The chief temple of Nebo was at Borsippa, on the opposite side of the

Euphrates to Babylon; the town was sometimes called Babylon II. Nebo's

temple was styled E-Zida, the true house, and E-Sagila signified the lofty

house, which was the temple of his father, Marduk. The connection with

lightning is too marked to be overlooked when studying the derivation of

Mercury's attributes from those of Nebo.

The mighty king Ashur-banapal invokes Nebo on thousands of tablets that

have been found in his great library. Nebo is called "the opener of the

ears to understanding," "he who gives the sceptre of sovereignty to kings,

that they may rule over all lands," "the upholder of the world," "the

general overlord and the seer." All these attributes were combined with

the scientific attainments of Nebo, and he was proclaimed as the inventor

of language and the art of writing, together with being the great teacher

and encourager of learning and scientific investigations. This is all

emphasised by his numerous titles, such as "Speaker," which is said to be

derived from his name, signifying "to speak," or "one who announces the

fate of mankind," which was another inheritance of Mercury's when he was

called the "Messenger of the Gods." The attribute, then, in both cases,

was the emblematic Sceptre of the ruler, the caduceus. The Sceptre was

also named by the Assyrians "the Proclaimer," and was variously

represented, sometimes by the Staff with twisted serpents, although in

earlier times it was generally pictured as stylus, which was closely

copied in the representations of Thoth. The entwining serpents of the

caduceus sacred to Mercury were directly inherited from votive emblems

peculiar to the Babylonians, and they received force and significance

after the rods of the Egyptian magi were turned into serpents and

swallowed by the rod of Aaron.

When Nebo is called "Ilu-tashmit," or god of Revelations, who teaches

through his invention of writing and of speech, he is then regarded as a

soothsayer or prophet. The Hebrew word for prophet is Nabi, and this leads

to the interesting discussion that was started by Mr. Chatto in his

"History of Playing Cards" (page 22), when he speculates on the name of

Naibi, given to cards by the earliest Italian writers who mention them. As

Naypes or Naipes is still the name printed on the wrappers and on the Four

of Cups of Spanish cards, it evidently was connected with prophesy, and

this card has peculiar values and significances among the gypsy

fortune-tellers. Mr. Chatto states that in Hindustani the word Na-eeb or

Naib signifies a viceroy or overlord, and quotes from "several Spanish

writers" who have "decidedly asserted that the word Naipes, signifying

cards, whatever it might originally have meant, was derived from the

Arabic." All the writers on playing cards quote from Corvelluzzo, who

states: "In the year 1379 was brought into Viterbo the game of cards,

which comes from the country of the Saracens and is with them called

Naib." The Arabian "divining arrows" are always made from a tree called

Nabaa.

This little history, which is one of the earliest records of cards that

were then no longer considered prophetic, has seemed to close all inquiry

into the birth of games or their vehicle. No inquiry was therefore made

into anything preceding this period. However, had cards been regarded as

the survival of one of the most ancient of cults, connected with it by its

traditions of prophesy or fortune-telling, the true story might have been

unravelled centuries ago, for a study of the traditions, religions or

superstitions of Africa and Asia would have revealed that Naibi (the name

given at that time to cards) meant prophesy or revelation, and was

inherited from the great "Writer on the Tablets of Fate," Nebo the

prophet, the Assyrian god. The prophets of the Bible were called Nabi, and

it seems to be no accident that the mountain dedicated to Nebo and

bearing his name should have been selected for the death place of the

great prophet, Moses.

In the earliest histories of Assyrian mythology Nebo was not the

influential personage that he became afterwards. But it was still early

days when he was accorded the honour of having one of the planets named

for him, which afterwards became identified with Mercury. When Nebo took

his place among the mystic seven great gods, he found associated with him

Marduk (or Jupiter), Nergal (or Mars), Ishtar (or Venus), Nineb (or

Saturn), the Sun, represented in a chariot drawn by horses, as copied in

the seventh card of the Atouts, and the Moon (Nan-nar), who was called the

"Heifer of Anu," and was the presiding genius. She received the name

because the horns of the new moon resembled those of a cow. Her Assyrian

temple was at Ur of the Chaldeans, and she was also worshipped in Egypt

and is represented by the eighteenth Atout. Her horns are always typical

of wisdom and prophesy, and, as such, are used on Michael Angelo's famous

statue of Moses.

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip Cards of the Cup Suit

31 Ace of Cups

32 Deuce of Cups

33 Trey of Cups

34 Four of Cups

35 Five of Cups

36 Six of Cups]

The first month of the Babylonian year was sacred to Nebo and his

father, Marduk, and was called Nesan. The Egyptians made Thoth, or

September, the first month; that began August 29th, as we figure it, with

the rising of the Dog Star, which also was sacred to that god. This is

symbolised in the seventeenth Atout, called The Stars, represented by an

oblation to Osiris.

Daily sacrifices were made to Nebo, the offerings being bulls, and other

animals, fish, birds, vegetables, honey, wine, oil and cream. Their

technical term was Sattuku and Gina. It is probable that the wild boar was

sacred to Nebo, as it was to Mercury, being one of the animals sacrificed

to the latter, and the emblem is still found on the Two of Bells of the

German cards. The boar was sacred among the Assyrians, and its flesh was

forbidden on certain days in the Babylonian calendar. Its name was

Nin-shakh, or Pap-sukal, meaning "Divine Messenger," the name that was

synonymous with that of Nebo.

There were many great ceremonies connected with the rites of Nebo, for the

scientists, doctors, warriors and kings were all anxious to conciliate the

arbiter of their fate, and there were many statues erected in his honour

all over the land. The one representing him that was kept in E-Sagila, at

Borsippa, called by Nebuchadnezzar "the house of the temple of the world,"

meaning the lofty home, was yearly conducted with great ceremonies across

the Euphrates in a car, or ark, shaped like a ship, in order that Nebo

might pay homage at the temple of his father, Marduk.

The cult of Nebo reached its height when Nabu-polassar (626 B. C.),

Nebu-chadnezzar (605 B. C.), and Nabonnedos (556 B. C.), adopted his name,

thereby throwing themselves on his mercy, or invoking his protection.

Nebuchadnezzar adopted it as signifying "Oh, god Nebu, protect my

boundaries."

About the ninth century before Christ there were innumerable temples

devoted to the cult of Nebo dotted over the land, for those were troublous

times, and, doubtless, the rulers and their people were anxious to have

all the advice that they could obtain from the "Arbiter of Fate." He was

styled "the all-wise who guides the stylus of the scribes," as well as

"the possessor of wisdom," and "the seer who guides all gods." These

inscriptions are found in many places, not only on the temples but on clay

tablets.

Ashur-banipal extols Nebo on many of the tablets found in his great

library at Nineveh, thanking him for his instructions and the inspiration

that enabled the king to record in writing his valiant deeds, that were

thus preserved for the benefit of his subjects. One of them reads, "write

for posterity."

The Assyrians invaded Egypt many times, and the Egyptians in return

overran Palestine, Persia, Babylonia and Assyria, so that by intermarriage

and constant intercourse the scientific attainments and the mythologies of

both became influenced or mingled.

Although the capital of Menephtah, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, was at

Thebes, the site of the great temple of Thoth and the favourite residence

of "the Ruler" was Zoan, or Sau, as it is now called, which is three miles

from Goshen. It was there that Moses and Aaron had their interviews. From

that time on Thoth and Nebo became almost one god, and it is by no means

stretching a point to connect the cults of Assyria and Babylonia with

those of Egypt. Isaiah xix:23 says: "There shall be a highway out of Egypt

to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt and the Egyptian into

Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians." In the same

chapter (third verse) we find: "And they shall seek to the idols, and to

the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards."

It is, therefore, but a simple conclusion to suppose that the magi of

Egypt adopted the great tablet writer of the Assyrians as one of their

inspiring gods, and, that afterwards, when the pair were introduced to

Europeans, they were merged into Mercury, while "The Book of the Writer"

became known as "The Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus" (three times

great), now called the Tarot pack of cards.

"The Bearer of the Fate Tablets," dedicated to Nebuchadnezzar at Borsippa,

has been translated, "Oh! Nabu! On thy unchangeable Tablets which

determine the boundaries of Heaven and Earth, decree the length of my

days. Write down posterity." Which we would read, "Tell me how long I am

to live and bestow children upon me."

There is a colophon in Semitic Babylonian, written by Nabu-baladhsuigbi,

son of Mitsircea (the Egyptian), probably during the reign of Nabonidus,

the father of Belshazzar, that is also an invocation in the same style.

The inscription of Tiglath-Pileser I, king of Assyria, which "is the

longest and most important of early Assyrian records," says Professor

Sayce, dates from about 1106 B. C. This inscription was found under the

foundations of the four corners of the temple of Kileh Shergha, the

ancient city of Asshur, and is now in the British Museum. The one hundred

and fifth sentence mentions divining rods as the "Oracle of the Great

Divinities," being placed within the temple. "This Elalla," says Professor

Sayce, "was a stem of papyrus covered with writing."

Many tablets of Assyrian times have been deciphered from the cuneiform

text and are designated as "Tablets of Grace," or "Tablets of Good Works."

These are supposed to be those that Nebo wrote describing the virtues of

men. Besides these, the Babylonians mentioned tablets on which the sins of

the evil were recorded. The pious worshipper, therefore, prays that the

Tablet of his sins and iniquities may be destroyed, saying: "May the

Tablet of my sins be broken," showing how prevalent was the belief that

Nebo controlled fate entirely, both when predicting the future and also

after death, and in this Thoth resembles him closely.

Similar connections are met with in the Old Testament, when Moses cries,

"Forgive their sins--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book

which thou hast written." (Exodus xxxii:32.) The belief that such records

are kept by the Almighty is referred to also in the New Testament. "Your

names are written in Heaven." (St. Luke x:20.) The verse in Ezekiel ix:2,

"One man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his

side," is supposed to refer to Nebo, "the Heavenly Scribe."

In a long cuneiform text inscribed on a terra cotta prism found at

Nineveh, King Asshur-banapal glories in having received from Nebo and

Tashmitu (his consort) the power to understand "the art of

tablet-writing." In "Babylonian Magic and Sorcery from the British

Museum," by Leonard W. King, M. A., Assistant in the Department of

Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities, British Museum, there are tablets

invoking the protection of Nebo as well as of other gods. One of them has

been translated as follows:

"Oh! Hero Prince, First born of Marduk;

Oh! prudent ruler of Spring of Zarpanitu;

Oh! Nabu, Bearer of the Tablet of the destiny of the Gods, Director of

Isagila,

Lord of Izida, Shadow of Borsippa,

Darling of Ia, Giver of Life,

Prince of Babylon, Protector of the Living."

It may be stretching a point to observe that the "arrow-headed" letters on

the tablets of Babylonia closely resemble a sheaf of arrows that have

fallen haphazard. But this may be seen in the name of the god Nebo.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VI

THE ATOUTS OF THE TAROTS

Since the creation of the world mankind has realized a divine power

shaping his destiny, and has tried to conciliate the unknown god. Since

life is made up of happenings that are unforeseen, man believed that

certain occult powers directed and shaped them. It was natural, therefore,

to try to ascertain the wishes of the controller of fate, so that they

might be complied with and misfortune thus averted.

