Tarot Yin & Yang - The Fool & The Hermit, part 5

The Fool and the Hermit are linked by the dynamic dichotomy of youth and old age, or rather an immature neophyte and wise elder.

Their cards differ like night and day. The Fool seems to be trotting off a cliff in broad daylight with the shining sun at his back, while the Hermit stands at attention on a dark moonless midnight hour. The Fool wears an elaborate, fancy shirt full of vitality but the Hermit wears a plain grey robe.

Both of these men carry a stick. The Fool uses his wand to carry his material belongings in a manicured purse, while the Hermit uses his golden staff for balance on his high ground.


The Fool holds a white rose in his left hand - that symbolizes his innocence. In stark contrast, the Hermit holds a lantern of enlightenment - to guide those below. The lantern shines as a golden six pointed star.

These Tarot Cards illustrate the common theme of youthful indiscretion versus the wise man of the mountain. Whatever your stage in life or personal endeavor in a martial art, work, life or love - these two cards represent the two extremes of a journey.

The Hermit is a serious card. The man's dress, stature, and imagery convey humble and almost divine calling, while the imagery of the fool is lighthearted, playful, and of course foolish.


Back in 1971 the Hermit gained a note popularity thanks to Led Zeppelin. The design of The Hermit was used on the inside cover art of Led Zeppelin's fourth album. The Hermit is associated with one of their most popular songs - A Stairway to Heaven. You can often find lyrics printed beside the image of The Hermit. In this song the wondering English Minstrels tell us of a foolish stairway to heaven...they combine ancient instruments with modern rock. Perhaps Led Zeppelin will have to write a song that is inspired by the fool?

LINK TO PART 6

Tarot Yin & Yang - The Lovers & the Devil, part 4

The Lovers Tarot Card
the card of love

It is nothing new that the Tarot Lovers Card is considered the complement to the Tarot Devil Card. One card exudes 'Love' white the other shows us 'Hate.'

Both cards feature a nude Man and Woman. The Lovers are reminiscent of the the Garden of Eden. There is even a serpent in a tree behind the woman.

In the Lovers Cards the woman stands in front of a tree that bears an orange fruit, while the man stand in front of a tree that bears a flaming leaf. In the Devil's Card the fruits of the tress have become attached to the naked man and women as tails. At the end of the woman's tail is a purple fruiting body - perhaps a bunch of grapes. She is aware that she is picking at it as if to offer it to the man. The man also has a tail with a flaming leaf but the Devil is flaming his passion by goating him with torch.

When combined the dichotomy of an Angel and Devil are apparent. Their colours are even counter charged. The Angel of the Lovers is wearing a purple robe and has red avian wings, while the Devil has purple bat wings and a red body. The Angel appears at high noon when the sun is directly overhead and clearly shines a loving energy, while the Devil appears in darkness. The light hidden and occulted.

The Angel has golden skin while the devil has horns on his head. The Angel intuitively appears loving, while the Devil is frightening.

The Devil Card
the card Hate

The Angel appears out the clouds and shows the lovers that they are to be united. But the Devil sits on a black monolith that chains the lovers around their necks. The Devil is the less than friendly middle man who keeps the lovers in a wicked bondage.

The Devils hands are in two different positions. The Devil has his right hand over the woman with a tattoo upon it. While his left hand holds a torch that manipulates the flaming tail of the man.

The Devil is manipulating man and woman, or two points of view for his own benefit. One of the Devils most powerful tool is hatred - it is his perfect tool that allows it to control and manipulate lovers, families, and nations.

The Devil has an upside down pentagram on his head. The suit of pentacles also has pentagrams, but they are right side up and surrounded by a circle. This pentacle suit usually deals with earthly issues or advancement - wealth, trade, and life skills. But an upside down pentagram symbolizes a corruption of earth skills or rather greed.

These two tarot cards match in design like yin and yang or rather - love and hate.

LINK TO PART 5

Tarot Yin & Yang - the High Priestess & the Chariot, part 2

The High Priestess is aligned with Chariot for several reasons. Firstly they have a balance of black and white via the pillars of the High Priestess and black and white sphinxes.

In scientific terms the pillars represent potential energy while the chariot is its complement - kinetic energy. The High Priestess is holding the TORAH in her hands, which is considered by many the most important part of the Old Testament. Over her heart she wears an equal length white cross. In balance to that the Charioteer has rectangle of equal length -a square - in the center of his chest. He holds a wand that acts the 'steering wheel' on the unharnessed sphinxes.

Another common element is their sky blue dress and both wear crescent moons. The woman wears a crown that has rims that that look like the phases of the moon and by her feet there is a golden crescent. The man has two golden crescents hidden in his shoulder pads.

