I do not believe that the major arcana of the tarot were originally devised to correspond with the paths on the Tree of Life. However, I think both the cards and the Tree depict a layered progression from the physical to the spiritual, and so it is possible to devise a useful set of correspondences between them.
I have found the published attributions of most of the occultists (such as the Golden Dawn alumni) to be unhelpful. They place the lowest numbered tarot cards at the top of the Tree and work down. It seems obvious to me that the reverse arrangement is more logical. I have thus devised a bottom-to-top system that works for me. I have been guided by the symbolic meanings of the cards themselves, compared with the symbolic meanings of the sephiroth. There are many schools of thought about both of these systems; I have followed my own preferences. The Hebrew letters are still assigned from the top down, to emphasize the fact that I have reversed the "traditional" pattern of the occultists.
The three virtues (Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance) ought to associate with paths that all have the same "geometry" in the Tree. The obvious choice for me was the three paths spanning the two opposing pillars (Hod-Netzach, Gevurah-Chesed, and Binah-Chokmah). The virtues were originally conceived by Aristotle as balancing opposites, and were so conceived in Christian Europe.
Where two cards appear in sequence in the tarot, and appear to be opposites or complements, they should be associated with paths that are symmetric reflections of each other on the Tree. The card pairs that most clearly fall in this category (for me) are Empress/Emperor, Lovers/Chariot (because of Venus/Mars), and Sun/Moon.
Cards representing only the human world (basically those that correspond to the E series in the Tarocchi of Mantegna) should be assigned to paths below Tiphareth.
My basic point of view is that the tarot trumps were not designed to depict the Tree (and, I hope it goes without saying that the reverse is also true). What allows a correspondence to be made is the fact that both systems seem to have the same kind of structure, at least in broad terms. Specifically:
Vertical structure: there is in both systems a "layering" that works up from the mundane, human world, through ethical and mental levels, to the higher spiritual worlds (which are given astrological/cosmological associations).
Horizontal structure: there is also in both systems a contrast between opposites that is mediated by equilibrium or synthesis.
Combining the two dimensions of structure, the result is inevitably a system of triads, each representing the mastery of dualism at a given level of consciousness. Some such triads "jump out" at me from the tarot, others are more forced. But the fact that the virtues (which are unambiguous symbols of balance) are spaced three cards from one another is, for me, the most compelling evidence that the designers were thinking as I have speculated, and that justifies interpreting the other cards triadically as well. For more on this idea, see The Triadic Structure of the Tarot. The paths on the Tree, too, can be easily sorted in symmetric triads.
There are still a variety of arrangements that would meet my criteria, but I can't find much enthusiasm for a system that does not assign each virtue to a path of equilibrium and place the two cards preceding each virtue in symmetrically oppostite locations on the Tree.
In my system of triads, each of the virtues is the culmination of a triad of cards. The other triads are completed by The Papess, The Pope, and The Star. I have placed these cards on the vertical paths running up the central pillar.
All these very important cards are thus placed on paths that represent equilibrium in one way or another. They are marked in gold on the diagram.
The first two cards in each triad are assigned to the remaining paths (one black, one white) on either side of the Tree. I think the arrangement is logical and useful. In many cases, I find a strong correlation between the meanings I attach to the cards and the meanings I attach to the corresponding paths. The following brief remarks should make this clear.
The Physical Triad (0, I, II) deals with an individual's relationship with the physical environment. The Fool connects with the material world (Malkuth) through the emotions (Netzach), and thus is at the mercy of the environment. Bagatto (depicted as an artisan in some early decks) uses the intellect (Hod) to control matter (Malkuth). Neither has a balanced picture of his relationship to the physical world. The balance is delivered by The Papess, who represents the intuitive, imagistic approach (Yesod) to experiencing the natural world.
The Social Triad (III, IV, V) deals with the role of the individual in society. A person may model that role on the relationship with the mother (Empress), giving one an emotionally-grounded (Netzach) life story (Yesod), or on the relationship with the father (Emperor), giving a life story based on rules (Hod). The resolution of the duality comes from the Pope, who represents the accumulated wisdom of the culture and articulates the behavioral expectations arising from Christ consciousness (Tiphareth).
