Formicida
Hopefully this doesn't get too confusing.
1. Why is his head a statue? This is one of the first things I see in this card, and yet neither Crowley nor DuQuette even mentions it. In fact, DuQuette even says, "One thing is immediately obvious--this is not your Aeon-of-Osiris Pope....Instead of the pale, humourless features of a delicate prelate offering at some demure worship service, we are thrilled by the bold, confident image of a Babylonian priest-king..." But the style of sculpture is in fact from the Aeon of Osiris, if not Isis, and his features may not be humourless, but they are pale. The only possible answer I've got is that Crowley says, "The rhythm of the Hierophant is such that he moves only at intervals of 2000 years." In that light, his being made of stone makes some sense. But I feel that that's not all there is to it.
2. What exactly is going on with the outermost "star" symbol? It manages to be both a pentagram and a hexagram at the same time--it's a pentagram with an extra point in the center, or it's a hexagram with one point inside. Is this a common magickal symbol, or is it unique to this card?
3. Crowley says of the wand that he's holding, "The upper ring is marked with scarlet for Horus; the two lower rings with green for Isis, and pale yellow for Osiris, respectively." I've got a small deck and no magnifying glass, but I don't see any colors. Are they actually there?
1. Why is his head a statue? This is one of the first things I see in this card, and yet neither Crowley nor DuQuette even mentions it. In fact, DuQuette even says, "One thing is immediately obvious--this is not your Aeon-of-Osiris Pope....Instead of the pale, humourless features of a delicate prelate offering at some demure worship service, we are thrilled by the bold, confident image of a Babylonian priest-king..." But the style of sculpture is in fact from the Aeon of Osiris, if not Isis, and his features may not be humourless, but they are pale. The only possible answer I've got is that Crowley says, "The rhythm of the Hierophant is such that he moves only at intervals of 2000 years." In that light, his being made of stone makes some sense. But I feel that that's not all there is to it.
2. What exactly is going on with the outermost "star" symbol? It manages to be both a pentagram and a hexagram at the same time--it's a pentagram with an extra point in the center, or it's a hexagram with one point inside. Is this a common magickal symbol, or is it unique to this card?
3. Crowley says of the wand that he's holding, "The upper ring is marked with scarlet for Horus; the two lower rings with green for Isis, and pale yellow for Osiris, respectively." I've got a small deck and no magnifying glass, but I don't see any colors. Are they actually there?