Hướng dẫn bói bài Tarot The spirit of the tarot numbers as initiators of the major

THE SPIRIT OF THE TAROT

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKi i

9/9/09 1:14:50 PM


Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKii ii

9/9/09 1:14:52 PM


THE SPIRIT OF THE TAROT
Numbers as Initiators of the
Major Arcana

Claudine Aegerter
and Berenice Benjelloun

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKiii iii

9/9/09 1:14:52 PM


First published in 2009 by
Aeon Books Ltd
118 Finchley Road
London NW3 5HT
Copyright © 2008 by Claudine Aegerter and Berenice Benjelloun

The right of Claudine Aegerter and Berenice Benjelloun to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of
the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-1-90465-835-1
Typeset by Vikatan Publishing Solutions (P) Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain
www.aeonbooks.co.uk

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKiv iv

9/9/09 1:14:53 PM


CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

vii

GLOSSARY

xiii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

xix

NUMBER ONE
The Magician

1

NUMBER TWO
The High Priestess

23

NUMBER THREE
The Empress

57

NUMBER FOUR
The Emperor

81

NUMBER FIVE
The Pope

109

NUMBER SIX
The Lover

133

NUMBER SEVEN
The Chariot

159
v

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKv v

9/9/09 1:14:54 PM


vi

CONTENTS

NUMBER EIGHT
Justice

183

NUMBER NINE
The Hermit

205

NUMBER TEN
The Wheel of Fortune

229

NUMBER ELEVEN
Strength

253

NUMBER TWELVE
The Hanged Man

279

NUMBER THIRTEEN
No Name

299

NUMBER FOURTEEN
Temperance

321

NUMBER FIFTEEN
The Devil

345

NUMBER SIXTEEN
The Tower

371

NUMBER SEVENTEEN
The Stars

397

NUMBER EIGHTEEN
The Moon

421

NUMBER NINETEEN
The Sun

439

NUMBER TWENTY
Judgment

461

NUMBER TWENTY ONE
The World

483

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
The Fool

499

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKvi vi

9/9/09 1:14:55 PM


INTRODUCTION

Humanity is at the present time at a crossroads, or point of transition.
The human kingdom represents the latest state of biological evolution on planet Earth, so further expansion of the mind beyond its
intellectual boundaries must take place, if we are to realise the true
potential of who we are as human beings and understand the purpose of our existence. It is our responsibility to lead the way in service to the whole process of life in this Solar System. Up to now,
mankind has been the frightened brave species, expressing group
survival through our behaviour and mentality. By extending ourselves beyond our safe place, we can see ourselves as vehicles for a
greater energy and a greater plan. We then step into the realm of the
next kingdom in the evolutionary process; that of the Soul. The Tarot,
seen as an initiatic tool, offers a perception of the inner work that a
human being has to achieve as he associates with his Soul. This leads
to contact with the higher mind and its universal experience.
This is a new exploration of the Tarot, which reveals the esoteric
numerological links underlying this ancient system. It also connects
the journey of the Tarot to the initiatic teachings, which express the
idea of the work of the expansion of consciousness. This expansion
takes place through the realisation that there is more to life than the
outer form. As we explore beyond those physical, emotional and
vii

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKvii vii

9/9/09 1:14:56 PM


viii

INTRODUCTION

mental aspects in us that we call the personality, we find another
energy that is not so easy to define and which seems to move us at
a deeper level; this is the Soul. It is by being receptive to its mystery that we can start to connect to the universal collective energy
of the Spirit. The different stages in this pioneering expansion into
the unknown, unseen world of Soul and Spirit are reflected in the
twenty-two cards of the Major Arcana. They provide a structure or
map on which that journey can be recognised. The symbols on the
cards are translated into practical steps that can be applied to the
everyday lives of those who seek greater consciousness.
When natural man first awakened by opening the doors of awareness and consciousness, the whole of the greater story was revealed,
so that everything was seen for what it is. The wise seers of those
times had the insight to understand the revelation as a mind looking
at its creation, seeing the origin of everything in the greater mind.
The story of manifested life had to be retraced and given out in
codes and symbols to measure time and space; this was done with
the help of geometrical shapes representing numbers and spiralling
symbols for the understanding of the cycles of numbers.
These seers elaborated on the initial symbols of 1, 2 and 3 as a
blueprint, out of which the final structure of 4, 5, 6 and 7 emerges.
These are the seven rays of manifestation. Through the ages the
descriptions of the movement of the creator as he built the worlds
as we know them, took the many different forms of the stories or

