#lemniscate

Lemniscate II

My friend Merry asked me to draw this while we were playing through AI the Somnium Files. And I finally found some time after working six days straight at work. 

Might finish later… if my brain is still here after my final final exam 🫠

Cum hoc Munere Vos Honoro, o Vos Feri Lemniscate Numina!

The #lemniscate, or infinity symbol as many of us know it, is a sideways 8 that we see appear in a few cards of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot. It is commonly seen as symbolizing infinity, eternity or anything that increases without limitations.  There is also a natural flowing aesthetic of ups and downs which makes it easy to connect to the ever changing nature or life with all its unexpected twists and turns. From a central point, the lemniscate divergences into the four directions and then an ultimate looping back around and converging again in the centre. This could represent the many paths one can take in life but remembering we all ultimately return to the essence; the manifesting for the four elements and their ultimate dissolution back into oneness. ‘All things issue from it; all things return to it.’ -Tao Teh Ching ‘And to It shall we return’ - Quran In the Magician, a card of initiative and potential in itself, this symbol appears alongside his ouroboros belt 🐍 a symbol with very similar meanings of infinity / death and rebirth. We see the lemniscate above the head of the young maiden in the Strength card; perhaps suggesting the unlimited potential of gentleness in comparison to force. We also see it in the World, looped as red ribbons around the laurel wreath. This is appropriate because the word lemniscate comes from the Greek ‘lemniscatus’ meaning, ‘decorated by ribbons’. The symbol makes sense in this card as it is the culmination of the Fool’s journey that comes with a sense of completion and wholeness, and another new beginning. Perhaps the lemniscate’s most interesting placement is on the Two of Pentacles. Here, it is clearly a symbol of finding balance in the ups and downs life throws at us. It has also opened this card up to encouraging interpretations for me. Brining in the symbols sense of potential and limitlessness, the Two of Pentacles indicates something is ‘challenging but possible.’

Saturday, September 23, 12:50 AM Mountain Time / 2:50 AM Eastern Time