108 Tarot cards?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

neptune	01 Nov 2002
I don't know what to make out of this but when I was reading the little white book from my tarot deck, it went on to explain the origin of the tarot. Some say it came from Italy or possibly Egypt. Interestingly enough, it mentioned that beneath the pyramids, there's a passage leading to the Sphinx- underneath it, there's some sort of book of initiation or something. Anyway, on the walls of this chamber, are the 108 cards of the tarot. Obviously the 78 cards were revealed (the standard) but there's another 30 tarot cards which have not been revealed to the public yet. Anyone heard of this?

ihcoyc	01 Nov 2002
We owe the business about the hidden temple between the paws of the Sphinx to the overactive imagination of Court de Gébelin. He never troubled himself to visit the Sphinx. If you want thirty extra cards, your best bet is to do as he did and make 'em up for yourself.

Kiama	01 Nov 2002
I have read about this theory, though there is no proof that such a chamber exists underneath the Sphinx.... In fact ther's more proof that there ISN'T! :rolleyes: Good old Gebelin... There is a great site for Tarot history called The Hermitage... I THINK the site is: www.tarothermit.com Kiama

HudsonGray	01 Nov 2002
I HAVE heard that there's sometimes another suit that was cut from the original deck, which would add 14 more cards. I wonder what the other cards were for (if they were majors).

rota	01 Nov 2002
Gee, if there were a 5th suit, wouldn't it be Aether - the so-called Alchemical Quintessence? You could symbolize it with a cloud... ( Rota leans back and wonders what the Six of Vapors or the Three of Scents would look like.... then wonders if those five suits correlate to the five senses... and remembers that all the RWS aces show clouds... hmmm... )

jmd	01 Nov 2002
With regards to there being a chamber under the sphinx, or an underground causeway linking the Sphinx and a pyramid, remains possible - though if there is such, it is at this stage either undiscovered or without public announcement. Such a chamber would probably include some form of hieroglyphic inscriptions and undoubtedly various images. Whether these number 108, or have similarities to the Tarot, needs to be verified. Personally, I suspect that at most only few would display such similarity (such as Maat and Justice without a sword, Isis & Sothis and the Star, Isis & Harpocrates and the Empress, and possibly a few others). Their connection to Tarot, in such a case, would be, on the one hand, through a possible indirect historical chain - on the other hand, the ever-flowing timeless spiritual stream revivifies. Tarot, as Tarot, maintains its birth in Europe.

ihcoyc	01 Nov 2002
Of course, Napoleon's invasion of Egypt led to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, and the ultimate decypherment of ancient Egyptian by Champollion. My understanding is that Champollion did exchange letters with Etteilla, but I don't know if he got any useful information from that source. The French were in Egypt from 1799 to 1801, too late to have contributed anything to Court de Gébelin's speculations. At this time, the Sphinx had once again been buried up to its neck in sand. Napoleon's interest in Egypt brought the British into the area. And while the British were occupying Egypt, a British officer ordered it uncovered. He discovered a stone monument between the paws of the Sphinx. The monument records that the Sphinx had been buried once before, and that Thothmes IV ordered that it be uncovered back in his day. But no temple was found there.

The 108 Tarot cards? thread was originally posted on 01 Nov 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.