In the Moral Triad (VI, VII, VIII), we have our first encounter with the transpersonal sephiroth, correspondingly neatly with the first appearance of pagan god-images in the tarot sequence. The Lovers (Venus/Cupid) represents the desire for union with the Other, experienced as an overwhelming empathic urge, flowing out of the boundless generosity of Chesed. The Chariot (Mars) represents the desire to win, to dominate, to impose righteousness; this is also felt as a divine calling, rooted in the desire to purge the world of evil that flows from Gevurah. The two urges are reconciled by Justice, the first virtue of the tarot sequence, who mediates between the demands of order (Hod) and compassion (Netzach).
In the Triad of Self-Mastery (IX, X, XI), the individual seeks to claim Tiphareth, a possibility first revealed by the Pope but not really attainable until one rises out of the purely social world. Attaining Tiphareth means getting above both the thoughts (Hod) and the emotions (Netzach) so that we are not slave to either. Rising above slavery to one's own thoughts is the philosophical quest of the Hermit; rising above slavery to one's emotions is a lesson provided by the Wheel of Fortune, which gives us a way to step outside our passing joys and sorrows and see them as simply parts of the rhythm of life. Having taken both these paths, one has attained Tiphareth, mastered the self. The victory is secured by the virtue of Fortitude, which spans the Tree between Chesed and Gevurah. She is the sustainer that holds creation and destruction in equilibrium.
This is precisely the midpoint in the tarot sequence, and it corresponds exactly to the midpoint in the Tree. Tiphareth, self-mastery, ultimate perfection in the human world, has been achieved. From here on, all the paths lead into the supernal realm, in which we go beyond individual perfection and approach the mystical return to universal being.
In the Triad of Transcendence (XII, XIII, XIV), we become aware that further progress involves the loss of the ego, either by surrending oneself (the Hanged Man) and becoming a vessel to receive divine force (Chesed to Chokmah) or by Death, the transformation that leads out of pain and destruction (Gevurah) into the mysterious womb of rebirth (Binah). We get now the sense that the balance of opposites is not just a way to strengthen the personality, it is a cosmic principle, expressed in the image of Temperance, who mixes dark and light, yin and yang, Binah and Chokmah. These are premonitions, though, because they have come down to us through the transpersonal sephiroth. We have yet to actually take the paths that depart from Tiphareth, and leave the self behind.
The Triad of Liberation (XV, XVI, XVII) makes this possible. Chesed, the creator of form, connects directly to the soul (Tiphareth) through the Devil. The Devil is the lord of illusions, who keeps us subject to human patterns. But opposite the Devil is the Lightning, descending into Tiphareth from Gevurah, that reminds us that the true divine energy can reduce any created form to rubble. By facing them both, we are at last open to our first glimpse of Kether, revealed by The Star. This is the great revelation, the understanding that we each carry the divine spark, and that we can follow its light to the crown of the Tree.
In my basic triadic system, the next triad is Moon, Sun, and Judgment, followed by the final monad, the World. However, this does not fit the Tree well, because we have exhausted vertical and horizontal paths with the Star. I have therefore taken the liberty of introducing some modifications to the final group of cards, to help them conform with the Tree.
Although the Star leads to Kether, there is still a problem. Blocking the way is the Abyss, the missing sephirah of Da'ath, Knowledge, Gnosis. The self (Tiphareth) must reach beyond it into the supernal realm, where it perceives the primal duality of female and male, Binah and Chokmah, in the shape of the Moon and Sun. Note that the Star path bisects both the Devil/Tower pair and the Moon/Sun pair. The Star answers them both, the first time leading only as far as Da'ath, the second time completing the journey from Da'ath to Kether. Thus Moon, Sun, and The Star again comprise the Triad of Gnosis. (In the Hermit's Tarot, I provide a second Star card, titled The Stars, to represent the portion of the path beyond gnosis.
Having lifted consciousness out of Tiphareth and into the supernal realm, there are only two paths left to explore: Judgement, the pure creation of Kether in Binah's dark womb, bringing one universe to an end and giving birth to another, and The World, the Anima Mundi, the living spirit that keeps all creation in motion (Kether to Chokmah). It is interesting to note the placement of Death and Judgement (Resurrection) in this scheme.
Is there yet another path to complete this final dyad and make it a triad? Not on the Tree, no. But in qabalistic thought Kether itself is an emanation from the great mystery that lays beyond, past the three veils of negative existence. The path that leads beyond Kether into mystery is represented in the Hermit's Tarot by an unnumbered card depicting the First Cause, modeled on the image from the Tarocchi of Mantegna.
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Copyright © 1998 Tom Tadfor Little