Part 12 (1/2)
”But the aspect of choice, of temptation, two roads-”
The figure was unrelenting. ”This is in all simplicity the card of human love, here exhibited as part of the way, the truth, and the life. It replaces the old card of marriage, and the later follies that depicted man between vice and virtue. In a very high sense, the card is a mystery of the covenant and Sabbath.”
”But-”
”The old meanings fall to pieces of necessity with the old pictures. Some of them were of the order of commonplace, and others were false in symbolism.”
Brother Paul had always had a great deal of respect for Waite, but this arrogance reminded him uncomfortably of the Animated Hierophant. The Lady of Light had been complex but reasonable; Waite seemed only complex. Still, he was a leading Tarot figure. Brother Paul tried again. ”According to the Brotherhood of Light, the Hebrew letter a.s.signed to this card is Vau, rather than-”
”That would be the handiwork of Eliphaz Levi. I do not think that there was ever an instance of a writer with greater gifts, after their particular kind, who put them to such indifferent uses. He insisted on placing the Fool toward the end of the Major Arcana, thereby misaligning the entire sequence of Hebrew letters.
Indeed, the t.i.tle of Fool befits him! There was never a mouth declaring such great things-”
”Uh, yes. But astrologically, Venus does seem to match the card of Love.”
”Nonsense. The applicable letter is Zain, the Sword. A sword cleaves apart, as Eve was brought from the rib of Adam, flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone.
Zain, following the Vau of the Hierophant: the nail that joins things together.
Astrologically, Gemini naturally applies. The sign of the twins, of duality, male and female. There is no question.”
Brother Paul sighed inwardly. He had agreed with Waite's a.n.a.lysis before he had encountered that of the Light Tarot; now both conflicting views seemed reasonable. He was in no position to debate symbolism with these experts, and that was not his present purpose anyway. Why was such a seemingly simple project becoming so complex? To choose a single expert from among six, some of whom had already been eliminated because of language or age. Too bad he couldn't evoke both Light and Waite together, and let them thrash it out themselves.
Why not? It might be worth a try.
No, they would merely argue interminably, and this was really his own decision to make.
”I do have one more card to consider,” Brother Paul said, conscious of the numerical symbolism: six variants of Key Six.
Waite faded out with a grimace of resignation. He obviously felt that the mere consideration of alternative decks was frivolous. He was replaced by a portly, unhandsome man, bold and bald, whose aspect was nevertheless commanding. ”I am the Master Therion, the Beast 666,” he proclaimed. ”I overheard your previous interview. Isn't old Arthwaite an a.s.s? It's a wonder anyone can stomach him!”
Brother Paul was taken aback once again. These Animation figures were showing a good deal more individuality than he had expected. ”Arthur Waite is a scholar.
He-” He paused. ”What did you call yourself?”
”The Beast 666. The living devil. The wickedest man on Earth. Is it not immediately apparent?”
”Uh, no. I-”
”Call me Master Therion, then, as you will. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Love is the law; love under will.”
Brother Paul was impressed again. ”Love is the law. What an excellent thought for this Key of Love!”
Therion smiled approvingly. ”Indeed. Did you notice old Arthwaite's slip about Adam and Eve? He actually believes the h.o.a.ry tale about Adam's rib. Rib, h.e.l.l!
Eve was formed from the foreskin excised from Adam's pristine p.e.n.i.s when he was circ.u.mcised. Look it up in the Babylonian Talmud, from which so much of the Old Testament was pirated. And expurgated. A neat little b.l.o.o.d.y ring of skin, the original symbol of the female. G.o.d formed it into a living, breathing tube of flesh typified by circles, from the two globes perched ludicrously on her chest to the very manner in which her elliptical mind works. She was fas.h.i.+oned for one purpose only, and that was to embrace again that member from which she was so blithely cut, making it whole once more. Any man who permits her to distract his attention for any other purpose is a fool.”
Brother Paul appraised Therion. It had been a long time since he had heard so concentrated and unprovoked a denunciation of woman. ”You really are a beast!”
”Correct!” Therion agreed, pleased.
”I think I'd better have a look at your card.”
”Do what thou wilt!” Therion gestured, and the scene formed.
It was-different. It was filled with figures, yet not crowded. A man and a woman stood centrally, each in royal robes. They stood facing a huge, headless figure whose great, dark arms stretched forward in benediction, ma.s.sive sleeves accordion-pleated like those of an old-fas.h.i.+oned robot or s.p.a.ce suit. Where the head should be, the winged Cupid flew instead, an arrow notched to his bow. A naked man and woman stood in the upper corners, two children stood in the foreground, and there were also a lion, a bird, and snake. Eleven living ent.i.ties in all-yet they were integrated so harmoniously that it all seemed normal. The whole effect was absolutely beautiful.
Still, it was not art he sought, but good advice. ”Two prior versions of this card differ in certain details,” Brother Paul began cautiously.
”Arthwaite is ludicrous, but in the matter of the Hebrew equivalence he is more or less correct,” Therion said. ”Even a stopped clock is right on occasion! This card is The Lovers, matching with Zain the Sword, and Gemini astrologically.”
”More or less correct?” Brother Paul repeated questioningly.
”He transposed the cards for Adjustment and l.u.s.t. That cannot be justified rationally.”
Brother Paul was perplexed. ”Adjustment? l.u.s.t? These are not symbols of the Tarot.”
”Formerly known as Temperance and Strength,” Therion explained. ”Arthwaite simply switched them on his own initiative, exactly as he garbled their symbolism. He denied the Egyptian origin of the Tarot.”
”You say it is Egyptian?”
”Absolutely. I call it the Book of Thoth. Of course others have arrived at more speculative derivations. The phrase Ohev Tzarot is Hebrew for a 'lover of trouble.' That seems to relate in several ways, but I regard it as coincidence.
After all, if we start spelling the word with a 'Z', we could derive it from Tzar, or use 'Cz' for Czar, deriving it from the Roman emperor Caesar. Thus 'Czarot' could be taken to mean a device of supreme power, dominating an occult empire. That convolution of logic is almost worthy of Arthwaite! But the actual origin of the Tarot is quite irrelevant, even if it were certain. It must stand or fall as a system on its own merits. It is beyond doubt a deliberate attempt to represent, in pictorial form, the doctrines of the Qabalah.”
”The Kabala?”
”Qabalah.”
”Let's return to Key Six.”
”Very well. Atu Six is, together with its twin Atu Fourteen, Art, the most obscure and difficult of the-”
”Please,” Brother Paul interrupted. ”I need a fairly simple a.n.a.lysis.” He wondered whether he would receive another rebuke.
But the Master Therion smiled tolerantly. ”Of course. I will start at the beginning. There is an a.s.syrian legend of Eve and the Serpent: Cain was the child of Eve and the Serpent of Wisdom, not of Adam. It was necessary that he shed his brother's blood, so that G.o.d would hear the children of Eve.”
”This cannot be!” Brother Paul cried in horror. ”The son of the Serpent!”
Therion glanced at him, frowning. ”I took you for a seeker after truth.”
”I-” Brother Paul was stung, but did not care to be the target of obscenity or blasphemy.
”Surely you realize it was not general knowledge that Adam and Eve were denied, but carnal knowledge. The Serpent is the original phallic symbol.”
”I do want to be objective,” Brother Paul said. ”But can you give me a more specific summary of the meaning of the card? For example, do you feel it represents Choice?”