High Priestess Question

agent199 said:

Does the location of the HP inside the temple suggest an error with the illustration of the card?

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My opinion is no.
A new soul, fetus, would be starting from the inside working it's way eventually into the outer world. An awakening soul does the same, starts inside and eventuates in the outer as external actions.

As an aside, how many wives did Solomon have.

Ah! Thanks for the explanation as to where you were coming from.

And from what I understand, Solomon was busy.

He had 700 official wives and 300 concubines according to Kings 11:1-7.

agent199 said:

Does the location of the HP inside the temple suggest an error with the illustration of the card?

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I think that she is metaphorically sitting in the Master's seat in an English Masonic lodge, which is symbolic of the Temple but not patterned strictly according to Biblical descriptions.

That seems plausible actually.

The master sits in the east end of the lodge room, facing west (because light comes from the east). In English lodges, I understand that the two pillars are to his left and right. However, the placement of the pillars is not standardized, and I think that in US lodges they are usually placed in the west and/or south, near the senior and junior wardens.

Masonic themes may be incorporated into other parts of the Rider-Waite as well. For example, apparently the Masonic legend of Hiram Abiff (the architect of Solomon's Temple), along with other stories, is illustrated in the Minor Arcana.

LRichard said:

apparently the Masonic legend of Hiram Abiff (the architect of Solomon's Temple), along with other stories, is illustrated in the Minor Arcana.

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Requesting a split thread and examination of THAT one!

[Thats enough to get me searching for my old RW!

Pentacles supposedly shows stages in the progress of the initiate through the degrees, culminating in the Royal Arch. Swords alludes to Grail as well as Masonic legends, according to Mary K. Greer.

DPJ said:

Hi,

Newbie here. Sorry if this is a repeat question. For some reason my computer won't let me perform a search within this topic. Does anyone know the significance of the letters on the pillars in this card (B and J)?

Also, can anyone share their study method with me? What is the best way to become fluent at reading the Rider-Waite deck? Book recommendations are welcome as well.

Thanks!

DPJ

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Welcome to Aeclectic, DPJ!

Have a look through the forum index. Post 39 has indexed threads on B&J, while Post 32 contains indexed posts on the scroll, Post 31 contains indexed posts on the pomegranate, and Post 2 contains indexed threads on the High Priestess card.

Everyone studies and learns differently. Think of the tarot as a foreign language. Do you want to get a basic understanding of the language or do you want to become fluent at it? The former can happen in a few months/years while the latter can be a lifetime endeavor. It's been 22 years since I bought my first deck and I still consider myself a student of tarot. Want to become fluent? Learn the foundation of tarot and then put it into practice through doing readings.

Book recommendations should really be discussed over in the Tarot Books & Media forum. Discussion on how to learn should occur over in Talking Tarot. You can discuss readings you've done that you've had problems with over in Your Readings. You can discuss card interpretations and up to two cards from a larger reading over in Using Tarot Cards. There's a Newbie Reading Exchange over in the Reading Circles sub-forum of Reading Exchanges. And, of course, you can find lots of information about the RWS and its creators here.

To me it suggests that Waite might have done it this way on purpose, a deliberate blind which is in plain sight. Albert Mackey in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (Vol. 1 1873 & Vol. 2 1878), a work Waite would have no doubt been familiar with, also believed that Jachin was south:

"It is the name of the right-hand pillar facing eastward, that is, on the south, that stood at the porch of King Solomon's Temple."

The rest of Ezekiel's vision (47:1-12) describes the stream becoming a river which becomes a river of life:

"And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing." (emphasis mine)

Coincidence?

Abrac said:

To me it suggests that Waite might have done it this way on purpose, a deliberate blind which is in plain sight.......

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I don't see why he would think it necessary to use a blind.