• No results found

Vertigo Tarot

N/A
N/A
Protected

Academic year: 2021

Share "Vertigo Tarot"

Copied!
210
0
0

Loading.... (view fulltext now)

Full text

(1)

t

A

t

IDlIBA

s)IWo) )(]

(2)

T

H

E

v

E

R

T

I

G

o

T

A

R

o

T

I L L U S T R A T E D B Y

D

A V E

IlIc~EAn T E X T B Y

R

A C H E L

P 0 L L A C K

i n T R 0 Du e E 0 B V

n

E j. L G A

i

Tn A

n

(3)

1 EnErTE KAHn - President &: Editor-in-Chier + PAUL LEvin - Executi,'e Vice President &: Publisher

+ KAREn BERGE R - fHwcuti\'e Editor - Venigo + SHARo n KAlTUAH - Project Editor + A LisA KwiTII EY - Text t:ditor + JOE O RLAnDO - Vice President - Creati\'e Director + BRU CE IJRlsTOw

- Vice President - Sales & M:trketing + PATRIcK CALoo n - Vice President - Finance & Operations

+ TERR I CUnninGHArh - Managing Editor + C HAnTAL o'Aulnis - Vice President - Business Affairs + LiLLiAn LAsERs0 n - Vice President & General Counsel + SEYIlIOUR l'11i l ES - Vice

President - Associ:ltc Publisher + Bo u ROlAKi s - Executive Director - Production

Cover and publicuion design b)' t)a\'e McKran , Thanks to Neil Jonrs anti Cathy Peters @ The Design Umbrella , Wrlnen by Rachrl Poilld; and ilIUSITated by D3Ve McKean , InITotluclion by Neil

Gaiman , tHE VER-tlco t AR-O'" publisht,tl b)' DC Comi cs. Cop)'right 0 199; llC Comics. Al l

Rights Reserved. En ic mA is a trademark of Peter Milligan and [)uncan t'egretlo. Vu '..,! ico and

all olher characters, [he dislinclh'e likent'sses thereof and related indicia are tntlemnks of DC Comics, SAIlD mAn characters crealI'd b)' Neil (iaiman, Sam Keith , Mike I)ringenberg. ti mO"tH v

H Ullt[ R- and tIn Il oo l(s o r mA Gic crealI'd by Neil Gaiman and John Bollon. [ Il IGJIl A created by Peter Milli gan and Dunon Fegredo. tHE VER-t"ic o t AR-Ot" is a DC ComiCS limi[ed

edition retail product. lIardcovcr [e,~t and V[ R.."t ico t AR..OI cards are not sold separatcly. Of.

Comics, 132S Avenue of Ihe Americas, Ne ... York , NY 10019. A dh'ision of Warnt'r Bros, - A Time

(4)

tABLE O F

Co

ntEnt

s

Int R,pl>vc'tio n to t HE VeRtiGO t AR,Pt

tH E mA;OR...A~At1A

The fool .. P 21, The MagidaJI . .p,u, The Iligh Priestess . .p 25, The Empress." 27, The F.mperor .

.p

29, The lIierophanlP 31, The l.cNen.,p 11, The (lariot.p 35, Slrength .

.p

37, The Ilennll..p39. The Wheel of Fortune...p 41, JUStia .

.p

6 ,

The Hanged Man.p 45, Death.", 47, Temperance.p 49, The Dail .. p 51, The Tav.'ef .

.p

53, 1be'fJ.ar • .p55, TheMoon.P57. The Sun . .p59, Judgmenl.p6/, The'l'orkl . .p63.

t HE mlnoR...AR,CAnll

w

"""

Co"

Swords Pentacles tHE COvRS C IlRj)S

"l<"

Knights Queens Kings ",Al)ln GS page 8 page 64

page

68 page 78 """,88 """,98 page lOS page 110 page 114 page 118 page 122 page 126

(5)
(6)

Shuffie the

cards.

Lay

them

out.

Thrn

them

o

v

er

.

Find

a

place

(0

begin

.

Let's s

ec .

..

The year

was

1

9

85

,

and

I think

we

all

felt

a

\~dgue

sen

s

e of anticlima.x of (he kind w

e

shall probably

not

see again

until

2

002

,

and

I

didn

't

know vel)' mu

c

h

about the

Tarot.

I was in Birminghanl

, England

, which

i

s an

odd

place for

an}thin

g

to

begin;

after all

, Birnlingham i

s

one

of m

y

least

favorite cities

in the

world.

I like the

people

well

e

noug

h

: but it was in Birnlingham,

several years

b

ef

ore this,

that

the madman tried

to

stmngle me;

it

was on arrivi

ng

in Birmingham

on

this 1985 trip that I'd st

e

pped

over the

knifed body

at

the top

of the escalator,

coming

mit of N

ew S

treet

Station

.

It's a rare trill to

Birnlingham that

docsn

·t have

a small di

sast

er connecled with it.

