Still Running Off at the Keyboard

GNOSTICISM LEADS TO THE TAROT

Bishop Stephen Hoeller would like us to consider polytheism as a way to circumvent our "long-time afflictor" God, that "vengeful and jealous God of our fathers."

In a review of Hoeller's book, THE FOOL'S PILGRIMMAGE: KABBALISTIC MEDITATIONS ON THE TAROT, we are told that Hoeller proposes we seek a union with God, though which God is not specified. This is to be "our one purpose." One way he proposes we do that is through meditation on Tarot cards. According to the review:

The Kabbalah (or Judaic Tree of Life) and the Tarot--an ancient divinatory system of symbolic cards--are two of the most powerful tools for spiritual development the Western mystery tradition has ever evolved.

For a Catholic there is a small problem. CCC 2116 tells us that "All forms of divination are to be rejected". We appear to be on a collision course with the beliefs of the Gnostics. A synthesis of Gnostic beliefs associated with the Tarot and our own Roman Catholic beliefs will violate the First Commandment as it has been defined by the Catechism. (I wonder if the new shortened version of the Catechism in which Pope Benedict has been instrumental will drop this prohibition?)

The Tarot deck consists of Minor Arcana and 22 cards that comprise the Major Arcana. Each of these have a name. The Fool is the first in the series, and thus the source of the title of Hoeller's book.

At Tarot.com Christine Payne-Towler, a "world-class Tarot scholar with an encyclopedic knowledge of Tarot's origins and evolution," according to the website, tells us that

In the remarkable history of this faith [Gnosticism], an extensive chapter could be written just on the interactions of Gnosticism and the Catholic Church. The establishment of the Church of Rome in the fourth century AD allowed for three centuries of Christian development before the regulating authority of Rome arose to assert the "party line." Initially each bishop was free to study, teach and write what he believed, and many were deeply influenced by Gnostic thought. But once the canonical standard for Christianity was set, the Church felt it necessary to posthumously excommunicate several of its most well-respected and influential early bishops for being Gnostic heretics! With an identity crisis like that defining its birth, it is no wonder the Church remained on guard and actively hostile to any traces of Gnostic thought appearing in "Christian Europe."

Needless to say, Gnostics do not have a good opinion of Roman Catholicism.

Payne-Towler associates Tarot with the Gnostic faith.

In order to be clear about the relationship betwen Gnosticism and Tarot, it should be stated at the outset that there are no specifically "Gnostic" Tarots. It would be equally true to say, however, that every Tarot is a Gnostic Tarot. This paradox exists because, as with the difference between the Gnostic reading of Genesis and the Catholic reading of Genesis, the difference lies in interpretation. Tarot artists used this ambiguity to their advantage in the early centuries of Tarot. So, for example, the High Priestess image could be seen as an allegory for "Mother Church" in the eyes of a believing Christian, while a Gnostic might see in the very same image the female pope, a truly heretical concept! In this manner, the Gnosticism of Tarot is "hidden in plain sight," like much of the esoteric content implied in the art of the earliest handmade Tarots....

Certainly since the time of Etteilla in the mid-1700s, almost every luminary in the field of Tarot has belonged to either the Rosicrucians, Masons, Martinists or some other Secret Society group....

I am convinced, and the evidence implies, that the Secret Societies participated in enabling the Hebrew/Hermetic/Gnostic synthesis to see the light of day, albeit in card form. [emphasis mine]

Not all agree; however, Payne-Towler is respected in Gnostic circles.

She associates the Tarot with the Goddess.

One of the things Gnosticism represents is a rebellion within the Old Testament-based (Mosaic) religions against those who used the myth of Genesis to stamp out the ancient Goddess-based mysteries of antiquity. Even as early as the second century BC there were those who felt Moses had distorted the ancient creation stories to eliminate the participation of the feminine side of Deity. The Goddess as co-creator had in earliest times been revered by all Semitic peoples and those memories have never been entirely wiped out despite the Hebrew focus on Jehova (JHVH) as the One True God.

As just one example of the preservation of the Goddess in Gnostic thought, let us look back to the Hebrew tradition about the "daughter of God," called the Matronit of the Kabbalah. Her roots were planted in Talmudic times in the first through fifth centuries AD. They called her by several names in their mystical literature: the Shekhina, Malkuth, the Supernal Woman and the Discarded Cornerstone, among other titles.

In this ancient conception, the FatherGod and his consort exist in such a rarified state compared to humanity that there is no way human consciousness can reach to them and experience their reality. The son and daughter of the Holy Pair, however, extend like shadows of their parents into this fallen world, linking humanity and the "fallen" creation to higher realities. (As this mythic theme came forward in time from Judaism, through Gnosticism and into Christianity, this pair would be renamed Christ and the Sophia.)