myths that are linked to every culture and religion. The original symbols themselves do not belong to any particular group or sect; it is
always the same revelation of the unfolding of a higher consciousness, capable of being of service to the great mind of the universe.
As the tribal consciousness took control of most of mankind on the
planet, it became dangerous for this knowledge to be given out, so
it was hidden, the mysteries being kept in the depth of the Ancient
Wisdom. Then later, the idea of drawing pictures which related to
that universal story was materialised and one of the end results was
what we now know as the Tarot. The Tarot illustrates the mystery
of the alchemical process of transmuting matter back into light, personality into Soul.
The cards carry pictorial symbols which, at the time they were
made, were linked to what was known of the ancient traditions,
such as the Ancient Egyptian, Hebraic, Christian and Islamic cultures. Like parables, they tell the hidden story in a universal language that can be translated according to the understanding of the
reader. The Tarot is a book for disciples and aspirants, or those who

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKviii viii

9/9/09 1:14:57 PM


INTRODUCTION

ix

are open and ready to hear the symbolic language of the Soul. The
first language was number, then the language of pictures and myths
kept the knowledge of initiatic enlightenment alive.
As we get to know the world and so become ourselves, the world
becomes itself. The Gospel of St John tells us, “The wind blows
where it wants; we hear its voice but we do not know whence it
comes, or where it is going. It is the same for whomever is born of

Spirit”. Once we remove the idea that we’re doing anything, but
are still participating in action then we’re not even really doing it;
it is happening through us. For example, if we think we are writing
a book, we are trying too hard. If we simply make ourselves available, the book will come through us and our skills will be used.
By all means try to know who we are, where we are, what we’re
doing, or what’s the next best thing. However, as John Lennon’s
song says, “How do I know where to go, when I don’t even know
where to turn, or where I stand, or where I face?” This one speaks
as a Fool of God. Spirit comes through the wind and it is with the
air and the fire that we spiritualise the earth and the water, for
they are divine once we have seen the light. So if we’re not doing
something because we are waiting to face the right direction, we
are not a Fool of God! Fly with the wind, burn with the fire, or flow
with the water, it does not matter which; we are on Earth and it is
of beauty.
‘In these happy nights I was helped in the secret,
Nobody could see me and I could not perceive anything
To guide me, only the light burning in my heart’.
Numbers give us a never-ending appreciation of the cycles of
manifestation of life as it progresses towards its apotheosis. Each
card is a stage in our personal transformation. The Tarot is a pictorial
crystallisation of the mysterious language of number to guide us
through the cycles of spiritual transformation. Each chapter can only
be understood in relation to the one before and the one after, just as
with numbers. We can really only truly understand a Number 2 or
a Number 3 if we’ve understood what the Number 1 was about; a
Number 1 by itself without time and space has no chance of realising itself! If the blade is alive in the fire, in the air, in the rock and in
the water, we have to pull it out and go where it takes us. Each card
by itself is one aspect of whom we are, but all of them together make
a book of esoteric life, of man becoming his future, the essence of

love and wisdom, Heaven and Earth – a Soul.

