From The Da Vinci Enigma Tarot, we have the Nine of Fire, entitled Repelling. In the image, we have a design for a method of repelling seige ladders. Leonardo enjoyed to design complex methods of defence. Here, when the walls of a castle are under attack, the soldiers hidden behind the battlements could quickly and easily ward-off enemies by using a system of levers. As the enemy used ladders in an attempt to breach the walls, the levers were engaged to move the rails built into the walls that the ladders were leaning on, causing them to become unstable and eventually fall.
One of the reasons people don't seem to like this tarot deck is due to the cards not being traditional and baring no resemblance to the understandable Rider Waite. Since the 9 of Wands in Waite's deck refers to defence, with this card as an example, I am not quite sure where the difference lays. Maybe it lays in their choice to not read up about these notebook sketches and find out why they were chosen for this set. In the book that comes with The Da Vinci Enigma, Caitlin Matthews says 'When you first pick up a tarot pack, you naturally want to know everything about it all at once. However, The Da Vinci Enigma Tarot will reveal itself to you over time as you play, practice, read and study it. Such a gradual unfolding is at odds with our expectations in a modern 'instant enlightenment' world, but I do urge you to persevere by making haste slowly, and savouring the art and pattern that will help reveal the enigma of your soul and its destiny. Elegant simplicity and mastery are arrived at through continual practice, just as Leonardo himself learned his craft as an apprentice in the studio of Verrocchio, his master. Leonardo wrote, 'Let those who are dismayed at the outset of their studies prepare to ... devote themselves patiently to those studies with great results'.
Today's card asks me 'What trouble are you expecting and how can you deal with it?'. So I wonder to myself, what might I need to repel? What siege might I need to prevent?
One of the reasons people don't seem to like this tarot deck is due to the cards not being traditional and baring no resemblance to the understandable Rider Waite. Since the 9 of Wands in Waite's deck refers to defence, with this card as an example, I am not quite sure where the difference lays. Maybe it lays in their choice to not read up about these notebook sketches and find out why they were chosen for this set. In the book that comes with The Da Vinci Enigma, Caitlin Matthews says 'When you first pick up a tarot pack, you naturally want to know everything about it all at once. However, The Da Vinci Enigma Tarot will reveal itself to you over time as you play, practice, read and study it. Such a gradual unfolding is at odds with our expectations in a modern 'instant enlightenment' world, but I do urge you to persevere by making haste slowly, and savouring the art and pattern that will help reveal the enigma of your soul and its destiny. Elegant simplicity and mastery are arrived at through continual practice, just as Leonardo himself learned his craft as an apprentice in the studio of Verrocchio, his master. Leonardo wrote, 'Let those who are dismayed at the outset of their studies prepare to ... devote themselves patiently to those studies with great results'.
Today's card asks me 'What trouble are you expecting and how can you deal with it?'. So I wonder to myself, what might I need to repel? What siege might I need to prevent?
My boyfriend and I got ready early and ventured out into the snow. It hasn't snowed any more since yesterday and has been less cold than I expected. He wanted to buy a new television for his bedroom so we researched about before he made his choice. As the hours ticked by, his cold seemed to get that bit worse, so we bought some soup for dinner and another packet of Neurofen Cold & Flu.
When I look at this card, I see people working hard to prevent attack and protect themselves, should one materialise. With a blocked up nose too, I wonder if this card has anything to do with fighting off a cold. It is a card of being alert. At times, this might be about being over-cautious, but on others, prevention can sometimes be better than cure.
Illustrations from The Da Vinci Enigma Tarot by Leonardo Da Vinci
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