Thor`s Hammer and the Indo-European Tarot

It was brought to my attention the other day by a folk comrade that the Eyrarland Thor statue from Iceland features Thor holding a hammer which not only resembles the Foss hammer[see Further Reflections on the Icelandic Wolf`s Hammer and The Icelandic Wolf Hammer articles on my Die Armananschaft der Ario-Germanen blog] but also the club suit of a deck of playing cards. This got me thinking about the esoteric significance of playing cards apart from the Tarot variety. Back in the 1950s after my mother had settled in this country from her native Nieder Sachsen in Germany from time to time she would use normal playing cards for the purposes of divination, something which my father disapproved of. We tend to think of these cards as purely a game but they can of course be used for divination and I dare say as meditation aids although the Tarot is more suited for this purpose. There is a difference of opinion as to whether the Tarot is derived from the standard playing cards that we are familiar with today or whether this is the other way around. I believe that it is significant that playing cards and the Tarot can be used for both the purposes of divination and gambling. Of course the Tarot is more associated with divination and has been developed that way. Gambling and divination were inextricably liked in the culture of the ancient Teutons. Games of dice were very popular and these too had divinatory functions. This is best expressed in the Perthro/Peord rune which Edred Thorsson ascribes the meaning of this rune as `lot-cup` which it does indeed resemble. The Old English Rune Poem states of Perd:

"Perd is always play and laughter among bold men, where the warriors sit in the beer hall, happily together."

Thorsson in Runecaster`s Handbook states:

"First, you must understand that there was very little difference between the techniques and tools of runecasting and those of simple gambling. Second, you must realize that gambling was an absolute passion among the Germanic[and even Indo-European] peoples."

Tacitus in his Germania also draws attention to the Germanic warrior`s love of gambling. Thorsson also likens the `beer hall` as

"a place where sacrificial drink is consumed."

To the Germanic and Indo-Germanic Maennerbund the consumption of beer and the use of `gambling` tools were aids in the process of both divination and spiritual awakening. The use of alcohol or other intoxicants should not in my opinion be available for the general masses who do not know how to handle them but should be reserved for initiates as part of their spiritual and magical workings just as in times past the Soma/Haoma was reserved for the Indo-Aryan and Iranian priestly caste. If society was to heed this message it would be saved a great deal of grief in alcohol or drug addictions, crime and anti-social behaviour: these foods are simply not meant for them and they are consequently misused. The mead of Woden is reserved for His Einheriar. Guido von List believed that the Armanenschaft whilst undergoing persecution from xtian clerics safeguarded their ancient lore by entrusting it to rabbis in the 8th century CE Rheinland. This lore was the origin of the hebrew Kabbalah which is nothing other than a plagiarism of Aryan mystical teaching. It is significant that the anagram of Tarot is Torat, not too dissimilar to Tora[h]. My readers I am sure will be aware that the entire bible, both Old and New Testaments are also a plagiarism and degeneration of Aryan teaching and mythology. They can produce nothing original, nothing new so their rabbis steal the teachings of other peoples, most notably from the Aryan peoples. The suits of a modern deck of playing cards consist of the following: Clubs-symbol of Thor`s Hammer. Spades-symbol of Gungnir, spear of Woden. Hearts-symbol of Freyja. Diamonds-symbol of Ing. The Italian version of Clubs is symbolised literally by a truncheon-like club which like the hammer and the axe was a symbol of the German Thunder God, Donar-from Donner=thunder. Amongst the southern German tribes the wearing of a Donarkeule as a symbol of the God was quite common and this symbol is also liked to the Greek demi-god Heracles, whom Tacitus stated in his Germania the Germans worshipped. There may also be an association of Tarot with Tara, an Aryan Goddess worshiped by the Roma who originated in India. This name also features as a mother Goddess in Irish mythology and gave Her name to the sacred centre of Ireland at Tara where the Irish High Kings were crowned. In future articles I intend to explore the Aryan archetypes found within the Major Arcana.