ALCHEMIC AND JUDAIC SYMBOLISM IN THE TAROT:

INTERPRETING THE MAGICIAN

By Mihail Pretorian

Abstract:

The Tarot cards and their symbolism are sometimes neglected in scholarly circles and
esoteric fraternal organizations, despite of their rich archetypal symbolism, represented
through artistic form. Our paper provides a detailed inspection of the first Tarot Arcana
known as The Magician and its corresponding symbolic attributes, as they were detailed in
the Rider-Waite card deck which we have used for our research. The primary target of our
article is to try not to neglect any of the elements that are present in the imagery and to
interpret them in different keys of esoteric thought, such as the field of spiritual alchemy or
Kabbalah.

Keywords: tarot, magician, alchemy, kabbalah, symbolism.

 Introduction

This paper focuses on ginning an understanding of the esoteric symbolism, alchemical

and kabbalistic nature of the Tarot card system. The Tarot cards offer occult instructions that
remind man of the inner moral, axiological development of his psyche, the journey of the
soul that never started nor will it never end. Although we cannot cover all the cards and their
corresponding symbolism in our current paper, we will be focusing only on one particular
card from the deck, the one inquired in our study baring the title The Magician, or the first of
the 22 Major Arcanas that build the Tarot tabernacle, making use of various works of known
esoteric researchers to better cement our study.
Due to the fact that, over the years, many Tarot card decks have emerged with various
designs, and many scholars creating their own sets of cards for their studies, we have chosen
to work in our study on the Rider-Waite card pack, developed by Arthur Edward Waite and
artistically rendered by painter and fellow esoteric scholar Pamela Coleman Smith. It is worth
noting the fact that although the art style is changed in the myriad of decks out in the world,
almost, if not all of them, respect the original, subliminal, archetypal nature of a specific set
of symbols, emanated from the beginning.
We have described in the first part of our current paper the origins of the Tarot cards,
with a brief history, their occult symbolism in philosophy, divination, alchemy and
psychology to try to have a better grasp on the understanding of their secrets and teachings
throughout the course of time. We will be discussing and analyzing various trace patterns for
the historical origins of the Tarot cards deck and its system of symbolical heritage from
different acclaimed authors, thus trying to draw a historical line of this hidden art.
We will deal with the artistic representation of the first Major Arcana, The Magician,
and its general information. Here we will cover the symbols that are present in the card
painting, splitting it, dissecting and working on a partial interpretation outlined in the form of
obvious, general information.
The Magician is a card that represents the Ego side of the human psyche. Through its
symbolism that is evoked in the art, we discover that they reflect certain archetypes, which
the ancient mystery schools and ancient traditions were aware of in their time. We can
correlate the image of this Arcana with the one of an Alchemist. The card evokes the use of
willpower, one of the two sacred gifts which have been bestowed upon us, alongside with
language, from which all culture and order have been able to emerge.
We discuss in the final sections of our paper the alchemical and kabbalistic
interpretation of the card and its symbolism found in correspondence with the traditions
earlier mentioned. We feel that the card evokes the image of a skilled craftsman, able to
complete his work through the mental effort he pours in his work, the image of the
Alchemist, the intelligence of the letter Beth, the card‟s corresponding Hebrew letter and the
importance of concentration in attaining mindfulness over the Self in the remaining
conclusive part of our current article.
 1. A brief history of the Tarot cards in Europe

The true origins of the Tarot cards cannot be traced to a certain point in time. Many
theories are disputed, such as: “Ranging from its creation in ancient Egypt by a mysterious
priesthood or an evolution from a number of extant games”.1 If we wish to follow the
symbolism of the cards we can trace similarities back to ancient Sumer, but unfortunately we
would not find any viable evidence to assert if this was indeed practiced and included in a
specific divinatory system.
We can say though that for many occult followers and adepts, the tarot card is a tool
for attaining spiritual enlightenment, focusing more on the mental aspect of the human
existence. In truth, initially there wasn‟t any occult knowledge in the Tarot or any ancient
mystery school, this being regarded in previous eras as scientific knowledge for their specific
existing cultures present at those times. Later, these insights were to be concealed due to the
ignorance of some individuals, only the true souls having reserved the privilege to pass on the
legacy of truth in time. In our current modern times, with the advances of technology and
science along with their corresponding ontological axioms, many individuals, persons, are
becoming more aware and mindful about their self microcosms and the world, le monde,
around them, being able to change both only with emanated sheer will.
Thus, only one who is willing to devote himself to understanding the hidden meaning
of life can manage to pierce the veil and attain clarity in his long wander. As other authors
have also inquired, this card “evokes specific mystical, intellectual and emotional responses
from the Inner Consciousness of the student who has been taught how to look at it. As we
earlier stated, it is no longer a secret that there exist Occult Teachings that reveal the true
nature of man, of the universe, and of their mutual relationship. Every aspirant who has
delved very far into philosophy, psychology or religion has come upon evidences of such
Teachings. If he has the courage take these clues seriously and the perseverance to investigate
them, he is inevitably richly rewarded”.2
In Europe, the Tarot cards gained much popularity in the Renaissance period and,
even before this, the deck and its symbolism were found in many occult traditions. In what it
involves it, we find out the following: “For many centuries it has been in circulation
throughout the countries of Europe. In Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Spain it is even
now employed for games. Long ago the Gypsies began to tell fortunes with it, and their
example has been followed by charlatans who have laid claim to the possession of occult
insight into the mysteries of the future.
This strange pack of cards has no exoteric history prior to the fourteenth century. The
oldest examples of TAROT designs preserved in museums were probably drawn about 1390.
Occult tradition, however, places the date of its appearance at about the year 1200”.3
Renowned author Arthur Edward Waite, who also designed the Rider-Waite4 card
pack, is of the opinion that “we are still seeking not only an origin in place and time for the

