Observations placeholder

The Tarot of the Magicians – Oswald Wirth English translation 1985 Samuel Weiser.

First published in Paris in 1927 under the original title: Le Tarot, des lmagiers du Moyen Age

Indulging as I was in the practice of occultism and before studying its theories deeply, I was, at the beginning of 1887, applying my hypnotic skills on a sick woman who fell asleep under my influence. She was a lucid patient who informed me of the state of her organs and of the effect produced by my fluid. Her tendency to chatter came out in spontaneous revelations, quite unexpected, to which I only paid moderate heed.

One day however, I was struck by my clairvoyant's tone of conviction, which seemed to perceive with more accuracy than usual as she said 'You will receive a letter with a red seal of armorial bearings!' This she exclaimed as if this fact were of particular importance.

'Can you see who the letter will come from?'

'It is written by a young fair-haired man with blue eyes who has heard of you and wishes to make your acquaintance. He will be very useful to you and you will get on extremely well together.'

I asked other questions, but the replies were confused; they merely embarrassed the lady to no purpose. She was floundering and finally said, 'Wait for the letter; I can see it clearly with its red seal. It will reach you in a few days, before the end of next week.'

Intrigued, I looked out for my mail, but the week went by and nothing came, then two more weeks went by and I was tired of waiting. I decided that the sleeping woman had been dreaming, surrendering to the suggestion of her wandering imagination, as was her wont as soon as her vision ceased to relate to herself and to the stages of her cure.

In short, lucidity is dependent on the instinct which urges the sick animal to seek its health-restoring grass. In any case it is easier to see clearly within oneself, than to draw true information from the outside.  That is to say, vague moving images which receptive imaginations pick up.

Reflections such as these made me forget the letter that I had waited for in vain, to such an extent that the prediction which I have rejected only came to mind when I received a letter with a red armorial seal.

Without bothering with the envelope, I hastened to find out the contents, they took me far away from all the mutterings of a sleepwalker.

Stanislas de Guaita was inviting me to come and talk to him. Now, what I knew then of the future author of Serpent de la Genese made me picture him as an erudite man, rich in knowledge accumulated during the course of many years of study. I expected to be received, if not by Doctor Faustus, not yet rejuvenated, at least by a master writer who had passed the half-way mark in his life.

You can imagine my surprise when I saw myself joyfully welcomed by a young man of twenty-six years of age: who in no way pontificated. My heart was immediately won.

He was young and fair-haired, with blue eyes, and the letter had been sealed with red; no doubt at all . . . this was him, the friend, the protector as promised by the sleeping patient.

The future justified the extraordinary emotion of the clairvoyant when she announced the letter with the red seal, which at that time had not yet been written.