Those familiar with the traditional Rider Waite Smith tarot deck understand the importance and nuance of color in tarot. The RWS has been recolored over and over again - from the original cards that came out around the turn of the 20th century, to the Universal Rider Waite, to the Radiant Rider Waite, many have sought to "update" the coloring of the original cards - changing not the hue but the saturation and tone of the hues. Intellectual property rights to the card images can even hinge on which of these nuanced colors are used.
Color also provides important cues in tarot. Each of the four minor arcana suits is associated with a different element, and, in turn, we all tend to associate certain colors with each of those elements: bright reds, oranges and yellows with fire (wands); ethereal grays, whites and ice blues with air (swords); deep blues, greens and purples with water (cups); and rich greens and browns with Earth (coins or pentacles). So tarot deck artists can use color to send important signals to tarot readers about what a card is meant to mean by helping us understand what element to associate it with. But uses of color certainly don't stop there.
In February, the Capital Tarot Society is thrilled to be hosting special guest speaker Robin Ha at our monthly meeting. Robin is the author/illustrator of New York Times best selling cookbook Cook Korean, and is also a tarot enthusiast. She has illustrated a tarot-themed coloring book as well as a number of art prints that appeal to witchier tastes.
At February's meeting, Robin will be leading us through a color-your-own-tarot-card exercise and talking about her inspiration to draw and publish tarot-themed items. We're all super excited!
