Oswald Wirth’s Tarot Spread

Here’s a classic ”reclaimed spread” in the form of a five-card-cross that is most often found in French and continental Tarot books. The version I offer here is from Oswald Wirth’s Tarot of the Magicians, (originally Le Tarot, des imagiers du moyen-age, 1926).  Wirth claims to have learned it from his teachers, Stanislas de Guaita and Joséphin Péladan (famous 19th century French occultists). It uses only the Major Arcana. Note that the card layout itself will probably be familiar as it has been adapted to many different kinds of readings, some of them focusing on the four elements or directions with the fifth-essence/situation/resolution in the center. The original spread is quite different.

What’s great about the Oswald Wirth version is that it’s based on the premise that your case is being considered in a court of law with the result being advice or direction for achieving success. The Major Arcana cards that turn up are characters in the resulting courtroom drama and should be seen as acting in a manner aligned with the card and presenting its unique attitudes and perspectives. Ham it up; imagine a scene from your favorite legal-eagle TV show.

Ask a specific question, and using only the Major Arcana, shuffle and cut. Then, taking cards from the top of the deck (*see alternate technique below), place them in the positions indicated.

The first two cards are the lawyers and the evidence presented by the two sides.

The first card (left) is affirmative, showing what is in favor of (“for”) the situation. It points to what it is wise to do and those people or qualities on which one can depend.

The second card (right) is negative (the opposing counsel) and represents what is “against” it. It points to hostilities that should be avoided or feared: the fault, enemy, danger or the “pernicious temptation.”

The third card (above) is the judge who discusses the evidence, weighs the pros and cons, and may arbitrate between the for and against. The judge helps clarify the decision to be made and gives advice as to what’s required.

In the fourth card (below) the “sentence,” result or solution is pronounced. Taking into account the synthesis of the fifth card, this “voice” of the oracle offers a look into what comes from the decision. It may contain a “teaching” about what style, attitude or demeanor is ultimately to be aimed for.

The fifth or center card is determined by adding the numbers of the first four cards and reducing to 22 or less. It is a synthesis of what has gone before, and points out what is of prime importance on which everything else depends. Although placed last, Wirth, in his sample spread, reads it first, since the situation or topic depends on it.

The Fool is considered 0 when adding and 22 when it is the result of the addition. The fifth card may be the same as one of the other four.

* Wirth suggests a special way of selecting the first four cards that you can use if you like. Shuffle the Major Arcana and then ask the querent for the first number between 1 and 22 that comes into her head. Count down that many cards and place the final card of the count in position one. Shuffle again and repeat for each of the next three positions.

In a sample interpretation Wirth asks “How should one advise a would-be diviner?” (That is, What advice should be given to a person who wants to become the best tarot reader possible?)

The cards received give an answer that you might find surprising. Please tell us your interpretation in the comments section, but here’s some direction from Wirth. He begins with the center card, stating that it shows what the divination depends on. He then contrasts the “for” (on the left) with the “against” (on the right): “the Emperor puts himself at the service of Strength to whom the Moon is detrimental, being against.” That is, the Emperor opposes (or reigns in) the Moon. Cards in positions three and four offer instruction. The Judge (above) shows what we must do and the Solution (below) shows what will come from doing that. What do you make of these cards?

This is the Radical Wirth Tarot painted by Carol Herzer, a beautiful, 22-card deck currently available in a limited edition, although perhaps not for much longer.

Movie Watch: Wolfman and The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus

Two upcoming films have Tarot in them:

Wolfman (a remake) directed by Joe Johnson with Hugo Weaving, Joe Johnston, Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Geraldine Chaplin (as the gypsy tarot reader). England’s own Kim Arnold was the tarot consultant, tutoring Chaplin for the tarot scenes.

In The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus from Terry Gilliam with Heath Ledge, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law, the Hanged Man literally appears just as Dr. Parnassus pulls the card from his Tarot deck. For those who don’t mind spoilers here’s a hermeneutical review of the film. (Thanks to Bill Dalz.)

If anyone finds any clips of the tarot scenes please send them to me.

