|
Magic Tarot This deck, published by KSP+ in Moscow, features the collage designs of Aleksey Kluev. Kluev’s images are initially reminiscent of McKean’s Vertigo Tarot: both decks use digital collage, and both have a ‘dark’ edge to them. But this deck’s emphasis is on occult philosophy with imagery taken directly from alchemical and kabbalistic works. Perhaps the deck is titled Magic Tarot because it incorporates various diagrams used for ritual magic. |
|
The cards are printed on heavy cardstock. Though unlaminated, they are coated with varnish on front and back. The deck comes without booklet, although I may not have been able to read it anyway since it would likely have been printed in the Russian language. The deck does include an extra card with brief text which presumably describes the artist or the deck. An unusual 79th card (not shown) shows a dark amorphous image, with a title which translates as ‘nothing, zero, or vacuum.’ This card bears no symbols except for the number ‘0’, which differentiates it from Trump XXII, The Fool (shown above). The Fool incorporates a 1510 painting by Hieronymous Bosch called The Prodigal Son. Kluev’s version of the figure is composed of stars and galaxies; perhaps he is a personification of universal energies. He also bears the four suit symbols usually reserved for the first Trump: the torch or Wand, the Cup, the Coin of the moon behind him, and the Sword represented here by the upward triangle, symbol of the element Air, shown both over his solar plexus and at the bottom left-hand corner of the card. The Magician represents Pythagorus. It incorporates the painting by J.A.Knapp which appears in Manly Hall’s work The Secret Teachings of all Ages. The four suit objects which surround him were added by Kluev into the original painting. The Trump and court cards throughout this deck rely heavily on pre-existing art. I can only assume that copyright laws are not as strict in Russia as they are in America. In any case, Kluev has done a good job altering the various source paintings used in his deck. In addition to the beautiful source paintings, the deck is embellished with various sigils and diagrams, either as part of the main image or as an element of the border background. These diagrams seem to relate symbolically to the images, as opposed to being purely decorative. The Lovers, for example, incorporates an astrological wheel whose uppermost symbol is Gemini – the sign which Kluev associates with this Trump, as seen on the card itself (shown above). More interesting is his placement of Kircher’s kabbalistic diagram of the Tree of Life over the two figures of the card. Adam thus corresponds to the Tree’s masculine Pillar of Severity, and Eve is aligned with the feminine Pillar of Mercy. |
|
Another example of the use of magical sigils is seen on Trump XXI, The World. The androgynous figure
is superimposed over a Pythagorean enneagram (nine-sided diagram). Each of the nine sections is labeled in Latin
with a divine attribute, such as Potens (Power), Sapiens (Wisdom), and Volens (Will). The
diagram shown on this card is taken from a 1669 work by Athanasius Kircher, whose own design was based on Ramon
Lull’s work. Kircher included a point labeled ‘A’ at the center of this enneagram to symbolize the divine source
of the nine subsequent emanations, although this point is hidden by the figure on this card. The central figure
of the unified King and Queen is a symbol often used to represent the culmination of the alchemical work: transcendence
over duality. |
|
The pip designs are clearly influenced by the Waite-Smith deck, as well as by alchemical symbolism. I am fascinated
by how Kluev’s simple glyphs convey the essence of the traditional meanings, while still allowing room for personal
associations which might spring to mind. The Seven of Cups is a card which often represents ‘fantasy and
dream’; Kluev’s glyph shows a Mermaid floating over seven goblets. The Five of Wands often represents ‘struggle
or competition’; this glyph depicts five salamanders bearing a wand in their mouths, implying collaboration as
well as the possibility of competition. The Three of Swords is often illustrated in modern decks by three
swords piercing a heart; in this version, the heart is replaced by its elemental equivalent: the alchemical sign
for Water. |
|
Review by Mark Filipas, 9/22/00 |