← Home
The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 67 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton

Page 39

THE FOOL. THE MATE. 21. סה 21st Hebrew letter (Shin). ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE UNNUMBERED CARD OF THE TAROT. The Shin 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 (ז) and which became circular in the Samech (ס), 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 [paragraph continues] Samech expresses cyclic movement, and therefore absolute duration. Shin is one of the three mother letters. TWENTY-FIRST (UNNUMBERED) CARD OF THE TAROT. The Foolish Man . A careless-looking man, wearing a fool's cap, with torn clothes and a bundle upon his shoulder, goes quietly on his way, paying no attention to a dog which bites his leg. He does not look where he is going, so walks towards a precipice, where a crocodile is waiting to devour him. This is an image of the state to which unresisted passion will reduce a man. It is the symbol of the Flesh and of its gratification. From a moral point of view the following verses of Eliphas Levi well explain this symbol-- "Souffrir c'est travailler, c'est accomplir sa tâche, Malheur au paresseux qui dort sur le chemin; La douleur, comme un chien, mord les talons du lâche, Qui, d'un seul jour perdu, surcharge un lendemain." 1. More rapid return to the Divine World. Personality asserts itself-- THE MOTION OF RELATIVE DURATION. 2. The intellect roughly appears under the influence of evolution-- INNERVATION. INSTINCT. 3. The matter of the world attains the maximum of its material progression-- THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 21. סה The Foolish Man . AFFINITIES SIGNIFICATIONS Hieroglyphic Primitive: The Arrow Hebrew letter: The Shin (one of the 3 mothers) THE MOTION of Relative Duration __________ INNERVATION Instinct OBSERVATIONS THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
§ Ask Guru about this passage →
Themes
Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The Fool is described as the 'symbol of the Flesh and of its gratification' and a state to which 'unresisted passion will reduce a man,' implying the flesh/passion hinders higher states.

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 maps the Hebrew letter Shin to specific cosmic motions (relative duration), animal kingdoms, and human moral states (passion/flesh), reflecting the Hermetic principle of correspondence.

All passages →
Letters Of Creationcosmology

The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.

The passage explicitly centers on the Hebrew letter Shin as a creative symbol ('one of the three mother letters') and compares it to Zain and Samech in terms of hieroglyphic meaning and movement.

All passages →
Magical Equilibriumcosmology

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 mentions an 'unstable point of equilibrium in the centre' regarding the Shin's vibration, touching on the concept of balance between poles.

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 links the human condition (Foolish Man, passion) to cosmic principles (Shin, relative duration, animal kingdom), suggesting the human reflects these broader structures.

All passages →
Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The passage relies heavily on numerology (21st card, 7th arcanum, 15th) and the significance of the number 21 as unnumbered yet significant.

All passages →
Polaritycosmology

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 text describes the Shin's movement as a vibration 'from one pole to the other' with an unstable equilibrium in the centre, directly invoking polar dynamics.

All passages →
Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The text mentions 'More rapid return to the Divine World' as an affinity of the card, indicating a soteriological movement back to origin.

All passages →
Vibrationcosmology

The Hermetic doctrine that nothing rests — matter, energy, mind, and spirit are a single continuum differing only in rate of vibration, from the grossest matter to the least material spirit. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (affinity resonating BETWEEN separate things) in being a claim about what constitutes any one thing in the first place, and from magical_equilibrium (Lévi's operational balancing technique, which presupposes some vibration doctrine rather than stating this general principle).

The text defines the Shin's movement specifically as a 'vibration from one pole to the other' and links this to relative duration and motion.

All passages →
Related passages · 10 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1d
And we press upwards to those beams which in the Holy Scripture shine upon us; wherefrom we gain the light which leads us unto 55 the Divine praises 64 64 πρὸς τοὺς θεαρχικοὺς ὕμνους. Either (1) “leads us to declare the Divine praises”; or…”
Shared concept: Return To Source — The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter I-b
They are useful and necessary up to a point, but the Truth lies beyond them and is to be apprehended to a supernatural manner by what later writers call “infused” contemplation. The sum of the whole matter is that God is incomprehensible.…”
Shared concept: Return To Source — The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 46 (part 11)
They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz -- roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for the present** -- may be separated into three distinct Hosts, which, counted from the highest planes, are,…”
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)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 166
Section 10 10. Under detailed investigation, many other tenets of this school- indeed we might say all- could be corrected with an abundance of proof. But I am withheld by regard for some of our own friends who fell in with this doctrine be…”
Shared concept: Return To Source — The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 27 (part 3)
Anger, my son, is the destruction of [[Vol. 1, Page]] 416 THE SECRET DOCTRINE. all that man obtains . . . and prevents the attainment of emancipation. The sages shun wrath. Be not thou, my child, subject to its influence. Let not th…”
Shared concept: Magical Equilibrium — 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. (derived)
platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1ad
That which yields has a small base; but that which rests on quadrangular bases is firmly posed and belongs to the class which offers the greatest resistance; so too does that which is the most compact and therefore most repellent. The natu…”
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)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1b
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. All this is true in so far as it refers to the relations which it bears towards ourselves. 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 12 (part 12)
255:1 However gratifying it may be for the curious seeker in history to know whether or when such an event has actually occurred in the history of the Jewish nation, such a historical belief would be of little benefit to him if he could not…”
Shared concept: Body As Obstacle — The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return. (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)