Fig. 4
Ace of Wands
Swords
Finally, for the Swords, the recognition is more difficult. Regarding this we should keep in mind that in the Tarot, when there is a group of four factors, the first two are easy to find, the third a bit less, and the fourth quite difficult. This is a diffculty scale to be found frequently and which corresponds to a precise rule, which we will examine in another context, called The Law of Quadruplicity or the Law of 3+1. In the case of this last symbol, reflecting upon its use, we discover that in order to be correctly used, it must cleave...the air! Here then, the last relationship is evident. In any case, as in the aforementioned difficulty scale based on the Law of 3+1, the Ace of Swords as well, which we might have expected to offer confirmation as did the first 3, sets itself apart from the others, becoming the exception. Thus, this is the sense of the rule: 3 elements are the same and one, in the area of the same dynamic, is different. In this Ace, then, instead of finding a clear symbol of the air, we find again, although with differnces it is too early to speak of, fire - as for the preceding Ace of Wands.
Fig. 5
Ace of Swords
With this brief analysis we have discovered, in the Tarot as well, the four elements water, fire, earth, air, perfectly represented by the four series. We reassume all in the following table:
The four Castes
In order to comprehend the richness of the symbolism of these Icons, and its absolute universality, let us compare the Hindu castes and the four series of the Minor Arcana, seeking some connection between the two. This interesting parallelism, in fact, may open the door to a vaster understanding, not only of the specific argument we are examining, but also of the history of the Tarot in general. In the structure of the Minor Arcana, the “figure” cards are characterized by being four, each representing a different personage. What connection may these have with the Castes? The Priests, Bramanas, may be associated with Cups containing liquids, as the chalice is, by definition, one of the more important symbolic elements of rituals. Speaking of which, this is confirmed not only in Christian rites but in Janism42 as well, in which it was used in votive ceremonies. Water itself-associated with Cups-is a purifying element in all traditions.
Fig. 6
The Suit of Cups
Warriors, the Kshatriyas, who fight using arms, as may be easily understood, are connected to Swords.
Fig. 7
The Suit of Swords
And for Merchants, the Vaishyas, who carry out their jobs using money, the rapport with Pentacles (Gold) is just as obvious.
Fig. 8
The Suit of Pentacles
For workers, the Shudras, fully respecting the principle of the Tarot according to which the last element of a sequence of four is the most difficult to understand, the juxtaposition is articulate. As those who work handle tools and use energy, they are associated with Wands, an explicit symbol which recalls the concept of work and of fire, as expressly indicated, not only by the sequence itself, in which figure personages such as the Page and the Knight, represented, as were the ancient builders, in the act of measuring, but also by the first card, the Ace, in which is depicted a large staff of wood, clutched in a fist, surrounded by sparks, that is- energy (fig. 4).
Fig. 9
The Suit of Wands
As we know that the four suits of the Minors, as well as the organization of castes, reflect the symbolism of the element of nature, we arrive at the following conclusions:
Air → Swords → Warriors
Earth → Pentacles → Merchants
Water → Cups → Priests
Fire → Wands → Workers
Demonstrating the perfect parallelism between the 4 suits, the 4 elements and the 4 castes, we have determined the following:
1) The symbolism of the Tarot is universal and brings confirmation and information, also regarding other Traditions.
2) There exists a rapport between something ancient and of very distant geographical extraction with respect to Western doctrines (in this case, Hinduism), which confers a widening of horizons and may stimulate new historical reflections regarding the Ancients.
In soon-to-be published works we will investigate these themes more deeply but for the moment, hoping to have satisfied part of your curiosity, we will now proceed to the analyisis of the general structure of the Major Arcana, which form the other great group of the Tarot.
The Major Arcana
Putting aside the 56 Minor Arcana, we are left with 22 cards. These, called the Major Arcana, are 21 cards numbered in Roman numerals from I to XXI, except one, the Fool, which has no number. Why? As we saw for the Minor Arcana, the distrubution of the Major also follows a criterium founded on logic. Let us begin with a first consideration: although they are 22 units. that does not mean that this number is fundamental. It may seem an unimportant point, but to underestimate it would be a serious mistake. In fact, the idea that this number might be of particular importance generated the conviction, on the part of esoterists of past centuries, that it was necessary to associate the cards to the Cabala and to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet: this was one of the most glaring errors of the past. The Tarot, actually, has no need to be explained through the Cabala nor by any other sacred text; because, being itself a silent book composed of images, it is perfectly independent, containing, in the thousands of pages to decodify, every indispensale explanation.
