Fairytale Tarot (MRP) -- Judgement

Master_Margarita

Judgement is exemplified in this deck by the very old tale of Snow White, which is too familiar to need a link to the story.

The notion of rebirth and renewal is easily conveyed by the familiar moment in the story when the Prince dislodges the poisoned apple in Snow White's mouth (query: why didn't it poison him too if his lip touched it??) and she sits up. Charmingly, the image on the card depicts all seven dwarfs as well as Snow White and the Prince.

I had forgotten, until I read the decks' companion book, that Snow White's stepmother makes three attempts in total to kill Snow White. I never knew, until I read the companion book, that the Brothers Grimm somewhat sanitized this tale in 1819 when they published it, and until that time the poisoner was Snow White's mother, not her stepmother. Particularly with the mother as the antagonist, as the commentary points out, it is easy to interpret this tale as a narrative about the struggles we have to individuate when growing up against the conscious or unconscious attempts of our parents to keep us as children. In that light, the Seven Dwarfs represent the past and the Prince represents the future.

So is Judgement about a whole new life, or making a transition to a new phase of life? This story serves either meaning.

:heart: M_M~
 

Thirteen

The Brothers Grimm made a lot of changes to the fairytales to reflect their own propaganda. Almost all moms were changed to stepmoms because they viewed mothers as "holy" and to be venerated. All heroines had to do housework because girls couldn't be given anything for nothing. In some cases, punishments were made more gruesome to get the point across that the wicked will suffer.

I think the important thing of Judgement and Snow White here is that the poisonous past is gone at last. It's been dislodged (and killed, yes? The poisonous mom is dead) and a new beginning is possible. One of the most important aspects of Judgement isn't leaving the old or starting the new, it's facing down that obstruction and dealing with it. Everything in Judgement is predicated on that.
 

Master_Margarita

Yes, the poisonous mom/stepmom is forced to put on red-hot iron shoes and dance until she dies (in an echo of The Red Shoes).

I don't know a lot about the Brothers Grimm; I suspect that sort of detail may be found in The Uses of Enchantment, which I read in 1983 and retain almost nothing of at all.

:heart: M_M~
 

Grizabella

Master_Margarita said:
Yes, the poisonous mom/stepmom is forced to put on red-hot iron shoes and dance until she dies (in an echo of The Red Shoes).

I didn't know that! I guess I should go back for a refresher course on fairy tales!

This is all very interesting to me. I had never known that the dwarves represent the past (childhood, I guess?) and the dislodging of the apple and all representing going on to the future, etc.

Everyone here is so educated and I'm so---not! :rolleyes: