Shadowscapes: Figures In Bubbles motif

You can spot them in the Eight of Wands, The Devil, and maybe this counts, too: the Vitruvian Man in the corner of the King of Swords.

The Knight of Cups and the King of Cups seem to have halos around their heads, or bubbles.

The Hermit, oddly, is outside of what would be a bubble.

The World might be in a bubble, if the angle of this card were on the other side that we're given. Or maybe the planet is in a bubble. It's a bubble, in a bubble.

I would go on to say that the World is holding one of those oversized green peas that keep popping up, but can't say for sure that anyone's inside it.

Beyond this being a signature of Pui-Mun Law's style, has anyone formed symbolic associations with it? I'm especially interested in contrasting the Eight of Wands with The Devil-- in one, it doesn't seem trapped so much as incubating. But then again, maybe the Devil's prisoner is there because she just has to incubate too (like people will continue destructive behavior until they hit "rock bottom.")

Although I have the deck myself, I have never thought of it like that! It's definitely a very interesting thing to see.

The Bubble is almost as if it was self-made; one is living in a bubble, in their own world. Especially with the Devil, I see it that it can also be a self-made place, where one has the key reachable but cannot see it because one is living in a negative bubble.

The Hermit on the other hand, I have a personal story of him, but it seems as if he's longing for something. He has his back towards us, not inviting in his world, but living in his own little world. I see him wishing for something that could be/could have been.

In the World, I also see it as a mind; one has to have inner harmony and inner balance in order to truly find happiness and piece of mind. This card, to me, is also about universal consciousness; seeking for deeper understanding, which is also done through mind (thinking etc)


In other words, having a look at all the images, I think it represents mind more or less, sometimes even universal consciousness. In the case of Knight and King of Cups, I can also see it as latter, but also perhaps asking something from the Universe and receiving an answer.

These are just my thoughts on it.

I'm pretty new to tarot, but I was just thinking about this a little while ago when I did a small reading for myself. I had gotten the Hermit, and the Three of Cups

Under the hermit, there's the stone bubble as you call it, and he's not inside it. Where as in the Three of Cups, the three mermaids are inside an bubble. I read this as "not being part of something," or "wanting to seclude myself from something everyone else is a part of."

Just my thoughts.

Aha, so the bubble shapes can symbolize being in their own "little World", or transcending it (into a bigger world, which others might not be a conscious part of, and that can be lonely especially if IX doesn't recognize like XXI does that it's just bubbles within bubbles.) That fits nicely with a lot of the fantasist dangers, as well as the homey comforts, of the suit of cups, which might have the most appearance of this symbol.