'Path' allocations of the Major Arcana

As we have at times mentioned various allocations of the Major Arcana to the postulated 'paths' which supposedly link Sefirah to Sefirah, I thought it may be worthwhile listing various attributions.

Rather than starting these as 'path 11, path 12, etc', it would probably be easier, for reference's sake, to indicate the Sefiroth connected (not everyone would agree on, for example, which two Sefirot are 'connected' by 'path 16').

As there is clear universal Kabbalistic acceptance as to the order of Sefirotic emanation, 3-4 would indicate the 'path' connecting 3 Binah to 4 Hesed (I specifically selected this pair which doesn't normally have a connecting path within the Golden Dawn system).

For the sake of ease of reference, the Sefirotic ordering (and suggested numerical allocation) is:

• 1 - Keter/Kether (as the spelling varies with various authors, I have only listed one, but I will certainly use various alternatives!)
  2 - Hockmah
  3 - Binah
  D - Da'at (not a Sefirah)
  4 - Hesed
  5 - Geburah
  6 - Tifaret
  7 - Netzah
  8 - Hod
  9 - Yesod
  10 - Malkut

The Golden Dawn uses a relatively simple and efficient system which, with a couple of exceptions leading to Tifaret, follows paths from the higher Sefirah to lower ones, using the glyph intimated in the Zohar.

With regards to the Tarot, the Waite/Colman-Smith follows Golden Dawn numbering, and hence indications between the two follow - which I'll post separately (and after I prepare and dinner!)

Golden Dawn attributions:

• Out of 1 - Keter:
  1-2 Fool
  1-3 Magician
  1-6 High Priestess
• Out of 2 - cHockmah:
  2 - 3 Empress
  2 - 6 Emperor (discrepancy of emanation order, but 6 has more 'central' importance)
  2 - 4 Hierophant
• Out of 3 - Binah:
  3 - 6 Lovers (ibid. comment as for 2 - 6)
  3 - 5 Chariot
• Out of 4 - cHesed:
  4 - 5 Fortitude (which they number VIII)
  4 - 6 Hermit
  4 - 7 Wheel of Fortune
• Out of 5 - Geburah:
  5 - 6 Justice (which they number XI)
  5 - 8 Hanged Man
• Out of 6 - Tifaret:
  6 - 7 Death
  6 - 9 Temperance (again discrepancy in emanation order - again centrality gains importance)
  6 - 8 Devil
• Out of 7 - Netzah:
  7 - 8 Blasted Tower
  7 - 9 The Star
  7 - 10 The Moon
• Out of 8 - Hod:
  8 - 9 The Sun
  8 - 10 Judgement
• Out of 9 - Yesod:
  9 - 10 Universe

foot note

I add a little footnote here if I may.

One of the subtle differences between Golden Dawn and Thelema is the positions of the Star and the Emperor. The reason for the switch comes from Crowley’s ‘book of the law’, Liber AL.

In chapter 1, verse 57, Crowley received-
“ Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love; for there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent. Choose ye well! He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress, and the great mystery of the House of God.
All these old letters of my book are aright; but Tzaddi is not the star. This also is secret: my prophet shall reveal it to the wise.””

I now quote Crowley from, The book of Thoth, page 9/10, regarding this matter-

“…This was exceedingly annoying. If Tzaddi was not “the star”, what was? And what was Tzaddi? He tried for years to counter-change this card, “the star”, which is numbered XVII, with some other. He had no success. It was many years later that the solution came to him. Tzaddi is “the emperor”; and therefore the positions of XVII and IV must be counter changed. This attribution is very satisfactory.
Yes, but it is something a great deal more than satisfactory; it is, to clear thought, the most convincing evidence possible that the book of the law is a genuine message from the Secret Chiefs.
For “ the star” is referred to as Aquarius in the zodiac, and “The Emperor” to Aries. Now Aries and Aquarius are on each side of Pisces, just as Leo and Libra are on each side of Virgo; that is to say, the correction in the book of the Law gives a perfect symmetry in the Zodiacal attribution, just as if a loop were formed at one end of the ellipse to correspond exactly with the existing loop at the other end.””

