QUALITIES OF IMAGERY The symbolism used is powerful and intricate a review of any Major Arcana reveals many influences at work. Occult Hermetic Qabalah arose alongside and united with the Christian Cabalistic involvement in the European Renaissance, becoming variously Esoteric Christian, non-Christian, or anti-Christian across its different schools in the modern era. Sadly there are some things that you cannot tear apart to see how they work. Crowley, of course, does the same in his deck, but the symbols are frequently less clear than portrayed here. As a Golden Dawn study deck, the card images are fundamentally focused on alchemical and astrological references such as the decans in the Minor Arcana, with the deck outfitted for theurgy. Based on the esoteric workings of the Secret Order of the Golden Dawn. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Godfrey Dowsons subtle black and white designs emphasize the Golden Dawns astrological attributes with further sephirotic, angelic, geomantic, numerical, and kabbalistic elements. Hermetic Qabalah (from Hebrew (qabalah) 'reception, accounting') is a Western esoteric tradition involving mysticism and the occult. Pico's Hermetic syncretism was further developed by Athanasius Kircher, a Jesuit priest, hermeticist and polymath, who wrote extensively on the subject in 1652, bringing further elements such as Orphism and Egyptian mythology to the mix.[22]. U.S. Games Systems has proudly reissued the Hermetic Tarot deck in recognition of its historical and artistic importance. After shuffling, three cards are drawn and placed around the significator or signifier card (S). Both Jewish tradition and mainstream academic scholarship understand Kabbalah to have originated from within the Judaism, developing concepts and ideas from earlier Medieval Jewish neoplatonism. Sure, the card descriptions arent going to transfer, because the artists have gone in different stylistic and symbolic directions, but the interpretative approach is aligned enough for any of these texts to be instructive. In 1967, a limited edition of 200 copies of The Book T appeared in Great Britain and it was reproduced again in 1978 by Robert Wang in An Introduction to The Golden Dawn Tarot. Its not impossible, just statistically improbable , So right now Im going to have a single-shot trial, shuffle lots and cut once. teaches esoteric psychology, occult tarot, Hermetic Qabalah, astrology, and meditation. I think Im just too indoctrinated from having worked with King, Queen, Knight, and Page for so long that for the rest of this lifetime, I guess Im just going to have to operate the tarot with Waites blinds on. 2) Rider Waite (1909) The early members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn were encouraged to prepare personal Tarot packs for their own use based upon Mathers deck and his work. It is similar to theJewish angelic hierarchy. in your submit is simply great and i could assume you are knowledgeable in this The back design of The Hermetic Tarot deck is a rose in full bloom. 3 Pents: 4 The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active for only about fifteen years, and yet consider the scope and breadth of their influence in Western occultism, especially in the world of tarot. The Hermetic Tarot $22.00 Based Upon the Esoteric Workings of the Secret Order of the Golden Dawn By Godfrey Dowson Quality Tarot Cards measure 2.75" x 4.625" Includes a 70-page instruction Book U.S. Games Systems has proudly reissued the Hermetic Tarot deck in recognition of its historical and artistic importance. (erel) - perhaps a hero", "Strong's Hebrew: 2830. About us. But symbols pop up, certain imagery, and they prompt you to look at the problem youve been obsessing over from a new perspective. Meanwhile, per the notes in the LWB, the shield depicts a lion that is uncontrolled, in contrast to the maiden and the lion. It draws on a great many influences, most notably: Jewish Kabbalah, Western astrology, Alchemy, Pagan religions, especially Egyptian and Greco-Roman (it is from the latter that the term Hermetic is derived), neoplatonism, gnosticism, the Enochian system of angelic magic of John Dee and Edward Kelley, hermeticism, tantra and the symbolism of the tarot. We have indicated the strict correspondence between the 10 planets, 12 zodiacal signs, and Here, the triquetra symbol is invoked to draw out the trinity of cosmic forces that the seeker must command in order to stay in control of his or her situation at hand. Not surprisingly, as time went on and new members copied decks based upon previously drawn cards, the variances and modifications grew more and more pronounced. It depicts an introverted phase of life, separating ourselves from foreign influences, so that we find ourselves again in peace and out of our zealous activity and, above all, ourselves. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Moreover, some imagery in the Hermetic Tarot are reminiscent of the Thoth, such as Key 12, The Hanged Man, Four of Cups, or Ten of Wands, among others. ; "The Holy Kabbalah", University Books, 1971, p 554-557. Also, how you interpret the cards is very telling about where you are at in terms of your thought process. important esoteric tarot packs of the 20th century. by David Vine, The Magickal Botanical Oracle: Plants from the Witchs Garden, SKT Revelation 2nd Printing: Status Update, AI Art Controversy: The Libran Perspective =). The secondary key title here is Children of the Voice Divine. (See Regardies The Golden Dawn, Book 8: Divination, The Tarot Trumps.). The Hermetic Tarot comes with a 70-page LWB, which is thicker than most, which details astrological attributions for the cards and the numerological correlations of the Minor Arcana with the Tree of Life. B.O.T.A. I highly recommend this deck to all students of Tarot and use it consistently in all Workshops offered at the Studio. However, Hebrew letters rather than actual card names depict the paths on the Tree. A slightly different description of the cards is found in The Book T: The Tarot by S.R.M.D. Dowsons pen and ink drawings for the Hermetic Tarot were done between 1975 and 1977, with the deck published by U.S. Games in 1980. Copyright 1996 - 2022 Aeclectic Tarot. RWS Queen QUEEN Some authors see the origins of Qabalah not in Semitic/Jewish mysticism or ancient Egyptian Gnosticism, but in a western tradition originating in classical Greece with Indo-European cultural roots, later adopted by Jewish mystics. Key 8 is Strength (or Fortitude) and Key 11 is Justice in this deck. By C.C. The paths also correspond to the 22 letters in the hebrew alphabet, which is why those symbols appear on the cards in the hermetic tarot. This black & white Tarot is unsurpassed as a study deck or teaching deck. While the human figure is inverted in The Hanged Man, so is the ankh, and since both are aligned, it is the viewer who is upside down, though we presume ourselves to be right side up. From Kether emanate the rest of the sephirot in turn, viz. 6 Pents: 2 Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. And then we have the Princesses, corresponding with the Pages, and the second Heh force of the Tetragrammaton. The cards are set down in the formation of a triquetra in the order illustrated above. It is a simple spread that draws on three cards only, which will keep reading with the Hermetic Tarot under control, as the deck is black and white and detail-intensive. If you step back from wanting a "pretty" deck and allow yourself to work with a deck that speaks plainly and at all levels at the same time, then the Hermetic Tarot is a deck for you. According to this view, "Hermetic Qabalah" would be the original Qabalah, even though the word itself is Judaic Hebrew, over the Christian Cabalah or the Jewish Kabbalah. Even fun, flighty, not-at-all-occult mass produced pop tarot decks are unintentionally influenced by the Golden Dawn. This manner of applying many attributions to each sephirah is an exemplar of the diverse nature of Hermetic Qabalah. Hermetic Qabalah holds to the Neoplatonic conception that the manifest universe, of which material creation is a part, arose as a series of emanations from the godhead. These qualities alone improve the student's ability to grasp the possibility of deeper levels of understanding in the book of Tarot and to expand the readers' scope of divination. The courts are ranked: Knights (corresponding to the element Fire), Queens (Water), Kings (Air), and Princesses (Earth), where the Knights represent the Yod force of the Tetragrammaton. Stuart Kaplan co-wrote the LWB that comes with the cards. Their esoteric teachings, and secret society structure of an outer body governed by a restricted inner level of adepts, laid the format for modern esoteric organisations. Key 0 - THE FOOL Kingdom Within Tarot Like DuQuettes deck, Enochian magic is also integrated into some of the symbolism in Hermetic Tarot the background grid on Key 12 looks like a blanked version of the four Watchtower Qudrangles from Israel Regardies Book 9: The Angelic Tablets in The Golden Dawn. [citation needed] It draws on a great many influences, most notably: Jewish Kabbalah, Western astrology, Alchemy, Pagan religions, especially Egyptian and Greco-Roman (it is from the latter that the term "Hermetic" is derived), neoplatonism, gnosticism, the Enochian system of angelic magic of John Dee and Edward Kelley, hermeticism, tantra and the symbolism of the tarot. I had a try at devising a system myself once, based on archetypes of various kinds. And of course, theres CrowleysBook of Thoth. This system sets Anglo-American esoteric Tarot apart from the continental Tarot traditions of Etteilla, Paul Christian, Eliphas Levi, Wirth and Papus. The booklet also gives instructions for the classic ten-card Celtic Cross layout and presents a chart of the elemental and astrological symbols, and a diagram of the ten spheres and 22 Hebrew Letters of the of the 22 Paths of the Tree of Life. Maybe. The original artwork for the Hermetic Tarot deck was executed between 1975 to 