9 of Wands: Pamela's Artful Heights

On the IX Wands card by Pamela Colman Smith if we follow
her lead and see how the Wands "measure up" we will see
that while the tallest Wand in the barricade reaches to the
numeral IX ~ the Wand held by our Valiant Friend reaches
even higher. Perhaps there's a clue to his bandaged head?

To View Click On.

©1909 Pamela Colman Smith, All Rights Reserved.

Full-size Image: Click On.

ps; I used my scanner, a scissors, and white out,
aided by school glue and my drafting equipment.

Fulgour, thats a very interesting observation, but do you think she consciously made that decision?
The flip-side to this point would be, if she made the wand he is leaning on as short as the others, then he wouldn't really have much to lean his head against...

Just me playing devils advocate... old habit Im trying to break

Rogan.

Deliberate Choices by the Artist

Hi Rogan!

I tell myself, remember~it's a Tarot card, not a photograph.
The Wands are not wands, and the man is doing something
that doesn't truly correspond to normal everyday behaviour.

Symbolism in imagery provides references to an other-ness,
we are visiting a land of imagination, seeking enlightenment.

As an artist, Pamela Colman Smith was working within a realm
of her own making, choosing each detail for her own reasons.

I could let the length of the Wands go, as an odd coincidence,
a perspective thing ~ but Pamela shouldn't be underestimated.

I had an extra black and white scan, so I coloured it in for fun.
My choices were casual, but as I worked, I encountered details
in the drawing of all sorts ~ it was a pleasure to visit with Pam.

To view my (just for fun) 9 of Wands colouring: Click On.

~Fulgour

Hi Fulgour- I don't actually see what you can see, I think. What do you think this weird perspective shows? It is one of three 'stage' cards in this suit.
I see someone wounded from battles, maybe in Wands seven. Now the stick he held in wands seven is much shorter than the one he holds now. He has got all the wands now and even the one that maybe reached him and bopped him on the head. Do you think he is indicating that it took a much longer one to reach his head? Anyway he has made a fence with the rest. It seems to me that the wands keep getting longer as the suit moves from Ace to Ten?~Rosanne p.s. Nice colouring of your card by the way!

Sort of like a Glass Ceiling*

My feeling is that the card isn't big enough for him
like he's hit his head on the top, just the way that
the Wand is bigger than the border by comparison.

He's trying to move up (and undoubtedly will) but...

[*Glass ceiling is an expression used when there is
an invisible limitation to promotions, usually sexist.]

I see what you mean now! (I had to go look for the phrase )

"If glass ceilings existed, they would allow people to see through to the world above them. Because glass is clear, those existing under such a ceiling might not, at first, even notice that a barrier was in place which separated them from higher levels. Yet if they tried to pass through, they would quickly learn that the ceiling prevented any such rise.
This analogy has been offered by some people to describe the alleged condition which is supposed to keep women and minorities from achieving any but token positions at the highest echelons of corporate America. Most individuals concerned with this problem cite it as evidence of discrimination; a situation which therefore should be corrected by an application of affirmative action laws."

I wonder if Pamela saw herself bound by that Victorian attitude hence the unconcious (or maybe concious?) drawing of this Wands card?
Minorities here in NZ might face this (women are not a minority at last census here) NO barriers anymore to what a female can achieve- hence a woman Prime Minister, Governor General, Speaker of the House,(hehe appropriate title) and the list goes on. Not what Pamela would have suffered by a long chalk. Interesting take on the card. ~Rosanne