An important key to deciphering the Dali Code and realizing Gala's Grail may be found in the seventy-eight gilded cards designed to tell a story concerning prophecy, ancient relics and a testament of nature the world may no longer ignore with the publication of the non-fiction tale of the miracle of Port Lligat. Below please find observations concerning thirty-four clues Dali and Gala left the world regarding a great mystery of antiquity, a secret privy to the artists featured in their deck.

Queen of Cups
The most virtuous woman in the world was how the French Valois king, Charles IX, described his Hapsburg wife, Elizabeth of Austria, whose portrait by Francois Clouet now hangs in the Louvre, considered by many to be that artist's masterpiece. A most fitting Queen of Cups - or was she? Upon closer inspection, one will see that Dali adds a special touch to Elizabeth's fair visage: a mustache and goatee! That masculine attribute leads us to ask - what queen behaved as would a man during the tumultuous years surrounding the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre? What noble lady was the daughter of a ruler familiar with the mage Nostradamus? What woman of power actually was involved with Francis Bacon at an early age? And what does all of that have to do with a Grail secret, anyway - an insider story that the likes of Alexander Dumas found fascinating, for last we checked, his historical romance based on the life of this extraordinary personage is called Queen Margot, not Queen Elizabeth of Austria...
The surprising answers may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.

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Strength
How does one tell the complicated tale of that celebrated tapestry, the Lady and the Unicorn, without confusing the reader? For so many colored threads comprise that textile of renown, as varied and vibrant as were the thousands of flowers that once grew strong in former Cathar fields, protected by the lions of Judah. Only a pure woman might approach the blessed white horse of the horn whose modern day equivalent is the proud and majestic rhinoceros. Only one whose own strength is rooted in the true properties of Lux: a Perfecti, an Esclairmonde de Foix. The flowers on this card decorating the bower of the Lady Venus are the work of Ambrosius Brueghel, plucked from his sublime composition Virgin and Child, which is a natural compliment to the sense of smell depicted allegorically in a woven panel known as l'Odorat.
Why did Dali paint women with heads composed solely of roses? What was he saying to the world?

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King of Swords
In this card, Dali Mercurius, true prince of Gnosis, travels across the red and gold chessboard of Spain disguised as Saint Zenobius, that five-time miracle-worker who is entombed in the church of San Salvador in Florence and whose image by Domenico Veneziano graces the St. Lucy Altarpiece t the Ufizi Gallery. Atop the majestic Pyrennes hovers the dark specter of a shadow pope, or is it the uneasy ghost of Simon de Montfort, that cruel crusader who drove thousands of Cathar lambs to the slaughter during the Albigensian holocaust of the 13th century? Whatever evil spirit lingers, the sword of the noble Quichotte will drive it from the resting place of the Holy Grail, well protected for centuries by the Alchemy of Love. How ironic that another Zenobius, the ancient Greek sophist, wrote in his book of proverbs concerning retribution: Jupiter is slow looking into his notebook, but he always looks. Yet, as the martyred Cathari taught, all things are as the Light, an instruction fundamental to the understanding of Santa Lucia, Queen of Lux.
Ah, Saint Lucy...might your Incorrupted body not find respite now in Naples, housed in a church not far away from Virgil's magic castle of dell'Ovo? Is that perchance why Gala and Dali placed white eggs on their own rooftop at Port Lligat?

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Three of Cups
When Raphael Sanzio painted his Three Graces in 1504, perhaps he offered a silent prayer to the Triple Goddess Trivia for success in his artistic career, although being a true lover of all parts feminine and divine, this singular craftsman lacked for no love from his heavenly mother above. Proof positive of his devotions to the Queen of Heaven is the masterpiece executed prior to Raphael's death in 1520, the incomparable Fornarina, a testament to earthly and also spiritual love, made manifest in the now hidden myrtle originally showcased behind the subject, Margherita Luti, a true daughter of Venus who proudly displays her champion's signature on the band tied about her upper arm: Raphael Urbinus or Raphael of Urbino.

