designed by Rafal T. Prinke
drawn by Edward J. O'Donnelly
-Acknowledgements-
I would like to express my gratefulness to Edward J. O'Donnelly, who evoked this deck to visible appearance, and to Adam McLean, who effected coniunctio of the authors and multiplicatio of the cards. I am also indebted to Stuart R. Kaplan, the help of and correspondence with whom initiated me into the mysteries of the Tarot, and to the anonymous author of the great little book S.S.O.T.B.M.E., whose ideas helped me to understand a few things. My thanks are also due to all those people who led me to the crossroads at midnight.
"Each human being must interpret formal symbols as he interprets life; that is, in the light of personal experience. Meaning is not inherent in material forms; it is bestowed upon them. It follows that each interpreter arrives at somewhat different conclusions, applying a censorship of interests at each step of his interpretation. Thus an Orientalist could be impressed by the vestiges of Eastern symbolism in the Tarot designs. An Egyptologist could be equally certain that the figures originated in the sanctuaries along the Nile. The student of the cabala finds cabalism in everything, and the alchemist would not hesitate to defend the cards as genuine remains of ancient alchemy."
Manly P. Hall: The Tarot
The recorded history of the occult or esoteric interpretation of the Tarot cards can be traced only as far back in time as 1781 when the book Monde Primitif by Count de Gebelin was published. Its author claimed, and backed it by no tangible evidence, that the cards of the Tarot deck were of ancient Egyptian origin and contained some secret teachings. The 19th century magicians, especially Eliphas Levi, took up that suggestion and developed a whole set of correspondences between the Tarot and various branches of the occult sciences, such as the Kabalah and Astrology. The development on these lines has been continued until now and has produced a surprisingly wide variety of theories about the deck's origin, interpretation, correspondences, and artistic designs (which are also interpretations, of course). Some of these were very naive, while others were quite sophisticated, discovering and revealing much about the structure and meaning of the cards. However, I consider it a misunderstanding of magical thinking to accept any of such theories or designs as "the only ones". Those who represent this kind of approach to the Tarot are simply biased by the scientific way of thinking, which is enforced on us from the beginning of our lives and therefore is almost innate. So when one enters the field of esotericism, one has to abandon that way of thinking. In the case of the Tarot it means, for example, not to take seriously any of the hypotheses on the cards' origin put forward by various authors, but to consider them to be symbolic expressions of some truths about the Tarot which are difficult to state in any other way.
In order to illustrate this point of view we may consider the problem of the origin of the Tarot in some detail. Probably the largest number of authorities ascribe the ancient Egyptian origin to the deck. It is said that they were painted on the walls inside one of the Pyramids or some other initiation chamber and that their meanings were explained to neophytes upon initiation. This story, approached from a scientific point of view (i.e. as a statement of historical truth) is totally false or even stupid, as there is no single piece of evidence to support it. On the other hand, if the story is approached from a magical standpoint, it makes sense in so far as it reveals "something" about the Tarot. And what that "something" is can only be felt (as magical thinking is really feeling) after comparing several such theories on equal grounds (i.e. without trying to find out which one is "true").
Some of the other hypotheses point to such regions as India or China as the places of the Tarot's origin. An especially revealing story is the one told by Paul Foster Case, who stated that the cards had been invented by initiates from all parts of the world who held a secret meeting in the city of Fez in Morocco. They decided to entrust the "secret doctrine" to a series of pictures used for gambling, so that it would not perish. The form was probably suggested, as Case states, by the adept from China. This story gives us an important clue which points to the universality of the "secret doctrine", whatever its outward guise is. It also helps us to understand that the Tarot decks exhibiting Egyptian, Hindu, Mayan, Amerindian, Chinese, Basque, Medieval or modern designs are all "true" in the magical sense. But on the other hand the same Paul Foster Case, as well as Arthur Edward Waite and many other authorities on the subject, keep trying to make their readers believe that there exists a secret initiated deck of the Tarot cards, which cannot be revealed to the general public for "obvious reasons", and to which their own versions of the Tarot approximate very closely. This is partly true but is also capable of being misunderstood due to the scientific way of thinking "natural" to the majority of readers. They surely tend to understand "the true esoteric Tarot" as an actual set of cards with pictures and symbols which is in the possession of some "secret chiefs" and their initiated disciples. In my opinion (and all the available evidence seems to confirm it) there is nothing like that in existence on the material plane, though it does exist on the spiritual plane. The Arcana of the Tarot represent archetypal principles which cannot be expressed otherwise than by pictures or visual symbols which are only approximate representations of those principles. Similarly such principles as "love", "freedom", etc., can have only approximate verbal representations, as they also belong to the spiritual world. The only way to understand (or rather "feel") these principles is to experience them, and it is experience that underlies all the esoteric fields and occult sciences or arts. Without experiencing it, all esotericism may be rightly called "mere superstition".
