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Post Info TOPIC: The Curse II
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RE: The Curse II
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Sa is a god of protection within his functions and is associated
with Hu, taste. Oddly enough Sa is associated also with the heart. Hu and Saa together are the Eyes of Horus. More importantly they are the tongue and heart of Ptah; as such it is thur the heart that men relate
their lives to moral precepts, and to be craftsmen.

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EGYPTIANS AND THE TAROT

The first Tarot cards known were found in Italy. A reproduction
of them has been done and is usable. I believe that they were nailed to something. Perhaps someone can fill in where it was found and the time period they were made.

Bernard Bromage, in his book, which I can't recall the exact
title of (it was years ago), but is something like The Secret Wisdom
of the Egyptians (I'll look it up). Basically the book is fairly
uninteresting as it relates to how ancient Egyptian traditions really
worked. But there was, in one paragraph, something that struck my eye.
In discussing, I believe, the Tarot he says (and despite not remember- ing the title, I do remember the sentence) "The Tarot, of course,
originated from the Temple of Serapis in Naples, Italy." Well, here is
something specific. Now to find a picture or reference from another
source on a Temple of Serapis in Naples. Ancient Egypt did expand
their temples outside of Egypt, and had temples and sanctuaries in
Greece, Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and other plac-es. To make a long story longer, it took about five years before I
finally found a reference to the Temple of Serapis in Italy. The
reference referred to the excavation report done early in this cen-
tury; that the temple is now pretty much at water level, that the
illustrations on the wall were destroyed by WWII. That means that if
the Tarot came from a chance find, it would be in the excavation
report, if it came from illustrations on the walls, it would still be
in the report. A friend of mine was in Naples and took a picture of
the temple, and indeed, it was awash with water and the illustrations
were definitely not there. Was Bromage right? Did there exist a pre-
tarot illustrations in either wall form or chance papyrus? If true,
did it include the minor arcana as well? If only the major arcana,
what was it supposed to portray at that period of time? Perhaps the
path of the initiate as supposed today? And whose initiate; a Roman/- Egyptian one or an Egyptian one? Where indeed is the excavation rep-ort? It was printed in Italian, but is there illustrations or photos
of the illustrations? Is there a reference to cards or a papyrus or
manuscript? Are there English translations? How did the Tarot get from a 3-5th century ad temple to 13-14th century cards? We know that the Italians were interested in retrieving Greek and Roman statues and
works during that period; was that why and when the transition was
made? All of these things depended on finding the excavation report.
And if the report confirmed it, then did it mean that an even earlier
version existed in Egypt? Lo and behold this could take forever (like
this note is). But finally, voila! The French Institute of Archaeology
in Cairo found the report for me and sent me a translation of the
illustrations found on the wall. The report consisted of, among other
things not particularly germane here, of descriptions of the illustra-

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tions, and a statue standing in the entrance. There are 20 illustra-
tions that were on the wall prior to their destruction during WWII.

Assuming for a moment that Major Arcana card number 0, which is the fool and generally interpreted as the initiate starting out on his
journey, it would follow that, given the sequence of illustrations on
the temple's walls, that indeed the ) card would be the initiate of
Serapis.

Card One: Magician:
Found at the entrance to the temple, just inside, was a partially
damaged statue of the god Khnemu, and in front of him, an altar. The god Khnemu is the only god in ancient Egypt that is shown (and even at that, rarely), and applies in this case, with one hand pointed towards
the sky, the other towards the earth. Khnemu is the god of the Nile,
and since in the major arcana, water in the cards represents the flow of consciousness, it follows that the flow starts from Khnemu, the
Nile (at least for Egyptians it would). The ritual equipment would
have been placed on the altar.

Card II: High Priestess:

The first illustrations, the first one on the left side is of
Veiled Isis (also one of only two Egyptian goddesses ever shown veil- ed). The illustration was between two pillars, the lotus and a papyrus pillar, and in the illustration Isis is seated, holding a lotus. Crown
of sun and crescent moon.

Card III: Empress:

The second illustration again shows Isis, this time holding and
suckling the baby Horus. Crown of Isis, the throne, symbol of the
maternal power behind the throne, etc.

Card IV: Emperor:

The third illustration is of a Roman emperor in Egyptian garb,
holding the was and flail.

Card V: Hierophant:

The next illustration is of an Egyptian priest, dressed in the
leopards garb, making offerings to an altar.

Card VI: Lovers:

The next one is of the unification of Northern and Southern
Egypt. The intertwining of the lotus and sedge plant, two Hapi gods
(Showing both male and female traits). The Egyptian meaning is very similar to the card.

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Card VII: Chariot:

Shrine procession, with two sphinxes in front of the shrine,
being dragged by 4 anubian priests and 4 Horus priests (in a Temple of Serapis in Egypt, it actually is a chariot scene).

Card VIII: Strength:

The illustration is of the goddess Sekhmet, the Lioness goddess,
who is the Egyptian symbol of strength. The scene also has a priestess offering a symbol of her heart to her (which is done after the bal-
ance, weighting of the heart).

Card IX: Hermit or Sage:

The next illustration on the temple wall is of Imhotep, the prime
example of the perfect man or Sage/Priest, with a scroll in hand.

Card X: Wheel:

The illustration is of the 7 Hathors, long regarded as the 7
fates in ancient Egypt and part of the concept of time as regarding
man.

