IV. The Visible World

(The result of their unstable, dynamic equilibrium).

The positive method will not allow us to pause there,
we must analyze the Will in its turn. We will abridge
this analysis here, for the reader will easily master it with
the aid of the treatises on psychology; it leads through
the two opposing terms of affirmation and negation to a
new superior, apparently simple cause, the Idea, which
analysis again decomposes into consciousness and un-
consciousness, gradually remounting to its furthest limit,
the absolute term, the One, both conscious and uncon-
scious, affirmative and negative, force and matter, name-
less, incomprehensible to man.

Let us designate this supreme term by A, and the
material atom by 12, we shall then have, according to our
analysis, the following series of hierarchized quaternaries
as a representation of the Universe —

260 THE TAROT.

+ (1) A -

(3) Consciousness (2) Unconscious-
ness
(4) Idea
(6) Affirmation (5) Negation

(7) Will
(9) Force (8) Matter

(10) Kosmos
£2

Divine World
(The Transcendent)

Intelligible World
(Logic)

Visible World
(Positive Science)

The extreme terms, a and co, Spirit and Matter, equally
incomprehensible to human intelligence in their infinite
grandeur and infinite littleness,1 are not only linked
together by invariable intermediate chains, but they also
make an incessantly descending movement from one to
the other, in which the Spirit becomes Matter by the
successive disintegrations which express the Idea, the Will,
and Kosmos. This constitutes the creation.

But since, as our sciences prove to us, the Kosmos itself
is in a state of evolutive movement, and since according
to their teachings this movement clearly inclines towards
a progressive synthesis, which spiritualizes the living
being by entering more and more into its composition,
the preceding scheme expresses but one half of the
Universe, the one which descends. We must now add to
it a second half, which restores the atom, œ, to its opposing
principle a, through the progressive synthesis of individual
lives. This is Progress, the sequence of Creation.

Thus the Universe appears to us like a circular current,
in which the flow is necessarily inverse in the two opposing
arcs : from the positive pole a to the negative pole «o the

1 The first a, One and infinitely great ; integration of Q. The
second o>, a multiple composed of an infinite number of infinitely
tiny elements ; analysis of a.

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 261

current descends — this is Involution, the descent of the
Spirit into Matter ; from the negative pole co to the posi-
tive pole a the current re-ascends— this is Evolution, the
spiritualization of Matter. We shall describe it presently.

Let us then infer for man —

The evidence of our sciences shows him to be upon
the ascending arc, already far from the negative pole,
since he is at the head of the three kingdoms of the
terrestrial world. He thus belongs to the visible world of
the Universe ; the imposing monument of science is a
proof of the position which he also occupies in the
intellectual world; but at the same time his errors, his
doubts, the enormous deficiencies in his knowledge, and
his passions, sufficiently prove that he is no longer master
in this sphere, as he is in the inferior world. As to the
divine world, he conceives it, presses towards it; but if
he attain it, it will be by faith rather than by science.

Man is then a being who in his re-ascension has reached
the middle region, and even the centre of that region ;
his place is in the centre of the ascending arc, between
the superior and the inferior beings of creation, ruling
the one, ruled by the others, midway between the Angel
and the Beast. A situation inevitably painful through
the equality of the two opposing forces, which retard his
ascension ; he has come to a dead stop, which must be
overcome by a special effort.

At the present time Initiation is the instrument which
facilitates the development of the human butterfly. We
shall soon understand of what it consists.

*
* *

262 THE TAROT.

The Ancients, with the usual force of their synthetic
genius, have symbolized the whole of Involution and
Evolution by a sequence of twenty-two figures, full of
hidden significations, which the occultists name the
Twenty-two Great Arcana.

Taking the ten first as a description of Involution, we
find in the others the successive phases of Initiation, such
as they are depicted in the twelve hours (or sentences)
which form the Nuctemeron attributed to Apollonius of
Tyana. These we shall now enumerate.

To be perfectly clear we must first return to Evolution
for one moment.