The validity of ‘the Book of the Law’ is of course open to question. The validity of Crowley’s change is open to question. I feel it is worth mentioning, as the Thoth deck [and liber 777] uses this different attribution, which is the only real change from classic Golden Dawn attribution.

So in Thelemas [Crowley's] outlook, the star connects 2-6, the emperor 7-9.

Thanks for adding Crowley's variation and those extracts, AmounrA.

Robert O'Neill, in Tarot Symbolism, pp 258-263, suggests yet another correlation. As he presents these in a specific order and with specific reasoned insights, I thought I would leave them in the order presented. The version of the Tree of Life used is the same as the Golden Dawn's.

• Up the middle pillar:
  (each figure is seated & possibly between two pillars - path of Gnosis)
  10 - 9 Justice
  9 - 6 Pope
  6 - 1 High Priestess (same as the GD)
• Cross-pillar horizontal links:
  (union of opposites)
  7 - 8 Lovers
  4 - 5 The Sun (version showing two children, a la Marseilles)
  2 - 3 Judgement
• Left-hand/feminine pillar ascension:
  10 - 8 Empress
  8 - 5 Fortitude
  5 - 3 The Star
  3 - 1 World
• Right-hand/masculine pillar ascension:
  10 - 7 Emperor
  7 - 4 Chariot
  4 - 2 Magician
  2 - 1 Fool
• Diagonal imbalanced paths:
  (Up from Tifaret - O'Neill does give greater explanatory details)
  6 - 2 Death
  6 - 3 Moon
  6 - 4 Hermit
  6 - 5 Hanged Man
• Diagonal imbalanced paths:
  (Up towards Tifaret)
  7 - 6 Wheel of Fortune
  8 - 6 Tower
• Diagonal imbalanced paths:
  (Up from Yesod)
  9 - 7 Temperance
  9 - 8 Devil

As with the Golden Dawn, Crowley's, and Gray's correlations, these too have a sensibleness to them worth investigating.

Gray's Path assignments

Following DMJ's style of listing the paths, I thought I'd throw this into the mix since there is a ongoing discussion about Wm. G. Gray's path assignments in another thread. I realize that most studies omit Gray’s assignments and perhaps and they are not considered seriously in the scholastic worlds of the Tarot gods.

(Might I suggest that we continue the Gray discussion, for the most part, in the Gray thread?)


Out of 1 - Keter:
1-2 Hierophant
1-3 Hermit
1-6 Star
Out of 2 - cHockmah:
2 - 3 Judgment
2 - 6 Temperance
2 - 4 Emperor
Out of 3 - Binah:
3 - 6 Hanged Man
3 - 5 Death
Out of 4 - cHesed:
4 - 5 Justice
4 - 6 Strength
4 - 7 Empress
Out of 5 - Geburah:
5 - 6 Tower
5 - 8 Devil
Out of 6 - Tifaret:
6 - 7 Lovers
6 - 9 Sun
6 - 8 Chariot
Out of 7 - Netzah:
7 - 8 Wheel
7 - 9 High Priestess
7 - 10 World
Out of 8 - Hod:
8 - 9 Magician
8 - 10 Fool
Out of 9 - Yesod:
9 - 10 Moon

As I mentioned in a different post specifically about the Gray Tree symmetry, this creates what I think is a more balanced Tree regarding card assignment. The Middle Pillar gets these assignments: Moon – Sun – Star from Malkuth to Kether. The Female Side imagery of: Fool – Devil – Death – Hermit, and the male pillar as: World – Empress – Emperor – Hierophant.

I am just now reading A garden of pomegranates and one path allocation I think seems all wrong is Justice.
It seems to make a lot more sense to put justice on the path between Geburah and Chesed then from Geburah to Tipareth.
At first I thought I must be weird cause ALL my books told me this is just not done. But now I see that this Gray tree does that too. So I will have to see what else I can find about that version of the tree.