Tarosophy Archieven - Tarot and Wine

The Symbolism of Nakedness in Tarot

On censorship, vulnerability, and what it means to be truly seen.

In this era of MAGA-madness and religious extremism, even images of Tarot cards depicting nudity are being censored or removed. Some deck creators are even redesigning the cards so that the figures wear clothing! I could go on a lengthy rant about this, but instead I would rather do some “tarosophizing” here about the symbolism of “being naked” and what it means in Tarot.

The Nine of Cups – More Than Just a Jolly Fat Knight

The Nine of Cups recently made an appearance during a reading someone did on Earth Day (the Ubuntu spread I shared on Instagram). It’s not exactly the kind of card that hits you over the head with spiritual fireworks. A man on a bench, arms contentedly crossed, looks out at the world with a face that says, “Look at me, doing just fine.” Behind him: nine perfectly arranged cups. Red cheeks, ample belly, open coat. You don’t have to be psychic to think: this guy’s enjoying himself.

This card is often labeled as “superficial satisfaction.” Or worse: smugness. And let’s be honest, in our culture, being that pleased with yourself is frowned upon. Real spirituality, the message seems to be, should involve suffering, depth, and a solid dose of introspection. A tortured mystic is preferred over a contented hedonist — such is the New Age dogma.

Ubuntu & Tarot – I Am Because We Are

Every now and then, a word crosses your path and touches something deep inside. For me, that word was Ubuntu. It’s an African concept that is so much more than a philosophy — it’s a way of living. It’s gentle, powerful, and profoundly human. A quiet force that whispers:

“I am because we are.”

Or, in Zulu:
“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” — A person is a person through other people.

Tarot Card The Sun and the Dark Philosopher

“Because the sun, according to its nature, is a foot of a man in width, it will not exceed its limits: if it exceeds its limits, the Erinyes, the messengers of Dike, will catch up with it.”

– Heraclitus ca. 540 – 480 B.C.

Tarot Card The Sun is literally a sunny card that evokes cheerful images. The Sun is associated with optimism, awareness, inner growth, self-knowledge, enlightenment, and self-improvement. The depiction by Waite and Smith, with the choice of the child on the back of the horse, also aims to express a kind of freedom (of the soul). However, the beautiful sunflowers and the large red banner cannot obscure the large gray wall; the wall is prominently present on the card. What is the symbolism of the wall? And how can the Greek philosopher Heraclitus shed light on this while he himself was called ‘the Dark Philosopher’?

The Tarot and the Temple(s) of Solomon

On a number of Tarot cards, the figures are depicted between two pillars. The most obvious is Tarot Card II The High Priestess; According to Waite, she sits between the pillars ‘Boaz’ and ‘Jachin’ that belong to ‘the Mystical Temple’. But what exactly is this Mystical Temple? And where does the symbolism come from? Did the temple really exist? The key, according to many myths and mysteries, is the legend of King Solomon who had a temple built on a mountain in Jerusalem sometime in the year 1000 B.C. This temple has been the motivation and inspiration for many people ever since – to do both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ things. To unravel the mystery, we have to delve a bit into (biblical) history…

5 of Pentacles and the Lesson of Dependence

Half a year ago I wrote a blog post about pentacles 5 and the choice to sometimes place yourself ‘outside the group’ and go your own way, even if it means that it is often difficult and lonely. Just recently, I’ve read an article on a New Age website that was about experiencing gratitude and the ability to accept help from others. Immediately, Tarot card Pentacles 5 popped into my mind and I thought about how I could add this to the interpretation of this card. And when I was figuring this out, the tarot cards Justice and the Hermit also came along 😉

Tarot card The Hermit and the ‘Aleister Crowley’ of the Philosophers

Tarot card ‘The Hermit’ used to be my ‘favorite’ tarotcard when I was young and started learning the Tarot. I imagined that – when I was old – I would live in a super cute little house in the woods/on the moors/on a mountain and that everyone would see me as a lovely old and wise woman. I would help all people and provide them with (good) advice.

Unfortunately, as the years have gone by, I’ve turned more into a Swamp Witch than into a sage and I don’t have a cute little house in the mountains either. But that’s not what this post is about. It’s about Tarot card The Hermit and the comparison with the Greek Philosopher Diogenes. It is Antoine Court de Gebéllin who makes this comparison in his description of this Tarot card (see his essay on the Tarot that appeared in volume 8 of his book ‘Le Monde Primitif’). And it’s super interesting!

