Extispex: Tarot and Tarot Readings

The Lunatic Tarot by Evan Yi Feng comes in two editions: a large portfolio edition (about 5×10), which lacks borders or titles - the corresponding Rider-Waite card is pictured on the back - and a smaller edition which is set up more like a standard tarot deck.

For collectors, I would recommend the larger edition, but if you want to use the cards for reading, then you may want to opt for the smaller edition. (or if you have lots of money to throw around, go for both)

Here I’ll be reviewing the smaller, new edition.

I’ll admit to having a weakness for Asian tarot decks. Before Hurricane Katrina destroyed my tarot collection, a great many Asian and anime tarots sat on my shelf. But while beautiful, the Asian decks are rarely suitable for readings. Most of them have full-color illustrations on the majors and court cards, but the numbered cards were often just pips. The production is often shoddy, with slick, stiff, thickly laminated cards that sometimes even have knobbles on the edges where the cards were punched apart.

The Lunatic Tarot is as far from these other Asian decks, in terms of readability and production, as Beijing is from Willacoochie, Georgia. The cards are flexible, lightly laminated and easy to shuffle and manipulate. All the cards are illustrated, not just the Major Arcana and the court cards. The backs contain a black and bronze abstract pattern that lends itself to reversible readings.

But what really makes this deck stand out is the superior artwork - the fine but often edgy detail, the heavy-handed use of color, and of course, the sensual subject matter.

Don’t get me wrong - this isn’t a deck rife with nudity. In fact, there’s not a nipple in sight, not even a male one - except for the pierced nipples on the hanged man. But many of the cards explore themes of bondage, sexuality, dominance and submission.But for all its transgressive nature, the Lunatic Tarot still carries a hint of tradition. The Chariot features a leather-harnessed man driving two gagged, blindfolded and collared women before him. Yet the statuesque and proud posture of the women is reminiscent of the sphinxes that are often pictured on more traditional decks. The Eight of Swords is traditionally a card associated with bondage, and in the Lunatic Tarot, the card’s meaning is certainly taken to a new level, and yet the hair of the bound woman is long and curves around her thighs, hinting at the self-bondage that is often the traditional translation of the 8 of Swords.

This is a deck that explores and blurs boundaries. Boundaries between the naked and the clothed, the modern and the ancient, the mundane and the magical, the male and the female, innocence and salaciousness. Tattoos and piercings feature alongside historical garb of various periods. Exactitude of detail is prominent on many cards, while others feature rough outlines and haphazardly splashed paint.

Symbolism is sparse and subtle, making this a deck unsuitable for beginning readers. More experienced readers will find the Lunatic Tarot a delightful challenge. The Strength card shows a young woman subduing a young man, leonine in appearance, the only bow to tradition a small medallion around the man’s neck indicating his star sign. Leo. The opulently garbed High Priestess holds a scroll between her hand, an ornamental crescent the only indication of the lunar qualities of the card. The armored and robed Emperor is seated upon a marble throne carved with ram’s heads.

The minor arcana are almost devoid of symbolism, and yet they manage to convey more depth than the major arcana. The minor arcana resound with echoes - albeit twisted echoes - of the Rider Waite tarot. A sneaky thief graces the Seven of Swords, while the Six of Swords gives us a new perspective of the traditional boat and cowled woman. In this card, we sit inside the boat, we take part. We enter the picture. The Eight of Wands also gives us a new perspective - the eight wands still fly through the air, but we see them from behind, as they zoom away from us. The Five of Cups is the very picture of loss, a twisted castle looms in the background, while a roughly sketched man stands over the three overturned cups, not even noticing the two full cups that stand behind him.

Some of my other favorite cards include the Hermit, his out-thrust lantern barely lighting the empty gloom beyond. The Ten of Swords, the blade-pierced figure barely visible at the bottom of the card, while the wide expanse of sky above seems to press the swords into his body. The androgynous, quietly menacing Devil, the monstrous cathedral of the Tower, the violent energy of the Knight of Swords.

Oh, who am I kidding - I love the whole deck. It feels like it was created just for me, with its pushing of limits, transgression of boundaries, its tricksterish, mercurial quality. The readings I have done with it thus far have been accurate and satisfying, and among my decks it has earned one of the ‘good tarot bags’.

While not a deck for everyone, I can recommend it for collectors, readers who enjoy a challenging and beautiful deck, and lunatics.

The Lunatic Tarot can be found at fine Anime and Comic shops.

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