- Significator: Knight of Swords
- Covered by: The Tower
- Crossed by: Queen of Swords
- Crowning: King of Cups
- Beneath: Ace of Swords
- Before: 4 of Cups
- Behind: 4 of Pentacles
- Self: Page of Pentacles
- House: 8 of Cups
- Hopes and Fears: 2 of Swords
- What will come: The World
| "He appears with boots and insignia shining as the rider on a black horse, charging in a gallop neither he nor horse can control, across the heath over the giant grave-mounds, scattering the black-faced sheep, while dark stands of juniper move dreamily, death-loving, across his path [...] He is the father you will never quite kill." (p.747) |
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"It shows a bolt of lightning striking a tall phallic structure, and two figures, one wearing a crown, falling from it. Some read ejaculation [...] Others see a Gnostic or Cathar symbol for the Church of Rome. [...] We know by now that it is also the Rocket."
Members of the Order of the Golden Dawn believe The Tower represents victory over splendor, and avenging force [...] On the Kabbalist Tree of Life, the path of the Tower connects the sephira Netzach, victory, with Hod, glory and splendor. Hence the Golden Dawn interpretation." (pp.747-48)
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| "Perhaps himself in drag. She is the chief obstacle in his way. At his foundation is the single sword flaming inside the crown: again, Netzach, victory. In the American deck this card has come down to us as the ace of spades, which is a bit more sinister." (p.748) |
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"Behind him, moving out of his life as an influence, is the 4 or Four of Pentacles, which shows a figure of modest property desperately clutching on to what he owns, four gold coins--this feeb is holding two of them down with his feet, balancing another on his head and holding the fourth tightly against his stomach, which is ulcerous. It is the stationary witch trying to hold her candy house against the host of nibblers out there in the dark." (p.748)
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| "Moving in, before him, comes a feast of cups, a satiety. Lotta booze and broads for Weissman coming soon. Good for him — although in his house he is seen walking away, renouncing eight stacked gold chalices. Perhaps he is to be given only what he must walk away from." (p.748) |
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"Perhaps it is because in the lees of the night's last cup is the bitter presence of a woman sitting by a rocky shore, the Two of Swords, alone at the Baltic edge, blindfolded in the moonlight [...] the meaning is usually taken as 'concord in a state of arms,' a good enough description of the Zone nowadays [...]." (p.748-49)
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| "Himself as the World sees him: the scholarly young Page of Pentacles, meditating on his magic gold talisman. The Page may also be used to stand for a young girl. But Pentacles describe people of very dark complexion, and so the card almost certainly is Enzian as a young man. And Weissman may at last, in this limited pasteboard way, have become what he first loved." (p.749) |
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"The King of Cups, crowning his hopes, is the fair intellectual-king. If you're wondering where he's gone, look among the successful academics, the Presidential advisers, the token intellectuals who sit on boards of directors. He is almost certainly there. Look high, not low." (p.749)
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| "His future card, the card of what will come, is The World." (p.749) |
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External Resources
Gravity's Rainbow Alpha Guide
