Who lives there?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Aoife	23 Feb 2003
I'm looking at the RWS cards and many have buildings in the background. The connection is usually quite obvious e.g. 10 of cups - family cottage in idylic scene. But there's four cards in particular in which I can't figure out why the buildings are in the background:- 5 of cups 8 of wands Ace of wands 8 of swords Given that it's generally accepted that there's considerable significance in every object in the cards, why do you think those buildings are there?

cricket	23 Feb 2003
On the 5 of Cups, if you look, the house and the spilled cups are on the same side. The figure is looking at both of them. I've always taken this as the something that's lost - if the house stands out, it's something more physical and if the drink that was in the cups stands out more, it's something more mental or spiritual. The filled cups are on the same side as the bridge - meaning (to me) that if the person were to turn and look again, they might find a solution or possibility that would bring about the return of what was lost. The 8 of Swords is somewhat the same thing. The girl is looking for a way out, a way either to or from something. To me, the house is either what she's bound to or what she's searching for. I'm not really sure about the other two, since they rarely show up in my readings (and I usually don't use a Waite deck), but the Ace is always a sign of a new beginning, so the house there could be the beginning of a town? The castle that something is being built around? The 8 of Wands I have no idea whatsoever. Hope that helps some little bit. :)

DeLani	24 Feb 2003
Houses generally mean safety, security, and family. So how does that figure into the meaning of the card? Is security something the figure is trapped by, striving toward, or enjoying? Just my thoughts.

Umbrae	26 Feb 2003
5 of cups – I’ve always seen the ‘house’ as on the ‘other side’ of the river. Downstream (over the figures right shoulder) is a bridge that would ostensibly take him ‘home’. But he cannot go home, he is ‘lost’ in the illusion of loss.

coldsuns	25 Mar 2003
Maybe the artist thinks that the drawing is too plain, so he add some buildings inside. Dont think too hard, think the easy way ^_^

Aoife	25 Mar 2003
Coldsuns, what if the artist had a reason for putting the buildings there? Why do you think she might have drawn buildings? What do buildings mean to you?

coldsuns	25 Mar 2003
Peace,secure,enjoying,surprise,happiness,family and comfortable but it is also danger,fight,death and loss of mind. ^_^

Aoife	25 Mar 2003
Coldsuns, okay..... Now the 8 of wands on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck I was talking about shows eight wands in the air, diagonally parallel. On the ground in the distance is a hill, on top of which there's a small building. Mary Greer, a famous tarot writer, says that the 8 of wands is sometimes called the 'falling in love card'. Other people say the card is about speed and swiftness and energy. Now - what do you think the building on the hill might represent?

Aerin	25 Mar 2003
for me, a destination/ goal. The wands aren't simply fleeing something, they know where they want to end up. Aerin

coldsuns	25 Mar 2003
Upright- Protection.Important.Secure.Unusual Reverse-Danger. Timid. Scare. Insecure. Lose Freedom What i see is that the Wands are protecting the 1 house. And my heart tells me the words up there.

Aoife	25 Mar 2003
Coldsuns, what connection can you make about the wands protecting the house and the other ideas that Aerin and I have mentioned?

coldsuns	25 Mar 2003
Protect someone you love. You need the speed and energy to do so. The goal is to protect "the small house". I just use my heart and abit of knowledge. So dont take it too seriously. A suggestion will do. :)

Aoife	25 Mar 2003
Coldsuns, that's great!! You know, I think that using our heart and knowledge and experience is the best way to learn tarot. So I would take that very seriously 'cos whatever good or bad we come across in life, if we use our knowledge and experience, then ask our heart what it feels, we're likely to get the best possible answer. If you can keep up this sort of questioning - asking yourself, what do I think? what do I know? what do I feel? - when you're doing your readings, you're going to learn tarot very well. I think you've made a great start here - keep it up!

