Stoned in the Five of Pentacles

caridwen

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Pents05.jpg

Has anyone else given any thought to the stone at the foot of the crippled figure in the Five?

Do you think they are being stoned? People are throwing stones at them to get rid off them?

The figure with sticks is looking warily over his shoulder as though expecting another missile.
 

cronegoddess54

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Pents05.jpg

Has anyone else given any thought to the stone at the foot of the crippled figure in the Five?

Do you think they are being stoned? People are throwing stones at them to get rid off them?

The figure with sticks is looking warily over his shoulder as though expecting another missile.

I never noticed that! Yes, it does look like a stone to me and quite possibly they were being stoned....very interesting observation. Destitute and disabiled are the two beings walking in the cold...behind the glass we see warmth and brightness, what if that stone hit that glass? That would bring in the cold..maybe it tells us to know that it could happen to all of us, just a matter of one stone striking and shattering the window? This reminds me of at work we have a work room that they are keeping locked because they have found homeless persons in there...the person that told me this was mean about it saying they were using the bathroom to wash etc..all I could say was so locking the door will make it right? I mentioned would it not be more helpful to help these homeless people? Instead of refusing to see?? Good post..hope others reply :)
 

caridwen

This reminds me of at work we have a work room that they are keeping locked because they have found homeless persons in there...the person that told me this was mean about it saying they were using the bathroom to wash etc..all I could say was so locking the door will make it right? I mentioned would it not be more helpful to help these homeless people? Instead of refusing to see?? Good post..hope others reply :)

Yes this is exactly the type of scenario I was thinking off. Driving away the homeless or the injured. This is what used to happen to the mentally ill and others on the fringes of society, they were mocked or driven away.

I was also thinking of Churches and what they represent. People aren't always so nice or kind to others and religious people have been known to drive away others who don't share their views or fit in with them.
 

cronegoddess54

Yes this is exactly the type of scenario I was thinking off. Driving away the homeless or the injured. This is what used to happen to the mentally ill and others on the fringes of society, they were mocked or driven away.

I was also thinking of Churches and what they represent. People aren't always so nice or kind to others and religious people have been known to drive away others who don't share their views or fit in with them.

I was thinking the same thing! How funny..the person that told me about why they locked the room is a "Christian"... (not that that is bad, or any religion for that matter, we are all on different paths) but, I do not think they "Get it." Isn't there a saying..but by the grace of God go I? Or something like that? This card is the ultimate compassion card for me...
 

caridwen

The man with crutches has a bell around his neck like a leper. In the 15th and 16th Centuries there was a massive leprosy outbreak and lepers were confined in secure units outside the cities. I would guess that he is a leper because of the rags and his lesions which were common with lepers.

In the 18th century, hospitals excluded patients with contagious diseases like leprosy, fever children and stds. These people were eventually housed in institutions specifically designed for them and from which the word 'lock' is derived. Loques is a French word for bandages or rags. The excluded were locked up and restrained and they were called Lock Hospitals.

Prostitutes became the lepers when syphilis replaced leprosy in the 18th century. There was a massive outbreak of syphilis and venereal disease hospitals were set up. The average age for a syphilis infected prostitute was nineteen.

This may be a prostitute and leper neither of which would have been welcomed by a church. A leper would infect the congregation and a prostitute would have been seen as unchristian and unclean.

I got this information from a book called, Prostitution and Victorian Society by Judith R Walkowitz.

:p Looking again at the image, it looks like the snow is falling so heavily that the foot prints of the woman are being covered up and it isn't a stone:D
 

cronegoddess54

Very interesting information..thank you for sharing this..... :)
 

Abrac

caridwen, I like your hypothesis about a leper and a prostitute, but has it been conclusively established that it's a church? I'll admit it gives the impression of a church because of the stained glass (or at least something that looks like stained glass). But there's no Christian symbolism on it and Waite mentions nothing of a church.
 

caridwen

caridwen, I like your hypothesis about a leper and a prostitute, but has it been conclusively established that it's a church? I'll admit it gives the impression of a church because of the stained glass (or at least something that looks like stained glass). But there's no Christian symbolism on it and Waite mentions nothing of a church.

In the Pictorial Key Waite says, "Two mendicants in a snow-storm pass a lighted casement." A casement is the earliest form of movable window.

A 'mendicant' is derived from the Latin word mendicans which means begging. The term became common in the High Middle Ages and is used to describe religious followers who rely on charity to survive.

In the East this term is used to describe Buddhist monks and those of other religions who have taken a vow of poverty and spend their life serving the poor.

These people do not look as though they have purposefully chosen this way of life but maybe Waite is using the term in order to refer to those who rely exclusively on charity to survive.

Stained glass is used predominantly in churches. However, officious buildings also have stained glass such as town halls or very wealthy privately owned houses.

I suppose they could be walking past a Town Hall which may represent being cast out from the town. They may have been asked to leave a very grand house where they were begging for money. However, stained glass in the middle ages was and still is, representative of a church because that is where is was most commonly found. Churches are also supposed to be charitable.
 

Abrac

Whether it's truly stained glass is the crux of the matter for me. In the top corners there are two pieces missing and what looks like a backing with slots, to which the glass was either fastened and subsequently fell off, or was never completed in the first place. Either of which would fit Waite's interpretation of material hardship. If it's truly stained glass there wouldn't be any kind of backing and the interior of the building would be visible. Try as I might, I just can't see it that way. First of all, a 17th or 18th century church would be lighted by candles and a dim light would be seen through the holes. The casement also seems a bit to bright to be lighted from interior candles. To me it looks more like it's illuminated from the exterior by a full moon.

I don't know enough about the glasswork of the period to say for sure, but the whole thing smacks of a "faux" stained glass of some kind which could be found on any number of buildings. If it was church of that period there would be Biblical scenes in the glass.
 

cronegoddess54

The glass shape reminds me of the Tree of Life or a menora of some sorts. I believe it to be a church..