Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot

by Marcus Katz

  Hermetic Papers of A. E. Waite (1987), 164

  Whilst we have no evidence of Pamela’s knowledge of Kabbalah, it seems to us that she was able to intuit a connection to the underlying structure of the Tree of Life through the titles and concepts of the cards that she had likely received. The mapping of the Golden Dawn titles to the card images is relatively consistent, with just one or two exceptions (see previous chapter), and allows us to confidently map the images to the Tree. In doing so, we can illustrate and illuminate patterns within the cards, the images, their meanings, and their application in readings.

  The first and simplest arrangement is to lay the minor cards out on the Tree in terms of their numeration. The aces accord to Kether (1) on the Tree of Life; the tens accord to Malkuth, 10, at the Tree’s base. We first arrange the cards in this pattern in each individual suit. We will explore the cards closely to Waite’s version of the Kabbalah whilst also referencing more contemporary sources.

  The four worlds and their corresponding suits are, from top to bottom:

  The World of Atziluth

  Emanation

  Wands

  The World of Briah

  Creation

  Cups

  The World of Yetzirah

  Formation

  Swords

  The World of Assiah

  Action

  Pentacles

  In the Tree of Life, the eleven Sephiroth (singular, Sephirah) are named as follows:

  1

  Kether

  Crown, diadem, to surround, beseige, wait, encompass

  2

  Chokmah

  Wisdom, experience, knowledge, intelligence, insight, judgment, science, midwifery

  3

  Binah

  Understanding, insight, prudence, reason, discernment

  4

  Chesed

  Mercy, grace, piety, beauty, good will, favour, benefit, love, kindness, charity, righteousness, benevolence, doing good

  5

  Geburah

  Strength, power, force, valour, courage, victory, might, God, hero

  6

  Tiphareth

  Beauty, splendour, magnificance, ornament, honour, glory, boast

  7

  Netzach

  Victory, splendour, glory, truth, power, firmness, confidence,

  eminence; duration, perpetuity, eternity, lasting, enduring;

  to excel, to be superior, strength, blood, to be chief;

  music-master, precentor; to sparkle or shine

  8

  Hod

  Glory, splendour, majesty, renown, ornament, beauty

  9

  Yesod

  Foundation, base, ground, principle, compilation

  10

  Malkuth

  Kingdom, dominion, realm, reign

  We see here that the sixes of the deck accord with the “beauty” of the creative process, whereas the fives are “strength.” This is perhaps why the deck’s midpoint is found in the sixes, which are more harmonious concepts and images than the fives. The deck is based on the layout of the Tree where six is central, not the linear order where five is the middle.

  The Suits as Timing

  As corresponding to the four worlds, we can use this otherwise esoteric doctrine in a very practical way, as another layer of quickly working out the likely timing of an event in a reading. The four worlds model is the manner in which the universe cascades down from the rarified heights of divinity to the mundane of everyday life. As such, everything that happens here happens not only for the purpose we give it, but as something arising from higher principles. The universe does not plan, nor do we do—we plan and the universe does. When we reverse this simple truth in our lives, we believe in problems, but the universe has no such problems.

  So when we map this in an everyday tarot reading, we can tell if the matter is reflecting a situation mixed across worlds, if it belongs to a higher world, or if it is firmly and mainly happening in this one. This also tells us how likely the situation is to manifest in time.

  In tarot terms, when we look at an overall reading, particularly a Celtic Cross or a reading with ten to fifteen cards, the balance of suits corresponding to these four worlds gives us this quick yet profound glimpse of which world a situation is mainly a part and how close it is to manifestation (the world of Assiah, action).

  When you combine this with the overall balance of numbers as we’ve done elsewhere in this book with timing questions, you get an immediate sense of how soon, how immediate, or how far away and unlikely a situation is to actually happen.

  A reading full of aces, twos, threes and wands is just starting in the world of emanation—great for pregnancy questions, not so great for “Will I move house this month?” A reading full of eights, nines, tens, swords, and pentacles is already happening, and is on fixed rails (in the two lower worlds of Yetzirah and Assiah—formation and action).

  Book T

  In Book T, the Golden Dawn’s teachings on the tarot, we have a list of how these numbers manifest within tarot. It’s likely that Waite was drawing on this teaching even if it were not made explicit to Pamela, who would not have advanced to the grade required to receive this material. We do know that as material was hand-copied from student to student, certain elements of it were passed between people beyond their grade.

  The aces are seen as the “root” of each suit and the numbers two through ten described as Kabbalah like so:

  The four Twos symbolize the Powers of the King and Queen just uniting and initiating the Force: But before the Prince and Princess are thoroughly brought into action. Therefore do they generally imply the initiation and fecundation of a thing.

  Realization of action owing to the Prince being produced: The central symbol on each card. Action definitely commenced for good or evil.

