Some lights on the Camaoin's that is also the Jodo's, don't forget
Hi everybody, I am happy to find this thread on Jodo/Camoin's deck, that I consider as a really important deck for many reasons, the first being the esoteric meaning.
For example, it's clear for me that the Woman in the Arcana XVII is kneeling on a red FONDATION. This is a direct allusion of the foundamental principle of the emanation, that is otherwise presented in the first word of the Torah, Beraeshit. The last part of this word means a active (Yod) fondement (ShT), and the first part, création or émanation (BaRAE).
So I'm sure this red "ramp" was there in an old hand-painted Tarot, the one that probably was found by an Italian who fisrt began to produce his own interpretation. Some other original document must have been found later, and carters like Conver decided to restaure it, without the "improvisation" of some others. But this is my theory, I don't ask people to believe it. What is sure is that we find this "ramp" in blue in some other decks, more or less clear, and that the original colours and some details of the original must have been deteriorated with time. So Conver did as he could; but probably there was some other deck restaured prior to all these we know, restablishing some original details and colours.
This is what says Camoin and Jodorowski. The fist claim that due to his position as a représentant of the maison Camoin, he had acces to numerous old deck that nobody else than the owners knows:
"Le Tarot de Nicolas Conver gravé en 1760 fut longtemps considéré comme le plus ancien Tarot de Marseille fabriqué à Marseille. Mais je démontrai en 2001 qu’il existait un autre jeu, le jeu de Tarot de Marseille fabriqué par François Chosson qui était plus ancien et qui datait de 1672, c’est-à-dire près d’un siècle avant le Conver. Le seul jeu de Chosson officiellement connu était conservé dans un musée suisse, à Soleure, et personne ne connaissait son origine. C’est grâce à des documents de mes grands-parents que j’ai pu démontrer que François Chosson faisait partie d’une dynastie de maîtres cartiers marseillais. Et je sais qu’il existe d’autres jeux de Tarot de Marseille fabriqués à Marseille encore bien plus anciens que le Tarot de François Chosson (1672). Je le sais d’une part grâce à des documents et d’autre part grâce à toute une série de codes secrets que j’ai découverts dans la structure du Tarot de Marseille et qui me permette de dater ce symbolisme comme datant du 1er siècle et d’autre part comme ayant une origine marseillaise."
http://www.camoin.com/tarot/-Le-Tarot-de-Nicolas-Conver-.html
And Jodowski on his side says that all the colour of this deck were empreinted from an old hand painted deck found in Mexico. I asked Camoin about this deck on his forum, he just doesn't ant to speak about it, saying "it is not because Jodorowsky decided to speak about an old mexican tarot that I must do so", and "it's a secret for initiate", as are also for him the others old deck he claims to have consulted for his restauration. Camoin answered me that we must have some merit to have acces to these things, and people doesn't have this merit because they are eating meat (!). I answered that I am vegetarian since 11 years, then he said nothing more...
OK, what to do? The tower of Camoin has a door, but it's quite difficult to enter. I don't understand that "secret for initiate" relating to deck who should be shown to the entire world, as universal patrimony!
Anyway, I have great respect for this work of restauration (yes, I insist, a restauration). For all the theories develloped beside this meticulous work, it is something else...
A last note about the door on the arcana XVI: maybe some old documents were depainting such a tower with a door, because in hebrew, BaBeL means 'door of God " or "Door of Elévation". So, The tower by itself IS A DOOR. In that sense, to put a supplementary door is a graphic pleonasm. Anyway, the symbolism is speaking, the moon with the teat is coherent for the reason that the hevrew letter Dalet is symbolised by a door and an udder, and because the hebrew BaBiL'oN is finishing with the root L'oN ich describe à night vision, fluctuatings lights and colours, and because the root LN itself can refers to the moon (from this root, the geek HeLeN) ; but I don't feel this door was there in the original Tarot, the origin of which I situate in the end XII or XIII century. I think it comes from a separate representation.
Some handpainted original Tarot (not published but reserved for the adpet secret study and meditation) were probably found in the current of the XIV°, but you can imagine they were not well conserved; but some details which were missing here could be found there (for example, from where do come the dices on the table of LE BATELEUR in the Grimaud? Some old document or just imagination?), so this work of reconstitution is really important.
Escuse my bad english, I am french....