Oldest Cartomancy Meanings in English

Dr. Flamstead’s and Mr. Patridge’s New Fortune-Book containing . . . Their new-invented method of knowing one’s fortune by a pack of cards appears to be the oldest book with instructions on fortune-telling-with-cards in the English language.  The first edition seems to be from 1729—well before Etteilla wrote his 1770 book on “cartonomancie” and contains a “lot” style method of divination in which the card chosen leads to a verse based on your choice of a set question. However we know from the 1730 play Jack the Gyant-Killer that multi-card spreads with meanings for each card were already current in England. (Thanks as always to Ross Caldwell for additional information and corrections.)At some point between 1750 and 1770 a new, much shorter book appeared called Patridge and Flamsted’s new and well Experienced Fortune Book, delivered to the world from the Astrologer’s Office in Greenwich Park, for the benefit of all young men, maids, wives, and widows. Who, by drawing Cards according to the direction of this Book, may know whether Life shall be long or short; whether they shall have the person desired; and every lawful question whatsoever. The signification of Moles in any part of the body; and the interpretation of Dreams, as they relate to good or bad fortune. Along with the change in author spelling there was a major change in the technique portrayed. For the first time we have instructions for a one-card spread and individual meanings given for each card (text appears below).

The individuals in the title are supposed to refer to Dr. John Flamsteed (1646 – 1719), the first Astronomer Royal, and Mr. John Partridge (1644-1715), a well-known writer of astrology books and almanacs and associate of the astrologer William Lilly. However, the names of both Partridge and Flamsteed were appropriated by others as documented by Adrian Johns in The Nature of the book: print and knowledge in the making, p. 619: “But did Flamsteed remain Flamsteed? The question of his identity had been a real one in his own time. Before him there had been no royal astronomical observer in England, and there is evidence that Flamsteed himself was represented by various contemporaries as a virtuoso, an astrologer, a rogue, pedagogue, and a pamphleteer.” He mentions, as an example, a pamphlet, purporting to be by Flamsteed, entitled Plemstadts most Strange and Wonderful Prophecy.

John Partridge was made famous by Jonathan Swift who, under the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff, wrote an April Fool’s prediction for the death of Partridge in a spoof astrological almanac (followed by an announcement of Partridge’s death on the date given), after which the name of the still-living-Partridge became legion, appearing on many spurious publications.

Whoever it was who wrote this book, we can be grateful for the first publication in English of playing card meanings. So, without further delay, the instructions and meanings according to Patridge and Flamsted’s new and well Experienced Fortune Book:

Directions whereby the Reader may be informed of the Rules in this Book.

Take a new pack of Cards. Shuffle them well together,

Tarot in the Palm of Your Hand

Check out this fabulous video by Caterina Paris on combining palmistry with the four suits of the tarot:

And check out Carrie’s other tarot videos here.

LA Museum Exhibition on Tarot

Everyone, I hope you can come to the Opening Reception of The Fool’s Journey Tarot Art Exhibit curated by Robert Place in Los Angeles.

Opening Reception

Saturday | January 23, 2010
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Admission: $10 Donation/ CAFAM Members Free RSVP to (323) 937-4230 x50 or rsvp@cafam.org

Curator’s Lecture for The Fool’s Journey with curator Robert M. Place

Learn more about the fascinating history of the Tarot and its roots in the Italian Renaissance with curator and scholar Robert M. Place.
Sunday | January 24, 3 pm
FREE with the cost of museum admission

Location: Craft and Folk Art Museum
Address: 5814 Wilshire Boulevard , Los Angeles, CA , 90036
Cross Streets: Wilshire / Curson
Region: Westside/Beverly Hills Area
Phone: (323) 937-4230
Food Services: Beverages (wine, beer) and appetizers
http://www.cafam.org/FoolsJourney.html

The Fool’s Journey: The History and Symbolism of the Tarot
January 24, 2010 – May 9, 2010

