# Composer's Tarot Card



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Not sure how popular a thread such as this will be, but what the heck. 

Here are some I've thought of:

J.S. Bach = The Hermit: The wise old man who has reached the summit and is shining his light so that others may follow. 

Mozart = The Sun: Youthful yet experienced, energetic, full of vibrant energy.

Debussy = The High Priestess: Hidden secrets of the subconscious mind.

Those are some that come to mind for me. Feel free to share any composer/tarot connections you can think of.


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Bruckner: The Hierophant
Mahler: The World
Brahms: The Lovers
Haydn: Temperance
Beethoven: The Emperor

Some of my other favorites are harder to pin down. The best I could come up for Schumann was the Hanged Man, but I don't think that captures all of what his music is about. Great idea for a thread! I hope it catches on.


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

I think the card for John Cage would be:


The Hanged Man (XII)

It depicts...an image of a man being hung upside-down by one ankle (the only exception being the Tarocco Siciliano, which depicts the man hanged by the neck instead). This method of hanging was a common punishment at the time for traitors in Italy. *However, the solemn expression on his face traditionally suggests that he is there by his own accord, and the card is meant to represent self-sacrifice more so than it does corporal punishment or criminality.*
In other interpretations, The Hanged Man is a depiction of the Norse god Odin, who suspended himself from a tree in order to gain knowledge. There is also a Christian interpretation that portrays Judas Iscariot, and include the bags of silver in his hands.

The "judas Iscariot" association by Christians is especially appropriate.​​


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

I don't know much about tarot, but find the concept of this thread appealing, like a game, so here's my take:

Beethoven = _I. The Magician_: willpower, desire, creation, manifestation;
Debussy = _II. The High Priestess_: intuitive, unconscious, inner voice;
Hildegard = _III. The Empress_: motherhood, fertility, nature;
Mahler = _IV. The Emperor_: authority, structure, control, fatherhood;
Brahms = _V. The Hierophant_: tradition, conformity, morality, ethics;
Schumann = _VI. The Lovers_: partnerships, duality, union;
Bruckner = _VII. The Chariot_: direction, control, willpower;
Mendelssohn = _VIII. Justice_: cause and effect, clarity, truth;
Bach = _IX. The Hermit_: contemplation, search for truth, inner guidance;
Schoenberg = _X. The Wheel of Fortune_: change, cycles, inevitable fate;
Tchaikovsky = _XI. Strenght_: inner strenght, bravery, compassion, focus;
Prokofiev = _XII. The Hanged Man_: sacrifice, release, martyrdom;
Strauss = _XIII. Death_: end of cycle, beginnings, change, metamorphosis;
Haydn = _XIV. Temperance_: middle path, patience, finding meaning;
Lully = _XV. The Devil_: addiction, materialism, playfulness;
Gesualdo = _XVI. The Tower_: sudden upheaval, broken pride, disaster;
Josquin = _XVII. The Star_: hope, faith, rejuvenation;
Schubert = _XVIII. The Moon_: unconscious, illusions, intuition;
Mozart = _XIX. The Sun_: joy, success, celebration, positivity;
Léonin = _XX. Judgement_: reflection, reckoning, awakening;
Wagner = _XXI. The World_: fulfillment, harmony, completion;
Berlioz = _*. The Fool_: innocence, new beginnings, free spirit.

I tried to set one great composer per card in the _Major Arcana_ set of tarot cards contained in *this website* based on my personal idea about the composers, their life, and their music.


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I, too, don't know much about Tarot Cards, composer oriented or otherwise; but, if you want to play a hand or two of poker ….


----------



## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

SONNET CLV said:


> I, too, don't know much about Tarot Cards, composer oriented or otherwise; but, if you want to play a hand or two of poker ….


