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| Posted: Thu Nov 20th, 2008 05:54 pm |
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rotin00
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My name is Peter Rotin and I have painted the Rotin Tarot deck a couple of years back and Adam McLean has published them in his limited edition Tarot series. I would like to hear any feedback about the images, especially, cards 0 - 9. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Peter
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21st, 2008 05:18 am |
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debra
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Hello, Peter. I have your deck.
I love the simplicity of the images. Most of them are very clear. Death is the best I have ever seen. When I look at your death card, my blood runs cold. But it also raises the question: What is that light? Simple image, clear meaning, deep possibilities.
I also find the following very evocative: The Magus, High Priestess, Lovers, Justice, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun and World. Each of these has very simple but clear symbolism.
A few of the cards are not so clear to me. The Fool, the Empress, the Chariot, the Wheel of Fortune--they are so abstract, and I don't see a "clue" to their identity. For example, the Empress might also be a Fool--there in the middle, which way to go, all paths open. With the Chariot...I guess I would like to see a little more of the road the chariot is on. For these cards, without the titles, I might not identify them correctly.
I have a question about the extra card. Adam wrote that there is a little "tarot secret" there. I spent some time counting the triangles and still don't know the secret. A hint, please? Or maybe...the answer?
Overall I love your deck, and it is one of my favorites. If my house caught on fire, it is one of the decks I would try to save.
PS: I sometimes use one of your images as my avatar here and on other forums. :)
Last edited on Fri Nov 21st, 2008 05:40 am by debra
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21st, 2008 10:28 am |
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gregory
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Yes - I really like it too, and will get it out to comment later. But I, like debra, have spent long time trying to work out the little secret....
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22nd, 2008 03:37 pm |
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rotin00
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Dear Debra,
First of all thanks very much for your kind words :) it is nice to see that you appreciate the work i did in those cards...as far as Death goes, I do agree with you that it is one of the most powerful in the deck. Actually, when designing the deck I had made a version of The World that was a negative image of Death (ie, a small black dot in the centre of a white background). For me it would have created an entry and an exit point to the Deck, but then I opted for the emerging symbolism of the cross that comes in the end. I am very much into Jungian Psychology and Christian symbolism and the cross is too important since it represents death (the death of Christ, the horizontal line) and life (the risen Christ, the vertical line).
For those cards that you seem not to be quite clear about, I advise you to visit my website : http://www.global.net.mt/rotin00 were you will find some quotes that might help. Please do not use the email address from that site because I do not have any access to it anymore (that site is a remnant of the dial up days). For example, The Fool has a very simple quote taken from a Milan Kundera novel that for me encapsulates in a few words the concept behind it.
Now, in order to unlock some secrets: Think about the little white circle in Death. Then think about it when looking at the small seed of light encapsuled by darkness that is giving life in The Sun. And then again, look at it (as a negative image) in the centre of the Empress. The Tarot only makes sense when you see the small parts in the whole, and then again, by looking into the whole and seeing the small parts....
...look more closely at the previous paragraph and you might find your answer for the 'small secret' there :)
Peter Rotin.
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22nd, 2008 09:44 pm |
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5th Post |
debra
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Oh Peter...I counted little triangles. I counted big triangles. I counted little triangles and big triangles. I turned the card sideways to see if an image emerges at a different angle. I'm just no good at these kinds of puzzles....
Sincerely yours, and still puzzled,
debra
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 05:10 am |
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rotin00
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Hint #2.... Start looking at things backwards.......
PS. Stop counting triangles!!! Who told you to count triangles?? :)
Peter Rotin.
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 05:17 am |
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debra
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The first thing I did was count triangles!
It seemed like the obvious thing to do...
Then I consulted with Gregory, our blue cat.
She was counting triangles, too.
Ok, look at it backwards...I'll try that, and let you know if anything happens...
(Backwards?
ohhh Gregory...quick start looking backwards!)
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 11:26 am |
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gregory
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BACKWARDS ???
Oh. OK then.... back(wards) later.....
