Chapter 35

CHAPTER XII.

✦

THIRD SEPTENARY. ARCANA 13 — 19.

Key of the 3rd Septenary — The Mem and Death — The Nun and
Temperance — The Samech and the Devil — The Ayin and the
Lightning-struck Tower — The Tzaddi and the Moon.

Summary of the 3rd Septenary — Constitution of the Universe.

Key to the Third Septenary.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIGURES FOR STUDY.

Devil 15

Death Lightning-struck Tower

13 16

The Sun

\ 18 The Moon

Temperance

Star

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157

CHARACTER OF THE FIGURES.

Influence of the 2nd Septenary

in the 3rd Reflex of 13

13 16

Equilibrium , ^
of 13 and 14 l

19
Equilibrium
of 15 and 18

return

to the world of

principles

Reflex of 15
\ 18 Equili-
brium of
16 and 17

14
Reflex of 13

Reflex of 14

The first septenary has shown us the World of Principles,
or of the Creation.

The second has developed the World of Laws, or of
Preservation.

The third will now show us the World of Facts, or of
Transformation. We shall now see how the circulation of
the forces of the two first septenaries is established. t

158

THE TAROT.

DEATH.

13. a

13th Hebrew letter (Mem).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE THIRTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic meaning of the Mem is a woman, the
companion of man, it therefore gives rise to ideas of fertility
and formation. It is pre-eminently the maternal and
female, the local and plastic sign, the image of external and
passive action. Employed at the end of words, this letter
becomes a collective sign n (final Mem). In this case it
develops the being in unlimited space.

Creation necessitates equal destruction in a contrary
sense, and therefore the Mem designates all the regener-
ations that have sprung from previous destruction, all

THIRD SEPTENARY.

159

transformations, and consequently death, regarded as the
passage from one world to the other.

The Mem is one of the three Mother letters.

THIRTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Death, or the Skeleton Mower.

The ideas expressed by this arcanum are those of
destruction preceding or following regeneration.

A skeleton mows down heads in a field, from which
hands and feet spring up on all sides, as the scythe
pursues its work.

The works of the head (conception) become immortal as
soon as they are realized (heads and feet).

The 13th arcanum is explained by the 10th (Fortune)
and by the 16th (Destruction), between which it stands.

10 + 16 = 26

= 13.

13 is therefore the centre between the Yod (Principle of
the creation) and the Ayin (16), Principle of destruction.

The 13th arcanum is completed by the 18th, its com-
plementary, as the fifth was of the second, and the twelfth
of the seventh. (See the 8th and the 5th arcana.)

Death

is completed by

The Moon

13 + 18 = 31

31= 4=10 = 1

Temperance

is completed by
14 + 17 = 31

The Stars

The Devil

is completed by
15 + 16 = 31

Destruction

160

THE TAROT.

The thirteenth card of the Tarot is placed between the
invisible and the visible worlds. It is the universal link
in nature, the means by which all the influences react
from one world to the other. It signifies —

1. God the transformer —

The Universal Transforming Principle.
Destructive and creative.

2. The negative of realization —

Death.

3. The Astral light accomplishing the function of the
Creator —

The Universal Plastic Force.

(Balancing death and the transforming force.)

13. Q

Death.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive » The

Hieroglyphic J

Hebrew letter Mem (one of
the 3 mothers)

THE UNIVERSAL

TRANSFORMING

PRINCIPLE

Destroyer and Creator

DEATH

OBSERVATIONS

THE UNIVERSAL

PLASTIC FORCE

THIRD SEPTENARY.

1G1

TEMPERANCE.

14. 3
14th Hebrew letter (Nun).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FOURTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic sense of the Nun is the offspring of
the female ; a son, a fruit of any kind, all things produced.
This letter has therefore become the image of the being
produced or reflected, the sign of individual and corporeal
existence.

As a final it is the sign of augmentation ) (Nun as a
final), and gives to the word which receives it all the
individual extension of which the thing expressed is
susceptible.