What then must be our reasoning? If the total of the numbered Major Arcana is not 22 but 21, there must be a reason. We wish to stress that this mode of thinking, with respect to the Tarot, is quite new. In fact, since the Fool has no number, in many decks it has been initialed with the symbol “0”. These authors, unaware of the Coded Structure, believing the personage to indicate the totality and circularity of being, numbered it thinking to correct an imprecision present in the cards, without realizing that its absence is quite meaningful. In fact, why not judge it to be a precise and voluntary indication intentionally inserted by the ancient creators of the Tarot? If it has no number, it means that it is not part of the group of cards numbered 1 to 21 and therefore stands alone. Inferring simply in this manner, we find ourselves, as in mathematics, with two well-defined groups of Arcana:
1st group: The Fool
2nd group: the cards from 1 to 21
Fig. 10
Group without number: the Fool
Fig. 11
Group of numbered cards
Let us now reflect on the 21 cards in order to understand the function of the Fool. How to proceed? Having imagined a logic, let us endeavor to apply it.
With respect to the entire structure of the Tarot, we have seen that the composition of the Minor Arcana awakens no perplexity. In fact, as in the best puzzles, where a part of the solution is already given to provide a basis of reference, let us use what we already know. We know that their total is divisable by two numbers, 4 and 14:
14 x 4 = 56 Minor Arcana
And if it were possible to do the same with the Major Arcana? That is, if this group also might be divisible by two numbers? Using 21 and not 22 (!), we find that the only possible combination is offered by 3 and 7:
3x7 = 21 Major Arcana
Proceeding in this way we arrive at the disposition of the cards according to a very precise scheme, a Diagram,44 which allows the revelation of the presence of the Coded Structure of the Major Arcana. This order follows:
Fig. 12
The 3x7 Diagram
We will fully study this Diagram, called the Triple Septenary, in the next chapter. However, from what has been said already, it appears evident that the general peculiarity of the MajorArcana (which indeed follows this distribution) is the connection to the numbers 3 and 7, two sacred numbers in close relation with each other and with the spiritual world. This is not an unimportant aspect because, in this way we discover that if th
e Minor Arcana possess a close tie with the terrestrial world, the Major have a precise connection with the celestial, already evident from an overview, by the “supernatural” characteristics of the design.
Minor Arcana → Terrestrial World.
Major Arcana → Celestial World.
What is possible to learn from comparing these two groups of cards? Why do they propose this connection between Earth and Heaven? Before we can answer, we must introduce another essential theme: Dualism.
3.2 Dualism
Dualism, apart from its numerous variants, whose analysis would exceed the purpose of this book, is a philosophy according to which everything in the universe is composed of two principles in sharp contrast. These essences, one celestial and one terrestrial, together create Unity, manifesting in this way their reciprocal interdependence. Although Pythagoras spoke of them in the VI century BC, and although this doctrine was the requisite condition for multiple forms of Gnosticism, of which it is one of the fundamental theoretical pillars, it is something even more remote. Palaeolithic art, for example, reflected it in forms of surprising complexity, through figures of animals with masculine or feminine characteristics or with the contemporaneous, superimposed association of several species, as horse and bison, in which one subject was the expression of the masculine and one of the feminine. Such a remote genesis is ascribable to the fact that Dualism is not a simple philosophical or religious concept but belongs to our world; it is inborn to it because it describes and represents it. Concerning this, it is enough to reflect upon certain dualistic manifestations that accompany us in our daily lives, such as day and night, man and woman, hot and cold, life and death, and so on. But what is its importance within our own context? What does it offer us? Let us begin with an hypothesis:
dualism is at the basis of the teaching of the Tarot.
The Swiss psychiatrist Karl Gustav Jung, one of the founding fathers of modern psychology, taught that in every person there are opposite essences, the “inferior” ego and the “superior” Self. It is not necessary to examine the countless nuances of this concept but it is in any case indispensable that we comprehend that, according to this hypothesis, man is composed of two principles: Personality and Soul.
The first, the ego, is terrestrial, weak, timid and fearful and leads us towards a life based on fear and suffering... The Soul, the superior and heavenly Self, on the contrary, is the altruistic element characterized by the quality of self-awareness, founded upon joy and hope. Our ordinary consciousness moves inside the personality but knowing better the particular traits of both, we may discover when it is, that the Soul has more influence, as one who walks along a path of interior evolution.
