Much
speculation has arisen over the nature of Captain Abner Exekiel Hoag’s
connexion to the religious inner life of the South-seas Islands, particularly
of the Carolinas. As well, commentators have discussed the captain’s
relationship with his “servant” Yogash. Not a lot of discussion has been
entered upon concerning his grand-daughter, Beverly Hoag Adams, but perhaps the
time has come to open that Pandora’s Box and to see what lies inside.
The
spur for such an investigation arises from several discrete collections in the
archives of the Miskatonic University English Department and of the
Anthropology Faculty which – until recently – have not been placed together and
examined in context. These consist, in the main, of several small chapbooks –
recipes and collections of home cures for various illnesses – written in
manuscript by various New England “cunning folk” who plied their remedies in lieu of a ready availability of
medical personnel.
Most
of these books date from the mid- to late-1700s onwards, up until the early
Twentieth Century. While many of the superstitions and ritual lore contained
within their pages is typical of that which proliferated along the Eastern
seaboard of the United States at that time, there are undertones of a distinct
tradition localised in the New England nexus, which cannot be ignored.
The
main focus of this tradition lies in collections of small squares and
rectangles of card which have been found throughout the region. These – often
re-used – pieces of paper and cardboard are inscribed with certain descriptions
and are generally illustrated, mostly in a quite crude fashion. The discovery
of 17 of these cards, partially burnt and hidden beneath the floor of the
Kester Library in Salem, has linked the phenomena, however tentatively, to
Beverly Hoag Adams and her efforts to place the discoveries of her grandfather
into the public domain.
With
the correlation of these collections and an examination of the iconography and
the information contained in the “cunning books”, it has become clear that a
tradition of divination using cards – often called “Tarot cards” – proliferated
throughout the region, probably in tandem with the surreptitious circulation of
Captain Hoag’s manuscript version of The
Ponape Scriptures.
Many
of the card images are lost to time, as there are gaps in the available
evidence. However, the intent of the authors’ can be reconstructed from written
descriptions of the cards within the chapbooks and also from a set of well-used
cards which were unearthed in Newburyport, where the owner had eschewed
artistic depictions for simple written descriptions.
The
Miskatonic University Press has proudly championed the investigation of this native
folk-art tradition from its home region and, using the skills of the various
faculties involved and the talents of various Arkham-based illustrators and
artists, has issued its own set of these fascinating cards for the edification
of folklorists and local historians. We hope you enjoy that which we have
entitled,
The
Innsmouth Tarot
*****
The Major Arcana:
Card 0 – The Deep
Within
the extant versions of the cards which have been discovered, there are various
methods of portraying the nature of this card. The Newburyport Set simply
writes the name of the card, along with the Greek symbols for Alpha and Omega;
the Kester Library Set uses a fairly specific hieroglyph (see below) while
other cards and some of the books use a simple wavy line to indicate the
surface of an ocean.
The
purpose of this card is to represent the notion of a beginning, or of an
emerging force or presence: the depths are unknown and unknowable and are the
start of many phenomena or processes. The sense of this card is that of the
Questioner being on the edge of something new; at the beginning of a new life
phase. Things are uncrystallised and not yet formed, but soon all will be
revealed.
Inverted: The inverse meaning of the The Deep, is unpreparedness, or folly; fear of the unknown and an
unwillingness to change, or to commit. The depths are hazardous and to brave
them without adequate preparation is madness. In this sense, the beginning is
also, often, the end.
Card I – The Wizard, or Metaphysician
Having
recognised the imminent emergence of a new force or presence, the Questioner
becomes prepared. Burdened with knowledge, weapons and arcane skill, the
Questioner makes ready to do battle, or to understand. There is a sense of
limit to this card: the Wizard may be lord of that which he surveys, but his
scope is narrow, restricted to his home ground. His knowledge is highly
focussed, not wide-ranging; useful in certain engagements but not all. Good at
what he knows, his skill may seem impressive to the novice; but it will not
serve in the long term.
Until
the connexion was made that these cards were a means of divination, one of them
languished in small chapbook held in the Newburyport Historical Society and was
long thought to be merely a bookmark. It depicts a man in the clothes of an
Eighteenth Century judge of the Puritan type. The image was thought to be a
possible likeness of Cotton Mather; however, we now know that it represents a
metaphysical practitioner, or wizard, and once was part of a larger set of
cards, now lost.
Inverted: When upside-down, the Wizard is a charlatan, one
who preys on the innocence of others, an impostor with false knowledge. He
represents insecurity and unwise counsel.
