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The Merlin and Dreampower Tarots of R.J. Stewart: Harmonics and Qabalistic Basis - Part 1

The Merlin Tarot and the Qabalah of W.G. Gray

Early in my relationship with Tarot, I acquired a copy of The Merlin Tarot by R.J. Stewart with art by Miranda Gray. Included in the deck are two cards, which I reproduce here, left and center below (the purplish ones).

At the time, I didn't know anything about Qabalah, but even then I realized that the order of the trumps in Merlin's Major Arcana was unusual. Years later, when I cracked down and started studying Qabalah, I learned the scheme which many people believe is the only scheme, that of the Golden Dawn. Comparing the two trees, I learned how unusual the scheme behind the Merlin deck is.

Merlin Tree 1Merlin Tree 2Standard GD Tree

The Merlin tree has the same number of paths and same sephiroth as the Golden Dawn tree, as both use the Kircher tree shape (the yellowish one on the right). On the reference cards for the Merlin deck, the paths are simply rounded to emphasize the three different worlds of the tree. However, which Tarot trump is assigned to which path is quite different in the two models. As R.J. Stewart relates in an online article about his meeting with Israel Regardie, he learned these path assignments from William Gray:

"We moved on to anecdotes about other senior occultists, and it occurred to me to ask a question that had long been in my mind. What about the Paths of the Tree of Life in the Golden Dawn system, I asked, they seem to be confused. Yes, replied Regardie, and intentionally so. There is another layout that is only taught when you challenge the published one...but you know that layout already. As indeed I did, having been taught it by W G Gray."

(What an objective lesson in model agnosticism this is! After all those hours memorizing and working the wrong tree, the student is thrown into a Tower experience. The attachment to the new model, when learned, cannot help but be less dogmatic and religious than the attachment to the old.)

These path assignments are explained in the books Qabalistic Concepts: Living the Tree by William G. Gray and The Miracle Tree: Demystifying the Qabalah by R.J. Stewart. In my experience with both the GD tree and this tree, this tree makes so much more sense to me, both energetically and astrologically. As these books are readily accessible, I'll just very briefly summarize a few points about it.

Like all the Christian Hermeticist trees, in Gray's tree the hebrew letters are assigned to the tree in a sequential manner, rather than by putting mother letters (3) on horizontal paths, double letters (7) on vertical paths, and single letters (12) on diagonal paths as is done on the Hebrew tree. However, when it comes to assigning Tarot trumps to paths, Gray does something more akin to the Hebrew method, looking at what groups of paths can be found in the tree - horizontal, middle vertical, around the outside, diagonals, v's and so on. Similarly, trumps can be sorted into groups, and can be intentionally assigned based on which energy they are most like. The published nineteenth century arrangements had to assign trumps sequentially as their authority rested on the idea that Tarot was designed to illustrate Qabalah. Thus if letters fall on paths sequentially, then the trumps must do so as well.

"Suppose we start sorting out the Tarot Trumps into sets of homogenous ideas entirely apart from their official numbering. For instance, the Sun, Moon and Star would go together as astronomical or cosmic phenomena."
(Gray, p. 215)

As Gray relates, six of the paths can easily be isolated into sensible groups that form the vertical and horizontal backbone of the tree, which Stewart calls the Worlds and the Wheels. Not only do they make sets on their own, but they do a very good job of explaining the balancing of energies between the two sephiroth they connect.

So that you can compare the tree underlying Merlin with the two more well-known trees all three trump-path correspondences are reproduced in the tables below.

Three Worlds

The first three vertical paths make up the "middle pillar", axis mundi, or spindle. These are the paths from one world to the next, from Earth to Moon (Lunar World), Moon to Sun (Solar World), and Sun to Stars (Stellar World). You can also break the tree into thirds, putting each destination sephirah as a center of a circle of other sephiroth. I show this in the column "World on Tree" in the table below.

Path RJS GD Levi - Papus World on Tree The World (p. 34 Miracle Tree)
32 - Yesod - Malkuth
Moon - Earth

Moon

World
Saturn (Earth)

World
Sun
Lunar World
Earth and Moon
our planetary life forms
25 - Tiphareth - Yesod
Sun - Moon

Sun

Temperance
Sagittarius (Jupiter) (Fire)

Devil
Sagittarius
Solar World
Sun and Planets
angels and Planetary forces
13 - Kether - Tiphareth
Uranus - Sun

Star

High Priestess
Moon (Water)

Empress
Venus
Stellar World
Universe and origins of being
Archangels and universal Powers

Three Wheels

It may not be apparent from the graph that is reproduced in nearly every recent Tarot book, but the tree is depicting a variety of motions. In particular, there are several rotations (or cyclings) of energy occurring. If you imagine the tree in a 3-D form, rather than as a flat sheet of paper, you can see another group of rotations, the three wheels. These are the horizontal paths, but are full circles, or wheels. Another way you can imagine them, is surrounding your body, as the circles of a gyroscope, each defining a different plane.

"The Tree of Life reveals three modes or depths of imagination... In their universal context, they are the three stages of Emanation that resonate, interact, and create the Three Worlds of Stars, Sun and Moon. In their human context, they are discovered as three states of consciousness that lead progressively to deeper imagination..." (p. 158 Miracle Tree)
Path RJS GD Levi - Papus Mode of Imagination
27 - Netzach - Hod
Venus - Mercury
Feeling and Thought

Fortune

Tower
Mars (Fire)

Star
Mercury
Commercial Entertainment
19 - Chesed - Geburah
Jupiter - Mars
Creative and Destructive Forces

Justice

Strength
Leo (Sun) (Air)

Hermit
Leo
Cleanse and Purify Imagination
14 - Chokmah - Binah
Neptune - Saturn
Wisdom and Understanding

Judgment

Empress
Venus (Earth)

Emperor
Jupiter
Imagination through Stillness

Outside the usual glyph, you can also imagine these as wheels within wheels, with the fastest moving outermost ring, Fortune, within which Justice turns at the rate of a human lifespan, within which turns the aeonically paced wheel of Judgement.