Curated by Robert M. Place

While known today primarily as a fortune telling or occult deck, the Tarot was born out of the intellectual and artistic developments of the Italian Renaissance. Links to the Tarot’s icons and symbology can be found in the popular arts and philosophy of this rich historic period. Influenced by alchemy, Hermetic mysticism and the concept of Anima Mundi (the fifth element of life), the Tarot became a conversation between mystics and artists that has lasted over five centuries. This exhibition will illuminate the 22 cards of the Tarot’s major arcana, from the Fool to the World, presenting historic examples from early decks and relating them to other works of art from that era. It will continue with historic examples of the French deck known as The Tarot of Marseilles and early occult decks that bloomed from this tradition. Popular twentieth century decks including the Waite-Smith Tarot, and works of art by modern Tarot artists will be featured to provide a deeper understanding of the Tarot’s artistic legacy and message of mystical transformation.

ABOUT THE CURATOR
Robert M. Place is an internationally known visionary artist, author, illustrator, and Tarot Designer, whose award winning works, in painting, sculpture, and jewelry, have been displayed in galleries and museums in America, Europe, and Japan and graced the covers and pages of numerous books and publications. He has written several volumes on the art and philosophy of Tarot including The Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination, The Alchemical Tarot, The Tarot of the Saints and The Buddha Tarot. Robert is recognized throughout the world as an expert on and gifted teacher of the Western mystical tradition and the history and philosophy of the Tarot.

Announcing The Omega Institute Tarot Conference

Come one, come all

11-13 June, 2010

The Omega Institute Tarot Conference: TAROT & INTUITION

in Rhinebeck NY.

We are delighted to announce the first Omega Tarot Conference featuring Juliet Sharman-Burke, Lon Milo DuQuette, Ruth Ann & Wald Amberstone, Mary K. Greer, and Rachel Pollack. Join us at this beautiful retreat in upstate New York for an incredible learning experience with some of the most exciting teachers in the field.

Intuition communicates primarily through symbols. Tarot is the Western World’s greatest symbol system for helping us find meaning in life events and for exploring future possibilities. In a Tarot reading we consider a person’s questions and then lay out the cards.  Along with the cards’ meanings it is really our intuition that allows us to see the patterns and messages that emerge from the questions and the images.

The Omega Institute is honored to bring you five world-renowned Tarot teachers and authors, from New York, California, and England.  Each an innovator and a scholar, they are also masters of the intuitive. Their hands-on workshops will help you discover your own ability to read the cards. While everyone is intuitive the conference faculty will give you specific tools to access your own intuition, refine it and trust it. Together we will experience the psychic, psychological, magical, symbolic and interactive aspects of today’s intuitive Tarot practices, making you a more well-rounded reader for yourself or others.

This conference is for all levels. Bring your favorite deck(s). Details forthcoming at http://www.eomega.com/

Then stay for the five day Tarot Magic workshop with Rachel and Mary:

13-18 June, 2010 — TAROT MAGIC: Using the Power of Symbols and Images

at The Omega Institute, Rhinebeck NY, with Mary K. Greer and Rachel Pollack.

Stay after the conference or come separately to the famous five-day course with Rachel and Mary, which this year features a very special topic.

Through the Tarot we view what changes may happen in our lives.  But we can use Tarot to create change as well as describe it.  This is the magic of Tarot.  The great poet, W. B. Yeats–a dedicated magician–called magic “Truth evoked through symbols.”  In this workshop we will explore the Tarot’s symbolic truths–the meanings of the cards–and then discover how we can use those truths as keys to transformation.  Like the Tarot card The Magician, we will access the powers of the Trumps and four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles.  And, lest we take ourselves too seriously, we will do this in the Fool’s spirit of adventure and play.

Join Rachel and Mary for five days of magical discovery.  Go beyond what is in the books to access your own power and develop your Tarot reading skills. Take the limits off your idea of Tarot and through the Tarot take the limits off your beliefs about creating change.

