Alef = I-Bateleur or = Fou ?

kwaw

Helvetica said:
I am curious to read the rationale behind attributing alef to the fool, Sophie

Hi Sophie, to get back to your original question, the thread has gone in various directions so to summarise some of the main points:

1} as the 22 cards are divided into 21+ fool, so are the 22 letters into 21 the 'spoke' and alef that remained silent.

2} as the fool is described as encompassing the beginning and end of the sequence [frequently seen as divided into three levels], so alef as both 1 and 1000 encompasses the three levels of units, tens and hundreds.

3} there are many cultural and linguistic connections between the fool and 'silence' and alef is a silent letter.

4} the fool in the tarot and culturally and linguistically is connected with 'nothingness' and alef is attributed to Ain, meaning nothing.

4a} Ayn also means 'buttock shaped' thus relating to the image of the fool which his buttocks revealed.

5} Alef is attributed to the constellation KSYL in Hebrew kabbalistic tradition, and KSYL means 'fool' [by which they call the constellation Orion].

6}Wherever you place the fool the number sequence is going to be displaced, by placing it with alef the displacement is consistent throughout.

6a} The 'displacement' of n+1 is itself indicative of a dynamic process, representing the 'steps' of the fool on his journey.

6b} Numerical sayings in the bible have the format of creating parallels with number N in first line and N+1 in second, thus there is a precendent in Biblical and Hebrew tradition [common in fact to all canaanite literature].

6c} If it is believed there is a 'mystical' meaning to the sequence of cards then apparent contradiction shouldn't be surprising, in fact is to be expected, as the use of paradox is common to all mystical traditions seeking to expressing the union of opposites in the eternal.

Kwaw

Grigori

kwaw said:
6c} If it is believed there is a 'mystical' meaning to the sequence of cards then apparent contradiction shouldn't be surprising, in fact is to be expected, as the use of paradox is common to all mystical traditions seeking to expressing the union of opposites in the eternal.

I rather like that in a deck in which the tarot is an illustration of a system of magic (the purpose being union with spirit) the Heirophant 5 = Vau 6. This alone makes me comfortable to leave the numbers a bit offset.

5 = 6 being the point of magic, and the union of us (5) with spirit (6). To have this occur at the letter vau (the nail), as well as the Heirophant is extra cool!

I didn't want to disrupt the conversation so far, but I have a question that has been on my mind and can wait no longer. As the letters each have a numerical equivalent, which is not sequential (at least not in increments of 1), why consider the numerical order highly? I would love to hear about people who shuffle the letters and ignore the numbers altogether. I suspect thay have lots of interesting things to say.

Assuming that Aleph equals the Magician as both are numbered 1, does this not fall apart after Kaph in which the 11th letter will equal 20 or 500?

So according to my understanding
Alef 1 = 1
Beth 2 = 2
Gimel 3 = 3
Daleth 4 = 4
Heh 5 = 5
Vau 6 = 6
Zain 7 = 7
Cheth 8 = 8
Teth 9 = 9
Yod 10 = 10
Kaph 11 = 20 or 500
Lamed 12 = 30
Mem 13 = 40 or 600
Nun 14 = 50 or 700
Samekh 15 = 60
Ayin 16 = 70
Peh 17 = 80 or 800
Tzaddi 18 = 90 or 900
Qoph 19 = 100
Resh 20 = 200
Shin 21 = 300
Tau 22 = 400

venicebard

similia said:
5 = 6 being the point of magic, and the union of us (5) with spirit (6). To have this occur at the letter vau (the nail), as well as the Heirophant is extra cool!

In the tree-alphabet, it is apparent that V (U the heather), which is Roman numeral 5, has been displaced to fifth-from-the-end (17) by B, which even in our printing shows the pregnant torso in profile: U is full moon, summer, love's consummation (coming of age), and B is offspring (beyt-, 'house of...') 'displacing' the (last-of-the-) virginal U, which takes its more natural, 'exalted' place as Urania, Queen of Heaven (XVII L'Etoile), leaving the Pope to bless the kids.

I didn't want to disrupt the conversation so far, but I have a question that has been on my mind and can wait no longer. As the letters each have a numerical equivalent, which is not sequential (at least not in increments of 1), why consider the numerical order highly? I would love to hear about people who shuffle the letters and ignore the numbers altogether. I suspect thay have lots of interesting things to say.

