simon magus

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

catboxer	23 Aug 2002
It's been 25 years since I've gotten as excited about a movie as I am about this one. It's the closest thing I've ever seen to a tarot spread on film. Simon Magus, despite the name, is not the Magician as you might think, but the Fool. He pretends to be a magician as a means of extorting money from his fellow villagers, but he's actually the village idiot, and in the end he provides the key to fulfillment for the majority of the story's characters. Ben Hopkins, the young British director who also wrote the script, set the tale in the vanished world of agrarian society. This was the social environment nearly all our ancestors lived in for the last 5,000 years, where 90 percent of people were engaged in producing food, where all news was local news, where the word "government" meant not the king or the legislature, but the local nobleman who owned all the real property, and where people remained in the stations in which they were born. However, the world of Simon Magus is on the verge of dissolution, as the first of the great modern inventions, the railroad, is about to arrive, bringing modern times with it and demolishing the structure of that fragile, ancient universe. God, the Devil, angels and spirits were always near at hand -- everyday stuff really -- in premodern society, and the Devil actually makes an appearance in the story. God plays a part, too, but we never actually see him. Simon is tempted, tested, and redeemed, and at the last spreads his blessing to all who are near him. This film is extraordinarily beautiful and very, very deep. It touches layers of the mind and soul that can't be verbally articulated. Unfortunately, it's not available on VHS or DVD, and at this time you can only see it, as far as I know, on the Sundance channel. Make an effort to see it if you can, because if you're into tarot I guarantee you're going to love this one. CB

Laurel	24 Aug 2002
Thanks for sharing, Catboxer. I will track this movie down! Laurel

catlin	27 Aug 2002
What a pity I cannot see this movie here in Germany :(

The simon magus thread was originally posted on 23 Aug 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.