The Urban Tarot
by Robin Scott
May 9 – July, 2016 at Lucky Luna Restaurant and Bar
“Too often we are told that magic and wisdom belong only to the forgotten forests, the places untouched by human hands, and to ages long lost to memory.
I reject this idea. I look around my world, and I see the beauty, the wonder, the magic in the metropolis, the power under the pavement.
I created The Urban Tarot upon the belief that the ideas and truths referred to by the Tarot are eternal and universal, even if many of the images and symbols that have become connected to the cards no longer resonate with a modern reader. What once might have seemed familiar to the layperson of centuries ago is now arcane and confusing. The Urban Tarot is an attempt to reclaim the power of that old magic and bring it within the reach of the 21st century seeker of truth.
The deck began its life in 2003, during my senior year at Parsons School of Design. At the time, I was mostly unfamiliar with the Tarot, and I did not personally own a deck. I was commissioned, along with three other artists, to create a Tarot deck that was intended to be a tie-in product to a role-playing game. Although the original project fell through, I found myself drawn to the images of the Tarot as an illustrative challenge. Over the years, I often found myself wishing I could return to the project and see the deck completed.
In 2012, I ran a campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds to finally complete the deck. Hundreds of people came forward to support and be a part of the project, and the campaign not only met its goal, but ended up raising much more than I had originally asked for. Humbled and grateful, I began the journey of completing all remaining cards, working on the series full-time for the next three years.
This deck’s structure is based heavily on the Thoth Tarot, conceptualized by Aleister Crowley and painted by Lady Frieda Harris between 1938 and 1943. It uses, with few exceptions, the same card names as the Thoth deck, and has a similar emphasis on the elemental associations within the set. The deck also draws significant inspiration from the older Rider-Waite deck, originally published in 1910 and illustrated by the incomparable Pamela Colman Smith.
The meanings I assign to each card should be considered no more authoritative than anyone else’s. The Tarot is a tradition with centuries of history, and this particular deck is but one small part of that long story. In creating it, I have drawn upon the work of many others, and found meanings through the lens of my own life and the world I live in. I encourage every seeker to do the same, finding their own individual truth in these cards; your interpretations are ultimately as legitimate as my own.
Those who are familiar with the earlier decks and their associated magical traditions are encouraged to find correspondences in this deck which reference those older systems. Those who are new to the Tarot are encouraged to seek their own truths in the images contained here; to find resonances to their own life and to the world around them. All readers are encouraged to let their intuition be their guide, and to see the miraculous in the mundane. ______ Robin Scott
Lucky Luna NY 