Papus Tarot

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(4) Digitized by the Internet Archive in. 2011 with funding from. Brigham Young University. http://www.archive.org/details/tarotofbohemiansOOpapu.

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(11) THE TAEOT OF THE BOHEMIANS..

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(13) ABSOLUTE KEY TO OCCULT SCIENCE.. THE TAROT OF THE BOHEMIANS. THE MOST ANCIENT BOOK IN THE WOELD. FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF INITIATES.. By PAPUS. FROM THE FRENCH BY. A. P.. MORTON.. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES AND WOODCUTS.. LONDON:. GEORGE REDWAY. 1896..

(14) The Tarot pack of 78 Cards, or. may. be. obtained on application. Publisher— Mr.. Hart. Street,. Plates, to. George Redway,. the. 9. Bloomsbury, London.. «MG1UA1 YOCJAG UNIVERSITY W*OVO> UTAH.

(15) TO. Cjn ®ctnli Stuxttt AND TO ALL ITS DISCIPLES..

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(17) PREFACE. The. Tarot pack of cards, transmitted by the Gypsies. from generation. to generation, is the. ancient initiation.. by Guillaume Levi,. and. J.. The key. up. who. This has been clearly demonstrated. Postel,. Court de Gébelin, Etteila, Eliphas. A. Vaillant.. to its construction. been revealed, so fill. primitive book of. far as I. this deficiency. and application has not yet. know.. I therefore. by supplying. wished to. Initiates,. i. e.. those. are acquainted with the elements of occult science,. with an accurate guide, which would assist. them. in the. pursuit of their studies.. The. uninitiated reader will find in. it. the explanation of. the lofty philosophy and science of ancient Egypt ladies are. Tarot,. ;. whilst. enabled to practise the use of the divining. by methods which we have. rendered. easy. in. Chapter XX.. The book has been. so arranged that each part forms.

(18) PREFACE.. viii. a complete whole, which can,. if. necessary, be. studied. separately. I. have used every. public that has. effort to. be as clear as possible. warmly welcomed. my. ;. the. other books will,. I hope, forgive the imperfections inherent to a. work of. this kind.. PAPUS..

(19) — —. —. CONTENTS. PART. I.. " GENERAL KEY TO THE TAROT, THE It GIVING THE ABSOLUTE KEY TO OCCULT SCIENCE. PAGE. Chap.. I.. Introduction Approaching. to the Study of the Tarot. End. of Materialism. :. — Synthesis. — The Occult Science — The Secret —The Cultus — The People, Transmitter Esoterism — The Gypsies— The Sacred Word of Freemasonry — Our Work. Societies of. .... IT.. The. Sacred. Word Yod-He-Yau-He. Kabbalah and the Sacred. The. He— The Y au — The. of the Sacred III.. :. 3. The. Word — The Yod 2nd. He— Synthesis. Word. 17. The Esoterism of Numbers Numbers and Operations the Numbers ... .... The Theosophic. :. —. IY.. .,.. Signification. .... .... of .... 26. Analogy between the Sacred Word and Numbers The Kabbalistic Word and the Series of Numbers Explanation of the :. —. Tetractys of Pythagoras. General. Law. .... — Figuration .... .... of the .... 32.

(20) — —. —. CONTENTS. CHAP.. V.. PAQK. The Key. Minor Arcana. to the. of the Tarot. Figures. — Study of. Formation. —. The lour Numbers Affinity beFigures and the Numbers Study. — The. tween the. :. a Colour. —. Ten. —. —. Four Colours A Comprehensive Glance over the Minor Arcana ... ... .... of the. VI.. The Key Arcana. —. VII.. Ternary. 1st. Septenary tenaries. Major Arcana. to the. — 2nd. — 2nd. Septenary. and the Ternary. :. The Major. Ternary. —The. 35'. —. 1st'. Three Sep-. of Transition. .... 51. Connection between the Major and Minor Arcana Domination of the 1st Septenary Affinities of the 2nd Septenary in the Tarot, Card by Card Ditto of the 3rd Septenary :. —. General Affinities. — Affinities of Yod, He, Vau,. He. and of the 2nd. .... General Figure giving the. PAET. .... Key. .... to the Tarot. .... 61. .... 68. II.. SYMBOLISM IN THE TAROT. APPLICATION OF THE GENERAL KEY TO THE SYMBOLISM.. VIII.. Introduction to the Study of Symbolism. :. —. —. The Symbols The Primitive Terms Key of Symbolism Definition of the Sense of one of the Symbols General Law of Symbolism. —. —. IX.. History of the Symbolism of the Tarot. Inquiry into its Origin The Tarot is an :. Egyptian Book Tarot. —Man— Tarot Florentine Tarot — Hindu Tarot. — Its. — — Bolognese. tegna's. Pack. Transformations. Venetian. 71.

(21) —. —. —. CONTENTS. CHAP.. xi. — Chinese Tarot — Modem Tarots — Besançon — Watillaux — Oswald Marseilles Wirth — and German Tarots — Consti-. PAGE. Etteila. Italian. tution of the. Symbolism. Hieroglyphic. 16 Primitive. Hebrew X.. of the Tarot. Letters. .... Signs. — The. —The. .... 22. .... .... The 1st Septenary. Theogony Scheme of. -The Symbolical Tarot.. Arcana. to. l. 7.. :. AVork. —Key. Card. of the Tarot the Origin of all the others. — The. to the 1st Septenary. — The. 1st. Three Principles of the Absolute. The Trinity. — Figure. Card and. of the 1st. its. 96. Affinities. 2nd Card. —The High. 112. Priestess (Beth). 3rd Card. 115. 4th. — The Empress (Gimel) Card — The Emperor (Daleth). 119. 5th. Card— The Pope. 123. (He). —The Lovers (Vau) Summary — Constitution God 6th Card. 127 132. of. XL. 2nd Septenary.. Androgony. Key. :. to the. 2nd 133. Septenary. Card— The Chariot (Zain) ... 8th Card— Justice (Cheth) 9th Card— The Hermit (Teth) ... 10th Card— The Wheel of Fortune (Yod) 11th Card— Strength (Kaph) 12th Card— The Hanged Man (Lamed) ... ... Summary Constitution of Man ... 7th. —. XLI.. 81. 3rd. Septenary.. Cosmogony. :. Key. Card—Death (Mem). —Temperance (Nun) Card — The Devil (Samech). 14th Card 15th. 138 142 145. 148 151. 155. t ie. 156. 3rd Septenary. 13th. to. 135. 158 .... 161. 164.

(22) —. —. CONTENTS.. xu CHAP.. Card— The. 16th. (Zain). Tower. Lightning-struck. 168. .... Card— The Star (Phe) 18th Card— The Moon (Tzaddi) ... Summary Constitution of the Universe 17th. 171. 174. —. XIII.. General Transition 1 9th Card— The 20th Card The 21st Card— The 22nd Card The. 177. 178. Sun (Qoph) Judgment (Kesh). —. Foolish. —. Man. 179 182. 185. (Shin). Universe (Tau). 188. .... Summary XIV.. 192. General Summary of the Symbolical Tarot. :. Involution and Evolution. Theogony. The. :. Absolute. 193 according. to. —. Wronski, Lacuria, and the Tarot Theogony of Divers Religions identical with that of the Tarot. Androgony. :. — Summary. 194. Summary with Summary. Figure with. Cosmogony: Figure Figure containing the. Symbolism. .... 210. .... 214. of. the. all. Major Arcana, enabling the Signification of each Card to be easily defined. PART. .... 220— 221. III.. applications of the tarot.. XV.. General Key to the Applications of the Tarot The Principle and the Forms The. —. :. 21st Card of the Tarot. is. a Figure-Principle. Tarot— The Year— The Day— The Human Life The. Month—The 225.

(23) ——. —. —. CONTENTS.. xiii. PAGE. CHAP.. XVI.. The Astronomic Tarot Egyptian Astronomy :. —. The Four Seasons The Twelve Months The Thirty-six Decani The Planets Abso-. —. —. Analogy with the Tarot. lute. — Figure contain-. ing the Application of the Tarot to Astron-. — Key to the Astrological Works of Christian — Oswald Wirth's Astronomical Tarot omy. XVII.. The. Tarot. Initiative. this Subject. 233. Ch. Barlet's Essay on. :. — Involution and Evolution— The. —. Tyana The Phases of Initiation represented by the Tarot ... 253 Barlet's Work upon the Cosmogonic Tarot 253 ... Hours of Apollonius. XVIII.. The Kabbalistic Tarot. of. :. Deductions by Etteila. upon the Booh of Thoth. —Example. of the. Application of the Tarot to the Kabbalah, the. Hierogram of. Adam by. Stanislas de Guaita 291. XIX. —The Authors who have interested themselves in the Tarot Eaymond Lulle Cardan. —. :. Postel. — The. Rosicrucians. — Etteila— Claude. de. —. Court de Gébelin. Saint-Martin. —. J.. A.. — Christian —Eliphas Levi— de Guaita Joséphin Péladan — The Platonist — Theosophical Publications — F. Ch. Barlet. Vaillant. St.. Wirth— Poirel— Ely Star— H. P. Blavatsky —Ch.de Sivry— Mathers 297 0.. XX.. The. Tarot in Seven Lessons. Introduction: To our Lady Readers AsDivining. —. tronomy and Astrology telling 1st. — Intuition—Fortune-. by the Tarot in Seven Lessons Lesson. —. 301. ... 305 by the Tarot ... Minor Arcana Signification. Fortune-telling. 2nd Lesson. .... Simplification of the Rules of. —. —.

