I might as well finish the analysis of the 9's and 10's of the Thoth Tarot in relation to history. We have already looked at fire and air; now for the feminine elements, water and earth.
9 of Cups is called Happiness. And was not collective happiness a driving motive behind much of modernist thought and action? "With an iron fist we drive humanity towards happiness", stated a slogan in a Soviet concentration camp (though I cannot find a flawless source for it at the moment), but there were also healthier examples of this drive in the ranks of socialism, nationalism and liberalism. Eventually, happiness leads to Satiety, the 10 of Cups, representing the postmodern state of cheap comfort and desire gratification at your service. Here, appetite has truly been satiated, and there is nothing left to do but to surf the wave until something more interesting comes up: a new water impulse, an Ace of Cups.
9 of Pentacles is called Gain. This is an image of productive collaboration for mutual profit, the release of "productive forces" if you will, a powerful and dare I say positive card, labor exploitation notwithstanding. Western countries are surely past this stage economically, while arguably some non-Western countries are not. It evolves into the 10 of Pentacles, Riches - the result of Gain, no longer productive but simply content to behold itself in all its splendour. Crowley adds that this card, as the last number of the last element, represents to totality of all that has been created before. Of all the 10's this is doubtlessly the most magnificent one, as are the riches of the world today, and one will be somewhat saddened to eventually see it go.
I have been reflecting on the possibility of extending this analysis even farther back in time: the 8's, 7's, 6's and so on, though this seems like a more difficult task. It need not even be the case that the Tarot captures historical evolution for the lower numbers; for now, I am content to state that is does so in an illuminating way for the eras of modernism and postmodernism at the very least.
9 of Cups is called Happiness. And was not collective happiness a driving motive behind much of modernist thought and action? "With an iron fist we drive humanity towards happiness", stated a slogan in a Soviet concentration camp (though I cannot find a flawless source for it at the moment), but there were also healthier examples of this drive in the ranks of socialism, nationalism and liberalism. Eventually, happiness leads to Satiety, the 10 of Cups, representing the postmodern state of cheap comfort and desire gratification at your service. Here, appetite has truly been satiated, and there is nothing left to do but to surf the wave until something more interesting comes up: a new water impulse, an Ace of Cups.
9 of Pentacles is called Gain. This is an image of productive collaboration for mutual profit, the release of "productive forces" if you will, a powerful and dare I say positive card, labor exploitation notwithstanding. Western countries are surely past this stage economically, while arguably some non-Western countries are not. It evolves into the 10 of Pentacles, Riches - the result of Gain, no longer productive but simply content to behold itself in all its splendour. Crowley adds that this card, as the last number of the last element, represents to totality of all that has been created before. Of all the 10's this is doubtlessly the most magnificent one, as are the riches of the world today, and one will be somewhat saddened to eventually see it go.
I have been reflecting on the possibility of extending this analysis even farther back in time: the 8's, 7's, 6's and so on, though this seems like a more difficult task. It need not even be the case that the Tarot captures historical evolution for the lower numbers; for now, I am content to state that is does so in an illuminating way for the eras of modernism and postmodernism at the very least.
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