The Empress and the Magician.
His body was covered by tunic and mantle in contrasting colors and his waist was girded by an enigmatic belt in the shape of a snake. The fame that preceded him filled his every word with astounding power. He guarded arcane knowledge. He knew the mysteries of the sun, the moon and the stars, also of death, but he had the reputation of being fundamentally a masterful predictor of the future.
The emperor, aware of the magician's fame, had his throne surrounded by the symbols of his great fortune, his military strength and his ability to pass sentence on life and death. Astonishing possessions showed how the knowledge of the wise men, sifted by the approval of the hierophant, reached him, summarized in objects of art.
The emperor was a man of good taste. When the Magician arrived in the royal room he was greeted by a very fine sculpture: A pillar stood low and on it a graceful turtle seemed to swim. On its shell stood four elephants which in turn carried on their backs an immense plate on which mountains, trees and animals stood out. It was a representation of how the planet earth stood in the immensity of the universe.
After the obligatory bow, which in the case of the Magician became a demonstration of exquisite politeness, the magician awaited the gesture with which the Emperor authorized him to speak to him.
"I see my Emperor that besides being the most generous, wealthy and omnipotent ruler you keep up to date in matters of science." He said, pointing to the beautiful sculpture.
The Emperor reacted to the compliment with a discreet but evident smile. The Empress, at his side, turned her expressionless face to look at him.
"Your fame precedes you, seer. I wanted to greet you with an object that might motivate you. The wise men have concluded that the earth is but a plate floating in space supported by four elephants, which are mounted upon an immense tortoise, which has been swimming since the beginning of time in a sea of milk. All this sounds to my ears in a very logical way, and does not contradict the views of the church. But I want to ask you a question: Tell me, Wizard. What can you tell us about what we do not see? What happens when we get to the edge of the big plate, what is there after the end of the world? Tell us about that, Magician!
The magician was evidently a man of the world. He identified, from the attire, the figure of the hierophant, the high priest of the court, and that of the priestess, the one in charge of the rituals in the temple.
"We all know the final destiny of every man. If he is cautious and just he will ascend to heaven where he will live among rivers of honey, forever forgetting sweat and pain. But if in his heart there is room for doubt and nonconformity he will fall straight to hell." He said in a way that everyone considered correct. His answer seemed convincing to all. To all but the Empress.
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Her expressionless face contrasted with the interest the Wizard's words aroused in the others. Her raised brow as she spoke to the Wizard denoted a form of contempt.
The wizard, made a gesture. Out of nowhere, a bouquet of delicate flowers appeared in his hand. From nowhere also the atmosphere was filled with an exquisite aroma that caused murmurs of admiration from the audience.
May I, Imperial Majesty, approach your Empress to present her with this humble gift? asked the magician.
The emperor nodded with a roll of his eyes. Then something happened that no history records.
The moment he stood in front of the Empress the Magician executed a hypnotic maneuver. The sounds ceased, a thick fog enveloped those present, paralyzing them. A mysterious light took hold of the entire superb enclosure while a spotlight focused on the Empress who, more and more astonished, remained immune to the enchantment.
Before her the magician, with prodigious skill, unfolded a deck of cards.
On the skirt of the monarch the figures fell, one by one, while the magician read, with them the future to the beautiful woman.
"One day you will meet the Fool. Your life, gray and monotonous, though full of riches, will be filled with unimaginable colors. With the Fool you will travel the world. You will live unimagined adventures and you will recover your laughter. Look at this card: it is the card of lovers. It is your destiny to change the world, it says so. You will go from being a dissatisfied and imprisoned child to knowing the world, to its ends. You will achieve what has been forbidden to you because you are a woman, knowledge, free judgment and freedom."
The Empress took with her delicate hands the colorful cards, amazed at the prodigy she saw, little by little a light of illusion appeared in her eyes and the cold and distant gesture disappeared from her countenance.
"The wheel of fortune will take you far away, you will see what, as an empress, you have never seen, poverty, temptation, but none of that will cloud your star. Look, here is the star. At some point you will be the Star. It is you, Empress, who will fill the universe with fertility and hope.
In this way, with time standing still, the Magician placed twenty-two cards on the Empress's regal skirt.
We do not know how long the task took him, but when he finished, the Empress was a different person. She had let down her hair, and a youthful air rejuvenated her face. The magician finally collected the cards and handing them to her in a deck, gave her the task of teaching the tarot to all the women of the court. The Empress accepted the task. Before her eyes the paths had opened and she saw herself putting the world back together, making it less rigid, more livable.
When the Magician allowed time to pass, the Empress was grateful, with a broad smile, for the bouquet of flowers received from the Magician, while she secretly caressed the deck of cards that contained the explanation of the arcana of the world.
These were dark times and no one, neither the Emperor, nor the hierophant, nor the priestess, no one, stopped to wonder how the magician had managed to get a smile out of the Empress. On the contrary, everyone wanted to know about the dragons living in the center of the earth and about the cosmic serpents.
