Teheuti
A couple of years ago I spent a lot of time arguing the Emperor-Star correspondences on tarotl. Here are the results of my research (best if you read it in conjunction with a copy of The Book of Thoth). It seems to me that unless other evidence comes to light - the following contains all the facts of the Crowley material. Anything else is personal projection and preferences - out of which each person will construct their own story and understandings of the cards. So, if you want to know what Crowley said:
CROWLEY’s EMPEROR-STAR COUNTERCHANGE
evidence gathered by Mary K. Greer
Here is all the evidence I have found in _The Book of Thoth_ regarding Crowley’s intention for the Emperor-Star counterchange.
1) Under the heading: “The Roman Numbers of the Trumps,” p. 39-40. [IV=Emperor=Aries]
“The card called Adjustment is marked VIII. The card called Lust is marked XI. To maintain the natural sequence, Lust must be attributed to Libra, and Adjustment to Leo. This is evidently wrong, because the card called Adjustment actually shows a woman with sword and scales, while the card called Lust shows a woman and a lion.
“It was quite impossible to understand why this reversal should have taken place until the events of March and April, 1904, which are recounted in detail in “The Equinox of the Gods”. One need here give only one quotation; 'All these old letters of my Book are aright; but [tzaddi] is not the Star'. (AL. I. 57.) . . . The card which must be exchanged for “The Star” is “The Emperor,” who bears the number IV, which signifies Power, Authority, Law, and is attributed to the sign Aries. This proves very satisfactory.”
2) Written on the mats framing the cards by Frieda Harris. [IV=Emperor=Tzaddi=Aries; XVII=Star=Hé=Aquarius]
Note letter from Frieda Harris to Crowley, September 18, 1939(?):
“I don't feel you have made it clear about Tzaddi--The Emperor. Can't you have a diagram? I have been reading your book to Ann Christie in the evenings & altho she is very interested she could not understand your book and I am not sure I did in the end. It will be a point about which there will be the most argument. Is there any reason for the 2 loops except secrecy? Surely! & if not why not undo the loop & is the Emperor to be numbered 17 or IV or 4 or 17 ditto Star also Strength XI and Justice VIII. I expect I have still got it all wrong but if I have, you must be clearer because I am only just below sub-normal intelligence.”
3) Crowley’s own words describing individual cards (see card descriptions) [IV=Emperor=Tzaddi=Aries; XVII=Star=Hé=Aquarius]
"IV. Emperor - This card is attributed to the letter Tzaddi, and it refers to the sign of Aries." p.77
"XVII. The Star - "This card is attributed to the letter Hé, as has been explained elsewhere. It refers to the Zodiacal sign of Aquarius." p. 109.
4) On the Tree of Life+Tarot diagram on page 268 where [Path 28=IV=Emperor=Tzaddi=Aries;
Path 15=XVII=Star=Hé=Aquarius]:
Path 15 (Chokmah to Tiphareth) is labeled “Hé-Aquarius-Star-XVII”
Path 28 (Netzach to Yesod) is labeled “Tzaddi-Aries-Emperor-IV”
5) Concerning the "Double Loop" on p. 10 [Text: Emperor=Aries; Star=Aquarius. Diagram: IV=Aries; XVII=Aquarius]
Crowley writes: “’The Star’ is referred to Aquarius in the Zodiac, and ‘The Emperor’ to Aries. Now Aries [Emperor] and Aquarius [Star] 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,” p. 11. [Note that he is ONLY talking about the zodiacal attributions and not about Hebrew letters or paths.]
The “Double Loop” diagram shows only IV-Aries; and XVII-Aquarius.