Rose	26 Mar 2003
According the the Penguin Book of Symbols, Houses/Castles are symbols of home, security, and civilization. They are a type of fortress or stronghold (reinforced by setting them on hills) and serve as a symbol of protection. A castle can symbolize the realization of the heart's desire, achievement, and destiny fulfilled. Some thoughts with that in mind: 5 of cups-The advice of the card might be pick up those two remaining cups, cross that bridge (which spans a river of emotions) and find your house-a symbol of stability & comfort. Ace of Wands-Since Wands are the suit of creativity, self-development, enterprise, energy, action, and desire, perhaps the castle on the hill represents the realization of the heart's desire, achievement, and destiny fulfilled. 8 of Wands-Actually, I always perceived the structure on the hill to be the ruins of an old castle, and in the context of this card for me it's a symbol of time passing and change coming to all things. 8 of swords-The castle can possibly stand for two different things. Perhaps it symbolizes the power and authority that the woman on the card feels is trapping her, or perhaps it stands for her dream of safety. The beauty of these pictures is that they can mean so many different things to different people. Rose

Mimers	26 Mar 2003
I never noticed the house in the 8 of wands! It's so far away and you can hardly see it. It's on the other side of the river and there is no bridge difficult. Mimi Quote: Originally posted by Aoife Coldsuns, okay..... Now the 8 of wands on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck I was talking about shows eight wands in the air, diagonally parallel. On the ground in the distance is a hill, on top of which there's a small building. Mary Greer, a famous tarot writer, says that the 8 of wands is sometimes called the 'falling in love card'. Other people say the card is about speed and swiftness and energy. Now - what do you think the building on the hill might represent?

coldsuns	27 Mar 2003
What does the full moon shown in cards? Maybe not in RWS but some other decks. Why are there always full moon and full of stars?

Rose	27 Mar 2003
Coldsuns, I'm not sure what you want to know about the meaning of the Full Moon and stars in a card. It might help if you gave an example of a specific card. I have some notes in my journal about the symbolic meaning of the moon. I'll post them in case it might help. Keeping in mind that I'm not an expert--this is some stuff from my notes: Some possible symbolic meanings for the moon as a symbol in a card: the passive and feminine principle (in contrast to the Sun which is active), the subconscious, imagination, dreams, cycles, rhythms of life, change and renewal, birth and death, your past, hidden mysteries, intuition, psychic abilities, emotion and feelings. Two characteristics of the Moon are worth considering: 1. The Moon changes shape as it goes through its phases-as it waxes and wanes. The Moon is also connected to the ebb and flow of water-and one of the things that water traditionally signifies is emotion and feeling. The phases of the Moon are both predictable and cyclic in nature and symbolizes change and renewal, change and growth. Every month the moon vanishes as if it has died and then renews itself. 2. The Moon has no light of its own and merely reflects the light of the Sun. Because of its changeability and the fact that its light is reflected the Moon can represent illusion and delusion. Phases of the Moon The Waxing or increasing Moon -energy is expanding. Full Moon-When the Moon is Full perhaps the lunar energy is at its strongest. Can symbolize moving through a full cycle. During the Waning Moon-energy is decreasing. Crescent Moon is one of the shapes which best characterizes the phases of the Moon and symbolizes the changing shape of the Moon. In the Rider-Waite-Smith 8 of cups the Moon is a full moon with a crescent inside it, showing both its full and waning phase, possibly further signifying the end of something old and the beginning of a new phase. Obviously, not all these meanings, or possibly none of them, would apply to every card a moon appears in. Rose

coldsuns	27 Mar 2003
Thanks! I've a better idea of "whats" moon. I usually didnt bother about the houses and moon. Actually every little in the picture of the Tarot Deck are important, including a grass or a cloud.

Alissa	27 Mar 2003
I've always had the houses interact with me differently. Usually, if the house grabs me during the reading, it indicates : a move, something that requires distance to accomplish (like a trip), a university setting, a castle, and any host of other things. I once pegged that a querent would be in Oxford, just from the buildings behind the 8 of Pents jumping out at me. For me, the houses really spark my intuitive side, I dunno why. :)

The Who lives there? thread was originally posted on 23 Feb 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.