It’s got the whole world in its claws…
This week’s Harrow card, The Tyrant, has the whole world in its grasp. The card shows a gigantic blue dragon, it’s body circled around a small globe. The dragon has its claws deep in the globe itself, causing it to bleed profusely.
While The Tyrant is one of the simplest Harrow cards in terms of visuals, it can be seen as one of the heaviest and most meaningful. The sight of a dragon digging its claws into the world is certainly enough to give anyone pause. Despite this display of physical might, the card is part of the suit of Crowns, meaning that it’s tied to charisma, the ability to project ourselves into the world and realize our place in it.
This means that while the card can represent a very real and tyrannical authority figure, The Tyrant’s true power lies in its ability to latch onto our sense of self and purpose, dictating our behavior instead of allowing us to define it ourselves. The card is aligned Lawful Evil, the alignment of dictators and cruel taskmasters. The Tyrant is an unmerciful being, an oppressive and destabilizing force. It can seem just as cruel if not even more so if The Tyrant itself isn’t aware of how others are affected by its behavior.