(24) —. CONTENTS.. xiv CHAP.. — A good Memory unnecessary retention — Key the Divining Tarot 3rd Lesson — Major Arcana —. PAGE. for their. to. .. .. .. 307. Signification. from a Divining Point of View 4//i. Lesson. this. — Basis. of. Knowledge. the. .... Application of. — Arrangement. the. of. 318. Cards. — Eeading Process — Elaborate Lesson —. 5th Lesson. Method. published. Tarot. the. Process. Conclusion. Royal. Game. the Tarot. XXII.. 1st. of the. .... Conclusion of the. Index. .... .... Human. —The. un-. Deal. Deal. .... —'Bibliography. Application of the Tarot to Games to the Egyptians. 322. of reading the Tarot. —2nd Deal— 3rd Deal— 4th. XXL. .... and. (from one of his rarest works).. —. — Rapid. .... original. Etteila's. QtJi. 7th Lesson. 316. :. .... 327 333. The. Life according. Unity. of. Games. in. .... .... .... .... 335. Work. .... .... .... 343. .... .... .... .... 349. Table of the Authors and Principal Works ... .. 353 quoted ... ... ....

(25) INTRODUCTION TO. THE STUDY OF THE TAROT..

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(27) —. —. —. THE TABOT. CHAPTER. I.. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE TAROT.. — Synthesis — The Occult Science Cultus The People, Organ of the Transmission of Esoterism — The Gypsies — The Sacred Word of Freemasonry — Our Work.. Approaching End of Materialism. The. Secret Societies. — The. " Therefore you must open the book and carefully weigh the statements made it. Then you will know that the drug within is of very different value from the promise of the box, that is to say, that the subjects treated in it are riot Rabelais. so frivolous as the title may imply." in. We. are on the eve of a complete transformation of our. scientific. methods.. can expect from. hope. for great. unwilling. to. it,. Materialism has given us. and. all. that. we. inquirers, disappointed as a rule,. things from the future, whilst they are. spend. more time. adopted in modern times.. pursuing the path. in. Analysis has been carried, in. every branch of knowledge, as far as possible, and has only deepened the moats which divide the sciences.. Synthesis becomes necessary If. we would condescend. to. ;. but how can we realize. waive. belief in the indefinite progress. for. and. one. moment. it. ?. our. fatal superiority of.

(28) —. THE TAROT.. 4. later generations over the ancients,. we should. at once per-. ceive that the colossal civilizations of antiquity possessed. Science, Universities,. and Schools.. India and Egypt are. strewn with valuable remains, which reveal to archaeologists the existence of this ancient still. science.. We. are. now. in a position to affirm that the. dominant. character of this teaching was synthesis, which condenses. a few very simple. in. laws the whole of the acquired. knowledge.. But the use. of synthesis. had been almost entirely. through several causes, which. Amongst the to. it is. lost,. important to enumerate.. knowledge was only transmitted men whose worth had been proved by a series of tests. ancients,. This transmittal took place in the temples, under the. name. of mysteries, and the adept assumed the. priest or Initiate. occult,. 1. of. title. This science was therefore secret or. and thus originated the name of. occult science,. given. by our contemporaries to the ancient synthesis. Another reason for the limited diffusion of the higher branches of knowledge, was the length and difficulty of the journeys involved before the most important centres of initiation could be reached.. However, when the approaching when. Initiates found. these. of synthesis from oblivion.. might. doctrines. humanity, they made strenuous. that a time was. efforts to. be. lost. to. save the law. Three great methods were. used for this purpose 1.. Secret societies, a direct continuation of the mysteries. 2.. The. cultus,. a symbolic translation of the higher. doctrines, for the use of the people 1. ;. ;. See Jamblichus, Porphyry, and Apuleius..

(29) INTRODUCTION. S.. the. Lastly,. people. itself. 5. became the unconscious. depository of the doctrine.. Let us now see what use each of these groups made of the treasure confided to. it.. THE SECRET SOCIETIES. The. of Alexandria. s chool. which the secret. The majority. was the principal source from. societies of the. West. of the Initiates. had. arose. t. aken refuse in. East, and quite recently (in 1884) the. the existence in India, and above. all. t he. West discovered in Thibet, of. an. occult fraternity, which possessed, practically, the ancient. synthesis in. its integrity.. The Theosophite. Society was. founded with the object of uniting Western initiation with Oriental initiation.. But we are. less. interested. in the. existence of this. doctrine in the East, than in the history of the develop-. ment of the initiative societies in the West. The Gnostic sects, the Arabs, Alchemists, Templars, Rosicrucians, and lastly the Freemasons, form the. Western. chain in the transmission of occult science.. A. rapid glance over the doctrines of these associations. is sufficient. to prove that the present. form of Freemasonry. has almost entirely lost the meanings of the traditional symbols, which constitute the. trust. which. it. ought. to. have transmitted through the ages.. The. elaborate ceremonials of the ritual appear ridiculous. to the vulgar. actual. common. sense of a lawyer or grocer, the. modern representatives. of antiquity.. of the profound doctrines.

(30) THE TAEOT.. 6. We. make some exceptions in Ragon and a few others.. must, however,. great thinkers, like. In short, Freemasonry has. lost. favour of. the doctrine confided. and cannot by itself provide us with the synthetic law for which we are seeking. to. it,. THE CULTUS. The. were to transmit in their symbolism. secret societies. the scientific side of primitive initiation, the religious sects. were to develop the philosophical and metaphysical aspects of the doctrine.. Every. I. priest of. an ancient creed was one of the. Initiates,. he knew perfectly well that only one religion existed, and that the cultus merely served to that. is. to. say,. translate this religion to the different nations according; to their particular temperaments.. important. result,. namely, that a. This fact led to one priest,. no matter which. he served, was received with honour in the temples of all the other gods, and was allowed to offer sacrifice to them. Yet this circumstance must not be supposed to imply any idea of polytheism. The Jewish of the gods. High. Priest in Jerusalem received one of the Initiates,. Alexander the Great, into the Temple, and led him into the Holy of Holies, to offer sacrifice.. Our. religious disputes for the. over another would have caused of the ancient Initiate priests. that intelligent in one. men. fundamental. ;. supremacy of one creed. much amusement. to. one. they were unable to suppose. could ignore the unity of. all. creeds. religion.. Sectarianism, chiefly sustained by two creeds, equally.

(31) INTRODUCTION.. 7. blinded by their errors, the Christian and the Mussulman,. was the cause of the total loss of the secret doctrine, which gave the key to Synthetic Unity. greater labour. Still. is. required to re-discover Synthesis. Western religions, than to find it in Freemasonry. The Jews alone possessed, no longer the spirit, but the. in our. letter of their oral or Kabbalistic traditions.. written in Hebrew,. sense has never yet been revealed. this prodigious work,. of the Inquisition at. the. list. Rome. Yet every cultus has. its. all. true. Fabre d'Olivet com-. have placed these studies on Posterity will judge them. tradition, its book, its Bible,. know how. which teach those who. its. but the ignorant descendants. of those prohibited. 1. unity of. Bible,. marvellous from this point of view,. is. the occult traditions, although. for it contains all. menced. The. to. read. them the. creeds, in spite of the difference existing in. the ritual of various countries.. The Sepher. Bcrescliit of. Moses. is. the Jewish Bible, the. Apocalypse and the Esoteric Gospels form the Christian Bible, the Legend of. the. Hiram. Bible. Odyssey the. of. is. the Bible of Freemasonry,. the. so-called. polytheism of. Rome, and lastly the Hindib Mussulman Koran are well known to all. Greece, the JEncid that of. Vedas and the. students of ancient theology.. To any one possessing the key, all these Bibles reveal the same doctrine but this key, which can open Esoterism, It is is lost by the sectarians of our Western creeds. therefore useless to seek for it any longer amongst them. ;. 1. See Fabre d'Olivet,. La Langue Hébraïque. Restituée..

(32) THE TAROT.. THE PEOPLE. The Sages were. under no. illusions. respecting. the. which they confided. possible future of the tradition,. to. the intelligence and virtue of future generations.. Moses had chosen a people to hand down through the book which contained all the science succeeding © a^es © of Egypt but before Moses, the Hindu Initiates had ;. selected a nation to. hand down. to the generations of the. future the primitive doctrines of. the great civilizations. of the Atlantides.. The people have never disappointed the expectations Understanding none of the of those who trusted it. truths which. it. possessed,. it. from. carefully abstained. them in any way, and made upon them as sacrilege.. altering. treated the least attack. Thus the Jews have transmitted intact to us the letters which form the Sepher of Moses. But Moses had not solved the problem so authoritatively as the Thibetans. It was a great thing to give the people a book which but it could adore respectfully, and always guard intact to give it a book which would enable it to live, was yet ;. better.. The people. intrusted with the transmission of occult. doctrines from the earliest ages. Gypsy. was the Bohemian. or. race.. THE GYPSIES. The Gypsies possess a Bible, which has proved their means of gaining a livelihood, for it enables them to tell.

