hello Payewacker!

Thanks for an enlightening insight on the moon. I did not realise the pomegranate had Greek mythological background.
There you go. You learn every day. I have, in my childhood days, had some severe tummy problems by not chewing the pomegranate fruit properly as it is basically seeds covered with some fruity substance, albeit quite chewable.

I have often asked this question during my psychic development classes: who delivers to us the thoughts, insights, the sounds and even the visions in our mind? I've either been told, take it as it comes or....... as you rightly said PW, that it is Spirit that sends us those feelings, sensations and clairvoyant visions in our mind's eye. After a long time of struggling to accept or understand if those were a figment of my imagiantion, I am now accepting without question that spirit puts them in my mind's vision or into my senses. Darn! I should have had more pomegranates when I lived back home

What is your opinion on the symbolism of the blanket that covers the distressed woman in the nine of Swords of the RW deck?

Opinions and inputs from other members are HUGELY welcome.

Hi Cedars,

Imagine how the other people struggled when the pomegranates germinated, a very fertile blast!!

I scanned all the different decks into seperate folders and it then makes it easy to look at all the different images on the cards. For one, Looking at the roses, has no connotation to Death, albeit the flag with the white "Rosy-Cross" In Christian beleifs, the White rose als personified Jesus, hence the "Away with the old, welcome bright future" but then we can see that these roses are on a yellow background. I always have a look at the main colour of the cards as well. Although here we find that the card is mostly black, just gives the yellow a different "attitude"? Looking at this then, we find yellow on a lot of the Major Arcanum as a predominant colour. Here we are talking a person's emotional state when they receive bad news. We can't liken it to The Rosy cross of the Rosicrutions, being white. Now, I looked through the cards and realised that it isn't the only card where red is surrounded by yellow, the pomegranates. Now Im thundering where angels fear to tread. Pomegranates are symbolic to fertility, i don't know, but does these opened fruit resemble a woman's womb? A thought.

When people ask me about a Tarot deck, they always have a questionmark as big as a mountain regarding the explanation of the major arcanum. When we start attaching each suit to a direction, the major arcanum just hangs somewhere. The spot I chose for them is the fifth "element" being AKASH--spirit. It makes it so much easier to explain mundane matters and then spiritual or psychic matters, or shall we say, the higher ranking or predominating forces.

When we look at all the Kings and Queens, you will find yellow and red, all the crowns are yellow. The only other card, sporting a yellow crown on it's own is the Ace of Swords. Look at the Hierophant, he also has a yellow crown, also the Emperor, The Tower. What does the colour yellow directly refer to? My thought, is AKASH or spirit. Here we are then talking about the Higher self. I have a phylosophy about control, the spirit controls the mind, which controls the body, emotions and organs, however a person, and lower through the ladder of selves and downward to the root. The Chariot also has headgear which is yellow and it resembles more a crown to me? Check out the big crown on the Tower as well.

Getting back to the red roses surrounded by yellow. Red to me then, symbolises immagination or fruitfull thoughts and the yellow-spirit. The signs of the zodiac and planets links us to the wheel and ultimately to the universe. In the nine of Swords, we can see that this person's head is not covered by spirit, but his lower body, holding him down is a spark of spirit. Swords, being air moving has a substantial influence on a person. So in the Kings we find the birth of thought and is described in the pip cards from ace through ten. Inspired thought then comes from the head, which is controlled by spirit, which controls the mind.......,

Now, look at the panel on the base of the bed. It is a carving of a Sword fight in which the one person is killed? The panel has four sides being the boundary or root (this is beneath you)-card four CC. My theory, the death either of himself or partner, friend, etc. created a mindset which continously feeds itself to the point where this person is as we can see on the card. This card in particular, is one that I never want to see as a future for any of my querants, to me it spells death with no recourse. I had this card as a fallen one, once. I haven't even packed the cards yet, was still shuffling. When i asked the querant if she had someone die lately, she said yes a friend of her about three weeks before.

I want to draw your attention to the Chariot. Look at his shoulder pads, we see two crescent moons, one with a smiling face and one with a crying face. The belt around his waste is yellow and has the signs of the Zodiac. The black and white sphinx links to the High Priestess "Jachin and Boaz" An interesting observation is that we can also see his "skirts" has Freemason and alchemical symbols on. Another interesting link to the High Priestess can be seen in the Lotus pillars - Egypt. Desserts are symbolic to scorpions, which is a water sign and is combined sexually, sexuality and death has always been partners. Death rules Scorpio.

