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The crayfish shown on The Moon (Trump XVIII) symbolizes the astrological sign of Cancer. The examples
here show the constellation as it appears in astrological charts contemporaneous with early Tarot designs. Also
note that on such starcharts, this sign is adjacent to Canis Major and Canis Minor, as well as to the twins of
Gemini.
While this image seems incongruous to modern conceptions of Cancer as being the sign of “the crab”, it was a classical
Renaissance depiction of the sign. A “crayfish” is generally defined as a decapod or ten-legged creature;
both the lobster and the crab fit into that category, and both have one pair of legs which are pincers. The scorpion,
symbol of Scorpio, was distinguished in Renaissance art by its elongated tail with stinger.
The symbol of the crayfish on Trump XVIII may well be related to the fact that the sign of Cancer is ruled by the
Moon. Yet we find that The Star and Sun trumps do not include the ruling planets for the astrological signs they
depict: Taurus (suggested by the Pleiades or Seven Sisters on Trump XVII), and Gemini (represented
by the twins of Trump XIX). Because of this, there are likely to be additional reasons why the symbol for Cancer
was placed into this design.
The trumps of the Marseilles Tarot (and perhaps earlier decks as well) may have been designed around the Hebrew
letters. While fuller explanations of this
theory can be found elsewhere, it may be summarized by saying that virtually every trump item appears in alphabetical
order within classical Hebrew lexicons. This suggests that the designers may have been mirroring Renaissance alphabetic-images
which incorporated objects whose names begin with each design’s letter. And we find that Trump XVIII, or The
Moon, displays iconography associated with the eighteenth Hebrew letter tzaddi, as shown in the following
list:
Heavenly bodies — TzBA HShMYM
Conjunction — TzRVP
Hyenas — TzBVOYM
Baying at the Moon— TzOQ HY VQYM
Droplets — TzChTzVCh
Castle, Rook — TzRYCh
Pincers, Pair of tongs — TzBTh
Water — TzNYNYM
Fording water — TzLYChH
To submerge — TzLL
To surface — TzP
If we consider the possibility that this approach was used to design the Tarot, we are then presented with numerous
clues which may help explain its more enigmatic cards, such as The Moon. At the same time, the Renaissance context
of the imagery must remain a critical part of our interpretation.
In the case of Trump XVIII, several clues—both linguistic and visual—suggest this card to be a depiction of a total
Solar Eclipse. The Marseilles design (shown below) traditionally shows a crescent moon within a larger circular
disk. Since the entire circumference of this disk is shining, and since the sixteen red rays usually shown behind
it parallel the number of rays on the Sun card, this image suggests a solar eclipse or conjunction (TzRVP)
of the Sun and Moon. This event occurs when the path of the Moon crosses the path of the daylight Sun; the points
at which they intersect are called the nodes (TzMTh) of the Moon’s orbit. Since the diameter of both Sun
and Moon appear to be identical from our terrestrial vantage point, the Sun appears to be hidden (TzPVN).
The occurrence of a total eclipse was often a feared harbinger of danger or of events associated with “utter darkness”.
We similarly find that tzaddi—the letter associated with this Trump—begins the Hebrew word tsalmaveth
(TzLMVTh), which is itself based upon the root salal (TzLL), meaning ‘to grow dark’ as well as ‘to submerge’.
Of the numerous words derived from this root, tsalmaveth is of particular note because it is a combination
of shadow (TzL) and death (MYTh), and can variously be translated as ‘shadow of death’, ‘thick darkness’,
and ‘deep shadow’. This word is used to describe the darkness of a mine shaft (Job 28:3), the abode of the dead
(Job 12:2), and the darkness before creation (Amos 5:8). It is also the “valley of the shadow of death (TzLMVTh)”
spoken of in Psalm 23. In short, it is the strongest word for darkness in the Hebrew language.
The sign of Cancer, symbolized by the crayfish at the bottom of the card, is one of the constellations through
which the Sun passes after the Summer Solstice. This card might then be indicating an eclipse during the decline
of Summer, when the Sun is in Cancer. Yet this interpretation would not explain why the card is hierarchically
placed before the trump of “Summer” (QYTz).
Looking further, we find this card to correspond linguistically to the word sohar (TzHR), or zenith: that
point on the celestial sphere directly above us. This word is often translated in the Old Testament as ‘noon’,
‘peak’ and ‘highest point’, signifying the hottest, brightest part of the day. We might conclude from this that
the eclipse is occurring at the celestial zenith, or peak (TzHR) of day. But the prominence of the pool
and crayfish, taking up nearly half of the design, may indicate that it represents the Tropic of Cancer, which
is the entire northern (TzPVN) half of the celestial sphere through which the Sun travels during the summer
months. Trump XVIII might then be seen as the zenith (TzHR) of the Tropic of Cancer, the point known as
the Summer Solstice.
This card could then be interpreted as depicting a total Solar eclipse at the moment of the Summer Solstice—the
brightest point of the year obscured by the deepest darkness of tsalmaveth.
It is said that during an eclipse, nocturnal animals will show themselves in those places where the moon’s shadow
falls. Such a creature is the tsabula (TzBVO), better known as the hyena. Jewish legend says that “the tsabula
is formed from a white drop, and has 365 colors” (Y’rushalmi Sabbath I, 3; Genesis Rabbah, 7), alluding to the
365 degrees of the sun’s yearly cycle. The white (TzChR) drop (TzChTzVCh) which begets the tsabula
is the nectar (TzVP) of the Moon, the ‘moon dew’ of the alchemists.
As the ruler of “moistures”, the Moon was believed to secrete the nightly dew; during a conjunction with the Sun,
however, it was said to produce the balsamum vitae, or balsam (TzRY) of life: the antidote to the bite of
the wild dog (Mysterium Coniunctionis p.34, C.G. Jung).
It is likely that the two canines allude to Canis Major and Canis Minor, constellations very near to each other
yet separated by the Milky way. Such an allusion seems corroborated by the fact that these constellations are also
adjacent to Cancer as well as to Gemini, depicted on the next card by the twins Castor and Pollux.
The weak magnitude of Cancer’s stars also make it the most difficult constellation to see, which may explain why
the card designers pictured the crayfish as submerged (TzLL) under a pool of water.
The crayfish also reflects the shape of the letter tzaddi, whose two upraised arms echo the creature’s pincers.
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