Pope John Paul II meditating on the Tarot?
April 24, 2008 by Govert
Another very intriguing addition to the perception of the possible esoteric interests of Pope John Paul II came from a friend of my Alpheus web site in the form of a set of photos, one of which shows the pope sitting behind his desk with a stack of books. The bottom two books are arguably the 2-volume set of “Die Grossen Arcana des Tarot,” which is the 1983 German edition of the French original and out of which sections were taken and published in English as “Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism.”
The book was anonymously written by the Catholic writer and ex-Anthroposophist Valentin Tomberg and was published in 1972 just before he died. The eminent esotericism scholar Antoine Faivre states that in
terms of content and reception it has to be positioned among the foremost books in Western esotericism published in the 20th century. (Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism, 112)
On closer inspection the images actually do not match up, for the books on the pope’s desk have the arrows on the spine of the book pointing north-east (if you position the book straight up), …
… while on the clear picture of the original book the arrows point north-west:
Different book? Initially I was skeptical to find such a book on the desk of the pope while being photographed for a prominent magazine. Maybe there just was some semblance and based on that the person who found the images, Ed Manhood, just jumped to the conclusion that the two books were identical. My solution to that little conundrum was to test whether it was possible that the picture of the pope at his desk was maybe a mirrored picture. To determine that possibility from the appearance of the titles is impossible, because they are not clear enough. To actually find out I focused on the question of whether the pope wears his wristwatch on his left or right wrist. On the photo it is clear he is wearing it on his right wrist. But is that the wrist he usually wears it? Apparently not. I found through Google Images at least three clear photos where he is wearing his watch on the left. And here is one:
Based on this I have to conclude that the 1988 Weltbild photo is a mirror image of the original. Therefore, if you ‘mirror’ the photo back, the arrow will go from pointing north-east to north-west …
… just as is the case on the spine on the clear photo (here turned 180 degrees to align them again), and the discrepancy is solved:
Therefore the original picture of the pope behind his desk was this:
Apparently the book landed on the pope’s desk as a gift from one of his Cardinals, the German Jesuit Hans Urs von Balthasar, who also had written its very laudatory foreword, which by itself is another startling addition to the emerging picture here of a Hermeticist-Catholic connection here.
A thinking, praying Christian of unmistakable purity reveals to us the symbols of Christian Hermeticism in its various levels of mysticism, gnosis and magic, taking in also the Cabbala and certain elements of astrology and alchemy. These symbols are summarised in the twenty-two so-called “Major Arcana” of the Tarot cards. By way of the Major Arcana the author seeks to lead meditatively into the deeper, all-embracing wisdom of the Catholic Mystery.
Firstly, it may be recalled that such an attempt is to be found nowhere in the history of philosophical, theological and Catholic thought.
And the connection is not secretive either. On the contrary. The American Cistercian monk and populizer of a practice named ‘centering prayer,’ Fr. Thomas Keating openly calls in a review for the book to become a fundamental Christian text.
With its firm grasp of tradition, its balance, wisdom, profundity, openness to truth, and comprehensive approach to reality, it deserves to be the basis of a course in spirituality in every Christian institution of higher learning and what would be even better, the point of departure and unifying vision of the whole curriculum.
Wow. What’s going on here? Specifically, my question would be: What are the possible spiritual-intellectual ways Wojtyla, Balthasar and Keating are relating to Tomberg’s book? Are they Hermeticist moles in the Vatican spreading esotericism amongst thinking Catholics? Or are they part of an agenda to subsume Hermeticism under Catholicism with possibly a sinister Jesuitical twist? Or are they ecumenical syncretists? Or are they a part, consciously or not, of a Mahatmic agenda to reform Catholicism along Occult lines? After all Blavatsky stated:
Like an immense boa-constrictor, Error, in every shape, encircles mankind, trying to smother in her deadly coils every aspiration towards truth and light. But Error is powerful only on the surface, prevented as she is by Occult Nature from going any deeper; for the same Occult Nature encircles the whole globe, in every direction, leaving not even the darkest corner unvisited. And, whether by phenomenon or miracle, by spirit-hook or bishop’s crook, Occultism must win the day, before the present era reaches “Sani’s (Saturn’s) triple septenary” of the Western Cycle in Europe, in other words—before the end of the twenty-first century “A.D.” (BCW XIV, p. 27)
Which of these possibilities might muster some proof? Is there anything in Tomberg’s text that might give a clue? I didn’t read the book, so I don’t know. Anybody?
Chris
Govert
Pablo
katinkaspiritual
latebrake
mitdyob
I don’t know - it’s not exactly revolutionary to have a 1970’s book in which the Roman Catholic Church develops an alternative version of Roman Catholicism. I mean - it was a sign of the times. That was also the time, if I’m not mistaken, that the Latin Mass was changed into a mass in the local language. It was also the time that Catholic Nuns and Monks investigated things like Zen Meditation. There’s a theosophically published book ‘Zen for Christians’ (or some such title) which is the result of similar explorations.
