This text is taken from my book Ideology of the Tarot.
If you want to buy this book, write to dorijan.nuaj@gmail.com
In a way, I dare say that the precursors of the
modern tarot represent one of the expressions of the initiates' argot in
Europe. The renowned tarotologist and occultist, Arthur Edward Waite, correctly
identified the tarot as a pictorial language. In an age of literal
interpretation and petty insistence on concrete explanations and
simplification, argot as a symbolic and allegorical form of expression becomes
increasingly distant from understanding. The works of its spirit, such as the
tarot arcana, are becoming more incomprehensible and inaccessible, as the keys
to their interpretation are lost amidst the general surge of vulgar,
positivist, psychological, and pseudo-esoteric trends. In this spirit, I invite
readers to reflect a bit on William Stirling's remarks in his book The Canon.
According to Stirling, the emergence of various forms of mystical knowledge
that were carefully concealed in past times is one of the most noticeable
characteristics of the 17th and 18th centuries. However, as he emphasizes, it would
be wrong to assume that these centuries were known for mysticism. On the
contrary, the appearance of Rosicrucian, Hermetic, and Masonic societies was a
sign of decadence and a forewarning of the extinction of esoteric traditions.
As Stirling concludes, as long as the secret doctrines of Freemasonry were
received as vital inspiration for the craft, no one heard anything about them.
The mysteries, which in the past were spoken of only in secrecy and never
written down, became poorly guarded and thus their power practically vanished.
What Stirling wants to emphasize is that the appearance of Rosicrucian,
Masonic, and Hermetic societies and their teachings in the 17th century is
actually a sign of decadence, heralding the eventual disappearance of ancient
esoteric traditions in Europe. The only evidence of this tradition's existence
is found in buildings, monuments, images, symbols, alchemical manuscripts, and
partially in the tarot.
The departure of operative and the rise of
speculative also represent one of the signs of the decadence of esotericism in
Europe and a change in the character of the spirit of the times. Operative
masonry began to show signs of decline as early as the 15th century. In the
16th century, it was dealt a heavy blow in England by Henry VIII, who outlawed
the Masonic guilds and confiscated their property. In line with the rigid
stance of the Puritans, there was no longer a need for building monumental
cathedrals laden with alchemical and pagan symbolism. The Puritans of Henry’s England stormed and
vandalized monasteries and every material expression of what they treated as
forms of idolatrous papist religion. In the rest of Europe, initiatory master
guilds also saw a decline and disappearance as the spiritual climate changed.
Ioan Culianu, a student of the renowned historian
of religion Mircea Eliade, wrote in Eros and Magic in the Renaissance that
after the death of Giordano Bruno, the Puritan forces and their adversaries in
Rome found a common enemy in the forms of imaginative abilities, which they
regarded as idolatry and magical activity. Magical mental images—phantasms—were
declared idols conceived by the inner sense. The Puritans went further by
censoring art, relying on enlightening the faithful by teaching them to read and
interpret the Bible correctly. The Catholic and Orthodox worlds relied
significantly on images in the form of icons, frescoes, and statues, which, as
objects of contemplation or worship, could provide believers with access to the
world of symbols and a more immediate experience of the religious universe. As
many people at the time were illiterate, these images and forms deepened their
religious education. Puritanism rejected all this, relying on dry rationality
in interpreting the biblical text. While this did lead to the spread of
literacy, mental images as aids to learning, memory, and thinking became
targets for elimination, as they were based on a pagan worldview that included
Hermeticism, astrology, alchemy, and other occult sciences.
To keep pace with the advancing Reformation, the
Catholic Church also turned to rationalization. Simultaneously, circumstances
emerged that led to the disappearance of operative and the rise of speculative
masonry, becoming evident at the beginning of the 18th century. This very
transition from operative to speculative is an expression of decadence and the
loss of the essential secrets of masonry. It is a significant question whether
it was indeed a transition and developmental progression, as there was no longer
a need for their master services, leading the brethren to turn to speculation,
or if it represents a clear discontinuity. Additionally, the question arises
whether there are any credible documents supporting the connection between
18th-century speculative masonry and their alleged ancient predecessors. Where
exactly is the link, and what does it represent, between modern Freemasonry and
the medieval and ancient masters and builders of magnificent sacred edifices?
The renowned American Masonic scholar Albert
Mackey, in An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences, mentions
that in 1480, Marsilio Ficino established the Platonic Academy under the
sponsorship of Lorenzo de' Medici. Although this organization was neither
formal nor secret, Mackey attributes a Masonic character to it, not only
because the hall where its meetings were held was decorated with Masonic
symbols but also for other reasons. Allegedly, Ficino's Academy was joined by
(or supported by) honorary members and patrons of medieval Masonic fraternities
who had left the building trade to devote themselves to the mystical aspect of
their teachings. Mackey characterized this as the earliest instance of the
separation of speculative from operative masonry. As Mackey defines the
relationship between operative and speculative masonry, operative masonry
represents the foundation upon which the doctrine of speculative masonry is
built.
