Darkness: If it has to have a divinatory meaning, it should represent concealment and hidden forces. Even the Trolls acknowledge the power of darkness in this respect or else they would hardly honour Subere.
The trouble with trying to use Gloranthan symbolism on a RW Tarot is that Greg deliberately played mix-and-match with a lot of fundamental symbols when he created the place. If Yelm and Orlanth are intended to embody Fire and Air, then in terms of RW occult tradition I'd have to say that Greg got them back to front. The Moon has different responsibilities as well - unless there's something about female biology on Glorantha that no one bothered to tell me.
On the other hand, there are a lot of symbols in the Tarot that can be expressed strongly in Gloranthan terms. I'd need to think about some of the cards a bit more, but here's a few that spring to mind.
The Fool: Grandfather Mortal
The main characteristic of the fool is innocence or naievety - with the
prospect of sudden change or confusion always lurking in the background.
7 - The Chariot: Arkat, the First Hero.
Irrsistable triumph, or the force that ride roughshod over others.
20 - Judgment: I Fought, We Won
Judgment Day in the RW deck. The culmination of a sequence of events.
Both the highest and lowest point.
21 - The World: Dawn (the start of Time) The beginning of a new cycle
Another obvious one is Zzabur as the magician, but it doesn't fit in my mind. Zzabur is too old, and too steeped in his power. He'd make a much better figure for the Emperor with his four-square domination of the world through reason and logic. At the same time, Yelm seems a likely candidate for the heirophant. The magician is more of an Orlanth figure if anything - young, filled with power and prey to the recklessness that power brings to the inexperienced.
For the Devil, I'd nominate not Wakboth but Gbaji since the devils function in the pack is that of the tempter.
Other thoughts:
Elemental influence is perhaps best indicated through the positions in a
spread rather than through the cards themselves.
I think trying to stick each card with a single rune is too limiting.
Has anyone come up with a way of usefully 'casting' Gloranthan runes?
That's lunchtime done - back to work.
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