The Tarot of the Bohemians
Papus
Chapter 7
Connection Between The Major And Minor Arcana.
General Affinities
Key Of The Tarot
Domination of the 1st Septeary - Affinities of the 2nd Septenary in the Tarot, Card by Card - Ditto of the 3rd Septenary - General Affinities - Affinities of Yod, He, Vau, and of the 2nd He.
General figure giving the Key to the Tarot.
Connection Between The Major and Minor Arcana.
The Pentacles on one side, ther Ternary of transition on the other, establish the connection between the major and minor arcana.
This connection is found in the general affinities of the four letters of the tetragrammaton.
The 1st septenary, which corresponds to yod, governs all the correspondents of yod in the minor series, that is to say-
- The 4 Kings.
- The 4 Aces.
- The 4 Fours.
- The 4 Sevens.
Each element of the septenary govern different terms, thus-
- 1st Septenary
- The arcana 1 and 4 govern King-1.4.7 of Scepters.
- The arcana 2 and 5 govern King-1.4.7 of Cups.
- The arcana 3 and 6 govern King-1.4.7 of Swords.
- The arcanum 7 govern King-1.4.7 of Pentacles.
Moreover-
The 1st arcanum especially governs the positive terms of the series, i.e.-
| Arcanum | The King of Yod or of Sceptres(+)1. |
| 1 (+) | The King of Vau or of Swords(-). |
The 4th arcanum especially governs the negative terms of the series-
| Arcanum | The King of He or of Cups(+). |
| 4 (-) | The King of the 2nd He or of Pentacles(-). |
By applying the same law to the other arcana we find-
| Arcanum | Ace of Yod (+) Sceptres. |
| 2 (+) | Ace of Vau (-) Swords. |
| Arcanum | Ace of He (+) Cups. |
| 5 (-) | Ace of He (-) Pentacles. |
| Arcanum | 4 of Sceptres (+). |
| 3 (+) | 4 of Swords (-). |
| Arcanum | 4 of Cups (+). |
| 6 (+) | 4 of Pentacles (-). |
| Arcanum | All the transitional terms. |
| 7 (+) | 7(~). |
Second Septenary
The second septenary, corresponding to He, governs all the correspondents of the first He, in the minor series, that is to say-
- The 4 Queens.
- The 4 Twos.
- The 4 Fives.
- The 4 Eights.
Each element of the second septenary has the following dominations-
| Arcanum | Queen of Sceptres, (+) | Arcanum | Queen of Cups, (+) |
| 7 (+) | Queen of Swords, (-) | 10 (-) | Queen of Pentacles, (-) |
| Arcanum | Two of Sceptres, (+) | Arcanum | Two of Cups, (+) |
| 8 (+) | Two of Swords, (-) | 11 (-) | Two of Pentacles, (-) |
| Arcanum | Five of Sceptres, (+) | Arcanum | Five of Cups, (+) |
| 9 (+) | Five of Swords, (-) | 12 (-) | Five of Pentacles, (-) |
| Arcanum 13 (~) | All the 8, (~) |
Third Septenary.
The third septenary corresponds to Vau, and rules over-
- The 4 Knights.
- The 4 Threes.
- The 4 Sixes.
- The 4 Nines.
Each element of this septenary thus rules over-
| Arcanum | Knight of Sceptres, (+) | Arcanum | Knight of Cups, (+) |
| 13 (+) | Knight of Swords, (-) | 16 (-) | Knight of Pentacles, (-) |
| Arcanum | Three of Sceptres, (+) | Arcanum | Three of Cups, (+) |
| 14 (+) | Three of Swords, (-) | 17 (-) | Three of Pentacles, (-) |
| Arcanum | Six of Sceptres, (+) | Arcanum | Six of Cups, (+) |
| 15 (+) | Nine of Swords, (-) | 18 (-) | Nine of Pentacles, (-) |
| Arcanum 19 (~) | All the 9, (~) |
Ternary of Transition.
The ternary of transition rules over-
- The 4 Knaves.
- The 4 Tens.
Each of its elements thus rules over-
| Arcanum | Knave of Sceptres, (+) | Arcanum | Knave of Cups, (+) |
| 19 (+) | Knave of Swords, (-) | 20 (-) | Knave of Pentacles, (-) |
| Arcanum 21 (~) | All the 10, (~) |
Value of the signs +, -, and ~.
The signs which follow each card in the preceding lists define the exact value of the card. One example will suffice to make this clearly understood.
Each term can be taken in two principal acceptations: in the positive (+) or in the negative (-). The same rule applies to the sub-division of these terms.
For instance, the correspondents of the first septenary are 1 and 4.
- 1 is the positive (+).
- 4 is the negative (-).
1 governs the two minor arcana: the King of Sceptres and the King of Swords.
- The King of Sceptres is positive.
- The King of Swords is negative.
The definite value of these terms would therefore be-
1st King of Sceptres.
- Positive (+) of the positive (+);
- or
- King of Scepters
- + +
2nd King of Swords.
- Negative (-) of the positive (-);
- or more simply
- King of Swords
- + -
The same rule applies to the other terms in combining the sign which follows the major arcanum with that which follows the term under consideration.
The value of each of the 78 cards of the Tarot is thus defined.
1. The signs +, -, ~ indicate: the sign + the positive terms, the sign - the negative terms, the sign ~ the neuter terms.