There will be a post in 'Kabbalah and Alphabets' within days in which I shall argue for a more fundamental approach to numbering (look for 'common sense' in the title)... but it will at the same time be an eloquent (I hope) appeal for the importance of numbering or ranking. Ask yourself, what would the approach you seek use as a system, if not numerical? Still, chaos can be useful, as fire anyway.

Assuming that Aleph equals the Magician as both are numbered 1, does this not fall apart after Kaph in which the 11th letter will equal 20 or 500?

The digital sums match... and when you consider that in digital summation appears that fundamental pattern in number wherein there be but four elements, 1-2-3-4, reflections of these and of space or no-thing, 5-6-7-8-9 (-4, -3, -2, -1, -0), and 1's recurrence in 10 setting off infinite repetition of this pattern throughout number.

But Kwaw's #6 above is quite correct: alef-fool is the only method that maintains a regular offset throughout. For this reason, I am adopting it as the first 'secondary' system to check for interlacing symbolism with the primary or bardic system of numbering. It is already an established fact that the Hebrew numbering itself interlaces somewhat, but I want to see if its 'compression by one' (alef-fool method) sheds any more light on trumps' scientific and symbolic content. (And it is very difficult to leave behind, even temporarily, the connexion between the illiterate fool and one who 'makes his mark', the mark being tav (and X or cross, used as one's mark).

Let's start with B's 'displacement' of U from 5 (where alef-fool and Roman numerals place it): this represents your 'human' component. Then 6, the 'spirit' component in your scheme, suggests to me the 2-6-10 matrix on which both the Tree in Asiyah and the periodic table are based: in Asiyah they are great year, year, and day. Taking 10-day as equator (earth's spin) and 6-year as ecliptic (earth's orbit), 2, the great year, marks the 26,000-year wobble cycle of their relationship. Gimel is 2 by alef-fool, but bardic 10, and in Greek the F-shaped 'vau digamma' (like two gammas, stacked) was taboo as letter and used only as numeral, 6.

Dalet, 4, times III L'Imperatrice yields 12, D's bardic number. Heh, 5, times IIII L'Empereur yields 20, which as 2nd-to-last is the 'reflection' of E's (its equivalent's) bardic number, 2. And vav lands on 5, whence B 'displaces' it. But this leaves beyt (as I LeBateleur, unless this represents the male contribution to offspring), and zayin through yod, out on a limb, just in the first ten. Why displace zayin-7, weapon-like, from warlike chariot to peaceful lover? let's see, yod could be taken for the lamp in VIIII L'Hermite... So far, it seems somewhat stretched, but I'll not give up yet.

If Kwaw could make as strong a case for the entire scheme as he makes for alef being LeMat, above, I'd be intrigued. As a system (assuming it be one), it must mostly hinge on the dynamic of one number 'resulting' in the next: my head has long been fixed in the direction of their discreteness, of one number's NOT shading into another, so I'll need to 'retool'. Of course it has always been a given with me that each element/number (of the first four) manifests in the following element/number: fire-1 in air-2, air-2 in water-3, water-3 in earth-4, and earth-4 in fire-1... woops, how about earth-4 in fire-5, ala the Bahir? Complicated subject, isn't it.

kwaw

venicebard said:
But Kwaw's #6 above is quite correct: alef-fool is the only method that maintains a regular offset throughout. For this reason, I am adopting it as the first 'secondary' system to check for interlacing symbolism with the primary or bardic system of numbering. It is already an established fact that the Hebrew numbering itself interlaces somewhat, but I want to see if its 'compression by one' (alef-fool method) sheds any more light on trumps' scientific and symbolic content. (And it is very difficult to leave behind, even temporarily, the connexion between the illiterate fool and one who 'makes his mark', the mark being tav (and X or cross, used as one's mark).

In an earlier post Ross makes a parallel between the 'Fool' and Cain. Cain was marked by the AVth [the tau, a quincunx cross like an 'X'] to protect him in exile. We see the fool entering into a journey in exile from the world of simple, silent singularity of Ayn into the world of plurality; at the end we see him exited in his return. Returning from exile, he leaveing his 'mark' behind him.

In Jewish tradition the four lettered name of G-d YHVH is symbolised by four dots : : which represent the four corners of the cross 'X', as a symbol of protection and a sign of those whose sins repented and justified shall have a place in the world to come. In the Christian tarot we see the mark of tau 'X' in the four holy animals of the World card, representing Christ's humanity, sacrifice, resurrection and ascension, and the 'cross' that marks the remnant of the faithful in the new Jerusalem, the world to come.

