Nebo absorbed the Egyptian Thoth, or the re-
verse, we may concede that such strong similar-
ities exist between them that they are virtually
the same. With similar heraldic symbols and

95

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

functions, they were the inventors of many use-
ful arts, that of writing always being attributed
to both. Besides, both gods were supposed to
have the power of recording the fate of mankind
at birth, and both presided at the judgment of
souls after death.

The ibis-headed Thoth was also symbolized
by a stylus and inkstand, and was often termed
"the Scribe," just as Nebo was called "the
Writer," and had for his device a stylus and
inkstand. A month was dedicated to each, that
of Thoth being the first in die Egyptian calen-
dar, or our September. Its symbol was a re-
versed crescent with three lotus flowers, under
which were two aspects of the moon, as full and
as a crescent. One cannot but wonder if the
artistic Egyptians, while adopting the cuneiform
characters which resemble long shafts with re-
versed triangles on top, did not alter the lines
and convert the "arrow head" of Nebo's inven-
tion into the graceful flower, thus retaining the
original conception of the symbol of the Assyrian
god, while stamping it with their own love of the
beautiful.

The tablet of Khufu at Wady Magarah shows

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Thoth bearing in his right hand a sceptre (one
of the designs of the Tarot pack). This rod
has three triangles on it that resemble the cunei-
form characters, which is certainly not accidental.

The name of Thoth is written heraldically as
"an ibis standing on a perch (which in shape
again recalls the cuneiform) followed by a cres-
cent and the two oblique lines commonly used to
express the number one."

The principal likenesses of the great gods of
Egypt seem to be represented in the Atouts of
the Tarot pack of cards, called "The Book of
Thoth Hermes Trismegistus," for the sun, moon,
seven stars, etc., are all among the Atouts. Mr.
Rawlinson ("History of Ancient Egypt," page
315) gives the names of the gods, and the qual-
ities for which they were worshipped, revered or
dreaded, as follows:

NUM or KNEPH — the KHONS — the moon.

creative mind.
PHTHAH — the

tive hand.
MAUT — matter.
RA — the sun.

SEB — the earth,
crea- KHEM — the generative

power in nature.
NUT — the upper hemi-
sphere in heaven.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

ATHOR — the lower AMMON — divine mys-

world. teriousness.

THOTH — divine w i s- OSIRIS — divine good-

dom. ness.

All knew that there was but one god, but these
were the interceders.

On page 370 of his book, Mr. Rawlinson says:
"Thoth was the oracle or the clerk (recorder)
of the wishes of the divine circle, who bears as
insignia a palm branch or a stylus, and often a
tablet. Sometimes he carries the Crook Headed
Sceptre. His titles were Lord of Sesennu and
Lord of Truth. He is called one of the chief
gods — the Great God — the God Twice Great —
the Great Chief in the paths of the dead — the
Self-created or Neverborn — the Lord of Divine
Words — and the Scribe of Truth."

Thoth was often represented under two dif-
ferent forms, earthly and infernal, or as Thoth
in the House of Selection, and Thoth at the
Balance of Souls. As the god who took part in
the judgment of the dead Thoth was revered
throughout Egypt and it is written of him : "All
Eyes are open on thee and all men worship thee
as a god."

98

REG.DI SPADE

REG.DIDANARI

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Court Cards of the Pip Part of the Pack

25 Queen of Rods

26 Queen of Swords

27 Queen of Money

28 King of Rods

29 King of Swords

30 King of Money

AND PL AY INC CARDS

Oxen, cows and geese were sacrificed in his
honour and the ibis with the cynocephalous ape
were sacred to him. Very many images of him
are found that show him in attendance on
different kings, either purifying them or inscribing
their names on the sacred tree. His spiritual office
was to be present in Amend when souls were to
be judged, to see their deeds weighed in the bal-
ance and record the results. This is recalled in
the Atout of the Tarot pack, named Justice.
Thoth also reveals to men the will of the gods. He
composes the Ritual for the Dead, that great work
that is so frequently found bound in the shrouds
of mummies, to instruct the soul how to conduct
itself in the world of spirits. It is also Thoth
who, in the realms below, writes for good souls
with his own fingers the Book of Respirations,
which protects, sustains, and enlightens them,
causing them to "breathe with the souls of the
gods for ever and ever."

Thoth had three great colleges, at Thebes, at
Memphis, and at Heliopolis, where he was wor-
shipped by priestesses as well as by priests, and
there are many records of the prognostications of
the former. If the supposition is correct that the

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

gypsies are descended from the outcasts of the
temple of Thoth, near Naples (the Serapeon),
when that building was overthrown by an earth-
quake, it may be noted that in the tribe the
women are the principal soothsayers, while the
men generally pursue other occupations.

King Shafra, who built the Second Pyramid,
married the daughter of Meri-Aukhs. Her tomb
at Saccarah bears an inscription stating that she
was a "Priestess of Thoth," and her son was
called "a sacred scribe." From the time of
Shafra, scribes are frequently represented as
seated or squatting at work, with a pen or brush in
the right hand and one or two tucked behind the
ear, while the left hand holds the paper or a
palette.

"The first and greatest of the builders of the
pyramids," says Mr. Rawlinson, "was Khufu or
Cheops. He composed a religious work called
the Sacred Book. He was a great admirer and
worshipper of Thoth, who is represented with
him on the rock pictures."

Closely copying the Assyrian kings, who placed
themselves under the protection of their gods,
notably that of Nebo, by adopting their names,

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several of the Pharaohs called themselves Thoth-
mes, meaning child of Thoth. The third ruler
of that name, who has been called the Alexan-
der of Egyptian history, raided the heart of West-
ern Asia, going as far as Nineveh. He was wise
as well as valiant, and noted all novelties in the
lands through which he passed, which he after-
wards sought to introduce into his own country.
The two obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles
were originally set up at Heliopolis, one of the
temples of Thoth, by Thothmes III. They were
transported to Alexandria and afterwards car-
ried to London and New York, so the genius of
playing cards still presides at the two great world
centres, where cards are a favourite amusement.
The priests of Thoth were said to have de-
scended in a direct line from father to son for
three hundred and forty-five generations. This
habit is another one common to gypsies, who
rarely marry any but their own people. To the
priests of the temple of Thoth many books called
Hermetic were ascribed that were so dedicated to
the honour of the god that the name of the
writer is merged into his. M. Maspero mentions
"an Egyptian romance that describes the adven-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

tures of a family of ghosts who were living with
their mummies in a tomb lighted by a wonderful
talisman, which was an incantation written on
papyrus by Thoth himself." Another work was
particularly full of wisdom and science, contain-
ing in it everything relating to the fowls of the
air, the fishes of the sea, and the four-footed
beasts of the mountains. "The man who knew a
single page of the book could charm Heaven,
Earth, the great Abyss, Mountains and Seas.
This marvellous composition Thoth enclosed in a
box of gold, which he placed within a box of sil-
ver, within a box of ivory and ebony, and that
again within a box of bronze, within a box of
brass, within a box of iron; and the book thus
guarded he threw into the Nile at Coptos. The
act became known, and the box was searched for
and found. It gave its possessor vast knowledge
and magical power, but always brought misfortune
on him." One of the books of Thoth consists of
magical texts, and Mr. Rawlinson says: "The
belief in magic was widely spread among the
Egyptians, and the behests of the priests were
obeyed with confidence that, whether they turned
out well or badly for the inquirer, they had been

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AND PLAYING CARDS

foretold at birth. The fatalism of the North
Africans is too well known to be disputed, for
they accept misfortune bowing the head and say-
ing: 'It is the will of Allah.' This is the in-
heritance of ages."

The priests explained to the inquirer into the
divine wishes the commands of the god, and then
inscribed them on parchment or some convenient
material. These records were either hung around
the neck or bound on the arm. The ignorant
folk considered that these amulets would preserve
them from all evil. This practice is observed to
the present day by members of different religious
cults. One amulet has been translated: "Thou
art protected against the accidents of life. Thou
art protected against a violent death. Thou art
protected against fire. Thou escapest in Heaven
and thou art not ruined upon Earth." Such a
valuable insurance against every evil during life
or death must have been well worth a handsome
fee to the priest who issued it.

Lenormant, in his "Manual" (Volume I, page
516), says: "It is remarkable that the Ritual
of the Dead (the Egyptian name for which was
Manifestation of Light, or the Book Revealing

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Light to the Soul) is accompanied by pictures
which form the essential portion of it." So the
Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, or the
Tarots, is composed of pictures that can only be
deciphered by initiates. The Ritual of the Dead
claimed to be a revelation from Thoth Hermes,
who through it declared the will of the gods
and the mysterious nature of divine things to
mankind. Portions of it are expressly stated to
have been written by the finger of Thoth, and
other parts to have been the composition of the
god himself. It was held in such high esteem
that portions of it were placed in coffins. The
Ritual has been divided into three sections. There
are prayers for the dead, and a long chapter that
has been said to "contain the Egyptian Faith."
This creed is followed by a series of prayers,
and spells, and famous chapter (cxxv) describ-
ing the seat of judgment known as the "Hall
of Two Truths." Here the deceased is brought
before Osiris as supreme judge. The latter is
seated on a lofty throne, surrounded by forty-two
Assessors, each of whom addresses the dead per-
son in turn, and to each he declares his inno-
cence of crime or sin, saying, "I have not blas-

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phemed. I have not deceived. I have not stolen.
I have not slain any one. I have not been cruel.
I have not caused disturbance. I have not been
idle. I have not been drunken. I have not been
indiscreetly curious. I have not multiplied words
in speaking. I have struck no one. I have
caused fear to no one. I have slandered no one.
I have not eaten my heart through envy. I have
not reviled the face of the king nor the face of
my father. I have not made false accusations.
I have not kept milk from the mouths of suck-
lings. I have not caused abortion. I have not ill-
used my slaves. I have not killed sacred beasts.
I have not defiled the river. I have not polluted
myself. I have not taken the clothes of the
dead." A dead person is always spoken of as
"An Osiris," or "He sleeps in Osiris."

Egyptian writing was of three distinct kinds,
known as Hieroglyphic, Hieratic and Demotic or
Enchorial. There is but little difference between
the Hieratic and the Demotic. The former is
the earlier of the two, but was nearly lost
in the Demotic, which, according to Lenor-
mant, was introduced about the seventh century
B. C., and rapidly superseded the Hieratic, being

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simpler. Both were written from left to right.
It was about this time that the worship of
Nebo, in Babylonia, and of Thoth, in Egypt,
was most important, so it is probable that
the priests, who were the learned and scientific
men of the day, then reconstructed the art of
wnting and so earned for their patrons the hon-
our of being gods of writing, although the stylus
and the title of "the Writer" had been born for
many centuries.

Pasmmetichas, king of Sais, who, as has been
already mentioned, fought the Assyrians, must
have been a most intelligent person, for during
his reign, says Mr. Rawlinson (page 465), "a
question was raised as to the relative antiquity of
different races of mankind. Therefore the Pha-
raoh had two children isolated from their species
and brought up by a herdsman who was dumb,
and suckled by a goat, in order to see what
language they would speak, presuming that they
would revert to the primitive type of speech. The
result of his experiment was thought to prove the
Phrygians to be the most ancient nation, and the
Egyptians, we are told by Herodotus, accepted
it as an established fact."

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Thoth was revered as a great teacher, since his
works treated of all things, such as the creation
of the world, of divine power, of wisdom, of the
art of presaging the issue of maladies by means
of the planets. The work treating on this was
dedicated to Ammon. Then there were the
Aphorisms of Hermes, which consisted of as-
tronomical propositions translated from the Arabic
about the time of Manfred, king of Sicily. "The
Cyranides of Trismegistus" treats of magic power
and the medicinal virtues of precious stones, of
plants, and of animals. Many of the other books
of Thoth are treatises on chemistry or alchemy.
One is called "The Seven Seals of Hermes Tris-
megistus," another, "Chemical Tinctures," and a
third, "The Emerald Tablet," describing the art
of making gold. It is said that Sara, the wife of
Abraham, found the Emerald in the tomb of Her-
mes, on Mount Hebron. One essay is to Tat or
Esculapius, another is entitled "The Virgin of the
World," as Isis is sometimes called, and is a
dialogue between her and her son Horus.

Many small statues were found in a well in
the temple of the Sphinx, that may have originally
represented the gods now found among the Atouts.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

This would be a most valuable confirmation of
the theory of their original position in the temple
when the priests and initiates wished to consult
the occult.

In an age when letters were only used by the
learned, and pictured emblems or symbols took
the place of an alphabet, it was natural that the
priests of Thoth, when pressed to divine the fate
of men, should place sketches of the great gods
on the walls of their temples, so that, by com-
bining them with the rods of divination, the wishes
of the supreme beings could be easily conveyed.
The custom of adorning the walls of the temple
is referred to in Ezekiel xxiii : 1 4. "She saw
men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the
Chaldeans (or Nebo and his confreres) pour-
trayed with vermilion, girdled with girdles upon
their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their
heads, all of them princes to look to, after the
manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea." This
was possibly the origin of the Tarots, or the Atout
volume of the Book of Thoth.

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CHAPTER V
NEBO, OR NABU

A GREAT Chaldean god was Nebo, mentioned
in Isaiah xlvi : 1 , "Bel boweth down, Nebo
stoopeth," and he had an immense influence over
the lives of the Assyrians and Babylonians, ex-
tending over centuries. In primitive times nothing
was undertaken without an attempt to consult
the wishes of the superior gods, and it is inter-
esting to trace through the tablets on which are
inscribed the wonderful cuneiform inscriptions,
discovered and deciphered during the past fifty
years, how the people were taught by their proph-
ets or priests to consult the predestinations of
Nebo, who inscribed at birth what Would befall
each person during life. Nebo had many names
or designations. He was called Laghlaghghi-
Gar, or illuminator; Gishdar, or god of the scep-
tre; Ilu-tashmit, or god of revelations; and the
spouse of Tashmit; his name signifies Proclaimer
Herald in Assyrian, and Height in Hebrew,

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Nebo, called Nabu by the Babylonians, was
the son of Enlil, or Marduk, the Merodach of the
Bible (Jeremiah 1:2), who became merged in
the Jupiter of the Romans. Nebo was the hus-
band of Tashmitum, or Tashmit, or Tashmetu,
sometimes called Ema. Her name is translated
as signifying "revelation," "she who listens," or
"she who intercedes." She is frequently invoked
and besought to placate her more important
spouse, or she is appealed to by worshippers to
intercede with her consort to reveal what he had
prophesied on the "tablets of fate."

As the grandson of Ea, who was the god of
doctors, Nebo inherited the privileges of healing.
He also presided at birth and death, and could
cure diseases. One of his symbols seems pecul-
iar and is still retained on the Tarots. It is a
sword, for in the minds of the men of his day
a pestilence was a certain follower of war. Al-
though Nebo was not the god of war, he was first
its herald and then the healer of the sick or
wounded, so it was under these conditions that a
sword became his attribute.

Nebo shared with Shamash, Gula, and Nergal
of Assyrian mythology, the power of restoring

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the dead to life, which, being interpreted, means
curing the ill, whether from disease or sin.

It was to Nebo that the Assyrian kings ascribed
their wisdom, for he was deemed to be the source
of all knowledge, and the wonderful inventor of
the art of writing that enabled the wise men who
were his priests to preserve the records of the dif-
ferent reigns and the history of wars, the descrip-
tion of buildings and their donors, of deeds of
valour and of charity, for the enlightenment of
posterity.

The great temple built at Calah in the time
of Ram-man-nerari III (812-783 B. C.) is
inscribed with a dedicatory inscription placed by
the king on the statue of Nebo. It closes with
the sentence:

"Oh! posterity, trust in Nabu,
Trust in no other god."

Nebo was also the patron of agriculture, who
taught the husbandmen when to plant, the best
time for irrigating, and a favourable time for the
harvest. Being the messenger from heaven to
earth, one of his symbols was the lightning. This
emblem is preserved on the Japanese cards, al-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

though it is probably accidental. A hymn to
Nebo attests his having lightning as an attribute,
and the tablet upon which it was transcribed in
cuneiform characters has been translated as
follows :

"Lord of Borsippa, Son of E-Sagila! Oh, Lord, to
thy power

There is no rival. Oh, Nebo, to thy Temple E-Zida
there is no rival,

Or to thy home, Babylon. Thy weapon is the light-
ning,

From the mouth of which no breath does issue or blood
flow.

Thy commands are as unchangeable as the Heavens,
Where thou art Supreme."

Hie chief temple of Nebo was at Borsippa,
on the opposite side of the Euphrates to Bab-
ylon; the town was sometimes called Babylon II.
Nebo's temple was styled E-Zida, the true house,
and E-Sagila signified the lofty house, which
was the temple of his father, Marduk. The
connection with lightning is too marked to be
overlooked when studying the derivation of
cury's attributes from those of Nebo.

112

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The mighty king Ashur-banapal invokes Nebo
on thousands of tablets that have been found in
his great library. Nebo is called "the opener of
the ears to understanding," "he who gives the
sceptre of sovereignty to kings, that they may
rule over all lands," "the upholder of the world,"
"the general overlord and the seer." All these
attributes were combined with the scientific at-
tainments of Nebo, and he was proclaimed as
the inventor of language and the art of writing,
together with being the great teacher and en-
courager of learning and scientific investigations.
This is all emphasised by his numerous titles, such
as "Speaker," which is said to be derived from his
name, signifying "to speak," or "one who an-
nounces the fate of mankind," which was another
inheritance of Mercury's when he was called the
"Messenger of the Gods." The attribute, then,
in both cases, was the emblematic Sceptre of the
ruler, the caduceus. The Sceptre was also named
by the Assyrians "the Proclaimer," and was va-
riously represented, sometimes by the Staff with
twisted serpents, although in earlier times it was
generally pictured as stylus, which was closely
copied in the representations of Thoth. The en-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

twining serpents of the caduceus sacred to Mer-
cury were directly inherited from votive emblems
peculiar to the Babylonians, and they received
force and significance after the rods of the Egyp-
tian magi were turned into serpents and swallowed
by the rod of Aaron.

When Nebo is called "Ilu-tashmit," or god of
Revelations, who teaches through his invention of
writing and of speech, he is then regarded as a
soothsayer or prophet. The Hebrew word for
prophet is Nabi, and this leads to the interest-
ing discussion that was started by Mr. Chatto
in his "History of Playing Cards" (page 22),
when he speculates on the name of Naibi, given
to cards by the earliest Italian writers who men-
tion them. As Naypes or Naipes is still the
name printed on the wrappers and on the Four
of Cups of Spanish cards, it evidently was con-
nected with prophesy, and this card has peculiar
values and significances among the gypsy for-
tune-tellers. Mr. Chatto states that in Hindu-
stani the word Na-eeb or Naib signifies a viceroy
or overlord, and quotes from "several Spanish
writers" who have "decidedly asserted that the
word Naipes, signifying cards, whatever it might

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originally have meant, was derived from the
Arabic." All the writers on playing cards quote
from Corvelluzzo, who states: "In the year 1379
was brought into Viterbo the game of cards,
which comes from the country of the Saracens
and is with them called Naib." The Arabian
"divining arrows" are always made from a tree
called Nabaa.

This little history, which is one of the earliest
records of cards that were then no longer con-
sidered prophetic, has seemed to close all inquiry
into the birth of games or their vehicle. No in-
quiry was therefore made into anything preceding
this period. However, had cards been regarded
as the survival of one of the most ancient of cults,
connected with it by its traditions of prophesy or
fortune-telling, the true story might have been un-
ravelled centuries ago, for a study of the tradi-
tions, religions or superstitions of Africa and Asia
would have revealed that Naibi (the name given
at that time to cards) meant prophesy or revela-
tion, and was inherited from the great "Writer
on the Tablets of Fate," Nebo the prophet, the
Assyrian god. The prophets of the Bible were
called Nabi, and it seems to be no accident that

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the mountain dedicated to Nebo and bearing his
name should have been selected for the death
place of the great prophet, Moses.

In the earliest histories of Assyrian mythology
Nebo was not the influential personage that he be-
came afterwards. But it was still early days
when he was accorded the honour of having one
of the planets named for him, which afterwards
became identified with Mercury. When Nebo
took his place among the mystic seven great gods,
he found associated with him Marduk (or Ju-
piter), Nergal (or Mars), Ishtar (or Venus),
Nineb (or Saturn), the Sun, represented in a
chariot drawn by horses, as copied in the seventh
card of the Atouts, and the Moon (Nan-nar),
who was called the "Heifer of Ami," and was
the presiding genius. She received the name be-
cause the horns of the new moon resembled those
of a cow. Her Assyrian temple was at Ur of
the Chaldeans, and she was also worshipped in
Egypt and is represented by the eighteenth
Atout. Her horns are always typical of wisdom
and prophesy, and, as such, are used on Michael
Angelo's famous statue of Moses.

The first month of the Babylonian year was

116

FABBRICA DI
MJLANO

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip Cards of the Cup Suit

31 Ace of Cups

32 Deuce of Cups

33 Trey of Cups

34 Four of Cups

35 Five of Cups

36 Six of Cups

AND PLAYING CARDS

sacred to Nebo and his father, Marduk, and was
called Nesan. The Egyptians made Thoth, or
September, the first month; that began August
29th, as we figure it, with the rising of the Dog
Star, which also was sacred to that god. This is
symbolised in the seventeenth Atout, called The
Stars, represented by an oblation to Osiris.

Daily sacrifices were made to Nebo, the
offerings being bulls, and other animals, fish, birds,
vegetables, honey, wine, oil and cream. Their
technical term was Sattuku and Gina. It is prob-
able that the wild boar was sacred to Nebo, as
it was to Mercury, being one of the animals
sacrificed to the latter, and the emblem is still
found on the Two of Bells of the German. cards.
The boar was sacred among the Assyrians, and
its flesh was forbidden on certain days in the Bab-
ylonian calendar. Its name was Nin-shakh, or
Pap-sukal, meaning "Divine Messenger," the
name that was synonymous with that of Nebo.

There were many great ceremonies connected
with the rites of Nebo, for the scientists, doctors,
warriors and kings were all anxious to conciliate
the arbiter of their fate, and there were many
statues erected in his honour all over the land.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

The one representing him that was kept in
E-Sagila, at Borsippa, called by Nebuchadnezzar
"the house of the temple of the world," meaning
the lofty home, was yearly conducted with great
ceremonies across the Euphrates in a car, or ark,
shaped like a ship, in order that Nebo might pay
homage at the temple of his father, Marduk.

The cult of Nebo reached its height when
Nabu-polassar (626 B. C.), Nebu-chadnezzar
(605 B. C.), and Nabonnedos (556 B. C).
adopted his name, thereby throwing themselves on
his mercy, or invoking his protection. Nebuchad-
nezzar adopted it as signifying "Oh, god Nebu,
protect my boundaries."

About the ninth century before Christ there
were innumerable temples devoted to the cult
of Nebo dotted over the land, for those were
troublous times, and, doubtless, the rulers and their
people were anxious to have all the advice that
they could obtain from the "Arbiter of Fate."
He was styled "the all-wise who guides the
stylus of the scribes," as well as "the possessor of
wisdom," and "the seer who guides all gods."
These inscriptions are found in many places, not
only on the temples but on clay tablets.

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Ashur-banipal extols Nebo on many of the
tablets found in his great library at Nineveh,
thanking him for his instructions and the inspira-
tion that enabled the king to record in writing his
valiant deeds, that were thus preserved for the
benefit of his subjects. One of them reads, "write
for posterity."

The Assyrians invaded Egypt many times, and
the Egyptians in return overran Palestine, Persia,
Babylonia and Assyria, so that by intermarriage
and constant intercourse the scientific attainments
and the mythologies of both became influenced
or mingled.

Although the capital of Menephtah, the Pha-
raoh of the Exodus, was at Thebes, the site of the
great temple of Thoth and the favourite resi-
dence of "the Ruler" was Zoan, or Sau, as it is
now called, which is three miles from Goshen.
It was there that Moses and Aaron had their
interviews. From that time on Thoth and Nebo
became almost one god, and it is by no means
stretching a point to connect the cults of Assyria
and Babylonia with those of Egypt. Isaiah
xix:23 says: "There shall be a highway out
of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and
the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians."
In the same chapter (third verse) we find: "And
they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers,
and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the
wizards." It is, therefore, but a simple conclusion
to suppose that the magi of Egypt adopted the
great tablet writer of the Assyrians as one of
their inspiring gods, and, that afterwards, when
the pair were introduced to Europeans, they were
merged into Mercury, while "The Book of the
.Writer" became known as "The Book of Thoth
Hermes Trismegistus" (three times great), now
called the Tarot pack of cards.

"The Bearer of the Fate Tablets," dedicated
to Nebuchadnezzar at Borsippa, has been trans-
lated, "Oh! Nabu! On thy unchangeable Tab-
lets which determine the boundaries of Heaven
and Earth, decree the length of my days. Write
down posterity." Which we would read. "Tell
me how long I am to live and bestow children
upon me."

There is a colophon in Semitic Babylonian,
written by Nabu-baladhsuigbi, son of Mitsircea
(the Egyptian), probably during the reign of

120

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Nabonidus, the father of Belshazzar, that is also
an invocation in the same style. The inscription
of Tiglath-Pileser I, king of Assyria, which "is
the longest and most important of early Assyrian
records," says Professor Sayce, dates from about
1 1 06 B. C. This inscription was found under
the foundations of the four corners of the temple
of Kileh Shergha, the ancient city of Asshur, and
is now in the British Museum. The one hun-
dred and fifth sentence mentions divining rods
as the "Oracle of the Great Divinities," being
placed within the temple. "This Elalla," says
Professor Sayce, "was a stem of papyrus covered
with writing."

Many tablets of Assyrian times have been de-
ciphered from the cuneiform text and are desig-
nated as "Tablets of Grace," or "Tablets of
Good Works." These are supposed to be those
that Nebo wrote describing the virtues of men.
Besides these, the Babylonians mentioned tablets
on which the sins of the evil were recorded. The
pious worshipper, therefore, prays that the Tablet
of his sins and iniquities may be destroyed, say-
ing: "May the Tablet of my sins be broken,"
showing how prevalent was the belief that Nebo

121

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

controlled fate entirely, both when predicting the
future and also after death, and in this Thoth re-
sembles him closely.

Similar connections are met with in the Old
Testament, when Moses cries, "Forgive their
sins — ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy
book which thou hast written." (Exodus
xxxii:32.) The belief that such records are
kept by the Almighty is referred to also in the
New Testament. "Your names are written in
Heaven." (St. Luke x:20.) The verse in
Ezekiel ix: 2, "One man among them was
clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his
side," is supposed to refer to Nebo, "the
Heavenly Scribe."

In a long cuneiform text inscribed on a terra
cotta prism found at Nineveh, King Asshur-bana-
pal glories in having received from Nebo and
Tashmitu (his consort) the power to understand
"the art of tablet-writing." In "Babylonian
Magic and Sorcery from the British Museum,"
by Leonard W. King, M. A., Assistant in the
Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiqui-
ties, British Museum, there are tablets invoking
the protection of Nebo as well as of other gods.

122

AND PLAYING CARDS

One of them has been translated as follows:

"Oh! Hero Prince, First born of Marduk;

Oh! prudent ruler of Spring of Zarpanitu;

Oh! Nabu, Bearer of the Tablet of the destiny of the

Gods, Director of Isagila,
Lord of Izida, Shadow of Borsippa,
Darling of la, Giver of Life,
Prince of Babylon, Protector of the Living."

It may be stretching a point to observe that the
"arrow-headed" letters on the tablets of Baby-
lonia closely resemble a sheaf of arrows that have
fallen haphazard. But this may be seen in the
name of the god Nebo.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER VI
THE ATOUTS OF THE TAROTS

Since the creation of the world mankind has
realized a divine power shaping his destiny, and
has tried to conciliate the unknown god. Since
life is made up of happenings that are unforeseen,
man believed that certain occult powers directed
and shaped them. It was natural, therefore, to
try to ascertain the wishes of the controller of
fate, so that they might be complied with and
misfortune thus averted.

Invocations, sacrifices and queries, private or
public in the temples, are recorded from early
days. Some have been found that date from at
least five thousand years before Christ. Directions
for "wave offerings," "burnt offerings," etc., are
frequent in the Old Testament. The commands
for marking the "rods" with the names of the
twelve tribes of Israel, for the purpose of lay-
ing them on the altar and awaiting results when

124

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the wishes of the Lord would be revealed, are
given in Numbers xvii. Prayers to Nebo,
Thoth, and Mercury are found everywhere in
the countries where they were worshipped. The
use of divining arrows (rods), when demanding
the wishes of the gods, is a known historic fact,
so it is readily seen whence the Egyptians
received their inspiration to gather together the
customs, ceremonies and superstitions of alien
religions, to absorb them in the worship of their
god Thoth.

The temples of the Egyptian gods were gen-
erally gorgeously decorated, and those of Thoth
were filled besides with learned women and men
who devoted the result of their studies to the com-
mon good, without a thought of self-aggrandise-
ment. They made themselves the go-between of
Thoth and man, when revealing the wishes of
the occult beings. The number of Hermetic
Books, written at Thoth's dictation, is given by
Jamblichus as 20,000.

Naturally, when sacrifices or offerings were
made, the worshipper demanded a reply to his
inquiries, thus taxing the ingenuity of the prophets,
who were, in fact, no wiser than himself as to the

125

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

predestinations recorded at birth. So, sometimes
they found the desires of the gods hidden in the
entrails of animals or in the palms of the
hands.

Astronomers and astrologers, observing that the
heavenly bodies conformed to certain laws, de-
cided that these laws also governed the lives of
men. In the worship of Ishtar, the great Bab-
ylonian goddess, who has been identified with both
Venus and Diana, the flight of birds had portent ;
while at the oracle of Delphi straws (a variant
of the rods of Aaron or the divining arrows of
the Asiatics) were employed to ascertain the
wishes of the gods, and it is the descendants of
these that are now sometimes known as Jack-
straws, that came to us from the Chinese, and at
others are identified as the pip cards now in com-
mon use.

A close study of each card of the old Tarots
reveals much of the history of the book and its
original intention, for the resemblance of the dif-
ferent cards to the different Egyptian deities is
clearly displayed to the student. The attributes
and costumes of Maut, Isis, Phthah, Neith,
Amun, Thmei, Nepte, Seth, Anubis, and Ra are

126

AND PLAY INC CARDS

all to be traced on the detached leaves of the
ancient book. The costumes are those of Italians
of about the thirteenth century, it is true, but the
caps, the girdles, the positions and the attributes,
as well as the qualities assigned to each by the
fortune-tellers, are too apparent to be ignored.
It would seem that the cards were designed by
some person to whom these different marks had
been described, but who had no knowledge of
the original pictures of these gods that are still so
instructive in Egypt. While the attributes are
retained, the pictures do not recall the old ones
that can still be found in mummy cases or his-
toric monuments. It was therefore impossible
for those who wrote on Playing Cards before the
great discoveries in Egypt to recognize the con-
nection of the Tarots with the ancient mysteries,
although the symbols of Mercury might have
given a clue, had these been noted.

Without declaring that the deductions con-
necting the Atouts with the Egyptian gods is in-
fallible, the strong resemblance between them
must be carefully considered, and the intention of
each card studied with all the obtainable history
connected with it.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

I. LE BAGATLEUR (II Bagattel)

This card, also known as the Juggler or Pagat,
bears various names, according to the locality
where it was used. "It is derived," says Count
Emiliano di Parravicino, in the Burlington Maga-
zine for December, 1903, "from Bagat or Pag-
head and Gad, that signifies fortune, and the card
is often called Bagatto (or cobbler), since there
are sometimes tools placed on the board in front
of the figure, one of which (in the corrupted de-
signs of modern cards) resembles a cobbler's
awl." The figure on this card represents the
Player or Inquirer, and when the cards are laid
out, according to the rules of prophesying, it
is controlled by all that are dealt close to it.
That is to say, the cards surrounding this
figure tell the events that are likely soon to befall
the inquirer. The first Atout represents a young
man standing behind a table. On his head is a hat
of mystic meaning, for it is shaped like the sign of

"eternal life," \^\*J ; his left hand carries

a wand, called by de Gebelin "son Baton de
Jacob, ou Verges des Mages." This magician's

128

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wand was readily recognized by the shrewd
Frenchman, who evidently understood the symbol-
ism of the rod of Aaron (or Jacob). The rod is
really the caduceus of Mercury that has so many
significances. It is one of the pip devices that has
been reproduced in the Ace of Rods, Staves, or
Sceptres, as it is variously called, and, by placing
it in the hand of the inquirer, it denotes that he has
been given the power to consult the oracle. The
other articles placed on the table before the youth
are the other devices that mark the suits of the
cards, namely: Money, Cups and Swords, al-
though on modern Italian Tarots these emblems
are often changed for others that lack significance.
In "the lottery chart," called Tsz-fa-to, used by
the Chinese fortune-tellers, there is a figure like
the Bagatleur, holding up his hand in the same
way, which recalls the many mystic meanings at-
tached to the "blessing hand." The Pagat or
Magician (as this card is often called) is some-
times expressed merely by the Hebrew letter
Aleph, which is placed beside the figure, or is
used alone, when an Initiate understands the
symbol as well as if the Pagat was in its place,
relation the Hebrew alphabet has to the

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Tarots is a matter for conjecture, but the charac-
ters are often placed on early packs, and some
writers have pointed out that, in their opinion,
these letters offer fresh evidences of the ongin of
cards and their connection with divination. So
Papus says: "The first letters of the alphabet
express hieroglyphically man himself as a col-
lective unity — the Master principle — the ruler of
the world." In very old packs the earth is rep-
resented at the bottom of the picture, ornamented
with its fruits. The centre is occupied with the
man, whose right hand bent towards the ground,
the left hand raised towards heaven, thus repre-
senting two principles, the one active and the other
passive, of the great All, and it corresponds
with the two columns of Jakin and Bohas of the
temple of Solomon and of Freemasonry, as well
as with the great statues erected before the tombs
of the Egyptian kings. The meaning may be
thus stated: "Man with one hand seeks for God
in Heaven, and with the other he plunges below
to call up the demon to himself, and thus unites
the divine and the diabolic in humanity."

It is well known that among primitive people,
boys, upon arriving at manhood, went through

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certain ceremonies with fasting and incanta-
tions so this card also represents a youth making
his first offering to the gods of the temple, and
consulting them as to his future life, or asking
what Nebo or Thoth had written at the time of
his birth on their "Tablets of Fate." In order to
learn from the gods what his future occupation
should be, one of the symbols of Mercury is
lifted haphazard from the table before him. Thus,
if a sword be grasped, a man will be a soldier,
and a woman will have a person of rank for a
husband. The Cup represents the Church or
Love. In primitive nations various articles are
still placed before a child, and the one selected
influences its occupations, when mature. In Korea
a bundle of yarn, a handful of rice, a few coins, a
cake of ink, a brush, and some paper are placed
before a baby, on attaining its first birthday. If it
selects the yarn, it denotes a long life; the money
means prosperity; the writing materials signify
that a scholar's life will be the one followed,
while rice means happiness. Hebrew letters can
be expressed by numbers as well as by the con-
ventional characters; this is well exemplified by
the way they were used in making the fringes of

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the temple of Solomon, the strands of which were
peculiarly knotted in groups of different numbers,
that, when deciphered, represented a text. A sim-
ilar knotted fringe adorns the Taleth or praying
scarf, worn by the Jews when worshipping in
the synagogue, on which a text is typified by
groups of knots expressing Hebrew letters. "This
fringe is made with four threads, one of which is
longer than the others. Two threads are bound
together with the longest one in a double knot,
then it is wrapped seven times, then eight, then
eleven, followed by thirteen, with two knots sepa-
rating each." "According to the Kabbalah,"
states Professor Rosenau, in his book entitled
"Jewish Ceremonial Institutions," "these knots
and windings have a secret meaning, making
thirty-nine in all ; they correspond to the numerical
value of the letters constituting two words, or 'the
Lord is one/ since each letter of the Hebrew
alphabet has numerical significance."

