Tarot & The Hand of Oberon:
The Journey for the Philosopher’s Stone
The Hand of Oberon, as the fourth novel of Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber, constitutes the fourth act of a traditional Shakespearean five-act drama. And perhaps the plot which unfolds in the fourth book of the five-book series can also be assessed in a similar fashion. In which case, here is the fourth act within the fourth act.
At this stage, Corwin has gained a more complete understanding of the structural rules of Amber, of the significance of previously overlooked players (Brand, Martin, Dara), and of the problem which requires solving: the damage to the original Pattern. He has also passed a series of spiritual tests posed by Vialle and suffering, Dworkin and despair of overcoming past choices, and the unnamed knight of Chaos who prompts Corwin to check his violent impulses in favor of a negotiated resolution. Exposition and Complications.
The conflicts between Corwin and his brothers, suspended by extraordinary events till now, have at last been brought out into the open, where Benedict appraises Corwin more fairly and enters into something like a co-regency with him for ushering Amber through her time of crisis, while Gérard’s misguided attempt to violently constrain Corwin is checked through Ganelon’s intervention, and the mutual animus lying between Corwin and Julian is replaced with a recognition of Brand as the real threat and the knowledge they are on the same side in their commitment to Amber’s defense.
In other words, the turning point where most of the outstanding issues and problems hit their peak has been reached. Things have now moved past the climax within the book and onto the downhill run of the short swift slope denoted by the right side of Freytag’s Pyramid.
Overall, there have been more than a few obstacles for our protagonist, as the Jewel of Judgment has retreated further and further from his grasp. Which can only mean one thing. Here then begins the Falling Action or Reversals.
The Tarot of The Hand of Oberon
The Hermit was originally Time or The Old Man. Rather than the Lamp of Truth he bore an hourglass holding the Sands of Time. As life begins in infancy under the gaze of the Moon and winds down through an old age presided over by the planet of Kronos, this tarot reflects the influence of Saturn. Saturn, as the patron of those who labor in solitude, looks after those engaged in study or the lonely and existential struggle for survival: farmers, beggars, monks, poets, artists, scholars. The other influence worth mentioning is that of Virgo, the sign presiding over The Hermit and his self-denial in pursuit of something greater. Sometimes a serpent is shown on the card, emblematic of wisdom and and the self-renewing cycle of life, death and rebirth, while the Lamp is seen as the mirror revealing truths found within, linking this tarot to the virtue of Prudence (though, alternatively, The World has also been interpreted as Prudence).
An iconic version of A.E. Waite’s Hermit is featured, in this case the sleeve art by Barrington Coleby for Led Zeppelin IV, released shortly after Nine Princes of Amber (and five years before the publication of The Hand of Oberon). It was the most recognizable tarot in America at that time, challenged only by The Fool and The Magician. ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ considered by many to be the most popular and successful song of the early 1970s, was directly associated with the gatefold displaying this tarot. Most of the elements of The Hermit are here: Silhouetted against the night sky and wrapped within the cloak of discretion, a bearded figure leans upon the staff of authority representing his own strength and experience, searching for knowledge by the light of inner truth provided by the Star of Solomon, gazing down upon the world as he at the same time remains apart from it, standing on the snowy peak of attainment to regard the path of initiation he has already trod before descending it to bring back to society far below a purified understanding of the wisdom discovered in his isolation.
Completing a lengthy ride through the Shadow wilderness, Corwin reaches a country road leading to his house atop a hill in the woods. It is night-time, snow still on the ground as on his last visit, a waxing crescent moon in the sky. Once his horse Drum is tethered behind evergreens on the other side of the field across the road, Corwin makes a careful approach to the house along the side opposite to the living room where a light is on inside. Inspecting the yard behind the house, he notes an unused chicken coop and other debris have been removed. Looking down for the compost pile where the Jewel of Judgment had been concealed, he finds it missing. He searches within for the connection between the Jewel and himself that was forged when he walked it through the Pattern. It is not there. Riding into town on Drum, Corwin learns from his friend Bill that earlier in the day, under the pretext of attempting a painting of the landscape, Brand visited the farm where the compost was dumped. On hearing this, he says to Bill, “If I can borrow a flashlight, I had better get moving.” Reached via Trump, Gérard agrees to have the Patterns in Amber and Rebma warded against Brand’s approach.
