Tarot Notes #4
By: Cynthia Giles
Tags: Astronomy, Tarot, Notes, Art, Dance

A Tarot dance performance + some notes on the “Christmas Star” 2020

Opening tableau of “The Fool and The World”

I’m constantly surprised by the Tarot-inspired projects I stumble over, in places I would never have thought to look. And this week’s newsletter starts off with the latest example . . .

Tarot on Stage

The goal of Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theater is to “find magic in ordinary situations, presented in unusual ways.” Blending dance, acrobatics, and visual art since 2013, the company takes its name from the combined qualities of lightness (Aura), strength (Atlas), and play (Curiosity).

Given the adventurous spirit of Aura CuriAtlas, it’s not surprising that in 2019 they decided to translate the Major Arcana cards of the Tarot into a work of performance art — bringing to real life the essential symbolism of the cards.

The Fool and The World is divided into two parts. “The Deck” presents all 22 trumps in their traditional order. These sample photos provide a flavor of how the Tarot images were translated into physical theater:

In the next part of the show, “The Readings,” one or more audience members was invited to draw a set of cards on behalf of the whole group. The company then performed those particular cards in a new order and context, specific to the audience for that presentation.

The creative principals of Aura CuriAtlas are faculty members at William & Mary University. Dance professor Joan Gavaler choreographed The Fool and The World, which was performed to original piano music composed by music professor Sophia Serghi. And it’s worth noting that this was not their first Tarot-related collaboration.

In fact . . . “you can think of these as branches on a tree,” Gavaler said of their ongoing projects. Gaveler and Serghi take a Jungian view of Tarot, focusing on symbolism and the awakening of unconscious material.

Visit here for more about their approach — and further insight into the way creative ideas can be generated by Tarot.

Tarot in the Sky

An especially vibrant planetary conjunction is taking shape in the night sky, as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn come together. They’ll reach the closest point (just a tenth of a degree apart) on the night of December 21 — which is this year’s Winter Solstice.

That’s Saturn on top, Jupiter below — December 13, 2020. Credits: NASA/ Bill Ingalls

According to NASA:

It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this ‘great conjunction.’

Naturally, scientists are saying that the occurrence of this unusual event on the Solstice is “just a coincidence.” But anyone attuned to the rhythms of the year — and the rich symbolic terrain of the heavens —will feel there is great significance in this convergence.

That’s especially true given the extraordinary difficulties that have beset human beings over the past year. So it would be hard not to see such a remarkable celestial display as a signal of something very important . . .

Whether it’s a reminder, a promise, a warning, or some other sort of signal remains to be seen. But for now, Tarot offers us a point of reference that dates back to before the last “great conjunction,” which took place in 1623.

Here are some examples of how The Star has evolved across Tarot history . . .

L: Bembo (c. 1450); C: Nicolas Conver (c. 1760); R: Voyager Tarot (1986)

And there’s a rich discussion of Star iconography on the Tarot History Forum.

Meanwhile — as an overview — I’ll offer an excerpt from my new book-in-progress:

Historical perspective: The Star was originally so called (presumably) because its central figure, a robed woman, held a star in her hand —whether for decorative purposes, or with some deeper meaning we may never know. But the imagery of this card was changed significantly in the Marseilles-type deck, where the central figure became a nude woman, kneeling by a stream and pouring liquid from two vessels. The later imagery is obviously connected with that of the Temperance card — both figures pour liquid from two vessels; both are by the water (in Waite-type decks, both have one foot on land, one in the water); and both are seen beneath star-filled skies. But it is unclear why they should have taken on this similarity. Perhaps the simplest explanation is based on their order in the sequence of the trumps, for these two gentle, ethereal cards flank the two most disturbing images in the deck, The Devil and The Tower. They differ in that the figure in The Star is a mortal woman, not an angel — and instead of conserving liquid by pouring back and forth between the two vessels, she pours the liquid out. With one hand she pours into the water, with the other onto the land. This symbolism has been interpreted as representing the order and continuity of being (in the symbolic circular flow of water through heaven and earth).

The Star was originally so called (presumably) because its central figure, a robed woman, held a star in her hand —whether for decorative purposes, or with some deeper meaning we may never know. But the imagery of this card was changed significantly in the Marseilles-type deck, where the central figure became a nude woman, kneeling by a stream and pouring liquid from two vessels. The later imagery is obviously connected with that of the Temperance card — both figures pour liquid from two vessels; both are by the water (in Waite-type decks, both have one foot on land, one in the water); and both are seen beneath star-filled skies. But it is unclear why they should have taken on this similarity. Perhaps the simplest explanation is based on their order in the sequence of the trumps, for these two gentle, ethereal cards flank the two most disturbing images in the deck, The Devil and The Tower. They differ in that the figure in The Star is a mortal woman, not an angel — and instead of conserving liquid by pouring back and forth between the two vessels, she pours the liquid out. With one hand she pours into the water, with the other onto the land. This symbolism has been interpreted as representing the order and continuity of being (in the symbolic circular flow of water through heaven and earth). Divinatory principles: Hope and aspiration. Faith, immortality, and inner light. (Problematically: dreaminess, disappointment, and pessimism.)

Hope and aspiration. Faith, immortality, and inner light. (Problematically: dreaminess, disappointment, and pessimism.) Archetypal theme: The new vision of reality that comes out of the breakdown associated with The Tower.

The new vision of reality that comes out of the breakdown associated with The Tower. Mythic associations: By tradition, there are seven small stars and one large star on this card. The large star is connected by some with Sirius(the star of Isis and the brightest star seen from Earth), and with the Star of Bethlehem. The seven small stars may be connected with the Pleides, seven Greek maidens who were transported into the heavens after death. Another mythic association is with the cup-bearer Hebe/Ganymede, who brought nectar to the gods of Olympus.

So be sure to spend some time contemplating the richly symbolic Tarot Star as you prepare to view the Christmas Star of 2020. NASA explains easy steps for viewing the great conjunction, and EarthSky offers further astronomical information.