A State of Abstraction - Le Bateleur

[Bernice]

Hi Rosanne & Lumen,

I think I should perhaps have been less brief in my description of this card in my previous post. Given the research Rosanne has done and the points made in this discussion I no longer see this guy as an out-and-out flim-flam man. I Recalled that in those times people were fond of punning and were also quite irreverant!

So here's my (I hope) clearer 'meaning' for him if used in readings:-

~ Skillfull at what he does as he walks a 'thin line' in executing his job/undertaking. (Like a ight-rope waker).

~ Operates within the civil/legal/moral codes of the environment/culture. (As does a rope-walker who must contend with physical laws).

~ Most likely a 'professional' who is shrewd/astute, knows how and where to make a 'killing'. Like a bird of prey. (Mental = Airey)

~ Neither good nor bad. Much would depend on accompanying cards &/or the question.

~ Someone (or some legitimate body) able to settle said civil or legal disputes. If he should turn up as an answer to "what can I do?", then the client should perhaps call in expert or experienced advice. Might have to pay for it though.


I feel more confident about this fellow now if he turns up in a spread.

..... just wondering..... which trump might signify a doctor, or better still one skilled in diagnosis?


Bee x.

ETA:
I don't see a Life Journey in the tarot trumps. I suspect that the gaming 'points' were set the way they are because of the general way that people felt about their society at that time. Clearly (as Moonbow said) this fellow wasn't very highly regarded!

[Lumen]

Hi Bernice and Rosanne,

I have to go with your assessment of Le Bateuleur when it comes to its creation in the past, as I don't have any knowledge of past application and who exactly Le Bateuleur symbolized then, other than the information I gather from AT.

My knowledge of history is on the general European colonization, and more specifically, a substantial knowledge on the colonization of Latin America. My specialty is symbolic anthropology, and with this knowledge I can read symbols and connect them to history, events, actions, and practices.

So, applying my knowledge, as for today, if we look at the society in general, this guy represents the shrewd business people who are out to enrich themselves at the expense of your needs. If you watch Inside Job you'll see that the guys who swindled the population out of their houses and jobs were very much those who were walking a fine line between moral and immoral, in fact, like the purse on Bateuleur's table, they were enriching themselves at the expense of the common people (Le Mat, perhaps?), and the outrageous amount of money they made out of nothing and out of deception and manipulation of the financial and political systems. Clearly, a Bateuleur experience.

Rosanne, yes, Le Diable may represent the corporations, but I think that it represents material and money, in the case of the actual financial crisis, where Le Bateuleur is enslaved by the material possessions and and enslaving others in order to increase their possessions ad infinitum (like Le Bateuleur's hat).

As for a doctor who can diagnose I think Le Pape is the most likely, as he guides you back to the right path, and perhaps Le Temperance. But this angel is more like the nurse or the treatment itself, helping one to recover. And L'Impereur could also be a doctor, albeit a stern one, very competent, or even a psychiatrist.

Now my turn: I wonder who may represent the 99% or the population that was deceived/enslaved by Bateuleur+Diable, and is now facing homelessness and material downfall? When the population entered in an agreement with financial system, they were Le Mat, but now, as the people are aware of the deception, where are they, and what card represents their plight and actual condition?

[Rosanne]

Ah thanks Bee........ and Lumen I think the turn this thread has taken deserves/merits a thread of it's own and I have taken a liberty in starting one.....In Talking Tarot.
Be back with more stuff on Bateleurs iconology shortly......

~Rosanne

[LRichard]

In Reading the Marseille Tarot, JMD remarks that Le Bateleur is suggestive of a priest celebrating mass. I really think the image may a parody of that, with the priest in outlandish street garb.