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A New Tarot?

 
 
Multiple Man
16:14 / 30.03.04
http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2062

I took a look at this and i thought, why not? Why Couldnt we use these? Wouldnt it make more sense nowadays to use these pop-culture/modern thought-representations than the Traditional Tarot which was only truly relevant to people who lived quite awhile ago?

Thoughts would be welcome and encouraged.
 
 
Warewullf
17:22 / 30.03.04
Yes, it's a fab idea but no one has even been able to do it convincingly.

I, for one, refuse to do readings with a deck that contains the words "Penis", "MILF" and Captain America.
 
 
grant
17:51 / 30.03.04
A few years ago, I abandoned a "new" tarot I was futzing with after discovering the PoMo Tarot had already covered some of the same ground.
 
 
XXII:X:II = XXX
19:09 / 30.03.04
There's a website for which I'm unfortunately flaking on the URL that has a large index of both real and conceptual tarot decks, many of which use pop culture universes to mine their particular cards. You know, you've got Star Wars and Star Trek and Care Bears or whatever. Which I suppose is no more ridiculous than the Sandman or Lord of the Rings decks I've seen marketed.

As an intellectual exercise I sometimes make up lists of such decks, though I've yet to actually try to make the decks themselves. You'll see there are gaps here or there where I couldn't think of something good to use or it was a tossup between a different card. Here's a few of them:

DISNEY TAROT
0. FOOL: Goofy OR Dopey
1. MAGUS: Yensid [wizard from "Sorceror's Apprentice"]
2. PRIESTESS: Mary Poppins
3. EMPRESS: Queen of Hearts [from "Alice in Wonderland"]
4. EMPEROR: Lion King
5. HIEROPHANT: Merlin [from "Sword in the Stone"]
6. LOVERS: Lady & the Tramp
7. CHARIOT: Herbie the Love Bug
8. JUSTICE/ADJUSTMENT: Woody [from "Toy Story"]
9. HERMIT: Rabbit [from "Winnie the Pooh"]
10. FORTUNE: Uncle Scrooge
11. STRENGTH/LUST: Beauty & the Beast
12. HANGED MAN: Headless Horseman [from "Legend of Sleepy Hollow"]
13. DEATH: Bambi's mother
14. ART/ALCHEMY:
15. DEVIL: Tchernobog [from "Night on Bald Mountain"] OR Cruella deVille [from "101 Dalmatians"] OR Lucifer [from "Cinderella"]
16. TOWER: Big Bad Wolf
17. STAR: Blue Fairy [from "Pinocchio"]
18. MOON: Aurora [Sleeping Beauty]
19. SUN:
20. AEON: Dumbo
21. UNIVERSE: Buzz Lightyear

X-MEN TAROT
0. FOOL: Deadpool
1. MAGUS: Professor X
2. PRIESTESS: Storm
3. EMPRESS: White Queen
4. EMPEROR: Magneto
5. HIEROPHANT: Gambit
6. LOVERS: Cyclops & Jean
7. CHARIOT: Blackbird
8. JUSTICE/ADJUSTMENT: Bishop
9. HERMIT: Wolverine
10. FORTUNE: Longshot
11. STRENGTH/LUST: Rogue
12. HANGED MAN: Nightcrawler
13. DEATH: Archangel
14. ART/ALCHEMY: Beast OR Forge
15. DEVIL: Apocalypse
16. TOWER: Juggernaut OR Sentinel
17. STAR: Dazzler OR Xorn
18. MOON: Shadowcat
19. SUN: Sunfire OR Sunspot
20. AEON: Cable
21. UNIVERSE: Lilandra

JLA TAROT
0. FOOL: Plastic Man
1. MAGUS: Martian Manhunter
2. PRIESTESS: Oracle
3. EMPRESS: Wonder Woman
4. EMPEROR: Superman
5. HIEROPHANT: Steel
6. LOVERS: Wonder Twins OR Big Barda & Mr. Miracle
7. CHARIOT: Flash
8. JUSTICE/ADJUSTMENT: Batman
9. HERMIT: Aquaman
10. FORTUNE: Green Arrow
11. STRENGTH/LUST: Maxima
12. HANGED MAN: Joker
13. DEATH: Darkseid
14. ART/ALCHEMY: Atom
15. DEVIL: Lex Luthor
16. TOWER: Watchtower
17. STAR: Green Lantern
18. MOON: Huntress
19. SUN: Orion
20. AEON: Captain Marvel
21. UNIVERSE: Spectre

