Rider Waite symbols...

A mini forum for Rider Waite, super.

Does anyone know what the lizards in the courts mean?

I have wondered about this for years now, does anyone here know ?

thanx,
William

Salamanders are on the Page, Knight, and King of Wands. They are a symbol of the Fire energy of the suit. According to mythology, The salamander was believed to be able to live in fire without being burned up. It was associated with fire, of which it was believed to be the living manifestation. It was believed to feed on fire.

Hope this helped.

Rose

ahhh, their salamaders Thanx rose, now they make a lot more sense. I'm going to look up salamander mythology now !

William

oroborus

the design on the King of Wands throne is a variation of the oroborus identified as a lizard eating its own tail. That makes sense because a lizard can lose its tail and grow it back.

Roses and Lilies are common in the RWS Decks, and do in fact imply a very important message depending on the reading. I find the pictoral key to the tarot kind of bland though.

7 of swords and the red boots/red hat

I was wonderin if anyone knows and could tell me what the red hat and boots on the figure in the 7 of swords might represent? I wonder why red? and what that colour is trying to say in this card? thank you

Great thread!

I just started Mary K. Greer's workbook and a sample exercise was free writing on the word rose and then after to compare to the way roses were used in a Tarot deck. I have chosen Rider-Waite to do this study with, great information!

Synchronicity.

Roses & Lilies - in the “Pictorial Key,” Waite writes: "Beneath are roses and lilies, the flos campi and lilium convallium, changed into garden flowers..." The Latin words are from the Vulgate (Latin) Bible, the Song of Songs, Chap 2, Verse 1, “I am the Rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys. As a lily among the thistles, so is my love among the thistles, so is my love among the maidens” - so the words are translated as Rose of Sharon and Lily of the Valley. So that is the ultimate source of the symbolism.

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http://www.tarotpassages.com/old_moonstruck/oneill/1.htm

Re appearance of roses in Mag and 2 of Wands: I see the 2 of Wands as the Magician later in life. He's created and now is interested in creating once again but this time around not as a singlet, not creating from his ego alone, but in co-operation with something which is not himself. Even in appearance the Magician could be the Merchant from the 2 of Wands in earlier years.


If you think about it those two cards not only have the flowers in common but they both have two wands -- the Mag holds one aloft and has one on the table. In the two of wands one wand is in hand balanced upon the table while the second is bolted to the wall. No leaves on the Magician's wands -- all in potential -- but the wands are leafed in the 2 of Wands. Yet the roses are growing in the Magician and are a type of insignia in the 2 of Wands.

Three of Wands -- middle age for the Magician (both have headband)? - but no roses.

Random thoughts ...

Mermaid said:

Does anyone know the meaning of the white rose and red lily that appear on the cards in the Rider Waite deck?
For example:
The fool holds a white rose
Death has a white rose on his flag
The people kneeling before the hierophant have a lily and rose design on their backs

They're on heaps more cards too (including a few minor arcana ones), but I can't remember where I've seen them without my deck handy.

Does anyone know if there's some interesting symbolism behind this - or did the deck's creator just like drawing lilies and roses?

BB
Mermaid

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Alright, I know this thread died a long time ago, but I think it's worth resurrecting to at least point out how AMAZING the Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck is. Seriously, little symbols like this and how they use them just blow my mind.

I also come from a different background and look at these symbols differently. Before I read these other comments (which have influenced my view), this is how I would've responded to the original post:


I've been taught that white refers to both purity and victory. As in, when Jesus comes again, the saints will come down dressed in white, declaring their victory.

I know red roses can be a symbol of passion, but I'm not sure about white roses. (This symbol has been summed up in other posts beautifully).

But lillies! Those have some significance. Look at their shape. They look like the sun or stars. Aren't we all stars? (Crowley talks about that...not that that's relevant to this deck, but...)

Also, lillies sometimes are connected with resurrection (wikipedia: flower). Apparently they're used sometimes in burial.

Red can symbolize blood, which can symbolize both death and rebirth, or sacrifice.

In addition to other meanings, lillies are a traditional symbol of masculinity, so the lillies/roses can also be viewed as symbols of male and female, or on a more base level, duality.