Sowing Dragon’s Teeth in the Garden of Death
AUTHOR’S NOTE: For post number 1,900 I thought I would tackle something a bit more profound.
In her essay on the Death card, Sallie Nichols notes that the severed heads, hands and feet on the ground beneath the skeleton in the Tarot de Marseille version don’t appear to have been dismembered and strewn about haphazardly, but are in fact firmly planted in the earth; furthermore, they aren’t the dull gray of necrosis but are instead bright and full of promise, ripe for germination. This passage reminds me of the myth of Cadmus, who — at the direction of Athena — sowed the teeth of the dragon he had slain, and fierce warriors immediately sprang from the furrows.
Bringing this notion to Death, we might imagine that the skeleton is not harvesting souls but is instead performing an act of husbandry and cultivating them for an auspicious resurrection. Dealing with Death in an affirmative and empowering way is one of the more challenging feats for the tarot reader because, no matter how much bland rationalizing we’re able to muster, the unsettling image of the grinning skeleton is still staring the querent squarely in the face, proffering a sly (OK, lidless) wink at the mere thought of salvation. On the other hand, the prospect of coming back bigger and badder than ever after a brush with Death is sure to inspire any anxious sitter eager for a make-over.
I’ve always thought the sanitizing of Trump 13 as transformation is far too timid. Even the concept of the necessary ending of something to make way for a fresh start is frequently soft-peddled and querents are simply advised to expect some kind of indefinite but significant change (full disclosure: I’ve done it myself). Unlike the Coffin card in Lenormand, which signifies an emphatic stopping point, period, end of story, its tarot counterpart as presented by many readers is a bit too equivocal in its import for my taste, as if politely avoiding mention of the inevitable will banish it.
One time on the Aeclectic Tarot forum, author Andy Boroveshengra, in discussing the Death card in its wimpy guise as “transformation,” observed tartly that “There is nothing more transforming than rotting in the ground!” I wouldn’t take it quite that far, but we should admit that there can be consequences attached to the ending of something, even if it’s only the emotional trauma of getting rid of cherished but long-idle tarot decks to regain some shelf space (although I can’t speak from experience since I’ve never committed such a desperate act).
I think I’m going to get a lot of mileage out of the analogy of “sowing dragon’s teeth” since it is such a powerful trope for decisive renewal (even though Cadmus was afraid of the summoned warriors and nearly caused their demise, the few that survived helped him found Thebes). Nichols mentions that in the 7×3 array of the trumps (which I confirmed), Judgement sits directly beneath Death, waiting patiently for the crop to mature. In the future I will strive mightily to steer my clients’ gaze away from the skeleton and toward the flourishing garden at its feet.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on November 20, 2023.
