Arieli's Three of Goblets

Month: Tammuz (Days of Sun)

Numerology: The number three indicates a flowering, something created from the energy of the suit. It is the synthesis of One’s thesis and Two’s antithesis. In Pythagorean philosophy, the number three (triad) represents energy and unity restored. According to Joanna Powell Colbert, threes means harmony, flow, and abundance. The third sefirah on the Tree of Life is Binah, Understanding.

Arieli’s card: A man dressed in black holds a wash cup in his right hand and pours water on his left hand. Two more cups stand next to the basin.

Arieli assigns these meanings to the Three of Goblets:
Upright: purification, leaving the past, freeing oneself from the oppressive things, preparation for an important process or event Reversed: conscience, remorse, repentance, reconciling oneself with oneself, correcting the soul

Arieli’s description of the card: This card shows the custom of hand washing (netilat yedayim), which is done before eating bread and after waking up. The cup has two handles so that each hand can pour water on the opposite hand. [The morning hand washing ritual is slightly different from the ritual before breaking bread.] The ritual is a reminder of the ablutions performed by the priests before the Temple service. In the Gemara, it is said that the morning hand washing ritual is done to remove spirits of impurity that settle on one’s fingers during sleep. [Arieli cites Shabbat 109a, which seems to be about healing and bathing, but does not mention hand washing.]

The RWS Three of Cups: Three women dance in a circle, holding chalices high. Harvest fruits surround them. Pamela Colman’s Smith image suggests a stately ritual, while the young women in the Robin Wood image seem more frolicsome and perhaps even tipsy.

Traditionally, this card signifies: friendship, family, community, celebration, harvest, abundance, pleasure, or “the conclusion of any matter in plenty.” It may also refer to the Eleusinian Mysteries, which celebrated Persephone’s return from the Underworld. Reversed, it may suggest: stifled creativity, an affair, or “excess in physical enjoyment.”

Comparison between the cards: Both the Arieli and the RWS cards suggest joy. The former suggests an exuberant harvest celebration, the latter, oneg Shabbat.

Hebrew Letter Correspondence: The numeral 3 is the letter גּ, which the Sefer Yetzirah connects to Mars and wealth.

Relationship with Major Arcana: The third sefirah on the Tree of Life is Binah, Understanding. It is the place of receptivity and resistance. It is associated with the left temple of the head, which, if balanced with Chokhmah, the right temple, can bring insight. “Understand with wisdom. Be wise with understanding.” (Sefer Yetzirah 1:4)

Arieli’s connects the third sefirah to HaShekhinah, his High Priestess card. The Lurianic partzufim (faces) of the third sefirah are Imma and Tevunah, Mother and Comprehension.

Tarot has a couple of bizarre twists on mathematics. In one system, you add the digits of a card to reduce it to a single number. In the other system, you reduce a card’s number by ten. Thus, each of the following cards has a value of three:

3=3 Arieli’s Shekhinah (RWS Empress)
12=1+2=3 Arieli’s Justice (RWS Hanged Man)
13=13-10=3 Arieli’s Hanged Man (RWS Death)
21=2+1=3 Arieli’s Judgment Day (RWS World)

Visually, there seems to be little connection between Arieli’s Three of Goblets and the four Majors listed above.

The RWS Empress, like the Three of Cups, implies a bountiful harvest. The Hanged Man suggests the period of suspenseful waiting before harvest time. Death may be John Barleycorn who undergoes harvesting and malting. A wreath, again suggestive of bounty, encircles the woman in The World.

Magical uses according to Tyson: to obtain social pleasure, good hospitality; for a successful party, new clothes, or a feast.

Arieli's Two of Coins

Month: Tevet (Days of Rain)

Numerology: The number two indicates choice, duality, and the attempt to find balance. In Pythagorean philosophy, the number two (dyad) is the principle of separation and creation. Twos suggest dialogue, communication, and the potential to create something. According to Joanna Powell Colbert, twos mean balance, receptivity, attraction, or a test of choice. The second sefirah on the Tree of Life is Chokhmah, Wisdom.

Arieli’s Two of Coins: Arieli’s Two of Coins shows two medallions floating in a sky of stylized clouds over a Jerusalem neighborhood. One of the coins seems to be hanging from a necklace. Both coins are engraved with images of a couple. A landmark shown in the image suggests the vision of Moses Montefiore, not of the actual Jerusalem neighborhood of Yemin Moshe. In 1857, Montefiore built a windmill and apartments outside the walls of the Old City in the hopes of drawing Jews out of the Jewish Quarter, which was overcrowded and unhealthy because of polluted cisterns. However, the city’s Jews were unwilling to leave because Bedouins raided outside the walls. The few Jews who accepted Montefiore’s offer of new apartments returned to the Old City each night for safety. Only after a cholera epidemic in 1865 did more of the city’s Jews see the benefit of moving out of the Old City to the settlement Montefiore had named Mishkenot Sha’ananim (“Habitation of Tranquility”).

Arieli assigns these meanings to the Two of Coins:
Upright: the continuity of generations, a warm relationship between parents and children, traditions lovingly passed on, teaching the next generation with the wisdom of experience, providing a strong base from which future generations can grow
Reversed: abandoning the values of past generations, poor examples of parenting and adulthood, lack of values in the home, a contradiction between the values taught and the examples set, tension or conflict between the generations

Arieli’s description of the card: Two sides of a coin are shown. One side depicts an elderly couple and the other side depicts a young couple. The pair of images implies that the work of an earlier generation benefits a later generation; once material resources are secure, new generations can focus on less practical but loftier pursuits. The side showing the earlier generation is near the ground because it is the generation that worked and built a home; the side showing the recent generation is rising to heaven using the base prepared for it to realize its dream. Alternatively, the two images may suggest that earlier generations were more virtuous, closer to heaven, and that successive generations descended to baser lives. [Arieli cites tractate Bava Kamma 2, but I have been unable to find mention of ‘the coin of Abraham’ or of these concepts on those pages of Talmud.]

The RWS Two of Pentacles shows: an oddly dressed youth stumbling while holding two pentacles that are joined by a ribbon in the shape of a figure eight. He appears to be on a stage. Behind him, two ships ride the crests of tall waves. Water and land do not meet in the card. The figure eight also appears in the RWS Magician, but in that card, it is firm and taut. The youth in this card in interfering with the natural flow of life, trying to make things proceed as he wishes they would.

Traditionally, the Two of Pentacles signifies: a failure to chose between two sets of responsibilities or to balance them. It also indicates unclear goals, uncertainty, ambivalence, disorganization, distraction, or debt. A. E. Waite wrote that the card could indicate “news and messages in writing.” Reversed, it may suggest: adaptability, grace under pressure, the ability to balance resources, or “simulated enjoyment.”

Comparison between the cards: The Arieli Two of Coins feels more grounded and stable than RWS Two of Pentacles. Arieli’s card suggests knowing where to turn for values and guidance. The figure in the RWS is lost and alone.

Hebrew Letter Correspondence: The numeral 2 is the letter בּ, which the Sefer Yetzirah connects to the moon and wisdom.

Relationship with Major Arcana: The Two of Coins is related to the second sefirah on the Tree of Life, Chokhmah, wisdom. Wisdom is the bride of God and she was present when heavens and earth were created. She is a female figure in Jewish literature.

16th century Lurianic Kabbalah, linked Chokhmah with Father and Binah with Mother. Arieli assigns his Two of Coins and his Magician to Chokmah. Visually, there seems to be little connection between the landscape of the Two of Coins and the skillful Magician, depicted by Arieli as King Solomon (Shlomo HaMelekh).

Tarot has a couple of bizarre twists on mathematics. In one system, you add the digits of a card to reduce it to a single number. In the other system, you reduce a card’s number by ten. Thus, each of the following cards has a value of two:

2=2 Arieli’s Magician (RWS High Priestess)
11=1+1=2 Arieli’s Wheel (RWS Justice)
20=2+0=2 Arieli’s Sun (RWS Judgment)
12=12-10=2 Arieli’s Justice (RWS Hanged Man)
22=22-10=12-10=2 Arieli’s World (no RWS card)

Visually, Arieli’s Sun and World seem most connected to the Two of Coins.

