New Orleans Voodoo Tarot - the TWOS - my take

Little Baron

The second series of four cards in this deck relate to change and movement. They are no longer the purity of 'one' that they once was. Something has affected all four of them. They are as follows -


Nan Nan Bouclou, who is the Grand Mother of air.

Nan Nan Bouclou la Flambeau, a spiritual fire.

Olofi, an orisha of earth.

Gran Ibo, an old wise woman of swampy water.



All four 'twos' relate to Chokmah, the second vessel in the Kabbalistic 'Tree of Life'. What was pure and controlled in the first vessel is now beginning to move.

Nan Nan Bouclou la Flambeau is a spiritual fire, so in the card, it is not actually her that is blowing through the tube. It is her energy that is passing through it and out the other end. The sparks shoot from the end and into the foreheads of six other people. Does it hurt them? I doubt it. I think [personally] that it inspires them. It is a transmittance of energy through action.

Nan Nan Bouclou la Flambeau directs the fire that once burnt alone to another person or thing. It is now directed and exchanged, I feel. This is where things are put into action. The original 'one' was the opportunity of fire itself, but this card, to me, is where it is transferred into something substantial. It influences those around us and will bring a change into other people's lives. The fire that burns within us can often be enjoyed and shared, so once again, I see the suit of Petro [fire] to have sexual undertones.

Even though she died when I was a child, I remember one of my own grandmothers. She was a link to a time that I never lived in, as well as being a part of my own childhood. I hear stories about her that still fascinate me today. Away from the role of Nanny that I understood, she was a very strong and courageous woman. I think that should she have been alive today, she could tell me more than a thing or two.

In the water related card of Congo, we see another grandmother - Gran Ibo. Like the fire card, she is also connected to sharing and contact - which I see to be the message of the 'twos', in general, as it administers change. I see her, like my own grandmother, as emotional support and loving contact.

Gran Ibo sits ouside her house on her porch, overlooking the swamp. The swamp is full of mystery and this old lady is wise, as she sits and waits. She is whispered secrets by a small yellow canary that perches on her hand.
In the book, we are told that she also understands the language of all the life forms that surround her. For me, this makes the card very important as it links in to the psychic characteristics of any water suit in tarot. It is communication without words. Like the 'High Priestess' in conventional tarot, communication could be with the depths of the soul [or symbolic swamp] as much as it might be communication with another human being.
All in all, I see this card as emotional connection. It is contact, based on feeling, rather than physicality, speech or the joining of a couple in a passionate role. It is unspoken knowledge and trust, through love and care.

Nan Nan Bouclou [the Grand Mother] is the loa of herbs and medicine. In the book that came with this deck, we are told about medicines which can be beneficial for the mind, so it is a [relatively] logical assumption that this card might represent 'mind movement' and the coming together of initial ideas and sparks of pure knowledge - putting things into practice.
In this card, we see two men. Nan Nan Bouclou is not present in the form of a person, but she does take root as the forest itself. As a 'giver' and 'healer', she offers these men what they need from the luscious landscape of her healing plants and medicines. The two men in this picture hold different ingredients. As they come together, they share their knowledge. So I see this card as just that - sharing knowledge, making decisions, weighing up what is best, choosing between two different kinds of ingredients to find either the best or perfect mix in going forward.

Olofi is a little subtler than the other three cards [even though I do admit that trying to connect any of this lot into conventional tarot is a bit of squeeze anyway]. The card shows the orisha as a pregant woman, hanging within space. Spirits dance around her, protectively, and I feel that I can see the single eye of Oludumare still protecting the pregancy that his three tears has produced.
This is a funny card in that like the other twos, it should represent movement. But why is it so still? I may have it wrong, but this is movement in a different way than what we have seen in the previous cards. Change is happening. And the world within Olofi is growing. But this is a slow growth, when mixed with the practical and grounded element of earth. It is being nurtured slowly, like a cook will carefully tend to the baking of a cake or eggs are kept warm and looked after until they hatch. It takes time, but you will eventually see the results. This card, with it's practical sense of movement, reminds me more of the card from the 'Thoth' deck than it does any other that I have seen.

As I move further into the suits, I can see that they become harder to understand. A lot of this is due to trying to make them fit with what I know. This is not because I want another RWS clone. It is because I am trying to make sense of their differences and simularities. For readings, I need to try and define how these cards work with the number '2' [something I explored a great deal when working with the Marseille]. And even though in some cases, it is a bit of a hard shove to make them understandable, I think that these four do kind of find their own places within the context of the number '2' and tarot.

In short, the Petro card shares fire, inspiration and passion. It transfers our own energy to someone else, for good or ill.

