The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 124 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
Page 56 (part 2)
We will rather pass on to complete this study of fortune-telling by the Tarot.
SECOND DEAL: Reshuffle all your cards (78) and let them be cut for you.
Take the 17 first cards and arrange them thus-- 17.........................1 Look quickly at the 18th card (it will be under your hand when you have placed the 17 first) and the 78th, which will be found beneath the pack.
The meaning of these two cards will tell you whether any fluidic sympathetic communication is established between the Inquirer and yourself.
You can then read the oracles spoken by the line of cards, commencing as usual on the right.
When your line is read, you pass the 17th card to your right and the 1st to your left, then move the 16th and the 2nd, etc., and so on until the cards have all changed places except the one in the centre.
This card falls on one side.
THIRD DEAL: Take up all your cards, let them be shuffled and cut for you, then arrange them as shown in the following figure, according to the order of the numbers.
You thus obtain Etteila's great figure, which gives the key to the Past, Present, and Future of the person about whose fate you are inquiring.
To use this method successfully you must follow this figure very carefully.
The best plan is to draw it with all its numbers upon a table or a large sheet of cardboard, and then to arrange the cards according to the order of the numbers.
For reading the results of this figure you must take up the cards two by two, the 1st with the 34th, the 2nd with the 35th, etc., for the Past.
The 23rd with the 45th, the 24th with the 46th .
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the 33rd with the 55th, for the Present.
The 12th with the 66th, the 13th with the 65th .
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the 22nd with the 56th, for the Future.
One careful survey of the tableau will render it easily understood.
FOURTH DEAL: The fourth deal is only subsidiary.
By it answers can be obtained to any questions asked.
Shuffle all the cards, let them be cut, and then deal out the first seven of the pack thus-- 7.........................1 then read the answer.
The above system of fortune-telling is based upon Etteila's original method.
We have summed up in these few pages, an--on some points--obscure pamphlet by this author-- The Book of Thoth .
It contains a portrait of Etteila and is very rare, like the other works of this author.
We must add that his method has never been seriously elucidated by any of his numerous disciples; and we believe ourselves to be one of the first to explain it upon simple principles.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Cosmic Sympathycosmology
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 explicitly mentions checking for 'fluidic sympathetic communication' between the Inquirer and the reader as a prerequisite for the divination.
All passages →Esoteric Lineagesoteriology
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 text explicitly references Etteila's original method and 'The Book of Thoth', positioning itself within a chain of transmission from this author.
All passages →Hidden Sayingssoteriology
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The passage notes that Etteila's pamphlet was 'obscure' and his method 'never been seriously elucidated', implying esoteric knowledge being revealed.
All passages →Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The text relies heavily on specific numerical arrangements (17 cards, 18th card, 78th card, pairing 1st with 34th, etc.) to derive meaning from the Tarot spread.
All passages →Related passages · 6 parallels
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“Section 45 45.
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Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Cosmic Sympathy — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)