Believe me when I tell you that I tried my best to make Holistic Tarot as polished and complete as possible before publication, but there were still errors and omissions. This page will contain a list of changes to the text. I won’t address minor typographical errors, but I will discuss the important substantive edits you can make to your book. We appreciate your understanding and sympathy.
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Last updated on 7/22/16
Chapter 1 “Tarot Analytics A Holistic Approach”
p. 1
The last paragraph of the page: “I don’t support fortune-telling …”
An end note or more explanation on the point should be included. The text clearly distinguishes between fortune-telling, divination, and supports divination. This assertion is reminiscent of earlier works on esoteric Tarot. These quotes are included for context.
“Tarot divination does not provide fortune-telling. Fortune-telling is based upon the false belief that luck, chance, and fate govern human life–and that obscure powers work beyond the individual. True divination is based on the occult truth, that all human events are caused by the Cause of Causes, the Universal Intelligent Energy or the Life-power.
From Lesson 1 of Paul Foster Case’s Oracle of the Tarot (1933).
“Tarot cards have been in use for five centuries or more in Europe. They are primarily used to predict the future and play games, but they also serve as a way to keep secret doctrines alive. They are a symbol alphabet for ancient wisdom.
Starting with Chapter 1 of Paul Foster Case’s Introduction and the Study of Tarot (1920).
“This operation by the qabalistic Sages, originally designed to find the strict development of absolute ideas, became superstition when it fell into hands of the ignorant priests of the Bohemians who had the Tarot in Middle Ages. They didn’t know how to use it properly and used it only for fortune-telling.”
Aleister Crowley translated Eliphas Levi’s The Key of the Mysteries (1861).
However, notice how in Pictorial Key A. E. Waite appears to use fortune-telling and divination interchangeably (e.g. “These interpretations seem to be comparable in every respect of the divinatory meanings with which they will have to deal in my turn.” or “There doesn’t seem to be any record that they were used to play a game of chance or skill; they couldn’t have lent themselves for divination or any type of fortune-telling.”
Chapter 5 “Anatomy of the RiderWaiteSmith Tarot”
p. 32
Erratum:
These sentences are incorrect: “Think about the red as indicating passive energies, and the black as indicating active energies.” (bold-faced terms indicate errors).
Note: Please delete the following words and make sure to note the correct attributions in the margins.
“Think of the Red [ Black [ is used to indicate active energies and the Black [ Red ] as passive.” (boldfaced words indicate corrections.
p. 34
Note on Differing Elemental Traditions
The Holistic Tarottext is the most popular view of elemental attributions for each suit. These attributions (e.g., Wands, Cups, Water, Swords, Air, Pentacles, Earth) are derived from Qabalistic Tarot or western esoteric magic traditions that go back to Hermetic Cosmology.
The Spanish tarot tradition has different elemental attributions. This minority view is what the Holistic Tarottext should have included in an endnote. According to the Spanish esoteric Tarot tradition, Wands are Fire, Cups are Air, Swords and Pentacles are Water. Air-Water switching between Swords and Cups can be attributed to the way the Holy Grail is seen. Instead of being a physical chalice it is a state or state of mind. Therefore, the Cups suit is more closely linked to Air, the mental level.
p. 36 – Key 1 The Magician
Please add one bullet point to “The Magician” in the “Active Principle of Yang Energy” table. This will be the same as Judgement under the Fire and Water columns. Under the “Element of Earth”, add an asterisk for “The Magician”. This will help you remember that there are two different elemental approaches to The Magician. The majority view attributes it to Air, while the minority view attributes it to Earth. My approach is to attribute Earth to it. Further explanations can be found at p. 37.
Optional:
If you feel that the Earth attribution for The Magician is appealing to you, there’s extra space at the bottom of page 37 for a note. Because the Magician corresponds to Earth, the card is symbolic of power and manifestation of that power on the Seeker’s own physical plane, the Magician also corresponds to Earth. The symbolism of all four suits on the table of the magus indicates mastery over all four elements and the ability to channel the metaphysical dimension into physical manifestations of those elements. The four states of matter are also represented by the representations of all four elements: Cups or Water, Wands for plasma, Cups or Fire for liquid, Swords or air for gas and Pentacles for Earth. Earth governs the material plane, and therefore, The Magician can be attributed to Earth. The Aristotelian’s four elements form a square. This is the Taoist metaphysical symbol of Earth energy. The characteristic attributed to Earth is dry. It symbolizes self-determination and is a key attribute of The Magician.
Editorial:
My own personal approach as a practitioner to The Magician being Air doesn’t work for me. Metaphysically Mercury can assume other attributions. I discuss this in note 16 (p. 824).
p. 77, “The Emperor”
Note to add margins:
The Emperor is a symbol of temporal power. Cf. Cf.
p.78, Reversed Meaning
Note to add margins:
A lack of order and predictability, entropy is a potential decline in disorder.
p. 79, “The Hierophant”
Note to add margins:
As noted in the symbolism of Keys of St. Peter, the Hierophant is a representation of spiritual power. See The Emperor represents temporal power.
Note to add margins:
The Hierophant could signify building or establishing an inner temple of Divinity in order to have communion with God.
p. 82, “The Lovers”
Note to add margins:
You have free will. Cf. Cf.
Note to add margins:
Lovers may indicate that you have to choose between immediate gratification or delayed gratification. This can also indicate a way to assess your interpersonal relationships.
p. 85, “The Chariot”
Note to add margins:
Willpower. Cf. Cf.
p. 88, “Strength”
Note to add margins:
A reading might reveal strength when an inner beast or a part of the wild self need to be controlled. You must first control your heart before you can tame the Lion.
p.92, The Hermit’s Reversed Meaning
Note to add margins:
To gain knowledge, you must first study yourself. Be the light that inspires others.
p. 99. Reversed Meaning of The Hanged Man
Note to add margins:
This can be a sign that the Seeker should put more effort into spirituality and allow for time and emotional bandwidth to develop their spirituality.
p.102, The Reversed Meaning of Death
Note to add margins:
Stop wasting your time on things that don’t help you grow. Fear not change. You are capable of changing the status quo.
p. 103, “Temperance”
Italicized block quotation describing the card imagery. After the sentence “The symbol also affirms angel’s divinity. A symbol of the Holy Trinity,” write: “Above the symbol is the Hebrew Tetragrammaton for Yahweh. You’ll find it inscribed in details of the angel’s robe right above the “Fire” patch.
p. 824. End note 17. (corresponding to Chapter 5)
This note’s phrasing is confusing. The note is confusing because it follows the day-night rulership of Western astrology. Mercury, therefore, would correspond with Air. Vedic Astrology, however, says that the planet Mercury corresponds to Earth. It is highly recommended to clarify this point by writing notes in the margins of p. 824, note 17, for clarification.
p. 824. End note 18. (corresponding to Chapter 5)
Add the following to the margins: Jachin, Boaz, or masculine and rational, representing the two paths: Ionian or feminine, mystical and humid, corresponding to Water and Earth. Source Oswald Wirth’s Tarot of the Magicians, Weiser Books 1990, p. 27. Wirth’s Tarot of the Magicians was first published in 1927.
Editorial:
The striking similarities between the two paths dichotomy and metaphysical left-right symbolism are apparent at pp. 275-276. The left path is a combination of the skeptic, occult and Eastern esoteric thought. While the right path is both faith-based and canonical, it is striking.