Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental Magic
Geburah
Lévi describes Geburah as austerity made necessary by wisdom and goodwill, arguing that permitting evil can hinder good. The four fives express avenging justice in his Tarot verses, making severity part of the same numerical system as mercy.
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In the sources
Principal account
InterpretationLévi describes Geburah as austerity made necessary by wisdom and goodwill, arguing that permitting evil can hinder good.
Further detail
InterpretationThe four fives express avenging justice in his Tarot verses, making severity part of the same numerical system as mercy.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows Lévi’s argument in Waite’s English translation. The selected evidence concerns the definition and its Tarot correspondence in this particular text. The correspondences are attributed to this occult synthesis rather than presented as a universal account of every earlier tradition.
Original passages
Source 1
Transcendental Magic
Geburah. AusterityOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental Magic; active reader leaf 122
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0026-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0026-E001-P0122
- Original scan leaf
- 122
- Recorded leaf number
- 122
- Current Reader position
- 116
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Transcendental Magic
The four FivesOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental Magic; active reader leaf 127
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0026-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0026-E001-P0127
- Original scan leaf
- 127
- Recorded leaf number
- 127
- Current Reader position
- 121
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Continue exploring
Binah
Active Intelligence in Lévi’s symbolic scale, balanced by Wisdom and associated with the four Tarot threes.
Shared source pageChesed
Mercy in Lévi’s symbolic scale: benevolent strength expressed through the benefactions of the four Tarot fours.
Shared source pageChochmah
Wisdom in Lévi’s symbolic scale, represented by four rivers and associated with the Tarot’s numbered twos.
Shared source pageHod
Enduring accomplishment in Lévi’s symbolic scale, linking the triumph of mind over matter with the Tarot eights.