SAMPLE
The illustrations, cover design, diagrams, and contents are fully pro-
tected by copyright. No part of this booklet may be reproduced in
any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except
by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with
a review written for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
© Copyright 2006 by U.S. GAMES SYSTEMS INC.
ISBN 10: 0-913866-92-X ISBN 13: 978-0-913866-92-4
All rights reserved. Made in China
ELEMENTAL & ASTROLOGICAL SYMBOLS
䉮 䉮 䉭 䉭
Water Earth Fire Air
SAMPLE 첐
Sun
첪
Moon
찥 씸 씹 첎
Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter
첩 찥 첥
Saturn Pluto Neptune Uranus
첛 콧 첝 첞
Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer
캸 철 첡
Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio
첣 첤 척 첚
Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
INTRODUCTION
G ODFREY D OWSON
T HE UNIQUE TALENT OF
is revealed in The Hermetic Tarot deck. U.S.
Games Systems, Inc. is proud to reissue this deck
in recognition of its historical and artistic impor-
tance. The details and symbols in each card reveal
many of the esoteric workings of the Secret Order
of the Golden Dawn that flourished around the
turn of the century.
Founded in 1888 as a secret magical fraternity,
the Order counted among its members some of
the foremost occultists and writers of the period
including MacGregor Mathers, Arthur Edward
SAMPLE
Waite, Dion Fortune, Paul Foster Case, Aleister
Crowley, and W.B. Yeats.
After cessation of the Order’s activities some
fifteen years after its inception, Waite, Case, and
Crowley went on to issue their own decks—The
Rider-Waite, B.O.T.A., and Thoth tarot decks,
respectively. Crowley first published a description
of the Order’s card designs in The Equinox in
1912. Prior to World War II, Israel Regardie
included a description of the cards in his four-
volume set, The Golden Dawn.
Crowley’s deck was not published during his
lifetime. He worked with Lady Freida Harris, the
artist, for five years from 1938 to 1943 before the
deck was completed, but it was not actually pub-
3
lished until 1969, 22 years after Crowley’s death.
The early members of the Hermetic Order of
the Golden Dawn were encouraged to prepare
personal tarot packs for their own use based
upon Mathers’ deck and his work. The Society set
down certain instructions for its members to fol-
low, but these instructions were abbreviated at
best. Not surprisingly, as time went on and new
members copied decks based upon previously
drawn cards, the variances and modifications
grew more and more pronounced.
Since Mathers’ original tarot deck has not
been handed down, today’s researchers of the
SAMPLE
Order of the Golden Dawn—whose numbers
grow and flourish in Europe and the USA—often
assign personal interpretations and modifica-
tions to their own version of the tarot as it might
have existed in the Order more than 80 years ago.
In 1978, Robert Wang, in collaboration with
Dr. Isreal Regardie, prepared The Golden Dawn
Tarot Deck which has taken its place among
important esoteric tarot packs of the 20th century.
The Hermetic Tarot deck by Godfrey Dowson
draws heavily upon the work of Mathers,
Crowley, Case, G.H. Soror, Q.L. [Greatly
Honored Sister Q.L.] and Elias Levi. A slightly
different description of the cards is found in The
Book “T”: The Tarot by S.R.M.D. [Mathers] and
4
others. Crowley included The Book “T” in 1912
in his Equinox, Vol. I, No. 8. The public disclo-
sure caused considerable friction between
Crowley and Mathers and eventually led to an
unsuccessful lawsuit by Mathers to prevent fur-
ther publication.
In 1967, a limited edition of 200 copies of The
Book “T” appeared in Great Britain and it was
reproduced again in 1978 by Robert Wang in An
Introduction to The Golden Dawn Tarot.
Godfrey Dowson's cards in The Hermetic
Tarot reveal a combination of detail and symbol-
ism that capture the mood and sense of each
SAMPLE
pictorial image. Subtle variations exist in almost
every card. For example, fingertips touch the
stem of a rose bush in the 8 of Pentacles (Lord of
Prudence) in contrast to the firm grasp of a hand
in the 4 of Pentacles (Lord of Earthly Power). The
mangled swords in the 9 of Swords (Lord of
Despair and Cruelty) and the roses in full bloom
in the 6 of Pentacles (Lord of Material Success)
illustrate how skillfully the artist has created the
cards. Repeated study of each card often reveals
for the first time a new dimension and scope not
seen in a previous reading. One of the most
important features of Dowson’s Hermetic Tarot is
his emphasis on the Golden Dawn astrological
attributions of the cards.
5
Working prior to the turn of the century, and
drawing on a great deal of published informa-
tion, library manuscripts, secret documents, and
extensive personal research, Mathers assigned a
complete set of correspondences between the
tarot and the zodiac. Dowson has also provided
clear symbols in his card designs which help the
student correlate these astrological correspon-
dences each time he or she reads the cards.
Crowley, of course, does the same in his deck, but
the symbols are frequently less clear than por-
trayed here. A knowledge of astrology can greatly
aid in the interpretation of the tarot, and vice
SAMPLE
versa. It was the genius of the Golden Dawn to
synthesize these systems.
