Tarot: Part I: Page 2

A Not Too Distant History of the Tarot

In 1781 French Occultist Court Antoine de Court Gebelin published his account of the history of the Tarot and its use in divination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot). Gebelin sought to trace the history of the Tarot using an unprecedented method of research combined with intuition. It is unfortunate to the credibility of his later published findings that decades later he would be proven wrong on almost all counts. In defense of this new form of research it is commendable that his methodology consisted of tracing the Tarot by searching for meaning in the symbols and ascertaining an interpretation of history much in the same way that one would develop a sense of an outcome during a reading itself. To the detriment of this methodology, not having the capability due to limited technology, to check references and confirm one’s intuition lead to what later appeared to be a scandal in which grandiose claims which were unverified dealt a blow to the validity of Gebelin’s work altogether. Having said this much it is admirable that such a unique attempt at research was undertaken and the only true mistake made on deGebelin’s part is not having the insight or perhaps not having the means to verify many of his claims. To make a comparison, many times throughout history scientists, limited by their initial understanding of a subject, may produce results of research that can only be proven false after years of observation, continued research and new discovery. In the same way for the period of time in which deGebelin lived, it was admirable that such work was undertaken and although some of the claims presented as facts were later proven to be false, it does not appear from research into this subject that false statements were made intentionally, as appears to be the case for some areas of the popular occult revival of this period (place).

De Gebelin’s conclusion was that because of the nature of the symbols used in the Tarot, the deck was the creation of a great mystic and sage who lived prior to Moses, Hermes Trismegistus. Hermes Trimegistus is a key figure in the occult school Hermeticism. This link to the Tarot has not been verified historically to date (Place).

Hermetic Mysticism is the springboard for many of the Judeo-Christian mystical traditions, including Kabala. They differ from mainstream Monotheistic religions in their emphasis on the uses of divination, focus on spiritual keys to self fulfillment and tend to regard the spirit as an evolving entity requiring constant challenges and mystical lessons or skill in order to transcend mundane conflict and reach a state of enlightenment. The quest for personal enlightenment in these belief systems is set within a context of the specific belief system, so that there are still pillars of Christianity or Judaic beliefs within this framework (Place). In particular Hermeticism is rooted in the belief in a figure named Hermes Trimegistus (thrice great) who is said to have been a sage in ancient times who learned the mystical secrets of the elements, astrology, archetypes, and magic and tried to teach these secrets to mankind. The goal was to reach a state of enlightenment and a Golden Age from which mankind strayed and would some day reach again is a prominent. It is believed by Hermeticists that Hermes Trimegistus is related to the God Thoth or was the incarnation of Thoth who is equated with Hermes the God of communication and languages.

Thoth taught mankind arts and sciences and hence Hermes Trimegistus is said to have bestowed the art and science of magick and alchemy. Branches of occult belief developed on this system grew in their own rite and include Kabbalists, Alchemists, Ceremonial Magicians, and various Pagan and Wiccan groups. (Place). There is also a common theme of a soul ascending along spiritual levels until it receives a glimpse of euphoria/Heaven/God like state (anima Mundi, the World Soul) , and then must again descend into the mundane and finish it’s quest to attune with this larger source while staying connected to life tasks. (Place) These themes were heavily correlated with classical philosophy in Ancient Greece and in particular with the teachings of Plato, hence the name neo-platonism for later resurrections of these concepts in more modern philosophy and spiritual practice (Place). It was de Gebelin’s intuitive deduction that the symbols in the cards worked in a pattern that fostered hermetic beliefs in a Golden Age, in the relationship between the individual and sacred archetypes, and the lifelong pattern of choosing between spiritual idealism and mundane temptation. He also sought to draw this conclusion to the extent that he declared the cards must have originated by Hermes Trimegistus himself, in Egypt. Later science would show that this is not consistent with facts but his attribution of sprititual and alchemical meanings to the cards has changed the meaning and use of Tarot forever.

The Hermetic connection was made promoted and enhanced with the first modern deck used primarily for divinatory purposes, designed by French Occultist Eteilla in the 1700’s.(Place) His name changed from it’s original Alliete, Eteilla was trained in Italian divination and first used the term Cartomancy.(Place) He also believed that the Tarot were Egyptian in origin and served as a sort of hieroglyph. He changed the names of many of the cards to more modern occult symbols which paid homage to Egyptian culture including the High Priestess in the place of the Papesse card, and the Fool was moved to the end of the deck. He also incorporated astrological symbols in the first 12 cards and designed the minor arcane to correspond with alchemical symbols and the elements (Place). The cards originally were called the Book of THoth Tarot before the name was changed to the Grand Etiella Tarot(Place).

