The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 13 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Chapter IV
CHAPTER IV. ANALOGY BETWEEN THE SACRED WORD AND NUMBERS. The Kabbalistic Word and the Series of Numbers--Explanation of the Tetractys of Pythagoras--Figuration of the General Law. NUMBERS AND THE KABBALISTIC WORD. This sequence of numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4, representing the active, the passive, the neuter, and a second active principle, corresponds in all points with the series of the letters of the sacred name, so that the latter may be thus written-- Yod--He--Vau-- 2nd He = Yod, etc., which demonstrates analogically that-- 1 represents Yod 2 --- He 3 --- Van 4 --- The 2nd He We can prove the truth of these analogies by the identity of the action of the number 4, which becomes a unity (4 = 10 = 1), and of the second He , which represents the Yod of the following sequence. In comparing the two identical series we obtain the following figures-- Kabbalistic sequence Yod he 2 nd he vau Sequence of numbers 1 2 3 4 Identity of the two sequences 1 Yod י 2 he ה ה 2nd he 4 ו vau 3 We can now understand why Pythagoras, initiated in Egypt into the mysteries of the sacred word Yod-he-vau-he , replaced this word in his esoteric teachings by the sequence of the 4 first numbers or tetractys. This sequence of the numbers is, in all points, identical with the sequence of the letters of the sacred name, and the tetractys of Pythagoras, 1, 2, 3, 4,, equals and absolutely represents the word Yod-he-vau-he . The sequence of the numbers, or the sequence of the letters, therefore, resolves itself definitely into the following data-- 1 Term positive and generator. The Yod or the 1. 1 Term negative or generant. The He or the 2. 1 Term neuter or generated proceeding from the two preceding. The Vau or the 3. 1 Term of transition individualizing itself in the following sequence. The 2 nd He or the 4. Provided with these preliminary data, which are absolutely indispensable, let us now take our pack of cards, or Tarot , and see if we cannot find the universal law in it-- Yod he 2 nd he vau symbolized through antiquity by the Cross.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The core argument is the 'Analogy Between the Sacred Word and Numbers,' asserting that numerical sequences and letter sequences are identical in action and meaning.
Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.
The sequence is described in terms of 'generator,' 'generant,' and 'generated,' outlining a process of creation or emanation.
A historical or mythical chain of transmission for secret wisdom from master to disciple across time and cultures — the credential of the teaching, not merely its content. Distinct from oral_tradition (the spoken-not-written modality of transmission, which a lineage may or may not use) and hidden_sayings (the concealment-for-readiness of a teaching's meaning, independent of who transmitted it or in what unbroken chain).
The passage mentions Pythagoras being 'initiated in Egypt into the mysteries,' suggesting a transmission of secret wisdom across traditions.
The Hermetic doctrine that a masculine-feminine generative principle operates on every plane of being, not only the biological — present at all times as a structural feature of creation itself. Distinct from divine_marriage (a specific reunification event or symbol) and aeons (paired divine beings arranged in syzygies, not a universal structural claim).
The text describes the sequence as containing 'active' (positive), 'passive' (negative), and 'neuter' terms, reflecting generative principles.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The passage is entirely dedicated to establishing the identity between numbers (1-4) and sacred letters, explicitly discussing the Tetractys and numerical sequences as representing divine principles.
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The text focuses heavily on the 'Sacred Word' (Yod-He-Vau-He) and its correspondence to numbers, treating the name as a structural key to universal law.