It is very regularly ordered, with 10 cards each for 5 categories:
10 estates of man (they’re all male!) (earth),
the 9 muses plus Apollo (water),
the 7 liberal arts plus 3 “sciences” (air),
the 7 virtues plus 3 “geniuses” (fire), and
10 celestial spheres (from moon to “first cause”) (spirit).
I have assigned the classical elements to make it easier to distinguish between similar cards (Apollo and Sol, or Urania and Astrologia, for example).
Attached are my notes, which I originally put together back in 2010. (I know more about planets and virtues now, so I left those kind of blank here. I remember searching everywhere for info on the liberal arts and the muses, and it turned out Wikipedia was my most informative source! The out-of-order numbering of 29 is intentional. Somehow, in the original, Astrologia got a little separated from its fellows in the quadrivium of the liberal arts, so I grouped it back in.)
The deck I’m using is a colorized and silvered edition by Lo Scarabeo. It has some keywords I diverge from, but I don’t think that will distract me. There are other editions that are more faithful to the original line art engravings. And at one time, the images were available around on the internet. But I like color and bling! So let’s give it a good shuffle and an interview!
Most important characteristic: Temperancia
It’s both cut-and-dried old fashioned learning AND a window to something unexpected, the happy medium of mainstream and esoteric, useful for learning and teaching.
Strength: Forteza
Ok, its strength is Strength! To be meta, this is definitely the best card in the deck. I love the lion armor, and it has all three attributes of Fortitude: armor, a lion, a broken column, oh, and also a wand or small club! Its strength is that it is faithful to conventional (of its time) symbolism, and so is helpful for us today to work with and learn from.
Weakness: Saturno
The deck is limited (Saturn) because it’s old (Saturn), showing us ideas from another time. Father Time eats his children and/or cuts them off, making the deck difficult to understand, and maybe not as applicable to today’s life as we want it to be.
What I can learn from it: Charita
I can learn to be generous with my learning and my reading. Will the deck have a message of universal love for me? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
How I can learn it: Cosmico
Its message of universal love comes from an understanding that everything and everyone is connected. If this is an organized, predictable universe, the organization is that, love and connection.
Outcome of our work together: Apollo
There will be light. The deck will help me see things better, especially emotional things, oddly for such an airy, organized, learning-based deck. I look forward to it! I really like the gold sun symbol in the corner. I think I’ll research that. Not sure what swans have to do with Apollo. Might have to research that, too! So really the outcome will be more research so more information coming to light!
No human estates or liberal arts, so I look forward to seeing them later this week.
Have a happy Sunday! See you tomorrow for more cosmology!