Melvis
Sorry for the long absence, all! I have so many projects going again that poor R.P. got sent to the back burner for a while.
Going through the cards starting with the Fool seemed to be getting bogged down, (okay, maybe that was just me! ) so I thought I'd jump to R.P.'s discussion of the four Minor Arcana suits. Here's a summary of her major points.
So...What aspects of the associations shown here do you see in the deck you're working with? Does your deck have different associations? How does the relationships between the four suits in your deck express itself?
Peace,
Melvis
Going through the cards starting with the Fool seemed to be getting bogged down, (okay, maybe that was just me! ) so I thought I'd jump to R.P.'s discussion of the four Minor Arcana suits. Here's a summary of her major points.
- Older decks used Wands, Swords, Cups, and Coins. Waite chose Pentacles instead of Coins because of the Pentacles' connection with magic, and therefore with magical elements. This aspect is emphasized by the Magician's table, which holds an emblem of each suit.
- The year being divided into four seasons by two solstices and two equinoxes.
- R.P. gives the following suit/element connections: Wands=Fire, Cups=Water, Swords=Air, Pentacles=Earth.
- The zodiac contains 12 constellations divided into four groups of three: Fire = Aries, Leo, Sagittarius; Water = Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces; Air = Gemini, Libra, Aquarius; Earth = Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn.
- Jungian psychology uses the four elements to show the ways humans experience the world: Fire = Intuition; Water = Feeling; Air = Thinking; Earth = Sensation.
- Wands & Swords represent 'yang' or 'active' situations, while Cups & Pentacles represent 'yin' or 'passive' ones. I like how she mentions that you can substitute Magician for 'yang' and High Priestess for 'yin'.
- The elements also stand for the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, or the 'unpronouncable' Hebrew name of God: Yod-Fire; Heh-Water, Vav-Air, Heh-Earth.
- R.P.'s brief summary of the aspects of your life which each suit deals with: Wands/Fire=action, movement, optimism, business in the sense of commerce rather than things sold, beginnings. Cups/Water=reflection, quiet experiences, love, friendship, fantasy, passivity. Swords/Air=conflict angry or disturbed emotions, sadness, but also mental activity, wisdom, intellect. Pentacles/Earth=nature, money, work, routine activities, business in the sense of things made and sold, the magic of nature.
So...What aspects of the associations shown here do you see in the deck you're working with? Does your deck have different associations? How does the relationships between the four suits in your deck express itself?
Peace,
Melvis