The TdM and mythology

[Diana]

Now, the following concerns Egyptian mythology. (No, I do NOT think the TdM came from Egypt!! )

Nevertheless, mythology is so often universal. And I love using the TdM to explore, among other things, mythology. And I've always find delightful how the imagery of the Tarot lends itself to so many wonderful connections, whether intended or unintended, and meetings in the most unexpected places.

So I'm wondering if any one here would like to share their discoveries, insights, revelations. Any mythology from any part of the world. Even if it's something that seems obvious to you, it may not have ever occurred to someone else. Just like the following had never occurred to me, and then I suddenly had an "Aha" moment when studying the cards one day. (It may have been written about before, I dunno, but it was brand new to me).

XI : LA FORCE

The Egyptian goddess called Sekhmet's name actually means “the (one who is) powerful or mighty” and she is a truly formidable creative and destructive Force.

Sekhmet was the goddess who had the head of a Lioness. So it seems almost natural to find a thread that links La Force XI and Sekhmet. Lion/lioness and Power/Force.

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She was a goddess of healing and surgery, but also of disease and plague. (I’ve noticed that this card often comes up in a reading when it refers to someone's physical state.) Also a warrior goddess who led the pharaohs to battle.

Now, what I find even more delightful in all this and which actually caused my "Aha" moment was this :

La Force in the TdM has a hat in the shape of a leminscate. Who else in the Tarot has a hat shaped like this ? The Bateleur. And who was Sekhmet's husband ? Ptah... a creator of things and a maker of things, and a patron of craftsmen. And what does the Bateleur have in front of him? A work-table! An artisan with his tools, and which often comes up in readings regarding work related issues.

Well, that's my little snippet told.

[Diana]

So I'll continue my musings.

VII : LE CHARIOT

From the Bhagavad Gita.

Know the Self to be sitting in the chariot, the body to be the chariot, the intellect (buddhi) the charioteer, and the mind the reins.

The senses they call the horses, the objects of the senses their roads. When he (the Highest Self) is in union with the body, the senses, and the mind, then wise people call him the Enjoyer.

He who has no understanding and whose mind (the reins) is never firmly held, his senses (horses) are unmanageable, like vicious horses of a charioteer.

But he who has understanding and whose mind is always firmly held, his senses are under control, like good horses of a charioteer.

He who has no understanding, who is unmindful and always impure, never reaches that place, but enters into the round of births.

But he who has understanding, who is mindful and always pure, reaches indeed that place, from whence he is not born again.

But he who has understanding for his charioteer, and who holds the reins of the mind, he reaches the end of his journey, and that is the highest place of Vishnu.

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Edited to add : And then there's Plato of course. ... first the charioteer of the human soul drives a pair, and secondly one of the horses is noble and of noble breed, but the other quite the opposite in breed and character. Therefore in our case the driving is necessarily difficult and troublesome.

[qndynes]

This is beauitful. I'm following along but have nothing to share that I recall at the moment. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing and that I'm loving it.

[Diana]

L’Ermite VIIII and Le Mat/Fou/Fol – and the Dog

Diogenes, as we probably all know, was the Greek philosopher, considered as the founder of cynicism, who is reported as having carried a lantern in daylight in order to find an honest man. Our TdM Hermit may very well also be looking for an honest man. He probably doesn’t find many. This link between the Hermit and Diogenes has of course been talked about since time immemorial.

The term "cynic" is derived from the Greek word κυνικός, kynikos, "dog-like" and that from κύων, kyôn, "dog”.

Diogenes was known as Diogenes the Dog. It was insulting to call someone a dog, but Diogenes embraced this nickname.

From Wiki : There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named. First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads. The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies. So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them.

Now, there’s another dog in the TdM, and that’s the one chasing Le Mat, probably barking and seemingly trying to bite his buttocks. This dog has caused endless discussions among TdM circles as to what he represents. (Oswald Wirth however believed it to be a lynx).

Diogenes, when asked where he came from, said he was a “citizen of the cosmos”. The Mat is clearly a citizen of the cosmos. He has no earthly home.

I find it hard to believe that there is not some kind of little “wink” that those who dreamed up the TdM gave us here. Like a little treat for those who care to look.

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[Diana]

Not so much a myth but a legend. When I heard it the first time, the first thing that sprung to mind was :

XVIII - L’ETOILE / THE STAR.