Also one of my personal favorite spiritual teachers, Anthony de Mello, was an Indian Jesuit priest who used Eastern spirituality in his version of Roman Catholicism.
Ratzinger’s theosophical interests did not stop the future pope from condemning de Mello’s work as non-catholic: CONCERNING THE WRITINGS OF
FATHER ANTHONY DE MELLO, SJ
I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, Govert, but this pope isn’t exactly the most liberal pope you can imagine. Sure, part of it’s just plain ignorance of how things work outside academic study, but partly it really does look like this is a devoted, classic Catholic and he may have those books on his desk - but does he read them to be able to defend against them, or because he’s inspired by them?
I mean - if we found an Alice Bailey book on John Algeo’s desk - we wouldn’t assume he actually felt inspired by them would we? I’d prefer to judge by his lectures and articles, not by the content of his library.
I am reading “Meditations on the Tarot” and have found it to be full of Christian (and specifically Catholic) references. The whole book really seems to take the idea of esoterism and wrap it in a Christian context. In this respect it is somewhat consistent with the idea that all spiritual power comes from God, and in fact if esoteric practices do not begin and end with the goal of becoming closer to God, according to this book they are at best useless and at worst evil.
I would speculate that any Christian who wishes to see beyond the exoteric Christian doctrine (which can tend to ring hollow for those who start asking serious questions about inconsistencies and literal impossibilities within the bible text) will end up on a search that leads them to the concepts in this book. It is no surprise to me that higher level members of the Catholic faith are on such a spiritual path. If you dedicate your life’s work to spiritual truth, eventually you are going to look deeper into the mysteries than your typical Sunday sermon or typical Bible study.
My opinion of Catholicism has always been one of strange fascination - the use of ritual and costume and Latin all strike me as being very esoteric in nature. The idea here is that the Catholic priests and the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic faith are schooled and practiced in esoteric ways that are simply accepted and commonplace within the church - but are only allowed within the context of a dedicated life in service to Christ. There is no denying that some of the ritual performed in a Catholic Mass is, when examined more deeply than from just a cursory participation as a church member) somewhat Gnostic in it’s origin. There are many Pagan elements that have been incorporated into it.
This book seems to take that line of thinking and goes very deeply into the underlying symbolism, using the Tarot as a guide. But, be assured that this book’s design is to tie it all back squarely to Catholicism and Christianity. Whether it is totally successful in doing so, I am not convinced. Early in Christian history (around 4th century A.D.) there was a massive attempt to sever any connection to esoteric or Gnostic thought from Roman Catholicism, even as many of their symbols and theology stemmed directly from these roots. However, those in high positions within the faith understood the underlying esoteric concepts were the true connection to union with God, a direct experience of the divine. As a result, there has been two faces of Catholicism - one exoteric, and one esoteric. The shell of the esoteric still exists in Catholic ritual, but most are not at all aware of it’s origins.
The public face of Catholicism has always condemned any line of spiritual thinking which allowed for a direct connection with the divine. This protected the church’s position as the only connection between God and man. However, within the depths of the church, there has always been the hidden knowledge of direct experience of the divine which has been carefully hidden from the uninitiated. I also believe that this is why Catholicism condemns Freemasonry, because within the walls of the Freemason’s temple you can discover this knowledge and divine experience without the intermediary of the Church. To do so undermines the Church’s power, therefore it is condemned, even to this day.
This book takes that esoteric knowledge and lays it squarely on the template of Catholicism again. However, it is unlikely that the Church would publicly condone such knowledge to the faith at large, for reasons mentioned above. But, it does not surprise me in the least that the book has a place on the Pope’s desk, or that a Bishop high up in the faith would recommend such a book to his peers.
I agree with Bill’s comments. I began this book last year and after one chapter decided I wanted to wait until I had a significant chunk of time to focus on it entirely. Its depth and comprehensiveness are simply astounding. As Bill confirms, it is firmly Catholic. Rather than causing skepticism, however, this led me to a greater appreciation of the true depth of Catholicism.
This work doesn’t seem to be forcing esotericism into a christian box. It is revealing the esoteric heart of an exoteric body. In that sense, it is probably one of the most profoundly theosophical books ever written.
In bears reminding that there is good reason for the divergence of esoteric and exoteric streams in religion. Religion primarily serves a social function, and anything negative associated with it is likely the shadow of something necessary (abuse of power is the shadow of the hierarchies that bring order, etc.). Esoteric theories and practices, until a point of critical mass of receptive and integrative capacity, would only disrupt such functions.