Among uneducated people symbols took the
place of written characters in early days, so, since
these knots conveyed a sound and a meaning, a
number is also indicated by the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet. These letters or numbers that

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were occasionally placed on the early Atouts have
the greatest value when deciphering the attributes
found on the Tarots, since each one has occult
significance attached to it, evidently placed there
with the intention of assisting the early fortune-
tellers to decipher their meaning, although omitted
in the later books of Thoth-Hermes, when they
were used only for amusement or gambling.

II. LA PAPESSA (THE FEMALE
POPE)

This card is supposed to represent Isis. She
is typified by a seated female figure with two pil-
lars behind her, between which hangs a curtain
indicating her temple. She is crowned with a
triple tiara, and has an open book in her lap.
This goddess instructs and persuades. Law, eru-
dition, and occult science are under her protection.
As the first female figure among the Atouts, she
represents the priestess of the temple of Thoth,
also Eve, also the mother. When a woman is the
inquirer, this card represents her, instead of the
Pagat, which represents a man inquirer. The
name of Papessa, given to this card by the modern
Italian card-painter, seems to be a corruption of

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Isis. The former name is misleading, and has no
connection with the original meaning of the figure,
for it has nothing in common with the mythical
Pope Joan of the Roman Church, while all the
attributes show that the figure represents Isis, or,
perhaps, Tashitum, the consort of Nebo, called
"the Interceder." "The Italian card-makers,"
says de Gebelin, "named numbers II and V
of the Atouts, mother and father, or Papessa and
Papa;" but he declares "their emblems are Egyp-
tian and the triple phallus worn by number II
is the one borne by Isis in the Fete des Pampylies,
where Isis joyfully receives Osiris. It is the sym-
bol of regeneration of plants, or spring." The
card is also supposed to represent Juno in the
Roman mythology. "The attitude connects it,"
says the same authonty, "with la haute magic,
since it is the first of the symbols of the Emerald
Tablet, one of the books of Thoth, that was dis-
covered on the mount of Nebo." Willshire says:
"Believers in magic find occult meanings in the
hands of this figure." Roman women sacrificed
to Juno on their birthdays, as she was not only
the goddess who presided over maternity (making
Mercury her messenger, who carried the child to

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its parents) but she was also the protector of
women. Part of the great book of Thoth, called
the Ritual of the Dead, said to have been written
with the finger of Thoth, and generally placed
with a mummy, says: "I am yesterday. Yes-
terday is Osiris. Phthah goes around. The
divine Horus prefers Thee. The god Set does
so in turn, as well as Isis, whom thou hast seen."
The Hebrew letter on the second Atout is Beth,
which hieroglyphically expresses mouth or tongue,
one of the things used in the sacrifices to Nebo
and to Mercury.

III. L'IMPERATRICE (The Empress)

This card betokens Venus Urania according to
the Roman mythology, or Maut according to
that of Egypt. The vulture is its emblem, one of
Maut's attributes signifying maternity. The
mouse also represents her, and it typifies fecundity.
The card has many significances, such as speech,
action, initiative, friendliness, protection, progress,
production, and helpfulness. The figure is that
of a seated woman holding a shield and a sceptre.
In old cards she is crowned with a diadem that has
twelve stars on its points. This card also sym-

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bolizes generation and productive forces. Its let-
ter is Gimel, the meaning of which is the throat,
or the hand of a man half closed; hence, it sig-
nifies that which encloses, that which is hollow,
a canal, an inclosure. The card also represents
a woman friend, but not always one that is de-
sirable. The Egyptian goddess, Maut, wears a
cap and crown, and she bears a sceptre. Her
flowing robes are confined below the breasts with
a girdle, the typical zone that has such occult
meanings. Among the Persians and tribes of
North Africa, the girdle is always removed from
a bride, as part of the wedding ceremony, and
neither is she nor the bridegroom allowed to
wear one for seven days after the marriage. Maut
is called "Lady of Heaven," and "Giver of
Life," and has been identified by some as the
Ishtar of the Babylonians.

IV. L'IMPERATORE (The Emperor)

The fourth Atout shows in profile a male
figure seated on a throne. He represents Jupiter
or Amun, the Ammon of the Egyptians, the
Marduk of the Babylonians, and the Merodach
of the Bible. This letter is Daleth, suggest-

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ing growth, nourishment, generation, divine will,
long life, strong character or personal ability and
ambition. This card and number three have sim-
ilar representations on the Persian cards, which
pack alone of those adopted by different coun-
tries retains the figure-pictures, to the entire ex-
clusion of the pip cards. This seems to point to
the fact that, while the Egyptians or Assyrians
overran Persia and imposed some of their cus-
toms and religious beliefs on the people, the great
gods were adopted reluctantly, and the key to
their wishes was not bestowed on the conquered
people, as would have been the case had their
use, in combination with the prophetic arrows or
rods, been taught at the same time. The great
temple of Ammon was at Thebes, the southern
Egyptian capital. The name Ammon means con-
cealment, to veil, to hide. "His most common
title," says Mr. Rawlinson, in "Ancient Egypt"
(page 322), "was Suten-Netern, king of the
gods, also called Hek or Hyk, the Ruler, the
Emperor, Lord of Heaven, strong bull." His
image, like that of the fourth Atout, is repre-
sented as seated on a throne. He is crowned, and
wears a collar and bracelets. He bears the scep-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

tre, the symbol of power and plenty. One of the
invocations to Ammon begins "Hail to thee, Lord
of Truth, whose shrine is hidden."

V. IL PAPA (The Pope)

The pronunciation of the name of this card
alone proves its connection with the Egyptian god,
Phthah, but, besides this, it has many strange
significances assigned to it, all of them pointing to
the same conclusion. The figure denotes the
religious superior, as it wears the triple crown,
combined with the two pillars of the temple. The
African god was greatly revered and feared, while
many temples were dedicated to his worship.
Four figures kneel before II Papa, whom he
blesses with uplifted palm, sacred to religious cer-
emonies, and inherited from the "hand of the
Cohen" of the Jews. In the old cemetery at
Prague there are hundreds of tombstones, on
which the uplifted hands are carved to represent
ideographically the descendants of Aaron, who
alone can bestow benediction in this way. The
hand plays an important part in heraldic emblems.
"The Ulster, or bloody hand," is a mark of

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rank, not only in English heraldry, but is ven-
erated by Orientals as well. A bloody hand is
frequently found stamped beside the lintel of the
door among North Africans, and small silver or
brass facsimiles of the right hand are also fastened
to the door or worn on the person, to ward off the
evil eye, when it is called the "hand of Fatima."
Arabs frequently wear this hand, that is then cov-
ered with engraved quotations from the Koran.
Their name for it is Kam or five fingers. The
number five — Khamsa — is considered so powerful
and mystic that it is believed to bring bad luck if it
is mentioned, so the word is not pronounced, but
the Arabs say "two-three" instead. The Neapol-
itans generally wear a hand with one finger out-
stretched as a charm, one of the many links con-
necting them with Egypt. The fifth Atout in
its position and consequence represents aspiration,
health, intelligence, union, strength of will, relig-
ion and faith. The accompanying letter is He,
the meaning of which is aspiration. The triple-
barred sceptre is an especial emblem of Phthah,
who was known as "the revealer," the one who
made hidden duties manifest.

The first four figures of the Atouts are con-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

nected with family life. The inquirer in number
one, the parents in two and four, and the influence
of State and Church in three and five, forming a
significant group when studying the cards and their
meanings.

VI. GLI AMANTI (The Lovers)

The sixth card has not yet been connected with
any of the occult gods of Egypt or Babylonia.
The figures seem to belong solely to Cupid. The
card shows a young man between two females,
symbolizing virtue and vice. Cupid hovers over-
head, blindfolded, and with bent bow, ready to
"shoot an arrow into the air." When used for
prophesying, this card is typical of a young man
starting in life, whose future depends upon the
choice before him, since good and evil both seem to
claim him. The card also denotes affection, love,
friendship, charity, union and sight, the latter
being indicated by the letter, which is Vau, the
hieroglyphic sign for eyes, light or brilliancy. The
import of this figure is personal magnetism. This
card also indicates marriage, and is emblematic
of the legal tie, as well as of luck and good for-
tune.

140

CAV. DI COPPE

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip and Court Cards of the Cup Suit

37 Seven of Cups

38 Eight of Cups

39 Xine of Cups

40 Ten of Cups

41 Knave of Cups

42 Cavalier of Cups

AND PLAY INC CARDS

VII. IL CARRO (The Chariot)
This is one of the most mystic of cards, its
number being one that was regarded as occult by
the ancients. It displays a picture of a king or a
conqueror, in his car drawn by beasts, precisely
as Nebo was frequently represented in the texts,
"when the gilt chariot never marks the way."
Sometimes the car is drawn by horses, frequently
by oxen, sometimes by lions, and occasionally by
black and white sphinxes. This car typifies Mars,
the god of war mentioned in Babylonian my-
thology and in the Bible, "when every nation
made gods of their own and the men of Cuth made
Neral (Mars)." (2 Kings xvii:30.) As has
been mentioned, Nebo bore a sword and was re-
garded as accompanying warriors, although he
generally represents the pestilence that follows in
the wake of war. The Hebrew letter of the
seventh Atout is Zain, that expresses an arrow,
thus suggesting a weapon as well as a sol-
dier, so it denotes victory, a ruling power, triumph,
protection, a domineering character. "The arrows
of divination" are frequently referred to in the
Bible, for instance, when "the king of Babylon
stood at the parting of the way at the head of the

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

two ways to use divination. He made his arrows
bright, he consulted with images, he looked at the
liver." The tablets found at Nippur frequently
refer to all the arts of divination, as when a text
in cuneiform characters says: "the arrows were
marked Yes and No," or, "the king had shaken
the arrows, questioned the house gods, and looked
into the liver." Mr. Culin, in his "Korean
Games," considers that divination by arrows is
one of the most primitive forms, and it is still kept
up in Korea, China, Japan, etc. The sticks used
for the purpose in China are in the form of arrows,
and are kept in a cube-shaped box resembling a
quiver. They are shaken in a peculiar way until
one jumps out, when the design on it, and the di-
rection in which it points to the shrine, are con-
sidered to have replied to the inquirer.

The Chariot of the Atouts was, under certain
conditions, supposed to represent Osiris. It was
also called "the chariot of Mercury," in the sense
that he was the messenger of Mars when war was
to be proclaimed, or when his caduceus was used
as a flag of truce. Seven was always considered
by the Egyptian savants a mystical number, so
this card played an important part in occult

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science. Count Emiliano di Parravicino, in his
essay published in the Burlington Magazine, De-
cember, 1903 (page 238), says: "Mgr. An-
tonio Dragoni (1814) suggests that the Atouts,
numbering twenty-one [not counting the Joker
(Fou) , which has no number] , represent the
Egyptian doctrine beloved by Pythagoras, of the
perfect number Three and the mythical num-
ber Seven. Hence, Thoth, the Mercury of the
Egyptians, forms with the pack of pip cards his
book or picture of the creation of three classes
of images, which symbolize the first three ages
of the world — i. e., the golden, the silver, and the
bronze. Each of these three classes is to repre-
sent in its seven divisions a greater reference or
mysticism, a mysterious book of the highest value
in the art of divination, since this book of unbound
leaves contained the key to all mysteries, although
its contents were undecipherable to all but those
taught in the temples of Thoth." This proves
that other thinkers besides Papus and de Gebelin
had come to the same conclusions from their study
of the Tarot pack, although without having the
benefit of exchanging views on the subject.

The Babylonians believed in seven evil spirits,

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

as the following prayer, translated from a cunei-
form tablet, will prove:

Seven are they. They are seven,

The same in the mighty deep;
And Seven are they in heaven,

'Though in water, sometimes they sleep.
They are neither male, nor female,

These awful spirits that fly,
But like destructive whirlwinds,

They swirl across the sky.

Without a home or offspring,

Compassion and mercy are nil,
Since prayers or supplications,

They neither hear nor feel.

Like wild beasts bred in the mountains,

They defy both gods and men,
Polluting even the fountains

The rivers, the marshes, the fen.
Evil are they, strangely evil,

In temples, in cities, in homes;
For Seven are they, cruel Seven,

With weird and terrible forms.

Mr. Willshire, in his "Catalogue of the Play-
ing Cards in the British Museum," says: "It

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hardly requires a reference to the Bible to notice
the frequency with which the number Seven is
mentioned. Not only was the Seventh day to
be kept holy, but, then, there was the mystery of
the Seven stars, of which Nebo (Mercury) was
one, the latter being the most rapid and brilliant.
Also of the Seven golden candlesticks, and, in
Zachariah iii:9, we find that on the stone laid
before Joshua there were Seven eyes. Mercury
invented the lyre, according to the Egyptians, in
the year of the world two thousand. At first it
had only three strings, but in the hands of the
Muses, Seven were adopted. Then also the
Seven virtues were called the Seven cords of the
human lyre, having their analogies in the Seven
colours of the prismatic spectrum. Then there
were Seven precious stones, namely: Carbuncle
(garnet), Crystal, Diamond, Agate, Emerald,
Sapphire, and Onyx, besides the Seven chief
metals." The emerald was considered the stone
of Thoth, we may infer, since one of his books
was entitled "The Emerald Tablet." Among the
Berber tribes, of North Africa, the women put
seven marks on their foreheads, to protect them
from the evil eye; this is also done among some

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

of the Negro tribes. When consulting the pip
cards, the Sevens have peculiar and occult values,
marking the boundaries between those lower and
higher. They also make combinations that in-
fluence the consideration of other cards.

VIII. LA GIUSTIZIA (Justice)

The figure on the eighth card is represented
in the most modern fashion, and yet, with its at-
tributes and values, it is much as Egyptians would
have known it when the worship of Thoth was at
its height. It is the goddess of Truth or Ma.
Her title was sometimes adopted by the kings,
who called themselves the friends of Truth. Mr.
Rawlinson, on page 385 of "Ancient Egypt,"
says: "The chief judge of every court is said
to have worn an image of Ma around his neck,
and when he decided a case he touched the liti-
gant with it, in whose favour the decision was
made, in order to testify that everything had been
done with justice and truth. In the final judg-
ment of Osiris, the image of Ma was placed in
the scale, and weighed against the good actions
of the dead." It may easily be perceived what
a forceful figure the one of justice must have been

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to the people who consulted the oracles in the
temples of Thoth. Justice is represented on the
Atout as a seated female figure, on a throne
bearing her usual heraldic marks of a sword and
a pair of scales. Law and order are denoted by
every line and emblem on the card, which,
summed up, expresses conscientiousness, balance,
power, and poise, in all their forms. The leaf
also corresponds with some of the attributes of
the god Tiemei, and again represents one of the
deities of Olympus. Heth, the letter corre-
sponding to it, means a field, and from that
springs the idea of anything requiring labour and
continued effort, the elements and existence.
When it typifies Ceres, of the Olympic gods, it
denotes the mother as she is generally represented,
with her daughter, Prosperpine, endeavouring (as
the original type of a mother-in-law) to keep her
from the arms of Pluto, while Mercury leads the
wife forcibly away. This card is the dominating
one of Cups (meaning sacrifice) of the pip part
of the pack.

IX. L'EREMITA (The Hermit)
The Hermit is one of the most mysterious de-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

signs on the Atouts, and has not yet acknowledged
all its intentions. For the meaning assigned to it,
and its value for soothsaying, hardly correspond
with the personage depicted, so it is supposed
that the artist who modernized the ancient design
has altered it too completely to be recognised by
those unacquainted with the original intention. It
shows an old man, holding a lantern aloft, and
by some is regarded as a watchman calling the
hours of the night, and by others, as Diogenes
searching for an honest man. But the attributes
or values given to the card rather quarrel with
the design, for they signify friendship, protection,
and wisdom. The rod or staff signifies a pilgrim,
certainly an overseer, and is a favourite emblem
in the Bible, as in Psalms xxiii:4, "Thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me," or, in Isaiah
x:15, "If the staff should lift up." It is the
cane of the medical man, and represents the Scep-
tre suit of the pip cards. This Atout typifies
strength of character, philanthropy, the wisdom
of silence in difficulties, circumspection, prudence,
and sympathy; in short, all the qualities desirable
in a friend. The letter is Teth, which repre-
sents a roof or place of safety, suggesting the idea

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of a shelter and protection given by wisdom and
forethought. The card also typifies human love
and humanity.

X. RUOTO DELLA FORTUNA
(The Wheel of Fortune)

This Atout has many and various connections
with the superstitions of ancient days. It is the
Wheel of Fortune, and, among other things, rep-
resents Osiris judging the souls of the dead.
Anubis clambers up on one side, while Typhon
descends on the left of the wheel. "There are
two ideas," says Papus, "expressed by this sym-
bolic card. The first is that of supremacy, the
second of eternity." The former is typified by
Anubis and Typhon climbing or falling, one
reaching to overpower the other, while the wheel
turns eternally, lifting first one and then the other.
Thus it is in life, for fortune changes from good
to bad with unceasing regularity, sometimes
slowly and sometimes rapidly, but always con-
trolled by an unknown force, that is called luck.
The circle signifies eternity, and the Wheel of
Fortune is one of the oldest known symbols in
the world. It is deemed by some to have its

149

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

analogy in the "Wheels of Ezekiel and of Pyth-
agoras," with all the significances attached to
these emblematic figures. Being numbered ten,
its Hebrew letter is Yod, the hieroglyphic mean-
ing of which is "the forefinger extended as a sign

of command." This sign L «y^ is recognised

even by the uninitiated, and is one of the surviving
attributes of Mercury in common use to-day. It
was placed under the head of Mercury, when
he was erected by the roadside as Terminus to
point out a road. In every synagogue is found a
pointer, called Yod, because its long arm ter-
minates in a beautifully modelled hand, with the
forefinger outstretched. This is used by the reader
of the Scriptures to keep the place, since the text
is written in fine characters not easily followed
without the pointing finger of the Yod. The
Wheel of Fortune typifies magic power, fortune,
expression of the will of the gods, or their com-
mands, supremacy, superstition, and luck. Anu-
bis was the conductor of spirits to the judgment
seat (or Mercury, as Chthonius) ; he also held
the balance in the hall of the dead. He is called

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AND PLAYING CARDS

"Lord of the Bury ing-ground," and is represented
as a jackal. The Wheel of Fortune is derived
from Osiris, on the judgment seat, with Anubis
as assistant.

XL LA FORZA (Strength)
This Atout shows a female figure, wearing the

mystic hat, or vital sign \**/\*.J , seen on the

Pagat, or the first Atout. The girl forces open
the mouth of a lion, expressing vitality, force,
courage, daring. It would seem the ancients be-
lieved that, in suffering or trouble a woman was
superior to a man, for endurance and strength of
mind.

The figure also typifies innocence, so the fable
of Una and the lion seems to be depicted, whether
intentionally or not. Another symbol is that of the
Amazons, who pretended, say modern writers,
to great strength, in spite of being women, but
the translations of some of the cuneiform tablets
lead one to suppose that these female warriors
were more noted in their own times for their wit
than for their strength. The value given to the

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

card indicates it to be under the protection of Min-
erva. The Hebrew letter for this card is Kaph,
which typifies a grasping hand. This card repre-
sents subtle and mystic occultism, with its in-
fluence over mankind; in fact, female charity.
It recalls, by its costume and attributes, the Egyp-
tian goddess Neith, whose temple was at Sais, the
chief city of the Delta. She wears a peculiar
emblem on her head, sometimes called a "shut-
tle," recalling the device of the Atout. Mr.
Rawlinson, in his "Ancient Egypt" (page
342), says the inscription on her shrine reads:
"I am all that was, and is, and is to be. No
mortal hath lifted my veil." The last expres-
sion would be understood in Egypt, for the lifting
of the veil is the conclusion of the marriage serv-
ice, when the bridegroom sees his wife for the
first time. Therefore, one meaning of the card
is a bride.

XII. L'APPESO (The Hanged Man)

The hanged man is a remarkable figure on the
twelfth leaf of the Book of Thoth. The person
is suspended by one foot from a gibbet that is
crudely made, by placing a bar in the fork of two

152

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opposite trees that have been lopped of other
branches. The hands are tied behind, and the
right leg crosses the left, by which the figure is
suspended. This peculiar form of punishment
was at one time inflicted for certain kinds of
crimes in Etruria, and was probably typical when
it was adopted. It has been suggested that one of
the signs of recognition between Freemasons con-
sists in crossing the legs, although these persons
generally remain upright and are not contortion-
ists, so it is difficult to concede this connection
with the figure on the Atout. It shows a young
man, who is said to be the Pagat, or inquirer, of
the first Atout, who, having passed through the
temptations of youth, begins to aspire to an ethical
future. This is exemplified by his position, indi-
cating discipline, or submission to a superior will.
Perhaps another idea is, that since all the blood
has run to his head, the powers of knowledge are
concentrated, and will be increased. The card
expresses equilibrium, charity, courage, knowledge
and prudence; also wisdom and fidelity.
Lamed is the corresponding Hebrew letter;
it designates the arm, so is, therefore, connected
with expansive power and movement, as applied

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to all ideas of extension, of occupation, of posses-
sion. The figure being raised above the earth,
and in a position of pain, together with humility,
typifies a mind withdrawn from temporal ideas,
or a martyr to science. Vulcan is supposed to be
the Olympian god typified by L'Appeso, not only
on account of the strong arm, but also because
he was thrown out of heaven and lamed for life.

XIII. LA MORTE (Death)

This thirteenth Atout is represented on some
cards as a skeleton mowing off the heads of men,
on some as a rider on a white horse, and on others
on a black one. There is an old proverb:
"Death comes riding on a white horse," and
sometimes the clouds betokening rain are called
"the white horses of death." One of the horses
of Aurora was called Abraxas, the numerical
value of these letters summing up three hundred
and sixty-five, or the number of the days of the
year. The occult meanings attached to this card
and its number in the Atouts are well known, for
the latter is connected with bad luck or death in
all European countries, and in every place where
the worship of Mercury or the Hermetic art, as

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connected with cards, has penetrated. It is not
so regarded, however, by savage tribes, who have
not followed this cult. This superstition is, there-
fore, by many deemed to be one of the proofs that
the cards were descended from those mysteries.
It is supposed that this image of Death was the
half-way position in the temple of Thoth, and
therefore divided the Atouts to the right and to
the left, since they were placed in sequence on
both sides. Thoth Hermes, the unnumbered
Atout, was represented by a statue that occupied
the centre of the building, under which stood an
altar. On this altar the rods (or pip cards) were
thrown when consulting the oracle. At any rate,
the altar (or its remains) occupies the centre of
the ruins of the temple of Mercury, at Baiae.
The central position of Death was deemed to
indicate the dividing period of a man's life. The
inquirer, after consulting the pictured figures,
representing the family, religion, government, and
friends of the beginning of his life, now learned or
the more serious affairs of later years, not neces-
sarily death or bad fortune, but, rather, a trans-
forming force, since this Atout marked such a
distinct epoch in the path of life, and was to be

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considered most seriously. Still the card also por-
tends sorrow, destruction, and death. The letter
is Mem, meaning fertility and formation, or the
development of the being in an unlimited space,
perhaps regeneration after destruction, or immor-
tality in another world.

XIV. LA TEMPERAN (Temperance)

It is probable that this figure was intended for
Nut or Nephthys. Of her but little is positively
known, and, so far, no temple erected to her has
been discovered. She was called the wife of
Seb, and the mother of Osiris. Her titles are
"the Elder," "the Mother of the Gods," and
"the Nurse." She is usually represented as
veiled and pouring a liquid from a vase. Her
figure frequently appears in tombs, as if she was
the guardian angel or protector of the dead soul.
This idea of an oblation to the gods, through
pouring wine or oil before them, is found to be
common among the Babylonians, and to "pour
oil on the troubled waters" is no mere figure of
speech.

The fourteenth Atout is represented as a
winged female pouring liquid from one jug to

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another, signifying individual and corporeal exist-
tence, production, fruition, health, temperance,
economy and offspring. Its letter is Nun, signi-
fying fruit of any kind and all things produced.
Neptune is typified by one of his nymphs offering
an oblation when mingling the waters. There
may be a remote and more occult connection with
this device and divination, for one of the earliest
methods of consulting the gods was through pour-
ing water on oil, or oil on water, and prognosti-
cating from the results. This process is found
to have been used among the Babylonians as early
as two thousand five hundred years before Christ.
Two books have been discovered on this sub-
ject that give full directions for consulting the
wishes of the gods through those means, and they
have been fully translated by Dr. Arthur Ungnad.
One is, "Interpretations of the Future among the
Babylonians and Assyrians," and in it are found
many directions for discovering the wishes of the
gods, such as: "If the oil fills the cup, the person
dies;" "If the oil floats on water to the east, the
person will die;" "If to the right, it is good luck,
if to the left, it is misfortune." The name, Tem-
perance, given to this card, seems to be rather mis-

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leading and modern, since the picture evidently
typifies this most ancient custom.

XV. IL DIAVOLO (The Devil)

Set, or Sutech, the principle of evil, who is con-
nected with the myth of Osiris, needs but little
explanation. Even moderns can comprehend at
a glance all that it typifies. Mgr. Antonio Dragoni
is one of the earliest persons to identify this card
with Set or Typho, the son of Seb, who was
the brother of Osiris, and one of the geniuses
of evil. Any one who has attempted to read
the myth of Osiris will appreciate the difficulties
of unravelling it. The Hyksos, or shepherd
kings, selected Set as their sole deity, and Seti I
assumed his name, thus placing himself under the
protection of the evil one. Afterwards the wor-
ship of Set ceased entirely and he was abhorred.
The long ears retained on the figure of the fif-
teenth Atout mark the connection with Set, for
that was one of his distinguishing attributes. The
Hebrew letter that represents this card is Zain,
which means arrow, or any weapon of destruction.
The intention of this Atout is destiny, chance,
fatality, superstition, illness, temptation; it repre-

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sents a spirit of evil, hatred, jealousy, and sus-
picion.

XVI. LA TORRE (The Tower)

In this leaf, a building struck by lightning is
portrayed, through a thunderbolt shot by Jupiter,
and conveyed by the "Messenger," Mercury.
The "lightning god" was one of Nebo's titles,
and the mark is retained on the Japanese cards,
although probably accidentally, since there is no
connection between their playing cards and the
original Atouts. Some writers call this tower the
"castle of Plutus" (the Roman god of wealth),
deeming it a warning to misers, for it recalls the
legend relating to an incident in the life of Ram-
eses II, recorded in Herodotus. The Pharaoh
ordered a tower to be built for his treasures, and
he alone had its key, but daily he discovered that
his valuables were disappearing, although there
was only one egress. A watch was set, and it
was found that two of the sons of the architect
could enter by displacing a stone, that had been
left for the purpose of thieving, and when the
men were entrapped inside, they threw themselves
headlong from the tower. This picture shows

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

a connection with Egyptian legend that must not
be disregarded in seeking to trace the Tarots to
the mysteries of Thoth. Besides, some persons
believe that the card represents the destruction
of the temples of Babylon, and due weight must
be given to the significance awarded by that peo-
ple to lightning, when consulting the gods through
divination, particularly as it was the weapon of
Jove (Merodach), who was connected with the
Baal of the Bible, and sometimes worshipped as
Enlil, who was frequently implored not to destroy
his people by lightning. But there are other
legends connected with the destruction of ancient
temples that are even older than that of Egypt,
and we are lucky to have access to one that has
lately been translated from the Sumerian lan-
guage, written in cuneiform characters on one of
the tablets discovered by Prof. Herman V.
Hilprecht in the Temple Library of Nippur.
Above two hundred of them were of a religious or
historical character, which he set apart for the
well-known scholar, Doctor Radau, to translate.
These related chiefly to the worship of the gods of
the second dynasty of Ur, or about two thousand
five hundred years before Christ. "Although the

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beginning of the Babylonian religion, as portrayed
in these tablets," says Doctor Radau, in "Miscel-
laneous Sumerian Texts from the Temple Library
of Nippur" (page 389) , "has to be sought some-
where at about 5700 B. C., when the religions
of Babylon were systematized." One tablet re-
lates how a king of that period conquered his ene-
mies with the help of the chief god, who at that
time was named Enlil, "the Governor of the
gods," "the god who destines fate." It was his
son, Nebo, who was his confidential messenger,
his "lightning-rod," and who wrote on the "tab-
lets of Fate" the decrees of the supreme being
at the birth of each mortal. It may be noted
that Nebo is given a different father at different
times, but so it is in the mythologies as now inter-
preted; the oldest accounts name the chief gods,
whose qualities and symbols later became merged
in more modern ones, and they were given differ-
ent names at various times, which is most con-
fusing. The great temple consecrated to Enlil
is called E-Kur, and is at Nippur. This name
for this particular tabernacle became the common
name for temple in general (page 411). No
king of Babylon ventured to do anything or take

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

any step without "kissing the hand" of Enlil, to
obtain his consent and approval. According to
Doctor Radau, Enlil was afterwards succeeded
or displaced by Marduk (the Merodach of the
Bible, and the Jupiter of the Romans), although
the supremacy of Enlil lasted some three thousand
five hundred years, quite long enough to leave an
impression on the "Book of Fate." One of the
tablets translated from the Sumerian language
has been given almost literally, and is an invoca-
tion to Enlil, bewailing the destruction and beg-
ging for the restoration of the principal cities of
Babylonia, together with the temples that had
been destroyed, which were, in fact, the homes
of the priests, who always dwelt in the sanctuaries.
Doctor Radau (page 444) calls the song, "The
Lamentation of the Goddess Nin, of the City of
Mar, who was called Nin-Mar." He gives a lit-
eral translation of the cuneiform text of the tablet
that has a well-defined metre, and is divided into
sections. The first three verses are an invocation
to Enlil, the supreme god, by this goddess, Nin-
Mar, who declares that she is "Mistress of Mar,"
who, through the power granted to her by Enlil,
was once able to destroy the enemies of her coun-

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try and lay waste their lands, but the power has
left her, as her "Master" sleeps. Nin-Mar gets a
sympathetic god, named Nin-ib, to sing a hymn
with her, in which the destroyed temples are re-
counted. Nin-ib was the solar deity of Nippur,
also a war god, but inclined to be beneficent to
mankind. One of his titles was "the warrior,"
and he is identified as the planet Saturn. His
symbol was a man with a lion's head.

TO ENLIL.

Oh, Enlil, who placed on the waters

A shelter for men and for all,
Great God, who creates and then slaughters,
Come, hark to the children's call.

Nin-Mar, the smiter of mountains, I sigh, I sigh;
Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

Shall the Mistress of Mar and his daughters,

His doves and the broods on their nests,
Shall their homes be cast out on the waters,
While their Master is lying at rest?

Nin-Mar, who was the destroyer of lands, I sigh,

I sigh;
Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Exalted one! Listen to pleadings,

For my Nippur now covers its face;
My E-Kur, my Ki-Ur have vanished,
May all be restored to their place.

It is Mar, the smiter of mountains, I sigh, I sigh;
Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

THE HYMN.

Great Nippur, and E-Kur and Ki-Ur with Girsu have

perished in flame,
Then harken, oh, powerful Enlil, and restore them to

greatness and fame.
Oh, then shall thy cities exalt thee, thy harems, thy

children, thy lands,
The doves which fly over the towers, the temples that

rise from the sands.
We pray that thy days may be lengthened, thy cities,

like mountains, arise;
Then open thy ears, mighty Enlil, to thy children's most

sorrowful cries.

Listen to Nin-Mar, its Mistress, I sigh, I sigh;
Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

The A tout of the Tower typifies the money
pip of the cards, with all of its mundane sig-
nificances, so its meaning is easily translated as
intending sorrow, destruction, vice, descent, per-
verseness, wickedness, degeneration. Ayin is

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the letter of la maison de dieu, or le feu de del, as
the card is variously called, and both its design
and its complementary letter express all that
is crooked, bad, and false.

XVII. LE STELLE (The Stars)

This Atout shows a young woman "beneath
the mystery of the stars," the seven stars of the
Bible, that were the seven planets of antiquity.
The name star is derived from that of Ishtar,
the great Babylonian goddess. The central and
most brilliant star on the Atout represents Mer-
cury as the god of speech, or the transmitter of
the wishes of gods to men, or Nebo, "the writer
on the tablets of Fate." The Dog Star was called
Thoth by the Egyptians, who also considered this
god the author of speech, language, and writing,
like his predecessor, Nebo, whose mountain was
at the plain of Moab, (Deuteronomy
xxxiv : 1 ) , and he also had the same planet
dedicated to him. He, the differentiating let-
ter, means voice or speech, just as Nebo, or Nabi,
means prophet, proclaimer. Hebe, who suc-
ceeded Mercury, as cupbearer to the gods, rep-
resents him here dispensing the essence of life

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

equally between two jugs; and, to carry the
resemblance still further, the picture recalls obla-
tions to Osiris, which were typical of the ming-
ling of life and power, as exemplified by pouring
out water when standing on the earth. Thus, two
of the elements are shown, a third one having
been represented in the lightning of the preced-
ing card. The different connections between the
ceremonies of the ancients with the Cup and the
cupbearer have been described in the chapter
relating to that emblem. On some of the oldest
of the Atouts, before their designs became con-
fused by ignorant artists, when some of the most
distinctive emblems were omitted, or altered, a ga-
zelle stands behind the woman. This still further
shows the connection of this card with old Egypt-
ian legends, for it was said that the gazelle gave
warning of the rising of the Nile, by fleeing to the
desert, even before the inhabitants expected the
flood. The gazelle is sacred to Osiris. This
animal is also retained on one of the pip cards
of the Spanish pack. The Stars typify immor-
tality, creation, hope, song, music, speech, and the
connection between humanity and a supreme
power. It will be recalled that all these things

166

43 Ace of Rods

44 Deuce of Rods

45 Trey of Rods

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip Cards of the Rod Suit

46 Four of Rods

47 Five of Rods

48 Six of Rods

AND PL AY INC CARDS

were attributed to Mercury, Thoth, and Nebo.
A god pouring a liquid from one vessel to another
is frequently found on Egyptian seal cylinders.
It is generally the sun god, although other gods
are frequently represented.