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 11:50 am |
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gregory
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From the Empress (birth) through the Sun (life) to the end (death) ??? In our end is our beginning ?
MAYBE ?
Last edited on Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 11:51 am by gregory
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 04:03 pm |
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debra
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How is that represented visually in the card, though? All I see is...triangles.
Here's a link that shows the card we're discussing--it's the one that was on the cover of the box (the tape didn't hold so I keep it with the deck--that's why I've been calling it the "extra" card).
http://www.alchemywebsite.com/tarot/art_tarot08.html
edited: LOL, I see Peter has made it his avatar!
So, fellow tarot lovers....what do you all see? Can you help us out here?
Last edited on Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 04:05 pm by debra
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 04:05 pm |
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gregory
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I'm also looking at what he SAID....
or trying to.....
And my theory could also encompass opposites, of which that card holds very many....
The cover card does have the other 21 cards within it, kind of, too.
Last edited on Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 05:09 pm by gregory
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 10:04 pm |
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rotin00
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Hint #3 - The Star lights the way......
PS. Gregory, you're on the right track........
Peter Rotin.
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 10:06 pm |
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gregory
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Wow thanks; I'm not usually....  And especially not when Debra is looking at the same things !
Funny you should mention the Star; that was another I was looking at earlier....
Last edited on Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 10:08 pm by gregory
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| Posted: Sun Nov 23rd, 2008 10:17 pm |
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debra
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I remain befuddled.
Don't worry, I'm used to it.
What am I LOOKING at? That's my problem. I can see that the geometry isn't symmetrical. It looks simpler than it is.
But that's it.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 24th, 2008 12:19 am |
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papoon
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gregory wrote:
The cover card does have the other 21 cards within it, kind of, too.
That had sort of been the direction I was heading, seeing the B&W triangle pairs representing the card backs, but I was thinking that there should be 22, not 21. Looking at it again, I'm wondering if the 22nd is, in fact, the whole card, with the W/B division represented by the diagonal formed by all of the black triangle hypotenuses (hypoteni?) that extend from the lower left corner to the upper right?
Love the deck, BTW Peter.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 24th, 2008 09:48 am |
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gregory
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papoon wrote: gregory wrote:
The cover card does have the other 21 cards within it, kind of, too.
That had sort of been the direction I was heading, seeing the B&W triangle pairs representing the card backs, but I was thinking that there should be 22, not 21. Looking at it again, I'm wondering if the 22nd is, in fact, the whole card, with the W/B division represented by the diagonal formed by all of the black triangle hypotenuses (hypoteni?) that extend from the lower left corner to the upper right?
That was what I was thinking - the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and being the whole 22nd card. Holism.
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| Posted: Sat Nov 29th, 2008 12:24 am |
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rotin00
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Well, secrets should not be revealed, but when you're caught, there's not much one can do :)
I was always fascinated by the fact that The Fool is unnumbered, giving it a certain ambiguity in the flow of the Tarot. A couple of years back when I was studying the Tarot, I came about a book on numbers and another on buddhism about the importance of the discovery of the number zero by human kind and the importance of the concept of emptiness for buddhists. It was quite revealing at the time and helped me piece many thought processes together. What I tried to do with the front card was simply that. There are 21 cards drawn on the card but the card in itself is another card, becoming the 22nd one. It exists when the other 21 exist, a concept of buddhist interbeing. The Fool is the most important card in the deck, it is the beginning, the end, and the reference point of all the other cards. Like the number zero, it has no apparent value unless one is ready to understand that without nothing you cannot have something, that emptiness is the root of all being.
Well now that you've unlocked the first secret, lets see if you can unlock the real secret of the front card:
why are the cards spread in that particular manner?? :)
Peter Rotin.
PS. The two books I was talking about are 'Pi in the Sky' by John D. Barrow and 'The Heart of Understanding' by Thich Nhat Hanh. If you're interested, check them out.
Last edited on Sat Nov 29th, 2008 06:45 am by rotin00
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| Posted: Sat Nov 29th, 2008 01:33 am |
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debra
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I...don't even see the 21 cards.