It

was

September

, and

(

was attending the Briti

sh t

'antasy Convention

, and I had

with

m

e a small hardback

copy

of

Sal

v

ador Doli's Tarot

.

I

was going to intervi

ew

the

author of the t

ext that

accompanied the

Tarot.

The author

was a lady

named

Rachel PoUa

ck

:

tall

, fey

, hu

sk

y

and elegant.

Pick out th

e card for

Rach

e

l

:

the Pri

estess, perhaps,

or the Empress

.

It

was

at that

s

ame convention

that

I m

et Alan Moore.

He

s

howed me

Xerox

es

of the first four i

ssu

es

of

a

comi

c

he

was doing with

Dave

Gibbons,

called WATCHM

EN,

and

I

was stunned

.

(go

t Alan

to

show

me

what a

comic script looked like

,

an action

that

was

,

in retrosp

ect

,

going to have

many

ramifi

c

ation

s

for my

future.

Lay down

a

card

for

Alan.

S

till

somewhere

in the

Major Arcana:

the Hermit

,

or the

Magician

.

I went

, with

Rachel

,

fr

om Birmingham

10

Milford-on-

S

ea

,

a

little

Engli

sh s

easide

town

with

no

distinguishing marks

or

features

, for a week

-

long w

riters

' worksh

op. And it

\

V'dS there

that I had m

y

first Tarot reading

(not

b

y

Rach

el, but a year

later

, from author Mary Gentle)

, and

it

w

as

there

that

(

learned mos

t

of what

(

know

that

made me

any

kind

of halfway

decent writer

,

and

il

was there

that I got

to be good friends with

Rachel

.

We had a common fondn

ess for reall

y

weird arcana

. S

he

was th

e o

nly

other person

I'd

met who

knew

the

detail

s of

w

hat happen

s when th

e M

essiah

comes back

(all

the

Jewish men have a party in

a

hu

g

e

tent

and C'dt Behemoth and Leviathan) and she kne

w detail

s

I'd

n

ever

heard of

(aU

the

Jewish

women are out the

back doin

g

the w

ashing

up and having baby

boy

s)

.

S

h

e

told

me the

coolest necrophilia

joke

I'd

e

xcr heard.

She

read c

omics,

and we talked about

the relation

s

hip

between

c

omic

s and

the Tarot.

Sh

e

was

aJ

s

o, in

compan

y

with critic

John

Clute and author Gwyneth

Jones

,

the pers

on from whom

(learned the

mo

s

t,

about

rC'ddin

g

and about writing

,

over the course

of

that

week.

Milford ended

.

Rachel

returned

to

Am

s

terdanl.

I

went home

,

to

m

y

wif

e

and

m

y

to

ddler and m

y

baby.

And 1985 mo

v

ed

from

environment

into

memory

.

1986

was a year of odd coincidences

and

stntnge meetings.

In the

summer of 1986

I met

an arti

st

named Dave M

cKean

.

(He was s

till at art

sc

hool

,

but

he

wa

s,

no

doubt about

it,

an arti

st.)

Dave is

,

and wa.

<;,

dark

-

haired

,

bearded,

pon

y-

tail

e

d,

\vith

s

harp eycs

and a

sharp sen

se of hum

o

r

.

He

'

s

a gentle person

,

ve

ry

practi

cal

,

ve

ry funn

y

,

who

doe

s

no

t

s

uffer fool

s,

gladl

y or nthcrwi

se.

A

card for Dave?

That

's

a hard

on

e

.

Dave i

s,

with

out

any

doubt

,

The

Arti

s

t, if

e

rer there

was

one, in

archetype and r

e

ality

.

Perhaps Th

e

World .

..

(7)

In 1

986

Ra

che

l

returned

f

rom

Amsterdam

f

o

r

th

e

next

Milf

or

d

writers

' wo

rk

s

h

o

p

,

and I

brought

a

stol)

'

I

was working on which would wind up being called Violent C,L

'i

e

S

when

Dav

e

dr

ew

it.

More Tarot

conversations;

a Bill

SienkiC'\\icl Supennan

pinup in

,

if memo!)

'

se

r

v

e

s,

ACTION COMlCi

#

400

,

prompted

a

co

n

ve

rsati

o

n ab

ou

t

doing

a Tarot

of DC

Co

mi

q; c

harJ

cters

.

Ra

c

hel

s

poke

of

doing

a

Tarot

of

her

own

,

w

ith

ani

s

ts

she

admired

-

Hill

S

ienki

ew

i

C"l

,

f

o

r

exam

ple

,

o

r Da

ve

M

c

Kean

.

A

f

ew

y

C'

drs later

s

h

c

s

p

o

k

e

10 Da

vc

,

bU

I nothin

g cver

came of

it

-

h

er

lision wa

'i

too p

erso

nal

,

and

s

he

eventually wound

up rC'.ui

zi

n

g

the only p

e

rson who

co

uld

drJw it was her.

