Female infidelity is a rather complex phenomenon. First, with the social ...
My book preface"Tarot of the Magicians"
Oswald Wirth's parents were Alsatians. Joseph Paul Eduard Wirth took part in the unsuccessful uprising of 1848, was wounded, served in prison, and after his release, he decided to emigrate with his wife from France to Switzerland. There, in the city of Brienz, their son, Joseph Paul Oswald Wirth, was born in 1860.
In Paris, he was finally able to enter the long-drawn Mesmer community of followers. Rotating among the "magnetizers", Wirth learned about other esoteric teachings. Theosophy did not particularly attract him, but he immediately wanted to receive initiation into a free mason. However, it was necessary to arrange worldly life somehow. In 1882 he joined an infantry regiment based in the west of France, in the city of Chalon. At the beginning of 1884, the opportunity arose to join the local Masonic lodge, in which Wirth had already advanced to the degree of Master a year later. Comrades immediately sensed a theoretician in the young man: he was especially interested in the symbolism of Masonic rituals and regalia.
In 1886, Oswald Wirth retired and became a professional mesmerist healer, while continuing to study esoteric theories. Soon, Marquis Stanislas de Guaita (1861-1897), a young aristocrat who was fond of higher magic, a follower of the famous Eliphas Levi (1810-1875), became interested in his person (at the suggestion of the Shalon occultists). Wirth himself will tell about the mystical circumstances of his first acquaintance in his book. De Guaita made him his personal secretary and co-founder (in 1888) of the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose Cross. In addition, de Guaita, who knew about Wirth's artistic talent, suggested that he participate in a grandiose project - the publication of the first occult deck of Tarot cards, which would follow the tradition of Eliphas Levi and embody all the latest ideas of Western esotericism.
Here you cannot do without a small digression. The prominent French freemason and historian Antoine Cour de Gebelin (c. 1728-1784) was the first to see the esoteric meaning in the tarot playing cards widespread in some countries of southern Europe. His ideas were developed by the occultists Etteilla (1738-1791), Eliphas Levi and Paul Christian (1811-1877). Of all of them, by that time, only Etteilla had bothered to publish a full deck of 78 cards, the design of which was "corrected" in accordance with the new understanding of the Tarot. But the tradition of Etteilla developed more towards cartomancy (commercial fortune-telling on cards) than high occultism, so his decks in the circle of the Marquis de Guait did not seem to count. It was necessary to create (and print) such a Tarot, in which the oracular aspect would be only secondary. The drawings of these cards were supposed to embody the ideas of Kabbalah, numerology, alchemy, mesmerism, Masonic symbolism - in a word, everything that made up the "enlightened" French occultism of the late 19th century.
Wirth brilliantly coped with this task. His first deck was published in 1889 and was called Les 22 Arcanes du Tarot Kabbalistique ("22 Arcanum of the Kabbalistic Tarot")... The subtitle of the deck reads: "Drawn by Oswald Wirth at the direction of Stanislas de Guayt for use by initiates."
Cards from the first deck of Wirth (1889). Design, which I would call "Virt I". Photo courtesy Rachel Nguyen.
Printed in Paris in the amount of 350 sets of cards were a success! In the same year, the famous occultist Papus (1865-1916) used them as illustrations for his fundamental work. Le Tarot des Bohemiens ("Gypsy Tarot")... He included in this book and "Essay on the Astronomical Tarot"- a small article by Wirth, in which he first outlined his ideas about the structure of the set of the Great Arcana and their connection with astromythological symbolism. So the first Wirth Tarot began its life in the occult world. It was reprinted and redrawn by hand; they illustrated books on the Tarot. Wirth's cards were used by Manly Hall and Aleister Crowley until they created their own decks.
Tarot cards depicted in J.O. Knapp's illustration for Manly P. Hall "An encyclopedic exposition of Masonic [etc.] symbolic philosophy", San Francisco, 1928.
A card from a deck of 1889, believed to have belonged to Aleister Crowley. Hebrew letter Ain u in the lower right corner corrected by the owner to Pe p in accordance with the Golden Dawn system.
