Card Review: The Carnival at the End of the World
I ordered this tiny-carnival deck recently from the Museum of Witchcraft in Cornwall, UK. I was pulled in by the cast of characters I saw on my computer screen. I thought I would like these cards. But when I got them, I was pleasantly surprised to find I LOVED them.
The deck was created by artists and art-school collaborators Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick, of Kahn and Selesnick. Funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, the deck was published in 2018. From the campaign page:
“In 2006, our multimedia project Eisbergfreistadt included a poker deck that when laid out in a long line, revealed a panoramic narrative of climate change and environmental devastation. In 2017, as the stakes of the Great Game have grown greater and the Anthropocene has exponentially brought change and chaos to many lives around the world, we have moved from making cards for jovial pastimes to those for divination: the Tarot, which in its traditional uses has been consulted to forecast disaster, anticipate risk, and navigate life-choices through backstage access to the Unseen. However, worry not if you don't wish to dabble in sortilege and oracular query to peruse a glimpse of what the future may have in store for you--you may also ruminate upon the cards one by one in a linear fashion, and meditate upon the views from the Fool's Journey as one would read a Pilgrim's Progress…”
Super impressed, first, by the card stock and overall quality of the deck. The size is your average tarot deck size, the card stock is soft and buttery, yet solid - no cheaping out here! The finish is matt with a slight sheen, and the design in understated - which, as I have mentioned here before, is totally preferable in tarot cards. Too many ‘design’ elements, like big, coloured borders and large numbering, takes away from the immersion into the art and overall experience of the cards. I can’t stress this enough. You can love absolutely the art in a deck, but if the production is done cheaply, or if some designer got big ideas when they were in InDesign putting it all together, it can totally ruin your experience of the art, which is so sad - because artists put a TON of work into making a deck! Good production gives your cast of characters a proper stage to be presented on and interacted with.
Hence, with this gem of a deck, when I first took them out of the box and shuffled, pulled a few, I was totally entranced with the people therein. I mean, just check these guys out! They are nothing short of.. delightful? (I don’t think I have even used that word before). Note: you can see more of them here.
And, it’s so nice as a painter and artist, to have them displayed in such a way that does not take away from the experience of their personages & costumes, or brush-strokes.
I HAVE NOT USED ANY OTHER DECK
But also and so important! Since I got this deck, I have not used any other deck. It answers me immediately, unwaveringly. It doesn’t hesitate or get vague or bored of my questions - not once. It’s a sturdy companion, reliable and Pony-gold. I’m not sure entirely, why. This is that bit of cartomancy that exist in the mists of the Mystery. Why do some decks work better than others?
I think it’s much like medicine, in that we are each a unique biodiverse ecosystem - good medicine will treat the individual with a custom care-plan that works for their bio-system, rather than using blanket medical interventions. I think cards works the same way, interacting with the psycho-spiritual aspects of our ecosystem. This is why this deck may answer me immediately, like it speaks my language (!), but may not answer at all for my BFF.
However, having said that, some decks are truly superior! A good artist, a solid theme, maybe a unique take on tradition, good card stock and gods please!) a matt finish, all make for a beautiful god-phone deck.
THE BOOK IS ALSO GOOD
For decks that are based on the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith system, I don’t have to use a book to do a reading. And, it’s good practice to use your intuition with the cards and let their unique Spirit and symbolic language speak to you. However, it’s also fun to read the book, given the multitude of worlds created by talented and inspired writers for different decks. And, for novice readers who are just learning, you’ll need to reference these for a while. (I would recommend though, using not only the book that comes with any given deck, but also supplemental texts, especially if that book doesn’t include key-words.)
I am totally enjoying the accompanying book to this deck, called Madam Lulu’s Book of Fate, written by Madame Lulu herself, channeled by the medium, Sarah Falkner.
Being on the Western side of the planet and culture, for one, the written ‘voice’ of this deck rings out in a British Accent (not sure if that’s just me or…?). The book includes some preliminary help pages, comments and quotes on the Anthropocene dystopia we all live in and definitions for the extra cards! Omg almost forgot those.
The Insubordinate Arcana, comprising of these new characters: The Tempest, The Deluge, The Inferno, Doctor Falke, Orlofsky & Madame Lulu, are “potent energies that are neither inherently negative nor positive & have both benefits/uses & harms/cautions. While big changes & strong forces are forecast, there is much freedom to explore & the general suggestion is one of disobedience of pre-established orders.” Ah, a deck after my own heart. My favorite, and this guy I keep pulling over and over these days, is Orlofsky, who leaps into the void.
As you can see, the printer also had fun here.
I know I know, this deck is not a ‘new’ deck. But honestly, there are so many decks out now, why only look for the new? And did it ever occur to you how capitalistically colonised-mind it is to constantly have to buy only the new? As with history, why not look back to see what we have missed? Don’t look at the date of publication on decks. Look for what surfaces, what speaks, sometimes yells, as this deck did for me.
And so glad I grabbed it. There’s a whole bunch of rabbit holes to go down on the artists’ website. And please do check out their IG for more dystopian carnavalesque antics, performance and art. It’s delightful! With a potent message. Cannot get enough this week. (bows and kudos) @kahnselesnick
Do you have this beauty-of-a-deck yet? I’d love to know how it reads for you. is it just me or…?
“...Just as seekers and wanderers once stowed painted icons and gilded relics in the pockets of their cloaks, the Tarot can be a portable trove of mystifying talismanic images to accompany, inspire and entertain you on your own peregrinations.”