The symbolic story of the Tarot's origin told by Case carries another important message: that any serious system of thought (even not necessarily esoteric thought) may be "seen" in the Tarot series of archetypal images. Therefore any attempt at a new interpretation of the deck is justified and, after some time of open-minded meditation on the Tarot symbols, can be accomplished. My approach to the Major Arcana (which is certainly the most interesting and fascinating part of the full deck) is that they represent an archetypal cycle of attainment, similar to the cycle of the Zodiac or that of the Tree of Life in the Kabalah, though stressing the visual symbolism in preference to the organic/psychological or cosmological. It is, therefore, of little importance to occultists who invented the Tarot deck and when (it may as well have been produced for the mad king of France, Charles VI, as one of the "uninitiated" theories has it) but what counts is that the inventor drew his inspiration, either consciously or not, from the vast reservoir of the collective unconscious preserving the spiritual heritage of mankind. And in this sense the Tarot "really" dates back to the days of ancient Egypt, Atlantis and Lemuria.
Now turning to the scientific way of thinking, it seems to be quite certain that nothing like the Tarot existed prior to the 14th century. For the historian of esoteric thought that period is associated with the appearance and early development of Hermetic Alchemy in Europe. Therefore it can be argued that the Tarot cards (and especially the Major Arcana) are just another series of symbolic visual explanations of the Great Art and its processes. The scientific way of proving this hypothesis would consist in collecting historical evidence and presenting it with as many references as possible. The magical or esoteric approach, however, does not need a historical proof of a connection between the Tarot images and Alchemy. If the Tarot represents an archetypal "process of attainment" and Alchemy is a system of self-realisation and and attaining mastery over natural processes, then these two have to be parallel and it should be possible to explain one with the other. What is needed in order to find such a correlation is getting to "feel" both of these systems, which can be accomplished by meditating on symbols pertaining to each of them. A certain amount of logical thinking is also necessary, of course, just as science requires some intuition, though it is not formally recognised as a scientific tool. It has been stated by many authorities that the Tarot contains "the doctrine of Alchemy", and several attempts at an interpretation on these lines have been made. These attempts include The Golden Cycle Tarot deck by Ron Ballard, Antoinette Sandbach, and John Sandbach, the Church of Light system of correspondences by C. C. Zain (Elbert Benjamine), Comment on deviant alchimiste .....base sur les clefs du Tarot by the French writer on Alchemy Francois Jollivet-Castelot, the system of correspondences given in Le Tarot des imagiers du moyen age by Oswald Wirth, and a number of others. I have not been able to get acquainted with most of them (especially the French ones), but those which I know do not seem satisfactory to me. They are either oversimplified, or do not catch the "spirit" of Alchemy, or refer to a kind of "mental alchemy" which does not reflect the Hermetic Tradition. Therefore I believe that my own attempt at presenting the Tarot deck in alchemical terms forms an independent approach and will be of interest to students of esotericism.
The part of the Tarot deck which is known as the Major Arcana is certainly the most interesting one. Some authorities state that it had once been a separate deck and only afterwards was joined with the Court and Minor Arcana. Although there is no definite proof of it in the historical sense, it appears quite possible since this series lacks the fourfold division found in the remaining cards. However, because the modern occult tradition (if it can be called "tradition") has treated both of these series jointly, the safest opinion is probably the one stating that the Major Arcana are a condensed form of the Minor Arcana (understood here as including the Court Arcana).