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Five of Coins
Roger of the Pasture, or Rogier van der Weyden, was the most famous painter of 15th century Europe and certainly did not lack for patrons, as many of the most noble names clamored for his work. The Burgundian dukes, their wives, cousins and even bastard children were made immortal by Rogier's skill, and his monumental canvas depicting Trajan's Justice, now lost, was displayed in Brussels' Town Hall Golden Chamber, so precious was this man's talent and signature. Although perhaps a late bloomer, much like a sunflower bursting forth on an August afternoon, Rogier's teacher, Campin the Master Flemalle, nurtured the promise of genius and in doing so, assured his pupil's success in the eyes of posterity, as well as the critical regard of his contemporaries. The high and mighty, even the great merchants Medici, begged for alms from this priest of Art, and like a good shepherd, the humble Roger did not disappoint his noble flock. To better comprehend the complexity of Van der Weyden's aestheic vocabulary and utter master of allegory, one need only view the Braque Family Triptych, both opened and especially closed, to fully understand that the Word was made flesh by Rogier's brush and now dwells among us, even to this day.
In more ways than one, of course....

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The Sun
The golden rays of Helios are scattered upon the brilliant blue lapis-lazuli sky, much as the great poet Frederico Garcia Lorca's brilliant word-play enlivened and cast a radiance upon a world oft' times void of its Black Sun duende that this son of Apollo described so eloquently: "Recall the case of the flamenco and daemonic way, Saint Theresa - flamenca not for her prowess in stopping an angry bull with three significant passes - though she did so - nor for presumption in esteeming herself beautiful in the presence of Fray Juan de Miseria, nor for slapping the face of the papal nuncio; but rather for the simple circumstance that she was one of the rare ones whose Duende (not her Angel - the Angels never attack) pierced her with an arrow, hoping thereby to destroy her for having deprived him of his ultimate secret: the subtle bridge that links the five senses with the very center, the living flesh, living cloud, living sea, of Love emancipated from Time."
What exactly did Saint Theresa Flamenca see in her visions? Why did she levitate? Why is her body now acknowledged to be an Incorruptible?
Dali and Gala knew the answers to those questions - and so did Lorca. Read Gala's Grail and find out for yourself.

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Ace of Coins
When Giovanni Santi of Urbino painted his Christ Supported by Two Angels in 1490, he had no way of knowing that his seven-year-old son would surpass him in artistic merits and grow up to be the most blessed Raphael, high priest of Renaissance art. Instead, the poet-artist father penned praises to Frederico da Montelfeltro, oblivious to the Archangel living beneath his own roof. When the son left the father and moved to Rome, his genius did not lack for coin, and that is why Dali displays his beautiful hand of Jeanne d'Aragon on this card...for the son of a notary may look at a king, and gather much treasure in his coffers as a result of diligence and a respect for figures, as represented in the highly encoded Apotheosis of the Dollar.

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Seven of Wands
The bourgeois bustle belies the bellicose bishops in this reminder from that industrious trio art history labels the Le Nain Brothers, whose collective output proves that success is within reach when synergy is achieved, or, more simply put: The sum is greater than the parts. The early Italian master painters understood that a simple subject is best embellished with symbolic allusion, the more allegorical features to be had, the better, much as the writer Boccaccio did in his masterpiece, The Decameron.