Invocations, sacrifices and queries, private or public in the temples, are

recorded from early days. Some have been found that date from at least

five thousand years before Christ. Directions for "wave offerings," "burnt

offerings," etc., are frequent in the Old Testament. The commands for

marking the "rods" with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, for the

purpose of laying them on the altar and awaiting results when the wishes

of the Lord would be revealed, are given in Numbers xvii. Prayers to Nebo,

Thoth, and Mercury are found everywhere in the countries where they were

worshipped. The use of divining arrows (rods), when demanding the wishes

of the gods, is a known historic fact, so it is readily seen whence the

Egyptians received their inspiration to gather together the customs,

ceremonies and superstitions of alien religions, to absorb them in the

worship of their god Thoth.

The temples of the Egyptian gods were generally gorgeously decorated, and

those of Thoth were filled besides with learned women and men who devoted

the result of their studies to the common good, without a thought of

self-aggrandisement. They made themselves the go-between of Thoth and man,

when revealing the wishes of the occult beings. The number of Hermetic

Books, written at Thoth's dictation, is given by Jamblichus as 20,000.

Naturally, when sacrifices or offerings were made, the worshipper demanded

a reply to his inquiries, thus taxing the ingenuity of the prophets, who

were, in fact, no wiser than himself as to the predestinations recorded

at birth. So, sometimes they found the desires of the gods hidden in the

entrails of animals or in the palms of the hands.

Astronomers and astrologers, observing that the heavenly bodies conformed

to certain laws, decided that these laws also governed the lives of men.

In the worship of Ishtar, the great Babylonian goddess, who has been

identified with both Venus and Diana, the flight of birds had portent;

while at the oracle of Delphi straws (a variant of the rods of Aaron or

the divining arrows of the Asiatics) were employed to ascertain the wishes

of the gods, and it is the descendants of these that are now sometimes

known as Jackstraws, that came to us from the Chinese, and at others are

identified as the pip cards now in common use.

A close study of each card of the old Tarots reveals much of the history

of the book and its original intention, for the resemblance of the

different cards to the different Egyptian deities is clearly displayed to

the student. The attributes and costumes of Maut, Isis, Phthah, Neith,

Amun, Thmei, Nepte, Seth, Anubis, and Ra are all to be traced on the

detached leaves of the ancient book. The costumes are those of Italians of

about the thirteenth century, it is true, but the caps, the girdles, the

positions and the attributes, as well as the qualities assigned to each by

the fortune-tellers, are too apparent to be ignored. It would seem that

the cards were designed by some person to whom these different marks had

been described, but who had no knowledge of the original pictures of these

gods that are still so instructive in Egypt. While the attributes are

retained, the pictures do not recall the old ones that can still be found

in mummy cases or historic monuments. It was therefore impossible for

those who wrote on Playing Cards before the great discoveries in Egypt to

recognize the connection of the Tarots with the ancient mysteries,

although the symbols of Mercury might have given a clue, had these been

noted.

Without declaring that the deductions connecting the Atouts with the

Egyptian gods is infallible, the strong resemblance between them must be

carefully considered, and the intention of each card studied with all the

obtainable history connected with it.

I. LE BAGATLEUR (Il Bagattel)

This card, also known as the Juggler or Pagat, bears various names,

according to the locality where it was used. "It is derived," says Count

Emiliano di Parravicino, in the _Burlington Magazine_ for December, 1903,

"from Bagat or Paghead and Gad, that signifies fortune, and the card is

often called Bagatto (or cobbler), since there are sometimes tools placed

on the board in front of the figure, one of which (in the corrupted

designs of modern cards) resembles a cobbler's awl." The figure on this

card represents the Player or Inquirer, and when the cards are laid out,

according to the rules of prophesying, it is controlled by all that are

dealt close to it. That is to say, the cards surrounding this figure tell

the events that are likely soon to befall the inquirer. The first Atout

represents a young man standing behind a table. On his head is a hat of

mystic meaning, for it is shaped like the sign of "eternal life,"

[Illustration: infinity symbol]; his left hand carries a wand, called by

de Gebelin "_son Bâton de Jacob, ou Verges des Mages_." This magician's

wand was readily recognized by the shrewd Frenchman, who evidently

understood the symbolism of the rod of Aaron (or Jacob). The rod is really

the caduceus of Mercury that has so many significances. It is one of the

pip devices that has been reproduced in the Ace of Rods, Staves, or

Sceptres, as it is variously called, and, by placing it in the hand of the

inquirer, it denotes that he has been given the power to consult the

oracle. The other articles placed on the table before the youth are the

other devices that mark the suits of the cards, namely: Money, Cups and

Swords, although on modern Italian Tarots these emblems are often changed

for others that lack significance. In "the lottery chart," called

Tsz-fa-to, used by the Chinese fortune-tellers, there is a figure like the

Bagatleur, holding up his hand in the same way, which recalls the many

mystic meanings attached to the "blessing hand." The Pagat or Magician (as

this card is often called) is sometimes expressed merely by the Hebrew

letter Aleph, which is placed beside the figure, or is used alone, when an

Initiate understands the symbol as well as if the Pagat was in its place.

What relation the Hebrew alphabet has to the Tarots is a matter for

conjecture, but the characters are often placed on early packs, and some

writers have pointed out that, in their opinion, these letters offer fresh

evidences of the origin of cards and their connection with divination. So

Papus says: "The first letters of the alphabet express hieroglyphically

man himself as a collective unity--the Master principle--the ruler of the

world." In very old packs the earth is represented at the bottom of the

picture, ornamented with its fruits. The centre is occupied with the man,

whose right hand bent towards the ground, the left hand raised towards

heaven, thus representing two principles, the one active and the other

passive, of the great All, and it corresponds with the two columns of

Jakin and Bohas of the temple of Solomon and of Freemasonry, as well as

with the great statues erected before the tombs of the Egyptian kings. The

meaning may be thus stated: "Man with one hand seeks for God in Heaven,

and with the other he plunges below to call up the demon to himself, and

thus unites the divine and the diabolic in humanity."

It is well known that among primitive people, boys, upon arriving at

manhood, went through certain ceremonies with fasting and incantations so

this card also represents a youth making his first offering to the gods of

the temple, and consulting them as to his future life, or asking what Nebo

or Thoth had written at the time of his birth on their "Tablets of Fate."

In order to learn from the gods what his future occupation should be, one

of the symbols of Mercury is lifted haphazard from the table before him.

Thus, if a sword be grasped, a man will be a soldier, and a woman will

have a person of rank for a husband. The Cup represents the Church or

Love. In primitive nations various articles are still placed before a

child, and the one selected influences its occupations, when mature. In

Korea a bundle of yarn, a handful of rice, a few coins, a cake of ink, a

brush, and some paper are placed before a baby, on attaining its first

birthday. If it selects the yarn, it denotes a long life; the money means

prosperity; the writing materials signify that a scholar's life will be

the one followed, while rice means happiness. Hebrew letters can be

expressed by numbers as well as by the conventional characters; this is

well exemplified by the way they were used in making the fringes of the

temple of Solomon, the strands of which were peculiarly knotted in groups

of different numbers, that, when deciphered, represented a text. A similar

knotted fringe adorns the Taleth or praying scarf, worn by the Jews when

worshipping in the synagogue, on which a text is typified by groups of

knots expressing Hebrew letters. "This fringe is made with four threads,

one of which is longer than the others. Two threads are bound together

with the longest one in a double knot, then it is wrapped seven times,

then eight, then eleven, followed by thirteen, with two knots separating

each." "According to the Kabbalah," states Professor Rosenau, in his book

entitled "Jewish Ceremonial Institutions," "these knots and windings have

a secret meaning, making thirty-nine in all; they correspond to the

numerical value of the letters constituting two words, or 'the Lord is

one,' since each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has numerical

significance."

Among uneducated people symbols took the place of written characters in

early days, so, since these knots conveyed a sound and a meaning, a number

is also indicated by the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. These letters or

numbers that were occasionally placed on the early Atouts have the

greatest value when deciphering the attributes found on the Tarots, since

each one has occult significance attached to it, evidently placed there

with the intention of assisting the early fortune-tellers to decipher

their meaning, although omitted in the later books of Thoth-Hermes, when

they were used only for amusement or gambling.

II. LA PAPESSA (THE FEMALE POPE)

This card is supposed to represent Isis. She is typified by a seated

female figure with two pillars behind her, between which hangs a curtain

indicating her temple. She is crowned with a triple tiara, and has an open

book in her lap. This goddess instructs and persuades. Law, erudition, and

occult science are under her protection. As the first female figure among

the Atouts, she represents the priestess of the temple of Thoth, also Eve,

also the mother. When a woman is the inquirer, this card represents her,

instead of the Pagat, which represents a man inquirer. The name of

Papessa, given to this card by the modern Italian card-painter, seems to

be a corruption of Isis. The former name is misleading, and has no

connection with the original meaning of the figure, for it has nothing in

common with the mythical Pope Joan of the Roman Church, while all the

attributes show that the figure represents Isis, or, perhaps, Tashitum,

the consort of Nebo, called "the Interceder." "The Italian card-makers,"

says de Gebelin, "named numbers II and V of the Atouts, mother and father,

or Papessa and Papa;" but he declares "their emblems are Egyptian and the

triple phallus worn by number II is the one borne by Isis in the _Fête des

Pampylies_, where Isis joyfully receives Osiris. It is the symbol of

regeneration of plants, or spring." The card is also supposed to represent

Juno in the Roman mythology. "The attitude connects it," says the same

authority, "with _la haute magic_, since it is the first of the symbols of

the Emerald Tablet, one of the books of Thoth, that was discovered on the

mount of Nebo." Wiltshire says: "Believers in magic find occult meanings

in the hands of this figure." Roman women sacrificed to Juno on their

birthdays, as she was not only the goddess who presided over maternity

(making Mercury her messenger, who carried the child to its parents) but

she was also the protector of women. Part of the great book of Thoth,

called the Ritual of the Dead, said to have been written with the finger

of Thoth, and generally placed with a mummy, says: "I am yesterday.

Yesterday is Osiris. Phthah goes around. The divine Horus prefers Thee.

The god Set does so in turn, as well as Isis, whom thou hast seen." The

Hebrew letter on the second Atout is Beth, which hieroglyphically

expresses mouth or tongue, one of the things used in the sacrifices to

Nebo and to Mercury.

