Rohrig Study - Fours

darwinia

Just creating the thread so HuntinOwl knows where to go should he decide to start the thread.

Yaboot knows where to go. Hahaha sorry, I'm on holidays and keep slipping into silly comments.
 

darwinia

All in One, to the Four

I've been through this deck lots of times and have cards I like, but I'm always startled when doing individual study, by certain cards that seem to have passed my vision. The fours collectively were like that, I find the images stunning and such a pleasure to tell a story with.

4 of Disks

The glacial summit, guarded with icy emanations of energy. The "suit," stark, enduring, frozen in his chair. The four disks like molten lead sliding away and underneath an even harder centre.

Rohrig also has the word "integrity" in the card. Integrity comes from the Latin integer = untouched. in = not + root "tag" of tangere = to touch. Oh yes, we mustn't touch those with power. Power can also alienate, can drain you of colour, isolation of command.

The colours going up the mountain--some are striped/checked, they remind me of the bars over hurdles in track and field competition. The effort, the hurdles to overcome getting to the summit. They also remind me of the gate that comes down at a railroad crossing. Halt, stop, do not cross, danger. They radiate out like many paths converging upward, or many tears flowing down from the summit, tears or sweat! See how they fade at the top? Emotions in check, literally, more of Rohrig's checkerboard imagery.

I find it remarkably interesting how some artists seem to have a harsh, forbidding message for this card and others not. One of the reasons I don't use reversals is because I like to see both the positive and negative in cards at all times. Here is one of my favourite threads on this card (although not related to Rohrig):
The Four of Lemons thread that Indigo Lady started:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?threadid=15276&highlight=lemons

4 of Wands

I love the designs on the orb. They are like etched glass and also a reflection of clouds. More spirals, sacred geometry. Mountains and the water is dark as at night, with moon reflected, the orb in this case, even though it is day.

The four crystal wands in upright symmetry, glowing, warmed by colour, enclosed, circled, protected but not covered. Light penetrates everywhere.

The four wands also remind me of our idealized cultural concept of the family: Mom and Dad, taller on the left and right, and the two children in the centre. Obviously a boy and a girl, and the boy just blew a bubble with his shocking pink bubble gum and got it all over his shirt when it popped (boys always do stuff like that at the photographers.)

A beautiful card, etched in mind and memory.

4 of Cups

I always think of this as the "ennui" card. Rohrig calls it "Luxury."

Oh, that langorous spiral in the middle, like thick paint. The richly patterned fabrics woven and printed with real gold. The blobs in the lower right like blue blood clotting, immoveable, stagnating in the vein and at the top left they are colourless, they've lost their oxygen. He has the words emotional wealth, love, and tenderness on the card.

If you have everything you ever wanted materially and emotionally, I'm sure it feels pretty good, but does it keep you spiralling and circling in one place, surrounded by your floating fortune? The mountains beckon, the river flows, the grass greens, and you are so sated you cannot move.

Nice for a time though, to sip from the gold-encrusted chalice, and realize what you have.

4 of Swords

The stone in the centre looks like a human figure sitting on a bench or fallen pillar. Weary, craggy, arm resting on knee, turned away from the action, the light. Behind, the rolling green hills and line of trees with a borealis aflame, lighting the dark planet.

Quitness, clarity are the words on the card. The word "truce" makes me think of battle and rage--perhaps the energy behind the trees comes from that?

The cold of stone, the layers of centuries lie still beneath the seated figure. Perhaps merely the truce with the Self, the parlay with your own soul amidst the fury of the Universe. A truce between you and the world so you can think clearly. Truce means faith or a promise, a promise to trust your own ideas among the barrage of the world.
 

divinerguy

4/Disks

The gift side of this card embodies raw energy. It can be visualized in the streamers emanating from the protagonist. The energy is physical in nature, as demonstrated by the gouges made in the earth in the lower half of the card. Between the two upper disks, the magnetic energy flares as electricity from a dynamo or tesle coil. This energy froms a triangle with the protagonist, its source.

The shadow side of this card is the use of power for dark purposes as demonstrated by his hunched and pale appearance.

4/Wands

The gifts of this card is completion, as demonstrated by the coming of full circle. The distant mountains suggest a grand scale.