Godfrey Dowson successfully creates in The
Hermetic Tarot a compelling reconstructed ver-
sion of the tarot that has taken its place as one of
the most important esoteric tarot decks pub-
lished during the twentieth century.
The Hermetic Tarot deck is collated in the fol-
lowing sequence: V. The Hierophant; 0. The
Foolish Man; I. The Magician through IV. The
Emperor; VI. The Lovers through XXI. Universe;
knight, queen, king and princess in the suit of
wands, followed by court cards in the suits of
cups, swords and pentacles; ace through 10 in
wands followed by cups, swords and pentacles.
6
Readers and students of tarot may prefer to
maintain the Minor Arcana cards from The
Hermetic Tarot deck in the sequence of cards as
described in Book “T”. This sequence is based on
an extremely complex astronomical and kabalis-
tic correspondence system which forms the basis
of the astrological attributions. Briefly, the aces
rule the four quadrants of the North Pole of the
Universe, and Kether on the Tree of Life. The
Knights, Queens and Kings are broadly attributed
to the zodiacal signs. Each of these court cards
represents 3 decans (1 decan=10 degrees) of the
zodiac, hence 30 degrees. The Princesses form the
SAMPLE
link between the elemental energies of the aces
and the celestial zodiacal energies of the other
court cards. Then the tarot follows the further
astrological division into individual decans by
assigning one numbered card (2–10) to one
decan. As there are 36 decans and 36 numbered
cards (excluding the aces) this fits rather neatly.
The true astrological year was begun by the
Golden Dawn with the star Regulus at 0° Leo,
rather than the more common 0° Aries. Thus the
5 of Wands, 0–10° Leo, is the first pip card
described in Book “T”, and the 4 of Cups, 20–30°
degrees Cancer, is the last. The trumps then fol-
low the pip cards. Refer to Book IV of Israel
Regardie’s Golden Dawn for a more complete
7
explanation of his subject. The sequence thus
given in Book “T” is as follows: ace of wands,
cups, swords and pentacles; 5 to 7 of wands; 8 to
10 of pentacles; 2 to 4 of swords; 5 to 7 of cups; 8
to 10 of wands; 2 to 4 of pentacles; 5 to 7 of
swords; 8 to 10 of cups; 2 to 4 of wands; 5 to 7
pentacles; 8 to 10 of swords; 2 to 4 of cups; 0. The
Foolish Man; and I. The Magician through XXI.
The Universe.
The back design of The Hermetic Tarot deck is
a rose in full bloom. Each card contains the
sigil—the mark of a master craftsman. All the
work by Godfrey Dowson bears this mark. The
SAMPLE
original artwork for the Hermetic Tarot deck was
executed between 1975 to 1977 by the artist and
is now is included in the Stuart and Marilyn R.
Kaplan Playing Card Collection.
—Stuart R. Kaplan
8
THE HERMETIC TAROT DECK
by Godfrey Dowson and Stuart R. Kaplan
revisions by Uri Raz
T he tarot is a perfect symbolic picture of the
cosmos as seen through the eyes of man.
Tarot also reflects the many facets of man in his
environment.
The catalytic nature of tarot enables it to por-
tray all possible relationships that can develop
within the human sphere and the environment of
the cosmos. Thus, the concept of the microcosm
within the macrocosm is fully expressed.
SAMPLE
The tarot is a mirror of reality. Its construc-
tion, based on the four elements, the celestial
phenomena, the Holy Qabalah, and a very
evolved psychology, can lead its devotees to the
inner recesses of psychic and intuitive awareness.
The tarot itself can be used as the basis of occult
study, as it may be said to possess all aspects of
the inner wisdom tradition.
The standard tarot is composed of seventy-
eight cards divided into three main groups. There
are twenty-two Major Arcana or trump cards,
and fifty-six Minor Arcana cards. The Minor
Arcana is comprised of two groups, sixteen court
cards and forty pip or point cards. The fifty-six
cards of the Minor Arcana are also divided into
9
The 10 Spheres and the 22 Hebrew Letters
of the 22 Paths of the Tree of Life
KETHER
THE FOUR
ACES
AL
TH EP
BE H
BINAH
THE FOUR CHOKMAH
THREES THE FOUR
& FOUR DALETH TWOS & FOUR
QUEENS KNIGHTS
CHETH
GIMEL
ZA
VAU
H
HE
IN
GEBURAH CHESED
THE FOUR TETH THE FOUR
FIVES FOURS
LA
ME D
D YO
TIPHARETH
SAMPLE
MEM
CAPH
THE FOUR
SIXES & FOUR
KINGS
NU
IN N
AY
SAMEKH
HOD NETZACH
THE FOUR PEH PEH THE FOUR
EIGHTS SEVENS
RE DI
SH AD
TZ
YESOD
THE FOUR
NINES
PH
SH
QO
IN
TAU
MALKUTH
THE FOUR
TENS & FOUR
PRINCESSES
73
