Navigate to your best life
As I was walking through the NW Tarot Symposium, the name ‘Pensive Path’ passed by me, hanging from a woman’s lanyard with antique images all around it.
The name resonated because it is so similar to my own, and the images impelled me to stop and ask her about it.
It turned out to be Reese Marren, a deck designer at The Curated Card. She pulls together meaningful decks from hours of digging through old art resources.
I love old movies and books as much as I love Tarot.
(I guess I am a true Cancerian).
So I was giddy when I found this new deck (already sold out!) by Todd Alcott that merges the Smith-Rider-Waite deck and art reminiscent of classic cinema posters, old Mad Men era advertising, and, of course, pulp novel covers.
In honor of the glories of antiquity, I share with you this week a continental-based modern deck, Tarot of the Holy Light. With meanings older than the widely known Waite-Smith deck, this was designed by scholars who collaged alchemical and astrological symbols into a vibrant work of art.
Did you know that modern playing cards derive from the Tarot deck? Yup. Hearts are Cups, Spades are Swords, Clubs are Wands, and Diamonds are Pentacles. Take out the Major Arcana and the Pages, and . . . voila . . . we can play gin rummy instead of divining the future.