THE METHOD OF READING BY MEANS OF THIRTY-FIVE CARDS
When the reading is over, according to the scheme set forth in the last
method, it may happen--as in the previous case--that something remains
doubtful, or it may be desired to carry the question further, which is
done as follows:
Take up the undealt cards which remain over, not having been used in the
first operation with 42 cards. The latter are set aside in a heap, with
the Querent, face upwards, on the top. The thirty-five cards, being
shuffled and cut as before, are divided by dealing into six packets
thus:--
_Packet I_ consists of the first SEVEN CARDS; _Packet II_ consists of
the SIX CARDS next following in order; _Packet III_ consists of the FIVE
CARDS following; _Packet IV_ contains the next FOUR CARDS; _Packet V_
contains TWO CARDS; and _Packet VI_ contains the last ELEVEN CARDS. The
arrangement will then be as follows:--
Packet Packet Packet Packet Packet Packet
VI. V. IV. III. II. I.
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | | 2 | | 4 | | 5 | | 6 | | 7 |
|cards| |cards| |cards| |cards| |cards| |cards|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
+-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+
Take up these packets successively; deal out the cards which they
contain in six lines, which will be necessarily of unequal length.
THE FIRST LINE stands for the house, the environment and so forth.
THE SECOND LINE stands for the person or subject of the divination.
THE THIRD LINE stands for what is passing outside, events, persons, etc.
THE FOURTH LINE stands for a surprise, the unexpected, etc.
THE FIFTH LINE stands for consolation, and may moderate all that is
unfavorable in the preceding lines.
THE SIXTH LINE is that which must be consulted to elucidate the
enigmatic oracles of the others; apart from them it has no importance.
These cards should all be read from left to right, beginning with the
uppermost line.
It should be stated in conclusion as to this divinatory part that there
is no method of interpreting Tarot cards which is not applicable to
ordinary playing-cards, but the additional court cards, and above all
the Trumps Major, are held to increase the elements and values of the
oracles.
And now in conclusion as to the whole matter, I have left for these last
words--as if by way of epilogue--one further and final point. It is the
sense in which I regard the Trumps Major as containing Secret Doctrine.
I do not here mean that I am acquainted with orders and fraternities in
which such doctrine reposes and is there found to be part of higher
Tarot knowledge. I do not mean that such doctrine, being so preserved
and transmitted, can be constructed as imbedded independently in the
Trumps Major. I do not mean that it is something apart from the Tarot.
Associations exist which have special knowledge of both kinds; some of
it is deduced from the Tarot and some of it is apart therefrom; in
either case, it is the same in the root-matter. But there are also
things in reserve which are not in orders or societies, but are
transmitted after another manner. Apart from all inheritance of this
kind, let any one who is a mystic consider separately and in combination
the Magician, the Fool, the High Priestess, the Hierophant, the Empress,
the Emperor, the Hanged Man and the Tower. Let him then consider the
card called the Last Judgment. They contain the legend of the soul. The
other Trumps Major are the details and--as one might say--the accidents.
Perhaps such a person will begin to understand what lies far behind
these symbols, by whomsoever first invented and however preserved. If he
does, he will see also why I have concerned myself with the subject,
even at the risk of writing about divination by cards.
_BIBLIOGRAPHY_
A Concise Bibliography Of The Chief Works Dealing With The Tarot And Its
Connections
As in spite of its modest pretensions, this monograph is, so far as I am
aware, the first attempt to provide in English a complete synoptic
account of the Tarot, with its archæological position defined, its
available symbolism developed, and--as a matter of curiosity in
occultism--with its divinatory meanings and modes of operation
sufficiently exhibited, it is my wish, from the literate standpoint, to
enumerate those text-books of the subject, and the most important
incidental references thereto, which have come under my notice. The
bibliographical particulars that follow lay no claim to completeness, as
I have cited nothing that I have not seen with my own eyes; but I can
understand that most of my readers will be surprised at the extent of
the literature--if I may so term it conventionally--which has grown up
in the course of the last 120 years. Those who desire to pursue their
inquiries further will find ample materials herein, though it is not a
course which I am seeking to commend especially, as I deem that enough
has been said upon the Tarot in this place to stand for all that has
preceded it. The bibliography itself is representative after a similar
manner. I should add that there is a considerable catalogue of cards and
works on card-playing in the British Museum, but I have not had occasion
to consult it to any extent for the purposes of the present list.
