Astrological Associations of the Tarot

1
Many books on the Tarot give a list of astrological associations for both the Major and Minor Arcana which are attributed to The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Major Arcana are linked to signs and planets while the Minor Arcana (in particular pip cards) are linked to the 36 decans.

I was wondering if anyone knows of the earliest published source that sets out these associations?

I have checked The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A. E. Waite (1911) but I couldn't find any specific astrological associations:

http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/Waite_Tarot.pdf

My mind then turned to Magregor Mathers but Margherita Fiorella has found a link to his book on Tarot which comes up a blank too.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/mathers/index.htm

Aleister Crowley is well known for devising the famous Thoth Tarot deck which was illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris. However, I had thought he altered some astrological associations of the cards from what is traditionally set out as the Golden Dawn system?

So the question remains what original source is the commonly discussed Golden Dawn system of astrological associations of the Tarot derived from?

From various contemporary sources the original Golden Dawn system of astrological associations for the Major Arcana seems to be as follows:

0 The Fool: Air
1 The Magician: Mercury
2 The Priestess: The Moon
3 The Empress: Venus
4 The Emperor: Aries
5 The Hierophant: Taurus
6 The Lovers: Gemini
7 The Chariot: Cancer
8 Justice: Libra
9 The Hermit: Virgo
10 The Wheel of Fortune: Jupiter
11 Strength: Leo
12 The Hanged Man: Water
13 Death: Scorpio
14 Temperance: Sagittarius
15 The Devil: Capricorn
16 The Tower: Mars
17 The Star: Aquarius
18 The Moon: Pisces
19 The Sun: The Sun
20 Judgement: Fire
21 The World: Saturn

At some stage in the 20th century these associations seem to have been amended to incorporate the outer planets. Hence in modern lists of the astrological associations of Tarot card you often see the following attributions:

The Fool (Uranus),
The Hanged Man (Neptune)
Judgement (Pluto)

These were the 3 cards that previously only had elemental associations in the Golden Dawn system rather than specific sign or planet attributions.

This left just earth assigned to The World card so that was later attributed to the planet Saturn by those adapting the Golden Dawn system.

Mark
Last edited by Mark on Sat Feb 07, 2015 3:51 pm, edited 9 times in total.
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

2
Probably the earliest source of astrological associations for the Major Arcana was the French occultist Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) 1810 ? 1875 who created a method of incorporating both the Qabalah and astrology into the symbolism of the Tarot Major Arcana. Levi's system was as follows:

1 The Magician: Air
2 The Priestess: Moon
3 The Empress: Mars
4 The Emperor: Sun
5 The Hierophant: Aries
6 The Lovers: Taurus
7 The Chariot: Gemini
8 Justice: Cancer
9 The Hermit: Leo
10 The Wheel of Fortune: Virgo
11 Strength: Venus
12 The Hanged Man: Libra
13 Death: Water
14 Temperance: Scorpio
15 The Devil: Sagittarius
16 The Tower: Capricorn
17 The Star: Mercury
18 The Moon: Aquarius
19 The Sun: Pisces
20 Judgement: Saturn
21 The Fool: Fire
22 The World: Jupiter

Clearly for Levi the Qabalah came first and the astrology came a very distant second ( or maybe third!)

These associations really dont work from an astrological perspective when you consider Levi has the gentle Empress equated to aggressive Mars, the meek Hermit with exhibitionist Leo and the intuitive Moon card equated with airy Aquarius!

Other occultists also took issue issue with this system of astrological associations in writings as early as the late 19th century.

For example, another French writer known as Papus (G?rard-Anaclet-Vincent Encausse) (1865-1916) was one of the first writers to set out a system of astrological associations for both the Major and Minor Arcana in his work the 'Tarot of the Bohemians' (published in 1889). Papus seems to have been a strong influence on later writers on the Tarot such Mathers ,Waite ,Crowley and Thierens.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/tob/index.htm

Here is the system of astrological associations for the Major Arcana given by Papus:

Major Arcana Attributions
1 The Juggler -No attribution
2 The Priestess: Moon
3 The Empress: Venus
4 The Emperor: Jupiter
5 The Pope: Aries
6 The Lovers: Taurus
7 The Chariot: Gemini
8 Justice: Cancer
9 The Hermit: Leo
10 The Wheel of Fortune: Virgo
11 Strength: Mars
12 The Hanged Man: Libra
13 Death: Water
14 Temperance: Scorpio
15 The Devil: Sagittarius
16 Lightning Struck Tower: Capricorn
17 The Star: Mercury
18 The Moon: Aquarius
19 The Sun: Gemini
20 Judgment: Saturn
0 The Fool: Fire
21 Th The World: 4 elements

Papus also sets out a system linking the decans to the pip cards.

