OK - Which way is left??

twenty~one said:

I'm bumping this thread up in the honor of my interpreting the Chevalier de Coupes as facing the past when others interpreted it as facing the future in Lee's reading. Poor Lee!

Click to expand...

I think you'll find that the rest of us were interpreting the Chevaliers de Deniers !! Who does of course face the other way.
J

“…and he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and called the name thereof Boaz.” (1 Kings 7:21).

Now take a look at your RWS deck, the HP.

In describing the construction of the Temple, the pillars would be facing the temple. When we look at the High Priestess…we see this makes sense (so far). But if we continue reading 1 Kings 7, where Waite got his inspiration, we find the description of a bronze ‘sea’ that sat in front of the temple.

Notice the water behind the HP?

The view on the card then, is from inside the temple facing out – so if we go outside to look AT the temple, the pillars would be reversed…in the incorrect positions.

IMO, mistakes can be made – The Tarot is a metaphor, and should not be taken as hard undisputable fact.