Tarot is getting showcased in London this year. From January 31 to April 30, the Warburg Institute is hosting an exhibit called Tarot—Origins & Afterlives.
Tarot’s history, of course, goes far beyond magicians using the cards in various routines. While the cards’ origins are secular, they have since been adopted by mysticism and the occult circles, whose practitioners purport they reveal insights about a person’s future, among other things.
“Magicians tend to be dismissive when it comes to tarot reading,” Jonathan Allen, co-curator of the exhibition and museum curator for The Magic Circle, said in a statement. “We’re well acquainted with the principle of confirmation bias, that is the way people hear only what they want to hear, and Barnum statements, that is communications that are so open-ended that they can be interpreted in any way. The show unpacks some of the myths surrounding these mysterious, allegorically-rich cards, and explores the many forms and functions that tarot is currently taking far beyond that of ‘fortune-telling.’” According to Allen, the exhibit walks through how “a secular recreational game in Renaissance Italy transformed into the occult device that is more familiar to us today.” It also features an artifact from The Magic Circle’s collection: a tarot deck hand-painted around 1906 by the English artist and mystic, Austin Osman Spare. The exhibition runs Tuesdays through Saturdays and is free, though you’ll need to book a time slot in advance on the Warburg Institute’s website.
Photos courtesy of Stephen White & Co.