Steampunk Menorah by Roger Wood.

This industrious fellow, from the Ortus Sanitatis of Bernardino Benaglio e Giovanni de Cereto, makes me think of the Eight of Pentacles. Although more traditional representations of this card show a man hammering in his workshop, I thought this image conveys similar ideas about labor and effort. The wheels in the cart in the background also suggest pentacles.

The simplicity of this drawing reminds me of the Marseille Tarot. Medieval art really helps to ground my study of the cards, and prevents my interpretation of them from getting too precious or abstract. This laborer is a reminder that the images and ideas in the Tarot, which emerged from a distinctly magico-religious view of the world, were at the same time rooted in the daily lives and concerns of people living then. Both the cosmic and the mundane, the heavens and earth, the macro and micro are contained in them.

An elegant Ace of Cups.

All his life, Giordano Bruno had to deal with asses, the two legged as well as four legged variety. In her outstanding biography of the philosopher who was burned at the stake in 1600 for "impenitent, pertinacious, and obstinate" heresy," Ingrid Rowland writes of Bruno's preoccupation with the themes of asininity, which he explored in his writing and philosophy.

The humble donkey occupied a vital role during everyday life in the 16th century. A means of transportation as well as a beast of burden, it performed its many duties with a patience and forbearance that would have made Zeno proud. It was seen by many, including Bruno, as a symbol for a kind of blessed simplicity. At the same time, because of its stubbornness, the donkey could also represent obtuseness and ignorance. It was owing to this interesting mix of qualities that donkeys figured in the art and literature of Bruno's times.

In the best-selling adventures of the scheming picaro, the donkey more often than not was the natural companion of the low-born scoundrel, whose picaresque journeys through the various social classes of the Renaissance provided amusement and commentary on the issues of the day. The donkey was the peasant of the animal world, and was often portrayed in images of the Wheel of Fortune as a reminder that the luck of someone from even the lowest station in life could turn in an instant, while the mightiest person could fall. The lowly, patient, stubborn, hardworking donkey illustrated the truth that the only certainty in the world is change, and no one is immune from the ceaseless turnings of Fortuna's wheel. As Bruno himself wrote in his Heroic Frenzies,

* * * * * * * *

The lofty fall, the humble shall increase

By law of him who keeps the great machine

That, spinning quickly, slowly, in between,

Has power to dispense

Throughout the world immense

What's hidden and what everybody sees.

The above image taken from the Ship of Fools Tarot by Brian Williams.

Above the clouds, upon that lofty site,
When, in my vagrant thoughts I flash and flare,
For my spirit's refreshment and delight
I build a fiery castle in the air.

- Giordano Bruno

Heroic Frenzies

This drawing of Venus and Cupid standing on top of the world makes me think of the World card. The theme is obviously 'Amor Omnia Vincit,' but the decorative elements and the star fit nicely into a card format.

Medieval and Renaissance art are a wellspring of ideas and inspiration that continually support my explorations of the Tarot. From this delightful image there pours forth a stream of associations and musings on the theme of the Lovers.

The scene is a simple one - the lovers are going for a walk in the country. In the distance we can see a castle. It is appropriate that the couple is out in nature, as love is a force that no culture can entirely contain, even as it shapes and gives form to its expressions. In the distance is a bridge. Bridges are evocative, even magical structures. Spanning an expanse of air, they facilitate movement between places that are ordinarily not easily accessible to one another. Symbolically, they represent transition, change, crossing over, as well as connection. Love itself can be a bridge, bringing two people together and transforming them in the process.

Accompanying the pair is a lady-in-waiting or chaperone. She represents the soul of the relationship. The presence of this other woman recalls the Love card in some Tarot decks, where a man is shown being required to choose between two women, one representing Virtue and the other Vice, or some variant on this theme. Overall, this is an enchanting image that offers some good material for reflection.

My blog according to Wordle.

No explanation required for this fellow.

Continuing on the theme of cups, I just love this image of two cups. Unlike some, I like the simplicity and directness of pips that are only numbered, rather than illustrated. These cups, for example, very clearly and elegantly convey ideas of symmetry, balance, harmony, and partnership. There is nothing superfluous, and therefore nothing to distract from the basic concept underlying the Two of Cups.