Rider: Devil couple's tails

Not to be irreverent...but...to me...

She: Grapes = Yay! More wine! He: Fire = Yay! More sex!

Yes. New Decan title for The Devil .. 'We Got Some Tail'.

Anyways I need to chime.

The 'supposed' moon symbol on The Devil's forehead is not a symbol at all.

It is just linework that is part of The Devil's scalp, much like the linework on his face.

agent199 said:

Yes. New Decan title for The Devil .. 'We Got Some Tail'.

Anyways I need to chime.

The 'supposed' moon symbol on The Devil's forehead is not a symbol at all.

It is just linework that is part of The Devil's scalp, much like the linework on his face.

Click to expand...

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure.

I'll never be able to forget LP's interpretation of the Devil figures: more wine, more sex!

I interpret the grapes to symbolize sensuality and the flame to symbolize lust. In the absence of a clear explanation from Waite it's anyone's guess.

As for that symbol on The Devil's hand, I personally believe it has some meaning for Palmists. I don't know that much about Palmistry, but from what research I've done, I would guess it indicates strong physical vitality and intelligence, mostly used in selfish pursuits. Waite says The Devil's "blind to the liberty of service." He also mentions the quality of human intelligence possessed by the two chained figures, but it would seems it's only focused on satisfying their animal nature, as indicated by their tails. Waite says The Devil's hand is "the reverse of that benediction which is given by the Hierophant." As the Hierophant's hand is said to be a sign of the esoteric, it would make sense The Devil's would be associated with the exoteric.

I'm done looking into this.
Read all the old posts and whatnot. (online and forum)
Too many religious and philosophical contexts that just contradict each other and make no sense.

The RWS deck is over 100 years old.
So, what Waite says in his PKT, is in fact what it is, and nothing more.

And what you see on the cards is what you see, each to their own.

Curiosity satisified

Actually, quite a bit more can be known about the Major Arcana symbolism by reading Waite's other books where he writes in more depth about many of the symbols.

Thank you for the information.
I had no idea Waite's tarot writings went beyond PKT.

Waite earlier wrote a 2 volume book on divination under the name Grand Orient. One volume includes a section on Tarot and another on playing cards (which accords with some of his Minor Arcana meanings). There are also several articles he wrote on Tarot and a Golden Dawn paper that has been published. But, it's his other books that contain materials that clarify his intention for the Tarot symbology - like "The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry" and "The Holy Kabbalah." No, I don't have a complete bibliography to give you, but these works are easily found on the internet.

Fantastic Teheuti!
I will start digging immediately.
Can't wait to track this stuff down.
Thanks again.

Teheuti said:

Waite earlier wrote a 2 volume book on divination under the name Grand Orient. One volume includes a section on Tarot and another on playing cards (which accords with some of his Minor Arcana meanings). There are also several articles he wrote on Tarot and a Golden Dawn paper that has been published. But, it's his other books that contain materials that clarify his intention for the Tarot symbology - like "The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry" and "The Holy Kabbalah." No, I don't have a complete bibliography to give you, but these works are easily found on the internet.

Click to expand...

I wonder if any of Waite's other tarot information, beyond that available in the original Pictorial Key, will show up in Llewellyn's new (April 2013) "ultimate" guide to the Waite-Smith deck.

http://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738735795