I
_Monde Primitif, analysé et comparé avec le Monde Moderne._ Par M.
Court de Gebelin. Vol. 8, 4to, Paris, 1781.
The articles on the _Jeu des Tarots_ will be found at pp. 365 to 410.
The plates at the end show the Trumps Major and the Aces of each suit.
These are valuable as indications of the cards at the close of the
eighteenth century. They were presumably then in circulation in the
South of France, as it is said that at the period in question they were
practically unknown at Paris. I have dealt with the claims of the papers
in the body of the present work. Their speculations were tolerable
enough for their mazy period; but that they are suffered still, and
accepted indeed without question, by French occult writers is the most
convincing testimony that one can need to the qualifications of the
latter for dealing with any question of historical research.
II
The Works of Etteilla. _Les Septs Nuances de l'[oe]uvre philosophique
Hermétique_; _Maniére de se récréer avec le Jeu de Cartes, nommées
Tarots_; _Fragments sur les Hautes Sciences_; _Philosophie des
Hautes Sciences_; _Jeu des Tarots, ou le Livre de Thoth_; _Leçons
Théoriques et Pratiques du Livre de Thoth_--all published between
1783 and 1787.
These are exceedingly rare and were frankly among the works of
_colportage_ of their particular period. They contain the most curious
fragments on matters within and without the main issue, lucubrations on
genii, magic, astrology, talismans, dreams, etc. I have spoken
sufficiently in the text on the author's views on the Tarot and his
place in its modern history. He regarded it as a work of speaking
hieroglyphics, but to translate it was not easy. He, however,
accomplished the task--that is to say, in his own opinion.
III
_An Inquiry into the Ancient Greek Game, supposed to have been
invented by Palamedes._ (By James Christie.) London: 4to, 1801.
I mention this collection of curious dissertations because it has been
cited by writers on the Tarot. It seeks to establish a close connection
between early games of antiquity and modern chess. It is suggested that
the invention attributed to Palamedes, prior to the Siege of Troy, was
known in China from a more remote period of antiquity. The work has no
reference to cards of any kind whatsoever.
IV
_Researches into the History of Playing Cards._ By Samuel Weller
Singer. 4to, London, 1816.
The Tarot is probably of Eastern origin and high antiquity, but the rest
of Court de Gebelin's theory is vague and unfounded. Cards were known
in Europe prior to the appearance of the Egyptians. The work has a good
deal of curious information and the appendices are valuable, but the
Tarot occupies comparatively little of the text and the period is too
early for a tangible criticism of its claims. There are excellent
reproductions of early specimen designs. Those of Court de Gebelin are
also given _in extenso_.
V
_Facts and Speculations on Playing Cards._ By W. A. Chatto. 8vo,
London, 1848.
The author suggested that the Trumps Major and the numeral cards were
once separate, but were afterwards combined. The oldest specimens of
Tarot cards are not later than 1440. But the claims and value of the
volume have been sufficiently described in the text.
VI
_Les Cartes à Jouer et la Cartomancie._ Par D. R. P. Boiteau
d'Ambly. 4to, Paris, 1854.
There are some interesting illustrations of early Tarot cards, which are
said to be of Oriental origin; but they are not referred to Egypt. The
early gipsy connection is affirmed, but there is no evidence produced.
The cards came with the gipsies from India, where they were designed to
show forth the intentions of "the unknown divinity" rather than to be
the servants of profane amusement.
VII
_Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie._ Par Eliphas Lévi, 2 vols.,
demy 8vo, Paris, 1854.
