EnglishOccultTarot18801940

Oursecular,multiculturalworldstartedtakingshapeinthelatterpartof
the19thcentury.NewspapersinEuropeandtheU.S.displayedadsfor
astrologers,mesmerists,energyhealersandmediums.Itwasagolden
eraforoccultlodges,whenanyonewitharobeandaphilosophycherry
pickedfromHermeticism,CabalaandthemysteriousEastcouldfounda
lodgeandrecruiteagerfollowers.TheChurchwasnolongerthe
dominantculturalforceandtheemergingscientificworldviewwas
actuallygoodforspiritualseekers.InasecularsocietytheEstablishment
maythinkyourritualtoinvoketheGuardiansoftheNorthisfoolishor
deluded,buttheInquisitionwonthaulyouinforadatewiththeIron
Maiden.
Untilthelate19thCentury,TarotwasunknownintheEnglish
speakingworldexcepttoafewscholarswhocouldreadFrenchandhad
thepatiencetoplowthroughEliphasLevisturgidtomes.An
EnglishmanwhodidjustthatvisitedLeviinParisin1861andchangedthecourseofhistoryforEnglishoccultism
andforTarot.KennethMacKenziereturnedfromhisvisitinspiredtowriteupaproposalforanoccultlodgewhose
teachingsandritualswouldbebasedonMacKenziesrevisionsofLevissystem.AtotallynewTarotdeckwouldbe
anintegralpartofthelodgesteachings.AfterMackenziesdeathin1886,hispaperswereacquiredbytwo
occultistswhousedhiswritingstocreatetheHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn.IfMackenzieswidowhad
burnedhispapers,AngloAmericantarotmayhavedevelopedalongthelinesofEtteillaorWirth.Instead,the
CipherManuscriptchangedeverything.
TheheartofMackenzieswritingswerethesupposedlyancientCipher
ManuscriptandBookT.Thesemanuscriptsoutlinedanewmagical
ordertobecalledtheGoldenDawn,whoseteachingsweretobebasedon
Levisgrandsynthesisofwesternesotericism,withsomeimportant
alterations,andwithagreateremphasisonTarot.BookTspelledouta
newsetofcorrespondencesbetweentheTarottrumps,theHebrew
alphabet,pathwaysontheTreeofLife,andastrology.Thissystemsets
AngloAmericanesotericTarotapartfromthecontinentalTarot
traditionsofEtteilla,PaulChristian,EliphasLevi,WirthandPapus.
In1888,WilliamWestcottandSamuelL.MacGregorMatherslaunched
theHermeticOrderoftheGoldenDawn.Thisshortlivedgroupattracted
artistsandintellectualsandbecamethetouchstoneforallsubsequentmagicallodgesintheEnglishspeaking
world.TheGoldenDawnscomplexTarotteachingsincludedtablesofcorrespondences,useofTarotinmagical
workings,andelaboratespreadsfordivination.TheOrdercorrectedLevibyassigningthefirstletterofthe
HebrewalphabettotheFoolinsteadoftheMagician,therebyshiftingallcorrespondencestoadjacentcards.Then
theyswitchedtheStrengthandJusticecardstomakethesecorrespondencesmoreplausible.TheKnightbecame

themostpowerfulcourtcard,theKingwasdemotedandrenamedthePrince,andthePagesbecamePrincesses.
ThetennumbersofthepipcardswereassociatedwiththeSephirothonthetreeoflife,asinLevi,andwerealso
associatedwiththe36decansofthehoroscopewheelandthe72cabalisticangels.Thetrumpswereassignedto
thepathwaysontheTreeoflife,andsomeweregivenuniquedesignsandnames.
TheofficialGoldenDawntarotdeckbasedondescriptionsinBookTwasprobablydrawnbyMatherswifeMoina,
whohadattendedartschool.Eachmemberoftheorderwasrequiredtomakehisownhanddrawncopyandto
coloritaccordingtotheOrdersguidelines.SincethedeckwaspartoftheGoldenDawnssecretteachings,itwas
notdistributedtothepublicandhadlittleinfluenceonTarotsevolution.Neophyteswhohadntproducedahand
coloreddeckusedaTarotdeMarseilles.W.B.YeatsownedadeckpublishedbyDottiinMilan.
GoldenDawnDecks
AfterIsraelRegardiediminishedtherelevanceofoccultlodgesbypublishing
alloftheGoldenDawnssecretteachingsandritualsinthe1930s,including
thecompletetextofBookT,therewasnopointkeepingthedeckasecret.In
the1970sRegardiehelpedrevivetheGoldenDawnandworkedwith
memberstocreatedeckswhichwillbediscussedintheAmericanOccult
chapter.
GodfreyDowsonsHermeticTarotwascreatedduringaperiodofseclusion
andintensestudy.Thissymbolicallyrichblack&whitedeckfollowsBookT
closely.Theaccompanyingbookletisagoodsourceforbackgroundmaterial
ontheGoldenDawnsteachings.GarethKnight,Britainsmostrespected
contemporaryoccultistsestablishedhisownorganization,TheServantsof
theLight,in1973.Thisorganizationstillofferscorrespondencecoursesin
theGoldenDawntraditionandhasproducedtwodecks,TheGarethKnight
TarotdesignedbySanderLittle,andtheServantsoftheLightTarotcreatedbytheorganizationscurrenthead
DoloresAshcroftNowicki,withJoGill.
AleisterCrowleysThothDeck
AleisterCrowley(18751940)joinedtheGoldenDawnin1898and
contributedgreatlytothechaosarounditsdissolutionin1902.This
badboyoftheoccultdevotedhislifetosex,drugsandceremonial
Magick.Hefoundedseveraloccultsocieties,notablytheArgentum
Astrumin1908andOrdoTemploOrientisin1910.
CrowleysThothdeckowesitsexistencetoLadyFreidaHarris,wife
ofaMemberofParliamentandamemberofoneofCrowleysoccultorganizations.Sheurgedhimtoorganizehis
thoughtsonTarot,andbetween1938and1942shecreatedoilpaintingsforeachcard.Thedeckhasanartdeco
feelandechoesmanyearly20thcenturyartisticmovementslikeFuturism,Constructivism,andRayonism.Each
cardisdesignedusingProjectiveSyntheticGeometryastaughtbyRudolphSteiner,withgeometriclinesextending
overmultiplecards.

TheThothdeckhastheGoldenDawnsHebrewletterandastrologicalcorrespondencesonthecards,andthe
GoldenDawnscourtcards.CrowleyrenamedJustice,Strength,TemperanceandJudgmentasAdjustment,Lust,
ArtandAeonrespectivelyandheswitchedJusticeandStrengthbacktotheiroriginalTarotdeMarseillesorder.
LadyHarrissoilpaintingsweredisplayedinaLondongalleryin1942,butagoodqualitydeckwasnotpublished
untilthelate1960s.BythistimetheRiderWaiteSmithdeckhadsealeditspositionasthedominantdeckin
EnglandandAmerica,sotheThothdeckremainedinitsownniche.
Themostinfluentialdeckofthe20thcenturywascreatedbyanothermemberoftheGoldenDawn.Welllookatthe
RiderWaiteSmithdeckonthenextpage.