Astronomically the Nun corresponds with the zodiacal
sign of the Scorpion.

162 THE TAROT.

In short the Nun expresses the production of any com-
bination, the result of the action of the ascending or
creative forces, and of the descending or destructive forces
figured bv the star of Solomon.

FOURTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

Temperance.

The following ideas are expressed by this symbol —

1. Combination of different fluids.

2. Individualization of existence.

The genius of the Sun pours the fluid of Life from a
golden vase into a silver one.

(First idea.)

This essence passes from one vase to the other without
one drop being spilt.

(Second idea.)

The fourteenth card represents the young girl whom
we have already seen in the 11th arcanum, and whom we
shall see açain in the 17th.

The vital current placed upon her head in the 11th
arcanum here passes from one vase into another, but will
spread further in the 17th arcanum.

The fourteenth card of the Tarot shows us the fluid,
hitherto carefully preserved, now freely circulated in
nature.

1. Combination of active and passive fluids. Entry of
Spirit into Matter, and reaction of Matter upon the Spirit —

Involution.

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163

2. Reflex of Justice in the material world —

Temperance.

3. Fixation of reflex Life. Incarnation of Life

Individual and Corporeal Life.

14. 3

Temperance.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive 1 A Fruit

Hieroglyphic J

Astronomy The Scorpion

INVOLUTION

(The Spirit descends towards
Matter)

Month October
Hebrew letter Nun (simple)

TEMPERANCE

OBSERVATIONS

INDIVIDUAL AND
CORPOREAL LIEE

164

THE TAROT.

THE DEVIL.

15. D

15th Hebrew letter (Samech).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OP THE FIFTEENTH CARD OF J

THE TAROT.

The Samedi expresses the same hieroglyphic sign as the
Zain (7th arcanum), that is to say, an arrow ; a weapon of
any kind ; but to this idea is here added that of the arrow
making a circular movement, of any circle denning and
delimiting a circumscription.

This idea of an impassable circle has given birth to that
of Destiny, of Fatality, circumscribing the limits of the
circle in which the human will can act freely ; so that the
Serpent forming a circle of his own body, biting his own
tail, has always been the symbol of this Fatality, of this
Destiny, encircling the world in its embrace. It is the

THIRD SEPTENARY. 165

image of the year (the ring), and of the fatal and settled
revolutions of time.

As a letter, the Samedi is the link (Zain) reinforced and
turned back upon itself. As a simple letter, it corresponds
with the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius.

FIFTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Devil

In every cosmogony the Devil represents the mysterious
astral force, the origin of which is revealed to us by the
hieroglyphic of Samech.

But a little attentive consideration of the symbol will
show us that it contains several of the details which we
have already seen in other figures of the Tarot, but under
a different aspect.

If we place the Juggler by the side of the Devil we
shall see that the arms of the two personages are using
the same gesture, but in an inverse sense. The Juggler
points his right hand towards the Universe, his left hand
towards God ; on the other hand the Devil raises his right
hand into the air, whilst his left points to the earth.
Instead of the magic initiating wand of the Juggler, the
Demon holds the lighted torch, the symbol of black magic
and of Destruction.

By the side of the Devil, and balanced by him, are two
personages reproducing the same symbolism that we find
in the two women of the Lovers (6), and in the two
supports of the gibbet of the Hanged Man (12).

The universal vivifying force represented by the 3rd
arcanum has here become the universal destroying force.
The sceptre of Venus-Urania has become the Demon's

166 THE TAROT.

torch, the Angel's wings have changed into the hideous
pinions of the God of Evil.

The 3rd arcanum symbolizes the Ho>y Spirit, or the
Providence of Fabre d'Olivet.

The 15th arcanum symbolizes the False Spirit, or the
Destiny of Fabre d'Olivet.

The 9th arcanum, which fills the centre between the
two figures, symbolizes Prudence, or the Human Will of
Fabre d'Olivet.

