Thoughts on “Dali Tarot”

I recently read a beautifully illustrated art book on the Tarot, which inspired me to order the Dali Tarot set. This is a gorgeous reproduction of the Tarot Universal Dali deck that Salvador Dali created. In addition to the cards, which are large and of high quality, the set also comes with an oversized book that describes the symbolism associated with each card. All of this is packaged in a rich purple velvet case. I have to say, it was well worth the money.

In the Preface to the book, Annette Kroger provides a nice introduction.

In the mid-1970s, Salvador Dali created the Tarot Universal Dali, which was originally published as a limited-edition signed artwork. Based on the age-old tradition of tarot, Dali created a new artistic version by drawing on nearly 78 masterpieces of Western civilization from antiquity to modernity, including some of his own.

Thus, at the age of 70, he became one of the many great names in art history to surrender to the magic of playing cards.

(p. 7)

For me, Dali’s artwork seems to tap directly into the deep recesses of the unconscious mind. And what is so useful about the accompanying book is that it draws your attention to the subtle symbolism that Dali incorporates into the artwork on each card. I will site an excerpt from the description of the Wheel of Fortune card.

The disk in the middle is divided into two parts, indicating human consciousness and the unconscious mind. Both parts of the image complement each other, but differences are also apparent. The lower section is filled with symbols and signs, while the upper areas are empty. This might suggest that the messages of the unconscious are conveyed through symbols alone.

(p. 43)

If you are fascinated by Salvador Dali’s artwork, then this is a worthwhile purchase, even if you are not a reader of tarot cards. The artwork itself makes it well worth the $60 investment. I do have one criticism, though. The Preface and Introduction in the book, while highly interesting and worth reading, are gold text on a deep purple background. This makes reading very difficult, even if you are not vision impaired. Thankfully, the majority of the book is black text on white background, but you would think that the publisher of an art book would take into consideration the design aspects of color contrast between text and background. But this is just a minor flaw in an otherwise great set.

Thanks for stopping by.

“Karma Repair Kit: Items 1-4” by Richard Brautigan

Every so often, I need to remind myself of the obvious. I get so caught up in my daily stress and anxiety that I forget to take a step back, relax, and reflect. When I do so, my karma usually realigns itself fairly easily. This poem provides simple and practical steps for getting your karma back in order.

1. Get enough food to eat,
   and eat it.

2. Find a place to sleep where it is quiet,
   and sleep there.

3. Reduce intellectual and emotional noise
   until you arrive at the silence of yourself,
   and listen to it.

4.  

I love the fact that Brautigan leaves item 4 blank. It allows one to project whatever one needs into the poem. When you reach that state of inner peace and silence your mind projects onto the page that which needs adjusting in your life and the path you need to take. It’s the equivalent of the blue painting by Yves Klein, where the viewer projects his or her inner vision onto the canvas.

So far today I have accomplished the first two steps. I will take the third step soon, and then I’m sure the fourth step will become obvious.