How to unlock the secrets of the Tarot. Written by one of the leading experts in the field, this compelling book will pr
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English Pages 192 [196] Year 1999
THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO
TAROT THE FOOl.^- THE MOON THE EMPEROR
THE HIEROPHANT JUDCMENT
Bi
How to Unlock the Secrets of the Tarot
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ABOVE The
Even more significant to Gertrude
HiiflHitanhusfwstgn
Moakley’s theory, the word “trump”
for the lowest. Conditions of Man, A for the
for
highest.
the
22
Major Arcana
cards
Firmaments
of
the
Universe
probably comes from the Italian word
(compare the Tarot Major Arcana, which
trionf or “triumph.” In the popular
begin with the simple Fool and end with the
card game tarocchi, the trumps, or
World). Within each group the cards are
trionfii, literally triumph over the
ranked by number so that the entire deck
lesser suit cards of the Minor Arcana.
can work as a game. If so, the game instructs
Two
variations
on
Tarot
images
on a very deep level.
demonstrate the symbolic quality of the
The second variation on Tarot images
cards in their early days. The Tarocchi dei
actually comes much later than the first
raises its moral and
Mantegna (Tarot of Mantegna), a set of 50
known decks. However, its roots go back as
spiritual lessons to
“cards” (actually prints) from around 1470,
much as 2,000 years. This is the tradition of
just 20 years after the Visconti-Sforza Tarot,
alchemy, which came to its full flower
is both a game and a set of lessons in moral,
throughout Europe in the 17th century.
Mantegna Tarot's graceful Renaissance art
high sophistication.
ABOVE RIGHT
In the Middle Ages the King of Fools gave life to the symbols of anarchy, releasing social tensions in carnivals.
artistic, spiritual, mythological, and even
Alchemy describes physical processes
cosmic ideas. The name comes from the
intended to transform “base metals,” such as
painter Andrea Mantegna, long thought
lead, into gold. A close reading of these
(mistakenly) to be the creator of the deck.
processes and their texts makes it clear that
The 50 cards divide into five series that
the alchemists also sought to transform
depict the “Conditions of Man,” “Apollo
themselves, to
and the Muses,
Liberal Arts,” “Cosmic
flawed humanity and unite with the divine,
Principles,” and “the Firmaments of the
and even to become immortal. As one way
Universe.” The cards are lettered by group, E
to
26
express
burn off” their ordinary,
their
symbolic
truths
the
HISTORICAL
Papess by
followed
the
Empress
KNOWLEDGE
LEFT Alchemical
Tarots have been created using 17th-
and Emperor, two
century images.
pairs of male and female. It is true that in
many
cultural
traditions, including alchemy,
male
and
female symbolize such basic qualities as light and dark, action and stillness,
reason
and
alchemists produced a large number of
intuition, spirit and matter. Unlike the
beautiful and mysterious works of art. Many
ordinary person, who accepts that such
of these alchemical prints greatly resemble
things will always remain far apart and are
the standard imagery of Ikrot cards, so much
not capable of unification, the occultist seeks
so that at least four or five modern artists
to unite them within the self and so
have produced “Alchemical Tarots,” either
overcome
through
17th-century
existence. Many alchemical prints of the
pictures, or by painting their own works
17th century portrayed the perfect being as a
based on alchemical designs.
“crowmed hermaphrodite.” We find this
reproduction
of
source
for
of ordinary
as the dancer on the World card.
pictures in the popular game of Tarot a
limitations
same image represented in some Tarot decks,
Did the 17th century alchemists use the
as
the
their
symbolism? Or did they both draw on a common underground source for their
symbolism?
15th-century
The
Vhsconti-
LEFT The
Hermaphroditic
Sforza card of the Hermit
World dancer like
in fact depicts an alchemist
the Alchemical
at work in his laboratory.
perfect being celebrates the
The occult tradition of
many wonders
Tarot interpretation points out
the
duality
importance in
the
of existence.
of
Major
Arcana. The deck begins
THE WORLD LE MONDE
with the Magician and the
27
ORIGINS
AND
HISTORY
Heresies
OME
RIGHT Eliphas
OF
THE
TAROT
The
images suggest a possible
suggest
connection to underground
origin for the Tarot was
heresies.
very
none other than Arthur
beginnings, the orthodox
Edward Waite, who was the
Church battled a heresy
designer of the Rider Tarot.
