The Devil In The Deck

Melanchollic

Rosanne said:
Tarot having been associated with shoddy soothsayers and confidence tricksters thus it is an unsuitable area for academic detailed examination.....and such a paucity of scholarly work....and her work is going to correct this deficiency! Brave Farley who goes a slummin' to edumacate me :D.

I haven't bought this book, but do ya'll reckon she could learn me som'un too? :laugh:
 

Rosanne

Melanchollic said:
I haven't bought this book, but do ya'll reckon she could learn me som'un too? :laugh:
Are you a shoddy soothsayer? Or are you a.... shock horror.....a pseudo- legit
whatchmacallit? Then you will learn what you are and it will cost you $83 Kiwi bucks. I will tell you for $50 :joke:
I will be flattering though :love:

~Rosanne
 

samten

Umberto Eco on The Devil

Umberto Eco, in his new book, On Ugliness, has gathered a huge series of images and texts around The Devil, and other layered and related subjects, placed in a rice cultural context. It is an essential book for people interested in Tarot iconography.
Samten
 

foolish

let's not forget that in early christianity, before the orthodox roman church established its superiority, there were dualistic sects - the gnostics, for example - who believed that the devil was actually the "other" god who created the world and all that is in it, while God, the Almighty, created the soul. this placed man in the condition of having a good soul, which would hopefully retrun to God upon his or her death, but was trapped in an evil body while living in this material world.

is it possible that the depiction of the devil in the tarot which shows the devil with two "heads" - one on his shoulders and one on his belly - or both the male and female genetilia is actually refering to this dualist theme? are there any other depictions of the devil before these tarot cards which show him with these images? if not, then maybe we should ask ourselves why these images were used in the tarot card.
 

Melanchollic

foolish said:
is it possible that the depiction of the devil in the tarot which shows the devil with two "heads" - one on his shoulders and one on his belly - or both the male and female genetilia is actually refering to this dualist theme? are there any other depictions of the devil before these tarot cards which show him with these images? if not, then maybe we should ask ourselves why these images were used in the tarot card.


It was a common way of depicting the Devil.


allhallowspainting.jpg
 

Melanchollic

In the medieval dramas, that much of the trump imagery is derived from, the Devil, like the Fool, and Death, was a non-speaking role. These three characters were comical. Death or the Devil would try to catch the Fool and loads of physical gags would be performed. Sort of an early version of Tom and Jerry! ;)

I can imagine faces were painted right on to the actors bellys, with the navel acting as the mouth, and by shifting the belly fat around could make the face move. That plus, a hairy man with fake tits and horns was sure to get a laugh!
 

foolish

thank you for that image. do you know when it was from? are you aware of any images like this from pre-tarot dates?