The Tower: La Maison Dieu or La Maison De Feu?
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| Centaur |
28 Feb 2004 |
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I have been reading some articles and have come across an interesting difference in definition of the Tower card.
According to an article by Nina Lee Braden (http://www.geocities.com/~ninalee/tarot/16.htm), the Tower was originally referred to as La Maison Dieu which means the House of God. However, when the term was translated into English, it somehow became The Tower of Destruction. Braden claims that this might be due to an error in translation, La Maison Dieu being misread as La Maison De Feu.
Here is the excerpt:-
'In many older decks, the Tower is called "La Maison Dieu," literally, "The House of God." For some reason, when this card's title is translated into English, it becomes "The Tower of Destruction." Some say that this is because the French title was originally misread as "La Maison De Feu" or "The House of Fire." It is sometimes called The Lightning-struck Tower. There are obvious connections to the Biblical narrative of the Tower of Babel. The most common picture of The Tower is of two figures falling from a blasted tower. Often, the cap of the tower is the crown; in other decks, one of the figures wears a crown.'
I have also on occasion heard of the Tower as being likened to the House of The Devil, another seemingly negative use of wording.
I have always felt that it is from the rubble of our crumbled Tower experiences that we begin to build a new future or a new perspective on specific issues. Lessons are learned from past mistakes or situations, and we move on as stronger people. The Tower, is in my opinion a card which stresses the need for strength in a difficult time... the strength to move on. It is a card of character-building and human-endurance.
In a way, I can see how the Tower might be called the Tower of Destruction due to the depiction of what seems to be chaos. But I think that the description of the Tower as the Tower of Destruction is overly negative and quite frightening. The very word destruction is a term which brings to mind chaos, terror, and fear.
But equally so, the House of God does not seem to be an adequate description in its own right. If one looks at the image, it IS quite frightening and alarming. Why would the House of God be falling? Why is there such an alarming look on the faces of those who fall from its windows and parapets? Yes, one could argue that the experiences brought by the Tower may be likened to human-spirit and thus connected in some way to God, but the image of a crumbling building is perhaps not the best image to depict this.
Could the term the House of God perhaps refer to our higher-consciousness? Could it then refer to our consciousness in the midst of a Tower experience, as it struggles to rebuild and push on.
It could be argued that both phrases: La Maison Dieu and La Maison De Feu, are not fully adequate for describing the activity upon these cards.
I know that in most decks this card is called 'The Tower', but I thought that it might be interesting to have a look at these other definitions, in order to see what could be brought forth to our understanding of this specific card.
C
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| lionette |
28 Feb 2004 |
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Hi Centaur,
Interesting reflection on the Tower card.
In some respects I see these 2 translations you cite as being fairly similar. When I think of the biblical god, I generally think of the dramatic events created in order to make his point. A bolt of lightening to a castle tower wouldn't be unheard of, no?? Must admit to not being especially well-versed in christian bible study, tho, so maybe I should move on to other interpretations! :)
So, the Tower card sometimes makes me think of revolution, something shaking up the status quo, as did the french revolution and other happenings that threw monarchy out the window. This would require some sort of destruction, but as you say, it's more of a reordering/restructuring of one's value system or world view after a dramatic event. Not chaos, per se, but an event which will make us rethink things.
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| Centaur |
28 Feb 2004 |
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Originally posted by lionette
In some respects I see these 2 translations you cite as being fairly similar. When I think of the biblical god, I generally think of the dramatic events created in order to make his point. A bolt of lightening to a castle tower wouldn't be unheard of, no?? Must admit to not being especially well-versed in christian bible study, tho, so maybe I should move on to other interpretations! :)
Hi Lionette,
I am not up on Bible study either. LOL. I am not a Christian.
I think that the idea of God as directing a lightning bolt at a specific Tower is a neat-one. But wouldn't that act be associated with punishment? Punishment for misdeeds? Or the downfall occuring after one engages in a harmful lifestyle or negative behaviours.
Ofcourse, it is arguable that what one defines as a harmful lifestyle or a negative behaviour may not be the same as the definitions held by another.
Interesting!
