As I write this post, I am at the end of the first week of a six-weeks to launch my project on Kickstarter, The Mystical Penguin Tarot. it has been a project that has been mulling around for over two years, but the Covid pandemic really allowed me the time to create all of the artworks. Over the next few weeks, I’d love to tell the story of creating this deck and share some of the artworks with you. Here is how I became interested in Tarot.
The Fool’s Journey
The Tarot is a strange and mystical tool. I have been very interested in it for many years. My interest has been such that I have been a student of it since I was about 17, and as an artist, I wanted to illustrate my own deck since that time. Illustrating a deck is no small undertaking – there are 78 cards in the deck and each has subtle and complex symbology that must be adhered to. But, in looking for the “Silver Lining” in the horrible year 2020, I realized that I had the time and motivation to complete the epic task of creating my own Tarot deck.
My siblings are all older than me, and Anne, the eldest, was 20 years older. I thought everything she did was mysterious and occult – she was very bright and had an uncanny perception – and I was fascinated by her collection of things. She had matchbooks from exotic places, funky souvenirs, strange record albums, unique and colorful clothes and more shoes than any human would ever need. Among her treasures was a small brown velvet box with a picture of a witch on a broom flying across the front. The “Fortune Telling Cards” within were my first exposure to a Tarot deck.
That particular version was a deck based on the Tarot de Marseilles, a deck that dates back to the 15th Century. The illustrations looked like ancient woodcuts, crudely colored and titled in French. I could not resist looking at the strange cards, especially the frightening ones like “Le Mort” (Death), “La Lvne” (sic) (The Moon), La Diable (The Devil), and “La Maison Dieu” (The House of God, now known as The Tower). The 16 cards representing the “court” cards were not scary – they just looked like kings and queens in Medieval dress, and the remaining 40 cards were simple representations of 1 through 10 in each suit, Coins, Wands, Swords and Cups.
I didn’t think much more of them until years later when I was a teenager hanging out at the local mall, the kitschy Shoppers’ World in Framingham, MA. My friends and I wandered every store, hungry consumers with pocketbooks full of babysitting money and on the hunt for stuff to buy. One of my favorite stores was “The House of Zodiac”. There was a curtained back room where you could have your palm read, have a zodiac chart made or other divinatory readings done. They had lots of hippie stuff – black lights and glowing posters, quartz crystals, pewter dragons holding crystal balls, and incense. The fellow behind the counter was friendly but looked especially freaky. He had long dark hair and long fingernails painted black, copious amounts of guy-liner and exotic, velvety clothes that I had no idea where he may have obtained them. In the mid-‘70’s he was the rarest looking human being I had ever seen. In one of the display cases filled with strange and cool stuff, I spotted some of the cards my sister had in her witch box.
“Oh, fortune telling cards!” I exclaimed. His eyes narrowed. I had somehow ceased to be one of the ignorant, teenaged drones infesting his shop. “Yes, they are the Tarot de Marseille. They are not the right Tarot for you, though.” I was intrigued; there was a “right” Tarot deck for me? How did he know what the right Tarot for me was? Trying to be cool, I asked, “What Tarot would you recommend for me?” He reached under the counter and produced a deck. “The Rider-Waite if you are an inexperienced reader.” It was a sample deck that he allowed me to pour over. I looked at each card in turn. These were also Medieval looking people, but the art was much more sophisticated. They looked like lush illustrations from a children’s book although some of the cards still had scary looking images - naked people chained up in front of a demon, bodies rising from graves, lightning striking a tower and blasting poor victims out into an angry sky. The pip cards were also illustrated in this deck, depicting a mix of warm scenes of happy moments, people dancing and working and growing things, and some that made you feel sadder thoughts like swords piercing a heart and a group of boys whacking each other with sticks. I was immediately hooked. “I’ll take it!”
Now I noticed other decks under the glass. One had the cards spread out in a fan, sensuous illustrations, colorful and absorbing. The art looked just beautiful. “How about that one, may I see it?” He looked and shook his head. “No, that’s the Thoth deck, not for you. Take this one home and get familiar with it. When you are ready come back and get the Thoth deck.” My nose was a little out of joint. In hindsight, I totally understand where he was coming from, and I would give exactly the same advice to a novice seeking knowledge of the Tarot. Who the hell was Mr. Fingernails to tell me that deck was not for me? He could read my mind as I stared at the shimmering Thoth deck under the glass. “The Rider-Waite deck has imagery that will be easier for you to learn and know. Thoth is much harder to read, but that will come in time. Trust me, this deck is right for you. I will give you a nice velvet bag to keep your deck in. Take it home, shuffle it, pull out one card at random each day and try to understand it. Ignore that little white book that comes in the box. It will not help you. Don’t let other people play with your deck. Come back when you want to know more.” It was like something out of a movie.
Now, over 45 years later, I really appreciate that guy. He was not just making a sale, he was setting an acolyte on a journey. Since that time I have come to know quite a bit about the Tarot, read a hundred or more books and blogs, and collected a great number of decks. A particular metaphor that many Tarot commentators have written about is “The Fool’s Journey.” It speaks to the cyclical progression of the first 22 cards in the deck, called the Major Arcana, that begin with the card numbered 0, The Fool, and progresses through the card numbered 21, known as The World or The Universe depending on the deck. Every card throughout the journey moves you along a bit more. Your foolish, innocent self begins seeking the knowledge of teachers, having victories and experiencing losses, you face temptation, know justice and understand that the ending of one thing is the beginning of something else. Ultimately you find completion and the uplifting joy that comes with it. The House of Zodiac fellow set me on that path and all the ups and downs that come with it. Every day I appreciate the Tarot more, and value my relationship with the 78 chapters of it.
The proprietors of the House of Zodiac at Shopper’s World in Framingham. Louise Fimlaid is also author of the “Spiritual Study of the Tarot.”