I’ve always loved learning about archeological discoveries. Imagine my surprise when I discovered an article on the discovery of a long thought lost Roman city, and saw this mosaic that immediately reminded me of the Tabula Mundi logo, a circled cross symbol of Earth and Malkuth. The first few articles said very little about this particular mosaic, as it was one of the smaller ones in an odd location of the much larger ones. After doing a little digging, I discovered more about what the archeologists think that it may represent.
At least 5 roman roads estimated to be from the beginning of the 1st century BC were excavated at the site, as well as many artifacts. One of the roads goes from east to west and crosses the entire site. It may be the Decumanus Maximus, or main road running from side to side or from gate to gate of a city or military encampment. Near this road and inside the large room where the main and much larger mosaics were discovered, this smaller but very unusual mosaic has been excavated. It is speculated that the circled cross design may indicate the Templum, or center of the town, considered a holy place. When Romans settled camps or towns, they used to draw two paths: a north-south path (Cardo Maximus), crossing an east-west path (Decumanus Maximus). The horizontal line of this mosaic is parallel to the east-west Roman road of this lost city.
Roman hypocaust surrounded by dolphins
Reading a little more about this site, I learned that the mosaics of this lost city were discovered in 2017, but that a part of the site had actually been found in 2013. This was the discovery of a hypocaust, a hollow space under the floor of an ancient Roman building, into which hot air was sent for heating a room or bath. It was surrounded at the four corners by four dolphins. Sadly, it was removed, probably stolen from the site by an unscrupulous subcontractor, probably to sell to someone very rich on the black market. Thus ever the tyrants.
After the 2013 discovery of the hypocaust, a second campaign of excavations was undertaken in 2017, when the beautiful mosaics were discovered. The other larger mosaics discovered at the site are equally enigmatic. The largest mosaic has a central motif that looks to me like a compass rose, though it only has 28 rays rather than 32. At the center, it looks like a sun glyph, surround by five red indeterminate shapes (a five petaled rose?), then the rays outside of that. At the four corners are four creatures. While this makes me think a little bit of the World/Universe card, the four creatures are not the kerubic beasts but rather an owl, a duck, an eagle and a fawn. Well, the eagle is there at least. The curving shapes at the outermost edges at the border are said to be stylized waves.
Matter and Spirit. Deconstructing the Court Cards and our solar year Part II of XVI The Descent and the Climb: The Queen of Disks
This is the story of the Devil and the Wheel, and the Devil and the Tower. But it starts with the Archer trying to launch the Universe. It’s a bit heavy.
The Queen of Disks rules over a part of the year that shows us both the peak and the nadir of the solar journey. This is Solstice time for Earth. In the Northern hemisphere, the dark night outnumbers the day light, the days growing shorter and shorter until the hinge of the year is reached at the Solstice. In the Southern hemisphere, the peak of summer is reached; but it is still a hinge point in the solar cycle. These hinges are placed at the start of the Cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn; the turning points of the year that herald the seasons.
When we see the Queen of Disks, we think of the sign Capricorn; the woman is wearing goat horns and there is both oasis, and the desert in the Rosetta Queen of Disk and the Thoth Queen of Disks versions of the card. Tabula Mundi Tarot’s Queen of Disk has dual mountains, the domain of the goat that climbs as well as descends, and does it all over again.
This is Persephone, but all grown up. The Princess has become the Queen. For Capricorn is the sign of aging, the story of solar years passing. Capricorn has the Devil as the associated Major card. This Queen, like Capricorn, has perseverance and ambition, and knows both the descent, and the climb. Persephone is now Demeter. Persephone’s name means “female thresher of grain” from the proto Greek and Sanskrit roots perso and parso, referring to a sheaf of grain, and connected to another Indo-European root for “to strike”. But it also may come from the Greek pherein phonon, “to bring (or cause) death”. Her descent into the underworld caused the lamentation of Demeter and the darkness of winter. In the North this is the death of the Sun’s light that warms the Earth, or in the Southern hemisphere this is the Sun that scorches the desert before the world begins to cool.
Yet Persephone rises, and grows into the Queen of Disks.
We can mirror this story looking at the three decans, and associated minor cards, in her domain. While she really has that Capricorn vibe on the surface, she starts, like all the courts, with her “shadow” decan preceding the sign. The shadow decan is each court’s blind spot. Hers is the last decan of Sagittarius, beginning around December 11th and ending around December 21st, when the Solstice point is reached and the Sun passes into the sign of Capricorn. When this Queen is not at her best, she can be a bit heavy handed, due her shadow card the Ten of Wands, seen in the Tabula Mundi Queen’s court crest represented by the crossed hammer and pick of oppression.
The last decan of Sagittarius is assigned the Ten of Wands, Oppression. The Archer vs. the Anvil. Whichever hemisphere you live in, conditions could get burdensome. Here in the Northern half the daylight is decreasing, and over these next ten days we will be counting down to rock bottom.The Sun rises late and sets early, and well before supper time all is in darkness. It really messes with people’s internal fire. At least in this area, sually the first snow that makes a mess that needs to be “dealt with”, falls around this time. New Englanders go out and huff and puff and move around the flakes into piles, shovelful by shovelfuls of the stuff, and though at times it looks fluffy, that schizz gets heavy.
In the Southern half of the planet maybe it is the heat that feels heavy. Either way, Christmas is in the very next decan, and unless you opt out and even if you joyously participate, there may be just a bit of work now required in preparation of that time ahead as well. Perhaps plans are being made and schedules are being squeezed, travels are arranged or dwellings are needing to be cleaned and things cooked. Or if one is out of that circus it may just be that it is going on all around you anyway, which can be depressing if you feel left out. In any event, lots of people will welcome when it is over with already. The Ten of Wands has Sagittarius, the last fire sign, in it’s last decan. The fire is preparing to shift, and it is wavering at this point, burdened by approaching earth. The card combines Sagittarian fire with the ruler of the decan, oppressive Saturn with the Universe card lending all its gravity.
On or around December 21st, the Sun shifts gears, spinning slowly on that hinge. Depending on your perspective it reaches its low point or its high point. In a solar horoscope chart, with Aries placed at the sunrise point, or on the ascendant cusp of the first house on the horizon line, then Capricorn falls at the top of the circle, at the zenith or midheaven. The Sun has traveled from Aries through the signs until it reaches Cancer at the bottom of the wheel back up through the horizon line at Libra and to the top of the chart at Capricorn. The low point of the Sun here in the Northern hemisphere is actually at the top of the solar chart.
