Detail in 10 of Pentacles (RWS)

[StarWanderer]

Hey y'all! I was curious to what some of your interpretations of this mural/painting in the card is.

It looks like a castle/lighthouse on a shore. The border is like a black and white chess board pattern.
It's also located behind the old man's head, as well as by the three pentacles that would represents the Pillar of Severity on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
Personally, one way I saw it was all the established wealth in this card was just originally a dream or fantasy. The older man had to have drive and patience to get his desired outcome. It's possible that his original idea of wealth and legacy didn't play out or manifest in the way he thought it would, but regardless, that original vision has led him to where he is now.

Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

 

[DanielJUK]

just to let you know @StarWanderer I've moved this thread over to the RWS section of the forum.

If you want to do any more threads studying / discussing the RWS cards, please feel welcome to. I can make an index linking to all the threads in future 🙂

[StarWanderer]

@DanielJUK
Oh sorry about that! Wasn't even thinking about the deck. Thank you!

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, StarWanderer said:

Personally, one way I saw it was all the established wealth in this card was just originally a dream or fantasy. The older man had to have drive and patience to get his desired outcome. It's possible that his original idea of wealth and legacy didn't play out or manifest in the way he thought it would, but regardless, that original vision has led him to where he is now.

 

The old man on the card is Odysseus. See how only the dogs recognize him? In some versions of the story there is only one dog, but the same thing happens.
Odysseus was the king of Ithaca before the Trojan War. He has only returned to the palace, the acquisition of wealth doesn't really play into the plot since he had it already.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus#Journey_home_to_Ithaca

 

As for the tapestries, Pamela Colman Smith's art was profoundly influenced by the theater. There's a chance they're just props. A number of the Minors actually depict an actor on a stage with an even simpler set: a painted backdrop. You can see a few of those here:

 

So I wouldn't read too much into the tapestries or be sidetracked by them. If you want Qabalistic references, you're better off with the Thoth. Waite scrambled some things, after all. Best to approach the RWS as a fun, theatrical deck IMHO.

Edited August 20, 2021 by katrinka

[StarWanderer]

35 minutes ago, katrinka said:

 

The old man on the card is Odysseus. See how only the dogs recognize him? In some versions of the story there is only one dog, but the same thing happens.
Odysseus was the king of Ithaca before the Trojan War. He has only returned to the palace, the acquisition of wealth doesn't really play into the plot since he had it already.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus#Journey_home_to_Ithaca

 

As for the tapestries, Pamela Colman Smith's art was profoundly influenced by the theater. There's a chance they're just props. A number of the Minors actually depict an actor on a stage with an even simpler set: a painted backdrop. You can see a few of those here:

 

So I wouldn't read too much into the tapestries or be sidetracked by them. If you want Qabalistic references, you're better off with the Thoth. Waite scrambled some things, after all. Best to approach the RWS as a fun, theatrical deck IMHO.

 

I appreciate you mentioning Odysseus, thank you.
I'm aware of her staged cards.

I feel like dismissing that part of the artwork, especially with a prolific black and white border which is often used in occult imaging regarding good and evil forces, is losing a possibly novel meaning. As an artist who enjoys artwork, I find nothing we create is meaningless. Our subconscious is always looking to communicate with us, in a way similar to dreams. I was interested in what could've been driven to add that mural/painting in the card as for a long time, I didn't even notice that part of the card just due to how busy it was. She could've just as easily left it out, but it seems purposeful.

I guess I wanted to see what someone would think about it in a creative sense. I'm not dismissing the original story of Odysseus, just that it's one layer of the card. Wanted to see if I can get a new twist.

[euripides]

Odysseus! Of course! 

 

It says to me 'the king is in his castle'. Those pennants feel like the interior of a hall, looking out, perhaps? I looked for the heraldry but couldn't find it - I'd almost guarantee that the heraldry of the castle speaks to some specific place or person. I wonder if the scene outside is the young Odysseus setting out, saying farewell to Penelope with little Telemachus at her feet.

[euripides]

10 minutes ago, StarWanderer said:

I feel like dismissing that part of the artwork,..., is losing a possibly novel meaning.

 

Funnily enough I was just thinking about creating a thread about  the 'detail' in cards, but couldn't think how to phrase it. Of course we all have our different ways of reading things;  sometimes it's all about the central figure, but part of the richness of a good deck, and the RWS in particular, is the detail that it offers... in may be woven into your specific story or not, depending. Sometimes I find myself quite drawn to some specific element.

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, euripides said:

Odysseus! Of course! 

 

It says to me 'the king is in his castle'. Those pennants feel like the interior of a hall, looking out, perhaps? I looked for the heraldry but couldn't find it - I'd almost guarantee that the heraldry of the castle speaks to some specific place or person.

 

I don't know. Castles are a whole category in heraldry. I doubt you'd find an exact match, I suspect it's generic.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Castles_in_heraldry

The story is Greek, but PCS is using British style imagery.
Castles in the UK are cold and damp. People hung lots of heavy tapestries for insulation, I think. A thick layer of fabric over the cold stone.
Some of the ones at this link are heraldry. Some are Biblical/mythic. And some are none of that - one of these is a scene from Don Quixote that was presented to the Prince of Wales, later George IV. Another is just a scene of boys playing.
https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/trails/tapestries-in-the-royal-collection

 

So even in a temperate environment like the one shown on the card, there will often be tapestries depicted because people there expect that. It identifies the location as a place where nobility lives.
 

Wall hangings are an interesting diversion, but I don't see them as relevant to the card essence. PCS may have simply cribbed the images from what was available in the props dept. of the Lyceum. 😁
 

1 hour ago, euripides said:

I wonder if the scene outside is the young Odysseus setting out, saying farewell to Penelope with little Telemachus at her feet.

 

It could be. Or it could be Telemachus all grown up with his own family. It's a little ambiguous that way.

 

ETA: I might be wrong, but it seems like I read someplace that the design on the back of the chair is Waite's monogram, lol.

Edited August 21, 2021 by katrinka

[euripides]

37 minutes ago, katrinka said:

Wall hangings are an interesting diversion, but I don't see them as relevant to the card essence. PCS may have simply cribbed the images from what was available in the props dept. of the Lyceum. 😁
 

 Perhaps so, but I don't feel that the literal references or sources used by the artist mean that they are without meaning in the card. There is the Big Story, and many layers. We are perhaps always going to disagree on this, I suspect. Different and varied perspectives abound!

[katrinka]

1 hour ago, euripides said:

Funnily enough I was just thinking about creating a thread about  the 'detail' in cards, but couldn't think how to phrase it. Of course we all have our different ways of reading things;  sometimes it's all about the central figure, but part of the richness of a good deck, and the RWS in particular, is the detail that it offers... in may be woven into your specific story or not, depending. Sometimes I find myself quite drawn to some specific element.

I use card essence. This is a wealth card.
Odysseus has come full circle, achieved his destiny and returned to reclaim his kingdom. And it's "Wealth" in that other known and noted Golden Dawn deck, the Thoth. 😉 Malkuth through earth.
"Wealth" stretches to fit. I can put it in context.
If I were to zone in on some detail, the House of (whatever) or Waite's monogram. the whole reading would go off the rails IME. Details are fine for contemplation. Not so much for finding out if your client would do well to relocate, or why their boyfriend didn't text back.
You do you, and if you can get that stuff to work, that's good. I never found it useful, though.