What the god of grapes and wine should wear you ask

• For context, sometimes I try to answer made up question to practice my skills. This one I found interesting and I wanted to share it.
• The question is very simple: Will it rain this week? Weather fortune-telling is not uncommon, yet it's infamously fickle. I live in the middle of the desert so the chances of rain are low.
• As usual my spread is a simple Line of 5, all oriented to the near future, where each card interacts with the previous one.
• Today's deck is the Minchiate Restaure by Emanuelle Iger & Isabelle Nadolny.

The Minchiate is on of the oldest Tarot decks we know, straight from the 15th century. Unlike our modern standard of 22 major arcana, the Minchiate has 20 extra cards: The 12 zodiac signs + the 4 elements + the 3 theological virtues + the missing cardinal virtue of Prudence. It doesn't have a Popess/Priestess. Because we're talking about rain, I expected to see the presence of the Water element, maybe Temperance with her jugs or at least one card of the suit of cups.

>This is what I got:

THE WORLD + 4 of coins + 10 of coins + 6 of coins + LOVE

When it comes to any reading, my first advice is always approaching the cards with a clear mind. Not only this means making apart our feelings and half-digested thoughts, but refusing our rational mind the shortcut of simplifying the cards into hollow keywords. If I had reduced The World to "plenitude, completion", this reading would have made no sense. We need to see beyond our textbook interpretations, and that often means seeing the world like a child.

Quoting the Little Prince: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye". That's the wisdom of the Blind Diviner, to really see what is in front of us, and not just the assumptions we have created about our reality. This is the most important skill of the Tarot reader and the most valuable/difficult to learn.

When I see the World, I see the obvious first: An angelic figure standing still on top of the globe, holding a crown and an arrow. Surrounding the globe, I see 4 winged faces blowing in different directions. The motif of wings is repeated 5 times, so we know it has some relevance to the answer. We can also appreciate a very clear hierarchy between the main figure, the globe and the angelic faces.

Now we can reintroduce the symbolic layer with moderation: The main character is an angel, or at least, a representation of a divine force thanks to the wings which differentiate them a common human. They rule the world, which is the globe below containing the fields and the plants. The arrow and the crown (both symbols of power) reinforce this perspective. The four winged faces are the 4 winds. While they blow aiming the world, the main angel remains unmovable just as the divine forces of the cosmos keep their position, and together, they form solid mechanism, above and below, the universal order.

We can push our interpretation with the context of the question: What does any of this have to do with rain? Look! We have the four winds but because the cards is not the element Air, we understand the deck is trying to communicate something different than just "breeze". Look at the main character, it rises above the winds with superiority. Could it be the atmosphere? Climatic circumstances higher than local air movements? We need to keep reading.

Let's move to the 4 of coins: The coins by themselves are the symbol of everything rich and valuable. We usually assume they speak of money, however the can also speak of medals, recognition, luxury, means, fortune, etc. By their proximity, this card dyes the previous one with its color, letting us know the World and its cosmic hierarchy has something highly valued to offer. Really, this only becomes stronger knowing the next 3 cards are all coins. Juicy prizes at play.

While numerology only represents a basic aspect of the interpretation, it is always important to address this layer: The number four speaks of stability, what holds its place. Then the four of coins, rhyming with the symbol of the shield represents something of value in stable position. It doesn't move, which also correlates with the stillness of the World.

When we move to the 10 things change, suddenly we have and explosion of coins, rapid growth and development, breaking away from the 4's security.

Finally the number 6 (at least in my system) is the number of movement, like open roads and bridges allowing transit. Look at the transition! We went from solid stability to expansion and displacement.

"The richness of the skies, once static now move on a different direction".

You may be asking, why coins? Which is the same question I made myself. Why coins and not cups? At least as I'm capable, I understand the coins represent water moving around by the clouds (wings symbolism), but why not cups which are pretty much made to be filled with liquid. I must mention that in my system and especially with the Minchiate I never assign an element to each suit. If the element Air or Earth was relevant I would expect the cards to just give it.