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKix ix

9/9/09 1:14:58 PM


x

INTRODUCTION

The brotherhood of Soul is an initiatic brotherhood that does not
bring us into conformity and even less into uniformity, but more into
harmony by and through the wonderful diversity of the expressions
of the one life. We know that we are all one and are making the glorious pattern of the one life together, so it is not for one cell to say; “Do
as I do”, but in the words of Albert Einstein, “I love you as I am”.
This book – The Spirit of the Tarot – enables the receptive reader
to return to the original understanding of number behind the pictorial symbols on the cards. This knowledge has been kept going
through the intellect. The aim of this book is to go behind the intellectual understanding and bring in a natural intuitive flow, by linking with the numbers.
Each picture is a crystallised depiction of mindsets from ages
past, reaching right back to that first explosion of understanding.
This symbolism and knowledge has been held and kept going by the
Ancient Wisdom schools, ready to emerge at the time and place of
greatest need and receptivity. The merging of symbol and intuition
then can take place and the resulting wisdom is used and applied
in practical ways. We need to be open and allow in that which stirs
us, so that the work of recognition can happen, helping the process
of intuition to develop from within. The story depicted on the card
(exoteric) then amalgamates with the holding of the hidden knowledge (esoteric) so that intuition can result. The aim is to allow a more
universal flow of intelligence to bypass the symbolism. By recognising the message behind the symbol, the wisdom of the ages can be

translated into practical everyday life.
This is not a book about using the Tarot as a method of prediction,
but rather as a guide through which we can look at the state of our
awareness of the world as it is today. It offers a new perspective on
the traumas and crises that face us. This new perception comes from
the point of view of Soul.
Each of the twenty-two chapters is based on a different card in the
Major Arcana, presented and explored in the numerical sequence in
which it occurs in the Oswald Wirth Tarot pack. A detailed and indepth description of the symbolism and qualities of the particular
card in question is given, as well as how what we learn from it can
be applied to everyday life.
The book can be read as the ongoing journey of the Soul, or can
be used as an oracle, by meditating for a few instants on a troubled
perception of a problem and opening the book at random. It might
then be helpful to read the complete chapter for a further insight.

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKx x

9/9/09 1:14:58 PM


INTRODUCTION

xi

The readers would be those who are looking for a new way
forward into their understanding of how they can help to bring a
positive collective vision to bear on the struggle that humanity is
undergoing in the present age. The eradication of physical, emotional and intellectual poverty has to be the concern of every human
being on the planet. The many groups working on relieving famine,

war trauma, disease, lack of education and environmental genocide,
demonstrate the hope of a more compassionate humanity. The ultimate necessity is a global rise in consciousness. The blindingly obvious realisation that we are one body, one Soul and one mind will
generate more goodwill to nurture our planet with its wonderful
web of life, than any pre-occupation with self-preservation could do.
The one great Soul will naturally guide and heal its children into
loving acts of goodwill.

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxi xi

9/9/09 1:14:59 PM


Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxii xii

9/9/09 1:15:00 PM


GLOSSARY

Key Themes to unlock this book

Although some of the words in these chapters are commonly used in
many other contexts, the meanings we ascribe to them in this book are specific to this field and we wanted to convey the meaning of some of these
words to readers that may not be so familiar with these topics, so that the
message of the book is clearer.
CO-CREATIVITY
Co-creativity takes place when the personality is fully attentive
and at the service of the Soul; the Soul in turn then obeys faithfully
the direction given by its spiritual higher mind. At this point the
skills of the instrument can be used for the greater purpose of the

unfolding of the plan of love, light and life on Earth. The higher
mind itself would be driven by the karmic necessity of the great life
we live in.
GOD
God is the sum total of all that exists, visible and invisible – one
entity, omnipresent and omnipotent. Not personal to any religion or
belief system, but accessible by any person willing to relate to that
which is greater than the self. It is the unknown, unseen energy that
works in mysterious ways, through any belief system or religion. In
God we live and move and have our being.
INITIATION
‘Initiation may be defined in two ways. It is first of all the entering
into a new and wider dimensional world, by the expansion of man’s
consciousness, so that he can include and encompass that which he
now excludes and from which he normally separates himself in his
thinking and acts. It is secondly the entering into man of those energies which are distinctive of the Soul and of the Soul alone – the
forces of intelligent love and of spiritual will. These are dynamic
energies and they actuate all who are liberated Souls.
The Soul- in its own nature – is group consciousness, and has
no individual ambitions or individual interests, and is not at all
xiii

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxiii xiii

9/9/09 1:15:01 PM


xiv

GLOSSARY

interested in the aims of its personality. It is the Soul which is the
initiate. Initiation is a process whereby the spiritual man within the
personality becomes aware of himself as the Soul, with Soul powers,
Soul relationships and Soul purpose. The moment a man realises
this, even in a small measure, it is the group of which he is conscious’. From ‘Ponder on this’- published by the Lucis Trust.
JESUS
Jesus is a generic name for a specific aspect of mankind’s Soul.
A prophetic aspect of revelation. The essential message is that the
higher mind uses and knows the kingdom of God, not as only material here on Earth, but as an inner spiritual transformation for the
future, revealing the immortality of higher consciousness and so
becoming the Soul.
A witness, ‘a son’ of the greater life (God). The only way to
achieve transformation of the consciousness into Soul here on
Earth is for the higher consciousness to follow the unique source
back home. Home is the great sea of universal love that links every
tiny life within the great life of the universe. This intelligent love
is the only way we can truly relate to each other and to the other
kingdoms in nature.
When the intelligent love of the Soul (Jesus) has completely taken
over, the little will of the personality aligns to the spiritual will of
the Soul and the realised Soul emerges; we call this the Christ. The
following defines the Christ realised Soul:–
‘Christ is the light of the world, the embodiment of love and
the indicator of divine purpose. He is the source of all light
and energy which flood throughout the world of human
consciousness at this period in the annual cycle. The Christ
of history and the Christ in the human heart are planetary
events.
At the centre of all life on this planet stands the Christ, the relation between life and form, Spirit and matter, the innermost

consciousness of all creation awaiting revelation. Because of
the position the Christ occupies in the evolution of our planetary life, he is the focal point of all endeavour, the “way” of
spiritual enfoldment, for “no man cometh to the Father but by
me”. He belongs to all humanity irrespective of nation, race,
religion, social or cultural background. He is “the same great
identity” which those of different ideologies recognise under
different names.

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxiv xiv

9/9/09 1:15:01 PM


GLOSSARY

xv

The Christ is God-man, human-divine, a fusion of the vertical
way of at-one-ment and the horizontal way of service. He is
total human experience fused with the inner life force which
gives coherence, intelligence and purpose to life on Earth.
The Christ is a Person, a Presence, and a Principle. He brings
together in one sweep of continuous energy flow, the cosmic
fountainhead, the planetary manifestation and the human
expression. He is power and livingness, love and wisdom, light
and understanding.
He is the builder of the new world, the new age: the driving
power within the human heart and mind which produces the
new forms of the new and coming civilisation. He is the magnetic and attractive force which “lifts up” and redeems the density of materialism. He ignites the spark of divinity within each
human being. He is the fiery love of God for man which inspires

sacrifice and renunciation.
The Christ is the archetype of the true Aquarian: he is cooperative, inclusive, intelligent and active. His motive is love of
humanity: his keynote is service.
He is the Way, the truth and the life for all mankind. He is the
beacon in the darkness, the essence of divine truth and reality,
the guarantor of ultimate spiritual achievement for “as he is so
can we be in this world”.’

Full definition of The Christ from the Lucis trust.
MASS CONSCIOUSNESS
Mass consciousness is the everyday consciousness of humanity
which focuses entirely on all the expressions of survival, from the
fear of life, to being the most powerful person. The mass consciousness is driven by the urge to gratify the subconscious needs.
MISERICORD
Dictionary (Petit Robert). Misericord is having a heart sensitive
to others pain and unhappiness; pity through which forgiveness
is given to a guilty person. Proverb – ‘To each sin, misericord’ –
meaning every mistake is forgiven. Goodness, charity, commiseration, compassion, pity are the sisters of misericord. Divine misericord
is absolution.
From ‘misereri’ – sadness with pity, and ‘chord’ – heart.
Dictionary (Websters). Mercy or compassion. From ‘misereri’ – to
feel pity.

