22. The Book Of Hermesi

On a table in front of him, between an open book and a closed purse, are ten deniers or talismans, arranged in two lines of three each and a square of four; the feet of the table form two ח and those of the Juggler two inverted ר. The obverse side of the medal contains the letters of the alphabet, arranged in a magical square, as follows: It will be observed that this alphabet has only twenty-two letters, the V and N being duplicated, and that it is arranged in four quinaries, with a quaternary for base and key. The four final letters are two combinations of the duad and the triad, and read kabalistically they form the word AZOTH by rendering to the shapes of the letters their value in primitive Hebrew, taking N for א, Z as it is in Latin, V for the Hebrew ו Vau, which is pronounced O between two vowels, or letters having the value of vowels, and X for the primitive TAU, which had precisely the same figure. The entire Tarot is thus explained in this wonderful medal, which is worthy of Paracelsus, and we hold it at the disposal of the curious. The letters arranged by four times five are summed by the word , analogous to those of and INRI, and containing all the Mysteries of the Kabalah. The Book of the Tarot, being of such high scientific importance, it is desirable that it should not be altered further. We have examined the collection of ancient Tarots preserved in the Imperial Library, and have thus collected all their hieroglyphs, of which we have given a description. An important work still remains to be done - the publication of a really complete and well-executed exemplar. We shall perhaps undertake the task. Vestiges of the Tarot are found among all nations. As we have said, the Italian is possibly the most faithful and best preserved, but it may be perfected further by precious indications derived from Spanish varieties. The two of cups, for example, the Naibi is completely Egyptian, showing two archaic vases, with ibis handles, superposed on a cow. A unicorn is represented in the middle of the four of deniers; the three of cups exhibits the figure of Isis emerging from a vase, while two ibises issue from two other vases, one with a crown for the goddess and one holding a lotus, which he seems to be offering for her acceptance. The four aces bear the image of the hieratic and sacred serpent, while in some specimens the Seal of Solomon is placed at the centre of the four of deniers, instead of the symbolical unicorn. The German Tarots have suffered great alteration, and scarcely do more than preserve the numbers of the keys, which are crowded with grotesque or pan-tagruelian figures. We have a Chinese Tarot before us, and the Imperial Library contains samples of others that are similar. M. Paul Boiteau, in his remarkable work on playing-cards, has given some admirably executed specimens. The Chinese Tarot preserves several primeval emblems; the deniers and swords are plainly distinguishable, but it would be less easy to discover the cups and clubs. It was at the epoch of the Gnostic and Manichaean heresies that the Tarot must have been lost to the Church, at which time also the meaning of the divine Apocalypse perished. It was understood no longer that the seven seals of this kabalistic book are seven pantacles, the representation of which we give (facing this page), and that these pantacles are explained by the analogies of the numbers, characters and figures of the Tarot.