Why coins? I guess the answer lies in my geographic location: As mentioned, I live in the middle of the desert where rain not only means umbrellas and car accidents. It means life, the hoped gold of the clouds essential for irrigation and human consumption. Without rain there's nothing. It could explain the extra weight expressed by the coins vs the light mood of the cups, even when symbolically the cups would be my first choice. Something valuable is present, just not ready to be pour yet.

Finally, our last card: Love.

Same question, why Love? What does Love has to do with our weather forecast? Are the cards ignoring my question and out the blue spilling the tea about my romantic situation? NO. Again, we need to clear our minds and resist the temptation of ignoring what is in front of us by replacing it with our untrained imagination.

Observe the card and you will find something incredible. Do you see it? The angelic figure holding an arrow while the girl down on earth holds the crown? Do you observe how the very same symbols present in the World changed hands? We can observe a pattern: First the angel was on top of the world holding both items. Now they're barely above the ground, the crown has being lowered and it will be lowered more to crown the boy. We're getting closer and closer to earth, its gifts, its presence. See how the angel first still is now moving, just how the coins went from 4 to 6.

"The richness of the skies, once once static now abandons its firm position to deliver its presents to the people on earth".

The crown, the symbol of power and richness is on human hands, ready to be delivered, but the arrow is still in hands of the angel, waiting for the right moment to shoot. In other words: One part of the promise of rain is already in our hands ready to be collected, but the rain itself, the arrow "falling from the skies" is not in our hands, it's still "up in the air" to the winds and the clouds.

Adding the allegoric layer we see Cupid blessing a young couple. The girl accepts the courtly efforts of her knight of the bending keel by crowning him. Cupid is waiting to shoot the arrow of passion, divine force of tenderness and desire right into their hearts. Love is not only the card of couples, it's a card of fertility. Love, who allows conception, who inspires reproduction. Without his arrows, nothing growths, just how rain blesses the earth, just how Zeus came down to Leda in a subtle rain of gold.

The cards speak of both things, the promise of the gift (the crown) now in human hands and soon to be received, and the promise of action (the arrow) still up to the skies to decide. While al of this is very poetic and very on brand with the Renaissance language of Tarot, we can't ignore the obvious: There's not a single drop of water in this whole reading. Not the Water element, not a single cup, not even Temperance.

The answer reveals itself: Not yet.

It will rain, the promise will be full-filled, the arrow will be fired, just not yet.
Maybe next week...

I mean, not really, but hear me out.

O Desire! O fickle flame!

I**n your fires, I found my prison.

Since I alone must bear the blame,

Now I yield to tempered reason.

We know the majority of us run away from Christianity for... obvious reasons, and now we dance naked in the woods under the full moon worshiping the Devil (or so they say, I'm never invited). The point is: Tarot has both a PAGAN and a CATHOLIC background.

After all that was the whole deal of the Renaissance, to re-discover what was lost, recovering the wisdom of the ancient world. And that kids, is why Dante Alighieri had no problem placing greek myth characters in his catholic Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. What a guy.

Born from such contradictory parents, we usually do what the children from divorced parents often do:

Ignore one and mischaracterize the other.

I get it, we like to dress black and worship the Devil recognize the evil of Christianity. Don't get me wrong, there's no apologetic stuff here, but if we want to understand Tarot, we need to know our shit, and that means analyzing the cards with the appropriate perspective so we don't get comfortable with useless keywords or superficial textbook descriptions of "Justice means karma" and so on.

Now, The Virtues!

Ironically, the origin of the Virtues as they're defined in Tarot, comes from pagan wrestler philosopher Plato and greek culture, but the Renaissance allowed them to flow into catholic doctrine. While our current standard only contains 3, the classic number is 7 and antique decks like the Minchiate still have them all.

The Virtues are grouped in two: Cardinal and Theological. While Theological virtues help us grow closer to God, the Cardinal virtues guide us in our life on Earth.

