Tying power

Sometimes the woman can have a man tied beyond redemption.

‘Can’t this apply to the woman herself?’ I was asked, and I said no.

‘The woman here is protected by the wreath, so no diabolical passion that's not good for her can tie her. Here it's the other way around, with the man completely at her mercy.’

From a visual argument perspective, had the Empress been in the first position, or even one of the two women in the Lovers card, then yes, we would have had to give the man the enslaving and tying power we see here, not the woman. But as things stand in this picture, the woman in the World card has all the agency she needs, if she elects to turn the enslaving power on.

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The tour de force

My course book on the Marseille tarot gives agency a great deal of attention, and then there’s Threads, the book on obsessions…