1
Helen Farley, A cultural History of Tarot, I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, New York, 2009, p. 6.
2
Builders of the Adytum, Highlights of Tarot, School of Ageless Wisdom, Los Angeles, California, USA,
1931, p. 6-7.
3
Ibidem, p. 8-9.
symbols with which we are concerned, but a specific case of their manifestation on the
continent of Europe to serve as a point of departure, whether backward or forward. Now it is
well known that in the year 1393 the painter Charles Gringonneur - who for no reason that I
can trace has been termed an occultist and kabalist by one indifferent English writer -
designed and illumined some kind of cards for the diversion of Charles VI of France when he
was in mental ill-health, and the question arises whether anything can be ascertained of their
nature. The only available answer is that at Paris, in the Bibliothècque du Roi, there are
seventeen cards drawn and illuminated on paper. They are very beautiful, antique and
priceless; the figures have a background of gold, and are framed in a silver border; but they
are accompanied by no inscription and no number”.5 Two decades before Gringonneur
painted the before mentioned cards, a German monk by the name of Johannes described a
Tarot card game bearing the name of Ludas Cartum which was played around the year 1377.
Some believe that the tradition originated from the nomadic gypsies, when they
managed to arrive in Europe after 1400. One of the researchers that assert this is the
acclaimed Dr. Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse, or better known by his esoteric pseudonym
as Papus. The Spanish-born French alchemist writes in his work The Tarot of the Bohemians
the following: “The Tarot pack of cards, transmitted by the Gypsies from generation to
generation, is the primitive book of ancient tradition. This has been clearly demonstrated by
Guillaume Poste, Court de Gebelin, Etteila, Eliphas Levi, and J.A. Vaillant.”6 Eden Gray, an
author that had a massive contribution to the contemporary development of the esoteric
meaning of the Tarot cards, agrees with Dr. Encausse and states that: “It seems
incontrovertible that there is some link between the Tarot and the Gypsies in their worldwide
wanderings. The Gypsies did indeed roam through Europe at about the same time that the
Tarot cards began to be used around the shores of the Mediterranean. They are heard in
Austria in the twelfth century and in Rumania in the fourteenth.”7
Around the continent, when the Tarot game appeared, the emblems of the cards were
suited to match the country of residence. “When card games spread to France, Switzerland
and Germany however, modified suit emblems were introduced and became nationally
accepted. We inherit in the familiar Spades, Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds of today, the French
system, which first appears in 1480.
The German Leaves, Acorns, Hearts and Shells, and the Swiss Shields, Acorns Roses
and Shells appeared between 1430 and 1460.”8
The Tarot card deck is composed of 78 cards which are divided into two categories.
The first are the 22 Major Arcanas or “Trumps”, followed by the Minor Arcanas or “suit
4
As we have noted in our Introduction, we have selected for our paper only the Rider-Waite card pack,
designed by the renowned occultist, freemason and member of the Golden Dawn lodge Arthur Edward Waite
and painted by the artist Pamela Colman Smith, also a member of the Golden Dawn. The name of the pack of
cards holds the combined names of its designer, Waite, and the publishing house name, the Rider Company.
We note here that the deck was first released in the month of January in the year 1909.
5
Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Being fragments of a Secret Tradition under the Veil of
Divination, Originally published in 1910, p. 8.
6
Papus (Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse), The Tarot of the Bohemians, Chapman and Hall, LTD., London,
1892, p. 4.
7
Eden Gray, A complete guide to the Tarot, Bantam Books and Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1970, p. 6.
8
Gareth Knight, Tarot and Magic: Images for Rituals and Pathworking, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont,
USA ,1991, p. 12.
cards” that correspond in number with that of a normal set of cards, built out of 4 stacks of
one to ten and 4 others of “royal” or “court” cards. The emblems are represented as Swords,
Wands, Cups and Coins, this symbolism being inherited from the Italians, thus “The suit
emblems that we associate with the Tarot are the original Italian devices, and seem to
originate from Turkish dominated Egypt, with possible roots in Persia or even India […]
There is a strong tradition in Italian suit design for curved swords and wands with spatulate
ends, and this may have been their origin – Mamluk Egyptian cards imported possibly
through Venice.”9
We can find scattered information about the use of the Tarot cards for divination in
the following 16th and 17th centuries. Even the famed Giacomo Girolamo Casanova mentions
of fortune telling by the way of cards in his autobiography, more precisely, he mentions of a
lover of his, a Russian peasant woman who would use a method of cartomancy with a regular
set of cards.
Antoine Court de Gebelin (1719 - 1784), one of the authors previously referenced by
Papus, claimed in his work Le monde primitif10 that the Tarot cards are borrowed from an
ancient Egyptian manuscript, The Book of Thoth11. Court de Gebelin thought that a golden
age of mankind had existed in the past, thousands of years ago. In this book, he discusses the
origins of language, writing, art etc.
The author explored the Tarot card universe in volume 8 of Le monde primitif. A
strong possibility exists that the cards were passed on, from generation to generation, in an
esoteric manner, like all occult arts and crafts, in the same manner previous authors stated it
was handed down to early gypsies. We note here that the French author studied the Tarot de
Marseille card pack in Le monde primitif, many card decks being drawn on this pattern
(including the Rider-Waite pack). This particular pack, introduced in the 16th century, came
with new elements, including new trump cards and unique drawings.
Perhaps the most flourishing period for the study of this particular fortune-telling
system was the 18th century. As soon as this age manifested in the wheel of time, people,
mainly members of the aristocratic class, were more and more interested in the hidden
knowledge and meaning of the ancient arts. The subject on the occult was also, in the past
centuries, a desired topic by the upper classes, but now, during this new century of

9
Ibidem.
10
Le monde primitif is a work comprised out of nine quarto volumes, published in 1781. The famous French
author was a highly-learned man for his era, a high-grade freemason, one of the 40 members of the Lodge of
Philaléthes (founded in the year 1772) and a devout student of ancient cultures, even before archaeology and
anthropology became strong scientific fields of study.
11
This Egyptian god is recognized in the ancient lore as the scribe of the gods and is widely credited with the
invention of the hieroglyphic writing system. Thoth is the bringer of arts and magic and is well known as the
author of The Emerald Tablets or Tabula Smaragdina, the hermetic guide that is known to alchemists and
adepts to contain the secrets of the transmutation of elements. Many scholars link the sage Hermes
Trismegistus as being incarnated in Egyptian times. It isi believed that he was deified by the Egyptian people
after his death for his astonishing longevity of 300 years. Other authors believe that he was a High Priest of the
Eleusinian Mystery School that was established in Ancient Greece. He is present in many mythological writings,
for the Romans he was the god Mercury, for the Greeks Hermes and for the Hindus Haruman. He is even
present in the Islamic writings of the Quran. In Freemasonry he bears the name of Hiram Abiff, the master
builder. The number of occurrences in so many belief systems is astonishing and maybe we will cover it in a
future study.
illumination, where the influence of the church was weakening decade after decade, and the
Inquisition being left on the ground, defeated, laying its final breath, a new age of free,
unrestricted curiosity had risen among the free people of Europe. Magicians, alchemists and
occultists that claimed to bear knowledge from ancient times, passed on to them from lip to
ear in their travels were appearing out of nowhere, some with good and sincere intentions and
others filled with vile ones, cheap magicians, charlatans in the making, praying on the
gullible social elite of their time.
The newly discovered Rosetta Stone meant new possibilities in uncovering the lost
culture of ancient Egypt. New knowledge was now available through the deciphering of the
hieroglyphs. Antoine Court de Gebellin unfortunately died before its discovery in 1799. It
would have proven a great deal of joy for him to have lived through the discovery of the tool
used to decode the lost language of Egypt, due to the fact he was convinced that the ancient
language had been forever lost in the mists of time, the only knowledge available for his time
being passed on from mouth-to-mouth in select occult circles. “The thesis of Court de
Gebelin was not suffered to repose undisturbed in the mind of the age, appealing to the
learned exclusively by means of quarto volume. It created the opportunity of Tarot cards in
Paris, as the centre of France and all things French in the universe. The suggestion that
divination by cards had behind it the unexpected warrants of ancient hidden science, and that
the root of the whole subject was in the wonder and mystery of Egypt, reflected thereon
almost a divine dignity; out of the purlieus of occult practices cartomancy emerged into
fashion and assumed for the moment almost pontifical vestures”.12
The French philosopher was obsessed with the notion that the Tarot cards were an
occult system exclusive to Egyptian culture, but on further inquiries, this statement seems to
not be entirely true, according to authors that followed the study of this ancient art. Other
researchers are of the opinion that this divinatory card system has its roots elsewhere, thus we
find that “there is very little doubt that everyone who became acquainted to, by theory or by
practice, by casual or special concern, with the question of Tarot cards, accepted their
Egyptian character. It is said that people are taken commonly at their own valuation, and –
following as it does the line of least resistance – the unsolicitous general mind assuredly
accepts archaeological pretensions in the sense of their own daring and of those who put them
forward. The first who appeared to reconsider the subject with some presumptive titles to a
hearing was the French writer Duchesne, but I am compelled to pass him over with a mere
reference, and so also some interesting researches on the general subject of playing-cards by
Singer in England. The latter believed that the old Venetian game called Trappola was the
earliest European form of card-playing, that it was of Arabian origin, and that the fifty-two
cards used for the purpose derived from that region.”13
In the 19th century, the book Dogma and Ritual of Transcendental Magic appeared,
penned by the philosopher Eliphas Levi, in which he made the correspondence of the 22
Major Tarot Arcanas with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Having been speculated that
the cards‟ system has Mid-Oriental, Egyptian origins, it is no surprise that the ancient
Hebrews had incorporated this knowledge in their kabbalistic traditions. We too have also

