Art is card XIV of the Major Arcana in the Thoth Tarot. In a reading it speaks of alchemy, synthesis, temperance and integration. In the Golden Dawn system it corresponds to the Hebrew letter Samekh, path 25 of the Tree of Life between Tiphareth and Yesod, the element Fire and Sagittarius in astrology.
alchemy · synthesis · temperance · integration · aspiration
What does Art mean?
Find the right combination: the solution is born from fusing what seemed irreconcilable. Patience and a sense of measure are needed.
Everyday meaning
Balance, moderation, a successful combination of different elements. It points to creative solutions, healing and harmonisation.
Psychological meaning
The ability to integrate opposite parts of yourself into a new synthesis; creativity as a process of inner transformation.
Initiatic meaning
Path 25 from Tiphareth to Yesod, the letter Samekh (the prop, 60) and Sagittarius, the mutable fire of Jupiter: the arrow of aspiration rising along the central pillar. Here the alchemical work begun in the Lovers is accomplished.
The shadow side
Ill-dignified, it signals confused mixing, lukewarm compromise, wrong doses that spoil the work.
Art reversed
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading:
Elements that will not fuse, impatience, excess or lack; the alchemical process is interrupted before completion.
Art in love, work and spirit
In love
Integration, creative compromise, a mature union between different characters.
At work and career
Innovative solutions, a synthesis of different skills, well-calibrated projects.
In spiritual practice
Solve et coagula: the Work as a path of self-transformation.
Kabbalah, astrology and the Hebrew letter of Art
Samekh ס (60) · path 25: Tiphareth – Yesod · Fire · Sagittarius
Crowley on Art
Crowley renames Temperance 'Art': an androgynous figure, a fusion of the king and queen of the Lovers, pours fire and water into a cauldron, and the alchemical formula V.I.T.R.I.O.L. appears in the background.
Frequently asked questions
What does Art mean in the Thoth Tarot?
Find the right combination: the solution is born from fusing what seemed irreconcilable. Patience and a sense of measure are needed.
What does Art mean in love?
Integration, creative compromise, a mature union between different characters.
What does Art mean for work and career?
Innovative solutions, a synthesis of different skills, well-calibrated projects.
What does Art mean reversed?
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading: Elements that will not fuse, impatience, excess or lack; the alchemical process is interrupted before completion.
What are the Kabbalah and astrology correspondences of Art?
In the Golden Dawn system Art corresponds to the Hebrew letter Samekh, path 25 of the Tree of Life between Tiphareth and Yesod, the element Fire and Sagittarius in astrology.