The dualistic vision is not the exclusive prerogative of certain psychological currents of thought, but concerns, although in different forms and modalities of presentation, even the diverse interpretations of the authentic initiatic Traditions. Very briefly, these teach that human beings should tend to realize an improvement in their capacities of control of emotions, sensations and thoughts, in order to render the personality (which is governed by these principles) more docile and open to a meeting with the Soul. For example, control of the mind, our principal tool of investigation, usually distinguished by logical and rational thought, allows us entry to the world of Intuition, which is the most direct means of communication with the Soul, and is the modality by which human beings may receive thoughts of a superior level. Although this last faculty cannot be classified as a regular and predictable manifestation, it is scientifically recognized as a true and efficacious capacity. In fact, as women know better than men do, it is a precise form of awareness that may be learned and trained through a gradual work of improvement and perfection of oneself. Therefore, the Jungian hypothesis is a modern adaptation of the thousand-year-old teachings of Sacred Scriptures, Western and Eastern. Thus, the possible discovery of a dualistic framework in the Coded Structure, would be revealed as not only essential for understanding the Tarot, but also perfectly coherent with the ancient traditional wisdom. Having stated beforehand that in the Arcana Dualism is ubiquitous, let us endeavour to understand how it is expressed in the design of the cards, beginning with some particular examples.
Dualism: some unusual cases
In the Tarot Dualism, however expressed by heterogeneous modalities, is codified through the contrast between two elements present on the same card or on two different cards Therefore, in whatever opposition (Male/Female, Dressed/Nude, Gaze tuned to right/Gaze turned to left and so on, on a long list), there is always a subterranean dualistic sense. Various images follow for comparison.
Fig. 13
Standing - Seated
Fig. 14
In movement - Still
Fig. 15
Male - Female
Fig. 16
Human - Angel
Fig. 17
Dressed - Nude
Fig. 18
Man - Animal
All these criteria, independently from their specific differences, clearly bearers of more and distinctive meanings, always suggest the same idea of Antithesis. This because ultimately, the principal objective of this teaching is to emphasize the rapport of contraposition and mutual relationship between the Earth (the terrestrial and material) and the Heavens (the celestial and spiritual). In man, this antithesis is expressed by the two parts, inferior and superior, incarnated by the two principles called personality and Soul. Therefore, the relevant form of Dualism elaborated in the Tarot, to which every other duality leads back, is Matter-Spirit.
As example, let us analyze what individuation in the cards of Male-Female antagonism, entails.
Dualism: Male-Female
In the 3x7 Diagram, just at the beginning, a relevant fact regarding the principle of the entire deck, there is a couple twice over, as suggested by the name itself of the cards, namely, the Empress and the Emperor on one side and the Hierophant and the High Priestess on the other:
Emperor-Empress and High Priestess-Hierophant
Fig. 19
Empress-Emperor
Fig. 20
High Priestess - Hierophant
In the couple, we find not only Male-Female Dualism but also Terrestrial-Celestial Dualism as, symbolically, the feminine leads to the concept of Mother-Earth and the male, to that of the Heavenly Father. The dualistic concept, however, is expressed also in other forms.
The first couple governs the temporal and material world; while the second rules over the spiritual and divine. We are still facing a terrestrial-celestial Dualism, which confirms our supposition:
Empress + Emperor → Terrestrial World
High Priestess + Hierophant → Celestial World.
If we look more closely, we discover another interesting detail: the sceptres of the Emperor and the Empress symbolize the Earth44 symbolically represented by a circle and a cross, while in the Hierophant (on his pastoral staff) and the High Priestess (on her breast); instead, there are Three Crosses. These symbolize the Heavens, by the circle of the Zodiac which, having 12 astrological signs disposed in a circle, may be divided precisely by three crosses.45
Fig. 21
The two Sceptres
Fig. 22
The 3 Crosses
Fig. 23
The Zodiac and the 3 Crosses
Comprehending Dualism, means causing fragments of an exact teaching to appear. Specifically, the individuation of a terrestrial couple might suggest that its members are more connected to the personality; the presence of the celestial couple, on the contrary, might indicate a connection with the idea of the Soul. In order to further confirm this reasoning, let us observe the order of the four figures along the first row of the 3x7 Diagram.
Fig. 24
Lower row- Terrestrial of the 3x7 Diagram
We note that in the terrestrial couple, the two subjects are in sequence and lo
ok at one another. We may deduce that, in order to stay together, they must interest themselves each in the other, forming a couple that, close-knit, is perhaps somewhat internalized in itself. This is their natural condition, because the disposition of the cards is in an ascending and progressive order (III and IV). In the case of the Hierophant-High Priestess, on the other hand, the two figures have their backs turned naturally to each other, they take no interest one in the other. Not because they do not love each other, but because their being together is an existing condition even while they care for others or for other things, outside their union.
The Tarot Code Page 8