Mel's Old Fashioned Pips & Courts and Homemade Baked Goods

Melanchollic

5 of Batons

5 OF BATON

Nickname - "Fragile Balance"
Element - Air/Earth
Temper - Sanguine Melancholic
Power - all
Timing - random
Movement - random
Direction - East West axis
In the cycle of a year - none
In the cycle of a day - none
In the cycle of a life - none
Sex - both
Cards - 3 Batons, 5 Batons, 9 Batons, Knight Batons, 10 Cups, 4 Cups, Valet Cups



Here again, the 5 shares the same energies as the 3. With the suit of Batons, the common energy is the contradictory powers of Air/Earth. Since the Batons are an ascending suit, the 5 of Batons is more dignified than the 3 of Batons (Futile Merger).

As we've seen the Pentad can be seen as the balancing point on a scale. The opposing energies of Air and Earth (Heat, Cold, Wet, Dry) place a great strain on the Pentad to hold them all together. True to the 'laborious' nature of the Batons, this 5 endures against the odds, and does whatever is necessary to keep these contradictory energies from flying apart. The 5 of Batons can be symbolic of a 'stress point' of any construct, or reveal the necessity of bearing a great burden to maintain order.
 

Melanchollic

6 of Swords

6 OF SWORDS
Nickname - "The Forced Convergence"
Element - Fire/Water
Temper - Choleric Phlegmatic
Power - all
Timing - random
Movement - random
Direction - North South axis
In the cycle of a year - none
In the cycle of a day - none
In the cycle of a life - none
Sex - both
Similar Cards - 2 Swords, 8 Swords, Queen Swords, 7 Coins, 1 Coins, King Coins



The 6 of Swords is similar to the 5 of Coins. Both strive for union by being 'marriage numbers', and both are badly dignified examples of cards with opposing energies. The Baton actively labors to hold it together (the Pentad being active). The Sword however forces the difficult union of Fire/Water. Furthermore the Hexad (6) is passive/feminine, hence the 6 is forced upon by the Sword's nature. The 6 of Swords is representative of any manner of union, agreement, contract, state of 'peace' which is achieved by coercion, violence, fear, or pressure.
 

Melanchollic

6 of Cups

6 OF CUPS

Nickname - "Harmony"
Element - Air/Water
Temper - Sanguine Phlegmatic
Power - Wet
Timing - Short
Movement - Flexible
Direction - Northeast
In the cycle of a year - February/March
In the cycle of a day - Late Night
In the cycle of a life - Age 70~Death
Sex - Female
Similar Cards - 9 Coins, 5 Coins, 3 Coins, Knight Coins, 8 Cups, 2 of Cups, Queen Cups



Here we find the Hexad (6) at its best. The good dignity of the suit of Cups allows the perfection of the Hexad to shine unhindered. Iamblichus said of the Hexad,

"The universe is ensouled and harmonized by it and, thanks to it, comes by both wholeness and permanence, and perfect health..."

The 6 of Cups can show us the harmony, and perfect balance of all manner of situations. Keep in mind though that this card is passive, indicating this 'harmony' arises from outside of the subject. Also, such 'perfection' is all too brief, as the Moist Power is, by nature, short lived.
 

SolSionnach

Yay, Mel is baaaack! :)

I hope you had some great times with your sweetie, and didn't do any harm while skiing. :)

I'd so given up hope that I started working with the Greenwood Tarot!

Ah well... nice to see your updates. :) and Welcome Back. :)
 

Bernice

Welcome home Mel, good to have you back :)

... thought you'd been snowed under an avalance.... glad you're back in one piece. Roast chicken with all the trimmings - for you.

Bee :)

The 6 of Cups can show us the harmony, and perfect balance of all manner of situations. Keep in mind though that this card is passive, indicating this 'harmony' arises from outside of the subject. Also, such 'perfection' is all too brief, as the Moist Power is, by nature, short lived.

Like an oasis?
 

cardlady22

Six of Swords

Melanchollic said:
6 OF SWORDS
Nickname - "The Forced Convergence"
Element - Fire/Water
Temper - Choleric Phlegmatic

Similar Cards - 2 Swords, 8 Swords, Queen Swords, 7 Coins, 1 Coins, King Coins


The 6 of Swords is representative of any manner of union, agreement, contract, state of 'peace' which is achieved by coercion, violence, fear, or pressure.

This is interesting. I wonder what it is saying about me . . . since I am quite drawn to this card. Just got the idea to run by that collection site:
www.albideuter.de/html/schwerter_6.html
**What an amazing difference in visualization and evocation!


Mel, how do you associate tarot-to-playing-card suits? I may have missed it. Because if Swords = Spades and the Coins = Diamonds, I have those show up a lot!
 

Melanchollic

cardlady22 said:
Mel, how do you associate tarot-to-playing-card suits? I may have missed it. Because if Swords = Spades and the Coins = Diamonds, I have those show up a lot!