(33) —. INTRODUCTION. fortunes. at the. ;. same time. it. 9. has been a perpetual source. amusement, for it enables them to gamble. Yes the game of cards called the Tarot, which the Gypsies possess, is the Bible of Bibles. It is the book of. of. ;. Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, the book of Adam, the book of the primitive Revelation of ancient civilizations.. Thus whilst the Freemason, an intelligent and virtuous man, has lost the tradition; whilst the priest, also intelligent and virtuous, has lost his esoterism the Gypsy, although both ignorant and vicious, has given us the key which ;. enables us to explain. the symbolism of the ages.. all. We. must admire the wisdom of the Initiates, who utilized vice and made it produce more bénéficiai results than virtue.. The Gypsy pack. of cards. is. a wonderful book according. and Vaillant. 2 This pack, under the name of Tarot, 3 Thora, 4 Rota, 5 has formed the basis to. Court de Gébelin. of the. synthetic. successively.. 1. teachings. of. all. the ancient. nations. 6. where a man of the people only sees a means of amusement, the thinker will find the key to an obscure tradition. Raymond Lulle has based his Ars Magna upon the Tarot; Jerome Cardan has written a treatise In. upon. it,. from the keys of the Tarot; 7 Guillaume Postel has found in it the key to the ancient mysteries subtility. ;. whilst. Louis-Claude 1. 2. 3 4. de. Saint- Martin,. the. unknown. —Le Monde Primitif. — Vaillant. Les Homes, Histoire des Bohémiens.. Court de Gébelin.. Eliphas Levi.— Rituel de la Haute Magie. Vaillant.— Op. cit.. 5. Guillaume Poste).. c. Vaillant.. 7. Eliphas Levi.. —Loc.. — Clavis.. cit.. Op.. cit..

(34) THE TAROT.. 10. philosopher, finds written in. it. unite God, the Universe, and. the mysterious links which. Man. !. Through the Tarot we are now able develop. synthetic. the. law,. and. to discover. concealed. in. these. all. symbolisms.. The hour. is. approaching when the missing word will. form the sacred triangle of Masonic. remember. initiation,. do you. !. 30th. — Knight. Kadosh. —. Master. Rosicrucian. _^. 3rd. ISth. Remember, Master, the. who. Masters, Rosicrucian and Kadosh, you. be refound.. that illustrious man, killed through. most cowardly of conspiracies. ;. remember Hiram,. whose resurrection, promised by the Branch of Acacia, thou art looking. for in faith. !. Remember, Rosicrucian, the mysterious thou hast sought for so long, escapes thee. which of which the meaning still vjord. !. Remember, Kadosh, the magnificent. symbol. which. radiated from the centre of the luminous triangle, wdien. the real meaning of the letter. G. was revealed. HIRAM— INRI— YOD-HE-V AU-HE same mystery under. He who. !. to thee. indicate. !. the. different aspects.. understands one of these words possesses the. key which opens the tomb of Hiram, the symbol of the.

(35) INTRODUCTION synthetic science of the Ancients. ;. 11. be can open the tomb. and fearlessly grasp the heart of the revered Master, the symbol of esoteric teaching. The whole Tarot is based upon this word, ROTA, arranged as a wheel.. T yod (i). A. he (N). (I) lie. (R). vau (R). INRI origin,. !. is. the word which indicates the Unity of your. Freemasons and Catholics. !. Igne Natura Benovatur Integra. Iesus Nazareus scientific. same. and. Bex Iudeorum are the opposite. religious, physical. poles,. and metaphysical, of the. doctrine.. YOD-HE-VAU-HE. QTBT). is. the word which indicates. you both, Freemasons and Kabbalists, the Unity of your origin. TAROT, THORA, ROTA are the words which point out to you all, Easterns and Westerns, the Unity of. to. your requirements and of your aspirations in the eternal.

(36) 12. THE TAROT.. Adam-Eve, the source. of. all. our knowledge and of. all. our. creeds.. All honour, therefore, to the. we. Gypsy Nomad,. to. whom. are indebted for the preservation of this marvellous. instrument, the synthetic. summary. of the whole teaching. of antiquity.. OUR WORK. We. commence. by a preliminary study of the elements of the Kabbalah and of numbers. will. Supplied with these data, we will explain the construction of the Tarot in all its details, studying separately each. which compose our machine, then studying the action of these pieces upon each other. Upon this of the pieces. point. we. shall. We. be as explicit as possible.. will. then. touch upon some applications of the machine, but upon a few only, leaving to the genuine inquirer the work of. We. must confine our personal work to giving a key, based upon a synthetic formula we can only supply the implement of labour, in order that those who wish for knowledge may use it as they like and we. discovering others.. ;. ;. feel assured that efforts. they will understand the utility of our. and of their own.. Lastly,. we. will. do our best to explain the elements of. divination by the Tarot as practised by the Gypsies.. But those who think that occult science should not be revealed must not be too angry with us. Experience has taught us that everything only. may be. fearlessly said, those. who should understand can understand. ;. the others will. accuse our work of being obscure and incomprehensible..

(37) —. INTRODUCTION.. We. 13. have warned them by placing at the head of our. work For It. is. the exclusive use of Initiates.. one characteristic of the study of true occult. science, that it. may. men.. Like. appears to. many. be freely explained to. the parables, so dear to the ancients,. it. all. only the expression of the flight of a bold imagination. we. need, therefore, never be afraid of speaking too openly,. Word. the. by. :. will only reach those. who should be touched. it.. To you social,. you. and. all,. philosophers of Unity, enemies of scientific,. religious sectarianism, I. now. address myself, to. I dedicate this result of several years' study.. May. I. thus aid in the erection of the temple which you are about to raise to the all. honour of the. Unknown God,. the others emanate throughout Eternity. !. from. whom.

(38) V.

(39) PART. I.. GENERAL KEY TO THE TAROT, GIVING THE ABSOLUTE KEY TO OCCULT SCIENCE..

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(41) —. CHAPTER. II.. mm THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE. The Kabbalah and the Sacred Word— The Yod— The He— The Van The second He Synthesis of the Sacred Word.. —. —. According. to the ancient oral tradition of the. or Kabbalah,. 1. Hebrews,. a sacred word exists, which gives to the. who can. way of pronouncing it, the key to all the sciences, divine and human. This word, which the Israelites never uttered, and which the High mortal. discover the correct. Priest pronounced once a year, amidst the shouts of the laity,. is. found at the head of every initiative. ritual,. it-. radiates from the centre of the flaming triangle at the 1. "It appears, according to the most famous rabbis, that Moses which awaited his book, and the falsi;. himself, foreseeing the fate. interpretations. which would be given. to. it. in the course of time,. resorted to an oral law, which he delivered verbally to reliable men,. whose. fidelity. he had tested, and. whom. others in the secret of the sanctuary,. he charged to transmit. who. it. to. in their turn, transmitting. from age to age, secured its preservation even for the most distant posterity. This oral law, which modern Jews still flatter themselves' that they possess, is called the Kabbalah, from a Hebrew word which it. signifies that. which. is. that which passes from. Hébraïque Restituée,. which comes from elsewhere, hand." Fabre d'Olivet, La Langue. received, that. hand. to. p. 29.. c.

(42) —. THE TAROT.. 18. 33rd degree of the Freemasonry of Scotland,. above the gateways of our old cathedrals,. Hebrew. letters,. is. displayed. it is. formed of four. TWV. and reads thus, Yod-he-vau-he,. k. used in the Sepher Bercschit, or Genesis of Moses, to designate the divinity, and its grammatical construction It is. recalls. even by. formation. its. 1. the attributes which. men. Now we. shall. have always delighted to ascribe. to. God.. see that the powers attributed to this. word are. real. up. to. a certain point, for with its aid the symbolical gate of the arch,. which contains the explanation of the whole doctrine. of ancient science, to enter into. some. The word van, p), he. À. letters. we. is. We are. easily opened. It. detail respecting. formed of four This. (il).. number. alphabet.. is. is. is. therefore necessary. it.. letters,. last letter he is. Yod. C),. now. at those. (n),. repeated twice.. attributed to each letter of the. must look. he. which. Hebrew. relate to the. considering. >. n i. Yôd he. vau. ==. 10. =. 5. =;. 6. "This name presents first the sign which indicates life, repeated This twice, and thus forming the essentially living root EE (HiT). root is never used as a noun, and is the only one which enjoys this prerogative. It is from its formation not only a verb, but a unique verb, from which ail the others are merely derivations in short, the verb (EVE), to be, being. Here, as we can see, and as I have carefully explained in my grammar, the sign of intelligible light 1 (VO) is placed in the midst of the root of life. Moses, when using this unique verb to form the proper name of the Being of Beings, added to it the sign of potential manifestation and of eternity, ^ (I) he thus obtained mrP (IEVE), in which the facultative Being is placed between a past tense without origin, and a future without This admirable word thus exactly signifies the Being who is, limit. who was, and who will be." Fabre d'Olivet, La Langue Hébraïque 1. ;. mn. ;. Restituée..