(It

's

c

all

e

d The

Shining

Woman Tarot.)

n

i

p the

cards

.

F

eel

them

in

y

our h

an

d

s.

Sa

ndman

turns

u

p

in

1

988

.

Da

ve

painL

'i

-

or

builds

-

or

photographs -

th

e cO\

'

ers

.

Mike Drin

genbcrg

drC'\v

th

e

first

Sandman

Tarot

ca

rd

,

one of

th

e

illUSlrati

on

s

for

th

e

text piece

in

SAN

DMAl

'l #8

,

Ra

c

hel

came

to

England

from Amsterdam

w

hilc I

\Va'i working on

the BOOKS Of MAGI

C

limited

series

,

and

s

he

h

e

lped

me with

Madam

e

Xanadu

's

four

-

ca

rd r

e

adin

g

in Book 1\m. (We

we

nt

into a

sm

all

Tarot

&

Suchlike Esoterica

s

h

o

p

in

Camden

,

to pick

out

a card

set fo

r

me

,

and

I found

m~'Self

f

c

eli

ng

like I'd

ju

st go

ne into

a

record

s

ho

p

with

someo

n

e w

ho

, to

m

y s

urprise

,

turned

out 10

b

e o

ne

of

the Beatl

es

,

as

R

ac

he

l

modestly

admitt

e

d

her

id

e

ntit

y 10

th

e

lady b

ehin

d th

e co

unt

e

r

,

and

s

i

gnl'tl a

uto

g

raph

s.)

I

d

es

i

g

ned four

Tarot

ca

rd

s

for

BOOKS

Of

MAG

I

C,

w

hi

c

h

Sco

tt lIamplon paint

e

d b

e

autifull

y

in th

e

comic

,

and

I

discovered

t

h

e

j

oy

of de

s

igning Tarot card

s,

a

bu

g

whic

h bite

s

and

n

l.,,

·

cr

quite

let

s

go

.

Every

now

and then

,

p

eop

l

e wo

u

l

d

se

nd

me

le

tt

ers,

physically

o

r

e

l

ec

troni

c

all

y

,

s

u

gge

s

tin

g

that

wc

do a

Sa

ndman Tarot

-

so

m

e

p

eople

would

eve

n li

s

t the

i

r

s

u

ggcstio

n

s

for char.lcter

s

.

rd

pass

t

h

eir

s

u

gges

tion

s

on, butnotiting came of it.

Moments of

convergence and

co

nfluen

ce

.

Card

s

s

t

irred

,

a

nd

brought together

.

E\"cnL

'i

and action

s

and

people

.

.

.

Ra

c

hel

wins

the

Arthur

C

.

Clarke Award

fo

r

Best

S

F

Nove

l

of

t

h

e

Year

(fo

r h

er

r

e

markable

book

Unquenchable Fire) ,

mov

es

from

Amsterdam

t

o

New York

S

ial

e,

and

,

throu

gh a se

rie

s

of

o

dd

coincidences of

her

OW11,

b

eco

m

es

the

wri

ter for DC'

s

DOOM PATROL

,

a

title in Ih

e

na

sce

nt Vertigo lin

e,

s

ucceeding

the irr

e

pla

cC'J

ble

Grant

M

o

rri

s

o

n

.

Pe

o

p

l

e a

l D

C

know that

R

ac

h

el is

an

a

war

d-

w

innin

g

writer of

m

y

thic

s

c

i

e

nc

e

fi

c

li

o

n

.

Nobody

know

s

th

a

t

s

h

e i

s

a

g

od

d

e

ss

o

f

Tarol.

S

haron

Kattuah

,

in

charge o

f

gcne

r.uin

g

D

C's

own

m

e

rchandi

sing progrJ

m

, is

a

Tar

ot

rC'Jd

er o

f

o

ld

-a

dark

-eye

d lad

y

who

,

dre

sse

d appropriately

,

would

not lo

ok o

ut

of place

in a Roman

y ca

ravan

.

We

m

e

t

for

the first tim

e

in Atlanla

i

n 19

93

allh

e

Diamond Di

stnb

utors

con

f

e

renc

e

,

where

w

e sa

lon hi

g

h

s

lool

s

and

drank

s

qu

a

'i

hed

fru

it

drink

s

.

We talked

a

bout S

luff

We

'

d

I.o

\'e

To

Sec

-

a

s

tatue h

a'ied o

n

P.

C

rJ.i

g

Ru

ssell

'

s

dra

wing

of

Dream

i

n

SANDMA

j

\i

#50,

a

D

C'J

lh

Tell1porJ.~'

Tatt

oo

,

Ih

c

s

il\

'

e

r

ankh

(

wit

h

a long

thin D

ea

th m

i

ni

co

mic

i

n

the

box)

,

and

th

e

n

1

m

e

ntionl'tl

t

h

e

idea

of

d

o

ing

a Venigo

Taro

t...