Ok wait. I had a beer. Now I see them. And there's a structure.
Still confused, but at least not totally blind.
Last edited on Sat Nov 29th, 2008 06:19 am by debra
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| Posted: Sat Nov 29th, 2008 06:44 am |
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debra
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Ok.
4, contained by 9, contained by 8.
?
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rotin00
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hmmm....well.....let's see......yeah it has something to do with numbers......and harmony.......a certain balance.............again, The Star lights the way........... :)
Peter Rotin.
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gregory
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18 ? 8 round the edge of what could look like ONE card; but also WITHIN one card, as a start.....
And within 18 = 8 + 1 = 9 - there are 9 smaller rectangles....
Last edited on Fri Dec 5th, 2008 10:22 am by gregory
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debra
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Uh huh.
But I thought Peter said we weren't supposed to count triangles?
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rotin00
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Start looking at the design as if you're looking at a spread of cards in front of you...gregory, i know where you're heading, but my advise is to stop looking at the whole thing rationally with your mind and start looking with your eyes...let the image take you around its twisting corridors...don't think about it, just look at it.
Peter Rotin.
Last edited on Fri Dec 5th, 2008 08:49 pm by rotin00
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papoon
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Well, as the Star (which lights the way) features a star within a star within a star... can it be that this card features a rectangular spread of cards within a rectangular spread of cards within a rectangular spread of cards?
Although I'm not sure where the numbers come into it. 8, 9, 4?
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gregory
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I wasn't counting triangles; I was counting RECTANGLES. But OK.... brain out of gear.....
So - it is a spiral. OK.....
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rotin00
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Yes Papoon, that is the way to look at it....try spreading the cards the same way you see on the front...remember, the Tarot is ONE, and ALL, but yet again ONE.
Gregory, I see you used Pythagoras' concept of analysing numbers (18 = 1 + 8 = 9). That was very much in my mind when I was designing the deck. I had learnt about it in Papus' 'Tarot of the Bohemians' and was totally absorbed by how numbers form a never ending spiral. Keep looking into it. Let the image grow out of the card.
Peter Rotin.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 17th, 2008 11:43 pm |
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rotin00
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I am trying to use this forum to put to words the ideas that came to me visually with the Tarot. I hope that you find it interesting. Please feel free to comment and to add your own ideas.
Peter Rotin.
Genesis of the Rotin Tarot - Part I
……I used the concept of repetition many times throughout the deck...everything ends and starts with The Fool, which is represented by a number of repeating concentric white (light) and black (dark) circles. The opposites here are still completely differentiated, with the light and dark side existing outside (and inside) of each other. I see this as the basic frequency that underlies all of creation. The Magus (male archetype) unbalances this 'perfect (imperfect)' equation. The wand (male phallic symbol) which represents 'oneness' introduces the concept of duality since it creates a 'left' and a 'right', an 'above' and a 'below'. The opposites oppose each other in an image where tension develops outwards throughout the whole universe.
The female archetype enters the Tarot with the High Priestess. Here reflection is the key. After the unbalancing of the equation caused by the introduction of ‘oneness’ by The Magus, The High Priestess rebalances the light and dark side by making them embrace each other. Whereas in The Magus the light and dark side develop outwards, in The High Priestess they close in on each other by forming a circle (female symbol) made up of interlocking crescent moons…..
Last edited on Sat Jan 17th, 2009 08:25 am by rotin00
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| Posted: Sat Jan 17th, 2009 12:28 am |
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rotin00
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Genesis of the Rotin Tarot - part II
…..the circle returns in The Empress. Here the dark circle is enveloped by the light. Light in form of rays is emanating outwards, whereas dark rays keep the seed of life locked in equilibrium. In order for anything to grow, a balance must be struck between that which is growing within and the sustenance that comes from without. Without proper care and shelter, the seed is lost to the outside chaos. If, on the other hand, the ‘mother’ engulfs the seed in an overprotective grasp, the seed will never grow beyond its present state.