The helpful aspect of Virgo shows up in the form of Bill’s willing assistance, while Virgo’s meticulousness and hygienic practice are in force as Corwin discovers the cleaned up yard and fixing up of his former home and later even notably resorts to Bill’s bathroom. Like The Hermit, Corwin follows a backwoods road to that snowy hilltop (a mundane echo of that in Coleby’s illustration) which he prudently approaches at night under The Hermit’s veritable ‘cloak of discretion.’ (Consistent with The Hermit, he shortly uses that same country road to return to town.) Getting a bit ahead of things, the chapter concludes with Corwin observing more discretion as he alerts Gérard of danger and places Patterns under guard. In keeping with the original conception of this tarot, Corwin asserts he is on the clock with his, “time is doing terrible things.” He appears as the monk with few possessions returning from a lengthy sojourn out in the unknown, while Bill as the lawyer with useful information and advice assumes the role of knowledgeable scholar, and Ed Wellen (present through a phone call with Bill) is the farmer. Brand, meanwhile, has already put in his appearance as the artist. As The Hermit, Corwin inspects the ground below him for what he seeks (also in line with Virgo’s element of earth). As everything wraps, Corwin calls for a light to assist his search.
Chapter 11: The Wheel of Fortune
Oswald Wirth’s Wheel of Fortune is presented here, based on the design developed by Éliphas Lévi. Crowned with a crux ansata, the Sphinx embodies union and balance between male and female, animal and human, body and mind, air and earth, soldier and king, and opposites in general. The Sphinx stays securely perched atop the Wheel despite its (counterclockwise) rotation. As a manifestation of the ankh, uniting signs for male and female energy, the crux ansata signifies life and fertility. This was also the alchemical sign for sulfur (fire) and the soul. The jackal-headed Hermanubis bound to one side of the Wheel protects and guides souls through the upward transition toward renewal in the realm of the divine. Typhon, the serpentine monster sliding down the left side of the Wheel, confronts the spirit with the temptations and challenges of the material, the body, the world, and mortality. Typhon’s trident refers to Neptune and, much like the inverted pentagram borne by the goat figure on The Devil, directs the kundalini energy down towards the lower chakras. Symbolic of a kundalini awakening, the serpent-entwined caduceus carried by Hermanubis is doing the opposite. And the alchemical symbol for Mercury above Hermanubis indicates his access to quick thinking, resourcefulness, communication between conscious and subconscious, and the ability to find workarounds. The wheel within wheel arrangement manifests the duality of human existence, turning and pulling in opposing directions (good versus evil, spirit versus body, Hermanubis versus Typhon). Typhon, it should be recalled, was defeated by Zeus and his lightning-bolts in a fashion similar to how Tiamat was subdued by Marduk; the message of The Wheel of Fortune is that when lightning (i.e., luck) strikes, the opportunity must be seized.
Concluding the imagery of The Hermit from the previous chapter, at the Wellen farm Corwin, employing a rake (the staff of authority in this setting) by the light of an electric lantern (the lamp), searches the ground and discovers the Jewel of Judgment no longer resides within the transferred compost. While engaged in this activity, by no small coincidence Corwin learns from Gérard of Brand’s unsuccessful attempt to access the Pattern in Amber. Echoing again the symbolism of The Hermit, Gérard is “leaning upon his great blade,” where the sword stands in for the staff, reporting he “turned up the lantern” (the lamp once again) to find Brand had vanished after seeing him on guard.