known as Gnosticism. The
Curiously, Waite suggested
word ‘''gnosis”
this idea as a satire on the
From
its
means,
in
first an
person
to
Albigensian
fact, “knowledge,” and the
many
fearsome image
Gnostic Christians believed
origin theories. He said, in
of Baphomet, a
that the world we know is
effect, “We’ve got so many
an illusion, or a prison,
wild ideas, why not the
designed to keep us from
Albigensians?” As Robert
our divine reality. When we
O’Neill, author of Tarot
acquire the knowledge of
Symbolism, points out, we
our true selves we will cast
can
Levi drew this
outlandish
Tarot
demon supposedly vv'orshiped by the Knights Templar
BELOW RIGHT
Baphomet, and
off the illusion and liberate
r
never be sure with
Waite whether a joke is just
the pure spirit within us.
a joke. The occultists of
of the Greek goat-
These very concepts have
that time often concealed
god Pan, inspired
become incorporated into
their true meaning behind
often seen in the
the esoteric tradition of the
disguises. And he might
Tarot Devil.
Tarot itself
have put the idea flippantly
the earlier figure
the demon so
Possibly, just possibly,
only because he knew he
the Gnostic traditions
had not properly researched
influenced the Tarot
it. Waite cites a scholar
images from their very
named
beginnings.
biblical
times
but it continued all
Bayley,
whose article A New Light
Gnosticism began in
Harold
Cast on
THE DEVIL
the Renaissance
argued that the Renaissance actually began in France,
the way into the Middle Ages and
with the Albigensians. Waite wrote that if
the Renaissance.
Bayley had known the Tarot he might have
In southern France and Italy, in
identified Gnostic elements in the cards.
the centuries that preceded the Renaissance
Bayley himself went on to write that in the
Templar suggests
period, the Church ordered the extermination
13th century and later, the Cathars and
their secretiveness
of entire communities in order to stamp out a
Albigensians infiltrated the papermakers and
of religious service
Gnostic sect known as the Cathars in Italy
printing guilds, the very people who would
and military force.
and the Albigensians in France.
make the Tarot decks.
ABOVE This artist’s
view of the Knights
as well as their mix
28
HERESIES
Related to the Gnostic theory, another theory
suggests
that
it
was
not
from King Philip IV of France (who feared
just
the Templars’ money and power) dissolved
anonymous knights who brought cards to j the order in 1311, long before the first Europe, but in fact the Knights Templar, a
known Tarot decks.
strange and secret order of warrior monks. Originally formed
in
1118
to
Still, they may have brought dualist or
protect
occult ideas to Europe. The popular image
Christian pilgrims in Palestine, the Templars
of the Devil in the Tarot, a goat-headed —
became wealthy, powerful, and — possibly -
and hermaphroditic — demon, derives partly
involved in occultism, magic, and Gnostic
from
dualism. Pope Clement V, under pressure
worshiped by the Knights Templar.
“Baphomet,”
an
idol
supposedly
THE FEMALE POPE One particular trump card suggests a more
attendant priests and became pregnant by
specific heresy.This is the Papess, or female
him.Though she disguised the pregnancy
pope (in modern decks the High Priestess).
itself, she went into labor and gave birth
source, the picture
Throughout the late Middle Ages and into
during an Easter procession. Enraged at such
of a female pope
modern times (including at least two recent
a sacrilege, the crowds supposedly tore Pope
challenges the all-
novels), a legend persisted that a woman
Joan to pieces. This elaborate story probably never
once became pope, Known as Pope Joan,
happened. However; the idea of a female pope
she disguised herself as a man when young
LEFT Whatever its
maie authority of the Catholic Church.
and became a priest. Overtime, she rose to
returns us to the Gnostics, for; among their
bishop, then cardinal, and finally pope,
other differences with the orthodox Church,
"Papess" from the
taking the name of Johannes, or John.Those
the Gnostic groups ordained women as
Visconti-Sforza
who consider this a true story maintain that
priests. And, in the late I 3th century, a
Tarot.
after the pope’s death, when the Church
woman named Guglielma of Bohemia
discovered the truth, it wiped out the
established a sect known as the Guglielmites. Guglielma taught that
historical record,The legend gives
Christ would return in the year I 300
a more colorful end to Joan's reign. According to
and create a new world in which
the story, she fell in love
women would rule as popes.The Guglielmites even chose the first
with one of her
woman pope in preparation. When I 300 came the Church of Rome made clear its authority.They burned the new “pope" at the stake.The woman’s name v/as Maria Visconti. ISO years later; an image of a “Papess” appears in the tarocchi cards commissioned by her descendants.
