| The origins of the Tarot deck and its associated | | | | the Hebrew alphabet. |
| interpretive meanings may never be known with | | | | With this in mind a correlation between the tarot deck |
| empirical certainty. However, one school of thought | | | | and the tree of life may be formed. The first |
| subscribed to by Kabbalistic occultists is that the Tarot | | | | correlation is between the four worlds of the Kabbalah |
| deck stems from Jewish mysticism. | | | | and the four suits of the tarot deck. The next |
| Some occultists even go as far as to say it was an | | | | correlation that may be formed is between the ten |
| abstract code developed by Kabbalah masters to | | | | sephiroth and the minor arcana numbered ace through |
| embody their thoughts and ideas, in an allegorical | | | | ten. The final relationship that may be formed is |
| format. But before we delve into the nuances of the | | | | between the twenty-two cards of the major arcana, |
| relationship between tarot cards and Jewish mysticism | | | | twenty-two pathways, at twenty-two letters of the |
| we must first answer a fundamental question. What | | | | Hebrew alphabet. |
| exactly is the Kabballah? | | | | The major debate among occultist is the placement of |
| Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah have roots that | | | | the cards on the twenty-two pathways. A common |
| date back to the third to sixth century A.D. during this | | | | practice would be to start with the first card of the |
| period a book called the "Book of Creation" was | | | | Major Arcana and proceed arithmetically to the world |
| written, in anonymity, and contained meditations based | | | | card number twenty-two. However, there is a wrench |
| on the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. | | | | in the works. The fool card's number zero of the |
| This book is believed to be the foundation of modern | | | | major arcana defies placement on the pathways as it |
| day Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah. However, it | | | | would skew the other twenty-two cards to |
| would be many centuries before this seedling of ideas | | | | non-corresponding numerical pathways. |
| would grow into the tree of life we know today as the | | | | So, there in lies the rump of the problem. The |
| Kabbalah. | | | | placement of the fool card on the pathways has been |
| In fact it would not be until the twelfth and thirteenth | | | | the subject of much debate. Almost as if the fool |
| centuries A.D. that the ideas and concepts, in this book, | | | | cards true nature has disrupted the correlation of the |
| would be expanded and built upon significantly. | | | | tarot cards and the pathways. However, Court de |
| During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries A.D. the | | | | Gebelin wrote an essay in the late 1700's defining a |
| writing and publication of the Zohar or "Book of | | | | correlation between the cards and the Hebrew |
| Splendor" contributed greatly to the ideas and | | | | alphabet. In addition another author published in "The |
| concepts of the modern Kabbalah. One of the major | | | | Primitive World" Comte de Mellet proposed the linking |
| underlying principles of the Kabbalah was that the | | | | structure between the tarot cards and the twenty-two |
| universe consisted of four worlds. These four worlds | | | | pathways marked by the Hebrew alphabet. |
| were created in order the highest world belonging to | | | | Whether you subscribe to the Kabbalistic school of |
| God and the lowest world belonging to man. | | | | thought regarding the tarot cards or not it is very |
| In addition these four worlds consisted of emanations | | | | interesting to note the many similarities between the |
| called sephiroth. The four worlds were each separated | | | | Jewish mysticism and the tarot deck. It is hard to deny |
| into identical sets of ten sephiroth. The only difference | | | | that such a correlation exists but never the less one |
| being the energy associated with them. This energy is | | | | must keep an open mind without irrefutable historical |
| defined by the world that the sephiroth resides in. | | | | evidence. |
| Visual aids were constructed from the sephiroth. The | | | | Although, we may never know the exact origins, |
| focus of meditation was now on these geometric | | | | nature, or purpose of these mystical cards one thing is |
| structures the most popular being the tree of life. It | | | | certain we will continue to enjoy these aesthetically |
| consisted of ten sephiroth connected by twenty-two | | | | pleasing mystical cards for ages to come. |
| pathways corresponding to the twenty-two letters of | | | | |