Trump Numbers
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Do what Thou Wilt.
What do the actual numbers of the 22 Trumps represent qabalistically or magically? Or do they have any hidden worth at all? I know Jim doesn't give much credit to dealing with these numbers gemetria wise (as in their adding together etc), but are they used symbolically for anything?
93
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Each of them corresponds to one of the cards in the major arcana, and all the things that correspond with that card. See Liber 777 for a full list.
Seriously though, there are little tidbits of symbolism here and there (for example, Trump XIII is "Death", and the number 13 has it's negative superstitious associations). But if there were really a cohesive system of correspondence, it wouldn't make much sense for it to have a completely different set of symbolism than the fundamental symbolism of the cards, would it?
I think if there is any additional symbolism, it would just reinforce the symbolism of the card itself.
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@Daegal said
"What do the actual numbers of the 22 Trumps represent qabalistically or magically? Or do they have any hidden worth at all? I know Jim doesn't give much credit to dealing with these numbers gemetria wise (as in their adding together etc), but are they used symbolically for anything?"
They primary powerhouse numerical values associated with each card are the numerical values of the Hebrew letters. The number of the Trump itself, though, is significant - but in a different sort of scale.
First, the Trump numbers show the sequence of the cards for the particular story told by the Trump series. This is quite distinctive from the issue of where they fall on the Tree, or the initiation saga - it's a separate alchemical programming sequence (so to speak) and the sequence is important.
Secondly, they form a kind of cross-code with the letter numbers. What this means will differ in each case. Some examples: There is value that the two numbers for The Hierophant are 5 and 6, inferring the 5=6 formula. The Emperor is both 4 and 90, giving different instruction on the square, angularity, etc. The early cards in particular (up through #9, except for #4 and #8) have a Trump number one off from the letter number, and this often has a mathematical 'dimensionality' to it (Fool: 1 point = 0 dimensions; Magus: 2 points = 1 dimension; etc.). These have to be examined individually as part of the message encoded in the cards by the original designers.