The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 93 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Chapter XVII (part 5)
It is called DEATH and RESURRECTION, and it represents absolute Inertia, only found in Death; but here Involution stops and Evolution commences, for the equilibrium of the two principles, active and passive, is never prolonged.
This would seem to contradict the preceding remark, that the description of Initiation, that is to say, of the re-ascension, opens with the 10th arcanum, and not with the 14th.
This however is not so, because in Involution the being should retrace in an inverse sense, to complete the synthesis, every stage by which the α has been disintegrated in the course of its Involution.
Man is the actual result of a work of this kind anterior to his present state, but of this work which has raised him from the ω to the stage of Will he is quite unconscious; at first he was subjected to it under the fatal pressure of pure Force only, then of instinct, desires, and passions; his previous evolution is therefore unknown to him, and yet how can he master any of these worlds without knowing them all?
His first work in Initiation must therefore be to re-descend to his first steps in Evolution, to become acquainted with all the degrees, all the forces, and all the beings that he has passed through, to penetrate the roots of life to death itself, and to learn to dominate them all.
We shall see presently that this is not a figurative assertion; the Neophyte cannot attain any reliable voluntary exercise of the transcendental faculties without first obtaining the mastery, over the forces which would produce illusion, which would threaten his life itself; without reaching Inertia and conquering it.
Like the Christ, the model of regenerate man, he must expire upon the cross and rise again the third day; that is to say, after descending, the three last steps represented by the 11th, 12th, and 13th arcana, into the depths of hell, there to discover Death and to overcome him.
This fully understood, we will describe the twelve hours or phases of Initiation .
* * * The 10th arcanum, the first hour of the series, corresponds with the stage which man has reached at the present time.
The symbol of this arcanum is the Sphinx , which guarded the entrance to the Egyptian world; the Neophyte descended between its paws into the tunnel which led to the sanctuary, through a series of tests, the image and noviciate of the descent which we have just mentioned.
This is then the hour of preparation; it separates the common life from the transcendental life; in it the student learns the work that he must undertake, and prepares himself for it.
Let us see in what way.
The human head of the Sphinx, the centre of the intelligence, says to the Neophyte: "First acquire the Knowledge which shows the goal, and lights the way to it." This is the theoretic instruction mentioned above.
Its bull's thighs, the image of the rough, persevering labour of the agriculturist, say to him: "Be strong and patient in thy work." Its lion's paws say to him: "Thou must brave all, and defend thyself against every inferior force." Its eagle's wings say to him: "Thou must will to raise thyself towards the transcendent regions, which thy soul already approaches." The riddle attributed to the Greek Sphinx, and the answer required for it, are an equally expressive image of man , and his aim.
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 'the equilibrium of the two principles, active and passive, is never prolonged', indicating a dynamic balance central to the process of Evolution and Involution.
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 text emphasizes the need to 'will to raise thyself' and obtain 'reliable voluntary exercise of the transcendental faculties', highlighting will as a cultivated instrument.
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 passage states 'the riddle attributed to the Greek Sphinx... are an equally expressive image of man , and his aim', linking the symbolic structure of the Arcanum directly to the human condition and cosmic stages.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The passage structures Initiation into 'twelve hours or phases' and references specific Arcana numbers (10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th), indicating a reliance on numerical symbolism.
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 passage references 'active and passive' principles and the movement between Death (Inertia) and Resurrection (Evolution), suggesting a play of opposites.
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
The passage explicitly describes Initiation as a 're-ascension' where the being must 'retrace in an inverse sense... every stage by which the α has been disintegrated', mirroring the descent to complete the synthesis.
The Hermetic doctrine of a measured swing or pendulum motion between poles — action and reaction, flow and outflow, rise and fall — operating in mental, physical, and cosmic-historical registers alike. Distinct from apocatastasis (cosmic-scale eschatological restoration after vast cycles) in naming a constant, ever-present oscillation rather than a singular restorative event.
The text describes 'Involution stops and Evolution commences' and the 'twelve hours or phases of Initiation', implying a cyclical or rhythmic progression of states.
The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.
The Neophyte must 're-descend to his first steps in Evolution... to become acquainted with all the degrees... that he has passed through', implying a deep knowledge of one's own evolutionary history is required for mastery.
The living practitioner's deliberate trance-journey into spirit, underworld, or upper realms — Lemminkainen's descent into Tuoni and Wainamoinen's entry into Wipunen's body in the Kalevala, the Siberian shaman's drum-mediated travel, Inuit angakkuq's submarine journey to Sedna, classical katabasis as ritual technique. The practitioner returns with knowledge, songs, lost-words, or a recovered soul. Distinct from psychopomp_journey (which guides the *dead* soul through afterlife realms) and from spiritual_ascent (which is the soul's *upward* return to source); shamanic_journey is the *living* practitioner crossing into ordinarily-inaccessible domains as a worked technique.
The Neophyte must 'descend... into the depths of hell, there to discover Death and to overcome him', resembling a deliberate descent into lower realms for mastery.
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The text details the 're-ascension' of Initiation and the Neophyte's need to 'will to raise thyself towards the transcendent regions', framing the path as a staged journey upward.
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The goal is described as becoming 'regenerate man' like Christ and mastering transcendental faculties, implying a transformation of the human state.