Quick questions about... le Mat/le Fov/the Fool

I think it is a dog with Le Mat and the immediate thought that comes to mind is of the hound of heaven

I know this is the title of a really well known poem by Francis Thompson but the original metaphor, I've always believed, came from Thomas Aquinas who lived in the 13th century. I have no idea whether St Thomas Aquinas' work influenced the development of Tarot. Thomas wrote a great deal on Grace and I have always seen Le Mat as embodying Grace.

The Hound of Heaven is God in loving pursuit of the Soul. Here I see the dog giving an affectionate push to Le Mat as he reaches what could be a cliff edge, encouraging him on his leap of Faith into the abyss.

Of course, this is simply my feeling. I can't substantiate any of it I will do some more work on Thomas Aquinas, however.

Oh, Moongold, that is just beautiful. Dogs were used to symbolize the faithful priests, guiding and defending the flock of Christ, and that is why they are the symbols of the Dominicans, Latin for "dogs of the Lord", followers of St. Dominic. His mother choose his name after dreaming she was giving birth to a dog carrying a flaming torch.

Moongold said:

IHere I see the dog giving an affectionate push to Le Mat as he reaches what could be a cliff edge, encouraging him on his leap of Faith into the abyss.

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Moongold: There is no cliff in the Tarot of Marseille. Le Mat/Le Fol/Le Fou is walking along a path.

Diana said:

Moongold: There is no cliff in the Tarot of Marseille. Le Mat/Le Fol/Le Fou is walking along a path.

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Thank you, Diana. I wondered for quite a long time whether the cliff existed in the Marseilles as well as in the RWS. There are issues of perspective in the image that made me decide to go for the cliff. The rocks on the path could well be the edge of a cliff because beyond them is an orange "nothingness" which the Fool seems to be walking towards.

It raises again that very interesting point about differences in the various types of Tarot (is that phrase even correct?)

From the point of view of the metaphor of the Hound of Heaven, perhaps it does not really matter. God is in loving pursuit of the Soul whether one perceives the Fool as walking along the rocky path of human experience or about to step into a void at the edge of a cliff.

MG

The bottom of the matter?

How much freedom does one have in interpreting the Marseilles?

I wondered if there is any impediment to my interpreting the Fool as walking over a cliff, except that the image is very RWS and therefore Golden Dawn related. I rather like the thought of the Fool simply walking along a path. This doesn't matter much to me in terms of meaning. Walking along a rocky path can require just as much courage and faith as walking over a cliff

But see the torn pants and the exposed buttock? Does one have to understand the dog as being responsible for the tear as some of the books I've just read do? Perhaps that is an assumption as well. The tear could have been caused by something else. What a neat tear it is! I was down the street in Richmond on the week end and saw some young folk with similar tears in their jeans, except they were not at buttock level. At one stage, and possibly still, these tears were fashionable.

I feel fairly sure there is still a place for 21st century intuition and imagination in reading the Marseilles and the other Tarots. One could write a thesis on the meaning of the Fool's buttock and the quips are obvious, but it is a serious question.