And now we get to the Hierophant. We are immediately drawn to the main figure, clad in red robes. A triple crown of spirituality, right hand raised in a blessing, left hand with the cross of the martyr. the supplicants. The one to our left has red roses on his tunic and the other white lilies? The white hem of his robe shows 3 crosses, not like which Jesus was crussified on, but the horisontal line is in equal length from top to bottom. This is again a Rosicrucian, masonic and alchemical symbol. Look at the left and right edge of the carpet. Have a look at a pic i attached. King Soloman's temple had a black and a white pillar at the entrance, the floor was black and white. A lot of rituals in magick, when described in a grimoire. You find lots of referances to "Key of Solomon the King"--handbook? In a lot of countries, we find the spiritual "leadership" actually directing that govrnment! That is why the poor Emperor is four and The Hierophant five, one step higher, **** happens.

I tried to attach the pic, has gone fro to to to and the phones and computors are at the moment . That is if we don't loose signal .

Blessed be

Hi Cedars,

Imagine how the other people struggled when the pomegranates germinated, a very fertile blast!!

I scanned all the different decks into seperate folders and it then makes it easy to look at all the different images on the cards. For one, Looking at the roses, has no connotation to Death, albeit the flag with the white "Rosy-Cross" In Christian beleifs, the White rose als personified Jesus, hence the "Away with the old, welcome bright future" but then we can see that these roses are on a yellow background. I always have a look at the main colour of the cards as well. Although here we find that the card is mostly black, just gives the yellow a different "attitude"? Looking at this then, we find yellow on a lot of the Major Arcanum as a predominant colour. Here we are talking a person's emotional state when they receive bad news. We can't liken it to The Rosy cross of the Rosicrutions, being white. Now, I looked through the cards and realised that it isn't the only card where red is surrounded by yellow, the pomegranates. Now Im thundering where angels fear to tread. Pomegranates are symbolic to fertility, i don't know, but does these opened fruit resemble a woman's womb? A thought.

When people ask me about a Tarot deck, they always have a questionmark as big as a mountain regarding the explanation of the major arcanum. When we start attaching each suit to a direction, the major arcanum just hangs somewhere. The spot I chose for them is the fifth "element" being AKASH--spirit. It makes it so much easier to explain mundane matters and then spiritual or psychic matters, or shall we say, the higher ranking or predominating forces.

When we look at all the Kings and Queens, you will find yellow and red, all the crowns are yellow. The only other card, sporting a yellow crown on it's own is the Ace of Swords. Look at the Hierophant, he also has a yellow crown, also the Emperor, The Tower. What does the colour yellow directly refer to? My thought, is AKASH or spirit. Here we are then talking about the Higher self. I have a phylosophy about control, the spirit controls the mind, which controls the body, emotions and organs, however a person, and lower through the ladder of selves and downward to the root. The Chariot also has headgear which is yellow and it resembles more a crown to me? Check out the big crown on the Tower as well.

Getting back to the red roses surrounded by yellow. Red to me then, symbolises immagination or fruitfull thoughts and the yellow-spirit. The signs of the zodiac and planets links us to the wheel and ultimately to the universe. In the nine of Swords, we can see that this person's head is not covered by spirit, but his lower body, holding him down is a spark of spirit. Swords, being air moving has a substantial influence on a person. So in the Kings we find the birth of thought and is described in the pip cards from ace through ten. Inspired thought then comes from the head, which is controlled by spirit, which controls the mind.......,

Now, look at the panel on the base of the bed. It is a carving of a Sword fight in which the one person is killed? The panel has four sides being the boundary or root (this is beneath you)-card four CC. My theory, the death either of himself or partner, friend, etc. created a mindset which continously feeds itself to the point where this person is as we can see on the card. This card in particular, is one that I never want to see as a future for any of my querants, to me it spells death with no recourse. I had this card as a fallen one, once. I haven't even packed the cards yet, was still shuffling. When i asked the querant if she had someone die lately, she said yes a friend of her about three weeks before.

I want to draw your attention to the Chariot. Look at his shoulder pads, we see two crescent moons, one with a smiling face and one with a crying face. The belt around his waste is yellow and has the signs of the Zodiac. The black and white sphinx links to the High Priestess "Jachin and Boaz" An interesting observation is that we can also see his "skirts" has Freemason and alchemical symbols on. Another interesting link to the High Priestess can be seen in the Lotus pillars - Egypt. Desserts are symbolic to scorpions, which is a water sign and is combined sexually, sexuality and death has always been partners. Death rules Scorpio.

And now we get to the Hierophant. We are immediately drawn to the main figure, clad in red robes. A triple crown of spirituality, right hand raised in a blessing, left hand with the cross of the martyr. the supplicants. The one to our left has red roses on his tunic and the other white lilies? The white hem of his robe shows 3 crosses, not like which Jesus was crussified on, but the horisontal line is in equal length from top to bottom. This is again a Rosicrucian, masonic and alchemical symbol. Look at the left and right edge of the carpet. Have a look at a pic i attached. King Soloman's temple had a black and a white pillar at the entrance, the floor was black and white. A lot of rituals in magick, when described in a grimoire. You find lots of referances to "Key of Solomon the King"--handbook? In a lot of countries, we find the spiritual "leadership" actually directing that govrnment! That is why the poor Emperor is four and The Hierophant five, one step higher, **** happens.

