Lisbon occultism; an amazing discovery!

[gregory]

Wow. And to think we didn't quite make it there when we were in Portugal a few years ago. I shall have a Word with the Chauffeur.....

 

[Aeon418]

Would the poet be Fernando Pessoa?

Yes. Just before Crowley left Portugal he and Pessoa colluded together on a practical joke / publicity stunt. Crowley wrote a fake suicide note and left it with his cigarette case at the Boca do Inferno. As Crowley left for Germany, Pessoa raised the alarm and reported Crowley's mysterious disappearance to the press. Following the Portuguese, both the English and French press agencies ran with the story of Crowley's apparent death. When the Portuguese authorities revealed that Crowley had crossed the border into Spain, new stories about Crowley's doppelganger were printed.

 

[Le Fanu]

The true story behind Fernando Pessoa and Aleister Crowley´s friendship in Lisbon is really rather fascinating. Pessoa read some books of Crowley in which he had drawn up his horoscope and Pessoa - being very informed in astrology - noticed that Crowley had made a mistake in his calculations and wrote and told him so (this must have been very early 1930s,). Crowley was so stunned by this correction that he wrote immediately and said he was coming to Lisbon to meet Pessoa in person! There was quite a strong friendship between them and Crowley introduced him to his English publisher, who eventually published some of Pesoas modernist texts in English.

Anyway, back to Lisbon. There is this strong tradition of Hermetism, Masonry and esoterica in Lisbon and the recontruction of Lisbon in the 18th Century and Im sure there´s oodles of stuff here that Im just not picking up on. What I find odd is that there is so little tarot tradition here. Nobody reads tarot or is interested in tarot. It just isn´t mentioned (which is great for finds on the flea market and 2nd hand bookshops.)

For those of you who don´t know Lisbon, come and visit; it is definitely worth a visit. I think it is such an unsung jewel of a city...

 

[Inana]

For those of you who don´t know Lisbon, come and visit; it is definitely worth a visit. I think it is such an unsung jewel of a city...

Have been in Lisbon two times and love it. It has a kind of romantic/melancholic feeling i enjoy a lot when walking around.
Didn't know about the numbers behind the construction on "Praça do comercio", though. Thanks for sharing! Maybe, as said, its construction is related with masonry?

A bit out of topic, but Palácio da Regáleira in Sintra, and not far form Lisbon, is another beauty full of esoteric symbolism. A must see too!

 

[greatdane]

Great info, Thanks, Le Fanu!

Wonderful reading about this delightful city that I knew so little about.

It's especially nice when someone lives there and can tell you bits and pieces you may not pick up from a tourist book.

Thanks for the post.

GD

 

[Golden Moon]

Muito interesante. Eu nunca soube disso. Que outras coisas que existem cerca de tarot em Portugal?

 

[greatdane]

Eu concordo, GM

I, too, would like to know what other things may be lurking re the tarot!

GD

 

[Filipa]

wow

não fazia ideia

Born and rased in Lisbon and I know none of this things

 

[Cerulean]

By the way: the Portugese Tarot Cards posted follow Papus'

Divinatory Tarot, which A.E. Waite grumpily dismissed in his English translation of Tarot of the Bohemians, 1910-1912. I wouldn't say Golden Dawn followers of the time approved of this deck.

I think of this as an Etteilla style deck with Egyptianized costuming and Etteilla/Papus information. The Two of Cups is very similar.

I would love to see this deck available to us in the U.S.!

Thanks for revisiting the thread Aeclectic.net forumites!

I love to think of this "Tarot Square" and La Fanu enjoying all the sites!

Cerulean

The Portuguese - as you know, Cerulean - were quite important movers in gaming cards, the links with Japan and Macau etc, but the only Portuguese tarot which has made it into Kaplan and become part of the tarot "canon" is this one

Also, a little known fact is that Aleister Crowley spent time here and had a long correspondence with a Portuguese modernist poet who was also an occultist. Crowley spent time in Lisbon and even faked his own suicide here. A bit of a scandal in the local papers here at the time. The city has recently managed to prevent an export order on the whole Crowley correspondence of his time in Lisbon, which went up for auction a couple of months ago. But this, of course, isn´t the Lisbon of this arched square, but a more recent Lisbon...

 

[greatdane]

Now if we could all just beam over...

right, Cerulean?! I think there should be an AT field trip there. Single file, everyone on the bus....

GD