I can’t (read: won’t be bothered to) find the source of the quote, “Staple of the New Age: tarot deck.” Wait. Most of the new age folks I know, and most of the material I’ve studied suggests that the Tarot has its roots in the Hermetic Traditions, or even, Ancient Egypt. Right. I don’t think they were making playing cards then. None have survived, and that’s a fact.
However, the best extant cards are Italian Renaissance, and of note, Chaucer never mentions Tarot cards. Does mention astrology, so that’s more factual. Naturally, Chaucer only had “the seven” to work with, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Sun and Moon. Made for easier cosmology, that’s for sure.
Many years distant, East Austin was where I was living, I bought a blank tarot deck to build my own set of cards. I discovered how hard that was. I’m not a painter, nor am I ever going to be one. I gave up designing my own deck of cards when I discovered how hard it was to draw 78 little pictures. With meaning.
A quirky point, I’ve got a client, she took up Tarot cards because she could easily grasp the meaning of 78 cards, memorize that much in a single evening. Astrology was too hard, the planets and meanings are easy, but the “putting it together” was too difficult. So she reads cards. Me? I’m still not a painter.
I can’t tell real from a spoof some days.
Jupiter: I just want to be thin again.
Two Meat Tuesday (the book)
(cure for the common horoscope)
Pink Cake A commonplace book.
Bexar County Line
