THE MAJOR ARCANA cont.

Here are the descriptions and illustrations of the last seven cards of Tarot's Major Arcana.  These summaries are as written by S.L. MacGregor Mathers, from his book The Tarot. This information was taken from: The Occult Sourcebook Of Esoteric Wisdom, by Nevill Drury and Gregory Tillet, Barnes and Noble Books 1997.

15-The Devil. A horned and winged demon with the claws of an eagle, standing on an altar to which two smaller devils are bound. In his left hand he bears a scepter. he is the image of fate or fatality, good or evil.

16-The Tower. A tower whose upper part is like a crown, stuck by a lightning flash.  Two men fall headlong from it, one of whom is in such an attitude as to form the Hebrew letter Ayin. Sparks and debris are falling. It means ruin or disruption.

17-The Star. A nude female figure pours water upon the earth from two vases. In the heavens above her shines the blazing star of the Magi (surrounded by seven others); trees and plants grow beneath her magickal influence, and on one the butterfly of Psyche alights. She is the star of hope.

18-The Moon. The Moon shining in the heavens, drops of dew falling, a wolf and a dog howling at the Moon and, halted at the foot of two towers, a path that loses itself in the horizon (and is sprinkled with drops of blood). A crayfish, emblematic of the sign of Cancer, ruled over by the Moon, crawls through water in the foreground symbolizes twilight, deception and error.

19-The Sun. The sun sending down its rays upon two children, who suggest the sign of Gemini. Behind them is a low wall. The card signifies earthly happiness.

20-(The Last) Judgement. An angel in the heavens blowing a trumpet, to which is attached a standard with a cross. The dead rise from thier tombs. It signifies renewal or result.

21-The World. Within a flowery wreath is a female figure,nude except for a light scarf. She represents nature and the presence of the divine in nature. In each hand she bears a wand.  At the four angles of the card are the four cherubic animals of the Apocalypse: above, the eagle and the man; below, the lion and the bull. The card represents completion or reward.