Are we looking at a strain of Judaism resurfacing today? I wouldn't assume we are based solely on Payne-Towler's claim, but it is noteworthy that the rituals of Freemasonry are based on Old Testament temple building. She makes the Jewish claim once again in the following passage:

according to the Old Testament-based religions, direct mystical or spiritual experience was not accessible to ordinary humans. The Gnostics' credo was to achieve direct experience of the Mystery whenever possible; each group was looking for intimate, personal experiences with godhead, much like those available through the traditional older Mystery Schools.

Drawing upon ancient Hermetic and Jewish gospels rejected by the canonizers of the Old and New Testaments, they challenged the official Judeo-Christian explanations of a monotheistic FatherGod, human origins, and the destiny of the soul. They felt that a straighter route could be found to reunite humanity and godhead without the interference of clergy or priestly heirarchies. In particular they worshipped and championed Sophia, the Wisdom of God (as mentioned in Genesis) who in the beginning co-created the world with the Father. In their societies, women's roles reflected this greater respect for the feminine. As Dr. Lewis Keizer and Stuart Kaplan remind us, the earliest Tarots show a woman dressed in ecclesiastical garb and named "The Popess." In the Mantegna tarocchi, this image is the person at the top of their "stations of man" series, the person who is closest to God, representative of humanity's highest development, and clearly a woman! In the mid-1400s, that is a powerful statement.

In a segment of the essay titled "Pessimist vs. Optimist Gnostics" Payne-towler cites Fr. John Rossner's book IN SEARCH OF THE PRIMORDIAL TRADITION AND THE COSMIC CHRIST. Here in this segment we can read that

Rossner writes that "during the Renaissance, Ficino and Giordano Bruno believed that this 'optimistic' variety of an earlier Egyptian 'proto-gnosticism' had found its way into original Mosaic tradition, and into the works of the New Testament, in the positive metaphysical philosophies of Jesus, John (the author of the 4th Gospel) and Paul. It also found its way into the Neo-Platonic Hermeticists of the early Christian centuries."

She neglects to mention, but I will, that the Church condemned these theories at the time. Giordane Bruno was burned at the stake, but recently Rome rehabilitated him. Rome also has made multiple overtures to the Jews. Is there something Rome isn't telling us? Is there something Rome doesn't want us to know?

Out in Los Angeles on the grounds of the new cathedral there is a rumor that the children's play area sidewalk is in the shape of a snake. I've seen pictures, but Google can't find them. Perhaps they are no longer on the web. In any case, the story in Genesis gives an evil role to the snake. However according to Payne-Towler:

Only in Gnostic thought do we find a positive interpretation of the snake in the garden. The card that substitutes for the Hanged Man in the Eteilla deck has left behind the Judeo-Christian idea of human guilt for the "fall of man" and its expiation in sacrifice. The replacement card is called Prudence, No. 12, and pictured is the Goddess again, holding a wand in the shape of a "T" with a snake at her feet. In this image, she is lifting her skirts to the snake as if in invitation, with an enigmatic smile on her lips. The "T" cross refers to the last letter of the Greek or Hebrew alphabet, assigned to the path leading to Malkuth, bottom station of the Kabbalah Tree, and another name for the Hebrew "Earthly Goddess." Manly P. Hall, in his tome The Secret Teachings, links the Tav, the Tetractys, the caduceus and the Kabbalah! We know from the history of symbolism that the snake is a longtime symbol of lifeforce, vitality or what the Chinese call "chi." It has not always been used as a symbol of evil or deception. The Gnostics held that the snake in the garden was a teacher of humanity, educating Eve and opening her eyes to the sexual mysteries. This same theme was explored in the older Mantegna Tarot image of Prudence, but in this one the snake is wrapping itself around the mirror into which Prudence gazes. The mirror is another symbol for Wisdom as are the two faces looking forward and back ward, so we are back with the Gnostic idea of Eve/Shekhina/Sophia as the initiator of humanity into the Mysteries, the Wisdom tradition, through her curiosity, mental reflection and natural magnetism.

Of course if a way can be found to redefine Eve's activities in the Garden of Eden that will avoid Original Sin, we can then redefine Jesus Christ as a prophet and no longer the Son of God and Savior of the World, because the world will no longer need to be saved. If Jesus can be redefined as a prophet, He can be no more than the equal of other prophets who have founded other religions; and all religions can be placed on an equal playing field useful for interreligious dialogue, and perhaps useful for opening the doorway to Antichrist.

