R.A. Hendley wrote:

I'm referring to the tripartite construct of medieval European society - orare, pugnare, laborare, those who pray - clergy, those who make war - nobility, and those who work - commoner, which seems to be reflected in the first six trumps.

That is what I thought you meant. So my puzzlement remains.

What is so different to the construct of our society today? We have the clergy in fact getting stronger and stronger all the time in all parts of the world, except perhaps in what is left of the communist countries; we have the modern nobility (politicians, bankers and their capitalist partners) i.e. those who make war, which now includes economic warfare; and the exploited, i..e the workers, whether they be the proletariat or the so-called "middle" classes.

The Tarot is as actual today as it was then. Our society has changed little. We wear different clothes, have different technologies, have replaced in many countries the royal aristocracy with an economic aristocracy, but the construct of our society has barely changed.

The suggestion of a 'life cycle' in Trumps VI, VII, XII, and XIII invite comparisons to Medieval Calendars, some of which showed a 'life cycle'. April or May often featured 'lovers' scenes. Summer months might show a hunting procession. *

While the calendars never showed Death, it was clearly associated with the end of the year.

While not implying any definite intention by the tarot designer, there is a clear natural association between these allegories and the four seasons as shown by the symbolism of the four fixed zodiac signs.

Hi RAH!
As usual, your depictions and presentation of ideas is great and I enjoy them very much.
Firstly this ....

to the tripartite construct of medieval European society - orare, pugnare, laborare, those who pray - clergy, those who make war - nobility, and those who work - commoner, which seems to be reflected in the first six trumps.

Why would this triad/tripartite feeling of Tarot that reflects society, all of a sudden change to be four as in your depictions of the seasons?
Why does the the images of the corners of the world - become not depicted in the images of the four cards?
I realise that Death of course can depict Winter, and the Sun can be seen as a Chariot- but the relationships generally seems obscure. I personally think that if the images of Sun Moon and Stars can be clear- then surely the seasons would be clear also.
I like the 'connections' feeling of this- but do not feel it is what was depicted.
I like to think that the four winds i.e Boreas for Winter is depicted in the world card and became Christianised, but really that is only supposition.- the winds are not there, except by suggestion.
Generally I thought that in the countries of Southern Europe it was taken as three seasons not four.
Why not a triad of 8/9/10 Spring... 11/12/13 Winter/Autumn.....14/15/16 Summer?
~Lorredan

Interesting, but there are no "fixed" zodiac signs.
The zodiac is in constant precession.
The signs would move over one notch (in relation to the seasons) every 2048 years.
That's about one week in 512 years.
This caused quite a few problems for the early calendar makers.
The feast days kept falling.

Howdy Lorredan,

Oh Yes!! The trumps are indeed a series of triptychs.


Cheers,

RaH

The feast days kept falling.

Just love this and I can see that clearly in the WOF- but what feast is the Monkey like creature heading downwards?

I can also the non astrological Aristotle argument, but RaH, can you explain why this would be used in a game?
~Lorredan

I don't know how common the idea of three seasons was, but four seasons were regularly mentioned and used as a motif (Think Vivaldi. ;)

Well on this I absolutely do not agree that three seasons were uncommon in the Tarot lands.
The basis for having seasons in the first place was established independently by many prehistoric cultures. Even on different continents, ancient astronomers came up with surprisingly accurate determinations of the solstices and equinoxes, and more remarkable still, they did it without knowing why the seasons exist. a year perfectly divided into quarters on the basis of the orderly progression of the earth around the sun that were logical and orderly; the seasons really occur because the solar system is not perfectly or logically organized. The seasons actually occur because the earth’s axis of rotation is tilted over some 27 degrees; and things are further complicated because our orbit around the sun is an ellipse rather than a circle. In the Northern Hemisphere we have summer when we are farthest from the sun, because at that time we are tilted so its rays hit us directly and are absorbed, heating us up. Likewise, in winter we are closer to the sun but tilted away from it, so the radiation comes in at an angle and reflects away, leaving us colder. It was not important to have four equal and symmetrical seasons agriculturally. We in the Southern hemisphere have it opposite.
It was seed, blossom and harvest/hunt indicated usually by Feast days. Three seasons as Autumn and Winter melded together. Wet – Hot- Dry/Cold (Barren season) for Europe south of the Alps- Atlantic to Eastern Mediterranean- the first to personalise the three seasons were the Greeks who believed they lived on the perfect disk in the centre.
It is interesting that they had three Horae (Seasons)and three Moirae (Fates) and these became Roman. The seasons were Autumn/Seed, Spring/Blossom and Summer/Harvest and the Moirae were alloter/measurer, spinner,and cutter- associated with man's life and agriculture.
Very triptytch indeed rather than artificial constructs of calendar four seasons for this(Italy and France) part of the World.
~Lorredan

I have to agree with Lorredan. The very early Norse legends relate to three seasons, not four.

And yes, it's astronomical, a result of the Earths passage around the Sun. At some point in the future our orbit will once again 'generate' three seasons. (generate = probably wrong word - but you know what I mean).

Bee

------

------