XVIII. LA LUNA (The Moon)

The eighteenth Atout speaks for itself. The
legends connected with it are far spread, but all
are practically the same. Two dogs bay at the
moon, that is represented at the top of the picture.
They are symbols of Marduk, which seem to
have little connection here. A crawfish crawls
from the water to land. The meanings are mani-
fold, for the letter Tzaddi (although its hiero-
glyphic idea is similar to that of Teth on the
ninth card) has different significances, according
to its position in a word. It chiefly means an
aim, an end, a succession, and its value varies.

The occult significance of this Atout is the
material body, with its gratifications, such as gour-
mandising, drinking, covetousness, gambling, self-
ishness, and the danger of self-indulgence. Then,
also, the card warns of hidden dangers, enemies,
and accidents, representing, besides the ibis-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

headed Thoth, the god of letters. To discover all
its significances, the eighteenth card must be stud-
ied with due regard to conditions, position, and
the meaning of those adjoining it, all of which aid
in deciphering the obscure intentions of this leaf,
that is assigned in mythology to Diana.

XIX. IL SOLE (The Sun)

A representation of the sun is the design on
the nineteenth Atout, the accompanying letter of
which is Zoph, signifying a defensive weapon.
This Atout indicates the elements, precious stones,
and minerals; an awaking, revival, excitement,
transition, nutrition and digestion; also self-esteem,
indulgence, eagerness to make money, and prob-
able success by sel f -exertion ; also a worldly per-
son, or a happy marriage. The god Ra is repre-
sented by the sun in Egyptian mythology. He
was greatly revered by some of the Pharaohs,
such as Rameses, who adopted his name.

XX. IL GIUDIZIO (The Judgment)

The Day of Judgment is the symbol of this
Atout, and its letter is Resh, representing typ-
ically the head of man. The picture shows an

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angel blowing a trumpet from the clouds, while
below, the earth is yawning, to allow the dead to
rise. This is a strange emblem to be placed
among the heathen leaves, for it is peculiarly
Christian in its significances; but even the oldest
designs show it pictured in this way. As it stands,
it expresses motion, movement, travels, readjust-
ments, originality, determination, respiration, and
regeneration. Then, also, it typifies scenery, skill,
and artistic capabilities. The Romans dedicated
it to Pluto, the ruler of the nether world. It has
many of the attributes of Ishtar, the goddess of
the Babylonians, from whose name Easter is de-
rived. She represented spring, and was the pro-
tector of vegetation, growth, and agriculture. The
angel blowing the trumpet is a very old design,
and one often used on tombs or cenotaphs. It
recalls Theodore Hook's witty epitaph on Lord
de Ros, of whom little good could be said, and
who was accused of cheating at cards, but whose
family erected a fine monument to his memory,
on which was the representation of the angel of
the Resurrection. Under it Hook wrote: "Here
LIES England's Premier Baron patiently waiting
the last trump"

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

XXI. IL MONDO (The World)
This card shows the nude figure of a woman,
in an ellipse of leaves and flowers, the vic-
tor's wreath of the Grecians. She represents ver-
ity or truth. In the four corners are the emblems
of the apostles that St. John borrowed from
Ezekiel, and the latter from Assyria and Bab-
ylonia. These are the Man, Lion, Bull and
Eagle. Besides typifying the apostles, they, in
a manner, suggest the four attributes of the pip
suits, and also the four elements. The inscrutable-
looking man represents brain, knowledge, and
mystery. The ox typifies strength, and the lion
courage, while the eagle suggests inspiration and
the power of soaring above mundane affairs.
These four emblems represent also the four seas-
ons, when the ox stands for autumn, the man
for winter, the lion for summer, and the eagle for
spring; so the complex meaning of the twenty-
first Atout suggests that the head or wisdom of
man prescribes the will of the ox, the courage of
the lion, and the aspirations of the bird, through
the mouth of Truth. The attributes of the de-
signs on the cards are also included in this leaf
from the book of Thoth. The wand that the fig-

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AND PLAY INC CARDS

ure holds represents the Stave, or caduceus, or
magic wand of Aaron, "that was kept for a
token," as well as fire. The Cup betokens the
south, and summer, and water. The Sword,
earth, and the Coin (or Ring), eternity and air.
II Mondo's letter is Tau, which symbolises per-
fection. The meaning of the whole card covers
the elements of success, luck, happiness, marriage,
contentment, bliss.

XXII. IL MATTO (The Fool)

The twenty-second Atout has no number upon
it, and is called Le Fou, II Matto, or the Joker.
It is the presiding deity himself, Thoth, Nebo,
or Mercury, in all his various moods, with all
his many qualifications. These are denoted by
the cards that fall near him, when being dealt,
that are controlled or influenced by his overwhelm-
ing personality and qualifications. He generally
brings news and good luck. Count Parravicino
declares: "the Italian name is derived from an
Egyptian one, Mat, which signifies beginnings
or perfection." The card represents everything
that is typical of Mercury, such as irresponsibil-
ity, with all its consequences. The figure of II

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Matto carries the attributes of Mercury: the staff
he holds in his hand, while a purse dangles from
his side. He is travelling or walking, as if carry-
ing news, or a message, and also suggests a wan-
derer, a pedler, or a merchant. Motion, energy,
and luck are expressed, as well as fickleness, in-
constancy, and unconventionality that may
amount to insanity. The letter is Shin, and ex-
presses cyclic movement. In some of the old
Italian Tarots, II Matto is represented as being
naked, or else in tattered garments, like a beggar,
when he symbolises folly, frivolity, or chance.
In the Austrian Tarots he is dressed like a har-
lequin, or else simply with cap and bells. He
is the gypsy wanderer, as we know him, believed
by some persons to be the descendant of the Egyp-
tian priests of the temple of Serapeon, at Poz-
zuoli, who were forced to wander by the destruc-
tion of this temple.

It must be remembered that no Tarots have
been discovered that are over five hundred years
old, and that a great gap exists between these and
the mysteries of the temple of Thoth; therefore,
some of the emblems or symbols that we know
may not resemble those of the originals. We

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AND PLAYING CARDS

must also recall that there is more than one cult
represented among the Atouts; therefore, many
of the attributes of different deities are mingled
confusingly, perhaps, on one and the same card.
The student is necessarily limited by conditions,
for many of the virtues accredited to the emblem-
atic figures have been received traditionally, or
have been discovered by intuition, and are at-
tributed first to one god, and then to another, as
the study of ancient myths or cults reveals a
hitherto unexpected connection.

The intention of the Atouts, as a whole, is the
representation of a youth and his parents or gov-
ernors and sponsors. These are followed by
everything that can express human life, such as
ambition, love, marriage, temptation, friendship,
luck, trials, illness, hatred, jealousy, despair, hope,
enemies, success, and death. When combined
with the pip cards, the whole makes an interest-
ing game of life, presided over by the versatile
god, Mercury, "the writer on the tablets of Fate."

The whole of the Tarot pack has been called
"the Bible of the Gypsies," "the Athor of the
Egyptians," "the Thora of the Hebrews," "the
Great Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus," and

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

"the Key of Things Hidden from the Beginning
of the World"; so, how should poor mortals be
able to unravel all its secrets and lay them bare
before an uncrediting world.

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AND PLAYING CARDS

CHAPTER VII
THE PIPS OF THE TAROT PACK.

THE numbered or what are technically known
as the pip cards of the Tarot pack are divided
like those of more modern ones into four sets,
called by English-speaking people "suits."
These are headed by four court, or "coate,"
cards, namely, King, Queen, Cavalier, and
Knave, making one more than usual to each suit,
or fifty-six in all. Besides this royal family, there
are the cards numbered from one to ten. In some
of the games two or more of the pip cards are
dropped, but this was the original pack. In
Germany there are only three court cards, like
the French ones, but there is no female in the
set. The German suits are Herzen, Griinen,
Eicheln, and Schellen; the Spanish, Bastos,
Otos, Coppas, and Espadas; the Italian, Bastoni,
Danari, Coppe, and Spade, and English, Rods,
Money, Cups, and Swords. These pips are
emblematically displayed through appropriate

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

symbols, and, besides, each of them represents
an idea and a number, all of which are valuable
assistants when grouping the cards, in order to
divine their hidden meanings that are almost lost
to us, although quite decipherable by those who
held the key to the ancient mysteries.

The reason for invariably having four suits
would be incomprehensible were it not recognised
that there were four emblems that were peculiar
to and always represented Mercury, namely, his
Caduceus, his Money, his Chalice, and his Harpe
or Sword, which also typify the four grand divi-
sions into which the classes of people were divided
all over the known world of the day, particularly
in Egypt, for they were Workmen, Merchants,
Churchmen and Soldiers, who were easily recog-
nised through the symbols. If any man of one
of these castes wished to consult the oracle he
selected the emblem of his class and in this way
communicated to the god his status in the com-
munity.

Since four was not a favorite number among
the mystics, there could have been no other
reason for selecting that number for dividing the
pack into suits, and none other has been sug-

AND PLAYING CARDS

gested by students. As it stands, it shows that
it was arranged scientifically and with a decidedly
well-considered purpose that met all the require-
ments of the worshippers at the temple of
Mercury.

That the pips have this interpretation seems
natural, for if it had been intended to select lucky
devices common at the time it is more probable
that a swatzka, a circle for immortality, or a wheel
or perhaps an ankh, that were favourites among
the Egyptians would have been chosen, since all
these devices are quite as old and significant as
the ones adopted, being closely connected with
mysticism, it seems to be sufficient proof that the
ones selected were taken because they represented
Mercury, so these pips must be considered valu-
able links in the chain connecting them with his
worship, even if they stood alone and were not
supported by every card in the Atout part of the
Tarots.

That the religions, superstitions and deities of
Asia, Africa and Europe have mingled from time
to time there is no doubt. E. Levi, in his "Dogme
et Ritual" (Vol. II, page 230), says: "Passing
from India to Egypt with its occultism, and then

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

to the Hebrews and their theosophy, the stick
(or the wand) corresponds with the Phallus of
the Egyptians and the Yod of the Hebrews that
is used to point to the sentence read from the
Scriptures. Thus the vase (or cup) of Mercury
is the Cteis, and the primitive He, the Sword, is
the conjunction of the Phallus and the Cteis rep-
resented in Hebrew anterior to the captivity by
the Vau, while the Circle or Money that may
be vulgarly considered the emblem of the world
is the final He of the divine name. Thus we have
Jod-He-Vau-He, or conventionally pronounced
Jehovah."

The wand or staff of the Tarots represents the
cards as they were originally used for divination,
when a bundle of arrows, of rods, of straws or
of sticks were gathered together and cast down
before the images in the temple, so that their
direction might be noted and inferences drawn
as to the wishes of the gods.

Divination arrows with many mystic signifi-
cances were common among all primitive nations.
The "golden rod" given to Mercury was evi-
dently the magician's wand used when the
plagues of Egypt were overwhelming the land.

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AND PLAYING CARDS

The staff of Moses brought forth water, while
that of Aaron curled into a serpent when it sym-
bolished eternity. There are few of the rock
pictures of Egypt that do not represent their
Pharaohs, their gods, and their priests with a
sceptre, a rod, or a staff as an emblem of author-
ity. So it was typical in ancient days, requiring
then no explanation. It may be noticed in the
Atouts that the cards representing the divinities
show each god carrying a staff or sceptre. This
fact greatly aids in identifying them, for the old
Italian artists understood enough to place the
sceptre in the hand of the emperor, and give only
a staff to the hermit or priest.

Divining arrows have been connected with
worship from very early days and probably pre-
ceded the rods. The former are mentioned more
than once in the Bible, and the first verses of
Numbers xvii are particularly interesting as
being a historical reference to the divine com-
mands to consult the occult, as well as marking
the period when rods were substitutes for arrows.
"The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak
unto the children of Israel and take every one of
them a rod according to the house of their

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

fathers . . . twelve rods: write thou every
man's name upon his rod. And thou shall write
Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod
shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.
And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle
of the congregation before the testimony, where
I will meet with you." It was Aaron's rod that
put forth leaves and fruited, showing that he was
the one selected by the Lord, who conveyed his
commands in this way.

It would be interesting to know what were the
distinctive symbols of each tribe, but the only
trace of them is found in Genesis xlix, which
indicates that Judah had a lion or a sceptre. The
symbol of the uplifted hands still marks the
Cohen or Aaron's descendant, while the "Magen
Dovid," or the "shield of David," the six-pointed
star, has been so widely adopted by Freemasons
as to have become almost identified with them.
By some people it is called Solomon's seal.

This record of "marking" or numbering the
rods is most important, for through it we trace
the origin of the marks which in the hands of the
wily Egyptian priests were afterwards placed on
material they deemed more convenient than the

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AND PLAYING CARDS

primitive arrows, such as papyrus, or parchment,
thus converting the divining arrows of the past into
pip cards as we now know them. Rods with
notched ends, and also some on which figures
of men are cut, have been lately found in the
tombs at Abydos. The divining rods of the Alas-
kan Indians are given numbers by painting stripes
of different colours on them, while the rods of
the Haida Island Indians, off the coast of North
America, are differentiated by tribal distinctions,
such as the Bear, the Tortoise, and so forth. The
names of the different families show how little
the savage people have parted from ancient cus-
toms. The long, thin, arrowlike paper cards of
Korea show the same tribal marks.

As in Biblical times the rods were called
after the men who used them as representing the
ruler of their families, so substituting their pic-
tures was probably the next step. The cards
then were numbered up to ten, while the father,
mother, child, and servant were represented in
what we name Court cards. This enabled a
man to ask queries of the gods in a most particular
way. Should he be a soldier he would select a
Sword emblem to typify him and his family, and

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

then, laying the cards of that suit before the testi-
mony (which signifies the tables of stone or the
commandments), he awaited the answer that was
conveyed to him after the priest had consulted
the cards with reference to the way they were
dealt in connection with the pictures on the walls.
In Chinese fortune-telling the gamblers resort
to a "shrine of the god of war," says Mr. Culin,
in "Korean Games" (page 23), "and throw
numbered arrows or sticks to divine the wishes of
the gods, while sometimes paper lots are em-
ployed." The arrows are kept in a tube like a
quiver, or dicebox, and shaken out at random.
The shrine is finely decorated, containing mystic
figures and devices, and it stands upright against
a wall. A table on which to shake the arrows
is placed before the shrine. On page 26 of
"Korean Games," Mr. Culin states: "In Japan
fifty slender, rounded splints of bamboo, called
Zeichiku, varying in length from two to fourteen
inches, are used. The fortune-teller gathers them
in his right hand, raising it reverently to his fore-
head, muttering incantations, then parts the sticks
into bundles, prophesying good or evil according
to the number in each, and it is said that each

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AND PLAYING CARDS

splint, having its value and meaning, covers all
events of a man's life as recorded in a book of
'oracular responses' that the diviner keeps beside
him for reference."

Mr. Culin also mentions the "Meisir game
of the Arabs," when seven arrows were shaken
from a tube or quiver. This old game was played
before the time of Christ, and Mahomet pro-
hibited it, calling it "the work of devils." Arrows
made of nab-a tree were used. (This name was
seemingly derived from Naib or prophet. ) They
were of a bright yellow colour, and when shaken
in the box gave a peculiar ringing sound, so arrows
made of any other wood were considered unde-
sirable and were discarded. Each arrow had a
name and was marked with a numeral.

The significant and historical Staff or Rod of
the Tarots was replaced in the French pack by
the design of a clover leaf, or, as it is called,
Trefle, which we name a Club, a cognomen that
recalls the original intention, so would otherwise be
meaningless. Nor does the Coin or the Denari
take the place of the one that originally repre-
sented Mercury Agoneus, the protector of mer-
chants and of commerce. This sign when con-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

suiting the oracle denotes fair people and also the
element of water, and anything floating on it or
living in it, besides all things connected with
trade, mercantile transactions, or development.

The Coppas or Cup suit is appropriately typi-
fied by a Cup or Chalice or the Vase of Mercury
Chthonius. This device is superseded by the
Hearts of the French pack, which symbolise the
passive principle of the universe. Corresponding
as it does with the chalice of the clergy, it be-
tokens not only men of religious life, but those
of knowledge and power through learning, and
also scientific men and those in the government
and law. Love and instruction are typified by
the symbolic Cup that denotes fair people, who
are also represented by the suit of Denari when
the cards are consulted about the affairs of life.

The Cup plays a prominent part in the sym-
bolism of ancient days. In "Records of the
Past," by Professor Sayce (Vol. Ill, page 86),
is a letter from Dusratta to Amenophis III, trans-
lated from a cuneiform tablet discovered at Tel-
el-Amarun, in Upper Egypt:

"And to my father did thou send much gold,
An oblation dish of solid gold and a Cup of solid gold,"

184

AND PLAYING CARDS

showing that the Cup symbolised not only a con-
nection with sacrifice, but was also a bond of
friendship. Votive cups are found in the temple
of Osiris, showing that they were used in his
worship. Some are very small, as if intended
for children to use.

The "Cupbearer" to Royalties in Babylonia
and Egypt was a most important post, for the
person was chosen for faithfulness, since poison
could be so easily conveyed in wine and drunk
unsuspectingly by the king. The "Sakibearer"
or Butler of Persia became one of the heroes or
gods. He was also called "the Spiritual In-
structor," showing a connection with the priest-
hood, or "He who hands a Cup of Celestial
Love," which is typified by the wine as well as
the Cup. "Jamshid, one of the greatest rulers
of Iran" (Persia) , says Major Sykes, in "The
Glory of the Shia World" (page 1 39) , "was able
by means of his seven-ringed Cup not only to
predict the future, but also survey the entire
world." This Jamshid had many of the qualities
of Thoth Hermes attributed to him, for he intro-
duced into his country the use of iron, the arts of
weaving, wine-making, and healing, with many

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

other arts and sciences, his memory is greatly
revered. Omar Khayyam sings of him

"Iran, indeed, is gone with all his Rose

And Jamshid's sev'n ring'd Cup,
Where? No one knows."

The Cup placed in the sack of his brethren
by Joseph was no mere accident, as it had for
them a most important and symbolic meaning
that is indicated but not enlarged upon in the
Bible. Babylon is called "A golden Cup in
the hand of the Lord." (Jeremiah li: 7.) That
it was a symbol connected with power, priest-
hood, sacrifice, and friendship is indicated when-
ever it is mentioned in the Bible — for instance,
Psalms lxxv:8, where it is said: "For in
the hands of the Lord there is a Cup"; or the
thirty-seven other times it is again spoken of in
the Old Testament, and the thirty-two references
to it in the New. The cups discovered in Baby-
lonia and Egypt are of many different shapes
that indicate the particular uses to which they
were to be put. Those intended for holding the
sticks when consulting the oracle of Thoth resem-
ble a modern dicebox, as well as the box still used
for sticks in China and Japan.

186

AND PLAYING CARDS

In Egypt immediately after death the soul was
supposed to descend to the Lower World, and
was then conducted to the Hall of Two Truths,
where it was judged in the presence of Osiris
and the forty-two Daemones (the Lords of
Truth) and Judges of the Dead. The Director
of the Weights was Anubis, who placed in one
of the scales of Justice (or Ma) a figure of
Truth, and in the other a Cup containing the
good actions of the deceased, while Thoth stood
by, tablet in hand, to record the result. This
shows the positive connection of Thoth with the
emblems that afterwards became one of the de-
vices of Mercury when he succeeded Thoth in
both the upper and the lower worlds.

Late discoveries in Crete show frescoes repre-
senting handsome youths as cupbearers to King
Minos.

The Espadas or Sword suit speaks for itself,
and here, as well as in the name of the Club suit,
the origin of the Spade is preserved, for Les
Piques of the French pack (that represents the
Halbert of mediaeval times or the guardians of
the person of the king) , resembled garden spades
to the English, who called them by that name,

187

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

that when spoken recalled the pronunciation of
the Spanish pip Espadas. A Harpe or Sword
was presented by Jupiter to his son Mercury
as a token of bravery and skill when he was
the Messenger who killed Argos, or the herald of
Mars. His title was then Mercury Argiphontes
when he represented the best qualities of the
warrior, such as courage, bravery, decision,
and temperance. The suit typifies dark people
and the element of air, and protects those who
fly, whether birds or men. Altercation is also
denoted by the Sword suit, as are troubles, sor-
rows, transformations, lawsuits, hatred, enemies,
spies, or rivals. The word in Hebrew signifies
lightning, brightness — as in Job xx:25, "the
glittering sword cometh out," which is particu-
larly typical of the bnght planet and the god of
lightning. The Sword as "Messenger" is fre-
quently referred to, as in Numbers xxii : 3 1 ,
"The angel of the Lord standing in the way and
his sword drawn in his hand."

The Cup and the Sword pips are recalled by
a game played in Korea called Pitch-pot, one of
the oldest games known to history. Arrows are
thrown into a vase of water placed two and a half

188

AND PLAYING CARDS

lengths from the player, who kneels on a mat
to throw his weapon into it. After all the arrows
have filled the cup the loser must drain it at one
swallow.

The Money suit not only recalls the connection
with merchants, with Mercury as their protector,
but probably had an earlier origin in the
mystic circle so beloved by occults. Isaiah
xl : 20 mentions the one "that sitteth upon the
circle of the earth," which quotation is fraught
with symbolism. The royalties on the Egyptian
tombs always wear a broad collar or necklace,
the narrow cord being the emblem of the slave;
but the King wears it as denoting his submission
to the gods, while claiming to be supreme among
men. The circle placed on their heads was a
sign of unceasing power, and the zone or belt
worn by female goddesses or princesses signified
maidenhood or supremacy and had other mystic
meanings. The coin placed on the cards signified
many things besides merchants and their occupa-
tions, but it was generally connected with the
material things of life. The Chinese coin still
retains the hole in the centre, making it a hollow
round. It is supposed by some that the coin was

189

PROPHETICAL EDUCATIONAL

originally the mystic serpent with tail in mouth,
thus completing the circle. Zwvoi meant the Ser-
pent which girdles the globe and represents the
Zodiac or Ecliptic line denoting the path of the
sun.

The four Court cards dominate and control the
pips of their own suits and play an important part
wherever placed. The suits of Money and Cups
denote the home and family life and are consid-
ered benign, while Money represents friends,
partners, or strangers, and Swords may mean any
one of them as desired by players; but the last
two suits are usually deemed material or malig-
nant, being the opposite to the benign suits. In
general, Rods represent enterprise and glory;
Coins denote investments or transactions; Cups
typify love and happiness; while Swords seem to
call for hatred and misfortune.

Then the number of each of the cards betokens
something, for, dealt in four packets with three
cards in each one of the heaps, a singleton is left
for the fourth packet. The first pile should con-
tain an Ace, Deuce, and Tray, which portend
commencement. That is to say, if Rods are the
suit these three cards tell of the beginning of an

190

so

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip and Court Cards of the Rod Suit

49 Seven of Rods

50 Eight of Rods

51 Nine of Rods

52 Ten of Rods

53 Knave of Rods

54 Cavalier of Rods

AND PLAYING CARDS

enterprise. If the suit is Cups they mean the be-
ginning of a love affair, and in the same way
hatred or a quarrel is denoted as beginning if the
Sword suit is used, while Ace, Deuce, and Tray
of Money announce the inception of a business
transaction.

The second packet includes the Four, Five,
and Six, which denote inertia, stoppage, opposi-
tion, concentration.

The Sevens, Eights, and Nines represent bal-
ance, poise, or result, and the Tenth card means
uncertainty.

Each number has the same value or meaning.
That is to say, an Ace of Rods means the begin-
ning of an enterprise, the Deuce that the enter-
prise is arrested, while the Tray signifies that the
enterprise having been established, can be con-
tinued.

The Ace of Money is the commencement of
fortune, the following two cards mean opposition
and good fortune. The Ace of Cups the dawn
of a love affair, the Deuce opposition to it, and
the Tray consent. The Ace of Swords means
enmity, the Deuce that the enmity is arrested, and
the Trey declares open rupture or war.

191

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Therefore the packets of three with the single-
ton may be classified as, first, commencement;
second, opposition ; third, balance. The first three
indicate dawn, the second three noon, while even-
ing is represented by the Seven, Eight, and Nine,
and the Ten card shows bewilderment or night.

The court cards in the Tarots have four to
each suit that are named King, Queen, Cavalier,
and Knave, and they represent man, woman,
child, and servant. The male figure denotes
enterprise, the female characterises affection or
love, the youth typifies conflict, strength, struggle,
rivalry, or hatred, while the Knave means tran-
sition. The court cards also express pointedly
the meanings of the suit that they represent.
They betoken family life, with the King as
father, the Queen as mother, the Cavalier as
son, and the Knave as daughter, child, or servant.

The King of Rods or Staves is a dark, kind
friend; his Queen represents an amiable, good,
charitable, or friendly person. The Cavalier is
dark and good; the Knave is a dark messenger
or child.

The court cards of Money typify fair people
who are friendly, kindly disposed, or indifferent;

192

AND PLAYING CARDS

the King representing the male, the Queen the
female. The Cavalier portends strangers, and
the Knave messages or news. These figures of
the Rods and Cups bear inverse value to the
Swords and Money, for the latter do not belong
to the family, but indicate outsiders, strangers,
or the world in general.

The King of Cups is a fair man and frequently
means a lawyer, a councillor or a clergyman.
The Queen is a blonde friend, perhaps the best
beloved, and the Cavalier is sometimes a fair-
haired lover, while the Knave is an infant, a mes-
senger, or a birth.

The Suit of Swords always is unlucky, and its
King betokens a dark, bad man, an enemy or
some one to be mistrusted. The Queen repre-
sents a brunette who is wicked and to be feared,
a gossip, a treacherous character. The Cavalier
is an enemy or a spy, and is dark; while the
Knave is bad news, delay, or malice. The whole
group indicates opposition raised outside of the
home.

It will be seen that if each one of the seventy-
eight cards belonging to the Tarots be given the
meaning assigned to it in the foregoing rules,

193

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

nearly every emotion, every incident, every char-
acteristic of man is typified, and the combinations
are as endless as are the chances of life. As the
cards are dealt and fall together, one balances
or controls the other, so that when their meaning
is deciphered as a whole there is a most interest-
ing picture of ordinary life.

The game is played by two persons, one who
deals and one who reads the cards, or rather
interprets with superior knowledge the meaning
of the great Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus.
It can readily be seen how the game could be
taken advantage of by the unscrupulous, who
induced credulous persons to believe that the
leaves of the book revealed the future. This
faith, indeed, was inherited through generations,
who received it from Moses and many of the
Hebrew prophets, as well as from the priests of
the temple of Thoth and those of Mercury ; so it is
small wonder that the mysterious leaves were re-
garded with awe, and that their revelations are
received with implicit obedience, since the orders
of the gods could be transmitted through the rods
of Moses and Aaron that became the pip leaves,
and the message was exemplified through the em-

194

AND PL AY INC CARDS

blematic figures on the walls. The pips trans-
lated the meaning of the Atouts, without which
neither part or volume of the book could be fully
understood. Therefore all fortune-telling with
packs of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs
is nonsense, since these cards were invented for
games or gambling and have nothing occult or
prophetic about them.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER VIII
SOME OLD ITALIAN TAROTS

IT IS practically impossible to bridge the chasm
between the abandonment of the actual and open
worship of Mercury in his own temples to the
transference of his heraldic emblems to the un-
bound leaves of a book that could be concealed
on the persons of his priests, for doubtless the
rites of Mercury were practised privately for
many years by people who had every motive for
concealment; and since there was no law against
these secret practices, there is no record of their
having been broken, no ordinance concerning
games of cards or fortune-telling, and no official
record pointing directly to cards under the name
now generally given them. What may be re-
corded concerning the priests of the cult of Mer-
cury remains to be discovered.

Nor can we date the period when these same
leaves came to be regarded as affording amuse-
ment, or from being wholly in the hands of ini-

196

AND PLAYING CARDS

tiated persons and regarded as a vehicle for con-
sulting the wishes of the deities, they fell into
the possession of soothsayers or unscrupulous for-
tune-tellers, who did not hold the interpreting
key and made improper uses of the ancient Book
of Thoth.

Nor, again, is there any record of when cards
became the tools of gamblers, who used them for
games of chance, although their consultation
might always have partaken of the elements of
"chance," but in a very different way.

However, it is well known that the introduc-
tion of Christianity into Rome gradually caused
the deities of Olympus to be disregarded, so that
those who still worshipped the gods of their an-
cestors did so in secret, and when St. Paul set
foot at Pozzuoli, close to the temples of Osiris
and Mercury, the first step was taken towards the
downfall of the ancient rites.

It is quite natural, therefore, that writers on the
origin and history of Playing Cards have found
no record of their invention, no monument to their
inventor, and no cradle at their birthplace, since
they looked solely for the cards that were familiar
to them and for games played with those cards,

197

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

while they failed to recognise that the cards were
part of a cult and were the heraldic emblems of
Mercury (as displayed on the pip cards) and
those of ancient Egyptian gods (as depicted on
the Atouts), and, therefore, these writers declare
that no link exists between the Italian Tarots of
the present day and the great Book of Thoth
Hermes Trismegistus, while they acknowledge
that Playing Cards owe their invention to the
Egyptians, who, having inherited the "men por-
trayed upon the walls" from the Babylonians and
the traditions of Nebo, "the one who writes the
tablets of fate," elaborated the ceremonies, sim-
plified their code, and introduced them to Europe,
first through the priests of the Serapeon, and then,
by means of the Tarots, to other parts of the
world.

Some claim that the gypsies were originally
the initiates of the temple of Thoth, and that
it was they who carried Playing Cards as a
means of divination through Europe. One of
their customs is to demand that the palm of the
right hand be crossed with a piece of money
before beginning to read a fortune; and by some
this custom is supposed to date from the time when

198

AND PLAYING CARDS

the fortune-teller demanded from his clients an
oath of secrecy, which was ratified by making
the sign of the cross. Unless there was some
such meaning originally attached to the custom,
there would seem to be no reason for this per-
formance being enacted in connection with for-
tune-telling with cards, and as far as is known
with no other transaction in the commercial or
nomadip world.

There are many signs suggesting that the
gypsies were able to translate the symbols on the
cards at an early date, soon after they appeared
in Europe, and it is certain that for several cen-
turies these nomads have used Playing Cards for
telling future, past, or present events, and have
done it with so much self-confidence that it would
seem that they possessed a key to the occult
mysteries. It is, therefore, unwise to discard this
theory entirely, for the gypsy tribes scattered
over Europe certainly aided in widely dis-
tributing the cards. Nor does the connection of
gypsies with the ancient mysteries quarrel with
the statement that cards were part of the wor-
ship of Mercury, since no man can say that these
people were not the original priests of the temple

199

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

who were cast out of their shrines and forced to
wander about the world. In England these
nomads are frequently called the Egyptians,
while their own name for themselves is Romany.

Spain has contended with Italy for the honour
of originating Playing Cards, but without proving
her case, for Spain preserved only a mutilated
pack of pip cards, showing the symbols of Mer-
cury, indeed, but unaccompanied by the emblem-
atic Atouts that were the first volume of the book ;
these have never been known in that country.
But, then, Spain was not the home of the gods
of Olympus, nor was that country in close contact
with Egypt, as was Italy. There is no historic
record of yearly communications between the two
opposite shores of the great sea, as is the case
with Italy, for Seneca has left an interesting de-
scription of the great fleet from Alexandria
that yearly visited Pozzuoli, on the bay of
Naples.

These vessels carried not only wares, but mer-
chants and missionaries, from the great seats of
learning at the temples of Egypt. The priests
of those days were not necessarily religious men,
but they were scholars and scientists, who thought

200

AND PLAYING CARDS

that their best use in the world was the diffusion
of their learning and knowledge.

Since it is clearly established that the worship
of Serapis, Thoth, and Mercury was followed
at Pozzuoli from a very early date, preceding
Christianity, it may be conceded that the people
there were imbued with the appreciation of its
mysteries and adored them. When Christianity
refuted the doctrines of the heathen gods, those
who followed the ancient rites were forced to
conceal them. Hence it is that if Playing Cards
are derived from this mysterious worship, through
which they consulted the wishes of their gods,
no trace of them can be found in the legal records
before the middle of the fourteenth century, when
the cards were established as a game but not as
a cult.

Count Emiliano di Parravicino, in his essay
on Tarocco cards in the Burlington Magazine
for December, 1903, declares that professional
players or teachers, known as barrattieri or rabildi,
were organized in guilds that were recognised by
law as early as the beginning of the thirteenth
century, which seems as if the deposed initiates,
or the priests of Mercury, were still vital and a

201

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

recognised necessity, although under a new
title.

Happily for the card student, there still remain
several packs of Italian cards that link the present
ones with the ancient emblems of Mercury. The
ducal family of Visconti inherited sixty-one cards
that orginally belonged to Duke Filippo Maria
Visconti, having been executed for him by Marzi-
ano da Tortona early in the fifteenth century.
These were mentioned by Breitkopf in his work
published at Leipsic in 1 784. This pack differs
from its compatriots and successors in having five,
instead of four, court cards. The Atouts are
beautifully painted with all the attributes con-
nected with Mercury. That of "the Lovers,"
No. VI, represents Duke Filippo Maria wearing
a broad-brimmed hat on which is inscribed "A
bon Droii" ; the female figure is dressed as a
bride and is probably a likeness of the Duke's
first wife, Beatrice di Tenda, the widow of Fran-
cisco Cane. These figures are surrounded with
small shields blazoning the arms of Visconti and
Pavia.

Among these Atouts No. XIII, Death, is
represented on a black, instead of on a white,

202

AND PLAYING CARDS

horse. The figures on the other cards resemble
those still commonly used, but, unfortunately,
there are fifteen cards missing from the pack.
This historic collection of Tarots has been fre-
quently described and reproduced, since Mar-
ziano da Tortona, who executed the pictures,
was a scholar, as well as a skillful artist. He in-
troduced some original features in his treatment
of the pictures while strictly conforming to the
heraldic devices that marked their origin, for no
man living at that time would be ignorant enough
to change the devices, since they still told their
story to the people of the day, who understood
heraldry even if they could not decipher written
words.

This celebrated pack of cards was probably
a wedding gift to the illustrious couple, since the
artist was also their secretary. That it was prized,
but little handled, and kept as a work of art is
proved by the good condition of the pictures,
which are almost as fresh as when they left the
hands of the designer. They are treasured pos-
sessions of the descendants of Duke Filippo Maria
Visconti and are seldom allowed to be seen or
exhibited.

203

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Another interesting collection of early Tarocci
(little Tarots) is described by Count di Parra-
vicino, who states that the pack was painted early
in the fifteenth century by a Ferrarese artist
named Antonio Cicognara. These cards have
been owned in one family several centuries with
an authentic history of them, for in the annals
of Cremona, written by Domenico Bordegallo,
is found the following reference to the pack :

"1484. In this year our townsman, Antonio
di Cicognara, a most skillful painter of pictures
and an admirable miniaturist, designed and illu-
minated a magnificent pack of cards called Tarots,
which have been seen by me, and he made a pres-
ent of them 10 the most honorable, reverend,
and illustrious Lord Ascanio M. Sforza, Cardinal
of the Holy Church, Bishop of Pavia and No-
vara, at one time dean of our cathedral and now
commendatory of the canons of St. Gregory,
and son of the most illustrious and excellent
Francesco Sforza and the Lady Bianca Visconti,
born here in Cremona."