(43) THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE. The. numerical value of the word. total. +. 10. 5. +. +. 6. =. 5. mrp. is. 19. therefore. 26.. Let us now study each letter separately.. THE YOD. The Yod, shaped. like a. comma. or a dot, represents the. principle or origin of all things.. The other. letters of the. Hebrew alphabet. are all pro-. duced by different combinations of the letter Yod} The synthetic study of nature had led the ancients to conclude that one law only existed, and ruled. natural productions.. all. This law, the basis of analogy, placed the Unity-principle at. the origin of. things,. all. reflections at various. degrees of this Unity-principle.. the Yod, which alone forms. words and. fore all the. and regarded them as the. all. all. Thus. the other letters, and there-. the phrases of the alphabet, was. image and representation of this Unityprinciple, of which the profane had no knowledge. Thus the law which presided over the creation of the. justly used as the. Hebrew language. is. the same law that presided over the. creation of the Universe, and to. the other, unreservedly. ^. know. The Sepher. the one. Yetzircch,. is 2. to. know. one of the. most ancient books of the Kabbalah, proves this fact. Before proceeding any further, let us illustrate the definition which we have just given of the Yod by an example. aleph other. The. first. letter of the. Hebrew. alphabet, the. composed of four yods placed opposite to each the other letters are all formed on the same basis. 3. (S), is ;. 1. 8. 3. See the Kabbala D&nudaia.. Translated into English by Dr.. See the Kabbala Denudata.. Wynn. \Yestcott..

(44) THE TAROT.. 20. The numerical value of the yod leads ations. The Unity-principle, according the Kabbalists,. also the. is. things, so that eternity,. The. eternal present.. to other considerto the doctrine of. Unitv-end of beings and of. from this point of view,. is. only an. ancients used a dot in the centre of. a circle as the symbol of this idea, the representation of the Unity-principle circle,. {the dot) in. the centre of eternity (the. a line without beginning or end). 1. According to these demonstrations, the Unity is regarded as the whole, of which all created beings are only the con-. Unity-man is formed of an molecules, which compose his being. as. stituent parts; just. agglomeration of. the. The Kabbalah, therefore,. places at the origin of all things. the absolute assertion of the being by. Unity, which. is. by the number principle. 1,. the Ego-. represented by the yod symbolically, and 10.. This number 10, representing the All-. with the Zero-nothing. requisite conditions. 1. itself of. 0,. well. supplies the. 2. See Kirclier, Œiipus JEquptiacus ; Lenain, La Science Kabbalistique ,,. ;. J. Dee, Monas ,. See Saint-Mnrtin, Des rapports qui existent entre Dieu, V Homme. Hieroglyph tea.. 2. et ,,. V Univers.. A. Lacuna, Harmonies de VEtre exprimées par. les. nombres..

(45) THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE.. THE. 21. HE. 1. But the Ego cannot be. except through. realized. its. The assertion of the Ego is established, when we must instantly realize a of the Ego, Absolute, upon itself, from which the. opposition to the Non-Ego. scarcely. reaction. conception of. its. existence will be drawn, by a kind of. This. division of the Unity.. opposition, of the Binary, the. the Unity. by. itself,. the exact. is. is. the origin of duality, of. image of femininity, even. the image of the masculine.. in opposition to. number. itself,. as. Ten, divided. then equals. == 5, five,. -g-. of the letter He, the second letter of the. great sacred name.. The He. therefore represents the passive in relation to. the Yod, which symbolizes the active; the relation to the Ego, the. woman. relatively to. the substance relatively to the essence to the soul,. Non-Ego. ;. life. the. in. man;. in its relation. &c, &c.. THE VAU. 2 But the opposition. of the. Ego and the Non-Ego imme-. diately gives rise to another factor. existing between this. Now. Ego and. this. ;. this. is. the Affinity. Non-Ego.. Hebrew alphabet, = 15 = 6 (or 1 + 5),. the Vau, the sixth letter of the. produced by 10 (yod) + 5 (he) signifies link or analogy.. It is. the link which, uniting. See Eliphas Levi, Dogme et Rituel de la Hante Magie ; Grands Mystères; Lacuria, op. cit. 2 See Fabre d' Olivet, La Langue Hébraïque Restituée. 1. —. la Clef des.

(46) —. THE TAROT.. 22. antagonisms in the whole of nature, constitutes the third word of this mysterious Trinity.. Ego. — Non-Ego. Ego with the Non-Ego.. Affinity of the. THE 2ND HE. Nothing can. exist. beyond. this. Trinity, considered. as. a law.. The which. Trinity all. is. the synthetic and absolute formula to. the sciences converge. with regard to. its. us integrally, by. and. scientific value,. all. this formula, forgotten. has been transmitted to. the religions of the world, the uncon-. scious depositaries of the civilizations.. ;. Science Wisdom. of primitive. 1. Thus the great sacred name is formed of three letters only. The fourth term of the name is formed by the repetition of the second letter, the He.. This repetition indicates the passage of the Trinitarian. law into a new application; that. is,. to. speak correctly,. a transition from the metaphysical to the physical world, or. generally,. of. any world whatever to the world that. immediately follows. The knowledge 1. it.. 2. of the property of the second. See Louis Lucas, Le. Roman. He. is. the. alchimique.. ". Prœter hœc tria mimera non est alia magnitudo, quod tria sunt omnia, et ter undecunque, ut pythagorici dicunt; omne et omnia tribus determinata sunt." Aristotle. (Quoted by Ostrowski, page 24 of. —. his Mathèse.. ). Ostrowski has seen this clearly. " The passage of 3 in 4 corresponds to that of the Trimurti in Maïa, and as the latter opens the second ternary of the pregenesetic decade, so the figure 4 opens that 2. of the second ternary of our genesetic decimal.". Mathèse,. p. 25..

(47) THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE. key to the whole which. it is. 23. divine name, in every application of. We. susceptible.. shall presently see the 'proof. of this statement.. SUMMARY UPON THE WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE.. Now. that. we have. separately studied each of the letters. that compose the sacred name,. synthesis to them, and. sum up. The word Yod-he-vau-he. is. we. will. apply the law of. the results obtained.. formed of four. letters, signi-. fying:. The Tod. The. He. The Van. The active principle pre-eminent. The Ego = 10.. The passive principle pre-eminent. The Non-Ego = 5. The Median. letter,. the link, which unites the. active to the passive.. The Affinity between the Ego and the NonEgo = 6.. These three. letters express the Trinitarian. law of the. Absolute.. The 2nd He. This second prising. compose It. in one it. :. The second He marks the passage from one world to another. The Transition.. He. represents the. complete Being, com-. Absolute Unity the three letters which. Ego, Non-Ego, Affinity.. indicates. phenomenal or from one scale. the. passage. reciprocal. ;. to another.. it. from the noumenal tc the serves as. means. of ascension.

(48) —. —. —. THE TAEOT.. 24. REPRESENTATION OF THE SACRED WORD.. The word Yod-he-vau-he can be represented ways, which are. The. circle. in various. all useful.. can be drawn in this way yod. 2nd he. he. 1st. n. n vau 1. But. since the second He, the sign of transition,. the active entity in the following scale,. only represents a yod in germ, represented,. with. the. second. 1. becomes. since this. i. e.. He. the sacred word can be. lie. under. the. first. yod,. thus. yod. 1st. lie. vau. 2nd he Lastly, a third. method. of representing the. word. consists. in enveloping the Trinity, Yod-he-vcm, with the tonalisating letter, or. second He, thus. 2nd he. 2nd he. 2nd he. 2nd he The second He, upon which we are intentionally dwelling at some length, may be compared to a grain of wheat relatively to the 1.

(49) THE SACRED WORD YOD-HE-VAU-HE.. Now we later on,. will leave these data, to. 25. which we must return. and speak of the occult or Pythagorean conception. of numbers.. ear.. The. ear,. the Trinity, manifest. or yod-he-vau, exerts all its '. He. But wheat is only the transition between the ear which gave it birth, and the ear to which it will itself give birth in the It is the transition between one generation following generation. and another which it contains in germ this is why the second He is a Yod in germ. activity in the production of the grain of wheat, or second this grain of. ;.

(50) CHAPTER. III.. THE ESOTERISM OF NUMBERS. The Theosophic Numbers and Operations Numbers.. — Signification. of. the. The Numbers.. The. had a conception of numbers which is almost lost in modern times. The idea of the Unity in all its manifestations led to numbers being considered as the expression of absolute laws.. ancients. This led to the veneration expressed for the 3 or for. the 4 throughout antiquity, which. is. so incomprehensible. to our mathematicians.. however evident that if the ancients had not known how to work any other problems than those we It. now. is. use,. nothing could have led them to the ideas we find. current in the Hindu, Egyptian, and Greek Universities. 1. What then not know ? 1. are. See Fabre d'Oliver,. these operations, that our savants do. La Langue Hébraïque. d'Al/eydre, Mission des -ht ifs.. Restituée et Saint-Yves.

