Tarot of the Bohemians: Part I. General Key to the Tarot, Giving the Absolute Key to Occult Science: Chapter VI: The Key to the Major Arcana

 

SECOND TERNARY.--We have stated that the 4 becomes the Yod or active term in the following sequence.

This is realized in the figure below--

 

	4 yod
5 he		2nd he 7
	vau  6

 

 

The 7 acts here as the 4 acted previously, and the same rule applies to all the series in the arcana.

FIRST SEPTENARY.--The application of one law to very different terms has led us so far; we must not abandon this system, but persevere and say--

If in one ternary exist an active term = yod, a passive term = he, and a neuter term = vau, resulting from the two first, why should not the same result be found in several ternaries taken together?

The first ternary is active and corresponds to yod; the second ternary is passive and corresponds to he; the reaction of one ternary upon another gives birth to a third ternary or vau.

Let us make a figure representing this--

 

 

 

The 7 therefore forms the element of transition between one septenary and another.

If we define the analogy between this first septenary and the Yod-he-vau-he, we shall find--

 

	(1--4) י yod
(2--5) ה he		2nd ה he (7)
	vau  ו (3--6)

 

A deduction may be made in passing, from which a great deal of information may be derived, if it be carefully studied: the 4 being only the 1, considered negatively, the 5 is only the 2 considered negatively, whilst the 6 is the negative of 3. It is always the same number under different aspects.

We have therefore defined a first septenary, formed of two opposing ternaries.

 

The two ternaries, positive and negative, will balance each other to give birth to a second septenary and to its term of transition 13. Thus--

 

 

 

But if the two ternaries respectively act as positive and negative, why should not the two septenaries do the same?

The first septenary, taken as a whole, will therefore be positive, relatively to the second septenary, which will be negative.

The first septenary corresponds to yod, the second to he.

	(13--16) yod
(14--17) he		he (19)
	vau  (15--18)

 

 

If the first septenary is positive and the second negative, the third will be neuter, and will correspond with vau. We should have therefore, definitely--

1st, A POSITIVE SEPTENARY = Yod.
2nd, A NEGATIVE SEPTENARY = He.
3rd, A NEUTER SEPTENARY = Vau.

Yet each septenary contains one term which belongs to the preceding septenary, and one which belongs to the following septenary.

Thus the 7 is the 7th term of the first septenary and the 1st term of the second. 13 is the last term of the second septenary and the 1st of the third, etc.

The result is that three terms remain to be classed. These are--

19 ---- 20 ---- 21

These three terms form the last ternary, the ternary of transition between the major arcana and the minor arcana, a ternary which corresponds to the second he, and which may be thus represented--

	(19) yod
(20) he		2nd he (0)
	vau  (21)

 

The last numbered card, which ought correctly to bear the number 22 (or its Hebrew correspondent), closes the Tarot by a marvellous figure, which represents its constitution to those who can understand it. We will return to it presently. Therefore, in the major arcana, the great law is thus definitely represented. (See next page.)

The first septenary corresponds to the Divine World, to God.

The second to Man.

The third to Nature.

Finally, the last ternary indicates the passage from the creative and providential World to the created and fatal world.

This ternary establishes the connection between the major and minor arcana.