In fact its analysis is not completed by the ten terms
which have led us to the Kosmos, the dynamic equilibrium
of Force and Matter. This Kosmos can be analyzed in its
turn as two principles which, according to all the sciences,
are conflicting in every movement of matter : the Active
and Passive (male and female of organizations, acid and
basis of chemistry, the opposing poles of electricity, &c).
Completely inert matter is only found in their absolute
equilibrium in the unsiezable pole exactly opposed to the
a — the co of the Universe.

The occultists have represented this 4th tetractys, of
which the Kosmos is the first term (the tetractys of the
inferior world, infera, hell), by the 11th, 12th, and 13th
arcana, the Kosmos being its first term. The arcanum
which bears the generally dreaded number 13 requires
further notice. It is called Death and Resurrection,
and it represents absolute Inertia, only found in Death ;
but here Involution stops and Evolution commences, for
the equilibrium of the two principles, active and passive,
is never prolonged.

This would seem to contradict the preceding remark,

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 263

that the description of Initiation, that is to say, of the
re-ascension, opens with the 10th arcanum, and not with
the 14th. This however is not so, because in Involution
the being should retrace in an inverse sense, to complete
the synthesis, every stage by which the a has been dis-
integrated in the course of its Involution. Man is the
actual result of a work of this kind anterior to his present
state, but of this work which has raised him from the w
to the stage of Will he is quite unconscious; at first he
was subjected to it under the fatal pressure of pure Force
only, then of instinct, desires, and passions; his previous
evolution is therefore unknown to him, and yet how can
he master any of these worlds without knowing them all ?
His first work in Initiation must therefore be to re-descend
to his first steps in Evolution, to become acquainted with
all the degrees, all the forces, and all the beings that he
has passed through, to penetrate the roots of life to death
itself, and to learn to dominate them all.

We shall see presently that this is not a figurative
assertion; the Neophyte cannot attain any reliable voluntary
exercise of the transcendental faculties without first obtain-
ing the mastery over the forces which would produce
illusion, which would threaten his life itself; without
reaching Inertia and conquering it. Like the Christ, the
model of regenerate man, he must expire upon the cross
and rise again the third day; that is to say, after
descending the three last steps represented by the 11th,
12th, and 13th arcana, into the depths of hell, there to
discover Death and to overcome him.

This fully understood, we will describe the twelve hours
or phases of Initiation.

*

264 THE TAKOT.

The 10th arcanum, the first hour of the series, corre-
sponds with the stage which man has reached at the
present time. The symbol of this arcanum is the Sphinx,
which guarded the entrance to the Egyptian world ; the
Neophyte descended between its paws into the tunnel
which led to the sanctuary, through a series of tests, the
image and noviciate of the descent which we have just
mentioned.

This is then the hour of preparation ; it separates the
common life from the transcendental life ; in it the
student learns the work that he must undertake, and
prepares himself for it. Let us see in what way.

The human head of the Sphinx, the centre of the
intelligence, says to the Neophyte : " First acquire the
Knowledge which shows the goal, and lights the way to
it." This is the theoretic instruction mentioned above.

Its bull's thighs, the image of the rough, persevering
labour of the agriculturist, say to him : " Be strong and
patient in thy work."

Its lion's paws say to him: "Thou must brave all, and
defend thyself against every inferior force."

Its eagle's wings say to him : " Thou must will to raise
thyself towards the transcendent regions, which thy soul
already approaches."

The riddle attributed to the Greek Sphinx, and the
answer required for it, are an equally expressive image
of man, and his aim. He is the animal that in the
morning (that is to say, in the infancy of humanity)
goes on four feet (4 being the number of realization,
expresses matter and its instincts, the visible world) ; at
noon (that is to say, in the maturity of his humanity)
he walks upon two feet (2, the number of opposition, the
image of science, of its contradictions, its doubts, and of

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 265

the intelligible world) ; and in the evening (when the day
is nearly over) walks upon three feet (3, the number of
the divine world, in which the Trinity gives the solution
of all the oppositions, of all the antinomies, by the superior
term, the harmonious synthesis of the two adverse terms).

