Chapter 33

CHAPTER X.

✦

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

THE FIRST SEPTENARY, 1ST TO ?TH ARCANA. THEOGONY.

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

Study of each of the 22 Major Arcana.

Scheme of Work.

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

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

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

(2nd) We shall explain from the hieroglyphic character

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 97

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

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

Eliphas Levi,1 Christian,2 and Barrois3 will aid us in
our inquiries.

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

(5th) We shall end the study upon each of the cards by
a figure showing all that we have said.

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

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

One of the most ancient books of the Kabbalah which we
possess, the Sepher Yetzirah* says that the three mother
letters of the Hebrew alphabet correspond with the three
worlds, the seven doubles with the seven planets, and the
twelve simple with the twelve signs of the zodiac.5

1 Rituel de la Hante Magie. 2 Histoire de la Magie.

3 Dactylologie ou Langage Primitif.

4 Translated into French by Papus.

5 See Franck, The Kabbala, Paris, 8vo.

THE TAROT.

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

KEY OF THE FIRST SEPTENARY.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIGURES FOR STUDY

Juggler

Emperor
4

Empress 3 4

The chariot

Hiufh Priestess

Pope

6 Lovers

CHARACTER OF THE FIGURES.

Origin of the Tarot Reflex of 1

Naturaliz-
ation of 3
1 and 2

Equilibrium of

3 and of 6
passage from
one world to
the other

Reflex of 3
/ 6 Equilibrium of
4 and 5

Reflex of 1

Reflex of 2

100

THE TAROT.

THE FIRST CARD OF THE TAROT.

ORIGIN OF THE SIGNIFICATION OF ALL THE OTHERS.

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

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

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

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

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

The Pole Hœné Wronski,1 who died of hunger in the
suburbs of Paris, was perhaps one of the most powerful
intellects produced by the 19th century. He asserted that
he had discovered the formula of the absolute, and his
works are unquestionably a summary of one of the most
elevated syntheses that we have ever seen. We need not
discuss the doctrines of Wronski, but will only say a few
words upon the three primitive elements which enter into
his law of creation.

1 S^e V Occultisme Contemporain (M. Carré).

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 101

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

Of Neuter Element (E. K)

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

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

The Element of Wisdom represents the CREATIVE FACULTY
with its especial characteristics, autogeny and spontaneity.

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

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

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

Fabre d'Olivet, in his researches upon the first
principles which direct everything,1 determines the exist-
ence of three elements, which he names Providence,
Destiny, and Human Will.

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

Destiny is the principle of ABSOLUTE NECESSITY, of the
preservation of beings and of things.

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

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

102 THE TAROT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God, Man, and the Universe.

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 103

occult science itself proclaims its identity with these
principles by the mouth of all its disciples. Hermes
Trismcgishis, the Holy Kabbalah, Neo-Platonicism and the
Alchemists through Pythagoras and all the Greek philoso-
phers assert the division of the Great All into three

ENTITIES OR WORLDS.

In less remote ages Guillaume Postel1 gives the key of
the Tarot without explaining it, and the basis of this key
is formed by this mysterious entity —

Deus, Homo, Rota.

Triihemie and his pupil Cornelius Agrippa 2 also give
us this fecund and sublime tri nit v in all their analogical
figures.

The Jesuit Kircher3 describes this division into three
worlds as the basis of the Egyptian mysteries.

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

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

Trimurti: Brahma, Siva, Vishnu.

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

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

1 Claris.

2 La Philosophie Occulte (La Haye).

3 Œdipus sEgyptiacus.

104

THE TAROT.

Osiris, Isis, Horus.

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

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

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

1 See Le Roman Alchimicpie.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

105

THE JUGGLER.

; le-batelfijr

^** I ' ■■-■ ■■ * ^.J

THE JUGGLER.

1. «

1st Hebrew letter (Aleph).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FIRST CARD OF THE TAROT.

