Sophie-David
Try as I might Leo, I cannot see more than one dog or see one dead body on top of the other. I do see another dead man in the middle distance behind Arthur, wearing a yellow cloak, chainmail and a spear in this chest. But it wouldn't be the first time that I haven't seen all the things that are in these cards, that does seem to be a problem for me with this deck.Leo62 said:Looking at this card again, I've noticed for the first time that there are two bodies, one draped over the other. Presumably these are Arthur and Mordred, who have done a "Darwin awards" and killed each other, wiping out their line.
The dog - my first impression was that he was about to take a bite out of the dead bodies (yuk); but I've also just noticed that there is another dog behind the first one, snarling at him.
No matter how many dogs there are, and whether or not they are snarling, I do agree with you about the "utter futility of war", and thank you for quoting the Yeats poem too.Leo62 said:To me, this card speaks to the utter futility of war. I have to say, I don't find anything redeeming about it. I agree, it's a lot more realistic than the RWS 10 of Swords; this card captures the real, fierce chaos of battle and shows (to some extent) the truth of its consequences.
The snarling dogs say to me that all restraint on aggressive instincts has been lost and when people descend to this level of bloodlust the consequences are always death and destruction. It reminds me of the famous Yeats poem:
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
Sorry to put such a downer on things..