29
BELOW The
ORIGINS
AND
HISTORY
Kabbalah
O HISTORICAL EVIDENCE exists to back up the claim that Tarot cards derive from the tradition of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah
(the
word
means
“received
doctrine” and implies an oral, or secret, RIGHT Jewish
tradition). And yet, the links appear so
culture flourished in Spain during the
compelling that the connection between the
15th century.
two has become the main line of symbolic interpretation, as well as the basis for many
After the biblical period, with its visions
of the meanings used by Tarot readers in
and prophecies, Jewish mysticism took shape
divination. Many Tarot readers do not
out of a remarkable short work called the
actually know this. They learn the meanings
Sefer Yetzirah, or '‘'Book of Creation Y Written
from a book about Tarot without much
sometime between the 3rd and 6th centuries
Life contains
thought
those
C.E., the anonymous author produced a
the traditional
meanings originated. Nevertheless, Kabbalah
vivid concise series of meditations on the
them In vibrant
(or Qabala, the non-Jewish occult version)
Hebrew alphabet. The Hebrew alphabet
living form.
is where they come from.
contains 22 letters. As we have already seen,
BELOW This
flowering version of the Tree of
or
concern
for
where
sephiroth, but shows
there are 22 trumps in the Major Arcana. We move now hundreds of years forward in history, first to Provence, France at the end of the 12th century (the same place and time as the Albigensians), and then to the great flowering of Jewish culture in Spain in the years before 1492, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled the Jews and Muslims from Spain and Portugal. The concepts of Kabbalah began to crystallize in this period, especially with the publication in Spain of a great work called the Zohar, or “Book of Splendor.” In their meditations on creation, the Kabbalists added another idea, that God created the universe in stages. There is not one world but four, the “highest” being a world of pure light closest to God, the lowest the world we know in our ordinary lives. The Tarot contains four suits, each with its own character. In each world, creation
KABBALAH
moved through a series of “emanations,”
which
(in Tarot terms the Minor and
LEFT This
geometric diagram
are
Major Arcanas). Kabbalists in
known as sephiroth (the plural
generations after the Zohar
loses the sense of
speculated on 22 “pathways”
a growing tree but
of sephirah). Each world contains 10 of
7
8
these sephiroth, each with its
allows us to see
^
between the sephiroth, one for
the 22 pathways
each letter. There are many
that connect the 10 sephiroth.
own unique quality. The names
versions
and qualities of the sephiroth remain
of these
connections.
However, the one illustrated on this
the same in each of the four worlds -
page is the structure best known to
IQ
that is, Kether, or “Crown” exists as the
modern occultists and students of the
highest sephirah in each world - only
Qabahstic Tarot.
BELOW The basis
with a different energy determined by which
Despite the fact that there are many
world it is. The four suits of the Tarot deck
variations of the Tree of Life itself. Tarot
each
occultists have argued at
contain
the
same
numbers,
Ace
great
through Ten.
length
as
to
proper order of placing the
alphabet as a whole, Jewish mysticism has
cards on the 22 pathways.
always focused on the four-letter name of
The
God in the Bible. Known in English as the
pathways are clear, but which
Tetragrammaton, these four letters {Yod-
card goes on which number?
Heh-Vav-Heh) appear in the Bible without
We m ight think of this as very
vowels so that no one can know their actual
simple - after all, the trumps
pronunciation. Ordinary Jews as well as
are
Kabbalists consider this name as one of
beginning with the Magician,
God’s ultimate mysteries. We have already
card One, and ending with
mentioned the four suits contained in the
the World, card Twenty-two.
Tarot. As well as cards Ace—Ten, each suit
But
contains four court cards, the Page, Knight,
number Zero? Do we place
Queen, and King.
the Fool at the beginning?
its
meditations
on
numbers
of
numbered
of much Jewish m.ysticism is to be found in the Torah.
the
the
Along with
for the Tree of Life
the
as
well,
BELOW The
Kabbalists considered the Hebrew letters living beings, older than the
what
of the
Fool,
The Zohar and other early works focused
If we do place him in this position, then all
primarily on the sephiroth. As an aid to their
the following numbers become misplaced.
meditations they created various visual
The place of the Fool has remained a
structures of the 10 emanations to show
problem for all those who seek a kind of
their relationship to each other. The most
Tarot orthodoxy. And yet, this is exactly the Fool’s special
popular was a vertical structure known as the
quality; his role is to upset applecarts, to
Tree of Life.