(51) THE ESOTERISM OF NUMBERS. They. of. are. two. kinds. :. 27. theosophic reduction. and. theosophic addition.. These operations are theosophic because they cause the essential laws of nature to penetrate throughout the world ;. they cannot be included in the science of phenomena, for they tower above. it,. soaring. into. the. heights of pure. intellectuality.. They. therefore formed the basis of the secret and oral. instruction confided to a few chosen. men, under the name. of Esoterism.. 1.. Theosop)hic Reduction.. Theosophic reduction consists in reducing. all. the numbers. formed of two or several figures to the number of a single figure,. and. this. is. done by adding together the figures. which compose the number, until only one remains. example. :. = 1+0 = 1 11 = 1 + 1 = 2 12 = 1 + 2 = 3 126 = 1+2 + 6 = 9 2488 = 2 + 4 + 8 + 8 = 22 = 2 + 2 = 4 10. This operation corresponds to that which the proof by 9.. 2.. is. now. called. Theosophic Addition.. Theosophic addition consists in ascertaining the theosophic value of a number, by adding together arithmetically all. the figures from the unity to itself inclusively.. Thus the. figure. 4,. in. theosophic addition, equals. all.

(52) —. —. THE TAROT.. 28. the figures from 1 to 4 inclusively added together, that to say, 1. is. The. +. 2. +3+4=. 10.. figure 7 equals. 1+2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 28 = 2 + 8 =. 10.. Theosophic reduction and addition are the two operations which. it. indispensable. is. understand the secrets of antiquity.. Let us now apply these rules to. we may. know,. to. if. we would. 1. the numbers, that. all. discover the law which directs their progression.. Theosophic reduction shows. us,. first. of. all,. that. numbers, whatever they. may. selves to the nine. since they are all brought. to. first,. be, are reducible in. numbers of a single figure. But this consideration is not. now. addition will. Through for:. find that 1, 4,. 7,. 1,. light.. 10 are equal to. =1 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10=1 4 7 = 1+2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 10 = 1. down. 1.. 1. So that figure. we. it. new. them-. and theosophic. sufficient,. furnish us with. all. all. 28. =. 10. =. 1. the three numbers ultimately return to the. thus 3. 1.. 2.. 4. =10 =1. 4.. 7=. 5.. 28. 6. = 10=1. See for more details Traité Élémentaire de Science Occulte, by Papus, chap. ii. 1.

(53) —. —. —. THE ESOTERISM OF NUMBERS.. 29. Or one could write 1.. 2.. 3. 5.. 6. (1) 4.. (1), etc.. The. results of this consideration are. (1). :. That. all. the. numbers in their evolution, reproduce the 4 first; (2) That the last of these 4 first, the figure 4, represents the unity at a different octave.. The sequence in this way. of the. numbers may therefore be written 1.. 2.. 3. 4.. 5.. 6. 7.. 8.. 9. 10.. 11.. 12. 13.. 14.. 15. 16.. 17.. 18. 19. We may. notice that 4,. 7, 10, 13, 16,. different conceptions of the unity,. and. 19, etc., are only. this. may. be proved. by the application of theosophic addition and reduction thus. 4= 7=. 1. 1. + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10-1 + 2 + 3 + 4+ 5 + 6 + 7 = 28 =. 10. =. 1. 10= 1 13= 4 = 10= 1 16= 7 = 28=10=1 19 = 10= 1, etc., etc.. We. see that in every three. numbers the. series reverts. to the unity abruptly, whilst it returns to it progressively in the. two intermediate numbers..

(54) —. THE TAKOT.. 30. Let us now repeat that the knowledge of the laws of numbers and the study of them, made as we have here. key to all occult science. We must now sum up all the preceding statements in the following conclusion that all numbers may be reduced, indicated, will give the. :. in a final analysis, to the series of the 4. thus arranged. 3. 2.. 1.. first,. 4. THE SIGNIFICATION OF NUMBERS. But our knowledge. of the numerical science of the. ancients does not end here.. It also attributed a. number. Since we have reduced the. meaning. to each. the 4. first,. it. will. for us to. suffice. attributed to these 4. numbers to know the meaning. series of all the. first.. The. Unity represents numbers, since the others. the all. creative. principle of. emanate from. it;. it. is. all. the. active principle pre-eminent.. But the Unity alone cannot produce anything except by opposing. itself to itself. thus. —. From. this proceeds. duality, the principle of opposition represented. by two, the. passive principle pre-eminent.. From third. the union of the Unity and Duality proceeds the. principle,. which unites the two opposites in one Three is the neuter principle. common neutrality, 1+2 = 3. pre-eminent.. But these three. principles all reduce themselves into.

(55) —. THE ESOTERISM OF NUMBERS. the fourth, which merely represents a the Unity as an active principle.. The law. of these principles. Unity. is. Opposition. new. therefore as follows Action of opposition. upon the. 3. 2. 1. unity.. Neuter. Passive. Active. acceptation of. 1. antagonism.. or return to unity.. 31. Etc. Active 4. Active 1. Passive- Active. Passive. 4. 2. «. Net iter <. 3. 1. See for further enlightenment the Traité Élémentaire de Science. Occulte, p. 49. and following..

(56) —. CHAPTER. —. IV.. ANALOGY BETWEEN THE SACRED WORD AND NUMBERS. The Kabbalistic Word and. Numbers — Explanation of — Figuration of the General Law.. the Series of. the Tetractys of Pythagoras. Numbers and the Kabbalistic Word. This sequence of numbers. 1, 2, 3,. active, the passive, the neuter,. corresponds in. all. and. and. 4,. representing the. a second active principle,. points with the series of the letters of. the sacred name, so that the latter. Yod. may be. thus written. — He — Vau. 2nd He = Yod,. etc.,. which demonstrates analogically that 1. 2 3. 4. We. represents. — — —. Yod He Vau The 2nd He. by the identity of the action of the number 4, which becomes a unity (4 = 10 = 1), and of the second He, which represents the. can prove the truth. Yod. of. these. of the following sequence.. analogies.

(57) —. —. THE SACRED WORD AND NUMBERS.-. 33. In comparing the two identical series we obtain the following figures Sequence of numbers. Kabballstic sequence. Yod. 1. 2nd he. lie. vau. Identity of the two sequences 1. Yod. 2 he. H. H. 2nd he 4. 1. vau 3. We Egypt he,. can now understand. why. Pythagoras, initiated in. into the mysteries of the sacred. replaced this word in his. esoteric. word Yod-he-vauteachings by the. numbers or tetractys. This sequence of the numbers is, in all points, identical with the sequence of the letters of the sacred name, and the tetractys of Pythagoras, 1, 2, 3, 4, equals and absolutely represents the word Yod-he-vau-he. The sequence of the numbers, or the sequence of the. sequence of the 4. first. letters, therefore, resolves itself definitely into. the following. data. D.

(58) —. THE TAROT.. 34 1. Term. positive. and generator.. The Yod 1. Term. 1.. negative or générant.. The He 1. or the. Term neuter. or. or the 2.. generated. proceeding. from the two. preceding.. The Vau 1. Term. or the. 3.. of transition individualizing itself in the following-. sequence.. The 2nd He. or the 4.. Provided with these preliminary data, which are absolutely indispensable, let us. Tarot,. and see. if. we cannot. now take our pack. of cards, or. find the universal law in. yod. 2nd he. he. vau. symbolized through antiquity by the Cross.. it.

(59) ——. —. CHAPTER. V.. THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA. Formation of the Tarot. Ten Numbers. —. — Study of a Colour—The Four Figures — The. between the Figures and the Numbers Study of the Four Colours General Study of the Minor Arcana. Affinity. —. The Key to the Minor Arcana. The. Tarot. is. composed of 78. cards, divided as follows. 56 cards called the minor arcana. 22 cards called the major arcana.. The 56 minor arcana. are formed of 4 series of 14 cards. each.. The 22 major arcana. are formed of 21. numbered. cards,. and of one un-numbered. In order. to. study the Tarot with success,. we must then. arrange the following packets 4 packets of 14 cards each.. 14. +. 11. 1. packet of 21 cards. 1. packet of. 1. +. card. Total. 14. +. 14. = = =. 5Q 21 1. 78.

