buckland romani & animals....

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Luna-Lee	03 Oct 2002
Hai, I am new in this forum, although I've read it for quite a long time now. I would like to buy the Buckland Romani, but I am not sure yet because I love animals( that's why I love Shapeshifter etc.).The hanged one in the BR is a poor rabbit. I don't like that at all, and it does not make sense to me, the hanged man in f.i. the RW is hanging in peace, I do not see that in the rabbit at all! I don't like strength either, normally it's my favourite!In this card I see a bear who is playing a musical instrument. It's not a free bear... What do you think about it? I hope you understand my problem, some people should think I'm stupid, but I don't know what to do. Buy it because it's a deck attracts me (the other cards) or leave it in the shop because of these awfull cards????

Teal	03 Oct 2002
Like Native Americans, the Gypsies didn't kill for sport. They only killed to eat and they made use of every part of their kills-----for food, warmth, talismans, etc. with nothing going to waste. Native Americans believe that the animal has chosen to give its life so that they may live, and they give thanks to Creator and the spirit of the animal for this life-giving animal. In the Romani deck, the legs of the rabbit are crossed, which is symbolic of the sun, the giver of life. Animals have always been killed and used for food. This rabbit is dead-----it's not being tortured by being hanged alive, so therefore it symbolizes the limbo between its death and it being used for food and it's fur and other parts being given other use by the Gypsies. As for the bear, it's being kept and cared for by the Gypsies and it has been trained to do certain things in this capacity. But the same would be said of horses or trained dogs. Both horses and dogs were once wild animals. Horses were not accustomed to having burdens or people on their backs, just as the bear was not meant to play an instrument for show. Dogs were animals who hunted in packs and roamed freely, and were not accustomed to being kept in captivity and trained to do various things that dogs are trained for now. I understand your hesitation, but I hope this will give you some more insight and help you to understand the deck more. I have the deck and have such a total rapport with it that I'd hate to see you pass it up if you feel an attraction to it.

Jewel	03 Oct 2002
Teal, excellent and informative post. Thanks for the bit on the rabbit, I had no idea! It makes perfect sense ... sacrifice.

Teal	03 Oct 2002
I'm glad you got something out of it. Native Americans and Gypsies have quite a few parallels, I'm finding.

HOLMES	03 Oct 2002
aye i too noticed some silimiarities. to the rabbit card to the bear card. holdi will get them out right now. the sun card reminds me of a young native riding a horse through the fields. the emperess card shows an grandmother holding a baby. on the reserve they are all elders to be respects. there is the matriach, and the patriach which goes to meetings as elders . and the council and the king (chief) that helps them to make the decision. the nomadic views of the romani reminds me of the tribes, and i feel sad sometiems as a people we used to travel ,, it was part of the life and now these aspects are gone and so boredom has set in. (my thinking anyways we feel we should be doing something but what?, and this idea occurs to me)

HudsonGray	03 Oct 2002
There's a bunch of other animal decks available in case the two cards do still put you off. The Celtic/Druid Animal one is the main one I'm thinking of--all of the animals are alive & well in it. Check through the regular Aeclectic deck site to see others, they'll have words in the title that'll let you know they're animal related.

Jewel	04 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by HudsonGray There's a bunch of other animal decks available in case the two cards do still put you off. The Celtic/Druid Animal one is the main one I'm thinking of--all of the animals are alive & well in it Alternate suggestions for animal decks: Tarot: Animalwise - by Ted Andrews Animal Tarot Oracles: Druid Animal Oracle (gorgeous!) Beasts of Albion

Luna-Lee	05 Oct 2002
Thank you for the information, I don't know yet to buy or not to buy it. You know I don't understand the hanged one (although Teal told some things I could accept)! But in the Rider Waite I see so much sense, it is a time to let it all go, so you come to new insights. But what has a rabbit, who is already dead, to expect? I know there are other decks with animals, that is not my question, I think I have them all! But it is the Buckland Romani: It attracts me and it fears me...

Teal	05 Oct 2002
The way the rabbit makes sense, at least to me, is that it's in limbo between being a live rabbit and giving nourishment to the Rom whose vardo it hangs on. The reason Buckland used the rabbit for that card was because it was such a common sight to see a rabbit hanging from the back of a vardo in between the time it was killed and the time the caravan stopped to make camp and dress the rabbit to use for the meal. I guess that, to him, that was a significant symbol to use when he designed the cards. He says in the book that it was such a common thing to see a rabbit hanging like that on the back of a vardo. I have less trouble with seeing a rabbit hanging like that than when I see a human hung by one foot, to tell you the truth. LOL The human is in misery, hanging upside down by one leg, and it seems much more cruel to contemplate that than to see the dead and not suffering rabbit hanging there waiting to give sustenance to the gypsies. Being Native American, my concept of the rabbit having done the noble thing in allowing its life to be taken to give sustenance to the gypsies, and the gypsies then honoring the rabbit by making good use of all of the animal including the fur and body parts, many of which would be revered as sacred objects, is not a problem for me at all. To me, it's more humane than what I see in other decks for the Hanged Man. (Well, with the exception of Ancestral Path, where it's an unborn child. That one I like, too.)

Violet Gargoyle	06 Oct 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Luna-Lee Thank you for the information, I don't know yet to buy or not to buy it. You know I don't understand the hanged one (although Teal told some things I could accept)! But in the Rider Waite I see so much sense, it is a time to let it all go, so you come to new insights. But what has a rabbit, who is already dead, to expect? I know there are other decks with animals, that is not my question, I think I have them all! But it is the Buckland Romani: It attracts me and it fears me... Hi Luna-Lee, My take on the hanged one in the BR Deck is pretty much the same as the RW deck with one difference: The Man in the RW is aware of his sacrifice while his spirit resides in his body. The rabbit in the BR is aware and accepting of his sacrifice only in spirit, since it knows it is there out of necessity and no part of him will go to waste. There is no visable cuts or blood on the rabbit, as with the hanged man, because both were put in their position with a mark of reverance and respect. To me, both knows they are making a sacrifice for a reason, just the rabbit is already on its way to a new life.

The buckland romani & animals.... thread was originally posted on 03 Oct 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.