© Accademia dei Tarocchi, 2014

Graphic design and editing: Accademia dei Tarocchi

Rights of translation, electronic storage, reproduction and total or partial adaptation by any means (including photocopy and microfilm), are reserved for all countries. For usage rights contact the editor.

Editing project: Accademia dei Tarocchi Direction: Carlo Bozzelli - Accademia dei Tarocchi

To Sara INDEX

Introduction

Chapter 1 1.1 Etymology

1.2 Study of the Tarot: which Model? The historical Model The occult Model The metànoic Model

Chapter 2 2.1 The first Centuries after Christ Provence Egypt John Cassian

2.2 From 1000 to 1500 Saint Victor and the Visconti Family

2.3 From the end of 1700’s to modern Time The French School The Anglo-Saxon School

2.4 The great Error Nicolas Conver

Chapter 3 3.1 The general Structure of the Tarot The Minor Arcana The four Suits: Pentacles, Cups, Wands and Swords Cups Pentacles Wands Swords The four Castes The Major Arcana

3.2 Dualism Dualism: some unusual cases Dualism: Male-Female The Law of Difference Dualism: general Scheme Observation Exercise The Tarot: Yoga for the Soul 3.3 Some meanings of the Tarot Cartomancy A Path of Knowledge A Vehicle of Consciousness An Instrument of Help

Chapter 4 4.1 The Coded Structure: the first Codes 1) Graphic codes Hanged Man-World code Doubt Levels New Levels Pentacles Cups Wands Swords The fifth Element

4.2 The Coded Structure: new codes Simplicity The Lover-Judgement Code 2) The Text-Codes The Apostrophe Code Various Anomalies 4.3 The Laws of the Tarot The Law of Antithesis The Law of Duplicity Example of the Fool’s Staff Example of the two houses

Chapter 5 5.1 East and West

5.2 Synchronicity

5.3 Synchronicity and the Tarot

Chapter 6 6.1 An optical Language Grammar: Codes and Laws Lexicon: the Keywords Observation Decryption The Book The Veil The Horns The Torches 6.2 The Archetypes Methods of Interpretations The traditional syntactic Method The Personages

Chapter 7 7.1 The Law of Contemplation Spatial Reference Temporal Reference

7.2 The Law of Opportunity To offer a Solution

7.3 Example of a Reading

Chapter 8 8.1 Tarology: a true Science

8.2 Cartomanciy and Divination Risks: the divinatory Trap The Advantages A spiritual Intelligence Danger Alert 8.3 Multiplicity of Teachings 1) The Builders 2) The Freemasons Square and Compass The Artisan The three Points in a Triangle The 33 Degrees 3) The Hermits of Egypt

8.4 A Path of Knowledge

Chapter 9 9.1 Anachronisms?

9.2 Prince Castracani Fibbia

9.3 The Cathedral of Orvieto

9.4 The Cathedral of Siena

Conclusions Appendix The Marseilles Tarot The so-called Marseilles Tarot The classic Marseilles Tarot Restoration of the Conver Tarot of 1760

Bibliography CHAPTER 1

““No one will hide a valuable object in something of great value, but many a time one has tossed countless thousands into a thing worth a penny.” (Gospel of Philip)

1.1 ETYMOLOGY

Tarot: “Each of the illustrated cards which make up the Tarot deck. The term was first used approximately a century after the invention of the deck, estimated circa 1500. Its origin is even now obscure.” Is it correct, the definition we are used to hearing when speaking of this deck of cards? Scholars maintain that the term Tarot, whose etymological origin is still uncertain, was first used in XVII- century Italy. The term is in any case, mostly used in the plural. The ample literature on the subject shows us however that its etymology is not the only thing in doubt: its origin as well is not certain. Almost all researchers presume that they were created in Italy around the XV century, during the Renaissance therefore. Actually, this is merely a hypothesis, but because of the obsessive insistence with which it has been repeated, it has become automatically true. This approach, from the point of view of authentic scientific and historiographic research, is incorrect; in that, without definite and proven evidence, one cannot transform conjecture into fact unless there is the intention to take intentional liberties with the outcome. For example, we are convinced that the exact name is not to be found in the Italian language (Tarocchi) but rather in the term adopted by all other idioms, to wit: Tarot. Setting aside for a later time an investigation into the more complex aspects of its etymology, we will limit ourselves for the moment to note that the word is written, differently from Italian, in the singular form. (To be continued...)

2.4 THE GREAT ERROR

At this point, wishing to point out one of the principal traits which dominated the investigation of the Tarot in the course of recent history, we might say that almost all researchers made, more or less artlessly, the same mistake. As we have seen, most scholars hypothesized that these images had an ancient origin, and in the long list of hypothetical characteristics, there were those who connected them to the Book of Thoth of ancient Egypt, to the Hebrew Cabala, to Gypsy fortune-telling, and so on. In substance, based on these conjectures, esoterists maintained that the Renaissance Visconti Tarot, the most ancient known today, were none other than the most recent echo of a remote tradition of which they conserved only an imperfect memory, but to which because of the lack of direct provable ties, it was not possible to trace them. What to do, then, if these cards from the 1500’s were inadequate for expressing a deeper sense? Convinced that their knowledge was enough to guarantee an integral restoration of the meaning of the Arcana, they all took the same path:

They redesigned the Tarot according to their own personal visions!

