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The suits of The Hermit's Tarot are staves, cups, swords, and coins. (These are the English equivalents of the bâtons/bastoni, coupes/coppe, épées/spade, and deniers/dinari that are traditional in French and Italian decks. Many modern decks follow A. E. Waite's substitution of wands for staves and pentacles for coins. I prefer the historic suit names.)
Staves are associated with fire, the element of the spirit and the will. Staves thus represent the drive to do, to impose the will upon the world and change it. Staves have associations of dominance and masculinity, but also of creativity, growth, transformation, and spiritual search. I use the keyword "will" to capture the essence of this suit. My observations on The Staff as a symbol expand on these ideas. I use the color orange for the suit of staves.
Cups are associated with water, the element of the emotions and feelings. They thus represent our receptive, empathic, loving nature, as well as the negative feelings that result when the need for love is not satisfied. (Moodiness, excessive sentimentality, and addiction are dangers of the cups.) Cups are feminine, passive, and nurturing. My keyword is "love". I use the color blue for this suit.
Swords are associated with air, the element of the intellect. However, the sword is also a natural symbol of aggression and conquest. These two connotations fuse in my keyword for the suit, "debate". Swords are analytical and penetrating, often to the point of causing pain. Swords represent the desire to win the argument, to settle the issue, to reach the truth. The swords in many decks (particularly those based on the Waite-Smith deck) are quite negative; one gets the impression that swords (and hence the intellect in general) does nothing but rape the spirit. I've put a more positive spin on several of these cards, without (I hope) completely ignoring the destructive and limiting consequences of certain forms of debate. I use red-violet as the color for swords.
Coins are associated with earth, the element of the body and of matter. They thus represent our need for shelter, stability, and solidity. Their virtue is practicality, their vice is sluggishness and rigidity. Coins, of course, are also a direct symbol of wealth. I have chosen the keyword "security" to convey both these associations. Because of the connection with earth, the coins can also represent organic growth. They stand for the roots of life, just as staves stand for its struggle and potential. I use the color yellow-green for the coins.
It might seem natural to place fire opposite water, and earth opposite air. For appreciating the psychological meanings of the suits though, I think it is preferable to put air (objective thought) opposite water (subjective emotions), and earth (security, practicality) against fire (spirit, drive), as shown in the diagram above. In this arrangement, there is also an echo of the pattern of lower sephiroth on the Tree of Life.
There is also significance in the sequence of suits: first are staves (one), the singular creative principle, simplicity in action; next are cups (two), empathy, love, and connection with the other; then swords (three), the dilemma and its solution, the argument and its product, thesis, antithesis, and synthesis; finally, coins (four) represent the security of four walls and the stability of the right angle. And, standing for matter, earth/coins thus also represents the four elements themselves!
The aces in the Luminary edition attempt to present the associations of the four suits through abstract geometry and color.
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Copyright © 1998 Tom Tadfor Little