Though the bugle call that awakens soldiers is known as “reveille” in English (loosely meaning “awaken” in French), it is instead referred to as the “diane” or “diana” in other European languages (including French). The term is rumored to have originated in the Roman Empire, when a hymn to the moon goddess of the same name was played to rouse soldiers. If true, it’s a tragic thing, rather than a motivating one: a song giving thanks to the sweetness of night before another day’s warfare and trauma. There is cause to dispute this origin, but even so, the story sets a foundation for thinking about traditional Judgement art, such as the Waite-Smith:
The dead awakened by clarion in Arcanum XX now face the threat of being cast into the lake of fire if their name is not found in the Book of Life. Some will find eternal wonder; others, punishment after years of whatever they’ve been dreaming down below. The time for rest is over. Now, they must face the music.
The Book of Revelation doesn’t instill the same horror it once did in our more secular age; many interpretations of the card now only portray the promise of rebirth. The Carnival at the End of the World Tarot produced by Kahn & Selesnick recenters that fear with a new motif blending a one-man band and civil defense siren:
During the Cold War, it was urgent to check the radio whenever such sirens howled, as the world could be ending right then and there. Even now, the possibility remains, though is rarely at the forefront of our minds. The sudden unease that comes with their haunting drone, and the handful of seconds in which to determine whether all of one’s affairs are in order for the end of history, form the essence of the card.
As Sarah Falkner writes of this art in Madame Lulu’s Book of Fate:
“All will be made clear to all! Bulletins abound, for important decisions will be made! Heed warnings, hear the News, reply to the questions asked with straightforward answers, the Emergency Broadcast System is in effect! Further instructions are imminent! The Last Judgment has been announced and so loud, these trumpets are, that they wake the Dead and call them forth from the Underworld…”
Interestingly enough, the fictional cryptid Siren Head was repurposed for the role of apocalyptic herald in a recent viral TikTok, and bears some aesthetic similarity to Kahn & Selesnick’s interpretation. The sound in this video is lifted from Chicago’s emergency sirens, which are warped by the geometry of its steel and glass canyons. Though Siren Head has a known origin in a particular artist’s works, the character often finds ways to breach those boundaries.
It is worth noting, also, that Ted Turner intended for this recording to play on CNN in the event nuclear attack was enroute. This, too, is a reflection of the arcanum, blending siren, horn, prayer, and broadcast into one grand finale for the United States.
Some have said that 2020 is a Tower year for the United States, but I’m not certain that this is case. Tower myths are indeed disastrous, but they are tales of hubris and doomed ambitions. Judgement feels more appropriate: the card of rude awakening, where the unresolved sins of the world are unearthed and suddenly laid bare. Those who have long been able to rest on unjust machinery abruptly find themselves needing to justify their own existence. The dead have been called forth as well, much to their surprise: their effigies are judged in their physical absence.
This is not a time of failure, to assess whether our ambitions have been too great, but rather, to ensure that our convictions are strong enough to face the end of the world as we know it. There’s no ignoring what’s begun- your reaction to it is who you are.