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Tarot Sightings in the Media


Joan Marie

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Let's not forget Zodiac. Wonderfully dated...

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0161207/

http://cult-tv-lounge.blogspot.com/2016/04/zodiac-1974.html

 

ANYONE else remember it ? (I have it on DVD...) She uses the cards in at least one episode. 

 

This is the episode: https://youtu.be/eq0nu8VRgoQ - there's one around 45 minutes in, but I'm sure there's one for a maid earlier on - no time to look just now.

Edited by gregory
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On 8/14/2019 at 1:07 PM, Flaxen said:

I love Father Ted! How could I have forgotten that classic clip...

it is wonderful ❤️

On 8/14/2019 at 1:12 PM, gregory said:

That's what made nisaba buy the deck shown (Fournier Marseille.)

😂 enabling by tv!

 

@fire cat pickles I would love to have my tarot read by Cyndi Lauper omg! amazing

 

@Eamane did you know they produced a tarot deck for the series as a tie in promotion? There are some copies still available around at the moment. I am sure I read a review at the time that it's not the easiest deck to read but does match the series as a collectable item. The ATA did a raving review of it here. The pics don't really give a lot to work with though for me 🙂

 

Did anyone do Bond - Live and Let Die? It's my fave Bond with New Orleans and Jane Seymour playing the tarot reader Solitaire who reads what is happening as the plot progresses. The deck she uses is famously (infamously) the Tarot of the Witches by Fergus Hall. There is even a special promotional version of the deck which is oop and has 007 on the backs and a related book of the film included. For years I was on AT, people really were very negative about that deck's art, the limited edition and original version but it's had a come back in the last few years. Even the regular version is becoming a collectable. It's gone from that ugly deck to popular! 🙂

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fire cat pickles
11 minutes ago, DanielJUK said:

I would love to have my tarot read by Cyndi Lauper omg! amazing

 

I love how she says she always uses the "instructional manual" when she reads because it's "kind of a disclaimer" so that her sitter knows she isn't just making her meanings up.

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On 8/16/2019 at 6:07 AM, DanielJUK said:

@Eamane did you know they produced a tarot deck for the series as a tie in promotion? There are some copies still available around at the moment. I am sure I read a review at the time that it's not the easiest deck to read but does match the series as a collectable item. The ATA did a raving review of it here. The pics don't really give a lot to work with though for me 🙂

I've just heard about the deck. I think it's a neat idea with all the characters and different concepts they deal with in the series; and more so now that a new season is being filmed! 

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Not sure if this counts as short film or music video...

 

Aaand... from what I remember my first (and very embarassing) encounter with tarot:

I almost forgot how corny that crap was 😂

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On 8/14/2019 at 2:17 AM, KevinM said:

The following music video features two tarot cards (The Lover and Judgement) and several acts of prayer in the context of some form of Voodoo:

 

 

The subject matter is most definitely the Lover and Judgement, but I'm not seeing the Voodoo prayer...is this the video you meant to post?
Emily via Kate is great stuff, though. :)
 

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Cool, thanks all for the videos!

 

By the way, how could I forget this one (The Simpsons😞 

 

 

I also found an interesting Penny Dreadful behind the scene featurette about tarot (@ 0:55), featuring the he Etteilla II (1840):

 

 

And some more Tarot card scenes, like Princess and the Frog:

 

 

 

The opening of The Haunted Mansion:

 

 

Edited by Morsoth
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LoveLightPeace

I have seen tarot cards used in a few episodes of the original 'Charmed'. I found a fandom page that lists screencaps, behind the scenes decks, and the characters that used tarot in different episodes.

 

@Eamane I've seen Penny Dreadful, too. I thought it was cool that they had tarot in some of the episodes.

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On 8/21/2019 at 5:39 PM, katrinka said:

The subject matter is most definitely the Lover and Judgement, but I'm not seeing the Voodoo prayer...is this the video you meant to post?
Emily via Kate is great stuff, though. 🙂
 

 

Hello, Katrinka

 

I am so grateful that you pointed out my error; I have no idea why I posted the incorrect link 😊

 

What follows is the correct link: 

 

 

The song, which is sung by Céline Dion, is titled, Pour que tu M'aimes Encore.

 

Also, I should mention that I use the term prayer in reference to what one could also term magic.

 

 

Regards

KevinM

Edited by Guest
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aquarhapsody

So, I was playing a certain video game series near and dear to my heart (I'll further discuss) and wondered if anyone had a instance where Tarot was presented in a positive or interesting way outside of the typical horror or scary connotations it's usually inserted into.

 

I don't know many examples honestly, but I wondered if anyone else had any cool examples I'd never considered.

 

My previously mentioned example is the Persona series of JRPGs that snuck into my life during the time I was learning about Tarot and blew me away.

Before I started the games, I had no idea that Tarot and the psychology of archetypes was pretty much the entire backbone of the series. 

I won't explain the entire gameplay mechanics because I doubt anyone would want that, but it's pretty genius, coming from someone who is so into Tarot.

 

Every main and secondary character that you can forge relationships with has a Tarot card (called simply Arcana in the game) that represents their personality and/or purpose in the story.

For example, if you decide to become closer friends with the boisterous, willful, and energetic character, you get the Chariot Arcana, which can then be used in the games combat system to your advantage. 

There is also a mechanic in the specific one I am playing (the fourth one) where cards will sometimes shuffle at the end of the combat, and you can choose between Arcana cards that become tools for fighting (called Personas, but that's a whole other story) or you pick from the four suits; Wands for exp points, cups for replenishing health and magic, coins for extra money, and swords for new moves.

 

In all, I think it's a brilliant idea, a game in which Tarot is used as character types and gameplay mechanics. As someone who both adores video games and Tarot, it easily hit the spots for such a niche junction of hobbies such as mine.

 

So, are there any other cool integrations of Tarot into media that you like? Or, do you also like this series of games?

I'm interested to know. 

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I haven't played the original games yet but I do know there is a character in the first Fallout game who reads tarot cards for the player character in regards to in-game going ons.

 

There's also The Arcana which is a sort of murder mystery dating sim game for mobile. Each character has a tarot card associated with them that corresponds to their roles in the story lines. There's also a tarot reading feature the game has (not limited to things happening in the game only).

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@TheFeeLion I knew of that but totally forgot. Thanks for reminding me!

Honestly, now that I have enough money... it is so tempting to make an impulse buy. 😛

Edited by Jack
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TheFeeLion

@aquarhapsody Heh I had to go check out that Persona game I wonder if I can download it...

 

I know there's a whole lot of novels that include tarot in them. I think there's even a thread on here somewhere that's dedicated to them

 

@Jack I was pretty tempted too until I saw the price and that it's more of a pip deck

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3 hours ago, aquarhapsody said:

and wondered if anyone had a instance where Tarot was presented in a positive or interesting way outside of the typical horror or scary connotations it's usually inserted into.

Well, this might not count (there's a bit of mild horror and suspense, but nothing like the explicit butchering one sees in contemporary gross-out horror), but it's my favorite movie with Tarot ever, so I'm posting it.

 

Nightmare Alley (1947) is a film adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel of the same name. In the book, there are 22 chapters, each named for a Tarot Major. There is also a graphic novel adaptation of the novel that was produced in 2012 by the great underground cartoonist Spain Rodriguez. That's Joan Blondell playing the reader. She did a lot of movies with Cagney, worked with Stanwyck, lots of others - she was great.
It’s a fantastic story, and not to be missed.

 

 

And another one for the ages...Marlene Dietrich and Orson Welles in A Touch of Evil:

 

 

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Aunt Agatha in the latest Poldark series is often reading tarot or playing card games.  I never read the books (Winston Graham), and I don't recall tarot in the 1975 series.  But Agatha is almost always pulling cards and making predictions in the version with Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark. Aunt Agatha is played by Caroline Blakiston - she's great.  The whole series is on DVD, it's one of my faves.  I believe that the producers, Mammoth Screen, created a tarot deck like what she used in the show and held a contest to win one with the winner's likeness incorporated into one of the cards.

 

You can see a snippet of the actress with her tarot cards in this BTS ("Behind the Scenes" video):

 

She and her tarot cards were featured in the very first episode of Season 1 also, IIRC.  If not, then definitely the next episode (among many).

 

 

Edited by geoxena
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aquarhapsody

I like these, the Nightmare Alley movie looks interesting, I love old movies.

I've never even heard of it!

 

I remember seeing Poldark in my social media feeds a lot, I follow several people who are into period dramas.

I love the idea of Tarot in a period setting. I rarely see it, though, and when I have it's been just for one scene or for a "creepy" character.

 

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1 hour ago, aquarhapsody said:

I like these, the Nightmare Alley movie looks interesting, I love old movies.

I've never even heard of it!

 

I remember seeing Poldark in my social media feeds a lot, I follow several people who are into period dramas.

I love the idea of Tarot in a period setting. I rarely see it, though, and when I have it's been just for one scene or for a "creepy" character.

 

I know, right?
That's what I love about Joan Blondell's character in Nightmare Alley: she's NOT creepy. Stan is...he's going down the wrong road and she's trying to show him the error of his ways. And the cards work, they're the one thing that isn't a trick. Pretty progressive for the 1940's!

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TheFeeLion

This is making me want to watch those old movies and some Poldark! Also, FYI just found out they're making a Poldark tarot 

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Interesting topic.

 

For computer games, an early experience was with Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. It is a classic CRPG where a gypsy uses what are presumed to be tarot cards to divine the character's starting balance in the eight Ultima virtues, which determines their character class and starting location. Two cards are direct analogs of Major Arcana themes (Justice and Sacrifice) although without the standard imagery. The others are not necessarily one-to-one correspondences, but of course the concepts can be found in tarot in various places: Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Honor, Spirituality, Humility. I remember playing the game when it came out on an Apple II and the card reading sequence actually had a rather powerful impact, even if the graphics are primitive by today's standards, as you face decisions where two of the virtues are in conflict and there's not necessarily a "good" answer.

 

For TV, one rather surprising example I remember was when Xena: Warrior Princess was airing and an episode came on which used a lot of obvious tarot imagery. Among other things, this included one of the characters being shown in the Hanged Man position, so you really couldn't miss it if you'd had any exposure to tarot. A search reveals that the episode was called "The Bitter Suite".

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