The first work I have been able to identify that exclusively deals with the Tarot and astrology is by A. E. Thierens dating from (1930).

http://sacred-texts.com/tarot/gbt/index.htm

However, the system of astrological attributions laid out by Thierens is radically different from the Golden Dawn and he spends a lot of time criticising the astrological associations set out by Papus. Considering he is writing in 1930 its surprising Thierens doesn't seem to be aware of a Golden Dawn system of astrological associations.

Thierens sets out his associations for the Major Arcana as follows: .

1.The Magician-Aries
2.The High Priestess-Taurus
3.The Empress-Gemini
4.The Emperor-Cancer
5.The Hierophant-Leo
6.The Lovers-Virgo
7.The Chariot-Libra
8.The Justice-Scorpio
9.The Hermit-Sagittarius
10.The Wheel of Fortune-Capricorn
11.The Strength-Aquarius
12.The Hanged Man-Pisces
13. Death-Saturn
14. Temperance-Mercury
15. The Devil-Mars
16.The Tower-Uranus
17.The Star-Venus
18. The Moon-Moon
19. The Sun-Sun
20. The Last Judgement-Jupiter
21. The World-Neptune-Neptune
0. The Fool-Earth/Part of Fortune
Last edited by Mark on Mon Jan 05, 2015 4:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

3
I suppose I should mention another totally different approach to the astrological associations of the Major Arcana.

In his book "Fixed Stars & Constellations in Astrology" (1923) Vivian Robson, sets out a purely sidereal system of astrological correspondences that relate to constellations. "...according to the Kabbalists..." not to signs or planets, but rather to the constellations. From the card titles he gives it seems he is referencing the Rider-Waite Tarot (in 1923 the only generally available Tarot deck-in the English speaking world-was Rider-Waite)

Vivian Robson lists the following correspondences:

Andromeda: The Star
Antinous: The Lovers
Aquarius (constellation): Temperance
Aquila: The Lovers
Aries (constellation): The Hierophant
Auriga: The Devil
Bootes: The Hermit
Cancer (constellation): The Moon
Canis Major: The Moon
Canis Minor: The Moon
Capricorn (constellation): The Wheel of Fortune
Cassiopeia: The High Priestess
Cepheus: The Fool
Corona Borealis: The Emperor
Cygnus: The Last Judgement
Draco: Death
Gemini (constellation): The Sun
Hercules: The Emperor
Leo (constellation): Strength
Libra (constellation): Justice
Lyra: The Emperor
Ophiulcus (Serpentarius): Lightning-struck Tower
Orion: The Magician
Perseus: The Hanged Man
Pisces (constellation): The Star
Sagittarius (constellation): The Lovers
Scorpio (constellation): Lightning-struck Tower
Taurus (constellation): The Magician
Ursa Major: The Chariot
Ursa Minor: The World
Virgo (constellation): The Empress

Like the system of Eliphas Levi this Qabalah inspired system comes up with a few counter-intutive correspondences.

Still, none of this gets me any closer to identifying the original source of the Golden Dawn system. Can anyone help here?

Mark
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

Astrological Associations of the Tarot by Golden Dawn?

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Mark,

The Golden Dawn's teachings on the tarot are to be found in Israel Regardie's "The Golden Dawn: An Account of the Teachings, Rites and Ceremonies of the Order of the Golden Dawn" and versions thereof. They are to be found in a section called "Book T".

As with Levi and Papus's attributions, the Golden Dawn worked on the premise that the Trumps corresponded to the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. These letters have three classifications in the minds of Qabalists. Three are Mother Letters, seven are Double Letters (the sign generally tranliterated B can also be pronounced V, for instance) and twelve are Simple Letters. The 12 Simple Letters correspond to the zodiac signs, the 7 Double Letters to the Seven Planets of the Ancients and the 3 Mother Letters to the Elements Air, Water and Fire. All that is practically set in stone. Disagreements occur between experts as to, for example, which planet should be assigned to which Double Letter, as you have discovered.

