By Christine Payne-Towler
Tarot ArkLetter 57
November 16, 2009
For an introduction to the World Servers' Spread see ArkLetter 5
Befitting the chaotic state of world events, I have taken my Pumariega Tarot in hand for our spread this month. Since we are at the end of the sign of Scorpio (figurehead for digestion and transmutation), it seems only fitting that we call upon a pack that burgeons with surreal images. Since this pack positions itself as a worthy adversary of the norms (while at the same time observing them quite judiciously), I use these cards when I want to be jiggled out of my usual approaches.
This pack was published in 1990 by Fournier, and for all the loosey-goosey imagery, it shows high awareness of the classical model, especially in the Little White Book. Matter of fact, the LWB is generic, virtually the same one that comes with the Spanish Marseilles and a few others from Fournier. We learn from one of the end-cards for this pack that Carlos Pumariega "began work on this project at the beginning of October and finished on December 10th, 1989". Wow! We should call this the Heroic Furor pack; that’s more than a card a day, with no time off for weekends or holidays.
Pumariega further states "To do it I needed the advice of people with a great deal of knowledge on the subject and made constant references to a wide selection of specialized books, analyzing the smallest details of each card, their figures, symbols and colors." The artist's attention to detail shows throughout. This underlying conservatism allows Pumariega's wacky and shamanic images and colorations to serve as a second skin over the original models, at least for those of us who have the old Marseille imagery burned into our retinas from long use. For example, the figured cards often show energized, active 'shadows' wrapped around the protagonist, suggesting invisible forces that belong to or are set loose by the named archetype.
If we need to know anything about the creator's occult politics, a look at the image on the back of the card should clarify everything. Floating in a royal blue ground we see a collection of loaded symbols from multiple esoteric traditions, both religious and magical. Half of them are inscribed in bright orange with black backgrounds, the other half are in lime green. The effect of these color juxtapositions is that the orange symbols pop out at you while green ones more subtly draw you in. So the user is on notice -- not only is our Tarot maker throwing all the esoteric traditions into his pot, but he's also going to use color and shape to hypnotize your senses and impregnate you with his unspoken worldview during all the time you spend with his creation!
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