The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 78 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton

Chapter XIV (part 9)

In order to know, I seek in the vertical column containing the word Mother , and at the bottom I find Man or Humanity.

The Mother is the Active preserving Principle of Humanity .

3.

I add to the word Humanity the word placed in the small vertical column which contains the word Mother.

This word is Himself if relating to man, or itself if we take the sense of Humanity.

We should say-- The Mother is the Active preserving Principle of Man himself or of Humanity itself .

This example clearly indicates how this tableau should be used.

TABLEAU Recapitulating the Symbolism of all the Major Arcana, enabling the definition of any one of these Arcana to be immediately determined.

( See its use on page 219 .) CREATIVE PRINCIPLE (י) Active י 1 God the Father 4 Will 7 The Father 10 Necessity 13 Universal transforming principle 16 Destruction 19 The Elements CREATIVE PRINCIPLE Passive ה Adam Power Realization Magic Power Death The Fall of Adam Nutrition CREATIVE PRINCIPLE Equilibrist ו Natura naturata Universal Creative Fluid Astral Light Force potential in its manifestation Universal Plastic Force The Visible World The Mineral Kingdom PRESERVING PRINCIPLE (ה) Active י 2 God the Son 5 Intelligence 8 The Mother 11 Liberty 14 Involution 17 Immortality 20 Innate Motion PRESERVING PRINCIPLE Passive (ה) Eve Authority Justice Courage (TO DARE) Corporeal Life Hope Respiration PRESERVING PRINCIPLE Equilibrist ו Natura naturata Universal Life Elementary Existence Reflected and transitory Life Individual Life The Physical Forces The Vegetable Kingdom PRESERVING PRINCIPLE (ה) Active י 3 God the Holy Sprit 6 Beauty 9 Love 12 Charity 15 Fate 18 Chaos 0 The Motion of Relative Duration PRESERVING PRINCIPLE Passive (ה) Adam-Eve, Humanity Love Prudence (be silent) Hope (WISDOM) Destiny The Material Body Innervation PRESERVING PRINCIPLE Equilibrist ו Kosmos Universal Attraction Astral Fluid (AOUR) Equilibrist Force Nahash Astral Light in circulation Matter The Animal Kingdom Himself (י) Manifested Himself (ה) Manifested Itself (ו) Manifested Return (ה) to the Unity + - + - + - GOD (21) MAN HUMANITY (21) UNIVERSE (21) Tableau indicating the revolutions yod-he-vau-he in numbers ( positive arcana ): ( yod = 1, he = 2, vau = 3, 2 nd he = 4).

(Key to the preceding Tableau.) 1 2 3 4 I.

1 1 of 1 in VII.

1 2 of 1 in XIII.

2 3 of 1 in XIX.

3 4 of 1 in 4 2 3 4 1 3 4 1 2 4 1 2 3 II.

2 1 of 2 in VIII.

1 2 of 2 in XIV.

2 3 of 2 in XX.

3 4 of 2 in 4 2 3 4 1 3 4 1 2 4 1 2 3 III.

3 1 of 3 in IX.

1 2 of 3 in XV.

2 3 of 3 in XXI.

3 4 of 3 in 4 2 3 4 1 3 4 1 2 4 1 2 3 IV.

4 1 of 4 in X.

1 2 of 4 in XVI.

2 3 of 4 in XXII.

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Themes

Astral Lightcosmology

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 Tableau explicitly lists 'Astral Light' and 'Astral Fluid (AOUR)' as key components within the Preserving Principle columns.

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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 entire passage describes a Tableau designed to define Arcana through cross-referencing columns and rows, embodying the Hermetic axiom of structural reflection.

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Divine Immanencetheology

The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.

The 'Preserving Principle' includes 'Individual Life' and 'Humanity', suggesting divine principles operate within the material and human realms.

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Gendercosmology

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 system distinguishes between Active (masculine-coded) and Passive (feminine-coded) principles, as well as Father/Mother/Adam/Eve pairings.

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Letters Of Creationcosmology

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

The text centers on the Hebrew letters Yod (י), He (ה), and Vau (ו) as the structural keys to the Tableau and the revolutions of the Arcana.

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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 Tableau explicitly categorizes principles as 'Active', 'Passive', and 'Equilibrist', reflecting the balance of contrary forces central to Papus's system.

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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 'GOD', 'MAN HUMANITY', and 'UNIVERSE' in a parallel structure (all numbered 21), suggesting the human reflects the cosmic order.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

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

The passage relies heavily on numbers (1-21, 0) and their permutations to define the symbolism of the Major Arcana within the Tableau.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The text concludes with 'Return (ה) to the Unity', implying a fundamental oneness underlying the differentiated principles.

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Related passages · 7 parallels

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Shared concept: Divine Immanence — The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. (derived)

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Shared concept: Unity Of Being — The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim. (derived)

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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…”

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“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)

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)