The shadow side of the card is that completion may happen in the absence of proper motives. The lower half of this card is a dark lake. Like the Moon, it symbolizes things that happen in a subtle, hidden way. Be aware of secrets, and the problems that can arise from them.

4/cups

The meaning in this card, luxury, is demonstrated by color and form. The central spiral reminds me of a beautiful abalone shell, with its opal-like colors evoking thoughts of gems and inlaid carfts. The cups are ornate chalices, worthy of fine wine.

The shadow of this card is the indolence and arrogance that can come with luxury. Unreasonable demands and spoiled children are its legacy.

4/Swords

Peace and tranquility are the hallmarks of this card. Mother earth, suspended in the purity of a starlit night sky, tells opponents that there is a better way. The swords, while present, are carefully stowed up high, out of easy reach. The landscape shows a brisk morning, and with the new day, a peace among enemies.

The shadow of this card is found in the rocks at the base of this card. They are broken and strewn about. Rocks are also cold and hard, and illustrate the hardening of the hearts of those who could bring about positive change, but choose the path of conflict.
 

divinerguy

Freesia,

Very nice writing and reading style. Your style evokes visions of grand landscapes and is full of energy.
 

Little Baron

The 4's. I understand how cards can get overlooked Freesiaskye. I have done the same myself, and it is only when we do something like this, I go 'Oh my god, how could I have missed this one'. I especially think there is such a benefit to studying them in the way that we are. As I type, I have them all propped up infront of me. The likenesses in some of the numbers is quite obvious when they are together but missed when you are looking at them at different times.

I like the way you described the discs. Power seems to hold such a coldness to it in this card, especially when sandwiched between the warmth of the wands and the sumptuous swirls of the cups card. As much as power is something that is attractive to a lot of us, the stripped knowlege that it doesn't provide emotional happiness is highlighted in this card for me. The guy looks superior (and yes, drained of colour) in his chair but he is alone with these things he has accomplished. Those mountains look very cold as he floats over his empire. There is little warmth and love in this card.

Luxury - this one reminds me of my teenage years - a little too much too soon, I think. It reminds me of those pictures that they have in the shops in Amsterdam, where 'shoppers' purchase their (lets say) stimulants and sit for hours infront of the pictures mesmorised by the pretty patterns.
There is a a nice feel to this card though. It is a bit like the way you feel when you first fall in love - heady and your stomach bounces around inside of you. Everything looks as enchanting as this when you fall in love. Like you two, I see the luxury in the golden cups and that highlights how feel about this card. Does this spiral continue spiraling forever or will it soon fade?

Yaboot
 

galadrial

Hello,

just wanted to note that I ordered this deck today and hope to be able to join in on this study group soon. BTW, freesiaskye, I read the review of the book at tarotpassages: www.tarotpassages.com/rohrigb.htm ,and it didn't make it seem worth the purchase price, so I didn't buy it either.
 

divinerguy

I have the book, and while it is a little thin an card analysis, the quality of the illustrations are equal to that of the cards.

This comes in handy when you want to quickly look at a single card. You need not fish through an entire deck to locate the card.
 

darwinia

I'm so happy for you Galadrial!! You will like the deck I'm sure, and I look forward to hearing your comments. Great news.

I don't suppose I can interest you in the Phantasmagoric Theater Tarot? Yaboot got me to buy that today and he and Maan are doing a discussion of it. I was quite impressed after buying it--VERY inventive and absurdly offbeat.

Just so you can see:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16202

There are a few more threads there to look at too. I'm not generally one to purchase decks like mad but this one is exceptionally neat.

I seem to like the decks that are not the most popular. Partly the art and partly the incredible minds of the various artists. Rohrig is in that category--his own person, his own take on life and tarot.
 

galadrial

I checked out the book at amazon, and they had sample pages available; the complete description for the Fool. It helped my understanding of his take on the card so much that I ended up buying the book after all. As anyone who reads my posts much knows, I'm big on quoting from books, so I will be happy to share any part of the book I think adds significant insight:)
 

Little Baron

Glad to have you in both groups Galadrial; I am SURE you will love the Phantasmagoric and the Rohrig; both so different and unique. Look forward to hearing from you in the threads.

Yaboot