"the horse sculpture" is mislabeled. The arcanum portrayed is actually THE DEVIL.
The mosaic tower is also the arcanum of the Emperor - symbol of male energy.
De Saint Phalle studied the Tarot for years and developed her own vision of the major arcana. Some of the sculptures are based on traditional iconography, while others were entirely her own interpretation. In my blog https://magiclibrarybomarzo.wordpress.com/2024/04/05/the-tarot-garden-of-niki-de-saint-phalle-2/ from which this article is abridged, I compare some of the traditional depictions with De Saint Phalle's interpretations -- LL
It’s a very interesting garden and can be enjoyed and understood at many different levels; like the Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo. I encourage readers to go to Linda’s magic library blog to get a deeper explanation of the Tarot and when in this area stop by Cinzia Chiulli’s shop of tarot and ceramics in the medieval quarter of San Pellegrino in Viterbo. So many layers, so many arcane things are available when you travel and/or live in Italy.
I'd love this, if only I had known about it earlier! I'm going to Florence next weekend but no time for detours unfortunately... I live in Milan though so it's actually not too big of a deal haha
"the horse sculpture" is mislabeled. The arcanum portrayed is actually THE DEVIL.
The mosaic tower is also the arcanum of the Emperor - symbol of male energy.
De Saint Phalle studied the Tarot for years and developed her own vision of the major arcana. Some of the sculptures are based on traditional iconography, while others were entirely her own interpretation. In my blog https://magiclibrarybomarzo.wordpress.com/2024/04/05/the-tarot-garden-of-niki-de-saint-phalle-2/ from which this article is abridged, I compare some of the traditional depictions with De Saint Phalle's interpretations -- LL
It’s a very interesting garden and can be enjoyed and understood at many different levels; like the Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo. I encourage readers to go to Linda’s magic library blog to get a deeper explanation of the Tarot and when in this area stop by Cinzia Chiulli’s shop of tarot and ceramics in the medieval quarter of San Pellegrino in Viterbo. So many layers, so many arcane things are available when you travel and/or live in Italy.
We drove by this garden on the autostrada many times. I wish we'd stopped.
I'd love this, if only I had known about it earlier! I'm going to Florence next weekend but no time for detours unfortunately... I live in Milan though so it's actually not too big of a deal haha