Saturday 22 June 2013

Makes me wanna burst into 'America the Beautiful'

Prairie Tarot, Ator 2010
 This week we'll be looking at The Prairie Tarot: a Tarot of the American West, by Robin Ator. This is a wonderful self-published deck that came out in 2010. I have a great fondness for this deck because I feel that it is one of the few decks out there to try to capture the spirit of the American experience, through our own unique mythology, the American West.

How better to start than with my favourite card of all the minors, 9 of Coins! In the RWS tradition, we have a female figure holding a bird of prey, surrounded by symbols of material security. In the Rider Waite-Smith deck, it's a medieval lady of leisure in her pleasure garden, surrounded by grapevines, and with her sprawling villa in the background. In the Prairie Tarot, we have different symbols of plenty -- the wide open plains, no boundaries in sight, the fertile native grasses, and the plow. I fancy that the bird soaring through the air in the background can only be an American eagle. I see it that way, in any case.

Love it, love it, love it.



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3 comments:

  1. Siddaleah22.6.13

    Nine of Pentacles is my favorite of the minors too. :-)

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  2. Inner Whispers25.6.13

    It's funny, what I notice is how muted the colours are. She's just where she wants to be, without having to make a big fuss about it. Slow diligence, and mellow enjoyment :)

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    Replies
    1. Carla25.6.13

      There isn't an awful lot of color in Prairie Tarot. I think that may be partly because we have tend to think of the American West as sepia-toned, because of the old photos!

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