III. L'IMPERATRICE (The Empress)

This card betokens Venus Urania according to the Roman mythology, or Maut

according to that of Egypt. The vulture is its emblem, one of Maut's

attributes signifying maternity. The mouse also represents her, and it

typifies fecundity. The card has many significances, such as speech,

action, initiative, friendliness, protection, progress, production, and

helpfulness. The figure is that of a seated woman holding a shield and a

sceptre. In old cards she is crowned with a diadem that has twelve stars

on its points. This card also symbolizes generation and productive

forces. Its letter is Gimel, the meaning of which is the throat, or the

hand of a man half closed; hence, it signifies that which encloses, that

which is hollow, a canal, an inclosure. The card also represents a woman

friend, but not always one that is desirable. The Egyptian goddess, Maut,

wears a cap and crown, and she bears a sceptre. Her flowing robes are

confined below the breasts with a girdle, the typical zone that has such

occult meanings. Among the Persians and tribes of North Africa, the girdle

is always removed from a bride, as part of the wedding ceremony, and

neither is she nor the bridegroom allowed to wear one for seven days after

the marriage. Maut is called "Lady of Heaven," and "Giver of Life," and

has been identified by some as the Ishtar of the Babylonians.

IV. L'IMPERATORE (The Emperor)

The fourth Atout shows in profile a male figure seated on a throne. He

represents Jupiter or Amun, the Ammon of the Egyptians, the Marduk of the

Babylonians, and the Merodach of the Bible. This letter is Daleth,

suggesting growth, nourishment, generation, divine will, long life,

strong character or personal ability and ambition. This card and number

three have similar representations on the Persian cards, which pack alone

of those adopted by different countries retains the figure-pictures, to

the entire exclusion of the pip cards. This seems to point to the fact

that, while the Egyptians or Assyrians overran Persia and imposed some of

their customs and religious beliefs on the people, the great gods were

adopted reluctantly, and the key to their wishes was not bestowed on the

conquered people, as would have been the case had their use, in

combination with the prophetic arrows or rods, been taught at the same

time. The great temple of Ammon was at Thebes, the southern Egyptian

capital. The name Ammon means concealment, to veil, to hide. "His most

common title," says Mr. Rawlinson, in "Ancient Egypt" (page 322), "was

Suten-Netern, king of the gods, also called Hek or Hyk, the Ruler, the

Emperor, Lord of Heaven, strong bull." His image, like that of the fourth

Atout, is represented as seated on a throne. He is crowned, and wears a

collar and bracelets. He bears the sceptre, the symbol of power and

plenty. One of the invocations to Ammon begins "Hail to thee, Lord of

Truth, whose shrine is hidden."

V. IL PAPA (The Pope)

The pronunciation of the name of this card alone proves its connection

with the Egyptian god, Phthah, but, besides this, it has many strange

significances assigned to it, all of them pointing to the same conclusion.

The figure denotes the religious superior, as it wears the triple crown,

combined with the two pillars of the temple. The African god was greatly

revered and feared, while many temples were dedicated to his worship. Four

figures kneel before Il Papa, whom he blesses with uplifted palm, sacred

to religious ceremonies, and inherited from the "hand of the Cohen" of the

Jews. In the old cemetery at Prague there are hundreds of tombstones, on

which the uplifted hands are carved to represent ideographically the

descendants of Aaron, who alone can bestow benediction in this way. The

hand plays an important part in heraldic emblems. "The Ulster, or bloody

hand," is a mark of rank, not only in English heraldry, but is venerated

by Orientals as well. A bloody hand is frequently found stamped beside the

lintel of the door among North Africans, and small silver or brass

facsimiles of the right hand are also fastened to the door or worn on the

person, to ward off the evil eye, when it is called the "hand of Fatima."

Arabs frequently wear this hand, that is then covered with engraved

quotations from the Koran. Their name for it is Kam or five fingers. The

number five--Khamsa--is considered so powerful and mystic that it is

believed to bring bad luck if it is mentioned, so the word is not

pronounced, but the Arabs say "two-three" instead. The Neapolitans

generally wear a hand with one finger outstretched as a charm, one of the

many links connecting them with Egypt. The fifth Atout in its position and

consequence represents aspiration, health, intelligence, union, strength

of will, religion and faith. The accompanying letter is He, the meaning of

which is aspiration. The triple-barred sceptre is an especial emblem of

Phthah, who was known as "the revealer," the one who made hidden duties

manifest.

The first four figures of the Atouts are connected with family life. The

inquirer in number one, the parents in two and four, and the influence of

State and Church in three and five, forming a significant group when

studying the cards and their meanings.

VI. GLI AMANTI (The Lovers)

The sixth card has not yet been connected with any of the occult gods of

Egypt or Babylonia. The figures seem to belong solely to Cupid. The card

shows a young man between two females, symbolizing virtue and vice. Cupid

hovers overhead, blindfolded, and with bent bow, ready to "shoot an arrow

into the air." When used for prophesying, this card is typical of a young

man starting in life, whose future depends upon the choice before him,

since good and evil both seem to claim him. The card also denotes

affection, love, friendship, charity, union and sight, the latter being

indicated by the letter, which is Vau, the hieroglyphic sign for eyes,

light or brilliancy. The import of this figure is personal magnetism. This

card also indicates marriage, and is emblematic of the legal tie, as well

as of luck and good fortune.

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip and Court Cards of the Cup Suit

37 Seven of Cups

38 Eight of Cups

39 Nine of Cups

40 Ten of Cups

41 Knave of Cups

42 Cavalier of Cups]

VII. IL CARRO (The Chariot)

This is one of the most mystic of cards, its number being one that was

regarded as occult by the ancients. It displays a picture of a king or a

conqueror, in his car drawn by beasts, precisely as Nebo was frequently

represented in the texts, "when the gilt chariot never marks the way."

Sometimes the car is drawn by horses, frequently by oxen, sometimes by

lions, and occasionally by black and white sphinxes. This car typifies

Mars, the god of war mentioned in Babylonian mythology and in the Bible,

"when every nation made gods of their own and the men of Cuth made Neral

(Mars)." (2 Kings xvii:30.) As has been mentioned, Nebo bore a sword and

was regarded as accompanying warriors, although he generally represents

the pestilence that follows in the wake of war. The Hebrew letter of the

seventh Atout is Zain, that expresses an arrow, thus suggesting a weapon

as well as a soldier, so it denotes victory, a ruling power, triumph,

protection, a domineering character. "The arrows of divination" are

frequently referred to in the Bible, for instance, when "the king of

Babylon stood at the parting of the way at the head of the two ways to

use divination. He made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he

looked at the liver." The tablets found at Nippur frequently refer to all

the arts of divination, as when a text in cuneiform characters says: "the

arrows were marked Yes and No," or, "the king had shaken the arrows,

questioned the house gods, and looked into the liver." Mr. Culin, in his

"Korean Games," considers that divination by arrows is one of the most

primitive forms, and it is still kept up in Korea, China, Japan, etc. The

sticks used for the purpose in China are in the form of arrows, and are

kept in a cube-shaped box resembling a quiver. They are shaken in a

peculiar way until one jumps out, when the design on it, and the direction

in which it points to the shrine, are considered to have replied to the

inquirer.

The Chariot of the Atouts was, under certain conditions, supposed to

represent Osiris. It was also called "the chariot of Mercury," in the

sense that he was the messenger of Mars when war was to be proclaimed, or

when his caduceus was used as a flag of truce. Seven was always considered

by the Egyptian savants a mystical number, so this card played an

important part in occult science. Count Emiliano di Parravicino, in his

essay published in the _Burlington Magazine_, December, 1903 (page 238),

says: "Mgr. Antonio Dragoni (1814) suggests that the Atouts, numbering

twenty-one [not counting the Joker (_Fou_), which has no number],

represent the Egyptian doctrine beloved by Pythagoras, of the perfect

number Three and the mythical number Seven. Hence, Thoth, the Mercury of

the Egyptians, forms with the pack of pip cards his book or picture of the

creation of three classes of images, which symbolize the first three ages

of the world--_i. e._, the golden, the silver, and the bronze. Each of

these three classes is to represent in its seven divisions a greater

reference or mysticism, a mysterious book of the highest value in the art

of divination, since this book of unbound leaves contained the key to all

mysteries, although its contents were undecipherable to all but those

taught in the temples of Thoth." This proves that other thinkers besides

Papus and de Gebelin had come to the same conclusions from their study of

the Tarot pack, although without having the benefit of exchanging views on

the subject.

The Babylonians believed in seven evil spirits, as the following prayer,

translated from a cuneiform tablet, will prove:

Seven are they. They are seven,

The same in the mighty deep;

And Seven are they in heaven,

'Though in water, sometimes they sleep.

They are neither male, nor female,

These awful spirits that fly,

But like destructive whirlwinds,

They swirl across the sky.

Without a home or offspring,

Compassion and mercy are nil,

Since prayers or supplications,

They neither hear nor feel.

Like wild beasts bred in the mountains,

They defy both gods and men,

Polluting even the fountains

The rivers, the marshes, the fen.

Evil are they, strangely evil,

In temples, in cities, in homes;

For Seven are they, cruel Seven,

With weird and terrible forms.

Mr. Willshire, in his "Catalogue of the Playing Cards in the British

Museum," says: "It hardly requires a reference to the Bible to notice the

frequency with which the number Seven is mentioned. Not only was the

Seventh day to be kept holy, but, then, there was the mystery of the Seven

stars, of which Nebo (Mercury) was one, the latter being the most rapid

and brilliant. Also of the Seven golden candlesticks, and, in Zachariah

iii:9, we find that on the stone laid before Joshua there were Seven eyes.

Mercury invented the lyre, according to the Egyptians, in the year of the

world two thousand. At first it had only three strings, but in the hands

of the Muses, Seven were adopted. Then also the Seven virtues were called

the Seven cords of the human lyre, having their analogies in the Seven

colours of the prismatic spectrum. Then there were Seven precious stones,

namely: Carbuncle (garnet), Crystal, Diamond, Agate, Emerald, Sapphire,

and Onyx, besides the Seven chief metals." The emerald was considered the

stone of Thoth, we may infer, since one of his books was entitled "The

Emerald Tablet." Among the Berber tribes, of North Africa, the women put

seven marks on their foreheads, to protect them from the evil eye; this is

also done among some of the Negro tribes. When consulting the pip cards,

the Sevens have peculiar and occult values, marking the boundaries between

those lower and higher. They also make combinations that influence the

consideration of other cards.

VIII. LA GIUSTIZIA (Justice)

The figure on the eighth card is represented in the most modern fashion,

and yet, with its attributes and values, it is much as Egyptians would

have known it when the worship of Thoth was at its height. It is the

goddess of Truth or Ma. Her title was sometimes adopted by the kings, who

called themselves the friends of Truth. Mr. Rawlinson, on page 385 of

"Ancient Egypt," says: "The chief judge of every court is said to have

worn an image of Ma around his neck, and when he decided a case he touched

the litigant with it, in whose favour the decision was made, in order to

testify that everything had been done with justice and truth. In the final

judgment of Osiris, the image of Ma was placed in the scale, and weighed

against the good actions of the dead." It may easily be perceived what a

forceful figure the one of justice must have been to the people who

consulted the oracles in the temples of Thoth. Justice is represented on

the Atout as a seated female figure, on a throne bearing her usual

heraldic marks of a sword and a pair of scales. Law and order are denoted

by every line and emblem on the card, which, summed up, expresses

conscientiousness, balance, power, and poise, in all their forms. The leaf

also corresponds with some of the attributes of the god Tiemei, and again

represents one of the deities of Olympus. Heth, the letter corresponding

to it, means a field, and from that springs the idea of anything requiring

labour and continued effort, the elements and existence. When it typifies

Ceres, of the Olympic gods, it denotes the mother as she is generally

represented, with her daughter, Prosperpine, endeavouring (as the original

type of a mother-in-law) to keep her from the arms of Pluto, while Mercury

leads the wife forcibly away. This card is the dominating one of Cups

(meaning sacrifice) of the pip part of the pack.