THE VOUIVRE
(a legend from the Franche Comté (France) and the Jura (Switzerland)

The Vouivre is a winged snake and woman whose body is covered with fire. She has on her forehead one sole eye, a luminescent diamond that illuminates and projects a bright light that can be seen from far away.

When she shows herself as a woman, she is most beautiful and is equally formidable when in her dragon state.

At night, she crosses the skies beating her wings loudly, guided by the luminous carbuncle (see note below) through which she sees. During the day, she is dormant and sleeps nestled at the bottom of her cave which is her abode. When evening comes, she flies down to the river to bathe. She stretches and flaps her wings, as birds do sometimes, just to play. Often she immerses herself in the waters with her scaly skin and undulating tail, but most of the time she prefers to free herself of this fabulous attire and as a woman to feel the fresh caress of the cool waters on her naked body.

It’s in the grass, hidden from view, that she hides her serpentine adornment and upon it she lays her most precious eye, her precious stone.

And many there were that come to spy on her, awaiting this moment to steal her jewel. The marauder needs only to stretch out his hand as the Vouivre dives into the still water, to grasp the jewel and to flee.

It is said that, deprived of her carbuncle, the Vouivre cannot see and is blind.

As soon as the marauder touches the stone, resounds a dreadful horrendous hissing noise that turns his blood to ice. He then sees the pointed teeth and forked tongue, and in the middle of the forehead of the beast he sees his face reflected, a face convulsed with terror, being torn apart by the thousand facets of the precious stone.

We always warn them, but they don’t listen. They are found in shreds, mangled, unrecognisable, and as soon as they are removed from the mud, they turn to dust and the Vouivre once again triumphs over the waves.


Note: A carbuncle is a mythical gemstone said to emit light even in total darkness.

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[Papageno]

so what happened to this thread? it was so promising.

[Diana]

so what happened to this thread? it was so promising.

I didn't think it was interesting anyone. But I have a lot more up my sleeve. How about St. Christopher ? Or Rabelais' Gargantua ? I also have a wonderful little book called "Mythes et Tarots - le voyage du bateleur" by Dicta.et.Françoise and I could glean some inspiration from their book as well.

[Papageno]

I didn't think it was interesting anyone. But I have a lot more up my sleeve. How about St. Christopher ? Or Rabelais' Gargantua ? I also have a wonderful little book called "Mythes et Tarots - le voyage du bateleur" by Dicta.et.Françoise and I could glean some inspiration from their book as well.

oh go for it when you feel like it.

so glad you can read French, I have to rely on Google translate or Bing or whatever the F it's called, pretty sad.
do you read French, or do you use one of those online translators where you scan text with your cellphone.

I was a miserable student, my French teachers would have beaten me senseless like in olden times if they could have gotten away with it bwhaaaa (just incorrigible)

BTW, may I ask you to translate something for me. It's a poem by Marie-Claire Dewarrat from Le Tarot de Gruyères.
I can barely make sense of it, as you can see, and I can't get the last bit, actually, MOST of it reads like utter nonsense and I know a lot of it is NOT correct.
Her poems remind me of the actress Anna Magnani, you know, very dramatic, dark circles under the eyes, grasping at the hair, holding fists to her chest sort of stuff .....or maybe Maria Callas as Medea, now there's a pretty story for ya OMG

La Roue De la Fortune X

Sur les larmes d'Isis, la vie tangue.

Roulent les Temps anciens, passant le Temps nouveaux.

J'etais.
Je suis.
Je fus.

Les etendards flottent aux branches des fleaux.

The Wheel of Fortune X

On Isis' tears, life swayed.

Roll the Old Times, passing the New Times.

I was.
I am.
I was.

The standards float on the branches of…....???

[Diana]

I speak fluent French.

I'll look into your poem later. It's hugely difficult to translate poetry. So I won't be able to respect the structure and the rythm nor any rhymes if there are any. But I'll make an effort to make it as true as possible to the original.

Dewarrat is Swiss, born in the same town where I live. I've never read anything by her. I will now. Thanks for mentioning her now twice. I love it what you quoted. Gruyères is also a little Swiss town. Full of tourists. Carloads of Japanese eating fondue and raclette in the middle of summer in the little cobbled street. There's a castle there too.

https://www.google.com/search?q=gruy%C3 ... 80&bih=646

But they're mostly known for their cheese, Gruyère. The French call Emmental cheese "Gruyère". That's stupid. Emmental is another region of Switzerland and they make a completely different cheese with holes in it called Emmental.

