samantha

What do you make of the background in this card ?

For me it has a middle eastern feel .....whilst all of the other
cards feel as though they are located somewhere in Europe
(or eastern europe) . Plus the guy looks as though he is
wearing a Fez (?) .

Since he has been assigned the role of the thief I had better be
careful what I say .....still , maybe this is a sign of a non pc assumption in the mind of the artist ??!!

It could be that the tents in the background are meant to be
similar to the ones used at the time of jousting tournaments in
Medieval England .....so perhaps its only the context here which
is wrong , and which jars with me somehow .

Its the only card in the deck which has this effect on me (*there
there, take the little green pill*) , but I'm asking myself the same
questions each time I see it .

Minderwiz

I can see what you mean. However, to me the hat appears to have a fur ruff at the base, there is a break in it just above and forward of his right ear. There are similar ruffs around the tops of his boots. So I feel his hat is not a fez but is a round hat with a high crown and fur ruff. His hair underneath the hat appears to be blond and curly.

I also think his dress looks rather medievally European so I don't think it is out of place with the rest of the suite (and deck).

I wonder what other people think?

__________________
Minderwiz

Wer meines Speeres
Spittze furchtet
durchschreite das Feuer nie!

Wotan, Die Walkure, Act III, Scene 3

samantha

Ok! Perhaps I can concur on the hat ....!! But my guy definately
has jet black curls , rather than the JP Gaultier look as sported
by yours !!

And the more I look at the card , the more I "see" the bedouin
camp site ....or something of a similar ilk . It just doesn't feel
European !! And maybe its not meant to be ? And if not , why
not ?

Yes , please !! what does any one else think ?

Macavity

I wondered if it was a "Crusader" encampment and the gentleman making off with the swords was... perhaps a "Tartar" - as in Turkish speaking central asian, ex-soviet union and all that good stuff? My geography is lousy

Macavity

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Minderwiz

My version has definitely got blond hair! Not sure about the Tents, could be crusaders or any other medieval knight-type tent

Its also possible it could be both 'Middle East' and 'European' don't forget that the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453 and went on to hold much of Greece and the Balkans until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They also reached the Gates of Vienna, so there's lots of possible fighting there. Indeed thinking about it, the dress does look vaguely Balkan - but then I might be introducing red herrings here LOL

Also I undestand that Blond Turks are not unusual.

__________________
Minderwiz

Wer meines Speeres
Spittze furchtet
durchschreite das Feuer nie!

Wotan, Die Walkure, Act III, Scene 3

samantha

Ah , yes !! I had thought of it representing some annexed
country .....but this still leads me to wonder why she
only includes it the once ? And whether this has some
bearing on the cards meaning , or whether it is totally arbitrary.

Does anyone know what kind of reference material (if any) she
went to before drawing these cards ?

Chronata

I had a teacher who explained the backround of this card to me as a representation of a festival...a sort of circus gypsy camp kind of thing.
And that the little figures in the back are not about to get ready for a battle, but rather, gathering around a fire for entertainment.

And then there's that double line horizon, which has always been explained to me as things behind it are in the past....

Hmmm...never really considered it to be out of place before, but I can sure see what you mean!

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Robyn T Hollister
Professional Dreamer Studios

*All Hallows Tarot*ChronaTarot*Tarot Noir*Minute Deck

samantha

Hmm , Gypsy camp is an interesting take on it Chronata .....I
could imagine this guy working for a fairground . ( Perhaps the
Magician is one of the background group !! Anyone got a
high power magnifying glass?)

I've never noticed the double lines ! Thanks for bringing this
up .......*off to investigate futher*

WalesWoman

This card is something else to decipher that's for sure. There is another thread here about the staged look of many of the minors and this is one that looks almost like a set. (Note that his shadow stops or is cut off and doesn't extend past the line dividing him from the desert tents side and he looks like he's taking a bow with a bouquet of swords)
The Crusades is a good guess for the medeival look of the cards, hadn't occured to me until I started reading this thread. One of the meanings I read for this card is the use of diplomacy, especially when in the "enemy" camp or dealing with animosity. So that makes sense. So I'm trying to think here, if this card might mean stepping away from some "crusade" that isn't going well, is meeting a lot of opposition, bowing out perhaps, to fight again another day? Or taking ideas that can be used to your advantage, or atleast ones that can't be used against you? The tents really are colorful, like a festival, but I was thinking of negotiations, like that is what is happening around the campfire and this guy is stealing unneccesary conflicts from it?

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