Balance and Counter-balance in the Marseille Pips

Barleywine

Lately I've been getting a lot of mileage out of Joseph Maxwell's observation that the odd-numbered cards are active (seeking balance) and the even-numbered cards are passive (maintaining balance). This seems to have a lot to do with his analysis of the unitary and binary forces at work in the tarot. In reading a post by Tony Willis on the auntietarot blog, it struck me that this duality might be directly observable in the Marseille pip cards. So I laid them all out and took a big-picture look.

I noticed that 12 of the 16 odd-numbered pips (excluding the Aces) have a central suit symbol that bisects the rest of the symbols, looking like a kind of fulcrum that seeks to both counter-balance and mediate between the halves of the set, a kind of "go-between" that carries the flow from one half to the other. The main exceptions are the 3 of Cups and 3 of Pentacles, in which the symbols have an equilateral relationship reminiscent of a cam or rotor, the 9 of Cups which has three equivalent rows of three cups each, and the 7 of Pentacles in which the intervening "odd" (unitary) symbol looks like it's "seeding" the lower binary four.

In the even-numbered pips, equilibrium of the suit symbols is paramount, with only the 10 of Wands, the 8 of Cups and the 10 of Swords having a central binary pair that demarcates the two halves of the array. The 10 of Cups is an outlier from all of the other pip cards, both odd and even, because it has one disporoprionately large cup set across the top of the orderly 3x3 set of nine, seeming to both dominate and suppress the rest.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with this yet, but it seems to be a potentially useful addition to my Marseille interpretive "bag o' tricks."
 

_R_

This is an interesting post, since it shows one of the chief differences between a certain French approach, and the usual Anglo-Saxon take on Tarot.

I say, 'a certain French approach', since only a minority of French writers on Tarot have followed, knowingly or unconsciously, Maxwell's empirical, analytical method, or some variation thereof. The majority otherwise repeat ad nauseam the common banalities on symbolism which we are all too well accustomed to. On a personal level, exploring the works of this minority of seekers has proven to be a highly rewarding process, revealing an all-too neglected seam of practical wisdom.

Maxwell's inductive reasoning yields fruits, though, as Barleywine has noted, it is not always immediately obvious what one may make of this. In fact, certain French authorities, far from seeing an irreconcilable opposition between the 'objective' or 'scientific method' and a more 'subjective' or intuitive approach, consider the former a solid basis upon which the latter may be successfully built.

In this regard, we cannot omit the work of the late Tchalaï, whom we have mentioned before. Her 1981 booklet for the Grimaud Ancien Tarot de Marseille, and later, her 'Le tarot, jeu du gouvernement du monde', are explicit testimony to this harmonious synthesis of opposites.

In brief, according to the fundamental premise of this objective method, we can consider the visual aspect of the Tarot cards, taken both individually and in sequence, to provide a key to their interpretation:

What is the basic structure of each card?

Where is the 'fulcrum', the centre of gravity or of equilibrium, of each card?

Can a pattern, structure or sequence be seen in the order of the pip cards of each suit?

Do these patterns exist solely on a card-by-card basis, or can a larger pattern be detected in an entire suit? i.e. Do the cards in a suit interact with each other, so to say.

What differences exist between the patterns of the various suits?

What do these visual differences tell us about the differences between the suits in general, and how do these characteristics compare or contrast with the 'received wisdom' and generally accepted interpretations - whether 'philosophical', or divinatory?

What is the role of the floral ornamentation in each suit?

How does this interact with the structure of the chief elements of each suit?

Having examined and carefully considered all these details, what kind of functional value can we then reasonably assign to the cards and suits?

And so on.

These questions, this kind of investigation, form the basis of an empirical, inductive method, which yields its own rewards after careful, patient study. It should be noted that this is an intensely personal process, one which demands letting go of preconceived and prepackaged notions, in favour of discovering for oneself the rationale and the beauty of the structure of the Tarot.
 

