Hanging My Cards In The Sky.

I have been trying to make a usable calendar from the 22 Trumps of the TdM. This is a 'by sight of the sky' calendar.In my fanciful head I have decided to make this as if I was a French merchant looking to the flow of the year and to have a pretty good idea when Easter would be. In other threads I had been obsessing on which card goes with which planet- and realized for my practical purposes I needed days of the week. They are of course the same really, as the days of the week are named after the Gods and therefore the planets. You need a starting point to get to Easter Sunday. I was struggling with the Zodiac and then I was struck with a 'Tower Moment' It is the constellations in the sky- not the Zodiac.
The signs of the zodiac do not necessarily coincide with the actual constellations for which they are named. Because of the division of the zodiac into 12 signs of 30° each; especially due to the precession of the equinoxes for the tropical system of coordinates, the constellations should not be confused with zodiac signs. Due to precession the tropical signs have moved away from their corresponding constellations, so that today, the beginning of the tropical sign of Aries (defined as the position of the Sun on the vernal equinox) lies somewhere within the constellation Pisces.
Note the ecliptic passes through thirteen constellations, not twelve. Ophiuchus (the serpent bearer), as already recognized in Ptolemy's Almagest, although there is no astrological sign corresponding to Ophiuchus. This constellation has been merged with Scorpio. Scorpio is only visible or in the Suns path for 7 days- whilst Ophiuchus is there for 18. Now I can account for the weird card of the Trumps- Le Pendu or Hanged Man.
I have scanned how they appear in the Sky between November and December.
What do you think of this version of Le Mort and Le Pendu hanging in the sky? ~Rosanne

Here is my initial work drawings for the Calendar.The Green figures is what is actually visible in the night Sky in France for a Year. I will answer any questions how I came to this - especially putting The Tower at Aries- the Vernal Equinox- so I can count to the Next Full Moon and the the first Sunday after that is Easter. ~Rosanne

Who is Ophiuchus?
He is a giant God wrestling with a serpent. According to Legend he is also called Aesculapius. He was the God of Medicine and was so clever he could bring the dead back to life. This is why he is next to Scorpio perhaps grin.gif. Now Pluto the God of the Underworld was a bit pissed at Aesculapius, for resurrecting his clientele, so he got the God Jupiter to stick him up in the sky. Jupiter passes through this sign on his way to Saggitarius. Now people often get the snake/serpent mixed up with the Caduceus of Power. Aesculapius, as the God of Medicine, is always shown with a staff with a serpent wound around it. You have seen the symbol in hospitals and doctors' offices. Our words hygiene (meaning "the science of health") and panacea (meaning "a cure-all medicine") come from the names of two of Aesculapius' daughters, Hygeia and Panacea. It is this Gods Staff not Hermes staff. Ophiuchus means in Greek 'Holding Snake'.
Why would I think he is Le Pendu- when people think of Le Pendu as Odin? Well visually he looks like him in the sky. I also think of how in a medieval way, it brings to mind Jesus (hanging on the cross) healing the sick and bringing Lazarus to life. Right next to Death-overcoming death.

Now to the Calendar. Le Monde is the Cover to my Work
Le Soleil X1X = Sunday and the Sun-appears in Leo
La Lune XV111= Monday and the Moon- appears Cancer and Virgo
L'Emperuer 1V= Tuesday and Mars- appears in Aries
Le Bateleur 1= Wednesday and Mercury- appears in Virgo
L'Ermite 1X= Thursday and Jupiter- appears in Saggitarius and Aries
L'Imperatrice 111= Friday and Venus - appears in Libra and Taurus
Le Fou 0= Saturday and Saturn - appears in Capricorn

La Roue/WOF is in the centre of my above diagram of the Constellations. To the eye the hub of the Wheel is Polaris the crank handle of the wheel is Ursha Minor and the creatures are the Constellations Cassiopeia the vain Bunny, Her King Cephus who sacrificed his daughter Andromeda- who might be the Monkey like creature on the Wheel. When King Cephus sword is Upright it is pointing toward the sign of Aries - the Vernal Equinox just inside what is now Pisces.
The remaining 13 Trumps are on the Constellation Wheel I scanned.
Now this is how the Sky looks not how the zodiac makes you behave- this is Astronomy not Astrology. ~Rosanne

Did you ever wonder where the symbols that we use to shorthand the zodiac signs came from? The zodiacal symbols are Early Modern simplifications of conventional pictorial representations of the signs, we have known since Hellenistic times. 'Early Modern' is about 1400AD. So at the time, or there abouts, the creation of the symbols was when we think Tarot came about, or at least Historians argue for.
In the sky the shape of the constellation Pisces, looks like the symbol of the sign for Aries. The shape of the Symbol for Pisces, looks like a depiction of the Tower. Confusing to the eye- well it is for me. crying.gif Now the symbol for Aries, whilst looking like the horns of an animal- do not look like the horns of a Ram. A Ram's horn looks like a fern curl not an Bok Antler. This particular shaped sign looks more like a symbol called the Fountain of Life- a splayed and slightly curved V.
The Tower is in myth a Masculine Phallic symbol. The Fountain of Life is also really if you follow my drift wink.gif In the TdM the Tower has two figures falling out to each side basically at the same dropping point; this seems to me a perfect depiction of the Spring Equinox. Exactly where the Spring Equinox is! The hours fall equally here.
The Number sixteen (16) is also important in this. Earth has always been considered number 4-The Emperor in Tarot. The Tower is 4x4 cyclical renewal and absolute power. The Crown on the Tower has 4 Battlements - this is the old year leaving and Spring is renewal the new year starting- Aries is always the start of the Zodiac.
The more I look at Tarot the more I see a calendar. This does not take away from the magic of Tarot for me- it just explains maybe how it came about. ~Rosanne