So no matter where you are, it is a story of opposites and cycles: rises and falls, climbs and descents, sunrise and sunset, midnight and noon, darkness and light, deserts and oasises, death and growth. It is one reason why the Queen of Disks in Book T is described as best portrayed in profile, with one side of her face in the darkness, and one in the light.
After the last decan of Sagittarius, where the fire is almost put out but not quite, we get to the first decan of Capricorn, and the goat climbs, the Sun shifts towards light again.
The Wheel turns, and things change even if it is not always apparent. The card for this decan, the Two of Disks is indeed called the Lord of Change. This is the decan of the Devil and the Wheel. The days slowly begin to lengthen, or shorten. Something really has shifted. But we can’t really tell yet, as it has only just begun. It is still very dark out. There isn’t momentum but there is perseverance, and there is rising and falling, beginnings and endings, climbing and descent; all major characteristics of the Queen of Disks. The Two of Disks combines the sign of Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, with decan ruled by the planet Jupiter. Saturn is associated with restriction and compression, rules and boundaries, while Jupiter is associated with traveling outward, freedom, extension and enlargement. Contraction and expansion; it powers an engine or a pump. It’s that which builds a muscle. Mountains are climbed and descended and climbed and descended again. It keeps the solar year going and the solar gear moving and the wheel turning even if it is slowed down by grains of sand. We get through Christmas at least. Time passes, and things change throughout eternity.
All this sand has to go somewhere. Sand is actually like little building blocks, little bits of quartz. In the card for the next decan we see building blocks of matter; struck by lightning, the elements form. The Devil and the Tower. Things replicate and grow, bit by bit. The Three of Disks shows what happens when a spark from the Tower, as Mars, meets the middle decan of the Cardinal sign Capricorn, or the card of the Devil, the Lord of the Gates of Matter. This is the martial force applied to build corporeal substance. We move on from initial Change, and start to build Works. This Queen’s goal is building; she strives for this in one way or another, and is successful more often than not.
Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2014 The Devil – M.M. Meleen
So these three decans and the minor cards of the Queen of Disks speak a bit about this Queen’s past and future, as well as both her shadowed and lit natures. Her shadow card the Ten of Wands, shows the oppresive nature she may retreat to in times of strain as the fire sign she secretly harbors meets the Saturnine anvil. Persphone is tasked with bearing the burden of being the cause of death and darkness. The Sun darkens in the Northern hemisphere or scorches in the South. Persephone had to descend, but she rises again in the Queen of Disk’s middle decan, the first decan of the sign of Capricorn. Things change, what is contracted expands and vice versa. Persephone is released and the wheel of the year again turns. The maiden matures. Time passes, and in her last decan, which is the middle decan of the sign Capricorn, we see her fruition. Things are built as well as fall with the passage of time.
This is the first article of sixteen, on the sixteen tarot court cards of Tabula Mundi Tarot.
Seems like a weird place to begin, here nearing the end of the year. But the Knight of Wands is the first of the courts, and this is his season.
In this series we will deconstruct each of the courts, exploring the elements, signs, and ultimately the decans riding the wheel that make each avatar all it can be. We will explore the 36 decans through the 12 zodiacal signs of the courts Knight(King)/Queen/Prince, and the four elemental signs of the Princesses (Pages). The first is on the very first of the court cards, the Knight of Wands. Fire of Fire, Yod of Yod. The Yod of YHVH is fire, the spark of creation, and here in the first of the four worlds. It is like the very tip of the letter yod, the point from which the rest of the circle springs.
This is the story of the Archer and Hermes, and the Archer and the Moon, and it has as a shadow story Death and Demeter, foreshadowing what is next as well as what is behind.
Christmas is the Devil: Knight of Wands
The Knight of Wands. Why is he such a yod?
Christmas is the Devil. It really is! What does this have to do with the Knight of Wands? Well, he, and the Queen of Disks, actually have something in common, which is Christmas and the Devil. Though Christmas Day falls in the sign of Capricorn, “the devil is in the details” as they say, and all that makes it so is foreshadowed in Sagittarius season.
About November 21st, right around the time that people start having to think about the holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas (at least in the USA), the Sun passes into the sign of Sagittarius. The court card that comes to mind as most identified with the sign Sagittarius is the Knight of Wands. He is “Fire of Fire” and so of the fire element doubly; the fire of knighthood, and the fire of Wands, the world of Atziluth. He is the ultra mutable in that he is both the last fire sign and the last of the mutable signs (Pisces in Spring, Gemini in Summer, Virgo in Fall, Sagittarius in Winter).
Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2017 Art – M.M. Meleen
Sagittarius is the Archer, the third sign of the fire set; in the cycle of all the elemental sets through “begin, stabilize, change” it is change, or mutability. Cardinal signs initiate, fixed signs sustain, mutable signs let go for the ride into the next thing. The ship sails forth, the ship anchors, the ship sails away and the cycle begins again. In the wheel of the year, we have the cardinal sign Libra marking the place where summer ends and fall starts, and then the fixed sign Scorpio, as the Sun moves through the fall months of October and November and on into December.
When the Sun moves into the mutable sign Sagittarius, we are at the last third of November, a few days from Thanksgiving. We have recently passed through the last decan of Scorpio with the Seven of Cups and it’s illusionary pleasures, where we envision the feasts to come. Interesting that often that Seven of Cups (Debauch) comes up in association with the “after effects” of partying too hard, but in the wheel of the year it seems to be right before the party-hard season. This is the shadow side of the Knight of Wands, those fantasies that seem to go with dreaming big. Death and the Empress; Aphrodite goes Goth but it really doesn’t suit her.
Around November 21 the sun moves into the first decan of Sagittarius; time to look away from the will-o-the wisp. Party on dude, hurry up and catch that light wave, here comes Sagittarius. The Archer and Hermes make for a straight shot of pure speed.
The Eight of Wands, Swiftness. Swiftness? Thanksgiving, with the great big sleep inducing feast? Well, yes. From here on in we rush headlong into the end of the year, with all of the hyper speed of the holidays somehow taking up time. The year is running out. We meet up with friends and family and communicate, sometimes the dual bookends of Thanksgiving or Christmas are when you see people you don’t often see, until the next year. It’s the time of “Black Friday”, or now it is more accurately “Cyber month” shopping, when people are inclined or compelled or outright forced to shop, unless they opt completely out. Certainly your energy is flowing out swiftly and freely, if you are socializing, or shopping. Even if one manages to dodge those things, here in the north it is the time of approaching winter. If you live in a colder northern climate especially, you will know how fast winter arrives. Time moves fast, and it sure is mercurial and elusive.