While all of the RWS assignments work well in the Robin Wood deck, I think The Hanged Man resonates most closely with Robin Wood’s Two of Pentacles. Both figures are “up in the air,” one walking on a tightrope, the other hanging from a tree. While they are not doing anything productive, they are in a position to see things from a different perspective. Both figures need to have faith that circumstances will change.

Magical uses according to Tyson: to cause a pleasant change of place or experience; to induce others to visit you.

Arieli's Two of Candles

Month: Nisan (Days of Sun)

Numerology: The number two indicates choice, duality, and the attempt to find balance. In Pythagorean philosophy, the number two (dyad) is the principle of separation and creation. Twos suggest dialogue, communication, and the potential to create something. According to Joanna Powell Colbert, twos mean balance, receptivity, attraction, or a test of choice. The second sefirah on the Tree of Life is Chokhmah, Wisdom.

Arieli’s Two of Candles: The card shows solitary scholar sitting in a dark room. Flames from two candles illuminate a book on a reading stand, part of his face, his payot, and his graying beard. He may be reading Tanakh, the Bible. (If the book were the Talmud, the pages would be formatted distinctively, with a passage of Gemara in the center of each page and commentary surrounding it.) The book could be a holy text from any era of Jewish history.

Arieli assigns these meanings to Two of Candles:
Upright: studies, learning, acquiring knowledge and understanding, aspiration to discover the hidden
Reversed: difficulties in overcoming darkness, delusions, ignorance

Arieli’s description of the card: The study Jewish holy texts (collectively called Torah) is central to Judaism. Tehillim, the Book of Psalms, offers this instruction, “Happy is the man who does not walk on the counsel of the wicked… rather in the Torah of HaShem is his desire, and in His Torah, he meditates day and night.” (Tehillim 1:1) Many sages of Israel studied both day and night. Some rose at midnight to recite penitential prayers or to learn the secrets of Kabbalah. Indeed, the Jewish sages saw a special significance studying at night, when the silence and peace of the surrounding world allow the mind to comprehend secrets. In this card, the sage is looking for knowledge in the pages of a sacred text, which are illuminated by two candles. Even in the dark of the night, he does not close his eyes, but continues to stare at the old volume in the light of two candles. The image depicts the struggle between the inner light emanating from the soul striving for attainment, and the darkness that surrounds it. Sometimes great light comes from the darkest places. [Arieli cites Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 3:6, but provides a quotation I can’t find anywhere in that chapter.]

The RWS Two of Wands: A well-dressed man looks from the wall of a castle or fortified city over a town and towards the coast. He holds a globe in his right hand and a staff in his left. Another staff is attached to a crenelation in the wall. Roses and lilies from The Magician card appear on a coat of arms attached to the wall.

Traditionally, the Two of Wands signifies: planning, considering a choice or course of action, overthinking and not trusting your intuition, “surprise, wonder, enchantment,” harnessing ideas to create something new. Twos indicate choice and Wands indicate passion; this combination indicates the need to make a choice so you can focus wholeheartedly on a single task. Reversed, it may suggest: fear of the unknown, not wanting to risk what you have already achieved, dissatisfaction with life, or “the sadness of Alexander amidst the grandeur of this world's wealth.”

Comparison between the Arieli and RWS cards: Both cards show explorers. The figure in the RWS card is contemplating the world around himself. The scholar in the Arielli card seeks spiritual knowledge and looks within himself. Both figures may bring more light to the world.

Hebrew Letter Correspondence: The numeral 2 is the letter בּ, which the Sefer Yetzirah connects to the moon and wisdom.

Relationship with Major Arcana: The Two of Candles is related to the second sefirah on the Tree of Life, Chokhmah, wisdom. Wisdom is the bride of God and she was present when heavens and earth were created. She is a female figure in Jewish literature, such as the 2nd century Sefer Yetzirah.

