Tarot Art Nouveau: The Hierophant

This card is different then other Hierophant cards, because instead of the usual Catholic pope or high priest, we have what appears to be a rabbi. He wears the yamaka (I know I butchered the spelling here. I'm not Jewish, so bear with me here kids..) and a brown robe with a fur collar (to me it looks pretty old.) He seems to a wise and strong spiritual leader to me. The top corners have yellow lilies. The bottom part of the backgrond has what looks like leaves or ribbons that are long and yellow, with green circles that are cut in half. The top half of the background has the familiar rosette with some six pointed stars (appropriate for a rabbi because the Star of David represents Judiasm.)

Ok, fine.

And now for the sixty four million dollar question. What the heck are those creepy bugs behind him and why are they there?!? My first thought was that they were Egyptian scarabs, (beetles that in ancient Egyptian mythology, pushed the sun disk through the sky and were common amulets) but I don't recall scarabs having huge pincers!

Any clues?

kippah or yarmulke (also called a kappel)

In my notes I have Gratitude for yellow lilies but who knows how that fits!

It is my understanding that scarabs are dung beetles, which is just gross to me. But I believe the corresponding symbolism would be more appropriate for the death card.

Here's what wiki has to say about these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle

However, the beetles on this card do look more like this. I have no idea what kind of beetle that is though. Scary, huh?

I'd really like to know what the design at the bottom sides of the card mean. Green spheres? I wish there was a book to explain why she put things on these cards.

I do like seeing Jewish symbols on this card. But the Jewish/Egyptian thing I'm not understanding. But then, I'm not Jewish.

The bugs makes the card creepier then I think it needed to be. I'll look some more online later.

Maybe the lilies are for appreciation of this man's wisdom and service to others.

Still puzzled...

The Beetle Issue

The beetle pictured is, I believe, a stag beetle (lucanus cervus, family lucanidae) , just like this little guy.

http://www.royalparks.org.uk/display_images/richmond_park/stag_beetles/big_beetle_topright.jpg

The proportion of the body segments, the legs, and the pincers are similar between the beetles on the Hierophant card and this creature. Also, notice the ruddy hue on the pincers.

Well, now that that's figured out, there's the issue of *why* these creatures are on the Hierophant card.

The argument that this is because of the beetle's behaviour is dubious. There is little said about the actions of this creature, except that males of the species wrestle with their pincers to claim women and territory. However, stag beetles are nonviolent toward humans. One might draw the connection of a hierophant arguing or debating with other religious scholars, but he is gentle towards the very human and relentlessly fallible fool. I think this is a stretch.

The more likely argument for the beetle's presence here is its artistic history. During he height of the Roman Empire, the stag beetle was referred to as lucanus cervus (Deer of Lucania) because these creatures were often used as amulets by the people of Lucania, a region in Italy. Note that this around the time of Christ, give or take a half century.

During the Renaissance, German artist and naturalist Albrecht Durer created several images featuring this beetle, most of which are images of the life and death of the Christ. Perhaps this is because of the imagery of the beetle that was fostered within the Roman Empire during Christ's life.

And it comes full-circle to our Hierophant. This man, with his yarmulke and earlocks that give him his decidedly Rabbanic look, may be an allusion to Christ, the ultimate Rabbi of the Christian people: Jesus Christ himself. The Christ figure fits the archetypal Hierophant to a T. According to Thirteen's Tarot Meanings, "the Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth." This was the function of Christ in the Christian religion. He was the image of God, made flesh, put on earth. He was a teacher who came in the midst of a crisis, to bring peace, harmony, and enlightenment.

Of course, only Antonella knows why the beetles are there, but this is food fo thought, now isn't it?

Sinduction said:

kippah or yarmulke (also called a kappel)

In my notes I have Gratitude for yellow lilies but who knows how that fits!

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Perhaps it implies one should have gratitude for tradition. Be thankful that you are able to learn from other's wisdom and knowledge. Learn from people or knowledge that has gone before you, and uphold these taditions.

Sinduction said:

It is my understanding that scarabs are dung beetles, which is just gross to me. But I believe the corresponding symbolism would be more appropriate for the death card.

