The Influence of Etteilla &
His School on Mathers & Waite
By James W. Revak
The
Influence of Etteilla &
His
School on Mathers & Waite
By James
W. Revak
Competing Views of Tarot
Returning to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, one finds that after heaping criticism on Etteilla and rejecting his deck, some occultists developed Tarot pursuant to their vision (Decker, Depaulis, & Dummett, 1996; Jorgensen, 1992). In France, Lévi (1854-55/1910, 1860/1910), Papus (1989/10, 1909), and Wirth (1927/1985) made significant contributions. Lévi was particularly important; he expounded on the correspondences between Tarot and Cabala, and integrated Tarot into Western Esotericism, including magic (Crowley, 1944; Decker, Depaulis & Dummett, 1996; Giles, 1992; Wang, 1978)—although even he has sometimes been criticized by fellow occultists (e.g., Waite, 1938).
Meanwhile, across the channel, in Britain, S. L. MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918) and A. E. Waite (1857-1942) began to influence significantly the use of Tarot for purposes of divination and spiritual growth (Jorgensen, 1992). Both were members of the influential Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (GD) (Howe, 1972; King, 1989; Küntz, 1996; Waite, 1938). Mathers, with W. Wynn Westcott and A. F. A. Woodford, founded the order in London in 1888 (Howe, 1972; King, 1989). Waite joined in 1891 (Gilbert, 1997; Küntz, 1996; Waite, 1938).
Members sometimes claimed that the GD descended from the Rosicrucian Fraternity purportedly founded by Christian Rosenkreuz in fourteenth-century Germany (Westcott, c. 1888; also cited in Regardie, 1989). They sought spiritual growth and esoteric knowledge and, at times, practiced divination and a syncretistic type of high magic (Gilbert, 1997; Greer, 1995; Howe, 1972; King, 1989; Küntz, 1996; Mackenzie, c. 1870/1996; Regardie, 1989). In the words of Westcott, GD members were “taught the principles of Occult Science, and the practice of the Magic of Hermes” (p. 46). The order eventually comprised affiliated temples (groups of organized members) in Europe, North America, and New Zealand (Howe, 1972; King, 1989; Küntz, 1996).
Although the order lasted for only about fifteen to twenty years and always had a relatively small membership, its influence was significant (Greer, 1995; Howe, 1972; King, 1989; Küntz, 1996). Even after its demise, its knowledge base and praxis, continued to influence the development of esotericism, including Tarot, through the work of such prominent occultists and former members as Paul Foster Case (1934/1991, 1947, 1981; see also Case & Parke, c. 1930/1998), Aleister Crowley (1944; see also Crowley & Harris, 1969), Dion Fortune (1935), and Israel Regardie (1932/1999, 1989).
The order’s rudimentary knowledge base and praxis were contained in the forged Cipher Manuscript attributed to Freemason and occultist Kenneth Mackenzie (c. 1870/1996; see also Howe, 1972; King, 1989, Waite, 1938), which included a fairly brief but influential presentation on Tarot. “The grand occult syncretism of the Golden Dawn linked the tarot with the Kabala (the Hebrew alphabet, the Tree of Life, astrology (the zodiac, planets), alchemy (the elements), numerology, ritual magic” and much more (Jorgensen, 1992, p. 149). The importance of Tarot within the GD may have, in part, reflected the interests of Mackenzie. Howe (1972) reported that Mackenzie wrote in 1876 to fellow occultist F. G. Irwin about his use of Tarot:
“I have a fashion of working it [Tarot] myself but I work it with the aid of astrology which is a different process from that pursued by E[liphas]. L[évi]. My general instructions are those of Aliette(2) [sic] which are tinged with cartomancy—but for the latter I much prefer an Italian process by which I have had marvelous results.
“(2)[Note by Howe:] Alliette (fl. 1753-90) or Etteilla (anagram), French writer on cartomancy. This eccentric person deserves further study.” (p. 29).
Although Mackenzie produced a prospectus for a book on Tarot which he intended to publish under the title The Game of Tarot, Archaeologically and Symbolically Considered, he never did so (Howe, 1972). Instead, he reported in 1885 in a letter to Westcott: “I am not at present writing about Tarot. It was a projected work some years ago and fell through. I may perhaps resume it some day. I gave Bro. Mathers a prospectus as a curiosity” (cited in Howe, p. 30).
Mathers’ Contributions
Mathers, in turn, did publish a booklet on Tarot titled The Tarot: Its Occult Signification, Use in Fortune-Telling and Method of Play (1888/1993), which was apparently sold with Tarot decks (Waite, 1910). In it, he included divinatory meanings (DMs) for each card (both upright and reversed orientations). He also presented DMs for selected card combinations, which were “chiefly taken from Etteilla” (p. 63). Mathers’ booklet continues to influence Tarot practitioners to this day; it has been republished multiple times, including in 1969, 1971, and, as The Tarot: A Short Treatise on Reading Cards, in 1993. Butler (1975) also quoted liberally from it in his popular compendium of DMs. In addition to impacting Tarot practitioners drawn from the general public, Mathers also influenced those drawn from the membership of the GD. “He was a principal architect of Golden Dawn doctrines and rites, including its interpretation of the tarot” (Jorgensen, 1992, p. 149) and circulated among members in manuscript the influential monograph titled Book “T”-—The Tarot (c. 1888a; eventually published in Regardie, 1989) (see also Greer, 1995; Wang, 1978, 1987). Finally, he apparently authored another book on cartomancy titled Fortune-Telling Cards, the copyright of which he sold to a publisher during 1888-1889 (Howe, 1972).
Figure 9 (above): S. L. MacGregor Mathers (1889) (Gilbert, 1997).
Mathers also had a command of the French language and knowledge of the French esoteric scene (which, as will be shown, is important to this study). For example, he adapted a French military manual for use by the British Army as his first book, published in 1884 as Practical Instruction in Infantry Campaigning Exercise (Greer, 1995; Howe, 1972). Later, he translated into English a French manuscript, which he found in the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal (Library of the Arsenal)] in Paris in 1896 (Greer, 1995; Howe, 1972). It was published as The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage: As Delivered by Abraham the Jew unto his Son Lamech, A.D. 1458 (Abraham the Jew [attrib.], 1458[?]/1900). He also professed to have studied French occultists’ views on Tarot, including those of Etteilla (Mathers, c. 1888b). His activities in France included myriad duties as the leader of the GD temple in Paris, Ahathöor (chartered 1893) (Greer, 1995; Howe, 1972; Küntz, 1996).
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