12
Waite, op. cit. p. 20.
13
Waite, op. cit. p. 21.
covered the Semitic correspondence of the letter ‫( ב‬Beth) with the first Arcana in this article,
from its qabbalistic interpretations, as we may later see.
The 20th century, at least before the start of World War I, was beginning to flourish in
spirituality and philosophy, many researchers publishing with fervor incredible works on the
subject of esotericism, theology and Gnosticism. Among the authors we have previously
mentioned, are Dr. Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encauss, who published The Tarot of the
Bohemians, the English occultists A. E. Waite and Pamela Coleman Smith, who published in
the year 1910 The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, along with the world renowned Rider-Waite
Tarot pack. Another prominent figure of the 20th century is Aleister Crowley, the English
novelist and critic, occultist and freemason. He created, with the help of the artist Lady Frieda
Harris, the Crowley-Harris Thoth card deck. He explained the symbolism of the cards in his
work The Book of Thoth, explaining their astrological, zodiacal and kabbalistic meanings.
Among the contemporary scholars, we find the English writer Gareth Knight and the
American occultist Paul Foster Case. But not only occultists and adepts of hidden traditions
are interested in the knowledge of the cards. Contemporary esoteric Tarot researcher Eden
Gray writes of a list of authors and fields of research she has encountered: “Many other
contemporary scholars, writers, and psychologists have been interested in, and inspired by,
the study of the Tarot. Psychoanalysts have looked with respect upon the symbols and their
connection with the subconscious activities of the human psyche. Among those who have
taken cognizance of the Tarot are T. S. Eliot, in The Waste Land; Charles Williams, in The
Greater Trumps; William Lindsay Gresham, in Nightmare Alley; and P.D. Ouspensky, in A
New Model of the Universe. A. E., the famous Irish poet, belonged to the Order of the Golden
Dawn, and the poet W. B. Yeats was also a member of a secret order that dealt with the
Tarot‟s occults traditions. The followers of the famous psychoanalyst C.G. Jung see symbols
in the cards that relate to the archetypes of the collective unconscious. Albert Pike‟s Morals
and the Dogma of the Scottish Rites makes reference to the cards; and Thomas Troward, a
founder of New Thought and one of the clearest exponents of the Science of Mind, has
devoted serious thought to the spiritual significance of this <<oldest book known to man. >>”14
In modern times, the esoteric mystery is still known only to the true adepts of the art.
The cards have found their way into the 21st century culture, though it is rather sad that such
powerful tools with occult meaning have fallen into the hands of the corrupt, many scammers
profiting from false readings and cheap divination shows offered to the naïve and gullible. As
numerous authors before have stated, the mysteries of the Tarot cards‟ tale are revealed only
those who are willing to receive them and are able to pierce the veil of darkness, the shell of
its materialistic existence, to those who are courageous enough to wander through the wild
landscapes of the mind in order to find the hidden path that leads to the Temple.
Today, in the world, we can find a great diversity of Tarot card packs. Jean Huets,
writes that: “Hundreds, possibly thousands of different tarot decks are now in print around
the world. The vast range of tarot decks points to the fact that tarot aficionados also vary:
from collectors and artists to mystics and magicians, to psychics and psychotherapists, to
herbalists… and on and on. Occultists use the tarot for predictions, in ritual, and as <<flash
cards>> for whatever system – cabbalistic, alchemical, quasi-Christian – they might wish to

14
Gray, op. cit., p. 10.
study. Mystics use the tarot for meditation and, overlapping the occultists, for advancement in
other-worldly realms. Students of psychology can see in the figures of the tarot human types,
elements of the psyche, and archetypes.”15

2. Artistic rendition in the Rider-Waite deck

The Magician, the illusionist or the scammer is regarded as being the gateway or
entrance of the Tarot temple. We have provided in Annex 1, at the end of our paper, the card
for a best understanding of the illustrated symbols we will be discussing further in our paper.
The artist that crafted the beautiful drawings of the Rider-Waite Tarot card pack was
Pamela Colman Smith, as we already learned earlier. “Pamela Colman Smith painted in
watercolors the deck known as the Rider-Waite Tarot. The deck was named after Arthur
Edward Waite, who guided the artist through the Major Arcana, and the first publisher of the
deck, Rider of London. Like Etteilla, A.E. Waite claimed that his was a <<rectified>> tarot,
that is, occultly correct. It was based on the principles of the Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn: a blend of Rosicrucianism, Cabalism, astrology, Masonic ritual, alchemy, and
European mythology. Pamela Colman Smith was probably inspired by the designs of the late-
fifteenth-century Italian Sola-Busca Tarot, copies of which are housed in the British Museum.
The Sola-Busca Tarot is the inly known early tarot deck whose Minor Arcana shows scenes
instead of symmetrical arrangements of suit symbols. The original artwork of the Rider-
Waite Tarot disappeared after World War II, as did the original Sola-Busca Tarot, which was
in Milan. By coincidence, they may have shared the fate of so much other art: casualties of
war.”16
In the cards‟ drawing we can see a man that stands vigorously on his feet in front of a
table, on it, a pentacle, cup, sword and club being present, relating to the Minor Arcana suit
cards, which we will discuss in more detail in another section of our paper. In the versions of
the Tarot de Marseille17 card pack, Le Beteleur is depicted wearing brightly colorful clothes
which sends us to the thought of ancient times, where the magician was often found at the
entrance of circus shows, luring wanderers with his tricks inside the tent, assuring the
vagabonds that higher powers are to be found inside only if they had the courage to step in. In
other Tarot packs, like in our Rider-Waite pack, the Magician is seen clothed in a white robe
and over it a scarlet garment, an image that, nonetheless, alludes to the Templar warrior
monks.
A serpentine-like blue belt belt is encircling his waist, a crude image of Ouroboros,
the ageless dragon that bites its tail. He is holding a staff in his right hand, a symbol of the
Caduceus or maybe the staff of Jacob, a magnet held up high to gather sublime cosmic forces
and to cast them down on the material plane of existence. This staff is, also, a phallic
representation, evoking masculine polarity, individuality. Above his head, the symbol of

15
Jean Huets, The Cosmic Tarot, Copyright and licensed under the Creative Commons license, the Attribution-
NonCommercial-ShareAlike license, 2008, p. 7.
16
Ibidem.
17
See Annex 2.
infinity is drawn; his knowledge of self implies through this that he has achieved the
transcendence of space and time, an etheric promised dance, through which the mysteries of
infinity are eluded to him last.
Climbing roses form an arch above his head provide the perfect temple for his work.
It is worth noticing that the rose is seen as a powerful alchemical symbol. It is seen as being
the centre of the Garden, the workplace, a mystic core in which nature is redeemed and
perfection is unfolded. Author Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki made a beautiful remark on the
symbol of the rose in her 1989 book Inner Landscapes. A Journey into Awareness by
Pathworking. She stated that: “Life is the greatest of all powers even through the carefully
designed and laid out square road, roses and lilies push their way up to the light. There is
nothing so lowly or so primitive in form that it does not lift itself to the source of all creation
in worship”.18
The Magician’s hands are positioned in the manner that reminds us of Eliphas Lévi‟s
allegory of Baphomet, the timeless formula Solve et Coagula evoking the rule of thumb for
his craft. Contemporary author Eden Gray writes that: “The hand holding the magic wand is
the ego-consciousness reaching up for power while the other hand points to earth, as if the
Magician wills earth‟s forces to be ambivalent to him. Or, it might be said that with one hand
he reaches up to take the hand of the Infinite for accomplishment in the higher realms, while
reaches down with the other to encourage the evolution of the lower kingdoms – thus uniting
Spirit and matter in eternity”.19
A. E. Waite writes that The Magician or the Juggler is “in the world of vulgar
trickery. This is the colportage interpretation, and it has the same correspondence with the
real symbolical meaning that the use of the Tarot in fortune-telling has with its mystic
construction according to the secret science of symbolism. I should add that many
independent students of the subject, following their own lights, have produced individual
sequences of meaning in respect of the Trumps, Major, and their lights are sometimes
suggestive, but they are not the true lights. For example, Eliphas Lévi says that the Magus
signifies that unity which is the mother of numbers; others say that it is the Divine Unity; and
one of the latest French commentators considers that in its general sense it is the will”. 20 We
notice that the position of his hands allude to the old hermetic axiom “As above, so below; as
below, so above”.
The cards meditation color is yellow, the color attributed to the element of Air. We
can see that this is the prominent color used in the illustration. It is also the color associated
with gold, light, eternal and pure, the color of the saint‟s auras adorning their heads and that
of the suns razes shining blissfully.
A table is depicted in front of the Mage with several objects on it. This image alludes
to the idea of an alchemist, one who has learned to use the four tools that are laid in front of
him: a sword, a wand, a cup and a club, representing the suit cards or minor arcanas. He has
mastered his art through patience and pedantry, he has transcended the illusion, his craft has
condemned him to a perpetual movement, the way of perfecting the great masterpiece

18
Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, Inner Landscapes. A Journey into Awareness by Pathworking, 1989, p. 147.
19
Gray, op. cit., p. 20.
20
Waite, op. cit., p. 8.
through continuous fervent experimentation. By applying the universal laws of the universe
with the virtues and principles of every-day living, the mage crafts his work, magic, and
transmutes his own being, gaining gifts and blessings. All the sages, including all of the great
religion founders have stated, in one way or another, that each human being is a magician,
one way o another.
This card “does not contain the most higher of truths, but the most spectacular.”21 It
signifies the magical formula of the True Will, adaptation, cunning and mastery of one‟s self,
and in the next section of our paper we have made a study on the individualism that the card
specifically expresses by our point of view.
The Magician often relates to a power inside us that, most times, many people are
unaware about. The power to change, the ability to grasp the mundane and transform it into
magic is present in each human being, and, as the Mage, our selves can transmute the lead
(fear, anger, hate) into gold (courage, calm, love).

