THE BOOK OF THE SECRET WORD AND THE HIGHER WAY TO FORTUNE
It is difficult to offer a comprehensive handbook of divination,
fortune-telling and the connected curious arts without making at least
some reference in passing to the so-called Book of Thoth which
has been accepted by numerous authorities as the most richly productive
mode for the automatic induction of prophetic insight that has been
transmitted from the past. As it is impossible, however, in the present
place to do the first thing which is essential in respect of the
subject- that is, to provide the cards themselves- I propose only to
say a few words concerning them and the use to which they can be put
from a new point of view. It must be explained in the first place that
Tarot cards are the precursors of our ordinary playing-cards and that a
complete pack contains 78 symbols or talismanic and hieroglyphic
pictures, as follows
A. 22 Special Trump Cards, which have no analogy with anything in
their extant descendants.
B. 5 ordinary Court Cards in each of the four Suits, and these
are: Ace, King, Queen, Prince 6r Knight, and Novice, Page or Squire.
C. The small Cards of the 4 Suits, numbered- by the fact of their
Symbols- 2 to 10, it being understood that the Suits are Cups,
replacing Hearts; Swords, corresponding to Spades; Wands, substituted
for Diamonds; and Pantacles, representing Clubs.
All the cards indifferently are covered with hieroglyphs or signs,
following particular laws of sequence and connected intlmately with the
mysteries of occult science and philosophy. The use of the cards is (I)
for playing in the ordinary sense at a game of skill and hazard- but it
should be added that as a mere diversion they have long since passed
out of vogue; (2) for the usual art of fortune-telling in its several
varieties, a particular method being occasioned by the multiplicity of
the elements; (3) for those other practices which are included by the
term Divination; and (4) for the higher uses of the imagination in the
mystic oracles of the soul. In this department the true mode of their
application is reserved by certain sanctuaries of adeptship; and if for
the purposes of the present review it were assumed that I- whose
identity has been concealed for many years of occult life under the
name of Grand Orient- hold any place or office in these Secret Temples,
it must be obvious that I could not- supposing that I had even the
wish- betray their mysteries. But as one who has followed in many
departments of research the science of the soul and her different paths
of light, I have found other mysteries which can be attached to the
Tarot cards, and these- if they are followed faithfully- will open many
secrets to those who have the needful gifts of intuition, or sight
within.
The student must, in the first place, set aside all that has been
said upon the archaeology of the Book of Thoth; it does not
signify for our purpose whether the cards are very ancient- though this
they are undoubtedly- or whether they are an invention of yesterday. It
does not matter whether they originated in Egypt or much further East.
In fine, all published philosophical and practical explanations as to
their scope or application must be set out of court entirely, without
prejudice to their value within measures for other purposes, though it
should be stated that no one has been in a position to tell the truth
concerning them.
I must assume now that the cards are in the possession of my
reader, for they can be obtained by those who seek. In commencing
his operation he will separate the 22 Trump Cards from those of the
Four Suits, and after this sifting he will further extract the card
which is numbered Nothing in the Trump Series and which bears the title
of THE FOOL. Despite the miserable appearance and name of this symbolic
figure, the student must understand that this is a very important card.
It signifies in a triple sense: (a) The wisdom of this world, which is
foolishness with God; (b) the folly of the Cross; and (c) the
uninitiated person, which- as we shall find in the sequel- can be
understood after two manners. In accordance with these three meanings
there are as many primary operations possible: (i) concerning matters
of worldly prudence; (2) concerning the life of devotion in the things
of religion, but understood rather conventionally- that is to say,
ancient, accepted and orthodox, with a tendency towards the formal
side; (3) concerning the soul's progress towards the term of its
research. Now, it must be understood that it is not lawful to make the
same demand a secotid time in the first series till, by the event
declaring itself up to a certain point, there has been a new situation
created and therefore a new warrant for such enlightenment. To do
otherwise would invite that which is understood by fatality, or at
least make void all element of true foresight in both operations.
The demand may be regarding the operator himself or a Querent who
is seeking knowledge at his hands. In either case indifferently, he is
represented by the Fool, the reason being that in respect of the
inquiry he is in a state of ignorance.
