by Debra Rosenthal
© 2007
Sometimes the best way to see an image is to just look. Beginner’s mind means trying to stay completely open to the reality before you, and coincidentally not bothering with a lot of tiresome research. A beginner in the eternal "now" can blithely ignore history in order to truly appreciate appearance. You may perhaps penetrate "behind the veil" by taking the images seriously, exactly as they appear. Try it with the Jacques Vieville, a circa 1650 cubist masterpiece.
Many Mysteries
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Visually, this deck raises more questions than it answers. What’s on the Bateleur’s table? The objects always seem a bit odd, but surely these are the most confusing-a transparent box? Is that a book over on the left?
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Details
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The Vieville tarot depicts lots of detailed hands and feet, although most of the hands are oddly drawn, with fingers all wobbly or askew. Yet there are lovely fingernails where fingernails belong, and Strength (somehow number IX) has cute little toenails on her cartoony naked foot which is wrapped by the tail of the lion she’s suspended by the jaw. Is that a ribbon around Strength’s wrist? How did the lion end up in such a state? What’s the little loop down by the lion’s rear end? More mysteries. Note the lion’s elegant claws.
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The Fool’s little dog, or maybe his cat, has clearly defined paws and claws, too. This detail is so well-done and yet the poor animal’s face is smooshed up against the fool’s thigh in a most uncomfortable and unrealistic fashion.
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Speaking of hands, consider the fingers growing from the shoulders of the Hanged Man. And the hands of the dead below the scythe of Death (a harmoniously proportioned Death, with a nice mix of bone and flesh from the point of view of being creepy but not totally chaotic) are jauntily expressive. Perhaps they yearn for his many-colored cape. Death’s feet are beautifully rendered, especially the back one, although it’s hard to see from the cant of his hips if he’s coming or going.
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Anatomical puzzles.
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Death shares a "which direction?" problem with the Boy in the Tree Tower card and the Valet of Batons. To see this, start with Death. Which way is he going? Cover the bottom half of the body-he’s coming toward you, run for your life! Then cover the top half. Whoops. The impossible torso is even more pronounced for the Valet of Batons. Then see if the Bateleur, whose table is wonky by tradition, could possibly be standing on those feet of his. The Wheel of Fortune demonstrates Chance in more ways than one, as the image is totally impossible. And yet, there it is. |
What It Is and What It Is Not
The Vieville cards demonstrate the gap that’s developed between the accepted meanings and what the cards actually show. Consider the Sun. Honestly, if you didn’t know it was "supposed" to be a Very Good Card, wouldn’t you think exactly the opposite? Why is the little fella on the horse so happy, with only a banner between him and a scowling world-class grouch?
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Today we say: The Star! Oh, joy, hope springs eternal! But the Vieville astrologer, with his compass, hourglass, and a baleful expression, seems cemented to his chair. Presumably he seeks order in the heavens, but perhaps he’s also disoriented by the cattywhompus floor tiles, and what IS all that stuff in the background? Oddly, for a card depicting science and art, this card has the most disturbing treatment of size and perspective.
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Where Are You Going?
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The Vieville devil rampages the countryside; you can practically hear the thud of his heels and his deep growly grunts. Part of his problem is that he’s got to haul around an entire committee everywhere he goes. His knee and shoulder (and maybe that forward elbow?) seem happy enough to be along for the ride, but the gent in his midsection looks bored with the whole thing: Are we there yet?
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Beginners are always "there yet" because beginners are always here, now. In the "old man’s" cards, the Jacques Vieville, here now is sheer delight.
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Thanks to the participants in the Aeclectic Tarot Forum for their insights.