Eliphas Levi was a French Kabbalist who contributed to references between Kabbala and Tarot in the 1800s and added interpretations to the cards that corresponded with the numerological and symbolic themes that equate the Major arcane with the tree of life or the quest of the soul to transcend the layers of existence related to the 7 known planets of the time into a state of enlightenment (Place). Levi believed in magick as the science of using will and consciousness to transform the self and thereby aid the soul in its journey (Place). His contributions to altering the Tarot include placing the Fool before the World card, the lemniscates over the Fool card and the reference to Joachim and Boaz in the High Priestess card and the Baphomet symbol atop a cubic stone on the Devil card (ttp://supertarot.co.uk/adept/levi.htm).

Levi has been accused of attributing very complex meanings to the cards based upon associations with the planets and numerology although unlike other Occultists his meanings were contrived and less obvious than, say, assigning the Moon to be associated with the Moon (Place). Although Levi had complex reasons for his attributions which were based deep in Kabbalic and numerological systems, it made his system of Tarot less logical to those not trained in his particular belief system and many later abandoned his methods in favor of more user friendly interpretations (Place). Levi was an inspiration to later occultist and Golden Dawn member Aleister Crowley who would go as far as to state that he was in fact Levi reincarnate (ttp://supertarot.co.uk/adept/levi.htm). It is then easy to see the level of influence Levi’s views on Tarot would have in Golden Dawn beliefs as well. Levi’s belief in the Tarot being of Egyptian origin and being the Book of Thoth appeared to be genuine, however a student of his, Paul Christian, was exposed as a Charlatan who not only promoted these ideas but was discovered to have developed fraudulent research into the topic in order to promote these ideas further (Place.)

The Golden Dawn

The Golden Dawn produced a widespread contribution to modern Tarot usage mostly attributed to AE Waite’s allegory interpretation paired with the artwork of fellow Golden Dawn member and prominent artist Pamela Coleman Smith. In fact in the spirit of giving due credit modern scholars have begun to call the “Rider Waite” deck the “Waite Smith” deck instead. It is said that the Golden Dawn capitalized on the ties of the Tarot with Egypt, hermeticism and Alchemy and this is evident in the portrayal by Coleman Smith. Of interest is also Coleman Smith’s technique of intuitive or psychic drawing to illustrate the meaning of the cards. In spite of Waite’s high level of control and decision making in the creation of this deck it is said that Smith was able to take some liberty with her artwork in the minor arcana and that she considered her artwork to have psychic roots allowing her to tap into the meaning of the cards on a soul level and interpret them for the public through her art (Place).

Most modern decks have taken variations from the Waite Smith deck including the correspondences in the minor Arcana with (Air, swords: Fire, wands: Water Cups and Earth Pentacles). In fact the addition of Pentacles in place of coins is another unique feature that added occult symbolism to the deck. The Waite Smith deck brings the Fool back to the front of the deck to start his/her new journey and labels this card zero. The symbols contain remnants of universal occult systems including Paganism, Christianity, Kabbala/Judaism, Hermeticism, Alchemy. The Waite Smith deck also incorporates the use of symbols in the artwork but also through use of alphanumeric references. This was also true of earlier decks but the extent of how intentional these references were is still controversial and at times proving a link seemed difficult.

The Mother of Modern Tarot

Pamela Coleman Smith is often not credited as deserved for her contributions to the Tarot with which most of 20th century readers have become familiar. Her education at Pratt University emphasized the expansion of the senses in art making crossing the line of expression and challenging students to treat music and art as if they were of the same vein. Such a perspective nurtured Smith’s intuitive nature and allowed her to develop an awareness of the psychic connection that occurs during art making through emphasis on a concept called synastaesia. (http://home.comcast.net/~pamela-c-smith/bio.html). Coleman Smith was also influenced by popular Japanese art of the time and a style that emphasized the use of symbol and illustration, all fertile ground for the development of an art based divinatory tool (http://home.comcast.net/~pamela-c-smith/bio.html). Pamela Coleman Smith joined the Golden Dawn in it’s original format in 1901 but a falling out within the group led to a breakdown and restructuring three years later at the time that AE Waite also joined the group. At this time the Tarot had fallen into obscurity and existing decks were of the Marseilles design from France. Rider and Son, an English publishing company, commissioned AE Waite and Smith to create a new deck (http://home.comcast.net/~pamela-c- smith/bio.html).

