Bohemian Gothic - Strength

faunabay

I wanted to talk about this card in particular because lately I've been getting a "switched" view of the lion and demon.

In a "regular" strength card you have the small ladylike woman who has very calmly gotten control of the wild lion.

And in the dark sister there is, obviously, the lion and a demon woman. But which one has gotten control of whom?

I have come to the conclusion that the lion in this deck corresponds to the small ladylike woman in the strength cards in other decks. This lion has gotten control of his "demon" woman.

Yes the lion has a chain laying on his leg, but does it hold him or the demon?? I've looked at the card with a magnifying glass and it doesn't actually show where the chain goes to. It is just laying on the lion's leg. Is the lion holding the chain to control the demon?? This is the way I've come to see this card.

The lion, to me, looks calmly out from the card while the demon woman is lounging against him looking quite ready to jump out and get you if the lion didn't have control of her.

What do you think about this switch? It makes total sense to me, but that may just be me. **LOL** But this deck is really making me look at things I thought were unchangable....and changing them!!
 

RaeBelle

OMG! It's not just me! I too feel that the lion is controlling the female demon. Yippee!

The lion looks calmly confident in this image, the way the young lady in strength cards normally looks. The chain is just lying on the lion's leg. And his paw looks almost curled around the chain. Perhaps to keep the demon nearby?
 

Master_Margarita

That is a really interesting take on this card. I took it out and looked at it, and now I'll have to think about this.

The book also points out a certain similarity between the demon on this card and the Devil in the VR.
 

faunabay

RaeBelle said:
OMG! It's not just me! I too feel that the lion is controlling the female demon. Yippee!

The lion looks calmly confident in this image, the way the young lady in strength cards normally looks. The chain is just lying on the lion's leg. And his paw looks almost curled around the chain. Perhaps to keep the demon nearby?


**ROFL** I kind of wondered whether I was the only one too!! :)

And yes, doesn't the lion look like he's curling his paw around to hold the chain? (giggle)
 

RaeBelle

The demon is leaning on the lion. Makes me feel that she might be drawing some strength from him, and is more cautious of us. The lion is looking away from us, while the demon seems to be staring right at us.
 

HearthCricket

This is one of my favourite cards and the first thing I think of is where did this lion come from? Did the female vampire/demon turn him from a gargoyle into real life to help her lure people into her trap? In spite of the chain being rather heavy looking, it really isn't compared with the size of him. We can see it goes around his neck, but we can't see where she is holding on to it! They seem to be cozy companions. He seems almost bored and has a scowl on his face! She is very relaxed and contemplative while resting comfortably on him. Are they waiting for something or someone? Is she trying to be calm while waiting for prey? Or is she trying to fight her inner demons ( and probably losing ) with that captivating and determined look straight at us! Piercing...moreso than a lions jaw or grip of his claws! Is she hoping we will come a little closer because she looks so placid? Do you trust her? lol
 

Mimers

RaeBelle said:
The chain is just lying on the lion's leg. And his paw looks almost curled around the chain. Perhaps to keep the demon nearby?

She does look rather pouty about it too, doesn't she? Kind of like she is being forced to behave herself. It does also look like she is the one on the leash here.

Look at the lion on the wall behind them though. There is a fierce and angry lion. The live lion looks calm and well fed ;)

Another thing to contemplate is the fumes coming up out of the ground. Maybe this demon is keeping the Lion sedated with drugs. Perhaps this card in a reading might mean that someone is overmedicated? Not that we should ever suggest that to a client, but maybe if we were reading for ourselves. It reminds me of my son all drugged up for his depression. He was like a zombie. A 10 year old with no life in him! That is what this card reminds me of. Maybe we should allow the lion to feel more?
 

RaeBelle

Mimers said:
She does look rather pouty about it too, doesn't she? Kind of like she is being forced to behave herself. It does also look like she is the one on the leash here.

Oh yes, she looks very pouty about the situation. She'd definitely rather be elsewhere, but here she is....with the lion....behaving....

Mimers said:
Look at the lion on the wall behind them though. There is a fierce and angry lion. The live lion looks calm and well fed :)
How very true. The live lion really seems calm and even a bit restful. The lion on the wall appears much more intimidating. If it were alive, the situation would be vastly different. The show if internal strength (living lion) vs external strength (wall lion).


The fumes rising from the ground have also been causing me to think. It appears to be smoke. Is it coming from the leaves on the ground. Is something burning or are these fumes from the smoldering remnants of a previous fire? But the lion's eyes look green, not quite natural. So if that's a drug that's in the air, the demon isn't quite behaving.
 

firefrost

I get the feeling that they are both keeping each other stable, with their different powers within. To me, neither look happy and would attack anything or anyone in a second, given half a chance.

In my opinion, the Lion on the wall shows the real mood of the card.

The chains are there to make us think of safety, when really there is none.
 

faunabay

HearthCricket said:
In spite of the chain being rather heavy looking, it really isn't compared with the size of him. We can see it goes around his neck, but we can't see where she is holding on to it!

Now I didn't see this at all. I even looked with a magnifying glass. Where do you see it going around his neck? ?????

From the beginning alot of people loved this card. I thought it was nice, but it didn't do anything extra for me. Once I really looked at it though and saw this different switch with the characters I really like the card. It's got a different spin for me now.

I think it's very fun that people are seeing truely different things with this deck - more so than with others IMO. If makes it interesting. So the more differences the better IMO. :D