The Hermit is then straightaway left behind, as Corwin is contacted by trump the moment the conversation with Gérard concludes. It is Fiona showing up, tired though he observes her to be, as Amber’s compelling version of Lady Luck. Alerting him to the possibility of Brand using the damaged Pattern in the original Amber to link himself to the Jewel, she offers to take him there. Arriving on Corwin’s Trump, Fiona rides with him through Shadow on Drum. Along the way, she confesses to joining the conspiracy to gain the throne, and clarifies Brand’s role in recent events. Regarding the accident which led to his stay in Greenwood, she reveals Corwin fought his way free of the car wreck and made it to shore on his own. One of the messages of The Wheel of Fortune is that fortune favors those able and willing to make their own luck.
And “Good luck” are Fiona’s final words to Corwin as he goes to confront Brand upon the Pattern. The griffin Wixer, symbolic of the guardian Sphinx presiding over The Wheel of Fortune, has been decapitated. The fortunes of Amber will be determined upon the Pattern itself, with the Pattern serving as the Wheel. Continuing to make his own luck, Corwin times his progress through the Pattern with care in order to meet Brand where two different sections of the Pattern pass close to one another. He also trusts his instincts, relying on the Pattern etched into his blade to sustain him through the damaged areas and testing his connection with the Jewel by initiating the red tornado-like phenomenon which had destroyed Iago only days before. When he loses his balance and falls onto the Pattern, becoming vulnerable to Brand’s sword, Corwin is able to summon lightning from the whirlwind above to defend himself. The lightning destroys the threatening blade, burning Brand, who uses the damaged portion of the Pattern to flee into Shadow. Moving opposite to each other within the Wheel, Brand has played the part of Typhon as Corwin, a worthy incarnation of the ever-resourceful Hermanubis while also recalling battle-ready Zeus, has defeated him with lightning.
Chapter 12: The Hierophant
The Hierophant of the Tabula Mundi Tarot above is a reinterpretation of the one developed by Crowley for his Thoth Tarot, one that is closer to the RWS standard set by the collaboration between Waite and Pamela Colman Smith. Due to its early Renaissance origins in Northern Italy, the tarot was greatly influenced by the Church of that era, when the Pope was not merely the leader of western Christendom, but was also the political and military ruler of the Papal States of central Italy. Under the papacy, these states were at the time a regional power adept at forming alliances and maintaining their status as a stabilizing force balancing the strength of the Republic of Venice to the north and that of the Kingdom of Naples to the south – the three levels of the universe on a map, if you will.
The sceptre with its three interlocking rings indicates the predecessor to the Holy Trinity which is the Divine Family, or the Thelemic Aeons of Osiris, Isis and Horus. And it also asserts his authority in the three realms of Earth, Purgatory and Heaven in a purely Christian reading. More broadly, he presides over the three intrinsic kingdoms of Spirit, Mind and Body. The four fixed astrological signs of Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius and Taurus, the four elements, adore the Hierophant and with him form a kind of five-sided body or pentagram. The merging of hexagram with pentagram reveals him as the link between Macrocosm and Microcosm in his role as the one capable of providing divine law and wisdom through instruction on the earthly plane. The crossed golden and silver Keys to Heaven in his custody represent the Sun (conscious mind) and Moon (subconscious spirit); that is, the joining of esoteric teachings with one’s own intuition. The ankh calls attention to his role as teacher, and as the priest most capable of initiating disciples into the mysteries. The Hierophant advises working within the system as it is, resorting to proven methods while respecting and preserving cultural heritage enshrined in public institutions.
It is afternoon on the western slopes of Kolvir when Corwin joins Random and son Martin by his mausoleum, which will stand in for the temple found on The Hierophant. After greetings are exchanged, Corwin explains how one accesses the capabilities of the Jewel of Judgment through walking the Pattern, and how Brand hopes to use the Jewel to replace the original Pattern with a new one of his own. Prompted by Martin, Corwin further declares Brand, as a traitor intent on destroying Amber, a legitimate military target. Here is Corwin, as Hierophant, taking on the role of the one explaining the function of the Jewel to Random and initiating Martin into Amber. His line, uttered to Martin regarding the need for Brand to be destroyed is telling: “But do not let that hatred be your baptism into our company.” Hierophant language.
