Today I’m going to start posting images from a tarot deck I made long ago, in 1997, as a gift for my friend Barbara Moore. Last night, she brought it to a meeting of the Twin Cities Tarot Meetup Group – and I borrowed it back from her, so I could scan the cards.
Yes, this deck is so old that I didn’t have a scanner when I made it. Whoa.
Back then, I made a few little decks like this just for fun. I would challenge myself to create all 22 cards from “found” images, without laboring over them for more than an afternoon or an evening.
The trick was to find photos and illustrations that captured the traditional meaning and significance of each Major Arcana card … and if a few of the classic symbols from the Rider-Waite tarot happened to show up in the images, so much the better.
This deck, obviously, came from a comic book. I’m presenting it here as an educational tool — and if you’re a tarot student or enthusiast, I urge you to try this technique for yourself. It’s a great way to connect with the archetypes and imagery of all the cards, and to master the symbols and stories that surround every tarot deck.
Just to show you what’s possible with this approach, I’ll even interpret the symbols and images in this deck, just as I would develop an interpretation of the cards for a mainstream tarot guidebook.
The Fool: Many a truth is told in jest
The Fool card features everybody’s favorite kid-show funnyman, a small-town clown and TV star. Like a medieval court jester, he’s a prominent personality who can speak truth to power without endangering his place in society — mostly because he doesn’t have much of a place to lose.
In this image, the Fool is surrounded by chaos and confusion. He faces an overwhelming array of destruction, dirt, despair, and disrepair. Like the newborn soul thrust from the spiritual realm of heaven into the coarse and cumbersome reality of physical existence, he’s forced to make sense of an imperfect world.
In a moment, the Fool will experience a sudden and painful conscious awakening, as the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune fly through his own element — air — to bite him in the butt.
The Fool’s awareness will come at the hands of an innocent-looking companion, a bald-headed ankle-biter who dogs his heels — just like the animal in most classic versions of the card. In his zeal to be like his hero, the youngster represents the Fool’s shadow. The boy also hints at the complexities involved when we’re forced to adapt to social norms and customs. A true Fool’s Journey awaits: will the clown relinquish his spirit and independence to conform to society’s expectations, or will he forge his own path with grace and style?
There are a number of resources at hand to aid the Fool in his journey of existentialism. Several books are scattered at his feet; they represent a clear path to knowledge and access to the wisdom of the ages. The Fool can also choose to upright the lamp, which promises to shed light on the darkness of his soul. There’s even a convenient place for the Fool to sit — a three-legged stool that can serve as a comfortable base of operations for his physical form. (The three legs of the stool symbolize the integration of body, mind, and spirit.)
Ultimately, the Fool is far more than a simple comic-book character. He represents all of us, thrown from a world of color and fantasy into the harsh realities of everyday life.