Barleywine

Experiments on a Theme

Today I took a look at J. E. Cirlot's (Dictionary of Symbols) observations on the geometric nature of some of the graphic symbols we frequently encounter in our esoteric studies (circle, point, line, triangle, square, pentagram, hexagram, etc.) These images struck me as being very similar to Joseph Maxwell's descriptions of the unity, the binary, the ternary, the quaternary, etc, and their interactions. Since I already had some exposure to isomorphs in the pip cards, I decided to see how many ways I could inscribe the cards with Cerlot's conceptual diagrams.

I chose the 9 of Cups to start because it was an outlier in my previous examination of the "odd-numbered" pips, having no central delimiting symbol. I connected the nine cups by straight lines in all the ways possible to see what kind of figure(s) emerged. What I came up with was:

- a surrounding "double square" (rectangle) involving all nine cups, suggesting an intensification of the material and passive qualities

- a material and active quaternary ("diamond") joining cups #2, #4, #8 and #6

- a spiritual and neutral quaternary ("cross") quartering the material, active one, as well as uniting four interior corners and two edges of the "double square")

- a spiritual, active or dynamic quaternary ("X") joining the four corners of the rectangle (cup #1 to cup #9 and cup #3 to cup #7), and intersecting at central cup #5

- two evolutive ternaries (upward-pointing "triangles") joining the central row (cups #4, #5 and # 6) to cup #2 at the top, and cups #7, #8 and #9 at the bottom to cup #5 in the central row

- two involutive ternaries (downward-pointing triangles) joining the top row (cups #1, #2 and #3) to cup # 5, and the central row to cup #8 at the bottom

- all of these triangles are bisected by the vertical arm of the spiritual and neutral quaternary ("cross")

- the evolutive and involutive ternaries inscribed within each of the two squares are interlocked, with their long sides meeting in the foliage that streams out of cup #6, and their points and sides uniting all of the cups in the top and bottom rows with all of the cups in the central row

- the large material and active quaternary ("diamond") is segmented into four quarters as noted above

- the vertical pair of smaller triangles is centered along the vertical arm of the "cross" with the more acute points joining cups #2, #5 and #8, and the more obtuse points terminating in the foliage as described above

- the horizontal pair of smaller triangles is centered along the horizontal axis of the "cross," with the acute points terminating in the foliage and the more obtuse points joining cups ##4, #5 and #6

Obviously, any array of cups this regular is going to have numerous internal consistencies that create an impression of great harmony and tranquility. But one picture is worth any number of words that I could muster, so see the attachment. This deconstructive approach will work well with the symbols that have a "center" (Cups and Coins); with Batons and Swords I will try using the two ends of the "implements" as the terminal points for the triangles. I'm thinking, though, that this will produce distorted and unrecognizable patterns, so the middle of each implement might work better (or maybe I should use elipses instead of straight lines).

As far as interpreting all of this, I will take it back to Joseph Maxwell's book with a visual understanding of what he's talking about with the isomorphs. One thing I like about this is that it brings the foliage elements into active cooperation with the cups in a way that can be studied in a rational, less helter-skelter and shoot-from-the-hip way. Plus, it makes really nifty internal patterns to contemplate as a kind of "endoskeleton" to the passive, yielding nature of the Cupos.
 

Attachments

  • Inscribed TdM 9 of Cups.jpg
    Inscribed TdM 9 of Cups.jpg
    48.4 KB · Views: 230

AnemoneRosie

Sometimes this can depend on what deck you use. I read my pips coming from cartomancy; I tend to read the numbers the same way regardless of what the art indicates (unless something really catches my eye).

So for me the odd numbers are 'perfect balance' while the even numbers are, while balanced, unstable. They're pausing, yet looking for balance within that pause.
 

