The Pythagorean Tarot

By John Opsopaus illustrated by Rho

a review by Solaris, CPTR

If you read using Elemental Dignities, you will enjoy this deck. You are probably wondering what influence Pythagoras had on the tarot? At one time, dice were used for divination. The resulting combination or their sum was used to consult a table of oracles. When playing cards were introduced into Europe from the Orient in the 14^th Century, the methods of dice divination were transferred to the cards. This deck is unique in that it uses authentic Pythagorean numerology for interpretation and that it uses the Ferrarese sequence - the oldest documented order of the tarot trumps. The Ferrarese order changes the Major arcana 7 Chariot to Temperance, 8 Strength to Victory (Chariot), 11 Justice to Time (Judgment), and 20 Judgment to Justice. The Fool remains 0 before the Magician. An example of Pythagorean numerology is the Magician -- based on the name “The Gracious God Hermes?” is calculated to be 1058, which breaks down into 8-5+0-1= 2. The Magician is related to dice divination by an article on his table, a ‘pyrgos’ tower used for tossing dice.

The deck is standard size, 78 cards, slick and glossy, and is in a box with its 470 page book. Inside the box is a useful cardboard insert that makes a box to hold the unwrapped cards. The cards’ backs are reversible and illustrated with Pythagorean symbols: the Tetractys - a triangular arrangement of dots, a pentagram, and a Y which represents body/mind/spirit. The artwork is done in colored pencils, with the persons either nude or in Greek attire.

The pips are illustrated with simple abstract swords, wands, cups and pentacles that represent their numerological and elemental interpretations. At the top of each card frame are three elemental glyphs according to Aristotelian doctrine: Fire/warm/dry, Air/moist/warm, Water/cool/moist, and Earth/dry/cool. They are numbered ace, deuce, trey, cater, sink, sice, sept, wheet, neuf and dix. The key words are interspersed in pages of Greek pantheon and history.

The Courts are illustrated with the personalities of the twelve Olympians and Hades, Persephone, Dionysus and Eros. Their interpretations are based on Pythagoras’ Quadrilateral -- four letters of the name for Jupiter - JOVE or LOVE.Although there seem to be many changes, this deck is compatible with the Rider Waite meanings. This book gives some of the best personalities descriptions for the courts which are easy to apply and remember when doing readings

Of the several spreads in the book, my favorite is the six card - Littera Pythagorea - for facing a choice between two options. This spread shows what will happen if you make a good decision as well as what could happen if you choose unwisely. I especially like that, throughout the chapters, the author gives miscellaneous tidbits about how to do things that enhance the tarot as well as explain the Pythagorean system. Opsopaus mentions keeping a tarot journal, phrasing and asking questions, attention to cards that fall out when shuffling, visualization techniques and tarot magic. Again, if you enjoy reading with elemental dignities, this is a wonderful deck to have. The courts personalities are clearly explained, and the deck overall is comparable to the Rider Waite Smith. Despite the rearranged Ferrarese order of the major arcana, the author says that you can put it back into the RWS order to suit your needs. The deck and book are a set and available through Llewellyn, ISBN1567184499.

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