Tarot Ideographic du Kebek

Tarot Ideographic du Kebek
Yves Paquin, 1979

Tarot Ideographique du Kebek was published in 1979 by Editions de Mortagne, Ottowa, Canada. It is a book and deck set with 22 trumps designed by the artist Yves Paquin. The cards themselves are comparatively large at 3" x 6", and are printed on coated (but unlaminated) cardstock.

Paquin’s designs obviously reflect a love for geometry. Up close, it is apparent that the images consist entirely of lines and non-elliptical arcs, and the introductory text confirms that the artist restricted himself to using only square rule and compass. Variant curves are created by joining arcs of different size, and shading is created with crosshatched arcs and lines. Each design is so complex that it would be able to stand alone as an enlarged poster. More of the intricate line work can be seen in this larger example.

This geometrical construction is as much symbolic as it is an artistic device. The book (written in French) includes illustrations showing how Paquin’s designs are drawn upon an underlying grid of circles, squares, crosses and triangles — shapes intended by the designer to represent the four-fold structure of the universe. This grid is the ideograph referred to in the deck’s title, and is used as the back pattern for the cards as well. The grid itself is complex enough to accommodate most of the astrological and alchemical symbols used by the artist, such as the four element symbols superimposed onto the creatures of The Wheel of Fortune (shown above), or the seven planetary symbols contained in The Pope’s staff (shown below).

Paquin has an obvious knack for graphic design, his images showing a refined sense of composition and proportion. Each figure poses gracefully within their allotted space. Facial details, whether of humans or of beasts, are delicately rendered. Varieties of texture are used only where needed. His coloring also shows artistic refinement, restricted as it is to only seven colors which are equally muted in saturation so as to stand together more harmoniously. Whether this palette of seven colors (green, blue, red, orange, gold, purple, black) also carries numerological meaning, I do not know.

Another interesting design touch is in the artist’s use of the letters T, A, R, and O as a framing device around each image. Again, this becomes both an artistic and a symbolic element, since the word Taro is associated with various esoteric meanings: Court de Gebelin believed that “Ta” and “Ro” are Egyptian words meaning royal road, while other French authors have suggested that the word can be read backwards as Rota, Latin for “wheel”, implying that the Tarot symbolizes the wheel of all life. The letter “O” in the bottom right corner of each design serves double-duty by housing the Hebrew letter assigned to that card.

Although the images are highly stylized, the symbolism follows that of French occult decks such as the one by Oswald Wirth. The 144-page book includes essays written by several contemporary French authors including Jacques Languirand, Denise Rouselle, and Jean-Louis Victor (who also has designed several interesting Tarot decks himself). This deck can also be seen in Kaplan’s Encyclopedia of Tarot vol. III, page 290.

Review by Mark Filipas, 11/15/02