The Grand Cross of the Tarot
One of the most curious issues concerning the Tarot is the "how and why" the 22 cards of the major arcana became enumerated.

In the earliest decks from the late 14th century to the early 16th century the major arcana of the Tarot was not numbered. Rarely did the names to the trumps appear on cards of this time period. Soon after the beginning of the 16th century, names denoting the trumps and a numerated order of the major arcana start to become visible in the bottom marigin beneath the cards. In these early versions of the Tarot denoting numeration to the major arcana, an inconsistency of which card received which number was prevalent. The different decks of this era contained a variety of trump cards and names for the trumps as well.

In a very sudden fashion at the beginning of the 18th century all of the tarot decks throughout europe started to take on a similar appearance in the major arcana symbolism and the order of enumeration. It is these decks in particular we have inherited into our modern era.

The unveilling of the mystery concerning the major arcana's numeration is the explanation of each card's particular symbolism and its relationship to the other cards of the major arcana.

The Grand Cross of the Tarot




The Grand Cross consists of 4 crosses arranged together in 1 collective cross displaying the mechanism of the forces and activities of life in co-operation. By moving across the diagram in the order of 0 through 21 the pattern of composing the cross is obvious and denotes the purpose to the numeration of the major arcana.






In the 'Northern Cross', the cross of  Birth & new beginnings, the Realm of spiritual archetypes, we have The Fool [0] in the North, The Emperor [4] in the East, Justice [8] in the West and The Hanged Man [12] in the South with The Star [17] as their center.






In the 'Eastern Cross', the cross of Initation & activation of form, the Realm of material creation, we have The Magician [1] in the North, The Hierophant [5] in the East, The Hermit [9] in the West and Death [13] in the South with The Moon [18] as their center.






In the 'Western Cross', the cross of  Transformation & renewal of spirit, the Realm of the Mind, we have The Priestess [2] in the North, The Lovers [6] in the East, The Wheel of Fortune [10] in the West and Temperance [14] in the South with The Sun [19] as their center.






In the 'Southern Cross', the cross of  Duty & worldy experience, the Realm of consciousness, we have The Empress [3] in the North, The Chariot [7] in the East, Strength [11] in the West and The Devil [15] in the South with The Last Judgement [20] as their center.






In the center of the 4 crosses is The Tower [16] crossed over The World [21] underneath, completing the alchemical formula of all the cards operating together.

The center of the Grand Cross is composed of two cards, the Tower and the World. The top card, the Tower, known in the old decks as the House of God , is precisely so, a symbolic representation of the human phallus. The phallus is being stimulated by the firey light of the sun goddess Sunna and seeks her in the direction of north-east. The two beings you see falling are the divine twins or son and daughter of the god and goddess, manifesting from the seed of the god scattered throughout the card and the egg of the goddess shown as a partial sun in the upper right-hand corner. Underneath the Tower we see partially the World card, curiously the four images depicted in the four corners remain visible as the 'virign' of the world is hidden along with the vulva border surrounding her. In the corner of the World card pointing to the west we see a woman with wings and to the north a eagle on a cloud. On the other end of the card pointing east is a lion and to the south a bull. Many authors are mistaken to think these symbols are related to the zodiac. They in fact represent the following: the winged woman-holy divine mother, the eagle-hidden god or divine father, the lion-divine daughter and the bull-divine son. To familarize yourself with the ancient symbolic language the tarot is composed of, read The Symbolical Language of Ancient Art and Mythology by R.P. Knight.

Next, let us quickly overview the 'middle pillar' of the Grand Cross. On the northern tip we see the Fool, the hidden god desirous to become the eye of the creator [himself], on the created [humanity], to see the creation [the world]. The next card decending towards the southern point of the cross is the Star, the holy divine mother, with the archetypes of her divine children to either side of her, the Emperor her son & Justice her daughter, she grants with their assistance the hidden god's desire. Next is the Hanged Man or spirit decending/expanding into matter. Notice the rune Ka, the divine torch or light on his right and left side, demonstrating her son and daughter assiting her in this event. Next is the center where the heavenly family of Father, Daughter, Mother and Son generate the universe to become manifest. Now comes the Empress card, mother nature, the birth of and creation of world, where we as humanity live and continue our existence. Next is the Last Judgement card, with the divine son blowing a horn as he comes through a hole in a cloud [his mother] with a banner of his cross attached to the trumpet identifying him as cosmic consciousness being deliverd to his Father, Mother and Sister below, awaking them to resurrect in the light he is and remember they are the godhead or trinity of creation [As above so below, as below so above]. Finally we reach the southern most card, the 'devil' or Lucifer, the light bearer, who oversees humanity bound to the world by animal instinct, offering love and light to humanity as the gift of spiritual rebirth in the flesh.

Now a short examanation of the eastern and western crosses.

In the West we have the Sun card surronded by all female archetypes. The High Priestess card is the representative of Sunna the sun, the Wheel of Fortune card is a representation of the cycles of seasons and the procession of the universe, the Lovers card is a representation of human generation and the eternal reoccurrence of life, the Temperance card is a representation of the spirit in death and the activity of rebirth. The Sun card in the center is the Holy Divine Mother with her divine twins living inside her womb, nurtured by her.

In the East we have the Moon card surrounded by all male archetypes. The Juggler card is the representative of the Divine King, Lucifer the moon, the Hermit card is the representation of wisdom, self awareness acquired through existence, the Hierophant card is the representation of generation as an evolutionary process of life, and the Death card is the representation of the underworld and the regenerative activity of transformation. The Moon card in the center is the God of Life and Death, the twin towers rising to and decending down from the moon, as understood in the three phases of the moon. The circle is the symbol of deity and the moon once a month is in a circular shape. A phallus 'rises' up then releases its 'energy' and afterwards 'wanes', decending to its original place. The energy released through the phallus is the 'waters' of life.

The tarot is one of the oldest religious doctrines in the world, the original long lost to time, the symbolism is correlative with intercorrespondence to each of its parts.

The secret key of the original doctrine is the method of correspondence the symbolism for each card was originaly developed from. North is Water = spiritual archetypes of spiritual beings, East is Earth = formation of matter in the material universe, West is Air = mentality and instinct of the mind and South is Fire = consciousness self awareness is derived from.

The symbolism of the card corresponds to the group cross of the cardinal direction its placement occupies in its own collective group and to the three cards occupying the same position in their respective crosses. For example, the High Priestess is in the north of the 'western cross', north is the realm of spiritual archetypes, and the Empress, the Juggler and the Fool all correlate to the north group. West is the realm of mentality and instinct of the mind which the High Priestess is the archetype of. The Empress is the archetype of consciousness and the self awareness derived through it. The Juggler is the archetype of the formation of the components of matter. The Fool is the archetype of the spiritual archetypes desire to be visible to living beings created by the spiritual realm.

The Grand Cross of Tarot
Click on here for full size image
(best w/19"+ monitor)
In forthcoming posts we will take a look into how the 'court cards' are a representation of the secret forumla of ancient languages and their design to reveal the esoteric mechanism of the solar year and how the 'minor arcana' is the philosophy of numbers, their meaning and activy of action in the world.