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Maybe the bugs repesent tenacity. The ability to hold on, you know like cokroaches (and other insects too) being tough and theyve lasted thousands of years, and you can get swarms of them. Maybe its about traditional values being upheld, holding on to traditions etc. The ability to stick with tried and true, tested and they work, traditions. Hey why *would* a cockroach change, or evolve into a newer strain, its traditionally a helluva hardy bug!

I agree that this Hierophant is a Jewish Rabbi. Not only because of his looks but the presence of the Star of David on the background. There are three of them. The number 3 in the Jewish faith means holiness. I'm not sure if the color green has any special meaning in the Jewish faith, I can't find one. Green is the color of renewal and it being a ball of green, I would say the cycle of life. You can also say that the green balls represent a religious calendar.

I'm not sure why the beetles are on this card, I find them a little creepy. I don't like bugs! Yuck! From what I was reading on the internet about beetles is that they spend most of their adult life procreating. They also hide under the soil in the winter. So once again a cycle of life and possible the spread of faith. Even though this card creeps me out with the bugs, it's one of the most interesting Hierophant cards that I've seen.

The Hermit was the only card in this deck that confused me, exactly because of those 'bugs' in the background. The rest of the deck had a perfectly cohesive feel for me, so I just knew there had to be a reason for those bugs, too. Sure enough, there is. The stag beetle is apparently a specific motif in Art Nouveau style:

An exceptional repertoire of forms and colours emerge during the Art Nouveau period. The stag beetle, along with an entire regiment of insects, stimulated the imagination of numerous artists. For example, it can be seen amongst leaves teeming with beetles on a tablet from the Jules Auguste Habert-Dys collection. Maurice Pillard Verneuil produced a lovely strip motif in his “L’animal dans la décoration” (1897). The grand master of Art Nouveau, Alphonse Mucha, shows in an article entitled “Insectes” three studies dedicated to stag beetles: a Lucanus cervus in various positions, a lively decorated border with alternating stag beetles and sunflowers and
a splendid study of a vase with two lucanids.

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(...quoted from this article: http://www.saproxylic-beetles.com/doc/proc_articles/sprecher-Uebersax.pdf)

Here's another interesting article that further explains the beetle in religious culture:

In primitive and traditional cultures, shamans (medicine men) play very important roles. They are men of power, who are able to address issues in both the terrestrial and celestial worlds. They are able to "fly" in the sky, (in dreams or trances) and descend to subterranean hells where they act as mediators between infernal powers and ordinary men. With these talents held in high esteem, beetles were observed to fly in the sky and dive into the ground. In addition to their palatability, it is plausible to consider the importance of beetle symbolism within shamanic cultures; their vivid colors and spectacular horns aiding in their use as ornaments.

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(...quoted from http://www.insects.org/ced2/beetles_rel_sym.html.)

Both of these articles (and other random search results) really helped me to understand the stag beetle's existence in the Hierophant card.

here we see a seated man, clearly an elder, he has been on this earth for a very long time. this card usually shows a pope or priest at a church altar or some other depiction of them giving a sermon (or somewhere you can picture them giving a sermon, or doing other holy duties). in this card we see the man seated and nothing else in the foreground. the only similarities there are to the RW hierophant is that he IS making the same hand gesture, but his hand is in his lap. he's wearing a yarmulke and a robe, though not the white robe of a priest- it is beige and the collar is lined with some type of fur. the background is decorated with lillies and some type of beetle with huge pincers *beetles already explained above*

it seems the artist wanted to depict someone wise, with many years of life cultivating that knowledge, and also someone who is religious, but not tied to any *specific* religion. so, an intentionally ambiguous religious man.

so to me the man looks like a sage, someone you would go to for advice on matters of the up-most importance, not mundane trivialities. so this could be, to anyone, a spiritual or religious elder, but i don't feel like it *has* to be. in any case, he is a very trusted individual. it could also represent a father/ grandfather (fatherly figure) but definitely someone of authority and respect.

five: change, instability, volatile, find it necessary to adapt to unpleasant situations.

LWB: pity, faith, patience, relief and tolerance.

*since the fives represent change and instability, we could say that our fool, after living under the rigidity of the emperor, starts to grow rebellious as he gets older. he's not so sure he likes living in this world of rules and seeks advice. then he meets the hierophant. what knowledge he imparts on our fool, we will never know, but our fool comes away from the meeting with a better outlook, and heads out into the world to seek a more fulfilling existence. this is the first step our fool takes in the direction of leaving the child behind and becoming an adult.