Card II – The Witch
The
Witch represents a state of acceptance: whilst the Wizard merely manipulates
the framework of the cosmos, the Witch realises her place within that scheme
and acknowledges her part in it. In this sense, she is a greater – although
still a novitiate – part of reality. Her insight is greater and her belief is
stronger: she represents not only her own goals and desires, but also those of
a wider community.
When
upright, this card represents artistic inspiration, a positive feminine
influence, or the gaining of spiritual insight. In some instances it can
indicate celibacy or a state of impatience.
There
are no extant cards which depict or describe the iconography of this card,
although several of the grimoires make mention of it. As Cotton Mather and the other
puritan judges of the Salem witch trials seem to have been an inspiration for
the Wizard card, it has made sense to have this card portray one of the victims
of that series of legal aberrations.
Inverted: The inverted meaning of this card is passivity;
egoism, ignorance and incomprehension; an erroneous judgement. It can also
indicate a change of profession or of falling under a negative feminine
influence.
Card III – Mother Hydra
In
the mythology of the Innsmouth tarot, Mother Hydra is represented as the unseen
presence behind Father Dagon, the yin to his yang. The inspiration for this
card and its partner (Father Dagon) comes directly from the Kester Library Set
which shows the pair as unambiguously alien, although pelagic, beings. This
image heralds the beginning of the more bizarre, alien and monstrous beings
which comprise this cycle of lore.
Fundamentally,
the meaning associated with this card is intelligence. In some readings it may
indicate the presence of a mother, sister, or some other female figure of
influence, but the association is always that of an advisor, or source of
knowledge. The intention of the card is not a passive one: this is sagacity put
to some purpose; an ideal, or course of action; it also suggests fecundity, or
the realisation of a goal.
Inverted: Upside-down, this card represents poverty in all
senses – material, emotional, spiritual and intellectual. Its presence signals
anxiety and hesitation, the inability to make a decision or to take a course of
action. It can also indicate a coquette, or false flatterer.
Card IV – Father Dagon
The
twin card to Mother Hydra is her mate, Father Dagon. Dagon is best known to the
wider world from John Milton’s Paradise
Lost:
“Dagon his name, sea-monster, upward
man
And downward fish; yet had his temple
high
Reared in Azotus, dreaded through the
coast
Of Palestine, in Gath and Ascalon,
And
Accaron and Gaza's frontier bounds...”
The
image of Dagon in the Kester Library Set accords strongly with this description
and indicates the degree of antiquity which is associated with this lore.
Father
Dagon primarily symbolises energy, or power. Mother Hydra represents the
ability to channel, or direct, energy; Father Dagon embodies the power itself.
Paradoxically, while this card represents earthly power and a combative force,
it also stands for security and protection, the maintenance of stability.
Depending upon where the card appears in a reading, it can represent the
presence of a father, son, or some other masculine influence.
Inverted: When inverted within a spread, Father Dagon stands
primarily for a lack of strength. However, it can also symbolise power used
immaturely, or with a lack of conscience and consideration. In some instances,
it represents a malicious, or cruel, man.
Card V – The High Priest
The
High Priest is the flip-side of the Witch. While the Witch is intrinsically
involved in the true nature of the world, the High Priest actively engages with
it in an exoteric sense. Put simply, the Witch is being while the High Priest is doing.
The
Kester Library Set has an image of a kneeling figure in the midst of some
ritual event which provides the basis for this card’s iconography. The
Newburyport Set contains a short written script, a familiar piece of doggerel
found in the Invocations to Dagon and
other similar sources:
“O Great Kutulu, Dreamer in Rillye
I am Thy priest and adore Thee.
This
card represents the adoption of a disciplined lifestyle either religious or
possibly scientific; it may represent counsel, assistance of information
received from such a quarter. Either way, it betokens wise and sound advice
and, above all, mercy. The High Priest also symbolises strong emotions, free of
sentimentality. It can foreshadow a ritual observance or a secret revealed. It
indicates that the Questioner has or is about to gain an insight into Destiny.
Inverted: When placed upside-down, the High Priest
symbolises a digression from the true path, either through a sudden loss of
faith or an inability to clearly see the way forward. It speaks of unwise
counsel and decisions made without a full weighing of the circumstances. It
reveals powerlessness and a loss of forward impetus, causing weakness and a
slide into decadence. A loss of faith or vocation.
*****
To Be Continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment