The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 45 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Page 19 (part 1)
THE LOVERS.
THE LOVERS.
6.
ו The 6th Hebrew letter (Vau).
ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SIXTH CARD OF THE TAROT.
The hieroglyphic sign for the Vau is the eye, all that relates to light and brilliancy.
The eye establishes the link between the external world and ourselves; by it light and form are revealed to us.
The dominant idea expressed by this letter will therefore be that of a connection, of a link between antagonists .
We have already dwelt at some length upon the Vau, but we think it may be useful to quote Fabre d'Olivet's observations upon this letter in extenso -- "This sign is the image of the deepest and most inconceivable mystery, the image of the knot which reunites, or of the point which separates, the nothing from the being.
It is the universal convertible sign, which forms the passage from one nature to the other; communicating on one side with the sign of light and of spiritual sense וֹ (a pointed Vau), which is but a higher form of itself; on the other hand linking itself in its degeneration with Ayin (ע), the sign of darkness and of the material senses, which again is but a lower form of itself." The Vau is the second simple letter; astronomically it represents the second sign of the zodiac, the Bull.
THE SIXTH CARD OF THE TAROT.
The Lovers .
This symbol represents reunion, antagonism, with all their consequences.
A beardless youth (our Juggler of the 1st arcanum), but without a hat, is standing motionless in the angle where two roads meet.
His arms form a diagonal cross upon his breast.
The repetition of the 1st arcanum under another form.
Here the man is not one of the Initiates.
He does not know how to direct the magnetic currents of the Astral Light; he is therefore plunged in the antagonism of the different ideas which he cannot master.
Two women, one on his right, the other on his left, each with one hand upon his shoulder, point to the two roads.
The woman on the right has a circle of gold upon her head, the one on the left is dishevelled and crowned with vine leaves.
The two arms of the Juggler, expressing the positive and negative, the two columns of the temple of Isis, expressing necessity and liberty, are here personified by the two women, who represent Vice and Virtue.
The future of the young man depends upon the road which he chooses, whether he becomes one of the Initiates, the Mage of the 1st arcanum (the spiritual ו), or the rash thunder-stricken personage of the 16th arcanum (the ע).
The spirit of Justice floats above this group in a radiant halo; he bends his bow and aims the arrow of Punishment at the personification of Vice.
A profound symbol indicating that if man chooses the path of Virtue he will not be left unaided, but that Providence will ally itself to his will and assist him to overcome vice.
In short, this hieroglyphic expresses the struggle between the passions and conscience, the antagonism of ideas.
But this antagonism is also the most powerful natural producer that exists in the world, when it resolves itself into LOVE, which attracts the opponents and unites them for ever.
This sixth card of the Tarot must be regarded under two aspects, which tend to the same signification.
1.
As 3 of the 4, that is to say, as representing the 4th arcanum, or the reflection of 1 considered in its relation to union.
2.
As balancing 4 and 5; this is shown in the triangle formed by the second ternary-- Each card balances the two others.
The universal fluid or medium of occult philosophy — Lévi's Great Magical Agent — that transmits will, thought, and magical influence between minds and matter, and preserves the impress of all forms and actions as a book of consciences; cognate with akasha and the anima mundi. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of hidden affinity) in being a substantival medium that can be charged, directed, and abused.
The text explicitly mentions the 'magnetic currents of the Astral Light' which the uninitiated man cannot direct.
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 passage links the Hebrew letter Vau to the eye, light, the Bull in the zodiac, and the Tarot card, illustrating micro-macro connections.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The text states that 'Providence will ally itself to his will and assist him to overcome vice' if the path of Virtue is chosen.
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 card depicts two women representing Vice and Virtue, and the text discusses positive/negative poles personified by gendered figures.
The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.
The passage centers on the 6th Hebrew letter (Vau) as a hieroglyphic sign establishing links between natures and forming the basis of the card's symbolism.
The balance of two contrary forces as the structural law of cosmos and operation — Lévi's equilibrium, expressed in Kabbalah by the senary: the will of God in its first cause, liberty in man, mathematical equilibrium in matter; the twofold vibration required to direct the Astral Light safely.
The text describes balancing antagonists (Vice/Virtue) and states 'Each card balances the two others' in the triangle formed by the second ternary.
The Hermetic doctrine that apparent opposites are identical in nature but differ in degree — two extremes of the same scale (hot/cold, love/hate) — such that one pole can be shifted toward its opposite by a change of degree ('mental transmutation'). Distinct from opposites_transcended (a completion-state marking the path's end, not this doctrine's active technique) and magical_equilibrium (balance held BETWEEN two forces, not identity-by-degree of what looks like two forces).
The core theme is the connection between antagonists (light/dark, virtue/vice) and how love resolves this antagonism into unity.
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
The text implies a path to becoming an Initiate or Mage (spiritual Vau) versus remaining in material antagonism (Ayin), suggesting a return to spiritual nature.