The Devil has materialized upon his head the universal
fluid which surrounded the head of the Juggler; this is
indicated by the two six-pointed horns which adorn him.

He stands upon a cube placed upon a sphere, to indicate
the domination of Matter (the cube) over the Spirit (the
Sphere).

The fifteenth card of the Tarot derives its signification
from its own symbolism —

1. Destiny (chance).

2. Fatality, the result of the fall of Adam-Eve.

3. The astral fluid, which individualizes.

Nahash, the Dragon of the Threshold.

THIRD SEPTENARY.

1G7

15. D

The Devil,

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive ) gerppnt
Hieroglyphic )

Astronomy Sagittarius

DESTINY

Chance

Month November

Hebrew letter Samech

(simple)

FATALITY

Result of the fall of
Adam-Eve

OBSERVATIONS

NAHASH

The Dragon of the Threshold

168

THE TAROT

jQ LE FEU DU CIEL V

THE FIRE OF HEAVEN.

(Lightning. )

THE LIGHTNING-STRUCK TOWER.

16. V

16th Hebrew letter (Ayin).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SIXTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The Ayin expresses the same hieroglyphic as the* Va u
(6), but materialized. It is the sign of Material sense.
Again degenerated, it expresses all that is crooked, false,
perverse, and bad.

Astronomically this letter corresponds with the zodiacal
sign of Capriconms.

SIXTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Lightning-struck Tower.
This card bears the picture of a tower, with its battle-

THIRD SEPTENARY. 169

ments struck by lightning; two men, one crowned, the
other uncrowned, are falling with the fragments of broken
masonry ; the attitude of the former recalls the shape of
the letter Ay in.

This card contains the first allusion to a material build-
ing in our pack, but we shall find the same symbol
reproduced in the 18th and 19th arcana.

Here it signifies the invisible or spiritual world, incarnated
in the visible and material world.

The 16th card represents the material fall of Adam.
He will gradually become more materialized until the
18th arcanum, in which he attains the maximum of his
materialization.

The significations of this figure are all derived from this
idea of fall, of the materialization of the spiritual letter

(Vau).

1. Materialization of God the Holy Spirit. (See 3rd
arcanum.)

Entrance of the Holy Spirit into the visible World.
The Holy Spirit acting like the God of matter.

Divine Destruction.

2. The materialization of the Adam-Eve, who have been
spiritualized until now.

Entrance of the Adam-Eve into the visible World —

The Fall.

3. Materialization of the Universe-principle —

The Visible World.

170

THE TAROT.

16. 3?
The Lightning -struck Tower

AFFINITIES

Primitive 1 Link (Van)
Hieroglyphic J materialized

Astronomy Capricornns

Month

December

Hebrew letter Ayin (simple)

OBSERVATIONS

SIGNIFICATIONS

DIVINE DESTEUCTION

THE FALL

THE VISIBLE WOKLD

THIRD SEPTENARY.

171

o yV &

LES ETOILES"! V]

THE STARS.

17. a

17th Hebrew letter (Phe).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SEVENTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The Phe expresses the same hieroglyphic meaning as
the Beth (2nd card), but in a more extended sense. For,
whilst the Beth signifies the mouth of man as the orran
of speech, the Phe represents the produce of that organ :
Speech.

It is the sign of speech and of all connected with it.
The Word in acfAon in nature with all its consequences.

Astronomically this letter responds to Mercury the God
of Speech and of scientific or commercial diffusion, the
God of Universal exchange between all beings and all
worlds.

Phe is a double letter.

172 THE TAROT.

SEVENTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Star.
The ideas expressed by this symbol are those —

1. Of the expansion of fluids.

2. Of their eternal renewal.

A nude female figure pours the Water of Universal Life
from two cups.

The genius of the Sun (14th arcanum) has now descended
to earth under the form of this young girl, the image of
eternal Youth. The fluids, which she formerly poured from
one vase to the other, she now throws upon the ground
(first idea).

This young girl is crowned with seven stars ; in the
midst of them shines a very large and brilliant one. Near
her an ibis (or sometimes a butterfly) rests upon a flower.

