Gay Tarot - 5 of Coins

telcontar

At a loss which card to post next I finally decided to take the one I already wanted to do yesterday: The Five of Coins. The main reason was that the guys who don't have the deck in hands can easily look at it here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/gay/

It is very similar to the Rider Waite 5 of Coins, with two differences: it isn't snowing and the sun is shining, which gives it a much more friendly look and the one guy is helping the other.

It is the two guys joined by V The Priest - and that gives it extra potential, of course. They are helping each other along in a difficult situation, "in good days like in bad ones" or however it is called in the vows. And the helping one looks quite happy to do so. - The one with the broken leag looks much less happy. Maybe the leg is just hurting- but I think, that's another "manly" problem we might have to face: the trouble to accept help and caring. To admit that we are not invulnerable dare-devils. At least, not all the time ;) For me, the card came up in just the right moment when I had to be told: "it is nice if somebody cares for you. Enjoy it!"
 

Elentir

5 of coins

This card is interesting, in that normally I associate the five of coins with a material loss or difficulty, not with receiving assistance for said loss or difficulty; rather, I think of the six of coins as the help so desperately needed in the five of coins. All the tarot fives seem to have something to do with loss or restriction, which is in keeping with the 5th sephirah of the Kabbalah.

So it makes we wonder what the six of coins looks like in this deck?

I have seen other decks with a five of coins similar to this one; the Morgan Greer, for example, has a nun holding and comforting the afflicted person in front of the stained glass window.

I do, however, appreciate Telcontar's observation about some people being unable to accept or receive help, which I hadn't thought about before either with the five or the six of coins. But I'm not sure what the implication is for this particular card. Hmmm... :confused:
 

Lee

Well, if someone were unable to receive or accept help, it seems to me that that would be a particularly restrictive or loss-filled situation...

It also shows that no matter how restrictive one's physical situation may be (ill health, poverty, etc.), there is always the opportunity to obtain solace by connecting with others.

The way I've always approached the tarot is that each card brings up a particular issue, without being necessarily always positive or always negative. The positive or negative slant would come in the context of the question and the surrounding cards. It seems to me this leads to seeing cards in a deeper and more true-to-life manner, where there are no blacks and whites, just lots of grays.

-- Lee
 

Little Baron

Interesting card. It is a much brighter one than the RW; having said that, I have always been fascinated by the RW '5 of Pentacles' - wondered who they were, where they were going, where they had been, why the taller one seemed so uninterested in the smaller one, even whether they were male or female.

I wonder, also, whether these two guys know each other. Initially, I feel that they do not. Then again, they could be lovers, brothers, friends, carer and person being cared for. There is definitely some affection from the one with the blonder hair as he delicately strokes his finger on the other mans chest.

Maybe the fact that the other guy is on crutches, on a romantic level, suggests a needyness in a relationship. Someone that is weaker and needs a lot of attention. Maybe, focusing on the fairer guy, it suggests a time to think less about yourself and help others - take notice of other peoples needs. Maybe it is insinuating that people are there to help when you need it and it is a time to pick up the phone and ask for help, rather than letting pride get in the way. Maybe they are ex-lovers; maybe brothers that have not seen each other in a long time and need re-aquainting. Maybe, after all, they are strangers and the blode guy has just helped the other up after a fall in the snow.

Yaboot
 

Lee

You know, it just occurred to me that this card could be seen as gay people who feel isolated and cut off from society because of disapproval from organized religion (as symbolized by the stained-glass window).

I wish I could say I thought of all these things when designing the cards, but I must be honest and say that I didn't. There are a few cards, of which this card is one, where I deliberately set out to mimic the corresponding RWS card, but show two men instead of the traditional heterosexual couple (another example is the 10 of Cups), pretty much as a political statement.

-- Lee

EDITED TO ADD, in light of telcontar's comments about the link to the V Priest card, perhaps the two cards together could show religion which is accepting of gay people (V Priest) and religion which is disapproving and does much harm to gay people (5 of Coins).
 

Aeric

In comparing the Hierophant to the 5, and in the context of the two men, I sort of saw it as two different chapters of their lives.

Together they were joined in a communal setting by the priest, thereby acknowledging that there are others in the community who accepted and wanted to recognize them.

But then I wondered, the 5 Church could be the same church as the Priest's, so why are they ignoring it now? The one guy has a broken leg and his boyfriend is helping him along, his world is only him and his injury. But they don't seem to recognize that they're in front of the very sanctuary they got married in!

