Mel's Old Fashioned Pips & Courts and Homemade Baked Goods

Cactus Dahlia

Thank you for the great work you are doing Mel. To replenish your energy I've just baked you a moist milk chocolate cake. I have filled it with fresh whipped cream and glazed it with dark chocolate icing and walnut halves. It looks delicious doesn't it. Enjoy! :)

I'm finding your interpretations fit beautifully with the unillustrated pips in my Meneghello Tarocco Soprafino deck. The floral embellishments on them are actually talking to me now. (Well on some of them at least!) :laugh:
 

Melanchollic

YES! Walnuts!! That's what I've been craving!! Dahlia, you're a Star!
 

Melanchollic

Knight of Swords

KNIGHT OF SWORDS

Nickname - "The Revolutionary"
Element - Fire/Air
Temper - Choleric Sanguine
Power - Hot
Timing - Fast
Movement - Separating
Direction - Southeast
In the cycle of a year - May/June
In the cycle of a day - Late Morning
In the cycle of a life - Age 7~14
Sex - Male
Similar Cards - 1 Cups, King Cups, 7 Cups, 9 Swords, 5 Swords, 3 Swords



The nature of the Knight, and the explosive Power of Heat (Air+Fire) make this Knight a revolutionary. The fast/separating energy coupled with the mobility of the Knight gives him a tendency to 'overthrow' what ever has become stale, complaisant, or useless. Compared to the Valet of Swords who fights from a sense of duty, the Knight fights because it is his nature. He craves battle. His speed and force, both physically and mentally, make him a great warrior, and he soon rises to leadership. A Sword Knight can only serve a Sword King, who rules with absolute naked force and authority, for his Hot nature would see anything else as weak and he would overthrow a 'lesser' King. (We won't mention what he'd do to a 'lesser' Queen.) Most likely, the Sword King rose up from being a Sword Knight, and knows his nature, and will slay the Knight in a heartbeat if he is suspect. This is good, since the manifestation of the Knight in the pips is the 5 of Swords, Assassin, and the Knight of Swords had no qualms about 'overthrowing' something by stealth.

We should not see him as treacherous however, for under the right King, he is the very hand of Justice (Again connecting to the 5). Without Sword Knights, few battles could be won. These words of Thomas Jefferson illustrate the need for such as he,

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure."
 

Melanchollic

Knight of Cups

KNIGHT OF CUPS

Nickname - "The Charmer"
Element - Air/Air
Temper - Sanguine
Power - Hot/Wet
Timing - Fast/Short
Movement - Separating/Flexible
Direction - East
In the cycle of a year - April
In the cycle of a day - Dawn
In the cycle of a life - Age 0~7
Sex - Male
Similar Cards - 9 Cups, 5 Cups, 3 Cups



The Knight of Cups is of pure Sanguine temperament. He is gifted with that magical balance of traits (Hot & Moist) that make him irresistible to others. He is a natural 'people person'. His representative in the pips is the 5 of Cups, "The Proposal", and he is the right man to make any proposal, be it in the boardroom, or the bedroom. While the Knight of Cups may lack the 'real' skills of the other knights, none can compare to his charisma, and even those bitter fellows whose ladies he's stolen away, can't deny his charm.

On the tetractys, charm is on a higher level than ability. An interesting and sobering thought, but very true I think, particularly in our age where mass media and the power of 'image' had become almost god-like in its influence on people. Most of us haven't got an opinion in our heads that hasn't been put there by the mass media. Music is certainly the clearest example. Contemporary popular music, when stripped of its 'fashionability' factor, and its 'cult of personality' is, from the aspect of the technical training and ability needed to compose and perform it, absolute rubbish. The triumph of 'charm' over 'virtuosity'.



cup-tetrasm.jpg
 

Bernice

Instead of a 'card per postion' spread, let us suppose a combination of cards as follows:

4 Batons (Stagnation) + 6 Swords (Forced Convergence) + Knight of Cups (The Charmer)

So this might be read as:

"A persistant, ridgidly unhappy situation is forced into having to make change(s), via very pleasant and persuasive means." ?

So these (Mels) meanings can be applied to any type of 'spread' or query :)

Here's a large bag of mixed nuts for you Mel....

Bee
 

SolSionnach

I thought the mixed nuts were those of us following this thread!