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxv xv

9/9/09 1:15:02 PM


xvi

GLOSSARY

PERSONALITY
The personality consists of the outer manifestation of the human
individual. To begin with it is a vehicle through which the individual can express him or herself in the world. It is made up of the
physical (5 senses), the emotional and mental (intellect) aspects of
the self. Once the individual begins to see beyond the illusionary
material world, the personality starts to change its nature and as a
result undergoes what can be seen from the outer reality as a crisis
or break down. Through this process the higher mind or Soul is able
to come into the consciousness and take the individual to a more collective understanding of the world. Eventually the Soul takes over,
revealing the original true purpose of the personality, which is to be
a vehicle for the Soul.
SORCERER’S APPRENTICE
The Sorcerer, through deep knowledge of the laws of nature, will
aim to affect persons, things or events; this is seen as magic by the
onlooker. The apprentice may try his spells before he is ready to control the whole of the experiment; this often results in disaster.
SOUL
Soul is the name given to the mediator between Spirit and matter.
It is that invisible immortal aspect of the self which links man to the
eternal in him. Within the Soul we carry the whole of our evolution
or the sum total of the multitudinal experiences that we have gone
through in all of our lives; it is only through linking to our Soul that
we are able to take all the misunderstandings back to their source
and so gain wisdom, clarity and compassion. Soul is a state of being
beyond the personal little self and therefore takes us into the collective consciousness, which is united and connected to the wholeness
of life on this planet. The voice of the Soul resonates through to us
and is translated into noble qualities which we aspire to, such as
intelligent goodness and enduring mindfulness. These give us inspiration for a world of truth, love, peace, joy, equality, and justice. All
these terms are intended to be representative of the highest levels of

consciousness, so we speak of clear truth, unconditional love, peace
for all and so on. These qualities are transpersonal; to attain them in
their purest forms requires a great deal of work on the little self, as
we move from the personal to the collective. This is the enormous
task which humanity is just starting to engage with. A great part of
this work is to see our fellow human beings as Souls and reflect that
back to them, in order to uplift the goal of personality to expand

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxvi xvi

9/9/09 1:15:03 PM


GLOSSARY

xvii

beyond its limitations. In this way we bring the perception of the
Soul kingdom into play, each individual working in the group, for
the group. As the Soul or essence is strengthened, it begins to reveal
its true purpose, which is to be a vehicle for Spirit through its intuitive intelligence.
SPIRIT
Spirit is so expansive that it is difficult to say much about it, except
to say that it is everywhere and in everything; it flows through life at
every single level. It is the dance of the great creator, whose intent is
in the movement; it is the breath of God. The great work is to bring
Spirit and matter together into a state of fusion. At the present time
the energy of Soul is needed to act as a mediator or vehicle within
which these two principles can be synthesized. In the book we use
‘Spirit’ as meaning universal truth and divine light.

SUBCONSCIOUS
The subconscious represents a state of unconsciousness solely
occupied by the active and reactive aspect of man. In the subconscious mind all mankind’s distortions of the pure instinct of the
unconscious are found. They are brought about through the misunderstandings of the newly-found emotional and mental body of
man, as he rises into the human kingdom from the animal kingdom.
Action which stems from the subconscious results in behaviour
which is not reflective or self-conscious. The semi-conscious emotional/mental aspects cause pain in the driven human being, as he
strives to make sense of what drives him. This begins the work of
releasing the subconscious misunderstandings in the Soul, through
the bringing in of awareness and greater consciousness.
TETRAKTYS
This simple form holds the memory or blueprint of the divine
intent and therefore the understanding behind all the different systems or tools used by different spiritual traditions, such as Astrology, Tarot and the Kabala. As the energy of Spirit moves through
time and space, the blueprint can transform the divine intent into
manifestation, so that matter and form can mirror back to the God
we live in, an appreciation of the unfolding of his intent.
So the Spirit comes down, still holding the beautiful and pure
ideas of the blueprint and the concept, enabling us as humans to see
ourselves in a mirror. At the final state of higher consciousness, the
God we live in is seeing itself in his own creation. The mirror cannot

