by Marcus Katz
Intermediate Time Traveller Method
If you have a specific question or situation that can be represented by one of the cards—for example, a money question (Fish), a big business question (Tower), a love question (Heart)—then place that card instead in the center and read as usual. This practice also prepares you easily for the Grand Tableaux, which builds up from this technique whilst adding additional possibilities for interpretation such as the distance between cards, a factor that changes their effect and influence.
Advanced Method
Lay out all thirty-six cards in rows of eight. This is called the Grand Tableaux and is one of two main layouts when using the whole deck. Start reading the cards about the Gentleman or Woman card as you have done with the nine-card method, then read in lines above and below in a similar way. You can then consult the same layout without moving any of the cards to look at your health by reading around the Tree card, your love life by reading around the Heart, and so on. 119
[contents]
102 Quoted in Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, The English Lenormand (Keswick, UK: Forge Press, 2013), 12.
103 A slightly similar device to the spinning top called a “totem” used in the film Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2010).
104 The Monthly Magazine, Or, British Register, vol. 4, December, 466.
105 This book was discovered by author Mary K. Greer and visited in the British Museum by ourselves to confirm that it contained instructions in addition to cards. The instructions contain the first definite proof that the Lenormand-style cards were derived from the symbols read in coffee grounds.
106 Marcus Katz, Tali Goodwin and Mary K. Greer, The English Lenormand (Keswick, UK: Forge Press, 2013), 8.
107 Lenormand decks are now plentiful on the market and you can purchase the original Lenormand from www.originallenormand.com (Last accessed 3 July, 2016).
108 It is hoped that the time traveller will return to this deck of cards at a later (earlier) date.
109 To this and several other historical points we are indebted to the work of researchers at trionfi.com.
110 See Ciro Marchetti, original self-published version of the Gilded Reverie Lenormand.
111 A. E. Waite, Shadows in Life and Thought (London, UK: Selwyn & Blount, 1938), 184.
112 A. E. Waite (as “Grand Orient”), Complete Manual of Occult Divination, Vol. 1 (New Hyde Park: University Books, 1972), 220–223.
113 From Course XI, Divination and Character Reading, Chapter 2 (Serial Lesson 119), 1940.
114 Ibid.
115 Ibid.
116 Mirabelle magazine, 1956.
117 Carey, 171.
118 Ibid., 27.
119 See Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, Learning Lenormand (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2013).
7
The Pioneer Years
The Tarot of Etteila is of no symbolic value; it is a bad mutilation of the real tarot.
—Papus, 1899 120
2:30 pm, 2 March, 1899: Paris, France
We walk amongst men with straw boater hats, who tip them in acknowledgment as we pass, and women in black bustled dresses, themselves tipping umbrellas to the afternoon sun. The scent of horses, leather, and lavender pomanders barely covers the rotten smell from the sewers that would assail Paris for several years.
As we turn a corner to 26 Rue Racine, behind the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, we hear carts, horses, carriages, buckles, and harnesses, the sounds fading slightly as we leave behind the main squares and avenues of the city. The preparations for the grand Exposition Universelle world fair are already underway, which will be the talk of the city from May until it closes in October.
At Rue Racine, we locate the publishing house of Ernest Flammarion, founded in 1876, and see the gilt gold lettering spelling Librairie above the door. It is here that an author named Gerald—better known by his nom de plume, Papus—will come to deliver his manuscript for Tarot of the Bohemians later this week.
We continue by the publishers and find the author’s apartment nearby. He is finishing his preface in a small room lit by gaslight. A worn rug covers most of the parquet floor upon which stands a decorative high table and a simple chair with an embroidered cushion and a fur throw. Across the hall through an open door, we catch the opening piano notes of Debussy’s first arabesque as a young pianist practises for the spring season.
The late afternoon light streams in through an arched window where curtains are tied back on a series of rings. Above, decorative tiles adorn the window-frame, one small nod to the new elegance becoming now popular in late Victorian Europe, the avant-garde.
By the fireplace squats a three-legged round table with a vase of flowers upon it, and Papus himself sits writing at a small desk pushed against the wall.
Above the heavily bearded thirty-four-year-old author are portraits, perhaps of family members or great figures of the past—we cannot see at this distance without disturbing him. He signs off his preface for the manuscript and gathers it together. He goes to get his coat. Whilst he is occupied, we begin to scan his work. We want to see if we can learn what Papus wanted to do with tarot. As we continue our travels along the time-stream, we will see if he accomplished his ambition.
In this chapter, we will explore the pioneering work on tarot along with its mistakes, which was created in the late 1800s. This drew on the first writings on tarot and consolidated many of the strange theories about its purpose and origin. However, at the same time, it developed the teaching work of Etteilla, and authors such as Papus created the bedrock of what became modern tarot.
