Minoan Tarot

I’m no great expert on things Minoan, but having read Laura Perry’s fascinating book – Ariadne’s Thread – I’m aware that this is a really interesting culture. I don’t really buy into the idea of any kind of coherent matriarchal society that was later crushed by patriarchy – it just seems too simple a story to me which is part of why I liked Laura’s book – it offers something more complicated.

I gather that the further back you go into Minoan history, the more equality there is. This is a culture that, go back far enough, had a totally different gender balance to a lot of the ancient world, and was much less violent as well. This isn’t a coincidence. Patriarchal societies tend to treat most of their men as expendable resources that can be used to secure more physical resources – part of a bigger project in which ownership is considered more valuable than life itself. I understand that the transition to settled agrarian life brought a culture of ownership, and led to violence in many places, fuelled by new metal technology. For me, capitalism and patriarchy, are unpleasant aspects of a project that has been going on for quite some time now. I’m very keen on anything that shows us that alternatives exist.

At the moment, Laura has a kickstarter on the go for a Minoan Tarot set. Frankly, what I know about tarot is negligible. However, what Laura has done is gorgeous and innovative. She’s hand drawn each card image based on imagery from the ancient frescoes of Crete. The images are striking and colourful, full of vitality and sensuality. I’ve borrowed an image to illustrate this blog and to give a sense of what an attractive project this is.

If you’d like to know more, or want a copy of the tarot for yourself, hop over to the kickstarter – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1777224428/the-minoan-tarot-by-laura-perry?ref=video