It’s still “fall” technically speaking until December 21st, but the heavy coats and shoes have come out and been in rotation. You’d better get out there and trim back the giant vine that is overtaking your house, and pick up the garden tools, and tarps, and chairs, and random weird things out in the yard before they get buried in feet of snow and ice until April/ Or May. You don’t want to pick things up, or you do want to but you get busy, or both are true, and before you know it winter really feels like it is about to happen ANY SECOND NOW. You’ll probably be communicating a lot, and if you are observant, you may even pick up a genius idea, either from some outside contact or more likely, from the inner genius just picking something up on the airwaves in reverie. If you don’t pay attention and grab that thought though, it passes on by swiftly.
Following Swiftness, the 8 of Wands, we move into December, what most people think of as the month of Sagittarius, though it only has two of its decans. The beginning of December is the season of the 9 of Wands, Lord of Established Strength. The Archer and the Moon; Art in the pure flow of the Priestess. At the start of December we have moved into the middle decan of Sagittarius. Strength comes from flexibility. It helps to go with the flow, and not get rigid. The sap descends, but know that descent is in preparation to rise again renewed. In the north, it starts to really feel like winter. Often the first snow falls that is enough to cover the ground. These ten days contain the birthday of St. Nicholas, December 6th. God forbid you have a birthday now, or you are doomed to a lifetime of no cultural events except for “holiday craft fairs” and renditions of the Nutcracker suite and its ilk ever falling on your birthday. Good ol’ St. Nick. Is “St. Nick” the Christian saint, giver of gifts and protector of those in need? Or is St. Nick Santa Claus, giver of gifts to good children, or is St. Nick old Nick the Devil, Satan, the giver of the knowledge of good and evil? “Nick” is also one of the names of the devil, won’t you guess his name? The devil is in the details, and dyslexic devil worshippers worship Santa. It is actually not the worst time of year. This is when picturesque flakes of snow fly here; usually they are the kind that look “pretty” covering the tree branches and the ground for a day, then disappear. We are not yet lodged in our bunkers; we are moving.
If you were not aware of the approach of Christmas before, chances are it is noticeable now. It’s the next big thing in the cycle of the year before New Year’s Eve, even though we still have the last decan of Sagittarius to bear. In the last decan of Sagittarius, we meet the 10 of Wands, otherwise known as the Lord of Oppression. Past the fast flare of the Knight of Wands, we slam right into the reality of the Queen of Disks. It is a really difficult time of year she begins at. There is all the stress of the approaching holiday baggage and we are also approaching the darkest day of the year, the winter solstice at the end of the decan. While Sagittarius in sign, the 10 of Wands is the first of the decans of the Queen of Disks, who is usually associated with the approaching sign of Capricorn. She has though the last decan of Sagittarius as her shadow, her blind spot or where she retreats in times of stress.
Christmas day falls in the first decan of Capricorn, the middle decan of the queen and the sign we normally associate with the Queen of Disks. Capricorn, whose major arcana card is the Devil. That decan starts around Yule, December 21st, the darkest day of the year, and also the slow beginning of the climb towards light. But that is for next time. For now, we are here in the season of the fire knight, the rush of activity just before the hibernation and recuperation of winter. This will all be over before you know it, when reality kicks in and we can hunker down. But for now, we hurtle onward towards the penultimate marker of the year.
So back to the Knight of Wands. He, like all of the court cards we will encounter in this journey through the courts, shows visually in his depiction these three decans. In this card, he has the shield with emblems of the Seven of Cups, Debauch; Eight of Wands, Swiftness; and Nine of Wands, Strength. He takes us through mid November (last decan of Scorpio) through mid December (middle decan of Sagittarius). We are propelled by desire (7 of Cups, Venus/Scorpio), rushing swiftly (8 of Wands, Mercury/ Sagittarius) towards the darkness before the return of light (9 of Wands, Moon/Sagittarius).
We have to remember, this Knight of Wands card is the spark, the whole start of the cycle of the fairy tale of creation. All Knights are a beginning impulse. In his case, the arrow is shot and the target is the power to Will. All he does is toward that eventual end.
Next up, the last decan of Sagittarius, the shadow card of the Queen of Disks, our next court card in the series. It is the final slog until the light begins to increase again and we get to the Christmas holiday, Devil season, so that we can be through it and onward to the change of the year, when we can build anew.
Just so they are all in one place, here are the promotions and codes active for the 2017 holiday season at www.tarotcart.com.
These are to celebrate both decks having an anniversary, to help out with the holiday season, and because I like to give gifts out, especially around my birthday. But also I feel like “Shit I must put out a few specials, because, that is what is customary at this time of year.” It is a way to give and to get something in return. This time of year is all about energy exchange, which is part of the season that will be explored in the next post.
There are coupon code specials now listed at the stores, both shop.rosettatarot.com and http://www.tarotcart.com/, different than these and some better than these for the holidays, but rather than discount codes, here there are additional things only those who go to this site see, like freebies via comments when ordering.
ACTIVE FREEBIES AND PROMOTIONS AT TAROT CART UNTIL DEC 21st 2017 or while supplies last:
For these FREE things, just mention the right words in the comment field with the related purchase, and get the gift!
Celebrate Tabula Mundi’s first anniversary as of Oct 18th and YOU get a gift! For a first anniversary the traditional gift is paper. So for Colores Arcus edition’s 1 Year anniversary, if you say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY in the comment field when you order Tabula Mundi, you will get a set of all four Aces with silver foil borders to upgrade the Aces in your deck. And I’ll gift wrap the deck in fancy matching papers and a shiny symbol seal too! Offer good until Dec 21st or while supplies last.
Celebrate Rosetta’s sixth anniversary as of November 2nd and YOU get a gift! For the 6th anniversary the traditional gift is either candy or wood. So for Rosetta’s 6th anniversary, if you order a Rosetta Papyrus or Papyrus Gold edition and say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY in the comment field when you order, you will get an Organic, Fair Trade, Vegan, Dark Chocolate Rose flavored with Rose and Cardamom – and I’ll gift wrap the order too in matching papers and a shiny rose seal, because um, paper is made of wood. Offer good until Dec 21st or while supplies last.
My birthday is St Nick’s Day. Want a free satin bag from good ol’ Nick for your deck? Say HAPPY BIRTHDAYin the comment field when you order any FULL SIZE deck, either Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus or full size Rosetta and get a red satin drawstring bag free. While supplies last only!
Also here are some gifts of the Magi for the Yuletide season through 12/21/17:
Buy Rosetta Papyrus Gold and get Rosetta Papyrus half price; code GOLD
If you got this weeks newsletter, read no further as you already know this. Just figured I’d put it up here to get back in the habit of posting to the blog. It has been so long, that the well needs priming. Plus maybe some will see it here first, who knows?
