VIII. LA GIUSTIZIA (Justice)
The figure on the eighth card is represented in the most modern fashion, and yet, with its attributes and values, it is much as Egyptians would have known it when the worship of Thoth was at its height. It is the goddess of Truth or Ma. Her title was sometimes adopted by the kings, who called themselves the friends of Truth. Mr. Rawlinson, on page 385 of “Ancient Egypt,” says: “The chief judge of every court is said to have worn an image of Ma around his neck, and when he decided a case he touched the litigant with it, in whose favour the decision was made, in order to testify that everything had been done with justice and truth. In the final judgment of Osiris, the image of Ma was placed in the scale, and weighed against the good actions of the dead.” It may easily be perceived what a forceful figure the one of justice must have been to the people who consulted the oracles in the temples of Thoth. Justice is represented on the Atout as a seated female figure, on a throne bearing her usual heraldic marks of a sword and a pair of scales. Law and order are denoted by every line and emblem on the card, which, summed up, expresses conscientiousness, balance, power, and poise, in all their forms. The leaf also corresponds with some of the attributes of the god Tiemei, and again represents one of the deities of Olympus. Heth, the letter corresponding to it, means a field, and from that springs the idea of anything requiring labour and continued effort, the elements and existence. When it typifies Ceres, of the Olympic gods, it denotes the mother as she is generally represented, with her daughter, Prosperpine, endeavouring (as the original type of a mother-in-law) to keep her from the arms of Pluto, while Mercury leads the wife forcibly away. This card is the dominating one of Cups (meaning sacrifice) of the pip part of the pack.
IX. L’EREMITA (The Hermit)
The Hermit is one of the most mysterious designs on the Atouts, and has not yet acknowledged all its intentions. For the meaning assigned to it, and its value for soothsaying, hardly correspond with the personage depicted, so it is supposed that the artist who modernized the ancient design has altered it too completely to be recognised by those unacquainted with the original intention. It shows an old man, holding a lantern aloft, and by some is regarded as a watchman calling the hours of the night, and by others, as Diogenes searching for an honest man. But the attributes or values given to the card rather quarrel with the design, for they signify friendship, protection, and wisdom. The rod or staff signifies a pilgrim, certainly an overseer, and is a favourite emblem in the Bible, as in Psalms xxiii:4, “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me,” or, in Isaiah x:15, “If the staff should lift up.” It is the cane of the medical man, and represents the Sceptre suit of the pip cards. This Atout typifies strength of character, philanthropy, the wisdom of silence in difficulties, circumspection, prudence, and sympathy; in short, all the qualities desirable in a friend. The letter is Teth, which represents a roof or place of safety, suggesting the idea of a shelter and protection given by wisdom and forethought. The card also typifies human love and humanity.
X. RUOTO DELLA FORTUNA
(The Wheel of Fortune)
This Atout has many and various connections with the superstitions of ancient days. It is the Wheel of Fortune, and, among other things, represents Osiris judging the souls of the dead. Anubis clambers up on one side, while Typhon descends on the left of the wheel. “There are two ideas,” says Papus, “expressed by this symbolic card. The first is that of supremacy, the second of eternity.” The former is typified by Anubis and Typhon climbing or falling, one reaching to overpower the other, while the wheel turns eternally, lifting first one and then the other. Thus it is in life, for fortune changes from good to bad with unceasing regularity, sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly, but always controlled by an unknown force, that is called luck. The circle signifies eternity, and the Wheel of Fortune is one of the oldest known symbols in the world. It is deemed by some to have its analogy in the “Wheels of Ezekiel and of Pythagoras,” with all the significances attached to these emblematic figures. Being numbered ten, its Hebrew letter is Yod, the hieroglyphic meaning of which is “the forefinger extended as a sign of command.” This sign
is recognised even by the uninitiated, and is one of the surviving attributes of Mercury in common use to-day. It was placed under the head of Mercury, when he was erected by the roadside as Terminus to point out a road. In every synagogue is found a pointer, called Yod, because its long arm terminates in a beautifully modelled hand, with the forefinger outstretched. This is used by the reader of the Scriptures to keep the place, since the text is written in fine characters not easily followed without the pointing finger of the Yod. The Wheel of Fortune typifies magic power, fortune, expression of the will of the gods, or their commands, supremacy, superstition, and luck. Anubis was the conductor of spirits to the judgment seat (or Mercury, as Chthonius); he also held the balance in the hall of the dead. He is called “Lord of the Burying-ground,” and is represented as a jackal. The Wheel of Fortune is derived from Osiris, on the judgment seat, with Anubis as assistant.
XI. LA FORZA (Strength)
This Atout shows a female figure, wearing the mystic hat, or vital sign