An unknown artist redrew the Great Arcana from « Gypsy Tarot»
, supplemented them with suit cards taken from a traditional Marseilles deck, and issued a full set of 78 cards (even before the "Tarot of Oswald Wirth", about which we will say a few words below). In the collections, two such complete decks have survived: one in black and white, and the other painted with watercolors. The cards are numbered consecutively from I to 78 according to Paul Christian; even the Minor Arcana are supplied with Hebrew letters. No precise dating: Kaplan in "Encyclopedias of Tarot"(volume III) assumes "around 1900-1920"), K. Frank Jensen - 1950s.
Cards from Wirth's first deck, expanded to 78 cards
In 1897, de Guaita, Wirth's friend, mentor and patron, died. Friends arranged for the author "Kabbalistic Tarot" librarian to the French Ministry of the Colonies. He continued to comprehend Masonic wisdom, practice magnetic healing and study the occult sciences. In 1911, he began publishing a series of articles titled Les Arcanes du Tarot ("The Arcana of the Tarot") in the magazine "Lumiere Freemason", for which he redrawn the Great Arcana.
Page from the magazine "Lumiere Freemason". Design, which I would call "Virt Ia".
But this was only preparation for his main literary work - a large, richly illustrated book on the Tarot. In the 1920s, he published a number of works on Symbolism and Initiation. And in 1926 he released his third version of Tarot cards. They were now called Le Tarot des imagiers du moyen age ("Tarot of medieval draftsmen") and were published as a portfolio of 11 sheets, 2 maps per sheet. The main difference between these cards from previous Tarot Virta is the patterned frame and gold background. The colors and many details of the drawings have changed.
Cards from the deck "Tarot of Medieval Artists", 1926. This design (and its variations below) I would call Wirth II.
In 1927, the book of the same name was published in Paris - the same one that we now bring to your attention in Russian translation under the title "Tarot of the Magicians"... New cards on 11 pages were attached to the part of the edition in special pockets on the back cover.
Photo courtesy Marina Palamarchuk
In the book itself, all 22 maps were also reproduced in black and white drawings - based on the new color maps, but with some deviations in detail and design. All 22 Arcana in the book are presented not only in the form of traditional Tarot cards, but also in the form of so-called "ideograms" - simple symbolic drawings. In addition, Wirth included in the book his own drawings of cards of the hypothetical ancient "astronomical Tarot" and sketches of some interesting cards from various historical decks.
Illustrations from the book "Tarot of medieval draftsmen", 1927. Note the lyre of the twins. It is absent on the color card.
"Ideograms" of the same Arcana (7 and 19) from the book , 1927. | |
The Second World War found Wirth with his sister and niece on vacation in the Ardennes. They fled to the south of France, staying in the homes of familiar esotericists. Swiss freemasons offered Virtue to return to his homeland, but he did not take advantage of the invitation and died in the town of Vien, south of Lyon, in 1943. Eliza said in a letter to friends: "Your old Master left us on March 9 at 11 o'clock - quietly, without shocks, as befits the Sage of the ninth Arcanum" (Virt's disciples were convinced that in the image Hermit Tarot he presented himself in old age).
In 1960, the third Wirth deck (1926) was copied by a certain Georg Alexander - keeping the author's monogram (letters O and W), but without ornamental frames on the cards. This is the so-called "Tarot Alexander" was used in 1969 by renowned Swiss yoga teacher Elisabeth Heich for her book Tarot, die 22 Bewusstseinsstufen des Menschen (Tarot: The 22 Steps of Human Consciousness).
Posthumous "improvement".Wirth-Alexander maps reproduced in the book by Elisabeth Heich (Stuttgart, 1969).
In 1966, Wirth's book was reprinted in Paris. To the new "Tarot of medieval draftsmen" as in 1927, 22 maps were attached - allegedly drawn by Wirth. In fact, in this posthumous edition of Wirth's Tarot, only the general outlines of the figures remained from the original. Everything has undergone a change, and all changes have been for the worse. The graceful font of the signatures has been replaced with an illegible Gothic, the gold background with a copper one; the patterned frames have disappeared; pleasant muted colors became, as they say now, "acidic". The drawings were ineptly stylized as woodcuts, apparently to give the maps a more "medieval" look. In the text of the book, the Arcana are illustrated with the same new cards, only in a contrasting black and white version. In 1976, the Swiss cartography firm AGMuller published "Oswald Wirth's complete tarot deck" of 78 cards, adding the Minor Arcana to the 1966 cards (as with the earlier black-and-white deck, 56 new cards were recreated from the Marseille Tarot. but now - with many gross distortions). Currently, this ugly deck is successfully sold in Europe and the USA with a cynical inscription on the box:
For those explorers of the Wisdom of the Tarot who want to use cards that were actually designed by Oswald Wirth, we are releasing a deck "Tarot of the Magicians"... We gave the same name to our Russian translation of Wirth's main book, the original title of which, as we have already mentioned many times, is "Tarot of medieval draftsmen"... Honestly, this is a tribute to the ruthless god of marketing. But in our defense, let's say that the English edition of this book, published in 1985, is also called The Tarot of the Magicians... In contrast to the American publisher, who reproduced the illustrations of the Arcana Tarot from the second French edition of 1966, we present in the book reproductions of genuine Wirth cards.
Until now, this classic work by Oswald Wirth was familiar to most of our compatriots only from bibliographies, references and citations. Now everyone has the opportunity to get to know him in full.
Oswald Wirth
(1860 — 1943),
occult tarot decks
It is noteworthy that at that time the most famous mystical order in Europe was the Order of the Golden Dawn. Although considered secret, in a strange way almost everyone knew about it. And it was the representatives of this order that created the largest number of all kinds of TAROT cards, as if competing with each other. But not all of them achieved the result they were striving for.
Oswald Wirth was one of the followers of this order, but his magical path began in childhood. One day he found a book that described in detail rituals that help heal all kinds of diseases. He carefully read this book and decided to try one of the rituals on his friend. This one was amazing - the ritual worked! Since then, Oswald patiently waited for the moment when fate would allow him to freely practice magic, because his mother was a true Catholic and did not recognize any mysticism, which she demanded from her son.
After the death of his mother, Wirth moved to France, where he entered the mystical order. Now he feels in his place. He spends a lot of time studying previously inaccessible books containing centuries-old secret knowledge. It was then that he first encountered the TAROT cards. At that moment, it was mainly playing cards... They were widely used in high society, but no one looked at them as fortune-telling.
One day, Virtue caught sight manuscript by Antoine Cours de Gebelin... In his time, high society also dabbled in the game of Tarot cards. After he read this manuscript, Virtue came up with the idea to create real fortune-telling cards, which were used in the days of the ancient priests, when only a select few knew about these cards. The maps of the magicians of Oswald Wirth almost exactly repeated the ancient maps. Major arcana practically do not differ from modern ones. classic cards... Difficulties were mainly caused by minor arcana that were not easy to understand for an uninitiated person. They do not allow a person to think about the meaning of the card himself; to decipher them, it was certainly necessary to have a book with him with comments to each lasso. Unfortunately in this case imagination and intuition had nothing to do here.
At the end of the nineteenth century, many tried to make a name for themselves on the Tarot cards, Oswald Wirth was no exception to the rule. But, as they say, all the best is the well forgotten old, and not created anew. This was the mistake of all the creators of the newfangled TAROT of that time. They all wanted to create something new, to perpetuate their name. But you don't need to be famous for your knowledge to be used by others. It is enough to be unknown, but understandable to millions, this is the real glory. What can not be said about the creators of the Tarot magicians Oswald Wirth.
If you move away from all the vanity of our world, then the solution will come by itself - simplicity and understanding, nothing else is needed for an ordinary man in the street. It is better to practice with a deck that has been tested for centuries than trying to understand what the remakes are offering us.
“Universal Tarot Virta” is a deck filled with esoteric symbols. Its predecessor was the Tarot Virta, created in 1926 by the Swiss maestro Freemason Oswald Wirth under the leadership of the Marquis Stanislas De Guait. The modern deck appeared in 2007. Its creators were Stefano Palumbo and Giordano Berti: they slightly changed the images of the cards, reworking the Minor Arcana in accordance with Wirth's plan and the theory of his contemporary, the occultist Ode Picard.