So one way to see it is that the 'Fool', returning to the One/Ayn from a state of exile, has left his 'mark' [tau] behind him, and this is to be seen in the World card, the Tau in the quincunx formed of four holy animals and central figure.

Kwaw

venicebard

kwaw said:
In Jewish tradition the four lettered name of G-d YHVH is symbolised by four dots : : which represent the four corners of the cross 'X', as a symbol of protection and a sign of those whose sins repented and justified shall have a place in the world to come. In the Christian tarot we see the mark of tau 'X' in the four holy animals of the World card, representing Christ's humanity, sacrifice, resurrection and ascension, and the 'cross' that marks the remnant of the faithful in the new Jerusalem, the world to come.

I might add to this that of the two runes representing G (desire-mind), 'year, harvest' and 'gift', the latter is in the shape of an X and corresponds, I surmise, to Greek chi, initial of Christ - that great poet who sang the praises of the bestowing side of desire so well that its acquiring side, on which it depends, has fallen into undeserved disrepute. (One cannot bestow what someone has not first harvested.)

So one way to see it is that the 'Fool', returning to the One/Ayn from a state of exile, has left his 'mark' [tau] behind him, and this is to be seen in the World card, the Tau in the quincunx formed of four holy animals and central figure.

Yes, interesting.

kwaw

Helvetica said:
Now IF we consider the Papess to refer to Mary Magdalen, and IF we think of Mary Magdalen as linked (in legend) to Maître Jacques and taking her place, in legend and iconography, between the two pillars of the Temple Maître Jacques & Hiram built for Solomon - Jakim and Boaz, symbols of duality...then Beit-as-Temple makes some kind of sense - the inner Temple, which announces, at a later stage, the rebuilt outer Temple. This would definitely make sense to the stonemason masters and journeymen (Compagnons) who invented & perpetuated the imagery that ended up on the tarot cards - and who venerated in stone & in songs Mary Magdalen & Maître Jacques and his Temple...

Helvetica has just visited Vézelay and is rather in love with Mary Magdalen as Beit.

Kwaw - your last post on alef as yod/tav/yod - Fool is very exciting! I suppose I can't have it both ways...but I want to.

"According to the theologians", Plutarch writes, "both prose writers and poets, God is eternal, but yet, under the impulsion of some predestined plan and purpose, he undergoes transformations in his being...When the god is changed and distributed into winds, water, earth, stars, plants and animals, they describe this experience and transformation allegorically by the terms 'rending' and 'dismemberment' [Wind, E].

In the symbolism of neoplatonic ritualism the image of dismemberment is used to convey the act of divine creation; the divine being singular and simple, the creation of many from the one is conceived as an act of breaking or division [thus the one becomes two through division]. Pico de Mirandola describing the ascent and descent of the 'ladder' of reason as the steps upon which "we shall sometimes descend, with titanic force rending the unity like Osiris into many parts, and we shall sometimes ascend, with the force of Phoebus collecting the parts like the limbs of Osiris into a unity."

Among the neoplatonist of the renaissance another favoured figurement of this was that of the 'mystery of the birth of Venus'. Venus Urania, identified with the celestial virgin, is born from the sea foam that was produced from the castration of Uranus, 'being the god of heaven, Uranus conveys to formless matter the seed of ideal forms, according to Pico "and because ideas would not have in themselves variety and diversity if they were not mixed with formless nature, and because without variety there cannot be beauty, so it justly follows that Venus could not be born if the testicles of Uranus did not fall into the waters of the sea".

Venus Urania perhaps we may see in the image of the Popesse as vicar of the celestial virgin, who through the symbolism of myth, like Artemis, is though a virgin the lover of all [Pan], and thus conceived paradoxically as both virgin and whore, of which parallels may be drawn with Magdalene; there is also the literal 15th and 16th century allusions to nuns being prostitutes and nunneries brothels; and the object of many a bawdy tale of the period.

However, the first act [I_Bateleur] is one of division [beit - 2] ritualistically or mythologically symbolised as dismemberment:

http://www.tarotforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=81

Kwaw

ref: Pagan Mysteries of the Renaissance by Edgar Wind.

kwaw

kwaw said:
In Jewish tradition the four lettered name of G-d YHVH is symbolised by four dots : : which represent the four corners of the cross 'X', as a symbol of protection and a sign of those whose sins repented and justified shall have a place in the world to come. In the Christian tarot we see the mark of tau 'X' in the four holy animals of the World card, representing Christ's humanity, sacrifice, resurrection and ascension, and the 'cross' that marks the remnant of the faithful in the new Jerusalem, the world to come.

Kwaw

Also in kabbalistic tradition the four corners of the protective tau : : represent the 'good impulse' by which man shall inherit the world to come. The 'good impulse' that hovers over the pious is represented by four angels that descend with the soul at birth and accompany the pious:

"Before all this, there are four angels that descend with the soul of the pious....One of these angels is Michael, in remembrance of Abraham; one Gabriel, in remembrance of Isaac; one Uriel, in remembrance of Jacob; and one Raphael, in remembrance of Adam; and the good impulse hovers over him...Now all men are formed of four elements, but on the order in which these elements are found - that is, the order of the planets with which each person is connected-depends the order of the angels who accompany him..."

"...Thus, if the ruling planet be the Lion, Michael will lead, and be followed by Gabriel, then Rapheal and then Uriel. If, however, his planet is the Ox, first comes Gabriel, then Michael, then Nuriel, then Raphael. If the Eagle be the planet by which he is influenced, Nuriel will be first, then Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. And should the planet be Man, then will Raphael lead, with Michael, Gabriel and Nuriel coming after in that order." [Zohar, Bo (exodus) 42a]

Each of the four animals is also associated with three of the camps of twelve tribes, and three of the zodiacal signs; tribe and zodiacal sign attributions vary but the attribution to cardinal direction is:

Lion - Michael - Abraham - the three tribes camped in the East
Eagle - Uriel - Jacob - the three tribes camped in the South
Ox - Gabriel - Isaac - the three tribes camped in the North
Man - Raphael - Adam - the three tribes camped in the West

Kwaw

venicebard

kwaw said:
Also in kabbalistic tradition the four corners of the protective tau : : represent the 'good impulse' by which man shall inherit the world to come. The 'good impulse' that hovers over the pious is represented by four angels...

This accords with my understanding of tau as duty or (sense of) responsibility - conscience ultimately - and the 'angels' would be the guardians of the way away from the center of the cross or crossroads that speak and say, "This is wrong... retrace your steps," it then being our choice whether to listen to their sage guidance.

This I find interesting:

"... One of these angels is Michael, in remembrance of Abraham; one Gabriel, in remembrance of Isaac; one Uriel, in remembrance of Jacob; and one Raphael, in remembrance of Adam; ..." [Zohar, Bo (exodus) 42a]

...associating Michael with the Covenant, G with Ii, U with A, and Raphael with mankind itself. And this I find puzzling:

Each of the four animals is also associated with three of the camps of twelve tribes, and three of the zodiacal signs; tribe and zodiacal sign attributions vary but the attribution to cardinal direction is:

Lion - Michael - Abraham - the three tribes camped in the East
Eagle - Uriel - Jacob - the three tribes camped in the South
Ox - Gabriel - Isaac - the three tribes camped in the North
Man - Raphael - Adam - the three tribes camped in the West

My objection (with it, not you) is that this is based on astrological charting (head-aries as eastern horizon) and obscures the more fundamental association of aries-the-head, man's average 'up', with north and libra-the-loins, man's average 'down', with south.

I will say the Zohar is clear in placing fire north, water south, air east, and earth west (at least as quoted in Patai's The Jewish Alchemists, as I've not yet plodded that far through my Soncino Zohar). The tradition you detail appears to have Michael-fire, Raphael-air, which I originally learnt from the occultists, but then Uriel-water, Gabriel-earth: I learned Gabriel-water, Uriel-earth.

'Tis puzzling to me, of course, why more is not made (by any but myself) of the discrepancy between the tradition that the triads pointing up and down in the Jewish hexagram are fire and water and the astrological insistence on pointing air at libra and aries at the horizon. Let me see... in astrology, water does point down, and EARTH points up: who knew! (from a cult of mountain-worshipers, no doubt)

kwaw

venicebard said:
I will say the Zohar is clear in placing fire north, water south, air east, and earth west (at least as quoted in Patai's The Jewish Alchemists, as I've not yet plodded that far through my Soncino Zohar).

There are a number of variations in kabbalistic sources. Correcting the directional attributions I gave to be more in accordance with the more frequent Zoharic attributions would give:

Lion - Michael - Abraham - Chesed - South - Water;
Eagle - Uriel - Jacob - Tiphareth - East - Air;
Ox - Gabriel - Isaac - Gevurah - North - Fire;
Man - Raphael - Adam - Malkuth - West - Earth.

However there are numerous allusions and reasons to think of Malkuth as centre and as I said there are variations; the Gra for example gives Malkuth as centre and Yesod as West.