The male archetype returns with the fourth card, the Emperor. The creative wand of The Magus returns as the coloumn of The Emperor. The coloumn, as opposed to the wand, keeps the tension within itself. It is unaware of the darkness that surrounds it. Here, the genetic code that underlies the sturcture of all organisms takes shape and is ‘cast in stone’. The Emperor, as the fourth, is also the first of the new series. The end becomes the beginning, and the stage is set for the new cycle to begin its course…..
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| Posted: Sat Feb 21st, 2009 08:48 am |
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29th Post |
rotin00
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From Abstraction to Form...
...The Emperor has an object as its central theme (the coloumn) as opposed to abstract designs that evolve around the light/dark theme. The 2nd cycle explores the way form materializes in a world of ideas and starts interacting, sometimes imposing, its own will.
Now that the word has taken form, this new form will act upon its surrounding, trying to impose its own will on the nature that creates it. In The Pope, the will of the light is imposed on the darkness that came about in the formation of the coloumn (tree) of life. Order is here imposed on chaos and a temporary truce is reached between the forces, where light is allowed to shine in the darkness.
In The Lovers, darkness (chaos) is once again making itself felt. The blindfolded (cannot see, light around but darkness within) cupid continues to grow unconscious of the forces that are gradually surrounding him.
In the Chariot, a new fragile truce is reached between the two opposing forces. Here again we see the return of the abstract form. We can see the temple but the horizontal division makes the ultimate goal unattainable. Light and darkness are blocking each others way to the entrance of the temple.
The Chariot, being the 7th card in the Tarot, is the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd cycle.
Last edited on Sat Feb 21st, 2009 08:56 am by rotin00
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10th, 2009 11:46 pm |
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BobH
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Hello Peter
I have just discovered (last night) this Tarot Collectors Forum - although as a regular visitor to The Alchemy Website for the past year or so, I admit I should have been aware of its existence much earlier!
During 2008 I purchased two copies of your tarot deck from Adam McClean and it therefor should come as no great surprise that I am extremely interested in your reasons for conceptualizing it in the way that you did. Consequently I am reading your postings here with great interest
I fully intend to give you my impressions of your deck in the very near future in the hope that my comments might prove useful in some way to you
Best regards
Bob
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| Posted: Thu Mar 12th, 2009 08:42 pm |
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31st Post |
rotin00
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Hello Bob,
Thanks very much for your interest. I will be waiting for your thoughts and impressions. The more one learns about the Tarot, the more mystfying and illuminating the journey through the images becomes and their mystery becomes all the more complex and powerful. I will be posting more of my thoughts on the cards in the near future.
Regards,
Peter Rotin.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 12th, 2009 11:54 pm |
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32nd Post |
debra
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I'm enjoying it, too, Peter...just absorbing what you have to say. Your vision of the progression of the cards is more complex than I imagined!
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| Posted: Sat Mar 21st, 2009 10:35 am |
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33rd Post |
rotin00
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Form Transcending the World of Duality…
....The Chariot introduces a very important concept that will later be a core concept in the progression of the deck: horizontality. Whereas vertical lines symbolize a connection between heaven and earth and bring about duality on the horizontal plane (earth), the horizontal line divides heaven and earth once again and focuses the path onto ‘earthly’ matters.
Justice is the first card where this horizontal division is made apparent. A new equilibrium is reached, this time on the material level. The blade of the sword represents the middle path between the two opposing forces.
In the next card, The Hermit, we see light, cloaked in darkness, trying to return to the ‘source’ (heaven). Having walked the earth (materiality, the division between light and darkness) for some time, The Hermit looks inside himself to find the answers to the sense of emptiness brought about by living in a world ruled by duality. Guided by the inner light, The Hermit begins a path were he tries to regain the lost heaven (oneness, which was initially broken by The Magus’ Wand; the Garden of Eden, and the way to the Tree of Life, blocked by the Sword of Fire) where light and darkness transcend duality.
