He Doesn't Know Jack About Tarot

philebus

Can you really say that there is a right or wrong card to represent death? After all, the meanings attributed to the cards have varied according to the occultist writing them and have little to do with any meanings that may have been intended by the cards' creators - who would probably have intended the death card to represent exactly that.

To say that "He doesn't know Jack about tarot" is only to say that he doesn't know "Jack" about your interpretation of it. And why should he? And if he did, why should he reflect your interpretation? He was a psychopath tyring to play games with the police - the death card suited his purposes perfectly, generating the sort of media attention he probably wanted and wouldn't get from a 10 of swords.
 

nisaba

I wonder what deck(s) were used.

And what happened to the rest of the cards from them. It would be such a shame to bin them - I hope they were used to colour up his kitchen splash-back or something, at the very least.

How long ago was this - was he ever found?
 

Rev_Vesta

Hi interesting article.....

but just thinking about what was going on in this guys head......

Some people when they take someone's life...it could be like a cleansing, a transformation....maybe letting go of the old so the new can enter...a sacrifice....a decluttering...who knows what he was thinking......

Doing God's work, in his opinion, could be exactly like that.... he may not be thinking of murder in the traditional sense......of Death.......

What was his actual State of mind...we will never know.....Only he knows that....

Just some thoughts.....

Vesta
 

Myrrha

nisaba said:
I wonder what deck(s) were used.
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He used the IJJ Swiss Tarot. If I'm remembering right the investigtors figured out from this (correctly) that he was an older man. The IJJ was around in the US in the 70's when there were few decks easily available. I guess they were thinking that for the IJJ to be the deck that comes to mind when a person thinks "tarot", it would be an older person.
 

Le Fanu

I also think that presumably, in certain moments, at certain times, this card has to mean literal death, doesn't it?

It can mean various forms of transformation. But I bet for the mind of gamers in the 17th, 18th whatever century, and fortune tellers in the 19th century, that image would have meant death, surely?

I can see that people who want tarot to be accepted into the mainstream may want to play down real death, but in a society with death ever-present, death would have meant... well... death.

I thought the accepted take on the death card is that it can relate to physical death. Do I understand the article correctly? I think in this case it did mean physical death, no?
 

Sulis

The Death card does mean death, of course it does but I think you're missing the point a little Golden Moon. This is a killer who wanted to leave a message for the police and also for the general public so that an atmosphere of fear would be generated.

I doubt very much that the effect would have been the same if he'd left the 10 of Swords combined with the Knight of Swords.

And who's to say that that combination means death anyway? I know I've had the Death card actually mean death but I've never interpreted those 2 cards that you gave as meaning a physical death.
 

Alta

Lillie said:
Is he in prison?

And if so....

Is he allowed to have a deck???
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Thank you for that Lillie, still laughing here..... :D
 
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