The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 52 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Page 25
STRENGTH. STRENGTH. 11. כ 11th Hebrew letter (Kaph). ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE ELEVENTH CARD OF THE TAROT. The hieroglyphic meaning of the Kaph is the hand of man, half closed and in the act of prehension, like the Gimel. But the Kaph is reinforcement of the Gimel, so that we might say that it designates the hand of man in the act of grasping strongly . Ideas of strength are therefore applied to this letter. The number 11, the first after the decade, gives a different value to the Kaph, which designates a reflected transitory life, a. kind of mould, which receives and restores every variety of form. It is derived from the letter Heth, ח (8), which is itself derived from the sign of absolute life, He ה (5). Thus, allied on one side to the sign of elementary life (see the 8th arcanum), it joins to the signification of the letter Heth (ה) that of the organic sign ג (Gimel) (3rd arcanum), of which too it is merely a reinforcement. The Kaph is a double letter, corresponding astronomically with March and Tuesday. THE ELEVENTH CARD OF THE TAROT. Strength . Only two ideas are expressed by this arcanum-- 1. The idea of strength. 2. The idea of vitality. A young girl calmly closing a lion's mouth without any visible effort. (First idea.) This young girl wears the vital sign ∞ upon her head. (Second idea.) The 11th arcanum. is midway between the 8th and 14th arcana. In it we find the symbolism of the 8th arcanum. transformed to the physical plane. It is, in fact, the image of the power given by the sacred science (2nd arcanum) when justly applied (8). The eleventh card of the Tarot shows us all the negative or reflective significations of the fifth, that is to say-- 1. Reflex of the Intelligence (5). LIBERTY. 2. Reflex of Authority, of Faith. COURAGE. (To dare.) 3. Reflex of the Universal Life. Manifestation of the strength of the preceding arcanum. REFLECTED AND TRANSITORY LIFE. 11. כ Strength . AFFINITIES SIGNIFICATION Primitive Hieroglyphic: The Hand in the act of grasping Astronomy: Mars ♂ Day: Tuesday Hebrew Letter: Kaph (double) Reflex of the Intelligence LIBERTY __________ Reflex of Authority, of Faith COURAGE ( To dare ) OBSERVATIONS Reflex of Universal Life Reflex and Transitory Life The strength, already potential in its manifestations, has shown its full force in the 11th arcanum; it will balance itself in the following arcanum.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis
A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.
The interpretation of the card's imagery (girl, lion, infinity sign) requires symbolic thought and imagination to decode its meaning.
All passages →Correspondencecosmology
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 explicitly links Hebrew letters, numbers, astrological signs (Mars, Tuesday), and Tarot imagery, reflecting the Hermetic principle of interconnected cosmic structures.
All passages →Letters Of Creationcosmology
The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.
The text focuses heavily on the Hebrew letter Kaph as a building block of meaning and symbolism within the Tarot system.
All passages →Magical Willpraxis
The doctrine that human volition, cultivated by discipline and emancipated from passion and servitude, is the primary instrument of magical operation — will confirmed by persistent acts acquires causal power over self, others, and nature; distinct from faith and from mere desire.
The passage describes strength as 'power given by the sacred science... when justly applied' and emphasizes the act of grasping and courage to dare.
All passages →Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The text describes the card as a 'reflected transitory life' and a 'mould' receiving forms, suggesting the human or card reflects larger cosmic principles.
All passages →Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
Numerology is central to the passage, explaining the value of the number 11 and its derivation from numbers 8 and 5.
All passages →Related passages · 10 parallels
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Shared concept: Letters Of Creation — The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence. (derived)
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Shared concept: Microcosm Macrocosm — The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror. (derived)
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“It <i.e., Soul> fills it <i.e., the Body of the Cosmos> from within, and from without encircles it, making the All to live.
Without, this vast and perfect Life [encircles] Cosmos; within, it fills [it with] all lives; above, in Heaven, con…”
Shared concept: Correspondence — 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. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 4)
“We may say that the world, as we know it, is constituted entirely of forms of heat, or of motion, or of electric conditions, or light, &c., &c.
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All…”
Shared concept: Microcosm Macrocosm — The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 2)
“That Will, by conceiving of its own self, thereby creates a mirror within its own self.
The same takes place in the microcosm of man.
By conceiving of his own self man creates a mirror in which he " feels " his own self, and thereby he be…”
Shared concept: Microcosm Macrocosm — The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 47
“Mastery over the powers of perception and action comes through perfectly concentrated Meditation on their fivefold forms; namely, their power to grasp their distinctive nature, the element of self-consciousness in them, their inherence, and…”
Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I|Sutra 17
“Meditation with an object follows these stages: first, exterior examining, then interior judicial action, then joy, then realization of individual being. In the practice of meditation, a beginning may be made by fixing the attention upon so…”
Shared concept: Active Contemplation — A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 18 (part 6)
“Starting from this, it becomes easy to understand how nature herself could have taught primeval mankind, even without the help of its divine instructors, the first principles of a numerical and geometrical symbol language.* Hence one finds…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII-au
“The Pythagoreans, likewise, adorned numbers and figures with the appellations of the Gods.
For they called the equilateral triangle, Minerva Coryphagenes, or begotten from the summit, and Tritogeneia because it is divided by three perpendi…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1d
“Nay, even the foundation and the boundaries of the heavens (as we forgot to say while 91 thinking of other matters) owe their origin to the Good.
Such is this universe, which lessens not nor grows, and such the noiseless movements (if nois…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)