This is the first publication of Alphonse Louis Constant on occult
philosophy, and it is also his _magnum opus_. It is constructed in both
volumes on the major Keys of the Tarot and has been therefore understood
as a kind of development of their implicits, in the way that these were
presented to the mind of the author. To supplement what has been said of
this work in the text of the present monograph, I need only add that the
section on transmutations in the second volume contains what is termed
the _Key of Thoth_. The inner circle depicts a triple _Tau_, with a
hexagram where the bases join, and beneath is the Ace of Cups. Within
the external circle are the letters TARO, and about this figure as a
whole are grouped the symbols of the Four Living Creatures, the Ace of
Wands, Ace of Swords, the letter _Shin_, and a magician's candle, which
is identical, according to Lévi, with the lights used in the Goetic
Circle of Black Evocations and Pacts. The triple _Tau_ may be taken to
represent the Ace of Pentacles. The only Tarot card given in the volumes
is the Chariot, which is drawn by two sphinxes; the fashion thus set has
been followed in later days. Those who interpret the work as a kind of
commentary on the Trumps Major are the conventional occult students and
those who follow them will have only the pains of fools.
VIII
_Les Rômes._ Par J. A. Vaillant. Demy 8vo, Paris, 1857.
The author tells us how he met with the cards, but the account is in a
chapter of anecdotes. The Tarot is the sidereal book of Enoch, modelled
on the astral wheel of Athor. There is a description of the Trumps
Major, which are evidently regarded as an heirloom, brought by the
gipsies from Indo-Tartary. The publication of Lévi's _Dogme et Rituel_
must, I think, have impressed Vaillant very much, and although in this,
which was the writer's most important work, the anecdote that I have
mentioned is practically his only Tarot reference, he seems to have gone
much further in a later publication--_Clef Magique de la Fiction et du
Fait_, but I have not been able to see it, nor do I think, from the
reports concerning it, that I have sustained a loss.
IX
_Historie de la Magie._ Par Eliphas Lévi. 8vo, Paris, 1860.
The references to the Tarot are few in this brilliant work, which will
be available shortly in English. It gives the 21st Trump Major, commonly
called the Universe, or World, under the title of _Yinx Pantomorphe_--a
seated figure wearing the crown of Isis. This has been reproduced by
Papus in _Le Tarot Divinatoire_. The author explains that the extant
Tarot has come down to us through the Jews, but it passed somehow into
the hands of the gipsies, who brought it with them when they first
entered France in the early part of the fifteenth century. The authority
here is Vaillant.
X
_La Clef des Grands Mystères._ Par Eliphas Lévi, 8vo, Paris, 1861.
The frontispiece to this work represents the absolute Key of the occult
sciences, given by William Postel and completed by the writer. It is
reproduced in _The Tarot Of The Bohemians_, and in the preface which I
have prefixed thereto, as indeed elsewhere, I have explained that Postel
never constructed a hieroglyphical key. Eliphas Lévi identifies the
Tarot as that sacred alphabet which has been variously referred to
Enoch, Thoth, Cadmus and Palamedes. It consists of absolute ideas
attached to signs and numbers. In respect of the latter, there is an
extended commentary on these as far as the number 19, the series being
interpreted as the Keys of Occult Theology. The remaining three numerals
which complete the Hebrew alphabet are called the Keys of Nature. The
Tarot is said to be the original of Chess, as it is also of the Royal
Game of Goose. This volume contains the author's hypothetical
reconstruction of the tenth Trump Major, showing Egyptian figures on the
Wheel of Fortune.
XI
_L'Homme Rouge des Tuileries._ Par P. Christian. Fcap. 8vo, Paris,
1863.
The work is exceedingly rare, is much sought and was once highly prized
in France; but Dr. Papus has awakened to the fact that it is really of
slender value, and the statement might be extended. It is interesting,
however, as containing the writer's first reveries on the Tarot. He was
a follower and imitator of Lévi. In the present work, he provides a
commentary on the Trumps Major and thereafter the designs and meanings
of all the Minor Arcana. There are many and curious astrological
attributions. The work does not seem to mention the Tarot by name. A
later _Histoire de la Magie_ does little more than reproduce and extend
the account of the Trumps Major given herein.
XII
_The History of Playing Cards._ By E. S. Taylor. Cr. 8vo. London,
1865.
This was published posthumously and is practically a translation of
Boiteau. It therefore calls for little remark on my part. The opinion is
that cards were imported by the gipsies from India. There are also
references to the so-called Chinese Tarot, which was mentioned by Court
de Gebelin.
