Astrology & Tarot - A.E. Thierens book

northsea

While reading the chapter on astrology in O'Neill's Tarot Symbolism, I compared the tarot-astrological correspondences of various tarot authors for each card to correspondences I had previously assigned on my own. Most of the authors correspondences had minimal correlation with my own, except for Thierens whose correspondences for the first twelve cards matched mine at least for the basic pattern, starting with the Magician - Aries. He assigned the zodiac signs to the first twelve and planets to the remaining ten, similar to what I had assigned, making me curious enough to order his book, Astrology & Tarot. (When I had made these card assignments sometime last year, I used the correspondences of Leary for the first twelve, and then assigned the planets to the other ten.)

Thierens' assignments:
Magician- Aries
High Priestess - Taurus
.
.
.
Hanged Man - Pisces
Death - Saturn
Temperance - Mercury
Devil - Mars
Tower - Uranus
Star - Venus
Moon- Moon
Sun - Sun
Last Judgment - Jupiter
World - Neptune

Thierens has a unique correspondence between the four suits and elements too.

Wands - Clubs - trefoil/shamrock/trinity - Air "highest expression of Divine"
{Hermes-Mercury, Lord of the Element of Air, carries a wand}
{Trismegistus - "threefold" - trefoil}
Pentacles - Hearts - fifth house / Leo / Sun - Fire "spirit, benefic"
Cups - Diamonds - Moon - Water "diamond-soul, window"
Swords - Spades -agriculture - Earth " material necessity, practicality"
{spade - reverse of heart, oppressed by cross of matter, malefic Mars}
 

foolMoon

While reading the chapter on astrology in O'Neill's Tarot Symbolism, I compared the tarot-astrological correspondences of various tarot authors for each card to correspondences I had previously assigned on my own. Most of the authors correspondences had minimal correlation with my own, except for Thierens whose correspondences for the first twelve cards matched mine at least for the basic pattern, starting with the Magician - Aries. He assigned the zodiac signs to the first twelve and planets to the remaining ten, similar to what I had assigned, making me curious enough to order his book, Astrology & Tarot. (When I had made these card assignments sometime last year, I used the correspondences of Leary for the first twelve, and then assigned the planets to the other ten.)

Thierens' assignments:
Magician- Aries
High Priestess - Taurus
.
.
.
Hanged Man - Pisces
Death - Saturn
Temperance - Mercury
Devil - Mars
Tower - Uranus
Star - Venus
Moon- Moon
Sun - Sun
Last Judgment - Jupiter
World - Neptune

Thierens has a unique correspondence between the four suits and elements too.

Wands - Clubs - trefoil/shamrock/trinity - Air "highest expression of Divine"
{Hermes-Mercury, Lord of the Element of Air, carries a wand}
{Trismegistus - "threefold" - trefoil}
Pentacles - Hearts - fifth house / Leo / Sun - Fire "spirit, benefic"
Cups - Diamonds - Moon - Water "diamond-soul, window"
Swords - Spades -agriculture - Earth " material necessity, practicality"
{spade - reverse of heart, oppressed by cross of matter, malefic Mars}

I found this interesting too. Anyone any comment?
 

rwcarter

I have this book, but haven't explored it in any level of detail.

The association of the Majors to the signs makes sense as the first sign of the Zodiac is assigned to the card numbered one in the Majors. The association of the planets doesn't make sense as I don't understand the order in which they're associated.

As for the elemental associations of the Minors, it looks like he ordered the suits from Wands to Pentacles to Cups to Swords and the elements from Air to Fire to Water to Earth. So he matched them up that way. Without looking in the book, I couldn't even begin to guess why he ordered either one the way he did.

Rodney
 

kwaw

It is availabe online under its original (1930) title General Book of the Tarot. Here, for what it is worth, is his explanation for his ordering of the planets:

The question may be asked, why the planetary cards have been named in this order. When we agree that Mercury, Temperance, has been put in the place of Jupiter, which after all has been used in a higher octave, we see first named the three planets outside the place of the Earth, governing the building of the physical mould and having to do with the birth and death of it. Then follows the planet of cosmic electricity and of the birth of human spirit in the physical building, which it eventually destroys. Next come the three planetary principles functioning on the spiritual side, which have their meaning only after the birth of human spirit. The Moon takes the place of Mercury-Vulcan, and the order is that of reckoning from the Earth, consequently in a continuous line from the outside:


Venus--Moon (for Mercury-Vulcan)--Sun. They have to do with the growth of body and soul. Finally the principle of deliverance from the prison of the body: Jupiter, and that of the cosmic ocean to which the particles return, Universal solvent; ocean which constitutes the real ground for our practical unity in the world. The Fool as the denial of all sense, nonsense.

I don't find his explanation particularly enlightening or convincing, and think his use of the outer, modern planets anachronistic. His re-ordering of the courts (king - queen - page - knights) based on his ideas of appropriate elemental attributions is also disconcerting.

Although the English edition is illustrated using the RWS, there was an original 1930's Dutch deck, , in which his elemental attributions are clear in the minor cards. Some of the cards appear on Mr. La-Luna's Tarot Blog:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_x0eba8DSd...Dfzk3HH6QS8/s640/A+E+Thierens+Tarot-cards.jpg

I think they were produced for the 1930 edition of his

DE TAROT IN DE PRAKTIJK
Volledige handleiding bij het gebruik van het Tarotstelsel met behulp van 78 speciale Tarotkaarten door A. E. Thierens. (THE TAROT IN PRACTICE: Complete guide to the use of the Tarot system using 78 special Tarot by A. E. Thierens.)

published by W. Gorter Jr. - Bandoeng - Harleem.
 

rwcarter

He spends pages 15-30 explaining his suit to element associations.
 

foolMoon

I was wondering if non traditional attributions between astrology and tarot would be interesting study or futile exercise creating confusion.

Once I was just about to buy a deck called Mandala Astrological deck by A T Mann. But when I saw one of the card, it had non traditional attribution. I think it was the 10 of sword card. I used to remember that card is linked to Sun in Gemini under the GD tradtition. On that deck it was Uranus in Gemini or something like that. I thought about it for a moment, but it just didn't click with me. So I had to let the deck pass.

Reflecting on it now, I am glad I decided not to get the deck.
 

bradford

Given the antiquity and popularity of astrology I don't think there is any excuse for someone understanding the subject as badly as Thierens.