Hi all. It's a short answer with a very long explanation, so get a beverage and make yourself comfortable.

Alrighty then.

Coming up with an answer requires first figuring out what the question is. The order of band member names listed in the credits is the same order their photos appear in after the title page, with Danny first. Actually Danny’s detail picture is the first image in the puzzle sequence and in it we see his Tarot deck featured prominently. The cards are fanned out toward the viewer with the card on top of the deck almost separated.

My theory is that the question presented by the artwork is, "Which Tarot card is on top of the deck in Danny's picture, begging to be flipped over?"

I bet they even took a photo of it flipped, to show us when the puzzle is solved.

Answer: ATU VI, The Lovers.

Why this card? Maybe that's the next nut to crack. But once you know what you’re looking for, the whole thing becomes a simple matter of consulting your handy copy of Crowley’s 777, or any other table of Cabalistic correspondences. It’s very traditional Cabalistic symbolism, and I wouldn’t expect anything else from a puzzle that Danny Carey had a hand in.

Not every item in the photos is related to the puzzle. Most of it is just reflective of the band member’s personal interests. But in each photo there are embedded clues which together point clearly to Tarot Trump 6.

In Cabala, everything in nature is related to other things, which are seen to have the same energetic qualities, (colors, animals, stones, plants, planets, incense, etc.). These are organized by the Tree of Life diagram seen on the wall behind Danny and are encoded in the tarot. That’s your crash course.

Each tarot card is related to a path on the tree. Trump card VI, the Lovers or Brothers is path 17, connecting the sphere of Tiphareth to the sphere of Binah.

The clues (or some of them, anyway):

In Danny’s frame we see orchids everywhere, the plant cabalistically attributed to the seventeenth path. When I asked Blair about it, he tried to make them seem insignificant, mocking me about how next, I’ll ask what they had for lunch. Nice try.

The Lovers card is ruled by Gemini, the twins and the Hebrew letter Zayin, which means, ‘sword’. In Danny’s photo there are two skulls facing each other (twins), and two daggers (swords).

Justin’s frame shows us either a cinereous vulture or a black eagle--I’m not sure which. This stark picture is the toughest one to extract the symbolism from, but if it’s a vulture, then it relates to the sephira Binah, also known as the Great Mother. In Egyptian myth, the Vulture is sacred to the goddess Maat, and according to wikkipedia:

“In Southern Africa, the name for a Nubian Vulture is synonymous with the term applied to lovers, because these vultures are always seen in pairs, mother and child remaining closely bonded together. Pairing, bonding, protecting, and loving are essential attributes associated with the vulture's size and its ability to soar high up in the sky. The Egyptians considered the vulture an excellent mother, and its wide wingspan was seen as all-encompassing and providing a protective cover to its infants”

Or, if it’s an eagle, there is an eagle on the Lovers card, but its opposite is the lion, as always in alchemy, and I can’t find a lion in the artwork.

But I bet the incense smoke in the air that starts in Justin’s photo and fills the room in Maynard’s photo is wormwood, the scent of the 17th path.

Maynard's photo makes the twin symbolism of Gemini more overt with two phones, two glasses of wine two boxes, and reflected in the mirror, twins of himself and the woman. The woman caresses the phallic Empire State building, which reminds us of the missing twin towers. She then touches Maynard's skull to impregnate it with the fetus we see in the skull elsewhere. She represents the divine mother, Binah and the fetus represents the child, the son or sun of Tiphareth. Maybe this next bit goes too far because I think not everything in the photos is part of the puzzle, but maybe the reason the wine was bottled in 1963 is because that's the year Maynard was conceived.

The alphabet of daggers used in the poster doesn’t reveal much in translation, but the alphabet itself, made up essentially of swords is another reference to the sword Zayin, identified with this tarot card. In Crowley’s ‘The Vision and the Voice’ this alphabet appears in the vision of the 19th Aether in which the Priestess of the Silver Star, “catches me up to her as a mother catches her babe, and holds me up in her left arm, and sets my lips to her breast. And upon her breast is written: Rosa Mundi est Lilium Coeli.”