In Congo, we find contact through emotion and understanding. Through love and wisdom of a grandmother archetype.

In earth [Santeria], we see physical development and growth, offering change.

In air, we share knowledge, once again from wisdom, for the benefit of others.

LB
 

Little Baron

Here are the cards [if anyone is actually reading this :D ].

I have to say that this little afternoon study has been so beneficial for me. I am really getting something back from these cards, finally. I am making them personal and in terms of the aces, I really felt as though I was experiencing them in their pure rawness, which was a very strange experience. I couldn't work out what any of these four cards had to do with connection, movement or change before now, but with a little time, patience and research into the Voodoo lwa and Santeria orishas, the pages of this book are definitely beginning to unfold. And for a book that seemed as though it was slammed shut under lock and key for a long time, this is a very satisfying feeling.

LB
 

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Grip Dellabonte

Okay, I'm just going to do free association - maybe a bit more organized and edited than that, but at least go with random thoughts and see what crops up because these are a little tougher.
I'm going to do like you did for a bit and say what I know about the two's.:

2 of fire: two separate passions, having to choose between the two
2 of water: two souls, kindred spirits, like minds, etc
2 of air: two opposing ideas, or the sharing of ideas
2 of earth: two concepts surrounding business or finance, making decisions between two finite objects

In traditional tarot the two's are often related to the High Priestess, and so it is said that intuition plays a role in their interpretation. But, Olofi reminds me more of the Empress. So I guess we can't always stick to the traditional definintions!

Also, unlike traditional tarot one card has seven people in it, and one has a solitary figure in it.

- Nan Nan Bouclou La Flambeau: This card kind of reminds me of that commercial where the woman says, "I loved insert-product-name-here so much that I told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends....!" Like the hundredth monkey, too. And maybe even a passionate idea spreading like wildfire in keeping with the sentiment of the card. A divine spark (divined spark, divination spark) is like that. The enthusiasm takes hold and the idea takes off. So, this card looks as though a person has shared an idea with the world. It has found its mark with some, missed in some cases, and can't be sure with others....because there are a lot of sparks flying around other than the ones that did land. Once these people have the spark they will in turn go out and share it with others.
* Upon reading about this card in the book it seems it's about spiritual fire (she is even a loa of spiritual fire) and injecting a person with their own individual sense of will. (Bad grammar, but I'm stumped as to how to word it!).

- Gran Ibo: At first this little person looks lonely to me. She is sitting on a very confined porch surrounded by plants and walls. Her back is to the observer.
But she does have company and since she's got the company right up to her ear, she must be enjoying it.
Two of cups = companionship, kindred spirits, etc. So she and this little bird have each other and enjoy the company - maybe even the solitude...maybe it's voluntary.
* Okay, it's voluntary! She is reclusive by design so that she doesn't have distractions and can observe the swamp, plants, wildlife, etc. That's how she keeps abreast of things. A communion card...she is in touch with her environment. She is a loa that focuses water energy.
- Nan Nan Bouclou: This one I think you hit right off the top. Two people in a discussion sharing ideas about the plants they've found. Thoughts, ideas, communication, discussion. She is the loa of herbs and medicines. I have a thing about herb study. I like learning about plants.

- Olofi: Oh-kayyy...this one is maybe going to sound a bit weird. The three Orisha look like the three white globulous sperm-like tendrils cradling the earth in the Olodumare card. Two have remained looking like strands while one looks like it has taken on the job of assuming form so that the new life can grow. Once the Orisha gives birth to Olodumare's creation, it goes back to being on of the globulous masses til one of them is called into action to help him create again.
* The book says...well, she's a star so I'm a bit off target. But she is the personal deity of earth. It says. Everything that flows through her flows through everything on earth. There is the connection, and the communion. Two things have combined to produce a planet and everything on it. Since earth is also the suit of results, then we can say this card represents two things coming together and producing something tangible.

Phew! These all made my head hurt a little! Coffee, please!
I can see where intuition would be prevalent in each of these cards.
Oh, and Little Baron? Your grandmother sounds cool!


Nan Nan Bouclou La Flambeau = Mother of Invention
Gran Ibo = Wise Woman
Nan Nan Bouclou = Grand Mother
Olofi = Earth Mother
 

Grip Dellabonte

Oops! I repeated some of the things you'd already said! Ah, well...two great minds! Plus we're working on the two's so maybe it's appropriate to double up on ideas....now I feel like I'm in the giggle loop....you know how you get something started and you can't stop? Too many "two references". I hope three's aren't like the two's!
 

