I have thought of a possible way to divide up the tarot cards (based on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck). It is somewhat arbitrary since it came out of thinking about the background colours.
In the RWS deck there are only a few background colours used, and I wanted to attribute a meaning to them. It's possible that I will think more about the backgrounds because sometimes they are something slightly hidden which might be revealed, or provide an environment for the action of the card, or sometimes are literally like a stage backdrop.
By far the most have a blue background, but I am starting with the ones with a yellow background. I am taking my cue from the Fool for this with its predominantly yellow background (although the sun itself is white) and I've decided to attribute a theme or enlightenment or illumination to the cards with a yellow background.
The Fool also has a line in the background of the two other predominant background colours: blue of various shades, and a sort of greyish white.
I have arbitrarily taken the 7 of Cups as my hint here and am attributing a theme of instability or things changing to these cards with blue backgrounds.
Conversely I am attributing a theme of things being stable or solid to the cards with a greyish white background. This may seem strange when Death, the ultimate change, has this background. However I am taking it that death refers to an expected, inevitable change, which is therefore actually stable and unchangeable.
Once again I will stress that this is just a thought and so shouldn't be treated as gospel: you won't find these attributions anywhere in the literature.
The few cards with a black background presented me with a few difficulties, although since they all depict difficult moments of decision and power (I'm taking 3 of Pentacles to refer to a situation where you have to get on with it and make the situation what you will, with the dark background through the doorway representing a future that still has to be created), I have taken them to refer to traumas, initiations and negotiations of power.
This leaves only two which don't fit in. I am taking the reddy-orange of the Emperor to mean authority and the snow of the 5 of Pentacles to mean being outside in the cold so you're not seeing the real background at all.
I will play with this idea and see how I get on with it. Once again I'm struck how tarot strikes one differently at different times.
Oh, there's something we have to do still:
You're full of rubbish. Hahaha. The Ride-Waite deck is boring. I own it because it was the only one available at the mall in the 1980s. It's not my preferred art style though. I find it rather garish. My childhood friend who is Indigenous American has taken to tarot reading, I don't know why. Only that she was not available by phone once because she needed to give an "emergency reading" to someone. Who am I to judge? She's the only one that knows I receive storm warnings from a mountain raven. Now you know too, but what do I care if a bloke in the UK thinks I'm crazy? :)
ReplyDeleteHere is a web image of The Crow tarot set she uses. https://i.etsystatic.com/9660975/r/il/c270e3/2992653022/il_1140xN.2992653022_brgu.jpg
PS I commented on your last post but maybe Blogger felt I needed moderation.
Wooo I love that crow set a lot. Although you know what, what I love best about Rider Waite is the poor art and the way Pamela rather threw it together!
DeleteI'm not full of rubbish, I'm full of shit.
I commented on your comment that Blogger just didn't tell me about your comment but I've found it now thank you!