"The same artist," states Count di Parravicino,
"illustrated other packs for the sisters of this
Cardinal. They were nuns in the Augustine Con-

204

AND PLAYING CARDS

vent founded in this town by the aforesaid Ma-
donna Bianca."

This naive record of the amusements of the
religious communities of the fifteenth century pre-
sents a novel picture to the minds of those who
suppose that cards were not permitted within the
sacred precincts, although such was not the case,
as is confirmed by a proverb of the day that
says "Mind what the friar says, not what he
does."

The Tarocco cards were thus called from the
game "Little Tarots" or "Tarocci," played at
the time, said to have been invented by Francis
Fibbia. Thus the older name of Tarots became
corrupted to Tarocco, although the number and
value of the original pack remained unaltered.

The cards painted for Cardinal Sforza are
still in existence. Some are shown in the Carrara
Museum at Bergamo ; others are in the possession
of Count Alessandro Colleqni; while thirty-five
cards of this pack are owned by Mr. Pierpont
Morgan and are exhibited by him in the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London.

It is impossible to do justice to the beauty of
this set of cards that are painted in the most

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

delicate manner. The background is of gold
picked out or embossed with a diapered pattern
dotted in raised designs on a smooth surface;
the figures are cleverly moddeled and beautifully
executed; the faces are painted with the delicate
touch of an accomplished miniaturist. That of
the Knave of Money is seen in profile, and is so
expressive that it is probably a likeness, since the
treatment is even more careful and the features
better drawn than those of most of the Atouts.

The Knight of Cups in the pack (originally
owned by Count Alessandro Colleoni, now
owned by Mr. Morgan) is mounted on a white
horse and is dressed in an embroidered coat, with
white leggings and pointed shoes. The hair is
parted and falls in waves on either side of the
face, which is that of a very young boy and rather
effeminate. There is a crown on the saddle-cloth
of the horse that probably denotes the rank of
the rider.

The King of Swords also seems to be a like-
ness. He wears black armour, and his shield
displays armorial bearings. The Queen of
Money has a beautifully embroidered robe with a
regal mantle falling from her shoulders. Her

206

AND PL AY INC CARDS

hands are particularly well drawn and her attitude
is remarkably graceful.

Temperance, Death, and Strength are among
this pack, the former pouring the water and oil
together, which is one of the earliest known de-
vices for consulting the wishes of the gods. Death
is the usual skeleton, who in this case bears a
sceptre, and Strength also repeats the emblem of
the sceptre or the caduceus.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER IX

HEARTS, DIAMONDS, SPADES, AND
CLUBS

IT IS probable that one of the oldest existing
packs is the Tarot pack now preserved in the
Cabinet des Estampes in Pans. Others dis-
covered in the back of a book in Florence in
1910, also Tarots, have not been open to the
inspection of students. They are valued at two
thousand dollars, but the pack is not complete,
nor on record, so the cards painted for Charles
VI may still claim to be the oldest known. The
debris of this pack was also discovered in the
binding of a book of the fifteen century. The
heraldic devices on the cards and the detail of
the costumes, which are essentially French, point
to their having been produced in the time of
Charles VI. The robes, beards, etc., of three of
the Kings are similar to the portraits of Charles
or his courtiers. The velvet hats are surmounted
with crowns and the robes are trimmed with

AND PLAY INC CARDS

ermine. The dress of the Knaves corresponds
with that of the pages, or else with that of the
ser gents d'Armes of the day, while the Queens
are dressed like the portrait of Isabella of
Bavaria. The court cards of the fourth suit show
a marked contrast to the richly bedecked ones of
the three other suits, for the figures are habited
like savages, which is supposed to recall a fete
given on the occasion of the marriage of one of
the queen's maids of honour to the Chevalier de
Vermandois, that had such a horrible termination.
Charles VI had had attacks of mania, but was
at that time more reasonable. Htigonin de
Janzay, one of his favourites, planned to enter-
tain him by inducing him to take part in a mum-
mery, for which the king and five other men were
to be dressed as savages, and were to enter the
fete to surprise the guests. The party were
dressed in linen soaked with tar and covered with
fur, so were completely disguised. They rushed
into the ballroom shouting and rattling their
chains, when the Due D'Orleans, brother of the
king, seized a torch from an attendant to look
more closely at the strangers, and by mischance
set the inflammable clothes on fire. Most of the

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

men were chained together and could not escape,
but one of them freed himself and saved his own
life by plunging into a cistern of water which was
placed in the buttery for the purpose of rinsing
the drinking cups.

The king, who was standing at a little distance
talking to the Duchess de Beri, was saved by that
lady, who, with great presence of mind, wrapped
her velvet cloak around her royal master. This
gruesome incident brought on another attack of
mania, that lasted until his death on the 21st
of October, 1422, after a reign of forty-two
years. It is presumed by M. Paul la Croix, in his
essay on "Cartes a Jouer" (1873), that this cele-
brated incident was perpetuated in the French
cards that he thinks were invented and painted
at about that time.

The fragments of the second pack, that
apparently belong to the same period, closely
resemble those with which we are familiar, since
they are not Tarots but bear the pips invented by
the French, and M. la Croix states (page 241)
that he "credits the tradition declaring that these
particular cards are the first Piquet pack, and
that these were the original cards that dethroned

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the Tarots of the Italians to become the favorites
of the French nation."

These French pips were afterwards adopted
by the less ingenious English, while the Germans
invented devices of their own, called Griinen,
Eicheln, Herzen, and Shellen, at about the same
period. Although the Spaniards remained faithful
to the Tarots, they discarded the Atout part of the
pack, retaining only the suit cards with the pips
of Cups, Money, Swords, and Staves. The
emblems adopted in the several countries nearly
five hundred years ago (when a wave of card
playing seems to have swept over Europe), have
retained their hold on the affections of those who
adopted the individual devices, for each nation
still clings to the pips that were then chosen, and it
is only by degrees that the French designs are
emigrating to different parts of the world.

The "Jesse" pack of cards, now to be seen
in Paris, are painted on cardboard, and the figures
are dressed in the fashions of the day. The
emblems recall the heraldic tokens of two of
the courtiers of Charles VI, as well as the one
identified with one of the most beautiful and
learned women of her day. It is said that the

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

invention of these pips was due to the anxiety of
Queen Isabella and her ministers to divert the un-
fortunate monarch, so as to prevent his interfering
with their schemes.

It was with the alteration of the pips, the adop-
tion of Coeurs (Hearts), Carreaux (Diamonds),
Trefles (Clubs), and Piques (Spades), the dis-
tinctive use of red and black unmmgled with
other colours, and the discarding of the fourth
court card, together with the Joker, and the Atout
part of the old pack, that the fortune-telling Book
of Thoth became transformed into a set of toys
or gambling instruments. It is little wonder that
their original intention, purpose, and history be-
came obliterated and finally almost forgotten, so
that when a French writer ventured to state that
cards were part of the Egyptian mysteries he
was treated as a foolish dreamer.

The invention of the French pips is attributed
to two persons, both of them courtiers of the king,
who probably worked together to produce a simple
and convenient set of devices that should be easily
recognised and as well adapted for playing, as
were the original Tarots suited for divining the
lives and characteristics of mankind. One of

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AND PLAYING CARDS

the inventors of the French pips was Etienne Vig-
nolles, whose nickname was La Hire, and this
name has been found on some of the old cards,
as if he wished to be perpetuated in this way, and
not as the brave old soldier who was well versed
in chivalric customs, and who, according to his-
torians, had always his sword drawn against the
English. The second person to whom is credited
the invention of the Piquet pack is Etienne Che-
valier, secretary to the king, and his treasurer,
who was noted for his original and inventive
genius and his quick wit. It is more than probable
that to his facile pencil the new designs should
be attributed. The men who formulated the rules
of the game for which they invented the cards
must have been clever, as it is arranged with such
care that these rules have remained practically un-
altered for five hundred years, and Piquet is still
a favourite in men's clubs and the best tete-a-
tete game known.

The Piquet pack contains five pip cards, Ace,
Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten, with three court
cards, King, Queen, and Knave, called by the
French names of Le Roi, La Reine, and Le
Valet or varlet. With this handful of cards we

213

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

are all familiar. Here was a great modification
of the old suits with their heraldic devices. The
Cavalier of the Tarot pack was discarded, thus
reducing the court cards to three instead of four,
while five of the pip cards were also omitted. The
game was thoroughly scientific, needing close at-
tention and discretion even with the curtailed pack
of cards. It showed the soldier's hand in its
stratagem, and that of the artist in its simple
colours.

The king's banker was Jacques Coeur, whose
beautiful palace in Bourges shows a pun on his
name in every lintel, door or window where a
heart is cut in stone or wood to remind one of the
owner. Tradition states that it was in honour
of Jacques Coeur that his heraldic emblem, Coeurs
(Hearts), was placed on the cards to perpetuate
his memory, to the exclusion of that of his patron,
Mercury, the god of merchants.

The Money emblem was changed to Carreaux
(Diamonds). This device may have been in-
spired by the little lozenge panes of glass in the
windows of Coeur's palace, or by the tiles in the
floors, or perhaps by "/es fers de fiche" which
would have retained the original idea of the "di-

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AND PLAYING CARDS

vining arrows" from which the old cards came.
M. la Croix says: "The Sword of the ancients
became Pique (Spade) , to do honour to the two
soldier brothers, Jean and Gaspard Bureau."
The Trefle (Club) was the heraldic device of
Agnes Sorel, a greatly accomplished woman who
displaced the queen in the affections of her hus-
band. Sorel is the French for what we call sham-
rock or clover, and was a pun on the name of the
lady.

M. la Croix thinks that these cards were de-
vised some time between the years 1420 and
1440. If so, they could only have been born at
the very end of the mad king's life.

The distinctive marks of the French pack are
the two dominating colours, red and black, that
strongly contrast with the various and mingled
colours seen in the Tarots. The reason for simpli-
fying the pips in this way is not recorded,
although the change makes it much easier for
players and was a clever idea, but no sharp
division like this is called for when playing the
game of Piquet (or little Pique), for which these
cards were primarily used. It was probably
intended to simplify the work of the card maker,

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

as it demanded only the two colours commonly
used by printers, black and red.

It was about the year 1 785, over three hundred
years after the French had become accustomed to
their new cards, and had entirely forgotten that
there were any others, that Court de Gebelin, a
French writer, published his essay on Tarots,
which he calls "that strange collection of unbound
leaves that are the parents of all modern playing
cards." It is entitled "Extract du Monde Prima-
tive Analyse et compare avec le Monde Moderne,
Tome I, Du Jeu des Tarots."

The account begins with the announcement that
the origin of the Tarots and their allegories will
be traced and explained, as well as their connec-
tion with the cards of the day. The essay being
in French, a free translation with necessary omis-
sions must be given, while the curious are referred
to the original. M. de Gebelin begins :

"If it were announced that one of the ancient
books of the early Egyptians that contained most
interesting information had escaped the flames that
consumed their superb libraries, every one would
doubtless be anxious to see such a precious and
rare work. If added to this information it was

216

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip Cards of the Sword Suit

55 Ace of Swords

56 Deuce of Swords

57 Trey of Swords

58 Four of Swords

59 Five of Swords

60 Six of Swords

AND PLAY INC CARDS

stated that the leaves of this book were scattered
over Europe, and that for centuries they had been
in the hands of all the world, surprise and incre-
dulity would greet the suggestion. Yet when, to
crown all, it was realized that no one had even
suspected the connection of the scattered pages
in their possession with those of Egyptian mys-
teries, nor had any person deciphered a line on
them, and that the fruit of an exquisite wisdom
is to-day regarded as a collection of extravagant
pictures without any significance, the world would
be surprised at its own supineness or ignorance
Despite incredulity on these points, a great
Egyptian book, the sole survivor of a valuable
library, is still in existence, and, what is more
strange, this book is so universally used and seems
to be so insignificant that no savant has conde-
scended to study its unbound pages, nor has any
student suspected its illustrious origin. Composed
of seventy-eight leaves that are divided into five
classes, this book is, in one word, what is com-
monly known as the Tarot pack of cards. Of
ancient origin, the bizarre pictures that they dis-
play do not betray the intention or motive for as-
sembling together such peculiar figures and em-

217

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

blems. These pictures, that seem to be incon-
gruously mingled, call for an answer to the
enigma, and they should not be treated as trifles
or merely for amusement." Such is the opinion
of a scholar who lived over one hundred years
ago, and this opinion has survived the ridicule,
abuse, and disdain showered on de Gebelin after
he had pointed out that the Tarots were in truth
the Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus.

There is only one spot in the world where these
cards remain in their pristine condition and are
played with to-day, and where they are offered
for sale, and it is interesting to note that it is close
to the place where the worship of Thoth first made
its appearance in Europe.

The Tarots are now used for playing several
games, and these, if analysed, will show marks of
the ancient mysteries. Through them can be
traced not only a birthplace, but a history de-
clared by de Gebelin to hark back to the border-
land of civilization. He points out that the
writers of his day have confined their studies to
French cards used in Paris, when they were
looking for the origin of playing cards, entirely
ignoring, or at least never referring to, the

218

AND PLAY INC CARDS

Tarots, of which probably they had never heard.

The history of French cards was not hard to
relate, since it goes back little over three hundred
years. There is a record of their birth, and, as
has been mentioned, there are survivors of the
original pack now to be seen in Les Cabinet des
Estampes in Paris, which display Hearts, Dia-
monds, Clubs, and Spades.

Merlin, Chatto, Singer, and Breitkopf look
farther afield than de Gebelin's predecessors,
whose writings are now forgotten, but all of them,
while acknowledging that the images or the pips
of the Tarots with which they are familiar have
some connection with an old condition of affairs,
fail to trace it, since no reliable historical or
legal record of cards that are called "Playing
Cards" can be discovered prior to the Middle
Ages, so they assumed that cards could not have
existed before that date, but the possibility that
they might have lived and flourished under another
name is overlooked.

These authorities acknowledge that the shape,
the sequence, and the grouping of the Tarots dis-
play system, which they decide is interesting but
incomprehensible, yet they fail to unravel the sig-

219

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

nificance of these arrangements. They touch upon
the strange resemblance of various figures and their
value in the game of L'Ombre (The Man) to
the civil law, philosophy, and religion of the
ancient Romans, Greeks, or Egyptians. Mr.
Singer points to one of the Atouts that he says
"resembles the attributes of Osiris," and other
cards impress him as recalling those of Mercury,
as well as other mythological personages that he
writes "seem to be found among the Atouts."
But all the authors arrest themselves at this point
without inquiring if these ancient gods whom they
recognised were placed with intention or by chance
on the cards, and, although they concede that
the cards were used for divining purposes, they
fail to connect them distinctly with the mysteries
of past ages.

De Gebelin declares that "the Tarots could
only be the outcome of the work of sages," and
that "these cards were intended for the use of
initiates and not for gamblers." He alone pierces
the mystery of the origin of the Tarots, while the
others content themselves with supposing that cards
sprang in their present form into use precisely as
Minerva emerged fully equipped from Jove's

220

AND PLAYING CARDS

head; they write that cards had no existence, no
form, and no record, previous to those accorded
to them about the thirteenth century.

To call an antagonist "a dreamer" or "a fool"
is an unconvincing form of argument. To de-
clare that a proposition is untrue because it is
presented for the first time and has not been looked
into is absurd; so to-day, over one hundred and
twenty-five years after Court de Gebelin spread
his pearls before the uncomprehending students
of Playing Card lore, it may be well to recapitu-
late his theories and study his conclusions with
minds opened by latter-day revelations of the
ancient rites, mysteries, and cults, and not to reject
them without investigation.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER X

COURT AND POINT CARDS WITH
FRENCH PIPS

As EARLY as 1 656, according to the writers of
the day, a pack of cards was called in England,
"a pair of cards," which was evidently derived
from the Italian, Paio, as the combined Atout
and numbered cards, or the two volumes of the
book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, were occa-
sionally called in Italy. The importation of
cards was prohibited in England in 1463, by Act
1 1 , Henry VII, as local productions were to be
encouraged, so foreign cards are seldom found in
England.

Sometimes the collection of fifty-two cards,
adopted from the French, was called "a stock,"
notably in the play of "The Three Ladies of
London," where one of them says: "Now, all
the cards in the Stock are dealt about." But the
word is now only applied when it is wished to
designate those cards left after a hand has been

222

AND PLAYING CARDS

dealt, although they are more commonly called
"the widow," or "the forsaken one." In Queen
Elizabeth's day, a pack of cards was called "a
bunch," and Shakespeare terms them "a deck,"
which designation is still used in Scotland and
in parts of the United States.

The designs on the cards representing the num-
bers are technically termed pips, or peeps, per-
haps from the seeds of apples, pears, and oranges,
that are so called in England; and they are also
called spots.

In the "Metamorphosis of Ajax," by Sir John
Harrington (1615), he says: "When Brutus
had discarded the kings and queens out of the
pack, and shown himself sworn enemy to all
the Coate cards, there crept in many new forms
of government." This rather unique and old-
fashioned way of designating the figures in the
pack leads some persons to suppose that the name
implied "coated figures, that is to say, men and
women wearing coats, in contradistinction to the
other devices of flowers or animals." The term
does not seem to have been general, however,
and it is more probable that they were called
"court cards," since these representative persons

223

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

are dressed in ermine, with rich embroideries and
jewels, and two of each suit are crowned, so
that they were recognised as "coated," or fash-
ionably dressed. It has been pointed out that
the original French court cards were probably
likenesses of the kings of France of the day, as
well as their consorts and mistresses ; while in Eng-
land, they were copies of well-known portraits
of Henry VIII and his beautiful mother, Queen
Elizabeth of York, so that they were rulers of
the card kingdom, as well as of their respective
countries. The cards were, therefore, called "of
the court," or "court cards."

The collection necessary for most of the
games played with the French cards vary in num-
ber, but this is merely a matter of local prefer-
ence, as demanded by the games in vogue. In
Paris, a Piquet pack requires only thirty-six cards,
while, in the United States, Nonsuch Euchre calls
for sixty-one, including the Joker, which card is
unknown in France. A standard French or Eng-
lish pack contains fifty-two cards, divided into
four suits, like their forefathers, the Tarots. The
distinguishing feature of the junior pack is the
two colours into which it is parted, for two of

224

the suits are painted black, and two are red;
this distinction marks the difference between the
French cards and those of all other nations, where
local pips are used.

The Tarots had four court cards to each suit,
while the French and Spanish packs have only
three members of the court world. The Span-
iards omit the woman from their cards, while the
French drop one of the men, the cavalier, a
mounted figure that gives variety and value to
the royal family in other countries, and makes the
game more like one of war, and not merely a
compliment to a distinguished lady. However,
the King, Queen, and Knave are now the only
ones with the French emblems, and these are fol-
lowed by ten pip cards, in which number one, or
the Ace, is sometimes the highest, and, at others,
the lowest in the pack, according to the game
to be played.

In the United States, a pack is incomplete with-
out the Joker, which then makes fifty-three cards
to a standard pack. Many writers have tried to
connect the number fifty-two with the weeks of
the year, but, as can easily be seen by studying
the Tarots, this was not the original number, and

225

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the French, when inventing their new set of cards,
probably had no such connection in mind, and the
Piquet, which is the earliest French pack, contains
less than fifty-two cards.

The Joker did not make its appearance in the
United States until about the middle of the nine-
teenth century, and then for a rather strange
reason. The cards used in the Northern States
were those inherited from France or England,
while those used in the extreme South-western
States were of Spanish origin, but the packs of
none of these countries had retained the old figure
of Mercury. The Joker, however, suddenly ap-
peared in the American packs, the reason for this
being as follows, cards are printed or stamped
on large sheets of paper, which are afterwards
cut apart to the required size. When arranged
on the sheet, one space in a corner was not used,
and, therefore, left blank, although the back was
printed exactly like all the rest of the pack. Hav-
ing no need for this card, the makers generously
threw it in, and placed it on the outside of the
wrapper, so as to show the colour and design
of the back. The value of the new card was
rapidly recognised by players, who, impelled by

226

AND PL AY INC CARDS

some unknown power, assigned to it the position
originally occupied by II Matto of the Tarot
pack, with all its old privileges of taking every
other card. It was particularly valuable in the
game of Euchre, that sprang into popularity at
the same time that the Joker (or the one who
played tricks and took them) was adopted. So,
through this accidental appearance of a blank
card in the pack, Mercury suddenly asserted his
old supremacy, and cunningly resumed his
wonted place and power in the card world, al-
though his original prominence and his cult had
been entirely overlooked and forgotten for over
five hundred years, except in one particular town
in Italy, where the old Tarots are retained in their
pristine condition.

Instead of using a blank card on the outside
of the pack, some of the European card manu-
facturers make a hole in the wrapper, through
which may be seen the Ace of Hearts, stamped
with the government revenue stamp. In England
and the United States, the name of the manufac-
turer is printed on the Ace of Spades, and the rev-
enue stamp is pasted on the wrapper of the pack.
German card makers often place a blank card in

227

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

their wrappers, but it has not been incorporated
into any of the local games, nor does it bear a
revenue stamp or the maker's name upon it.

As soon as American manufacturers discov-
ered that card players considered the odd card
of value, the Joker was quickly represented by
various grotesque figures, that differ in every pack,
and are somewhat confusing to players. It, there-
fore, seems a pity that a uniform design is not
agreed upon, as is the case with the court cards.
Any deviation from the dress of the figures on
the latter meets with instant opposition from
players. It seems peculiar that the card is never
represented by Mercury, or a fool, or a clown,
or perhaps, a red devil, which would make it
easy to distinguish from the Ace of Spades, which
is often, and sometimes disastrously, mistaken for
the more powerful Joker. The most desirable
image that might now be used would be a repro-
duction of the beautiful flying figure of Mercury,
carrying the caduceus, by John of Bologna.

No French packs, and very few English ones,
contain a Joker, since the games that call for
its use are not favourites in those countries. How-
ever, the Joker, with all its inherited value, is

228

AND PLAYING CARDS

known in the Japanese and Korean packs of
cards, where it seems to be of sporadic growth,
and is apparently not connected with the ancient
god, Mercury, the quondam ruler of the cards.

Nor are the makers of the French packs wed-
ded to one costume for the court cards, as are
those of England, where the slightest change in
(he dress, emblems, or colours, causes a remon-
strance from players, who insist on retaining
everything as they have been accustomed to it
for several hundred years. The English people,
however, do not reverence the images because
.they are those of their own royal families, for it
remained for an American to identify the origin
of the pictures, and to connect them with the
originals.

English players even resented the alteration
made about 1870, when the cards were cut in
two, and reversed, making what are known as
"double headers." These are sometimes de-
clared to be an American innovation, but in
"Cartes a Jouer," by M. Merlin, a pack of
Venetian cards, dated 1602, is illustrated, the
court cards of which are so divided.

Another novelty invented and introduced in

229

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

America, is the "index," or the number of the
card printed in the upper left-hand and lower
right-hand corners. This was necessary for play-
ing Poker, where the players keep the cards
squeezed together as closely as possible, to pre-
vent other players looking into their hands.
These useful little numbers have given their name
of "squeezers," or "indexed cards" to this fashion.
English clubmen, however, absolutely refused to
adopt cards printed in this way.

The costume of the King in English and Amer-
ican packs is a grotesque reproduction of that of
Henry VIII of England, and that of the Knave
is like the dress of the page of his day. The
long sleeves were nicknamed "pokeys," since
food or precious articles might be concealed in
them, so these bag sleeves were the ancestors of
pockets and reticules.

It is quite as important to retain the position
as the dress of each figure, if the wishes of play-
ers are to be respected. Thus, the King of Hearts
holds the sword of Mercury uplifted in his left
hand. It is an heraldic weapon, and not a rapier,
or what is known as a dress sword, that would
have been usual with the costume of the period.

230

AND PLAYING CARDS

His mate on the English cards, the red King of
Diamonds, has a battleaxe displayed in the upper
left-hand corner, and he is the only king whose
face is in profile. His right hand is raised, as
if bestowing a blessing.

The two black kings each hold uplifted swords.
That of Clubs faces towards the left, as does
the King of Hearts, but Clubs holds an orb in
his right hand. The King of Spades faces to-
wards the right. All the kings have long hair,
resting on the shoulders, and curling upwards at
the ends. They wear small, pointed moustaches
(with the exception of Hearts), and all have
beards divided in the middle and curled. Crowns
and long, flowing robes, trimmed with ermine,
complete the costume, excepting on the modern,
double-headed cards, where their royalties are
curtailed of half of their splendour.

It was once fashionable to assign names to
the royal family of cards. This custom has been
retained in France, and is the only one, with the
exception of the colour and designs of the pips,
that has been kept, for the early dresses have
been entirely discarded, and fantastic ones, with
no heraldic meaning and no inherited intention,

231

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

have been substituted. The revolution that over-
turned the throne of France also upset the cos-
tumes of the card world, that had closely re-
sembled the original designs up to that date, but
when royalty was banished, the cards followed
many and various fashions.

In the originals, the Knave of Clubs was
named Roland, for one of the heroes of French
literature in the time of Charlemagne. The king
of that suit has a legend printed beside his name,
"iaut sou," or "lack penny." The Queen was
called Tromperie.

The King of Diamonds received the historical
name of Corsube, and the motto of his Queen was
"en toi te fie," or "self-trust." The King of Spades
was Apollin, a Saracenic hero, and the Queen
of Hearts bears the motto, "La foie etsp. d. u."
or "lost faith." The date of these cards is about
1450.

In another pack, of probably nearly the same
date, the King of Hearts is named La Hire.
This was the nickname of the warrior who was
said to have assisted in the invention of the game
of Piquet, and the pips unalterably connected
with it. The King of Diamonds has, beside his

232

AND PLAYING CARDS

name, that of Hector of Troy, said to have been
the ancestor of the kings of France. The Knave
of Spades is Ogier the Dane, reminding the play-
ers of one of the peers in the time of Charlemagne.
The kings of this historic pack were Alexander,
Caesar, David, and Charlemagne. The queens
were Judith, Pallas, Argine, and Rachel. Ju-
dith was intended for Isabella of Bavaria, mother
of Charles VII, and a very disreputable person;
Pallas typified Joan of Arc, who gave her life
for her nation; Argine was supposed to represent
the wife of the king, Marie of Anjou; and
Rachel was Agnes Sorel, whose emblem, the
sorrel or clover leaf, had been placed among the
pips.

The Knaves in the card kingdom of England
wear battlemented caps of red velvet, shaped like
those worn in that country by the servant class
in the middle of the sixteenth century, when the
dress of each man and woman marked his or
her position with peculiar distinctness. To be
quite correct, the caps should be black, but the
touch of colour is well-liked on the cards. The
warriors or police of the pack are the black knaves
who hold pikes as weapons. The Knave of

233

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Clubs looks to the right, and his comrade to the
left. These cards typify Boaz and Jakin, or the
pillars of the Temple of Solomon, revered by
Freemasons.

The Knave of Hearts is a soldier, like his com-
rades, but of a somewhat higher grade, and he
carries on his right arm a halberd "at rest." In
his left hand is a branch of olive, representing the
messenger of peace, clearly descended from the
emblem of Mercury, whose wand was often used
as a flag of truce. The Knave of Spades carries
a twisted ribbon, strongly suggestive of the cadu-
ceus; and he is supposed to represent Patch, the
favourite court fool of Elizabeth of York. Both
the Knave of Hearts and the Knave of Spades
are in profile, and look over the left shoulder.
The hair of all is long and curly. With the
exception of Clubs, all of the Knaves wear mous-
taches, but no beards. Diamonds once sported a
quiver with arrows, but this has now become part
of the dress, and is difficult to separate from its
trimmings. Before they were so ruthlessly cut
in half, these Knaves had funny short, fat legs,
with broadtoed shoes.

The names given to the knaves in different lo-

234

AND PLAYING CARDS

calities and in different games are not written
on the cards, as is the case in France, but they re-
ceive them from the players, and are sometimes
historical and rather affording. In the old game
of Gleek, they were nicknamed Tom. In other
games, the Knave of Clubs was designated Pam,
and in Germany, he is called Wenzel, Wen-
celaus, or der Treffle-Bube.

Jack was the name given to all the Knaves in
All-Fours, which cognomen has clung to them.
In Euchre, the Knaves of Trumps are called
Bowers. The rules of that game make the Joker
the highest card, followed by the Knave of the
suit declared to be trumps, and the Knave of the
suit of the same colour. Thus, if Hearts are
trumps, its Knave is called "the right bower,"
and the Knave of Diamonds becomes "the left
bower." This word is a corruption of a dialect
word, meaning "young man," and was given to
the Knaves when Euchre was invented, about the
middle of the last century, at the same time that
the Joker was reappointed to his old place in
the pack.

In Skat and the games from which it has
been adapted, such as Tappe Tarot, of the Aus-

235

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

trians; L'Ombre, of the Italians, and Primero,
of the Spaniards and English (to all of which the
German game bears a strong resemblance), the
Knaves are called "Matadores." In France, the
Knave is called Varlet, or Valet ; in Italy, Fante ;
in Spain, Soto; but there are local nicknames for
all the Knaves in different countries and in differ-
ent games. Obermann and Untermann, or, for
short, Ober and Unter, are printed on the two
male figures in the German packs, where three
court cards are retained, but where no Queens
are to be found, although the Tarots had four
royal personages, including a Queen.

The attributes, dresses, and devices of the
queens of the card kingdom are historical and
most interesting, for, like their kings and valets,
their fashions have survived unchanged for prac-
tically four hundred and twenty-five years, since
the French cards were introduced into England.

None of the faces are in profile, but the Queens
of Diamonds and Clubs incline to our right, while
the Queens of Hearts and Spades look towards
our left. The robes are trimmed with ermine
and are confined at the waist by jeweled buckles.
A wimple or veil floats from the fair hair that is

236

AND PLAYING CARDS

parted over the brow and crowned with a diadem,
worn quite far back instead of on the top of the
head.

The representation of the Queens on the cards
is a close copy of the costume of the many por-
traits extant of Elizabeth of York, daughter of
Edward IV of England, wife OT Henry VII and
mother of Henry VIII. Some of her likenesses
are in different collections in England, the most
interesting one being in the National Portrait Gal-
lery in London.

The picture of Henry VII, which hangs as a
pendant to that of his lovely wife, is marked 1 505,
or four years before his death, and looks like an
elderly, careworn man, but that of his consort
was probably painted at the time of her marriage,
as she is portrayed as a young, sweet-faced
woman. It is this picture that has been placed
on the cards, where it has remained practically
unaltered for four centuries, while her husband's
likeness has not been perpetuated among the court
cards.

The reason for placing the likeness of Eliza-
beth of York on the cards may be briefly stated.
She was born in the palace of Westminster, Feb-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

ruary 11, 1 466, and was the eldest child of
Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. For
some years the little royal princess was heiress to
the throne. When his daughter was about nine
years of age, King Edward made an expedition
into France, and war with that country was
averted only by her submitting to become tributary
to the invaders. In the articles of peace, the
Princess Elizabeth was contracted to the Dauphin
Charles, the eldest son of Louis XI and the
great-grandson of the crazy Charles VI, for
whom the French pips were said to have been
invented.

"From the hour of her contract with the heir
of France, Elizabeth was always addressed in
the palace," says Miss Strickland in her "Lives
of the Queens of England," "as Mme. la Dau-
phine," so "the most illustrious Maid of York"
(as she was also called) was taught to speak and
write French by ladies sent to England by Louis.
They also dressed the princess in the latest French
fashions. The simple veil of fine white muslin,
that had been the customary court dress, was re-
placed by a velvet hood with long lapels heavily
jeweled. Flowing sleeves trimmed with ermine

238

FAN. PI SPADE

CAV. PI SPADE

66

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip and Court Cards of the Sword Suit

6 1 Seven of Swords

62 Eight of Swords

63 Nine of Swords

64 Ten of Swords

65 Knave of Swords

66 Cavalier of Swords

AND PLAYING CARDS

took the place of the tight ones with broad lace
cuffs that had formerly been the style in England,
and a robe confined at the waist by a girdle and
jeweled buckle took the place of the stiff, tight
bodice. All these items of dress have been
closely copied in the cards, where they may be
easily studied.

Elizabeth was also taught embroidery by her
French dame d'honneur, but, above all, was in-
structed to play with the cards bearing French
pips instead of those with German emblems,
showing Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and Bells, that
were probably used before that time in England,
since they are the only ones found in that country.

The marriage contract was treacherously
broken by the French king, who married his son
to Anne of Bretagne, and this slight to the Prin-
cess Elizabeth so infuriated her father that it
caused his death.

After years of sorrow and vicissitudes, Eliza-
beth married Henry VII, January 16, 1486, thus
uniting the houses of York and Lancaster, and
her heraldic rose remains on the cards to remind
us of this important event.

John de Gigh, a prebendary of St. Paul's,

239

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

wrote a Latin epithalamium on her marriage, and
a part of it describes this exalted lady on her
wedding day. A free translation of it may be
given as follows:

Oh! royal maid,

Put on your regal robes in loveliness.
A thousand fair attendants round you wait,
Of various ranks, with different offices,
To deck your beauteous form. Lo, this delights
To smooth with ivory comb your golden hair,
And that to curl and braid each shining tress,
And wreathe the sparkling jewels round your head,
Twining your soft, smooth locks with gems. This one

shall clasp

The radiant necklace framed in fretted gold
About your snowy neck, while that unfolds
The robes that glow with gold and purple dye,
And fits the ornaments with patient skill
To your unrivalled limbs, and here shall shine
The costly treasures from the Orient sands.
The sapphire, azure gem that emulates
Heaven's loftly arch, shall gleam, and softly there
The verdant emerald shed its greenest light,
And fiery carbuncle flash forth its rosy rays
From the pure gold.

This graphic description of hair, costume, and
ornaments seems to be still repeated in the cards

240

AND PLAYING CARDS

of to-day that closely resemble the portraits of
this dainty queen.

Elizabeth was a believer in fortune-telling and
consulted an astrologer on many occasions. It
was predicted that all sorts of good fortune would
befall her in 1 503, on the day that she completed
her thirty-seventh year. This is alluded to in the
elegy that Sir Thomas More wrote on his royal
mistress, describing in it the folly and vanity of
such divinations and their untrustworthiness, as
' follows :

Yet was I lately promised otherwise

This year to lie in weal and in delight;

Lo! to what cometh all thy blandishing promises,

O false astrology and divinitrice,

Of God's secrets vaunting thyself so wise?

How true is for this year the prophecy?

The year yet lasteth, and lo, here I lie.

It booteth not for me to wail and cry,

Pray for my soul, for lo, here I die.

For, after a short and sad married life, Queen
Elizabeth died on her birthday, February 1 1 ,
1 503. "She was," says Miss Strickland, "one
of the most beautiful of our queens. Her portraits
are numerous and her monumental statue is in

241

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

King Henry's Chapel at Westminster Abbey. It
was designed by Torregiano and shows the sweet
expression of her mouth."

The portrait of this lovely, gentle lady may
well remain as queen of the Card Kingdom, with
that of her son, Henry VIII, as king. In Eng-
land the Queen of Hearts is still frequently called
"Queen Bess."