IX. L'EREMITA (The Hermit)

The Hermit is one of the most mysterious designs on the Atouts, and has

not yet acknowledged all its intentions. For the meaning assigned to it,

and its value for soothsaying, hardly correspond with the personage

depicted, so it is supposed that the artist who modernized the ancient

design has altered it too completely to be recognised by those

unacquainted with the original intention. It shows an old man, holding a

lantern aloft, and by some is regarded as a watchman calling the hours of

the night, and by others, as Diogenes searching for an honest man. But the

attributes or values given to the card rather quarrel with the design, for

they signify friendship, protection, and wisdom. The rod or staff

signifies a pilgrim, certainly an overseer, and is a favourite emblem in

the Bible, as in Psalms xxiii:4, "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me,"

or, in Isaiah x:15, "If the staff should lift up." It is the cane of the

medical man, and represents the Sceptre suit of the pip cards. This Atout

typifies strength of character, philanthropy, the wisdom of silence in

difficulties, circumspection, prudence, and sympathy; in short, all the

qualities desirable in a friend. The letter is Teth, which represents a

roof or place of safety, suggesting the idea of a shelter and protection

given by wisdom and forethought. The card also typifies human love and

humanity.

X. RUOTO DELLA FORTUNA

(The Wheel of Fortune)

This Atout has many and various connections with the superstitions of

ancient days. It is the Wheel of Fortune, and, among other things,

represents Osiris judging the souls of the dead. Anubis clambers up on one

side, while Typhon descends on the left of the wheel. "There are two

ideas," says Papus, "expressed by this symbolic card. The first is that of

supremacy, the second of eternity." The former is typified by Anubis and

Typhon climbing or falling, one reaching to overpower the other, while the

wheel turns eternally, lifting first one and then the other. Thus it is in

life, for fortune changes from good to bad with unceasing regularity,

sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly, but always controlled by an

unknown force, that is called luck. The circle signifies eternity, and the

Wheel of Fortune is one of the oldest known symbols in the world. It is

deemed by some to have its analogy in the "Wheels of Ezekiel and of

Pythagoras," with all the significances attached to these emblematic

figures. Being numbered ten, its Hebrew letter is Yod, the hieroglyphic

meaning of which is "the forefinger extended as a sign of command." This

sign [Illustration: pointing finger] is recognised even by the

uninitiated, and is one of the surviving attributes of Mercury in common

use to-day. It was placed under the head of Mercury, when he was erected

by the roadside as Terminus to point out a road. In every synagogue is

found a pointer, called Yod, because its long arm terminates in a

beautifully modelled hand, with the forefinger outstretched. This is used

by the reader of the Scriptures to keep the place, since the text is

written in fine characters not easily followed without the pointing finger

of the Yod. The Wheel of Fortune typifies magic power, fortune, expression

of the will of the gods, or their commands, supremacy, superstition, and

luck. Anubis was the conductor of spirits to the judgment seat (or

Mercury, as Chthonius); he also held the balance in the hall of the dead.

He is called "Lord of the Burying-ground," and is represented as a

jackal. The Wheel of Fortune is derived from Osiris, on the judgment seat,

with Anubis as assistant.

XI. LA FORZA (Strength)

This Atout shows a female figure, wearing the mystic hat, or vital sign

[Illustration: infinity symbol], seen on the Pagat, or the first Atout.

The girl forces open the mouth of a lion, expressing vitality, force,

courage, daring. It would seem the ancients believed that, in suffering or

trouble a woman was superior to a man, for endurance and strength of mind.

The figure also typifies innocence, so the fable of Una and the lion seems

to be depicted, whether intentionally or not. Another symbol is that of

the Amazons, who pretended, say modern writers, to great strength, in

spite of being women, but the translations of some of the cuneiform

tablets lead one to suppose that these female warriors were more noted in

their own times for their wit than for their strength. The value given to

the card indicates it to be under the protection of Minerva. The Hebrew

letter for this card is Kaph, which typifies a grasping hand. This card

represents subtle and mystic occultism, with its influence over mankind;

in fact, female charity. It recalls, by its costume and attributes, the

Egyptian goddess Neith, whose temple was at Sais, the chief city of the

Delta. She wears a peculiar emblem on her head, sometimes called a

"shuttle," recalling the device of the Atout. Mr. Rawlinson, in his

"Ancient Egypt" (page 342), says the inscription on her shrine reads: "I

am all that was, and is, and is to be. No mortal hath lifted my veil." The

last expression would be understood in Egypt, for the lifting of the veil

is the conclusion of the marriage service, when the bridegroom sees his

wife for the first time. Therefore, one meaning of the card is a bride.

XII. L'APPESO (The Hanged Man)

The hanged man is a remarkable figure on the twelfth leaf of the Book of

Thoth. The person is suspended by one foot from a gibbet that is crudely

made, by placing a bar in the fork of two opposite trees that have been

lopped of other branches. The hands are tied behind, and the right leg

crosses the left, by which the figure is suspended. This peculiar form of

punishment was at one time inflicted for certain kinds of crimes in

Etruria, and was probably typical when it was adopted. It has been

suggested that one of the signs of recognition between Freemasons consists

in crossing the legs, although these persons generally remain upright and

are not contortionists, so it is difficult to concede this connection with

the figure on the Atout. It shows a young man, who is said to be the

Pagat, or inquirer, of the first Atout, who, having passed through the

temptations of youth, begins to aspire to an ethical future. This is

exemplified by his position, indicating discipline, or submission to a

superior will. Perhaps another idea is, that since all the blood has run

to his head, the powers of knowledge are concentrated, and will be

increased. The card expresses equilibrium, charity, courage, knowledge and

prudence; also wisdom and fidelity. Lamed is the corresponding Hebrew

letter; it designates the arm, so is, therefore, connected with expansive

power and movement, as applied to all ideas of extension, of occupation,

of possession. The figure being raised above the earth, and in a position

of pain, together with humility, typifies a mind withdrawn from temporal

ideas, or a martyr to science. Vulcan is supposed to be the Olympian god

typified by L'Appeso, not only on account of the strong arm, but also

because he was thrown out of heaven and lamed for life.

XIII. LA MORTE (Death)

This thirteenth Atout is represented on some cards as a skeleton mowing

off the heads of men, on some as a rider on a white horse, and on others

on a black one. There is an old proverb: "Death comes riding on a white

horse," and sometimes the clouds betokening rain are called "the white

horses of death." One of the horses of Aurora was called Abraxas, the

numerical value of these letters summing up three hundred and sixty-five,

or the number of the days of the year. The occult meanings attached to

this card and its number in the Atouts are well known, for the latter is

connected with bad luck or death in all European countries, and in every

place where the worship of Mercury or the Hermetic art, as connected with

cards, has penetrated. It is not so regarded, however, by savage tribes,

who have not followed this cult. This superstition is, therefore, by many

deemed to be one of the proofs that the cards were descended from those

mysteries. It is supposed that this image of Death was the half-way

position in the temple of Thoth, and therefore divided the Atouts to the

right and to the left, since they were placed in sequence on both sides.

Thoth Hermes, the unnumbered Atout, was represented by a statue that

occupied the centre of the building, under which stood an altar. On this

altar the rods (or pip cards) were thrown when consulting the oracle. At

any rate, the altar (or its remains) occupies the centre of the ruins of

the temple of Mercury, at Baiæ. The central position of Death was deemed

to indicate the dividing period of a man's life. The inquirer, after

consulting the pictured figures, representing the family, religion,

government, and friends of the beginning of his life, now learned of the

more serious affairs of later years, not necessarily death or bad fortune,

but, rather, a transforming force, since this Atout marked such a distinct

epoch in the path of life, and was to be considered most seriously. Still

the card also portends sorrow, destruction, and death. The letter is Mem,

meaning fertility and formation, or the development of the being in an

unlimited space, perhaps regeneration after destruction, or immortality in

another world.

XIV. LA TEMPERAN (Temperance)

It is probable that this figure was intended for Nut or Nephthys. Of her

but little is positively known, and, so far, no temple erected to her has

been discovered. She was called the wife of Seb, and the mother of Osiris.

Her titles are "the Elder," "the Mother of the Gods," and "the Nurse." She

is usually represented as veiled and pouring a liquid from a vase. Her

figure frequently appears in tombs, as if she was the guardian angel or

protector of the dead soul. This idea of an oblation to the gods, through

pouring wine or oil before them, is found to be common among the

Babylonians, and to "pour oil on the troubled waters" is no mere figure of

speech.

The fourteenth Atout is represented as a winged female pouring liquid from

one jug to another, signifying individual and corporeal existence,

production, fruition, health, temperance, economy and offspring. Its

letter is Nun, signifying fruit of any kind and all things produced.

Neptune is typified by one of his nymphs offering an oblation when

mingling the waters. There may be a remote and more occult connection with

this device and divination, for one of the earliest methods of consulting

the gods was through pouring water on oil, or oil on water, and

prognosticating from the results. This process is found to have been used

among the Babylonians as early as two thousand five hundred years before

Christ. Two books have been discovered on this subject that give full

directions for consulting the wishes of the gods through those means, and

they have been fully translated by Dr. Arthur Ungnad. One is,

"Interpretations of the Future among the Babylonians and Assyrians," and

in it are found many directions for discovering the wishes of the gods,

such as: "If the oil fills the cup, the person dies;" "If the oil floats

on water to the east, the person will die;" "If to the right, it is good

luck, if to the left, it is misfortune." The name, Temperance, given to

this card, seems to be rather misleading and modern, since the picture

evidently typifies this most ancient custom.

XV. IL DIAVOLO (The Devil)

Set, or Sutech, the principle of evil, who is connected with the myth of

Osiris, needs but little explanation. Even moderns can comprehend at a

glance all that it typifies. Mgr. Antonio Dragoni is one of the earliest

persons to identify this card with Set or Typho, the son of Seb, who was

the brother of Osiris, and one of the geniuses of evil. Any one who has

attempted to read the myth of Osiris will appreciate the difficulties of

unravelling it. The Hyksos, or shepherd kings, selected Set as their sole

deity, and Seti I assumed his name, thus placing himself under the

protection of the evil one. Afterwards the worship of Set ceased entirely

and he was abhorred. The long ears retained on the figure of the fifteenth

Atout mark the connection with Set, for that was one of his distinguishing

attributes. The Hebrew letter that represents this card is Zain, which

means arrow, or any weapon of destruction. The intention of this Atout is

destiny, chance, fatality, superstition, illness, temptation; it

represents a spirit of evil, hatred, jealousy, and suspicion.