I did nol know that

S

har

o

n was

a

Tarot

person, although

I

found

out

\

'

ery

quickl

y

.

J

ce

nain

l

y

didn

'

t

expec

t her to

go

into

hi

g

h

,

dllrk

places

,

and

p

ers

uade

some \

'

C

!)

'

s

kl'plical people in

s

uits

that a V

e

ni

go

Tarot

really would

be

a

cool

,

prJ

c

ticaJ

idea

,

and

r

C'

.tll

y

,

peoplc honestly would

bu

y it. nut s

he did

.

(S

h

e

al

so

mad

e

al

l

th

e

Atlanta

Sugges

ti

o

n

s

excep

llh

e

ankh illio r

C'Jli

t

y,

CH'n

Ih

e

De-Jlh

Tel1lpora~'

Tattoo

s

.

)

(8)

I m

e

nti

oned}o her t

hat Ra

c

h

e

l

wa

<;

an

h

o

n

es

t

-

t

o-good

n

cs'<;

Tarot

A

uth

ority

,

an

d sc

llta p

il

e o

f

b

ooks on

th

e

Tarot t

o

Karen

Berger

,

Ve

rti

go

Empre

ss

(w

h

ic

h

gives

u

s Ka

r

en's c

ard)

;

a

nd in

th

e

au

t

umn

of

1

993

,

th

e

four of

u

s

,

Karen

,

Sha

r

o

n

,

R

a

c

h

el and

I.

found

o

u

rsc

l

Vl'S

i

n

a hOlel

s

u

ite

i

n

New

Y

o

rk

,

s

urr

ounde

d

by a

st

ran

ge co

ll

ection

o

f

Tar

o

l

Cards -

th

e

S

hakes

pearian Tarol

,

Th

e

M~lhic

Tarot

,

T

he Amu

s

in

g

Cal<;

Tar

o

l

,

Th

e No

u

ve

lle

Cu

i

S

in

e

Tarot

an

d

such

l

i

k

e

,

say

i

n

g

th

i

n

g

s

li

ke

"Wcll

,

if

wc're goi

n

g

1

0

do

it

, I

hop

e

it

'

ll

be

be

n

er

th

an

Ihi

s

one

.

I lik

e

their

pa

ckagi

n

g jo

b

,

Ih

o

u

g

h

,"

Th

e

r

oo

m

wa"

o

n th

e 24

th fl

oo

r

,

and

1 was

astonis

h

ed

t

o find that the

wi

ndo

ws ope

n

e

d

al

l

th

e way,

so

m

e

th

ing

which

seemed

d

ee

pl)

'

unlikely

in

suicidal

hi

gh-

ri

sc

New York.

(1\\'0

weeks

,

later

I r

ead in

th

e

n

ews

paper

,

wit

h

a g

rim

IO

ld

,

yo

ll

-so sa

ti

sfacti

o

n

,

t

hat

someo

n

e had

j

u

st

thr

O\\l1

t

hcm

s

eln

'S

ou

t

of

that

very selfsame

\\

indow.)

We

a

ll

imme

d

ia

t

el

y

ag

r

ee

d

t

h

at

J

o

hn

Constantine

was

the

F

oo

l

.

Afte

r

thaI our opinions were

spi

rite

d

and

varied

...

Th

e

a

c

tual proc

ess

,

of d

eciding

w

hi

c

h

o

f th

e

Major Arca

na

s

h

ould

be

which

charac

t

er

,

was one

it

wou

ld

be

impo

ss

i

ble

to

desc

ribe

wit

h

out

dest

roying

t

he

sense of magic and m

ystery

w

hi

c

h

is esse

nt

ial

10 all

t

ru

e

T

a

r

ot decks

.

It

i

s

possible thaI

Wing-foo

l

ed

H

enn

es

,

in

h

i

s

guise as Thol

h

of t

h

e E

gyptian

s,

r

C\

'

C'J.led

h

i

m

se

lf

1

0 u

s

,

and

su

ggested

s

trong

l

y

t

hat

,

for exam

pl

e

,

B

l

ack

Orchid

s

h

ou

ld

be

S

treng

th

.

It

is

eq

ual

ly

poss

i

b

l

e

that

so

m

e cards w

ere o

nl

y

agreed

upon

after o

n

e or

m

o

r

e o

f

t

h

e

f

o

ur

o

f u

s thre'J

t

ent'<i

to

t

hro

w

him

·,

h

e

r

o

,

t

hemse

l

ves

-,

out of

th

e

on

l

y

functional

24t

h

-

fl

oor wi

nd

ow

in

New Y

o

rk.

Let

y

ou

r

imagi

n

atio

n

b

e yo

ur

gUidc

he

r

e.

