Sherlock Holmes Tarot Week - Stick to it

Back to work today -- boo hiss. Today I've drawn 9 of Wands from the Sherlock Holmes Tarot (Connections, 2014). It has always struck me as an odd card, anyway. It seems so similar in appearance to the 7 of Wands, and used to confuse me very much. Because the man in the 9 of Wands card has a bandage on his head and looks wary, most contemporary readings of the card involve notions of watching out for yourself after trouble, the aftermath of battle, or something sort of like that; continuing on despite fatigue, not giving up, taking extra precautions, etc. (The Golden Dawn name of 9 of Wands is Lord of Strength, and the Thothier meaning is 'Change is stability'. That's Crowley for you.)

We can see the tenacity of the 9 of Wands, somewhat, in the Sherlock Holmes card, which depicts Holmes (in famous deerstalker hat and tartan coat) and Watson on the moors investigating the case of the Hound of the Baskervilles. Holmes' obstinate refusal to give up his attempts to prove that there is a logical explanation for the hound is comparable to the stick-to-it-iveness of the man in the RWS 9 of Wands. 'The keys to understanding this card,' says the companion book, 'are all reflected by the struggle against seemingly impersonal, and at time overwhelming, forces that seek to impede even the smallest progress.'

Well, yay. It seems time to fall back on the question, 'What does this card suggest I can do today to make me happy and have a positive impact on my future?' The obvious answer is -- don't give up! After all, Holmes does solve the Baskervilles case (even it is pretty scary for a while there!) and I will solve whatever problem comes my way today, too.

Sherlock Holmes Tarot -- Hot Pursuit

Hey, it's bank holiday Monday, no work! Lovely. :) Today we begin to see why some people may not like the Sherlock Holmes Tarot (Connections, 2014). The majors have all had their names changed, which might be bad enough to some, but the minors are a great departure from tradition. Not only have all the suits been changed, but there are no pips of any kind on any card. You simply cannot tell by looking at the image which tarot card it is meant to be. Today's card is 7 of Wands. Can you see seven wands here? Can you see anything here that remotely reminds you of the 7 of Wands? Me neither.

John Matthews and Wil Kinghan have chosen to dispense with Swords, Wands, Cups and Pentacles and have instead made their suits Observation (cards have an icon of an eye), Evidence (footprint), Analysis (magnifying glass), and Deduction (question mark). And so the icons and the number are all you get on each card to cue you as to what tarot card it is. The image itself refers to something from the Sherlock Holmes stories, which may or may not seem, to you, to relate to the traditional card meaning.

Let's talk first about the 7 of Wands. It is a card about boldly going on the offensive, going after what you want, defending yourself, standing up to challengers, showing conviction, meeting challenges, fighting spirit, courage, perseverance in the face of seemingly hopeless situations.

In the Sherlock Holmes Tarot, we see Watson with a dog, moving through a tunnel in the usual lamplit, foggy London streets we associate with Holmes stories. To me, it looks like they're taking a leisurely stroll, but according to the companion book, Watson is being dragged along by this dog, hot on the trail of a fleeing criminal. The book refers to the dog as a 'drag hound', but as drag hunting involves an artificial trail created beforehand by dragging something along to create sport, I would say it is more of a trail hound, because he is following the trail of actual prey (in this instance, a criminal). But that's just being picky.

The dog in question is from the Holmes stories, and is called Toby. Holmes says he would 'rather have Toby's help than that of the whole detective force of London'. I can see how being dragged along by a hound hot on the trail would be rather like the tenacity of the man in the 7 of Wands leaning over his enemies to whack and slash at them. It's too bad the image in the card looks more like Watson is whistling a tune with his hat pushed back on his head than having his arm pulled out of the socket by an excited dog on the chase.

The card asks me to consider: where do I need more tenacity in my life? In what areas should I put more effort? What am I hot on the trail of? or Where may I have lost the scent of my true direction? What is the elusive prey that I seek, and what do I need to do to catch up to it? It asks you to consider those things, too.

Who's Who in the Sherlock Holmes Tarot

Ragged Poet asks who is who in the Sherlock Holmes Tarot majors. I am of two minds about revealing--I loved not knowing until I opened the book. But you might want to know a few key cards so I have decided to reveal some of them.

