Marseille Wands

Hello.. again. In my on going journey of bonding with Marseille I find myself having a difficult time with the Wands. Generally the Wands from my RWS days have been a favorite, being rather active and Fire sign myself. With Marseille however (as w/Crowley) I find looking at the Wands very oppressive. They seem so heavy. So impenetrable. They're a bit clostophobic <(excuse horrible spelling)... how do some of you see them. I like the 2 and 3 but the further we go along the heavier... I must say when I read I not only use certain meanings I generally pick up an overall feeling immediately so the weightiness of this Wand pattern throws me.

Thank you in advance.

Cindy

In the Marseilles deck the Wands are generally known as Batons and for me that changes the feel of them immensely because I tend to think of the history of the Baton, the use, the user....

But, the Wand does have energy or at least directs the energy and intent of the user. Wands are from the occult traditions whereas Batons are active implements of work. Also, the linking of Wands/Batons to fire or any of the elements doesn't have to be used by the reader which is why the Marseilles deck has so much freedom. If you think of the Marseilles Baton as the implement of directing energy as in a weapon or a musical implement the energetic connection is still there. Approach the Marseilles with an open mind and use some logic for the implements, it will help.

Thank you. I like that very much.

Wands

Like the other "black" or "masculine" suit Swords, the Wands/Batons cross each other, which suggests conflict or even friction to me. They are also interwoven, which would be impossible for actual stiff batons made of wood, so they must be made of some unimaginable kind of special "spiritual" wood. Or the suit is playing with the concepts of stiffness and flexibiity. This woven centre adds to the sense of fixity as the suit progresses from 1-10, like a fence being built that becomes gradually more formidable. The rigid quality of a wooden baton also suggests an unyielding quality belonging to contrary forces that cannot comprimise. The central point in each card could be a point from which the energy explodes outwards, or the meeting point where they clash. To a medieval audience the appearance of this suit would also have strong associations with their Christianity. "X" is the Greek letter "chi", the "ch" sound; and P (often simplified to I) is the Greek letter "rho", the "r" sound. "Ch" and "r" are of course the first two letters of Christ's name, and were known, when combined as an abbreviation, as the "chi-rho". The form that appears on the 3 of Wands would be recognised as this, surely. Maybe the whole suit is a condemnation of, or warning about, the rigidity and aggressiveness associated with fundamentalist, doctrinal Christianity, or of any narrow-minded devotion to a set of beliefs. The "chi-rho" is the design that appears on the "tabernacle" (?) in a Catholic church, the small box that contains the host and other artifacts used in their ceremonies. I think that's right - my knowledge of Christian ritual is very shakey.

I've read before of the energy of the Batons coming from their interlocking... I think it was an old post by Diana. It's a good way to read the suit if you want to link it to Fire energy.

I can see how Christians would recognise the centre as a cross, though differentiating the pip sequence enough to read each card might cause a problem. An interesting theory and speculation with the Greek association.

Wands

On a more positive note, the interweaving of the batons can also suggest co-operation. All the cards in a tarot deck, especially the Marseilles pattern, seem to offer us positive and negative alternatives. A knife can be used to stab someone or to peel and slice an apple to share it. The empty centre in the suit of Swords is the gift of silence that the mind can give when it learns to rest. I got that one from Jodorowsky's "Way of the Tarot".

Wands

Moonbow, the "chi-rho" of Batons is Christian, maybe. Cups of course bring to mind drinking the blood of Christ during the eucharist, is it. Forgive my ignorance. I notice from a printed sheet of the Swords suit that the curved blades make complete circles that are intersected by the edges of the cards. When put side by side the Swords sequence reconstitute the circles and look to me like the circular labyrinths that feature on the floors of cathedrals. This is more obvious as we get towards the end of the suit. Thinking, which is linked to the Swords suit, is certainly labyrithine. The round appearance of Coins surely brings to mind the circular host, or "bread" that is the "body of Christ". There's that negative and positive again. The medieval Catholic church should have been a source of spiritual "nourishment" but had a reputation for greed and amassing fortunes/coins. The negative aspect of cups, I suppose, is that cups/hearts can remain empty. The Marseilles tarot throughout seems to me to be intensely Christian while also being critical of the church, usually in a rather cheeky, humourous way.

Wands

Moonbow. About your point about differentiating between the various cards in the suit to arrive at indivual interpretations for each card...If I understand you correctly...I think you're right that it would be almost impossible. But I do think the medieval audience would have liked to see Christian imagery tying the deck together. They are not "just" abstract shapes.
I have a much more general approach to the minors. I use them just to clarify or expand on a series of Major or Court cards. If 3 represents conflict or blockage or whatever, then 9 represents LOTS of conflict or stagnation. There's an general feeling of intensification as the suit advances. Nothing seems to be able to shake my loyalty to the association of the suits with the 4 elements.
The Ace of Wands resembles a candle, I suppose. But also a log for bringing warmth or a torch or a weapon or a phallic symbol too.

Wands

While we're talking about Wands/Batons - symbols of authority and power, of directing people and force, and also, as clubs, the means of asserting it - does anyone have any ideas about the oval yellow "elbows" that decorate and divide up the batons? They divide each baton into 4 equal portions and seem to strengthen them, maybe. Or are these weak points? The colour yellow is usually associated with the element of Air, or the intellectual function. So could the implication be something to do with intelligently directing power. But I really have no idea. What difference would it make to the suit if the yellow elbows were not there? The wands are very "polished" objects and seem to have little in common with the crude club on the Ace of Wands. On my Dodal Marseilles the skeleton on Death (XIII) has red elbow and knee joints similar to the yellow elbows on Wands, but I have no idea what to make of that. The Wheel of Fortune (X) has the elbow shapes too on the spokes of the wheel. By the way, I notice the wheel is not round. The 3 spokes at the top are shorter than the 3 lower ones. Or maybe that is just in the Dodal deck.

tedglart said:

While we're talking about Wands/Batons - symbols of authority and power, of directing people and force, and also, as clubs, the means of asserting it - does anyone have any ideas about the oval yellow "elbows" that decorate and divide up the batons? They divide each baton into 4 equal portions and seem to strengthen them, maybe. Or are these weak points? The colour yellow is usually associated with the element of Air, or the intellectual function.

Click to expand...

Actually, those joints/elbows are different colors in different decks. I don't use color symbolism much because I think the colors were dictated by the inks that were cheap and easily obtainable by the printer.

I've never given those joint thingies serious consideration, and now you have me obsessing about it. It seems to me they section off the central crossing from the rest of the baton. Sometimes I see energy exploding outward, and sometimes I see it trapped in the center. In his book Castle of Crossed Destiny, Italo Calvino has his characters use higher-numbered batons to indicate a dense forest or thicket.

I like the concept someone mentioned of the batons directing energy. They are also symbols of authority. I wonder if those joints are metallic cuffs that reflect the light and make the baton more visible. There's a medieval painting showing a rather chaotic banquet scene with the guests piling into the banquet room, servants circulating platters of food, dogs under the tables, and rising above it all, the Marshall with his baton over his shoulder attempting to herd everyone to their proper place. He would need a fancy baton decorated with reflective metal to make himself visible.

The Ace is a rough cudgel, the court cards of this suit are traditionally associated with peasants and country people. Yet the batons in the rest of the suit are very refined. I think the common denominator is work (and the energy required to do the work): making things happen, either energetically or physically.