The Symbols. Card Xii. The Hanged Man : p. 62 CARD XII. THE HANGED MAN. And then I saw a man in terrible suffering, hung by one leg, head downward, to a high tree. And I heard the voice:-- "Look! This is a man who saw Truth. Suffering awaits the man on earth, who finds the way to eternity and to the understanding of the Endless. "He is...
The Symbols. Card 0. The Fool : p. 23 CARD 0. THE FOOL. And I saw another man. Tired and lame he dragged himself along the dusty road, across the deserted plain under the scorching rays of the sun. He glanced sidelong with foolish, staring eyes, a half smile, half leer on his face; he knew not where he went, but was absorbed...
The Symbols. Card Xvii. The Star : p. 42 CARD XVII. THE STAR. A strange emotion seized me. A fiery trembling ran in waves through all my body. My heart quickened its beating, tumult agitated my mind. I felt that I was surrounded by portentous mysteries. And presently shafts of Light penetrated my being and illuminated many things...
The Symbols. Card Xix. The Sun : p. 34 CARD XIX. THE SUN. As soon as I perceived the Sun, I understood that It, Itself, is the expression of the Fiery Word and the sign of the Emperor. The great luminary shone with an intense heat upon the large golden heads of sun-flowers. And I saw a naked boy, whose head was wreathed with...
Title Page : THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT BY P D. OUSPENSKY PHILOSOPHY OF OCCULTISM IN PICTURES AND NUMBERS Translated By A. L. Pogossky Trood Print. And Pub. Co., St. Petersburg, Russia [1913] Scanned , December 2003. J. B. Hare, Redactor. This Text Is In The Public Domain. These Files May Be Used For Any...
The Symbols. Card Viii. Power : p. 50 CARD VIII. POWER. In the midst of a green plain, surrounded by blue hills, I saw a woman with a lion. Girdled with wreaths of roses, a symbol of infinity over her head, the woman calmly and confidently covered the lion's mouth and the lion obediently licked her hand. "This is a picture...
Untitled : THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TAROT BY P D. OUSPENSKY [1913] Title Page What is the Tarot? THE SYMBOLS Card I. The Magician Card 0. The Fool Card II. The High Priestess Card XXI. The World Card III. The Empress Card XX. Judgment Card IV. The Emperor Card XIX. The Sun Card V. The Chariot Card XVIII. The Mo...
The Symbols. Card V. The Chariot : p. 35 CARD V. THE CHARIOT. I saw a chariot drawn dy two sphinxes, one white, the other black. Four pillars supported a blue canopy, on which were scattered five-pointed stars. The Conqueror, clad in steel armour, stood under this canopy guiding the sphinxes. He held a sceptre, on the end of which...
The Symbols. Card Xxi. The World : p. 27 CARD XXI. THE WORLD. An unexpected vision appeared to me. A circle not unlike a wreath woven from rainbow and lightnings, whirled from heaven to earth with a stupendous, velocity, blinding me by its brilliance. And amidst this light and fire I heard music and soft singing, thunderclaps...
The Symbols. Card Vi. The Lovers : p. 39 CARD VI. THE LOVERS. I saw a blooming garden in a green valley, surrounded by soft blue hills. In the garden I saw a Man and a Woman naked and beautiful. They loved each other and their Love was their service to the Great Conception, a prayer and a sacrifice; through It they communed with...
The Symbols. Card Ii. The High Priestess : p. 25 CARD II. THE HIGH PRIESTESS. When I lifted the first veil and entered the outer court of the Temple of Initiation, I saw in half darkness the figure of a woman sitting on a high throne between two pillars of the temple, one white, and one black. Mystery emanated from her and was about her...
The Symbols. Card Xx. Judgment : p. 31 CARD XX. JUDGMENT. I saw an ice plain, and on the horizon, a chain of snowy mountains. A cloud appeared and began to grow until it covered a quarter of the sky. Two fiery wings suddenly expanded in the cloud, and I knew that I beheld the messenger of the Empress. He raised a trumpet and blew...