About New Wine and Old Farts in the Tarot

Credo quia Absurdum (I believe because it is absurd / impossible / irrational)
The company name of Ana Fragateiro en Tiago Pimentel

I follow a lot of Tarot blogs because I’m always curious about the insights of other tarotists. One of those blogs is written by a man who is very passionate about the Tarot. He has been working with the Tarot for almost 50 years and he is a well known Tarot tutor and mentor in the US. He sometimes posts 2 blogs a day, all very extensive and also very educational. His specialty is the Crowley Tarot and I always enjoy reading his articles.

However, in a recent post, he went on a kind of rant against “all those young people who just think they can do something with the Tarot.” Whether it was creating a new deck, writing blogs or giving courses and consultations. “Those young people didn’t know anything because they hadn’t studied anything and they didn’t stick to ‘the original symbolism’. But in the meantime they try to earn money by using the Tarot and/or put themselves in the spotlights by writing articles or workshops…“

I was a little disappointed. But also annoyed. For the following reasons:

Tarot card Pentacles 5 and the Friars Minor

Sometimes a tarot card is clear to you and ‘easy’ to interpret. Those are the cards that I don’t have to think so hard about and so I spend less time delving into the origins of the symbolism and meanings. For me, one of those cards is 5 of Pentacles. I’ve assigned my own meanings and theories to this tarotcard ages ago and I’m always secure when it pops up in readings.

But recently I was – as it always happens: by coincedence – triggered again to take a look at the basic meanings of this card. And that led to a fascinating historical deepdive and some old new insights that I would like to share.

About ‘Thinking of the Soul’ and the Swords in the Tarot

The Soul never thinks without a picture
Aristotle

Every time I come across a quote somewhere, I think of a Tarot card. This is not surprising since the Tarot consists of a thick pack of one-liners from ‘the things your mother used to say’ to statements by the great philosophers and natural scientists. But, because the ancient Greeks had a great influence on our current thinking and actions, they are the best to go with!

Tarot Card Two of Swords from the Waite-Smith deck

When I read this quote from Aristotle, the first Tarot card that popped into my head was the Two of Swords. But when I started to delve a bit more into the background of this quote, I gained another nice insight regarding the swords in the Tarot

The Swords are often – unfairly – interpreted in terms of rational thinking. In everyday interpretations, this is then – also wrongly – placed opposite to ‘feeling’.

It is well known that the Swords (and the element of air in general) has a much deeper symbolism than logical thinking. Air is a medium, a connector. The element air ‘feeds’ the other elements (earth, water and fire); For instance, when there is not enough air in the earth, roots of plants will stop growing and they will die. When Hydrogen (H2) cannot bind to air (O), there will be no water that is necessary to maintain life on earth. Fire that does not receive oxygen extuiguishes.

The Swords, or the intellect, in the Tarot therefore symbolizes the ability to connect things, to think creatively, to fantasize, to make plans, to discover patterns and to reflect. ‘Logical’ thinking also belongs to this domain, but is just a small part. With a Sword you can separate things such as main and secondary issues (think of the Hebrew letter Zain). You can also cut away bullshit with your Sword. Finally, the sword depicts mental strength, a not to be underestimated s uper-power that unfortunately can also work at a disadvantage.

The Swords are often considered ‘negative’ and I have set a goal for myself to stand up for this ‘underdog’. All elements are equally important in life and therefore also in the Tarot. Waite may have put a bit of a depressive spin on it, but I won’t let that distract me.

Please find a quote from Eliphas Lévi below. It is taken from his well known ‘paradoxes’ (Paradox V: Reason is God)

THIS should be placed first. It is before everything: it is self-existent, it exists even for those who do not know it, as the Sun for the Blind, but to see it, feel it, understand it, this is the triumph of the understanding in man; it is the definite result of all the travail of thought and all the aspirations of Faith. In the principle is Reason, and Reason is in God, and God is Reason. All is made by it, and without it is nothing made. It is the true light that enlightens us from our birth: it shines even in the darkness, but the darkness does not close it in.

These words are the oracle of Reason itself, and they occur, as all know, at the commencement of the Gospel of St. John.

Without this Reason nothing exists; everything has its reason for existing, even unreason, which serves as a background to reason as the shadow does to the light.

True magic is a scientific force placed at the service of Reason.
Eliphas Lévi

This makes me think of many more Tarot Cards! I will write about them in a future blogpost.