The Magican and Moses

The Magician:


And then there was Moses…

According to Corinne Heline, author of The Bible and Tarot, (Devorss, 1969) we can associate the symbolism of certain biblical characters, such as Moses, with the Tarot Major Arcana. Although she discusses the symbolic essence of Moses in The Chariot card, I find his story also fits the role of mage in The Magician card. For instance, in the search for meaning in the stories of Moses’ miracles, we see that “Rods” (Wands) were used to channel or translate the supernatural powers of the Lord. What appeared to be magic acts were performed by Moses and his brother, Aaron, as they engaged in a deadly contest with the Egyptian Pharaoh’s magicians.

But first, let’s look at the story of “The Burning Bush” as this is where the Lord told Moses to go back to Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to “Let my people go.” (Ex.3) On Mt. Horeb, Moses experienced miraculous events that, to adherents of Tarot, are significant symbols of steps to take on one’s spiritual path. He had to deal with his feelings of inadequacy to do what was asked of him, and so he said he needed a “sign.” God told him to cast his “rod” to the ground. Immediately it turned into a snake and he ran from it. But when he mustered the courage to take the snake by the tail, it became a rod again (overcoming evil). When he put his hand in his shirt and took it out, it was leprous, but when he put it back, the leprosy was gone (healing). Then when he dipped his hand in river water and poured it on the dry ground, it became blood (living waters of life).

In the efforts of Moses and Aaron to liberate the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, they were to “stretch out your rod” (under the Lord’s commands) to convince the Pharaoh to release the Israelites. (Ex.7–12) As the story goes, the power of God was translated through their “Rods” in setting off ten plagues that profoundly affected the lives of the Egyptians. Moses turned his rod into a snake when Pharaoh asked him for a miracle, so the Pharaoh demanded to see more. Hmmpf, his magicians could do that and they did! So next, Pharaoh got more than he bargained for—ten deadly plagues.

Under Moses’ direction, Aaron used his rod to initiate the first three plagues. Moses then used his rod to bring on the rest of the plagues. I view these as symbolic lessons in the context of the human condition such as: dealing with mortality and immortality (Nile, blood, dead fish); uncleanness (frogs); illusions (gnats); reality and unreality (diseased cattle, boils); ignorance versus wisdom (hail, locusts); the dark side versus enlightenment (3 days of darkness); and hopes for the future dashed (firstborn died). Finally, the Pharaoh couldn’t take any more and said, “Take your flocks and herds…and BE GONE; and bless me” (Ex. 12:32).

Magician as Shaman

When considering the role of The Magician in the Tarot, what’s the first thing we think of? Right away we think about The Magician’s tools: paintings of enigmatic art on cards representing the four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles or Coins. What magical association and function do we assign to these symbolic accoutrements? The Wands indicate the element Fire, symbolizing growth, power, force, drive, action, and the creative impulsion to life. In contemplating Cup cards, we think about Water, implying containers, liquids, food, nourishment, and cleansing. In general readings, Cups can also indicate our watery emotions, the feelings of love, hate, sadness, and joy. Swords represent the transcendent qualities of Air: thought processes, dealing with duality and our ability to separate truth from lies. Certain Sword cards in a reading can help us come face to face with ourselves in dealing with enemies, discrimination and warfare. In the Pentacles or Coins—Earth—we see Nature’s laws as unforeseen forces taking concrete expression in our daily experiences of life on earth. These cards urge us to consider earth’s flora and fauna, our dealings with people, and our relationship to the landscape. Here, we endeavor to conduct our life’s work, which can take many forms as in labor, commerce, business, barter and trade.

I like to think of these qualities as four conditions of action we express in trying to make our lives better. By invoking the divine or higher powers in ourselves we work on influencing our environment. In ancient times, people invoked supernatural powers from an invisible realm. When folks were overwhelmed by events they couldn’t control such as storms, floods, fires, crop failure, drought, wars, death and destruction, they turned to familiar and comforting powers—the spirits of the land.

In the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, magic was centered on the practice of evoking creative energies of Nature. Veneration of Mother Earth was immanent in their daily lives. Amulets and talisman-like images have been found by the thousands in archeological digs in Eastern Europe and thoroughly explored by Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994) professor of European Archeology at UCLA, in her book, The Language of the Goddess, HarperCollins, 1989.

We can get an even better sense of the magical practices of those ancient times by looking at the Hopi Kachina cults of the US Southwest, where some rituals and dances are still practiced today. Painted and decorated Kachina doll effigies are made representing the spirits of rain, clouds, thunder, and snow. They make spirit-images of corn, squash, animals, and awful ogres, in the hope of seeking protection and promoting growth of crops. Gimbutas argues that the marked sculpted figures of the European Goddess were magical signs imploring the creative energies of nature signifying conception, birth, death, and regeneration of both human and animal forms. These were hand-hewn clay or rock symbols of female and male body parts carved with symbols of water, rain, eggs, snakes, triangles, chevrons, whorls and concentric circles. Shamans carried out rituals using these figures. This brings us back to some of the same similar characteristics we see in the talisman cards of the Tarot Magician’s tools, even though we use them in more modern, mass-produced forms. It seems some of us still want a little magic in our lives.

