If you already have read the article, What Is the Western Mystery Tradition? you will have realized that there are many traditions and expressions of the Western Mysteries—dare we say that the tarot can take its place as a tradition among them? Or, is it merely divination tool with little depth beyond fortunetelling, and a pliable medium that other traditions can bend to their purpose? If you have an interest in the tarot, then you probably know that there are hundreds of decks to choose from. Many of them are expressions of a particular tradition. For example, you can find decks dedicated to the Alchemical, Celtic, Wiccan, Norse, Masonic traditions just to name a few.
With so many faces, it’s easy to be glamoured and distracted away from the beauty that is the soul of the Tarot and the pathway it offers into the heart of the Western Mysteries. (Tarot-the tradition vs. tarot-the tool.) So, back to our question, can we consider the tarot as a mystery tradition?
To help answer this question, I’d like to use Antoine Faivre’s criteria for recognizing legitimate “western esotericisms”. In his book Access to Western Esotericism he considers the many streams that make up the Western Mysteries and arrives at four characteristics that identify a stream as a “Western esotericism,” or in the terms we are using a tradition. Once we look at his criteria it becomes clear that the tarot more than meets his criteria. However, we must move beyond using it simply for divination. Here are Faivre’s four essentials:
1. “Correspondences”
The axiom, “as above, so below” succinctly describes the concept of correspondence. Correspondence has to do with the relationship between the various levels of existence. What occurs on one level causes change on another level. In this there is no randomness; all is interconnected. If we follow this line of thinking, we can know the higher levels through knowing the world around us. The tarot as a divination tool works exactly on this principle by showing you with the cards (below) a reflection of yourself and your life on many levels.
2. “Living Nature”
This concept follows naturally from the one above. Nature is alive and intricately connected to many levels of existence, not just the physical: “Multilayered, rich in potential revelations of every kind, it must be read like a book.” (Faivre, p.11). The early Visconti-Sforza cards of the Sun, Moon and Star depict female figures holding the stellar entities. The pairing of stellar body with human form speaks to this very concept. All of nature is alive, with a living essence that has a capacity to evolve as we do. The tarot images if we open our perceptivity come alive in the world around us—brining us to the next criteria.
3. “Imagination and Mediations”
Imagination and mediations refer to methods we use to experience “Living Nature” and to read its signs. Faivre defines mediations as, for example, angels, inner guides or rituals—things that aid in our participation. Our imagination, an “organ of the soul” is the key to using mediations and being able to perceive the spiritual within the mundane. With regard to the tarot, mediations are the symbols on the cards. They are the angels (like upon the Lovers Cared) or the archetypes like the Empress, Temperance and the Fool who have both an inner plane collective presence and a presence in the personal psyche. If we use our imagination in combination with the “mediations” offered within the tarot, the tarot may be transformed from a tool for divination into a tradition in its own right.
4. “Experience of Transmutation”
Transmutation is defined as a process of change in form, character or state. The story of the tarot is the tale of transmutation. The major arcana cards tell of the transformative journey of the Fool and of the resulting transformation of the World. This is our own story if we choose it. This story told in symbols is the carrot the tarot offers enticing us into its world. When we begin to work the tradition of the Tarot, we begin to consciously work at our own transformation.
Faivre identified two additional characteristics that are often present in Western traditions:
5. “Transmission”
This is the passing of the light of the tradition from teacher to student in what might be also termed initiation.
6. “The Praxis of the Concordance”
This is the idea of a primordial tradition that underlies all traditions and of a harmony between traditions. The spirit of the tarot embodies this idea. To confirm this all we have to do is look at the myriad of Western traditions that have embraced the tarot—bringing us back to where we started, but perhaps on an altogether different level.
Join me and others as we pursue the Tarot as a tradition within the Western Mysteries.
Please feel free to comment on this article or ask a question.
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