Sleep Baby Sleep

I really like this version of Waite's 4 of Swords, due to the purple in it. It brings a warmth to the illustration which is missing in the original and other colourations I have seen. This rich palette adds a feeling of royalty to the card and also makes me think of The Purple Heart, the United States military decoration which is awarded to those who have been wounded or killed. The purple links the heart to the sleeping knight in the card, who could be either resting or unwell.

When I look at The Hierophant, I see some kind of initiation. In a book I have been reading lately, I learned how the crown can be seen as a ring - a matrimony between Earth and the divine. Here, The Hierophant represents marriage to me, for I am going to a wedding tomorrow. The bride is a lovely woman who I have known for a long time, but have not seen in quite a while. I am looking forward to it, since there will be a lot of people there who I used to work with. Unfortunately, our knight from the 4 of Swords is on his back. This is my boyfriend. Since yesterday, he has been sneezing, coughing, and his eyes are aching. He is not feeling 100% and these cards suggest that he must rest or we'll not be able to make the day.

After a few hours of popping here and there, buying wedding and birthday cards, we relaxed into bed with the television. I had been talking to my friend about Hitchcock movies the other day and it provoked my boyfriend to buy a box-set of four of his films - Vertigo, Rear Window, Psycho, and The Birds. Being late, Psycho seemed the obvious choice, but with his eyes closing and hurting, my boyfriend didn't make it much further than Janet Leigh and her fatal shower scene.




Illustrations from The Radiant Rider Waite by Pamela Coleman Smith, recoloured by Virginijus Poshkus