Ra

c

h

e

l took

Ollr notes and

co

n

clUS

i

o

n

s,

a

nd

sent them, toge

th

c

r

w

ith h

ac

k

g

r

o

und

o

f h

e

r

ow

n

,

ac

r

oss

th

c w

id

e

Atlantic Sea

t

o Oavc

.

D

ave

M

c

Kean b

egan work on

t

he

cards.

H

e

was

fascinatl'<i

by

th

e

id

ea of c

r

ea

tin

g

Tarot

im

ag

es

usin

g

th

e co

m

p

uter -

t

h

e

ble

nd

ing

of

s

tr

eam

s

and

trad

i

tions

,

Ihe m

i

xtu

r

e of o

ld

and ncw

.

A

n

d

,

as

prin

tout<;

o

f

the ca

rd

s began

t

o

appC'

"Jf

,

t

h

e res

t

of

liS

b

ecame

incr

ea

<;

i

n

gly exci

ted

.

What

wc

Wl'fC

gettin

g wa.;;

indeed a

Ve

rt

igo

Tarot

,

bu

t

,

mor

e i

mportant

,

it

\\~dS

a co

n

temporary Tarot.

A Tarol

p

e

rf

ectly appropriate

f

or t

h

e

co

ld

an

d

lonely

e

nd

o

f

th

e

t

we

nti

eth

century.

Th

ey were

as strange

,

as

beautiful

,

a

s

detail

e

d

a

nd

as

access

ible

a

s we

h

ad

hope

d

.

Ra

c

h

el's

text

i

s entertainin

g

,

informative

,

and

educa

ti

on

al

-

a

p

e

rf

ect

acc

o

m

pan

i

men

t

to tht

'

ca

rd

s

th

e

m

sel

ves.

And

i

l wo

u

ld

ne

vc

r ha

vc

happ

ened

,

a

t l

ea

'll

,

n

o

t in Ihi

s

f

o

rm

,

were

it

not f

o

r

a

succ

e

ss

ion

of o

dd

coincide

n

ces

and

confl

u

en

ces

,

o

f

com

'

e

r

ge

n

ces a

n

d c

h

arac

t

ers

.

O

f

whom

,

I

suppo

s

e

,

in

r

etro

s

p

(.'C

t

,

I

am al

so o

n

e.

A

s

,

n

ow

,

arc YO

II

.

.

.

(9)
(10)

The Tarot i

s

an andent tea

c

hin

g

di

sg

uised

as

a

g

am

e

.

Th

e

Tarot

is

a

f

ortune-

t

e

Uing devi

ce

based o

n

uni

versa1 symbols.

The Tar

o

t

is

an

a

rt

f

o

nn

u

s

ed

f

or

f

o

rtun

e

t

e

llin

g.

Th

e

Tar

o

t

i

s

a

g

am

e

di

sg

u

i

s

ed

as

anci

e

nt

t~lchings

.

.

.

Peopl

e

s

tudying

th

e

Tarot l

ove

to d

ebate

i

ts

origin

.

Ilardline rJlionali

s

l

<;

in

s

i

st

that

the Tarot

i

s

nothin

g

mor

e

t

han

a

card

gam

e,

and

o

nl

y

a

f

oo

l

(

th

e

first

c

ard in

th

e

d

eck

i

s c

alled

the Fool)

woul

d

fall for

the idea

that it

co

m

es

f

rom

s

ome

sec

r

e

t

s

ourc

e.

M

os

t peopl

e

,

h

o

w

eve

r

,

pr

e

f

e

r

10

th

i

nk

o

f

sec

r

ets

.

S

in

ce

th

e

l

ate

e

ighteenth

cenlUry

,

man

y s

weepin

g

th

eo

ri

es

h

ave

ari

se

n

regarding

th

e

Tarot'

s

beginnings

(

how

fittin

g

f

or a

Tarot

b

a<;cd on

co

m

ics, a

med

i

um

w

h

e

re

every c

h

amcle

r

has a

··s

ecret origin")

.

Peopl

e

h

ave

claimed

th

e

Tar

ot o

ri

ginated

in

an

cie

nt

Egypt

,

Atl

a

nti

s,

o

r

w

ith

a

sec

r

e

t

co

nv

oc

ation

o

f

s

piritual

mast

ers

in

th

e

Moro

cc

an city of Fe

z

in

th

e

ye

ar

1

2

00.

S

ome

Imv

e s

uggesled

tha

t

th

e

Tarot

comes o

ul

of

matriar

c

hal

w

it

c

h

c

raft

,

Tantric

Goddess wo

r

s

hip

,

Roman

y

(Gyp~y)

lore,

j

ew

i

s

h

m

ys

ti

c

i

s

m

,

Chaldean astrol

ogy,

as

w

e

ll

as

man

y

ol

h

e

r

so

urc

es.

U

nfortunat

ely

f

or

th

ese

th

eo

ri

es

and

their

s

upport

ers

,

very li

ttl

e

evi

d

e

n

ce exists to s

upp

o

rt

th

e

m

.