Apollonius describes the same hour in these words :
" Here the Neophyte praises God, utters no injurious words,
inflicts no more pain," which means that his theoretic
knowledge of the Creation is increased, and that he
practises self-control. We will now pause and examine
the consistency of these various prescriptions.

We have seen that man, having reached the ascending
arc, has become the object of dispute between the inferior
forces of inertia, which he has traversed under the im-
pulse of instinct, and those active forces which draw
him upwards; we have noticed that the struggle must
now be decided by the intervention of the Will, sufficiently
developed by Evolution, and sufficiently free to exert its
influence on one side or on the other : man can therefore
decide either for the inferior forces of disintegration, or
for the superior ones of synthesis, under the names of
Good and Evil. And truly evil for him if he redescend,
for he will meet the terrors of decomposition, of Death.
Good, on the other hand, if he ascend, for he will enjoy
the realization of his natural aspirations, the knowledge
of the Creation and dominion over it.

Now where is the index of the forces of inertia in the
human organization ? — In instinct, in the passions. Where,
on the other hand, is the index of the active forces ? — In
moral energy, in Virtue.

Where is the index of the forces of disintegration, which
lead to inertia in the human organization ? — In the
tendency to isolation, in egoism. Where, on the other

266 THE TAROT.

hand, is the index of the integrant forces ? — In the
tendency to joint responsibility, to altruism, in Fraternity.

The transcendent world is therefore open to whoever
has sufficient Will (or even artificial impulsion) to
triumph over the forces which guard it ; but woe to that
man who approaches it with a passionate and selfish
heart; with lowered head he will fall back into the
current of decomposition, where he will be dissolved.
Mature destroys all Evil; it is the law of selection!

Only the man whose heart is full of charity can raise
himself to the true destination of the human being in the
region of Principles.

This is why the Sphinx prescribes, with the persevering
will of the Bull, the courage of the Lion against the
forces of the passions ; and why Apollonius commands
reserve and fraternity, with the Gospels which place self-
control at the foundation of all Law.

Such then, with the aid of knowledge, is the preparation
for Initiation ; we shall soon see the importance of these
precepts.

* *

The Neophyte, sufficiently exercised in these pre-
liminaries of the first hour, then descends the three lower
steps as follows —

Arcanum XI. : Strength.

Second hour of Apollonius : '"' The abyss of fire — the
virtues of the stars close as a crown through the dragons
and the fire" (the magnetic chain).

The Neophyte learns to distinguish universal Force
and its double current, positive and negative, in his own

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 267

organization. The application of this knowledge will be
found in the two following hours —

Arcanum XII. : The Great Work.

Third hour of Apollonius : " The serpents, the dogs,
and fire!'

The first manifestation of force applied externally to
inert matter for atfecting transmutations; this is Alchemy.
The Neophyte having attained this step in practice must
be ready morally to make a complete sacrifice of his
personality ; in the language of the alchemists, he must
have destroyed his fixed nature by fire so as to volatilize it.

Arcanum XIII.: Death.

Fourth hour of Apollonius: " The Neophyte wanders in
the sepulchres, and it will injure him; he will experience
horror and fear of visions ; he should devote himself to
magic and to géotie" l

This is Necromancy, the application of Force to the
domination of inferior living beings : Elemental, or
organisms ready to synthetize themselves, and Elementary ,
remains of the dead, on the way to disorganization.

Morally, the Neophyte should die to ordinary life, to
enter the spiritual life ; the celestial man will be born from
the corpse of the terrestrial man.

The foundations of the Universe are now reached ; the
Neophyte touches the extremity of the terrestrial aura,
the sublunar atmosphere which surrounds every planet,
like the reservoir of the elements of its life ; he has now
reached a terrible moment, when he must lose the earth

1 The magic which evokes the evil genii who injure man — A.P.M.

268 THE TAROT.

to launch out into the ocean of space ; a formidable crisis,
to which two periods are consecrated.
The first is transitory.

Arcanum XIV. : The two Urns (the terrestrial and
celestial fluids).

Fifth hour of Apollonius : " The waters above the
heavens!'