XVI. LA TORRE (The Tower)

In this leaf, a building struck by lightning is portrayed, through a

thunderbolt shot by Jupiter, and conveyed by the "Messenger," Mercury. The

"lightning god" was one of Nebo's titles, and the mark is retained on the

Japanese cards, although probably accidentally, since there is no

connection between their playing cards and the original Atouts. Some

writers call this tower the "castle of Plutus" (the Roman god of wealth),

deeming it a warning to misers, for it recalls the legend relating to an

incident in the life of Rameses II, recorded in Herodotus. The Pharaoh

ordered a tower to be built for his treasures, and he alone had its key,

but daily he discovered that his valuables were disappearing, although

there was only one egress. A watch was set, and it was found that two of

the sons of the architect could enter by displacing a stone, that had been

left for the purpose of thieving, and when the men were entrapped inside,

they threw themselves headlong from the tower. This picture shows a

connection with Egyptian legend that must not be disregarded in seeking to

trace the Tarots to the mysteries of Thoth. Besides, some persons believe

that the card represents the destruction of the temples of Babylon, and

due weight must be given to the significance awarded by that people to

lightning, when consulting the gods through divination, particularly as it

was the weapon of Jove (Merodach), who was connected with the Baal of the

Bible, and sometimes worshipped as Enlil, who was frequently implored not

to destroy his people by lightning. But there are other legends connected

with the destruction of ancient temples that are even older than that of

Egypt, and we are lucky to have access to one that has lately been

translated from the Sumerian language, written in cuneiform characters on

one of the tablets discovered by Prof. Herman V. Hilprecht in the Temple

Library of Nippur. Above two hundred of them were of a religious or

historical character, which he set apart for the well-known scholar,

Doctor Radau, to translate. These related chiefly to the worship of the

gods of the second dynasty of Ur, or about two thousand five hundred years

before Christ. "Although the beginning of the Babylonian religion, as

portrayed in these tablets," says Doctor Radau, in "Miscellaneous Sumerian

Texts from the Temple Library of Nippur" (page 389), "has to be sought

somewhere at about 5700 B. C., when the religions of Babylon were

systematized." One tablet relates how a king of that period conquered his

enemies with the help of the chief god, who at that time was named Enlil,

"the Governor of the gods," "the god who destines fate." It was his son,

Nebo, who was his confidential messenger, his "lightning-rod," and who

wrote on the "tablets of Fate" the decrees of the supreme being at the

birth of each mortal. It may be noted that Nebo is given a different

father at different times, but so it is in the mythologies as now

interpreted; the oldest accounts name the chief gods, whose qualities and

symbols later became merged in more modern ones, and they were given

different names at various times, which is most confusing. The great

temple consecrated to Enlil is called E-Kur, and is at Nippur. This name

for this particular tabernacle became the common name for temple in

general (page 411). No king of Babylon ventured to do anything or take

any step without "kissing the hand" of Enlil, to obtain his consent and

approval. According to Doctor Radau, Enlil was afterwards succeeded or

displaced by Marduk (the Merodach of the Bible, and the Jupiter of the

Romans), although the supremacy of Enlil lasted some three thousand five

hundred years, quite long enough to leave an impression on the "Book of

Fate." One of the tablets translated from the Sumerian language has been

given almost literally, and is an invocation to Enlil, bewailing the

destruction and begging for the restoration of the principal cities of

Babylonia, together with the temples that had been destroyed, which were,

in fact, the homes of the priests, who always dwelt in the sanctuaries.

Doctor Radau (page 444) calls the song, "The Lamentation of the Goddess

Nin, of the City of Mar, who was called Nin-Mar." He gives a literal

translation of the cuneiform text of the tablet that has a well-defined

metre, and is divided into sections. The first three verses are an

invocation to Enlil, the supreme god, by this goddess, Nin-Mar, who

declares that she is "Mistress of Mar," who, through the power granted to

her by Enlil, was once able to destroy the enemies of her country and lay

waste their lands, but the power has left her, as her "Master" sleeps.

Nin-Mar gets a sympathetic god, named Nin-ib, to sing a hymn with her, in

which the destroyed temples are recounted. Nin-ib was the solar deity of

Nippur, also a war god, but inclined to be beneficent to mankind. One of

his titles was "the warrior," and he is identified as the planet Saturn.

His symbol was a man with a lion's head.

TO ENLIL.

Oh, Enlil, who placed on the waters

A shelter for men and for all,

Great God, who creates and then slaughters,

Come, hark to the children's call.

Nin-Mar, the smiter of mountains, I sigh, I sigh;

Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

Shall the Mistress of Mar and his daughters,

His doves and the broods on their nests,

Shall their homes be cast out on the waters,

While their Master is lying at rest?

Nin-Mar, who was the destroyer of lands, I sigh, I sigh;

Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

Exalted one! Listen to pleadings,

For my Nippur now covers its face;

My E-Kur, my Ki-Ur have vanished,

May all be restored to their place.

It is Mar, the smiter of mountains, I sigh, I sigh;

Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

THE HYMN.

Great Nippur, and E-Kur and Ki-Ur with Girsu have perished in flame,

Then harken, oh, powerful Enlil, and restore them to greatness and fame.

Oh, then shall thy cities exalt thee, thy harems, thy children, thy

lands,

The doves which fly over the towers, the temples that rise from the

sands.

We pray that thy days may be lengthened, thy cities, like mountains,

arise;

Then open thy ears, mighty Enlil, to thy children's most sorrowful cries.

Listen to Nin-Mar, its Mistress, I sigh, I sigh;

Enlil, to thee I cry, cry, cry.

The Atout of the Tower typifies the money pip of the cards, with all of

its mundane significances, so its meaning is easily translated as

intending sorrow, destruction, vice, descent, perverseness, wickedness,

degeneration. Ayin is the letter of _la maison de dieu_, or _le feu de

ciel_, as the card is variously called, and both its design and its

complementary letter express all that is crooked, bad, and false.

XVII. LE STELLE (The Stars)

This Atout shows a young woman "beneath the mystery of the stars," the

seven stars of the Bible, that were the seven planets of antiquity. The

name star is derived from that of Ishtar, the great Babylonian goddess.

The central and most brilliant star on the Atout represents Mercury as the

god of speech, or the transmitter of the wishes of gods to men, or Nebo,

"the writer on the tablets of Fate." The Dog Star was called Thoth by the

Egyptians, who also considered this god the author of speech, language,

and writing, like his predecessor, Nebo, whose mountain was at the plain

of Moab, (Deuteronomy xxxiv:1), and he also had the same planet dedicated

to him. He, the differentiating letter, means voice or speech, just as

Nebo, or Nabi, means prophet, proclaimer. Hebe, who succeeded Mercury, as

cupbearer to the gods, represents him here dispensing the essence of life

equally between two jugs; and, to carry the resemblance still further, the

picture recalls oblations to Osiris, which were typical of the mingling of

life and power, as exemplified by pouring out water when standing on the

earth. Thus, two of the elements are shown, a third one having been

represented in the lightning of the preceding card. The different

connections between the ceremonies of the ancients with the Cup and the

cupbearer have been described in the chapter relating to that emblem. On

some of the oldest of the Atouts, before their designs became confused by

ignorant artists, when some of the most distinctive emblems were omitted,

or altered, a gazelle stands behind the woman. This still further shows

the connection of this card with old Egyptian legends, for it was said

that the gazelle gave warning of the rising of the Nile, by fleeing to the

desert, even before the inhabitants expected the flood. The gazelle is

sacred to Osiris. This animal is also retained on one of the pip cards of

the Spanish pack. The Stars typify immortality, creation, hope, song,

music, speech, and the connection between humanity and a supreme power. It

will be recalled that all these things were attributed to Mercury,

Thoth, and Nebo. A god pouring a liquid from one vessel to another is

frequently found on Egyptian seal cylinders. It is generally the sun god,

although other gods are frequently represented.

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip Cards of the Rod Suit

43 Ace of Rods

44 Deuce of Rods

45 Trey of Rods

46 Four of Rods

47 Five of Rods

48 Six of Rods]

XVIII. LA LUNA (The Moon)

The eighteenth Atout speaks for itself. The legends connected with it are

far spread, but all are practically the same. Two dogs bay at the moon,

that is represented at the top of the picture. They are symbols of Marduk,

which seem to have little connection here. A crawfish crawls from the

water to land. The meanings are manifold, for the letter Tzaddi (although

its hieroglyphic idea is similar to that of Teth on the ninth card) has

different significances, according to its position in a word. It chiefly

means an aim, an end, a succession, and its value varies.

The occult significance of this Atout is the material body, with its

gratifications, such as gourmandising, drinking, covetousness, gambling,

selfishness, and the danger of self-indulgence. Then, also, the card warns

of hidden dangers, enemies, and accidents, representing, besides the

ibis-headed Thoth, the god of letters. To discover all its significances,

the eighteenth card must be studied with due regard to conditions,

position, and the meaning of those adjoining it, all of which aid in

deciphering the obscure intentions of this leaf, that is assigned in

mythology to Diana.

XIX. IL SOLE (The Sun)

A representation of the sun is the design on the nineteenth Atout, the

accompanying letter of which is Zoph, signifying a defensive weapon. This

Atout indicates the elements, precious stones, and minerals; an awaking,

revival, excitement, transition, nutrition and digestion; also

self-esteem, indulgence, eagerness to make money, and probable success by

self-exertion; also a worldly person, or a happy marriage. The god Ra is

represented by the sun in Egyptian mythology. He was greatly revered by

some of the Pharaohs, such as Rameses, who adopted his name.

XX. IL GIUDIZIO (The Judgment)

The Day of Judgment is the symbol of this Atout, and its letter is Resh,

representing typically the head of man. The picture shows an angel

blowing a trumpet from the clouds, while below, the earth is yawning, to

allow the dead to rise. This is a strange emblem to be placed among the

heathen leaves, for it is peculiarly Christian in its significances; but

even the oldest designs show it pictured in this way. As it stands, it

expresses motion, movement, travels, readjustments, originality,

determination, respiration, and regeneration. Then, also, it typifies

scenery, skill, and artistic capabilities. The Romans dedicated it to

Pluto, the ruler of the nether world. It has many of the attributes of

Ishtar, the goddess of the Babylonians, from whose name Easter is derived.

She represented spring, and was the protector of vegetation, growth, and

agriculture. The angel blowing the trumpet is a very old design, and one

often used on tombs or cenotaphs. It recalls Theodore Hook's witty epitaph

on Lord de Ros, of whom little good could be said, and who was accused of

cheating at cards, but whose family erected a fine monument to his memory,

on which was the representation of the angel of the Resurrection. Under it

Hook wrote: "Here _LIES_ England's Premier Baron patiently waiting the

last _trump_."

XXI. IL MONDO (The World)

This card shows the nude figure of a woman, in an ellipse of leaves and

flowers, the victor's wreath of the Grecians. She represents verity or

truth. In the four corners are the emblems of the apostles that St. John

borrowed from Ezekiel, and the latter from Assyria and Babylonia. These

are the Man, Lion, Bull and Eagle. Besides typifying the apostles, they,

in a manner, suggest the four attributes of the pip suits, and also the

four elements. The inscrutable-looking man represents brain, knowledge,

and mystery. The ox typifies strength, and the lion courage, while the

eagle suggests inspiration and the power of soaring above mundane affairs.

