noby
I just finished reading James Joyce's Ulysses, and I hope I'm not the only one here who has, who liked it, and who saw a lot of tarotic qualities in it. (It's worth noting that cartomancy appears multiple times in the book, Molly Bloom being a practitioner of it.) I immediately started thinking of the relation of characters and scenes to tarot cards, which, given that the book is based on that most archetypal of hero's journeys, seems apropos. I am so surprised at how closely so much in Ulysses reflects the tarot that I felt compelled to share this here! I mostly just thought of this in terms of the Major Arcana, but threw in a few ideas for pip and court cards too.
THE FOOL: Leopold Bloom. Scene: From the chapter "Calypso." Bloom steps across the threshold of 7 Eccles Street to go shop for a kidney.
THE MAGICIAN: Stephen Dedalus. Scene: From the chapter "Proteus." Stephen writes a poem while looking out at the ocean.
THE HIGH PRIESTESS: Molly Bloom. Scene: From the chapter "Penelope." Molly lies in bed, reading cards, envisioning all she knows and all that no one knows she knows.
THE EMPRESS: Mina Purefoy. Scene: From the chapter "Oxen of the Sun." Mina has just given birth in the hospital while men tell ribald tales of fertility rites.
THE EMPEROR: Simon Dedalus. Scene: From the chapter "Wandering Rocks." Simon finally gives in to his daughter Dilly's demand for money, but with a sharp verbal rebuke.
THE HIEROPHANT: Father Garrett Deasy. Scene: From the chapter "Nestor." Deasy pedantically details his theories to Stephen as they sit in his opulent office, which is decorated with seashells, coins, and horse portraits.
THE LOVERS: Lydia Douce, Mina Kennedy, and Ben Dollard. Scene: From the chapter "Sirens." Dollard sings in the background while Douce and Kennedy tend bar in the foreground, seducing all with the charms of music and flirtation.
THE CHARIOT: Blazes Boylan. Scene: From the chapter "Sirens." Boylan's horse-drawn cab jingles its way toward Molly.
STRENGTH: Milly Bloom and Pussens. Scene: From the chapter "Ithaca" (Milly doesn't actually appear, but Bloom thinks of her and briefly considers her similarities with their cat). Sexually blossoming Milly stands confidently with Pussens rubbing up against her leg.
THE HERMIT: A.E. Scene: From the chapter "Scylla and Charybdis." A.E. pronounces on esoteric theories at the library.
WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Throwaway and Sceptre. Scene: From the chapter "Eumaeus." A picture and headline in the newspaper show that dark horse Throwaway won over the heavily favored Sceptre.
JUSTICE: Martin Cunningham. Scene: From the chapter "Cyclops." Martin Cunningham helps Bloom escape the scene as the Citizen throws a Jacob's tin at Bloom and misses. Cunningham has just defended Bloom from the false accusations of other bar patrons.
THE HANGED MAN: Rudolph Virag Bloom. Scene: From the chapter "Ithaca." Bloom imagines the suicide of his father Rudolph Virag, who killed himself after the death of Bloom's mother. Virag left investments to Bloom that have been a saving grace for him financially.
DEATH: Paddy Dignam. Scene: From the chapter "Hades." Bloom, Simon Dedalus, Martin Cunningham and others look on as Paddy Dignam is memorialized and buried.
TEMPERANCE: Gerty MacDowell. Scene: From the chapter "Nausicaa." Gerty sits on the beach, considering the virtues of temperance and how her father's abuse of alcohol has ruined her family. She notices Bloom watching her and teases and excites him by showing off her legs. They both fantasize about one another but do not speak to or touch one another.
THE DEVIL: Buck Mulligan. Scene: From the chapter "Telemachus." Mulligan gives his blasphemous rendition of the Eucharist, then teases and tempts Stephen out of his home to join him later for an evening of debauchery.
THE TOWER: Martello Tower. Scene: From the chapter "Telemachus." Stephen leaves the Tower without his key, knowing he has been usurped and may not be able to return.
THE STAR: 7 Eccles Street. Scene: From the chapter "Ithaca." Bloom and Stephen stand together in Bloom's garden, pissing under the stars.
THE MOON: Garryowen. Scene: From the chapter "Cyclops." In a fantastical imagining, the wolfhound Garryowen sits upright on a barstool, his hind legs crossed, holding in his forepaws and reading from a text that he has written in the Irish epic style.
THE SUN: Jacky and Tommy Caffrey (and Cissy). Scene: From the chapter "Nausicaa." Young Cissy runs through the sand after her twin toddler brothers, who have been playing vigorously and naughtily.
JUDGEMENT: Bella Cohen and May Dedalus, among many others. Scene: From the chapter "Circe." Stephen and Bloom hallucinate a huge cast of characters who pass judgement on them for all their failings. This builds to a hallucinatory climax where brothel madam Cohen humiliates Bloom for his failures as a husband and Stephen's dead mother May reflects back to him his guilt over his failure to follow her dying wish.
