Magickal Musings

[bewareofgeek]

I'm not much of a magician. Although I know a lot of the theory, I practice rarely, usually only when the moment takes me. But every once in a while, ideas about magick percolate in my psyche. And this week, the idea is about the Tarot.

Specifically, about the elemental associations of the four suits.

Now, pretty much everybody agrees that Cups/Hearts is Water, and I agree.  The symbolism is right, the associations make perfect sense.

Some say Swords is Air, some Fire.  My instincts tell me that Fire works best for me, not the least of which that mythology and fiction are full of burning swords, but few burning staves/spears.

This next bit is where I go off into my own... I don't think staves are Air.  I think they are Earth.  They often have plant imagery, and the staff also suggests the World Pillar.  Even the mundane suit of Clubs looks more like a 3-leaf clover than anything else.

And that leaves Pentacles for Air.  This doesn't really make sense, unless you tweak the concept a bit.  Air is about intellect.  And intellect makes me think of the imagery of light, the third eye (of Agamotto) and the Sun.  And a pentacle is a golden disk, perhaps even a mirror.  And of course, there's the more recent association:  Lucy in the Sky... with Diamonds
 
Just some thoughts on a rainy day.  If there's interest, I can post more, like a revised version of my old "Head Drive" concept.

Comments

[auntiemame67.livejournal.com]

The only disagreement I have about Staves is that they are most often associates with messages, hence the air imagery. I definitely see Pentacles as earth, but then I am a cardinal earth sign. Pentacles, for me, are about wealth, but not necessarily monetary -- I tend to see them as referring to richness of life, relationships, experience and home.

I could see Swords as either air or fire... likewise Staves.

Not saying you're wrong, but I think that, for true magic, with or without the k, the associations are, and must be, very personal. So for me, Pentacles are earth, and for you, perhaps they are about air. :) (How's that for a bouquet of commas?)

[mdg1.livejournal.com]

Oh certainly... I'm not nearly arrogant enough to claim I have the One True Path (and I'll admit, the messenger association never occured to me). All of this came about due to some meditations I've been doing on "magickal icons", where Air kept on showing up as Sun imagery... and the bridge between Sun and Pentacle is very easy, in my mind.

Of course, Earth has a double meaning... there's Earth as in growing things, and Earth as in the mineral kingdom. Sometimes, I think the Chinese had it right....