Group 1: Hermit, Sun, Fool, World, 9(S/W/C/P), 10(S/W/C/P)

A deeper look: 

• The Hermit depicts an old man standing alone at the peak of the mountain while holding a lantern in one of his hands and a staff on the other.

• Mountain: Accomplishments, Path of commitment

• Lantern: Seal of Solomon, Spiritual knowledge and Wisdom

• Staff: Authority and Power

• Number 9: The highest in the decimal system before the digits start repeating.

The Hermit card symbolizes: 

• Self-reflection, introspection, contemplation, withdrawal, solitude, search for self  (Upright)

• Loneliness, isolation, recluse, being anti-social, rejection, returning to society (Reversed)

Personal Response:

• Never be afraid to take this chance to reflect, as it could help you clear your mind of all the clutter that comes with everyday life.

• Be authentic and true to yourself.

The number 19 in the Sun card represents the combination of new beginnings (1) and fulfillment (9), emphasizing success, vitality, and personal growth through completing cycles and embracing positivity to achieve one's goals. (Numerologist PRO) 

• To simplify the number 19 is a mix of 1 (new starts) and 9 (completing something), meaning that success comes when you finish what you started.

Recreating forgotten histories:

Like the Sun, we are still here to tell our tale” (Marmolejo Pg. 342)

• This means that the Sun card illuminate a path that moves forward, helping us to reclaim our stories that cannot be erased or exploited!

Deeper Connections: 

• Magician: The use of personal power and resources to achieve goals!

• Mental State 

• Outlook In LIfe : Be thankful. Feel Joy. Engage & Be Alive. Risk!

Most Important Detail:

 “The Sun asks: what makes you feel alive?” (Minnis, Pg. 220)

The Fool card in the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot symbolizes new beginnings, potential, willingness to take risks, faith, constant movement and change, following intuition, and freedom

• • Jumping into the unknown 

  • The Fool’s journey 

  • Trickster/Joker 

The number 0 which represent infinite possibilities. 

• • “0 bears the shape of an egg, to indicate that all things emerge from it” (Pollack, 16)

“The Fool is ready to be a stranger in a strange land, where they’ll need to learn from their mistakes and listen to others’ narratives of oppression” (Minnis, 9) 

Reversal:

• • Failure to follow instincts, not taking a chance out of fear, recklessness

“Failure is confronting, telling us we must continue regardless of the prospects because losing is not an excuse to dismiss life” (Marmolejo, 376)

Description

About confrontation with fear and doubt, often during private moments of reflection or personal suffering.

• Meanings are centered on fear, mental anguish, and intellectual turmoil, with the swords symbolizing negative thought patterns and inner conflict (Marmolejo, Pg. 347-348).

Dark Imagery

Typically, the figure is sitting up in bed, often cradling their head in their hands, which Marmolejo interprets as a visual metaphor for mental isolation, oppressive thoughts, psychological isolation in a dark, and the weight of personal fears (Marmolejo 347). 

• The use of a dark background seems to enhance the sense of nighttime, loneliness, and mental anguish. The card shows a person who is restricted in bed, so moment must be restricted.

Numerology Swords

The number nine symbolizes compromises and struggle.(Pollack, Pg. 158)

• "Wisdom is made when suffering's meaning has been distilled" (Marmolejo, Pg. 350).

Example - A student who, despite being overwhelmed by exams, work, and personal challenges, continues pushing through, staying resilient, but needs to consider whether constantly overworking is worth the stress on their mental and physical health. 

Aspects of the card

• Head Bandage - Signifies recovery, self-care, or a fixed worldview.

• Eight Wands Behind - Reflect hidden resources or a protective wall.

• Wand in Hand - Provides support, showing versatility of past tools.

• Green Landscape - Symbolizes hope amidst adversity.

Upright - Encourages perseverance and leaning on support systems.

Reversed - Highlights a tough situation, urging inner strength and resilience. (Taylor, 2021)

Numerology Wands

The number nine here explores themes of isolation, self-reflection, and personal growth.

• Past - Indicates a foundation rooted in solitude.

• Present - Encourages resolving issues through introspection.

• Future - Suggests finding comfort and strength in future solitude.

The Nine of Cups symbolizes happiness, emotional fulfillment, success, wishes coming true, peace, contentment, and gratitude (upright) 

• • Wish Card 

  • Enjoying the moment 

  • Avoiding worry and problems by concentrating on simple pleasures

“The card is held in our hands like a magic lamp with the vast, absolute power of a genie, a God to make our dreams come true” (Marmolejo, 356)  

“Extend our capacity for creative manifestation in the Nine of Cups” (Marmolejo, 356) 

Numerology Cups

• Nine represents attainment, transitions, self reflection 

  • “Associated with completion, looking back at an experience and learning how to relish what we’ve learned or gained, what we’ve overcome” (Barbeir, 239)

 Reversal: dissatisfaction, materialism, unrealistic dreams  

• May get what you wished but realize it was a mistake

• Be careful what you wish for 

Represents success, certainty, wealth, luxury, financial stability, security, material, rewarding and treating yourself 

• • Ability to see what matters in life and what goals truly demand our best efforts (Pollack, 243) 

  • Compromises and choices 

• • Sacrifice to pursue goals 

Numerology: 

• Nine represents closure, strength, compassion, suffering, and completion 

Reversal: Lack of discipline, irresponsibility, loss of independence 

• • Not knowing what you want or what matters to you (Pollack 244) 

“You can still know beauty even if the world thinks you’re ugly. Beauty can be a tangible presence in your life, uplifting and renewing the spirit” (Marmolejo, 364)

The Ten of Swords is associated with pain and violence, and is in conversation with the idea of the victim. Is a victim present? Who is the viewer meant to be?

