Daily Reflections: Seeing Yourself In The Tarot

"Justice" by Yves http://alk0n0st.tumblr.com/

So, an artist on Twitter, who goes by @_martiniboy, created this card inspired of course by Nicki Minaj and the minute I saw it, I couldn't help but to fall in love with it. When I saw the image retweeted into my timeline early this morning I knew there needed to be a full deck based on it; not only because Nicki Minaj has been stealing my heart more and more as of late but because I believe gorgeous artwork like this, Tarot imagery based on people of color, is largely absent from the Tarot market. (A Tarot friend of mine, Beth of littleredtarot.com, recently wrote about this issue on her blog).

As a Tarot reader, I have yet to find a deck featuring people of color that really resonates with me as a black woman, which is why I've been clinging so heavily to my Black Cats Tarot Deck (which features cats, not people LOL).

The Magican from The Black Cats Tarot Deck

And this is not to say that there aren't any decks that exist with subjects of color, the Daughters of the Moon and Motherpeace Tarot decks immediately come to mind. It's just that the selection is so sparse.

Cards from the Daughters of the Moon deck. Photo courtesy of astroamerica.com

This is also a similar issue I sometimes have with astrology, as the Western astrology I practice is rooted in Greco-Roman symbology. Which is why I often choose to include wider representations of astrological symbolism on my blog and elsewhere. To me, it just makes sense to be able to see affirmative images of yourself if the goal of Tarot (or any other form of divination/spiritual practice/self-development method) is to consistently affirm yourself and your connection to the Divine Source.

But back to Nicki and this glorious card. I (and about a thousand others) have begged the artist to create a full a deck. I'm happy to report that he says he is considering doing two more cards featuring Beyonce and Rihanna (especially since Nicki saw the card and gave it her blessing). I asked him to go for the full 22 Major Arcana. We'll see if he does. Either way, I look forward to seeing more.