Ace of Batons

Ace of Batons from Anecdotes Tarot: A bone sewn onto a yellow floral cloth

So dig up your bone,
exhume your pine-cone, my Sadie

Joanna Newsom, “Sadie” (The Milk-Eyed Mender, 2004)

Image Description

A white bone is tied with a red ribbon bow to an oval of yellow fabric which is printed with red, green, and blue flowers. This patch is stitched onto a yellow background.

Interpretation

Though specifically tied to the title track “Sadie,” the bone is a recurring image on The Milk-Eyed Mender. Like the album cover this picture combines natural with manmade material. A bone picked clean puts one in mind of death, but a bone is also a foundation to build life upon. For this reason, the Ace of Batons usually represents the raw material for creativity.