Famous people as Majors

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Dec 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

DeLani	19 Dec 2002
Hi gang, Just had a neat idea and wondered what all the Aeclectians around the world think: Are there any people (famous or not) who you would picture as one of the Major Arcana? For me, I see Joseph Campell as the Hierophant - he was a very good teacher, and used myths from all cultures (conventions & rituals). Also, Terrance McKenna (or maybe Timothy Leary) as the Hanged Man - he was all about changing your perception/consciousness in search of higher ideals, even if it meant being labled "counter" culture (anti-culture or upside down). And don't laugh or throw things at me - Aleister Crowley as the Devil. All about illusions and deception, but really just a lot of smoke. He was addicted to sex and drugs. What more can I say? I think I would have to put Isadora Duncan as the Dancer of the World - she revolutionized dance and borrowed from dance styles all over the world. She was all about becoming comfortable and free in your body to create beauty. OK, that's it for me. Any other thoughts?

jlbvt	19 Dec 2002
Aliester Crowley as the Magician! :TMAGE Sorry DeLani, but even though he was an addict, I am quite taken with his books. He seems to be really devoted to magic, learning and teaching it. But as a second choice, Nostradamus! ;)

SlyR	19 Dec 2002
I would consider S. L. Macgregor Mathers a more likely candidate for the magician.

Diana	20 Dec 2002
I don't think that the Magician needs to be anyone that is related to Magic at all. On the contrary, this would be putting a label on him. In French anyway, we call him "Le Bateleur", which has absolutely nothing to do with Magic (or Magick, as some people like to spell it.) Same thing with the Devil: the Devil doesn't need to have the connotation of someone who is "bad" in someone's mind. Lucifer is the bringer of light also, don't forget. The Devil has many other aspects - money, power, magnetism and not only evil aspects. That's the Church viewpoint of the Devil (him being evil, I mean). Crowley doesn't seem a bad idea to me, and this has nothing to do with my personal view of him. I don't have any ideas here on who would be the Magician, but this is a very interesting thread, and I'll be returning to it. I had thought of Gandhi as a Hermit, but I'm not so sure. What do you think?

Maan	20 Dec 2002
And what do you all think of Nelson Mandela as Temperance?

Trish	20 Dec 2002
I think the Dalai Lama as the High Priest would be interesting. And Vanna White as the Wheel of Fortune! LOL! OK, I admit, that was bad .... :joke:

Trish	19 Jan 2003
Oh yeah! One more thing! I could definitely see Roberto Benigni as "The Fool". Not because he is a fool per se, but because he certainly embodies the youthful spirit and exuberance that "The Fool" symbolizes. ;) Don't you think?

ihcoyc	19 Jan 2003
I associate certain court cards with celebrities. The Queen of Pentacles is Sophia Loren and the Queen of Swords is Greta Garbo. Jimmy Carter is King of Cups.

Centaur	19 Jan 2003
How about Christina Aguilera as Mary Hanson-Roberts version of The Star, considering that she has hardly any clothes on?

tarotbear	19 Jan 2003
Somewhere, somewhere on a disk I have the outline of 'The Tinseltown Tarot' that was created by a class of mine, using movie stars and movies (and the MGM lion and the Oscar statuette...and Bill Clinton)...I wonder where it is......? It was all Majors since the Minors did not seen to inspire many responses.

Osher	20 Jan 2003
Then of course there is the Cosmic Tarot, in which the many of the cards do have film stars on them. Christina Augilera as the Star? Hmm, prefer Kelly Brook myself, after all, The Star is the end and Miss Brook does have 3 qualities: 1. Brook! 2. Is there anyone woman beyond her? 3. Considering that The Star is the end, then appropriate as Kelly Brook is Rear of the Year (according to The Sun, and one suspects, The Star too). Steven Spielberg is The Magician. Whatever he does, he does well, and he has the tools to do whatever he wants. Bill Gates is The Devil. We know his products crash and so on, we know we could use Linux or OSX, but although we keep talking about breaking away, we keep buying his products. The Tower is obvious. Huge tragedy, change in world order, from the foundations a new tower (literally). Temperance could be Hamid Khazi, the leader of Afghanistan. He is trying to create order out of chaos, dismissing attempts on his life, trying to stop different tribes from seeking retribution. How about Scott of the Antartic for the Hanged Man. Waiting, until he froze to death, to be released from the ice, but keeps his spirit up until the end (or Oakes, and his immortal line about just stepping outside). Oh well, just a few ideas! :D

DeLani	21 Jan 2003
Jimmy Carter as the King of Cups! That's hilarious! (Sorry, my 70s side coming out) :) I def. agree with Stephen Spielberg as the Magician - creating the coolest stuff with "magic" slight-of-hand - and the film industry is def. a Mercurian realm...

Demonesse	23 Jan 2003
In light of the success of LOTR, I'd say Peter Jackson should be the Magician instead of S. Spielberg - he took an impossible task and turned it into a brilliant success. The Emperor - Shi Huang Di/Mao Tse-Tung/Deng Xiaopeng/my country's Prime Minister. The Star would be the belated Mother Teresa. The Tower - Osama. Gandhi as the Hermit sounds good. Death - Michael Jackson. Out with the old, in with the new, and lots of regrets now, I'm sure. It helps that he looks like an embalmed corpse. And of course, as the piece de resistance, Hitler steps into the role of the Devil quite perfectly, bringer of "light" or not. And if Bush does go ahead with the war on Iraq I'd say he'd make a good Year 2003 Devil. Famous people don't necessarily have to be from the US, you know...

