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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 7:41am | IP Logged
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My dh is giving a talk on chastity and wanted to use a holy card that he had seen... ten years ago. 
He thought it had a chastity prayer on the back. The picture on the front had a medieval city with a tower. On the top of the tower was an eyeball. (I can't remember the rest of the description).
He also was looking for an explanation to all the symbolism.
I think it's a shot in the dark to find it. Googling gets you some weird websites. 
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Maryan
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msclavel
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 7:59am | IP Logged
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 Sorry dear, all I can think of is Lord of the Rings and I'm quite certain that is not what he's referring to.
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Lisbet
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:13am | IP Logged
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Maria, A Series of Unfortunate Events came to mind for me...probably not it...
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:32am | IP Logged
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Those are comments that I gave him: "Are you *sure* this is a holy card???"
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Maryan
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Sparrow
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:42am | IP Logged
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msclavel wrote:
| Sorry dear, all I can think of is Lord of the Rings and I'm quite certain that is not what he's referring to. |
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That was my first thought, too!
OP, I tried doing a web search but couldn't turn anything up. Good luck!
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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Now that I've had my breakfast and caffeine I'll hit my books.
Was the city/tower enclosed, and dominant features as a whole, or is the tower the main focus?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Mary G
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:50am | IP Logged
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Sounds like a representation of the Tower of Ivory from the Litany of Loreto? Could that be it?
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:57am | IP Logged
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Hmmm... both good questions. I'll call him to see if he'll give me a better description.
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Maryan
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 9:09am | IP Logged
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Okay -- he says it was a monastic like enclosed city with the tower rising from it with the eye. And the eye looked out into the distance of the valley and the hills... at least I think that's what he said. He was in a athletic meeting talking softly... and it's just a rule here -- if I'm on the phone, everyone under two starts fussing. So I think I missed some of the description again.
Thanks for the help!
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Maryan
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 10:23am | IP Logged
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Maryan,
I have nothing conclusive, but doing a little search around here's what I think.
I think it's a symbol of Mary, her Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation or her purity and chastity (or all of the above). The enclosed city and tower are symbols of her (Tower of David, Tower of Ivory, City of God).
The eye troubles me, as it usually stands for either God's omniscience, the all-seeing God, God the Father or the majority symbol is the Trinity (especially if surrounded by a triangle).
Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art -- tower
eye
Tower: More than one legend tells of a daughter shut in a tower by her father to discourage her suitors. It is hence a symbol of chastity and the attribute of Barbara, whose tower often had three windows. As an attribute of the Virgin of the Annunciation and of the Immaculate Conception, the tower likewise symbolizes chastity. Danae and chastity personified are both depicted confined in a tower. The walled crown of Cybele may resemble a tower.
Another source
This book, Hail Mary!, I found with references to the titles of Mary and symbolism like the holy card. See
Symbolical.
The numbers refer to these References.
Or it could simply be a symbolic card of St. Barbara. Instead of three windows on the tower (did it have windows in the tower?) which symbolize the Trinity, the eye could be the symbol of that.
I love puzzles like this, but I wish I could come up with a resounding answer. I searched all my books and on the web and couldn't find a similar image. But I'll keep trying later. Right now I have a little boy who wants a nap.
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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Thanks Jenn! That's a big help -- most of my googling led me to tarot cards.
I did find a bunch of medieval holy cards at one site... but nothing like Dan described. So your descriptions of the symbols are great!
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Maryan
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 10:58am | IP Logged
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Maryan, Was this an antique holy card or something newer he saw 10 years ago?
I have some tagged sites here that might be worth writing to some of them or perusing their images to see if Dan could match it up.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 11:25am | IP Logged
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He wasn't sure. His impression was that it was an older card, but he's not sure if that's because of the picture... or the age of the card. But he definitely saw it about ten years ago (give or take a year) and hasn't seen it since!
Jenn thanks for the links -- I'll pass them onto Dan to see if he recognizes something! Or even a style or time period??
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Maryan
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KC in TX
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| Posted: April 29 2008 at 8:53pm | IP Logged
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Ooh, how interesting. Jenn, you are such a fount of information!!! I can't wait to hear how it all turns out.
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Know this holy card??