Around the Outside: Descending or Externalizing Trumps

"If you look at this ... circuit, you should see that it roughtly represents the spiritual sequence of our average incarnations." (p. 217 Gray)

Starting with the state before incarnation (represented by the Hierophant), then we proceed around in a sunwise circle gaining experience until crossing the abyss again, awaiting the next incarnation.

Path RJS GD Levi - Papus
11 - Kether - Chokmah
Uranus - Neptune

Innocent
(Hierophant)

Fool
Uranus (Air)

Magus
Air
around outside
16 - Chokmah - Chesed
Neptune - Jupiter

Emperor

Hierophant
Taurus (Venus) (Earth)

Lovers
Taurus
21 - Chesed - Netzach
Jupiter - Venus

Empress

Wheel
Jupiter (Water)

Strength
Mars
28 - Netzach - Yesod
Venus - Moon

Priestess

Star
Aquarius (Uranus/Saturn) (Air)

Moon
Aquarius

Around the Outside: Ascending or Internalizing Trumps

Path RJS GD Levi - Papus
30 - Hod - Yesod
Mercury - Moon
 

Magician

Sun
Sun (Air) (Fire)

Judgment
Saturn
around outside
23 - Geburah - Hod
Mars - Mercury

Guardian
(Devil)

Hanged Man
Neptune (Water)

Death
Water
18 - Binah - Geburah
Saturn - Mars

Death

Chariot
Cancer (Moon) (Water)

Justice
Cancer
12 - Kether - Binah
Uranus - Saturn

Hermit

Magician
Mercury (Air)

Priestess
Moon

Balancing V's

Path RJS GD Levi - Papus
17 - Binah - Tiphareth
Saturn - Sun

Hanged Man

Lovers
Gemini (Mercury) (Air)

Chariot
Gemini
balancing v's
15 Chokmah Tiphareth
Uranus - Sun

Temperance

Emperor
Aries (Mars) (Fire)

Pope
Aries
31 Hod Malkuth
Mercury - Earth

Fool

Judgment
Pluto (Fire)

Fool
Fire
29 - Netzach - Malkuth
Venus - Earth

Universe

Moon
Pisces (Moon) (Water)

Sun
Pisces

Criss-Cross

Path RJS GD Levi - Papus
22 - Geburah Tiphareth
Mars - Sun

Tower

Justice
Libra (Venus) (Air)

Hanged Man
Libra
crisscross
20 - Chesed - Tiphareth
Jupiter - Sun

Strength

Hermit
Virgo (Mercury) (Air)

Wheel
Virgo
26 - Tiphareth - Hod
Sun - Mercury

Chariot

Devil
Capricorn (Saturn) (Earth)

Tower
Capricorn
crisscross
24 - Tiphareth - Netzach
Sun - Venus

Lovers

Death
Scorpio (Mars) (Fire)

Temperance
Virgo

You can see these correspondences in a different order, with Hebrew and Roman letter correspondences as well, on my page The English Qabalah of W.G. Gray

 

Before moving on to look at the transformation that led to Dreampower, I want to mention that I have found Stewart's earlier works particularly insightful and valuable in my recent explorations. Few books get published at this level, and although Stewart is well known for his Underworld tradition, his less well-known Merlin materials are extremely useful for those drawn to a more classical Hermetic mythos, who are questing to the Stars.

It may well be a personal failing, but after some brief initial experiential work, I prefer to gird myself with large amounts of theoretical exigesis before undertaking in-depth experiential work. The current proclivity towards workbooks and collections of exercises I find frustrating, as it goes in the opposite direction of my preferred learning mode.

Given that, besides Gray's book and The Miracle Tree (with its strong focus on meditation forms), I have found Living Magical Arts (1987) and Advanced Magical Arts (1988) to be fundamental and valuable resources. Among the many topics it covers, Living Magical Arts goes into some detail on the various divisions of the paths, visualization and Tarot trumps, and relations between worlds and beings. Advanced Magical Arts is exceptional for its coverage of mediating the Tree and experiencing the Mysteries: the Weaver, the Underworld, Merlin, the Vault, and the Son of Light. RJS informs me that these two books are currently being reprinted in new editions by Thoth Publications, UK. Living Magical Arts will be published in May, and Advanced Magical Arts in October of this year (2005). Finally, the book that came with the original Merlin tarot deck is deceptively dense and multilayered, peppered throughout with mind-blowing bits. It works for me the way I suspect Crowley's Book of Thoth works for many people who are happy in more the mainstream Golden Dawn and Thelemic currents.

 

Continue to Part 2: The Transformation of the Tree in Dreampower

 

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Copyright © 2005 Joan Schraith Cole. All Rights Reserved
Updated March 5, 2005

Illustration credits: Illustrating the RJS/WGG correspondence: Alleged Tarot by Damian Cugley, the GD correspondence: Thoth Tarot (Crowley/Harris), the Levi, Papus, et. al. correspondence: Wirth Tarot (de Guaita/Wirth).
The Merlin Tarot: designed by R J Stewart, illustrated by Miranda Gray. first published 1983, most recent edition 2004, Harper/Element, UK
R J Stewart's Dreampower website