The World Card - Evangelists, Fixed Stars, Archangels or Fixed Signs of the Zodiac?
msesheta
Hello,
If the images in the corners are taken as the fixed
zodiacal signs, they must be in the order shown on the
RWS deck. The man represents Aquarius and he needs to be
placed diagonally to Leo the lion. The same goes for the
bull which represents Taurus - it must be placed
diagonally across from the eagle which represents
Scorpio. Some decks switch the order - perhaps they are
following the order of the Evangelists as given in
Ezekiel and not the proper zodiacal positioning? The
Cosmic tarot is an example of the change. Notice that
the lion and the bull are reversed. This is not the
proper order of the signs of the zodiac or the fixed
stars found within the constellations.
Below is a post from aeclectic which talks about
Babylonian astrology and the four fixed stars.
First is a description
from Wikipedia and after that the post about fixed
stars.
A naked woman or hermaphrodite hovers or dances above
the Earth holding a staff in each hand, surrounded by a
green wreath, being watched by various creatures. In
older decks, these are usually a human face or head, a
lion, an ox, and an eagle, the symbols of the four
Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Matthew the Evangelist, the author of the first gospel,
symbolized by a man...
Mark the Evangelist, the author of the second gospel,
symbolized by a lion...
Luke the Evangelist, the author of the third gospel and
the Acts of the Apostles, symbolized by a bull or a
calf...
John the Evangelist, the author of the fourth gospel,
symbolized by an eagle...
It also holds reference to the vision of Ezekiel in the
old testament. This is a reference to the
all-encompassing knowledge of the Bible, the Word of
God. Later decks avoid such blatant Christian symbolism,
or ignore it altogether, choosing to explain these
observers as representatives of the natural world, or
the kingdom of beasts. An alternative explanation is
based on astrological symbolism. The human face, bull,
lion, and eagle represent the fixed signs of the zodiac,
Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio. In some decks the
wreath is a basilisk (crowned reptile) biting its own
tail; this basilisk is also sometimes called an
Ouroborous.
In some decks, this card is also called "The Universe."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_(Tarot_card)
I agree with the poster who spoke about the ancient
Babylonian symbolism of the four beasts, representing
the root symbolism of this card on which many other
cycles of symbolism are layered. It was during the
Babylonian period of history that the Sun conjuncting
the four stars Aldebaran (Eye of Taurus, the Bull),
Regulus (Heart of the Lion), Antares (Heart of the
Scorpion) and Fomalhaut (Mouth of the Fish) marked the
changes in seasons of the solar year. You will note that
the Lady of "The World" is encircled by an oval wreath
marked into four sections. The oval wreath represents
the Solar Year. The four beasts mark the stars that
represented the Solstices and Equinoxes when astrology
was first invented. The animals fall into exactly the
sequence of the seasons when we follow them
counterclockwise around the card--first Spring
(Bull/Taurus), then Summer (lion/Leo), then Autumn
(eagle/Scorpio), then Winter (man/Aquarius).
Aquarius, by the way, is the "water bearer",
astrologically symbolized by a man pouring or carrying
water: therefore, his symbol is a human form. All four
beasts in Babylonian myth have wings, so you could say
he is a winged man and therefore an angel, or you could
say the four beasts are all angels, since they all have
wings.
And the Lady (the World), dances within the oval (quite
accurate, actually--the solar year is better described
as an oval than a circle) solar cycle of the seasons.
The Babylonians referred to the four stars as "the
Watchers" of the four directions of the compass. As a
result of Ezekiel and Daniel borrowing heavily on the
beasts of Babylonian astrological symbolism in
describing their visions, the identical concepts were
imported into Hebrew symbolism in the book of Daniel and
later Christian symbolism in the book of Revelation. The
term for "Watchers" in Hebrew translates to messengers,
or Angels in English.
The Four Watchers, then, became associated with the four
Archangels:
Aldebaran = Uriel, or Light of God
Regulus = Raphael, or Healing of God
Antares = Michael, or Like God
Fomalhaut = Gabriel, or Strength of God
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=83945
