SEX and TAROT!!!

Mmmm! Did I get your attention?

My two favourite subjects! And what would be more pleasurable that being able to combine the two of them in one blog posting?

Well - that's exactly what a Yule gift from my SO enables me to do! That delicious minx bought me The Decameron Tarot, and - Oh My! It's a delight to behold! (And to hold, too! ;-o)

The Decameron is a 14th century Italian book of 100 stories, collected and published by Giovanni Boccaccio.  While the main intent of the stories is to discredit the very corrupt Roman Catholic church, the collection contains a large number of baudy tales that makes the book a favourite source for modern eroticists and writers of all genres. The work is often cited as an excellent expose of life in Italy during the 14th century.

Using a writing  device similar to that of the Arabian Nights, the 100 stories were told over a period of 14 days by ten young people who had fled from plague-ridden Florence to an empty villa in Fiesole.  There, in order to pass the time, each person tells a tale on a specified subject, on ten days during the 2-week sojourn. Boccaccio also ties the work back to the Arthurian legend around the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere.  Prince Galehaut - the  alternative title that Boccaccio had for the book - was one of the evil opponents of King Arthur. He arranged the tryst between Lancelot and Guinevere that lead to their first kiss and subsequent affair.


Taking the book as a basis for her imagery, Giacinto Gaudenzi has produced a collection of voluptuous, erotic imagery, loosely tied - I have to say - to the the meanings and symbology of Tarot - to illustrate her cards. Her and Luciano Spadanuda, an erotica devotee, have developed their own interpretations of the cards to tie in with the imagery, and the result is a wonderful romp through scene after scene of characters indulging in the finer arts of passion and lust!  While some conotations to Tarot symbology are kept, in the main the imagery represents the characters and plots in Boccaccio's stories, many in the most salubrious and compromising positions!  It has to be said that a lot of the images are not very flattering to the human form, tending to show folk far from the perfect physique - but that makes them all the more human!

Two of the Aces - Swords and Wands - are very appealing to me in their imagery.  The Ace of Wands shows a very curvacious beauty caressing a phenomenal Wand, formed from a long trunk of a phallus-shaped tree!  This is a direct homage to Sexuality in its purest form, with the underlying message that size really does matter - the bigger the better!  And she has such a beautiful posterior, too!

The Ace of Swords shows what appears to be the same voluptuous woman, this time lying on a bed a dn looking rather alarmed as the giant sword pierces the sheet between her legs.  Her exposed vulva is red, as if from over-use. The symbology of this card ties very closely to that of the Fenestra 10 of Swords - my avatar and the background to this blog.  The beauty of the woman is counterpoised by the threat inherent in the positioning of the sword, and the sword itself symbolizes a male dominance that may not always be welcome, but which speaks of both power and passion.

The Queen and King of Cups are also two very interesting cards.  The former shows the two protagonists in classic 69 pose, the Queen holding onto the King's nicely-sized erection, while he strains his tongue upward, seeking her awaiting yoni.  She is leering back toward the King's head, her tongue licking her lips, while a chalice of red wine balances precariously on her raised rump, sloshing its contents overboard.  This is a card of frolicsome fun, and the couple seem to be enjoying themselves very much!

The card of the King of Cups is a continuation of the scene in the Queen card, but now the couple are in a more normal, almost "missionary" position, with the King standing as he impales the Queen.  The Queen, however, does not seem to be enjoying herself as much as she could be, because that naughty King, in his passion, is squeezing her breasts quite fiercely - an action she is obviously not enjoying as much as he might have expected!  He needs to learn women's breasts are not meant for that kind of treatment, if he intends to keep enjoying his conubial activities!

