what, you egg?

April 30, 2020 3:01 PM

The Hanged Man (NSFW) in this tarot deck is based off of Odin sacrificing his eye at Yggdrasil. why is there an egg?

it's not mentioned in the description for the card. is it referencing something specific about odin/yggdrasil/norse mythology? is it even an egg? also, is it safe to assume the snake thing is a nidhogg?

posted by gaybobbie to Religion & Philosophy (3 answers total)

Best answer: I have this deck as well as the accompanying book, Book M. The book says "this message [of isolation and incubation] is echoed by the Orphic egg, which hangs suspended from the branches of the tree as if treasure guarded by the dragon, and symbolizes the time of enclosed incubation." So, ancient Greek mythology, rather than Norse myth.

"The sea dragon is Necksa, the elemental king of the Undines."

Sounds like you might enjoy going over the cards' finer details with the book, which explains each of the elements in the cards. This is one of my favorite decks of all time, because it has so much symbolism packed into it.
posted by Atrahasis at 3:12 PM on April 30, 2020 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: thank you so much!!! and for the quick answer! i've loved this deck for the same reason so i am very delighted the book goes even deeper into it :)
posted by gaybobbie at 7:54 PM on April 30, 2020

Best answer: Just came here to say : "young fry of treachery!!"-- the only pun the footballers in my HS English class every got.
posted by winesong at 9:16 PM on April 30, 2020 [1 favorite]