This week we are between two anniversaries. Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus was published one year ago last week, and this week in 2016 the first copies were arriving at new homes. Next week, Rosetta Tarot has it’s sixth anniversary! Has it been so long?
Remember this video?
When the decks have anniversaries, they give gifts to you!
1st Anniversary: We Happy?
For a first anniversary the traditional gift is paper. So for Colores Arcus edition’s 1 Year anniversary, if you say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY when you order, you will get a set of all four Aces with silver foil borders to upgrade the Aces in your deck. And I’ll gift wrap the deck in fancy papers too! Offer good until Dec 21st. Books or deck/book sets are still $5 off with code NEWBOOKM too. Happy 1 year anniversary!
6th Anniversary: Sweet!
For the 6th anniversary the traditional gift is either candy or wood. So for Rosetta’s 6th anniversary, if you order a Rosetta Papyrus or Papyrus Gold edition and say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY when you order, you will get an Organic, Fair Trade, Vegan, Dark Chocolate Rose flavored with Rose and Cardamom – and I’ll gift wrap the order too, because um, paper is made of wood. Offer good until Dec 21st. Books or sets are still $5 off with code 5SESHET too. Sweet gift!
Fortune’s Wheelhouse penultimate episode?
So the specials out of the way, what else is going on? The Fortune’s Wheelhouse podcast is on episode XX this week, for the Judgement/Aeon card. It’s the next to last one of the Majors! The podcast is free at all pod places like iTunes and Stitcher, but subscribers to our Patron channel get entered to win prizes every week! It is a good time to subscribe, because this week, there are THREE prizes so three Patrons will win something. Plus we are so close to meeting the goal to do all the Minors too, so please consider subscribing if you enjoy the show!
Other news:
So the promotional stuff out of the way, what else is happening in MM land? Slowly working on paintings for a new deck. Yes, I will share them here soon!
If you have been procrastinating and haven’t yet bought Book M: Liber Mundi, well, procrastinating paid off. I had to get a few more printed and so this time, added some color inserts, just like in the Book of Seshet! So for the same price, now there are color pages. What’s more, the covers are now much better! I was never happy with the old covers, as they had some printing flaws and overall just showed wear and tear and fingerprints far too easy. This new printing has glossy laminated covers, nearly indestructible compared to the old version. So if your old copy is getting dog-eared, there is a better one available! For a limited time you can use coupon code NEWBOOKM for $5 off the new printing. And if you just love a bargain, I’m selling off the remaining copies of the old version, without the color insert at half price, while they last.
Solstice was yesterday, June 21 – summer solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. To me, this Solstice, of the four quarters of the year, represents Ahathoor in triumph. Liber Resh is my favorite Thelemic practice, and the salutation to Hathor at noon might be my favorite of the four (probably because I am not up at sunrise very often).
Hail unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy triumphing,
even unto Thee who art Ahathoor in Thy
beauty, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy
bark at the Mid-course of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow,
and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Morning!
Hathor is one of ancient Egypt’s greatest and most important goddesses and thus she has so many attributions. A beautiful and resplendent goddess, she was sometimes considered either the mother or wife of Horus as her name was often written as “the House of Horus”. She was a sky goddess, the sky where the falcon (Horus) lived or the house where he was born. Like Nuit, she was a personification of the heavens. She also was sometimes called the wife, consort, or daughter of Re (Ra), and was considered his “eye”. Thus her crown is the solar disk between two horns. She was called the Golden One, and accompanied Re daily in the solar barque. Her role as the “Eye” was to preserve him and enable his daily rebirth with the Sun.
In addition to being portrayed as a very beautiful woman, she also was sometimes shown with the head of a cow. Kings were called “sons of Hathor”. In this way she acted as a royal nurse, symbolically nurturing and suckling the royal births, as well as the Divine Horus child. Isis was also sometimes considered the mother of Horus, as these two goddesses may have been aspects of one.
Priestess from Rosetta tarot, original painting next to Papyrus edition and first edition printings
Ahathor was known as “the beautiful one”, supreme goddess of both female sexuality and motherhood. The Greeks associated her with Aphrodite. Yet she was also associated with the afterlife, performing the role for women to “become Hathor” in the same way men became Osiris. In addition to being a very sexual goddess, she was the goddess of joy itself, and to her was assigned pleasure, music, and alcoholic beverages.
In the Tarot, Hathor can be mostly associated with the Empress, for her Venusian roles and influences. Yet she has a bit of the Priestess as well, which makes sense as Isis-Hathor is a similar archetypal relationship to the transition from Priestess to Empress.
Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2014 The Priestess – M.M. MeleenTabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2014 The Empress – M.M. Meleen
What’s all this then? That’s right, it is a podcast about esoteric symbolism in the tarot. My friend and fellow tarot nerd asked me if I would cohost a podcast in which we dissect the esoteric meanings embedded in each of the Major Arcana, comparing the Waite Smith card to the Thoth Tarot card.
Though I am super introverted and will mangle words constantly, I thought that would be fun so I said yes, and today the first two episodes of Fortune’s Wheelhouse are live: episode 0, The Fool, and episode I, the Magus! They are FREE for anyone to listen to on any of the usual podcast services. There are graphics provided on our Patreon page, where you can choose to subscribe and support our work. You can listen for free, but if you subscribe extra content is unlocked and you can be entered in our weekly giveaways, as starting with episode II we will be offering all sorts of cool tarot and esoteric stuff for someone to win each episode if all goes well! Stuff like decks and books and tarot cases and esoterically correct perfumes and prints and a few surprise items!
We are committed to doing all 22 Majors but if we meet our subscription goal we will commit to doing all 78 cards and possibly beyond into other decks or topics.
Let me tell you a little about the name Fortune’s Wheelhouse. I’m a Sagittarius and my friend Susie is a Virgo. So we took the tarot card name for the card of Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius (Wheel of Fortune) and merged with the name of the Hebrew letter for Mercury, ruler of Virgo (Bet, meaning house which is the tarot card Magus). And since we are both complete tarot and esoterica obsessed geeks, we figured it was right in our wheelhouse! We hope it is in yours too.
Whatever your level of expertise you are sure to learn something as we dig up all sorts of hidden things in the cards. If you want to learn about astrology or the Tree of Life in relation to tarot this is a fun way. There is a lot of explanatory and educational content unlocked for subscribers too. You will have a laugh along with us as we sometimes take an irreverent look at things.
