my description:
a mature man with greying beard and mustache sits on a stony throne. He's wearing a green robe, blue armor a red cloak, leather sandals and a leather helmet with stag horns. He holds a wooden staff in his left hand and his right foot is crossed over his left knee. There are faded celtic knots carved into the stone throne, but it is otherwise very natural (as if made of rocks piled into the shape of a chair. There is no detail about the surrounding landscape, but the sky is mostly cloudy with a pale peach tint (like sunrise). A bird of prey is circling in the distance behind him. The man looks straight head out of the card, expressionless but his eyes are piercing and stern. There is a highlighted glow of light on the rock above his head, not bright but as if reflected from the top of his head.
My first thought on this guy is that I wouldn't want to have to stand in front of him and tell him I hadn't done something I was supposed to! His garb seems to be a blend of warrior and priest. Looking for elemental cues, they're all here though some are less obvious than others - the staff and cloak point to Wands/fire, and the airy background, the bird, and the wind blowing through the cloak are Swords/air. The stony throne and stags horns are Pentacles/earth. Water is mostly absent (other than what might be held aloft by the clouds), but I see it in the blue fishscales of his armor.
He is not emotion-free, but very emotion-controlled. Primarily, he operates his will in a mental environment, with a solid foundation (chair beneath, helmet above) of practicality.
His sandals suggest to me that he's prepared to act as needed, but he is not on a journey - they aren't boots - his purpose is to stay here and watch over things, making sure everything operates as it should. And Lord help anyone who doesn't do their part.
The look on his face is actually getting to me - my father was a master at The Look, accompanied by a low voice (I have never ever heard him yell) that would freeze your blood. What a great skill that was! Once, at a large holiday dinner, one of us kids put our elbows on the table and from his vantage at the other end, he noticed, leaned forward and very softly and sternly said, "Elbows! off!"
The entire table - children, men, women, dogs in surrounding counties, jumped back as if they'd been stung and they (and he!) was so startled by the immediacy and universality of that response that we never did work out who it was he'd been speaking to. Doesn't matter - when the Lord speaks, everyone listens. Or else.
"My first thought on this guy is that I wouldn't want to have to stand in front of him and tell him I hadn't done something I was supposed to!"
When I first got this deck and saw this card, this was the EXACT feeling I got from him too! That I wouldn't want to be the one to stand before him, having done something wrong! This deck feels so real...doesn't it feel like you're really there, standing in front of him?!
That's a funny story about your dad too. :)
Just found your blog and thought I'd say hi!
♥ Kiki
Posted by: Tarot Dame | Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 11:06 AM