Alphabet Tarot

INTRODUCTION

Many have heard of the Tarot by now. It has received both positive and negative responses depending on whom it is introduced to. This particular deck of cards and concept were created to help one gain subtle insight of persons, places or things in one’s life if insight is desired. The insight provided focuses primarily on characteristic tendencies based on the spelling of the name or characteristic tendencies of a question asked when doing a card spread (this will also reflect upon the questioner as it does in many other oracle decks that have been created over the years.

In 1994 I began my studies in Shamanic Journeying and Native American cultures and understanding. Originally I did not realize that I would find a great connection with the Native American Indian or that this would lead me into the realm of Shamanism. I have incorporated these studies in my life long career as a Fine Artist which eventually led to the creation of a 4 foot X 5 foot artwork of the English Alphabet called the Alphabet Tarot where each letter has a meaning associated with it. It was derived purely by intuition and sort of by accident as the majority of my artwork is conceived (but then there are no coincidences are there?) There are rules for this concept that came to me intuitively. I’ve been told the way this works, may resemble some aspects of numerology although no research was done to come up with this concept. It was conceived totally intuitively. In other words I made it up.

The concept originally was created as a personal means to understand or gain insight into people places or things that I was interesting in bringing into my life in some way. Over the years I have been a bit gullible. Yes that’s right I admit it. I realized that I was having difficulty reading the character of individuals upon first meeting especially in regards to intimate relationships with the opposite sex as well as those I wanted as close friends. I would find myself with expectations that would soon become great disappointments. This piece has allowed me to see into some of the hidden characteristic tendencies of these new friends and lovers. This concept however only reveals the most significant aspects of the personality and does not reveal all aspects of the personality. Occasionally these aspects sometimes do not appear to the individual as the most important aspects of their personality, but upon further thought one can recognize that these aspects do represent them. When it comes to the name reading characteristic tendencies are only associated with respect to the name being used.

On a professional level as an artist, this piece was the culmination of all of the artwork that I have been creating for over 20 years now. As far as I am concerned it is my best work to date. It was also designed to connect to or reach a more mainstream audience and those interested in the visual arts that had a difficult time understanding and relating to my body of work. I also thought that with this piece, as an interactive artwork would hopefully accomplish two goals; bridge the understanding of my body of work and show that art can be more than just a pretty picture, that artists can be visionaries and hopefully take the visual art to a new level of appreciation. The Alphabet Tarot reaches people on a very personal level; their name and shows that even a name made up or given at birth is very significant to the development of the personality and characteristic tendencies associated with that name.

This concept has been tested for about 7 years now (the name reading) and has been great fun to share with the public. Those tested and/or surveyed over the last few years, in essence, guinea pigs for this harmless experiment have shared that they enjoyed the experience and have confirmed the accuracy of the definitions and explanation. So far my audience has been comprised solely of art enthusiasts and appreciators. I have shown this piece on four occasions only in Sarasota Florida in 2005 at Sarasota Arts Council (June) and at Arts Day (January),2006  at Helena Poto Gallery , and 2007 at Peter Paul Gallery.

In the early part of 2007 I was employed as the Gallery Director when this piece was shown. This gave me the rare and exciting opportunity to test this concept even further as well as refine and develop the definitions even further. I tested my definition over and over with many from all over the country as well some from other parts of the world. Sarasota is a tourist town and very diverse with residents and visitors from many different cultures and economic backgrounds. After approximately 1000 “interviews” only about a hand full of individuals disagreed with part of the definitions. Those are very good odds if I do say so myself. This is how this concept and deck of cards made it to you today.

In 2006 I knew that I was to complete a deck of cards as well to go along with this name reading. The deck originally started as a set of 26 cards (one card representing each letter of the alphabet) and eventually became two sets of the alphabet (each letter represented twice) resulting in a complete deck of 52 cards. Again this was an intuitive decision. New definitions for these letters as well a new set of rules and how to play were developed. These differ slightly from the name reading definitions. This deck of cards was an afterthought and was not conceived until the definitions of the name reading were complete. This deck and the spread of the oracle are very similar to many other Tarot decks. My preferred spread is the Celtic Cross but there are several others that work as long as the definitions are interpreted properly. This oracle is much less complicated and easier to understand than traditional Tarot decks and is not connected with any spiritual or religious background or philosophy except my art and techniques of creating. It is benign this way and works spiritually with whatever your belief system is. This concept was designed for everyone and not intended to have any spiritual significance whatsoever. It simply shows a pattern that is consistent and works with all names. At this point the Alphabet Tarot is only available with definition for the English language.