The plaid or chequered backs fashionable at
one time on cards were later discarded, since they
could so easily be used by gamblers, who put
marks on the cards that could not readily be
discerned by unaccustomed players. The cheq-
uered backs gave nse to the supposition that
the board for playing chess had been transferred
to the backs of the cards, and the chessmen had
been converted into printed figures on the faces
of the cardboard. This idea has been proved
incorrect, since cards are in no way derived from
the game of Chess.

In France the backs of the cards are highly
glazed and are of a plain, uniform colour, gen-
erally red or green. In Spain card makers use
speckled backs. The modern Tarots have de-
signs engraved on a very thin paper that is pasted

242

AND PLAYING CARDS

on the back, the edges of which are turned over
the face of the card, making a narrow border.
These designs are sometimes "the woman of
Samaria," and at others a Hercules throwing
rocks down a precipice. The backs of old Eng-
lish cards were generally plain, and when paper
was scarce or expensive, old cards were too useful
to be destroyed, and were used for various pur-
poses; hence we find them in the bindings of old
books.

Sometimes they were cut up for paper dolls.
The richly dressed figures of the court cards were
ingeniously put to this purpose, while a skillful
cutter could with a pair of scissors fashion sleds,
chairs, tables, etc., from the pip cards.

In "Henry Esmond," Thackeray mentions that
an invitation was sent on a Ten of Diamonds,
and this was a common practice in America
before the Revolution. There are several cards
preserved in different families on which invitations
have been written or printed. One of them is
as follows: "Sir Jeffery Amhurst's compliments
to Mrs. Paul Miller, and desires the Favour of
her Company to a Ball at the New Assembly
Rooms on Saturday the 23d inst., being the An-

243

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

niversary of St. George. Head Quarters April
18th, 1763, New York."

In the days of Charles I and the Common-
wealth, there was a Sir John Northcote, ancestor
of the present peer, who took the Parliamentary
side against the king. His father was Justice
Northcote, who at a game of cards won an estate
in Devonshire from a Mr. Dowrish. The game
played was Piquet, and to commemorate this
transaction, the hands held by the players were
afterwards inlaid upon the table they used, that
is still preserved by the family.

244

AND PLAYING CARDS

CHAPTER XI
POINT CARDS WITH FRENCH PIPS

WHEN Mercury's emblems were discarded by
the French, some four hundred years since, to
be replaced by local designs, it was but natural
.that the points should be accorded original and
appropriate significances at their birthplace, as well
as in the alien countries where these new pips
were adopted. Names were suggested by the
shape or usage of the device in different games
or under noteworthy occasions.

Thus, the Pique of the French (the shape of
which was derived from the outline of the halle-
barde of the soldiers who were on guard about
their king) received from the English the name of
Spade, and for this several derivations have been
given. One of them is that the shape resembled
that of the shovel or spade common among
miners, but the more probable origin is the one
that is suggested from the Tarot pip called by
the Spaniards Espadas, the name of which was

245

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

transferred to the new emblem, which is a sug-
gestion that the Tarot cards were not unknown
in England before the arrival of the French pack,
although no cards of this period have been found
in England.

This is strange, for fragments of an old
pack called Dr. Stukley's cards are now in the
British Museum, bearing Bells and other German
emblems. They are of about the date of the in-
vention of the French pips, but since they were
found in the binding of a Latin book that may
have been imported into England, the originals
may never have been used in that country.

In Yorkshire, the common people call a Dia-
mond a "Picke," says Mr. Taylor, "because it
is picked or sharp-pointed as the diamond stone."
Other authorities declare that "it is to be gath-
ered from its resemblance to a mill-pick," and
others assume that the small window frames of
early days are responsible for the name Diamond,
as they were generally lozenge or diamond-
shaped. The name "Picke" may also have been
a corruption of the French Pique, assigned from
the original to the pip of another colour.

The name Club by no means describes the

246

AND PLAYING CARDS

clover or sorrel leaf that was the emblem adopted
by Agnes Sorel, but was probably the name orig-
inally given to the Rod or caduceus of the Tarots,
again showing that these cards were probably
known in England before the French pips became
fashionable. They may have appeared first at
court, and then among the noblemen and upper
classes, although it was probably a hundred years
before these emblems became common, as fash-
ions moved slowly in those days and cards were
not cheaply reproduced, but for some time were
expensive luxuries only to be found among the
rich.

Hearts are the only pips whose emblem is cor-
rectly described by its name.

The name of Ace seems to have been derived
from As or Asso, which was the unit of the
Roman coinage. It is represented by a single
device, placed in the centre of the card, a fashion
followed in all countries.

A nickname for the Ace of Diamonds in Ire-
land is "the Earl of Cork." This is explained
by Mr. Taylor, who says: "It was because it
is the worst Ace and the poorest card in the pack,
and the Earl of Cork was the poorest nobleman."

247

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

The Spaniards call the Ace of Money Le
Borgne, or "the one-eyed." The Trey of that
suit is Le Seigneur. The Trey of Cups is named
La Dame, or the Lady, and the Deuce of that
suit La Vache, or the Cow. The Nines of Cups
and of Money are "the great and little Nines,"
while the Ace of Sticks is "the serpent." This
is the caduceus of Mercury, around which orig-
inally were wound the two heraldic snakes, which
have now degenerated into two strips or rib-
bons.

The Aces of the Swiss pack have flags wrapped
around the central pip, and those of Germany
have beer mugs and kindred subjects printed on
them. In European countries, cards can only be
purchased from tobacconists or in beer gardens.

The Spaniards call the Two spot Dos, the
Germans name it Daus, and the French and Eng-
lish dub it Deuce. Although it is always the
lowest in the pack, since in almost all games the
Aces are "high," there is an old proverb which
says, "There's luck under the black Deuce," and
old whist players had a habit of trying to prevent
the good fortune from falling to an adversary
when they turned it up for trumps by saying, "Not

248

AND PLAYING CARDS

when the right elbow is on it," and suiting the
action to the word.

In England, at one time, the Nine of Diamonds
was called "the curse of Scotland," or "the cross
of Scotland," referring to the arrangement of the
pips, which, with the addition of a few connecting
lines, can be made to look like the heraldic St.
Andrew's cross on the arms of Scotland. Mr.
Taylor quotes on page 235 from "The Oracle or
Resolver of Questions" ( 1 770) , saying "the
Crown of Scotland had but nine diamonds in it,
so that was the origin of the name for that card."

An explanation is given for calling the card
"a curse," as there is a tradition that it was on
this card that "the Butcher Duke of Cumber-
land" wrote his sanguinary order after the battle
of Culloden, and yet another reason given is that,
in the game called after her, the Nine of Dia-
monds is named Pope Joan, to whom a large
forfeit must be paid. Old Chinese laquered
boxes, that also contained beautifully carved
mother-of-pearl counters (chips), always had
several little trays in them, which obviated the
necessity for spoiling a fresh pack of cards and
folding them for the necessary trays. The

249

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Chinese boxes had the Kings, Queens, Knaves,
and Nines of Diamonds painted on their bottom.
These were placed in the centre of the table and
the forfeited counters paid into them. The game
called for one chip to be paid to the King, two
to the Queen, three to the Knave, and four to
Pope Joan (the Nine of Diamonds), causing

this card to be disliked by players, who consid-

i •«. «* •»

ered it a curse.

We call the Three spot a Trey, which name
is probably derived from the Spanish Tres or the
French Trois.

The Four of Hearts is sometimes called Bob
Collingwood, and is by some considered an un-
lucky card, while the Four of Spades has received
the name of Ned Stokes; but these are probably
localisms and have but little interest for the gen-
eral public. The Four of Clubs is nicknamed
"the Devil's bed-posts," and in the old game of
Gleek all the Fours were named Tiddy. The
Four of Money frequently bears the emblem of
the double star, signifying the "house of David,"
that was one of the signs adopted by Freemasons.

In the game of Gleek the Fives were called
Towser, and the Sixes Tumbler, and these were

250

AND PLAYING CARDS

lucky cards, as they counted double when they
were turned up as Trumps.

"In Ireland," says Mr. Taylor, "the Six of
Hearts is called 'Grace's card,' from the spirited
answer returned by one of that family to Marshal
Schomberg, who sent to tempt Grace to espouse
the cause of William of Orange. A reply was
written on the Six of Hearts as follows: 'Tell
your master that I despise his offer, and that
honour and conscience are dearer to me than all
the wealth and titles that a prince can bestow.' '

Lady Dorothy Nevill, in her interesting book,
"Under Five Reigns," says (page 320) : "Visit-
ing cards, it is not generally known, originated
from ordinary playing cards, which were used
as such as late as the end of the eighteenth cen-
tury. A proof of this is that when, some time
ago, certain repairs were being made at a house
in Dean Street, Soho, a few playing cards were
found with names written on their backs behind
a marble chimney piece. One of the cards in
question was inscribed Isaac Newton, and the
house had been the residence of his father-in-
law, Hogarth, in one of whose pictures of Mar-
riage a la Mode, Plate IV, several 'playing card'

251

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

visiting cards may be seen lying on the floor on
the right side of the picture. On one of them is
inscribed, 'Count Basset begs to no how Lady
Squander slept last nite.' As time went on,
specially devised visiting cards with somewhat
ornate calligraphy took the place of playing
cards, and these, in time, developed into the small
and simple pieces of pasteboard in use to-day."
Although the Tarots and the cards of many
nations have well-decorated engraved backs, these
sometimes were simply chequered or covered
with tiny dots, which made some writers believe
the name Tarot to be derived from tarote, or
spotted; but this was not the case, since the orig-
inal name for cards was the "Book of Thoth."

252

AND PL AY INC CARDS

CHAPTER XII
"ACCORDING TO HOYLE"

THE ancestor of all our common games of
cards is probably L'Ombre, El Hombre, or The
Man, sometimes also called La Beste, the origin
of which has been traced to the middle of the
fourteenth century in Italy, where the original
Tarots were used as they are to-day. A modifi-
cation of the old game is called Tarroco, the rules
for which have been altered during the centuries
that have passed since the game was first taken to
the hearts of the gamblers, who succeeded the
fortune-tellers or the priests of Mercury. The
game having now but few interpreters, the cards
have nearly ceased to bear the messages of the
gods, and the cult of Mercury is forgotten.

L'Ombre was played during the fourteenth cen-
tury in Spain, and wandered to England, France,
Germany, and Austria. It still receives its original
title in the first two countries, and is played by

253

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

country folk, but in France it seems to have been
discarded.

Under the name of Skat, and played with the
pips of that country, a modified form of the game
is known in Germany. In Austria the game is
called Tappe Tarok, and the ancient names are
assigned to strangely designed cards quite foreign
to the original Tarots, although the pack includes
twenty-two Atouts and fifty-two pip cards that
bear the French, but not the Italian or German,
designs. For this game the old rules are largely
retained, and it is considered difficult and highly
scientific, so this rearranged pack has taken the
place of the old Tarots in Austria. Tappe Tarok
is a fashionable game in Vienna, where the
"Hoyle" of the day calmly announces that it
originated in that city with the cards invented for
it, totally ignoring the lineage of the true Tarots,
of which their Tarok pack is simply an alteration,
with the French pips exchanged for Cups,
Money, Swords, and Staves. That the new
symbols were adopted at the same time that the
emblematic figures of the Atouts were cast aside,
to be replaced by meaningless pictures, is most
probable, and one author declares that the change

254

AND PLAY INC CARDS

was made "lately," but a pack in the writer's pos-
session proves that such was not the case, for the
designs are those of the old Tarots.

After the fortune-telling pack had been
adopted for a tete-a-tete game, it spread rapidly
from Etruria to other places, and L'Ombre is
mentioned in early Italian books of history, ro-
mance, and poetry, where the game is frequently
called Tarroco or Minchiate. In England the
Poet-laureate Waller immortalized "a card torn
at L'Ombre by the Queen," who was Catherine
of Braganza, the wife of Charles II. It is Be-
linda's game in "The Rape of the Lock," and
in many pictures of that time players are depicted
either tete-a-tete, or else three persons are seated
at three-sided tables that were particularly fash-
ioned for this game; these are still treasured in
old mansions, where they are called Ombre or
Preference tables.

The Spanish nickname for L'Ombre is
Manilla, which is also that of one of their favour-
ite cards. Some of their towns have had this name
given to them, one of which is in the Philippine
Islands and one on the African coast. La Man-
illa is one of the "Matadores," the name given

255

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the four cards that are selected to outrank all the
others, and so called because they are "killers"
or "slaughterers," since they kill or take all other
cards.

The Ace of Espadas (Swords) is the first
Matador, nicknamed Espadilla, or little Sword,
after the H'arpe of Mercury that is represented
on this card, the suit being called after its emblem.
In England the card is called Spadille.

The second Matador is the one named Manilla
or Malilla, and is the Nine of Money. The third
Matador is the Ace of Sticks, called Basto, "he
who knocks or beats." It is the Caduceus, or
Rod, and the suit takes its name from it. In cer-
tain parts of the game it is played with great
effect, as is mentioned in "Cranford," by Mrs.
Gaskell, where is a description of some ladies
playing a game that was then called "Prefer-
ence"; where Miss Barker at the card table was
"basting most unmercifully, although she declared
that she was too ignorant to know Spadille from
Manille." The fourth Matador is the Ace of
Cups, and is called Punto, which means the point
or spot.

Players of Skat will readily recognize these

256

AND PLAYING CARDS

terms and the value of the cards. Rules and play
vary in different countries, so it would take close
study of each game to point out the various rules,
names, etc., that connect the games of the day
with their five-hundred-year-old ancestor.

In England the eldest descendant of L'Ombre
seems to be Primero, Prime, Prima-sta, or Prefer-
ence, for all are the same game. Some writers
claim that when Philip of Spain was wooing
Mary of England he taught her the game fashion-
able at the court of his father, Charles V, but
Primero was in vogue among the people from the
days of Henry VIII to that of James I, so much
so that Piquet, the French game taught to
Henry's mother when the French pips were intro-
duced into England, was greatly neglected except
in court circles.

In the Earl of Northumberland's letters we
find a reference to die game, as in one of them is
the following sentence : "Jocelyn Percy was play-
ing at Primero on Sunday in Essex House, when
his uncle the conspirator called on him."

In the Sidney Papers, Vol. II (page 83),
there is an account of Sir Walter Raleigh, Will-
iam Ambrose Willoughby, and Mr. Parker

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

"being at Primero in the Presence Chamber, the
queen was gone to bed. Lord Southampton, as
Squire of the Body, desired him, Willoughby, to
give over. Soon after he spoke to them again
that if they did not leave he would call in the
Guard to pull down the board, which Sir Walter
Rawley seeing put up his money and went his
ways." This occurred in 1 598.

In Marcus's "Life at Primero," many of the
terms used in the game are mentioned, such as
Prime, Rest, Eldest Hand, Flush, Stop, Pack,
etc., all of which have been adopted in one or
more modern games. In Minshew's Spanish Dic-
tionary there is an illustration of players at Pri-
mero in the time of Queen Elizabeth.

In "Capitolo del Gioco della Primera," by
Berni, the game is thus mentioned : "To describe
what Primera is would be little less than useless,
for there can scarcely be any one so ignorant as
to be unacquainted with it, although played differ-
ently in Florence from Venice, Naples, France, or
Spain, but none of these various ways of playing
the game are superior to the Rules of Rome,
where the game principally flourishes."

In one of the works of Rabelais, edited by M,

258

AND PLAYING CARDS

le Duchat, two kinds of Primero are described
called "the lesser" and "the greater." In the
former only pip cards are required, but in the latter
the whole Tarot pack is retained, as in Austria,
where Atouts and pip cards belong to Tappe
Tarok. The Germans play "the lesser Primero"
and call it Skat. This shows how widely the rules
of the game have parted from the original laws,
which is the reason that it is now almost impossible
to harmonize it with the fortune-telling game that
it was primarily. In Italy it is called Minchiate,
Tarocco, and Tarocconi. These now differ as
much from the original as bridge whist does from
these games.

The terms of the different games were fre-
quently used in old plays or romances in Eng-
land, as well as in other places. Shakespeare
mentions Primero in "Henry VIII" (v: 1) : "I
left the king at Primero with the Duke of Suf-
folk." Again, in "The Merry Wives of Wind-
sor" (iv: 5), Falstaff says: "I never prospered
since I foreswore myself at Primero."

Sir Harry Wildair (1 701 ) says: "The Capot
at Piquet, the Paroli at Basset, and then Ombre.
Who can resist the charms of Matadores?"

259

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Lady Lurewell answers: "Ay, Sir Harry,
and the 'Sept le va, Quinze le va' [of Basset],
'the Nine of Diamonds at Comet' [or Pope
Joan], 'three Fives at Cribbage and Pam,' the
'Queen to the Knave of Clubs in Loo.' '

The terms in Primero have been so generally
adopted in modern games that they are familiar
to all players, although as a collection they are
no longer used for one game. Primero is played
by dealing four cards, at which the players look,
and, if they are unsuitable, they say "Pass." The
Sevens are the highest cards and are worth twenty-
one points. The other numbers have values that
differ according to the locality where the game
is played. Quinola, or the Knave of Hearts,
represents the Joker, and the cards left after deal-
ing are not called the Widow or the Stock, as in
some games, but the Rest. Punto, or "point,"
is not the Ace of Cups, as in Spain, for in Eng-
land it is the Quinola. Flushes are four cards of
the same suit, and Prime is a hand in which
there are four cards of the same value, but each
one of a different suit.

Card games followed each other, first one
and then another becoming the fashion, only to

260

AND PLAYING CARDS

be replaced by a new one or a modification of
some old one, and after L'Ombre and Pref-
erence came Mawe, Post, Lodam, Noddy, Bar-
kerout (probably Baccarat), and countless
others, to the now all-important Bridge or Auc-
tion Whist.

Mawe is described in Mr. Singer's "History
of Playing Cards" (page 258) "as a playe at
cards grown out of the country from the meanest
into credit at court with the greatest." The game
is frequently referred to by name in books or plays
written about 1 580. The Ace of Hearts is called
Rumstitch or Romstecq, the name given to Mawe
in the Netherlands. In Germany the game is
played with a Piquet pack of thirty-six cards, and
any number of persons from two to six may form
the party. The Italians call a similar game
Romfa.

Noddy is a childish game, but it was fashion-
able in the seventeenth century, and is frequently
referred to by writers of that time.

Gleek is described in Cotton's "Complete
Gamester," where it is called "a noble and de-
lightful game or recreation." It is also mentioned
by Villon, who wrote in 1461, and other contem-

261

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

porary authors. M. le Duchat, the editor of
Rabelais, declares that the name is derived from
the German word Cluck, meaning chance or luck.
It is played by three persons only, each of whom
is dealt twelve cards, eight being left in the
widow, that is called the "stock." The Deuces
and Treys are taken from the pack. If the Four
is turned up as trump, it is called "Tiddy," and
each player pays four counters to the dealer. A
Mourival is a hand holding all the Kings,
Queens, Knaves, or Aces. The players bid for
the stock, as is done in Nonsuch Euchre. The
eldest hand says, "I'll vie the Ruff"; the next,
"I'll see it"; the third, "I'll see it and revie it,"
or, "I'll not meddle with it," which terms are
closely copied in modern games. The Ruff
is the highest flush, or else four Aces. The game
of Ruff seems to have succeeded Gleek, and many
games have been evolved from it, including
Bridge, Poker, and Euchre, each one of which
has adopted certain rules to the exclusion of
others, in this way making such different games
that few people can trace them to the originals.
To ruff is a term still used by provincials, by
which they mean to revoke.

262

AND PLAYING CARDS

The steps from Ruff to Bridge are called by
different names, such as Trump or Triumpo by
the Italians and Spaniards. "Ruff and Honours,
Alias Slam, was once a favourite in England,"
says Cotton in 1 680.

In 1737 Richard Seymour published some
rules, in which he says: "Whist, or the silent
game, vulgarly called Whisk, is said to be very
ancient among us, and the foundation of all the
English games upon the cards." Dean Swift
declares that in his time "Whisk was a favourite
among the clergy."

"His pride is in Piquet," says Lord Godolphin
in Pope's "Moral Essays," showing the position
that this game occupied in England in 1 733, about
three hundred years after its introduction to the
English court. It is still played at the clubs
to-day, showing what a strong hold it has upon
the affections of card players, and its original
rules are hardly altered, while the cards remain
practically the same as when invented by La
Hire, Etienne Chevalier, and Jacques Coeur.

It is supposed that the first reference to Piquet
in print is in the works of Rabelais, already
quoted from ( 1 533 ) . Probably the earliest book

263

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

of rules is the one published at Rome in 1647,
and translated into English in 1652. The rules
were very much the same as those laid down after-
wards by Cavendish in 1882. The "point" was
called the "ruffe," or, in French, Ronfle.

In "Les Facheux," by Moliere (1661), there
is an interesting Piquet hand described by Al-
cippe, one of the players. In 1646 a Ballet du
Jeu de Piquet was produced, in which the
dancers were ranged according to their colours,
the blacks opposite to the reds and both sides
headed by the court cards. This ballet became
a great favourite and was often produced, as it
interested the audiences, who appreciated the
various movements of the dance that reproduced
and corresponded with the play of the game.

English and French plays frequently refer to
the card games of their day, and Piquet is often
mentioned. In the Epilogue to "Sir Harry Wild-
air" (1701) is the following:

Vat have you got of grand plasir in dis town?
'Tis said Vidont is come from France, dat vil go down.
Piquet, Basset, your vin, your dress, your dance,
'Tis all you see tout a la mode de France.

John Hall was one of the early writers in Eng-

264

7*

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip Cards of the Money Suit

67 Ace of Money

68 Deuce of Money

69 Trey of Money

70 Four of Money

71 Five of Money

72 Six of Money

AND PLAYING CARDS

land who referred to Piquet, originally called
Cent in that country. He says, in 1646, "a
man's fancy (or character) would be summed
up at Cribbage; Gleek requires a vigilant mem-
ory, Mawe a pregnant agility, Picket a various
invention, Primero a dexterous kind of rashness."

In 1659 a curious pamphlet was published
called "Shuffling, Cutting, and Dealing in a Game
at Pickquet," a political squib which used the
terms of the game to describe the politicians.

Hamlet says: "How absolute the Knave is.
We must speak by the card or equivocation will
undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three
years I have taken notice of it, the age is grown
so picked (piqued)."

As the French cards, with the game of Piquet
for which they were invented, were introduced
into England in the time of Edward IV, it is
possible that Hamlet used a familiar term when
he declared the age was picked, as this is an
expression frequently used in the game.

It is generally supposed that Euchre is a variant
of the French game Ecarte, the name of which
is taken from one of the rules, meaning "to put
away or discard." In the United States, Euchre

265

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

was adopted about 1840, appearing first in the
Middle West. It was for this game that the Joker
was reinstated in the pack, a card that at first was
a blank one left imprinted, but its adoption
was accomplished very slowly, and it did not
change the games or completely dominate the
packs until within the last few years.

Others assume that the game had a nautical
derivation and was invented by old salts, as the
names given to the commanding cards have refer-
ence to the forward anchors of a ship.

In the year 1870 the first celebrated and au-
thentic illustrated history of the game of Euchre
was published by Bret Harte:

Which we had a small game,

And Ah Sin took a hand;
It was Euchre, and the same

He did not understand;
But he smiled as he sat by the table

With a smile that was childlike and bland.

The verses continue describing the game, in
which all cheated, and its disastrous termination,
"When we went for that Heathen Chinee," is
too well known to require repetition.

266

AND PLAYING CARDS

In early editions of "The American Hoyle,"
as the book is called which is the acknowledged
authority on card games in this country, the his-
tory of Euchre is given tentatively, but the account
is rejected by later editions, or, at least, not repub-
lished. Although the compilers of these later
editions evidently did not value, or perhaps credit,
the history given by their predecessors, it may well
be quoted, since no other has been advanced.
The edition of 1864 says:

"The origin of this fascinating game is some-
what uncertain. From the fact that the word
Bauer (a peasant) is pronounced similarly to the
names of the leading cards of the game, some
have supposed it to be a German invention, yet
the game is unknown in Germany except in those
parts where it was introduced by wandering
Americans." Nor do the German pips and cards
lend themselves to the chief features of the game,
particularly since they have no Joker, which is
the most important card in Euchre.

In speaking of this game, Hoyle writes as
follows: "As it has been traced to the counties
of Bucks, Lancaster, and Lehigh, in the Stale
of Pennsylvania, where it first made its appear-

267

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

ance about forty years ago, it is not difficult to
conjecture how it arose. Some rich farmer's
daughter of those American Teutonic regions had
occasion to visit Philadelphia, and carried back
to her home a confused memory of Ecarte. From
her dim account one of her ingenious rustic beaux
created the rudiments of the original game of
Euchre, which it is claimed is a corruption of
Ecarte, which by alterations and additions grew
to what it is. Conjectural as this is, a number
of corroborative facts seem to indicate that it is
the fact."

So far "according to Hoyle," but any one who
has studied games and their sequences may also
suppose that among the descendants of the Prince
of Hesse's soldiers who were left after the war
with England to spend the remainder of their
lives in exile, the old games common in their
country were remembered, and a game was
evolved that suited the cards with the French pips,
which were the only ones obtainable in this
country, even although they differed from those
of the Fatherland. Euchre resembles Gleek
or Gliick, a game well known in Germany,
so the tradition of the farmer's daughter, al-

268

AND PLAYING CARDS

though ingenious, is probably without foundation.

Many of the terms used in Euchre and Nonsuch
Euchre are probably derived from the dialect
spoken by German immigrants and their children.
The name Bower is the American-German word
signifying "youngster," which may well describe
"the Knave child," as it was at one time called in
England. This word was naturally bestowed by
Pennsylvania Germans on the card, for they still
speak a patois peculiarly their own and clearly
derived from their ancestors. It was probably
they who gave this name to the Knave, and it is
retained for the aforementioned game, where cer-
tain Knaves have a particular value.

The word Euchre seems likely to have been
derived from the shout of exultation usual when
playing certain games of cards in Germany, al-
though the evil tendencies of the imp who presides
over the spelling of English words has altered the
original word Juch to the peculiarly unmeaning
one of Euchre.

Juch pronounced Yuch, is a cry of exhultation.
There is not only a verb to cry out, Juch, but
a somewhat unusually constructed noun made
from that verb, which is Jucheier; whereas Jucher

269

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

would be the normally constructed noun made
from that verb. Therefore, it seems quite natural
to assume that Jucher, describing a player shout-
ing with exultation when winning a point, must
have been used unconsciously, whether this word
is to be found in the dictionary or not, for it is
certainly this exclamation that is used as the player
throws down the card winning the third trick in
Euchre when the opponent has ordered or taken
up the trump card or made the suit. The words
Keno or Domino are commonly used to declare
winning one of those two games, particularly in
foreign countries, and since Euchre is evidently
derived from alien games, and was introduced by
persons speaking a patois of English and German,
the name is probably taken from the verb men-
tioned. Ch is pronounced in German like K, so
Jucher has the sound of Euchre. In Grimm's
"Deutsches Woerterbuch," we find the following
definition :

JUCH (interjection). — A loud burst of joy. As
example, "The good man dreamed as if he were still
at the card club, shouting, 'Juch, Juch, Grun (the
leaf suit in the German cards) is chosen.' '

JUCHEN (verb).— To shout "Juch."

270

AND PLAYING CARDS

In the New English Dictionary, commonly
called the Oxford Dictionary ( 1 905) , we find the
following :

EUCHRE or UKER or YUKER.— Of uncer-
tain origin, supposed to be German. As Bower, one of
the terms used in this game, is of German origin, it
has often been supposed that the word Euchre is also
from the German, but no probable source has been
found in that language. Can it be that it is the Spanish
Yuca, in the sentence "Ser yuca," given by Cabillero as
an American expression for "cock of the walk," mean-
ing to "get the best of anything"? In 1847 Euchre
was common in Mississippi, and is alluded to in various
celebrated lawsuits growing out of disputes over the
game.

It would seem that the compilers of the English
dictionary had not given enough weight to the
localisms of Pennsylvania when they could dis-
cover only a Spanish derivation for the terms used
in Euchre, a game unknown in Spain. The game
that apparently started in the western part of that
State seems to have travelled down the Ohio and
the Mississippi rivers, for the earliest mention of
it comes through the boatmen on those great
streams.

271

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Poker seems also to be a game evolved by
gamesters of the United States from the old
Pnmero, with its ancient derivations, for so many
of the rules and expressions common in the mod-
ern game may be traced to the fourteenth century.
It is played by four or more persons, who bet on
the value of their hands, a pair being the lowest
and a straight flush being the higest hand, the
names of which were inherited and explain them-
selves. Jack Pot, Widow, and Kitty are some of
the cant words used in the game, the derivations
of which are evidently from Primero. The first
signifies the Pool under certain circumstances.
The Widow (or the forsaken, the discarded one)
was originally called the Stock, or the cards
unused after dealing. The Kitty is the name for
the forfeit paid at the end of each game by its
winner to the gambling house, that frequently
amounted to a considerable sum of money.

In 1 908, a variation of Poker was arranged in
England, although one writer thinks that it origi-
nated in China, but without giving any authority
for the statement. The game is called Poker
Patience. It can be played by one or more per-
sons, who are supplied with a board on which are

272

AND PLAY INC CARDS

twenty-five squares that, when covered with the
cards, according to the rules, will count ten poker
hands, five horizontally and the other five ver-
tically.

The first card is placed on square No. 1 3,
directly in the middle of the board, and the next
card played must touch the first one on one of its
eight adjoining squares. The third card should
touch either the first one or the second, and so on
until the twenty-five squares are covered. The
hands are counted exactly as in Poker, a straight
flush being the highest, and counting thirty points,
while a pair is rewarded with only one point.
The flushes are not of much scoring value, being
only five points, but they are not difficult to make.
This game is easy and interesting when used as
a solitaire, but when two or more players are
pitted against each other and bent on preventing
the score of the opponent, it will be seen that
there is a great deal of "play," for there are so
many cards left in the Widow that the game is
uncertain until its finish, as a card that is most
desirable may never turn up, and, therefore, there
is much chance as well as skill in the baby
prodigy.

273

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

"According to Hoyle" has become a proverb
among card players, most of whom could give
no more explanation for the term than they could
for the origin of Playing Cards, although it trips
so readily from the tips of their tongues. But
whenever a play at cards is disputed, the justi-
fication is that it is "According to Hoyle," which
leads to the query of how and where the sentence
originated that is freighted with so much weight
and expression. With this cant phrase goes
another, that was once frequently on the lips of
card players, which condemned an unlucky
player or a careless partner to "go to Halifax."

These proverbs will be explained by a cursory
glance backwards over the life story of Edward
Hoyle, born in England, in 1 672, near the little
town of Halifax, in Yorkshire. He was of a
good family and was educated for the law, for
which his clear, analytical, and logical mind
seemed to be particularly adapted. Living in
London, he amused himself in the evenings by
meeting some friends at what was the precursor
of men's clubs, the Crown Coffee House, in Bed-
ford Row, to play Whist or Triumph, a title that
was about that time shortened to Trump, a name

274

AND PLAYING CARDS

that is retained to designate the highest suit
elected by the players at the beginning of each
hand, either by turning up the last card of the
deal or by electing a suit according to the prefer-
ence of the players. The French retain the old
name of Atout for that purpose, although those
picture cards have not been used in that country
for centunes.

The first mention of Whist under the revised
name is in "The Compleate Gamester," which
was published in 1 674, and was intended to sup-
ply standard rules for the fashionable games of
the time. But Cotton's laws were confusing, and
the game was played in various ways in different
parts of England, since this standard was not uni-
versally accepted, and it is said that Whist was a
favourite only in the servants' hall, so that these
unarbitrary rules led to quarrels and sometimes
even to bloodshed.

But when Edward Hoyle became interested
in the game of Whist, he had for partners or
opponents some of the deepest players and most
distinguished men about town, and the gamesters
gradually adopted regular rules for their own
guidance, which usually originated with Hoyle,

275

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

so the fame of his decisions about disputed points
was noised abroad throughout London. This led
to his taking pupils at a guinea a lesson, and
finally Hoyle wrote out his rules for their benefit,
distributing them first in manuscript, but finally
publishing them in "A Short Treatise on Whist,"
for which he received one thousand guineas.
Hoyle's rules were adopted by the clubs and
players throughout England, so, when any dis-
pute arose, his book was consulted, and, instead
of the players saying, "It is the wish (or the voice)
of the gods," as had been the original custom
when consulting the oracles of Mercury, and
continued by card votaries, it became customary
to say, "It is according to Hoyle."

That gentleman lived until 1 769, and his rules
remained unaltered for over one hundred years.
In 1864, however, the Arlington and Portland
Clubs, finding that modifications were needed, re-
vised the rules, after which the "Cavendish rules"
became the mode, but books on card rules are
still issued under the name of Hoyle's "Games of
Cards," so "According to Hoyle" is still a fash-
ionable saying among the votaries of the card
table.

276

AND PLAYING CARDS

CHAPTER XIII
ENGRAVED CARDS

THANKS to the lovers of woodcuts, prints, and
engravings, the history of European Playing
Cards has been preserved. Through these it has
been investigated, as it would have been impossible
in any other way, since the men who are devoted
to the card table are not usually of an investi-
gating turn of mind, while those who prophesy
with cards prefer the occult and mysterious to
the scientific.

It was far otherwise with the dilettanti, who
recognised the master hand that had produced
beautiful pictures, intrinsically valuable, although
put to what, in the opinion of connoisseurs, was
a debased use. Since the cards, as gamblers'
tools, or the instruments of diviners, had little
attraction for print lovers, the latter traced the
origin of the cards from an interest in the method
of their production. But the history of these
instruments followed, since it was an integral part

277

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

of the story of the pictures that had at first been
produced by hand, and then by mechanical arts.
This led to an awakened desire to understand the
connection of the gambling toys with the period
when prints were first issued. But when these
learned men studied the histories of the European
countries for the first printed or legal record of
Playing Cards, and decided on the fourteenth
century as the date of their birth, they never
looked into the haze of the past to the period
when cards were not bits of pasteboard, but of
very different character. So the mystery of their
origin was not unfolded, although all of the writ-
ten records mentioned that cards were called the
Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, who was
evidently an unknown person.

It was owing to the necessity of producing cards
cheaply, on account of their widespread use, that
xylographic arts were invented and perfected, thus
leading the way to printing, that art which has
enlightened mankind as nothing had done before
in the same space of time.

Mr. Singer states that "the earliest examples
of woodcuts were intended for Playing Cards,"
although it is generally believed that the earliest

278

AND PLAYING CARDS

example of a woodcut that survives is the picture
of St. Christopher, which was discovered pasted
inside of the cover of an old book. Many Play-
ing Cards have been preserved in the same way,
since frugal persons utilized the precious paper
on which the cards were printed, and did not
waste it, as is done in this extravagant age.

That the oldest known print is that of a saint
does not disprove Mr. Singer's statement, for
many of the rude figures produced by the first
engravers served a double purpose, being equally
well adapted for court cards or as representations
of historical or saintlike characters, they were
often adopted first for the games, and then trans-
ferred to the homes of peasants, where the pictures
were accorded the name of a patron saint and
revered accordingly, so in many such places price-
less cuts and engravings have been found, and
from there have been transferred to museums or
to private print collections, where they are recog-
nised as rare and valuable specimens of the art of
the graver's tool.

