About tarot cards

Calvino uses tarot cards as an auxiliary narrative tool in Castle with Crossing Fates, and tells different stories according to different combinations of tarot cards, showing the infinite possibilities of narrative.

Because domestic readers are not familiar with tarot cards, here I will introduce tarot cards to you in combination with what I know, and put some pictures I have collected, hoping that these interesting contents will arouse your interest.

It should be noted that I am not an expert in this field, and the following description only plays a role in attracting jade. If there are any mistakes, please write to correct them.

Xiaoruan

2002.5. 12

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Two. Overview of tarot cards

The so-called tarot cards are a set of 78 cards with patterns, which are usually used to predict the future, or in layman's terms, fortune telling.

The origin of tarot cards is still unclear. Crusaders or Gypsies may have been introduced to Europe from Egypt or China. It is confirmed that Tarot cards appeared in Italy in the early14th century.

These 78 cards are divided into Little alker (56 cards in total) and Big alker (22 cards in total). Little Alkell's cards are very similar to the current playing cards, and they are also divided into four colors, namely, the club (plum blossom), the golden cup (heart), the sword (spades) and the disk (square) T. Each suit has 14 cards, including 10 point cards (1 to/kloc). The design on the big Alkell card represents a very complicated symbol. Earlier, the big alker card was not numbered. Later, people numbered it 1-2 1, leaving a "madman" without a number or 0.

The earliest tarot cards were made by hand, and some were designed by famous painters.

When using Tarot cards, it is ok to use one-time payment or only use Big Alkell cards. The cards drawn each time are very important, and the relative position between cards is also very important. There are different rules to interpret tarot cards, such as the simple method of using only three cards, the traditional Celtic cross method, the English method and the astrology method.

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Third, the design of tarot cards.

The meanings of the four colors of Little alker Card are as follows:

Big stick: stands for elemental fire, symbolizing passion, energy and creation.

Disc: Representing the element diagram, symbolizing money, material and enjoyment.

Jinbei: stands for elemental water, symbolizing emotion, relationship, love and inspiration.

Sword: It represents the spirit of elements, symbolizing thought, wisdom, communication and conflict.

The name of each big alker card, different cards have different names. Usually a madman (fool, 0), a magician (magician, me), a priestess (high priestess, or pope, 2), a queen (queen, 3), an emperor (emperor, 4), a pope (bishop, or pope, 5), a lover (6) and a chariot (7).

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Fourth, Calvino's use of tarot cards.

There are two sets of tarot cards in Castle with Crossing Fates. One deck was drawn by Bofajo Benbo for the Duke of Milan in the middle of15th century, and the other deck was drawn by Nicola, a card maker in Marseille, on 176 1. Tarot cards printed in Conville.

Especially worth mentioning is the former. Its specific production date is about 1430- 1460, and there are about 60 existing pictures. It is not hand-painted, but plate-printed. At that time, printing had just spread to Europe, so this card was one of the earliest printed materials in Europe, which was very precious.

When referring to these two cards, Calvino said, "Marseille cards are not much different from Tarot cards that are still widely used in Italy today, except that Italian cards are printed with half-length images, and the images of this pair of cards are complete, combined with their rough and mysterious style, which is especially suitable for me to make various explanations in order to tell those stories."

Calvino's conception and writing process of this novel can be found in his postscript "Write in the back" for The Castle with Crossing Fates.