Little Baron

Grip Dellabonte said:
- Nan Nan Bouclou La Flambeau: This card kind of reminds me of that commercial where the woman says, "I loved insert-product-name-here so much that I told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends....!" Like the hundredth monkey, too. And maybe even a passionate idea spreading like wildfire in keeping with the sentiment of the card. A divine spark (divined spark, divination spark) is like that. The enthusiasm takes hold and the idea takes off. So, this card looks as though a person has shared an idea with the world. It has found its mark with some, missed in some cases, and can't be sure with others....because there are a lot of sparks flying around other than the ones that did land. Once these people have the spark they will in turn go out and share it with others.

I very much like this association. I hadn't thought of it like that. Infact, your way throws a new light on things and doubles up the excitement of the fire and person spreading it, which I like. Even though I see it as an exchange, initially, I can also see how the person's enthusiasm is not grounded. They are throwing it about all over the place, so as much as it is being transferred, which is a over-all feeling of the card, it might not always be as directed as it should be. The spiritual fire has taken over and in some cases, may not be controlled. Does that make sense? In a reading, it might show someone that isn't using the initial ace's fire in a mature manner. Or since sexuality runs through the suit of fire, someone who is not focusing their fiery passion on just the one person. I think that it depends on how we view the cards through a spread. I think that other cards will help determine. In the same way that I said we could choose whether Olodumare's attached emotion was worthy or not in a reading, I think that here, we can determine whether the exchange of fire is being exchanged successfully or not. Does that make any sense, Grip, or am I just waffling? :D

Thinking about Olofi and exchanges. The way she holds the world in her stomach, this card could be about protection. If the ace is the initial seed, and it has been planted in the two, maybe she is 'caring for' it, which might be an interpretation. A physical change. And a physical 'caring' from one to another.

LB

Edited to add:
I must say that when I look at these four cards, and the aces, they have become so much more familiar since this study. They are no longer just obscure pictures that I could not make head or tail of. I get strong feeling from them now, and I can see how they associate with number and element - maybe even more so than the RWS. :)
 

Grip Dellabonte

Little Baron said:
I very much like this association. I hadn't thought of it like that. Infact, your way throws a new light on things and doubles up the excitement of the fire and person spreading it, which I like. Even though I see it as an exchange, initially, I can also see how the person's enthusiasm is not grounded. They are throwing it about all over the place, so as much as it is being transferred, which is a over-all feeling of the card, it might not always be as directed as it should be. The spiritual fire has taken over and in some cases, may not be controlled. Does that make sense? In a reading, it might show someone that isn't using the initial ace's fire in a mature manner. Or since sexuality runs through the suit of fire, someone who is not focusing their fiery passion on just the one person. I think that it depends on how we view the cards through a spread. I think that other cards will help determine. In the same way that I said we could choose whether Olodumare's attached emotion was worthy or not in a reading, I think that here, we can determine whether the exchange of fire is being exchanged successfully or not. Does that make any sense, Grip, or am I just waffling? :D




Thinking about Olofi and exchanges. The way she holds the world in her stomach, this card could be about protection. If the ace is the initial seed, and it has been planted in the two, maybe she is 'caring for' it, which might be an interpretation. A physical change. And a physical 'caring' from one to another.



LB

Edited to add:
I must say that when I look at these four cards, and the aces, they have become so much more familiar since this study. They are no longer just obscure pictures that I could not make head or tail of. I get strong feeling from them now, and I can see how they associate with number and element - maybe even more so than the RWS. :)

Ha! No, you're not waffling. I think when you looked at the card again a whole bunch of new symbolism came out of it. I see where you get the whole "scattered" impression. It does look like it could be scattered energy.
You know how people say a card doesn't necessarily have to be reversed to have a less than positive meaning? Well, I think that's what you have picked up on here. Even reading the card upright you have sensed that a person may not be using the fire of Olodumare in a focused way, or in the sexual sense, they could be unwilling to commit to only one person. I like that. Waffler! Ha!

Since she's the loa of the planet, I think you're probably right - she's protecting it.

I haven't gotten that far - some of the numbers and elements still throw me - but I definitely have gotten attached to this deck pretty quickly since we've been working on it. BTB....seeing your beautiful box has helped me develop an even stronger attachment!
I don't know how much I can get on today what with the fam being home and the footie being on. But I will do my best.
P.S. I'm also not sure if I did the "quote" function correctly either. I hope you can tell your comments from my responses!
 

Little Baron

I think it is definitely opening up for you Grip. And that's great.

I think this is one of those decks, like the Thoth, that doesn't really need reversals. Some don't, it seems, when reading. I think surrounding cards can often tell you when they are positive or negative. If the equivalent of the 'Devil' was beside the 'Nan Nan Bouclou la Flambeau', then maybe we could see the scattered energy as possibly being wasted or unfulfilling to the person that is scattering it.

LB