However, 16th century Lurianic Kabbalah, linked Chokhmah with Father and Binah with Mother. That may explain why Arieli assigns the Two of Candles and his Magician to second sefirah, Chokmah. The figures in both cards are engaged in solitary, otherworldly pursuits.

Tarot has a couple of bizarre twists on mathematics. In one system, you add the digits of a card to reduce it to a single number. In the other system, you reduce a card’s number by ten. Thus, each of the following cards has a value of two:

2=2 Arieli’s Magician (RWS High Priestess)
11=1+1=2 Arieli’s Wheel (RWS Justice)
20=2+0=2 Arieli’s Sun (RWS Judgment)
12=12-10=2 Arieli’s Justice (RWS Hanged Man)
22=22-10=12-10=2 Arieli’s World (no RWS card)

The Two of Candles and Justice seem connected, because the study of Torah should lead to good works. Visually however, Arieli’s High Priestess, called Shekhinah (Divine Presence) and numbered 3, seems most resonant with his Two of Candles. She is Torah, the wisdom he seeks to know.

All of the RWS assignments listed above, work well in the Robin Wood deck, but visually, Robin Wood’s images of Justice and The High Priestess resonate most closely with her Two of Wands.

Magical uses according to Tyson: to exert initial influence over others; to express power; authority, dominion.

Arieli's Two of Swords

Month: Tishrei (Days of Rain)

Numerology: The number two indicates choice, duality, and the attempt to find balance. In Pythagorean philosophy, the number two (dyad) is the principle of separation and creation. Twos suggest dialogue, communication, and the potential to create something. According to Joanna Powell Colbert, twos mean balance, receptivity, attraction, or a test of choice. The second sefirah on the Tree of Life is Chokhmah, Wisdom.

Arieli’s Two of Swords: A tallit covers the head and torso of a person kneeling, with upraised arms, before two pillars. Beyond the pillars, two hands holding swords part thick clouds. Beyond the clouds is a long pool of water that leads, between foliage, to a tall structure. The image is suggestive of the Beit HaMikdash and Gan Eden. The Temple faced west, in the direction of the Garden of Eden. The vision beyond the pillars of the Temple, is suggestive of the two angels and fiery sword that God placed in Gan Eden to keep humans from the Tree of Life. (The words for ‘sword’ and ‘angel’ used in the biblical story, keruv and cherev, are similar.) It is also suggestive of the gates of the Heavenly Temple, God’s home since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Arieli assigns these meanings to the Two of Swords:
Upright: a lofty dream, aspirations and faith, heartfelt prayer, vision, expectation, hope
Reversed: what you desire is visible, but beyond your grasp

Arieli’s description of the card: This card shows a person, kneeling and calling out to God, before a portal guarded by two swords. Gan Eden is partly visible through obscurity and haze. God drove us out of paradise and it is not easy to return. Just as God set a flaming sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life, so here two swords guard the gate to Gan Eden and deter those who may try to enter. During Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, early in the month of Tishrei (represented by the Two, Three, and Four of Swords), prayers, especially penitential prayers, in synagogues continue with hardly any pause. It is customary to pour our hearts out to our Creator during this time and a person immersed in prayer may see a glimpse of Gan Eden. [Arieli has conflated a number of gates from Jewish tradition in this card: the gates of the earthly Gan Eden, the celestial Gan Eden, the Temple, and heaven. The liturgy on the evening of Yom Kippur reminds us that the gates of heaven are always open to heartfelt prayer.]

The RWS Two of Swords: Seated comfortably on a small stone bench, near the sea, a blindfolded woman holds two swords aloft with crossed arms. The tide is out and a waxing crescent moon indicates it’s the middle of the night. (In The Robin Wood Tarot, the blindfolded woman sits upon a ruin while the surf behind her is more active.)

Traditionally, the Two of Swords card signifies: The combination of suit and number suggests being of two minds, indecision. The blindfold, reminiscent of Lady Justice, also suggests the idea of neutrality or impartiality. Often this card means a refusal to face the reality and acknowledge change. However, wiser people understand it to mean honoring the past and refusing to let anything sidetrack you from your ideals. The blindfold may indicate that you are looking within for guidance and insight. “The suggestion of harmony and other favourable readings must be considered in a qualified manner, as Swords generally are not symbolical of beneficent forces in human affairs.” Reversed, it may suggest: releasing the past, making a difficult decision, or betrayal of self.