Esoteric deck
The Wirth deck is one of the most interesting and easy to work with among the many occult symbol decks. Virtue managed to create truly "talking" images filled with symbols. It is best to interpret them sequentially: from the simple to the metaphysical.
The "Universal Tarot Virt" is based on the traditional symbolism of the Tarot, with the framework to which Palumbo and Bertie added elements of various esoteric disciplines: astrology, alchemy, numerology, geomancy. Less obvious details are also traced in the deck, hidden, for example, in the gestures of the characters: they can be associated with Masonic symbols, as well as ancient Egyptian, Assyrian-Babylonian and Greco-Roman mythology.
Wirth's idea went far beyond one deck. He viewed the Arcana as a mirror reflecting certain philosophical, deeply optimistic and even utopian views. In both versions of the Wirth deck, there are symbols associated with the path of the "Great Work", which leads to an individual gaining equality, and society - harmony. The "Great Work" itself is presented in the "Peace" Arcana. “The journey of the hero” (the connection of the Arcana with each other), thus, can be interpreted as the path of the individual, and the path of the whole society or culture.
Symbolism
The “Universal Tarot Virta” deck is ideally combined with the “Symbolic interpretation” technique. In this deck, every gesture of the characters, every object, every shade, every detail matters. To use it successfully in fortune-telling, a cartomaniac does not have to understand Wirth's ideology at all. The symbols present in the Arcana represent a communication channel between the card and the intuition of the cartomancer. They also require interpretation in accordance with the worldview and knowledge of the latter. For example, according to the symbolism of Wirth, the lady depicted on the Arcanum "Peace" is the Babylonian goddess Ishar. She holds in her hands two sticks that form a compass - the Masonic symbol of creation. Even if the cartomancer does not understand Babylonian mythology, he may well interpret the lady on the Arkan as the soul of the world, a symbol of peace, the bearer of ideals or the personification of the homeland, depending on his own views.
Mastering the Wirth deck
In order to begin acquaintance with such exquisite and rich symbols of the Arcana of this deck, the cartomancer can start a notebook in which he will write down data about each Arcana in the following four aspects:
- Items: a list of all items shown on the map;
- Colors: a list of all colors that appear in the image;
- Symbols: forms, magic symbols, inscriptions - in a word, everything that cannot be entered in the "Objects" section ..
- Mythology References: All references to mythological plots contained in the card that the cartomancer can see. Gradually the cartomancer will learn to draw parallels between the symbols and some of the meanings of the Arcana. It must be remembered that those symbols that are repeated in different Arcana may have the same meaning (of course, one should not neglect the special connection that is established between such cards). The cartomaniac should clearly understand that the “Symbolic Interpretation” technique is so effective precisely because it allows flexible and multilevel interpretation.
Action and imagination
An additional key to interpreting the meanings of the Arcana from the Wirth deck is the division of cards depending on the area on which they affect. Wirth suggested the name dry path for action cards and wet path for imagination cards.
Action and imagination reflect two complementary sides of reality: real and material, on the one hand, and fantastic and abstract, on the other. Wirth himself called the “wet way” feminine, mystical and Ionic, associated with intuition and imagination; while the “dry” way, in his opinion, is masculine, rational, Doric, associated with reason.
As you work with the Arcana, you will see that some of them really describe action, and others - imagination. However, more often than not, action and imagination are embedded in the same card.
Beginners
A beginner specialist may be somewhat intimidated by the complex and multi-level approach to working with the Arcana, which the "Universal Tarot Virta" deck implies. After all, for the first time he will have to consider the Arcana from the point of view of esotericism. For a more complete acquaintance with this deck, we recommend a beginner to refer to the descriptions of the Major Arcana of the "Universal Tarot Virt" given in the section "Getting to Know the Arcana". Analyzing the description, comparing it with your own notes, as well as the Basic Values of the cards will greatly simplify your work.
