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
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