Waite's Christianization of Tarot

[kwaw]

Maybe this "christianization" in RWT is more about paleo-christian than church's Christianity?

Waite was dissaffected with the Church* - for him it was a 'widow', having become seperated from the inner, spiritual church. If it was Church going Christianity he was interested in then no doubt he would have maintained the Popesse and the Pope - the change does not reflect IMO a de-christianization of the tarot, but of a faith in Christ that does not require the intermediary of church or priest, the sacred marriage is an inner state between the soul and divine - a mystical, inward process individual and open to us all.

Kwaw
* Waite was raised a Roman Catholic following the conversion of his mother. He was quite staunch in his beliefs, and wrote for the Church and was anti-protestant. He suffered a loss of faith following the death of his sister - while his faith in Christ returned he did not return to the church. However, he continued to believe that the Roman Catholic Church was the one that truly contained the 'mysteries of Christ'. Israel Regardie described him as 'a Roman Catholic masquerading as an occultist', now it seems some regard him as an occultist masquerading as a Christian... as if the two are irreconcilable and a Christian Hermetic tradition has never existed. All I can say is - he was a complex guy! Perhaps no one will ever get to truly see behind his smoke and mirrors...

One thing is for sure, he was a prolific editor, reviewer, writer & correspondent, adminstrated his own orders while attending as a member several others - all while working on his day job for Horlicks - the guy had a lot of energy, got to admire him for that.

 

[kwaw]

Maybe this "christianization" in RWT is more about paleo-christian than church's Christianity?...

...That is, gnostic christian and subsecuent revivals of it, as Cathars, courtly love and some Renaissance humanism ideas.

The answer, from Waite himself, I think is NO.

Before speculating what he meant - best to go to the horses mouth. In the Hidden Church of the Holy Graal, written during the same period the RWS was being produced, and in which the minor arcana suits are specifically related to the four Hallows (the most immediately relevant parts being the last 200 pages, the end of section IX and section X). To quote from the editors introduction:

"In the last two hundred pages, he attempts to make some sense of it all. He examines and
dismisses 19th century theories which linked the Grail to the Templars, or Masons, as
well as the unorthodox Cathars, Albigensians and Waldensians of Southern France. His
conclusion is that there is an 'inner church' in Christianity: not a conspiracy or a
subterranean sect, but a mystical core. Instead, Waite's concept of the hidden church is
based on a deep comprehension of the sacrament of communion, and the Holy Grail is
symbolic of this."

(Emphasis mine.)

 

[kwaw]

God is the absolute reality, and there can be but one means of seeking Him, and that is through the reality which is in ourselves.
............
Its foundation should be also in the principle that man must inevitably work out his own salvation. Help he may have from beyond and outside himself, but the help from within is essential — it is the essence of conscious progress. It is not by the vicarious sacrifice of a Christ crucified on a Cross, but by the personal immolation of the lesser and meaner man, crucified on the altar of the heart, that the sins of the world will be washed out. [Azoth]​

Azoth was written during a period of intense dissaffection with the church, in which Waite turned to mesmerism, spiritism and channelling and the 'formation of a new religion' somehow related to trance states. It was published by the Theosophical Society in 1893, but still attracted criticism from those quarters for its appeal to 'the Christ within.' Waite was later to reject mesmerism, spiritualism et al, and in fact almost immediatedly upon its publication began to regret it and was glad that it was remaindered - having come to mistrust the manner in which it was born. While he does continue to appeal to the concept of the Christ within, he does come to express belief in the Atonement (that Christ died on the cross to wash away our sins).*

He was criticised by Steiger in the Occult Review, 1911 for his about face in his later works (such as his 'The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry' which had just been published), to which he replied 'The eighteen years that have elapsed since the publication of Azoth and the twenty-three years since that of my 'Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers' represent a continuous life of thought and research; there should be no need for surprise that I have changed some critical opinions expressed so long ago' (Occult Review, January 1912).**

Kwaw
* With the proviso - for him. While I think he felt the 'secret tradition' was exemplified and found the fruition of its expression in Christian mysticism, I don't think he was dogmatic about it, but acknowledged that this 'secret tradition' could be found in ancient and comparitive non-Christian traditions too.

**Gilbert: A Magician of Many Parts' p.153.

 

[Richard]

......While he does continue to appeal to the concept of the Christ within, he does come to express belief in the Atonement (that Christ died on the cross to wash away our sins).*......**Gilbert: A Magician of Many Parts' p.153.

What is a first hand source for Gilbert's opinion? Editorial comments don't count either. Nor does wishful thinking. ETA. Okay, so it wasn't Gilbert's opinion either. Let's just say it is an opinion. I do think that Waite invited a lot of speculation by his obtuse way of stating things. I believe that Waite was a Christian, somewhat along the lines of Annie Besant's Esoteric Christianity.

For those who may not be too familiar with the popular exoteric version of the Christian gospel, here is my own gentle take on it (although it is not what I believe):

The crown of god's creation is man, to whom god gave free will. The penalty for exercising that free will contrary to the creator's will is death. (Given the perverse way the human mind and heart functions, disobedience was certain to happen, IMHO). However, since god is merciful and loves us, his sense of justice can be satisfied by the blood sacrifice of a perfect human being. Since no such human naturally exists, god miraculously provides one in the incarnation of his son.​

If that scenario seems distasteful, we have apologists such as C. S. Lewis, who disqualifies all objections by reminding us that god is not human and therefore does not think the same way as we do. (That's a thread stopper if ever I saw one. ) And, of course, there is the blatant sophistry of St. Paul, who 'admits' that the gospel doesn't make sense: "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." [I Corinthians 1:2]

 

[ravenest]

This is what was niggling at me. Thank you. (the underlining is mine)
~Rosanne

Ditto

 

[kwaw]

What is a first hand source for Gilbert's opinion? Editorial comments don't count either. Nor does wishful thinking. ETA. Okay, so it wasn't Gilbert's opinion either.