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

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

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

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

105 THE TAROT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 107

Top Divine Head
Right Left

(Arm lowered) Centre Human Body (Arm raised)
Necessity Liberty

Evil Bottom Natural Feet Good

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

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

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

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

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

Sword, Cross or Vau, symbol of the Equilibrist Principle
pre-eminent, or of Man.

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

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

The men of Yod, or the Inventors, the Producers. The
Nobility of Intellect.

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

The men of Vau, or the guardians and defenders of the
former : the Warriors. Nobility of the sword.

The men of the 2nd He, the multitude from which the
other classes are continually recruited: the People.

108 THE TAKOT.

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

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

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

This symbol is the first of the whole Tarot,1 and it bears
the Unity as its characteristic number.

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

c: Je crois à V inconnu que Dieu personnifie,
Prouvé par l'être même et par l'immensité,
Idéal surhumain de la philosophie,
Parfaite Intelligence et Suprême Bonté." 2

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 109

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

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

EXTENSION OF THE THREE GREAT PRINCIPLES THROUGH

THE TAROT.

The three meanings of the first card respectively
represent —

The Creator or Yod.
The Receiver or He.
The Transformer or Vau.

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

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

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

The second septenary will represent the Receiver.

The third the Transformer.

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

Let us condense this all by saying —

110 THE TAROT.

1st septenary represents God.

2nd septenary — Man.

3rd septenary — the Universe.

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

GENERAL RECAPITULATION.

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

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

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

ILL

The Juggler.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Ke.y toj yod

the -,

Card 1 y°d

Primitive Hieroglyphic

Man

The divine creator or

Kabbalah

Kether

GOD

the Father

Astronomy Xo

affinity

■

OSIRIS

yod of yod
yod -yod

The divine preserver

MAX

ADAM

he of yod
yod-yod

OBSERVATIONS

The divine transformer
THE ACTIVE UNIVERSE

NATURA NATURANS1

vau of yod

yod-yod

2nd he of yod
yod-yod,

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

112

THE TAROT

THE HIGH PUIESTESS.

THE HIGH PBIESTESS.

2nd Hebrew letter (Beth).

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

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 113

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

THE SECOND CARD OF THE TAROT.

The High Priestess.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

114

THE TAROT.

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

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

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

In the Universe it is the reflex of natura naturans : it is
natura naturata.1

2. "D.
The Hiijli Priestess.

AFFINITIES

TT. , . . The Mouth
Hieroglyphic- of Man

Kabbalah Chocmah

Astronomy The Moon )

Day of the Week Monday

Hebrew letter Beth

(Double)

SIGNIFICATIONS

Reflex of God the Father or
Osiris

GOD

the Son

ISIS
yod of he
he he

Reflex of Adam

EVE

the woman

lie of he
he he

OBSERVATIONS

Reflex of Natura naturans
NATURA NATURATA
vau of he
he he

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

115

THE EMPRESS.

3. a
3rd Hebrew letter (Gimel).

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

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

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

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

116 THE TAROT.

THE THIRD CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Empress.

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

A woman seen full face.

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

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

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

She holds an eaçde in her riodit hand.

o o

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

In the left hand she bears a sceptre forming the
astrological sign of Venus.

The sceptre is held in the left hand to indicate the
passive influence, which Nature, Venus-Urania, or the
woman exercises in the generation of beings.

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

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

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 117

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

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

God the Holy Ghost

Horus

The universal vivifying force.

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

In the Universe this would be the equilibrium of Natura
naturans and of Natura naturata —

The World

Conceived like a being.

118

THE TAROT.

3. a
The Empress.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

vau

Primitive /
Hieroglyphic i

Kabbalah
Astronomy
Day
Hebrew letter

The hand in

the act of

prehension

BlNAH

Venus Ç

Friday

Gimel (double)

God the Holy Ghost Horus

THE UNIVERSAL

VIVIFYING FORCE

yod of vau
vau-vau

Adam Eve
HUMANITY

lie of vau
vau-vau

OBSERVATIONS

THE WORLD

vau of vau
vau-vau

2nd lie of vau
vau-vau

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

119

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

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

THE EMPEROR.

