[The 78th Fool]

If I was going to start any thread about this fantastic deck, it had to be with Card no. II.

For anyone who doesn't have this deck (yet ?) The traditional High Priestess has been replaced with a male figure called 'The Intuitive'.

I now understand the sheer pleasure that many women can derive from feminist/ Goddess decks because the Gay Tarot fulfills the same purpose for me and this card in particular.

I've always identified with the High Priestess but I didn't realise just how much until I saw the Intutive card. Here is the same principle but in Male form.

The image is so simple: A beautiful young man, bathed in moonlight. The moon itself is seen reflected in a deep pool. His eyes are closed and you get a real feeling of his connectedness to something - but what ? His facial expression could mean many things - pain, serenety, concentration, peace. In many ways, the card is as ambiguous as the Intuitive himself and that's what works for me. You never quite know what he's picking up on - which makes him both alluring and dangerous.

Chris. xx

[telcontar]

Hi Chris.

And again you hit the nail on the head. I never particularly liked the High Priestess. Something was wrong, she made me nervous. And then The Intuitive came- and I loved him. At once I knew what was wrong with the High Priestess- right principle, wrong gender It's easy to say "they're archetypes, gender/sex doesn't matter"- anyway, I think it sometimes makes it harder to connect.

I particularly like the Twos in this deck with the intuitive, well, "in action" is not really the right expression

[Lee]

His eyes might be closed, or he might be looking at the reflection of the moon in the water... I honestly don't know which it is. It's a mystery.

-- Lee

[The 78th Fool]

I'm really glad that it's a mystery to you as well Lee because that validate the whole ambiguity of the card to me in a very powerful way and it's that very ambiguity and mystery that makes him so powerful.

Chris. xx

[Elentir]

Ooh, this sounds like it may become one of my favorite cards in the deck, too-- once I get a chance to see it!

This sounds like a real sexy card to me. It's funny, but I hardly ever think of Tarot images as "sexy." I guess that's because of the decks I have/use, but I think it's going to make using this deck much more fun. (The only Tarot card that comes to mind when I think "sexy" is the Hanged Man from the Arcus Arcanum deck. I don't really own any erotically themed decks... I suppose mainly because they're all straight , but also because I tend not to like the artwork. Whenever I buy a new deck, if I don't like the Lovers card, it often "makes or breaks" my interest in it.)

I heartily agree with both Telcontar ("At once I knew what was wrong with the High Priestess-- right principle, wrong gender") and The 78th Fool ("I now understand the sheer pleasure that many women can derive from feminist/Goddess decks")-- the traditional High Priestess means far less to me than this card does (or "will" I should say... *sigh*).

[The 78th Fool]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Elentir
[B]Ooh, this sounds like it may become one of my favorite cards in the deck, too-- once I get a chance to see it!

Here it is! (See attachment).

Chris. xx

[Elentir]

Thank you!

You're right, his expression could be read in many different ways!

OK, I admit that in my mind's eye, he didn't have a shirt on...but it's STILL a sexy card!

[The 78th Fool]

Anyone can dream! - I think he's sexy even with the shirt on !!

Chris. xx

[Lee]

If the Intuitive is seen as looking at the moon's reflection, then the fact that he is doing so might suggest the inability of the conscious mind to directly apprehend the subconscious, instead needing to rely on dreams and intuitions in order to begin to grasp the contents of the subconscious mind (the dark body of water, of which the Intuitive can only see the surface; or the moon, which the Intuitive can only perceive as a reflection [the proverbial "finger pointing at the moon."]).

Oh, and thanks for posting the scan, Chris!

-- Lee

[telcontar]

I think it was in Iron John by Robert Bly that I read about "the trace the moon leaves on the water". It was about following the femme fatale, or the perfect woman, and never getting even near her. For me it has become a great mataphor for any crank I might have and for the blind spots that causes, too. I imagine The Intuitive as beyond those limits- he knows all the tricks he could play himself, he can perceive what's in the "dark body of water"- and he doesn't follow the moon's trace on the water (like The Fool probably would) without consciously deciding to go exploring there. It's all this knowledge that makes him sexy, I think. And so the shirt is part of the concept- the High Priestesses veil in another place but still teasingly hiding something you want to see By the way- this guy's the trace of the moon himself

Originally posted by Elentir
The only Tarot card that comes to mind when I think "sexy" is the Hanged Man from the Arcus Arcanum deck.

Looked this card up and don't like him too much. These trousers No it's just that I've never particularly liked blondes. Don't want to spoil him to you! You may even keep him.