Suitable for all levels of experience.  Bring your Tarot deck(s). Details forthcoming at http://www.eomega.com/

Lucas van Leyden’s “The Fortune-Teller”

I may have just solved the puzzle of the the painting “The Fortune-Teller” by Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533). It was painted in 1508 when Lucas was only fourteen, marking him as one of the great painters of the age. This work is also considered to be the first “genre painting” that depicts everyday events in ordinary life. If what is shown is truly fortune-telling with cards then it is one of the earliest records of cards being used in this way (see Origins of Playing Card Divination).

I believe the cards in this picture do represent the many turns of fortune, but it may be more of a metaphor than an actual card reading. Still, we know from research by Ross Caldwell that by 1450 playing cards were used in Spain for fortune-telling “puédense echar suertes en ellos á quién más ama cada uno, e á quién quiere más et por otras muchas et diversas maneras (“one can cast lots [tell fortunes] with them to know who each one loves most and who is most desired and by many other and diverse ways.”) And, as we will see, both of the main characters in the painting married into the Spanish royal family and spent time there.

The central woman is, most likely, Margarethe (Margaret) of Austria and Savoy (1480-1530) (see also here), born in Flanders, she was daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy. Her step-mother was Bianca Maria Sforza, daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, by his second wife, Bona of Savoy, and granddaughter of Bianca Maria Visconti (m. Francesco Sforza) for whom the Visconti-Sforza Tarot was made.

At three years of age Margarethe was betrothed to the Dauphin of France (later, Charles VIII), but at ten was returned to her family when he married someone else. In 1497, at seventeen, she and her brother, Philip ‘the Handsome’ (Archduke of Austria, ruler of Burgundy and the Netherlands, and in line to become Holy Roman Emperor), were married off in a double alliance to the Infante Juan and Infanta Juana, children of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile (who sent Columbus to America). (Pictures below are of Philip and Margarethe.)

The Infante Juan died six months later and Margarethe’s child was stillborn. Margarethe was then married to Philibert (Phillip) of Savoy with whom she was very happy, but he died three years later. (He, by the way, actively supported the Milanese cause of the Sforzas against the French until offered a bribe by the French that he couldn’t refuse.) So, by the age of twenty-four she had already had a betrothal broken by France’s Charles VIII, lost a child, and was the widow of both the Infante Juan of Spain as well as of her much loved Philibert. Although her family tried to entice her into a marriage with Henry VII of England, she vowed never to remarry and took the motto: FORTUNE . INFORTUNE . FORT.UNE that has been translated as “Fortune, misfortune, and one strong to meet them.” I see it as both a reminder of her sad story and her claiming of the strength (forte) that such adversity had brought her.

Meanwhile, in 1506, Margarethe’s beloved brother, Philip the Handsome, was named King of Spain, but he died that same year, his son becoming the next King of Spain (Carlos I) and eventually Holy Roman Emperor (Charles V). In 1507 Margarethe was named governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, in place of her brother, and guardian of his seven-year-old son. She went on to become a significant political figure and patron of the arts, negotiating treaties and continuing to rule the Netherlands at the behest of her father, Maximilian, and then her nephew.

There is a possibility that Lucas van Leyden’s 1508 painting commemorates Margarethe of Austria’s ascendancy to the governorship of the Netherlands in 1507, following the death of her brother, Philip the Handsome. The flower being exchanged (a “pink” signifying loyalty in love?) could represent the passing on of the governorship and their love for the people of the Netherlands who are pictured in the background witnessing the change-over. The daisy on the woman’s gown identifies her (a marguerite daisy). Philip the Handsome (portrait above left) wears a necklace and hat similar to those in “The Fortune Teller” where his doffed hat and sad eyes might illustrate his mortal leave-taking. The portrait on the right shows Margarethe in widow’s garb as she liked to be seen in the second half of her life. The Fool with his bauble (fool’s sceptre) may have been someone specific at the court or he may be a symbolic reminder of the foolishness of thinking that a high place and worldly honors will last. More people look at him than at anyone else. There are clearly three layers to the cards: Philip & Margarethe, the Fool and a lady-in-waiting(?), and a backdrop of commoners who may represent the people of the country who are unsure what is to become of them.