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxvii xvii

9/9/09 1:15:04 PM


xviii

GLOSSARY

l
l
l
l

l
l

l

l
l

l

Figure 1. The Divine Tetraktys.
The Divine Tetraktys contains the whole of the Ancient Wisdom
and if we ponder on it, all can be revealed.

happen without the tool of self-consciousness that we take with us on
the descent into our subconscious, which is what we call hell. If we
are not aware of the subconscious we are just being driven by nature,
which has innocent purity but also terrifying behaviour in the cause
of survival! This means that we don’t know what we are doing, for we
have no self-consciousness. The Soul instigates our descent into hell so
that we can retrace all the steps which lead back to the original Trinity
(father God/mother Earth – with us as witnesses to the end product)
or source of life, this is how we find the mirror that shows us ‘as above,
so below.’ The knowledge of intuitive perception accumulated over
thousands of years, is called the Ancient Wisdom; this is held in the

divine Tetraktys. We don’t need any books because the Tetraktys holds
it all; we can ponder on it and let numbers teach the way to enlightenment, for the idea of the swamp, the descent into hell, the purgatory
stage and the redemption through the light of consciousness are all
there. Through this knowledge comes the simple understanding that
we have to start internalising the ‘How’ of our knowledge of the world
to find the ‘Why’ – that’s when the journey really starts.
UNCONSCIOUS
The absolute and primary principle of the Universe is unconscious, or in a state unaccompanied by conscious or self-conscious
experience. The unconscious describes the entire experience of
nature from the beginning of time, as it adapted to prevailing circumstances in order to survive as viable life. Pure instinct has its
being in the unconscious. It is from this original, unconscious Active
Intelligence that the creation of all life is sourced.

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxviii xviii

9/9/09 1:15:05 PM


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book was developed from a series of talks given by Claudine
Aegerter to the Connaissance School of Numerology over a period of
2 years. The aim of the talks was to bring out the hidden light or Spirit
behind the ancient system of symbols known as The Tarot – hence the
name ‘The Spirit of the Tarot’.
The idea of making the talks into a book was instigated by members of the Association Internationale de Numerologues (AIN), of
which the School is part. As a group, the School and the Association
formed a receptive and willing body, whose thirst for spiritual waters
invoked the precipitation needed to bring in these teachings.
Thanks go to:Lesley Smith, who faithfully transcribed the work from tapes to

written word. Nicholas Aegerter, who helped with the illustrations
and format and final editing. Inspiration was drawn from the Ancient
Wisdom teachings, given out by the Lucis Trust and the writings of
Madame Blavatsky. To Edmond Delcamp who wrote ‘Le Tarot Initiatique, Symbolique et Esoterique’ from which the initial idea for the talks
was developed. The owners of the Oswald Wirth Tarot cards who have
given their permission to use the images of their cards in this book.
Others involved were; Colin M. Baker, Margarita Coleman, Paul
Elkerton, Jenny Myers, Christine Tonks and all the people who
attended the talks on the Tarot. Also the many other members of the
Association Internationale de Numerologues and the Connaissance
School of Numerology, who gave their support.
Finally thanks to Claudine Aegerter, who was of course the great
inspirer, joint editor and re-writer. The project completed its full
cycle by coming back into her hands, to make sure that the original
clarity of purpose and expression were retained.
I myself have been privileged to have worked on the project from
the very beginning, and have all the way through, derived enormous inspiration from being able to hold this work together and
finally see the completed book; there to inspire and provide a practical way of working with the greater energies of Soul and Spirit.
Berenice Benjelloun.
xix

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxix xix

9/9/09 1:15:06 PM


xx

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Connaissance School of Numerology
The School was founded in 1993 with the aim of advancing the
knowledge and practice of Numerology. Our approach with numbers is to let them be our teacher and to open our intuitive intelligence for, as Pythagoras said, “Number is the ruler of form and
ideas and is the cause of gods and demons”. We offer Foundation
and Diploma courses in esoteric Numerology.

