Crossed Circle in the Three of Pentacles

earthshine

What are your thoughts on the Cross in the Circle in the Three of Pentacles? It is located in the center of the three engraved coins. To my mind it recalls the Host the White Dove has on its beak in the Ace of Cups.

This Cross is also repeated in the middle of the Rose (in the center of the concaved downward triangle) between the two lower arches.

I also noticed that the rose has five spokes coming out of it, almost like tracing the reversed pentacle of The Devil.

Your thoughts?
 

Abrac

Given the time period depicted I think the rose and cross is probably some sort of a symbol of mysticism or gnosticism. My initial thought was that it's Rosicrucian but I think the time period is too early, and it's unlikely a Rosicrucian symbol would turn up in a Catholic monastery anyway, as Rosicrucianism is normally associated with Protestantism.

Those things sticking out from the sides of the rose are the calyx, or the outer green part of the flower. See here. Scroll down to the picture of the red rose and you can see it. They're also between the petals of the rose on Death's banner.
 

earthshine

Thank you. Yes, the calyx. Makes sense! I'll spend a few minutes reading up on what Rosicrucianism is. Thanks for your input.
 

Abrac

readerico, I edited my previous post a minute ago, I think while you were writing; sorry 'bout that. :(
 

earthshine

readerico, I edited my previous post a minute ago, I think while you were writing; sorry 'bout that. :(
No worries. You think the five-petalled rose is another symbol of the pentacle?
 

Abrac

I don't think so personally but it's not something I've thought about. They both have five in common so there might be some connection.

The rose has a long history in Christian symbolism so it could be Christian in nature. It does look similar to the host in the Ace of Cups. Honestly, I have no idea what it actually is. Unless I run across the same symbolism somewhere else I'm afraid I'm as much in the dark as you.
 

Abrac

I do it think it has some significance beyond ornamentation; everything seems to have a specific design as indicated by the blueprint being shown to the craftsman. There's a rose and cross emblem on the wall of the 2 of Wands and Waite says it "should be noticed." There are other seemingly mundane items that are more than what they seem, the blanket in the 9 of Swords as one example.

If you wanted to used Fulgour's Tree of Life analogy from the other thread, I can see the three pentacles at the top as Kether, Chockmah and Binah; the rose and cross below would be Tiphareth. The cross in the center of the rose symbolizes Spirit awakening in the heart center; the circle and cross above represents Spirit exalted to a higher level in Daath; the building itself is the physical body. The message could be, Art in the external can only take a person so far, there's a point where the external stops and the internal begins.
 

parsival

Crossed Circle in 3 of Pentacles

Regarding the symbolism of the rose, Waite in his " New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry ' says : " The Rose has always been related to sacraments of joy, since it is love - radiant, enchanting , innocent , prior to the experience of good and evil ". ( see the rose in the Fool's hand ..." the Spirit in search of experience " ( PKT) . Also from the New Encyclopedia " There are strange fables which tell us that Jesus of Nazareth was Himself a flower, a flower plucked from a garden and afterwards crucified, that is , put up or extended on a cross, thus providing a significant explanation of an emblem which has become familiar in Christendom - namely the combined Rose and Cross." By the way , the rose and cross were used in Catholic symbolism before the Reformation and the Rosicrucians.
Of course , the rose is associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary as well , and in the Litanies she is described as Rosa Mystica or Mystical Rose , and her special prayer is the Rosary. Since the tarot 3's are related to Binah the Great Mother . the third Sephirah on the ToL ,this also brings to mind our Lady who is Virgin and Mother . The rose is also connected with Shekinah.
There are symbolic links between the rose , the chalice ( derived from the Latin calix which is also used in botany for part of the flower) , and the heart.
 

Barleywine

I do it think it has some significance beyond ornamentation. There's a rose and cross emblem on the wall of the 2 of Wands and Waite says it "should be noticed." There are other seemingly mundane items that are more than what they seem, the blanket in the 9 of Swords as one example.

If you wanted to used Fulgour's Tree of Life analogy from the other thread, I can see the three pentacles at the top as Kether, Chockmah and Binah; the rose and cross below would be Tiphareth. The cross in the center of the rose symbolizes Spirit awakening in the heart center; the circle and cross above represents Spirit exalted to a higher level in Daath.

Everything seems to have a specific design as indicated by the blueprint being shown the craftsman.

This seems to make the most sense of anything that's been said on the subject so far. Using a little (well, maybe a lot) of imagination, this analogy could even be carried further. The blueprint is situated in the approximate location of Yesod, where the "forms" that underlie physical manifestation in Malkuth coalesce. The craftsman is holding down Geburah and Hod, perhaps an expression of the "active intelligence," while the architect represents Chesed and Netzach, or the more "contemplative intelligence." The architect is rooted in Malkuth but the craftsman is slightly elevated, aspiring to Hod (which seems to support the "apprenticeship" or "practical learning" associations sometimes given to this card). The monk is also slightly elevated, implying that he partakes somewhat of the quality of Chesed, perhaps bestowing a benediction upon the proceedings characteristic of that sphere.
 

Abrac

Ran across this in Waite's The Occult Sciences, 1891; may be relevant. "In the monasteries of the Latin church, the saintly men of Christendom appear to have achieved the highest altitudes of the spirit which are possible to embodied man, by the process of introspection."