It is often stated that the beautiful illustrations from Solomon Trismosin's Splendor Solis have some relation to the Tarot Major Arcana. I thought such relation was rather far-fetched, especially as the Tarot appears to represent a uniform cycle of transformation, while only some of the Splendor Solis illustrations show the stages of the Magnum Opus. However, after much meditation on the cards and their relation to Alchemy, I arrived at a similar scheme. It is not identical with Splendor Solis but also only in part shows the stages of the Great Work, the remaining part representing general fundamentals of the Alchemical philosophy.
The main criteria I followed in designing this Alchemical Tarot deck were the following: (1) each card should be based on a well known and easily identified Alchemical concept, known from the tradition as handed down to us by the most celebrated of its exponents, and (2) there should be a recognisable similarity to both the traditional Tarot designs and some Alchemical symbolic illustrations. It was not possible in every case to hold to these criteria very closely, but the departure from them is never too far. The general appearance of each card is uniform throughout the deck, showing an alchemical retort surrounded by black background with the signs of the four elements and thus representing "the Chaos of the Elements" outside the vessel of the Art (also Nature as contrasted with Art). Although not all of the cards symbolise phases of the Great Work, all of them have been drawn in the same way to give them a uniform appearance. Besides the main picture inside the retort there are also animal symbols (with two exceptions of floral ones) in the neck of the retort. No titles are given as, on the one hand, it seemed to me that to invent definite Alchemical titles would be tending to favour only one of the many meanings of each card, and on the other hand, the earliest Tarot cards also do not have any titles. In the following descriptions of the Major Arcana I will use the traditional titles for easier reference only, as these do not correspond to the Alchemical terminology in most cases.
0. The Fool. This Arcanum has several meanings. First of all it represents the neophyte alchemist beginning his journey towards the achievement of the Philosophers' Stone and the transmutation. His arms refer to the four elements, which will be the materials of the Great Work, and also to the four suits of the Minor Arcana (lance-rod-fire, sword-sword-air, cuirass-cup-water, banner-pentacle-earth). The neophyte is also the Materia Prima of the Work, which is carried out both in his Athanor and in himself. The symbols of the green dragon and the Ethiopian represent Materia Prima, too, as does the snake biting its own tail coiled around the outside of the neck of the retort, though its significance is much wider (the cyclic nature of the universe - this Arcanum is both the beginning and the end of the Great Work). On still another level of interpretation, and in connection with the next two Arcana, this man in full armour represents the Philosophical Salt of the Salt-Mercury-Sulphur trinity, and Body (Corpus) of the Body-Spirit-Soul triad, i.e. the most basic building material of either a chemical body or man.
I. The Magician. The next card of the fundamental triad is Mercury of the Philosophers symbolised by the classical god of the same name. He represents the aerial principle in everything, or the "spiritus movens", and is connected with the ethereal heaven (Coelum Aethereum), just as the former Arcanum was connected with the elemental heaven (Coelum Elementarum), and the next one with the empyrean heaven (Coelum Empyreum). The mercurial principle is therefore responsible for the reception of astrological influences, here symbolised by the Sun and the Moon under the feet of Mercury. The dove in the neck of the retort is the symbol of the Holy Spirit, i.e. the Spirit of the World. In the terms of Jungian psychology this card represents Animus, or the male principle in every person.
II. The High Priestess. A naked, pregnant woman symbolises the archetypal womanhood or motherhood. She is the Philosophical Sulphur, or the fiery principle connected with the highest heaven. It is the "spark of God" in every man or the outward features in every chemical body (i.e. perceptible features given by God upon creation, such as colour), and therefore represents the Soul of every created thing, as well as Anima Mundi - the Soul of the World. In Kabalistic terms it is the Shekinah, and in Jung's system - Anima, understood as the female principle, the symbol of which is the unicorn in the neck of the retort.
III. The Empress. The symbol of the queen represents one extreme of the basic duality. It is the passive, Lunar principle, and everything connected with it. She also symbolises vulgar Silver which will, in the course of the Great Work, become the White Stone. The lily above is the symbol of the feminine principle.
IV. The Emperor. The image of the king is the other extreme of the previous Arcanum. It represents the active, Solar principle and all its connotations, as well as vulgar Gold which is to become the Red Stone or Red Tincture. The rose in the neck of the retort is the symbol of the masculine, forming another contrast with the previous card.