Wh

a

t

we

know

abo

ut

the Tar

o

t i

s

that

i

t

first

a

ppear

e

d in

Ital

y

around

1

450 (p

la

yi

n

g card

s

o

f an

y

kind

are

m

e

ntioned in Europ

e

around fifty or

so

ye

ars

C'd.rlie

r

).

The

C'Jri

i

es

t

known

Tar

o

t

deck

s

arc

handpaint

ed

ca

r

ds

presented

as a weddi

n

g

pr

ese

nt b

e

tween th

e

Sfo

r

z

a and Vi

sco

nti familie

s

(the

Vi

sc

onti

s

ruled Milan

).

Whether

o

r nOl it

was

anythin

g

e

l

se,

the

earl

y

TarOl

ce

rtainl

y

was a game,

th

e

anc

es

t

or

of b

rid

ge

and

whi

s

t.

The

Italian

s cal

l

ed

the

game tarocchi

;

when Ih

e

French adopt

ed

it th

ey

named

i

t

les

larols

.

Peopl

e s

till

pla

y

it

in

so

uth

e

rn

E

urop

e

and

Non

h

Afri

c

a

.

And

yet... Certai

n imag

es

in th

e

Tarot

se

em

to

cry

oul

f

o

r

a symbolic,

eve

n

an

eso

t

e

ri

c

,

int

e

rpretation

.

DC'dlh

,

the D

evi

l

,

jud

g

m

ent-these

all

s

ugg

es

t

r

e

li

g

i

o

n

.

Th

e

Ma

gic

i

an

im

p

li

es occ

ult

wisdo

m

and

pmcti

ces.

In

ano

th

e

r

wa

y,

so

d

oes

th

e

H

ermit. And w

hat

of

the imag

e o

f

a

F

e

male

Po

pe

(

pred

ecesso

r

of

th

e

mod

e

m

card

,

th

e

nigh

Pri

es

t

ess)?

Do

es

that

ri

ng of

her

esy?

In

th

e

1

3

th

ce

ntury

a sec

t

called

th

e Guglielm

it

cs

predi

c

ted

that

C

hri

s

t

wou

ld

return

in th

e y

ear

1

300

and u

s

h

e

r

in a

go

ld

en a

ge,

led

b

y

wo

m

en

p

o

p

es.

A

s

the n

ew cen

tury

approac

h

e

d

,

th

ey e

l

ec

t

e

d a

wo

man

nam

e

d Maria

V

i

sco

nti

as

th

e

first

wo

man

pope

.

The

c

hur

c

h

put down

th

e

here

sy

and

burn

ed

Mar

ia

at the

s

tak

e

.

Some

1

50

years

l

a

t

e

r

,

th

e

fir

s

t

known

Tarot d

ec

k appeared

a

t

a wedding

of

that

same V

i

sco

nti

fam

il

y.

A

nd

t

h

e

Han

ged

Man

,

th

a

t

m

yst

eri

o

u

s

ima

ge

o

f

a

man

dangling b

y

one

foot

-

h

e

m

ay

h

ave o

ri

gi

n

ated

i

n t

h

e

Italian p

ractice of

h

a

n

ging

trai

to

r

s

u

p

s

id

e

down

,

but

i

f

s

o

,

why

do

es

h

i

s

fa

ce

a

p

pea

r

so

f'dd

ia

nt

?

Th

e evidence

f

or

m

ys

t

erio

u

s so

ur

ces

f

o

r th

e

Tarot

li

es

primaril

y

in

th

e

symbo

li

s

m. For

example

,

Th

e

Hindu

go

d

Vi

s

hnu i

s

o

ften

s

ho

w

n

w

ith four

arm

s,

h

o

ldin

g

a di

s

k

,

:1

l

o

tu

s,

a

club

,

and

a co

n

c

h

. At

least tw

o

of

the

se,

the

di

s

k and th

e

clu

b

,

c

orr

es

pond to tw

o

of

th

e

four

s

ui

ts

in

th

e

ear

l

y

Tar

o

t

d

ec

k.

So

m

e

thin

g

mor

e

dir

ec

tl

y

Europeam.rnany

myth

s

and al

l

egories exi

s

t around

th

e

im

age

of

th

e

H

oly

Gra

il

,

Ch

ri

s

t'

s

c

up

from th

e

Las

t

Su

pper

.

Often

th

e

s

t

o

rie

s

al

s

o

t

ell

o

f a

s

word

,

a

lan

ce

,

a

n

d

a

di

s

k.

The

se

four

objects

are

exac

tl

y

tho

se

o

f the four

s

uit

s

(

the

lan

ce

and th

e

cl

ub

are varia

t

ions

of

Ihe

s

ame

s

uit

,

now

c

all

e

d Wand

s).

