Master_Margarita
This lovely card, called Strength in the conventional deck, shows Siddhartha on his twenty-ninth birthday, after he has ridden out from the gates of the palace and given away his horse, Kantaka. The day is bright and sunny and there are fluffy clouds in the sky. In the card he is about to cut all ties between himself and his life as a prince by cutting off his long princely hair. He is in transition, however, and not yet Gautama, because he is still adorned with jewels and red princely clothing. His sword has a jeweled handle.
In a bow to the traditional symbolism associated with this card, Siddhartha sits on the back of a snow lion (not part of the way this icon is traditionally depicted in Buddhist art). The lion faces to the left but looks back over his left shoulder, snarling at Siddhartha.
In Buddhism, Siddhartha cutting his hair is the standard symbol representing his break with his formerly undisciplined life and his acceptance of the phase of his life marked by asceticism. This card represents self-mastery but bears a reminder that even discipline itself must be disciplined.
Note that in the life of the Buddha, the scene of this card comes after the scenes depicted in the next two cards of the major arcana, XII and XIII.
Your thoughts?
In a bow to the traditional symbolism associated with this card, Siddhartha sits on the back of a snow lion (not part of the way this icon is traditionally depicted in Buddhist art). The lion faces to the left but looks back over his left shoulder, snarling at Siddhartha.
In Buddhism, Siddhartha cutting his hair is the standard symbol representing his break with his formerly undisciplined life and his acceptance of the phase of his life marked by asceticism. This card represents self-mastery but bears a reminder that even discipline itself must be disciplined.
Note that in the life of the Buddha, the scene of this card comes after the scenes depicted in the next two cards of the major arcana, XII and XIII.
Your thoughts?
