One thing that I have always been intrigued by in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck is how Pamela Coleman Smith’s design of the Knight of Cups and the Death card is so similar to one another. See below:
The similarities between these two cards are striking. The skeleton or man on the white horse wears a similar suit of armor in both cards. Their gaze is forward-focused to the right, and they both seem to be unaffected by whatever else in the foreground of the image, as if nothing can stop their pursuit.
For Death, it marches on, no matter if the figures that stand in its way are a fallen king, a pope-like figure, a woman, or even a child. While the knight does not face the same obstacles as the skeleton on the death card, the wings on his shoes and helmet remind me of Eros/Cupid and how, much like death, love comes for us all.
Yet why would Smith choose to depict these cards in such a similar fashion?
What meaning was she trying to help us uncover, since Waite was the one who gave her full artistic license over the cards’ images?
From what I have come to understand, in studying Pamela Coleman Smith’s images is that I doubt very much that this was “just a coincidence.” In the Rider-Waite-Smith, many symbols/images repeat themselves over and over again. (For example, the red feather in the Fool’s cap, which can be seen in both the Sun card and the Nine of Cups.) Therefore, given Smith’s desire to reuse symbols, I cannot help but to think that there was a deliberate reason she chose to make these two cards so similar…
Which is why I have done the same in designing my own cards for my own tarot deck. The Yonic Tarot™.
If you would like to support the creation of my Yonic Tarot™ deck you can donate here:
But before diving into my cards and my inspiration behind them. Let us first explore the meaning of the Death and Knight of Cups and how they are related.
