Understanding the Celtic Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Phoenix_Down	11 Jul 2003
1st off: Happy Birthday to me! ^_^ I just received the Celtic Tarot today from my significant other for my birthday. I love the artwork, especially the minor arcana. Some favorites: 9 Swords, 4 swords, 3 swords, knave of pentacles, king of chalices, 5 of cups... Anyway... i am not intimately familiar with Celtic mythology, so a few of the cards are lost on me in the Major Arcana. So if anyone could explain why these mythological figures are apropriate for their card, i would appreciate it. 0, the fool. Fintan Mac Bochra. Shows an old man by the sea reaching skyward with a harp, sword, staff, bracelet, and red cape. VIII, Justice. Ogma. Shows an old man with a lion skin headdress, holding a notched stone, a club, and has several human bodies hanging from his tongue by a piercing. X, The Wheel. Conchobor. Shows a young man having a drink with his friends at a round table in an inn. there is a small iron box at his side and he holds a sword. The box has three rings on it, the latch is facing away from the viewer (invisible). XII, The Hanged Man. Conla. Shows a man holding up a corpse above his head. the man. Fighting appears to be going on in the distance. The moon is in the sky. XIII, Death. Orlam. Shows a man holding a decapitated head. he holds a spear, sword, and shield. A broken spear is before him and spears can be seen in the background. XIV, Temperance. Emer. Shows a woman morning the death of a man. A horse stands in the background nearby. XV, The Devil. Finn Mac Cumhal. Shows a man wrapped in deerskin, complete with antlers. He is touching his palm with two middle fingers. a sword and a bowl with a strange object poking out of it sits on an altar nearby, with flowers and running water in front of him. Two women (hags? Witches?) are behind him looking rather grotesque. one holds a spear. XVII, The Star. Milucradh. SHows a blue woman with a gilttering ring pointing skyward in front of a green lake. A cup and a tree are in the middle of the lake. Strangely, no actual star seems present, save the ring. If anyone has any insight into any of these cards (even if you have time to post about just one,) Let me know.

Sulis	12 Jul 2003
Haven`t got the Celtic Tarot so I`m afraid I can`t help at all but I thought I`d post anyway to say (((((((((((HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU)))))))))))))))) Love and light crystalmynx xx

Scorpion	12 Jul 2003
Hi, Phoenix_Down! And a very happy birthday to you! Just out of interest, which Celtic deck is it? I had the LoS one but unfortunately it got stolen with my car a while back and I haven't replaced it but I loved the artwork. I didn't have it long, but from your description of the Wheel it sounds like the same deck. So far, I'm not having a huge success in tracking down these characters. Ogma is apparently the god of literature and eloquence, which doesn't seem to match. He is credited with having been the inventor of the Ogam alphabet, which was originally intended for inscriptions on upright pillar-stones - could explain the notched stone in the picture. The only other reference I can find is that his three grandsons murdered the father of the sun-god and were compelled, as expiation, to pay the greatest fine ever heard of - nothing less than the chief treasures of the world: perhaps that's the "Justice" connection? I think the dead man in the Hanged Man is, from memory, Conla's son, but I can't find anything on Conla himself at the moment. There's quite a few references to Finn Cumhail which I'd have to work through to see why he's associated with death, so I'll have to get back to you on that. At least it's a start!

The Understanding the Celtic Tarot thread was originally posted on 11 Jul 2003 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.