This is one of the cards that I don't like from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot. There is something awkward about the woman; it might be her face or it may be that the way she is sitting isn't painted very convincingly. I don't know. I am just not keen on it. I often see this card as one of loss and sadness, but there is a vulnerability in this figure that leaves me feeling a bit uncomfortable.As I do sometimes, I enlarged the scan on my computer screen so that she was big enough for me to really look into her eyes. Sometimes, it is a good way to try and get to know the tarot characters that bit more intimately. This is one of those moments when you can let the card speak to you. What does her face say? To me, she looks hurt and as if she has been betrayed. She clings on to those two glasses tightly and won't let us have them. They are all she believes she has left and they provide the barrier between her and the reader. With her eyeliner running, it is as though she is pleading with us to hurt her no more or to spare her of any further loss. I think that this version of the 5 of Cups makes me feel uncomfortable because she looks straight into my eyes; therefore, I feel accountable for her pain. The characters in many other versions of the card look away or are more private in their grief. This particular one could be focusing on who I have taken from in recent times, as appose to what has been taken from me.
This girl's dress reminds me of a fishing net. I suppose it ties her to the world of water and emotion. The 5 of Cups is very much about perspective. Do we centre our thoughts around what we have or what we haven't got? Funnily enough, I just saw a similar thought on Twitter this morning from the actor Danny Young, saying 'Be positive, be lucky and remember to be happy with what you have and not what you have yet to get'. It's a sobering thought. Of course, there are many people who are far worse off than me, but when I even begin to feel sorry for the small imperfections in my life at present, I am grateful for how different things are from this time last year. I am now living in a new home and have had enough work experience in the last twelve months to set me on a new career path. That's the 'glass half full' way of looking at it, I guess.
Illustration from The Legacy of the Divine by Ciro Marchetti
I like the concept for the card but the neck and shoulders are odd, the head looks like it is stuck on a pole with the unrelated shoulders behind it--it could be the shadows, but overall the figure's proportions are odd. Huge hand, tiny knees, small glass behind, big glass in front, but the foreshortening is off or something. if he took a reference photo, perhaps the camera skewed it.
ReplyDeleteRather unfortunate as the concept of her hanging on to those two glasses is interesting, as is the eyeliner--you feel her pain.
Yes, you see it how I do. It's those small legs tucked in between those big arms that look wrong somehow; as if there is not enough space there or something. Photos can often flatten things a lot, so I would guess that you might be right about reference skewing things. I am hoping that my day with the card will help me to like it some more. I am that bit more used to her than I was several hours ago, but I am still finding it hard to look at, since my eyes keep thinking that her legs are actually her stomach with a crease down it.
ReplyDeletebeen reading your bkig a bit, figured i'd comment.
ReplyDeletereally love the LoTD deck but yeah, this is one of a handful of cards where i have mixed feelings about how the figure is drawn also.
good message to keep in mind though, about finding something to be happy about in what you have. def something i need to remind myself of from time to time.
Hi SB
ReplyDeleteLovely to have you comment here. Thanks.
Yes, there are a handful for me too. I find the Magician and High Priestess not so easy on the eye either, amongst others. Somehow, working with a deck daily seems to iron out some of those creases as you get to know it. It's kind of how people can sometimes become better looking, the more you get to know them. Thankfully, there are more cards I like in this set than those I don't!
(Just peeked at your blog - love your new deck!)
There is definitely an agreement about this image. I own this deck, too, and the strange proportions of Ciro's figures can be rather off-putting. Especially when you consider that he seems to be really into perfection. Sort of odd. I agree that you start to overlook the flaws in the deck after a while.
ReplyDeleteHope your glass stays half-full (or more) for a long time to come. I'm working to change my attitude as I know it's not very good most of the time.
Hugs!
MM
Yes, I see that. I think that is where there is a problem - the sharp contrast between perfection and off proportion. You can kind of accept it in decks which don't lean so heavily on photo realism. The visual problems distance me from this card.I am hoping that will lesson.
ReplyDelete