Some Initial Thoughts

I've been scanning through a few tarot books and online resources, and what strikes me as particularly fascinating is (1) the use of archetypes and (2) the variation in interpretation. It reminds me a little of instruction set design for microprocessors, in that the set of tarot cards could be seen to be a spanning set of all possible human characteristics and relevant outcomes. There is something very primal here, and in it lies an interesting folk psychology.

There's also an underlying theology here, and there appear to be several major writers who have influenced modern interpretation. A.E. Waite and Aleister Crowley are two names that pop up as seminal figures in the early 1900s, and there are several variations that have descended from it. Each of them presents itself as a self-contained system that can be studied and developed.

As usual, I find myself wanting to go back to documented history of the symbols in the cards;

• The Hermitage is one such site.
• The Tarot Card Museum has scans of many decks
• For online historical texts, The Internet Sacred Book Archive has Waite's 1909 text, among others.
• This site has Sources for the Rider-Waite deck, and this one has Symbols Meaning.

---

Books

So I am reading about Tarot Cards to try to divine the underlying system. What is particularly interesting to me is how the meanings of the cards map to the range of human wants and fears. Just understanding that would be an interesting entry point into the popular psychology of how we look at the future.

The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages

By Paul Foster Case: This is apparently a classic guide. It's dense reading and a little hand-wavy, but as I look deeper I get the sense that there's more to this if you take the time to follow the insinuations behind the lines.

There is a "Key to the Cosmos and the Universe" in the frontpiece of the book, constructed out of a 7 spheres packed in a hex pattern, and an oval is drawn through several of the intersection points and labeled A through I. these represent a cycle that is tied into something.

Case talks about something called "The Hebrew Wisdom" related to the 4 letters that refer to the name of the Lord, in roman letters IHVH, which stands for That which was, That which is, That which Shall Be. This is essentially a description of the Lord, or "the one reality" as Case describes it. I am thinking it is a kind of infinity statement, and there apparently is the notion that there is a kind of power imbued in the idea of it. If it exists, then it must be pretty powerful I guess. The One Reality is imbued with The One Energy, which is what brings things into being.

Archtypical Planes

The Qabalah, says Case, classifies this One Energy into 4 "archtypical planes", each with is represented by one letter of IHVH:

• The Archtypical World - The world of pure ideas. Each pure idea has imbued in it a "volition"--a will--to exist. Represented by the element fire (universal radiant energy).

• The Creative World - The world of expressions of ideas ever thought of. These are "creative patterns" stemming from the archtypical idea. Doesn't include ones that haven't been thought of (this would be the future). Represented by water (fluid plasticity of mindstuff, says Case)

• The Formative World - Archtypical ideas, fixed in creative patterns, actually expressed. "The plane of processes", atoms, vibrations, explored by scientists. Represented by air ("the breath of life")

• The Material World - The plane of actual forms that we can sense. The idea, made tangible. Represented by earth (solidity and tangibility of physical objects).

Arabic Numbers

Case says that in the Qabalah, each of the 4 worlds has "10 aspects of universal conscious energy", which corresponds to numbers. Apparently the Arabic number system, with its ten numbers, has occult significance. and the symbols are derived from the "key of the cosmos and universe". If you look at the digits 0 through 9, you can see how it can be overlaid on the diagram. Is this really the source of them?

Each number from 0 to 10 means something as it traces its way through the various arcs.

Number 0

0 is the "cosmic egg", absence of quality, therefore absence of limits.

Descending arc on left is called "involution" (A to B) and B is the lowest point "in the mineral kingdom". The top is "limitless light". Winding up.

Ascending arc on the right is called "evolution" (B to A), unwinding.

From B to F is arc of evolution in the inorganic world. From F to H is arc of organic development in plants to animals. From H to D is the arc of consciousness from lowest animal to highest human consciousness. From D to A is the arc of consciousness beyond human levels, the "evolution of conscious one-ness with the divine"

Number 1

1 is beginning, initiative, singleness, etc. "The Admirable or Wonderful intelligence", "The Supreme Crown". Self-Consciousness. I AM.

Number 2

2 is duplication, reflection, receptivity, dependence, alternation, antagonism, etc. "Wisdom", "Illuminating Intelligence", the number of Life Force in creatures.

Number 3

3 is multiplication, development, growth, unfoldment, the "outworking" of principles reflected from 1 by 2. "Understanding" looking into manifestation. whereas 2 looks back into self-knowledge. "The Sanctifying Intelligence".