Welcome to The Arcana Crypto Tarot. This deck features the 22 cards of the traditional Major Arcana as interpreted by 22 individual artists, the product of a spontaneous collaboration between a group of cryptoartists in 2020/2021, all of them inaugural members of Women of Cryptoart (WOCA).
No one quite knows exactly how Tarot cards – the precursor to modern playing cards – were invented, or how they came to make the jump from being entertainment to occult divination tool. Generally it’s agreed that Tarot cards as we know them today evolved in medieval Europe. The symbolic archetypes of Tarot decks remained fairly consistent across the centuries, and many people will recognize the figures of the Hermit, the Fool, the Lovers, the Tower, the Hanged Man, and so on as anchors of Western psychology.
In using this deck, you may find it useful to consult the cards’ traditional meanings. Much has already been written about these universal archetypes, so for these, we refer you to descriptions of the Rider Waite and other traditionally based Tarot decks.
However, whenever you use divinatory tools to answer a question or get a perspective on a situation, it’s important to let one’s own associations come to the surface. In other words, the answers are not in the cards. The cards are just a tool to help you discover answers within yourself. That’s the magic.
How this deck works:
Once every 24 hours, a three-card spread is automatically generated. Anyone may visit the spread on any day with a question or concern in mind, and see what insights emerge from contemplating the cards. We invite you to follow your intuition: whenever you feel you have a question or concern, formulate your question and visit the Tarot, and reflect on the day’s reading as it pertains to your situation.
This kind of spread is generally read as follows:
Left card: What is past, or passing.
Centre card: What is occurring now.
Right card: What is to come.
However, you may also interpret in other ways. For example, Left card / Centre card / Right card could be:
What you wish for / the obstacle being presented / how to overcome the obstacle
You / someone else / the relationship
What’s in your heart / what’s in your head / what’s in your spirit
… and so on. There are many more options. What’s important is how you frame the question. Look up Tarot three-card spreads for more suggestions.
Cards in the spread may also appear upside-down – or “reversed”. There are many ways to interpret this reversal. Perhaps the card means the inverse or opposite of its upright intention, or it might be describing an interior, secret or hidden state, or it’s indicating a reduced or receding influence. Stay open to the possibilities as you meditate on your question.
We have also included the possibility of duplicate cards in each position. In other words, this spread encompasses three full decks’ worth of card combinations. If the same card turns up in different positions in the reading, simply integrate the message the card is giving you from the perspective of its position in the spread.
Here are a few words from each artist, giving her own particular description of the archetype she chose to depict in this deck.
0
The Fool
Artist: y0b
A leap into the cliff, a universe of randomness and intent. Colorful hills beyond.
I
The Magician
Artist: Kristy Glas
She is pure and passionate, connected to spiritual and material realms. She seeks balance and knowledge through constant growth.
II
The High Priestess
Artist: Cristiana Vettor (combugnera)
This card indicates the search for female knowledge, clairvoyance, the search for the secret and the future; her knowledge is mostly initiatory, therefore forbidden to most people and reserved only to a few.
III
The Empress
Artist: SpaceDivers
She stands powerful and dancing, between nature and imagination, the pattern of creation and knowledge of birth are flows and breaths of reality, whether material or ethereal.
IV
The Emperor
Artist: Lulu
Control through intelligence, the strength you need to stand straight.
V
The Hierophant
Artist: Inês Merino
A rite of passage – infinite wisdom and guidance, magic, shining the brightest light within… As we close this chapter, a new beginning unfolds.
VI
The Lovers
Artist: oculardelusion
In the sacred beech grove’s purple light, divine union of requited love, of union with the Divine. All is One.
VII
The Chariot
Artist: The Bad Lament
Collection: Async Art