At least one other painting by van Leyden is said to show Margarethe’s involvement in political negotiations pictured as a card game (1525; see below). It is thought to refer to a  agreement between Emperor Charles V (left) and Cardinal Wolsey (right) to form a secret alliance between Spain and England against Francis I of France. Margarethe is known to have been involved in these negotiations. This painting would therefore refer back to the 1508 one where her position as regent of the Netherlands was commemorated.

A nineteenth century etching based on the painting (the original etching is from Le Magasin pittoresque, 1840) is identified as “The Archduke of Austria Consulting a Fortune-Teller” when reproduced in Chambers‘ article on card reading. It has often been depicted as proof of early playing card divination. As we’ve seen, that may be too simplistic a view. However it is interesting that Philip the Handsome was Archduke of Austria (and his sister made Archduchess of Austria after him).

Here’s a couple more portraits of Margarethe. The one on the right has a similar neckline to the one in our painting (though slightly higher):

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[Special thanks to Huck Meyer, Rosanne, and Alexandra Nagel—all who offered pieces of the puzzle.]

Suggestions for Becoming a Professional Tarot Reader

I was reminded in the previous post of people who ask what they need to do to become a professional tarot reader.  After you feel comfortable reading for self, friends (and, maybe, friends-of-friends), here’s my number one suggestion for when you want to make the transition.

Your Rite of Passage

The ideal “rite of passage” is to volunteer for a full day (or better yet, a weekend) at a charity or benefit event and donate everything to the cause. If you keep the price reasonable ($5-15 or sliding scale depending on the length of reading and the venue) then your schedule should be filled. The point is to read non-stop (except for necessary breaks), even to the point of exhaustion (drink plenty of water!). There’s a point beyond which a part of you doesn’t care what you say anymore, and you totally let go. You’ll be surprised at what happens then and how accurate you become when you finally bypass your critic. I can’t even begin to list the number of things you will learn from such an experience, but here are a few:

• Letting go of the critic and trusting the process.
• Explaining what you do and/or don’t do in one short, concrete statement.
• Guiding people efficiently through the question, shuffling, etc.
• Learning to listen as well as speak.
• Realizing you can’t “fix” someone & letting go of the need to do so.
• Releasing the need to be “right.”
• Getting your timing down (how many cards for the time allotted).
  
• Learning how to end a reading (especially with a clingy or argumentative client).
• Discovering the things you’ll need in a “reading kit.”
• Arranging breaks, keeping hydrated, eating, etc.

A few basic accoutrements for reading at fairs and events:

• One or more tarot decks, appropriate to the clientele and occasion.
• A spread cloth. (Busy designs can interfere with the card images.)
• Business cards & promotional handouts.
• Tissues!!!
• Water! Plus an emergency snack—in case you can’t get away for a meal.
• Clothing to put you and others in the mood, and in layers so you can adjust to temperature changes.

Optional:

• If outdoors, healing stones to keep the cards from blowing away (plus nice to have for the energy).
• Flowers, statue, other decorations. Don’t overdo it.
• Reading sign-up sheet on clipboard & pen.
  
• Mailing list (if appropriate).
• Cushion for folding chairs. This extra bit of comfort helps.

And eventually:

• A sign. This probably won’t be necessary for the charity event.
• Code of Ethics written by you and to which you adhere. (Google for examples.)
  
• Optional: Recording device. It’s usually better if the client doesn’t have to write stuff down.

After doing this myself and making this suggestion to others for more than 30 years, as well as doing mini-events like this with my students, I’ve gotten tons of feedback from people who said it was the best thing they ever did to catapult them into the beginnings of professional confidence and expertise. Please, anyone who wants to add to these lists (and I know there’s more to say), do so in the comments.

Tarot at the Deaf Hope Gala

Here’s an inspiring video of tarot reader “Ocean” reading cards at the Deaf Hope Gala & Benefit in San Francisco. The reading begins about 30 seconds into the video:

You can read the transcript here. Ocean is an experienced reader and all the proceeds went to the cause. I loved seeing a reading interpreted in ASL.