For this reason, each one wrote a text, commenting his own ideas and theories, using as analysis model the re-created and perfected deck. If, to these Tarot with more esoteric characteristics, we add the infinite number of decks produced for other motives, as those for artistic or for recreative purposes, the reason is clear for which the quantity of decks published, especially in the last two centuries, has been, and today still is, so copious, reaching an impressive number of editions. Referring specifically to the Tarot decks created by the more famous authors of the 1700’s to the 1900’s we may say that the drawings of these cards express their perspective, their moral prejudices, their personal convictions on the world. Each has modified the original plan of the Tarot in favour of a subjective representation, committing an act of free will, but not to the good. Every authentic tradition, by definition, transmits an objective message which must prove to be far from any individual interpretation. Therefore why did these scholars commit such an abuse? Why did they violate a balanced and impartial knowledge in favour of a personal and private vision? (to be continued...) Fig. 1 The Minor Arcana

CHAPTER 4

“Infinitely great will be your happiness: from a simple mortal, you are destined, gradually, to become God.” (Orphic Tombs)

4.1 THE CODED STRUCTURE: THE FIRST CODES

What is the Coded Structure? To what do we refer when we use this term? We have mentioned it various times, affirming that it is the basis for the understanding of the meaning of the Arcana, provided that their disposition respects certain criteria. In the preceding chapter, we disclosed that the Major Arcana are divisible, based on comparison with the Minor, by the numbers 3 and 7. In this way, we introduced the concept of the 3x7 Diagram, a scheme of 3 rows with 7 cards each. Although this is not the only order possible, it is however the one which allows for identification of the presence of the coded framework in a clear manner. The Fool is situated outside of the scheme because it is numberless, and therefore has the role of traveller along this path in 7 stages, to traverse 3 times. This distribution has already been studied by many authors of the past, without unfortunately their being able to discover the presence of the Codes, which in this manner remained, so to speak, eclipsed. What are, in substance, the Codes of the Tarot? We have already introduced the subject through several examples relative to the symbolism of the 4 suits of the Minor Arcana or to the modalities of representation of Dualism, but we have not made demonstrations that are more complex. Now, in order to proceed, we must enter more into detail, and to begin, it will be well to return to the 3x7 Diagram shown here: Fig. 1 3x7 Diagram

The Coded Structure has this name for the presence of Codes which, in order to be understood, must be decoded. This is not something obvious. To understand what we mean, as for the “game” of differences described before, we must imagine our attention concentrated on a puzzle like those found in so many puzzle magazines. The purpose is to discover, from the illustrations, the hidden, coded content, uncovering the meaning of the puzzle itself. Every Code of the Tarot is a puzzle that must be unmasked and understood. The Coded Structure, in its entirety, contains thousands; and their purpose, differently than the pastimes we cited, goes far beyond that of simple entertainment. In fact, deciphering the Codes means to allow our consciousness access to fragments of principles of wisdom, which, all together, create an extraordinary teaching that may open the door to a superior consciousness. Therefore, these brainteasers are not simple pastimes must be considered true sacred enigmas. We are perfectly aware that all this may seem as improbable as the plot of a novel; it is real, however, and we will attempt to guide the reader in experimentation in the first person, of the truth of these affirmations. We must clarify one point: that that which we have said must all be verifiable. In describing the occult model, we said that its greatest drawback was its inability to prove its own hypotheses. This impossibility has always been determined by a lack of rational objectivity attributed by the esoterists to the particular nature of the Tarot (to be continued...) As we have seen, not even a science such as quantistic physics, when it must calculate the position and the moment of subatomic corpuscles, allows itself such conduct. We may, however, ascertain through empirical experience, that is, through the interpretations, that the cards show “tendencies to exist” and “tendencies to occur” according to a criteria of sense which is no longer arbitrary as in the past, but is disciplined by unequivocal rules (the Laws and Codes) and, as such, certifiable a priori. These are the only reasons for which we might change our mental attitude towards this subject. We could no longer affirm, as in particular do the detractors of an esoteric use of the Tarot that, as the person who reads it establishes the interpretation, everything is valid and acceptable and, nothing being demonstrable, there can be no attendibility. On the contrary, we should consider the question and the answer as united by a synchronistic event (to be continued...). Fig. 3 Example of disposition of cards during a reading GRAMMAR: CODES AND LAWS The Codes and Laws, which allow us to understand this sapiential teaching, are also the principles that establish the manner in which the Tarot expresses that which it intends to communicate in the course of a consultation. At the moment of a reading, Grammar is shown to be indispensable; it is the element by which we may comprehend the manner in which the sentences are regulated and structured. In fact, knowing a priori the principles, we may be sure to read correctly that which appears to our eyes, with no interpretative doubts. When we spoke of the Law of Duplicity and of the example of the house,81 we were using an example, which would facilitate the understanding of these affirmations. On that occasion, we learned that, when a symbol appears twice, it signifies that the Tarot is “underlining” it because it is of great interest for the question. This is a principle of grammar, a structural rule: every time that, in two cards near each other, we find the same symbol or concept, it means that the particular element is important for the question asked. We may therefore say that, generally speaking, the Laws are the rules which formalize the logic of the interaction of the cards, so that the tarologist may orient himself precisely in order to decipher the sentences, the message-replies of the Tarot.