V. The Hierophant. In this Arcanum the basic duality is shown again as being dependent on the Mercurial (spiritual) principle, from which they have to draw the spiritual force in order to become "live" or "our" Silver and Gold. It can also be seen from another angle as the three principles (Mercury, Salt, Sulphur) and the relations existing among them: Mercury is the most important of the three. The same idea of drawing "force" is conveyed by the pelican feeding its young with its blood shown above.
VI. The Lovers. Another traditional title of this card is The Two Paths and this describes its alchemical meaning quite well. There are two ways to success in the Great Work: the wet way and the dry way. Each of them requires the union of opposites (Coniunctio Oppositorum), here symbolised by the royal couple, the same as in the Arcana III and IV. In the upper half of the retort they are being married by a bishop (Mercury from the previous card), which is the dry way requiring a catalyst, and in the lower part they are shown in the act of copulation (Copulatio in Aqua), which represents the wet way. The griffon above is a symbol of the same conjunction, being half eagle and half lion (symbolising the female and the male principles respectively).
VII. The Chariot. On one level of interpretation the warrior-king in the chariot symbolises the necessary requirements that the alchemist should possess in order to complete the Great Work: courage, perseverance, will to continue. He should also pay attention to the signs telling him he is on the right path (this is symbolised by the two peacocks - Cauda Pavonis of alchemy). On another level this Arcanum is connected with the "Triumphal Chariot of Antimony" and the wolf in the neck of the retort is the symbol of that metal.
VIII. Justice. Another card showing the requirements which should characterise the alchemist. The female figure with the scales and sword symbolises the knowledge of "weights and measures", i.e. the technical side of Alchemy. The hermetically sealed vessel on her body designates the theoretical knowledge of Alchemical Philosophy, as shown by the diagram on it. The swan above, though it is more frequently used in Alchemical allegories as designating the White Work, is also a symbol of spiritual purity, which is another requirement traditionally demanded of the Alchemist.
IX. The Hermit. The third requirement card, representing wisdom and secrecy. Wisdom, symbolised by the old man and the owl above, is not the wisdom which can be learned from books, but that which is either received orally from a master (under the oath of secrecy) or achieved by illumination. This intuitive wisdom tells the Alchemist in which direction he should proceed (which is symbolised by the stick the old man holds) and advises him on the proper use of the time factor in his Work (symbolised by the hour-glass).
X. The Wheel of Fortune. This Arcanum symbolises the decision to begin the Great Work or "turn the wheel". Turning the wheel three or four times during the Work is often referred to in Alchemical texts (e.g. Ripley's Twelve Gates) implying the necessity to repeat the same processes on various levels. This card also recapitulates the basic tenets of Alchemical Philosophy which were expounded in the previous Arcana, namely the three principles (Salt, Mercury, Sulphur) symbolised here by the three snakes in the bottom circle, the two seeds (positive and negative) represented by the man and the woman, and the four elements of Nature (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) symbolised by the four birds. The two dragons biting each other's tails is the symbol of the cyclic nature of the Great Work, as well as of the fixed and the volatile, another important pair of opposites.
XI. Strength. After the decision to begin the Work had been made in the previous Arcanum, the initial substances are placed in the alchemical vessel. The green lion and the toad in the neck of the retort are symbols of Prima Materia (here in the meaning of the materials with which the Work is begun), while the woman sitting on the lion is the personification of the Art ("Alchymia"), who will reappear in some of the subsequent cards. The Sun and the Moon, from which two streams descend into the vessel, are to remind us once more about the necessity to perform "Coniunctio Oppositorum".
XII.The Hanged Man. This card is a symbol of the stage in the Great Work known as "fixing the volatile". The winged, and therefore aerial, figure descends from above downwards and places small sacks of solid matter on the bottom of the retort. The same idea is conveyed by the crucified snake at the top, which is a traditional symbol of this process.
XIII. Death. The next important phase of the Work is that of Nigredo, in which the substance in the retort is broken down into its basic components. The process causing this to happen is called putrefaction and is usually symbolised by the death of the king, his body often being cut into pieces, or a skeleton, or a black raven (from which another name of this stage is derived - Caput Corvi). All of these symbols appear on this card.
XIV. Temperance. This Arcanum represents the longest phase of the Great Work, which consists in various cyclic processes, such as distillation, sublimation, circulation, and which requires much patience on the part of the Alchemist. The peacock above is the symbol of Cauda Pavonis, or appearance of iridescent colours in the retort, which should be accomplished at the end of this stage.