For the first time, a Tarot deck was created solely for divinatory purposes with Occult overtones being the focal point and containing the pillars of alchemy and occult lore where in the past they were mere undertones (http://home.comcast.net/~pamela-c-smith/bio.html)

If Smith was directed by Waite’s expectation with the creation of the Major Arcana as is speculated, her unique gifts flourished in the creation of the deck’s minor arcane which for the first time contained full illustrations as opposed to the three of cups merely showing three cups (compare the minor arcane of this deck to the standard illustration in a regular playing card for example). This was executed with the same care and symbolic and intuitive genius that was Smiths specialty and both Arcana could be considered of equal significance to the reader.

Structure

In the Visconti-Sfroza deck, as well as in the Marseilles deck we see the clearer evolution of allegorical themes that allow the cards to be so useful as a divinatory tool. The fifth suit contained 21 trumps and an unnumbered card called the Fool. Later occult scholars including members of the Golden Dawn, A.E. Waite and Pamela Coleman Smith, would rearrange a few of the Trumps to change the significance of the allegorical sequence and adjust the symbolism to modern occult beliefs (Place). Namely the order of Justice, Strength, and gave the Papesse the name High Priestess, the Pope the name Hierophant. In addition the Golden Dawn placed the Fool as the last card symbolizing the cycle between acquiring knowledge and returning to the beginning of this mystic cycle in which one begins a new journey. The placement of the Fool as well as whether or not this card contained the number zero or no number at all, is a variable factor in many of the early decks as theories and meanings changed based on the occult system using the cards. The Fool has such significance that to change its location in the deck is to assign interpretation about the role concept of wisdom with innocence or simplicity, or the role of the naïve on the journey to obtaining wisdom (Place).

The order of Major Arcana may seam insignificant, but to occultists, the reason such emphasis is given to understanding their original placement in the deck lies in an understanding of what it means to read Tarot. To understand each card is similar to reading letters from the alphabet. Each letter has an order but to form a word the order must be broken. In spite of this we must also understand how the alphabet works. In Tarot this is taken a step further. Not only does it require individual cards to make a reading but to understand the symbolism behind the card we must understand not just what an individual card means but how it relates to other cards. Originally the word Trump was not just used to name a section of the deck and separate it from the Minor Arcana. In Tarot as in alchemy and many occult systems, to understand the progression is to understand what gives power to these symbols and how they can be used to lead to enlightenment. In this view there are no good or bad cards and no unnecessary lessons. In a parade, Trionfi, there were no bad characters only a symbolic display of the challenges the soul overcomes to achieve virtue and enlightment.

Tarot and Universal Spiritual References

Although it has changed name, style and structure through the centuries the connection between Tarot and symbols of various Pagan groups cannot be overlooked. In the Renaissance decks Paganism still bore a heavy influence on cultural practices and philosophy of the time. The symbols of the Tarot have transformed and regressed namely the Papesse becoming the High Priestess and the various changes of figures in the World card from ambiguous gender to obvious Goddess images. The images change with the time but have always contained a strong element of the essential ingredients of Paganism, the balance of dark and light energies, the juxtaposition of wisdom and folly and the journey as a quest for wisdom through challenges that lead to rebirth.. Modern decks exist which have been custom made to fit specific Pagan, Wiccan or other Occult interests giving modern readers an advantage of sampling many forms of cartomancy to find symbols that work within one’s belief system. It could be suggested however that any deck contains archetypes which are universal and therefore even a deck that was not specifically named WIccan or Pagan will still contain these elements but could also be adapted to the symbol system of a Buddhist, Kabbalist or Atheist. As we will explore in the next section, The High Priestess of Wiccan iconography can also be interpreted as Mary in Christian belief system or the archetypal wise woman for one of neither persuasions. The Devil may be the figure of temptation or may simply represent the archetype of an adversary or struggle within a more universal context.

More to come…..
Part II
Learning the Tarot
Choosing a Deck
Playing with Spreads
Interpretations Games

Part III
Traditional Assigned Meanings