Swordfight on 9 of Swords

Here is a close-up image scan of the weird Bedside Carving
on the 9 of Swords from the Pamela Colman Smith Tarot...

Click on to view: Mysterious Swordfight Carving on Bed.

Notice too, the artist has placed her signature initials there,
not in the usual right hand corner, but near to this scene...

Even under a magnifying glass, it is hard to make out details.
Could this be a scene from the Irish Folk Legends Pam loved?

*

Edited to add:


I have (personally) come to the conclusion
that the scene on the bedside illustrates
the dream that has woken the person...

That is why (I think) it is shown there...
to provide a clue to the Reader about it.

So (to me) the person wakes up, troubled,
after having a distrubing dream and it was
pictured on the card to illustrate just what.

It looks to me that one of the images is sitting and the other is on the attack, which leads me to believe the struggle here is internal in the fact that a person who refuses to fight back. But can't because it is our decision to worry about things we can't control....

Fulgour said:

Here is a close-up image scan of the weird Bedside Carving
on the 9 of Swords from the Pamela Colman Smith Tarot...

Click on to view: Mysterious Swordfight Carving on Bed.

Notice too, the artist has placed her signature initials there,
not in the usual right hand corner, but near to this scene...

Even under a magnifying glass, it is hard to make out details.
Could this be a scene from the Irish Folk Legends Pam loved?

Click to expand...

I do not believe that 'sword fighting' is an 'Irish' item.

Greek not Celtic

Perhaps it depicts Hercules liberating the bound Prometheus. But where is the vulture?

I believe it is the scene of Cain killing Abel. For the reference --

http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~elfindog/ot021a7.jpg

The above is a niello of Maso Finiguerra recorded in Ottley's Collection.

roppo said:

I believe it is the scene of Cain killing Abel.

Click to expand...

Hey roppo this is great! But look at the card image again...
to me it seems the guy laying down is thrusting a sword up~
possibly winning at the last moment when all had looked lost.

The_Star said:

I do not believe that 'sword fighting' is an 'Irish' item.

Click to expand...

And I do not believe The Magician is a computer chip... fair enough.

Fulgour said:

Hey roppo this is great! But look at the card image again...
to me it seems the guy laying down is thrusting a sword up~
possibly winning at the last moment when all had looked lost.


And I do not believe The Magician is a computer chip... fair enough.

Click to expand...

I agree, The Magician is "The Programmer"!
If you realy want a pizza... it begins with a thought... coupled with a desire....then the immediate space/time continuum shifts, as if by magic, and then you either bake, make, order or fetch a pizza!!! (If there is follow through).
Its a pizza but, nevertheless, an act of magic!

The Magician writes and installs the 'program' (e.g. I am going to start to execise daily)..... or installs a pre-exsting program..... (intention / mental and or emotional pattern).

The mind, like a super-computer, can be programmed. If you don't program your mind (inner computer) then your cultural paradigm will (continue to) program it for you. The 'cultural programming' is limiting and pathetic (of pathos) and generally teaches that 'causes' are external events rather than internal processes.

If your body did not do what your mind told it to do wouldn't you call tech-support?

no anchovies

The_Star said:

Its a pizza but, nevertheless, an act of magic!

Click to expand...

And so we see in the swordfight (perhaps from an Irish folk tale)
two men, one up and one down, but who will be the one to die?

The_Star said:

I do not believe that 'sword fighting' is an 'Irish' item.

Click to expand...

Aye, but maybe they be punters havin' a good craic...

When I first noticed this scene, the memory of the legendary battle between King Arthur and Mordred sprang to my mind. A battle which left no winner.