These four emblems represent also the four seasons, when the ox stands for

autumn, the man for winter, the lion for summer, and the eagle for spring;

so the complex meaning of the twenty-first Atout suggests that the head or

wisdom of man prescribes the will of the ox, the courage of the lion, and

the aspirations of the bird, through the mouth of Truth. The attributes of

the designs on the cards are also included in this leaf from the book of

Thoth. The wand that the figure holds represents the Stave, or caduceus,

or magic wand of Aaron, "that was kept for a token," as well as fire. The

Cup betokens the south, and summer, and water. The Sword, earth, and the

Coin (or Ring), eternity and air. Il Mondo's letter is Tau, which

symbolises perfection. The meaning of the whole card covers the elements

of success, luck, happiness, marriage, contentment, bliss.

XXII. IL MATTO (The Fool)

The twenty-second Atout has no number upon it, and is called Le Fou, Il

Matto, or the Joker. It is the presiding deity himself, Thoth, Nebo, or

Mercury, in all his various moods, with all his many qualifications. These

are denoted by the cards that fall near him, when being dealt, that are

controlled or influenced by his overwhelming personality and

qualifications. He generally brings news and good luck. Count Parravicino

declares: "the Italian name is derived from an Egyptian one, Mat, which

signifies beginnings or perfection." The card represents everything that

is typical of Mercury, such as irresponsibility, with all its

consequences. The figure of Il Matto carries the attributes of Mercury:

the staff he holds in his hand, while a purse dangles from his side. He is

travelling or walking, as if carrying news, or a message, and also

suggests a wanderer, a pedler, or a merchant. Motion, energy, and luck are

expressed, as well as fickleness, inconstancy, and unconventionality that

may amount to insanity. The letter is Shin, and expresses cyclic movement.

In some of the old Italian Tarots, Il Matto is represented as being naked,

or else in tattered garments, like a beggar, when he symbolises folly,

frivolity, or chance. In the Austrian Tarots he is dressed like a

harlequin, or else simply with cap and bells. He is the gypsy wanderer, as

we know him, believed by some persons to be the descendant of the Egyptian

priests of the temple of Serapeon, at Pozzuoli, who were forced to wander

by the destruction of this temple.

It must be remembered that no Tarots have been discovered that are over

five hundred years old, and that a great gap exists between these and the

mysteries of the temple of Thoth; therefore, some of the emblems or

symbols that we know may not resemble those of the originals. We must

also recall that there is more than one cult represented among the Atouts;

therefore, many of the attributes of different deities are mingled

confusingly, perhaps, on one and the same card. The student is necessarily

limited by conditions, for many of the virtues accredited to the

emblematic figures have been received traditionally, or have been

discovered by intuition, and are attributed first to one god, and then to

another, as the study of ancient myths or cults reveals a hitherto

unexpected connection.

The intention of the Atouts, as a whole, is the representation of a youth

and his parents or governors and sponsors. These are followed by

everything that can express human life, such as ambition, love, marriage,

temptation, friendship, luck, trials, illness, hatred, jealousy, despair,

hope, enemies, success, and death. When combined with the pip cards, the

whole makes an interesting game of life, presided over by the versatile

god, Mercury, "the writer on the tablets of Fate."

The whole of the Tarot pack has been called "the Bible of the Gypsies,"

"the Athor of the Egyptians," "the Thora of the Hebrews," "the Great Book

of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus," and "the Key of Things Hidden from the

Beginning of the World"; so, how should poor mortals be able to unravel

all its secrets and lay them bare before an uncrediting world.

CHAPTER VII

THE PIPS OF THE TAROT PACK.

The numbered or what are technically known as the pip cards of the Tarot

pack are divided like those of more modern ones into four sets, called by

English-speaking people "suits." These are headed by four court, or

"coate," cards, namely, King, Queen, Cavalier, and Knave, making one more

than usual to each suit, or fifty-six in all. Besides this royal family,

there are the cards numbered from one to ten. In some of the games two or

more of the pip cards are dropped, but this was the original pack. In

Germany there are only three court cards, like the French ones, but there

is no female in the set. The German suits are Herzen, Grünen, Eicheln, and

Schellen; the Spanish, Bastos, Otos, Coppas, and Espadas; the Italian,

Bastoni, Danari, Coppe, and Spade, and English, Rods, Money, Cups, and

Swords. These pips are emblematically displayed through appropriate

symbols, and, besides, each of them represents an idea and a number, all

of which are valuable assistants when grouping the cards, in order to

divine their hidden meanings that are almost lost to us, although quite

decipherable by those who held the key to the ancient mysteries.

The reason for invariably having four suits would be incomprehensible were

it not recognised that there were four emblems that were peculiar to and

always represented Mercury, namely, his Caduceus, his Money, his Chalice,

and his Harpé or Sword, which also typify the four grand divisions into

which the classes of people were divided all over the known world of the

day, particularly in Egypt, for they were Workmen, Merchants, Churchmen

and Soldiers, who were easily recognised through the symbols. If any man

of one of these castes wished to consult the oracle he selected the emblem

of his class and in this way communicated to the god his status in the

community.

Since four was not a favorite number among the mystics, there could have

been no other reason for selecting that number for dividing the pack into

suits, and none other has been suggested by students. As it stands, it

shows that it was arranged scientifically and with a decidedly

well-considered purpose that met all the requirements of the worshippers

at the temple of Mercury.

That the pips have this interpretation seems natural, for if it had been

intended to select lucky devices common at the time it is more probable

that a swatzka, a circle for immortality, or a wheel or perhaps an ankh,

that were favourites among the Egyptians would have been chosen, since all

these devices are quite as old and significant as the ones adopted, being

closely connected with mysticism, it seems to be sufficient proof that the

ones selected were taken because they represented Mercury, so these pips

must be considered valuable links in the chain connecting them with his

worship, even if they stood alone and were not supported by every card in

the Atout part of the Tarots.

That the religions, superstitions and deities of Asia, Africa and Europe

have mingled from time to time there is no doubt. E. Levi, in his "Dogme

et Ritual" (Vol. II, page 230), says: "Passing from India to Egypt with

its occultism, and then to the Hebrews and their theosophy, the stick (or

the wand) corresponds with the Phallus of the Egyptians and the Yod of the

Hebrews that is used to point to the sentence read from the Scriptures.

Thus the vase (or cup) of Mercury is the Cteis, and the primitive He, the

Sword, is the conjunction of the Phallus and the Cteis represented in

Hebrew anterior to the captivity by the Vau, while the Circle or Money

that may be vulgarly considered the emblem of the world is the final He of

the divine name. Thus we have Jod-He-Vau-He, or conventionally pronounced

Jehovah."

The wand or staff of the Tarots represents the cards as they were

originally used for divination, when a bundle of arrows, of rods, of

straws or of sticks were gathered together and cast down before the images

in the temple, so that their direction might be noted and inferences drawn

as to the wishes of the gods.

Divination arrows with many mystic significances were common among all

primitive nations. The "golden rod" given to Mercury was evidently the

magician's wand used when the plagues of Egypt were overwhelming the

land. The staff of Moses brought forth water, while that of Aaron curled

into a serpent when it symbolised eternity. There are few of the rock

pictures of Egypt that do not represent their Pharaohs, their gods, and

their priests with a sceptre, a rod, or a staff as an emblem of authority.

So it was typical in ancient days, requiring then no explanation. It may

be noticed in the Atouts that the cards representing the divinities show

each god carrying a staff or sceptre. This fact greatly aids in

identifying them, for the old Italian artists understood enough to place

the sceptre in the hand of the emperor, and give only a staff to the

hermit or priest.

Divining arrows have been connected with worship from very early days and

probably preceded the rods. The former are mentioned more than once in the

Bible, and the first verses of Numbers xvii are particularly interesting

as being a historical reference to the divine commands to consult the

occult, as well as marking the period when rods were substitutes for

arrows. "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the children of

Israel and take every one of them a rod according to the house of their

fathers ... twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. And

thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be

for the head of the house of their fathers. And thou shalt lay them up in

the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet

with you.'" It was Aaron's rod that put forth leaves and fruited, showing

that he was the one selected by the Lord, who conveyed his commands in

this way.

It would be interesting to know what were the distinctive symbols of each

tribe, but the only trace of them is found in Genesis xlix, which

indicates that Judah had a lion or a sceptre. The symbol of the uplifted

hands still marks the Cohen or Aaron's descendant, while the "Magen

Dovid," or the "shield of David," the six-pointed star, has been so widely

adopted by Freemasons as to have become almost identified with them. By

some people it is called Solomon's seal.

This record of "marking" or numbering the rods is most important, for

through it we trace the origin of the marks which in the hands of the wily

Egyptian priests were afterwards placed on material they deemed more

convenient than the primitive arrows, such as papyrus, or parchment, thus

converting the divining arrows of the past into pip cards as we now know

them. Rods with notched ends, and also some on which figures of men are

cut, have been lately found in the tombs at Abydos. The divining rods of

the Alaskan Indians are given numbers by painting stripes of different

colours on them, while the rods of the Haida Island Indians, off the coast

of North America, are differentiated by tribal distinctions, such as the

Bear, the Tortoise, and so forth. The names of the different families show

how little the savage people have parted from ancient customs. The long,

thin, arrowlike paper cards of Korea show the same tribal marks.

As in Biblical times the rods were called after the men who used them as

representing the ruler of their families, so substituting their pictures

was probably the next step. The cards then were numbered up to ten, while

the father, mother, child, and servant were represented in what we name

Court cards. This enabled a man to ask queries of the gods in a most

particular way. Should he be a soldier he would select a Sword emblem to

typify him and his family, and then, laying the cards of that suit before

the testimony (which signifies the tables of stone or the commandments),

he awaited the answer that was conveyed to him after the priest had

consulted the cards with reference to the way they were dealt in

connection with the pictures on the walls.

In Chinese fortune-telling the gamblers resort to a "shrine of the god of

war," says Mr. Culin, in "Korean Games" (page 23), "and throw numbered

arrows or sticks to divine the wishes of the gods, while sometimes paper

lots are employed." The arrows are kept in a tube like a quiver, or

dicebox, and shaken out at random. The shrine is finely decorated,

containing mystic figures and devices, and it stands upright against a

wall. A table on which to shake the arrows is placed before the shrine. On

page 26 of "Korean Games," Mr. Culin states: "In Japan fifty slender,

rounded splints of bamboo, called Zeichiku, varying in length from two to

fourteen inches, are used. The fortune-teller gathers them in his right

hand, raising it reverently to his forehead, muttering incantations, then

parts the sticks into bundles, prophesying good or evil according to the

number in each, and it is said that each splint, having its value and

meaning, covers all events of a man's life as recorded in a book of

'oracular responses' that the diviner keeps beside him for reference."

