Tarot and.... Chess?

Tarot court figures and chess??

King - King
Queen - Queen
Knight - Knight
Page - Pawn

And… not just pips??

King – Emperor
Queen - Empress
Tower - Tower
Bishop – Hierophant

And… how about power and struggle???

The Chess:

Queen is everything about power. She can do a lot more and faster. Pro-active as opposed to being passive.

King: needs all the protection. He has power – since everything else in the chess battle field develops in order to protect him – but he will not move much further, unless he finds himself completely alone and unprotected. He depends on the action of others. Passive as opposed to active.

Knight: Limited mobility, but usually ready to take action and sacrifice himself to protect the King.

Pawn: weak, but right in the infantry. Brave, aware of his lower position in the court, but stands in front of everybody else and never minds when recruited to be the first to go.

Tower: usually unexpected moves, feared by its sudden action, which can cause the opponent’s kingdom to become very very small.

4 is our Emperor, and square is chess kingdom.

What do you say???

Fada

I say that's pretty damn brilliant. so far one of the more inspiring posts I've ever read. I feel there are some real possibilities here; on a practical-applied level, how have you integrated the two?

Hi Manhattam,

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it too.

Here's what happened. I couldn't sleep last night. I went to my study trying to find something to keep myself busy; there is this bookcase filled with my tarot decks, tarot books and my husband's collection of chess books. I need more room for my books and it sounded that the brightest idea would be to remove ALL of my husband's chess books out of there. No way, I'm too tired to do it now, it's too late, I should go to bed and try to get some sleep (2nd sleepless night in a row). I finally fell asleep around 4am and woke up 3 hours later thinking about court cards, squares, chess... numbers, symbols, etc.

Somehow back then, in medieval times, I think people - who were centuries far behind TV, X-Box, MP3 players, internet - used to portrait their governants, and figures representing their society at that time, in games. "Monopoly" is a reflection of that, in a way, to us. Some commentators refer to the idea that in order not to lose the secret knowledge, as they (Egyptians, Gypsies, Hebrews, whoever brought the Tarot to Europe) were damned by the inquisition and persecuted by all sorts of conquerors, they translated the symbolism and the secret knowledge into cards, our Tarot. May be the easiest way to spread it among the people was to use the association already popular in other games, like chess.

If I were a numerologist, I would work on the numbers and multipliers of 4.

But more than that association with the ancient games, I would also say that the association with individual characteristics of chess pieces may be helpful to study facets of co-related figures and symbols in our readings. And also, for instance, how do you play chess? Are you more defensive? What’s your strategy? Are you more aggressive? How do you use your own pieces, and so forth…

What’s more in there to think of?

I want to immerse myself in this after I get home. crazy busy at the office and my printer just died a horrible death. time to call Staples. I'll PM you with any additional thoughts unless the thread take on a life of it's own and is till running

It is fun to think of possible associations. I'll wait for your thoughts.

Fada

Ugh, can't find the link right now, but Trionfi.com has a link that draws parallels between chess and the Cary-Yale Visconti. To be taken with a grain of salt (it's in the same vein as their 5x14 theory of the Visconti Sforza deck), but interesting.

Fada said:

Tower: usually unexpected moves, feared by its sudden action, which can cause the opponent’s kingdom to become very very small.

Click to expand...

As a long time chess-player this I don't agree with. 2 Towers are the easiest way to check-mate your opponent - boxing him in - line by line. Also, Towers are the pieces of chess that most novices instantly get comfortable with.

As such, I would equate 2 Towers to Chariot =) how they can haunt and box you in - but you must use them both - if one of them derails - your Enemy escapes

and a single Tower probably to Emperor. Strong on it's own.

Interesting Thoughts,

Kahlie

Alright, I have to think more of this ... It's interesting. I'm counting on what I would equate each pieces in the chess board with.

Pawn
I would equate a Pawn with an Ace in the Minor Suit. Most likely the Ace of Wands. Pawns have some tricks up their sleeves, like the fact that they can 'morph' into other pieces. As well as "En passant" a chess move in which a Pawn can hit another if it ends up 'next to him' after taking 2 places. I sadly don't know the English term.

Knight
Knights are my loves in chess. They often have moves that people forget and are quite useful in Forking (A chess move that allows you to 'fork' your opponent. You threaten two pieces at the same time - they have to choose one and forgo the other).
I would indeed equate Knight to Knight, and most likely Knight of Swords. Fast and Aggressive. Unpredicatable.

Bishop
Bishops are the one's that keep the diagonal lines threatened. They are very loved for making check-mates and are mostly 3rd on the list after only Queen/Tower and Tower/Tower combinations. It's possible to fork with Bishops as well, and their wide range makes them often very loved by experienced chess players.
As such, I guess I would put the Bishop up for the Hierophant too. Controlled, ritualistic and able to easily protect and dominate the board.

Tower
As explained - Emperor - or if using minors: 4 of Pentacles. A strong foundation on it's own. Earthy, big, solid. No sudden moves with a Tower.

Queen
I wouldn't equate Queen of Chess with any of the Queens of the minor suits. Queen's in Tarot are the receptive element. Queens in Chess are - although not the highest ranking - versatile, active etc. A passive Queen mostly means you lose the game. It's the piece to dominate the board, work strategy and make your opponent miserable.
As such - I would equate Queen with Magician. She has everything - all elements - and is a master of her Craft... in the right hands

King
Kings, although the highest ranking piece, are unable to do much moves. They have even less versatility then the pawns, although they have a boundary around them if they meet the other King. It's illegal to move two Kings together - they must be one space apart. Otherwise - Kings can only move one place and they must be protected. You lose when your King is check-mated.
As such - I would probably put King up as "The World". It's the final step in the journey, the way towards winning if you check mate it. It's that most important part of your life - but hard to pin down.

It's also interesting to see how certain chess manouvers would translate to Cards.

A true fork - like explained - always losing a piece, choice between 2 bad options - could translate like a Tower experience or in minors a 3 of Swords! It's going to cut you anyway

Being Checked - Could be a Moon Experience or 9 of Swords. You are worried, and it upsets you. You are forced to do something about it immediately, you can't leave your King checked. But... is it real danger, or only perceived? Or worse a Judgement or 9 of Wands action when you are being boxed in and each check leaves you with less room to flee...

Rockade or Rokeren in Dutch means that the King and the Tower both move towards each other from the original positions and I'm crappy at explaining this! This sudden movement can't be done if the King moves into an area where he is check-mated. Hmmm... I guess I would need to think on what to equate this with... I guess I would normally say Knight of Wands - but it's hard to explain.

Check-Mate
Obviously Death - the end. Or Tower - sudden demise! Ooh, how the ego can smart when we lose

Pawn Transformation
If Pawns hit the end of the board - they get to pick what kind of piece it becomes. Moving towards this - a true 3 Wands action! And then when you get it... I guess "The Fool" a start of a true new journey as another person! Or Death - as in transformation.

Ok... Obviously... I'm a chess freak! Aaaah! Would you believe I haven't played in years...

Kahlie

Queen of Pentacles:

I found it. Probably there is more in the same website, but this is what I found so far. Quote: "Chess was the great game of 14th century. In the 20ies it seems that chess still was the recommended game for noble men, playing cards seem to have been something for noble women. It was natural to transport chess ideas and figures to the playing card deck - already Johannes of Rheinfelden reports that." See: http://trionfi.com/0/c/

Kahlie:

I like your comments.
I am not good at playing chess. The opponent's Tower always finds me off guard... and that was my first association with the Tarot Tower. On the other hand, I'm not good in using my tower for my own benefit.

Fada said:

Kahlie:

I like your comments.
I am not good at playing chess. The opponent's Tower always finds me off guard... and that was my first association with the Tarot Tower. On the other hand, I'm not good in using my tower for my own benefit.

Click to expand...

Silly Idea - feel free to SMACK me - Unwarrented silly Reading Upcoming
Ok, so suppose I was Reading your character by your chess comment I would say: "Obviously you allow others to overcome your boundaries - taking their comments about your security, your home life etc. very seriously. Snide remarks really hit you and you are often have the 'caught with your pants down feeling'.
You have a hard time defending your turf and articulating those things that are important for you.

I know this is silly. I just felt like... "hey, how would I "read" that.

Kahlie