These old figures and the cards that followed
them are not classed under the head of games
or Playing Cards, so students wishing to examine

279

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

examples of early European Playing Cards must
seek the print rooms of the British Museum, or
the Nuremburg Museum, and the national libraries
of Vienna, Bologna, and Paris.

Since among the first productions of the graver's
tools were gambling cards, Mr. Singer and others
have studied the games for which so much time
and labour were devoted. "It is evident," he
says, "that since the earliest specimens of engrav-
ing on steel and on copper both in Italy and Ger-
many are cards, there must have been a great
demand for them, and that their cheap produc-
tion was eagerly seized upon by the card makers,
who through it considerably shortened their
labours and increased their output, so from this
moment games with cards rapidly spread over
Europe," while the Book of Thoth was aban-
doned to gypsies and fortune-tellers.

The cards painted under Grigoneur for the
French king, and now in Les Cabinet des Es-
tampes, Paris, are probably the oldest extant, and
are about contemporary with the Italian packs in
Bologna and those in Mr. Morgan's collection,
that are painted, but not engraved.

A pack in the British Museum goes by the

280

AND PLAYING CARDS

name of Doctor Stukley's cards, for he was the
first to exhibit them. They are stencilled and have
German pips. There is no Queen among the court
cards, but her place is taken by a male figure
called Ober, accompanied by a King and Unter.
There are no Aces, so the cards were probably
intended for the popular game of Sixty-six.
These cards were rudely printed and coloured
with stencils. They were first shown to the
society of Antiquarians, London, November 9,
1 763, and have been frequently exhibited and
discussed. They were found in the binding of
an old book, supposed to be Claudian, printed
before 1 500, and to these we owe a debt of grati-
tude for exciting an interest in Playing Cards, to
which much of their history is due. The sup-
position that the German pips were used in Eng-
land before the French cards were introduced is
sustained only by finding this solitary pack. The
book itself was not printed in England, while
the name assigned to the suit of Spades is clearly
derived from the Spanish Espadas, which points
to the probability of the Swords, Rods, Cups,
and Money pips having been known in England.
The Trefle of France was called a Club, as had

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

probably been done with the Rod suit of the old
cards.

A nearly complete pack bearing these designs
and almost facsimiles of the Stukley pack is in
the Historical Society of New York.

Among the earliest specimens of ornamental
engraved cards are some that were executed at
Cologne, the different cards of which are so
widely separated that the complete pack can no-
where be found. Solitary examples are scattered
in different museums, where they are treasured
as beautiful representations of "the master's" art,
although no person knows his name. The wrapper
of these cards has been found, and on it is a well-
executed design of three ornamental crowns,
placed inside of Gothic arches, that are connected
by a gracefully twisted ribbon on which is the
inscription "Salve Felix Co/onza" which is the
only remaining clue to the engraver, the date of
execution, and the birthplace of the pack.

In it are five suits instead of four, and these
have original emblems that, however, never seem
to have been popular or intended for gambling,
or even for divination, but they were probably
the invention of the artist, who had little idea of

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the significance of the original emblems of Cups,
Swords, Staves, and Money, for not only was a
fifth and unprofitable suit added to the pack,
but the pips were changed to artistic designs that
may delight the senses of the connoisseurs, but
fail to appeal to a card player, since the designer
was evidently not as clever as the Frenchmen,
who invented a new set of emblems for their royal
master, and through constructing the game Piquet,
that could only be played with these cards,
clinched their adoption by players. The five
suits of these German cards were Hares, Parrots,
Pinks, Roses, and Columbines, with four court
cards to each suit, and they are illustrated in
"Playing Cards," by Mr. Singer (page 47), and
are attributed by him to Martin Schoen, or
Schongaur. "The costume of the figures," he
says, "belongs to the fifteenth century, and seems
conclusively to establish the fact." To this
statement other authorities do not agree.

One of the earliest examples of Playing Cards
executed on copper was produced in Germany
before 1446. The artist is known only by his
initials, and is called "The Master E. S." His
cards are original and finely executed, although

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

his emblems stray as far from the ancient ones
peculiar to Mercury as the games to be played
with them differ from divination. The devices
are Roses, Cyclamen, Savages, Birds, Stags, and
Lions. This "Master E. S." seems to have
copied most of his designs for a smaller set of
cards, and he also executed a pack that had
Shields, Flowers, Animals, and Helmets for pips.
These are artistically grouped, and the escutch-
eons display coats-of-arms of the nobility that go
far to establish the date of those that are not
marked. But the pips, although they were grace-
fully marshaled, were troublesome and confusing
to the players, which has caused these cards to
be chiefly valued as examples of the graver's art,
lacking the simplicity of the French pips, with
their harmonious red and black colours, these
peculiar designs failed to revolutionise the Play-
ing Cards in common use, as had evidently been
the intention of "The Master."

The little that is known of "E. S." points to
his having been the immediate predecessor of
Martin Schongaur, of Colmar, who was the un-
rivalled engraver of his time, and has been de-
scribed as the Van Eyck of engraving. He was

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AND PLAYING CARDS

"the actual creator of the art as practiced in
modern times," says Max Lehrs in his essay on
the Playing Cards engraved by this master. "To
him we owe the technical method of producing
the appearance of relief and solidity on a flat
surface by the combination of a number of paral-
lel lines on transverse lines, which effect had only
been obtainable before his invention by the addi-
tion of colour to the finished prints." His home
was probably in the vicinity of Freiburg, or
Breisach, and it is supposed that he died in 1 467.

The cards attributed to "E. S." are scattered
over Europe, but they seem to be universally ac-
knowledged as the first specimens of engraved
Playing Cards. The dainty pictures served as
models to the students of the Master, and have
often been copied or adopted as accessories to
other pictures. The Four of Men and the Ober
Knave of the same suit, the Four of Dogs, and
the Three of Birds were used to adorn the cover
of a Bible that is now in the University Library
of Erlangen. These designs were also used in
the tooling of other books.

Augsburg may lay strong claim to be consid-
ered the first seat of the art of engraving on wood,

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

as a Guild of Card Makers is mentioned in the
Town Roll of 1418. Sheets of cardboard on
which the pack was printed from the block,
but not yet coloured by hand, are to be found
in museums, and it is supposed that the celebrated
woodcut of St. Christopher, dated 1423, was
produced in Augsburg, which about that time
became the great exporting centre of card
makers, against whom the manufacturers of
Vienna, Venice, and Viterbo caused ordinances
to be passed in their respective cities, forbidding
the Augsburg and Nuremburg cards to be sold
within their boundaries. This law is enforced
to-day, which has prevented the introduction of
foreign or French pips into Austria and Italy.

An interesting sheet of cards produced by the
tool was acquired by the writer in Nuremburg
in 1910. It is about ten by twelve inches in size,
and is made of several sheets of paper pasted
together. The reverse side shows a lozenge
pattern, and each one of the spaces contains a
fleur de /zs, emphasised at the corner by a square.
The sheet has not been cut apart, and there are
eighteen cards printed on it, comprising all those
belonging to the court, and six pip cards bearing

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the usual German devices. The figures do not
include a Queen, but have the King, the Ober,
and the Unter. The King of Eicheln (or
Acorns) is seated, wears a crown on top of a
turban, and holds a sceptre. His Ober and Unter
both carry two swords. Their dresses are richly
trimmed and they wear lace at the neck and
wrists.

The King of Griinen (or Leaves) also wears
a crown on top of a turban, but holds his sword
in his right hand instead of his left, as is the case
with his brother of Acorns. His chair is more
ornate than that of any of the other kings. He
wears at his neck two muslin lapels, such as were
once worn with black silk gowns by ministers
when preaching. One of his Knaves plays a
flute, the other beats a drum. The King of Bells
wears a five-pointed coronet and has a book on
his knees. His Ober has a wig and a richly
embroidered coat, but is bareheaded, as is his
Unter, who is a ludicrously stout figure, parrying
a thrust with his sword from an unseen warrior.
The King of Hearts has a crown with fleurs de
Us, and on the side of his chair is an anchor
with the intitials M. S., leading to the supposi-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

tion that these cards were engraved by Martin
Schongaur, the successor to the "Master E. S."
The execution, however, is far inferior to his
usual delicate work. The Ober of Hearts is
armed with a pike and his hair is tied with rib-
bons, the two ends of which float carelessly down
his back. He and the Unter of his suit can
"ruffle with the best of them," for both have side
arms as well as long pikes, and their coats are
handsomely embroidered, while they wear lace at
the throat and wrists.

The four Deuces are on this sheet. That of
Hearts has an escutcheon on which is a lion ram-
pant. The Two of Leaves shows a deer and
a unicorn rampant regardant. The Two of
Acorns has a Bacchus astride of a beer barrel,
holding up the Cup of Hermes, and the Two of
Griinen has the sow sacred to Prosperine and
Mercury, that was always sacrificed to them at
the feast of Hermes, on the thirteenth of May,
when Spring commenced, and Mercury led Pros-
perine from Pluto back to earth and to her
Mother, Ceres. The pig was also sacred to
Nebo, so its position on the cards is fraught with
meaning. The Ten of Leaves and the Seven

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FAN.DI DANARJ

rr

EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS
Pip and Court Cards of the Money Suit

73 Seven of Money

74 Eight of Money

75 Nine of Money

76 Ten of Money

77 Knave of Money

78 Cavalier of Money

AND PL AY INC CARDS

of Hearts complete this valuable sheet that shows
an early process of card production.

A beautiful pack of cards was engraved by
Jost Ammon, who was born in Zurich in 1539.
His wood engravings are very numerous. He
died in Nuremburg in 1591. The interesting
cards attributed to him were published, it was
said, to inculcate "Industry and Learning" rather
than "Idleness and Debauchery," so may be
placed under the head of Educational Cards.
Each one shows a pip, under which is a clever
sketch that is fully described by some appropriate
Latin verses. The pips are Books, Winepots,
Cups, and Printer's Balls. One of the cards
represents a wood carver at work, supposed to be
a likeness of the artist. Another shows a printer.
A third has on it a bibliomaniac surrounded
by flies that he is striking at with a flapper, and
the accompanying verses are forcible, if inelegant.
On the Three of Printer's Balls are a lady
and gentleman playing cards. The Six of Wine-
pots shows two men at a game of Draughts.
Some of the cards have pictures of men and
women playing musical instruments, while others
depict various homely occupations.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

These symbols did not take the place of those
simple devices that convey at a glance to a player
the suit or number of a card, so necessary from
a gambler's point of view. Their authorship has
been disputed, but the cards remain as interesting
specimens of wood engraving.

The greater part of the early Italian cards
are printed with a pale ink of a grayish tint. The
earliest specimens are a set of Tarots that are
much larger than the standard size of Playing
Cards, being about four by six and a half inches.
These cards are finely executed, and are one of
the first of the educational packs, since the em-
blematic figures of the Atouts are Rhetoric, Arith-
metic, etc.

. The specimens of engraved cards of the Neth-
erlands are of a later date, being about the middle
of the eighteenth century. They are carefully
done, and the two red suits are distinguished by
being printed with a pale red ink, while the
Spades and Clubs are printed in black. These
cards are pretty miniature pictures, with local
figures and landscapes, while the pips are French
and are placed in the upper left-hand corner.

The Dutch have also several educational packs

290

AND PLAYING CARDS

of cards. Some are historical, with Kings,
Queens, and Knaves representing their royalties.
There is also one showing the chief products
of their kingdom and its dependencies. A third
pack illustrates the costumes of the different
provinces.

Germans, French and English were very fond
of teaching children through educational games
of cards, and a great collection of these
may be found in the print room of the British
Museum under the head of Lady Charlotte
Schrieber's Collection, but it is carelessly kept in
drawers, the packs tied with bits of string or
worsted, and it is difficult to study on this account.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER XIV

PLAYING CARDS FOR EDUCA-
TIONAL AND OTHER PURPOSES

IT WAS but natural that, from the very date
of the readjustment of the Book of Thoth, when
it was deposed from its high position of being the
voice of the gods to become the tool of gypsies
or the toy of gamblers, that invectives should be
hurled at it from the pulpit, from whence the
early war is continued, as well as from the
government, for when pleasure becomes a vice
it behooves those in authority to repress it, so as
to protect the unwary or the ignorant from traps
laid for gain against them.

Cardinal John Capistran, who visited Nurem-
burg in 1452, found the inhabitants devoted to
all games of chance, and so addicted to gambling
that the prosperity of the town was threatened.

The good Cardinal preached against the vice
of gambling with such fervor and eloquence that
the cathedral could not contain the crowds who

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AND PLAYING CARDS

went to listen to him, so a pulpit was erected
before the church, in the great square or Market
Place, under the clock, where a procession of wise
men bowing before the King still takes place
daily at noon, and from this rostrum the Cardinal
ordered that all cards, dice, chessmen, draughts
(checkers), etc., should be brought before him
and publicly burned; an order that was implicitly
obeyed.

How well the good man succeeded in oblit-
erating games of chance or hazard may be ques-
tioned, since Nuremburg is still one of the chief
centres of card making, the descendants of the
original makers being in active business to-day,
who sell sheets of cardboard that were concealed
for many years, on which the cards are printed,
but not cut apart, for probably the manufacture
was checked at the time, but never entirely sup-
pressed. The celebrated museum of the town
has one of the best collections of native Playing
Cards to be found, while the dramatic holocaust
is recalled with pride by the inhabitants, who
value the woodcut that is commemorative of the
event.

English preachers denounced card playing, and

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the Scotch dubbed the packs "The Devil's Pic-
ture Books." Robert Burns says:

The Ladies, arm in arm, in clusters,
As great and gracious a* as sisters,

On lee-lang nights, wi' crabbit leuks.
Pore owre the devil's pictured beuks.

The Sunday before Christmas, 1529, Bishop
Latimer preached a sermon against gambling at
St. Edward's Church, in Cambridge, taking for
his text "Who art thou?" and filling his sermon
with phrases that were culled from Primero,
which was the favourite game of his day. This
knowledge showed such an intimate acquaintance
with the game that his offended hearers used it
with great effect against him. The sermon is
now remembered only because of these phrases
and expressions that give students a clue to the
rules and play of the old game.

One ingenious preacher took for his text : "As
God has dealt to every man" (Romans xii: 3),
implying that the Almighty had sorted and dis-
tributed the cards of life. This practical allusion
to gambling so horrified his congregation that they
nearly pulled the minister from the pulpit. Yet

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AND PLAYING CARDS

St. Paul evidently referred to the "tablets of
fate," on which the destinies of men were written
at birth as "the measure of fate," since these
traditions must have been active in the mind of
the apostle. Modern people seldom place them-
selves in the atmosphere of Biblical times, which
leads to much misconstruction and misunder-
standing.

The various proclamations and edicts passed
against Playing Cards are a history in themselves,
although it is a pity that they are of too late a
date to throw much light on the first alteration
of the cult of Mercury into games, a change that
was probably gradual, and so insidious or secret
as to have no public record. Still, it is through
these legal papers that we get authentic dates
and the earliest mention of cards as gambling in-
struments or toys ; but at the end of the fourteenth
century, at a time when cards were denounced
as such, and by name there is still no interdiction
of fortune-telling, which may have been con-
ducted too secretly to occasion attention, or, per-
haps, the general law against vagrants or gypsies
may have been deemed sufficient protection.

M. la Croix says: "The Germans were the

295

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

first to apply cards to instructing young persons,
by endeavouring to teach them different sciences
illustrated by the cards, that had printed on them
historical tales, sums of arithmetic, heraldic de-
vices, astronomical symbols, bars of music, or
quotations from the poets, with the pips displayed
in the corners to deceive people into imagining
that they were enjoying a play, when in reality
they were being gently led along the paths of
learning, and that this idea seems to have found
favour in other countries, particularly in Great
Britain and France."

In this list of countries that adapted cards to
purposes of instruction might have been included
China and Japan, had M. la Croix studied the
games of those nations. The latter country has
two packs that are devoted to quotations from
the poets, or historical tales.

Numerous specimens of these educational cards
are now to be found in all card collections, al-
though to those who regard Playing Cards as
part of the cult of Mercury these instructive bits
of pasteboard are no more related to the Tarots
than are advertisements or school books.

There are some puritanical persons who regard

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AND PLAYING CARDS

Playing Cards with horror, and will not touch
"the devil's picture books" that display the sym-
bols of Hearts, Clubs, etc. ; but these same people
adopt with avidity these educational cards that
sometimes have the pips slyly tucked into a corner.
Or, perhaps, they use cards that have numbers
printed on them to indicate the pips, with other
marks to show the suits and the court cards, so
these good people play Grabouche, Pinocle,
Bezique, Flip, and other games that are, in truth,
recognised as games of chance.

In 1 507 a set of instructive cards was invented
by Dr. Thomas Muruer, the celebrated opponent
of Martin Luther. The pack was printed at
Cracow and called Chartiludtd Logicae, and
these were intended for the use of the inventor's
pupils in the art of reasoning. At first people were
delighted with them and their novelty, and then
they turned against this method of instruction and
threatened to burn the doctor for inventing them.

This pack was an imitation of the Tarots, and
was composed of ten logical cards with sixteen
suits of emblem cards, the pips being the German
Bells, Acorns, Leaves, and Hearts, with addi-
tional symbols of crayfish, scorpions, etc.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

When Louis XIV was eight years old, it was
necessary to educate him, but he was a dull and
reluctant pupil, so Cardinal Mazarin invented
some "instruction cards" for the youthful king
that illustrated fables and proved attractive to
others besides the agrammatist.

A little later, some cards depicting the history
of France were designed by the artist Desmarits,
who, finding that they were received with favour,
followed them with a geographical set, and then
with one called harlequin, in which the fig-
ures of well-known persons were grotesquely
dressed.

There are later French packs illustrating the
kings and queens of France, and also some that
commemorate the Revolution, the Empire, the
reign of the Orleans family, and that of Napoleon
III; for in that country not only were the cards
used for illustrating their historical events, but the
court cards changed their dress with the rulers,
not keeping to the costumes of the fifteenth cen-
tury, as the English cards have done.

The French also issued a pack of cards to
teach heraldry as early as 1680, and one for
music in 1 808, while in 1 820 two instructive sets

298

AND PLAY INC CARDS

were issued, one of them on botany and the other
one on astronomy.

Heraldic cards were published by M. Claude
Fine in 1659, and others were issued in 1725.
This idea was followed in England in 1 675,
when some German cards were adapted to the
needs of the other country. The Germans issued
another pack on which were heraldic devices in
1 700, and a similar one came out in Venice in
1 707. The cards are not useful for gambling or
fortune-telling, but they are ornate, and are fine
examples of print work, and as such find places
in collections.

In 1656 practical cards for teaching spelling,
arithmetic, etc., were issued in London by F.
Jackson, and at about the same time satirical and
political cards were published. Those interested
in full descriptions of these packs can find a list
in "The Catalogue of Playing and Other Cards
in the British Museum," by Mr. Willshire.

Cards for divination have appeared from time
to time, but the emblems were so fanciful and
so unauthoritative that the unhistoric designs have
not found favour. One of them in the British
Museum shows traces of being derived from the

299

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Tarots, as Mercury is seen hovering over a sail-
ing vessel under his guise of protector of mer-
chants. It is to be remarked that it is the Seven
of Bells and is called Commerce. The Eight of
Bells is the Wheel of Fortune. The Two of
Leaves is Hope, and the Six of that suit is the
Death card. Is is evident that the artist picked
out at haphazard certain designs on the Tarots
for imitation, and that he had no comprehension
of the meaning or value of the numbers, such as
three, seven, or thirteen, accorded to them by
mystics.

Humourous, or what are known as harlequin,
cards have been published in all countries, where
the emblems themselves have been taken for the
foundation of fantastic figures. One of these
packs was designed by Mr. William Thackeray.
There are several French and Belgian packs, but
far the best one was designed by Mr. Charles
Caryl and issued by Messrs. Tiffany & Co., New
York.

Musical cards are ingenious, and, by following
the rules, several pretty airs may be played.
Cards for the game of Authors were lately popu-
lar, and the game called Doctor Busby was a cap-

300

AND PLAYING CARDS

ital one for teaching children observation and con-
centration.

The Japanese cards, that have been referred
to, are original in conception and design. The
pack emblematic of the weeks of the year seems
to be intended for gambling, although it shows
no traces of a descent from the Tarots, for
the cards display no suggestion of the pips
or emblems of Mercury. Nor are there any em-
blematic figures like those of China, where the
cards show evident imitations of the Stave,
Money, and Sword pips, with some court cards.
The Japanese themselves declare that Portuguese
sailors introduced gambling cards into the country,
but the only proof lies in the tradition and in the
name by which cards are known in Japan, which
is Karta, for the Portuguese use cards with the
Cup, Money, Sword, and Stave pips, and no
traces of these are to be found on any of the
Japanese packs. In that country divining cards
or sticks are used, which seem to have been
inherited from China, and the methods of using
them follow closely the rules adopted in all prim-
itive countries, where the old superstitions referred
to in the Bible are still active and in force.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

A chap book of the late seventeeth or early
eighteenth century had a large circulation, for
it described one Richard Middleton, who, being
caught playing with a pack of cards in church,
was haled before a magistrate, who was amused
when the soldier declared that he looked upon
the cards as his Prayer Book, and described what
they conveyed to him as he ingeniously connected
each one with some Biblical reference.

This original description led to his release, and
it has frequently been quoted. A variant of the
story appeared in "The American Hebrew" that
is worth repeating, as the original Christian ideas
have been altered to suit the synagogue. It says :
"The Ace is the only God. The Deuce, the two
tables of stone that Moses broke at one blow.
Try to keep them. The Trey is the three patri-
archs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The four
is our four ancient mothers, Sarah, Rachel, Leah,
and Rebecca. The five, the books of Moses.
The Six, the six days of the week, and the Seven
is the Sabbath, when God rested and the seven-
branched candlestick was made. Eight righteous
persons were saved from the flood, Noah, his
wife, three sons, and their wives. Joab came to

302

AND PLAYING CARDS

Jerusalem at the end of Nine months. Ten
Commandments are the cornerstone of the juris-
prudence of the civilized world. The Knave is
the constable who took me up. He was a fool,
or he would not have disturbed me at my devo-
tions. Queen Sheba and King Solomon are the
Royal family. The former dressed fifty boys
and fifty girls alike in male attire, and, to test the
king, asked him to tell which were which. The
wise one ordered water to be brought, and then
quickly picked them out, greatly to the astonish-
ment of the queen ; but the children had betrayed
themselves, as the boys only washed their wrists,
while the girls washed to their elbows. Further-
more, there are three hundred and sixty-five spots
in a complete deck of cards, corresponding to the
days of the year, fifty-two to a pack correspond-
ing to the weeks. Twelve picture cards, one for
each month. Four suits, Spring, Summer, Au-
tumn, and Winter. Diamonds represent wealth,
Hearts love, Spades health and labor, and Clubs
power."

In the British Museum is a pack of grammatical
cards printed by Jane, June 1 , 1 676. A small
treatise of instruction that went with the cards

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

begins as follows: "To all ingenious gentlemen
the Purchasers of these Sciential cards. It was
Plato's custom, after he had ended his disputa-
tion, as he went forth from his school, to give this
admonition to his scholars, 'Videte ut ocium in
re quapiam honesta collocetis,' or, 'Nothing is
more irksome to nature than not to know how to
spend one's time,' and if the mind have not some
relaxation from its grave and Serious Employment
it cannot endure. I should have been very in-
jurious to you if I should have Obscured this
Grammatical Epitome and Deprived you of that
which will make much both for your Leisure and
Profit."

There is another pack in the same collection
with "a short tract" teaching their use, saying:
"For as your cards are entitled Hearts, Dia-
monds, Spades, and Clubs, so ours are to be
called by the names of Orthographic (Spades),
Etymologic (Clubs), Syntax (Hearts), and
Prosodie (Diamonds)." By such gentle paths
were men lured from vice to literature!

Astronomical cards were early adopted in Nu-
remburg, as was natural, for one of the most
celebrated astronomers lived in that town, and

304

AND PLAY INC CARDS

the Tarots certainly lent themselves more easily
to conceptions based on astronomy than to any
other science, since so many of the Atouts have
derivations from the planets. There are also
French cards that are dated 1620, and Italian
ones of about fifty years earlier, all of them being
on the same subject.

Many of the Atouts in the Tarots are con-
nected with the signs of the Zodiac, but the em-
blems on them are not clearly displayed, so infer-
ences from them are mere guesswork.

The astronomical cards of the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, showing the signs of the
Zodiac, are clearly inspired by the Tarots, but
the designs are supplemented by figures that show
no connection with the Book of Thoth.

An English pack, dated 1 700, called Virtues
and Vices, has the former so repulsively and the
latter so attractively displayed that they can serve
no good purpose.

Historical cards are interesting to students
of costume. In the United States one pack com-
memorates the war of 1 848 with Mexico, and the
Kings represent the generals of the day. On the
Aces are views of well-known country places,

305

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

One is of the headquarters of General Washing-
ton at Newburgh; another is Highwood, on the
Hudson River at Wiehawken, opposite Forty-
second Street, New York, the residence of Mr.
James Gore King.

A pack of cards of 1 863 represents the battle
between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac," and
the court cards are soldiers in the uniforms of
the day, such as zouaves, etc.

A pack in the British Museum displays small
and very indecent pictures with descriptive le-
gends. Some of the latter are amusing, such
as, "Hee that has no Head wants noe H'att."
Under the picture of a bachelor maid is:

I know well how the world waggs,
He's most beloved that has most Baggs.

Under the sketch of an old woman with her
pet is written: "Two heads are better than one,
which made the old woman carry her dog to
Market with her," and its mate has: "Men
and Doggs may goe abroad, but Women and
Catts must stay at home." Another reads:
"Two Doggs and a Bone, Two Catts and a

306

AND PL AY INC CARDS

Mouse, Two Wives in a House can never
Agree."

The picture of three doctors entering a room
with their sticks to their noses and approaching a
sick man bears the legend:

If you'll avoid old Charon, the Ferryman,
Consult Dr. Dyett, Dr. Quiett, and Dr. Merryman.

The following card has on it: "An Ounce
of Mirth is worth a Pound of Sorrow."

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER XV
EUROPEAN PLAYING CARDS

ACCORDING to Spanish writers, the authentic
history of Playing Cards in Europe begins about
1332, for they point with triumph to an order
issued by Alphonse of Castile, presumed to be
of that date, forbidding his soldiers to play games
or to gamble. It is pointed out by disputatious
writers that the command was not directed against
Playing Cards, since they were not expressly
mentioned by name, as are the other prohibited
games of chance. Then there is a second state-
ment that Charles V of Spain, in 1369, de-
nounced cards, calling them by the local name
of Naipes, or prophets; and also a third record
that, in 1 387, dice, cards, and chess were banned
by John of Castile.

It is evident through these trustworthy records
that gambling was widely practised in Spain,
and that, even if cards were not particularly
named in the first-mentioned edict, it was but little

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more than eighteen years later that they had be-
come so common it was necessary to forbid their
use through an official decree.

In 1395 the Provost of Paris issued a procla-
mation against Playing Cards, showing that their
abuse in the capital of France had become in-
tolerable. With these and other evidences, it may
well be asserted that by the beginning of the
fifteenth century Playing Cards were commonly
known in the capitals of Europe, where they were
publicly used for games and gambling, as well
as for fortune-telling.

It has already been mentioned that there are
records of Playing Cards in the "Red Book of
Ulm," of 1397, and an account in Nuremburg,
dated 1384, when a monk preached against
the inordinate love of gaming among his congre-
gation.

Aretino assigns the invention of cards, as well
as of chess, to Palamedes, in the Grecian camp
before the wall of Troy, thus claiming a very
early date for their introduction to Europeans;
but, while little credence has been placed on this
record, it is more than probable that Tarots were
part of the equipment of the camp if the soldiers

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

wished to have their future foretold by the mes-
senger of the gods, and gambling sticks, made of
ivory and marked with men's heads, have been
found in the tomb of King Qa, at Abydos,
Egypt.

History states that the Crusaders played at
"tables" (as draughts or checkers were then
called), and also that King Richard Cceur de
Lion was fond of chess; but the English histories
do not mention cards at that date. German
authors infer that cards were introduced into
Europe by the Crusaders, who, finding the Tarots
common among their enemies (or prisoners), the
Saracens, learned to play from them, and as the
pictures on the cards were attractive, they used
them to send home as missives to their families,
and these authors support their theory by pointing
out that cai^ds are still called "briefe," or letters,
in Germany, while we might say that these pic-
tures were the ancestors of the postal cards of the
present day.

Writers harp on the lack of historical data con-
cerning Playing Cards before the middle of the
fourteenth century, oblivious of the fact that pre-
vious to that time it is probable that Tarots would

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AND PLAYING CARDS

not have been classed with games, and that
educated people had not learned to use the pack
for amusement, nor had the lower classes grasped
the fact that they could be converted into a means
for gambling, so they disregarded the ancient sym-
bols, which they considered only useful for for-
tune-tellers, so cards at that date would not have
been classed as gambling tools.

As soon as a game was arranged for the cards,
however, they were eagerly adopted by all classes
of society as a welcome diversion. From that
time on, numerous descriptions are to be found
in the archives of European countries, appearing
almost simultaneously. Gough (a writer men-
tioned by the Rev. Edward Taylor in his "His-
tory of Playing Cards," page 187) expressly
states that "the Italian game called La Minchiate,
which was played with the ancient Tarot pack,
was invented at Sienna by Michael Angelo to
teach children arithmetic." It would seem that
the writer was slightly confused in his ideas, for
the cards invented for teaching arithmetic were
not true Tarots. He may be correct, however,
in supposing that cards were arranged by the
painter for educational purposes, and that they

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

followed closely the number and arrangement of
the older pack, for there are such cards still to
be found in collections, although hardly of sc
early a date.

There seems no reason to doubt the record
that "Francis Fibbia, of Pisa, invented the game
of Tarrochino (or little Tarots), in 1419, re-
ceiving as reward the permission to place his own
coat-of-arms on the escutcheon of the Queen of
Staves, and that of his wife on the Queen of
Money," as stated by Leopold Cicognara, for we
are told that there is a picture extant showing this
prince with a number of cards scattered before
him, on which are these arms, so it may be that
he arranged a game for common use from the
more ancient one of L'Ombre, since the games
closely resemble each other, and the former is
popular to-day in parts of Italy, where the ancient
Tarots are still used.

Rafael Maffei, who lived at the close of the
fourteenth century, has left a description of what
he calls "a new invention," or a game played
with Tarots. A Bolognese gentleman named In-
nocento Renghierri, who lived in 1551, declared
that "cards were invented in days of yore, and

312

HUSAR.

79

80

81

82

85

GAMBLING AND EDUCATIONAL CARDS

79-80-81 Swedish Cards for old Cucu game.

No. 80 is the Joker.
82-83 Korean Cards showing numeral and suit

marks with feather design on reversed

card.

84-85-86 Japanese Educational Cards with quota-
tions from favorite poets, for game
of Hayku-Niu-Isshu.

AND PLAYING CARDS

by an industrious and very learned person." Un-
fortunately, neither the name of the inventor nor
the date is mentioned, for, if given correctly, it
might have saved much trouble and dispute.

In the "History of Viterbo," by Feliceano
(1742), there is a statement quoted from Covel-
luzzo that cards called Naib were introduced into
that city in 1279 from a Saracenic source. This
name given to the cards in Italy is interesting,
since it is the one used to-day in Spain, for which
various derivations have been given. It was
probably derived from the Hebrew word for
prophet, emphasising the original intention of
cards for divination purposes. It seems strange
that one of the best known and most widely
spread cults has received so little recognition or
study among those who have interested themselves
in the religious progress and civilization of man-
kind. Even if regarded as toys or gambling in-
struments, Playing Cards certainly fill a great
part in the lives of men, while their origin and
the influence they have wielded in the past
should surely have created more interest than has
been the case.

A Frenchman, Pere Menestrier, studied the

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

history of the cards that were known to him as
early as 1 704, when he published "Des Principes
des Sciences et des Arts Dispose en Forme de
Jeux." Others followed his example, but they
all looked upon cards simply as gambling instru-
ments, or regarded them as interesting historical
fashion plates picturing French celebrities, or else
as rare engraved plates; so they treated the cards
of their own countries only from this point of
view. Of course, most of the writers knew only
the cards of their immediate surroundings, and,
if they ever were cognizant of the ancient Tarots,
disregarded them entirely.

When, in 1836, Samuel Weller Singer pub-
lished his "History of Playing Cards," he was
interested in engraving, with its kindred arts, and
he found that the earliest work on wood or metal
had been done to reproduce cards. This book
was followed by the "History of Playing Cards,"
by William Andrew Chatto ; "Origin of Playing
Cards" (1865); "History of Playing Cards,"
by Rev. Edward Taylor, and many others. Al-
though two persons in the priesthood devoted time
to studying cards, they did not do so with refer-
ence to their religious influence on their congre-

314

AND PLAY INC CARDS

gallons. Still, they acknowledged with surprise
that these unbound leaves offered an interesting
study, and, while each one pointed out the prob-
able connection of Playing Cards with the Book
of Thoth and the cult of Mercury, not one of
them proved the statement, but slurred it over,
as if rather ashamed of the idea, although the
fact could easily have been proved through a
careful examination of the marks, the pips, and
the emblems on the cards themselves, that are so
undoubtedly the heraldic devices through which
Mercury is always recognised, and which he
received from the most ancient forms of worship
in Babylonia.

These authors, with other German, French,
and Spanish writers, unanimously decided that,
since there is no legal record or trustworthy men-
tion of cards intended for use in games before the
year 1392 (the one that they seemed to agree
upon, ignoring the account given of the martyr
dom of St. Cyprian in 258, who was killed for
remonstrating against playing cards), and since
chance has not disclosed a hitherto unknown
monument to their birth and cradle, that these
playthings were suddenly invented just about the

31S

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

date when they appeared simultaneously all over
Europe for the amusement of pleasure-loving
mortals. However, they quarrelled a bit as to
whether cards were first known in the Occident
or in the Orient, but none of the authors studied
divination, and the rules known to astrologers, for-
tune-tellers or gypsies that are carefully preserved,
as well as the evident connection of Playing Cards
with the tools of the diviners of ancient days.

These authors proved entirely too near-sighted
and would not read what the cards themselves
displayed before their semi-opened vision, prob-
ably because they despised the professional
prophets. Besides, the French, Spanish, German,
and English writers each claimed for his own
country the first knowledge of Playing Cards
used for games, without recognising that their
bantlings all came from a common mother stock,
the great Tarot pack. Thus the arguments,
deductions, and theories of these writers can com-
mand respect only to a limited degree.

Merlin and Chatto have treated cards as inter-
esting examples of the xylographic art, and it is
certainly true that they were an important factor
in developing it; but this period in the history of

316

AND PLAY INC CARDS

Playing Cards was by no means its childhood,
as the writers seem to consider. Many of them
did not know that almost every one of the Euro-
pean countries had emblems peculiar to the local-
ity, which is also the case in Asia. None of the
museums have even now any packs except those
peculiar to their own State.