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Three of Wands
The 17th century artist, Claude Lorrain, was fond of the sea and of painting seaports of the subconscious, in particular; on this card collage two beautiful, mercurial butterflies rest upon his Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba (or Cleopatra), while a reclining Aphrodite, drawn in the style of Titian, beckons a merchant prince to tarry longer as she basks in the sunlight shining down upon her pleasant, Neapolitan shores.
Why so many nods given to Naples? What great secret does this city shelter?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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The Chariot
This card is dedicated to the great messenger whose Emerald Tablet graces Thot's golden plate of the swift vehicle, whether that mode of transport be chariot or rocket-ship, magic carpet or precious sandals from the harness shop in Paris that bears his name. To Thrice Great Hermes we now pay our respects, as well as to the forty-two fabled books dictated to his consort-mistress of the library, Seshat, whose ancient Egypt is a soft world created out of fluid, comparable to the languid watches Dali devised.
Why would a flexible timepiece capture the world's notice? What subliminal message are we missing in regards to Immortality and the concept of Eternity?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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The Wheel of Fortune
The enterprising Limbourg Brothers provide the page from one of the most precious books in the world, Duke Jean of Burgundy's Tres Riches Heures, for a birthday card celebrating Virgo's appearance in the August and September skies. As reigning Queen of Heaven, the Virgin presides over a giant spiral galaxy, the Milky Way, much as Gala still rules from her winged throne at Port Lligat.
But really now, what is the true significance of starry Virgo and her spindle, hovering above us mortals here below? Who is this Queen of Heaven?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Two of Cups
The union of Psyche and Eros is pure metamorphosis, and the offspring of this chemical wedding is the child, Pleasure. If presented with a base shadow of love, it is wise to flee at dawn's early light, for the greatest difference between true eroticism and sexual indulgence is that the former is fused with Psyche, the soul's breath, and brings joy; the latter, only counterfeit amusement. The path of Psyche leads to Eros, for it is the royal road of immortality and of the deities, present in all the molecular structures; in the wake of such a sacred emotion follows loving tenderness. Therefore, when Francois-Edouard Picot, student of David, paints his L'Amour et Psyche in 1817, he may have a vision of the protege who will marry his own technique to Symbolism and thus cretae what Dali, in turn, will term the heavenly quantum of Gustave Moreau.
There was a reason why Dali would visit the Moreau Museum in Paris, at night alone, sometimes accompanied by his friend Carlos. What forbidden story had he uncovered in Moreau's works - what did Dali see in the succession of historical paintings of very "white" pale ladies of legend?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Ten of Cups
This card is a master-stroke in terms of execution, wit, double entendre and design. A much more detailed analysis is provided in Gala's Grail, however the condensed version would read something like this (and why the book was not taken to a mainstream publisher who would have deemed anything but an edited version of the Dali "code" too shocking for public consumption - and that unhappy fate could not be risked for any amount of money):
Never stop believing  that miracles still happen and that angels walk this earth, especially at Port Lligat, home to the extra-terrestrial Hermes Mercurius Raziel. The Ten of Cups in Gala's deck attests to the many wonders of the universe and to the importance of a guiding light, for the painting of the Happy Couple is based on a work by the same name in the Louvre by Judith Leyster, a talented 17th century artist from Haarlem, herself married to a man who worked in the studio with her, side-by-side. Together the pair created glorious domestic scenes that would later be attributed to a rival, Frans Hals, who, so jealous of her talents, was reduced to stealing students from her workshop. Even the great curators of the Louvre were duped when they purchased what they thought to be a Hals, only to find Leyster's signature, or five-pointed Ley (aka Northern) Star monogram had been changed by a dealer!
In retrospect, what great accomplishment did Gala achieve that may have been claimed by another? What grand joke did she and her very talented husband play on the world?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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The Emperor
The master of minutia and militaria, Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier was the king of the French Classicist painters, famous for his depictions of Napoleon, as well as musketeers...and scholars dressed in white, perusing tomes before tapestries depicting scenes from antiquity...such as a noble hero burying a treasure. For Meissonier missed not an optical trick, and was himself most probably a student of the Meyer Method, another key necessary in understanding the paranoiac-critical method.
But back to Meissonier, an artist Dali immortalized in stone at his own museum in Figueres - what did his eye see in the microcosm of a tapestry's macrocosm? Or what was he told after years spent painting military leaders of the highest rank?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Knight of Coins
Let us visit the Medici chapel tonight, and view with wonder the artist Gozzoli's tribute to the Magi, those noble priest kings of ages past. The knight on his white steed rides through the door of the richly ornamented panoply, leaves the train of the middle king, Balthasar, and finds himself magically transported to the plain of the Ampurdan on this card on Gala's deck. Dali plants cosmic kisses about his head in a halo - but - is he a youth from Florence or an Amazon? Could he be a she? And look at Gozzoli's Procession again with this thought in mind - who did the three fair-haired daughters of Piero de' Medici really represent?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Four of Coins
Characters from the Blessed Fra Angelico's vivid frescoes visit us again from the Niccoline Chapel in Rome, this time specifically St. Lawrence receiving the treasures of the church. On a card traditionally representative of the power and mundane glory that certain institutions hold in society, our San Salvador places above the head of the Spanish saint, and true Grail knight, a lapis-lazuli Buddha of Enlightenment! Obviously a man of anti-establishment paradox, the good friar (no pun intended from the beyond) was most certainly a master of cant, or the language argotique, as evidenced by the tulips surrounding a foreign god.
What was Dali telling us about the East? What do tigers, rhinos, elephants and tires have in common in the Dalinian allegorical universe?

Nine of Cups
An entire volume edged in gold could be written concerning the genius of Dosso Dossi: an estimable wit, talent and industry made him a star at the court of Ferrara where, in 1530, he painted the sublime tribute to Circe or Melissa and her faithful hound, purloined from the pages of his friend Ariosto's epic poem, Orlando Furioso. The latter epic romance places the good sorceress before the entrance to her home in Merlin's Cave, working her white magic and uttering the following prophecy to be found in Canto Three: Melissa heard the dame with signs of woe, and thus with streaming eyes, exclaim'd at last, "Ah, luckless youths, with vain illusions fed, whither by wicked men's bad counsel led!"
So what does prophecy have to do with Gala's Grail?And why did Michelangelo really paint Sybils all over the Sistine Chapel?