THE WORLD: Molly and Leopold Bloom in bed. Scene: From the chapters "Ithaca" and "Penelope." Poldy and Molly Bloom lie in bed, facing opposite directions, reflecting and containing the world in their thoughts and their love.
ACE OF CUPS: Bar of lemon soap.
ACE OF PENTACLES: Bloom's potato.
ACE OF SWORDS: A copy of Sweets of Sin.
ACE OF WANDS: Stephen's ashplant.
TWO OF CUPS: Poldy proposes to Molly under the rhododenrons at Howth Head.
TWO OF PENTACLES: Father Cowley discusses how to juggle his debts with Simon Dedalus and Ben Dollard.
FIVE OF PENTACLES: The Dedalus sisters travel through town to pawn belongings and beg.
SIX OF CUPS: Dilly Dedalus asks Stephen for his input on the French primer she has bought.
SIX OF PENTACLES: Martin Cunningham leads the collection for the Dignam orphans.
SIX OF WANDS: The viceregal cavalcade proceeds through the town and people gather and wave.
SEVEN OF CUPS: Bloom pens a letter to Martha Clifford.
EIGHT OF CUPS: Stephen refuses Bloom's offer to stay and leaves.
NINE OF SWORDS: Bloom is frozen in horror and dread as he sits in the restaurant and realizes Boylan has arrived to meet Molly.
TEN OF SWORDS: Stephen is left knocked out and lying flat on his back by a punch from Private Carr.
KING OF SWORDS: Myles Crawford, editor of The Evening Telegraph.
KING OF CUPS: F. W. Sweny, drugstore proprietor.
KING OF PENTACLES: Davy Byrne, proprietor of Byrne's pub.
QUEEN OF SWORDS: Martha Clifford, Bloom's erotic pen-pal.
QUEEN OF CUPS: Josie Breen, an old friend of Molly's and old flame of Bloom's who is now a caretaker to her mentally imbalanced husband.
QUEEN OF PENTACLES: The old woman in the tower, who delivers milk to Stephen and Buck and is treated as a symbol of Old Ireland.
QUEEN OF WANDS: Zoe Higgins, prostitute who attempts to seduce Bloom and takes his potato.
KNIGHT OF SWORDS: Lyster, champion of learning.
KNIGHT OF CUPS: Denis Breen, avenger of mail pranks.
KNIGHT OF PENTACLES: The Citizen, defender of Irish pride.
KNIGHT OF WANDS: Haines, hunter of the elusive panther.
PAGE OF SWORDS: Joe Hynes, not-so-talented journalist.
PAGE OF PENTACLES: Pat, waiter at the Ormond Hotel restaurant.
PAGE OF WANDS: Alec Bannon, seeker after Milly Bloom's heart.
THE FOOL: Leopold Bloom. Scene: From the chapter "Calypso." Bloom steps across the threshold of 7 Eccles Street to go shop for a kidney.
THE MAGICIAN: Stephen Dedalus. Scene: From the chapter "Proteus." Stephen writes a poem while looking out at the ocean.
THE HIGH PRIESTESS: Molly Bloom. Scene: From the chapter "Penelope." Molly lies in bed, reading cards, envisioning all she knows and all that no one knows she knows.
THE EMPRESS: Mina Purefoy. Scene: From the chapter "Oxen of the Sun." Mina has just given birth in the hospital while men tell ribald tales of fertility rites.
THE EMPEROR: Simon Dedalus. Scene: From the chapter "Wandering Rocks." Simon finally gives in to his daughter Dilly's demand for money, but with a sharp verbal rebuke.
THE HIEROPHANT: Father Garrett Deasy. Scene: From the chapter "Nestor." Deasy pedantically details his theories to Stephen as they sit in his opulent office, which is decorated with seashells, coins, and horse portraits.
THE LOVERS: Lydia Douce, Mina Kennedy, and Ben Dollard. Scene: From the chapter "Sirens." Dollard sings in the background while Douce and Kennedy tend bar in the foreground, seducing all with the charms of music and flirtation.
THE CHARIOT: Blazes Boylan. Scene: From the chapter "Sirens." Boylan's horse-drawn cab jingles its way toward Molly.
STRENGTH: Milly Bloom and Pussens. Scene: From the chapter "Ithaca" (Milly doesn't actually appear, but Bloom thinks of her and briefly considers her similarities with their cat). Sexually blossoming Milly stands confidently with Pussens rubbing up against her leg.
THE HERMIT: A.E. Scene: From the chapter "Scylla and Charybdis." A.E. pronounces on esoteric theories at the library.
WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Throwaway and Sceptre. Scene: From the chapter "Eumaeus." A picture and headline in the newspaper show that dark horse Throwaway won over the heavily favored Sceptre.
JUSTICE: Martin Cunningham. Scene: From the chapter "Cyclops." Martin Cunningham helps Bloom escape the scene as the Citizen throws a Jacob's tin at Bloom and misses. Cunningham has just defended Bloom from the false accusations of other bar patrons.
