sapienza
One of the things I love about working with the Nigel Jackson deck is that with the minors you can generally find Etteilla's meanings and the Golden Dawn meanings somewhere in the illustration. I guess that is kind of the same as with the Waite deck, but I see a bit more of Etteilla in this one, which I like. I think this card is really very clever in this respect.
In the image we see a man on a bed with his forearm covering his eys. Beside the bed stands a creature with the naked body of a woman and a birdlike head, with glowing red eyes. The figure is surrounded by fire and her arm reaches out towards the man on the bed who is turning away.
In the little booklet that comes with the deck Jackson gives the divinatory meanings as follows: Ominous signs, failure and disappointment, martyrdom, new life out of suffering. Jackson also sees this card as debilitating fear, nightmare, anxiety and unease. This fits perfectly with the imagery which is no surprise seeing he designed the deck.
Etteilla, and Waite for that matter, both list one of the meanings of this card as a priest with Etteilla also including celibacy, virginity, a bachelor, convent, piety, devotion and recluse among the possible meanings. Fear, suspicion and shame are among his reversed meanings.
The Golden Dawn call this card the Lord of Despair and Cruelty. Waite went further to say it was a bad omen, possibly predicting death as well as disappointment, despair, and reversed imprisonment, shame and suspicion.
In this image it is easy to see the fear, bad omen, nightmare, despair and unease. One could suggest that a naked female body may be the last thing a priest would want to see beside his bed as well which to me brings in the idea of celibacy, martyrdom and any self-imposed restrictions that cause one suffering or anxiety. This could go further to cover things such as eating disorders or self-harm.
Basically if this card comes up in a reading it would indicate to me that something is causing a great deal of pain or anxiety or worry, a sense of foreboding, some kind of suffering, possibly self-imposed and if nothing is obvious, then it would serve as a warning to keep focused on what is real rather than allowing oneself to get carried away with fears and worries that may not be the reality of the situation.
In the image we see a man on a bed with his forearm covering his eys. Beside the bed stands a creature with the naked body of a woman and a birdlike head, with glowing red eyes. The figure is surrounded by fire and her arm reaches out towards the man on the bed who is turning away.
In the little booklet that comes with the deck Jackson gives the divinatory meanings as follows: Ominous signs, failure and disappointment, martyrdom, new life out of suffering. Jackson also sees this card as debilitating fear, nightmare, anxiety and unease. This fits perfectly with the imagery which is no surprise seeing he designed the deck.
Etteilla, and Waite for that matter, both list one of the meanings of this card as a priest with Etteilla also including celibacy, virginity, a bachelor, convent, piety, devotion and recluse among the possible meanings. Fear, suspicion and shame are among his reversed meanings.
The Golden Dawn call this card the Lord of Despair and Cruelty. Waite went further to say it was a bad omen, possibly predicting death as well as disappointment, despair, and reversed imprisonment, shame and suspicion.
In this image it is easy to see the fear, bad omen, nightmare, despair and unease. One could suggest that a naked female body may be the last thing a priest would want to see beside his bed as well which to me brings in the idea of celibacy, martyrdom and any self-imposed restrictions that cause one suffering or anxiety. This could go further to cover things such as eating disorders or self-harm.
Basically if this card comes up in a reading it would indicate to me that something is causing a great deal of pain or anxiety or worry, a sense of foreboding, some kind of suffering, possibly self-imposed and if nothing is obvious, then it would serve as a warning to keep focused on what is real rather than allowing oneself to get carried away with fears and worries that may not be the reality of the situation.
