Created more than half a century before the beginning of the Copernican revolution, these cards depict the geocentric model of the cosmos developed by Aristotle and Ptolemy. In this model, the Earth is stationary at the center of the universe, and the Moon, the Sun, the planets, and the stars are on concentric spheres rotating around Earth. The order of the planetary spheres is based on the speed with which they appear to move across our sky, which is why the Sun is placed between Venus and Mars. In keeping with the allegorical mode of these cards, the planets are represented by the Roman gods after which they were named.
XXXXI Luna
Luna, the goddess of the Moon, was a role for Apollo’s twin sister, Diana (Artemis to the Greeks). She carries a waxing crescent while driving her carriage across the sky. Oddly, Luna travels to the left (east), in the opposite direction to Sol, the Sun. Possibly this was done to emphasize that the Moon moves slowly eastward relative to the Sun.
XXXXII Mercurio
Mercury, as the fastest-moving planet, was named after the swift Messenger of the Gods by both the Romans and the Greeks. The Greeks called the god and planet Hermes, who was identified with the Egyptian god, Thoth, who taught man writing.
Mercury appears here in his signature winged boots and helmet. He is playing a flute, rather than the pan pipes which he invented. His Caduceus has small winged dragons entwined on it, rather than the usual wings and snakes. The staff upon which they twine was Apollo’s gift to Mercury, in return for Mercury’s gift of an instrument he invented, the lyre.
The head at Mercury’s feet is that of Argus, whom Mercury killed as a favor to Jupiter. Argus, a monster with a hundred eyes, had been set by Jupiter’s jealous wife Hera to guard the nymph Io, disguised by Jupiter in the form of a heifer. Mercury, disguised as a shepherd, wandered into Io’s pasture, engaged Argus in conversation, put the ever-alert Argus to sleep by playing his pipes and telling the tale of how he invented them, and then cut off his head.
XXXXIII Venus
Venus is shown bathing in a waterway, with the typical landscape in the background. She is attended by her son, Cupid, blindfolded as in some versions of the Tarot’s l’Amoreaux (the Lover), and the three Graces. Attributes of Venus shown here include the seashell she is holding, the myrtle branch and flaming heart held by two of the Graces, and the doves overhead. The composition of this image has been compared to Pierro delle Francesca’s painting The Baptism of Christ.
XXXXIIII Sol
The Sun is carried across the sky by the chariot of the Sun god, Phoebus (Helios to the Greeks), who is identified with Apollo. The falling figure and the scorpion recall the story of Phaethon, son of Phoebus. Phaethon begged his father to let him drive the chariot of the Sun, but he had difficulty controlling the horses. Finally, frightened by the heavenly Scorpion (constellation Scorpius), he dropped the reins, leaving the chariot to careen out of control. Jupiter, to avert total disaster, struck Phaethon dead with a thunderbolt and he fell into the River Eridanus.
XXXXV Marte
Mars was the Roman god of war. He was held in higher regard than his Greek counterpart Ares, a reflection of the militarism of the Roman Empire, perhaps. Rather than the usual war chariot, he is seated on what appears to be a triumphal carriage. The canine at his feet is presumably a wolf, an animal sacred to Mars.
XXXXVI Iupiter
Jupiter, King of the Gods, sits enthroned inside a vesica piscis (mandorla in Italian), a shape frequently used in medieval art to frame images of Christ . He holds a spear, representing his lightning bolt, and the ground below him is littered with the bodies of its victims. The child and the eagle may be a reference to the story of Ganymede, the beautiful boy who was abducted by Jupiter in the form of an eagle.
XXXXVII Saturno
Saturn was a Roman god of agriculture who was later equated with the Greek god Cronus. The scene here refers to the Greek myth of Cronus devouring his sons, because it had been prophesied that one of them would overthrow him. His wife Rhea saved the sixth son, Zeus (Jupiter), who fulfilled the prophesy.
Saturn’s scythe symbolizes his agricultural associations, and, along with the dragon ouroborus (also seen with 32 Chronico), his position as lord of time.
XXXXVIII Octava Spera
Octava Spera, the eighth sphere in the Aristotelian cosmos, contains the fixed stars. We see an angel standing on a sphere holding a globe full of stars.
XXXXVIIII Primo Mobile
The Ninth Sphere, or Prime Mover, is the motive force that drives the motions of the heavens. It is here rather fancifully represented by a leaping angel holding an orb.
XXXXX Prima Causa
The first, causeless Cause, meaning God. This card depicts the entire Universe. At the center, of course, is Earth. According to Aristotle, the region below the Moon is filled with the four elements (earth, water, air and fire), while the Moon and the spheres beyond it were made of a fifth ethereal element, which came to be known as aether or quintessence. So we see, from the center outward, spheres of earth, water, air, and fire—the four elements in order of increasing fineness. Next come the planetary spheres. Only the Sun and Moon are marked with glyphs, the planets are represented simply by stars. Then comes the Eighth Sphere, full of stars, and the Ninth Sphere, the Prime Mover. The outermost regions, beyond the Ninth Sphere, are the Empyrean, where God dwells.