The Kabbalah / Kabbala / Qabalah

The Kabbalah, the Tree of Life and Tarot

The Kabbalah is an ancient Jewish mystical tradition that explores the nature of the creator, the universe, and the soul.
It offers a rich and complex system of symbols, numerology, and spiritual practices that have influenced many esoteric traditions, including TAROT.
The connection between the Kabbalah and tarot can best be studied by exploring and learning about the TREE OF LIFE, which is referenced in many tarot decks. The Tree of Life is a map of the universe that represents the different levels of reality, from the physical world to the divine realm. It means many more then that and can’t be summarized in short. To study it in detail is required to realize what it means (beyond words)

In tarot, the Major Arcana cards, which are often seen as the most significant cards in the deck, are associated with the different paths of the tree of life. Each card represents a stage of spiritual development and offers insight into the archetypes as well as the journey of the soul.
Moreover, the numerology of Kabbalah is also present in tarot. Each card is assigned a number. These numbers can be interpreted according to the principles of kabbalistic numerology.
Overall, the kabbalah and tarot share a deep connection, both exploring the mysteries of the universe and the human soul. By studying these traditions together, we can deepen our understanding of the spiritual journey and gain insight into the mysteries of life.
A short overview can be found below.

The 22 Major Arcana

Each Major Arcana can be connected to a path on the Tree of Life.

There are three elements (water, air, fire) bound in one (earth), seven planets and the twelve zodiac signs.

3 + 7 + 12 = 22 Great Arcana

You can find the respective path to the corresponding Major Arcana below.

0 The Fool
I The Magus
II The Priestess
III The Empress
IV The Emperor
V The Hierophant
VI The Lovers
VII The Conqueror
VIII The Witness
IX The Hermit
X The Wheel of Fortune
XI Passion
XII The Hanged Man
XIII Death
XIV Art
XV The Devil
XVI The Tower
XVII The Star
XVIII The Moon
XIX The Sun
XX The Aeon
XXI The Universe

The 56 Minor Arcana

There are 56 Minor Arcana cards, 14 cards connected to each set.
These sets are called

The sets are connected to the four elements and to the worlds of the Tree of Life:

Wands – Atziluth – the world of emanation – element: fire

Cups – Briah – the world of creation – element: water

Swords – Yetzirah – the world of formation – element: air

Disks – Assiah – the material world – element: earth

Each of these sets is composed of cards from one to ten (connected to the 10 planets/spheres) of the Tree of Life and four royal cards, again connected to the elements.

Ace – Kether
Two – Chokmah
Three – Binah
Four – Chesed
Five – Geburah
Six – Tipareth
Seven  – Netzach
Eight – Hod
Nine – Yesod
Ten – Malkuth

Princess – Earth
Prince – Air
Queen – Water
Knight – Fire

To summarize: The 78 cards of the Tarot represent connections between the planets and elements and zodiac signs.
These correspondences are the basis for studying the Tarot and the symbolism connected to the cards and of course the gateway to incredibly much more!

If you want to look into these correspondences and symbolism I recommend for starters:

DION FORTUNE’S The Mystical Qabalah

HAYO BANZHAF’s The Crowley Tarot

ALEISTER CROWLEY’s The Book of Thoth

If you don’t know where to start your journey or have difficulties on interpreting symbols on your path, just write me a note and I’ll try to help.


IMPORTANT NOTES

– The kabbalistic Tree of Life can be a map to the body, to nature and to the cosmos, a geometric schema, a system of correspondences and much more – start exploring it’s mysteries.

– Each Sephira / Planet has infinite Kabbalahs within itself like worlds within worlds, so the correspondences and correlations are often difficult to define, endless and infinite, never absolute.

 â€“ The planets are not actual planets of the solar systems, but only symbols of their own. The same counts to zodiac signs and elements. There are correspondences to physical planets, elements and zodiac signs, but that’s only part of the whole story – dig deeper than that.

– each symbol is subjective to the mind and can never have a definite and absolute meaning.

– if a symbol appears as a card, in a vision or a dream it can mean very different things. The answer is within you and can’t be found in a book or the internet.

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