The Walk

Death in my new tarot, Pharos, is called The Walk. No, not for “a long walk off of a short pier”. It’s called the Walk as short for the Widow’s Walk.

The Widow’s Walk is the part of a lighthouse outside of the lantern, an enclosed catwalk from which wives could look out to sea during storms.

The skeleton figure suggests Isis, the widow of Osiris, god of the afterlife and rebirth. Osiris was killed by his brother Set, and his corpse was cut into fourteen pieces and thrown into the Nile. Isis searched out all the pieces except one. Thirteen pieces of Osiris were found, but there was one unfortunate loss: the phallus had been swallowed by a fish. The all important organ for life and procreation was missing.

Isis, with her sister Nepthys and with the help of Anubis, embalmed the parts remaining. Isis fashioned a new phallus from clay, and through magic,  they breathed new life into him long enough for Isis and Osiris to conceive the child Horus, avenger of his father.

The Hebrew letter for Death is Nun, meaning fish.

3 thoughts on “The Walk

  1. All these cards are amazing. Can’t say enough about your art and it would be really a loss for us if these do not become a deck. Hope you reconsider. I am not an esoteric expert, but love how you create your cards with a purpose an a deep meaning in all aspects. As usual, amazing job.

  2. Good heavens, but this is just such an evocative “poem” you’ve been creating. And you’re considering retiring it? I hope you will reconsider. There is an integrity to what you’re doing here that feels like a completely new take on the concept of a deck, tarot, oracle, or otherwise. I used the word poem above deliberately. This feels very different, Ms Meleen. But should it be that this bark you’ve been sailing has been only as preparation for your next project, I can only imagine what a wondrous project it will be.

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