The influence by Papus on A.E. Waite and Aleister Crowley is probably greater than we realise.

If ever the whole system contained in the Tarot came to be worked out, which will scarcely be in our time, it might even prove that its attribution to the Hebrew alphabet obtains only in the lesser degrees.

A. E. Waite, Preface to Tarot of the Bohemians p xvii

Crowley is dismissive of Papus, but this may well be a red-herring:

…[who] felt himself even more closely bound by his Oath of Secrecy, so that his dealing with the Tarot are worthless…

Book of Thoth

Attributions of the Major Arcana

Crowley and Waite assign zero to the Fool, while Papus deliberately muddies the water: The Fool is assigned to Shin, the 21^st, and he describes it as the ‘Twenty-first (unnumbered) of the Tarot’! As unnumbered, the Fool can appear anywhere in the sequence. There are many arguments on the rationale behind the order and numeration of the Major Arcana, and I doubt the controversy will ever be settled. While I agree that the Fool should be unnumbered, for practical reasons in divination, I follow the Golden Dawn attribution of Zero. However, this essay is not about those arguments on attributions of Hebrew to the Major Arcana, nor to its order.

This table is the key to Papus’ system:

The bottom line of YHVH is interpreted as:

1. Yod positive or creative series
2. He: negative or preservative series
3. Vau: neuter or transforming series, equilibrium
4. 2^nd He: transitional series

Table 1 divides the twenty-one Atu into three groups of seven. Since we know he has zero or the Fool as unnumbered, we know it is implicitly present although not defined. The Heh final row has no attributions since it is pendant to the system – only the Hegelian Dialectic of Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis is considered, which provides an insight into the role of the Fool.

The Fool is seen as outside the system which is why its placing is irrelevant, thus so with the Hebrew alphabet attributions. The concept of the Fool being ‘outside the system’ assumes an importance when we consider the implications of some rather unusual ideas later in this essay.

Here is his basic definition of the Trinity:

• Y: Positive. Creator
• H: Negative. Reflex of the first. Preserver
• V: Neuter, enveloping the two others. Transformer
• H: Passage from one series to another. (ie, beginning at Y again)

Note that this system parallels Elemental Dignities in divination and the Counting technique. He uses the Trinity to develop the characteristics of the Tarot as they develop in sequence (this applies to the Courts and the Minor Arcana).

To use the Table is simple.

1. Pick a number and look across the table to find the Hebrew letter in the left hand column.
2. Find the Hebrew letter in the vertical column containing the Minor Arcana
3. Which sign (+ or -) governs the secondary vertical column

Papus gives an example of the 5^th Arcana, which is on the heh row, the yod column, and has the negative (-) sign. Put together, we can describe it as ‘The heh of yod as negative’. Note that ‘negative’ has no detrimental connotation.  The system is a manipulation of the formula of YHVH.

Origin and Derivation

Further structures can be discerned using this system. The origin and derivation can be found by looking at the third before it and the third after it. In the example of the 5^th , we see that it is derived from the 2^nd and the 8^th precedes it.

Uniting cards

If the sum is even, dividing it by two will give us the number which unites them. So, 2+12=14. 14/2=7.

Complementary Cards

The complementary cards are found by subtracting the number from 22.

Septenarys

However, he categorises the septenarys in a slightly different manner so that there are actually six in each group plus one group of four!

Y – 1st Septenary

Arcana 1 – 6

H – 2nd Septenary

Arcana 7 – 12

V – 3rd Septenary

Arcana 13 – 18

H – Transition

Arcana 19 – 22

This contradiction appears to be resolved in the Table above, where the Heh final position has a role, so the 7^th of the first septenary would be number 7, which is actually the first of the second septenary. Remember that in this system we are dealing with Trinities – the fourth position does not exist except to serve as the transmission force. Confused? Nobody ever said understanding Tarot of the Bohemians was easy!

Later in TOTB, he helpfully provides an expanded version of the Table that fleshes out the triple interpretation of each Major Atu using exactly the same structure.

Here is a simplified version of the table, 0 has become 21. Not only that but 21 now appears in three positions! This is in accordance with the system discussed earlier, and Papus’ statement: ‘The Fool is the twenty-first (unnumbered) of the Tarot’. The structure of the bottom row has profound implications which seem to have been exploited in Crowley’s Book of Thoth, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Papus has given the Fool the status of being first and last in the series of Worlds. In this sense the Fool is the seventh in the Septenarys. Another way of coming to this conclusion is to consider what symbol would be used for the missing of each Septenary? Zero! Careful analysis of Table 2 reveals that the Fool is represented seven times, since it has an active and passive stage (4^th row). It is my understanding that the Fool is in the Heh final position.

Papus gives three interpretations based upon the following system:

Papus combines Table 2 and Table 3 to create definitions for the Major Atu in “The Qabalah”:

It is clear that Papus ‘twinned’ cards vertically. 1 is God, while the manifestation is 4. Similarly for 2 and 5; 3 and 6, and so on.