Two of Cups- Dolphins????

[Freddie]

Greetings All,

I recently bought a Thoth pack and I was wondering why the two fish on this card are named dolphins when they do not look like them.


Thanks,

Freddie

 

[Grigori]

The Dolphins are not Crowley's addition, they are standard on GD style decks. You can see a few other versions at these links.
http://taroteca.multiply.com/photos/album/45/Golden_Dawn#photo=103.jpg
http://www.albideuter.de/html/hermetic_37.html
http://www.albideuter.de/html/initiatory_golden_dawn_37.html
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/golden-dawn-magical/index.shtml

A WHITE Radiant Hand, issuant from the lower part of the card from a cloud, holds lotuses. A lotus flower rises above water, which occupies the lower part of the card rising above the hand. From this flower rises a stem, terminating near the top of the card in another lotus, from which flows a sparkling white water, as from a fountain. Crossed on the stem just beneath are two dolphins, Argent and Or, on to which the water falls, and from which it pours in full streams, like jets of gold and silver, into two cups; which in their turn overflow, flooding the lower part of the card. Venus and Cancer above and below.

I s'pose the real question is why didn't Frieda know what a dolphin looked like? Check out the 'scarab' on the Moon card too, not likely a scarab I reckon!

 

[ravenest]

Frieda never saw a dolpin, she was guessing, she got startled once by a sting-ray at Battersea, but that's it.

it's only in recent times that pictures of dolphins actually started looking like dolphins themselves, the ones in link 2 above look like friendly mutated sperm whales with lip implants.

Anyway, the more interesting question is WHY dolphins?

 

[Aeon418]

Anyway, the more interesting question is WHY dolphins?

Aphrodite liked to ride around on dolphins.

Frieda pre-empted the ecological movement and used "Dolphin-Friendly" Tuna instead.

 

[rif]

Frieda pre-empted the ecological movement and used "Dolphin-Friendly" Tuna instead.

Cute.

The Marseilles design has a couple of fish on it, although I don't know if they were supposed to be dolphins.

http://www.tarot.org.il/comparison/Minor.html

Incidentally, the Grand Jeu Lenormand (Astro-Mytho deck) features dolphins that look nothing like dolphins. I guess artists in "the old days" didn't have access to photographs of the animals to see what they looked like.

 

[thorhammer]

Dolphins have been linked to mermaid myths, so perhaps the link is to humanoid entities totally in tune with the "emotional realm" of Water.

Or maybe there was a legend that dolphins are monogamous (they are actually horny little buggers).

\m/ Kat

 

[Abrac]

Back in the old days I think people just assumed they were fish since they swam in the water, and they were frequently portrayed with scales, as Harris has done.

J.C. Cooper, in her Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, says: "Two dolphins facing in opposite directions are the duality of nature." This seems to be what the Golden Dawn had in mind by naming them Argent (silver) & Or (gold), though Harris doesn't depict this.

 

[Grigori]

They are fed with lucent water from a lotus floating upon the sea, from which rises another lotus around whose stem are entwined twin dolphins. The symbolism of the dolphin is very complicated, and must be studied in books of reference; but the general idea is that of the "Royal Art". The dolphin is peculiarly sacred to Alchemy.
The number Two referring to Will, this card might really be renamed the Lord of Love under Will, for that is its full and true meaning. It shows the harmony of the male and the female: interpreted in the largest sense. It is perfect and placid harmony, radiating an intensity of joy and ecstasy.

She is dancing upon a foaming sea in which disports himself a dolphin, the royal fish, which symbolizes the power of Creation.

This thread might be useful also. http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=116538

Snuffin has some interesting things to say in his book. Hopefully this link works....
http://books.google.com.au/books?id...resnum=3&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

[thorhammer]

This seems to be what the Golden Dawn had in mind by naming them Argent (silver) & Or (gold), though Harris doesn't depict this.

Well, she kinda did . . . if you look at their eyes . . . I think it was Snuffin that said something about that.

\m/ Kat

 

[hukes]

TdM also has dolphins in the Two of Cups card, in the fashion of medieval kind of dolphins.