Catharism and the Tarot
Introduction
Chapter 8 in Tarot Symbolism (O'Neill, 1986) considered the possible contribution of heretic sects to the design of the 15th century Tarot. Since 1986, academic interest in intellectual history in general and esoteric history in particular has produced an entire scholarly library on the late Medieval heretics. The abundance of new studies permits a re-examination of the question and leads to some rather different conclusions than were possible in the book.Interest in Catharism as a source of imagery arises because of the numerous symbols of dualism in the Tarot: pairs of pillars and pitchers, male/female duals, etc. Catharism, known as Albigensianism in southern France, was fundamentally a dualist heresy that inherited many concepts from the ancient Gnostics. Bayley (1912) hypothesized that the watermarks of French papermakers contained heretical symbols. Waite (1911) suggested the watermarks as a source of Tarot symbols, based on Bayley's 1909 paper "New Light on the Renaissance."
The idea of heretical origins for the Tarot still attracts attention because the Medieval heresies share two important traits with modern Tarotists. First, there is a rebellion against any authoritative imposition of dogma. Cathari and most Tarotists see self-development, spirituality, and mysticism as an individual and personal quest. Second, they both share a sense of the emergence of a new age of peace and fulfillment. This feeling of like-mindedness seems to reinforce the internal evidence for dualism in the symbols. Intuitively, heretical origins for the Tarot feels comfortable.
But history isn't about feelings; it's about evidence. So we must undertake an extensive examination of the historical evidence to examine the hypothesis that Catharism was a source for the Tarot symbols.
I owe a special debt of gratitude to my friend, Nina Lee Braden. Nina Lee was invaluable in editing draft chapters for this book and faithfully maintained it on her Moonstruck site for a number of years.
References
Bayley, H. 1912. The Lost Language of Symbolism. Williams and Norgate, London.O'Neill, R. V. 1986. Tarot Symbolism. Fairway Press, Lima, OH.
Waite, A. E. 1911. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Rider, London.
