Bat's Eye View

From the Tarot of the Masters, the King of Swords; from the Key to the Kingdom, the Ace of Clubs:

          Saul/Paul of Tarsus (pictured here) was a Pharisee - a member of a Jewish sect that believed in strict observance of the traditional and written law. This educated man was well-known for his attempt to stamp out converts to the new Jewish sect of Christians. Legend has it that on the way to Damascus to persecute and imprison more of these new upstarts, he had a vision of Jesus than changed his entire moral and ethical view. He then became a Christian zealot, intent on spreading the Christian message. The original painting shows Paul reading with his conversion in the left background and his beheading in the right background. Painters often showed men of great knowledge and wisdom as balding with a high forehead. I imagine he is rolling over in his grave now because many of the books in the bible attributed to him were not written by him (and contain things he would probably disagree with). His story reminds me that all of us often act on the knowledge we have at the moment, whether it is factual or not. The Ace of Clubs is paired with this children's verse:

Bat, bat, come under my hat,

And I'll give you a slice of bacon;

And when I bake,

I'll give you a cake,

If I'm not mistaken. 

In Germany, the word for bat is speckmaus, literally "bacon mouse." It's likely the name came from the way sides of bacon were suspended from the ceiling - similar to how bats roost. Bats definitely have a different view hanging upside down, yet they also rely on echolocation to "see" rather than just their eyes. Both these cards remind me to take a wide perspective today and not rely only on what I know personally.