FORWARD TAROT
Introduction
Tarot - a deck of 78 picture cards, each assigned specific symbols, myths and metaphors - what an alluring tool for art curators! Its tradition dates back to 14th century Europe, where a simple card game began to be used as a divination technique. Today, the tarot is a projective tool that helps with self-development at various stages of life. Its associated archetypes, immersed in the collective unconscious, have attracted psychologists, thinkers, and a variety of creative souls for ages. No wonder that among those who found interest in the cards were: psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, his teachings served as the basis for the Jungian tarot deck, painter Salvador Dali, who created a whole deck of cards with his illustrations, or film director Alejandro Jodorowsky, who enshrined his interpretations of the cards in his monumental volume entitled "The Way of Tarot: The Spiritual Teacher in the cards".
We too were inspired by the complexity of the tarot system and the accessibility of its form - a deck of playing cards. We decided to prepare the Forward Tarot deck together with the best contemporary artists. We felt that believing in the power of an artistic message can change fate and have an extremely important therapeutic function today. Created by people involved in contemporary art, our tarot deck points to their important role in society and the often prophetic nature of their actions. This aspect is extremely important for us in the current political situation in our country (Poland), in which art and the institutions responsible for it are used for abuse and manipulation. We tried to choose the theme of each card in correspondence with the artistic pursuits of the invited author. During production, it also turned out that this connection occurs also on the level of biographical threads of individual authors. The message crafted by the collective is strong, up-to-date and an uncompromising commentary to contemporary reality.
This deck exists at the intersection of various forms: it is an art publication, a conceptual exhibition in the form of cards, and a classical tarot deck. It carries the infinite potential of mini-exhibitions, ready to be spread on the tables of both viewers who crave esoteric experiences and art curators alike. The deck is based on one of the most popular tarot decks, The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, created by Arthur Edward Waite in 1909, with world-famous illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. Our deck consists of 78 cards: 22 cards of the Major Arcana and 56 cards of the Minor Arcana series (Latin: arcana - initiation, secret knowledge). To explore readings concerning a particular theme one uses all cards in the deck. The best cards for meditation are the Major Arcana, symbolizing the existential journey, representing the archetypal characters, roles, and situations that a person encounters in life. Minor Arcana consists of four colors: Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles, they can be treated as complementary cards to the Major Arcana. Each color includes the Ace, cards numbered from 2 to 10, and the personal cards - the Page, Knight, Queen, and King. It is advised not to peek at the cards before the spread, to cut the shuffled deck with your left hand (towards your heart) and to purify the cards with a shuffle before and after working with them.
The descriptions of particular cards are based on a training script created by Laurana - an astrologist, tarot reader, and psychologist, who has been supervising our project and running Tarot courses for years.
Tarot - a deck of 78 picture cards, each assigned specific symbols, myths and metaphors - what an alluring tool for art curators! Its tradition dates back to 14th century Europe, where a simple card game began to be used as a divination technique. Today, the tarot is a projective tool that helps with self-development at various stages of life. Its associated archetypes, immersed in the collective unconscious, have attracted psychologists, thinkers, and a variety of creative souls for ages. No wonder that among those who found interest in the cards were: psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, his teachings served as the basis for the Jungian tarot deck, painter Salvador Dali, who created a whole deck of cards with his illustrations, or film director Alejandro Jodorowsky, who enshrined his interpretations of the cards in his monumental volume entitled "The Way of Tarot: The Spiritual Teacher in the cards".
We too were inspired by the complexity of the tarot system and the accessibility of its form - a deck of playing cards. We decided to prepare the Forward Tarot deck together with the best contemporary artists. We felt that believing in the power of an artistic message can change fate and have an extremely important therapeutic function today. Created by people involved in contemporary art, our tarot deck points to their important role in society and the often prophetic nature of their actions. This aspect is extremely important for us in the current political situation in our country (Poland), in which art and the institutions responsible for it are used for abuse and manipulation. We tried to choose the theme of each card in correspondence with the artistic pursuits of the invited author. During production, it also turned out that this connection occurs also on the level of biographical threads of individual authors. The message crafted by the collective is strong, up-to-date and an uncompromising commentary to contemporary reality.
This deck exists at the intersection of various forms: it is an art publication, a conceptual exhibition in the form of cards, and a classical tarot deck. It carries the infinite potential of mini-exhibitions, ready to be spread on the tables of both viewers who crave esoteric experiences and art curators alike. The deck is based on one of the most popular tarot decks, The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, created by Arthur Edward Waite in 1909, with world-famous illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. Our deck consists of 78 cards: 22 cards of the Major Arcana and 56 cards of the Minor Arcana series (Latin: arcana - initiation, secret knowledge). To explore readings concerning a particular theme one uses all cards in the deck. The best cards for meditation are the Major Arcana, symbolizing the existential journey, representing the archetypal characters, roles, and situations that a person encounters in life. Minor Arcana consists of four colors: Swords, Wands, Cups, and Pentacles, they can be treated as complementary cards to the Major Arcana. Each color includes the Ace, cards numbered from 2 to 10, and the personal cards - the Page, Knight, Queen, and King. It is advised not to peek at the cards before the spread, to cut the shuffled deck with your left hand (towards your heart) and to purify the cards with a shuffle before and after working with them.
The descriptions of particular cards are based on a training script created by Laurana - an astrologist, tarot reader, and psychologist, who has been supervising our project and running Tarot courses for years.