  Perfection, realization, completion: making a matter settled and fixed.

  Opposition, strife, and struggle: War; obstacle to the thing in hand. Ultimate success or failure is otherwise shewn.

  Definite accomplishment: thing carried out.

  Generally shew a force transcending the Material Plane: And is like unto a Crown; which, indeed, is powerful, but requireth one capable of wearing it. The Sevens then shew a possible result: which is dependent on the action then taken. They depend much on the symbols that accompany them.

  Solitary success: i.e., success in the matter for the time being: but not leading to much result apart from the thing itself.

  Very great fundamental force: executive power, because they restore a firm basis. Powerful for good or evil.

  Fixed, culminated, complete force, whether good or evil: the matter thoroughly and definitely determined. Ultimating force.

  We will now consider how these various elements of the map overlay each other to create a kabbalistic reading of the minor cards by suit.

  The Tree of Pentacles

  99. Kabbalah of the Minors (Pentacles). Created by Llewellyn Art Department. Cards used reprinted with permission of U.S. Games Systems.
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  Ace: The Gate of Heaven. This is Kether in the world of Assiah, that is, the crown of the world of action. Waite quotes the Kabbala Denudata when expressing how Kether contains all that follows:

  Precisely as in man there exist the four elements in potence but undistinguishable specifically, so in this Crown there were all the remaining numerations.139

  Here we see the four elements of man, crowned with spirit, in the pentagram. The perfect garden—paradise—is shown but also the gate leading to the real world, which must be fashioned in its image.

  The pentacle in the divine hand here shows that all is held in potential. The seed is planted and everything will follow should the seed be tended and nurtured. In a reading this card is extremely positive—in potential—but it is up to the individual to manifest what is possible. It signifies that good work will be rewarded and that everything necessary will be provided to those who take the opportunity when it is presented.

  Two and Three: As the world of action flows from the divine source, here at the top of the Tree it is still abstract and unmanifest. The lower numbers in this system are closer to the source and hence more authentic, powerful, and meaningful, yet at the same time less visible in our everyday life.

  The two is Chokmah in the world of Assiah, all force, energy, and movement, yet not yet expanding. It is the energy of everything, and in delicate balance. Whilst manifesting, it requires just the right touch and hence its importance in a reading. There is a stable balance, and we must not rock the boat. At this level, any upset will cause the energy to fly off in utterly unpredictable directions.

  The Three is the equal to the Two in the Sephirah of Binah, “understanding.” It is all the structure, form, and organisation that opposes the pure energy of the Two. It takes that energy and the potential of the Ace and puts it to work, beginning to plan, create, check, and construct. This card signifies in this light that the plan is coming together and needs to be checked.

  Four and Five: Whilst the image of the Four may not immediately relate to the concept of “mercy” or “love” associated with Chesed, particularly in the world of Action, it has a deeper connection. In the Sepher Yetzirah, Chesed, the Fourth Path, is described as “the Arresting or Receiving Intelligence because it arises like a boundary to receive the emanations of the higher intelligences which are sent down to it.”140 This card is a collector, a hoarder even, although it cannot help but pass on goodness to others, as we will see in the 6 of Pentacles. It signifies a halt, a boundary that must be passed before any progress can be made. On the positive side, it is respite, a hiatus, or a time when nothing will change even if you leave it alone.

  With the Five we see the restriction of Geburah (“severity”) in the world of action. Our characters in this scene are restricted, separated, literally out in the cold. This is the function of Geburah without the mercy of Chesed; it is a sorting apparatus devoid of emotion. This card is the ultimate limit of all work, all material resource; it can only support itself, not attain anything beyond.

  A note on numbers: We can also see in this card that certain numbers work “better” in certain suits. This is in part mapped by the Kabbalah, in that pentacles are far “happier” in the higher numbers, i.e. further down the Tree of manifestation. The world of Assiah/action/pentacles corresponds better to the lower Sephiroth. In the case of Swords, for example, the world of Yetzirah/formation/swords or mental processes is far more suited to the lower numbers higher up the Tree, because they do not like to get fixed and stuck in the world of action.

  Six: In the arranging of the cards in the manner of the Tree of Life, we see that rather than a numerological pattern, they are far more strongly based on a relationship pattern according to the Tree. Thus six is our middle point, not five. It is the centre of the Tree, Tiphareth, “beauty” and the “sweet spot” of the minors in all four suits/worlds.

  Here the beauty of the world of action is in balancing resources universally. It is the child of both Geburah and Chesed, balancing charity and right action in the scales of Justice. This card is the perfection of the work/life balance, giving and taking in equal measure. All aspects of the world are recognised, accepted, and incorporated. It is the card of success, although as Aleister Crowley notes, “Remember that success is temporary; how brief a halt upon the path of labour!”141

  Seven and Eight: Below the veil of Paroketh, the separation line between the upper worlds and the more tangible world of our senses, the pentacles come into their own world. The Seven and Eight show passive and active work, our two possible responses—to react or act, to wait or do, to hold back or to go forth. The Seven corresponds to Netzach, the Sephirah of victory, however the word Netzach also means duration, perpetuity, eternity, and endurance. It carries the sense of time, patience, and nature’s cycles.