The priestess in Maynard’s picture seems to be offering her breast to his mouth. The phrase means, “the rose of earth is the lily of heaven.” Which Crowley commented on as meaning “Malkuth is Binah.” Pretty esoteric, but another reference to the sphere that the 17th path connects to.

Adam's photo shows a magpie, which according to 777 is the animal correspondence for path 17, Trump 6. The light fixtures on the wall behind Adam are also arranged in relation to each other in the same positions as Binah and Tiphareth on the tree of life, again the sephira joined by this path. Other elements in the photos also mirror this pattern, such as the two documents on the wall behind Danny.

All of this dual symbolism of the twins is related to the stereoscopic concept itself (two images on every page) as well as to Zayin, the dividing sword, featured in the lyrics of Right In Two. And as others have mentioned here, Jambi also references the “two become one.” Of course, this all carries on a theme from Lateralus, particularly from Schism (between supposed lovers, between supposed brothers) and the Grudge with its emphasis on Saturn, the planetary attribution of Binah. In the Lovers card there are two children, and one of them holds a club. He is said to be Cain, who beat his brother down.

As for the importance of this path to the current album, it seems clear that the Wings for Marie suite is all about the connection between the Son and the Mother.

Alchemy has been a big theme for Tool and Crowley states that there are two cards in the Tarot that depict the alchemical process. They are card 6, the Lovers and card 14, Art. Together these two cards show a complete symbolism of the Great Work. The numerical value of the Hebrew letter attributed to the Art card is 60. That could be why Blair said they had 60 sandwiches for lunch that day, a claim I find hard to swallow.

-Doug

I've read a lot of crackpot interpretations, and this one seems not to be one of them. The twin symbols are too numerous to ignore. The fact that this is the so-called "blues album"; MJK's troublesome (for lack of a better word) relationship with his mom, and the message about love that this album seems to have, all point in the right direction.

Then there's the song "Right in Two"

I really enjoyed reading that Doug. Thanks.

Does anyone ever think of the simple possibilities that may incur here?

no. elaborate, please. I'm not sure I even understand what you're saying.

That has to be the best first post ever.

yes, this seems very plausible! if you consider all the facts there is no way around the hermetic qablah and the tarot... danny definatly got his fingers in this puzzle. :)
the idea of the lovers card is really brilliant! i didnt think about that.

additionally i'd like to mention that i think there's also an importance of the mirror standing in the middle between "black" and "white", or between the "twins", reflecting the opposites...

good solution. :)

If your right then the Incence could be why The Pot is called The Pot.

After digesting this a little bit and going back to the stereoscopic images, I think that this interpretation is the closest to uncover something.

First we have the question: What is the reversed tarot card?
Then the answer: The lovers.

Now why??

Well, if you think a little bit about the songs on Lateralus, (and everyother albums) Schism strikes me first because of the ending (supposed lovers...)

Now, Taken this song talks about "rediscovering communication", maybe the band wants to get closer to us, because they know the pieces fit. To back this, in the booklet of 10000 days, they show us all a little more of their personalities, maybe they want to know more about us too, thus creating this puzzle to unify us all, when 1(the band) and 1(the fans) are 1. From band and fans....to what we are all....humans.

Granted this, a LOT of lyrics backs this unity, so lets unite with the band once and for all!

Wow, I'm impressed by how many individual clues you've integrated into this theory. It's very logical and believable as well (not being sarcastic here.)

Keep up the good work, wynne.

Ya think they sit around wondering how they can get closer to the fans? Really?

Nice work wynne....

I was in my car admiring the new Tool logo that came with 10,000 Days and I figured out the puzzle. It says it plain as day in the new Tool logo. "Fool" The new logo says "Fool".

Yeah, the Fool is a tempting possibility because of that logo. The thing about cabala is that if you look at something that's complex and rich in information, you can almost always find elements in it to fit your favorite theory. And the artwork is very rich in symbolism.

