RWS Knight sword's wood pigeon?

Hi Tarot teachers - anyone know if its a woodpigeon or what kind of bird on this Knights armour and horse's embelishments - there is a proper name for that, isnt their?
Bats - does thi indicate he is a swift as a bat or doesnt look before taking action?
His foots armour is very bird like, is this to represent teh element of Air?
Is it only my pack that has a grey horse - shouldnt it be white?
Many thanks
Cara

I'm a teacher of maths, not Tarot, but here are my thoughts about the birds.

There seem to be different kinds of birds on the card. While they all suggest Air, the flying birds have a zigzag wing configuration like the Aquarius symbol (of which the Kt of S rules the first two decans). The bird on the Knight's breast could be an Eagle (Scorpio/Death), while the red birds on the horse could be cardinals, a reminder that the Kt also rules the last decan of Capricorn.

Waite tended to hide the astrological attributions of the cards.

Cara Jackson said:

Hi Tarot teachers - anyone know if its a woodpigeon or what kind of bird on this Knights armour and horse's embelishments - there is a proper name for that, isnt their?
Bats - does thi indicate he is a swift as a bat or doesnt look before taking action?
His foots armour is very bird like, is this to represent teh element of Air?
Is it only my pack that has a grey horse - shouldnt it be white?
Many thanks
Cara

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What bats?

I think the birds may also be Cardinals.

Yes the element of Air is represented by birds.

Birds in general in tarot mean messages. Birds live on the earth as well as in the air so they can act as divine messengers like angels. From the divine to the practical.

The male Cardinal is bright red http://semanticmarmot.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/0802040650001img_9684.jpg and the Roman Catholic Cardinal is named after the bird because of the colour of their vestments.

The cardinal has a piercing whistle that both male and female join in with. This may indicate a combination of masculine and feminine. The cardinal balances the spiritual and physical and offers safe passage into the realms of the spiritual. The whistle of the cardinal also demands attention.

Red represents the blood of Christ, passion, life blood. It is the colour of the kundalini, which once awakened can lead to attainment of spiritual power. The kundalini is a coiled serpent and can mean pure desire. It is said that the awakening of the kundalini is the only true path to Divine Wisdom.

The cardinal is a transformer and awakener. It is symbolised by the number twelve because its eggs hatch in 12 days. This is also an all round bird ie it doesn't migrate. So when the cardinal flies into your life you may expect a change in either 12 hours, days, months etc.

There is also a red heart on the horses bridle which may coincide with the red of the bird and the passion it represents.

I see where you're getting the bats from. I don't think they're bats, I think they're birds like the ones in the sky.

There are also butterflies which represent the infinite, change, transition, the soul.

LRichard said:

I'm a teacher of maths, not Tarot, but here are my thoughts about the birds.

There seem to be different kinds of birds on the card. While they all suggest Air, the flying birds have a zigzag wing configuration like the Aquarius symbol (of which the Kt of S rules the first two decans). The bird on the Knight's breast could be an Eagle (Scorpio/Death), while the red birds on the horse could be cardinals, a reminder that the Kt also rules the last decan of Capricorn.

Waite tended to hide the astrological attributions of the cards.

Click to expand...

I hadn't even considered that the bird could be a play on the astrological Cardinal Signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.

That's really interesting!

So I found out that cardinal means fixed and comes from the Latin, cardinalis which means principal or pivotal. The role of the cardinal signs is to push forward, initiate and be first.

Cardinal signs are leaders and attract those who support their efforts. They are outgoing, restless and dynamic. They are happiest when running the show.

I assume this Knight is associated with Libra and initiates through new ideas.

There is a heart on the horse which may be a reference to Cancer. There are red flames which may be a reference to Aries and earth which could mean Capricorn.

Thanks for input

Tend to agree with L Richard tho - guess it doesnt matter what the birds are and yep - SO not bats, but rather bird silhoutettes - tch! Thats what getting up at 5 am with a baby does for you !! Um, dont feel its cardinals, the outline is all different, isnt it? So,will just go with generic birds for now. Unless anyone can quote PCS or Waite? x Cara

From a naturalists' standpoint

I only know North American birds, not European. I am not a birder; I am a broad generalist so you may want to go look these up to confirm them.

The birds in the sky and on the horse's trappings are almost certainly gulls or terns. It is the length of the wing to the size of the body, and where the wing angle is, that tells me this.

The birds on the cape or cloak are almost certainly doves, with their high hunched shoulders and long, tapering wings. Here in the States I'd say they're mourning doves, the most tapered of our doves. They could be skinny pigeons if you really stretched things.

The red birds mystify me. They are not cardinals - tails much too short and no crest on the head. Maybe a European red bird that we don't have here?

Could it be a red kite?

I have found a bunch of birds with red feathers:

Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Pine Grosbeak
Red Crossbill

caridwen said:

Could it be a red kite?

I have found a bunch of birds with red feathers:

Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Pine Grosbeak
Red Crossbill

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I wonder if, counter to a lot of careful choices of details, he made up a bird? Or had PCS draw one that wasn't biologically accurate?

A red kite is a rare, amazingly gorgeous 3-colored large bird of prey. The species was kept in existence by some quiet and determined families in Wales. Bless them, and I would love to see these some day, but I don't think they can be the bird on this knight's horse.

The other 4 are perching birds, so they're the right shape and size to match the art.

The first two, the tanagers, are here in Florida, but I don't think Waite would've seen them in the UK. The other two are in the mountain forests in Montana where I lived for many years. I think the crossbill is only in the U.S. I think the pine grosbeak is in Europe, too, but it has distinct black-and-white wings over the reddish body.

Very pretty birds, all of them, but I can't see a way he would've asked PCS to draw an actual species of U.S. bird when he was familiar with UK birds. Well, actually, I guess I don't know how much Waite ever visited the U.S.

I'm not sure how much scrutiny is justified regarding Pixie's depiction of animals. For example, the wolf on the Moon card looks a lot more like a jackal or coyote than what we usually think of as a wolf. The eagle on the Wheel of Fortune card looks like a cross between a goose and an eagle. The birds on the Knight's horse just look like generic birds, colored red. I love the generic canines and birds, as it leaves more latitude for imagination and interpretation. I also think that Pixie was not above occasionally putting little private jokes into the images, which she knew would escape the notice of the sedate Mr. Waite.

LRichard said:

I'm not sure how much scrutiny is justified regarding Pixie's depiction of animals. For example, the wolf on the Moon card looks a lot more like a jackal or coyote than what we usually think of as a wolf. The eagle on the Wheel of Fortune card looks like a cross between a goose and an eagle. The birds on the Knight's horse just look like generic birds, colored red. I love the generic canines and birds, as it leaves more latitude for imagination and interpretation. I also think that Pixie was not above occasionally putting little private jokes into the images, which she knew would escape the notice of the sedate Mr. Waite.

Click to expand...

Ah!! That's what I get for not knowing or having studied the original of all the clones. Generics, jokes, and sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.