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The Golden Dawn System

The design logic behind the Waite–Smith deck: the Tree of Life and the numbers, numerology, the astrology of the Majors and the decans of the numbered cards, each taught as one tradition among others.

By the end you will be able to

Explain why the numbered cards look as they do, using the Tree of Life.
Find the astrological correspondence of any card in the Golden Dawn system.
Work out birth cards and year cards.

4 lessons · about 58 min

Start the course

1The Tree of Life and the numbersIn the Golden Dawn system each number from Ace to Ten sits on one sphere of the Tree of Life. Learn the ten spheres and you can see why the numbered cards look as they do.14 min · Free preview
2Numerology and birth cardsAdd up the numbers of a birth date and you reach a Major Arcana card. Learn the number families that link Majors and numbered cards, and work out birth and year cards by hand.14 minPlus
3Astrology and the MajorsIn the Golden Dawn system every Major carries a Hebrew letter and an element, a planet or a sign. Learn the three groups and spot the astrology already drawn into the cards.15 minPlus
4Decans and the courtsIn the Golden Dawn system the cards from Two to Ten share out the zodiac in 36 slices of ten degrees, and the courts rule wider spans. Learn to read a card's decan and its Book T title.15 minPlus

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