Comparison between the cards: The RWS figure is alone and silent. Arieli’s figure calls out to God.

Hebrew Letter Correspondence: The numeral 2 is the letter בּ, which the Sefer Yetzirah connects to the moon and wisdom.

Relationship with Major Arcana: The Two of Swords is related to the second sefirah on the Tree of Life: Chokhmah, wisdom. Wisdom is the bride of God and she was present when heavens and earth were created. She is a female figure in Jewish literature.

However, 16th century Lurianic Kabbalah, linked Chokhmah with Father and Binah with Mother. Perhaps that is why Arieli has assigned the Two of Swords and his Magician to Chokmah.

Tarot has a couple of bizarre twists on mathematics. In one system, you add the digits of a card to reduce it to a single number. In the other system, you reduce a card’s number by ten. Thus, each of the following cards has a value of two:

2=2 Arieli’s Magician (RWS High Priestess)
11=1+1=2 Arieli’s Wheel (RWS Justice)
20=2+0=2 Arieli’s Sun (RWS Judgment)
12=12-10=2 Arieli’s Justice RWS Hanged Man
22=22-10=12-10=2 Arieli’s World (no RWS card)

The only obvious connection between Arieli’s Two of Swords and his Magician is a pillar suggestive of the Temple.

The RWS assignments work especially well with Robin Wood’s High Priestess and Hanged Man, as all three figures seem to be looking inward for knowledge.

Magical uses according to Tyson: to mend a quarrel; to restore peace or arrange a truce.

Arieli's Two of Goblets

Month: Tammuz (Days of Sun)

Numerology: The number two indicates choice, duality, and the attempt to find balance. In Pythagorean philosophy, the number two (dyad) is the principle of separation and creation. Twos suggest dialogue, communication, and the potential to create something. According to Joanna Powell Colbert, mean balance, receptivity, attraction, or a test of choice. The second sefirah on the Tree of Life is Chokhmah, Wisdom.

Arieli’s Two of Goblets: The Two of Goblets shows a flowering olive tree with a twisting trunk, standing in the middle of a green field. In the distance are more trees. Below the tree are two metal goblets, one seemingly empty and the other filled high with green olives. Olives were one of the Seven Species on the Land and were cultivated for food, soap, and for lamp oil. Fresh olive oil was burned daily to light the menorah in the Temple. In ancient times, an olive branch was a symbol of peace throughout the Mediterranean. When the Temple stood, the ceremony for announcing a new month was held on the Mount of Olives where Jews have buried their dead for over 3,000 years.

Arieli assigns these meanings to the Two of Goblets:
Upright: a partial realization of expectations, a sign that the work being done is just halfway there
Reversed: an unequal distribution of resources

Arieli’s description of the card: Under a sprawling olive tree there are two bowls: one is filled with olives, and the other is empty. Olives, and the light produced by their oil, symbolized wisdom. In a Talmudic discussion of the verse, “God gives wisdom to the wise,” it is said that the full vessel is filled even more, and the empty one remains empty. A full mind can hold more than an empty one. In other words, in order to increase wisdom, one must first have some. [I have been unable to confirm Arieli’s citations to Daniel 2:21 and Brachot 40.]

The RWS Two of Cups: A young couple is joining in marriage. They are on a stage and the backdrop shows a house is nestled in the rolling countryside. Each person wears a laurel wreath and holds a chalice. The man is stepping forward and reaching one hand toward the woman. Between their cups is the Staff of Hermes and above that is the head of a winged lion. The winged lion may be a reference to Ezekiel’s chariot vision. The symbol below the orange lion is often mistaken for the Rod of Asclepius the Healer; it is actually the Staff of Hermes, which signifies commerce and communication. Marriage is a contractual relationship. For now, it is the honeymoon period; we only hope the staff is a herald of blessings to come.