King of Spades - Bach
King of Hearts - Mozart
King of Clubs - Beethoven
King of Diamonds - Chopin
Queen of Spades - Haydn
Queen of Hearts - Brahms
Queen of Clubs - Schubert/Mahler
Queen of Diamonds - Bruckner
Jack of Spades - Schumann
Jack of Hearts - Tchaikovsky
Jack of Clubs - Debussy
Jack of Diamonds - Rachmaninoff

I'm just being facetious with the diamonds


----------



## JayBee (Apr 14, 2018)

I shared this thread with a Tarot site that has astute members. Some interesting conversations ensued. FYI:

https://www.cultoftarotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=2802&sid=fb7841ed43fbd5ced880e441badd5f01


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

I've got a "modernized" Tarot deck which uses computer-image collages. Quite interesting.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

JayBee said:


> I shared this thread with a Tarot site that has astute members. Some interesting conversations ensued. FYI:
> 
> https://www.cultoftarotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=2802&sid=fb7841ed43fbd5ced880e441badd5f01


Hmmm interesting conversation, however the one poster seemed to take the idea of the hermit pretty literally, perhaps unaware of the esoteric symbolism of the card. I gave Bach the hermit because he stands alone musically speaking, and for the reasons I mentioned above relating to the Waite interpretation of the card. Fire cat pickles posted "Bach was THE rock star of his day, certainly no Hermit." I wonder if Fire Cat Pickles knows Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin (the rock star of his day) also associated himself with the tarot card The Hermit, this is shown on the film The Song Remains The Same.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

The above post just happened to be post number 9 which is the same number of the tarot card 'The Hermit". That number means that the card The Hermit is related to the tarot card The Moon. Who can tell me why?


----------



## JayBee (Apr 14, 2018)

tdc said:


> The above post just happened to be post number 9 which is the same number of the tarot card 'The Hermit". That number means that the card The Hermit is related to the tarot card The Moon. Who can tell me why?


I can point you toward an answer here: https://tarotschool.com/Moon_Hermit.html


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

JayBee said:


> I can point you toward an answer here: https://tarotschool.com/Moon_Hermit.html


There is another way to quickly see relationships between cards, it is in their numbering. The Moon is card 18, 18 reduces to 9, 1+8=9. 9 is the number of the card The Hermit.

For another example I stated Mozart's card was The Sun, that card is number 19. This shows a relationship between The Sun and The Wheel of Fortune. 1+9 = 10. 10 can be further reduced to 1 (1+0 =1), therefore The Sun is also related to The Magician.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Another reason I chose Bach as The Hermit is because in that card the old man is holding up a six pointed star. A six pointed star is created by superimposing an upward triangle (blade/masculine symbol) with an upside down triangle (chalice/feminine symbol). So the 6 pointed star symbolizes a balance of masculine and feminine energies.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Some good responses here so far, thanks to the contributors. I notice in the deck Allerius is using the position of the cards Strength and Justice are switched. In the Waite deck I've been referencing Strength is card number 8 and Justice 11.


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Allerius said:


> Mahler = _IV. The Emperor_: authority, structure, control, fatherhood


I found this to be a surprising choice. Does anyone else associate these traits with Mahler's music? I must say I've never thought of his music in terms like that. Sounds more like a Beethoven or Bach to me.


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

flamencosketches said:


> I found this to be a surprising choice. Does anyone else associate these traits with Mahler's music? I must say I've never thought of his music in terms like that. Sounds more like a Beethoven or Bach to me.


The 'fatherhood' quality certainly fits. He really loved his daughters.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

flamencosketches said:


> I found this to be a surprising choice. Does anyone else associate these traits with Mahler's music? I must say I've never thought of his music in terms like that. Sounds more like a Beethoven or Bach to me.


Perhaps "authority" doesn't match, but Mahler seemed to me to have total control over the immense structures that his symphonies are. I've always found impressive how he can make a 30 minute movement sound so cohesive and interesting, and how he could make so long symphonies become so successful.


----------



## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Allerius said:


> I don't know much about tarot, but find the concept of this thread appealing, like a game, so here's my take:
> 
> Beethoven = _I. The Magician_: willpower, desire, creation, manifestation;
> Debussy = _II. The High Priestess_: intuitive, unconscious, inner voice;
> ...


This is beautiful!


----------