XIII
_Origine des Cartes à Jouer._ Par Romain Merlin. 4to, Paris, 1869.
There is no basis for the Egyptian origin of the Tarot, except in the
imagination of Court de Gebelin. I have mentioned otherwise that the
writer disposes to his personal satisfaction, of the gipsy hypothesis,
and he does the same in respect of the imputed connection with India; he
says that cards were known in Europe before communication was opened
generally with that world about 1494. But if the gipsies were a Pariah
tribe already dwelling in the West, and if the cards were a part of
their baggage, there is nothing in this contention. The whole question
is essentially one of speculation.
XIV
_The Platonist._ Vol. II, pp. 126-8. Published at St. Louis, Mo.,
U.S.A., 1884-5. Royal 4to.
This periodical, the suspension of which must have been regretted by
many admirers of an unselfish and laborious effort, contained one
anonymous article on the Tarot by a writer with theosophical tendencies,
and considerable pretensions to knowledge. It has, however, by its own
evidence, strong titles to negligence, and is indeed a ridiculous
performance. The word Tarot is the Latin _Rota_ = wheel, transposed. The
system was invented at a remote period in India, presumably--for the
writer is vague--about B. C. 300. The Fool represents the primordial
chaos. The Tarot is now used by Rosicrucian adepts, but in spite of the
inference that it may have come down to them from their German
progenitors in the early seventeenth century, and notwithstanding the
source in India, the twenty-two keys were pictured on the walls of
Egyptian temples dedicated to the mysteries of initiation. Some of this
rubbish is derived from P. Christian, but the following statement is
peculiar, I think, to the writer: "It is known to adepts that there
should be twenty-two esoteric keys, which would make the total number up
to 100." Persons who reach a certain stage of lucidity have only to
provide blank pasteboards of the required number and the missing designs
will be furnished by superior intelligences. Meanwhile, America is
still awaiting the fulfilment of the concluding forecast, that some few
will ere long have so far developed in that country "as to be able to
read perfectly ... in that perfect and divine sybilline work, the Taro."
Perhaps the cards which accompany the present volume will give the
opportunity and the impulse!
XV
_Lo Joch de Naips._ Per Joseph Brunet y Bellet. Cr. 8vo, Barcelona,
1886.
With reference to the dream of Egyptian origin, the author quotes E.
Garth Wilkinson's _Manners and Customs of the Egyptians_ as negative
evidence at least that cards were unknown in the old cities of the
Delta. The history of the subject is sketched, following the chief
authorities, but without reference to exponents of the occult schools.
The mainstay throughout is Chatto. There are some interesting
particulars about the prohibition of cards in Spain, and the appendices
include a few valuable documents, by one of which it appears, as already
mentioned, that St. Bernardin of Sienna preached against games in
general, and cards in particular, so far back as 1423. There are
illustrations of rude Tarots, including a curious example of an Ace of
Cups, with a phoenix rising therefrom, and a Queen of Cups, from whose
vessel issues a flower.
XVI
_The Tarot: Its Occult Significance, Use in Fortune-Telling, and
Method of Play._ By S. L. MacGregor Mathers. Sq. 16mo, London,
1888.
This booklet was designed to accompany a set of Tarot cards, and the
current packs of the period were imported from abroad for the purpose.
There is no pretense of original research, and the only personal opinion
expressed by the writer or calling for notice here states that the
Trumps Major are hieroglyphic symbols corresponding to the occult
meanings of the Hebrew alphabet. Here the authority is Lévi, from whom
is also derived the brief symbolism allocated to the twenty-two Keys.
The divinatory meanings follow, and then the modes of operation. It is a
mere sketch written in a pretentious manner and is negligible in all
respects.
XVII
_Traité Méthodique de Science Occulte._ Par Papus. 8vo, Paris,
1891.
The rectified Tarot published by Oswald Wirth after the indications of
Eliphas Lévi is reproduced in this work, which--it may be
mentioned--extends to nearly 1,100 pages. There is a section on the
gipsies, considered as the importers of esoteric tradition into Europe
by means of the cards. The Tarot is a combination of numbers and ideas,
whence its correspondence with the Hebrew alphabet. Unfortunately, the
Hebrew citations are rendered almost unintelligible by innumerable
typographical errors.