The phone, or lack of signal and the rankatank has now got me   , about an hour to get this posted only
Blessed be

Hi Cedars,

As we all know, AE Waite was also a Freemason. So we need to look at his card designs from that perspective as well, and the revelation when attaching the symbolism becomes a new experience as well as shedding light on the way the symbols were used. But in this sense we may not theorise, or attach any other or compulsive meaning to any of the symbols. These are used and as the name implies “masonry” virtually set in stone and understood as that and nothing more. I also need to clarify that these are theories and should not be misinterpreted. In this, I regard the Freemason fraternity with the highest respect, as they deserve!! All the referances or meanings attached to Masonic Symbolism was obtained from the webpages found and is used in that context.

Let us have a look at the Death card, I think you will see what I’m getting at.

Cornerstone
Symbol of beginning; symbol of sacrifice. Cornerstones are laid in the North-east corner-Entered Apprentices stand in the Northeast corner of the lodge. The point mid¬way between the darkness of the North and the brilliance of the East was chosen by ancient builders as the point of beginning, a spot to mark a birth, a commencement of a new struc¬ture. Who stands in the darkness has no light; on whom falls the whole light of the brilliant East and its rising sun is not in darkness. Half way between, then, is a symbol of a beginning-the traveler has left the darkness and moved towards the light. Those who build have left the "dark¬ness" in which is no building, and progressed far enough towards "light" to lay a foundation stone. Early man believed that the spirits of the earth, the air, of nature, would destroy what they erected, unless a spiritual defender haunted the structure to defend it. As the gods were far stronger than men, what was sacrificed to them must be of the best. Hence arose the awful rite of "foundation sacrifice" in which human victims were walled up in the cornerstones, thrown bound into the hollowed foundation to die a miserable death of suffocation, or, more mercifully, be crushed to death by the stone laid on top of their bodies. Freemasons lay cornerstones and in the hollowed center put the book, the picture, the coin, the newspaper of the day, the remains of the ancient superstition that without a human sacrifice to provide a protective ghost to haunt the building it will fall.

Now, look carefully at the Death card. Firstly the direction and the reference above about East, North and North-East, where is the “Angel of Death”?!! If we look and consider the twin towers on the death card. The traveler (Angel of death on horseback) is moving from west to east and is at this point “north-east” . Every building has a cornerstone, or the first corner is build, to align the entire structure. Moving towards the light, we find death also moving toward the two towers. In the two towers are two cornerstones. And “Death” is moving from darkness to the light!!!!!!! THE SUNRISE.

I underlined a very important connotation to the death card. Look at the bodies and the surrounding landscape, we are looking at a pit, in which, Death does not only kill the inhabitants, but also crush them!!!!!! Look at levels, the bottom of the “pit” is much lower than the two towers, where we will find the cornerstones. MMMMMMM, would the best sacrifice denote a “priest”. Has the Hierophant then been offered as the highest sacrifice, by which he is now placating death in spirirt (Yellow—face of death, colour of priest) to accept him as the highest sacrifice to spare the mortals????

The White, Five pointed rose;
Fellowship, Five Points of
Symbol of building; of completion. Ancient builders laid out the position of any structure with square corners from a center; thus the building was "erected upon five points." The pentalpha, or five-pointed star, symbol of the five points, is a diagrammatic representation of a man-two arms, two legs, a head. A symbol may be of something different from what the symbol teaches; thus the Five Points, symbolizing completion of a building (a "making"), teach the essentials of brotherhood; the forty-seventh problem, a symbol of geometry and exact science, teaches a love for learning.

Colors
In Symbolic Masonry they are white, black and blue. White in all ages and among all peoples has always stood for purity, inno¬cence, sinlessness; black in the same places and times has been the color of death and sorrow. No symbolism beyond what has been universal is to be found in the Masonic use of black and white. One theory as to blue, mentioned so often in the Bible, and being the color of the "blue vault of heaven", is that "the starry-decked canopy" was adopted Masonically as an emblem of universality and limitlessness. Another is that blue was adopted by the first Grand Lodge (after having first adopted white) as the especial color for its principal officers. Attempts have been made to trace the use of blue to the blued steel which was supposed to contrast with the yellow brass on early compasses, but this seems somewhat far-fetched. Some believe that blue, the color of the ribbon in the Most Noble Order of the Garter, was adopted by early Masons in order to add to Freemasonry some of the dignity which surrounded that decoration (and which is referred to in the familiar apron charge) "more honorable than the Star and Garter". Whatever the reason for the adoption of the color, its use is now universal and "Blue Lodge" and "Blue Masonry" are terms understood throughout the civilized world.