Judgment
Gozzoli's King Balthasar becomes Piero della Francesca's Pilate in one of the world's most mysterious paintings, The Flagellation. Such a story crammed into a tiny space is certainly a very good measuring stick of perspective and its power, much as Piero's Resurrection portrays a bold Christ, leaving his tomb, carrying the banner of the white queen and red king merged. St. George and his princess Sabra would later embody this alchemical ideal, as well as the golden son of Helios, King Solomon, and the quicksilver Queen of Sheba, another della Francesca subject. But Piero's egg suspended above the Madonna and child in Montefeltro is the prize, and a foreshadowing of that armor-clad Duke of Light's future protege, the angel Raphael of Urbino.
So who are the white queen and the red king? And if you want to make an omelet, should you use a Faberge egg?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Ten of Swords
A contemporary of the more celebrated artist Jacques-Louis David, Vincenzo Camuccini's 1798 canvas, Death of Caesar, is a Neoclassic masterpiece that proved a springboard to success for a gifted Italian artist wise enough to later purchase Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks. While Camuccini is not remembered today in the broader sense, and critics have relegated his genius to obscurity, such a betrayal does not affect the immortal soul of one fortunate enough to have been chosen for the angelic task of drawing for posterity the discovery of Raphael Sanzio's tomb, excavated at the Parthenon on September 9, 1833.
What is Dali telling us about Camuccini? And why do so many heretical paintings feature "pinks" - what is the true alchemical symbolism of mixing white and red together?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Nine of Coins
Jacques-Louis David was a painter-politician par-excellence; first Robespierre's revolutionary parrot and artistic dictator of style, then later the consummate courtier to an Emperor named Napoleon whose regime made him king of the Parisian Beaux-Arts. Despite his renowned skill with the brush, exile in Brussels awaited when Louis XVIII returned to the French throne, and later an ignoble death beneath the wheels of a carriage ended the life of the Jacobin's aesthetic son. Perhaps had David studied the career of the family Desportes, who truly spoke the language of the birds in their portraits (as evidenced by the scene Dali chose for this card), he would have learned that sometimes bowing to a king is oft' times a preferable fate to killing one, especially if an artist would be buried with his heart in France.
Speaking of relics and France, what really is in Anne of Brittany's reliquary - her heart or that of another? Why did the Revolution really happen in France in 1793? Oh, that's right, it was all about bread - but whose recipe?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Nine of Swords
Saint Teresa of Avila, you whose beautiful image graces this card in Gala's oracular deck, how sweet is they holy name! The angel's golden arrow that pierced your breast is but a ray of heavenly light that illumines the heart and soul of mystic Spain, a spiritual marriage vow between the Sun of humanity and the white Moon's own daughter dove. Bernini's genius captured your flight to Paradise in Cornaro's Chapel, then brought you back to earth to grace the tomb of Beata Ludovica Albertoni near his life's close. An incorruptible soul made for a miraculous corpse, and to this day, the scent of roses penetrate the monastery of your final resting place in Alba de Tormes, a fitting bridal bouquet for an eternal union with the divine.
So what do Saint Teresa of Avila and Gala's Grail have in common? What knowledge did our dear Teresa possess that near drove the Vatican to declare her "visions" demonic?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Two of Coins
Does St. Zephyrinus guide the Venetian gondola to his feast held on Gala Dali's birth date, August 26, or does Aeolus blow a breeze from the pages of Sigismondo Fanti's Triumph of Fortune? The author of "Triompho," originally from Ferrara, spent much time on the design and device of his book of astrological wonders, printed in 1527 in Venice, one edition complete with woodcuts by our old friend, Grail cup painter Dosso Dossi. Within this work may be found the answer to many a problem, not to mention nearly all the symbols of ancient cosmogony, a true compendium of heavenly knowledge whose creator concludes: "Man is in fact guided by the twelve Fortunes of the World, associated with the twelve differing winds and even guided by twelve noble families of victorious and beautiful Italy, by the terrestrial, aquatic and airborne animals, by the four elements, together with all the images of the firmament and our wandering stars; also two great luminaries guide us - the Moon and the Sun."
