Submitted by Katharos:

Commentary on the Takhistan Fragment: Canto IV
by Katharos

Preface

The puzzling quatrain which comprises the fourth stanza of the Takhistan Fragment has elicited the speculation and excited the imagination of scholars and mystics alike since its rediscovery and subsequent emergence upon the Sosarian literary scene. The Fragment itself is a tattered and abysmally deteriorated vellum scroll of indeterminate age which was unearthed from deep within the subterranean vaults during a renovation of Empath Abbey. Revered by its most staunch adherents as a prophecy which holds encrypted in its enigmatic verse revelations of dire import and consequence to the fate of the realm, simultaneously reviled by its most virulent detractors as nothing more than the absurd meanderings of a psychotic shaman, the single factor upon which all commentaries are in accord is the sense of surreal wonder which is unfailingly engendered in the reader.

It is in the light of currently unfolding events within sundry provinces of our realm that I set my hand to add yet another shovel-full to the admittedly prodigious mountain of erudite expositions previously extant. The incidents in question, in brief, revolve about the nightly visitations of a mysterious personage, by all accounts a female of indeterminate years (either ageless or somewhere between the flower of youth and middle age) to, thus far, four assorted principalities. She seems to defy description ... to transcend definition ... to challenge the very contradiction, or comprise the synthesis, of opposites. Those who bear witness are in unanimous agreement, however, concerning the profound fascination in which they were held for the duration of her ethereal visit.

It was also in conjunction with that visitor's oft repeated admonishments that the inhabitants of the various communities, concerning their particular Trump*, "ask of the cards when the time comes" (Nemeton del Mere Sanctum), "seek to understand it" (Nidaros), "tell the others of the card" (Silvervale), and "heed it well, study it well, for the time will come when you must understand it; surely this must be shared" (Rosewood) that I determined to compile, collate and record what knowledge and evidence had thus far been garnered.

*Author's note: The cards and significance of the Minor Arcana (the 56 numbered and court cards comprising the four suits) which have been disbursed to various individuals are not addressed in this missive.

Speculation:

It is of no mean significance that said visits have transpired in the precise sequence to which are alluded those four estates within the Canto under scrutiny (with precisely a fortnight, fourteen days, elapsing between the initial and second visitations), or that to each the baffling apparition has delivered the appropriate card of the Major Arcana, attributing its import to the particular domain of her visit:

10/8 Nemeton del Mere Sanctum - The Star: the sign of optimism and the accumulation of past knowledge to be used in the present. Reversed: a sign of disappointment and unfulfilled hopes.

10/22 Nidaros - The Hanged Man: taking a new look at life, a new perspective, old ideas falling away... as leaves fall in the autumn. It can be sacrifice of the old, or embracing of the new as it comes in a way never expected.

10/24 Silvervale - The Lovers: Alpha and Omega; Dark and Light; Answers where there are no questions.

10/25 Rosewood - The Wheel of Fortune: The wheel turns ... the circle will be complete.

Similarities suggest themselves as possible correlations between the cards' ornate imagery and the principalities with which they have been associated.

The trump of the Star pictures a lovely young woman, unclothed, kneeling at the waterside, who is evocative of either Deirdre Antos, Matriarch of Clan Antos and hereditary steward of the Nemeton del Mere Sanctum (which sits, not coincidentally, upon the shoreline of the marshlands west of Trinsic), or to Thallasha, the goddess of the Deep revered in that shrine.

That the contemporary incarnation of the Nemeton del Mere Sanctum rose (on the Winter Solstice, the rebirth of our planet's parent star) from the ashes of the now defunct Ancient Order of Akalabeth (which proved a "disappointment" in that it was unable to achieve its lofty aspirations and thus became the epitome of "unfulfilled hopes"), which attempted to revitalize the pre-Brittanian civilization and mores (through the "accumulation of past knowledge to be used in the present") as originally practiced in Akalabeth of old is significant in that the predominant symbol of that arcane assemblage was the pentagram, the five-pointed Star (allusive of the geographic contours of the original Akalabethian isle). The arcane knowledge preserved from the Early Sosarian Era has passed into the safekeeping of the Nemeton's hierarchy for just application in the contemporary arena.

The trump of the Hanged Man portrays a man, dressed much like a jester, hanging suspended by his feet. It is hard to tell from his expression whether he is laughing, or in pain. He signifies, amongst other things, the sacrifice of the old.

The Story of Leif Wonsgar by Valgard the Grey relates in its closing paragraph: "Rumors say Wonsgar met Minax himself on that hill (author's note: the Mound of Compassion, Wonsgar's burial site), and sacrificed his life to keep Minax out of the lands of Trammel."