3. The symbol of the Ego

This card is noted with the number I, implying the entrance in the Temple, as we have
earlier stated. Bearing the number I, this is an important aspect of the card. This number is a
master number, the original axiom, the monad, as well as the others. Papus states that: “All
numbers are multiples of one, all sciences converge to a common point, all wisdom comes
out of one center, and the number of wisdom is one”.
The Magician represents individuality, power, and fervor. This is not to be regarded
as a positive nor negative facet. The Tarot cards do not hold good or bad aspects, thus, trying
to interpret them from a bipolar point of view would be wrong from the start. Instead, the
Tarot cards offer meaning to those who have their ears and eyes open and their hearts filled
with patience in understanding their occult aspects.
The Ego is a natural occurring psychological phenomenon in the cycle of human life;
it is the gift that gives form to consciousness in the physical plane of existence, matter
imbued with spirit. Many wise men thought of it as being a “tool” that paves the way to
salvation and enlightenment. To master the Ego is to overcome its illusions and break the
foggy veil of the mundane spiritual confusion through a system of alchemical transmutations,
this requiring great willpower from behalf of the initiate. Though this method is often painful
and hard to accomplish from mental and emotional points of view, it is a necessary step
which, by universal laws, at one point or another, every individual must pass through its
doors.
The Juggler or Magician is regarded as best expressing the Individual in the Tarot. To
understand the concept of Ego, ancient traditions used symbols to better grasp the
psychological concepts that rose during their routine life. Some souls always have been

21
Dan Seracu, Arta divinatiei, Editura Arhetip – R.S., Bucuresti, 1995, p. 24.
endowed with a wonderful habit of seeing magic unfold all around them, a natural curiosity
towards the hidden aspects of existence, a natural passion for decoding their own existence.
Before psychology there was shamanism, witchcraft and divination. Shamans and
occultists had a clear understanding of the archetypal nature of the human soul and made use
of it by the means of interpretation. Even before Sigmund Freud introduced his famed system
of psychoanalysis, many ancient cultures before him had already taken special interest in
revealing the secrets of their subconscious, some of them having survived through the ages to
our current era.
We feel that the many esoteric societies have gained their occult knowledge through
the use of psychoactive compounds. One preeminent thinker, whom we think had insight of
the potential of psychoactive compounds in the process of attaining higher stares of being,
was the philosopher Plato. Whilst being initiated in the Eleusinian mysteries, Plato drank a
brew called kykeon, made out of wine, barley and goat‟s cheese. Ergot is a parasitic fungus
that grows on barley, containing the psychedelic compound lysergic acid amid (LSA) which
is a precursor to LSD-25. The initiates would fast for a period of time and after, during the
ceremony, they would drink the brew, inducing them in a revelatory state of spiritual
awakening. We also think that the kykeon brew could have contained the compound DMT,
which occurs in many plants from the Mediterranean area, these including the Acacia family.
We can find incredible symbolism relating to this practice and, although we will be covering
this subject in a future paper or book, we will make a short parenthesis on this matter in a few
other short examples.
In terms of ethno botanical remedies, the American continent is full of history and
ethno pharmacological research potential. Central American shamans would induce vivid and
lucid dreams during the night by means of ingesting an herb known by the name of Calea
Zacatechici, in the form of a tea, or by means of smoking it. After their voyage to the sidereal
planes of existence, they would return with the gift handed down to them by the Gods and
started “sculpting” it with the use of interpretation. Many scholars are superficial and invoke
only superstition when they hear of primitive divinatory practices, but for the collective of
that time, the shaman was the psychologist. He was as highly valued back then as a healer, as
any one of the modern day talented psychoanalysts and psychiatrists.
In Southern America, the native shamans still use the ancient medicine, revered
among them by the name of ayahuasca, a famed ceremonial tea amongst the natives, known
for containing the powerful psychedelic compound N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, from the
tryptamine22 family, the same compound we speculated was present in the Eleusinian
Mysteries brew kykeon.
Many esoteric societies are known to have been using stimulants to attain higher
states of consciousness. We will note here that some of these hidden psychoactive stimulants
have survived the ages through their rich symbolism. We will note here that Freemasonry has

22
“trypt-amine \ ‘trip-ta,meh \ n. [tryptophan fr. Tryptic, fr. Trypsin, fr. Gk. Tryein, to wear down (from its
occurrence in pancreatic juice as a proteolytic enzyme) + amine fr. NL ammonia] 1: A naturally occurring
compound found in both the animal and plant knigndoms. It is an endogenous component of the human brain.
2: Any of a series of compounds containing the tryptamine skeleton, and modified by chemical constituents at
appropriate positions in the molecule.” (Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, Tihkal. The continuation,
Transform Press, California, 1997.)
a symbol for the psychedelic compound mentioned earlier, though we believe this knowledge
is lost, at least in the most part of it, or, maybe, even worse, ignored by the members of the
Order. The symbol is the Acacia tree branch, and many species of this family are known for
their traced amounts of DMT, some of them still used in ceremonial drinks. We speculate
thus that the ancient Semitic countries of the Middle-East knew of the benefits of this
psychoactive alkaloid had on the human psyche. Acacia nilotica or the gum Arabic tree is a
species indigenous to the Middle-East and Indian subcontinent, used also in a whole range of
medicines. From the acclaimed Masonic researcher Albert G. Mackey we learn that this “was
esteemed a sacred tree. It is the acacia vera of Torunefort, and the mimosa nilotica of
Linnaues. It grew abundantly in the vicinity of Jerusalem, where it is still to be found, and is
familiar to us all, in its modern uses at least, as the tree which the gum Arabic of commerce is
obtained.
The acacia, which, in Scripture, is always called shittah and in the plural shittim, was
esteemed a sacred wood among the Hebrews. Of it Moses was ordered to make the
tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, the table for the showbread, and the rest of the sacred
furniture. Isaiah, in recounting the promises of God‟s mercy to the Israelites on their return
from the captivity, tells them, that, among other things, he will plant in the wilderness, for
their relief and refreshment, the cedar, the acacia (or, as it is rendered in our common version,
the shittah), the fir, and other trees. (…) The early Masons, therefore, very naturally
appropriated this hallowed plant to the equally sacred purpose of a symbol which has to teach
an important divine truth in all ages to come.”23
The psychoactive effects of the DMT molecule are described by users as being
intense, an immersion into a fractal environment. They describe it as a strong bond with the
universe, an embracing of all life as well as profound feelings of dissociation and the effect
best known as the Ego Death among modern day initiates. Many of them describe that along
the “trip” they experienced they met with mental and/or spiritual entities, describing the
substance as opening a doorway into another dimension and sphere of consciousness, where
time unveils the truth of its illusion, where mortality is shed. Mackey offers a beautiful
description of the acacia plant, out of which we can find that the states previously described
are being painted in symbolic poetry and allegory. Thus: “The acacia, in the mythic system of
Freemasonry, is preeminently the symbol of the IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL, that
important doctrine which is the great design of the institution to teach. As the evanescent
nature of the flower which <<cometh forth and is cut down>> reminds us of the transitory
nature of human life, so the perpetual renovation of the evergreen plant, which
uninterruptedly presents the appearance of youth and vigor, is aptly compared to that spiritual
life in which the soul, freed from the corruptible companionship of the body, shall enjoy an
eternal spring and an immortal youth. Hence, in the impressive funeral service of our order, it
is said, <<This evergreen is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul. By this we
are reminded that we have an immortal part within us, which shall survive the grave, and
which shall never, never, never die. >>”24