In the 10th card, The Wheel of Fortune, we see the return of the design used in The Fool. Whereas in The Fool, the concentric circles where completely differentiated and light and darkness existed within and outside of each other, here light and darkness exist on the same plane and create a vortex that spirals out towards infinity. This vortex introduces confusion between the two opposing forces. The Wheel of Fortune is the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th cycle on the Path of The Tarot....
Last edited on Sun Mar 22nd, 2009 07:21 am by rotin00
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| Posted: Sat Mar 28th, 2009 12:46 pm |
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34th Post |
rotin00
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...The 4th cycle represents the end of the first series and the beginning of the second series in the flow of the Tarot. The Wheel of Fortune brings about a change in the flow of the Path of the Tarot. In the first 3 cycles of cards we had the ‘descent’ of energy from a pure abstract level (God, Heaven) to the material level (Human, Earth). The Wheel of Fortune reverses this flow. Humanity, having descended from pure energy to matter, needs to regain its 'higher nature'.
Dream #11 – Strength
I saw myself in a mirror. At first I could see my face but immediately a very strong sensation starting growing inside of me: it felt like an energy I rarely felt before (this feeling came to me only on a number of times when I was dreaming, and usually the dreams have to do with me realizing that I can fly). As I stared into the mirror I started seeing that my face was changing into that of a wolf. I remember my teeth grinding together, hair growing and my facial features changing. The burst of energy inside of me turned into fear. I battled with this sudden burst and I tried to focus myself because I felt that I was going to lose myself, and my humanity, if I let the wolf take over. I focused on the mirror image in front of me and looked deeply into my eyes. At this point I could see that behind the exterior image of the wolf it was still me. The energy inside of me turned into the feeling of compassion and a sense of relief took over my body. At this point my family members came into the room and I told them not to be afraid. It was me they were looking at. As I continued looking at my reflection in the mirror, I woke up… I was turned on my side and my hand was sticking out of the bed. I was still grinding my teeth and I still had my reflection in the mirror in front of me. Dreams and reality were still blurred. I became aware of a chill in my arm and my sight started changing focus. The wolf was in front of me. Fear was again gripping me. The wolf was still there. Again, I focused myself and slowly I could see the image of the wolf dissolve and the image of my hand sticking out clearer. At this point the image of the 11th card of the Tarot came to me. I felt a great surge of energy in my hand and I woke up radiating. I started drawing…. Last edited on Sat Mar 28th, 2009 12:46 pm by rotin00
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| Posted: Sat Apr 11th, 2009 01:32 pm |
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35th Post |
rotin00
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Cards 12 & 13 – The Descent into Darkness
The Path of the Tarot continues with the 12th and 13th card, The Hanged Man and Death. In these cards we see a descent into darkness.
Like the hero, whose path makes him get swallowed by the monster, here our hero has to face death in order to attain his resurrection to the ‘new’ life. Death is here seen not as an end in itself, but as a promise for a new beginning. That is why I used the concept of the Yin and Yang, where we have the seed of the Yang residing in the Yin (I used the symbolism of the ‘seed’ of life surrounded by death (darkness) later on in the deck in The Sun).
At face value, The Hanged Man can be seen as a ‘negative’ card, where I see myself coming face to face with the problem that existentialist philosophers like Camus faced: “judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy” (Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus). Here I leave the argument up to you. What I feel that I need to remark is that the rope in The Hanged Man can be seen as the final answer to a state of despair (or to use a more existentialist term, nausea) with life, or else, one can see it as a way how to climb up, face life (and death), and continue growing to another level. To quote Nietzsche, “...Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman - a rope over an abyss...”
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| Posted: Sun Apr 12th, 2009 04:47 am |
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36th Post |
debra
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I think this is a totally original interpretation of the Hanged Man's rope in tarot. Thank you!
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| Posted: Sun Apr 12th, 2009 08:38 pm |
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37th Post |
rotin00
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You're welcome Debra :)
Strength raises the issue of the importance of how we face our fears, whether we let the fear grow within us and take control or whether we turn that fear into energy for us to use. The way I look at The Hanged Man is a continuation of this. We must keep in mind that the rope in The Hanged Man is just a rope, it does not mean that it is the end: and a rope has many uses, it is not just for hanging!