THE HANGED MAN: Rudolph Virag Bloom. Scene: From the chapter "Ithaca." Bloom imagines the suicide of his father Rudolph Virag, who killed himself after the death of Bloom's mother. Virag left investments to Bloom that have been a saving grace for him financially.
DEATH: Paddy Dignam. Scene: From the chapter "Hades." Bloom, Simon Dedalus, Martin Cunningham and others look on as Paddy Dignam is memorialized and buried.
TEMPERANCE: Gerty MacDowell. Scene: From the chapter "Nausicaa." Gerty sits on the beach, considering the virtues of temperance and how her father's abuse of alcohol has ruined her family. She notices Bloom watching her and teases and excites him by showing off her legs. They both fantasize about one another but do not speak to or touch one another.
THE DEVIL: Buck Mulligan. Scene: From the chapter "Telemachus." Mulligan gives his blasphemous rendition of the Eucharist, then teases and tempts Stephen out of his home to join him later for an evening of debauchery.
THE TOWER: Martello Tower. Scene: From the chapter "Telemachus." Stephen leaves the Tower without his key, knowing he has been usurped and may not be able to return.
THE STAR: 7 Eccles Street. Scene: From the chapter "Ithaca." Bloom and Stephen stand together in Bloom's garden, pissing under the stars.
THE MOON: Garryowen. Scene: From the chapter "Cyclops." In a fantastical imagining, the wolfhound Garryowen sits upright on a barstool, his hind legs crossed, holding in his forepaws and reading from a text that he has written in the Irish epic style.
THE SUN: Jacky and Tommy Caffrey (and Cissy). Scene: From the chapter "Nausicaa." Young Cissy runs through the sand after her twin toddler brothers, who have been playing vigorously and naughtily.
JUDGEMENT: Bella Cohen and May Dedalus, among many others. Scene: From the chapter "Circe." Stephen and Bloom hallucinate a huge cast of characters who pass judgement on them for all their failings. This builds to a hallucinatory climax where brothel madam Cohen humiliates Bloom for his failures as a husband and Stephen's dead mother May reflects back to him his guilt over his failure to follow her dying wish.
THE WORLD: Molly and Leopold Bloom in bed. Scene: From the chapters "Ithaca" and "Penelope." Poldy and Molly Bloom lie in bed, facing opposite directions, reflecting and containing the world in their thoughts and their love.
ACE OF CUPS: Bar of lemon soap.
ACE OF PENTACLES: Bloom's potato.
ACE OF SWORDS: A copy of Sweets of Sin.
ACE OF WANDS: Stephen's ashplant.
TWO OF CUPS: Poldy proposes to Molly under the rhododenrons at Howth Head.
TWO OF PENTACLES: Father Cowley discusses how to juggle his debts with Simon Dedalus and Ben Dollard.
FIVE OF PENTACLES: The Dedalus sisters travel through town to pawn belongings and beg.
SIX OF CUPS: Dilly Dedalus asks Stephen for his input on the French primer she has bought.
SIX OF PENTACLES: Martin Cunningham leads the collection for the Dignam orphans.
SIX OF WANDS: The viceregal cavalcade proceeds through the town and people gather and wave.
SEVEN OF CUPS: Bloom pens a letter to Martha Clifford.
EIGHT OF CUPS: Stephen refuses Bloom's offer to stay and leaves.
NINE OF SWORDS: Bloom is frozen in horror and dread as he sits in the restaurant and realizes Boylan has arrived to meet Molly.
TEN OF SWORDS: Stephen is left knocked out and lying flat on his back by a punch from Private Carr.
KING OF SWORDS: Myles Crawford, editor of The Evening Telegraph.
KING OF CUPS: F. W. Sweny, drugstore proprietor.
KING OF PENTACLES: Davy Byrne, proprietor of Byrne's pub.
QUEEN OF SWORDS: Martha Clifford, Bloom's erotic pen-pal.
QUEEN OF CUPS: Josie Breen, an old friend of Molly's and old flame of Bloom's who is now a caretaker to her mentally imbalanced husband.
QUEEN OF PENTACLES: The old woman in the tower, who delivers milk to Stephen and Buck and is treated as a symbol of Old Ireland.
QUEEN OF WANDS: Zoe Higgins, prostitute who attempts to seduce Bloom and takes his potato.
KNIGHT OF SWORDS: Lyster, champion of learning.
KNIGHT OF CUPS: Denis Breen, avenger of mail pranks.
KNIGHT OF PENTACLES: The Citizen, defender of Irish pride.
KNIGHT OF WANDS: Haines, hunter of the elusive panther.
PAGE OF SWORDS: Joe Hynes, not-so-talented journalist.
PAGE OF PENTACLES: Pat, waiter at the Ormond Hotel restaurant.
PAGE OF WANDS: Alec Bannon, seeker after Milly Bloom's heart.