Look at the horse, --White—purity, innocence, sinlessness.
Look at colour of the landscape—Blue--- Most noble.
Black, armour, flag—bearer of sorrow?
Look at the colour of the clothing of the person lying in the left corner, his crown to the right.
Blue and White?—The highest still lower than the priest, but nobility, and should have pure intentions, governing his Kingdom, but flawed with black “deaths” Many rulers killed their citizens with no real cause?


Scull and crossbones; A burial ritual is that masons are buried this way!!

The Sunrise(The Sun) between the two towers (Moon card)-


Lunar Lodges
Lodges which meet at the time of the full moon. In the early days of Masonry, both in England and in this country, many if not most lodges met not on dates fixed in advance, but according to the time when the moon was full; not because the moon "governed" the night, but because it illuminated the traveler's path! In days when roads were but muddy paths between town and hamlet, when any journey was hazardous and on black nights dangerous in the extreme, the natural illumination of the moon, making the road easy to find and the depredations of highwaymen the more difficult, was a matter of some moment!

Circumambulation
Walking around a central point. In Masonic initiations it is always clock¬wise; from East to West by way of the South. Like so many symbols, the ritualistic explanation does not explain, except with the most elementary reasons, to fit the most limited intelligence. Dur¬ing this part of a degree, members of a lodge ob¬serve that a candidate is properly prepared, but circumambulation is far older than initiations. To primitive man, God was the sun. The sun traveled from East to West by way of the South. Hence, early man circled his stone altar on which was his imitation of the sun-fire-¬from East to West by way of the South, in humble imitation of the God in the sky. Circumambulation is one of many concealed symbols of a Great Architect. In those rituals in which in a certain part of the Master's degree the circumambulation is in the reverse direction, Freemasonry imitates the ancient ceremony signifying death.


Lesser Lights
Symbols of sun, moon and Master. Together, in the form of a triangle, a symbol of God. (See Triangle.) In ritual, the sun "rules" the day and the moon "governs" the night, appar¬ently that the Master may "rule and govern" the lodge. Actually sun and moon neither rule nor govern; they give light, according to the posi¬tion they occupy with relation to any part of a revolving earth. The Master, however, does both rule and govern. The Lesser Lights are the illumination by which an initiate first sees the Great Lights. That the Lesser Lights as a whole are a symbol of Deity, makes the combination of one Light being seen by the others a statement that Freemasonry is non-comprehensible without light shed upon it and its symbols by the Great Architect.

NOW, TAKE OUT TEMPERANCE, HeeHee, I love this!! HERE WE FIND A TRIANGLE INSIDE A SQUARE!!!!!!! Interesting, above the square, Hebrew letters or folds in the material? Should these be Hebrew lettering, we need someone with Hebrew background to translate this?

Can we now see that Temperance, trumps Death, in the sense that Temperance infuses the square and the triangle. Divinity and people.


Triangle
Wherever expressed in Freemasonry, whether by reference to the number three, or the position of any three objects, the symbol is of Deity. (See Lesser Lights.) Throughout the Craft emphasis is put upon the number three; three Lights, greater and lesser; three steps on the Master's Carpet; three steps at the beginning of the Winding Stairs; three principal officers; three degrees; three due guards; etc., etc. The number three is but another way of expressing the idea of a triangle, earliest symbol for Deity, inasmuch as it is the simplest closed figure (signifying endlessness) which can be formed of straight lines. The emphasis upon three, or the triangle, is Freemasonry's symbol of Deity-being without beginning or ending.

Square
(See Great Lights.) Symbol of the Mas¬ter; of rectitude of life and conduct; of morality, truthfulness, honesty. So universal is the knowl¬edge of its meaning that the word has percolated into all strata of society. The "square man" is the honest man. To "act on the square" is to act honestly. In Freemasonry to "part upon the square" has its own symbolism. The square is a tool made of two members, pointing in different directions. Those directions are "right" with each other-a right angle, so called because the 90 degree angle is the only correct angle for stones which are to build a perpendicular and stable wall. When brethren "part upon the square," they leave each other in different direc¬tions, but in directions of which, if their desti¬nation be unknown, their rightness is known. Brethren part in the full knowledge that their courses until they meet again will be according to the angle of a square--right.

Another square can be found in The Chariot---movement? Consolidating opposing forces or characteristics either within yourself or otherwise between two people?

What now, is the expressed feeling of all the two’s, three’s and four’s?

Looking at the Major Arcanum, we know that it is divided into three sets of seven.

The Chariot being the last in the first set,
Temperance being the last in the second set,
And the World the last one in the third set – Movement—infusion—attainment.

Blessed be