I focus on the traditional 5 of Pentacles RWS meanings, since Lee meant to reproduce the RWS card exactly as shown but with men. And the 5 Pent usually indicates that there IS a welcoming presence waiting nearby to help, but that you're ignoring it, or too lost/focused on your own problems to realize the extended hands around you.

I didn't take the Coin card to mean a negative disapproval, rather I saw it that the couple have wrapped themselves in each other so much, that they neglect such a familiar, and positive presence mere steps away, if only they'd turn their heads. I can imagine the Priest standing inside rapping on the window trying to get their attention.

Sort of like how a lot of gay people believe the mainstream religious world is entirely against them and become disenchanted with it when in reality there are many firm believers out there fighting for universal acceptance, but the overwhelming negative aura causes people to forget them.
 

telcontar

Well, they may be heading for the church or coming from there, we don't know. I always thought the idea that this church HAD no door just because you don't see it in the RW picture too deeply into symbols. There are surely lots of things in this world I can't imagine- but churches without doors just make no sense at all! So this church has a door, in my opinion and why shouldn't they go there or come from there? And even if this church rejects them, there might be others accepting them.

So there are even two levels of outstretched hands here: personally from one guy to the other and from the community or institution. But there are also two walls- the little one in the darker guys face, frowning at being helped and the wall of the church, which, at the moment separates them from the rest of the community, if they later or earlier join/ed them or not.

For me, the focus is still on being helped and the problem of it. A friend of me was ill last week and hated himself for being weak and was really aggressive when you tried to help. Hard to be around him at times like that. I've been ill, too- but I'm not so hard on myself about it any more. I just lay down and rest, enjoy what I can do, reading, watching TV, sleeping etc. But something more than a simple flu would probably still send me up the walls just like him. I think it's great to have someone to care for you when you're in trouble- but I prefer being on the caring side to being the one cared for. I think it's one of the big challenges of being "in need", in which way ever: to accept this need and let someone else take care of it if you can't yourself. Considering traditional clichees about gender, it's maybe a little easier for gay guys but for straight ones- but we were all brought up with the stereotypes of being "manly" and I think here it shows! And hurts!
 

Shade

When I saw the card in the scan the meaning tha came to me was "We take care of or own."

In the image the broken leg/crutch visual makes sense as it aligns th card with the RWS but I thought of the AIDS epidemic and the way that the queer community was treted during its early days. The church window looking remote ties in as the church and religious political officials looked down on AIDS victims and there wasn't much support. President Reagan even said he thought it was God's judgement for unnatural sexual proclivities.

The gay community took on the task of educating people, finding care for victims, and keeping hope alive. Because of the outreach within the gay community we have managed to ,make an impact on people's perception of HIV and AIDS.

I think the metaphor plays out in many arenas for us. We take care of ourselves with or without approval. The card reminds me of a sign that was carried in the Pride Parade by my friend's mother. It read: "If you don't love your son or daughter becasue they are gay I will."
 

Shade

Ths may seem sily but Iwas also reminded of the song "God Help the Outcasts" from teh Disney version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. These are the lyrics:

Esmeralda
I don't know if You can hear me
Or if You're even there
I don't know if You would listen
To a gypsie's prayer
Yes, I know I'm just an outcast
I shouldn't speak to you
Still I see Your face and wonder...
Were You once an outcast too?

God help the outcasts
Hungry from birth
Show them the mercy
They don't find on earth
God help my people
We look to You still
God help the outcasts
Or nobody will

Parishioners
I ask for wealth
I ask for fame
I ask for glory to shine on my name
I ask for love I can posess
I ask for God and His angels to bless me

Esmeralda
I ask for nothing
I can get by
But I know so many
Less lucky than I
Please help my people
The poor and downtrod
I thought we all were
The children of God
God help the outcasts
Children of God

If you can listen to it, it's a very moving peace.
 

Lee

Shade said:
When I saw the card in the scan the meaning tha came to me was "We take care of or own."

In the image the broken leg/crutch visual makes sense as it aligns th card with the RWS but I thought of the AIDS epidemic and the way that the queer community was treted during its early days. The church window looking remote ties in as the church and religious political officials looked down on AIDS victims and there wasn't much support. President Reagan even said he thought it was God's judgement for unnatural sexual proclivities.

The gay community took on the task of educating people, finding care for victims, and keeping hope alive. Because of the outreach within the gay community we have managed to ,make an impact on people's perception of HIV and AIDS.

I think the metaphor plays out in many arenas for us. We take care of ourselves with or without approval. The card reminds me of a sign that was carried in the Pride Parade by my friend's mother. It read: "If you don't love your son or daughter becasue they are gay I will."
Excellent observations!

-- Lee