“Let the winds of the heavens dance between you.” — Khalil Gibran

Traditionally, the Two of Cups card signifies: a formal partnership agreement, union, communication, trust, fondness, or “the interrelation of the sexes.” Twos indicate balance or choice and Cups indicate emotion; thus the card may indicate the choice to commit to a relationship. Reversed, it may suggest: imbalance, inequality, failure to resolve a disagreement, or the breaking of a contract.

Comparison between the cards: The RWS card shows a perfect moment in a relationship. The Arieli card shows that life is not fair.

Hebrew Letter Correspondence: The numeral 2 is the letter בּ, which the Sefer Yetzirah connects to the moon and wisdom.

Relationship with Major Arcana: The Two of Goblets is related to the second sefirah on the Tree of Life: Chokhmah, wisdom. Wisdom is the bride of God and was present when heavens and earth were created. She is a female figure in Jewish literature.

However, 16th century Lurianic Kabbalah, linked Chokhmah with Father and Binah with Mother. Perhaps that is why Arieli has assigned the Two of Goblets and his Magician card to Chokhmah.

Tarot has a couple of bizarre twists on mathematics. In one system, you add the digits of a card to reduce it to a single number. In the other system, you reduce a card’s number by ten. Thus, each of the following cards has a value of two:

2=2 Arieli’s Magician (RWS High Priestess)
11=1+1=2 Arieli’s Wheel (RWS Justice)
20=2+0=2 Arieli’s Sun (RWS Judgment)
12=12-10=2 Arieli’s Justice (RWS Hanged Man)
22=22-10=12-10=2 Arieli’s World (no RWS card)

The only visual connection between Arieli’s Two of Goblets and his Magician is the tree in one card and the inconspicuous potted plant in the other. The Wheel, like the Two of Goblets, shows the vagaries of fate and harvest time. Arieli’s Justice card shows the Book of Life and the Book of Death, which are sealed on Yom Kippur, and beneath them, the scales of justice.

In the RWS deck, the Hanged Man indicates a pause; so too, a wedding is a moment suspended in time, with the future unknown. Robin Wood’s High Priestess might preside over this significant moment. Many Tarot books speak opaquely of The Masculine and The Feminine (as does much of Kabbalah). In the Robin Wood Tarot, a pagan-inspired deck, the artist may have intended for the Two of Cups to represent a marriage between The Magician and The High Priestess.

Magical uses according to Tyson: to achieve a happy marriage and a harmonious home; for any pleasure in life.

Tarot Cards and Sacred Signs

For some tarot readers, certain cards are signs of direct communication from a beloved deity or spiritual guide. Inspired by this, I decided to find which cards Hestia might use to get my attention. Over the course of several days I pulled cards, sometimes finding immediate insight into Hestia's choice, and sometimes being left with questions that I know will be answered in time.

I continued this experiment with other beings: Ganesha, Lara the Protector of my Spirit, Shekhinah-Asherah, HaKadosh Barechu, Sarah Immeinu, Holy Mother Leah, and others.

When I asked Hestia which cards would serve as her sign, the Queen of Wands seemed an obvious and fitting choice for the Goddess of the Hearth. 

Shekhinah-Asherah selected thought-provoking cards. Each card offered glimpses into beginnings, transformations, and endings.

As I sat with the cards that will indicate communication from HaKadosh Barechu, I felt a sense of rightness. It will take time for their significance to dawn on me.

Two pair of cards drawn for Ganesha, made me wonder. Each pair included an image of a difficult situation as well as a picture of joy.
 

Sarah Immeinu's card, The Wheel of Fortune, mirrored the ups and downs of her remarkable life. 

Leah's card intrigued me. The King of Cups was more enigmatic than ever, only leaving me with questions: does it signify her love for Yaakov, her recognition of God's power, or her journey to emotional maturity?

Lara revealed a symbol of authority and true power. That message was very clear, telling me to embrace my own strength and assert my influence in the world.

I had encountered Ulmo and Nienna in The Silmarillion when I was in my early adolescence. Those two have continued to resonate with me throughout the years. 

