Postumio Art and Meaning
About the Deck
The oldest complete tarot deck we possess, and one of the only early decks to be fully illustrated.
It is by no means certain, but it has been alleged that the Sola Busca tarot deck was commissioned to honor Alfonso d'Este on the occasion of his wedding to Anna Sforza, granddaughter of Bianca Maria Visconti.
Provenance
Italy, c.1491.
Meaning of Postumio from the Sola Busca Tarot Deck
Upright
Military or physical prowess.
Reversed
Loss due to betrayal.
According to Many Schools of Thought
A. E. Waite's Secondary Meanings
The High Priestess, the Pope Joan, or Female Pontiff; early expositors have sought to term this card the Mother, or Pope's Wife, which is opposed to the symbolism. It is sometimes held to represent the Divine Law and the Gnosis, in which case the Priestess corresponds to the idea of the Shekinah. She is the Secret Tradition and the higher sense of the instituted Mysteries.
S. L. MacGregor Mathers's Divinatory Meanings
Upright
Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education
Reversed
Conceit, Ignorance, Unskilfulness, Superficial Knowledge.
Papus's Divinatory Meanings
Female Inquirer.