In learning from this era, we will learn the tarot before the Golden Dawn took it even more esoteric, before Waite revealed and hid its mysteries at the same time, and before Crowley showed how individual a deck could be created. We will learn tarot in a half-way stage between pure card-reading, fortune-telling, and heavy esotericism.
We will begin by looking at the card decks that were available to us in this time. It is sometimes difficult to consider what it might have been like when there were only rumours and suggestions about tarot, and less than ten tarot decks in the world you might likely manage to obtain, after much searching and word-of-mouth—or the occasional advert in underground esoteric pamphlets.
Tarot Decks of the Era
In this era, Papus conveniently lists the tarot decks available to readers across Europe, from the publisher M. Pussey, on the Rue de La Banque, from whom a deck could be purchased for 4 Francs, or George Redway publishers in London, who would later publish his own book, an English translation by A. P. Morton in 1896. 121 The decks, less than ten, were as follows:
The Tarot of Etteila
The Italian Tarot
The Marseilles Tarot
The Tarot of Besançon
The double-headed Tarot of Besançon
The Tarot of Watillaux
The German Tarot
The Tarot of Oswald Wirth
Papus takes a large creative leap and whilst firmly rooted in the misguided notions of “ancient Egypt” and “Kabbalah,” spins some useful interpretations, methods and tables of correspondence that would quickly re-surface in the occult era of the Golden Dawn.
Time Traveller Visitors’ Book
After visiting this era of time, we can now also time-skip a hop backwards and locate the people who we hear Papus talking about to his own friends and colleagues. He is at least someone who also mentions those who have influenced his work in his own book, so we can use this as a time traveller guidebook for our next adventures in the tarot.
The names of those who most influenced Papus are:
Eliphas Lévi
Stanislas de Guaita
Oswald Wirth
> Court de Gébelin
Fabre d’Olivet
We would encourage all time travellers to visit these personages whenever they have time to explore these many further tributaries for the tarot time-streams.
Using Kabbalah and Tarot
When we pick up Papus’s manuscripts from his table, we see immediately the wealth of diagrams and notes mentioning the Kabbalah, Hebrew letters, and numerology. There are annotated circles and triangles, and all manner of tables. It is all completely overwhelming, and we can perhaps see why he suggested his book was for “initiates only,” although he did devote one chapter on using the cards for fortune-telling “for the ladies.”
Papus drew his Kabbalistic work from d’Olivet, Lévi, Paul Christian, and the original work of Kircher, who influenced the Golden Dawn. As time travellers, we can see immediately why this is important to us as it re-surfaces in the major arcana of A. E. Waite and Pamela Colman Smith and is then the most powerful stream of symbolism coursing through the veins of every tarot deck since that time. 122
We can see it here as we hold it in our hands and smell the very parchment as the ink dries. The very first layerings of Kabbalah into symbols and spiritual teaching through tarot are here in our hands. Let us look closer to try learning some new methods while the ideas are freshly forged.
Papus’s Hidden Resonances
Locked away in Papus’s work is a powerful pattern of tarot reading we can learn and apply to our cards. We use it to determine how court cards affect the answers to questions when they interact with other cards in the spread. 123
As an example, we might have the King of Cups in a reading and the 4 of Wands, one of the specific cards Papus links with all the Kings. This sets up a resonance we call “reconciliation” or “getting the feeling right for everyone.” The 4 of Wands is traditionally about invitation, but we have discovered that many readers also see it as “an appropriate response.” 124
When we combine that with the King of Cups, who is known for his emotional depth and compassion, we get an invitation to be compassionate, empathy, and the idea of an “appropriate response (4 of Wands) to compassion (King of Cups)” or “empathy (King of Cups) invited by others (4 of Wands).” We put this into our mental mixer and come out with the single keyword or concept “reconciliation.” You will find that we have done this for all the hidden resonances Papus discovered through his analysis of Kabbalah.
Although the method is based in Kabbalah, we do not need Kabbalah to use it. We will provide a separate section below for advanced time travellers who want to look under the hood of the method. We call this method “hidden resonances” because it shows us lines of force interacting in a reading. It applies to the court cards in combination with specific cards.
When one or more court card appear in one of your readings, consult these lists and see if there are any of the other cards listed also appearing in your reading. You can then read and apply the appropriate resonance to further deepen your interpretation.
Intermediate Time Traveller Method
As a method for reading for yourself, to get a direct and clear answer, use this technique which we call “Resonant Response.” Pick out the court cards in one pile and all the minor cards listed that follows. Shuffle the court card set whilst considering your question.
Turn up the top card from the court card set. This indicates the force that is active and is seeking expression in your situation.
Remove from the minor cards the three cards listed under that court card. So, if you receive the King of Cups (or any king), select the Ace of Wands, the 4 of Wands, and 7 of Wands.
Shuffle these three minor arcana cards while looking at the court card.
If you have received a page, you need only select the 10 of Pentacles to place next to the page. Being simple forces, pages are only paired with that card.