Let us further consult Walter Leslie Wilmshurst,
who in his book The Meaning of Freemasonry states that since the Mysteries were
suppressed in the 6th century, their tradition and teachings have continued in
secrecy and various hiding places, and today's Masonic system should be
attributed to this continuation. According to Wilmshurst, the modern Masonic
system was assembled and designed several centuries ago as a basic expression
of the old doctrine and initiation method by an anonymous group who were far more
deeply acquainted with the ancient tradition and secret science than those who
use their work today. Wilmshurst argues that Freemasonry today cannot identify
its founding fathers and, as such, represents a kind of living monument about
whose true nature and origin those who participate in it know little and can
know little. So why does Freemasonry even exist? Wilmshurst says that the
unknown founders of speculative Freemasonry brought to light a system of
initiation as an experiment aimed at providing at least a small part of the
public, living in an era of great darkness and materialism, with a document of
the doctrine of regeneration. This doctrine taught by the Masonic system was
intended to serve as a light to those capable of using this system. However,
even Wilmshurst is not entirely sure of the truth of this theory, but he
believes that the founders' intention was thwarted by subsequent events. In a
short time, a Masonic organization of global dimensions with a large membership
was created. This organization was inspired mainly by valuable ideals and, to a
certain extent, engaged in philanthropy, but it completely overlooked its true
and original purpose. According to Wilmshurst, this purpose was the promotion
of the science of human regeneration. Due to this oversight, the Masonic
organization was not aware that its great deeds in other directions were of
little or no value.
In the spirit of what has been said, let us also
pay attention to what the legendary Fulcanelli wrote about the Church of Our
Lady in Paris in his book The Mystery of the Cathedrals. Among
other things, he noted that the destruction caused by time to this magnificent
building is nothing compared to the devastation wrought by human frenzy.
Revolutions have left their mark on this ravaging. Vandalism, as an enemy of
beauty, expressed its hatred through terrible mutilations, and even the restorers,
no matter how well-intentioned, did not always know how to respect what the
iconoclasts spared. Fulcanelli pointed out the fervent and vulgar fanaticism of the French revolutionaries, and more
importantly, the ignorance of the restorers. Even if the pro-Masonic
post-revolutionary government sincerely wanted to preserve the originality of
this architectural masterpiece, is it not strange that those who claim to be in
continuity with the ancient masters are unaware of the architectural and
esoteric secrets of the famous cathedral? Fulcanelli, with regret, accuses the
restorers and their superiors, who were shrouded in the darkness of ignorance,
arrogance, and negligence by the spirit of modern times. They had, and still
have, a poor attitude towards Gothic works. During the restoration of the
Church of Our Lady after the revolutionary vandalism, the restorers were not
guided to restore the destroyed details of the wall decorations (alchemical
rebuses) as they were originally but wanted to do better! This directly showed
that they could not do better and that they did not possess the secrets of the
philosophers. Regarding the sloppy restoration work, Fulcanelli notes that this
revised and supplemented edition of the cathedral’s decorations is certainly
richer than the first, but the symbol is mutilated, the science is crippled,
the key is lost, the esotericism extinguished. To paraphrase Fulcanelli, time
crumbles, wears down, erodes the limestone, and clarity suffers, but the
meaning remains. Then comes the restorer, the healer of stones; with a few
chisel blows, he amputates, deforms, transforms the authentic ruin into an
artificial creation and dazzling archaism, wounds and patches, separates and
supplements, trims and falsifies in the name of Art, Form, or Symmetry, paying
no heed to the creative thought. If France is ruled by the enlightened and
speculative, then where does this astounding lack of respect and will towards
the exceptional works of their own operative ancestors come from? It is no
wonder then that this monumental cathedral burned in the 21st century.
Fulcanelli
mentions a detail related to the immediate surrounding area of the Notre-Dame
Cathedral in Paris. There once stood a tall and slender stone statue, holding a
book in one hand and a serpent in the other. This statue was part of a
monumental fountain on which the following couplet could be read: "You who
are thirsty, come here: if the source has accidentally dried up, the Goddess
has gradually prepared the eternal water for you." Fulcanelli then reveals
to us that this sacred monolith represented Febigenus, the son of Apollo,
though some claimed it was Mercury or Asclepius. The monolith was removed from
there in 1748 when the square around the Notre-Dame Cathedral was expanded.
This event symbolically banished Apollo's son (or perhaps Mercury/Asclepius)
from the "city of light," heralding the false light of the coming era
when the old science would finally be forgotten and driven underground by the
arrogant Enlightenment thinkers and illuminated revolutionaries. Furthermore,
in 1781, Fulcanelli notes, the statue of Saint Christopher, erected in 1413,
was also removed and shattered. It was as if someone was making way for Paris
to be adorned with stolen Egyptian obelisks and symbols of a new esoteric
fashion that identified itself with the spirit of ancient Egypt, forgetting
that what was removed also traced its Egyptian origins through indirect lines.
However, to the vulgar taste of a superficial and decadent era, this was not so
evident. Fulcanelli concludes that the cathedral is a silent but picturesque
celebration of the ancient Hermetic science for which, after all, it managed to
preserve one of the old creators. Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, as a
"mutus liber" in stone, actually guards its alchemist, says
Fulcanelli.
Fulcanelli
pointed out that the frivolous 18th century was particularly hostile towards
Gothic works. He observed that Renaissance artists were not capable of the
effort equivalent to that of their predecessors, that they did not know
medieval symbolism, and thus their works lacked esoteric depth. Unlike them,
the medieval anonymous builders, creators of pure masterpieces, built for the
sake of truth, for the affirmation of their ideal, for the dissemination and
exaltation of their science. Renaissance artists, preoccupied with their
personality and jealous of their value, built for the posterity of their name.
Hence, according to Fulcanelli, the Middle Ages owe their magnificence to the
originality of their creations. Gothic work is the triumph of the spirit,
concludes Fulcanelli. It appeals to the heart, brain, and soul. Renaissance
work appeals to the senses and is actually a glorification of matter.