You already know me, well sort of anyway! So let me introduce my friend and fellow tarotista T. Susan Chang. She has a tarot correspondences book coming out this fall with Llewellyn, and makes the most gorgeous structured brocade custom tarot cases you ever saw, as well as esoterically formulated perfumes for each sign of the zodiac!
So listen for free and if you like it, please share it – and if you really like it, consider subscribing at our Patreon page so that we can continue and do the Minors as well as the Majors. If nothing else have a look at the free content there. We really hope to do those minors as there is so much there to unravel, and we are having a lot of fun. But it is also a lot of work and there are related expenses to cover, so please consider it if you can, with our thanks, and get a lot of extra content and a chance to win some very cool stuff!
The first two episodes, episode 0, Fool and episode I, Magus, are up now, and episode II, Priestess, will go up on Thursday the 22nd (Wednesday for subscribers). After that, it will be every week on those days.
In other news, check out the new “Artist Advice” column at the Queen’s Sword Tarot reviews site where I was asked to write the first column. She also recently did a review of the Book of Seshet and another review of the new Rosetta Papyrus edition. So if you are wondering if either of these is right for you, you can read an unbiased opinion of the pros and cons there.
Between Heaven and Earth: a deeper look at the esoteric meaning of Tarot’s Princesses .
Eastern philosophy describes the human being as standing “between Heaven and Earth” and sees the human body as a conduit of the qi of Heaven, poised between the above and the below, and surrounded by the four directions. The Dao, or the Way, was the original substance of Heaven, and Daoist masters regarded returning to Heaven as a prerequisite for unity with Dao: “Humans follow the way of Earth; Earth follows the way of Heaven; Heaven follows Dao, and Dao follows its own nature” (Laozi, chapter 25) The Tarot Princesses also occupy a unique position of the court cosmology, standing firmly by themselves, between Heaven and Earth, and representing our nature and our goal as humans more fully than any other card. They embody the axis mundi, the center of the world or pillar of the world tree, connecting the higher and lower realms. This axis mundi is also referred to as the world’s navel or omphalos, the central point of the world’s beginning. On the Tree of Life, the Princesses stand in Malkuth, the sphere of Earth where all spiritual journeys begin, leading up the path of the Universe seeking Kether.
Like all court cards, the Princess cards of the tarot can represent people, either those we come in contact with, or aspects of ourselves conscious or unconscious, or they can refer to a situation. As people, they are elemental types, dynamic and whole unto themselves, those who are often described as “a force of nature”. They are often relegated to the status of youth, or of messenger.
The Tarot Princesses are far more than just youthful messengers, but are often not given much attention. These may be the most misunderstood cards of the tarot court, and of the entire deck. Seemingly low ranked and inconsequential, these cards are among the most interesting and compelling of the pack. Of the four types of court cards, each represents the fourfold division of the element. The Princesses are each aspects of Earth; Earth as Fire, Earth as Water, Earth as Air, and lastly Earth as Earth. Esoterically they are simultaneously both low and high, as they are the most powerful worldly expression of their element and the youngest member of the court cards of the element. When dignified they contain the force of the Knight/King, the form of the Queen, and the power and beauty of the Prince, thus embodying all of the gifts of the celestial powers while standing firmly as themselves. Woe unto whomsoever shall make war upon her when she is thus firmly established!
Sometimes they are referred to as “Knaves” to indicate their lowly status. A knave is defined in the archaic sense as “a servant, or one of humble position”, and in the modern sense as an unprincipled person. Some decks refer to these cards as “Pages”. A page is also defined as a servant or youthful attendant, though a bit better in the sense that often they are serving in preparation for being trained for Knighthood. But these terms dilute and obscure their rightful power as the Daughter, and the Bride, whose destiny is that of Queen of the realm. The following excerpt from Book M: Liber Mundi illustrates the family saga:
“Once there was a Knight who rode forth swiftly, and met a great Queen. They united in marriage, temporarily becoming one. The Knight in his passion shot forth his seed, and then slept. The Queen, receiving this seed, became reflective, for she had conceived. She was delivered of twins, the Prince and the Princess. The Prince was seen as having the best qualities of his two parents, and was thus given the greatest and most central part of their Kingdom to rule. The Princess however was most misunderstood, and was banished; exiled to the lowest part of the world. The Prince never forgot her, and longed to be reunited. The Princess however, being so far from home, forgot who she was and slept for a long time. One day, she woke, and discovered that the Prince remembered and longed for her and had ridden forth to meet her. They were united in marriage, becoming the new King and Queen. The King shot forth his seed, and then slept…
This is the story of how the Princess “awakens the Eld of the All-Father” or the Yod of the Old King. “Eld” is an archaic term for an age of the world, olden days, and for old age. Thus the Princess is the created thing and holds the key to the renewal of the cycle, in which one world proceeds to the next.
The Knights are the Father, and correspond to the Yod of the fourfold name, and the element of Fire. Their force is that of will; swift, inflaming, and initiating. Thus they are portrayed upon horseback, in full armor. On the Tree of Life they correspond to Chokmah, though as the Yod, they begin in Kether though they are not conscious of it. They are the first motion, and first force; the line that extends from the point, and the thrust of the first phallus. They are masculine and potent, but their male force is transient, expending itself quickly.
The Queens are the Mother, primal Hé of the divine name, and the element of Water. As the givers of form to the force initiated by the Knights, they are steady and receptive; abiding and reflecting. They incubate and gestate the seed, ordering and regulating what the Knight has started. Thus they are shown seated upon thrones, reflective and considering, and also armored. On the Tree of Life they correspond to Binah. They are counterpart to the Knight and exist as part of the Supernal triad above the Abyss.
The Princes are the Son born of the love of his Supernal parents, the combination of Fire and Water yielding the intellectual element of Air. The Knight’s first urge and the Queen’s receptivity to his advances has resulted in the birth of the Prince, the Vau of the fourfold name. On the Tree of Life they correspond to Tiphareth, and provide a connection through which we can contact divinity. The Princes are the Holy Guardian Angel that we, as the Princesses, must unite with. As the heir of the Supernals, the opposing parental influences of force and form have here reached equilibrium. The main decanic cards of the Prince are also those of opposing forces, either side of two extremes. He inherits some of the swiftness of his father, though less transient, combined with the endurance of his mother, though more yielding. Thus the Princes are shown armored and borne upon chariots, being both rapid and enthroned. The power of the Prince is only valid if founded on and responsive to the two opposing forces within him. The Princes, as the Kerubic signs, are also carrying the powers of the four Royal Stars in four directions. They bring them to the Princesses, who must awaken and unite with the Prince in order to wield them.