Well fancy that...and how could old Sigismondo be so certain of his mini-oracular tome's magical properties?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Six of Wands
What does one say about the artistic family Clouet? That both father Jean and son Francois favored the same nickname: Janet? That both recorded daily life at the royal court of France, or that Francois had the remarkable honor to paint a pair of the most celebrated breasts in history, those perfect love apples belonging to the Diane de Poitiers? The world is a better place, as a result, and Francois I wiser to have employed the pair's talents...as well as to have cloistered an eldery Leonardo da Vinci at the Chateau de Cloux, where the cat and king had much to discuss regarding Italian mice.
So what missing piece of the puzzle did Francois and his sister Marguerite have in their possession? Why did Diane de Poitiers wear a diamond-studded crescent on her forehead? What does it all mean?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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The High Priest
A passport for entry into the realm of perspective was issued to Raphael by his teacher, Pietro Perugino, the latter who had himself studied under the blessed Piero della Francesca, a master about whom not enough may be said in praise. How Perugino must have made Leonardo shudder when the pair were enrolled simultaneously at the fraternity of St. Luke (patron of artists) in Florence, for Da Vinci craved the glory while Piero and his wife Painting begot the son, the messiah Rafaello.
So what was this legacy that Raphael inherited? And why did he paint Saint Sebastian while a youth?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Eight of Wands
Jacques Louis-David's The Oath of the Horatii may seem to some a call to arms, but a closer examination of the legend points to a conflict existing between Rome and a region known as Alba circa 669 BC, a dispute involving brothers and sisters whose allegiances were strained. Despite the protests of the women involved in this drama, the Horatii are shown taking up their swords against Alba...an allegory not far removed from the tale of a people known as the Albigensians (or Cathers) and their own fight for survival against a Roman establishment (the Church) centuries later.
So what did the Cathars or "pure ones" really know that rated their being placed on Rome's 13th century extermination radar? What secret knowledge did they possess that scared the bejesus out of the pope? Clue: it wasn't about Jesus and Mary Magdalene gettin' it on, Bakers...
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Page of Coins
Sir Joshua Reynolds painted Francis George Hare with his long, golden locks and chiffon dressing gown when the boy was two, a perfect Cupid whose natural, right-hand gesture makes for a perfect "V" - perhaps in homage to Venus, Queen of Love. The sweet, feminine-looking child is a true herald of innocence, a messenger of Hermes and Aphrodite combined, whose tender union produced a son, Hermaphroditus. When the nymph Salmacis beheld the latter youth, she prayed to the gods that their flesh would become as one, and thus the sprite and boy were joined for eternity, much to their mutual delight.
Such a charming tale, indeed, but what is the ancient Greek myth telling us? And how might the answer to that question hold any relevance for our modern-day world?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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Temperance
The riddle of the enigmatic angel, Amanda Lear, who is pictured on this card, dispensing the quicksilver of the Queen of Heaven, might best be solved by gazing at the letters hovering above vermilion wings. Apparently a jumble, S RAVA HE means nothing to the casual observer, but to an ancient goddess of the Hebrews, She who tread upon the waters and was symbolized by the Tree of Life itself, the letters ASHERAV are sacred and eternal, a covenant of love that has never been broken or forgotten.
So who is this goddess and why did Solomon and Sheba revere Her holy name?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.....