The colourful cloth behind the woman reflects a pattern of Mother Nature, while the drapery around the man reflects a pattern of the Night Sky - or rather Father Sky.

The black and white pillars next to woman have the letters B and J written upon them. This is in reference to the two sacred bronze columns at Solomon's Temple - Boaz & Jachin. Boaz is painted black and translates from Hebrew as 'Divine Strength.' Jachin is also a Hebrew word that approximately means, 'Holy Foundation.' In between these pillars sits the High Preistess holding a sacred document - the Torah. By no accident the chariot looks like Chupah - the four pillared Jewish 'wedding gazebo.'


On a side note, the Pillars of Boaz and Jachin are important in Freemasonry. The pillars found on the Tarot High Priestess card can often be found on Masonic Aprons. If you click on the Masonic Apron to the left you can see more clearly the letters 'J' and 'B' on the columns - but on this apron they are on opposite sides when compared to the High Priestess.

It's no accident that this deck of Tarot Cards uses Masonic Imagery, since the artist was belonged to the Golden Dawn. An organization with similar rituals and coded secrets. However Golden Dawn was co-ed, Freemasonry is not.

The pillars of Solomon of the High Priestess are a natural counterbalance to the black and white sphinxes of Ancient Egypt. In a way the mystery of Solomon's Temple is on par with the mysticism associated with the Magical Sphinx.


LINK TO PART 4

(Part 3 not allowed by Google)

Tarot Yin & Yang - Death & the Sun, Part 1

Suits of Playing &

Tarot Cards Compared

In this eleven part series, the 22 Trump Cards will be presented in 'flag symmetry' order. Flags like Tarot Cards convey a deep sense of symbolism. Flags are symbols of nations, likewise Tarot Cards are symbols of the human condition.

Tarot Cards are related to playing cards. Essentially the four suits match up with four suits of a Tarot Deck of cards. Clubs match to Wands, Diamonds match Pentacles, Hearts match to Cups, and Spades match to Swords. Tarot decks have Royal suits - Kings, Queens, and Jacks...but instead of a Jack or Knave there is Page for Tarot.

Tarot Cards also have an extra royal suit called a Knight - that ranks above a Page and below a Queen. Imagine if regular cards had a extra royal suit. How much fun would that be?

The most important difference between a regular deck of cards and Tarot Deck is that Tarot has 22 trump cards - also known as Major Arcana. Essentially Trump Cards are related to varied personal challenges that an individual must deal with in life - if it is to be lived fully.

One should wisely use the hand that fate has deals you, since "you'll never know what life will deal you next" - Jack Dalton of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.



The cards used in these posts are from the most popular deck - the Rider-Waite Deck. This deck is grounded to the English Language and Judeo-Christian tradition.

There is no better place to begin with than two cards that feature flags - DEATH & THE SUN.

The flag of Death has a black background and features a wholly white rose similar to that of English Royalty. The flag is square like a military regimental flag. A human skeleton in black armor is holding the flag with its left hand and is riding a white horse.

The flag of the Sun is wholly red and extends lengthwise beyond the bottom of the card with no seeming end. In contrast to the Death Card a naked child wearing a wreath of flowers joyfully rides towards us on a white horse. But the white horse of the sun is unharnessed. It is essentially naked like the child. The child is crowed in a red feather in its fullness, also the black skeleton knight has red feather that has wilted on his helmets crest.

The sun can be found on both flags. The sun in the Death Card is at the point of transition on the upper horizon. Whether the sun is rising or setting an unwelcome change marches on. While the sun of the Sun Card is high in sky - in full splendor.

The Death Card and Sun Card are a balance of life in the beginning and at its end. Where do souls come from and where do they go? Both are 'horsemen' bearing two different flags. Likewise life & death are two interlinked concepts like Yin and Yang.

LINK TO PART 2

Origins of the Rattle Snake Flag - May 9 1751, not May 9 1754

260 years ago Benjamin Franklin published an sarcastic note entitled To the Printers of the Gazette - May 9, 1751.

In this article Franklin addresses the Empire's issue of sending "Felons" to the Colonies. In order to balance this immigration policy, Franklin suggests that North American Rattle snakes should then be sent back to England.

Ben wrote on today 260 years ago... "And Rattle-Snakes seem the most suitable Return for the Human Serpents sent us by our Mother Country. In this, however, as in every other Branch of Trade, she will have the Advantage of us. She (England) will reap equal benefits without equal risque of the Inconveniences and Dangers. For the Rattle-Snake gives Warning before he attempts his Mischief, which the Convict does not. I am."

