Anima Tarot

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

"The weird ceremony": a moon illustration from The Century magazine, 1908.

2012-01-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

Throwing a snowball at Cupid: a Lovers card from Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, Dec. 1892.

2012-01-18T00:00:00.001-05:00

Death's Door, engraved after William Blake. From The English Illustrated magazine, 1890.

2012-01-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

A Punch and Judy Queen of Wands.

2012-01-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

A Punch and Judy Fool.

2012-01-03T00:00:00.001-05:00

A Punch and Judy Lovers. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

2011-12-28T00:00:00.003-05:00

A Punch and Judy Death. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

2011-12-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

A Punch and Judy Devil. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

A Punch and Judy Hierophant. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

2011-12-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

A Punch and Judy Hanged Man. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

2011-12-05T00:00:00.003-05:00

A Punch and Judy Ace of Wands. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.

2011-12-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

A Manuscript that's ready to be read has language like a thousand sticks arcing through the air and seen in a mirror.
—Gary Barwin, "The Questionless Book Interview"

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

"The Crystal," an illustration from The English Illustrated Magazine, 1907.

2011-11-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

The Star, from English Illustrated magazine, 1892.

2011-11-18T00:00:00.001-05:00

A house of Tarot cards, from Luigi Serafini's Codex Seraphinianus. See also our discussion of how the Welsh village of Portmeirion is composed of Tarot archetypes, over at the Association for Tarot Studies.

2011-11-12T00:00:00.003-05:00

A Hanged Man, courtesy of Johanna Kovitz's Yiddish Wit (and via a tip from Gary Barwin). The saying reads, "May you grow like an onion, with your head in the ground."

2011-11-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

A Hermit, from The Ludgate magazine, 1897.

2011-10-29T00:00:00.001-04:00

"There is another way." A Chariot from The Ludgate magazine, 1897.

2011-10-22T00:00:00.003-04:00

"Love stands at the gateway of each human soul,
holding in his hands a rose and a drawn sword—
the sword is for the many, the rose for the one."
—F. Marion Crawford, The Witch of Prague, 1890.

The illustration is our own.

2011-10-16T00:00:00.003-04:00

The Tower: an illustration from Life Magazine, 1890.

2011-10-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

"A keeper of the legends of Ireland": from The Century magazine, 1889.

2011-10-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

A Hermit at the court of Amenhotep III, Temple of Luxor: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1908.

2011-10-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

"Tales of the tea-leaves": an illustration from a 1914 issue of The Century.

2011-10-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

The Hermit: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1901. The caption reads, "Then he lighted the lantern and went forth."

2011-09-28T00:00:00.002-04:00

The caption reads: "The Sun in his chariot: from an old Persian manuscript." (The Century magazine, 1903.)

2011-09-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

This illustration from a 1904 issue of The Century magazine recalls Jeff McBride's advice: "The best way to predict your future is to create it." The emphatic caption reads: "I do more than foretell events. I make them happen."

2011-09-22T00:00:00.001-04:00

Riddling the Sphinx: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1910.

2011-09-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

The cards "never lie": an illustration from The Century magazine, 1910.

2011-09-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

Reading tea leaves: an illustration from Scribner's Monthly, 1877.

2011-09-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

Strength: St. Francis taming the wolf of Gubbio, from The Century magazine, 1912.

2011-09-10T00:00:00.002-04:00

"The Triumph of Love," by John La Farge, featured in Scribner's magazine, 1880.

2011-09-08T20:30:00.002-04:00

An ace of wands: "The girl laughed, and struck at him with the iron stake." From The Century magazine, 1892.

2011-09-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Fool on the clifftop with his dog, the Magician waving his wand, and the Sun shining in his glory all come together in this cover of Life magazine from Sept. 1906.

2011-09-04T00:00:00.003-04:00

The Star: an illustration from The Century magazine, 1917.

Dedicated to Janet Boyer.

2011-09-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

The Moon: an illustration by Rockwell Kent for The Century magazine, 1922.

2011-08-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

"The Fool's Reverie," an illustration from Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, 1883.

2011-08-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

The Sorceress, from the painting by R. Willis Maddox, as printed in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Magazine, 1895.

2011-08-22T00:00:00.003-04:00

The Moon: an illustration from McClure's magazine, 1905.

2011-08-19T00:00:00.002-04:00

"The Lady Moon arranging her final pose": an illustration from Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, 1902.

2011-08-16T00:00:00.002-04:00

A Wheel of Fortune: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1902. Its caption reads, "The wheel turns."

2011-08-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

"'Are you the Hermit?' she inquired": an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1902.

2011-08-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

"Truth before the Seer": an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1900.

2011-08-07T00:00:00.002-04:00

The Fool: an illustration of an idealist from Life magazine, 1919.

2011-08-04T00:00:00.003-04:00

The Moon meets The Lovers: an illustration from Life magazine, 1919. The caption reads: "The Moon: You're doing fairly well, my son; but I know I've seen them all from Adam down."

