"The Burial of the Dead" Annotations
From The Waste Land Wiki
(→Stanza 3) |
(→Lines 43-59) |
||
| Line 195: | Line 195: | ||
== Stanza 3 == | == Stanza 3 == | ||
| − | ===Lines 43-59=== | + | ===Lines 43-59, Tarot and Mythology=== |
Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, | Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, | ||
| Line 222: | Line 222: | ||
In this way, it appears that the narrator believes the cards to be evil, or morally depraved. And yet, the narrator comes to Madame Sosostris to get a reading, implying that the narrator must be truly desperate to know his/her future. | In this way, it appears that the narrator believes the cards to be evil, or morally depraved. And yet, the narrator comes to Madame Sosostris to get a reading, implying that the narrator must be truly desperate to know his/her future. | ||
| − | Madame Sosostris uses a six-card reading. In order to understand the fullest extent of this reading, an understanding of the most popular six-card spread is useful: the Celtic Cross. Here I use a Tarot Teachings website | + | Madame Sosostris uses a six-card reading. In order to understand the fullest extent of this reading, an understanding of the most popular six-card spread is useful: the Celtic Cross. Here I use a Tarot Teachings website. |
| − | + | ||
| Line 231: | Line 230: | ||
| − | 2. Belladonna, or the Lady of the Rocks: the “crux” of the issue. The conflict. “Belladonna” means “beautiful lady” but it is also a poisonous plant. And the Lady of the Rocks is most probably the Virgin Mary—Belladonna or Madonna. Sweet poison or sanctified chastity. She is the “lady of situations” because she is the conflict, the decision to be made ( | + | 2. Belladonna, or the Lady of the Rocks: the “crux” of the issue. The conflict. “Belladonna” means “beautiful lady” but it is also a poisonous plant. And the Lady of the Rocks is most probably the Virgin Mary—Belladonna or Madonna. Sweet poison or sanctified chastity. She is the “lady of situations” because she is the conflict, the decision to be made (line 50). |