LEXICON: THE KEYWORDS Still in the same example, the symbol in question, the house, was a keyword. And a word is part of a...dictionary. What does this mean? The examination of the illustrations and the analysis of the Codes, lead to the comprehension of content hidden in the symbolism of the Tarot. Gradually during this process, the presence of keywords intrinsic to the structure and significance of the various Arcana, is revealed. Their individuation creates overall, a Lexicon, a vocabulary. This identification does not happen according to subjective or arbitrary criteria, but through a precise and rigorous process. The two principal procedures are:

1) Direct observation 2) Decryption.

Regarding the first method, simple observation of the images (as the house in the House of God and the Moon blades) allows us to distinguish immediately a certain number of keywords. (To be continued...) CHAPTER 7

“In the presence of one who is perfectly innocuous, all hostility ceases.” (Sutra Yoga of Patanjali)

7.1 THE LAW OF CONTEMPLATION

In the previous chapter we introduced the concept of the Traditional Syntactic Method, the particular system that allows regulate disposition of the Arcana during interpretation. What are the principles at the basis of this procedure? They are two important Laws which, although certain modern authors have claimed them as a personal discovery, it is correct to attribute to the decryption system of Nicolas Conver. Let us observe again the figures of the Tarot and analyze in detail the first of these rules the Law of Contemplation (to be continued...).

Fig. 1 The 3x7 Diagram

CHAPTER 8

“Yes, let the Word of God precede us! Let it humiliate the potent forces of the earth, these perverse passions which we wish to mortify and which claim, from our mortal bodies, a pitiless and tyrannical dominion! Let it subjugate them to our research and our exposition! Breaking down the doors of ignorance, shattering the chains of defect which exclude us from true science, let it lead us to our most secret Arcana.” (John Cassian, Cenobitic Institutions)

8.1 TAROLOGY: A TRUE SCIENCE

Anyone who has even only a vague knowledge of the Tarot, knows that this subject calls to mind first of all, prediction of the future. On the contrary, from what we have described here, it should be clear that there exist diverse ways of utilizations of the Tarot. It lends itself, in fact, to a multiplicity of uses so rich and surprising that this practice becomes only one of many possibilities. The Tarot is a metaphysical machine of which the deck of cards is but a support, the vehicle of a perfect mechanism thanks to which these images, these sacred Icons, guard a plurality of teachings regarding man, his destiny, and the laws that govern him. All this is made possible by a system of Codes and Laws, making up the Coded Structure, which generates a language of communication between the human world and the spiritual. The true Tarot may be considered an esoterical discipline complete in itself, which in past centuries was named by the ancient Alchemists, Science of the sciences. (To be continued...) In our opinion, there is no doubt; the connection is explicit. Even more because it is a confirmation of a true relationship with the Tarot, the 22 represented by the circle, which reconnects to the celestial world, and the 56 by the square, associated with the terrestrial, respecting perfectly the dualism which characterizes the general structure of the Arcana themselves:

22 → Major Arcana → Circle → Celestial 56 → Minor Arcana → Square → Terrestrial

If this were not sufficiently astonishing, the central head of the Redeemer with the four later personages, reminds us distinctly of the symbolism of the Christ in the mandorla which we find represented also in the card of the World. This supposition is confirmed, according to a typical mechanism of the Tarot, the Law of Duplicity, by the statues of the four living creatures beneath (the first clue); but also by an oval just beneath the face of Christ, which surrounds the figure of a woman as in the iconography of the XXI card (to be continued...).

Fig. 9 Comparison of the symbolism To explain more clearly the work done, we will compare some illustrations of an Arcanum, in particular the Fool, belonging to several editions:

Fig. 13 Conver Fool, Heron edition

Fig. 14 Conver Fool, Scarabeo edition

Fig. 15 Conver Fool, Dal Negro Restored edition

It would not escape even the most superficial observer that, however much it might amaze, the result of the restoration of the 1760 Conver edition, is surprisingly similar to a deck well known to the general public. In fact, this correspondence exists, and is obvious. On the contrary, it would be more correct to speak of a notable iconographic similarity, as this Tarot is almost identical. Where then, is the difference? Why was the need felt to carry out this painstaking task? This restored deck, as must now be evident, is none other than the reclamation of an antique work. As the restorer of a marvellous painting does not claim its paternity, although he has worked hard to reconstruct it, the same was done in this case; the images renovated and presented here, are and will always be free from any and all presumed copyright. The Tarot is an instrument created for man in ancient times, in order to educate him (in the etymological sense of ex-ducere,) to help him to externalize that which he carries already inside himself, to guide him along the way, to lead him towards the comprehension of a superior and spiritual sense of existence, counselling him at the same time in even the most ordinary and practical choices of his daily life. (To be continued...)