Thursday, April 8, 2021

April 8, 2021: X The Wheel and XI Strength


So not only two Major Arcana cards today, but two consecutive Major Arcana cards.

My Inner Focus card is X The Wheel.  The image on this card shows four people viewed from the top, two naked women and two clothed men.  One naked woman and one clothed man with his pants down around his knees are pleasuring each other orally in a 69 position in the center of the image; beneath them is an image of a wheel.  A naked woman stands at the bottom of the image, behind the man in the center, watching the pair.  A clothed man who has one hand in his own groin and the other hand holding a rod or pole of some kind is standing at the top of the image, behind the woman in the center.  The key phrases for this card are: bad luck is compensated by solidarity and mutual help, and selfishness does not pay off.

My Outer Focus card is XI Strength.  The image on this card shows a dark haired man with a beard in a mail shirt wearing a sword in a scabbard, naked from the waist down and standing with one leg braced on something outside of the image.  We can see the man's hair and beard but nothing else because his head is turned away from the viewer.  He is having sex with a naked woman, with one hand on her thigh and the other around her shoulder with that hand caressing her neck.  The woman has one arm around his shoulders and her legs are wrapped around his waist.  She has her hand on the hilt of his sword and has pulled it part way out of the scabbard; her gaze is on that sword.  Behind them both is darkness; we can just make out a curtain held up by a curtain rod.  The key phrases for this card are: affection and strong feelings can fight brute force, and reconcile relationships.    

There are interesting dynamics in the image on The Wheel.  The man and the woman in the center of the image are focused on each other and what is happening between them.  The naked woman at the bottom of the image appears to be just watching.  She is standing away from the Wheel that is on the ground and does not appear to be reacting to what is happening.  The male bystander at the top of the image, however, is standing partially in the Wheel and he appears to be pleasuring himself through his clothes.  He looks like he would like to be a part of what is happening before him.  The Wheel usually tells of the unpredictability of luck and Fate, but the Decameron Wheel seems to be saying a bit more, perhaps letting us know that standing together with like-minded people can attract luck tilt Fate in a good direction, while selfishly grabbing what we want without considering others could repel luck tilt Fate in a less positive way.

The number 11 is seen by many as a strong number with spiritual connections.  If the number 1 is interpreted as representing leadership, the number 11 doubles that leadership power.  The term "master number" applies to any double-digit number that comes from a single root number, and offers those spiritual connections I just mentioned.  Perhaps in this case, the number 11 is reminding us that the Strength of this Major Arcana card is not necessarily connected to physical strength.  The warrior who is having sex with the naked woman is not the focus of the image, despite his armor and his very large double-edged sword, and his physical strength (after all, he is having sex with a woman while standing up).  In this image it is the woman who has the mental focus to understand the power of that sword and its phallic symbolism, and it is the woman who has control of the sword, not the warrior.

Today I am being told that teamwork could create a better day, and it is not physical strength that will create the energy I'm looking for.  

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