In the Middle Ages games became necessary
amusements in camp and home, so there was a
demand for a rapid and inexpensive form of re-
production that should take the place of the ex-
pensively painted replicas of the Book of Thoth,
which before had been within reach only of the
wealthy.

Of course, the original emblems had never been
entirely lost or forgotten, but had been concealed
in the hands of the initiates, who regarded them
with reverence and transmitted them secretly from
one to the other, but did not use cards for
gambling or amusement. These persons did not
reveal the history or import of the Book of
Thoth to the triflers of the outside world, and
had no desire to see their treasured secrets
cheaply reproduced, to be carelessly handled by
curious or pleasure-loving people.

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PROPHE TICAL, EDUCA TIONAL

The author of "The Game of Gold," pub-
lished at Augsburg in 1 472, says he has read that
"the game of cards was introduced into Germany
in 1 300." This is one of the first written accounts
of Playing Cards used for games. It was pointed
out by Chatto that there is a Chinese legend
claiming Playing Cards as being used in China
some two thousand years before Christ. Doubt-
less the Chinese recognized that their games of
divination, as still commonly played, were iden-
tical with the cards used for chance, as the little
flat cards are still used for both purposes.

When Columbus made his first voyage across
the Atlantic, his men gambled continually, and,
although the superstitious sailors threw the cards
overboard when they feared that they would
never reach land, they manufactured new ones
immediately on their arrival in America, and
taught the savages their game, so we know with-
out question that cards reached America in 1 492.
They were called Naypes and bore the emblems
of Swords, Money, Cups, and Rods.

After these records of Playing Cards come
some that are of later date. In "Capitolo del
Gioco della Primera," by Berni, published in

318

AND PLAYING CARDS

Rome in 1526, the author claims that "playing
cards were invented by King Ferdinand," which
statement may be regarded with amusement, since
other Italian records prove an earlier date.

There is an interesting invective against cards
published in 1 550, called "II Traditor," which
may be translated :

What is the meaning of the female Pope,

The Chariot and the Traitor,

The Wheel, the Fool, the Star, the Sun,

The Moon, and Strength, and Death,

And Hell, and all the rest

Of these strange cards?

Showing that the Egyptian temples had not
disclosed their secrets that identified these pictures
on the Tarots common in Italy with the cult of
Thoth, Mercury, and Nebo.

Painters have transmitted to us pictures of
many games of cards, and perhaps one of the
earliest is the one ascribed to Van Eyck, of
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, about the
year 1493. The early Dutch painters often
depicted boors playing cards, and those by Jan
Steen, the two Teniers, and. others are well

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

known. H'ogarth devoted a series of engravings
to depicting grotesque figures playing chess,
draughts, and cards.

After the fourteenth century, it is easy to learn
the important position that Playing Cards reached
in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and England
through the works of other painters, miniaturists,
and engravers, while books such as "Fortune-
Telling," by Francisco di Milano, published in
1 560, or the one by Francisco Marcolini, pub-
lished in Venice in 1 540, prove the hold that the
new amusement had taken on the people at that
time.

Proclamations against cards followed each
other rapidly from State and Church, so histories
are filled with the denunciations of the clergy
of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries against
the old sin that had reappeared under a new form
for them to combat. Mercury was as active as
ever, and had quite as strong a hold on the affec-
tions of the people as he had in the days when St.
Paul landed in Italy, close to the Temple of
Mercury, and it was quite as hard to overcome
his influence as it had been when Christianity
first began to overthrow the heathen gods. Per-

320

AND PLAYING CARDS

haps the day may come when those who believe
in fate and predestination will confront these
preachers with the divine commands to consult
the prophets so often mentioned in the Bible,
notably when the Rods of the Israelites were
marked and laid before the testimony.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER XVI
ASIATIC PLAYING CARDS

IT HAS long been the opinion of students that
the key to many things that are mysterious to
Europeans could be found through studying the
habits, customs, games, or cults of Asia and
Africa, whose people cling to ancient ideas and
habits, so through looking at things with their eyes,
and listening to their views or opinions on the
everyday happenings of life, that the tangled
skeins that puzzle our academically trained minds
would be unravelled.

Much has been done in this direction by Mr.
F. H. Cushing and Mr. Stewart Culin, who have
discovered, by patient research in America and
the Eastern part of Asia, the value of the arrow
in divination, in music, in money-making, and in
symbolism, as well as in war, for which purpose
it was primarily intended. It was put to minor
uses by its simple adaptability to the needs of the
people, who were direct in their purposes, and

322

AND PLAYING CARDS

who used the tools that were at hand no matter
for what they were originally intended.

Any student of the Bible knows how often the
gods were appealed to, not only through the dif-
ferent offerings, but also for the purposes of di-
rectly divining their wishes, which was done most
frequently through a simple stick that could be
cut from any sapling. This became in turn a
"divining arrow," or a magician's wand when in
the hands of the Egyptian magi. "The staff of
Moses" as used during the plagues of Egypt, or
the rod "that put forth leaves" when marked with
Aaron's name. Small wonder, then, that the
"golden-leaved rod," or Aurea virga, given by
Apollo to Mercury, was a venerated symbol,
probably derived from the Egyptians, and by
them from the Assyrians, where it was symboli-
cally used in the worship of the gods, and when it
was placed on the cards all persons could under-
stand at a glance the intention and meaning of
the Rod. It was not only adopted from the
Babylonians, who used it with the serpents twining
around it exactly as it is seen in Mercury's hands,
but the people had seen it put to practical use
by the great marshal of the Israelites, who con-

323

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

founded their wise men, or magi, with their own
weapons. "And the Lord spake unto Moses and
unto Aaron, saying: . . . Take thy rod
and cast it before Pharaoh, and before his
servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pha-
raoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers;
now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like
manner with their enchantments, for they cast
down every man his rod, and they became ser-
pents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."
(Exodus vii:9.) Then Aaron was commanded
to take "the rod which was turned to a serpent,"
and to "smite the waters that were turned into
blood" ; but the magicians did the same thing, and
again were able to produce the next plague by
imitating Aaron's rod when it was stretched forth.
But these wise men failed with their enchant-
ments to produce lice at their biding, saying:
"This is the finger of God." It is more than
likely that these magi were priests of the temple
of Thoth, who were the learned men of that day.
Moses was also commanded "to lift up thy
rod," so that the children of Israel should "go
on dry ground through the midst of the sea" (Ex-
odus xiv: 15), and to use the same rod to "smite

324

AND PLAY INC CARDS

the rock in Horeb" (Exodus xvii:6). These
examples may be multiplied, but enough has been
quoted to show the importance of this symbol in
the minds of primitive people.

Looking next to a people of this century who
have retained almost unchanged their inherited
customs, Mr. Culin has dwelt at length on the
people of Korea, who with the culture inherited
from their neighbours, the Chinese, have still a
childlike simplicity and follow in the footsteps
of their ancestors in their habits, games, and her-
aldic devices.

In "Korean Games," Mr. Culin traces the
origin of Playing Cards directly to "practical ar-
rows bearing cosmical or personal marks used by
primitive man." See also Numbers xvii : 3. He
says: "The pack of cards used to-day stands for
a quiver of arrows with the emblems of the
world's quarters," and further states that the
most primitive Playing Cards of Asia, the Htou-
Tjyen of Korea, still bear the marks of their
origin. This confirms the opinion already
formed by the writer, who studied the subject
from the Biblical and African point of view,
concluding that the pips on the Tarot cards

325

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

had a meaning that could be traced to the diviners
of a period much earlier than the fortune-tellers or
gypsies of Europe ; that the cards themeselves were
not intended for a game, but were originally de-
voted entirely to consulting the wishes of the gods ;
and that it was more than probable that the cult
of Thoth Hermes was a scientific adaptation of
the arrow worship of early man ; and that the gift
of speech that Mercury was credited with bestow-
ing on humans was the comprehenson of the signs
and the ability through them to transmit to men
the wishes of the gods.

The Korean cards are printed on paper, and
are, therefore, one step higher in the scale than
those found among the Alaskan Indians. These
are simple round sticks on which are painted
stripes of red and black, to denote their value. In
some sets the ends are notched like arrows, which
probably adds to the numerical value of the card.
The Indians keep their sticks in a sealskin pouch
wrapped around with a thong of leather, on the
end of which is a shark's tooth that is passed under
the wrappings to hold them in place and secure
the contents. A handful of oakum accompanies
the bag. This is needed during the consultation

326

87

88

89

GAMBLING CARDS

87-88-89 English Court Cards with French pips.

About 1840.
90-91-92 German Cards, showing Six of Acorns,

Six of Leaves, and Six of Hearts.

93-94 Chinese Cards showing Money and Kod
emblems.

AND PLAYING CARDS

of the wishes of Manitou, for these sticks are
used for divination purposes as well as for play.
A heap of oakum is placed on the ground, under
which the sticks are hidden. The players squat
in a circle around and draw from under the pile
one stick after the other, the meaning of which
is interpreted by one of the party.

The Alaskans also have a game somewhat like
the Mora of the Egyptians and the Italians, only
it is the value of the sticks or the stripes painted on
them that must be guessed.

One step higher are the sticks used by the
Hidah Indians, the natives of a little group of
islands in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast
of North America. These sticks show the totem
marks of the tribes or families, such as the Bear,
the Tortoise, etc. They are clearly derived from
arrows, and sometimes have notched ends, and
are still used for divination, although also for
games. Taken with those from Alaska, they are
the most primitive packs known.

The next step forward is from the wooden
shafts or rods to thin slips of yellow oiled paper,
narrow and long, that belong to the Koreans.
The use of these "cards" is still the same, and the

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

close resemblance to the North American packs
is marked, showing that all came from a common
source. These Korean cards serve as a link con-
necting the primitive arrow or rod with the step
that follows, from which come the Chinese gam-
bling tools.

The Korean cards are made of strips of paper
about eight inches long by three-quarters of an
inch wide. They are uniformly decorated on the
reverse side with a feather, which Mr. Culin con-
siders important as attaching the cards to the
original winged shaft. There are eighty cards
in the pack, divided into eight suits of ten cards
each, numbered from one to nine with numerals
peculiar to these cards, which, like the device
on the other side, come from arrow feathers. The
suit marks correspond to the totemic emblems of
the Koreans.

These cards are a vital bridge between the
primitive traps for divination and the more en-
lightened devices of the canny Egyptian priests,
for it was through the use of strips of bamboo,
simple straws, or the arrows of the period that the
priests first transmitted the wishes of the gods to
mankind. But whether the cult of arrows origi-

328

AND PLAY INC CARDS

nated in Egypt and travelled from that centre both
east and west, being modified, simplified, or elabo-
rated by every nation through which it passed, or
whether it started on the Pacific Ocean, to sweep
across Asia to Africa and Europe, has not been
made clear.

It is more than probable that the simple art of
divining through the fall of arrows is due to the
primitive tribes of Asia, and certainly in Exodus,
Numbers, and others of the books of Moses, there
are many records of the direct command of the
Almighty to his people to carry out his wishes
through using the "rods," or to consult his orders
through occult means to be revealed by the rods.
These are authentic records on the subject, and
are supported by the tablets found at Babylonia,
so we may suppose that "the arrows of divina-
tion" spread gradually from this Asiatic centre,
becoming altered from time to time, until in many
places all traces of the original purpose was lost,
and the art of consulting the wishes of the gods
through them lapsed into the pleasure of gam-
bling.

The Korean name for their pack of cards is
Htou-Tjyen, signifying "Fighting Arrows," ac-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

cording to Mr. Culin in "Korean Games" (page
128). "The suits," he says, "represent Man,
Fish, Crow, Pheasant, Antelope, Star, Rabbit,
and Horse, the name of the card being written
on it in Chinese characters in some packs. Six
Generals, or Court cards, representing the heads
or the chiefs of the different families, and two
entirely blank cards, or Jokers, complete the set."

Other packs have different totemic marks, but
all agree with each other in general appearance.
It is said that there are a number of games that
are played with these cards, but they are difficult
for a foreigner to understand or learn.

A close connection exists between the Korean
pack and the lots used by the Chinese to divine
the lucky numbers in the game called Pak-Kop-
Piu, as these cards retain the feather device, and
the names of both are nearly identical with the
word for arrows.

The most common packs of Chinese cards are
narrow, like those of the Koreans, but are less
than half the length, sometimes only about two
and a half inches long by a quarter of an inch
wide. These packs generally have plain red or
black backs with no designs on them, and are

330

AND PL AY INC CARDS

printed with black ink on white paper. There
are at least twenty-five different kinds of Playing
Cards common in China. Some of them are in-
tended simply for divination, others are for gam-
bling, and some for the amusement or instruction
of children.

Some are very primitive in their markings;
others closely resemble dominos, having similar
spots on them denoting their value ; while the cards
in common use have distorted emblems that are
clearly derived from the Sword, Stave, and
Money pips of the Tarots, although the Cup of
Hermes is not retained. It is noticeable that the
Money emblem has a design upon it, and is not
the simple ring of primitive times. This leads
to the suggestion that these particular cards were
devised from those of Mercury. Since there are
Court cards and a Joker, it would seem as if the
Chinese had adopted part of a pack of Tarots,
omitting the Cup suit, since it had no meaning
for them, but copying the other emblems in their
own peculiar way; but this is only a guess as to
the origin of this particular set of cards, and only
those used for divination bear these devices.

The Chinese also have Actors' cards, bearing

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

portraits of the heroes and heroines of certain
favourite plays. These have three Jokers, that in
China bear the name of "Blessings." Then there
are flower packs and educational packs, Proverb
cards, and cards to teach writing, so that the
Chinese have in their own original way marched
step by step with Europeans, but on parallel lines
that have not met. The Chinese declare that
they have known and used Playing Cards for
two thousand years, in which statement they are
probably correct, as certainly the Rod, the
Sword, and Money emblems were known and
used by the Babylonians in their religious rites
two thousand five hundred years before Christ.

Owing to cards having been introduced into
Japan by Portuguese traders, the packs are called
by the Portuguese name of Karta, as has been
mentioned. But the resemblance to European
cards stops there, for the "shut-in nation" invented
designs and games for themselves, keeping them
distinct from divining instruments, of which they
have a full share, some of them being identical
with the Chinese rods for divination.

One Japanese game is historical, and the packs
are beautifully painted in miniature, with gold

332

AND PLAYING CARDS

backgrounds and gold backs. The cards are
three by three and a half inches in size. Two
sets always come in one box, and the game is
played by matching cards. They far surpass
European ones, for they are most carefully
designed and painted. The two sets in the
writer's possession resemble dainty miniatures,
and the small figures might almost be taken for
likenesses of living people.

Then there are other sets of cards of the same
size as those described, but differently marked,
as they have three suits indicated by the colour
of the emblems, blue, green, and red. There are
two emblematic Court cards, one of them the
picture of a house, the other one showing a stream
over which a bridge is thrown. The pack in the
writer's collection is rare, for none like it has been
described, and there are none in the foreign
museums.

Another set of cards is called Bakuchi-No-
Euda, or gambling cards. Those in common use
are of cardboard about two to two and a quarter
inches square, with black backs and flowers
painted or stencilled on them, representing the
weeks of the year. The game played with them

333

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

is called "flower matching." January is repre-
sented by a Matsu or Pine tree, followed by the
Plum, Cherry, Wistaria, Iris, Peony, and Clover.
The eighth suit has a sketch of a volcano, repre-
senting August, which is the sacred month ; during
it pilgrimages are made to the mountain. The
card which follows represents a Chrysanthemum;
then comes a Maple for October. November
is represented by rain, sometimes with a little man
scampering through the driving storm with a half-
opened umbrella over his head, his shoes flying
off in the mud, with the symbol of thunder and
lightning placed in one comer of the card.
December has the flower sacred to the Mikado,
the Kiri.

Each card shows the flower representing it in
different stages of development, according to the
four weeks in the month. Each has a definite
value, and the game is played by three persons,
who match cards to make different combinations.
The Joker is blank, so these cards were never
intended for divining, but were prepared solely
for amusement.

Divining arrows, represented by bamboo
splints, are used in Japan as well as in China, and

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are nearly identical in both countries. Fifty
sticks are kept in a quiver or a tube of cane, re-
sembling the shape of the modern dicebox. "The
splints vary in length," says Mr. Culin, who de-
scribes them in "Korean Games" (page 26),
"from two to four inches." One person consults
the oracle, which is interpreted by a "Baru," or
fortune-teller, as described in "Our Neighbour-
hood," by Mr. Purcell: "Having rattled his
rods together by rolling them between his palms,
he raises them to his forehead." The sticks are
then laid out in order on a table, and their mean-
ing is deciphered through referring to the "Book
of Oracular Responses," or through the "inspira-
tion of the magi, who declares that he passes one
hour daily in a trance, during which he receives
instruction as to the prognostication he must
deliver."

There is another Japanese game called Hayku-
Niu-Isshu, or the Poems on One Hundred Arts.
For this there are two hundred cards, that are kept
in boxes especially provided for them. On each
card is printed or written either the first or the
last half of one of the hundred poems that give
their name to the game, which all well-educated

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Japanese are supposed to know by heart. "The
one hundred cards having the latter half of the
poems written on them are dealt and are laid out
in rows, face upwards, before the players, one
of whom is appointed reader. He holds the re-
maining hundred and reads them aloud in what-
ever order they fall. Skill in the game consists
in remembering the line following the one read
and rapidly finding the card on which it is written.
Especially must each one watch his own and pick
it up before it is seized by another. If an op-
ponent is nimble he snatches the card from the
careless player, giving several from his own hand,
and the one who is first able to match and discard
all of his cards wins the game. The players
usually range themselves on opposite lines and
play against each other." Such is the account of
the game given by Miss Alice Mabel Bacon in
"Japanese Girls and Women" (page 22) .

The cards of this set in the author's possession
are rather small, being two by two and a half
inches, or a trifle larger than the Flower pack.
They are arranged in small wooden boxes, with
a description of the rules of the game printed on
the top; the lid moves up and down in a groove.

336

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The verses are written in fine running characters
on a white ground.

In Hindustan we find strange circular cards
that have strayed far from the arrow shape, and
seem much more to resemble the European pips.
There are eight suits, indicated by the colour of
the background, on which are depicted Men, Bul-
locks, Elephants, and Tigers. The Money and
Cup suits may be traced in two of the emblems,
the former painted like a double ring, and it is
questionable if these cards were ever intended for
divining purposes, since they seem to be used purely
for amusement.

Persian cards are about two inches by one and
a half square. The suits are shown, like those of
Cashmere, by the colours of the background.
They have nothing in common with the arrow-
shaped Korean, Chinese, or North American
divination cards, but rather incline to the em-
blematic figures of the temple of Thoth as retained
by the Tarots, for every card displays a symbolic
representative figure. These cards are rare even
in Persia, and only two incomplete sets are in the
writer's collection, one of which contains six, and
the other eighteen, cards.

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

Three of these cards have black backgrounds
on which is displayed a white and yellow animal
of a species unidentified. The third card of the
set shows a great dragon with a forked tail twisted
around a lion. Three of the cards have green
grounds, on which are seated figures, and one of
them so closely resembles the Emperor, or Osiris,
of the Tarots in position and design that it seems
it must have been derived from that figure. Of
the other two, one resembles the Atout called the
Empress, and the other is a seated male figure, in
the attitude of some of those in the Tarot pack.
Four cards have black grounds sprinkled with dots
of yellow. These four all show dragons or myth-
ical animals, and are alike in every respect, which
is not always the case with the other designs even
when of kindred suits. As none of the Atouts
have animals depicted on them except in a sub-
ordinate way, it would seem that some of the Per-
sian cards are original, while others may have
been copied. Another green suit has only two
cards, although there might be more if the pack
were complete. The ground is seme, like the
last, with orange-coloured flecks, and displays a
seated figure with an attendant, its peculiarity

338

AND PLAYING CARDS

being that this King has his legs folded under
him in Oriental fashion, while the figures on all
the other cards are seated like the Egyptian gods.
Two cards have gold grounds, and on them are
two standing figures, one beating a drum, the
other man holding what may be a magician's rod
or, perhaps, a flute. There are three cards of a
dull yellow hue flecked with brown dots. These
closely resemble the Atouts, as one of the seated
figures holds up a circle or the Money mark, like
the Queen of Dinari; and against the knees of
the other a child leans, recalling Isis with Osiris.
The eighteenth card is the Joker, and shows a like-
ness of the late Shah of Persia. It was brought
from that kingdom in 1 904. These cards do not
seem all to have belonged to the same pack, for
five of them have been much more used than the
others. The Persians are secretive about their
games, probably because the religion of Mahomet,
following that of the Jews, forbids any representa-
tion of the human form. Therefore, games bear-
ing such an emblem must be used in private, and
descriptions of them are not readily obtained by
foreigners. The cards themselves offer an inter-
esting problem, since they retain the emblematic

339

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

figures without any pip cards, and they stand
alone in this respect in Asia, where the pip or
arrow cards are more generally to be found than
the figure cards. But, then, the Persians use the
cup or vase for divining purposes, as a rule,
although in some parts the arrows or rods of
divination are common. There are also "sticks"
found among the common people that seem to be
used in this way, but the natives are chary of
describing their purpose, so no trustworthy
account of them can be offered.

340

AND PLAYING CARDS

CHAPTER XVII
CHESS AND OTHER GAMES

MANY writers have thought that Playing
Cards were simply an evolution of Chess, and
the features connecting them have been widely
discussed, since there are strongly marked attri-
butes common to both. But, as far as is known,
Chess has never at any time been used for divina-
tion, and there are no traditions connecting it
with prophesying, while from time immemorial
cards have been used for fortune-telling by almost
all nations, either through the complete pack of
Tarots, or the Book of Thoth, their successors,
the Playing Cards, or their predecessors, the
divining arrows.

On the other hand, Chess is distinctly a mimic
battleground, with armies of warriors drawn in
serried ranks, defying each other to mortal com-
bat, whether there are only two armies, as in the
modern games, or four, as on some of the Asiatic
boards. The figures are the rank and file of the

341

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

army, with their castles for base and retreat, their
cavalry, their executive officers, and generals, with
the monarch to preside over the field. That in
Europe one of the figures is called a Queen is
strangely out of place, for her actions and moves
during the game are those of an active lieutenant
or aide-de-camp. The name has been given to
the piece in modem days, for originally and in the
East it is called the Vizier. That the piece may
be called after the dame who invented the game,
as is said, seems improbable.

Some writers declare that Chess came from
Southern Africa, where it is well known; but it
is also found in primitive form in Korea and
throughout Eastern Asia, and traces of it have
been seen in Central Asia, where (in Babylonia)
stones have been discovered that are marked in
squares, as if intended for Draught or Chess
boards.

A pretty legend is told of the Emperor Akbar,
of India, for whom his countrymen declared that
the game was invented by one of his wives, who
wanted to amuse her husband, after the manner
of wives, and to keep him at home, particularly
as the king was suffering from a sunstroke that

342

AND PLAY INC CARDS

made it inadvisable for him to venture to head
his army. With this end in view, she ranged the
courtiers on the black and white squares in the
courtyard within the precincts of the palace, in
order that the king might amuse himself fighting
his battles in a harmless way from his divan, that
was placed in one of the balconies overhanging
the enclosed space. A graphic description of the
palace is given in "Our Vice Regal Life in
India," by Lady Dufferin (page 1 50) . Refer-
ring to the legend, she says: "There is a curious
place which is a five-storied open court, each plat-
form getting smaller, till the top one is a mere
little summer house. Each one is supported on
rows and rows of pillars, from them one looks
down into a court, where the Great Mogul used
to sit and play Chess with live pieces."

In "India, China, and Japan," by Bayard
Taylor (page 108), the author says: "This
palace of Sheesh Mahal (or Palace of Glass),
with its courtyard paved with squares of black
and white marble, has an open terrace in front,
where is the throne of Akbar, which is a block
of black marble about six feet square. It is said
that when any one seats themselves on it, blood

343

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

gushes from a split in the side, and red stains
on the surface support this tradition. Opposite
the throne is a smaller one of white marble,
where the emperor's fool sat and burlesqued his
master." This fellow carried a staff of office
and conducted the pieces to their positions as in-
dicated by Akbar and his opponent.

The game of chess* with living pieces, be-
came a favourite with the Rajahs of India, so
many of the courts of different palaces were also
arranged for Chess or Parchesi, a game played
with pieces, but with less complicated rules than
for Chess. Though the court jester was the mas-
ter of ceremonies, he has not taken his place per-
manently among the chessmen, although he may
be sometimes found among them, notably in a
beautiful gold and silver set of men made for one
of the kings of Bavaria and now in the Museum
at Munich. In this set there are two Jokers, who
are placed in front of all the others in the middle
of the board as at present arranged, but their
value and moves seem not to have been recorded
and are now practically unknown.

It was at one time supposed that the figures
of the chessmen were transferred to pasteboard

344

AND PL AY INC CARDS

cards, thus making a masked army instead of one
that was on an open field, and that Playing Cards
originated in this way ; but this theory is no longer
tenable. Mr. Wiltshire, in "Playing Cards,"
derides the idea that they are derived from Chess,
saying: "Chess is a game of calculation and com-
bination, and cards are purely chance," which
opinion is sustained, for up to this time the history
of the two games points to no common derivation.

It is claimed that Chess was first played before
the walls of Troy, having been invented by Pala-
medes to amuse the Greeks, who were tired of
the monotony of the siege. This is probably one
of the first records of games, although it is not
certain that the one referred to was Chess any
more than that it was a game of cards, which some
writers have supposed.

In "The Sea Kings of Crete," by Rev. James
Baikie, is an account and an illustration of a
gaming board just discovered in the palace of
Minos, which certainly dates from one thousand
four hundred years before Christ, but it resem-
bles a Draught board more than one for Chess.

There is an Egyptian caricature of a lion and
a unicorn playing a game on a table with men,

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

which, however, are too indistinct to describe as
chessmen. There is a set of chessmen in the
British Museum, the date of which is uncertain,
that are by some considered to have been of such
early origin that they prove that the Egyptians
had the game, although deductions of this kind
are sometimes overthrown by subsequent dis-
coveries.

That chessmen of the conventional type are
by no means absolutely necessary for a game is
shown by the Korean Tjyang-Keui, whose figures
closely resemble the pieces used by the Chinese.
The men of the set in the writer's collection are
of wood about the thickness of an ordinary
checker or draughtsman, but they are octagonal
in shape, and the size of the pieces varies, since it
is indicative of the value. Sometimes the pieces
are circular in shape, and have their value painted
in incised characters on both sides in red, blue,
or green, according to the side they represent.
The King or General is much the largest piece and
about an inch and a half in diameter. The Char-
iot, Elephant, Horse, and Cannon are of medium
size, while the Pawns and Councillors are the
smallest. The pieces in the writer's collection

346

AND PLAYING CARDS

were kept by the original owner in a netted string
bag. The board differs from those of Europe,
as the men are placed at the intersections of the
squares, and not in their centres, as is customary
in other places. The game, as played in Korea,
is logical, and was the inspiration of various
games played in Germany, where marbles are
placed in stated positions on boards made for the
purpose, with rounded holes, and marked off with
diagrams. In some games the board represents
a fort to be defended; in others, a series of posi-
tions to be captured by one or other of two armies
of equal value.

A very interesting set of chessmen in the British
Museum was found at Nig, in the Isle of Lewis,
and is described as "North European, Twelfth
Century." The backs are carved with intricate
interlacing designs like those on the reverse of the
old Tarots. The Queens rest their cheeks on
their right hands. The Kings have swords laid
across their laps. The Bishops are mitred, and
all are seated.

An anonymous writer declares: "The most
probable conjecture is that Chess descended from
the Brahmins, through Persia, to Arabia, about

347

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the sixth century, and passed into Europe two
or three hundred years later." Continuing, the
writer says: "A mathematician named Seffa
originated the game for his master, Ravan, King
of Ceylon, who was so pleased with the device
that he asked the inventor to name his own reward.
The cunning sage demanded enough wheat to
cover the board, starting with a single grain for
the first square, two for the second, and so on,
doubling the grains until the sixty-four squares
were covered, finally adding the whole amount
together, so when computed, it was found that
more wheat would be required than the world
produced in ten years."

The Persians claim that Chess was invented
in their country, pointing out the retention of some
of their names and expressions in the English
game, such as "Check," from the Persian Sciack
or King, and "Mat," signifying "dead," hence
"Checkmate," or "The King is dead." These
words may well have their derivation from the
Persian or Arabic, but they are not universally
employed, although Chess is of ancient origin and
has been played for centuries in Africa, Asia, and
Europe. The term Rook, that is sometimes used

AND PLAY INC CARDS

instead of Castle, is undoubtedly of Indian origin,
derived from Rokh, and signifying dromedary.
In China this piece is called Ku, and in Korea
Tcha, words in no way connected with the
Arabic.

There are many historical descriptions of Chess
in Europe too well known to be repeated; besides
which, there are numerous copper, steel, and wood
engravings showing persons playing Chess.

In "A History of the Moorish Kings" ( 1 396) ,
there is an account of a game played when Jussef,
the heir to the throne, was ordered to be beheaded
by his usurping brother. An alcade was sent to
the prison for the purpose of carrying out the
command, but, finding Jussef playing Chess, and
becoming interested in his skill, he waited until the
game terminated to dispatch the prince. How-
ever, before it was finished, the usurper, Me-
hemed, was murdered, so Jussef succeeded to the
throne and rewarded the kindly executioner with
money and honours.

One of the earliest descriptions of Chess in the
English language was written by Thomas Hyde
in 1694, at about the time that Cotton's "Com-
plete Gamester," on the subject of gambling and

349

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

its tools, appeared. There is a rare book, entitled
"The Game and Playes of the Chess," that,
strange to say, contains little or nothing concern-
ing the game beyond its title.

"It is remarkable," says Sir Gardiner Wilkin-
son, in "Ancient Egyptians" (Vol. II, page
415), "that a game so common as Mora among
the lower order of Italians should be found to
have existed in Egypt from the earliest period
of which their paintings remain, even in the reign
of the First Osirtasen." The game, which re-
quires no accessories, is skillfully played by hold-
ing up certain fingers to an opponent, who tries
to guess the number; it was probably carried to
the Southern ports of Italy by the Egyptians,
when the yearly voyage was made to the Bay of
Naples, at the time that the great Temple of the
Serapeon was erected at Pozzuoli and the cult of
Thoth Hermes introduced.

Draughts were also found in early days at or
about the same place, and that game is repre-
sented as being played on the sculptures of Beni
Hassan in grottoes on the east bank of the Nile.
The same authority says : "This would be coeval
with Joseph, or 1 740 B. C."

350

AND PLAY INC CARDS

An anonymous writer in an English paper
states that one of the frescoes of the palace of
Rameses II shows the mighty Pharaoh himself
playing against some of the beauties of his harem.

Many writers consider that the Roman Latron-
culi and the Greek Digrammisnios were games
of Chess or Draughts. A Spaniard, named An-
tonio Torquemada, published rules for the latter
as early as 1547, and a Frenchman, named Pierre
Malet, described the Parisian game in 1668.
The latter called for a board of sixty-four squares,
the men moving but one block at a time, and
the crowned pieces having the right to move back-
wards. The game was not popular in France
until the days of the Regency, when the Polish
game, that is played on a board with one hun-
dred squares, each player having twenty pieces,
became the vogue.

This variation of the old game of Draughts was
introduced by a man named Manoury, who
started life as a waiter in one of the cafes. He
gave lessons to Marshal Saxe and Jean Jacques
Rousseau, besides writing out the rules governing
the game for the use of his pupils.

In France and England players use the black

351

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

squares on the Checker board, but in Holland and
Russia the white ones are those that are favoured,
and it is strange how puzzling this slight change
is to unaccustomed players.

Draughtsmen or checkers are made of many
different materials, such as clay, bone, wood, and
ivory. Some old ones in the British Museum are
of ivory, two inches in diameter, and were found
in Leicestershire. On one of them is a figure like
II Pendu, or the Hanged Man, of the Atouts. In
the writer's collection there are some draughtsmen
of unpainted wood most beautifully carved. One
of them displays a winged figure with a cap of
Mercury hanging over his head, on top of which
is perched a die, a Four Spot on one side of it,
while the other displays an Ace. The cap is sus-
pended in the air over a table covered with a
fringed cloth, on which rests a rose and a laurel
wreath. A motto surounding the checker reads:
Fert Praemia Favsta. On the reverse is a hand
emptying a purse on a Backgammon board, the
legend being Freqvens Tibidissipat Avrum. An-
other checker, a mate to the above, shows a table
on which is a Backgammon board and two players
busy over the game. The man is seated, while the

352

AND PLAYING CARDS

woman is standing with arms upraised, and having
evidently just lost a game, is upbraiding her com-
panion. The motto is Ars Sortem Corrigat Astx.
The reverse shows a draped Cupid opening a
money chest, the motto being Sat Loevlo Havt
Ocvio. A black man of this set shows a warrior
talking to a harpist, the motto being Juam Ran
Amid Chari. The reverse shows a figure of
Mercury, as Luck, with a philosopher and a court-
tier trying to hold the flying figure with ropes that
have been thrown around the waist of the flitting
god. The motto is Ah For tuna Bona Me Con-
dona. These checkers are part of a set that was
once in Lady Charlotte Schriber's collection of
games. They are probably of German manu-
facture, as they closely resemble sets of draughts-
men that are in the Nuremburg and Munich col-
lections.

In Korea the game of Draughts is a favourite
one. The pieces are not flat and round, like
those of Europe, but the "horses," as they are
named in Korea, have shanks about two inches
long, with round, solid bases, making them easy
to pick up and move, but they would be awkward
if the game called for "jumping," as does that of

353

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

European players. With this exception, the
rules for playing resemble those common in
Europe.

The Japanese, the Siamese, and the Chinese
all play the game with the assistance of dice, and
the men as well as the boards show an origin
common with those already mentioned. They
are games of luck or chance, but are not used
for fortune-telling, and have nothing in common
with cards, arrow divination, or prophesying,
unless students can hereafter trace them to the
Urim and Thummim of the Bible.

Games with dice are favourites in all Asiatic
countries, but the men themselves and the games
played with them are far more elaborate and
scientific than those of Europe, and capable of a
great variety of combinations quite unknown to
English-speaking nations. The mathematical cal-
culations necessary for the Asiatic games are in-
tricate and complicated, but well worthy of adop-
tion.

About 1815 the Germans issued a pack of
cards that had dice on them instead of the com-
monplace pips. The set in the writer's collection
is incomplete and incomprehensible without the

354

95

The Quetn

and the late 'Prince Consort.
(*)
its<

H. M. VICTORIA.

QUEEN OF GREAT BR1TATN

EMPRESS OF INDIA

96

97

98

MoiSft from an Old Minst
rinttfithtr's Ch&ir. Tunglcwood Tale

99

101

100

GAMBLING, HISTORICAL AND EDUCATIONAL CARDS

95-96 Spanish Cards showing Four of Cups
(with name Naypes, meaning prophet-
ical) and Knave of Money (with the
gazelle of Osiris).

97 English Educational Cards — historical.
One of the Jubilee pack containing
Queen Victoria and all her descend-
ants.

98 Netherlands Uomino Card for teaching

music.

99 United States Domino Card.

100 United States Numbered Card for game

of Grabouche or Flinch.

