contrascarpe
Undaunted by the slow acceptance of the Bruegel study, we plug along ..... As promised, the Seven of Wands is up to bat.
I wanted to do a comparison to the RWS because when I first looked at this card, I immediately thought of the Five of Wands (the young men sparring with the wands) and not the Seven - so I pulled out my old ragged RWS and what was the top card? The Seven of Wands of course! Hmm, maybe this is more than a coincidence.
The depiction of the Seven Wands on RWS is the solitary figure standing on a wall fending off invaders.
The focal point of the Bruegel version is sort of conveys the same message, but in this case, the defender is not alone. I focus initially on the man in the middle facing us. He, to me, is the figure being attacked. He holds his five pointed pitchfork (?) high in the air as an act of defiance. The man to our left in the foreground seems on the attack, but a woman crosses his advance with her pitchfork (not that the attacker and the woman wield a three pronged pitchfork - not sure of the significance of that). Intitial thoughts to the meaning of this scene - like the RWS, you are on the defensive, but in this case you cannot rise above your ego to realize that you cannot handle the situation alone - you need support.
The dog in front lower corner seems oblivious to everything and is munching on a loaf of bread left on the ground. Since the dog is emaciated, I see this as neglect on someone's part - perhaps an extension of the ego I mentioned before - one that is so strong willed that their tunnel vision is causing them to forget to look outward and satisfy the needs of others (selfishness?).
To the right in the background stands a King holding a large staff in his right hand and a small bow (as in bow and arrow) in his right. An egg seems to be rising off his back. He is looking down at ...... a man he is stepping all over! The man aslo is brandishing a wand but it is of no use. We cannot tell if the man is alive or dead, nor do we know if this is a case of royal mistreatment or self defense on the King's part. I sense it is more the former, some sort of oppression. The egg perhaps signifies that there is a cycle of oppression, but that may be a stretch.
To the left in the background, a sculptor is putting the finishing touches on a statue of a strong man brandishing what appears to be a club (the statue that is - the sculptor is holding a large mallet that appears ready to strike an oh so painful area of one's anatomy). Could the statue be that of Zeus? What does this signify - that subconciously we are creating a tyrant in ourselves? That the egotistical nature is a creation of our own doing, not of circumstances surrounding us?
The final focal point to me is in the sky toward the rear - it seems like large wands are being dispersed all over the countryside. My first thought was that of the wands you see on the RWS on the Eight - those disembodied staffs flying through the air. Perhaps this is an indication of what is coming in the next wand card.
The final symbol I wanted to mention was that of the mountainous terrain in the far distance - curiously only on the left and the right, not the center. This means the action is taking place in the valley.
Those are some of my observations. Hope others can see more.
Dan
I wanted to do a comparison to the RWS because when I first looked at this card, I immediately thought of the Five of Wands (the young men sparring with the wands) and not the Seven - so I pulled out my old ragged RWS and what was the top card? The Seven of Wands of course! Hmm, maybe this is more than a coincidence.
The depiction of the Seven Wands on RWS is the solitary figure standing on a wall fending off invaders.
The focal point of the Bruegel version is sort of conveys the same message, but in this case, the defender is not alone. I focus initially on the man in the middle facing us. He, to me, is the figure being attacked. He holds his five pointed pitchfork (?) high in the air as an act of defiance. The man to our left in the foreground seems on the attack, but a woman crosses his advance with her pitchfork (not that the attacker and the woman wield a three pronged pitchfork - not sure of the significance of that). Intitial thoughts to the meaning of this scene - like the RWS, you are on the defensive, but in this case you cannot rise above your ego to realize that you cannot handle the situation alone - you need support.
The dog in front lower corner seems oblivious to everything and is munching on a loaf of bread left on the ground. Since the dog is emaciated, I see this as neglect on someone's part - perhaps an extension of the ego I mentioned before - one that is so strong willed that their tunnel vision is causing them to forget to look outward and satisfy the needs of others (selfishness?).
To the right in the background stands a King holding a large staff in his right hand and a small bow (as in bow and arrow) in his right. An egg seems to be rising off his back. He is looking down at ...... a man he is stepping all over! The man aslo is brandishing a wand but it is of no use. We cannot tell if the man is alive or dead, nor do we know if this is a case of royal mistreatment or self defense on the King's part. I sense it is more the former, some sort of oppression. The egg perhaps signifies that there is a cycle of oppression, but that may be a stretch.
To the left in the background, a sculptor is putting the finishing touches on a statue of a strong man brandishing what appears to be a club (the statue that is - the sculptor is holding a large mallet that appears ready to strike an oh so painful area of one's anatomy). Could the statue be that of Zeus? What does this signify - that subconciously we are creating a tyrant in ourselves? That the egotistical nature is a creation of our own doing, not of circumstances surrounding us?
The final focal point to me is in the sky toward the rear - it seems like large wands are being dispersed all over the countryside. My first thought was that of the wands you see on the RWS on the Eight - those disembodied staffs flying through the air. Perhaps this is an indication of what is coming in the next wand card.
The final symbol I wanted to mention was that of the mountainous terrain in the far distance - curiously only on the left and the right, not the center. This means the action is taking place in the valley.
Those are some of my observations. Hope others can see more.
Dan