Sherlock Holmes - Magician
Dr Watson - Strength
Professor Moriarity - Devil
Mrs Hudson - Temperance

None of the traditional names appear on any of the majors, just the numbers.

The court cards have traditional meanings but have been changed as well:

Baker Street Irregulars (the street urchins Sherlock pays for information and errands)- Pages
Peelers (also known as bobbies) - Knights
Ladies (women who hire Sherlock) - Queens
Inspectors (Scotland Yard / CID) - Kings

Sherlock Holmes Tarot Week - The Hermit

Another major today from Sherlock Holmes Tarot (Connections, 2014). Today's card is the Hermit, or Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's elder brother. The model for this card is clearly the deck's creator, John Matthews. (John's wife, Caitlin, also appears several times in the deck as Mrs Hudson, Sherlock's landlady.) Mycroft appears in two of the Sherlock Holmes short stories and is mentioned vaguely in two others. He is seven years older than Sherlock, a shadowy figure who holds a powerful but mysterious position in the British government. Sherlock describes Mycroft as fat and lazy, but he clearly admires him and considers him a superior intellect. He is willing to offer Sherlock solutions to problems based on seemingly no evidence (his powers of deductive reasoning seem to outstrip Sherlock's in that regard), but he will seldom bestir himself to further involvement.

...he has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to prove himself right. Again and again I have taken a problem to him, and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correct one. 

—Sherlock Holmes, speaking of his brother in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter"

The conclusions of every department are passed to him, and he is the central exchange, the clearinghouse, which makes out the balance. All other men are specialists, but his specialism is omniscience.

     ---"The Bruce Partington Plans"

Unlike the TV series, there is no sibling rivalry between the two and they seem to get on very well. 

I like that this character has been chosen to represent the Hermit - it seems very fitting. In this card we see Mycroft, the Hermit, carefully putting on his white gloves, the Hermit's lantern waiting at his side. The Hermit provides guidance, wisdom, spiritual illumination, counsel, quiet reflection, stillness. He represent retreat from the external world, looking for answers, the need to understand, deep contemplation.

What will I reflect upon today?

Sherlock Holmes Tarot Week - The Sun

Here's my first draw from the newly arrived Sherlock Holmes Tarot by John Matthews and Wil Kingham (Connections, 2014). Great card for today, and not just because it's the one featured on the cover of the box. It's the Sun -- and the Sun seems to finally be coming back for me in my life, too.

I haven't posted in a week and for that I apologise, but I have been having considerable personal difficulties and really haven't felt like playing around with tarot cards or writing blog posts. My mind was on only one thing -- my problems.

BUT, I am feeling better, getting back to normal, and a new deck arrived today (which I pre-ordered at the beginning of March), and so it seems a great time to get back into my usual routine.

The Sun of course is a card of seeing clearly, enlightenment even, or can also indicate general good cheer or even radiant health. In the Sherlock Holmes Tarot, Holmes' magnifying glass has been chosen as a symbol for the Sun. I like that.

In this card, we see Sherlock Holmes himself, wearing the hat he is depicted in most often throughout the deck, the top hat which would have been worn by the typical established Victorian gentleman. (Holmes is never described as wearing a deerstalker hat in any of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, though he may well have done when in the country. It was the films that popularised the deerstalker.) I'm struck by how young Holmes looks in these cards. A little online research reveals that Holmes is 27 years old when he moves into 221B Baker Street, serving as a detective for 23 years, with Watson as a companion for the first 17 of them. Watson himself is described at the time of their meeting as being three years out of medical school, and apparently age 25. They really were young men. The old movies have got it wrong. The new TV shows are closer in age, though even Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are possibly a bit on the elderly side to be portraying Holmes and Watson. Surprising!

Expect a lot of my personal explorations of Holmes trivia throughout the week.

I will give a review of my thoughts on this deck at some point this week -- but let me say that first reactions are positive, as far as it being a fun thing to have. Whether it is, for me, a 'reading deck', I don't know, but I am enough of a Holmes fan and I like the artwork enough to keep this deck. It's a lovely set.