In response to Corwin’s, “Tell me about yourself,” Martin recounts his deadly encounter with Brand, followed by his more positive meeting with Dara, who learned about the royals of Amber from him while helping him recover from Brand’s attack. Ganelon subsequently reaches out to Corwin through his Trump, inquiring about the status of the Jewel and Corwin’s plans regarding Brand. Ganelon states he has a better approach than the naïve scenario of Corwin racing Brand to the Pattern within the sky-city, and convinces him to listen. Ganelon then provides a scheme superior to Corwin’s proposal and one which efficiently exploits the special properties of Amber as well as the singular fighting abilities of Benedict. It also coordinates affairs between the original Pattern in true Amber, guarded against Brand’s plot to destroy it, the Pattern beneath the palace that Benedict has just walked in order to teleport directly to the Pattern in Tir-na Nog’th to keep Brand from walking it. In other words, the plan operates on three separate worlds of Amber and is timed to both the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon.
The chapter ends with Corwin hastening toward the summit of Kolvir where wait the three stone steps to Tir-na Nog’th. (Three levels yet again.) It also ends with Corwin, who began the chapter as the one in the best position to provide advice on esoteric matters pertaining to Amber (the Heavenly Kingdom of our story), taking a step back to defer to the chapter’s true Hierophant and master of Amber’s arcane lore: Ganelon.
Reversals on the Right Side of Mercy
The ninth chapter concluding the previous act was organized around the Trump for Strength, where a discussion is held after Julian takes down the monster pursuing Corwin. Julian explains how the blinding of Corwin, as cruel as it was, had taken place to preserve him against outright execution. It's a chapter dwelling on the nature of mercy and compassion.
Above on the Thelemic Tree of Life, there is the 11th Trump, Strength (named here as Lust) stretching all the way from the severity of Geburah to the mercy of Chesed. The three chapters that follow, those mapped out above, all connect to Chesed, also known as loving-kindness, and are all caught in the orbit of Jupiter and generosity. Where Strength joins Chesed is also where The Hermit connects. And ascending toward Chesed from Netzach below, just to the right of The Hermit, is Fortune. Finally, rising straight up from Chesed toward the wisdom of Chokmah is the Hierophant. It's almost as if Strength launched the next act, the following three chapters, to Chesed, where a counter-clockwise orbital slingshot maneuver was performed, a tour around the remainder of Chesed through The Hermit, The Wheel of Fortune and finally The Hierophant before being flung up towards Chokmah.
A succession of positive encounters, of offers of assistance, ensue. It begins with Bill Roth (and his wife Alice) providing hospitality, information, a flashlight, shovel and rake, and with the farmer Ed Wellen looking after Drum. It then includes Gérard’s cooperation and effort to render an apology before Fiona appears to resolve many of Corwin’s questions about events connected to his car accident and hospitalization as she brings him to the real Amber to chase Brand around the Pattern. Even the damaged Pattern seems to help, as it draws Grayswandir and Corwin through its damaged areas and strikes Brand’s sword with lightning at Corwin’s behest. Martin supplies some of the missing backstory about Dara, Random returns Star, and Ganelon outlines a plan for checkmating Brand in Tir-na Nog’th. All consistent with Chesed.
Up to this point, Zelazny had been sticking closely to his program of marching backward through the Journey of the Fool, starting off from The Sun. Nine (Hermit) followed by ten (Fortune) and then five (Hierophant), though, would appear to be sloppy or a stumble, or possibly an inability to fit a square peg in a round hole given the demands of the plot. And perhaps that final factor persuaded the author to innovate by turning to the Tree of Life to provide structure for the last two acts.
Zelazny, the poet, enjoyed playing with form. A reckoning, and perhaps a reconciliation, would seem to be due. After all the infighting and mistrust, kindness and cooperation is indeed a reversal.
However that may be, there remains a chapter unaccounted for, and one more act. More on that, as and when.
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