For master cartomans
An experienced specialist certainly has all the necessary knowledge in order to fully use the symbolism of the "Universal Tarot Virt". With the help of the "Symbolic Interpretation" technique, an experienced cartomaker will build his interpretation on the basis of esoteric meanings, which are contained in the section "Acquaintance with the Arcana" (Kabbalah, Alchemy, Astrology). Both Wirth (Major Arcana) and Picard (Minor Arcana) included a large amount of kabbalistic, alchemical and astrological symbolism in the cards. With the help of his notes, the cartomancer will be able to find certain esoteric symbols in each Arcana.
Considered in its essence, common to all living creatures, universal life circulates without stopping, always remaining identical with itself, indifferently flowing from one vessel to another. If nothing had disturbed the evenness of this calm flow, life would still correspond to the paradise ideal, but the Serpent intervened, and under his influence every creature wanted to appropriate the common good and concentrate life around itself for its individual benefit. So there was a riot against everything general order... In the general circulation of life, separate vortices appeared, generated by extreme egoism, the personification of which is the Devil. This eternal enemy (Satan in Hebrew) is the Prince of the Material World. Without him, our world would not exist, for only he creates any distinction and division.It is he who makes the atoms stand out from the homogeneous etheric substance. He is the delimiter, the enemy of unity and homogeneity; he pushes worlds and people together. Encouraging people to become like God, he instills in them the instinct to reduce everything to himself, as if they were the center of the universe around which everything should revolve.
In the Tarot, the Devil appears in the guise of the Templar Baphomet, who has a goat's head and legs, and a woman's chest and arms. This monstrous idol combines the features of the Goat Mendes and the Great Pan of the Gnostics, an androgynous god. Like the Sphinx, it combines four Elements in itself, in relation to which the Devil is the animating principle. Its black legs correspond to the Earth and the spirits of the dark depths, which include the gnomes of the Middle Ages and the terrible Anunnaki of the Chaldeans. The green scales that cover the sides of the monster remind us of the undines who inhabit the Water, and the blue wings symbolize the sylphs, the powers of Air. As for the red head, it represents a bright flame in which the salamanders, the spirits of Fire, frolic.
Occultists are convinced of the existence of elemental spirits, and magic teaches them to subdue them, not keeping silent, however, about what dangers this may be associated with. Such spirits become executive and eminently useful servants of the one who tames them, but bring only evil and misfortune to would-be magicians who try to subdue them with the help of wrong spells.
The sage tries to curb the impulses of his soul and achieve absolute mastery of himself; he does not seek to conquer power over the invisible world, leaving this dubious and dangerous occupation to sorcerers and false adepts, who knows what occultists who think about themselves, who appropriate loud titles to themselves and thereby demonstrate their empty vanity. Therefore, let us rule only over our own body and will not enter into any, even small, deals with the devil, who promises all the blessings of the earth. Let the gnomes continue to jealously guard their hidden treasures in the earth - we have geology that allows us to discover deposits of metals. Don't expect the salamanders to look after your kitchen, don't ask the undines to water your garden, and if you need a fair wind, don't count on the sylphs and try to summon them with a whistle, as sailors once did.
The gift of healing is based on selflessness, and if Nature allows you to penetrate into its secrets, then only simple and ingenuous souls, in whom there is no evil at all. She loves to reveal her secrets to a "poor spirit" who are completely incapable of building any scientific theory based on the results obtained. These humble sorcerers do not ascribe to themselves any personal power, humbly considering themselves to be only instruments of higher powers. They often lead an ascetic lifestyle, showing great piety and mercy. They can wear anything - the multicolored feathers of a red-skinned shaman, for example, or the outfit of an African sorcerer - but if they are sincere and honest, these children of Nature, listening only to her, they can be considered respected brothers worthy of an adept who shuns the society of magicians. charlatans.
A serious-minded adept knows that the Devil is a great magical agent, without whose participation no miracles are possible, unless they are miracles of an exclusively spiritual nature, for when one pure spirit directly affects another, miracles are performed without the intervention of the Devil. But where the body is involved, nothing can happen without the Devil. We owe our material existence to him, because if during and after birth we were not dominated by the thirst for life and the instinct of self-preservation, which originate from him, we would not have been able to cling to life with such extreme egoism, which is characteristic of any baby. ...
