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This is how it came about…
The idea was conceived in the fall of 2004.
The project I initially presented to Lo Scarabeo was entitled “The Ladies of Magic”, which consisted of a deck of approximately forty cards. This was clearly a Wicca-inspired oracle focusing on the Divine and Feminine Magic.
Piero Alligo (Lo Scarabeo’s artistic director), rather, gave me a challenge: increase the number of cards and create a Tarot deck.
At first, matching 78 different Goddesses with 78 Tarot cards, rather than just with the Major Arcana (as done with a deck in the past, “The Goddess Tarot” by Kris Waldherr, and the more recent “Triple Goddess Tarot”), seemed an arduous (if not impossible) task.
Thus began the lengthy and difficult research…exploring classical mythology and legends, folklore and tales far and wide to find the female divinities that best represented the traditional archetype of each card.
As I gradually proceeded with the research, I realized that the life of each Goddess, the character, personality, strength and weaknesses of each one, narrated, through the centuries and continents, the history of the feminine character and life in general.
Goddesses, therefore, but most of all women. Women who were newborns and then become playful and carefree children, who grew into young girls and fell in love, then becoming thoughtful and loving mothers, finally filling the role of wise and discerning old women.
Birth, life, death. Beginning, journey, end.
I had achieved and conquered the cyclic nature of the universal rhythms, the Tarot’s essential principle, which became my guideline for creating the subject of the Tarot of the Goddesses.
The deck took shape on 13 May 2005, the day in which Riccardo Minetti (Lo Scarabeo’s Editor) “officially” put me in contact with the extraordinary artist who created all of the illustrations of this deck. Yes, none other than: Antonella Platano.
“MagicaAntodalleManidOro” (this the nickname I affectionately gave her — sounds like “GoldHandsMagicAnto”) is a talented illustrator of comic strips who has created other magnificent decks published by Lo Scarabeo (The Witchy Tarot, The Gay Tarot, The Tarot of 78 Doors).
I immediately felt an extraordinary affinity and complete mutual understanding with Antonella. A sort of mystic alchemy was established between us that transformed, as if by magic, ideas into images.
We decided, right from the start, that the Goddesses would have a “real and earthly” appearance, far from the evanescent and ethereal images with which they are often depicted.
The Goddesses needed to relate the life of our dimension, material and tangible, so that every woman could identify with each of them.
We tried not to leave anything to chance: every detail was carefully evaluated, from the iconography of the Goddess to the card’s setting, to the details of a jewel and the creases of a dress (and here, to give credit where credit is due, Antonella did a truly great job! She told me how she took entire days to understand and interpret as best as possible the ethos of each individual Goddess, including her clothing!).
Once the Goddess was identified, I closed my eyes and imagined the scene in my mind: the main figure, the background, the surroundings. I spent time in that image, trying to take in the essence, the emotions, the sensations. I identified with the woman I had before me. I perceived her joy, her pain. I spoke to her. I listened to her voice.
Then I translated into word what I saw and experienced.
Thanks to Antonella, these words became images, drawn in black and white, the same images I had seen with my mind’s eyes. The penciled images were then replaced by the splendid colorful cards you might already be familiar with.
Allow me just one piece of advice for those who will be using the Tarot of the Goddesses for divining.
Do not be in a hurry.
Take the time necessary to become attuned with each woman.
Listen attentively to the voice of the Goddesses. They will reveal the symbolism and meaning of each card.
If the words they whisper are not enough, search for all of the information that can help you understand them better. There are a lot of books on the market (the same I used too!) that address each of them in depth.
The better you get to know them, the better you will be able to understand them.
The better you understand them,
the better you will be able to understand yourselves.
My journey and Antonella’s has ended.
But this is just where yours is about to begin.
Love,
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