Wirth's 1931 Introduction to the Study of the Tarot

No translator is listed for the English translation of Imagiers. I wondered whether Wirth himself might have done it, as he did do translations from German. I thought that perhaps another book of his in translation might tell me. In 1931 Wirth wrote a very short book called in English Introduction to the Study of the Tarot (Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, Northhamptonshire, 1981). The title page has on it "Translated from the French by Transcript". There is an introduction by Stuart Kaplan; it says nothing about the translator.

However at least for this book, the translator seems not to have been Wirth himself, because there are a couple of "Translator's note" footnotes. One comments on Wirth's quoting of an old proverb, that "the naked Truth lies hid at the bottom of a well, noting that "Oswald Wirth has combined two old proverbs here" (p. 14). Another (p. 15) comments on Wirth's remark that the 22 "philosophical keys...comprise a set that is quite distinct from the game of cards with which it is associated". The translator objects:

Wirth is perhaps a little too dismissive here. Papus and others have certainly attached great importance to this o-called 'game of cards' or the 'Minor Arcana' as some prefer to name them there. Contemplation of their design as preserved in the best packs can be quite instructive.

Here the translator reveals himself or herself to be a native speaker of French. The French "jeu de cartes" can be translated either as "game of cards" or "pack of cards". It is clear that the translator, at least, is talking about the "pack of cards" associated with the "Major Arcana". Wirth is probably also talking about the pack, but it is not as clear.

This translator uses the term "Popess" for Wirth's "Papesse", unlike the one of 1927.

I did not notice any differences between what Wirth said in 1927 and 1931. He says much less in 1931, of course, resulting in different emphases.

Kaplan states in his introduction that the 1966 cards were "reprinted" in 1966, not mentioning all the rather obvious differences. He is vague about whether Wirth considered the "minor arcana" as part of the pack (although he does mention that the whole 78 card pack is available for purchase from U.S. Games, his company). He lists some differences between the 1889 cards and the revised ones of 1927, which he says Guaita approved before his death. He says

For example, two of the three coins on The Magician's (1) table have been eliminated and the design on the remaining coin has been altered from a six-sided pentacle to a crossed line with four distinct points; The Popess (2) changes slightly the position she faces and the left arm of her throne now depicts a sphinx; the Empress (3) rests her foot on an inverted, instead of upright, quarter moon; The Emperor's (4) knee armour is removed, his upraised staff is more ornate, and the throne upon which he sits is turned so that one side faces the viewer; the figure of winged Cupid in The Lovers (6) card is no longer blindfolded; and the figure of Justice (8) wears a necklace of loosely interwoven chain instead of the metal links. Additionally, the lion in the Strength (11) card has a tithgl curled mane of hair instead of a wavy mane and the claws on his right front paw are extended as they grasp at the ground; the skeleton figure of Death (13) is shown with a smile and the decapitated heads on the ground are larger in size. The Devil (15) appears with a large pentagram on its forehenad; the original Tower (16) card with its sixteen falling bricks and sixteen falling wavy droplets is changed to show seven falling bricks and sixteen multi-coloured circles; and the World (21) card depicts a nude, female figure that is less attractive and detailed than the original version. Generally speaking, the revised version of Wirth's cards depicts figures with more attractive facial features and the overall artwork is more artistically executed.

He does not mention the change in color of one of the jugs in Temperance and the Star, nor the addition of the yin-yang symbol to the Popess's book.

All in all, the book is what Wirth says it is: an introduction to the study of the tarot (as he sees it, of course). It is not a distillation of his ideas, rather, it is enough to get you going, so you can make your own discoveries and you don't have to read the chapters of "Imagiers" in any kind of order, but can consult it as a reference and way of going deeper.

A large part of the book, or booklet, is a rewrite of chapter 2 of "Imagiers", which, frankly, was a hard nut to crack, and extremely dry and formalistic. "Introduction" goes over the same material, but this time using black and white pictures of the cards, reproduced not once but twice, in different configurations with other cards, instead of the abstract diagrams of "Imagiers", and uses the relationships to bring out various aspects of the cards' meaning. He leaves out some of the relationships of "Imagiers", but it doesn't matter. Then he goes over the 22 again in consecutive order, just once instead of 3 or 4 times as in the later chapters of "Imagiers". You really do get an introduction to the whole 22. But if you want a separate account of each card in detail, you have to go to "Imagiers".

After that he restates some of his ideas about divination with the cards in what I think is a more practical and down to earth way than in "Imagiers". It seems to me that there is less emphasis on magic here than in "Imagiers"; in fact, I couldn't find it mentioned. There are cautions "not to claim the ability to pick up every vibration", and "quack promises are unworthy of the serious diviner, who should keep his statements within reasonable bounds" (p. 51). He warns against being too precise; it is rather that the reading should be such that "the client can then help to sort out his impressions and find the road to a satisfactory solution", perhaps thereby avoiding a mistake he was on the point of making. And if nothing else, "The sensible client will accept what is said with caution and wait until the import of the reading suddenly becomes clear to him." This last inspires the translator to give a long footnote about the self-deceptions of those who interpreted in their favor the vague oracles of Delphi and later realized their errors. A more familiar example would be the sudden realizations of Macbeth about the true meanings of the witches' predictions. I am not sure this is what Wirth had in mind.

So it's a good book to have, especially at $3 plus postage for a book long out of print and not in libraries. I ordered the original French, to see if the translation is accurate (it, too, was cheap, well, 30 Euros, not bad for a book that in the one U.S. library listing it is confined to the "rare book" room). I'll let people know. I didn't notice anything odd in the English, like I did with "Imagiers".