Card 6, Les Astres.
For card 6, here are: the 1910 Etteilla I from
http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks03/d01612/d01612.htm; Sumada's Etteilla II, before 1890,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumadas-treasure-box/sets/72157631584481419/ and his La Rue Etteilla III, 1890-1917,
hhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/sumadas-treasure-box/sets/72157634149140002/,
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumadas-treasure-box/sets/72157634144383225/.
If you look closely at the Etteilla I and II, you will see that there is more in the sky than the sun, moon, and one star. There are also two astrological symbols and 6 smaller stars, suitably overpowered by the sun's rays. Here is a close up without all that paint (from the c. 1838's black and white versions); they are also there in the colored versions:
All three cards are inspired by what Etteilla says in the second
Cahier (translated in post #78):
6. The sixth sheet offers the false hieroglyph of an Emperor, its number of creation, which can serve for replacing it as it was formerly with the Egyptians, is 4, fourth day of creation: God made two great lights. This sheet primitively offers a Zodiac; and I believe, without rejecting anything that I have said about the fourth sheet, that the Cardmakers have moved a part of the sixth sheet onto the fourth; this of which we speak at present, the sixth sheet, has only the third number [i.e. three heavenly bodies]. It is necessary at the bottom of the Zodiac to notice there the allegory of the spirit of the colors, the white; notice that one finds again on another sheet the black, on another the red, and finally on another the seven colors, as Physics conceives them; the most interesting and the most difficult is to discover the true green color, in the center of the others.
The 4th day of creation is that on which God said "Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." Instead of the "false" association of 4 with the Emperor, we have a true association to the Empress, as Etteilla tells us in connection with card 7 ("No. 7, or the seventh sheet of the Book of Thoth, is also an Emperor, badly figured to the purpose, which was preceded by an Empress"). But it is not intended to resemble the Marseille Empress; it is a new design--two of them in fact. I think the Etteilla I's and II's stars are to represent the planets; Uranus had been determined to be a planet in 1783, to much publicity (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus). To represent the zodiac we have Libra and Aries. (Why those? Does it mean anything?)
The Etteilla III goes all out in representing the Zodiac, to an extent not seen in the preceding decks. It also mightily represents the color green, in three different shades and places. The earth is in the center, with its green oceans. In contrast, the Etteilla I and II put the green earth at the bottom, sensibly attached to vegetation. By "allegory of the colors," Etteilla tells us that colors are symbolic; here he enumerates the three primary colors of alchemy, white, black, and red. Green is also alchemical, as are all together.
Now for the word lists. Again, words that are in either translation of Papus, and also in Orsini, are in regular type. Those in Papus only are in
italics; and those in Orsini only in
bold.
6. La Nuit. NIGHT-Obscurity, Darkness, Lack of Light, Night Scene [Fr. Nocturnal], Mystery, Secret, Mask, Hidden, Unknown, Clandestine, Occult. Eclipse.-Veil, Symbol, Figure, Image, Parable, Allegory, Mystic Fire, Veiled Purpose, Mystic Meaning, Mysterious words, Obscure discourse, Occult Science.-Hidden Machinations, Mysterious Intervention, Clandestine Actions, In secret, Clandestinely, Derision.-Blindness, Confused, Entangle, Cover, Wrap , Forget, Forgotten, Difficulty, Doubt, Ignorance.
Reversed: Le Jour. DAY. Clarity, Light, Brilliance, Splendor, Illumination, Manifestation, Evidence, Truth.-Clear, Visible, Luminous, Grant the Day [Donner le jour: Stockman has "bring into being"], Seize the Day [ Mettre au jour; Stockman has "bring to light"], Make Public [Imprimer; Stockman has "Publish"], Make Appear.-Pierce, Coming of Day [Se faire jour; Stockman has "make a way for oneself], Brighten Up [s'eclairer; Stockman has "clearing or clarification"), Acquire Knowledge.-Public Joys, Fireworks.-Expedient, Easiness.-Opening Up, Window, Gap, Zodiac.
Here the Zodiac is only mentioned once, as a kind of afterthought. The whole theme is day vs. night, in all senses. Orsini nonetheless calls this card "The Stars" (Les Astres; but in French this word includes the sun and moon); the c. 1910 and modern Grimaud booklets give the title as "The Sky" (Le Ciel).
Here is Orsini's commentary on the card, c. 1838, with my explanatory comments in brackets.
This card represents the sky; the sun still shines on the earth, but the pale light of the moon will soon have replaced it; the mystical sense of this figure is not very difficult to explain.
It signifies darkness, storms, eclipses, blindness.
If the person for whom one consults is aged, this card predicts length of days still.
If it is a young person, there will prove to be many obstacles toward a marriage projected for a long time.
Near no. 16 [Judgment], it predicts a supernatural show; a magician that you have consulted has predicted many things that did not happen.
Reversed, it promises enlightenment in your troubled affairs.
On the card, Night is the upright position; hence the upright meaning is negative. The "supernatural show" might refer to the kind of thing that is on the Judgment card, angels blowing trumpets, etc. But it is not the Last Judgment, as some might have predicted.
The c. 1865 de la Rue booklet, revised for the Etteilla III [see Cerulean’s post #90 for the French], says that the card is like no. 4, but the signs of the zodiac add to its value. With no. 16 [Judgment] we get not a supernatural show but only phenomena of nature, such as an extraordinary rain, or frost, or snow, or storms. And rather than predicting, for a lady, slanders that will turn on the perpetrator, it says only “sometimes there is a nice surprise.”
The c. 1910 Grimaud booklet does more with the opposition between day and night
No. 6 is the card of the sky. If day is upright, it announces a passion of love that one inspires in a public promenade. If night is upright, this passion will be born at a ball, or a brilliant soiree, or at a show.
If this card is beside no. 3 [Water], it announces a storm or a great rain that one will receive in the country.
If it is reversed, it promises a cold [rhume] that will last six weeks.
If it is found beside no. 18 [The Traitor], it presages a jaundice that can be cured only by drinking every morning for six days, three spoonfuls of willow-bark syrup, in a glass of warm water.
If it is reversed, beside no. 70, one will attend the performance of a piece that will be hissed, or one will attend a lecture or a sermon, whose author will be held in contempt.
The modern Grimaud has for its keywords "Secrets" and "Truth," unpacking the metaphor of Night and Day. It manages to include the essence of the previous interpretations in a small space, although without much charm. Also, we know from Orsini that the English translation given of "prodige," which can mean either "Prodigy" or "Wonder," is wrong.
No. 6 THE SKY. A card that signifies a strong tendency towards mystery and all that is enigmatic.
R: [Right side up]: For a young girl: The discovery of passion. For an elderly person: a long and happy life.
U [Upside down]: Surprise meeting. A sudden discovery.
R: with 3 - An outing in the country suddenly spoilt by a storm. With 16 - Prodigy [French Prodige, here meaning "Wonder."]
U: With 18 - Jaundice. With 70: A setback for an actor, author, lecturer.
Modern Grimaud wisely omits the treatment for jaundice. It might lose its lawsuit.