Abrac
I ran across something in The Tarot of the Magicians by Oswald Wirth that has me thinking about this card again. Regarding the satyr and faun at the feet of his Devil, Wirth writes:
"...both form the sign of esotericism by bending the last two fingers of the hand they stretch out."
Wirth Devil
This makes it plain that it's the bending of the fingers that makes it the "sign of esotericism." Of the Hierophant, Waite tells us:
"...with his right hand he gives the well-known ecclesiastical sign which is called that of esotericism, distinguishing between the manifest and concealed part of doctrine."
The manifest part is symbolized by the three raised fingers and the concealed part by the two bent ones. Then commenting on The Devil he says:
"The right hand is upraised and extended, being the reverse of that benediction which is given by the Hierophant in the fifth card."
By "the reverse" it would seems he's referring to the last two fingers being raised. While The Hierophant conceals part of the doctrine, all is revealed by The Devil who corresponds to "occult science and magic."
The one thing that really has me stymied is that enigmatic symbol on The Devil's right palm.
Palm
Three of Waite's predecessors (Levi, Papus, and Wirth) include the formula "solve et coagula" in their versions of this card, so I can't help wondering if Waite was influenced by them (even though he strenuously denies it). He doesn't say specifically, but does say The Devil represents "occult science and magic." So could the symbol on his hand be some sort hermetic or alchemical symbol for solve (dissolving) or coagula (bonding/fixing)? Occultists disagree on which arm is which, so it's hard to tell what Waite had in mind, if anything. I've looked through all the ideograms I could find at Adam McClean's Alchemy Website and all the books I have on the subject, and while some come close, nothing matches exactly. It could be something Waite invented, a hybrid of two symbols perhaps. But with nothing to go on, all leads end up going nowhere.
Anyone like to get to the bottom of this? I'm willing to do some brainstorming.
"...both form the sign of esotericism by bending the last two fingers of the hand they stretch out."
Wirth Devil
This makes it plain that it's the bending of the fingers that makes it the "sign of esotericism." Of the Hierophant, Waite tells us:
"...with his right hand he gives the well-known ecclesiastical sign which is called that of esotericism, distinguishing between the manifest and concealed part of doctrine."
The manifest part is symbolized by the three raised fingers and the concealed part by the two bent ones. Then commenting on The Devil he says:
"The right hand is upraised and extended, being the reverse of that benediction which is given by the Hierophant in the fifth card."
By "the reverse" it would seems he's referring to the last two fingers being raised. While The Hierophant conceals part of the doctrine, all is revealed by The Devil who corresponds to "occult science and magic."
The one thing that really has me stymied is that enigmatic symbol on The Devil's right palm.
Palm
Three of Waite's predecessors (Levi, Papus, and Wirth) include the formula "solve et coagula" in their versions of this card, so I can't help wondering if Waite was influenced by them (even though he strenuously denies it). He doesn't say specifically, but does say The Devil represents "occult science and magic." So could the symbol on his hand be some sort hermetic or alchemical symbol for solve (dissolving) or coagula (bonding/fixing)? Occultists disagree on which arm is which, so it's hard to tell what Waite had in mind, if anything. I've looked through all the ideograms I could find at Adam McClean's Alchemy Website and all the books I have on the subject, and while some come close, nothing matches exactly. It could be something Waite invented, a hybrid of two symbols perhaps. But with nothing to go on, all leads end up going nowhere.
Anyone like to get to the bottom of this? I'm willing to do some brainstorming.