Baroque Bohemian Cats - Hermes?

firemaiden

I cannot find another thread on this kitty, sorry. I just turned over the Hermes card. Am I blind? I can find no mention of Hermes in Baba's book.

What is the meaning of this?
 

annik

Well, Hermes is a jack of all trade god. In modern language, we could say that he is multitasking. He is a god that have a lot of tricks in his mind and nothing is better than a practical joke. A bit of a liar and a good businessman. He is travelling a lot (he must have a lot of airmiles! lol!) . He can do some dirty jobs when needed. But he can be helpful on many occasion.


I think that the cat on the card came to admire what Hermes represent. Or maybe she need a little inspiration to find the solution she need.
 

firemaiden

Salut Annick!

Thanks for your interpretation. :) Do you have this deck too?
 

annik

Yes, I have. And it is so hard to look elsewhere when looking at the cards! (-:
 

baba-prague

Ah Hermes!

Okay, okay, I will say something more informative about Hermes. Anna, who works with us and makes all the costumes (and is increasingly Dame of All Colouring) says she has had Hermes THREE times in readings recently, and demands to know what this means!

So. The first thing to say is that Hermes put himself into the deck last-minute and totally unexpectedly. That's why there is nothing about him in the book - when I wrote the book (and indeed when it was printed) I had no idea that this trickster god was about to barge his way in. Although I had had warnings...

I think I need to find a picture or two to explain all this, but basically we were working with a miniature hand-made tiny and incredible bronze of Mercury/Hermes - and somehow it kept wanting to get into the pictures. In the end, I said "okay, let's put him in the deck" - as you may know, printing sheets have room for 80 cards and so after the title card there is always a question of whether to use card 80 or not. Hermes was jumping up and down (he does jump a lot, have you noticed?) and demanding to go in. At that time I also had a conversation with Rachel Pollack about Hermes and her article about him (on her site) and so I took that as yet another nudge.

So in went Hermes...literally on the day we went to print with the final cards.

Now I have to work out how to read with the card, as yes, Hermes seems to come up in a disproportionate number of readings.

The card is in some ways quite close to the Magician, but he's also, in a sense the spirit of the deck. I will gather my thoughts and say more...
 

GryffinSong

I've always known Hermes as the messenger, and love this card in that context. I've only had this deck a few short hours, but this card captures my attention as much as any. My first thought when I saw the card was that the lady in green had a message to send to someone special. Hermes looks like he's about to take off, and she holds a paw out as if to stop him. "Hey, wait ... I've a very special message ... will you carry it for me?"

In addition to the interesting possibilities for interpretation, this is one of my favorite cat breeds, and my favorite shade of green (on her gown). I'm very happy that this made it into the deck!

From Wiki ...

Hermes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messenger of the gods
God of commerce, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, and border crossings, guide to the Underworld
Abode Mount Olympus
Symbol Caduceus, Talaria, Tortoise, Lyre, Rooster,
Consort Merope, Aphrodite, Dryope, Peitho
Parents Zeus and Maia
Roman equivalent Mercury

Hermes ( /ˈhɜrmiːz/; Greek Ἑρμῆς) is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves,[1] of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics and sports, of weights and measures, of invention, and of commerce in general.[2] His symbols include the tortoise, the rooster, the winged sandals, the winged hat, and the caduceus.

In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion (see interpretatio romana), Hermes was identified with the Roman god Mercury, who, though inherited from the Etruscans, developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.

The Homeric hymn to Hermes invokes him as the one "of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."[3]

He protects and takes care of all the travelers, miscreants, harlots, old crones and thieves that pray to him or cross his path. He is athletic and is always looking out for runners, or any athletes with injuries who need his help.

Hermes is a messenger from the gods to humans, sharing this role with Iris. An interpreter who bridges the boundaries with strangers is a hermeneus. Hermes gives us our word "hermeneutics", the study and theory of interpretation. In Greek a lucky find was a hermaion. Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world. He wears shoes with wings on them and uses them to fly freely between the mortal and immortal world. Hermes was the second youngest of the Olympian gods, being born before Dionysus.

Hermes, as an inventor of fire,[4] is a parallel of the Titan, Prometheus. In addition to the lyre, Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sports of wrestling and boxing, and therefore was a patron of athletes.[5]

According to prominent folklorist Yeleazar Meletinsky, Hermes is a deified trickster.[6] Hermes also served as a psychopomp, or an escort for the dead to help them find their way to the afterlife (the Underworld in the Greek myths). In many Greek myths, Hermes was depicted as the only god besides Hades, Persephone, Hecate, and Thanatos who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance.

Hermes often helped travelers have a safe and easy journey. Many Greeks would sacrifice to Hermes before any trip.

In the fully-developed Olympian pantheon, Hermes was the son of Zeus and the Pleiade Maia, a daughter of the Titan Atlas. Hermes' symbols were the rooster and the tortoise, and he can be recognized by his purse or pouch, winged sandals, winged cap, and the herald's staff, the kerykeion. The night he was born he slipped away from Maia and stole his elder brother Apollo's cattle.
 

Belinda2

Hi have the 2nd ed set which has the Tarot reader- if that shows up in your reading what do you make of it ( I only have the LWB which dosen't discuss it) ? I also heard that they would be publishing the cards once again, I am getting their news letter but have not yet heard anything yet. I heard it was this year sometime?