The devil really takes over us as soon as we come into this world, but it should be so. Fortunately, he does not completely take possession of us, since we are destined to develop and gradually free ourselves from the rubbing off of innate instincts. While we are attached to our animal body, it is difficult for us to abstract from the spirit that controls our body. Just as a rider must take care of his horse, so we must constantly remember about our animal body, which, although it is subject to us, constantly asserts itself and stubbornly defends its rights. The devil is not as black and terrible as he is portrayed, he is our inevitable companion while we live in this lower world. Therefore, one should treat him appropriately - not as a permanent and irreconcilable enemy, but as a servant who is able to provide invaluable help.
Let's not forget that it is the Devil who gives us material life. It equips us for the constant struggle to meet our urgent needs: this is why powerful impulses arise in our souls every now and then. By themselves, these impulses are not bad, but we must maintain harmony between them, if we do not want to fall under the yoke of mortal sins, which correspond to individual "ministries" of hell. Let us temper ourselves in everything, and also avoid disputes and strife that are aroused by the Devil. Let us restrain our pride so that it manifests itself only as a virtue, as a noble pride that awakens in the soul the fear of any humiliation. Let's tame our anger and turn it into courage and active energy. Let's not indulge in laziness, but give ourselves only the rest that we need to restore the spent strength. Meanwhile, if there is any significant effort ahead, there is nothing wrong with resting in advance. It is known, by the way, that laziness is good for artists and poets. Let us avoid gluttony, for it is humiliating and unworthy to live just to eat. However, in order to always be in good health, we must choose the right food and enjoy its taste. Let's push away from ourselves the disgusting demon of envy, which makes us suffer at the sight of someone else's wealth and happiness, but at the same time, for the sake of the common good, we will resist those powerful of this world who illegally take someone else's and abuse their position. Let us not succumb to greed, but become prudent and economical, not killing the love of profit that motivates us to work fruitfully. As for sensuality, through which the power of the Devil is most strongly manifested, he should be contrasted with reverent attitude towards the great mystery of the rapprochement of the sexes. Let's stop defiling what is sacred.
Chastity is required for the development of magical power, for the instinct of procreation plays a major role among occult influences. A man who longs for a woman becomes excited and begins to emit physiological electricity, which will take effect as soon as the right conditions are created. How often it happens that a confident girl, flirting with a man in love with her, suddenly gives in to him, completely unexpected for herself! She falls prey to natural sorcery, to which she has prepared herself by playing with insidious power. Suddenly seized by inexplicable intoxication, she instantly loses her head, and then something is done that she had previously firmly decided not to agree to. Seducers, therefore, use the simplest magic, and the less conscious it is, the more effective. They enlist the support of the Devil, invoking him without any grimoires or deliberate manipulation. Here, one instinct is enough, as, indeed, in many other actions. Everyday life where similar reactions occur. So there are a huge number of wizards around us who work their miracles as easily as Monsieur Jourdain created prose.
By showing willpower, you can easily control the Devil - this is indicated by the white pentagram that adorns Baphomet's forehead. There is a certain hierarchy in Nature, and unconscious forces are subject to what stands above them. But remember that it is very dangerous to ascribe false superiority to yourself and give orders for which you do not have sufficient power: The Evil One never deceives and cruelly mystifies those arrogant fools who think too highly of themselves. He obeys only when the pentagram becomes perfectly white (that is, when the will is absolutely pure, not clouded by egoism), and the orders given to him are legal and fair. After all, the devil, if you properly understand, serves God and therefore does not allow himself to be involved in dubious and wrong deeds. The troubles and misfortunes that he causes are not final and not eternal; the disorder he created is part of a more general order and leads to it, since the Devil also obeys a universal law, the observance of which is strictly monitored by Justice (VIII): if the 22 Arcanum is arranged in two rows, one above the other, then Arcanum VIII will dominate Arcanum XV (see page 32). The essence of the main character of Arcanum XV is best conveyed by the triple pentagram (3x5 = 15). The intelligent energy of a person, represented by a small white pentagram in the center, is enclosed in an inverted black pentagram with the head, horns, ears and beard of a goat inscribed in it only in order to form a new, largest pentagram - a symbol of beneficial magical power by its outward movement and expansion, which a person gains, having tamed the beast in himself. The divine light that is in each of us must prevail over the base instincts, and the result of this victory will be "radiance", that is, a special atmosphere, a halo or, in other words, an aura, an instrument of our occult power, will appear around us.