  A note on resonances: When we look at the Tree we can discern patterns reflecting down the structure, like light bouncing between reflecting spheres. The Seven, for example, picks up a lower reflection of what is above it (as we will see in the description of the Pillars later) but also a lower arc of reflection of what is above and opposite it. So the seven picks up the direct line of energy from the two above, and a shadow of the Three from across the Tree. In this case, the 7 of Pentacles illustrates the growing energy of the 2 of Pentacles and a lower reflection of the structural nature of the 3 of Pentacles. It is a bit of nurture and a lot of nature, a gardener in a garden.

  You can find these resonances in all the minors as you contemplate their arrangement on the Tree of Life.

  Across the Tree at the base of the Pillar of Form we have the 8 of Pentacles, Hod in the world of action. There is a nice coincidence in that one meaning of the word hod, which is usually translated as “glory,” is “ornament,” and here we see the worker displaying his work as ornaments. The nature of ornament is to decorate, to add beauty to the world, and here the worker is creating, adding value to the world.

  So in the case of the 7 of Pentacles, the worker awaits nature to provide reward, and in the 8 of Pentacles, the worker reallocates resources to add value. In looking at these pairings when arranged on the Tree of Life, we can see how clearly they reflect the fundamental patterns and processes of the universe. It also means that when these cards come up in a reading, we can get an immediate sense of the deepest patterns at work: should the querent leave a job, how will a relationship develop, what is missing from their family life, will the move of house be smooth and profitable—all these are manifestations of “doing or not-doing.”

  Nine: When we reach the bottom of the Tree, we are in fact at its heights; the Tree is depicted in Kabbalah as having its roots in heaven above and its branches in the lower worlds. So from all of the earlier pentacle cards showing the patterns of building and growing, we now see the garden that was promised in the Ace, and for which we were waiting in the Seven, coming to fruition in the 9 of Pentacles. The Nine is the “Yesod” of the Tree of Life, the “foundation.” The word also means “compilation,” so we see a coming-together and fixing of all the promises of the earlier cards.

  This is how we perceive the world of action, the pentacles; as a place in which we dwell, and at the same time, as a place that we cannot know fully. There is always a sense of incompleteness in the garden, always a sense of something more beyond what we feel. This is illustrated no more profoundly than in the 9 of Pentacles. When we realise our desires, they are annulled, so we seek more to fulfil a place that can never be full.

  Ten: In the world of action, the Ten is the very bottom of all the worlds. It is the final synthesis of all things, the ultimate manifestation of the Ace. So it is no surprise that this card features the ten pentacles arranged in a perfect Tree of Life. This is in the foreground, so we can sense that it is the reality of the world, not its map; in fact, the family, the pets, the house, the plants, the symbols, these are the map of the world of Assiah. We can never know directly what reality is; o
ur senses (indicated in the pentacle in the Ace) create a map of the world.

  Having looked at the individual cards and pairs, we will now highlight several of the patterns on the Tree of Life illustrated by the Waite-Smith tarot. We will look at the three vertical pillars, named the Middle Pillar, with the Pillar of Force on the right and the Pillar of Form on the left. We will then look at the relationship between the Ace and the Ten, as picturing the hermetic statement, “as above, so below.”

  Middle Pillar (Ace, 6, 9, and 10): The Middle Pillar is seen as equilibrating the two contending or paired pillars to either side. It functions as the axis through which the divine passes between emanation (One/Ace) and manifestation (Ten).

  In the world of action, this axis is illustrated by the presentation of the pentacles. In the first image, the Ace, a divine hand presents a pentacle, free for any to take. In the Six, in the centre of the Tree, we are asked to balance our resources, as if there are now consequences and responsibilities for all activity in the world. We have passed from true freedom to enlightened self-interest. We then drop down to the Nine and find ourselves having to accept the consequences of all our actions; we come to be in an environment of our own making. It illustrates a magical rule: we become that by which we surround ourselves. Then we see the outward form of all manifestation as we experience it: the family, our work, our relationships, even our pets. This is the beginning and end of life.

  Pillar of Force (2, 4, and 7): In the Pillar of Force, the Two shows the gyroscope, the spinning wheel of energy and motion, in an eternal unity/duality. This energy starts to clump together in the Four and burst out in a structured form in the Eight at the pillar’s base. The appearance of any of these three cards in a reading shows us how the energy of the everyday world is present in the situation; is it live but ungrounded (2), coming together (4) or rooted (8)?