XV. The Devil. The next process is that of solution, which is symbolised by Neptune and the dolphin above. The gesture made by Neptune indicates that during this phase the union of the two opposites (male and female, Sun and Moon, etc.) is completed. On another level of interpretation, when we consider the central figure to be Pluto, the god of the underworld (and the Devil of the traditional Tarot appears to be a fusion of Neptune and Pluto), this Arcanum is also symbolic of the Alchemical formula of VITRIOL (i.e. "Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem") and therefore of rectification or cleansing of the substance which is worked upon. So, in the last analysis, the message of this card is that the union of opposites and rectification is achieved by solution in "our vitriol".
XVI. The Tower. The process which is symbolised by this Arcanum is the final fixation of the substance in the retort. This is accomplished by the proper application of heat, but is also the greatest danger which may destroy everything that has been made so far. The broken neck of the retort serves as a warning against applying too great heat. The salamander is also a symbol of fire or, more exactly, control of fire ("regimen ignis").
XVII. The Star. The final process of the Great Work proper is multiplication by which the efficiency of the tincture is greatly increased in order to make the Philosophers' Stone. The rabbit above is a symbol which sometimes appears in old Alchemical pictures and whose traditional meaning is not quite clear, but it seems to be an appropriate symbol for multiplication.
XVIII. The Moon. This Arcanum shows the first and less perfect variety of the Philosophers' Stone known as the White Stone, which serves to transmute base metals into silver and which is obtained in the stage known as Albedo. All the symbols on this card are traditional representations of it (naked queen with wings, the Moon, white eagle).
XIX. The Sun. The perfect Stone is the Red Stone or Red Tincture, which enables the Alchemist to change base metals into gold (which is not to be understood on the physical level only) and it is made in the phase of Rubedo. The symbols of the naked and winged king, the Sun, and red lion all refer to it.
XX. The Last Judgement. Armed with the Philosophers' Stone, the Alchemist can perform its projection on "vulgar" (or "dead") metals and change them into gold. This idea is conveyed by the seven kings rising from their graves, who are symbolic of the seven alchemical metals changed into "live gold". The phoenix in the neck of the retort is the symbol of this resurrection.
XXI. The World. The Alchemical Rebis symbolising the final, absolute and universal transmutation on all levels and the achievements of adepthood by the Alchemist. The doubled-headed eagle above conveys the same symbolism of the highest Magisterium.
Using the above interpretations of the Major Arcana we can now look at them as an integrated and interconnected series, which describes quite adequately the philosophy and practice of Hermetic Alchemy. The whole series may be divided into two parts, the borders of which are marked by the Arcana O, X, XXI, i.e. the first, the middle and the last ones. These are of a special character and represent the shortest description of the Great Work: the neophyte Alchemist, or Materia Prima of the Work, the processes or "turning the wheel" and the final transmutation. Now the cards of the first half of the series, i.e. between O and X, constitute a symbolic description of the stages preceding the actual practice and can be further subdivided into two groups: Theoretical (O - VI) and Preparatory (VII - IX). Arcanum X forms the midpoint and may be said to belong either to both or neither of the two halves. The second half (XI - XXI) is a description of the Practical part of the Work and again can be subdivided into the processes leading to the preparation of the Philosophers' Stone (XI - XVII) and the descriptions of the final products and their application (XVIII - XXI).
Now we shall consider the first half of the series in detail:
0. Neophyte/Salt/Corpus/Hermaphrodite I Mercury/Spirit/Animus 3 principles II Sulphur/Soul/Anima III Passive, female seed/Silver 2 seeds Theory (7) IV Active, male seed/Gold V Interrelation of the three and the two VI The two ways/"Coniunctio Oppositorum" VII To Will/to Dare VIII To Know Requirements (4) IX To Keep Silent X To Go
It may be noted that Arcana III and IV can also be considered as symbols of Jungian Anima and Animus principles. The first trinity, however, includes also the hermaphrodite or neutral factor, so these two groups may be compared to the three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and the two sexes (male and female), which are not mutually exclusive. Actually, this may be seen as indicating that the terms of Hermetic Philosophy are more precise than those of Jung.