Here the Neophyte learns the flow of the astral currents
in the planetary aura, just as in the second hour he
acquired a preliminary knowledge of Force, before exposing
himself to it in the following hour.

Arcanum XV. : Typhon (the electric whirlwind).

Sixth hour of Apollonius: "Here one must remain
quiet, immovable through fear."

Unprotected the Neophyte exposes himself to the
double and formidable fluid-current of celestial space, by
which the ignorant or imprudent is carried away without
mercy, but which raises the strong man who has purified
himself. Silence, prudence, courage !

According to your deserts you will be enraptured like
St. Paul, or you will expose yourself either to madness,
to the spiritualization of evil, or to sorcery. This is the
Sabbat or the Ecstasy !

The reader cannot pay too much attention to this
solemn monument of practical occultism, so well described
in Lytton's novel Zanoni under the name of the Dragon
of the Threshold; it is the formidable danger which
necessitates so many secrets. This threshold is reached
by many artificial paths : the hachich, narcotics, hyp-
notics of every kind, the practices of spiritual mediums ;

THE INITIATIVE TAROT. 269

but woe to him who attempts to pass it before he has
triumphed in the long and laborious preliminary prepar-
ation ! His fate is foretold in the next arcanum.

Arcanum XVI. : The Lightning-struck Tower.

Seventh hour of Apollonius: "Fire comforts every
living creature, and if some priest, himself a pure man,
purloin and use it, if he blend it with holy oil, consecrate
it, and then anoint some ailing limb with it, the malady
will be cured?

The irresistible current has touched the man who
exposed himself to its vortex on the terrestrial heights ;
if he be impure he is threatened with disorganization
more or less complete, according to his intellectual or
moral un worthiness, and his energy (incoherent mysticism,
folly, death, or complete disintegration, represented by the
genius of evil, the Devil) !

If, on the contrary, he be worthy of the higher regions,
this baptism of fire renders him one of the Magi ; the
sources of terrestrial life are at his disposition ; he becomes
a Therapeut.

Having reached this point, he will then learn to know
the celestial spheres progressively as he knows the
terrestrial one, and to dominate them ; three hours are
consecrated to this exploration —

Arcanum XVII. : The Star of the Magi.

Eighth hour of Apollonius : " The astral virtues of the
elements, of seed of every kind?

This is the region of the principles of the solar system;
in it life becomes clear; its distribution from the solar
centre to all the planets, and their reciprocal influences,

270 THE, TAROT.

are understood in all their details, in what the occultists
name the Correspondences. The Initiate is then master
of Astrology in every branch of the science, in the widest
meaning of its acceptation.

Arcanum XVIII. : The Twilight.

Ninth hour of Apollonius : " Nothing is finished here."

The Initiate now extends his perceptions beyond our
solar system, " beyond the Zodiac " ; he is in sight of the
Infinite ; he touches the limits of the intelligible world ;
the divine light commences to show itself, the object of
new terror and danger.

Arcanum XIX. : The Resplendent Light.

Tenth hour of Apollonius : " The gates of heaven arc
open, and man is born again, docile in the lethargic sleep!'

The Idea appears to the regenerate soul of the Initiate,
or, in the language of the Occultist, the spiritual sun will
rise for him ; he will by a new regeneration enter the
Divine World, in which man dies no more.

Two steps remain before the highest human destinies
can be accomplished —

Arcanum XX. : The Awakening of the Bead.

Eleventh hour of Apollonius : " The Angels, the
Cherubim, and the Seraphim fly ivith rustling wings ;
there is joy in heaven, the earth rises, and the Sun, which
issues from Adam."

This is the hierarchy of the Divine world, which appears
upon new earths and new heavens. The Initiate will
not pass through death again; henceforth he will live
eternally.

THE INITIATIVE TAEOT.

271

Arcanum XXII. : The Grown of the Magi.
Twelfth hour of Apollonius : " The cohorts of fire rest"
Nirvana ! Complete return to a.

Let us recapitulate these twelve hours of the initiation.

0. — Preliminary studies and tests.

Arcanum X.

1st hour