If the Tarots are the direct descendants of the occult images in the Temple of Thoth, as isconceded, it must also be acknowledged that then these cards each has a meaning or
intention worth studying, if only to discover their secret; and that if they are connected with
the ancient mysteries they represent human life in all its phases.
To wrest their secret from them has been the endeavor of many writers, some of whom have
learned their portent traditionally, others through careful historical investigation, while some
confess to inspiration without authority or support, but not one of these authors discovered
the important connection between the emblems on the cards and those representing Mercury
heraldically under his chief guises, although such a discovery would have been conclusive
proof that their surmises were correct and that cards were the survival of the cult of Mercury
and his predecessors.