make the Tarot impossible to pin down. The
The Tree of Life became the means to
Fool brings the Tarot to life.
unite the 10 sephiroth and the 22 letters
31
Universe itself
ORIGINS
AND
HISTORY
The Occult Tradition
H
OW DID THE meditations of medieval Jewish mystics become linked to a game of 78 brightly painted cards sometimes used for telling fortunes? Some occultists will insist that the Kabbalist masters themselves secretly created the Tarot as a pictorial code for their abstract ideas. At the other extreme, some card
historians
strictly
maintain
that
any
connection between Tarot and Kabbalah is a RIGHT Antoine
Court de Gebelin
modern fantasy. Possibly Kabbalistic ideas
first suggested the
contributed to the cultural images that gave
link between the Tarot and the Jewish alphabet.
rise to the cards’ allegorical pictures. And yet, it is difficult just to dismiss all those correspondences, in particular the 22 trumps and the 22 letters.
At one point in his essay. Court de
The first suggestion of a link between the
Gebelin comments that the 22 trumps
Hebrew alphabet and Tarot comes from
correspond to the 22 “letters of the Egyptian
Gebelin’s Le Monde
Antoine Court de Gebelin, the same man
alphabet common to the Hebrews and the
Primitif. The image
who suggested that the Tarot originated in
Orientals.” Neither the Egyptians nor the
Tarot card
Ancient Egypt. Court de Gebelin was a
“Orientals”
Temperance.
Protestant pastor and a Freemason. In the
however, the Jewish people do. Comte de
1770s he published a multivolume
Mellet, author of a further essay in Le Monde
work entitled Le Monde Primitif,
Primitif introduced the method of linking
“The Primitive World.” Today,
the order of the trumps with the order of the
BELOW A facsimile
from Court de
is the same as the
such a book title would suggest
have
any
such
alphabet,
Hebrew letters.
a content based around the
Almost all of Court de Gebelin’s massive
early stages of humanity. For
work has disappeared from our cultural
Court de Gebelin, however,
history. Only his assertions about the Tarot
it called forth an ancient
cards have taken hold, gaining a life of their
time Volume
of
wisdom.
published
own. In their time they sparked a surge of
in
Tarot fortune-telling in France. However
1781, contains his famous essay
divination through cards did not originate
on the Tarot, with its claim that
with the assertions made in Le Monde
the cards form a disguised version
Primitif There was already a flowering of
of the Egyptian book of all
interest in France. But the idea of the game
knowledge, the famous
of “Les Tarots” as a secret Egyptian book of
^
VIII,
great
Book ofThoth.
mysteries and magic fascinated the public.
32
THE
OCCULT TRADITION
and soon people began to apply the Tarot
arrival of a relative from the country who has
extensively to divination.
it in his power to do a lot of good” (from the
A grain salesman and print dealer (and
booklet for the Grand Etteila deck, for card
some say wigmaker) named Jean-Baptiste
22, “the King of France”).
Aliette reversed his last name to the more
Etteilas deck, and his success as a
mysterious Etteila and created the “Grand
professional fortune-teller, sparked a whole
Etteila Tarots Egyptiens.” There is very little
series of fortune-telling decks. Some of them
of Egypt in Etteila’s pictures, but they do
had very simple designs, and labels like “a
evoke mystery and even wonder, with a level
letter” or “Discovery.” Others were more
of art superior to many later occult Tarot
elegant, with scenes set in drawing rooms, or
decks. The deck was a great success. More
even mythological allegories, such as those
than one version of it still exists today.
in the “Grand Lenormand” cards, named for
Unlike later decks, with their focus on
a famous cartomancer from the Napoleonic
symbolic systems, Etteila designed his cards
period. A certain Mile. Lenormand, who
for divination. They include images for male
claimed to be the confidante of Napoleons
and female questioners, “Le Questionnant”
wife Josephine, supposedly predicted the rise
cards from the
and “La Questionnante” (both also bear the
and fall of the emperor himself. Many of
Grand EtteilaTarot
title “Etteila”). Each card contains a specific
these decks (or modern reproductions) are
meaning, such as “This card announces the
still in print today.
BELOW
These
depict the precise
painterly style.
8
if.
48.
meanings in grand
Tenacite Tenacity
Opinion Opinion
Amour Love
7 7
Repos Rest
n O z C/1 C r H > Z H m
H
Z
Q