Mr. Culin also mentions the "Meisir game of the Arabs," when seven arrows

were shaken from a tube or quiver. This old game was played before the

time of Christ, and Mahomet prohibited it, calling it "the work of

devils." Arrows made of nab-a tree were used. (This name was seemingly

derived from Naib or prophet.) They were of a bright yellow colour, and

when shaken in the box gave a peculiar ringing sound, so arrows made of

any other wood were considered undesirable and were discarded. Each arrow

had a name and was marked with a numeral.

The significant and historical Staff or Rod of the Tarots was replaced in

the French pack by the design of a clover leaf, or, as it is called,

_Trèfle_, which we name a Club, a cognomen that recalls the original

intention, so would otherwise be meaningless. Nor does the Coin or the

Denari take the place of the one that originally represented Mercury

Agoneus, the protector of merchants and of commerce. This sign when

consulting the oracle denotes fair people and also the element of water,

and anything floating on it or living in it, besides all things connected

with trade, mercantile transactions, or development.

The Coppas or Cup suit is appropriately typified by a Cup or Chalice or

the Vase of Mercury Chthonius. This device is superseded by the Hearts of

the French pack, which symbolise the passive principle of the universe.

Corresponding as it does with the chalice of the clergy, it betokens not

only men of religious life, but those of knowledge and power through

learning, and also scientific men and those in the government and law.

Love and instruction are typified by the symbolic Cup that denotes fair

people, who are also represented by the suit of Denari when the cards are

consulted about the affairs of life.

The Cup plays a prominent part in the symbolism of ancient days. In

"Records of the Past," by Professor Sayce (Vol. III, page 86), is a letter

from Dusratta to Amenophis III, translated from a cuneiform tablet

discovered at Tel-el-Amarun, in Upper Egypt:

"And to my father did thou send much gold,

An oblation dish of solid gold and a Cup of solid gold,"

showing that the Cup symbolised not only a connection with sacrifice, but

was also a bond of friendship. Votive cups are found in the temple of

Osiris, showing that they were used in his worship. Some are very small,

as if intended for children to use.

The "Cupbearer" to Royalties in Babylonia and Egypt was a most important

post, for the person was chosen for faithfulness, since poison could be so

easily conveyed in wine and drunk unsuspectingly by the king. The

"Sakibearer" or Butler of Persia became one of the heroes or gods. He was

also called "the Spiritual Instructor," showing a connection with the

priesthood, or "He who hands a Cup of Celestial Love," which is typified

by the wine as well as the Cup. "Jamshid, one of the greatest rulers of

Iran" (Persia), says Major Sykes, in "The Glory of the Shia World" (page

139), "was able by means of his seven-ringed Cup not only to predict the

future, but also survey the entire world." This Jamshid had many of the

qualities of Thoth Hermes attributed to him, for he introduced into his

country the use of iron, the arts of weaving, wine-making, and healing,

with many other arts and sciences, his memory is greatly revered. Omar

Khayyam sings of him

"Iran, indeed, is gone with all his Rose

And Jamshid's sev'n ring'd Cup,

Where? No one knows."

The Cup placed in the sack of his brethren by Joseph was no mere accident,

as it had for them a most important and symbolic meaning that is indicated

but not enlarged upon in the Bible. Babylon is called "A golden Cup in the

hand of the Lord." (Jeremiah li:7.) That it was a symbol connected with

power, priesthood, sacrifice, and friendship is indicated whenever it is

mentioned in the Bible--for instance, Psalms lxxv:8, where it is said:

"For in the hands of the Lord there is a Cup"; or the thirty-seven other

times it is again spoken of in the Old Testament, and the thirty-two

references to it in the New. The cups discovered in Babylonia and Egypt

are of many different shapes that indicate the particular uses to which

they were to be put. Those intended for holding the sticks when consulting

the oracle of Thoth resemble a modern dicebox, as well as the box still

used for sticks in China and Japan.

In Egypt immediately after death the soul was supposed to descend to the

Lower World, and was then conducted to the Hall of Two Truths, where it

was judged in the presence of Osiris and the forty-two Dæmones (the Lords

of Truth) and Judges of the Dead. The Director of the Weights was Anubis,

who placed in one of the scales of Justice (or Ma) a figure of Truth, and

in the other a Cup containing the good actions of the deceased, while

Thoth stood by, tablet in hand, to record the result. This shows the

positive connection of Thoth with the emblems that afterwards became one

of the devices of Mercury when he succeeded Thoth in both the upper and

the lower worlds.

Late discoveries in Crete show frescoes representing handsome youths as

cupbearers to King Minos.

The Espadas or Sword suit speaks for itself, and here, as well as in the

name of the Club suit, the origin of the Spade is preserved, for _Les

Piques_ of the French pack (that represents the Halbert of mediæval times

or the guardians of the person of the king), resembled garden spades to

the English, who called them by that name, that when spoken recalled the

pronunciation of the Spanish pip _Espadas_. A Harpé or Sword was presented

by Jupiter to his son Mercury as a token of bravery and skill when he was

the Messenger who killed Argos, or the herald of Mars. His title was then

Mercury Argiphontes when he represented the best qualities of the warrior,

such as courage, bravery, decision, and temperance. The suit typifies dark

people and the element of air, and protects those who fly, whether birds

or men. Altercation is also denoted by the Sword suit, as are troubles,

sorrows, transformations, lawsuits, hatred, enemies, spies, or rivals. The

word in Hebrew signifies lightning, brightness--as in Job xx:25, "the

glittering sword cometh out," which is particularly typical of the bright

planet and the god of lightning. The Sword as "Messenger" is frequently

referred to, as in Numbers xxii:31, "The angel of the Lord standing in the

way and his sword drawn in his hand."

The Cup and the Sword pips are recalled by a game played in Korea called

Pitch-pot, one of the oldest games known to history. Arrows are thrown

into a vase of water placed two and a half lengths from the player, who

kneels on a mat to throw his weapon into it. After all the arrows have

filled the cup the loser must drain it at one swallow.

The Money suit not only recalls the connection with merchants, with

Mercury as their protector, but probably had an earlier origin in the

mystic circle so beloved by occults. Isaiah xl:20 mentions the one "that

sitteth upon the circle of the earth," which quotation is fraught with

symbolism. The royalties on the Egyptian tombs always wear a broad collar

or necklace, the narrow cord being the emblem of the slave; but the King

wears it as denoting his submission to the gods, while claiming to be

supreme among men. The circle placed on their heads was a sign of

unceasing power, and the zone or belt worn by female goddesses or

princesses signified maidenhood or supremacy and had other mystic

meanings. The coin placed on the cards signified many things besides

merchants and their occupations, but it was generally connected with the

material things of life. The Chinese coin still retains the hole in the

centre, making it a hollow round. It is supposed by some that the coin

was originally the mystic serpent with tail in mouth, thus completing the

circle. Zwvoi meant the Serpent which girdles the globe and represents the

Zodiac or Ecliptic line denoting the path of the sun.

The four Court cards dominate and control the pips of their own suits and

play an important part wherever placed. The suits of Money and Cups denote

the home and family life and are considered benign, while Money represents

friends, partners, or strangers, and Swords may mean any one of them as

desired by players; but the last two suits are usually deemed material or

malignant, being the opposite to the benign suits. In general, Rods

represent enterprise and glory; Coins denote investments or transactions;

Cups typify love and happiness; while Swords seem to call for hatred and

misfortune.

Then the number of each of the cards betokens something, for, dealt in

four packets with three cards in each one of the heaps, a singleton is

left for the fourth packet. The first pile should contain an Ace, Deuce,

and Tray, which portend commencement. That is to say, if Rods are the suit

these three cards tell of the beginning of an enterprise. If the suit

is Cups they mean the beginning of a love affair, and in the same way

hatred or a quarrel is denoted as beginning if the Sword suit is used,

while Ace, Deuce, and Tray of Money announce the inception of a business

transaction.

[Illustration: EARLY ITALIAN TAROTS

Pip and Court Cards of the Rod Suit

49 Seven of Rods

50 Eight of Rods

51 Nine of Rods

52 Ten of Rods

53 Knave of Rods

54 Cavalier of Rods]

The second packet includes the Four, Five, and Six, which denote inertia,

stoppage, opposition, concentration.

The Sevens, Eights, and Nines represent balance, poise, or result, and the

Tenth card means uncertainty.

Each number has the same value or meaning. That is to say, an Ace of Rods

means the beginning of an enterprise, the Deuce that the enterprise is

arrested, while the Tray signifies that the enterprise having been

established, can be continued.

The Ace of Money is the commencement of fortune, the following two cards

mean opposition and good fortune. The Ace of Cups the dawn of a love

affair, the Deuce opposition to it, and the Tray consent. The Ace of

Swords means enmity, the Deuce that the enmity is arrested, and the Trey

declares open rupture or war.

Therefore the packets of three with the singleton may be classified as,

first, commencement; second, opposition; third, balance. The first three

indicate dawn, the second three noon, while evening is represented by the

Seven, Eight, and Nine, and the Ten card shows bewilderment or night.

The court cards in the Tarots have four to each suit that are named King,

Queen, Cavalier, and Knave, and they represent man, woman, child, and

servant. The male figure denotes enterprise, the female characterises

affection or love, the youth typifies conflict, strength, struggle,

rivalry, or hatred, while the Knave means transition. The court cards also

express pointedly the meanings of the suit that they represent. They

betoken family life, with the King as father, the Queen as mother, the

Cavalier as son, and the Knave as daughter, child, or servant.

The King of Rods or Staves is a dark, kind friend; his Queen represents an

amiable, good, charitable, or friendly person. The Cavalier is dark and

good; the Knave is a dark messenger or child.

The court cards of Money typify fair people who are friendly, kindly

disposed, or indifferent; the King representing the male, the Queen the

female. The Cavalier portends strangers, and the Knave messages or news.

These figures of the Rods and Cups bear inverse value to the Swords and

Money, for the latter do not belong to the family, but indicate outsiders,

strangers, or the world in general.

The King of Cups is a fair man and frequently means a lawyer, a councillor

or a clergyman. The Queen is a blonde friend, perhaps the best beloved,

and the Cavalier is sometimes a fair-haired lover, while the Knave is an

infant, a messenger, or a birth.

The Suit of Swords always is unlucky, and its King betokens a dark, bad

man, an enemy or some one to be mistrusted. The Queen represents a

brunette who is wicked and to be feared, a gossip, a treacherous

character. The Cavalier is an enemy or a spy, and is dark; while the Knave

is bad news, delay, or malice. The whole group indicates opposition raised

outside of the home.

It will be seen that if each one of the seventy-eight cards belonging to

the Tarots be given the meaning assigned to it in the foregoing rules,

nearly every emotion, every incident, every characteristic of man is

typified, and the combinations are as endless as are the chances of life.

As the cards are dealt and fall together, one balances or controls the

other, so that when their meaning is deciphered as a whole there is a most

interesting picture of ordinary life.