2011-08-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

"The Woman in White," featured in Scribner's magazine, 1895.

2011-07-29T00:00:00.001-04:00

The Moon: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1864.

2011-07-27T16:10:00.001-04:00

“My interest lies somewhere near a sense that words are like tarot cards, and that a poem manipulates unpredictable depths with its words. . . . I like the tarot because it works like poetry and because you don’t really have to ‘believe in’ anything. It’s there to be used. The symbols are remarkably durable and beautiful; they float out to encompass all kinds of meanings.” —Alice Notley (via Enrique Enriquez)

2011-07-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

The fortune-teller: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1859.

2011-07-24T00:55:00.001-04:00

The Tower: from Walther Litzelmann's Artilleriebuch (1582).

2011-07-22T00:00:00.002-04:00

The Emperor combines with Death in this illustration from Harper's magazine, 1857.

2011-07-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

Reading a tea leaf: an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1901.

2011-07-16T00:00:00.002-04:00

Strength: Orpheus with his lyre could subdue lions. An illustration from a 1906 issue of Scribner's.

2011-07-13T00:00:00.001-04:00

Yes, or no? An illustration from Harper's magazine, 1874.

2011-07-10T00:00:00.003-04:00

The Wheel: an illustration from Scribner's, 1900. The caption reads: "Dreamed of clipping about on a silently revolving wheel."

2011-07-07T00:00:00.002-04:00

"This should be a lucky day to tell your fortune":
an illustration from a 1908 issue of Harper's magazine.

2011-07-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Moon, a card from 1454, printed in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1862.

2011-07-02T00:00:00.002-04:00

"Truth in the Fool's lodge": an illustration from Harper's magazine, 1900.

2011-07-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

A wheel of fortune from the Book of Knighthood, 1460.

2011-06-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

A glimpse behind the veil, from a 1905 issue of Pall Mall.

2011-06-28T00:00:00.001-04:00

The Star, from Pall Mall magazine, 1901

2011-06-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

Alexander coercing the Delphian oracle: an illustration from Century Illustrated, 1898

2011-06-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

Strength: from Harper's magazine, 1915.

2011-06-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

The Devil: an illustration from a 1900 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.

2011-06-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

"The Queen of Spades denotes ill-luck": from The Strand magazine, 1891

2011-06-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

The Wheel, from an 1858 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine.

2011-06-11T09:22:00.000-04:00

Requiescat in pace, Jean-Claude.

2011-06-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

2011-06-07T00:00:00.001-04:00

Death: a magazine illustration from 1896.

2011-06-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Hermit, from The Strand Magazine (1891).

2011-06-02T11:02:00.000-04:00

Two swords of insight, from Cosmopolitan magazine, 1901.

2011-05-30T00:00:00.002-04:00

A Hanged Man from Graham's Illustrated Magazine (1857).

2011-05-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

The best way to predict your future is to create it.
—Jeff McBride

2011-05-25T00:00:00.001-04:00

From Jan Svankmajer's Alice (1988). Via.

2011-05-22T00:00:00.001-04:00

"You ask, 'Why does God not reveal the future to us?' Ask yourselves why you do not believe you are God, for then you would know the future, would create it yourselves; each one of you would create that part that is his to create, and from that part, each of you would be able to see the whole."
—Gustav Meyrink, Walpurgisnacht

2011-05-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Knight of Swords: a detail from "Joan of Arc" (1828). See the full context here.

2011-05-18T00:00:00.001-04:00

The Emperor: a detail from "Joan of Arc" (1828). See the full context here.

2011-05-17T17:26:00.004-04:00

Jean-Francois Garneray pulled out all the stops in this portrait of Napoleon. There is the crown of laurel leaves, an actual crown, a staff, an ermine robe, a carved lion figure, and of course the obligatory throne. A perfect, if slightly operatic, evocation of the Emperor archetype.

2011-05-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Lovers: a detail from "Forty Thieves, or The Story of Ali Baba and His Female Slave Morgiana" (1803). See the full context here.

2011-05-10T18:41:00.001-04:00

An illustration of Fortune and Her Wheel, from a 15th century edition of Boccaccio's On the Fate of Famous Men.

2011-05-09T00:00:00.004-04:00

A queen of coins: a detail from "Forty Thieves, or The Story of Ali Baba and His Female Slave Morgiana" (1803). See the full context here.

2011-05-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

the tarot is frozen, melt it with your breath
—Enrique Enriquez

2011-05-06T20:26:00.001-04:00

Two of Wands: a detail from "The Entertaining History of Robin Hood, & Little John" (1809). See full context here.

2011-04-24T13:29:00.002-04:00

Astrologia, 16th century print by Hans Sebald Beham.

2011-04-21T10:24:00.010-04:00

Back in the first decade of the 1900s, Everybody's Magazine featured some article titles reminiscent of Tarot.

