music and other arts

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Jun 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

wizzle	05 Jun 2005
What card(s) do you associate with music? Are there different cards for different arts?

Scion	06 Jun 2005
Wizzle ~ I've been waitting for this space to fill up with dazzling Aeclectic replies because I thought your question was an interesting one... but no takers as yet. I'll throw out a couple from the RW end of things... (immediately sidestepping Art in Thoth-land) I'd say Magician is the only performer/artist overtly portrayed in the deck. And he's also shown up as a director at times. I've had Judgment (the trumpet trump:)) come up for musicians and musical performance. Swords always seem writerly to me, and cups more visual, but that seems vague and generic. Three of Cups has turned up for opening nights. Three of Wands for rehearsals. Two of Pents for juggling & legerdemain. Three of Pents for the plastic arts (sculptors, painters, even website designers). Eight of Pents for anyone's artistic training or apprenticeship. King of Pentacles always shows up as my producers. Still very curious to hear people's takes...

Inana	06 Jun 2005
Haven't seen this post before, but seems interesting to think about. Usually wands and cups are the two suits more in contact with imagination and creativity, specially the knight of cups. But I suppose each one has its own creative traits… In relation to the senses, I perceive cups as visual/auditive. Swords auditive. Wands kinetic/visual. Pentacles tactile/olfactory/flavor. So relating to arts it would be something like this: Music: Cups or swords. Literature: Cups (poetry, novel) or swords (sci-fi, journalism, essay, screenwriter) Painting: Cups and wands. Performing, dancing, acting, theatre, corporal arts: Wands. Sculpture, craft, artisan, modelling, cooking, jewellery, dressmaking: Pentacles. In the majors, the Moon is related to fantasy, romanticism and creation. It would depict nicely an artist with a bohemian style of life. The Magician would make a good humorist, publicist or actor. I can relate the sun to photography. And what about the devil for a rock star or a black metal band? Empress and Temperance must be the creation process. The Emperor would make a good manager, and the RWS 4 of wands should be the scenario/setting card. :D PD - I like your views Scion, specially the trumpet in Judgment.

WalesWoman	07 Jun 2005
In Legends the Hierophant -Talisen is teaching children the harp. The Empress-Gueniver holds a harp Judgement blows a trumpet Other wise I was thinking of Queen Cups, but she is more inspiration for the music, but since she creates from imagination and inspiration, she may be the writing of it and the King Cups could be the one who acts on in and performs it. In Druidcraft, the King Cups has a harp leaning on his throne, so I don't know if he performs as much as is a support for music and arts. Queen Pentacles plays a beat on a drum. Rebirth/Judgement has a trumpet... the World holds wands that look very much like drumsticks Guess I'd better look at my decks and see what else I can find.

tarotbear	07 Jun 2005
In Lee Burstin's Gay Tarot, there are several cards that deal with play production, such as the director/producer, stage technicians, rehearsals, auditions, etc. There are no specific cards that I can think of for Pianists, but the Page of Cups usually is associated with painters and artists. Three of Cups ~ ballet dancers?????

wizzle	13 Jun 2005
Interesting replys. The question came to mind because the "art in tarot reader's life" poll got so many responses. http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=42770&highlight=art I'm surprised no one mentioned the Star. The card seems connected to that moment of "being a star" when art is produced or appreciated. In the Gilded deck, these cards seem evocative of the arts to me Fool High Priestess (she is soooo graceful) Start Judgement World

Al Si'ra	13 Jun 2005
I've seen the Fool come up as an artist in one of my readings (with that hat on he'd definitely be involved with some kind of painting-drawing work LOL!!) And of course 3 of pents...

memorexe	16 Jun 2005
In the William Blake deck the Pentacles are Painting; Swords-Science; Cups-Music and Wands-Poetry. Within the Court Cards & the Trumps I tend to read The High Priestess/Queen of Wands as an "Taste-maker" or Trendsetter--The High Priestress also archives images... The three of pentacles and the eight of pentacles I also associate with artistic process. Among the Aces--the Ace of Cups and the Ace of Wands--I like to think of as artistic inspiration. I also associate The Moon and the King of Cups with the movies. The Queen of Cups I find to be a Movie Star-and the Queen of Wands a reputable stage actress. The Queen of Pentacles I usually think of as an interior decoratior, or an architect. The Knight of Pentacles--stockbroker and the Queen of Swords a software/game designer... Just a few of my personal associations... memorexe

The music and other arts thread was originally posted on 05 Jun 2005 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.