BRIEF MEANINGS OF THE 22 TRUMPS ---------------------------------- EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK "THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN SYSTEM OF MAGIC" BY ISRAEL REGARDIE 0.Fool. Idea,thought,spirituality,that which endeavours to rise above the material.(That is if the subject which is enquire about be spiritual.)But if the divination be regarding a material event of ordinary life, this card is not good, and shows folly, stupidity, eccentricity,and even mania, unless with very good cards indeed. It is too ideal and unstable to be generally good in material things. 1. Magician or Juggler. Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, etc., always depending on its dignity. Sometimes occult wisdom. 2. High Priestess. Change, alteration, Increase and Decrease. Fluctuation whether for good or evil is again shown by cards connected with it.) Compare with Death and Moon. 3. Empress. Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, also luxury and sometimes dissipation, but only if with very evil cards. 4. Emperor. War, conquest, victory, strife, ambition. 5. Hierophant. Divine wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching. Differing from though resembling in some aspects The Magician, The Hermit, and The Lovers. Occult Wisdom. 6. The Lovers. Inspiration (passive and in some cases mediumistic, thus differing from that of the Hierophant and Magician and Hermit.) Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse. 7. The Chariot. Triumph. Victory. Health. Success though sometimes not stable and enduring. 8. Fortitude or Strength. (In former times and in other decks 8 Justice and 11 Fortitude were transposed.) Courage, Strength, Fortitude. Power not arrested as in the act of Judgement, but passing on to further action, sometimes obstinancy, etc. Compare with 11 Justice. 9. The Hermit. Wisdom sought for and obtained from above. Divine inspiration(but active as opposed to that of the Lovers.) In the mystical titles, this with the Hierophant and the Magician are the 3 Magi. 10. Wheel of Fortune. Good fortune and happiness (within bounds), but sometimes also a species of intoxication with success, if the cards near it bear this out. 11. Justice. Eternal Justice and Balance. Strength and Force, but arrested as in the act of Judgement. Compare with 8 - Fortitude. Also in combination with other cards, legal proceedings, a court of law, a trial at law, etc. 12. Hanged Man or Drowned Man. Enforced Sacrifice. Punishment, Loss. Fatal and not voluntary. Suffering generally. 13. Death. Time. Ages. Transformation. Change involuntary as opposed to The Moon. Sometimes Death and destruction, but rarely the latter, and the former only if it is borne out by the cards with it. Compare also with The High Priestess. 14. Temperance. Combination of forces. Realisation. Action(material). effect either for good or evil. 15. Devil. Materiality. Material Force. Material Temptation; sometimes obsession, especially if associated with the Lovers. 16. Tower. Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Compare with Emperor. In certain combinations, destruction, danger, fall, ruin. 17. Star. Hope, faith, unexpected help. But also sometimes dreaminess, decieved hope, etc. 18. Moon. Dissatisfaction, voluntary change(as opposed to Death). Error, lying, falsity, deception. (The whole according to whether the card is well or ill-dignified, and on which it much depends.) 19. Sun. Glory, Gain, Riches. Sometimes also arrogance. Display, Vanity, but only when with very evil cards. 20. Judgement. Final decision. Judgement. Sentence. Determination of a matter without appeal on its plane. 21. Universe. The matter itself. Synthesis. World. Kingdom. Usually denotes the actual subject of the question, and therefore depends entirely on the accompanying cards. For information on the Golden Dawn Write To: Falcon Press, 3660 N. 3rd St. Phoenix, Arizona. 85012 USA Or Call: (602) 246-3546 This document is a review of the book "The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic". For the sake of enlightening those who would not other wise know what type of material the book contains. This is simply a small part of the volume.