General Book of the Tarot: I. The Doctrine: The Lesser Arcana
THE LESSER ARCANA
The pack of cards of the Lesser Arcana has been generally acknowledged as the origin of our ordinary playing-cards, though subsequent authorities do not wholly agree upon this point. Thus we find Dr. Papus saying:
". . . wands have become the clubs (or trèfles) of our present playing-cards, cups have become hearts, swords have become spades and pentacles have become diamonds." (Chapter I.)
Mr. Waite in his Key says:
". . . wands or sceptres . . . diamonds . . . cups correspond to hearts . . . swords answer to clubs . . ."
and finally pentacles "which are the prototype of spades." (P. 37.)
At the basis of Creation are the Four Cosmic Elements, as they were symbolically mentioned by visionaries such as Ezechiel and St. John of Patmos, and taught by astrology of old. It requires no extraordinary intuition of the occult student to recognise in the four colours of our playing-cards or the four suits of the Tarot's Lesser Arcana those four basic Elements: Fire, Earth, Air and Water. The question remains however: Which is which? There must have been a time when knowledge about these matters was nearer at hand than is the case nowadays; the symbols speak for it. A student of Occultism has to pay attention to symbols above all. So what do they tell us? WANDS.--As a matter of fact, curiously enough, all authors agree in naming wands or clubs in the first place. In our set of playing cards the figurative symbol for it is the trefoil (French trèfle)--tri-folio--and Mr. Ouspensky draws the wands bearing leaves which in many instances appear to be threefold--at least they should be. The trefoil or shamrock has always been considered a luck-charm, Porte-bonheur. *
In a way we must regard this symbol as revealing the highest conception of Creation: Trinity pure and simple with only the rudiment of activity indicated, standing still above the circle, as far or as soon as the latter suggests Motion. So wands, clubs or trèfles are most certainly meant as the symbol of the highest element in Creation. The question has often been put as to whether, in the astrological idea of creation, Air or Fire ought to be regarded as the highest element. The answer depends upon the standpoint we take. In the highest cosmological or cosmo-philosophical sense it is Fire; in a cosmo-practical or cosmo-natural sense it is Air, as the Secret Doctrine undoubtedly makes us understand, where the dissolution of cosmos at the end of a Manvantara is treated of and it is said that the Earth is dissolved or engulfed by the Waters, Water evaporated by Fire, and finally Fire disappearing in the Air. Here Air is acting as the atmosphere of the globe or system disappearing. So for all practical uses, in astrology as well, it is Air which is able to give the highest expression of the Divine. As the atmosphere of a globe it is the link between The symbol in playing-cards is drawn in the natural likeness of a heart. There is as little doubt concerning Among playing-cards cups cannot be anything else but diamonds--in French: carreaux--the two different names giving expression to exactly the same idea: that of the soul or persona of the spirit. The diamond is a jewel which allows the light to pass almost without any loss; the purer its 'water' the less the loss and the higher its value, which is the reason why Occultists call a perfected soul a 'Diamond-Soul.' The French and the Dutch use the same simile in a Without a shadow of doubt cups stand for diamonds or carreaux and for the element Water. Ordinary divination correctly ascribes to cups the property of ruling money matters, because the soul is, in fact, the producer of work, which results in the production of 'money.' The figure for diamonds in playing-cards is a square standing on one point, the opposite point reaching upwards. This symbolises the soul in its chief characteristic, standing on one end, one-pointedly directed towards Heaven or spirit and on the other hand one-pointedly directed towards Earth or matter, and squaring the Two within itself. One who really understands this may well be called a 'square man.' SWORDS.--Not much choice is left with regard to the fourth suit or colour. Perhaps a sword looks more like a magic instrument than a spade, but both are made of iron, which 'cleaves' the Earth or 'the body of Earth.' Originally the sword and spade had the same meaning. Compare the Spanish espada and the French épée for sword. A later meaning of 'spade' became that of the agricultural tool. In one way, viz. as a physical instrument, the emblem of executive power, the sword has much the same meaning as the wand or club: both are instruments of command, compelling obedience. The difference lies in the nature of the element used: wands compel by reason, intelligence, understanding, moral force; swords enforce obedience to laws of Earth, material necessity, actual resistance. This means also, that wands open moral, intellectual and reasonable possibilities, swords give material opportunities. Both these suits start from the First house or Aries, as will be worked out further hereafter, the one leading up from the beginning of Intelligence, the other from the beginning of activity in Matter. The swords wound or even kill, they sever the rotten limb from the otherwise healthy body, for which reason the sword became the symbol for discrimination between practical usefulness and practical uselessness. From this, practical ideas of Right and Wrong, Good and Evil spring into being. To wound and to kill is to destroy partially or wholly a body of Earth. This must not be regretted, as Shri Krishna explains, because it is only destroying maya, misleading appearances. That which is an The symbolic figure drawn for spades in playing-cards is the reverse of that for hearts, plus a design at the top reminding us of the cross upon the circle in the symbol of the planet Mars: it appears also to signify something in the nature of the heart oppressed by the cross of matter. That ordinary divination takes spades as malific as it makes hearts benefic, will be clear from the above. WANDS: 1 and King Aries or I house 2 „ Queen Taurus „ II „ 3 „ Page Gemini „ III „ 4 „ Knight Cancer „ IV „ 5 Leo „ V „ 6 Virgo „ VI „ 7 Libra „ VII „ 8 Scorpio „ VIII „ 9 Sagittarius „ IX „ 10 Capricornus „ X „ Page Aquarius „ XI „ Knight Pisces „ XII „ 1 and King Leo or V house 2 „ Queen Virgo „ VI „ 3 „ Page Libra „ VII „ 4 and Knight Scorpio or VIII house 5 Sagittarius „ IX „ 6 Capricornus „ X „ 7 Aquarius „ XI „ 8 Pisces „ XII „ 9 Aries „ I „ 10 Taurus „ II „ Page Gemini „ III „ Knight Cancer „ IV „ 1 and King Sagittarius or IX house 2 „ Queen Capricornus „ X „ 3 „ Page Aquarius „ XI „ 4 „ Knight Pisces „ XII „ 5 Aries „ I „ 6 Taurus „ II „ 7 Gemini „ III „ 8 Cancer „ IV „ 9 Leo „ V „ 10 Virgo „ VI „ Page Libra „ VII „ Knight Scorpio „ VIII „ 1 and King Aries or I house 2 „ Queen Taurus „ II „ 3 „ Page Gemini „ III „ 4 ,, Knight Cancer „ IV „ 5 Leo „ V „ 6 Virgo „ VI „ 7 Libra „ VII „ 8 Scorpio „ VIII „ 9 Sagittarius or IX house 10 Capricornus „ X „ Page Aquarius „ XI „ Knight Pisces „ XII „
HEARTS:
CUPS:
SWORDS:
