As mentioned on Monday, the Ancestral Path Tarot (US Games, 1996 and
2014) was the second deck I ever bought. I was entranced by the artwork
and enticed by the multi-cultural theme.
Within the Majors,
there is a broad mix of cultures represented. A beautiful African woman
tames a lion in Strength. A modern blonde (based on Tracey Hoover, who
wrote the companion book) reads tarot cards at a table in the Fool
card. A Roman warrior rides his Chariot, while a shaman in a Paleolithic
cave wears ancient Egyptian robes as the Magician.
This
cultural variety continues in a more structured way in the Minors. The
suits are named Staves (Wands), Cups, Swords and Sacred Circles
(Pentacles). Each set of pips from Ten down to Ace explores a different
cultural myth.
So, Staves look at the Egyptian Book of the
Dead through the dynasty of Ramses II, while Cups explore the story of
King Arthur through the eyes of Morgana Le Fay. Swords take us to the
samurai culture of Japan, and the tale of Repunnot-un-Kur, who dreamed
of the breakdown of traditional feudal society and tried to do something
about it. Finally, the Sacred Circles lead us through the Native
American Winnebago Medicine Song.
Due to this structure, the cards aren't always totally traditional in meaning. Still, they largely follow the RWS meanings.
Taking
a closer look at some of the cards, Death features an almost
surprisingly beautiful image, which retains a feeling of discomfort.
While the setting sun creates a beautiful colour palette in the sky, an
owl flies past, symbol of wisdom and also harbinger of death in many
cultures.
The dark, cloaked boatman with his black-sailed
vessel harks back to the ancient stories of the River Styx, as well as
many more cultures. In Arthurian Britain, a corpse would be set adrift
in a burning boat, and in Native American culture, too, there is a
boatman who transports souls to the Afterworld. All these tales speak
of death as a transition, rather than an ending.
In the
foreground, a child explores the eye socket of a skull, a first
introduction to mortality. Yet the reminder that death and life are
intertwined is not only represented through youth and bare bones, but
also in the fungi growing from a rotting tree's remains, and the roses
that bloom in a graveyard, fed by the bodies of those buried there.
Moving
on to the Court cards, these echo the cultures of their suit. The
titles are Princess, Prince, Queen and King. In all but the suit of
Cups, they are images of deities. The Staves court, for example, is
made up of Nepthys, Horus, Isis and Osiris. The Cups, on the other
hand, represent Morgana, Lancelot, Gwenhyfar, and Arthur.
And
here in the King of Swords we have Izanagi, a Japanese creator deity.
He towers above the sea of chaos, which he churns with his lance to
create form: the islands of Japan. Included in his meanings are: 'the
ability to envision and then manifest those visions... action following
thinking and planning.'
The Aces are traditional in their
depiction of each suit's 'object' in the foreground. However, they also
offer a culturally appropriate background: a pyramid, for instance, in
the Ace of Wands. And this Ace of Sacred Circles shows a medicine drum in red, blue and yellow, with black around the outside, the traditional colours of the quarters in Native American thought. There is also a bison and a medicine drum in the snowy landscape, all nods to the culture around which this suit's story arc is based. I love the Sacred Circle as a representation of Pentacle energy, highlighting both the physical and the spiritual in this suit which speaks to the healing of body and soul!
Finally, we have the Seven of Staves, where a figure enters a temple, loomed over by statuary of the Gods. Here, then, it is not other people attacking us, but what we can do about it - seeking strength from spirit, or to bolster our own spirit, and also seeking insight to see what part of the problem may be of our own making.
Altogther, I continue to love this deck, all these years on. It is beautiful, vibrant, and multi-cultural, and speaks to me on so many levels. It is absolutely practical, and also deeply spiritual. And as it has been re-released, it is now once again easy to find. So, what are you waiting for? ;)