101 United States Educational Card for game

of Authors.

102 English Educational Card for teaching

arithmetic.

AND PLAYING CARDS

rules, that have been lost. The cards have the
dice on the lower half, while the upper part dis-
plays different designs, such as a diligence, a ship,
a bookcase, and an easy chair. The two designs
last mentioned have "doctor" printed under them.

Games of dice are probably the oldest known,
and are found in all Asiatic countries. The evo-
lution from them to dominos is easily traced, for
the latter is evidently a pair of dice placed
together. The pieces in a Korean set of dominos
in the writer's collection are of the size that a
pair of European dice would make if glued side
by side. Besides the games of chance, dice are
used for divining purposes all over the world, but
particularly in Africa and Asia.

Jackstones, or Knuckle-bones, is another old
game. There is in the British Museum a most
interesting marble group of boys playing Jack-
stones. A lively dispute, if not an active fight,
over the result of the game is in progress, and
the little men are scattered over the ground while
the boys wrestle.

Jackstones may be of many different materials,
although those most commonly used are the simple
round pebbles found by any roadside. A set in

355

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the writer's collection is of bone, which was com-
mon in New York about 1850. Others are of
glass and are said to be Phoenician. Ivory and
sheeps' knuckles are favourites with children, who
in modern times have added a small rubber ball
for a Jack.

The game seems to be universal, for children
on the Nile, in Hungary, Austria, France, Eng-
land, and the United States all seem to play the
same primitive game that is common in Asia. In
"Korean Games" (page 58), Mr. Culin calls it
Kong-Keui, and says it is played by boys with
five or six stones or pieces of bricks. When girls
play, they use cash or coins, and then the game
is called Tja-Ssei. When played with stones, it
is called Ishi-Nago, or throwing stones, and ten
of these are used. The Chinese call the game
Chaptsz, or picking up stones.

No rules for the Western game seem ever to
have been written, but they are transmitted from
one generation to another with almost no differ-
ence, whatever the country may be, although it
is noticeable that the innovation of the rubber
ball for a Jack seems to have been introduced by
the Polish or Russian Jew children to the New

356

AND PLAY INC CARDS

Yorkers, as it is chiefly played by these little
immigrants. The game has nothing to do with
divination, and is one merely of skill, as it is a
simple amusement of the most primitive kind, for,
given a handful of stones, any one can learn the
game, and, with a moderate amount of practice,
can play it with more or less skill.

There are five pieces to a set ; four are of equal
value, and the fifth is called the Jack. Any one
of the five may be used for the Jack, which is
simply the stone that is tossed into the air while
the others are gathered in the hand.

The sets (or their order) are agreed upon be-
forehand by the players. Any number can take
part, for each one plays for himself, and the
winner is the one who independently executes all
the difficult sets without failing. Any place is
convenient for the game, and the stones are gen-
erally thrown on the lap, the ground, a pillow, a
doorstep, or even the pavement.

"Muggins" is the name of the first set, which
consists in gathering all five stones in the palm of
the right hand and throwing them into the air
together, then catching all five on the back of the
hand. Without stopping, the stones must be

357

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

thrown again in the air and all five caught
together in the hand. This makes all the stones of
equal value and all of them Jacks (the technical
name for the stone thrown in the air while dif-
ferent movements are being done) . The Muggins
set requires considerable dexterity, and a player
dropping any one of the stones loses his turn,
which passes to the player on the left. The next
set is not started until all the players have suc-
cessfully accomplished their turn of Muggins,
which must be done five times in succession with-
out failing.

"Milking the Cow" is the name of the second set.
The stones are gathered in the hand and the Jack
is thrown into the air, and while it is "up," one
stone is quietly and gently placed upon the table
from the palm, but must not be thrown or
dropped, and the Jack caught as it comes down.
This is repeated until all the stones are discarded
one after the other, the art being to do this without
letting more than one escape at a time. If this
is not done, the turn passes to the next player on
the left; but, if successfully accomplished, the
stones are swept into a heap and caught up in
the hand while the Jack is in the air. All the

358

AND PLAY INC CARDS

players must do this in succession or lose their
turn. Those who have not completed the first
Muggins take their turn here, and must do it five
times without fault before beginning to milk.

"Grab" is the name of the third set, and it is
difficult. It is called "Laying Eggs" in Korea.
It is done by laying four stones about two
inches apart in a row, tossing the Jack and
picking them up one by one. The first stone is
kept in the hollow of the palm of the right hand
while the Jack is tossed and the second stone is
picked up. This is retained, and the third stone
is picked up in the same way, and so on until all
are caught in the right hand. Then all are placed
in a heap and are gathered while the Jack is
tossed. The left hand is not used at all in these
two sets.

"Peas in the Pot" is the first set of the second
part of the game. The left hand is partly closed
and four stones are placed about an inch apart in
a row, the first one touching the thumb. Players,
to show their skill, will often make the spaces
wider, but they must not throw the Jack any
higher than is usual, which is about a foot and a
half. The play consists in throwing the Jack,

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

and, while it is in the air, one stone after another
is picked up and put in the pot (which is the left
hand). Some players push the stones into the
pot. To do so, the thumb and forefinger of the
left hand are opened to allow the stones to pass
in, but this is considered unworkmanlike by good
players. The stones, after being placed in the
pot and the left hand removed, are gathered with
one swoop as the Jack is tossed.

"Horses in the Stable" is played with the fin-
gers of the left hand outstretched to form stalls.
The stones are placed about four inches away
on the table, and must be pushed into the stalls
one by one while the Jack is aloft. Then all
are gathered up at once in the right hand while
the Jack is tossed. In Hindustan the native girls
have their photographs taken when playing this
set of Jackstones.

"Horses out of the Stable" follows. The
stones are pushed out with one motion, one beside
the other, and then caught up with one sweep
as the Jack is tossed. The art consists in getting
the stones close together when they leave the
stalls, so that they can be grabbed with one sweep
while the Jack is up.

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AND PLAYING CARDS

"Sweeping the Floor" comes next. The stones
are placed four inches apart in a square, and the
third finger of the right hand must sweep inside
two of the stones without touching them while the
Jack is aloft. They must then be gathered and
caught with one sweep of the hand.

"Spreading the Table" is done by arranging
the square with four stones, as in the preceding
set, after which they are pushed together with
one sweep and caught in the right hand while the
Jack is up.

"Laying Eggs," called Al-Nat-Ki in Korea,
is the next set. American children play it ex-
actly in the same way as do the Asiatics. Four
stones are placed on the table, the Jack is tossed,
one stone is picked up and laid down while the
Jack is in the air. Then another stone is picked up
as the Jack is tossed and laid down as before, until
all are used. In "Korean Games," Mr. Culin de-
scribes this play, but no reference is made to the pre-
ceding sets, although they are played in Europe.

"Setting the Eggs," or Al-Houm-Ki, calls for
four of the stones being placed beside the left
hand and pushed under it, as is done in "Peas in
the Pot."

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

"Hatching the Eggs," or Al-Kka-Ki, consists
in holding all the stones in the right hand, with
one tucked under the little finger. This is then
dropped gently on the table while the Jack is
tossed, the other stones being held in the hand,
and this is repeated until all are down.

A good player may work right through the
whole number of sets before the opponents have
a chance to play at all. Children often arrange
handicaps among themselves to prevent this. One
peculiarity of the game seems to be that it is a
point of honour among the children to take no
unfair advantage of each other, but to try to
assist and make the others win if possible, and it
is one of the few games played by children that
seldom lead to quarrelling. There are variations
of the sets, but the above is the standard game.

Quite different from the last, which is simply
one of skill, is the game known as Jackstraws,
which is a primitive game, but it is played all over
the world, and is evidently derived from the "ar-
rows of divination." A set of Chinese Jack-
straws in the writer's collection was made about
the middle of the last century, probably for ex-
portation, for some of the straws are European

362

AND PLAYING CARDS

in character. They are of ivory, which is most
delicately carved, and are not coloured, as are
some of the sets of Chinese Jackstraws that are
carved out of bone. They were imported by a
naval officer who was on the expedition under
Commodore Perry which opened the treaty ports
of Japan to American trade.

In this set there are two hooks, for separating
the pieces one after another without shaking any
of the bunch. The long, slender "straws" are
four inches in length. There are eight that are
carved to represent Javelins, and eight carved like
Spears. They count, respectively, one and two
marks if taken from the rest of the pile without
shaking. Then there are twenty Straws, counting
ten apiece, that are delicately carved, each one
entirely different from any of the others. There
is a Spade, a hooked Spear, an Arrow, an Axe, a
Flag, a Standard, a Halberd, a war Hammer, a
Javelin, a Sabre, a Lance, a Sword, a Trident,
and a Pitchfork. These all seem to be intended to
represent weapons familiar in the antiquated war-
fare of China. The five European implements
are a long-handled Shovel, a pair of Tongs, a
Bodkin, a Pen, and a Musket. The skillful

363

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

player who captures the Tongs counts twenty,
since it is twice as difficult to disentangle as any
of the other Straws, that are valued at ten marks
apiece.

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AND PLAYING CARDS

CHAPTER XVIII

FORTUNE-TELLING THROUGH THE
CARDS

WITHOUT in the least crediting that cards that
are derived from ancient mysteries are able to
reveal the incidents connected with human life,
many people consider the trial an interesting
amusement.

What were the methods used by the ancients
for divining the wishes of the gods? Truly this
opens a vast field of inquiry that ranges through
every device and symbol ever invented by man.

Within a few years various plans have beert
suggested for reading the fate through the hand,
as is done by the Gypsies, or by the cards, as
practised by the priests of Mercury ; but these are
only a few hundred years old, and probably have
but little relation to the actual rites that have left
no authentic record and now can only be guessed.

Consultation of the cards serves to amuse the
idle, the curious, and the credulous, so a brief re-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

capitulation of the two methods most in vogue may
interest readers, who can try for themselves to read
what the divining tools say through the interpre-
tations used by two of the most celebrated for-
tune-tellers of the past century, namely: Etteila
and Mile, le Normand. The latter used modern
French cards, while the former required a
complete Tarot pack that is not easy for most
people to obtain.

Cardmakers have not been unready to invent
for their customers various fantastic packs with
weird symbols, and to bestow on these modern
creations various significances that have no relation
whatever to the old Tarots; therefore they are
valueless in the eyes of those who believe in the
ancient mysteries, which have been implicitly
credited for ages, and have a significance that is
not difficult to understand, although the different
shades of meaning attributed to them by the
Initiates have been lost.

The fortune-telling packs issued by the card
makers of the day generally bear French pips,
since these symbols are the ones familiar to manu-
facturers in France, England, and America.
They have, in addition, badly drawn, inartistic

366

AND PLAY INC CARDS

pictures that are foolish and meaningless, since
they are neither heraldic nor symbolic, and they
are only intended for amateurs, since the true
fortune-teller or Gypsy of to-day prefers the
cards with the ancient pips of Money, Swords,
Rods, and Cups, together with the Atouts.

A pack published in Frankfort-on-Main has the
French, not the German, pips, as would seem nat-
ural, and the cards are named "Le Normand
Karten." They are great favourites in Europe,
where they are used for foretelling the future and
describing the past or present by credulous per-
sons who follow the rules laid down in the accom-
panying book or key, believing that the cards were
originally arranged and interpreted by the cele-
brated French cartomancie, Mile, le Normand
herself, who had wonderful luck in her business
and has had many successors.

This pack is one and a half by three inches in
width, which is smaller than ordinary Playing
Cards, and more convenient for laying out on a
table. The pack contains only thirty-six cards,
with three court cards to each suit, namely : King
Queen, and Knave. The six pip cards are Ace,
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten. Each one

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

has a meaningless picture on it, such as a coffin,
birds, flowers, or keys, and male or female
figures dressed in the fashion of 1850. In the
upper centre of each card is a small space, on
which are the court figures or the pip symbols
that are represented on an ordinary pack of
French cards.

The directions for consulting the cards are
printed in German and French in a small book
accompanying them, so, since any pack with
French pips would serve for the same amusement,
the rules and interpretations may well be here
given, as many persons enjoy consulting the cards
to discover through them, if they may, the past,
present, and future.

Shuffle and cut the cards, and then hand
them to the Inquirer to cut three times. Deal one
at a time, placing them face upward on the table
in rows from left to right. The first four rows
each should have eight cards, and the fifth row
only four cards, which should be placed in the
middle under the others. These signify the end
of life, and the row is, consequently, shorter than
the others. The cards for this row must be put
so that there are two outside of them on either

368

AND PLAYING CARDS

side, both left and right on the row above them,
which makes the two outside lines count only four
cards from top to bottom, while the third, fourth,
fifth, and sixth lines have five cards under them.

If the inquirer is a female, she is represented by
the Ace of Spades, and if a male, he is betokened
by the Ace of Hearts. These cards also repre-
sent husband and wife, or two lovers, and great
attention must be paid to the place where they
fall in dealing, for all the other cards are domi-
nated and controlled by one of these two, tak-
ing their significance from them. The portent
of the other cards is great or less in degree ac-
cording to their position, whether it be near
or far, above or below, these two representative
cards. Those touching them are supposed to
show the events that are happening at the present
moment, those far from them are in the past, or
the future, depending whether they are above or
below the two important ones.

The meaning of the thirty-six remaining cards is
explained as follows:

KlNG OF SPADES. — Great happiness. A journey.
A voyage on business. A happy life.

QUEEN. — Happiness throughout life in every way.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

KNAVE. — A birth. A child. A sweet disposition.
Affability.

TEN. — Inherited wealth. Business. Fortune. Jour-
ney on account of business. Travel.

NINE. — Successful voyages. Commercial enter-
prises. Faithfulness. Illusions. Flirtations.

ElGHT. — Social position. Constant love. Unim-
portant position. Bad companions.

SEVEN. — Good news. A letter from a distance.
Bad news. An invitation.

Six. — Long life. Sad life. Sickness. Death.

KING OF CLUBS. — Trouble. Happiness. Disaster to
friends. Good news of friends.

QUEEN. — Misfortune. Bad friends. Slander. Loss.

KNAVE. — Discord in family. Unhappiness between
lovers. Illness. Protracted sufferings.

TEN. — Happiness. Indifference. Trouble from out-
siders. Slander.

NlNE. — Annoyances. Troubles from friends. Quar-
rels. Lawsuit.

ElGHT. — Friendship. Faithful lover. Powerful
enemy. Enemy overcome.

SEVEN. — Loss. Thief. Loss recovered. Loss ir-
reparable.

Six. — Disagreeable news. Slight trouble. Bad
news. Trouble for friends.

ACE. — Engagement. Happy marriage and riches.
Broken engagement. Separation of lovers.

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AND PLAYING CARDS

KlNG OF DIAMONDS. — Fortune from the sea. Enter-
prises successful. Misfortune. Loss.

QUEEN. — Unhappiness averted. Danger escaped.
Sorrow. Trouble.

KNAVE. — Chagrin. Misfortune averted. Danger.
Unhappiness averted.

TEN. — News. Secret intelligence. Gossip. Scandal.

NINE. — Illness. Sorrow. Accidents. Danger.

ElGHT. — Invitations. A love affair. Pleasure for
the beloved. A love affair in the family.

SEVEN. — Happy journey. Arrival of friends. A
short trip. A journey.

Six. — Pleasure. Good news. Annoyances overcome
Good fortune.

AcE. — Prosperity. Good luck. Discouragement.
Misfortune.

KlNG OF HEARTS. — Reunion. Prosperity. Fidel-
ity. Endurance.

QUEEN. — An excursion. A journey. A prevented
visit. Delayed journey.

KNAVE. — Love. Happiness. Pleasure. Concord.

TEN. — Fidelity. Lovers. Friendships. Treachery.

NINE. — Good news. Tidings. Letters. Visits

ElGHT. — Honours. Approbation. Jealousy. Misery.

SEVEN. — Pain Slight illness. Recovery from ill-
ness. Health.

Six. — Good fortune. Happiness. Reverses. Trou-
bles.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

With this key to the interpretation of the
cards, as arranged according to Mile, le Nor-
mand's theory, they may be read as follows,
counting on the cards as they fall near or far
from the Ace of Hearts. If they are above or
close to and on the right, they mean the first de-
scription; if on the left, they signify the second
one. If below on the right, the third description
is the one to be taken, and if below on the left,
the fourth.

Suppose a young man is the inquirer, and the
cards be dealt as follows:

FlRST Row. — Six of Diamonds, Nine of Clubs, Seven
of Hearts, Seven of Diamonds, Ten of Spades, Queen
of Clubs, Ace of Hearts, Ten of Clubs.

SECOND Row. — Six of Spades, Seven of Spades,
Eight of Clubs, Six of Clubs, Nine of Spades, King of
Clubs, Ace of Clubs, Seven of Clubs.

THIRD Row. — King of Hearts, Knave of Hearts,
King of Diamonds, Queen of Spades, Knave of Spades,
Queen of Diamonds, Six of Hearts, Ten of Diamonds.

FOURTH Row. — Queen of Hearts, King of Spades,
Ace of Spades, Eight of Diamonds, King of Clubs, Eight
of Hearts, King of Diamonds, Nine of Hearts.

FIFTH Row. — Ten of Hearts, Nine of Diamonds,
Eight of Spades, Ace of Diamonds.

372

AND PLAYING CARDS

This could be explained through the key as
being a young man who from birth had been
surrounded by envious, jealous, and quarrelsome
persons, who formed his character, leading to
the greatest unhappiness in the family life. The
marriage of his parents having been unfortunate,
it reacted on the boy's welfare. A trusted friend
or guardian stole the fortune that had been left
in trust. But, endowed with good health, these
troubles were disregarded in youth. His charac-
ter being unbridled, capricious, frivolous, incon-
stant, peevish, and given to imagining grievances,
although affectionate to his friends, his disposition
made him uncongenial to most persons.

Secret enemies, who had been trusted as friends,
embittered his life in a way that nothing could
overcome. A long journey undertaken for the
sake of forgetfulness was filled with annoyances
and mishaps. Some brightness entered into it
through the companionship of a charming woman,
which might have resulted in a happy marriage
had not the jealous spirit that controlled the young
man's career prevented. An early death is prog-
nosticated.

Let us now consider the other method of for-

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

tune-telling, which was followed by Ettelia, a
celebrated French fortune-teller, who lived in
Paris about one hundred years since, who wielded
a vast influence over his compatriots, who firmly
believed, as, indeed, he did himself, that he had
discovered the key to the Book of Thoth Hermes
Trismegistus through an old pack of Tarots that
fell by chance into his hands.

It is said that Napoleon Bonaparte had
great faith in the deductions and revelations of
this ci-devant hairdresser's apprentice, to whom
Josephine presented him. The empress was an
ignorant and credulous woman, owing to her edu-
cation in the West Indian island of her birth, the
society of which was corrupted by Negro super-
stitions of a most complicated and far-reaching
character.

Etteila published a book called "Collection sur
les Hautes Sciences" ( 1 780) . It included an essay
on "The Sublime Book of Thoth" that is now
very rare, but he saw what few others had seen,
that Playing Cards were of Egyptian origin,
although he failed entirely to trace their progress
through the temples of Nebo and Thoth to the
Mercury of the Romans, so, of course, never

374

AND PLAYING CARDS

connected the pips with the emblems of Mercury
or discovered that they originated from the divipe
commands given to the Israelites, as well as to
the desire of primitive people to consult the Tab-
lets of Fate that were inscribed by Nebo, the
great god of Babylonia. Many of the state-
ments and beliefs of Etteila would have doubt-
less been received with greater credence if these
tokens had been pointed out. But Etteila de-
clared that he had discovered the different subtle
meanings connected with the Tarots, and that he
had elucidated many of the points that had pre-
viously been obscure. He certainly obtained as-
tonishing results when consulting the Tarots, or a
set of cards that were probably invented by him-
self, and which are now rare. They were adorned
with figures of men and women dressed in the
fashion of his day, with numbers on them, but
with no pip marks. They were printed on a yel-
low-tinted paper, and when issued were accom-
panied by a small book of rules for their use in
divining.

Papus, in his "Tarots of the Bohemians," hav-
ing digested various works on the Gypsies, ka-
balism, and occultism, worked out many rules for

375

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

divining with the Tarots. He places great reliance
on magnetic currents, the position of the stars, and
the signs of the zodiac, suggesting astrology, but
he finds these symbols in the Tarots. He also
gives value to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet
in connection with the Atouts, but, after all, he
declares that intuition plays a most important part
when reading the Tarots.

As has been pointed out, the Book of Thoth,
or the Tarot pack, is divided into two volumes,
twenty-two leaves of which are called Atouts and
bear symbolic figures more or less correctly de-
scribed by the names written on them. The fifty-
six leaves of the second volume are divided into
four suits, namely: Cups, Swords, Rods, and
Money, with four court cards to each suit : King,
Queen, Knave, and Cavalier, followed by nine
numbered cards headed by the Ace.
Papus (page 308) defines the meaning of the
suits as follows:

RODS. — Enterprise, glory.

CUPS. — Love, happiness.

SWORDS. — Hatred, misfortune.

MONEY. — Money, commerce, mercantile interests.

376

AND PLAYING CARDS

These four sets of principles must be remem-
bered. The four court cards represent people
in general or particular who come in contact with
each other during the events of life. The Kings
represent men, the Queens women, the Cavaliers
youths, and the Knaves children.

The court cards of the Rod and Sword suits
represent dark people, while those of the Cup and
Money suits represent light or fair people. The
latter are benign, the former indifferent or malig-
nant.

The key to the pip cards as given by Papus is
as follows:

RODS.
Creation. Enterprise. Agriculture. Fire.

KlNG. — A dark man. A friend. Generally mar-
ried. The father of a family.

QUEEN. — Dark woman. A friend. A serious per-
son. A very good counsellor. The mother of a family.

CAVALIER. — A dark young man. A friend.

KNAVE. — A dark child. A friend. Also repre-
sents a message or letter from a near relation.

ACE. — Commencement of an enterprise.

Two. — Opposition to the beginning of an enterprise.

THREE. — Realization of the commencement of an
enterprise. The basis of the work is now definitely es-

377

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

tablished, and the undertaking can be fearlessly con-
tinued.

FOUR. — Obstacles to be prepared for.

FIVE. — Obstacles surmounted.

Six. — Failure.

SEVEN. — Certain success.

EIGHT. — Partial success.

NlNE. — Great success.

TEN. — Uncertainty.

CUPS

Preservation. Love. Instruction. Earth.

KlNG. — A fair man. A friend. A barrister, judge,
or ecclesiastic. A bachelor.

QUEEN. — A fair woman. The loved one. The
mistress of a house.

CAVALIER. — Young, fair man. A friend. The
lover or the loved one.

KNAVE. — Fair child. A messenger. A birth.

ACE. — Commencement of a love affair.

Two. — Opposition. Unimportant obstacles raised by
one of the lovers.

THREE. — Mutual love.

FOUR. — Serious obstacles from others.

FlVE. — Obstacles overcome.

Six. — Obstacles insuperable. Widowhood. Separa-
tion.

SEVEN. — Success and happiness.

ElGHT. — Jealousy and trouble.

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AND PLAY INC CARDS

NINE. — Children.
TE N . — Uncertainty.

SWORDS

Transformation. War. Hatred. Lawsuits. Air.

KlNG. — Dark bad man. A soldier, an enemy, or
one to be mistrusted.

QUEEN. — A dark wicked woman. A gossip. A
calumniator. Jealous.

CAVALIER. — Young dark man. An enemy. A spy.

KNAVE. — A child. An enemy. Bad news. Delay.

ACE. — Commencement of enmity.

Two. — Enmity does not last.

THREE. — Hatred.

FOUR. — Enemy defeated.

FlVE. — Enemy triumphs at last moment.

Six. — Enemy powerless.

SEVEN. — Enemy successful.

ElGHT. — Enemy only partially successful.

NINE. — Duration of hatred.

TEN. — Uncertainty in the hatred.

The court cards generally indicate an opposition
raised outside of the home.

MONEY

Development. Money. Trade. Commerce. Jour-
neys. Water.

KlNG. — Fair man. Inimical or indifferent.
QUEEN. — A fair woman. Indifferent.

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PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CAVALIER. — A young, fair man. A stranger. An
arrival.

KNAVE. — A fair child. A messenger. A letter.

ACE. — Commencement of good fortune. Inheritance.
Gifts. Economy.

Two. — Difficulty in getting inheritance or good for-
tune.

THREE. — A small sum of money.

FOUR. — Loss of money.

FIVE. — Success coming that will balance loss.

Six. — Ruin.

SEVEN. — A large fortune.

ElGHT. — Partial success. Great loss of money at
last moment.

NlNE. — A durable fortune.

TEN. — Great successes and great reverses.

The pips of the Rod and Cup suits indicate
that which comes from within or at home. The
pips of the Money and Sword suits indicate that
which comes from outside or abroad.

In order to practise card-reading with success,
the Book of Thoth must be mastered in every
detail, and every significance of each of the sev-
enty-eight leaves must be committed to memory.
After this the laying out of the cards and the read-
ing of their meaning would become mechanical,
were it not that the position of each one, as well

380

AND PLAYING CARDS

as of the surrounding cards, is capable of such
subtle and illusive connections that only those well
versed in cartomancy, or, perhaps, inspired by the
dominating genius of Mercury, can translate their
import.

First, then, the direct meaning of each card
must be remembered, and then its significance
when it is reversed; thirdly, its value owing to its
position on the table and when in contact with
other cards must be known. The card is read
in one way when it is required to reveal the char-
acter, and in another when the social posi-
tion or the thoughts of the inquirer are to be re-
vealed. The same card signifies, under other cir-
cumstances, past or future events according to its
position. A malignant card may be entirely
changed if surrounded by benign cards. Thus
each condition must be given due weight when
the cards are being consulted.

"Human life," says Papus, "passes through
four great periods, namely : childhood, youth, ma-
turity, and old age ; so, when the Tarots are being
read with regard to the past, present, or future,
this is the first thing to be dwelt upon to the ex-
clusion of every other significance that may be

381

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

seen in the cards. If, however, they are being
read regarding events, it will be seen that com-
mencement, apogee, decline, and fall are repre-
sented."

If a business transaction is the subject of in-
quiry, the suit of Rods must be the one selected,
since it indicates creation, enterprise, agriculture,
art, and the element of fire.

If a love affair is being inquired about, Cups
must represent it. The Cup indicates instruction,
preservation, the earth, and affection.

A lawsuit, quarrel, or trouble has Swords
for an emblem, as they denote transformation,
hatred, war, trouble, and the air.

Business calls for the Money suit; that typifies
development, trade, commerce, and water, with
ships, travelling, and all that is connected with
movement. The Money suit is sometimes named
Pentacles.

The Cups and Staves denote the house or the
home, the family or near relatives and friends.
Money typifies outsiders, or the world in general,
or unknown persons. Swords may be either close
relations or the public, whichever is indicated by
the surrounding cards.

382

AND PLAYING CARDS

The Atout cards may be divided so that the
first seven cards refer to the intellectual life of
man. The next seven cards point to his moral
condition, and the last seven of the Atouts de-
clare the various events of his life. Taken with
the pip cards, a fair narrative of all concerning
the ordinary events of life may be read in the
cards, that is at least curious and amusing, even
if no credence is placed m the revelations, and
this is supposed to be what the ancients meant
when they declared that Mercury had invented
"speech, letters, and books."

383

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

CHAPTER XIX
READING THE BOOK OF THOTH

To CONSULT the Tarots, the Initiate must in-
vite the Inquirer to designate what the cards are
to be asked to reveal, and, as has been mentioned,
this calls for the selection of one of the four suits
that in this case must be separated from the other
leaves. The suit selected must be shuffled thor-
oughly and cut by the Initiate, who then passes
them to the Inquirer, with the request that they
be shuffled and cut three times. The cards are
then ranged or spread out on a table, after which
the Atouts are shuffled and cut according to the
above directions, to be dealt according to the
rules of the game, remembering that the first card
to the left indicates commencement or childhood,
the second one to the right and above it is youth
or apogee, the third on the right signifies decline
or maturity, while the fourth position means old
age or fall ; in short, past, present, and future.

A simple way of reading the cards is as fol-

384

AND PL AY INC CARDS

lows: With the pip and Atout cards shuffled
and cut separately, the Juggler, or first card of
the Atouts, must be taken from the pack and laid
in the middle of the table, so that the other cards
may be dealt around it; for it represents the In-
quirer, and the cards that fall close to it reveal
the events in life most nearly connected with him.
After the cards are cut, the Inquirer may select
seven cards from the Atouts without looking at
them. The Bagatleur represents the Inquirer.
Deal four of them one by one, beginning at the
left side, so as to fill the following diagram:

II

I III

IV

Then take three Atouts, selected without look-
ing at them, and place them in the centre, as
follows :

II

I V VII VI III
IV

The last three show past, present, and future;

385

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

the other four indicate the character of the person
or the events about which the cards are being con-
sulted. The diagram demands seven Atouts be-
sides the Bagatleur or Inquirer.

Then, without seeing them, twelve pip cards
must be taken by the Inquirer from the suit that
has been selected, and these must be laid in a
circle around those already in place, commencing
on the left and working downwards and towards
the right. The first card should be next to No.
I; the fourth should be under No. IV; the
seventh should be opposite to the first one and
next to No. Ill; the tenth should be on the top,
above No. II, while the twelfth card falls beside
the first one, completing the circle. The Juggler
is then supposed to be placed in the middle of
the diagram or laid above the circle.

The twelve pip cards indicate the different
phases through which the person will pass, or the
evolution of the events during the four great
periods of life. Commencement is indicated by
the Atout in position No. I ; apogee, by the Atout
in position No. II; decline or obstacle, by the
Atout in position No. Ill, and fall, by the one in
position No. IV. Then the three other Atouts

386

AND PLAYING CARDS

indicate the special character of the person; in
the past by No. V, in the present by No. VI, in
the future by No. VII.

The pip cards should be studied where the
future is indicated by the cards in the circle occu-
pying places from seven to twelve, the present by
those occupying positions from four to seven, the
past by those occupying positions from one to four.
(These numbers refer to the positions occupied,
and never to the number of the pips on the cards,
or to the numbers placed on the Atouts. )

The above is a short and hurried method of
consulting the cards, but Etteila had a second one
that was used when a whole career was to be
revealed, as well as the character, or the influence
of education, friends, and family. It also indi-
cated the future position and chief events of life.
In short, it was supposed to be a repetition of
the scene when a young man, on reaching ma-
turity made a solemn sacrifice in the temple,
when the "Tablets of Fate," that had been
inscribed by Nebo, Thoth, or Mercury at his
birth, were consulted. In this way their wishes
were obtained that should govern his career in life.
This ceremony was never repeated, although the

387

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

orders of the gods were often requested on par-
ticular occasions without going through the entire
performance or the full consultation that had been
made at maturity.

According to Papus, four deals are required
for this process of divination, but his methods are
unnecessarily complicated, so they may be sim-
plified without altering the results.

Shuffle all the Tarots without making any dis-
tinction between the Atout and the pip cards.
Let the Inquirer .cut them three times, and then
cut them in three packets of about equal size.
Take the central heap, deal out twenty-six cards,
and lay them to the right in a pile. Shuffle those
remaining with the rest of the pack, and let them
again be cut, and then again cut into three piles.
Select the centre and deal seventeen cards,
placing them in a pile beside the one containing
the twenty-six cards. Shuffle the stock again to-
gether, and let them be shuffled and cut as before,
taking again the centre packet and dealing eleven
cards. Collect the remaining twenty-four cards
and put them aside. This is the Widow, or
Stock, and these cards represent the events that
might have happened in the life of the Inquirer,

388

AND PLAYING CARDS

but were eliminated by luck or chance, and these
often prove most interesting.

The first packet, containing the twenty-six
cards, represents the soul or the character of the
Inquirer, and of those most closely connected with
him. The pile containing the seventeen cards rep-
resents his mind or the events controlling him.
And the pile of eleven cards represents the body,
the ills or annoyances of life, or the events to take
place, such as the profession to be chosen, the
journeys to be taken, with other happenings.

The cards should be spread out on a table, so
that they can easily be seen and interpreted ac-
cording to their value, as given on pages 000-000,
the upper row containing the "soul" pile, the
second row the "mind" pile, and the third row
containing the "body" pile.

"From this system," says Papus (page 330),
Etteila deduced his subtle arguments upon the
creation of the universe, the Kabbalah, and the
Philosopher's stone." If any person can emulate
him in these deductions, they must be "wise in
their generation," and must have established direct
communication with the great god Nebo himself,
the "writer of the Tablets of Fate."

389

PROPHETICAL, EDUCATIONAL

For the second deal, the whole pack of seventy-
eight cards must be shuffled and cut three times.
Deal seventeen cards, laying them on the table
face up. Then take the eighteenth card and the
seventy-eighth card that should be on the bottom
of the pack, and "the meaning of these two
cards," says Papus, "will tell you whether any
fluidic sympathetic communication is established
between the Initiate and the Inquirer." Then
the seventeen cards laid out can be deciphered
and disclosed.

The third deal is "Etteila's great figure," which
gives the key to the past, present, and future of
the person about whose fate inquiry is being
made.

Take out the Atout numbered One, or the Jug-
gler. Deal ten cards side by side on the left of
the table. Shuffle and cut three times, and then
deal ten more across the top. Then shuffle, cut,
and deal ten more on the right side, thus forming
a hollow square, with the thirty Atout and pip
cards falling indiscriminately, but arranged side
by side.

Deal thirty cards in a ring in the centre, leaving
seventeen cards besides the Juggler, or on one

390

AND PLAYING CARDS

side for the stock, which has the meaning ascribed
to it in the other deals.

To read the cards, they must be picked up one
by one, beginning with the last one dealt on the
right side of the open square and the last one
of the ring, explaining their meaning and signifi-
cance as they are placed together in pairs, and
then discarding them entirely. The twenty cards
that are first taken up relate to the past.

The next twenty should be lifted in the same
way, starting with the top card of the square, and
mating it with the one nearest it of the centre
circle, which should be the eleventh one dealt.
These twenty cards represent the present.

The remaining twenty cards, that should be
selected in the same way, foretell the future.

The fourth deal is simple, and through it an-
swers may be obtained to any queries that are put
that have not been covered by the three preceding
revelations. Shuffle all the cards together and cut
three times. Then deal seven cards from right to
left and read the answer.

Papus declares that the above system of for-
tune-telling is based upon Etteila's method "as
given in his Book of Thoth that is very rare," and

391

PROPHETICAL EDUCATIONAL

that his method has "never before been seriously
elucidated by any of his numerous disciples."
Papus, therefore, is one of the first to explain it
upon "simple principles," which, however, require
further simplification to be practical, probably
owing to some misprints in his volume.

The manner of telling fortunes by cards, ac-
cording to the supposed rules of the priests of the
temple of Thoth, requires a complete pack of
Tarots that are at present difficult to obtain.
Spanish, French, or picture cards issued for games
are without real value or connection with one of
the earliest cults of the world. Fortune-telling
with cards is useless unless divined through the
emblems of Mercury or his predecessor, the great
Egyptian god Thoth, by reading the signs an
symbols pictured in his Book of Thoth Hermes
Trismegistus called

THE TAROTS.

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392

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