The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 85 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Chapter XVI (part 4)
The Tarot is a deduction of the sideral book of Henoch , who is Henochia; it is modelled from the astral wheel of Athor , which is As-taroth , resembling the Indian ot-tara , the polar bear or arc-tura of the north; it is the major force ( tarie ) upon which is based the solidity ( ferrale ) of the world and the sideral firmament of the earth ; consequently, like the polar bear, called the chariot of the sun, the chariot of David and of ARTHUR, it is the Greek luck ( tuché ), the Chinese destiny ( tiko ), the Egyptian chance ( tiki ), the fate ( tika ) of the Romanies; and the stars, as they incessantly revolve round the polar bear, reveal to the earth ostentation and misery, light and shade, heat and cold; whilst from them flow the good and evil, the love and hatred, which form the happiness ( ev-tuchié ) and the misfortune ( dis-tuchié ) of men.
* * * In truth Sephora is one of the harmonies in that triad s.
f.
r., which united form the light ( Sapher ), the number ( Sipher ), and the word ( Sephora ) of the Hebrews, from the Sphere of the Universe.
From this sphere, of which the light is the truth , the zodiac the book which contains it, the stars the numbers and letters which explain it, the Anaks have drawn their Tara , the Gypsies their Tarot , the Phoenicians their As-tharot , the Egyptians their Athor , and the Hebrews their Thora .
But we cannot end this study upon the astronomical Tarot without some allusion to the work of Oswald Wirth upon this subject.
In some respects his conclusions differ from our own; but we are anxious on that account to copy his essay upon it, in order that each reader may judge between us for himself.
ESSAY UPON THE ASTRONOMICAL TAROT BY OSWALD WIRTH.
According to Christian the twenty-two major arcana of the Tarot represent the hieroglyphic paintings which are found in the spaces between the columns of a gallery, which the neophyte was obliged to cross in the Egyptian initiations.
There were twelve columns to the North and the same number to the South, that is, eleven symbolical pictures on each side.
These pictures were explained to the candidate for initiation in regular order, and they contained the rules and principles for the Initiate.
The arcana corresponding to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet must have been arranged upon the, walls of the secret crypts in the temples of Osiris in the following order.
(See p.
243 .) This opinion is confirmed by the correspondence which exists between the arcana when they are thus arranged.
It is at once evident that the arcana 2, 3, 4 and 5 form a complete group; this group corresponds to another formed by the arcana 21, 20, 19 and 18.
Now in the interpretation of the symbols each arcanum should be studied in its relations with the neighbouring arcana, and particularly with those which are pendant to it in the grouping that we have pointed out.
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 the Tarot to sideral books, astral wheels, stars, and various cultural traditions (Hebrew, Egyptian, Greek, etc.) as reflections of a universal sphere, embodying the 'as above, so below' principle.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The passage implies a connection between celestial movements (stars revolving) and terrestrial conditions (happiness/misfortune of men), suggesting a sympathetic link.
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 traces the Tarot's origin through a chain of traditions (Anaks, Gypsies, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Hebrews) drawing from a common Sphere of the Universe.
The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.
The text mentions the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet corresponding to the arcana and stars as numbers and letters explaining the zodiac book.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The text references the number (Sipher) as part of a triad with light and word, and discusses the grouping of arcana by numbers (2,3,4,5 vs 21,20,19,18).
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 mentions pairs of opposites flowing from the stars: ostentation and misery, light and shade, heat and cold, good and evil, love and hatred.
The rule of the stars and planetary powers over mortal destiny — the astrological governors whose spheres bind souls to birth, error, and death; in Sethian gnosis the 'error of the stars' that the savior exposes, and from which the incorruptible generation alone is free. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of universal affinity) in being a bondage-to-powers claim, and from archons (the rulers as personal beings) in concerning the astral machinery itself.
The passage describes stars revolving around the polar bear revealing fate, destiny, luck, and chance (tuché, tiko, tiki) that flow good and evil to men.