Tarot: Mysticism Hits The Mainstream

NEWS | January 4, 2021

Tarot has been used in the divinatory arts since the end of the 18th century — coinciding with widespread interest in New Age spirituality, it's a form of card-reading that serves as a source of insight for many contemporary artists and designers.

Cartomancy, or the art of reading fates written in the cards, has inspired painting, cinema, and even pop culture — like in Agnes Varda's Cléo de 5 à 7, réalisé par Agnès Varda en 1962, or Live and Let Die(1973), the Bond thriller in which we meet the mysterious Solitaire, reader of the spread. The art of divination was also one of Dali's favorite subjects, and director Alejandro Jodorowsky is a specialist in the subject himself. In fact, he's done readings on numerous occasions and has even published work on the subject, after having been inspired by the mystic practice that's played into some of his films, like The Holy Mountain (1973).

In fashion, Boramy Viguier frequently references New Age spirituality, and even included tarot cards in the pockets of some of his 2019 pieces. Maria Grazia Chiuri is herself a fan of tarot, and Gucci's Alessandro Michele collaborated with the illustrator and tarot specialist Jayde Fish to imagine prints that directly reference the deck for his Spring-Summer 2017 collection. Indeed, our resident Miss Cleos have never been in such high demand. A reflection of the rise of New Age spirituality in the 60s, both tarot and astrology, are back on the scene in a big way. The magic of the tarot deck continues to gain popularity and inspire creators around the world.