The World (tarot card)

Description

In the traditional Tarot of Marseilles, as well as the later Rider–Waite tarot deck, a naked woman hovers or dances above the Earth holding a baton in each hand, surrounded by a wreath, being watched by the four living creatures (or hayyoth) of Jewish mythology: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. This depiction parallels the tetramorph used in Christian art, where the four creatures are used as symbols of the four Evangelists. Some astrological sources explain these observers as representatives of the natural world or the kingdom of beasts. According to astrological tradition the Lion is Leo—a fire sign, the Bull or calf is Taurus—an earth sign, the Man is Aquarius—an air sign, and the Eagle is Scorpio—a water sign. These signs are the four fixed signs and represent the classical four elements.

In some decks the wreath is an ouroboros biting its own tail. In the Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley, this card is called "The Universe."

Interpretation

According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the World card carries several divinatory associations:

21.THE WORLD—Assured success, recompense, voyage, route, emigration, flight, change of place. Reversed: Inertia, fixity, stagnation, permanence.

The figure is male and female, above and below, suspended between the heavens and the earth. It is completeness. It is also said to represent cosmic consciousness; the potential of perfect union with the One Power of the universe. It tells us full happiness is to also give back to the world: sharing what we have learned or gained. As described in the book The New Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene (p. 82), the image of the woman (Hermaphroditus in Greek Mythology) is to show wholeness unrelated to sexual identification but rather of combined male and female energy on an inner level, which integrates opposites traits that arise in the personality charged by both energies. Opposite qualities between male and female that create turmoil in our life are joined in this card, and the image of becoming whole is an ideal goal, not something that can be possessed rather than achieved.

According to Robert M. Place in his book The Tarot, the four beasts on the World card represent the fourfold structure of the physical world—which frames the sacred center of the world, a place where the divine can manifest. Sophia, meaning Prudence or Wisdom (the dancing woman in the center), is spirit or the sacred center, the fifth element. Prudence is the fourth of the Cardinal virtues in the tarot. The lady in the center is a symbol of the goal of mystical seekers. In some older decks, this central figure is Christ, whereas in others it is Hermes. Whenever it comes up, this card represents what is truly desired.

In popular culture

In the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, tarot cards are used to name the character's powers, named 'Stands'. The main antagonist of Stardust Crusaders, DIO, has a Stand named The World, named after The World card.

In the video game Persona 5 Royal the protagonist Joker receives The World Arcana during one of the ending cutscenes, mirroring The Fool Arcana he receives in a cutscene near the beginning of the game.

In the second season of Mad Men (episode 12 titled "The Mountain King,") the character of Don Draper has his tarot read by his ex-wife Anna. Don inquires about The World card, and Anna describes the figure in it as "the soul of the world." When Don asks what the card means, Anna responds, "It means the only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that you are alone."

References

Works cited

References

1. {{harvp. Place. 2005