Yours, Americanus
Gazette (May 9, 1751)

Three years later on May 9, 1754, Franklin printed his famous rattle snake image that became an American Symbol on several US flags. Did Ben Franklin have a fondness for May 9th? Maybe it's just a coincidence? Franklin was many things - insightful, creative, thoughtful, calculating, sarcastic, and keenly aware of natural cycles. He published an Almanac after all.

Franklin's Famous Rattle Snake Image
Printed in 1754, three years after
" I Am Americanus" Immigration Proposal

In any case Franklin shook his patriotic rattle in a threatening tone towards England three years before his famous rattle snake print was printed.

It seems the association of the rattle snake with America was set in Franklin's mind, long before his famous "JOIN, or DIE" rattle-snake print of 1754.

Happy Mother's Day, 2011

Mothers Day Flag
Mother & Daughter Jarvis

In honor of Mothers Day, here is a Mother's Day flag. Mother's Day took its form under the guidance of Ann Marie Jarvis and her mother Ann Maria Jarvis.

In order to distinguish the founders of Mother's Day it will be a bit easier to refer to them as Daughter Marie and Mother Maria.

Mother Maria was born in Virginia when it was still united with West Virginia 1832 in Culpeper County. Culpeper county is also vexillologically famous for Culpeper County Minute Men Flag from the US Revolution of 1776.

Culpeper Minute Men Flag 1775
Clupeper County later became a
birthplace of Mother's Day due to US Civil War
under the leadership of the Jarvis Family

Daughter Marie was born in West Virginia a year after it had broken away from Mother Virginia on May 1, 1864. West Virginia officially separated from the older eastern Virginia on June 20, 1863.

Likewise Virginia is considered to be the 'Mother State' of the United States, since Virginia is the oldest. The American Dream, at least in English started in Virginia, without interruption.


History books also call Virginia the Mother of Presidents since many of the early and founding father presidents of were born there: Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Tyler, Taylor, Wilson, and of course the grandest of all - Washington.

In honor of this privileged position I have created a Mother's Day Flag that combines the state flags of Virginia and West Virginia, since both states coincidentally gave birth to the founders of Mother's Day - as it is in the USA. The blue border and cross wreath are taken from West Virginia, while the inner head wreath is from the current flag of Virginia. In the center are portraits of the Jarvises - Mom Jarvis on the right and Daughter Jarvis on the left.

Mother Maria Jarvis organized women to help injured men on both sides of the US Civil War and became a pacifist. She like many other women and men thought a day to honor motherhood would help reconcile the tragedies of Civil War.

West VA Flag with Mother's Day Founder

Mother Maria Jarvis never lived to see Mother's Day officially adopted. But Daughter Marie Jarvis did, in 1914 under the last US President born in "Unbroken Virginia" - President Wilson.

Soviet Union & Red Afghan Flag - Fraternal Partners

Soviet Red Flag of Afghanistan
1978-1980

The flag of the Soviet Union is partnered up with the Red Soviet Flag of Afghanistan. From 1978 unto 1980 these flags were harmoniously aligned in the last quarter of the Cold War.

The scythe is simply a farm tool but when combined with the hammer - it became the essential icon of Communism.

The red flag of Afghanistan was the final harvest for the Soviet Union. In the 1980s the Red Army would fight is final fight against Islamic Militants & Osama Bin Laden.

Previously the Soviet Union was America's greatest ally against Nazi Europe and Imperial Japan. But soon afterwards the Soviet Union and United States became fierce political rivals that erupted into the Cold War - or rather World War III. It was fought on all five continents and in outer space.


The last of nations to raise a Red Communist Flag was Afghanistan. Both flags have yellow stars in the crest position. The Red Afghani flag officially flew for three years. It features a cross-wreath of wheat wrapped in a red ribbon. This harmoniously aligns with the scythe of the Soviet Emblem, since wheat is the primary crop associated with the sickle.

But the reaper also represents death. The conjunction of these flags hint at a notion of life and death. Likewise bread is a symbol of life. The Afghan flag has Arabic Script written upon it. In the center is reads in Pashtu "Khxalaq," which means the "Masses." On the banner written near the compartment is "Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, April 1378 (Islamic Calendar)."


During the proverbial sunset of the Cold War, the United States and her Mujahideen Allies delivered the death blow to an ailing and economically frustrated Soviet Union in the 1980s. Afterwards, the Soviets abandoned their social-political efforts in Afghanistan, and their Communist Forms dissolved into the history books.

After the smoke of the Cold War settled, the free and wild wildly contested Central Asian Region gave birth to the Taliban, which became a protective harbor for Osama bin Laden, until 9/11.

Flag of the Soviet Union
1922-1991

A generation later, the United States was fated to follow in the wake of the Red Army's Last Stand.

CLOSE UP OF SOVIET & RED AFGHAN FLAGS