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Anastasy asked:
I am always concerned about the order of the cards, and have not resolved the question for myself in a satisfying manner. I'm sure that you have-and perhaps with a few words, you can put my mind at ease. Couldn't the Magician be the Aleph card, High Priestess Beth, etc. without the switch of Strength and Justice as well as the Fool being Shin?
Have you constructed a Cube from these correspondences, and what would its nature be? What would be the internal contradictions?
I would appreciate any thoughts along these lines.
David Allen Hulse answered:
You have raised some interesting points. First off, let me recommend that you pick up my Western Mysteries, and read Key Twelve. I go into great detail on the difference between the French Exoteric order that leads with The Magician equal to Aleph and the Golden Dawn Esoteric order that leads with The Fool as Aleph. I have worked with both systems extensively, as well as variations on a theme. After many years of study I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the most powerful and most workable attributes give The Fool the equivalence of Aleph, and swap Lamed and Teth with Justice and Strength. The Hebrew text The Book of Formation is the key to this mystery. The amount of harmonious correspondences when working with the Golden Dawn system is beyond compare. Even Crowley's minor switching back of
Justice with Strength and then attributing the Hebrew letter Heh to The Star (but keeping Aquarius as the astrological attribute) and attributing Tzaddi to The Emperor (but keeping Aries) only adds confusion, and obscures some valuable symbolism. I worked out a table below that gives the Exoteric French Hebrew-Tarot attributes. I also allowed Nun to be Northwest and Lamed Southwest (for Case swapped these in order for the Cube to work out).
When I see these new attributes, despite my Qabalistic ingenuity, I can find no real pattern. The message I established in NEW DIMENSIONS FOR THE CUBE OF SPACE is lost in this new arrangement. And I am at a loss for developing a coherent message for the directions. Thanks for your suggestion. I never followed out this alternate symbolism to the degree that your question
demands. I see now that the only message that I can retrieve from the cube is only possible with the attributes that Paul Foster Case established in 1947. Here is the alternate table:
REVISED CUBE OF SPACE BASED ON FRENCH EXOTERIC ORDER
Direction Hebrew Letter Tarot Card
Above to below Aleph I-Magician
Above Beth II-High Priestess
Below Gimel III- Empress
East Daleth IV- Emperor
Northeast Heh V-Hierophant
Southeast Vav VI-Lovers
East Above Zain VII-Chariot
East Below Cheth VIII-Justice
North Above Teth IX-Hermit
North Below Yod X-The Wheel of Fortune
West Kaph XI-Strength
Southwest Lamed XII-Hanged Man
East to West Mem XIII-Death
Northwest Nun XIV-Temperance
West Above Samekh XV- The Devil
West Below Ayin XVI- The Tower
North Peh XVII- The Star
South Above Tzaddi XVIII-The Moon
South Below Qoph XIX- The Sun
South Resh XX- Judgement
North to South Shin 0- The Fool
Center Tav XXI- The World