6) On “The Four Scales of Color” chart, p. 279 [Path 28=color scarlet (Aries); Path15=color violet (Aquarius)]
5th item = “28. – Scarlet – Red – Brilliant Flame – Glowing Red”
18th item = “15. – Violet – Sky Blue – Bluish Mauve – White,tinged Purple”
7) On “The Essential Dignities of the Planets” chart, p.284 [Path 28=Aries; Path 15=Aquarius]
[1st item in chart] Exaltation=Sun19° - Ruler=Mars – Sign=Aries – 28
[11th item in the chart] Exaltation=Neptune 19° - Ruler=Saturn – Sign=Aquarius - 15
8) “The Atu: Mnemonics,” p. 219 lists the cards by Hebrew letter, but follows the Tarot de Marseille rather than GD numerical order (except the Fool is first). [5th item=Tzaddi=Emperor; 18th item)=Hé=Star]
The Emperor is in position IV (5th card): [Tzaddi] “Sire and inceptor, Emperor and King / Of all things mortal, hail Him lord of Spring” [Note: Spring = Aries]
The Star is in position XVII (18th card): [Hé] “Nuit, our Lady f the Stars! Event / is all Thy play, sublime Experiment!”
The letters are NOT in their correct Hebrew order. There is no listing in BoT that puts the letters&cards in “correct” Hebrew order.
9) In “The Vital Triads” list, p. 287 (IV=Emperor; XVII=Star)
The Three Goddesses: XVII = The Mother [Star] (along with: II=The Virgin; III=The Wife)
The Three Demiurges: IV = The Ruler [Emperor] (along with: X=The All Father 3 in 1; V=The Son (Priest))
10) We also have evidence in the catalog, written by Frieda Harris, dated July 1, 1942, for an exhibition of the paintings at the Berkeley Galleries, London:
“Item 5 IV. The Emperor. Aries. Tzaddi”
“Item 18 XVII. The Star. Aquarius. Daleth*”
*This is obviously an error and should read Hé– just as both Adjustment and Lust are given the Hebrew letter Teth, whereas Adjustment should read Lamed.
11) See item 4, under “Contradictions.”
Thus we have ten-and-a-half confirmations that Crowley meant some, if not all, of the following:
IV-Emperor-Aries-Tzaddi-Path 28
XVII-Star-Aquarius-Hé-Path 15
Thus, no recoloring or renumbering of the cards is required.
CONTRADICTIONS
1) We have ONE contradiction of the zodiacal attributions in the chart on page 278. which could be an easy mistake if one reads the chart from right-to-left. (What appears in the chart is the standard Hebrew letter to Zodiac correspondences found in the Sepher Yetzirah, which Crowley contradicts in all the places noted above.)
IV – Emperor – Tzaddi – 90,900 – Aquarius – Fish-hook – 28
XVII – Star – Hé – 5 –Aries – Window - 15
2) We have ONE contradiction of the path of the Emperor where it says on page 78 that the Emperor's "authority is derived from Chokmah . . . and exerted upon Tiphareth" (that is, Path 15). This is true is the GD system, which Crowley had used for many long years before his final "switch" and may have been an ingrained concept that just slipped out.
His text for The Star says nothing about the Paths directly, but does reference the Abyss - which Path 15 crosses (but Path 28 does not).
3) “The Key Scale” diagram, p. 266. This is a Tree of Life diagram that places “Hé-Window” on Path 15 (Chokmah to Tiphareth), and “Tzaddi-Fish-hook” on Path 28 (Netzach to Yesod). It does not show the astrological sign, nor the Tarot association. In his description of the diagram, p. 267, Crowley says: “This diagram illustrates the conventional theory of the structure of the Universe adopted as convenient for the purposes of calculation in the Book called The Tarot.” As the “conventional theory” it depicts the Tree as designed by Kirchner and used by the Golden Dawn.
These three contradictions are easily explained as being standard GD attributions with which Crowley worked for over thirty years before instituting his Emperor-Star counterchange, which appears for the first, and only, time in The Book of Thoth. Only the first of these contradictions seems to be an out-and-out error.
4) “General Characteristics of the Trumps as They Appear in Use,” p. 255 & 259. Item labeled IV consists of a verse that describes the Star and card meanings that describe the Emperor. Item labeled XVII consists of a verse that describes the Emperor and card meanings that describe the Star. Therefore this item is half “contradiction” and half “consistent” with what I see as Crowley’s intention (see top).
“IV: Pour water on thyself: thus shalt thou be / a Fountain to the Universe. / Find thou thyself in every Star. / Achieve thou every possibility. War, conquest, victory, strife, ambition, originality, overweening confidence and megalomania, quarrelsomeness, energy, vigour, stubbornness, impracticability, rashness, ill-temper.
