Rosanne
Hi Robert- The Catholic essay was from somewhere like 1870c. I cannot yet find the reference or the essay- I used it in an argument when I first used Tarot in the 1970's in that Tarot can ease despair and give Hope. It would have been put out by a reputable Catholic organisation- so would not have been fringe stuff. I am dogged- I will find it. Despair was considered very bad and anti God from very early on in Catholic Theology.It is interesting that the figure said Judas Iscariot once- because his sin was not Treason- but the despair that made him commit suicide. So that is why I have never considered Judas as a candidate for the Hanged Man..... but now I think again
Has anyone heard of the Berserkers? Or Landsknecht Northern foot soldiers that fought in European wars as Mercenaries from the early 1400's to the late 1600's? They were commonly called Odin's Men. Absolute nutters in the field of war. In France they were called Wolfmen I think. It bought to mind that the punishment of Hanging reversed was used on the condotierri, elite Italian soldiers as well as the German elite soldiers - the Berserkers. Maybe there is something in there as to them having been known as Odin's Men.
~Rosanne
Has anyone heard of the Berserkers? Or Landsknecht Northern foot soldiers that fought in European wars as Mercenaries from the early 1400's to the late 1600's? They were commonly called Odin's Men. Absolute nutters in the field of war. In France they were called Wolfmen I think. It bought to mind that the punishment of Hanging reversed was used on the condotierri, elite Italian soldiers as well as the German elite soldiers - the Berserkers. Maybe there is something in there as to them having been known as Odin's Men.
~Rosanne