Welcome to Tarot Thones Towers, where the great, the good and the mind-meltingly bored at work come along to read about my take on the Tarot’s Court Cards. Whether you are here because you have hopped here from either Olivia’s or Chloe’s blogs or just stumbled upon me in the dark, you are most welcome *offers plate of warm buttered scones and bids you sit in the BEST comfy chair*
Our Wrangler, Ania, set us a challenge to write about what grumbles we have with the composition of the Tarot – who has outlived their use? Who needs a style overhaul or even a spot of plastic surgery? Who’s missing?
I must admit that I was stumped.
I write about court cards and, while no-one these days talks about sending their Smallum off to become a Page as the first step on their career ladder, I think his role in the Tarot is clear – regardless of his name.
Likewise the Knight. Most contemporary Knights are to be found corpulently propping up the bar in the House of Lords, rather than embracing their teen-spirit adventurer. Yet we’re all quite clear about what the Knight’s questing drive is about. So I don’t want to change him either…. no, I’m keeping the Courts as they are, thank you 🙂
Even those cards with strange titles (Hierophant, I’m looking at you) all serve a valuable purpose in the Tarot deck. If they didn’t, they would have been cast OUT in the cold, like those two bare-foot beggars in the 5 of Pentacles.
Instead I decided to look at what was truly missing from the deck and I came up with one 21st century character that none of the Majors seems to adequately fit:
The Troll….
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| A face you could never get fed-up punching 🙂 |
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He is both contemporary in nature and ancient in lineage.
He is the fairy-tale fearsome creature who skulks beneath the bridge as the billy-goats gruff trip trap their way over… and the very real and heartless individual who revels in their anonymity, behaving abominably and hurtfully on line, just because they can.
I fancy that the Troll card image would feature some innocuous-looking person sitting at a desk typing away at a computer. However, in the mirror on the wall behind the computer would be their reflection – and it would not be purty.
The Troll card would arise in a reading for people who were either indulging in bad behaviour (on-line or off-line) or for people who are being subjected to trolling behaviour.
What is trolling behaviour? Here are a couple of examples:
Got a memorial page to a deceased child? The Troll will pop some utterly uncalled for and emotionally incendiary comment …. just because they can.
A celebrity looking a little portlier than they did when they were 20 years old? Trolls will gloat and berate you …. just because they can.
Have the temerity to suggest that a woman should go onto a bank note? Get death threats from trolls.
Be an older lady on TV and yes, they’ll even raise their ugly heads to snigger at yours.
In real life Trolls are inadequate, cowardly, pathetically infantile, thoughtless, c*ntfuttocks (MAN, that felt good to write!) who create a malevolent self to exert the power that they do not possess in their real lives.
Like perverted superheroes they indulge in their superpower – to wound and inflict pain – simply because they can.
In the Tarot deck, I think he would lie between The Hierophant and The Lovers – aware of what stepping out of societies cultural traces can do, but not yet enabled relationship-wise (possibly NEVER enabled relationship-wise). Trumped by the Chariot’s willpower and kicked into touch by the all-seeing eyes of Justice.
Yes, my addition to the Tarot deck is the Troll.
Before you hop off to the next blog, if there were a Troll card in the deck, what would it mean to you?
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Stop being confused by court cards! Start being excited by the possibilities! Become a court card adventurer along with me 🙂 The Tarot’s Court Cards are my specialist area. They talk to me. Not LITERALLY though ….