Celebrating The Fool

     In the early Roman festival of Saturnalia, The Fool played the role of a mock king who presided over a merry festival of pranksters. He was the "Lord of Misrule"performing in a wild masquerade party. Does this sound like Mardi Gras? All the rules of order and morality were put aside at that time. Eventually the dark side of all that burlesque frivolity may have ended in a crescendo with the sacrifce of the king. These festivals evolved into various European celebrations such as "The Twelfth Night" (Jan.6th), the parades and festivities of Carnival, and capers of Shrove-Tuesday. (There is more to read about Saturnalia in James Frazer's book "The Golden Bough" (MacMillan, 1922) pp. 675-679.)
     In the time of the pagan gods, Saturn was the Roman god of sowing and husbandry (the Father-time of New Year's Eve). The person who played The Fool at these celebrations was known by various names such as the "Lord of Misrule," or the mediaeval "Bishop of Fools" and "King of the Bean." Ah, is that where the idea for the movies and TV show of "Mr. Bean" originated?  Some mediaeval feasts included baking a cake with a bean inside and the person who found the bean became "King of the Bean" who led the parade of merry chaos. Brian Williams (1958-2002) created the wonderful "Ship of Fools Tarot" (published by Llewelyn, 2002) based on the writing and art of Sebastian Brant's "Das Narrenschiff (The Ship of Fools) "emphasizing humanity's capacity for foolishness." Williams compares the images of the "Ship of Fools" to the classic decks of Marseilles and Rider-Waite-Smith in his drawing facsimiles of the art in Brant's book.

The Fool and Giotto's "Folly"

     In the 14th century, Renaissance artists were painting religious scenes influenced by the dogma of the church. It seems that vestiges of their visual images began to appear in early Tarot decks, at least in underlying meaning if not in exact replication. The power of the intended meaning may be hidden in the early Tarot Major Arcana cards such as the Visconti-Sforza deck of the 1400's. In turn, these original paintings may have been the source for later illustrations in early decks, including the Rider-Waite deck of 1910, by A.E. Waite, and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith.
     Italian artist, Giotto ((1267-1337) painted monochromatic frescoes of "The Seven Virtues and The Seven Vices" along the lower walls of the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy, which are still there today. The Fool is seen here described as "Folly."  It's apparent some of Giotto's figures may include thinly disguised stories of the martyrdom of the saints. Fools, foolishness and folly are mentioned many times in various biblical verses, making depicting this kind of character an easy target for humorous portrayal. It is quite likely that Giotto's paintings of the Seven Virtues and Vices, and paintings like these by other artists of the period, were the basis for the designs of early Tarot cards. .
     Giotto's fool, "stultitia" has feathers attached to his head (making fun of a crown) and he has ragged clothes with bells tied around his waist. He may be wearing a peacock's tail and there appears to be a kind of forked stick placed around his mouth, which may represent a type of divination, or of speaking with a forked tongue.

The Fool and Nothing

The best place I like to begin in studying Tarot is with The Fool card. So you might ask why The Fool is the best place to start. It's like staring at a blank piece of paper and wondering what to put on it. The Fool represents nothing! It is a lack of awareness. We all start with nothing - zero - nada - zilch. From a physical perspective, most babies come into the world with nothing - just their little ready-made bodies and, most of all, consciousness. Ahah! There's the rub. Consciousness is probably the key to the whole matter of aliveness. The baby has life! Assuming that the baby has come into the world normally, what a profound way to start - to begin - to be - to start becoming. What kind of life will it be as an animated physical being and, what about a spiritual life? What is spiritual consciousness? Let that thought sink in and permeate those spine-tinglers in wonderment.
What is consciousness? The eyes give it away. Those little bright eyes open upon the world and then what? That's why I like to see The Fool at the beginning of the Major Arcana. It's the jumping off place into an unknown future. Of course we will see it again at the end of the Major Arcana, but in a different context with The Universe card.
The painting of The Fool in Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness depicts a zero that is filled with anticipation. It represents the positive, hopeful aspect one has of starting on life's journey. The center is a swirl of silvery shimmers, pregnant with possibilities. The seven colors of the rainbow radiate outward around the edges. The Fool's spritual journey through the trump cards of the Major Arcana is akin to our own journey through various states and stages, the twists and turns of our life experiences and lessons learned. Some remain the fool for the rest of their lives, others grow in wisdom garnered from life's lessons, and others play the fool, the joker, trickster, the mock king, president or priest. When you get The Fool card in a reading, it's the beginning of awareness. Beware - to be aware!

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Metaphysical Musing: A Statement

Education
MFA Printmaking/painting University of Washington
Extensive work with the late Glen Alps/Collagraph

Much of my artwork is based on an interest in metaphysics, archaeology, and the physical sciences: representing spatial concepts, underlying structures, healing, transformation, and cycles of existence. This work consists of paintings and prints symbolic of cycles of life in portals, hills, valleys, circles, spirals, and pyramids—oracles and sources of energy that charge living beings with the life force. Having traveled several times to Britain, Scotland and Norway, exploring and documenting megalithic sites and museum collections, I have come to believe there are changeless ideas contained like blueprints in our DNA—plans and laws for the growth and development of life’s forms and structures.

Over the years, my paintings and prints have been exhibited at the Seattle Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, Seattle Pacific University, Cheney Cowles Museum in Spokane, Henry Art Gallery, Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, Washington State University, California State University at Hayward, and numerous galleries in Texas, Florida, Oregon, North Carolina, Washington DC, and Chicago. I have also exhibited in Korea, Italy, Holland, Scotland and South America. More information about my work is in the book and website, Women Artists of the American West by Susan Ressler.