Why are there no shadows on the Moon card?

Fulgour

"Why are there no shadows on the Moon card?"
A friend asked me this question the other day,
and my first thought was how beautiful things
are on a moonlit night, especially the shadows,
yet Pamela's design seems to glow from within.

:) What do you think?

The 2 main sources used by Pamela Colman Smith
when she created her image for "The Moon" were
Le Tarot de Marseille and The Oswald Wirth Tarot.

See black and white images of both cards here:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/tob/tob34.htm
PAPUS Tarot of the Bohemians XVIII The Moon

Of course, the Moon is always Full (we see angles):
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/teachers/moonglow2.html

Moon Phase Animation
http://www.bedford.k12.ny.us/flhs/science/moonphaseanimation.html
 

Abrac

Interesting observation Fulgour.

Actually there aren't any shadows in any of the RWS cards (unless you count the guy's back on the 7/Cups as a shadow). They must not have fit into the overall appearance she was striving for. The cards do have a radiant glow about them.

-fof
 

Fulgour

thanks fof

I think maybe I'll be doing some more artwork here...
printing out a line drawing of The Moon and shading in
where in theory there would be shadows, based upon
the relationship between the Moon and what's below.

Unless someone beats me to it... :)

*

Pamela Colman Smith's original interpretation
http://tarotinstitute.com/free/waite/18-Moon-BW100.jpg

Cary Sheet early prototype
http://www.tarothermit.com/cary18.gif

Dodal 1701 (best Marseille ever)
http://letarot.com/jean-dodal/images/Dodal-original-web/XVIII-web-bas.jpg

Ignaz Kreb's by Piatnik (one of my favourites)
http://www.republika.pl/tareau/karty_jpg/ksiezyc.jpg

*

NOTE: On the early cards there were always a row of rocks
across the front of the card at the bottom... as if we were
standing on an opposite shore distantly viewing the scene,
and "Side" is one of the basic meanings of letter 18 Tsade.
 

Fulgour

"The Seven Princesses" 1905 by Pamela Colman Smith

to view: Click on.