Card XI: Justice:

This illustration is a quite common one in ancient Egypt, the
Judgement scene, where the initiate or deceased is judged of his heart (actions, etc.) against truth.

Card XII: Hanged Man:

This illustration in the temple walls, although badly damaged,
does show Osiris, who you may remember, was martyred, cut into bits, put back together, etc., and who symbolizes resurrection.

Card XIII: Death or the Reaper:

This scene, also badly damaged, clearly shows the god Set (Lord
of Chaos and Disorder) with what looks like Anubis before him (the
Guardian of your soul, the Guide of the Initiate). The interpretation
works in well with our interpretation of the 13th card.

Card XIV: Temperance or Alchemist:

The illustration in the temple, damaged up to the waist of the
individuals, shows Horus and Set, which would mean in its broadest
sense, the tempering of one's bad traits with the good, the unifica-
tion from within.

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Card XV: Devil or Black Magician:

This illustration is a classic Egyptian one of the solar god Ra
fighting Apophis, with a lesser scene of priests offering. In Egyptian
initiations, this is the part of the Dweller of the Threshold, and the
attempted crossing.

Card XVI: Tower or Lightning:

The illustration is of two obelisks. Obelisks, you may remember,
always stood in front of the temple. Obelisks represented the first
ray of light striking the earth. It would symbolize here the initiate
passing the Dweller and now ready to enter the temple for final in-
itiation for the first time, like the light hitting the earth for the
first time, the transition is almost complete.

Card XVII: Star:

The goddess Seshat and a libation scene. Priestess with two
bowls, one of water, the other of earth in front of Seshat, a Bennu
bird in the water. Seshat has many attributes, but she has a star as a crown, the only one that does, and she is a consort of Thoth (god of
Ceremonial Magic) as well as being the goddess of Libraries and Sacred Knowledge. The initiate is about to, or is receiving his sacred know-
ledge about the world, himself, and of magic.

Card XVIII: Moon:

Top part of illustration only, of Khonsi, God of the Moon, and
possibly of Thoth, also a God of the Moon.

Card XIX: Sun:

Clear painting/carving of the sun god Ra. flanked by hawks (also
solar deities, Horus) and the sign of eternity. Perhaps at this point
the initiate, now at dawn, is led out (or the doors are opened to
reveal the morning sun) with the initiate now in the light (symbolic-
ally and realistically).

Card OO: Judgement:

Illustration scene of initiate, hand in hand with the god Thoth,
being led away from the Weighing of the Heart scene. His heart has
been found true and just, in balance.

Card XXI: World:

The last illustration is somewhat damaged but clear enough to
show the famous Nut, Geb, Shu scene. This scene is of the goddess of the Heavens, Nut, over the god of earth, Geb, with the god of space,
Shu, in between. This is the classic Egyptian motif of all the world,
heaven, earth and everything in between. The initiate is now one with ALL.

Now, although all of the above scenes are for initiates, this
could mean two things:

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1. This is a "storyboard" set of illustrations of one, albeit,
long and very involved type of initiation.

2. This is a "storyboard" set of illustrations of a series of
steps and initiations of any initiate of Serapis and could conceivably
take a lifetime to achieve.

It is important to note that this room does not have one illust-
ration of Serapis himself in it! He shows up on the outside of the
temple in illustrations! The excavation report concluded that this
room was either a special place of initiations or a special place of
worship. During the 10th-16th centuries, when the Europeans were
rediscovering Greek and Roman statues, books, etc., this temple could very well have been recovered and uncovered. In fact the illustrations were partially still open to view before the excavation! I have traced several temples of Serapis, and have been trying to get notes on their illustrations as well. Two temples of Serapis in Egypt, one during the
Greek/Ptolemaic period, and one of the 19th dynasty also show like
illustrations, getting more and more Egyptian as the temples got
older.

Did the Egyptians actually have tarot cards of the major arcana?
Not likely, as papyrus would be pretty much impossible to shuffle!!
But here is the initial result of my study, it took years to find this
material. Did the Temple of Serapis inspire the Italians to make the
Major Arcana of the Tarot? It certainly contained the elements and the interpretation! Perhaps Bromage, who is rarely right, was right about this one. Further studies on Serapis temples that I did seem to keep
the illustrations in order, but we do have a big gap between the
temple and the first known cards!

The tradition of Serapis starts from an early age, from the 1st
dynasty of about 3,100 bce with Seken-ka as the first master of the
tradition. In the XVIII dynasty Amenhotep enhanced the tradition, as did XIX dynastic Khawmwese, XXVI dynastic Amen-em-apt, XXXth dynastic
Nectanebus, the last native king of Egypt, who ordered the spread of Egyptian temples throughout the known world.

During the Roman period, Psoiphis and Chaeremon were leaders in the tradition.

We have possible other sources of the ancient origin of Tarot
including the ancient book, "78 Phases of Ra," the Book of Gates (it
has 21 gates).

There are temples of Serapis at Alexandria, Naples, Rome, Mem- phis. The nome state of Ament's capital was sacred to Serapis, called Apis, from the pre-Serapis tradition of Apis, from which Serapis is
derived. There is a temple of Serapis in northern Amant called He-t
sekha-hera.

There is a temple of Serapis at Pithom (the Bible mentions the
city); a cult center at Mendes, one at north Meteliles.

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