The strength of the vibration of this aura depends on the strength of the fire burning inside us (red head of Baphomet, black pentagram in the diagram). Without this devilish fervor, man is cold and powerless; you need to have the devil inside in order to influence others and act in outside world... This action is carried out by the limbs of the great fluidic phantom, mainly by his hands, on which the words COAGULA and SOLVE are tattooed for a reason.
The magical effect really consists in the thickening of the astral light, that is, that phosphorescent atmosphere that forms around the planet as a result of the action of its central fire. All living things move in this diffused light, which clarifies their instinctive nature. By borrowing the left hand of Baphomet, we can attract the invisibly diffused life force around us and condense it into a fluorescent and more or less opaque mist. This is condensation, and it occurs in the genital area - this is indicated by the Hindu symbol of the union of the sexes, which the devil holds in his raised left hand.
The condensed fluid charges the operator like an electrical battery, but no action can be performed until discharge or dissolution occurs. Here Baphomet's right hand intervenes, holding a flaming torch, a symbol of violent chemical explosions to be wary of. In order to avoid an explosion, which causes shock, confusion and daze, and can also lead to a clouding of mind, it is necessary to catch the flow of fluid that gradually flows out of the accumulated reserves. A skilled magnetizer exploits this flow by intelligently applying the "Coagula - solve" formula.
He alternately employs two devils, red and green, who are tied to a gold ring fixed in a cubic altar on which Baphomet rises. The little satyr and the young favness symbolize the positive and negative poles of the neutral universal fluid or, more precisely, the androgyne - this is evidenced by the sign of hermaphroditism depicted in the genital area of the great Pan. This god is divided into two beings of different sexes - a son and a daughter - who simultaneously give an esoteric sign, bending the last two fingers on an outstretched hand. The devil on the right raises his left hand to touch the right leg of Satan-Pan and receive a positive fluid from him, which he will then transfer to the other devil through a rope that ties them together. Favness green (color of Venus) right hand touches his father's left hoof to give him excess fluid. This contact closes the magic circle of enslavement, based, on the one hand, on male pride and excitability in all its forms, and on the other hand, on female sensuality.
The pedestal on which this idol of the Templars stands is not, unlike the throne of the Emperor (Arcanum IV), a perfect cube of solid gold. It is slightly flattened and resembles the symbol of the Alchemists' Tartar - a substance that deserves to be used in the same way as the Freemason's Wild Stone, although it looks like loose mud. The blue color symbolizes the airy matter resulting from the tension between two similar but opposite types of dynamism, which are represented by the base of the pedestal and the platform at its top. The red color in which the three steps at the base of the pedestal and exactly the same three steps at its top are painted, speaks of fiery activity, as if the lower polarization caused by the action of the central fire echoed with an equal accumulation of electricity in the atmosphere. This altar for the Sabbath is compiled in accordance with occult laws, which we should understand more deeply.
The horns and cloven hooves of the Goat of the Sorcerers are covered with gold, for everything that comes from the Devil is precious. From the Goat Amalfea, the nurse of Jupiter, came the famous cornucopia, which gave the nymphs everything they wanted. Whoever gets hold of the Devil's horn will also be able to get whatever he wants. And what are the properties of milk flowing from the female breasts of Baphomet? Tradition is silent about this; however, the goat of Jupiter and her two goats, which sat in the sky on the back of the Charioteer, exactly correspond to the trinity depicted in Arcanum XV. The Heavenly Charioteer holds in his hand the whip and the reins, with the help of which he controls the animal nature; it is Pan, the protector of creatures that live an instinctive life.
The fifteenth letter of the Semitic alphabet - Samekh - in the traditional style has the shape of a circle. Some see in her the Ouroboros, the Cosmogonic Serpent, which bites its own tail; others immediately think of the tempting serpent that pushed Adam into the fall. All these fabrications would not have the slightest foundation if the Tarot were as ancient as the letters of this alphabet. The fact is that the letter Samekh originally looked like a cross with three crossbars, similar to the one that the Pope holds in his hand in the painting of Arcanum V. If, for fun, try to interpret this symbolism, we can assume that only fear of the Devil gives power over people. But we will not be like the would-be interpreters, and we will only conclude that no one can rule on earth without first securing the support of the Prince of This World.
