chiscotheque wrote: โ23 Feb 2020, 23:56
the cup on the ace may well be a monstrance, as certainly the cup on the queen of cups is one - made quite explicit on the RWS where it's of traditional design. and while some monstrances have a church or building as cap, the putative monstrance on the ace of cups is a little unusual - it is little more than a church plunked down on top of a chalice. to say it is a monstrance and therefore represents only what a monstrance represents would be simplistic and wrong, imo. be that as it may, i will note the monstrance is aptly named. usually these days they are adorned with a solar design, i suppose suggesting the marriage of water and fire. oddly, the monstrance usually contains the bread host rather than the wine, making the idea that the cup on the ace of cups is a monstrance less likely.
this is also unlikely, but the tongue image on the church reminds me of how one sticks their tongue out to the priest to receive the eucharist. it also reminds me of kali's out-stuck tongue when shiva lies down at her feet. it also reminds me of Pentecost and speaking in tongues.
I so wish that eucharistic tongue was what was intended. I remember now that the pointed archway resembling the tongue-shape coming down from the top of the central monolith on the Ace of Cups, which frames the entrance to the "lobby" (or narthex) of the church at the western end, is an architectural necessity. A rectangular doorway would not be able to stand the weight. This tongue shape allows the two sides of the archway to brace one another. A central wedge of stone is inserted at the top to lock them in position. This design is repeated inside the church in a larger form, connecting the pillars that hold up the roof. So the symbolic significance of this shape is potentially extremely important - a gateway that reaches to the heavens. Perhaps it mimics the shape of two hands held together in prayer. The people who knew this deck 400 years ago would pass through those arches every day. Still do.
Perhaps the citadel on top of the cup is not a monstrance - from the Latin verb meaning "to show" or "to display", since the host is often contained in the centre and elevated before the congregation - but the tabernacle, which is the small decorated box that holds the various artifacts used for a Catholic service.
Surely there must be a book that discusses the Catholic imagery of the TdM. The deck must be soaked in it. Religious images and symbols were the common language of the culture. People would expect the deck to have that structure. Any other design would either be considered trivial or sacrilegious. Where else would the cardmakers draw their imagery from to make a popular deck of playing cards? Do you know any books that fit this description, Diana? Maybe we should shoot off an email to Stephen Colbert or Jack White. Or are these ideas so obvious that they hardly need to be stated.
The four suits are surely an example. Cups = the chalice containing the blood of Christ; Coins = the circular host symbolising the body of Christ; Wands = the "chi-rho" shape, representing in Greek the first two letters of Christ's name - I am thinking of the X shape in the minors and the upright staff on the odd numbered cards; Swords = the labyrinth in the centre of a cathedral floor - if you place the Swords minors next to each other, the semi-circular swords actually connect to make complete perfect circles that become more complex as the suit progresses - they look like a circular labyrinth - the "labyrinth of thought". It confirms how Christian symbolism and the Four Elements are combined in the TdM. The "chi-rho" symbol mentioned above often appears on the outside of the tabernacle.
I seem to remember that the word for the central hub of a cartwheel, seen on the Wheel of Fortune, is the same in French as that used for the middle part of the church where the altar is, where the various arms of the building meet like spokes, but I can't find it in my notes at the moment.