Why Tarot is back in the fold

Forget diamonds, it’s all about divination decks. Over the past few years, tarot cards have quietly become the most romantic heirloom jewel to collect. Just imagine owning the rare deck that Sotheby’s had on auction: Sylvia Plath’s Tarot de Marseille deck, that was gifted to her by Ted Hughes in 1956...

In terms of captivating an aesthete’s imagination, nothing compares to the occultish beauty of tarot. Since its creation during the 15th century in Milan, the decorative appeal of the card’s artwork has continued over the centuries, from the curlicued beauty of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot set to the more graphic and bold Hermès Cheval Natte deck. Whether you believe in divination per se, in contemplating and being able to ascertain exactly what is happening in one’s inner and outer world, the visual storytelling of tarot is undeniably enchanting, thanks in part to its rich symbolism and that frisson of excitement it conjures up with its esoteric undertones.

Take Niki de Saint Phalle’s fantastical Il Giardino dei Tarocchi, dreamt up in the 1970s in coastal Tuscany, where she created 22 monumental sculptures that represent the 22 cards of the major arcana in tarot – special mention goes to the Empress, which rises 50 feet above the olive groves where Saint Phalle based herself while creating the tarot garden, her bedroom in one vividly decorated breast, her kitchen in the other.

The otherworldly and philosophical appeal of tarot amongst artists finds its best expression among the surrealists. During the 1940s, when Europe was in upheaval, André Breton became fascinated by tarot, and redesigned the Marseille tarot deck, replacing traditional figures with cultural icons such as Baudelaire and the Marquis de Sade, while Salvador Dalí’s 1980s deck remains an archive treasure. For sourcing rare tarot decks – and the classics – Wilde Ones in Chelsea, London, remains a trove of rare finds, from the Dalí set to a rare Augustus Knapp/Manly P Hall tarot deck, circa 1981, not to mention the classic Rider Waite set, which remains one of the most important decks for reading tarot.

As the illustrious tarot reader Annabelle Mitzman explains, ‘I still have my original Rider Waite deck from Hatchards in 1974 when I was at art school in London, although it’s now quite beaten up; it remains a favourite as all the cards were hand cut. The only other deck they had was an Aleister Crowley one, which was slightly more sex, drugs and rock and roll...’ Mitzman adds that, for teaching and reading, ‘I don’t know how you better the perfection of the Pamela Colman Smith drawings, every subtlety and philosophical meaning is there. It’s the most academic base for tarot.’

It’s all so enlightening, no wonder Mitzman has such a devout following for her readings on past, present and future; for tarot die-hards, no one else comes close. As for the resurgence and interest in tarot, ‘It always happens in times of trouble when people are looking for something else, another type of knowledge,’ she says. ‘It happened during the 1940s with the surrealists and it’s similar to now; tarot helps people make sense of chaos.’