The Princesses are the most enigmatic and yet most important of the courts; for they are us. They reside in Malkuth on the Tree of Life. The Princesses are the Daughter, the Hé final of the divine name, and the element of Earth, which holds within it the three other elements combined. They consolidate and materialize the three preceding forces. The Princess is permanent and yet volatile, stable and yet erratic. Liber Theta calls her “an inertia of irresistible momentum”; such an enigmatic, evocative, and beautiful phrasing. Crowley says they show the materialization of the element, yet also the re-absorption of the Energy, and “they are thus at the same time permanent and nonexistent. An audit of the equation 0=2.” Thus the Princesses are portrayed as Amazons, and stand firmly of themselves, wearing little armor. The power of the Princesses must come from the harnessed forces of the others. If she is manifest as the Daughter of Chokmah (Will) and Binah (Love) and betrothed to Tiphareth (Beauty) then the temple has been rightly built and she is the Throne for the Force of Spirit, and a mighty material force. “Woe unto whomsoever shall make war upon her, when thus firmly established!” While they have no zodiacal attribution, they represent, according to Crowley, those powerful and compelling “elemental people whom we recognize by their lack of all sense of responsibility”. The Sphinx is associated with Malkuth, and to the Princesses are assigned the four powers of the Sphinx: Velle, Audere, Sciere, Tacere. To wield the powers they must awaken and symbolically join with the Princes.” (end of excerpt from Book M)
Thus the Prince’s function: “marriage” to the Princess, or where we as humans, the sleeping Princesses of fairy tales, wake up and connect with our divine Will and contact our beloved HGA. The Prince as the carrier of the force of his Father and the form of his Mother, carries the elemental power to the Princess. Only instilled in her is the power rightly wielded, as within her the three primary elements are alchemically combined as in an alembic, and brought to fruition. Yet the story is full of confusions and contradictions, as all things that attempt to describe any cycle involving the Supernals. In the Book of Thoth, Crowley writes: “The relations between these Four Elements of the Name are extraordinarily complex, quite beyond the limits of any ordinary treatise to discuss; they change with every application of thought to their meaning. For instance, no sooner has the Princess made her appearance than the Prince wins her in marriage, and she is set upon the throne of her Mother. She thus awakens the Eld of the original old King; who thereupon becomes a young Knight, and so renews the cycle. The Princess is not only the perfect Maiden, but, owing to the death of the Prince, the forsaken and lamenting Widow. All this occurs in the legends characteristic of the Aeon of Osiris. It is hardly possible definitely to disentangle these complications, but for the student it is sufficient if he will be content to work with one legend at a time.” The Princess is destined to become the Queen of Queens, set upon the throne of the Mother, or crossing the Abyss to the great sea of Binah. This archetypal story mirrors our highest human potential.
Tabula Mundi Tarot: Colores Arcus Aces and Princesses as Thrones of the Ace
In Book T, the Golden Dawn also refers to the Princess as the “Throne of the Ace”. In describing the spheres of influence of the court cards, the text states that “the Princesses rule the Four Parts of the Celestial Heavens which lie around the north Pole, and above the respective Cherubic Signs of the Zodiac, and they form the Thrones of the Powers of the Four Aces. The twelve cards, the Four Kings, Queens and Princes rule the dominion of the Celestial Heavens, between the realm of the Four Princesses and the Zodiac, as is hereafter shewn. And they, as it were, link together the signs.”
If one pictures this division of “the Four Parts of the Celestial Heavens which lie around the north Pole” showing the Princess’ domain, the glyph of Malkuth and the astronomical symbol for the Earth is revealed: the quartered circle. This is also a glyph or map of the astrology chart itself, with the axis of ascendant/descendant and MC/IC defined. The Princesses, unlike the other tarot courts who each have three minor cards (two decans from their principal sign, and one from their shadow decan), each encompass a full quarter of the decans, and three entire astrological signs: the fixed or kerubic sign of their element, plus the two surrounding it. Thus the four Princesses together encompass the whole zodiac, or the entirety of the Universe. It is not a coincidence that the figure on the Universe card is depicted as a Maiden.
From Book M: Liber Mundi: “The sign that each court is attributed is chosen so that the three Gunas are in balance. The three Gunas (Rajas, Sattva, Tamas) are components or divisions of Prakriti, Sanskrit for Nature. Prakriti corresponds to the Princesses. The Knights, which are Cardinal, Sulfuric, and Rajasic in nature, pick up the last ten degrees of a Fixed sign and are assigned the first twenty degrees of a Mutable sign. The Queens, which are Fixed, Salty, and Tamasic in nature, pick up the last ten degrees of a Mutable sign and are assigned the first twenty degrees of a Cardinal sign. The Princes, which are Mutable, Mercurial, and Sattvic in nature, pick up the last ten degrees of a Cardinal sign and are assigned the first twenty degrees of a Fixed sign.
As we can deduce, the natures of each court are determined by the three decans of which the card is composed. Study of the minor arcana card for each of the three decans will yield much about their attributes. Some astrological knowledge will enhance your understanding of the courts, though even contemplation of the trumps associated with the astrological signs would be sufficient.
As mentioned, the three Gunas of Rajas, Sattva, and Tamas are divisions of Prakriti, Sanskrit for Nature. Prakriti corresponds to the Princesses. Therefore each Princess rules one-fourth of the zodiac, or a quarter of the heavens around the North Pole, centered above the Kerubic (Fixed) signs. Where the other court cards oversee a sector of the year and thus rule a section of Time, the Princesses rule a sector of Space. The Princess of Wands for example, rules the 90° segment of the zodiac centered over the Kerubic fire sign Leo. As we mentioned earlier, the Aces being the Point or hub of the Zodiacal Wheel, the Aces are the pole. Thus the Princesses form the thrones of power of the four Aces. The Princesses as thrones of the Aces contain the courts and suits just as the Aces contain their suit and courts. This description of the Princesses as “thrones of the Aces” reminds us that they are the ultimate receptacle for all of the potential of the suit inherent in the Ace, and that through them, the lowest world of Malkuth is connected to the highest world of Kether. They are our inborn potential.” (end of excerpt from Book M)
By Oluf Bagge – From Northern Antiquities, Public Domain
If the uppermost tip of the Yod in YHVH is Kether or the Ace, the Princess is the container below that holds it all as the final Hé and Malkuth. It is after all said that “Kether is in Malkuth, after another fashion”. Even looking at a diagram of the Tree of Life, one can see that Malkuth (the Princesses) hold up the entire tree, with Kether (the Aces) at the top of it. Yet this tree is upside down, for Kether is the root and Malkuth is the fruit – which contains the seed wherein the cycle is renewed.