“XVII: Use all thine energy to rule thy thought: burn/ up thy thought as the Phoenix. Hope, unexpected help, clearness of vision, realization of possibilities, spiritual insight, with bad aspects, error of judgment, dreaminess, disappointment.”
CROWLEY’s EMPEROR-STAR COUNTERCHANGE
evidence gathered by Mary K. Greer
Here is all the evidence I have found in _The Book of Thoth_ regarding Crowley’s intention for the Emperor-Star counterchange.
1) Under the heading: “The Roman Numbers of the Trumps,” p. 39-40. [IV=Emperor=Aries]
“The card called Adjustment is marked VIII. The card called Lust is marked XI. To maintain the natural sequence, Lust must be attributed to Libra, and Adjustment to Leo. This is evidently wrong, because the card called Adjustment actually shows a woman with sword and scales, while the card called Lust shows a woman and a lion.
“It was quite impossible to understand why this reversal should have taken place until the events of March and April, 1904, which are recounted in detail in “The Equinox of the Gods”. One need here give only one quotation; 'All these old letters of my Book are aright; but [tzaddi] is not the Star'. (AL. I. 57.) . . . The card which must be exchanged for “The Star” is “The Emperor,” who bears the number IV, which signifies Power, Authority, Law, and is attributed to the sign Aries. This proves very satisfactory.”
2) Written on the mats framing the cards by Frieda Harris. [IV=Emperor=Tzaddi=Aries; XVII=Star=Hé=Aquarius]
Note letter from Frieda Harris to Crowley, September 18, 1939(?):
“I don't feel you have made it clear about Tzaddi--The Emperor. Can't you have a diagram? I have been reading your book to Ann Christie in the evenings & altho she is very interested she could not understand your book and I am not sure I did in the end. It will be a point about which there will be the most argument. Is there any reason for the 2 loops except secrecy? Surely! & if not why not undo the loop & is the Emperor to be numbered 17 or IV or 4 or 17 ditto Star also Strength XI and Justice VIII. I expect I have still got it all wrong but if I have, you must be clearer because I am only just below sub-normal intelligence.”
3) Crowley’s own words describing individual cards (see card descriptions) [IV=Emperor=Tzaddi=Aries; XVII=Star=Hé=Aquarius]
"IV. Emperor - This card is attributed to the letter Tzaddi, and it refers to the sign of Aries." p.77
"XVII. The Star - "This card is attributed to the letter Hé, as has been explained elsewhere. It refers to the Zodiacal sign of Aquarius." p. 109.
4) On the Tree of Life+Tarot diagram on page 268 where [Path 28=IV=Emperor=Tzaddi=Aries;
Path 15=XVII=Star=Hé=Aquarius]:
Path 15 (Chokmah to Tiphareth) is labeled “Hé-Aquarius-Star-XVII”
Path 28 (Netzach to Yesod) is labeled “Tzaddi-Aries-Emperor-IV”
5) Concerning the "Double Loop" on p. 10 [Text: Emperor=Aries; Star=Aquarius. Diagram: IV=Aries; XVII=Aquarius]
Crowley writes: “’The Star’ is referred to Aquarius in the Zodiac, and ‘The Emperor’ to Aries. Now Aries [Emperor] and Aquarius [Star] 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,” p. 11. [Note that he is ONLY talking about the zodiacal attributions and not about Hebrew letters or paths.]
The “Double Loop” diagram shows only IV-Aries; and XVII-Aquarius.
6) On “The Four Scales of Color” chart, p. 279 [Path 28=color scarlet (Aries); Path15=color violet (Aquarius)]
5th item = “28. – Scarlet – Red – Brilliant Flame – Glowing Red”
18th item = “15. – Violet – Sky Blue – Bluish Mauve – White,tinged Purple”
7) On “The Essential Dignities of the Planets” chart, p.284 [Path 28=Aries; Path 15=Aquarius]
[1st item in chart] Exaltation=Sun19° - Ruler=Mars – Sign=Aries – 28
[11th item in the chart] Exaltation=Neptune 19° - Ruler=Saturn – Sign=Aquarius - 15
8) “The Atu: Mnemonics,” p. 219 lists the cards by Hebrew letter, but follows the Tarot de Marseille rather than GD numerical order (except the Fool is first). [5th item=Tzaddi=Emperor; 18th item)=Hé=Star]
The Emperor is in position IV (5th card): [Tzaddi] “Sire and inceptor, Emperor and King / Of all things mortal, hail Him lord of Spring” [Note: Spring = Aries]
The Star is in position XVII (18th card): [Hé] “Nuit, our Lady f the Stars! Event / is all Thy play, sublime Experiment!”