4. 1
4th Hebrew letter (Daleth).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FOUETH CARD OF THE TAROT.

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

120 THE TAROT.

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

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

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

THE FOURTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Emperor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 121

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

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

(1st) Eealization of the Divine Word by the creation.
(2nd) Eealization of the ideas of the Being shared by the
quadruple work of the spirit —

Affirmation, — Negation,
Discussion,
Solution.
(3rd) Eealization of the actions conceived by the Will.

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

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

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

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

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

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

This interprets its meaning —

122

THE TAROT.

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

In the Human. Reflex of Adam —
The Power.

In the Natural. Reflex of .Natura naturans-
The Universal Creative Eluid.
The soul of the Universe.

4. 1
The Emperor.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive r
„. . , . .J The Womb
Hieroglyphic {

Kabbalah Chesed

Reflex of God the Father
THE WILL

Astronomy Jupiter
Day Thursday
Hebrew letter Daleth (double)

Reflex of Adam
THE POWER

OBSERVATIONS

Reflex of Natura naturans

The universal creative fluid

THE SOUL OF THE
UNIVERSE

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

123

THE POPE.

5. n
5th Hebrew letter (He).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FIFTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

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

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

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

124 THE TAROT.

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

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

THE FIFTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Pope.

This symbol expresses the following ideas —

(1st) Idea of Life, of animation,
(2nd) Idea of Being,
(3rd) Idea of Reunion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 125

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

3 4

The Empress is completed by The Emperor

4+3=7
J = 28 = 10 = 1

2 5

The High Priestess is completed by The Pope

2 + 5 = 7

1 6

The Juggler is completed by The Lovers

1 + 6 = 7.

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

In the Divine. Reflex of the Will —

Intelligence
(characteristic of God the Son).

In the Human. Reflex of the Power — ■

Authority
(characteristic of the Woman).
Religion. Faith.

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

The Universal Life
(characteristic of Natura naturata).

126

THE

TAROT

The

Pope.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive f

TT. -, -, . \ Breath
Hieroglyphic [

Kabbalah Pechad

Keflex of the Will
INTELLIGENCE

Astronomy The Earn
Month March
Hebrew letter, He (simple)

Keflex of Power

AUTHORITY

RELIGION— FAITH

OBSERVATIONS

Reflex of the soul of the

world
THE UNIVERSAL LIFE

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

127

G L'AMOUREUX. 1

THE LOVERS.

6. 1
The 6th Hebrew letter (Van).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SIXTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

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

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

128 THE TAROT.

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

THE SIXTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Lovers.

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

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

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

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

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

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT. 129

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

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

A profound symbol indicating that if man chooses the

path of Virtue he will not be left unaided, but that

Providence will ally itself to his will and assist him to
overcome vice.

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

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

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

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

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

Each card balances the two others.

130 THE TAROT.

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

Its signification proceeds from this : —

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

Beauty

(characteristic of the Holy Spirit).

In the Human. The Equilibrium between Power and
Authority —

Love

(characteristic of Humanity).
Charity.
In Nature. The Equilibrium between the Universal soul
and the Universal life—

The Universal Attraction.
Universal Love.

THE SYMBOLICAL TAROT.

131

6. 1

The Lovers.

AFFINITIES

Primitive

\ The eye, The ear
Hieroglyphic J

Kabbalah

Astronomy

Month

TlPHERETH

The Bull
April

Hebrew letter Yau (simple)

OBSERVATIONS

SIGNIFICATIONS

Equilibrium of Will and

Intelligence

BEAUTY

Equilibrium of Power and
Authority

LOYE
CHARITY

Equilibrium of the

Universal Soul and the

Universal Life

THE UNIVERSAL
ATTRACTION

UNIVERSAL LOYE

132

THE TAROT.
1st Septenary.

CONSTITUTION OF GOD.