As we are not dealing with elements of common fortune-telling, our
next task is to ascertain the limits of the three worlds of inquiry. In
matters of ordinary human prudence, it is assumed that the Querent is
in a state of doubt and solicitude concerning some question of grave
importance by which the course of his material life is likely to be
affected. He is not seeking information on his chances at the next
lottery or the winning horse at an immediately forthcoming race. The
life of devotion is more especially allocated to cases of conscience,
and it should be understood that the oracle, for example, reveals
nothing on new matters of doctrine. It does not solve doubts
concerning the Trinity or explain mysteries of eschatology- except
indeed indirectly, by counsel, interpretation, and turning the
intention of the seeker towards those holy things in which doubt and
difficulty dissolve. On the other hand, the soul's progress is
concerned with the highest spiritual things, and these are exclusive
to the third world of research. The answer in all cases is found by
the dealing of the Trnmp Cards in direct relation to the Prime Card of
the Fool in the particular matters, and the process shows the
evolution of that symbolic personality from a state of darkness and
ignorance to one of light and understanding concerning it. Before any
attempt at working, the Querent and the Operator, if two persons are
concerned, or otherwise the Querent who operates on his own account,
should spend a certain time in recollection and silent prayer for
guidance. As no special form is necessary, none will be given here;
it is the contemplation and prayer of the soul. The 21 Trnmp Cards,
are then shuffled and dealt, but what follows is an experience of the
intuitive faculty, the gift of inward sight, and the interpretation of
signs which possess a wealth of meaning.
It is because the whole experiment constitutes an experiment in
intuition and not a counsel of adeptship that, although the cards may
be arranged after several manners, I have adopted the most simple
mode. They could be grouped, for example, about the central figure,
which is that of the Querent, but this would involve a particular
distribution of the symbolism belonging to a higher grade of the whole
experiment. I say therefore that the Cipher Card being placed on one
side, to stand throughout for the Querent, the 21 Trumps must be dealt
after shuffling in a single line, and from the place of the various
symbols contalned therein, they are constructed by the gift of the
operator into an intelligible revelation according to the testimony of
the arrangement thus fortuitously secured and according to the plane
of the question. It will serve no purpose to limit the range of the
symbols in the three worlds, and I will give therefore seven typical
examples allocated to each; but in the first place I will enumerate
the mystic titles attributed to the cards themselves:-
1. The Juggler.
2. High Priestess.
3. Empress.
4. Emperor.
5. Pope, or HierophanL
6. Lovers.
7. Chariot.
8. Justice.
9. Hermit.
10. Wheel of Fortune.
11. Fortitude, or Strength.
12. Hanged Man.
13. Death.
14. Temperance.
15. Devil, or Typhon.
16. Ruined Tower.
17. Star.
18. Moon.
19. Sun.
20. The Last Judgment.
21. The World.
22 = 0. The Fool.
It should be understood that the long sequence of lesser cards
does not enter into the scheme of the present operation, not that
they are beside its issues, but because they would involve the
statement of certain facts in occult divination which have never been
made public, while if I furnished some idle substitute it would tend
to the deception of the student, with whom I am seeking here to deal
in all sincerity.
There follows thus and now the signification of the Trump Cards in
the three worlds of research.
I. WORLD OF HUMAN PRUDENCE
1. The Juggler.- Skill in any department within the sphere
of the subject; subtlety; savoir faire; on the evil side,
trickery; also occult practice, apart from the wisdom of adeptship.
2. High Prieste s.- Nature generally and particularly also as
regards her operations, including therefore the material side of
generation and reproduction; fertility; change.
3. Empress.- The sphere of action; the feminine side of
power, rule and authority; woman's influence; physical beauty; woman's
reign; also the joy of life, and excesses on the evil side.
4. Emperor.- Logical understanding, experience, human
wisdom; material power on the male side, and all involved thereby.
5. Pope, or Hierophant- Aspiration, life, power of the
keys; spiritual authority developed on the external side; temporal
power of official religion; on the evil side, sacerdotal tyranny and
interference.
6. Lovers.- Material union, affection, desire, natural
love, passion, harmony of things; contains also the notions of
modus vivendi, concord and so forth; equilibrium.
7. Chariot.- Triumph of reason; success in natural things;
the right prevailing; also predominance, conquest, and all external
correspondences of these.
