Conference image courtesy of Kat Black, creator of the Golden Tarot

Travelling Companions

for the Melbourne International Tarot Conference 2005

Produced for the Melbourne International Tarot Conference, copyright Kat Black.

My Interpretation:

Meeting new friends and old on a long journey. Sharing knowledge, seeing new sights and having some fun.

Sources:

Tobias and the Angel, Landscape, Small Dog (travellers, arm in arm; angelic protection): Andrea del Verrocchio, 'Tobias and the Angel' 1470-80, Egg tempera on poplar, National Gallery, London.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Branches, Sky, Hanging Cloth (very strange to see an Australian native bird in a painting before Australia was settled by Europeans, must have strayed into Indonesia or New Guinea and been captured there): Frans Snyders, 'Concert of Birds' 1610-20?, Oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Large Dog (loyalty and faithfulness): Jacob Seisenegger, 'Portrait of Emperor Charles V' 1532, Oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Monkey (cheekiness and curiosity): Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 'Two Chained Monkeys'. 1562, Oil on oak. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany. Huge thanks to Eva-Christiane Wetterer for the monkey :)

Crab (as Conference is in early July): Frans Snyders, 'Fishmonger's' 1610-30?, Oil on canvas, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp.
Blowfly (as it's in Australia): Balthasar van der Ast, 'Basket of Fruits' c. 1632, Oil on wood, Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

Book (knowledge, research): Jan Davidsz de Heem, 'Still-Life of Books' 1628, Oil on wood, Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Symbol on Book Jean-Michel David, from Rudolf Steiner, GA 96, Dec. 1906. The symbol forms the basis for the seal of the Association for Tarot Studies.