SIMPSONS TAROT
0. FOOL: Homer
1. MAGUS: Rev. Lovejoy
2. PRIESTESS: Lisa
3. EMPRESS: Marge
4. EMPEROR: Mayor Joe Quimby
5. HIEROPHANT: Prof. Frink
6. LOVERS: Skinner & Krabappel
7. CHARIOT: Otto & school bus
8. JUSTICE/ADJUSTMENT: Chief Wiggum
9. HERMIT: Groundskeeper Willy
10. FORTUNE: Dr. Hibbert
11. STRENGTH/LUST: Kang & Kodos
12. HANGED MAN: Itchy & Scratchy
13. DEATH: Sideshow Bob
14. ART/ALCHEMY: Krusty
15. DEVIL: Mr. Burns
16. TOWER: Nuclear Plant
17. STAR: Maggie
18. MOON:
19. SUN: Kent Brockman
20. AEON: Bart
21. UNIVERSE: Matt Groening

SOUTH PARK TAROT
0. FOOL: Butters
1. MAGUS: Chef
2. PRIESTESS: Wendy
3. EMPRESS: Mayor
4. EMPEROR: Cartman
5. HIEROPHANT: Dr. Mephisto
6. LOVERS: Mr. Garrison & Mr. Hat
7. CHARIOT: Timmy
8. JUSTICE/ADJUSTMENT: Officer Barbrady
9. HERMIT: Mr. Mackey
10. FORTUNE: Pip
11. STRENGTH/LUST: Big Gay Al
12. HANGED MAN: Kenny
13. DEATH: Death
14. ART/ALCHEMY: Mr. Hankey
15. DEVIL: Devil
16. TOWER: Mecha-Streisand
17. STAR: Kyle
18. MOON: Terrence & Philip
19. SUN: Stan
20. AEON: Ike
21. UNIVERSE:

Oh, I've got another four lists at least, for Futurama and Peanuts and others. And believe me, almost none of that is arbitrary; I had my reasons for each. I have some odd hobbies.

VJB2
 
 
rising and revolving
22:24 / 30.03.04
Vladimir, I think you mean Aeclectic Tarot which has a tonne of decks to browse.
 
 
Shanghai Quasar
23:55 / 30.03.04
The "OWNED" one was a chuckle and a half.

What's wrong with Captain America, Ware? I'd actually be interested in the Tarot if they made a deck with Captain America in it. And Spiderman. And the Hulk. Oh, what sweet nerd joy.
 
 
adamswish
07:38 / 31.03.04
14. ART/ALCHEMY:
Maybe you could go totally post modern on the disney tarot and have old Walt himself for this card.

Potguns was putting together a post modern tarot as part of his degree as I remember. Not sure how far he got with it all, but there's a thread about his efforts somewhere about.

I think the main problem with pop culture tarot is that unless you arrive at divination through tarot from some other route you won't be able to "connect" with what may be seen as the flipperies of the cards and their images.

Don't get me wrong it's a great idea but personally I see it as a users second deck. I feel that first time users would need the traditional feel of the tarot to begin their journey with.

Of course I could be wrong?
 
 
macrophage
08:55 / 31.03.04
You could just use traditional cartomancy with a normal set of cards if needs drive. Once you can understand the archetypes hmmm. Have you seen the Lovecraft cards? It's just a symbol system that we can tap into and use. Ha you could even use Happy Families or Top Trumps if you really wanted! How about other forms of divination - like gazing at oil poured onto water, and work out a sytem around that based on say Jungian Symbolism??!!
 
 
Potguns
10:58 / 31.03.04
Just to say that project has been put on the back burner at the moment until I finish my goddam degree. I was intending to use the deck primarily for doing readings for other people, so they could relate better to the cards. I'm damned if I know where the thread is now.

Pot.
 
 
XXII:X:II = XXX
00:51 / 01.04.04
chyrsalis metamorphed:
Vladimir, I think you mean Aeclectic Tarot which has a tonne of decks to browse.

Thaaaaaat's the one. Cheers.

VJB2
 
 
FinderWolf
13:03 / 01.04.04
I really like this one, and the readings I get from it are almost always eerily telling and accurate. I think this site's got some good mojo:

www.hollywoodtarot.com

Movie stars and characters as the tarot deck. Done with class and humor. Check it out.
 
 
Bikermagi
13:03 / 04.04.04
Macrophage hit the nail on the head with regard to the archetypes. The current plethora of different decks attest to the 'modern' reality in which we live that does not relate to the cards. Once upon a time, people could relate to kings and queens and pages and such, but the only archetype revealed to me by 'Queen' come through songs such as 'Princes of the Universe' or 'Another one bites the dust.'

Aside for the lovely and humorous suggestions for possible desks, not everyone can relate to Southpark. What is needed is a deck that speaks to the modern collective unconscious and which evokes indisputable reactions, the likes of which I am sure occurred back in the days when the Tarot imagery originated.
 
 
XXII:X:II = XXX
06:24 / 26.05.04
Hey, look: Fark seems to be horning in on Something Awful's racket:

FARK-themed Tarot decks

Lots of in-jokes and stupid shit, but also some very clever ideas, too. Lends a little more credence to the idea that one's own tarot, at very least, ought to most directly engage one's own set of Jungian archetypes.

/+,
 
  
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