Sophie-David
Dressed in earthy browns and golds, Danae, The Lover's Path Princess of Coins, thoughtfully looks down to ponder the suit's large gold coin, and perhaps simultaneously ponders her pregnancy. As we have seen in the Major Arcanum Fortune - Danae and Zeus, she was raised by a controlling, self-centred and materialist father, then seduced and bought by Zeus, archetype of the immoral and exploitive wealthy lover. Yet Danae remains grounded in life, taking responsibility for what she can control, fertile in the physical and practical domain. As Kris Waldherr summarizes, "Danae exemplifies the ability to make the best of what life brings us".
Behind her, a riot of young trees which remind me of cottonwoods, break out in youthful fertility and exuberance, echo the unconscious drives of the young woman in the foreground. At home in well watered soil, opportunistically branching at will to catch every photon of light, these trees can grow to a massive and stately size, remaining resilient to strong winds and abundantly rooted. Concerned about it splitting in two, I remember pruning a young cottonwood to reduce it from a dual to a single trunk. This introduced an imbalance in its structure and it came down in the winter winds. Yet the abundant roots projected it into explosive new growth the following year and in no time at all it had resumed its former height. Cottonwoods exude a warm earthy scent, and their leaves and branches dance with noisy abundance in the breeze. Since this scene is set in Italy, it is likely that the trees are the similarly behaved poplars rather than cottonwoods. In many ways these trees echo the vibrant adaptability and youthful physicality of the sensual Princess of Coins.
Behind her, a riot of young trees which remind me of cottonwoods, break out in youthful fertility and exuberance, echo the unconscious drives of the young woman in the foreground. At home in well watered soil, opportunistically branching at will to catch every photon of light, these trees can grow to a massive and stately size, remaining resilient to strong winds and abundantly rooted. Concerned about it splitting in two, I remember pruning a young cottonwood to reduce it from a dual to a single trunk. This introduced an imbalance in its structure and it came down in the winter winds. Yet the abundant roots projected it into explosive new growth the following year and in no time at all it had resumed its former height. Cottonwoods exude a warm earthy scent, and their leaves and branches dance with noisy abundance in the breeze. Since this scene is set in Italy, it is likely that the trees are the similarly behaved poplars rather than cottonwoods. In many ways these trees echo the vibrant adaptability and youthful physicality of the sensual Princess of Coins.