Did

th

e

Tar

ot

de

s

i

gners

borrow

the

m fr

o

lllth

e

Grail

s

t

orie

s,

or

did

both d

e

riv

e

fr

o

m

sec

r

e

t

sy

mb

o

li

s

m

that h

as

been

1

0S

II

O

u

s?

Th

e

m

os

t

co

mpelling

connection

s

f

o

r

th

e

Tarot li

e

w

ith

the comp

l

ex

sys

t

e

m

of

j

ewis

h m

ystic

i

s

m

known

as

Kabbalah

.

Along wilh th

e

four

s

ui

ts

,

th

e

Tarot contains

tw

e

n

ty-

two

trump

ca

rd

s.

Kab

balah

b

ases

mu

c

h

of

its i

deas

o

n th

e

sec

r

e

t

mC'dnin

g of

th

e

t

we

n

ty·

two

l

eite

r

s

of

th

e

n

ebrew

alphab

e

t.

Tho

se

fou

r

s

u

its

al

so

find

a

reflection i

n

Kabbalah

.

K:lbbaJah d

esc

rib

es

fou

r

·

·

wo

rlds

,'

·

o

r

s

ta

ges

,

b

y

w

hi

c

h

God

c

r

e-d

ted

the

cos

m

os

.

Ea

c

h

Tarot

s

uit

c

ontain

s

len

numb

e

red

ca

rd

s

,

Ace

throu

g

h

T

e

n.

In

eac

h

o

f th

e

four Kabbali

s

t

ic

w

o

rlds

we

find a Tr

ee

o

f

Jjf

e

with

t

e

n

e

neq

,'Y ce

nters known

as

sepbirolh

.

The

su

i"

a

l

so co

ntain

four

Co

un

Ca

rd

s:

Pa

ge

,

Kni

g

ht

,

Qu

ee

n

,

a

nd

Kin

g.

Kabbalah

(

and

judai

s

m in

ge

n

e

ld.

l)

pla

ces

a

g

r

ea

t d

eal o

f

e

mpha

s

i

s

on God

's

f

o

u

r-leite

r n

ame

,

known

in

E

n

g

li

s

h

as

th

e

(11)

,

.

\

(12)

Ther

e

i

s

onl

y

.

onc problem

with

aU

these

examp

l

es of

sy

mboli

c

links between the T

a

rot and

eso

teric

systems.

N

o actual

evidence

e

xists to

s

upport an

y

of

the theori

cs

.

In all the man

y

thou

s

and

s

of

pa

ges

of Kabbali

s

tic tex

ts

we

find no mention of anything re

se

mbling the Tarot.

The Tarot deck

emerged at

the tim

e

of

th

e

Renai

ssa

n

ce

. The int

e

lle

ctuals and

arti

s

ts

of

thi

s

tim

e

wer

e

very

taken

with esoteric ideas and

sy

mboli

s

m

.

We find ima

ges s

imilar to Tarot

i

n al

c

hem

y

and

allegorical

s

treet proc

ess

ion

s

.

Po

ss

ibl

y

,

th

e

cards

began

as a

gam

e

,

but the d

esigners

found

it natul"a1

to base the

g

ame

on

s

piritual and

even

se

cret

ideas.

And ma

y

be th

e

Tarot doe

s

n

Oi

belong to an

y

particular

sys

tem

.

Maybe this

lack

of an

y

hard ideolo

gy

i

s

what giv

es

it its

s

tunning r

es

iliency

,

so

that

all

sys

tem

s

,

all tradition

s,

all mythologie

s

-including the

growi

n

g

m)lhology of

a Gertain

l

i

n

e of

comic

books-can

s

hine

so

wondrousl

y

in thi

s s

imple pack of

cards.

The Kabbali

s

tic interpretation ofrarot

,

and in fact

,

the

entire occu

lt tradition

,

began in the late 1

8

th

ce

ntu

ry w

h

en a French

occulti

s

t named Antoine

Court

d

e

G

e

belin proclaimed that the

"

Book

o

f

Thoth

,"

th

e supposed

bo

o

k of all knowled

ge

(rom

a

n

cie

nt

Egypt

,

had

not been

lo

s

t after all

,

but

existed

in plain

Sig

ht

-as

th

e

lowl

y

Tarot. In the

l

ate

19th

century

,

another

French occu

lti

st

,

Eliphas

Levi

(o

riginall

y

Alphon

se

Loui

s

Constant) carried

de Gebelin

's

ideas further

,

with

more

comp

l

e

t

e

links

10

Kabbalah

.

Th

e

links becam

e

full

y

e

s

tabli

s

hed

at

the

e

nd

of the 19th

century wit

h

the work

of

a

sec

ret o

cc

ult

group cal

l

ed

th

e

Order of the Golden Dawn

,

based on Freemasonry

and

RO

S

i

crucianism.