Now, whether those who support such esotericsm today are ‘Hermeticist moles in the Vatican spreading esotericism amongst thinking Catholics, part of an agenda to subsume Hermeticism under Catholicism with possibly a sinister Jesuitical twist, ecumenical syncretists, or part of a Mahatmic agenda to reform Catholicism along Occult lines’ are questions that will reveal more about the questioner than the sources.
For me the question is what are the transformative possibilities offered by an engagement with a close study of ‘Meditations on the Tarot’, and what are the similarities/differences between its teachings and those of classical theosophy?
Dear Bill V,
Thanks for your observations based on your direct experience in reading the Tomberg book. Quite interesting, especially the idea that in higher Catholic circles there is something of a hidden practice of experiencing the divine directly.
The argument that Tomberg is really deep down a Catholic–and not essentially an esotericist in a Catholic wrapping–might be strengthened by the idea that he apparently appropriated some of the meditation techniques of Ignatius Loyola. Here the possibly sinister Jesuit twist might get exposed, for Loyola and the Jesuits are truly the ‘betes noirs’ of Blavatsky, Steiner and Prophet with the Anthroposophists the most loud in denouncing Tomberg for being possibly a secret disciple of the Jesuits. This information I found in the recently published Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism (DGWE) in an entry written by the Antoine Faivre, one of its editors and obvious admirer of Tomberg.
As an aside, and to thicken the plot, Faivre himself is a French Catholic connected with CESNUR, a think tank or research institute headquartered in Italy and led by a group of very knowledgeable fundamentalist Catholics. The institute is well regarded internationally and specializes in the study of New Religious Movements and has some very good papers on its site (http://www.cesnur.org/). It was founded and is still headed by Massimo Introvigne, who also contributed to the DGWE. At the same time it is exposed as being run as an adjunct of the Alleanza Cattolica, a very militant, reactionary, fundamentalist Catholic organization by the Kelebek web site (http://www.kelebekler.com/index.html). Their critical page on CESNUR is headed by a quote from Introvigne: “This is why militants of Alleanza Cattolica, together with others, founded and still inspire CESNUR, the Center for the Study of New Religions.” According to Kelebek, Introvigne tried to shut down the Kelebek site, but fortunately failed.
So, again, the question is: What’s going on here? I have no problem with researchers having their own metaphysical convictions, but I like that they will come more explicitly into the open so we, consumers of their research, can gage where they are coming from. Therefore, when any of them try to intimidate those who inform the public about semi-secret allegiances will only attract more suspicion and approbrium. What high level spiritual-intellectual games are being played here?
Dear Katinka,
I know that Christians have shown interest in alternative spiritualities, but, to my mind, the conjunction of the Pope with the Tarot is still quite far-fetched, like Mao and the Bible or Bush and “Being and Time,” or Algeo in an official picture in the Chicago Tribune with a book by Elizabeth Clare Prophet on his desk. What kind of messages would those be? All leaders, by nature, are careful managers of the image they project. If they can prevent it, they will not be seen to be associated with something that can cause them trouble, unless there is an ulterior motive and plausible deniability. If you look again at the photograph it just looks like a too nicely arranged set-up. Makes me wonder whose statue it is next to his desk. Loyola? Bruno?
Conspiranoidly yours
Dear Chris,
Yes, my question about the possible ways this Pope-Tarot conjunction could be interpreted says indeed a lot about myself, as the esoteric parapolitical hermeneutics of suspicion is part and parcel of my overarching Theosophical paradigm. But, As Joscelyn Godwin notes, it might be inherent to occultism itself and not just be me:
“Conspiracy theory is anathema to the historian, but indispensable to the history of occultism. It is of the very essence of the occult world view that earthly events are not the result of material cause and effect alone, but that they are influenced by other levels of being. The occultist automatically seeks for a higher cause, both in the general happenings that change the course of world history, and in small happenings…”
If you combine this with Blavatsky’s exposure of the Jesuits in “Isis Unveiled,” you might get a sense that the art and science of esoteric parapolitical investigations will yield interesting, even actionable results. My take on this Pope-Tarot connection was merely a playful exercise.
For the serious stuff I invite you to the parapolitical section on Alpheus.
It actually does make sense that the picture is reversed. If you look at the book above the other two, you can notice it more has a right-side margin. That’s very uncommon because normally it’s left-sided. That’s just how most things are. Look at other books. Normally titles begin from left to right or in the center. Very rarely is it more toward the ride side. =]
I probably didn’t make much sense and for that I apologize. It’s 1 in the morning and I’m dead tired.
I’m just a Catholic tarot reader and found this very interesting! =]
Dear Natasha,
I think you’re right, most books have their titles aligned either to the left or centered.
Please, feel free to share your spiritual experiences as a Catholic Tarot reader and how, based on the above, you’d relate to John Paul II.