Hand symbols on cards???

[Freddie]

Hi,

I have noticed for years that certain persons painted on tarot cards have their hand posed in a gesture. The Hierphant in many decks has his four fingers split in the middle like a V. Does anyone know the symbolism of this?

Also I see The Fool in the Swiss 1JJ pack doing the "I Love You" hand sign that is used in sign language today. Did it always mean that? I'm thinking it might mean "Kiss my you know what". LOL .....


Thanks,


Freddie

 

[tarotbear]

The Devil in the Rider has his hand lifted in what is described as an evil gesture- it looks like Spock's 'Live Long & Prosper' to me!

 

[Mojo]

Freddie,

The hand gesture on the Hierophant, which also appears on several other cards in the Waite-Smith deck, is one that was made popular by renaissance painters as a sign of holiness or of passing on a blessing. I believe there are some other ancient meanings to that particular gesture, but I can't recall them.

As for the gesture on the fool, that comes from the middle ages and is called the "cuckold" and it is meant as an insult or a taunting... it generally refers to an unfaithful spouse, but it is also often meant to insult a man about his masculinity, or the lack of it.

 

[Freddie]

Thanks,

Freddie

 

[Lightning]

Go to a search engine and search on MUDRAS. They are Buddhist hand gestures used during meditation and healing. I suspect that the hand gestures on the cards may be a carryover from a time when gesture had deep and universal meaning to everyone, on a "lighter" level: something like the language of flowers during the Victorian era, and hand gestures of baseball managers during a game!

Most sites I checked out had many gestures shown with their meanings within Buddhist teachings.