23
Albert G. Mackey, M.D., The Symbolism of Freemasonry: Illustrating and explaining its science and
philosophy, its legends, myths and symbols, 1882, p. 88, source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11937/.
24
Idem.
 To be able to perform magic, one needs to be conscious of his surroundings, but, most
of all, conscious of his inner nature. The Arcana studied deals with control of external reality.
It is well known to all of us that a good magician is a master of illusions. To fool others with
his illusion he must master it first, and mastering ones confusion automatically leads to
increased states of awareness. We may gain potential and discover new paths that lead to our
Higher Selves through mental exercise and spiritual practice, something all esoteric societies
and religions have been stating in their doctrines since the beginning of human civilization.
To walk on the stellar fields of knowledge, one must also be grounded. Like a tree,
the Magician must have a strong bondage to our material plane in order to fuse the
connection with his inner mental nature. The character portrayed in the card is seen pointing
with his left hand to the ground, his index finger being stretched out, revealing that the earth
is his current tool to reach the Heavens above. An important symbolic aspect here is the fact
that the right hand is pointing upwards and the left downwards, the right hand being regarded
as the masculine pole, the dominant, projective hand that directs energy, where as the left one
is regarded as the receptive hand, the one responsible for the action of receiving. This further
strengthens the fact that the Magician is power-oriented and passionate.
The Ego is materialistic. It is born in this world, its final resting place being the same.
During his work, the student must take note of the vigor that the Arcana teaches. He must
heed the fact that to attain the connection and remember his superior, heavenly nature, one
must take care of his physical integrity. We will quote on this matter the scholar Manley P.
Hall: “An unhealthy mind, even in a healthy body, will ultimately destroy health”.
The Magician, in his right hand, holds the double-headed staff. The Mage has to cast
down the cosmic energies to earth and to bring back the telluric ones to heaven. Amber
Jayanti states the same in her book Living the Tarot, and agrees that: “The Magician bears a
magic wand and headband. In order to make magic, he must limit his concentration to the
task before him. These symbols demonstrate how mental discipline has the potential to
transform you and your environment (the garden). Notice that the wand is two headed – it
draws energy from both ends – and is held in the Magician‟s right hand to emphasize the
consciously acts to bring heaven to earth and earth to heaven. ”25
The Ego is the Universe manifested. Through our conscious selves we create and
destroy reality as we wish. This is the side of the human psyche which the card evokes. The
Fool has met the Magician, and now only true willpower will be the force that drives him
from now on through the Tarot temple.
His white head band brings us the thought that, for the moment, he is bounded in the
material plane of existence, the band representing his tie with the mortal plain. His red
garment signifies the personality that cloaks the spirit, the white garment. He is dressed for
the ritual, the works may begin.
Though the knowledge that the Tarot is a divinatory system is true, it is, most often,
rather superficial, though it is not the only method of use for it. Many novices and students of
the occult get easily overexcited with the thought of having a glimpse of the future, even if it
is shrouded in allegorical meaning, thus forgetting the preparations that need to be

25
Amber Jayantii, Living the Tarot. Applying an ancient oracle to the challenges of modern life, Wordsworth
th
Editions; 4 Edition, 2000, p. 59.
undertaken, thoroughly, and with severe discipline, before actually applying the respective
divinatory techniques.
Meditating on Tarot cards and their imagery can enhance the profane daily life of the
Tarot student. The Magician is revered as an archetype of the beginning of any labor,
spiritual and/or material. Dawn Rothwell gives us a description of how empowering our Ego
can be through her predictive meaning of the Arcana: “Today is a day to look carefully at the
tools on your table and the plans in your head and decide exactly what it is that you are
setting out to create. Our intentions, thoughts, and beliefs can indeed create reality, but when
was the last time you took a moment to have a long hard look about what it is you are really
creating and why? You have more power and more options than you think. Things that you
see as obstacles could actually be important tools and if you are loyal to your own self and
passionate in your quest you will find just how to use those tools for your best benefit. You
have the ability to use the tools on the table to make your own reality.”26
This card is governed by intellect, the Ego being a mental construct. The Tarot student
can attain mindfulness of the True Self by meditating on the archetypal nature of The
Magician. This Arcana also goes by the title of Magus of Power. It can be used as a powerful
tool in times of doubt or fear, its symbolism awakening pillars of order and control.
Another author, Clive Barrett, offers us another interpretation of the cards nature:
“This card represents the intellect, its ability to probe and examine the environment and its
power to change and transform that environment if it is found wanting. Productive thought,
creative ideas, the mind put to constructive use. Self-confidence and belief in oneself.
Practical knowledge as opposed to theory. The ability to organize people, time, events, to
plan things in a way that is of benefit to all concerned. Skill in the spheres of business and
commerce. […] The first decisive step along the road of progress.”27
The card teaches, in the end, discipline and understanding. Great plans are only to be
attained with patience and perseverance. Passions, desires, vices can be converted through the
sheer force will and vice versa for the completion of the Magnum Opus. The Temple of
Humanity is built out of countless bricks, but we feel that the Ego is the cement that binds
them in place, if it is mixed well and used with the utmost noble intentions.

4. Alchemy in the Tarot

One of the goals we want to fulfill in our study is to not overlook any of the symbols
present in the allegory of the card.
As we have concluded, the origins of the Tarot cannot be pin-pointed to a specific
period of time or culture. We have however agreed that it has spread through numerous
ancient traditions, in most of them their true meaning being kept unaltered and intact.
The objects that are placed in front of the Mage are powerful archetypal symbols by
design: The Pentacle, Cup, Sword and Club. These represent the tools of his trade with which

26
Dawn Rothwell, Insight Tarot, Published by Lulu.com, 2007, p. 115.
27
Clive Barrett, The Ancient Egyptian Tarot, Thorsons, San Francisco, 1994, p. 21.
will complete his work. He is the Alchemist and those are the four elements that comprise the
foundation of the material world, fire, air water and earth.
Because these elements were considered in ancient times the ingredients of the whole
material world, we will try to lay down first, in short, the meaning and purpose of the Art of
Alchemy and what it deals with, afterwards expanding on the interpretations of the Minor
Arcana symbols found in the card.
The origins of Alchemy are, as those of the Tarot, shrouded in the mist of Time and
are diverse in speculation. We can say that in ancient times, when civilizations in the Middle-
East began rising, they supported the various craftsmen that brought progress to their
cultures. Such craftsmen were metallurgists, carpenters, weavers. Beauty, expressed through
the use of various colors was highly regarded. The art of making dyes and pigments was
valued, the process of attaining certain tones of color involving chemical operations. The art
of writing had been invented, early accounts going back to ancient Mesopotamia around the
year 3600 B.C. according to clay tablets. Along with this art, naturally, spirituality began to
rise, temples were being built and abstract thought had to be somehow materialized in various
forms of art. A multitude of gems had been found in the earth, glass-making was established
and different properties of minerals had been discovered.
Religion was closely tied to craftsmanship. In ancient times, these two were not
separated like science is separated from religion in our modern times; on the contrary, they
were closely intertwined. The miners, metallurgists were supposed to have an intimate
relation with the Gods, the mountain being the link between the physical world and the
spiritual world, the crossing bridge. Meteors falling from the sky, bringing ore on the Earth
were also linked with the Divine in ancient cultures: “The operations of the craftsmen were
carried out to the accompaniment of religious or magical practices, and supposed connexions
were seen between metals, minerals, plants, planets, the Sun and the Moon, and gods. Thus in
Babylonia gold was connected with the Sun and with the god Enlil, and silver with the Moon
and the god Anu.”28
The process of refining metals and separating them from impurities was highly
regarded in ancient times, for all metals, but especially for the noble ones, such as silver and
gold: “The metallurgists knew how to extract such metals as copper and iron form their ores,
and were thoroughly familiar with methods of assaying gold and silver with fair accuracy.
Cupellation was one of the methods employed. Here the impure precious metal is mixed with
lead and the metals are fused together in a porous crucible or cupel, often made of bone-ash.
On blowing air over the melted mass, the lead and other base metals are oxidized, and the
molten lead oxide or litharge, which contains all the base-mteal oxides, is partly blown off by
the blast, and partly absorbed by the walls of the cupel. Left in the crucible is a button of
refined gold, or, if silver was originally present as well as gold, a button of gold-silver
alloy.”29
Middle-Eastern cultures, especially the Babylonian culture, kept in high regard the
Moon (silver) and its cycles, this being evident from their accurate calendars. Unlike them,
the Greek culture had an affinity for the Sun (gold). After Alexander the Great conquered the

