The Metaphysical Symbolism of Tarot: The Magician vs The Fool and the Four Sacred Powers

metaphysics because it transcends the physical aspect of the created World. When we speak of traditional symbols, we are then referring to what has a connection with this Tradition. Now, telling you just a little of my story, we all know a little about the Tarot, I think, but it hasn't been long since I've had contact with all this symbolism that exists behind the Tarot. Speaking from my experience, I can say that it really is fascinating, the colors, the images, this discovery has been fascinating because there exists a whole constellation of symbols and a message that is transmitted. All these cards were drawn, the richness of details, the symbols, that is, nothing was done carelessly. With this journey we are going to take through the twenty-two Major Arcana of the Tarot, we will not analyze the Tarot from the point of view of predicting the future but we will try to highlight this wisdom that is hidden behind these famous arcana. I will then invite you to begin the path of the Tarot. Let's start with these two cards that we have here. We have the card of the Magician, the first card of the Tarot, and we have the card of the Fool. These two figures are in opposition, that is, in the case of the Magician, he is a man who is at the beginning of a spiritual path. All the successive cards will be the path that the Magician will traverse. We will see these first four cards which are the High Priestess, the Empress, the Emperor and the Pope and they represent the powers, they are four powers or resources that the Magician has in his possession and that from the card of the Lover, which we have here ahead, until the card of the World, the one I referenced at the beginning, they represent the phases of this spiritual development of the Magician or the Initiate. Now let's see here vice-versa the Fool, if we look at the Fool, let's say that he is a man without God, that is, he doesn't care about God or his spiritual evolution. He is Fool because he doesn't reason, that is, he doesn't have a concern for the future. He is imprudent and possesses a staff in his right hand and with the staff, he has the staff behind his feet, that is, he doesn't use it to feel the terrain ahead of him, if the terrain is solid, he is going toward the precipice. And in the precipice we have here a crocodile and this crocodile, in ancient Egypt, was the symbol of destruction, therefore it will devour him. Then we have represented a dog and the dog nibbles the foot of the Fool. The dog which is man's faithful friend and which is nibbling to awaken him because he is falling into a precipice, tries to save him, but he doesn't realize it. It is a card that is outside of all the other cards, we could say it was a card outside the deck, it is separate from all the others because there is no development. It is a profane symbol, while in the case of the Magician, the Magician yes, he is the initiative, it is he who begins the path, it is he who contains the seeds of what will then develop. We can see that above the head of the Magician we have the symbol of mathematical infinity $\infty$, this which is a symbol of life and universal spirit, also a symbol of the Initiate who has been awakened. Let's see that there are also here four symbols: we have a staff and then we have a flail which here represents the sword; above this altar we have a pitcher and this pitcher symbolizes a cup; to the side we have the symbol of money, of a coin. These objects that are placed in front of the Magician are in correspondence with the four suits of the minor arcana, which we had spoken of just a while ago, that is, we have here represented the wands, the swords, the pentacles and the cups and they also represent the four powers that the Magician has in his possession, the symbol of the qualities and faculties of the Magician. The Cup to drink the water of life which is symbol of wisdom and love, which resides in the heart and which is in correlation with the element Water. Then we have the Staff, which is the scepter of power and command which stands for dominion and projection of Forces, in this case corresponds to the element Fire. The Sword represents the will to fight, to divide good from evil, it is in relation to Air. Money, or the coin, to make fruitful and corresponds to the element Earth. These powers are also associated with the four verbs of the Initiate which are: to know, to dare, to will and to keep silent. The Magician operates through these four Forces which are fundamental and which are mirrored in all creation, they are four Forces or powers which are represented by the successive arcana, these four arcana that I spoke of just a while ago: the High Priestess, the Empress, the Emperor and the Pope. These four figures form two pairs among them and which represent two aspects of the same Force. Making then here a summary of the itinerary, we are going to make