Pairs of Cards in RWS

beanu

Upon advice to look at the colors in the RWS deck, I eventually concluded that the majority of the cards exist in pairs, which led to other issues.

The most obvious and significant pairs I have identified (going beyond simply colours to look for clues) and trying not to move cards too far from their normal sequence are:-

Fool and Magician - The flower - a weak connection.

Empress and High Priestess - Female

Emperor and Hierophant - Male - red garmets

Strength and Chariot - beasts - Sphinx = intelligent beast = dragon. Lion is alchemical purified form of dragon.

Justice and Wheel of Fortune - symmetrical artifacts - balance of two, balance of four

Temperance and Star - pouring of water using two vessels

Devil and Tower - black backgrounds (the most obvious pair in the RWS)

Sun and Moon - both astrological bodies - both in same position in the card - upper central, about the same size.

Leaving Death, Judgement, Lovers and The world


some other pairs - but far apart, are
World and Wheel - four beasts in the corners
Pillars - some have grey pillars either side - High Priestess and Hierophant
Justice, Moon
Only one (I think) has black and white pillars - High Priestess

Some have two very small pillars in t he background, with either rising sun or a mountain between - Temperance? can't remember - will have to go look.

Naked woman - Star and World

Woman in white with flowers headdress - Empress and Strength
 

northsea

Pairs is a great way to view the RWS Majors. I like your pairings. The Wheel of Fortune and the World I think of as the "mandala cards".

Here's an old thread where I came up with some pairings based on a new view of the Ladder of Virtues layout:

http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=112660

1 Magician 16 Tower
4 Emperor 13 Death
7 Chariot 10 Wheel of Fortune

2 High Priestess 17 Star
5 Hierophant 14 Temperance
8 Justice 11 Strength

3 Empress 18 Moon
6 Lovers 15 Devil
9 Hermit 12 Hanged Man
 

beanu

Awesome! your pairings are uncanny.
It will take me some time to digest....
 

Alta

Another way to pair, explored in other threads, is with numerology.

For example 6 The lovers paired with its dark brother 1+5 = 16 The Devil: so seeing jealousy, need for control in a relationship etc as the flip side.

Another strong example is the 7 Chariot & 1+ 6 Tower pairing, a strong personality type for example, determined to have the last say and often pushing both themselves and others to disaster (even on smaller scales).