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The Hermit Michelle Snyder |
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Page of Cups Michelle Snyder |
Attitudes
like these have followed the Tarot through the centuries. The first reference
to the trumps of the Tarot was in a sermon by a Franciscan Friar in the 1400’s,
who contended that the trumps were invented and named by the Devil. Cards in
general are considered a vice. In The Devil’s Picturebook, Paul Huson
writes, “In medieval Europe everyone knew that cards, apart from simple
gambling, were used for telling fortunes, a dangerous activity. Worse still,
lurking within the cards are devils disguised as kings and heroes.” Some hold
to this attitude even today. The Tarot seems to hold a special place among
those who deem cards sinful. Fish are symbols of wisdom; the Page of Cups sits
ready to learn the wisdom of the ages.
Alluring
and colorful, the images on Tarot cards have been carefully crafted. What is
written about their history varies, and there is little consensus about their
origin. The mystery surrounding Tarot cards adds to the belief by some that
they are evil, magic, and dangerous. For others, this veil of obscurity is a
result of secret powerful knowledge which can be accessed only by initiates.
The images of the Tarot are said to contain surviving lore of the Order of the
Knights Templar. Troubadours of the Middle Ages carried Tarot cards and used
them as part of their entertainment, to preserve and pass on “heretical”
philosophies of the Grail. Many believe the pictures on these cards contain
information and secrets protected from the Roman Catholic Church, preserved in
a series of symbolic images.
This
prompts another query. Perhaps the history of the cards is absent because it
was suppressed or destroyed? This would be in line with the fate of much
knowledge in our recent past.
The mysterious history of the
Tarot is connected with The Book of Thoth, ca. 3000 BC, a book credited
to Hermes Trismegistus. Hermes is another name for Thoth, the
Egyptian god of wisdom, learning, and literature.
Duncan-Enzmann contends that
this esoteric tome was developed from knowledge recorded by the megalith
navigators working at Lixus, Nabata (Sudan), and Byblos around 4200 BC –
knowledge that dates back at least 8000 years during warm Atlantic centuries.
The Merovingian Vanir women recorded their astronomical observations, as well
as the math and geometry needed to calculate longitude, on stone, bone, and
ivory. This knowledge was passed on through oral tradition and symbols.
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Rider Waite Tarot |
One comparison is of the card Strength. Imaged correctly as a female and a lion, this card carries the same information as the Sphinx: that of the Great Year at equinox. Many images on the Tarot cards are of the sun, moon, and stars. Many more also have astronomical significance but are not as readily recognizable. The sun is the oldest image known. The blonde child on this card represents the Sun Child of the Vanir from ca. 12,500 BC, later known as the goddess Helen. The Moon card depicts two pillars, a symbol which dates back tens of thousands of years to the tools used for measuring movement of planets, sun, moon, and stars. The star in the Star card is eight-pointed, a symbol of the Venus clock indicating her eight-year cycle. The seven smaller stars represent the days of the week, a division of time.
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Rider Waite Tarot |
Another symbol that is part of many cards is the “infinity”
symbol, which derives from and represents the analemma, a symbol relating to
the position of the sun and the equation of time, which appears above the
female’s head on Strength, above the magician’s head on The Magician,
and on other cards. The Magician wears an ouroborus belt, symbolizing
eternal cycling of substance and inanimate matter. The Rider-Waite Two of
Pentacles (shown) decodes as a solar, lunar, and stellar year. The
pentacle represents time, the Venus clock of the Vanir navigators by which we
set our modern clocks until the 1970s.
Tarot
cards connect strongly with astrology and astronomy, which encompass a wealth
of information both as exact science and art. Transmitting mathematical precision
and interesting descriptions of the fascinating events in the sky demands
accurate recording. How was this done, then, before written records? Even with
them we have a hard time maintaining accuracy and consistency.
