What do these symbols mean?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Mar 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

aeonx	01 Mar 2002
Greetings. Now my head spins since I noticed those small symbols on the table to the Magician! ??? What do they mean? They are engraved on the edge of the table, and I haven't seen them before. Just picked them up when I was doing the diamond pattern interpretation. (78' of Wisdom.) I'm talking about the Rider-Waite. Thanx for pointing that out jmd, I'm a bit confused these days, sorry. :) Help me out here. :) Thanx in advance.

jmd	01 Mar 2002
I presume you're referring to the symbols on the side of the Magician's table in the Colman-Smith/Waite deck (Rider-Waite). I first noticed these many years ago when it was brought to my attention by a student in a Tarot class, and have not been able to find out what, if anything, either Colman-Smith (the artist of the deck) nor Waite intended. If you look at them, however, two appear bird-like, and the one to the left appears either like mountain chains or maybe a 'modified' sign for Aquarius. Unless someone else has something definite to offer, I suggest you meditate on this aspect of the card and later post your own exegesis for our benefit.

aeonx	01 Mar 2002
jmd: sounds like a good idéa, thanx, even though I'm going to get seriously confused not knowing what the artists intended with these symbols. (You know, I'm a Virgo and have five planets in Virgo as well - in other words: quite thorough :-D )

Scorpion	01 Mar 2002
Hi, Aeonx/JMD! OK - I'm going to stick my neck out here and give my suggestion: I've only got a book with a big b&w illustration, but looking at the edge of the table I see waves on the right and a bird on the left. I'm guessing that the symbol in the middle is fire (I don't see any way that can be earth) - so I think we're talking about another way of expressing the four elements at the Magician's disposal, in addition to the way they're also depicted in the suits on the table. Does that make sense?

aeonx	02 Mar 2002
LouiQ: greetings. That's a very interesting suggestion. I looked at the Magician again, and I've also noticed the waves and the bird. The symbol in the middle is a bit hazy, but it could very well be fire. OK. Then we have water, fire and air, but what about earth then... hmmmm. Confusing yes! :-) The birds does also remind me slightly of Phoenix. I'll meditate some more, and keep you updated if I figure out more about them.

jmd	02 Mar 2002
Excellent LouiQ: The table itself would be Earth! The Eagle's head is one of the representations of Scorpio (Water), the possible flames in the middle (I had never seen these as flames) are Fire, and the 'mountain ranges' are Aquarius (Air).

Scorpion	08 Mar 2002
True - hadn't thought of that: just assumed it was the bit of the table I couldn't see!

The What do these symbols mean? thread was originally posted on 01 Mar 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.