So the Princesses, as Malkuth, have a special relationship with Kether and the Aces, and a relationship with Binah the Mother as the Princess ascends the throne to become Queen, and a relationship or duty with Chokmah, the Father and the Knight whose “eld” is awakened. She connects to all of the Supernal trinity of “Heaven” and also the solar center of Tipareth through union with the Prince, and yet is firmly planted on Earth. Between Heaven and Earth she stands.
But besides the global map of the Universe showing the Princesses as four quarters of the heavens around the north pole, what else is meant by her being the “throne of the Ace”? If one sees the Ace or first card of the suit as the “root of the element”, then the Princess as the last card is the final recipient of that which is inherent within it, or the flower and fruit of the plant that began in the root. Indeed, all four Princesses are described as flowers in Book T. Each of them has a title bestowed upon them proclaiming them either a “rose” or a “lotus” of their elemental Palace:
The Princess of Wands: The Rose of the Palace of Fire
The Princess of Cups: The Lotus of the Palace of the Floods
The Princess of Swords: The Lotus of the Palace of Air
The Princess of Disks: The Rose of the Palace of Earth
The red rose and the white lotus hint at alchemical processes, usually shown by roses either red or white. Roses and lotuses call to mind the roses and lilies often seen symbolically in Tarot such as on the Waite Smith Magician, who also in a sense is a conduit of the above and below. In the biblical Song of Songs 2:1 the bridegroom states “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” There are parallels between the rose in Western culture and the lotus in Eastern culture. In both cases their unfolding is a symbol of the soul’s evolution, of internal processes and potentialities of being. Like the Princess they symbolize the secret center which is at once a beginning and a perfection and completion. They also can symbolize a mandala of the directions, a compass once again bringing to mind the Princesses on the celestial map.
What of the term “throne”, as in “throne of the Ace”? A throne is a seat of power. We normally think of it as an elaborate chair, the ceremonial seat of a ruler. We could visualize the Ace as being held in the lap of the Princess, much as Kether is held up by Malkuth in a sense. But the word throne also refers to the authority and power of the sovereign office itself, as in “to address one’s pleas to the throne”. The word comes from a Proto-Indo-European root dher- meaning “to hold firmly”; which is also a root of the word dharma or” that which is established firmly”. (Woe unto whomsoever shall make war upon her when she is thus firmly established!) In a sense the Princess is the ultimate authority or custodian of the elemental power that was nascent in the Ace.
The Princesses in the Golden Dawn tradition are shown standing alone, wearing little clothes or armor. There is a reason for that beyond titillation! They need no horse for momentum, no throne for stability, no chariot for power, and no armor for protection; their force, form and beauty are inherent within them.
Liber Theta describes them as “Amazons, standing firmly of themselves; neither riding upon horses, nor seated upon thrones, nor borne in chariots. They represent the forces of Heh-final of The Name in each suit, completing, consolidating, and materializing the influences of the other scales: the mighty and potent Daughter of a Knight and Queen: a Princess powerful and terrible, an Empress whose effect combines those of the Knight, Queen, and Prince, even as the elements of Fire, Water, and Air are combined in the fabric of what we term Earth. She is at once volatile and permanent, an inertia of irresistible momentum; therefore is she symbolized by a figure standing firmly by herself, only partially draped, and having but little armor. Her power exists only as a consequence of the others. She must be manifested as the Daughter of Wisdom and Understanding (or of Will and Love), and the betrothed of Beauty; and then, indeed, her power is mighty and terrible materially, a “temple rightly builded” and the Throne of the Forces of Spirit. Woe unto whomsoever shall make war upon her when she is thus firmly established!” (It really is fun saying that!)
Book T and Liber Theta also give precise descriptions of each court card’s elemental crest. These crests are illustrated on every Tabula Mundi tarot court card and deconstructed and described in Book M: Liber Mundi. Consider this brief excerpt in relation to each Princess. The Princess of Wands has a winged tiger’s head as her crest, the tiger being a symbol of willpower, fiery sensuality, and courage. Indeed, her power is that of Fire, To Will. The Princess of Cups has the open-winged swan as a crest. The swan is a symbol of grace and beauty, purity and transformation. The power of the Water Princess is Love; To Dare. The Princess of Swords has as a crest the head of Medusa with serpent hair. The Medusa head design was used by Athena as an aegis on an animal skin mantle, and sometimes on a shield. The Aegis implied divine birth or protection; doing something “under someone’s aegis” means doing something under the protection of a powerful, knowledgeable, and benevolent source. The name Medusa comes from the Greek word for “guardian, protectress”. The Princess of Air is the warrior of the mind, who battles delusion. Her power is To Know. The Princess of Disks has as her crest a winged ram’s head. The ram is the symbol of Aries, and the stone of Aries is the Diamond, a connection with Kether. At first glance one might find this association with Aries as a crest confusing, as it is only a secondary quadrant of hers and her primary sign is Taurus. But it is a symbol of the renewal of spring over winter, the connection between the end and the beginning, similarly calling to mind the “double Mars” repeating planetary ruler in the zodiac wheel of the decanates. It is symbol of the masculine within the feminine. One may note that the shape of the womb is the shape of a ram’s head. This is a hint of her creative power and force. Khnum, the ram-headed Egyptian creator god, was said to have formed the entire Universe from a single egg. The ram’s head is also an inverted pentagram, the five pointed star of man, the significance of which will be seen when we review her relationship to the four powers of the sphinx. For hers is the final power of Earth, To Keep Silent, but is also the unity of all in the fifth power, To Go. For Earth of Earth is the final card of the Tarot court, the ending that is also a beginning.
Frazer’s Golden Bough says “The king’s daughter is all glorious within; her raiment is of wrought gold.” We are on the Fool’s journey, as the “Pure and Perfect Knight-Errant who answers all Enigmas, and opens the closed Portal of the King’s Daughter.” In Crowley’s Book of Thoth, the verse for the Fool sums up this human quest we are on. We are at once the Fool and the Princess, the conduit between Heaven and Earth. “Be neither man nor woman, but both in one. Be silent, babe in the egg of blue, that thou may grow to bear the lance and graal! Wander alone, and sing! In the King’s palace his Daughter awaits thee.”
Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2017 The Universe – M.M. Meleen
He that endeavours to enter into the Philosophers’ Rosarye without a key, is like him who would walk without feet. ~ Michael Maier’s alchemical opus Atalanta Fugiens of 1618
The Rose Garden of Wisdom has an abundance of various flowers,
But the gate is always closed with strong bolts;
Only one thing of little value is found in the world which is the key to it.