Barleywine

I think Maxwell went the other way with it because he saw the binary numbers (those divisible by 2) as perfectly reciprocal and complementary, with no "loose ends" but also no clear direction; the only potential for growth they imply is through overthrow of that balanced state, which they aren't inclined toward without an external "nudge." The following odd number provides that "pioneering spirit" in that it is rejecting inertia and trying to grow into its potential for achieving the next iteration of "wholeness." They are "betwixt-and-between" in fulfillment of that mission, which is why so many of them in tarot-card terms have negative associations. The fact that the first few odd numbers are "prime" didn't seem to affect Maxwell's viewpoint since his system of isomorphs for the odd numbers was primarily additive (e.g. 3 = 1+2, 5 = 1+4 or 3+2, 7 = 3+4).
 

Barleywine

Another Example

I gave the same "treatment" to the 10 of Coins. This time the array consisted of three stacked material and passive quaternaries ("squares") that pretty much keep to themselves; there is very little vertical integration, although the upper and lower quaternaries share an edge with the middle one. The top and bottom squares contain four inwardly-focused neutral and successive ternaries (nominally equilateral "triangles"), by which I'm interpreting Cirlot to mean they're kind of a "static" expression, as distinct from the upward-pointing evolutive and downward-pointing involutive isosceles triangles of the 9 of Cups.

The middle square has a large flower at its center rather than a coin symbol. It is also the focal point for a spiritual and neutral ternary ("cross") that terminates in floral devices at all ends. The eight spokes that radiate from its center create a spiritual, active quaternary (the "X") acting upon the neutral one (the "cross").

The most interesting thing for me here is that the floral patterns serve to integrate the three squares, with the large central flower mediating between the upper and lower coin-based quaternaries via the spiritual and neutral "cross," giving this card a definitive "naturalism" that the 9 of Cups lacked. The more I do this, the more I'm able to make sense out of the foliage features.
 

Attachments

  • TdM 10 of Pentacles Inscribed.jpg
    TdM 10 of Pentacles Inscribed.jpg
    39.4 KB · Views: 209

Barleywine

A Second Thought

I was trying to see how I can make Cirlot's graphics fit the suit of Swords, but the "roundness" largely defeats the linear "ternary/quaternary" model. Instead, it looks to me like the ellipse formed by the surrounding array of swords resembles the central portion of a vesica piscis (the "aureola" part). This could be taken as an expression of Cirlot's "circle" as "Infinity, the universe, the All."

In that sense, the "portal" at the center of the even-numbered pips II through VIII contains floral symbols, implying the "birth" of a natural order of things from within the circle of austere man-made objects, while the swords bisecting the aureola of odd-numbered pips V through VIIII look more like barriers to passage, echoing the "ring-pass-not" of esoteric philosophy. The Ace, Three and Ten are special cases: the Ace seems to be "impregnating" the "aureola" formed by the rim of the crown, while the III of Swords has foliage attempting to grow past the barrier sword, and the X of Swords - although barren of central flora - reflects only a partial blockage. These observations make me think that the only predominantly "barren" cards in the TdM Swords suit are the V, VII, VIIII and X. The Ace and the other even-numbered cards give the impression of purposeful, cultivated fecundity.

Of the Batons, which are in and of themselves "natural" with no processing other than shaping to a particular purpose, only the VIIII is barren of foliage and/or flowers, and the VIII has only two demure blossoms emerging at the top and bottom. In all cases, the foliage is external to the central arrays, which embody Cirlot's "spiritual, active or dymanic quaternary" - the "X," interpenetrated in the odd-numbered pips by the vertical "active, dynamic principle." Most of the Batons pip cards give the impression of vigorous, unfettered growth.

I'm going to try doing the "ternary/quaternary" exercise with the Batons, but I think I may have enough with the above analysis.
 

Barleywine

A Case for Batons

I applied the "ternary/quaternary" model to the 10 of Batons The design of the card already embodies the "material and active quaternary" ("diamond) and the "spiritual and neutral quaternary" ("cross") at its core. It's interesting that the terminal ends of the eight crossed batons play no part in the symmetry of the inscribed arrangement, only the vertical pair and the focal point where they all intersect. The external foliage elements play a crucial role in the "material and passive quaternary" ("square") that mostly envelopes the central diamond, and in the "spiritual, active and dynamic quaternary" ("X") that emanates from (or converges on, take your pick) the center of the diamond. The "spiritual and neutral" cross interacts with that to produce the 8-spoked "spiritual, active quaternary acting upon the neutral." The ternaries ("triangles") all seem to be of the "neutral and successive" type, rather than the isosceles "evolutive and involutive" sort. This seems to square well with the idea that the development of the suit's dynamic energy has run its course, generating what could be seen in three-dimensional terms as an elongated tetrahedron (reminds me somewhat of a quartz-crystal "generator").
 

