#Mhalthu

[babylon-crashing]

Q: what is the future of tarot cards?

For me Tarot is like the sonnet: a perfect form that needs no adjusting. In fact, I would go so far as to say that those attempts to make either form “better” simply turns them, in the end, into something else. Add an extra line and you no longer have a sonnet. Tweak the Tarot too much and you have an Oracle deck.

Granted, I realize that I am deeply biased when it comes to giving my opinion about the future of Tarot, since I can’t see myself not wanting to come up with new designs, but for an art form that’s been around since the 1450s (or so) Tarot isn’t going anywhere. One of the exciting things about being alive right now is that there are more new decks in circulation than ever before. If you’re curious about what is being produced right now I suggest visiting the good folks at Red Wheel / Weiser. They have an interesting collection.

Speaking of new things here is a random Suit of Wands that I’ve been mulling over.

At first I thought I was going to make a Cthulhu deck because who doesn’t love that lil’ ragamuffin? Except, as it turns out, there already are several Lovecraftian Cthulhu decks, and since I kinda loathe the man, I thought, “why not simply use the octopus head and come up with something new?” (As it turns out slap a cephalopod on any random body and many folks will say, “Ah, Cthulhu!” followed by, “Why does it have breasts?”)

I thought about calling the deck the Eldritch Abomination Tarot, but unfortunately, I don’t have a name for the central character yet. The Lovecraftian Name Generator came up with: Vh'iotla, Yiv'ixa, Ictaaxhi and Mhalthu … but I hesitate using names that I can’t actually pronounce. Right now I’ve been calling her Madam Thingy, but hopefully something better will come along.