I've been looking at the order of the majors from a very slight shift in perception since a moment of supposed insight on the World thread.This prompted me to re-read a very long thread, which intimidated me for weeks, but re-reading the two essays in Explaining the Tarot has given me fresh heart, and although I'm not completely happy with what I have so far, I thought I'd post in the hope that it might trip a switch in someone with a better knowledge of history than I.
There is in fact very little change here from other attempts to work out an order. It's simply a slightly different starting point, the alteration of the title of The Chariot to War and emphasis on the key word: Power. I had hoped to be able to pair all the cards, but some refused to behave...
Please bear in mind that this is the Unicorn Terrace, but I'm not wedded to this idea, so feel free to pick holes. demolish if you will, or just explain to me why it can't be this simple.
Let’s make a few assumptions to begin with – none of them is daring.
1. That the game, recognisable to us today as tarot, is not the result of a gradual change from decks such as the so-called Mantegna Tarot, but was a definite step and a new idea (inspired by what had gone before) – the idea of a set of either narrative or hierarchical illustrated cards to use as trumps. That someone, somewhere in Europe around 1425 had this idea and sat down with the Renaissance equivalent of pencil and paper to work out the details.
2. That this person, after much thought and crossing out, took a new piece of paper and wrote a list of the triumphs. This list might or might not have been numbered, but it consisted of WORDS, and possibly an elucidation of these words. Perhaps there were notes too. This was the first Tarot Script. It may even exist somewhere, tucked into the binding of a book… If we could work out exactly what these words were we might be closer to the answer.
3. That this list/script was given to an artist/craftsman to illustrate.
4. That the hierarchy and the subjects of the trumps had to be obvious, as there were no numbers or titles. A note to this effect may have been included in the instructions to the artist/craftsman. (This idea is the biggest leap, as Bernard pointed out to me on the World thread that the game itself doesn't neccessarily need a hierarchy, but let's say for the sake of argument that the creator of the trumps wanted one, for reasons that will become obvious later.)
5. That the hand-painted cards commissioned by the nobility are in a class of their own and should be considered separately from the cards in common usage.
6. That the game was in common usage common prior to the existence of the hand-painted cards.
What might that list in #3 have looked like? Below is the latest in my attempts to work out the likliest possibility. The colours indicate strong pairings.
A Procession of Earthly, Supernatural and Celestial Power and the Final Triumph of Divinity
0. Fool: lowest of the figures that represent humanity. Without much intelligence or malice, without power, except to wander at will
1.Mountebank: One up from the Fool, but a pair with him, as they often work together. (Two representatives of the lower orders.)
2. Popess: Pope’s consort in some sense. Represents the church because the Pope is married to the church.
3. Empress: Emperor’s consort. (Two female consorts of powerful men)
4.Emperor:
5.Pope: (Two powerful men)
6.Love: conquers the Pope
7. War: a chariot driven by Mars. Conquers Love. (A pair of opposites)
8. Strength: conquers War
9. Fortune: good fortune can conquer Strength.
10. Traitor: powerful because he works undercover against man’s normal instincts to stay true to his family/tribe, which on a larger scale becomes his country. No one expects this sort of undercover deceit, which is why it’s difficult to detect and therefore more powerful than Strength or the Fortunes of War.
11. Justice: conquers the Traitor. Another pair.
12. Temperance: implies mercy.
13. Death: conquers all that comes before.
14. Devil: First supernatural entity. Conquers Death by condemning the sinner to burn in Hell.
15. Time: Father Time, second supernatural entity. Time will eventually conquer the Devil. (Two supernatural entities.)
16. Fire from Heaven: The first of the celestial phenomena. More powerful than the Devil as it is directed by God.
17. Stars: increase of power. Celestial bodies that order man’s existence on Earth.
18. Moon: 3rd celestial body. Power over the tides. Stronger astrological power.
19. Sun: Most powerful celestial body. Man's existence on Earth depends upon it. Even greater astrological Power. (A strong pair of opposites.)
20. The Angel: Divine messenger, therefore closest to the Divine.
21. Triumph of Divinity. Power over all.
Pen
The Ur Tarot: the very beginning
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Last edited by Pen on 05 Apr 2011, 07:05, edited 1 time in total.
He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy...