Alchemy, Hermeticism & Tarot?

[blackroseivy]

Hi, are any of you learned folks up on the symbolism of Hermetecism & Alchemy? I ask because I have a project underway involving Tarot imagery & Alchemical associations.

I have Ray Buckland's "Cards of Alchemy" & "The Alchemical Tarot"; they did not prove to be of help.

Oh! - I also need the astrological associations of each of the 22 keys.

Can anyone help me out?

 

[Ross G Caldwell]

Hi, are any of you learned folks up on the symbolism of Hermetecism & Alchemy? I ask because I have a project underway involving Tarot imagery & Alchemical associations.

I have Ray Buckland's "Cards of Alchemy" & "The Alchemical Tarot"; they did not prove to be of help.

Oh! - I also need the astrological associations of each of the 22 keys.

Can anyone help me out?

The fullest exploration of tarot-alchemy that I know of is Robert Place's "Alchemical Tarot"
http://thealchemicalegg.com/alchtaroN.html

You might also try Adam McLean - he is on aeclectic and is a world authority on alchemy. See his speculative article on tarot and alchemy at
http://www.levity.com/alchemy/mantegna.html

These are interesting and speculative approaches. I don't know whether Place thinks there is a historical connection between tarot and speculative alchemy before the 19th century, but I'm sure McLean doesn't believe there is. In this, he would be with the universal consensus of tarot historians, that there is no original connection between the two sets of symbols.

Hermeticism is a somewhat different matter, since the term is generally used more loosely. If you connect "neo-Platonism" with hermeticism, then arguments have been made connecting some aspects of this mystical school with tarot, and Place does make such arguments I think.

Personally I'm not convinced there is either alchemy or hermetic neo-Platonism in the classic tarot trump images, nor any of their orderings. But you will find many here who will argue otherwise and give you a lot to think about.

Good luck!

 

[Greywoolfe]

Another book I can highly recommend is The Tarot: A Contemporary Course In Modern Hermeticism, by Mouni Sadhu. The majors and their esoteric associations are covered in exhaustive detail in this book.

 

[Abrac]

The Rosicrucians were very much into spiritual alchemy and there are many parallels with spiritual alchemy in the Tarot. So I have found that studying Rosicrucianism, the early form that started in the early 1600s, can yield good results.

 

[DoctorArcanus]

Hi, are any of you learned folks up on the symbolism of Hermetecism & Alchemy? I ask because I have a project underway involving Tarot imagery & Alchemical associations.

I don't know much about Alchemy, but I would like to
I hope your project will help me to learn more!

Recently JMD posted a link to a page with a number of wonderful alchemical images: http://hdelboy.club.fr/gravures.html

I am very fond of the XV Century Sola-Busca deck. Sofia Di Vincenzo wrote a book about it published by US Games. She says that the deck has alchemical meanings, but she is quite vague about it.
I think the alchemical meanings can possibly be found in the Sola-Busca pips, in particular in the suit of Coins/Discs, but the analysis of this ancient deck is quite difficult. A card like the 9 of Discs can reasonably be said to have some alchemical influence, expecially when we think that it was engraved in 1480 ca.

During the last year I have written what I think of this deck on Tarotpedia

The trionfi.com web site features images of the whole deck.
http://trionfi.com/0/j/d/solabusca/index.html

Marco

 

[blackroseivy]

Excellent, people!!

I heard from the wonderful Mr. Place - truly, he is terriffic!! He answers e-mails, I think that he deserves a lot of credit just for that.

He doesn't directly connect the 2 traditions, though they did arise from the same school/s (I'm convinced).

What I am going to be doing will be a lot like what Elven just had us do for the Oracle Deck for AT - we associated "personal" symbols with the card we created. Which means not necessarily "making it up" - but taking symbols from the environment & deciding to incorporate a meaning with the card.

I already have the "fuarke" - fork - Y, which is the traditional depiction of the path which comes to a fork, which is very much the fool just after he commences his journey.

I'll have to check out that book, GreyWoolfe! Thanx!

 

[Greywoolfe]

I'll have to check out that book, GreyWoolfe! Thanx!

Here's the link on Amazon, if you wish to look further. The full title is 'The Tarot, a contemporary course on the quintessence of Hermetic Occultism'- I missed a few words out!

Clicky

 

[blackroseivy]

Thank you!!!

 

[bradford]

Hi-
I have a bunch of alchemy links here, plus a bunch of names to Google for further info. It's not organized around your question, so it might take some looking.
http://www.hermetica.info/TongLink.htm

 

[Abrac]

That's quite an impressive collection of links.

Thank you very much.