8. Justice.- Equilibrium on the mental side rather than the
sensuous, for which see No.6; under certain circumstances, law and its
decisions; also occult science.
9. Hermit:- Caution, safety, protection; wisdom on the manifest
side; and the isolation thereof; detachment; the way of prudence;
sagacity; search after truth.
10. Wheel of Fortune.- Mutation, circumstances; revolution
of things, vicissitude; time and its variable development; all that
is understood by the external side of fortune.
11. Fortitude, or Strength.- Courage, vitality, tenacity
of things, high endurance.
12. Hanged Man.- The symbol of renunciation, for whatever
cause and with whatever motive.
13. Death.- Contains naturally the meaning implied by
its name and illustrated by its pictorial symbol, but not only and not
at all of necessity; transforming force, independent of human will;
may signify destruction; power behind the world which alters the face
of the world, but it is this power in one of its respects only.
14. Temperance.- New blood, combination, admixture, with
the object of amelioration; providence in desirable change.
15. Devil, or Typhon.- Fatality, evil, the false spirit;
can indicate also the good working through evil.
16. Ruined Tower.- Destruction, confusion, judgment; also
the idea of Divine Wrath.
17. Star.- Light descending, hope; the symbol of
immortality.
18. Moon.- Halflight, mutation, intellectual uncertainty,
region of illusion; false-seeming.
19. Sun.- Full light, intellectual and material; the card
of earthly happiness, but not attained individually.
20. The Last Judgment.- Resurrection; summons to new
things; a change in the face of everything.
21. The World.- The glory thereof under the powers of the
higher providence, the sum of manifest things; conclusion on any
subject.
II. WORLD OF CONFORMITY
1. The Juggler.- The official side in religion, but
containing the warrants thereof; also the arbitrary, mechankal
side, and formalism.
2. The High Priestess.- The Church as an organism; the
growth of the man therein ; Church doctrine.
3. The Empress.- The sphere of Church action on the
spiritual side; also desire and its wings; spiritual principle.
4. The Emperor.- Executive power of religion; its work in
realization upon man; active mind of the Church; the Church as a
power in the world and in the life of the individual.
5. The Pope.- Doctrine, and especially its admitted and
orthodox side; the agreement of minds in faith; the teaching power.
6. Lovers.- Love of religion, union therewith, but on the
external side; marriage of the Church and the natural heart; the power
which draws from natural things; also grace which makes for
conversion, but is not conversion itself.
7. Chariot.- Reason exalted in religion; victory of the
moral faculties; apotheosis of the logical understanding in faith;
first conquest of the natural man.
8. Justice.- The power which makes the best of both worlds;
middle path; lesser salvation; balance between good and evil;
goodness, but not raised above the sphere of temptation.
9. Hermit.- Asceticism, denial, detachment; the state
attained by these; but also a light which enlighteneth; one who has
isolated himself that in fine he may lead others; the principle which
all this signifies.
10. Wheel of Fortune.- The sword and the crown; another
symbol of equilibrium, in this case over the mutations of fortune; the
angel of true life, the spirit of religion ruling over the flux of
circumstance.
11. Fortitude, or Strength.- The conquest of Nature by
those who can say with their heart and their will: Esto mihi turris
fortitudinis; the soul overcoming.
12. Hanged Man.- Crucifixion and self-crucifixion;
atonement.
13. Death.- Mortal sin; resurrection to the life of Grace,
as an antitypedepending on the environment of the card.
14. Temperance.- The principle of sacramental life; the
mixture of things Divine with things human, for the transmutation of
the latter; the increase which Grace gives; in fine, this card is a
Symbol of the Eucharist, the entrance of the Divine into the nature of
man.
15. Devil, or Typhon.- Rebellion; the spirit which denies;
especially, false doctrine, which is the worship of Satan.
16. Ruined Tower.- The Fall, and here especially the fall
from Grace; also judgment on sin; the ruin of the house of life, when
evil has prevalled therein; but the symbolism is that of a Divine act
or consequence, and the power which destroys the Temple of God can
rebuild it in three mystical days.
17. Star.- Holy works- spiritual and corporal- poured upon
the earth of humanity; also the gifts of the Spirit poured upon the
earth of the individual; the soul manifesting by works.
18. Moon.- Sufficing Grace; the soul mourning over the
sadness of material life and the lapse into matter.
19. Sun.- Lord of Glory; efficacious grace; spiritual joy;
the life of holiness poured over the life of man.
20. The Last Judgment.- Separation of good from evil;
summons to ascend; examination of conscience; resurrection in the soul.
21. The World.- The Law and State of Paradise; Shekinah;
Divine Presence; the soul in the condition of attainment; end of
religion in the individual, but this is not to be understood as Divine
Union; it is more properly the state of Grace.
III. WORLD OF ATTAINMENT
1. The Juggler.- That which must be overcome; the will in
this connexion; the motive of this world.
2. The High Priestess.- Divine intuition; the holy soul,
having the book of the Mysteries opened, and reading therein; the
first form of personal illumination.
3. The Empress.- Higher soul of man; woman clothed with the
sun; she who is born of aspiration, who comes in the signs of power
and perfect rule; the soul that has attained wings.
4. The Emperor.- Lord on the higher planes; the fulfilment
of the Great Work of spiritual adept-ship; the victory over all
things.
5. Pope, or Hierophant.- The life which leads to the
Doctrine; the power which leads the individual into all truth; the
priesthood that is within.
6. Lovers.- Spiritual marriage; the union of man with his
soul; the state of conversion.
7. Chariot.- The triune man, having consciousness in his
three worlds; the living symbol of the invisible God; he that
overcometh.
8. Justice.- Higher grades of the narrow path; equilibrium
on the spiritual side; greater salvation; the perfect life.
9. Hermit.- The secrets of the King; Divine Science; the
light of the world within.
10. Wheel of Fortune.- Divine rapture; triumph over the
circle of necessity; in this world, the wheel has ceased to revolve.
11. Strength.- The will to go forward; the world overcome;
the fortitude of those who are established in God.
12. Hanged Man.- The path of choice; reversion of the
natural man; he who has not loved his life even to the loss thereof;
conquest of the fear of those who can kill the body.
13. Death.- Mystical death; the price of immortality; that
which is entered with the wlll that there may be life evermore.
14. Termperance.- Immergence of the consciousness;
realization of the Divine Immanence; super-added Grace.
15. Death or Typhon.- The last enemy; the demon of
spiritual pride; the abyss opening; the spirit of Antichrist.
16. Ruined Tower.- The rending of the House of Doctrine in
the heart of the individual; final impenitence.
17. The Star.- Life of life; descent of the Divine; waters
of life freely.
18. Moon.- Spirltual fantasy.
19. Sun.- Plenary consciousness in God; the Spirit rules;
God encompassing; Orient from on high.
20. Judgment.- The state of one who says: Behold, I come
quickly- that is, in answer to the call from the heights; resurrection
in the complete man.
21. The World.- Unveiled mystery; term of research;
redeemed Nature; Divine Consciousness; the Beatific Vision.
As regards the Fool, this card, which has been sufficiently
explained already, signifies the consummation of everything, when that
which began his initiation at zero attains the term of all numeration
and all existence. The card which bears no number passes through all
the numbered cards and is changed in each, as the natural man passes
through worlds of lesser experience, worlds of devotion, worlds of
successive attainment, and receives the everlasting wisdom as the gift
of perseverance.
It is further to be understood that the significance of all the
cards in each of the three worlds is modified by the cards in their
immediate vicinity, and this to such an extent that the present
section of the Manual might be increased into a large volume if
an attempt were made to expose even the major variations. It is not to
be expected therefore that the operator will read correctly from the
beginning, since he is learning a new alphabet, and its combinations
exceed calculation. He must attain familiarity by practice; he must
have also the second sight of the mind- the power of discerning
analogies and distinctions in the midst of analogies. I now proceed to
give a few specimen questions belonging to each of the series, after
which I shall reach a conclusion of the matter for the present purpose
by three constructions of the sense attributable to three assumed
distributions of the Trump Cards, as the result of a hypothetical
dealing.
WORLD OF HUMAN PRUDENCE
1. What will be the consequence on my life of a marriage which I
now contemplate- it being understood that I am not actuated simply by
personal attraction, or solely by physical desire?
2. My affairs have passed into disorder, and finding that my
fortune is imperilled on the material plane, after what manner shall I
try to meet the difficulty?
3. What must I do to ensure success in life and the improvement of
my worldly position, having full regard. to my moral and spiritual
duties?
4. Is it desirable to embrace the opportunity which offers for my
removal into a foreign country?
5. The world is wide before me, and the best years of my life:
what light can I obtain on the question of vocation or business?
6. What course shall I pursue in the serious emergency which has
arisen?
7. Shall I have the necessary health and strength to pursue those
projects which have become so important in my life?
WORLD OF CONFORMITY
1. I am troubled about questions of doctrine and desire light
thereon: in what direction shall I look?
2. I am in a state of serious temptation- in what shall I find
help to withstand?
3. My sins have found me out: what course shall I pursue?
4. I have resolved upon a better life: to what means of grace
shall I have recourse above others?
5. I am in the state that is called by spiritual writers one of
drought and dryness: how can I find consolation?
6. Shall I improve my chances of salvation by a change in my
external religion?
7. I feel a certain vocation towards the ministry, and I desire
light on the subject.
WORLD OF ATTAINMENT
1. What is, literally speaking, that kind of life which does lead
to the Doctrine, and what form of it applies to my individual case?
2. I am conscious of substantial increase in intellectual light
upon spiritual mysteries, but not of increase in holiness. What shall
I do?
3. Wherein lies the path of rebirth?
4. What must I do to attain eternal life ?
5. How shall I exchange the disposition towards spiritual things
for their real experience?
6. In what does the Beatific Vision consist?
7. What is the great secret of the Inward Life?
It should be laid to heart, firstly, that these specimen questions
do not exhaust the possible subjects of research, which are indeed
innumerable: they are cited only to show the things that belong to the
three several worlds. Secondly, it should be understood- at least as
regards the Worlds of Conformity and Attainment- that it would be an
act of sacrilege to ask from curiosity, or as if to test the powers of
an oracle. This is no question of ordinary Divination, but of a
prayerful search after light on the things that concern the soul, and
it is to the higher soul within us that we must look for the answer.
When the Aspirant has become familiar by practice with the
inexhaustible deeps of enlightenment which lie imbedded in the Tarot
Cards, he will find that a triple answer is possible to every
question- that is to say, in its relation to each of the three worlds
of mystical philosophy. So elaborate a quest must not be attempted in
the present instance, but only a guide in outline for purposes of
study. The threefold meanings attributed to each of the cards are the
key of the whole process, and any operation is not an inquiry into
future chances or an attempt to unveil futurity, on however high a
plane, but is the analogical and mystical explanation of the law which
inheres in the symbols, however combined.
The first hypothetical case will be taken from The World of
Human Prudence. Question 7: A young man inquires what light he can
obtain as to his future course in this world. The results of the
dealing are 3, 4, 1, 17, 9, 14, 12, 15, 16, 8, 13, 10, 11, 19, 2, 5,
6, 7, 21, 20, 18. The cards 11 and 18 are upside down, reducing that
which is good and accentuating that which is evil. It will be seen
that the cards work out very curiously, with the predominance of
woman's influence (3) at the beginning, and change (20) in the face of
everything having the term of the whole subject (21) on its left,
while the latter has success and triumph. But the card which
precedes this final triplicity is that of marriage. The object being
therefore to know the Querent's future course, it is clear that his
welfare depends on a material union. The first triplicity shows that
his own powers have, as predominating factors, his own skill on one
side and the feminine side of power on the other. His hope (17) has
all his tact (1) on the left and the safety of caution (9) on the
right, indicating that to attain his end subtlety and savoir
faire must be checked by prudence. Reasonable unselfishness (12)
is threatened by the evil and false spirit (15), but it has
combination (14) suggested by the idea of marriage on the other side,
so that his saving will be in the altruism of his union with a woman.
That equilibrium which is the desirable path of life (8) is threatened
by destruction (16) and by the symbol of death (13). It is a very bad
combination, and he must seek to unite himself with the transforming
force which is independent of human will (13 alternatively)-
otherwise, with the law of the universe. Unfortunately, his courage
(11) is reversed, with vicissitude on the one side, though earthly
happiness is signified on the other. I gather that he has one way of
escape in the consolations of official religion (5), which again has a
marriage card (2) on its left, namely, fertility, and marriage itself
on the right It is no happy ouflook unless there is happiness in his
marriage, which is not the subject of inquiry. It is in any case by
marriage that he must begin.