Papess Maifreda Visconti of the Guglielmites—new evidence

Gertrude Moakley (The Tarot Cards Painted by Bonifacio Bembo, 1966) introduced the Tarot world to a possible original source of the Papess card. Maifreda (or Manfreda) Visconti da Pirovano was to be declared Pope in Milan on Easter 1300 in a new age of the Holy Spirit. Instead, Maifreda and others in the sect were, that year, burned at the stake, along with the disinterred body of Guglielma, who had inspired this new movement.

Maifreda was an Abbess in the Umiliati Order and first cousin to Matteo Visconti, the Ghibelline (anti-pope) ruler of Milan. Maifreda believed the Holy Spirit had manifested on earth in the form of Guglielma (d. 1281), a middle-aged woman with a grown son who claimed to be a daughter of Premysl Otakar, King of Bohemia, and, who on arriving in Milan in 1260, donned a “simple brown habit” and lived the life of a saint. To the Guglielmites, her arrival fulfilled a prophecy of St. Joachim de Fiore that a new age of the Holy Spirit would begin in 1260, “heralding the inauguration of an ecclesia spiritualis in which grace, spiritual knowledge and contemplative gifts would be diffused to all.” Although she vehemently denied it, “rumors of divinity already swirled around Guglielma during her lifetime.” And, “Her words about ‘the body of the Holy Spirit,’ together with her mysterious royal origins, Pentecostal birth, imputed healings and stigmata, coalesced to create a more-than-human mystique in the minds of her friends.” Immediately after her death dozens of portraits were painted and chapels were dedicated to Santa Guglielma. (Visconti-Sforza card on the right – her cross at top left is hard to see.)

Barbara Newman (aka Mona Alice Jean Newman) presented the most complete account in English of the Guglielmites in her From Virile Woman to WomanChrist: Studies in Medieval Religion and Literature, but it is in her more recent paper, “The Heretic Saint: Guglielma of Bohemia, Milan and Brunate,” that we learn important details that make an attribution to Maifreda as Papess much stronger than previously thought (all quotes and information not otherwise attributed are from this article).

Many tarot scholars since Moakley have doubted Maifreda as source, nor do they give much credence to an older assumption that the card depicted Pope Joan (see article by Ross Caldwell). Instead, modern thinking proposes that it was always an allegorical image of Fides (Faith—see Giotto image to right), Sapientia (Wisdom), Ecclesia (Holy Mother Church) or the Papacy itself. Alternately, she could be Isis (see below with Hermes Trismegistus & Moses by Pinturicchio in the Vatican), the Blessed Virgin Mary or a priestess of Venus (below) —see especially Bob O’Neill’s “Iconology of the Early Papess Cards” and Andrea Vitali’s essay on “The High Priestess.” Even Paul Huson in Mystical Origins of the Tarot finds it difficult to believe the Visconti family would memorialize a family member burned at the stake as a heretic.

Certainly “Faith” and “Holy Mother Church” may be referenced in the Tarot image, but they were probably of a more heretical sort than the orthodox church has ever sanctioned. Andrea Vitali recounts a summary of the trial of Guglielma and her followers in which we find:

“As Christ was true God and true Man, in the same manner, she [Guglielma] claimed herself to be true God and true Man in the female sex, come to save the Jews, the Saracens and the false Christians, in the same way as the true Christians are saved by means of Christ.” [Tying her story in with the final cards of Judgment and the World, we find,] “She too claimed she would arise again with a human body in the female sex before the final resurrection, in order to rise to heaven before the eyes of her disciples, friends and devotees.”

O’Neill objects that “beyond the deck specifically produced for the Visconti about 1450, the local Milanese phenomenon of Guglielmites is unlikely to be the source for the image on earlier decks, for example, the 1442 deck mentioned in an inventory of the Este estate in Ferrara.” But, as Newman’s paper points out, Matteo Visconti’s son, Galeazzo, married the Duke of Ferrara’s sister in 1300 and lived there from 1302-1310, so Ferrara had its own early connection to this saint. Furthermore, Guglielma’s story and veneration were popularized in Ferrara by 1425 through a hagiography (saint’s life) by Antonio Bonfadini, and in Florence through a popular late-15^th century religious play by Antonia Pulci—although they garbled her history. (15th century deck on the right is known as the Fournier/Lombardy II.)