[Papageno]

It's hugely difficult to translate poetry. So I won't be able to respect the structure and the rythm nor any rhymes if there are any.

Yes, I had already taken that into account.

Translate whenever you feel like it, you're certainly under no obligation and if you don't want to be bothered with it, then don't.
I will not be offended in the least, after all, it is I who am imposing upon you for a favor.

[Diana]

Translation of the poem :

Life undulates on Isis’ tears.

Old Times roll on, new Times pass by.

I was.
I am.
I were.

The banners flutter on the branches of the flails.


I assume that here she means “flail”. Because the word “fléau” can almost mean a scurge or a curse or some sort. It could also fit. But I go more with the instrument.

To stick with the theme of mythology and what-not, later today I'll make a post on the Wheel of Fortune so that we can get the thread back on track.

[Diana]

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE and THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY

This post is not about mythology but more historical and philosophical. But history becomes the stuff of legend sometimes, so I thought it would be appropriate here to speak about THE CONSOLATION OF PHILOSOPHY. And the Wheel of Fortune dates back to Greek and Roman times and their goddesss Fortuna, so we're not really far away from mythology.

The Consolation of Philosophy (Latin: De consolatione philosophiae) is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius, written around the year 524. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, as well as the last great Western work of the Classical Period. It was translated even at the time into many languages so was very widespread.

When Boethius wrote the Consolation, he was in prison accused of treason. This had followed a remarkable career at the court of Theoderic the Great, and he had renown as statesman, orator, and scholar. He had made a brilliant marriage, and his sons had been made consuls, the greatest honour a Roman could hope to attain. But the advisors of the aging king had used Theoderic's uneasiness over the future of his kingdom to accuse a number of their enemies of working to subvert his rule. Boethius was one of these. Suddenly his brilliant career is in tatters, and so he sits in prison raging against Fortune.

Then one day in his prison, knowing that his life has been shattered and that he will probably be condemned to death (which he was), an allegorical figure appears before him. A woman whom he called LADY PHILOSOPHY. And she taught him about Fortune and her Wheel. She told him many things which he wrote down.

"Inconstancy is my very essence; it is the game I never cease to play as I turn my wheel in its ever changing circle, filled with joy as I bring the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top. Yes, rise up on my wheel if you like, but don't count it an injury when by the same token you begin to fall, as the rules of the game will require."

This book also had a big influence on Dante and his Divine Comedy. Which many people have said say that to understand the Tarot well, one should read it. It's been on my reading list for about 20 years but I've never got round to it.

Dante says about the Wheel of Fortune :

No mortal power may stay her spinning wheel.
The nations rise and fall by her decree.
None may foresee where she will set her heel:
she passes, and things pass. Man's mortal reason
cannot encompass her. She rules her sphere
as the other gods rule theirs. Season by season
her changes change her changes endlessly,
and those whose turn has come press on her so,
she must be swift by hard necessity.

The wheel originally, in Greek and Roman times, depicted a globe on which Fortune stands, turning it with her feet. However, in about the twelfth century this evolves into a depiction of Fortune standing beside a mechanical wheel which she controls with a lever. On the wheel are depicted (usually) four figures: one at the top, one at the bottom, one rising, and one falling. These figures often wear the guise of kings. The four figures represented : I reign, I reigned, My reign is finished, I shall reign.

The metaphor of the Wheel of Fortune became so popular during the latter twelfth and thirteenth centuries that it made it into the iconography of the cathedral, culminating in the great rose wheel windows of many cathedrals, which were essentially based on the idea of Fortune's wheel.

In the Carmina Burana, it is said :

Fate - monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
you are malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
. . . . . . . . .
The wheel of Fortune turns;
I go down, demeaned;
another is raised up;
far too high up
sits the king at the summit -
let him fear ruin!
for under the axis is written
Queen Hecuba.



That's about all I want to say about that. Just to remind us of this great work that influenced so many people. And how Greek and Roman mythology never ceased their influence. The Consolation of Philosophy has to do with Stoicism.

There's a nice little video on youtube that gives a good background to this Consolation of Philosophy : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMUP48s ... ex=25&t=0s