The Golden Dawn transposed the trumps Justice and Strength so as to have Leo (the lion on the Strength card) precede Libra (the scales on the Justice card) in the list. This order for the trumps remained secret for many years before being published by A.E. Waite in his tarot.

Where the astrological correspondences for the minor arcana's spot cards in "Book T" come from remains something of a mystery, only solved in part by the notes on the problem given by Paul Huson is his "Mystical Origins of the Tarot".

Melissa

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Thanks Melissa,

I am very grateful for this reference you have given. Ironically, I had thought of Israel Regardie as an original source for this. Its well known that he was the first writer to publicly reveal most of the rituals and ceremonies of the Golden Dawn. A fact that gained him some notoriety in some circles as an ?oath breaker?. I guess the reason I had discounted him was that he didn?t bring out that book until 1978.

Perhaps that was the first time anyone explicitly, revealed the Golden Dawn system of linking the Minor Arcana to the decans. On the Major Arcana though I do wonder if the Golden Dawn attributions hadn?t leaked out before this?

I first got interested in Tarot in my teens around 1980 and at that time I am sure I remember seeing older books listing astrological associations for the Tarot that fit the Golden Dawn system. I don?t possess those books now but I will hunt around.

Your quite right that to really understand the logic of these astrological attributions to the Major Arcana by the Golden Dawn or other occult writers you need a sound understanding of the Qabalah. The Qabalah has never strongly attracted me personally but I can see it is crucial to have some understanding of it to study the western occult tradition.

I was chatting to a friend who is a Tarot teacher who has studied the history of the tarot. Her view is that these 19th century occultists worked on the misconception that all ancient systems (Qabalah, Alchemy, Ancient Egyptian religion, Medieval Magic, Astrology, Tarot, and the Grail tradition) were somehow all part of one unified knowledge system that could be seamlessly pooled together.

Her view which I think has a lot of merit is that these are are totally different traditions and there is no axiomatic reason why they should fuse together as the Golden Dawn and similar western occult groups assumed.

Although, I do personally look for astrological links in the Tarot I prefer a system purely based on astrological logic rather than one mediated through the Qabalah first as you find in Levi, Papus and the Golden Dawn. Having said that the Golden Dawn attributions seem to make much more astrological sense than any of the other early approaches out there.

Mark
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

Astrological Associations of the Tarot by Golden Dawn?

7
Mark,

Regardie's publication of Golden Dawn material first occurred in the thirties, a tetralogy of four books. The two-book format from the seventies was a republication.

Crowley had published much of the G.D. papers and rituals around the turn of the century in The Equinox but copies of this were limited.

Around the time Redgardie was making the G.D. system public, Paul Foster Case was publishing on the Tarot, giving the trumps the same correspondences as the G.D., of which he had been a member. At some point, Case updated from the Mother Elements to the trans-Saturnians, so as to have the Fool equate with Uranus, the Hanged Man with Neptune, and Judgment with Pluto. The Golden Dawn papers do no do this. They were written at the end of the eighteen-eighties/beginning of the eighteen-nineties when Pluto was yet to be discovered.

As you remark, the G.D. correspondences make much more sense than any others - any others I have seen, anyway. However, this was achieved by doing violence to the traditional order of the trumps. But in the end, because they make such good sense, they have become almost universally accepted in the English-speaking world of esotericism and magic.

Your friend is right: a key impetus behind the Golden Dawn was a syncretic approach to the whole esoteric compendium of symbols, eastern and western as well as Egyptian, Greek and Babylonian/Chaldean. That said, they used the astrological correspondences for the tarot trumps for very specific purposes - though they weren't astrological purposes in the strict sense of the word.

The minor arcana and the decans associated with them do not have such a clear cut line of descent. As you will find from Paul Huson's book, Mathers (it is almost certain that Mathers penned Book T), jiggled around a set meanings for the decans to produce meanings that better fitted the spot card assigned them. Several versions exist explaining what the individual decans signify. Ramesey has one. I can't recall which Mathers relied on, except to say that it wasn't Ramesey; that is why I have refered you to Huson. What is perhaps the most important point to readers of this forum is that Mathers took an astrological treatise and adapted it to the tarot.

