From 'Tarot of the Bohemians" and illustrated with the Premier Principes Tarot
An arrangement of the reflections of Yod through the Minor Arcana. It is rooted in the first Major Arcanum:
The Juggler holds the wand of the Mage in the left hand, which he raises, and the four great symbols of the Tarot are placed before him.
The Cup, the Sword, the Pentacles or Talisman, which, as we have already seen, exactly correspond with the letters of the Tetragrammaton-
Sceptre Yod, symbol of the active Principle preeminent, and of God.
Cup or He, symbol of the passive Principle pre-eminent, or of the Universe.
Sword, Cross or Vau, symbol of the Equilibrist Principle pre-eminent, or of Man.
Pentacles or 2nd He, the cyclic symbol of Eternity, which unites the three first Principles in one ·whole.
From the human point of view these symbols correspond with the four great human castes.
The men of Yod, or the Inventors, the Producers. The nobility of Intellect.
The men of He, or the depositaries of the great truths discovered by the men of Yod: the Savants, the Judges. Professional nobility.
The men of Vau, or the guardians and defenders of the former: the warriors. Nobility of the sword.
The men of the 2nd He, the multitude from which the other classes are continually recruited : the People.
The four great symbols are placed upon the table at random, and Man rules them and must arrange them; in the twenty-first arcana we shall find these symbols arranged in a cross.
We already know that the first card of the Tarot is completed by the twenty-first (21 + 1 = 22), and we see why, if this first card represents the microcosm, the last would represent macrocosm, and the eleventh card, which serves as the universal link to all the complements of the Tarot, represents the Vital reflex Current, which serves as a link between the worlds.
The arrangement of the "He" Root of the Major Arcana with corresponding minors.
-The 14th Arcanum ‘Nun’ - Temperance. (bottom right in the image)
(From “Tarot of the Bohemians” by Papus)
“The following ideas are expressed by this symbol:
1. Combination of different fluids.
2. Individualisation of existence.
The genius of the Sun pours the fluid of Life from a golden vase into a silver one. (First idea.)
This essence passes from one vase to the other without one drop being spilt. ( Second idea.)
The fourteenth card can be represents as the young girl whom we have already seen in the 11th arcanum, and whom we shall see again in the 17th.
The vital current placed upon her head in the 11th arcanum here passes from one vase into another, but will spread further in the 17th arcanum.
The fourteenth card of the Tarot shows us the fluid, hitherto carefully preserved, now freely circulated in nature.
1. Combination of active and passive fluids. Entry of Spirit into Matter, and reaction of Matter upon the Spirit- INVOLUTION.
2. Reflex of Justice (VIII) in the material world - TEMPERANCE.
3. Fixation of reflex Life. Incarnation of Life - Individual and Corporeal Life.
ABOVE: 21st Hebrew letter: ‘SHIN’ - ‘Origin of the symbolism of the unnumbered Arcanum’.
The Shin 1 expresses the same hieroglyphic meaning as the Zain (7th arcanum) and the Samech (15th) : this is an arrow, an object directed to an aim. But the movement which was direct in the Zain (and which became circular in the Samech , here takes the form of a vibration from one pole to the other, with an unstable point of equilibrium in the centre. The Shin is therefore the sign of relative duration and of the movement relating to it, whilst the Samech expresses cyclic movement, and therefore absolute duration. '
Shin is one of the three mother letters. This letter is derived from its vocal: ‘Yod’, become a consonant; and it adds to its original meaning the respective significations of the letters Zain and Samech.
Premier Principes Tarot is based upon Papus' Tarot of the Bohemians'. It carries his visions upon the Kabbalah, gematria and astrology which helped fundamentally define contempory western esoterism.
This Tarot will be launched on Kickstarter in about 7 days:
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