Tarot Cards
Tarot Cards were originally created as standard playing cards in Medieval Europe (1400s), mostly in Italy and France. The decks consist of 78 cards divided into four suits and two groups: the major arcana The Minor Arcana is a standard set of playing cards, with numbers (pips), face cards (court cards), and suits. If used for card-reading, each suit is meant to represent a different energy or aspect of one’s life. The Major Arcana includes "trump cards" originally used for gaming.
For the Tarot Cards I designed I wanted to focus on a specific theme. The theme of my cards was Greek Mythology, more specifically the “Mankillers” in myth such as Sirens, Sphinxes, and Gorgons.
The Fool.
For the siren I decided to assign her to The Fool card. I felt like this fit well. When we think of sirens, they are often times linked to pirates and their inability to resist the urge to follow a sirens voice even though it leads to nothing good. This idea of labeling the pirate as the fool even though the siren is the main figure in the card was a choice I thought worked well.
Justice.
I assigned the Justice card to the sphinx. Sphinxes are half women, half lion creatures that torture their victims with riddles. Whoever answers wrong would then be killed. I thought this idea of having justice served matched well with the story of the sphinx.
Death.
I associated Gorgons with the Death card. The most famous story among gorgons in Greek mythology is the story of Medusa. The Death card was a no-brainer with this myth. Gorgons kill through their gaze and the actual story of Medusa is framed around how she is killed. Perseus decapitating Medusa is a powerful moment in her death, which is why I drew this scene to represent her.
Final Display.
Including back of cards.