Palazzo Farnese in Viterbo, where the Family’s rise began, stands between the bridge connecting Piazza San Lorenzo and Piazza della Morte [Death Square], which inspired its pairing, in the Arcana of Faul, with card No. XIII. The “coronavirus” plan, which was meant to isolate us, has instead made it possible to build countless bridges connecting all of humanity. That same bridge that Giulia Farnese crossed so many times leads us to the square where the Confraternity of Death once stood, which gave a dignified burial even to those who died alone – just as is happening now.
“Coronavirus” is synonymous with death, but death exists only because we are alive, and it cannot touch our spirit. In order to live better, the truly wise constantly strive to let their prejudices and habitual ways of thinking die. “Knowing how to die” is the secret of the initiate, who, freeing themselves from what is lesser, can rise to touch a state of sublimation. Only in this way can one gain intellectual autonomy, to be born into freedom of thought. This voluntary death frees energies destined to enter new vital conditions. Death allows us to be born, and can only lead us to a rebirth. It is no coincidence that Arcanum No. XIII sits at the centre of the tarot deck, not at the end, inviting us to carry out a profound transformation.
In the cards we see an “active skeleton” mowing the ground to regenerate it, preparing it for a new sowing. This arcanum dominates our ego. It frees us, mowing down every bond of dependency, allowing us to reclaim lost freedom. Black, the colour associated with death, is the creative, generative magma – the depth of the subconscious – which holds the seeds of life. In this void, in this deep mystery, there seems to be no difference between matter and dream. Without matter, death ceases to exist. In the darkness of its being, the skeleton shows a watchful eye, searching for our own, and in this exchange of gazes it makes us understand what a miracle it is to be alive.
This inevitable encounter with the inner shadow, at the service of eternity, invites us to surrender to this transformation, becoming masters of our own “carpe diem”, living it in its infinite immensity. Children, at the start of their life’s journey, without prejudice, cannot interpret the meaning of the card as we adults do, but see in the skull an adventure, as if facing a pirate flag, ready to open secret maps leading to the discovery of a treasure: our inner treasure. Children are not frightened, as we adults are, by the skull, because they already know it carries within it something precious, divine, and this, emerging from the dark depths, comes forth just as our humanity emerges from the mother’s womb. We too are ready to live our own adventure: life.
There is no end without a beginning, no beginning without an end. Even in the realm of ideas, nothing is destroyed, and so we cannot consider dead the concepts to which deep, ever-transforming thoughts are tied. The coronavirus has, against its will, brought back to life questions from a forgotten past that deserve to survive: where do we come from, what are we, where are we going. From the moment we come into the world, death is at our side, and, much like the virus, if we did not have a material body it could not exist.
As the symbolism of death teaches us, we must both accept and fight, at the same time, any human condition, so as never to stop nourishing our spirit. Our vital energy will carry us past this suffering and help us appreciate the importance of a simple sigh, soon to become a sigh of relief.
Just as all treasures are hidden – a bit like the marvellous Etruscan people remained hidden, speaking to us only through the paintings in their tombs – in the same way our land of volcanic origin will soon “awaken”. In this painting I made, you will notice fragments of an egg, symbol of the mystery of life, which in this explosion come to cover the magma, joining with the gold, symbol of spiritual wealth and of an alchemical transformation of our lives that will turn us from lead into pure gold.
There is no end without a beginning, no beginning without an end. Even in the realm of ideas, nothing is destroyed, and so we cannot wish dead the concepts to which they are tied.