If I wanted to support the idea that the Fool is the card in question, I'd point to the dog head on Adam's desk because the Fool card traditionally shows him walking with a dog. Also the wine in Maynard's photo then seems to suggest Dionysus or Bacchus, god of the vine, ecstasy, intoxication, and the god associated with the Fool. There is even a mention in Crowley's Book of Thoth of the Vulture goddess Maat being related to the French name for the card, Le Mat. Then there's the fact that the radio? on Maynard's desk seems to have its dial pointing to 11:00 and the Fool corresponds to path 11 on the Tree of Life. You could even say that the alphabet of daggers on the poster points to the fool because the Fool card is ruled by the element Air and the dagger is the magical weapon of air.

Since the Fool is the 1st card in the deck, there's nothing mysterious about it being the card on top if the cards haven't been shuffled.

Tempting, but I still think there's a lot more symbolism pointing more specifically to The Lovers.

Schism, the Lateralus song that deals most with the Lovers/Brothers symbolism even repeats "I know the pieces fit," a reference that sure makes me think of puzzles. And now on 10,000 days they continue to develop that theme in a lot of ways. I don't think I've seen another band carry themes from one album to another quite like this. Very cool.

Also, as an after thought about The Lovers:
In Adam's photo we see his hand sculpture on the desk.
In Justin's detail photo we see the same hand sculpture again, with the bird perched on it. And in The Lovers card, the two are being united in marriage by a third character, from another card: The Hermit. His primary symbol, derived from the Hebrew letter Yod is 'a hand.'

Maybe each picture is symbolic of a different card? It's silly to think all the bands different personalities would be meshed together into one idea.

...unless you remember that their band is an entity that fits that very description.

what an interesting interpretation. so much thought and research put into it. im almost sold that he may really be onto this thing.

doug, nice job! you very well could be right? you obviously are familiar with magick and mr. crowley. well done! if you are correct, i'm sure tool are proud.

cheers, digs

hmmm.... 17 + 6 = 23, Viginti Tres.

just thought I'd point that out.

now im scared

Thanks man, cudos.

You should've let us squirm though.

Idea: you should come out with a Q. a week, your weekly puzzler.

Very much like the band, you've reminded me of my favorite little peice of poetry, "Everything is everything."

Peace.

This is by far the best stab at the "puzzle" of 10kd I've read.

What tarot is on top?

noice!

wow. i think you struck gold with this.

brilliant find. such attention to detail. by far, I highly agree with this.

This is actiually a really good point. I've always thought that the band have kept a distance from the fans in order to retain a relationship of equality beetween themselves and their audience. By shunning the life of rock stars, or celebrities, they have managed to maintain a certain level of integrity that results in the fans and the band being equal, thus making the music the focal point of what is a very unique relationship that is usually only found between an artist and an audience when people view his/her artwork without ever relating it to the artist as a person. This is why they get so upset during interviews when they're asked stupid questions that have nothing to do with the music, and instead about their personalities. They don't want us to know them, nor do they want to know us, they just want to share an experience that goes beyond everyone's egos.

Perhaps they are using the pictures to share certain personality traits that only the fans can relate to, instead of just telling journalists and letting the whole world know who they are.

Thanks for all the kind words. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any kind of reaction from Blair on this theory, hit or miss... so I don't know. Maybe they just want to get us to look deeply at the stuff and generate theories.

Neither Blair nor the band will probably ever respond affirmatively to hits that are close to the mark when it comes to people approaching them with interpretations of the lyrics or artwork. They don't want to "define" a particular meaning to either because they want the discussion to continue. Once the answer is affirmed it becomes static, and the search ends.

That said, there's plenty to be excited about with your research and discoveries. It has caused me to delve deeper into tarot and the kabbalah, that's for sure. Perhaps that's the real gift the band intended.

Well I don't particularly agree with your interpretation, but it does show what's so amazing about tool.

That so many people, from many different ideologies, can listen to an album and look at it's artwork and each one of them can find something familiar and meaningful to them.

So while I don't agree with you good sir, I'm just tickled pink that you found something within the sounds and sights of tool that means something to you.

cheers,
-SnD

Heh, true... so true! :)

I keep hearing about the "puzzle of 10,000 Days". What exactly are you talking about? Did a member of the band say there was a puzzle in the booklet or something? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, i honestly just never heard anything about it