Association Internationale de Numerologues (AIN)
The Association Internationale de Numerologues has the following
aims and objectives:
a)
b)
c)
d)

To promote the practice of Numerology as a profession.
To stimulate and encourage the development of Numerology
To represent the interests of professional numerologists
To serve the public good through the promotion and practice of
Numerology
e) To build a brotherhood amongst numerologists world wide

The School and the Association are both based in Royston,
Hertfordshire in the UK. We are located over the historic Royston Cave
which is at a significant junction of the Michael and Mary ley lines.
Find out more on our website www.numerology.org.uk, or email
us at

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOKxx xx

9/9/09 1:15:07 PM

NUMBER ONE

The Magician, Le Bateleur
In the beginning

The Magician or holder of the baton, is bright and wilful, full of potential
and enthusiasm, yet he comes into the world knowing about the illusions
and glamour of the world, so he is not going to be taken in by them. He is
here to look for the greater truth and can only find it by being completely
part of this world. He has all the elements of the Earth to use and he sees
the whole of humanity reflected in him; by this means he can recognise
what is real or illusionary within him. This is the work and the journey
has begun.
1

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOK1 1

9/9/09 1:15:07 PM


2

THE SPIRIT OF THE TAROT: NUMBERS AS INITIATORS

The Magician is the beginning of the pack, The Fool is the end
and in between these two, the work has to be done and the journey
made. The Magician represents the first stage or the Number 1, so he
holds all the keys and is the potential initiate. He is the start of the

process of the Number 1 travelling through his inner landscape for
transformation. He’s represented as a man because he is the active
principle. The Major Arcana was originally meant only for initiates
and not for the average person, so he is someone who knows he is
on the path of expanding consciousness.
He knows that the material world or the world of form is an
illusion and that humanity is doomed to self-destruct if it stays in
that illusion. We have to stay in physical incarnation long enough to
learn to survive, so that eventually we can say “There must be more
than this” and start to look beyond the material world. The Magician comes back knowing that he is not going to be taken in by the
illusion of form, so he will rise above whatever he has to do in the
world in order to find the higher view of the Soul, which he can then
apply and work with in the world. He’s coming back to research
and find the truth and light, in a world dominated by illusion and
glamour, glamour being the illusion of the emotional.
He has come to change the world, but he knows that it is his
perception of the world that has to change. ‘Be the change you want
in others’. This means he has to make the change in himself and
so spark the understanding of the process in others. This process is
shown in Fig. 1.

Enlightened pool of consciousness at the
disposition of the evolving human being

Plane of experience of the everyday life of
man’s consciousness
Subconscious field of reaction, the behaviour of
mass consciousness

Unconscious life of nature, the field of survival

Figure 1. The field of the work of the initiate.

Actually The Magician is the wrong name for him, because
the sort of person we would normally call a magician would be

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOK2 2

9/9/09 1:15:08 PM


THE MAGICIAN

3

someone who would perform and demonstrate magic tricks by
showing a ‘before’ and ‘after’. The Magician’s more appropriate
description is the French name for the card, which is ‘Le Bateleur’,
meaning somebody who handles a baton to represent the power
of his passion. The true Bateleur, or Magician, has to work with
situations as they are; he simply cannot do anything else. He cannot escape the elements or the karmic laws and limits that bind
humanity on the planet. We have people on the planet who do not
respect the natural laws because they want to be seen as magicians,
but the true Magician partakes in the situation and the laws down
here on Earth, with the highest respect. In fact the way he’s going
to work is to stimulate and initiate, so that the work is done from
within. Otherwise, he knows that it doesn’t really happen – there
might be an apparent change for five minutes and then things go
back to where they were before.
The whole of life is movement and that movement has shaped