(60) THE TAROT.. 36. We. shall presently return to the origin of this marvellous. human. conception of the. must confine ourselves and. to displaying its. Starting from a. mind, but. for the. present. to the dissection of the. we. machine,. mysterious arrangement.. and immovable. fixed. principle, the. constitution of the sacred tetragrammaton, Yod-he-vau-he,. the Tarot develops the most divers combinations, without. one departure from. its. basis.. We. shall. now. wonderful construction, which confirms in. its. unveil this application. the universal law of analogies.. The explanations which follow may appear dry to some persons; but they must remember that we are now giving them an almost infallible key to the ancient or occult and they will understand that they must open science ;. the door of the sacred arch for themselves.. STUDY OF A COLOUR. Let us now take one of the packets of fourteen cards and analyze. its. construction.. This packet, taken as a whole, corresponds to one of the colours of our. represent clubs. ;. pack of. cards.. the wands or. The 4 packets. respectively. corresponding. sceptres,. to. the cups or goblets, corresponding to our hearts. swords, corresponding to our spades. ;. oui;. the. and money or Pentacles,. corresponding to our diamonds.. We. shall. now study one. of these packets, for instance. that of Sceptres.. The packet. consists. of 4. figures. :. the. king, queen,. knight, and knave, and of ten cards which simply bear. numbers.. The and. ace, two, three,. ten.. four, five,. six,. seven, eight, nine,.

(61) —. ——. THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA.. 37. THE FOUR FIGURES.. We. must. first. consider the four figures. The king represents the active, the man, or male. The queen represents the passive, the woman, or female. The knight represents the neuter, the adolescent. knave represents the 4th term sequence, which may be figured in this way Lastly,. the. of. this. King. Knave. Queen. Knight This sequence Yod-hc-vaic-he,. only an application of the general law. is. which we already know, and the analogy. is. easily established. King or. Yod Queen. Knave. or. or. 1st. 2nd He. He Knight or. Va u. The knave it. is. therefore corresponds with the second He,. only a term of transition. what ? Between the four. figures. ;. i.. e.. but transition between. and the ten numbers following..

(62) —. —. —. THE TAROT.. 38. THE TEN NUMBERS. Let us now study these numbers. We are acquainted with the Law of numbers, or law of the sequences, which. we have already. stated in these terms. — 4 — —. The ten. 2.. 3. 5.. 6. 7. etc.. cards cannot escape from this law, and. at once arrange. The. 1. them. in series.. first series will. senting the. active, of. we can. be formed of the ace, or. 1,. repre-. the 2 personating the passive, of the. 3 for the neuter, and lastly of the. which represents the. 4,. transition from one series to another. 1, 2, 3,. hc,. 4 therefore correspond also with the Yod-he-vau-. and are thus formulated Ace or. Yod Two. or 1st. He. 2nd He Four. Vau or. Three. The other. same rule exactly, the second He of the preceding series becoming the Yod of the following series thus 4, the fourth term of the first series, becomes the first term of the second series 7, the fourth term of the second, becomes the first term of the third, as series follow the. :. ;. follows.

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(65) —. —. THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA.. 39. THE SERIES OF NUMBERS. 4. 10. We. law, Y'od-he-vcm-he, can be applied. Since this law. to these series.. four. same. see that the. is. also applicable to the. we can make a comparison based on the. figures,. following proposition. Two terms same third. numbers and the. (the. (the. figures) equal to. a. law Yod-he-vcm-lie) are equal between. themselves.. THE SEQUENCE IN ONE COLOUR. King. Knave. Queen. Knight 4. 10. 6. If. we now group. all. ing to the letter of are analogous,. we. 9. the numbers of the sequence accordthe tetragrammaton, to which they. shall find.

(66) —. THE TAROT.. 40. — 4— 2 — 5 — 8 —9 3 —. Eepresenting Yod. 7. 1. Representing the 1st. He. Eepresenting the Vau Eepresenting the 2nd. 6. He. (1. 4.. 10 7). Yod 1st. (2. 5. 8). He. 2nd He. (10). Vau (3. 6. 9). The. figure 10 therefore acts for the. numbers, as the. knave acts. for the figures, that is to say,. transition.. Between what. it. serves as a. ?. Between one colour and another. AFFINITY BETWEEN THE FIGUKES AND THE NUMBERS.. We. have already studied both the figures and the. numbers separately, let us now see what connection between the figures and the numbers. If. we group. Law which The The The The. exists. the similar terms according to the identical. rules them,. King is Queen. the. —. we. shall find. Yod. He. Knight — Vau Knave — 2nd He. The sequence. of the figures. the series of numbers, that. is. them. of. 1.. 4.. of. 2.. 5.. 8. 6.. 9. of. of is. 3.. as follows. 7. 10. reproduced three times in. to say, that each series of. numbers represents a conception. of the figures in each of. the three Kabbalistic worlds.. The. series 1, 2, 3, 4 represents the. emanation of the. sequence king, queen, knight, knave in the divine world..

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(69) —. THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA. The. 7 represents this evolution in the. series 4, 5, 6,. human The. 41. world. series 7, 8, 9, 10 represents this evolution in the. material world.. Each colour is a complete whole, formed manner of beings.. Of a material body vital force. —. intellect. 7.8.9). :. (Queen. Of an. —. 4.5.6). :. (King. —. Of reproductive organs (Knave. 1.2.3). :. —. 10). Each of these parts can subdivide as the numbers indicate. 1 Let. us,. however, return to. summing up the. X. the. :. (Knight. Of a. after. results obtained,. Representations of the Yocl. itself into three others,. our. we. deduction,. and by. shall find. :. The King The 1 or Ace The 4 The 7 Representations of the. He. :. The Queen The 2 The 5 The 8 1. We. show. wished to make. Initiates. what. explained by studying. this application of the. results it.. Tarot in order to laws. might be expected from the.

(70) 42. THE TAROT. Representations of the. Van. :. The Knight The 3 The 6 The 9 Representations of the 2nd. He. :. The Knave The 10. FIGURATION OF ONE COLOUR..

(71) THE KEY TO THE MINOK ARCANA.. 43. VO N c Head — Spirituality. Divine World. OlU EEa/. Human World. Ch est— Vitality. Y\. 1. Q. A/. Body— Materiality. 7*. Material. Transition from one being to another. World. Transition from. one world to another. *aTa^.

(72) THE TAROT.. 44. STUDY OF THE FOUR COLOURS. Supplied with. these data, let us continue our study. and apply the same principle to the other cards. The laws which we have denned for the constitution. same way. of one colour, apply in the. to the other three. colours.. But when we consider the. new deductions. will. be called. that these four colours are. :. four colours of the Tarot, forth.. We. must remember. the Sceptre, the Cup, the. Sword, and the Money or Pentacles.. The Sceptre represents the Male or the Active. The Cup is the image of the Passive or Feminine. The Sword represents the union of the two by its crucial form. Lastly, the Pentacles represent the second He.. The authors who Tarot are. all. have. unanimous. philosophically. in asserting. studied. the. the analogy that. between the tetrasframmaton and the four colours. Guillaume Postel, 1 and above all Eliphas Levi, 2 have developed these studies with great results, and they show us the four letters of the tetragrammaton applied in the exists. symbolism of every cultus. We must pause one moment to notice the analogy. between these. letters. and the symbols of the Christian. religion.. The Tod or Sceptre. of the Tarot. is. represented by the episcopal. crosier.. The. 1st. He. or. Cup. is. represented by the Chalice.. The Van or Sword by the Cross, bearing the same form. The 2nd He or Pentacles by the Host, the transition from the natural to the Supernatural world. 1. Clavis abscunditarum rerum.. 2. Eliphas Levi,. Dogme. et. Rituel de la Haute Magie..

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(75) —. —. THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA. The. series. 45. which we have studied in one colour. is. defined equally strictly in the four colours regarded as a. whole, thus Sceptre or. Yod «. Cup. or. He. 2nd He. or. Money. Van or. Sword. A COMPREHENSIVE GLANCE OVER THE MINOR ARCANA. If. we. look back a. little,. we can. we have traversed. The four colours considered. easily. judge the road. in globo have shown us the. application of the law Yod-he-vau-he.. But the same law. is. reproduced in each of the colours. taken separately.. The The. four figures represent Yod-he-vau-he. four series of. numbers. Let us then arrange affinities,. and we. all. ;. also.. the cards according. shall obtain the following results. The 4 Kings The 4 Aces The 4 Fours The 4 Sevens The 4 Queens The 4 Twos The 4 Fives The 4 Eights. v. = Yod ). I j. He. to their.

(76) —. THE TAROT.. 46. The The The The. 4 Cavaliers 4 Threes. Van. 4 Sixes 4 Nines. The 4 Knaves The 4 Tens If. we wished. X. = He. J. represent. to. we should. synthetic diagram,. arrangement. this. name. place the sacred. the centre of a circle divided into four. parts,. by a. which. in re-. spectively correspond with each of the letters Yod-he-xanhe.. In each of the quarters, the cards that are analogous. tetragrammaton. to the letters of the. centre.. The as the. will radiate. from the. See the diagram on page opposite. figures have the. same connection with the colours. numbers have with the. figures.. The sequence of the figures is reproduced in the three the same thing takes place in worlds by the numbers ;. the sequence of colours. :. Sceptre, Cup, Sword, Pentacles. are reproduced in the figures.. The The The The. And. Sceptre. Cup. is. Sword. the is. Pentacles. Yod. the. is. He. the is. of the 4 Kings.. of the 4 Queens.. Van. the. of the 4 Knights.. He. of the 4 Knaves.. just as each colour has a complete whole, formed. and of a mind or vital force, colours form a complete whole thus composed The material body of the minor arcana of a body, of a soul,. :. :. The 4 Knights The 4 Sevens The 4 Eights The 4 Nines. so the four.

