Make Yuh Think...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

punkangelgcm437	18 May 2003
Tarot cards usually have 78 cards in them correct. 7+8=15 1+5=6 The 6th card is the Lovers card, which was originally called just Love. Tarot's 'soul card' is the Lovers card...which is what tarot is based about somewhat right. Learning and exploring our world to better ourselves and help others thru Love. Hmm...interesting.

divinerguy	18 May 2003
But what is love, really? Seems like a good thread.

Alissa	18 May 2003
Wait a minute... 7+8=15 ------- Isn't that the part that tells you your personality? Tarot personality would be the Devil then, hm? Not sure how I feel about that yet ............

truthsayer	18 May 2003
the #15 and #6 give tarot extra depth. #6 is love-the highest and best ideal we can reach for. #15 is the devil which represents our lowest basest wants and desires. it's not a bad thing. it's like flipping an hourglass from top to bottom to make the sand switch directions. tarot for yourself by mary k. greer can probably explain this better than i can.

firemaiden	18 May 2003
Okay, but wasn't the original name for VI "the Lover" (L'amoureux) not "love" -- or is there even such thing as an original name?

punkangelgcm437	18 May 2003
In Thirteen's Basics she says that "The Lovers" was originally called "Love". So wait, I'm not the first to realize this. ::sniffle:: I understand what you mean truthsayer, Love being the highest and devil being the lowest.

catboxer	18 May 2003
It was originally called "Love," and the earliest known depiction of it might have doubled as a wedding certificate. This would establish, in the opinion of some of the most respected experts, a definite date for the appearance of the first deck we can definitely point to and say, "Yah, that's a tarot." It would be the Cary-Yale, or Visconti de Modrone pack, of which only 67 of (probably) 86 cards remain. Fortunately, one of them is the Love card. Ron Decker, Michael Dummett, and Stuart Kaplan all believe that the figures depicted on the card are those of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, who were married in 1441. This was an extremely important marriage, for Bianca Maria was Duke Filippo Maria's only child, and it was through marriage to her and the uniting of the two families that Sforza established his claim to the Dukedom of Milan. This was an event so significant that it needed to be memorialized for posterity, and so it was. (See Michael Dummett's "The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards," page 14). So the idea that this card is the soul of the tarot has some merit. Kaz has posted the card, and you can see it at http://www.tarotforum.net/attachment.php?s=&postid=38025

punkangelgcm437	18 May 2003
Wow. Thats interesting. I looked at the card, and saw that it didnt have any words on it at all, meaning that you'd have to look at the pictures. Another thing that should be noted. ~Thanks catboxer for your insight. :)

The Make Yuh Think... thread was originally posted on 18 May 2003 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.