Select the top card from the minor arcana set and place it next to the court card. This indicates how the expression of the court card is being filtered, constrained, focused, or even blocked.
Consult the resonant combination listed here and read the interpretation.
Continuing our earlier example of the King of Cups, if you then received the 7 of Wands from the three minor cards that would be “instinct.” The interpretation is that whatever you deeply feel about the situation is likely to be the case.
King of Wands
Ace of Wands: Ambition
4 of Wands: Autonomy
7 of Wands: Arrogance
Hyperactive, restless, arrogant, control freak.
King of Cups
Ace of Wands: Legacy
4 of Wands: Reconciliation
7 of Wands: Instinct
What we drive against, rebel or fight. Instinct/instinctual, savvy, common sense, perceptive.
King of Swords
Ace of Wands: Determination
4 of Wands: Negotiation
Brainstorming, a lecture, debate, discussion.
7 of Wands: Diplomacy
Warfare, warrior king, war campaign, keeping order through instruction and ideas.
King of Pentacles
Ace of Wands: Security
4 of Wands: Consolidation
Financial consolidation, buying a house, setting real boundaries.
7 of Wands: Budgeting
Resisting temptation to spend. Auditing, accountability, responsibility
All four aspects of the King + Aces for a monarchy to survive.
Queen of Wands
2 of Cups: Union
5 of Cups: Courage
Initiation, accountability in the face of adversity.
8 of Cups: Motivation
Positivity in the face of adversity.
Queen of Cups
2 of Cups: Compassion
5 of Cups: Melancholy
Dark night of the soul.
8 of Cups: Nurturing
Queen of Swords
2 of Cups: Negotiation
5 of Cups: Regret
Recrimination.
8 of Cups: Revenge
Revengeful, bigoted, bitter, vindictive.
Queen of Pentacles
2 of Cups: Collaboration
5 of Cups: Practicality
Reality check, nurturing, support. As the saying goes, “fall seven times, get up eight.” Find a new state of balance. Earth and water do complement, can turn into mud, and then bricks to build again.
8 of Cups: Relocation
This combination deals with commitment in various forms.
Knight of Wands
3 of Swords: Frustration
6 of Swords: Moving on
Migration.
9 of Swords: Suppression
These are all states of mental anguish. The Knights are showing us four different ways in which these states manifest in our personality or projects. The minor cards act as a filter to the court cards’ natural state of expression, page = impulse, knight = force, queen = containing, king = controlling. So, the King of Pentacles is controlling earth, and through the 4 of Wands, for example, that control would be expressed as a bouncer-like energy.
Knight of Cups
3 of Swords: Treachery
Irresponsibility/breach of contract, at best indifference/Commitment phobic/heart breaker.
6 of Swords: Acceptance
Five stages of loss and grief.
9 of Swords: Delusion
Psychotic, behaviour, beleaguered, harrowed, troubled, restless.
Knight of Swords
3 of Swords: Conflict
6 of Swords: Eloquence
Verbally expressive.
9 of Swords: Fear
Fraught and fought, thought.
These are hardly the best of combinations to see in a readin
g.
Knight of Pentacles
3 of Swords: Stubbornness
Fixation.
6 of Swords: Stamina
9 of Swords: Burden
The Pages are pensive in four elemental ways.
Page of Wands
10 of Pentacles: Folly
Page of Cups
10 of Pentacles: Speculation
Gambler.
Page of Swords
10 of Pentacles: Prudence
Page of Pentacles
10 of Pentacles: Investment
When reading these resonances, also contrast the position in which the cards fall.
Also, when reading several resonances, consider them like ripples in water.
For Advanced Time Travellers
You will see in this method that there are connections to both kabbalah and numerology. This is because Papus used these systems to construct all his methods, only briefly touching on cartomancy or traditional card-reading towards the end of his work. This is an approach we see throughout this era, all the way down the timeline to A. E. Waite. It was only after these eras of esotericism that fortune-telling returned into vogue.
Tarot and Initiation 125
One of the people we see in Papus’s life was a steady presence in the esoteric scene of the time but about whom little has been written. He is mentioned in Tarot of the Bohemians as F. Ch., which was short for his pen-name Francois Charles Barlet, real name Albert Faucheux. He also wrote under the pen-name of Glyndon and appeared in occult groups, magazines, and reviews of the era. He covered theosophy, initiation, Gnosticism, and all forms of esoteric studies, perhaps influencing Papus’s view of initiation in tarot.
Papus tells us that initiation is the means of instruction by which we are enabled to “draw near to [these] transcendental realms of perception,” guarded from illusion and able to converse with the beings we encounter in these planes. 126 He sees our state as ascending but caught halfway between the beast and the angel in a dead-stop without special work—that work being initiation, the “instrument that facilitates the development of the human butterfly.” 127