(77) THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA. />. ^. 1. VO. %. & & ^. 1/. 4C£. fkCt. IX. nc. ^. .^QRDS. fa<*>,. <*?. 1. *C /0. >fc VII. %•. •7. s>>. <v. n. n. ?. UJ. />. w\vii. i. r. CO. n. uJ. 1. £. %. nP <p. 7 Cu Ps f/v. 'CHT. 'N. 1 SWO&D 3. IV. w. A. A &. \&^. /i/. $>. i/u. ^. ^. KNl G^. 6. &. general figure of the minor arcana.. The. vital. —Disposition of. body of the minor arcana The 4 Queens The 4 Fours The 4 Fives The 4 Sixes. :. Series.. Vl\.

(78) SCEPTRES. Divine World. Head, Spirituality. Human World. Chest, Vitality. Material. Body, Materiality. Transition from. World. Transition from one world to the other. one being to the other.. Generation. Knave 10. PENTACLE.

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(81) THE KEY TO THE MINOR ARCANA. The. intellectual. body. :. The The The The Reproductive organs. 49. 4 Kings. 4 Aces 4. Twos. 4 Threes. :. The 4 Knaves The 4 Tens. We. can only point out the very instructive. shown. in these figures. ;. affinities. they can be carried to a great. length.. We. give these indications in order to demonstrate the. management of analogy, the method of the occult science, to which we have so frequently alluded in our preceding works.. We. need only compare this. last. diagram, which repre-. which depicted one only, to see at once that the law upon which these two diagrams are constructed is the same, only that the sents the four colours, with the. applications of It is the. it. first,. are varied.. same law by which the. human being group themselves. cells. that form the. to constitute organs, the. organs group themselves to form members, and the grouping of the latter produces the individual. 1. We. have drawn the following conclusion from we have already stated. all. that. —. The. Pentaeles, responding. to the second. He, indicates. a transition.. Between what ? Between the minor and major arcana. 1. See the Traité Élémentaire de Science Occulte, chap.. iii..

(82) THE TAROT.. 50. EPTR £$ 9. J. 6. 5. 3 / £/v. \^. %. ,«*. 7. r\. 'V,. J. "X. p>. ?. ^. />-. or. o. h. 7. (<. v-> «*. o. \^. c L>. r. i. jj. <V 'J/.. vw\w. J.H. /. -v. /,. 2, S. GENERAL KEY TO MTNOR ARCAXA..

(83) —. CHAPTER. VI.. THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.. — 1st Ternary — 2nd Ternary — 1st Septenary — The Three Septenaries and the Ternary of. The Major Arcana 2nd Septenary Transition.. The Major Arcana. The fundamental. difference. minor and major arcana,. is. which. exists. between the. that in the latter the figures. and numbers are united, whilst in the former they are distinct.. There are 22 major arcana, but one of them bears a so that, in reality, there are only 21 great or. Most devoted. of the authors. who have. their attention to. all. 0,. major arcana.. studied the Tarot have. these. 22 cards, without. noticing the others, which, however, contain the real key to the system.. But we. will leave these digressions. and commence the. application of the law Yod-hc-vau-he to this portion of the Tarot.. A. little reflection will. suggest to us that there should. be some sequences in the major arcana as well as in the. minor arcana. these series. ?. But how. are. we. to define the limits of.

(84) THE TAROT.. 52. Each card. minor arcana bears a symbol which with the whole scheme (Sceptre, Cup,. of the. easily connects it. Sword, or Pentacles);. Each. different in this case.. is. it. card bears a different symbol.. Therefore. that can guide us here, at. events for the moment.. all. it is. not symbolism. Besides the symbol, each card expresses au idea. idea. already a better guide, for. is. than the symbol security that. ;. is. it. easier to classify. but this guide does not yet offer. we could. may. desire, for it. This. all. the. be read differently. by various persons. Again, the idea proceeds from the action of the symbol upon the other term expressed by the card, the member.. The number. is. certainly the most reliable element, the. to follow in its. easiest. number. that will. evolutions. guide. us. ;. and. it. ;. is,. therefore, the. through. it. we. shall. discover the two other terms.. Let us now. our explanation of the numbers, and. recall. Ave shall easily define. the series of the major arcana.. However, from the commencement we must 'make one great reservation. The series which we are about to enumerate are the most usual, but they are not the only ones.. This. said,. we. The numbers to be 1. 2. 3. 4. will. now study. the four. first. major arcana.. 1,2, 3, 4 at once indicate the classification. adopted and the nature of the terms. corresponds to Yod, and. — — —. —. is. active.. to. He. to. neuter. Vau the 2nd He, and indicates. to. -. '. —. passive.. transition.. This 4th arcanum corresponds to the Knave and to the 10 of the minor arcana, and becomes Yod in the next or following series..

(85) —. —. THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA. If. we wish. we should do. to. make. it. in this. a figure of the. first. ternary. 53 1, 2, 3,. way. o i. (n) 2. The. active. (3)1. term. 1. is. at the. head of the. triangle, the. two other terms are at the other angles. This ternary can also be represented in Yod-he-vau -he. —. its affinities. with. 1. yod. 2nd he 4. 2 he. vau 3. —. Second ternary. We have stated that the 4 becomes the Yod or active term in the following sequence. This. is. realized in the figure below. 4. yod. 5. 2nd he. he. ran 6. 7.

(86) —. —. THE TAROT.. 54. The 4 representing the Yod, to 5. and. 6,. therefore, acts with regard. as the 1 acted with regard to 2 and 3,. and we. obtain another ternary.. (<). -^. The 7 acts here same rule applies to. as the 4 all. First septenary.. acted. 6. previously,. and the. the series in the arcana.. — The application of one. law to very. terms has led us so far; we must not abandon this system, but persevere and say different. If in one ternary exist. term. two. =. he,. first,. an. active. and a neuter term = vau, resulting from the why should not the same result be found in. several ternaries taken together. The. term = yod, a passive. first. ternary. second ternary. is. is. active. ?. and corresponds. passive and corresponds to. to. yod ; the. lie;. the re-. action of one ternary upon another gives birth to a third. ternary or vau.. Let us make a figure representing this 1.

(87) —. THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.. The. 55. 7 therefore forms the element of transition between. one septenary and another. If. we. define the analogy between this. and the Yod-he-vau-hc, we. first. septenary. shall find. (1-4) yod. (2—5) H. -. he. 2nd he. n. (7). vau. (3-6). A. may be made in passing, from which a of information may be derived, if it be carefully. deduction. great deal. studied: the 4 being only the 5. is. 1,. considered negatively, the. only the 2 considered negatively, whilst the 6. negative of. 3.. It is. always. the. same member under. is. the. different. aspects.. We. have therefore defined a. two opposing. ternaries.. first. septenary, formed of.

(88) —. —. THE TAROT.. 56. We. have seen that this septenary also reproduces Yod-. he-vau-he.. Second septenary.. —The law that applies. to the first. and following the same method we obtain a second septenary, thus formed ternaries. is. also true. for the. others,. Negative Ternary.. Positive Ternary.. 10. 7. The two. 12. 11. 9. 8. ternaries, positive. and negative,. will balance. each other to give birth to a second septenary and to. term of transition. 13.. Thus. its.

(89) —. THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.. 57. General figure. 7_. (f^\). 10. hé -j—. he. (jP). vau 9_12. But. if. negative,. The be. the two ternaries respectively act as positive and. why should. first. not the two septenaries do the same. septenary, taken as a whole, will. positive, relatively to. ?. therefore. the second septenary, which will. be negative.. The. first. septenary corresponds to yod, the second to. lie..

(90) —. —. —. THE TAROT.. 58. Third septenary. The. third septenary. is. thus formed-. (13-16). yod 7. he (19). (14-17) he. 19. x /iA Tl. van. /. \. 1. ,/l5. VisV. (15-18). If the first septenary is positive. the third will be neuter, and will. We. and the second negative, correspond with vau.. should have therefore, definitely 1st,. 2nd, 3rd,. A POSITIVE SEPTENARY A NEGATIVE SEPTENARY A NEUTER SEPTENARY. = = =. Yod.. He. Vail.. Yet each septenary contains one term which belongs to the preceding septenary, and one which belongs to the following septenary.. Thus the 7. is. the 7th term of the. the 1st term of the second.. 13. is. first. the last term of the. second septenary and the 1st of the third,. The. result. is. septenary and. etc.. that three terms remain to be classed.. These are 19. 20. — 21. These three terms form the last ternary, the ternary of transition between the major arcana and the minor arcana,, a ternary which corresponds to the second he, and which. may be. thus represented.