There are 4 cardinal virtues, the ones we all love and know with the exception of a missing character:

We have Justice, who Plato considered the leader of the team. Justice represents reason, the human capability of discernment and truth. To recognize what is correct and the right procedure. Important! She's not divine Justice, she's not the hand of God/Universe coming to punish our wicked deeds... but she's not the legal world either. What is just is sometimes illegal, and God has no other hands than our own. Important decisions require a cold mind and responsibility. She's allegorically illustrated as a firm woman, holding a pair of scales and a sword, symbols of order, harmony, retribution, authority and rightness.

We have Fortitude. The muscle! Fortitude (sometimes called Strength) represents the human virtue of volition and courage. When shit hits the fan and it's time to fight, Fortitude urges to defend what is good and right. To not throw the towel, to go forward and face our fears. Of course, not everything can be mindless bravery. Fortitude is also associated with Constancy, the virtue of constant effort because some fights are not won by slashing the enemy but by holding still. One day at a time. She's allegorically illustrated with a woman (sometimes in armor) next to a lion of a column, both symbols of strength, endurance and courage.

And finally, Temperance. Our sweet Temperance, virtue of moderation. We're used to the allegorical illustration of a woman pouring water from one jug into another, but what does that mean? In antiquity, wine was quite strong and drinking it pure was considered a thing of barbarians. Only tempered with water it was considered sound and healthy. Alternatively, we can find Temperance pouring water into fire, like the picture in this post or holding horse brides. The idea is the same: She represents the human virtue of tempering our desires and impulses, to know when enough is enough and the art of mixing the correct dose.

...however, there's something else. Someone else, really. And that's Prudence, the missing sister. No depiction of the FOUR cardinal virtues is complete without her, and yet she disappeared from Tarot decks somewhere in the 15th century. Prudence represents the human virtue of caution and introspection, usually depicted with 2 heads facing past and future at the same times, or simply a mirror to ponder both directions + a snake. She's the careful one, who invites us to reflect the mistakes and successes of the past so we can plan for the future.

Now, we can refresh our knowledge about Theological virtues:

As mentioned, while their sisters guide our life on Earth, they help us grow closer to God, being the first one Faith, virtue of trusting the promises of salvation made by God and his Son (I'm a pagan reader, so I just move to "faith" in the future, beliefs and trust),

Hope, closely similar, virtue of the immortal hope, who doesn't flick in adversity, beacon in the storm.

And Charity, embodiment of selfless love, she of the burning heart.

And how does this impact Tarot?

Think about it, any Tarot reading is essentially the interpretation between the dynamics of the major arcana.

Back to our catholic-pagan perspective, the Devil represents evil, the corrupting temptation of desire and the seven deadly sins. Just how the Virtues urges to choose what is right, the Devil represents the promise of pleasure and power no matter how much pain it must cause. (Important, we should NEVER forget that all of the 22 cards are neutral and only the context of the reading will throw a favorable or disfavorable light).

Where the Devil says alcohol and sex without care or limits, Justice wakes us up to recognize its danger, Fortitude to resist his temptation, Temperance to moderate our desire and Prudence to beware its causes and consequences. It may sound prude, but the keyword here is *"*EXCESS". The difference between a cup and crashing your car. Between consensual sex and abusing someone. Rape, hate, violence, greed and many other horrors.

What happens when the embodiment of reason (Justice) clashes against the embodiment of ignorance (Fool)?

What happens when Temperance advises the Emperor? Or what happens when the Emperor decides power triumphs above moderation?

While Tarot is not a catholic tool in the same way a Bible is, the study of its background is NOT OPTIONAL if we want to understand its functioning. And honestly, it's just the easiest way.

(Picture: Temperantia, by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones)

Well, time to suffer.

• Deck: Grand Etteilla III (The Book of Thoth).
• Redrawn but based in Jean-Baptiste Alliette's system.
• Spread: Line of 7 with significator in the middle.

