American occult and esoteric syncretism is combined with native species plant lore, and words from the Judeo-Christian Bible, alongside personalities drawn from history, myths and storytelling. They all feature in this fascinating deck of cards. I liked the personalisations. We are introduced to selected characters that I found I got to know through my imagination as much as their introduction by the deck creator Tayannah Lee McQuillar.
Hoodoo - also known as Rootwork - is a mixture of Native American, African and European divination styles and Rootworkers are those, often oppressed groups, indigenous and immigrants, who use their own inspired skills based on many ancient, handed down practices, which are ever growing and ever changing. All the 22 Major Arcana titles are changed and titled as The Elders; the 16 Court cards are called The Family and are based on the matriarchal structure of Mother, Father, Daughter and Son. Suits are re titled as Sticks, Baskets, Knives and Coins. The 40 pip cards are called The Community and carry upright and reversed meanings that are some of the best I have read.
Each card faces carries an individual image and a title. The book provides a black and white reproduction of the image, the Hoodoo card title, and the traditional Rider Waite title, a Bible quote is included for The Elders, all cards have a plant title, a description of the image and its meaning when it appears in a consultation. The meanings are extremely good. I thought I was not going to like this card system, but I grew to enjoy the personalities - and they took on a life if their own when I got to know them!
Each Spread provides interesting questions leading to deep questioning and potential answering, with sample readings which include "See 'Bout Your Folks" an Ancestor Spread of 9 cards, "Don't Put That Thang on Me Catch a Trick” Spread of 5 cards,"The Right Doc” Spread of 6 cards, and "Gonna Catch Me A Bird Relationship” Spread of 5 cards.
Katelan V Foisy created the images of the Hoodoo Tarot. In a private communication she stated: I paint with acrylics and draw with pencils and ink. For this deck, it was a mixture of photoshop and painting. Some of the images, the more historic ones, are more photoshopped with added painting. I did photo texture overlays to give them a more weathered appearance. Our desired look was as if you had found a beautiful treasure trove of sepia toned photos, with past and present merging through the sepia tones and color, with added little nods of paintings and historical works of art for people to puzzle about.
Review by Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.