(91) THE KEY TO THE MAJOR ARCANA.. 59. 19. 20. 21. (19). yod. 2nd. (20) he. lie. (0). vau (21). The last numbered card, which ought correctly to bear the number 22 for its Hebrew correspondent), closes the Tarot by a marvellous figure, which represents tution to it. those who can understand. presently.. law. is. The. We. consti-. will return to. Therefore, in the major arcana, the great. thus definitely represented. first. it.. its. (See next page.). septenary corresponds to the Divine World, to. God.. The second to Man. The third to Nature. Finally, the last ternary indicates the passage from the. creative and providential world to the created. and. fatal. world.. This ternary establishes the connection between. major and minor arcana.. the.

(92) THE TAROT.. 60. 19. 7 t. q. -T. 2. f& 20. 1. vau.

(93) —. CHAPTER. VIL. CONNECTION BETWEEN THE MAJOR AND MINOR ARCANA.. GENERAL AFFINITIES.. KEY OF THE TAROT. Domination of the 1st Septenary— Affinities of the 2nd Septenary in the Tarot, Card by Card Ditto of the 3rd Septenary General Affinities Affinities of Yod, He, Van, and of the 2nd He.. —. —. —. General figure giving the. Key. to the Tarot.. Connection between the Major and Minor Arcana.. The. Pentacles on one side, the Ternary of transition on. the other, establish the connection between the major and. minor arcana. This connection. is. found in the general. affinities of. the. four letters of the tetragrammaton.. The. which corresponds to yocl, governs all the correspondents of yod in the minor series, that is to 1st septenary,. say. The The The The. 4 Kings. 4 Aces. 4 Fours.. 4 Sevens..

(94) —. —. —. THE TAROT.. 62. Each element. of the septenary governs different terms,. thus 1st Septenary.. The arcana. and 4 govern King-1A.7 and 5 3 and 6 The arcanum 7. —. 1. —. — — —. — — —. 2. of Sceptres.. of Cups.. of Swords. of Pentacles.. Moreover— The. arcanum. 1st. of the series,. i. c.. Arcanum 1. (. +). |. I. especially governs the positive terms. —. The King The King. The 4th arcanum. Yod Vau. of of. or of Sceptres. or of. Swords. ( (. + ). 1. —. ).. especially governs the negative terms. of the series. Arcanum. By. The King of He ... Cups( + ). The King of the 2nd He + Pentacles. (. —. ).. applying the same law to the other arcana we find. Arcanum (. + )2. Arcanum. (-)B Arcanum. 3. Ace Ace. of. Yod. (. of. Vau. (. of. He ( + ) He ( — ). of. Arcanum (-). 6. Arcanum. 7. +). —. 4 of Sceptres. 4 of Swords. (+). (00. Ace Ace. 4 of Cups. (. (. (. +. Sceptres.. Swords.. ). Cups. Pentacles.. +. —. ).. ).. ).. 4 of Pentacles. (. —. ).. All the transitional terms. ). — indicate the sign + the positive terms, the signs — the neuter terms. the negative terms, the sign sign 1. The. -\-,. ,. <x>. :. oo.

(95) —. —. —. THE MAJOR AND MINOR ARCANA. Second septenary. ing to He, governs. — The second septenary, correspond-. the correspondents of the. all. the minor series, that. is. first. He, in. to say. The The The The. Each element. 63. 4 Queens. 4 Twos. 4 Fives. 4 Eights.. of the second septenary has the following-. dominations. Queen of. Arcanum 7! (. +. ). (. Queen. Sceptres,. Arcanum. +). Arcanum 8. Two 1. Arcanum. of Swords,. (-). (-) Arcanum. (+) 1. Two. of Pentacles,. (-) 'Five of Cups,. Five of Pentacles,. (-). (-) Arcana 13. (») Third septenary. to. of Cups,. (+). '2 1 J. —i. Five of Swords,. (+). Two. (+). h. 'Five of Sceptres,. Arcanum 9. of Pentacles,. (-) r. of Sceptres,. (+). (+). Queen. (+). (~). (-). Two. of Cups,. 10. of Swords,. I. r. Queen. All the 8,. '. ',. —The. (oo). third. septenary corresponds. Van, and rules over. The The The The. 4 Knights.. 4 Threes. 4 Sixes. 4 Nines..

(96) —. —. —. .. THE TAROT.. 64. Each element. of this septenary thus rules over. Knight. of Sceptres,. Arcanum. (+) Knight. (. 15 (. (. (-). .. f Six. of Sceptres, .. \. (. +). Three of Cups, ,. (. l. (-) Six of Cups,. (+). 18. Six of Pentacles,. (-). (-) Arcanum 19 (oo). f. (-). All the nines,. (oo). J. Ternary of transition.. s. +). Three of Pentacles,. _). Arcanum. *. Six of Swords,. +). (. 17. Three of Swords,. Arcanum. (-). Arcanum anum. (+). +). Knight of Pentacles,. (-). 'Three of Sceptres,. 14. (+). 16. of Swords,. (-). Arcanum. 'Knight of Cups,. — The. ternary. of transition. rules over. The 4 Knaves. The 4 Tens.. Each. of its elements thus rules over. Knave Arcanum (M 19 (oo). Arcanum nr Knave. of Sceptres,. 20. (+) Knave. of Swords,. (»). (-). (-). Arcanum 21. (+). J I. —. of Cups,. (+) Knave. of Pentacles,. (-). All the 10,. (»). and oo Value of the signs + The signs which follow each card in the preceding One example define the exact value of the card. ,. suffice to. make. ,. this clearly understood.. lists. will.

(97) —. THE MAJOR AND MINOR ARCANA. Each term can be taken in the positive. (. +). 65. two principal acceptations. in. or in the negative. (. —. The same. ).. :. rule. applies to the sub-divisions of these terms.. For instance, the correspondents of the are 1 and 4.. 1. the. 1 is. the positive. 4. the negative. is. governs two minor arcana. King. 1st. (. +. septenary. ).. —. ).. the King of Sceptres and. of Swords.. The King The King. The. :. (. first. of Sceptres is positive.. Swords. of. negative.. terms would therefore be. definite value of these. King. is. of Sceptres. Positive. +. (. of the positive. ). (. +). ;. or. King. of Sceptres. +. + 2nd King of Swords. Negative. (. —. or. of the Positive. ). +). ;. more simply. King. of. + The same. (. Swords. —. rule applies to the other terms in. combining. the sign which follows the major arcanum with that which follows the term under consideration.. The value defined.. of each of the. 78 cards of the Tarot. is. thus.

(98) THE TAROT.. 66. GENERAL AFFINITIES. AFFINITIES TO Yod. Negative.. Positive.. Arcanum. Major. — —. Arcana. /. King Ace. 1. Arcanum. 10. 7. —. 13 of Sceptres. 4. King Ace. 16 of. Minor. 7. King Ace. 7 of. Swords. King Ace. 4. 4. V 7. 7. Cups. — — —. 4. Arcana. 4. of Pentacles. — —. AFFINITIES TO THE 1ST He. Negative.. Positive.. Major Arcana. Arcanum. — —. Queen. Arcana. Queen. of Sceptres. —. of. Two Five. V Eisht. — — Swords — — —. AFFINITIES TO. Arcana. Arcanum. — —. Queen. 5. 11. 17 of. Cups. Five. — —. Eight. —. Two. Queen. of Pentacles. Two Five. — —. Eisrht. Vail.. Negative.. Positive.. Major. — —. 14. Five. Eight. Arcanum. 8. Two Minor. 2. 3 9. 15. Arcanum. — —. 6. 12. 18.

(99) -. THE MAJOR AND MINOR ARCANA. /. Knight Three Six. Minor Arcana. Nine Knight. <. Knight. of Sceptres. of. Three Six. \Nine. — — — Swords — — —. of. Cups. — —. Three Six. Nine Knight. 67. — of Pentacles.. Three Six. Nine. — — —. AFFINITIES TO THE 2ND He. Positive.. Negative.. Arcanum 19 Knave of Sceptres. Arcanum 20 Knave of Cups. —. of. —. Swords. of Pentacles. Equilibrium.. Arcana. Ten. — — —. 21. — 22. of Sceptres. of. Swords. of. Cups. of Pentacles. GENERAL FIGURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TAROT, SHOWING ALL THE AFFINITIES. The absolute. law.. Yod He Vau He is. in the centre of the figure.. Each. of the letters of the. tetragrammaton governs one. quarter of the circle which contains. The. its affinities.. different colours indicate the especial. each arcanum.. dominion of.

(100) THE TAROT.. 68. 1 DS. >nN. 1\. J>. V. af. T/<« V. ^7. ^. 4 Ac. <v. C?. cu. V. >$y. V.. rr. e.. 4&. /\. K/. «?<. C£. Nç. *&. sf. p. CO. r\. Q. Lu. CJ. Or. CO. ° 1. 1. a:. i. 1. \. 8. \. 5. \. ^. 2. c. A \ *. A 'C.. <f. grand general FIGURE of the tarot.. — Arrangement. of Series..

(101) PART. II.. SYMBOLISM IN THE TAROT. APPLICATION OF THE GENERAL KEY TO SYMBOLISM..

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