Okay, so here’s a little somthing I noticed in my latest watch-through of Princess and the Frog:
In the song “Friends on the Other Side”, Dr. Facilier reads the tarot fortunes of Naveen and Lawrence. Out of the six cards shown (eight if you count cards changing) five of them have numbers on the top. In the tarot, these numbers indicate the card’s meaning, and if you look closely the cards actually foreshadow what’s about to happen in the movie.
First Card: Naveen’s personality
This card is the fifteenth arcana: The Devil. Meaning: Pettiness, Blindness, that which is predestined but is not for this reason evil.
The card refers to Naveen’s nature (as we’ve already seen) being carefree and flirtatious. He’s inconsiderate, but not out of cruelty.
Second Card: Naveen being cut off
This card is the sixteenth arcana: The Tower. Meaning: Misery, Calamity, Tragedy.
This one is obvious. It’s the “great tragedy” of Naveen being cut off. Even though he rightfully deserved it, the card is appealing to Naveen’s perspective of the even being a sudden disaster.
Third Card: Naveen marrying Charlotte
This card is the ninth arcana: The Hermit. Meaning: Concealment, Disguise, Prudence.
This one depicts Naveen going through with marrying Charlotte, and the arcana explains what that entails for him. To marry her would mean Naveen must conceal his true nature to attain safety in finance, which is obviously what his character’s beginning conflict is.
Fourth Card: Naveen being given both wealth and freedom
This card is the most interesting because of the arcana used: The Fool. Meaning: Folly, Wavering, Carelessness.
This is the perfect arcana to use for this card, because this card is a lie. The image is a lure for Naveen to accept Dr. Facilier’s help, and it doesn’t show what the resulting spell really entails. The Fool is used because Naveen’s acceptance of the card’s promises is a mistake.
(On a separe, un-tarot-related note, the spotlight on Naveen is in the shape of a lilly pad. Cute, Disney.)
Fifth Card: Lawrence’s Tarot
The card is the tenth arcana: The Wheel of Fortune. Meaning: Elevation, Success, Unexpected Luck.
This is the only number used on any of Lawrence’s cards, but it’s the one that foreshadows the most. The card doesn’t indicate what’s happened to Lawrence, but what’s about to happen. It indicates “elevation” (Lawrence taking Naveen’s place and whooing Charlotte). The card, like Naveen’s, is meant to tempt Lawrence to Facilier’s side.
(All in all, these are just even more little reasons this movie and Disney in general is so genius. I mean, seriously, there’s so much detail!)
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