venicebard
. . . and . . .Moonbow* said:One thing I have decided, for now, is that I won't try to tie up the Tarot with the Tree of Life until I know more. Then perhaps I will come up with my own allocations, unless I read something which leads me to think I can work in another way.
Warning: Gematria has little to do with Kabbalah (according to both me and Gershom Scholem). Assuming you are serious about wanting to know if there is a real link between paths and trumps, here is what I know (and it is not that much).I'm intrigued by what he says about Gematria. I like numbers.
Standard arrangement of letters on paths in Hermetic Kabbalah may actually be the original tradition, but the application of it to trumps is flawed by the demonstrable fact that trumps are based on bardic numeration, not Hebrew. The Hermetic pattern shows it may well have originated with those who knew bardic numbering, because in it the (Hebrew) equivalent of E or 2 (heh) descends to Tiferet from 2 and that of I or 3 (zayin, since yod is II, the mistletoe-like loranthus which hovers above the ground or line) descends to there from 3. This is significant because 2 and 3 are the supernal father and mother in the tradition of the Name (or that part of said tradition that has survived).
I am speaking of the arrangement: alef 1-2, beyt 1-3, gimel 1-6, dalet 2-3, heh 2-6, vav 2-4, zayin 3-6, cheyt 3-5, teyt 4-5, yod 4-6, kaf 4-7, lamedh 5-6, mem 5-8, nun 6-7 (N is bardic 13, or 6 + 7), samekh 6-9, ayin 6-8, peh 7-8, tzaddi 7-9, qof 7-10, reysh 8-9, shin 8-10, tav 9-10.
If you would be interested in discussing this intriguing possibility further, let me know. [Bardic numerical order is: (H=0) A E I O B M P F K G T D N L R S U KK(Q) II(Y) SS AA, or (cheyt) alef heh zayin ayin beyt mem peh [samekh, F being a pagan substitute] kaf gimel tav dalet nun lamedh reysh shin vav qof yod tzaddi teyt [a consonant in all alphabets save the Keltic, evidently].]