Tarot and Kabbalah: connection and meaning
Tarot appears as a card game around the 13th century, in Renaissance Italy by the Visconti-Sforza family. This historical origin differs from a mystical origin by the French post-Enlightenment where it is traced back to Ancient Egypt, in line with the interest of secret societies in this ancient civilization. It was Antoine Court de Gebelin, a Protestant pastor and Freemason, who in 1791 would publish in his work "The Primitive World" that the etymology of Tarot comes from the Egyptian terms tar- ("path") and -ro- (king or royal) entrusted to Thot as the god of thinkers, or "hierophants" as guardians of the essences.
The Tarot would then be "the way of the king" understood as a spiritual guide, a starting point for all "western" spirituality through the collection of 78 cards. These are divided between minor arcana, similar to a traditional deck, and the major arcana, being 22 in a sequential manner.
There are those who associate this last number with the Hebrew alphabet, which contains the same number of letters. In addition, the four suits are related to the planes of manifestation or worlds of the Tree of Life of Jewish Kabbalah.
Furthermore, to the phonetic similarity of the words Tarot and Torah a final "Tau" is added. It means Cross and Matter, and is the last letter of the alphabet, at the same time as the word "Emet" or truth.
All this symbolic representation can refer to how the Torah offers religious rules while the Tarot offers material, even secular, rules of how to be in the world.
In the Jewish Kabbalah, each Sephira is the different manifestations between the ideal given by God and how they interrelate towards the fully human.
The similarities found between this practice and the Tarot are specified in the following sections:
Each suit (Wand, Air, Cup, Gold) of the minor arcana is associated with each of the layers that make up the different incarnations of the human experience, separating into four parts the spirit, the soul, the physical body and the apprehension of the world, similar to the World card as the final destination of the entire journey.
The esoteric consensus that there are four suits is associated with the four elements (Earth, Fire, Air, Water) forming with their conjugation the "fifth element" being for the alchemists the "ether" as a unifying element that is found in the "void" or being love as glue from a spiritual perspective. Therefore, we could not establish the connection with the Hebrew tradition, since its definition was maintained by later esoteric conventions.
For numerology, each Sephira is associated with specific aspects of the divine and the material:
KETHER (1) - The Crown: Symbolizes absolute unity
CHOCKMAH (2) - Wisdom: Represents masculine energy.
BINAH (3) - Understanding: Related to feminine energy.
CHESED (4) - Forgiveness: Represents brotherly love and compassion.
GEBURAH (5) - Severity: Associated with judgment and strength.
TIPHARETH (6) - Beauty: Related to balance and harmony.
NETZACH (7) - Victory: Represents victory and domination.
HOD (8) - Glory: Associated with splendor and submission.
YESOD (9) - Foundation: Related to ego and sexuality.
MALKUTH (10) - The Kingdom: Represents action and the material world.
We see some disparities with the Major Arcana, as the pairs of Priestess/Empress + Emperor/Hierophant are presented first, which do not correspond to their meaning in the order in which they appear in terms of gender. At the same time, these correspond to the minor arcana (10) instead of the 22 symbols that correspond to the major arcana.
The Tarot card "The Magician" can be related to the path that connects Keter (the Crown) with Bina (Understanding) in the Kabbalah, but these connections are speculative rather than a systematization that establishes consensual acquaintanceships.
Despite this, the card of The Fool as infinite possibilities beginning a path without a guide represented by the number 0, associated at the same time with the Aleph.
As for the alphabet, each connection between the Sefirot is associated with each Hebrew letter, which finds its parallel in the shapes of the Major Arcana. The most striking is that of the Hanged Man, associated with Mem (מ) as a card sharing the shape in its stroke with respect to the card, without there being other significant examples between the pictorial similarity and the Semitic alphabet.
The fusion of the tarot with the Kabbalah implies the incorporation of the teachings and correlations in the interpretation of the cards, associating themselves explicitly in the cards themselves, granting a more holistic dimension that at the same time It can distance both the initiate and the consultant from the message. Similarly, they use their own symbolic referents such as Lilith for The Devil.
This image represents the Kabbalistic tarot with additional meanings to the Tarot of Marseille, associating itself with astrology.
The interconnection of Kabbalah and Tarot with other esoteric practices such as astrology can be seen in these cards, as well as alchemy as Aleister Crowley did in the Book of Toth or even with the different stages of the chakras, and tangentially with palmistry.
The most relevant would be the Hebrew pendulum born at the beginning of the 20th century, and known as the radiesthetic pendulum, to which the use of Hebrew letters and Kabbalistic principles were later added.
In conclusion, the Kabbalah offers an enriching perspective of Jewish mysticism that helps us understand our contemporary society, transcending religious traditions through the meanings it adds to the Tarot.
The inspiration of the deck in this tradition does not equal a 1:1 since modern spirituality is syncretic, and seeks freedom of individuals understood as "secularism."
While the "new age" current is deterministic, giving certainties in a world of personal uncertainties, the Tarot crossed by the Kabbalah grants a personal and significant way in search of a journey of exploration and self-knowledge.
Nuria Acquaviva – nuriacquavivaps@gmail.com
Bibliography:
-Gad, I. Tarot and Individuation. Correspondences with Cabala and Alchemy. Ed. Nicolas-Hays, 1994.
-Krawchof, D. Kabbalistic Tarot. Hebraic Wisdom in the Major and Minor Arcana. Ed. Inner Traditions, 2005.
-Portela, J.A. Tarot y Cábala, caminos espirituales. Ed. Índigo. 2001.
Related articles:
> Jewish Kabbalah: an introduction
> Correspondences of the Sefirot
> Tarot and astrology (I). Major arcana, zodiac, planets and elements.
