Rush and Tarot

Canadian trio RUSH have been thrilling fans for over 30 years with their unique blend of prog-rock and cerebral lyrics. In a year's time, drummer and lyricist Neil Peart suffered dual tragedies: in 1997, his only daughter, Selena, died in a car wreck on her way to begin college; a year later, his inconsolable wife, Jackie, died of cancer.

Many RUSH fans wondered if Neil would ever go back to making music--and if RUSH would continue. Fortunately, Neil returned in 2002--penning both a memoir detailing his healing journey and the lyrics to the CD Vapor Trails.  In his memoir Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Neil relates his 14-month, 55,000 mile trip on a motorcycle in search for a reason to live. Interestingly, Neil describes an accurate Tarot card reading he received in California, even using Tarot himself while reading Tarot for Dummies--with equally good results.

The liner notes to the Vapor Trails CD features thirteen Tarot card images--one card to each song:

• One Little Victory - Knight of Wands
• Ceiling Unlimited - The Star
• Ghost Rider - Wheel of Fortune
• Peaceable Kingdom - The Tower
• The Stars Look Down - The Chariot
• How It Is - The Hanged Man
• Vapor Trail - 6 of Swords
• Secret Touch - The Hermit
• Earthshine - The Lovers
• Sweet Miracle - Ace of Cups
• Nocturne - The Moon
• Freeze (Part IV of Fear) - 8 of Swords
• Out of the Cradle - The Fool

Peaceable Kingdom is especially replete with Tarot imagery, as you can see with these lyrics:

Justice against the hanged man
Knight of Wands against the hour
Swords against the kingdom
Time against the tower

All this time we're shuffling and laying out all our cards
While a billion other dealers are slipping past our guards
All this time we're hoping and praying we all might learn
While a billion other teachers are teaching them how to burn

Dream of a peaceable kingdom
Dream of a time without war
The ones we wish would hear us
Have heard it all before

A wave toward the clearing sky
A wave toward the clearing sky

The hermit against the lovers
Or the devil against the fool
Swords against the kingdom
The wheel against the rules

I found it odd that the liner notes attribute all "art direction, paintings, and portraits" to Hugh Syme (the Dali-esque artist who has done all of the RUSH album covers except one)--especially since Pamela Coleman Smith's initials are still embedded in the images! (Don't tell Stuart...)

One of the Vapor Trails tour shirts features a large image of the "face in the Moon" (found on the Rider-Waite-Smith Moon card) encircled by T-A-R-O-T (Wheel of Fortune card) . Fortunately, I snagged a red one last year--and it's a good thing I did, because I can't locate these T-shirts anywhere on the web right now.

I don't believe I've ever heard Tarot references in RUSH's other CD's (I have 15 of their CDs and 3 DVD compilations), but I will say one thing: every time I listen to their music, Tarot cards dance in my head! I've been known to spend hours writing in my Tarot journal while listening to their music, specifically correlating lyrics/songs to the cards.

If you're unfamiliar with RUSH, you can listen to their music 24/7 at RushRadio.org (Look for the yellow LISTEN NOW link on the left-hand side under Station Stats.)

© --  Janet Boyer

Comments

[Moonchild]

Hey, Janet--fellow Rush fan!
I've also found lots of Tarot vibe in Rush, esp. in Roll the Bones. I've been a little behind on the news, and I'm really looking forward to getting this CD. Thanks for posting this!

[Oakie]

Hi,

What a great article on Rush and tarot! As a big fan of both, I was very pleased to read it.

Brian

[Superconductor]

Janet, awesome article. Just to clear something up though, Neil's daughter's name is Selena, and his wife's is Jackie.

[Mark]

Wow! What a fantastic trip down memory lane ... and an intriguing update, to boot!

Now, in addition to wanting to "rush" to my office and do some readings, I've also got "Today's Tom Sawyer" stuck in my head. :)

Thanks for the post!

[Janet]

Hey Moonchild! ^5

Thanks Brian and Superconductor! SC, you're absolutely right. That's what happens when you craft an article off the fly at around 4 AM... O_o I even spelled Neil's name wrong! Geez... It's fixed now, though.

Mark, Moving Pictures was my first Rush (or rock!) cassette. I had to beg my Mom to get it... Incindentally, it was Tom Sawyer that originally hooked me on Rush!

[Mimers]

Fellow Rush fanatic here. been a fan since high school. Neil Peart's lyrics have always drawn me in. Some are funny, some are spiritual, we get some politics, etc, but I was so delighted when this cd came out. I am looking forward to the next one. Roomer is it will be this year.

[Janet]

Hi Mimers! That's what I heard, too. Can't wait to see what they're servin' up for 2007! I was even surprised to hear that they may tour for the next CD. Sheesh...what stamina! (Or gluttons for punishment...)