The game is played by two persons, one who deals and one who reads the

cards, or rather interprets with superior knowledge the meaning of the

great Book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus. It can readily be seen how the

game could be taken advantage of by the unscrupulous, who induced

credulous persons to believe that the leaves of the book revealed the

future. This faith, indeed, was inherited through generations, who

received it from Moses and many of the Hebrew prophets, as well as from

the priests of the temple of Thoth and those of Mercury; so it is small

wonder that the mysterious leaves were regarded with awe, and that their

revelations are received with implicit obedience, since the orders of the

gods could be transmitted through the rods of Moses and Aaron that became

the pip leaves, and the message was exemplified through the emblematic

figures on the walls. The pips translated the meaning of the Atouts,

without which neither part or volume of the book could be fully

understood. Therefore all fortune-telling with packs of Hearts, Diamonds,

Spades and Clubs is nonsense, since these cards were invented for games or

gambling and have nothing occult or prophetic about them.

CHAPTER VIII

SOME OLD ITALIAN TAROTS

It is practically impossible to bridge the chasm between the abandonment

of the actual and open worship of Mercury in his own temples to the

transference of his heraldic emblems to the unbound leaves of a book that

could be concealed on the persons of his priests, for doubtless the rites

of Mercury were practised privately for many years by people who had every

motive for concealment; and since there was no law against these secret

practices, there is no record of their having been broken, no ordinance

concerning games of cards or fortune-telling, and no official record

pointing directly to cards under the name now generally given them. What

may be recorded concerning the priests of the cult of Mercury remains to

be discovered.

Nor can we date the period when these same leaves came to be regarded as

affording amusement, or from being wholly in the hands of initiated

persons and regarded as a vehicle for consulting the wishes of the

deities, they fell into the possession of soothsayers or unscrupulous

fortune-tellers, who did not hold the interpreting key and made improper

uses of the ancient Book of Thoth.

Nor, again, is there any record of when cards became the tools of

gamblers, who used them for games of chance, although their consultation

might always have partaken of the elements of "chance," but in a very

different way.

However, it is well known that the introduction of Christianity into Rome

gradually caused the deities of Olympus to be disregarded, so that those

who still worshipped the gods of their ancestors did so in secret, and

when St. Paul set foot at Pozzuoli, close to the temples of Osiris and

Mercury, the first step was taken towards the downfall of the ancient

rites.

It is quite natural, therefore, that writers on the origin and history of

Playing Cards have found no record of their invention, no monument to

their inventor, and no cradle at their birthplace, since they looked

solely for the cards that were familiar to them and for games played with

those cards, while they failed to recognise that the cards were part of a

cult and were the heraldic emblems of Mercury (as displayed on the pip

cards) and those of ancient Egyptian gods (as depicted on the Atouts),

and, therefore, these writers declare that no link exists between the

Italian Tarots of the present day and the great Book of Thoth Hermes

Trismegistus, while they acknowledge that Playing Cards owe their

invention to the Egyptians, who, having inherited the "men portrayed upon

the walls" from the Babylonians and the traditions of Nebo, "the one who

writes the tablets of fate," elaborated the ceremonies, simplified their

code, and introduced them to Europe, first through the priests of the

Serapeon, and then, by means of the Tarots, to other parts of the world.

Some claim that the gypsies were originally the initiates of the temple of

Thoth, and that it was they who carried Playing Cards as a means of

divination through Europe. One of their customs is to demand that the palm

of the right hand be crossed with a piece of money before beginning to

read a fortune; and by some this custom is supposed to date from the time

when the fortune-teller demanded from his clients an oath of secrecy,

which was ratified by making the sign of the cross. Unless there was some

such meaning originally attached to the custom, there would seem to be no

reason for this performance being enacted in connection with

fortune-telling with cards, and as far as is known with no other

transaction in the commercial or nomadic world.

There are many signs suggesting that the gypsies were able to translate

the symbols on the cards at an early date, soon after they appeared in

Europe, and it is certain that for several centuries these nomads have

used Playing Cards for telling future, past, or present events, and have

done it with so much self-confidence that it would seem that they

possessed a key to the occult mysteries. It is, therefore, unwise to

discard this theory entirely, for the gypsy tribes scattered over Europe

certainly aided in widely distributing the cards. Nor does the connection

of gypsies with the ancient mysteries quarrel with the statement that

cards were part of the worship of Mercury, since no man can say that these

people were not the original priests of the temple who were cast out of

their shrines and forced to wander about the world. In England these

nomads are frequently called the Egyptians, while their own name for

themselves is Romany.

Spain has contended with Italy for the honour of originating Playing

Cards, but without proving her case, for Spain preserved only a mutilated

pack of pip cards, showing the symbols of Mercury, indeed, but

unaccompanied by the emblematic Atouts that were the first volume of the

book; these have never been known in that country. But, then, Spain was

not the home of the gods of Olympus, nor was that country in close contact

with Egypt, as was Italy. There is no historic record of yearly

communications between the two opposite shores of the great sea, as is the

case with Italy, for Seneca has left an interesting description of the

great fleet from Alexandria that yearly visited Pozzuoli, on the bay of

Naples.

These vessels carried not only wares, but merchants and missionaries, from

the great seats of learning at the temples of Egypt. The priests of those

days were not necessarily religious men, but they were scholars and

scientists, who thought that their best use in the world was the

diffusion of their learning and knowledge.

Since it is clearly established that the worship of Serapis, Thoth, and

Mercury was followed at Pozzuoli from a very early date, preceding

Christianity, it may be conceded that the people there were imbued with

the appreciation of its mysteries and adored them. When Christianity

refuted the doctrines of the heathen gods, those who followed the ancient

rites were forced to conceal them. Hence it is that if Playing Cards are

derived from this mysterious worship, through which they consulted the

wishes of their gods, no trace of them can be found in the legal records

before the middle of the fourteenth century, when the cards were

established as a game but not as a cult.

Count Emiliano di Parravicino, in his essay on Tarocco cards in the

_Burlington Magazine_ for December, 1903, declares that professional

players or teachers, known as _barrattieri_ or _rabildi_, were organized

in guilds that were recognised by law as early as the beginning of the

thirteenth century, which seems as if the deposed initiates, or the

priests of Mercury, were still vital and a recognised necessity, although

under a new title.

Happily for the card student, there still remain several packs of Italian

cards that link the present ones with the ancient emblems of Mercury. The

ducal family of Visconti inherited sixty-one cards that originally

belonged to Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, having been executed for him by

Marziano da Tortona early in the fifteenth century. These were mentioned

by Breitkopf in his work published at Leipsic in 1784. This pack differs

from its compatriots and successors in having five, instead of four, court

cards. The Atouts are beautifully painted with all the attributes

connected with Mercury. That of "the Lovers," No. VI, represents Duke

Filippo Maria wearing a broad-brimmed hat on which is inscribed "_A bon

Droit_"; the female figure is dressed as a bride and is probably a

likeness of the Duke's first wife, Beatrice di Tenda, the widow of

Francisco Cane. These figures are surrounded with small shields blazoning

the arms of Visconti and Pavia.

Among these Atouts No. XIII, Death, is represented on a black, instead of

on a white, horse. The figures on the other cards resemble those still

commonly used, but, unfortunately, there are fifteen cards missing from

the pack. This historic collection of Tarots has been frequently described

and reproduced, since Marziano da Tortona, who executed the pictures, was

a scholar, as well as a skillful artist. He introduced some original

features in his treatment of the pictures while strictly conforming to the

heraldic devices that marked their origin, for no man living at that time

would be ignorant enough to change the devices, since they still told

their story to the people of the day, who understood heraldry even if they

could not decipher written words.

This celebrated pack of cards was probably a wedding gift to the

illustrious couple, since the artist was also their secretary. That it was

prized, but little handled, and kept as a work of art is proved by the

good condition of the pictures, which are almost as fresh as when they

left the hands of the designer. They are treasured possessions of the

descendants of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti and are seldom allowed to be

seen or exhibited.

Another interesting collection of early Tarocci (little Tarots) is

described by Count di Parravicino, who states that the pack was painted

early in the fifteenth century by a Ferrarese artist named Antonio

Cicognara. These cards have been owned in one family several centuries

with an authentic history of them, for in the annals of Cremona, written

by Domenico Bordegallo, is found the following reference to the pack:

"1484. In this year our townsman, Antonio di Cicognara, a most skillful

painter of pictures and an admirable miniaturist, designed and illuminated

a magnificent pack of cards called Tarots, which have been seen by me, and

he made a present of them to the most honorable, reverend, and illustrious

Lord Ascanio M. Sforza, Cardinal of the Holy Church, Bishop of Pavia and

Novara, at one time dean of our cathedral and now commendatory of the

canons of St. Gregory, and son of the most illustrious and excellent

Francesco Sforza and the Lady Bianca Visconti, born here in Cremona."

"The same artist," states Count di Parravicino, "illustrated other packs

for the sisters of this Cardinal. They were nuns in the Augustine Convent

founded in this town by the aforesaid Madonna Bianca."

This naïve record of the amusements of the religious communities of the

fifteenth century presents a novel picture to the minds of those who

suppose that cards were not permitted within the sacred precincts,

although such was not the case, as is confirmed by a proverb of the day

that says "Mind what the friar says, not what he does."

The Tarocco cards were thus called from the game "Little Tarots" or

"Tarocci," played at the time, said to have been invented by Francis

Fibbia. Thus the older name of Tarots became corrupted to Tarocco,

although the number and value of the original pack remained unaltered.

The cards painted for Cardinal Sforza are still in existence. Some are

shown in the Carrara Museum at Bergamo; others are in the possession of

Count Alessandro Colleoni; while thirty-five cards of this pack are owned

by Mr. Pierpont Morgan and are exhibited by him in the Victoria and Albert

Museum in London.

It is impossible to do justice to the beauty of this set of cards that are

painted in the most delicate manner. The background is of gold picked out

or embossed with a diapered pattern dotted in raised designs on a smooth

surface; the figures are cleverly moddeled and beautifully executed; the

faces are painted with the delicate touch of an accomplished miniaturist.

That of the Knave of Money is seen in profile, and is so expressive that

it is probably a likeness, since the treatment is even more careful and

the features better drawn than those of most of the Atouts.

The Knight of Cups in the pack (originally owned by Count Alessandro

Colleoni, now owned by Mr. Morgan) is mounted on a white horse and is

dressed in an embroidered coat, with white leggings and pointed shoes. The

hair is parted and falls in waves on either side of the face, which is

that of a very young boy and rather effeminate. There is a crown on the

saddle-cloth of the horse that probably denotes the rank of the rider.

The King of Swords also seems to be a likeness. He wears black armour, and

his shield displays armorial bearings. The Queen of Money has a

beautifully embroidered robe with a regal mantle falling from her

shoulders. Her hands are particularly well drawn and her attitude is

remarkably graceful.

Temperance, Death, and Strength are among this pack, the former pouring

the water and oil together, which is one of the earliest known devices for

consulting the wishes of the gods. Death is the usual skeleton, who in

this case bears a sceptre, and Strength also repeats the emblem of the

sceptre or the caduceus.

CHAPTER IX

HEARTS, DIAMONDS, SPADES, AND CLUBS