Peter Rotin
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| Posted: Sat Apr 18th, 2009 09:12 am |
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38th Post |
rotin00
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Vision #14 - Temperance
The 13th card is the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th series on the Path of the Tarot. Our hero has been stripped of everything. All hopes and fears, all dreams and suffering and pain and confusion, have been burned away (process of nigredo, death of the phoenix in the flames) in the fire of emotion. He stands empty in the face of life and death, but he still stands. He sees that what he used to call reality is, in reality, outside of himself. Everything is outside of himself. He is completley empty. Yet, he never felt so complete. In the distance he hears the sound of a river. The sound gets closer to him. He realizes that this sound was there inside of him all along, but he could not hear it because of all the noise. He feels the sound of the river flow right through him, from earth to heaven, from heaven to earth. He realizes that his feet are not touching the ground. It feels like every cell in his body is rushing on with the river, every cell is flowing away and back again. His every cell is vibrating so intensely that it feels like he could disintegrate any moment now.…He hears a long forgotten voice resound inside of him: ‘Behold, the eternal moment of life flows on and on in this river. You used to think you were alive but you were dead. And now that you are dead, you have never been more alive!’....
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19th, 2009 03:43 pm |
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39th Post |
Abimu
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Hi Rotin!
I just saw an overview of your deck in the Aecletic Tarot website. It is difficult to interpret these cards especially if one is a tarot beginner.
Last edited on Sun Apr 19th, 2009 04:01 pm by Abimu
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19th, 2009 06:35 pm |
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40th Post |
rotin00
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Hi Abimu, and welcome to this forum. Well quite honestly I cannot give you a straight answer for your question because I guess the way I see those cards is totally different from how others see them. Actually, this forum is giving me the opportunity to give some kind of 'explanation' to the way I see them. The Tarot is made up of very complex symbolism and to fully appreciate their significance one has to be ready to delve very deep both in his studies of the symbols and within himself. I hope that you find this journey enlightening.
Peter Rotin.
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19th, 2009 06:37 pm |
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41st Post |
debra
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What is your avatar, Peter?
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19th, 2009 07:07 pm |
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42nd Post |
rotin00
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Hi Debra,
My avatar is a painting I did way back when I was drawing the Tarot deck. I used to think of it as a self portrait in those days!!
Peter Rotin.
Last edited on Sun Apr 19th, 2009 07:09 pm by rotin00
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19th, 2009 07:30 pm |
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43rd Post |
debra
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LOL my hair looks like that when I first get up in the morning.
I like it, Peter.
Thanks for continuing to explain your cards.
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| Posted: Sun Apr 19th, 2009 07:35 pm |
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44th Post |
Abimu
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Hi Rotin!
Yes I think you're right about perceiving the Tarot different from other people. I honestly respect your views because as you said the Tarot is a continously enlightening journey.
By the way I am from Malta too. In which area do you live?
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| Posted: Mon Apr 27th, 2009 08:38 pm |
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45th Post |
rotin00
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The Devil – Card #15
“.....the enemy held my will in his power and from it he made a chain and shackled me. For my will was perverse and lust had grown from it, and when I gave in to lust habit was born, and when I did not resist the habit it became a necessity. These were the links which together formed what I have called my chain, and it held me fast in the duress of servitude.....”
Saint Augustine, Confessions
Whereas in the 14th card we have a divine vision that elevates our spirit to that which is most sublime, the 15th card plunges us right back into our animal nature. I do not like to use the terms ‘high’ and ‘low’ because we tend to favour our ‘higher’ being to the animal inside of us. I tend to prefer the concept brought forward by Nietzsche in ‘The Birth of Tragedy’, where Apollo and Dionysius are seen as forming part of a duality. I think that it is a mistake to identify ourselves with our intellectual (mind, higher self) side and keep the animal (physical, lower self) in the shadows. We are what we are and we can never grow beyond our infantile state unless we look ourselves straight in the face and see the animal that resides in us all. I used this card to do my 'self-portrait'.
