Tarot of Prague Café Club - The Moon

[Bean Feasa]

I adore the predominant colour of this card, the luminous blue of the draperies. I love also how a sense of liquid pervades the whole card. The figure's robes seem to pour over her body and there's a wonderful expanse of river or estuary behind her.
The city is distant, separated by water - to me this indicates that the real world has receded, we have journeyed away from it, and we're in a different reality in this card. The darkness of the city buildings echoes the aura of darkness around the figure's face, under her mantle - very mysterious. This lady could be treacherous, methinks, and yet offers silvery fruit if we brave the depths of her. The way she balances the crescent moon on her head is endearing.
When I look at this card, I can't help thinking of Kafka and his associations with Prague. Who ever wrote better about strange states of consciousness, the delusional and the surreal, which are the preserve of the Moon?
The cherub, so proud of his catch, and the homely little dog are sweet relief from the drama and strangeness of the Moon figure. Are they implying that one needs to be innocent, child-like, trusting and fearless to plumb the waters of the subconscious and grasp its treasures, represented perhaps by the crayfish?
I've written this without the book to hand, haven't read the entry on the Moon yet, so apologies if I'm repeating what's already outlined there, or equally if I'm going against it!! I'll get a chance to read it tonight (by moonlight perhaps )and see how I've fared.

 

[contrascarpe]

Bean -

Don't ever apologize for bringing new ideas on any card even if it contradicts the meaning in the book. Every card should mean something different to everybody and by sharing these ideas, we all get deeper knowledge for the cards.

The Moon has always been one of my favorite cards in most Tarot decks, but in the ToP, it is breathtaking. The soft blues of the card immediately made this stand out to me when I first looked through the deck. It was the first card (after comparing the two death cards) which made me hesitate while flipping through.

Typically the Moon is defined as being the card of the subconcious and usually the sky is colored pitch black. With the soft blue background, I find this version to have more of a dreamlike atmosphere than most. I am still unsure of how I want to interpret the woman in the card. This should give me something to meditate about tonight.

Dan

 

[Jewel-ry]

The light and colour in this card is awesome! Baba and Alex have absolutely captured the right mood here with the colour. On a clear night when the moon shines on the water - this is that light!

When I really started to look at this card several things came to me. Firstly, the woman, she looks lost in her own little world, dreamy, but vacant. Her vagueness could be concealing her own hidden mysteries. Hidden within her world. The material draped around her body is loose. Could this represent freedom from her ordeals? The stars are giving her hope.

The towers on this card are the other side of the bridge. One is in light, the other in shadow, conscious and unconscious? They illuminate the pathway. The gateway to the unknown. At the other end of the bridge is a cross. Crossroads? To stay in reality or to use your intuition, imagination and cross-over?

There is a calmness, the water has hardly a ripple on it, in fact it doesn't appear to be flowing anywhere.

Whats interesting here is that the crayfish hasn't crawled out of the depths of the unconscious but has been caught and so probably hauled out. Will this happen to the woman too? Will she have to be forced out of this little world she is living in? The dog on the other hand, looks happy, totally domesticated and content.

There is so much depth to this card, I hardly know where one layer ends and another begins. So thought provoking.

Your thoughts anyone?

J

 

[baba-prague]

Bean -

Don't ever apologize for bringing new ideas on any card even if it contradicts the meaning in the book. Every card should mean something different to everybody and by sharing these ideas, we all get deeper knowledge for the cards.

Have to say I totally agree. The book is, I hope, a useful start - but no more than that.

The images only really live when other eyes look at them in a whole different way. It's our job as artists to make sure that they are rich enough visually and symbolically to allow that.

 

[contrascarpe]

Have to say I totally agree. The book is, I hope, a useful start - but no more than that.

The images only really live when other eyes look at them in a whole different way. It's our job as artists to make sure that they are rich enough visually and symbolically to allow that.

Karen -

Don't sell yourself short. The book is wonderful and insightful (hope you didn't interpretate my comment as a knock on it). In fact, I own MANY books on the Tarot and this is my favorite on so many levels (Paris has always been my favorite city, but thanks to you, Prague is now on top of my list of new cities to visit).

I find that the symbolism in your cards sometimes go beyond even the explanations in the book - whether that is intentional or not, that is the effect they have on me. If you ever decided to do a general book on Tarot interpretations, I would be first in line to buy it.

Dan

 

[Bean Feasa]

Jewel-ry's post mentions the stars on the Moon's robe, and also the towers in the distance. This started me thinking about one card encompassing hints of others, in this case faint visual echoes or foreshadowings of the Star and the Tower. Do you think that's the case?

 

[baba-prague]

This started me thinking about one card encompassing hints of others. Do you think that's the case?

Yes, it's absolutely the case and I did wonder if anyone would notice. Alex and I are both very interested in the idea of traces of one symbol being found in another (partly because historically symbols do often influence each other visually).

I won't say more though, except that sometimes I think we did this very deliberately, and other times it's just there because of the way certain elements seem to be echoed and re-echoed across the city.

Can't say anything about the book - except thanks, but I'm not yet so confident in my knowledge! One day maybe
But of course, the images in the cards go way beyond the interpretations in the book - if you want them to.

 

[Jewel-ry]

Yes, it's absolutely the case and I did wonder if anyone would notice. Alex and I are both very interested in the idea of traces of one symbol being found in another (partly because historically symbols do often influence each other visually).

I won't say more though, except that sometimes I think we did this very deliberately, and other times it's just there because of the way certain elements seem to be echoed and re-echoed across the city.

This is very interesting baba, I'm now going to find myself looking out for traces of other card symbols in every card I look at !!! I increasingly notice the similarities in meaning between different cards (from many different decks). There really is quite some overlap in some cards. I'm intrigued now!!!

J

 

[contrascarpe]

The towers on this card are the other side of the bridge. One is in light, the other in shadow, conscious and unconscious? They illuminate the pathway. The gateway to the unknown. At the other end of the bridge is a cross. Crossroads? To stay in reality or to use your intuition, imagination and cross-over?

I like this interpretation. I noticed in the book that Karen points out that there are two towers present in the Ace of Wands as well - could there be a relationship here? I don't have the cards in front of me - are they the same towers? Not sure if any of it is relevant (as I ramble - it's been a looooong week).

Dan

 

[Jewel-ry]

Hi Dan,

I have my cards in front of me. It looks like the towers could be the same. Perhaps baba will let us know for sure. I will need to think about this and its possible relevance.

J