No, it was a quote from a letter from Waite to a Priest - the book is available online for anyone who wants to read it.

This whole thing is a pointless exercise anyway - whatever Waite's 'mystical christian' involvement or belief was - the 'anti-christians' won't accept it anyway. He didn't have to Christianize Tarot - it is blantantly Christian as was (before the late 18th & 19th century occultists got their clause into it).

The most he did was re-Christianize it following a hundred years of Egyptianization. But as I said, he wasn't dogmatic or proselytizing, whatever his concept of the 'inner-Christ' means to you is OK, whether Osiris or Christ or whatever, if it boils down to the sacred marriage of one's love of the divine, the exiled soul, and the alchemy of purgation to perfection etc., then whatever myth you want to portray it in, you have it - he acknowledged the 'secret tradition' wasn't unique to Christianity - albeit he felt the flowering of its expression was to be found in Christian Mysticism - and it is in the symbolism of Christianity that he pursued his course. First in the failed attempt at re-constituting the order of the Golden Dawn along Christian lines from c.1903/04 - 1915; an 11-12 year 'failure' (that lasted as long if not longer than the original school); then in his FRC from 1915 for the next 25 years (i.e., until continuation was made impossible by the contingencies of the second world war).

The misreading of Waite seems to me to be derived from a hostility to a reading of the tarot in any Christian mystical context - grow up and out of it. I am not a Christian - but I did feel that sort of antogonism towards it when I was a teenager!*

kwaw
*edited to add - that was a lie - lasted beyone my teens - my point is don't let adolescent angst haunt you till you're a fat old guy, blinded for too many years by stupid misconceptions (or, antogonisms).

 

[ravenest]

Thanks Kwaw .... (I hoped one of you guys might be able to sum it up in a few words for me - instead of me slogging through the book again.) I appreciate your time and effort

which basically boils down to being the mystery of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Yep, thats what I thought.

In Christian Hermetic mystical terms the transformation of bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Christ may be alluded to in terms of an alchemical operation - the philosopher's stone is Christ upon the Cross.

Yep, I got that ... but still , it is a very Christian concept ... there is the 'magical' concept of Eucharist .... perhaps this is why I 'tag' Waite as so 'Christian'. (I have had training and ordination and worked the eucharistic formula {and yes, it is an alchemical operation} in a non-Christian tradition ... but thats OT here.)

If we take his concept of the Fool being the soul,or 'prince exiled in this world' in search of its way home, then it may be for him the trumps were an expression common to Christian mysticism of the journey home; his identification of the minors with the hallows and the mysteries of the eucharist that other common expression of Christian mysticism identified by Underhill as the alchemical.

While Waite had lost faith in the church (and for him there was only one church that still contained the mysteries of the hidden church, )

I'm totally with that.

the Roman Catholic , he still had faith in Christ. He acknowledged that that have been 'many saviours', but for him 'Christ is the last and the first' and he believed in the atonement*.

Obviously that is where I greatly diverge. It seems to me Waite was chasing an ignis fatuus. The church may indeed be a qlippoth but Waite seemed to want a reconstuction instead of a new temple.

Now I am starting to think he MAY have 'Christianised' the Tarot ... not in a religious mainstream version of Christianity ... but certainly in some version of Christianity ... even if his own.

 

[kwaw]

*edited to add - that was a lie - lasted beyone my teens - my point is don't let adolescent angst haunt you till you're a fat old guy, blinded for too many years by stupid misconceptions (or, antogonisms).

I may be a fat old guy - but I can still assume the full lotus position.

Usually at parties where there are not enough chairs - occasionally inspires awe, more often amusement.

Nowadays my favourite Asana involves an armchair.

Is that what is meant by an 'armchair occultist'?

 

[Teheuti]

I dont know about that ... I suppose I would have to know the publication dates and his dates of initiation in the GD ?

... its a question of , I suppose, (?) were the symbols in his tarot deck derived from his previous gnosis, the GD or Christianity ?

I doubt if you are going to find one black-and-white answer to any of your questions. Life just isn't like that. Waite was involved in spiritualism and mediums since the death of his sister when he was still in his teens. His whole life was involved in this journey. As stated before, he found the Christian story to be the most powerful and the Grail legends (about which he was writing at the same time as he did the deck) to epitomize the spiritual quest - so is there any wonder that he chose many images from those traditions?

And ditto what Kwaw said about the Tarot being Christian anyway (before de Gébelin and Etteilla, that is). Kwaw said this all much better than I have done!

 

[ravenest]

The misreading of Waite seems to me to be derived from a hostility to a reading of the tarot in any Christian mystical context - grow up and out of it. I am not a Christian - but I did feel that sort of antogonism towards it when I was a teenager!*

kwaw
*edited to add - that was a lie - lasted beyone my teens - my point is don't let adolescent angst haunt you till you're a fat old guy, blinded for too many years by stupid misconceptions (or, antogonisms).

Ummmm ... Kwaw ... a few people have angst about base Christian concepts that come from a more mature perspective ... fat ... old ... or not .

I cant go OT and outline it here ... but I am sure you (and others) realise what I mean.

http://scholar.google.com.au/schola...&sa=X&ei=jo4WU9REzeCSBeCbgPAP&ved=0CCcQgQMwAA