The World ol Conformity.- Question 7: The Aspirant feels a
certain vocation towards the ministry and desires light on the
subject. The results of the dealing are 5, 6, 15, 10, 14, 4, 7, 16,
12, 1, 18, 3, 9, 8, 20, 21, 19, 17, 11, 13, 2. Card 11 is reversed.
The first card which comes out (5) is that of doctrine on the orthodox
side and of the teaching power. The second is that of the love of
religion, of marriage between the heart and the Church (6). With these
on the one side and the ruling spirit of religion on the other (10),
the tendency to false doctrine (15) is held in check, and the man will
be a safe teacher, one who may administer the sacraments efficaciously
(14), one possessing the capacity to influence his fellow-man for good
(4). The chances of fall from Grace (16) are counterbalanced by reason
exalted in religion (7); but this depends upon crucifixion of self
(12), and this in turn can check formalism in religion (1), while such
formalism is balanced on the other side by Grace (18), coming from
communion with the Church. Goodness (8) has detachment (9) on the one
side and spiritual rebirth (20) on the other, showing plainly how
natural virtue is exalted into the supernatural. The end of research
(21), being the question put, but also life in Grace, has the summons
to ascend (20) and Efficacious Grace (19) on either hand, the result
of which is the life of holiness. Good works (17) come before and can
be made to overrule what is lacked in strength (11 reversed), and if
the latter card shows that the Querent is by no means outside the
sphere of temptation, he has the Church (2) to aid him and to change
sin (13) into resurrection into new life and Grace. In fine, the
cards, which begin in doctrine and end in the ecclesiastical assembly,
show throughout that the Aspirant is meant for the ministry.
World of Attainment.- Question 1: What is the kind of life
which leads to the doctrine? The results of the dealing are 11, 19,
18, 15, 3, 5, 17, 13, 9, 8, 16, 10, 7, 6, 2, 20, 4, 21, 14, 1, 12.
Card 20 is reversed. In the search after attainment in the soul, the
sequence of the symbols begins with the will to go forward (11) and
concludes with the path of choice (12) in the conquest of the natural
man. Between these two lies the sum of all perfection. The end is
Divine Consciousness (21), which is the life of knowledge. It has the
victory over all things (4) on the one side and realization of the
Divine Immanence (14) on the other. The dawning of the Orient from on
high (19) is beheld on entering the path, and this rules on the one
side over (18) spiritual fantasy, while the ruling of the spirit (19)
is well placed between fantasy (18), which it suffuses, and the
conquest of the world (11). Spiritual pride and the spirit of
Antichrist (15) have, it is true, the symbol of illusion on the one
side, but the higher soul of man (3) is on the other. It is clear,
however, that the last enemy is also a very strong one. The life which
leads to the Doctrine (5) is between the ascent of the soul (3) and the
life of life (17). It is on the ascent of the one that the other comes
down, namely, the Divine, and the union of the two is that life which
does lead to the real know-ledge. Mystical death (13) is overshadowed
on the one side by Divine Grace communicated (17) and on the other by
Divine Science (9). The possibility of fall from righteousness (16) is
checked by perfect life (8) and the rapture of aspiration towards the
Divine (10). The three-fold nature of man (7) has that aspiration (10)
on the one hand and on the other its end, which is the mystical
marriage of God and man (6). In this connexion the card (20) of
rebirth reversed, having the Holy Soul (2) and the victory over all
things (4) on either side, must be taken to mean rather that it is
judgment against the soul which is reversed, if the man follows the
path. That which must be overcome (1) stands between superadded grace
(14) and the sign of him (12) who has not loved his life to the loss
thereof. I say therefore that the sequence of cards has indeed set
forth the kind of life which not only leads to the Doctrine but to the
whole term of spiritual knowledge.
And these are the first indications to those who can see
concerning the Book of Thoth, which I have called the Way to
Fortune.
---
Scanned from "A Manual of Cartomancy", by Grand Orient [A.E. Waite]
(Rider, 1909). Formatted and corrected by hand.