Thirteen
I'm lovin' this deck but I've got one bone to pick with the creator: In both the Wheel and the World cards of the Revelations Tarot he has the typical foursome of Fixed Zodiac signs, symbolizing Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Namely: Taurus (Bull), Aquarius (Man), Eagle (Scorpio) and Lion (Leo).
Okay, so far so good--these are traditional, and in his description of the World Card he *affirms* that they do, indeed, stand for those Zodiac signs; that they're not just there to symbolize the four elements. He goes on to say, however, that "The lion head" stands "for summer...the angel...for spring...the bull...for autumn...and the eagle for winter...."
Wait a minute! Hold the phone. That don't make no sense! I mean, if we're in the Southern half of the world, then, yes, the Bull/Taurus IS Autumn (April/May)...but then Leo/Lion (July/August) is WINTER! And if we're in the Northern Half of the world then, yes, Leo is Summer...but then Taurus (April/May) has to be spring! And last I looked Scorpio was October/November and THAT is autumn, while Aquarius is January/Feb which is Winter.
In fact, these signs were deliberately picked by the Golden Dawn folk for their tarot decks because they come at times of the year which, in old Pagan terms, mark those seasons. Scorpio appears around the same time as Halloween, which celebrates the last great harvest of Autumn. Taurus comes at with May Day, a greater Celebration of Spring there never was! How can these be ignored?
Now I don't, frankly, mind if he wants to make Cups/Water stand for Winter and Pentacls/Earth for Autumn--there's always been controversy over which element is which season. But when you connect those elements to particular Zodiac signs, how can you possibly ignore when those signs appear in the calendar year--and which season they appear in?
I don't think I'm going to pay much attention to the book on this score. It's one of those problems so many Tarot Deck authors seem to have--they play fast and lose with the Zodiac signs. Anyone else troubled by this?
Okay, so far so good--these are traditional, and in his description of the World Card he *affirms* that they do, indeed, stand for those Zodiac signs; that they're not just there to symbolize the four elements. He goes on to say, however, that "The lion head" stands "for summer...the angel...for spring...the bull...for autumn...and the eagle for winter...."
Wait a minute! Hold the phone. That don't make no sense! I mean, if we're in the Southern half of the world, then, yes, the Bull/Taurus IS Autumn (April/May)...but then Leo/Lion (July/August) is WINTER! And if we're in the Northern Half of the world then, yes, Leo is Summer...but then Taurus (April/May) has to be spring! And last I looked Scorpio was October/November and THAT is autumn, while Aquarius is January/Feb which is Winter.
In fact, these signs were deliberately picked by the Golden Dawn folk for their tarot decks because they come at times of the year which, in old Pagan terms, mark those seasons. Scorpio appears around the same time as Halloween, which celebrates the last great harvest of Autumn. Taurus comes at with May Day, a greater Celebration of Spring there never was! How can these be ignored?
Now I don't, frankly, mind if he wants to make Cups/Water stand for Winter and Pentacls/Earth for Autumn--there's always been controversy over which element is which season. But when you connect those elements to particular Zodiac signs, how can you possibly ignore when those signs appear in the calendar year--and which season they appear in?
I don't think I'm going to pay much attention to the book on this score. It's one of those problems so many Tarot Deck authors seem to have--they play fast and lose with the Zodiac signs. Anyone else troubled by this?