Arcanum X has been included here as the fifth requirement, "to Go", which was added by Aleister Crowley to the traditional four Hermetic axioms. It may also be compared to the Portal Grade of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, as it recapitulates the theory and opens the way to the practice.
The second half of the Arcana can now be considered:
XI Placing the initial substances in the retort XII Fixing of the volatile XIII Putrefaction/Nigredo XIV Distillation/Sublimation/Circulation Processes (7) XV Solution/Rectification XVI Fixation XVII Multiplication XVIII The White Stone/Albedo Products (2) XIX The Red Stone/Rubedo XX Projection Applications (2) XXI Transmutation/Androgyne
As can be seen, the seven theoretical Arcana of the first half have their reflection in the seven Arcana describing the processes or stages of the Great Work in the second half (their number is in agreement with the tradition). The sequence of the processes as revealed by the Tarot Arcana differs slightly from that given in other alchemical texts (those best known at least). This may be interpreted either as purposeful confusion or as the true sequence, and I tend to accept the latter view as the Tarot deck was probably not constructed by an alchemist but by someone who experienced illumination and contacted the archetypal level of existence, as I have already explained, and therefore had no purpose in introducing the confusing element into the deck. So the processes of the Great Work would appear as follows. First the substances to be worked upon are chosen and placed in the retort. At least one of these substances is volatile and it has to be fixed in the next stage. Only then the phase of Nigredo takes place, in which the substances are putrefied ("killed") and disintegrate. What remains is then subjected to long lasting processes of distillation or sublimation. After this process is completed, the substance is solved, which brings its rectification, and then fixed. Finally it has to undergo multiplication, i.e. put through the same processes again and again until its power is sufficiently increased. In this way the Philosophers' Stone is finally produced (whether it is the White or the Red variety depends probably on the initial substances).
As the Tarot is an archetypal cycle, it has to be accepted that with the Arcanum XXI or final transmutation we come back to Arcanum 0, which is also suggested by the Ouroboros coiled around the outside of the neck of the retort in Arcanum 0, as well as by the androgynous meaning of these two Arcana. This reminds one of a Zen story which says, more or less, that for a person who does not practice Zen a tree is a tree and a mountain is a mountain, for one who is a practitioner of Zen a tree is not a tree and a mountain is not a mountain, and for one who has attained mastery of Zen a tree is again a tree and a mountain is a mountain. Somewhat similar statements can be found in European alchemical texts, which say that the matter of the Stone can be found everywhere but ignorant seekers cannot perceive it.
Although the Minor and Court Arcana are far less interesting than the Major Arcana of the Tarot, a few words have to be said concerning a possibility of their interpretation in the light of Alchemy. The main feature of this part of the deck is its fourfold division into suits, which may be seen as representing either the four elements of Hermetic Philosophy with all their correspondences, or the four "turnings of the wheel", i.e. carrying out the same processes of the Great Work on four levels. Although both of these views are not mutually exclusive (symbols are in fact expected to have many meanings), the former possibility seems to me more appropriate, as I think that the Minor Arcana symbolise Nature as opposed to Art (Major Arcana). In this scheme the Court Arcana would represent the "spiritual" part of Nature, which is not perceived by ordinary human beings. The meanings of the suits would then be as follows:
SUIT ELEMENT KINGDOM LEVEL OF
OF NATURE EXPRESSION
Rods Fire Human Spiritual
Swords Air Animal Mental
Cups Water Vegetable Emotional
Pentacles Earth Mineral Physical
Every one of the ten numbered cards of each suit represents one of the basic principles operating in nature according to the Hermetic Philosophy, as it finds its expression within the realm of each element. These include also the sub-elements, e.g. Fire of Fire, Fire of Air, Fire of Water, etc., which were used by the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley, and, I believe, have some foundation in the tradition. The correspondences for each of the numbered cards are the following:
1. The Root or Essence 2. The Male Seed 3. The Female Seed 4. Salt 5. Sulphur 6. Mercury 7. Fire 8. Air 9. Water 10. Earth
This scheme has obvious links with the Sephiroth of the Kabalistic Tree of Life and can be viewed either as the unfolding of Nature in a series of emanations (as shown here, from the Root of each element to the fullest expression of it) or as the way which should be followed by the Art of Alchemy in order to reach its goal (imitating Nature). In that case number one would symbolise the Tincture or Philosophers' Stone and would be the end, not the beginning, of the series.
