Tarot by HH
I cannot speak directly to the Wirth deck, nor to Wirth’s book from which the currently published decks seems to have been derived
If I am not mistaken Wirth, writing in circa 1927, incorporated much of the French Occult tradition into his tarot theories
He based many of his DMs on Levi and Papus
Associating the third numbered card with the Hebrew letter Gimel:- gives this royal woman an association with as Levi said, “Plenitudo Vocis” and a connection with sacred magic
Further it has been said the “fullness of voice” of the Empress has its beginnings in the blood of birth
Human birth, the end result of the union of man and woman
It is relatively recently in human history that the miracle of birth---the mechanics of fertilization, implantation of the zygote, development of the embryo, and the growth of the fetus has been understood
This tarot card in occult terms represents vertical generations rather than horizontal generations, that is, from a higher plane, the plane of the divine to the earthly plane rather than familial generations
It was with rise of the English Secret Chiefs societies, especially the OGD, that the shift from sacred magic to nature is seen in this trump
From divine birth to physical birth
With the advent of the Cipher Manuscript the shift was complete
The High Priestess replaced La Papess and became the Holy Virgin, the keeper of the sacred mysteries, and the Empress became Mother Nature
The cipher Manuscript rearranged more than just the sequencing of Strength and Justice
With a bit of distance and fine-tuning it is possible to see the connection between the French Occult associations and the English Occult associations
The Empress is where the Fool encounters the concept of feeding and nurturing as more than physical
Through The Empress, The Fool experiences the creative becoming passion, without obsession, a unity of the heart, the mind, and the emotions
The Empress clarifies priorities, provides a plethora of alternatives, and demonstrates virtue
Fecundity, gestation, birthing, whether of sacred magic, a sonnet, or a son is the venue of the Empress
It's in the School of Philosophy! HH
other posts in this tarot thread
Comparative Empress by Stella
by WolfChild
by HH
by bea
Re: Comparative Empress by Stella