Last edited on Mon Apr 27th, 2009 09:16 pm by rotin00
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rotin00
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Card #16 – The Tower
This was the first card I drew from this deck. It came to me in a moment of inspiration and I saw it develop before my own eyes. As one can see, the basic theme of the traditional Tower symbology is repeated here, with the difference of putting the onlooker on top of the tower in place of making him/her observe from a distance. The tower top from above can also be seen as the crown falling to earth. The onlooker is him/herself falling from the top of the tower.
After having come to touch with his ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ self, our hero experiences a shock in his ego consciousness. What used to be taken for granted within himself is completley shattered by the sudden flash of lightning that rocks his existence right through to his foundations. According to CG Jung, this stage is very important in the process of individuation since the person’s ‘centre’ stops being in his ego and the development of his true self (containing both the conscious and the unconscious aspects of his psyche) can begin. Like the 12th and 13th card before, this is not a ‘negative’ card. It represents another challenging situation that our psyche has to go through in its quest to reach a higher (and lower, thus more complete) level of consciousness.
The 16th card is the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 6th series on the Path of the Tarot.
Last edited on Sat May 2nd, 2009 01:01 pm by rotin00
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| Posted: Mon May 11th, 2009 01:34 pm |
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47th Post |
rotin00
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Vision #17 – The Star
Broken and shattered after the fall from The Tower, I lingered in darkness. The mirror of consciousness lay broken to pieces beside me. In despair, I started picking up the pieces and I tried to put them back together. The more I tried, the more the pieces kept breaking in my hands. Exhausted, I fell into a dark sleep....
In my sleep I wandered endlessly in the night. Finally, having lost all hope of finding my way out, I stopped looking. As I closed my eyes, a voice called me by the name, and I started seeing. The image of The Lovers came to mind. And then The Tower. And then Death. One by one, the Tarot images flooded my vision. A new realisation blossomed in my soul. I started seeing connections between the images that I had never made before. I started seeing how the Tarot comes together as a whole, and yet again, I could see how every image is a world in itself....
Full of joy, my heart opened up and I melted into a drop of water. And as I turned into an ocean, I could see how a grain of sand holds together the whole universe. A great light flooded my senses and as my eyes turned up to the sky, I saw The Star. I could see that everything in the universe was glowing....
Before the vision ended I heard a voice exclaim: ‘You are now close to the mystery of the squaring of the circle’.
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| Posted: Wed May 13th, 2009 02:05 am |
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48th Post |
lulukat
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Now I must have this one... I need to throw this computer away! or poke my eyes out!
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| Posted: Fri May 15th, 2009 11:29 pm |
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49th Post |
rotin00
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Vision #18 - The Moon
'Let this vision be a warning to all those who seek the truth on the Path of the Tarot. No known stairway can lead to me. Look closely at me and see the small light that you saw when facing Death. Yes, I am closer now, and yet, more distant. First they built roads, then stairways, and then towers towards me, but they were only reaching out towards a reflection. As much as you want to come to me, I have to be willing to come to you. For those of you whom I have found, forget the path you took where I reached out for you because the next time you’ll pass through I won’t be there. You have been granted the vision of Temperance, but you seek to be a tree before you are a seed. Heed closely my warning. Soon this vision will end. I am already in eclipse.'
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| Posted: Sat May 23rd, 2009 03:57 pm |
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50th Post |
rotin00
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Card #19 – The Sun
‘The father begets the son, who in turn, begets the father’.
This is an image of growth and equilibrium. The energy locked up in The Emperor’s coloumn is finally released. Our hero, having passed through the challenges set on the Path of the Tarot, has managed to turn the tunnel of Death into the Seed of Life. Heaven comes down to Earth, and the opposing forces of light and darkness can now grow together in a state of equilibrium (inter-balance). Our hero is now able to let life grow within and outside of himself. He is the light that gives life.
With this card we have the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th and final cycle on the Path of the Tarot.
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