XVIII
_Eliphas Lévi: Le Livre des Splendeurs._ Demy 8vo, Paris, 1894.
A section on the _Elements of the Kabalah_ affirms (_a_) That the Tarot
contains in the several cards of the four suits a fourfold explanation
of the numbers 1 to 10; (_b_) that the symbols which we now have only in
the form of cards were at first medals and then afterwards became
talismans; (_c_) that the Tarot is the hieroglyphical book of the
Thirty-two Paths of Kabalistic theosophy, and that its summary
explanation is in the _Sepher Yetzirah_; (_d_) that it is the
inspiration of all religious theories and symbols; (_e_) that its
emblems are found on the ancient monuments of Egypt. With the historical
value of these pretensions I have dealt in the text.
XIX
_Clefs Magiques et Clavicules de Salomon._ Par Eliphas Lévi. Sq.
12mo, Paris, 1895.
The Keys in question are said to have been restored in 1860, in their
primitive purity, by means of hieroglyphical signs and numbers, without
any admixture of Samaritan or Egyptian images. There are rude designs of
the Hebrew letters attributed to the Trumps Major, with meanings--most
of which are to be found in other works by the same writer. There are
also combinations of the letters which enter into the Divine Name; these
combinations are attributed to the court cards of the Lesser Arcana.
Certain talismans of spirits are in fine furnished with Tarot
attributions; the Ace of Clubs corresponds to the _Deus Absconditus_,
the First Principle. The little book was issued at a high price and as
something that should be reserved to adepts, or those on the path of
adeptship, but it is really without value--symbolical or otherwise.
XX
_Les xxii Lames Hermétiques du Tarot Divinatoire._ Par R.
Falconnier. Demy 8vo, Paris, 1896.
The word Tarot comes from the Sanskrit and means "fixed star," which in
its turn signifies immutable tradition, theosophical synthesis,
symbolism of primitive dogma, etc. Graven on golden plates, the designs
were used by Hermes Trismegistus and their mysteries were only revealed
to the highest grades of the priesthood of Isis. It is unnecessary
therefore to say that the Tarot is of Egyptian origin and the work of M.
Falconnier has been to reconstruct its primitive form, which he does by
reference to the monuments--that is to say, after the fashion of Eliphas
Lévi, he draws the designs of the Trumps Major in imitation of Egyptian
art. This production has been hailed by French occultists as presenting
the Tarot in its perfection, but the same has been said of the designs
of Oswald Wirth, which are quite unlike and not Egyptian at all. To be
frank, these kinds of foolery may be as much as can be expected from the
Sanctuary of the Comédie-Française, to which the author belongs, and it
should be reserved thereto.
XXI
_The Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum, interpreted by the Tarot
Trumps._ Translated from the MSS. of Eliphas Lévi and edited by W.
Wynn Westcott, M.B. Fcap, 8vo, London, 1896.
It is necessary to say that the interest of this memorial rests rather
in the fact of its existence than in its intrinsic importance. There is
a kind of informal commentary on the Trumps Major, or rather there are
considerations which presumably had arisen therefrom in the mind of the
French author. For example, the card called Fortitude is an opportunity
for expatiation on will as the secret of strength. The Hanged Man is
said to represent the completion of the Great Work. Death suggests a
diatribe against Necromancy and Goëtia; but such phantoms have no
existence in "_the Sanctum Regnum_" of life. Temperance produces only a
few vapid commonplaces, and the Devil, which is blind force, is the
occasion for repetition of much that has been said already in the
earlier works of Lévi. The Tower represents the betrayal of the Great
Arcanum, and this it was which caused the sword of Samael to be
stretched over the Garden of Delight. Amongst the plates there is a
monogram of the Gnosis, which is also that of the Tarot. The editor has
thoughtfully appended some information on the Trump Cards taken from the
early works of Lévi and from the commentaries of P. Christian.
XXII
_Comment on devient Alchimiste._ Par F. Jolivet de Castellot. Sq.
8vo, Paris, 1897.