Kwaw

kwaw

kwaw said:
While on ShYN, for those interested in word lists:

it is the root of ShYNA - second coming; sleep

In the SY, the letter Samekh is said to be 'king over sleep' [SHYNH]. Taking alef as fool then Samekh corresponds to 'Temperance'.

The virtue 'temperance' corresponds to the appetitive soul,
which in the three-fold suite of virtues in the tarot is the highest
in rank and immedicately follows 'death' [TdM pattern]. Fortitude is
the virtue of the passionate aspect of the tri-partite soul,
which by a process of elimination and in the absence of the virtue
of 'prudence' leaves 'Justice' to correspond to the intellectual,
reasoning part of the soul.

In kabbalah these three aspects of the soul are called nechamah, ruah and nefesh:

"Saadya addresses the nature of soul. Although rejecting Plato's
creation view, Saadya rests his own theory of soul upon a Platonic
tripartite psychology. And so, after rejecting a number of other
views of soul, Saadya describes the soul's three faculties as "the
faculty of discernment, the faculty of appetite, and the faculty of
courage" (147)... In addition to coupling Platonic tripartite
psychology with Jewish beliefs about resurrection, Saadya actually
links each of Plato's three discrete soul-fuctions to three discrete
Hebrew terms for "soul" found in Scriptures (nefesh as corresponding
to the appetitive function, ruah as corresponding to the faculty of
passion and courage, and neshamah in correspondence to the faculty of
knowledge). Saadya additionally cites the Scriptural tendency to
speak of "heart and soul together" in support of what he takes to be
provable on empirical grounds (upon which he elaborates), viz.
that "the soul is in the heart of man".

quote from:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/saadya/

Why, we may ask ourselves, is the nefesh or appetitive soul elevated above the others? And why is the associated virtue given wings?

"When man sleeps, the body speaks to the neshamah, and the neshamah to the nefesh, and the nefesh to an angel."

"Sleep" it is said, "is the sixtieth part of death", with 60 breaths sleep enters
into a state like death [thus it is said David only slept for 59
breaths at a time - that he may not taste death]. Samekh [60] is attributed to Temperance, the only one of the virtues [in TdM pattern] to have wings, symbol of ascension, Sameck is attributed to Shynh [sleep] and Temperance follows the death card, indicating death is a kind of sleep [the life force flowing from one vessel to another also indicative perhaps of the doctrine of
reincarnation].

In sleep it is said the soul ascends to receive Judgement [the card Judgement is allocated to the letter Shyn, here we see the dead awakened from their 'sleep' - Shynh. Both the letter Shyn and sleep Shynh are related to the concept of the cycle [shyn=360, shynh=365]. It is the Angel Metatron, as guide of souls, who it is said raises the souls of the pious up every night to sing the praises of their creator [Zohar Chadash, Lekh Lekha 24a, 26a].

Metraton's most common epitaph is 'Lad' in reference to the legend that when Metraton reaches old age he ascends to Binah and is reborn; and there is a connection with Samekh in that it is said that sixty warriors of the shekinah are comprised within him, and that he is reborn from between the legs of the Shekinah "with sixty fiery sparks." In respect of the pouring of the water of life between vessels in the temperance card as representing reincarnation perhaps we may also see a connection here with the regeneration or rebirth of the angel Metraton.

Also Metraton and Samael are said to form the double faces of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, so there is a connection with the Temperance card and Metraton in its position between both the cards 'Death' and the 'Devil' [identifed as Samael].

Through the association with Metatron and Malkuth, we may see in the elevation of the nefesh [of the winged temperance, virtue of the appetitive aspect of the soul, the nefesh] the concept of the elevation of Malkuth, the daughter and bride. In the elevation of the bride, souls created in binah proceed downwards [that is towards their incarnation] by way of tifareth and malkuth, whose union is symbolised as sexual intercourse of the bride and bridegroom. That is, the appetitive soul has been raised to a level beyond the mutable to a level wherin it achieves union with the divine.

In the soul's 'union' with G-d the divine cannot be 'known' by reason, but
is known by 'consumation', which is the pleasure driven urge of the
nefesh or appetitive aspect of the soul, whose desire, being rooted
in the love of G-d, is insatiable, and thus can only find sorrow in
the transient, and true joy in the eternal. Thus the 'knowledge' of
da'ath is not the knowledge born of reason, which seperates, but of
consummation, which unites.

Kwaw

Alef = I-Bateleur or = Fou ?

kwaw

Grigori

venicebard

kwaw

venicebard

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venicebard

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