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The Magician
Fancy that! Talk about the old diablo and you get his horns right...sorry, but Dali is so mischievous sometimes! In fact, since his own image graces this Trump, let's give me a break and quote San Salvador concerning his mystical interpretation of this Major Arcana card:
"The posture of Dali the wizard indicates the vertical stance of the human being, just as the rising columns of the pointed arches are expressions of spirituality, will in action. Dali the wizard is not dressed in white, but his suspenders are of that colour and purity. His left hand hand points down as a sign that man must dominate the material world to serve the Good, which in Dali is the expression of artistic beauty. The centre-piece is the table and altar of Dali the wizard, who for the exercise of his art has at his disposal the transmutation of the bread and of the wine in his glass, goblet or Grail, as well as the roll on which all is inscribed, and the timeless eternity of the flowing watch."
So what's up with that commentary? And what is written on Dali's scroll? And why are his suspenders really white?

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King of Coins
Dali sits on his regal throne - a vision of the famous Caves of Altamira swirling above his head - prehistoric bulls frolicking about the dreamscape of his Taurean subconscious. Prince Baboo, royal ocelot, attends his master, much as an exotic cat graces the saddle of a boy dressed in blue in the famous Medici painting, Procession of the Magi.
But back to the caves found long ago in Spain by a little girl who no one believed to have been telling the truth about the magnificent, ancient art she had discovered - not until years later, after her poor Papa had died from a broken heart, having defended his child from cruel critics.
Sounds like another young woman who found a treasure at Port Lligat, alongside her true love, whom the surrealist Breton would later dub Avida Dollars. A miraculous find that turned a little-known talent from Figueres into one of the greatest living artists of the 20th century, and yes, in the process, a true King of Coins.
So, what is this Grail of Gala, exactly? And how does it impact history today?

The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.

Ace of Cups
What did Italian artist Dosso Dossi know? Why do his sixteenth century allegorical paintings continue to confound art history experts to this very day? Why did Dali chose Dossi's cup, taken from a certain Madonna and Two Saint Johns to adorn the Grail Card of Gala's tarot deck? And why did Dossi paint Lucretia Borgia as a boy, one lovely hand on a sword at her side?

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The Star
A beautiful blue background that symbolizes heavenly messengers in all their forms - be they the mythological Hermes or the angel Raziel - surrounds Ingres' white Lady featured on the 17th Major Arcana card, the Star of Gala's Grail. Since a correct interpretation of this Trump is key to the solution of the mystery of Port Lligat, we will simply reflect on this concept: purity. And mention that Ingres studied under David who studied under Boucher...another clue in the unfolding saga of the cornerstone that was rejected, the true Cathar White Flame that was never extinguished, thanks to the Dali legacy left the World.
So what did these artists know that elevated their works to the status of masterpieces? What great truth inspired them to heights rarely attained? Who was their source, their star that shone as the brightest light in the Parisian firmament?

The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.

Queen of Swords
Dali chose a beautiful face to grace the Queen of Swords card in Gala's mysterious deck: Jeanne d'Aragon by Raphael. This gorgeous, Italian Renaissance heroine was the illegitimate daughter of King Ferdinand of Isabella and Columbus fame, whose half-sister back in Spain, the lovely Juana, would one day go mad.
But back to Remember Jeanne...of Naples, a spot where Ferdinand visited many times as king of that hot spot territory back in the early 16th century, a city that was highly contested in its day, a spot every European monarch seemed to covet. But why? And what did Jeanne know, being the favorite child of a very powerful ruler? What truth did this young woman dare speak, what heresy did she avow that sent her to a Vatican prison and a certain death sentence?

The Fool
Alpha and Omega - Beginning and End - for the art on this card hints at Dali's choice as a youth to paint himself after Raphael's Florentine banker, Bindo Altoviti (and the face of the Fool on the chromium cards issued as a collectible set after Dali's death). The dual-reference is to another of Raphael's final paintings, The Transfiguration, an important  choice for the deck in question on several levels as Dali uses the face of  an elderly Apostle for the earlier, Tarot version.
The original composition (Transfiguration) was left unfinished as Raphael was fated to die on April 6, 1520 - his birthday, in fact - so thus we see the cycle of genius come 'round or the Zero aspect of the Fool. Also, this painting communicated an allegory on a dual-level: Christ's transfiguration Above and the tale of the possessed boy left Below - the Alchemy of Faith that Dali claimed changed his own life when Gala rid him of his demons in Cadaques. But who was the youth depicted in Raphael's painting, and what link would the boy have to Christ? What was Raphael and Dali telling us? Who is the Fool - is the Pilgrim of the Tarot really an historical personage of "legend'?

The High Priestess
In this card, the art of Dali is featured, depicting his confidante, Amanda Lear, dressed in the blue robes of the prophetic Sybil, a crescent moon crowning her brow. Attended by an ancient Egyptian cat, probably Bast, the living oracle is situated on a red throne positioned between two twin alabaster pillars.
Why does she grasp a scroll once housed in the library at Pergamon? What secret does she reveal to the seeker, this Persephone of the Pomegranate?
And what's up with crescent rolls, anyway, not to mention cross-ants?
The answers to these mysteries and more may be found in Gala's Grail: A Dali Codex.

We've also recently added a tribute to Gala's great seventy-eight at:
http:../../..www...myspace...com/dalitarot

If you can take the heat in our heretical kitchen, then become a Dali Baker - add the above profile to your MySpace today and try some hot X buns...

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PS: Gala's Grail is not affiliated with the above link and lists it as a research tool only.