Universal Fantasy - 2 of Wands

thorhammer

I love this take on the 2-Wands. The traditional themes of holding the world in your hands, but being seperated from it, are so eloquently illustrated by the lonely figure of the scribe/cartographer with his map and magnifying glass. He is playing Godling, holding the map as though he controls the whole world with its likeness.

The magnifying glass further distances him from the world he longs to interact with, and the size of the map, stretched out as it is on the great frame of Wands, dwarfs him. He has his back to it, though, as though he doesn't realise its true immensity, possibility and promise, and doesn't want to. The windows onto the real world are high up, so he can't see out to compare his picture with reality, and they are blocked by cross-like symbols.

The Wand we can see in full looks almost to be growing out of the floor like a tree. Does anyone have any ideas about the significance of this?

\m/ Kat
 

BrightEye

I can also see the Thoth idea of domination in this card, more so than anything else really. The map is a symbol of what part of the world the man controls.
 

thorhammer

Interesting, BE - I am totally unfamiliar with Thoth imagery/tradition, even though I have the Rohrig (rarely use it now). What is it about this 2 of Wands that recalls the Thoth, exactly? I'm curious.

\m/ Kat
 

elvenstar

Funny, I never thought of this card this way. I actually like this guy. I usually see him either as a merchant or something like that, planning routes, or as the wise scholar, studying and learning about the world, he's the guy the adventurers will go and consult about where to find the hidden magic object. He knows the whole map really well, but is concentrating on some detail of it right now.

It speaks to me of well organised beginnings, or maybe adjustments to plans. The sun shines through the windows, I can almost hear children playing outside for some reason, perhaps he's planning a family holiday. His red rich cloths speak to me of power and, yes, dominion. Focussing your energies on something and getting ready to make it real.
 

Queen of Disks

I agree with Elvenstar, but I also had the thought that he's a scholar, and knows all about maps and books, and prefers the company of books over people. I have a feeling he doesn't get out much. I feel like if I visited him and touched his furniture, I'd get fingers full of dust.
 

BrightEye

thorhammer said:
Interesting, BE - I am totally unfamiliar with Thoth imagery/tradition, even though I have the Rohrig (rarely use it now). What is it about this 2 of Wands that recalls the Thoth, exactly? I'm curious.

\m/ Kat
Not the Thoth imagery, but the idea of 'dominion' that Crowley ascribed to this card. Map making/ cartography can be an act of exercising power over or laying claim to, especially if you map land that wasn't originally yours but that you now claim as yours. Lake Victoria in Africa is named after Queen Victoria for a reason.
 

Lithargoel

I find it very interesting that the map is so stretched out into a strip
like that... or is it? Is that what their world actually looks like? A very
long strip of land, possibly like a Halo? Or is it only depicting the parts
of their planet that are known to them?

I like the man's character very much so... I feel as though he and I
would get on well together and I could sit there and listen to him
tell me all about the demographics about each country and nation...

You can tell from his face that he is very proud about his job and
the knowledge he has aquired. He has the power of knowing where
everything is situated across the lands and where to find certain
places or possibly magical items, but he doesn't look like a magician
to me, more like a mundane scholar. He isn't afraid to be who he
wants to be, because this is his passion and this is where he has
chosen to focus his ambition. He doesn't care if scholars are laughed
at or mocked by the rest of society for being outcasts or a bit akward.
 

Shuvano

I see this card as a nobleman, possibly an advisor searching for a new place in the world to conquer and rule over. I see the symbols drawn in the map and interpret those symbols as a sort of coat-of-arms of which kingdom rules a particular place.......this nobleman/advisor is choosing a strategic and important location wisely using the magnifying glass to get all the demographics of the perfect location.

What I also find interesting is that the map is suspended from a Roman Numberal 2 (II) which of course this card corresponds to......I know that from an esoteric viewpoint the roman II symbolizes the yoni (birth of a new part of the kingdom possibly?!?) and it also could be interpreted as a doorway or portal (to the world of exploration).