The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 102 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Page 46 (part 5)
He first descends through the spiritual decade (Sceptre and Cup) (see the figure), traversing numbers of increasing complexity: King, 1, 4, 7, then 10 By this 10, the multiple unity, limit of materialization, which unites the two portions of the decade Sceptre-Cup, he resumes in an inverse sense, as though by a reascending are, the road which will lead him back to plate X., remounting the 4, 7, 10, and King of Cups and Swords, the substantial duad.
This is only one-third of the voyage which the living atom must accomplish in the real world; and, in this first excursion through matter, he has still retained the spiritual character which he received from Yod (י), the characteristic of plate X.; he must now lose this character for that of the following E (ה).
To this end, he passes from plate X., which he has just re-entered, to plate XI.
(ה), the Hermit , the veiled Lamp , to pass in the same way as he has already done through the dual series of the Sceptre-Cup, through the Queens, the 2, 5, and 8, passing by the 10 of Cups, and remounting by it through the second series, Sword-Pentacles, to the arcanum XI., the starting-point of this second excursion.
Finally, from this last arcanum he passes to number XII.
(י), the Sacrifice , descends the neuter series of the Knight , 3, 6, 9 of Sceptres and Cups, crosses the 10 of Swords and the 10 of Pentacles, and remounts by the dual Swords and Pentacles to the intelligible world.
His journey across the material world is completed; he has travelled over the Zodiac; he will now die; the arcanum XIII.
is ready for him, and will give him access to the spiritual world, to the Redemption.
We will now explain some other features of this distribution.
It divides the external circle of the Equator into 3 arcs, subdivided into 4 portions; in all 12 divisions of different characters.
These are the 12 signs of the Zodiac.
The first is naturally ranked with the first card of the minor arcana in the spiritual sector, i.
e.
the King of Sceptres (Spades); the second corresponds with the King of Cups, and so on to the twelfth.
One observation will suffice to justify the connection between the zodiac and our cards.
We must note the 12 divisions of the circle into the triple repetition of the 4 letters of the Sacred Name; an operation legitimized by the remark already made, that these 4 colours correspond with these letters (see Fig.
2 , in the intermediate circle, where the signs of the Zodiac are written).
We at once recognize the 4 trigons of the Zodiac, corresponding with the elements which the 4 colours also represent, and these trigons are characterized as well as designated.
The fiery trigon ( , , ), corresponding with the Sceptre and the letters יוי, is swayed by the spiritual element.
The earthy trigon ( , , ), corresponding to the Cup and to the letters ההה namely, two E's of the name of 3 letters, and the final E of the name of 4 letters--an essentially feminine character, substantial, but of superior order.
The airy trigon ( , , ), corresponding to the Sword and the letters והה swayed by the masculine element of the second order.
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 text explicitly links Tarot cards, Zodiac signs, elements, colors, and Hebrew letters as interconnected reflections of the same cosmic structure.
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 connection between colors, letters, elements, and zodiac signs implies a hidden affinity binding these cosmic parts together.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage describes a structured descent and ascent through spiritual and material levels (plates X-XIII), reflecting a hierarchical flow of existence.
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 text distinguishes between masculine and feminine characters associated with specific letters and elements (e.g., 'essentially feminine character' for Earth/Cup).
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 journey of the 'living atom' mirrors the structure of the Zodiac and cosmic divisions, suggesting a reflection of the whole in the part.