Waite's Star Shines

Fulgour

:OL

Arthur Edward Waite, the avowed font of inspiration for the
Tarot cards which historically bear his time-honoured name,
gave us something that has held up, even brilliantly flourished:
The Pentacle as the representation for Coins, of which he
wrote, "The sign of the suit is... engraved or blazoned with
the pentagram, typifying the correspondence of the four
elements in human nature and that by which they
may be governed." (After which the text is a bit unclear
as to when or why he feels this is or was appropriate.)

We have all read at one time or another how this may have been
too much of an innovation by A. E. Waite, but his wisdom stands.

Following are some links I gathered on the Pentacle/Pentagram,
but was here hoping to find out from fellow Tarot enthusiasts
more about how the Pentacle works for them as a symbol.
As I am typically a champion of the (presumed) underdog,
Pentacles came naturally to be my adopted suit: Earth!

Fulgour

:OL

I still favour Waite's primacy, but added the thing about Levi.

_________________________________

Sharynne NicMacha

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance

James Carroll

Links provided after quick search, so be aptly adroit.
 

Fulgour

from the Carroll-link article

Levi was also instrumental in taking the tarot from being a gipsy fortune-telling device to a powerful set of symbolic images relating closely to the Kabala (or as it is now called in the west, to distinguish it's development from the original Judaic form - Qabalah). It was Levi who designed upon the form of the pentagram such associative inscriptions as in the Pentacle of the Tetragrammaton and he who renamed the suit of Coins as Pentacles.

further text
 

Vincent

Fulgour said:


"The sign of the suit is... engraved or blazoned with
the pentagram, typifying the correspondence of the four
elements in human nature and that by which they
may be governed." (After which the text is a bit unclear
as to when or why he feels this is or was appropriate.)
[/i]


Is this the part you find unclear?

"... In many old Tarot packs this suit stood for current coin, money, deniers. I have not invented the substitution of pentacles and I have no special cause to sustain in respect of the alternative..."

This really doesn't seem all that difficult to understand. Let me paraphrase for you;

"This suit used to have the symbol for money in many old Tarot packs.

It was not me (Waite) who changed the suit from coins to pentacles originally.

I have no reason to use coins as a sign for this suit."


Fulgour said:


We have all read at one time or another how this may have been
too much of an innovation by A. E. Waite, but his wisdom stands.
[/i]

Yes, some of us have even read Waite himself, where he denies being responsible for any such innovation.



Vincent
 

Fulgour

Vincent said:
...some of us have even read Waite himself, where he denies being responsible for any such innovation.
Maybe some day I'll learn more and be better, :joke: :laugh: :joke: :laugh: :joke:
but today I am just happy to celebrate the Pentacle symbol.


___________________________
 

Fulgour

PENTACLES*
Opposites are: Fire and Water, Air and Earth*.
Wands opposite Cups, and Swords opposite Pentacles*.

Signs are Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable:
FIRE Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
WATER Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
AIR Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
EARTH* Capricorn*, Taurus*, Virgo*

Planets by Rulership & Co-Rulership,
with opposites often sharing:
SUN Leo (Fire)
MOON Cancer (Water)
VENUS Taurus (Earth*) and Libra (Air)
MERCURY Gemini (Air) and Virgo (Earth*)
MARS Scorpio (Water) and Aires (Fire)
JUPITER Sagittarius (Fire) and Pisces (Water)
SATURN Capricorn (Earth*) and Aquarius (Air)

Even # Houses=Yang, Odd # Houses=Yin:
(note how opposite elements are side by side)
01 FIRE Aires
02 EARTH* Taurus*
03 AIR Gemini
04 WATER Cancer
05 FIRE Leo
06 EARTH* Virgo*
07 AIR Libra
08 WATER Scorpio
09 FIRE Sagittarius
10 EARTH* Capricorn*
11 AIR Aquarius
12 WATER Pisces

Planetary Exaltations = Greatest Power:
SUN in Aries (Fire in Fire)
MOON in Taurus* (Water in Earth*)
VENUS in Pisces (Air/Earth* in Water)
MERCURY in Virgo* (Air/Earth* in Earth*)
MARS in Capricorn* (Fire/Water in Earth*)
JUPITER in Cancer (Fire/Water in Water)
SATURN in Libra (Air/Earth* in Air)

*Pentacles are:
The dawn of Winter, the day of Spring, the evening of Summer.
Venus, Saturn and Mercury rule Pentacles.
The Moon, Mars and Mercury are exalted in Pentacles, and...
Mercury is the Planet most mysteriously linked to the Tarot.
 

Fulgour

TRANSCENDENTAL MAGIC: Its Doctrine and Ritual by Eliphas Levi
to view exert
Translated by Arthur Edward Waite
 

Fulgour

The Pentacle Kid

JOHNNY APPLESEED, the popular name of John Chapman
(1774-1845), was an almost legendary character and nature
lover of the frontier days in the Middle West. Not much is known
about the particulars of his life.

He was born in Massachusetts and went west about 1800,
carrying with him apples for planting. He lived the rest of his life
in Ohio and Indiana, wandering about clad in rags like a pilgrim,
tending the apple orchards he started wherever he found a good
spot, and reading aloud from the Bible.

The seeds that he planted and the saplings he gave away to the
local Indians and to the new settlers helped to build the orchards
of the Midwest. Chapman also planted the seeds of many healing
herbs such as catnip, horehound, and pennyroyal. Some could
say that he planted spiritual seeds as well. Despite his eccentric
appearance, he was regarded as a healer, and even something
of a saint, by settlers and Indians alike.

John Chapman, b. Leominster, Massachusetts
Sept. 26, 1774, d. Mar. 10, 1845

THIS IS A GREAT PICTURE OF OUR 5-STAR FRIEND

:OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL :OL

____________________________________
 

Fulgour

Doctrine of the 4 Elements
by Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus

The 4 primary elements consist of both a vaporous and a tangible substance;
each element exists as both a physical element and a spiritual element.
There are 2 types of matter in nature - physical and etheric and
also 2 types of nature - the physical world and the supernatural world.
Within the supernatural world exists beings who are native to each
of the elemental regions; earth, air, fire and water, and the regions within.
These are:

:OL Earth - Gnomes
:SL Air - Sylphs
:WL Fire - Salamanders
:CL Water - Undines

Each element is unique in form and function in a way that
is appropriate to its elemental environment.


article and a really cool Pentacle
 

Fulgour

Runic Emanation

The abundance and power of Pentacles manifest in every
belief system, emanating forth the energies of the Earth.

Jera ~ Year

by Nigel Jackson
 

Rusty Neon

Re: from the Carroll-link article

Fulgour said:
Levi was also instrumental in taking the tarot from being a gipsy fortune-telling device to a powerful set of symbolic images relating closely to the Kabala (or as it is now called in the west, to distinguish it's development from the original Judaic form - Qabalah). It was Levi who designed upon the form of the pentagram such associative inscriptions as in the Pentacle of the Tetragrammaton and he who renamed the suit of Coins as Pentacles.

further text

Even before Lévi, the tarot was a powerful set of symbolic images, e.g., 1760 Tarot de Marseille Conver, 1701 Tarot de Marseille Dodal, etc.