The Symbols. Card Xiii. Death : p. 59 CARD. XIII. DEATH. Fatigued by the flashing of the Wheel of Life, I sank to earth and shut my eyes. But it seemed to me that the Wheel kept turning before me and that the four creatures continued sitting in the clouds and reading their books. Suddenly, on opening my eyes, I saw a gigantic...
The Symbols. Chad Vii. The Hierophant : p. 46 CARD VII. THE HIEROPHANT. I saw the great Master in the Temple. He was siting on a golden throne set upon a purple platform, and he wore the robe of a high priest with a golden tiara. He held a golden eight-pointed cross, and lying at his feet were two crossed keys. Two initiates bowed...
The Symbols. Card Xv. The Devil : p. 51 CARD XV. THE DEVIL. Black, awful night enveloped the earth. An ominous, red flame burned in the distance. I was approaching a fantastic figure which outlined itself before me as I came nearer to it. High above the earth appeared the repulsive red face of the Devil, with large, hairy ears...
The Symbols. Card Ix. The Hermit : p. 53 CARD IX. THE HERMIT. After long wanderings over a sandy, waterless desert where only serpents lived, I met the Hermit. He was wrapped in a long cloak, a hood thrown over his head. He held a long staff in one hand and in the other a lighted lantern, though it was broad daylight and the sun...
The Symbols. Card Xvi. The Tower : p. 48 CARD XVI. THE TOWER. I saw a lofty tower extending from earth to heaven; its golden crowned summit reached beyond the clouds. All round it black night reigned and thunder rumbled. Suddenly the heavens opened, a thunder-clap shook the whole earth, and lightning struck the summit of the tower...
The Symbols. Card I. The Magician : p. 19 THE SYMBOLS p. 21 CARD I. THE MAGICIAN. I Saw the Man. His figure reached from earth to heaven and was clad in a purple mantle. He stood deep in foliage and flowers and his head, on which was the head-band of an initiate, seemed to disappear mysteriously in infinity. Before him...
What Is The Tarot : p. 3 WHAT IS THE TAROT? No study of occult philosophy is possible without an acquaintance with symbolism, for if the words occultism and symbolism are correctly used, they mean almost one and the same thing. Symbolism cannot be learned as one learns to build bridges or speak a foreign language...
The Symbols. Card Iii. The Empress : p. 29 CARD III. THE EMPRESS. I felt the breath of the spring, and accompanying the fragrance of violets and lilies-of-the-valley I heard the tender singing of elves. Rivulets murmured, the treetops rustled, the grasses whispered, innumerable birds sang in choruses and bees hummed; everywhere I...
The Symbols. Card X. The Wheel Of Chance : p. 58 CARD. X. THE WHEEL OF CHANCE. I walked along, absorbed in deep thought, trying to understand the vision of the Angel. And suddenly, as I lifted my head, I saw midway in the sky a huge, revolving circle covered with Kabalistic letters and symbols. The circle turned with terrible velocity...
The Symbols. Card Xviii. The Moon : p. 38 CARD XVIII. THE MOON. A desolate plain stretched before me. A full moon looked down as if in contemplative hesitation. Under her wavering light the shadows lived their own peculiar life. On the horizon I saw blue hills, and over them wound a path which stretched between two grey towers far...
The Symbols. Card Xiv. Time : p. 55 CARD XIV. TIME (TEMPERANCE). An angel in a white robe, touching earth and heaven, appeared. His wings were flame and a radiance of gold was about his head. On his breast he wore the sacred sign of the book of the Tarot--a triangle within a square, a point within the triangle; on his forehead...
The Symbols. Card Iv. The Emperor : p. 32 CARD IV. THE EMPEROR. After I learned the first three numbers I was given to understand the Great Law of Four--the alpha and omega of all. I saw the Emperor on a lofty stone throne, ornamented by four rams' heads. On his forehead shone a golden helmet. His white beard fell over a purple...
The Symbols. Card Xi. Justice : p. 61 CARD XI. JUSTICE. When I possessed the keys, read the book and understood the symbols, I was permitted to lift the curtain of the Temple and enter. its inner sanctum. And there I beheld a Woman with a crown of gold and a purple mantle. She held a sword in one hand and scales in the other. I...
