| What if Pythagoras, the single individual most responsible for the Western esoteric traditions, had designed a tarot deck? What would it be like? This is the question I have tried to answer in the Pythagorean tarot deck and its accompanying book, the Guide to the Pythagorean Tarot.
Twenty-seven hundred years ago the Pythagoreans formed an esoteric society, built upon the traditions of the Orphics, Babylonians, Phoenicians, and Egyptians, among others. Their teaching and practices made a major contribution to other esoteric traditions, including alchemy, Qabalah, Hermetic magic, and Gnosticism. The Pythagorean Tarot reconstructs a tarot such as the Pythagoreans might have used. It is based primarily on the archetypal numbers, which are central to Pythagorean philosophy, as well as on classical Pagan religion, mythology, magic, and philosophy. In addition, it draws from alchemy and Jungian psychology, which also trace their roots back to Pythagorean doctrine.
Authentic Pagan Deck
Many Neopagans (especially those following non-Celtic and non-Wiccan traditions) have told me that they are dissatisfied with traditional tarot decks, which are based on the theology, esotericism and iconography of the late Renaissance; they feel as though they are seeing a Pagan esoteric system in a glass darkly. The Guide to the Pythagorean Tarot remedies this by providing a system of tarot interpretation, with an accompanying deck, that is firmly rooted in ancient Greek Paganism and esoteric doctrine.
In all cases the Pythagorean Tarot looks to the oldest historical records in an attempt to separate the archetypal numerological structure of the tarot from the accidents of its more recent history. In this way I have reconstructed a tarot compatible with ancient Pythagoreanism. The resulting deck illuminates deep patterns in mythology, the archetypes, Paganism, alchemy, and numerology.
The Pythagorean Tarot is unique in using authentic Pythagorean numerology, drawn from ancient texts, as the principal interpretive framework for both the Major and Minor Arcana. According to the Pythagoreans, numbers are not only abstract quantities, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, but they also have a spiritual dimension as qualities, such as Unity, Opposition, Conjunction, and Completion. These qualities, when amplified and illuminated by esoteric and mythological correspondences, provide the key to the Minor Arcana. (The Pythagorean Tarot uses the ancient Greek alchemical theory of the four elements to explain the suits and court cards.)
Traditional Order of Trumps
Unfortunately, there is a problem in applying numerology to the Major Arcana, because it is necessary to know the order of the trumps, and at least two sequences have been used in recent centuries: the late 19th-century Golden Dawn sequence and the earlier sequence used by Lévi and other occultists. Which is the correct order? The Pythagorean Tarot is unique in returning to the Ferrarese sequence, the oldest documented order of the tarot trumps, which is found in several 15th-century manuscripts. In the book I show that this sequence is compatible with alchemy and the ancient Greek doctrine of the elements. However, much of the interpretation is independent of the order, so the book and deck will be useful even if you prefer to use one of the more familiar sequences.
To further help you understand the images, the Guide to the Pythagorean Tarot explains the roots of tarot symbolism in classical and Renaissance iconography and relates the tarot to the ancient systems of dice divination from which it probably originated. The book also provides practical suggestions for your use of the tarot for divination, meditation, and personal development. Thus, the Guide will deepen your understanding of the structure, meaning, and use of the tarot, no matter what deck you use.
Well Documented Sources
Some of my conclusions are based on solid evidence, but others are more speculative and experimental. Therefore, in the book, I provide the sources or reasons for all my interpretations, so you can make your own informed decisions. As a result, the Guide to the Pythagorean Tarot has over 1,600 source citations, many more than you typically find in a tarot book! But don’t let this scare you off; you can ignore them unless you are interested in a source.
In summary, since the Pythagorean Tarot is rooted in Greek Paganism, you can think of it as my idea of what a tarot designed by Pythagoras might have been like. However, it also draws from a number of other sources, including Mediterranean mythology, alchemy, Jungian psychology, other divinatory systems, and traditional tarot interpretation. I hope this web of symbolic structures will help to illuminate for you the mysteries hidden in the tarot.
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