I usually just use the common associations of -


Swords = Spades
Cups = Hearts
Coins = Diamonds
Batons = Clubs​


Some card historians argue that Diamonds are actually derived from diamond shape formed by the Batons on the TdM Pattern, and the Clubs are derived from the little flower design in the TdM Coins, but this is a theory at best.

I like the 'standard' associations since the black cards are the baddies, and the red cards are the good guys..
 

Melanchollic

6 of Coins

6 OF COINS

Nickname - "Fair Trade"
Element - Water
Temper - Phlegmatic
Power - Wet/Cold
Timing - Short/Slow
Movement - Flexible/Unifying
Direction - North
In the cycle of a year - January
In the cycle of a day - Midnight
In the cycle of a life - Age 56~70
Sex - Female
Similar Cards - 8 Coins, 6 Coins, 2 Coins, Queen Coins



With the 6 of Cups, the nature of the Cups suit allows the Hexad to 'just be itself,' hindering its perfection only in containing its duration. Here with the 6 of Coins, a similar dynamic is at play. The nature of the Hexad lets the watery nature of the Coin express itself almost unhindered.

Merchants and money were traditionally associated with the watery Phlegmatic temperament. (The modern association of the suit of Coins and Elemental Earth only works if you completely disregard the traditional melancholic nature of Earth.) This association was of course even stronger when shipping and trade were done via water. The sea was trade. The Coins themselves recall the various medieval navigational accouterments — nocturnals, astrolabes, planispheres and circular charts, rose compasses, etc.

Coins01.jpg
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nocturnal2.jpg


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Coins11.jpg


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The 6 of Coins unites the harmony and balance of the Hexad with the frugality, accommodating service, and fluidity of the honest merchant. Here is the fair trade. It shows a transaction where all parties feel they have profited, and are pleased to have served the others involved. Everyone has satisfaction.

If we compare the two marriage numbers in respect to how they achieve balance and union we see a striking difference. The masculine Pentad is like Justice, and by authority maintains order.

..................................................l
..................................................l
..................................................l
...................................2...3...4... 5 ...6...7...8...
................................l....................................l
................................l....................................l

...............................1....................................9
.............................____...............................____



The feminine Hexad however has no such central authority. It represents a harmony that arises between the members by consensus. The fairness of the 6 of Coins arises naturally from honesty, integrity, and good will. No central authority, regulations, or trade laws are required.
 

Melanchollic

6 of Batons

6 OF BATONS

Nickname - "Over-Accommodation"
Element - Water/Earth
Temper - Phlegmatic/Melancholic
Power - Cold
Timing - Slow
Movement - Unifying
Direction - Northwest
In the cycle of a year - November/December
In the cycle of a day - Evening
In the cycle of a life - Age 49~56
Sex - Female
Similar Cards - 2 Batons, 8 Batons, Queen Batons, 10 Coins, 4 Coins, Valet Coins



The ill dignity of the Batons brings out the poorer qualities of the shared Power of Cold. Cold seeks to unite and to nurture, but it lacks the ability to discriminate. This, coupled with the Hexads urge to balance and bind, creates a situation where one goes to extremes to accommodate and lacks the discretion and discernment to know when to stop. The need to please and create harmony is taken to the extreme and it becomes labored and tedious for those on the 'receiving end' of it, and exhausting for the person doing it. In some cases people on the receiving end of the "treatment" will recoil, leaving our zealous accommodator confused and frustrated, exasperating the need to try to please them further, creating a vicious cycle.
 

Melanchollic

7 of Swords

7 OF SWORDS

Nickname - "Powder Keg"
Element - Fire/Fire
Temper - Choleric
Power - Hot/Dry
Timing - Fast/Long
Movement - Separating/Rigid
Direction - South
In the cycle of a year - July
In the cycle of a day - Noon
In the cycle of a life - Age 14~21
Sex - Male
Cards - 1 Swords, 7 Swords, King Swords



The Pythagoreans called the Heptad (7) the second Monad (1). It begins the last cycle of the elements within the Decad.


...Fire.....Water.....Air.....Earth
.....7..........8.........9........10..​


The Heptad is also last in the second cycle of the elements, which runs in reverse -


...Earth.....Air.....Water.....Fire
......4.........5.........6..........7​


The Heptad is the beneficiary of the harmony and union of the Pentad and Hexad. It is the Monad born anew from their union. The Heptad is the mean between the 1 and the 10. It is a critical moment in the cycle, hence it is called "crisis point", "chance", and "critical time" by the Pythagoreans.


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In traditional astrology, all fate is ruled by the 7 (planets). This astrological analogy fits with the eclectic nature of the Heptad. It is both a beginning and an end, and the literal middle (as mean) in the Decad.

The Greeks called the Heptad "Agelos", meaning "flocks", for it is a cluster of multiple forces that gather at this crucial point in the Decad and ignite the ascent toward the return to the Monad via the 10.

The Sword brings an excess of Fire to the already fiery Heptad. This makes the 7 of Swords violent and explosive. It is a "powder keg" ready to blow. It is the point where anger can no longer be contained and we lash out.