Herein is a summary of the Alchemical Tarot, which--with all my respect
for innovations and inventions--seems to be high fantasy; but Etteilla
had reveries of this kind, and if it should ever be warrantable to
produce a Key Major in place of the present Key Minor, it might be worth
while to tabulate the analogies of these strange dreams. At the moment
it will be sufficient to say that there is given a schedule of the
alchemical correspondences to the Trumps Major, by which it appears that
the Juggler or Magician symbolizes attractive force; the High Priestess
is inert matter, than which nothing is more false; the Pope is the
Quintessence, which--if he were only acquainted with Shakespeare--might
tempt the present successor of St. Peter to repeat that "there are more
things in heaven and earth, Horatio." The Devil, on the other hand, is
the matter of philosophy at the black stage; the Last Judgment is the
red stage of the Stone; the Fool is its fermentation; and, in fine, the
last card, or the World, is the Alchemical Absolute--the Stone itself.
If this should encourage my readers, they may note further that the
particulars of various chemical combinations can be developed by means
of the Lesser Arcana, if these are laid out for the purpose.
Specifically, the King of Wands = Gold; the Pages or Knaves represent
animal substances; the King of Cups = Silver; and so forth.
XXIII
_Le Grand Arcane, ou l'occultisme dévoilé._ Par Eliphas Lévi. Demy
8vo, Paris, 1898.
After many years and the long experience of all his concerns in
occultism, the author at length reduces his message to one formula in
this work. I speak, of course, only in respect of the Tarot: he says
that the cards of Etteilla produce a kind of hypnotism in the seer or
seeress who divines thereby. The folly of the psychic reads in the
folly of the querent. Did he counsel honesty, it is suggested that he
would lose his clients. I have written severe criticisms on occult arts
and sciences, but this is astonishing from one of their past professors
and, moreover, I think that the psychic occasionally is a psychic and
sees in a manner as such.
XXIV
_Le Serpent de la Genêse--Livre II; La Clef de la Magie Noire._ Par
Stanislas de Guaita. 8vo, Paris, 1902.
It is a vast commentary on the second septenary of the Trumps Major.
Justice signifies equilibrium and its agent; the Hermit typifies the
mysteries of solitude; the Wheel of Fortune is the _circulus_ of
becoming or attaining; Fortitude signifies the power resident in will;
the Hanged Man is magical bondage, which speaks volumes for the clouded
and inverted insight of this fantasiast in occultism; Death is, of
course, that which its name signifies, but with reversion to the second
death; Temperance means the magic of transformations, and therefore
suggests excess rather than abstinence. There is more of the same kind
of thing--I believe--in the first book, but this will serve as a
specimen. The demise of Stanislas de Guaita put an end to his scheme of
interpreting the Tarot Trumps, but it should be understood that the
connection is shadowy and that actual references could be reduced to a
very few pages.
XXV
_Le Tarot: Aperçu historique._ Par. J. J. Bourgeat. Sq. 12mo,
Paris, 1906.
The author has illustrated his work by purely fantastic designs of
certain Trumps Major, as, for example, the Wheel of Fortune, Death and
the Devil. They have no connection with symbolism. The Tarot is said to
have originated in India, whence it passed to Egypt. Eliphas Lévi, P.
Christian, and J. A. Vaillant are cited in support of statements and
points of view. The mode of divination adopted is fully and carefully
set out.
XXVI
_L'Art de tirer les Cartes._ Par Antonio Magus. Cr. 8vo, Paris,
n.d. (about 1908).
This is not a work of any especial pretension, nor has it any title to
consideration on account of its modesty. Frankly, it is little--if
any--better than a bookseller's experiment. There is a summary account
of the chief methods of divination, derived from familiar sources; there
is a history of cartomancy in France; and there are indifferent
reproductions of Etteilla Tarot cards, with his meanings and the
well-known mode of operation. Finally, there is a section on common
fortune-telling by a piquet set of ordinary cards: this seems to lack
the only merit that it might have possessed, namely, perspicuity; but I
speak with reserve, as I am not perhaps a judge possessing ideal
qualifications in matters of this kind. In any case, the question
signifies nothing. It is just to add that the concealed author maintains
what he terms the Egyptian tradition of the Tarot, which is the Great
_Book of Thoth_. But there is a light accent throughout his thesis, and
it does not follow that he took the claim seriously.