Melissa

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Hi Mark,

For a better overview, I split my reply into two parts.

History

The correspondences between the Major Arcana or Trumps and Astrology in the Golden Dawn system go back to the so called Cipher MS that came into the possession of William Wynn Westcott in 1886. It is encrypted (hence its name) according to the method of Johannes Trithemius in his Steganographia. Westcott decoded it with the assistance of Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and William Robert Woodman. It contains an esoteric system that became the structural base for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn subsequently founded by those three men.

http://hermetic.com/gdlibrary/cipher/

The origin of the Cipher MS is ambiguous; the most widely accepted theory nowadays seems to be that it was authored by the Masonic scholar Kenneth Mackenzie who was (like Westcott) a member of the Swedenborg Rite.

Based on the information in the Cipher MS, Mathers wrote the Book T mentioned by Melissa above as an advanced curriculum for the order. It already contains the 36 decans, both according to the Chaldean system as well as to the iconography of the Picatrix. From the latter, most of the titles of the cards were derived; but only Crowley actually wrote them on the cards of his deck later (in abbreviated and sometimes altered form).

http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/gd/t.pdf

The Book T became the foundation of all the GD based decks such as the ones designed by Waite, Crowley, Wang and others, even though they don't all follow it to the letter.

The GD Tarot system was published by Aleister Crowley under the title "A Description of the Cards of the Tarot" in The Equinox vol. 1, no. 8, Fall 1912.

http://hermetic.com/crowley/equinox/equinox-Iviii.pdf

Crowley, in his later work The Book of Thoth, didn't alter the astrological attributions of the cards, he only switched the Hebrew letters that two of the Trumps were attributed with previously.

Principles

The GD attributed the Major Arcana with Hebrew letters and corresponding zodiacal signs, planets and elements - just like Levi had done already, although there are differences between the various authors as to which Trump belongs to which letter.

The correspondences between Hebrew letters and Astrology have their origin the Sepher Yetzirah ("Book of Formation") which was written in Palestine or Mesopotamia sometime between 200 and 600 AD.

http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/SepherYetzirah.pdf

While the assignment of signs and elements to letters is unambiguous, there are variations regarding the planetary correspondences in different versions of the text. The book further links the numbers from 1-10 and the 22 letters with "32 secret paths of wisdom."

These are the ten sephiroth in the Tree of Life plus the 22 paths that are connecting them. Again, a number of variations exist regarding the assignment of the letters to particular paths on the Tree of Life. Even the exact shape of the Tree changed with different authours throughout history. It is important to note that the version used by the GD is the one Athanasius Kircher gave in his Oedipus Aegypticus, apparently following an old Kabbalistic tradition.

Much like the Major Arcana are connected with the 22 paths, the pip cards numbered 1 through 10 belong to the ten sephiroth; all four Aces to the first sephirah called Kether, the four Two's to the second sephirah Chockmah, etc. The court cards are correlated with the four letters of the Tetragrammaton Yod He Vau He but also with the sephiroth Chockmah (Knights), Binah (Queens), Tiphareth (Princes) and Malkuth (Princesses).

I refer third party readers to our earlier conversation about the decans and the Tarot:

http://skyscript.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8480
Last edited by Michael Sternbach on Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Delaforge wrote:
Regardie's publication of Golden Dawn material first occurred in the thirties, a tetralogy of four books. The two-book format from the seventies was a republication.
Hi Melissa,

Ah that explains it! Great stuff thanks for your latest reply. I confess while I have gone through sporadic phases when I have been heavily into the Tarot and done readings for people I have only recently developed a deeper interest in the history of the tarot. Ironically, I just ordered the Paul Huson book you have mentioned before I opened this thread! I am planning to purchase a few other books on tarot history too.

Thank you for your very informative reply.

Mark
Last edited by Mark on Mon Jan 05, 2015 4:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

10
Hi Michael,

Wow. This is why I love love Skyscript! Where else could you get replies of this quality?

Your clearly quite an authority on this topic. I assume some of this information comes from your own research rather than secondary sources?

Sounds like you should be writing an article or giving a conference talk on this.

Thanks for a really fantastic reply!

Mark
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly