The Star's Plank

[BradGad]

I am fascinated by a number of seemingly minor details... things that look like they could/should be accidents or quirks...but nonetheless repeat across so many historical decks.

 

If they keep showing up, surely they must have some kind of intentionality or meaning.

 

Here's one that flummoxes me: In just about every historical deck (except the Conver... which is weird... because it is usually the most cannonical), the beautiful female figure in The Star is resting her left knee on some kind of plank... some kind of barrier between her knee and the earth.

 

So... umm... what's up with that? 

 

Any insights or brainwaves welcome. 

 

[Misterei]

18 minutes ago, BradGad said:

... In just about every historical deck (except the Conver... which is weird... because it is usually the most cannonical), the beautiful female figure in The Star is resting her left knee on some kind of plank... some kind of barrier between her knee and the earth.

So... umm... what's up with that?

I never noticed this. But now that you mention it ... interesting question. Historic Italian decks like Vacchetta or Dotti don't have this plank.

 

Here's the thing that frustrates me with TdM. In Thoth and RWS we know each and every mark was intentional and means something.

TdM? I'm always left assuming these things are printing errors. Like the right-side-up Hanged Man in some decks. People wonder what it means ... but it means TdM were gaming cards and the printer was in a hurry that day and reversed the image. Inadequate QA.

The plank?

OK ... not an accidental reversal ... but it's only recognizably a plank in some decks. In others it's more ambiguous ... wtf is that thing anyway?

I tried going through my brain files on symbolism but kept hearing, Arrr Matey ... walk the plank

NOT helpful.

I got nothing. But thanks for the attention to detail. I love that stuff.

[BradGad]

There are so many things like this… weird shapes, like the spikey thing on the right side of The Empress’s throne or the extra shape that is (not always) next to the lower right supplicant on Le Pape / The Hierophant. That radish-like shape to the immediate left of The Magician’s bag/pouch (it’s actualluy the most consistent element across decks, but no idea what it means, or even what it is.)

 

Justice seems so symetrical, but always her sword and scale incline slightly to the right.

 

On many Aces of Coins, the central flower tilts slightly to the right, giving a sense of clockwise movement. 

 

Often — certainly not always but more than once — The Magician seems to have an extra finger and Strength seems to have an extra toe.

 

Yes, they could be printing errors, but given the technology, why would they be repeated? It wasn’t like a copy machine: it was hand work.

 

And, as Ben-Dove says, “everything has meaning.”

 

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by BradGad

[BradGad]

> tried going through my brain files on symbolism but kept hearing, Arrr Matey ... walk the plank

 

I think that may be the right side of the brain to engage. Why does The Fool’s bindlestaff always have that spoon shape at the end? Maybe he sups with the Devil. He can do anything he wants — drop acid, go in for orgies — because he’s The Fool and he has a long spoon. 

 

I mean, wordplay is a way forward.

 

(OK, my example here is better than yours. But wordplay!)

 

[Misterei]

6 minutes ago, BradGad said:

... That radish-like shape to the immediate left of The Magician’s bag/pouch (it’s actualluy the most consistent element across decks, but no idea what it means, or even what it is.) ... The Magician seems to have an extra finger and Strength seems to have an extra toe.

The Magician with 6 fingers is somehow so right. That card has always been freaky. The table legs. is legs. The things on the table. That card I do see as being pretty mysterious and freaky. Intentionally.

6 minutes ago, BradGad said:

... they could be printing errors, but given the technology, why would they be repeated? It wasn’t like a copy machine: it was hand work.

The hand work was carving the blocks. After that ... they cranked out hundreds of copies from the block. And the printers were pretty notorious for accidentally reversing things when they had to carve a new block in a hurry b/c the old block broke or whatnot.

6 minutes ago, BradGad said:

And, as Ben-Dove says, “everything has meaning.”

I take this differently. In one respect everything has meaning in that everything is an omen or a nimitta. And in a purely visual-intuitive tarot reading style every visual element is worth noting.

But in the occult correspondences reading style ... intentional symbolism is paramount. And accidental printing errors are NOT meaningful or symbolic.

So perhaps it boils down to reading style.

[Misterei]

4 minutes ago, BradGad said:

> tried going through my brain files on symbolism but kept hearing, Arrr Matey ... walk the plank

 

 Why does The Fool’s bindlestaff always have that spoon shape at the end?

The cow jumped over the moon and the dish ran away with the spoon.

The dish is a cute girl or young woman. The spoon is a crazy guy. Like our fool in tarot.

I forgot what the cow and the moon are. This is all renaissance slang.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Misterei

[BradGad]

That six-fingered Magician… his wand is never pointed quite exactly at the whatever in his right hand, but always slightly above. Always slightly misaligned. 

 

So obviously the querent is considering artificial insemination but the turkey baster isn’t pointed just right, so there will be complications. 

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by BradGad

[BradGad]

> And accidental printing errors are NOT meaningful or symbolic.

 

But when you keep seeing the same things by different printers separated by centuries and mountain ranges, can you really call them accidents?

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by BradGad

[Misterei]

7 minutes ago, BradGad said:

But when you keep seeing the same things by different printers separated by centuries and mountain ranges, can you really call them accidents?

Intent? TdM were playing cards. They lost the neo-platonic symbolism baked-in to Tarocchi. The French printers had no reason to worry about symbolic accuracy. So yes ... I call these things accidental insofar as they weren't intentional symbolism. Not in the way of original Tarocchi and not in the way of RWS.

The printers' intent was simply to replicate a playing card for gaming ... of course he wanted to do a decent carving job and prolly intended to accurately reproduce whatever design he had ... but he wouldn't have worried about neoplatonic philosophy the way your Tarocchi artist did.

 

Per the dish ran away with the spoon ... turns out that little nursery rhyme is pretty "naughty". I don't know if the Fool's pack-spoon references the spoon as a fool ... that's english slang not french slang ... but it's pretty uncanny if it does.