Without this key you will walk like somebody without legs.
You will try in vain to climb up to the steep top of Parnassus,
You, who have hardly sufficient strength to remain standing on flat ground.
What is this key? C.C. Zain says that Astrology is the golden key, and Tarot is the silver key, unlocking the door to the spiritual sanctuary.
On this day I discovered that the Tabula Mundi has been employed in “The Final Ritual of the Rose Key” by the Tarot Professionals organization in preparation for their launch of a virtual Tarot world. You can see in this picture the cards they have chosen for Strength and Success in the creation of a Universe.
For it is a virtual Universe they are attempting to create, a world in the ethers but a world nonetheless. They call it Arkartia, a world for Tarot Wayfarers, and their Kickstarter opens at midnight (London time) between April 30th and May 1st, the portal of Beltane eve. The symbol they have chosen as part of the tale of that world is that it is accessed by a Rose Key.
The Colores Arcus signature card has a form of the Rose Key as a Rose Cross where the a form of the Golden Dawn color rose is crossed by a silver key, whose trefoil bow contains the alchemical elements and their primary colors, and the petals of the rose are colored with the color admixtures of the planets and astrological signs of the Tarot trumps. This symbol is also intended to be a Compass Rose or Rose of the Four Winds if one knows how to read it, taking one on the Fool’s Journey and allowing for travel in space and time, a potent talisman and guide to lead one on the path to any waypoint.
By the way, those of you who backed the Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus received the free Part I of an article on the Color Scales, and may be wondering when Part II will be forthcoming. I’ve not forgotten; it is nascent and will be coming up with the roses…here they come up in Gemini season in time for the summer solstice transition. So it is coming!
Roses and keys; they are symbols we all know instinctively. The Rosetta Tarot, recently revived with the Rosetta Papyrus edition, and PapyrusGold edition, of course employs the Rose design on the card backs.
The Book of Seshet briefly explains this symbol. At a simple level, the Rose Cross is an alchemical symbol associated with inner transformative processes from base to pure, with the cross representing the body and the rose the unfolding consciousness. The central rose of this design was based on a sacred geometry pattern of rotated two-to-one aspect ratio ellipses. The rose in this design also represents the element of earth and is surrounded by the other three elements, with water on the vertical axis, wings for air on the horizontal axis, and fire on the diagonal.
The Rose in alchemy is the secret at the heart of all things, symbolizing the operation of Conjunctio, the mystical Chemical Marriage of opposites. It is a symbol of completion and perfection, the Summom Bonum of Robert Fludd, and an emblem of Venus. But basically it can summed up as Love.
And then there is the Key. Some of you may remember Tabula Mundi in its first incarnation as a Major Arcana deck; it was sent out with a wax seal impressed with a Key symbol.
Where the Rose is Love, the Key is Will. In Tarot, the Key is often shown on the Hierophant card. Book M, Liber Mundi describes the Hierophant as the “Vau of YHVH, our Holy Guardian Angel”, who guides us to our true will. In Cirlot’s Dictionary of Symbols, the key is symbolic of “a mystery or enigma, or of a task to be performed, and the means of carrying it out…The finding of a key signifies the stage prior to the actual discovery of the treasure, found only after great difficulties. Clearly there is a mythological relationship between the key and the Nem Ankh sign (or ‘Eternal Life’) – the anserated cross of the Egyptians; their gods are sometimes shown holding this cross by the top as if it were a key, especially in ceremonies concerning the dead. But it should perhaps be pointed out that, in this case, it is the keys that derive from the anserated cross, the archetype of the key of Eternal Life that opens up the gates of death on to immortality.”
The Anhk, which is a Key, is also a form of the circle and cross. The boxes of the new Rosetta Tarot papyrus edition were designed to complement those of Tabula Mundi. Shown here is the Rosetta Papyrus box with it an ankh of gold, paired with the Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus box with a circled cross of silver. (The Tabula Mundi Nox et Lux box has the same foil symbol but in black with a pewter ribbon.)
Not only do the boxes match, but the decks are both Thoth based. I think you will find a side by side comparison of Tabula Mundi to Rosetta very illuminating to see the artistic evolution of repeating symbols.
Going back to Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens Emblem XXVII:
But the Key is a thinge of the meanest Value which properly is called a Stone, known in the Chapter X as the Root of Rhodes, without which no Twig is put forth, nor doth a Budd swell, nor a Rose spring and send forth leaves in a thousand fold. But it may be asked where this Key is to be sought for? I answer with the Oracle: it is there to be looked for where the Bones of Orestes are said to be found, to wit Where THE WINDS, THE STRIKER, THE REPERCUTIENT AND THE DESTRUCTION OF MEN may be found together. That is, as Lychas interpreted it, in a Brasier’s Workhouse. For by the Winds is meant his Bellows, by the Striker the Hammer, by the Striker Back the Anvill, and by the Destruction of Men, Iron seems to have been meant by the Oracle. If a man knows how to number well and distinguish the signs he will certainly find this Key in the Northern Hemisphere of the Zodiack, and the bolt in the Southern; and being Master of these it will be easy to open the Door and enter.
Astrology is the golden key, and Tarot is the silver key unlocking the door to the spiritual sanctuary. With Tabula Mundi Colores Arcus, now that the astrological decan cards are available, one has both the keys in one box, that of gold and of silver. Each of the twelve astrological signs is included. You can see here with Sagittarius how it combines all three tarot cards of the three Sagittarius decans into one card representing the sign. These can be used as significators, as a perpetual calendar, for ritual, or for study alongside the related cards.
The new boxes accommodate the tarot expansion set perfectly, and the expansion set now comes in a deck band that matches the box.
The expansion set has 14 extra cards: a tree of life Minutum Mundum color scale map of the paths and sephiroth, a new Lust card showing Babalon (our Lady of the Roses in the alchemical marriage) and the twelve astrological sign cards expressed as a visual combination of the three tarot cards that are assigned to the sign’s three decans.
Speaking of the twelve astrological signs, this new world of Arcartia for the Tarot Wayfarer has twelve realms assigned astrologically; what will be discovered there? In the Kickstarter they are opening on May 1st one can even purchase sovereignty over an entire realm! If I could afford it I’d buy the realm of Sagittarius or Aquarius. It would likely be the quietest most peaceful place in the Kingdom as I’d be an unambitious and benevolent overlord. It would be like having a conservation restriction! Alas I shall probably be a commoner, just like in real life. Hope to see you there…