C
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| jmd |
28 Feb 2004 |
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I'll post some personal notes later... but in the mean-time, if you care to, enjoy the thread::):):)
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| crystal cove |
28 Feb 2004 |
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Check out the History and Iconography forum. There is a thread titled "La Maison Diev" that you may find interesting.
Oops, sorry jmd. Didn't see your post. :)
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| lionette |
28 Feb 2004 |
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Originally posted by Centaur
I am not up on Bible study either. LOL. I am not a Christian.
Whew! (wiping my brow) I'm living in the "bible belt"part of the US and have sometimes accidently offended christians so have learned to be super cautious about any spoutings about bible. :)
Yes, now that you say it, the dramatic god actions that come to mind were generally in response to some "wrong-doing".
Hmmm. It's becomes a little hazy in this dimension, no? :)
And then there's the question of it being a personalized Tower or a collective Tower. I've been wondering whether to read this card as an internal "destruction" or some other sort to do with my physical world.
Do you generally read Tower as internal or do you include the world at large?
I'm going off to look at jmd's link to other thread...
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| Centaur |
28 Feb 2004 |
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Originally posted by lionette
And then there's the question of it being a personalized Tower or a collective Tower. I've been wondering whether to read this card as an internal "destruction" or some other sort to do with my physical world.
Do you generally read Tower as internal or do you include the world at large?
I think I read it as including both internal and external.
Internal:
As reflecting the psychology of the individual, and his or her consciousness as he or she has his or her Tower experience.
External:
As reflecting the trigger-events which cause the wheels of our Tower experience to be set into motion, and also, events as they unfold.
Hmnnn... an interesting point. I would have to think some more on that one! Haha.
Yes. Thanks for the link Jmd.
C
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| Thirteen |
28 Feb 2004 |
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Interestingly--and this has little to do with the card because it's doubtful that the iconography reflected this--However....
The Tower of Babel story is one of the few parts where the Hebrew Bible reminds us that the Hebrews believed in many Gods--that is, they accepted that other tribes had their own pantheons while the Hebrews had only Jahweh. We're reminded of this prior to Babel in the creation story and, of course, in the Moses story where we see a battle between Moses, champion of his one Hebrew God, and Pharoah, earthly god of the Egyptians and their pantheon.
"Thou shalt have no other god but me!" in the ten commandmants scene isn't saying to the Hebrews "I'm the only god there is," but rather, "I'm going to get really jealous if you start worshiping other gods as well or instead of me. So don't!"
Where do we see this this pantheon in Babel? It's subtle, but the text there changes from singular god to plural. The King James created a royal "We" to explain this all--but no such thing ever really existed. In the original Hebrew, this is plural. Thus, it is not the singular, Hebrew god who bring Babel down (as the tarot iconographers undoubtedly believed) but all the gods in agreement, Hebrew god included. The line reads something like, "We can't let them do this" and down comes the tower.
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| Centaur |
28 Feb 2004 |
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Originally posted by Thirteen
Thus, it is not the singular, Hebrew god who bring Babel down (as the tarot iconographers undoubtedly believed) but all the gods in agreement, Hebrew god included. The line reads something like, " We can't let them do this" and down comes the tower.
Hi Thirteen,
If we take the two definitions, The House of God, and the Tower of Destruction, then one might argue that the House of God evokes positive associations whilst the Tower of Destruction evokes negative associations. One might assume that God as he is known in Biblical terms is equated with all that is good, and that it might be a conflict of associations to lump him in with the word 'destruction'.
BUT... if one takes into account the information you provided then it might become easier to understand the two terms and their linkage to the Tower card. I do not know much about the various Gods which were around at the time of the Babel tale, but I am assuming that there must have been some which were more malignant and some which were more benign than others. Is this correct? If so, then the contrast between definitions would make more sense... as negative and positive associations would also have been associated with the various Gods around at that time.
Ofcourse I could be talking complete drivel. ;)
C
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| Diana |
28 Feb 2004 |
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lionette already pointed this thread out, but I'm just hoping that everyone did see it. Because it gives some interesting viewpoints as to what a "House of God" or a "God's House" could be.
Major Arcana Titles: La Maison-Dieu
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The The Tower: La Maison Dieu or La Maison De Feu? thread was originally posted on 28 Feb 2004 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.
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