Wow - up to the second-to-last in this favorite of major arcana series. What shall I follow with once this is through? Shall have to ponder that a bit...
Anyway, onto the card at hand. This one, I must admit, is funny in its own way in that...the message of the card, once I got the nuances relatively straightened out in my mind (such as Judgement vs. Justice, Judgement vs. Tower, etc), resonates quite strongly with me, and yet the actual IMAGERY in most decks does nothing for me, one of the most blah cards in the deck. This is likely to do with the fact that both the RWS and TdM traditions rather strongly reflect christian archetypes, particularly those to do with the afterlife and morality (ie. last judgement [for sins]) which, given my personal belief system, really don't do it for me at all. So in many ways and in many decks, reading this card comes down to reading despite the card image rather than through it.
There are of course, a number of exceptions, and these tend to be quite lovely. Was not too hard to pick my two favorites this time. I do realize that this series has a lot of repetition in terms of the decks that my choices come from but...what can I say? My favorite decks are favorites for a reason.
XX. Judgement
Favorite:
I must say that really, I just LOVE the colors in both of these takes on the Judgement card. Nothing blah about these from an aesthetic perspective - quite the contrary really, the bright blue and orange jumps right out at you, demands some attention. The colors feel so alive, and I love the way that the sun illuminates the people at the bottom of the card in the Nusantara tarot. Speaking of those people - I've said it before and I'll say it again...I just adore how this deck manages to hew so closely to the spirit of the RWS, quite close enough to be considered a clone, and yet has its own take on everything, completely removed from the traditional western-centric christian-inspired aspects of the imagery. Instead of creepy zombie people crawling out of graves we see a group of various genders and ages rising up out of water, which to me encompasses the idea of listening to a call, reaching up for a new start, so much better. You have the trumpet metaphor, the higher being, angel, the rolling water - yes, listen, yes, it is time, yes choose, yes rise. The card speaks to me. The composition works really well too, and yeah. The colors...such eye candy for me....
Runner Up:
First of all, I know I've written a bit about my take on this card in past posts and don't want to repeat myself too much, but it really is one of several of the majors where...I so, so much appreciate and agree with the Crowley Thoth's take as opposed to the RWS...just makes so much more SENSE to my mind. The ancient goddess nut stretching out over the world, the bold colors (interesting how closely these two cards mirror each other in color scheme!), the astrological association with pure elemental fire, renewal, the burning away of the old, new wild energy. The symbolism of the old god, the old ways, sitting static and tired in the background, small. And in front, the new god, young still, transparent, the coming of a new age, Aeon, transformation, deliberate, and you stay mindful of the old, the way that you can see through him, but that isn't you anymore, shouldn't be; time to leave it behind, listen, judge, choose what to take with you in the future, deliberate. Symbolism-rich and aesthetically stunning - what's not to love?
Anyway, onto the card at hand. This one, I must admit, is funny in its own way in that...the message of the card, once I got the nuances relatively straightened out in my mind (such as Judgement vs. Justice, Judgement vs. Tower, etc), resonates quite strongly with me, and yet the actual IMAGERY in most decks does nothing for me, one of the most blah cards in the deck. This is likely to do with the fact that both the RWS and TdM traditions rather strongly reflect christian archetypes, particularly those to do with the afterlife and morality (ie. last judgement [for sins]) which, given my personal belief system, really don't do it for me at all. So in many ways and in many decks, reading this card comes down to reading despite the card image rather than through it.
There are of course, a number of exceptions, and these tend to be quite lovely. Was not too hard to pick my two favorites this time. I do realize that this series has a lot of repetition in terms of the decks that my choices come from but...what can I say? My favorite decks are favorites for a reason.
XX. Judgement
Favorite:
I must say that really, I just LOVE the colors in both of these takes on the Judgement card. Nothing blah about these from an aesthetic perspective - quite the contrary really, the bright blue and orange jumps right out at you, demands some attention. The colors feel so alive, and I love the way that the sun illuminates the people at the bottom of the card in the Nusantara tarot. Speaking of those people - I've said it before and I'll say it again...I just adore how this deck manages to hew so closely to the spirit of the RWS, quite close enough to be considered a clone, and yet has its own take on everything, completely removed from the traditional western-centric christian-inspired aspects of the imagery. Instead of creepy zombie people crawling out of graves we see a group of various genders and ages rising up out of water, which to me encompasses the idea of listening to a call, reaching up for a new start, so much better. You have the trumpet metaphor, the higher being, angel, the rolling water - yes, listen, yes, it is time, yes choose, yes rise. The card speaks to me. The composition works really well too, and yeah. The colors...such eye candy for me....
Runner Up:
First of all, I know I've written a bit about my take on this card in past posts and don't want to repeat myself too much, but it really is one of several of the majors where...I so, so much appreciate and agree with the Crowley Thoth's take as opposed to the RWS...just makes so much more SENSE to my mind. The ancient goddess nut stretching out over the world, the bold colors (interesting how closely these two cards mirror each other in color scheme!), the astrological association with pure elemental fire, renewal, the burning away of the old, new wild energy. The symbolism of the old god, the old ways, sitting static and tired in the background, small. And in front, the new god, young still, transparent, the coming of a new age, Aeon, transformation, deliberate, and you stay mindful of the old, the way that you can see through him, but that isn't you anymore, shouldn't be; time to leave it behind, listen, judge, choose what to take with you in the future, deliberate. Symbolism-rich and aesthetically stunning - what's not to love?
4 comments:
great post, thank you for sharing!
Sharyn/AJ
I'll admit, I'm deeply envious of the Nusantara Tarot! Love all the cards you've posted from it, and no chance of getting my mitts on it :( Still, lovely to see, and I agree - such movement and colour to this. I really love the Ancestral Path's take on this card, a woman rising up as though astral travelling, moving through a portal to another dimension ;) Also, the DruidCraft, where it's called Rebirth, and there's a child emerging from a cairn, a rabbit, and a horn...
Btw, no apols necessary re the sweet blogging award. I intended to drop you a comment to let you know, but my energy levels have been severely crimped by the pregnancy :/ Roll on the second trimester! And I don't think it's too late, if you fancy posting, as it's nice to see suggestions for new blogs to try out ;)
Great post on these cards! Really enjoyed reading your thoughts. :)
oh I was gonna do this too, but kinda got stuck between empress and emperor lol. It's so nice to read your posts though. You should go on with fave minors later!
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