There is more in her essay, and as I said, not all agree with her, but some do; and if she is correct, perhaps there is an element of Judaism in Gnosticism. You can read her biography here.

Among those who disagree with Payne-Towler is Dr. Robert O'Neill. He has an extensive probe into the history of the Tarot at the same Tarot.com website. In the conclusion to the segment on "Magic and the Early Tarot" he tells us that "Tarot was designed in the 15th century in northern Italy." According to him "We do not know what the "original" deck looked like" but since "it changed quickly into the deck we recognize today" that may not be important.

He indicates that "The early evolution of the Tarot occurred in a culture imbued with magic...many forms of magic were formally accepted by the Church.

it is clear that there are many ties between the Tarot symbols and the magic of the 15th century. As we have seen throughout this series of essays, image magic, art of memory, astrological imagery, numerology, Lullism, etc. played an integral role in the everyday lives of the Italian city states. One must fly in the face of a great body of evidence to maintain that there are no connections between the Tarot and magic. But it is important to recognize that the magic was not secret or pagan, it was Christian, public, and for the most part quite orthodox.

This series of essays is about the Tarot of the 15th century. It is clear that in subsequent centuries, the magical elements incorporated into the Tarot were recognized and further developed. The simplest hypothesis that fits the evidence is that the Tarot as a tool for divination was developed subsequent to the 15th century.

Ramon Lull wasn't a magus in his day and although never canonized as a saint, he is venerated by the Franciscans and Majorcans who have the Church's approval to refer to him as "Blessed Ramon". Ramon's art isn't magic but was so regarded within a couple of centuries. Ramon was not a Cabalist, but was so revered within a couple of centuries. Ramon was not an alchemist but was so regarded within a couple of centuries. If it could happen to Ramon, it could happen to Tarot.

In the conclusion to his essay "Catharism and the Tarot", Dr. O'Neill tells us that

Our explorations also brought to light two new possibilities that are new to the Tarot community. The first is the possibility that some of the Tarot imagery comes from the artistic tradition associated with the book of Revelation, particularly Death, Tower, Judgment, and World. The relevance of this to our current investigation is ambiguous. The imagery is perfectly orthodox, but its familiarity in 15th century Italy was stimulated by the Spiritual Franciscan commentaries on Joachim. The broader relevance of this potential source of symbolism to our understanding of the early Tarot is beyond the scope of the present studies. That subject deserves a study of its own.

The second new idea was the suggestion that the confraternities were a reasonable candidate for the originators of the Tarot. The relevance of this to the present study was that the confraternities were a special project of the Franciscans and were strongly influenced by Spiritualist ideas.

Dr. O'Neill's biography can be read here.

The evidence that all of this was rejected the first time around can be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia online.

The Franciscan Spirituals were excommunicated.

Raymond Lull's mysticism was condemned and he was not granted sainthood despite his martyrdom.

Ficino opened the door to Neoplatonism.

Today a Catholic monk, Mark Patrick Hedderman, of Glensal Abbey in Ireland, has written a book promoting the Tarot titled TAROT: TALISMAN OR TABOO?. He recommends that the Tarot be used for meditation and "argues passionately that people need to make this spiritual journey into their unconscious. Failure to do so is actually dangerous, he contends" according to the Limerick Leader.

The Sunday Times also carries a story on this monk and his cards. This article gives the opposing view from Fr. Pat Collins who says "Divination is frowned upon by the Catholic church....If people get involved [in] the occult there's a danger that they're opening themselves up to negative spiritual influences that they probably have no idea about, namely the devil."

Nevertheless, Hederman must have the approval of his Abbott since his book is featured on the Abbey website. Incidentally, this Abbey has a boys school. I wonder if Hederman teaches them Tarot?

Tarot.com offers numerous Tarot decks in pictures. There is even a Salvador Dali Tarot.

It very much appears to me that there are two opposing schools of thought--one might even say "schools of faith"--within Catholic monasticism. That seems to be reflected in the John Main Seminars, in Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, in the contemplation/centering prayer movement, and in the monks promoting Tarot. This school of thought is close to what is taking place in the Marian movement and in the Charismatic Renewal movement. None of this is Traditional Catholicism even though it wears many of the trappings of the faith prior to Vatican II. Much of it had the approval of John Paul II. I see no evidence that Benedict XVI has any intention of stifling it. In fact, since it works well with ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, I suspect that Pope Benedict will promote it. Yet it is not Traditional Catholicism. Not even close. Instead it is a revival of our most persistent heresy.

Is this the future of the Roman Catholic Church?

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!