I purchased this box, paying not too handsomely, a complete day after receiving what were to be its contents. Do not let this unassuming little box fool you. The patterns engraved on its surface may look to be harmless floral carvings, but legend dictates they are the ancient aeon-lost depictions of some eyeless, squamous Thing descended from black, starless realms on their nightish wings of cosmic horror. And what lies within?
Some have heard of the fabled Alethiometer, a pictorial device for divining the answers to questions - these are cards known as "Tarot", from the Italian "Tarocchi" which has no known origin. Unknown perhaps, because the origin is too unthinkable to rest in any suitable way in our fragile human existences: mentions have been made of Azathoth ... the Nameless Mist ... Cthulhu.
These Tarot Cards are based on the works on H.P. Lovecraft, so for example, the bottom centre card there, The Moon, depicts a scene from "Shadow Over Innsmouth", while the card on the right is from "The Outsider". It is nice to spot references in the artwork this way. I myself do not believe in any magical workings of the Tarot, but it certainly makes for a fun game. Using these cards as an example, a reading goes like this: The card in the centre represents the Present - what are you running away from, who is chasing you? The card on the left represents the Past - what was lurking behind you in your past? And the card on the right is your future - what will you become if you keep running away? Additional cards can be added to address further elements such as Cause, Effect, Theme, Mood, etc.
I like the artwork of this deck - it certainly fits the theme of Lovecraftian. Some of it can be rather bright, whereas other cards are stark, but all seem mysterious and hinted with the macabre. Lovecraft himself is depicted on the back holding his fabled "Necronomicon".
Here are four of the "Major Arcana" that I find particularly interesting. The Fool, trapped in his straitjacket looks not mad, but simply beaten as he is surrounded by daemons of the night. The Lovers stand together on a pathway, while above them looms an unknown figure. Judgement shows a man standing before a rainbow, and the wind taking his hat far into the air. And Death is not depicted here as usual, as a figure; instead two vast doors open up in the mountainside, and a trail of figures walk endlessly in.
Here are two interesting cards I wish to talk about. The first is my favourite in the whole deck; it depicts a man, blindfolded, playing the violin - he stands raised above horrendous creatures, safe from them as long as he focuses on his music. This may be a reference to "The Music of Erich Zann". (Click To Enlarge.)
I was having a rather bad time in my old house, because one of the people I lived with was rather stressful and bothersome, so for fun I asked the Tarot Cards about it. The "Present" card was the violin card there, and I felt pleased that I was able to find comfort in my own skills and beauty: I take the violin music to represent these elements.
Amusingly, the card that came up for the Future was the card on the right. It is from "The Dunwich Horror" and shows a hideous, once-humanish monster destroying a house, which more than adequately sums up how I felt living there. Prior to this, I had already made the decision to move out of The Shunned House and leave behind The Thing on the Doorstep.
Amusingly, the card that came up for the Future was the card on the right. It is from "The Dunwich Horror" and shows a hideous, once-humanish monster destroying a house, which more than adequately sums up how I felt living there. Prior to this, I had already made the decision to move out of The Shunned House and leave behind The Thing on the Doorstep.