The Lovers trump depicts a man and a woman standing hand in hand. The two cities which lie behind them, one dark and one light, may be indicative, respectively, of the two cities, Shadowcove (dark) and Paxlair (light) betwixt which Silvervale lies.

The Wheel of Fortune holds an illustration of a blindfolded angel who may be representative of Rosewood's prominent "Angel" Storm, holding a golden wheel carved with ornate figures of animals and people. Upon the waters below, people seem to be foundering. The crowned child who sits atop the wheel holding a sword and a dove may be an allusion to her son.

Having attended the concerns of both Urd ("Wyrd": the Norn in who's keeping are the affairs of the Past) and Verdhandi (the Norn in who's charge is the Present), I must confess that, in attempting to scry the impending events under the auspices of Skuld ("Should": the Norn by whom are ordered events of the Future as they "should" evolve as established by the Past and Present) which may be portended by these dealings, I have drawn a blank.

Exposition

Line 1
"The nova is reflected clearly in the Sacred Sea"

The nova (Latin: new. A nova is a star that suddenly increases radiance dramatically, appearing as a "new" star in the heavens before fading to its previous obscurity) addressed in Line 1 is an obvious referent to the Star trump.

The principality of Line 1 is discerned in rendering "Sacred Sea" in its original Sosarian/Latin as "Mere (sea or mirror) Sanctum (hallowed/protected)." The term "reflected" (as in a mirror ... Latin: mere) further alludes to the aforementioned as a suitable translation. Thus, we can be confident by reason of compelling evidence of both Line 1 and the trump of the Star as being properly associated with the Nemeton (Celtic: a Druidic grove or temple) del Mere Sanctum.

Line 2
"and lynching is endorsed as Wonsgar's capital decree."

This verse plays upon the alternate definitions of the word "capital." "Capital decree" (that is, the death sentence) and "lynching" in concert allude to the Trump of the Hanged Man. Leif Wonsgar was an ancient visitor to Sosaria from a foreign realm. During his stay in our lands he founded a city and named it in honor of the governmental center of his homeland; that city is Nidaros, referred to here as "Wonsgar's capital." Reference may be made to his original memoirs, displayed in that city's splendid library.

Line 3
"Revealed in Argent Glen the couple joins in ecstasy"

Realization that "argent" is an alternative term for the element "silver" and that "glen" has been substituted for "vale" permits the solution of this line's principality as none other than Silvervale. The "couple joined in ecstasy" is a patent allusion to the Major Arcana's Lovers, "revealed" in the splendor of their nakedness.

Line 4
"once riches risk the rota's spinning 'neath the madder tree."

"Rota" is Latin for "wheel." Further, the four letters R-O-T-A are inscribed in the quadrants of the wheel's rim as depicted in many Tarot decks. A reading of the letters, with the cycle's completion being indicated by a return to the initial letter, yields "T-A-R-O-T." That "risk" (as understood as "chance" or "in the hands of fate") and "riches" are synonymous with "fortune" serves as corroboration that our identification of this line's Trump as the Wheel of Fortune is accurate.

"Madder" is an herb (Rubia tinctorum) of the Rubiacene family. "'neath the madder" suggests the herb's root, which is used in the production of dyes of various shades of red. The word is also used itself as specifying the color of the dyes (moderate to strong red) which are produced from it. The most familiar of these hues is the dusky pink of rose madder. Thus, both the herb's family (Rubiacene: ruby colored) and the tint of the dye produced from it suggest the color "rose." Substitution of "wood" for "tree" results in identifying this line's principality as the township of Rose + wood. Of interest, too, is the rendering of "'neath the madder" in Latin; that is, as "sub rosa," which is translated literally as "under the rose." This particular phrase, which from the ancient association of the rose with secrecy, is indicative of matters discussed privately and in confidence.

Canto IV

The nova is reflected clearly in the Sacred Sea and lynching is endorsed as Wonsgar's capital decree. Revealed in Argent Glen the couple joins in ecstasy once riches risk the rota's spinning 'neath the madder tree.

Canto IV is delivered in standard quatrain form; that is, the stanza consists of four rhyming lines. That each of the four lines is comprised of precisely fourteen feet, reflective of the manner in which the deck of Tarot is composed of (in addition to the 22 Major Arcana) four suits (Cups, Wands, Swords and Coins), each of fourteen cards (the numbered cards from ace through ten, and the courtly cards Page, Knight, Queen and King), provides significant, albeit subtle, counsel for one's approach to unraveling its puzzling imagery.** Significant in this regard as well is the word comprised of each lines' initial letter: T - A - R - O ... the correct phonetically rendered pronunciation of "Tarot." See also the following exposition of Line 4.

We will hereafter endeavor to offer a cohesive and comprehensive exposition of the symbolism of the Canto, line by line, and thus disclose its obscure meaning.

--Angel Storm, 2:02pm Eastern

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