Here are some thoughts. I apologize for the lack of eloquence.
(1) Which One to Ten numerology to use?
(a) Numerology based on the first ten major arcana:
(This is currently the system that I use.)
Pro - The numbers are already there in the majors, so there's a certain draw to using those same numbers in the interpretation of the pips.
Cons:
- This results in the minors being resonant of the major arcana without necessarily adding anything different to the equation. We have VI The Lover and the four sixes, without both the Major Arcanum and the corresponding Minor Arcana having the same base meaning of Choice, Decision. By using a different numerology other than reference to major arcana, the sixes of the pips will not be as repetitive of the Major Arcanum.
- Why are the first ten major arcana more important than the next eleven (other than the fact that there are only ten in the pips series)? This could be solved perhaps by using major arcana I to X for upright pip cards and XI to XX and XXI for the reversed pip cards. But if you read part (b) below, you can see why the first 10 major arcana (rather than all 21) may just be the way to go.
- As Lee points out, there are many possible variations in meanings of the major arcana. Which meanings do we assign to the numbers One to Ten? Do we assign _all_ the meanings of the particular major arcanum or just _certain_ meanings that we deem to be 'core'?
(b) Pythagorean numerology
Pro - In my journey (as evidenced by threads I had started on the Comparative Tarot e-list), I was looking for a more universal numerology than the numerology of the major arcana. I realized that the Pythagorean system was quite varied in terms of interpretations of the numbers and that a great deal of study would be required. I didn't have time to become a neo-Pythagorean. However, the little reading I did, indicated that there was a striking link between the most common meanings of the first ten major arcana and certain Pythagorean meanings of the numbers One to Ten. As you may the ordering of the major arcana has varied over the history of tarot: I suspect that over time, Pythagoreanism could have influenced the number ordering of the major arcana, and that once the number ordering was in fact fixed, some of the various other Pyth meanings for the numbers made their way into the core meanings for the first ten major arcana.
Con - I didn't want the long study needed to learn a system, and I wanted something that could be easily be picked up by other people on e-lists as well. I didn't want to study it in a vacuum.
(c) Folk numerology
Tom Little, in the course of the CompTarot threads, suggested that perhaps a Folk Numerology for the One to Ten should be used, as this is the system of numerology the actual conceivers of the TdM were conversant with. Query: what are those folk numerologies? Can we determine them now, with accuracy?
(d) Numerology based on the Bible
This is also a type of numerology the conceivers of the TdM may have been conversant with.
(e) Numerology based on Cabala/Kabballah/Qabalah ("Cabala")
I don't have a great personal attachment to Cabala, so it may not work for me as a One to Ten numerology system. And, like Pythagoreanism, it could require a great deal of study to be proficient in its application - as using just keywords can be too facile. Wang has some interesting Cabala keywords for One to Ten based on the ten Sephiroth, which suggest that Cabala could help solve the problem of number meaning variety (from the Majors) that I referred to in the second Con in section (a) on Major Arcana numerology. Note that these keywords in themselves are like an aide-mémoire rather than something that can be directly used in the One to Ten correspondences for the pips.
One - Kether - Crown
Two - Chokmah - Wisdom
Three - Binah - Understanding
Four - Chesed - Mercy
Five - Geburah - Strength
Six - Tiphareth - Beauty
Seven - Netzach - Victory
Eight - Hod - Splendor
Nine - Yesod - The Foundation
Ten - Malkuth - The Kingdom
It should be noted that, within the Golden Dawn system, the pip card meanings are not just determined by the duo of Number (corresponding to the 10 Sephiroth) and Suit (4 worlds of the Sephiroth). The third factor is astrological attribution of the card (planet in astrological sign), which factor can change the meaning that the number/suit combination would otherwise have.
(f) RWS "retrofit" numerology -- This numerology, because of its ring of familiarity with RWS imagery and despite its anachromism in relation to the 1760 time period of the Conver TdM, may be attractive and useful to those tarotists who use both the TdM and RWS-based decks and want some linkage between the two decks. Such numerology also addresses the concern in my first con in section (a) about major arcana numerology causing a repetition of themes into the minor arcana.
Two examples:
Rachel Pollack: _Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom_, p. 158
1 - basic quality, root
2 - union
3 - full expression of the element
4 - structure
5 - loss, conflict
6 - communication
7 - victory
8 - movement
9 - compromises, struggle
10 - completion, the need to go beyond
Gail Fairfield: _Choice-Centered Tarot_
1 - Beginning
2 - Affirming
3 - Planning
4 - Manifesting
5 - Adjusting
6 - Cycling
7 - Imagining
8 - Organizing
9 - Integrating
10 - Hesitating
(g) Numerology based on Planets
With ten numbers to fill, it would be nice to use both the 'old' and the 'new' planets. However, if you're concerned about correspondence with the era in which the Tarot de Marseille was designed by Conver, it's important to note the 'new' planets weren't discovered until after 1760. If you don't use 'new' planets, the missing numbers could be filled by things such as North Node and South Node.
(h) Numerology based on Constellations
Oswald Wirth once did a system of correspondences between the major arcana and some leading constellations. (See Papus, _The Tarot of the Bohemians_, p. 249, Astrological Tarot). A quick glance at that list shows 12 zodiac constellations and 10 non-zodiac constellations. Perhaps a list of ten interesting non-zodiac constellations may make sense for matching to the numbers One to Ten.
(2) To use or not to use the pictorial elements of the Tarot de Marseille pips?
To me, yes, the pictorial elements should be used. If you carefully compare the pip cards, you will see subtle design differences as between the various cards and will see patterns of change or similarity. If one chooses to work with the TdM, it's natural (for some people at least) to want to make those design features part of one's interpretation, as those design features are part of what makes the TdM unique from other decks that also have non-fully illustrated pips. If one ignores the pictorial features of the pips and treats them as if they were the One to Ten of a poker deck, then why use the TdM pips at all. However, I appreciate Lee's objective that he wishes to have a system that is transferrable between decks; thus, for people who wish to use the TdM as one deck among several decks within that system, then Lee's ideas could work for such a system.
(3) To use or not to use colour symbolism?
As you may know, there are colour differences in Conver-patterned decks. The four principal colour systems are:
- Conver 1760 (the deck housed at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris) - reproduced by Héron
- Conver 1760 (the deck housed in a museum in Italy) - reproduced by Lo Scarabeo (Note that the colours thereof differ from the colours of the Bibliothèque nationale version!!)
- Camoin Bicentennial deck (colours used in the 19th century)
- Marteau/Grimaud deck (1930)
Because of the variety of colour systems (and even among Conver 1760 decks), I am hesitant to use any colour symbolism in interpreting the Major and Minor Arcana of the Tarot de Marseille.
** Thanks to Lee and to Diana, for all the food for thought.