(ba-da-BUM)

I'm going to be without internet access (OH WOE!!!) for a bit, as I'm off tomorrow evening (be back late Monday).

Hold down the fort for me, Bee!

I'll be back with some Hot Cross Buns and Pan Dulce.
 

Melanchollic

Bernice said:
Instead of a 'card per postion' spread, let us suppose a combination of cards as follows:

4 Batons (Stagnation) + 6 Swords (Forced Convergence) + Knight of Cups (The Charmer)

So this might be read as:

"A persistant, ridgidly unhappy situation is forced into having to make change(s), via very pleasant and persuasive means." ?

So these (Mels) meanings can be applied to any type of 'spread' or query :)

Here's a large bag of mixed nuts for you Mel....

Bee


Mmmm. Nice. I think you better sit down and have some of these nuts with me. I just happen to have some fine cheese and a bottle of wine too!

These little nicknames of course are not in anyway definitive of the cards meaning, though I try to 'sum up' how I see the energies of suit + number + dignity coming together, and they should be seen as merely a mnemonic tool to bring ones perspective into the general neighborhood. Even within the confines of this approach, there is plenty of room for disagreement and personal preference. The same can be said of course about the rather subjective commentary.

From using this approach for a while now, I've found the real beauty of it is in the 'Timing', 'Movement', and 'Sex' (indicating Passive/Active/Neutral). Considering these three aspects in relation to the querent's question is so flexible, yet can give really specific information.

My reasoning tends to look like a physics experiment sometimes,

"He's long of duration, formative, contracting and rigid, she's fast in initiation of movement, and separating. How are these energies going to interact?" :D


sravana said:
I thought the mixed nuts were those of us following this thread!

:shhh: Shhh. You're not suppose to tell anyone..
 

Melanchollic

KNIGHT OF COINS

Nickname - "The Good Merchant"
Element - Air/Water
Temper - Sanguine Phlegmatic
Power - Wet
Timing - Short
Movement - Flexible
Direction - Northeast
In the cycle of a year - February/March
In the cycle of a day - Late Night
In the cycle of a life - Age 70~Death
Sex - Female
Similar Cards - 9 Coins, 5 Coins, 3 Coins, 8 Cups, 6 Cups, 2 of Cups, Queen Cups



The combination of Air/Water share the Moist Power. This makes the Knight of Coins fluid, flexible, accommodating and empathetic. He is directly connected by the tetractys to the 5 of Coins (Diplomacy), and is the personification, indeed the enabler, of tactfulness and savoir faire.

The mobile nature of the knight, and the need for a knightly quest, suggests a motivation here. He may apply his flexible, accommodating temperament toward salesmanship, trade, or other profitable negotiations. Like any great master of the 'soft-sell', this Knight projects a sense of ease, honesty and understanding.

Looking at the tetractys, the ideal is that merchants (the Knight) function as not only the purveyor of goods and services, but as an understanding 'accommodator' of goods and services, which insure the comfort and gratitude of the consumer (the Valet). Supply and Demand personified.




coin-tetrasm.jpg
 

Melanchollic

Knight of Batons

KNIGHT OF BATONS

Nickname - "The Innovator"
Element - Air/Earth
Temper - Sanguine Melancholic
Power - all
Timing - random
Movement - random
Direction - East West axis
In the cycle of a year - none
In the cycle of a day - none
In the cycle of a life - none
Sex - both
Cards - 3 Batons, 5 Batons, 9 Batons, 10 Cups, 4 Cups, Valet Cups



The Earth of the Batons, and the Air of the Knight are natural opposites, which are sometimes difficult to reconcile. Yet since there is also no lack of any quality, when they find a way to work together, they can be exceedingly productive, creative and energetic. Here, like with the Valet of Cups it is well dignified.

The Knight of Batons brings this productive and creative energy to focus on tasks and labors. He is an innovator, a problem solver, and brings airy inventiveness to the problem of earthy tasks. He looks for a better, more efficient way to getting ones work done, be it via some device or through some method of systemization.

On the tetractys he sits above the Valet, industriousness, which is the natural foundation for his innovations. The necessity of wanting to be more industrious is the mother of the Knights invention. ;)



baton-tetrasm.jpg
 

SolSionnach

Beautiful, Mel!

I'm outta here for several days, please carry on without me... and have a basketful of strawberry-filled croissants!

:* to all..