Windhorse
more ferry-folks
I have re-visited this thread after soooo many months because I am thinking of putting together an article on the swords-suit's general mistrust and confusion by so many tarot readers, and I am thinking of perhaps focussing on the 6 of swords.
I have recently (well, a couple of months now, at least) gotten my dirty little paws on Ciro Marchetti's awesome two decks - the Gilded and the Tarot of Dreams. In both decks, there are representations of this card implying 'journey' with the symbol of the ferry.
In the Gilded Tarot, the image is of a hooded/robed woman moving herself along a waterway at night. She alone appears to be in the ferry, along with her 6 swords. My very first immediate reaction was "Mists of Avalon" (the novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley), and that the figure was Morgaine or some other High Priestess of Avalon travelling across the misty waters that hide the isle of Avalon from the mundane world. My thoughts immediately came back to this discussion and the ideas presented thus far.
Marchetti's Tarot of Dreams then shows a masked figure on a ferry, also pushing themselves along at night. But one gets the vibe that is Charon himself, not some gorgeous Priestess from Avalon - this is THE Ferryman extraordinaire, the one who ferries the River Styx itself, transporting the dead souls to the Underworld realm of Hades.
Two different myths from different cultures - but both point to the same idea.The idea of the mystical journey to 'another realm', one that is somewhat different to the mundane one we are a part of.
I think we are looking at a card that is going somewhat deeper than the usual interpretations. The Journey is a metaphor, and the science is the ability to remove oneself from a situation enough to be completely objective and unbiased. I think I stand by the quote from Seng Ts'an (which I have already quoted):
"If you work on your mind, with your mind, how can you avoid an immense confusion?"
There may be only one vantage point on the Tree of Life where we can see the validity and flaws of all paths - and that is from Tiphareth in the Realm of Yetzirah: the 6 of Swords!
mitakuye oyasin
P
I have re-visited this thread after soooo many months because I am thinking of putting together an article on the swords-suit's general mistrust and confusion by so many tarot readers, and I am thinking of perhaps focussing on the 6 of swords.
I have recently (well, a couple of months now, at least) gotten my dirty little paws on Ciro Marchetti's awesome two decks - the Gilded and the Tarot of Dreams. In both decks, there are representations of this card implying 'journey' with the symbol of the ferry.
In the Gilded Tarot, the image is of a hooded/robed woman moving herself along a waterway at night. She alone appears to be in the ferry, along with her 6 swords. My very first immediate reaction was "Mists of Avalon" (the novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley), and that the figure was Morgaine or some other High Priestess of Avalon travelling across the misty waters that hide the isle of Avalon from the mundane world. My thoughts immediately came back to this discussion and the ideas presented thus far.
Marchetti's Tarot of Dreams then shows a masked figure on a ferry, also pushing themselves along at night. But one gets the vibe that is Charon himself, not some gorgeous Priestess from Avalon - this is THE Ferryman extraordinaire, the one who ferries the River Styx itself, transporting the dead souls to the Underworld realm of Hades.
Two different myths from different cultures - but both point to the same idea.The idea of the mystical journey to 'another realm', one that is somewhat different to the mundane one we are a part of.
I think we are looking at a card that is going somewhat deeper than the usual interpretations. The Journey is a metaphor, and the science is the ability to remove oneself from a situation enough to be completely objective and unbiased. I think I stand by the quote from Seng Ts'an (which I have already quoted):
"If you work on your mind, with your mind, how can you avoid an immense confusion?"
There may be only one vantage point on the Tree of Life where we can see the validity and flaws of all paths - and that is from Tiphareth in the Realm of Yetzirah: the 6 of Swords!
mitakuye oyasin
P
