rachelcat
A shiny new thread for the Thoth! See what the IDS makes us do! Here we go!
10 of Wands -- Oppression
Although for general use, I have trimmed the titles off my Thoths, I will include them in the study, of course!
Most of the other wands have caduceus, ibis, or lotus heads, but 8 of the 10 here have claws (that look like flames) on both ends. They are crossed 4 x 4, similar to a Marseille arrangement. Quick glimpse at a few historic decks shows 10s are crossed 4 x 4 with two behind or in front. Visconti is crossed 5 x 5.
It looks like those 8 are themselves on fire (flames along the length of them) as well as having flames shooting from their intersections. The other 2 are elongated “dorjes” that are really iron bars crossing over the fiery wands, and (as Snuffin points out) the astro signs are also trapped between the bars.
The background is a fiery orange, so the flames show up as light yellow or white with red lines defining them.
Let’s talk about dorjes. In a small bit of internet research, I have not seen any dorje that looks like these or the ones on the 2 of Wands. (I think it’s understood that the length of ones on the 10 is an artistic exaggeration.) Most “regular” dorjes are double ended with a ball in the middle (not as elongated even as the ones in the 2) with several prongs curved in on each end. Then there are double dorjes that are like two crossed as in the 2 of Wands, but with the shorter, ball-like middle. I found one picture with a pointed blade on it, but it is a double with 3 prong ends and one blade end. The only ones I found with faces on them are actually the handles of the bell that always accompanies the dorje. A few with a nondescript face and one with a skull. Nothing with horse heads. Or snakes (2 of Wands). I have attempted to attach pictures.
I seem to remember a movie in which murderous items resembling dorjes zoomed around the room on their own trying to stab people. (The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy maybe?)
So do you think the Thoth dorjes are based on items or pictures Uncle Al or Lady Freida had seen? And, most of all, do you know ANYTHING about dorjes?
The symbolism of dorjes fits well with the 10 of Wands. It is the Tibetan word for the Sanskrit word Vajra, meaning thunderbolt or diamond. Tibetan Buddhism is described as the Vajrayana, the Diamond Way, and one of its most treasured scriptures is the Diamond Sutra. A thunderbolt is all fiery masculine power, attribute of such father sky gods as Indra (who first carried a vajra as a symbol of his bolts), Zeus/Jupiter, and Yahweh. It is telling that the Tibetan dorje is usually paired with the feminine rounded, open bell. So we have another lance/wand/anthame and cup pair. A thunder (or lightning) bolt can destroy anything but nothing destroys it, giving rise to the diamond meaning. A diamond is the hardest stone. It can cut anything but nothing can cut it.
(What the Vajrayana is destroying or cutting is the illusion of the existence of a separate self, that each one of us is a separate being unconnected to any other being or thing. Obviously not true if you think about it for a minute, but we act like it all the time!)
So why is 10 of Wands Oppression? Well, it is energy/fire to the greatest degree. “Fire in its most destructive aspect.” Crowley. He also says it is Will without an understanding of anything but what it wants. Energy for energy’s sake with no tempering of thought, feelings, or practicality. Brute force. “Lust for result.” I think this is a fascinating phrase of Crowley. I’m thinking that it means if you go into magic or any spiritual discipline EXPECTING some return on your investment of time and effort, you’re going to be disappointed. The path is the goal.
The iron bars are like prison bars. Someone or a government with unlimited power immediately starts exercising its power by putting people in jail or trapping them in some way. (Guantanamo anyone?) Snuffin says the dorjes’ control of energy was necessary in the 2 of Wands but is now overpowering control in the 10. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Now Saturn in poor Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a fire sign, the mutable fire sign. So not only is it quick and ungrounded (and non-material!) like a flame, it is an always changing, never still flame. To be occupied by (like a foreign army!) stern, slow, limiting Saturn is a nightmare (as Duquette puts it). Sagittarius is firmly put behind those prison bars by Saturn. Banzhaf’s Key Words for Astrology say this about people with Saturn in Sagittarius:
Fear of being thwarted by questions of faith, hopelessness and the absurdities of life. Fear of ones lack of significance. Dogmatism, prudishness, self-righteousness. I love this one: “Overly organized trips where nothing happens.”
And remember this is in Malkuth, the lowest, earth sephira, so Sag. is even more dragged down. And it’s pointed out that this is the only 10 that is not arranged in the shape of the Tree of Life, so it doesn’t even have a reminder of the Creation/Creator of the universe going for it.
As a card of the day: I don’t remember being particularly oppressed on Thursday. I may have been a bit overwhelmed by work after coming back from a 5 day weekend, but in reality, that wasn’t even too much to deal with. It was perhaps a warning to not overdo it just because I had some rest, and start burning the candle at both ends again because I don’t feel complete exhaustion!
In a reading: The 10 of Wands can be a warning as above, a typical RWS reading--You are getting burned out; or don’t burn yourself out. Also a kind of Devil meaning--Something is holding you prisoner. What is limiting or controlling you, probably to your detriment? And—Beware of what you are putting your energy into. Are you trying to force your way onto someone else? Few things are worth winning at ANY cost. What are you burning in your pursuit of a goal? Good will of your friends and family? Your health? Your finances?
Well, that's it for now. If anyone has dorje info, please post!
