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?
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.
Greetings,
While normally not one to quibble, two points need clarifying.
First, I’m the one who is being attributed with first finding the photos, but this is incorrect. I received digital copies of these from a friend. All information that I passed on to those to whom I gave further access to the photos received the same story that I did, so I’m not sure the “jumping to conclusions” comment is completely accurate.
Second, I agree with PT Barnum, really, and what is said about me isn’t really all that big a deal, but please, spell my name right.
On the other hand, I thank you for sorting out the picture (nice detective work), and showing that, in the end, the original claim is correct: the books in question are in fact on the desk in the picture. I also agree that on the whole, this is not so surprising, given the tone and tenor of the book. Regardless of its bias, it is still a great read.
ShLVM,
-Ed-
To Natasha and Govert,
FYI: If you lay a book published in America (or the UK) on the table front-cover up, spine facing you, the title on the spine will read from left-to-right and be right-side up. If you lay a book published in Germany (or Austria) on the table front-cover up, spine facing you, the title on the spine will read from right-to-left and be upside-down.
When searching through my bookshelves, I sometimes get whiplash.
ShLVM,
-Ed-