I don't a physical deck yet and this is only a practice spread. In honor of the old school fortune telling I'll be reading for a fictional young woman named Clarisse. She wants to know a) if she will marry soon, b) with whom, c) and how. Clarisse is the woman in the middle, cards to her left are the past, cards to the left are the future.

>The Past:
Dark man + Heritage + Future

Copy pasting from different sites we get that

• Dark man:

"Trader, storekeeper, merchant, banker, foreign exchange broker, calculating person, speculator, physicist, geometer, mathematics, science, master, professor". "The King of Coins represents a man of money or science. He may be a banker, a doctor, or anyone who has excellent financial resources and influence. The appearance of this card in your Tarot spread means that he is going to help you in the future".

(The main interpretation of this card is "merchant". A wealthy man, a businessman, who had important presence in your past. Probably a well established suitor).

• Heritage:

"Inheritance, estate, legacy, holdings, legitimate, gift, donation, dowry, jointure, provision, grant, transmission, testament". "Soon, you will experience an increase in riches and personal wealth. The Five of Chalices is often associated with inheritance. The Five of Chalices predicts that you will inherit a legacy that will affect your family for generations"

(In your past I see... a wealthy man who left you a considerable inheritance? Maybe not a suitor but a generous friend? A banker holding some form of account? Well, the Grand Etteilla has already cards for gifts, friends, money and economy, this must be something more obvious. Let's play it safe, a wealthy suitor leaves you some form of legacy).

• Future:

"After, following, subsequently, later on, looking forward, tomorrow, next time, upcoming, hereafter". "Upright, the Six of Chalices concerned with the past, whereas reversed the future is the focus. Reversed, the card speaks of maturity and the gain of experience. The Six of Chalices reversed is reassurance that the mistakes of the past will be corrected in the future".

(The mistakes of the past will be corrected in the future... hmmm. What happens when the future pops out in the past? Making plans for the future? If the 6 of cups is usually about nostalgy and childhood, the future should be expectations and old age. The future, what lies ahead, what is soon to come. A wealthy man left you an inheritance for the future).

>The Future:
Night + Lover + Lack of foresight

• Night:

"Darkness, eclipse, mist, obscurity, mystery, secret, hidden, unknown, clandestine, occult, parable, allegory, mystical meaning, mask, veil, cover, sheath, envelop, unvoiced, blindness, oblivion, obfuscate, cover". "From something bad comes good, or, what has damaged us will become useful to us."

(Weird. The card of secrets, of everything hidden in shadows of night and darkness. Something clandestine. Underground places).

• Lover:

"In love with, amorous, gallant, husband, wife, spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, to love, to cherish, to adore, assortment, agreement, liking, rapport, fitting, propriety, seemliness". "The Five of Coins represents a husband, wife, lover, etc. it is said by Etteilla readers to be the card of love. You can expect kindness, peace, and contentment in your relationships".

(Among shadows you will find a lover, not a husband yet).

• Lack of foresight:

"Unexpectedly, astonishing, surprising, undreamt of, unheard of, fortuitously, suddenly". "Reversed, the Page of Swords predicts that you will either receive news from the page, or about the page. Shocks, surprises, and gossip are coming".

(Among shadows you will find a lover, unexpectedly).

>Pairs reading

• Dark man + Lack of foresight: An unexpected suitor. Unexpected help.
• Heritage + Lover: You will fall in love with someone's legacy.
• Future + Night: Uncertain future. Plans and decisions made in secret.

>Conclusion

Dear Clarisse, the cards show no marriage, but they speak of a secret lover, probably a man of considerable wealth and plans for the future. Who will present his love unexpectedly.

Uhuhuhuhhuhuhuhuh shiny

(Hermes stuff to grab your attention)

For the worshippers who give especial respect to Hermes, I would like to know what are your experiences with his aspect as the god of language. Either as orators, teachers, students, poets, etc.

Personal and historic gnosis are welcome.

For the worshippers who give especial respect to Hermes, I would like to know what are your experiences with his aspect as the god of language. Either as orators, teachers, students, poets, etc.

Personal and historic gnosis are welcome.