28
E. J. Holmyard, Alchemy, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1990, p. 20.
29
Ibidem, p. 43.
Persian empire and much of the surrounding areas, these including Egypt and the Northern
parts of India, Alchemical thought was beginning to gain more and more ground through the
combined cultures, of the Greeks and the Persians, birthing new systems of mystic thought
that would be passed on, from generation to generation, until the Middle Ages, through
various scholars, adepts and mystic esoteric systems. Alexander the Greats mentor, the
philosopher Aristotle, has put in his writing much of the background that is known in exoteric
Alchemy: “According to Aristotle, then, the basis of the material world was a prime or
primitive matter, which had, however, only a potential existence until impressed by „form‟.
By form he did not mean shape only, but all that conferred upon a body its specific
properties. In its simplest manifestation, form gave rise to the „four elements‟, fire, air, water
and earth, which are distinguished from one another by their „qualities‟. The four primary
qualities are the fluid (or moist), the dry, the hot, and the cold, and each element possessed
two of them.”30
Many Alchemical studies arose from the famed city of Alexandria and it‟s Library.
The Platonists, Pythagoreans and Hermetists had dedicated much of their study times to this
ancient art, like all the great scientific minds of the world.
Like in the system of Freemasonry, we consider Alchemy as being operative and
speculative or spiritual. From operative Alchemy and its practices with the different elements
of the periodical table, modern Chemistry has evolved. In modern times, and in our current
study of the Tarot, we will be focusing on the speculative part of Alchemy, this being called
Spiritual Alchemy. Franz Hartmann, the esoteric writer and researcher, states that: “Alchemy
and Astrology are sciences which are at the present time very little understood, because they
deal with spiritual things, which cannot be known to persons who are not in the possession of
spirituality. Chemistry deals with physical matter; alchemy deals with their astral principles.
Astronomy deals with the physical aspect of the bodies of planets and stars; astrology deals
with the omnipresent psychic influences which their souls exert upon each other, and upon
the Microcosm of man.”31
The purposes, the goals that were to be achieved through this science were the
manufacturing of the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life. All the processes involved in
the manufacturing of the above consisted in working with the Magnum opus or Prima
Materia through various processes known as the Great Work of Alchemy. The stages through
which the Magnum Opus had to pass are nigredo, albedo, citrinitas and rubedo with their
corresponding colors being black, white, yellow and red.32
The Philosopher knows that the use of metals in Alchemy is merely symbolic. Gold
and silver, if referred as the riches of this world, is vulgar and meaningless. The gold and
silver are in the heart, and through this understanding Eternal Life is achieved. This is also
the goal of the Magician, as we learned earlier.

30
Ibidem, pp. 21-22.
31
Franz Hartmann, M.D., Paracelsus and the substance of his teachings, Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged,
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & CO. Ltd., London, 1896, p. 238.
32
We can clearly see that these are the colors that are present, predominantly, in the Rider-Waite studied
Tarot Arcana. We speculate that this was intentional from the designers to express correspondences
between these processes and the Tarot character.
 Throughout the Ages, many adepts have come into this world bearing gifts of
knowledge in the Art of Alchemy. To name a few of them, we found a great joy in the works
of the German alchemists Paracelsus, Basil Valentine and the English George Ripley. The
last author mentioned, George Ripley, provides in his majestic work The Compound of
Alchemy, published in 1591, the steps to creating the Philosophers Stone, which we feel are
worth mentioning: Calcination, Dissolution, Separation, Conjunction, Putrefaction,
Congelation, Cibation, Sublimation, Fermentation, Exaltation, Multiplication and Projection.
As you may have noticed, these are twelve in number. We see here a number present in many
myths, legends and practices, to name a few, such as the Twelve Step Ladder the initiate must
climb in order to attain the Higher Truths, the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac through which the
Sun passes the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism or the Twelve
Nidānas of the Bhavacakra, the Tibetan Buddhists‟ Wheel of Life.
To undergo Alchemical transformations, to transmute the material, the Alchemist
must first have the tools, acknowledging their purpose and power for the better good of the
Great Work. “The Magician represents the personal will in union with the Divine will, which
gives him the power and the knowledge to create with the tools before him.”33
The 56 Minor Arcanas are grouped into four series or colors. The colors can be
attributed different hermeneutic meanings, from different systems of esoteric philosophical
thought. We learn from Eden Gray that “these elements also were believed to have a
relationship to the four stationary or fixed signs of the Zodiac – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and
Aquarius – and they in turn correspond to the bull, the lion, the eagle and the angel
mentioned in the Bible (Ezekiel 1:10, Revelation 4:7), which decorate the four corners of two
of the Major Arcana – the Wheel of Fortune and the World. There are four seasons also, and
four points of the compass.”34
The Table on which the Elements are laid has profound significance. Occultist Paul
Foster Case writes that: “The table before the Magician represents the <<field of attention>> in
modern psychology. The word <<table>> has also affinities in language with the word
<<measurement,>> in as much as to classify and arrange is to tabulate. Note that the corners
of the table had to be squared, and that the cylindrical legs, which have capitals like Ionic
columns, required the use of compasses, and, by their capitals, suggested the <<orders>> of
architecture.”35
In nearly all initiation rites and ritualistic magic practices we find the presence of a
dagger, sword, or spade. It implies daring, action. For the Swords, the element of Air is
attributed and it evokes: “Aggression, force ambition, courage, strife, misfortune. […]
Swords represent the world of action, both constructive and destructive.”36
The symbol of the Sword is seen on the medieval gothic cathedrals, pointed down,
recreating the symbol of the Cross, we find it in Roland’s Song and in The Legend of King
Arthur with supernatural attributes.

33
Eden Gray, Mastering the Tarot, Penguin Group, New York, 1971, p. 99.
34
Ibidem, p. 21.
35
Paul Foster Case, The Tarot: A key to the Wisdom of the Ages, Builders of the Adytum, Los Angeles, U.S.A.,
1990, p. 43.
36
Ibidem, p. 22.
 Attributed to the element of Fire are the Clubs. This symbol calls out for willpower,
work, progress and evolution. “They are sometimes used as a club in fighting or as a staff to
carry a victor‟s crown. […] Wands are associated with the world of ideas and with creation
and agriculture.”37
The Cups are under the subordination of the element Water, and are linked with
emotions, pleasure, luck, joy. It implies knowing, drinking from the Cup of Life, the Holy
Grail of the Templar. “Cups, which appear in all the cards of this suit, are associated with
water, a symbol of the subconscious mind and the instincts, as opposed to the conscious mind
and reason.”38
Linked with the element Earth are the Pentacles, symbolizing the material, prosperity,
possessions, money. “The coinlike disks are pentacles, here inscribed with pentagrams – five
pointed stars that are time-honored symbols of Man. In ancient days, people wore pentacles
decorated with magic symbols as a protection from the evils of life.”39 The Pentacle teaches
silence and secrecy, it is the burning star of the Mages and Adepts of the Mystery Schools,
the intellect raised over matter.
Using all of the elements above with their corresponding traits, the spiritual
Alchemist, the Adept, may attempt to undergo the never ending Work and continue his
journey in the Tarot, this representing the gateway that the Magician is regarded as being.
The base material for his craft has been laid in front of him; he can now sculpt the world
around him using his will, his intent.

