Reliable source of information about RWS symbolism

TheOld

Hello,
I wonder if someone know a place of a reliable source of information about the RWS like i said on the tittle.
The pictorial key of the tarot is impossible to understand for a non english speaking person like me.
a book , a website ?

Thanks
Omeada
 

RChMI

mac22 said:
Quick comments on the notes listed above...


1. White Sun - may refer to the KETHER, the Crown. In the Golden Dawn system, the Fool corresponds to a path leading downward from KETHER.

[White also refers to Spirit in the G.¨.D.¨. system of Tatwas. ]

4. The 8-spoked wheel is a symbol of Spirit, thought of as a fifth element. So perhaps Waite thought of the Fool as the symbol of the spiritual journey.

[Eight is a symbol of the Gnostic ideal of the Ogdoadad. Waite's deck can be seen as an amalgam of Gnostic, Hermetic, Rosicrucian, and Yogic ideals fused within the concept of Western Dualism, with a view as to possible integration into the harmoinous synthesis that once was. ]


6. The Hebrew letter Shin can be found in one of the wheels on the tunic. This is possibly a reference to the letter correspondence used by Eliphas Levi. Levi placed the Fool between Judgment and World and gave it the letter Shin. In the Golden Dawn system, the Fool is assigned to Aleph.

However, considerable caution is required before drawing any connections between the Hebrew alphabet and the Waite-Smith cards. A. Grinder points out that Waite stated in a number of places that he did not believe in any systematic correspondence. For example, “But wherever it (Fool) is placed in the series, the correspondence between Trumps Major and the Hebrew Alphabet is ipso facto destroyed” (Shadows of Life and Thought, 190-191), and “It may be well to add that I am not to be included among those who are satisfied that there is a valid correspondence between Hebrew letters and Tarot Trump symbols” (Intro to The Book of Formation, trans. by Knut Stenring, Ktav Publishing House, 13-14).


[This can be seen as a clue as to the older system of Latin letters ascribed to divinatory workings... Twenty-four letters of the Latin alphabet were available in total, but only twenty-two were used. The imagery used within the Tarot can be seen to correspond to that of Mitharic idealism as to specific details... The Roman names of particular images when taken in alphabetic sequence for the basis of the exoteric tarot, with Justice as VIII, and Strength as XI. ]


7. The symbol on the Fool’s wallet is not clear. It may be a shell and represent the 'good luck' scallops that were carried on pilgrimages. It may be a bird and refer to the Golden Dawn attribution of the Fool to the element of air. Paul Foster Case (The Tarot, p 34) says that it is an eagle. If he is correct, the symbolism is appropriate because Waite says (The Book of Destiny, p 249) “To dream of an eagle in a high place ...is good for those who are starting on some great undertaking.”

[The symbol in one printing is an Eagle, in another it is the Eye of of Horus. Both can be seen as relative for the same meaning intended. ]


8. This card is assigned to the element Air in the Golden Dawn system. This may explain the hair and tunic blowing.

[The background colour of yellow is the key indicator for Air, based on the Tatwa system employed by the G.¨.D.¨. The colours of white in the Sun, Rose, and Dog relate to Spirit as the "breath" of God," with Aleph as the singular ideal of Ruach, and Resh and the Dyadic and manifested ideal of Ruach. ]


9. The white rose may refer to Fool setting off on a Rosicrucian journey. Waite was quite fascinated by the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross. He wrote two books on the subject and regarded the Golden Dawn as a latter day Rosicrucian society. The three founders of the Golden Dawn were members of the “Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia,” the inner order of the Golden Dawn was the “Rosae Rubeae et Aurae Crucis,” and Waite’s own revised Golden Dawn group was the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross. Roses appear on many of the cards (Fool, Magician, Empress, Strength, Death) and seemed to have represented a rich symbolic complex for Waite.

He presents extended discussions, with significant overlap, in “The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross” p 85ff, “Real History of the Rosicrucians” p 11ff and an article in “New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.” Elsewhere (“Lamps of Western Mysticism,” p 327), he refers to “the beginning of discernment ...which lies within the centre of the Rose of Dante.” He also makes the interesting comment in “The Occult Sciences” that the Rosicrucian symbol “has no connection with the sublime symbolism of the Oriental world: Egypt, Thebes, Eleusinia and the sanctuaries of antique initiation are innocent of its import. It is a development of the monogram of the monk, Martin Luther, which was a cross-crowned heart rising from the center of an open rose.”

[The White Rose represents Spirit. The dog represents The Logos, and being white and in the shape of the letter Aleph, also represents Spirit. The dog can be seen to be jumping upon, or going at the Fool. While the Fool can be seen as breathing in, or tasting the rose. This is symbolic of Spirit eating Spirit, as seen in the Ouroboros around the Magician's waist (which is green, alchemically symbolizing negative material thoughts.) ]


10. The Cliff in the foreground of the card may be another reference to Rosicrucianism. The mountain or cliff appears on the Fool, Emperor, Lovers(?), Strength (?), Hermit, Death, Temperance(?), Tower, Moon (?), and Judgment. So this forms an important symbolic element in the background of many of the cards.

[The cliff is symbolic of The Abyss. The Fool descends into, and later ascends from this Abyss in the circular understanding of the operation.]
 

Fulgour

My experience has been that if a "symbol" stands out
then that is the one to study, rather than all at once.

Is there one "symbol" in particular that interests you?
Let your spirit guide you: There's always much more
to discover than a text book definition. Be confident!

Books about this deck (often) fail to look at the cards.
 

RChMI

Fulgour said:
My experience has been that if a "symbol" stands out then that is the one to study, rather than all at once.

Is there one "symbol" in particular that interests you? Let your spirit guide you: There's always much more to discover than a text book definition. Be confident!

Books about this deck (often) fail to look at the cards.
Intuitive interpretation is a great asset for the individual, and for most Tarot decks. However, with the Rider-Waite deck the symbolism and colourings were specifically incorporated into the deck for a specific purpose. That being, as a mnemonic device for a specific esoteric tradition.

As for the books.... Many of the early authors were initiates operating under certain "oaths" of secrecy, which can be equated in mordern parlance to confidentiality agreements widely used in businesses today. As such, one has to "enter into" the realm of that specific tradition in order to gleam the factual from "blinds" placed by the authors to preserve their oaths.
 

Fulgour

zoom zoom

RChMI said:
Intuitive interpretation is...
As for the books....
Thank you very much for explaining so clearly.
My interest is not in Victorian magic. Sorry...
 

RChMI

Fulgour said:
Thank you very much for explaining so clearly.
My interest is not in Victorian magic. Sorry...
But virtually all "Modern Esoterica" is based on "Victorian Magic." Therefore, some insight into its various properties and ideals might prove beneficial to unravelling any such pseudo "Gordian Knot" of modern Esoteric leanings. :)