WHAT IS THE TAROT?

No study of occult philosophy is possible without an acquaintance with symbolism, for if the words occultism and symbolism are correctly used, they mean almost one and the same thing. Symbolism cannot be learned as one learns to build bridges or speak a foreign language, and for the interpretation of symbols a special cast of mind is necessary; in addition to knowledge, special faculties, the power of creative thought and a developed imagination are required.

A pack of Tarot contains the fifty-two ordinary playing cards with the addition of one "picture card" to every suit, namely, the Knight, placed between the Queen and the Knave. These fifty-six cards are divided into four suits, two black and two red and have the following designation: sceptres (clubs), cups (hearts), swords (spades), and pentacles or disks (diamonds). In addition to the fifty-six cards the pack of Tarot has twenty-two numbered cards with special names:--

1 The Magician. 12 The Hanged Man.
2 The High Priestess. 13 Death.
3 The Empress. 14 Temperance.
4 The Emperor. 15 The Devil.
5 The Chariot. (7). 16 The Tower.
6 The Lovers. 17 The Star.
7 The Hierophant. (5). 18 The Moon.
8 Strength. 19 The Sun.
9 The Hermit. 20 judgment.
10 The Wheel of Fortune. 21 The World.
11 Justice. 0 The Fool.

This pack of cards, in the opinion of many investigators, represents the Egyptian hieroglyphic book of seventy-eight tablets, which came to us almost miraculously.