5. The Hebrew letter ‫( ב‬Beth)

The ancient Hebrews devised a secret manual of the Universe, Man and God which is
named Qaballa, Cabbalah or Kabbalah. According to the Encylcopedia of Judaism, written by
Sara Karesh and Mitchell M. Hurvitz, the “Kabbalah is the mystical tradition within
NORMATIVE JUDAISM. It relies on the sacred Jewish scriptures, like all of Judaism, but it
uses an interpretive approach that treats the Torah more as a symbolic text than as a historical
narrative or a legal treatise.
Mystical thought can be traced back to the TANAKH, the Hebrew Bible. Ezekiel‟s
discussion of the divine chariot and God‟s throne, for example, provided a rich source of
mystical insights for many generations. Mystical thought and speculation developed
alongside mainstream Judaism throughout the rabbinic period. Several of the RABBIS whose
legal rulings are considered the most authoritative were devout mystics as well.”40
Like many traditions, its origins are also shrouded in the mist of time. Some say that
the tradition was orally given by God Himself to Adam when He cast him out of Eden, as a
manual to reunite with Him one day, in the Garden, and so the tradition was verbally passed
37
Idem.
38
Idem.
39
Idem.
40
Sara Karesh & Mitchell M. Hurvitz, Encyclopedia of Judaism, Facts on File, New York, 2006, p. 261.
from one race to another throughout time. Others, like the French writer Fabre d‟Olivet, are
of the opinion that it was handed to Moses on Mount Sinai, when he also received the Ten
Commandments. Some researchers completely ignore any origins or traces of the tradition
coming from antiquity or from some antediluvian past, and are of the opinion that it was
created (the Zohar in particular) in the 13th century by a Jewish mystic bearing the name of
Moses of Lion. Moshe Idel states that the Kabbalah, “unlike philosophy, it was studied within
families and limited groups, making no attempt to disseminate its tenets to larger audiences.
Although there were some exceptions that were criticized by the Kabbalists themselves, this
mystical lore only gradually surfaced, a process that facilitated its broader recognition a
century after the composition of the first historical Kabbalistic documents.”41 We will not
continue with a history of the Kabbalah in this paper, due to the fact that this is not our goal,
and second because we would have to dedicate an independent volume (or maybe more) for
it, due to the sheer size of research it would have within it.
We will, however, dedicate this final point on the letter ‫( ב‬Beth), thus trying to shed
some light, in our remaining pages, on its correspondence with the Magician Tarot Arcana
and its interpretation based on Kabbalistic tradition.
The Sacred Jewish texts can be split into two parts: the first part dealing with the
social relations (the Law) between the members of Jewish society, and the second, dealing
with the esoteric thought, the occult practices which the members of the Tribe of Israel would
undergo to obtain a better understanding of Divinity, themselves, the world around them and
the Universe.
The Kabbalah (in its written foundation) is composed of two books: the Sepher
Yetsirah and the Zohar. Sepher Yetsirah teaches about Creation and its mysterious laws that
govern it (this teaching is called Bereschit in the Jewish tradition) and the Zohar, which
teaches about the Divine Essence that exist in The All and its various forms of manifestation;
this text is more metaphysical and its teachings are named Merkabah, meaning the Celestial
Chariot or Chariot of Fire. Practical Kabbalah is handed down only by a verbal, oral
tradition, its practice being scarcely written in some texts found in various private collections.
In the Jewish tradition of Kabbalah the study consisted, above all else, in knowing the
Hebrew letters and applying the corresponding permutations through three operations, known
by the initiates as Themuria, Gematria and Notaria. This is the most exoteric practice of them
all, but it is the basis for the esoteric teachings that the initiate will later come to know.
Knowing how to combine the letters means knowing how to channel divine forces
through one of the most sacred gifts handed down from Divinity, one of the gifts which
define the human race - articulated language. “The mystical content is drawn from the
metaphysical realms into the human world, which is itself conceived of as a linguistic matrix
of letters. Through the permutation technique, the kabbalist can create „channels‟ of power
that allow the multiphase content to descend from the linguistic divine down to a reality that
is constituted of and governed by letters. The aim of this practice is twofold. First, this
mystical technique is a way to transform the human mind and unite it with the linguistic
godhead. Second, the permutation of letters draws emanation form the higher alphabet
through the lower alphabets and, ultimately, down to man. This emanation, as stated, can be

41
Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives, Yale University Press, 1988, p. 251.
experienced as a mystical revelation of linguistic content, light, or speech. Alternatively,
mystical content may be drawn into the mundane realm as a „magical‟ instrument used to
change history and affect physical reality.”42
As the letters of the Jewish alphabet guide the kabbalist through the secrets of the
world with their corresponding moves, such are the Tarot cards for the adept. As we have
earlier stated in our paper, there are 22 Major Arcanas in the Tarot Temple, each card
corresponding to a Hebrew letter.
The letters have triple meaning: they express a graphic symbol, each one of them has
a specific numerical value, and each one expresses a certain idea. Thus, to work with the
letters, means to work with numbers and ideas, to combine them and obtain the knowledge
asked and to receive it, as being handed down by Divinity. Here we can see the identical
principles that also work in the Tarot system. As each Tarot card expresses a drawn character
and express a well defined idea, such are the letters of the Hebrew letters, each one of them
being imbued with powers that are more or less linked with the manifesting forces of the
Universe. We can say that the Kabbalah is the science of letters and language, of the
universal language. Franz Bardon, the Czech occultist and hermetist explains that: “Each
word consists of letters and each letter, from the esoteric point of view, expresses an idea and
thus some kind of power, quality etc., which, however, may not only be expressed by the
letter alone, but also by the number analogous to the universal law. Thus legality is made
clear by numbers, and ideas come to light by letters. The meaning of each letter is analogous
to the three worlds known to us. Since the quabbalist is able to express the sense of an idea by
means of letters, and since he knows very well each number standing for the relevant idea,
the letters have quite a different meaning for him than they have in the intellectual language.
Thus, under the universal laws, the letter gains a quabbalistic significance. This knowledge of
the universal laws renders it possible for the quabbalist to express several trains of thoughts
by the letters, and thus by the numbers analogous to them. A word that has reference to the
absolute laws and that is composed in analogy to and by means of the relevant letters and
numbers is a quabbalistic word; […] To be able to form a quabbalistic word, one must
precisely know the complete analogy of letters and numbers.”43
The Magician, even though it has assigned the number I, has been attributed the letter
Beth which is in fact the second letter of the alphabet, the first being Aleph. We find this
aspect interesting and we will shortly delve upon Aleph before examining Beth.
This letter also is the first number, out of which all creation emanated; it is the monad,
the beginning of Creation.44 “Whenever the Deity was to be identified, this was done by
number one. Some systems, especially the quabbalistic system, also mention the zero, the so-
called Ain-Soph, but this is incomprehensible, unimaginable for man and only serves as a
hint that apart from the one nothing else and nothing higher can exist that would be

42
Adam Afterman, Letter Permutation Techniques, Kavannah and Prayer in Jewish Mysticism, Journal for the
Study of Religions and Ideologies, 6, 18 (Winter 2007), p. 65.
43
Franz Bardon, The Key to the True Quabbalah, Dieter Ruggeberg, Wuppertal, 1986, p. 13.
44
The first Arcana - The Fool - represents the beginning of the Tarot. The Foul is regarded as the first essence,
which forever wanders through time and space, ignoring the obstacles, forever carrying the baggage of
knowledge, forever optimist (the drawn character’s chin raised implying he has no fear). This card has the
corresponding letter Aleph attributed.
comprehensible to a man‟s spirit.”45 Man cannot comprehend the nothingness; he must only
become one with it to be able to decipher its mysteries.
Aleph is one of the three Mother letters, alongside with Mem (‫ )מ‬and Shin (‫)ש‬. The
22 letters are divided into three groups: the one above, Double letters and Simple letters, all
letters being derived from one original single character – Iod (‫)י‬46. These groups correspond
to three elements, seven planets and the twelve Zodiac signs.
Aleph, translated, means “ox”. It is an interesting fact to know that, in many linguistic
systems around the world, the first letter of the alphabet is related, more or less, to cattle.
Terrence McKenna, the famed American mycologist and philosopher, proposed in his
controversial work Food of the Gods, the Stoned Ape Theory, which states that psilocybin
mushrooms contributed to the evolution of the modern human, these being ingested by our
ancestors Homo erectus and, being implemented in their diet, creating new neural highways
in the brain that led to the transitioning to our next evolutionary phase Homo sapiens. Thus,
the creation of language and the first systemized linguistic and cultural interactions began
emerging. He notes that in Eastern traditions, Hindu especially, we have a sacred triad
forming between the cattle, mushrooms and Divinity because the psychoactive mycelium is
found growing in cattle dung. Homo erectus is believed to have been following massive herds
of cattle in their search for new food sources and land. This is speculative and controversial,
but it is known as a fact and from a recent study conducted in the year 2013 by the University
of South Florida that psilocybin does in fact increase memory capacity and overall brain
functions, even “healing the brain”47, this being just one example of the recent ongoing
researches made on psychedelic compounds. John Michael Greer writes that: “It‟s an odd fact
of linguistic history that in most of the world‟s alphabets, the first letter has some relationship
to cattle; this is true of our own letter A, which descends from a Phoenician copy of the
Egyptian hieroglyph for „ox‟; it is also the case even for such distant relatives of the Old
Norse runic script. Some writers have suggested that this ties back to old astrological
symbolism, from the days when Taurus rather than Aries was counted as the first sign of the
Zodiac, or to related mythologies that place cosmic bulls or cows at the beginning of a great
many creation myths.”48
Beth translated means house. As we have previously found out, The Magician
represents the entrance into the Tarot temple. The temple is a building, represented archetypal
in the human psyche. This represents the foundation of many occult circles, the Pythagorean
sect, Rosicrucian Order and original Freemasonry, along with its derived rites. We mention
again Hermes Trismegistus known throughout the ages as Thoth or Hiram Abiff for the
freemasons, the first alchemist and his image reflected in The Magician. Paul Foster Case, the
Kabbalah researcher and freemason, due to his background, is of the same Hermetic
conception. Relating to the letter Beth, he writes that: “The first thing about a house is its

