Aries Tarot: The Emperor
For a brief time, around the turn of the last decade (counting from 0-9, of course), I developed an interest in the Tarot. I was drawn more to the symbolism of the cards than to their use in divination, so I was intrigued when another mystically-inclined friend provided me with some research, which included linking specific Tarot cards to astrological signs. This was several years before my interest in astrology reached its peak, but the two sides came full circle when this same friend gifted me a Tarot deck where the traditional symbols are replaced with baseball tropes.
Returning to that research document shows that the card associated with Aries (the current sign) is The Emperor. This card is #4 in the Major Arcana, and its connection with the sign of the Ram is obvious (at least in the traditional Rider/Waite deck), since it depicts a bearded figure sitting on a throne decorated with rams’ heads. In Arthur Edward Waite’s Pictorial Key to the Tarot (which I own, because I’m basic in many ways), the card is described as “executive and realization, the power of this world, here clothed with the highest of its natural attributes.” Pretty standard stuff for a Fire sign like Aries that loves to be in charge.
However, the intellectual side should not be ignored, as Waite points out that the Emperor and the Empress (#3, and not associate with a particular sign) occupy the “intellectual throne. Hereof is the lordship of thought rather than of the animal world.” I don’t know enough about the inner lives of Aries baseball players to make a guess at who sits on the intellectual throne, but the active Aries who best exhibits lordship of strike zone recognition and hitting with power to all fields has to be Miguel Cabrera.
Miggy also comes to mind when you consider the Baseball Tarot’s version of the Emperor: The Legend. This set also came with a book, which not only confirms the zodiacal link with Aries, but summarizes this card as “ Authority – Ambition – An Ideal in Material Form.” The player described by this card “has accumulated accomplishments with an elegance and style that approaches perfection.” They are “honored for a greatness that cannot be calculated by a single feat.” While this could definitely be said of Cabrera (and I’m sure most Aries players think of themselves this way), the most legendary Aries in recent years that comes to mind is probably “King” Felix Hernandez, if only for his swagger alone. I mean, he has an Aries Ram tattooed on his neck!
Next time we’re back to 2006, which is just one year away from another half-decade. My how time flies when you’re doing one year per week! Maybe I’ll consider slowing the pace down as I focus more on lineup tinkering for the current season.