Let us
consider how astronomy was taught once upon a time, long, long before written
language. In these long-ago classrooms, 14,500 years ago, most teachers were
women and most students were girls. Lessons were likely recited, perhaps as
rhymes chanted and sung.
Imagine
how these songs would be elaborated upon as they were repeated over the
centuries. Visual aids were used: pictures and symbols, dots and lines, signs
and patterns. All on stone, bone, ivory, ceramics, and bast; small and easily
handled, like flash cards or playing cards. For thousands of years these
lessons were taught by oral tradition, handed down using stories, songs, and
pictures. The grand stories of the zodiac were repeated, pictures created, and
astronomy developed.
The
ancient mariners of the Atlantic had skilled female navigators. They were
masters of astronomy, wind, and current. Knowing time to the second is
necessary on the high seas – the Ace of Pentacles symbolizes the ability
to do this using the Venus clock. The association of wealth to pentacles is
logical, considering that being able to calculate longitude - time and location
- with Venus allowed trade and defense at sea, both necessary for successful
commerce and defense. Hermes’ Emerald Tablet is known for the phrase “as above,
so below.” Many interpretations are in the spiritual and metaphysical realm;
perhaps here I can offer a more pragmatic translation: If you know the stars
above, you will know exactly where you are on Earth below.
Over
thousands of years megalithic observatories were constructed; a great
continental utility built to support care for women and children, facilitating
agriculture and navigation. Today we have continental utilities like electric
power plants. The construction of these observatories required that measurement
be standardized and transmitted over great distances with accuracy, and a
method of teaching how to measure the heavens and divide circles was needed. We
can see some of these lessons in the symbolism of the Tarot.
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Rider Waite Tarot |
The suit of wands or
scepters represents obelisks, menhirs, and ashera rods, tools used to site and
measure the movement of the stars to divide time, and to survey the ground for
construction of an observatory. The Three of Wands represents the triple
tau. Tau is a symbol indicating perfect horizontal and vertical necessary to
measure a star’s height from the horizon: the T of the Tau is made of a
horizontal line and a vertical line. The Five of Wands depicts dividing
an angle by five, a function of the Venusion clock.
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Solar Vee Winter Solstice,
Blombos, S. Africa, ca. 77,000 BC
Duncan-Enzmann translation;
Rider-Waite Tarot
|
One card with ancient roots
is the Two of Swords, a symbol for the solar azimuth Vee – an image
found in Blombos, South Africa from 77,000 BC, representing sunrise and sunset
of winter solstice.
Passing knowledge on
to future generations has been a human challenge and activity for millennia.
Tens of thousands of years ago our ancestors watched the sky and observed the
repeating patterns of the stars and the movements of the planets. Star-patterns
were connected to events on earth and recorded, allowing the development of
seasonal agricultural calendrics which greatly improved the quality of life.
About Symbologist Michelle Snyder
Michelle did her post-graduate
research decoding ancient and prehistoric symbolism, and mythology, folklore,
and fairy tales, at the University of Wales. She is an author, publisher,
speaker, artist, and teacher who has been teaching art and visual language
skills for 40 years. Her artwork, inspired by her love of symbolism and
folklore, has appeared in galleries from Massachusetts to California. Michelle
is co-owner of White Knight Studio.
Michelle
Snyder
Non-Fiction
- Symbology:
Symbology: Decoding Classic Images
Symbology: Fairy Tales Uncovered
Symbology: My Art and Symbols
Symbology: Hidden in Plain Sight
Symbology: ReVision
Symbology: World of Symbols
Symbology: Secrets of the Mermaids
Michelle
Paula Snyder
Fiction
– Fantasy Wonder Tales:
The Fairy Tales: Once Upon a Time Lessons, First
Book
Call of the Dragon and other Tales of Wonder
A Tale of Three Kingdoms, book one: The Lost
Unicorn
A Tale of
Three Kingdoms, book two The Lost Mermaid
A Tale of
Three Kingdoms, book three The Lost Dragon
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