Our topic is :
“Within the realms of Numerology, when a name is changed it alters the vibration, so a name that resonated at the vibration of 2, suddenly resonates at 9 because letters are either added or indeed dropped. It got me wondering about Tarot, in the sense of Card Names, does a change of name alter the vibration of a card and its meaning, what could that mean for a client, who comes in and asks will changing my name make a difference? etc… “
This made me think of many ideas but the one that comes up is how I first met a differently named card. Let me set the stage. I am a baby witch. It is 1983 maybe? I’ve just really taken up the cards for use as a tool. Before this, I had been studying but never really clicking with the cards. I had the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot that I was using along with the Herbal Tarot. I loved it. Loved it so much that I wanted another deck to work with. Just to test my theory that the Herbal Tarot would be the only deck I ever truly jived with. (I’ll wait while you finish laughing.)
So I picked up the Tarot of the Old Path. Remember, baby witch? Anything that had anything witchy like in the name was going to be sought out by me. Hey! Don’t judge. At least I did avoid the huge pentagram-around-my-neck stage.
When I was going through my new deck (my precioussss), I discovered a few things. The biggest one was that they had screwed up the names. Add to that it wasn’t even the right image. I mean, Death, that jolly, bony knight on a white horse, was not a knight. There was no horse. And this guy wasn’t jolly at all. He, or she, was Transformation. At least the Herbal Tarot, just a ghostly figure in front of flowers, was still Death, right?
How DARE they change the name? I was in an uproar about it. I mean…they didn’t even add up the same numerologically. In my baby witch dogma I felt all name changes had to resonate with the original name number. HEY! It’s what my teacher said. (Heard that one before? Better yet, said it?) But then I asked my teacher. <insert very wry look here> Lady Lhianna looked at me for a bit. She had a way of really piercing you with her look even if she was (is still) a petite brunette beauty.
Then she asked me, “What’s in a name, Arwen?” Knowing I needed to think about it, I pondered that. Of course, I realized that my Christianized way of looking at death was still death=done. There was no next time. There was no “one more ride” in the way I was taught. You died. You went to heaven or hell. Hell wasn’t a flaming pit of doom in my church. It was the absence of God’s presence in your life. Scary, right?
But Death in the pagan way I follow IS a transition. It is moving from this world to the one beyond with a very real possibility of returning. Then there is the concept of how death changes not only those who die, but also those left behind. I know I have been hanged by every death in my life.
What about you? What do you think is in a name? Leave your comment then hop on to the next blog in this Tarot Blog Hop from Jay Cassells.
I struggle at times too when artists change the names on the cards. Sometimes I agree with the shift, and it feels like they are “aspecting” the card to be more in line with certain interpretations than others. Sometimes I feel like they are transforming it too differently from its original intent. I do, however, really like Death as “The Close.” It really drives home that possibility of starting over rather than a complete end.
Wow, you always impress me Arwen, I love reading your hops there is always something in them to make me think, or in this case raise a smile.
Thank you for being apart of this one and for being your amazing self <3
In my tradition, what is sacred is Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth. A process. I like the Death card in the Motherpeace Tarot which has great symbology. A picture of a snake sliding between two birch trees and removing it’s own skin. A snake that sheds it’s skin has beautiful, shiny, brilliantly colored skin below the cracked, old, yellowish stuff that is peeling off. Yes, this is what the Death card means, a transition into something beautiful…
Arwen,
Thank you for sharing this with us. I love your comments about being a baby witch. I went through a phase when I got SO offended when people wished me a Merry Christmas. Now, I just acknowledge the kind thought, wish them a happy holidays, and go on with my life. I also love how your view of death evolved.
Thank you for sharing.
Raine
I got this feeling of “How could they change the names?!?! What gives them that right? AE Waite and the The Visconti-Sforza folks would..oh wait a minute…” back in the day as well. Then of course it hit me that even the older “original” decks didn’t have things standard.
We have to embrace the deeper means and find a new way to use the numerology of that new name. We can use this or not as readers but we can also be aware that the creators of different decks probably took into account things we will need to look at deeper to use these other decks with other names for cards.
Thanks Arwen!