10 of Wands -- Oppression
Although for general use, I have trimmed the titles off my Thoths, I will include them in the study, of course!
Most of the other wands have caduceus, ibis, or lotus heads, but 8 of the 10 here have claws (that look like flames) on both ends. They are crossed 4 x 4, similar to a Marseille arrangement. Quick glimpse at a few historic decks shows 10s are crossed 4 x 4 with two behind or in front. Visconti is crossed 5 x 5.
It looks like those 8 are themselves on fire (flames along the length of them) as well as having flames shooting from their intersections. The other 2 are elongated “dorjes” that are really iron bars crossing over the fiery wands, and (as Snuffin points out) the astro signs are also trapped between the bars.
The background is a fiery orange, so the flames show up as light yellow or white with red lines defining them.
Let’s talk about dorjes. In a small bit of internet research, I have not seen any dorje that looks like these or the ones on the 2 of Wands. (I think it’s understood that the length of ones on the 10 is an artistic exaggeration.) Most “regular” dorjes are double ended with a ball in the middle (not as elongated even as the ones in the 2) with several prongs curved in on each end. Then there are double dorjes that are like two crossed as in the 2 of Wands, but with the shorter, ball-like middle. I found one picture with a pointed blade on it, but it is a double with 3 prong ends and one blade end. The only ones I found with faces on them are actually the handles of the bell that always accompanies the dorje. A few with a nondescript face and one with a skull. Nothing with horse heads. Or snakes (2 of Wands). I have attempted to attach pictures.
I seem to remember a movie in which murderous items resembling dorjes zoomed around the room on their own trying to stab people. (The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy maybe?)
So do you think the Thoth dorjes are based on items or pictures Uncle Al or Lady Freida had seen? And, most of all, do you know ANYTHING about dorjes?
The symbolism of dorjes fits well with the 10 of Wands. It is the Tibetan word for the Sanskrit word Vajra, meaning thunderbolt or diamond. Tibetan Buddhism is described as the Vajrayana, the Diamond Way, and one of its most treasured scriptures is the Diamond Sutra. A thunderbolt is all fiery masculine power, attribute of such father sky gods as Indra (who first carried a vajra as a symbol of his bolts), Zeus/Jupiter, and Yahweh. It is telling that the Tibetan dorje is usually paired with the feminine rounded, open bell. So we have another lance/wand/anthame and cup pair. A thunder (or lightning) bolt can destroy anything but nothing destroys it, giving rise to the diamond meaning. A diamond is the hardest stone. It can cut anything but nothing can cut it.
(What the Vajrayana is destroying or cutting is the illusion of the existence of a separate self, that each one of us is a separate being unconnected to any other being or thing. Obviously not true if you think about it for a minute, but we act like it all the time!)
So why is 10 of Wands Oppression? Well, it is energy/fire to the greatest degree. “Fire in its most destructive aspect.” Crowley. He also says it is Will without an understanding of anything but what it wants. Energy for energy’s sake with no tempering of thought, feelings, or practicality. Brute force. “Lust for result.” I think this is a fascinating phrase of Crowley. I’m thinking that it means if you go into magic or any spiritual discipline EXPECTING some return on your investment of time and effort, you’re going to be disappointed. The path is the goal.
The iron bars are like prison bars. Someone or a government with unlimited power immediately starts exercising its power by putting people in jail or trapping them in some way. (Guantanamo anyone?) Snuffin says the dorjes’ control of energy was necessary in the 2 of Wands but is now overpowering control in the 10. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Now Saturn in poor Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a fire sign, the mutable fire sign. So not only is it quick and ungrounded (and non-material!) like a flame, it is an always changing, never still flame. To be occupied by (like a foreign army!) stern, slow, limiting Saturn is a nightmare (as Duquette puts it). Sagittarius is firmly put behind those prison bars by Saturn. Banzhaf’s Key Words for Astrology say this about people with Saturn in Sagittarius:
Fear of being thwarted by questions of faith, hopelessness and the absurdities of life. Fear of ones lack of significance. Dogmatism, prudishness, self-righteousness. I love this one: “Overly organized trips where nothing happens.”
And remember this is in Malkuth, the lowest, earth sephira, so Sag. is even more dragged down. And it’s pointed out that this is the only 10 that is not arranged in the shape of the Tree of Life, so it doesn’t even have a reminder of the Creation/Creator of the universe going for it.
As a card of the day: I don’t remember being particularly oppressed on Thursday. I may have been a bit overwhelmed by work after coming back from a 5 day weekend, but in reality, that wasn’t even too much to deal with. It was perhaps a warning to not overdo it just because I had some rest, and start burning the candle at both ends again because I don’t feel complete exhaustion!
In a reading: The 10 of Wands can be a warning as above, a typical RWS reading--You are getting burned out; or don’t burn yourself out. Also a kind of Devil meaning--Something is holding you prisoner. What is limiting or controlling you, probably to your detriment? And—Beware of what you are putting your energy into. Are you trying to force your way onto someone else? Few things are worth winning at ANY cost. What are you burning in your pursuit of a goal? Good will of your friends and family? Your health? Your finances?
Well, that's it for now. If anyone has dorje info, please post!
And the long part of the the purba is the blade, not the shaft.