Attachments

  • Inscribed TdM 10 of Batons.pdf
    474.9 KB · Views: 292

Bernice

Mel's Old Fashioned Pips & Courts and Homemade Baked Goods

Your approach reminded me of Melanchollics' method, which he says is influenced by the following:-

Iamblichuss' The Theology of Arithmetic
Aristotles' Generation and Corruption

Here is "Aristotles' Chart of Opposition"

Limited--------Unlimited

ODD -------EVEN

One--------Plurality
Right-------Left
Male--------Female
At Rest-----Moving
Straight----Crooked
Light-------Darkness
Good-------Bad
Square-----Oblong

Note that Mel says he switched Active (moving) and Passive (at rest).
_______________

Then he gives some sweeping generalisations about Numbers for reading purposes:
ODD...........EVEN
indivisible....divisible
singular.......plural
right...........left
male...........female
active.........passive
direct..........indirect
___________________

There is fact a great deal more, which can be found in older threads here at AT. But a full description of all the Pips and Suits is here at this link:-

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=112327&highlight=Melanchollic

The last post (2015) gives a link to a downloadable pdf.


Bernice.
 

Barleywine

And Then the Aces . . .

Just when you thought I was done messing with your brains, I decided to try correlating all of the Aces via the "ternary/quaternary" method.

The "active" Aces (Batons and Swords) obviously share the "active, dynamic principle" ("vertical line"), while the "passive" Aces are centered on the quaternaries ("diamond" and "square"); the Ace of Cups shows the "material and active quaternary" containing the "spiritual quaternary acting upon the inferior ternary" ("inverted cross"), and the Ace of Coins embodies the "material and active quaternary" ("diamond") investing a doubled "material and passive" quaternary and inscribed with a 12-spoked zodiacal pattern within "Infinity, the universe, the All" ("circle).

I joined the "inspirational" point of the Ace of Swords with the "managerial" hand on the Ace of Batons via a double square, implying the quaternary that unites all of the Aces. I could have created a more precise image if I had eliminated the white space between the cards, but the idea gets across. The Ace of Cups and the Ace of Coins are also joined by an "active and dynamic" vertical line, but the line terminates internally to the central graphic on each card, rather than externally as on the other two Aces.

The four Aces are connected by three nominally equilatral "neutral and successive" triangles, which seems fitting given that the Aces represent potential rather than kinetic energy. The combined influence of the "active" Aces infuses the core principle of the "passive" Aces, while there is a dialogue between the "business end" of the Ace of Batons and the receptive nexus of the Ace of Cups, and the "steering" hand of the Ace of Swords communicates with the zodiacal matrix at the center of the Ace of Coins. The "evolutive and involutive" isosceles triangles (with "involutive" dominant) emerging from the flower buds on the Ace of Coins also meet in the center of that matrix, suggesting off-setting creative forces that result in a state of rest and stability. Finally, inscribed in the Ace of Cups is an irregular diamond composed of an "evolutive" isosceles triangle and a 'neutral and successive" obtuse triangle, showing aspiration arising out of tranquility.

It would probably be instructive to link each of the Aces to the Twos of their suits in the same way to see how the "ternary/quaternary" pattern flows across them. What remains is for me to inscribe the rest of the Batons, Cups and Coins with these patterns; the Swords are covered by a different model as mentioned previously. I probably won't post everything here unless there is an active interest.

ETA: I revised the attached graphic to tighten everything up.
 

Attachments

  • TdM Inscribed Aces Reduced.JPG
    TdM Inscribed Aces Reduced.JPG
    238.9 KB · Views: 206