•  Overreaction, exaggeration, melodramatics

• Signs of life within imagery

• Alternatively, spectacle

• Complacency when looking upon violence

A figure lies on the ground, turned away from the camera. Water is visible behind them, as well as a transitional sky. Ten swords are impaled in their back, as a red cloth covers them and their blood seeps into the sand. 

Swords, the suit associated with Air, are usually regarded as being two sided, like the double edge of a sword. In this way, interpretations of the Ten can be split- what exactly is being portrayed here?

• Rachel Pollack asserts that the Ten is indicative of overreaction: She reminds us that only one sword is needed to kill, and here we have an excess of 10.

• Additionally, in the Rider-Waite-Smith Ten, the figure’s hand is curled, rather than lax as it would be in death. Is the figure still alive, and the seeming ‘murder’ is just more melodrama?

• Adversely, Marmolejo posits that the violence of the Ten is all too real. He points to the unbelievable brutality in the card, and our complacency as an audience to simply watch.

• Marmolejo draws the comparison to the spectacle of violence against oppressed peoples, and tragedy being repackaged as art. With the face turned away, nothing can be known about the victim other than their victimhood.

• Is it an additional element of complacency to call this melodrama? Are we meant to be the aggressor overreacting enough to stab with ten swords, or the victim? Is there a victim at all, or is the card misleading?

“The Ten of Swords is then the card of ultimate objectification.” (Marmolejo, 385)

The Ten of Wands struggles to maintain his grip, his body angled tensely to portray the strength needed for this work. Who is he working for? What is he working for?

• Spread too thin- overcommitted and floundering

• Carrying a burden, or being unable to carry it anymore

• The labor demanded of the oppressed 

• Determination and hard work

• Need for control- things slipping through your grip

A masculine figure dressed in working clothes bows his head against the strain of trying to hold onto the wands, which are gripped precariously. He seems to be trying to move towards a distant town.

Wands, the suit associated with Fire, are known for energy, action, and movement

The Ten has found himself over-extended and over-committed, unable to keep hold of everything in his grasp.

• This loss of control is limiting his movement and freedom- the man seems to be struggling to move forward under the weight of the wands.

• “The Fire energy acts without thinking, takes on new problems simply for the challenge.” (Pollack, 170)

• Marmolejo points to the idea that the Ten could represent the labor of the exploited, and the harsh toll that capitalism takes on the underprivileged.

• He points to the distant town as the immaterial promises of capitalism- upwards mobility, security, and a reprieve from the wands’ labor.

• However, he acknowledges the determination present in the card, suggesting that this persistence could be thrown into the work that gives your life meaning, rather than the work that is demanded from you

• “The magic wands are synonymous with creativity and invention, they speak about our capacity to create, invent, and manifest.” (Barbier, 249).

• Laetitia Barbier points to Wands (and Fire) as a suit of creativity, perhaps indicating that the Ten’s creativity is being stifled by the demands placed upon him

“...We cannot see why we shouldn’t sacrifice our well-being because of the false belief that more is more.” (Barbier, 251)

A deeper look: 

• There is a couple holding each other while facing a house and a green garden. Beside them, there are two children playing joyously. The couple is seen holding each other while the children are playing, Above, is ten cups in the air with a rainbow.

• Green Land: Fertility

• River: Free Flowing and peace

• Ten Cups: Blessings from heaven, stablity

• Rainbow: End of hard times and sorrows, and a new happy life

The Ten of Cups card symbolizes: 

• Happiness, homecomings, fulfillment, emotional stability, security, domestic harmony (Upright)

• Unhappy home, separation, domestic conflict, disharmony, isolation​ (Reversed)

Personal Response:

• True emotional fulfillment 

• Relax and enjoy your moment

• All your effort is deserved

A deeper look: 

• An old man surrounded by family. He wears a robe with grapevines and moon crescents. There is a couple with a child playing with dogs. 

• Old man: Wisdom and experience.

• Child: A new life

• Pentacles: Happiness that one experiences and it is shared. 

• “This card knows that all the old concerns are still so contemporary, and there is no new knowledge. But as we engage in a process of self-conscious traditionalism, these concerns can be addressed in the import of our ancestors’ language, vision, and values” (Marmolejo, Pg. 401).

The Ten of Pentacles card symbolizes: 

• Legacy, roots, family, ancestry, inheritance, windfall, foundations, privilege, affluence, stability, tradition (Upright)

• Family disputes, bankruptcy, debt, fleeting success, conflict over money, instability, breaking traditions (Reversed)

Personal Response:

• Satisfaction of achievement.

• Decisions that can cause long-lasting positive results.