The World is a trump

Trump Card

Trump Card was an American syndicated game show that aired from September 10, 1990 to September 6, 1991 and was hosted by Jimmy Cefalo. Debi Massey served as hostess and Chuck Reilly was the announcer. The show was produced by Telepictures Productions, Createl, Ltd., & Fiedler-Berlin Productions...

 or Major Arcana

Major Arcana

The Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...

 card in the tarot

Tarot (disambiguation)

*Tarot, card decks used for divinatory and esoteric/occult purposes and for trick-taking games**Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot, divinatory and esoteric/occult uses**Tarot, tarock and tarocchi games, a family of trick taking card games...

 deck. It is usually the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence. In the tarot family of card games, this card is usually worth five points.

Description

A naked woman hovers or dances above the Earth holding a staff in each hand, surrounded by a green wreath, being watched by various creatures. In older decks, these are usually a human face or head, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, the symbols of the four Evangelists

Four Evangelists

In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...

, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It also holds reference to the vision of Ezekiel

Ezekiel

Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...

 of the "throne" or "chariot" of God in the Old Testament. The four figures in the corners of the card are also referenced in the Book of Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

, 4:7, where the throne of God is described: "And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."

Later decks avoid such overt Christian symbolism, or ignore it altogether, choosing to explain these observers as representatives of the natural world, or the kingdom of beasts. According to astrological tradition, the Lion is Leo

Leo (astrology)

Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Leo. In astrology, Leo is considered to be a "masculine", positive sign. It is also considered a fire sign and is one of four fixed signs ruled by the Sun.Individuals born when the Sun is in this sign are...

, a fire sign; the Bull or calf is Taurus

Taurus (astrology)

Taurus is the second astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the 30th and 59th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between April 21 to May 21 each year...

, an earth sign; the Man is Aquarius, an air sign; and the Eagle is Scorpio

Scorpio (astrology)

|Infobox align="right" style="border:3px solid white;"||style="text-align: center;"|Scorpio is the eighth astrological sign in the Zodiac, which spans the zodiac between the 210th and 239th degree of celestial longitude. Generally, the Sun transits this area of the zodiac between 24 October and...

, a water sign. These signs also represent the classical four elements

Classical element

Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...

.

In some decks the wreath is an ouroborous biting its own tail. In the Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...

, this card is called "The Universe."

Interpretation

The World represents an ending to a cycle of life, a pause in life before the next big cycle beginning with the fool. The figure is at once male and female

Hermaphrodite

In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...

, above and below, suspended between the heavens and the earth. It is completeness. It is also said to represent cosmic consciousness; the potential of perfect union with the One Power of the universe. It tells us full happiness is also to give back to the world, sharing what we have learned or gained.

According to Robert M. Place in his book The Tarot, the four beasts on the World card represent the fourfold structure of the physical world, which frames the sacred center of the world, a place where the divine can manifest. Sophia, meaning Prudence

Prudence

Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four Cardinal virtues .The word comes from Old French prudence , from Latin...

 or Wisdom (the dancing woman in the center), is spirit or the sacred center, the fifth element

Aether (classical element)

According to ancient and medieval science aether , also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.-Mythological origins:...

. It is the fourth of the Cardinal virtues

Cardinal virtues

In Christian traditionthere are 4 cardinal virtues:*Prudence - able to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time*Justice - proper moderation between self-interest and the rights and needs of others...

 in the Tarot. The World card is thus a symbol of the goal of mystical seekers. The lady in the center is its symbol. In some older decks, this central figure is Christ, in others it is Hermes. Whenever it comes up, this card represents what is truly desired.

Divination usage

In the early twentieth century, A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern tarot interpretations. However, not all interpretations follow his beliefs. Tarot decks used for divination are interpreted according to personal experience and standards.

Some frequent keywords used by tarot readers are:

Fulfillment Accomplishment / Success Integration Involvement

Prospering Satisfaction / Repleteness Contentment / Good feelings Wholeness

Popular culture

• The World serves as the final boss in the video game The House of the Dead 4
  The House of the Dead 4
  The House of the Dead 4 is a light gun arcade game with a horror theme and the fourth installment of the House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Sega. The game is an interquel and takes place between the events of The House of the Dead 2 and The House of the Dead III, and introduced...
  
   and appears as an insect-like humanoid with the power of cryokinesis. As it is attacked its body warms and adapts to more advanced forms. All bosses in The House of The Dead games 1-4 are named after cards from the Major Arcana
  Major Arcana
  The Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...
  
  .
• The main antagonist of the first and third series of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
  JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
  is a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha, first ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before being transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004. The current story...
  
  , Dio Brando, is the wielder of The World, a powerful Stand
  Stand
  Stand may refer to:*Stand, Greater Manchester, a residential area in the Metropolitan Borough of Manchester, England*A partnership in cricket*STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition...
  
   that enables him to stop time. It was named after this tarot card.
• In the video game Persona 4, The World is a standalone arcana that isn't represented by any Social Links and only has the one Persona, Izanagi-no-Okami, the game's penultimate Persona. In Persona 3 the protagonist uses the universe arcana in the fight against the final boss.
• In the SNES video game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
  Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
  is a 1993 real-time strategy role-playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, directed by Yasumi Matsuno with artwork by Akihiko Yoshida...
  
  , the World Tarot card depicts a woman wearing a white robe, with the heads of the four creatures (human, eagle, calf, lion) right behind and beside her. On drawing the card after liberation of one of the towns, it makes all allied units be affected by drawn Tarot cards for the rest of the stage, and also makes allied characters be immune to magic when used in battle.

External links

• New Catholic Dictionary: symbols of the evangelists
• The World from Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners - Joan Bunning
• The World -"fulfillment and completeness"- how to interpret this card