‘The wise man knows himself to be a fool’

     
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

Touchstone in As You Like It
William Shakespeare
1599


The visual medium of the tarot deck, laden with lessons in symbols, could be an ideal way to unpack the varied meanings intertwined in the plots and dialog of William Shakespeare’s tragedies and comedies. This Shakespeare Tarot might be proof.

This is not the first attempt to marry Shakespearean meanings with the voice of tarot cards, but I want to share the news of the publication of this deck because the art created here is arresting for its fascinating (but sometimes a little too busy) Renaissance-style imagery.

Click the images to enlarge.

Touchstone, Page of Crowns.

Ace of Cups.

Edmund, 5 of Swords.

Malvolio, 4 of Crowns.

Ophelia, 9 of Swords.

Othello, The Devil.

Richard II, 2 of Staffs.

Virgin Queen, High Priestess.

Designed by Chris Leech and published by Welkin, this 78-card deck has the 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor, and there is an explanatory book available to decode it all. The cards measure 5.75 x 3.5 inches, bigger than typical decks.

The deck can be purchased for $50; the key also costs $50; but they can be bought together for $75 by clicking here. As far as I can tell, it is due out in July.

Read the content of the website and peruse all the cards. There is a passion here I can admire.