The Arcana

First published in 1910, the scholar Arthur Edward Waite and illustrator Pamela Colman Smith collaborated on what would be the most commonly recognized and visibly symbolic deck of Tarot Cards.  Consisting of the Major Arcana (22 cards) and the Minor Arcana (56 cards) tarot cards are used in various card games as well as divination.   Documents describe forms of these playing cards from Milan as early as 1425.

Despite the established, documented origin of tarot, many link Tarot cards to the occult.  In the 1781 publication Le Monde primitif, Court de Gébelin (French Protestant clergy Antoine Court) laid the groundwork for the popularized belief that Tarot cards were the remains of the Egyptian work The Book of Thoth.  This notion was further developed by Gébelin’s contemporary French occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette and later by British occultist Aleister Crowley.

In Psychology, many link Tarot cards with Karl Jung’s individuation process and decks have been used in therapeutic settings in various forms.  However, Jung is not directly credited with this practice.

A skeptical, yet reverent investigation into Tarot cards, The Arcana has been focused on the study of Archetypes of personality traits and motivators presented in the Tarot deck.  Each card honing in on nuanced behavior, each piece is designed to embody the symbolism of a given card.  While many versions of the Tarot deck exist, this collection of paintings is a scholastic endeavor in the study of mythology.

Presented in June 2005, the first 24 pieces from this series were presented at Xen Gallery in Saint Louis, Missouri under the title The Arcana.  A 78 piece series, many are not represented online, however some are available for purchase.  To inquire about other works from this series please contact me.  The Emperor and The Heirophant are both commissioned works and are related to series in name only.

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