Matteo Visconti (first Duke of Milan and first cousin to Maifreda) had as an advisor his good friend, Francesco da Garbagnate—an ardent devotee of Guglielma. Matteo was at the center of his own long battle with the Church, having expelled the Papal Inquisitors in 1311, and being himself excommunicated in 1317, tried for sorcery and heresy in 1321, and having Milan placed under interdict in 1322. Matteo’s grandmother and uncle (archbishop of Milan) had earlier been named heretics. (Pope/Papess? card, left, is from the “Cary Sheet” found at the Sforza Castle, Milan.)

From Newman’s article, we learn that Maifreda’s convent was in Biassono, but she fails to note that Biassono is only five miles from the small town of Concorezzo that in 1299 was home to 1,500 Cathars! It seems after the Albigensian crusade many small towns around Milan became refugee outposts of this faith, of which Concorezzo was the center, and may have inspired the order of nuns who called themselves the “humble” (umiliati).

The most compelling bit of data making the attribution of the Papess card almost certain is that between 1440 and 1460 Bianca Maria Visconti, wife of Francesco Sforza and duchess of Milan, frequently visited Maddalena Albrizzi, Abbess of monasteries in Como and Brunate, and gave aid and gifts to the Order. (Brunate is just north of Milan with Biassono between them). Even the stones for the Como monastery were donated by Francesco Sforza. The Visconti-Sforza deck (first picture in post) was probably commissioned by or for Bianca Maria. Around 1450 (the same period as the deck) a cycle of frescos were painted in the Church of San Andrea at Brunate that recorded the story of Guglielma:

“How she left the house of her husband, came to Brunate, and lived a solitary life here, wearing a hairshirt and ordinary dress . . . in the company of a crucifix and an image of Our Lady.”

Only one of these frescos, ornately framed, remains today near the original chapel that had been dedicated to Saint Guglielma (see above). It depicts Guglielma with two figures kneeling before her. She appears to be giving a special blessing to a nun. Newman identifies the two as Maifreda and Andrea Saramita (he was the main promulgator of her divinity as the Holy Spirit). Others, more convincingly, claim them as Maddalena Albrizzi (founder of the monastery and candidate for sainthood) and her cousin Pietro Albrici who renovated the church. Even as late as the nineteenth century, Sir Richard Burton, author of The Arabian Nights, noted that “Santa Guglielma, worshipped at Brunate, works many miracles, chiefly healing aches of head.”

It seems reasonable to conclude that Bianca Maria Visconti may have had a special devotion to the woman whom, 150 years after being condemned by the Inquisition, so many Lombards venerated as a saint, and that she honored an earlier family member, Maifreda, who served as Guglielma’s Vicar—hiding her in plain sight as an allegory of Faith.

Let’s ask the question about the source in a slightly different way: Would it have been possible for Bianca Maria Visconti to have not seen this card as Maifreda? Likewise, would it have been possible for a church reformer of the time, familiar with Maifreda and Pope Joan, to have not seen this card as an allegory of Heresy instead of Faith? For instance, a monk wrote in Sermones de Ludo Cum Aliis (c. 1450-1480) about La Papessa, “O wretched, it is what the Christian Faith denies.”

Later Swiss, Germans and Belgians de-sacralized the deck, finding both Pope and Papess objectionable and substituting for them cards like Jupiter & Juno, Bacchus & the Spanish Captain, or the Moors. The Papess, it seems, has always been a mysterious and disturbing force, spreading anxiety instead of the calm assurance one might expect from Faith.

Acknowledgements: Huck Meyer pointed out this picture and Newman’s article at Aeclectic’s tarotforum last year – see discussion. I was then reminded of this material through reading Helen Farley’s fascinating book, A Cultural History of Tarot: From Entertainment to Esotericism.