the web of life in such a way that it can hold all the possibilities or
potential. The psychic space of the planet is more polluted at the
moment than the physical body of the planet. The mental and emotional levels are equally or more polluted, this is demonstrated in
the way that we treat life and each other. This is what the Bateleur,
or baton holder comes back into, so we may wonder why he’s got a
big smile on his face! He is happy because he’s going for truth and
love, for without those there is no way he would be able to escape
the weight of the illusionary world. This world is not just heavy,
it is very thick and sticky and also very appealing, like honey. So
he’s coming back into all the ties and karmic webbing that humanity
has surrounded itself with. The average person is bound and tied in
their own glamour and illusion. The cutting of these ties is the work
that the initiate has to achieve within himself, using the very same
tools of the everyday life experience in the world of matter. He has
to inspire himself before he can inspire others to do the same.
The Magician sees himself as completely part of the world
and therefore can use the world to recognise what is still true or
untrue within him. He knows about ‘as above, so below’, therefore
what is in front of him can have a strong reflection within him. He
knows that for the unreal to be wiped out he needs to feel his
human side intimately, so as not to go into the illusion that he is
different. The elements are in him, humanity is in him and he has
to recognise and accept that, if he wants the clarity and the purification of the mirror. He’s smiling because he hasn’t realised all
of that yet!

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOK3 3

9/9/09 1:15:09 PM

4

THE SPIRIT OF THE TAROT: NUMBERS AS INITIATORS

Each card in the Major Arcana represents part of a whole, so in
order to understand the place our Magician holds, looking at some
of the other cards is helpful.
The first three cards, The Magician, The High Priestess and The
Empress, represent the three major aspects of the unity of the God
we live in, so in these three we see a depiction of the divine Trinity.
It is through encountering The High Priestess in Number 2, that The
Magician looks for pure mind or intuition through reflection, and
then with The Empress in Number 3, he finds a way to apply these
attributes to the world. Basically he’s come back to search for and
find, the truth of the divine light in a world that is dominated by
illusion and glamour.
The Magician is the son in the Trinity. Son is a lovely word, because
in the Anglo-Saxon language it is so close to the word ‘sun’, which
also has a link with ‘Soul’. In French the word for son is ‘fils’, which
looks the same as the French word for thread, so this reminds us of
the thread of Ariadne that Theseus carried with him into the underworld to enable him to find his way out again. This is the ‘son’ that
is ready to go into the darkness of earthly life. That golden thread
of inspiration from the Soul means he can come back and synthesise
the receptive and active qualities of the God we live in, becoming the
result of the union of the first two – the son.
So these first three cards depict the higher Trinity and then
Number 4 is The Emperor; this is the concept of that Trinity that has
to be crystallised. Through the vigilant guidance of the wise men
and women of humanity, he is an active, masculine principle and
this gives him authority. It is important to see the figures in the cards

not as male and female, but rather as active and receptive. Sometimes some of the active figures are quite passive as well and vice
versa, because a complete balance has been achieved.
It is interesting to see that Number 6 is called The Lovers, but in
fact it is ‘The Lover’ and it could be masculine or feminine. This is
an example of how words can influence and get in the way of true
understanding. Eventually, as we work more with the symbols, the
deeper level of interpretation will not come from the intellectual,
but from somewhere more profound and subtle. So rather than trying to make sense of them via the intellect, we can allow them to
speak to us from that deeper place. It is out of survival and despair
that we’ve said that there must be more than what we find in ordinary life, so it is necessity that pushes the nature in us up to her
lover. Then the intellect in man has to give up and look for another
answer to the question, “Is this all there is?”

Agerter-Spirit of the Tarot_BOOK4 4

9/9/09 1:15:10 PM