Here we find the symbol of immortality. The soul (ibis
or butterfly) will survive the body, which is only a place of
trial (the ephemeral flower). The courage to bear these
trials will come from above (the stars).

The fall of the Divine and of the Human into the
Material has scarcely taken place, when a mysterious voice
whispers courage to the Sinner, by showing him future
re-instatement through trial.

This card exactly balances the evil effects of the
preceding one, and from it we derive the following
significations — <

1. Opposition to destruction. No destruction is final.
Everything is eternal and immortal in God —

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173

Immortality.
Creation of the human soul.

2. The fall is not irreparable. This is whispered to us
by the intuitive sentiment we name

Hope.

3. The Visible Universe contains the source of its
Divinization in itself. This is

The Force which dispenses the Essence of Life,

which gives it the means of perpetually renewing its
creations after destruction.

17. a

The Star

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

-T) • •,• \ Speech
Primitive J l

tt , i . } (the mouth and
Hieroglyphic J v

/ the tongue)
Astronomy Mercury
Day Wednesday
Hebrew letter Phe (double)

IMMORTALITY

HOPE

OBSERVATIONS

THE FORCE WHICH DIS-
PENSES THE ESSENCE
OF LIFE

THE TAROT.

ç . < 9 B

THE MOON.

LA- LUNE

THE MOON.

18. 2

18th Hebrew letter (Tzaddi).

ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EIGHTEENTH CARD OF

THE TAROT.

The hieroglyphic idea connected with the Tzaddi is the
same as that of the Teth (9th card) ; but it chiefly signifies
a term, an aim, an end. It is a final concluding sign,
relating to all the ideas of term, of secession, division and
aim.1

The Tzaddi is a simple letter ; it corresponds with the
zodiacal sign of Aquarius.

1 Placed at the commencement of a word it indicates the move-
ment which leads towards the end ; placed at the end it marks the
term itself to which it has tended ; it then receives this form, y. It
is derived from the letter Samech D (15) and the letter Zain T (7), and
it marks the secession of one or the other.

THIRD SEPTENARY. 175

THE EIGHTEENTH CARD OF THE TAROT.

The Moon.

We have now traversed the steps which the spirit
descends in its gradual and utter fall towards the material
world. All is now ended ; the spirit is completely
materialized, aucl the change is indicated by the eighteenth
card.

A meadow feebly lighted by the moon.

The light, the symbol of the soul, no longer reaches us
directly ; the material world is only lighted by reflection.

The meadow is bounded by a tower on each side.
Drops of blood are falling from the moon.

The material world is the last point which the spirit can
reach, it can descend no lower ; this is shown by the
boundaries of the field. The drops of blood represent the
descent of the Spirit into Matter.

A path sprinkled with drops of blood loses itself in the
horizon. In the centre of the field a dog and a wolf are
howling at the moon, a crayfish is climbing out of the
water between the two animals.

The entry of the Spirit into Matter is so great a fall that
everything conspires to augment it.

Servile spirits (the dog), savage souls (the wolf), and
crawling creatures (the crayfish) are all present watching
the fall of the soul, hoping to aid in its destruction.

1. End of divine Materialization. Final point of
involution —

Chaos.

176

THE TAROT.

2. End of the Materialization of man —

The Material Body and its Passions.

3. End of physical Materialization —

Matter.

18. 2
The Moon.

AFFINITIES

SIGNIFICATIONS

Primitive 1 A Eoof
Hieroglyphic J

Astronomy Aquarius

CHAOS

Month January
Hehrew letter Tzaddi (simple)

THE MATERIAL BODY
AND ITS PASSIONS

OBSERVATIONS

MATTER

Involution, that is to say, the descent of the Spirit into
Matter, ends with the 3rd septenary.

The three last cards of the Tarot will show us how all
the emanated forces gradually return to their common
principle by evolution.

THIRD SEPTENARY.

17:

Constitution of the Universe.