The Court Arcana are symbolic of the spiritual forces of the elements and realms corresponding to them, and thus for each suit or element the following roles would apply to the figures of the Court Arcana:
King - Ruler of the Element Queen - Intelligence of the Element Knight - Demon of the Element Page - Elemental of the Element
In this attribution the Queen and Knight are positive and negative aspects of the elemental forces, while the King and Page are neutral. The difference between the latter pair is that the King symbolises a conscious force, while the Page stands for the unconscious force manifesting itself through the element in question.
The final matter which has to be considered here is the application of the alchemically interpreted Tarot deck. Obviously it can be used in any of the ways other decks are used but its special significance lies in the field of alchemical research. First of all Alchemical theory and practice can be learned from it, as it features most of the most common symbols found in alchemical illustrations of old treatises, and meditating on these cards can be of great help (I may add that I have learned much about Alchemy while designing this deck). In the same way this deck may serve as an explanatory tool for teaching Alchemy to others. And finally it may be used for a kind of divination for the purpose of determining the proper course of action in practical Alchemy. The best spread for this would be the one to which a person is accustomed, i.e. which has been used by one for other purposes with other decks of the Tarot cards, with the meanings of card positions slightly adapted for the aim in question.
Colour is a very important feature in Alchemical symbolic imagery and therefore general guidelines for colouring the Tarot cards are added here, though without going into detail about the significance of the colours employed.
O. The man - black, the armour and kneecaps - blue, the lance - red, the banner - black, the dragon below - green, the snake above - upper half red, lower half green.
I. The man - natural colour, the sun - yellow, the moon - white, the dove above - white.
II. The woman - natural colour, the halo around her - the darker rings red, the brighter ones yellow, the unicorn above - white.
III. The dress - mostly blue, the lily above - white.
IV. The dress - mostly red, the lion above - red.
V. The bishop - bishopric purple, the king - red, the queen - white, the pelican above - white.
VI. The copulating couple - the king red, the queen white; in the upper half: the bishop's clothes - bishopric purple, the king's clothes - red, the queen's dress - white, the griffon above - half red (head and wings), half white (trunk and legs).
VII. The king - dressed in red, the peacocks - multicoloured, the chariot - yellow, the wolf above - grey.
VIII. The woman's clothes - blue, the scales and sword - yellow; the diagram: the triangle - blue, the square - black, the outer ring - red, the space between the square and the outer ring - white; the swan above - white.
IX. The man's clothing - brown, the hour glass - yellow, the stick - red, the owl above - brown.
X. The man - red, the woman - white, the pheonix - red, the swan - blue, the eagle - white, the raven - black, the three snakes below - black, white and red, the two dragons above - the upper one red, the lower one green.
XI. The lion - green, the woman's garments - blue, the heart in her hand - red, the sun - yellow, the moon - white, the toad above - black.
XII. The figure's dress - blue, wings - yellow, the small sacks - green, the snake above: upper half red, lower half green, the cross - brown.
XIII. The skeleton - white, the pieces of the king's body - red and yellow, the raven above - black.
XIV. The woman's dress - blue, the wings - yellow, the lower retort - green, the upper one - red, the peacock above - multicoloured.
XV. Neptune's body - blue, the man and woman - natural colours, the sun - yellow, the moon - white, the dolphin above - blue, the trident in Neptune's hand - red.
XVI. The bricks - red, the salamander - yellow surrounded by red fire.
XVII. The figure - dressed in blue, the retort and the liquid - red, the rabbit above - red.
XVIII. The woman, the moon and the eagle - white.
XIX. The man, the sun and the lion - red.
XX. The kings are yellow, but their graves are of different colours, namely: white, green, blue, red, black, bishopric purple; the phoenix above - yellow surrounded by red fire.
XXI. The female half - red, the male half - yellowish brown, the female wing - blue, the male wing - green, the crowns on the feet: female - blue, male - green; the crown in the female hand - yellow, in the male one - red, the crown on the head - red, the one round the neck - green, the one round the waist - black, the dragon below - pink with green wings, the dragon above - black.
The sources are too extensive to list them here and this seventh headline has been added only to complete the Alchemical Law of Seven. So.....
FINIS CORONAT OPUS