For instance, here's The Empress:

The Wheel of Fortune:

The Sun:

Strength:

The Lovers:

Death:

And our favorite, The Hermit:

2011-04-14T00:00:00.002-04:00

Death and the Hierophant overlap in a scene from Sergei Eisenstein's classic Ivan the Terrible Part 2.

2011-04-12T21:02:00.002-04:00

The World: a scene from Sergei Eisenstein's masterpiece Ivan the Terrible Part 1.

2011-04-12T14:56:00.002-04:00

This 19th century portrait of Ivan the Terrible was inspired by yesterdays's post. In this image, he seems more like the King of Swords.

2011-04-11T22:50:00.002-04:00

The King of Coins: a scene from Sergei Eisenstein's astonishing Ivan the Terrible Part 1.

2011-04-10T19:18:00.003-04:00

Here's a Tarot transition, between cards 0 and 1. Let's call it card number 1/2. The Fool and his dog soar off the cliff.

The image is from Old French Fairy Tales by Comtesse De Segur, illustrated by Virginia Frances Sterrett. See the book archived here.

2011-04-04T00:00:00.002-04:00

"There are many more enigmas in the shadow of a man who walks in the sun than in all the religions of the past, present, and future."
—Giorgio de Chirico, Hebdomeros (and other writings)

(Image from Jacob Koebel's book of heraldic emblem flags.)

2011-04-02T00:00:00.001-04:00

"Horrible swords hang on the walls of dark and silent rooms. Death is there, full of promises. Medusa with eyes that do not see."
—Giorgio de Chirico, Hebdomeros (and other writings)

2011-03-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

"There is nothing like the enigma of the Arcade—invented by the Romans, with all that could be Roman. A street, an arch: the sun looks different when it bathes a Roman wall in light. . . . In Rome the sense of prophecy is somehow larger: a feeling of infinite and distant grandeur inhabits it, the same feeling with which the Roman builder imbues his arcades, a reflection of the spasm of the infinite which the heavenly arch sometimes produces in man.
—Giorgio de Chirico, Hebdomeros (and other writings)

2011-03-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

"One of the strangest and deepest sensations that prehistory has left with us is the sensation of foretelling. It will always exist. It is like an eternal proof of the senselessness of the universe. The first man must have seen auguries everywhere, he must have trembled at each step he took."
—Giorgio de Chirico, Hebdomeros and other writings.

2011-03-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Leslie Marmon Silko's novel Gardens in the Dunes "repeats Tarot-like symbols—the monkey, the parrot, the stone, the snake, and the garden, for example. The Tarot scenes also recall the syncretic logic of the Ghost Dances that bookend the novel" (Caren Irr, Pink Pirates, 2010).

2011-03-27T16:00:00.010-04:00

This is a classical style portrait of the Empress Elizabeth, consort of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I. One immediately thinks of the Roman empresses, such as the formidable and wily Livia, consort of Augustus (and described by one of her grandsons as 'Ulysses in a frock.') Such an obvious historical reference attempts to associate Elizabeth with the grandeur and timelessness of the Roman Empire.

A second reference is to the ancient, powerful Mediterranean earth goddesses, such as Cybele and Demeter (who is associated with the Empress tarot card). These deities were sometimes depicted as empresses or rulers, a reminder of their absolute authority over the natural cycles of birth, growth, death, and rebirth. The Empress provides a natural counterpoint to the Emperor; he ruling over the affairs of men, she over those of nature. Thus we see both historical and mythological themes merging in Elizabeth's portrait, as several millennia's worth of ideas about female power are distilled in one seemingly simple image.

2011-03-25T02:00:00.002-04:00

"When you have found a sign, turn it round and round, look at it from the front and from the side, take a three-quarter view and a foreshortened view; remove it and note what form the memory of its appearance takes in its place; observe from which angle it looks like a horse, and from which like the molding on your ceiling; see when it suggests the aspect of a ladder, or a plumed helmet; in which position it resembles Africa, which itself resembles a huge heart . . ."
—Giorgio de Chirico, Hebdomeros

2011-03-24T20:33:00.004-04:00

This image of Neptune is from an Arents cigarette card of the early 20th century. The lovely, soft pastel colors in the border lend it an almost feminine quality that I associate with the suit of Cups. The connection of Cups with water makes this a fine King of Cups.

2011-03-23T23:14:00.001-04:00

Enrique Enriquez explores the poetics of the Marseilles Tarot. See a clip here:

http://www.indiegogo.com/Enrique-Enriquez-Project

or here:

http://vimeo.com/21418482

2011-03-21T00:00:00.003-04:00

"There's nothing so enchanting as a glimpse of the innumerable mysteries that surround us."
—Vítězslav Nezval, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

2011-03-19T00:43:00.002-04:00

No Rainbow Without the Sun

Elizabeth I's "rainbow portrait," discussed over at Phantasmaphile.