The Universal Goddess Tarot
by
Maria Caratti
English Version
Versione
Italiana
We would like to speak to you
about our journey.
The journey of two women searching for
other women.
A journey that led us across the
milleniums
to breathe the fragrance of the most
distant countries,
to admire enraptured the colors of ancient
civilizations,
to live other lives.
We came across legendary witches,
dangerous sorceresses,
seductive nymphs, invincible heroines,
and masters of creation and magic.
During our journey, however,we also
met ordinary women,
daughters, wives and mothers
with the weakness, fears, dreams and hopes
of us common mortals.
We got to know them and listened to
their voices.
Voices of ancestral cousins,
of women who are our contemporaries and of
our descending line.
Foreign voices that seemed familiar to
us.
So many voices that they become one.
One voice that reveals what we
were,
what we are and what we will
be.
 My
"Tarot of the Goddesses" travel journal is
full of memories, research, emotions, joys
and difficulties which I'm pleased to
share with those who are already familiar
with this new Tarot deck, as well as with
those who have not yet heard of it. This
is how it came about…
The idea was conceived in the fall of
2004. The project I initially presented to
Lo Scarabeo was entitled "The Ladies of
Magic," which consisted of a deck of
approximately forty cards. This was
clearly a Wicca-inspired oracle focusing
on the Divine and Feminine Magic. Piero
Alligo (Lo Scarabeo's artistic director),
rather, gave me a challenge: increase the
number of cards and create a Tarot deck.
At first, matching 78 different
Goddesses with 78 Tarot cards, rather than
just with the Major Arcana (as done with a
deck in the past, "The Goddess Tarot" by
Kris Waldherr, and the more recent "Triple
Goddess Tarot"), seemed an arduous (if not
impossible) task. Thus began the lengthy
and difficult research… exploring
classical mythology and legends, folklore
and tales far and wide to find the female
divinities that best represented the
traditional archetype of each card.
As I gradually proceeded with the
research, I realized that the life of each
Goddess, the character, personality,
strengths and weaknesses of each one,
narrated, through the centuries and
continents, the history of the feminine
character and life in general. Goddesses,
yes -- but most of all, women. Women who
were newborns and then became playful and
carefree children, who grew into young
girls and fell in love, then became
thoughtful and loving mothers, finally
filling the role of wise and discerning
old women.
Birth, life, death. Beginning, journey,
end. I had achieved and conquered the
cyclic nature of the universal rhythms,
the Tarot's essential principle, which
became my guideline for creating the
subject of the Tarot of the Goddesses.
The deck took shape on 13 May 2005, the
day in which Riccardo Minetti (Lo
Scarabeo's Editor) "officially" put me in
contact with the extraordinary artist who
created all of the illustrations of this
deck. Yes, none other than: Antonella
Platano.
"MagicaAntodalleManidOro" (this the
nickname I affectionately gave her -- it
translates to "MagicGoldHandsAnto") is a
talented illustrator of comic strips who
has created other magnificent decks
published by Lo Scarabeo (including
theWitchy Tarot, The Gay Tarot, and the
Tarot of 78 Doors). I immediately felt an
extraordinary affinity and complete mutual
understanding with Antonella. A sort of
mystic alchemy was established between us
that transformed, as if by magic, ideas
into images.
We decided, right from the start, that
the Goddesses would have a "real and
earthly" appearance, far from the
evanescent and ethereal images with which
they are often depicted. The Goddesses
needed to relate the life of our
dimension, material and tangible, so that
every woman could identify with each of
them.
We tried not to leave anything to
chance: every detail was carefully
evaluated, from the iconography of the
Goddess to the card's setting, to the
details of a jewel and the creases of a
dress (and here, to give credit where
credit is due, Antonella did a truly great
job! She told me how she took entire days
to understand and interpret as best as
possible the ethos of each individual
Goddess, including her clothing!).
Once the Goddess was identified, I
closed my eyes and imagined the scene in
my mind: the main figure, the background,
the surroundings. I spent time in that
image, trying to take in the essence, the
emotions, the sensations. I identified
with the woman I had before me. I
perceived her joy, her pain. I spoke to
her. I listened to her voice. Then I
translated into word what I saw and
experienced.
Thanks to Antonella, these words became
images, drawn in black and white, the same
images I had seen with my mind's eyes. The
penciled images were then replaced by the
splendid colorful cards you might already
be familiar with.
Allow me just one piece of advice for
those who will be using the Tarot of the
Goddesses for divining: do not be in a
hurry. Take the time necessary to become
attuned with each woman. Listen
attentively to the voice of the Goddesses.
They will reveal the symbolism and meaning
of each card. If the words they whisper
are not enough, search for all of the
information that can help you understand
them better. There are a lot of books on
the market (the same I used too!) that
address each of them in depth.
The better you get to know them, the
better you will be able to understand
them. The better you understand them, the
better you will be able to understand
yourselves.
My journey and Antonella's has ended.
But this is just where yours is about to
begin.
Love,
Maria Caratti
 INTERPRETATION
OF A CARD: THE HIGH PRIESTESS &endash;
ISIS
I am the guardian of occult
knowledge and magic.
I am mystery, intuition and female
consciousness.
The Myth
Isis is the universal Goddess worshiped
in ancient Egypt under numerous names such
as "The Lady of Ten Thousand Names,"
"Queen of Heaven," "Mother of the Gods,"
"The One Who is All." The most fascinating
myth about her recounts the death of
Osiris, her beloved husband, killed by his
evil brother Seth, dismembered into
various pieces and scattered across Egypt.
Isis wanders a long time in search of the
remains of her loved one, who she manages
to bring back to life after thousands of
adventures. With her magic, Isis makes
Osiris immortal and with him has a son,
Horus.
Isis and the High Priestess
The decision to use Isis for the High
Priestess card was almost obligatory. No
other Goddess, in fact, could have
represented gentleness, fidelity, married
love, feminine intuition, secrets,
mysteries, divining and magic as well as
Isis (she is also attributed, among other
things, the secret of the rite of
mummification).
The cult of Isis influenced pagan
religions so much that the iconography of
this Goddess can be found in the figures
of many other godheads of distant
civilizations and different periods. In
Egypt alone, Isis is associated with the
goddesses Hathor and Nut.
Isis is depicted seated on a throne
with a solar disc on her head (symbol of
cosmic divinity). At her shoulders is a
pyramid (the temple, a sacred and occult
place). Her hands are raised toward the
sky in the sign of prayer, invocation, and
at the same time, affirmation and command.
Sirius, the brightest star, shines at the
top of the pyramid.
The meaning
Upright card: The magic of Isis and the
feminine divine are with you. The light of
her star, Sirius, illuminates your heart
and mind. You possess wisdom, intuition
and the sixth sense necessary to evaluate
situations and interpersonal relationships
with clarity and lucidity. If the object
of the consultation concerns a choice that
must be made, be certain that the decision
is the right one. The card can also
indicate an older woman, a spiritual
guide, an initiate to turn to for good
advice.
Upside-down card: Isis denies you her
support. The card, if upside-down,
threatens superficiality, ignorance,
deceit and mistaken insights. Inability to
understand our inner self. Total lack of
judgement, points of reference,
equilibrium and harmony.
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