The Greater Part of Life is Sunshine

But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine. – Thomas Jefferson

Sun Card from the Touchstone Tarot

The Sun card is exactly what you would think: Success, happiness, achievement of goals and dreams. The sort of feeling you get when everything seems to be going your way. Standing in the sunshine, basking in the wonderful warmth and life-giving light. With spring around the corner we should all be seeing more sun (well, most of us. Maybe not here in the Northwest for awhile yet). The card speaks of more than literal sunshine, it’s dreams coming to fruition, joy. Like the innocent baby merrily sitting astride the lovely white pony, sunflowers reaching to the sky, we’re about to experience abundance, strength, vitality.

White horses have been long held as sacred in many cultures, and heroes and gods and goddesses were often described as riding white horses. Even Gandalf’s horse in “The Lord of the Rings”, Shadowfax, lord of all horses, was white.

So, saddle up my friends. Brighter days are coming.

Edvard Munch’s “Vampire”

The truth is, Munch did not title this painting “Vampire.” He called it “Love and Pain” and it was only later that it picked up the name and interpretation of a man locked in a vampire’s embrace. Munch maintained it was nothing more than a woman kissing a man on the neck. The Nazis declared it morally ‘degenerate.’ I’m not sure what they saw in it that I don’t. I see a man in anguish, arms around his love, while she tries to comfort him. Perhaps she is laying her face on his shoulder even. Some thought it was about his visits to prostitutes, yet others saw it as some sort of macabre fantasy about the death of his favorite sister. Evidently Munch remained ambiguous about the deeper meaning behind it.

It was considered shocking when it was unveiled, somehow people saw sado-masochism in it. Maybe it’s too subtle for me, or I’m too naïve, but I’m not seeing that either. Women’s liberation? Maybe it’s her loose red hair and red dress that mark her as a siren. The darkness surrounding them, and the man’s own black clothing make her stand out all the more. But is it really shocking today?

Munch completed four of these during 1893 – 1894, and in 2008, the version pictured above (apparently the most significant of the four versions) was auctioned off publicly after being in the hands of a private collector for 70 years. It was estimated it would sell for $35m, but I haven’t been able to find out the final sale price.

Here’s another version, where her dress is either black or not depicted. The room around them is lighter, as if a small candle burns behind them.

Whatever they were intended to depict, they’re mesmerizing. It has been widely reproduced, you can even get it on a coffee mug.

UPDATE: 9/8/2011

And a third version: