Mad People Tarot Decks

We are all mad here

In Lewis Carroll's iconic novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, the eponymous young protagonist sneaks into and makes her way through a fantasy world populated with hybrid creatures, walking and talking chess pawns and playing cards following mathematically structured moves. Whether a piece of concealed social and political satire, a surreal coming-of-age allegory or simply a game of words, notions and numbers narrated in fairy tale form, Carroll's universe remains one of literature's richest, most fascinating puzzles. Nightmarishly sophisticated in its understated wittiness, it brings forth the dramatic contradictions in human society's extreme organization, the inherent "madness" governing virtually every aspect of our everyday life and interaction.

UrbsTopia Tarot Decks

Urban utopias & dystopias

A city (urbs in Latin, hence the adjective "urban") is a miniature universe, a unit mirroring a totality; a living, evolving microcosm with its own internal, intrinsic and intricate rules and laws, the mysteries and secrets that haunt it, the tales and legends that define it.

Lethe's Betrayal Tarot Decks

The darkest lullabies

In Greek mythology, Lethe was one of the five rivers of the Underworld, offering eternal forgetfulness to those who drank from its water. Lethe, or oblivion, often viewed as an equivalent to death itself, brings relief from the burden of memory - however, one does not have to die in order to forget; and voluntarily choosing oblivion over the pain of memories could be a way to cope with grief, or even with the less weighty troubles of everyday. This is not necessarily a foolproof solution, though...

Machines that Know Tarot Decks

Maritime legends with teeth

What if all pieces on a chessboard were to be replaced with Fassbinder-esque sailors, with a dash of post-apocalyptic steampunk thrown in for good measure? An idea out of nowhere that appeared cool and fun at first, only to prove a deeply challenging and thought provoking venture.

Moss of Utopia Tarot Decks

Deluded Pleiades, vessels of mysteries

"Moss of utopia" is a metaphor used by Odysseus Elytis in the section of his epic work The Axion Esti (What Is Worthy, 1959) dedicated to young women, whom he goes on to describe as "the deluded Pleiades" and "the Vessels of Mysteries, full to the brim yet bottomless".

Black Mirror Tarot Decks

The abyss looks back into you

A black mirror is an instrument of magical practice. Opaque and unsettling, rather than reflecting the outward reality, it forces anyone who looks into it to acknowledge their own, internal truth, the deepest, unknown darkness of their soul.