45
Ibidem, p. 51.
46
The letter Iod has been attributed the numerical value of 10. As we know, the Pythagoreans considered that
the number 10 is the perfect number, being the sum of the first four numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) representing the four
elements that build the physical world.
47
Web link: http://reset.me/study/study-psilocybin-mushrooms-stimulate-growth-of-new-brain-cells/
48
John Michael Greer, Paths of Wisdom: The Magical Cabala in the Western Tradition, Llewellyn Publications,
St. Paul Minnesota, USA, 1996, p. 308.
location, determined by survey, an application of geometry. In its building, architecture,
geometry, adaptation of materials, and many other practical applications of science are
involved. Time was when the whole art of building was called a <<mystery,>> and was under
the direction of the priests of Thoth-Nebo-Hermes-Mercury. House-building is part of
Hermetic science, and survivals of this idea are preserved in the rituals of Freemasonry.”49
To The Magician it is known the fact that in his hands he wields both the force of
creation and of destruction. Beth is one of the seven double-letters of the Hebrew alphabet
having “both a hard and a soft pronunciation. To every double letter is assigned a pair of
opposites. To Beth and Mercury, because the letter and planet designate an aspect of
consciousness which destroys as easily as it creates, the pair assigned is Life and Death.”50
The corresponding trait of The Magician and the letter Beth is Intelligence. The god
attributed to this letter and Arcana is Mercury, the part of universal consciousness that
resonates with our trait at hand. Mercury is anthropomorphized to understand the abstract of
intelligence in lore and myth. “Mercury is the astrological attribution to Beth. It represents
both the planet and the <<god>>. Understand by <<god>> an aspect of universal consciousness,
personified. […] Mercury or Hermes was the great magician and transformer, bearing the
caduceus, or wand of miracles, which survives to this day as a symbol of the healing art. He
was, nevertheless, only the messenger of a divinity higher than himself – merely the
transmitter, not the originator, the channel rather than the source.”51
The letter Beth expresses the powers of the mental, intelligence, the self-
consciousness that allows us to shape the world around us. Everything that has ever existed
exists or will exist or, better yet said, mirrored in the material realm have their origins in a
mental construct. To make a short example, let‟s say that an architect sees a patch of land and
imagines a nice villa. He creates the mental construct, outlines the design in his mental
palace, and then uses tools to cast it into the material. He draws his sketches, using his
knowledge of geometry and artistic spirit and then passes them over to engineers and
builders, carpenters, masons and shapes his initial, physically inexistent concept into this
dimension. For the undergoing of the task above, the architect needs thorough preparations to
build up his creative forces, to draw them in this realm of existence, to give life to his work as
the Rabbis did with their golems. “These powers are directed primarily to the control of
forces and things below the sub-conscious level. The energy utilized comes from above, from
superconsciousness. It is fixed and modified by acts of attention. Concentration is the great
secret of the magical art. True concentration is perfect transparency, in which personality
becomes a free, unobstructed channel for the passage downward and out-ward of the
superconscious radiant energy. Herein is the secret of true volition, and Eliphas Levi tells us,
52
<<All magic is in the will.>>”

49
Case, op. cit., p. 39.
50
Idem, p. 39-40.
51
Idem, p. 39.
52
Idem, p. 46.
 Conclusions

The Tarot philosophy reflects the inner workings of man and the material cosmos he
is thrown into, providing in its illustrations an ever changing mechanism in form but not in
spirit or essence.
We have tried to trace this system from antediluvian, ancient times to out more recent
history, the Renaissance, Illuminist period and Modern times Europe. Ancient Egypt has
known the touch of the Tarot drawings in their rich temple artworks with Thoth as their
patron, authors like Antoine Court de Gebelin being convinced in his writings that the banks
of the river Nile were the initial birthplace of the cards. Other authors like Papus claim that
the gypsies were the keepers of this sacred art, passed on from generation to generation.
In Europe the Tarot cards started gaining popularity during the 15th century in France,
Switzerland and Germany as social games, had its period of downfall after, due to the
influence of the church and the Inquisition, and was later reborn in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Their popularity, now toward their hidden message and occult philosophy, was gained by the
aristocratic class of that time, the author Antoine Court de Gebellin representing one of the
avid researchers of that time on this subject.
The culminating period of research done in this field was in the 19th and 20th
centuries, with authors like Eliphas Levi, Dr. Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse (Papus) and
A. E. Waite, Paul Foster Case etc.
Now, in our contemporary times, a great number of Tarot card decks are available for
the general public and those who wish to decode them according to tradition. Over the course
of our paper we have worked on the The Magician Arcana, extracted from the Rider-Waite
card pack, designed by the above mentioned occultist A. E. Waite and her fellow companion
Pamela Colman Smith. Compared to the Tarot de Marseille pack, the Rider-Waite pack, as
we found out, has some additional features, which range from chromatics to added
symbolism, maybe due to the fact that their designers were both members of the same
esoteric society, The Order of the Golden Dawn. It is a blend of symbolism from different
occult teachings, such as Rosicrucianism, astrology, the Kabbalah, freemasonry, numerology.
The Magician, as we concluded in our paper, represents the entrance in the Tarot
temple. It is the initiatory card in the secrets of transmutation, for carrying on the work that
will later show on his path. This Arcana expresses the individual, the Ego, that lets us
manifest in this plane of existence, it is power-oriented, it is The Magus of Power. It burns
with the fire of creation, a longing to express itself and achieve the ineffable state of being at
the end of its road. Sadly, for most of our fellow brethren the Pure Ego is tainted with the
shadow of ignorance but, Creation has left tools and technologies in nature to remind us and
them of its cosmic bliss. Such tools are found in religious rituals and esoteric societies around
the globe, in most of these just as a symbol, its original use forgotten (the Acacia symbol in
Freemasonry).
The Magician walks in this realm with the purpose of channeling energy. He, like
Hermes, is the channel of the source. He has the proper methods to create and destroy and
with his mental acuity, concentration, he has the potential to work the surrounding fields.
This Arcana has the corresponding attribute of intellect, out of which all emerged, the mental
universe.
He is the alchemist, the one who brings balance, who sows the broken veil, who from
sorrow brews joy and from fear forges courage. From the elements that are laid in front of
him, on the table which represents his field of attention, we have concluded that he uses his
mental discipline to combine the symbols of the The Pentacle, Cup, Sword and Club, analog
to fire, air water and earth. The ancients were fond of the art of Alchemy and hold high
esteem over craftsmen and artisans who refined jewels and metals.
Our studied Arcana speaks of spiritual alchemy, the transmutation of led into gold,
this being the goal to be achieved with the Philosophers Stone. Like we have said above, the
alchemist, The Magician, can work on his mental states, emotions and transform them with
the use of his will. The authors of the Rider-Waite pack have given this card a distinct golden
chromatic which alludes to its corresponding element, Air, as well as a blend of other colors,
such as black, white, yellow and red, all of these corresponding to the four stages the Great
Alchemical Work or Magnum Opus needs to pass through, being nigredo, albedo, citrinitas
and rubedo.
Like Eliphas Levi, we too, like other authors, have linked the Tarot card system with
the Hebrew alphabet. The Tarot temple, as we have seen, is comprised of 22 unique
drawings, named Arcanas. The Magician is linked to the letter ‫( ב‬Beth), the second letter in
the Hebrew alphabet.
We have found out that the Kabbalah represents the Hebrew hidden tradition of
meditation of the secrets of Man, the Universe and God. This alphabet is one of the oldest in
the history of civilization which is still being used. By knowing the letters, understanding
them and applying the correct permutations the student can gain insight about himself, the
world around him and the divine planes of creation. This exact set of rules is reflected in the
Tarot system. Like the Jewish religion has Middle-Eastern influences (including Egyptian) so
to these cards have the same ancient archetypal knowledge embedded in each one of them.
The letter ‫( ב‬Beth) is one of the seven double letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This is
an important aspect, because the card itself, the character portrayed expresses a bipolar idea,
the double headed staff, creation and destruction, one hand pointing to the Heavens with the
rod the other to Earth.
Our card expresses, in the end, the reflection of the Creator, the Architect, the Builder.
The letter, as we previously noted, is translated house. To build a house you need a certain
degree of geometrical knowledge, imagination. In our case the building is mental, a
personality which by meditating on this card, acknowledging the symbols rooted in our
subconscious mind, can carry us to a more mindful state about our inner nature and divine
spark.
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http://reset.me/study/study-psilocybin-mushrooms-stimulate-growth-of-new-brain-cells/
 ANNEX 1

The Magician Tarot Arcana from the Rider-Waite deck

 ANNEX 2

Le Bateleur Tarot Arcana from the Tarot de Marseille deck.