1977 by the artist and is now is included in the Stuart and Marilyn R. Kaplan Playing Card Collection. [dubious discuss], Jewish Kabbalah was absorbed into the Hermetic tradition at least as early as the 15th century when Giovanni Pico della Mirandola promoted a syncretic worldview combining Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Hermeticism and Kabbalah. Here we introduce two important Jewish concepts, the Hebrew "devakut" ( ) means "cleaving" to God, or devoting your task, no matter if it is reading, painting or singing, to HIM, and being open to HIS presence. Richardson, Alan, The Magical Life of Dion Fortune, Aquarian Press, 1991, p. 137, Last edited on 19 November 2022, at 10:04, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, texts from within a religion or faith system, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Strong's Hebrew: 691. THE HERMETIC TAROT listed in:, Deadwick's Tarot Pat Zalewskiis a student of Jack Taylor, who was, in turn, a student ofRobert FelkinsGolden Dawn school, as taught in New Zealand after Felkin emigrated there. They only feature a certain number of symbols. . For me, I live life through making informed decisions. Interpretations of the cards are given as "Dignified" and "Ill-dignified", which in my opinion is far more freeing to the reader than the standard "Reversed" interpretations given by so many decks. The Spiritual Life 2010 - 2030. For the Nine of Pentacles, he writes, The pentacles are gently turning, suggesting the gradual exhaustion of the original whirling energy. But then in the Ten of Pentacles, those disks arenotmoving. If the Hermetic Tarot was in color, and colored per GD correspondences, you'd see the green that connects The Empress to Justice, where both feminine figures are robed in green, though The Empress should wear a more emerald green while Lady Justice is in a cooler-toned green. The art style here gives me strong M.M. U.S. Games Systems has proudly reissued the Hermetic Tarot deck in recognition of its historical and artistic importance. The origin of the Tarot is unknown, however, the connection between these disciplines (and also that of Alchemy) is obvious. Privacy Policy & Disclaimer. Spiral Tarot. It is a set of tables of correspondences relating various parts of ceremonial magic and Eastern and Western religion to the thirty-two numbers representing the ten spheres (Sephiroth) plus the twenty-two paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. See More Sample Cards Read Full Reviews Deck Info Support Us and Buy This Set at: Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk According to Golden Dawn texts (see, e.g., Regardie), the Wheel is the revolution of experience and progress, and therefore on this tarot card, the key icons is the zodiac wheel. The demons of madness and despair are released from ancient hiding places, and nature conspires with human failings to destabilize a society. In creating Ethereal Visions Tarot, Matt Hughes has drawn inspiration from the Art Nouveau movement, adopting its distinctive style and meticulous approach to craftsmanship. For example, the sephirah Hod has the attributions of: Glory, perfect intelligence, the eights of the tarot deck, the planet Mercury, the Egyptian god Thoth, the archangel Michael, the Roman god Mercury and the alchemical element Mercury. Or one week three different people will come up to me at various times to talk about astrology and all three will be ascendant sign Aquarius? Samael Aun Weorhas written many significant works that discuss Kabbalah within many religions, such as the Egyptian, Pagan, and Central American religions, which is summarized in his workThe Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah. . [26][27], Paul Foster Case (18841954) was an American occultist and author of influential books on occult tarot and Qabalah. Each of these aspects will (Oops, I didnt mean that for you. RWS Page PRINCESS I imagine that in the Land Of The Colour-blind a person with full vision would be very loudly scoffed at, derided and possibly even locked away as quite insane. We all through the why does this XYZ card keep on popping up in all my readings? That XYZ card changes, too. The following are interesting metatheses of the letters of TARO: TORA (Hebrew) = Law; TROA (Hebrew) = Gate; ROTA (Latin) = wheel; ORAT (Latin) = it speaks, argues, or entreats; TAOR (Egyptian) = Tur, the Goddess of Darkness; ATOR (Egyptian) = Athor, the Egyptian Venus. teaches esoteric psychology, occult tarot, Hermetic Qabalah, astrology, and meditation. These are conceptualised somewhat differently in Hermetic Qabalah to the way they are inJewish Kabbalah. . Kaplan remarks about the Hermetic Tarot that it is a compelling reconstructed version of the tarot that undoubtedly will take its place as one of the most important esoteric tarot decks published during the twentieth century.. Made according to the design of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and published by Israel Regardie and Aleister Crowley. Zalewski