As usual, I always like to study the Star card in all of my Tarot decks.  The one in the Decameron Tarot is a very mischievious version which tickles my imagination so sweetly.  Here we see the woman who is the Star, with her Seven Sisters still in tow, perched in a tree, while the object of her naughtiness lies fatigued on the ground below.  The root of the wicked grin on the face of the Star is derived from the fact she is urinating into the mug of the poor unfortunate lying prone beneath her.  Who knows what his experience will be when he eventually sups from his adulterated drink - for all we know, her urine might be the Nectar of the Gods - but somehow the grin on her face tells me that, just perhaps, it isn't!

Other cards worth honourable mentions are Justice (my SO says that it's me posing again!), The Wheel of Fortune - a theme which is rampant throughout the Decameron itself - and the grotesque High Priestess, with her phallus necklace and painted nails, although there are many beautiful scenes in this prime example of Tarotica!

Tarot and Sex! So delicious on their own - and doubly so together!

Ashen

(Me posing as Justice! LOL!)

A Pleiades of Tarot

I humbly dedicate this entry to one of the brightest and most inspiring stars in my Twitterverse, @RemittanceGirl

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Orion

As the heat of Summer starts to wane, and the seamless tan begins to fade back to paleness, the nights continue to lengthen, and the constellations of Winter start to slowly appear in the eternal blackness of Night. Chief among these, and certainly the most recognizable, is the impressive and mighty Orion, with his tell-tale belt and sword, and the ponderous red giant, Betelguese. Trailing behind the great hunter are his dogs, the Canis constellations, lead by the brightest star in our night skies, Sirius.

However, more important to us devotees of Tarot is the constellation that precedes Orion, the Zodiac constellation of Taurus the Bull. Hidden within this beast, just above his left shoulder, is the marvellous open cluster of The Pleiades, or The Seven Sisters. This group of stars is deeply associated with the Major Arcana card of The Star, and is frequently included in the imagery of the card.



Fenestra Star

The sisters that make up the seven are the daughters of the Titan Atlas, who holds the World up on his shoulders, and Pleione, and are the virgin consorts of the god Artemis.  They are, from brightest to dullest, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Teygeta, Celano and Sterope. They ended up in the heavens as a way of protecting them forever from the unwanted advances of Orion, who still chases after them.  Now, Aldebaran, The Follower, runs behind them, as they cry across the sky.

In Tarot, The Star is most often represented as a beautiful naked woman, standing or kneeling at the edge of a pond or river, with one foot or her knee on the land, and the other in the water.  In each hand she holds a pitcher or chalice of water, the contents of which she pours onto the land and into the stream.  Above her head shine, not seven, but eight stars - the Seven Sisters, and her own, super-bright star.



Rider-Waite Star

The Star is the great card of Hope, signifying success and achievement in our future. Whether the reading revolves around relationships and love, or business and material possessions, The Star indicates that all desires can and will be satisfied, and, when coupled with a positive card such as the 10 of Cups, promises a host of bright and happy possibilities.  One deck I have - the Mythic Tarot - even identifies the naked woman on The Star card as Pandora, kneeling before the fabled box as the Evils stream out into an unsuspecting World, while the glowing Star that remains with her is Hope.

The waters that flow from the pitchers or cups of The Star represent the Water of Life.  That flowing onto the dry land provides nourishment to the plants and animals that dwell there, while the water flowing into the river indicates the completion of the cycle that draws moisture up from the lakes and oceans, into the skies to form clouds that will, eventually, feed the rains that fall.



Egyptian Star



So now we have an understanding of how one card that appears to be so simple in its imagery actually ties together many aspects of science, philosophy and mythology.  The Star represents one of the keenest integrations in Tarot of these major aspects of our human existence, and, as such, is always one of the most interesting designs in any Tarot deck.  Maybe that is why I always seem to have a soft spot for this most interesting of cards in the decks I collect.  Next time you pull out your Tarot cards, spend a few minutes looking over The Star, so you can learn how the artistry in your card ties together these themes, and brings to your readings the beauty and hope we are all looking for!

Let's keep gazin' up at the beauty of The Stars, both in the sky and in our cards!

Love,
Ashen xxx


The Pleiades