A

group

of

ritual ma

g

ician

s,

the Order used

comp

l

ex ceremonies a

nd

magical d

evices

to

mi

s

e th

e

m

s

elv

es

to

supposedly god

lik

e

l

eve

l

s

. William Butler Yeat

s

was

the mo

s

t

famou

s

member

,

but th

e

re

were

many other arti

sts

,

writers

,

politician

s

,

and

even

s

cienti

sts.

The

Golden

Da\\-TI last

e

d for about fifteen

years,

but

its influen

ce

contin

u

es even

toda

y

,

not ju

s

t

in

it

s

act

ual

id

eas

and practi

ces

,

but al

so

in

its

very

imag

e.

When we

s

ee

gro

up

s

in r

o

be

s cas

tin

g

m

ys

teriou

s s

pell

s

in comi

cs

,

or

mo

v

ie

s

,

we

really are

lookin

g

at a debased

version of

the Order

of

the Golden Dawn.

As

part of their work

,

th

ey

developed a

vast

sys

tem linking

every

Tarot

card

with Kabbalah

,

as

trology

,

an

ge

l

s

,

demon

s

,

nam

es

of God

s

,

e

t

c.

The

astro

l

ogical

attribution

s

on the trump

cards of

th

e

Vert

i

g

o Tarot are

based (Wi

th

variation

s)

on the work of th

e

Golden Dawn

.

Toda

y

,

the Tarot draw

s

on thi

s

complica

t

e

d

occu

lt

tradition

,

but

th

e

u

ses

and ideas

ha

ve expanded.

Modern Tarot

creators

have linked the

c

ards to

v

arious

c

ultur

es (N

ativ

e

Am

eric

an

,

Persian

,

Ma

y

an

,

Celtic

,

Voodoo,

and man

y

other

s)

,

s

pe

c

ific mytholo

g

ie

s (A

rthurian

, Norse

,

etc

.)

,

ab

s

tract

pictures

designed to indu

ce

p

syc

hological

s

tate

s

,

art f

o

r art

'

s sa

ke

,

go

ddes

s

worsh

ip

,

alchem

y

,

nature

,

h

e

rbal

mediCine

,

and

s

cience fi

c

tion

-

to

name a

few

.

Once we

se

parate

th

e

Tarot

from

fi

xe

d ideologi

es

,

w

e c

an b

egi

n

to

look

at

it

as

a

s

p

ec

ial

wo

rk

of

th

e

imagination

.

Our

c

ulture has a

certif

n

bias again

s

t image

s

and fantasie

s.

We

believe

in

sys

t

e

matic

intellectual

co

n

st

ruction

s

;

we

look doubtfull

y

at

s

tori

es.

But

s

torie

s

and

ima

ges carry a

p

owe

r that

can ou

tl

ast

the mo

s

t

complex

philo

s

ophical

sys

t

e

m

s.

Thai pow

e

r i

s

the abilit

y

to

touch

u

s a

t

a

d

ee

p

level w

e

cannot explain

in normal t

e

rm

s.

We f

eel

it

in a tinglin

g

thr

oughout

our b

o

die

s

,

in a

se

n

se

of plea

s

ur

e

,

or

fear

,

or

s

impl

y

awe

.

We

recognize

a truth w

e c

annot pi

geo

nh

o

l

e or explain

.

The Tarot

works b

ec

au

se

w

h

en

w

e

take

away

all

the books

,

and theorie

s

,

and

linka

ges

,

what remains

are th

e

picture

s.

Pro

voca

tiv

e

,

m

ys

teriou

s

,

making u

se of

all th

ose

tradition

s w

ithout

ever

ge

lting

s

tu

ck

in

them

.

And

s

omethin

g

e

l

se

ab

o

ut the Tarot. W

e c

an

s

huffie

it.

Th

e

Ta

ro

t r

ese

mbl

es

a

comic

book in that it

co

ntain

s

pictur

es s

h

OWing ch<lracters

doin

g

t

hin

gs

. Turn

them over

on

e

b

y

one

,

or set

them down

by number

,

and a

s

t

ory

ma

y

emerge

(

thi

s

i

s

particu

larl

y

Iru

e

of the

trump cards

,

but it

can

hold

as

well (or th

e

four

s

uits

). Un

like

a

c

omic

book,

howe

ve

r

,

th

e

card

s

are

n

ot

ph

ys

icall

y

attached

to

each

other

.

W

e

can

create a who

l

e

n

ew

book just

b

y

rearmngin

g

the

car

d

s.

We can learn a

great

d

e

al abolltthe

ca

rd

s

b

y

looking

al

their

se

quen

ce

.

For

examp

l

e

,

the fact th<lt

the Devil

,

card

15

of

th

e

tw

e

nty-two trump

cards

,

follo

ws

Temp

er

an

ce

,

number

1

4

,

and precede

s

the Tower

,

1

6

,

t

e

ll

s

u

s so

methin

g

<lhout

th

e

D

e

vil

's "

me-.min

g.

"

"

(13)

References

Related documents