The letters are NOT in their correct Hebrew order. There is no listing in BoT that puts the letters&cards in “correct” Hebrew order.
9) In “The Vital Triads” list, p. 287 (IV=Emperor; XVII=Star)
The Three Goddesses: XVII = The Mother [Star] (along with: II=The Virgin; III=The Wife)
The Three Demiurges: IV = The Ruler [Emperor] (along with: X=The All Father 3 in 1; V=The Son (Priest))
10) We also have evidence in the catalog, written by Frieda Harris, dated July 1, 1942, for an exhibition of the paintings at the Berkeley Galleries, London:
“Item 5 IV. The Emperor. Aries. Tzaddi”
“Item 18 XVII. The Star. Aquarius. Daleth*”
*This is obviously an error and should read Hé– just as both Adjustment and Lust are given the Hebrew letter Teth, whereas Adjustment should read Lamed.
11) See item 4, under “Contradictions.”
Thus we have ten-and-a-half confirmations that Crowley meant some, if not all, of the following:
IV-Emperor-Aries-Tzaddi-Path 28
XVII-Star-Aquarius-Hé-Path 15
Thus, no recoloring or renumbering of the cards is required.
CONTRADICTIONS
1) We have ONE contradiction of the zodiacal attributions in the chart on page 278. which could be an easy mistake if one reads the chart from right-to-left. (What appears in the chart is the standard Hebrew letter to Zodiac correspondences found in the Sepher Yetzirah, which Crowley contradicts in all the places noted above.)
IV – Emperor – Tzaddi – 90,900 – Aquarius – Fish-hook – 28
XVII – Star – Hé – 5 –Aries – Window - 15
2) We have ONE contradiction of the path of the Emperor where it says on page 78 that the Emperor's "authority is derived from Chokmah . . . and exerted upon Tiphareth" (that is, Path 15). This is true is the GD system, which Crowley had used for many long years before his final "switch" and may have been an ingrained concept that just slipped out.
His text for The Star says nothing about the Paths directly, but does reference the Abyss - which Path 15 crosses (but Path 28 does not).
3) “The Key Scale” diagram, p. 266. This is a Tree of Life diagram that places “Hé-Window” on Path 15 (Chokmah to Tiphareth), and “Tzaddi-Fish-hook” on Path 28 (Netzach to Yesod). It does not show the astrological sign, nor the Tarot association. In his description of the diagram, p. 267, Crowley says: “This diagram illustrates the conventional theory of the structure of the Universe adopted as convenient for the purposes of calculation in the Book called The Tarot.” As the “conventional theory” it depicts the Tree as designed by Kirchner and used by the Golden Dawn.
These three contradictions are easily explained as being standard GD attributions with which Crowley worked for over thirty years before instituting his Emperor-Star counterchange, which appears for the first, and only, time in The Book of Thoth. Only the first of these contradictions seems to be an out-and-out error.
4) “General Characteristics of the Trumps as They Appear in Use,” p. 255 & 259. Item labeled IV consists of a verse that describes the Star and card meanings that describe the Emperor. Item labeled XVII consists of a verse that describes the Emperor and card meanings that describe the Star. Therefore this item is half “contradiction” and half “consistent” with what I see as Crowley’s intention (see top).
“IV: Pour water on thyself: thus shalt thou be / a Fountain to the Universe. / Find thou thyself in every Star. / Achieve thou every possibility. War, conquest, victory, strife, ambition, originality, overweening confidence and megalomania, quarrelsomeness, energy, vigour, stubbornness, impracticability, rashness, ill-temper.
“XVII: Use all thine energy to rule thy thought: burn/ up thy thought as the Phoenix. Hope, unexpected help, clearness of vision, realization of possibilities, spiritual insight, with bad aspects, error of judgment, dreaminess, disappointment.”
) but what the....?!?!