has published numerous works on Hermetic Qabalah and the Golden Dawn tradition. In contrast, Hermeticists have taken different views of Qabalahs origins. [21] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (14861535), a German magician, occult writer, theologian, astrologer, and alchemist, wrote the influential Three Books of Occult Philosophy, incorporating Kabbalah in its theory and practice of Western magic. [citation needed] Hermetic Qabalah differs from the Jewish form in being a more admittedly syncretic system, however it shares many concepts with Jewish Kabbalah. The stories that unfold within the minor arcana can be thought . Just try reading a Celtic Cross spread with the Hermetic Tarot and it will become immediately apparent why limiting the number of cards and keeping the message of the cards focused and intense is the better objective when using the Hermetic. Crowley's book Liber 777 is a good illustration of the wider Hermetic approach. Further, the imagery is intriguing, drawing the eye and the mind into infinite possibility and facilitating psychic placement in the vast expanse of the Astral. Cards Major arcana 0. (kerub) - probably an order of angelic beings", 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermetic_Qabalah&oldid=1122734141, Men (man-like beings, phonetically similar to "fires"), This page was last edited on 19 November 2022, at 10:04. Like the Golden Dawn decks preceding it, Aleph is assigned to Key 0, the Spirit of Ether, which Dowson corresponds with the modern planet Pluto (whereas the majority view today assigns Uranus to The Fool card). Overall, the Hermetic Tarot combines the many practical symbolic elements of the RWS and the haute esoteric nature of the Thoth for the creation of one incredible deck that every serious tarot practitioner will want in his or her arsenal. Tarot Card Meanings. RWS KnightKING According to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawns interpretation of theKabbalah, there are tenarchangels, each commanding one of the choirs of angels and corresponding to one of theSephirot. The astrological glyph for Capricorn on the base of the pedestal The name of the archangel Hanael in Hebrew 1 The title "Lord of the Gates of Matter" Let's take a look at a few of these elements to see what we can learn about the Devil in the Hermetic Tarot. Reference to the interpretation of the symbols used is clear. Of the 3 forces, it is likely the most challenging one for the seeker to master. This is still the most common arrangement of the Sephiroth and paths on the tree in Hermetic Qabalah. These attributions enable the Qabalist to form a comprehension of each particular sephirah's characteristics. Crowleys bookLiber 777 is a good illustration of the wider Hermetic approach. [19], In contrast, Hermeticists have taken different views of Qabalah's origins. The Hermetic Tarot Review: In The Blasted Tower, Lord of the Hosts of the Mighty, the old is destroyed to clear way for the new. Rosicrucianism and esoteric branches of Freemasonry taught religious philosophies, Qabalah, and divine magic in progressive steps of initiation. Is there a definitive Tarot pack anywhere? You rock!, Ed, Pingback: A Study of Golden Dawn Decks and the Western Tradition of Occult Tarot benebell wen, Pingback: Oracle of Dr. John Dee by John Matthews and Wil Kinghan benebell wen, Pingback: #only10decks The 10 decks Id take with me benebell wen, Pingback: Reflecting on My SKT Tarot & Art Journey benebell wen, Pingback: Reflecting on My SKT Tarot & Art Journey - Health And Astrology. Hermetic Qabalah differs from the Jewish form in being a more admittedlysyncretic system, however it shares many concepts with Jewish Kabbalah. This flow of light is indicated by the lightning flash shown on diagrams of the sephirotic tree which passes through each sephirah in turn according to their enumerations. This is what accounts for the four suits of the minor arcana. Is he in an army uniform, he was a soldier You now understand Tradition was not Hebrew All the ancient Hermetic and Proclus and Iamblic language in their rituals words in various "barbaric etc. It is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn, Thelemic orders, mystical-religious societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, and is a precursor to the Neopagan, Wiccan and New Age movements. Israel Regardie eventually compiled the more traditional forms of these rituals and published them in book form. There is a great deal to be gleaned from this deck, as it is not "simplified" and thoroughly challenges the novice to become well versed in Hermetics. The Major Arcana are the named or numbered cards in a cartomantic tarot pack, the name being originally given by occultists to the trump cards of a normal tarot pack used for playing card games. Now lets look at the Qabalistic Tree of life to locate the path of the card called Magician. All that said, the Hermetic Tarot is better used for spiritual reflection and meditation than everyday tarot readings to the public.