The Lemniscate in Tarot

At present I am researching the history of the lemniscate in the tarot for a seminar and wondered if there have been previous discussions of this topic on this forum? I would also appreciate hearing this group's insights on the subject.

regards,
*jpt

Here are three threads (amongst others):

• Lemniscate / infinity symbol;
• eternity;
• infinity symbols.

This is a fascinating area, and the lemniscate, especially if one considers projective geometry and the infinite realm, is rich with wonder.

If one simply takes a single line and projects it infinitely at a diagonal to the horizontal (or to the vertical), given a line of symmetry, a lemniscate will be produced. A lemniscate is also 'no more' than a circle as viewed simultaneously from above and below (as above, so below) on its right and left parts.

From a more historical perspective, the lemniscate was also used on Roman abaci to denote, if I recall (I do not have my history of Mathematics books handy, as they are on a shelf at work), the thousands position...

Alfred Douglas' theory?

Hi JMD,

First let me pay my respects.......I actually clicked and browsed through this forum's table of contents and I must say, your work in this field is comprehensive ands highly commendable. I have since read several posts on the subject and found them to be very informative.

Regarding Alfred Douglas's 'The Tarot': Over the years I have read many quotes from it in other works but never actually read the original. As a matter of fact I was living in northern New South Wales ('70 - '74) when that was released in '73 and I briefly looked through a copy at the Theosophical Society book shop in Sydney (you may know of it). In any case, I just ordered the book from amazon.com.

Honestly, I have no memory of ever having read anything on this topic and that is somewhat confirmed by my initial post here. The Tarot Lemniscate is something that became an obsession during the creation of the Tarot de Paris. It 'grew' out of the mesmerizing process of physically searching for the tarot in a city like Paris and subsequently, the demands of writing my views in the accompanying book.

By my own admission, I'm an artist (first) who became fascinated with the image system of tarot 35 years ago. Tarot history has never been a major preoccupation as is glaringly obvious in my book, which includes several referential typos (missed in editing) and a couple of points about which I should have researched more thoroughly. However, my perceptual forte is 'seeing' the intrinsic patterns of things, systems, and phenomena. And those perceptions are backed up by a relentless curiosity to pursue what is beyond them — to catch a glimpse of the blackboard (or whiteboard!) on which those patterns are drawn. Frankly, its exhausting but exciting. I can only hope that the strength of my vision will grant me some slack for my academic misgivings! I'm workin' on it.

Clearly, we share a similar passion for tarot, though I’m sure you have a larger library! I appreciate your opinions.

Aloha nui loa (many thanks in Hawaiian)
*jpt

thanks jmd and jpt

jmd said:

Here are three threads (amongst others):

• Lemniscate / infinity symbol;
• eternity;
• infinity symbols.

Click to expand...

Three very useful references, well worth checking out...