VI - L' Amoureux

[BreathingSince72]

The card pictured here is from the Tarot de Marseille Jean Dodal circa 1701 recreated by Jean-Claude Flornoy.

This is the second card in the major arcana where more than one human figure appears but the first where a heavenly being is in the scene. Perhaps we can look at that first. The cherub flies into the scene, blindfolded, from the right hand side of the card. Like the man, the cherub is bare legged. This card seems to say that, like the cherub, the man is choosing blindly.

I have oftentimes looked at this card and thought the two women reminded me of a mother and a lady-love. The woman to the left places her hand on the mans shoulder as if to guide or control while the woman to the right places her hand over his heart as if to express a delicate affection or to restrain. Seen in this light, this card reminds me of the Bible verse that says a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. This card strikes me as a man giving his heart to the first woman besides his mother.

If these women are rivals as the cherub (Eros?) would seem to indicate, then the woman to the left seems a great deal more confident than the maiden to the right. There is something more open eyed and pleading to the face of the younger, where the narrowed glance of the elder makes her appear more calculating. When we look at the man, he seems to be giving his attention to the elder of the two ladies.

Yet there is one symbol here which could indicate where his heart lies. His left hand is much larger than his right. In the Marseille tradition, when a character has one hand which is significantly larger than the other, it is known as the “hand of glory.” The hand of glory could represent where a person has the most authority in their life or where their gifts are most authentically displayed. His hand of glory is nearest the woman to the right. Love may be blind but the hand has it! A choice has been made.

I have studied some great material on this card and will share more as my knowledge grows. What do you see? What message might you take from the postures, the colors, the body language?

[Joan Marie]

This is so interesting. I'm already starting to think I need to get into TdM.

I have 2 questions.

1. Is "the hand of glory" a thing that carries through most other Marseille decks?

2. What do you think is the significance of the cherub being blindfolded?

[CharlotteK]

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath love's mind of any judgement taste;
Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.
And therefore is love said to be a child
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.
Shakespeare ~ A Midsummer Night's Dream

Cupid is blindfolded in Type 1 TdM decks, but not Type II. Here in Type I he flies in from the right, in Type II he flies in from the left.

[BreathingSince72]

This is so interesting. I'm already starting to think I need to get into TdM.

I have 2 questions.

1. Is "the hand of glory" a thing that carries through most other Marseille decks?

2. What do you think is the significance of the cherub being blindfolded?

It is something we see in the Noblet and the Dodal. I will have to look through my other decks to see if there is a consistent pattern. I will also let you know where the "hand of glory" came from artistically. There is some rather dark lore about it but this is unrelated, as far as I know, from the Marseille.

The blindfolded cherub, to me, is the power of love taking us wherever it might will to take us, without regard to whether or not those places are convenient for us.

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath love's mind of any judgement taste;
Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.
And therefore is love said to be a child
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled.
Shakespeare ~ A Midsummer Night's Dream

Cupid is blindfolded in Type 1 TdM decks, but not Type II. Here in Type I he flies in from the right, in Type II he flies in from the left.

I love this piece of writing. Billy sure knew how to lay it down! (Although I doubt he would have publicly appreciated being called "Billy.").

This is true, the Type II decks do not have a blindfolded cupid. The other item they are missing, that I really wanted in a deck, was the face on the belly of El Diable. I don't know why I like that so much but I really, really do. I keep flashing back to some Mardi Gras parade I saw televised as a child where a group of people had faces painted on their bellies and the top halves of their bodies covered with costumery that looked like hats and hair. I was sure there was a name for this style of costuming but google search yielded me nothing. For some reason, I also wanted the Le Empereur to be looking at a 4...so I bought a couple of Type I decks. Again I have no idea why I do this...past life influence...I don't know but a deck feels "off" if one of these features is missing. An exception would be the Vandenborre Bacchus. It has several details which are different from other Marseilles decks but I enjoy it very much.

What Marseilles deck, to date, has your favorite rendition of L'Amoureux?

[CharlotteK]

amoureux-web.jpg (35.24 KiB) Viewed 1103 times

I like the Noblet rendition very much.