XXVII
_Le Tarot Divinatoire: Clef du tirage des cartes et des sorts._ Par
le Dr. Papus. Demy. 8vo, Paris, 1909.
The text is accompanied by what is termed a complete reconstitution of
all the symbols, which means that in this manner we have yet another
Tarot. The Trumps Major follow the traditional lines, with various
explanations and attributions on the margins, and this plan obtains
throughout the series. From the draughtsman's point of view, it must be
said that the designs are indifferently done, and the reproductions seem
worse than the designs. This is probably of no especial importance to
the class of readers addressed. Dr. Papus also presents, by way of
curious memorials, the evidential value of which he seems to accept
implicitly, certain unpublished designs of Eliphas Lévi; they are
certainly interesting as examples of the manner in which the great
occultist manufactured the archæology of the Tarot to bear out his
personal views. We have (_a_) Trump Major, No. 5, being Horus as the
Grand Hierophant; drawn after the monuments; (_b_) Trump Major No. 2,
being the High Priestess as Isis, also after the monuments; and (_c_)
five imaginary specimens of an Indian Tarot. This is how _la haute
science_ in France contributes to the illustration of that work which
Dr. Papus terms _livre de la science éternelle_; it would be called by
rougher names in English criticism. The editor himself takes his usual
pains and believes that he has discovered the time attributed to each
card by ancient Egypt. He applies it to the purpose of divination, so
that the skilful fortune-teller can now predict the hour and the day
when the dark young man will meet with the fair widow, and so forth.
XXVIII
_Le Tarot des Bohémiens._ Par Papus. 8vo, Paris, 1889. English
Translation, second edition, 1910.
An exceedingly complex work, which claims to present an absolute key to
occult science. It was translated into English by Mr. A. P. Morton in
1896, and this version has been re-issued recently under my own
supervision. The preface which I have prefixed thereto contains all that
it is necessary to say regarding its claims, and it should be certainly
consulted by readers of the present _Pictorial Key to the Tarot_. The
fact that Papus regards the great sheaf of hieroglyphics as "the most
ancient book in the world," as "the Bible of Bibles," and therefore as
"the primitive revelation," does not detract from the claim of his
general study, which--it should be added--is accompanied by numerous
valuable plates, exhibiting Tarot codices, old and new, and diagrams
summarizing the personal thesis of the writer and of some others who
preceded him. _The Tarot of the Bohemians_ is published at 6_s._ by
William Rider & Son, Ltd.
XXIX
_Manuel Synthétique et Pratique du Tarot._ Par Eudes Picard. 8vo,
Paris, 1909.
Here is yet one more handbook of the subject presenting in a series of
rough plates a complete sequence of the cards. The Trumps Major are
those of Court de Gebelin and for the Lesser Arcana the writer has had
recourse to his imagination; it can be said that some of them are
curious, a very few thinly suggestive and the rest bad. The explanations
embody neither research nor thought at first hand; they are bald
summaries of the occult authorities in France, followed by a brief
general sense drawn out as a harmony of the whole. The method of use is
confined to four pages and recommends that divination should be
performed in a fasting state. On the history of the Tarot, M. Picard
says (_a_) that it is confused; (_b_) that we do not know precisely
whence it comes; (_c_) that, this notwithstanding, its introduction is
due to the Gipsies. He says finally that its interpretation is an art.
Transcriber's Notes:
Variations in spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been retained
except in obvious cases of typographical error:
"...suggestion to the lineal (decendants -->) descendants in
the..."
"...the moon at night in her (plentitude -->) plenitude..."
"...theory is that this (dectrine -->) doctrine..."
"...and in this sense is he who (seeeks -->) seeks..."
"...can master the elements may--still _ex (hyphothesi -->)
hypothesi_..."
"That which they (signifiy -->) signify is at hand;"
"The (biliographical -->) bibliographical particulars that follow
lay no claim to completeness,..."
"...Lévi (indentifies -->) identifies the Tarot as..."
"...Trumps Major are (hierogylphic -->) hieroglyphic symbols..."
"Éliphas", "Èliphas" and "Eliphas" were used interchangeably and have
been standardized to "Eliphas".