Divine interpretations
The Soul of the World is like a reservoir from which all creatures draw their life force. Astral light of the occultists. Life electricity in a static state, divided into two poles, active and passive. Occult forces associated with the animal nature. Instinct, lower unconscious, subconscious, impulsiveness.Magic arts, witchcraft, enchantment, divination, the use of human magnetism. Suggestion, occult influence. Influence on the unconscious of other people. Power over the masses. Spells, exciting words. Excitement of desires, gross instincts and base passions. Demagoguery, revolution, upheaval, coup.
Confusion, imbalance, disorder. Excessive excitement, insanity. Lust, lust, lust, hysteria. Intrigues, machinations, use of illegal means. Perversion. Abuse, greed, excess in all its forms and manifestations.
The title of Prince of this World has already been conferred by us to the Emperor (IV); but this character differs from the Devil (XV) in the legitimacy of his rule. The Emperor is given power over material things from above, while the Devil looks like a usurper; he is a tyrant from whose yoke we must get rid of.
See Oswald Wirth, Le Roete d "Ishtar, mythe bahylonien mterprete dans son esoterisme, Collection du Symbolisme.
- See Matthew 5: 3, Luke 6:20.
CM. A. Siouville, Le Prince de ce Monde et Peche Originel, Introduction, p. IX.
See Moliere's "Philistine in the Nobility".
- "Thicken" and "dissolve" (lat.).
See Arcanum VII.
The sign connects the male sun with the female moon.
Oswald Wirth. Tarot magicians
It is noteworthy that at that time the most famous mystical order in Europe was the Order of the Golden Dawn. Although considered secret, in a strange way almost everyone knew about it. And it was the representatives of this order that created the largest number of all kinds of TAROT cards, as if competing with each other. But not all of them achieved the result they were striving for.
Oswald Wirth was one of the followers of this order, but his magical path began in childhood. One day he found a book that described in detail rituals that help heal all kinds of diseases. He carefully read this book and decided to try one of the rituals on his friend. This one was amazing - the ritual worked! Since then, Oswald patiently waited for the moment when fate would allow him to freely practice magic, because his mother was a true Catholic and did not recognize any mysticism, which she demanded from her son.
After the death of his mother, Wirth moved to France, where he entered the mystical order. Now he feels in his place. He spends a lot of time studying previously inaccessible books containing centuries-old secret knowledge. It was then that he first encountered the TAROT cards. At that time, these were mostly playing cards. They were widely used in high society, but no one looked at them as fortune-telling.
One day, Virtue caught sight manuscript by Antoine Cours de Gebelin... In his time, high society also dabbled in the game of Tarot cards. After he read this manuscript, Virtue came up with the idea to create real fortune-telling cards, which were used in the days of the ancient priests, when only a select few knew about these cards. The maps of the magicians of Oswald Wirth almost exactly repeated the ancient maps. Major arcana practically do not differ from modern classical cards. Difficulties were mainly caused by the minor arcana, which was not easy for an uninitiated person to understand. They do not allow a person to think about the meaning of the card himself; to decipher them, it was certainly necessary to have a book with him with comments to each lasso. Unfortunately, in this case, imagination and intuition had nothing to do here.
At the end of the nineteenth century, many tried to make a name for themselves on the Tarot cards, Oswald Wirth was no exception to the rule. But, as they say, all the best is the well forgotten old, and not created anew. This was the mistake of all the creators of the newfangled TAROT of that time. They all wanted to create something new, to perpetuate their name. But you don't need to be famous for your knowledge to be used by others. It is enough to be unknown, but understandable to millions, this is the real glory. What can not be said about the creators of the Tarot magicians Oswald Wirth.
If you move away from all the vanity of our world, then the solution will come by itself - simplicity and understanding, nothing else is needed for an ordinary man in the street. It is better to practice with a deck that has been tested for centuries than trying to understand what the remakes are offering us.