Dark Inquisitor	23 Jan 2003
I'd like to see fictional movie character Austin Powers as the Fool, and Jack Nicholson might make a good Devil, since he played that role in the Witches of Eastwick. Tarotphelia

Jeannette	23 Jan 2003
Don't forget Amerigo Folchi's noteable Millennium Tarot, where Folchi attempted to rework the Rider-Waite majors (also the aces and court cards) in just this fashion. The list of his associations is long, of course, but here's a few highlights, incorporating some of the cards mentioned in this thread, for those who are curious: - Magician = Leonardo da Vinci - Hierophant = Louis Pasteur - Hanged Man = Karl Marx - Death = John F. Kennedy - Devil = Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Star = Galileo Galilei - World = Christopher Columbus - King of Cups = Karl V I don't necessarily agree with all of these choices, or any of the particular others that Folchi included. But as this thread proves, it always is wonderful fodder for an interesting discussion! Quote: Originally posted by Demonesse Famous people don't necessarily have to be from the US, you know... You said it, Demonesse! As a "book of universal truth," it would make the most sense for a "celebrity/famous persons tarot" to draw from as many global cultures as possible, I should think. -- Jeannette http://www.tarotgarden.com

Diana	23 Jan 2003
Demonesse: I love your choices. Please can you continue your list? Thank you.

Hummingbird	26 Jan 2003
This is a great question. I don't get Jimmy Carter as King of Cups. Anyone care to explain?

Demonesse	27 Jan 2003
Perhaps Bill Clinton as the King of Cups instead. He does tend to "overflow"; onto Monica's dress that is... })

lunalafey	27 Jan 2003
Spielberg as the Magician, ya...I can see it but if one wants to go that route...alot of the 'magic' in his films actually came from George Lucas. E.T. was Spielberg's, but the special effects came from Lucas's Skywalker Ranch. You won't find the Lucas name on E.T.....but it was his 'magic'. There was a thread simular regarding events...I misundrestood and posted Hitler as the Emperor...a card associated with Aries, which is what he was...so is Bill Gates a Capricorn? He is quite the business man... Micheal Jackson/Death.....that's FUNNY.... How about Armstrong as the Fool....he truely had NO idea what would come of his trip to the Moon. Princes Di as the Empress. Aseop(prob spelled wrong) as the Hierophant. over flow on to monica's dress....so she didn't....um....catch it? so she can't be the Queen of Cups...or can she? the Lovers...there is a couple in town who just celebrated thier 54th wedding anniversary...

Minos	27 Jan 2003
This is all well and good, people, but what about the B-grade celebrities? I say Charles Nelson Reilly should be the Hierophant. "Charo" would make a good Strength, and that black dude bartender from the Love Boat would be a good Magician. Or maybe the Magician should be Mr. Rourke, with Tattoo as the Ape of Thoth. The Tower? Definitely Corey Feldman. I think a Dean Martin celebrity roast would be a good substitute for the royal wedding in the Lovers.

Diana	28 Jan 2003
Minos: apart from Dean Martin, I have never heard of these people you are talking about. Are they American television celebrities or something? I can understand where Demonesse is getting at when she talks about Jimmy Carter and the King of Cups. I reckon that's why he was recently given the Nobel Prize - for precisely these qualities.

Jeannette	28 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Minos: apart from Dean Martin, I have never heard of these people you are talking about. Then count yourself fortunate -- LOL! :D Although we tend to export so much of our television programming (without much concern regarding the quality of it, or what others might think of us when subjected to it), I might have thought it possible that our overseas friends would be familiar with the Love Boat bartender guy (character name: Isaac, actor name: Ted Lange -- and no, I didn't remember it either, I watched the show maybe twice; I had to look it up on Google) or Mr. Rourke and Tattoo from Fantasy Island. But once again, if you missed these, then please accept the grateful thanks of Americans everywhere! LOL! :D (With apologies to anyone out there who really loved those shows -- to each his/her own, yes?) -- Jeannette http://www.tarotgarden.com

ihcoyc	28 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Hummingbird I don't get Jimmy Carter as King of Cups. Anyone care to explain? Jimmy Carter always seemed somewhat ill at ease as President, but he is our best ex-President, with all his charitable activities and peace making work. These strike me as King of Cups business, so that's why I think of him as King of Cups. The King of Cups is sort of the odd man out among the kings. The Kings of Wands and Swords are both well adjusted in their roles. The King of Coins is not quite as responsible as either of those two, but he is generous and comfortable with power. The King of Cups seems a little uncertain what he's doing on that throne, and seems like he'd rather be doing something else.

lunalafey	28 Jan 2003
yes, Carter, a man of compassion. He is one of the major participants for Habitat for Humanity, which is an orginization that builds homes(for keeps)for families that work so hard, yet do not have the recources to puchase a home.

tarotbear	29 Apr 2005
"These are the voyages of the Starship Job or Project..."

prudence	29 Apr 2005
I am sure it must have been said already but Bill Clinton is the Thoth Devil card all the way! Goldie Hawn is the Sun from Sakki Sakki (but a young Carol Channing might be a close second)

psychic sue	30 Apr 2005
Michael Jackson could be the fool - I mean, I think he IS a fool, and he would have us believe he is child like and innocent! And he seems to rush straight off the end of the cliff without thinking - maybe he should be the fool REVERSED?

The Famous people as Majors thread was originally posted on 19 Dec 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.