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
APPENDIX C CORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN THE TRUMPS OF ETTEILLA’S TAROT & THOSE OF THE TAROT DE MARSEILLE Table 14 details sets of correspondences suggested by: (a) Papus (1909) and (b) Kaplan (p. 140, 1978) and Decker, Depaulis & Dummett (Table 2, p. 86, 1996). Disagreements between the two, which are highlighted in red, are relatively few.
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Table 14—Correspondences
Between the Trumps of the Tarot de Marseille &
Etteilla’s Tarot
| Tarot de Marseille(a) | Etteilla’s Tarot(b,c) | ||||
| Papus(d) | Decker,
Depaulis & Dummett; Kaplan(e) |
||||
| I | The
Juggler or Mountebank [Le Bataleur] |
15 | Illness, Illness | 15 | Illness, Illness |
| II | The Papess | 8 | Etteilla, Female Querent | 8 | Etteilla, Female Querent |
| III | The Empress | 6 | Night, Day | 6 | Night, Day |
| IIII | The Emperor | 7 | Support, Protection | 7 | Support, Protection |
| V | The Pope | 13 | Marriage, Union | 1 | Etteilla, Male Querent |
| VI | The Lovers | None | 13 | Marriage, Union | |
| VII | The Chariot | 21 | Dissension, Dissension | 21 | Dissension, Dissension |
| VIII | Justice | 9 | Justice, Jurist | 9 | Justice, Jurist |
| IX | The Hermit | 18 | Traitor, Traitor | 18 | Traitor, Traitor |
| X | Wheel of Fortune | 20 | Fortune, Increase | 20 | Fortune, Increase |
| XI | Strength | 11 | Strength, Sovereign | 11 | Strength, Sovereign |
| XII | The Hanged Man | 12 | Prudence, The People | 12 | Prudence, The People |
| XIII | None
(but commonly called Death) |
17 | Mortality, Nothingness | 17 | Mortality, Nothingness |
| XIIII | Temperance | 10 | Temperance, Priest | 10 | Temperance, Priest |
| XV | The Devil | 14 | Great Force, Great Force | 14 | Great Force, Great Force |
| XVI | The House of God | 19 | Misery, Prison | 19 | Misery Prison |
| XVII | The Star | 4 | Desolation, Air | 4 | Desolation, Air |
| XVIII | The Moon | 3 | Comments, Water | 3 | Comments, Water |
| XVIIII | The Sun | 2 | Enlightenment, Fire | 2 | Enlightenment, Fire |
| XX | Judgment | 16 | Judgment, Judgment | 16 | Judgment, Judgment |
| XXI | The World | 5 | Voyage, Earth | 5 | Voyage, Earth |
| None | The Fool | 78
(or 0) |
Folly, Folly | 78
(or 0) |
Folly, Folly |
| None | 1 | Etteilla, Male Querent | Does not apply | ||
Notes.
Red indicates disagreement between correspondences suggested by Papus and those suggested by Decker, Depaulis & Dummett; Kaplan.
(a) From Conver (1761/n.d.).
(b) Etteilla’s original Tarot
deck was reconstructed by the author from Decker, Depaulis, Dummett
(1996); Etteilla (c. 1785/c. 1975); and Silvestre-Haéberlé
(1996).
(c) Two titles appear for
each card: the first is for the upright orientation; the second,
for the reversed orientation. Occasionally both orientations
carry identical titles.
(d) From Papus (1909).
(e) From Decker, Depaulis
& Dummett (Table 2, p. 86, 1996); Kaplan (p. 140, 1978).
The author chose to use Papus’ set as his authority because it may better reflect the attitudes of esotericists of the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Mathers wrote The Tarot (1888/1993); and Waite, PKT (1910). For example, a quick comparison of the DMs of affected Trumps will quickly reveal to the reasonable person that Waite was probably using Papus’ correspondences. Let us compare the SE’s DMs for the ET Trump titled Marriage [Marriage] with Mathers’ and Waites’ DMs for the Hierophant (Pope), which is the correspondence suggested by Papus.The School of Etteilla (Papus, 1909):
“MARRIAGE
“Upright.
“This card signifies, with regard to medicine of the mind [i.e. D’Odoucet’s Science des signes, ou médecine de l’esprit (Science of signs, or medicine of the mind )], Union, Joining, Assembling, Bond, Alliance, Chain, Slavery, Financial Straits, Captivity, Servitude.
“Reversed.
“Society, Contacts, Alloy, Blending, Compounding.—Peace, Concord, Accord,
Harmony, Correct [Good] Understanding.” (p. 118).Mathers (The Tarot, 1888/1993):
“5. The Hierophant, or Pope
“Mercy, Beneficence, Kindness, Goodness.
“Reversed: Over-kindness, Weakness, Foolish exercise of generosity.” (p. 25).
Waite (PKT, 1910):
“The Hierophant.—Marriage, alliance, captivity, servitude; by another account, mercy and goodness; inspiration; the man to whom the Querent has recourse. Reversed: Society, good understanding, concord, over-kindness, weakness.” (p. 284).
A reasonable person will quickly note an absence of parallels between the SE and Mathers but will note significant parallels between the SE and Waite.
Now, let us compare Mathers’ and Waite’s DMs for the Hierophant (above) to the SE’s DMs for the ET Le Consultant [The Male Querent (Consultant)] Trump, which is the correspondence suggested by Decker, Depaulis, & Dummett (1996) and Kaplan (1978).
The School of Etteilla (Papus, 1909):
“THE MALE QUERENT [CONSULTANT]
“Upright.
“God, Supreme Being; Central Spirit, Chaos.—Meditation,
Reflection, Mental Process.“Reversed.
“The Universe.—Physical Man or The Male. The Male Querent [Consultant].” (pp. 112-113)
A reasonable person will note that the absence of parallels between (a) the SE and (b) Mathers and Waite. Therefore, one concludes that, although Mathers may not have used either set of correspondences, Waite apparently used those of Papus. This study, therefore, used those of Papus.
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