Today I start a new series of cognitive posts. This time I invite artists. As I said, my hobby is Tarot cards. Perhaps some of you have read my notes on the philosophy of major arcanes. But now I want to talk about something else. I drew attention to the fact that the image of Tarot Arcana is widely used in art and even fashion. Here you can find also amazing photos of the appropriate subjects. Tarot Major Arcana in Photographs
Recently, a wonderful video from fashion week appeared on the Internet, which you can see at the end of this post.
All this can be explained very easy. The Tarot theme is interesting, and the cards themselves are unusually beautiful. The temptation to use them as an object for inspiration is great enough. In addition, we can talk about this from a pragmatic point of view, because the cards themselves are expensive, besides the images for meditation are also in demand.
But as in the numerous decks, and in the pictures on the theme of Tarot Arcana, I often see inconsistencies with the recognized canons. Someone can say: what's the difference? Why cannot I draw a young pregnant woman against the background of nature and call her a major tarot Arcana the Empress? I will try to give you a simple example. In Peterhof there is a fountain "Samson tearing the jaws of a lion".
Once @inber said to me: "You know, but it can not be Samson." And she was absolutely right. Let's remember the legend of Samson.
According to the biblical account, which describes him as having taken vows as a Nazirite, Samson was given immense strength to aid him against his enemies and allow him to perform glorious feats, such as quickly killing a lion, slaying an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a temple of the Philistines with his bare hands. However, if Samson's long hair was cut, then his Nazirite vow would be violated, and he would lose his strength. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson
«If Samson's long hair was cut, then his Nazirite vow would be violated, and he would lose his strength»...
It would seem that the author of the sculpture very slightly changed Samson's appearance and ... he ceased to correspond to the legend. And here is another Samson image for comparison.
For the one who remembers the legend, the difference is obvious.
Absolutely the same thing happens with the image of Arcana Tarot. I found this picture on the Internet.
This painting is for sale. But will somebody want to buy it? At first glance, it is no different from the images of the major arcana the Lovers, which we see in the tarot cards. Unless people are dressed in more modern clothes. But this is not so. There is only one small detail that completely distorts the meaning of the arcana.
The same can be said about this work.
What I want to say. There is a creative imagination of the artist, but there are certain canons that need to be followed so that your works can be appreciated by people who understand the subject matter. For this it is necessary to have at least a minimal idea of each arcana and its symbolism.
I invite you to a fascinating journey through the arcanes of the Tarot, to learn their meaning and symbolism. I will not teach you to read tarot cards! We will consider them from the point of view of the correctness of their image, as, for example, you get acquainted with the content of a legend or a fairy tale before depicting its heroes. I hope that you will enjoy this journey.
Every Monday I will offer you to consider the image of one arcana. I also invite you to ask your questions in the comments.
The one who can tell what mistakes are in the last two images will receive from me 100% me every day for one post a day until the following Monday.