Log #1: Game or Mystic Portal?
In the beginning, the tarot was a regular old game. Like croquet. Or Hearts. Or Boggle.
It was something people played together for a bit of friendly competition, for entertainment and recreation during social hours.
The lines we draw between game and portal to the otherworld are usually incredibly faint, to be honest. We humans smudge it easily, and often.
Here’s a log of some other places where the line splits - or, perhaps, doesn’t:
The board game company Hasbro owns the Ouija trademark. For ages 8 and up! The beginning of every spirit board horror movie ever. Anyway, you can buy one of their Ouija boards right next to the other famous board game Hasbro makes and owns: Monopoly.
Zoltar, the plastic and slightly deranged looking man inside a coin-operated fortune telling box, can be found at amusement parks and shopping centers worldwide. He has lots of friends, too. The one nearest me is called The Great Neptune, and he knows all.
In the recent deep rabbit hole I fell down while researching the literary traditions of the tarot as part of a commissioned piece for The Curationist, I learned that society ladies in 18th century France had a fortune-telling fan to keep themselves from perishing of boredom during long, undoubtedly stuffy social outings. The fan kind of reminds me of a cross between a folded paper “cootie catcher” fortune teller meets MASH.
The recent virality of #WitchTok social videos have helped to drive spiritual wellness to new financial heights - the global industry for spiritual services and tools is now estimated to reach $9.6 billion by 2034. (BILLION).
Anyone up for a game of Jumanji? Just don’t roll a 5, or an 8…
It’s one of my favorite things that humans do: Invite the mystical right in to our everyday and never really think twice about it. Maybe even deny it profusely if ever asked about it.
I love it so much, I do it all the time too. It’s one of the most fun things ever.
Logging off to do just that,
Bailey
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About Bailey Sends Word Story Studio
Bailey Sends Word is an independent, artist-led story studio specializing in magical storytelling and led by award-winning storyteller Bailey lewis. The studio produces multimedia and often interactive storytelling publications and projects for digital, print, audio, video, experiential, art objects, and more. You can learn more about the studio and it’s work on the About page.