Nienna is the goddess of lamentation and her card which can symbolize a wedding, where a glass is broken under the chuppah because, as was explained by Rabbi Alan Berg, if we can remember our greatest sorrow at a time of joy, then we will be able to remember our greatest joy in a time of sorrow.

Ulmo, Tolkien's God of the Sea, cared deeply for Elves and Men. His realm extended up through all waterways to lakes and streams, so he could hear their prayers and aid those who called to him.

They say everyone has a spiritual guide. Eager to meet mine, I pulled two cards. They are joyful cards whose significance still eludes me.

Over time, I will continue pull cards to find connections to other divine beings.

The Mary-El Tarot

Nine years ago, writing in a post called Tarophilia, I focused on two cards in the Mary-El Tarot that I had found particularly fascinating: The Hierophant and the Three of Swords. After all these years, I considered purchasing the deck today, only to discover that those two cards (as well as two others) have been changed!

The Hierophant of the first edition was intriguing because of its cleverly disturbing imagery. Perhaps because it was so unpopular, the artist, Marie White, replaced it with a new card. 

The imagery in the second edition Hierophant does not make you draw back in shock. It may even draw you in. Nice touches are the two tablets and bronze serpents. The single key is more prominent in this edition (which key is it?) and I wonder if that's a bee hive on top of it. Once again the figure is female and I wonder why. Those would be some of the questions to explore if I purchase the second edition.

The new card is more accessible and should allow for positive as well as negative interpretations. I can reluctantly accept the revised Hierophant since it would allow the reader to explore more than just the shadow side of religious tradition. This card could grow on me.

The new Three of Swords, however, is deeply disappointing. In the first edition, the card was an original piece of art showing a bird's flight hampered by the three swords (wounds) he clings to-- or perhaps showing a bird that has caught the swords before they could pierce him. 

None of the Minor Arcana cards in the first edition are RWS clones, but in the new edition, the Three of Swords has reverted to the usual, silly imagery of a heart pierced by three swords. Boring and cliché! (Tarot creators, please note: it only worked for Pamela Colman Smith.) Red roses have been thrown into the mix as well, with a rose bud growing from the left auricle.

Two other cards have been changed. They are Judgment and The High Priestess. Judgment is now a more fiery Phoenix. It may be an improvement, but not an essential one. On the other hand, the new High Priestess is amazing! She may even compensate for the desecration of the original Three of Swords. 

The original High Priestess was odd, its disparate bits of symbolism never really forming a single, coherent image. The first edition High Prietsess was too slender to be a Willendorf Venus as obviously intended, her fingers were like tree branches growing downward (but not from heaven), her headdress exploded into stars, the sefirot drawn in their original circular form on her broad, flat, naked belly made her look like a wheel of fortune, and there was all sorts of oddness just above the sea at her feet. (Maybe the guidebook would have helped me understand and bond with the card.)

 

Overall, the first edition High Priestess was jarring without adding depth to the meaning of the card. This card was one of the reasons that I did not purchase the deck.

The new High Priestess card is brilliant nod to the RWS, but takes the imagery in a more powerful direction. 

As in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, there are the two pillars of the Temple on either side of her, drawn in greater detail than in the RWS. A pomegranate curtain hangs between them behind her (screening a burning sun in a black sky). Her flowing robe, which begins as a veil over her head, merges into the reflective waters at her feet. 

What makes the image so much more powerful than the RWS, is that her hands caress and support Torah, the fire that burns within her. (Lo b'shamayim, it is not in the heavens.) The image connects the ancient tradition of Torah (black fire on white fire) with the more primal imagery of welcoming flames inside a sheltering cave.

This deck will remain on my wish list. Eventually, I may be extravagant and order a copy from the U.S. Before I decide, I'll have to review the images of the the Minor Arcana on her website and come to terms with the Aces and some of the courts. (Check out the sevens! And the decaying Queen of Pentacles!) 

I like that the Major Arcana cards seem to blend two concepts that have never been clear to me: "The Masculine" and "The Feminine."

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